Healthcare alternatives

Last night I was thinking of a tiered plan - probably has tons of problems but what plan doesn't?

Here's a 3 tier plan:

Everyone, without exception gets Basic Healthcare for free - and this
has to be as limited as we can - basically preventative medicine and basic care that is cheap at a doctor's office but very expensive at an emergency room. Stuff like prenatal care, colds, flu, TB, possible pandemic stuff we want to keep from spreading, broken bones. Etc.

Then a second tier of healthcare where private plans and the government compete - MRIs, new livers, etc. Not elective but not basic care. Plans could compete on price and coverage.

Tier 3 would be elective stuff - no government plan at this level.

Also one thing that hasn't gotten much coverage - if we insure 47
million more people, we're gonna need more doctors and nurses, clinics, supplies. We'll need to train more people but this is also a boon to employment and
manufacturing.

Finished the Baroque Cycle by Neil Stephenson

A great way to learn history! Read the three books - Quicksilver, The Confusion, The System of the World.

I loved seeing the olde wordes and realizing where so many of our expressions come from.

I took some notes and here they are

page 243 para 2 - the word 'snicked'

page 245 para 1 (and all over the book) - the Mobb aka the Mobile or the Mobility

page 248 para 9 - Neil worked in the expression 'and never expected the Spanish Inquisition'

page 327 para 4 - Neil worked in the expression 'cone of silence'

page 569 para 3 - not sure what he means referring to De Gex and nicotine.

page 602 para 2 - a Dutch ship designer Vroom - thought that was a broomlike creature in Dr. Seuss's On Beyond Zebra.

A note I sent to President Obama

(www.whitehouse.gov)

Dear President Obama,

I want to address the issue of torture. For me it is not an issue of punishing the guilty or making political points. It is getting our country back to the rule of law, sustaining the Constitution, and un-tarnishing our reputation in the world. We've seen how fragile our democracy is and how warped it can become in eight short years.

I urge you to support and press for a non-partisan commission (like the 9/11 Commission) or independent prosecutor to find the truth, assess responsibility, and admit mistakes we made. Then we can move forward as a world leader.

I'm not excited about trials or prison time for the guilty; history will shame those responsible.

I thank God every day that you are our President.

Time for a Third Political Party

Watching all the uproar between Rush and sane Republicans reinforces the thought that the Republicans actually are becoming irrelevant. I think there are millions of people who vote Republican because they have always voted Republican and they haven't noticed that the Republican party has completely changed. They have gone from fiscal conservatives to anything-goes-as-long-as-it-benefits-big-business. They talk small government when it applies to business regulation (that worked pretty well huh?) but have no qualms about prying into your personal life. The party has careened so far to the right that anyone paying attention should see the shift to the dark side.

As the Republicans shrink there is a natural void to fill and that might be where a viable third party could come in. You're probably thinking the Republicans are on the right, Democrats are on the left, so the third party would be centrist. My idea is that the third party must be to the LEFT of Democrats. Let the Democrats run the middle, progressives need their own party and platform. The perceived center has been pulled so far to the right that is is actually where the Republican party was before Regan. Having a Liberal party will serve to yank the center back where it was. Having 3 parties will make governing even more give-and-take but it will give actual power to progressive ideas and Democrats couldn't automatically count on liberal support.

Liberals on the Left Dems in the middle Republicans on the Right

those 3 little words

today I heard those 3 little words I've waited 8 years to hear - "I screwed up."

President Obama said that today about some cabinet choices that had to withdraw. After 8 years of nobody being wrong or able to admit they were responsible, it is change that I've needed to hear. Let's hope for much much more change for the better.

#43 --> #44

President Obama is now the President. George W. Bush stood on the platform and watched as his Presidency quietly ended and Barack's Presidency was quietly started. The peaceful transfer of power is the reason we outlive Communist countries and Monarchies. It is one of the overlooked features of our Constitution so take a moment and appreciate the genius of the men who crafted it.

I was worried that the Bush regime would ignore the elections and the two-term limitation on the Presidency. I was worried that the October surprise would be that a made-up national threat would 'appear' and W would be forced to suspend the elections for our country's safety. I'm breathing a lot easier today.

Constitutional Control System

One of the major methods to control processes and manufacturing plants is the PID controller. PID stands for Proportional, Integral, and Differential control and these terms come right out of calculus and electronics.

The Differential control reacts fast to errors (but might react too much). The Proportional control reacts proportional to the size of the error and is slower than the differential. The slowest is the Integral control which reacts to cumulative errors.

I always thought the checks and balances were like rock-paper-scissors. Now I think our government is similar to a PID controller. The executive branch can react quickly, the Legislative branch ponders issues more than the executive, and the slowest of all is the Judicial.

The analogy isn't perfect but it has helped me think of how well crafted the Constitution is. The founders were very smart and very lucky.

The last 8 years should be a caution to us all of what can happen when our Constitutional control system fails.