GwenElle's Comments (140)

“As someone who has grown more than weary of the healthcare reform debate/legislation/quagmire, I am beyond astonished to hear that Speaker Pelosi and House Democratic leaders are "worried they've appeared unresponsive to rising unemployment because they were absorbed by health care".

Appear unresponsive? Are you kidding me? How about being actually irrelevant to what matters most. This crop of Democrats forgot what Clinton learned and preached "It's the economy stupid". In the midst of a recession that is causing much economic suffering there is no excuse for their amnesia.

This healthcare battle feels more like the pet project of obsessed, myopic politicians than a principled cause. Democrats have been so fixated on *healthcare reform* that they have lost sight of the fundamental fact that a job is more essential to an individual's ability to care for their health than a messy piece of bad legislation, no matter how well intentioned. Healthcare reform was supposed to be one aspect of a larger blueprint for the nation's future.

II thought the stimulus package was wrongheaded, lacked boldness and was tied to a framework of wishful thinking. I thought then that a payroll tax holiday stood a better chance of having an immediate and direct impact on pocketbooks and the economy as a whole. And here we are months later with jobless, insecure citizens being expected to forego their fears in the interest of healthcare reform and for the sake of a vision that has never been clearly drawn.

Oh well.”

“Following comment was erroneously posted to XRavavis. It was actually intended for supergenious02:

Did you even bother to watch Moyers' program? Either you did not or you are beyond reason. In any event, and in the oft chance that you sincerely care about something other than having a point of view, I paste the link to the program here for your convenience:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11202009/watch.html”

“Did you even bother to watch Moyers' program? Either you did not or you are beyond reason. In any event, and in the oft chance that you sincerely care about something other than having a point of view, I paste the link to the program here for your convenience:

http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/11202009/watch.html”

“And I wonder, will you or one of your loved ones be one of those troops you are so eagerly advocating that the President send to Afghanistan? Being stateside and out of harm's way obviously provides you with a comfortable vantage point from which to offer derision.

Inciting arguments with Obama supporters on a liberal blog hardly strikes me as courageous. It is far more principled to really put something at risk, such as life and limb. Surely a few lefties disagreeing with your point of view costs you nothing.”

“Additional point in case it is lost . . . the word sacrifice in the last paragraph is used with sarcasm directed at the chicken hawks, who of course sacrifice nothing except the oxygen used to make their war-happy arguments about escalation.”

“After watching Bill Moyer's report, I was literally in tears. Johnson was torn by the responsibilities of the office, his political ambition to be re-elected and his own conscience. He was clearly tortured and deeply uncertain about what to do. He should have been.

What is striking in the report is the uncertainty of Johnson's advisors and confidantes. The military advisors seemed certain, which brings to mind the adage "if the only tool you have is a hammer, everything looks like a nail". Unsurprisingly, the political opposition was certain. Making political hay is a cheap and easy enterprise. A fear-based and prideful response is just as easy.

In the end, Johnson made the politically expedient decision; not the courageous one. All of history tells us that there should not have been an escalation in Vietnam. We have serious problems here at home that will not be solved by more troops on the ground in Afghanistan.

Truth is, no one can really know what is the right decision at the time, but history reveals what is wise and truly courageous. I am willing for President Obama to be a one-term president. The question is, is he?

If the President decides to escalate, he should ask the Congress to institute the draft. Let the entire nation face the sacrifice, not just the chicken hawks who find it way too easy to make decisions about war when it is someone else's life and well being at stake.”

“I'm totally with you Brett. Not only do I like to highlight, but to highlight subsequent readings in a different color and date them as well. It's always interesting to see how my understanding of or appreciation for the material has shifted between readings. Often what stood out before as interesting, relevant or insightful may have now become run-of-the-mill, humdrum. Or to discover information that now makes everything perfectly clear that was right there on the page but managed to escape my notice or comprehension.

As for being surrounded by walls full of books, I so totally identify with that. To my mind and spirit, books are a way of being surrounding myself with possibilities and potentialities. Regretfully, I have more of them than I'll ever get around to reading. I kid (delude) myself that one day I'll get around to them, but for the most part resigned myself to the fact that I never will. Still it's a joy to have them. I agree with you, that's an experience that an electronic device cannot replicate.”

“Great cause. Very inspiring. Thanks for providing an opportunity to make a contribution!! I look forward to the update to see how we've done.”

“Thanks for the feedback. I am familiar with the features you mentioned; however, I find they don't work as well for me as highlighter and pencil. Being a visual-kinesthetic learner, involving the muscles and movement allows the information to more readily assimilate. Probably has a lot to do with being primarily right-brained and that my body-brain wiring has been re-enforced by decades of having processed information a certain way.

When I eventually make a decision on a reader, I'll be sure to key the Sony Reader in mind.”

“Personally, I find reading an eBook to be rather fatiguing. That reality makes it unlikely that I would ever attempt to read a novel on an electronic device. Holding a book in my hand, being able to highlight passages and scribble notes in the margin are kinesthetic experiences that facilitate assimilation and are benefits that I don't receive when using the electronic format.

I do subscribe to an online electronic book site, but I do so because the books are related to my work. These are not the kind of books that you read cover to cover. The electronic format makes the books easily searchable. Subscribing to books on the site makes it possible to check out their content and relevance before I purchase *the real thing*. That is the advantage of the electronic format to me. Every book that I have *subscribed to* that I needed, I did in fact buy (which is the likely objective of the publishers in the first place). That makes the electronic format more a marketing function than delivery mechanism.

Just as word processing software displaced the typewriter and made it a relic, I imagine that the eBook can have a similar effect in publishing. Still, neither the typewriter nor word processors changed the fact that there are times when all you really need (or want) is a pencil and a sheet of paper.

Having said all that, I still imagine that one day I will purchase an eReader.”

“Thanks for this article. Kudos to Debra for the care that she is giving to and the effort she is making on behalf of so many. Very inspiring.”

“Your post points out a great service that Huffingtonpost could provide to its readers: a volunteers page or pages indexed by city.

Noticed this morning that an Impact page has been added to the site. It's a nice start, but as I browsed it, I noticed only stories of a human interest nature. Adding a volunteers or help needed focus would offer something practical that people could do to get involved in their communities. Local organizations could post their needs and the readers would have a readily available resource to go to.

HuffPost, you listening?”

“I support your suggestion and hope that Arianna and her staff are listening and will take action of this kind. It is much needed. I certainly would welcome it. Something more than words. This Balloon Boy Saga is a great opportunity for us all to look inward and challenge ourselves to do more for at-risk children and their families.”

“lovestoread, I salute for your forthrightness. I had a similar reaction after reading this post. However, I chickened out and didn't make the point the way I felt it, though I did make it in my comment, out of certainty that my entire post would be scrubbed.

Thanks for being a strong voice on this.”

“Arianna poses the rhetorical question, why so many involve themselves with Balloon Boy and these other sensationalized stories. Rhetorical though the question may be, I would like to offer my opinion.

These stories are a form of self medication.

Some people actually enjoy the feeling that feeling concerned gives them. Balloon Boy stories flood their minds and bodies with serotonin, the feel-good neurotransmitter. Balloon Boy was an occasion for some to experience good feelings about themselves for being so concerned. It’s an easy fix.

Others enjoy being shocked and frightened. That phenomenon explains the appeal of horror movies. For these people, media-driven child in peril stories are real-life horror stories; a pure adrenaline rush. Again, another easy fix.

Caring for at-risk children requires more than just feeding addictive emotions. It requires caring, compassion, will, courage, commitment, a desire, and indeed a need, to make a difference. Immersion in these sensationalistic missing children stories (and others like them) requires nothing other than to watch. Believing that watching is displaying concern and that such concern is making a difference, is just as likely to be the indulgence of self-delusions and subconscious emotional addictions.

Finally, I don't recall seeing many child-in-need stories within the pages of the Huffpost. Perhaps, this latest post from Arianna signals the start of something new from the editors. It would be great to use this site to inspire one another to become difference makers in a child’s life.”

“I have very little confidence that anything resembling true reform will come from this crop of politicians, petitions or otherwise. They simply do not have the convictions to do anything but salvage their political careers.

Yesterday, I watched a program on LinkTV in which J.R. Reid (who traveled the globe investigating the countries with universal healthcare and author of "The healing of America: a global quest for better, cheaper, and fairer health care") said what it took to bring about real change in healthcare was a reformed-minded and impassioned leader who rightly identified healthcare reform as a moral issue. Such leadership catalyzed the masses, who in turn brought about the change that they wanted and needed. In Canada, change started with one province; the others followed to the point where nationalization of healthcare was an unavoidable outcome.

While a petition may start and take on the appearances of such a movement, we still lack the impassioned leadership, the great reformer. Sadly, President Obama is behaving too much like a politician on this issue. I fear that in the end, we will be forced to buy insurance policies from the for-profit insurance industry, a possibility that strikes me with horror.

But if you start the petition, I'll sign it and I'll seek out others to sign it. Just let me know where and when.”

“I am ambivalent when it comes to the Ed Schultz. However, last night I decided to tune in to listen to his latest rant on healthcare reform. To my dismay, he led with this balloon boy story, something I'd had the good fortune up to that moment of not having heard about. My immediate response was "What the heck is he talking about this for? This is MSNBC, the channel for politics (though it needs to be about more). This is the Ed Show. Nothing much gets pass his lips these days if it isn't about healthcare reform."

My second response was here we go again. Another missing white kid and the world must come to a halt to give what is primarily a local and personal story, a matter that 99.99999% of us have no power to influence for good, its attention.

Point in fact, most of us don't have a *need to know* that a boy we never met, will never meet and who lives in a state that most of us have never been to and certainly don't live in, is missing. This is, as Arianna states, voyeurism.

The next time we feel that we must obsess over a story like this, I hope that instead we think about that child somewhere near us, not our own, who has never known love of any kind. Give him or her our care and attention. Now that could really do some good!”

“This is the most cogent and effective argument I have heard for the need for "healthcare reform".

I deeply resent any proposals that mandate forking over money to health insurance companies. In fact, I don't understand how insurance coverage became equated with healthcare. I don't accept the belief that disease is inevitable and therefore we must "cover ourselves financially" against that inevitability. Treating disease is not healthcare!

Real healthcare reform begins with understanding and promoting concepts of wellness, which is quite different from what currently exists and is profoundly different from the concepts of disease prevention. (Prevention is just one more way of buying into the disease is inevitable mindset.) Real healthcare reform would be based on each American assuming primary responsibility for and ownership of their well being and not looking to doctors, big pharma and the insurance companies as *healthcare providers* or health authorities. Their business is disease and injury, not health!

Wellness begins with self-education about our body's natural healing mechanisms and simple methods to support that. There is a role for doctors and the healthcare industry to play (severe chronic disease, traumatic injury, education) but the power must be in our hands, not theirs. A focus on wellness requires a paradigm shift that is radical in its simplicity, apparently too much so for the current concepts of reform.

Finally, I submit that the government's role in healthcare should be in providing education on wellness, protecting the environment and regulating the monopolistic healthcare industry.”

“I haven't been to a movie in nearly a decade due to my disgust with Hollywood, but looks like the first week of October I'll be in a theater to catch Moore's film. My spleen is in need of venting. Big time!

Arianna writes that capitalism is not evil. Maybe not, but it is as close as we can get and convince ourselves otherwise. Human beings put out of their homes due to economic circumstances beyond their control is a diabolical act.

If the human suffering caused by the system isn’t the fault of the system but the moral deficiencies of the people within it, then we’re in a serious quandary. Our greed-based system demands that we be far more evolved than we actually are as a species while it runs amok. Given the fierce desire of so many to hold to the status quo we have eons to go before we can live up to the principles of *an ideal capitalism*.

As long as we are controlled and driven by materialism, fear, desires for power and fame, capitalism will harness and exploit these forces to the detriment of us all. When we have evolved to the point where fear is not our master, where less is more, where peace and joy are known and prized beyond a pursuit of happiness, then and only then can we hope to be free from capitalism’s grimy grip. Then we'll have created a world where capitalism cannot and need not venture.”

“You betcha!”

“If the President had used the word unwisely rather than stupidly, he would not have incited the level of controversy that he did. Still, there would have been the George Wills of the world arrogantly and implausibly stating that the President should not have spoken on the matter at all. Such is the convenience of Will's own position of privilege and arrogance that he could make such an assertion.

Words do matter and the President chose his own words *unwisely*.”

“Loved the post.”

“Excellent post.”

“Taking responsibility for his role in an already over-heated situation was the right thing for the President to do. Though his language was stiff ("calibrated my words differently", "may have given the impression that") and may have undermined the power of his action on Friday, he displayed the greatness of his character by holding himself publicly accountable for his actions. That is in part what we elected him to do. That is what we expect of leaders.

The President did not demonstrate weakness by expressing regret for his actions or words; regret is somewhat different than saying "I am sorry". To my mind regret has several aspects: (1) I stand by what I said. (2) However, I acknowledge the harm that I caused. (3) Still, that was the essence of my truth and I stand by that truth. "I am sorry" says I didn't mean it; in other words has the first two characteristics, but not the third.

The fact is that *stupid* is just too emotionally charged a word, especially if you are the first African American president of a country with a racial and racist history commenting on the arm of government that has too often been the agent of oppression.

When he made his regrettable gaffe, the President spoke from his experience as a black man in America. He spoke from his heart. On yesterday, he spoke from his character. He spoke as a leader. I commend him for both of his efforts to communicate.”

“Ditto.”