I don't always agree with Drew Westen, but he certainly has a way with words.

 

"If you just talk sensibly with Americans, they are sensible people. But ask them one-dimensional polling questions like, "Do you think illegal immigrants should get health care?" and you'll entirely miss the art of the possible."

 

read the full thing at http://www.huffingtonpost.com/drew-westen/leadership-obama-style-an_b_398813.html

 

he may be overemphasizing Obama's centrist tendencies, but its well worth it for the refreshing dose of conviction and clarity of purpose. then again, I've spent much of the day watching 40 minute intervals of twillight and alladin. So my sense of judgement may be a little off.  *^^*

my life in korea: special edition

Today, we have a very special update. I'm here to give you the dirt, the inside scoop, the real truth about what its like to live in the communist, socialist, anti-american nightmare that is....*dun dun dun*....nationalized health care.

 

It has reached my ears on these distant shores that republican obstructianism and the enormous fail that is the democratic congress have, through the considerable efforts and profound dickishness of one Joe Lieberman of Conneticut, come together to kill the public option. Heroes of heroes.

 

Gather round, friends, and let me tell of the horrors which they have saved us from.

 

The other day I went to the hospital here in Korea. (Nothing to worry about. I'm perfectly fine. Just a small cold that wouldnt go away.) I took the bus, which costs aproximately 80 cents, to the closest hospital with something resembling an english clininc.

 

Even though I am an ignorant foreigner with almost no command of the language, several people kindly assisted me. On my way to see the english speaking doctor, I had to sign in at the desk and pay the cashier 7,300 won upfront. To save you some time, 7,00o won is roughly equal to $7 (USD).

Yep, thats right. I walked into a hospital for 8 dollars. I was seen within 40 minutes. It would have taken less time had I not needed someone to walk me around by the hand and translate all the forms for me.

It takes me longer than that to see my personal doctor in new york city AND it costs me at least 5 times more. But I digress.

 

Later that day, I went to the pharmacy to fill the undecipherable list of pills the doctor had ordered for me. When they realized how poor my korean is, they found the employee with the best english to explain to me what, exactly, i would be taken. (I wish immigrants-- legal and otherwise-- might recieve such curteous treatment in the united states. it speaks badly about our national character that they do not.)

 

When they rang me up, I almost laughed. 5 kinds of pills and a special gargle all came to a whopping total of 3,200 won. Which is, roughtly 3 US dollars.

 

I got all the medication I needed for less than the cost of a McDonald's Happy Meal.

 

I got to thinking, once the haze of cold medication wore off. Wouldn't it be nice if we could all go to the doctor when we needed it, without worrying more about the cost of the bill than our own health. Wouldn't it be amazing if we could all get the medicines we need? Would it really be so bad for the government to step in now and again, if it meant that we might be able to afford all the incredible drugs that this country has managed to produce?

 

And that, folks, is the real nightmare of national health care. That once we have it, we will like it. We won't ever want to give it up. Insurance companies claim they cannot compete with government health care. They also seem to claim that government  cannot provide health care effectively. Well, the truth is that they can, and I have seen it. I dare any insurance company, lobbyist, republican or "blue dog" democrat to find me healthcare so affordable. And i triple dog dare Joe Lieberman to tell me how the hell America's "superior healthcare" does any good for the large numbers of us who simply cannot afford it. I'm sure Luis Vuitton makes a superior handbag but I sure as hell can't afford one. I'll take a solid Target knock off, and be glad to have it. Healthcare for all-- it may not be glamorous or to the taste of certain CEOS, but it might just get the job done anyway. The rich, I'm sure, can still find someone to sell them their designer healthcare plans.

 

The time for a public option is here, and I have some strong words for anyone who lets it die.

true cost economics. presented by art.

BAGNewsNotes, my favorite political images blog, has a solid post up about the particular darkness of our current recession. (click here for that.)

While the related slideshow (click here) is almost unwatchable in its pathos, it is a worthwhile moment of discomfort. One wonders why declining stock prices continue to be the symbol of this extended and painful recession. A solid reminder that "loosing everything" can mean something more profound than weaker than expected annual profits. Props to John Moore at Getty for that.

I promise my next post will be more hilarious Korea anecdotes. As you can see, my mind is elsewhere at the moment...

say kimchi.

Today, I was gifted a giant tupperware of kimchi by one of my kind but generally shy coworkers.

For those of you not in the know, kimchi is a sort of very spicy cabbage. It is a dish which, along with rice, can be found at almost every meal in Korea. Its something of a staple. (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kimchi )

When I thanked her, I commented on how much she had given me. (Seriously, this thing is massive). She replied, through my english speaking co-teacher, that it was no trouble as she had made quite a lot of it.

How much kimichi did she make, you ask? Why, 200 cabbages worth. Thats right, two hundred cabbages went into her kimichi making adventure. She has a seperate refrigerator in her home just for kimichi. Apparently, this is quite common in Korea. And no, its not one of those cute mini refrigerators. I asked. Shes got a whole fridge full of kimchi at her house.

And now, I've got a little bit in mine. I've also got soju, making me basically korean now. I just hope my bagels don't start to smell like kimchi....

Oh, ROK, i love you so.

intellegentsia dot com

this week is slow at work. No classes to speak of (exam time is SO much more fun when you are the teacher) so I'm at my desk for a large portion of the day. Now, of course, I have winter camp to plan and, eventually, a whole other semester to look forward to. Still, it's been the perfect opportunity to cacth up on some reading.

 

Indulging my intense nostalgia for university days, I finally finished Tony Judt's lecture-cum-essay, What is Living and What is Dead in Social Democracy. Read the whole thing at: <a href="http://www.nybooks.com/articles/23519"> </a> A lecture given at my dear alma mater no less. (Omg, am I really old enough to have an alma matter already? shit.)

 

Anyway its quite interesting and, despite the academic-y sounding title, quite accessible. Plus, he covers many of my favorite topics: economics, cost benefit analysis, the welfare state, ethics, sociology, and cognative dissonance. No really, i was excited about that. :/

 

Anyway, I liked the article its worth a read if you've got some free time. However I completely disagreed with his conclusion. Judt, after drawing on both recent and not-so-recent history to assess the present moment, winds up calling for a social democracy of fear. I'm not sure whether this is an unfortunate misnomer or if it points to a deeper problem with his conclusions, but either way if fear is the future of social democracy I politely decline. I'm not sure that a social democracy of fear is better than any other system that relies on fear for its perpetuation, and I say this as someone much enamoured of social democracy. If fear is the only thing social democracy has left to recommend itself, I'd say we're better off going without.

 

Fortunately, I do not believe this to be the case. Judt comes much closer to the mark, in my humble opinion, when he points out that the left needs to be much more assertive in speaking of past gains. I think reestablishing a narrative, and an economic analysis, that is mindful of the contributions of social democracy and which includes a real awareness of its contributions to our collective wellbeing, is an importaint step to restoring some sanity to contemporary politics.

 

And sanity is something our political system desperately needs more of.

politics of the visual

a little belated, but check out the posters surrounding the recent Swiss Minaret Ban vote.

not subtle, but it gets the point across.

This would be the Vote No's poster (No on the ban, that is. Much like prop 8, the no/yes allocation is somewhat confusing.)

The slogan on the poster reads, "The sky above Switzerland is big enough. No to intolerance. No to the minaret-banning initiative."



(found these via BAGnews Notes)

I love when the NYT validates my life choices.

"Over time, education has been the single greatest force to stabilize societies. It’s no magic bullet, but it reduces birth rates, raises living standards and subdues civil conflict and terrorism."

-Nick Kristoff
( read the full article here.)

Feeling pretty good about my job this week. Feeling even better about my upcoming paid vacation from said job. *^^*