The “Freedom Caucus” proposes removing maternity care from required health services in federal health care plans. It is their worst idea yet. Lately, the Freedom Caucus champions a freedom that means freedom for them, and for the rest of us means nothing left to lose. Worst of all, their version of perfect is detrimental to the community good. – The Freedom Caucus is virulently against a large federal government. As far as I can tell, they are against health care…..
This presidential election is unprecedented in my lifetime in that it is between two people that should not be president by any conventional standard. I really want a wrecking ball for the Citizens United fiasco that brought us this fiasco of purchased owned candidates and an outsider that does not or has not behaved. I have been undecided longer than usual, but I’ve finally hit on an approach, maybe. I’ve decided that if both of these candidates are unelectable scoundrels…..
The first debate of the 2016 Presidential race promises to be a spectacular competition for American hearts and minds. If for a moment we attempt to filter out the marketing messages, hyperbole and the worldview differences between the Presidential candidates and look at leadership style, there is still a vast and illuminating difference between the candidates. The Wonk On the one side we have Clinton, long an analyst steeped in data for every decision. In the age of big data,…..
So small French towns have decided that women’s modest swimwear is the equivalent to the black arm bands students got in trouble for wearing to protest the Viet Nam war. If they were, being from the USA freedom of speech, I would expect their protest to be respected. But they are not even protesting, or weren’t at the start. These women don’t seem to be protesting or supporting anything except their convictions that God would want them to be modest…..
Driving down a major highway at night coming off a major mountain range feels like being poured off the edge of the earth. As if you could miss the earth by going so fast and fall off curved edge of our planet, sucked into a forever darkness. The major highway causes higher speed limits than give comfort, and the darkness and curves not to mention wind through passes mean you don’t know what is ahead, except what it says on the…..
On June 27, 2016, the Supreme Court issued their decision to strike down a restrictions on abortion because the restrictions had no data justifying that their benefits outweighed their cost. Pro-choice advocates cheered and pro-life advocates expressed grief at their defeat. However, the decision wasn’t just about abortion. It was about integrity, as measured by available data. Abortion detesters believe abortion destroys sacred human life. When they advocate for solutions that preserve fetal life they are very strong, appealing to…..
The boy stole something he craved. His mom was livid. “Why?” “Why would you do this when you know it is wrong? You are grounded until you can explain it to me.” He may be grounded a very long time. He rarely if ever had seen the inside of a church. His mom doesn’t find God useful, and considers God’s tastes a bit bloody. The devil is relegated to an entertainment zone, not feared as real. In past generations, the…..
When I heard Ted Cruz was evoking the image of solitary five year old in a public restroom I was flabbergasted. Does he really let a five year daughter old go into a public rest room alone? Fathers, both single fathers and fathers on father-daughter excursions, have to take their young children with them to the rest room just like moms do, don’t they? The image was concocted to counter objections to a law in North Carolinaspecifying how to choose…..
He is an OUTSIDER. He doesn’t fit —for example not pro-life or pro-choice pre-molded positions. He actually uses his brain cells. He doesn’t get it right on the first try but he listens. Eventually he’ll make a good deal. Think about the furor over his latest abortion comments. He has shown the hollowness of BOTH positions in a few brief sentences. First, he pondered that there needed to be some form of punishment, and that surely that would include the…..
The desert sunlight is relentless and unforgiving — unless you plan ahead. The animals and plants must compete viciously to acquire and retain water, and then bloom passionately in deep colors during brief favorable conditions. Only the extreme survive, but when they do they tend to survive for ages, growing slowly but with deep roots. The people reflect the lessons of their environment. It all sounded great on paper: we can vote ahead of time by sending in a simple paper ballot……