Spencesite

Why the Republicans are Simply Wrong on Healthcare

// March 21st, 2010 // 3 Comments » // Philosophy & Politics

There are occasions when I hear such a ridiculous argument advanced that I feel compelled to speak up about it. Don’t get me wrong–both liberals and conservatives have their ideologues who simply push forth sophist litanies which do nothing to advance debate, but are specifically designed to obscure and misinform.

One such occasion was this evening, when Representative Paul Ryan, R-WIS, strode up to the podium on the floor the House, and proceeded to regurgitate a talking point by the Republican party and their apparatchiks in the Tea Party (note that not all of the Tea Party has been subverted by the GOP, just most of it–I am also amused by the formation of the anti-Tea Party, the Coffee Party). That point? Well, of course the watered down healthcare reform bill was evil, as it was an affront to the values of our founding fathers by virtue of it’s socialist nature: by providing government involvement in healthcare, you, in effect, threaten the free market ideals by which this nation was built.

Of course, that’s hogwash. To understand how ludicrous this assertion is, just sit back and think about what that line of thought asserts: that any involvement of the government into a market threatens those markets by taking over them–and we all know that the government is incompetent to run anything. Really? First of all, even our own markets aren’t free of the government…government oversight is a recognized necessity in order to enforce the ground rules (witness what happened with Enron when the government failed to do so, or even more sadly, the banking fiasco that lead to our current recession). The fact is, government plays a critical and necessary role in regulating systems and structures necessary to the daily functioning of our society. Imagine if government were NOT involved in our judicial system? What is the alternative? Have courts run by corporations? I think not.

Speaking of which, there’s one rather significant example of how the government can and does run something very competently–and it’s something the Republicans would be wise to consider: our nation’s defense. The military, my dear hyperbolic-fear-inducing friends, is the very definition of a government run agency. And, oh my, we are even TAXED to support this institution. Gods forbid. The US Military must foreshadow the imminent fall of this nation–and it’s ideals. Except, of course, that’s ludicrous. Is Washington arrogant in having the world’s pre-eminent military? Does Washington know better when it comes to the military? Well, it seems so. Back in the days of state militias, we did not have the world’s leading military, did we? In fact, ask anyone in the Pentagon if going back to a state militia force structure would be preferable to what we have today and you’d be greeted with disbelief (not to mention it would be in violation of the US Constitution).

The irony of it all? Well, our military hospitals are widely considered to be some of the best in the world. Walter Reed is the hospital of the President of the United States, afterall. In fact, after a disgraceful period in which VA Hospitals were considered subpar, they have experienced a remarkable turn around and are now regarded as some of the top hospitals in the nation. And guess what, my anti-Healthcare reform friends? They are government run.

All of this is not news to those who oppose this bill. In fact, they are acutely aware of it (as they are the same folks who typically support the Military-Defense industry). So, knowing this, one can only conclude that they are simply being, at the most generous, disingenuous, or more likely, purposefully misleading. Their greatest fear? That this bill will go into effect, and that Americans might realize that the bill is actually good for them and not good for the insurance and healthcare corporations which profit off the pain and sufferings of our fellow countrymen.

Why Palin Should Never Be President

// February 7th, 2010 // No Comments » // Opinion, Philosophy & Politics

Over the weekend, former governor Sarah Palin gave the keynote speech to the Tea Party Convention held in Nashville, TN. During the Q&A session (after her speech in which she, amusingly, mocked President Obama for his use of teleprompters), Palin used her own version of prompting…albeit an old school, low tech version: crib notes scribbled on her palm with, what looks to be a sharpie:

Sarah Palin answers Scripted Qs at Tea Party Convention

So what’s the big deal?
Simply put, it’s the content of the crib notes which is disturbing. Keep in mind, this Q&A session included questions that Palin was made aware of before the session…in essence, she knew what would be asked of her. One of the questions was “what three things would you do if you were elected President”. The crib notes on her hand was, in effect, her answer: concentrate on energy initiatives, cut taxes, and “lift the American spirit”–code for making religion an integral part of her administration.

What’s problematic here is that these are supposedly her core beliefs…and she had to consult crib notes on her low-tech prompter–sharpie notes written on her palm…

Close up of Palin\'s hand during the Q&A session

Close up of text on her hand at a subsequent press conference.

Why Palin Should Never Be President
Tea Party advocates (and right wingnuts aside), there seem to be a disturbingly large number of individuals in the US that would like to see Palin as President. But to those people I ask a simple question:

If Palin needs crib notes to answer simple questions about her core beliefs, how would she react to a true crisis?

This is not simply an attempt to pile-on Palin here–it’s a legit question. Think about it for a second: the only reason why Palin would write answers as to her core beliefs in her hand is if she was worried she’d forget them in the glare of the lights while on stage. What in the world would she do in the glare of the lights of the world stage? How could we have any confidence that she would not act like a deer caught in the headlights when a real crisis confronted her?

How could we have any confidence that she would not act like a deer caught in the headlights when a real crisis confronted her?

The thought of Mrs. Palin in this position, frankly, scares the hell out of me–and it’s why, my friends, regardless of her politics, regardless of her beliefs (and whether you agree with them or not), Sarah Palin should never be in a position where a crisis may demand her to make a split-second decision in which the lives of Americans rests with that decision. We simply can’t trust that she’d not panic, as she has done repeatedly on the campaign trail during the 2008 elections–and evidently still suffers from.

The Politics of Misleading Accusations: Disaster Relief in Haiti

// January 17th, 2010 // No Comments » // Philosophy & Politics

Recently, with the earthquake disaster in Haiti, I have noticed a marked uptick in the criticism of the disaster relief efforts aimed at helping the people of Haiti with care and support. Accusations of a flat-footed response, cries that the relief is “too slow”. Bemoanings by some that the efforts have a political twinge. To which I can only shake my head in wonder: is this what we’ve become? A nation that simply complains without facts, without educating ourselves as to the realities of the situation? Are we really that shallow?

Some facts about the Haiti relief efforts: The United States has committed more to the relief efforts of any other nation, group, or organization. The US administration has committed $100M to Haiti’s relief efforts. The people of the United States are on track to beat the $2B in donations they made to the Tsunami disaster of 2004. Compare this to the $10M commited by the United Nations, or the $5M committed by Japan–or the $1M commited by China. No nation on the face of the planet is as generous as the United States in times of disaster. And we’ve not even tallied up how much the US commitment in troops and emergency response teams will cost the country–all at a time when the United States is experiencing the worse fiscal crisis it’s had since the Great Depression. No one, absolutely no one can argue that the people of the United States aren’t incredibly generous and giving. And it’s something that I wonder if the rest of the world realize? It’s definitely something that political operatives in the United States–who have a vested interest in playing down–have been curiously ignorant of. In fact, instead of being proud of the response of the United States (and it is a response by the entire country–not just one political party), they instead focus on negative points–all of which are lacking in any substance. In essence, they’re lying. For political gain.

Myth: The Response by the United States has been slow
Really? The United States responded within 24 hours to send emergency rescue teams to Haiti. Other nations also responded within this time. As soon as the magnitude of the disaster was realized, the US immediately began mobilizing it’s resources to aid the Caribbean nation–activating reservists, mobilizing military assets to provide law enforcement and engineering resources, as well as private organizations mobilizing their efforts to gather together necessary disaster relief supplies (tents, high energy food rations, medicine, etc.). Four US Coast Guard ships are dispatched as immediate aid for Haiti.

Within 48 hours, assets were on the move, shipping from the major ports of the US in the Gulf and East coast. US military assets started moving, including the USS Carl Vincent–one of the country’s largest aircraft carriers–which sped at 30 knots (it’s top speed) to Haiti, picking up helicopters enroute which flew out to the carrier without it slowing down off the coast of Florida. American relief flights started arriving in Port-au-Prince. US Coast Guard ships begin operations, beginning reconnaissance missions to begin to understand what areas of Haiti have been most heavily damaged. US military assets from Guantanamo Bay begin emergency relief flights to Haiti. The US flies doctors from around the country to man the USS Comfort–and floating hospital, carrying over 500 doctors and medical staff.

72 hours after the quake: The US Marine Corps started immediately loading an amphibious landing ship (the USS Bataan) after an emergency call-up of forces were rallied in North Carolina the day before, having loaded and launched the Bataan within 24 hours of call-up. The Carl Vincent arrived off the coast of Port-au-Prince and began coordinating flights into the capital city. The American Red Cross announced that it had received an outpouring of $10M from private US donations for Haiti relief–the quickest it had ever reached $10M in donations in its history. Initial private relief efforts deploy, field hospitals are set up. Food distribution begins. After loading medical supplies, the USS Comfort launches for Haiti.

96 hours after the quake: US military assets begin relief operations in earnest. Relief efforts from US private organizations start to arrive on-scene. US military engineers begin assessing and repairing Haiti port facilities. Initial efforts at law enforcement and coordinated humanitarian efforts with joint US military and private organizations begin; USS Bataan arrives offshore of Haiti.

With that, how can anyone say the US response has been “slow”? How can anyone criticize the rapidity of the US response? The US (government and private organizations) could not have responded and deployed their assets any faster–it’s physically impossible to get assets there any quicker. In fact, the response was so overwhelming that the air traffic over Port-au-Prince ran into congestion issues. Yet, seeking political gain, some in the US (and abroad) have decried the “slow” US response. Do facts and reality matter at all to these people? Of course not: it’s all about politics, afterall.

The US should be incredibly proud of the response. The administration, the people of the US have shown the world (again) that this nation’s generosity is overwhelming in times of need. We proved it in 2004 with the Asian Tsunami, we’re proving it again today with Haiti. The single blemish on this record was the admittedly flat-footed response to an American disaster, New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. It is somewhat ironic that the US seems to respond better to other nation’s disasters, than to it’s own. That said, to those who are attempting to portray the United States as somehow slow on it’s response to Haiti: shame. Either educate yourself as to the facts, or if you are aware of them, stop attempting to use the massive suffering of the Haitian people for your own political gains. There has to be a special place in Hell reserved for such people, and it’s up to the rest of us to not only call them out when they attempt their despicable attempts at manipulation…we are better than that, and we are better than them. Today, I am reminded as to why I am incredibly proud to be an American.