Columbia and the Many Little Dwarfs

by Madeleine Kando

Once upon a time in a land far away, there lived a beautiful and wise princess. People called her ‘Columbia the beautiful’. She adopted many little dwarfs whom she loved very much. Most of these little dwarfs liked Columbia too, because they knew that she would take care of them. Being dwarfs and all, they couldn’t very well fend for themselves in the big bad world out there.

They played together nicely but dwarfs aren’t perfect, and as you might guess there was an occasional protest when it was time to do chores, eat breakfast or go to bed. They didn’t like to be individually mandated (to be told what to do). Then Columbia’s mother had to come over. The dwarfs had nicknamed her Mother Supreme and it was she who had to settle the disputes in the family. She was fair and Impartial and things usually worked out well. Read more...

The Hunger Games

By Tom Kando

My wife and I went to see The Hunger Games. The movie is both gripping and disappointing.

First, what is this new blockbuster about? Well, it describes the dystopia which our society has become in the not-too-distant future. North America now consists of a dozen districts and a Capitol. The inequities and the contrast between the opulent plutocracy at the center and the decrepit, squalid and starving outlying districts are stark. In its Roman-like games-and-circuses policy aimed at anesthetizing the masses (think Aldous Huxley’s Brave New World, here), the government randomly selects each year two young representatives from each district to participate in The Hunger Games.
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Is The Individual Mandate on the Chopping Block?

by Madeleine Kando

Today the Supreme Court is going to hear arguments on the constitutionality of the Individual Mandate, that part of the New Health Care Law that requires everyone to have some type of insurance. If you don't have insurance, you will be fined.

26 states have filed lawsuits against the Government to declare the Individual Mandate unconstitutional. They argue that 'the Commerce Clause' within the constitution, a law that allows Congress to tell the states what to do, can make them adopt the Individual Mandate. The people who are against the Health Care Bill use this as an excuse to overturn the whole law. Read more...

Obamacare is a Must

By Tom Kando

I can’t stand it any longer. I HAVE to jump into the fray about Obamacare. It’s the top of the news again, now that the Supreme Court is about to rule on its constitutionality.

The outlook for Obamacare (officially called the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, or PPACA) is bleak. For one thing, a majority of the Supremes are conservative Republicans. Also, the suits challenging the act’s constitutionality are being filed by over half of all the states.
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A Layperson’s Understanding of the Economy

by Madeleine Kando

One of the subjects I dreaded the most in school, was economics. I still let my husband balance our checkbook because it takes him only ten minutes compared to my day-long struggle to accomplish even that rudimentary task of our household finances.

Now that the subject of economics is in the forefront of politics, I feel a need to educate myself so that I understand at least the basics, when I listen to the news. Besides, there is a lot of talk about the banking system being the cause of our current fiscal problems and I want to understand how the system works. Read more...

Euthanasia in the Netherlands - Again

By Tom Kando

The other issue I have had in front of me since my arrival in the Netherlands is euthanasia: for the past few weeks, our blog has addressed this issue. It started with presidential candidate Rick Santorum's assertion that the Dutch authorities, who have legalized euthanasia, also murder several thousand elderly/sick patients every year, i.e. euthanize them without their explicit consent, without following due process.

Madeleine and I wrote essays vehemently criticizing Santorum and defending the Dutch. I called Santorum a liar and declared categorically that NOBODY is EVER euthanized against his will in the Netherlands.


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The Dutch and the US Debts: Is the Shoe on the Other Foot?

By Tom Kando

I have been in Holland for a few days. This small town of Bergen is like a little Brigadoon. It never changes. The thatched roofs, the geranium pots in the windows, the happy and well-dressed people in little cafes, everything in its place and within a few yards from each other. Tom Swinkel's First Bergen bookstore, the cheese shop, the market, the bike rental, the post office, all within two blocks from the main intersection. It's less than a mile from my mother's retirement flat to "downtown" Bergen, and I have walked it half a dozen times already to have my morning "koffie verkeerd" at the Terraza sidewalk cafe, to read my daily copy of the Herald Tribune.
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Senior Citizens Visiting Holland Beware!!

by Madeleine Kando

If you are sixty-five or older and plan to travel to The Netherlands, it is important that you read the following announcement.

It has come to our attention from a very reliable source in the Rick Santorum for President Campaign, that the Dutch Health Care System is now giving geriatric patients lethal injections, whether they are ready to die or not.

Of the Dutch senior citizens who are brave enough to seek medical treatment, ten percent will be euthanized! Unless they wear a wrist band with the words 'DO NOT EUTHANIZE ME' clearly marked in large red letters, the system will make mincemeat out of anyone sixty-five or older.

Senior citizens no longer seek medical care in The Netherlands. They opt to stay at home and rot away rather than go to these Dutch slaughter houses they call hospitals, where an army of overzealous butchers are at the ready, injection needle in hand. Read more...

The Vicious Cycle of Debt

By Tom Kando

On Feb. 13, President Obama presented his 2013 budget plan to Congress, calling for $3.8 billion in expenditures. The plan projects an increase in the federal debt of $1.3 trillion in 2012, and another increase of nearly $1 trillion in 2013.

In 2011, the total fed debt was nearly $15 trillion, or just about 100% of US GDP (which is also about $15 trillion). Currently, 7% of the federal budget (about $250 billion) is spent to finance the debt.
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An Interview with Newt Rontorumney, the 2012 Republican Presidential Candidate

By Tom Kando

By August 2012, the GOP has finally settled on its presidential flag bearer. He is Senator Newt Rontorumney. Here are a few excerpts of a conversation he conducted recently with famous TV interviewer Matt Lauer:

Lauer: “Senator Rontorumney, what do you propose to do about the millions of American homeowners who are under water? That is, people who owe more on their mortgage than their house is worth?”

Rontorumney: “Well Matt, you see, it’s all about individual responsibility. If an individual acts responsibly, he’ll be alright.”
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