Have you ever heard of Saul Alinsky? Hannity, Limbaugh and Beck seem to think that he had some influence on Barak Obama and his advisers. Not being one to take someone else's word on it, I wanted to find out for myself. As luck would have it, Barnes and Noble had one copy of "Rules for Radicals" on the shelf, so I spent the evening enlightening myself. What I found cost me several hours of sleep last night. I should have just got up and written this blog instead of just lying there stewing about it. Pretty sobering stuff, because now I have a better idea of what is going on and how we got there.
Saul Alinsky wrote the book on community organizing, literally. "Rules for Radicals" was published in 1971, one year before he died. In the book, he enumerates all the principles of the process of being an effective community organizer. Although the book is a veritable textbook with a lot of details, I will dwell on just a couple of points, and how they relate to the current administration. There is quite a bit about "ends justifying the means", which in effect means that if you have identified your goal, you must do and say anything necessary to achieve it. Remember that Candidate Obama promised that 95% of the citizens would not have their taxes raised. Remember that he said that lobbyists would have no influence in his administration. I could go on and on, but the point is that he was deliberately making such misleading statements with the sole purpose of winning the election. He would deal with the truth after he was in the White House. Another point is that the organizer must identify and attack an enemy that is mistreating an underprivileged segment of society. Remember how Obama successfully portrayed the rich as oppressors and should therefore pay all the taxes. Remember how he in turn named big business, the oil companies, Wall Street executives, and now the insurance companies as the villains who must be brought down. It is important to portray the enemy as 100% bad and your solution as 100% good. This sort of cuts the idea of compromise out of the deal, doesn't it?
Alinsky had this to say about dealing with an enemy. Pick the target, freeze it, personalize it, and polarize it. The treatment of Sarah Palin stands out in my mind. Here was a person who had done all the right things in her life, and actually had a great resume to present to the American people. The hatchet job that Obama and his minions pulled on her and her family was absolutely complete and absolutely devastating. The army of lawyers and reporters that Obama sent up to Alaska found absolutely nothing against her, but the ruthlessness of the onslaught had the desired effect. Every liberal friend I have cannot stand her, and even my ex-wife in Germany hates her. Joe the Plumber also fell prey to the Obama machine just because he asked an embarrassing question.
Why am I making such a fuss about this? Mainly, I am concerned that the president we now have has been so obviously influenced by this man, who calls himself a community organizer, but in my day would have been called a "Rabble Rouser". I remind all of you that Obama's civilian career is listed as a "Communty Organizer". After reading the book, this seems to me to be a pretty scary recommendation. But don't just take my word for it. You should all read the book for yourself and make up your own mind. At least, Google "Saul Alinsky" on the internet and read what you find there. Not that I'm trying to imply anything specific, but it would not be the first time that a radical wrote a book that influenced a country to adopt a whole new system of government. "A Communist Manifesto" and "Mein Kampf" come to mind.
Monday, September 14, 2009
Tuesday, September 8, 2009
Rock Star in Chief
Since my blog is mostly political, I usually start my day in front of the TV trying to pick up some bit of news that will inspire me to pour out my heart to you. I was greeted this morning by a clip of Obama giving a rousing campaign speech to a meeting of the AFL-CIO labor union. They were responding enthusiastically, as one might expect, because our leader was promising with fire and brimstone fervor that he was going to take care of them on the healthcare issue, soon to be acted upon in Washington. He didn't need the Acorn organizers with this bunch because they were already on his side, and were in large part responsible for getting him elected. Just another case of a special interest group getting its wheels greased, not an uncommon practice in politics these days. Whoops, that just touched another one of my hot buttons, campaign reform, desperately needed to insure honesty in government, but a subject for another day.
Today, I should keep to the subject of Obama and the healthcare issue. In my heart of hearts, I cannot figure out why he is so adamant about pushing for a government plan (and eventually a single-payer system). He is undoubtedly worried about crossing Harry and Nancy and the rest of the hard left members of his party. But, he doesn't seem worried at all that public sentiment is running 2 to 1 against a government plan. Hasn't he been paying attention to the town hall meetings or the polls?
My inspiration for writing today actually stemmed from an appointment I had at the Creighton School of Dentistry to get a filling. My dentist is a very nice young lady in her senior year, who has been handling my dental needs for some time now, and does a great job. Normally, politics is a taboo subject in such a setting and I am always willing to change the subject in a hurry if it starts to become uncomfortable. But we had some time and she felt like talking this morning, and I was more than willing to listen to her perspective on the healthcare issue. To set the stage a bit, she and her husband are in the later stages of their education and will soon be starting their careers in the medical field. They take their education very seriously and work hard to excel. They have a son who is about a year old, so they have to be concerned about a family as well as a career. She shares my opinion that a government plan will displace private insurance and will result in the government setting prices and wages. She admitted to me that one of the reasons she chose to be a dentist is so she can make some good money and have a nice life. Why else would she put herself through such a demanding and expensive education if she wouldn't be rewarded with a good income when it is over? And, looking at the bigger picture, fewer people will be interested in becoming dentists or doctors, meaning fewer professionals to take care of larger numbers of patients, which would lead to lower quality of care and rationing of services. She and I agree that adopting the Obama plan would be a terrible thing and would destroy a proven system that, in general, works very well. It just needs to be improved in certain areas, and not discarded, as Obama wants to do.
My heart goes out to my young dentist who has shown such determination to make a success of what she has chosen to do. How tragic it would be if our rock-star president, who prefers adulation to caring for the people, would dash her hopes and doom her to a life of mediocrity. She deserves better.
Today, I should keep to the subject of Obama and the healthcare issue. In my heart of hearts, I cannot figure out why he is so adamant about pushing for a government plan (and eventually a single-payer system). He is undoubtedly worried about crossing Harry and Nancy and the rest of the hard left members of his party. But, he doesn't seem worried at all that public sentiment is running 2 to 1 against a government plan. Hasn't he been paying attention to the town hall meetings or the polls?
My inspiration for writing today actually stemmed from an appointment I had at the Creighton School of Dentistry to get a filling. My dentist is a very nice young lady in her senior year, who has been handling my dental needs for some time now, and does a great job. Normally, politics is a taboo subject in such a setting and I am always willing to change the subject in a hurry if it starts to become uncomfortable. But we had some time and she felt like talking this morning, and I was more than willing to listen to her perspective on the healthcare issue. To set the stage a bit, she and her husband are in the later stages of their education and will soon be starting their careers in the medical field. They take their education very seriously and work hard to excel. They have a son who is about a year old, so they have to be concerned about a family as well as a career. She shares my opinion that a government plan will displace private insurance and will result in the government setting prices and wages. She admitted to me that one of the reasons she chose to be a dentist is so she can make some good money and have a nice life. Why else would she put herself through such a demanding and expensive education if she wouldn't be rewarded with a good income when it is over? And, looking at the bigger picture, fewer people will be interested in becoming dentists or doctors, meaning fewer professionals to take care of larger numbers of patients, which would lead to lower quality of care and rationing of services. She and I agree that adopting the Obama plan would be a terrible thing and would destroy a proven system that, in general, works very well. It just needs to be improved in certain areas, and not discarded, as Obama wants to do.
My heart goes out to my young dentist who has shown such determination to make a success of what she has chosen to do. How tragic it would be if our rock-star president, who prefers adulation to caring for the people, would dash her hopes and doom her to a life of mediocrity. She deserves better.
Sunday, September 6, 2009
Spin City
I have been sitting at my computer for the last couple of hours, catching up on the latest treasures from the Sunday news shows. Of course, the big topic is speculation about what the President plans to tell the joint session of Congress. Well, I still don't know, because all I heard was a bunch of artful side-stepping, orchestrated by the powers that be, that was designed to tell us nothing at all. I could not help but think about all the wages that are wasted on such worthless exercises. Why not just give a straight answer to the questions? Why go on the stupid program in the first place if you don't have anything to say?
Actually, I know the answer. People in politics have such a low opinion of the people that they feel we have to be manipulated to form our opinions. You know, we don't have the intelligence to figure things out for ourselves, so they have to tell us what our opinions are supposed to be. All I really want from these people is a straight answer. I'm a big boy. I can handle it. If Obama would appoint a "Straight Talk" czar, maybe that would be a step in the right direction.
Actually, I know the answer. People in politics have such a low opinion of the people that they feel we have to be manipulated to form our opinions. You know, we don't have the intelligence to figure things out for ourselves, so they have to tell us what our opinions are supposed to be. All I really want from these people is a straight answer. I'm a big boy. I can handle it. If Obama would appoint a "Straight Talk" czar, maybe that would be a step in the right direction.
Saturday, September 5, 2009
Vacation's over
On Tuesday, Congress will come back to work after having six weeks off to mull over the future of the healthcare overhaul that is still hanging fire in their hallowed halls. One thing is certain, after hearing the people's concerns at the Town Hall meetings all over the country, they will not be able to push through the 1100+ page monstrosity they were considering before the break. The people have spoken loud and clear that they do not like this bill as it is written. And if the Democrats try to railroad it through on a strictly partisan vote, their political careers will be in serious jeopardy. Even the densest among them should know that it is not wise to vote against the will of their constituents. Even Obama should realize that the "mandate" he thought he had regarding healthcare reform no longer exists. I heard that he now wants to sit down and propose his own version of "reform" and submit it for consideration. This will probably really tick off Nancy and Harry, who thought that they were the ones that were supposed to write the bill. At any rate, it promises to be an uncomfortable situation, because they should have all been on the same page in the first place.
OK, here is how I would handle healthcare reform. First, I would potty-can the bill they are considering now. It is too big, has too many components that the people don't like, and is written in incomprehensible language. Then, I would include the items that the people said they want to see in a bill; namely, tort reform, ability to buy insurance across state lines, eliminate the pre-existing illness provisions in current policies, and attack fraud and waste that costs billions of dollars. I don't know all the ramifications, but it seems to me that electronic records would be a good thing. My Lady Love and I both deal with the VA system, and both also have doctors in the private system (for our own good reasons). I would like them to have full access to both sets of records for obvious reasons. And I would write the bill in plain language that is easy to understand, probably in a couple of hundred pages. At this time, I would take a minimalist attitude to the bill, knowing that our country doesn't have any money, and we can't do the whole hog and go broke. If we can do a couple of things that aren't expensive, let's do them and leave the expensive stuff until the economy improves, then have another look at it. As far as the government option plan goes, I can understand that there are people out there that would find it attractive, but I know that with the government price controls and mandates, private insurance would not be able to compete and would cease to exist, leaving only the government plan. The people are scared to death of this scenario, so I don't think it should be a part of this plan.
You have probably noticed that this proposal is pretty much in line with what the Republicans have wanted all along, but it is also what the grass rooters have been talking about at the Town Hall meetings this summer. If Obama were smart, he would adopt the measures that I have laid out, he would have bipartisan support and he would get a bill passed, and he might just have a ghost of a chance at a second term. But he won't - mark my words - because he is more worried about crossing his special interest groups than serving the people he has sworn to represent.
OK, here is how I would handle healthcare reform. First, I would potty-can the bill they are considering now. It is too big, has too many components that the people don't like, and is written in incomprehensible language. Then, I would include the items that the people said they want to see in a bill; namely, tort reform, ability to buy insurance across state lines, eliminate the pre-existing illness provisions in current policies, and attack fraud and waste that costs billions of dollars. I don't know all the ramifications, but it seems to me that electronic records would be a good thing. My Lady Love and I both deal with the VA system, and both also have doctors in the private system (for our own good reasons). I would like them to have full access to both sets of records for obvious reasons. And I would write the bill in plain language that is easy to understand, probably in a couple of hundred pages. At this time, I would take a minimalist attitude to the bill, knowing that our country doesn't have any money, and we can't do the whole hog and go broke. If we can do a couple of things that aren't expensive, let's do them and leave the expensive stuff until the economy improves, then have another look at it. As far as the government option plan goes, I can understand that there are people out there that would find it attractive, but I know that with the government price controls and mandates, private insurance would not be able to compete and would cease to exist, leaving only the government plan. The people are scared to death of this scenario, so I don't think it should be a part of this plan.
You have probably noticed that this proposal is pretty much in line with what the Republicans have wanted all along, but it is also what the grass rooters have been talking about at the Town Hall meetings this summer. If Obama were smart, he would adopt the measures that I have laid out, he would have bipartisan support and he would get a bill passed, and he might just have a ghost of a chance at a second term. But he won't - mark my words - because he is more worried about crossing his special interest groups than serving the people he has sworn to represent.
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