Losing My Religion

June 17, 2019

I attended a Christian school, St John's Lutheran, in Elyria, Ohio through the 8th grade. St John's was the school affiliated with my family's church; my grandmother and two of my aunts had also attended it in their youth, though at a different location across town. My mother enrolled me in pre-school, at the time thinking I’d later transition to the local public elementary school having had a head-start on the other kids whose parents hadn’t embraced that oh-so-70’s-progressive-concept of pre-school.

In the 2000 Presidential election, George W. Bush famously defeated Al Gore by 537 votes after a prolonged recount in the State of Florida. That year, third-party candidate Ralph Nader was on the ballot as well, running as an alternative option. He received just shy of 3% of the national vote. In Florida, he received 97,488 votes. 

The Republicans released their budget proposal this week. Among many other things worthy of a rant, their budget calls for Medicare to be replaced with a voucher system, which seniors can use to purchase their own health insurance in the private market (the idea being that competition will drive down prices). If you have seniors in your life, go ask them -your parents, grandparents, aunts/uncles, and friends- if they want their Medicare replaced by a voucher so they can "shop around". If they say they don't want that, ask them if they vote Republican.

I was in Cuba last week (Dec 6-13) on a cultural exchange for the Havana Film Festival (in other words I was there legally with a US State Department issued license). Three days after returning, the Obama administration announced the re-establishment of normal diplomatic relations with Cuba, making me one of the last Americans to experience Cuba in its current form, something I will personally forever value. On my trip I took ample notes of my thoughts and observations. Below are some fit for sharing.

An Obamacare Success Story

November 11, 2014

My Obamacare data point: I've been buying my own health insurance on the open market for the past 11 years. For the first 10 years my premium, on average, would increase 10-20% annually. Over time this meant that I simply raised my deductables and co-pays -essentially buying less insurance- in order to keep my insurance affordable. 

Many conservatives dismiss climate change as a conspiracy driven by liberal scientists using false science to ensure their own job security. Well, the US military is a pretty decidedly conservative leaning entity. The Pentagon recently released its own version of a we-better-take-action-on-climate-change-soon-or-future-generations-are-fucked report. Not the United Nations, not the Sierra Club, and not some elite European Institute of Science. The Pentagon.  

So what happened to all those people who were howling last year with predictions about how Obamacare was going to crush the economy, increase unemployment (as businesses couldn't afford to extend coverage to employees, necessitating layoffs), and put us one step closer to godless, latte-sipping socialism? 

Let's take a peak, shall we....

Since January 1, the S&P is up 8% and on pace for 16% annual return. So much for killing the economy. 

Unemployment was 7% in Dec 2013, it's now 6.1%. So much for killing jobs. 

The New Symbol of Terror

June 20, 2014

In September 2012 Islamic Militants attacked the US embassy in Benghazi, Libya, killing two US foreign service officers.

In June 2014 Tea Party Militants shouted "This is a revolution", ambushed two police officers eating lunch at a Las Vegas restaurant, shot and killed them at point-blank range, draped them in the "Don't Tread On Me" flag, then fled to a nearby a Wal-Mart and killed a third person. 

Today Obama announced that he will not be sending troops to Iraq to quell the insurgency.

This is why elections matter.

It's the New Normal

June 10, 2014

There was another school shooting today. It won't be long before "lockdown" is as common a phrase in our schools as "The dog ate my homework" and "Do you have a hall pass?".