Let the "Fun" Begin.

The, um, ill effects from the passage of Obamacare, which seems to have hit a snag of late, are already being felt.

A (Not So) Hidden Agenda, and a Political Blunder?

By no means do I always agree with Mr. Denninger, but unless I am missing something, his thesis, which I have heard him discuss before, seems sound. What I don't understand is the following: if his thesis is correct, Hell, even if it isn't, why didn't the Republicans make this the centerpiece of their argument against health care reform legislation? Had they convincingly portrayed the legislation as merely a stepping stone to a totally socialized medical care system, as opposed to what it appears to be now-which is a short to intermediate term bonanza for health insurers- they might have had more success opposing it. A different problem with Mr. Denninger's thesis is, given that the health care lobby was integral to writing this legislation, why would they cobble together something that spells their doom.

Of course, by the time this health care reform is supposed be fully implemented the condition of the U.S. economy will likely be so poor it will preclude it from functioning.

No Insurance Company Left Behind

By buying off seven God bothering Democratic Party legislators, Obamacare has likely acquired the necessary support to push through passage. It seems only fitting that a few myopic "pro lifers" have given life to this Frankenstein monstrosity since the 2700 page bill in question is an appalling example of focusing on every bit of minute lint so as to avoid confronting the core reasons why health care costs in The United States are far higher- Exhibit no. 1: The insurance industry- than they should be.

The insurance rackets will, it seems, come under stricter federal guidelines, but they will still maintain their monopoly advantage, and then some, since they now will have approximately thirty two million more people paying them premiums either directly or via government subsidy. Of course many of the putative benefits will not take effect for years, though rest assured that will not delay the government levying taxes to pay for the promised changes well in advance of the delivery of service. It should go without saying, and should give no comfort, that many of the legislators responsible for this "reform" will be long gone, including, quite possibly, Obama himself, by the time this program is supposed to be fully implemented.

Finally, I hope it is clear that my objections to this so called reform have nothing to do with the furious assault waged by The Republican Party who, from the beginning, have been bad faith actors in this drama. Had they been in the position to deliver "reform" it would undoubtedly have been even more of a bonanza for the insurance industry and Big Pharma than what just passed.

Where's The Rule of Law in Lawmaking?

They are going to do what they want even if it kills you. Bela Lugosi, excuse me, Nancy Pelosi and her merry band of Demoncrat bloodsuckers, not to be confused with the Repugnantcan bloodsuckers, are at it again. Remember, my fellow Americans, every vote doesn't count.

The Future of the USA

Not only have I all but given up on the quaint idea of an old style revolution taking place in the United States, but having just read Jonathan Raban's piece in The New York Review of Books on the recent Tea Party Convention in Nashville, I've had the following notion re-affirmed: The U.S. as an integrated nation of fifty states stands little chance of holding together. Don't ask me for a date on the breakup of the union, just know that it's an inevitability.

That there are so many indignant imbeciles inhabiting the Tea Party movement does not, by any means, guarantee that the U.S. is set for an imminent dissolution, however, it does cause this blogger to feel that a preemptive move towards a breakup has more than a little merit. In fact, I propose that the part of the U.S. populace that is not hopelessly confused about how we arrived at our present condition, and what measures might best ameliorate our most pressing problems, turn over some decent sized portion of the South and/or the Midwest, or perhaps even the Rocky Mountain states, to the multitude of God bothering mental defectives in the Tea Party. For the average Tea Party member has concluded that, whereas Barack Obama is an "idiot"- apparently a favorite descriptor amongst Tea Party members of the Commander in Chief- Sarah Palin is, by turns, a purveyor of insight, forthrightness, rectitude, and, last, but not least, leadership.

Such a stupefying, not to say, stupid, construction, should not come as any great surprise to those of us who demur from such a view, (a gimlet eyed assessment of both Obama and Palin shows that neither are close to being paragons of virtue, though Obama does have the advantage of not being a complete ignoramus) since, as the aforementioned article more or less makes clear - and Raban's piece, by the way, is by no means a hatchet job on the Tea Party- Sarah Palin's appeal, such as it is, rests, to a considerable extent, on the fact that a substantial portion of the voting demographic are, apparently, as per their own words- "She's just like me"- Sarah Palin. About this one could say a great many things, but I'll limit myself to the observation that narcissism amongst some not insubstantial number of the electorate always has more than a little to say in determining a candidate's popularity.

In the meantime, given the aged, doughy, white complected, Glenn Beck loving, Fundamentalist Christian cast of many, if not most, Tea Party members-yes, Virginia, darker hued and younger citizens do not abound in the Tea Party, one should not expect anything terribly dynamic from the this group's relatively privileged cohort of sanctimonious, colonial garb wearing fanatics.

Haiku of The Week

March

The thaw of springtime

Masks culture's frigid aspect

Nurtures mud and flies