The Speech

Suspected robber arrested
when he returns later
to ask victim for a date.

I thought President Obama’s speech was excellent and precisely what it is he needed to say and what we needed to hear. His plan makes perfect sense to me. I particularly enjoyed watching the Republican audience who all appeared to be either dead or dying. And true to form, the Republican response by Dr. “Lord” Bustany was pretty obviously written before he heard Obama’s speech and as a result had little or nothing to do with what was said. I knew, of course, that whatever Obama said would be rejected by Republicans who have no interest in changes to our totally dysfunctional health care system, preferring instead to support the Insurance and Pharmaceutical giants that presently control it. Bustany’s suggestion that we start over from the beginning was not only irresponsible, it was ridiculous, just another stalling tactic by the Party of No.

Just because Obama’s plan makes sense to me, and perhaps is as reasonable as can be under the existing circumstances, doesn’t mean that I’m crazy about it. First, as far as I am concerned the Insurance industry should be put out of the health care business entirely. There is no logical or even practical reason why the Insurance industry should have anything whatsoever to do with health care. Thus, Obama’s plan to carefully regulate it, regulation that is surely necessary, would be unnecessary because it would not even be an issue if there were no Insurance industry involvement in an area where they do not belong in the first place. Second, although I admire Obama for not giving up on the so-called Public Option (or some functional equivalent), if we had a single-payer system such an option would not be necessary. There is no doubt a single-payer system would be by far the most sensible, efficient, and affordable way to go, but Obama is probably correct in assuming that such a system would not be possible at the moment. Third, Obama apparently is incapable of giving up on his idea that somehow he can squeeze bipartisanship out of the Republicans, even now in this fine speech he is still trying to reach out to them, a lost cause if ever there was one.

I am beginning to wonder how the Republicans decide who will offer the rebuttal to Obama’s speeches. Remember the Bobby Jindal disaster? This one by Bustany was in its way every bit as bad. It is clear he just stood there mouthing the Republican nonsense about starting over with a bipartisan plan, making it affordable, how the Republicans supposedly have a plan or plans, and more utter nonsense. He might as well have been speaking in Polish for all the sense his response didn’t make. I think they pick someone from the bottom of the bottom of the barrel they currently occupy. I doubt we have seen the last of their outrageous claims about killing old people, and such. According to Olberman, Dr. Bustany is a “birther,” and has been sued for malpractice three times. I should have thought that alone would make him a bad choice, but with Republicans you never know. Apparently there is nothing so absurd or outrageous that some members of the Republican base will not swallow. “Death Panels,” mandated abortions and sex change operations, discriminating against Republicans for health care, and against women with breast cancer, taking away Veterans health care, destroying medicare, and forcing us to become socialists are probably not the last of such claims that will be made against Obama’s plan. It makes one wonder what fantastic claims might come next. How is it that anyone can actually believe this crap, but they do. Some still insist Obama is not a citizen, just as some apparently still believe that Sadam Hussein was responsible for 9/11, and the earth was created a mere 6000 years ago. I suspect that if I told some of these people that the dinosaurs disappeared because our ancestors ate them, they would believe it. I cannot see why we should take seriously anything said by Republicans from now on. They have demonstrated their total unconcern for truth, for the Constitution, for our laws, for International law, and even for common decency and fair play. Some of them are just unbelievably ignorant, others are dishonest. As a political party they are a disgrace. Frankly, I cannot see why Obama would even want to break bread with them.

LKBIQ:
Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.
Euripides

TILT:
The current form of chess originated in Southern Europe in the 15th century, having itself grown out of an older game of Indian origin.