One Step Forward, One Step Back

That's one small step for health care, one giant leap backward for U.S. energy policy.

In the wake of last week's relative victory for health care reform, President Obama decided today to shift the big fast car from fourth gear directly into reverse by ending the ban on drilling for oil along the Atlantic coast.

I see this as the same kind of mistake that the U.S. Mint has made each time it has tried to introduce a $1 coin into general circulation.  Why do you suppose we still use dollar bills far more than dollar coins?  It's because the Mint refuses to actually REPLACE the bills with the coins.  If you want to introduce a new form of currency to supplant an old one, you have to take the old one out of circulation.

I Wish I Could Write Like Maureen Dowd

Maureen Dowd has a turn of phrase to die for.  My last nine years of technical writing experience has obviously blunted my ability to one day craft a phrase like Dowd's that is as lyrical as it is stinging.

Part of it is practice, obviously.  If I wrote opinion columns instead of engineering manuals, I might at least stand a chance.  Part of it too is material.  Being a part of the Washington press corps, and among the D.C. news elite would be enough to give anyone ammunition to write something sensational.

As a person, she's a tough nut to crack.  Her feminist viewpoints may rub some the wrong way, but she does, after all, have a woman's point of view.  And as a woman in a generally male-dominated job, maybe she needs to speak just a bit louder to be heard.

Equally at home criticizing President George W. for being lazy, and President Bill Clinton for being a lying womanizer, no one seems immune from her gaze.  If she has an agenda, it seems to be to provide a wake up call to those who go through life half asleep.

And maybe that's the way a lot of columnists should operate.  Call out those who have it coming, regardless of their politics or prior good deeds.  Praise those who deserve it.

And always do it with eloquence.

Connecticut News Alternatives

I began to read what are called "alternative newspapers" years ago as a poor graduate student.  Okay, it was because they were free and I couldn't afford a subscription to "real" paper, but the locally-focused journalism to be found among the ads for strip clubs and escort services was always top notch.

The same holds true today for the Connecticut-based New Haven Independent, Connecticut Mirror, and CT News Junkie.  Each site focuses on local issues, events, and points of view with journalistic flair.   Surprisingly, all three sites manage to do this without advertising, relying on grants from foundations or the support of local readers.

The Independent is intensely focused on stories from within New Haven, or on how statewide issues affect New Haven.  Stories about gang violence, environmental activism, and community development fill the page, providing very human stories to be found in the city's varied neighborhoods.

Information Alone Does Not Make One Smart

I remember how excited I was to have my very own library card when I was a kid.  I could pick out whatever books I wanted, take them home, and enjoy them at my leisure.  As I got older, that card allowed me to do research for homework topics and get study aids for exams.

Admittedly, as an adult, I don't use my library card much anymore, preferring to look up information on the Internet, usually starting with a Google search.

Nicolas Carr asked the question, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" in the July/August 2008 edition of The Atlantic.  True, Google is certainly changing the way people look for information.  But is this means of searching for information, and the ways in which it has changed how we approach a problem that needs solving, made us stupid?  Well...

The GOP Should Stay Away from Tea

In the interest of full disclosure, the Democratic Party is not "left" enough for me.

Which means it is a rare occasion that I will give the Republican Party some well-meaning advice:  stay away from the Tea Party.  Seriously, just walk away.

Given the violence and vandalism of the last few days that have been perpetrated on various Democratic members of Congress, it is clear that Tea Partiers are more about fanatic zealotry than any kind of rational thought or ideals.

And this violence is over something as relatively benign as health care for U.S. citizens.  What would be happening if instead of health care, Congress had been considering going to war with another country?  Oh, sorry, I guess we already did that one.  I guess helpful domestic agendas are all that's fair game right now.

A Vote for Progress Not Fear

According to Rep. Boehner of Ohio, the American people are "frightened" of the health care reform bill that narrowly passed in a vote late Sunday.

What exactly are they afraid of?  Are they afraid that when they apply for health insurance for their diabetic child they'll actually get coverage at a price that leaves enough in the household budget for heat in the winter?  Are they afraid that if they lose their job, they'll be able to continue to get health insurance at a rate they can pay until they find work again?

Those questions don't even make sense.  No one is afraid of being able to see a doctor and get treatment and still be able to buy food.  No one is afraid of not owing a hospital thousands of dollars for treatment of a loved one.

The government is stepping in and telling the insurance companies to stop screwing the American people, and it's about time.  And while it is not going to result in a perfect system, it will result in a better one.  Yesterday, House Speaker Pelosi was right in saying they were voting for progress.  Let's hope that progress keeps marching forward.

The Truth About Socialized Medicine

My first stint in graduate school was at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.  Having seen the Canadian health system at work, I can say, unequivocally, and without reservation, that universal health care works.

During my time in Vancouver, a good friend and lab mate of my wife came down with a nasty kidney infection.  She checked into the University Hospital, had a shared room with one other person, for a couple of the six or seven days of her stay, and, when she was better, she signed on the dotted line and was released.  She was good as new, and payed exactly nothing out of pocket -- zero dollars -- for her entire hospital stay.

As any starving graduate student in the U.S. would know, a hospital stay of a week or more would mean having to decide between paying for a semester's worth of classes, or paying for the treatment of whatever sickness with which they were afflicted.  There would be no way to accomplish both.

Many years later after returning to the U.S., I got to see what high-deductible, low-cost insurance provides for low-wage and small business employees in the U.S.  And while my sister in law received decent treatment for her cancer after she was diagnosed, it came far too late in the game.  If she'd had Canadian-style insurance that had allowed her to afford simple regular checkups that might have caught the tumor early, she might still be alive today.