Back in the saddle

Just back from a few weeks in Canada. My, my we were so surprised to see the country dotted with long lines of folks waiting for health care. Ooops. Wait a minute, that was the nightmare I had after seeing the various town hall events here in the US. Indeed, we saw few long lines in Canada. Not even very many on the highway. Seems they know how to merge successfully.

Now the nightmare is simply that President Obama has abandoned the idea of a public option for health care. Please please tell us it's just a negotiating ploy, or a public front designed to tell the health care reform opponents to "Put up or shut up." We'll echo Daily Kos on this: if Obama and Biden backtrack on their campaign promise for health care reform including a public option, they'll be betraying the millions who voted for them last November.

Got some great comments from several Canadians about how glad they are that they have their single-payer system, not the hodge-podge crazy quilt of insurers and medical bankruptcy their American friends have to battle. We're putting together a video of some of those remarks, to be posted soon.

On another topic entirely, is it true? Tom Delay on Dancing with the Stars? He tap danced his way through Congress, used the Texas Two Step to keep out of jail -- so far. Tom Delusional is once again to be in the public eye. This guy knows more about abusing power than any man alive except maybe Dick Cheney, or Karl Rove. What ever put the idea in the producers' minds that people would enjoy seeing him gyrate on stage? We would prefer to see him squirming on Court TV defending himself in a long-delayed (pardon the pun) trial on charges of money-laundering and violating Texas campaign finance laws. In fact, we'd add a trial on charges of promoting sex-slavery in the Marianas sweatshops. And how about gerrymandering to prevent fair elections in Texas? This creep did more damage to America through his machinations in Congress than any other representative we know of. So now he hopes to resurrect his previous status - his some-time role of pundit on Fox News, NBC, etc. didn't work all that well for him - through the role of entertainer. Gag me with a spoon.

Around the corner with Michael Vick: After the 60 Minutes interview, we're still not convinced that Vick has completed a conversion. He claims to have learned his lesson, and he certainly has paid his dues (unlike the politician noted above). He says his involvement with dogfights was "disgusting". We hope he means it. A second chance seems fair enough, but we'll wait and see if he has turned the corner and cleaned up his act. Will he be first in the door for practice? Will he keep up his support for the Humane Society? Millions of NFL devotees will be watching.

Down the block: The Supreme Court has issued a stay of execution for a Georgia man convicted of killing a police officer 20 some years ago. Seems 7 of the 9 witnesses who testified against him have recanted their testimony, and he has maintained his innocence throughout serving his time on death row. Justice Stevens thinks that's enough reason for a Federal Court to take a look for new evidence, while Justice Scalia dismissed the appeal as a "fool's errand" because previous appeals have been turned down. Meantime, down the road in Houston, we have a man released after serving 23 years for kidnapping and rape. Problem was, a re-examination of evidence, DNA specifically, proves it wasn't him. Indeed, it points to two other men who are on-the-street felons, but they can't be charged because the statute of limitations has already expired. This is justice in America?

Two thoughts on these stories. 1). If we have any doubts at all, reasonable or far-fetched, about the guilt of a man sentenced to death, how can we in conscience kill him? Is there a better argument against the death penalty?

2). How can a man serve a sentence longer than the statute of limitations for that crime? That just seems grossly unfair. So if the sentence is appealed and/or we discover we were wrong, and that process takes more than 7 years, we can't look for the real guilty party and prosecute them? And the scumbags that let someone else take the fall for their crimes get to laugh their asses off?

We've traveled enough to know that bad things happen everywhere. So does injustice. So do mistakes. Like everywhere else in the world, America isn't perfect. We can improve it. We just have to face reality and admit our failings and start looking for new answers. Pretending that we're best at everything and can't be beat is a sure recipe for disaster. Good to be home.

JM