Thin Ice

Reading about the lunatics' response to a proposed presidential taped message to school children, I have seen several references to Pink Floyd's great album "The Wall".

While the ones I've seen have not pulled out a specific line, I presume, from the tenor of their other comments, these people refer to the lines "We don't need no thought control" and "Hey! Teachers! Leave them kids alone."

In other words,we don't want the President of the United States to address our children because we think he'll take the opportunity to indoctrinate them into "socialism".

These people are in fact building a wall for their children brick by brick: a brick of intolerance, a brick of suspicion, a brick of racism, a brick of hate....

Perhaps these people should read further in the liner notes of the album for these lyrics:

The Thin Ice (Waters) 2:28

Momma loves her baby
And daddy loves you too.
And the sea may look warm to you babe
And the sky may look blue
But ooooh Baby
Ooooh baby blue
Oooooh babe.

If you should go skating
On the thin ice of modern life
Dragging behind you the silent reproach
Of a million tear-stained eyes
Don't be surprised when a crack in the ice
Appears under your feet.
You slip out of your depth and out of your mind
With your fear flowing out behind you
As you claw the thin ice.
(emphasis added)

Which Side Are You On?...Day 36

Make or break.

Life or death.

These are the two sides Bill Moyers lays out in this excellent commentary.

Two sides, Mr. President, Which side are you on?

Which Side Are You On?...Day 35

Worse, Republicans will see that bullying, being disruptive, and tapping into people's worst fears and instincts works, and will use it on each and every piece of legislation the White House tries to pass for the next 3 years. It's happening on climate change legislation now. Combine that with a disillusioned, disempowered activist left and I'm seeing damage to the Democratic Party well past the 2010 election cycle.

The above quote is from an article on firedoglake. Read the entire article here.It is nominally about health care reform, but it can be read also aprospos the ridiculous "don't-let-my-child-see-hear-contemplate-conjure-(or any other verb of cognition or perception)-the-President-of-the-United-States-of-America-crowd".

I would tone down the writer's wide netting of all Republicans. I'd rather limit it to the dangerous and whacked out fringe of the right wing, which unfortunately, but concidentally, finds itself rather welcome in the G.O.P.

Which Side Are You On?...Day 34

I just had the good fortune today, of attending a meeting with Baron Hill. It was a small gathering at a constituent's home in Jeffersonville. The subject was health care reform.

Rep. Hill took questions from the small group for almost an hour and a half. The audience of about 15-20 friendly supporters was probably seen as a welcome respite from the contentious gatherings which have characterized many of the meetings on this subject held throughout the August recess.

While Rep. Hill spoke openly about a broad range of questions on the topic, one of his comments was particularly important for me. I have criticized Rep. Hill for what I perceived to be lukewarm support for health care reform. He early on walked away from the single payer plan, which I prefer, and which I still believe is the superior plan.

But now it appears, we have the Public Option as the last best hope for substantive reform. So, it was encouraging when Rep. Hill recounted a conversation with one of his wobbly colleagues and fellow Blue Dogs, in which he told the wobbly one to "get a spine", and support the Public Option. He went on to say that the time for delaying reform is over, and now it is time to act. He assessed the President's chances of achieving successful reform as good, if he "regains a hold on the issue" and controls the terms of the debate. But he cautioned, if the President fails to do so within about a week of his address, next Wednesday, to a joint session of Congress, reform might well be doomed. Any lingering doubts about Rep. Hill's sincere commitment to reform have, for me, vanished.

Rep. Hill, further bemoaned the acrid atmosphere seen in the Town Howl meetings. The lack of civility displayed in these gatherings is a serious failing for the nation, he said. And most disturbingly, he attributed the outrageous,venomous hate speech, loosed at some of the more extreme Town Howls, to raw, stupid, racism. The good of the country takes a back seat to intolerance and racism as "opposition" to health care reform becomes the convenient cudgel with which to deliver blows of racism and hatred against a black man in the White House.

Finally, and encouragingly, Rep. Hill said he believes that in "just the last couple of days, the big beast of public opinion has begun to turn in the direction of reform". It's his gut feeling, but I feel it too.

Which Side Are You On?...Day 33

AP falsehood: Budget officials say Obama's plan could "increase the federal deficit" by $1 trillion

Truth: Budget officials said House bill would increase deficit by $239 billion -- not $1 trillion


The health care debate has strayed from the truth as opponents have misperceived facts, either intentionally or through inadequate understanding.

First is a piece from Media Matters which shows serial mistakes on the part of the Associated Press.

________________________________________________________

Mr. Hill stood in front of a mainly pro-health care group of federal workers at a Monday night forum at Indiana University Southeast. Mr. Hill, what did you expect to hear from a group that had nothing to fear or lose in the health care debate?

Mr. Hill had two New Albany Police Department officers waiting behind the curtains in case one of the mostly friendly, invitation-only group would become violent. Big chance of that happening before such a friendly group.

Ken Easterday, Jeffersonville

The letter excerpted here reports on a meeting which I attended. The writer's contention that the crowd was mostly friendy is wrong. Is it maliciously wrong or simply delusional? Who can say?

I offer as proof that the crowd was, in fact, not friendly toward Rep. Hill, a display of loutish behavior by the majority of the crowd: when Rep. Hill mentioned Senator Edward Kennedy, whom one might recall, had died and was buried only about 48 hours previously, the name was met with boos and catcalls. It was a disgusting display of right-wing bile spewed against a liberal standard bearer, not for a coherent reform plan or even against a reform plan. (I chose not to report this in my first post of the meeting Tuesday morning)

The conclusion I draw from this display is that these people have no facts on their side, they have hate and they have fear. And they don't want a black man in the White House. And they're mad because John McCain isn't President and Sarah Palin isn't Vice.

There may have been some who had legitimate concerns about health care reform, but their defensible opposition was colored by the bilious braying of the haters.

Which Side Are You On?...Day 32

Make no mistake, the industry, despite its public assurances to be good-faith partners with the President and Congress, has been at work for years laying the groundwork for devious and often sinister campaigns to manipulate public opinion

This is an excerpt from a speech Wendell Potter, a former health insurance executive, gave recently. (Read the entire speech)

At Baron Hill's Town Hall meeting at IUS Monday, one had to be struck by the fearful reaction to health care reform exhibited by some of the opponents. It was obvious that some had been steered into opposition.

One woman asked a question about the nefarious motives of the government working against "Medicare 'Advance Plans'". The correct term is "Medicare Advantage" plans. Rep. Hill said the reason these plans need to be reined in, is because they are essentially an unnecessary subsidy to the insurance sellers. He said the subsidy amounts to about 30% of the cost of such plans, and that is picked up by the government. That subsidy puts us; the government (government of the people, by the people) that much farther in the hole when it comes to funding quality health care as a right of citizenship.

The woman asking about "advance plans" had been steered into her opposition. But by whom? And, for what reason?

$$$$$$$$$$$???

Which Side Are You On?...Day 31

Baron Hill held a Town Hall meeting yesterday at IUS. While there was some howling, it was, by and large, a civil crowd. A rough guess is that the opponents of health care reform outnumbered the supporters by a ratio of 3:1.

It is difficult for me to be objective about the opposition, so I won't try. My only observation about the opposition is that it is more about Obama than it is about health care.

As Baron Hill spoke, it became clear to me that my question posed throughout this series of posts has been answered by our Congressman. He's clearly on the side of meaningful health care reform, including a public option. I believe he personally supports an even more humane system than the public option, although he will probably not be given an opportunity to vote for such a choice.

Thank you Baron.

Meanwhile, Michele Bachmann, who long ago ran off the rails, appears to roll away even farther from the tracks.