Update no.616

Update from the Heartland

No.616

30.9.13 – 6.10.13

Blog version:  http://heartlandupdate.blogspot.com/

To all,

The follow-up news items:

-- The Senate voted to table H.J. Res. 59 – the continuing appropriations bill [615] – by a strict party line vote [54-46-0-0(0)] at 09:33 [R] EDT, 1.October.2013; and so began the shutdown of the federal government.  Congress did manage to pass the Pay Our Military Act [PL 113-039; H.R.3210; Senate: unanimous consent; House: 423-0-0-8(4); 127 Stat. xxxx] – two (2) days from introduction to the President’s signature, very impressive and just in the nick of time.  On Saturday, the House of Representatives passed another bill {H.R.3223 - Federal Employee Retroactive Pay Fairness Act [407-0-0-24(4)]}intended to dampen the furor building against the House majority party and sent to the Senate, to at least ingratiate themselves with federal employees furloughed by the budget impasse.

            President Obama said, “One faction of one party in one house of Congress in one branch of government doesn't get to shut down the entire government just to re-fight the results of an election.”  Well, Mister President, that one faction did in fact do just that.

            The Spin continues, each blaming the other; depending upon your political perspective or persuasion, most folks will line up behind one spin-doctor or another.

            I do understand the vehemence of the Tea Party Republican minority.  I want a smaller, more constitutional, more effective, federal government.  Like that minority, I have more than a little apprehension regarding the consequences of the PPACA.  However, the risk to the tenuous recovery is too great.  This is NOT the way to conduct a proper debate regarding the improvement or reform of the PPACA.

            I also appreciate some redneck in Appalachia who could care less about his rotten teeth or his disfiguring, jaw tumor from incessant use of chewing tobacco, does not want medical or dental insurance.  He doesn’t need it.  I am perfectly comfortable with someone making that decision as long as they agree to not seek medical/dental treatment without paying in full, in cash ahead of time, and all medical & dental facilities & personnel are alerted they are prohibited by law to treat the individual without full payment or pass along uncollectible fees to other patients.  We cannot and must not allow someone to stonewall the system, and then turn around in the future and expect the system to save their sorry ass!  PPACA has the correct objective; I just do not know if it has the correct methods to achieve the objective; and, we probably won’t know for a few years of operation or perhaps a generation.

            I do not blame those freshmen Tea Party Republicans who reflect the views and opinions of their constituencies as they should.  Other Republicans are not in such safe, conservative districts.  The mid-term elections may not be so kind to those more moderate representatives.  My contempt is for the Republican leadership who are apparently so fearful of this minority wrath they feel compelled to use the lowest common denominator to hold their voting block together.  To me, it is not the Tea Party believers that brought us to this state; it is a weak Republican Party leadership who cannot stand up to the minority faction within their caucus and their political party.  Their incessant chants castigating the President for not negotiating are hollow, shallow and otherwise without substance.

            Presumably embarrassed, senators and representatives are claiming they will forgo their salary during the shutdown by donating to charity, returning funds to the Treasury, or some such nonsense.  They have not performed their constitutional duty; they do not deserve to be paid until they do.

-- According to a U.N. official as reported by the Associated Press, Syrian officials turned over their first inventory of chemical weapons and storage sites [615], a list that U.S. analysts described as detailed, although incomplete. Inspectors have begun destroying Syria's chemical weapons stockpile and machinery.

The Commandant of the Marine Corps ordered the retirement of Major General Charles Mark Gurganus, USMC, who was the Commanding General, I MEF (Forward), Regional Command Southwest, and Major General Gregg A. Sturdevant, USMC, who was the Commanding General, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing (Forward) and Commanding General, Bastion/Leatherneck Complex, for their failure to properly defend Camp Bastion [612].  Hardly an appropriate consequence for dereliction of duty; however, I suspect the softer landing for the two generals reflects the reality dictated to them, i.e., insufficient forces to perform their mission as defined.  And so it goes.

Several month ago, the Supreme Court issued it ruling in the case of Fisher v. University of Texas at Austin [570 U.S. ___ (2013); no. 12-345] and created quite the disturbance in the Force, as the accusations abound that the Supremes had gutted the vaunted and revered Civil Rights Act of 1964 [PL 88-352; 78 Stat. 241; 2.July.1964].  Well, the law was not in question in Fisher, but rather the application of the 14^th Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause.  The Court voted 7-1-1 to declare the university’s use of race as a factor in admissions decisions is unconstitutional in that the university “must make a showing that its [admissions] plan is narrowly tailored to achieve the only interest that this Court has approved in this context: the benefits of a student body diversity that ‘encompasses a . . . broa[d] array of qualifications and characteristics of which racial or ethnic origin is but a single though important element.’”  Associate Justice Thomas felt the Court did not go far enough in unraveling affirmative action.  He noted, “The worst forms of racial discrimination in this Nation have always been accompanied by straight-faced representations that discrimination helped minorities.”  He went on, “The University's professed good intentions cannot excuse its outright racial discrimination any more than such intentions justified the now denounced arguments of slaveholders and segregationists”; and concluded, “Although cloaked in good intentions, the University's racial tinkering harms the very people it claims to be helping.”  An interesting case!

            The question before us – We, the People – is: At what point has institutional racism diminished to no longer justify affirmative action?  The Supremes apparently feel that threshold has been past or is near.

News from the economic front:

-- Speaking at George Washington University, International Monetary Fund Managing Director Christine Lagarde said, “The [U.S.] government shutdown is bad enough, but failure to raise the debt ceiling would be far worse,” and continued, “So it is ‘mission-critical’ that this be resolved as soon as possible.”

            While I do not imagine Ms. Lagarde wished to interject herself into the American political quagmire, her statement does reflect the degree of apprehension she has for the impact of American political shenanigans on the world economy.  Lagarde believes that the world economy is going through “transitions on an epic scale,” and that process is quite fragile.

Comments and contributions from Update no.615:

Comment to the Blog:

“As I write this, the government shutdown continues. If anyone still needs proof that U.S. government is broken, here’s your sign. The international anti-American terrorists, if they exist, must be rejoicing. Why would they risk their lives attacking us if we are attacking ourselves?

“I have been one of those looking forward to coverage under PPACA (Obamacare). However, when I called with what I thought was a simple question last week (before the “marketplaces” went live), the customer service person’s computer crashed three times while I waited and the answer to my question was, “Apply and see what happens.” PPACA is a good (not great) idea but is poorly executed. Even if it eventually works as intended, it will not bring the U.S. up to the standard of the developed world. My niece who moved to Canada has once again expressed her appreciation of their system versus ours.

“I wish you well preserving your coverage. As far as I know, PPACA will not affect Medicare or Tri-Care. Were I doing it, I think I would try to get myself set up with those in hopes that I would be “grandfathered in” for any future changes. However, that is guesswork, not information.

“I have ceased following the Syria drama, but I noted you reporting Israel’s statements about the situation as if Israel was a reliable source. Israel guards Israel’s interests and nothing else.

“I rejoice at the continuing criminal charges in the LIBOR mess. A reasonable certainty of jail time should deter white-collar criminals in a way the threat of corporate fines has not done.”

My response to the Blog:

            Re: “shutdown” – attacking ourselves indeed.

            Re: “PPACA.”  I can understand and appreciate the fact that some folks object to PPACA – strongly.  I’ve never been too keen on being told I must do something I do not want to do.  However, this notion is not new, e.g., federal income taxes, Social Security tax, Medicare tax, et cetera.  Perhaps the solution is, an opt-out provision that excludes the individual from the health care system by anything other than on a pre-paid, cash basis.

            Re: “Canada et al.”  It is a popular notion.  However, universal health care as provided in Canada, U.K., Italy, et cetera, are not as dreamy as they are touted to be in contemporary mythology.  They are indeed excellent for routine, preventive, medicine stuff.  They are also comparable to the best in the world for emergency treatment.  Where they fall off is in the ambiguous middle ground between the two extremes.  I had a friend in Canada who had heart problems; he was told his condition was not serious enough for emergency treatment and he would have to wait approximately nine months, give or take, for his necessary bypass surgery.  Unfortunately, his condition became critical too fast and the damage too great to be saved.  Therein lays the fear.  I am enormously grateful and appreciative that I was not told I had to wait for treatment while my cancer continued to grow.

            Re: “my coverage.”  Thank you.  We are making progress, but it is not resolved yet and it remains a concern – transition to retirement.

            Re: “Syria.”  Understood.  I have not seen corroboration of the Israeli information, as yet.  The intentional use of chemical weapons is unequivocal and irrefutable.  The perpetrator is not so clear, but the circumstantial evidence is compelling . . . at least to me.

            Re: LIBOR.  Sadly, the LIBOR scandal is just a minor collateral issue when compared to the financial debacle of 2008 and the Great Recession.  Nonetheless, I am with you, which is why I keep reporting on these milestones.  The reality is, the perpetrators of the financial collapse could never be punished enough for the damage they did – all in the name of greed.

My very best wishes to all.  Take care of yourselves and each other.

Cheers,

Cap                        :-)