ObamaCare and Spam (with apologies to Dr. Seuss)

I am Ted, Ted I am.

That Ted I am, that Ted I am,

I do not like that Ted I am.

Do you like ObamaCare and Spam?

I do not like them, Ted I am,

I do not like ObamaCare and Spam

Would you like them Red or Blue?

I would not like them Red or Blue

I Would not like them with you

I do not like ObamaCare and Spam

I do not like them Ted I am

Would you like them in Congress?

Would you like them in the House?

I would not like them in Congress,

I would not like them in the House,

I would not like them Red or Blue,

I would not like them with you.

I do not like ObamaCare and Spam,

I do not like them Ted I am.

Would you like them if you crashed your car?

Take them, take them, here they are!

I would not if I crashed my car!

You may like them, you will see!

You may like them if you're stung by a bee!

I would not if I was stung by a bee!

Not if I crashed my car, you let me be!

A train!

A train!

Could you if you fell off a train!

Not if I fell off a train, not if I was stung by a bee!

Not if I crashed my car! Ted! Let me be!

Say!

In the dark!

If you tripped in the dark!

Would you like them in the dark?

I would not if I tripped in the dark!

Would you if you slipped in the rain?

I would not if I slipped in the rain!

Not if I tripped in the dark, not if I feel off a train!

Not if I crashed my car, not if I was stung by a bee!

I do not like them, Ted you see.

I do not like them Red or Blue,

I do not like them especially with you!

You do not like them so you say,

Try them, try them and you may,

Try them and you may, I say!

Ted! If you will let me be,

I will try them, you will see!

Say!

I like ObamaCare and Spam!

I do, I like them Ted I am!

I would like them if I slipped in the rain,

I would like them if I fell off a train!

And if I crashed my car, And if I was stung by a bee!

They are so good, so good you see!

So I will like them if I break my leg,

I will like them if I take to my bed!

I will like them in Congress,

I will like them in the House!

I will like them Red or Blue,

I will even like them with YOU!

I do so like ObamaCare and Spam,

Thank you! Thank you, Ted I am!

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Mitt Romney’s “Binders Full of Women”: Why This Intended Boast Was Just Offensive

As have many, I have also found myself thinking a lot about Presidential candidate Mitt Romney's "binders full of women" remark  made during the Presidential debate this Tuesday, October 16, 2012.  Besides the reportedly  inherent inaccuracies of his statement, not to mention its characteristically “inelegant” nature, Romney’s remark has been bothering me on a more fundamental level.

 

The remark was in response to a question from a woman who asked Romney how he would "rectify the inequalities in the workplace" between men and women, specifically the 72 percent that women make of what men make for equal work.  Not only was his answer non-responsive to her specific question, it appeared to show an opposite belief on Romney’s part that women are actually incapable of equal work to men in high level positions.  Apparently, according to Romney, concessions must be made.

Romney’s answer potentially reveals three inaccurate, and, frankly, archaic beliefs.  First:  All women qualified to hold high level positions either have children they must take care of, or they would rather be a caretaker/homemaker than hold a high level position.  Neither is an absolute:  A) not all women have children—some choose a career over having children; B) last time I checked a biology textbook, it takes a man to have a child, so there are a lot of men in high level positions that have children too, so the need or desire for a flexible work schedule is not uniquely a female issue; and C) some women qualified for high level positions who have children also have partners (husbands or wives) who take on the primary childrearing and homemaking responsibilities, thus obviating the need for or want of a flexible work schedule. 

Second:  No men qualified to hold high level positions would ever want or need a flexible work schedule because they either do not have children or they have wives.  See B and C above; and D) the assumption that between a father and mother that only the mother wants or needs a flexible work schedule to care for school-aged children is a tired assumption, and it is high time fathers are given the opportunities for a flexible work schedule in order to spend more time with their children and/or step up to the plate to take on more of that role. 

Third:  Women are simply not interested in holding high level positions, so it takes a man (like Romney) to coax them into the position by promising flexible work schedules.  See A - D above.

Romney’s nonresponsive answer gives rise to more questions than it does to answer the woman’s question.  For instance, did the women Romney hire take a salary cut for their flexible work schedule?  Was the flexible work schedule offered equally to men and women in Romney’s cabinet?  Did they have the same opportunities for advancement while on a flexible work schedule as the men? Were they given fewer chances for real responsibility just because they were on a flexible work schedule? Whenever there is a discussion of women doing equal work for equal pay, or the (very real) glass ceiling in the private sector, inevitably the conversation goes right to women’s childrearing/homemaking responsibilities.  Although both issues do overlap in some places, the two are not inextricably tied together. 

Receiving equal pay for equal work has nothing to do with whether a woman has children, because men have children too.  Pay should be based on ability, not one’s lack of a uterus.  And while a flexible work schedule is certainly a welcome alternative, it should not be something offered to, or utilized by, only women.  There are plenty of really smart, qualified men who also want an opportunity to play a larger role in their children’s lives (Mitt even advocated “the benefit of having two parents in the home” during the debate), just as there are plenty of really smart, qualified women who should not only be offered the high level job, but who should receive the same pay as their male counterparts.

Apparently, Mitt did not, as he boasted, learn “a great deal” when he staffed his gubernatorial cabinet

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Obama Care Oral Arguments Underway

On Monday, March 26, 2012, oral arguments in front of the United States Supreme Court got underway to hear the legal challenge to the Affordable Care Act enacted by Congress and signed into law by President Obama on March 23, 2010.


The Supreme Court scheduled an unprecedented six hours over three days for oral argument this week after granting certiorari. At issue is the Act's individual mandate to purchase health insurance or pay a tax penalty. two federal appellate courts have upheld the mandate, one declared it unconstitutional and one appellate court declined to decide the issue under the Anti-Injunciton Act, ruling the issue could not be decided until tax payers are actually harmed by having to pay the tax/penalty in 2015.


Monday's oral argument focused mainly on whether the Anti-Injunction Act prohibited the present challenge, and whether the requirement that a tax payer who fails to purchase health insurance is assessed a tax or a penalty, which would dictate whether the AIA applies. There was discussion between the Justices and amicus curiae court appointed counsel Robert A. Long whether the Anti-Injunction Act is jurisdictional, thus robbing the courts of the ability to hear the issue, or directed at the Solicitor General, thus prohibiting the litigants from filing suit.


Nomenclature was an issue regarding whether the assessment is actually a tax or a penalty. Right out of the box, Justice Alito quipped to the Solicitor General for the Department of Justice Donald B. Verrilli, "General Verrilli, today you are arging that the penalty is not a tax. Tomorrow You are going to be back and you will be arguing that the penalty is a tax." When Chief Justice Roberts referred to the assessment as a penalty, attorney for challengers to the Act, Gregory G. Katsas, corrected "taxes, Mr. Chief Justice."


The attorneys were peppered with questions mainly from Ginsberg, Scalia, Sotomayor, Breyer, Roberts and Kegan, with a few questions from Alito and Kennedy. Thomas remained characteristically silent during argument.


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Does Harry Reid Really Need to Resign?

Okay, so there is no court action on which to report here. But I feel compelled to weigh in (along with scores of others) on the present flap surrounding Harry Reid's unfortunate comments about then presidential hopeful Barack Obama, memorialized for all time in the upcoming book Game Change. I won't bore the reader with quoting Reid's comments once again--if anyone really needs reminding, Google "Harry Reid" and "Game Change" and his comments will be readily found.

The most interesting thing about Reid's comments isn't that the comments were made, because people of color know that racist comments still lurk at every corner and pop up even in their own backyards. What is interesting is that Reid was actually trying to say something positive and those were the words he chose to use. Reid was trying to discuss the reasons he felt his party had a good chance of winning the presidential election. In fact, what Reid said is probably true. It probably was a lot easier for a lot of (white) Americans to cast their vote for Obama because (all things being equal) he came across as more mainstream than, say, Al Sharpton or Jesse Jackson.

But, of course, "mainstream" is not the adjective that Harry Reid used. Even if Reid was trying to make a valid point, his words betray an old-time way of thinking. His words echo a time in our history when it was common to hear racist remarks in polite company and no one batted an eye. Really, this is the way a lot of "old white men" (for lack of a better stereotyping, pigeon-holing descriptive phrase) still talk today behind closed doors and amongst themselves. Remember the Texaco scandal from the late 1990's? If not, click here. So, is Reid a racist? After all, Reid was actually trying to complement Obama rather than denigrate him.

Let's look at it from a different angle. If a Republican Senator had made the exact same comments about a Republican candidate, (hypothetically, say, RNC Chairman Michael Steele), would they sound any more or less racist? Would the public or the media be more inclined to forgive a Republican for making the same remarks? Would we chalk it up to ignorance or insensitivity, but not racism because the comments were an attempt, albiet a poor one, at a compliment of a fellow Republican who just happened to be an African-American?

Let's change the angle again. What if Reid had commented on a different hypothetical African-American candidate from the Republican party and had speculated, hypothetically, that the hypothetical candidate had little chance of winning because America was not ready for a president with dark skin color and strong dialect? Let's face it; those conversations probably took place somewhere in the Republican party when Al Sharpton and Rev. Jesse Jackson were campaigning for the Democratic nomination. Perhaps, by itself, that concept may not be objectionable because perhaps it was true. But let's not forget the specific words Reid used, and this hypothetical discussion takes on a more racist feel.

Let's make that angle even more acute. What if a Republican had made the above hypothetical comments about a hypothetical Democratic candidate? It is not as though the Republican party has the reputation of championing racial equality. Now those hypothetical comments sound even more racist. Now it sounds more like the comments made at that Texaco corporate boardroom.

I guess my point is this: Racist comments are made by all kinds of people all the time, whether the comments are about African-Americans, Asian-Americans or even Native Americans. But what makes the speaker a racist is a lot more complicated. Racism in the United States hasn't gone anywhere except underground, which only makes it harder to accurately point out the racists. Reid apologized profusely, appeared contrite and President Obama accepted his apology. So, is Harry Reid a racist? Who knows. Should he resign? Probably not.

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