Comments by jonkwilliams
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Posted on August 22 at 1:15 p.m.
Hey, folks, first of all, I'm not the one who mentioned anything at all about immigration or immigration reform or undocumented residents getting or not getting coverage under the public plan. I'm the guy who complained that single-payer isn't being discussed -- even though President Obama said not long ago that it would be the best solution if we were starting from scratch. Sadly, we're not even at scratch; we're deep in a hole that the current system has dug for us. So "reform" without single-payer is really just an attempt to slow the rate of descent into the for-profit health care industry's gaping maw.
And why don't people use their real names on these threads? We'd get a lot less bluster, I'm sure. Me, I'll bluster in the open and surely live to regret some of what I say, but doing so does tend to keep me grounded.
On Obama Blinks
Posted on August 21 at 10:56 a.m.
The immense body of single-payer supporters in Lois Capps' district have been very disappointed that the Democratic leadership immediately took that option "off the table," refusing to even discuss its relative merits and drawbacks.
As I've been told, advocates were informed by Representative Capps' office that there would be no "Town Hall Meetings" in Santa Barbara during the Congressional recess at which they could voice their displeasure and urge her to speak out in favor of such consideration. Evidently, when she was hit from both sides by those who said "holing up" isn't what we pay our public servants to do, she decided she would have to face the music. Does anyone know where and when the three promised events are to take place?
And don't we think a public option, if it is to happen, should be open to anyone wanting to escape insurance industry abuse and waste, not just those who "can't afford" it?
On Obama Blinks
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Posted on May 30 at 1:52 p.m.
It's interesting to me that the governor's threatened too-little-too-late cuts are almost exclusively in areas adversely affecting the less fortunate among us, tantamount to a shrunken family budget that says "Dad gets to keep enjoying his sports car, booze and cigars while Mom won't have to break a nail appointment but sorry, kids, you'll all still be wearing last year's shoes. Grew out of them? More's the pity..."
As long as corporations and fat cats fund our legislature we'll have government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich. Clean, fair, and transparent elections, funded with public money, are a must, followed by a plan to pay off the deficit with new state taxes based on well thought-out wants and desires.
1 of 1 people thought this was a good comment.
Posted on May 25 at 11:02 a.m.
I'm amazed at the number of anonymous nay-sayers this article has brought out from under the rocks. An ice rink too costly? What does it cost to maintain our beaches and harbor, including yearly dredging? What do parks and athletic courts cost us to keep sightly and safe?
Santa Barbara County, and our metro area in particular, could and should become a Mecca for those engaged in a wide range of competitive sports and physical arts, including ice activities. We're the perfect location, already a draw for those looking to spend time in pleasant and interesting surroundings. We have the hotels, motels, inns and campgrounds to support the crowds that attend sporting events as competitors, parents and fans. We have facilities at the beach, including a pool (which could be improved upon), a football, soccer and track stadium at City College, volleyball courts, and open water swimming. We have golf courses, running and bike paths, baseball fields, tennis courts, etc., all in place to support an organized effort to become "Sportsville, USA."
It's a smokeless industry that jives with our own widely held beliefs and practices on the importance ow fitness and physical fun. It could set Santa Barbara apart as "the place to go to be and see athletes in action -- as swimmers, bikers, water polo players, wind surfers, runners, jumpers, dancers and, yes, ice skater.
You want to walk on the beach, walk on the beach. But don't try to deny improved opportunities for athletic activity to those who want and are willing to work for them.
2 of 2 people thought this was a good comment.
Posted on April 25 at 4:15 p.m.
Any "side-by-side" public plan is either going to be so good it drives private plans out of business or bad enough it won't have a chance of succeeding. Which do you think we'll get if politicians taking insurance company contributions are the ones designing and funding the system? "Government can't do anything right" is a self-fulfilling prophecy when corporations are actually calling the shots.
It's time for public funding of elections and true universal single-payer health care: pooled public money and privately-delivered services.
Congratulations to intern Allison Jones for a well researched, well written story!
Posted on October 26 at 2:59 p.m.
So what are we to do when "the other side" is either too odious to invite into the discussion or refuses to participate because one seat on a panel of four is not acceptible?
The N$#s-P@#s just published a letter from someone on "the other side" of this issue whose prior appearance in print involved declaring a fear that "the Mexicans" were going to move into her neighborhood. Could we really benefit from giving voice to someone like that?
Thoughtful citizens have tried to put together an educational experience based on the successful coming together of factions that quite often disagree with one another. That a spoiled brat of a newspaper publisher along with a few of her flying monkeys could derail the effort is almost literally a crying shame.
Personally, I'd like to see some well-intentioned local with more money than sense institute "The Western States Progressive Workshops" in Santa Barbara, taking advantage of the many knowledgeable and experienced teachers, leaders and doers we already have in our community along with the attractiveness of this fair burg to activists across the country willing to travel to a place where issues, ideas and solutions are always being productively discussed.
Needless to say, such an entity wouldn't be required to include voices of regression and intolerance, though such people might well serve as the "live mine field" through which our commandos in training could crawl.
Anyway, here's to the day Santa Barbara's esteemed daily paper passes into new owners' hands. Here's to a brighter, more progressive tomorrow!
Posted on October 26 at 2:14 p.m.
Okay, I'll call you parochial but only if you'll call me sensible: Measure A will surely save tons of money that could be used for, say, much needed after school gang-prevention activities; it will nearly double the number of citizens participating in municipal elections, increasing the "democracy quotient"; and I have a hunch (call me predictable, er, predictive, uh, predicative--oh heck, just don't call me late for dinner) that Measure A will also lead to a much better informed Santa Barbara electorate--voters will have "caught the bug," so to speak, from increased media coverage of all things political, local as well as national. (And David, I tremendously enjoyed your "Iraq to Islay, abortion to Anacapa." May I add "from gay marriage to gaping holes in our unbiased daily news coverage"?)
Anyway, that's how I feel so you can call me finished.
Posted on October 26 at 11:58 a.m.
I'm e-special-ly happy to see such passionate and well thought out responses to the Indy's unbelievable take on Measure A. Hopefully a lot more of the paper's readers looked beyond the headline to see that the "staff" recommendation, all things considered, was actually "Yes on Measure A." And a big thank you to the League of Women Voters for its support!
Posted on October 8 at 3:53 p.m.
David, you forgot to mention that Measure A will cure dandruff, too.
No, seriously, voters need to get behind Measure A because it is going to save taxpayers money while significantly increasing the number of voters weighing in on local elections and ballot initiatives.
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Posted on August 28 at 9:45 a.m.
Hearing the filmmaker speak yesterday on the NPR show "Fresh Air," I started wondering whether I really wanted to see "Inglorious Basterds." In this work of fiction, Tarantino has a squadron of young Jewish American recruits literally scalping the corpses of Nazis they've assassinated, in imitation, he says, of Apache guerrilla fighters. Evidently this desecration of human bodies is shown in graphic detail. I suppose one should see a movie before judging the intent and effect of a particular device, but as the behavior is, to the best of my knowledge, completely made up and surely must be antithetical to the most basic Jewish teachings, the whole thing leaves me troubled. Has anyone seen the movie, and is the scalping completely gratuitous or does it have a redeeming payoff?
On Quentin Tarantino to Take S.B. Film Fest Prize