Monthly Archives: September 2013

Obamacare – a tribute

Obamacare

A Tribute to Ted Cruz’s Heroic Obstinacy

apologies to Dr. Seuss

Dem-o-dare
We’re Dems who dare
We dared to pass
Obamacare.

Those dem-o-dares
those dem-o-dares!
I do not like those dem-o-dares!
How dare they fund
Obamacare?

Would you fund
Obamacare?

I do not like it,
Dem-o-dares,
I will not fund
Obamacare.

Would you fund it
Here or there?

I would not fund it
here or there.
I would not fund it
anywhere.

I will not fund
Obamacare
I do not like it,
Dem-o-dares

Would you fund it
for a house?
Would you fund
To kill a louse?

I will not fund it
For a house
I will not fund
To kill a louse
I will not fund it
here or there.
I will not fund it
anywhere.
I will not fund Obamacare,
I will not fund it, Dem-o-dares.

Would you fund it
Fix this mess?
Would you fund it?
Do no less!

Not for a house
No kill a louse,
Not fix this mess,
I’ll do no less!
I will not fund it here or there.
I will not fund it anywhere.
I will not fund Obamacare,
I will not fund it, Dem-o-dares.

Would you? Could you?
For the poor?
Fund it! Fund it!
We want no more!

I would not,
could not,
For the poor.

You may like it
You will see.
Love it! it’s a
real small fee.

I say it’s not a real small fee.
Not for the poor! You let me be.
I will not fund it for a house
I will not fund to kill a louse,
Will not fund to fix this mess,
I will not fund ! I’ll do no less!
I will not fund it here or there.
I will not fund it anywhere.
I will not fund Obamacare!
I will not fund it, Dem-o-dares!

For jobs! For jobs!
For good jobs!
Would you, could you,
For good jobs!

Not for jobs! It’s no small fee!
Not for the poor! Sam! Let me be!
I will not fund it for a house
I will not fund to kill a louse,
Will not fund to fix this mess,
I will not fund ! I’ll do no less!
I will not fund it here or there.
I will not fund it anywhere.
I will not fund Obamacare!
I will not fund it, Dem-o-dares!

Say!  Budget cuts?
Pass it with some budget cuts!
Would you, could you, with these cuts?

I would not, could not,
With these cuts.

Would you, could you,
With some pork?

I would not, could not, for some pork.
Not for some cuts. Not for the jobs,
Not for the poor, no real small fee,
I do not like it, Sam, you see.
Not for a house. No fix this mess.
No kill a louse. I’ll do no less.
I will not fund it here or there.
I will not fund it anywhere!
I will not fund Obamacare,
I do not like it, Dem-o-dares!

You do not like
Obamacare?

I do not like it,
Dem-o-Dares!

Could you, would you,
Keep your doc!

I would not, could not.
No more doc!

Would you, could you,
It’s a rock!

I could not, would not, it’s no rock!
I will not! I want my doc!
I would not, could not, for some pork.
Not for some cuts. Not for the jobs,
Not for the poor, no real small fee,
I do not like it, Sam, you see.
Not for a house. No fix this mess.
No kill a louse. I’ll do no less.
I will not fund it here or there.
I will not fund it ANYWHERE!
I will not fund Obamacare,
I do not like it, Dem-o-dares!

You do not like it.
So you say.
Try it! Try it!
And you may.
Try it and you may I say.

Dems!
I cannot stop you,
I will will stand down.
And we’ll be through.

Say!
Obamacare isn’t bad!
My tea-party has just been had!
My filibuster was just funny!
We’re saving us a ton of money!
It’s saving a whole lot of pork!
And budget cuts. And many  jobs.
It saves the poor. It’s a small fee.
It really works for us you see!

So I will fund it for a house.
And I will fund to kill a louse.
And I will fund to fix this mess.
And I will fund! I’ll do no less!
And I will fund it here and there.
Say! I’ll fund it ANYWHERE!

I do so like
Obamacare!
Thank you!
Thank you,
Dems-who-dare!

 

Imperialism and Law

“I will make it legal” – Emperor Palpatine
That might not be the best quote, since I’m loath to compare the US Government with a Sith Lord from a children’s story, and there are far too many children’s stories to explain the situation in the Middle East. But the quote illustrates an important point: law stems from power. He who has the power makes the laws, and he who makes the laws has the power.
And that is the best way to understand the issue in Syria and how it’s developing. The basic issue is the Arab Spring, which is a pro-Western revolt in the Middle East, spreading into Syria, which falls under Russian Imperial influence.
This explains why the US has been very skittish about getting too involved in Syria – being too heavy handed could risk open confrontation with Russia. Contrast that with our $1.5 billion yearly aid to the Egyptian military.
But what Obama said, over and over again, is the US’s need to establish some kind of basic “red line” or international law by which it is compelled to act anywhere around the globe. And this is the heart of imperialism, and why it’s such a nuanced concept that it escapes most people. Too often we need something blatant behind it – oil, profit, dollars, greed – but the reality of it is as delicate as a word.
And that’s the thing. For the purposes of this article, we will assume Assad has used chemical weapons, this means Russia would also like to get on board and enforce that standard. That means Syria is becoming indefensible. And whereas Russia would feel violated if the US did an open military strike on one of its allied countries, allowing the US to maintain this international standard, or law, is more nuanced, and lets it maintain regional domain.
In this narrow sense, it’s actually a lot like Iraq. Other countries only opposed the US’s invasion of Iraq in speeches and rhetoric. When it came down to material support, they were all in there, divvying it up according to the anarchic law of imperial powers.
And the US, by upholding and struggling single-handedly for this limited international standard, no matter how basic and abridged, maintains its prestige as the world’s power.
It is with this lens that we can take Obama at his word when he says that to put that red line down, and then not to enforce it when someone crosses it, would be to gravely damage our national interests.