Soon, successful baseball clubs will be battling it out to determine what clubs make the play offs and ultimately the World Series. In the National League, Arizona, Philadelphia and Milwaukee have comfortable leads in their divisions.
Over in the American League, Detroit has a comfortable lead. As always, The New York Yankees and Boston make sure the division winner is decided on the closing days of the season. Surprisingly, in the AL West, the Texas Rangers and the LA Angles are still neck and neck.
The sports pages of the major media will follow these teams well into October. Little will be said about those teams dwelling in the cellar of their division. San Diego, Washington, Florida, Chicago (Cubs), Houston, Baltimore, Minnesota and Kansas City all are 20 to 30 games out of the division lead.
If we could listen to the local sports radio station in these eight cities, I am sure we would hear 8 of 10 callers demand that the general manager and the manager be replaced. In many cases, there will be recommendations that many of the union members earning excessive wages be replaced.
Today, the LA Times reported that more than 75% of California voters were unhappy with the direction the country is going, BUT (big but) most would continue to vote for the same party they have in office. As Albert Einstein once said, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”
Remember the story about the scorpion who promised the frog he would not sting if the frog would carry him across the river? Half way across the river, the scorpion stung the frog. As the frog was dying he asked the scorpion “why”? The scorpion answered, “because it is my nature!”
The question: are unions, environmental activists, minorities and liberals as well as other idealistic groups willing to sacrifice their country for the sake of their ideals? Or are they willing to compromise their ideals to find common ground with the values of conservatives. Ideals can be compromised and individuals can still live with themselves. A persons personal values are intrinsic to life and can not be compromised with out personal damage.
Definitions:
Ideals: Existing only in the mind; imaginary. Lacking practicality or the possibility of realization.
Personal Values: is an absolute or relative ethical value, the assumption of which can be the basis for ethical action. A value system is a set of consistent values and measures.
Randy recently retired from the Army with the rank of Colonel. His military specialty was environmental science and civil affairs. Randy has completed his doctorate of management and has become involved in local politics.
I’d be willing to strike a long term deficit reduction deal with conservatives which would include 3 parts spending cuts to 1 part tax increases…let’s say repeal the Bush tax cuts, in return for equal cuts to entitlements and military spending, to achieve the 3:1 ratio. I’d achieve the SS cuts largely through raising the retirement age and I’d achieve the medicare/medicaid cuts through changing reimbursement incentives from procedures to outcomes.
P.S. Go Tigers!
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA
Paying medical expenditures based on outcomes.
So if the patient dies, the doctors get nothing?
I have heard of evidence based medicine, but not outcome based medicine.
Please elaborate.
Hi Antics:
Google: outcomes based payment
There are a number of approaches to this. It was the centerpiece of Tim Pawlenty’s health care plan. In “ObamaCare,” there is $11 billion devoted to a project to pilot this approach and obtain objective data regarding impact on both outcomes and cost.
– Larry Weisenthal/Huntington Beach, CA