Back to Westphalian realism
by Ken Feltman, Radnor Inc.The strong do what they will and the weak suffer what they must.
- Thucydides, History of the Peloponnesian War
The Peace of Westphalia (1648) is usually cited as the end of Europe's religious wars, which began in 1517 when Martin Luther published his Ninety-Five Theses. Thousands had died and more were displaced in bloody battles waged in the name of the same Christian God. Westphalia may have put an end to Europe's religious wars, but not Europe's bitter ...
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Healthcare hostility
By Ken Feltman of Radnor Inc.
The August recess was supposed to be a time for the Obama administration and Congressional Democrats to solidify support for their version of healthcare reform. Two things went wrong.
First, the Democrats have yet to agree on a plan. So Obama is still promoting generalities and the Congressional Democrats are still attacking each others' plans. Democratic senators and representatives have watched agast as their townhall meetings turned into mosh pits, with ...
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Get some cynicism or go home
By Ken Feltman of Radnor Inc.Long-time Washington dwellers are cleaning up. They are doing their best to grab every dollar, yen, lira, won, peso, rupee, yuan, Euro, schilling or baht that the foreigners brought with them or can import. And the foreigners are happy to be fleeced. They think they are establishing a "presence" in the city that they - and their fleecers - believe is the new financial capital of the world.
Wherever you go you become entangled in camera crews, with press ID tags ...
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Healthcare: Conjuring versus leading
by Ken Feltman, Radnor Inc.Fifth of a series (to review other articles in this series, please go to Medical Insurance Reform.com.)
Whenever a new public opinion poll is completed, news reports concentrate on who is up and who is down, the horserace, the snapshot of public opinion at the time the survey was conducted. Most people do not think of polls as brief stops along the winding journey of changing opinions. But tomorrow's headlines are often hidden in the cross-tabs and footnotes. That is ...
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Getting along in a former backwater town
Washington is a perfect blend of Northern hospitality and Southern efficiency.
- John F. KennedyBy Ken Feltman, Radnor Inc.
The world has a crisis and Washington is at the center of efforts to resolve it. Naturally, people from all over are descending upon Washington to plead their case. Wherever they come from, the visitors are very American in one respect: They want Washington to do things the way they do them back home in, say, Zurich or Beijing.
Whether these seekers of advantage are ...
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Will Obama escape Chicago corruption?
Make no little plans. They have no magic to stir men's blood.
- Daniel Burnhamby Ken Feltman, Radnor Inc.
Daniel Burnham was the architect and urban planner who supervised the design and building of the Chicago World's Fair of 1893. That grand and graceful exposition set the tone for future fairs and for today's Chicago. Burnham was the architect of Chicago's lakefront parks, which stretch for miles along Lake Michigan, a public treasure imitated but not yet duplicated. His ...
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Healthcare: Generational warfare coming?
by Ken Feltman, Radnor Inc.
The law of unintended consequences pushes us ceaselessly through the years, permitting no pause for perspective.
- Richard SchickelSecond of a series.
A battle with a PPO over a referral to a specialist. Zooming cost increases at an HMO. Inexplicable denials of coverage. These common frustrations have more and more Americans ready to turn healthcare over to Uncle Sam. The healthcare providers and insurance companies are doing a poor job of satisfying the public. ...
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Healthcare Reform: A Popular model for Failure?
By Ken Feltman of Radnor Inc.A few shrewd observers of the Obama White House have reached a conclusion: We will and will not have healthcare reform. In other words, a reform bill will pass and the president will sign it with great fanfare. What will that bill look like? Either it will be watered down, passed just to allow President Obama and Democrats to check off a campaign promise but reforming little that really needs reforming - or the bill will be "rahmed" through the Congress, with ...
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