Same Blog... New Blog Name... New Blog Place...

Well, maybe it could be argued that if it has a new name and is in a new place, it is not the same blog... but since in politics, all things are argued over anyway, even if candidates used to agree, then feel free to argue the point...

Be that as it may, this blog has evolved over time to become mainly about politics, and so last night, I renamed it and gave it a new home...  I hope you will come visit.

It has been renamed "politics... chaos in action".
Its new address is:  http://chaospolitics.wordpress.com.

You can either "take the bus" to come visit (copy and paste the new address into your browser)... or you can "beam" directly to the new address (click on the following link):

             politics...chaos in action

Whichever way you choose, I hope to see you there!!

President Obama...

Thanks to The Pragmatic Progressive Page

Floridians... Get Out and Vote!!

If you live in Florida, today is primary voting day... Voting is an important constitutional right and responsibility as a citizen of the United States!!  So get out and vote!!!

the affordable healthcare act... and the poor...

Whether you like politics or not, your life is affected by the decisions that politicians make.  It doesn't matter a person's age or socio-economic background, the politics and the political issues of our times impact all of us.  Sometimes, the people who have no voice in our political system, the ones who other more powerful or influential people would prefer be forgotten and for whom not many speak - the poor, the homeless, those who live on the margins of society - sometimes it is these people whose lives are affected most by the decisions our politicians make.  

One of the biggest debates in politics these days is the Affordable Healthcare Act (there is actually a longer name for this new healthcare law, but most people will recognize it by the name Obama-Care).  This new law has now been ruled constitutional by the Supreme Court of the United States, but still there continues to be political resistance to it.  One of its provisions, the expansion of Medicaid coverage, is under state, not federal control.   Some of our state governors (mostly Republican governors) still say they are either hesitant, undecided or will flat out refuse to implement this provision - they will not expand coverage under Medicaid to their state's poorer citizens.  


It is unfortunate that many people think of the poor and marginalized as lazy, shiftless, or "no good"... but these descriptive adjectives could not be farther from the truth.  The truth is, the majority of those living in poverty are hard working individuals, who many times work long hours for low pay, sometimes working two or three jobs just to try to make ends meet.  They usually have jobs that do not provide them with health care benefits, and do not pay them enough so they might buy their own health care policies.  


To make matters worse, while they do not make enough money to be able to afford to buy their own health care policy, many of them make too much money to be eligible for coverage under Medicaid.  Therefore, they are not able to take advantage of regular and preventive health care for themselves or their families, leading to the possibility of more expensive health issues down the road... for which society could end up paying anyway!
The Affordable Care Act (Obama-Care) could change that, if the governors of the individual states would be willing to implement the provision that will expand Medicaid coverage for the citizens in their states.


Most of the governors who oppose this provision do so ostensibly for economic reasons, or so they say.  It is my opinion that in the long run it would be more costly to a state's economy to have to pay for the people who go to the hospital but cannot afford to pay their bill, than it would be to expand Medicaid coverage under the provisions of the Affordable Care Act.  PBS NewsHour Correspondent Betty Ann Bowser takes a look at the arguments made by those governors opposed to expanding Medicaid within their states.   


You may be someone who agrees with Obama-Care or you may not like it... but, please don't forget, as the ideologically driven debates continue, that there are real people whose lives could be touched and dramatically improved by each governor putting into effect and practice the provision that calls for the expansion of Medicaid.  Be an advocate and a voice for the voiceless...

Biggest Waste of Time, Effort and US Tax Dollars...

It is time that the Republican-led congress tries to do something that is constructive!! Wasting time and money to vote on repealing the healthcare law, when it should be obvious that they would be unsuccessful is ridiculous! The House might vote to repeal it, but the Senate will not take it up, and President Obama would veto... It is a known fact that the Republicans do not like the law... they don't have to waste our money and their time to prove it!! Do something to help your constituents.... many of whom are probably already benefiting from parts of the healthcare law... and when it is fully implemented, will benefit more!

hypocrisy in action...

Justice in the USA...

Unfortunately, this seems to happen way too often...  and not only with drug cases...  In my humble opinion, Lady Justice is not as "blind" as she is supposed to be...

The Romney Rabbit Hole...

The HuffPost Religion article, "Obama Birth Control Mandate: Catholic Bishops Divided On Legal Battle" includes the following quote:

"Blaire, a leading spokesman on social justice issues as head of the domestic policy committee of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, worried that the confrontational approach taken by the bishops was being exploited by political groups 'very far to the right' who are trying to use the conflict with the White House as 'an anti-Obama campaign.'"

Of course the far right-wing Republicans are exploiting this move by the Roman Catholic Church!  Is this really a surprise to anyone??  Republican strategists are using every scare tactic possible to try to get people to vote for Mitt Romney... and to be able to suggest that The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act interferes with religious beliefs, as they would say is evidenced by the lawsuit brought by the Catholic Bishops, is just one more ploy in their attempts to trick and maneuver people into casting a vote for Mr. Romney without really looking carefully at his positions on the economy, education, healthcare, or foreign policy, just to name a few of the issues the President of the United States has to deal with as he governs our country.  

Oh, wait a minute… we don't need to look too closely at Mr. Romney’s ideas for governing the United States…  because he has already given us a pretty good idea where he stands… 

On the economy:  He’s going “fix it”!  He knows how to do this based on his years of making money for venture capitalists at Bain…  But I wonder for whom he will be trying to make money as the President of the United States…  Who or what will he try to divide up and sell off?  And to whom will he sell?

On education:  He has stated that he will get rid of the US Department of Education, or at least merge it with other departments in the government…  I mean who really needs a Department of (Public) Education when everyone knows that Charter Schools (privately funded, for profit schools) are the best way to go… right?  Hmmm… privately funded, for profit schools… Does that mean that in the future those people in our country who won’t be able to afford it, will then no longer get an education?  Not even a basic one?  I can just see the US literacy rates plummeting now…  That ought to be really good for the United States…

On healthcare:  He will get rid of “Obama-care” (also known as The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act)!!       The piece of legislation that allows young people to stay on their parents’ health insurance until the age of 26, saving them a great deal of money…       The piece of legislation that will not allow insurance companies to charge more for women's coverage than men's coverage...       The piece of legislation that (now) does not allow insurance companies to limit or refuse children insurance based on pre-existing illnesses, and that (by the year 2014) will benefit all people in the same way…       The piece of legislation that does not allow insurance companies to drop someone from coverage at will…or because they actually needed and used their health coverage…       The piece of legislation that will help more Americans be able to get affordable health coverage  (it is called "The...Affordable Care Act" for a reason)…     And Mr. Romney would get rid of it.  Thousands (millions?) of people in the United States cannot afford health care now.  Does this mean that Mr. Romney does not want Americans (all Americans, not just the more affluent ones) to have access to affordable health care?  Sounds like it to me…

On foreign policy:  Well perhaps we don’t really need to worry too much about Mr. Romney’s knowledge of foreign policy…after all, he is up on all the latest news…  Why, just a couple of weeks back, he reminded us just who the United States’ greatest enemy was…  Did you not catch the news that day?  I’ll fill you in…  according to Mr. Romney, America’s greatest enemy and threat is… Russia…  Well, at least he didn’t say it was the now non-existent USSR (Union of Soviet Socialist Republic), of which Russia was a part…  But then, for so many years Russia was synonymous with the USSR…  Maybe I do need to be a little concerned about Mr. Romney’s ability to lead the United States in the area of foreign policy after all…maybe we all do…

Ahhh…   I am sorry…  I did get a little off topic.  I started out this post to say that the Roman Catholic Church is being used by the far right wing of the Republican Party to attempt to gain political momentum and scare people into voting for Mr. Romney.

I guess I went down a Romney rabbit hole…  I’m glad I’m back out of it… it is a little scary to consider what the “Romney States of America” might be like in the future.

It is unfortunate that our first reaction to other people is that of fear and distrust....
"A new commandment I give you, that you love one another..."  ~John 13:34

2012 Republican Presidential Candidates...

I heard this today as I was watching "Morning Joe" on MSNBC:


"The Republican primary race has really been a choice between the unlikeable and the insufferable."
     ~ Tina Brown, Editor-in-Chief, Newsweek Magazine


This is a very interesting summation of the Republican candidates for President in 2012.  Who are the individuals who would have been more likable, sufferable or even desirable to the Republican Party as candidates for President?  Do such individuals actually exist?  And why didn't they run???

Maybe the question really needs to be: What is considered likable, sufferable or desirable for a presidential candidate in the Republican Party?  Maybe if that question were answered, then the more preferred presidential candidates could be found...

But I suspect that this close to the presidential election, even if that question were able to be answered and the more preferred candidate found, that it is too late... and Republicans will be stuck with either Mitt Romney or Rick Santorum or Newt Gingrich or Ron Paul... none of whom have been endorsed wholeheartedly and without any type of reservation by leading Republicans, and all of whom are still running for nomination as the Republican candidate for President in the 2012 campaign.

Trayvon Martin and Hermeneutics for Life...

(Originally posted by me on:  dear world... postcards from life... )

I'm guessing that you may be wondering what the word "hermeneutics" means...  in theology, it is a fancy word for how people approach the reading, study and understanding of the Bible...  are we unbelieving or suspicious of Biblical scripture even before we read it ... or do we approach scripture with a mind-set of acceptance and belief before reading it?  You can think of these as ends of the "hermeneutics spectrum" with a whole lot of ways to approach scripture in-between...

Now you are wondering, "So what?"... 

I suspect we all have a hermeneutic for how we approach other people - our family, our friends, our acquaintances, the people we don't know... that this hermeneutic is different and shifting for the various people we encounter and the times we encounter them... that there are other complicating factors we are not even aware of that influence how we approach others... factors that have been ingrained in us through family and/or societal expectations from the time we were infants...

We rarely even think of any of this, as we see another person and evaluate, judge and approach them...

Again, "So what?"

I think we need to be honest with ourselves... to recognize and pay attention to the underlying factors that guide how we approach others...  our "hermeneutics for life", as it were... and I believe that we need to push back against the ones that would have us immediately be suspicious and perhaps fearful of the people we don't know, the people who are dressed differently, or who talk differently, or who (       ) differently (you can fill in the blank)... the people who we think of as "those other people"... 

Maybe Trayvon Martin might still be alive if George Zimmerman had done just that...  

Maybe all the Trayvon's of the world might still be alive...