What Caught My Eye Today

Healthcare - Hard as it may be to embrace the notion that the U.S. Congress might pass some actual legislation, that indeed appears to be the case. Democrats in the House of Representatives predicted weekend passage of a sweeping healthcare overhaul that budget analysts said would cut the U.S. deficit over 10 years and dramatically expand health coverage. The Congressional Budget Office estimates that the legislation will expand insurance coverage to 32 million uninsured Americans at a cost of $940 billion over 10 years and cut the deficit by $138 billion in the same period through new fees and cost-cutting measures. Better late than never, but did it really need to be this difficult? I'm a social liberal (big surprise there), so obviously I'm in favor of extending healthcare to as many people as we can. As the richest nation on the planet, I fail to see why we wouldn't have tried to do this sooner. But that's not even my biggest gripe about this saga. How is that the the Democrats, armed with its largest mandate in decades (after the 2008 presidential election), could manage to foul this process up so badly. You idiots had a super majority in the Senate for almost two years! It's not like your Republican counterparts were offering up any competing ideas (I'm sorry, but "starting over" does not constitute a new idea). I'm in awe (not in a good way) at the gargantuan ineptitude exhibited by the Democratic leadership in managing this debacle.

That being said, the Democratic party does not have a monopoly on practice of "stupid is as stupid does."

Politics - The Republican party doesn't suffer a management problem, so much as it does an identity crisis. Tea party, RINO...it's hard to keep track of all these labels. There is a a common perception that the Tea Party movement was founded, funded and dominated by the Republican Party. Most of them are current or former Republicans -- up to 80% or more, with the rest split between Democrats, independents and Libertarians. But Tea Partiers insist that they are not beholden to the GOP and warn that Republican candidates counting on an endorsement from them in the upcoming November elections may well be disappointed. The Tea Party movement is united by three core principles: constitutionally limited government, free market ideology and low taxes. The American Constitution is a rallying cry and many now dub themselves "constitutional conservatives." Sounds pretty patriotic to me, but I cannot shake this feeling, that there is something just not right with all this. They are angry not just at what they describe as the socialist policies of U.S. President Barack Obama. They also feel Republican politicians have betrayed the party's ideals. For many in the movement, purging the party of moderate Republicans is a major goal. Conservatives derisively call moderate Republicans RINOs -- Republican In Name Only. They are angry at moderates over issues like immigration and the cap and trade climate bill. And there it is. Can someone please enlighten me as to when the concept of moderation became so toxic? And when did sensible immigration and climate control legislation become akin to becoming a socialist state? Tea Partiers are targeting not just prominent Democrats in the upcoming elections but also key moderate Republicans like Charlie Crist in Florida and former presidential candidate John McCain in Arizona. Dude, these guys are pissed at everybody. In the near term, the mostly white movement faces a possible showdown with the religious right over divisive social issues. But its biggest challenge lies in tackling its extremist fringe, including those who equate Obama with Hitler and the "birther" movement that doubts Obama's U.S. citizenship and the legitimacy of his presidency. Okay, we need to draw a distinction between political beliefs and delusional conspiracy theories. Seriously. So much for the mid-term elections being boring.

And yet, despite the almost comical state of the U.S. political landscape, we're completely boring compared to other parts of the world.

Nigeria - The speaker of Nigeria's senate has described Libya's leader Moamer Kadhafi as a 'mad man' after he suggested splitting the country between the Christian and Muslim communities to end sectarian violence. Isn't calling Kadhafi a mad man just a little bit redundant? It's like calling Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez a bit "unbalanced". Kadhafi proposed that Nigeria should follow the partition model of Pakistan, which was born in 1947 after the Muslim minority of predominantly Hindu India founded their own homeland. Right. We all know how well that worked out, don't we. That deal worked out so well that the two nations are pointing most of their nuclear arsenals at each other. Great plan. Kadhafi suggested that a Christian homeland in the south could have Lagos as its capital while a Muslim homeland in the north would have Abuja as its principal city. He said the two communities should peacefully agree to share Nigeria's oil and other natural wealth. In what parallel universe, does he imagine this might actual happen.

North Korea - And then there's these guys. North Korea executed a former senior official as punishment for the country's botched currency reform. I guess the rest of the world is behind the times. Usually, when a government official's policies don't work so well, we either ask for their resignation or vote them out of office. In November, North Korea redenominated its currency as part of efforts to lower inflation and reassert control over the country's nascent market economy. However, the measure reportedly worsened the country's food situation by forcing the closure of markets and sparked anger among many North Koreans left with piles of worthless bills. Pak Nam Gi, the ruling Workers' Party finance and planning department chief who spearheaded the currency reform, was executed by a firing squad in Pyongyang last week. Pak was accused of ruining the nation's economy in a blunder that also damaged public opinion and had a negative impact on leader Kim Jong Il's plan to hand power over to his youngest son. Well now, if that isn't grounds for "firing" someone, I don't know what is. Many North Koreans believe the government used Pak as a scapegoat for the failed currency reform. Do you think? One final thought on this. I don't wish to give the impression that I'm trivializing a very disturbing turn of events. Far from it. My intent is to call attention to that absolute lunacy being exhibited by a government, which coincidentally happens to be in possession of some serious firepower. I'm not amused by this, I'm scared.

March Madness - For those of you familiar with the annual men's college basketball tournament, this one is for you. Four games into the first round, my bracket is already hosed. Murray State (13 seed) beat Vanderbilt (4 seed). What the hell?