Cough cough

Looks like I am in the grip of one of the many animal flu's that are "going around". Not bad enough to go to Dr., but bad enough to make me miss the Thanksgiving gathering at my daughter's on Thursday.

In the old days, I'd have just taken a cough suppressant dutifully arrived and mingled with the other unsuspecting guests, spreading deadly pathogens with every handshake and hug. Nowadays, with heightened awareness, I felt nobler by staying home in self imposed quarantine, mollifying myself by watching Football on TV. (I think it is the first time I have missed T-day in my adult life.) Will other family members appreciate my selflessness or will they think of me as a wimp?

My wife was feeling fine on Thursday morning and went without me (she was bringing the stuffing, turkey gravy and of course a cake) and she had a nice time. She brought me home a nice plate of turkey and fixin's. They say "feed a fever", right? Or is it the other way round? Anyway, I did get my dinner, reheated in the microwave, though I missed the warmth of family and friends.

My sense that I was contagious was justified when, alas, yesterday evening - after a full day of mandatory post-Thanksgiving-Day-frenzy-shopping - my wife began coughing and sneezing. Today, she is feeling the way I felt on Thursday, and is staying in bed to rest. I feel a bit better today. Hopefully, I am on-the-mend after 4 days of malaise, so now I can make* chicken soup for her.

[*open can, pour in pan, heat and serve]

Time to End Legal Dishonesty

Except for the cost, I don't have any complaints about my health insurance. So "reform" is a misnomer. Instead of actually improving things for all citizens, the current health care bill should be called "Situation Normal - Fouled-up and Getting Worse."

Instead of creating more complex monster laws, lawmakers ought to be figuring-out how to make life more simple, more fair and to protect us from getting ripped-off.

If these guys want to reform something, how about the IRS? The tax laws are too complex for an ordinary citizen to comprehend and yet there are loopholes through which high-priced tax accountants can drive a luxury yacht.

How about truth in pricing? For some reason, the Law thinks it is OK for companies to lie about the actual cost of their products.

• Banks. We have been conditioned to accept the phony and usurious mortgage rate calculation formula which loads all the interest into the front of the loan. No peeps you aren't paying 6% on your mortgage. Over 30 years you actually pay more than 200% (do the math: if you borrow $100,000, you pay back $215,838!)
• Credit Card Companies. They promise you great deals, cash back schemes, cash advances and low rates to seduce you and then charge you exorbitant late fees and raise your interest rate to impossible limits.
• The travel industry is another big offender. They lie to you about the price of an airline ticket, omitting taxes, surcharges and fees - which can add-up to a significant delta between advertised price and net amount. Rental car costs are almost humorous when you tick off the multiple exceptions to the advertised price (airport fees, recovery fees, usage surtax, local taxes, and on and on).
• Telephone companies. Are permitted by law to send you an incomprehensible bill, which no person can reasonably be expected to understand. The buried fees and charges boggle the mind in their variety and silliness.
• Utility Bills. Ditto.

So, my point is, maybe our elected representatives would serve us better if they protected us from some of these daily assaults on our net worth. I am not asking the government to control prices, mind you; all I am demanding is honesty.

Here are a few changes I would make if I were the Emperor:

• Eliminate fine print. The text of all contracts, ads and legal documents would be in 12 point normal Ariel font.
• Plain English. All commercial and legal documents must be composed using language that a high school graduate can understand.
• Fees or surcharges will be illegal; all costs must be included in the advertised price of all products and services. Handling charges will be illegal. Shipping charges must reflect the actual cost to ship the item.
• Applicable Taxes must be clearly stated in every ad. The final net price must be prominently displayed.
• Credit card fraud and ID theft will be punished severely. Full restitution to victims will be required by the perpetrators by liquidating all assets.
• Political ads would be forbidden. This eliminates the need for political contributions. Elections will be based on Facebook Profiles. Lobbyists would be hanged if they refused to get real jobs.
• Class action suits would be illegal; civil negligence awards would be capped at projected cost of necessary medical care and actual property damages.
• Rebates, cash back, and other phony gimmicks would be banned.
• Companies that produce pop-up ads will be fined heavily.

This would be just for starters.

The End of the Era is Near

The recent announcement by A.G. Eric Holder to bring the Sept 11 terrorists to civilian trial in NYC is astounding -- not only because it defies common sense, but also because if anything goes wrong, the shit will fly directly on President Obama.

By anything going wrong, I mean: Acquittal, more terrorist attacks, revealing damaging information which compromises US intelligence activities, lengthy PR appearances by defendants, and obligatory media circus. In other words, there is almost zero chance that at the end, reasonable people will say, "Ah, justice was served."

The more credible result is that the majority of the American voting public will conclude that Mr. Obama has terrible judgement. They will recall the bad fellas that he associated with in the past, and the poor choices he has made in appointing Holder and Geitner, not to mention the choice of Biden as VP. Despite having a filibuster proof congress He has failed to accomplish any of his major campaign promises, and this monstrosity of a health care reform bill will be remembered - if it gets passed - as the worst piece of lawmaking since prohibition.

Thus, I am predicting the end of the Obama era, starting with the terrorist trial. The Republicans will sweep in the legislature next year, by promising to undo the bloated health care reform bill, and Obama will be back in Chicago looking for a new house in 2012. The slogan for the election: "Obama Lied; Hope Died."

You heard it here first.

Macho Conservatives Bow to No Man

It is amusing to see how culturally sensitive the NeoCons are these days. Everywhere you look today they are yammering about Obama's break with US protocol, because he bowed too low to the Japanese royals.

Well, at least he didn't refer to them as "Your imperial Majesties," as Richard Nixon did during his 1971 meeting (in Alaska) with Hirohito and his wife. And he didn't puke on his host, like George H Bush did on the Japanese Prime Minister in 1992.

Conservatives would love to go back to the old days when guys like Obama would not even be admitted to the local country club, much less represent our nation as the Leader of the free world. They yearn for the days when people knew the rules and knew their place.

They were silent as GW Bush alienated everyone in the solar system with his swaggering cowboy approach to world politics. You are either with us or with the terrorists! Hey Fraulein, how about a little neck massage. Talk about embarrassing.

These macho keyboard warriors, most of whom have managed to evade any form of national service, ironically urge the most bellicose position for the US (which policy would be enforced by your son, not theirs) call themselves patriots and accuse anyone who disagrees with narrow views and their stiff-pants arrogance as "America haters." This is amusing because it is the neocons who actually despise the majority of their countrymen.

Instead of imagining a world where nations try to coexist, conservatives prefer the world filled with strife. The mantra "We're number one and the rest of you suck!" is a losing slogan for the next century. Sabre rattling and waterboarding will not stop terrorism.

"My flag must be higher than your flag," they say to the world. Apparently, they have not learned the lessons of history: all empires fall, the world must change, and conservatives because of their rigidity always lose to progressives in the end.

What conservatives fail to comprehend is that their view of a black and white, zero-sum, right and wrong world is flawed, because it leads logically to doomsday. If Obama errs a little by being too polite how much damage can that cause?

Doing Nothing is Definitely an Option

The other day Bill Clinton joined the chorus of talking heads that are lecturing us "Doing nothing (about healthcare reform) is not an option." The Democrats have recently voted to pass into law the 2000 page monstrosity that The Wall Street journal calls "the worst bill ever." Granted the WSJ is no fan of Obama-care, but sheesh, this statement gets my attention. "In a rational political world, this 1,990-page runaway train would have been derailed months ago..."

The political world is becoming increasingly un-rational. The Dem leadership have been scary in their monomaniacal pursuit of something called Health Care Reform. They say that they want to extend health care insurance to the uninsured, which is indeed a noble objective. 5 double spaced typewritten pages would be enough to describe the changes necessary to accomplish that goal.

The problem here is the flaw of all design-by-committee proposals. You know what they say about a camel being a horse which was designed by a committee. The problem with committees is that rationality becomes lost to politics. The initial goal, however worthy, is subordinated to the wishes of the most powerful person in the room. Votes based on principle or logic are changed to votes based on perceived approval by the person who is in power to dispense future favors. The larger the group, the less personal responsibility for outcomes is assumed by committee members.

Obama and Pelosi have been urging rapid action, yet have been incapable of defining the specific outcomes of the laws they would foist upon the public. This is insanity.

How anyone is supposed to make sense out of a law that is so big that my PC jammed-up trying to download the bill in PDF format? No, I haven't read it. But I am nervous about some of the problems that are being raised by the opponents of the current bill:
- Stiff penalties for electing not to be insured - substantial cash fines and even felonious jail time .
What happened to freedom? The goal of helping people who need help has been perverted to
totalitarianism. We know what is good for you. Submit, or else....
- Cost - It is unclear how the current bill will reduce healthcare costs for the majority of working and retired citizens. I fear that we will be charged more money for less access than we have now. How is that fair? Or rational?

Fortunately, the Senate has to vote on this bill before it becomes law. We can only hope that some force brings our solons to their senses. When I see the four Democratic candidates for Senate arguing for the plan because it is what Ted Kennedy would have wanted, it makes me nervous.

Today they are bickering over reproductive rights. They should be discussing how to simplify the problem of funding health insurance for citizens who need it and want it.