Since we're now past Memorial Day, the traditional start to summer has begun - and the city of Lincoln began heating things up by having most of the Lincoln Public Schools District Office burn to the ground Monday night.
That massive fire wasn't the only subject that crossed our minds today.
The harsh rebuke of the Republican Party from Bruce Barlett, former top advisor to both President Reagan and President Bush (the elder), was a burn of an entirely different kind, one that we did not expect. We've also got a burning desire to dig back into the debt ceiling battle - which turned an even scarier corner last night, after the GOP-led House of Representatives' bit of overheated political theatre.
Our focus today, though, is on the many people in our hometown, Lincoln,NE, who are focused on the aftereffects of that devastating fire at the LPS Administrative office.
As we've mentioned on occasion, one of our own, web guru Shawn, experienced a similar fire disaster three years ago this July - so he knows what many of those who worked in that building may be going through.
Right now, the people who worked there - and everyone who worked in any school in the area - are feeling a mix of emotions. Loss, regret, sadness, and worry are just a few of the emotions that many Lincoln teachers, secretaries, and administrative staff are likely dealing with today.
The burning question those victims are asking themselves - and probably others - is one that no one can answer with absolute clarity. Having been through a similar experience, however, we can give some advice, as a good friend gave to our staffer when disaster happened to him.
That burning question is just this: When will things get back to normal?
It takes time, hope, and the support and help of friends and neighbors, to get past any major disaster, including a fire like the one Lincoln experienced. Like it or not, it also takes money and a willingness to work together for the common good of everyone affected by the disaster.
We hope that Lincolnites take the attitude of combined sacrifice and community effort to work together to recover from this disaster, and not adopt the attitude displayed recently by GOP house Majority Leader Eric Cantor, that emergencies shouldn't be treated like emergencies.
That attitude, that we are each part of an "own"-ership society - where each of us are on our own - is the one ingredient that anyone attempting to recover from disaster doesn't need. It turns most hope to hate - and it makes recovery take much longer.
We don't know when things will get back to normal for Lincoln's school workers, any more than we know how long it will take for the people living in Joplin, Missouri, those recovering from the tornadoes in Alabama, or those affected by the floods along the Missouri and Missippi.
What we do know is that if you know any of those folks affected, we hope you reach out to them. Offer help - even if it's just a few moments of your time to let them vent about their frustrations.
Let them know they are not alone.
That's the first step to getting back to normal.
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
Tuesday, May 31, 2011
Splitting Headache? Or Just Insanity?
As the old axiom goes, the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Sadly, even after last week's crushing defeat in the special election in New York's 26th congressional district, the GOP is doing exactly that: returning to the same idea again.
What amazes us is not that Republicans seem to want to continue to fight a battle that it was just proven they will not win.
It's that Republicans are in denial about WHY they lost.
Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida admitted to the the Wall Street Journal over the holiday weekend that Republicans don't think it was the Republican plan that was wrong - they think it was how they framed their message about their plan to the public.
The plan proposed by Wisconsin Republican, Rep. Paul Ryan was voted down last week - with the exception of a number of Republicans who insist this is the political hill they want to die on. That vote now makes it not just Ryan's plan, but also the plan of the entire GOP.
The Republican plan isn't hard to understand. For those Americans currently 55 or above, your Medicare eligibility age will go up to 67. Some benefits will likely be clipped. For those currently below age 55 - say, age 54 - when you are supposed to begin receiving Medicare, you'll get a voucher from the government instead. That voucher coupon is supposed to allow you to buy health care insurance from a private company. Of course, the Republican plan says that no private company will be required to sell you health insurance.
What insurance company, that is worth ANY of its stock, will sell an insurance policy to any American over the age of 67? Even for the few who won't have pre-existing conditions, the actuarial tables just don't add up to any kind of worthwhile risk for an insurance company.
This isn't rocket science - but it IS the Republican plan for "saving" Medicare. The only thing the current Republican Party honestly wants to save though, is the name Medicare, so they can slap it on their health care privatization plan.
There ARE some actions that previous iterations of the Republican Party approved that would help lower health care costs for everyone - like the individual mandate, which they invented and supported for most of the last twenty years. Instead of supporting those parts of the ACA they agree with, then focusing on the parts they still want changed, Republicans continue to demonize the entire Affordable Care Act as "ObamaCare" as though it doesn't include any ideas they originated.
If Republican legislators were truly interested in improving policy - which is their JOB - they would also have to make clear what parts of the ACA they originally stood for, including the individual health care mandate which they invented.
As Johnathan Bernstein pointed out in the Washington Post over the weekend, there aren't currently any incentives for Republicans to get their policy positions straight. As Republican Rep. Stearns clearly said, to them, it's about how the GOP's message on that flawed Ryan plan was framed - not the flaws in the policy itself, but the message.
We know some Republicans think taking another swing at health care reform is too smart by half.
Sadly, the facts make it clear that taking another whack at health care reform is only going to give the GOP a splitting headache going into 2012.
What amazes us is not that Republicans seem to want to continue to fight a battle that it was just proven they will not win.
It's that Republicans are in denial about WHY they lost.
Rep. Cliff Stearns of Florida admitted to the the Wall Street Journal over the holiday weekend that Republicans don't think it was the Republican plan that was wrong - they think it was how they framed their message about their plan to the public.
The plan proposed by Wisconsin Republican, Rep. Paul Ryan was voted down last week - with the exception of a number of Republicans who insist this is the political hill they want to die on. That vote now makes it not just Ryan's plan, but also the plan of the entire GOP.
The Republican plan isn't hard to understand. For those Americans currently 55 or above, your Medicare eligibility age will go up to 67. Some benefits will likely be clipped. For those currently below age 55 - say, age 54 - when you are supposed to begin receiving Medicare, you'll get a voucher from the government instead. That voucher coupon is supposed to allow you to buy health care insurance from a private company. Of course, the Republican plan says that no private company will be required to sell you health insurance.
What insurance company, that is worth ANY of its stock, will sell an insurance policy to any American over the age of 67? Even for the few who won't have pre-existing conditions, the actuarial tables just don't add up to any kind of worthwhile risk for an insurance company.
This isn't rocket science - but it IS the Republican plan for "saving" Medicare. The only thing the current Republican Party honestly wants to save though, is the name Medicare, so they can slap it on their health care privatization plan.
There ARE some actions that previous iterations of the Republican Party approved that would help lower health care costs for everyone - like the individual mandate, which they invented and supported for most of the last twenty years. Instead of supporting those parts of the ACA they agree with, then focusing on the parts they still want changed, Republicans continue to demonize the entire Affordable Care Act as "ObamaCare" as though it doesn't include any ideas they originated.
If Republican legislators were truly interested in improving policy - which is their JOB - they would also have to make clear what parts of the ACA they originally stood for, including the individual health care mandate which they invented.
As Johnathan Bernstein pointed out in the Washington Post over the weekend, there aren't currently any incentives for Republicans to get their policy positions straight. As Republican Rep. Stearns clearly said, to them, it's about how the GOP's message on that flawed Ryan plan was framed - not the flaws in the policy itself, but the message.
We know some Republicans think taking another swing at health care reform is too smart by half.
Sadly, the facts make it clear that taking another whack at health care reform is only going to give the GOP a splitting headache going into 2012.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Friday Funday: Don't Forget To Remember
As we're sure you already know, Memorial Day marks the traditional beginning of summer in the U.S., the time for sun, fun, and for most children, summer vacation from school.
Of course, it's also the primary holiday to honor those Americans who have died in the service of their country. We thank those service members today, and wish that no other Americans, now serving, would ever be forced to join the rosters of those who died while in service to the nation.
Some people believe this holiday should be observed exclusively in somber and quiet respect. While we understand that position, we tend to believe that attitude is all wrong.
Memorial Day shouldn't just be about those men and women who died for our freedoms.
It should also be about celebrating that which they died for.
So, for those kids graduating high school this weekend - who have the opportunity to live in a country with relatively high academic standards - we salute you. Toss that cap and tassel with pride this weekend.
For those of you who are helping friends, neighbors, family, and other loved ones pick up the pieces from the weather related disasters around the country - or who are working to prevent more disasters, like flooding - we salute you too.
For all of those who keep the world running, even on holiday weekends - police, fire, and paramedics; doctors, nurses and hospital staff; members of the media; even retail workers - we salute you as well.
America isn't just a country. It's a series of communities and people tied together by common bonds, including the belief that things can always improve if we work together and believe in one another. We give each other hope to keep reaching farther; to keep working harder (and smarter); to do the right thing, when it would be easier to do the wrong one. All of that is possible, thanks to those who were willing to give their last measure so that the rest of us might have one more day, week, month, or trip around the sun.
Memorial Day, to us, is about celebrating the lives of those servicemembers, men and women alike, from all walks of life, who made the ultimate sacrifice so that those of us still living might have better, longer lives.
We hope you remember this weekend and those who sacrificed for their country, as we all begin the next season on the calendar.
Enjoy your holiday weekend.
We'll see you when we return on Tuesday, May 31.
Of course, it's also the primary holiday to honor those Americans who have died in the service of their country. We thank those service members today, and wish that no other Americans, now serving, would ever be forced to join the rosters of those who died while in service to the nation.
Some people believe this holiday should be observed exclusively in somber and quiet respect. While we understand that position, we tend to believe that attitude is all wrong.
Memorial Day shouldn't just be about those men and women who died for our freedoms.
It should also be about celebrating that which they died for.
So, for those kids graduating high school this weekend - who have the opportunity to live in a country with relatively high academic standards - we salute you. Toss that cap and tassel with pride this weekend.
For those of you who are helping friends, neighbors, family, and other loved ones pick up the pieces from the weather related disasters around the country - or who are working to prevent more disasters, like flooding - we salute you too.
For all of those who keep the world running, even on holiday weekends - police, fire, and paramedics; doctors, nurses and hospital staff; members of the media; even retail workers - we salute you as well.
America isn't just a country. It's a series of communities and people tied together by common bonds, including the belief that things can always improve if we work together and believe in one another. We give each other hope to keep reaching farther; to keep working harder (and smarter); to do the right thing, when it would be easier to do the wrong one. All of that is possible, thanks to those who were willing to give their last measure so that the rest of us might have one more day, week, month, or trip around the sun.
Memorial Day, to us, is about celebrating the lives of those servicemembers, men and women alike, from all walks of life, who made the ultimate sacrifice so that those of us still living might have better, longer lives.
We hope you remember this weekend and those who sacrificed for their country, as we all begin the next season on the calendar.
Enjoy your holiday weekend.
We'll see you when we return on Tuesday, May 31.
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