The debate (?) on Health Care Reform

Dear readers,

As always, I apologise for the long hiatus. The job search and my role as a domestic god and trophy husband has kept me pretty busy over the last several months. However, I feel the need to comment on the current debate.

For some of you that know me on my FB page, I made the following query:

"Here is a question for both sides on the health care issue: Say you undergo treatment for stage 4 cancer and actually survive. The price to keep you alive puts a strain on your finances where you almost lose your home not to mention the strain it puts on your personal relationships. You then lose your job and health coverage in the midst of your continuing treatment. What do you do?"

By way of full disclosure...this is pretty much autobiographical. So the issue is very close to home for me.

There are two sides to this thing...those for and those against. The passion is evident on both sides, however, the tactics and the strategies leave a bad taste in the mouth of this very proud and fiercely independent voter.

I will admit that I got pretty much whipped into a frenzy the other night while watching The Rachel Maddow Show as she exposed some of the so called "grassroots" organizations behind the recent "protests" at various congressional town halls across the country. My original post (yes, this is actually version #3) was a really long rant that pointed out the hypocrisy of these so called protests and their value to the debate. To be honest, it was more like a manifesto...and longer than it needed to be. However, it helped me get a lot of stuff off my chest and helped me calm down. With a cooler head, I type this now.

Those that know me well, and I do mean those of you who know and understand my political stance, know that I have a equal disdain for both political parties. I generally do not trust or believe much of what comes out of any politician's mouth...especially during a campaign year. But by way of trying to aide the dialogue, I humbly offer three and only three pieces of advice for each side and one for everyone:

For the Democrats/liberals/health care reformers:

1. You've done a really bad job of getting your message out. Your acting like a bunch of "smarter than anyone else in the room" school boys/girls and while you won "THE" election, all the other kids are starting to get pissed off at your attitude. Check that "...We know what's best for you..." stuff at the door and really start educating folks on your position. I'm currently available and I could help...for a fee of course.
2. Arm your supporters with information. This is basic Communications 101 here folks. There are a lot of folks out there willing to spread the word, but how can you expect them to explain it if even their local representative or senator has a tough time doing so?
3. Confront your critics. You have enough video footage and surveillance on these so called town hall protests to know what the "concerns" are. Clearly, and without the "attitude" mentioned above, state the facts. Answer each new "concern" and repeat. Over and over and over again. Stay on message. You know this stuff...you really don't need me to tell you, do you? And if you do, I am available for the right price.

For my Republican/conservative/anti-reform/Limbaugh minions:

1. The protests caught them off guard. You've made your point. Now back off! You risk overkill if you do this too long...and with that will come backlash. While you have your traditional base all worked up, you are risking irritating the vast majority of independents (there are more of us than you realize) and frankly ticking off all the younger voters that brought about this so called "change we can believe in". Just by way of the "circle of life" and statistics...this is a numbers game you will lose.
2. My #2 from above is the same for you, with one notable change: Arm your supporters with information. This is basic Communications 101 here folks. There are a lot of folks out there willing to spread the word, but arm them with facts instead of fear and conjecture. Again, there are many in your base that will believe everything you tell them because you are their trusted source of information. But don't forget that they have relatives that are younger with more access to the Internet and other media sources. If your scary bedtime stories start to be shown as the paranoid fairy tales of a delusional movement...you are toast.
3. Get the lobbyists, special interests and big (pharmaceutical) business out of your so called "grassroots" movement. You did a much better job of this during the "contract with America" days. Now you are just plain sloppy. These guys with the used car salesman grins and flimsy denials that they are "normal, average Americans" although they are multi-millionaires and corporate PR pros are hurting your cause. It is the height of hubris to think they can go on with a hostile media personality who has done their homework and expect to do well by regurgitating the "company line". Same goes for those puppets you've trotted out as your "real Americans". At least get them a proper teleprompter and an ear piece so you can help them. They get flustered on camera and start reading from the notes you gave them like mindless droids. Geesh! Again, I am available to either side for the right price...to serve as a consultant or work hands on.

Lastly, I refer back to my question much earlier in this piece and ask BOTH SIDES to stop playing politics. The race (and mid-term elections) will be won by those that really try to give the appearance of working together for a compromise instead of this endless bickering. Get it done. Neither side will get EVERYTHING they want, but this is obviously important enough of an issue to garner this much energy. Get it done. All of us sometimes quiet independents voters that you now covet so much will judge you not by how much you didn't do, but what you did do. Get it done. Get it done. Get it done.

Thanks for reading....

T

Spell check is NOT your friend...

If you use e-mail to communicate with the world, you have probably had the unfortunate instance of hitting the "send" button before realizing that you omitted a crucial word or letter. I've done this a few times myself, most notably realizing too late that I left out the "f" in the word "shift" or greeting someone with "hello" and forgetting to hit the "o" key. In your heart and mind, you truly believe you hit that important key, but for some reason the finger that you depended on to make that important strike did not perform and the word is left to ruin the meaning and intent of your note.

Technology is a great thing, but when we get too dependent on it, we neglect to do the things that we should do in order to ensure meaning. So we click on the "spell check" button thinking that this alone will be the last defence to protect us from making a fool of our selves through the printed word. Unfortunately, spell check only checks for the correct spelling of a word, not your intent.

So, as a public service, I implore you to proof read your note before hitting the send button and after you run spell check. It could mean the difference between discussing bathroom activities or the location of a very hot place. :-)

Why don't I believe in luck?

• luck
  1 a: a force that brings good fortune or adversity b: the events or circumstances that operate for or against an individual 2: favoring chance

As I continue my job search, I've had occasion for people to wish me "good luck" on my interview or my job search in general. Most times I let it pass and thank the person for their well wishes. Other times, I tell the person "I don't believe in luck...I believe in blessings." Of course, you have to be careful these days when you tell people something like that, as they may immediately write you off as some religious fanatic or take some offence to their friendly wish being somewhat rebuffed. However, I sometimes try to explain my view of the world and how it relates to luck.

To add to the definition above, I view luck as something that is purely random. With that said, I also do not think "luck" itself can be good or bad, nor do I believe that you can bestow it on someone by wishing it to them. It is just a way for us to conveniently explain and categorize things that we may not be able to explain any other way. Sort of like how some people view spirituality.

I am one of those that believes that everything happens for a reason. Even the smallest most mundane event is important in the shaping of the next and future events. I believe that we are all presented with a series of options that we constantly have to make decisions about. Sometimes we make the right decisions and have a positive outcome. Sometimes we make the wrong decision and get the opposite result.

I relate life to poker. You are dealt a certain set of cards and your success or failure depends on what you do with them. Your decision to raise, check or fold not only has an immediate effect, but also can shape the way the other players (or the rest of the world) reacts and interacts with you. I could write an entire dissertation on the subject, but I'm sure that would only bore you. To sum this metaphor up, while the order of cards and the way they are dealt may be random, it is what you decide to do with the cards you are dealt that has the greatest impact on the outcome. Luck has little to do with it.

So, the next time someone is about to embark on some important endeavor...send them positive vibes, tell them you are praying for them or tell them you know that they will make the right decisions. Because in the end, luck has little to do with it. :-)

The only thing we have to fear...

Sorry for the long hiatus. I've been busy trying to find gainful employment while realizing that I may not be cut out to be a househusband after all. I love my kids...really I do, but I really need to get away and do some corporate stuff...you know...involve myself in a change management project that does not involve Webkins...but enough about me!

I am a recovering news junkie. I mean to the point that I had every cable news channel speed dialed on my remote. I have an entire section of my "Favorites" on IE dedicated to just news. But over the last several weeks...I've not used them. It is mainly because the news...is depressing. It is downright suicidal inducing. Now, don't get me wrong or jump to any conclusions...because I am not in that kind of frame of mind. It is just not conducive to maintaining my positive outlook and attitude to watch the news anymore. They are preaching fear.

I wonder if the media even gets that their fear-mongering is perpetuating the problems in the economy. I'm no Warren Buffet, but if you tune in and hear "The economy is tanking! Save what you can! We all are going to lose are 401Ks!", wouldn't you start to cut back on your spending? Wouldn't you rethink brand name and generic? We've created a self-perpetuating prophesy and we can't get out of the circle.

I don't operate from a place of fear. Yes, I occasionally fall into it "Oh honey, we just don't have the money to go to McDonald's." But then I catch myself and go have a double quarter-pounder with cheese and a medium coke and get two Happy Meals and watch my son go in an endless loop on the indoor play area. Why? Because I think spending my hard earned severance package money from when I got laid off is one of the most patriotic things I can do. I am going to help this economy get back on its feet by continuing to buy the things we need and some of the things we want. Because in the end...it is not Obama or the congress or those (expletive deleted) guys on Wall St. that will pull us out of this mess. It is you, me and every other average Joe and Jane that has the guts to go to Walmart and ring up a $200 grocery bill. Let those guys in DC do what they are going to do. WE have to take control of our destiny.

Do not live in fear. Use CASH instead of credit and be sensible and we will all be OK. We're in this together...and together, we will survive it.

Thanks for reading!

Change gonna come...but can we deal with it?

For the past few days, we've been listening to the reports about the "stimulus" and the "housing recovery" plans, and it strikes me that for as well as the current administration took advantage of new media during the campaign...they have failed to realize the impact it will continue to have throughout the new President's term and from now on. The White House press corps is no longer the gateway to the American ear. There are literally thousands, if not millions of "reporters" and "pundits" across the globe right now doing the same thing I am doing...putting their thoughts and opinions about what is going on out to the universe.

You can start to see the gradual shift of the information flow going back to more traditional mediums. Unfortunately, the landscape has changed. If the present administration continues to slip into the business as usual, same ol' same ol' way of getting their message out...the "change" everyone was expecting will start to seem hollow. The super powers we thought Obama had will start to seem like fiction, and we will all feel the same sense of disappointment that the power of change cannot stand up against the power of Old School DC.

I'm no mathematician...but just take a simple man's look at the numbers. The stimulus bill will save or create 3 million jobs. The unemployment rate today is 5 million. The housing bill will potentially help 8-9 million. The number of homes that are in or close to foreclosure is 27 million. My daughter is pretty good at math...and she knows that these numbers don't add up.

The administration needs to get back to its new media roots and keep people engaged, informed and educated. They are leaving this up to the masses of mass media out there, and people are starting to realize that these guys are only human. This would be OK if they presented themselves as humans up front. The hype was worn like a cape, the speeches and the cute phrasing the mask of the hero. But they are starting to learn the lesson of many a super hero in the pages of Marvel and DC...the hero is only as loved as their last rescue.

Why is it that politicians can't KISS?

Keep it simple, stupid!

Until someone offers to pay me for doing it...I don't plan to try and read through the entire stimulus bill. I am sure there is some really important information in there, but why is it that these people we elected to represent us can't just make a document that every Tom, Teresa, Dick, Darlene, Harry and Harriet can understand? Did we really need 1700+ pages for this thing?

Not to mention, not even President Articulate-one can adequately explain some of the "non-stimulus" stuff in the bill. He sort of throws a lot of words at us in a very passionate and well meaning way, and we are supposed to be appeased by that. Can he really keep hope alive?

I agree with my wife, use the money to pay-off or pay down people's mortgages...using some criterion of course. I don't think we should pardon the stupid, just as we should not reward the crooked. But there are people (like myself) who really are in bad situations by circumstance and no fault of their own. I mean, I only wanted to stay alive after being diagnosed with cancer, is that so wrong? Who knew it would suck all of our resources...even with two insurances?

Then that takes us to health care...and an entire alternate debate.

So I've been given the opportunity to explore other employment options...

...Which basically means I was laid off. the one thing I counted on when I began working for the company is the stability. I worked at a telecom/Internet company back in the late 90's and early 2000's and did the job/company/merger shuffle during the industry hey day. Then I had misfortune to end up at WorldCom. I was going down with the ship until...Texas instruments threw me a life preserver. I was happy, since it seemed like most people die or retire from there. I was happy to do my thing there and slowly creep up the ladder (note the reference to death and retirement...advancement can be slow). But then...the recession came. And after six years, three kids, one successful fight with cancer and a couple of close calls with foreclosure...I am now looking for a new gig.

But hey! This could be the greatest thing that ever happened to me, right?

So, while I have some extra time on my hands...I figured i would start to blog.

My focus will be on subjects concerning how we communicate with each other...and how we shouldn't. I may occasionally drift into politics, religion and other controversial topics.

I can also get a little philosophical on occasion. I try not to preach...but I can go on my rants.

So, for now...that is my first post. We'll see how popular this gets.