I Don’t Hate America!

Note: I posted this on my graduate studies discussion board as an opinion piece.

Despite the tremendous cost that healthcare is in our country, I believe that it is still a basic human right to receive it. This includes everything in our healthcare system including, but not limited to medications, technology, long intensive care stays, neonatal intensive care units, and dialysis machines. I do not doubt that there are valid arguments on both sides, including the financial impact and quality of healthcare, but my basic fundamental belief in healthcare for all defines my position regardless of financial considerations. To put it simply, the premise of healthcare for all comes no matter what and it is up to us to figure out how to contain costs.

An analysis done by Smith, Cowan, Sensenig, Catlin, and Health Accounts Team (2005) of our current, predominately entrepreneurial healthcare system revealed an expensive system, costing 15.3% of our country’s gross domestic product (GDP) in 2003. The same team found that the per capita expenditure was $5670 in 2003 (Smith et. al, 2005). This is an expensive investment considering 47 million Americans are still uninsured, with the number rising every year (U.S Census Bureau, 2007).

Government spending has been fluctuating recently in light of the Iraq/Afghanistan war. To compare spending, translating per capita expenditure for healthcare in 2003 to a family of four will yield $22,680 ($5670 multiplied by four) per year. A recent report from Senator Schumer and Representative Maloney from the Joint Economic Committee Majority Staff (2007) shows the total economic cost of the Iraq/Afghanistan war from 2002 to 2008 for a family of four to total $20,900 for these years.

Complaints about how much we spend in healthcare can be paralleled with complaints that we spend too much for war. Our priorities need to be questioned if we need to spend such large amounts in foreign countries when our domestic healthcare system is failing. Some may be surprised to hear that through our estimated family contributions of $20,900 to the government for the war, we have paid for universal healthcare in Iraq! The U.S has “spent nearly US $1 billion on Iraq’s healthcare system but more than $8 billion is required over the next four years to fund the current healthcare structure [in Iraq]” (IRIN, 2006, para. 3). The U.S is now burdened with two healthcare systems, both failing, and both needing more funds. The question is not only do we support certain proposals to cover all Americans, but instead, does our government have their priorities straight when it comes to our money.

IRIN. (2006). Iraq: Country’s healthcare system rapidly deteriorating. Retrieved on November 27, 2007, from link

Schumer, C. E., Maloney, C. B. (2007). War at any price? Retrieved on November 27, 2007, from link

Smith, C., Cowan,C., Sensenig, A., Catlin, A., & Health Accounts Team. (2005). Health spending growth slows in 2003. Health Affairs, 24(1), 185-194.

U.S Census Bureau. (2007, August). Household income rises, poverty rate declines, number of uninsured up. Retrieved November 27, 2007, from link

We realize we have been paying an awful lot of attention to the First Congressional District race and more specifically the “four pack” of GOP contenders looking to take on DFL Rep. Tim Walz.  While Jason and I are no longer stationed in the First, we retain interest in the in the activities going on down there.

I now reside in the Second and have attempted to keep up on the activities, or lack thereof, of GOP Rep. John Kline.  We will also pass on information about the campaign of DFL Iraq-war veteran Steve Sarvi who is looking to unseat Kline as it becomes available.

Information such as this:

On November 7 at 8 p.m., the Carleton College Democrats will host congressional candidate Steve Sarvi in Sayles-Hill, room 251. Sarvi will talk about his campaign and answer questions from the audience. All interested students and members of the general public are invited to attend.

Democrat Steve Sarvi is running in the 2nd Congressional District of Minnesota for the U.S. House of Representatives. He is an Iraq veteran. Previous to deciding to run for Congress, Sarvi was city administrator in the towns of Lanesboro, Watertown, and Victoria, Minn. He also served as a three-term Mayor in Watertown.

The Carleton College Democrats’ mission is to encourage involvement and activity not only on the part of other Carleton students, but also in the community at large.

This post is coming to you live from beautiful Winona, Minnesota! Mega congratulations go today to Joe Bodell over at Minnesota Campaign Report on his marriage.  It’s certainly an awesome day for that type of festivity!

Later today I will head to the campus of Winona State University, my alma mater, for a town-hall meeting with my old Congressman, Tim Walz.  Unlike my current Congressman, John Kline, Walz not only listens to his constituents, he reaches out for their opinions. The Iraq war will be the topic.  Everyone around town should check it out.

4 p.m., Science Labratory Center (new science building) lecture hall. Be there!
Some people may have other things to do, but they can reconsider.  For instance, the Winona State Warrior football team takes on visiting Bemidji State at about the same time.  It’s being broadcast on FSN North; tape it!

Rep. Tim Walz will hold a town-hall meeting about the Iraq conflict Saturday at Winona State University.  We were at similiar meeting this spring in Winona with the Congressman about veterans issues and his willingness to answer all questions frankly and sincerely isn’t seen very often from those sent to Washington.

Might this be a good excuse to take a trip down to the ole’ alma mater for this blogger?

4:00 p.m.
Winona Iraq Forum
Winona State University
Science Lecture Lab (SL 120)
Intersection of Winona & Sanborn Street
Winona, Minnesota

The Iraq forum is free and open to the public and press. No RSVP is necessary.

From The Hill:

Minnesota

Iraq veteran and former Watertown Mayor Steve Sarvi will file for the Democratic primary to take on Rep. John Kline (R-Minn.) this week, Sarvi told The Hill on Wednesday.

“I’ve always had a process with this thing of taking it sort of step by step and seeing how it goes,” Sarvi said. “So the next step for us is to raise money and see what the reception’s like.”

Democrats are bullish about Sarvi, who said he would file either Wednesday or Thursday. They say his military background will help him cut into a major base of Kline’s support.

Kline is a retired Marine colonel who served as an aide to Presidents Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan. He has carved out a reputation built on veterans’ issues.

Despite being a Democratic target, he has survived reelection bids with relative ease the last two cycles, winning both by 56-40 margins.

I finally had the opportunity to meet Sarvi a couple of weeks ago at a SD 35 DFL picnic. We will continue to follow this race closely here at IDHA.

Barack Obama has the judgment and experience to lead this country. Just look at who got the single most important foreign policy decision since the end of the Cold War right, and who got it wrong. Who had the conviction to buck Washington’s conventional thinking, and who will make the right judgments for America going forward.
Barack Obama opposed the Iraq war from the start – at a time when going to war was politically popular. He was convinced that it would distract us from Afghanistan, fan the flames of extremism around the world, and enflame sectarian tensions in Iraq. So he went to a rally and argued against “a rash war” and “an occupation of undetermined length, with undetermined costs, and undetermined consequences.”

The American people were failed by President Bush, but also by conventional thinking in Washington the joined the rush to war, particularly by a Congress that voted to give the President the open-ended authority to wage war. Let’s be clear: nobody thought Congress was debating whether or not to give the President the authority to conduct diplomacy - the debate was about whether to go to war. Without that vote, there would be no war.

Barack Obama isn’t running for President to conform to Washington’s conventional thinking – he’s running to challenge it. He’s not running to turn back the clock – he’s running to turn the page.

There is a window of opportunity in this election, and if we don’t seize it, we might not get another chance. We’re not going to face down unconventional threats with the same old conventional thinking that got us into Iraq. We’re not going to bring this country together with the same old conventional politics of trying to beat the other side. Barack Obama is the only candidate who has the right judgment and experience to unite our country and restore our standing in the world.

Barack Obama will turn the page to a new era of American diplomacy. The Bush-Cheney diplomacy of not talking to other countries doesn’t make us look tough – it makes us look arrogant. To protect America, we need a President who is willing to talk to all nations, friend and foe. And that is exactly what Barack Obama will do.

Barack Obama will turn the page to a new American leadership in the world. The UN has embraced the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to cut extreme poverty in half by 2015. When Barack Obama is President, that will be America’s goal. While the Bush Administration tried to keep the UN from trumpeting these goals, Obama will double foreign assistance to $50 billion to lead the world to achieve them.

We need to turn the page on a nuclear policy that is still focused on deterring the Soviet Union. Barack Obama will set the goal of a world without nuclear weapons. He’ll work with Russia to dramatically reduce the stockpiles of nuclear weapons, and to seek a global ban on the production of fissile material. He’ll set a goal to expand the U.S.-Russian ban on intermediate-range missiles so that it is a global agreement. And he’ll lead a global effort to secure all loose nuclear materials during his first term in office.
As President, Barack Obama will lead a new era of openness and accountability. He’ll give an annual “State of the World” address to the American people laying out our national security policy. He’ll create a new National Declassification Center to turn the page on unnecessary secrecy. He’ll make the Director of National Intelligence an official with a fixed term, because we don’t need any more officials who just tell the President what they want to hear. And he’ll establish a standing and bipartisan Consultative Group of congressional leaders on national security, because he believes that foreign policy should not be a partisan issue – it should be an American issue.

Doing all of this won’t be easy. But throughout our history, America has made the right choice over the easy choice, the ambitious choice over the cautious choice. And if we make the right choice in this election, we’ll not just turn the page on the same Washington conventional thinking that got us into this war – we’ll turn the page to a new beginning, and unite this country to meet urgent challenges.

Recently members of the 1st brigade/34th Infantry (Red Bulls) Division of the Army National Guard began returning to Minnesota from their record setting 22 months of employment.  Today, the US House passed a concurring resolution honoring their service.

The resolution, H. Con. Res. 185 introduced by Rep. Tim Walz and cosponsored by every other member of the Minnesota House delegation, “commends the 1st Brigade Combat Team/34th Infantry Division of the Minnesota National Guard upon its completion of the longest continuous deployment of any United States military unit during Operation Iraqi Freedom,” “recognizes the achievements of the members of the 1st Brigade Combat Team and their exemplary service to the United States” and “directs the Clerk of the House to transmit a copy of this resolution to the Adjutant General of the Minnesota National Guard for appropriate display.”

“This record of the longest continual deployment of any US military operation during Operation Iraqi Freedom is something to be incredibly proud of,” Walz said. “Being there is one thing; contributing positively the way they did is quite another.”

Some of the contributions Walz was refering to include the discovery of 462 IEDs, the capture of over 400 suspected insurgent, the assistance in starting two Iraqi newspapers and the completion of 137 reconstruction projects.

“These men and women did not set this record and when they left these shores they had no idea this record was going to be theirs,” Rep. John Kline, R-Minnesota and member of the House Armed Services Committee, said. “But when the word came they didn’t flinch.  They set forward, did their duty and they set a record; one which I certainly hope no other unit will be asked to surpass.”

“We recognize not just the soldiers but their families and employers who patiently supported, loved and cared for them and waited until they returned to the Midwest,” Walz added, a former member of the Red Bulls himself, added.

Walz also noted that the responsibility of Congress to the soldiers goes well beyond honoring them with a resolution: “Now Congress must do its part to recognize their service and provide them with the benefits and health care they need,” he said.

The House passed the resolution by voice vote with a recorded vote to come later today.

While much has been made about candidate for Congress in Minnesota’s First District and state Sen. Dick Day’s commitment to make illegal immigration the defining issue in the campaign for the Republican endorsement, fellow candidate and state Rep. Randy Demmer, R-Hayfield, today told supporters in an email message the single issue he hears the most about from constituents is “family values.”

From BPOU picnics and meetings to parades, I have spent the summer crossing and re-crossing Minnesota’s First Congressional District meeting with prospective delegates and general election voters alike. In addition to meeting and exchanging ideas with so many people, I have shared many of these experiences with my wife Kathy, family members, friends and supporters making for enjoyable as well as informative opportunities.

Although the issues of importance to the people of the First Congressional District have varied from immigration to spending . . . from the War in Iraq to health care . . . from taxation to education, the one most repeated subject is that of family values. It is very obvious that the great majority share with me that certain beliefs are the core of family values.

Protecting the rights of the unborn . . . a ban on public funding of embryonic stem cell research . . . and the belief that marriage is a union of one man and one woman are fundamental. I firmly believe residents of the First Congressional District hold dearly to the philosophy that families that live, study, play and worship together are the foundation and very essence of our country.

Family values extend to education. Parents and families are far and away the most important determinant of success. People of the First District are not looking for federal government intrusion into education. They believe, as I do, it is a family and local issue.

As I continue in this campaign, which covers border to border in southern Minnesota, I continue to pledge my non-negotiable commitment to the family values that are so very important to the people of the First District. Please join me in our campaign to replace Tim Walz and return responsible Congressional representation to Minnesota’s First Congressional District.

Sincerely,

Randy Demmer

Yes, those evil gay marriages and that evil stem cell research again! They are OBVIOUSLY of much greater concern to southern Minnesotans than a war that is draining human and financial resources, a broken health care system or even immigration, an issue which virtually everyone thinks needs evaluation.  Or agriculture, which this message didn’t mention.  I guess this email message seems to illustrate that Demmer has decided that forgetting about agriculture needs of the First District will now be a recurring campaign theme.

Please Randy, run as a social conservative.  And please get the GOP endorsement.  Give the voters of the First a hard choice next November: male, southern Minnesota version of Michele Bachmann (you, Randy), or a common sense, pragmatic, hard working incumbent (Tim Walz).

Or you will get votes because of the thing most impressive about your campaign so far: your perfectly maintained hair. Seriously, watch for yourself: it keeps its terrific condition in the parade breeze.

Speaking of Randy Demmer taking on Tim Walz, Hal over at Blue Man in a Red District has a fantastic take on Demmer’s press release asking Walz to denounce Moveon.org.

The press release, it should be noted, was picked up by no one (that I can find via Google, anyway) other than Hal and Michael Brodkorb over at MDE. Must be that evil liberally controlled media…

Minnesota Republican Rep. John Kline has arrived in Iraq for the fifth time since the war started.  From the Star Tribune’s Kevin Diaz:

WASHINGTON - Minnesota Republican John Kline, one of the strongest congressional supporters of the U.S. war effort, arrived in Iraq Friday, beginning his fifth visit since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003.

The trip, coming as Congress debates the future of U.S. troop deployments in Iraq, will also include a stop in Afghanistan. Kline is part of a congressional delegation made up of three Republicans and three Democrats. The group is being led by Rep. Neil Abercrombie, D-Hawaii.

In an interview before he left Washington, Kline said he was encouraged by reports of progress given to Congress last week by Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Ryan Crocker. But, he added, he wanted to see the latest conditions for himself.

“I’d like to see with my own eyes what progress has been made — or the lack of progress,” he said.

Kline, a retired Marine colonel, said he’s particularly interested in assessing the morale of U.S. troops, which is critical to military reenlistment rates. “I want to know what the soldiers and Marines feel about their mission,” he said.

He also said it will be important to meet with regional Iraqi leaders to assess the prospects of national reconciliation for the central Iraqi government.

Almost unwavering from George W. Bush’s Iraq policy.  “The surge is clearly working,” is what Kline will likely say upon returning.  Or if that quote has a “but” following it, his visit might bring back evidence of how salvageable things really are over there.

Meanwhile, anger is growing among Republicans, specifically House Armed Services Committee members Kline and ranking member Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-California) and the amount of corruption surrounding military contracts in Iraq.  The investigated contracts in these situations alone ring to the tune of $6 billion for “essential supplies” and $88 billion for body armor.  Some of the story from the New York Times:

Representatives from both parties pummeled the panel with angry questions and comments, assailing the Pentagon for having failed to overhaul the procurement system more than two years after Congress had identified serious problems in defense contracting and passed legislation aimed at helping the Pentagon correct them.

Someone refresh my memory: how much were those cases of Coca Cola being sold for?

The lawmakers also challenged assertions by the Pentagon officials that the corruption being uncovered was the work of a few isolated individuals. Several committee members suggested that the abuses were far more systemic.

“The problems were so severe that I fear they could represent a culture of corruption,” said Representative Ike Skelton, Democrat of Missouri, the chairman of the committee. “I am extremely disappointed to learn that so many individuals violated their integrity and undermined the oaths they made to this country.”

Representative John Kline, a Minnesota Republican and retired Marine colonel, said he was “doubly, triply, quadruply appalled” at the “clear breakdown in leadership” that allowed some Army contracting officers to corrupt the procurement system. He said it was inexcusable that it took so long for the Army to put adequate checks in place.

Pentagon officials did not dispute the seriousness of the problems. However, they took issue with lawmakers’ characterizations of their scope. “I think it’s isolated incidents,” said Thomas F. Gimble, the principal deputy Pentagon inspector general. “The real issue is a lack of control, a lack of integrity and lots of opportunity and lots of money.”

With the no-bid contracts over in Iraq, isn’t it inexcusable of Kline to take so long to start an accountability process?

As of Sept. 12, the Army reported that it had 78 cases of fraud and corruption under investigation, had obtained 20 criminal indictments, and had uncovered over $15 million in bribes.

Lawmakers scolded the Pentagon for just recently ordering the creation of a special contracting corps of experienced procurement specialists — authorized in the legislation two years ago — to bolster purchasing teams in the most active combat zones, and to report directly to a regional military commander.

“That it’s taken two years to do this is an indication of a system that’s quite slow,” said Representative Duncan Hunter of California, the senior Republican on the committee. “That’s half the time it took to win World War II.”

Hat tip to Bluestem Prairie.

Previously Missing in Action Minnesota second district Rep. John Kline (R-Some non-disclosed shelter) will debate first district DFLer Tim Walz about the future of America’s presence in Iraq tomorrow night on Almanac. Almanac airs locally on TPT 2 (KTCA) at 7:00 p.m. with replays on TPT2 and can also be viewed online at www.tpt.org/almanac.

Kline was very conspicuously absent during the August congressional recess from town hall meetings or forums and performed virtually no other constituent outreach efforts with the exception of a “telephone town hall meeting,” the legitimacy of which was to say the least, questionable. Kline continues to have unwavering support for President Bush’s Iraq war policy with little explanation to his constituents. Meanwhile, virtually ever other member of Minnesota’s congressional delegation did constituent outreach work within his or her district, most notably Walz’ work on flood relief efforts in southeastern Minnesota.

As I’ve said before, I’m quite an Almanac fan, especially of David Gillette’s visual essays.

Jason and I will be playing softball tomorrow night (go Diamond Runners in the Prior Lake Co-Rec league!) but I will be sure to have my thoughts after viewing a recap.