It's going well so far. No hyperventilating. I haven't punched any walls, and I only verbally assaulted one person (sorry Doc). I'm planning a head-first dive into FOXMSNBCCNN in a week or so. For now, I'm sticking with the Times, Rolling Stone, HuffPo, and Reddit; and I'm starting each day off with a little Stewart and Colbert.
The reason I'm getting back into this mud fight is because we're living in a very important period in the political history of the United States. Health care reform is only going to happen once. There will be college classes covering it. Books will analyze it. And, just like with welfare reform in the 90s, we will be living with the results for the next generation. Unlike many who are allowing themselves to be brainwashed by the steady chorus of fear mongering from the Right, I'm excited about the possibilities. There is a real chance we can finally fix one of the most morally inexcusable failures of this broken country we live in. I don't care how much money I have to throw in, if we can provide the 50 million uninsured with coverage, I'm on board. If we can free the middle class from the slavery of employer-provided health insurance, I'll turn over seventy-five percent of my paycheck. I'm not kidding.
The last few days, I've been trying to educate myself as much as possible on the ideas they're throwing out there. For those of you who don't want to wait for me to make sense of it and put my biased opinion out there, here are two great resources you can go to. First, Talking Points Memo just posted the Congressional Budget Office's Analysis of the House Health Care Bill. It's worth the hour or so it will take skim through it. I guarantee that you'll be able to better follow the complex Health care debate over the next month after reading this document.
For those of you who don't have the time to read through a 14-page report, watch Jon Stewart's interview with Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius from The Daily Show last night. Almost everything she says makes a lot of sense no matter how terrified you are of socialized medicine (I'm writing this small so as not to alarm you).
Part I:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Kathleen Sebelius Pt. 1 | ||||
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Part II:
| The Daily Show With Jon Stewart | Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c | |||
| Kathleen Sebelius Pt. 1 | ||||
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I hope you learned something. Feel free to explain to me why you're so afraid of a public option or what sense you've made of this 1000 page document that the Senate is reading over. I don't want to hear any bullshit socialism/communism fear mongering. Think with your brain for once. Buzz words and talking points are for the weak minded and uninformed.
Peace.
