President Obama

The State of Race

MarkM — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 07:21:00 -0700

Last week I watched a peculiar parade. I saw police arranging long, white barricades at the end of my block, so my dog and I decided to take a walk and find out what was happening. From beyond the crest of a hill on Sumter Street, we could feel the roll of bass drums and hear the staccato brass of a marching band. In a moment, floats appeared over the horizon, candy was tossed, and there were smiles all around.

But that’s not why it was a peculiar parade. Two things were odd: as I looked around, I realized that I was the only white person standing among the crowds on the sidewalk. Hmmm. The second thing: no white people in the parade. It went on, an hour of high school marching bands (8), floats (20), politicians (close to election day), and little girls in leotards (countless) twirling chrome batons with scuffed rubber tips. And no one in the parade was white. It was a Black parade on a sunny South Carolina Saturday morning.

So what’s up? Were white people not invited? If they were, did they not want to come? It turns out that the parade was part of the homecoming day celebration for Benedict College, a Historically Black College in Columbia. The race lines had been drawn years ago. The University of South Carolina was a “whites-only school” when Benedict was founded in 1870, about five years after Confederates signed the surrender at Appomattox. The racial barriers were formalized as “separate but equal” was declared by the US Supreme Court, later lived out under Jim Crow law. So what I was watching last week was something of a racial habit, perhaps on a good day it could be called a “tradition.” The Benedict parade was an example of humans sticking to what they are used to: Separate but equal,as they do their thing and we do ours. Old habits die hard on both sides.

Some have said that race issues are over because we have a Black President. I think the fact that President Obama is in office is a step forward, a beautiful reflection of America beginning to live up to its ideals. But I also recognize that, in a way, he is a compromise. He’s a Black man with a white mother. He’s a Harvard graduate. He’s a college Professor who lived in an upscale Chicago suburb, a far cry from the broken neighborhoods where he did his community organizing. President Obama is not just a victory for race relations, but a representative from the gray area between white and black, a step between separate but equal.

Maybe that’s the real victory we can see in President Obama. He represents an America willing to step beyond racial habits into a new space that represents our greater shared ideals. A compromise does not mean race relations have changed dramatically, the Black parades in America continue in many forms. But perhaps having a compromise will lead to more, as others step from their Black and White racial habits into the shifting grey space that lies between.

Obama said yes! We got a signing ceremony in the Oval Office!

Invisible Children — Mon, 24 May 2010 16:15:24 -0700

After a five year quest to get the attention of the United States government, we have done it.

President Obama agreed to a signing ceremony in the Oval Office for the signing of the LRA Disarmament and Northern Uganda Recovery Act! After the unbelievable rallying we all did to see this bill pass unanimously through Congress, and the props they gave us on the House floor (I’ll never forget that for the rest of my life), we have seen impossible dreams come true.

After the bill’s unanimous passage, we asked the White House for a signing ceremony with the President so that we could hold him accountable to this mandate and see Joseph Kony arrested.

On Saturday, President Obama accepted our request and invited us to the Oval Office on Monday.

Today, Monday, May 24th at 5pm est, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Members of Congress, UN Ambassador Susan Rice, Jason, Laren, Ben Keesey and Resolve’s Michael Poffenberger stood in the Oval Office, circled around President Barack Obama as he signed into law the bill we have carried so far.

Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA) commented on the signing of the bill, saying, “This bill’s success is due to the grassroots effort of young people across the U.S. committed to ending the atrocities of Joseph Kony and his Lord’s Resistance Army.” It has been your rallying, your phone calls, letters, emails, activism, and voices that have won this victory. The war is not over, but the stage has been set for justice.

“Our mission now is to make sure that the President uses the mandate it provides from Congress and the American people to do everything he can to see LRA violence ended once and for all.” - Lisa Dougan, Resolve.

President Obama on Easter and his "Risen Savior"

Christian Buckley — Tue, 13 Apr 2010 19:39:32 -0700

One of the things I HATE...YES HATE...is when we think we know something that we really have no idea about.

I HATE that conservatives love to HATE Obama and consider him the end of America.

I HATE that liberals HATED Bush and considered him the end of America.

On those notes, a friend of a friend attended President Obama's Easter Prayer Breakfast on April 6th and sent his speach along for me (and others) to read. You can read it if you want at the White House Press Page, but I thought I would post some very interesting chunks.

I don't know that I like Obama and I don't know that I don't. But I do know that much of what he said is down right true and frankly not even being said (let alone) preached by many of the people who should know better...

...today, I’m particularly blessed to welcome you, my brothers and sisters in Christ, for this Easter breakfast.
...I wanted to join you for a brief moment today to continue the Easter celebration of our risen Savior, and to reflect on the work to which His promise calls all of us.
...For even after the passage of 2,000 years, we can still picture the moment in our mind’s eye. The young man from Nazareth marched through Jerusalem; object of scorn and derision and abuse and torture by an empire. The agony of crucifixion amid the cries of thieves. The discovery, just three days later, that would forever alter our world -- that the Son of Man was not to be found in His tomb and that Jesus Christ had risen.

We are awed by the grace He showed even to those who would have killed Him. We are thankful for the sacrifice He gave for the sins of humanity. And we glory in the promise of redemption in the resurrection. And such a promise is one of life’s great blessings, because, as I am continually learning, we are, each of us, imperfect. Each of us errs -- by accident or by design. Each of us falls short of how we ought to live. And selfishness and pride are vices that afflict us all. It’s not easy to purge these afflictions, to achieve redemption. But as Christians, we believe that redemption can be delivered -- by faith in Jesus Christ. And the possibility of redemption can make straight the crookedness of a character; make whole the incompleteness of a soul. Redemption makes life, however fleeting here on Earth, resound with eternal hope.

Of all the stories passed down through the gospels, this one in particular speaks to me during this season. And I think of hanging -- watching Christ hang from the cross, enduring the final seconds of His passion. He summoned what remained of His strength to utter a few last words before He breathed His last breath. “Father,” He said, “into your hands I commit my spirit.” Father, into your hands I commit my spirit. These words were spoken by our Lord and Savior, but they can just as truly be spoken by every one of us here today. Their meaning can just as truly be lived out by all of God’s children.

So, on this day, let us commit our spirit to the pursuit of a life that is true, to act justly and to love mercy and walk humbly with the Lord. And when we falter, as we will, let redemption -- through commitment and through perseverance and through faith -- be our abiding hope and fervent prayer.

President Obama Comes Out of the Closet.

MarkM — Mon, 21 Sep 2009 19:09:51 -0700

In an astonishing announcement from our nation’s capitol, President Obama has confirmed that he was indeed a Kenyan-born plant; the key component of an African conspiracy to bring America back to a purely capitalistic governmental policy. With Glen Beck at his side, a broad grin on his face, and his trademark eloquence, President Obama announced a sweeping series of executive decrees.

Having sold all public schools to the McDonalds corporation’s new “Ronald McDonald Happy School” division, parents of any student enrolled would now be responsible to pay the nearly $25,000 annual tuition that the “communist socialists” administrations of the past had supported. Tuition will include a free Happy Meal as part of a “Freedom Fridays” celebration.

In addition, all “socialist intrusion” in higher education is also ending. Harvard University reported being swamped with new applications, as their $ 50,000 plus annual tuition is suddenly very competitive to the formerly “socialist enclaves” known as public universities. A deal with the Ford Corporation, who has launched a “Forderversities” division, is pending. It is rumored that top graduates will receive free, eight cylinder Explorers, left over from the socialist expansion of President Bush.

In addition, all former “public roadways” will now be privately owned, protected from any socialist intrusion. The former socialist annual expenditure of $ 40 billion will now be replaced by tolls paid to participating patriotic private companies. At a cost of thousands a year for every man, woman and child in the United States, Obama laughed in anticipation of how good capitalists in America will feel cruising down the new “Donald Trump True-American Throughway,” that had been formerly known as Interstate 80.

Surprisingly, the 60 million Americans formerly provided medical coverage through the Medicare and Medicaid programs, which accounted for 16 percent of the former budget of the United States government, were seemingly dismayed at their need to pay the Geico Gecko for a new “Deliverance from Socialized Medicine” initiative. Obama reassured the press, as he explained that “removing billions of dollars of socialist intrusion is certainly worth it. Red-blooded Americans with cancer will know supporting capitalism is worth any cost to human life. Capitalist death panels run by insurance companies, with the power to deny coverage, have been embraced by Americans for decades.”

Other initiatives will include the privatization of all socialist police, fire, and emergency medical units, socialist/public water and sewer systems, eliminating $461 billion in socialist farm subsidies, and liquidating the American car industry. As global markets crashed throughout the world and American banks failed in mass, President Obama and Mr. Beck reveled in the new levels of global freedom to plant carrots and create heat by burning furniture.

The Big Health Care Speech: Obama Drives to the Basket . . . .

MarkM — Wed, 09 Sep 2009 19:49:59 -0700

Basketball analogies have been really popular lately, like Sarah Palin’s “pass the ball and leave the court” point guard talk. So here’s my analogy for where Obama’s health care plan has ended up after last night’s speech: he drove to the net, lifted off the gleaming hardwood court of ideals, and split the double team of industry interests and Republican fear mongering. Did the ball go in? It seems to be swirling around the rim, but I’m hopeful.

Health care coverage is a result of the problem, not the problem. The real issue is the structure of the $2 trillion health care industry. This is not a new contention, but has been wrestled with by American Presidents like Roosevelt, Truman, Eisenhower, Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, Carter, Clinton, and Bush. As President Obama noted, “I am not the first President to take up this cause, but I am determined to be the last. It has now been nearly a century since Theodore Roosevelt first called for health care reform. And ever since, nearly every President and Congress, whether Democrat or Republican, has attempted to meet this challenge in some way. A bill for comprehensive health reform was first introduced by John Dingell Sr. in 1943. Sixty-five years later, his son continues to introduce that same bill at the beginning of each session.” Successful smoke and mirrors by the health care lobby has kept the focus on the people not covered, which keeps tax payer dollars flowing toward increasing coverage, not fixing the problem and saving money.

Think about it, a con that even Ocean’s 11 would be proud of: a tightly knit industry with no competition screams “socialism,” (see where we are going here?), convincing tax payers to demand that the government spend more (yes, it’s true) on health care coverage (like President Bush did by expanding coverage for children and retirees) rather than fixing a non-competitive industry that is anything but “capitalist.” I can picture silk ties flying as health care executives jam out to their theme song, Alanis Morissette’s “Isn’t it Ironic?” As President Obama noted, “in 34 states, 75% of the insurance market is controlled by five or fewer companies. In Alabama, almost 90% is controlled by just one company. Without competition, the price of insurance goes up and the quality goes down.”

The key to fixing the system is introducing competition, where today very little exists. A public option was the apparent solution and health care industry kryptonite. President Obama seemed determined, as he stated, “an additional step we can take to keep insurance companies honest is by making a not-for-profit public option available in the insurance exchange. Let me be clear – it would only be an option for those who don't have insurance. No one would be forced to choose it, and it would not impact those of you who already have insurance.”

Rep. Charles Boustany, a Representative from Louisiana, gave the Republican response. Simply put, he wants to expand coverage and have tax payers pay for it. He does not want to change the system. As a former heart surgeon who made his fortune through the system that exists, I guess I’m not surprised.

So it was a beautiful and inspiring drive, but as he rose to the net, the ball swirled around the edge of the rim. The question that remains is if the game is actually over, or to return to the former Alaskan Governor’s analogy, if Congress will walk off the court with time on the clock.

A Healthy Discussion: A few final thoughts on health care

MarkM — Fri, 04 Sep 2009 17:36:07 -0700

Conversant Life is at its best when it creates a dialogue. Part of what has weakened the witness of the church has been its inability to have an intelligent conversation without it degenerating into a “Liberal” vs “Conservative” cage match. Thanks to each of you who have engaged a difficult issue in this wonderful cyber-community.

Three things I have come away with:

I might not think highly enough of the church. Several friends have pointed out that the church’s role in this mess is to step in and provide for those in need. Wow, I love that. And, to be honest, I also think, “good luck!” Maybe if churches cleared out the pews and replaced them with aluminum hospital beds, or if we liquidated all the overhead projectors stored in dusty basement Sunday school rooms, we might have a chance. Maybe I’m too cynical. I need to work that out.

The issue is not health care coverage; the issue is the system that creates a lack of coverage. The system itself is broken. The health care industry has manipulated the law and tinkered with our ethics to create a scheme that discharges those who need care, funneling the rest into a vortex of highly profitable medications, tests, and procedures. The health care industry is willing to work with the Obama administration because our President is willing to compromise his previously stated intent to fix a broken system. If legislation keeps going the way it’s currently headed, the politicians will play with coverage, act like they care, and nothing will change except that the government will foot more of the bill to sustain a broken system.

If you take a second look, the health care crisis in the United States is also a racial issue. I know, people really don’t seem to like this, but it must be said. And frankly, it must be said by white evangelicals. If Al Sharpton makes a claim based on race, part of America immediately writes it off. “They’re always upset about something!” But if the white Christian community speaks loudly about the racial disparity in health care, we might get some attention.

One of the most encouraging insights I walk away with is the fact that many Christians care very deeply about the issue of healthcare. And they don’t agree with me! And that’s a beautiful thing. As we walk through the next round of “discussions” in Washington, I hope and pray that our nation will find ways to talk intelligently about a life and death issue. And may the Church lead the way.

A Healthy Discussion, Part 2: The Industry Behind It All.

MarkM — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 10:35:44 -0700

Dr. Tattersall was a fine country doctor lifted from a Norman Rockwell painting, complete with white hair and kind eyes. He worked out of a pine-paneled office attached to his home on the only road in our area busy enough to have a painted yellow line running down the middle. For most of my early years, Dr. Tattersall stitched me, vaccinated me, and kept me in one piece.

I suspect many of us have memories of our first doctor. We tend to equate health care with something familiar, like the geeky gecko personifying insurance giant Geico. But the health care business isn’t really Dr. Tattersall or a cute lizard. It’s a $2 trillion dollar industry, one of the largest in the United States. It has the most to lose in the current discussion and a fitting reputation for playing hard and dirty anytime health care reform is proposed.

CNN just ran a story on Wendell Potter, the former vice president of corporate communications at insurance giant Cigna. Mr. Potter resigned from his role after Cigna refused to approve a liver transplant for a California teenager (who later died) because it was a “pre-existing condition.” Potter contends that the industry is playing "dirty tricks" in an effort to manipulate public opinion. "Words matter, and the insurance industry is a master at linguistics and using the hot words, buzzwords, buzz expressions that they know will get people upset.” Potter, while testifying before the senate this summer, assured senators that "I know from personal experience that members of Congress and the public have good reason to question the honesty and trustworthiness of the insurance industry."

And how big is this industry? According to the US Bureau of Labor Statistics, it was the “largest US industry in 2006, and provided 14 million jobs—13.6 million jobs for wage and salary workers and about 438,000 jobs for self-employed and unpaid family workers.” Think there might be something to protect? No one should be surprised that such a significant industry is facilitating a deeply visceral response to what Congress has proposed.

The health care industry does two things very well. First, it protects its efficiency by eliminating people who need expensive health care. “Pre-existing conditions” are liabilities that don’t make money. If you have not yet experienced this personally, check out Kristin Howerton’s (Mamma Manifesto) post, “Assuredly Uninsurable.” Think about it. Does it make sense to refuse to provide coverage for a health issue because it already exists? It does if you are a business that protects the bottom line by creating an efficient customer base. It does not if your primary purpose is to provide people with great health care.

The other thing the industry does well is push high profit tests and drugs through doctors to patients. Brett Arends, in a recent Wall Street Journal article, notes that “according to a 2007 Commonwealth Fund study of health costs in the world's nine richest countries, we spend three times as much on doctors' services as the average, twice as much on pharmaceuticals, and three times as much per day of in-patient acute hospital care.” That is because the system does not try to protect care, but promote profits. Most doctors are paid fees for prescribing specific tests. Obviously, if a doctor wants to make money, he will develop a bias toward the tests that are highly rewarded.

Arends also cites Jonathan Skinner, an economics professor at Dartmouth College, who contends that “the system suffers from too many bad incentives and waste. Doctors get paid to perform needless MRIs. Hospitals blow a fortune on proton beam accelerators.” According to Skinner, "It's not just technology, it's the way doctors use the technology," he says. "The incentive structure is pushing things."

“Reforming health care” does not mean simply expanding provision. The millions without access to health care are a result of a broken system supported by a broken structure. I suspect that the apparent willingness of health care companies to work with the Obama administration in “reform” is centered on controlling costs, while preserving the structure that exists. The industry itself has more power than is warranted for the good of those it should serve. The structure creates a context for abuse, and this might be our last chance to change it for a very long time.

Beyond the Insanity: A healthy discussion on health care

MarkM — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:19:27 -0700

I’m a bit perplexed by the initial Christian response to the health care crisis. Now, you might not know there is a crisis. If you are college educated and employed, you are likely to have Aetna’s golden ticket tucked into your wallet. Go get a check up, laugh at the $15 co-pay, and be grateful for living the American dream.

But what about the others? And what’s driving this crazy health care debate/debacle/disgrace? I look forward to writing a couple of blogs that track through the issue of health care. I know, me and 10,000 other writer-wannabes, trying to scale Mount Everest in slick Adidas sneakers. But I hope we can see Conversant Life do what it does best - create a platform for a healthy discussion. I don’t mind if you disagree with me or others who post, just think first and post second. If you are one of the wing nuts who recently took up screaming at Congressmen in crowded town hall meetings, head back into the attic and unravel the next conspiracy. The rest of us want to have some adult time.

It seems that one missing item in the “discussion” has been facts. Not liberal facts or socialist facts, not Fox Facts or some other version of the truth. Simple, true, clear facts.

47 million Americans have no health insurance, including 9.4 million children.
Health care premiums have gone up 98% since the year 2000.
Every year, one million Americans lose their health insurance.
The American health industry makes up 16% of the American economy, $2 trillion a year (twice the gross domestic product of the entire nation of India).

Before we get moral in our discussion, let’s get real. What do we say about 9.4 million children without health insurance? 47 million American’s who can’t walk into a Doctor’s office with a crisis, but end up at the Emergency room; already overcrowded by the other 46,999,999 people who can’t go to a Doctor. Each year the number goes up by one million. Can we agree that this is a problem?

So, if these are facts, what is our response? I want to throw out three opinions to develop more as we go, in light of the facts we have engaged.

Three opinions:

This is a pro-life issue. We can’t talk about abortion and then ignore 9.4 million children without accessible health care. The problem with the far-right fear mongering over the latest euthanasia conspiracy is that it can overwhelm the reality of the current (very real) pro-life morality issue. Being “pro-life” is not only about Supreme Court Justices, but refers also to the sick child downtown that needs help tonight, five years after his mother made the “right choice.”
This is a business issue. The health care industry loves the current system. Like GM pumping out big-tired Hummers, health care corporations like over-pricing and enjoy the profound lack of accountability. Part of our discussion must confront the reality of a $2 trillion industry. We are not dealing with deferential doctors who took the Hippocratic Oath, but with potentially hypocritical corporations that exist to profit.
This is an American issue. The American auto industry rejoiced as the Bush administration resisted new mileage standards for American cars. GM products drove blindly over a cliff and factories crashed with them. The American steel industry reveled in protectionist policies and refused to modernize. Bethlehem Steel fell into a deep decline; their main factory in PA is now a casino. The United States can’t afford another failed industry, which is where health care is headed.

It’s not a simple issue captured in a sound bite. It’s not an “us against them” proposition. It’s bigger than our own preferences and scarier than our individual fears. Let’s think and engage together and see where we come out.

Obama Effect: The World Likes America Again.

MarkM — Thu, 23 Jul 2009 13:20:59 -0700

Remember the dark days of international travel, back when Bush/Cheney were kicking tail and taking names? When sneered at by an effeminate French waiter, we would claim “Canadian” and recite Curling statistics. We practiced using northern intonations and ending sentences with “eh?” Looking back, it was pretty ugly.

But today? Not so bad. The Pew Global Attitudes Project just released data on the perception of America by other nations. Since President Obama’s inauguration, things have been looking up. The survey of people in fifty-five nations showed better attitudes toward the United States in places as disparate as Western Europe, Africa and Latin America, even in Muslim nations.

And get this: For the first time since Pew began making the comparison, people in Turkey, Egypt, and Indonesia (each with mostly Muslim populations) expressed greater confidence in the American President than they did in Osama bin Laden. I would have loved to be a locust on the wall of his cave when bin Laden got that news!

Now I know what some of you are thinking: big deal. After the Bush/Cheney war of terror, President Borat could have improved our image.

On the other hand, who cares what foreigners think of America? We’re American! We don’t care what others think! I fully expect to see Cheney shuffling to a microphone and grunting about “the failure of Obama foreign policy proven by terrorists and evil dictators liking us.” How can you sustain an axis of evil if the evil guys say they like you? Damn them!

Personally, I’m going to enjoy the fact that our new President is well liked abroad and that America’s image has improved dramatically. I expect it to help the US negotiate trade and security issues with nations that would not sit down with us six months ago. It certainly can’t hurt in places like Indonesia, one of the places our foreign policy experts expected could go “Afghanistan.” Thanks, President Obama. It does feel good to be an American today.

Why President Obama is Ticking Me Off

MarkM — Sun, 21 Jun 2009 19:17:21 -0700

I’m mad. At President Obama. Surprised? Don’t worry, the bumper stickers are still on the CRV and the Outback. Not going to scrape them off, either. In fact, when the time comes, I’m just going to paste big fat “12s” on both bumpers and be all set for the next run. Anyway, I’m still ticked off. It’s time to quit swatting at flies and time to take a stand on Iran.

A couple of weeks ago, President Obama stood in the “timeless city of Cairo” and gave a remarkable speech. I actually teared up as I watched it, deeply proud of a new President who is so different from the old. He honored the Islamic faithful by acknowledging their contributions to the world and the need for Americans to engage, not enrage. It was quite a moment.

Towards the end of the speech, President Obama, in his professorial outline, hit his fourth point: democracy. As he reflected on the role of America supporting democracy in the Arab world, he acknowledged the missteps of the last administration (anyone else want free elections in Palestine?). Then he said, “But I do have an unyielding belief that all people yearn for certain things: the ability to speak your mind and have a say in how you are governed; confidence in the rule of law and the equal administration of justice; government that is transparent and doesn’t steal from the people; the freedom to live as you choose. These are not just American ideals, they are human rights, and that is why we will support them everywhere.”

Awesome! Beautiful! Inspiring! I love the way he expressed these ideals, because they were not laid out as declarations of American doctrine, but as a deeper understanding of what it is to be human. Ok, great, now let’s follow through.

I know what some will say. “What do you expect? He’s all words!” I would remind you that he has changed more in his first 100 days than most Presidents before him. What we are seeing is a new and young President trying to tentatively feel his way through an international issue of vast repercussions. I’m saying, throw your hat in, Mr. President, and let it roll.

I appreciate the need for diplomacy. But when a people are struggling/suffering/dying for the very ideals you espoused a few weeks ago, don’t they deserve more than a statement of “deep concern?” C’mon Mr. President, let it out. Show us the same fierceness that you have on the basketball court. Give the black clad and green-flag-waving demonstrators something to aspire to. Make a statement supporting their resistance to a dictatorial Islamic regime that has held Iran’s youthful population hostage for the past thirty years. They need to hear from you now, in the midst of the battle for their lives and for their future.