Right and left it's all the same conspiracy / just cause you ask, doesn't make a difference to me Did my civic duty and voted yesterday. Not that it really mattered much... I always was one to go for the under dog :-) I had an unrelated excuse to work from home, so I was able to go to the polls at an off-peak time, and mostly avoid the lines. This also meant that I was the only person in my party at the polls who was under, like, 100 years old. (This probably holds true for the other party, as well, but I didn't sneak over to their side of the building to look)
I went to the first meeting of that Tuesday night women's bible study last night... it looks like it's going to be a good group, but (as of last night) there isn't really anyone my age. And I'm the only one without kids. But everyone seemed happy to have me there anyway. Interestingly enough, there was a woman there who had recently moved from Starkville. So we sat and talked about places we ate and shopped in Starkville, and where exactly we lived.
Somehow, the year has gotten away from me. I was pretty sure it was still the middle of January, and then people started asking me what I want for my birthday, and reminding us to nail down our summer travel plans (since we're looking at traveling in May)... How did it get to be March already?
Right or left, it's all the same conspiracy Having flexed my political activism muscles yesterday over the internet music debate, I wasn't planning to delve into the realms of politics again this soon... But yeah, I have something to say.
Read this, about Massachusetts' initiative to "make sure everyone has health insurance". And everyone is praising it, and if it succeeds it could be a role-model for a national plan, etc.
But I don't see how they are helping. Telling people to get insurance, or risk paying a fine probably isn't going to get great results (look at how many motorists don't have insurance in states that require it -- and the fines for not haveing car insurance are much much higher)... And what about people who can't afford health insurance? I mean, there is a substantial SES demographic that falls between the "I'm so poor I rely on the state to provide my basic needs (and healthcare)" bracket and the "I have enough money to get by (and buy insurance)" bracket. Simply telling people to get insurance isn't going to help.
Asking insurance companies to play nice, probably not going to help either. I mean, really. Plus... if you forced the insurance compies to comply and insure *everyone* who applied... They will raise rates.
Having the government provide health insurance isn't the way either... honestly, I don't want to spend my tax money paying for druggies and alcoholics and people who are otherwise screwing around with their health (any more than it already does).
So the answer? No idea. I agree the healthcare system is broken... but I don't think that either a) mandating health insurance for everyone or b) providing government health insurance for everyone is the answer.
As down from the heavens / descended Chuck Norris Technically, this should be part of my new "shared" thingy that links from my google reader (check it out, in the sidebar)... But it was too funny, and I didn't want anyone to miss it. :-)
ok. So in this entry, I am going to attempt to talk politics. Because it is election day. And you've probably already voted. However... if you are one of those type of people (you know how you are)... the type that gets all whiney and hatey and weepy over politics. Don't. Read. Thank you.
Now. The presidential election. Just in case you wondered, I am voting for Bush. Now... don't get me wrong. I have no great love nor loyalty to the Bush family. I like Dubyah only slightly better than his father. He has made some questionable or possibly even bad decisions as president (stupid us, we elected a human). But. Overall, he hasn't screwed up that badly. I mean, really... he hasn't let any part of the US fall into the ocean. He has only sent our troops in to quell one war that wasn't ours (and we had a vested interest in it, unlike say, Bosnia). No one is trying to impeach him (other than in rumors). The economy, which is so not dependant on the current president but we like to think it is, is... well, the economy. I actually don't know if it's up or down. Huh. The job market is up, for the moment, anyway. No other counties are invading us (other than Mexico).
So, in short, I think that the president is oding an ok job. Maybe not a great job. Maybe not a spectacular job. But it works.
Now. Kerry. I can find very few reasons in Kerry's campaign to actually vote *for* Kerry. Socialist Medical Care? Eh... I (strongly) don't agree with it, but sure, you cold vote for that. Raising the minimum wage? Ok... bad idea, but if you have no understanding of economics, you could vote for that... but that's it. I mean. If you get your political input from the TV (and most people these days do), you would think that Kerry's campaign slogan was "Don't vote for Bush!" How constructive is that? I hate voting against people... I much rather vote for someone than against their opponent.
My prediction? Bush will win, albeit not by so much... and Hillary Clinton will run in 2008. My conspiracy theorist mind thinks that maybe it's planned for Kerry to lose just for this reason... but that's just me.
Next topic: the Mississippi Constitution. Did you know that there's an amendment up for vote today to ban gay marriage, and in fact to refuse to recognize gay marriages from other states. I personally think this is great, while it lasts, but that if it passes it's only a matter of time before the Supreme Court overrules it. But... no one I know really new it was on the ballot until they saw it there... granted, the college community is not informed. I would think that this would be bigger on a college campus, as we have a more outspaken (if not larger) gay population. But no. If we read the Clarion Ledger, or something like that, we might have seen an editorial on it. But there were no "Vote yes on Amendment ###" signs (or vote no, for that matter)... it hasn't been heavily campaigned. Is that because people just expect it to pass? Or is it less of an issue in Mississippi? I'm really not sure...
Ok... political rant over. Go and vote, support democracy, free your mind, and all that. Yay.
I Left My Wallet In El Segundo, in addition to being a real song, with real lyrics (that, strangly enough, are about a guy who left his wallet in el segundo), and a real polyphonic ringtone... is also a blog. Who'd have thought? Not only is it a blog... but it's a political blog. Conservativish politics, too. Wonders will never cease.
This is my brain..... in part, at least.
