In A Word: Quick Fix
Gerald Eisman
April 25, 2006
Quick Fix
Quick Fix; The process of doing a temporary repair on a particular damage until a more thorough and permanent corrective measure may be affected.
The tendency of the current administration is to resort to the ?quick fix? in every situation that requires political damage control or any other control for that matter. Take, for example, the most recent problem faced by George W. and his administration. Facing poll numbers that show the extent to which the American public has lost confidence in the governance of our country, his quick fix is the changing of the faces and names that will be seen and heard for the balance of his tenure as president.
The major question is, exactly what are the plans for and intentions of the changes? What does the president expect or intend to accomplish for the balance of his tenure in the White House? Is it his intention to seek ways to correct the damages done to the country or offer more of the same through the mouths of new talking heads?
First, there is the problem of Iraq. Exactly what can the new cadre of representatives do or say to mitigate the situation? No linguistic spin can change the deceit that involved us in a thankless, costly, and unnecessary conflict with a fifth-rate country run by a demonic dictator. How can the fact that there was no threat to America necessitating war be explained away? We the people have heard all the old explanations and realize how hollow they ring now that all the facts are available to see, hear, and digest. Only hard-core die-hards believe otherwise any longer. What means will the new representatives suggest for getting our troops out of Iraq while eliminating the continually growing financial burden the war has put on our national debt?
Then there?s the problem of our budget deficit. It is the largest in the nation?s history; greatly increased in five years due to mismanagement by a president and congress that has about as much financial acumen as a boulder. Unfortunately, they exhibit an extreme lack of concern to match. The skyrocketing budget concerns threaten the very foundations of our economy as well as placing a virtually insurmountable burden on future generations. How will the ?talking heads? explain the causes of the financial fiasco but, more importantly, what long term repairs will they suggest, considering their dearth of economic acumen. How will they develop knowledge of the economy and what will they suggest we do to gain back the lost revenues created by foolish tax breaks
Of course we must consider the most recent accomplishment of the administration, the aftermath of Katrina. What excuse will the new crop of administration lackeys come up with to explain the mismanagement of the logistics and monetary distributions following the greatest natural disaster in our nation?s history? What price will they place on the loss and cost in human suffering?
When the questions of loss of freedoms arise, how can anyone ignore the Patriot Act and its assault on the constitution of the United States? Can anyone logically explain how the man elected to protect our way of life and system of laws acts as if he is personally above that law and openly flaunts his violations? Our country was founded on the premise of being law abiding, guided by a document called the Constitution which included a system of checks and balances. That constitution was written for every citizen of the country and each man, woman, and child was held to be equally responsible for their deportment under the law. How will the new breed of Republican spin-meisters explain their leader?s behavior?
What quick fix will repair the loss of social services that have occurred since this administration has taken office? In the last five years, more than a million more citizens have lost their health insurance upping the total number of uninsured to over 45 million. The Medicare system, constantly growing weaker, has been altered by the addition of a prescription drug benefit that will accomplish two very significant changes. First, it will actually increase the budget deficit by a vast amount. The figure suggested by the administration is so far under what will be the actual amount that all mention of it has disappeared.
Secondly, the only true beneficiaries of the Medicare prescription drug benefit are the Pharmaceutical industry and the Insurance companies that administer the program. How this can be considered improvement or repair of a flawed system eludes rationality.
We must also give grave consideration to the environment and the administration?s view of global warming, oil exploration, offshore drilling, logging in our national forests and the pollution of our air and water. We, as the most powerful and influential nation in the world, have the obligation to lead all other countries in working to preserve our precious treasures. How unfortunate that the administration practices denial of the danger and refusal to take preventative measures. How unfortunate and, how short-sighted. What quick fix will the new representatives suggest we apply in this case?
The new look of the administration representatives seems merely to be a cosmetic quick fix designed to camouflage the erroneous look of the old guard. Unless there are some sudden, drastic reversals in the thinking of those in power, the United States will continue in its decline toward being ?just another country? among the many rather than a world leader. What quick fix then could repair that?
Quick Fix; The process of doing a temporary repair on a particular damage until a more thorough and permanent corrective measure may be affected.
The tendency of the current administration is to resort to the ?quick fix? in every situation that requires political damage control or any other control for that matter. Take, for example, the most recent problem faced by George W. and his administration. Facing poll numbers that show the extent to which the American public has lost confidence in the governance of our country, his quick fix is the changing of the faces and names that will be seen and heard for the balance of his tenure as president.
The major question is, exactly what are the plans for and intentions of the changes? What does the president expect or intend to accomplish for the balance of his tenure in the White House? Is it his intention to seek ways to correct the damages done to the country or offer more of the same through the mouths of new talking heads?
First, there is the problem of Iraq. Exactly what can the new cadre of representatives do or say to mitigate the situation? No linguistic spin can change the deceit that involved us in a thankless, costly, and unnecessary conflict with a fifth-rate country run by a demonic dictator. How can the fact that there was no threat to America necessitating war be explained away? We the people have heard all the old explanations and realize how hollow they ring now that all the facts are available to see, hear, and digest. Only hard-core die-hards believe otherwise any longer. What means will the new representatives suggest for getting our troops out of Iraq while eliminating the continually growing financial burden the war has put on our national debt?
Then there?s the problem of our budget deficit. It is the largest in the nation?s history; greatly increased in five years due to mismanagement by a president and congress that has about as much financial acumen as a boulder. Unfortunately, they exhibit an extreme lack of concern to match. The skyrocketing budget concerns threaten the very foundations of our economy as well as placing a virtually insurmountable burden on future generations. How will the ?talking heads? explain the causes of the financial fiasco but, more importantly, what long term repairs will they suggest, considering their dearth of economic acumen. How will they develop knowledge of the economy and what will they suggest we do to gain back the lost revenues created by foolish tax breaks
Of course we must consider the most recent accomplishment of the administration, the aftermath of Katrina. What excuse will the new crop of administration lackeys come up with to explain the mismanagement of the logistics and monetary distributions following the greatest natural disaster in our nation?s history? What price will they place on the loss and cost in human suffering?
When the questions of loss of freedoms arise, how can anyone ignore the Patriot Act and its assault on the constitution of the United States? Can anyone logically explain how the man elected to protect our way of life and system of laws acts as if he is personally above that law and openly flaunts his violations? Our country was founded on the premise of being law abiding, guided by a document called the Constitution which included a system of checks and balances. That constitution was written for every citizen of the country and each man, woman, and child was held to be equally responsible for their deportment under the law. How will the new breed of Republican spin-meisters explain their leader?s behavior?
What quick fix will repair the loss of social services that have occurred since this administration has taken office? In the last five years, more than a million more citizens have lost their health insurance upping the total number of uninsured to over 45 million. The Medicare system, constantly growing weaker, has been altered by the addition of a prescription drug benefit that will accomplish two very significant changes. First, it will actually increase the budget deficit by a vast amount. The figure suggested by the administration is so far under what will be the actual amount that all mention of it has disappeared.
Secondly, the only true beneficiaries of the Medicare prescription drug benefit are the Pharmaceutical industry and the Insurance companies that administer the program. How this can be considered improvement or repair of a flawed system eludes rationality.
We must also give grave consideration to the environment and the administration?s view of global warming, oil exploration, offshore drilling, logging in our national forests and the pollution of our air and water. We, as the most powerful and influential nation in the world, have the obligation to lead all other countries in working to preserve our precious treasures. How unfortunate that the administration practices denial of the danger and refusal to take preventative measures. How unfortunate and, how short-sighted. What quick fix will the new representatives suggest we apply in this case?
The new look of the administration representatives seems merely to be a cosmetic quick fix designed to camouflage the erroneous look of the old guard. Unless there are some sudden, drastic reversals in the thinking of those in power, the United States will continue in its decline toward being ?just another country? among the many rather than a world leader. What quick fix then could repair that?
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