Monthly Archives: August 2008

Obama vs. McCain – Health Care

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By Vidya Pradhan 

Health care has always been the domain of the Democrats, in particular, Senator Hillary Clinton, who got herself in political hot water after her abortive attempts at health care reform during the Clinton presidency. Democrats have always attempted to craft a health care plan that makes it possible for every individual to be covered by offering access to a variety of plans. By contrast, Republicans build their health care plans based on individual choice and personal responsibility. GOP conservatives have traditionally opposed legislation expanding government funded health care on the principle of smaller government. In 1965, when Medicare and Medicaid were signed into law by President Johnson, it was a bitter loss to the Republican fight against a nationalized health care system.

Today there is general consensus that the American health care system is in serious need for reform – on one hand, 47 million Americans do not have any medical insurance; on the other, crippling health care costs are making American industry uncompetitive. The path to reform is where the candidates diverge sharply. While Senator Obama talks about expanding coverage to include most Americans by way of a national health plan, Senator McCain emphasizes Health Savings Accounts, accounts to which families and individuals contribute to save towards medical expenses. The idea is that the burden should be lifted from employers and transferred to the individual, who would take control of his or her own health plan.

UPDATE: An article from the NYT about the McCain Health Care Plan.

UPDATE II: The conservative Wall Street Journal (!) comes out with an article entitled "Why Obama's Health Care Plan is better" An excerpt –

Sen. Obama's proposal will modernize our current system of employer- and government-provided health care, keeping what works well, and making the investments now that will lead to a more efficient medical system.

The McCain plan is a big tax increase on employers and workers. With the economy in recession, that's the last thing America's businesses need.

…Mr. McCain does nothing to bend the curve of rising health-care costs downward. He does not fund investments in learning, rewarding and preventing. Eliminating state coverage requirements will slash preventive service availability.

Here is a chart from the Urban/BrookingsTax Policy Center that breaks down the impact each candidates' plans would have on the uninsured.( H/T to Yglesias at Think Progress)

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The Support System

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By Isheeta Sanghi

I read The Namesake when I was in my first year of college. It was a very delicate time in my life, as it is in the life of any college going student. I was separated from my parents, not simply by state borders but by countries and oceans. College is a very important time in life because we can reflect, and really think about what it is that we want for ourselves and our future. After reading The Namesake, however,  I didn’t think so much about myself relating to the character depicted by Kal Penn in the celluloid version of the story, but rather I thought more about Ashima and her story, and how I could relate all of her experiences to what my Mother must have experienced, moving to a different country after marriage.

Though my Mom grew up in the metropolitan city of Delhi, and had elder sisters who were married, two of whom had already made the journey westward, and was well educated, the fact remains that when someone is taken out from their natural surroundings naturally life becomes tough. I don’t know much about my Mothers past, but what I do know is that I could picture her standing by the stove cooking beef for the first time in her life, crying because she had grown up in a vegetarian household, and had to bear a smell that was devastating to her. I could picture her standing innocently by a street light not knowing that in order for her to cross the road she had to press the button on the pole. I had a sinking feeling in my heart throughout the book because Jhumpa Lahiri has so beautifully depicted those emotions that I’m positive had been felt by my own Mother. Continue reading →

Summer crafts for kids: Mixing Colors

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By Rennu Dhillon

Craft/Experiment 1

Goal: To learn about primary and secondary colors.
Materials: food coloring (red, yellow, blue), corn syrup, 2 paper plates (not
the plastic plates but paper plates)
Procedure:
1. Mix each food color with the corn syrup so you have 3 colors – red,
yellow, blue in 3 separate dishes or bowls.
2. Take each plate and using a pencil divide the plate into 4 parts or
quarters – e.g. like an apple into 4 parts.
3. Using finger painting techniques you will spread the paint in each
fractional part.

Plate 1 – finger paint red into one part. Now mix red and blue and paint thisinto the other part and see what color you make. Now mix red and yellow
paint into the 3rd quarter. See what color you make. Now mix all 3 colors
into the 4th quarter and see what color you make.
Repeat the steps using blue and then yellow.
Look at the different colors you have created. To be really adventurous, take
some white paint and mix in to create different shades or tints of the same
color. Write down the colors you make.
Yellow + Blue = Green
Red + Blue = Purple
Red + Yellow = Orange

Craft/Experiment 2


Goal: Make a Color Wheel using primary and secondary colors
Materials: Paper plate, red, blue, yellow paints, brushes, water.
Procedure:
1. Take a paper plate and draw a circle about the size of the plate. Now
divide the circle into 12 sections or slices.
2. Color code each section as shown in the picture.
R- red
RO –red Orange
O- orange
OY – orange yellow
Y – yellow
YG-yellow green
G-green
BG – blue green
B- Blue
BV- blue violet
V- violet
VR – violet red
3. First paint the main primary colors into the sections – Red, Yellow
and Blue.
4. Then mix equal part of red and yellow into the RY section and see
what color you get? It should be orange. Take that new color and paint
it into the section labeled O.
5. Repeat the exercise with each color and color combination.
6. You will create a color wheel that you can dry and keep forever.
Bonus: Experiment mixing several colors and create your own shades
and tints.

Rennu Dhillon is the founder of Genius Kids Inc, “Never 2 Little 2 Learn”. Dhillon has a
BSc. in Pharmacy, DSc. Naturopathy. She has combined her education and experience to
develop an award winning curriculum at Genius Kids, a very hands on learning program
incorporating a full academic curriculum to include public speaking, drama, science, art
and cartoon art to children ages toddlers to K.

Generation "O"

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By Vidya Pradhan

Her grandmother is Indian; grandfather Jamaican. Her father is Italian/Caucasian. No prizes for guessing who she’s supporting in this year’s Presidential elections in the US.

23-year old Meena Harris is part of Generation Obama, a media and technology-savvy group of young people who are changing the dynamics of politics and political campaigning in this country. Continue reading →