Dave's Rants Raves and Random-Thoughts

Unexpected Hugs

2012-02-01T14:15:00.000-08:00

Life is full of unexpected hugs.

-Elaine Singer.

I love this statement.

What Religion Are You?

2012-01-06T05:43:00.001-08:00

Choose your religion per this handy "religion chart"...
(provided by my cousin, Steve)

The Call for Public Health-Care (repost)

2012-01-05T11:22:00.000-08:00

Re-posting this from way back in August 2009.
===========================================
Private insurance profit - at odds with providing Health Care

The center of the issue on "health-care reform" is profit .vs. care. Private industry has only one natural motive - profit. Normally this is good because that motive typically aligns with providing the right product or service I want to buy.

In health care, this concept fails. Profit in private health-insurance is completely at odds with providing care. Private insurance will do all it can to eliminate providing care because health care cuts into its profit.

o) Private insurance establishes massive and wasteful bureaucracies to make it difficult to get approval, and to evade paying for the service that they should pay for.

o) Private insurance restricts our choice of doctors to their 'approved provider' lists.

o) Private insurance inject bureaucrats between us and our doctors by rationing our health care and dictating to our doctors what treatment to give (what treatment is covered).

o) Private insurance costs us more and more every year, at a rate that far outstrips inflation, and puts increasing downward pressure on our business and family economies.

Just imagine the entrepreneurial explosion that would be possible if we and our employers were released from the costs of privately based (individually or in small "groups") health-care insurance! Of course. It still has to be paid for somehow. But with a universal public based system paid for by taxes, we and our employers are freed from what is nearly a feudal system making us all dependent on the benevolence of our benefactor - the group policy.

The elimination alone of this repressive barrier-to-entry would within a few short years spawn an amazing amount of economic growth. People who might be inclined to it, will be free to try their hand at different business ideas because they are no longer dependent on mainstream employment for medical insurance. Employers would no longer have to devote hours of human-resources time, and many many dollars evaluating, selecting, re-evaluating, re-selecting different health-care plans.

Profit-motive in the health-care insurance industry causes all the above inefficiencies, because the profit is naturally in opposition to cash outlay for health care. A public cost-coverage system will have far fewer of any of the above because the 'natural' motive is to enable health-care, not to increase profit.

Private health insurance can never be trusted to look after our health-care interests. All arguments in opposition to public health care cost-overage fail to overcome this single, overarching reality.

Americans can not afford to keep it.
And the American economy deserves to be unshackled from it.

Selfish Interests of the Ruling Class

2012-01-05T11:03:00.000-08:00

All states are governed by the selfish interests of the ruling class.

- Plato.

I'm not a big fan of Plato. His philosophies and opinions on the 'nature of man' do not sit well with me. Still, regardless of ones negative aspects, it is seldom when a person has not even a single thought that rings truth or wisdom.
Plato had many. This is one of them.

Seize the Moments!

2012-01-05T09:05:00.000-08:00

"Seize the moments of happiness, love and be loved! That is the only reality in the world, all else is folly."

- Leo Tolstoy

Nothing

2012-01-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

To exist.
and then disappear.
without a trace.
Is that all for me?

Goethe

2011-11-16T08:58:00.000-08:00

On Tue, Nov 15, 2011 at 10:52 AM, Dr. Lisa Earle wrote:

Nothing is more terrible than ignorance in action.

---Goethe.

---------
(and Dave added...) also-known-as, the Republican Party.

Be Afraid - Republican Art Pope Buys North Carolina

2011-10-11T11:22:00.001-07:00

An expose on Art Pope, an ultra-right wing Republican money-activist reveals Pope is quietly buying and bullying elections all across North Carolina in an attempt to make the state Republican.

Pope's belief appears to be: If you've got money, buy your elected official. If you don't, well, go to hell and die because you don't count.

His efforts include massive voter disenfranchise efforts, as well as covert political advertisements spreading as much disinformation about opponents that his candidate of choice can get away with (meaning big-money for lies). *This* is not Democracy.

'State for Sale', The New Yorker

Read the article. Then, be afraid. Be very afraid.

Then, hopefully do something about it.
- VOTE !!!
- Call your legislator's office and tell them you want to keep Early-Voting.
- Spread the story about this loser to friends and colleagues.
- He runs numerous discount-stores in NC.
Boycott them and get your friends to boycott them.

Art Pope is the president of Variety Wholesalers, Inc, which owns:

Roses Store
Maxway Store
Super 10 Store
Super Dollar Store (though not Dollar General)
Bargain Town Store
Treasure Mart Store
Bills Dollar Store
Super Saver Store
Value Mart Store
Pope Store

I am finding it difficult to find any websites dedicated to countering Pope. If you know any, please comment here.

On Warren Buffet

2011-08-16T14:48:00.000-07:00

Posted to Google+ by a friend...

Warren Buffett:

"My friends and I have been coddled long enough by a billionaire-friendly Congress... It's time for our government to get serious about shared sacrifice."

Warren Buffet is a man who realizes that at the society-level, the winner-take-all model results sooner-or-later in an everyone-loses-in-the-end eventuality.

Atheism?

2011-03-16T07:28:00.000-07:00

Why would I want to be an athiest?
If I were, I'd have nobody to vent my rage at!

Art and Music

2011-01-05T15:38:00.000-08:00

All art aspires towards the condition of music.

--- Walter Pater, 1839 – 1894.
English essayist, critic of art and literature, and writer of fiction.

Twain quote

2010-12-31T10:36:00.000-08:00

From my mother...

The timid man yearns for full value, and asks a tenth.
The bold man strikes for double value; and compromises on par.

I must become the latter.

To Dennis Hopper

2010-12-30T13:44:00.001-08:00

Just found out today that Dennis Hopper died this year.
Don't recall if I heard that when it happened, but if I did I clearly forgot cause when I read in my favorite German magazine (Der Spiegel) that Hopper was among those we lost in 2010, I kept thinking - no, he's not dead. Sure enough, he died in May. I was saddened.

So here's to Mr. Hopper!
A messy life, but a life that was unquestionably *lived*.
And one that contributed greatly to the pleasure of others through a thoroughly entertaining acting career.
I'll miss you.

On the Bush Tax-Cut Extension

2010-12-20T08:26:00.000-08:00

A letter to my local US House Representative, David Price...

------------------------------------
To the Honorable Mr. David Price

Dear Mr. Price,
Recently the "Bush tax cut extension" was approved by both the Senate and the House, with your vote being among supporters. The debate over this quickly centered on extensions to the wealthiest 2%. President Obama put forward the extension of the entire Bush tax cut, to the dismay of many Liberal supporters, including myself, who considered it a point of symbolic resistance to reject the Bush-era give-aways to the smallest segment of society which simultaneously laid a heavier burden (now or in the future) on the middle.
I am saddened that the reasons for this compromise, as it as come to be known, are not better explained - or perhaps more accurately, are not compelling enough to overcome the symbolic perception that this has become to so many of us.
Often the symbolism embedded inside political choices becomes larger than the choice itself. I believe this has happened here as well. It became less important to me what was passed (or even not passed), than knowing that my elected officials (you and President Obama) understood how significant it was to stand up and say no to Republican bullying over this single symbol - holding the wealthiest 2% of the population accountable for their fair share of the cost of success in this great nation.
Perhaps if the Health-Care reform had not so callously sacrificed adults with pre-existing conditions, while nonetheless claiming deep care and concern for children in a similar situation (if it's needed for the children, it's needed for the adults as well - pure hypocrisy), and perhaps if it had not so willy-nilly cast-off the inclusion of a public-plan, then this tax issue might not be so cutting. Unfortunately, such is not the case. And as such, this capitulation on what has finally boiled down to the 'last' remaining symbol that our elected Liberal congressmen and President have the willingness to stand up and defend what we (I) elected them to do, has come as a massive disappointment.
It seems perhaps there was great fear that if this was not passed, then there would be no agreement at all. But if no agreement were made, all blame can be placed on the Republican platform that espouses support for the wealthiest elite among us at the expense of everyone else - a political win. And with respect to unemployment benefit extensions, yes that is crucially important for so many people. But a no-agreement scenario plays the same negative rich-elitist blame-game, and heaps huge public pressure on the Republican members (if the Democrats properly frame the public perception) to give in to the common good. So I really don't see how ending up with no deal is worse than (again due to the symbolism this has taken on) giving in to Republican demands that the wealthy get more than is deserved. The symbolism of it paints the entire transaction as giving-in (irregardless of gains achieved to the contrary). I had hoped that our Democratic members of Congress could see this clearly.
And if, after this plan was put forth by President Obama, it was feared that House rejection would weaken his Presidency, perhaps that has truth. But it would also have made it exceedingly clear that, although understood as a centrist-President from the beginning, even the center-Left considers his actions on this to be too far into the space of the Right.

I have appreciated the great work you have done, Mr. Price, through your tenure in office supporting issues important to society as a whole, and our community here locally. And I will continue to support you. I must say that I am gravely disappointed in the President's record of follow-through on even the smallest numbered but most significant issues he promised during campaigning. Yes, campaigning results in many things said and not done. But the issue of a public-option in health care cost coverage, and the issue of expiring undeserved tax cuts to the top 2% of people - these were issues President Obama had always argued for even before declaring his bid. One or the other is with difficulty forgivable. Giving in on both of them... to my great dismay, I find it hard to say that I can support him in a re-election bid. This has cost him and the Democratic representation in Congress dearly among even the pragmatic, center-left (like myself) members of the party.
------------------------------------

Life

2010-12-08T08:49:00.000-08:00

I come to conclude, that life is a river of constant frustration, interrupted only occasionally by joy :|.

Hypocritical Republican claims to Jefferson Attitudes on Government

2010-11-23T12:34:00.000-08:00

-------Original Message-------
On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 1:00 PM,
Dr. Lisa Earle wrote:

He has been my Hero forever-must forward...

-------Original Message-------
From: Donna Reuscher
Date: 11/23/2010 12:52:44 PM
Subject: About Thomas Jefferson

History 101.....
THOMAS JEFFERSON:
At 5, began studying under his cousins tutor.
At 9, studied Latin, Greek and French.
At 14, studied classical literature and additional languages.
At 16, entered the College of William and Mary.
At 19, studied Law for 5 years starting under George Wythe.
At 23, started his own law practice.
At 25, was elected to the Virginia House of Burgesses.
At 31, wrote the widely circulated "Summary View of the Rights of British America" and retired from his law practice.
At 32, was a Delegate to the Second Continental Congress.
At 33, wrote the Declaration of Independence.
At 33, took three years to revise Virginias legal code and wrote a Public Education bill and a statute for Religious Freedom.
At 36, was elected the second Governor of Virginia succeeding Patrick Henry.
At 40, served in Congress for two years.
At 41, was the American minister to France and negotiated commercial treaties with European nations along with Ben Franklin and John Adams.
At 46, served as the first Secretary of State under George Washington.
At 53, served as Vice President and was elected president of the American Philosophical Society.
At 55, drafted the Kentucky Resolutions and became the active head of Republican Party.
At 57, was elected the third president of the United States.
At 60, obtained the Louisiana Purchase doubling the nation's size.
At 61, was elected to a second term as President.
At 65, retired to Monticello.
At 80, helped President Monroe shape the Monroe Doctrine.
At 81, almost single-handedly created the University of
Virginia and served as its first president.
At 83, died on the 50th anniversary of the Signing of the
Declaration of Independence along with John Adams

Thomas Jefferson knew because he himself studied the previous failed attempts at government. He understood actual history, the nature of God, his laws and the nature of man. That happens to be way more than what most understand today. Jefferson really knew his stuff. A voice from the past to lead us in the future:

John F. Kennedy held a dinner in the white House for a group of the brightest minds in the nation at that time. He made this statement: "This is perhaps the assembly of the most intelligence ever to gather at one time in the White House with the exception of when Thomas Jefferson dined alone."

When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe.

Thomas Jefferson

The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.

Thomas Jefferson

It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes. A principle which if acted on would save one-half the wars of the world.

Thomas Jefferson

I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.

Thomas Jefferson

My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government.

Thomas Jefferson

No free man shall ever be debarred the use of arms.

Thomas Jefferson

The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government.

Thomas Jefferson

The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

Thomas Jefferson

To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.

Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:
I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

I wish we could get this out to everyone!!!
I'm doing my part.

===============================================
>> My Reply <<
===============================================
-------Original Message-------
On Tue, Nov 23, 2010 at 3:16 PM,
Dave Ruden wrote:

As you know, Jefferson is also one of my personal intellectual heroes. And yet like any hero, there is character and attitude to be admired and character and attitude to be rejected. Jefferson had his share of "bad" stuff. (e.g. he owned slaves, it is possible he was unfaithful to his wife with one or more of them, he believed in and acted towards the evisceration of the native Indian populations from lands rightfully declared theirs by treaty with the United States, etc). No grand perfect person was he, and hero worshipers should remember this (of all their heroes :).

With respect to the list of comments subsequent to the chronological enumeration... Surely most can agree that they don't ALL make sense today. For example:
>> To compel a man to subsidize with his taxes the propagation of ideas which he disbelieves and abhors is sinful and tyrannical.
By this comment, there should be no taxation what so ever - there is NEVER unanimous agreement on ANY spending target. What is one person's *essential*, is another's *abhorrence*.
Secondly, let's realize that the world was still post-classical at that point, and therefore the education of those very few who were, by wealth or other stroke of fortune, able to afford it, was replete with the study of the combination of classical (Roman, Greek, Persian, etc) antiquity and Enlightenment (science, contemporary philosophy, humanism and religious freedoms, etc). I tend to agree that it is unfortunate that more of this post-classical, enlightenment ("Renaissance-man") type of education is absent from our education system today. If it were still present, we would likely not have the same degree of "herd-mentality" so easily moved by fear-mongering rather than reason. (i.e. the world would become progressively more liberal :).

And finally...
Wouldn't it be nice if the right-wing and/or Republican side of the spectrum actually *acted* upon some of these philosophical points, rather than claiming possession of them and yet hypocritically violating them !?

>> The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing to work and give to those who would not.
As in take away from the large middle and low income classes, to fatten the wallets of the wealthiest elite of the population, who gather their wealth due to the labors of those whom the wealthy would be just as happy to pay less and less to.

>> It is incumbent on every generation to pay its own debts as it goes.
This is clearly a hypocrisy of the Republican party. Under Democratic oversight, the government deficit was finally eliminated in the 90's, after being run up hugely by Republican control the decade prior. Then after another decade of Republican control following, the deficit is once again enormous! They Talk the Talk, but simply will not Walk the Walk. Don't believe them. They might mean it, but they won't do it.
Furthermore, "paying its own debts" also refers to raising taxes to pay for all the *stuff* government wants. Republicans won't cut programs that affect their local constituents, and insist on huge tax cuts to the wealthiest elitist segment of society. Hypocrisy.

>> I predict future happiness for Americans if they can prevent the government from wasting the labors of the people under the pretense of taking care of them.
And removing Corporate influence and control from the PEOPLE's government is the best path to achieving this.

>> I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property - until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.
Here, Jefferson has already envisioned the Corporate take-over of our government.
But the Republicans will not allow themselves to see the take-over, nor will they allow themselves to see that Jefferson is criticizing their own actions at allowing Corporate influence over the PEOPLE's government.

... Yes, the words are all grand, and the sentiment sounds so logical. And dog-gone-it, we should all be Republicans because this is what they stand for! But.... No. No it isn't. Not really. Not when you witness their actual action in Congress and the White House.

So frankly, it seems to me, that this is all an argument for becoming a Democrat. They've got their issues, but they generally believe in taxing(i.e. paying now) for services rendered, believe in social diversity and inclusiveness, and believe in government by the PEOPLE, not by the Corporations (although I wish they believed in this more with action than we've been seeing).

So tell your right-wing friends to "Come on and Join us! The water is fine!"
:)
Love you,
---Dave.

Advice from Mom :)

2010-11-23T06:25:00.000-08:00

If you can't be kind, at least have the decency to be vague.

From My Friend, Sally

2010-11-12T07:18:00.001-08:00

"We make a living by what we get, we make a life by what we give."

From My Friend, Sally

2010-11-12T07:17:00.002-08:00

"Life is pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that's troublesome."

From My Friend, Sally

2010-11-12T07:17:00.001-08:00

"Nothing in life is to be feared. It is only to be understood. If you are going through hell, keep going."

From My Friend, Sally

2010-11-12T07:16:00.000-08:00

"Life is full of misery, loneliness, and suffering - and it's all over much too soon."

Election-Day Peace

2010-11-02T12:23:00.001-07:00

My good friend, Ed, is an 'opposition' sparring partner for me. We hold generally opposing political/social views, and frequently argue the points (albeit in friendship) - often degrading to funny ad-hominem attacks on politicians or each other. Sometimes I wish it would not degrade this way so quickly, so we could actually exchange opinions in a more serious setting.

So it was when I emailed a generic good-luck message this afternoon for the 2010 MidTerm election. Happily he did the same...

-------------------------------------------
On Nov 2, 2010, at 2:54 PM, Dave wrote:
> Hey Dude,
> Good luck to 'the people" on this day of exercising our right and responsibility to vote!
> A purely non-partisan well-wish.
> ---Dave.

-------------------------------------------
On Tue, Nov 2, 2010 at 3:05 PM, Ed wrote:
Thank you. Same to ya!

Horowitz and the Moslem Student

2010-11-01T07:38:00.000-07:00

--------------------------
On Wed, Oct 27, 2010 at 5:33 PM, Dr. Lisa wrote:

Scary...he is amazing in his quick answer on a very touchy subject - what an ugly world we live in...How would YOU have answered?

========
The video clip was of a speech given by a David Horowitz (some neo-conservitive right-wing nut-job). He was making opposition comment on a rally planned by a campus group, Moslem Student Association, called "Israeli Apartheid Week" (Horowitz labelled the planned event "Hitler Youth Week". I think I generally agree with his opinion on the matter but admittedly don't know much about it.
At any rate, video was of a female Moslem student who during the Q&A period tried to peg Horowitz on some of his other writings and opinions.
Horowitz then turned the tables on the girl by asking her if she supported Hamas and Hezbollah's murderous/genocidal attitudes regarding Jews. The girl did not respond very intelligently.
========

--------------------------
On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 5:57 PM, Dave wrote:

Ok, after 5pm, I got a chance to play it :).

So no I don't think it's so much a matter of working hard to be fair (although I can see it looking that way). I see it more as a matter of retaining reason, and most particularly, not becoming so wound up in the energy of the argument that I become like that which I argue against, albeit simply on the other side. Thus, when one person says "all Jews suck and should die", followed by the opposing opinion saying "no! *you* suck and *you* should die!", I don't see how any external observers would be able to see any difference between these two. The desire is to win, not to inflict similar injury.

Horowitz in this confrontation did exactly what I think should have been done. He didn't get all upset and start hurling hateful emotional response. Instead he addressed the issue with calm counter debate. I think some of his logic is incorrect and reflects the binary rigidity of a "rigth-wing"(neo-conservative) mentality - to not oppose hamas does not mean one supports hamas. There is a third path - apathy, ignorance, and/or undecided/uncommitted. Horowitz is smart. He knows his logic is erroneous, but it doesn't matter because it lends toward his point, and it "defeats" the lesser capable adversary in this case.

This woman's greatest mistake in this exchange was thinking she was "up to" the challenge of an immensely seasoned orator, and therefore willing to take him on directly when he turned the tables and, ignoring her question, he questioned her instead. She should have immediately refused to answer his question and simply insisted that hers was the matter to be addressed at present. It may not have gotten her anywhere towards her answer, but it would have prevented her from being so pathetically check-mated by Horowitz's polemics, and looking like an Islamist extremist fool..

I don't know if you notice in my reply above that I have no great love for Horowitz. But I also think the woman here was indeed an ignorant racist who correctly reinforces our disdain for the Islamist movement. There is a fundamental and irreconcilable difference between our present day understanding of religion, society, and politics, and that held by Islamists (not Islamic/moslem people, but those on the extreme 'Islamist' pole). We see the essential need for dividing religion and government. Even if our religious philosophies bleed into our political views (which is unavoidable), we understand that this division is of absolutely importance. Islamists do not see a separation of 'church and state'. They don't understand a government without religion tightly-coupled to it - that's just nonsensical to them.

I can understand, given their understanding of Islam as society's guide, that they would naturally see absurd anarchy in the idea of government without god. Not all Moslems are of this same opinion, although Islamic historical culture tends generally in this direction - which is part of the difficulty of this new East-West conflict.

Islamists suck.
Islamic people do not.

Frankly, I don't know if this woman was an Islamist or not. This was not made clear by this interchange. It is clear, however, that she is racist, and so far to the one-side of her position that she can't be readily reasoned with without a tremendous amount of effort to find her humanity in there somewhere, and to get her to see the humanity in the 'other side'.

Kudo's to Horowitz in this case.
---D.

--------------------------
On Fri, Oct 29, 2010 at 8:57 PM, Dr. Lisa wrote:

Thank you for your brilliant reasoning on the subject! Absolutely great analysis of the video- I am glad you took the time to look at it!

I did love the way the (to me also unknown )Horowitz handled the situation -very clever public speaker, I must say...The woman ( basically a wide eyed, immature student), was a pompous ass, a truly ignorant jerk in my eyes! You with your fabulous erudition, however, said it so much better and so much more politely and civilized,so forgive me for my coarse language...

---M.

"A Glimpse of Something Bright"

2010-08-11T10:20:00.000-07:00

Time...
...time
She came into sight, a glimpse of something bright.
A smile in the air, I could not help but stare.
Casual warmth we spoke, it felt sweet as my soul awoke.
Her soul shined, Her shimmer did blind.
Love.
I felt life hum, saying the best is yet to come.

"Zombie Lovers"

2010-08-11T10:16:00.001-07:00

Dead People.
Zombie Lovers.
Emotional Infants.
I loved.
18+4. I counselled and yet still bled.
So OK.
18+4. I learned and knew Enough had been said.

I know I'm not the only one out there.
She is waiting too, somewhere.
I wait.
Oh this is so nice and so unexpected.
But I can see my heart just isn't interested.
I wait.
She is waiting too, somewhere.
Another shows me how to grow,
And yet even I can tell, oh Hell no.
I wait.
She is waiting too, somewhere.
Another and I lose my head, but she's unclear and full of dread.
It's 18+4 all over again, so I'm grateful for the pain.

And still I return to the wait.

There's another now,
My soul opens and I know it isn't too late.
This time I know what to say,
And so the romance we play.

She smiles. Her smile is so bright.
And as we talk her soul feels so light.
No zombie lover who can't escape the game.
She takes my hand, while I'm thinking the same.
Yes. Finally this is completely sane.

"18plus4" - Death by a Million Tiny Scratches

2010-08-11T10:03:00.000-07:00

A beauty deep in her core.
Of energy and spirit I'd not found before.
But the long ago cost of being had forged a shape to her heart.
And her pain and her rage my patience and love could not stop.

She won't fight fair, her rage reddens the air.
It leaves only an ever widening chasm as it tears.
Staining slowly crimson blood on all our years.

One tiny scratch, and then Another.
Drip. Drip - Strong the anger to withstand.
But the blood falls heavy and cold on rich dark soil.
Drip. Drip - Hard the demons to disband.
And after far too long the earth begins to spoil.

Drip. Drip - More frequent now,
while the tears of my soul keep asking why.
And the strength of my love fades now each day into the sky.

Drip. Drip.
Finally the blood claims its cost.
18 plus 4. A lifetime lost,
Death by a million tiny scratches.
Now longer this cold crimson shower willing to sustain.
I'm taking my dirt now to go find warm, healing rain.

Quote of the Day

2010-07-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

From a 2005 online discussion thread on programming languages C .vs. C++....

"C++ makes it harder to shoot yourself in the foot, but when
you do, you'll blow off the entire leg."

I love C++, but ya gotta use it's abilities sparingly and with self-control when in an embedded-systems target...cause there is some truth to the above statement!

The Bliss of an Afternoon Tea

2010-07-14T13:00:00.001-07:00

Twinings English Afternoon Tea. A truly wonderful blend of robust black-tea aroma and smoke.
I take a sip and a long slow exhale as it runs down the back of my throat. There's something very primal about the warm, smokey flavor, filling the every nook and cranny of my head. As if it somehow connects with primative memories in the deepest most recesses of my mind. Images of being in the warm cave, smoke from the protective firepit fills the air. I'm safe from the elements, I'm safe from the predators.

Memories

2010-06-23T12:59:00.000-07:00

Some memories that you'd rather let just fade away, remain vivid as if they were yesterday;

While others that you want to hold forever, seem to fade much too quickly.
How obnoxiously frustrating!

Conserva-pedia

2010-06-03T13:37:00.000-07:00

http://www.conservapedia.com/Main_Page

A disturbing web-site, reminding us all of the still present and horrifying prospect of a society that turns away from truth and science and towards the kind of rigid, closed-minded belief structure that leads unavoidably towards dogma supported persecution and murder of dissenters and non-believers.

2010-06-03T11:27:00.000-07:00

From Wikipedia...

Today, many philosophers limit evil to acts that intentionally cause harm.

This is rather the definition I generally apply to the word. However there are, it turns out, many definitions to the word 'evil', and it is therefore pretty darned difficult to hold a conversation on the good/evil nature of a "corporation".

Regardless of one's definition, applying the word evil to a business or corporation seems to me to be at the very least, an attempt to apply a sense of moral obligation to something that is intrinsically amoral. Not immoral, but without-morality. This morality-assignment, is therefore forced and unnatural, and will ultimately be unsuccessful.

So I say, get over the noise that corporations are behaving against human morality. It's a red-herring that distracts from getting a "fix" in place. Accept the intrinsic amorality of corporations, and focus instead on getting that which is moral, the human constructs of government, to establish constraints (unnatural to the corporation) on the corporation. Make laws and enforce them. Don't chase the utterly toothless argument that corporations are immoral bastards who "should do better".

A Broken Heart

2010-05-07T07:09:00.000-07:00

You can't lose a broken heart.

---Louis Armstrong

Was just listening to this song. Got me thinking... I think this phrase may be quite true. Time can mellow them, and even make them no longer painful. But I think perhaps they never completely go away.
They become one of those long-term, permanent imprints on your life.

On sympathy

2010-03-17T14:18:00.000-07:00

Interesting insight...

sympathy isn't in your dictionary if you live in a small perfect world that knows no threat, aggression, or despair.

From a reader-comment online to a CNN news article by someone identified as "pascalpascal"
(the news article was about a charity retirement home for aging prostitutes in Mexico)

Thought of the day - reminding me to Rant

2010-02-11T13:08:00.000-08:00

On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 10:42 AM, Dr. Lisa Earle wrote:
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"Winter is the time for comfort, for good food and warmth, for the touch of a friendly hand and for a talk beside the fire: it is the time for home."

- Edith Sitwell

On Thu, Feb 11, 2010 at 4:08 PM, Dave Ruden wrote:
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Or in my case now...

For taking the dog out for a walk before bed at 11:30pm when I'm bleary eyed and just want to go to sleep so I can get up early enough in the morning to get into work at some resemblance of a decent hour but instead I have to bundle all up and brace myself against the 20-something degree weather and don't forget the plastic bag so that on top of it all I can pick up the dog shit.
....well, at least it's warm (eeewwww!)

I knew there was a good reason to go with cats instead of dogs!!!!! ;)

The Elite

2010-02-10T11:41:00.000-08:00

You ever notice how the Republicans like to throw the term "elite" around when referring to liberal-minded people?

It's interesting how skilled they are at describing their opponents in terms that actually apply to themselves.

The Republican Party generally represents the interests of very wealthy and powerful individuals and businesses. A group that makes up perhaps 10% of the population (and I'm being generous with that number). If that's not the definition of Elite, then I've simply been mis-educated on what that word actually means.

Love

2010-01-25T08:39:00.001-08:00

"The love that lasts the longest is the love that is never returned."

- Somerset Maugham

Winter

2010-01-19T08:01:00.000-08:00

From my cousin, Steve Hirshhorn... just what I was thinking a week or so ago as our North Carolina winter this year entered its 3rd week of strongly cold temperatures (nights in 20s and teens, days in 30s).

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On Tue, Jan 12, 2010 at 3:24 PM, Steve Hirschhorn wrote:

I found this beautiful winter poem and thought it might be a comfort to you. It was sent to me and it's very well written and I hope that you enjoy it too.

=================
" WINTER "
by Mary Elizabeth Murphy

Fuck. It's Cold.

The End

MoveOn - Posted to local papers

2009-12-29T07:54:00.001-08:00

Well, I've posted my Health-Care Cost-Coverage comment, "Private insurance profit - at odds with providing Health Care", as a 'letter' to various local papers. It would be nice if it showed up in one of their editorials/letters sections. But I doubt it.

Senate's bill, with no Public-Based cost-coverage plan, is pretty useless in the long term. And I hear that in bill-reconcilliation (combining different House/Senate versions), the Senate usually gets more weight.

Disappointing.

Why health care should be publicly funded

2009-12-16T12:38:00.000-08:00

Arianna Huffington post Dec 4 on her site, The Huffington Post...

As the health care battle intensifies, insurance giant Aetna says it plans to raise its rates in 2010 and, as a result, expects to lose over 600,000 customers...while boosting profits. It's addition by subtraction, health care style. Aetna President Mark Bertolini justified the move as "ensuring that each customer is priced to an appropriate margin."
-----You can feel the humanity in every syllable.

Stories

2009-12-15T06:32:00.000-08:00

It's amazing, and yet at the same time obvious.
Everyone has a story. And they are all deep.

The woman coping with cancer survival.
The survivors of the holocaust.
The limo drivers in New Orleans who have their own very personal stories of surviving Hurricane Katrina.
The mother whose child spent her 2nd and 3rd birthdays in Children's Hospital, and died before 4.
The man whose daughter survived uterine cancer, and 3 years later found a tumor in her thigh bone.

It is an amazing collection of the human condition, the human struggle, the human spirit.

The only path to salvation

2009-12-15T06:11:00.000-08:00

whats more...

The current Christian interpretation of Jesus - that "going through him is the only way to salvation", and all others are damned to hell - This is the single most dangerous and deadly element in the entire religion.

It has led to centuries of oppression, abuse, torture, and murder. That history, sadly, *will* repeat itself. It is unavoidable.

I know. Most Christians would read this and think to themselves 'no, that's not where we're coming from.' But the reality is that time is very long. It took centuries for Christianity to evolve its philosophies, as well as it's self-perceived relationship to other religions. Attitudes evolved with it, sometimes benevolent, sometimes oppressive, sometimes murderous. It has ebbed and flowed through Christianity's history.

And time going forward is very long as well. Attitudes that were oppressive and wrong in the past, that are benevolent and harmless now, will continue to ebb and flow - once again into cruel oppression. This philosophy of "mine is the only path" guarantees it.

Please wake up and realize the deadly danger of this attitude. An impossible request, I fear - Let it go.

Christian Mythology

2009-12-15T05:41:00.000-08:00

I don't understand how rational, intelligent human beings can believe in the mythology behind Christianity as a literal truth. That a woman was married and was yet a virgin. That she'd already had a son, John, and yet god had somehow made her virgin again. That she became pregnant without having sex with her husband or some other man. That her child was in fact a god.

These are all totally ludicrous fantasies of imagination.

That this man became a god or indeed was a god at birth - this is the most outrageous claim of all. Unless you are able to believe other absurdities like a little statue of Zeus is indeed a god, I find it impossible to see how anyone can ascribe to this.

If you are a believer in monotheism, and that there is no god but god, the idea of a mere human being becoming or being a god is completely blasphemous. No human is god. Ever. In the past, at present, or in the future.

Furthermore, I do not want a King. Not in my temporal, corporeal world, nor in my spiritual or religious world. God is my guide through life. My guide in understanding myself and others. My guide in navigating the path of good. God is not my king, and I neither look forward to nor want his kingdom, on heaven or earth.

And the convergence of God is King, and man can be God, is overwhelmingly dangerous. This danger shows through in numerous Islam dominated countries, where the people, so accustomed to the concept of absolute-rule derived from 'God is King', live under squelching dictatorships or monarchies. It shows in the circles of extreme fundamentalist Christians, who believe in establishing god's kingdom on Earth - literally, replace our government with whatever demented reality that would be (maybe something that reflects the Christian monarchies of the Middle-Ages).

Christianity, and Islam as well, are rich, beautiful religions, with wonderful philosophies on how best to live with our fellow humans, and how to interpret our spirituality. But the mythology should *never* be mistaken for literal truth. Once it does, the mythology becomes the center of focus. Not the goodness.

BC Survivor T-Shirt

2009-12-13T08:39:00.001-08:00

T-Shirt for breast cancer survivors:

"Hell yea they're fake. The real ones tried to kill me!"

:)))

Center for Breast Reconstruction Surgery

2009-12-12T23:45:00.001-08:00

Here's a sort-of rant I posted to a Facebook BC-Support group tonight...

=====================================
Hi, I'm brand new to this group, so I hope I don't overstep the standard protocol.

This is a long story, but from the experience I/we have been through on this, I feel strongly that it must be told - for the benefit of ALL women currently going through this...

---------
I'm in New Orleans at present for phase-2 surgery for my girlfriend. We're from the Raleigh/Durham area of North Carolina. She was diagnosed back in Dec 2008, and we proceeded with Chemotherapy at Duke Medical in Durham.

Duke had a study on where they would do drug testing on a tumor biopsy to determine if this or that chemo cocktail was effective or not. During chemo, the impact on the tumor was closely monitored.

The plan was that after chemo, she would go for surgery. Her particular situation required double-mast.

So, here, in the decision of where to get the surgery, is where the *real* story begins.....

During the chemo process, we had time to look into surgery options. We found a place online called "The Center for Restorative Breast Surgery" (The Center) down in New Orleans. I was looking to see photos of what we were headed for - so I could be prepared emotionally to best handle it for/with her. Well, not a lot of places post their results in any great quantity, but this NOLA site did. And the results looked rather good.

I forwarded the link to their site on to my GF, and forgot about it for a while. I thought, 'oh. that's the state of this kind of surgery these days.' A month or two later, she was ready to start a similar search. She got an email from her mother (without any input from me) directing her to the same site. When my GF pulled it up and we were looking through them together I mentioned that I'd found the same site myself a month before.

- btw, the photos are all non-identifying.

We looked through literally dozens and dozens of before/after pictures, of various different techniques the Breast-Center does. It wasn't easy, but the Center's results made it easier to keep going.

After that, my GF was off running on research into the Center. This was more difficult than we would have expected - the reason for this is the primary reason I am posting this entry...

Reading the Center's website sounded too good to be true. Their philosophy was amazing, and their surgical strategy is phenomenal. Yet, it was hard to find corroborating websites discussing them. Their techniques were out there discussed at different surgical/medical sites. But none that we found seemed up to their level of sophistication and quality - and none offered the kind of massive photographic evidence of their results.

My GF did find a number of discussion-groups from women who were in various stages of work with the Center. She read these in depth, and I think it was the primary determinant for her.

So now comes the part that drives me to post this here...

We asked her oncology team about this surgical group down in New Orleans (NOLA). In *every* case, we were told they'd never heard of the place. The oncologist at Duke, the surgeon who did her sentinel-node biopsy, the 2nd oncologist in Raleigh (1st chemo round stopped effectiveness after a couple weeks and a 2nd, other type of chemo was needed), even the premier reconstruction surgeon in the Raleigh/Durham/Chapel-Hill area. Every one of them said they'd never heard of this group in NOLA.

Furthermore, more than one of them questioned why on earth would we want to go there when we've got pretty much the best here. Btw, that top reconstr surgeon in our area looked at my GF and said he could try this or that, but there wasn't much 'donor' material to work with. He suggested a procedure which takes donor tissue from the inside of her thighs - a highly painful procedure which leaves unsightly scars in areas typically exposed in the summer. He suggested she should instead go with implants as her solution. - When my GF describes to others, this guy's answer to her questions about the NOLA facility, she always points out that he literally said "why would you want to exchange one deformity for another." I don't know if this 'connects' with anyone else out there, but that response seems to be strongly resonant with her.

So we try to do our job as 'the patient' by asking the oncologists about our research. These are *her doctors*. Their job is to provide her with the best options that fit her situation. Instead, they willfully remain ignorant of the research results, and give no serious consideration to it - brushing it casually aside with very poor arguments against it (like, "What could New Orleans offer, all their doctors left after Katrina").

I could continue about their lack of due-diligence for a long time, it's very upsetting. But I'll wrap up with a couple personal opinion comments and then move on to more detail about The Center in the hope of enlightening some or many who might read it here.

The Raleigh/Durham/Chapel-Hill area is held in rather high esteem as a medical center. In fact Durham holds the nickname of "City of Medicine". Yet, it seems to us now, in hind sight, that the medical community here has been much more than simply uneducated or ignorant of any surgical options outside the area. There has been a willful "closing of ranks" to protect their local oncology and reconstruction surgical colleagues, and to keep the business here - even if that comes at the expense of 'best care' for the patient.
Don't get me wrong. These are good people. They are not of malicious intent. They mean to do their jobs well. But they also mean to protect their local industry.
If you are in the business of breast-cancer treatment, either oncological or reconstructive, and you keep abreast of current research and trends, you read papers, you go to conferences, you talk amongst your peers... it is simply impossible never to have heard of this group in New Orleans. They are too good at what they do, they've been doing it too long now, and they have too many women who have been through there. The only conclusion left is that there is protectionism taking place.

I for one am outraged by it.

I hope I have not lost you yet, because what follows is a description of the Center's work. I come at this from the perspective of one newly fallen in love with an incredibly beautiful and wonderful woman, looking forward to lives together, full of fun, spirit, adventure, and yes even children long denied both of us due to circumstances of life prior. Someone who found the dream shattered 3 months after finally finding each other, from the frightening devastation that I know all who encounter breast cancer in their lives experience as well.

I have no affiliation with The Center. I present this highly personalized recommendation from love of that woman, and to all women and their loved ones facing the multitude of emotional facets that come out of coping with the results of surviving breast cancer.

I'm not sure how the following will be organized and it may ramble a bit. I'm an engineer by trade, so maybe I'll simply start with a short list of definitions...

First of all, the Center does surgery for breast cancer patients. That's it. That is all they do. They don't do noses and chins, or knees and hips also. They don't do any variety of other surgeries as well. Just breast surgeries.

Second, the Center does both reconstruction surgery as well as oncology surgery. In other words, they specialize in removing the cancer tumor (or in the case of full mastectomy, the breast tissue) as well as the surgery needed for cosmetic reconstruction. You can get both done in the one place.

Third, they prefer doing (but don’t have to) oncology surgery and reconstruction at the same time - in the same surgery. This leads to longer surgeries, but my GF is active on all the discussion boards, and I've not heard anyone complain of issues coming from the length. The oncology surgery with immediate reconstruction, results in a greatly improved aesthetic outcome.

Fourth, they prefer and recommend self-donor tissue as replacement, rather than implants and/or muscle.

Fifth, the can do new cases as well as revisions of existing or unsatisfying work equally well. They specialize in microsurgery so the incision lines (scars) are very fine.

Sixth, they work with you on what your insurance will cover. They approach this with a tremendous amount of compassion, and really work to make it affordable for the patient. - e.g. they have a brand new facility in down town New Orleans for their work. My GF's insurance is pretty awful and among other things wouldn't pay for her surgery there. But they worked with her to get it done at an in network facility that they made sure they personally approved of as well. Talk to them, they'll work with your needs and ability.

And finally, did I mention that this is all they do? They make themselves expert at this, and expert at being able to do what most other facilities would give up on and go to implant or muscle-based solutions for.

I don't know all the details of their story, and I may get some of it wrong, but... The doctors who started this practice studied under the tutelage of Dr. R.J.Allen. Dr Allen pioneered microsurgery for breast reconstruction, and has offices in New York, Charleston South Carolina, and New Orleans. I don't want to cast shadow on Dr Allen because I know otherwise nothing else about his practice.

As I understand it, Dr Frank DellaCroce and Dr Scott Sullivan started The Center 5 or 6 years ago, carrying forward with Dr Allen's pioneering work. A third, Dr Chris Trehan, joined the practice some time later. All three are originally from the New Orleans area, and wanted their new practice in New Orleans, perhaps partly motivated by the desire to contribute to the area's recovery from Katrina.

Again, as I understand (and I say this because again, I don't want to imply any negativity towards Dr Allen), DellaCroce, Sullivan, and Trehan have focused exclusively on breast reconstruction, and continuously evolve the science and technique begun with Dr Allen.

My GF's procedure was the Hip Flap, where donor fat is taken from the hips in two single pieces (a left and right, as opposed to liposuction fragments) and used as breast reconstruction material. Keeping the breast-donor material as one piece greatly enhances the aesthetic results, and the survival of the donor tissue. In addition, a "perforator" blood vessel is taken with the donor tissue and micro-surgically grafted to the blood supply in the breast area. This keeps the tissue from dying. Their failure rate for donor tissue is on the order of 0.5% (our top reconstruction surgeon in Durham, by comparison, has a failure rate on the order of 1.5%).

Two of the doctors work on the patient at the same time, as a team - one on each side. This reduces the time between removal of the donor tissue and reattachment to blood supply in the new location, thus further reducing the chance of losing the donor tissue to necrosis.

The dedication and effort this team puts into their work and into continually updating their technique both due to patient feedback and their own deliberations, is matched by very few, if any, other breast reconstruction teams on the planet.

My GR, for example, was originally planned for an S-GAP procedure. But when we arrived for surgery, they said they wanted to do a HIP-GAP instead. It was a fairly minor change, moving the donor site a few inches higher than the S-GAP would have done. Their explanation for why, was that they were less satisfied with the cosmetic outcome of the surgical sights (both breast and lower back) than they wanted to be. They are constantly thinking and rethinking for improvement. - I got the sense in Durham, that the attitude was "well this is how I learned how to do it and this is all there is."

For most cases, as far as I can tell, there are 2 phases of surgery, and sometimes 3. Phase 1 is the (mastectomy and) reconstruction. Surgeries here seem to vary between 4 and 8 hours long. My GF's was 7hrs - she had the mastectomy at the same time. We were in the hospital for 3 days, and then nearby in a hotel for the rest of the week. After a consultation at the end of the week, we were home. The aftermath of the phase-1 surgery seemed to hurt very little. I think this was due to the fact that it was all incisions and excisions, and the micro surgery did an excellent job closing the incisions.

Phase-2 is typically scheduled for 3 to 4 months after phase-1, and is intended to cosmetically 'fix' what needs adjustment from phase-1. This is another of The Center's great strengths. It's not a place where you get reconstructed and sent on your merry way never to bother them again. They want you back to fix what may have settled, or changed, or been left not quite finished in the big picture.

Sometimes there is a 3rd phase, which I understand involves recreation of the nipple, but I don't now much about that.

---------

So yes, this has been a long post, several hours in the composition. But our comparative experience between what The Center has been able to do .vs. what our ‘City Of Medicine’ resources offered, is sincerely, literally, the difference between night and day.

I want other women going through the emotional pain of self image that can come from being treated for breast cancer to know about this option. I hope this reaches some of them.

Research their website: http://www.breastcenter.com/

Interesting Point on the Health-Care Debate

2009-11-25T11:10:00.000-08:00

I often find myself browsing for news on the web-pages of "The Economist". It's a clearly business biased news publication, but happily it seems to avoid being a 'corporate' biased magazine. They bias towards capitalism, but are often willing to admit and even argue for social concerns as well.

While I don't always agree with The Economist positions, I find their 'news' to be apolitical, and a refreshing break to most of the major US news outlets.

Recently, they had an article about the US Senate health-care bill, and opened a 'discussion thread' on the topic, which I read through. So often the opponents of a Public-Option solution give arguemnts that are Red-Herring diversions, and at any rate thoroughly unconvincing. Occasionally I come upon one that makes some sense.

So it was with the following entry. I don't know if the author "OpenYourMindQuaid" is opposed to a Single-Payer Public-Option solution or supportive of it. Interestingly for his comment, that doesn't matter.

An exquisitely interesting point made, I have copied the entire entry here, and made BOLD the sections most significant.

OpenYourMindQuaid wrote: Nov 23rd 2009 6:04 GMT.
To even begin contemplating the passage of such a bill with the current debt boggles my mind. Don't people realize that debt approaching the total value of annual GDP is a serious problem?
The money that would fund this bill is not based on real value, so we can expect to see a substantial boost to inflation as a result. As if explicit taxes were not enough, implicit inflation taxes will now hurt every American.
I encourage people to ask why we got to this point where health care is such an issue and to not discount the relationship of any factor.
Consider this: If corn was not subsidized, then cheap, unhealthy food would not be as accessible. Healthy food would be relatively cheaper and perhaps the high rates of obesity and obesity-related illnesses would not be as prevalent.
If oil was not subsidized, then walking, biking, and less fuel-intensive modes of transportation would be relatively cheaper, so people would probably exercise out of necessity more often.
These two economically unjustifiable government subsidies add to the health problem, inevitably leading to increases in premiums paid to health insurance companies.
I encourage all to think about the interplay between governmental actions (and inaction) and supposed free market capitalism in the realm of health care. If something can be done to address the root of the problem instead of the symptoms, we should enact meaningful reform in those identified markets that adversely affect those reliant on health insurance. But continuing to throw illusory money at a problem whose depth anyone has yet to comprehend is a grossly oversimplified treatment of a much deeper problem.
I am deeply disturbed by this state of affairs. How dare anyone even consider spending money that doesn't exist on a problem they don't understand.

On Illness

2009-11-04T11:40:00.000-08:00

Hippocrates cautions:
“The sick must battle both their illness and their doctors.”

....yep!

A Bunny on a Leash

2009-11-01T17:06:00.000-08:00

..... need I say more.

A Love Story for Fall

2009-10-26T07:19:00.000-07:00

Love Story

I will seek and find you .
I shall take you to bed and have my way with you.
I will make you ache, shake & sweat until you moan & groan.
I will make you beg for mercy, beg for me to stop.
I will exhaust you to the point that you will be relieved
when I'm finished with you.
And, when I am finished,
you will be weak for days.

All my love,
The Flu

Monster Truck owners - a little bit of respect

2009-09-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

I *really* don't like obese SUVs and oversized trucks. I find them very boring aesthetically, having absolutely no decent sense of style. And from an efficiency perspective, they're very selfish. I simply do NOT understand the appeal.

My dislike of them, I find, is heightened by the perception that the "mainstream" likes them so much. I prefer well styled cars, and particularly coupes. I own a coupe, and have for many years. Not everyone likes my styling preference, but - and here's the part that comes to my point - there's a certain degree of self-satisfaction and pride in going in a direction that is NOT mainstream, that's Different.

Maybe somehow I'm declaring, 'Hey check it out! I've actually used my mind and thought about my choice rather than run like a lemming to get an SUV like everybody else - giving no conscious thought to if it's in fact a good looking vehicle.' A little over the top, I will admit. And I try to keep from letting it get the better of me :).

This morning as I arrived at work, and saw the usual array of parked, obese SUVs and Trucks that so many of my co-workers here drive, I found myself thinking once again, "how can these people not see how dull looking those things are?". A few of them were the 'monster-truck' types. Suddenly I grasped it...

Those who get ridiculously oversized trucks are simply doing the same thing I am:
declaring themselves not part of the Boring, Mindless Mainstream.

I found myself for the first time *ever*, with an increased level of respect for those drivers.

...I think that only applies to monster truck drivers though. Obese SUV drivers are still on my shit-list ;)))

On Having Kids

2009-09-28T07:58:00.000-07:00

Not having children by choice is no big deal.
But facing the reality that you can not have children of your own is painful even if you would have chosen not to.

On History

2009-09-06T17:41:00.000-07:00

Quote:

Men make their own history.
But they do not make it just as they please;
They do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves,
But under circumstances directly found, given and transmitted from the past.
The traditions of all dead generations weigh like a nightmare on the minds of the living.

Quoted of Carl Marx by James Caroll.
In Carolls' book "Constantine's Sword: The Church and the Jews"

The above quote is a fascinating commentary on how history can unavoidably lead to following history. Suggesting that awareness of history can sometimes be as equal a curse as the curse of being ignorant to it.

Btw, Caroll's book, 'Constantine's Sword' is a stunning trek through the history of (mostly Catholic) Christianity from the perspective of its relationship to Judaism and the development of that relationship in western society - from the simple rivalry of very similar but competing 'sibling' religions; to the seemingly protective philosophy of 'survive but not thrive' arising in the eventually more dominant Church; to the grotesque perversion of murderous antisemitism that slowly but seemingly inexorably evolved out of each preceding century of repression and dehumanization, sometimes explicitly promoted , always quietly approved of by the Church.

Coincidence

2009-09-02T15:17:00.001-07:00

Coincidences in life are sometimes so stunning.

Last night at dinner with Pam at the Cardinal Club downtown, we sat with a couple brand new members (just joined a couple days before). While talking, we found that the woman's husband is down in Slidel, LA for his new job while his wife stays up here until their daughter graduates high school. Pam and I were in Slidel last week for her surgery - who's ever heard of Slidel unless you've lived or visited there?

One of the woman's older daughters was with her. She is finishing up a degree in nursing. She and Pam got to talking and it turns out that the girl was just talking with a colleague of hers about Pam's "boss". Too funny.

------------------

I was thinking on my way into work this morning, how much I like those two songs by Nina Simone I discovered within the past year. The first one from the movie I liked so much, Before Sunset - possibly one of the best endings to a romantic movie I've seen (but maybe I'm biased ;). I'd never heard of Nina Simone before that.

Then within 2 or 3 months of that, I'm in my new, wonderful relationship with Pam, and we're at a Swing-Dance party in Raleigh. The first one we went to together, and the only one we've been to since. Yet on that single chance occurrence, late in the evening after most dancers had long gone home, the music changed and one or two couples start dancing Blues-Dance, this incredibly sensual new dance neither of us had ever seen before. The music is another track by Nina Simone. I think the tune is interesting, and then I recognize her style/voice. Another fabulous production of Nina's and a new favorite.

What are the odds of such a coincidence? Before-Sunrise/Before-Sunset are fairly old movies. Pretty amazing stuff.

Gotta Love New Orleans People

2009-08-21T20:18:00.001-07:00

Local 'rag' newspaper...
Title: The Local Levee
Subtitle: We Don't Hold Anything Back

It's a satirical newspaper on local events and people.
Gotta love that New Orleans spirit!

Hospitals

2009-08-17T10:20:00.000-07:00

My girlfriend's mother commented that she's convinced that when you get into a hospital, they try to "do away with you" - referring to all the meds, and the food which is often not terribly healthy.

:) :) he he!

Private insurance profit - at odds with providing Health Care

2009-08-17T09:00:00.000-07:00

The center of the issue on "health-care reform" is profit .vs. care. Private industry has only one natural motive - profit. Normally this is good because that motive typically aligns with providing the right product or service I want to buy.

In health care, this concept fails. Profit in private health-insurance is completely at odds with providing care. Private insurance will do all it can to eliminate providing care because health care cuts into its profit.

o) Private insurance establishes massive and wasteful bureaucracies to make it difficult to get approval, and to evade paying for service they should.

o) Private insurance restricts our choice of doctors to their 'approved provider' lists.

o) Private insurance rations our health care by telling our doctors what treatment to give.

o) Private insurance costs us more and more every year, at a rate that far outstrips inflation, and puts increasing downward pressure on our business and family economies.

Profit-motive in the health-care insurance industry causes all the above inefficiencies, because the profit is naturally in opposition to cash outlay for health care. A public cost-coverage system will have far fewer of any of the above because the 'natural' motive is to enable health-care, not to increase profit.

Private health insurance can never be trusted to look after our health-care interests. All arguements in opposition to public health care cost-overage fail to overcome this single, overarching reality.

Americans can not afford to keep it.