Does Anyone Have A Clue?

As the Obamacare debacle continues, so does the one in Afghanistan.  Unless you've been living in a cave, lucky you, you know that President Karzai is dragging his feet over signing an agreement that will protect our soldiers from Afghan prosecution should we leave a contingent behind and they run afoul of Afghan law.

In return, of course, we give more than we get.  They want to tie our hands even more than they already have thus making it easier for our soldiers to err.  As usual it's a bad deal at best.

In our infinite wisdom, however, we've decided to give the Afghan security forces much needed helicopters.  Note I said give.  At a time when our country could sorely use the revenue from selling them, but then the Afghans have privatized the aid we've given them so they have no money.  Perhaps that's not all bad.  At least our people will build them.  What?  No?  We're buying them from the Russians?  We're buying Russian helicopters to give to the Afghans because they are superior to ours.

Well, open the door and come right in.  Those helicopters are going to have to be maintained.  That means Russians will send their techs giving them a new foothold in the country.  What are we thinking?  We know Russia is trying to get a strangle hold on the Mideast.  They already have it in Syria.  We know they are friends with Iran and now they will have carte blanche in Afghanistan.

And speaking of Iran, Karzai has agreed on a "cooperation pact" with them. It is to entail long term political security, economic and cultural cooperation and regional peace security.  Who better than the Russian backed Iranians?

Our Secretary of Defense tried to allay fears by promising to beef up security measures in non-complicit nations and it was of course considered a threat. A state of mistrust promulgated by Israel, Iran's arch enemy.

Let's ice the cake.  It has also been reported that prosecutions for crimes against women has slowed to a crawl, not that it ever really got going.

Dogwalk's solution?  Pull all our military out!  Let the Russians sell their copters directly to Karzai.  If he can't afford them perhaps Iran will lend him the money since they are doing better now that their sanctions have been eased.

Of course, now that Mr. Putin has dissolved state media in Russia it may take some time for how this all works out to reach us.  Not that it matters.  The President wants no part of it because a speech to a captive audience can't fix it.

That's the way things are now.  I understand that.  But please, Mr. President, do the right thing and bring all our personnel home.  If you don't they'll be sitting ducks.  I'm willing to wager the boys from Duck Dynasty would even give you some tips on how to call them home.  It makes no less sense than any other part of our foreign policy!

Who Said Incomes Have To Be Equal?

Remember when America was thought of as the land of opportunity?  When immigrants couldn't wait to come here because they knew with hard work anyone could make it?

Soon it will be nothing more than a memory if the President succeeds in his quest for income equality.  Obviously thinking he is a latter day Robin Hood he is intent on knocking those blankety blank rich down to size.

After all, that is exactly what Obamacare is all about.  Taking from the young and healthy to pay for the old and not so well.  This type of thinking goes against the grain of what made America great.  The ability for those who work hard to succeed.

Why doesn't the government look at the real reasons there is such disparity.  After all, we are regulated to death and taxed beyond belief.  Except for all the exceptions that government has given to their cronies.  Look at the tax incentives the state of Missouri is offering Boeing to get them to build a plant there, as an example.  Look at all the breaks given to Unions.  And green energy experiments that fail because they're not yet ready for prime time.  The free market has shown that yet still money is thrown at them.

Now the fight is over minimum wage.  They're trying to redefine what minimum wage jobs are supposed to be.  Entry level.  They aren't meant to be careers.  But should the increases go into effect the fast food industry, for one, will die.  To cover cover costs prices will go up and there is a point where a Big Mac will be priced right out of the market.  That pesky free market.

This is an area government should stay out of, not entrench itself.  Look at how successful Cash for Clunkers was.  It destroyed the used car market. Look at the stimulus.  More money was spent on signs telling us a project was due to stimulus money than spent on the actual projects.  They weren't as shovel ready as thought.  Remember?

We have oversight agencies.  Why are they not doing their jobs?  If they were, the financial institutions who were inclined to push the envelope would not have gotten so out of control.  Or the government agencies themselves.

Close the loopholes in the tax laws and if you insisit on equalization of something, equalize the tax burden.  Make Unions play by the same rules as everyone else.  Make the government have to comply with the laws they pass.  No more Harry Reid exempting his staff from Obamacare for crying out loud. No more secretary shalls.

It's not the income that needs to be equalized nearly as much asthe burdens placed on earning it.  If the President has his way he won't have to worry about immigration reform.  No one will be wanting to come here.  Our education system is below par.  That is one reason they came.  If we continue to make staying to work nearly impossible they won't bother trying. They'll stay home.  Like in India where we outsource so much because it's less expensive than to do the work on our own soil.

Nope.  It's not what's earned or not earned. It's what the powers that be have done to the American worker with their oh such infinite wisdom - and greed.  

Naivete Rules, Or Is It Really Stupidity?

Let's see where we are today.  Obama has begun a campaign to resell the ACA while still not admitting that the botched roll out is the least of it's problems.  The problem is the law itself and how he continually flouts the Constitution by imposing his own adjustments.  The roll out is but a mere example of incompetence across the board.

 Then there is the fact that the TSA is now searching parked cars at airports supposedly looking for bombs and such.  Of course you don't know about this until you find a note stuck under your windshield wiper telling you this has been done.

Don't you love the police state this administrations is creating?  Apparently so.

Let's return to the Middle East.  They should not be forgotten amid all the domestic turmoil.  We know the administration has negotiated a deal with Iran regarding their nuclear program.  We've eased the sanctions.  Countries it took years to get to comply have rushed back in giving immediate relief to Iran's financial burdens and making reimposition nearly impossible.

We are allowing them to continue enriching uranium though at a lower grade than before.  They've told us in no uncertain terms they will never give up their enrichment program so I don't see that we're being particularly magnanimous.

They also have not retracted any of the rhetoric that makes clear how they feel about the West, especially the U.S., and Israel.  Knowing that we're taking the word of a country who cares little about keeping it but never-the-less we can say we've negotiated.  Right up until it behooves them to put together that bomb.  They'll have all the necessary ingredients just like the North Koreans did and one day there will be a big boom and we'll find they've tested their very first nuke.

No, no.  We'll have strict verification criteria.  Okay.  Then why is the White House looking for ways to allow Iran to keep enriching officially?  Oh, it will be for domestic use only.  Any one who has been following this knows that the current deal has allowed for everything to stop just below weapons grade but at a point where it can be quickly upgraded.

I personally think they have already have the 20% goal, maybe even an actual bomb, and have it safely stashed away therefore entering into these negotiations with absolutely nothing to fear.  That may be a stretch but then maybe not.

The question that begs to be answered, however, is if the Iranians do not have the right to enrich why are we trying to make it easy for them to do so anyway?  For the life of me I have no idea what we're trying to accomplish in that region of the world.

Neither does anyone else and that's why business continues as usual.  Now we're supposedly turning our focus to Asia as China rattles its sabers over territory disputed with Japan. Are we going to negotiate that too and cave in to Chinese demands?  Probably.

If I were the other countries in that region and saw us coming I'd turn tail and run as fast as I could away from the "n" word.  The "n" word?  Negotiation.

Following Blindly Has Its Pitfalls

Two items caught my attention while reading online headlines.  One, a lot of Democrats are still running from the President.  Two, Chris Christie's "bazaar behavior" may hurt his presidential aspirations.

It strikes me as a no win situation.  One that shouldn't be, no matter your politics.

Both sides are like lemmings following their leadership over the cliff into the sea.  Oh sure, both sides have their rebellious types,  the Tea Party Republicans and the Progressive Democrats.  They are the spoilers and proud of it.  That nothing moves forward means nothing as long as it works out to harm the opposition. Any opposition, even if within their own party.  That's forward thinking!

On the Democratic side, they'd not have to be running from the President if they hadn't blindly voted for Obamacare.  If they had voted the truth of the legislation it probably would not have passed, there was so much not addressed and so much flawed it was just plain bad legislation.   But politics being what they are today, they caved to either bribery or threats from their leadership.  Work with the each other?   Not on your life.

On the other hand, the die hard Republican absolutists will not forgive Chris Christie for the liberal leanings he sometimes has taken to be able to govern his state.

Maybe that's what needs to be scrutinized. How do we get back to the methods that get the most good done?  Certainly not following blindly because you are a member of a particular party.  Those who do are putting party,  ideology and career before country. The result has been a President who ignores the Constitution and cherry picks what will and will not be enforced and gets a pass and Secretaries with far too much "shall" power.

Christie, he probably isn't alone though he gets the press, knows that flexibility gets things done.  Would he be as flexible if he were in a Red state?  I can't say for sure, but I would hope so.  As is, however, he is forced to look at both sides to get things done and he has done just that. If I can assume, which is dangerous, this is his philosophy on effective governance.

I hope sometime between now and the 2014 mid-terms both the politicians and the voters see the light.  How much more of this agony and ecstasy emotional see saw can the country take?

If I want to see glee I'll watch the TV show.  I'm tired of watching it in Congress when one side or the other stumbles.  The problem is there is no one around to pick any one up.  They're too busy cheering the fall and we're too busy trying to patch up the mess. 

A Shot In The Dark One More Time

I recently changed doctors.  Not because my former one wasn't in my network, but rather because he didn't take any insurance. But he was a good doctor and over the years we came to understand one another and worked together quite well.  Still, there are things I didn't address because of the out of pocket costs.

 On top of what an office visit cost, I still had my Medicare and supplemental premiums to deal with along with the deductibles that of course also out of pocket. It was pricey.  When he decided to convert his practice to a concierge practice, he priced me right out of his business.  Everyone does what needs to be done.

I was lucky.  I found a practice accepting medicare patients.  In fact since that find I've seen more and more advertising just that.  It's a good time to be on medicare.  The doctors are sure of you even if reimbursements are less.  And you're sure of your doctor.  Few drop you once they have you especially if you go on medicare after the fact.

So that brings me to where I am now.  Still with an aching tailbone that is beginning to affect other parts of the ole bod.  Especially the legs.  Not a happy thought.

The phone rang late Wednesday afternoon and it was my new doctor's office nurse.  She said he had been able to review my previous records and has some thoughts about how we can treat my problem and would I like to come in and discuss it.  Would I!  Boy, was I impressed.

Tomorrow bright and early I will make that call.  I didn't do it Wednesday because I was elbow deep in turkey and no where near my calendar though I'd cancel just about anything to see him.

We'll see what happens.  I'll swallow my pride and waddle in with the dregs of Thanksgiving dinner and the myriad of leftovers clinging to my frame. We'll talk.  I'm willing to do just about anything except dope up on narcotics.  We'll see.

But the idea that he called!  He did what he said he'd do when first we met a month or so ago.  And he says he has some ideas.  There's little more for which I can ask - except that those ideas work.

For those who are losing their doctors and their networks, I have the utmost empathy.  I know the gut wrenching feeling when you lose through no fault of your own a doctor you trust.

If they want to save the ACA cut the fluff from the programs that people neither want nor need and reimburse the doctors and hospitals in sufficient amounts to keep them in business and making a living.  Other than that get the heck out of medicine and insurance.  Let the market take care of itself and let the doctors take care of us.

I'm an easy case.  Most of what ails me is due to aging and less than perfect lifestyle choices.  I can complain but I can live with it.  For those with catastrophic illness to have to contend with what I'm going through it's a life changer and not for the better.  Hopefully it won't take some youngster with cancer dying to get their attention. That's a price the government should not be willing to pay.