Thursday, March 01, 2007

Daniel Schorr is My Hero

I've always admired Daniel Schorr (a man who not only made Nixon's enemy list, but who was nearly assisinated by the Soviets for his reporting), but his editorial on "All Things Considered" yesterday was even better than usual. He talks about how we can find hundreds of billions of dollars for the wars we are fighting, but can't find money for the S-CHIP program, the program that provides health insurance for uninsured children. This program has been unbelievably successful, yet the Bush administration is freezing the funds despite an increasing need. States like Georgia are going to start keeping new applicants off the roles for no reason other than lack of funds. In a burst of snark whose level I can only dream of, Schorr, realizing that the ranks of the military are disporportionately filled with those of lower socio-economic standing, quips that

"perhaps children's health should be redefined as a defense program meant to provide a supply of healthy young people for future wars."
Oooof.