Health Care as a Poker Hand

Back in August, the right came out in force with their disruption of civil discourse at town hall meetings and Fox sponsored Tea Bagging events. At the time, people were concerned that team Obama had not come out hard enough on the specifics of health care and against its critics.

Looking back now you can see how smart it has been to keep their hand hidden close to their chest and work the system mostly behind the scenes. A basic rule of Poker is not to reveal your hand too early otherwise you could be drawn into a big pot that you never had a chance of winning. The right went crazy early in the process, showing its hand too soon and slowly, patiently they have been picked apart by the progressive left and, even more importantly, by the impartial fact checkers like Politifact.com.

The truth about health care is that it is big, really BIG. And it is complicated, really COMPLICATED. There are no easy sound bite slogans that appeal to everyone. So our normal 30-second attention span satiated by cable news just does work with the health care issue. It takes time to understand. The understanding comes from more involved research and more involved discussions. Discussions that are taking place on NPR, in magazines and newspapers and sometime in civil town hall meetings.

Where we are now is a more enlightened place in the debate. We now get that the system is unfair, we now get that anyone of of us could be denied coverage at any time, we now get that we could lose our home - saving and go bankrupt with a single illness even if we have coverage now. We also understand, that some other countries have better systems (even if many of us will not admit it). We totally get that competition, not monopolies, keep prices low and innovation high... that is why a public option is so popular right now.

So after the Right's screaming temper tantrum of lies in August, we stand on the cusp of doing something great. Not the single payer system I wanted, but a compromise that will sharply turn us in the correct direction on health care. One that says it is a right, not a privilege and one that saves my children from going bankrupt just because they get sick in the richest country in the World.

9-12 Rally - What Hypocrites

Today in Washington DC there is a rally. A rally that the media is reporting as "the largest gathering of fiscal conservatives". I have a few things to point out about this rally:

1) It totally exploits 9-11. This weekends should be a time to celebrate America's goodness and show the terrorist that we are not weak even in the face of horrible attacks. The use of 9-11 to market extreme partisan viewpoints is disgusting.

2) Judging from the signs being held by the protesters, this is more about attacking a black president. Obama as Hitler, Joker, etc. I would say there are way more signs that have nothing to do with "being fiscally conservative". At first I did not see these protests as racists but judging from the succession, "take OUR country back", and "buy a gun before its too late" talk. I am seeing this more about a black man being president than anything else. I mean, really, what has changed? The GOP were folks that started an unjustified war and gave huge tax breaks to wealthy that caused this financial mess we are trying to get out of. So where were the "fiscal conservative" protesters then? BTW - I Looked at every single picture of these protests this morning on FOX, CNN, CBS, ABC and MSNBC and could not find a single non-white person in a picture.

3) As stated above... the Republicans presided over the spending orgy that got us into this mess. So why are these protesters upset at the guy that is trying to drag us out of the mess the GOP created? Attacking health care for everyone? Attacking saving the auto industry? Attacking saving the banking system? So what would their alternative be??? DEPRESSION! Give me a break. This has very little to do with being "fiscally conservative".

4) It is amazing how people can follow a nut job like Glen Beck who said the victim families of 9-11 should "just shut up". And, the day after the anniversary of 9-11. SICK, SICK, SICK.

5) The groups sponsoring this rally are funding by corporate interests. Dick Army is a major lobbyist now and it is his group "Freedom Works" that is coordinating this. This group is all about the status quo. Meaning, keep the rich, rich... at the expense of the ever shrinking middle class. Do nothing, do nothing, do nothing... that is their vision of America... pretty sad that so many that could benefit from change are too easily manipulated into following such an organization.

6) Fox News is supporting it. They are the marketing arm of this rally. Enough said.

7) Lastly, many people and at least one group sponsoring the rally are calling for states to secede from the Union. Secession has another name. It called TREASON. It means you no longer believe in America. If you are that far off your rocker to call for civil war, then there is no hope for you. If you don't like your country, then Mexico or Canada are just a short drive away... so leave! Spend some time there and you may come to appreciate how good America really is. Honest debate is one thing but I can not ever support people that are Benedict Arnold TRAITORS to the country.

The Best Case for Universal Health Care... explained via cartoon

Saddest Day in America

The loss of our soul as a country was revealed today.

I just read about the investigation into the Bush-era interrogation methods.

In an age of being desensitized to everything, I actually teared up at the loss of our country's values.

I understand the need to protect our country, but to do the horrible things they did means we sold our country's soul to the Devil.

At some point you have to ask what values are you protecting?

It is just about as bad as you hoped it wasn't... the terrorist won on Sept 11 and they won again when we sold our souls to combat them.

This is Why I Like Obama

Rep. Leonard Boswell (D-IA) says President Obama told him that he'll pass health care reform, even if it means he would be a one-term president.

From http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/

The Sponsors of Hate Speech

Visit ColorOfChange.org to see what you can do.

The Truth About Health Care Reform

If you are tired of the dribble from the sensational news then go to the source for accurate information regarding heath care here: http://www.whitehouse.gov/realitycheck/