Moon Shot...

[exedir]

We choose to go to the moon. We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard, because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one which we intend to win, and the others, too.-- John F. Kennedy, September 12, 1963, Rice University.

50 years ago the president that sent us there, died, killed by an assassin's bullet.

During the decade that lead to the fulfillment of the president's promise, the members of the first mission, Apollo 1, where tragically killed in a test of their capsule and as a result put the entire program, and goal, of reaching the moon at all in jeopardy. After a two year delay, to assess and re-engineer what went wrong, the moon was reached, and then revisited five times, the last time being in December of 1972, 41 years ago.

Since the moon landings, we as a people and country have done many things, but none so hard and complicated as the moon program. And we did it because we told we needed to do it, that we could do it and that to do it would be an world-wide example of superiority technology, be historic, serve the self- interests of the country's defense and help the economy.

As many might see it, the Affordable Care Act, is no moon program, not a such a high challenge, that it is only a making of a law, promulgating and implementing a rule, that what else was necessary, just follows to make it all work out. However, as many would see it, the ACA, is just something political, grafted on to something that works, is a parasite, taking what was good, or good enough and doing something that twists, turns and turns upside down what those that have, get, and make those that don't get, in the end, get something that is less or not as good.

Worse, the technology necessary for what the ACA proposed to do was under-estimated, under- valued and under-supported to make the initial implementation a mess, a disaster. Even worse, what was necessary was not recognized to be a problem, that statements were made that either hid, or as the result of incompetence at the highest levels, and at best, due to ignorant, or more likely, knowledgeable lying has attempted to divert and deflect blame and make what was happening, seem all good and as being just a necessary part of the process.

Then again, from the beginning, the ACA was always so complicated and so difficult to explain to just about anyone, what was to be gained, what was to be the process and what was to be the changes that changes made winners and losers, to make it all happen, whatever was in the ACA as policy, rule and eventually to be experienced as it was set in motion.

Mistakes were made, inoperative statements said and frustrations experienced, and now we are to wonder what comes next as to the ACA. And that we don't know, yet.

And this is the challenge, can we as a people, a country, do what is hard, difficult, expensive and in our own self-interest, and can we do it without leadership and resolve to do what has to be done, or is it all just politics, and issues for the next election campaign.

[LoveLife&Laughter]

Maybe.  And NASA crashed a Mars probe into planet Mars because they didn't get the programming right the first time.  

But because the objective was worth while, they tried again and shortly thereafter -- we got all kinds of things working great and finding out -- it was really worthwhile.

Leadership is doing what is worthwhile despite the ideology of fanatics who want to control everything and everybody. The fanatics did not win the last election, their opponents did.  Which means the majority believes in our Leadership and want them to continue -- want it to work.  Even if it takes a month or two to iron out the bugs by some programmer, not the President (Leadership). And according to the polls...can I quote George W Bush...."Stay the Course!"

[exedir]

It was metrics, actually, the difference between meters and feet in conversion, that was traced as the cause of going "long" in landing on Mars.  And, by the way, another Mars probe is to be launched today, to sample Mars' atmosphere and an Indian mission is already on its way to do Mars research.

The problem with leadership, is leading to what end?  

People follow what they like as much as what they need, what is popular is not always what is right.  In part, that is why our government was designed to not govern most but to be deliberate and skeptical, not move to only consider the passions of moment.  It was intended to hold the process as a trust, not a circus of partisan politics looking only toward the opportunities of the next election.

[LoveLife&Laughter]

About "Leadership...

We know who it is behind the failure of the healthcare.gov website. When will Darryl Issa investigate the real saboteurs?

It has been reported to the republican controlled congress what the attack is called and the twitter feeds that have gone out directing people to attack it. YET, the mainstream media and the republican controlled congress are ignoring what the witness told them, that Republicans are deliberately sabotaging the site.

[exedir]

Within a week, the site was attacked by a denial of service, which could not have been unanticipated.    Due to the prominence, of course, the site would and will be attached by even more sophisticated techniques and probably be breached, again, could not be unanticipated as it is a Internet fact of life, and what is the point of testing before go-live which did not happen in this instance.

What we do have here is a failure of leadership to anticipate the reality of life in virtual space, at all levels which includes knowing and not knowing the situation on-the-ground as it had developed over the three years of design and coding.   As the president admitted on Friday, government is not good at software, in part, because of the relying on the lowest bidder doing what is good enough for government work, be it now, or 50 years ago.

[LoveLife&Laughter]

Denial of service occurs when hackers inundate the site which is what surprised the ACA folks.

In the real world, this is hardly a lack of leadership by the President, but only in the Tea Party's imagination.

[exedir]

Well, really, botnets, zombies tied together by slave servers that send thousands and even more requests quicker than a second...but then again, so, yesterday as to what amounts to internet sabotage today....

The point is that as a important as the web site was to the operation of ObamaCare it is truly deficient in what happened either as a matter of oversight or, a lack of understanding of what was required for on-line function and performance.  And no, not happening for the first time, few things work as is wanted in the preliminary interation, that is why we have testing, fixes, updates and v2's.  All of this is to be expected, however, expected and dealt with, with a Plan B, usually, not just that I'm sorry, blame someone else.

[LoveLife&Laughter]

Why does the right constantly blame the President, even for an IT problem?  Sounds like a personal problem LOL ...

[LoveLife&Laughter]

p.s.  Californians are getting covered through Covered California. Check out your options: http://OFA.BO/wKgL5A

[exedir]

The buck stops...well, it does, sometimes...plenty of blame in all of this, not just the president, tho, as the smartest person in room with other smart people surrounding him, it is hard to accept that this slipped as badly as it did, considering the importance.  

That being said, the issue is now, what next.

At this moment it appears that the consensus is, 80% functionality as of Dec 1st, of the web site with two weeks to go to coverage deadline for January 1st effective dates.  However, with the proposed administrative fix on retaining existing health care coverage, exactly how all of this is going to work out is in  doubt.    

As to any legislative remedy being enacted within the end of 2013 is not clear, not clear at all.  So, it leaves the states and the state insurance commissioners to say aye or nay of what happens next as to whether the renewals will be allowed.  As to how this all work out without a court challenge is also hard to believe as coverage begins to lapses.

[LoveLife&Laughter]

What coverage is lapsing?  Is that just a right wing wish?

[exedir]

Renewal of legacy plans, if they are not otherwise revoked or cancelled by the insuring or due to lack of payment.

Problem with what is proposed is that as such. insurance is the state's business to regulate, all part of the Ferguson Act of 1945.

[LoveLife&Laughter]

Legacy Plans?  The ones that didn't cover "pre-existing" conditions and that can be cancelled for any reason?

Must have missed the memo; you can have those plans if you want them -- by popular right-wing geniuses demand -- for another year.  I'd take one of the newer Obamacare ones.  They don't screw you like the old ones and they're cheaper.