I really don’t want to write about the healthcare bill, but I feel compelled.  Disclaimer: I don’t have anything really insightful to say about it, nor am I an expert on the intricasies of the bill.

So here’s the thing. I watched my facebook page explode with status updates in response to the bill. I have some reactionary Republicans who are not happy, but they hate everything Obama does, so whatever. What I found more interesting is the reaction of the libertarian leaning folks (and I know a lot of them). There are actually different shades of libertarians. The people you probably think of when you hear “libertarian” are the craziest, because they are the most vocal.

They’re the ones yelling about socialism, and write your reps to tell them you oppose, and Glenn Beck is one of the worst. I don’t know when he decided someone died and left him the modern day messiah of the libertarian movement, but I know my Libertarian Message Board has had more than one thread dedicated to how much we want him to go away.

My internet-stranger-friend actually sums it up much better than me:

This reform bill really doesn’t do much. Mostly it’s a mish-mash of stuff that’s of the “mildly bad idea” variety. Tax on medical devices? That’s stupid, but not going to end the world. Making it harder to deduct medical expenses from your taxes? Again, completely counter-intuitive if the ostensible agenda is lowering health care costs. Same goes for extensions of medicare – but that’s already expensive and nonsensical, I mean, why give rich old people free health care? Forcing more money from the “evil pharma” companies who have the audacity to make life-saving and life-improving drugs and only ask that you, you know, pay for them? Stupid, but not the end of the world. Most of the rest of it will make your premiums go up, but since costing you money is all Washington is good at, that shouldn’t be much of a surprise. The mandate won’t do what they say it will, and I certainly can’t find it in the ennumerated powers of the Federal Government, but it also doesn’t go into effect for several years and that’s eternity in DC. The time inconsistency problem of government might strangle it in the crib. So calm the fuck down, it isn’t the end of the world. It certainly isn’t socialism, really. And if you think this is the last straw or should be cause for violent revolution, get out of the libertarian camp and go cheer for Team Red with the rest of Glenn Beck’s mouthbreathing fans.

The underlying problem (to me) is this sets yet another precedent for the government stepping in to “fix” things. This is nothing new, of course, but it’s basically been all downhill since the New Deal. 

Whenever I say the government shouldn’t be in the business of providing healthcare, I am asked for a solution. My proposal is that we start with SEVERELY curbing the  FDA (the drug approval process is expensive and lack of access to different types of drugs is (in part) what drives up the costs of drugs). Then we eliminate the malpractice insurance industry. And we’ll go from there.

I’m not super worried about this bill in terms of “stupid things the government has done” and the pre-existing conditions bit is a good change. But I guess my issue with the healthcare as a right argument/agenda is that training someone to become a doctor is still incredibly expensive, the research and design that goes into making a new drug is incredibly expensive (and also requires a huge amount of knowledge/education), and cutting edge equipment is incredibly expensive. And in the U.S., we do tend to have (and demand) the best of all three.

In the U.S., we have the option to  demand the best. If we don’t like what one doctor says, we get a second opinion. We sue when things go wrong. We expect doctors on call when we need them and our drugs to work. We compare our system to Canada or the UK, and spout stats about being the only modern industrialized nation that doesn’t take care of it’s citizens healthcare.

But we treat medicine as a free market industry. Basic access to basic care is what it comes down to in the so-called enlightened nations, and we should have as much. But we shouldn’t pretend that it is a “right” to have unfetttered access to only the best, to demand such a high level of protection (in the form of drug regulation),  and expect not to have to compensate the source or the provider.

Edited to add: I don’t remember if I made this clear elsewhere, but I don’t think the “reform” is going to save the average person (i.e., me and you, dear readers) any money.  You’re always paying the government somehow.

Hm, I’ve blogged about the SOTU many times.

It took me two hours to get to work this morning due to the snow and people not knowing how to drive.

I think I have applied for every job in DC that I am possibly interested in, minus the government jobs, which just require an insane amount of time per application. Is it hypocritical for a libertarian to work for the federal governemnt? Possibly yes, but if I want to get to DC it may be in my self interest.

Speaking of libertarian idea(l)s, we were discussing the SOTU on The Libertarian Message Board last night. There was of course nothing surprising or new about Obama’s speech. He does not make me rageful in the ways that GWB did, but the alleged Savior of the left sure has been pretty useless. The Dems are such pussies. Anyway, my idea was I want someone to run for president on the campaign of Doing Nothing. No initiatives, no new government programs, no changes, NOTHING. Just keep the status quo and grind government action to a halt.

Of course, the logistics of the government “grinding to a halt” are a bit more complicated (but just a bit, I swear), but the theory behind stalemate is solid. People on both sides complain that lack of bi-partisanship makes it impossible to get anything done, but I’m fine with the two parties bickering their way into inaction. People on both sides also complain when their party isn’t in power in either Congress or the Presidency about the other party having an unchecked mandate. (The mandate, with which, the Dems have still been unable (unwilling) to put together a healthcare bill)

So I say we elect a bunch of underachievers with no ambition of achieving greatness. That’s where we also get in trouble. The idea that the government can give us all these wonderful things. Not only does it set you up for disappointment (which I think the Obama campaign did, for a lot of people) it makes you forget that the government shouldn’t be providing these things in the first place.  (A government big enough to give you anything, is big enough to take everything away.

I was up way too late last night, and then there was the commute from hell and I am supposed to actually be social tonight but I’m half hoping we have to postpone due to weather. Suburbia is killing my motivation.

“I cannot undertake to lay my finger on that article of the Constitution which granted a right to Congress of expending, on objects of benevolence, the money of their constituents.” James Madison

Despite the fact that “political rants” were the original intention of my blog (started over six years ago) I rarely write about the subject anymore. Therefore, you should check out the latest post at The Kyle Conspiracy about the renewal of the Patriot Act. This is an unfortunate example of the ways in which the Obama Administration is no less “evil” than a McCain (or realistically, any other) administration would have been.

Being a cynical libertarian is fun most of the time! Our pessimistic outlook is usually validated by government failure!

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Today I was at the usual study group before Interpretive Methods and we were talking about the midterm elections. Eric is quite political and was very thrilled with the results. The rest of our group is solidly Democrat, and I’m good with the House reversal because perhaps a Democratic house vs GOP-ist everything else will just lead to a government that can get less done. I maintain that because there is no coming Libertarian Revolution, the best scenario for me is a government that can’t get anything done.

(Still waiting to hear on the Senate.)

I was only half listening to the discussion, but I definitely heard “…and we’re all liberals,” said in the tone that, of course we’re all liberals, because to not be a liberal is to be the worst of all political demons. To not be a liberal is to automatically be against abortion, to be homophobic, and a number of other sins.

Lucky for me, I hadn’t even begun to shake my head before Eric pipped in with “No…”

And I interuppted with “Actually, I consider myself a conservative.”

Of course, I am a liberal in the “classic” sense of the word, but word does not invoke that connotation and therefore, I do not want to be that word.

There are 101 reasons why I do not consider myself a liberal, most of which are probably obvious for anyone who has read any of my political nonsense. I guess what bugs is the assumption that because I am a well-educated, relatively intelligent person, then I MUST be a liberal, because to be an thing else would just be silly. Add in the fact that I was raised in the Northeast by former hippies and that I’m Jewish and my political affiliation is probably even more puzzling.

(My parents don’t like that I’m a libertarian either. They think it’s a late teenager rebellion)

I am not the notoriously cynical, pessimistic, voted most sarcastic girl I was in high school here. In high school I was good about being the very vocal minority, who (sometimes condescendingly) dismissed the views of my classmates. I bitched about the ridiculousness of a system that reward stupid kids who spit back rhetoric with a high class rank. I tried to avoid getting into NHS. I was a star academic decathalete (and loved it!!!) with Cs in Chemistry, Spanish, and Math. I wasn’t a contradiction, but some might of saw me that way.

I am the token libertarian member of SYRA. If my parents knew I had joined a club with Republican in the title I think they’d cry. I speak up in class and I’m not shy about expressing my opinions if you ask, but I don’t go out of my way to make it known that I’m probably one of the more conservative people on this campus. I don’t write articles for the SkidNews, that’s bashed my club every week. Even though I can write coherent articles it just seems pointless to publish something that people will dismiss because its ‘conservative.’ I don’t know.

Maybe I’m not putting enough faith in the Skidmore community, but in the past year and a half, I’ve found that the ‘collegiate liberals’ here are barely better than Hampshire. Sure they shower more often, and don’t think money is evil, since most of them have quite a lot, but they hold similar narrow-minded views that they refuse to see past. And I don’t understand. College is, ideally, supposed to challenge you, and challenge you’re perceptions of the world. Skidmore doesn’t do that. Most students enter Skidmore as relatively liberal, and take Liberal Studies which is supposed to teach you to think about things the way you never did before, but really just confirms all the comfortable ideas most people already have. It’s approach is normative and no conclusions are drawn. The class would have been controversial in my upper middle class white high school, filled with kids whose parents “Vote for Reagan” signs on their lawns had scared my hippie mother when we first moved to the area. At Skidmore, it just seems to enforce what almost everyone already believes. It doesn’t challenge any assumptions.

Again, maybe I’m just being cynical, but its been a long time since I felt this disillusioned. At Hampshire I found crazy hippies somewhere to the left of communist who spouted endless ridiculous rhetoric and discounted my view because I’m white and straight. At Skidmore I’ve found classes full of people who don’t do their reading, liberals who think the views they acquired freshman year will guide them through the rest of their lives, and a community that is rather intolerant of views that do not fit into its touchy-feely liberal scheme. You’ll certainly never find “The Closing of the American Mind” in LS1 or read a Phyllis Schafly article in Women Studies 101. If the general population doesn’t agree with it, it isn’t discussed. So many viewpoints, so many ideas are discounted, and even ignored. In high school, the focus was narrow and I was under the impression that that changed in college. I was wrong.

I’ve changed since graduating high school, I’m still dramatic, but more quiet – a product of barely uttering a word my entire tenure at Hampshire. I’m less cynical, less bitter, and less angry, because I am more content with my surroundings (sometimes) and my life. I’m not as notorious. I’m somewhat alienated from a good part of campus life, and getting here a year late didn’t help that. I’m not unhappy with that. I like “my” version of college life, even though its often atypical. I love the government department and talking to my professors and getting obsessed with my reading.

But I don’t like being attacked in the paper in a baseless article. I don’t like being in class and having everyone in the room gang up on me, and rudely tell me I’m wrong without even letting me finish my sentence. I don’t expect people to agree with me, in fact, I’m perfectly willing to engage anyone who disagrees with me. I’m not afraid to defend what I believe. I am, however, insulted by the fact that liberals here are so threatened by conservative views that they have to result to anti-SYRA propaganda. I find it appauling that if I try to express myself before Senate I’m accused of breaking the honor code because my opinion is apparently aligned with ‘not upholding the integrity of Skidmore College.’ I find it depressing when people raise completely irrational ideas in class that have no basis in reality and are applauded for their compassionate liberal thinking. And sometimes, I’m lonely, because all I want to do is have a beer and argue about books and politics and ideas, and that’s when I really miss my o-town friends.

Skidmore is not what I expected it to be. I knew it was liberal (and that fits with a lot of my views, actually). I knew it was a mix of hippies and rich kids. I didn’t know they’d lie to me like this. I was promised a challenge and what I’ve gotten is a place where I can whip out a 10 page paper 2 days before and get an A, when Ms Roeser would have just shook her head and used the “STOP” stamp. I’m not unhappy here. College, overall, has just not been what I’ve expected. I’ve created my own form of the college experience, and I’m fine with that, most of the time. It just makes me cynical sometimes. I am, after all, “the cynical one” of the LTTC.

I want beer and good conversation and I want college liberals to stop being so afraid of the views that they try to so hard to counter.
But I’ll take 2 out of 3 (but don’t be sad cause 2 out of 3 ain’t bad)

I have quite a lot to say about the local election and the drama surrounding it, but I’m also sick of talking about it, sick of hearing about it, and sick of stressing out about it.

The Whiny Martyr Liberals are still whining about the injustice of it all…these people, of course, have no idea what real injustice is.

Not like I do, I’m as white and privledged as the rest of them, but at least I don’t cry when someone makes me sign a paper saying I won’t break the law.

Me: at the lecture today the guy referred to bush as “shifty” which i thought was a good description

Brent: it is, he’s like a crafty ape

Me: well he was talking about how we’ve lost whatever credibility we might have had, because we should have started doing something about regaining stablity in the region as soon as bush declared major combat over, but bush keeps changing the direction of the mission

and he wants to do things so it works out around election time, which is impossible

Brent: those crazy bush planners… what won’t they do!

Me: you can’t bring democracy to a country thats ethnically and religiously fragmented, and has never had democracy and has no gov’t structure in 8 months, which is what they want to do

Brent: what they’ll end up with is a weak democracy that falls apart quickly

Me: well look at afghanistan. We set up government there quickly, it was real successful

Brent: well no one cares about that

Me: exactly “Thats not the issue”

-i am sick to death of the California Recall. Elect Arnold, get it over with, whofucking cares
-i really, really, really, really, really, really, really hope they take away Skidmore’s voting booth
-beer is sometimes neccesary to soothe the savage beast inside your soul (or you know, at least help you deal with too much estrogen)
-the protector of fluffy bunnies club (aka the Greens, aka Progressives, aka Peace & Justice & Other Non-Violent Things (or smtg) are debating, sorry rountabling with SYRA on OCt 22 in ICC, everyone should come watch
-screw volleyball, give the hockey team money
-watch out for oranges!
-3 guys trying to sell opium (non-students) were arrested at skidmore on thursday. they also stole a lot of shit because people are too stupid to lock their doors
-gummy bears look like retarded bears, therefore, they must have been modeled after retarded bears

Examples of Skidmore’s Touchy-Feely, Everyone Is A Unique & Beautiful Snowflake, Over-the-top Anti-Dog-Eat Dog Liberalism

1) The Greens are changing their name to something equivalent to “Students for Everything that is Good and Fluffy Bunnies” Actually they’re changing their name to “Students for Peace and Justice” (or something) which makes sense because:
a) the only thing they did last year was protest the war
b) The actual Green Party is technically supposed to be a single interest party, the environment. And we already have an environment club.

2) Instead of having debates between SYRA and the Greens (the fluffy bunny club) we have to have roundtables, because debates are too scary and offensive. Plus if the table we use is actually round, then its nice, and equivalent, and non-offensive.

3) There is a new a cappella group forming for all the people who didn’t make the real a cappella groups. If you are a male, you have the chance to try out for two groups. If you are female there are THREE groups, and one of them isn’t very good in the first place. If you don’t make it into any of those groups, there is a reason. Plus, the posters for the group are all like “Feeling Rejected, etc etc.” Well, they are not just feeling rejected they WERE rejected. For a reason.

4) There is a radio show for the discussion of political issues. It is called “The Liberal Democratic Cause”

5) The Greens are whining about the town of Saratoga Springs taking away “our” voting booth. Never mind the fact that there are not voting booths in hospitals, nursing homes, etc. Apparently, voting is not that important to them, or to anyone on Skidmore campus who is “convinced” to vote here because they can’t go downtown to do so. Because to get downtown they’d either have to a) drive, and we know the greens think cars are evil or something. b) walk, and that’s hard, because the greens like to go barefoot (including this girl in my feminist political thought class who puts her bare, dirty feet on the table right next to me)

6) Our new motto for admissions material is “Creative Thought Matters” ie, everyone is a unique and beautiful snowflake, and with the amount of money we paid some PR people, this new slogan cost tens of thousands of dollars a word.

7) LS curriculum has been changed, in part, because people weren’t doing well enough, because they apparently can’t write simple 5 page papers

8. We’re cutting men’s hockey, which will cause freshman and sophomore guys to transfer out, and giving money to girls sports, even though we are already in Title 9 Compliance. And the money is going to the volleyball team (we have a volleyball team?????) and increasing Yoga classes.

So I’m quitting my job. After working 35 hours last week I was completely burned out, and couldn’t even concentrate on writing a paper that desperately needed to get written. There’s something unappealing about randomly crying over nothing because I’m so stressed, not eating properly and being tired all the time. Plus my job was making me increasingly bitchy and intolerable as a human (as if I’m not bad enough already)

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Hm. The espresso fumes have gotten to my brain and I have nothing to say about anything
Doing all this cafe/school stuff is turning me into an uber bitch, and a confused one at that. What day is it, where’d I put my keys, etc.

I’m going to attempt to quit my job due to the unhealthiness of it all. I’m also cheating on my live journals are whatstheword right now, but thats okay, because I also cheated on the away message rules. Hm. How incoherent.

Goal: Do less stuff next week.

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I haven’t updated in forever, because I’m insanely busy. 20 credits + 23 hours of B&N cafe slave + SYRA/VOX + tons of homework = insane Rachel.
Anyway

In general, I don’t support the war the way many of the people in SYRA do. However, I do recognize the arguments on that side of the issue, and see more valid claims for war then I did 6 months ago. I still think Bush is a fucking idiot, and I still think it is ridiculous that America has the right to go into other countries and tell them they cannot have weapons that we ourselves possess.

However, I do recognize that Saddam Hussein is not the nicest guy in the world, and while I don’t think it’s our job to play world policeman, the Iraqi people were/are suffering under Hussein. There’s tons of human rights violations reports and the things he has done are Hitler-esque (though on a smaller scale) in nature.

That being said, I do semi-understand why there are some good reasons for war, even though I do not trust the motivations of the administration.

So anyway, SYRA has been trying to organize a debate against the Greens FOREVER. We finally get a consensus on a date, and the Greens tell us they need MORE TIME TO PREPARE. (The debate by the way, is on the validity/just-ness of the war). I understand that for a debate, you want to have key facts and points prepared so you don’t lose your ground while debating. On an issue like this, however, especially one which the Greens are so adament about, you should know your position and why you feel that way… Because otherwise, why have these people been going to protests and going on strike if they don’t know why they are anti war? That was really frustrating, that and the fact that they burst into our meeting and demanded an extra week of preperation…

What also bothers me is people who don’t support the troops and who also “don’t support the actions of the troops.” First of all, the actions taken by the troops are what they have taken an oath to do. They are fighting so you don’t have to…In some ways, I’d really like to see the mandatory military service bill that was recently proposed get passed (even though as a Libertarian I have many issues with it on principle), just because it would force all these hypocritcal peaceniks to serve. .=

Last time I checked “The Star-Spangled Banner” wasn’t a political song. College stations around the country were asked to play the national anthem in honor of the song’s anniversary– it wasn’t meant to be a pro-war or anti-war declaration. Skidmore students, however, like to claim that this “decision” was handed down by “Republican lawmakers” and was therefore invalid. First of all, no ‘lawmaker’ handed down a ‘decision.’ It was a request, not an order. The head of WSPN radio would not allow it, claiming it would offend people.

Apprently, the Star Spangled Banner is offensive to liberals now. And because they’re the majority on campus, they get to decide the programming of every radio show. Nice.

A member of SYRA wrote an article for the SkidNews annoucing the creation of a new club. The article included times/dates of meetings, events planned, and the purpose of the club. The article was rejected on the claim that it was bias and a ‘conflict of interests’ because the writer was both a member of SYRA and a writer for SkidNews. Nevermind the fact that the SkidNews has published politically minded articles written by Greens. Why was that not a conflict of interests?
Every pro-war/support our troops/freedom for Iraq sign has been torn down soon after its been put up. This is supported, because there is the claim that the posters/signs were ‘offensive’ and that the people tearing them down were doing what was ‘right’.

It’s nice to know they support censorship and find it moral.

I am very pleased that today’s “peaceful events” at Skidmore were not widely attended, with the exception of the panel discussion which was not held during class time. Yay for education.

It’s also very unsurprising that the Greens managed to stack their panel with 6 professors who were anti-war. So it was more of a chance for people to pat themselves on the back rather than a real discussion. I suppose when you can’t support your own arguments, anyone who doesn’t agree with you is automatically intimidating.

1) Stupid College Students

At my professors recommendation I read Allan Bloom’s The Closing of the American Mind. This put words to what I thought about most of the people I encountered when I was at Hampshire; that liberal students go to liberal colleges already knowing what they believe and encounter other equally liberal people and together they spend time explaining to each other why they agree with an already accepted point of view.

(I thought I was a liberal until I went to college)

I know I sound really self-righteous on the subject and I have a lot to learn, but I find myself getting frustrated by people for the same reasons I did in high school. A cult like mentality and an accepted canon that is the Ultimate Truth. But in high school, I opened my mouth about this and since I’ve gotten to college, I keep quiet. And now I’m anonymously writing about it on the Internet. Because I’m just so aware and all.

Anyway, moving on.

2) The Vagina Monologues

The goal of the Vagina Monolouges is to raise money to help stop violence against women. Skidmore is donating proceeds to the Rape Crisis Center. Its great that they are donating the money there, but they are helping people already affected by violence, they aren’t helping to STOP anything.

The audience of the Vagina Monologues is mostly women, because the content honestly alienates many men. Their problem, you say? Maybe so, but they aren’t seeing it, and even if they did, a ‘touching,’ pun not intended, performance of the vagina monologues isn’t going to stop a rapist. Furthermore, the Vagina Monologues are overdone, and are more a way of women to feel ‘empowered’ and ‘liberated.’ They should change their message/goal to donating money to women affected by violence. It’d as least be honest.

3) Snow, Snow Plowing, and Getting My Car Stuck

This is the most political issue of all!. Here’s why: The Albany area has recieved quite a lot of snow this year, more so then usual, even for Upstate NY. Because of this, Skidmore College has often had to hire outside help in order to clean walkways, parking lots, etc. However, the economy sucks right now, and Skidmore has a budget defecit. They really can’t afford to pay extra workers every time it snows. So, when there is only 2 inches of snow, they don’t bother cleaning the main parking lot. This is fine, you just park over the snow.

Except, over time, the snow melts a bit, gets packed down, re-freezes, etc, and basically turns into an annoying patch of ice. No problem to park over. Until it snows 14 inches and you have to dig your car out and your tire catches on the ice in just the right way so it won’t budge. That sucks. And its because Skidmore can’t afford to pay people to clean the parking lot every time it snows, because they have no money.

They have no money because the economy sucks.

The economy is a very political issue.

(And since I am a libertarian, this is the most important political issue of all, because it affects me)

QED

Ben: heh, I just flipped past CNN for a second and they described ‘a militant splinter group of anti-war demonstrators… oh the irony

Me: exactly, It’s so frustrating here. stupid greens are staging a walk out here ” yes lets show that we’re irresponsible enough to walk out of class and disrupt the day” they even admit they don’t have anything planned for the day

Ben: like Robert Byrd making a big speech against the war…that’s what the anti-war movement has on their side. The French, who are against war for oil (ironic, considering the fact that everyone likes to claim that Bush is _for_ war for oil, which also discredits the anti-war movement because it’s such a bullshit argument), Robert Byrd (a former KKK member), and a bunch of unruly phish fans

“PLEASE READ THIS
We, the Skidmore Greens and members from many other organizations on campus, are planning a day on March 5th to raise EVERYONE’S awareness on the issues that our world faces today. Events of the day are not concretely planned yet…”

A shortened annoucement of the write up in student annoucements. I wonder if the Greens know that they admitted that they
a) don’t know what their cause is
b) don’t know what they’re doing to promote their supposed cause

How typical. I don’t like to be stereotypical when it comes to politics, but there wouldn’t be stereotypes if it wasn’t true.

After a year at Hampshire, as well as knowing many Green people, I have to say the above problem is typical. Greens and other radical leftists are so concerned with vague terms with no defintions like ‘equality’ ‘oppression’ and such that they don’t have concrete views. They have slogans.