Rome Burned

Here I was, trying to rest my eye (you really shouldn't try wearing contacts for the first time at 65) and a whole blog post went through my mind in about 30 seconds.  It'll probably take me 3 hours to write it out but, hey!, it's Sunday, I'm retired, and I don't have anything better to do.

First, can you imagine how many people have been born since this song was released?

We've added nearly 130 million people to the U.S. population since 1970.  Factor in immigration, consider the whole world, slice and dice it however you'd like and it's a bunch of people that missed out on Motown.  And yet, we still have "people movin' out and people movin' in, all because of the color of their skin".

What's that old saying?, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."  That hits me over and over again as my wife and I go through The West Wing for our 3rd or 4th (5th?) time.  They were doing school vouchers last night.  Alabama is still doing them -- this year.  And that's pretty much all you need to know about them.  If Alabama wants school vouchers, they are obviously the wrong policy.  Of course, that just drives home the point being made in The West Wing:  If you make your Public Education System bad enough, everybody will want school vouchers anyway.  And those parents can't wait for the Democrats to get the policy fixed because their kids are only in 10th grade once.  (You don't need me to think of 10th-grade-in-Alabama snide remarks.)

 

 

One day, we'll learn to let Aaron Sorkin write our script through life but, until then, we'll just have to muddle through.

Aaron Sorkin: How I Would Script This Moment for Biden and the Democrats

Governor Walz isn't Adam Kinzinger but he was an actual possibility (as opposed to a fictional one).  

Yes, I still read the New York Times.  You can safely write me off as an old guy.  It's okay.  Even two of my favorite news guys are giving the Times a hard time:  James Fallows and David Rothkopf.  

I even saw a good example of it the other day.  I blew right past it even though it was on the front page.

"U.S. Shares Prices of First Drugs Picked for Medicare Negotiation" makes your eyes glaze over.

You might notice that the online version of that headline is different.

"U.S. Unveils Price Limits for 10 Costly or Common Medications". 

That grabs your attention -- if you struggle to pay for your prescriptions. It's not hard to catch the significance of it in the article either:

"The Biden administration on Thursday unveiled the results of landmark drug price negotiations..."
"The negotiations, a longtime aspiration of Democrats..."
"Mr. Biden on Thursday recalled working on legislation as a senator in the 1970s..."
"“These are impressive results,” said Jack Hoadley, a Medicare expert..."

But with the headline seemingly-designed to put you to sleep, and people's propensity to only read headlines, you won't be surprised to find this in paragraph 27 (on page A18, if I remember correctly. Which is where I caught on.):

"Still, only around half of Americans 65 and older surveyed in late April and early May were aware of the drug price negotiation program, according to KFF, the nonprofit health policy research group that conducted the survey."

Too bad for the current Democratic Party candidate for President.

"Ms. Harris cast the tiebreaking vote for the legislation that delivered the drug price negotiation program, something she and Mr. Biden highlighted at the Maryland event."

In case you didn't remember, the Inflation Reduction Act was passed without a single Republican vote.  And this was all part of the IRA.

"The new prices were made possible by the Inflation Reduction Act, a climate, health and tax bill Mr. Biden signed in 2022 that authorized the health and human services secretary to negotiate on behalf of Medicare."

Now, if you think I'm arguing with Fallows or Rothkopf, you're wrong.  They both make excellent points.  (Not to mention they are smarter and savvier than I am.)  One of the regular guests on David Rothkopf's flagship podcast is David Sanger.  He works at the New York Times.  And Rothkpf knows what that's worth.

Biden Approved Secret Nuclear Strategy Refocusing on Chinese Threat

"By David E. Sanger
David E. Sanger has written about American nuclear strategy for The New York Times for nearly four decades."

"The document, updated every four years or so, is so highly classified that there are no electronic copies, only a small number of hard copies distributed to a few national security officials and Pentagon commanders."  

I told you paper is safer.  (Yes, I'm making a very small point with a very big subject.)  

Just because they are complaining about the New York Times doesn't mean they don't appreciate its place in America.  And we all still read it.  You should too.

There's one more point on my outline.  (Yes, I wrote out an outline.  I don't know why.  It's probably the first time ever, in my life.  Well, except when a teacher required it of me.)  I'm not sure how I was supposed to work it into the flow -- at least logically. Anyway, it was the podcast I was listening to when all this came to me.

America’s undying empire: why the decline of US power has been greatly exaggerated.

I'm pretty sure I've suggested you read (or listen to) this before.  I find it a very useful reality check.

"...the shadow American power still casts over the rest of the world is unmistakable. The US has military superiority over all other countries, control of the world’s oceans via critical sea lanes, garrisons on every continent, a network of alliances that covers much of the industrial world, the ability to render individuals to secret prisons in countries from Cuba to Thailand, preponderant influence over the global financial system, about 30% of the world’s wealth and a continental economy not dependent on international trade."

You don't have to agree with it all (I don't) but it is a different look at things from an outside perspective.  Not to mention, it's a handy reminder as to what this election business is all about.  It's about the difference between Augustus and Nero.  We've already decided that one of the most effective Presidents ever was too old to represent us. We're all in on the feel-good politics of the moment.  But politics doesn't put food on the table.  Policies do.  As much as I might hate it, politics is how we get to policy.  Choose wisely.  Some people would be happy to see Rome burn.

Don Brown
August 25, 2024