I'm struck by the disparity between our media coverage of every detail of the last moments of a dying Iranian girl, tragically killed while protesting an election, while there is no such coverage of the multitude of American soldiers dying in Iraq or Afghanistan brought to the public's attention.  Such coverage is, in fact specifically suppressed.  I had a friend from France, sadly departed from this world now, who in less than perfect English would describe people, other friends of ours, who tended to exaggerate descriptions of events in order to promote their particular agendas.  She would say that so and so:  "bends the news".  This seems to be an apt description for the media coverage we are being exposed to here in the Land of the Free.

We must remember that in time of war what is said on the enemy's side of the front is always propaganda, and what is said on our side of the front is truth and righteousness, the cause of humanity and a crusade for peace.  Walter Lippmann

 


None are more hopelessly enslaved than those who falsely believe they are free.
                                    Johann Wolfgang von Goethe


Since G.W. Bush involved us in wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as his open ended so called War on Terror, (SCWOT), we appear to be involved in perpetual war, and Walter Lippmann's quote above, describes an insidious tendency toward 'bending the news' that itself will have no end.  For some reason I keep thinking of The Matrix.

It came to me, like a whack upside the head with a two by four.  This paradigm wherein we pay exorbitant rates for medical coverage which may be withdrawn if we forget to cross a 'T' or dot and 'I' on our application.  This insurance for which we pay a significant portion of our income with the idea it will protect us when calamity strikes, but which can be withdrawn should we lose our job or get sick.  It's like that distant relative, or friend from our past who came to stay for a week, but never left.



He's still sleeping on the couch.  Drinking our milk, and gad forbid, our liquor.  Pays no rent.  Can you remember when it was he last did the dishes?  Now he wants us to front some cash, so he can lay some money on Saturday's game.   Why would he get an honest job as long as we keep taking care of him?   WTF?  Are we crazy?  Time to show these slackers the door. 

I've been spending some time at Open Secrets lately, trying to see what patterns I can in the corporate donations to our legislators and how that might affect the ongoing healthcare debate.  There is a lag in reporting campaign donations, so all is not known yet as to where money is being directed.  There are also some areas where donations may not be as easily viewed.  First let me paint with some broad strokes.

In the 1990 and 1994 election cycles Healthcare professionals ranked #2 among industries contributing to political campaigns, as might be expected in a presidential campaign year, and in light of the anticipated stab at healthcare reform by the Clinton administration.  Donations from Healthcare Professionals increased from $54.5 to $95.8M between the 2006 and 2008 election cycles, or an increase of 78%.  The ranking of this group rose to #4 during the current  2010 election cycle.

The insurance industry ranked #4 among industries contributing to political campaigns in 1990.  It had dropped to #6-#8 in the following 6 election cycles, eventually falling to #11 and recently rebounding to the #8 position.  In actual dollars the Insurance industry has increased its' giving to our politicians from $31.3M to $46.7M between the 2006 and 2008 election cycles, a 49.3% increase in 'giving'.

The amorphous group identified as Lobbyists jumped from a ranking of #15 in 2008 to #9 in 2010 election cycle with actual dollars donated to their favorite politicians jumping from $24.1M in 2006 to $35.1M in 2008.  I'm not sure how to interpret this but thought I would include it.

Health Services/HMOs upped their political contributions from $8.3M in 2006,  $14.1M in 2008 an increase in political donations of 70%.    

Hospitals & Nursing Homes dug deep in 2006 and donated $14.1M, which increased to $22.9M in 2008, an increase of 62%.

Pharmaceuticals / Health Products donated $19.5M in 2006, which increased to $29.1M in 2008, an increase of 49%.   This group jumped in rank from 21 to 13 in 2010 election cycle.

Some of these increases in donations can be attributed to the presidential election in 2007, but it would be a stretch to think they all were just a reflection of that.  Healthcare reform has been widely anticipated by these industries, and spending has been proportionate, and not all of it, (particularly from the healthcare professionals), was donated with an expectation of defeating the reforms, however much of this cash is given to politicians with a tacit understanding that the favor will be reciprocated.

 

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I was traveling the other day and I stopped for lunch at a restaurant that had one of the cable news stations on their TV.  The sound was turned off.  A headline kept appearing before me as I ate:

 Accused Rapist critically beaten.  Was the vigilantes' attack justified?

With the TV's sound off, I never learned the details of the case.   I confess that I understand the sentiment of vigilantism in the case of rape.  What struck me as bizarre, was having a news network proffer the possibility that a vigilante attack on an accused felon might in any way be justified.  They didn't say 'understandable', instead moving beyond hyperbole to the definitive 'justified'.  My first thought was that the question presupposes guilt.  Additionally, the suggestion of such an attack being justified tacitly implies the judicial system in the US has malfunctioned in some fundamental way, and in this case, the resort to illegal justice might serve some legitimate purpose.  If that's true, then please hold in check any judgments on Mexico and its' tribulations with the drug cartels.  If justice is being thwarted in our legal system, then we should be addressing our own failure to successfully prosecute the 'known' criminals in our midst.  If the truth be told, framing the discussion in terms of support for vigilante justice is specious.  It is a manipulation of the audience marinated in sensationalism which networks routinely offer as the sauce du jour, to wet our appetite for stories that should have been relegated to the page 4 of some regional newspaper.  This 'appetite for their 'special sauce' is in actuality, the lizard brain,  underlying our conscious mind, demanding spilled blood for the horrific act of rape as well as stimulating other primitive, unreasoned responses from homo sapiens, which may have played a role in our past biological success, but which has no place in a society founded on the rule of law.  The media execs who chose to frame this story in terms of public support for vigilantism are manipulating their audience's primitive instincts in order to to 'gin up' interest in the already thin content of the 24 hour news cycle, (on what I can only hope was a slow news day). 

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I was invited to attend a 'Healthcare Organizing Kickoff' by Mitch Stewart at barackobama.com that took place today.  I decided to attend to see what was going to be discussed at an event like this.  It took place at our local Democratic Party Headquarters, and lasted a little over two hours.  We were all issued a sheet of 'talking points' with which to arm ourselves when defending health care reform to those who may remain opposed to the idea.   I was heartened by the overwhelming support for a single payer healthcare plan.  In fact, if there was anyone in attendance who was not 100% committed to single payer, they were keeping their mouths shut during some pretty heated discussion about the general feeling of disenfranchisement from the political discussion as regards single payer.  One of the ardent supporters of single payer whom I spoke to following the discussion, is a salesman for long term health insurance.  I shook his hand, and told him I find it encouraging that someone who makes his living within the existing, for-profit system is not threatened by the prospects of instituting a single payer system in America. 

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Since the economy tanked we've seen numerous metrics used to describe the effects that mortgage brokers, ratings agencies, bankers and hedge fund managers have precipitated on the nation and the world.  Some of the most common measurements are increasing unemployment rates, a significant decline in the growth rate of the Gross Domestic Product, lost value in the stock market, all accompanied by increased fears of inflation/stagflation/deflation.  Other measurements, such as human sickness and death attributable to the economic downturn, have been largely ignored to date.  Linking specific deaths and illnesses to economic conditions is difficult.  Researchers who have attempted to do this with past recessions have had to rely on measuring changes in population mortality and morbidity rates (before, during, and after economic downturns) on the assumption that changes in the population rates will correlate to an economy-wide shock, such as recession.  In time we may see statistics that quantify the impact of the current downturn on national mortality and morbidity.  A recent article in the British Medical Journal, informs us that the collapse of the Russian economy was associated with a significant increase in mortality among working age men in former Soviet countries. Similar results were indicated in a study subsequent to the restructuring of the New Zealand economy.  Counterintuitively, researchers have heretofore, found that death rates in the US actually decline during economic downturns . They surmise that in our wealthy society, economic downturns reduce exposure to risks such as drinking, smoking, obesity, driving to work, and exposure to infectious disease and work-related stress even as stress increases in other ways.  However, previous US recessions have not been as severe or widespread as the current downturn. The impact of the current economic recession may well reach a tipping point where the gains from reductions in lifestyle risk are offset by increased illness and death.

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Sunday.  A leisurely start to the day.  Late breakfast.  What do do?  Go for a ride in the mountains on the motorcycle?  No.  Joss is in Africa, and Bruno, (our dog), hasn't been on a good walk in over a week.  Off we go bumping up a forest road to a trailhead where we've walked before.  Park the van in the grass, and debate whether I need a hat or not.  Nah!  It's alpine here, with plenty of shade.  The first half of this trail is all uphill.  Huff.... Puff....  Man, I've got to stop blogging and get some exercise 'cause I'm well and truly out of shape.  Twists and turns, with Bruno leading the way.  Listening to my Ipod.  Rockin' out in the woods.  Cool.  Bruno appears briefly as I round each turn, before disappearing around the next bend.  He's a great dog.  Always comes when called.  He'll sit outside the house without being tied up and quietly observe the neighborhood cars and characters coming and going.  Now he's not there when I round the next bend.  Hmmm...  Not worried.  He always comes back to check if he loses you for very long.  The next bend in the trail comes and goes with no sign of the hound.  And the next.  And the next.  And the next.  I pick up my pace and call his name.  He should be coming back to meet me any second.  But he doesn't.  Earphones out.  Ipod off.  Serious shout:  "Bruno!".  That should get his attention.  Again, no sign of him.  I start shouting in multiple directions to no avail.  He does like to chase game.  I continue up the trail calling his name fervently.  Now frantically.  This has never happened before.  I start constructing scenarios that might explain this.  There's always a dark scenario.  Perhaps we're wired to arrive at the darkness first, then try to claw our way back to the light.  There are bears and bull elk in these woods.  What if he picked the wrong critter to chase this time.  While I was rocking out, he could have chased off after something that was more than his match.  The forest sounds are all around me.  I think I hear a whimper.  Of a dog.  I strike off the path in its' direction.  Is it a whimper?  Or a bird?  I continue my search to no avail.  Eventually I spy the bird I mistook for a canine's cry of pain.  Back to the path.  I begin a methodical scout of the trail for signs of dog claws digging into the surrounding loam, as he might have done as he struck out after whatever he pursued.  Calling his name every 20-40 seconds. Nothing.  Repeat.  Nothing.  I make sure to get within hailing distance of the van on two of these circuits, and shout his name, to no avail.  My voice is getting hoarse now.  I continue along the trail beyond where I lost him.  Soon the trail crosses another road.  Another dark one enters my mind.  Could he have been that far ahead that he arrived here at this other trail head parking area well before me?  Could someone have taken him as I was back calling his name back on the trail?  It dawns on me that we never put his collar back on him following his bath the day before Joss left for the, say it! Dark continent.  A convertible approaches on the maintained forest road.  I flag down the couple and ask if they've seen a golden/chow mix.  They haven't but take my number just in case.   I decide to hightail it back to the van and scout the area in it, stopping to call his name every few hundred yards.  On the walk back I'm calling his name in the off hope he has returned from a wild goose chase.  And I'm making a list of the sequence of actions i have to initiate tonight.  Contact the SPCA.  The Forest Service.  The local paper and the weekly advertiser in order to run ads.  Print flyers with Bruno's picture and staple them around the mountain towns in this area.  And I'm trying to compose an explanation to Joss.  How I lost the greatest dog in the world.  This upon her return from a three week vacation to Europe and Africa.  Welcome home babe!  Ouch!  This is gonna kill her even more than it is me, and I'm quite truthfully frantic.  Getting close to the van now.  "Bruno!!!"  I've got a bass/baritone that can be heard for half a mile.  Nothing.  The van's in sight now, and he's not there.  I'm dying.  One last cry: "Bruno!!!!".  From around the shady front of the van the hound that put me through hell comes running.  My heart lifts with joy and relief, as I launch into a stern diatribe, explaining what he has put me through, as he comes and sits in front of me.  At my feet.  Head hung low.  I hold his head in my hands and continue describing the horrors I had imagined in a soft, yet stern voice.  Then he gets a kiss on his head and he bounds off towards the van.  That's how I spent my afternoon.  What did you do?  

Iran recently came under sharp criticism in the US for detaining journalist Roxanne Saberi on espionage charges.  Saberi was convicted, sentenced to 8 years imprisonment, and subsequently released  after an appeals court reduced her sentence to 3 months.  Some of the criticism of Iran centered on censorship of the press by the government.  Iran has detained several journalists in the recent past, although most have been expelled from the country rather than being detained.

Meanwhile the US has detained Reuters cameraman Ibrahim Jassam since last September, without lodging charges against him.  An Iraqi court ordered his release last November, but he continues to be held by US forces, citing him as a "high security threat".  Our war on the media coverage in the Iraq invasion has been unwritten policy since its' inception.  In retrospect the 'embedding' of the media with the troops, while offering first hand color commentary on the operations did little to shed light on the bigger picture of what was and is transpiring in country.  One thing that the ruling political class took to heart following the Vietnam War was to not let the press have access to 'off-message' media images.  So the war imagery has been heavily controlled from the battlefield to the returning caskets laden with the fruit of war.  But more than this passive manipulation of journalists and journalism, we're seeing for the first time, the strategic importance the government has placed on controlling the media, through the active constraint and even murder of journalists.  Al Jazeera, an international pro-Arab news agency was on the list of approved targets during the US invasion of Iraq and Afghanistan.  Their facilities as well as Abu Dhabi TV's were attacked virtually simultaneously on the same day as an attack on The Palestine Hotel, in Baghdad, where many journalists were staying at the time of the invasion.   These attacks killed 3 journalists.   

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His nickname is 'The Hook", and we met in our kayaks in an eddy of the Rio Grande, over 10 years ago.  I had been talking to him for about 10 minutes before I realized he was missing his left forearm and had been paddling his kayak using a prosthesis designed over 80 years ago, a medical invention that was mothered by necessity in the aftermath of WWI.  He'll happily tell you the story of how he lost his arm at age nine when he reached into an uncovered electrical transformer.  A playmate of his watched as he was blown out of his sneakers by 7200 volts of electricity, launching him 30 feet through the air.  The treating physicians hypothesized that the impact of landing on his chest most likely restarted his heart.  He has met and corresponded with many victims of electrical shock, but has yet to meet one who has survived one of that magnitude.  He was lucky.  His mom, a RN, rushed him to medical care, where he spent 6 days in a coma, and another week watching his forearm wither and die in the bed beside him prior to its' amputation.  He recounts how even at that young age, he felt like the gods had placed a task before him, and he thought, "Yeah!  I can do this!".   He grokked his handicap as his mantra and mission.  It was a defining moment, and in a sense provided him at least one raison d'être.  If you ask him, he will tell you he has two birthdays: on his first, he well and truly entered this world, and on his second he lost his left forearm and embarked on a new journey separate from the path he previously traveled.  His sense of humor would probably compel him to describe it as a journey he undertook single-handed. 

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A meditation by the revenue stream

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I recently read Bill Bryson's, 'A Short History of Nearly Everything'.  He's got a great perspective on humanity and our scientific understanding of the universe we inhabit.  Even things you all ready know, he presents in a fresh way or embellishes with interesting anecdotes or trivia to illustrate his points, and that makes the book a very enjoyable read.  There aren't many science books that I can think of that made me laugh out loud, let alone more times than I can recall.  About halfway through the book, I started keeping notes of some of my favorite facts, quotations, and anecdotes.  Here are some of those that I found particularly interesting or amusing.

1.  80% of US casualties in WWI were due to the Spanish or swine flu epidemic of 1918.

2.  The biomass of microbes in the world exceeds that of all other flora and fauna, and would coat the surface of the planet to a depth of 5-6 feet if it were piled up.

3.  Many viruses have 10 or fewer genes.  The simplest bacteria have several thousand.

4.  In 1918, out of 300 volunteers for flu research selected from the inmates at Deer Isle Military Prison, 62 volunteers:
          a.  Were injected with infected lung tissue from the recently dead.
          b.  sprayed with infectious aerosols in their eyes, noses, and throats.
          c.  Had their throats swabbed with discharges from the sick and dying.
          d.  Had to sit open-mouthed while a gravely ill flu victim was encouraged to cough in their faces.

          The only fatality in the study was the ward doctor who oversaw the experiments.

5.  Less than one in 10,000 species has made it into the fossil record.

6.  Trilobites, (Ordovician Era), were a successful species for 300 million years.  Dinosaurs, (Permian Era), were extant for about 150 million years.  Homo sapiens has been a biologically successful species for around 50,000 years.    

7.  If your pillow is 6 years old, it is estimated that 1/10 of its' weight is made up of sloughed skin, living mites, dead mites, and mite dung.   

8.  If you go out to the woods, (any woods), and scoop up a handful of soil.  You will be holding up to 10 billion bacteria, most of them unknown to science.  You'll also be holding up to 1 million yeasts, 200,000 molds, perhaps 10,000 protozoans, and assorted rotifers, roundworms, and other small creatures collectively known as cryptozoa.

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So much hyperbole has been written about the violence of the Mexican drug wars spilling over the border, that I'm finding it hard to reconcile this ginned up media hype and the reality of living in a border region of the US.  There is elevated violence across the border to the south, but to say it is 'spilling' onto US soil appears, from my perspective, to be melodramatic fodder, designed to entertain those of us from northern climes, who dream of a more exotic America to the south.  Alternatively, it might be construed as a marketing pitch from manufacturers of security, surveillance, military and law enforcement gadgetry and services.  For those of us who live here along the border, things seem to be not so different than any other city, and in many cases, it's much better.  Josh Marshall recently linked to this compelling article in Austin's Texas Observer which is well worth the read in order to gain some perspective on this issue.  

While we were susceptible to the fears being hawked like poppies on veterans day in post 9/11 America, there was a massive shift taking place in security infrastructure on all our borders, but more especially on our border with Mexico.  There are problems with illegal immigration, most of which are not being dealt with effectively or economically through US immigration and border policy.   What is US imigration/border policy...  Stem the influx of illegal aliens entering the States and stealing low paid American jobs... check.   Curtail the flow of illegal drugs across a porous border with Mexico... check.  Remove a possible channel of ingress for terrorists, crawling through miles of arroyos in order to penetrate the heartland of our nation... check.  {{{{rewind}}}}    Are we successful in any of these policy goals, and to the extent that we are, can our policy be refined?  There is no economically feasible way forward in stemming the flow of narcotics into the US via our current policies.  The economics of the drug business, requires an escalation on the part of the traffikers for each escalation on our part in securing our borders.  It's a numbers game we are destined to lose.  I'm sure the government would like to tell us about the successes intercepting terrorists in the Sonoran and Chihuahuan Deserts if only it wouldn't compromise national security.  In the end, the terrorists are more refined in their approach and with better financial and intelligence resources than the poor Mexicanos wading the river in search or a minimum wage job.  Ironically, the contracting US economy probably does as much or more in stemming the tide of illegal immigrants into the country as the availability of jobs shrinks, as do our policies.  In addition, there is reason to believe that clamping down on illegal immigration from Mexico to the US will result in a net drain on the US economy, and that our money is better spent on other venues than building fences, and patrolling borders.

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This is one of the most creative animations I've seen in a while.  From/by www.blublu.org... Genius.  Enjoy.

http://vimeo.com/993998

I had originally embedded the video, but after considering the copy write disclaimer and TPM being a commercial website, decided it to be prudent to link to the video instead.