Conscience, the Robert Reich Endorsement, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.”
- From: amatbus2002 <amatbus2002@xxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 18 Apr 2008 17:33:16 -0700 (PDT)
Today I saw on CNN’s ticker:
http://politicalticker.blogs.cnn.com/
(CNN) — Robert Reich, a former Clinton cabinet member and longtime friend of the former president, has formally endorsed Barack Obama's White House bid, saying Friday that "my conscience won't let me be silent any longer.""Although Hillary Clinton has offered solid and sensible policy
proposals, Obama's strike me as even more so," Reich wrote on his
blog. He served as the Secretary of Labor from 1993-1997 and is
currently a professor at UC Berkeley.
"His plans for reforming Social Security and health care have a better chance of succeeding," Reich continued. "His approaches to the housing crisis and the failures of our financial markets are sounder than hers. His ideas for improving our public schools and confronting the problems of poverty and inequality are more coherent and compelling. He has put forward the more enlightened foreign policy and the more thoughtful plan for controlling global warming."
I first want to know what is weighing on his conscience to make Mr.
former Labor Secretary make the endorsement today.
Second, in terms of the Health Care plans, Obama’s voluntary plan just
doesn’t make much sense if we are to have any change. And I have to
take this opportunity to address Derrick’s argument directly.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kica8hmSdAM
Articulate as he may be, Mr. Derrick is mistaken when he made the
analogy between mandatory car insurance plan and mandatory health care
insurance. First, not everybody who works drives to work. And what
we have in auto liability insurance legislation is a voluntary “honor
system.” It predicates on the matter of free will and each
individual’s weighing the breaking of such law Vs the consequence and
PROBABILITY of getting caught. This is voluntary because of the LACK
of the apparatus for ENFORCEMENT. Each driver makes the decision
whether to take such risk or not -- of breaking the law that is.
An honor system relies on the trustworthiness, the character, the
moral, and integrity of each individual. And it so happens that many
people are not honest. That’s why they search for the loopholes.
They are afraid of being caught. The thieves hated the enforcers such
as the police officers. More importantly, to say that just because a
voluntary (a.k.a. letting EACH participant make the FREE WILL of
paying) car insurance policy doesn’t work and therefore a mandatory
health insurance system wouldn’t work is ignoring the issue. Oh, by
throwing out words like “choice,” “balance,” “private and public
partnership,” woooohoooo… I am not sure that we are _any_ closer to a
solution.
And the gist of the problem as Hillary had pointed out is that young
people think they are “invincible.” And they are often short-
sighted. We are often addicted to “instant gratification.” (And
older people are not exempt.) I know it is typical of some Obamans
along with many Americans to focus primarily on SELF-INTEREST, selfish
interest. It is the same as saying, “Why pay the premiums when I
don’t use the service?” But insurance is for the inevitable. The
overall fee for any insurance policy will _only_ go down and remain
LOW if less people take out from such system and more people put into
it. And by the time a patient, a young patient rather, would need
such services, then the medical fee will be sky high because any
situation would have become a “pre-existing” condition. Moreover,
hospitals charge an uninsured person MORE for the same procedure than
they will ever get from the insurance company. This is highway
robbery.
And people who are for piece-meal answer are NOT FOR REFORM at all…
because otherwise they would have to PAY. Again, this is from the
same “something for nothing” group. Well, if anything catastrophic
happens, they will just declare bankruptcy and stuck the rest of us
with the bill. Hmmm… Personal Responsibility? Sometimes, they would
not hear anything of it. Out of sight, out of mind— let the
government and other people take care of it. It is the “not my
problem” crowd.
And this brings me back to my major disagreement with Obama: We
cannot look towards petty SELFISHNESS to save this nation. We need to
aspire and look up to high ideals (which is contrary to how the system
works right now) and hold everybody up to that level. And if we can’t
break away from the OLD HABIT of seeing it other people’s problem,
when we get stuck with such a bill, it will become EVERYBODY’S
PROBLEM. Money can be better used elsewhere than subsidizing people
with huge bills. What does a typical Computer Tomography Scan cost? -
- An upward of $3000. And if we can’t break away from the SELF-
centered partisan politics, then there is NO CHANGE at all. Period.
After all, it is nothing but such selfish inclination that will lead
to the ATTITUDE of indifference. Indifference among the populace is
HOW we were cowed into this war in Iraq. Indifference and extreme
selfishness among a small group of people is the _cause_ of the mess
that we are in. Excuse me? There is no doubt about it.
It is John F. Kennedy who said, “We don’t do things because they are
easy, but because they are HARD.’
Or as it is according to Steve Robinson:
Where there is a will there is a way,
don't take notice of what the sceptics say.
You know what you want and never you mind,
it's time to fly and leave them all behind.
Everyday is a new start to get up from the falls of the past.
It doesn't matter if you stub your toes,
remember the winners never mind a bloody nose.
Taking a beating is all part of the fun,
this is how the race must be won.
Don't worry about what they think,
Let them gossip around the kitchen sink.
The goal is the door, the plan is the key, your will is the way to the
ultimate dream.
And on the issue of financial crises, I tend to agree with the old
sayings, "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." Of course,
that's exactly why we need to keep guns away from crazy and sick
individuals and out of the hands of criminals. That’s why it is
imperative to have a licensing and registration process. You can own
as many guns as you want (within reasons), as long as you can take
care of them. If anything got out of control, like a gun got stolen,
it is the gun owner’s responsibility pure and simple. If a child got
a hold of a gun and shot somebody, it is the owner’s responsibility
also. People kill people; if they don't use a gun, then they will use
other means, such as a car. That's why we have car licensing. We
have to have a license to drive. Period.
Relating to business, LEVERAGE is not the crime - - the _lack_ of
accountability IS. It is surprising how some crooks can just get away
with everything. Limiting leverage doesn't make much business sense,
for most businesses use other people's money instead of their own.
That's what banks and institutions are for. If a business plan makes
sense and is profitable, then other people can share the wealth. It
is a give and take. However, we have to be more limiting and
discriminating on who can get this kind of LEVERAGE. We need a more
failsafe system. "Guns don't kill people, people kill people." We
need to ensure the quality of such individuals and make sure that they
are held ACCOUNTABLE. Risk taking is part of the game. And
everything involves a certain level of risk. We just need to make
sure those who are not qualified should not get a FREE PASS. That’s
all.
*** The Nine Seconds fall-time unravels the WHOLE mystery behind
9/11.
**Have you forgotten that invading Iraq has nothing to do with the
culprits who perpetuated 9/11?
"We've had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved with
September 11." --George W. Bush, 9-17-2003, 182 days after the
Invasion of Iraq began
=======================================================
ADS
"I mean [pause]... afterall [semi-pause], this (Saddam) is a guy that
tried to kill my dad." George W. Bush, 9-26-2002, in a fund raising
function for GOP Senate Hopeful John Cornyn in Houston, 380 days
after the tragedy of 911 where he revealed his true intention on his
meaning in a speech on "terrorism"
.
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