Reality Check

I read two of the most disturbing and shocking stories today. I was dismayed, appalled, and in disbelief. What was so shocking, two highly publicized stories involving abuse of both power and privilege.

To start with the hopefully outgoing governor of Illinois, Blagojevich, I need to remove the word honorable from his title. In a nutshell he brazenly thought he could "sell" the vacant senate seat formerly occupied by our PE (president elect). He also has been alleged to to have threaten the executives at the financially troubled Chicago Tribune, to fire editors who often criticize the governor. What I think the most telling thing about how ludicrous his actions have been, he was recently quoted as saying he was unconcerned about reports of the corruption investigations that have swirled around his administration since at least 2005 and have swept up 14 other people.“I don’t believe there’s any cloud that hangs over me,” he told reporters at the factory. “I think there’s nothing but sunshine hanging over me.”

Sunshine, well it must not be very pretty where he is now having been taken in handcuffs by the FBI earlier today. If he is found guilty, he doesn't need to be sentenced, rather he should loose every right provided to him as an American. He was willing to trade in on the freedoms of others. No right to vote, no right to free speech, none of it. All so you and your wife could have some financial gain. You were elected to serve-being governor is not a free ride, politicians who behave this way take away the honor, integrity and ethics which are the cornerstones of elected officials. Where did we go wrong?

The other story is more shocking for its tabloid value; John Thain CEO of Merrill asked for a $10 million bonus for this past year because of his work merging ML with BoA, and only loosing the company $11 billion! Wow! He must also really think the sunshine is over him. This is obviously a shocking request on so many levels. The good news is as I publish this post, he has apparently now rescinded this request to the ML board of directors. A good rule of thumb for any executives, you probably should not receive a bonus in any year where your company has suffered major lay-offs, large profit losses, and most importantly if you are receiving Corporate welfare from the government or China, or is that the same thing these days?? Ok for another post.

My final thought here is this, one major theory in the Wage/Gender inequity equation is that men will always ask for what they want, ask for more money, bonuses, promotions; where most women tend to feel they will be compensated fairly and timely. When was the last time you heard about a female CEO asking for a larger bonus?

I can't help but think, as I have been during this massive financial crisis-- what if it were women and not men in these business and political roles?

My first Comment

Yeah! I finally have my first reader comment, as I had hoped from a friend with a very thoughtful opposing view to my post. I appreciated it so much I wanted to post it as its own post.

**As a McCain supporter and reader of your blog, I too am upset about some of the outrageous reactions by both McCain supporters AND Obama supporters. The quotes from the Philadelphia Inquirer are unfortunate and I'm sure were immediate heart-felt reactions to the election recorded that evening. Most of those Americans probably woke up the next morning and could agree that history was made and be proud of the record-breaking election-day turn-out. On the other hand, please remember that if McCain had won the election, we would have seen quotes from Obama supporters that would would be equally or even more disturbing. Many people devoted a lot of time and energy to this election and their immediate reactions should not be construed as long-term cynicism across the board.

One final point I would like to make is that I am perfectly happy paying my fair share of taxes, but I'm not supportive of having one income bracket pay exponentially higher taxes while others get tax breaks, especially in our current economic situation. Obama's "spread the wealth" philosophy is what is at issue here and hopefully will never be implemented within America. As you mention in your blog, since we have a deficit, shouldn't all Americans be responsible for digging us out of debt, not just those that happen to make over $250K?

If you want to be upset fine, but there is a lot to be proud of

In reading through the news today, I have come across many comments of McCain supporters, some are very disturbing. Most I find to be a little humorous, even over the top. I especially like the ones that a few of my friends have used, regarding cutting checks directly to the American people in an effort to cut out the middle man. Obama’s plan, is only a plan, who knows how it will really turn out. Taxes are one of those things that we know will go up. No matter who is in office, we have a deficit and the first two ingredients to makign the deficit disappear are increase taxes and cut spending. In the grand scheme of things, somehow or another all of us, from all spectrums of the earnings scale including corporations will need to give a little to help out our economy. Politics, the market, it is cyclical, nothing that is done in 2009 can’t be un-done. I don’t make enough money to be impacted by the $250,000 and I also live in NJ, where federal income tax is the least of my problems. So go ahead my conservative folks (the fiscal ones, the republican ones, and the ones making over $250,000), make your jokes, but in the end I know that everyone one of you can appreciate the major milestone in American history of electing the first African American to the White House.

My real concern are the comments that make statements about how he will handle the war, our troops and veterans. I think any rational person knows that an immediate withdrawal is not in the plans. He does support our troops, and wants to significantly improve healthcare for wounded soldiers and veterans. Something the current administration has been seriously lacking. Most comments and people I have heard make these references, do appreciate and applaud the people of this country breaking down yet another barrier.

What I can get past or understand are the comments about the US going to hell; Obama being the anti-christ or a terrorist. Here is a quote from the Philly Inq that particularly startles me;
"I'm not going to sugarcoat it. I'm scared. Just the idea of Barack Obama as president of the United States scares me. It does not embody the idealism I grew up with and am passionate about. We're Americans. We're resilient. We'll bounce back. Our government's idiot-proof. There's nothing he can do that we can't fix in the end."

I was shocked and stunned when I read this. What ideals exactly did this guy grow up with, the ones about only one race can get ahead, where people don’t help their neighbors, would rather see someone suffering in the streets then not be able to max out their credit cards so they can try to keep up with their neighbor they don’t want to help. Yes, we are Americans, and are resilient as seen by surviving the past eight years, but certainly the government is not idiot-proof, if it were we would not be in the crises we are currently in. I am not sure where this guy lives, so he is scared, scared of what exactly? I have seen this line used over and over again by McCain supporters. Ok, you make a lot of money, work hard and should not have to give up more than do right now, I get it, I don’t agree but I get it. Maybe you are concerned for the wars and our troops, absolutely so am I. But what I think is really at the heart of comments by people who say they are scared, or think Obama is somehow going to ruin this country. Those are the ones, who are just trying to say, I cannot vote for a black man. Instead they should at least appreciate and celebrate what happened last night, not because you support Obama, but because you are proud to live in a country where a person, regardless of race can make it to the highest office in the nation.

We are all lucky to live in a country where we are granted the right to say what we want. Be proud of your country and it citizens for speaking out and breaking barriers; if you want to be a loser, just don’t be a sore one. John McCain went out last night which as much dignity, respect and resilience as he had at the start of his journey and througout. Respect him, and respect what an amazing first for this country and the world! Nothing is out of reach!

Barack Wins, We Win!

Are Feminists Liberal or are Liberals Feminists?

Can you be politically conservative and be a feminist? Or does being a feminist automatically mean you are politically liberal. I recently saw a blurb, in reference to Sarah Palin on SNL, which if you have not seen the opening skit, it was funny. THe line i read said that one reason McCain picked Sarah Palin was to attract conservative feminists. I sat and thought about that for a minute, I don't think I have ever met a person who identified as a Feminist and also conservative. Republican maybe, but not conservative. What are some if the Feminists ideals - Feminism is the belief that women should be equal to men. What about specific issues that the Feminist agenda is associated with; Reproductive rights, equal pay, access to health care and childcare, women having the choice to work in or out of the home or both. So far most of these ideals, which appeal to me as a liberal, are more of the liberal and Democratic agenda.

Let's talk about the Gays...

There are so many things that Ms. Palin says in her interviews which make me want to reach through the computer and ask her WHY???? WHY?? The latest has been her assertion that homosexuality is a choice. When asked how she feels about homosexuals, her line is that for those people who CHOOSE to live that lifestyle, that is their choice. NO, it is not a choice. Of course this is from someone who doesn't believe in teaching evolution. Where did we get so far off, that science and biology have become unnecessary. Sorry Ms. Palin, it is not a choice, who would choose to live a lifestyle in which you are constantly treated as a second-class citizen. Not given full rights to live with a partner, that same-sex couples enjoy. It is about the privilege as much as the responsibility of choosing to live your life with someone, what choice is there is being gay? The choice to constantly battle for your freedoms, protections, respect? The choice I see, is in those brave enough to come out to themselves, their families and friends. Just to add insult to injury, she pulled the good old, well one of my dearest-closest friends has chosen to live her life "that way". Really, good for you! She can't actually say the word gay or lesbian.

Mental Health Parity is almost here!

For those of you who don't know what this is, personally it is one of the more important pieces of legislation that has been bouncing around for the past few years. In short form, it means that for any group health insurance plans, benefits for treatment of mental health and substance abuse must be the same as benefits for all other health treatments. Typically health plans limit the number of visits to a mental health provider, cap the number days for in or out patient treatment for substance abuse and mental health issues. It would basically be like your insurance capping the number of sick visits you could have in any one year, or number and length of hospital visits. Ok, this is not to get into that hospitalization days are capped, and yes I do not always agree with that.

This is huge change in the paradigm of how mental health and substance abuse treatment is viewed. For one thing, as most people who suffer with or know someone with a MH or SA problem, it is real, it needs medical treatment and care. Also, many of these "problems" are considered lifestyle issues, not taken seriously, or generally swept under the carpet. It is and can be a very difficult thing to admit to yourself, and then once you do, and try to get treatment, you are stopped because your health insurance plan doesn't have mental health coverage. However, if you had high blood pressure, or pain in your chest, you better believe you would have unlimited access to utilize your health benefits. What is so different between the two? Nothing really, both have physical symptoms, both lead to loss of work potentially, you could die from both. So why is the access to treatment so different?

How about substance abuse issues. Again, a person reaches the point, however they got there, that they have a problem that needs medical attention, or it could potentially slowly destroy their lives. Not allowing access to treatment or having a low number of maximums days for treatment, would be akin to only providing a cancer patient with half the required chemo treatments necessary. Finally, my other big issue is that many diseases or illnesses are often difficult to place in the health vs mental health category. Often insurance companies, because mental health benefits are so less, place illness like anorexia and bulimia in the MH category. Again, we put these people, mostly women, in a position where treatment is not available, and they suffer. Often many patients that fall into any of these categories, slowly loose their lives, work, family, roof, all of it. Health insurance in the US is far from perfect, there are many things that need to be done to improve it. But if the House passes the bill Friday, Mental Health Parity will be real, one step closer to acknowledges these are real health issues with far reaching consequences if left un-treated or under treated.

Whoa, I will get out of network benefit coverage again!