Op-Ed
AUSTIN, Texas -- Bet you if I had a nickel for every time
someone has started an article or a speech in past five years by saying,
"The nation's health care system is facing a crisis," or, "Our health care
system is falling apart," I would be a rich woman today.
I suppose I could come up with some dramatic metaphor for the crumbling, tottering, greed-rotted structure, but hey, why don't you check out your health insurance premiums and see how you're doing? Up by 12 percent, 22 percent, 40 percent?
Larger premiums, higher deductibles, increased payments for prescription drugs? Employer dropping your coverage? Are we having fun yet?
I suppose I could come up with some dramatic metaphor for the crumbling, tottering, greed-rotted structure, but hey, why don't you check out your health insurance premiums and see how you're doing? Up by 12 percent, 22 percent, 40 percent?
Larger premiums, higher deductibles, increased payments for prescription drugs? Employer dropping your coverage? Are we having fun yet?
AUSTIN, Texas -- "Peace is not merely a distant goal that we
seek, but a means by which we arrive at that goal." -- Dr. Martin Luther
King Jr.
Normally, making the case for peace over war requires the brain of a gnat. "Jaw, jaw," said Winston Churchill, "is better than war, war." There's not much historical evidence that war does anyone any good: some rare cases of "just war" under St. Augustine's definition. Mostly war (A) kills a lot of people, causing hard feelings; (B) doesn't solve anything; (C) has hideous unintended consequences that often lead to more war. Avoid war if at all possible is the first rule of statesmanship.
Conservatives are fond of pointing out there are problems in this world can't be solved by throwing money at them. There are even more that can't be solved by dropping bombs on them.
Normally, making the case for peace over war requires the brain of a gnat. "Jaw, jaw," said Winston Churchill, "is better than war, war." There's not much historical evidence that war does anyone any good: some rare cases of "just war" under St. Augustine's definition. Mostly war (A) kills a lot of people, causing hard feelings; (B) doesn't solve anything; (C) has hideous unintended consequences that often lead to more war. Avoid war if at all possible is the first rule of statesmanship.
Conservatives are fond of pointing out there are problems in this world can't be solved by throwing money at them. There are even more that can't be solved by dropping bombs on them.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Whee, here we go, the Ledge is back in session!
And many a village is missing its idiot. The 78th biennial disaster is upon
us, and what glorious fodder to feast upon.
Our peerless leaders are faced with a $9.9 billion deficit, almost twice as high as previously estimated, and billions in mandatory increased spending, so the new Republican majority is busily planning to solve this crisis by: (A) outlawing same-sex marriage, (B) giving more legal protection to fetuses and (C) knocking gay Texans out from under coverage by the Hate Crimes Act. This is tremendously useful of them.
Our peerless leaders are faced with a $9.9 billion deficit, almost twice as high as previously estimated, and billions in mandatory increased spending, so the new Republican majority is busily planning to solve this crisis by: (A) outlawing same-sex marriage, (B) giving more legal protection to fetuses and (C) knocking gay Texans out from under coverage by the Hate Crimes Act. This is tremendously useful of them.
AUSTIN, Texas -- I just love the fine print in the president's tax-cut plan. I grant you, the overall effect is pretty spectacular, too -- a plan that has almost no stimulative effect but still opens a future of zillion-dollar deficits to drag down the economy. That's the backasswards of what we need, but it's not the fun part.
Look at these little goodies:
Look at these little goodies:
It's impossible to adequately sum up any year, and 2002 is probably
more difficult than most to grasp. Bursts of militaristic fervor bracketed
the 12 months, which began in the terrible aftermath of 9/11 with the
United States waging a fierce war in Afghanistan. Now, an even larger war
against Iraq seems about to begin.
We can try to remember the nonstop avalanche of media that came between New Year's Day and late December, but most of it is forgettable -- if we're lucky. This is a more or less constant problem in our lives as we avail ourselves of daily mass communications. Whether the medium is television, radio, print or the Internet, the vast majority of what passes before our eyes and gets into our ears is not worth remembering.
The end of a year lends itself to introspection and reminders of mortality. We don't have time to waste, and we may fear that we're wasting it anyway! An old TV Guide or a pile of yellowing newspapers is testimony to the brief shelf-life of media sizzle.
We can try to remember the nonstop avalanche of media that came between New Year's Day and late December, but most of it is forgettable -- if we're lucky. This is a more or less constant problem in our lives as we avail ourselves of daily mass communications. Whether the medium is television, radio, print or the Internet, the vast majority of what passes before our eyes and gets into our ears is not worth remembering.
The end of a year lends itself to introspection and reminders of mortality. We don't have time to waste, and we may fear that we're wasting it anyway! An old TV Guide or a pile of yellowing newspapers is testimony to the brief shelf-life of media sizzle.
AUSTIN, Texas -- I got out the quote-box for today's column, on the theory that we could all use a little more insight and humor at this season than one measly journalist can provide. I suppose you could call this a cheap column, but I prefer to think of it as sharing some of the gifts of 40 years of reading with you. Happy holidays to all.
Margaret Thatcher cited this tablet from ancient Egypt as a model of bureaucratic brevity: "Apollonius to Zeno, Greeting. You did right to send the chickpeas to Memphis. Farewell."
"These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert to fleece the people." -- Abraham Lincoln in the Illinois Legislature, January 1837.
Rep. Emmanuel Cellar would intone: "Consistency is like a stagnant pool. It breeds vipers in the mind."
"Any idiot can face a crisis: It is this day to day living that wears you out." -- Chekhov.
"Neither charm nor patience nor endurance has ever wrested power from those who hold it." -- Frederick Douglass.
Margaret Thatcher cited this tablet from ancient Egypt as a model of bureaucratic brevity: "Apollonius to Zeno, Greeting. You did right to send the chickpeas to Memphis. Farewell."
"These capitalists generally act harmoniously and in concert to fleece the people." -- Abraham Lincoln in the Illinois Legislature, January 1837.
Rep. Emmanuel Cellar would intone: "Consistency is like a stagnant pool. It breeds vipers in the mind."
"Any idiot can face a crisis: It is this day to day living that wears you out." -- Chekhov.
"Neither charm nor patience nor endurance has ever wrested power from those who hold it." -- Frederick Douglass.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Cheap irony and Christmas don't go well together. Christmas and war is another bad combination. But there it is. The only president we've got went down to the Capitol Area Food Bank in Washington, D.C., the other day for a photo op with people who can't afford to eat.
"I hope people around this country realize that agencies such as this food bank need money. They need our contributions. Contribution are down. They shouldn't be down in a time of need," said GeeDubya Bush.
Right away, we notice real progress. When Bush was running for the presidency in 2000, the feds released their annual report on hunger in America, and Texas was once again in its perennial spot at the top of the list, No. 1 in Hunger.
Bush thought it was some dastardly scheme by the Clinton administration to make Texas, and hence Bush, look bad. He denied there were any hungry people in Texas and said, "You'd think the governor would have heard if there are pockets of hunger in Texas." Yeah, you would. But look on the bright side: so he didn't know there's hunger in Texas after six years in office; after only two years in Washington, he's discovered the problem.
"I hope people around this country realize that agencies such as this food bank need money. They need our contributions. Contribution are down. They shouldn't be down in a time of need," said GeeDubya Bush.
Right away, we notice real progress. When Bush was running for the presidency in 2000, the feds released their annual report on hunger in America, and Texas was once again in its perennial spot at the top of the list, No. 1 in Hunger.
Bush thought it was some dastardly scheme by the Clinton administration to make Texas, and hence Bush, look bad. He denied there were any hungry people in Texas and said, "You'd think the governor would have heard if there are pockets of hunger in Texas." Yeah, you would. But look on the bright side: so he didn't know there's hunger in Texas after six years in office; after only two years in Washington, he's discovered the problem.
When they realized that Sean Penn had arrived in Baghdad unannounced,
the Western journalists in the city were taken aback. But they ultimately
seemed more surprised by the great distance between media images and the
man they actually met.
Quite a few other famous actors in the United States have expressed strong opposition to the impending war against Iraq. But so far, only one has traveled there so that actions and words could speak loudly together.
What Sean Penn said is still resonating.
After accompanying Penn to Baghdad and joining him on a wide range of visits -- including with UNICEF workers, Iraqi officials, patients in hospitals and young children in schools -- I sat with Penn as he wrote on a pad at a restaurant inside the Al-Rashid Hotel. Hours later, he was reading his words aloud at a news conference overflowing with reporters, photographers and TV crews from all over the world.
Quite a few other famous actors in the United States have expressed strong opposition to the impending war against Iraq. But so far, only one has traveled there so that actions and words could speak loudly together.
What Sean Penn said is still resonating.
After accompanying Penn to Baghdad and joining him on a wide range of visits -- including with UNICEF workers, Iraqi officials, patients in hospitals and young children in schools -- I sat with Penn as he wrote on a pad at a restaurant inside the Al-Rashid Hotel. Hours later, he was reading his words aloud at a news conference overflowing with reporters, photographers and TV crews from all over the world.
AUSTIN, Texas -- All right, fellow procrastinators. Of course, we have days to go before Christmas -- no point in precipitously plunging into purchasing yet. On the other hand, it is not too soon to begin thinking about just how long we can put it off. And following our customary habit of last-minute, one-stop shopping for all, check on the location of your nearest independent bookstore. Failing that, fall back on a chain. The bookstore is where you can't go wrong on everyone from Great Aunt Pearl to the new in-law who plays golf.
Among the year's special picks:
-- "War Is a Force That Gives Life Meaning," by Chris Hedges. A war correspondent for 15 years for The New York Times, Hedges understands on a visceral level what war looks like and does to people. But this book is more important for his extraordinary intellectual struggle to understand the phenomenon. He may not have all the answers, but he sure has some. Heartbreakingly intelligent.
Among the year's special picks:
-- "War Is a Force That Gives Life Meaning," by Chris Hedges. A war correspondent for 15 years for The New York Times, Hedges understands on a visceral level what war looks like and does to people. But this book is more important for his extraordinary intellectual struggle to understand the phenomenon. He may not have all the answers, but he sure has some. Heartbreakingly intelligent.
AUSTIN, Texas -- Gosh, I'm feeling ever so much better about the economy with the new Bush team on the job. William H. Donaldson to head the Securities and Exchange Commission: just the man to take on the Establishment! Founder of the Wall Street investment firm Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange and former chairman of insurance giant Aetna. A veritable Ralph Nader.
The media report "Wall Street is delighted" that 71-year-old Donaldson, a longtime friend of the Bush family, will be their new regulator. Of course it is all-important that Wall Street should be delighted. Who do you think we're running this game for?
The media report "Wall Street is delighted" that 71-year-old Donaldson, a longtime friend of the Bush family, will be their new regulator. Of course it is all-important that Wall Street should be delighted. Who do you think we're running this game for?