Jon vs. Keith

OK, I admit it, I really like watching MSNBC's "Countdown with Keith Olberman." I really like Keith Olberman. His intelligence, eloquence, and smart-alleckness is appealing to me. Plus he was a sportscaster on ESPN when I was in high school so I spent a lot of time watching sports highlights presented by him.

However, he can also be extremely partisan, kind of a jerk, and a little too liberal for me. But good thing modern media has people like Jon Stewart to bring things back in perspective. Check this out, especially if you either like or dislike Keith Olberman.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Special Comment - Keith Olbermann's Name-Calling
http://www.thedailyshow.com/
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Olberman responded and gave the impersonation a B-.

Legalize it?

A few years ago in Nevada a proposition was on the ballots to legalize marijuana. I voted 'yes' but the law failed to pass - by a lot. Then I read this a couple months ago:

"$13.5 billion is the amount the US government would save if it stopped enforcing laws against marijuana. The Justice Department says it will no longer prosecute people who use it for medical purposes in the 14 states where that's legal."

That's a lot of dinero! But that's not all. I read in another publication:

"44% of Americans now favor making marijuana legal, an all-time high, while 54% are opposed. In the West, an outright majority, 53% favors legalizing and taxing the sale of marijuana, as a way of raising money for struggling state governments."

Let me make it clear. I don't smoke marijuana, never have and I never will. I see no reason and I don't think anyone should use this drug. But if alcohol and tobacco (both far more harmful than marijuana) are legal then why waste a small fortune chasing those who roll marijuana up and smoke it like a cigarette when we could tax the bejeezers out of the same moronic users and use that money elsewhere?

As a social worker working with the terminally ill I have seen numerous men and women die nasty, painful, and gross deaths from complications related to tobacco and alcohol. But I am yet to see someone die from using marijuana. I know, I know, this is hardly something a Mormon should support but the hypocrisy of allowing some harmful substances but not other less harmful substances is killing me.

I don't get it?

On Christmas Eve, in true dramatic fashion Sen. Byrd from West Virginia was wheeled into the Senate in a wheelchair and cast his vote for a healthcare reform plan. It passed 60-39 (one Rep. senator was too busy to cast his 'no' vote). The House already passed the bill and reform was on the way, right?

But here is where I get lost. So, the House and the Senate passed the bill but now that a Republican Senator from Mass. was voted in I am hearing reform will not be happening anytime soon. Now I consider myself savvy in current events, political science, etc. but how many times does a bill have to be voted on?

Furthermore why are so many elected leaders and their constituents opposed to healthcare reform? Don't they realize how broken our healthcare system has become? I wonder how many out there think this bill is a form of socialized medicine or that the government will choose their doctor? I finally found a simple list of items that explained what we will be missing out on if the bill does not pass (even though it already passed).

1. Like auto insurance everyone will be required to have health insurance. If you cannot afford health insurance programs will assist with the funding. If you do not you can be fined.
2. Small businesses can purchase government regulated health plans to keep their costs down.
3. You cannot be denied health coverage based on preexisting condition (this one is huge to us...Heidi still has 6 years before her preexisting condition would be waved).
4. Medicaid will now be eligible for anyone who make less than a whopping $14,440 and not just those with disabilities or pregnant women.
5. Out-of-pocket expenses would be capped by family's income and not what your insurance provider says.
6. Riskier customers cannot be charged astronomical premiums. Older people can only be charged 3X more than younger ones, smokers 1.5X more than non-smokers and women can no longer be charged more because of their gender.
7. If a family of four does not make $88,200 a year they will be eligible for assistance to pay for their premiums.
8. Medicare prescription drugs will be discounted 50%.
9. Kids can stay on their parents' plan until 26 (20-somethings account for 30% of the uninsured).

This stuff looks great to me. I would prefer plans similar to those in Europe and Canada, for the most part they are happy with their medical care but this is a start. So what's the big deal? Why is this plan being opposed? Does the opposition have a better idea or is it purely political? Boy, I hope they have another idea and it is not political because if it is just political that's just slimy.

I feel strongly about this issue because we are running out of time. My wife and I were told to get a divorce if we wanted any government assistance when she was diagnosed with cancer while I have known many families use Medicaid to pay for their planned pregnancies. I'm sick of seeing the rich get richer through sick people. I hate seeing lawyers sue for every mistake a healthcare professional makes and finally, I truly believe healthcare is a right for all and not a privilege. Well, we came close to reform this time...maybe in another 10-15 years.

Who Owes the Most?

OK, it is no secret that our government owes other governments a lot of money. We have for some time. I have been hearing this my whole life. I'll be honest, it freaks me out. What happens when these bill collectors come knocking?

That good old American pessimism always plays up the national debt but I learned recently that comparatively it could be worse. So, who owes the most? According to the International Monetary Fund, US Census Bureau, and World Bank in the following countries every man, woman, and child owes:

1. Greeks-$27,746
2. Belgians-$27,023
3. Austrians-$26,502
4. Irish-$24,247
5. Norwegians-$21,402
6. Italians-$21,089
7. Dutch-$20,412
8. French-$18,946
9. Germans-$15,574
10. Finns-$13,617
11. Americans-$11,094
12. Danes-$9,410
13. Spaniards-$8,715
14. Swedes-$7,058
15. Brits-$6,526
16. Hungarians-$5,802
17. Japanese-$5,322
18. Canadians-$5,213
19. Israelis-$3,843
20. Slovenes0$3,635

Now I'm not sure who owes who what but I do know that we (Americans) owe China roughly $799 billion dollars. Yep, that's right, the "God-fearing," "righteous," capitalistic country owes the "God-hating," "hedonistic," communist country almost a trillion dollars. Shoot! Maybe we should have gone with that philosophy then they would owe us money!

Goodbye 2009, Hello 2010

I know, I know, writing something on 2009 is a little late but I read something journalist and notoriously handsome man George Will recently wrote. His article, "A Clunker of a Year" in Newsweek was both humorous and interesting. He makes a lot of good points, here are a some that caught my attention:

• President Obama was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. He admitted he did not deserve it and I think it was a little early but when any of our leaders our recognized for peace it's a good thing, right?
• "Cash for Clunkers" helped sell $3 billion in cars in August but sales plummets the next month.
• Ayn Rand's novel Atlas Shrugged, a hymn to unfettered capitalism sells more than 400,000 copies, "double the total in any of the 52 years it was published." I read it...um...it was alright but not as good as Cooper makes it sound.
• Swiss pen-maker Montblanc commemorated the humble life of "Mahattma Gandhi with a $23,000 pen engraved with the ascetic's image."
• World renown art museum the Louvre opens a McDonald's in the basement mall.
• Brown University renamed Columbus Day to "Fall Weekend," in an effort to "punish the explorer for spoiling the Western Hemisphere paradise where human sacrifices were still happening when he arrived."
• To commemorate the 60th anniversary of communist China, "which is responsible for more deaths than Hitler and Stalin combined," the Empire State Building glowed red and yellow. I guess they felt we owed our socialist overlords some respect (we owe them $799 billion).
• In December there were more troops in both Iraq and Afghanistan than there were in January (but for the first time since March 2003 not a single military death in Iraq).
• London School of Medicine claims that obesity is contributing to global warming due to extra respiration "and because the carbon costs of raising and transporting the extra food he or she devours."
• More minority children than white ones in 1/6 of all US counties.
• "The West Coast has been surpassed by New England-where Puritans landed for their errand into the wilderness-as the least religious religious region."
• The Olympic Committee rejects Chicago's application for the Summer Olympics (while conservatives cheered at this failure proving they want to see President Obama fail more than they want to see America succeed).
• 57% black Atlanta came within 714 votes of electing a white mayor.
• 45 years after three civil rights workers were murdered in Philadelphia, Miss. (think of the disturbing film Mississippi Burning) the town elected a black mayor.
• The phrase, "hiking the Appalachian Trail," takes on new meaning.
• "The golf achievements of Tiger Woods...suddenly seemed even more impressive, considering the other claims of his energies."
• Pope Benedict XVI claims tests "seem to conclude" that they have found the remains of the apostle Paul.
• Were still burying the dead from the US Civil War after the remains of an unknown Confederate or Union soldier is found in Franklin, Tenn.
• Harry Patch, Britain's last survivor of World War I dies at 111.
• Millvina Dean, the last survivor of the Titanic's 705 survivors dies at 97 (she was 9 weeks old when the ship went down).

What do you think? Was 2009 a bad year or a good one? For me the beginning of 2009 was one of the most optimistic as Henry was less than a week old on January 1. However, by the end of 2009 I had never been more discouraged, frustrated, and cynical in my life. I guess the nice thing about a New Year is it is a chance to start over, a fresh beginning, if we can just put what happened the previous year behind us (that's the hard part).

Any last words?

I recently read an analysis of the final statements of the 446 executed men and women in Texas since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976. They examined the most uttered words and this is the number of times each word was spoken:

Love*: 630
Thanks*: 243
Sorry: 211
God: 175
Death*: 132
Lord: 130
Life: 126
Peace: 95
Mom*: 86
Jesus: 86
Pray*: 80
Warden: 74
Kill*: 69
Ready: 65
Innocent: 45
Allah: 41
Heaven: 40
Closure: 20
Fear: 14
Regret*: 12
Deserve: 10
Guilty: 7
Hell: 6
Not Guilty: 4
Afraid: 1
*includes all applicable words

A few things come to mind. Only one person used the word 'afraid' despite all 446 of them were about to be put to death? Really? But I wonder what I would say if I were about to be executed. I guess it would depend on what I did. I mean, I would probably say I loved my wife but what if I was on death row for killing her? Would I still say it then?

Finally, the words 'innocent' and 'not guilty' were used 45 and 4 times respectively. So, what are the odds one of those people were telling the truth and they were actually innocent? I mean they had nothing to lose at that time so why not just come clean?

Or is it safe to guess a few of God's children were executed for a crime they did not commit? Is it worth executing 446 men and women if even one of them was in fact not a murderer? A few of those executed here in Texas were mentally retarded and/or mentally ill. Is it all right to execute people with these conditions? In the Mormon faith some of these individuals probably wouldn't even qualify for baptism because of their cognitive state, but that is just a speculation.

If you ask me life sentences make more sense. Allowing someone to slowly rot away in a 10x5 cell for several decades seems a lot worse than putting them out of their misery. Besides, if a mistake is made and they are exonerated because of DNA or new evidence (it has happened numerous times) at least there is an opportunity to try and make things right.

But then I'm a social worker and were not too hip on the whole capital punishment thing. Maybe I'm just a 'soft on crime liberal' but I am worried that in this modern era a man or woman might be put to death for something they simply did not do, there is no coming back from that one.

Blogging Break

New Year. New Trimester. Too busy right now. Will return.