I have to say that "community" is the one thing that I miss about being an atheist. I cannot abide organized religion for the hypocrisy that members and leaders show (or the belief in deities) but losing the community they provide might be just as bad. There really isn't anything else like a congregation to espouse love of your fellow man. I am not saying that I need a God to fear to make me act in a moral manner, just that not having a stake in a community can have the same result.
We are way too isolated with our Blackberries and our computers and our iPhones and our video games. Online community is all well and good, but I think that we need actual face to face time as well. You cannot empathize if you haven't had contact with that to which your empathy should be directed and I think that there are too few online communities that translate themselves into flesh and blood groups.
9.18.2009
Joe Wilson is Your Pre-Existing Condition
I had an interesting gchat with my roommate the other day about the use of mockery in politics after she sent me a website horribly mocking Joe Wilson and linking to the contribution page for his opponent. Now, I in NO WAY endorse what Rep. Wilson did, but to mock him and call HIM names for doing it does not further the discourse at all.
I have come to believe that in this day and age that mockery has no place in politics. When either side is calling the other a fool and much worse, there is no way that we will ever close the gulf between the two sides. There is no repect anymore for the other side's opinion. So why in the world would anyone deign to listen to what the other side has to say.
I have come to believe that in this day and age that mockery has no place in politics. When either side is calling the other a fool and much worse, there is no way that we will ever close the gulf between the two sides. There is no repect anymore for the other side's opinion. So why in the world would anyone deign to listen to what the other side has to say.
9.17.2009
9.11.2009
The idea of the "almighty market" is one of the great fallacies of American life.
And yet, criticize the "almighty market" and you get called a socialist, a communist, or a facist which evidently all mean the same thing.
I have no problem with being called a socialist. I think I am. I think that it promotes more equality than capitalism and I am with TJeff on the "all men are created equal" and "life liberty and pursuit of happiness" stuff. I just happen to think that "all men" means all people. I think that if more of us understood what socialism really meant then more people might identify with it.
Oh, wait, of course they wouldn't because we all want to live the American DreamTM. Which actually translates once again to make as much money as you possibly can, damn the consequences. And not that "citizens of every rank feel that they can achieve a 'better, richer, and happier life.'"
It has only helped to foster a classist society where the rich get richer and the poor die younger in larger numbers because they can't afford healthcare.
I'm sorry if this is ranty but the more I think about this whole healthcare "debate" the angrier I get. While society as it is with the privileged white man reaping all of the benefits may have been technically what was written into the Constitution, I would have hoped that as a society we woudl have gotten to a point where we coudl actually embrace the wider meaning of "men" by now.
(title taken from Charlie's comment on this post on It ain't all pizzas and cream.)
I have no problem with being called a socialist. I think I am. I think that it promotes more equality than capitalism and I am with TJeff on the "all men are created equal" and "life liberty and pursuit of happiness" stuff. I just happen to think that "all men" means all people. I think that if more of us understood what socialism really meant then more people might identify with it.
Oh, wait, of course they wouldn't because we all want to live the American DreamTM. Which actually translates once again to make as much money as you possibly can, damn the consequences. And not that "citizens of every rank feel that they can achieve a 'better, richer, and happier life.'"
It has only helped to foster a classist society where the rich get richer and the poor die younger in larger numbers because they can't afford healthcare.
I'm sorry if this is ranty but the more I think about this whole healthcare "debate" the angrier I get. While society as it is with the privileged white man reaping all of the benefits may have been technically what was written into the Constitution, I would have hoped that as a society we woudl have gotten to a point where we coudl actually embrace the wider meaning of "men" by now.
(title taken from Charlie's comment on this post on It ain't all pizzas and cream.)
9.10.2009
expectations
I watch a lot of tv. My therapist seems to think maybe I watch too much tv.
She's probably right.
I like the escape. I think it's better than my life.
My favorite shows are aimed at teenagers. Kids who have their lives ahead of them and will meet all of the expectations that they, and their parents, have laid out before them. Whether it's the job or the partner or whatever.
I am constantly wishing that I could go back and do it over. That I hadn't fucked it up then. That I could take advantage of the world of possibilities open to me. That I'd taken a different path, a better path. That I'd been charmed too.
And so, I think I have completely unrealistic expectations when it comes to the course my life has taken.
I desperately want to have the dream job that I can't wait to get to every morning and perfect children who do cute and funny things that I record meticulously on my blog which has thousands of readers. I want a sister and/or a brother who is insufferably witty and loves me for who I am and does everything to help me follow my dreams. I want grandparents who are richer than Donald Trump and want nothing more than to spend their every dime on me and a mother who is my best friend and a father who is fantastically successful at all he does. I want a huge extended family that loves and supports me no matter what. I want to be skinny and beautiful and wear all of the right stuff and mento find me incredibly attractive and smart. I want to be successful at everything I try.
None of these things is reListic on it's own, but all together? No one had that.
But, I feel like I EXPECT that these things can and will magically happen with little or no effort in my part and when they don't I feel like a failure.
So, I spend a lot of time feeling like a failure.
I compare myself to everyone around me. They all seem to have the things I want and don't know how to get. .
And then I think that I have this horribly mediocre life. Albeit with some pretty great friends but rhen there are the overpretective parents who can barely get by and want to know every derail of my life, four dead penniless grandparents, no siblings to count on, nor loving partner, and a job that is boring but just tolerable on the best of days.
Oh, yeah, and no motivation or ambition and a heavy dose of depression to boot.
So here I sit. Feeling old and hopelessly inadequate. All because of pop culture and my own lack of a feeling of self. And you would think that all of this would turn me against the teen comedies and dramas. But it's like a train wreck and I can't stop watching.
She's probably right.
I like the escape. I think it's better than my life.
My favorite shows are aimed at teenagers. Kids who have their lives ahead of them and will meet all of the expectations that they, and their parents, have laid out before them. Whether it's the job or the partner or whatever.
I am constantly wishing that I could go back and do it over. That I hadn't fucked it up then. That I could take advantage of the world of possibilities open to me. That I'd taken a different path, a better path. That I'd been charmed too.
And so, I think I have completely unrealistic expectations when it comes to the course my life has taken.
I desperately want to have the dream job that I can't wait to get to every morning and perfect children who do cute and funny things that I record meticulously on my blog which has thousands of readers. I want a sister and/or a brother who is insufferably witty and loves me for who I am and does everything to help me follow my dreams. I want grandparents who are richer than Donald Trump and want nothing more than to spend their every dime on me and a mother who is my best friend and a father who is fantastically successful at all he does. I want a huge extended family that loves and supports me no matter what. I want to be skinny and beautiful and wear all of the right stuff and mento find me incredibly attractive and smart. I want to be successful at everything I try.
None of these things is reListic on it's own, but all together? No one had that.
But, I feel like I EXPECT that these things can and will magically happen with little or no effort in my part and when they don't I feel like a failure.
So, I spend a lot of time feeling like a failure.
I compare myself to everyone around me. They all seem to have the things I want and don't know how to get. .
And then I think that I have this horribly mediocre life. Albeit with some pretty great friends but rhen there are the overpretective parents who can barely get by and want to know every derail of my life, four dead penniless grandparents, no siblings to count on, nor loving partner, and a job that is boring but just tolerable on the best of days.
Oh, yeah, and no motivation or ambition and a heavy dose of depression to boot.
So here I sit. Feeling old and hopelessly inadequate. All because of pop culture and my own lack of a feeling of self. And you would think that all of this would turn me against the teen comedies and dramas. But it's like a train wreck and I can't stop watching.
I was just reading a post over at It ain't all pizzas and cream and it got me to thinking again about the lack of empathy shown my so many people in this healthcare debate.
I've been thinking about this a lot recently. And while I think that a lot of what Charlie says is indisputable (esp. re: racism), I think that a large part of the problem is the overwhelming and incredibly misplaced belief that the market is king. We seem to believe that regulating industry, any industry, will compromise capitalism.
What follows is that we are taught, from birth, that us that we are, each of us, THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON ON EARTH and come hell or high water we are not going to let anyone or anything impinge upon our "god-given right" to a. assert this in any way possible and b. make as much money as we possibly can. And while we are all special, none of us has more intrinsic worth than another.
As much as I loathe to say this, I think that part of the problem is also the displacement of church, or more accurately, community and fellowship, as a mainstay of our life. I don't mean a belief in god or Jesus because I really don't think that there are really that many more non-believers than there ever were, but a gathering place where people meet one or more times a week for their entire lives. The fact that we don't know our neighbors means that it's easier to blame them than a corporation, which many times we see daily on TV or in print ads and may identify, due to marketing, as a friend, or at least as having our best interests at heart.
I've been thinking about this a lot recently. And while I think that a lot of what Charlie says is indisputable (esp. re: racism), I think that a large part of the problem is the overwhelming and incredibly misplaced belief that the market is king. We seem to believe that regulating industry, any industry, will compromise capitalism.
What follows is that we are taught, from birth, that us that we are, each of us, THE MOST IMPORTANT PERSON ON EARTH and come hell or high water we are not going to let anyone or anything impinge upon our "god-given right" to a. assert this in any way possible and b. make as much money as we possibly can. And while we are all special, none of us has more intrinsic worth than another.
As much as I loathe to say this, I think that part of the problem is also the displacement of church, or more accurately, community and fellowship, as a mainstay of our life. I don't mean a belief in god or Jesus because I really don't think that there are really that many more non-believers than there ever were, but a gathering place where people meet one or more times a week for their entire lives. The fact that we don't know our neighbors means that it's easier to blame them than a corporation, which many times we see daily on TV or in print ads and may identify, due to marketing, as a friend, or at least as having our best interests at heart.
9.09.2009
MoveOn & R.E.M. Video: We Can't Afford to Wait
It's no secret that I love REM... and politics. This is one of my favorite songs, You Are the Everything. It's on Green, which was the first REM tape I bought, back in 7th grade, when I was desperately trying to be cool by pretending to like the bands the cool kids liked. Who knew that I would actually fall in love with their music.
Regardless, I found the audio and the accompanying video to be very powerful.
Regardless, I found the audio and the accompanying video to be very powerful.
How true this is
Times Columnist, Bob Herbert, hits the nail on the head in his latest Op-Ed column, It's Time to Get Help.
It seems like this happens all of the time with the Repubs when they aren't in the majority. They act like little children and refuse to participate in the conversation because it isn't going their way.
And unfortunately, even if the well informed spoke the truths loudly and clearly, the opposition would just dig in further and cover their ears, screaming "I can't hear you, I can't hear you," over and over again.
I find the lack of cooperation, while in no way new, to be dismaying and the blatant misinformation by members of the opposition to be downright alarming. The country seemed so very sure of what it wanted last November when it elected Democrats in such high numbers. It saddens me to see how the machine, perfected by Karl Rove, is disseminating such lies.
"There is no end to the craziness. The entire Republican Party has decided that it is in favor of absolutely nothing. The president’s stimulus package? No way. Health care reform? Forget about it."
It seems like this happens all of the time with the Repubs when they aren't in the majority. They act like little children and refuse to participate in the conversation because it isn't going their way.
"The wackiness is increasing, not diminishing, and it has a great potential for destruction. There is a real need for people who know better to speak out in a concerted effort to curb the appeal of the apostles of the absurd."
And unfortunately, even if the well informed spoke the truths loudly and clearly, the opposition would just dig in further and cover their ears, screaming "I can't hear you, I can't hear you," over and over again.
I find the lack of cooperation, while in no way new, to be dismaying and the blatant misinformation by members of the opposition to be downright alarming. The country seemed so very sure of what it wanted last November when it elected Democrats in such high numbers. It saddens me to see how the machine, perfected by Karl Rove, is disseminating such lies.
9.08.2009
Health Care Reform
I don't usually write posts like this and I feel a little weird doing
it now, but this subject is one that is very important to me...
I don't know how many of you feel on the subject of health care reform, whether you are for or against it, whether you believe there should be a single payer system or a public option or if we should just leave it alone and let the market do what it's been doing. However, I do know that you are all intelligent, caring adults who may have something to gain and much to lose if we don't change the way that we approach and pay for health care in this country.
Some facts:
If you have time, read one (or all) of these stories or go to the President's page on health care for more information...
Then, if any of this makes you angry or changes your mind about reform, please, do something about it.
And, if after reading any or all of this, you still don't think the need for reform is necessary and urgent, then think about me.
Because I am pretty uninsurable in the individual market.
I have Rheumatoid arthritis, which is pretty much under control, but which once on my health record, won't allow me to purchase a policy of any type for any price in most states. The only option for me then is individual state run insurance, if that is available to me in the state I am living in. In DC, CareFirst has a program through the city that will insure me. For a price. If not, my only other options are to be uninsured or make so little money that I qualify for Medicaid. I can't begin to think about leaving the "traditional" workforce to freelance my photography or start my own business, to go back to school full time, or to consider working for a very small business which does not carry insurance for its employees. I, and millions like me, am hindered in the pursuit of jobs and dreams because we can't afford to be uninsured and can't get or afford adequate insurance on our own.
Thanks for reading my rant. If nothing else, I hope you'll be better informed than you were ten minutes ago.
I don't know how many of you feel on the subject of health care reform, whether you are for or against it, whether you believe there should be a single payer system or a public option or if we should just leave it alone and let the market do what it's been doing. However, I do know that you are all intelligent, caring adults who may have something to gain and much to lose if we don't change the way that we approach and pay for health care in this country.
Some facts:
- A report from the American Journal of Medicine found that in 2007, 62 percent of declared bankruptcies were by people with staggering medical bills—even though 80 percent of them actually had health insurance.
- A report issued by the Department of Health and Human Services found that only 48 percent of working women are able to get health coverage at work compared with 57 percent of men. (That's mainly because women are more likely to work part time, which leaves them ineligible for insurance.)
- A recent national survey estimated that 12.6 million non-elderly adults5 – 36 percent of those who tried to purchase health insurance directly from an insurance company in the individual insurance market – were in fact discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition in the previous three years.6
- In most states’ individual insurance market, insurance companies can retroactively cancel the entire policy if any condition was missed – even if the medical condition is unrelated, and even if the person was not aware of the condition at the time. Coverage can also be revoked for all members of a family, even if only one family member failed to disclose a medical condition.10
- Seven falsehoods about health care reform
- Information about a single payer system though the whole site seems like a good resource.
- The President's page. There is a lot of information here as well as more personal stories.
If you have time, read one (or all) of these stories or go to the President's page on health care for more information...
- About a woman who had leukemia and how she became uninsurable...
- About a man who thought he was insured whose kidneys started to fail and how his "insurance" was able to deny his claims for treatment...
- About how individual insurance policies are written to deny specific types of care that they claim to cover...
Then, if any of this makes you angry or changes your mind about reform, please, do something about it.
Talk about it.
Blog about it.
Write or call your congress person or senator.
Blog about it.
Write or call your congress person or senator.
Write or call ALL of the congress people and senators.
Attend a town meeting.
Attend a town meeting.
And, if after reading any or all of this, you still don't think the need for reform is necessary and urgent, then think about me.
Because I am pretty uninsurable in the individual market.
I have Rheumatoid arthritis, which is pretty much under control, but which once on my health record, won't allow me to purchase a policy of any type for any price in most states. The only option for me then is individual state run insurance, if that is available to me in the state I am living in. In DC, CareFirst has a program through the city that will insure me. For a price. If not, my only other options are to be uninsured or make so little money that I qualify for Medicaid. I can't begin to think about leaving the "traditional" workforce to freelance my photography or start my own business, to go back to school full time, or to consider working for a very small business which does not carry insurance for its employees. I, and millions like me, am hindered in the pursuit of jobs and dreams because we can't afford to be uninsured and can't get or afford adequate insurance on our own.
Thanks for reading my rant. If nothing else, I hope you'll be better informed than you were ten minutes ago.
9.04.2009
What Makes Us Happy
This is a fascinating article in The Atlantic about a very long term study done on a group of Harvard graduates (unfortunately all male) over the span of 70 years.
Currently run by George Valliant who took over from Arlie Bock who began it in the 30's, the study “attempt[s] to analyze the forces that have produced normal young men.”
Currently run by George Valliant who took over from Arlie Bock who began it in the 30's, the study “attempt[s] to analyze the forces that have produced normal young men.”
ScientificAmerican.com: Depression's Evolutionary Roots
Depression's Evolutionary Roots
By Paul W. AndrewsJ. Anderson Thomson, Jr.
Two scientists suggest that depression is not a malfunction, but a mental adaptation that brings certain cognitive advantages
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=depressions-evolutionary&SID=mail&sc=emailfriend
© 1996-2009 Scientific American, Inc. All rights reserved.
Reproduction in whole or in part without permission is prohibited.
"Al Franken talks an anti-healthcare-reform mob down" on YouTube
Why can't the other senators and reps talk to their constituents with the same candor and respect and ACTUAL TRUE FACTUAL INFORMATION that Senator Fanken uses in this video?
9.02.2009
Cannot Find My Senator
To The Honorable Eleanor Holmes Norton:
I cannot find my Senator. I know why. I live in the District of Columbia. We don't have a Senator, let alone two, like everyone else in the country. So I am wondering, who do I write to in the Senate to voice my opinions about proposed legislation? Do the other Senators have a responsibility to listen to me and count me as one of their constituents? And not to be insulting, but who am I supposed to write to in the House of Representatives as you do not have a vote?
As I only recently became disenfranchised by moving into the District from Virginia (and before that I was a Marylander from birth), I am at a loss as to what to do. I suppose I could move away again, but that really wouldn't solve the bigger problem.
The city's unique status creates a situation where citizens in the District do not have full control over their local government, nor do they have voting representation in the body that makes such decisions.
Why is it that Congress get to make decisions that clearly could and should be made by the citizens of the District and we cannot even have the three votes every other citizen in the United States has to give us a say in that.
Thank you for your time, Congresswoman. I look forward to hearing from you on this issue.
Sarah Gray
--
Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker.
(What does not kill me, makes me stronger.)
I cannot find my Senator. I know why. I live in the District of Columbia. We don't have a Senator, let alone two, like everyone else in the country. So I am wondering, who do I write to in the Senate to voice my opinions about proposed legislation? Do the other Senators have a responsibility to listen to me and count me as one of their constituents? And not to be insulting, but who am I supposed to write to in the House of Representatives as you do not have a vote?
As I only recently became disenfranchised by moving into the District from Virginia (and before that I was a Marylander from birth), I am at a loss as to what to do. I suppose I could move away again, but that really wouldn't solve the bigger problem.
The city's unique status creates a situation where citizens in the District do not have full control over their local government, nor do they have voting representation in the body that makes such decisions.
Why is it that Congress get to make decisions that clearly could and should be made by the citizens of the District and we cannot even have the three votes every other citizen in the United States has to give us a say in that.
Thank you for your time, Congresswoman. I look forward to hearing from you on this issue.
Sarah Gray
--
Was mich nicht umbringt, macht mich stärker.
(What does not kill me, makes me stronger.)
The Public Option Prevents DIVORCE
via Jack & Jill Politics by CPL on 8/31/09
You read the title correctly, JJPers. And yet, it's not what you're probably thinking.
I'm thinking about those who are married and get the vow of "in sickness and in health" sorely challenged when one of the partners gets sick and his or her illness has major catastrophic consequences. Once again, hat tip to Nicholas Kristoff of the New York Times, via Crooks and Liars, where I found the following excerpt about a couple who are facing humungous medical bills and no health care coverage to pay for it:
My friend M. — you'll understand in a moment why she's terrified of my using her name — had to make a searing decision a year ago. She was married to a sweet, gentle man whom she loved, but who had become increasingly absent-minded. Finally, he was diagnosed with early-onset dementia.
The disease is degenerative, and he will become steadily less able to care for himself. At some point, as his medical needs multiply, he will probably need to be institutionalized.
The hospital arranged a conference call with a social worker, who outlined how the dementia and its financial toll on the family would progress, and then added, out of the blue: "Maybe you should divorce." (emphasis mine, WTF?)
"I was blown away," M. told me. But, she said, the hospital staff members explained that they had seen it all before, many times. If M.'s husband required long-term care, the costs would be catastrophic even for a middle-class family with savings.
Some of you have hollered that there's no legislation that's been signed yet, so we shouldn't worry about whether or not the Public Option is included until the bill is actually SIGNED INTO LAW.
To which I contend that if the Public Option is not included in the bill, by the time the bill is signed INTO LAW, IT WILL BE TOO LATE. And in the wake of the passing of Senator Ted Kennedy, what better time to press for the public option than RIGHT NOW?
Since I have worked in Federal Agencies and have interacted with people on the Hill who actually write legislation for a living, I sought out some of them to ask about the Public Option and when it should be included. All have said that waiting for the public option to be included after it becomes law IS NOT GOING TO HAPPEN (Got this straight from John Conyers' office). All proposed legislation has to have what its going to have in it before it becomes law. Before it goes to a process known as "Mark Up", where the committees decide what's going to be in the bill and what's coming out of the bill. So, if the Public Option on Health Care Reform is not included at the time of Marking UP the Bill, it's not going to happen, people.
Therefore, we should consider that the Public Option is one way of protecting people from going into bankruptcy or home foreclosure, or being forced to get a divorce, because they are trying to cover medical bills of a catastrophic nature. The Public Option allows for preventative health care maintenance - being able to see your physician on the regular so they can catch those little hiccups before they become major medical issues. The Public Option may afford you a visit to a nutritionist so you can make low-fat versions of Big Mama's peach cobbler or sweet potato pie and low-sodium versions of Fried Chicken or collard greens, so you can be healthy while eating well.
Consider that if your spouse is diagnosed with early-onset dementia, like M's husband, the Public Option may help you stay married so you can care for your spouse, thereby honoring the marriage vow, "In Sickness and In Health".
I think we all agree that the Public Option is worth fighting for, because it benefits All of US. Those who fight so hard against it; instead of name-calling, I want you to tell me why you're against something that benefits All Americans, and be articulate about it, because the scary Sean Klannity/Lou Dobbs/Glen "I see scary Black People" Beck-talking points are not going to cut it anymore.
What kind of a nation we live in when those who need health care coverage the most, are going to be DENIED?
Who Owns Your Favorite Organic or Natural Food Company?
Check out this post on Eat. Drink. Better.http://eatdrinkbetter.com/2009/08/29/who-owns-your-favorite-organic-or-natural-food-company/
On the Death Penalty
Here is an story in the New Yorker about Cameron Todd Willingham. Read it with a hanky close by.
Click here: http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2009/09/07/090907fa_fact_grann
'Katrina's Hidden Race War' from The Nation
Katrina's Hidden Race War by A.C. Thompson
This article can be found on the web at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090105/thompson
This article can be found on the web at: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20090105/thompson
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