Give Capitalism a Chance

Momentum is building for reforming our Nation’s health care structure, but I don’t think the American people are ready for a major overhaul. The California Legislature can keep passing Sheila Kuhl’s single payer measure, but the Republican legislators won’t vote to pay for it and Governor Schwarzenegger won’t sign it. Republicans say the market place [...]

Betting My Hedge

If the economy is going so strong, why is that news to the average Americans? Don’t they read the Wall Street Journal?
The Dow Jones recently broke the 14,000 barrier, but that event was greeted by a yawn (and a wave of profit taking that sent the index back below that threshold).
Congress is debating whether [...]

The Permanent Republican Majority

It’s almost too easy to make fun of Karl Rove. He’s little more than the “Stay-Puft” Marshmallow Man possessed with evil rampaging our democracy.  We laugh at how his grand vision of a permanent Republican majority disintegrated into flaming sugary goo in November 2006. He may still be Bush’s brain (that would make one brain [...]

Impeach Now, or Forever Hold Your Peach

Congressman Adam Schiff (D, CA-29) probably didn’t expect to face a hostile crowd when he attended an informal coffee klatch in his district recently.  In a predominantly left-leaning district where he won with 64% of the vote, it was Mr. Schiff who was out of step with his constituents. The third question the Congressman faced (after [...]

The Tyranny of the Minority

As Alexis de Tocqueville observed in his 1835 book Democracy in America, the unique brand of democracy practiced in the new nation of the United States had the potential to allow the tyrannical power of the majority to subjugate opposing viewpoints.
If a similar survey was conducted of America today, an unbiased observer might recognize that [...]

Of Kings and Commoners

This isn’t a health care blog; that’s just the subject I’m most familiar with. I’m actually new to the whole concept of blogging. I was born at the tail end of the Baby Boom, and although I grew up playing computer games (Space Invaders, anyone?), I’m not a part of the mini-me generation that grew [...]

Nothing to Smile About

 
When Community Health Alliance of Pasadena (CHAP), a nonprofit health center in Pasadena, California, opened its dental clinic in 2001, the first patient was a man in his 60s who was complaining about severe pain in his gums. Since he was uninsured, he hadn’t been to a medical provider in years. The dentist began the [...]

They’ve Got You Covered (You Hope)

 
In a vintage Monty Python sketch, a customer complains to his insurance agent about his claim not being paid. Upon review, the agent makes a startling discovery: “Ah! Here’s the problem. You selected the ‘never-pay’ policy, which works out quite nicely as long as you never make a claim.”
Although the sketch wasn’t referring to health [...]