Framing the Dialogue

Archive for July, 2009

True Cost of Obamacare

I have been listening and writing about President Obama’s push for  ”  I have been frustrated by the misinformation that is constantly provided by a frighteningly benign main stream media.  Even conservative pundits slide and use terminology that gives strength to the plunge into Obamacare. 

Everybody in America (that includes those who are here illegally) has HEALTH CARE,  what they all do not have is HEALTH INSURANCE!  100% of Americans have HEALTH CARE; the best health care in the world.  Ask the Canadians, Brits, and others who come here for treatments not available from their nationalized health care systems.

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I Am From the Government and I Am Here to Help – Part 6

Part 6 – Innovation

It has been a while since my last installment of this series, but a recent demonstration that I attended reminded me of one of my topics…Innovation. 

When I started in my current job I became aware of a project where the federal government was planning to remove sediment from a small recreational lake which was estimated to be 80% full of sediment.  This was in 2001 and the schedule was to have the project completed by 2004. 

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Fish Tales

I know that I should stop reading these “Fish” books as they are a reminder of what a lousy environment that I work in. Fish! Tales is a compilation of stories of businesses that implemented the Fish strategies; Play, Make Their Day, Be There, and Choose Your Attitude.  It is very inspirational to read about managers who value their employees.

Stephen C. Lundin and his co-authors highlight techniques that can be used at work and at home.  One thing that I took away from this edition of the Fish series is recognizing the difference between being physically present versus being fully present:

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I’m Proud of You

Many of you are probably guilty like I was of poking fun of Mr. Rogers’ Neighborhood.  How many of you rolled off of the couch laughing at Eddie Murphy’s urban parody; Mr. Robinson’s Neighborhood?  I did not watch Mr. Rogers as I was growing up.  His show was on PBS and we generally could not get reception where I lived.  I was more of a Captain Kangaroo fan.

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Creative Mind and Success

“We live in mind; and it can return to us only what we think unto it…If we are thinking of ourselves as poor and needy, then the Mind has no choice but to return what we have thought into it.

Maybe the biggest difference between most self-help books and Creative Mind and Success is its strong inclusion of God into the equation.  Originally published in 1919 and again in 1957 (the version that I read) God was more of a daily component of most people’s lives. Ernest Holmesdoes not really offer what God do for us, it is more that we are connected to God and God to us.  We are responsible for our outcomes. 

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912 Project

I was not going to post tonight and planned to just do “research.”  I lurked on the 912 Project web site and came across this story that was funny.  We need to laugh:

The other day I went downtown to run a few errands. I went into the local coffee shop for a snack. I was only there for about 5 minutes. When I came out, there was this cop writing out a parking ticket. I said to him, ‘Come on, man, how about giving a retired person a break?’ He ignored me and continued writing the ticket.

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Out With A Whimper

How many times have you heard this comment in the last six months?

“Worst economy since the Great Depression”

I think that the latest congressional plan for paying off the massive deficit will be to collect a nickel for every time that phrase is mentioned.  If they had a nickel for each time that was mentioned, our deficit would be halved by the end of the year.  That would probably work, except for the “had.”  I suspect we would be “had.”

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All We Are Is Dust In The Wind

The lyrics to Kansas’ famous power ballad, Dust In The Wind, describes to me how our elected officials and American elitists must think about us.

Same old song
Just a drop of water in an endless sea
All we do
Crumbles to the ground though we refuse to see

We are drops of water in an endless sea, all we are is dust in the wind.  How many of you have called, written, faxed, or e-mailed your congressman?  Over the years, I have done this numerous times (I am more of an e-mailer).  My e-mails usually generate the “automatic” reply thanking me for my comments and that Senator Representman would soon reply.

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A Slobbering First Pitch

I am going to make several predictions about news coverage of President Obama’s appearance at MLB’s All Star Game taking into account the mainstream media’s Slobbering Love Affair with the this administration.

Here are my predictions:

  • Chris Matthews will feel another thrill, but not up his “leg” this time. 
  • Keith Olberman will name Dick Cheney the worst man on earth.
  • The Washingtonian magazine will feature an topless Obama on their cover…again.
  • The Associated Press will run an article about how active and “in shape” Obama is.
  • The Huffington Post will get a quote from the catcher saying “how hard the throw was.”
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Update – Hubris (hew – bris)

Update July 14, 2009 – With the start of hearings for the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonya Sotomayor, the hubris was on display.  Contrast the behavior and words of leading Democrats as they smooth the way for Obama’s nominee.  Apparently Judge Sotomayor is “the most experienced Supreme Court nominee in 100 years.”  No word about how many times her rulings were overturned (Answer is 60% overturned).  Maybe that is what make her so experienced.  After all we learn more from our mistakes.

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