Health Care, Debate and Reconciliation

Health care reform has been an ever present topic since the early days of the most recent Presidential campaign and ensuing election.  2009 was filled with rhetoric from both major political parties.  A health care reform bill appeared and there was an air of extreme urgency to pass the bill using several arbitrary deadlines, although the actual provisions of the bill would not go into effect until 2013 and 2014.  Attempts by some politicians to slow the process and bring the full bill up for debate were stonewalled.

As different pieces of the proposed Health Care Bill began to surface, the American public, sensing that something wasn't quite right, demanded public debate.  Then came the summer of heated town hall meetings.  Citizens wanted answers.  Whether or not these Town Hall meetings were successful is a topic for debate. 

Now, after the election of Scott Brown in Massachusetts, the composition of the Senate has changed and the Democrat super majority of 60 Senators is gone.  The ability for the Democrat controlled Senate to obtain the necessary 60 votes to pass a revised Health Care bill is very slim.  So, the Democrats have floated the idea of passing the bill using a parliamentary procedure called Reconciliation.  According to CNN,

Washington (CNN) -- As a major White House meeting on health care reform approaches this week Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid acknowledged Tuesday that he may use a controversial parliamentary shortcut to bypass GOP opposition and pass a bill.

The fast-track approach, known as reconciliation, would allow Democrats to pass the bill with just 51 votes, not the 60 usually required to overcome a filibuster.

To be fair, the article goes on to point out that Reconciliation has been used by both Democrat and Republican majorities in the past on several different fronts.

Sen. Harry Reid (D), Senate majority leader stated, "They should stop crying about reconciliation as if it's never been done before. It's done almost every Congress, and they're the ones that used it more than anyone else."

What I find interesting, is that the process referred to as Reconciliation today was called referred to as something completely different in 2005.  In fact, Democrats didn't have the "get over it" mentality demonstrated by Sen. Harry Reid.  Here's a compilation of different Democrats in 2005.



I guess your position in the process DOES change your perspective.

And Now For Something Different...

I am EXCITED to announce the launch of a new site for me The Beta Version!

This site has been a hodgepodge of various ideas, opinions, revelations and fun since the start.  I will continue to post here at my original blog.  Topics will range from meteorology to politics to just plain fun.

But, I'm moving ministry related posts to The Beta Version.  As I wrote in the introductory post:

...the core verse for this concept is Philippians 3:12:

¹² I do not mean that I am already as God wants me to be. I have not yet reached that goal, but I continue trying to reach it and to make it mine. Christ wants me to do that, which is the reason he made me his.

We (especially me!) are all “in Beta”.  If you’re not familiar with technology, software or hardware that is “in beta” is in a preliminary or testing phase.  It’s not complete.  Since I’m a geek (yes…geek – there’s a whole discussion on geeks vs nerds), this resonates with me.  Re-read the verse above.   Paul was writing to the Philippians and saying, “I’m not a final product yet, I’m in beta, I still have a ways to go.”
I get that!  As Christians, we are ALL “in beta” as God continues to work on us to mold us into what He has in mind.
This site will be a place where I hope we can all engage in the discussion about our beta status and what we can do to keep growing!  I will also post about my personal ministry opportunities.  2010 will be a busy year.  In addition to working in telecom software I am getting the opportunity to:

• Go to Romania on a mission trip with my dad
• Be a chaperone as my son goes to Children’s camp for the first time
• Work with other volunteers to keep growing the new GROW Middle School ministry at our church
• Grow our small church’s media/tech ministry beyond where it is now
• Engage others in discussion about this beta life!

I encourage you to jump in and share your experiences as well!  We can all learn from each other, celebrate the successes, discuss why something didn’t go quite right and pray for each other.

So, please stop by the new site (bear with the changes as I tweak the look, feel and functionality) say Hi and jump into the discussion.   Please subscribe so you don't miss a post!

Climate Change Smackdown - Bill Nye (the science guy) versus Joe Bastardi

With all of the press that Climate Change (aka Global Warming) has gotten recently, it seems you can find commentators everywhere. The recent "climate-gate" scandal and the ensuing retractions from other scientists have skeptics emboldened and supporters on defense.

Well, lo and behold, Bill O'Reilly from The O'Reilly Factor provides us with two heavy hitters on Climate Change.

In one corner we have Bill Nye The Science Guy who believes in the Climate Change theory.

In the other corner we have Joe Bastardi with Accuweather who is skeptical of Climate Change theory.

Enjoy



What do you think?