Muslims and government October 28, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Civics, Elections 2008, Life, Superfluous musings.add a comment
Let me prefice this post with the disclaimer that this is just a high-level, general musing, not based on research or deep understanding of the issues. But as I am listening a discussion on NPR mid-day about the role of Muslims in our society, in light of the recent presidential election scare tactics from McCain/Palin supporters, I am hopeful… I am hopeful that the United States will once again be able to pave a rocky way to understanding and embrace a growing group into its bubbling society. I think of the Muslim communities in Europe (the UK, France, Germany) and how there are underlying issues in each country there. But then I also think of how brash the discussions tend to in the United States. It’s hurtful, but perhaps that is what is necessary in order to make reconcile peoples and to educate the fearful and embrace the marginalized.
I think that Colin Powell put it best in his endorsement of Barack Obama -
- it is really disappointing that there haven’t been more outcries when some express concern that Obama is Muslim. The correct reply should be that it is not true, but if it was true it does not matter. I hope that will soon be the answer voiced not just by the Obama campaign, by the McCain campaign, but by more and more every-day Americans. (Don’t even get me started on the divisive comments spewing from the principals as well as serogates on the Republican side about pro-American and anti-American parts of the country! Shameful, sad, worrisome.)
The McCain that was… October 16, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Uncategorized.add a comment
Where did this guy go? This McCain was around just before and somewhat through the Republican primary season but has been running (or rather losing control) if his campaign, letting it spiral into negativity especially so in the last few months.
Confused and disappointed October 15, 2008
Posted by midnightzimadreams in Elections 2008, Healthcare.1 comment so far
I’ve been meaning to look at the AMA’s healthcare proposal for a while now… really every time I see their TV ad. So, I finally did. And I’m confused and disappointed. There aren’t many details included and sadly it reads to me like a vaugely disguised spin-off of the McCain health plan. I guess I should not be surprised, after all it makes sense that the AMA has a stake in the insurance companies’ well-being. Perhaps I don’t understand all of the intricacies of the relationship (vicious cycle, but it seems to me that malpractice lawsuits drive the need for doctors to get malpractice insurance, which drives business into the insurance companies’ doors), but reading the main points of their plan, it certainly hints at partiality.
There are many things that worry me about McCain’s plan especially – the tax credit is not going to begin to cover the actual costs of obtaining your own insurance; cross-state insurance shopping will encourage insurance companies to gravitate to the states with the least regulation allowing them to exempt more people for pre-existing conditions, etc.; it will lure healthy, young people to shop around for a cheap deal because insurance companies will give them better terms, but that exodus will leave all the sick and older people with employer-based plans that (as a result of the healthy people leaving) will face skyrocketing premiums; another side-effect will be a strain on employers to front even more expensive healthcare costs for the ailing employees who can’t afford to go out and purchase a plan on their own for anything near the $5,000 tax cut (per family, not per person, by the way) (oh, and talk about punishing companies and forcing them to outsource jobs to Canada because of healthcare costs, not to India or China because of labor costs); and I can’t comprehend how McCain who persists “why raise anyone’s taxes?” does just that in his health plan – unprecedented, he’s going to tax healthcare benefits as income. Yes, I know I’m rambling, but I have a hard time wrapping my mind around his plan. Not to say Obama’s plan is perfect, but it is by far the superior one.
I highly recommend reading the primary sources, though:
And check out this earlier blog entry where I linked to an interview with a health and policy expert who compared McCain and Obama’s plans.
