Another Example of Special Interest Politics: Dr. Peter Dreier’s “Waffling Democrats’ Health Care Hypocrisy”.

As we are waiting for the final bloody battle of health care reform, the final stage of compromising between the “House” and senate bills, I wish you (if you hadn’t read it yet) to read Professor Dreier’s blog “Waffling Democrats’ Health Care Hypocrisy.” Dr. Dreier educates us on how “Bribed” Senators Joe Lieberman, Max Baucus, Ben Nelson, Mary Landrieu, Blanche Lincoln and Kent Conrad discriminate the US public against military service men and veterans. These senators supported to provide “Public Plan” to military service men and veterans in the name of Veterans Administration (VA), but fight hard against providing the same “Public Plan” to us “the Public”? Why, on earth, do they have this right of discriminating the US population based on whether they are in military uniform or not?

Apparently, the existing “Public Plan”, the VA, has proved to become the most efficient, best functioning “Public Plan” over any other options in US history. If this had been the case, why these Senators keep denying, attacking the “Public Plan”? Taking “Ethics/Moral” Classes and Tests should be the prerequisites to become US senator. I wish, President Obama recovers well from his extreme tiredness of first year of presidency in Hawaii and gets into his best shape to get ready for the final battle ground of health care reform. He has listened to and respected everybody else’s opinions well up to now. This is the best and last chance for him to push himself, his own determination onto everybody else on the health care reform. 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/peter-dreier/waffling-democrats-health_b_376578.html

This is also a good example of my previous blog, “A Nation of “Two Heads”: The Government vs. The Multi-Headed Medusa of Powerful Industries.”

http://mikyunglim.wordpress.com/2009/12/14/a-nation-of-%e2%80%9ctwo-heads%e2%80%9d-the-government-vs-the-multi-headed-medusa-of-powerful-industries/

“The Republican Way: Keeping Everything The Way It Is”

In his blog post, “The Republican Way: Keeping Everything The Way It Is,” actor Alec Baldwin educates the public on the real issues behind closed-door US politics, policy shaping, and wars. He exposes “what actually determined US engagement in war in Iraq” – “OIL” interest; “why US insurance companies don’t want reform” – “to maintain monopoly power.”

Mr. Baldwin’s blog reminds me of a story I heard from an old gentleman who used to work as a war film maker long time ago. He said the same thing as Mr. Baldwin. It was “OIL” interest that caused US to engage in wars including Vietnamese War. He said he was in Iraq and Vietnam during wars to make films. It was Vietnam War during which he visited the US military headquater located in Vietnam. He told me how he was puzzled and upset to see the inside of the headquater. The inside was covered with the map of oil pipes that were located throughout and around the Vietnam. The US military was using the map of Vietnamese oil pipes as the base of shaping its military strategies during the war. This may be one of hidden stories that individuals witnessed but seldom had chances to talk to public. As a relatively ignorant person regarding wars, I wish my memory doesn’t betray me in remembering this story.

Mr. Baldwin’s blog, I believe, is an exposure of true political issues and a good example of my previous blog post, A Nation of “Two Heads”: The Government vs. The Multi-Headed Medusa of Powerful Industries.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/alec-baldwin/the-republican-way-keepin_b_369123.html

“Is US Senate Dysfunctional?”

Having some form of health care reform is of course better than giving it up completely. Prof. Paul Krugman is right in his NY Times article “A Dangerous Dysfunction” of December 21, 2009. Under the current  Senate rule, there is no way to achieve any meaningful work done in Senate. Definitely, it is necessary to introduce a new rule that requires  simple majority to pass a bill in Senate. On the other hand, it is puzzlesome that Senate Majority leader Harry Reid didn’t opt to use budget reconciliation to pass the health care reform bill “With Public Plan”, instead of securing filibuster-free 60 votes “Without Public Plan,” dropping the core of the health care reform in the negotiation process. He had a choice of keeping “Public Plan” in the final bill if he had been willing to push it hard. Why did he decide not to choose that option?

My Comment on NY Times Opinion “A Dangerous Dysfuction” by Paul Krugmann (12/20/2009).

http://community.nytimes.com/comments/www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/opinion/21krugman.html?sort=oldest&offset=6

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/21/opinion/21krugman.html?src=twt&twt=NytimesKrugman

Jim Campbell, Maine Republican, Leaves Party Over ‘Failure To Address’ Health Care

There is a decent person among politicians, who is fed up with the obstruction done on the process of health care refom.

This person is Jim Campbell, Maine Republican. He left GOP, saying that “I hope to send a message to the Republican Party – and the Democratic Party – that enough is enough; it is time to stop blocking progress in the hope of partisan gain.”

It’s great to see that there is someone out there with this kind of courage and principle.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/12/18/jim-campbell-maine-republ_n_397403.html

National Need to Shift Media Focus from Mr. Obama to Special Interest Politics.

We have witnessed the amazing turnarounds of health care and financial reforms and the hurricane of public criticism and defending of what Mr. Obama has done right or wrong. What I sense is, the public and media are focusing on a wrong subject. Mr. Obama is not the cause of the current crisis but one of witnesses who happens to be in charge of dealing with it. He’s reactions are simply “Reactions” to the Actions of the Causes, not the cause himself.

What I believe is, there “Must” be the shift of “Public, Media Focus”

From “What Mr. Obama is “Doing Wrong”

To “How Powerful, Insurmountable Industries’ Special Interest Politics have been and ruined this country, and the National Need for increased “Media Investigation, Analyses, and Exposure of Their Dirty Tactics to Politically Win, Their Misconducts Against the Welfare of People, and Their Linkage / Contracts to those a few Democratic Dissidents or GOP Politicians against major reform bills.

I believe, it is essential to “focus on and dismantle the “Real Causes” of current Crisis, rather than being obsessed with criticizing what Mr. Obama is doing in response to the current political situations dictated by the “Hypnotizing Spell” of Special Interests.

Leaving the causes of disease (Industrial Special Interests Politics) free while only barking at the side-symptom (Mr. Obama’s Reaction-Politics) alone works for nothing. There should be a “Serious Shift of  Media, Public Attention.”

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/jacob-heilbrunn/please-cut-obama-some-sla_b_395819.html

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/derek-shearer/obamas-first-year-a-nobel_b_387964.html

Can the Obama White House Course-Correct in Time to Avoid Hitting the 2010 Iceberg?

No. I believe there was a news report in which an expert (sorry, forgot the name) said that the recovery of job situation, the return of unemployment level to the normal level will probably take a decade. We may expect the complete recovery to take more or so between 5-10 yrs. In between, we will see the signs of gradual recovery over a few years.
In long-term, globalization means, the wealth, living standard, and wage rates will gradually decline while other fast growing developing countries, such as China, India, Brazil, will greatly improve their corresponding levels. Already, the living standards of US middle and low-income people have been declining and actually plummeting thesedays because of ill-designed government policies (dictated by rich industrial interest groups). The eventual ending point is expected to be the homogenization of global wealth, living standards, and wage rates which will be evenly distributed through trade (global blood vessel). In this homogenization process, rich countries will gradually decline while developing countries rise gradually until both parties reach even point. That’s general notion.
Current health care and financial reforms are the efforts to extend the period of US prosperity in the process of general decline.
More on Health Care
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost

The Ersatz Public Option

It appears that there should be systematic ways of (a) disconnecting the linkage b/ corporates and politicians and (b) blocking corporates’ clouding of media, public information. In the same was as politics and religion should be seperated.
A few portion of citizen (I would say, more like uncivilized, piggified residents) yielding money power to dominate a country’s politics in their favor and exploiting the rest of citizens’ quality of living doesn’t seem to be the kind of politics that anybody in thrid world countries would expect to see in this presumably world’s number one super power country of economy and civilization. The elected congressmen who were voted by people going against their constituents’ welfare because of their personal benefits. And the public who’s opinions constantly blind-sightedly being swayed in multiple directions whenever the wind change it’s direction. It almost looks like a “Banana Republic.”
Read the Article at HuffingtonPost