Nov 24

Written by:
11/24/2009 12:18 PM 

Willie Nelson sings about a hobo riding West on a mail train called City of New Orleans: " Good Morning America, How are ya?" At 11:30 this morning my answer is poorly, Willie, poorly. The health care bill, to begin with, has been prepped, spiced, stuffed, sewed and browned to a perfection calculated to make progressives ill if the Senate passes it and ill if the Senate kills it. The Israel lobby and its extensions at Universities successfully browbeat us into giving Israel a pass on destroying Gaza and on defying Obama's request that it stop more settlements in the West Bank, and with ease, censor speeches on the Middle East.  Homeland Security head Napolitano continues the reactionary immigration policy of past administrations. Obama has yielded US policy in South Asia to the Military. Obama's overall score on changing this country for the better is negative. He cannot be expected to change much? He could at least have tried. It's  hard to pick Obama's most serious failed opportunity, but it's probably staying in Afghanistan, with stiffing climate action a close second. Really, it's a nonsense call because bad soup is bad soup.

Closer to home, I just caught one of Elliot Stoller's videos, the one on Washington State's Basic Health Care. It hit a sore spot created last evening by Enrique Cerna's "Ask the Governor". The Governor rattled off a lot of words on budget cuts with all the informative effect of a drips from a faucet. The video was a powerful indictment of Washington's regressive taxes. Okay, menwomen, we criticize Washington DC, but haven't the humanity to do right by the workers that prop up Washington State. Poorly, Willie, poorly.