All Life Is Problem Solving

Joe Firestone’s Blog on Knowledge and Knowledge Management

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Entries from August 2009

The Cause, the Dream, and the Democratic Party

August 27th, 2009 · Comments Off on The Cause, the Dream, and the Democratic Party

This week many of us are recalling and quoting Teddy Kennedy’s words “. . . the work goes on. The cause endures. The hope still lives. And the Dream shall never die.” But, in all the focus on these words, I think Teddy’s cause is getting lost. From earlier in his speech, here are his […]

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Tags: Politics

The Moran/Dean Town Hall: A Participant’s View

August 27th, 2009 · 2 Comments

Yesterday afternoon, My wife and I, who live in Alexandria, and my daughter, who lives not far away in Arlington, drove to Reston, VA, to attend the Jim Moran/Howard Dean Town Hall. Jim’s been our Congressman since we moved to Alexandria in 1991 and Reston is familiar territory to us because we lived there for […]

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Tags: Politics

“The Dream Shall Never Die”

August 26th, 2009 · Comments Off on “The Dream Shall Never Die”

The tributes to Edward Moore Kennedy are appearing everywhere today and I do not know if I can say anything meaningful that others have not already said or will say in the next few hours, other than what Teddy meant to me.

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Tags: Politics

A Question for Jim Moran

August 25th, 2009 · Comments Off on A Question for Jim Moran

Tomorrow evening is Congressman Jim Moran’s (D-VA) Town Hall at South Lakes High School in Reston, VA. This is the only Town Hall Jim has scheduled during the current recess. Governor (and Dr.) Howard Dean will be joining Jim to answer questions, and it promises to be a very interesting meeting. During the past few […]

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Tags: Politics

Marching on Washington for Medicare for All

August 24th, 2009 · Comments Off on Marching on Washington for Medicare for All

In the past few weeks we’ve begun to see e-mails, face book groups, and other communications calling for a March on Washington to support health care reform. Yesterday, sTiVo at Firedog Lake called for one, and one facebook group is trying to get one going for September 13th. I also think that a March for […]

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Tags: Politics

Never Say Never About Medicare for All

August 23rd, 2009 · Comments Off on Never Say Never About Medicare for All

Yesterday CNN broadcast a panel discussion moderated by Anderson Cooper called “Extreme Challenges” featuring one of Washington’s most bi-partisan icons, David Gergen, among others. There were many things during the discussion that didn’t compute from where I sit. One of them was the reporting and commentary on some recent CNN poll results. Another was a […]

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Tags: Politics

Confusion Over the Public Option?

August 23rd, 2009 · Comments Off on Confusion Over the Public Option?

In President Obama’s weekly radio address yesterday he said: “Now, the source of a lot of these fears about government-run health care is confusion over what’s called the public option. This is one idea among many to provide more competition and choice, especially in the many places around the country where just one insurer thoroughly […]

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Tags: Politics

WaPo Strikes At the Public Option Again

August 20th, 2009 · 4 Comments

Today, in an editorial, WaPo continued its campaign against the public option, asserting that it must, as a practical matter, be abandoned. Here’s the heart of its argument: ”This is not a matter of ideology but of political nose-counting. The kind of comprehensive health reform that the president rightly wants — changes that would extend […]

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Tags: Politics

The Health Insurance Reform Fight: A Minimalist Proposal for Progressives

August 20th, 2009 · Comments Off on The Health Insurance Reform Fight: A Minimalist Proposal for Progressives

The strategy I outlined in my last post may not work out. There may be no HCR bill resulting from it. In that case, progressives ought to introduce a back-up plan offered just yesterday by Scarecrow at Firedog Lake, based in part on an analysis of Dean Baker’s. Scarecrow’s proposal has the following steps. First, […]

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Tags: Knowledge Management · Politics

The Health Insurance Reform Fight: A Progressive Scenario

August 19th, 2009 · Comments Off on The Health Insurance Reform Fight: A Progressive Scenario

The MSM commentators are now practically hysterical with joy. After months of giving a voice to the most ridiculous fictional stories about proposals for health care reform using the public option idea, they, along with the President’s incredibly inept messaging, have helped to move public opinion to the point where in some, though very misleading […]

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Tags: Politics