Have a safe and happy Thanksgiving. Thanks for visiting my blog. Just for fun, count the ways in which the scene in this post is politically incorrect. Where would we be if we didn't have progressives to mock? Their mindlessness, shortsightedness, perversity, bigotry, and ignorance make it a joy to get out of bed each day.
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To the Editor:
An editorial about a secretive group that has spent millions in support of Marco Rubio’s presidential bid shows the need for more disclosure of political spending (“Senator Rubio’s Stealthy Donors,” Nov. 23). Nonprofit “social welfare” groups that engage in political activity, also called dark money groups, are not required to disclose their donors.
This is unprecedented behavior from a presidential campaign, and, ironically, Mr. Rubio has criticized this problem, saying “disclosure and sunlight” are necessary to know “who’s behind the money.”
Campaign Legal Center and Democracy 21 have clearly laid out the troubling legal issues regarding this group, but the Rubio campaign has refused to respond.
Mr. Rubio should make his rhetoric meaningful in two ways. First, he should publicly call on this dark money group to disclose its contributors. Second, as a member of the Commerce Committee, he should push the Federal Communications Commission to require in-ad, on-air disclosure of donors for all political advertisements.
Democracy works only when voters know who is trying to influence our campaigns, candidates and elected officials.
CHRIS GATES
Washington
The writer is president of the Sunlight Foundation, a nonpartisan nonprofit that advocates transparency and accountability in government and politics.
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Focus III (1972).
Here.
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Here.
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If I were Hillary Clinton, I'd be petrified by the prospect of facing Ted Cruz in a general-election campaign. Read this. Key paragraph:
He [Cruz] can beat Hillary Clinton. Not just beat her, but beat her by a landslide. Mrs. Clinton isn't that smart. She looks sort of smart smart when the media toss her softballs, but in a series of one-to-one, nowhere-to-hide Presidential debates, Cruz would shred her. Cruz was the top college debater in the country. He knows how to assemble facts, stay on message, anticipate his opponent's moves and neutralize them. He's a quarter-century younger than Mrs. Clinton, smarter, sharper, and better prepared. He's also clean as a whistle in personal life and finances, while the Clintons could reasonably be understood to constitute a criminal enterprise.
If Cruz is the nominee, and I hope he is, things will be real interesting in my household.
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Memo to Republican candidates other than Donald Trump, Ted Cruz, Ben Carson, and Marco Rubio: You've had your 15 minutes. It's time to drop out of the race for the nomination. If you're vice-presidential material, you'll hear from someone in due course.
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To the Editor:
So at the end of the day, health care is no more affordable than it was before Obamacare was enacted! Why should we be surprised?
Several decades ago, in an effort to promote “wellness,” we saw an increasing trend to encourage people to visit their doctor more regularly and more often, by offering plans that covered basic health maintenance costs. State regulations demanded coverage of some services, and the Affordable Care Act only added to the list that must now be provided without cost to the user.
Insurance in the traditional sense provides coverage for the unforeseen event. In health care, that would be serious injury and catastrophic disease. What we have today is what the insurance industry refers to as “trading dollars.”
Imagine if car insurance covered all basic services to reduce the risk of future damage, like oil changes, new brakes and even periodic visits to the car wash. We would see huge increases in the cost of car insurance, although we would also see policies that are offered at low premiums but with high deductibles and high co-payments.
MICHAEL A. SMITH
Wells, Me.
The writer is a retired equity research analyst who covered the insurance industry.
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This (click to enlarge) is what passes for fall colors in North Texas, but we like it. The winters are mild. Today's 34-mile bike ride gives me 4,373.4 miles for the year, which makes it my third-best mileage year ever, in 35 years of cycling. I'm still on track to make it my second-best year. I had fun today, despite the overcast, sprinkly weather. Good music makes anything pleasant.
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Union (1991). This beautiful song was written by guitarist Trevor Rabin, who hails from South Africa.
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