Speaking about ObamaCare, Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) said: "Max [Senate Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus (D-MT)] said unless we implement this properly it's going to be a train wreck, and I agree with him."  Reid's "solution" to avoid the train wreck: more money (surprise, surprise) to educate the public about their options.  "Reid warned that people will not be able to choose health insurance plans on government health exchanges if federal authorities lack the resources to set them up and educate the public."  He said on Wednesday, May 1, 2013, on the "The Rusty Humphries Show" from Las Vegas, NV., "Here's what we have now: we have the menu, but we don't have any way to get to the menu."

Regarding the need for more money for education about ObamaCare, Reid said:

But he's [Obama] going to take money from some other things that he feels are less important in the health care bill and put it on letting you and others know what's in the bill, and what they can do to either accept parts that would be helpful to them or not.

It was the "educate the public" phrase that really caught my attention.  So I did a little research into what three (in-)famous socialists had to say about education.

• Hitler: "By educating the young generation along the right lines, the People's State will have to see that a generation of mankind is formed which will be adequate to this supreme combat that will decide the destinies of the world."
• Stalin: "Education is a weapon whose effects depend on who holds it in his hands and at whom it is aimed."
• Mao: "Where do correct ideas come from? Do they drop from the skies? No. Are they innate in the mind? No. They come from social practice and from it alone."

So is this what awaits us when Senator Reid says he wants to educate the public?  Am I equating Reid's educational efforts to the three despots mentioned above?  Yes!  For Reid, it's all about right lines and correct ideas.  For Reid, educating the public about his way never ceases.

Regarding being educated about our options, why do I feel that the education will not be objective, will not list all options, and will present only what Senator Reid wants us to know -- only what are, in Reid's opinion, correct ideas?  It was, after all, Reid who said: "The most important thing we've done for the country and the world is health care."

That is the same ObamaCare health care bill about which (then-)House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in March 2010, "But we have to pass the bill so that you can find out what is in it, away from the fog of controversy."  Well, we the public certainly found out what's in it.  Is Senator Reid really so stupid (or condescending) to think that now pouring money into "education" will make Americans approve of ObamaCare?  Could we not be educated before the bill's passage?

As Marguerite Higgins at The Foundry wrote in 2010:

This revealing comment [from Nancy Pelosi] reinforces a patriarchal (or in Pelosi's case matriarchal) attitude Congress has taken with the American public: What lurks within the House and Senate health care bills will be revealed in the fullness of time, and it's really good for us if we only knew better.  [Emphasis mine, focusing upon the ultimate goal of education.]

But wait: the education efforts never cease.  Beginning this summer, the Obama administration will have what they call "navigators" to help the public understand their health care options.  Again, why do I feel that the help will not be objective?  To paraphrase Al Jolson, "You ain't seen nothin' yet."

Dr. Warren Beatty (not the liberal actor) earned a Ph.D. in quantitative management and statistics from Florida State University.  He was a (very conservative) professor of quantitative management specializing in using statistics to assist/support decision-making.  He has been a consultant to many small businesses and is now retired.  Dr. Beatty is a veteran who served in the U.S. Army for 22 years.  He blogs at rwno.limewebs.com.