Makotokan

I have started yet another blog. I’m hoping to turn it into my new blogging home, something like what Makotokan has been. If you’re interested, check it out here:

http://zenagnostic.blogspot.com.

Cheers!

While Makotokan was down I spent a lot of time writing at Hubpages.com. I enjoy writing there. I get a lot of comments and page views, and there is a chance to earn revenue (although I can see that the types of things I write will not earn me much).

Several “scandals” were cooked up in DC and by the corporate media while the site was down. I wrote two posts on ACORN:

The ACORN Scandal – A Former Organizer Speaks Out
and
The ACORN “Scandal”

And Joe Wilson’s outburst was a popular topic at the time, so I took a closer look at the house bill on health insurance reform in:

Did the President Lie? Illegal Aliens and HR 3200.

Fox News manufactured another crisis when a video surfaced of some elementary school kids singing a song about Barack Obama during black history month. I commented on that in:

Schoolkids Singing Obama’s Praises: Mind Control or Politics as Usual?

I also took a look at Glenn Beck and Michael Savage, two of the most egregious examples of right wing misinformation and outright hate speech in the major media.

Michael Savage, Hate Speech, and Political Violence
and
Glenn Beck, Populist Demagogue.

I realized after publishing that “populist demagogue” is a bit redundant. But, after all, there’s a place in Britain called Tor Hill.

The piece about Savage, and to a lesser extent, the one about Beck, was inspired by the murder of Bill Sparkman. He was a census worker found hanged in Eastern Kentucky with the word “Fed” written on his chest. I wrote about that in American Fascism is Coming.

Finally, I wrote a slightly more philosophical bit about The Problem with American Libertarians.

Enjoy, and comment if the mood strikes.

Yes.

I’ll be posting some new stuff soon. Obviously, a few days turned into a few weeks. But things are better now. Many thanks to the man behind the curtain!

Makotokan will be down for a few days. We are migrating to a new server to save hosting fees. Back soon!

New post at Hubpages.

August 26 – President announces speech.

Sept. 1 – Jim Greer, Chair of Florida GOP, issues press release against the speech

Sept. 2 – Washington Times reports on the speech.

Sept. 2 – Glenn Beck reports it – calls the speech indoctrination and compares Obama to Mussolini

Sept. 2 – O’Reilly Factor attacks the speech, compares Obama to Chairman Mao.

Sept. 2 – Michelle Malkin attacks the speech in a column.

Sept. 2 – Hannity interviews Michelle Malkin about the speech, calls it indoctrination.

Sept. 2 – an email circulates encouraging parents to keep their kids home on that day and protest the speech.

Sept. 2 – the first newspaper article reports that parents are planning on keeping their kids home from school.

Sept. 3 – The Fox Nation reports on the speech in a show titled “Will You Keep Your Kids Home the Day Obama Speaks to Schools?”.

Am I the only one who sees Fox news as actively organizing against Obama along with the Republican party here? They devoted practically nonstop coverage to this issue. Does a network have a right to use its bully pulpit like this, or should they stick to facts? (We can get into lies propagated by Fox later).

‘Athens’ on the Net – NYTimes.com

Clean Water Act Violations: The Enforcement Record – Interactive Graphic – NYTimes.com

I came across the graphic through this article:

Toxic Waters – Clean Water Laws Are Neglected, at a Cost to Health – Series – NYTimes.com

I am bewildered. I really don’t understand why people are so riled up about the government reforming the insurance industry.

Where were all these people in March of 2003, when George Bush committed the most expensive strategic blunder this nation has ever seen?

The Iraq war, so far, has cost $916 billion. This price tag will go up as time goes on, as we provide long term care for injured vets, etc. The health care plan is projected to cost just $85 billiion more, about $1 trillion – but it’s projected to pay for itself in savings. Even if it only pays for half of its expenses, it will be less expensive than the Iraq war, which will not produce any revenue or savings for the US government.

In addition, the Iraq war has resulted in 4334 deaths of US soldiers and more than 30,000 wounded. Somewhere between 100,000 and 600,000 Iraqi civilians have been killed as a result of the war (its impossible to tell because no one keeps official records of civilian deaths). One estimate places the number of Iraqi dead at 1 million!

The costs of the Iraq war are immense. The costs of insurance reform are not comparable.

So what about the benefits? 46 million Americans have no health insurance. At least some of them will get better access to health care if reform passes. Prices can be capped, efficiency increased, and competition stimulated. The Iraq war, however, has no benefits to the US that I can see, except for a military presence in the major oil producing region of the world.

Seriously – that’s the only real benefit I can think of. Saddam was a dictator and an evil man, but he was no threat to the US, and even the Bush administration recognized this fact prior to 9/11.

“We are able to keep arms from him[Saddam Hussein]. His military forces have not been rebuilt.” -Condoleezza Rice in July 2001

“He [Saddam Hussein] has not developed any significant capability with respect to weapons of mass destruction. He is unable to project conventional power against his neighbours.” -Colin Powell in February 2001

What about the dangers of insurance reform vs. the dangers of the Iraq war? Hmm – there’s a danger we’ll have to stand in line… vs. the danger of destabilizing the entire Middle East and WWIII?

What about the morality of insurance reform vs. the morality of the Iraq war? Which is better, broadening access to health care for Americans or destroying and destabilizing a country?

So, I have to ask again: why are people so worked up over health insurance reform when they said nothing about the Iraq war or the Patriot act or any of Bush’s other abuses of power?

You probably know that Bush wiretapped American citizens with no warrant. Did you know that his Justice Department held an American citizen in captivity for nearly two years without trial or access to a lawyer – which is a fundamental right guaranteed by the constitution?

Did you know that he authorized federal agents to break into the homes of American citizens to search their property – without a warrant and without the knowledge of the person being investigated?

I could go on – the point is, if Obama’s health insurance is provoking this sort of reaction, given its basically benign nature and relative low cost – why weren’t there bloody riots in the streets when Bush was doing his thing?

I’m truly confused! What’s going on with America?

13 more things: The nocebo effect – 02 September 2009 – New Scientist