TheMiddleofSomewhere

It’s such an inconvenient document.

Dwight Boud 7/27/09
The arrest of Professor Henry Louis Gates for disorderly conduct and President Obama’s response to it have been hashed and rehashed (had to be “hashed” first, right?) so many times that I’m sure you’re tired of it. But there’s one thing I haven’t heard from the TV and radio talking heads. When Obama said he didn’t know the facts and that he wasn’t there, of course it would have been nice if he had stopped there and offered a “no comment” response. But he didn’t. He went on to say, among other things, that he didn’t “know what role race played in it.” By saying that, he implied that race did play a role in it and left the door open for the ensuing racial brouhaha most of which was ginned up by people with political agendas. At that point in Obama’s answer, I was listening for just two little words that would have made the answer much more presidential. The two little words are “if any.” I would expect a President who “hadn’t been there” and “didn’t know the facts” to say “I don’t know what role race played, if any.” Maybe as a former political agitator, he is conditioned to assume that there’s always a racial motive involved in these things. As our first “post racial President”, he should know better.

Fixing the Medical Insurance System
Dwight – July 19, 2009

Of course, I’m no expert. No matter – most of the people spouting off about “Health Care” reform are less than experts. But we all have opinions, so here is mine.

I recently attended a forum on this topic set up by my congressman. It was quite informative, and I was reasonably impressed with him. He’s a Democrat. I didn’t vote for him; probably wouldn’t again. He replaced an outstanding, long-term Republican who had to resign for health reasons (No, really.) One thing he said at that forum was that he does not favor a single-payer government-run health insurance plan. That was a relief. One less letter I would have to write to him.

Most people who favor the inclusion of a government health insurance plan push for it on the basis that competition in the health insurance market would bring down prices. This argument sounds good, but misses an important point: the kind of competition that is need is not competition between a government plan that does not have to make a profit to survive economically and to carry out its core mission, and private sector Insurance companies that do. What is needed is more competition between those companies. A government plan, once established, would in time push out the private plans, and with that, eventually establish a government monopoly.

To get the kind of competition we need requires at least three factors: 1. Companies should be allowed to sell Insurance across state lines; 2. People who buy insurance should be allowed to “take their plan with them” wherever they choose to live or work and to change plans if they find something better; 3. Any provision that allows an insurance company a “monopoly” of the business within a certain area should be removed.

There are many other factors involved that bear on quality of care, access to care, malpractice insurance, frivolous law suits, etc. But I think the first step should be to get real competition up and running; then, stand back and let the fight for market share begin.

Finally, as one of those people who is happy with the Health Insurance Coverage he has, I would like to keep it, but I realize that under the preliminary plans being bandied about in Washington, my plan would start being watered down and eventually reach a point where I wouldn’t be nearly as comprehensive as it is now.

At least that’s the way I see it.

Obama’s Stalling
Dwight – July 13, 2009

When President Obama’s administration took office, the country’s economy was challenged by serious financial problems. Obama’s Chief of Staff, Rahm Emanuel, advised him not to waste a good crisis. Hence we were told that unless the government took immediate action, the country faced a catastrophe that would rival the great depression of the 1930’s. With little time for deliberation, various federal rescue plans were devised and rushed through Congress with breathtaking speed. Many among the public were left with a case of legislative “whiplash.” But, we were told, time was of the essence.
Huge amounts of money were appropriated to put people to work across the land on “shovel-ready” projects, etc. Now, after about six months and with unemployment rising, and mortgage foreclosures continuing amid general economic stagnation, people are asking why we aren’t getting more bang for our (trillions of) bucks? And what are we told? Well, only a small portion of the money has actually been disbursed; it was always meant to be a “two-year program.”
If that’s the case, what was all the rush for? Surely a two-year program deserved more deliberation by Congress than was given.
I think I know the answer: Obama and his backers wanted to amass a huge “slush fund” to be used to reward their supporters and to fund statist projects like “cap and trade.” If the economy recovered too fast, there wouldn’t be time to get the left-wing agenda established. That’s why the President took several days to sign bills that were rushed through to fend off total economic collapse. And that’s why he’s been stalling all along.
Some commentators are saying now that his economic recovery plans haven’t been working. I think that from Obama and Emanuel’s standpoint, they’ve been working like a charm.

I used to have a website on AOL. A while back they decided to stop web hosting leaving me and a lot of others scrambling to find a replacement. Why replace with a blog? First, my son has a long-standing blog that looks like fun. Second, I get tired of yelling at the TV and not getting an answer.

Eventually what will you find here? I have spent much of my time writing (fiction/nonfiction/poetry), composing (classical style) music, improvising abstract computer art, taking photographs, acting (not much anymore) reading, reading, and, oh yes, reading.  I’ve been having a bit of a hard time getting the hang of this place, but if you’re reading this, you’ll know I’m making progress.

Stay tuned.