Hearing the Falconer #13 ~ 21-March-2019 ~ What Can We Do About the Opioid Crisis?

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world....
from The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats, 1919

The middle of the road is all of the usable surface.
The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

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21-March-2019: What can we do about the opioid crisis?
Will Drug Companies be Held Accountable for America's Opioid Epidemic?
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Important information about the opioid crisis.

This article is an interview with Barry Meier, author of Pain Killer, which is about the origins of this opioid crisis which killed 40,000 Americans in 2018 alone.

One point Meier makes is that when prosecutors settle lawsuits against the drug manufacturers this often serves to hide vital information that could help us address the crisis.

While communities are desperate for money to address the crisis political moderates will want to move cautiously to make sure the guilty people are punished and the innocent are not.

We should never punish companies for developing drugs or manufacturing drugs or selling drugs. We should punish companies for lying about drugs or hiding information about the dangers associated with drugs.

And what about the Doctors who wrongly prescribed or over prescribed these dangerous drugs? Let's not forget their responsibility either.

We need good pain medications to improve the quality of life for suffering patients. What we need to punish is just the MISUSE of these pain medications.

Pain Killer: An Empire of Deceit and the Origin of America's Opioid Epidemic

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The "Hearing the Falconer" Library

Books for Indpendent Thinkers

Moderates: The Vital Center of American Politics, from the Founding to Today

The American Political Tradition: And the Men Who Made It

Unapologetically Moderate: My Search for the Rational Center in American Politics

The Deliberate Moderate: Influencing From the Middle

Eisenhower: The White House Years

The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison

Lincoln

Reflections of a Radical Moderate

Washington: A Life

The Reluctant Republican: My Fight for the Moderate Majority

Hearing the Falconer #12 ~ 20-March-2019 ~ What is a Political Moderate?

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world....
from The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats, 1919

The middle of the road is all of the usable surface.
The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

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20-March-2019: What does it mean to be a political moderate?
What Moderation Means
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What is a moderate?

Extremists are true believers; they always know the one true answer, sometimes even before they understand the question.

Extremists always want to do the same things, always want to apply the same "solutions," always ignore the specific and unique details of actual situations.

Extremists want to avoid making hard decisions; they want simple formulas they can follow without thinking.

Moderates, on the other hand, believe that different situations call for different responses. Sometimes it might be the right thing to cut taxes, for example. At other times it might be the right thing to increase taxes.

Moderates believe there is more than one value to defend; there are many values and sometimes they conflict with each other, like the value of democracy and the value of individual freedom, for example, like the value of gun rights and the value of public safety, for example, and moderates believe ALL these values are good and they ALL have to be balanced against each other so we don't end up with ALL of one and lose ALL of another.

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The "Hearing the Falconer" Library

Books for Indpendent Thinkers

Moderates: The Vital Center of American Politics, from the Founding to Today

The American Political Tradition: And the Men Who Made It

Unapologetically Moderate: My Search for the Rational Center in American Politics

The Deliberate Moderate: Influencing From the Middle

Eisenhower: The White House Years

The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison

Lincoln

Reflections of a Radical Moderate

Washington: A Life

The Reluctant Republican: My Fight for the Moderate Majority

Hearing the Falconer #11 ~ 19-March-2019 ~ Should we lower the voting age to 16?

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world....
from The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats, 1919

The middle of the road is all of the usable surface.
The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

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19-March-2019: Should we lower the voting age to 16?
Pelosi says she backs lowering the voting age to 16
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Bad idea from the left.

The moderate position on voting age is that it should not be too high or too low.

During the Vietnam War the voting age was 21 at a time when 18-year-olds were being drafted and sent off to die. Obviously, people who are old enough to be drafted into the military should have the right to vote.

Lowering the voting age to 16 seems to be going too far in the other direction. Let's allow young people to at least reach the age of high school graduation before taking on the responsibility of voting.

The voting age is fine right where it is!

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The "Hearing the Falconer" Library

Books for Indpendent Thinkers

Moderates: The Vital Center of American Politics, from the Founding to Today

The American Political Tradition: And the Men Who Made It

Unapologetically Moderate: My Search for the Rational Center in American Politics

The Deliberate Moderate: Influencing From the Middle

Eisenhower: The White House Years

The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison

Lincoln

Reflections of a Radical Moderate

Washington: A Life

Hearing the Falconer #10 ~ 18-March-2019 ~ Should we pay reparations to victims of racism?

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world....
from The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats, 1919

The middle of the road is all of the usable surface.
The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

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18-March-2019: Should we pay reparations to victims of racism in the past?
Reparations are a political minefield for Democrats
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Interesting idea

The idea of paying reparations to individuals or groups that have suffered economic harm from various forms of injustice and discrimination is being discussed by Democratic presidential candidates.

Specifically this idea focuses on reparations for descendants of slaves.

Some liberals are likely to support reparations automatically. Some conservatives are likely to oppose reparations automatically. This article presents a moderate alternative: let's study the issue, document the problem, decide exactly what we are trying to accomplish, and THEN decide on the best course of action.

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The "Hearing the Falconer" Library

Books for Indpendent Thinkers

Moderates: The Vital Center of American Politics, from the Founding to Today

The American Political Tradition: And the Men Who Made It

Unapologetically Moderate: My Search for the Rational Center in American Politics

The Deliberate Moderate: Influencing From the Middle

Eisenhower: The White House Years

The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison

Lincoln

Reflections of a Radical Moderate

Hearing the Falconer #9 ~ 17-March-2019 ~ Is Trump's Budget Too Extreme?

Turning and turning in the widening gyre
The falcon cannot hear the falconer;
Things fall apart; the centre cannot hold;
Mere anarchy is loosed upon the world....
from The Second Coming, William Butler Yeats, 1919

The middle of the road is all of the usable surface.
The extremes, right and left, are in the gutters.
Dwight D. Eisenhower

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17-March-2019: Trump's extreme budget proposal
Is the Trump budget too extreme?
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Too extreme.

The virtue of political moderation can be applied to every issue, incuding the budget.

What would a moderate budget look like? How about no big spending increases and no big spending cuts, just keep spending approximately level from year to year.

Since the United States has an extreme amount of debt right now we should ideally hold total spending growth each year to something less than expected GDP growth. By doing this the deficit will gradually shrink over time, and eventually disappear. Once that happens we will finally have a surplus again, like we did in the late 1990's, and we will have another chance to pay down the debt.

According to this article, the current budget proposal from Trump includes a $1.5 trillion CUT for Medicaid. That seems EXTREME!

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The "Hearing the Falconer" Library

Books for Indpendent Thinkers

Moderates: The Vital Center of American Politics, from the Founding to Today

The American Political Tradition: And the Men Who Made It

Unapologetically Moderate: My Search for the Rational Center in American Politics

The Deliberate Moderate: Influencing From the Middle

Eisenhower: The White House Years

The Constitutional Convention: A Narrative History from the Notes of James Madison

Lincoln

Reflections of a Radical Moderate