The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly

[So many things going on.  I decided to just pass on several items of interest in case some of you might have missed hearing about them.]

The Good

Members of a student activist group at Boulder High School in Boulder, CO, drew up a petition to change the name of their school to “Barack Obama High School.”  The activist group, known as the Student Worker group (brrrr, gives me chills) were forced to withdraw their proposal after huge opposition to their idea spread throughout the school and town.  Thank goodness.  Read more here.

Another piece of good news.  Camille Paglia, whom I and most of us would consider to be very liberal, has spoken out against the “Fairness Doctrine.”  I’ve been surprised, frankly, that liberals haven’t been speaking out against this misnamed attempt to silence those who speak from a conservative point of view.  It’s such a blatant attack on the First amendment, which historically liberals hold very dear.  As do all of us.  You can read more here in an article that Ms. Paglia wrote for Salon.com, and here is an audio interview she gave talking about it.  If you don’t know who she is, (I didn’t) you can read more about her here.

Another piece of news that might be good.  Sirius/XM satellite radio, on the verge of bankruptcy, has been given a big boost by Liberty Media, who made a 530 million dollar investment in the struggling company.  I had been very concerned that satellite radio, if bought up by, oh, say, George Soros, would have its America Right station removed.  However, the founder and president of Liberty Media is John C. Malone, who sits on the board of directors of the Cato Institute.

And, probably the best news we’ve heard in a while, Border Control agents Ramos and Compean are free and home with their families.  What an indescribable blessing for them and their families.

The Bad

Here’s something I consider bad news.  An editorial in yesterday’s LA Times discussed (and approved) the new Orange County sheriff Sandra Hutchens’ plans to call in people with legal concealed carry permits and question them as to why they “need to carry a gun.”  This is, I suppose, to be expected in Kalifornia, but it is very disturbing nonetheless.  I guess in her mind people need a really good reason to exercise their rights protected by the Bill of Rights.  Is she going to also call in and question people about whether they actually “need” to exercise their right of worship, or their right to speak freely?

The Ugly

The new spending bill provides $3 billion to computerize medical records, the intent of which is to cut costs and decrease errors.  This will, of course, require the establishment of a new government office, the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology.  According to language in the bill, the new office “provides appropriate information to help guide medical decisions at the time and place of care.”  The bill goes on to allow the Secretary of Health and Human Services to require more stringent measures of “meaningful use” by health care providers (formerly known as “doctors”) and to penalize these providers who aren’t “meaningful users” in providing the most cost-efficient care.  This is in the bill. This is not speculation.  The electronic health records for each person in the United States by 2014 is mandatory.

I can’t wait for 2010.

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Tagged as: Boulder High School, Camille Paglia, Cato Institute, gun control, Health care, John C. Malone, Liberty Media, Orange county sheriff, Satellite radio, United States Secretary of Health and Human Services