Conservative Soup - food for thought

It’s easy to get down on the world today. With cable news and the local newspaper, I don’t have to leave the house for my daily dose of world condemnation. At times I throw my hands in the air in disgust with the mass hatred that has spread around the world. I have to wonder if we as humans have always had this much hatred for our brothers, or are we getting better at telling everyone about it. The Middle East has their television stations that are dedicated to spreading the word of hatred to every open ear. Is technology bringing us closer together and therefore nurturing this hatred even more. It is getting harder and harder to keep a positive attitude toward each other with all of the hatred floating through our airwaves.
I have turned to a new solution to cure myself of this pain, I watch Spongebob Squarepants. Spongebob is the ultimate envoy of peace. We need to have the UN send Spongebob into the Middle Hell and sit down with all of the hate groups. Watch an episode of Spongebob and you’ll see his diplomatic tongue in action as his hateful best friend Squidward tries to push Spongebob out of bikini Bottom. He deals with his money hungry boss Mr. Crabs in a very humble manner giving his 110% best to be the best fry cook he can be and he never asks for more money.
A loyal friend to Patrick and an open heart to Plankton, Spongebob is the nurturing presence we need in our lives. My solution for the hatred in this world, a 6 pack and some Spongebob. We should be dropping tapes of Spongebob in the Middle Hell and we’ll see who’s killing who in a week.

Who lives in a pineapple under the sea………..
~Milt

I attended a seminar yesterday morning about socialized medicine. The presenter was a very well informed MD that had all of the statistics demonstrating how bad our health care system is and how the corporate Executives are becoming extremely rich while everyone else is footing the bill. This might be true, in some ways. Some of his points were interesting and I would agree to some extent that our poor are underserved in receiving medical care. It's not the "poor" that get screwed on this deal, states like ours in the Midwest have one hell of a program for the "poor", it's the "working poor" that take it in the shorts. It's unfortunate for the families where both parents work for little over minimum wage and cannot afford to pay for employer provided healthcare plans.
Is a "National Health Plan" needed to provide coverage for all? I am strongly against this "fix" to the problem. This is another facet in life that should not be turned over to the government. The National Health Care movement is gaining traction, but is still a long way from being viable in my opinion. I have compiled my thought on why a "Canadian" health program is a bad idea:

1) First, you have to believe access to healthcare is a right not a privilege. (I'm not, sure where I stand on this.)
2) We will not have a successful tort reform policy with the current bill of lawyers in Congress.
3) Too many people are making too much money in this business=POWERFUL LOBBY
4) If Uncle Sam started paying the bill, reimbursement rates would fall, shareholder value would diminish, facilities would shrink, and R&D would dramatically slow. This is a chain reaction that would halt any economic growth in the future.
5) We do not need to pay another 5-15% tax on our income. (The wealthy would have an all-in tax rate of around 60% once state and local taxes are included, VIVA LE FRANCE!)
6) Massive layoffs, as the private insurers would no longer be needed.
7) Waiting lists for non-critical surgeries.
8) We would be more like FRANCE and CANADA!
~Milt

I'm feeling a little uneasy about the battles erupting in Southern Lebanon over the past weeks. I have this unsettling notion that Syria, Iran, and Al-Qaida forces are behind the Hezbollah attacks on Northern Israeli cities. Is this going to escalate into WWIII as Newt suggests? Is the under belly of the Middle East taking a stand against Democracy? Think about it; the United States has historically supported Israel since its birth in 1947, if we back Israel now, can we fight in three different countries at the same time (Afghanistan, Iraq, and Lebanon/Israel)? The reality is; we are involved whether we like it or not. Iranian Hezbollah welcomes war with Israel and Uncle Sam.

~Milt

After a long absence, I am back in the kitchen brewing up some more dishes for CS. I hope we have not lost some regular traffic in our staleness over the past thirty days. I think Will and is ready to rock and roll and hopefully our Truth Pain friend from the Left Coast will contribute some interesting dialogue. Much has happened over the last month in the world, should make for some good bantor.

~Milt