Where They Stand: No More Pussycats

By now readers of this blog will know of the 8 candidates for the first New Hampshire Congressional seat, I have heard only 4 (Pappas, Sullivan, Mindi and O'Rourke) which leaves Sanders, Soldati and two others.

But so far, O'Rourke has said all the things I've been looking to hear, and in a forceful enough way to convince me he can play the blood sport of politics.
He speaks of greedhead Trumpies. I suppose that is more politic than "Trumpholes" which I would prefer, but then again, I'm un-electable and he is electable. 

https://orourkeforcongress.com/the-issues


In short, he wants us out of endless wars without missions, his long term goal for health care is a system like Britain's which allows a National Health System for all but a private system for those who want it, a tax system which moves us toward less income inequality, and common sense restrictions on assault weapons.  He is still caught up in criminalizing drugs rather than treating drugs as a public health problem, but he is for legalizing marijuana. 

And he raises new issues we haven't much talked about, like providing real public transport for this rural state--light rail. Imagine that! Suppose you could go from Portsmouth to Manchester to Darthmouth to Durham to Hampton all by train! What a diferent state this would be. And what a lot of long lasting jobs that would create.

If the old boys' and girls' Network which run Democratic politics in this state have their way, he will simply not be heard, will not be given a stage. He hasn't paid enough dues, done enough homage to the powers that be. 

But he is fresh, young, aggressive and I think he's what we need now, and very possibly in the future.

Here are his positions, for those of you who don't do links: 

END THE WARS IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ

No service member should be sent into harm's way unless leaders have articulated definite goals and developed an exit strategy. I defy the Trump Administration to tell me the goals in Afghanistan and Iraq or to define the exit strategies. An old Afghan saying states, "You have the watches, but we have the time." The Afghan people have outlasted all would-be foreign conquerors and have not been moved an iota by the sixteen years and counting of American occupation. The same can now be said of the Iraqis. When elected, I will file a bill to immediately terminate the Authorizations for Use of Military Force (AUMFs) in both Afghanistan and Iraq. We have expended far too much in precious American blood and treasure for no strategic gain. 

REBUILD OUR INFRASTRUCTURE

I will propose a New Deal-type emergency program to immediately rebuild and rehabilitate our crumbling roads, bridges, airports, seaports, and utilities.  Engineers, transportation, energy, and national security experts, will tell you we are already in a crisis.  My program will create thousands of new jobs.  I know our labor unions can train a new generation of skilled workers and rebuild our infrastructure, while providing the quality assurance and oversight needed for such a massive project.

CONNECT NEW HAMPSHIRE

New Hampshire's public transportation system is virtually non-existent.  Every Granite Stater should be able to go anywhere in New England (and the country) by way of bus and high-speed rail.  As such, in Congress, I will propose a nationwide program to connect all Americans to one another by bus and rail.  Since both bus and rail can be run electrically, every American will be able to move throughout the country quickly, affordably, and sustainably.  Moreover, New Hampshire will be able to retain more of our young people who enjoy all that New Hampshire offers, but still desire to be able to freely move in and out of surrounding cities. Finally, Granite Staters will be able to safely and efficiently access vital services throughout the state and the region. 

SAVE OUR COMMUNITY FROM OPIOIDS

New Hampshire, like most of the country, has been devastated by the influx of opioids into our communities and the accompanying scourge of addiction. The battle to save our loved ones must be fought on three fronts.

• First, we must stop the flow of opium from Afghanistan.  Ninety percent of the world’s opium is produced in Afghanistan. In the 16 years we have been in Afghanistan, more Americans have been killed by the opium produced by Afghan farmers than by Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, and ISIL combined. Once we end the foreign military campaigns, we will be able to invest the peace dividend.  Initially, this will involve buying opium directly from the farmers and destroying it. We will then teach these farmers how to grow crops to sustain their families financially.  Simultaneously, we will use law enforcement and military personnel to root out and destroy the drug lords native to the region. 
• Second, we must provide law enforcement officials and prosecutors with the tools necessary to curb the illegal distribution of opioids. Not only will we continue to hammer away at drug gangs, but we will focus on doctors who overprescribe opium-based medications. For far too long, some doctors have operated pill mills under the guise of administering health care. These scoundrels are just dope dealers with white lab coats and country club memberships. They have hooked generations on these deadly substances in a consequence free environment. With Terence O'Rourke in Congress, the free ride ends! 
• The third leg in our approach is to treat addiction like other diseases.  We would not withhold treatment from a cancer patient until he has committed enough crimes to land in the penal system, so must we not withhold treatment from addicts until they are incarcerated. The federal government must work with community based hospitals and treatment centers to ensure that whenever any American decides to accept personal responsibility for their situation, they should have access to treatment, 24-hours a day, 365 days a year. 

REFORM TAX SYSTEM

The most lasting economic legacy of the disastrous administration of George W. Bush is the shift of the tax burden from the ultra-wealthy to working Americans. Now, Donald Trump and his greedhead minions in the Republican Congress intend to finish us off by transferring trillions more to their gilded overlords. This must end! I intend to cut income taxes for working Americans and to increase income taxes on the ultra-wealthy. On top of that, it is a sin that earned income is taxed at a higher rate than passive income. I intend to double the tax rate on capital gains for those in the highest tax bracket. As stated in the Gospel of Luke, to whom much is given, much will be required. We have been operating on the exact opposite principle since the insipid idea of trickle down economics was first foisted upon the American people. I intend to work in D.C. to reverse this ugly 

UPHOLD AND INCREASE EQUALITY

As a prosecutor, I have defended the rights of victims of sexual and domestic violence to be heard, to be believed, and to be vindicated. As a congressman, I will defend existing federal legislation, such as the Violence Against Women Act and Title IX, that ensures equal protection and access for all populations. I stand with women, communities of color, and LGBTQA+ and gender nonconforming individuals who've been under attack in the current administration. I support a woman's right to make decisions about her body and a government that doesn't stand in the way of her access to contraceptives and abortion. I support marriage equality, gender equality, and equal pay. I decry discrimination and violence based on sex, gender, and sexual orientation; when it comes to discrimination, there isn't "blame on both sides." I will fight for vulnerable populations and promote the cultivation of leaders from underserved communities that more fully reflect America's demographics. 

PROTECT HEALTH CARE

Right now, the immediate goal is saving Obamacare from the Trump/Ryan/McConnell Death Machine. Tens of thousands of Granite Staters and millions of other Americans will lose their health care coverage immediately if Trump & Co. has its way.  To avoid this clear and present danger, we must expand and strengthen Obamacare. In the long term, though, we must join the rest of the industrialized Western world by providing truly universal, truly comprehensive health care for all of our citizens. When elected, I will join with Senator Bernie Sanders to create a "Medicare for All" single-payer health care system. I will also champion efforts to create a British-style National Health Service.  When private, for-profit health care providers are forced to compete with a public institution, patients win. Medicare for All and a National Health Service will tip the balance of power away from Big Hospital and Big Pharma and towards the consumer. When we are negotiating prices as a group of 300 plus million citizens, we will set the market, not the profiteers.

LEGALIZE MARIJUANA

I have been a prosecutor at the local, state, and federal level for almost my entire legal career, including right now.  I have concluded that there is no bigger waste of law enforcement’s time and resources than enforcing the prohibition against marijuana. Furthermore, enforcement of those laws has a deleterious effect on the lives of those caught up in the system with a disproportionate impact on young people, poor people, and people of color. When states have put legalization or medical marijuana on the ballot, the people have spoken: marijuana should be legal. I will propose legislation to legalize marijuana and to regulate its use like alcohol: legalize it, tax it, sell it, and enjoy it!

Protecting our Natural Environment

As citizens of New Hampshire, we are the guardians of its natural resources, and we must fight against those who would deprive us of them. As a hunter and an outdoorsman, protecting New Hampshire's natural resources and awe-inspiring natural beauty is of paramount importance.  The President and his allies in Washington are now waging a war against our environmental protections. Moreover, the President has appointed a man, Scott Pruitt, to head the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), whose only concern is appeasing his masters in the fossil fuel industry.

I adamantly oppose the Trump administration’s withdrawal from the Clean Power Plan, and can see no rational reason why the administration would seek to prop up outdated and aging power plants in the Midwest while ignoring the clean energy alternatives of the future.  Clean energy not only combats against the devastating effects of climate change, but also creates jobs, both across the country and here at home.  It is an incredibly common-sense policy.  Indeed, protecting our environment and building our economy are not, and have never been, mutually exclusive goals.

As a congressman, I will support and promote clean energy, for it is not only important to protecting our environment, but is vital to strengthening our economy. I also support a nationwide Carbon Cap and Trade System which incentivizes innovation while allowing businesses to continue operating as they transition to safer, greener, and more efficient production models.Furthermore, as a veteran of the Iraq War, I know first-hand the value clean energy could bring to our national security.  By ending our dependence on foreign oil, we can more clearly see the gains and losses to be had by fighting foreign wars for years on end, all for something we think we need, when we really don't need it at all.  My Connect New Hampshire plan will create a nationwide transportation system which will move citizens around the country safely, efficiently, cheaply, and sustainably without relying on oil from the Middle East or Russia.

Curbing Gun Violence

Sadly, Americans have become accustomed to turning on their television sets and seeing unspeakable carnage caused by weapons of war in the hands of individual actors. America has totally lost its culture of responsible gun ownership. There are two steps that should be taken immediately in reaction to this bloodshed. First, we must close the "Gun Show Loophole" by requiring background checks for all weapons purchases even those conducted between private citizens. As a former federal prosecutor, I know first hand that the Gun Show Loophole is big enough to foster an entire illicit gun distribution network. Second, Congress must overturn the Protection of Lawful Commerce in Arms Act (PLCAA). The PLCAA shields weapons manufacturers from liability when their products have been used to commit crimes. This is wrong. If you produce weapons of war designed to kill human beings you must ensure that the person or persons you distribute that deadly weapon to is a responsible party. If we hit these Merchants of Death in their pocketbooks, they will not be so flippant about what these weapons are actually designed for and what the results look like when they are unleashed on an unwitting public. One thing we know for sure is that no progress will be made as long as Republicans control Congress. That's why it is so vital that I am elected to go to D.C. to change the culture and deliver results.

The recent tragedy in Parkland has once again thrust civilian use of weapons of war into the forefront. The history of the AR-15 platform is clear: it was designed to kill human beings. While Universal Background Checks and manufacturer liability are a must, neither would have prevented this massacre; Cruz bought the weapon legally. We must look inside ourselves and ask why these weapons of war have become part of our culture. Simply saying they are protected by the 2nd Amendment is a cheap and easy cop out. The Constitution and its Amendments are not a suicide pact. Courts have consistently upheld bans on weapons of war against 2nd Amendment challenges. So, the bigger question for proponents of free access to these death machines is why. The answer for Republican politicians is straightforward and grotesque: they receive millions in blood-soaked campaign cash from the NRA and the like. It’s not so simple when it comes to every day folks. We must have this national dialogue, even if it reveals ugly truths about ourselves that we’ve long avoided or papered over.

Trump Hammers the Steel Curtain Axis of Evil

Well, they had it coming, those countries who have so unfairly ripped off the United States by cunningly out negotiating American government officials under Obama.

Now Brazil, Japan, South Korea and Turkey will get what's coming to them. You know these are shithole countries and we'll get them good. And India, case in point. Germany, too, which may not be such a SHC, but they have been eating our lunch, when it comes to steel and driving our economy down! That 3% of our steel we get from Germany costs American jobs! Maybe a hundred. Of course, Russia sends us about 9% of all the steel we import and just to show that there's no Russian collusion or connection and that Mr. Putin does not run the government of the USA, we're gonna slap that 20% tariff on them. Call Trump a Putin lapdog? How's that for a dog with a big bite. You know those Russians are just going to smart after that slap.

Of course, Canada and Mexico are the good guys here, so they will not be punished. Well, except for Mexico, which still owes us a wall so we can keep those Mexican rapists where they belong, South of the Border.

Brazil, who even knew? Where do they even find steel in the Amazon? Brazil has all those women in the bikinis walking along those beaches, which President Trump knows all about from the Miss Universe pageant, but who knew? He was scoping out their steel industry all the time.  Is he a cagey guy, or what?

And South Korea. Teach them to talk behind our backs with Rocket Man with the bad haircut.  We'll show them how much they need us. 

It's such a high, seeing somebody finally standing up for America, Making America Great Again and bringing it to all those nasty countries which have been exploiting us so unfairly.

Now if we can get out of NATO, close down NAFTA and withdraw from the United Nations, we'll be back to the good old days when America ruled!

A New Kind of Democrat

Thinking about what my party needs, I asked myself: what would the ideal

Democratic Congressman, Senator, President look like?

Of course, images of some amalgam of Obama, JFK, Gloria Steinem ran through my mind, and then I realized, I am thinking backwards when I should be thinking forward.

Cump

It is easier, sometimes, to think of what you do not want:
1/ We should not want someone who parses every sentence so as not to offend any group: #MeToo, people of color, labor, police, mothers, gays, any of the whole coalition which Hillary tried to harness and not offend.  There is simply no way for anyone to speak this carefully and still manage to connect to the critical citizens out there who know when they are being played. These are groups we hope embrace Democrats because they know the Republicans will hurt them, but no Democrat should play to any group.

2/ We ought to reject someone who is afraid to offend, who would never question the orthodoxy of "liberal thought" like questioning whether policy aimed at gun sales is likely to be effective, given the number of guns already out there.

3/ And we ought to take a hard look at any  Democrat who has been entrenched too long, who was in power, guiding the party when it exploded and sank on November 8, 2016.  When Pearl Harbor happens, basically, anyone who was  in command gets fired. On the national stage, Debbie Wasserman Schultz was a head who needed to roll, but what about here in New Hampshire?

O'Rourke

I have not yet heard all 8 candidates who have declared for Congress, and the adult in me says I should listen, consider all options.

But it is nice to know there is at least one candidate, thus far, Terence O'Rourke, who does not fall into any of these unappetizing categories, someone who is unencumbered by past defeats, who speaks his mind knowing some of what he advocates--a national health system--will not today have the support of the average citizen but who has faith someday voters might come to embrace this idea. 

His basic virtue is an openness to new ideas and a love of ideas. 

This is what was so appealing about Clinton--he was a policy wonk. He went to the workers at shoe factories in Maine and told them he could not save their jobs, that bigger forces than even government were at work sending their jobs overseas, but that he would work to find them a new jobs. Clinton observed this country will not be majority white in fifty years and when he said that, he sounded neither mournful nor joyful--he was simply stating a fact he thought we all ought to deal with. His willingness to think dispassionately about such a potentially emotional shift made him seem both honest and brave.

Understated

In the face of Trump, we look for the opposite. Trump cannot speak from a fund of knowledge on any topic. He is a salesman, a con artist. He knows only punch lines. So it's refreshing to hear from a lawyer who knows law, who knows the Constitution does not need to be amended to change the composition of the Supreme Court before Trump's appointees die.

Trump had heel spurs, so we look for someone who has had the experience of having a bullet fired in anger at him. 

Obama was one of the finest writers of his generation. Trump can only deal tweets. The pendulum should swing to someone who can marshal a few facts to support an argument, who can think, not just bellow, on his feet.

O'Rourke may not be the only one out there to offer something new. 
But it's nice to know, there is at least one Democrat who can allow us to hope.

The thing is, we once had a Democrat who gave me hope, and he was Barney Frank.
Where is the Barney Frank among our current candidates?

When some alt right lunatic calls Obama the leader of a Nazi agenda Frank asks, in his faux polite way, "Excuse me, Ma'm, but on what planet do you spend the majority of your time?"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KxgLXDupHaI

He noted that some Republican had said he was determined to enact his radical gay agenda which, Frank admitted, was exactly what he hoped to do,  and it included being able to be free of violent acts motivated by bigotry, the right to fight for his country and the right to be married.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JR1iS_38is

Maybe the New Democrat I'm looking for is simply an old one.

Guns and Second Amendment Freaks: A Modest Proposal

Okay, here's a proposal for those guys who believe they need those AR-15, AK-47, 50 cal air cooled machine guns for when the spooky guys in blue helmets descend in the black helicopters and try to seize power for the new world order.

Let's organize some "well regulated militias" in every hamlet which wants them, put them on firing ranges, give them big guns, ammo etc and let them have at it.

Then, after playtime is over, they turn back in their weapons, which are locked up in the armory.  They each have a key to the armory, so they know they are special, but the keys to the gun room and the ammo are held by the militia officer.

So when the black helicopters appear overhead, the fire bell in the night, or the email alert goes out, all the volunteer firemen, militiamen, hop in their trucks and drive to the armory and the resistance is in place, the 21st century minutemen are ready to go.

Then nobody needs a friggin AK-47 over his mantle because it's right there in the militia building, along with all his friends who might actually form a real fighting unit, as opposed to a bunch of crazies running around the woods dressed in camo playing soldier like when they were kids.

Terence O'Rourke: Finally Some Fire Down Below

When you walk through the garden
You gotta watch your back
Well I beg your pardon
Walk the straight and narrow track
--"Down in the Hole"

The Candidate's night at the Exeter Inn did not begin auspiciously. Terence O'Rourke began with the kind of stuff you can only imagine some female campaign consultant told him he needed to do, so there was what felt like several hours of talk about his three children, his wonderful wife, who taught him all he knew about being a county prosecutor, a rendition of his life story, which at thirty something, cannot be all that long--except for the part about his time in Iraq and Afghanistan.

When he touched on his military service the difference between him and Maura Sullivan was resounding. This is a man who is understated about his experiences in war, which real warriors always are.  He was not trying to claim to be a hero. He was just saying her learned some things from his time in combat, and there was a mixture of sorrow and anger which made him look and sound much older. 

It was only in the last few minutes, when he began to address the issues people started sit up and listen.  He said this whole endless war thing had to be brought to a close. And he said there is no reason we have to live with the legacy of a Supreme Court and meekly accept the reality of Roberts/ Thomas/Alito/Gorsuch for the next thirty years.  Congress can pack the court without a Constitutional amendment. 

But it was during the question and answer session he really shone: He said we had to take the profit motive out of health care in this country, had to move beyond single payor to a true National Health System, which would not mean the end to private medical care but simply give everyone access to some medical care. 

He has seen the "drug war" from the point of view of a prosecutor so he can be forgiven for seeing the "opioid problem" in terms of law enforcement, interdicting the flow of drugs from Afghanistan, the source of the lion's share of opium in the world.
He is clearly smart enough to be educated on this, to be brought to believe the opioid problem is not one but many problems and is, at heart a public health problem.

This is a guy who might even be persuaded to watch "The Wire." You can tell, it would appeal to him.

And he thinks attack rifles and military weapons have no business being sold to private citizens, and he is a hunter. He can read the Second Amendment and understand it. He can talk to the demented Second Amendment knuckle draggers and say he's not trying to castrate them from their guns, but there is no goddamn way they are owed military assault rifles by the Second Amendment, even if they do believe the blue helmets in the black helicopters are coming to get them.

I could see him standing up to Republican thugs like Jim Jordan of Ohio, who was a collegiate wrestling champion, and struts around in Congress sans the usual jacket and tie in a tight fitting dress shirt as if he was trying to get as close to a wrestling singlet as he can, to do battle with lily livered liberals.

He exchanged intelligently with the professor of economics in the front row who pointed out that the new tax bill is a theft from the poor to the rich. O'Rourke added that as most people earn more money, their tax rates rise, but for Walmart it is now fixed at 21% no matter how much money they make.

He also added that any threat to Medicare and Social Security could be easily fixed by simply removing the cap which means Bill Gates only pays for Social Security up to $120,000 of his income.

One of his best remarks came about the Charlottesville incident, where Trump said some of the alt right folks, some of them Nazis were "fine people." 
"I had thought," he said, "Despite all our differences, as Americans we all agreed that Nazis are never fine people."

He's as liberal as Bernie, but younger.

O'Rourke needs work: He speaks in a rushed, staccato way, and his best lines are lost in his lack of enunciation. 

But he might just be the real article. He might be what we need. We need some fire and fury. We need a war consigliere. 

After the talk,  a Chris Pappas supporter told me: "We need a work horse in Congress--this guy O'Rourke is a show horse."
And I had to ask: What for? What can any Democrat do in Congress now, for his home district, or for the nation?
I asked him to name just 4 Democratic Congressmen. He couldn't.
That's the problem. We got no leaders. We need leaders. Red blooded, testosterone infused leaders. That doesn't mean they can't be women, but they have to be bold, confrontational and fierce when aroused.
Chris Pappas, bless him, is a house cat. 
Maura Sullivan is ambitious, has attracted lots of money, but she's an empty suit, sorry to say. She just hasn't thought about the issues. She's about as into policy as those glam gals on Scandal. For her, Congress is all about the glamour.

This O'Rourke character, he's more like Josiah Bartlet. He's actually intrigued by the problems, searching for solutions.
He's the kind of guy you want to get in a place like the Community Oven, where it's not noisy and you can hear everyone talk and you want to spend a few hours listening to him, pelting him with questions, making him refine his thinking and you just have the inkling, he might someday grow up to be President, starting right here in New Hampshire.
Pappas is right on all the issues, but he lives in a world of Mr. Rogers neighborhood.
He has said he doesn't want to get in food fights in Congress. 
Sullivan is a show horse.

But O'Rourke strikes me as someone who knows when the only choice is to fight, who knows when there's no point in trying to appease.
And if  he gets into a fight, he's going to win it.
The real imponderable is why a bright young guy like this would want to spend his time shuttling between Washington National airport and Manchester, would want to get a job where, from day one, all you are doing is dialing for dollars and trying to get the IRS off the back of some elderly widow in New Durham and trying to keep the Shipyard open.

House of Representatives is no kind of job.
But if he got that ,and then took Maggie Hassan's seat in the Senate, well then I might could just show him around some nice neighborhoods he could move his wife and kids into down in the Maryland suburbs of DC, because he could have a good career down there.

Mass Shootings Same Old Same Old in USA

So, read this little vignette and tell me which of the mass shootings you think it's describing. I know, I know, they all blur together and sound the same.

With one exception, they are all male and except for one Asian male, they are all white. Exceptions that prove the rule.
It's a white male thing, basically.

So here goes: Where and which shooting is this report describing? Extra points if you can name the year. 

He then drove to a hardware store, where he purchased a Universal M1 carbine, two additional ammunition magazines, and eight boxes of ammunition, telling the cashier he planned to hunt wild hogs.At a gun shop he purchased four more carbine magazines, six additional boxes of ammunition, and a can of gun cleaning solvent. At Sears he purchased a Sears Model 60 12 gauge semi-automatic shotgun before returning home.

Whitman sawed off the barrel and butt stock of the shotgun, then packed it into his footlocker, along with a Remington 700 6-mm bolt-action hunting rifle, a .35-caliber pump rifle, a .30-caliber carbine (M1), a 9-mm Luger pistol, a Galesi-Brescia .25-caliber pistol, a Smith & Wesson M19 .357 Magnum revolver, and more than 700 rounds of ammunition.

--Wikipedia

Fact is, this was 1966 and it was the University of Texas clock tower shooting where a man named Whitman shot random people, 15 in all, dead.

When it comes to mass shootings, there seems to be a theme: These guys buy guns fairly close to the time they use them.  And they definitely buy up lots of ammo. So a law making purchase of said armaments might help to prevent mass shooting, which is all we seem to care about lately with respect to gun deaths.

Little kids at home shooting their siblings, people shooting their wives at home, men shooting citizens during robberies don't seem to bother the public all that much. Americans are willing to live with that. This America, man.

The Itch of Inequality

A woman visited my office today and she had not started a drug I had added to her diabetes regimen because Blue Cross refused to pay for it and it would have been $900 a month out of pocket. But, she said brightly, "I just got Mass Health."  So she asked me to re write the prescription; it'll be covered now.


Mass Health is Medicaid.


This is a common story in Massachusetts, but not in New Hampshire, where the people's representatives do not believe in government.  In Massachusetts, the government sponsored health insurance covers just about every drug. In New Hampshire, you're lucky if your doctor's visit is covered.

Reagan's welfare queen 

I don't know how many times a week I hear someone, usually a white person with no more than a high school education, if that, grouse about how her company sponsored health insurance would not cover a drug or a procedure, and then add indignantly, but my neighbor, Juanita Diaz, she gets it for free from Mass Health.

If that white lady found her drug was covered by her own health insurance, likely she not feel angry at all that Ms. Diaz got her drug paid for by Medicaid. What bothers the white working stiff about Ms. Diaz is the sense that Ms. Diaz is getting something unfairly, when the working stiff is being denied it.  


What really riles the patient, that white lady, working two jobs--one cleaning offices and one at the car wash-- is that while she works hard, she manages to earn just enough to disqualify her from Medicaid coverage, while Ms. Diaz sits homem watching TV, and gets the drug paid for.


So it's two things:
1/ The inequity: she gets it when I don't 
2/ The idea that by working hard, I pay the taxes to pay for Ms. Diaz and I don't get what my taxes pay for Ms. Diaz is getting--the worst of both worlds.

Did she not rape the system?

Of course, there are layers here:
1/ Why does the white guy's health insurance not cover the drug?
2/ Why is the drug $900 a month in any universe?
3/ Why does Medicaid get a sweetheart contract for the drug but not Blue Cross?


In our for profit, profit driven American health care system, the drug company can charge whatever it  wishes, whatever the market will bear. 
The best health care is consistently provided by the government run programs and the commercial programs are niggardly.
The working stiff never directs his resentment toward the inadequacy of the commercial programs; he is only angry at the perceived profligacy of the government run program.

It's the old Ronald Reagan "welfare queen" driving her Cadillac, wearing mink, raping the government welfare programs which were  supposedly devised to assist the poor and needy but instead get exploited by the lazy, undeserving "poor" who are growing rich and fat on the government's teat.

Why is she not a welfare queen?

If we had healthcare for all, Medicare for all, if everyone got the same basic benefits (with perhaps a little extra for people who added company health insurance on top of what the basic government plan offers) then we would likely hear no complaints about Ms. Diaz who is getting her drugs for free, because everyone gets them for free.


Of course, as Lester Freeman of "The Wire" noted, "Ain't no such thing as free in this country."


But at least we'd all perceive the situation differently. It's not bad if you don't have something until you see someone else gets it when you are denied it.


Perception of inequality.