Repeal and Replace

It seems every time the veil has been lifted, there is another underneath.

Ever since the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act became law in March 2010, essentially every debate and action by lawmakers at both the Federal and State levels relating to that law has had nothing to do with health care in America. Whether it was attacking the law or defending it, it has only been a turf war, a pissing contest, Texas Hold‘em, or mud wrestling…nothing more. The goal quickly transcended from Health Care to political ascendancy.

The Law did, in fact, address the untenable state of health care in America, which was (and is) quite simply comprised of two issues; lack of access to health care (Patient Protection) and extreme cost (Affordable Care).  It successfully addressed only the former (lack of access) and was therefore seriously flawed. There is some irony that in short cutting the title of the act we were left with the Affordable Care Act (ACA), highlighting the part that was a failure. Who thought of that? What if all this time we had been calling it the Patient Protection Act?

Within eleven days of Republicans obtaining a majority in the House in 2011 they began passing legislation to eliminate in whole or in part the ACA. It would repeat itself dozens of times. This started even before the law began its implementation, which was scheduled to take years.  

They (Republicans) also changed the popular name of the bill to Obamacare, a successful renaming that was readily adopted by the Media and eventually by the Democrats as well. This was important and without precedent.  There is no Rooseveltcare (Social Security), Johnsoncare (Medicare), or even Romneycare prior to the 2012 election cycle. This new name for the ACA became its rallying cry for Republicans, Tea Party activists, and Conservatives in general, and it was entirely political. Health care played no role. The vast majority of individuals opposed to "Obamacare" have virtually no idea how it works.

Here it is important to point out (as I have pointed out several times before in Pennyfound) the nature of the health care law which Republican/Conservatives have been so opposed to.

The origin of Obamacare, without regard to its funding sources, was adopted almost word for word from a Republican Conservative proposal outlined in publications of the Heritage Foundation in the mid-1990s. With minor criticism from some Republicans it was generally well received by Conservatives as the proper answer to single payer proposals coming out of the Clinton Administration.  However, neither without the Presidency or the Senate, nor with any willingness on the part of a Gingrich led House to find funding, it withered on the vine.

It wasn’t until 2006 that Conservative governor Mitt Romney, with a bipartisan state legislature enacted the same law for Massachusetts.  It proved successful, at least on the “Patient Protection” side of the ledger. It was that test case that Obama and the Democrats decided to use, adding one important amendment: the inclusion of a Public Option. This would have given patients the ability to buy into a government insurance program if they didn’t find a better private insurance option available. But wait, Conservatives ask, does the Federal Government have such an insurance program? Ahh…yes, they are called Medicare, Medicaid, and Tricare, the biggest health insurance providers in the Nation.

Obama and the Democrats dropped that critical ball allowing the Public Option to be scratched and leaving the Republicans their ideal health care law: a law that (by necessity) forced all citizens to participate but still administered entirely by private (political donating) insurers, pharmaceutical companies, and medical providers. 

So why in heavens name have Republican Conservatives so vehemently opposed this law? It can be summed up in one word: Obamacare.

Republicans have used this law as a political football for 8 years. It was the reason for the name Obamacare. Smarted by the multiple failures of the Bush Administration and virtually despising Obama for his rapid ascendancy as a Liberally chosen black man, their only goal (as actually stated by Mitch McConnell) was to make Obama a one-term President. Making the ACA the boogieman and labeling it Obamacare fit the bill perfectly.  

As a result, Democrats and Obama himself dug themselves into a defensive position unable to admit their errors in the Law’s enactment and address the ACA’s serious flaws. Health care be damned.

If the media would ever lift up all the veils that have covered this issue they would see why the Republicans can find no way to successfully replace this law. It is actually a Republican law and what the Republicans are trying so desperately to do is to simply eliminate the name…they created. They do not want the name Obama lingering into the future and their reasoning is political.

Again I ask; if the name of this law was only the Patient Protection Act, would any of the circus we’re seeing be taking place?  I think not.

If the Republicans want to repeal and replace, they only need to repeal and replace the name. They’d have their law, the Democrats would have their foundation to push toward making it affordable, and no one would be calling it Trumpcare.

Maggie...Another Dog Story

It really began 28 years ago.  One late spring day I drove up to our home to be greeted by our 3 year old shouting with exuberance, “we gotta dog”.  Not what I was expecting.  The subject of a dog had surfaced from time to time. With three children under the age of 8, however, I thought a family dog was still an exercise in planning.

            As I approached the three of them in our front yard they proudly offered up as exhibit A what appeared to be a dead albino squirrel, minus the tail. I looked up only to see vet bills floating down from the sky. I didn’t consider sheer exhaustion, which was the pup’s only malady.

            She had already been named Molly, a pre-maturely weaned, all light-yellow Border collie mix. The runt of a shelter’s litter and last chosen.

            Dogs from the “herding” breeds are noted for their intelligence, but not necessarily their demeanor.  Molly was an exception to the latter.  A smart dog, yes, but with a passive character that won over all those whom she chose to acknowledge.  She was the antithesis of aggressive. She could and would skillfully avoid nearly any dog that came near.

            She grew into a 40 pound fir ball and, understandably, became a much loved centerpiece in our family as we experienced the changes that occur as children morph from childhood to adolescence to teens to young adults.  She was a constant through all that, and as perfect as one might wish for in a dog.

            Just after she turned 12 she got sick.  There were several symptoms, but I mostly remember her inability to eat and her lethargy. I took her to the vet for exploratory surgery with the understanding that if they found the suspected cancer she would not be awakened. And so it went.

They gave her a transfusion to prep her for the surgery, which made her act like a young pup.  She was brought to me in an empty examination room for her to, once again, show her enthusiasm for affection.  She then pranced out on a lead. It was the last I saw of her.

            I was distraught, not able to edit from my memory our last encounter in which her soft expression said see you later. That was it for me. No more dogs for a long time…maybe decades. The kids were getting ready to leave the nest or already had. They could get their own dog(s), I determined.

            A mere six months had passed when I received a call at work from my wife, not from home but from the college town where my daughter attended school.  She and my daughter had conspired to replace Molly and were calling to get my buy-in on a rescue puppy they found. I said absolutely no.  Molly was not replaceable.  Maggie arrived four weeks later.

            Maggie was not Molly. Like Molly though, her heritage was also from the Herding Breeds. Some Border Collie perhaps or Australian Shepherd, but I think closest to the lesser known English Shepherd. Unlike Molly she was explosive with energy, even at just ten weeks of age.

            She was tri-colored, which with all her puppy fluff gave her the visual appeal of a plush Gund.  Her eyes were a striking blue.  As she grew older she lost much of her white. The brown only remained near her paws. Her eyes slowly changed to a blue-gray. Nevertheless, with her black and spotted, semi-long coat and expressive eyes she was stunning.  For sixteen years she never lost her attractiveness.  Her nose remained jet black till the day she died, her mussel with only a hint of gray.  She received several “what a beautiful dog” comments even as she made her last visit to the Vet’s waiting room.

            As pretty as she was it wasn’t her most remarkable trait.

Initially I was not receptive to seeing what Maggie held in store for us. That attitude only enhanced what I was not used to. She was forceful by nature, in both play and conduct. Right from the beginning, if given the chance and a slightly open gate she would tear loose from the yard like a freed wild stallion.  And she was fast, very fast. She seemed in constant search for the herd she was never given.

            When leashed and confronted with essentially any other dog she showed a quick aggressiveness, a behavior that took me many years to understand. It was her instinct to protect whoever was holding the leash.  She could be underfoot, take her role as watchdog to a fault, and coat the house with endless tumble weeds of black fir. She was, especially in the early years, a handful. In later years she would have phobias which would confound us.

            Where she was remarkable, though, was her intelligence.  It was, to me, extraordinary.  Second to that was a devotion she afforded me which was virtually disarming.

            Her working vocabulary was enormous as was her recognition of my specific actions.  She learned each of the standard “dog tricks” within minutes.  She quickly learned what 3 rooms in the house she was allowed in, which she never violated until we softened on that rule during her last two years. Even as visiting dogs roamed everywhere she would dutifully stand at the thresholds.

One time when she thought she was alone, I caught her sneaking into the living room to look out the window. When she saw me standing looking at her, she slinked out and into the free zone of the family room, laying down facing the wall looking immersed in guilt. I never uttered a word.

            When it was time for her to eat we would tell her to “get your bowl” which she would eagerly do and hold it at the ready. If I was tardy she would get her bowl and drop it at my feet. If she sensed a possibility of getting a piece of whatever was cooking she would do the same, with astonishing accuracy that there was something to be had.

            She was a ravenous eater right up to the day she died (a distressing fact for me that day). Even so, she was completely passive if I, for some reason, moved her half full bowl away from her. If I placed her food in front of her she dived into as many dogs do, but if her food was waiting for her before she was let in, she would stop in front of her bowl, turn around and look at me and wait until I told her it was okay. Then she would start. It was an action I never taught her.

            Her intelligence made her, and thus my life, more predictable.

            She never stopped learning, the extent to which would likely be boring to anyone but me. Her port-o-san was a patch of ivy in the backyard which she never deferred from. At about age 14, with her hearing nearly gone, in just minutes she learned commands to a sports whistle and knew instantly what it meant when she saw it hung around my neck. That same year she had half her lower jaw removed due to a tumor. She soldiered through that handicap with virtually no adjustment period, although I felt her quality of life had been struck a blow…no more bowl, no more flying to catch a Frisbee, no more bone chewing, etc.

            At nearly 16 she dramatically slowed down. She started to retain fluids in her abdomen and an ultrasound showed a large, likely cancerous tumor on her liver.  Her abdomen was drained twice, but it could not be stopped and a toll was being taken. Her loyalty, which had always been fierce, was now reduced to her following me step for step anywhere I went around the house or yard. Yet when I sat she would not stay in the same room with me, as if to spare me her distress.

            We spent a painful, warm summer day waiting for the Vet to call to tell us he was on the way to our house to put Maggie to sleep. When he arrived she was calm and willing. We went out in her backyard under the shade of our large oaks. Finally resting from the sedative he gave her, she peacefully closed her eyes seconds after receiving the second drug.

            Maggie did not just work her way into my heart as Molly had done.  It seems more that she worked her way into the very fabric of my life.  For the most part she was less of a dog and more of an extension of what makes life meaningful.

In an age of horrific human distress around the world, devastating predictions of environmental changes, or pitiful social inequities, the story of a dog seems no more than the preverbal grain of sand…and that’s true. Still, every person’s life is filled with unwanted fears, none are exempt. Sometimes the daily cures we seek, the calming, thought-free predictabilities can be found sitting at our feet. 

Dinner With Vladimir

T – Sit down Mr. President… may I call you Vladimir? Don’t you love the chandeliers in this place…bright…really bright…could use a little more mood, if you know what I mean…let’s see…which one is the translator, oh...ok…did you get that right?

V – Yes, and you may call me Vladimir and I would be honored to call you Donald. Correct?

T – Absolutely, 100 percent, it’s like how I like to…if you frankly, I mean even leaders even in the past may have been unhappy, hostile and like that…we need to begin on the right foot and try to show the world…well…a better, you know, way.  I think you’ll agree.

V – Yes

T – Okay…okay, but let’s get this, you know…out of the way. By this I mean the whole Russia thing being investigated back in the US…I don’t think we need to discuss it…spend time you know.

V – I agree. It is best we announce that we both felt it too ridiculous to waste this important summit on.

T – Absolutely, why would we? Nothing there…without I mean…including the campaign…even with Flynn, General Flynn…right? Right?

V – Flynn? Hmm…Flynn? Oh yes, I forgot. He was the minister you fired? My memory comes and goes on such things. Right now I don’t remember too much. That’s what our wives are for…

T – …oh sure (chuckle).  By the way, you have a lovely wife Voomilia…

V – …that’s Lyudmilia and thank you. I have admired your opinion of women going back to 2013 when you brought the marvelous Miss Universe contest to Moscow. The impression you made on the contestants… well, their admiration was obvious.

T – It was just business…but hey, when you’re making money and putting on a show, no reason not to win at both…if you know what I mean. But let’s get something else off…I mean, we don’t need to spoil the food on the table with…you know, this election thing they said you did.

V – I thought we already decided…

T – …no, that was the witch hunt collusion thing… this other thing…the hacking thing. The whole liberal media and security people…FBI and…whatever…I mean they’re like some hot bitch on a leash.  The sanctions…you know…

V – Yes, I very much want to talk about the sanctions, but I think we can come to the same agreement that we both find such investigation a waste of time and resources. We need to emphasize that we are both focused on improving the economies of our nations and providing stability and peace throughout the world. All else is distraction by those forces that want to undermine that goal. I think your commentators call it “Deep State”.

T – Yes, I thought we’d, that we…this is the kind of cooperation that couldn’t have existed with Obama…

V – …no, not possible…

T – …and I’m glad to hear we can…you know…that this is the time to start making a difference in our lives…you know…all lives, not even our lives or not just our lives.  We have a saying in our Country “All Lives Matter”.  I thought of it, but then someone else printed it…that’s okay…it’s the idea. That’s what matters.

V – Yes Donald. Let me point out that you are much loved in my Country. How you won a massive victory even as critics around the world falsely predicted your failure…amazing.  I am not so proud or so without common sense not to want to take advantage of your story. I obviously cannot take advantage of you, but I can craft my own success by showing my people how I was able to cultivate your friendship.

T – I see.

V – If we could leave this meeting and announce that we were ending eight decades of hostility and forging a new future with new opportunities for those with the wisdom to use their skills and brands to build a new world. We could end the threat of nuclear war by joining our goals. Our generation is almost done, but our children’s names will continue to be beacons for years to come.

T – I see.

V – Yes, I’m sure you can see that hostile rhetoric and things like sanctions work against our common interest.  But if you feel you can’t take the risk…

T – …wait a minute Vladimir. Risk taking is what I do.  There is an old American phrase I have used since I was a small…since I was a young…it’s called “car-pee de-um”.  I mean…it means…win the day! Or take command of the day…you know what I mean. It is…the art of the deal. Believe me, we can both be successes…for everyone.

V – But how can you eliminate sanctions and return to us our estate properties with such a defiant, liberal Congress? It’s like trying to eliminate those nasty allegations about collusion...

T – Eliminate sanctions?  Estate properties?....Oh, yeah…I see. You forget Vladimir.  I’m President of the United States.  Amazing, yes? Massive electoral victory…nobody believed Pennsylvania or Wisconsin could go my way. Crooked Hillary, right? What a loser. I just need to sign my name and the sanctions are…poof...and the keys are in the front doors.  Now let’s open this bottle of the best wine you ever tasted, you won’t believe it…and look…check out the name on the label…