This has been such a great couple of days, not only for Laura Ling and Euna Lee, and their families, but also for everyone like me, whose heart gave a little leap when Bill Clinton appeared on the world stage for the first time in a long time.
Remember the Clinton years? Eight years of peace and prosperity? More kids went to college, more police on the streets = safer streets, more poor people moving up into the middle class, the middle class strengthened ... oh yeah, and the rich seemed to be pretty happy at how much richer they got despite their tax rates!
In my small way I was part of the Clinton agenda, working close to both Bill and Hillary, from a fabulous East Wing office. I am so proud of all we accomplished, and seeing President Clinton on the North Korea trip brought it all back in a flash. How wonderful to see him greeted like a head of state, even if it was a rogue state. How interesting to see him sitting properly, but stiffly, next to the crackpot Kim Jong Il. No smiles or happy handshake there! Just do what you gotta do and get out. The minimum dipolmatic courtesy, as was appropriate.
Then to see him with Vice President Gore was even further delight. I LOVE those two men, respect their dedication to strengthening their country and making people's lives better. Al Gore was the best Vice President of my lifetime. Now he's the best former VP of my lifetime.
The desperate Republican attacks on this effective diplomacy are pathetic. John Bolton? Give me a break! The worst person we've ever sent to the UN. The best, perfect response to his criticisms came from Hillary Clinton herself, when Fareed Zakaria, interviewing her, got only as far as "John Bolton ..." when Hillary burst into helpless laughter. Just the right touch, as the ridiculous attacks by rightwingnuts ARE truly laughable.
Remember the 2008 campaign, when the Right tried to frighten us all by threatening that if we elected Hillary, we'd get Bill? Well, some of us thought that would be just fine, thank you very much, and now we can see it happening, just this once, and it's FABULOUS.
Hooray for the Big Dog!
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Friday, July 31, 2009
Ladies at Lunch
I'm a little late posting today, because I had lunch in Rosarito with the amazing Dr. Marlene Siersema, host of the #1 Positive Talk Radio internet show. She interviewed me a couple of weeks ago and we had a great time. MORE fun to meet in person.
You can find her at: http://www.drmarlenebbs.com/radio.htm
Some friends and I enjoyed a break from our normal days of sitting around, working on our laptops while staring at the ocean and observing the hummingbirds. I know, it's a tough job but somebody's gotta do it!
There's something wonderful that happens when women of a certain age get together and just want to have fun. Maybe it happens with younger women too; I just don't know 'cause that's not my age group. We laugh, we may cry, we understand each other's joys and challenges, and, maybe most important, we don't have to prove anything to anyone. We know who we are, we LIKE who we are, and that sets us free. I wish these friendships for everyone!
Now, what did we talk about? My book, "Clintonista, a White House Memoir". We're going to re-issue the book with a new title, "White House Story, a Democratic Memoir." Did some market testing and discovered too many people don't "get" Clintonista - a title I love. When they hear the White House insider stories, they love them, but it's getting the eyes onto the book that we're working on.
Talked about Dr. Marlene's astonishing weight loss: 170 lbs, the HARD way, no by-pass. Find her book on her site.
Talked about my friend Anna Love's Clinic Estetica in Tijuana, and her FABULOUS skin care products and procedures. She looks 30 years younger than her actual age. No kidding! Find this at: http://clinicestetica.com/
Talked about my friend Lynn Doiron, who has almost finished "The True Story of Irene in White Tights," her novel, and is a brilliant poet too. Just being able to say I have a friend who's a brilliant poet makes me sound more interesting, doesn't it? Lynn did just what I did - came to Baja for a "visit" and decided to stay, almost a year ago. I'm very glad she's here.
My friends enrich my life, and I love them!
You can find her at: http://www.drmarlenebbs.com/radio.htm
Some friends and I enjoyed a break from our normal days of sitting around, working on our laptops while staring at the ocean and observing the hummingbirds. I know, it's a tough job but somebody's gotta do it!
There's something wonderful that happens when women of a certain age get together and just want to have fun. Maybe it happens with younger women too; I just don't know 'cause that's not my age group. We laugh, we may cry, we understand each other's joys and challenges, and, maybe most important, we don't have to prove anything to anyone. We know who we are, we LIKE who we are, and that sets us free. I wish these friendships for everyone!
Now, what did we talk about? My book, "Clintonista, a White House Memoir". We're going to re-issue the book with a new title, "White House Story, a Democratic Memoir." Did some market testing and discovered too many people don't "get" Clintonista - a title I love. When they hear the White House insider stories, they love them, but it's getting the eyes onto the book that we're working on.
Talked about Dr. Marlene's astonishing weight loss: 170 lbs, the HARD way, no by-pass. Find her book on her site.
Talked about my friend Anna Love's Clinic Estetica in Tijuana, and her FABULOUS skin care products and procedures. She looks 30 years younger than her actual age. No kidding! Find this at: http://clinicestetica.com/
Talked about my friend Lynn Doiron, who has almost finished "The True Story of Irene in White Tights," her novel, and is a brilliant poet too. Just being able to say I have a friend who's a brilliant poet makes me sound more interesting, doesn't it? Lynn did just what I did - came to Baja for a "visit" and decided to stay, almost a year ago. I'm very glad she's here.
My friends enrich my life, and I love them!
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Beauty and Persistance
I was going to write another serious, probably political post today. Hey, it's where my heart is!
But my thoughts were stopped, and my heart captured by the photos from Rome of the American swimmer whose body suit split up the back when he stretched before entering the pool. You know how it is. The news is going by, and you're not really paying attention, just sorta, and then you catch a glimpse of something, your head snaps up and you reach for the remote to pause and rewind.
That's just what I did, and I'm so glad.
Did you see the pictures? OMG! The cutest guy, with a true athlete's body - and bum! He must have heard and felt the suit split, but he didn't hesitate to dive in and swim the race, doing well enough to qualify the US team for the final. I'm sure there's some really important lesson in that, about overcoming circumstances, etc., but the truth is, I just enjoyed the photos for his beauty. Now, the American news shows stupidly blurred out most of his fanny, because of our lunatic puritanism. You know us! Make a movie with the most degenerate, evil kinds of violence and it will be a huge blockbuster with the US audience. (See: Gibson, Mel) But a real man, with a real ass? Well, we are just so darn uncomfortable with this!
But I couldn't help imagining the reaction of the Italians. You know they must have gone crazy! This handsome young man, with dark curly hair that made him look like a Roman, and his amazing body ... They'll love him forever for providing such a great show.
If YOU'd like to see what I'm talking about, here's a link to a British paper that wasn't quite as squeamish as our American publications: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/swimming/5927580/Swimmer-cracks-under-pressure-as-bathing-suit-splits-at-world-championships.html.
Enjoy!
And as for a lesson, just think about the drag on him when water entered the suit, but he kept on swimming - and won. THAT'S a champion!
For a daily tweet of White House history find me on Twitter at: WhiteHouseInsdr
But my thoughts were stopped, and my heart captured by the photos from Rome of the American swimmer whose body suit split up the back when he stretched before entering the pool. You know how it is. The news is going by, and you're not really paying attention, just sorta, and then you catch a glimpse of something, your head snaps up and you reach for the remote to pause and rewind.
That's just what I did, and I'm so glad.
Did you see the pictures? OMG! The cutest guy, with a true athlete's body - and bum! He must have heard and felt the suit split, but he didn't hesitate to dive in and swim the race, doing well enough to qualify the US team for the final. I'm sure there's some really important lesson in that, about overcoming circumstances, etc., but the truth is, I just enjoyed the photos for his beauty. Now, the American news shows stupidly blurred out most of his fanny, because of our lunatic puritanism. You know us! Make a movie with the most degenerate, evil kinds of violence and it will be a huge blockbuster with the US audience. (See: Gibson, Mel) But a real man, with a real ass? Well, we are just so darn uncomfortable with this!
But I couldn't help imagining the reaction of the Italians. You know they must have gone crazy! This handsome young man, with dark curly hair that made him look like a Roman, and his amazing body ... They'll love him forever for providing such a great show.
If YOU'd like to see what I'm talking about, here's a link to a British paper that wasn't quite as squeamish as our American publications: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/othersports/swimming/5927580/Swimmer-cracks-under-pressure-as-bathing-suit-splits-at-world-championships.html.
Enjoy!
And as for a lesson, just think about the drag on him when water entered the suit, but he kept on swimming - and won. THAT'S a champion!
For a daily tweet of White House history find me on Twitter at: WhiteHouseInsdr
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Health Care Reform NOW!
A friend wrote to me that the new health care plan would cost $15,000 per person, and bankrupt the country.
I don't know where she got that figure, but I'll go out on a limb here and guess ... Fox! So, we know that equals zero credibility.
Let's just keep going back to the barest facts: we currently pay $5,000+ per person for average to poor outcomes, and we have 45 million uninsured. Finland and France pay $2,000+ per person for BETTER outcomes, and cover everyone. Why do you think we'd have to pay so much more?
Did you see the President's town hall meeting. today with AARP?
Some of the questions asked reflected the lies the right has been spinning to frighten seniors. No other way to say this. One old lady said she'd heard the new law would require every person to meet with a government bureaucrat who'd get to decide her end of life care. Would he please promise her that's not in the bill?
duh.
President said: 1) there aren't enough government bureaucrats to meet with every person to discuss health care, so, how could that happen? and 2) there's a very helpful provision in one version of the bill that will HELP people decide on their end-stage care by adding a payment for their discussion with a hospice, or helping them write a living will, so they get MORE control over what they want at the end.
The President wants a public option to run next to the private one. People who have and like their insurance can keep it! But insurance companies would be prohibited from cherry picking only the young and healthy, as they do now. That means that insurance companies, in order to compete with the public plan, will have to deliver less costly options for more people. That's a good thing.
It was Republicans in the majority on the Hill and colluding with President Bush who insisted the last Medicare bill include a provision PROHIBITING the government from bargaining with big pharma for lower costs on medicines. PROHIBITED. How much do you think THAT has cost us over the years since? What do you think the savings will be when the largest buyer of drugs in the world sits down at the bargaining table?
(And, as a political and ethical aside, how can anyone think that's defensible? Humongous give-aways at taxpayer expense to humongous companies run by cronies of the GOP leadership, but NOTHING for the poor and powerless. I am proud to be a Democrat.)
Doing nothing is not an option. If we do nothing, in 10 years the average family of 4 will have to pay $36,00 per year for health insurance. So, people will join the ranks of the uninsured by the millions. Then people WITH insurance will have their costs go up even more to cover all this, and so on and so on.
Why can't we take France, for example, as a model, and pay doctors for keeping people healthy? Why not begin with a universal basic level of care like well-baby visits, vaccinations, regular check ups, pap smears, mammograms, blood tests every year or so, etc.? There are millions of people who don't have access to these whose quality of life would go way up if they did. Not to mention the huge cost savings for spending a relatively small amount to keep people healthy, vs very large amounts to rescue them once they've become dangerously ill. And, let's be clear, we're ALL paying for these late treatments.
How about teeth cleaning once or twice a year? Dental problems can lead to all kinds of serious disease. Keep the mouth healthy and avoid a lot of costly problems down the road.
If we were to start incrementally, that would be the way. Create healthy-kids programs to prevent obesity and diabetes.
We're delusional if we think there won't be rationing. We're delusional if we think there's not rationing NOW. The ads from the right are designed to frighten us with warnings about government bureaucrats deciding what health care we'll get. This always makes me scream at the TV. How out of touch are these people that they don't know 1) everyone who has insurance already knows what it's like to have an insurance company bureaucrat - not a doctor - get to decide what care they have, and 2) for people (like me) without any insurance, we're not all that troubled by the thought of a government bureaucrat. We may have family on Medicare or in the Veterans' system, and those are government provided and run health care that people just love. So, spare me the cant about "socialized medicine."
So, yes, let's get moving on this health insurance reform NOW, and not let the right sabotage it the way they did in 1993. In 2008 the American people voted for CHANGE, and now it's time for the DEMOCRATS on the Hill to embrace this, even though their district may be kinda, sorta conservative, and get on the freakin' bus!
I don't know where she got that figure, but I'll go out on a limb here and guess ... Fox! So, we know that equals zero credibility.
Let's just keep going back to the barest facts: we currently pay $5,000+ per person for average to poor outcomes, and we have 45 million uninsured. Finland and France pay $2,000+ per person for BETTER outcomes, and cover everyone. Why do you think we'd have to pay so much more?
Did you see the President's town hall meeting. today with AARP?
Some of the questions asked reflected the lies the right has been spinning to frighten seniors. No other way to say this. One old lady said she'd heard the new law would require every person to meet with a government bureaucrat who'd get to decide her end of life care. Would he please promise her that's not in the bill?
duh.
President said: 1) there aren't enough government bureaucrats to meet with every person to discuss health care, so, how could that happen? and 2) there's a very helpful provision in one version of the bill that will HELP people decide on their end-stage care by adding a payment for their discussion with a hospice, or helping them write a living will, so they get MORE control over what they want at the end.
The President wants a public option to run next to the private one. People who have and like their insurance can keep it! But insurance companies would be prohibited from cherry picking only the young and healthy, as they do now. That means that insurance companies, in order to compete with the public plan, will have to deliver less costly options for more people. That's a good thing.
It was Republicans in the majority on the Hill and colluding with President Bush who insisted the last Medicare bill include a provision PROHIBITING the government from bargaining with big pharma for lower costs on medicines. PROHIBITED. How much do you think THAT has cost us over the years since? What do you think the savings will be when the largest buyer of drugs in the world sits down at the bargaining table?
(And, as a political and ethical aside, how can anyone think that's defensible? Humongous give-aways at taxpayer expense to humongous companies run by cronies of the GOP leadership, but NOTHING for the poor and powerless. I am proud to be a Democrat.)
Doing nothing is not an option. If we do nothing, in 10 years the average family of 4 will have to pay $36,00 per year for health insurance. So, people will join the ranks of the uninsured by the millions. Then people WITH insurance will have their costs go up even more to cover all this, and so on and so on.
Why can't we take France, for example, as a model, and pay doctors for keeping people healthy? Why not begin with a universal basic level of care like well-baby visits, vaccinations, regular check ups, pap smears, mammograms, blood tests every year or so, etc.? There are millions of people who don't have access to these whose quality of life would go way up if they did. Not to mention the huge cost savings for spending a relatively small amount to keep people healthy, vs very large amounts to rescue them once they've become dangerously ill. And, let's be clear, we're ALL paying for these late treatments.
How about teeth cleaning once or twice a year? Dental problems can lead to all kinds of serious disease. Keep the mouth healthy and avoid a lot of costly problems down the road.
If we were to start incrementally, that would be the way. Create healthy-kids programs to prevent obesity and diabetes.
We're delusional if we think there won't be rationing. We're delusional if we think there's not rationing NOW. The ads from the right are designed to frighten us with warnings about government bureaucrats deciding what health care we'll get. This always makes me scream at the TV. How out of touch are these people that they don't know 1) everyone who has insurance already knows what it's like to have an insurance company bureaucrat - not a doctor - get to decide what care they have, and 2) for people (like me) without any insurance, we're not all that troubled by the thought of a government bureaucrat. We may have family on Medicare or in the Veterans' system, and those are government provided and run health care that people just love. So, spare me the cant about "socialized medicine."
So, yes, let's get moving on this health insurance reform NOW, and not let the right sabotage it the way they did in 1993. In 2008 the American people voted for CHANGE, and now it's time for the DEMOCRATS on the Hill to embrace this, even though their district may be kinda, sorta conservative, and get on the freakin' bus!
Monday, July 27, 2009
According to a reknowned Princeton economist, if we do nothing to our current health care system, in 10 years the average, non-aged family of 4 will be paying $36,000 per year for health insurance.
Everybody here who thinks that's just swell raise your hand! Anybody?
Anybody think your pay will go up enough to make that affordable? Anybody?
So, when the President tells us the current system is unsustainable, and we have NO CHOICE but to fix it NOW, just what part of that do we not get?
One of my clearest White House memories is of hearing President Clinton talk about change. How scary it is for many people (see: "birthers"). But also, what are the choices? You can dig in your heels, hold your breath, close your eyes and shout "I don't want change, I don't want change, I don't want change!" but guess what? Change still gonna come.
That being so, the ONLY other choice is to look change in the eye, give it a big ol' embrace, and figure out how to make the change work for us. THAT'S where power and prosperity lie.
Republicans remind me of two-year-olds, stamping their feet because it's someone else's birthday and they don't get all the toys. If their tantrum spoils the day for everyone else, well, does a two-year-old care? Actually, that's what the two-year-old WANTS, isn't it?
Are we really gonna let them run our discourse and progress on this? Come on!
Everybody here who thinks that's just swell raise your hand! Anybody?
Anybody think your pay will go up enough to make that affordable? Anybody?
So, when the President tells us the current system is unsustainable, and we have NO CHOICE but to fix it NOW, just what part of that do we not get?
One of my clearest White House memories is of hearing President Clinton talk about change. How scary it is for many people (see: "birthers"). But also, what are the choices? You can dig in your heels, hold your breath, close your eyes and shout "I don't want change, I don't want change, I don't want change!" but guess what? Change still gonna come.
That being so, the ONLY other choice is to look change in the eye, give it a big ol' embrace, and figure out how to make the change work for us. THAT'S where power and prosperity lie.
Republicans remind me of two-year-olds, stamping their feet because it's someone else's birthday and they don't get all the toys. If their tantrum spoils the day for everyone else, well, does a two-year-old care? Actually, that's what the two-year-old WANTS, isn't it?
Are we really gonna let them run our discourse and progress on this? Come on!
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Our Fabulous Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton
What a treat it was to see Hillary on Meet the Press this morning! The little snips of news we usually see of her in this capital, with that head of state, don't capture her personality and brilliance the way a real conversation does. Watching her brought back such strong memories of what it was like to work for her at the White House. I hope everyone saw her mastery of every topic they covered, and the flashes of spontaneous humor she brings to the table. She's THE most incredible woman. You'd want to have her for a friend. I'm proud that she's been mine.
She's a FABULOUS Secretary of State, with a great team around her. I loved what she said about there being no in-fighting in the Obama cabinet between State, Defense, the NSC, etc. the way there was under George II. I believe the world is already safer because of her part in our diplomacy. The last Secretary of State was a Soviet expert. In this century! Didn't work out that well for us, now did it?
And then there was the extra bonus of knowing her enthusiastic support of the President allows NO daylight between them, thus thwarting, yet again, the ridiculous Fox rumor-mongering about some supposed rift between them. Ha!
The only sad note was my regret that she's not President, as she shoulda been. It's taken me practically this whole year to get over it! But it's just like her to keep working tirelessly, in whatever capacity she can, for her country. Go Hillary!
She's a FABULOUS Secretary of State, with a great team around her. I loved what she said about there being no in-fighting in the Obama cabinet between State, Defense, the NSC, etc. the way there was under George II. I believe the world is already safer because of her part in our diplomacy. The last Secretary of State was a Soviet expert. In this century! Didn't work out that well for us, now did it?
And then there was the extra bonus of knowing her enthusiastic support of the President allows NO daylight between them, thus thwarting, yet again, the ridiculous Fox rumor-mongering about some supposed rift between them. Ha!
The only sad note was my regret that she's not President, as she shoulda been. It's taken me practically this whole year to get over it! But it's just like her to keep working tirelessly, in whatever capacity she can, for her country. Go Hillary!
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Wise Latina and the Munchkins on the Hill
I am so enjoying the Senate Judiciary Committee hearings with Judge Sonia Sotomayor. Mainly because it appears that the Republican Senators, the right-wing bloviators and even the MSM have all lost their minds.
They all have bought in to the bizarre, and intellectually dishonest idea that white male values and culture are the standard, the invisible norm against which all other genders, values and cultures are measured. So, a Puerto Rican, or African American, or Asian person, of either gender, and a woman of ANY background are all suspect until and unless they can prove their fidelity to the "norm". WTF?
If we want a quick and easy example of how nuts that is, we only have to think about the Supreme Court over the last 200+ years before women and minorities were allowed in. Does any thinking person believe we wouldn't have had better decisions (wiser decisions) if the court had not been so relentlessly lily-white and male? Come on! Although I guess I need to acknowledge here that Justice Thomas is maybe the worst thing to ever happen to the Supremes in its long history. Oh well. There's always an exception to the rule! Still, there are hundreds of African American men and women who could have broken that color bar with some intellectual distinction. Just not him.
But that truth about white male culture is the (white) elephant in the room that everyone tiptoes around. So we get to see Judge Sotomayor, who said a perfectly reasonable thing about the judgment of a wise Latina woman, backing away from her observation as hard and fast as she can. I'm sure her White House briefers schooled her well (that's their job, and HER job is to get the vote). But it always seems sad to me when people can't express the obvious truth, because it's politically dangerous to do so. What a culture of weenies we have become!
I'm hopeful, however, that new Senator Al Franken may change this part of Hill/media culture, as he seems to be in the habit of plain speech and pointing out the obvious. He showed us a little of that today, and it was really refreshing! I just hope he doesn't get corrupted by THAT culture into mealy-mouthed platitudes and Hill-speak.
When I was at the White House we used to watch with great amusement when new Members of Congress came to Washington. They almost all started out as normal human beings, with a sense of the noble purpose public service can be. But it takes shockingly little time for the culture to corrupt them. "Oh, Senator, you're SO smart!" "Oh, Congresswoman, you're the most gifted public servant we've ever worked with!" Pretty soon they start to believe it, and it's all downhill from there. As my former boss said, "Next thing you know we'll be asked to provide them with bearers to lift them up so their dainty feet don't have to touch the nasty ground ..." And that's not much of an exaggeration.
I look forward to Thursday's hearing!
They all have bought in to the bizarre, and intellectually dishonest idea that white male values and culture are the standard, the invisible norm against which all other genders, values and cultures are measured. So, a Puerto Rican, or African American, or Asian person, of either gender, and a woman of ANY background are all suspect until and unless they can prove their fidelity to the "norm". WTF?
If we want a quick and easy example of how nuts that is, we only have to think about the Supreme Court over the last 200+ years before women and minorities were allowed in. Does any thinking person believe we wouldn't have had better decisions (wiser decisions) if the court had not been so relentlessly lily-white and male? Come on! Although I guess I need to acknowledge here that Justice Thomas is maybe the worst thing to ever happen to the Supremes in its long history. Oh well. There's always an exception to the rule! Still, there are hundreds of African American men and women who could have broken that color bar with some intellectual distinction. Just not him.
But that truth about white male culture is the (white) elephant in the room that everyone tiptoes around. So we get to see Judge Sotomayor, who said a perfectly reasonable thing about the judgment of a wise Latina woman, backing away from her observation as hard and fast as she can. I'm sure her White House briefers schooled her well (that's their job, and HER job is to get the vote). But it always seems sad to me when people can't express the obvious truth, because it's politically dangerous to do so. What a culture of weenies we have become!
I'm hopeful, however, that new Senator Al Franken may change this part of Hill/media culture, as he seems to be in the habit of plain speech and pointing out the obvious. He showed us a little of that today, and it was really refreshing! I just hope he doesn't get corrupted by THAT culture into mealy-mouthed platitudes and Hill-speak.
When I was at the White House we used to watch with great amusement when new Members of Congress came to Washington. They almost all started out as normal human beings, with a sense of the noble purpose public service can be. But it takes shockingly little time for the culture to corrupt them. "Oh, Senator, you're SO smart!" "Oh, Congresswoman, you're the most gifted public servant we've ever worked with!" Pretty soon they start to believe it, and it's all downhill from there. As my former boss said, "Next thing you know we'll be asked to provide them with bearers to lift them up so their dainty feet don't have to touch the nasty ground ..." And that's not much of an exaggeration.
I look forward to Thursday's hearing!
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