I knew this had to be somewhere and this guy is good. A doctor speaks about about how he sees the Baucus Health Reform bill and what it will do to him, his practice, and those of his fellow doctors.
Mark Seigel – A practicing internist and Fox News medical contributor.
Former Vice President Dick Cheney is speaking publicly to the Obama administration on the issue of Afghanistan. Shortly after Obama was elected Cheney made a speech which was very critical of the President and how he proposed handling Camp Gitmo prisoners.
I have a theory to run by you. Dick Cheney is attempting to move the Obama administration to act in a way he supports by bringing these issues to the forefront, believing the majority of Americans are on his side. The actions of a former Vice President, especially Dick Cheney, will always be newsworthy if they involve attacking a sitting president. It is considered bad form and the media is looking for any chance to portray the Bush administration poorly. Therefore Cheney’s actions will make headlines.
The strategy then suggests the public takes notice. President Obama would prefer to not have the public stirred up about certain decisions he may make, such as closing Guantanamo Bay. In June 65% of Americans thought Camp Gitmo should remain open contrary to what President Obama said he supported during his Presidential campaign. Cheney makes some noise and the public takes notice and Gallup and Rasmussen start polling and President Obama decides to not follow through. Cheney wins.
The same may be happening with Afghanistan. President Obama is perceived as waffling some on his decision about a surge in Afghanistan in the media. Cheney, sensing an opportunity, speaks out. The United States, this side of the Vietnam war, does not want to lose another war and pulling out before the Taliban is smashed into oblivion and/or Osama bin Laden is killed or captured would be perceived at home and abroad as defeat. Cheney’s words sharpen just a little more the work General McChrystal already did in bringing Afghanistan back to the forefront and brings pressure to bear on the Obama administration from conservatives and independent Americans who do not want America to lose a war.
If President Obama makes a decision to surge troops in Afghanistan rather than to hold the current course Dick Cheney wins round 2.
Yea boy! Definitely a great cause for celebration though I will be working. Here are some fun news stories for your thoughts and consideration today.
First, in Sweden thousands of rabbits which are “culled every year” from parks in Stockholm are being used to fuel a heating plant in central Sweden. They are using bunnies as “bio-energy”. Now the rabbits are killed every year anyway in order to protect the trees and shrubbery in the park they live in. Last year nearly 6,000 rabbits were killed and removed from the cities parks.
This story about President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize took me a little by surprise. Apparently the committee set aside to select the winner was far from unanimous in their decision according to the dissenters. The chairman of the committee, Thorbjoern Jagland, was adamantly in favor of President Obama receiving the prize according to the news release. The dissenters did, in the end, support the committee’s final decision. I wonder if Norwegian politics is involved here somehow but I cannot speak to that. Also, a British newsman stationed in America has noticed President Obama is rather proud of his Nobel Peace Prize. Read here.
Next, Rush Limbaugh! Mr. Limbaugh, who is quite wealthy, decided he wanted to try and purchase a football team with some other investors and turn it around. Rush was “outed” and has been dropped from the ownership bid. Rush was attacked, in part, for comments he reportedly made but which have no factual basis. Read the previous link to get the scoop on those. Rush thinks, and I have to agree with him in part, that he was “outed” by the liberal media as an attempt to prevent conservatives from appearing mainstream. Limbaugh’s full opinion/counterattack is contained here and here and here.
I am particularly disappointed by this final piece of information. Some Senators have diverted approximately $2.6 billion of defense funds which would go towards “expense of accounts that pay for fuel, ammunition and training for U.S. troops, including those fighting wars in Iraq and Afghanistan”. Come on guys, give the troops the money they need to fight! I do not like to think our elected representatives are deliberately attempting to undermine our national security by defunding our troops like some extremists do but that is what this looks like. The money was diverted to 778 pet projects including “$25 million for a new World War II museum at the University of New Orleans and $20 million to launch an educational institute named after the late Sen. Edward M. Kennedy.” Guys, without that defense money there will no longer be a United States of America. How about you divert some stimulus money instead? That spending is more “discretionary” anyway.
I am much happier with this title than I was in my previous post. In the 5th and 6th Harry Potter books J.K. Rowling introduces us to a new, more mature element to the story: politics. Thankfully our vaunted hero does not enter politics himself but his position is not conducive to avoiding it.
After the 4th installment the situation is quite tedious for our heroes. Voldemort has returned and Dumbledore has reactivated the Order of the Phoenix to fight back. Unfortunately the Ministry of Magic is far from understanding. Cornelius Fudge, the Minister of Magic through the first 5 books wholeheartedly refuses to believe Voldemort is back. He takes some rather extraordinary measures to ensure the story does not get out, including trying Harry for underage use of magic and appointing a croney and informant to teach Defense Against the Dark Arts. All does not go well for Fudge when some Death Eaters and Lord Voldemort break into the Ministry and have a running battle with Harry, some fellow students, and the Order of the Phoenix.
The 6th book is not very different from a political perspective as a new Minister of Magic, Rufus Scrimgeour, while recognizing the threat, appears to underestimate it, spending more time fighting to protect his position than confronting Voldemort’s dark army. He actively recruits Harry to “pop into the Ministry” from time to time to let everyone know he supports the ministry. Unfortunately for Scrimgeour, Harry is less than excited about the request to appear to support actions he cannot endorse.
We must beware of politicians more concerned with being secure in their power than acting rightly. In The Order of the Phoenix and The Half-Blood Prince this manifests itself in a Ministry of Magic which appears very busy and ready to act. The Ministry is extremely concerned with appearing to act when they do nothing. We must be skeptical of the words of a politicians. The worst thing you can do is to accept a politician (or anyone else) at face value. An informed viewer will weigh the actions of a politician with his (or her) words.
Just in case you missed it, the IOC announced that Rio de Janeiro, Brazil has won the race to host the Olympic games in 2016. Congratulations to the Brazilians. It is a great honor for you to be the first South American country to host the games.
There has been some talk, coming from the British press who has shown no love for President Obama, that this will undermine his presidency. I have to disagree. Any undermining effect from Chicago losing the Olympics on the first ballot (in sports lingo, this is a blowout) is negligable.
How? This is America. Now there is a cultural aspect of our lives where we “love a winner” (some liberals may be the other way around) and Obama definitely lost but history was working against us anyway. Brazil is the only top 10 economy that has not hosted a games and South America has never hosted an Olympic Games either. The United States did it last in 2002 in Salt Lake City. We were handicapped. I was surprised to hear the bookies though the US had the best odds.
In President Obama’s context I think this loss is irrevelant to anything else he is doing except in this one way: President Obama, in the midst of selling health care reform to the American people (Gallup’s September numbers – Rasmussen’s September numbers), spirited off to Copenhagen to try and win the Olympics for Chicago.
What I wondered was what Obama expected to win and I guess it had to be some momentum. I do not think his poll numbers will take a dive because Chicago lost (if they do Obama has other problems) but if he had won maybe he could have captured some momentum with the American people. In that sense maybe this was a good situation for President Obama to try and use to springboard off back into health care but I doubt that would have worked. I am skeptical he would have received anything more than a temporary boost in approval rating.
