It really is okay to make the punishment fit the crime.

As reported by CURT ANDERSON, Associated Press Writer
MIAMI - A sex offender was found guilty Wednesday of kidnapping and raping a 9-year-old girl and burying her alive in a case that led to a crackdown around the country on people convicted of sex crimes. Jurors deliberated about four hours before returning the verdict against John Evander Couey in the slaying of Jessica Lunsford, who was snatched from her bedroom in February 2005 about 150 yards from the trailer where Couey had been living.
Her body was found in a shallow hole, encased in two black plastic
trash bags. She had suffocated and was found clutching a purple stuffed dolphin.

And let me add this:
As enlightened as we are in the 21st Century, we must face reality. There are no effective treatments for Pedophilia and Sex Offenders. Castration and Exile seem to be the only reasonable options. Some would say that this was "cruel and unusual" punishment. But it isn't. Because anything else is not really a punishment, or rehabilitation, because nothing else works. We have to start worrying more about the potential victims rather than the rights of these monsters. In the meantime, though I generally oppose the death penalty, there was enough evidence and confession to be sure who committed this crime, so put the animal to death, because we, as a society, are not ready to ship him off to some god forsaken island somewhere, even though we are comfortable watching game show contestants marooned on them. And as you contemplate these harsh fates for these sick and unrepentant creatures, if your courage wavers, let the picture I placed here haunt you back to bitter reality.
Rest in Peace little Jessica.

America needs to grow up.

I can't believe the nonsense I'm reading in the press these days. David Geffen, Arianna Huffington, and the Hollywood elite are getting behind Obama because they have their misgivings about the Clintons. They forgot how good the Clinton presidency was to them, and to this country. They clamor for Hillary to apologize for giving the President authority to wage war in Iraq, when the majority of Americans supported the same thing based on the lies and misinformation our President was supplying at the time. It's ludicrous to think she should not have supported it, although some of us didn't, I don't blame anyone who did, if they felt that the evidence the President was giving was convincing. Remember, the President had promised not to wage war unless it was the last resort. That was his LI E, not any of the senators who voted for the resolution.

I have said here before that politics is the only place where it is unacceptable to learn from your mistakes and change your mind. Now you can add to it another crazy distortion; in politics these days, it seems, experience is considered a bad thing! Bob Herbert, the New York Times columnist, was writing today about Obama’s fresh ideas being a threat to Clinton's establishment attitude. This is of course nonsense. Voting someone in with no experience and good intentions usually leads to an ineffectual President; see Jimmy Carter. Inexperience is not a virtue. Senator Obama couldn't get a mid-management level position in a company with the amount of experience he has. People want to vote him in to the highest office in the most powerful nation in the world? If he's really a good person and has good ideas maybe someday he will become a good politician, who can work within government to build a concensus, and to put fourth reasoned ideas, and he may, someday, be electable. Obama talks about a new brand of politics. Funny, a first-termer, little experience, and he talks about new ideas and working together: sounds a lot like George W. Bush. If that doesn't scare you away from thinking Obama should be President, I don't know what would. Now I'm not saying Obama would make a bad President, I wouldn’t know. Neither would any of you. That's the point. After the primaries, in the general election, the Republicans would rip him apart. They'll take everything that the misguided Democrats in the primaries liked about him, and then convince the same people that those are all negatives, just like they've done many times in the past. When a seasoned politician like a McCain or Giuliani, will talk about their experiences and how they worked together for the betterment of this country, and then attack Obama for his lack of experience, especially in these “dangerous time” you will watch as the same people who voted for Obama will buy it, not vote for Obama in election, and will put in another misguided Republican administration that will bring us further down into a hole. What would Obama's slogan be? INEXPERIENCE THAT COUNTS! I HAVEN'T MADE ANY MISTAKES YET. MY BEST MISTAKES ARE AHEAD OF ME! On the other hand, Clinton is experienced, intelligent and talks about a lot of good ideas. Her experience has made her learn from her mistakes. I’ll bet, for example, her next healthcare reform proposals, while not as grand as they were in the early 90s, will probably be much more approachable. Mind you, I have never found anything to particularly like about her, or dislike, as I did not think about her very much at all. But now that thoughts turn to the next Presidential election, I have had to think about it, and I think she is probably the best candidate out there. It's not because I liked her husband so much though I did)that I think she should be in office, just to bring him back there too. No, I think she's proving to be the best qualified and electable candidate. Obama, just like John Edwards, only has style and no substance. Experience and compromise will bring legitimacy and wisdom. Someday both of them might be good candidates, but that day is far in the future.

I am truly sorry for America that I am not making this up...

Vice President Dick Cheney announced that it was a good sign that England was withdrawing a good amount of its troops, saying, "it shows that things are getting better in some parts of Iraq". This, as our Administration attempts to send over 20,000 more American troops into Iraq. Now, I am sure some parts of Iraq are more stable; in fact, I heard that there is a deli in Baghdad that has not had any patrons pulled outside by roving militias and executed in almost a week!! Nevertheless, as far as I can tell, we have these things called 'Humvees' to transport troops, so if the reason England is pulling their troops is stability in some (imaginary) part of Iraq, and we need to send over 20,000 troops because of instability elsewhere, maybe they could MOVE their troops?? They could...if that were the reason they are withdrawing. It is because Tony Blair hitched his star to George W. and now that his star is quickly fading, he is trying to salvage something of his reputation by acknowledging things are NOT working as planned, and leaving his soldiers there, is leaving them to possibly die with litttle chance to succeed. Now, I don't know Dick Cheney personally, but I hear tell he is a pretty intelligent guy, so I smelled something Prime Evil here. Though I had never called him; he always got in contact with me, I decided to try to call Satan himself and see what the deal was. I pulled out my cellphone and went to the received calls log, and when I pulled up 'HELL' I pressed SEND and it seemed to be placing the call. Moments later I heard Satan's voice on the other end. "Hell's Kitchen, can I take your order?"
"Oh, what?" I asked confused.
"Just messing with your head. I hate to tell you what placing this call is going to do to your cell phone bill, but I think this counts for like 20 or 30 text messages!" He said.
"Damn!" I exclaimed.
"Sure." He responded.
"Listen, what's the deal with Cheney? He says the British troop pull out is an indication that everything is on plan in Iraq. He's either smoking some really bad shit, or I smell a little sulfur and brimstone, no?"
"Listen, you can't pin this on me!" Satan howled. "Cheney's crying to me about how everything in Iraq is, if you will pardon the expression, going to Hell, and I admit, I was a little drunk, and well, I make a little joke about telling everyone this troop pull out is a good thing. And he takes me seriously! The next thing I know he's announcing it to the media! I should know better than to joke with him. The last time I saw him, we were out hunting and I yelled: "That lawyer's about to charge ---SHOOT! And, well, you know, it was really, after all, not a very good shot, anyway, not fatal or anything." He muttered. "I just meant he was about to charge----him $275 an hour!" He laughed.
"I see." I said, not really understanding, or necessarily believing everything I was hearing. Then I mentioned that White House spokesman Tony Fratto warned that a pullout of U.S. troops could bring chaos to Iraq. Laughing I said, "Chaos might be an improvement, although in actuality I believe chaos is just the appropriate word for what we have there right now.
Satan said: "That one you have to pin on Cheney and Bush. I had nothing, NOTHING, to do with that. Even drunk I couldn't get those words out, I'd be laughing too hard!" Then he thought a moment, "Perhaps civil war, or uncivil war, might be good."
"They all seem accurate." I pondered. Then Satan changed the subject.
"Listen, a Dunkin Donuts in Duluth has a bran muffin that looks like Mary and I have to go make it talk backwards and spit pea soup." He said.
Nauseated, I asked, "Really?"
"Nah, that would be kind of funny, not the effect I'm looking for. I might make it start bleeding though...from where, I haven't decided yet."
"Okay." I said, trying to put the thought of bran muffins shaped like biblical women that would start bleeding from---the Devil knows where---out of my head.
"So, where was Part 2 of the Healthcare reform discussion we had? I didn't see it on your blog yet." He mentioned.
"I'm still sorting it all out. I'm trying to get it up soon." I promised.
"See that you do. If I had to sit through all of that...the rest of your loyal readers should have to also. You do still have a loyal reader...right?" He laughed.
"Hey. I have more than one...I think."
"Fine, I'll speak to you after you post that piece then, okay?!" He said.
"Okay." I said.

Wimbledon enters the 20th Century

Wimbledon just announced it was going to pay Women Tennis Champions the same monetary awards that it pays to the Mens Champions. This is news to me, because it never occurred to me they weren't paying men and women the same. Welcome, Wimbledon, to the 20th Century, although the last time I checked, it was now the 21st Century, but hey, better late than never, right?! Now, this is not the only example of time distortion in American culture today. The George W. Bush Administration has somehow managed to turn our civil liberties and the great freedoms America is founded on, into some weird variant of Cold War Russian KGB era kinds of wiretapping, surveillance, and encouraging you to report suspicious activities of your friends, neighbors and parents, while imprisoning without due process. But in all fairness to the W. Bush Administration, while no safer here in America then you were last year, the year before, or the year before that, you are most certainly safer than anyone in Iraq. And finally, as American politics enters the 21st century, with a woman and an African American running for the highest office, you will notice that they are both members of the Democratic Party, because that is the party that actually not only tolerates the presence of minority views, but also minority representation. That is partially the weakness of the party. They support all views, and dissent, while Republicans are quite good at keeping their disagreements to themselves. It is time the American electorate grows up, and not allow the Press to make you think a candidate is less worthy if they attack another candidate or defend themselves. Judge them by the issues, and right now the Democrats issues are to get out of Iraq, actually fight terrorism instead of just lying about it, reforming healthcare and making the tax code more equitable. Hopefully getting back to the financial success and balanced budgets of the last Democratic administration of the 1990's will soon follow.

Debating HealthCare Reform with the Real Devil's Advocate...(Part 1)

My cell phone rang and it said HELL. I tried to muster up some semblance of sympathy: "I take it that wasn't just a case of indigestion last night Mr. Vice President?" I said as politely as I could stomach.
"No, Dick Cheney is still alive and kicking up there. It's me, Satan." The devil responded.
"Hey," I began, "I thought the next time we were going to meet in person."
"That's what I am calling about. Let's meet for a drink!"
"At the same old bar, again?" I asked.
"Hey, they let me run a tab." He laughed. "Besides, we won't be staying long. I want to show you a few things."
"Oh yeah?" I asked, my interest piqued, "Something good?"
"Yeah, pictures of what you were doing last Saturday afternoon." He said.
"I don't need pictures, " I said, "I got a video."
"I know. I've been selling copies on the internet all week. Or should I say I have been TRYING to sell copies. There is about as much interest in your exploits as in your blog." He laughed.
"You mean you didn't even sell one copy! I was counting on royalties!" I ranted.
"Royalties! It's Hell. We Pirate everything!"
"Yeah, I remember," I said, "With Real Pirates!"
He laughed and then asked: "Now, are you going to meet me or not?"
"I'll be there in an hour." I said.
****************************************************
When I arrived, as I expected, Satan was enjoying a fine glass of scotch, neat, with a nice fat cigar. As I sat down the waiter put down a glass of single malt scotch for me, with one lone ice cube, just the way I like it. And Satan handed me one of the same cigars with the end already clipped.
"I thought I'd mentioned I gave these up." I said, "In fact, the entire city gave them up. We can't smoke in here anymore." I said.
"The Devil you say!" Satan cried with mock indignation. "The owner doesn't mind, and I'll 'make sure' there are no surprise city investigations."
"The owner doesn't mind?" I said. "And what about the other patrons?" I asked as he offered me a light, which I accepted.
"The owner and patrons are all neo-conservatives," The Devil began, "They all voted for W. Bush---twice! They all own gas guzzling SUV's. After their taxes were lowered, they all still cheat on them. Any one old enough avoided service in Vietnam while their middle and lower class brothers were dying 'for their country'. They support the Iraq war, though none of them, nor their kids, will be fighting there either. In short, they are all afraid of 'hanging with me for all eternity' to object now. Watch!" Satan stood up and yelled out: "Anyone mind our cigars?" There was not a peep from the crowd. "I didn't think so." He said aloud as he sat back down.
"Okay." I said. "I am not the Devil. I might run into these people when I am not WITH the Devil. Please---PLEASE---do not do that again."
"Oh, I promise, we won't be drawing any more attention. Drink up, and then we will be taking our cigars outside anyway."
"Where are we going?" I asked.
"I wanted to have a discussion about Healthcare reform, with my favorite Healthcare Reformer."
"Cool, who's that?" I asked.
Satan looked at me. "That would be you." He said. "But, in order to give you my spin on what I think is coming, I wanted to take you on a little tour first."
"I see," I said, "I guess this means when I write about it, it will be another two parter, eh?"
"Well, sure, on your blog, because you say too much and your hands get tired of typing very quickly."
"Not my hands, just the two fingers I actually type with." I said. "And what do you mean I say too much? You know, we spent a couple of days together on election day, was I supposed to cover that in a paragraph?"
"Whatever." Satan said as he downed his scotch, and I did likewise. Then he got up and we walked outside.
"You think highly of American citizens, don't you?" He asked.
"Yes. I do." I replied.
"You think the last election proved something, don't you."
"Yes, again." I said.
"At the end of our little tour, I want you to tell me some of your ideas on HealthCare Reform, and I will start to whisper them in some of the right ears...that is...if you still feel like doing it after our time together."
"Okay." I said. "But I have been working on this stuff a couple of years. You think you are going to change my mind in a few hours?"
"No. I think you will still believe in your ideas. I just don't think you will believe in the society that would need to enact them. I think you will lose faith and no longer believe that the American people want to solve their problems, much less do so with any appreciable cost to themselves."
"Really?" I said. "Well, as you have pointed out, you are not omniscient, you were wrong about this past election day, and I believe you will be wrong about this," He was just about to interrupt when I beat him to it, "I BELIEVE you will be wrong, but since I don't know what we will be doing, I guess it is possible that I will be mistaken...but I find it hard to imagine."
"Okay." Said the Devil, "Our first stop is Darfur."
"Darfur. What does that have to do with American Healhcare Reform?" I asked.
"Well, I would venture to say, at least as much as invading Iraq had to do with American security. But that's not the point. I will make my points when we are done." And he swept his cape around us like in a Batman movie (when did he put on a cape?) and in an instant, the air grew hot and arid. Flies could be heard buzzing. There was a smell, a vaguely bad smell, of garbage, and something else, in the air. We stood on a dirt road, and there were small cabins, or huts, all around us. "We are going to stick out more than your horns, you know." I said.
"No. I don't think so." Just then a young girl left a hut, leading an older man by the hand. They almost walked into me, but I moved aside. "They didn't see us." I said.
"No, nor would they feel us." He commented. "We do not exist, to them."
"What are you now? The Ghost of Christmas Past?!" I asked.
"Perhaps by the end of this, you may actually begin to understand my true nature. I would like to point out, that had you not been so wrapped up in worrying about being seen, you would have noticed that the man with that girl, her father, by the way, would not have seen you or anything else anyway."
"He's blind?" I asked as I looked towards them. How did I miss this? I could see there were two raw, moist, wounds where his eyes should be.
"That's not a disease." Satan began, "His eyes were gouged out by Arab militias known as the Janjaweed. They did it right after they forced him to watch as they gangraped his 15 year old daughter; the girl who is leading him around now."
I didn't say anything. I looked at this sweet young child helping her father; a scene like you might see anywhere, except it wasn't, it was a nightmare that we could never see back home. Then I spoke: "I'd read about these things, of course, in the New York Times. Nicholas Kristof writes about it often, but..." I trailed off.
"But it's different to stare a nightmare in the face, isn't it?"
"Yes, one that these people cannot wake from." I said.
"But they are still alive, and that is different from the tens of thousands that are not. Tortured and murdered merely because they lived, and lived here. But they blind, torture and rape without killing, to spread this message----leave your homes, because you might not be the lucky ones who are put out of your misery." Satan said.
"Is all of this your doing?" I asked, weakly.
"You're like my first wife! You don't understand me at all." Satan said with mock indignation.
"Why are we here? I asked, the bitter taste of tears held back, dripping down the back of my throat. I knew I would never forget the haunted expression in the eyes of that young girl, or the eyeless face of her father.
"All in due time." He said. "Shall we walk around. There are many men in this village who have had their eyes ripped out. even more that have had their ears cut off. Many of the women have been raped, usually gang raped, and there are many pregnant girls or babies born because of these acts, many under the age of 16."
"Must we?" I asked. "I believe you."
"Sure. You've read about it, though many of your fellow Americans have not even bothered. But for many that have, like you, they have done only that. Read about it. Nothing more. No letters to their Senators or President, or to the UN. No outcry of anger. Not like how your people reacted to 9/11." We walked. I wanted to believe this was all a movie or a bad dream. I wanted to think this was all done with makeup, and no one really suffered like this. I wondered how any human being could do these things. How do you rip another man's eyes out of his head? How do you rape a little girl? Don't you have children of your own where you come from? Aren't you afraid...but as my thought trailed off...Satan spoke...."Aren't they afraid of going to Hell?" He laughed. "It's not like that in every religion, although there is punishment for sin, but as you can see, sin can be rationalized to mean anything, or nothing.... "He said, after reading my mind. Then I considered what I had asked, the Devil doesn't really make people do bad things, though, yeah, sometimes he encourages them to do the wrong thing, but they know clearly it's the wrong thing before they do it. Most of the time he isn't even involved...I think. Rather than an evil influence, he was more like a second conscience to ease the burden if you chose not to listen to your fist one. Maybe it was to his benefit if you did not heed your conscience, but there was no subterfuge. I needed to think about this.
"Yes you do." He murmured as he waved his cape again. Suddenly it was very, very, VERY cold. Even though we had left New York in February and I was dressed pretty warm, it felt like I was naked. The wind was howling and all I could see was dim white in every direction. "Where are we?" I yelled above the din.
"Antarctica." He said smoothly, as all the extraneous sounds died down, and the cold receded, and we began to float above the ground. "I have decided that you do not have to freeze to death for me to make my point." He said.
"What do I need to do? Fall to my death?" I said as I looked down and saw we were soaring a few hundred feet above the ground.
"No. Just pick a spot for a snowball fight." He said. He seemed very serious.
"You are kidding, right?" I asked.
"I thought we should get one in while there is still snow." He said.
"What, is this a global warming thing? Is Al Gore gonna come narrate? I wrote all about it already on my blog, if you remember, it was our last conversation, and then what happenes, barely a week later, the Northeast dives into a big chill! And I look like you were just joking with me!"
"Gee, it got cold in the winter. Pardon me! You think that means global warming isn't really a threat?" He asked.
"No." I just don't think enough people would believe in it right now to make it compelling reading on my blog." Just then a great roar, like nothing I had heard before, interrupted us. I looked down to see a great mass of white, there was no scale to utilize, but a vast expanse broke off from the main ice sheet, and a large part of the edge just dropped into the sea.
"The part that broke off is as big as Manhattan, and the part that fell into the sea was bigger than some Hawaiian islands. The 'permafrost' isn't so permanent anymore. And while it is true, that there have always been temperature fluctuations in history, there is still human made patterns occurring here, and the big problem is, when humankind wakes up, it will take many years to turn the tide, and the ill effects will be seen for many years after that. So you can see that every year that a solution is put off is a dangerous thing for the Earth's future."
I just stared at the ice, shimmering pools of water all over its melting surface, as Satan whisked his cape around us again....
Suddenly it smelled damp and not very good, but was not hot like in Darfur. There were houses, and a lot of overtunred things and garbage in the streets. It seemed like a ghost town. No one was around.
"Where are we now? Another far and desolate spot that you want to tell me the rich and powerful country of America and all its citizens have ignored?"
"You guessed it." Satan said. "We are in--- New Orleans, Louisianna, right in the good old US of A."
I looked around at the desolation.
"You know how many people died here?" Satan asked.
I thought for a moment, frowned, thought some more, and finally said: "You know, I don't. I once tried to find out on the internet but could not find a reliable number." I said.
"Interesting, no? In America, in the 21st Century, you don't know how many you lost. More than in 9/11, I'll wager. Much more. And so many more... displaced and ruined. And while not from the same cause---terrorism,--- the result was allowed by the same government ignoring the same advance dire warnings that they ignored about Al-Qaeda before 9/11. The same mistakes again...except this time, they continued their terrible failure after the fact, with none of the resiliency and effort you saw in New York after 9/11. It was failure heaped upon failure, which is why the disaster ended up as devastating as it did. And where is the government support for the survivors. All ruined, and fighting for scraps of claims in court against insurance companies that never expected to have to pay for your government's indifference. No millionaire widows and widowers inLouisianna, not like after 9/11. Yet, though both were from outside sources, both were allowed by an arrogant government that ignored every warning." Satan smiled eerily, "Truly, this W. Bush Administration has worked hard to earn a special place in my domain." He laughed. I looked around. There was nothing to laugh at, I thought.
"It's my way." Satan responded again to my thoughts. "I laugh. Your government ignores all the signs and warnings. It's the way of things." He said.
"Recently, but the tide is already turning." I said.
"You still think so, after our little journey?" He asked as he whisked his cape around us. We were back in front of the bar, a barely smoked cigar back in my hand. I hadn't even realized it was not in my possession while we made our 'trip'.
"Yes, I do." I said, but not quite as sure as I normally would be.
"You're kind of stupid, aren't you? I never noticed." He laughed. "I show you the genocide and torture going on in the world; something the 'enlightened West' said would never happen again after the Holocaust of World War II. I show you the folly of humankind, blissfully fiddling, while your future burns---and floods. I show you the disaster and tragedy, not in some far off locale, but right in America; with little outcry and fury, unlike in 9/11 even though so many more thousands are affected and those responsible are right at hand. Your people ignore suffering, the risk of a disastrous future and disaster as it goes on around them. You still believe that America is going to tackle the complicated, expensive, and personally challenging task of HealthCare Reform?" He asked incredulous.
"Not only that, but, while it sometimes takes a while for our collective conscience to awake, I believe we will tackle everything you put on my plate today. We will demand the world deal with Darfur. We will stem the tide of global warming. And it is not too late to indemnify the losses of New Orleans, even though we did not avert the disaster."
Satan grabbed my cigar out of my hand, and sniffed the burning end. "What the Hell are you smoking?" He laughed heartily now and handed me back my cigar. "Or did that one glass of Scotch go to your head?" He asked.
"I'm serious." I said.
"No, I think you're crazy." Satan said. "John McCain is serious. Here's a man who has given up his convictions, and has hired all the people who were used in the past elections to beat him! He wants to win at the cost of his beliefs. He is a man I can understand. He is a man who works like me. You?! What am I to make of your unswerving belief in human nature? If everyone were like you, I'd be out of business."
"Well, sadly, I haven't always walked the straight and narrow." I sighed.
"You still don't understand what gets someone into Hell? Did you not learn anything today?"
"I think there is more to you than I understand. I think you took me on this expedition so I would write about it, because you do believe that humankind is better than this, and that eventually, the tide will turn."
"Really." He said. "If that were true, it might explain why the New York Times writes about these things...but your blog?! You think you have enough loyal readers to change the world? You don't even have enough people viewing your blog to change the toner cartridge in my HP Laser Printer!"
"You have an HP Printer?" I asked.
"Yeah, HP--Hell Products." He said. "It's a patent infringing knock-off we have made in China." He laughed.
"I do think I am starting to understand you. Let me think about it some more while we discuss HealthCare Reform."
"If we must. I was hoping to convince you that it was pointless, thus saving myself from the interminable boredom of the entire topic. But a deal is a deal. Let us go have seats at the bar...and whatever part of my mind is not numbed by the alcohol, I know you will take care of with your talk of HealthCare...."
TO BE CONTINUED....

McCain proves you can be aligned with the Ultra Conservatives, or the American People, but not both. OR The 6 Horse's Asses of the Apocalypse.

Newsflash: Make the total now--6 braindead unpatriotic American's working in Government. Yes, there are 6 now willing to either lie to you, or plainly cannot see the truth, and still believe that Iraq is going well. These losers are, in AlphaMoronical order: George W. 'I always support American wars as long as I can avoid combat' BUSH, Richard 'Now you know why they call me DICK, and I too support wars if I can avoid combat' Cheney, Condoleeza 'I never met a piece of Al-Qaeda intelligence I couldn't ignore' Rice, Karl 'I never met a lie I didn't embrace' Rove, Joe 'my morals, my brain and my integrity are all in the same blind trust I used to look at Iraq and see it was going well' Lieberman and add John 'Convictions? Please, I'll say anything for a Conservative's vote' McCain.
McCain called the congressional resolution against the throwing of another 21,000 of our troops to the desert wolves in Iraq, a vote of no confidence. D'uh. No one, or should I say, it's down to six, has any confidence in the way this administraiton is handling this war. With no new plan, we should send more troops and money to Iraq? Both of which are disappearing with alarming quickness, as both the attacks and the fraud mount speedily. McCain said we have to support our troops. I, like all true Patriots in this country could not agree more. Where I differ with these politicians, is in what supporiting our troops means. Giving our troops worthless rhetoric while leaving them in an untenable position where they continue to die, and achieve little else? I don't call that support. Either come up with a decent plan, or get them out and take your losses. That is supporting our troops. I find it hard to believe that a soldier like McCain, who suffered for years as a prisoner of war, would have called for more soldiers to have been sent to Vietnam, so we could have continued that doomed struggle, while even more soldiers were killed or captured. Is his support for the W. Bush position just stupid, or is it really just pandering to the far right wing of the Republican party---the only people still believing Bush has a clue--and a plan? I could go on and on, as you well know, but in truth, the point has been made by events, and is just repetitive here.

When the pathetic game of politics can still accomplish some good....(Mental Health Parity-Part I)

On his Exit, and clearly in preperation for his hope for a national stage, Governor Pataki signed into law, a Mental Health Parity bill. Not a great bill, with some costly compromises, but a good bill. I say that this is a result of a pathetic political game because, as you can see, Pataki was governor for several terms, and signed this law on his exit. Also, if he believed he could not work on this before, because it would be too costly for the state, it is telling that he did not mind saddling his predecessor with it. But it won't be too costly, of course. As the Federal Government has seen, while there may be a rise in the mental health care costs of the plan, there are cost savings to be had in lowered medical bills, less absenteeism and better employee productivity. Meaningful Helathcare Reform in this country will certainly entail Mental Health Parity, because of the benefits to the economy that a work force less challenged by mental illness will bring, as well as the needs to address the high cost opf mental health care for those chronically and pervasively challenged by mental illness. For them, an expansion of Residential programs, and a new effort to combat the secondary medical conditions we are seeing in the population due to side effects of the strongest medications and highest doses, need to be encouraged. On that front, I am involved in developing, with the guidance and resources of a dynamic, state of the art Residential system, a program to coordinate diet, exercise, psychiatric and case management to aid in medical and psychiatric adherence as well as use diet and exercise to combat these side effects. One area to explore, especially in light of recent studies questioning the benefits of some of the newer medications for some patients, is creating protocols to keep certain medications for use as a last resort, for those in the population who are clearly most susceptible to the potential damaging side effects, such as obesity and Type 2 Diabetes that are being observed. Any valuable protocols will clearly need to be useful for the many facets of a comprehensive Residential System (from group home and scatter site housing). Soon I will be posting updates on these projects as well as the development of an anti-stigma campaign that has been mentioned here before. However, I think it is time we once again work on some issues regarding medical healthcare reform, and look in on some of the things going on around the country.

Satan to the Northeast this winter..."Hot enough for ya?"

My cellphone started vibrating and when I consulted the Caller ID it said "HELL".
I answered as respectfully as I could muster, "This is an honor Mr. President," but was interrupted,
"No, he's still alive. You know that. This is Satan."
"Yeah, I know." I said. "Our President's been practicing staying out of harm's way since Vietnam, so I am sure he has a few years left."
"How's the weather?" Satan asked with a chuckle.
"Nice. Warm. Why?" I asked.
"Know why it's so warm?" Satan asked.
"Well," I said, "the global warming community says it is increased green house gases from the world's growing industry and overindulgence of oil consuming cars and trucks. The neo- conservative movement would have us believe that global warming is utter nonsense, it's only the resurgent el nino current, and we should sit back, relax, and enjoy springtime in January." I said.
"And what do you think?" Satan asked.
"Well, now that I have the Devil on the line asking me, I think you have something to do with this."
"You know, this is one of those rare confluence of events where the answer is, actually, all of the above!"
"You mean like 'Murder on the Orient Express'?" I asked.
Well, sort of. It is global warming, and el nino, and Hell's doing, if that's what you mean."
"Satan, can I call you Satan?", I began.
"That's Mr. Devil, to you!" He barked.
"Sorry...You're kidding, though, right?"
"Yeah. I guess Satan's all right. Although my friends call me Stan, or Lou, or Santa."
"Oh, come on!! You are kidding now, right?"
"Yeah, I am,", he said, "mostly..."
'What's the deal with Santa anyway? Same letters in his name, the red suit?" I asked.
"Well, look at it this way, you take the birth of the Christian lord, and turn it into a commercial endeavor where parent's everywhere have to buy a bagload of presents, and then have to say it came, not from them, but from an imaginary character, and you didn't think there was anything devilish about that? My hands are all over that! I remember it like it was yesterday, I said to God, 'God, if you get to bring down a force for good in the world, and start a new religion, you gotta let me get something out of this too. Hence the conversion of the religious to the commercial, and the pious and poor lord to the mother of all shopping events! Then I got the Jews into the act. Eight days burning on one day of oil...not your most amazing of miracles, not the parting of the Red Sea, or anything, but certainly adequate enough for the making of eight nights of gift giving, to compete with the one monumental morning of the year!"
"All right. Enough!" I said. "You are taking the fun out of all of this." I said.
"That's part of my job. It comes with the territory." He said.
"And what were you calling me about?" I asked.
"To let you know why it is so hot up there." He said. "Remember how cold it has been in Hell lately?" He asked.
"You mean when Hell froze over because I was right about the American electorate coming through and booting the Republican majority, and you were wrong?" I said.
"Yes," he said. "Well, the heat has to go somewhere, and there you go. A few degrees of global warming, an el nino, and a little extra heat courtesy of Hell." It all spells a warm start to winter for you surface dwellers. Mostly, in the northeast, for a variety of interdimensional, geographical reasons. Much too complicated to go into now." He said.
"You don't understand why it's mostly in certain areas either, huh?" I asked.
"Don't taunt the Devil." He laughed. My nephew works for the IRS and I have other nieces looking for dates."
"I see. All good points." I said, chastened.
"And I can think of over 111 things I can do to your car that will not be covered by the warranty."
"My car's been giving me trouble. I'm thinking of trading it in!" I said smugly.
"See." He responded. "Don't taunt the Devil."
"Leave my cars alone, thank you." I said. "Don't you have better things to do?"
"No. It's been kind of slow. I promised to leave the new Congress alone for a few weeks. I used my cellphone to videotape Saddam Hussein's hanging, but that only took a few minutes. You can see it on YouTube. It's getting more play than the video I took up Britney Spears skirt when she was out with Paris and Lindsay that night. When she was a little girl, surely Brittney's mother told her to always go out wearing clean underwear, but I guess she should have stressed the underwear part more than the clean, huh?" He laughed.
"So what is your point here?" I asked.
"Don't stress global warming," he said. "Listen to your President, and to Dick Cheney."
"Really," I asked. "There's nothing to worry about?"
"Oh, of course there is. It will destroy the world. But hey, we all gotta go sometime, and your generation won't even have to worry, not before, say, your grandkids generation, at least!"
"That's not to worry about?" I asked, incredulously.
"Not if your Satan," he replied, "If the world ends through humankind's avarice, evil, or stupidity...I win."
"Win what?"
"The game. You know...." He said.
"No, I don't know. What game?"
"All of this." He said. "Everything. LIfe, the earth, you know.... Maybe not just a game, so much as a bet, a wager, between God and myself."
What do you mean?" I asked.
"God bet that he could create a physical dimension populated with independent biological processes, that would evolve with free thought and choice into an advanced race that would someday become fully self aware, and understand their true nature, and that of their creator, and a harmonious symmetry would be created that would transcend our dimension and yours to create a utopian pandimensional multiverse that would herald a golden age of plenty throughout the entire cosmic spheres. And I bet you'd be mostly a nasty lot of greedy, self annihilating poseurs."
"And have you collected on this bet?" I asked glumly.
"No, sadly, we are not even close to the finish, unless of course you 'accidentally' self annihilate before you can prove yourselves. God thinks you are moving, with major fits and starts, of course, in the right direction. I do not. Even God admits the last 6 years in America, one of his favorite places, has started to push the momentum in my direction. But he feels the previous 200 years or so, went his way. So, who can really say?"
"That's why you are pushing us now to ignore global warming! Now I understand." I said, "You are likely to lose unless the human race should exterminate itself."
"You mean when it does." He laughed. "I'm not worried about losing." He said, but clearly he was.
"The Devil you say!" I laughed. "I think you are concerned!" I said.
"Do I smell another wager?" He asked. "A chance for me to score some, after my poor insight into your election day?" He inquired.
"The result could potentially take thousands of years to decide." I said.
"So, what's our rush. If you lose, I can come collect you, that is, if I don't already have you!" He laughed, more Satanically than usual.
"I'll think about it." I said, as I also thought about maybe, making my next car a hybrid, or at least something more environmentally friendly than the cars I usually go for.
"Economical cars are soooo boring!" Satan whispered on the other end of the cellphone."
"Are you reading my mind?" I asked, aghast at the possibilities.
"You were talking about buying a new car before, and now about global warming and then you were silent. It doesn't take the King of the Underworld to figure that out. By the way, it is better to rule in a gas guzzling SUV or Sports Car, than to serve in a Hybrid." He laughed. "You can quote me on that." Then he laughed some more.
"Go to Hell." I muttered, annoyed.
"Already there. That's the beauty of the phone. Not as impersonal as email, more convenient than leaving your own dimension."
"Lucky you called after 9pm. I have unlimited night and weekend minutes and this is a long call!" I said.
"Sorry, any call from Hell is peak anytime minutes. It's Hell, after all."
"Are you kidding me?!! Next time leave your own dimension! You owe me more than a drink for all the minutes you're using!" I said.
"Fair enough. Next time...in person." He said.
"And when will that be?" I asked, but my phone already said --Call Ended--.

Well, they hung him....

Yes, they hung Saddam Hussein. Even though impartial organizations pointed to the many failings of the trials. Should America be proud? The majority of the world condemned it, both for their being against capital punishment, and because of the poor job the court did. Our great and God fearing Christian President, W. Bush, supported it, even though the Pope did not. Who else in the entire world was glad to see it happen? Well, one very notable amongst the few...Iran. When you find you are on the same side as Iran...maybe you should reconsider. But of course, the new Iraqi government, borne from the democracy we brought to them, is welcomes and embraces Iran, while their people are showing their love for our liberating them by continuing to murder our soldiers in their streets. Is there an American soldier in Iraq, or a Jew in Israel, that can possibly sleep as soundly as George W. Bush has pointed out that he does? It would seem hard to imagine.

President Bush signals he is ready to seek new strategies in Iraq....and other reasons to be weary at Year's end....

In a rare showing of initiative and true courage, the President announced "No longer should you do as I say and not as I do. From this point forward you should do as I do, and not as I say!" He then encouraged all the great young men and women of this country to avoid actually serving in military combat, just as he, and Cheney and Rumsfeld (not to mention Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly and so, so many other neo-conservatives) cowardly did in Vietnam. "If only I had thought of this sooner, we would not have soldiers dying in Iraq. What a brilliant startegist, I would be hailed." Bush remarked. When asked if this might actually cause there to be more parallels made between Iraq and Vietnam, he said: "I don't think so. In Vietnam there was an actual communist threat, where in Iraq, it seems to have all been in the imaginations of Rumsfeld, Cheney and myself." Clearly, if these quotes should turn out to be accurate, we would be entering a new enlightened era as the W. Bush administration winds down, to its inevitable place in the history books of having been a disaster, culminating in such bon mots as enabling and encouraging the struggling little nation of Iran to self actualize and become a world wide threat to peace everywhere, as well as the very future of Israel. And let us not forget the cozy and balmy winters it helped bring about by avoiding such annoying contrivances as the Kyoto Protocols. W. clearly will be remembered fondly by the Pharmaceutical industry for that lovely present: Medicare Part D--while tying the hands of government cost-cutters by forbidding drug price negotiations. A nice economic incentive that will ensure healthy Christmas bonuses for some Drug executives, as well as your childrens, childrens, children paying interest on the deficit created during this glorious hey-day for Texas Yahoos everywhere. W. will also be remembered fondly by all die hard 70's conservatives as the President that wiretapped the people but this time got away with it. And those Iraqis that survived being imprisoned by American forces will fondly recall how they were the lucky ones to get to be tortured under the most immoral administration the U.S. has seen. Of course, we won't be hearing any opinions from all the prisoners we are holding around the world without due process, because they are in solitary and have no clue what we are talking about. Imagine if W's daughters were held indefinately in solitary for using fake i.d.'s, maybe his stance would change? Maybe not. Those girls seem like a lot of trouble, and if he has the gumption to get tough with unarmed civilians whose only crime was choosing to be Muslim and alive after 9/11, he might have the wherewithall to toss the little princesses to the wolves. Who knows? More importantly, who cares? The important thing is to get the impeachment started so the war crimes tribunals can be set up and everything wrapped up before the next Presidential election. That's democracy in action!

Conservatives, in this case the media, show their true colors, once again, this holiday season: the unpatriotic losers that they really are...

Four true patriots died this holiday weekend. You wouldn't know it if you read Fox news on the Internet. A top story at the moment it was first checked was how Donald Trump is fighting with his neighborhood over flying the flag. As I've always maintained here on this blog and in my writing, those who talk the talk invariably do not walk the walk when they are conservatives talking about war, (or practically anything else). How many members of the current administration or the current Conservative pundits out there, have we pointed out avoided military service when they were called by their country to fight in Vietnam? But this shameful display of hiding the bad news is so unfair to the men and women who laid down their lives, as well as to their families and friends. It's nothing less than disgusting. To say nothing of not fair and unbalanced. Should Fox point out that at some time it was on their news service, it was clearly only their for a few moments at most. I have followed this story of the death toll in Iraq on the Yahoo! News AP service, as well as having it pointed out to me by someone who reads the CBS news website. It's been there all weekend; (and even on Fox's AP section it is not there) such a big and important story as well as so tragic that it should occur at this special time of year. For Fox news not to make it a headline story and leave it up throughout the holiday weekend is a travesty and only serves to point out that for Conservatives to give their point of view in the news, they have to lie and distort. The truth rarely supports their assertions or points of view. You can see that in everything from the Iraq war to the way Medicare part D was handled. I just don't get why they haven't a clue. And for five years they were able to convince many people in this country, by lying to them, and painting a rosy picture, that it really was that way. The country finally couldn't take it anymore, stood up and took notice, and voted for change this past Election Day. Nevertheless, if you read the conservative statements leading right up to the election, they didn't believe they were going to have any trouble with the election, because they still refused to accept all the problems they had created, all the burdens they'd enhanced and all the solutions they failed to grasp.

Despite all this, clearly the country has embarked on a new path. So while I started on a sad note, let me end on a better one. Let me wish you all happy and healthy holidays and a happy healthy and prosperous new year 2007. May God bless you all and may God continue to bless this great nation of ours. And may God grant us the wisdom and foresight to bring our young men and women home from war as quickly as we possibly can.
Thank you.

You can't make this stuff up...but you wish it wasn't true....

It was reported that the President, may, after all, read the newspaper. This may not seem particularly newsworthy if not for the fact that the President mentioned in 2003 that he didn't read the newspaper but preferred to get his news from "objective sources"; that is, his staff and colleagues. He might want to consult a dictionary a bit more than he reads the newspaper so he would understand the term 'objective', but this does explain a lot about why he thinks the way he does. He thinks the looney right wing gossip he's been getting from Cheney, Condi, Rove, et al was actually news! (He didn't like "the news" Powell delivered--so he dumped him and Rumsfeld is suspect now with his last memo: maybe he was just misunderstood? Or maybe Cheney was telling him what to say?) But here is the problem that makes this just another Bush-lie. (If we look up lie in the 2007 Merriam-Webster, I have heard rumors that for accuracy sake, W. Bush's picture will be there.) His wife just announced that they have a morning ritual of waking up to coffee and the newspaper for many years. So which is it? Was George lying then, or Laura now? Laura's might seem a "white" lie to preserve respect for her husband, as many of them there highbrow intellectual Presidents of the past have been known to "read a paper or two". Now, of course, Cowboy W. doesn't pretend to be an intellectual (we don't need no steenking IQ--we the Presidente!) So is it possible that the 2003 comment was an unusual dose of truth and candor from the empty cave where George H.W. and Barbara's genetic code thought they'd left a couple pounds of grey matter? We'll never know for sure. But we know it doesn't matter. If W. did read the newspaper, it would no doubt be the Washington Times, Wall Street Journal or the New York Post. Oh wait, not the Post, it endorsed Hillary. Just when Satan thought the temperature was starting to rise again, too! So, at least we know the "news" the President would get, would match the nonsense he gets from his mush-for-brains sidekicks. So maybe he was on to something...why bother to read the newspapers anyway???

Here's To Your Health, Iraq

You can't be wrong all of the time. That is the only conclusion I can come to as I find George W. and myself are of the same opinion on whether Iran and Syria should be involved in discussions about stabilizing Iraq. We both agree they should NOT be a part of the situation. Like a thousand monkeys toiling away day and night at a thousand wordprocessors are bound to write something meaningful eventually, so to, it would seem, that by spouting off on so many things he does not understand, eventually W. Bush was going to hit on a reasonable thought or opinion. It is the exception that proves the rule. You see, the bipartisan commission on Iraq, that so correctly got it right when they said the situation was "grave" have shown that despite their 20/20 hind and current sight, they are as myopic as the Bush administration has been for the future. Sadly, there is no good way to handle Iraq; a monumental mess and catastrophe, but that does not mean you attempt to destroy the stability of the middle east by requesting help from two of the most dangerous, destabilizing and terrorist assisting governments in the middle east. Maybe we should ask Osama bin Laden what his thoughts are, too. Afterall, he's been around during regime changes, and knows what is in the mind of suicide bombers, so he might have some valuable insight. I do agree with the commission that we must negotiate directly with the insurgents, but that is because, as I have pointed out all along, 'insurgents' is just another example of how the neocons like to take control of the argument rather than actually take part in it. The insurgents are not alien terrorist automatons from beyond the moon. They are actually Iraqis, that did not happen to lay roses at our soldiers feet when we 'liberated' them. They are not happy to have us there, but just like they are part of the indigenous population and we need to deal with them, we are part of the landscape and they will have to do the same with us. Iraq, the way that blobbish, incoherent, amorphous organism in washington that we will call CheneyBush envisioned it, is not possible. That does not mean we have to take a total loss on the proposition.

Here's To Your Health, America, as 2006 draws to a close....

As NY considers the recommendations of its committee for Hospitals and Healthcare in the 21st Century (the hospital closing commission to many) and we see West Virginia is trying a Medicaid incentive program that rewards patients that are diligent with their care, and try to prevent problems, with more services, I would like to discuss this. First, let me just pat myself on the back and point out that NY's idea of converting some of these hospitals into clinics and outpatient care centers are ideas you read here. Also, what is being tried in West Virginia was also posited by me in the comments to a healthcare editorial on the CBS News website. Why do I mention this, besdides to blow my own horn? Because this is only the beginning,and there is much more to do. Also, it is not just the ideas, but how they are handled. In NY, they are creating a lot of upheavel, lost jobs, mandatory changes of affiliation and services offered. It is landmark, but is it reasonable and ultimately legal? And more to the point, is it fair? Are they allocating enough resources to help with the changes? So far, 1.5 billion has been mentioned and that won't be enough. West Virginia has the right idea, in that people need to take responsibility for their own health, and if they won't. there is only so much the public should pay for it. You will see alot more of the ideas you read about here first, but obviously, the lead time was short, and these things were being worked on before they were written here. I am not trying to take credit for them, merely to point out that the cutting edge of healthcare reform sits right here. Somethings you will read here fist, and some will just be better said here. And just like the rest of the country, we will even make a few errors in judgement, but not too many. When I am finished analyzing the commissions proposals we will examine them in more depth here, and see what can be done better.

Here's To Your Future Health, GM

I don't claim to be a Car executive. But as someone who has owned, and liked, GM cars, and would like to see the American auto makers thrive. And also one who is considering one of GM's more appealing import fighters, in the guise of a partnered product they made with Subaru, I have this observation. The model I am considering was discontinued this year, because GM gave up its stake in Subaru by selling its stock to raise cash. Why do I think this was a mistake? Well, Toyota, at the moment, seems to be doing everything right. Even with their recent recalls, and the fact that I can personally attest to their awful customer service, and their less than stellar reliability in some models. They are enjoying a world wide lovefest on their way to becoming the largest auto maker. So who bought GM's stake in Subaru? Toyota. Word to GM executives.... If Toyota wants to buy your stake in another company...you probably shouldn't be selling it.

How do you know a Right Wing Neo-Conservative is lying? Their lips are moving.

Under the heading: Is he a compulsive liar or just stupid?
While Bill o'Reilly actually took a reasonable stand in speaking out against this ridiculous O.J. Simpson "If I did it..." interview about his book, and at first blush it would also seem somewhat a courageous move because it attacked a Fox Television broadcast. O'Reilly is, after all, a Fox Cable Talk Show Host. Now, it has been suggested to me, and I was impressed to think it likely, that O'Reilly was just being used n=by FOX to drum up interest and controversy, for the broadcast. Hard to say for sure, since, he then, in what was perhaps a quick after thought of the impropriety of attacking one's bosses, hastened to point out that "For the record, Fox Broadcasting (showing OJ) has nothing to do with the Fox News Channel,". Now of course, both venues, as well as the publisher of the OJ book are all owned by the News Corporation. So that is like saying you have nothing to do with your---brother, or sister. Now, even if you don't speak to your siblings, you do have the same parents, and you may have to share some of the same interests and motivations whether you like it or not. But, of course, O'Reilly never cares what he says, because if quoted on it later, he will deny it and defy you to show a transcript where he ever said it. After you show him the transcript he has been known to ignore it and keep on claiming there is no proof. In truth, I haven't bothered to document his lies, as people like Al Franken, with research teams from Harvard, have bothered to do so, with footnotes and endnotes, as well. But for the last five or so years, the on again off again truthfulness of Conservatives, whether in Federal Government, or on Television/Radio has turned pretty much into a more consistent and more entertaining complete pack of lies. As long as you understand you are watching Fiction for entertainment purposes--no harm done. If you want accuracy from FOX Properties, you are better off watching their reality shows, like American idol. Simon Cowell speaks more truth in an hour, then O'Reilly and Hannity do in a Season. Other Candidates for poor truth telling skills (they are compulsive, but I am just picking out their award winning performances : President Bush"Mission Accomplished!" Joe Lieberman "I saw real signs of improvement in Iraq. Things are going well." and all that stuff about being in a new era of peace and security and democracy in Iraq. Dick Cheney: any of his innumerable lies about Halliburton, including that they weren't doing business with Iran when they were. Rumsfeld, when talking about WMD: "We know where they are. They're right in the area around Tikrit." I could go on, but so many of these lies have already been exposed so it is just nonessential redundancy. Clinton lied about getting blow jobs in circumstances where he should never have been questioned about them in the first place. But the Conservatives clearly have the moral high ground: they are much more interested in getting our nation's youth killed for distractions to the war on terrorism then in getting blow jobs. Especially since they can consider it 'urban renewal' since most of the enlisted soldiers are poor minorities from dysfunctional urban settings. In that sense, as I have always maintained, everyday George W. does more to end poverty than many otherPresidents, except of course for Presidents like Clinton, that actually improved the economy for everyone---in every tax bracket. Maybe, if all these Conservatives in our government were more interested in blow jobs, or in actually fighting for their country when they had the opportunity, they would get out more of their aggressive impulses and would have had the patience to actually think before they act. Now, the draft won't pass--Rangel has the right idea, but it would make the Democrats too unpopular--the country has a hard time following subtle logic, but it doesn't matter---George W. and his ilk would just get their children into the National Guard, and then get them into some deferrment situation if their division was called to battle, anyway. Like their fathers before them; it's a family tradition... of cowardice, but a tradition nevertheless. They are only courageous with other peoples lives.

Submitted For Your Perusal....

I wrote this editorial last year.... As you can see, Americans stood up to the plate and hit it out of the park for change, and for a better way to the future....
Only 376 Shopping Days Until A New House and Senate
For the politicians who wage it, war has proven to be all too easy. You don’t have to figure out how to pay for a war. The public seems willing to accept deficits for such fights for freedom, even if a large portion of the deficit was caused by other administration policies unrelated to the war. For those same politicians; healthcare reform seems too daunting a task for them to seriously consider. Ironically, work on healthcare reform and so many other things suffers because the Iraq war is not costly to these politicians, even when they avoided their own generation’s call to battle. As many of them did their best to avoid active duty in Vietnam, so to will you rarely find their children going off to fight these wars today. Our officials wage war with faulty intelligence, poor planning and false claims of last resort, and before finishing the job in Afghanistan, but come election time have so far found they are not held accountable. They have also not been held accountable for anything else they have failed to do. Ineffectual, divisive, misleading government isn’t new. It just seems so much worse in the last five years that I’ve come to think of this as the “DoNothing”* Congress, Senate and Administration. It’s not that they don’t do anything, it’s just that so little of it is meaningful. They didn’t even attempt to tackle terrorism until it was thrust upon them on9/11. Wouldn’t it be nice if we had the means to create a government that remembers it is made up of civil servants---elected officials that actually know they work for We—The People? Actually, the architects of our great nation gave us the tools 229 years ago but someone has to remind our politicians today. Maybe it’s time we show them they will be held accountable daily for doing a good job just like the rest of us are in our own careers. Imagine what would happen if we could tell them that they would be fired in a week if they didn’t create a solution for affordable healthcare. But we can’t. We can only fire them come election day. Then we can vote in responsible people who not only say we can accomplish anything, but are also ready to try and prove it. Reform healthcare? Instead of talking aboutMedical Savings Accounts and other methods of simply shifting more of the burden upon the backs of the beleaguered middle class we should seriously start working on fair and meaningful reform. That requires figuring out both how to do it and how to pay for it. Expand coverage by giving tax credits to businesses that put in health plans and add a couple of points of taxes to those that are profitable but don’t put in plans. Help taxpayers afford what they are already doing by reducing the 7.5% threshold for taking medical itemized deductions on your tax return to the2% applicable to other kinds of deductions. Pay for it by reinstating the estate tax that is not really adouble taxation, but rather a first tax on years and years of untaxed capital growth. Help provide coverage and increase competition by giving incentives and assistance for affordable health plans to be tested and offered by municipal hospitals and non-profit medical centers, for the uninsured, that can do the job that the insurance companies have abdicated. Pay for it with a small increase in the long term capital gains rate or rolling back the most generous tax cuts for the top 10%. There will also need to be changes to Pharmaceutical Marketing, Physician Management and a host of others too numerous to go into here. I am not saying every change will be offset dollar for dollar, but it’s a start. We have seen hundreds of billions in deficit spending over the years for arms build ups, wars and tax cuts. We certainly can spend some money to achieve affordable healthcare for everyone. Shouldn’t government work like our own lives do; responsibly, sharing the burdens and the rewards for the good of the entire nation? Instead we have this insular culture that bred an administration that’s forgotten who it works for, and that We, The People, are watching. With a big election day approaching only 376 days away...don't just send a message with your vote…send in the right people to do what needs to be done.
Now of course, it remains to be seen if America has voted in the right people. But they have attempted a start for change...and that is a good direction to be travelling in.... *I would like to point out that i termed this a "do nothing" congress before all those other pundits jumped on the bandwagon!

My Election Night with Satan (part 2)

Two days. Two days! Two days we sat in that bar watching election news. Washing up in the bathroom sink. Satan wouldn't let me leave until things were settled. Somehow he got FOX News Network to cover it around the clock. "How did you manage that?" I asked.
"I told Murdoch I would change his circle, when the time comes. He was rating the bottom circle and he was anxious to get off there, because he said having to listen to Ken Starr for all eternity would have been too cruel, even for Hell."
"He has a point." I responded.
"Yeah?' The Devil grinned. "Wait until he finds out he'll spend all eternity push-polling with Karl Rove in Hell’s basement; trying to convince souls in heaven that Mother Theresa was actually a Gay Nazi named Hans." We both laughed and then a thought struck me.
“Did you ever go down to Georgia and get into a fiddlin’ contest because you were short on souls, or what?”
"Nah, that was just a song. I go down South all the time, but in this world I am never short for souls. I’m short on peaches and citrus fruit, sometimes, but never souls. And I don't play the violin. I play a mean guitar though; I have a Les Paul. I used to jam with Led Zeppelin, until they realized I wasn't just an acid hallucination, then they didn’t want to ‘hang with the devil anymore’ . I was so angry I created Disco!"
"Oh man, I like some Disco, but it's hard once I know it comes from Hell. I mean, now that I'm sure that's where it came from." I said.
"Ah, just kidding." Satan said.
"You mean you didn't create it?" I asked relieved.
"Oh, I created it, I just wasn't mad at Led Zeppelin when I did it." He laughed.
"Hey, look at the screen.” I pointed. “The Senate is finally a done deal! A Democratic sweep!" I smiled. Satan looked at me, and when he opened his mouth, his breath came out in a thick white cloud.
"Getting colder, huh?" I said.
"Just thinking about going back down 'home'. I'll be scraping ice off the furniture, for sure. But it doesn't happen too often, and all the women’s shirts look better when it’s cold down there anyway, so it isn't a total loss." He grinned.
"You're a pervert! Why doesn't that surprise me?" I asked.
"Just kidding. I actually heard Bill O'Reilly saying that in a men's room just before he got the news he was being sued for sexual harassment!" He laughed.
"Hey, look at the screen. McCain is going to be examining a run for the Presidency." I said.
"What do you think of him?" The Devil inquired.
"Not thrilled anymore. He used to have ideals and values, but he got pushed around by Bush and Rove and instead of attacking that brand of politics, he ended up siding with Bush to curry favor with far right conservatives. When Bush first plummeted in the polls, McCain said he was sticking by the President; that anyone could be loyal when the President was popular, but he would do it through thick and thin. The only thing is, from Bush's stance on torture, imprisoning without due process, and all, they clearly don't agree. McCain used to be a man of principle. But he has decided, it seems, that he would rather be a shoe-in for the Republican nod, then a fighter for the good fight that might not get the bid."
"What you call giving in might just be what he considers compromise." Satan posited.
"Don't play Devil's advocate with me!" I demanded, then, thinking about his defending McCain, I sputtered "Hey, don't tell me...."
"Yes." Satan responded, "He's hired me to help with his 2008 campaign. He figured he couldn't abide having to hire Rove, but he had to admit his practices were effective, so he decided to go to his mentor...."
"The Devil, you say." I said. "He might want to rethink those tactice in light of this election. And you know, it seems to me the only place we are going to see a Republican dominated Congress and Senate again anytime in the future is going to be down ‘south’ in your neck of the woods." I observed.
"Well, in all fairness, there are plenty of Dems knock-knock-knocking on Hell's door as well. But in general they don’t get into such big trouble with the ‘king of heaven’ because they don’t act like they know for a fact that God is on their side, much less then wage war falsely, torture, unlawfully imprison, that sort of thing. Besides politics, you should know, by the way, the lord also hates it when you claim he’s on your side for professional sports events or business deals. He really doesn’t care, and what do you think, the losers aren’t his children also?
Satan shook his head in disgust as he handed me another cigar.
"These are really good." I said.
"Cuban." He said.
"Of course." I said.
"Fidel thinks by supplying me I give him a few more years. He doesn't realize that I'm not allowed to rush these things. See, stupidity, like evil, knows no geopolitical boundaries." He smiled as we lit up. "In fact, I was talking to God about that just the other night."
"You talk to God?" I asked.
"Sure. We used to play poker every Thursday night."
"Used to?" I asked.
"It got boring. He's omniscient...he always folded before he lost, and if he stayed in...he won. He's not a good bluffer. He's too honest. And I can't bluff him because---"
"He's omniscient. Yeah, I see." I finished for him.
"All that, and oh, he cheats...." He said with a very straight face and sober expression, so I was sure he was kidding. Then he said, "I gotta get going in a few more minutes, " He said, "I have to make a little girl in San Diego puke up pea soup."
"Oh!" I gagged.
"Just kidding. You know, we don't really do that stuff." Satan laughed.
"What do you do these days?" I asked.
"Besides program director at FOX News? Well, you know how writers say people always ask them where they get their ideas?" He asked.
"Yes." I said.
"Sometime, when she is drunk, which is actually quite often, ask Ann Coulter where she gets her ideas!" He laughed and as I was about to inquire about whether that was a joke he continued, "But she was pissing me off lately, with her hubris, I hate hubris, so I gave her the idea to attack the 9/11 widows in her latest book. I did that and now I am going to have her investigated for lying on her drivers license about her age. Don't piss off the Devil!" He laughed.
"I try not to." I said.
"Yeah," he continued, "I really enjoy our conversations. You should know your blog is very popular in Hell. Being in the alternate reality of the hereafter, it won’t register on any ‘hit counters’. But you should know.”
"You have the internet?" I asked.
"Sure. Well, just dial-up. It is Hell, after all."
"I don't know if I should be flattered or horrified." I said.
"Both, I imagine." Satan said.
"If you have the internet, I bet porn is popular in Hell. A real distraction, you know."
"No access. We only allow them an AOL browser with full parental controls. It’s Hell, after all. We only get your blog because I assigned special access."
"Parental controls block my blog?" I asked.
"Sure. You curse. And the worst---what they really hate down there is when people say 'DAMN'."
"I see." I said.
"But they really love the pieces you do on me, and our conversations. They love them…or else!" He started laughing very heartily now. "If your book gets published I can promise you it will be a best seller in Hell...as long as you mention me."
"Thank you. I am sure you might come up once or twice. I begin the book with the first time I met you in this bar, and overheard your cellphone conversation." I said.
"You should also know that being a bestseller in Hell won't help you much. We pirate copies down there...with real pirates!" He said.
"So my blog is popular and my book will be a bestseller, but no one on Earth will know and it won't help me in any way at all? That sucks." I observed.
"Sure, it's Hell." He grinned.
I thought about that, and about not having changed my clothes or showering in two days and said: "I want to go home, it has been two days for crying out loud."
"That was your election process, not mine. " Satan responded. "There are still a few unsettled races in Florida though, due to voting irregularities” He observed.
"If we have to wait until there are no voting irregularities in Florida, we’ll be here for all eternity. I think we should get up an initiative to get Florida dropped from the electoral college. That way they can only screw up local elections. Although, maybe if they impeach Bush and his brother before he gets out of office, we can bring back credibility to the country and the vote. And maybe, somehow, find a way to get Bill Clinton back into the Whitehouse. We could really work on heathcare reform then. And finally, let me just say this…I want to go home! Do you have any idea how long it has been since I had sex?" I asked.
"It has only been two days since we’ve been here, what does that have to do with the last time you had sex?" Satan asked.
"Nothing. It's just been a while, it's hard enough just to find some time, and I just figured maybe you could do something about it.”
"Maybe I could...but of course, I won't. I'm the Devil, after all."
"Yeah, yeah, whatever. I'm going home and taking a shower."
"Be careful. Don't slip in the tub. With all the time you spend with the devil, you might be guilty by association." He laughed.
"Oh, I don't believe it works like that." I said.
"You're right." Satan smiled, "that's not what will send you to Hell."
"Hey, what do you mean by that?" I asked.
"Gotta go." He said, "until next time."
"When will be the next time?" I asked, but he was already gone....

My Election Night wIth Satan...

It was 9:00PM on election night and I was waiting for Satan at the same New York City bar I met him at the first time when we made our agreement to show up again tonight.
When Satan showed up at the bar, he was wearing a parka.
“Things getting a little chilly down there?” I asked
“It does happen, occasionally. If your blog ever becomes popular, I expect to be climbing glaciers and fighting polar bears for the last scraps of seal meat.”
“Very funny. Clearly you get a little testy when you don't think things are going to go your way.”
“I'm not omniscient, but I did a little of my own exit polling. It's not a random sampling, but I look at everyone who dies on Election Day from stress related disorders and see what party affiliation they have. I have to send my minions out to various emergency rooms for this information, because if I just relied on who gets sent down to hell, then every election would look like it's skewed against the Conservatives.” Satan started to laugh a little.
“I'm glad you always get a kick out of our little get-togethers.” I said
“I always laugh when the topic is politics. It was one of the few creations of mine that got to stick around.”
“Why doesn't that surprise me?” I asked rhetorically. Then, as I looked up at the flat screen I said, “Shhh, here come the first results.”
We sat there for hours, in a haze of cigar smoke, and the smell of various single malt scotches intermingling. It was one of the few bars in all the city where you can still smoke a cigar with your drinks. Although I'd given cigars up, I decided to have one with Satan. I figured, when Satan offers you a “light” I just as soon take him up on it and make sure it's just my cigar.
The Congress went to the Democrats. The Senate was still too close to call. “Hey!” I said. “Did you have anything to do with that?”
“Just trying to keep things interesting.” He smiled. Besides, I'm enjoying the Scotch. What's our rush?”
“All well and good.” I said. “But don't start playing around with hanging chads and the Supreme Court again!”
“No, I won't be doing that this time. I got away with it in 2000, but then after what I did in Ohio in 2004, I have been restricted from the United States national election process...for a little while....” Satan responded. Then he started to laugh, “I guess the thinking was... better late than never!” He said through the laughter.
Then they announced that Lieberman had won reelection. "Hey, what about that?" I asked.
"Every single thing wrong in the world is not always my doing." Satan responded.
"Okay. But what about that one?" I asked.
He didn't answer. He had a smirk on his face, and I wondered, but there were those restrictions he said he was under--temporarily. Then again, he was the one who told me about those restrictions. Could he be lying? He taught Karl Rove how to Push-Poll, he taught George W. that war as a last resort meant anytime you want to, he taught Ann Coulter that shamelessness, stupidity and lying are virtues, so why not be lying now?
To be continued as the results come in....

Back to Your Health, continued....

There will no doubt be concerns about a clinic environment as has been brought up in our comments by our most loyal viewer and blogger himself, Bruce. I believe this is stirred up by visions of free clinics from the inner cities in the seventies and eighties. I believe actual experiences people have had at an efficient and well run clinic would alter some opinions. Also, doctors offices have become a clinic of sort, in the sense that they may have various practitioners and services available, and in the worst way in that and who has not had a long wait at their doctor in the last decade, as they overbook their schedules to make up for cancellations and the lower reimbursements they get from insurers? I am not making this proposal to make either patients or physicians unhappy, as both are groups I am trying to help with my work. Rather, I am trying to recommend that in many instances we take the business out of medicine, that has reached a point where to maintain a thriving business, a physician may have to get too aggressive, and areas that a physician, in general, may not want to have to deal with anyway. Give the business end to the businesspeople who spend their entire day just worrying about that stuff. Also, it can be set up to give physicians clear direction, incentives, and a communal atmosphere of working on the patients behalf, instead of the Utilization Review Committee of a far distant insurer sitting around making those decisions. For the patient, the biggest change could be one of location, and possibly less convenience in this area, but, for follow-up and specialists, possibly more convenience, to offset this for those who will need the most care and visits. There will be no perfect solution for every constituent, but there is no perfect healthcare environment now, for just about anybody. The key will be to maintain what is great and innovative about our system, and combine that with the comprehensive reforms necessary to secure the system for the future, and at the same time to move progress forward in, among important areas; infant mortality, healthful longevity, infection control and the minimization of mistakes at every juncture of care. This will need to come about through better treatment for drug and alcohol use and nutritional understanding, better preventative medicine and better community awareness of what healthy eating and general health habits are, more open yet secure collaborative information systems and more stringent guidelines over antibiotic use along with better use of the information systems coupled with a team approach to practice which could yield better and more consistent medicine. All the tools we need exist or are being developed. We need open mindedness and willingness from the top echelons of our goverment down to each and every medical provider and consumer. We need to understand that there is a crisis. We need a crisis mentality. We have not seen one from our government officials since the early nineties. It is time to focus on these national issues now, before they will cost ten times as much, and with much more painful solutions, for our children and children's children in the future.