Hi Humans,

Don't be shy. If you want to comment on my blog entries, please do so. You don't have to be a dog to say what you think. or if you have a pet dog and want to have your dog speak for you, that's also OK. I would like to hear from you or your dog.

Chloe

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Affordable Health Care Act

Hello Mr. President,
Let me say that I think you are a great president with great visionary ideas, including the Affordable Care Act (also called Obamacare). In many instances (for example foreign policy) you have been very effective (although you need to keep a close eye on Iran) in executing your ideas. After all you did catch Bin Laden which eluded your predecessors with all their bluster. You pulled us out of the quagmire in Iraq and are in the process of getting us out of Afghanistan. You inherited an economy which your predecessor left in shambles and have slowly and painfully been pulling us out.
As for the Affordable Care Act, it's a necessary step in the evolution of health care in America which has been happening under both Democratic and Republican administrations. It would have eventually occurred with or without you, but it needed you to give it the push that has eluded past efforts. It is a brave innovation, and like all brave innovations it is susceptible to fumbling and needs some groping around to get it exactly right. Big surprise! The criticism I have for you in this particular effort is perhaps you run forward with too much enthusiasm to rally the troops and then give in when things don't quite work out. To be specific, although I don't remember whether you said it or not, there were people on the left who said that US healthcare is broken, giving the idea that it needs to be completely revamped. The fact is there certainly have been problems in the distribution of health care in the US which are very much in need of improvement. But, although there is a large minority of people with inadequate health coverage, the majority do get good health care. So when the majority who are happy with their health care think the system is going to be turned upside down, it scares them. When they hear that people are losing their existing plans, they think it's going to happen to them. You rightly need to include young healthy people in the plan and eliminate inadequate cheap plans because that is the way insurance works. You need healthy young people to pay for those who have already become sick. One never knows when one will leave the ranks of the healthy and join the ranks of the sick. Private insurance companies would like to sign up young healthy members and eliminate old sick ones. That is what Obamacare is out to fix.
So, what I am saying to you, Mr. President (and I'm sure you know it yourself), you should not have promised people that they can keep their existing health plans just because they want to, and you should not now tell people that they can keep their existing plans for another year. You should have just said we made a mistake, it won't effect most people, but for those who are affected and disappointed, sorry but it has to be. Things will eventually sort themselves out and you will have better insurance for it.
But what do I know? I'm just a dog.
Chloe

Sunday, November 17, 2013

Si Dolce e L Tormento

Hi Humans,
I know you guys have the ability to screw up our world, and have gone a long way towards doing it. But you also have done a lot of good things like creating technology that has provided benefits to us dogs as well as you humans. So maybe I shouldn't just complain. You guys also have created the arts. It's true you don't appreciate the beauty of aromas as much as we do, but you do have a better feel for the other senses. Today I want to mention a beautiful song that was written by a human named Claudio Monteverdi around 400 years ago (that's a lot of dog generations). The song is a madrigal called "Si Dolce e L Tormento". The words are of a male human lamenting over his rejection by a female human. I can feel for him. It happens in our species as well as in yours. The melody is absolutely hauntingly beautiful. It can be found on Youtube at many web addresses. I will mention just 3 of them, but there are more.
Rolando Villazon can be seen and heard singing it at Villazon
or Marco Beasley at Beasley
or for a Blues Twist on Trumpet by a Dutch group at Nachtgeluiden
So you see I'm not just a grumbling critical dog.
Chloe

Thursday, November 7, 2013

Sport Hunting

Hi Humans,
If the animals had guns and the ability to shoot back at the hunters, then hunting would be a sport.
Chloe

Gun Show Loophole

Hi Humans,
This year Democratic Senator Joe Manchin and Republican Senator Pat Toomey introduced bi-partisan legislation that would have closed the gun show loophole that allows the sale of guns at gun shows without background checks. It was defeated. It was defeated because you did not elect enough reasonable brave senators to pass it. Instead you elected enough senators who are radical pro-gun or too cowardly to oppose the gun bullies. Humans! Where are your supposed big brains? Background checks are meant to screen out crazy people from getting their hands on guns! Those are the crazy humans who have been killing their fellow humans in mass murders at shopping malls, schools, and other public places. The gun lobby does not want background checks at gun shows because they value making money over protecting lives. The gun bullies value their gun toys over the safety of their fellow citizens. Their freedom to have easy access to any kind of weapon is more important than the freedom of their fellow humans to live.
Humans, until you elect senators and representatives who are more concerned about your lives than the greed and narrow interests of the gun bullies, these mass murders will continue.
But what do I know? I'm just a dog.
Chloe

Saturday, November 2, 2013

Another Gun Toting Screwball

So now another screwball pulled out an assault rifle at LAX, killed a TSA officer, and wounded as many people as he could before the police shot him. When will you American humans stop this insanity! If guns (especially assault rifles) were not so readily available to every nut case in the USA, the murderer would not have had the assault rifle in the first case, and the brave TSA officer might still be alive. This crazy guy is a prime example of a gun toting, pseudo-patriot, government hating anarchist. When right wing pro-gun anti-government radicals spew out venomous hatred toward President Obama and the government, crazy people like this one listen. The radicals try to distance themselves from the murders, but the murders are the fruit of their venom. This will happen again and again until the American people rise up and demand sane gun laws.
But what do I know. I'm just a dog.
Chloe