Corzine steps upand applies Band-Aid

New Jersey, at the direction of Gov. Jon Corzine, is ready to take on the president over health care.

The state is suing the federal government over new rules that would cut thousands of children off from state health-care subsidies — a move the Corzine administration rightly calls “incomprehensible.”

The program — the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP — is jointly funded by the federal and state governments and is designed to provide health care coverage to families who earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but no more than 200 percent of the federal poverty level.

States have some flexibility under the program that allows them to raise the income threshold and cover more kids — which is where the lawsuit comes in. The Bush administration wants to place limits on this expansion, either through legislation or via administative order.

But Congress in a bipartisan vote is preparing to extend the program and allow for greater flexibility at the state leve — a move the administration is threatening to veto. An override is likely, but shouldn’t be necessary. Read my Dispatches column on SCHIP from Sept. 20 to see why .

In the end, as I write here, SCHIP is just a Band-Aid and should be made redundant by a single-payer, universal health care system. That should be the goal, because it is the only way to ensure that every uninsured and underinsured American, child and adult, get a baseline of care.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.

Thoughts a day after the debacle at Shea

Hard to imagine things ending this way — a seven game lead lost as the team falls into an ugly funk, its confidence shattered and there you have it.

So what next? Willie Randolph’s head is on the chopping block, but I’d keep him (not much he could do with a broken bullpen). Omar Minaya deserves a lot of blame, too, for the bullpen, and the weird hiring of Rickey Henderson as coach.

But this was the players’ mess and the solution to it will have to come from a remodeling of the roster.

Some givens: Jose Reyes, David Wright and Carlos Beltran will be back. So will Carlos Delgado, though he has a lot to prove. The questions are Luis Castillo (depends on the price) and Moises Alou (I’d keep him, but make sure I have a good insurance policy).

That sets the infield and two outfield positions. My approach would be to use Lastings Milledge, unless he can be packaged for a top arm, Endy Chavez and Carlos Gomez to fill the rest of the at bats, along with an unknown power bat.

That means that Shawn Green is gone. Marlon Anderson and DAmion Easley? Not sure. They’re bench players and should be replaceable. I’d consider bringing Jose Valentin back, though, because he seems to have a positive influence on Reyes.

As for Paul LoDuca — I like his grit, but he is just not good enough either at the plate or behind it, nor is he the right age for the Mets to pay what it may take to keep him.

Pitching: Keep Pedro, Oliver Perez and John Maine, see what Mike Pelfrey and Philip Humber can really do, and then see what the market is for everyone else. I like Aaron Heilman, but if hca be packaged, move him.

As for Billy Wagner, I would have put him on the untouchable list but he showed his age at season’s end and his mouth may not be good for clubhouse chemistry. Read this. He maybe right about Randolph and pitching coach about the bullpen, but then the relievers have not exactly made things easy for Randolph and Peterson, either. (Randolph and Peterson were geniuses last year, when the bullpen shined — no complaints for Billy then, right?) There maybe few relievers on his level available, but he pulled this baloney on his way out of Philly, so maybe he’s part of the problem after all.

Perhaps the offseason will be more interesting than the last month of the regular season. It better be, or 2008 will be a long painful year.

(Image above is from T-Shirt Hell — click here.)

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

E-mail me by clicking here.

Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.