This article and interview in The British paper The Independent
is excellent. Here is just one part which, IMHO sums up our
current political situation quite well.

A Scotch is fetched for him as he is wheeled into the
corner of the bar. "I was like everyone else when Obama
was elected - optimistic. Everything we had been saying
about racial integration was vindicated," he says, "but
he's incompetent. He will be defeated for re-election.
It's a pity because he's the first intellectual president
we've had in many years, but he can't hack it. He's not
up to it. He's overwhelmed. And who wouldn't be? The
United States is a madhouse. The country should be put
away - and we're being told to go away. Nothing makes any
sense." The President "wants to be liked by everybody,
and he thought all he had to do was talk reason. But
remember - the Republican Party is not a political party.
It's a mindset, like Hitler Youth. It's full of hatred.
You're not going to get them aboard. Don't even try. The
only way to handle them is to terrify them. He's too
delicate for that."

Which I completely agree. The republican party is no-longer the
the opposition, but a group of extreme right wing fanatics.

When he compares Obama to his old friend Jack Kennedy, he
shakes his head. "He's twice the intellectual that Jack
was, but Jack knew the great world. Remember he spent a
long time in the navy, losing ships. This kid [Obama] has
never heard a gun fired in anger. He's absolutely bowled
over by generals, who tell him lies and he believes them.
He hasn't done anything. If you were faced with great
problems in chemistry - to find the perfect gas, to gas a
population - you won't know for a long time whether it
works. You have to go by what people tell you. He's like
that. He's not ready for prime time and he's getting a
lot of prime time on his plate at once."

This is so true. JFK was no brain - that was Bobby - but he did
have experience and knew how to get things done. His time
in the navy taught him how not to take any crap from anyone.
Obama lacks the single mindedness necessary to get his
programs passed. He wants or needs to be liked to much.

Sadly I do not see anyone waiting in the wings with the
necessary experience and cajones to be an efective
president. Not even Clinton.

Is there any hope? "Every sign I see is doom. But then
people say" - he adopts a whiny, nasal voice - "'Oh Mr
Vidal, you're so negative, can't you say something nice
about America? It's a wonderful country, everybody wants
to live here.' Oh yes? When was the last time you saw a
Norwegian with a green card who wanted to come here
because of the health service? I'll pay you if you can
find one."

But there is, he says with sudden perkiness, some "good
news. Afghanistan will be terminal for the American
empire, yes. Which is a happy way of looking at it. We'll
be out of the empire game, rapidly. But it's too late for
the country and the constitution." He raises his drink,
and smiles ironically. "To a better republic," he says,
and drinks in one long gulp.

It's quite a long article but well worth the read. I do like Gore Vidal's
style. An erudite intellect that can speak to the average person.

This interview in The Times of London is also quite good.

His voice strengthens. "One thing I have hated
all my life are LIARS [he says that with
bristling anger] and I live in a nation of
them. It was not always the case. I don't
demand honour, that can be lies too. I don't
say there was a golden age, but there was an
age of general intelligence. We had a watchdog,
the media." The media is too supine? "Would
that it was. They're busy preparing us for an
Iranian war." He retains some optimism about
Obama "because he doesn't lie. We know the fool
from Arizona [as he calls John McCain] is a
liar. We never got the real story of how McCain
crashed his plane [in 1967 near Hanoi, North
Vietnam] and was held captive."

Vidal originally became pro-Obama because he
grew up in "a black city" (meaning Washington),
as well as being impressed by Obama's
intelligence. "But he believes the generals.
Even Bush knew the way to win a general was to
give him another star. Obama believes the
Republican Party is a party when in fact it's a
mindset, like Hitler Youth, based on hatred -
religious hatred, racial hatred. When you
foreigners hear the word - conservative' you
think of kindly old men hunting foxes. They're
not, they're fascists."

Another notable Obama mis-step has been on
healthcare reform. "He f***ed it up. I don't
know how because the country wanted it. We'll
never see it happen." As for his wider vision:
"Maybe he doesn't have one, not to imply he is
a fraud. He loves quoting Lincoln and there's a
great Lincoln quote from a letter he wrote to
one of his generals in the South after the
Civil War. - I am President of the United
States. I have full overall power and never
forget it, because I will exercise it'. That's
what Obama needs - a bit of Lincoln's chill."
Has he met Obama? "No," he says quietly, "I've
had my time with presidents." Vidal raises his
fingers to signify a gun and mutters: "Bang
bang." He is referring to the possibility of
Obama being assassinated. "Just a mysterious
lone gunman lurking in the shadows of the
capital," he says in a wry, dreamy way.

Vidal now believes, as he did originally,
Clinton would be the better president. "Hillary
knows more about the world and what to do with
the generals. History has proven when the girls
get involved, they're good at it. Elizabeth I
knew Raleigh would be a good man to give a ship
to."The Republicans will win the next election,
Vidal believes; though for him there is little
difference between the parties. "Remember the
coup d'etat of 2000 when the Supreme Court
fixed the selection, not election, of the
stupidest man in the country, Mr Bush."

Read them both. They are really very good.


C

I do believe than any physician who saw charts like these would
recommend that only comfort  measures in a hospice environment
be provided. Since the patient clearly will not recover.


C

These people deserve to die a slow and very painful death.

Dale and Leilani Neumann, of Wisconsin, could have
received up to 25 years in prison over the 2008
death of Madeline Neumann, who was known as Kara.

The 11-year-old died of an undiagnosed but treatable
form of diabetes.

C

I had just got off the phone with my sister who is trying
to decide which dental plan to go with at work. We both
work for the same place but different departments.

The discussion then drifted of to health insurance and here
is my point which I have made at leased once before.

Check your health insurance policies people especially if
it is through your employer. You are covered for what ever
it says in the state you live in. However....

You may NOT be covered out of state. Let me say this again.
You may NOT be covered out of state.

I know that with BC/BS of Florida I am not. Oh I can buy a premium
plan on my own for twice what I am currently paying. But even it
does not cover in all places.

So If I get into an accident, get sick or need emergency treatment
if I am even in Georgia or Ohio or NY, I would be liable for the
full amount or nearly so.

So for no other reason we need a nation health so people are not wiped
out financially simply because they were unfortunate enough to
need medical treatment somewhere else.

We need a National Health plan so we are covered anywhere we wish
to go.


C

The planet's only now becoming able to support life
again.

So the Talosians who came underground found life
limited here, and they concentrated on developing their
mental power.

But they found it's a trap, like a narcotic. Because
when dreams become more important than reality, you
give up travel, building, creating.

You even forget how to repair... the machines left
behind by your ancestors.

You just sit, living and reliving other lives... left
behind in the thought record.

Star Trek - The Cage

I quite often have to teach and explain computer concepts
in my current job. That's not what my job is, but it has become
"part of the territory" as the saying goes. I am not an administrator.
I am a technician - of sorts. I maintain the DNS system and
various Unix boxes. I am one of only two people in my
department that is familiar enough with the ins and outs of Unix
to do this. When I leave, the department I work for will likely
not replace me. You see most people who have the experience
that I have would want much more that the Univ. would be
willing to pay. And there are fewer and fewer of these people.

Of late I have noticed a rather disturbing trend. A trend not
just in out country or society, but in humanity - for lack of a
better term.

More and more of our time, effort and resources is being
channeled toward entertainment and distractions.

Cell Phones, iPods, High definition TV, surround sound,
movie special effects. Items that will let you sing like any
anyone you choose. Whether you can sing or not. Fantasy
computer games that let you fight (and win) any battle you
wish. You can even pretend you are part of a great rock
band without even having to know how to play the guitar.
And we repeat and replay the music of the past instead
of coming up the anything new.

Remake movies and even TV shows.

And less and less is being put toward the exploration and
and development of new forms of transportation, energy,
living environments and food resources.In stead of putting
energy into exploring space we make movies about how
we would like to explore space. I began this post with
a quote from Star Trek. Unless we commit to actually
inventing the means to really be able do to so, all we will
have are TV shows and movies.

Time and resources being used for illusion. The illusion of
wealth, the illusion of health, the illusion of...happiness.

Illusion carries no risk but yields no benefits. Creates nothing
and improves nothing. There is no growth.

We get on the illusionary virtual cyberspace and pretend we
are doing something useful by moving bits of data around.
We write about wanting to change the world and how we
are going to do it. But few are willing to take the risk or put
forth any effort, outside of writing, to bring it about.

It's easy and safe. But without growth and advancement.
And when you stop growing, you stop living and eventually
die.