David Rodeback's Blog

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Foolishness du Jour and a Perfect Rainbow

I really wish I had a photo -- of the rainbow and its setting, that is, not the foolishness.

I heard two things today from the political realm that probably sounded good to a lot of folks, but have a nasty aftertaste if you think about them for two or three seconds. And I saw something this evening that was quite satisfying even after a third or fourth long look; I'll leave that for last, in order to end on a happy note.

Maybe Fiat Will Buy the Medical Insurance Industry, Too

This morning in a town hall meeting on health care reform, President Obama said we need a "public option" to compete with private health care coverage. He means health insurance you get from the government. He said having this will keep the private sector honest.

As if it weren't bad enough that the government sponsoring this "public option" will be regulating its competitors, there's a larger problem: it will be government- (as in taxpayer-) funded. Both sides of this coin are ugly. If you have private health care coverage and I choose the public option, you'll be paying for yours and for part of mine; how are you going to afford that? And how will private providers stay in business competing against a "public option" that is taxpayer-funded?

If the goal here is to put the private sector out of business, and I think that is exactly the goal, then they're getting it right.

You my be interested in Mona Charen's recent explanation that health care reform is the ball game, in terms of moving us from a basically free society with a limited government toward a European model of statism. And if you really care about wise health care policy, spend some time with the Heritage Foundation, where some very smart conservatives do some very good work.

This Is Only a Test, Right?

I was listening to some national network's radio news last evening while I drove. A government spokesperson whose name and title I missed was explaining that another North Korean missile test is not something that should worry us at all, since even on a good day the North Korean missiles could only reach Alaska. I mentioned this to someone else, who noted that Alaska is, in fact, one of the United States, so maybe we should worry after all. But I have another fundamental beef.

These tests are part of an ongoing program to develop ballistic missiles to deliver nuclear warheads to the Dear Leader's enemies anywhere around the world. Developing and improving ballistic missiles with shorter ranges is a logical -- and probably inevitable -- step toward that goal. It seems absurd to start worrying about the program only when it is completed and successful, so the threat is immediate, or to suggest that there's no harm in the earlier phases of the program.

Every test matters.

I Wish I Had a Photo for You

I did a little shopping at Borders this evening, just before sunset -- at the store at RiverWoods in Provo, that is. After making my purchases, I walked out the south door, turned left (east) toward the mountains, in the general direction of my car, and beheld a stunning sight. In the foreground was a bright, perfect rainbow, as near to 180 degrees of arc as any I have ever seen. In the background, the foothills were sunlit and a rich shade of green, due in part to the cool, wet spring and in part to the sun being very low. (Even my lawn looks lush and green when the sun is low.) Just enough of the dark mountains behind was visible to prove that they were still there; the remainder was hidden by dark storm clouds.

Even a photo would not have done justice to the scene; mere words don't stand a chance. So what's my point?

I'm really not working toward something sappy, such as, Even when dark political clouds obscure the landscape, there is still light enough to make an excellent rainbow. Maybe I should explore some such profundity, but I'm not so inclined tonight.

How about this: This is no time to stop thinking about what our government says and just drink the Kool-Aid, but it's still a great time to stop and savor rainbows and mountains and sunlight and storms.

I really wish I had a photo.

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