Page 4 November 28, 2013 TORRANCE TRIBUNE One Man’s Opinion Another Man’s Opinion By Gerry Chong Happy Thanksgiving, one and all! In the spirit of the season, The White House has a turkey on the rotisserie that is getting more and more cooked with each rotation of the spit. Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know the turkey lied about people being able to keep their health plans and doctors. When he Visit us online: www.heraldpublications.com finally conceded that he had “misled” the public, he claimed his lie only affected a “small sliver” of the public. Yet, he and his administration are on the record in 2010 acknowledging that over 50 percent of employer-provided medical plans and 50-75 percent of individual plans could be voided by Obamacare, resulting in as many as 53 million people losing their health plans. Incredibly, the lost coverage could be greater than planned enrollment under Obamacare (this turkey is stuffed and basted). The turkey then feigned ignorance about the extent of the Obamacare website problems, but last March the Administration’s consultant McKinsey and Co. had predicted many of the website’s problems. For political reasons, however, the turkey chose to proceed with an Oct. 1 program start nevertheless (he’s beginning to sweat). In mid-October, he claimed the website would be up and running by the end of November, but Henry Chao, Deputy Chief Information Officer for Medicare/Medicaid (CMS), disagreed, saying that as of Nov. 20 only 200 of the 600 problems have been corrected and new problems are being discovered daily. Chao believes that on a best case basis, the website may be operational by mid-January (the turkey spins and spins again and again). Moreover, Chao says as much as 40 percent of the operating program has not even been written yet (turn the crank and see if the turkey can make another prediction). If and when the website is completed and running, it will contain the world’s greatest collection of personal data, so HHS Secretary Sebelius was asked if personal data will be secure. She said consultant Mitre’s corporation had tested the system and raised no red flags. But Mitre says it had never been tasked with that assessment (just a brownin’ and a sweatin’). A Sept. 3 memo from Tony Trenkle of CMS said the security “threat potential and risk to the system is limitless.” He estimated a mid- 2014 to early 2015 deadline for completion, at best (this baby is COOKED!). The conclusions drawn from this debacle are obvious. No one has reason to believe the system will ever run, nor any reason to believe the government will protect their data, and finally no reason to believe the President will be truthful. It is a truism that leadership and credibility are intertwined, but today there is neither. The bottom line question of the day is therefore: Acknowledging Obamacare will drastically increase insurance premiums across the country, will you sign up for this increased monthly expense now or just wait until you need medical care before making the commitment? Simple question, simple answer. The turkey’s fate awaits your response. • Politician’s Addiction Should be Cause for Concern, Not Ridicule By Cristian Vasquez Recent news that Florida Congressman Trey Radel is addicted to cocaine has set off a storm of opinions demanding that he resign from his position. Radel, a 37-year-old Republican, announced plans to start an “intensive” inpatient treatment program right away. In addition to his treatment plans for substance abuse, the Congressman plans to donate his salary to charity while his offices would stay open. However, for an elected official who was vocal about drug-testing recipients of government aid, a leave of absence from office should not be enough for everyone to drop the issue. There are some concerns that arise from this fiasco. For one, Radel’s admission to drug addiction has to result in his removal from office. No amount of rehab, donating his salary to charities or sincere apologies are enough for him to stay in office. He has a substance abuse problem that impairs his judgment. Why should he, after so many bad decisions and after having admitted his mistake, get to keep his job? If anyone reading this column calls into work after having been arrested for buying cocaine, there is a low possibility that they will keep that job. Why should the circumstance be any different for Radel? Second, he should be doing jail time. Purchasing drugs from an undercover law enforcement officer is a crime--even in Florida. Unfortunately, I am sure that the Congressman has enough money to afford a good lawyer who will in all likelihood make sure that he does not spend a day in jail, which is absurd. While I will not get into the socioeconomic disparities of our legal system, we are reminded that politician (like celebrities) live by a different set of rules and suffer few, if any, consequences. While it is a misdemeanor charge, which usually comes with lesser penalties, it is still a crime and he has to be held accountable. Lastly, the hypocrisy behind what Radel preached and his actions should be enough to never win him a position as an elected official. Radel was a vocal supporter of drug-testing welfare recipients. In an effort to protect public funds, Radel supported asking those receiving public funds to provide a urine sample. Yet, here we have Radel, who gets paid w ith public funds, going out on cocaine shopping sprees. By the logic of what he was advocating for anyone receiving taxpayers’ money, he should be defunded. The only way to defund Radel is to remove him from office. There should be no recall. There should be no special election to remove him from office. Florida shouldn’t have to wait for the next election cycle. Radel needs to be removed from office, period. Late-night talk shows, radio personalities and people in general are cracking jokes at the expense of Radel’s addiction. Some of the jokes are cause for a good chuckle, but the situation is serious. Radel should leave office, deal with his legal issues and pull himself away from the grips of his drug addiction. Reconnecting with himself and his family is more important than staying in office--and being in office requires absolute concentration. 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