A little more politics and comment on the national scene. Bear with me, and I’ll go off to take some more great New Mexico photos for you. But first, I need to get this off my chest:
The Democratic health care bill as written by the Senate is an abomination and will not stand. They say we have to go along with it because otherwise, the Republicans will “win.” For many years that argument has worked with me, i.e. I held my nose and voted for the Democratic idiot, because he was better (?) than the Republican one. But the proposed mandate has pushed me over the edge. I realized this morning that I wasn’t afraid of another Republican administration, if that’s what has to come before the populist revolution we need.
What a blessed relief. LET Sarah Palin try to run the country, see if I care. Maybe then we’d actually get out in the streets. Maybe a real Democrat would finally emerge. If not, let it all fall down, because a government of the corporations, by the corporations, and for the corporations isn’t worth saving. I’m not compromising any more. These aren’t just words, because you know what?
I’m not afraid! It almost makes me giddy.
This is HUGE. I’ve escaped! They can’t bully me any more! The old arguments don’t work. This way I stand firmly with my own beliefs. There is a third way forward: Into the unknown, but fearless!
Thank you, Jesus. I am FREE!!!
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
I voted for the Peace and Freedom Party in 1968, woke up in the morning and Richard Nixon was president. Didn’t vote again for more than 20 years. Eventually I did resume voting, and found myself voting green in protest when in a US Representative race the Dems/Repubs offered me a choice between Adolf Hitler and Al Capone (an evil guy or a crook). Woke up in the morning and my rep in congress was the Hitler guy. Again I was sorry that I threw away my vote. I understand the choice you are making, but these days I cannot do that. Have to try to choose least worst…
It’s not a choice, it’s evolution. The “least worst” thing is a trap. I’m 64 years old. Let it all go to hell, if they won’t fix it right. I’m not afraid of “Hitler.” Maybe that’s what we need to get people into the streets.
I threw away my vote last fall, by voting…
Dear John,
Well said. I agree with every word you wrote.
We finally surrendered a couple of days ago and hopefully will stay that way. Life is too short now for all the angst that comes with having any interest in a system that does not work for the people.
I pray now the health care bill fails and that another day will dawn where women are included . Viagra is covered and birth control is not! It seems we don’t have any good women on “the hill” either.
See you in the streets if I am still living that is!
Thanks John and Merry Christmas to you and your wife.
Patsy
John,
I forgot to mention. We like your decorations. Your old Adobe looks so festive and bright. Happy to see you decided to get into the season.
Hope to see you at the Pueblo Christmas Eve or Christmas Day.
Patsy.
We have to look out for our selves. That’s the thing. You put it very well:
This isn’t “giving up,” it’s STANDING up.
Sign me up.
I’ve got some fight in me yet.
“I will not make any deals with you. I’ve resigned. I will not be pushed, filed, stamped, indexed, briefed, debriefed, or numbered!!! My life is my own….” –The Prisoner
-ahh,prof John, You’re not the only one suffering from demo/omni-angst:
I thought, once upon a time. I was young and naive and believed a lot of things contrary to fact. I think I also thought I would one day be asked to play guitar for Sonic Youth, all war would end once marijuana was legalized, and the Democratic Party would successfully lead the nation one day without shooting itself in its collective foot.
In other words, I was incredibly stupid.
– Michael Schaub
http://www.powells.com/blog/?p=11687
cheers
It is not clear to me how a Republican administration would naturally lead to a populist revolution. What seems clearer is how a Sarah Palin administration would naturally lead to many, many situations analogous to the Bush administration’s handling of Hurricane Katrina.
I was actually coming here from Balloon Juice, because I was curious why you said that the current Senate health care bill “effectively precludes any meaningful improvement in the future”. What features of the bill would make it do that?
I just meant that if things REALLY go to hell (Palin), we might get some third party action that matters. But right now the Jane Hamser/Grover Norquist cooperation on the letter demanding Rahm’s resignation trumps all that. This is BRILLIANT and exciting.
The Senate bill precludes future improvement because it makes the perpetrators of the crime stronger instead of punishing them. Shoveling all that money to the insurance industry is insane. There MUST be a lower-cost, non-profit alternative, or the bill should be killed.
The main point of this particular post that you’re commenting on is that I’m no longer cowed by threats from the Democratic establishment that if I don’t go along, the REPUBLICANS will come back. Doesn’t scare me any more. I can’t be manipulated in that way any more. They have to give me results if they want my vote, and empowering the enemies of the people is not the way to go. I will not go to the polls only in order to prevent a Republican takeover, in other words. That strategy is DEAD.
Good news: the bill DOES include a non-profit alternative, overseen by the federal Office of Personnel Management; and for low-income folks, costs get lowered by federal subsidies. And does the bill really make insurance corporations stronger than before? Yes, it creates a mandate; but (a) insuring people by expanding Medicaid doesn’t help insurance corporations; (b) without the mandate, it wouldn’t make sense to bar insurers from charging higher premiums to customers with pre-existing conditions. And the bill also constrains corporate profiteering in other ways (no annual caps; 80-85% of premiums must be spent on medical care, not administrative costs or profit; etc.).
As for your gleeful, transcendent, well-expressed feeling of “NO FEAR, a Republican administration may lead to the end of the world as we know it, and BRING IT ON”: I share & revel in those sentiments at times. Like, the day after Election Day, 2004. But not on actual election days. Not since my younger sister (in her zine Order a New World) noted that while she & I were probably always gonna survive, lots of folks lack that privilege. Or as Chomsky puts it, in a system of vast power, even minor differences (Dem. vs. Rep.) can result in major benefits to vast numbers of people. Who often aren’t even eligible to vote in the US, so I try to remember I’m voting on behalf of the planet. I do agree with you that it’s important to think in terms of RESULTS, and not just one’s own fears.
(And speaking of results: why would Palin hell strengthen the prospects of third party action? Have you checked out the election years in which third parties do best? Do they tend to come after Palin-type terms, or Clinton-type terms? I seriously don’t know, but it seems worth investigating.)
Correction to my error above: costs actually get subsidized not just for low-income folks, but for everyone making less than four times the Federal Poverty Level.
I’m not rooting for Palin. I don’t want the Democrats to fail, but I think they already have.
The benefits in the bill that you cite are all covered by loopholes inserted by insurance company lobbyists. Sad, but true. The worst thing is that the half-way good things don’t even go into effect for years, during which time the insurance companies will gouge as never before.
Where I’m coming from is that it’s fundamentally immoral to have our national health care delivered by companies who profit from denying care. They will find ways to get around any alleged restrictions, since there is no enforcement mechanism in the bill. It all depends on the political will of whatever administration is in power at the time, and that doesn’t give me much hope.
The companies will raise premiums astronomically in order to make up for the 85% thing. After all, 15% of 10 bucks is more than 15% of five. They supposedly won’t be allowed to deny people for pre-existing conditions except for “misrepresentation,” or making a mistake on your application. That’s the identical language in current law. They will also be allowed to sell policies that only pay 60% of the bill, and they will be allowed to charge older people 300% of what they charge others. THAT is how they’ll maintain their flow of profits, all of it at the expense of the people.
In short, the “good things” in the bill are there to distract us and shut us up. The bulk of the legislation is hideously corrupt, and I pray to God it doesn’t pass.
Thank you for your reasoned response, however. I’ve been viciously attacked in the comment threads on other blogs for saying these things.