Help a Bitch out.

I know that I've slacked off a bit on postings, and this one is going to be short. I'm just making a quick plug to support an indie media outlet. Watch the video below and then give, give, give. You know you want to!

I know the video is dated, but I'm quite sure they're still in need of support.

The Cost Is Our Health

Walter Cronkite once said, "America's health care system is neither healthy, caring, nor a system." I've just read an article that does an excellent job of pointing out how right Mr. Cronkite was.

The article states that as profit margins narrow, some very large insurers "... will not sacrifice profitability for membership."

When speaking to investors, in economic terms, that just sounds like a hardline position a company is taking.  It sounds like a decision executives had to make to insure profits, but the problem is that this isn't the production of a commodity that consumers can choose to or not to purchase (though that is indeed the counter argument that these insurers would make).

The fact of the matter is that the people who can no longer afford the policy can now no longer afford to be healthy, which will directly or indirectly shorten their lives. How much shorter will it make their lives? Perhaps the mismanagement of their health will shorten their lives from 75 years to 72 years, or it very well could shorten their lives from 75 years to 39 years.

I personally have avoided going to the doctor for numerous things because I was on a stretch in between health insurance carriers. In fact, I think I broke my foot last year. Notice I said "think" because I still don't know.  I was a full-time student over the age of 25. That means that I didn't qualify for insurance through my parents.  I could've gotten coverage through my part-time job (which is a rare exception in the working world), but the amount of money that would've come out of my paychecks would've made it very difficult to pay the rest of my monthly bills. The result? I limped for two months and then off and on for another month or two after that. It wasn't too bad, and after all, that's what we're supposed to do as Americans, right? Tough it out? Heaven forbid that we have a right to anything beyond shooting off our mouths and our guns.

The problem here is that there are people out there with corner offices sitting around large oak tables in control of our health.  Their priority is maximizing profits, and often that is at the expense of the service that they are supposed to be providing.  It's frustrating when it makes the average person's life inconvenient, but when it is actually jeopardizing our lives and the lives of our loved ones, it's nothing short of criminal.  There are few countries in the world where citizens will tolerate, and even justify such actions, but you do it everyday.

There's a great program on healthcare systems around the world that was produced by PBS. It's viewable in segments on their site.

As if Wal-Mart needed more reasons for people to hate them...

I just ran across this article. These panties were found in a junior girls department at Wal-Mart in Cary, North Carolina.

Apparently, Wal-Mart intends to teach young girls to commodify their bodies as early as possible.  As common (yet no less distasteful) as the item would be ordinarily in an adult section and with the slow creeping of sexuality into children's lives , I shouldn't be surprised, but I am.

Let's just be serious for a moment. Advertisers and average people eternally looking for that one idea that will finally make them rich will do anything to make money. They will convince you of anything. It's not that they want you to believe anything in particular. They're not concerned with your life philosophy. They just want to make sure that you purchase whatever it is that they're pushing that day.

The problem is that they've gotten so good at it that they will alter you. Neither you nor they want to admit it, but they are better served if they can subtly alter you mind. How else would anyone consider buying their little girl panties that imply that girls do not need currency as long as they have something between their legs that men want? Would your grandmother have bought those for your mother? Would your great-grandmother have bought those for your grandmother?

We've slowly moved to this point in our society over the last century. We've changed as a society in a lot of ways. Many of these changes have been driven by the people. They have been gradual changes in culture that were in the works for several hundred years- political revolutions, civil rights revolutions, feminist revolutions. Beyond our gradual cultural change, there have been changes pushed forth for nothing more than greater profit margins for those who are concerned with such things. Once medicine was about health, now it's a race for profit. Once music was about beauty or storytelling, now it's about how much money someone can make. Once panties were about keeping little girl's butts warm, and now...

Well, it's easy to say, "Everyone's just out to make a buck!" and "Greed is destroying our society!" People do that all the time, but when does anyone give you a small everyday example?

Here.

Here is an example of a company taking something from you and your children to make a profit.

Elliot Spitzer, casualty of the war on terror

A friend of mine recently wrote this intending on submitting it to his local paper, but due to the length, was unable. After reading it, I decided that it was important that it see the light of day.

16 March 2008--Austin, Texas.

Elliot Spitzer, New York Governor, has resigned effective Monday March 17, recently being exposed for visiting a prostitute. A man elected by an overwhelming majority of constituents. A man who previously held the high profile position of State Attorney General where he made a reputation for fighting for living citizens over corporate citizens. This man was trusted by many to make important and fair judgments for the public good, and performed time and time again. A distinguished career wiped out by a poor personal decision; an indiscretion made by many in all classes and walks of life. Does this punishment fit the crime? Will citizens of New York and the country be better or worse for this resignation?

More importantly, who will benefit most from Spitzer's absence from public life? And why was he found out in the first place? These questions may have been mentioned by "mainstream" (read corporate) media but never received any traction since the tabloid type stories are much less controversial to corporate citizens and focus all the attention on Spitzer and his poor judgment.

It has been reported Spitzer raised red flags in a computer program that analyzes all bank transactions that occur in the United States to identify terrorist financing and money laundering. A program that looks at all bank transactions you and I make as well. This set into action an investigation by Federal investigators to figure out the destination of the suspicious funds. When it was determined that the money had gone to a prostitution ring this information was acted upon and Spitzer was ruined.

This is a perfect example of why the government should not be granted special powers to investigate Americans in the name of Terror. Without excusing the actions of the Ex-Governor of New York, it is quite obvious he has become a casualty of the War on Terror. When it was obvious that the flagged transaction was not supporting terrorists why was the investigation pursued? Why have none of the other "Johns" names been disclosed?

I suggest that there is much more to this case than is being publicly reported. This very well could have been a witch-hunt made possible by legislation intended to execute the "War on Terror". If this is the case, this legislation needs to be reexamined for usefulness in achieving its intended goals. If it can pick up is a man trying to hide his visit to a prostitute, and ruin him, maybe it can see too deep into our personal lives. If this is how the legislation is to be used it certainly needs to be repealed.

The Constitution protects us from illegal search. No law was broken with the funds transfers yet this “suspicious” activity began the humiliating chain of events.

The Bush justice department has investigated Democratic to Republican politicians 6 to 1. There is no evidence that they are more or less corrupt than the other side. Is this politically motivated? You bet! These types of personal matters with little to no bearing on public policy scream of last ditch efforts to oust a better opponent. Who will be next?

-Brad T.

It, like most things in life, is generational.

I look at the world we live in, and sometimes I think our problem is generational mentalities. Now, you may have been born in the decades immediately following World War II, and if you were, I'm probably about to offend you.
Baby boomers are the most destructive generation in human history.
For the most part, these weren't conscious negative decisions, and in all honesty, it was the generation of the baby boomers' grandparents who set them up for this awe inspiring achievement. I don't look at the intent of the majority of baby boomers with much contempt, but at some point, I do think they could've made a choice. There are, after all, a huge number of people of that generation who are quite aware of the problems they've created. That number is still such an insignificant proportion of the total that it makes little difference.
How can a generation be so significant? How could anyone we know make such a negative impact in the grand scheme of all of human history? Questions like that attest to the problem. Questions like that are asked by the baby boomers themselves. It's a way of shifting blame- of placating one's conscience. People who say that we are insignificant in the run of mankind also, in the same breath, will tell you that modern times are the most enlightened and accomplished. They'll say that we have advanced more in the last one hundred years than humankind has in the last two thousand, but then they tell you that we're too insignificant to affect anything such as the environment. So, which is it?
I started down this path of thought when I tried to imagine what my grandchildren might be doing when they're my age. What will be their issues? It occurred to me that they will still be trying to fix the problems of the baby boomers, but to my grandchildren, the baby boomers will be an abstract historical group of people. There won't be the face of mom, dad, grandpa, or grandma, to associate with the generation. It will only be a group of people that created a huge number of problems that they are still trying to solve. It was at this point that the baby boomers became something different in my mind. How do I explain that my parents, aunts, uncles, teachers, and friends took a bad situation and made it worse?
I look at our world, and I'm forced to see it as a generational struggle. I see one generation taking advantage of the world, and another, taught to be apathetic, watching everything get worse and worse- year by year. What happens when the former steps down? What happens when retirement, ill health, and death leaves the reins of our people in the limp hands of my generation? Will it be business as usual or will we have the courage to step up and live our lives for us?

Congestion Pricing

"The Congestion Mitigation Commission issued its final recommendation last week. After hundreds of hours of testimony and dozens of public meetings, the jointly appointed panel of experts voted 13-yes, 2-no, 1-abstain and 1-absent in favor of congestion pricing as the best way to reduce car and truck traffic and improve mass transit.
Now the [New York] City Council and then both houses of state government must review the plan and vote on it before March 31st or else risk losing $354 million in federal transit aid.

In brief, the plan that will be voted on would raise a half-billion dollars annually for transit by charging motorists $8 to travel into Manhattan south of 60th street between 6 am and 6 pm on weekdays. Trucks would pay $21 to enter the charging zone. The money raised by the charge would go into a "dedicated transit account" for funding the MTA capital plan, which is scheduled to be released before the end of March (the sooner, the better).

To ease concerns about potential parking problems in the charging zone and on its perimeters, the commission recommended an increase in meter rates inside the area and residential parking programs for the neighborhoods on the zone's periphery. Funds raised by these programs would go to "additional transit, pedestrian, bicycle, and parking management improvements." For an in depth look at the commission's report check out Streetsblog's coverage here."
article from transalt.org

I think this is great. Let's be serious. No one in traffic likes traffic. No one walking likes getting hit by cars while crossing the street. Most people enjoy riding bicycles. Our doctors tell us we need to walk more. Rushing all the time causes more stress.
If someone almost hits you while driving, you scream at them. You find it completely unreasonable. If someone bumps into you while walking, you apologize to them.
"Oh, I'm sorry."
"Oh- no, it was my fault. I'm sorry."
How often does that happen after a traffic accident?

I haven't started my car in at least two months. (It's a manual. I'm not that worried about it.) I ride my bike, and my leg muscles are bulging. I walk, and I know where restaurants and little shops are that I otherwise would've flown past in my car. I ride the bus, and I've learned the layout of my city better. Riding the bus also allows me to read while in transit. Total up how much money you spend on gas in two months, and that's how much I've saved. I never have to worry about parking or parking tickets. Car maintenance is never on my mind, and I've found a bicycle co-op where I do any repairs my bike needs for practically nothing- not to mention all the nice people I've met there.

The longer I do this the more reasonable it becomes. After two months, I know how to get anywhere I need to go without ever getting in a car. I visit my girlfriend on weekends or go to doctor appointments by train. I look up from that book I've been meaning to read for months or from a movie on my laptop and I see people in cars. They always look angry and frustrated.

Politicians scream about dependency on foreign oil. They talk about alternative fuels. They don't say the easiest thing.
Walk.
Do you even know how much a bus costs in your area?
How thick is that layer of dust on your bike?
The research on biofuels is still years away from a viable alternative.

I've research it. The best biofuel I could find is a bagel and a glass of juice. I can bike 60 or 70 miles on just that.
When they figure out how to run a car on orange juice, call me.

Obama vs. Clinton vs. McCain

You've got some awkward decisions ahead of you.
Today former governor Mitt Romney dropped out of the race for the Republican presidential nomination. He took one for the team. While dropping out of the race, he made a plug for party unification against the Democrats. It seemed like a quick move to circumvent you actually thinking for yourself. He says he's out of the race because you must be united against the Democrats.
Should you unite against the Democrats?
That's a question he prevents you from asking yourself. He ignores what your concerns are and makes you think you're concerned with that which he wants you to be. It's sneaky.
Another part of his dropping out is that, in the general election, Romney vs. Obama would be a nightmare for the Republicans. The truth of the matter is that there aren't enough "morally conservative" voters to carry any candidate. The majority of voters in the United States are moderates. They are not 'liberal" nor are they "conservative."
What Republican strategists want is Clinton vs. McCain, and for this they're counting on two things.
First, despite John McCain's talk of late, he's not much of a conservative. They're depending on McCain's ability to appeal to moderate voters. Now, Hillary Clinton's ability to appeal to moderate voters is just as strong as McCain's, but that's where factor two comes in.
Hillary Clinton has been a polarizing figure in the past, and they think that in a campaign to demonize Clinton, McCain is a practical alternative. Now, people like to demonize Hillary Clinton because she plays the man's role in politics too well, but there's currently no room for a woman in politics that doesn't play a masculine role. This often gets her called "bitch," but it's no fault of hers.
For Republican strategists, the ideal match-up for the general election is Clinton vs. McCain. What happens if it's Obama vs. McCain? Well then the Republicans actually have to fight a fair fight.
When you are voting in the fall, do you want to be voting for the candidate you believe in, or do you want to be voting against the candidate you oppose?
The next ten months will be trying. You will have to endure ad after ad after ad. You'll hear hateful language, insecurities, and deceit.
The most important thing to remember this year is that for all our dissimilarities, we are more alike than unalike.
"We must learn to live together as brothers or perish together as fools." -Martin Luther King, Jr.

Reprogramming

I've just come from a film screening at UCSC. The film was called "American Blackout." I can't think of anything to occur in the last ten years of as much significance as the voting fraudulence during the 2000 presidential election in Florida. Despite this significance, it is still so poorly understood by the general population. There were so many things about the situation that there was no precedent for in the United States.



You can watch the film in its entirety here.

One of the reasons why I'm passionate about this is because little twenty-year-old Adam was voting in his first election in 2000. My vote was not counted because the process of recounting votes was stopped (unconstitutionally) by the Supreme Court.
This is something that they are trying to do to you. If you don't think your vote will be counted, how likely are you to show up to vote?