"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane."
~Martin Luther King Jr.
When I started practicing medicine most rural doctors still made house calls. We could carry most of the diagnostic
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"Where Fillmore County News Comes First"
Online Edition
Saturday, May 18th, 2013
Volume ∞ Issue ∞
- 9:27:41, May 16th 2013 - caal girl - Nice outfit on you. I loved some of the dresses but am holding my breath ... [Read More]
- 2:03:34, May 14th 2013 - - Thanks for sharing the trip with us! ... [Read More]
- 4:12:01, May 9th 2013 - Amanda Ziebell - Wow! Thanks to the Fillmore County Journal for this kind story. For a ... [Read More]
- 11:47:30, May 7th 2013 - EW - ramble.....ramble.....ramble..... ... [Read More]
- 10:25:25, May 7th 2013 - Thunder6 - Great article! I love to see the Youth of Fillmore County receiveing acco ... [Read More]
- 6:52:10, May 6th 2013 - Jason Sethre, Publisher of Fillmore County Journal & Olmsted County Journal - Maryh, ... [Read More]
- 7:29:56, May 5th 2013 - maryh - Where are OCJ's available for pickup...other than at the new office? ... [Read More]
- 2:41:47, May 3rd 2013 - Remark1976 - Mrs. Buckbee, I just looked up Senate File 796 and in it there are said p ... [Read More]
- 2:22:20, May 3rd 2013 - Remark1976 - Mrs. Buckbee, how do you come up with $1.1 billion that trout fishing bri ... [Read More]
- 9:13:07, Apr 30th 2013 - jurban - i will be the first to say that when there is a emergency mnwarn will be hel ... [Read More]
Personality and politics
Fri, Feb 2nd, 2007
Posted in Commentary
Posted in Commentary
Comments
While certainly not new news, the personal image projected by politicians is a major factor in their ability to be believed and thus elected. Many may recall the debates between John Kennedy and Richard Nixon during the 1960 presidential campaign. People who listened to the debates on the radio thought that Mr. Nixon "won" the debate, while those watching on television thought that Mr. Kennedy was the winner. Those of us who watched saw a Vice President, who had refused to wear make-up, appear to be dark and sullen, as if he needed a shave. Thus appearing less appealing than the more "clean cut" Mr. Kennedy. It also did not help the Vice President's case that he perspired greatly because of the TV lights. The damage to Mr. Nixon's candidacy was said to be significant because of his TV image or lack thereof.
Style and image are important when one candidate is matched against another. We need to feel connected to those we wish to represent us. We need to believe they understand the issues important to us. That they have the ability to take our concerns, our fears, our hopes and turn them back to us in the way they speak to us; in the way they appear to us; in their body language, in their dress, and in their attitudes. We must be comfortable with them. We want them to show us they care, to show us the way, to solve our problems, to make us feel better about ourselves. To offer us hope, to offer us solutions that are understandable, to speak to us in ways we understand in words that resonate with our own beliefs. We don't want to be talked down to; we want to be lifted up.
Image and style can carry one a long way. To paraphrase Woody Allen "80% of life is just showing up". But to be a professional "problem solver" one needs to do more than just show up. A politician must convince us that they are like us, but with one exception. That they HAVE THE ANSWERS. They must convince us that they will work on our behalf to meet our needs and to solve our problems.
We know candidates have energy, we know they have charisma. How do we know they have political substance? One might think of political substance as a philosophy based on a moral and ethical foundation demonstrated in a record of achievement and experience. It is also having the "smarts" or wisdom to make decisions that are in the best interests of us all. One who has political substance can answer our skepticism while not pandering to our prejudices. Candidates point to their accomp .....
[Read the Rest]
Style and image are important when one candidate is matched against another. We need to feel connected to those we wish to represent us. We need to believe they understand the issues important to us. That they have the ability to take our concerns, our fears, our hopes and turn them back to us in the way they speak to us; in the way they appear to us; in their body language, in their dress, and in their attitudes. We must be comfortable with them. We want them to show us they care, to show us the way, to solve our problems, to make us feel better about ourselves. To offer us hope, to offer us solutions that are understandable, to speak to us in ways we understand in words that resonate with our own beliefs. We don't want to be talked down to; we want to be lifted up.
Image and style can carry one a long way. To paraphrase Woody Allen "80% of life is just showing up". But to be a professional "problem solver" one needs to do more than just show up. A politician must convince us that they are like us, but with one exception. That they HAVE THE ANSWERS. They must convince us that they will work on our behalf to meet our needs and to solve our problems.
We know candidates have energy, we know they have charisma. How do we know they have political substance? One might think of political substance as a philosophy based on a moral and ethical foundation demonstrated in a record of achievement and experience. It is also having the "smarts" or wisdom to make decisions that are in the best interests of us all. One who has political substance can answer our skepticism while not pandering to our prejudices. Candidates point to their accomp .....
[Read the Rest]
Buggy whips, garter belts and for profit health insurance
Fri, Jan 26th, 2007
Posted in Commentary
Posted in Commentary
Comments
The Bridge to Nowhere and the politics of earmarks
Fri, Jan 19th, 2007
Posted in Commentary
Posted in Commentary
Just yesterday someone told me they thought our past US Representative Gil Gutknecht lost his seat in Congress because he forgot about constituent service.
"You mean," I said, "he quit returning peoples calls?"
"No," he sai .....
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If you think medicine is expensive now, just wait until it's free
Fri, Jan 19th, 2007
Posted in Commentary
Posted in Commentary
I see that Tim Walz is in favor of socialized medicine. Of course he says that it's really not socialized medicine, it's a single-payer system. Let's not play word games with this. It is what it is even if some aspects of it might be privatized. If
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What do we owe the environment?
Fri, Jan 12th, 2007
Posted in Commentary
Posted in Commentary
"Hey Sara, is this a real job?"
This question was posed to me as I was out recently with some students doing a winter pond study. At first, I thought that maybe the question was an unintentional insult in regard to my choice of careers.
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This question was posed to me as I was out recently with some students doing a winter pond study. At first, I thought that maybe the question was an unintentional insult in regard to my choice of careers.
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To rise high and roll onward
Fri, Jan 12th, 2007
Posted in Commentary
Posted in Commentary
Surge, they are calling it.
Insert more than 20,000 troops into Iraq, deploy them in Baghdad, take control of security, stay a short time and get the hell out.
A linguist I heard on the radio analyzed surge as being a wave o .....
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The Swamp
Fri, Dec 22nd, 2006
Posted in Commentary
Posted in Commentary
Democrat Nancy Pelosi, the House speaker to be, promised to "drain the swamp" of ethical corruption if the Democrats captured control. They did and the back tracking by the old bulls of the party has started all ready.
Here are some quotes pu .....
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Here are some quotes pu .....
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White Christmas
Fri, Dec 8th, 2006
Posted in Commentary
Posted in Commentary
The Iraq Study Group has issued its report, instilling some well-needed reality to the debate on Iraq.
The greatest accomplishment of the study group, given the political weight of its members, is truly a political one - changing the level .....
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The greatest accomplishment of the study group, given the political weight of its members, is truly a political one - changing the level .....
[Read the Rest]
Shop Fillmore First
Fri, Dec 1st, 2006
Posted in Commentary
Posted in Commentary
Twenty years ago you used to be able to buy jewelry and clothes and shoes in our small towns in Fillmore County. For the most part, you can't anymore, those specialty stores are gone. You feel fortunate if your town has a grocery store, a hardware s
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