Category Archives: Politics

Krauthammer on End-of-Life Talk

Charles Krauthammer wrote an enlightening piece in the Washington Post called “The Truth About Death Counseling.”

He begins with this: “We might start by asking Sarah Palin to leave the room. I’ve got nothing against her. She’s a remarkable political talent. But there are no ‘death panels’ in the Democratic health-care bills, and to say that there are is to debase the debate.”

He then goes on to talk about what actually happens in hospital situations when someone is near death, and the limited role of a living will. He says the section in the health bill which talks about doctors giving end-of-life counseling isn’t as benign as its defenders say it is.

He concludes, “It’s not an outrage. It’s surely not a death panel. But it is subtle pressure applied by society through your doctor.”

I’m not a big fan of Krauthammer when he’s on talk shows. But this column was very measured and informative.

Even Joe Klein liked it, saying on Swampland, in a backhanded way, “Charles Krauthammer has not been entirely unreasonable in the current health reform battle.”

Later, Klein writes this wonderful parenthetical: “It is hilarious how Republicans want to reform lawyers but not insurance companies, and Democrats vice versa.”

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Comparing US and Canadian Healthcare

A San Diego station did a special report contrasting US and Canadian healthcare. They partnered with the Canadian Broadcasting System, which contributed reports from Canada. It’s a 26-minute video, but I highly recommend it. They sought to be fair, and gave pros and cons of each system. Some of the stats they use have been debunked to an extent, but that doesn’t lessen the impact of the human stories they tell.

A continuing theme is the long wait times in Canada, vs. the consequences of no care, or very expensive care, in the US.

I most enjoyed the segment, about 16 minutes in, where they went to a hockey rink and interviewed Canadians now living in the US. A concluding segment talked about how so many Americans use the emergency room as their doctor’s office, and the consequences of that.

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When Did Insurance Companies Become Our BFFs?

Throughout my adult life, insurance companies have been reviled…until now. Now, conservatives vigorously defend them and insist that we’ve got the best system on earth. Uh…really? When did that happen? We’ve got the best medical professionals and technology, but a lousy system.

I’m terribly amused at how people are suddenly defending insurance companies, as tho they only have our best interests at heart. I’ve seen them regularly screw our pastors and on a whim discontinue our church plans (or suddenly raise rates ridiculously high, forcing us to look elsewhere). But I guess to conservatives, “the enemy of my enemy–Obama–is my friend.” So now, the insurance companies are our BFFs.

Egypt, evidently, is pretty grand after all. Let’s just stay here, yoked to our noble insurance companies, while they arbitrarily deny claims, cancel policies, raise deductibles, search for pre-existing conditions, and bury doctors and patients in paperwork. (I’m sure doctors just LOVE dealing with insurance companies.)

Meanwhile, people in progressive countries leave the doctor’s office and never see a bill. No paperwork, no hassles. (Yeah, Canada has a bad system in many ways, but what Obama is proposing is not based on their system.) Wouldn’t it be nice to be freed from the tyranny of insurance companies? To not have to hassle with them? Is America, the greatest country on earth, unable to figure out a good system for making that happen?

I still believe in America’s greatness, and that we can figure this out, for the benefit of our citizens.

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I Don’t Want to Know About this Option

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Politifact Looks at the “46 Million Uninsured” Claim

With all the stuff being flung around by each side in the healthcare debate (which isn’t really a debate, but a shouting match), it’s nice to have somebody checking the facts. That’s what Politifact.com does. They do for politics what Snopes does for urban legends. I turn to Politifact frequently to get the true scoop.

I like it so much, I put their feed on this blog. Look over on the right to see the latest statements they check out.

We’ve heard President Obama and others say that 46 million Americans are uninsured. That’s from 2007 Census Bureau stats. According to Politifact, it’s closer to 36 million, since about ten million of those persons aren’t Americans. They delve deeper into the difficulties of setting a number like that, and the fact that the economy was in much better shape in 2007.

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Why do Most Christians Oppose Universal Health Care?

Some good conversations are taking place in various forums on the web. People are asking, with seriousness and honesty, why most Christians oppose universal health care.

Most of the evangelical Christians I know are Republicans. All of them, as far as I know, oppose universal health care (UHC). I’m not talking about opposing Obama’s plan, or the Clinton plan. I mean, they oppose the very idea of universal health care, just as the Republican party has opposed it for as long as I can remember. No matter what form it might take, they’re against it. Even if the economy were in great shape, Republicans would still oppose health care, and so would evangelical Christians.

Why is that?

Put aside your reasons for opposing the Obama plan–the cost, the timing, the details, the flaws, the uncertainties. I’m asking in a more general way: as a Christian, why do you oppose any kind of UHC, whether in the past, present or future? Are you merely embracing the full Republican ideological menu, which doesn’t allow room for UHC? Or do you have biblical reasons?

It seems to me, and to other people asking this question, that UHC sounds like a made-to-order cause for Christians to champion.

  • Much of Jesus’ ministry involved healing. Everywhere he went, he healed people.
  • Jesus emphasized ministering to the poor, to the disadvantaged, to people unable to help themselves.
  • UHC combines both of these emphases, which were so central to the heart of Jesus–healing, and providing for vulnerable or poor people.
  • It is within our power, as the richest nation on earth, to provide UHC to all of our people. Lesser countries are doing it. Does it please God that we don’t?
  • People who lose their jobs also lose healthcare benefits; they are vulnerable people. Shouldn’t a Christian be on their side? Or does the Bible support leaving these people to fend for themselves?
  • When people die because they can’t afford to get tests and procedures done, or go bankrupt because they had the misfortune to get cancer–is that something Christians should be party to?
  • When it is within our power to help, and we don’t–how is that characteristic of a Christian nation?

When you think about it, doesn’t a position in favor of universal health care seem closer to the heart of Jesus than a position against universal healthcare?

If Jesus were here, would he agree that UHC is a bad thing, and that Christians should have nothing to do with it?

I’m just asking.

What is the biblical case against UHC? Why should Christians adamantly oppose it? Why does UHC violate Christian values?

Go ahead–give me a biblical (not a Republican) argument. Why should I, as a Christian, oppose universal health care? Because I’m really puzzled.

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Politifact.com – One Way to Verify What You Hear

obameter_250.jpgI’m a trusting sort, but skeptical. When I hear something that doesn’t ring true, I check it out, do some research. The internet makes that easy. You still need to use discretion in your sources of “truth,” and that’s a subjective thing (some people would look to Ann Coulter or Oprah as a reliable source, for heaven’s sake). But seeking verification, like Doubting Thomas, is a good thing.

Politifact.com to the rescue! This site, which won a Pulitzer Prize for its fact-checking during the 2008 presidential campaign, does an excellent job of verifying and debunking. I’ve found it very helpful.

Politifact’s Truth-O-Meter takes statements made by politicians, pundits, and others in the public arena and gives them a rating:

  • True: The statement is accurate and there’s nothing significant missing.
  • Mostly True: The statement is accurate but needs clarification or additional information.
  • Half True: The statement is accurate but leaves out important details or takes things out of context.
  • pantsonfire.giffalse.gifmostlytrue.gif

  • Barely True: The statement contains some element of truth but ignores critical facts that would give a different impression.
  • False: The statement is not accurate.
  • Pants on Fire: The statement is not accurate and makes a ridiculous claim.

Hundreds of statements are in the Truth-O-Meter. They have them categorized by subject, and each one includes an article explaining the true story. A useful category right now is “Health.” It shows that most of the statements being made against the proposed health care bill are false. So are some of the statements being made by health-care proponents.

Politifact also publishes the Obameter, which tracks 500 promises Barack Obama made during the campaign. A screenshot from the current Obameter reading is up above.

Politifact is a project of the St. Petersburg Times, one of the country’s premiere newspapers.

Another good source is FactCheck.org, run by the Anneburg Foundation. They are more academic in their approach–not nearly as fun as Politifact–but do a credible job. They were given physical access to Obama’s birth certificate last August and did a thorough analysis.

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Olberman, O’Reilly, Beck, and Town-Hall Fiascos

David Zurawik of the Baltimore Sun is writing some excellent commentary about cable news, commentary I wholly agree with. Here’s one very recent article (it’s only dated “August 2009,” but may have just appeared today) which focuses on Keith Olberman, and spreads out from there. It’s called “Olberman, O’Reilly: How Cable TV Harms Nation.”

I have been writing repeatedly about the way in which I believe the harsh, reckless, irresponsible and dangerous rhetoric of cable TV talk show hosts like MSBC’s Keith Olbermann and Fox’s Bill O’Reilly was hurting America….

Prime-time cable TV hosts like Olbermann are playing the very same dark and dangerous chords as [Joseph] McCarthy’s lot. Only today, thanks to cable TV and the Web, they have bigger amplifiers and the ability to spread their poisonous messages instantly with virtually no gatekeepers to get in the way–particularly when entities like NBC News, which knows better, looks the other way.

And the poison of attack and hateful speech spreads through the body politic until we can no longer have civil town hall discussions in this country between elected officials and their constituents….You couldn’t get people to act with the anger and belligerence seen at these town halls if those people thought it would bring them shame to behave that way in public.

But the lesson of of cable news is that such ugly behavior won’t bring you shame, it will bring you favor. You’re acting just like Olbermann, O’Reilly, Hannity, Beck and Dobbs. You’re acting just the way cable TV taught you to act in the political arena.

And now we reap the whirlwind of an angry, polarized, confused and frightened populace.

Zurawik has been after Olberman for a while. Last September, he wrote, “MSNBC Paying for Its Olberman Sins.” He starts with the right-wing attempts to paint CNN as liberal:

“The attacks on CNN have largely failed, because Jon Klein, the
cable channel’s president, has insisted that his reporters and
anchors report stories and do interviews by “playing it straight down
the middle,” as he has termed it in recent interviews with me.

“MSNBC,
on the other hand, has all but abandoned a journalism of facts and
verification in favor of propaganda and ideological bombast with
Olbermann — and now, Air America’s Rachel Maddow. And the cable
channel has become no better than Fox News on the right with Bill
O’Reiily….It looks like MSNBC has blown its chance to be a credible and trusted
source of news and information by letting Olbermann rule the roost.

But Zurawik doesn’t target only the liberal pundits, like Olberman. He goes strongly after the pundits on each wing. Here’s what he had to say on August 7 about Glenn Beck:

“I am starting to think that things have gotten so far out of control with some of the cable hosts on the so-called all-news cable channels that maybe sponsor pullout is one of the only actions that can make a difference. I’m talking about TV Newser’s report that three advertisers have distanced themselves from Glenn Beck’s show on the Fox News Channel in response to Beck calling President Barack Obama a “racist” who holds a “deep-seated hatred for white people.”

“Beck is only one of several out-of-control hosts who traffick in innuendo, slander, smears and outrageous comments like the ones about Obama….The contagion seems to be spreading to CNN with Lou Dobbs carrying the virus. Let’s hope this version of swine flu doesn’t infect the whole channel.

“So, maybe in these harsh economic times, the loss of advertisers will make a difference. Something has to. The level of prime-time discourse on all-news cable TV is absolutely toxic.” 

Zurawik represents well my feelings about the poisonous attitudes cable news shows produce among listeners, and why I increasingly look elsewhere for accurate light on current events.

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Thoughts about Sotomayor and Judicial Balance

sotomayor.jpgI’m lukewarm regarding Sonia Sotomayor. Even though her judicial experience is vast, dwarfing that of most other justices, I have difficulty getting excited about her. I’m not sure why I feel that way. I’m sure she’ll be a good Supreme Court justice, maybe above average. But not a home run.

In my time, I’ve viewed four appointees as home runs. These are persons who, when nominated, totally impressed me with their resumes.

  • Antonin Scalia.
  • Anthony Kennedy.
  • John Roberts.

The fourth was actually the first–Robert Bork. He, of course, got “borked.” He didn’t become a justice, but has been forever immortalized with his own namesake word.

While I can’t get excited about Sotomayor, I think the Republican opposition has been pathetically shallow. Sure, her comments in that speech are valid fodder for criticism and require explanation (which she gave, satisfyingly). But Republicans have made a mountain out of that molehill, over and over. Their focus on those few words appears terribly petty, particularly when they jump to the ludicrous Newtish conclusion that she’s racist. That’s just desperation.

Sotomayor has issued hundreds of opinions, and Republicans are apparently okay with them. They’ve made a fuss about the New Haven firefighters case, but there she was standing on precedent, and alongside many other judges, both Republican and Democrat. Not much to grab onto there.

After sorting through Sotomayor’s huge backlog of rulings, Republicans have found nothing compellingly disturbing, nothing worth throwing at her. And so they focus on some stupid words in a speech. Come on, Republican senators–you need to give me a lot more than that. If the “wise Latina woman” remark is the only reason to denounce her, I’d say she’s a pretty good nominee.

I don’t favor packing the court with conservatives (or liberals). I think that’s unhealthy for the country. I like the court the way it is now–half skewed conservative, half skewed liberal, and a swing vote. That represents our diverse country well. If the Supreme Court was stacked one way or the other, it would lack credibility to at least half of the country. 

Interestingly, while Obama may have the chance to replace three justices, they will likely all be liberals–Souter, Ginzburg, and Stevens. He won’t change the complexion of the court, unless he accidentally appoints someone who ends up being conservative (as George H. W. Bush was surprised when Souter turned out to be liberal). Under Obama, the make-up of the Supreme Court will remain basically the same, and there’s nothing he can do about that.

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Should We Have Left Those Women in N. Korea?

Fox News is really upset. Two innocent American women were freed from a potential 12 years of hard labor in a North Korean prison–and Fox doesn’t like it. They are very distressed about it, in fact. According to the various Fox News shows, only bad things can come of this. They’re sure we gave up something, like a future first round NFL pick, or agreed to let Kim Jung Il be Grand Marshall of the next Parade of Roses.

Does anyone else find this utterly amusing?

Sometimes, Fox persons, Democrats actually do commendable things, and it’s okay to applaud and feel good about it. I realize it doesn’t happen much, and that the very concept that it happens at all totally shreds your world view. But in this case, do something novel: chill. Something good happened. Be happy.

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