The Commentariat -- Dec. 8, 2013
** David Simon, creator of "The Wire," on the "horror" of "two Americas." An extract, published in the Guardian, of a speech he delivered on the growing divide between rich & poor. CW: His take jibes perfectly with my own views.
Ezra Klein: "Obamacare’s real promise: if you lose your health-care plan, you can get a new one." Klein goes thru the list of ways Americans are vulnerable to losing their plans. "Virtually the only people whose health coverage is reasonably safe are those on fee-for-service Medicare and some forms of veterans insurance. And even there, enrollees are only safe until the day policymakers decide to change premiums or benefit packages." Thanks to contributor Ken W. for the link. ...
... BUT/AND. This is refreshing. Spero News: "Former Secretary of State Colin Powell said universal health care should be available to all Americans [sic.]. He was speaking at a charity event for prostate cancer survivors in Seattle. Powell told the audience that countries in Europe, Canada and South Korea offer universal, single-payer health care and said he often asks why the United States has not implemented the same system. 'Whether it's Obamacare, or son of Obamacare, I don't care,' Powell said. 'As long as we get it done.'" ...
... Chad Terhune of the Los Angeles Times: "Raising concerns about consumer privacy, California's health exchange has given insurance agents the names and contact information for tens of thousands of people who went online to check out coverage but didn't ask to be contacted." ...
... Jennifer Haberkorn of Politico: "Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval ... is the only Republican governor whose state is both running its own health insurance exchange this year and expanding its Medicaid program under the health law. He's arguably doing more to put the Democrats' signature law into place than any other Republican.... Even after sticking his neck out on Obamacare -- which few others in his party would consider amid fear of a conservative backlash -- Sandoval is overwhelmingly popular in Nevada. State lawmakers backed his Obamacare approach on a bipartisan basis, and he's cruising toward reelection next year with no formidable opponent in sight." ...
Donkey Hotey.... Robert Farley of FactCheck.org: "House Speaker John Boehner says his premiums will double, and his deductible will triple, under the Affordable Care Act. That's true, but it is misleading to compare Boehner with the 'many Americans seeing their costs go up,' as his spokesman Brendan Buck has put it. Boehner's experience with the Affordable Care Act is extremely atypical compared to most Americans. His rates -- which include the cost of insuring his wife -- are doubling because of the couple's age and high income, and a special provision in the law that forced members of Congress out of their employer-sponsored plans.... Rep. Joaquin Castro of Texas -- who is 25 years younger than Boehner -- will pay about half of what he is now paying."
Another Big Pharma Rip-off. Peter Whorisky & Dan Keating of the Washington Post explains how pharmaceutical company Genentech, a division of the Roche Group, is raking in more than $1 billion a year for a drug that is nearly identical to one of their own drugs that sells for 1/40th of that price. "Roughly 80 percent of U.S. sales are paid for by Medicare and its beneficiaries."
** Alec MacGillis of the New Republic: "Those media hysterics who said Obama's presidency was dead were wrong. Again.... this has been an especially inglorious stretch for Beltway hyperventilators. First came the government shutdown and the ensuing declamations about the crack-up of the Republican Party. Then, with whiplash force, came the obituaries for the Obama presidency. The Washington press corps has been reduced to the state of the tennis-watching kittens in this video":
Bradley Klapper & Darlene Superville of the AP: "President Barack Obama said Saturday he believed the chances for a comprehensive nuclear agreement with Iran are 50-50 or worse, yet defended diplomacy as the best way to prevent Tehran from acquiring atomic weapons."
AP: "The National Security Agency on Friday said its tracking of cellphones overseas is legally authorized under a sweeping U.S. presidential order. The distinction means the extraordinary surveillance program is not overseen by a secretive U.S. intelligence court but is regulated by some U.S. lawmakers, Obama administration insiders and inspectors general."
Maureen Dowd reflects on President Woodrow Wilson, sexy lover & confirmed racist.
Thomas Bishop of Media Matters has an excellent rundown of right-wing criticisms of Pope Francis. Many are likening him to Satanic cult leader Barack Obama. Can't get worse than that. The ever-tasteful Rush Limbaugh shrieked, "The pope, ripping Ronaldus Magnus. The pope, ripping trickle-down economics. And Obama's having an orgasm. Jeremiah Wright is beside himself. Jeremiah Wright thought he was Obama's preacher, now [the] pope somehow has co-opted Obama." ...
... Steve Benen: "In the larger context, note that when the Obama administration moves the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See closer to the Vatican, the right deems it 'anti-religion.' When conservative[s] slam the pope's economic views, that's fine."
Senate Race
Separation of Church & State? Not in Arkansas. This is perhaps the most cringe-worthy ad ever by a major Democratic candidate -- beating out Joe Manchin's shot at the cap-&-trade bill:
... The National Republican Senatorial Committee criticized Pryor by pointing to a remark he made last year: "The Bible is really not a rule book for political issues. Everybody can see it differently." The NRSC asks, "So is the Bible Mark Pryor's compass...? Or is it really not a good rule book for political issues and decisions made in the Senate? Guess it depends on which Mark Pryor that you ask." Via Tal Kopan of Politico. ...
... CW: In a humorous twist, the spokesman for GOP senatorial candidate Tom Cotton shot back: "That is an incredibly bizarre and offensive email from the NRSC's press secretary. We should all agree that America is better off when all our public officials in both parties have the humility to seek guidance from God." Yeah, it's always a good idea to argue about religion. ...
... Frank Bruni: "... while it's tempting to attribute this silliness to a Southern politician's need to appeal to the Christian fundamentalists prevalent in that region, the Arkansas episode is indicative of how thoroughly Americans from coast to coast let religion permeate public life."
News Ledes
New York Times: "Protesters in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, toppled the city's main statue of Lenin on Sunday and then pounded it into chips with a sledgehammer as a crowd chanted and cheered. The destruction of the statue was a cathartic moment in the biggest day of demonstrations so far against President Viktor F. Yanukovich's turn away from Europe."
AP: "A powerful storm system that spread hazardous snow, sleet and freezing rain widely across the nation's midsection rumbled toward the densely populated Eastern seaboard on Sunday, promising more of the same. Forecasters said the potent system already blamed for numerous power outages and thousands of weekend flight cancellations elsewhere, has Virginia and other Mid-Atlantic states in its icy sights before the Northeast is up next."
New York Times: "Atomic experts representing the United Nations nuclear watchdog landed in Tehran on Saturday to inspect a plant recently opened to them, after access was denied for years."
AFP: "South Korea Sunday declared an expanded air defence zone that overlaps with one announced by China and covers a submerged rock disputed by the two countries, as tensions rise over competing territorial claims."
AFP: Israeli "Economy Minister Naftali Bennett on Sunday proposed that Israel annex parts of the West Bank under its full military control where most Jewish settlers live."
AP: "Thailand's main opposition party resigned from Parliament on Sunday to protest what it called 'the illegitimacy' of a government with which it can no longer work. The move deepens the country's latest political crisis one day before new street demonstrations that many fear could turn violent."
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Reader Comments (18)
Following my tepid endorsement of the ACA yesterday, Ezra Klein rode in on his white horse and told me why I should have been more enthusiastic about the law despite its many shortcomings: You might lose your crappy plan, (and he enumerates the many ways) but you can no longer be refused medical insurance altogether. That is a BIG deal, too easily lost sight of.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2013/12/07/obamacares-real-promise-if-you-lose-your-health-care-plan-you-can-get-a-new-one/
My apologies that the link includes the WAPO comment thread on the article. I was reminded of why (except for WonkBlog) I don't consult the WAPO often these days, unless directed to by the CW or the wise RC commenters.
Comment removed; content not related to politics or other current events.
Hall Monitor
Re: Healthcare. We all at RC have said it many times: the Rube Goldberg system the US has sucks big time. We need single-payer. My preference would be for something like the UK has, but Medicare for all would do.
Socialized Medicine! Rationing! Death Panels! I can hear the screams of the right already. If our system is so great, how come countries with single payer are healthier, live longer, and spend less on healthcare?
During the 2012 election, the good "Christians" up here in North Georgia were all in a lather that someone, somewhere would get something from the government s/he didn't deserve, such as Medicaid. Left unsaid in my company at least was especially blah people. Their solution- don't give anybody anything. Everybody out for themselves. What a country! These are the same people who prattle about how Jesus "saved" them.
Thank you for the David Simon link–– a very well positioned piece and by the way, "The Wire" is a terrific series. I especially liked his discussion of community. I was thinking of the word Communist during a walk the other day and although we know it is in essence a failed ideology within that word is commune which morphs into community and the basic tenet of this word means we take care of one another––we care about the little guy––we look at our country as a whole and do what is best for the whole lot of us––-we work together––unions and corporations––employers and employees and although some will fare better than others, few should be out there scraping the barrel. As Simon says–––we had this kind of country once. I remember it.
Re: Limbaugh: I think of him as an oversized white blender whose audience is like cream that he whips up to a frenzy. A perfect example of what's rotten on the airways.
Just finished reading the David Simon's Guardian extract CW linked today "...the growing divide between rich & poor." It took me quite a while.
Each paragraph made me stop to think. I saw the faces of people, neighbors, people who have jobs (sort of)—or maybe two or three who are struggling to get by. It's the faces of the retirees who stand behind the checkout counter where I buy groceries...all day on their feet. One frail woman (she can't weigh more than 90 lbs if that) who sometimes bags my groceries, the one who stands on her feet day after day...(the head scarf is gone, her hair is growing back now after chemo treatments from a year ago). But, there she stands... and somehow manages to have a smile and say hello, have-a-nice-day. She can't earn much. Some days I encounter the blond-haired kid with dreadlocks at the gas station or the older 40's guy with an attitude. Minimum wage jobs. Little future.
A certain polite anonymity is maintained. We see them and don't always 'see' them. The people about whom we often rail, " Why don't they vote? Why do they watch Fox news? Why do they seem to vote against their own interests? Why don't they pay attention to what is happening in this country? What's wrong with them?"
Nothing.
They are just too damn tired trying to make it through the day.
"Why don't they get angry? Why don't they protest?"
They are just too damn tired trying to make it through the day.
As the divide continues grows disproportionally more lopsided, Simon asks, "...how does this get better?" "...Maybe it will be the brick." "...enough people standing on the outside of this mess that somebody's going to pick up a brick, because you know when people get to the end there's always the brick. I hope we go for the first option but I'm losing faith."
Until then, they are just trying to make it through the day.
Hmm. Once you begin to see religion, you begin to see how it gets in everywhere:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MlnnWbkMlbg#t=0
Cults, too, they crop up like mushrooms. What some people in the know have to say:
http://moderndoomsdaycult.com/
Seems like a very bad basis for relationships in general, and a disastrous one for government. Corporations can run very much like cults, so I would never trust them with my government. Or my judiciary. But darn, they are persistent. If government, religion, and business all get into bed together, do you think we will see universal rights for citizens? I'll take my democracy a la carte.
And watch out for that tech wave, it's going to be a doozy.
http://www.wired.com/opinion/2013/11/silicon-valley-isnt-a-meritocracy-and-the-cult-of-the-entrepreneur-holds-people-back/
Barbarossa, let me say it again. THE REASON we have the 'healthcare' system we have is MONEY. We are the only nation with a healthcare 'industry'. It is all about money, literally nothing else matters.
Todd, a cult is a group of no more than 10,000 people with strange , bizarre beliefs. A religion is a group of 10,001or more people with strange, bizarre beliefs.
I'd like to second PD's response to the David Simon link.
The Wire is a truly extraordinary effort, Dickensian in its scope and focus on the intractability of the social/economic/political problems of the milieu it covers.
Without qualification, I rate it the single best series in the history of television.
Simon was a reporter for the Baltimore Sun for years and his co-creator of the Wire, Ed Burns worked as a homicide detective for decades before moving to the Baltimore public school system. Both Simon and Burns have eyes and ears for impeccable, chiseled detail and a feel for place, language, and the various tribes of Baltimore, the drug dealers, residents of both sides of the city, dock workers, politicians and hacks (and the political calculus the drives everyone), the teachers, and the media.
All five seasons unfold like a Dickens novel with a raft of characters and situations that roll out across the cityscape. Victories are rare and fleeting, defeat and despair ever present. The many solutions are compromised as is nearly everyone immersed in the malaise. The few who try to stay to some kind of code of honor (even one particular character whose "job" is knocking over drug lords for their money) are killed or crushed. It is realism of the kind you'd get from Balzac or Frank Norris.
Wouldn't you just love to see this kind of thing done about official Washington?
I cannot recommend it too highly.
A few samples:
Bal'more detectives stress the importance of English
Drug lords learn to act like Republicans, or maybe it's the other way 'round.
Politicians, Po-lice, and sheeeeeiiiit
Re; The lying Pope and the Jesus machine; You've got to like listening to the bible thumpers back away from god's messenger on earth. Dollars to doughnuts if Jesus was Jesus today as in" the meek will inherit the earth" he would be an example of ridicule for the self-righteous. Asswipes.
Kitties; I like kitties. "Eyes on the ball, bend the knees; that will be fifty dollars please." Mantra of the teaching pro.
I'd like to add my voice to the chorus thanking CW for the link to the Simon article and to laud the series "The Wire."
I agre with Akhilleus that it is the single best series ever aired on American television, and one of the great political allegories of any sort. If you haven't seen it, make sure you do. Utterly brilliant.
Here is an example of why the ACA, or any other system, even single payer, program to underwrite our existing heath care enterprise is doomed until we address the underlying economics. Unfortunately, any movement to address this problem is labeled "death panels."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/an-effective-eye-drug-is-available-for-50-but-many-doctors-choose-a-2000-alternative/2013/12/07/1a96628e-55e7-11e3-8304-caf30787c0a9_print.html
Plus: One more thanks for the Simon link, and threaded comments. BTW, as a native of NOLA and with much family (way) down there, Treme also gets it spot on, with more doses of good and bad on top of the ugly.
I guess Mark Pryor didn't read the directive from CW the other day. I wasted 31 seconds of my life listening to his ad and I can't get that time back.
"Are you taking notes about this criminal conspiracy?" - AK's citation on the youtube video about drug gangs/pharma businesses. Just as the Japanese zaibatsu/big business cartel led their nation into a devastating conflict because of a lack of citizen review, we too are being led down the road to ruin due to a similar lack of big-business accountability. I vote with my dollars every time I go to the stores. Pass it on.
If Inappropriate, please delete, CW.
http://www.patheos.com/blogs/friendlyatheist/2012/12/20/atheist-banner-in-pennsylvania-taken-down-and-replaced-with-an-american-flag/
"At this Season of Winter Solstice, Let Reason Prevail.
There are no gods, no devils, no angels no heaven or hell. There is only our Natural World ..."
I could not put the image on this post.
too bad Pennsylvania replaced it.
mae finch
To Marie Burns,
Thank you for having this site. You perform a wonderful service.
And a salute to the posters, who point to articles, rant, cheer or just comment.
Comment removed. Off-topic.
Poor, poor Johnny Boehner! Does not this ass wipe realize that if D.C. charged smokers 50% more for their health insurance, (as do quite a few states) he would have to pay up, since he is a nicotine addict?
From Yahoo:
..."The bottom line could have been worse for Boehner. Under the Affordable Care Act, insurance companies can charge smokers, such as Boehner, up to 50 percent more — unless a state expressly prohibits charging higher premiums based on tobacco use. Washington, D.C., happens to be one of the few that does not allow insurance companies to charge extra for smokers."
Weepy John is just lucky he does not live in Oregon--actually, for many reasons! His weirdness is not the Portland variety. He would be shunned!
Actually, Kate, I wish Boehner did live here. We could get rid of him in the next cycle with minimum effort.
And I neglected to point out that David Simon produced Treme as well, with many in the same cast.
Ah, Wilkes Barre...that's where my parents were from. I've been there, and there's no there there (pace Gertrude Stein). When I was at Penn State, pursuing the PhD I never completed (for reasons I won't go into here) I often remarked that Pennsylvania is part of the deep south that is ignorant of geography.
I couldn't wait to return to my home town in Michigan, where a couple years ago a friend and I noticed a sign in a downtown storefront wishing everyone a "Joyous Yule." Ann Arbor is a place where atheists and agnostics, pagans and Wiccans, Buddhists, Baha'is and every other "non-Abrahamic" religion -- or non-religion -- is welcomed and even celebrated.
Nevertheless, we atheists are underrepresented in every statistical analysis and poll, and as of yesterday, I know why. I got a call from a pollster who was looking for someone named John, but when I told him I wasn't John and I live alone with my dog (who also isn't John) he said it wasn't a problem and if I was willing, I could take the poll. Since I'm opinionated and love to share I said yes.
The two things about this political poll that are best and worst are first (best) that although my congressional representative is John Dingell, whom I like, this poll covered Kerry Bentivolio, who is in my opinion an execration. So I got to give him an F-minus on every question. Made my day.
Second (worst) when we got around to the demographic information, the "religious affiliation" question allowed only for the following: Protestant, Catholic, Jewish, Muslim, Other, No Religious Affiliation. I asked the caller where the "atheist" category was and he said there wasn't one. No atheist, no agnostic, no secular humanist, none of them. So I had to be listed as "no religious affiliation." And that, boys and girls, is why we atheists are so underrepresented in statistics about religious affiliation in this country.