Ping Senator Kerry
Published May 01, 2003
Senator and Democratic hopeful John Kerry penned his own note for ABC's Notepad today. Since I don't have an 'in' with ABC News, I'll have to settle for responding here.
Good morning Note-readers. And thank you to ABC for sponsoring our upcoming debate in Columbia and for letting me write you this Note.
Over the next eight weeks, I will be laying out a vision for how America can make the most of the boundless opportunity ahead of us.
Why not make American [sic] stronger by reawakening our ideals of duty exciting a generation of young people to serve America?
First, they're going to have to feel that they have better odds of serving most of their tour in peacetime and ending it in one piece, at least as long as the emphasis stays on recruiting those who have been or want to be college students. Second, better fix those big holes in the veterans benefits buckets. Their pensions and health care seem to be running out the bottom.
Why not have a health care system where accessible, affordable health care for all is a right and not just a privilege?
If we can do that without ending up like our neighbors to the north, we'd probably all be delighted. We want American kids to get their shots and poor people to have their inflamed appendixes removed and the elderly to be able to get their prescriptions filled. But we also want to be able to see a doctor in a reasonable time frame, not to jump through giant hoops to get reasonable treatment, and to have access through supplemental or private pay systems to "unreasonable" health care demands, like gold teeth with pictures engraved on them, breast augmentation surgery, gender reassignment surgery, or a pair of prescription contact lens that are a funny color or look like they have vertical pupils. Why? Because we're Americans, and it's these quirky things that a lot of us look at as representing the freedoms of everyday life.
Why not have a plan to protect our national security by achieving energy independence?
Hey, what a great idea. Can we do it without drilling in Alaska, even "temporarily"? Can we look into thermal depolymerization, and see if it is a feasible option? If it is, can we create municipal enticements to get that ball rolling? If not, can we just stop playing around with the automotive industry and get serious?
- Ping Senator Kerry
- Published: May 01, 2003
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- Section: Politics
- Writer: Marla Caldwell
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Comments on this articleComments
Thanks, Eric! I don't know how smart I am -- my 10-year-old can beat me at Scrabble and backgammon -- but I didn't want to start out with too dumb of a post. :-)
That's nothing: my 3 year-old beats me at Trivial Pursuit.
You win.
You are kidding, right? If not, congratulations and my condolences.
Yes, I was kidding, but she is pretty smart.
Be careful what you wish for. She may be beating you sooner than you think. ;-)
Marla,
Good post. I especially agree with your comment, "providing them with parents who know what to do...." The operative word here is PARENTS, that's right, the plural. Here in North Carolina, 60% of African-American children are born out of wedlock and end up in a single parent home. (This is not a racist statement, it is fact, as documented by the News and Observer in Raleigh, October 2000). This puts an undue burden on the taxpayer, i.e.; I cannot, and would not, tell a young woman how to conduct her sex life, however, when she and her boyfriend bring a child into the world they cannot afford, I am forced to support that child. Is this fair? How many children is the taxpayer supposed to support? I don't have any answers but this is a subject that should be up front and have honest debate with ALL Presidential candidates. Unfortunately, all we hear are nebulous comments of "no child left behind", or "education and health care for all children".
The sad thing is, it is easier to have a child in this country than it is to get a driver's license. Call it morality, or whatever other label you want, the bottom line is I, as an individual, cannot support anymore kids from young parents. I'm tapped out by the taxes to support them!
Looking for answers,
Mark
I am an African-American child in a single parent home. It's not my mothers fault she's single either. My fatyher is the one who left. For another women. Who he had also impregnated. So maybe you shouild talk more about the fact that people aren't faithful to each other, more than the fact that they are sexually active. Because being sexually active is a fact of life. It shouldn't be but it is. So get over it.
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Nursey, are you, like, smart or something? Great post and welcome!