10 ways to know if you are playing team politics.

From time to time I get on about team politics.  By team politics, I mean a person that has identified themselves as a member of one political group or another, so strongly that they can scarcely see the good in the opposition or bad on their own team.  They do this instead of weigh the planks of either platform and decide if that party's platform more closely resembles their thoughts than the alternative.  The problem with this, is the parties start to respond to this kind of behavior by doing things that better the party instead of better the country.  I have rarely written much about politics, but I feel this needs to be said because if we can't orient ourselves to the betterment of our nation instead of our pride we will find ourselves with an increasingly unresponsive government much like the one we enjoy today.  For those of you that aren't politically minded, politics aren't the only thing people play teams with.

10.  I wish I'd said that! - When you hear the other side say something that makes a good point, instead of giving them the credit for a well thought out point you resent your own side for not having made it.  Because when you are all in for one side, you are only about points and nothing else.

9.  They are idiots - When you are rooting for a team, you have to pick apart the opponent one way or another.  The vague estimation of their intelligence is the easiest way to promote your team by tearing them down with no specific proof.  It's just here say.  After all, they MUST be idiots, they are playing for the other team.  But assuming that someone is stupid OR smart based on one or two events or phrases makes you the idiot.

8.  They are great people! - Much like studies that have a theory they are trying to promote, scientists often look at data with a skew in interpretation towards the outcome they are looking for.  We do the same when we start looking up people we either side with or are against.  We will mentally cull all the information that does not support our assumptions about that individual.  They are evil bastards or saints.  I would suspect that in this world, most people have a bit of both good and bad in them on BOTH SIDES.  Our job should be to promote the good ones not the team no matter who they have on it.

7.  We never argue - If you can't look at the flaws on your side's players, you are probably a team cheerleader.  How can 2 parties possibly have all the answers for all of the people in our country on either side?!  Of course they can claim to, it's their job to proclaim that they are the last word in governance.  If we get back to the idea of representative government, we realize that some things we should support are actually claimed as ideological points on the other side and they should support some of ours.  Not because they are giving in on their ideological ground, but because it's what is the most right for our country.

6.  I always vote - This one is a bit more tricky.  If you always vote, but you rarely look into the candidates or the issues you are voting for, this means you are letting someone else tell you how to vote.  You are the water boy/girl for that team.  An important thing to always bear in mind is BOTH SIDES see politics as money and not much more.  Sure, once in a while there are people that are actually idealistic about public service, but that usually only lasts until the first lobbyist's campaign check.  Voting without researching what you are voting for because its 'your right' is like grabbing a gun and shooting it off into the air without thinking that it probably has to land somewhere.  Often, that bullet will land harmlessly somewhere where it doesn't matter much, but there is a remote chance that that bullet will matter a lot.

5. Serves them right! - Cheering when the opposition to your party is caught in something dubious is at best counterproductive.  It shows that what is being done doesn't matter nearly as much as that they were caught in the act of something.  Well, if your side hasn't been caught in enough situations with their collective pants down, then maybe it's fair to do so, but even then, it's not charitable.  But THEY aren't charitable with us so so so so.  Yes, I know.  YAY TEAM.  *yawn*

4.  Well, you have to put the situation in context. - Looking deeply on your side to try to find a plausible reason as to why your side screwed up, and justify it.  The deeper you look and the more websites you try to find to justify your position, the more you are just buying jerseys on behalf of your team.  Try to think why you can't take your bad news on face value like you do in number 5?  Hmm...

3.  The important thing is who's fault it is - This one is pretty special because it usually happens when two team players face off in a grand show of who's team is best.  Usually by taking one issue and then following it down to who's fault the failure is.  What is interesting is, there are SO many issues to choose from that Government has screwed up.  Who wins?  Both Teams!  Who loses?  You do.  What might be even more interesting is what can be done to fix any given problem.  Often I've found that the problems are much more complicated than the one liner antidotes that I have heard (or even given myself).

2.  Well, at least we aren't THEM - Oh the 3rd party.  The enemy of my enemy, should be my friend right?  Not in this case.  When a 3rd party candidate shows up, many people complain because they will split the vote of the candidate they are most like giving the other side a plurality victory.  This has happened a few times in our history and it wasn't THAT bad.  What concerns the team player is that it's not fair to have another team on the field.  It's just not done.  If a 3rd party is not a part of the system, they are not a part of the inside knowledge that politics is a show for the people not unlike professional wrestling.  A 3rd candidate is like a different franchises wrestling crew.  Who likes them?  They are horrible.  They don't know what they are doing. We need professionals.  Well, if politics is by the people and for the people, I would hope that we have fewer instead of more professional politicians.

1.  You don't even know the story, but you're sure they are wrong.  - Fox news?  Must be that stinking Republican Channel.  MSNBC?  Gotta be those tree hugging lefties.  Instead of looking for sources for the story, team players look for the stories outlet as a guide as to weather or not it's actually factual.  I've done this myself from time to time and have found that I'm missing on really cogent points of view.  I may still not agree with them, but to see them intelligently put together in a way that is informative is not the purview of any one news outlet or even a reporter.  Everyone is allowed their version of the truth.  This is not to say that the press is not the BIGGEST bunch of team players out there.  They are.  Make no mistake.  When it comes to political punditry, you can see pretty quickly that the press is not an outside observer of the machine, but rather an integeral cog.

Just remember kids, Bigotry,  is ANY time you paint with a broad brush your anecdotal judgments on to the canvas of an entire group and assume they are valid.  Play nice.  We should be people first, political animals 5th.  See you in 15.  

top 10 things about health care

I'm compelled to write this bit because I really can't seem to turn to any channel on TV without hearing about healthcare, townhall meetings and Paula Abdul. This list was originally formulated when my own father died, and has changed from time to time, but the content remains the same.

10. Good health is not a right - Most of these points are obvious like this one. For some reason, there are people out there that believe otherwise. We call these people...sick. We don't have a right to good health any more than we have a right to good food, or good entertainment. Careful analysis of the constitution will prove it. There are those that believe that the pursuit of happiness holds the key to health care for all. That if we are not healthy, how can we be happy? I know I'm less happy when I'm sick, but is it impossible for me to be happy? no. Life as a constitutional point is pretty strong. If I'm sick enough to die, then I've been deprived my constitutional right of life. Unfortunately, none of us will every enjoy the right of life indefinitely. At least not as we know it.




9. Doctors don't save lives as much as they postpone deaths. - Doctors will be the first to admit that we are all biological machines that tend to break down over time. The best and most healthy among us will fall to the ravages of time. Life saving techniques save lives in favor of an eventual later death. Doctors ultimate goal would of course be the unlimited perpetuation of what we know as life. They are not there yet, but every year gets us closer. Of course the more life we can extend, the more money that can be made from it. Immortality at the price of eternal servitude.









8. ANY health care plan will have to not cover stuff - nobody can plan to pay for everything that will happen to everyone. Insurance doesn't do it. Government won't be able to either. Anyone can say that the current health system is broken, but very few can say just how to fix it. If we are to have a national insurance that covers everyone, that insurance will have to decide what is covered and what isn't. There is no other way. Nothing can pay for everyone all the time. So how to decide. Well, you decide how old is old enough, and you decide which diseases are just to expensive to cover. Regular insurance has been doing this for ages and Government will have to do it as well. No matter what they say.









7. Doctors existed before insurance - Hippocrates, the originator of the Hippocratic oath designating that a doctor will 'do no harm' predated health insurance by about 2000 years. How did Doctors operate without a large pool of money that was administered for them? Well, they used to arrange payment with their patients (customers) and sometimes they would take payment in kind (barter) and other times they would give their services for free. They were free to make the decisions of their profession without hindrance. Then in the 1850's the first forms of health insurance began to rear their heads. Slowly but surely, Insurance has become a fixture and somehow transmogrified into a necessity. Now, if you don't have insurance, it's as big a tragedy as if you can't read. I grew up in a household that never had insurance. I guess I'm still alive to tell the tale. Who knew?



6. Fear is nearly as expensive as Ignorance - Fear and Ignorance are closely related, but Ignorance edges fear out for the most expensive state of mind. Fear though is usually born of ignorance and is therefore a very close second. If we fear the possibility/inevitability of getting sick or in-firmed, then we will pay to stave that off. This is how insurance really gets you. Because insurance is based on the fear of a catastrophic illness bankrupting you and your family. There was a time though, when Doctors would do their best and charge you for the work they rendered and that was it. Now, doctors have to ask permission of the health care provider of their particular patient. That provider will tell the doctor what is covered and what is not. Your Doctor then decides what to recommend based on what Insurance will cover. We need a more nationalized version of that. It sounds really good.

5. Doctors used to make house calls and drive sensible cars. - You come to them and they still drive sensible cars. If they are family practitioners. The specialists of course are the ones making a lot of money and driving those fancy cars. It's not that what they do isn't valuable, but the ability to make money has been enhanced over time. Back in the day, a doctor had to go do school and then just went into practice depending on the states individual rules governing the practice of medicine. the amount of schooling and effort and knowledge needed to become a physician has grown to a gargantuan size. There is no way they don't deserve what they make. On the other hand, will the free market actually be able to pay for their skills if all that is needed is to stitch up a cut?

4. Insurance has never produced anything - Bernie Madoff, what a bastard. This guy took peoples money into the worlds largest pyramid scheme ever devised. The idea is simple. you get a few people to give you say 100 dollars, then you promise them say 10 percent of that investment every month rain or shine. Mind you, that 10 percent is about 8 percent better than anything else around. So every month you pay out 10 percent to the investors and they tell their friends about this great investment scheme and how they need to get into it. It gets bigger and bigger. Bernie gets a big pool of money and pays off everyone every month and keeps getting more and more investors. Sure the rest of the country is making 2 percent but they are suckers and you are a financial genius because you are tight with Bernie. Well, you know the rest of the story. The pyramid never was money invested in anything but paying off the old investors at the expense of the new. Now just replace Bernie with Insurance Companies and change 8 percent to health care coverage and you get the idea. Like those poor saps that got their money to Bernie at the end of his illustrious career. The only difference is you could conceivably pay and pay into a system and never collect, and the insurance companies have to put their profits somewhere, like buildings because as long as there are more people there can be more insurance.

3. The Government really thinks that Healthcare reform is a great deal...for you - So the Feds want to 'give' us health care reform because they think it's SOOOOOOO important. Why aren't they reforming their own health care that we the taxpayer pay for? It seems that if we want them to be serious about what they are giving us, the US should include THEM. What's wrong with that? I'm not sure, but it seems that they are unwilling to do that. I'm sure there is a very high minded and lofty reason that they don't participate in any of the programs they have devised for we the people. Nope, they have government retirement, not social security, they have their own insurance not Medicare. Really the best health care reform you can get is by getting yourself elected to congress. Then you can really enjoy a good system at work. BAH!





2. If it weren't for Insurance, you couldn't afford to pay for it yourself....WRONG - This is more an indictment of lazy people than it is another jab at insurance. But for those of you that are playing at home. lets do an experiment. Add up all of your insurance premiums over the years of working and then add in the amount of health care you have used. Now when you are playing this game, remember. If you have to pay 300-500 dollars for insurance your Employer must pay in the neighborhood of 900 - 1200 for you as well. So add that in. After all, this money is money that your employer is spending on your behalf. The argument against this is. Well my employer would never pay me 1200 dollars a month to do my same job. My answer is. They already do. They just give it to you in insurance. Add it all up over the course of say 5 years and then add in all of the bills less how much you made in a copay (because you payed that all ready). If you really want to have fun with it. pretend you put that amount in the bank and apply say 2% interest to it over those 5 years. Yes, I know, there ARE people for whom their ailments are financially destructive. However, NOBODY calls insurance charity on any side of it and I can guarantee that those people that have insurance and need it, are still financially decimated.

1. Genuinely Free markets drive the price of everything down to it's lowest point. - It's a natural fact. The best example of this is Multi-Level Marketing. Since everyone can be a distributor for whatever product it is. there is too much product and so people that are in the MLM buy product and give it away to friends just to keep their activity and hopes for millions alive. Medicine has been out of a free market for a long time. Why? for a couple of reasons. Insurance tells Doctors what to charge, and people think insurance equals free. Between these two things, people do not care at all that they are putting a burden on the system. People do not shop for medical care in the same way they shop for cars. they go in because they need help. Price is no object my good man, I have insurance. If insurance didn't exist OR if people were forced to administer their own insurance claims, there would be MUCH more competition in the marketplace. But people are both stupid and lazy on this point. After all, if they are sick, the last thing they want to worry about is paying the doctor and getting paid from the insurance company (another whole issue with insurance is the getting paid. Sheesh). Besides if a really good doctor and a mediocre doctor are both doctors and give the same care right? Well insurance says they do, so it must be, and IS true.

So we think that the Government controlling insurance and health care is a good idea? really?! So far the only thing that I can think of that would make health care affordable is to eliminate insurance or at least make it only administer-able by the patient. Create lawsuit reform that dictates that loser must pay for the court costs etc (thereby eliminating frivolous lawsuits and encouraging out of court settlements at a lower cost).

Top 10 political phrases

To use an overly used phrase: Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that it's politics season. It's time to listen to a few of the most ambitious "A" type personalities that you can imagine try to pretend that they are just like you and me. They are of course nothing of the sort.

Allow me to profile the average politician. As I said before..."A" type personality. Control freak. Drama Queen. Personable. Liar. Cheerleader. I could go on, but you get the picture. Big fat phony baloney windbags. Of course now we have a few politicians that look different, but they won't be different. The reason is because of what they have to do in order to ascend to the presidency. They have to try to convince the largest part of active voters that they are the right candidate for the job WITHOUT waking up the other voters.

One side of communication is your audience. Unfortunately, if you want to see who the politicians are talking to, you only have to go stand in line at the DMV. Look at the people around you. That is America. One of the scariest realizations you will ever have.

How do you communicate to the masses and make them believe that you are the best person to spend the money in the public treasury? You can't sit down with all of them and get to know them and lie to them individually, you have to lie on a broad scale. This requires quick short 'sound bites' that sound great but commit to very little, OR words that commit to a lot, but are hampered by the surrounding political infrastructure.

Couple this with the fact that you as a politician have been insulated from the public ever since you attained your first public office. So you hire speech writers that you don't pay very much because if you do, they will become insulated from the public experience as well. These speech writers put common phrases that are recognizable to the public in your speech. They make you seem more human than you really are.

Since we know that they aren't human, what is it that they are saying?! Well here ya go...

10. American People - Ex: "We want to promote values that are in line with the American People" What American People really means: The people I'm talking to. I have to keep reminding myself who it is that I'm talking to because I'm not sure anymore. This is a lot like these people that use your name when you are the only one in the room. "Do you hear what I'm saying Mark?" I'm the only guy here jerk. If you think using my name adds emphasis to your message, well, it does, just the wrong emphasis. Now I can't tear myself away from the idea that you are a dill-weed. (P.S. Sleestax RULE).






9. American Values - There really is no end to the flag swinging that goes on in the political debate. Politicians go on and on about 'American Values' Because we all know that those Subversive Canadians don't have our values. How much is the Canadian Dollar worth again? Translation: Values of whatever you want to vote for, whatever that is.







8. Get this country back on track - This one is especially funny coming from people that have been spending your money in the first place. Why is it that people running for office think the country is a wreck and people in office think it's going great. Get this country back on track?!? What they are really saying is "I hope that when I get in office things go better but I have no clue"













7. Big business needs to take responsibility - Decoded "lets blame people that make money for making it. They had to have done it in a way that was unfair to you so they should be made to pay" I've got mixed feelings about big business. The reason they get into trouble is because they are greedy, but greed is what drives this country. If business were just a little bit nice to their employees, there would be no Unions. If Unions were a little smarter about how they ride business, all the jobs might not be moving to Naftaxico. It's a vicious cycle.



6. I will work closely with Big Business - This is almost the opposite of #7 , and yet both of them can be found in the same speech. This one really means "I've had my palms greased so much by certain companies that they will be slippery for the next 4 years at least"










5. I will work hard with my friends from across the aisle - What a crock. Work hard? the real key to this phrase is the 'friends' word. Of course they are friends, they are all the same. both sides of the aisle get better healthcare and better benefits than any other blue collar employee and most other white collar employees in the country. Work hard with my friends BAH. Translation: When we get together for cocktails paid for by the U.S. Citizen, we'll laugh about what we are getting for what we are doing.











4. I feel your pain - this one is famous, but it's taken so many shapes, it ends up to be this "I'm glad your hurting, because you'll vote for me" Plain and simple. Pain and suffering is the coin of the political realm. If we are fat and happy watching our TV, we won't be motivated to vote.







3. My opponent is a slave to special interests - Special interests are one of the most insideous pieces of our government. Why should we allow foriegn lobbys influence our congress? we do. this has nothing to do with all the local companies that grease the plams of the politically ambitious. Most of them spend lots of porkfat on both sides of the isle. Translation "Vote me in so I can be a slave to those interests". I did get this one from Oh Brother where art thou, and yet, it seems to ring true today.


2. we need to be proud of America again - I hate this one. At it's best it's pandering, and at it's worst, it says that the current opponent would make people ashamed of America. Politicians are a necessary evil in any government. As a result we will have to put up with them. Allow history to judge the politicians for what they did. Not lousy political grandstanders. Translation: If you put me in office, I promise you won't be embarrased of me, as long as I don't get caught.











1. I'm a political outsider! - Then why in the WORLD should we vote for you? This is the dumbest one I've ever heard. It insults a politicians constituency as well as other politicians. I've not seen it work yet. Who would hire a lawyer based on the fact that they were not brought up in the legal system and they are a fresh face in law? Nobody. Translation: I will say whatever it takes to get elected and if there are votes for being a newbie, so be it.








Well, as distastefull as it is, there you have it. Happy polling and I hope our future is really brighter than I'm afraid it is.