Socializing Medicine

So, the system we have is broken. I get that. Why is the only possible answer socialized medicine? “I have this problem with my insurance, so we need socialized medicine.” That’s a non-sequitor. The two are not related.
I have this problem, therefore changes must be made. That makes sense.
Socialized medicine would solve the problems because… That makes sense.
“I have problems so we must…” That does not make sense.
Let’s leave emotion out of the debate. That’s how we ended up with the “Great Society.” We’re still trying to recover.

Curious

Why is it that it’s now being called “single payer” healthcare. It’s socialized medicine. That may be good or bad, but it’s what it is.
Changing names to make things more acceptable to the mases is straight out of 1984. If you think it is good, explain why socializing medicine is a good idea. But don’t claim it isn’t.

Ironic or Just Sad?

I can’t decide if it is ironic, or just sad, that two days before we celebrate the fall of the Berlin wall, the US House socializes our health care system.

The Iron Curtain is Torn Open.

For those of us who remember the Soviet Union, it’s hard to explain the mystical power that the Berlin Wall had on the collective psyche of the free world.  It’s hard to even explain the concept of “free world.”  For those who didn’t live when half the world was behind the iron curtain, you can’t understand.

And no matter what other events were transpiring, the Berlin Wall was the iron curtain.  Though Churchill first spoke those words in 1946, by the time I was born, the iron curtain – an abstraction to define the evil of the Soviet Empire – was embodied in the Berlin wall.  It was the first time in history a wall had been built to keep citizens in a country.  It marked the failure of communism.  A country that can not even get it’s own citizens to willingly live under the government is not a success, no matter how many academics espouse the glories of Marxism.

And then came October 9.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

For those of us who remember the “evil empire”, today is a great day.  There are many anniversaries of atrocities :

December 7, 1941, a day that will live in infamy.

9-11.

There are, it seems fewer days when when we celebrate the victory, not simply of our forces over those of another nation, but of our way of life over the evil’s of oppression.

Today, we remember a time when America was not apologizing for being free and prosperous, but was “a city on a hill,” as Ronald Reagan used to call it.

For those who remember the fall of the wall, give this a listen, and see if it doesn’t bring tears to your eyes.  Reagan’s Brandenburg speech.

Flashback Joke

In honor of the fall of the Berlin Wall (larger post coming) I offer this joke from the early ’90’s, shortly after the failed coup in Russia :

What do Cuba and the United States have in common?

They are the only two countries with an active communist party

You Might Be In The Wyoming District If #2:

The district Evangelism Committee is the right wing of the district.

Grou Participation Part I – Addendum

Does anyone know of men to nominate for VP of synod, and reasons to do so?  It’s kind of awkward saying to my congregation, “We should nominate them because some group I’ve never met, and who doesn’t identify themsevles, told me to.”

It just doesn’t sound churchly.

Something to ponder

If the health care plan passes with a provision that no federal dollars be used for abortion, and if, as the critics say, this leads to a total nationalization of health care, then perhaps one good thing to come out of this is that no insurance (since the government will be the only insurer) will pay for abortion. Even the ELCA insurance plan isn’t that committed to pro-life issues.
Would a total lack of insurance coverage for abortion reduce the number of abortions? And if so, would that make a difference in whether you would support it or not?
Something to ponder on a Saturday evening.

Kevin Meyer : Requiascet in Pacem

I received news today that one of my old dorm-mates, Kevin Meyer, was called to glory this week.  While we  didn’t run in the same circles, we were in the same dorm together for two years.  Our dorm was such that rooms were mostly for sleeping.  The hallway was where we lived.

Kevin was “an Israelite in whom there is no guile.”  In two years of rather close living, I don’t recall ever seeing him raise his voice, or even respond to anyone in anger.  He was always ready to lend an ear, and when he asked, “Is something wrong?” he was genuinely concerned.

I only saw him one more time after after college, and this is my clearest memory of him. because I was so impressed with it.  I was a pastor in Chicago when he was on his vicarage in the same circuit.  At one of our meetings the topic was historical criticism, and he was asked by one of the pastors, and the 1VP pf the district, his views on the matter.

Vicars have no voice.  They have no opinions, other than what their supervising pastor says.  Telling a pastor from a neighboring church “you are wrong” is just not something to be done.  It is a good way to fail your vicarage.  And, aside from me, there were no other allies at that meeting on this issue.  The smart thing to do would have been to defer, evade, etc.  Kevin not only defended our Lord’s Word, he did so with a winsomeness that I have rarely seen.  When he was done, even the most vocal critics of “those seminaries and the young pastors” were considering his words in a way that made me think they might just re-evaluate their long held theological positions.   Of course, they didn’t do that, but they respected his answer, because his answer was worthy of respect.

“Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord, from henceforth, for they rest from their labors, and all their works do follow them.”

Group Participation 2

Whom would you nominate as your second choice for POTS (assuming Pr. Harrison is first), which 2 pastors would nominate for 1VP, and which 4 pastors for 2-5VP? Go.