It looks like healthcare reform is about to crash on the rocks of special-interest preservation. Question: Who elected the insurance industry, the drugmakers and the AMA to Congress? More on this later.
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After a week off — another week off — I did three miles on the treadmill, staying away from the humidity and the threat of rain. Three miles in 27:18 (blecch!), while listening to Adam and the Ants, Kings of the Wild Frontier.
Rosie's a bit wiped out from hitting the doggie pool.
The dogs are going to be upset Monday when we have to go to work, after a week off. They've enjoyed having us around.
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Annie and I were watching The Dog Whisperer tonight — and so were the dogs. The show stars a dog trainer — Cesar Milan — who takes difficult cases and rehabilitates them, taking dogs that might otherwise be put down and making them into the kind of family members we all hope our dogs will be.
Our dogs, which have run of the house, do have some behavioral issues — we’ve lost a couch and numerous shoes — but they are pretty good for nine-month-old pups.
Even so, there remains much more that we could be doing — as our dog trainer has pointed out. We need to be more consistent, need to stay in control and show that we are in charge. None of this is easy, especially after long days at work. But we have to make the effort.
In any case, we noticed as we watched that we weren’t the only ones in the house fixated on what was happening on the screen. Rosie and Sophie were engrossed in the show, as well. Maybe they’ll pick up some pointers.
http://www.nj.gov/governor/news/video/jw/player-viral.swf
Much of the focus of yesterday’s corruption bust in New Jersey has been on the ugly behavior of the officials involved, the scope of the sting and the bizarre nature of some of the offenses.
But the governor said something yesterday that deserves more attention than it’s been getting. It wasn’t part of the prepared remarks; rather, it came afterward and registered little more than two paragraphs at the end of this story in The Asbury Park Press:
And he said the solution is to reduce New Jersey’s sprawling government — the state and its many authorities and commissions, 21 counties, 566 municipalities, 603 school districts, fire districts and local and county utility authorities.
“We have layers upon layers upon layers of government. And you in the press corps who follow this know how difficult is it to get to consolidation and shared services,” Corzine said. “If there were ever an example of a need to seek some element of consolidation in the efforts of how we deliver government, I think this is testimony. There are so many targets of opportunity for individuals who want to test somebody’s credibility in this state.”
This year’s gubernatorial election is being waged over Corzine’s record and the palpable sense that the state has run off the road and into a massive ditch. There has been a lot of talk about property taxes and the Republicans have talked about cutting government — without much in the way of specifics.
But the ability of this state to function efficiently and ethically is severely compromised by the shear number of government entities — about 1,400 taxing agencies. There may not be another issue as important. We know the governor thinks it’s important, though he has done very little so far to change it. We know little about where Christie stands on the issue.
My questions to the candidates are:
Their answers should be considered when everyone in the state goes into their voting booths in November.
