Internet Identification Program…HUH?

I have a seriously hard time believing this Big Brother idea will ever see the light of day, but then I didn’t see Cougar Town becoming must see TV for my wife either…  Should that bother me?

The Washington Times is warning that the White House cybersecurity adviser and Commerce Secretary Gary Locke are drawing up President Obama’s mandate for what amounts to a national ID card for the Internet.

President Obama wants to establish passwords for every citizen to centralize your personal information. Instead of logging onto Facebook or one’s bank using separate passwords established with each individual company or web site, you will be required to use the government-issued password.

According to the Washington Times, here are the problems with what some are dubbing “ObamaNet”:

• The government will be able to track every web site you visit and every keystroke you send on your home computer.
• The government will be able to track every purchase you make and every deposit and withdrawal, and gain access to your electronic health care records.
• The government will be able to track every blog comment you make, along with every Facebook and Twitter post.
• The government will be able to create lists of your friends and acquaintances and lists of all your political affiliations, political donations, club memberships, hobbies and interests.
• It’s impossible for the government to make this system 100% secure (remember Wikileaks?), meaning criminals would need to steal only one key to unlock a vast amount of your personal and financial information.

Although the White House will tell you it is a voluntary program, the government “voluntary” programs too often end up becoming mandatory.

What’s good for me should be good for Unions…No?

OK, I admit the long version of this topic will be a microscopic version of a summary of what congress has already manufactured, but I do have an opinion.  Surprise.

The health care system in this country is broken.  No argument from any rational intelligent human being can be made to the contrary.  This is pretty much a universal truth at this point.  However, the fix that has been put in place, no, let me say it like it is.   The fix that was rammed down the throats of Americans who did not favor the fix by a large majority, and had to be passed quickly and without adequate debate so we could “see what was in the bill” (thanks Nancy), is not a good fix.  It, like most legislation it seems, is full of waste, favors, heavy handed regulation, and items that have absolutely nothing to do with health care.

Any legislation that takes 2000 plus pages to explain is not going to be a good fix for anything.

I’m a big fan of balance and simplicity.  Nature is a great provider of examples of balance and simplicity.  Human Nature, on the other hand seems to gravitate toward complexity and imbalance.  I’m not sure why that is, but it seems to be pretty commonplace especially regarding anything government related.  It’s ironic how business and industry spends countless hours and dollars trying to simplify processes and systems to improve efficacy, efficiency, and the bottom line while our government, often populated by individuals from those same business and industrial sectors, does just the opposite.

Wouldn’t common sense dictate that the simpler you make something the easier it is to grasp and understand?  I’m not trying to make the case that the health care system and laws regulating it can be overhauled in a 10 page document written at the 5th grade level (by the way that’s how we were taught to write news copy when I was a budding TV news reporter).  I understand this is a huge and complex issue, but are we to believe we don’t have the brilliant minds in this country that can dissect the problem, formulate solutions, and format a platform from which real reform can be implemented in a way that truly benefits those who this legislation is supposedly designed to protect?  Namely the 10 to 75 million (depending on who’s numbers you believe) people who are not insured, have no health care coverage, and can’t get it.

My observations force me to conclude that those behind this legislation are using it and all the hyperbole that goes with it to further an agenda of control over every aspect of our lives.

Why?

Ever listen to a music group from the 80’s, Bruce Hornsby and the Range?  Do you recall a song titled, The Way it is?  Hey, that’s just the way it is.  So go your way and leave the governing to us because we know better….

It’s about control.

Confusion creates dependency.  If I can convince you that  what I do, I do in your best interest and I understand this complex legal language better than you, then all you have to do is rely on me and not worry your little head.  I think that’s where we are with too large a segment of American society.  They think their elected representatives really have their backs.  Well, I say let their actions speak for themselves.  So far most of their actions dictate that they like complexity (gov. control) over simplicity (individual control) and that’s just the way it is…..

Don’t like my version?  That’s OK.

But let’s look at some of the news surrounding the health care law that isn’t being widely reported.  How about some compelling evidence that this fix really is a bad one, so bad in fact that those who initially pushed and shoved this 2000 page monster to the front of the line are now asking to be “exempt” from some of its requirements.

Beginning last fall (how many of you heard about this last fall?), Secretary of Health and Human Services, Kathleen Sebelius, began awarding waivers to unions and corporations that couldn’t comply with one of the law’s countless new mandates.  Huh?  Unions?  The same unions that campaigned for President Obama because of his health care plan?  Now they want out.  They’re not alone.  Some of President Obama’s most ardent supporters and closest allies — including 43 unions — were given a compliance pass for parts of the law.  So far, 222 unions and corporations have been given waivers to portions of the health care law by President Obama’s health secretary including the Service Employees International Union and McDonald’s.  To me these actions scream BAD FIX!

Here’s another take if you don’t care for mine…

Sooooo, can we opt out too?

I’m afraid the only way for you and me to opt out of this terrible fix is for Congress and the Senate to repeal it and put the pressure on the President and Democrats to start over.  This time with an open and honest debate and discussion.  Remember that transparency thing talked about during the campaign?

But don’t plan on those in power voluntarily rescinding any control.  Sorry folks but, that’s just the way it is…   Listen to a great tune.

Welcome to The Long Version

The last name is Long.  This is an Op Ed blog regarding local, national, and world events.  My thoughts on life, sports, politics, faith, family; my version of reality.  Hence, The Long Version.

I like to write.  I spent nearly 15 years practicing in the broadcast news industry.  I wrote a lot.  I also had the privilege of being the messenger.  I sat behind the anchor desk and reported the daily news from 1990 to 2005.  Did I mention I wrote a lot?

After leaving the news biz I jumped into the world of internet marketing and spent nearly 2 years traveling around the world teaching people how to take their business to the “World Wide Web” and providing them with the necessary tools to do so.  I no longer travel the globe doing training, but I am still very involved with the internet, marketing, and helping companies use web tools to enhance their businesses…and I continue to write a lot.

I’m no SEO guru.  I won’t tell you I can help you get mega traffic to your website or how to make millions online.  In fact this blog isn’t even about my professional life nor am I selling my “expertise” as a consultant. But I figured since I write a lot anyway, why not a blog?

This blog is simply a place where an average Joe like me can share his thoughts and opinions on events that effect us all. Hopefully it will be of some value, entertainment or otherwise, for those who stumble upon it and care to peruse its contents.

I will say with intended modesty that I’m good at some things, great at nothing, and always trying to get better.

As for my thoughts, opinions, musings etc…you be the judge.  If nothing else it can be a record for posterity to see what the old man was thinking about before he slapped it into print.

Whether we agree or disagree isn’t what’s important, it’s that we can find our points in common, coexist in our differences, and love each other regardless.

Peace.