Opus 2017-201: Lazar Tweets

I am going to repeat something you may have heard if you listen to Rush or watch Fox.  I will paraphrase.

What Trump is doing with his Tweets is the same thing that cat owners do with a laser.  If you don’t know what I am talking about, let me explain.

First you get your lasar and shine it on the floor in front of the cat.  Kittens are extra good targets.  You then move it around and get the cat to chase it.  You can turn it off at just the right moment and watch the cat jump up to look under themselves.  You can get them climbing walls.  You can get them to do flips if you are really good and the cat is really gullible.  It can supply endless entertainment for people who need a life.

Trump Tweets and does this to the media.  Get the picture?  Thanks, Rush for the visual.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-200: Afghanistan Viewed with a Little History

President Trump is preparing to send more troops into Afghanistan.  We need to try to get an historical perspective on invaders of this country.  We are familiar with the way in which the Soviets were decimated.  I believe even Alexander the Great bumped up against these people.  Let’s look back a hundred years.

At the turn of the 20th century Great Britain was in the process of subduing the Subcontinent of India.  When Winston Churchill, as a young man, took time off from the cavalry to be a journalist he was a front line observer of the cultures they were dealing with.  When he was there the British had the lower area under control but the tribesmen from the mountains were continually raiding and causing problems.  The Empire decided to take on the tribesmen.  Here is how Churchill described these people.

    “They, when they fight among themselves, bear little malice, and the combatants not infrequently make friends over the corpses of their comrades or suspend operations for a festival or a horse race. At the end of the contest cordial relations are at once re-established. And yet so full of contradictions is their character, that all this is without prejudice to what has been written of their family vendettas and private blood feuds. Their system of ethics, which regards treachery and violence as virtues rather than vices, has produced a code of honour so strange and inconsistent, that it is incomprehensible to a logical mind.”  Kindle location, 128-132

I am not sure that anything has changed in the last hundred years.  I doubt if much changed for a thousand years.  I am not sure what we think we can do to change the situation.

Churchill, Winston S.  The Story of the Malakand Field Force, Project Gutenberg.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-199: Health Care Discussions: It’s a Republic, Folks

The talking heads are fixated on how the vote on the health care bill is not taking place right away.  They say the Republicans have not delivered on their promise.  They scream about the plan being developed in secret.  They keep running sound bites.  They want to instill panic or force rash behavior.

Enjoy.  This is the process of a republic.  There is a reason why dictatorships are more efficient than democratic processes.  This is how it is supposed to work.  The wonks and type A politicians try to tell us what we should do.  The statesmen who care about principle say, “Slow down.  Let us read it.  What’s the hurry.”  The discussion continues and in the end no one gets all that they want but you come up with compromises that everyone can live with.

It is call the democratic process.  It is not pretty.  It takes time.  It is frustrating.  It is not efficient.  It is the way it is supposed to work. 

Relax.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-198: Headlines: Teaser Headlines

I urge you to not get your news from the headlines.  The link on The Drudge Report said, “Illinois Becomes North America’s Venezuela”.  That got my attention, which was the goal.

I almost skipped over it because the title was so absurd.  Last I heard the people of Illinois were not facing empty grocery stores, a lack of toilet paper and long bread lines.  There are serious differences between the socialist paradise of Venezuela and the Progressive paradise of Illinois.  My curiosity was arouse by the absurdity.  First I checked the link to make sure it wasn’t from the obvious fake news outlets and, since the source was not on the list, I bit.

The teaser headline was not addressed much in the article.  What it was about was an editorial about the economy and something called cryptocurrency.  What is cryptocurrenccy?  Maybe you have heard of bitcoin.  It was educational because he went into the history of government manipulation of paper money but it was not a declaration about Illinois.

Fake link more than fake news but an informative article.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-197: Health Care Discussions: Pre-existent Conditions

Health care is on everyone’s mind.  Some have almost none and are struggling getting even basic care.  Some still have good coverage but the future is shrouded with all the monkey business of the Obama Care manipulations.  The cost is going up for everyone.  It is hard to figure out what is really happening because so many people distort what they tell us.  Congress is in the process of drafting a new health plan.

We need to have the discussion and be open to creative thinking.

There are some legitimate issues that need to be addressed in our modern society.  One of those is the issue of pre-existing conditions.  There is a genuine concerned group and a I-want-something-for-nothing crowd.

Some people have been paying into health care all their lives.  They have made the payments and co-payments.  Then, they need to make a change.  It might be their choice or beyond their control but the change means a new insurance plan.  People like this deserve some assurance that health issues will continue to be covered.  At the same time, insurance companies need to be able to cover the expense of the care.  I would think that requiring companies to give bridge coverage would be doable.  You might need to list out requirements for things like the level of previous coverage and how long you were covered but it could be worked out.

On the other hand you have the people who feel they are not sick so why should they pay for insurance.  They seem to think they can save all that money and then get a policy when they have a problem.  Economically clever but a bit irresponsible.  They want to play the hand without putting in the ante.  Why should they expect someone else to pay for what they were too selfish to take care of.  I don’t think society owes deliberate parasites a thing.

There is a third group who have never been able to afford insurance.  My parents were in that category.  We made it just fine with occasional help from community agencies.  Of course that is the view of a child who did not need to pay the bills.

You can have requirements that previous conditions must be covered and still have a free market.  The key is having the playing field level.  If every insurance company is required to follow the same rules and turned loose it will lower costs.  If every person who wants something for nothing and pulls at our heart strings gets full coverage, nothing will work.

The discussion needs to go on without the name calling and distortion.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-196: The Look of Lies

There are a number of humorous approaches to lies such as , “How can you tell if a politician is lying?  When his lips are moving.”  Today as I was locked in a hotel room being forced to endure the mind numbing TV, my wife had Fox news on.  My eyes were drawn to the discussion.  Marie Harf who I believe was the public voice of the Obama administration, was being interviewed about Russia.  It reminded me of my experience with middle school students.  They are so good at lying and so consistent in it that you cannot tell by their face when they lie. 

That was my feeling as I watched Ms. Harf.  She was really good.  She fabricated “facts” quickly, efficiently and with a look of sincerity that is hard to beat. 

This is what a Progressive looks like when they lie.

homo unius libri

Opus 2017-195: On the Street: More Like on the Road, part 7 of ?

On the good side we finally got the truck unloaded.  On the bad side that only means that there is enough area in the house finished off to pile it all.  But we are making progress.

My wife came through her first surgery.  What was originally to be an out-patient procedure and home that evening grew into two nights in a hospital and a lot of doubts.  I am playing nurse maid.  The problem is that my share of the worlds mercy is null.  I am relying on the Holy Spirit to fill in the gaps.

I won’t go into details but things are still rough.

To be continued...

homo unius libri