Quick! Look over there!

Aaaand the upload of that last post didn't work and now it's more than a week later.  Ugh.  Here, look at these photos of a pie and a pup and think of something nice:

 

While we're at it - the dog in that photo is in need of some serious mojo on the health front.  Cast any healing spells you know; send out any vibes, prayers, or simple good wishes, because he's the best and we want him to stick around a good long time, dammit!

And so it goes...

Some follow-up may be required.  Last weekend saw a trip to Wisconsin for my Grandmother's memorial.  Yes, she died back around New Year's, but the family made the call (an overall wise one, in my opinion) to hold the memorial event with a lot of notice, making it easier for people to come from far and wide, with the added bonus of not needing to contend with last winter's unremitting frigidity. Which was wonderful in its way, but which of course carried a certain amount of grief, sadness, pain, and family agita (always a healthy dose of family agita).

And, because fate is bitter and mocks us all, a few days before the trip, one of my friends from growing up lost his battle with depression and killed himself.  I can't bring myself to call it luck, but the circumstance of being out there meant that - while still prevented from attending his memorial, I was able to pay my respects to his father and brother, and take said brother out for drinks on a night when I think it's fair to say he could use some out-of-the-house amusement, or at least distraction.

As if that weren't enough (it was quite enough, thank you very much) my extremely-robust-but-there-ain't-no-getting-around-it-OLD Grandfather, who mourns in a way that I don't suppose anyone who hasn't been married for over 70 years can really identify with, had a couple health events of his own.  The first happened the day he arrived: after a 14-hour drive, he and Mom stopped at my aunt's house for supper.  On a trip to the bathroom he stumbled, lost his balance, and fell into the tub - had to go to the emergency room for X Rays. No real damage, but he scraped the hell out of his arms so it was good he was in a place where he could get them bandaged by a pro.  Then, the day after the memorial, which was a celebration but still heartbreaking, a group of us went out for breakfast and grandpa had a Transient Ischemic Attack (TIA, sometimes imperfectly referred to as a mini-stroke) about two-thirds of the way through his french toast. His 8-yr-old great-granddaughter (my niece, shown feeding that calf in the last post) was sitting right across from him, eating french toast of her own, and I have to say she held it together remarkably well as I went over and got his attention, helped ease him back to alertness, went through some of the "rule out a for-reals stroke" steps, unhinged his fingers from his coffee cup, and got him standing and out into the parking lot with my cousin Wally. 

That fresh air did him good right away, as he recovered from the overheated sweat he’d broken into.  But of course it also meant another trip to the hospital, which he wanted about as much as a hole in the head.  Once we got him there, kicking and screaming, the visit went about as well as it could have, and it only took a small chunk out of what was going to be our last day in that part of the state before he headed east with one of his daughters.  And Cory and I headed to Madison to take care of the understandably unhinged friend whose brother had died the week before.

So that happened.  And believe it or not, I’m leaving out some of the nastiest stuff.  Now it’s Friday the 13^th and it’s raining.  Ruby Dee died, almost exactly the same age as my Grandmother, and I’m listening to some Duke Ellington and we’re seeing Macbeth tonight because fuck curses and fuck bad luck.  Power poses all around.

Serpentine Perspectives

In the wake of this weekends' amazing Neutral Milk Hotel show at BAM, and the fantastic Visual Aids Postcards from the Edge exhibition, which Cory has gone to the last few years, and which I experienced for the first time yesterday - really interesting, a combination of work that is moving, fun, poignant, provocative, and timely - here are a few shots from the Serpentine Sackler Gallery, new edition, circa All Saints Day, 2013.

Another day, I'll post some photos from the very good Adrián Villar Rojas show we saw in the gallery, but for now, these images of the Zaha Hadid structure.

And this, from the interior.

Hope you had a good weekend.  Enjoy the Grammys, if that's your thing.  [I may find a way to write the thousands of words warranted by the NMH and PfTE shows, but that won't happen tonight.]

Intermezzo

For a quick break from the Tales of the Delaware Water Gap, let me pose this Actual Question that I Would Love an Answer To:

We appear to be moving toward an actual vote on a health care bill, presumably based on Obama's merging of the House and Senate bills. There are many final details to be worked out, including some troubling possibilities having to do with mandates and restrictions on abortion rights, but in theory that is what committees are for. There is also a growing sense that it is a given that Congress will use the procedure of reconciliation to tie the bill to a larger budget proposal to avoid the threat of a filibuster.

SO - while I freely admit that reconciliation is a legitimate means of advancing policy, a method that's been used many times in the past, my question is this: why is (or is not) reconciliation better than bringing the final bill (whatever it turns out to be) to a vote, thus making the GOP go through the actual process of a filibuster - which is difficult, time-consuming and politically risky - rather than sitting back and letting a lazy threat do the obstructing for them?

Discuss.

I <3 NY

I really do. Most of the time. But then once in a while, they decide to do something really annoying, probably unconstitutional, and just plain wrong. And it makes me just. go. berserk. Just like Billy Jack.

Lotta rhetoric flying around the idea of gay marriage, in New York and across the country. Six New York Democrats voted against it. Well, seven, if you count Ruben "It's Treason" Diaz, but I honestly don't know if anyone is thinking of him as a Democrat anymore in anything but name.

On the other hand, maybe the Dems deserve the name he's giving them. You saw what I posted yesterday about the Afghan War. And a little while ago, 64 of them in the U.S. House voted to dial back women's access to safe and legal abortions, as I've discussed here too. You know: Safe. Legal. Like you'd want if someone you love needed one. Like women in this country have been able to count on for a couple generations. Like Democrats used to insist on as a base level for the discussion. Here's Barbara Ehrenreich with a really good article on the defanging of feminism. (The gist - while once American women took stands and took to the streets en masse, now you get to call yourself 'aware' of 'women's health concerns' by wearing a little pink pin.) And while we're on Democratic selldowns, where is the New Deal for this generation's economic crisis? Where are the jobs? Where is the aggressive handling of the outsized robber barons of Wall Street?

Ok, ok - I still like Obama better than Bush. I guess I like the Democrats better than the Republicans. (I guess.) But hoooo boy, I'm tired of paying them and getting out the vote for them and not getting what I paid and voted for.

Keep writing those letters and emails and making those phone calls, people. Make it clear that your wallets are closed to officials that don't effect the policies you support and demand.

What would Billy Jack do?





Hehehe.

But as I imagine going all Billy Jack on them, I'm thinking of a quote I saw earlier today and now can't remember where it was. I'll try to track it down, but it went something like: "...then you realize that there is no 'Them,' there's only 'Us,' and We fucked up."

Continuing the Debate(s)

Nicholas Kristoff in the Times

Why is it broadly accepted that the elderly should have universal health care, while it’s immensely controversial to seek universal coverage for children? What’s the difference — except that health care for children is far cheaper?

Keep up the pressure against Stupak-Pitt, people. This thing can work out.

Health Care and that pesky majority...

Ok, we've got this:

The amendment will prohibit federal funds for abortion services in the public option. It also prohibits individuals who receive affordability credits from purchasing a plan that provides elective abortions.
However, it allows individuals, both who receive affordability credits and who do not, to separately purchase with their own funds plans that cover elective abortions.
It also clarifies that private plans may still offer elective
abortions.

On some level, I don't care about the nitty-gritty details of this amendment. This isn't just about how the money is allocated or what workarounds exist. This has me so incredibly infuriated because it further segregates abortion as something different, off the menu of regular health care. It is a huge backward step in the battle to convey -- not just politically, but to women in their everyday lives -- that reproductive health care is normal and necessary, and must be there if (or, more accurately, when) you need it.

This also sets apart women's rights from the Democratic/progressive/whatever agenda. As something expendable. But fundamental rights for women are not peripheral. They are core. And not just because of so-called "progressive" values. In a political sense, too: Seeing as how the Democratic party relies on women voters to win elections, you would think they would have come around to this no-brainer by now.

And this:

The House passed its version of health-care legislation Saturday night by a vote of 220 to 215 after the approval of an amendment that would sharply restrict the availability of coverage for abortions, which many insurance plans now offer. The amendment goes beyond long-standing prohibitions against public funding for abortions, limiting abortion coverage even for women paying for it without government subsidies.

"There's going to be a firestorm here," (Colorado Representative Diana) DeGette said. "Women are going to realize that a Democratic-controlled House has passed legislation that would prohibit women paying for abortions with their own funds. . . . We're not going to let this into law."

But then there's this:

Essentially, the Health Care bill passed by Congress...

• Expands Medicaid "to reach a wider range of poor households up to 150% of the federal poverty level. 36M additional Americans will now be eligible for Medicaid."


• Bars discrimination in health care on the basis of gender identity or sexual orientation.


• Ends the "unfair practice of taxing employer-provided domestic partner health benefits, allowing thousands upon thousands of LGBT people to obtain domestic partner health benefits for their partners and families without having to pay a tax penalty through the nose."

Which is good.

So tell me, movementarians, what the next actual move to make? Where do you draw the line? How do you draw it? What are you willing to risk losing by drawing it? Or by not drawing it...

Good Vibes to Grandma

There is a lot for me to write about this week, including some amazing shows and an incredible early birthday celebration yesterday, but for now I want to devote some attention to my grandmother, who had a couple of TIAs ("mini strokes") within the last several days.



Here's a shot of her at home on the farm from the trip we took to visit them last month. She's doing very well under the circumstances, and we all have plenty of reason to be optimistic; I'm just putting out some good vibes and would be happy for you to do the same. She's an amazing woman, and super strong - please send some thoughts and wishes and prayers or whatever fits your worldview in her direction.

Much much love to her and grandpa and the whole family.

Dear President Obama

Your next Big Speech is tonight. How exciting for you! Everybody's back from summer vacation and ready to roll up their sleeves and work together for a better future for everyone, without the faintest whiff of partisanship or political maneuvering. It's the American Way!

I understand that the first item on tonight's agenda will have to do with Health Care. Good thinking! Permit me to mention a few ideas on the subject: think of them as Talking Points if you like (I'm told that people like Talking Points.) Feel free to refer to any or all of them in your speech if you like. You probably shouldn't feel totally free to avoid mentioning at least one or two of them...

• Health Care is a point of National Pride.
  The World Health Organization ranks the overall quality of the U.S. health system at 37th in the world: a little better than Slovenia's, but not quite as good as Costa Rica. That isn't really good enough for a place that still runs around claming to be the Greatest Country in the World.
  
  
• No One's Health should be compromised for the sake of Anyone's Bottom Line.
  In the face of your less-than-scrupulous adversaries' reckless talk of death panels, you may want to point out that their precious Private Insurers have been denying care to Grandmas and Grandchildren willy nilly, in the form of widespread rejection of claims, and systematic cancellation of policies, even long-standing ones, when the patient's needs become too expensive. Yes, they are accusing you of what they have been guilty of for years. And I do mean guilty: this situation would appall the people who built the insurance industry in the first place - which, after all, is supposed to, um, insure that people get health care, not withhold it from them at just the moment they need it most. The practice is wrong, cruel, and greedy. And it should be illegal.
  
  
• The Whole Point of Insurance is to Spread Risk.
  Not to make a gajillion dollars for companies and their stockholders. You may have to tweak this one, or people will start screaming about Socialism. To do this, I'd refer to the previous point. Assure people that there is not one thing wrong with making a good living - a really good living - providing health care. It's a very important job, and it should be richly rewarded. Profit motive is not necessarily a bad thing, but when we're talking about people's lives and health, I'd think that profit could be a secondary consideration rather than an all-powerful one. And anyone who gets filthy rich by gaming the system - and in the process making the system worse, keeping quality care out of people's reach - is just that: filthy.
  
  
• Catastrophic Care is not good enough for the Poorest of the Poor.
  I'll buy the argument that if you make a decent living and just don't believe in Insurance, for whatever reason, you shouldn't have to get too much of it - coverage for only the severest illness and injury might be enough for you (though you really do need to be covered for that, or the potential costs are too great for you and eventually for the rest of the country.) There is some debate as to whether preventative care is much of a long-term cost saver, but it is universally acknowledged that it helps maintain long-term health. Whatever plan is put into place must provide for an affordable option of ongoing heath care, not just Castastrophic coverage.
  
  
• Core Costs must be held in check.
  Here's a point where you can completely agree with your opposition! Pretty much everybody acknowledges that overall health care costs have skyrocketed and need to be managed. (Well, except for those who will insist on disagreeing with you no matter what you say. Come to think of it, that may be a bigger group than you'd like to admit.) Article after article has been written on the subject, and some of the better ones even discuss some possible solutions. I'm talking about creative solutions, based on experience, with the actual goal of reducing costs, not kneejerk conservative calls for Tort Reform that are actually just gifts to big business (with an assault on the environment thrown in for good measure) disguised as social justice. That transparent maneuver aside, the Conservatives are right, and you probably should grant as much - any real reform MUST address overall costs head on.
  
  
• We need to develop a Culture of Health.
  You're going to need to phrase this better - people get freaked out when you use the C word. Get Jon Favreau to help. But what I'm talking about is spreading actual patterns of healthy behavior (as opposed to lipservice about healthy behavior) across the breadth of society. Getting people to DO the healthy thing more often (nothing crazy - eat better, don't drink too much too often, get enough sleep most nights, exercise a few times a week.) Talk about your easy and obvious ways to improve health care while reducing costs. But to actually put it across? That will take your best effort. And, you'll be criticized for it, just as you were run through the wringer for (even I have a hard time believing this) telling kids to stay in school. Oy.
  
  
• Fight back.
  This stems from the previous point, and again, you'll need smarter people than I to help you finesse it. But please, please go after these dipshits when they say stupid things, and especially when they lie. Which they have done, are doing, and will continue to do until you stop them. You will be called a Socialist when you try to improve health care. You will be compared to Hitler when you advocate education. You will be called a Harbinger of Doom when you engage in diplomacy. Most people (I hope) know that this is crap, and those that don't aren't going to change their minds no matter what you say, so GO AHEAD AND CALL IT CRAP. I know that sometimes it's hard for Democrats to call people out because they don't want to look like hypocrites when they're shown to be sitting in the same corporate pockets as Republicans. Which the Dems should, you know, stop doing. But even before that Hailstorm in Hell, you should give yourself permission to call the truth the truth and call a lie a lie. We'll respect you more for it. Really. Continue to rise above their tactics, by all means, but don't just stand there when they get together to bring you down. Be like a master martial artist and use their own momentum against them. The wackos (and the charlatans who guide them) have been nasty and don't show any signs that they will slow down. What they have shown is that they can be counted on to go to extreme, even absurd, lengths to stand in the way of policies that change some perceived social status quo (or that might cost the richest of the rich a little bit of money.) Reveal their arguments for what they are, and they'll wind up tangled in their own rope.
  

There we go. We did it. We solved health care! Good for us. Tomorrow maybe we can get together and figure out how to get me an agent...

Fun with Health Care Policy

Had enough of the Health Care "Reform" debate? Hope not, because it would seem that it's nowhere near being resolved.

Glenn Greenwald published a pretty good piece on Sunday.

...The co-op plan which Daschle is advocating to Obama and which the White House and Senate Democrats are now leaning towards "happens to dovetail with the interests of many [Daschle's] clients, like the insurance giant UnitedHealth and the Tennessee Hospital Association." What a weird coincidence; it's like those companies won a Bingo game (can you believe our number happened to get called?!? what awesome luck we have).

That's why there's such fervent demands (sic) for a "public option" -- because it's the only thing that can keep costs low and thus prevent this bill from being nothing more than a glorified bailout of the insurance and drug industries, which is exactly what will happen if 50 million people are forced by law to buy their products with no cost-control mechanism but ample government subsidies. Yet still, the prevailing Beltway narrative continues to be that it's those loser fringe Leftists who are impeding true reform by demanding a "public option."

That's just a taste. Go ahead and read the piece. He makes good points about political language: how "Getting Things Done" can usually be equated with acting in the interests of big business.(and, unsurprisingly, the business-dominated media embraces that equation)

Try to bear in mind that opportunities lost are only worth remembering if they represent lessons learned. We can lament that the administration didn't frame this debate with a single player plan as a more loudly-stated goal, thus allowing them to accept the public option as the compromise (which it is). But the more important question is: what's next?

Happy Birthday Nelson Mandela

Yep, he's 90 today. 90! That's very exciting.

There's nothing I can really add to this man's story, which hopefully you all know well already. Truly and I think indisputably one of the Great People of our time, he personified integrity, self-sacrifice, devotion, persistence, effective activism and wisdom. Here's a report of the tributes from AFP.

I love how he describes himself as "a retired old man who no longer has power or influence." Nicely done.

So, my irreverent addition to the celebration will be a reblog to a very funny political cartoonist's site having nothing particularly to do with Mandela at all. Brian McFadden writes and draws Big Fat Whale, and finishes off with a pithy comment-on-the-commentary as well. Here's a link to the archives for your amusement and edification; the whole site is worth investigating. Meanwhile, here's today's entry:

OH - and I did call in sick for rehearsal last night. First time maybe ever (not counting when I was in school - I punked out a couple times back then). The Cal Ripkin Jr. impulse lost out to the 'take care of yourself - it will be better for you and for the show' impulse. Not sure what the hell that hygienist did to my jaw, but it's still a little sore. Much better than yesterday, though, so I'll be back in the game tonight.