Monday, December 02, 2013

Checking In on Obamacare (The Affordable Care Act)

The Affordable Care Act has begun rolling out. The mainstream media is always good at reporting the stories that over-emphasize the sensationalism of the issues, but how accurate are the claims? How significant are the claims, really?

To the Point with Warren Olney is a great news show to turn to when you want to get away from the sensationalist media claims and get closer to the truth. The show often gives clarity and sanity to the health care reform debate. I therefore would like to link to a discussion from the show that helps to dispel some of the myths and clarify some of the real drawbacks in the new law. If you have questions or concerns regarding the ACA, this is a great place to start.

http://www.kcrw.com/news/programs/tp/tp131120is_the_sky_really_fa

Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Is Your Friend a Government Agent?

This is a long (1 hour) but incredibly interesting story. What really seems unusual and out of line to me, is that a citizen is strongarmed by the government to become an undercover agent and an informant. And, that other citizens are being surveiled, not by trained law enforcement detectives, but by a citizen who is not properly trained, could have biases and prejudices and is not accountable for his actions. All of these points become relevant as this bizarre story unfolds.

I don't usually listen to This American Life, as most of the episodes seem to be more entertainment than informational. I happened to catch this story when it came on after Weekend Edition (National Public Radio). The introduction sounded interesting and the story itself became riveting. Without a doubt, this is one of the most important stories of our time and it casts a lot of doubt on how our effectively government is waging the war on terror as well as the legality and constitutionality of how they are waging this war.

http://www.thisamericanlife.org/radio-archives/episode/471/the-convert

~R. Charan Pagan
information systems technologist, musician, writer, filmmaker
Los Angeles, CA 90017

http://www.reclaimingourbirthright.blogspot.com/