It goes without saying

If one gets up on the wrong side of the bed he should grit his teeth in order to weather the storm ahead of him. By the same token arising from the right side of the bed leaves one bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, ready for anything the day has to offer . It goes without saying that the moral of this tale is that one should be sure that the left side of his bed is against the wall.

If it goes without saying why did I need to say it? On second thought it did not need to be said and will probably fall on deaf ears anyway.

Keep emotions out of health care reform

Watching the memorial service for Senator Edward Kennedy last night, I sensed that a strategy may evolve to push health care legislation through Congress as a legacy for the Senator. As much as I would like to see health care reform come to fruition , I also think it would be a mistake to evoke emotions over Kennedy's quest as a means to pass needed legislation. The legislation would be flawed ! Let the debate continue, but keep Kennedy out of it. Legislative skills, not memorials should get us what we need!

Dress Up Coffee

During a recent visit to the local supermarket, I was taken aback when my high primal thinking spouse asked me if we needed "dress up coffee". "Dress up coffee"? Upon further questioning I discovered that according to Marge " dress up coffee" is one of the premium brands of coffee such as Starbucks, Seattle's Best, Dunk & Donut - whichever happens to be on sale.

Confused? You have to understand that we are not coffee connoisseurs and can hardly tell the difference between Maxwell House and Starbucks coffee. On the other hand our children and grandchildren consider themselves connoisseurs. It is mandatory therefore that we have the premium brand coffee on hand for their visits. Brewing the premium coffee is like putting on your Sunday best, thus "dress up coffee".

So what is the opposite of " dress up coffee"? You guessed it - "everyday coffee". Our current choice of "everyday coffee" is Melitta ( the price is right). I must confess that in a pinch, it finds its way into the "dress up coffee". When that happens it doesn't go over or more accurately down very well. No one asks for a second cup.

Rugged Individualism & Health Care Reform

Many of the opponents of health care reform are often referred to as rugged individualists. Just what is a rugged individualist? Rugged individualism is characterized by the belief that most individuals can succeed on their own and that government help for people should be minimal. Rugged individualism may have been appropriate when our government was struggling to define itself but in today’s society, rugged individualism is a myth!

The complex and diverse society that we live in by default dictates that in order to survive we must be dependent on one another. Anyone that thinks he can go it alone is in denial. The affluent may feel a certain amount of independence from government but when push comes to shove as in our Great Recession, it is the affluent that look to government to protect their wealth ( they call it bailout). Does anyone really think that this country could have developed into a superpower without laws banning child labor, laws protecting a worker’s rights, laws protecting us from monopolistic corporations, laws protecting us from the spread of disease, laws making it possible for all to live the American Dream regardless of color, ethnic origin or wealth.

There are no rugged individualists. There are greedy, selfish individuals hiding behind a Madison Avenue type slogan. So called rugged individualism gave us the Crash of 1929, the Great Depression and yes, the Iraq War.

( Remember the Marlboro Man - he did a lot for lung cancer and skyrocketing health care costs.)

Rugged individualists would have us subscribe to one law only - maybe two. The law of the jungle and the law of the NRA. I prefer to live in a civilized society where we help one another with the help of government.

The Politics Of Rage

Apparently someone has decided that if reason is prevailing in a debate, the best offense to defeat an opponent is primitive rage. In recent health care town hall meetings, loud voices, obscenities and threats have come front and center. If rage can bring about chaos at a meeting perhaps our representatives who are eager to be elected will opt out of the fight. It just might work - it has before ( the pounding on Rostenkowki's car during the debate on catastrophic medical insurance in the eighties culminated in the abandonment of any meaningful health care reform for years).

The power of rage is that it causes the sane to shy away from forums such as town hall meetings which in turn is interpreted as a lack of interest by our leaders.

Rage is the tactic of a bully. We are taught not to tolerate bullies. Isn't it time not to tolerate political bullies? Take away their pulpit! End the meeting! Send them to anger management class. The Constitution grants us free speech not free unbridled rage. Wasn't it the rage of Nazi's that led to disaster for Germany.

As an aside I saw someone wearing a tee shirt proclaiming " Health care is a right, not a privilege". Fortunately no right winger came forth to rip the shirt off her back. Is my rage showing a little?

Bring Them Home - The Iraq War Is Over

It is refreshing that the debate on our presence in Iraq has surfaced again. As reported by The Times, Col. Timothy Reese, a senior American military adviser in Baghdad, calls “for the U.S. to declare victory and go home.” The Colonel has suggested that our troop be withdrawn 15 months ahead of schedule. This is an opportunity for Obama to invite Col. Reese to the Rose Garden Tavern for some bourbon on the rocks and an exchange of ideas.