Suspect Statistics and Political Double-Speak

Just listened to an Interview with Peter Galbraith on Democracy Now about Afghanistan elections. He was introduced on the radio program as the U.N. Ambassador who was fired from his position by U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. When Galbraith was allowed to speak he corrected  the radio host saying he was recalled not fired. I wonder what the difference is, seems to be an instance of double-speak, or a euphemism for political discourse.  Then again, Galbraith says he was fired in his article yesterday for the Washington Post.

According to Galbraith, he was fired due to a policy disagreement with his boss, Kai Eide, about how to handle election fraud. Galbraith attempted to eliminate “ghost” polling stations prior to the election and eliminate possible fraud. When his boss told him to stop, he did.

Now, the U.N. and the people of Afghanistan are dealing with a fraudulent election. Afghanistan’s Electoral Complaints Commission has now started an audit of 10% of the 3,000 ballot boxes from suspect polling stations. If the 10% sample is considered fraudulent then all 3,000 boxes will be thrown out, which may initiate a run-off.

I wonder if examining 300 of 3,000 ballot boxes is enough. According to Galbraith, each polling station was given 600 ballots. So, is 180,000 ballots representative of 1,800,000? It’s hard to say, but it’s better than nothing.

Now only if it weren’t countries like the U.S.A. having to pick up the tab for the election, audit, and a possible run-off election.

Obama’s remarks to Congress on Health Care

I watch PBS’ coverage of political events for three reasons — David Brooks, Jim Lehrer, & Mark Shields. I just love their commentary. As Obama and his cabinet members walked in to the chamber all three commentators made hilarious remarks. At one point Brooks commented colorfully that the room was filled with “500 back slapping politicians” and Obama’s progress would be slow to get to the front, later he said it was a “mushroom of bon amie.”  A minute later he said “vote republican” if you want speeches to start on time. I was in stitches.

The Speech (9/09/09)
Obama mentioned several problems with the current system. For instance, Wall Street’s relentless expectations for profit. He also said “Our Healthcare problem IS our deficit problem, nothing else even comes close,” and that healthcare represents 1/6 of our economy.

He also referenced those who have supported Health Care Reform, like John McCain’s idea about catastrophic care for those who have been denied coverage, and John Dingell Sr. (D) Michigan who has made the case for health insurance reform at the beginning of each session for some time. While Dingell recieved a standing ovation, he lipped “thank you mister president.”

In the end, our president paid tribute to Ted Kennedy saying that Kennedy’s dream of health care as a basic right was not based on rigid ideology but on experience. He also read from a letter Kennedy had delivered after his death. Kennedy referred Health Care the “unfinished business of our past.”

The president referenced those who have opposed health care reform too, at times sounding paternalistic. He also attempted to clear up misconceptions about the bill. Regarding the supposed death panels, he said they “would be laughable if they weren’t so cynical.”

The New Bill

Obama also outlined features of the new bill. Some of the features include it being against the law to deny converage based on a pre-existing condition. Insurance companies won’t be able to “drop coverage, or water it down when you need it the most.” Insurance providers would also not be allowed to put caps on spending limits. Hopefully the bill will reform malpractice litigation too.

As for long-term aspects of the bill, he said they would decrease spending if the revenue they expect doesn’t materialize, and that they would form an independent commission to identify wasteful spending in the years ahead. The price-tag of the bill would be 900 billion dollars over 10 years, “less that we’ve spent on the Iraq war.”

As for the public option, Obama commented it was a means to end and that he would be open to other ideas.

My Analysis

I liked his speech, but I can be critical on at least one point. That point is that he spoke too much of “opponents.” By doing so he created artificial boundaries, which is very detrimental. At one point he even said to his opponents “We will call you out!” Perhaps the person he made the biggest opponent out of was George W. Bush, saying part of the reason there was a trillion dollar deficit was because many of the Bush policies weren’t paid for (e.g. tax cuts for the wealthy).

Not only did he reference some members of congress as opponents he also made an opponent out of the media, saying they were part of the problem. This is not a good idea, what if the media retaliates? (to be anthropomorphic…)

If Obama is serious about health care reform and bi-partisanship, which I think he is, he must drop the “opponent” rhetoric.

Who Cares about the Poor and the Sick?

This is so irritating. If you follow the link you’ll see an advertisement (that I just saw on TV) from an organization called Responsible Health Care Reform. The claim is that congress is attempting to make a fast and reckless pitch for health care reform and that they should slow down. Are you kidding?! This is not the first time people have tried to reform the health care system. Attempts to reform our busted system have been around at least 15 years.

Those opposed to reform are insane; health-care in America is good, but the cost is way too damn much and policies that deny coverage on the basis of pre-existing conditions are odious.

The public option, or the part of the reform that would provide guaranteed and government-backed health insurance was set up to encourage competition and lower prices. Some have said private insurance providers could not compete with the government. Obama and others are now considering a trigger option, where reform could be passed without the public option but would include a trigger date. If private insurance companies did not meet various metrics, including lower prices, by that date a public option would be enacted. I can see how this would be a tenable solution but am concerned insurance companies would find the loopholes we all know sympathetic legislators would build into the bill.

NBC Nightly News’ Brian Williams billed Obama’s speech tonight as the most important speech of his career. I’m not sure I agree, but I’ll definitely be watching.

R. I. P. Ted Kennedy

Ted Kennedy could deliver a wonderful speech.

Though most of his work was done long before I was aware of politics I’ll always remember the tribute and his speech at the Democratic National Convention (2008).

R.I.P. Ted Kennedy

The 2nd Amendment is an Antique

Enjoying a nice discussion over at TDAXP about the 2nd Amendment and the man who was seen carrying an assault rifle at a recent U.S. Presedential event in Arizona.

Culture Wars (or Us versus Them)

I enjoy the Google Chrome web browser because it keeps track of my nine most visited sites. Among my favorites is The Daily Beast. It is definitely a left-wing media outlet but there are plenty of articles from the other side (e.g. Mark McKinnon, Reihan Salam) and I enjoy reading their stories.

Recently, The Daily Beast (TBD) featured a video of a TBD contributor, presumably from New York named Tracy Quan. In the video, Quan discusses the “pull-out-method.” She is critical of recent research, and a recent NYT article that argues the “pull-out-method” is better than nothing as a form of contraception. Her argument aside, she says all researchers do is cover their asses when they write. She goes on to say, needlessly, that New Yorkers are basically the brightest people in the world while the rest of us are country bumpkins. I took offense to both comments. You can see the video here.

Meanwhile, Patricia Heaton of Everyone Loves Raymond and other shows made an appearance on Who Wants to be a Millionaire and made disparaging remarks about individuals who live on the coasts, or rather, she said people who live in the middle U.S. are nicer. Then she barely answers an easy question. You can see her video here. The question is below:

If a Euro is worth $1.50, five Euros is worth what?

a. 30 quarters         b. 50 dimes

c. 70 nickels         d. 90 pennies

How long has this culture war gone on? and where does the middle stop and the coast begin?

I’m not sure who is “nicest” or the “brightest,” I’ve met people all over that defy these stereotypes. And I certainly don’t want either Quan representing me as an academic or Heaton representing me as being from middle America.

All I know is that if it came down to it, we could take ‘em, and If I know anything about TX, they’ll be the first ones on the ground.

Associated Content

Adam Schenck’s Contributor Page – Associated Content

http://www.associatedcontent.comuser/423456/adam_schenck.html

SD senator finds ice cream in desk

Autotune is great. This video features two senators from SD (min 1:14).

me and obama play cribbage

On Race and Star Trek

Big thinkers in both print media and the blogosphere have referenced [Spock] in recent months, drawing parallels between the dependably logical half-Vulcan and another mixed-race icon: Barack Obama.

-Jeff Greenwald (Obama is Spock: It’s quite logical, 2009) 

The movie Star Trek open in theatres this Friday. In the quote above, Greenwald compares Barack Obama, the 44th President of the United States, to Spock, as played by Leonard Nimoy in the original series. In his comparison, Greenwald draws similiarties between Obama’s and Spock’s ears, logic, charisma, compusure, sardonic ire, and their heroism.

Ultimately Greenwald’s write-up is an ode to Obama, but still I’m struck by his phrase “mixed-race icon.” For me, it conjures up “half-breed,” “mutt,” and “mongrel.” Is it un-politically-correct to perseverate on race and say “mixed-race icon” or am I overreacting?

On a related note, I’m totally content with our president. I was gung-ho about his bid for presidency. I didn’t enjoy, but accepted the daily e-mails from Justin Ruben of Moveon.org and David Plouffe extolling the virtues of Obama. I even bought  an Obama t-shirt and was documented wearing it here and here. I also made calls to folks in swing states like Missouri. They gave me a phone script with Obama’s positions to talk about with call recipients. I’m not sure I convinced anyone to vote for him but I didn’t mind the work. I would have been sad if Obama wasn’t elected on 11/04/08