Friday Fish Wrap: January 21. 2010

Rep. Gabby Giffords rocks. That woman must be made of sterner stuff than any of us can quite imagine. She’s been transferred to Houston, and the most excellent Memorial Hermann Hospital for her rehabilitation and recovery. Yea! Boo-rah! Go Texas Medical Center! Yes, I have a bias about that place. My life got saved there.

The Texas Medical Center is the largest medical center in the world. Period. Really. If you look the wrong way out the hotel room window, you could mistake the medical center for downtown Houston. My mother did that while I was being treated for cancer at the University of Texas, M D Anderson Cancer Center at the TMC.

Take a tour of the Texas Medical Center right here:

Welcome to Houston: The Home of the largest Medical Center. from Texas Medical Center on Vimeo.

The Center is comprised of 14 hospitals, 21 academic institutions, 6 schools of nursing and 3 medical schools. If they haven’t seen it or done it there, it ain’t been seen or done anywhere.

Memorial Hermann has been ranked as one of America’s 50 best hospitals. They have been treating traumatic brain injuries since 1959.

Gabby is in the best possible hands. I wish her the very best.

Well, the GOP has locked arms and is steadily marching … backwards, it seems. The ridiculous ‘vote’ to repeal the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) was largely symbolic but highly predictive of the GOP state of mind for the coming two years. They’re not planning to do anything positive or constructive. They’re going to bitch, whine and unravel any piece of legislation they can get their hands on.

That’ll move the country forward. Not.

So, while they’ll leave some troops to think up ways to defund the PPACA, the big guns are moving on the dismantle the Clean Air Act. WTF? you say? Yup. Here is where the Citizens United decision rubber meets the road to dirtier air. This is pay-off. A big ‘Thank You’ kiss for coal and oil, better known as campaign contributors like the right-wing billionaire Koch brothers and Tesoro Oil.

Here’s what Wikipedia says about Tesoro:

“Researchers at the Political Economy Research Institute have identified Tesoro as the 24th-largest corporate producer of air pollution in the United States, releasing roughly 3.74 million pounds of toxic chemicals annually into the air.^[4] Major pollutants emitted annually by the corporation include more than 2 million pounds of sulfuric acid^[5] The Environmental Protection Agency has named Tesoro a potentially responsible party for at least four Superfund toxic waste sites.^[6] Tesoro has settled and/or closed each of the superfund sites for which it has been named as a one of many responsible parties. Tesoro was listed as a de minimis contributor to a superfund site in Abbeville, LA and the site has since been closed by the EPA.

Tesoro is also the recipient of several Legacy Awards for its environmental record.^[7] In its Anacortes refinery, the company voluntarily has used scrubbing technology which costs twice as much as the required techniques to only remove particulate matter.^[8]

Tesoro has given over $1 million in support of California Proposition 23 which aims to suspend the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006”

On April 2, 2010, there was an explosion at the Anacortes, Washington, refinery with seven deaths.

Whoops.

Don’t worry bubbie, we’ll stop those nasty people at the EPA from bothering you! That’s what this is all about, unless you really thought these people were actually worried - like the Tea Party - about the slippery slope to abortion, gay marriage, prayer in the schools, creation science, middle class taxes, the repeal of ‘Don’t Ask-Don’t Tell’ et al.

Like everybody else, I was horrified by the news story out of Philadelphia about the ‘doctor’  - Kermit Gosnell - who was performing late term abortions and hoarding the fetuses. I can see this setting up to be a series of mis-spelled signs at the next anti-abortion rally by idiots that can’t seem to connect the dots.

Let me do it for them.

First of all, the ultimate FAIL here has to lie at the steps of whoever is posing as the regulator of such services in Philly. These people need to be kicked out on the street, sans job or benefits. But more importantly, thanks to the religiously anti-abortion zealot faction, the lack of legitimate medical coverage ( think Stupak Amendment ) for abortion has actually caused a situation like this to happen.

When desperate low income and minority woman - most often without ‘pay to play’ medical coverage - are forced out of the mainstream medical system, they end up at the dirty coat hangar shop of last resort. Having little access to rational reproductive education and information, they end up there too damn late. This is criminal in more ways than one. The right wing anti-abortion movement has successfully erected the financial, governmental and societal barriers to humane, safe medical services that caused this. Some lazy idiots in the Philadelphia department that ‘regulates’ these services enabled it.

The anti-abortion people should come pick up the dead babies they ‘worry’ so much about. They caused this.

Now, ironically, states across the country are beginning to talk about restricting abortion even more, supposedly to prevent this from happening elsewhere. The fact that such restrictions have NEVER stopped abortion, and merely driven it underground to enrich criminals, still seems to be lost on them.

In the continuing GOP march backwards to the dark days of back alley abortions - only back alley for the poor. The rich went ‘abroad’ on ‘vacation’ - Rep. John Boehner and his wrecking crew have introduced H.R. 3, No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act. This is Stupak on steroids. Bravo, John! What will you do with the mess that comes out of more abortion mills?

The man obviously hates women. So too, the clown who has his name on H.R. 3, Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ. Here’s his website. And, to really cap things off, read Smith’s opening statement for H. R. 3 in the Congressional Record. He’s ever so careful not to sound like he’s blaming the victim, but proceeds to cherry-pick his ‘facts’ carefully and embed them in highly emotional language that the right loves, but ultimately dodges the real issues. The man says that abortion isn’t health care, so you know where he stands. Buy your daughters lots of condoms and a forever prescription for birth control … and have the talk as often as you need to. Their right to reproductive health care could be at stake.

Sigh.

I saw an article the other day about America’s belief in its own exceptionalism. The Tea Party still believes this, of course, despite the fact that the country still can’t seem to understand the metric system. It’s just too hard.

My knee is doing much better today. It’s been a case of three steps forward and one step back. I’ve been to physical therapy twice with my P.T. friend Denise, and also been exercising it every day this week. The Pilates Tower I built a  while back to use with the exercise therapy bands has proven worth its weight in gold. I think my knee - and the rest of me - is actually in better shape now than before my accident. I’m almost able to completely straighten the knee today, and was walking with an almost imperceptible limp.

If things keep going like they are, I should be able to ski again next week some time. In spring conditions from what the weather forecasters are predicting. Yikes, temps in the high 50’s. Talk about corn snow.

Tomorrow evening, a bunch of us are going to a MeetUp at Sierra Gold on South Meadows Parkway at 7:00 p.m. for the Reno Skeptics group. If you can, drop in and say hello. Due to the noise levels there, I’m not sure there will be much group discussion, but at least we’ll be able to attach faces to names and get to know each other.

I’m looking forward to it.

Have a great weekend. Stay healthy. Stay in touch.

-maven

Subscribe to RSS headline updates from:
Powered by FeedBurner

Monday Musings: November 15 2010

Yikes, I just got back from the first Progressive Potluck, held in Washoe Valley and organized by MoveOn.org. Driving home, Mr. Maven, myself and friend, Shelly, we tried to make some sense out of it all.

One question that never exactly got answered, is what was/would be MoveOn.org’s role beyond initiator? We were supposed to have participated in a conference call with the national organization, but technology being what it is, the call never materialized, despite the best efforts of our host and several others. At the end of the evening - about 3.5 hours - we decided we could keep whatever grows out of this noble experience for ourselves. Gawd knows that northern Nevada and particularly Washoe County could use a whole lot more in the way of a Progressive/Democrat/Liberal leaning presence.

About thirty people attended the potluck, and I can say that their cooking skills were of a high order. We all ate and drank very well indeed.

Like so many hastily thrown together groups, all parts of the Progressive/Dem/Liberal spectrum were represented. Mr. Maven dryly noted at one point that a couple of people might have been better accommodated at a TeaParty gathering. He tends to be more suspicious than I am. I had to agree with him when a few of the attendees seemed unduly ready to argue about the ‘huge deficit’, ‘government spending’ and ‘immigration’ (“one of four births in Nevada is to an illegal mother, you know”). But then I also allow that getting Democrats to agree on an agenda is like herding cats.

To say that we of the Progressive world view can’t come up with clearly stated, carved in stone talking points - which we communicate to the electorate - is understating the problem. Ask any TeaNut what’s got their knickers in a twist and you’ll always get the same answer: Taxes. Illegals. Obama-care. Ask a Democrat and your eyes will glaze over after about an hour as they parse each and every bud of an idea.

The evening began a bit haphazardly, but we were finally able to break into three groups, which became brainstorming sessions. I think I’ll offer my iPhone as a timer next time, since some of the ideas got lost in tangents. As it was, we were able to assemble a pretty good raw list, which we then paired down to five main areas of concern/action, with about ten others deferred to a ‘parking lot’.

It was interesting to see how the same few ideas percolated up through the three groups:

1- The failure of the Democratic leadership - both on a national and state level - to communicate their platform, not to mention their successes, which have been many and some profound. We need to do a much better job of controlling the message.

2- Ending the Bush Tax Cuts for those earning over $250k.

3- Fighting to keep the hard won Health Care Reform.

4- The necessity of robust and substantive campaign finance reform.

5- The need to budget for an improved infrastructure in America - and I’m going to take the liberty of including education, research and development in this. It was suggested on multiple occasions.

I was astounded to learn that so few of the assembled knew what the hell I was talking about regarding Astro-turf front groups or the DISCLOSE Act. Sigh. That was discouraging. Who did they think was funding all those ads for Sharron Angle? Rank and file TeaNuts? Sheesh. Heard of Karl Rove? Crossroads GPS? Until we can get the money from the likes of Koch brothers out of our electoral process and campaigns, all the warm progressive meet and greets in the world won’t be able to staunch the bleeding of our democratic process.

Money in politics isn’t new. But the amounts of money spent in our elections now, the sophisticated stealth methods, and the extreme ideology espoused is what’s new here. It’s utterly unprecedented, and there are Democrats who still don’t get it. Are you surprised that there TeaNuts who also don’t get it? Sheesh.

Somebody asked who started the TeaParty, and wasn’t it just a regular grassroots citizens group. WTF? 

But that provides me with a wonderful segue to the latest bone-head suggestion by a Nevadan: to have another stupid special issue Nevada license plate, featuring the Gadsden flag of the TeaNuts - Don’t Tread on Me.

According to the Las Vegas Sun, Assemblyman Ed Goedhart, R-Amargosa Valley (it figures), “says the political movement represents a revitalization of the spirit of limited government that founded the United States. He says Nevadans should be able to express their support of those principles.” Yup. The man is actually serious. If this goes through, I’m gonna push - with Blue Lyon’s support, I would hope - for an Atheist ‘A’ out campaign license plate. Maybe an ‘I’m Queer and Loving it’ plate could be next. We could really sit back and watch as the fights break out in parking lots across Nevada.

I think too many people say way too many stupid things on the back of their cars as it is. Today on a reddish SUV I saw: Road Rage Princess and Cruel Heartless Bitch. Wow. Makes you want to sit down and have coffee with that one.

Oh, and talking about Blue Lyon - Carissa, I absolutely love the new look. It rocks. Edgy. Straight forward. Hmmm. ‘Sunday Morning Reading: Smorgasbord’. I like that idea.

On the theme of more stupid ideas from Nevada: Las Vegas - Medical Mecca? File this under WTF? Wouldn’t that sorta, kinda be like Houston’s Texas Medical Center (14 world class hospitals, three medical schools, six nursing schools and more comprising the world’s largest medical center) now deciding to become a gambling mecca? Simply because the Cleveland Clinic might decide to put an outpost facility there won’t make Vegas a ‘medical mecca’. Let’s all take a deep breath.

I admit that I’m biased. I’m a patient at the University of Texas, M. D. Anderson Cancer Center - an integral part of the Texas Medical Center, and the largest cancer center in the world.

Talking about my cancer, I was really nervous as my annual medical insurance re-enrollment date was coming up. One of our mutal airline friends - and Angle campaign staffer - came to dinner the other night and scared me witless saying that our premiums were going to rise nearly $400 a month! I was on the phone the next morning. This is stock and trade among the TeaNuts - Obamacare is going to bankrupt the country and raise our health insurance rates. I didn’t believe it, yet I was worried.

Yup. She was partly right. My premiums were going up for 2011. They are going up $10.00 a month. From $141 to $151. Whoa. And I can’t get dropped because of my cancer. They also can’t impose arbitrary lifetime limits - since a recurrence of my cancer could eat through that in nothing flat. That damned Obamacare. I love it.

Oh, heard from friend Bill, in Salt Lake City today: “I skied today — a good first outing! Hiked up on my AT gear at Alta and skied around. The resort opens on Friday.” I’m soooo jealous. Mt Rose is supposed to open on the 19th and Shelly and I talked about making at least one run, then repairing to the bar to toast to a great season.

Dear friend Charlie blew through - staying a couple of nights - on his lonely annual migration from Anchorage, Alaska to southern Arizona where the crowd from Bethel, Alaska now spends the winters. Charlie (shown left) went to Western Airlines Captain school with Ron. They’ve been close buddies since way back in the day. It was great to catch up. He’ll be back in the spring. Just like clock work. We may join him again, up in Bethel, this year. It’s sorta time to do it again. Charlie is a story all in and of himself, raised in Old Akiak, Alaska - upriver from Bethel, retiring as a B-777 Captain for Delta Airlines. Not a bad success story.  He lived in Reno at one time, with his late wife, Annie.

 I’ve got a busy week ahead - mostly not so fun items related to my 93-year-old mom. We didn’t have fun today. She’s taken another fall and hit her head this time. I’m going to be looking into having somebody come in daily, so as to keep her in the Sky Peaks independent community as long as possible. Moving would be hard and possibly take a huge toll on her. There’s also some talks I need to have with her doctors. The end of driving is here. Also the end of trying to take her ‘out’ for meals. Even with the walker, getting her out of the restaurant this morning was touch and go.

This is just such a hard damn thing to deal with.

At least Friday will be neat, I’m going to my Nothing To It cooking class: Sauces.

Take care, stay employed. See you around the water cooler during the week.

-maven