Saturday morning with the village idiots

I thought I’d just about seen everything, and then came this morning. Actually, some of this happened yesterday but it took a day or so for my tired brain to absorb it all. Is this a Saturday morning rant? In the immortal words of that now infamous former vice presidential candidate, Facebook aficionado, and current financial guru, “You betcha.”

Health care reform

The first thing that pissed me off, of course, is this whole health care reform discussion. Apparently, the issue has moved from inclusion of the public option to how we’re going to afford health care reform. In my mind, this is a non-issue. Does anyone ask the question about how we’re going to continue to afford the bloated defense budget, or the two illegal, immoral wars we are waging in Iraq and Afghanistan? The 2010 proposed defense budget is $663 billion. The present cost of the Iraq war is $9 billion/month, while the cost of whatever is going on in Afghanistan is an additional $2 billion/month. However, because of Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama’s influx of 17,000 additional troops into Afghanistan this past March, it is expected that the cost of that conflict will increase 60% by year’s end. I’ve not heard anyone ask how the United States can continue to afford these wars. Yet, in order to protect the profitability of the insurance companies, various conservative political zombies - both Republican and Democrat - have now decided to make the cost of health care reform an issue in order to prevent it from happening.

How is it that the United States, with all its wealth, remain the only industrialized nation that does not offer universal health care to its citizens? Simple. The insurance industry has given millions of dollars to politicians on both sides of the aisle. The leading recipient of this cash influx is, in fact, Barack Obama. Second in line is Max Baucus. Both are Democrats. One is the President of the United States.

The Nobel Peace Prize

Now that I’ve mentioned it, let’s talk about the Nobel Peace Prize and its recipient, Barack Obama. Apparently the committee feels he belongs in the company of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, The Dalai Lama, Mother Theresa, Lech Walesa, Aung San Suu Kyi and Professor Elie Wiesel. He supposedly won the award for calling for a reduction in the world’s supply of nuclear armaments. Barack Obama took office on January 20. The names had to be put into nomination by February 1, long before the call for this initiative began. There’s no justification for the POTUS winning this award, and he should turn the award down and say that there are others who are much more deserving of it. Calling for a global initiative to reduce the world’s supply of nuclear armaments and actually doing something about it are two different things. The United States owns the largest cache of nuclear weapons in the world. It’s not that I think the call for a nuclear-free world is trivial, because I believe it is essential for our survival. It’s just that the Nobel Peace Prize has been given based on a body of work, not a mere statement. Let’s also not forget that Barack Obama continues to fight two illegal wars (Iraq and Afghanistan) and has conducted bombing raids in both Pakistan and Somalia. He has also done everything in his power to prevent the investigation of war crimes and torture under the Bush administration. Now, let’s talk about the 1991 recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Inspired by both Mahatma Gandhi and Buddhist concepts, Aung San Suu Kyi has been a tireless fighter for democracy in Burma since 1988, and has spent 14 of the last 20 years under house arrest. Suu Kyi was first arrested in 1989, and offered freedom if she left the country. She refused. In 1990, the National League for Democracy, of which Suu Kyi is the general secretary, won 82% of the vote. As the party’s candidate, Suu Kyi should have assumed the position of Prime Minister. Instead, the election results were nullified, the military refused to hand over power, and she was again detained. In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize and Suu Kyi used the $1.3 million award to establish a health and education trust for the Burmese people. In Suu Kyi’s case, she had already put her money where her mouth is, as we say. She had already shown courage and leadership. It’s not that I don’t think that Barack Obama doesn’t have the potential to be a great or influential world leader. It’s just that I haven’t seen any evidence of it nine months into his presidency on any front. Even if we go back further than his presidency, let’s accept the fact that Barack Obama was a first-term Senator without many accomplishments under his belt. Basing the award on potential, rather than accomplishments, trivializes the process.

All is not okay in OK

Seems the state of Oklahoma has come up with a new idea designed to prevent women from getting abortions. Hell, if you can’t challenge them in court, you might as well try intimidation. Under a new law that will take effect on November 1, physicians will be required to collect detailed personal information from every woman getting an abortion. There are 37 questions, including:

Date and location of the abortion

Race of the mother

Marital status of the mother

Total number of previous pregnancies (including details about live births, miscarriages and induced abortions)

Education level

The reason for the abortion

The method of payment

Whether or not the woman was a state employee at the time of the abortion

The physician must then send the completed questionnaire to the State Health Department, which will create a report to be posted on line. Doctors who fail to submit the questionnaires will face criminal sanctions and loss of their medical license. Keri Parks, director of external affairs at Planned Parenthood of Central Oklahoma, says, “They’re really just trying to frighten women out of having abortions.”

This whole process is sick, twisted and scary. The Center for Reproductive Rights has joined with former state representative Wanda Jo Stapleton (D-OK City) and Shawnee, OK, resident Lora Joyce Davis in legal action to prevent the law from going into effect. Let’s hope they win.