It's Broke, Fix it

I am shedding some more "lyte" on the healthcare debate. While the rabid right are still waving their signs and barking at the wind at townhalls, millions of people with health insurance are going broke.

A new study out by the the American Journal of Medicine paints a dismal picture of life with a catastrophic illness. Even if you are insured, you are still in financial trouble. I don't want to confuse anyone with the facts, but they are hard to argue. 62% of all bankruptcies are due to a catastrophic medical event. Three quarters of those who filed had medical insurance. The overall share of medically caused bankruptcies increased by 50% between 2001 AND 2007.

Forget death panels and socialism. We are all just one serious illness away from disaster. That's the finest medical system in the world? Enough is enough. It is bad enough to be ranked below Costa Rica in the quality of our healthcare. It is bad enough that while spending more than any other country, we are far from receiving the best care in the world. It is bad enough to have our healthcare in the hands of executives who livelihood depends on denying us the care we have paid for.

We need to take our healthcare back. We need to send a clear message to insurance companies that the party is over. The current healthcare reform package is far from perfect, but it will go a long way in helping Americans get the healthcare that they are already paying for.

Hue and Cry

I want to shed a little "lyte" on skin tones today. In case you haven't noticed, our president is black. And boy, does that little factoid piss and the scare the shit out of some white people. They are people out there that can't stand the fact that not only does the leader of the free world not look like them, he has a weird sounding name to boot.

I think we need to change our ways of referring to skin color. Let's start out with white people. Caucasians are not white, we are peach. We need to embrace our true color. If you don't like peach, try taupe or beige. White has too much emotional baggage. We as a people neither need nor deserve the moniker "white", when peach (or taupe, or beige) describes us much more accurately. Peach is humbler. Peach is sweeter. Peach is not an absolute.

Now let's take on black. Again, another absolute with negative connotations. And African Americans are not black. Ebony, chocolate, mocha, all are better descriptions. Since I am trying for an all food theme, let's pick chocolate.

Now we can describe our post racial society as peach versus chocolate. It sounds like a show on Food Network. There's is a lot of hate being spread around out there. We might as well try to make palatable.

All Dunne

Today I am shedding some "lyte" on death. No, I am not blogging about the demise of Ted Kennedy. I am mourning the passing of one of my favorite authors, Dominick Dunne.

A tireless advocate for the victims of violent crime, Dunne was able to migrate from the homes of the rich and famous to the prison cells of those who were brought to justice. He relished in giving us ordinary humans a glimpse into the world of the jet set. But if one of the gilded class happened to murder someone, he was on them like a bloodhound on the scent.

His combination of access and a thirst for justice was due to his time spent as a TV and movie producer in Hollywood and the untimely murder of his daughter, Dominque. When her boyfriend was sentenced to a mere 3 years for her death, Dunne turned his talents to exposing the foibles and crimes of the haves to the delight of the have nots. His time spent battling addictions to alcohol and drugs gave him a sensitivity that other crime writers lacked.

Many of his novels dealt with real life crime stories couched in a fictional setting. This allowed Dunne to use his prodigious imagination to fill in the blanks that reality often leaves blank. His columns in "Vanity Fair" were a must read for me. He would fly around the world, traveling from parties to arraignments and would let us all in on the fun.

He had an uncanny knack of meeting the right person, with the right juicy tidbit, at the right time. And he never failed to share them with his readers. I love his show, "Power, Privledge, and Justice". It brings to television the same inside scoop that his columns had.

Happily, Dunne finished his final novel before succumbing to bladder cancer. It will be out in December. I am going to read it...slowly. No one will ever be able to give us the insider's view of the downfall of the powerful like his signature round frames.

Clash Of Civilizations?

I am shedding some "lyte" on tolerance. I just finished reading "No god but God" by Reza Aslan. It is a great book that traces the history of Islam. I learned a lot. What struck me most is that the Quran, like the Torah and the New Testament, is a remarkably tolerant document. So it begs the question, why are we still fighting?

I thought fundamentalists were the purists of their faith. That they yearned for a faith that adhered to the their sacred texts. But apparently not. All three of the monotheists' screeds counsel peace and protection of the poor and underprivledged. Just as our world views have evolved; if you examine the three books chronologically, you will see an ever increasing call for tolerance.

The Quran is remarkable in that it not only recognizes the Jews and the Christians, it embraces them as "People of the Book". No where does it call for the wholesale slaughter of fellow monotheists, but does take a hard line against polytheism. Just like the Torah and the New Testament, the Quran has been subjected to interpretation, and that's where we find intolerance creeping in to pervert the original message.

I learned that the hijab was originally intended for Muhammed's wives, not all women of the Muslim faith. That in its early incarnations, Islam practiced the separation of church and state. I learned the differences between Sunni, Shiite, and Sufi Muslims.

I found out that our country helped promote the Wahhabism, the radical, fundamental Islam that helped give birth to al Queda. That we gave Osama Bin Ladin money, guns, and training. That we armed Saddam Hussein with biological and chemical weapons to fight Iran.

I read that most of the current conflict between the Middle East and the West has its roots in colonialism. That because of our efforts to control these countries and, more importantly, their resources, we sowed the seeds that have blossomed full flower into acts of terrorism.

To be clear, I am not justifying terrorism. But how can we hope to defeat it when we don't owe up to our role in creating the environments in which it can grow?

All in all, this book made me a more informed citizen. I now understand that it is not our religion that divides us, we all believe in the same God. It is our politics. And for that, there is no easy solution. After all, we can not even get our own political parties to work together. But it begs the question, why not? What purpose is being served by constant conflict?

The Money Pit

Today I am shedding some "lyte" on fiscal responsibility. The White House Office of Management and Budget and the Congressional Budget Office confirmed today what we all suspected, unemployment is worse than we thought, and we are going into debt, as a nation, much faster than predicted.

Expect a lot of hue and cry from the Republicans and rabid right on this. They have recently, as of January 2009, rediscovered fiscal restraint after decades of out of control spending. When they start to paint Obama with the "selling out our children's' future" tar brush, just remember that this is the group that helped turn a budget surplus into a deficit overnight. That conducted two wars off the books to make their debt seem smaller. That pushed through an increase to Medicare that they conveniently had no way of paying for.

They also help to oversee one if the largest transfers of wealth from the middle class to the upper class in our history. And created a pitiful amount of jobs during Bush's tenure. They aided and abetted companies that shipped millions of jobs overseas. They created a culture of consumption that encouraged and rewarded short term gain over sustainability.

But now they care. Now they are demanding what was in such short supply for the past eight years: accountability and restraint. Excuse me for seeming a bit incredulous, they spent the last eight years with the fiscal policy of if there's checks in the checkbook, then there's money in the bank, and now they demand that we cut spending. I have a suggestion, let's start with their salaries, their staffs, and their budgets. If the stimulus is so horrible, let's take the money out of their districts and states and send it where it is welcome. If a public option to healthcare is so onerous, leave their constituents out.

Our government has to spend money right now because we can't. Our economy is predicated on consumer spending and consumers have nothing to spend. When you disseminate the middle class, there are consequences. When you gut manufacturing, there are consequences. When you fail your citizens, there are consequences. For all their Bible thumping, they forgot that you reap what you sow.

A Drug-Filled America?

Today I am shedding a little "lyte" on drugs. In the midst of all the healthcare brouhaha, a study has been released showing that abuse of drugs used to treat ADHD in teens has skyrocketed. This increase mirrors the increase in the amount of prescriptions that have been written.

Now, teenagers abusing drugs is not a new phenomena. But teenagers abusing totally legal, doctor approved drugs is a new twist. It is one thing when you have to find a pusher to get high, it's another when your pusher is your doctor. Teens that do not have ADHD get a high off the drugs used to treat it. Kids who are prescribed the drugs can make nice living off of selling their drugs.

Teens who abuse ADHD drugs run a risk of serious health consequences like high blood pressure, rapid heart rate, and other side effects. Four people have died from it. If it was a herb that was causing these side effects, there would be an outcry and a call to remove the substance from the market. In fact, properly prescribed and administered medication kills about 100,000 people every year. But no one seems to care.

Why the deafening silence? The pharmaceutical lobby outnumbers our representatives by about 3 to 1 in our nation's capital. They contribute heavily to the campaigns, and have enormous resources to put to use to keep the carnage off the radar. It doesn't help that pharmaceutical drugs are advertised on TV.

And what is conspicuously absent in the healthcare debate is our addiction to legally prescribed drugs. Over 50% of all Americans take some type of prescribed medicine. I am not saying we are a nation of junkies, but the fact is, we are. And we are turning our kids into addicts as well.

Right, Right, Cha-Cha-Cha

I am shedding some "lyte" on juxtaposition. The new line up for "Dancing with the Stars" has been announced. Normally, I wouldn't care. I have never seen the show. But this season might be worth watching as former House Majority Leader, Tom DeLay, is one of the contestants.

Only in America, or maybe Japan, or maybe even Italy, would a disgraced, former politician think that the road to redemption goes through "Dancing with the Stars". I have joked before that this show exists just to showcase washed up former talents. But DeLay has no talent. He was an effective political bully, but that's not talent, that's a personality disorder.

Can he dance? Who cares? Apparently he is a big fan of the show and has danced with his wife in the past. If that is enough to qualify you to be a contestant, they must be getting desperate. I know that the "celebrity" gets paired with a professional dancer, but in my dream pairing, he would get paired with either Macy Gray or Kelly Osbourne. I guess I'll just have to settle for seeing him in lycra and sequins. Talk about "must see" TV.

Now, his dance partner needs know two crucial facts about Tom: 1) he'll always lead and 2) he can only go in one direction: right.

Love Or Money?

Today I am shedding "lyte" on choices. A recent poll conducted by AOL's Shortcuts and AllYou.com asked women if they would rather save $50 per week or have more sex. And the answer is....show us the money.

Now, you could claim that women in better economic times would choose to have more sex. But I doubt it. Despite our portrayals in songs, books, and movies, women tend to be much more pragmatic than romantic. Women have to be, we are left with the consequences of passion: children.

And what does it say about mens' skills in the sack when a majority of women would prefer a mere $50 per week than hot man on woman action? I mean no one would turn down $50, but I wonder what the break even point is: $40, $30, $20, or even $10?

I love the fact that they didn't bother to ask men the same question. It is polls like these that lay bare (pun completely intended) the gap between the sexes. Vive la difference!

Eat The Rich

I am shedding a little "lyte" on wealth today. A paper studing income disparity in the U.S. was recently updated. This paper, authored by Professor Emmanuel Saez of UC Berkeley, shows that the income gap between the poorest and the richest citizens in our nation is no longer a gap, it is an abyss.

Were you awake during history class? Do you remember the "Gilded Age"? Well, we are living in the "Platinum Age", the top .01 of wage earners took in 6 percent of the wages earned in 2007, and a frightenly 49.7 percent of all wages earned up to 2007. That's a rate not seen since 1917, and blew away the rate seen in 1928.

Not surprisingly, the rich got a lot richer during the Bush Administration, with the top 1 percent taking home two thirds of the income growth during the years 2000-2007. While the other 99% saw income growth, it was at half the rate seen during 1993-2000 (1.3% versus 2.7).

So maybe these angry mobs at these town halls are targetting the wrong issue and directing their ire at the wrong people. Healthcare reform isn't going to destroy this country, the Republicans already did.

Change I Can Believe In

Today I am shedding some "lyte" on superficiality, specifically mine. Brad Pitt was interviewed on the 'Today' show. He was talking in the living room of home that was built as part of his Make It Right foundation, an organization dedicated to rebuilding the lower 9th ward that was destroyed in Hurricane Katrina.

I love Brad Pitt. I usually eschew blondes, but he is one of my exceptions, along with David Beckham. Yummm. But I digress. I love Brad Pitt, not just for his incredible good looks, but for his commitment to an area that has been totally forgotten. His goal is to build 150 homes by the end 2010. He has architects like Frank Gehry and other luminaries designing not only new but sustainable homes. He claims that his 15 existing homes constitute the "greenest neighborhood in America".

But I am not alone in my admiration of Pitt. There is a mayoral election coming up in New Orleans and there is a grass roots campaign urging Brad to run. He is considering it; his platform would be pro-gay marriage, anti-religion, and pro-legalization and taxation of marijuana. He is confident that he doesn't stand a chance of getting elected.

Oh, Brad, forget being mayor of New Orleans and run for President. I have nothing against the current occupant of the White House, I voted for him. Obama is also a good looking guy. But the words "photo op with the President" would take on a whole new meaning if the most powerful man in the world also happened to be the beautiful. Well, a girl can dream.

Milestones and Headstones

I want to shed some "lyte" on accomplishments. Yesterday I wrote my 100th posting on my blog. I cannot believe that I have generated so many opinions in so little time and with so little effort. Amazing what motivators anger and disbelief can be.

I also realized that I am officially old and out of touch. I was on the "Entertainment" section of Huffington Post today and did not know who anyone was, other than Kevin Bacon of course. Who is Heidi Montag? And Channing Tatum? You know you are on the down hill side of popular culture when you no longer recognize anyone.

Of course, I handicap myself by never watching any show on a major network. I have never seen "American Idol" or that show where washed up celebrities go to dance. I stopped watching MTV sometime during the first Clinton adminstration. I mostly check out HGTV and Bravo. I am a faithful viewer of "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart" and the "Colbert Report". I have stopped watching CNN or MSNBC. Once Obama was elected, I was done with the 24/7 newscycle and its band of crazies.

I only get weekend delivery of my newspaper and then I only read the Sunday edition. I still subscribe to Vanity Fair. I only peruse Google News and Huffington Post to get ideas to blog about, otherwise, I am just immersing myself in books. Real books, no Kindle for me.

Yes, I am out of touch with our mainstream culture, and it feels pretty good. Now remind me, just who is Bradley Cooper? Or Jaime Pressly? And why should I care?

Rebels Part Two

Today I am shedding "lyte" on ignorance. Namely, the appalling ignorance that is being displayed at congressional town hall meetings. The rabid right is not just playing fast and loose with the facts, they are spreading lies. They are not interested in being heard, they are interested in being seen on YouTube and the news networks.

Take for instance, the so called "death panels". This is pure fabrication, based upon one of the improvements suggested for Medicare. Many older Americans fail to make plans for how they want to be treated in critical, end of life, situations. This provision in the healthcare reform bill would pay for them to meet with a counselor to set up directives for their treatment in the event they cannot communicate with healthcare providers. That's it. No panel, no mandatory "death date" or euthanasia. Just an option to set down in writing what care they want to receive or don't want to receive at the end of their lives.

But it has been blown into an Orwellian fantasy of the government killing old people and in the case of Sarah Palin, her Down Syndrome baby. Wow, these folks should be on SyFy. The rabid right has created a talking point that has absolutely no basis in reality. But this is nothing new, reality has no place in their universe.

Then you have the whole "government takeover" argument. This talking point conveniently ignores that the public option is just that, an option. Do they not know what an option is? No where is it mandated that people would have to give up their private insurance. I repeat, no where is it mandated that people would have to give up their private insurance. Creating a public option will just bring more choice to the marketplace. But again, the free market crowd isn't interested in a free market, they are only interested in profits, and a public option would cut into the private insurances' profits, big time.

Another facetious claim is that the government can't run a healthcare plan efficiently. Okay, so why does Medicare have significantly lower administration costs that any private insurer? And why do we think a government employee will have any incentive to refuse care like a private employee who may receive a bonus for doing so?

When I worked for Motorola in customer service, it was part of our policy to let angry customers vent and then seek a solution. Maybe they should institute a 15 minute time frame for these faux protesters to scream their vitriol, and then they have to actually suggest solutions. I am sure we would see this outrage bleed off and real town halls could commence. But the rabid right isn't interested in democracy in action. They just want their angry minority to get their time in limelight. That isn't democracy, that is theatre.

Rebels Without A Pause

I am shedding a little "lyte" on outrage. Last year, right about this time, the rabid right started howling. During the campaign it was all about how Obama "palled around with terrorists" and whether he was a socialist or not. Things got ugly, and McCain tried to rein in the hate, but it is hard to put a fire out, you're better off not starting it in the first place. And what was the final result? Obama won the election.

Then we had the whole tea party debacle. This was another opportunity for angry people to get together and get angrier. This time over taxes, but really over the stimulus package. No one tried to rein in the wingnuts, in fact, one news channel help to aid and abet the hate. And what was the final result? The stimulus package passed into law and has now helped us to avoid a second Great Depression.

Now the mob has moved on to healthcare. I cannot for the life of me understand how anyone can get homicidal over healthcare. But they are. And again, no one on the right is trying to rein in the hate. And what will be the result? Reconciliation and the Republican will be shut out of the debate. Oh! And real, meaningful, helpful healthcare reform will happen.

My dog likes to bark at the wind. But it never stops the wind from blowing. Maybe the rabid right should take a cue from my dog.

Shiny Happy Old People

Today I am shedding some "lyte" on aging. The Pew Research Center has released an interesting poll on aging in American. A greater number of older adults reported that they don't feel that old. Where do they live? The West.

Apparently the fountain of youth is located west of the Mississippi. More than 2/3 of the respondents who resided in the West felt younger than their chronological, compared with 57% of those that lived elsewhere. Not only did older Americans living in the West feel younger, they felt they enjoyed better health. Again by a significant margin.

The older Americans in the west also exercised more. In addition to daily mobility, they also showed a propensity to move more often, with only 23% having stayed put in one community their entire lives. But perhaps as a result of this mobility, they don't see their families as much.

The only drawback that older, Western Americans reported was feeling less respected than their counterparts in the Midwest, Northeast, and South. Maybe it is because they don't look or act old enough?

So, are you a retiree who needs a new lease on life? Just follow the setting sun.

Town Hells

I am shedding a little "lyte" on public discourse. In an effort to further educate the American public about healthcare reform, democratic lawmakers are holding town halls all over the country. In effort to defeat reform, republican operatives and corporate shills are doing everything they can to disrupt them.

I am sure you have seen the footage of folks screaming at our public servants. They are trying to conflate "Cash for Clunkers", the wildly successful program to trade-in gas guzzling older vehicles for fuel efficient ones that has helped companies like Ford actually post profits, saying because the program was so successful, and ran out of money, how can we trust the government with our healthcare? Let me get this straight, a government program that works beyond anyone's imagining is an excellent example of the government screwing up? You don't see that kind of tortured logic at a high school debate.

Or you'll see a retired citizen screaming about socialized medicine, conveniently forgetting, as seniors often do, that they are already on socialized medicine in the form of Medicare. I love this. How do you manage to convince people that a government run public option is the greatest of all evils when they are already enjoying a government run medical program? And if they are veterans, well, they have the advantage of socialized medicine times two.

But it is my familiar refrain that the right does not like to be confused with facts. Facts like no one will be forced to take the public option (hence the word option) if they are happy with their current insurance. That creating true competition in the marketplace would benefit all of us and keep insurance companies honest. That despite the so called "best healthcare in the world", our life expectancy rates and infant mortality rates lag behind every other industrialized nation. Or that the threat that rationing is an empty one, rationing happens everyday in our current system, it is called denying coverage. Or the evils portrayed by having a government "bureaucrat" between you and your doctor is supposedly worse than having a corporate bureaucrat that currently makes life or death decision for you and your doctor, and is paid a bonus for denying you coverage.

No, just head down to your local representatives' town hall and yell...a lot. The Republicans don't want you to notice that they have no alternatives, no ideas, and no vision. Just a bunch of hot air. Like we need more of that in the summer.

Sisterhood Of The Traveling Super Glue

I want to shed some "lyte" on sisterhood. I am back from spending 10 days with my sister. We have really close bond that has seen us through some tough times. Our daughters are starting to bond as well and that gives us a lot of joy. We know what sisters (and cousins) can be for each other.

Well, a group of four women tested the bonds (pun so totally intended) of sisterhood in the little town of Stockbridge, Wisconsin. A wife, fed up with her cheating, con man of a husband, called his paramours and arranged a little payback, sticky style. Her husband was seeing five other women and she managed to get three of them to agree to set him up. One of the women called him and arranged to meet a hotel. She got him to agree to be tied up and blindfolded (ahh, the things we do for love). Once the loser was hog-tied, the woman texted her cohorts, who descended upon the man with all the fury of women scorned.

They mocked him, threatened him, and roughed him up. Then they took out the super glue and attached his offending member to either his thigh or his stomach. Then they left him there without his wallet, keys, or cell phone. They left him there, and I hope they went to the spa and used his credit card to get massages. But I digress, he managed to chew through his bindings and escape. Now the four women face up to six years in prison.

I can't begin to tell you how much I love this story. These women had no recourse through the law, the bastard hadn't broken any. They all, with the exception of one who was the sister of one of the perpetrators, had been had by this clown. He had lied to them, conned them out of money, and broken their hearts. They were humiliated and angry. Instead of turning on each other, they banded together and punished the author of their misery. Nice work ladies. What a refreshing twist on scrapbooking parties.

I officially induct them into the the Mrs. Willy Nelson Hall of Fame. Why Mrs. Willy Nelson? There is a story that Willy went out on a six week binge without letting Mrs. Nelson know where he was at. He finally arrived home, filthy and hungover, and proceeded to pass out in their marital bed. Mrs. Nelson got out her sewing kit and patiently sewed Willy into the sheets while he slept. She then got a baseball bat and beat the shit out of him. He never failed to let her know his whereabouts again. That's payback, ladies, and effective marital communications all rolled into one. An excellent example for us all.

Tan, Rested, and Ready?

I am back from vacation, and ready to reenter the fray. I want to shed some "lyte" on priorities. It seems like while I was on hiatus, two things happened: 1) the President had a kegger without inviting me, and 2) America no longer has an American for its leader.

Let's tackle number 1. I am deeply hurt that the President had a "beer summit" and neglected to extend the invitation to moi, someone who really loves beer. I know, it was organized to soothe the racially troubled waters engendered by the arrest of Harvard Professor Henry Louis "Skip" Gates Jr. by police for disorderly conduct. Gates was arrested when he tried to break into his own house after being locked out. The police were called and Gates produced identification, but was understandably pissed off and embarrassed by the arrival of the police. He took his chagrin out on the two officers, one white and the other black. They threw him in cuffs and the whole world exploded.

Now, I am completely on Skip's side of this issue. I sincerely doubt that anyone would call the cops if they saw me for breaking into my house. And I am sure that I would lose my temper if they continued to harass me after I proved it was my home. But I live in a city where the police tend to shoot first and convene a grand jury later, so my temper would be held in check by the mere thought of being killed for the crime of being surly. It is a good idea to err on the side of civility in Las Vegas when dealing with officers of the peace.

But I had no idea that Obama was a Kenyan. Apparently, he is the only exception to the law that states that if you are born to an American citizen, you are an American. Or the other law that states that if you are born in America, you are an American citizen. Nope, none of these laws apply because Obama, if you haven't noticed, is black. And was elected to be President of the United States. He was also a senator, held jobs, and got married. You need valid identification for all those activities, but never confuse the rabid right with facts. They hate facts, and know that they have a notorious left wing bias.

This little fantasy fest was further aided by Lou Dobbs, an excellent example of the Republican demographic, being male, white, and old. He turned the heat up by examining the whole "birther" movement. Now CNN is trying to backpedal the whole thing by claiming that all Dobbs was doing was reporting on the movement, not endorsing it. Whatever.

In case anyone has forgotten, our country is still in the midst of the greatest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Health care reform, cap and trade, these issues deserve our full and undivided attention. We need all hands and brains on deck for this one. Spinning our wheels over the citizenship of President is not a high priority. I am back from vacation and want the madness to stop. Oh, yeah, it was already going on before I left...