Sunday, November 15, 2009

The Price of Speed

Today I got into a discussion about the Fort Hood shooting at church. The lady I was speaking with was under the impression that we were 'moving too slowly'.

Well...Fox News didn't seem to waste any time. They've already linked Hassan to every terrorist organization on the globe. Before long, they'll probably be linking him to a few we've never even heard of. All because he was a Muslim, and owned a Koran. (Help!)

We shouldn't hurry. When people get frantic and panicky in things like this, bad things happen. Just look at the aftermath of 9/11- 9/11 itself was a horrible, terrible occurrence. But the aftermath was just as bad. People panicked. The government fed off that, and pushed the PATRIOT act through in the name of keeping us safe.

We gained extra baggage in the form of the Department of Homeland Security, and two wars in the name of stopping terrorism that are now nothing more than black holes for money and lives.

That is what excessive speed and hurry to do something about these types of things cause. The Fort Hood shooting is still too fresh for us to try to do anything. Bring Hassan to justice. The right way. But don't fall into the panic trap. That is how bad things happen.

Wednesday, November 11, 2009

Veterans Day


I would like to take a moment to honor all those who have served in defense of this country.

Monday, November 9, 2009

Current Events

Sorry I haven't posted lately- NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) '09 started, and I've been busy boosting my word count. ;)

I thought I'd just post and say- or type- a few words about some of the current events, as well as...well, a few rants I've been forced to hold in over the past few weeks.

Fort Hood Shooting

It's been all over the news. Such a crisis warrants all of us pulling together. But there's one thing that bothers me: the huge controversy over why the guy did it.

Hassan is, obviously, a Muslim. So what? Is that reason, like I heard some say, to completely ban Muslims from being in the armed forces. Uh...no. That's completely unconstitutional. Neither is this proof that his actions were jihadist.

From what I understand, Hassan was upset because he did not want to be deployed. He disagreed with the wars. So he was upset. He was angry. People have done much stupider things because they were angry. I do not think, with the current information I have, that Hassan's actions were motivated by religion. They were motivated by his own feelings of frustration and anger.

Healthcare

The 'healthcare' bill passed the House. They snuck it through at midnight. (Shows what cowards they are, if you ask me.)

Anyway- I have stated before that this bill is not about healthcare. It is about insurance, and giving a boost to them. The insurance companies will receive a boost because of this. That is why they are the No. 1 promoters of these bills.

Probably the one single reason I do not agree with this bill is because it will not fix a thing. It will only apply another temporary fix to the problem. Anything we do, at this point, would only add a temporary fix. We need to completely rethink our system- release ourselves from the narrow constraints of the insurance system, coupled with the medicare system, and fend for ourselves. Stop relying on third parties to do our work for us.

It will never cease to amaze how conservatives gripe about how the government is going to 'dictate care'- but they fail to realize that the insurance companies do just that. Insurance providers tie doctors and patients' hands, and keep them, in some cases, from getting care they should get.

And yet that is a better system? Give me a break!

The Constitutionalist in me does not want a universal system. But we need a fix, not a bandaid. I do not know if a universal system would fix things or not. But hey, it might be worth a try.