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DC United fever?

I love soccer.  I played it as a kid, before I moved to California and got into water polo. 3 years ago I happened across a UEFA Champions League broadcast on ESPN2, got soccer on the brain again, and started paying attention to professional soccer.  I have come to enjoy watching soccer; the “American” sports seem to have more commercials than they do action.

What prompted this post is an article on the Soccer America website.  Hans Backe, new coach of the New York Red Bulls, is Swedish, and was required to get a work visa before entering the US.    Turns out the US consul in Stockholm is a die-hard DC United fan, and ran on about DC United for 15 minutes before issuing the visa!

I think this is awesome .. it is wonderful to hear about a passionate supporter of an MLS team abroad!  One could expect to hear about Pau Gasol getting some grief from a Celtics fan, or Dirk Nowitski having to listen to a Lakers fan.  But soccer??  Perhaps a corner is turning for MLS and US pro soccer.

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By Tomek – January 21, 2010

Health Care – My Take

ObamaCare is an abomination.  It epitomizes everything that is wrong with the Democratic party and the Washington culture. When the drafters had to choose between listening to the people (who are speaking clearly) and paying off a donor, they chose the donor without hesitation.  I hope that President Obama, Senator Reid and Representative Pelosi got the message from yesterday’s special election for the Massachusetts Senate seat made empty by the death of Ted Kennedy.  The decisive victory of Republican Scott Brown in the overwhelmingly Democrat Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a defining statement against ObamaCare.

Let’s not pretend that all is fine with our health care system, it’s not.  Costs are out of control, too many ethically challenged people get to make decisions, and far too many sick people are hung out to dry.  But ObamaCare won’t fix these problems, it will make them worse.

As a start, we need to implement the following reforms.  They will solve many of the access issues, and should slow down the cost juggernaut.

  • Make health insurance premiums a tax deduction for individuals just as they are for businesses.  This will go a long way toward making health insurance more affordable for everyone, and overnight will increase the number of people covered.  It will increase competition among the insurance companies and reward those which cover individuals.  At the same time, it will not remove the abilities of unions to negotiate for their employees or of companies to offer good health care as a fringe benefit.
  • Allow a health plan licensed for sale in one state to be sold in all states.  This will also increase competition, and will reduce the local and state “gerrymandering” around health insurance coverage.
  • Implement tort reform, including “loser pays”, limits on pain and suffering awards, limits on contingency fees, and possibly limits on punitive damages.  This will reduce legal costs, and will also reduce costs from “defensive” medicine.
  • Regulate underwriting to prevent companies from redlining sick people out of coverage.  This is hard, and will take quite a bit of tinkering to get right, but is necessary.
These alternatives include:
?     Equalizing the tax treatment of individuals and companies, so individuals are not penalized for buying insurance on their own and can decide the policies best for themselves;
?     Allowing expanded health savings accounts, to increase individual choice in health care options, including accounting for costs;
?     Introducing real competition by saying that a health plan licensed for sale in one state may be sold in all;
?     Repeal of laws that discourage doctors from becoming health care entrepreneurs, freeing them to seek more efficient ways to provide more effective care;
?     Reforming the medical liability system, driving the cost of predatory lawsuits from the system;
?     Ending state certificate-of-need rules for hospital construction and other rules that restrict competition within the health care sector.

Posted in politics.

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By Tomek – January 18, 2010

Libertarianism and Abortion

Note: I stole this idea from Mike Adams, but took it in a different direction.

Many libertarians oppose restrictions on abortion, because restricting behavior, even behavior that is noxious and immoral, is restrictive of liberty and so should be avoided.  This concept, while generally sensible, doesn’t apply well to the abortion issue.

The correct libertarian position on abortion is that it should be restricted except when the mother is at significant risk of death or significant health problems if the pregnancy continues.

Note:  This is essentially my position, but I come at it for more religious and less libertarian reasons.  However, I do take issue with the standard libertarian pro-choice position because it doesn’t make sense.

Continued…

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By Tomek – January 18, 2010

Haiti – Bring the victims here?

Hugh Hewitt has an interesting idea.

… the American forces arriving should be loading the most desperately broken people and (flown) everywhere in the U.S. for the basic treatment available in every emergency room in America.

It will cost a fortune, and it requires a suspension of our ordinary rules of ingress, but there is no way the country can deal with this except by exporting its wounded and importing massive amounts of resources.  There really isn’t a choice here, just a question of whether or not the country will do the right thing quickly.

I agree, but we need to understand something.  Those brought here will end up staying here. The American people are generous and kind-hearted.  The injured will be treated, and they will be adopted by churches, schools and the local Haitian community wherever they end up.  Most will not want to go home, and the likelihood of the Obama administration forcibly deporting a Haitian earthquake refugee is zero.

Far more likely is that they become anchors, and bring their families.  I guess I am OK with that too.

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By Tomek – January 15, 2010

Merry Christmas to All!

I wish all who read this a wonderful, blessed Christmas.

Please note .. I am wishing good things to the reader.  I am not proselytizing.   I am not disparaging those who are not Christian.  I am not intending to slight those celebrating Kwanzaa, Hannukah, Ramadan, Festivus, another occasion, or nothing at all.

When someone says “Merry Christmas” to me, they are making a personal, individual wish that I have a Merry Christmas.  That is the key .. it is personal, from the speaker, to me.  And it is an expression of good will and well-wishing.  But if they say “Happy Hannukah”, “Blessed Ramadan”, or any other seasonal greeting, they are doing the same thing.  It is an expression of good wishes from them, and I take it that way.

Whatever your holiday of choice this season, I hope that it is wonderful!

Posted in fun stuff.

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By Tomek – December 23, 2009

This is the very first post …

… on my brand new WordPress blog.

If you happen to catch hold of it and pay some attention, you will see a lot of changes over the next few months.  I will be changing themes, and adding a bunch of old content from other blogging efforts.

Hope you stick around!

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By Tomek – December 20, 2009

Fun concert …

Yesterday evening my wife and I saw Pat Benatar at the Los Angeles County Fair.  Pat Benatar is one of my wife’s favorites, second only to Sir Elton.  Benatar isn’t one of my favorites, but the tickets were a birthday gift for my wife.  But I really enjoyed it!

I like seeing shows at the LA Fair.  They don’t have an amphitheater, instead they use the grandstand of the horse track, and setup the stage immediately in front.  It was loud, and the sound was OK, but that isn’t the point.
–> Update: see a picture from our seats below.

The show was opened by Terri Nunn, the lead singer of the 80’s new wave-ish group Berlin.  It was a short set .. she sang their hits.  Good fun .. the songs took me back!

We both really enjoyed Pat Benatar.  She tries to give equal billing to her husband (and the lead guitarist) Neil Giraldo, but that isn’t reality.  She sang all of her old favorites, a few in some interesting re-mixes.  Her rendition of “Hell is for Children” was particularly haunting.  She doesn’t have quite the range she did 20 years ago, but the music is still wonderful.

I hope she comes to the fair next year, we’ll see her again!

Trivia note .. Pat Benatar is of Polish heritage, born Patricia Mae Andrzejewski.

View from our seats!

The view from our seats ..

Posted in fun stuff.

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By Tomek – September 25, 2009

Moving on …

I am no longer with Contessa Premium Foods, and am starting a freelance venture.  My goal is to develop a practice advising small businesses on how they can use technology and the internet to improve and solve their problems.

We’ll see how it goes … I will re-evaluate in 6 months.

I’ll update the post when an email and website are up.

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By Tomek – July 7, 2009