We are about to enter an information battle almost identical to the one we fought about Iraq in 2006 & 2007. The cries then were that Iraq was lost and we should leave as soon as possible.
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Now we face an eerily similar choice in Afghanistan, and the cut & run chorus has begun the siren song that we cannot achieve victory.
Betsy - Time to go shop at Whole Foods -
Last week the CEO of Whole Foods, John Mackey, wrote an essay in the WSJ putting forth his ideas for reforming America's health care system. He proposed a series of free-market recommendations along with renewed efforts for people to eat, Surprise!, healthy food. Several of his proposals are what conservatives have been advocating such as allowing people to buy health insurance across state lines, repealing government mandates on what insurance policies must cover, equalizing the tax benefits for those receiving insurance from their employers and those who are self-insured, and tort reform.
For the lèse majesté of not agreeing with President Obama, liberals are up in arms. Ann Althouse links to a post at The Moderate Voice by Richard Blair urging a boycott of Whole Foods.
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Those supporting the sort of ideas that Mackey advocates might want to stop by Whole Foods and pick up some organic vegetables.
I was thinking the same thing, but so far I haven't been able to overcome my fear of hippies enough to actually go to Whole Foods.
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Will legislators even be able to understand the bill once it's written?
Of course not. I have a theory that one of the reasons politics has become so much uglier over the last few years is that politicians and the political process are so much more transparent now.
When I was in high school if politician said something dumb or inflammatory unless a reporter was there no one ever heard about it. Now it is up on YouTube before the guy finishes drawing a breath.
Same thing with a bill. The chances that anyone, outside lobbyists and other professionals such as DC bureau reporters, would read a bill before congress finished passing it was remote. Now any moron (like me) with an internet connection can log on and read all the dirty details about how the government is attempting to screw up over today.
People don't like it when they find out they are getting screwed.
It also doesn't help that laws are written so that no one can understand them. In the USA Today article Betsy links they give the following example:
There's just one hitch: You could read the entire health bill and still not have a very good idea of how the plan would work. Legislative language is notoriously, necessarily murky. Take the opening lines of one of the bill's most controversial sections, the one about voluntary "end of life" counseling:
"SEC. 1233. ADVANCE CARE PLANNING CONSULTATION. (a) Medicare. — (1) IN GENERAL. — Section 1861 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x) is amended — (A) in subsection (s)(2) — (i) by striking 'and' at the end of subparagraph (DD); (ii) by adding 'and' at the end of subparagraph (EE); and (iii) adding at the end the following new subparagraph: '(FF) advance care planning consultation (as defined in subsection (hhh)(1) … "
Got that? Most members of Congress and most Americans could read all 1,017 pages of the House bill (to be fair, much of it isn't quite this opaque) and come away with a confused picture about what it all means.
Nifty huh? It is virtually impossible to know what a bill actually says and does because it is so opaque and convoluted.
All this also explains why there is always such a hurry to get legislation passed now. It is both an attempt to keep you from having time time to read the bill and to keep our elected representatives from having to show how ignorant they are.
Just One Minute - Obama's Talking About His Grandmother Again; People Who Listened Last Time Are Now "Dishonest"
Little Green Footballs - The 'Bush as Hitler' Retrospective -
Suddenly labeling politicians as Nazis isn't as popular as it was say 2 years ago. What could have changed?
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