Single-Payer Healthcare: Cost-Effective, Universal, and Accountable

From my perspective, adapting a single-payer healthcare system is truly the most cost-effective and accountable way to insure every American. I think it’s fairly reasonable to say that the majority of Americans are not against the idea of universal care; the problem however remains that so many uninsured citizens are intimidated, and most importantly afraid and overwhelmed by subsidzing the public entity.

I’m part of a family plan, and am already privately covered, but do not reject in the slightest moving to a government-run public system. The gist of liberal-leaning voters, methinks, can accept just the same. But the Democratic plan isn’t exactly widely understood, and I blame ourselves for that. Irresponsible Republicans are offering no compromise; responsible Republicans work hard to come up with a compromise, however, that will be even less coherent than the Democratic plan. My advice: make the public understand, put single-payer healthcare on the table, and move forward.  No one is thrilled with the insurance companies, and as Mr. Krugman warned several weeks ago in a NYTimes op-ed, do not trust them. There’s a way to make single-payer healthcare politically possible; we have to talk about it.

Wistful Smiles, Sir Edward

Firstly, a note on the wonderfully talented composer who ended his life in Zurich last week, with the help of an assisted suicide clinic, and by the side of his terminally ill wife. And, methinks there’s nothing immoral about this, as the couple truly wished to die hand-in-hand; in fact, I don’t see why America doesn’t consider changing the legal position on this.

Secondly, Sir Edward’s children are really named “Caractacus” & “Boudicca?” Awesome.

Quandaries Behind the Screen

The last time I felt this ambivalent about a film, coincidentally, was when The Reader debuted. Winslet’s taut, naked belly titillated me enough to forget, for a short time, that she allowed 300 innocent peoples blacken and burn to death inside an ablazed church. The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas equalled that ambivalence tonight. 

Though masterfully filmed, and written by Boyne for that matter, it severely distorted and trivialized the Holocaust, which is something I’m not willing to overlook. Yes, yes it saddened me, numbed me; but what to make of a world calamity hijacked for the tragedy of a Nazi family? As in The Reader, I struggled to find a balance between beautiful filmwork and misplaced sentimentality. The innocence of a young child, ignorant of his own father’s monstrous doings, is easy bait for soft-hearted watchers. Hence making The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas a story of utter and unnecessary embroidery. It’s a film I’d recommend, but not more than once. There is no joy in reconciling with WWII Hitler vermin.

Ezra Pound recordings

The extraordinary PENNsound site has recently added an extraordinary trove of Ezra Pound recordings, along with an essay by Richard Sieburth, “The Sound of Pound: A Listerner’s Guide“. One of the most interesting aspects of Sieburth’s essay, to me, was his description of Pound’s encounter with the L’abbé Jean-Pierre Rousselot.

From this piece at Language Log, which has some interesting information about phonetic studies, their relevance to poetry, kymograph, and the school days of Pound. Take a look!

Overindulgent Palin Stuff

The insignificane of Sarah Palin’s 10-month duration on the national circuit is so extreme, to one point where major media networks and liberal newspaper columnists can’t comprehend, that I cringe in pity at the realization of it. I’ve already read two well-wrought but well-unnecessary pieces of Palin coverage in the NYTimes, one other on an erudite and popular WordPress blog, and to be rather honest, I don’t need anyone to iterate what I already know, and subsequently wither to when hearing again, that Sarah Palin was not qualified politically or emotionally to sustain such a prominent position. I truly despise this woman for a plethora of political stances, but I refuse to give the Republican party what they deserve: an “I told ya.” The resignation of Sarah Palin was more of a saber to Republicans than people realize; this was the conservative who would potentially command the GOP flagship, carry them to a 2012 beer-filled victory, earn the hearts of thousands, win another term, and be the Obama-like figure of the Red Party. But as many educated conservatives knows, this was never feasible. Palin was bait for the media from the start, and all those traits that would potentilly fame her, came back to bite her in the end. Her missteps are obvious to everyone I think, or so I shall hope, and another Op-Ed piece of the breakdown isn’t necessary. So spare me and write about something a little more vital like a US-Russian nuclear weapons treaty, or an update on the imprisioned American journalists in Korea, or, like it isn’t still blatantly necessary, the economy. Write about the good intentions of an already historic president but the tenuousness of his policies (a much needed stimulus but not quite heavy enough, i.e., more  money), or write about the benefits of healthcare, anything really. The resignation of Palin isn’t shocking, it just reiterates what us blue-dog democrats and many more already knew.