Rafa Rocks: Man storms on to the U.S. Open Court after match, he hugs then kisses Rafael Nadal. After he's taken away by security Rafa says ""For me, it wasn't a problem. The guy was really nice. He said, 'I love you,' and he kissed me."
Yikes! AP: 4 out of every 10 working age Californians unemployed. That's 40% unemployment. Severe. A bit of a stretch. But let's be honest, around the country the real numbers are much higher than the 9.7% reported and we all know it. There does seem to be an effort to keep the official number under 10%
I deleted a post I'd written Wednesday night because in it I stated that I felt it was possible some of the protests against health care reform were over the top. I re-read it once and realized I had no baseline for what "over the top" actually is in this case. (Was the Boston Tea Party "over the top"?)
The anger, however imprecise, is real. Those with financial interests in the outcome are campaigning. Many with self interest in the outcome are rebelling. Those who watch these fights regularly have not clued into this distinction with a very big difference.
This is in fact what Sarah Palin hit on in her shocking image of a "death panel" under Obamacare that would make irrevocable decisions about the disabled and elderly. When I first saw that phrase, headlined on the Drudge Report, I burst out laughing. It seemed so over the top! But on reflection, I realized that Palin's shrewdly timed metaphor spoke directly to the electorate's unease with the prospect of shadowy, unelected government figures controlling our lives.
Palin herself - again on Facebook - gave a specific and intelligent defense of her original use of the phrase.
Now put this in context. These consultations are authorized whenever a Medicare recipient's health changes significantly or when they enter a nursing home, and they are part of a bill whose stated purpose is "to reduce the growth in health care spending." Is it any wonder that senior citizens might view such consultations as attempts to convince them to help reduce health care costs by accepting minimal end-of-life care? As Charles Lane notes in the Washington Post, Section 1233 "addresses compassionate goals in disconcerting proximity to fiscal ones...If it's all about obviating suffering, emotional or physical, what's it doing in a measure to "bend the curve" on health-care costs?" Emphasis mine.
There is much railing about Palin being "stupid." More pieces like the one linked above will make that complaint untenable.
In context, as Palin wrote, "death panels" suddenly becomes less a leap and more of a moderate stretch. The revulsion against this provision less hysterical and more a sign of hope that at least some of us are paying attention to what our representatives are doing. Obviously, "death panels" were not going to be legalized in the final bill. What has been stopped here is badly written law that blithely skimmed morality's outer banks.
All of this is happening as President Obama continues skimming facts when he's not outright lying. Again Paglia - who is no friend of the Right:
...Instead what we've gotten is a series of facile, vulgar innuendos about how doctors conduct their practice, as if their primary motive is money. Quite frankly, the president gives little sense of direct knowledge of medical protocols; it's as if his views are a tissue of hearsay and scatter shot worst-case scenario...
As noted earlier here The American College of Surgeons has had enough of Obama's foolish errors. The relentless talking point that Obama is deliberate and intelligent above all else needs to cease. It contradicts reams of evidence - most of it supplied by him. "No drama Obama" is misleading to say the least. Some in positions of authority brook no drama because they demand to be surrounded by cool heads while grappling with serious issues. Some demand no drama because they do not know what the hell they are doing. Any upset is liable to demand resolution - blowing their cover. Peggy Noonan, who I usually count among the chattering know nothings, does precisely put an emerging Obama truth in her latest column:
The president seemed like a man long celebrated as being very good at politics-the swift rise, the astute reading of a varied electorate-who is finding out day by day that he isn't actually all that good at it.
Of course, the sobering and sickening reality for sane liberals is that Obama and his hacks are burying the Left for a generation.
The miserable have no other medicine but only hope.
W. Shakespeare from Measure For Measure
No Bull Reading and Watching For Friday: 1.Truth is Gold - We're Surrounded...That Simplifies Our Problem. 2.Paglia Pummels: I've always admired Paglia for going after the "gender studies" crowd and still retaining her liberal identity. Her thinking is clear and consistent, unlike many of her contemporaries on the feminist Left. "Every penny Rush has earned was the result of his rapport with a vast audience who felt shut out and silenced by the liberal monopoly of major media." 3.Two from the Christian Science Monitor. A. Unreal Estate - Treasury Dept plans 1 trillion dollar bailout for Malls. No this is not from the Onion. I kid you not. Unreal. Another trillion that simply does not exist for the American institution least likely the survive. THE MALL. This is a delusion, rapped in a fantasy, covered with hallucinations... B. Post Christian? The coming evangelical collapse. Actually, I think this writer is wrong and having a "Happy, Earnest Young Christan" (We all know the type from high school) delusion about the fledgling "home church" movement. A smaller, more community based Christianity is set for a big comeback, because a smaller, more community based everything is set for a big comeback. Depressions being what they are... P.S. - as a "born just once - thank you very much - deeds actually matter more than a momentary spasm of accepting a Technicolor, 70 millimeter Jesus as my lord and savior Christian - of the Anglo-Catholic, go to confession, ash on the forehead, occasionally vespers attending, organ music variety I want to say: I find the happy, earnest, let's pal around together, version of Jesus almost unbearable. Not sure why I wanted to say that - but I did. I am wary of them in the same way I am of bears in the woods, or 80s TV stars on Melrose. 4. From the Right: I agree with Will on BHO's budget and his handling of the economy. He says Obama is not being "clear or plausible" - I called the budget blueprint ridiculous and absurd. Will says: The first president whose campaign was his qualification for office continues to campaign. 5. From the Bronx: Celente predictingfood riots in the U.S. this year. Like that nutty Russian, this American ( sub species found just north of Manhattan: Homo Inyourface-culus ) also thinks America may break apart. But, happily, he says: Without art we are doomed. And recommends sending kids to art school. 6. Agree with him or not, he's important.Stewart matters. Like his destruction of Crossfire - he pulled CNBCs cover with mocking humor. In both cases pointing out the debasing of information for the purpose of ratings and entertainment. Mr. Chayefski pointed out the dangers to a democracy of "scream journalism" way back when with this movie. Music: From the 80s. Fine Young Cannibals cover a cover by Elvis -beautifully in my book. Roland Gift's voice is sexy and unique enough to revisit The King without inviting disappointment.
