Leonardo Aranda's posterous

September 22, 2010

About that Don't Ask Don't Tell bullshit.

So, you trust those in the military to risk their lives in Afghanistan. Watching for IEDs and snipers. Sleep deprived and knowing that it was just yesterday that one in their unit was hit. Stress as high as the temperature. Going from bunker to armored truck to bunker. Looking for the bad guys, who look exactly like the good guys that you are trying to build relationships with...

...as long as they are straight. Or if they are not, as long as they keep their mouth closed about it. Because it would just be too much for the rest of the military to handle. TOO MUCH!

Bullshit!

That bumper sticker in your car doesn't read: Support our straight (or discreet) troops.

Filed under // DADT politics

September 16, 2010

Is America ready for a black president?

We thought we answered that one when America elected Barack Obama as the next president of the United States, right? I mean, of course it is! Barack Obama got elected!

Well, because of all what I have seen since, and because of the rise of the Tea Party, the Birthers, Sarah Palin, Glenn Beck and all the rest. I am changing my answer to: Sadly, no. We just happen to have one.

*sigh*

Filed under // politics

March 12, 2010

NY State's proposed soda tax is fair. Stop kvetching.

According to this article, NY State spends $7.6 billion a year to treat diseases caused by obesity. A 1-cent tax per ounce of sugary drinks is estimated to bring $1 billion to the state. This essentially says that the state believes that sugary drinks are responsible for about 13% of the obesity problem – I think they are responsible for much more than that – and should then pay for about 13% of the bill.

The only thing wrong with the tax is the way some people are trying to sell it. Any piece of communication that states that the intention of the bill is to curb consumption of sugary drinks and make people healthier simply deceitful. The purpose of the tax is not to force people to be healthier but to make sure that the bill to be paid by the people responsible for it. People still have the right to be as fat/unhealthy as they want, they just need to pay for the cost that these decisions represent. What is wrong with that?

Filed under // NY State politics soda tax

March 9, 2010

What happens the day after HCR is signed into law?

I've been trying to find a timeline of the things that would change once the health care reform bill is signed into law with no luck.

What I want to know is: How does the bill prevent an immediate yet temporal 'death-spiral' in the system?

If signed into law, the bill would make sure that no one could be denied of insurance for pre-existing conditions. To prevent a 'death-spiral' the law also mandates that everyone should have health insurance (and those who cannot afford it get help from the government). But, how long do people have to buy health insurance as mandated? and, what stops people with health insurance from dropping it until they must get it again? If someone is paying $1,000 a month for health insurance but is not required to have health insurance until a year after the bill gets signed into law, it would be tempting to pocket those $12,000 and get the insurance once it is mandated.

I assume that the bill takes care of this scenario, but you know what happens when you assume.

Don't get me wrong, I absolutely support the bill (only because universal health care and the public option seem very unlikely). I just would like to see a HCR Specs Sheet.

Filed under // HCR health care politics

January 27, 2010

State of the Union Haiku

The Union is sick,

burried under winter snow,

Health Care Reform died.

#StateOfTheUnionHaiku

Filed under // haiku politics

January 27, 2010

What disappoints me about Pres. Obama... [UPDATED]

...is not that he seems destined to fail in bringing together Congress to truly reform the issues that require it, call it Health Care Reform, Financial Reform, Climate Policy, etc.

What disappoints me is that he has failed to stand for the cause that allowed him to reach the presidency in the first place: Civil Rights.

Being elected president, in the minds of many, represented the culmination of a constant struggle against discrimination. It is easy to look at it that way, "Problem solved! Now let's move on." Reality is, the fight for equality continues, not only racially but religiously and sexually.

Failing to fight for, and recognize, the rights of everyone else around you is a big character flaw. One that is very telling. It states that this person considers him/herself superior to everyone else around him/her. It is embarrassing that so many people share this flaw, but the fact that President Barack Obama does too, being who he is, is also absurd and inexplicable.

I hope that one day soon he will realize that he is not the end result of this cause, but that the cause has put him there to continue the fight for equality. A fight that is far from over.

UPDATE: President Obama just delivered the State of the Union. Maybe I spoke too soon, maybe not. Actions, not words, will tell.

Filed under // Obama civil rights equality politics