Common Sense -
What's Up with That?
Oregon lawmakers, stalled in efforts to provide insurance for 117,000 children,
should take a cue from Minnesota
Everywhere you look in the Legislature these days, there's a lawmaker sporting a big blue
button that says "Cover ALL Kids This Year!"
It's a heartening sight that ought to be greeting visitors to the Oregon Legislature, but
that's sadly not the case.
The blue buttons are popping up
instead at the Minnesota State Capitol in St. Paul, where legislators are on the verge of
passing a landmark bill to provide health insurance to every child in the state.
"Health care for kids in this country is a lottery of birth," said Jim Koppel,
director of the Children's Defense Fund of Minnesota. "It's a lottery of where your
parents work and how much they make."
Minnesota leaders long ago embraced the idea that education shouldn't be a lottery, he
said. It should be universal, and now they're poised "to embrace the vision of
universal health care as well." Advocates for Oregon's uninsured children should look
to Minnesota for encouragement and inspiration. And lawmakers in Salem should look to St.
Paul for a dose of the political will that appears to be faltering in Oregon right now.
Legislation to enact Gov. Ted Kulongoski's Healthy Kids Plan got off to a fast start in
the 2007 session, only to bog down in partisan rancor over the tobacco tax increase
necessary to fund the program. Its prospects have dimmed so much that Kulongoski felt
compelled to caution legislators this month not to jeopardize the children's plan by
diverting attention to more sweeping health care reforms. The governor and all 90
lawmakers should pause, take a deep breath and look about 1,700 miles to the east to
another politically progressive state that's much like Oregon. If Minnesota can find the
resolve this year to provide health coverage for its uninsured children, Oregon should be
able to as well.
In health care, though, the two states have deep differences. The United Health Foundation
has rated Minnesota as the nation's healthiest state almost every year since the rankings
began in 1990, while Oregon has trailed in the lower tier. Only 8.4 percent of Minnesota's
population is uninsured, compared with 16 percent in Oregon. Minnesota, with a million and
a half more people than Oregon, has just 68,000 uninsured children, compared with 117,000
in Oregon.
Yet Minnesota is the state moving more assuredly toward meeting the needs of those
disadvantaged kids. In its first phase, the Children's Health Security Act will provide
state-subsidized coverage for families earning up to 300 percent of the federal poverty
guideline and set a goal for universal coverage for kids in 2010. "I really believe
this is the year we'll get this done," the bill's chief author, Rep. Paul Thissen,
said in an interview. "It's what Minnesotans want us to do, and it's the right thing
to do."
Two years ago the Minneapolis Democrat introduced the same legislation without success. It
was to be funded then with a cigarette tax increase, similar to the one now proposed in
Oregon. The new bill that's heading for approval will be supported instead by Minnesota's
already existing 2 percent excise tax on health care providers.
In Minnesota, Republicans and Democrats alike are wearing those peppy blue buttons. Oregon
legislators must capture that same bipartisan spirit and take bold action for this state's
117,000 children who lost in America's "lottery of birth."
Truth
is a Matter of Momentary Perspective wherein Facts are Observable Elements of Myth
Heaviest Element
Yet Known To Science
This article will explain a lot of
the problems each of you have had. Seems that this new element exists practically
everywhere, but because it is inert, no one recognized it until the major research
institution was given a mega-dollar government grant to determine why everything slowed
down
around governmental bodies.
The recent hurricanes and gasoline issues are proof of the existence of a new chemical
element. A major research institution has recently announced the discovery of the
heaviest element yet known to science.
The new element has been named "Governmentium." Governmentium (Gv) has one
neutron, 25 assistant neutrons, 88 deputy neutrons, and 198 assistant deputy neutrons,
giving it an atomic mass of 312.
These 312 particles are held together by forces called morons, which are surrounded by
vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons.
Since Governmentium has no electrons, it is inert. However, it can be detected,
because it impedes every reaction with which it comes into contact. A minute amount of
Governmentium can cause a reaction that would normally take less than a second, to take
over four days to complete.
Governmentium has a normal half-life of 4 years; it does not decay, but instead undergoes
a reorganization in which a portion of the assistant neutrons and deputy neutrons exchange
places.
In fact, Governmentium's mass will actually increase over time, Since each reorganization
will cause more morons to become neutrons forming isodopes.
This characteristic of moron promotion leads some scientists to believe that Governmentium
is formed whenever morons reach a critical concentration. This hypothetical quantity is
referred to as critical morass.
When catalyzed with money, Governmentium becomes Administratium, an element which radiates
just as much energy as Governmentium since it has half as many peons but twice as many
morons.
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