Pew Research Test

Pew has as short interactive quiz on current event knowledge, real basic stuff in the news.  66% of the general public people that have taken this quiz (as of 2/13/10) got more than half of the 12 questions incorrect. This has to have a large impact on how people see issues, regardless of politics.

This takes about 60-90 seconds to complete, and it's pretty interesting to see where you fall and where the rest of the public falls on these questions.

http://pewresearch.org/politicalquiz/quiz/index.php

Some context on misinformation, a brief look back

About 16 months ago, there were all sorts of claims about Obama that I think are interesting to look back on now.

For example, a big one was that Obama will not put his hand on a Bible, since he's Muslim and will only put his hand on the Qur’an. Except, of course, that he's Christian and put his hand on Lincoln's Bible when he was sworn in. But, that emotional, dramatic misinformation was held to be truth by many who were against him, and was one of the primary rumors circulating through blogs, word of mouth, television, and mass emails leading up to the election.

Another one circulating at the same time was that Obama would not say the Pledge of Allegiance or put his hand over his heart during the National Anthem. We heard that he was a "radical Muslim" who "will not recite the Pledge of Allegiance." Misleading photographs and text were mass emailed all over the place, and discussions of this stuff wound up on blogs and TV. That was wrong, too.

We heard that Obama had no birth certificate and was therefore not a US citizen and therefore could not be the President. Obama provided a copy, and the Hawaii state government confirmed his certificate. You and I need so show our birth certificate just to get a passport! Why would the CIA, FBI, and all the other government powers not have checked this out before letting anyone be the president of the US?

Then there were all the claims that Obama is/was the anti-Christ. I guess we'll just have to see on that one. Snopes has a great long list of these things that you can scan in a minute or two here.

But the most important thing to take away from all this misinformation, emotion, and drama is this: The same folks in the mainstream media that were happy to puff up these lies leading right up to the election are the same folks that you'll hear today going on about death panels in health care (and the long line of other ridiculous claims about health care reform circulating out there) and many other claims. However, considering that most everything said previously has been proven false, I'd recommend looking at multiple, varied sources before taking something hook, line and sinker. And look at the source. Is someone who said that Obama wouldn't put his hand on a Bible the same one telling you that the new health care plan will kill old people? If so, you may want to find a new source of information so you can make informed decisions as a responsible citizen of the greatest democracy in the world.

If you don't like Obama and/or his policies that's fine, just please make sure you form your opinions based on skeptical thinking and reasoning.  It's for the good of the country.

Another Beef Recall

These seem to be cropping up every month like clockwork, sometimes every two months. This time it's from a slaughterhouse in Missouri.

For those who haven't seen it, put Food, Inc on your Netflix list. It's not gruesome or PETA-flavored, but a business-view on food production in the States. It does show nicely how you buy chicken that's been treated with ammonia to kill all the bacteria that result from filthy meat processing plants, where production has exceeded human ability to inspect and clean the meat before it's processed.

Another book that is more gruesome, but still wonderfully vivid and eye-opening is Slaughterhouse by Gail Eisnitz. I'll have to do a longer review here but it's a great read if you want to know how the packing industry works.

Bomb One MInute; Pray the Next

I watched the trailer for Frontline's upcoming show this Tuesday, Digital Nation. In that trailer, they show a US Predator drone pilot bombing a target in either Iraq or Afghanistan from a location near his home in the US. The pilot then drives home and prays to Jesus Christ before dinner.

Now, I'm not really saying anything is right or wrong in that. But there is a pretty stark dichotomy there. Or maybe there is no dichotomy, and I'm missing something.

Here's the link to the trailer and show if interested.

Why are you so angry about Obama?

There are so many people that are rabid in their open anger (sometimes hatred), hostility, disrespect for, or whatever, of President Obama, that frankly, I've been surprised. I mean, I remember the Tea Party folks starting up in April of 2009, scarcely 4 months into his first term. GW Bush didn't even show up for his first year for the most part until Sept 11, and Cheney was having secret energy commissions and the whole bit and nobody seemed to mind at all. I didn't like that, but I didn't lose respect for Bush until his Axis of Evil lunacy.

If you're one of those people that just hate Obama or just seeing him makes you angry, I'm genuinely curious as to what your reasons are. Why do you hate him? What, specifically, has he done to make you so angry or disappointed? And, if you think of it, perhaps you could mention where you get your news and information each day as well (and be honest).

Because I'll be honest, when I hear the arguments against him, and when I hear his responses, such as this past week when he met w/Republicans in Baltimore, his answers make sense to me. They seem well thought out. Maybe I'm an idiot - it's very possible. And I know he's a politician. But I'm just not seeing anything to be so angry about. So please let me know why you're so angry.

Thanks in advance for your time and candor.

Is your waist larger than a "Japanese woman's"?

Here's the latest rumor about health care reform. Are you ready? It's a great one. Easily the best one I've heard yet.

Some women are dressing after working out at a local health club, talking to each other in the women's locker room. They begin languishing about "ObamaCare," and how, if Obama has his way, every single woman in the USA will be forced to have her waist measured. If her waist size is larger than "the average Japanese woman's" waist - then she will be denied health care.

The women friends who told me this said that even though they weren't friends with the other women, they had to say "No, that's not true." And the women said "Yes." And my friends said "No." And I guess that's as rough as things get in the ladies locker room.

But can you believe that one? That's terrific. "Now, ma'am, remember, if you can't fit through this tiny hole, then I can't help you medically in any way, under any circumstances." I'm not even sure where this stuff comes from. It sounds like something nine-year-olds would make up sitting on a street corner.

Successful, sustainable preventive medicine doesn't work that way, where you're forced to do something or meet a requirement, and if you don't, then they take away your health care. In universal systems - everyone has health care. They don't take it away. That's the whole point of having universal care. Effective preventive medicine provides monetary incentives for medical personnel to have healthier patients. It would even be possible to give, say, tax breaks to people for maintaining their health within their power to do so, like by joining the YMCA, quitting smoking, altering their diet, taking prescribed medications properly, etc.. But I'm pretty sure there's no point in measuring people's waists, and then denying X% of American women health care based on that. That would be a large percentage, like what, 70%? 80%? How would any official ever be elected or re-elected into office supporting such a plan? What would be the purpose of it? Why wouldn't someone in the market simply pick up 80% of women after they were rejected? The list of faults with this idea is very, very long.

But it does shed light on some of the folks that are worried about losing the health care they already have, at least the kind of person that would believe such a story. I guess it's lost on some people with care that if they're so worried about losing their care that they'll believe the waist line story (when their health plan is not even in jeopardy beyond their imagination), then imagine how stressful everyday life is for people that don't have any health insurance right now. Or for a person dying of cancer in an uninsured household, with bills piling up to tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I'm guessing the next argument will be, "If we cave in to Obama's health care plan, they're going to take our guns away and force our children to be socialist Muslims." I mean, that wouldn't even surprise me at this point.

When you think about health care, think about health care. Ignore politics. What do you think Americans need? Who's talking about what you think is important? Who's not talking about those things? That's what we need to be asking ourselves to encourage strong debate. There are good ideas on both sides, but emotional hysteria solves nothing.

Lazy People Looking for Free Care?

I keep hearing from people against any type of universal care (whether private, hyrbid, or government) that the people who go to clinics are just lazy people looking for a handout. "It's free!" they say, "of course they go!" But most issues you can solve by looking at yourself. I have had insurance over the years, so for me it's "free" to go too, but I only go when I need to. Why would you go wait in line all day to get rushed health care or dental work among thousands, in a tent, unless you had no other choice?

The real litmus is to hear the docs and nurses that work the free clinics speak - you know, the people on the ground doing the grunt work. They say the care they give for free in tents and stadiums is just like working in the third world, and that most of the folks they see are working and don't have care of any kind.

It's either hard for some people to imagine not having care, or they just don't care, but a great way to illustrate it is to watch the latest Bill Moyers show, called Critical Condition. Three families are highlighted. One guy in the show works two jobs for an annual total of $14k, and really illustrates the point. He works two jobs, makes $14k, and obviously cannot afford insurance. His wife gets ovarian cancer, delays treatment for fear of the bills, but ends up needing to have her ovaries removed and follow-up chemotherapy. After surgery, treatment, and medicine, the bills go up over $100k, approaching $150k in the end. How's he supposed to pay for that? How's he supposed to afford medicine and chemotherapy? This guy works hard in the USA.

Another guy has a back problem that starts off as pain but slowly hunches his back over and fuses the bones of his spine to his ligaments. He makes $45k w/3 kids and a wife. They live in a below-average apartment, and can't afford insurance. He couldn't even get a diagnosis for his hunch-back condition. Over time, and as a result of being part of this high-profile documentary, UCLA eventually agreed to do his corrective surgery for free. The surgery was worth $300k, but would have been less had he had insurance and there was early intervention. He even went to Mexico and got a quote of $40k, but even that was too much money since he had to have it all at once. All the surgeons on the show said that 50 million without coverage was a problem. Another guy that works hard, who almost died and left his wife with three kids - which, had that happened, would have been another type of financial burdon on the state, since it's unlikely that with a fourth kid on the way and no skills, that she would have been able to find work.

I ask anyone who's against health care reform to take 45 minutes and watch this show. I have real trouble seeing what could be biased about a show that depicts three hard-working American families struggle with health care issues. The reality is separte of politics. If you consider yourself an American that really cares about hard-working Americans instead of just yourself, I implore you to not only watch the show but also start thinking more objectively about this issue.