Ade gets three game ban

I guess the FA must read this blog (along with my parents), because Emmanuel Adebayor got a three match ban.  Probably won't affect Man City that much especially if Tevez is able to step-up.  To0 bad Ade will miss the derby.

Why Obama should just force through health care

Senator Baucus released his proposal on extending health coverage today.  From what I read of it, it seems to be a very even-handed and really contains a ton of concession to Republicans. Yet, not a single Republican endorsed the proposal.  The proposal is cost-neutral according to the Congressional Budget Office and may end up saving money over the long run.  Baucus' plan contains no public option and I think will be unlikely to exert the kind of downward pressure on insurance plans that is required. 

The public option is going to be very destructive to the health insurance business in the US. The public option is likely to be cheaper and more comprehensive than private plans.  Many private insurers are not going to lower their prices, they are going to go out of business. 

For a Government option to truly work, it must be run like a business.  The public option should be constantly reviewed to ensure the the management is efficient and that waste is limited.  Then what a public option will do is add capacity to the system.  It will fill the cracks that many Americans are falling through.

Vouchers or other services to help low income Americans pay for health care are a bad idea.  They are not really subsidies for the American people but rather subsidies for insurance companies.

Truly fixing health care in the US requires a public option for health insurance.  Anything else is a band-aid.  If the Republicans won't accept the Baucus plan they are not going to accept anything.  It is crucial for them politically to kill the bill.  The Republican chance on getting the White House back in four years rides on Obama's failures to get things done. Then they can contend that Obama was all talk and no substance. 

Obama needs to stop trying to create a bipartisan bill.  He has done enough now that he can say he tried.  He needs to show some legislative muscle and push the bill through. 

No Comments on Friedman please

So weirdly, most of Tom Friedman pieces on the nytimes.com don't allow comments anymore.  I believe there has been an evolution in how nytimes.com has been treating comments, the majority of which are usually very negative, to Friedman's pieces.  For a while the editors did nothing.  Then I noticed the editors selections (a selection of online comments chosen by some unnamed editor) strangely were overwhelming positive in sharp contrast to the reader selections.  Now it seems there is no option whatsoever for comments.  Are the negative comments starting to hurt Friedman's feelings?

There might be another reason. Seems fishy to me. 

Emmanual Adebayor's Day

There was no question that yesterday was Emmanuel Adebayor's day.  For a while though, it looked like Robin van Persie would be the hero of the day. His tying goal was a masterstroke of attacking football.  He beat England international Joleon Lescott to a ball at the top of the box then shot the ball into the far corner of the goal with his weaker right foot.  The ball eluded Shay Given who is probably the most underrated goalkeeper in the world.  

Everything changed when van Persie tackled Adebayor in the midfield.  Adebayor repaid the tackle by stomping on van Persie's face narrowly missing his eye.  With van Persie being treated off the pitch Adebayor put together a string a reckless kicks until Craig Bellamy (who knew Bellamy could run like that) scored a go ahead goal. 

After the Bellamy goal, Adebayor began to take over the game.  He beat three Arsenal players to set up a sitter for Sean Wright-Phillips (which SWP failed to convert).  He cleared a ball off the line and won at least two headers on Arsenal cornerkicks.   All this activity culminated in his goal,  a driving header to the lower post.  His celebration is going to be the stuff of legend.  He ran the entire field to celebrate in front of the Arsenal fans.  The Arsenal fans responded by rioting. 

After this Arsenal was done.  Bellamy set up City's fourth goal, closing the door on an Arsenal comeback.  

City seems set for their upcoming Derby.  Arsenal seems to be in a little more trouble.  van Persie did not do himself a favour by issuing a statement against Adebayor.  He and the rest of Arsenal should use their anger as motivation for the rest of the season.  Whining to the FA doesn't give Arsenal points in the standings.  What Arsenal needs is the play with an edge.  They have lacked that edge since Patrick Viera left.  

The FA should give Adebayor a three match suspension for the stomp.   His incediary celebration should also be punished, but Arsenal fans should be so easily baited.   

Next Post:  Why Obama should ram through the health care plan.

Why is David Frum talking?

I know I am a little late on criticizing the Iraq war. But I want the first post on this blog to focus on the Iraq war because I think America's response to the Iraq war says a lot about how one gets a voice in America. 

I believe it's fair to say that the Iraq war was an unadulterated disaster. I also think it's fairly objective to say that there was no good reason for the USA to invade Iraq.

Why then, are people who espoused the policy of Iraqi invasion with such zeal relatively free from criticism?  This was one of the most important policy decisions of the last 20 years, and many people were found to be incredibly out to lunch.  To put it in a medical context, to which I can relate, invading Iraq was tantamount to removing a liver for tongue cancer. Why haven't commentators like Thomas Friedman and David Frum haven't been ostracized for their support of the Iraqi war?  Who is giving these people any soapbox to stand on?

Everytime Mr. Frum opens his mouth to talk about foreign policy the first thing any interviewer or mediator should say is, "wow, really interesting point of view David. now why should we trust or believe anything you say when your past judgement has been so incredibly poor."

Everytime, Mr. Friedman writes another supposedly insightful article shouldn't he start with the following disclaimer "Dear Reader, despite the fact that I have proved myself to be out to lunch on the biggest issues of the day, please trust me as I try to tell you the following." After that disclaimer he can proceed to tell us how smart he is because he discovered that the global economy is interdependent.

In complete fairness, Frum and Friedman aren't the only ones who continue to chime on despite being completely incompetent, but for whatever reason they are the ones that irritate me the most.  Maybe I chose Frum because he is Canadian. Who knows.