Detroit Bailout Fails in the Senate

It’s hard not to feel pessimistic tonight.

I am astonished that Washington can't come together for a little compromise in these crazy times. All the world is asking for is a little reassurance that we have one competent leader in the face of endless bad news on the economic front. Washington seems to be divided between two camps: Those who want to peel the band-aid off slowly and those who prefer to rip it off after counting "One!" The Democrats are afraid to let anyone fail, and the Republicans would rather let the chips fall where they may. I suppose the Bush White House is a third camp: It's desperately trying to keep itself out of the wastebasket of history. Good luck to that. Band-aids aside, what systemic changes are being proposed to prevent or mitigate similar debacles in the future? None so far... Both parties are failing the leadership test.

Dear friends, in times like these I wish everyone the best of luck. I hope that all of you are secure in your jobs. It's not too early for a new year's resolution: Job security should be our number one priority in 2009. There may not be a better time than now to do some serious sucking up to the Man or Woman (depending on your office demographics). Consider putting in extra hours and not-too-subtly advertising your dedication and value to your company. Don't let the higher-ups believe that you are expendable, because many folks have lost their jobs, and the bleeding is likely to get worse before it gets better. Even if you hate your job, it's probably better to tough it out and keep hating it rather than risk unemployment. If you depend on a sugar daddy or sugar mama, you should probably offer more oral sex.

Meanwhile, back in Washington… Obama should appoint a medium to his cabinet so that he can personally consult with FDR as needed. By the time January 20 rolls around, this country may be desperate for a fireside chat or two. I feel for poor Obama. No doubt, he's a talented politician, but I'm not confident that anyone can keep us out of some serious economic dumps. All he can do is act presidential, try not to make things worse (by sitting on his hands while the automakers collapse, for example), and hope that things start to look up before people begin to think he's part of the problem. Considering he'll probably spend most of his time trying to look busy on the economy, there's a good chance he won't get much else done the first couple of years.

Let us hope for change in 2011, then.

Taking the Streets

Just when I'm trying to wind down for the night, often Fresh Air on NPR from 10-11pm will derail me. Tonight, I heard the 'street doc' on Fresh Air and I was inspired. Jim Withers, an internal medicine physician in Philadelphia, started practicing medicine on the street in 1992, dressed as a homeless person accompanied by a formerly homeless assistant. His work grew into Operation Safety Net, hosting an international conference on street medicine this year.

Withers said he decided to start his project after reading 52 Ways to Help the Homeless (the cover has a hearty endorsement from jimmy carter).

Highlights of the interview

Withers started a wall with names of the homeless who had died in Philadelphia, to remember them and also to make a political statement. He wanted the plaque to go on the sidewalk in the places where people had died, but found that it was illegal. He negotiated with the city and eventually found a spot.

He said that homeless people are often the victims of attack, not from other homeless, but from non-homeless.

In places like Bangalore, he said the line between homeless and non-homeless is not as clearly drawn as it is here. He said that the stigma of homelessness is akin to leprosy in India. In Europe, access to health services means a smaller homeless population.

It's getting cold here in Chicago.

We need healthcare for everyone in the United States!

Note: you can read policy recommendations for 2008 from the national coalition for the homeless here.

One of the most interesting:

Enact the Hate Crimes Against the Homeless Statistics Act. The Hate Crimes Against the Homeless Statistics Act (H.R. 2216) compels law enforcement authorities to monitor incidents of crimes against people experiencing homelessness. Since 1999 there have been 774 documented acts of violence against homeless persons, including 217 deaths. 2006 saw a 65 percent increase in the number of hate crimes over the prior year. Incidents have included: setting a man on fire, pushing a sleeping woman into a river, and pummeling a woman’s face with a tire-iron. Including homeless persons as a protected class within federal hate crime laws will help stop violence targeted toward persons experiencing homelessness.

Someone give this woman a Pulitzer, or at least a "Harumph!"

I love Gail Collins. Some day I'm gonna have me a love sandwich with her and Nina Totenberg.

So, can we finally kick Joe Lieberman to the curb?

Wool

You are ambitious. You want to create gifts this year using only two wooden sticks and some wool. For inspiration, check out the Brooklyn Tweed blog. This man is (sigh) probably the most incredible knitter blowing up the blogosphere.

For your stash-check out the Beaverslide yarns from Montana.

Grant Park in Chicago on Election Night, 2008

As soon as we reached Michigan Avenue on foot, we could see the crowd swelling near the lions at the entrance of the Art Institute. It was a warm night for November that left us thinking, Is this global warming? The crowd looked liked the voters nationally who supported Obama--all ethnicities with a large youth presence. The rally was no place for senior citizens with standing room only for the huge crowd, although I saw some who took the risk and joined us that historic night.

In the park, we had to go through at least two checkpoints, or was it three? We waited about 30 minutes at each checkpoint but the checks were less thorough than we expected. In any case, the crowds were peaceful and the event well-organized, making Chicago a front-runner for the Olympics in 2016, some say.

There were ten people in our group and our leader Scarlett held up a red hat for us to follow since it's not so easy to keep ten people together in a huge crowd. We decided on a spot on the hill which meant sitting in the grass during commercials on the jumbotron. We were a little far from the stage but the screen brought us the show.

A few girls sitting behind us starting a little campaign to get everyone to sit down on the hill so everyone could see the screen. They called it "community organizing", calling those in front to sit down with the chant "Take a seat, save your feet". Around fifty people did sit down for part of the evening in our section which gave it a peaceful easy feeling.

We heard Obama won Pennsylvania while waiting at checkpoints so it seemed like a matter of time before the election was called. Around 10pm, the Virginia results were announced with an Obama win and a few seconds after the announcement, CNN announced "BARACK OBAMA WINS PRESIDENCY". Honestly I was in shock in that moment and I didn't really know how to react (probably just overstimulated). I saw people around me crying and the audience was ecstatic.

A guy I work with who lives in a dorm near the park said: "You people were very loud last night". Indeed.

During the McCain concession speech, the crowd was respectful although there was one gentleman irking me by flipping off the screen during McCain's speech. Overall, McCain's gracious speech was well-received by the crowd.

Obama finally appeared around 11PM as planned, charming his audience as he always does. The line about his daughters getting a dog for the White House really got us. I was happy to hear him include "gay and straight" in his inclusive remarks as well as mentioning the international community in this election.

I remember the first time I was really impressed with Obama as statesman. It was late in 2006 when I was organizing the Sudan Freedom Walk with some friends in Chicago. Scorecards had just been published for Congress on their Darfur voting record and both Obama and Durbin received "A+". I checked Darfur Scores today and found the scores to be the same. Unfortunately Rahm Emmanuel was given a "C+" (said to be the new Chief of Staff for Obama).

Back in the Loop walking to the El, you could hear cheers bouncing off the building and see lines forming at every late night deli.

We were all exhausted that night of the election, but going home on the train, you couldn't help but notice the unabashed grins of passengers on Chicago's proudest night.

Photo credit: Rebecca Moore

November 4, 2008

by Patrick Moberg

I'll post my report from the Obama rally in Grant Park soon.

Zen Chef

Zen Master Chef Edward Espe Brown shows us that food is much more than a meal in the new documentary How to Cook Your Life. I haven't seen it yet, but I'm planning on it. Thanks to Emily for the tip.

w00t! Social Enterprise and Peak Oil?

Check out this social enterprise in Chicago called Growing Home. It's an urban incarnation of my father's dream come true: growing vegetables, job training, and help for people with problems.

Their mission from the website: "Since its inception, Growing Home has worked towards this by providing a transitional job program that lets previously-incarcerated and previously-homeless individuals prepare to re-enter the workforce not only by teaching job skills, but also by providing the chance to engage in what is for many a transformational experience. Our program is different from other workforce development programs because of our intense focus on the transformational possibilities inherent in learning to nurture and grow one’s own food. "

I've been thinking about doomsday and how my survival could be dependent on my ability to grow my own food, after hearing about Peak Oil in an Urban Planning class I visited. These Growing Home people are on the right track if Peak Oil is even close to being true.

Feast

Christopher Buckley Won't Be Coming to the National Review Christmas Party

Christopher Buckley, the only son of William F. Buckley, came out recently with an endorsement for Barack Obama. This isn't sitting well with the National Review, but Buckley Jr. still owns 1/7 of the magazine. I caught up on Junior in this New York times piece. I learned that Buckley Jr. is the author of Thank You for Smoking--I have to admit I didn't read the book but I thought the movie was fabulous. Buckley is scheduled to appear on the Daily Show.

I watched Charlie Wilson's War last night--a nice Afgan/American history lesson in an easy-to-swallow Hollywood format starring Tom Hanks and Julia Roberts. The director of Primary Colors tells the story of a Texas playboy congressman raises funds from $5 milllion to $1 billion to covertly arming the Afgans to fight the Soviets, then seen as the front of the Cold War. Later, these same Afgans seize power as the Taliban. Philip Seymour Hoffman's character best states the moral of the story with his Zen Master tale which goes something like this.

A boy in a village received a horse as a gift. The villagers say the horse is a blessing. The Zen master says, "We'll see." The boy falls off the horse and breaks his leg. The villagers then call the horse a curse. Again the Zen master says, "We'll see." Then, all the young men of the village go to war but the boy is spared because he has a broken leg. The villagers decide that the horse was in fact, a blessing. Zen master: "We'll see."

Spiced Black Bean Burrito

I made this tonight and really enjoyed it. It could easily be made vegan by omitting the goat cheese. If you do eat cheese, the goat cheese is a lovely twist. As broth is used instead of oil to saute the vegetables, it is a very healthy dish. I found the recipe on the World's Healthiest Foods--the site gives complete nutrition information on all their recipes.

***

Black Bean Burrito, Indian Style
The combination of Southwestern ingredients and Eastern seasonings will put an unusual and exciting twist on this vegetarian-style burrito.

Prep and Cook Time: 30 minutes
Ingredients:

1 medium onion cut in half and sliced thin
4 medium cloves garlic, chopped
1 tsp minced fresh ginger
1½ cups sweet potatoes cut in ½ inch cubes
1 cup green peppers, thin julienne
1 cup red peppers, thin julienne
1 tsp garam masala (Can be found in the spice section of your favorite market.)
1 TBS + ½ cup vegetable broth
1 15 oz can black beans, drained
*optional 2 oz Chevre goat cheese
salt and black pepper to taste
4 whole wheat tortillas
Topping
*(optional) prepared salsa
1 head of romaine lettuce, shredded (remove outer leaves and discard)

Directions:
Chop onions and garlic and let sit for 5-10 minutes to bring out their health-promoting properties.
Prepare vegetables by chopping and slicing.
Heat 1 TBS broth in a 12 inch stainless steel skillet. Healthy Sauté onion, garlic, ginger, and peppers in broth over medium heat for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add garam masala, sweet potatoes and mix well. Add 1/2 cup broth and cook covered on low heat for about 10 minutes, or until potatoes are tender.
Add beans making sure they are rinsed and drained well first and mix. Cook for another 5 minutes and season with salt and pepper.
While vegetables are cooking shred lettuce. You also might want to wrap tortillas in foil and place in the oven to warm while you are preparing the rest of the ingredients.
Place vegetable mixture in tortilla and top with goat cheese. Roll and top with salsa and shredded lettuce. Serves 4
Healthy Cooking Tips:

Cutting bell peppers thin and the sweet potatoes small will allow their flavors to blend together better as they cook than if they are cut into large pieces. Try to cut them as directed for best results. Store your leftover spices in the freezer to keep fresh for the next time you want to make this wonderful dish.

I wish I had Jewish grandparents in Florida.

Anyone else a little nervous?

Hello everyone, I was invited to join your Blahg and post two emails that I sent to several of my friends regarding the credit crisis. During the past two weeks, I've alternated between grudging support and outright opposition to the rescue plan. Being just your average ignorant citizen, I can't tell if (a) We're circling the drain and something must be done STAT!, or (b) We'll get through this if we just keep our heads. At this point, I'm not inclined to leave anything to chance...

The following is the first email that I sent to my friends last Friday afternoon, September 26:

Good afternoon dear friends and concerned citizens:

I hope that each of you is aware of the negotiations afoot in Washington to bail out Wall Street for their greed and stupidity. By the end of this weekend, the government will have added another $2,300 to each person's debt (currently over $32,000 for every man, woman, and child in this country), collectively known as the national debt:

http://www.brillig.com/debt_clock/

I urge you to contact your representative (www.house.gov) and senators (www.senate.gov) and urge them not to rubber stamp Hank Paulson's plan to bail out the Wall Street firms without protection for the taxpayers. We should urge our elected officials to carefully consider the alternatives. Personally, I believe that the government should receive an equity stake in every company that needs government assistance. That way, the taxpayers get a piece of the upside when these companies return to profitability. Don't let Paulson and friends socialize their losses and not their profits!

I also recommend contacting both presidential candidates for good measure. But don't wait too long. By the end of this weekend, the deal will likely be made, so you must act without delay.

Thank you everyone. I'm mad as hell.

Despite my opposition to the original incarnation of the Paulson plan, I genuinely believed and hoped that congress would pass something by Monday, even if it was only slightly less dreadful. I confess that I was among the stunned when the compromise plan failed, and I wrote the following email Tuesday night, partly to balance my initial criticism:

Good evening dear friends and concerned citizens,

On Monday, a majority of our elected representatives heard the popular outcry against a giveaway to Wall Street. However, rather than agree to a compromise plan that would help to loosen the credit markets while simultaneously protecting taxpayers, the majority decided to do nothing. Despite my repugnance to saving Wall Street from its excesses, I believe with many others that inaction in this case is not the answer. Many fear that the continued stress in the credit markets will have a widespread and detrimental effect upon the economy as a whole, from which few will be spared. A reasonably crafted compromise plan may mitigate the current paralysis in the credit markets while at the same time protect the taxpaying citizens, and the bill that was defeated on Monday was an attempted to achieve those goals.

No one is pleased with the current hand we've been dealt, and no bill will be approved to applause. However, by opting for nothing, the majority chose the worse option on Monday. By doing nothing for so long, our government permitted unhealthy and irresponsible growth to destabilize the very machinery of our economy, and doing nothing now will ensure that our economic descent will be raw and protracted.

Last week, I urged you to contact your elected officials to voice your opposition to a Wall Street bailout while demanding that alternatives be considered. Now I'm asking you to contact them again, this time to voice support for a compromise plan. Today I called and emailed my representative a second time. Evidenced by his voting No on Monday, last week he must have heard all of the anger in my voice and none of the fear. Unfortunately, it may be that Monday's was the best deal that we're going to get, and it's a sad comment on our predicament that we probably need to enact a mediocre plan quickly rather than an excellent plan after much deliberation and delay. Please reach out to your elected officials this week, so that they understand that we need them to be leaders at this time and take action through compromise, a couple of little somethings we've been asking of them since time immemorial.

Thank you for your time. I'm still mad as hell, but also worried.

So now it's early Thursday morning and the Senate has just passed it's monstrous version of the compromise package. As much as it disgusts me, I fear there's no going back at this point. But I do wonder just how much our fears are driving this debate and misleading us to believe that the situation is getting out of hand...

Sen. Obama: "I HATE Medicare Advantage Plans as much as I LOVE Bumper cars..."

Okay so last night he didn't say that exactly, but he might as well have. I've posted about them before; they're the "private" versions of Medicare/Medicaid that do nothing other than cost more. Slipped into the 2003 Medicare bill and written by industry lobbyists, Medicare Advantage plans cost between 12-18% more than traditional Medicare, or about $1000 more per enrollee, yet have not been shown to provide any improvement in patient care whatsoever.

Sen. Obama attacked them not once, but twice, last night, something which honestly was about the most exciting part of the entire debate for me.

“We right now give $15 billion every year as subsidies to private insurers under the Medicare system. Doesn't work any better through the private insurers. They just skim off $15 billion. That was a give away and part of the reason is because lobbyists are able to shape how Medicare works."

He went on to call out Medicare's prescription drug plan, referring to lobbyists when he said, "They did it on the Medicaid prescription drug bill and we have to change the culture.” Sen. Obama was speaking of the same 2003 Medicare bill, this time referring to the parts written by pharmaceutical lobbyists who added, among other facets, the clause that prohibits the government of negotiate drug prices.

While Obama wants to undo this head-scratcher, McCain thinks importing drugs from Canada makes more sense. I don't think Sen. McCain understands how the pharmaceutical industry works, to use one of McCain's lines from last night. The reason drugs are cheaper in Canada is because their government is allowed negotiate drug prices, while at home the largest purchaser of pharmaceuticals in the world, Medicare, is forbade by law from doing the same.

Thus highlighting another example of Republicans cherry-picking their stance on free market economics, regulating sometimes while de-regulating at others; doing so whenever it helps big business (and its lobbyists) regardless of the cost to taxpayers. I know I've posted on this before, but I think its important that we fix Medicare we are going to make any progress towards providing the nation with sensible health coverage. Or bumper cars, I guess.


http://www.medicareadvocacy.org/MA_Overpayments.htm
http://www.pnhp.org/news/2008/july/lets_end_the_medica.php

Mr. W

Don't read any of the comments until you've watched it (too many spoilers)

Save the Earth with a Laundry Rack

Hopefully my readers will not feel that I have reduced this blog to a Heloise's Hints. I have another product review.

I've read that clothing dryers are the most energy-hungry of all home appliances(ref). So, I'm trying to cut back. I bought a retractable clothesline from Stacks and Stacks for $12 plus shipping. When I got it home I found that there was no good place for it in my apartment, so I am giving it to a friend.

Last night I was at Mitsuwa, the legendary Japanese department in the suburbs and I spotted the Japanese plastic laundry racks there for $10/each! It was an exciting moment. These racks are really common in Japan but impossible to find here. I found something similar on Stacks and Stacks. The clothespins are attached to the rack and you can hang it anywhere. One problem with the clothesline is that I was too lazy to buy clothes pins. The pins are attached to the Japanese-style rack. Long live Nihon, master of energy savings!

Flock to the Dorms-

We get older; they stay the same age. On the eve of another semester, Laramie is bustling with students buying shower caddies, drinking heavily, and workin' those flip-flops. Here's to another year of education-however manifested.

Soba Salad Delight

Last night we went to see The Dark Knight and packed this as dinner before the movie: Sesame Soba Noodles with Cucumber, Bok Choy, and Mixed Greens. Delicious! Unfortunately we left the car on while eating and when we returned to our Gotham city after the movie, the battery was dead. Don't let the smooth flavors of this dish distract you into doing something absent-minded like we did!

There's a lot of ingredients, so I made the sauce the day before to speed up preparation. If you can't get bok choy, substitute with another crunchy vegetable or just skip it. Lime, orange, peanut, soy sauce, red pepper, fresh greens...

I live in Cincinnati now...

Cincinnati, Ohio - The Queen City...

Home to Graeter's Ice Cream, Cincinnati Children's Hospital, a very odd style of chili, and now me.

After a grueling 5 week tour of duty on inpatient hematology/oncology, I am taking a break and doing an Advocacy and Injury prevention rotation.

First Up... Car seats.
Injury is far and away the leading cause of death in children and adolescents, and of all causes of serious injury, motor vehicle collision is the most common.

A recent study out of the Children's Hospital of Philadelphia looked into the cold hard economics of providing Medicaid patients (low income families) with a car seats and compared it to the very successful Vaccines for Children Program. Not only did they find a car seat program to be cost effective, but it was more cost effective than every vaccination covered by the Vaccines for Children program. Not to mention the fact that these savings were realized entirely because LESS CHILDREN WERE BEING INJURED IN CAR CRASHES. Medicaid currently does not provide/reimburse for car seats. The cost to do so would be $13 per child per year. Go figure.

The Best Movie Reviews

When I was a wee freshman at the University of Dallas, I was assigned to work in the History/Theology department as part of the work/study program. There I would occasionally make photocopies for Dr. Frank Swietek. He was known as a very tough grader and only taught his history classes at 8am. I never took his classes but I have been enjoying his movie reviews online for years now. He assigns grades to all movies and he's rarely wrong, in my opinion.

Some films from his A-List:

PRINCESS AND THE WARRIOR, THE (KRIEGER UND DIE KAISERIN, DER)
YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
SHREK
O BROTHER, WHERE ART THOU?
PAN'S LABYRINTH (EL LABERINTO DEL FAUNO)
REAR WINDOW
AMERICAN SPLENDOR

I Learned to Love Beans Again

As a vegetarian, I'm no stranger to beans. Guatemala taught me a new appreciation for beans not in variety, but in pervasiveness. In my house, we ate our black beans runny, amost like dip. In the restaurants, the beans were thick enough that they would stick a decorative tortilla chip in them.

Beans and tortillas are nothing to get excited about here, but they aren't made from scratch! Walking down the street in any Guatemalan town, you can her the sound of women making tortillas, slapping them from hand to hand into a flat, round shape.

I've been back in Chicago for awhile but I failed to blog the last part of my travels so I will do so now. After Antigua and the volcano hike, we headed to Tikal (UNESCO World Heritage Site). I like heat and I think I can take a lot, but the humidity and the temperature were really intense in Tikal. I recommend the sunrise tour of Tikal--it's too hot during the day and you will see more animals in the morning hours. Nonetheless, Tikal is amazing both for the ruins and for the jungle plants and animals. In the central plaza, you can imagine the ancient Mayans because you are surrounded by their altars and palaces on four sides, the largest of which is over 200 feet tall. The earliest monuments date back to the 4th Century B.C., but most of the structure were built between 700 and 900 AD. At the height of Tikal, it was home to 60,000 poeple. By the 1000 AD, Tikal had been abandoned and wasn't re-discovered until the late 19th century. An airstrip was built in the 1970s which allowed the major excavations, giving us the Tikal of today.

Jungle July

After Pacaya, we packed our bags for Tikal, taking the 7am flight from Guatemala City. We arrived at our hotel, Villa Maya, which was eerily empty (rainy season?). Almost like an Agatha Christie novel.

I need to finish this post later but here's the link to Ahmet's photos for now.

Hot Lava

Ahmet arrived on Friday and we got the hell out of Dodge, I mean, Guatemala City. Took a shuttle directly to Antigua, which is a lovely colonial town with cobblestone streets only 45 minutes from the airport in Guatemala City. Yesterday we hiked up the Pacaya Volcano which was unbelievable. The guide took us all the way to where we could see lava flowing and hear the volcano erupt (liability?). Some tourists even roasted marshmallows over the lava. A very unnatural feeling, standing on a volcano but it was definitely a thrill.

We had a dinner at a gorgeous monastery called Casa Santo Domingo on our first night in Antigua. Highly recommend. It's also home to a museum and a hotel. The monastery was built in 1666, but later destroyed in 18th century earthquakes. The hotel, restaurant and museum were built in the restored ruins.

We were on top of hotel reservations for once, but failed to realize that we didn't have our internal flight booked. It's the Fourth of July weekend with lots of Americans here, so after checking a travel agency and the airline TACA, we found out that all the flights were booked. Finally, we found a travel agent that got us a flight at 7:00am, requiring us to leave our hotel at 4AM. Ahh, the value of planning ahead.

Today we are waiting to check into our hotel in Flores, wandering around the town with big backpacks like lost turtles. Tomorrow we will go to Tikal to check out the ruins. Happy Independence Day! We saw fireworks oddly in Antigua.

Backpacker Paradise

Click here for photos. My photos aren´t great so far but expect better when Ahmet arrives.

Saturday morning I went to the park near mi casa en Guatemala to catch bus with Maya´ch Tours. I bought the ticket the day before in the Plaza Central. On my ticket, they had clearly written the bus would arrive at 7:20am. Some of my readers may know that I am not an early riser. I did make it to the Park at the appointed hour and by 8:00am I thought I had the wrong day or time. No. Just as I was about to leave, the microbus pulled up packed with passengers and we were off to Lanquin and Semuc Champey. I was a little miffed at the tardiness (45 mins late) so I asked the attendant ¨"que paso?". He blew me off..what a silly question gringa. I complained later to other gringos and then said i was lucky it wasnt an hour and get used to it.

The microbus dropped me off in Lanquin at the popular El Retiro. This hotel of sorts is more like a summer camp for backpackers, made of small cabanitas or huts, situated on the fast-moving river. I stayed in the dormitory part of the grass hut and there were also lodgers in the loft part of the cabanita. I met some nice gringas there from california and also new york, so i was hard to leave once i arrived, since the place has a permanent chillout feel with the bar/cafe just down the hill on the grounds.

I wandered up to Lanquin trying to find a bus since I wasn´t part of a tour. I asked a couple in a big SUV where the bus was and they hop in with us. They looked like wealthy Guatemaltecos who probably wouldnt be interested in robbing me, so I got in. They had kid´s toys in the back which further boosted my confidence. I had a nice chat with the couple of the way over...Julio and Nuria. I made it through the first 10 mins in rough spanish, then julio told me he was a chemical engineer and i could try in english.

Arriving at Semuc Chapmey, I was awestruck by natural beauty. Semuc Chapmey is a national park with 7 pozas or pools where the water from the river pours down into limestone beds. Absolutely gorgeous. Aquamarine water fills the cascading limestone pools. It´s the rainy season here, so it rained most of the time I was there.

On the way home, I took a mini bus that was headed back to Lanquin. All the buses and microbuses have an attendent who hangs halfway out the door and takes the money for the bus fare. Usually it is young men. I asked my driver how old he was and he said 16. A majority of the children here do not attend school past 6th grade, so there is a good chance this chico was working on the bus full-time at 16.

A truck was stuck on the way back so we sat in the hot microbus. Then I noticed Julio and Nuria up ahead. I got out to chat and they offered me a beer. The truck situation was resolved more quickly than expected, clearing up the mountain road. So I had to get on with a Gallo beer in hand and the attendant clucked at me a bit but let me on anyway. The mayan lady was not as happy to see me again, in a bathing suit with beer in hand.

Dinner is served family style at El Retiro, so we had a big mexican buffet at the cafe with most of the 100 guests. After dinner, I played a game called, lets say poohead, on some Obama playing cards that a girl from Arizona had.

Had a rough night with some stomach issues which got worse in the morning. Spent most of Sunday lounging, napping, and talking. Decided to stay another night due to sickness but feel much better today. I took the bus this morning with 3 Israelis and an Australian. The Israelis told the Australian in Hebrew, they have a saying ¨It´s your vacation, fly on it¨. There were lots of Israelis at El Retiro--they said it´s common for them to travel after their military service.

That´s all for now. I have class and ´´volunteering´´ this week, then Friday I take the bus to Guatemala City to meet Ahmet.

P.S. I´ve been entertained by the sweet sounds of CCR during my time at this internet cafe. Most likely the choice of the young man attending the cafe.

New things (nuevas cosas)

I think I had a soup last night with my host family from a plant called CHAYA. I read on wiki just now that the raw leaves are poisonous--I ate one leaf last night in front of Bertilia and she said it was fine. Who knows if I was really eating Chaya or something else. In any case, it´s pretty tasty and they said it´s good for your health.

In any case, here´s the plant on wiki: Chaya.

I´ve heard the word AHORITA a lot since I got here. Ahora means now and Ahorita means right now, exactly now. I hear it probably 20 times a day and back in Chicago at Cervantes, my Spanish school with teachers from Spain, I don´t ever remember hearing this.

I´ve seen little kids in the market walking around with wireless office phone. Big phones with big keypads, but totally wireless. I think people in the market who don´t have phones pay the kids for this service.

I mentioned in an earlier blog that I was confused about the relationships in my host family. I am fairly sure now that it is a boarding house with 6 boarders now, including me. Four are high school boys studying at a local technical school and the other is Luis, a traveling salesman or vendedor of clothing.

el tiempo

I`m getting into a schedule here now which I like. When someone here says ¨we start at 2pm` this could be mean 2:15, 2:30 or 2:45. This suits me since I am not know for punctuality but it´s also slightly confusing because you don´t exactly know what it means when someone names a specific time.

So, in the morning i go to my spanish class, then back to my host family for lunch. Most people in Coban do not pack a lunch, but go home for lunch every day. Bertilia is the mayan girl who is 18 and going to high school still, but works in the house all day long. I chided one of the high school boys yesterday staying at the house because instead of getting up to get more juice they just yell "Bertilia!". I saw her bedroom today and was a little shocked because it looks like Cinderella´s quarters. It is a small room off the kitchen with room only for a bed. It is connected to the kitchen so she sleeps away from all the other bedrooms.

in the afternoon, i go to an afterschool program for pobrecitos. they need a lot of things so i might try to write some letters to raise money when i get back to different non profits.

Snapped two photo of Alejandro and his little friend playing in the yard today: http://picasaweb.google.com/kuhnbaya/Guate

Will be posting more photos later in the same place.

2 photos

Near the place where I am ´´volunteering´´. More like getting a free Spanish lesson from the kids. Hoping to make myself useful at some point.



My house in Guatemala

La primera dia en coban

I arrived in guatemala city on saturday night. Victor from my hostel was there waiting when i arrived to allay my transportation fears. Not much to report from the hostel other than an avocado tree i found hanging over part of the hostel/garden. The line between indoor and outdoor is blurry here with gorgeous mild weather year round. Some windfall avocados lead me to the avocado tree, which was much taller than I thought it would be. A slightly annoying American girl who must have used the word ´´armenian´´ 30 times referring to her family kept me up a little late. I saw maybe 15 beer cans at her table and noise carries in these tile buildings. can´t believe i forgot to pack my ear plugs.

In Coban I met Nirma, the director of the small school I am attending. She said things are slow with the US economy in the dumps so I am the only school right now. The classrooms are part of her home so fortunately she doesn´t have to close the school if she has no students. Nimra, like all the guatemaltecos i´ve met so far, is laidback and good humored.

Then I met my host family. Hilda is the matriach and she has a lot of people living at her house. The relationships among these occupants I have yet to decipher. We had ten people at dinner last night..Hilda, her two daughters Maria and jesica, the son of Maria, Alejandro. Alejandro, age 6, talks my ear off in spanish and is really adorable. Will take some photos of him tonight.

Then there are the possible non family members...Luis a ´guest´ and two electronics students. Add to that at least two mayan women who do the cooking and laundry. My teacher has mayan domestic workers as well. Seems pretty common with the middle class around here.

I like the food so far. Mostly it seems to be frijoles y tortillas. Good though. They make everything from scratch. There are two cows across the street from my host family house and they said thats where they get the milk and the creme (this sour cream type spread) they serve at meals.

My teacher´s name is Nabila and she is from a small nearby town called Tictac. She said her mom is mayan and still wears traditional clothing. Her father is an spanish teacher also.

Guatemala´s mountains are cloaked in green now with the rainy season. It´s misty and the temperature is perfect altho the natives complain about too much rain (everyday now).

Doing Well and Doing Good

Is it possible to do well and do some good? Members of Chicago professional organization Net Impact think so. Net Impact is a group of business professionals seeking to change the world through the power of business. The group hosted a sustainability discussion with representatives from the oil and chemical industries in March.

Scott Noesen, Director of Sustainability and Business Integration for Dow, said that, admittedly, sustainability for a chemical company means doing "less bad" and "more good". In 1984, a disaster occurred in Bhopal, India that would change the future of the Union Carbide company, later to become part of Dow Chemical. While the residents of Bhopal India slept, a pesticide plant leaked more than 40 tons of methyl isocyanate gas, immediately killing at least 3,800 people and causing injury and death to many thousands more. Estimates of deaths from the hospitals in the first week of disaster are said to be as high as 10,000 with eventual premature deaths at 15,000 to 20,000, according to a Columbia University study. The Union Carbide company attempted to avoid legal responsibility by blaming the Indian subsidiary for the incident, but eventually reached a settlement with the Indian courts for $470 million (U.S.).

With a tragedy like the Bhopal incident on its corporate conscience, presenting sustainability efforts is not an easy job. Noesen said after the Bhopal tragedy, the sustainability initiative was born out of necessity for Dow. The company set sustainability goals in 1996, spending 1 billion dollars, which over time saved the company 5 billion dollars. Noesen quoted Ralph Waldo Emerson in describing the birth of sustainability at Dow: "We learn geology the morning after the earthquake."

Noesen said the first challenge for Dow was to define sustainability. They invited advisors from many global non-profits including UNICEF and WWF. The advisors pushed them to think of sustainability in terms of the Millennium Development goals. The Millennium Development Goals include halving extreme poverty, halting the spread of HIV/AIDS, and ensuring universal primary education. In the end, Dow decided to define sustainability simply as their "relationship with the world".

For Charlie Curlee of Marathon Oil, another presenter at the Net Impact conference, the best definition of sustainability for his company came from the Brundtland Report Commission in Sweden. The report states that sustainability is "the ability to meet the needs of the present without sacrificing the needs of the future".

Marathon has concentrated on Corporate Social Responsibility in contrast to the Sustainability focus of Dow. Curlee gave examples of two Marathon projects: one in Equatorial Guineau and the other in the state of Wyoming. Marathon drills in Equatorial Guinea and decided to focus on the malaria problem there. To fight malaria, Marathon has focused on spraying indoor areas where the mosquitoes congregate and improving the health care management of the disease. Their goal was to eliminate malaria in 5 years and they have met this goal with some success. According to Marathon's website, the 1996 figures show that their efforts have resulted in a 44% decrease in malaria parasites in children and 95% reduction in malaria transmitting mosquitoes.

In Wyoming, reports show that 50% of field applicants were rejected for meth in their drug test results. Marathon decided to take action by introducing a drug awareness program in Wyoming schools after consulting with social workers, educators, and addiction specialists.

What does all this mean for corporate citizens, especially those in the oil and chemical industry? Many companies have been accused of "green-washing" as the demand for green business increases. The nature of the oil and chemical business is not eco-friendly; rather we could say that it is eco-extracting. Yet, much of our lives depend on these industries, so how can we ensure that these companies are environmentally responsible?

As Noesen put it, sustainability means having a positive relationship with the world. As an individual, one way we can communicate our concerns with companies is to interact with the company as an activist stockholder or to invest in Socially Responsible Funds. In principle, the company must answer to shareholders first. By becoming shareholders, individuals can voice humanitarian and environmental concerns to a company. As public understanding of climate change increases, it is important that as private citizens we are aware of the activity of chemical and petrochemical companies. The future depends on it.

This salad is seriously good

I made this delicious Avocado and Watercress Salad over the weekend. It really captures the salad-at-a-sushi restaurant taste.

P.S. I am going to Guatemala on Saturday. More to follow.

Sedaris Alert

I heard David Sedaris on Fresh Air last night talking about his new book When You Are Engulfed in Flames. Interview here. He focuses on aspects of the body like boils and not cheating on his boyfriend.

Lula Alert

Eating vegetarian delights last night at Lula down the street in my neighborhood, I overheard some good local gossip from a boyfriend and boyfriend seated nearby. Lula in Logan Square will be expanding their brand of local seasonal food with a new restaurant in Pilsen this spring. You may have heard of Lula from Ira Glass--he's a regular. You can read more Lula news here.

Product Review: Das Salted Caramels

I've never been a huge caramel fan (we say "carmel" in Kansas) but these little Das Salted Caramels turned me into a believer. One piece of bite-sized caramel with a pinch of sea salt takes your nose to a hot pan over a stove, butter and sugar bubbling. Why is the intersection of butter and sugar at a certain temperature so delicious?

I heard the owner, Katie Das, speak at a recent Net Impact event about their business. She uses local ingredients when possible and formed a philanthropic partnership with the AIDS foundation of Chicago, donating 10% to the foundation.

I love their business model and I'll be hitting up Whole Foods for more delicious salted caramels soon.

Chicago Turkish Festival

Catch the 6th Annual
Chicago Turkish Festival in Daley Plaza Wednesday, May 28th through Saturday, May 31th, 2008.

Daily Hours: 10:00 am - 6:00 pm
Opening Ceremony: May 28, Wednesday, 11:00 am
Daily Cultural Performances: May 28 - 31, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm

Things you can eat or see at the event:

Turkish Cuisine, Turkish beer, and Turkish Coffee
Authentic Turkish Music
Folk Dances
Whirling Dervishes
Traditional Fashion Show
Ottoman Military Band
Fine Arts & Crafts
Books & Souvenirs
Travel Information
Kids' Activities
Land of Civilizations & Mustafa Kemal Ataturk Exhibits

Easy + Fun = Addictive

Last week I went to see Premal Shah (pictured left), President of the Microfinance website kiva.org, talk about the user experience on his site and why it has worked. Still young but exploding with user investment during the two years it has been in existence, kiva.org gives users the opportunity to invest in microfinance directly by making small loans to entrepreneurs worldwide with the help of their field partners in 40 countries.

Kiva has been featured in nearly every major media outlet, including Oprah and the New York Times. Being a media darling brought in a flux of loans, which allowed kiva to disburse $22 million from nearly 250,000 lenders across 40 countries so far. All this from three very young entrepreneurs: Premal Shah, 30, Jessica Flannery, 32, and Matt Flannery, 32.

Here's how it works. The featured entrepreneur today is the Mboga Safi Women's Group in Busia, Kenya. The women in the group sell fruit and vegetables and are asking for a loan of $2,950.00, which will be on a repayment term of 10 months, repaid monthly. Shah noted one key to kiva's success is the low cost of entry. So, for $25, I can make a loan to the $2,950.00 which will be pooled with other's loan until they reach their goal of $2,950.00. Once I make the loan on kiva.org, my money is sent to kiva using paypal.

Paypal offers kiva free services which helps keep their costs down. Kiva.org then wires my money to the field partner in Kenya, which is Opportunity International in this case. Each field partner has a risk rating which you can view on the site and the amount of money that can be loaned from kiva.org is based on this ratings.

Shah shared with us the Web 2.0 principles that make kiva.org work: addictive user experience, radical transparency, crowdsourcing, and increasing returns on data.

Addictive User Experience: Shah's equation is Easy + Fun = Addictive. Kiva is easy because the cost of entry is low with a minimum loan of $25. The site is fun because the content is fresh and accessible (pictures and stories).

Radical Transparency: In one case, a field partner in Uganda embezzled thousands of dollars. In response, kiva.org sent out an email to the 5,000 lenders they had at that time early in the game explaining the situation. Shah said that the lenders are primarily engaged in kiva for social returns, not financial (zero percent interest), so if they are told the truth, they can accept the fact that kiva is still new and not perfect.

Crowdsourcing: A $25 loan will make a difference when you have close to 250,000 lenders. With social networking, it is possible to harness the power of large groups to make a difference on large scale, one loan at a time.

Increasing Returns on Data: The more data entered on a website, the more valuable the information becomes. The sheer amount of data contained in user reviews on amazon.com brings users to the website and often leads them to a purchase.

Shah says it's not perfect but certainly it has been very successful in only two years on the web. Kiva makes the user hand-pick the entrepreneur now, but they plan to expand their services to include a blended "mutual fund" package where you state your lending preferences ("woman-owned" or "green business" for example) and kiva picks the recipients for you.

Free Music Lessons in Chicago

People's Music School

Founded in 1976, the People's Music School offers free group classes and private lessons to students of all ages in voice, woodwind, piano, percussion, string instruments, and music theory. In exchange the students—or if they're too young, their parents—volunteer at the school for two hours a month. | 931 W. Eastwood | 773-784-7032 | peoplesmusicschool.org

Vigilante Justice

If you haven't looked at Megan's blog in Africa yet, move your mouse that way. My friends Megan and Dave are in Cameroon now, working with Kiva.org on a microfinance fellowship. They recently had the unfortunate experience of witnessing vigilante justice in the form of a dead body in front of their lodging in Cameroon recently. You can read about in their recent posting where they both narrate and reflect on the incident. Part of the internship is to maintain a blog for kiva.org, so if those stories get you down, hop over to their Kiva blog for the sunnier side of life in Cameroon.

Babies and Handmade Frocks

Two new recommended sites:

1. Alternative Gift Registry says "yes" to gifts like homemade meals and "no" to useless tikki sets. The site emphasizes spending time with family and friends over commercially celebrating weddings and babies. Using the Alt Gift Registry can also reduce the environmental impact of your wedding/baby.

2. Etsy provides an online space for buyers and sellers of homemade goods. "Etsy" rhymes with Betsy. Most items on Etsy are very affordable, selling for an average of $20-30.

Bierocks

Great for picnics. I used fake meat in this recipe and some wheat flour mixed with the white.

Bierocks

Dough:
2 1/4 tsps. dry yeast
1 cup warm milk
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. salt
2 eggs, beaten
4+ cups bread flour

Filling:
1/2 medium-sized onion, chopped
1 lb. ground beef, pork, or turkey (I used turkey)
1 TB. vegetable oil
1/2 small head of cabbage, shredded
salt and pepper, to taste

1. Dissolve sugar and yeast in warm milk. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. In a heavy -duty mixer, combine oil, salt and eggs; add yeast mixture. Add 1 cup of flour and beat for 1 minute. Beat in 1/2 cup of flour at a time, until dough pulls away from sides of bowl.
2. Switch to dough hook. Knead on low speed, adding remaining flour 1 TB. at a time, until smooth and elastic, about 8 minutes.
3. Place dough in a well-oiled large bowl and loosely cover. Let rise in a warm place for 1 hour, or until doubled in size.
4. To make filling, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add meat and onion and cook until meat is browned, stirring to crumble. Add cabbage and cook until wilted. Season with salt and pepper. Let cool.
5. Punch dough down and let rest 5 minutes.
6. Divide dough in half. Roll each half into a letter-sized rectangle (roughly 8 by 11) and cut each rectangle into 6 squares. Spoon 1/4 cup filling into center of each square. Bring opposite corners together at the center, pinching corners and seams to seal. Place seam side down on a large baking sheet covered with parchment paper. Repeat with remaining dough. Cover and let rise 20 minutes.
7. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
8. Uncover and bake until lightly golden, about 15 minutes. Cool on wire racks.

Makes 12 bierocks.

View the original recipe here.

Jatropha Curcus and Biodiesel Futures

Around the global village, there is talk that the weed "Jatropha Curcus" could be the future of biodiesel. Jatropha can be used to make biodiesel very cost-effectively--it can be grown in poor soil conditions and needs little fertilizer. The food vs. fuel issue is avoided entirely, as the plant is not edible. To microfinance investors, the plant presents a great opportunity for farmers in poor countries who could benefit from this biodiesel crop that is easy to produce and in high demand.

According to a CNBC article, the Indian state railway's Mumbai-Delhi has been running on jatropha-sourced biodiesel since 2006. Technoserve, a non-profit operating in Latin America, developed a pilot project to test viability of jatropha production for farmers in Guatemala. The organization reported positive results at this stage in the project. Jatropha was a clear winner in their tests in comparison to other biofuel sources such as palm and rapeseed.

Viva Lawrence

Lawrence, KS is getting some nice shout-outs in the blogosphere after the recent NCAA win. Ashley Thompson gives her ode to the city in a recent post on the blog Intelligent Travel. She mentions the vegetarian biscuits and gravy at Aimee's Coffeehouse and the chocolate at Au Marche, both excellent choices.

If I was adding my own selections on this topic, I would recommend the veggie burger at Local Burger, made in-house, crispy with coconut oil and quinoa. On Monday nights, you can drink a locally brewed Ad Astra Ale for $1.75/glass at Free State Brewing Company. You will have to yell to be heard by your neighbor at Free State in the noisy old limestone bar, but you will drink well for cheap. Lastly, for a mere $15-25, the Community Mercantile makes its cooking classes available to the public. This price includes a two-hour cooking class and a meal.

I'm only producing 4.5 tons of CO2 this year

After watching An Inconvenient Truth, I decided to visit their website www.climatecrisis.net and look at my impact. The national average is 7.5 tons a year and since we as US citizens are the worst polluters, this amount of CO2 output does not bode well for our friend Planet Earth.

Talk about alternative transportation! Two friends of mine are going to Quebec from Chicago by bicycle to a UN Climate Change conference this summer. You can read about their journey and contribute on their blog, Nous Pouvons.

Party Like It's 1988

KU Victory! Photo taken of Mass Street last night in Lawrence.

(Lawrence Journal World)

Minnesota to Mexico

These folks are excited about monarch butterflies. Catch the fever at:
http://www.monarchwatch.org/
The program Monarch Watch was established by researchers at the Univ. of Kansas as an educational outreach program. Every fall, monarchs are tagged in Lawrence, and their migration routes and life history are tracked by watchers all over the southern U.S. and Mexico. On their website, you can check out where (usually in Mexico) the butterflies end their long journey. In the spring, they migrate north from Mexico to northern reaches of the United States.

If you live in the Lawrence area, the open house is not to be missed.

Saturday, 10 May 2008 8am-3pm

What's the deal with Universal Healthcare?

Both Sen. Obama and Sen. Clinton have stated that they intend to implement Universal Healthcare, but what exactly does Universal entail?

Universal Healthcare (truly universal) coverage has traditionally been implemented in one of two ways:

The first is a Socialized Healthcare system in which the government controls the delivery of healthcare. In socialized medicine doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers are employed by the state and the hospitals, clinics, are government run. Socialized healthcare exists in Great Britain and Spain, as well as here in the US by way of the Veteran Health Administration arm of the VA.

The second is a Socialized Financing system, also called Single Payer, or National Health Insurance. This is the system employed by Canada, most of Europe, and Japan. It is not a socialized healthcare delivery system, as the healthcare industry remains private, but is financed by the a single payer- the government. The only presidential candidate to support this system was Kucinich.

In a single payer system all of the expenses which insurance normally would cover are billable to the government health plan. In our current system the government (through our taxes) is still paying for the majority of this country's health care, 60%. The Canadian and Australian governments in contrast pay for 70% of their nations' healthcare. When you factor in the fact that our 60% still leaves 47 million people uninsured in this country, 70% percent to cover the entire population sounds like a pretty good deal.

The thought is that the same amount which our government spends currently, could be used to cover the entire population under a single payer program. Savings would be made in several areas. The primary savings would come through a reduction in overhead. Due to the overwhelmingly complicated nature of insurance claims, fully 31% of our total healthcare expenditures goes to administrative costs compared to less than 17% in Canada. That's really staggering when you think about it. Are the Canadians really TWICE as efficient as we are? Of course not. The insurance companies have become experts over time at gaming the system. That is to say they make it so insanely difficult to file claims that an error on the part of the provider or the patient means that they refuse to reimburse. There are now advanced degrees offered in Insurance Coding- the art of knowing which numbers and boxes to check off on forms to get the insurance companies to reimburse. Seriously, you can get an Associate of Science in Medical Billing and Insurance Coding. I have met people who have these. So as it sits, roughly one third of our total health care expenditures goes towards “administrative costs” which are nothing more than paperwork and insurance company profits.

A second major, and I believe oft overlooked, aspect of single payer is the incentive for preventative medicine. The problem with insurance, as is the case with any middle man operation, is that the higher the costs, the more they prosper. If you take 12-18% off the top of all the money that comes through your office (as it is estimated insurance companies do, plus expenses) would you rather take your cut of inexpensive dietary counseling and smoking cessation aids or 25 years of diabetic supplies and COPD treatments? This this basically gives the insurance companies no incentive to pay for preventive health care. However, with a single payer system there is huge incentive to keep the population healthy with preventative care and counseling. A small investment on the front end would pay off huge health dividends as the aging population develops less heart disease, diabetes, smoking related lung disease and other incurable, expensive to treat, chronic problems.

Another major healthcare expense of course is pharmaceuticals. The US government, by way of Medicare, is the largest purchaser of drugs in world, yet it is not allowed to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies thanks to our congressmen and their lobbying pals. Canada pays around 50% of what we do for drugs due to their government's negotiations. Again, the same people who argue against the "socialization" of healthcare, continue to repress free market economics and prop up the pharma companies who now spend more on marketing then they do on research & design and have lobbied to the extent that they are more or less allowed to patent research done by the NIH. With a single payer negotiating on our behalf huge savings could be made on drugs, towards which 25% of our total healthcare expenditures currently go. With (record) profits in the billions, I think the pharma companies will have plenty left over to pay their patent lawyers. Plus with 50 million more people gaining insurance under a single payer plan, they will have a entire new market to pitch to.

Obviously there are numerous reasons why this would be an outstanding choice for our country. However, there is one glaring fault. For this to work, the entire health insurance industry would, for the most part, be out of work overnight. While they would still likely be allowed to provide supplemental insurance for those who wished to purchase it, their primary policies would be shut down. They have too much lobbying power and are too ingrained in our society to ever let that happen. And because of this, while both democratic candidates state they are for universal healthcare, they aren't for truly universal healthcare. If they were, the insurance companies would rise up and set loose the four horsemen upon them as they did with HillaryCare.

However, if we can take steps toward a single payer system, the most obvious being to offer a government sponsored health policy, eventually something resembling a guaranteed nationwide health plan provided for all citizens might be possible. Both Sen. Obama and Clinton have proposed a government sponsored health insurance policy as part of their plans for the healthcare system. But the trick lies in how they will implement a government sponsored policy and I can see two ways in which this could go wrong.

One, the government plan simply becomes another Medicare Advantage plan. Brian Biles, MD (a Kansas grad) published a report stating that the cost to the US gov is 12% higher for a person enrolled in a Medicare Advantage plan (www.commonwealthfund.org). So basically, the more people who enroll in these, the more expensive healthcare in the US becomes (see a previous post). Simply enrolling people in a plan like this wouldn't do anything to reduce health care costs and would only further the privatization of public health.

Two, the government plan becomes a lobbyist's candy store, bloated down with Sen. Tankerbell's useless entitilitis therapies and guaranteed thrice weekly aroma therapy sessions courtesy of the Scented Oil Lobby. Ideally, it would develop into a streamlined viable alternative to private plans and help to unhinge the grip the insurance companies have on making your health decisions, but with our congress' recent track record of caving to lobbyists, I wouldn't count on it.

Both Dem candidates are (intentionally) hard to pin down with regards to details of their government sponsored plan. For example Clinton's healthcare reform plan proposed while first lady was an 1800 page tome. Her current plan is 19 pages. Obama's plan is printed on a business card which reads "Yes we can... and without a mandate."

Some people say that a government offered health plan would impede on free market economics at play in the insurance industry. This makes little to no sense but reflects how complacent we have become in allowing insurance companies to dictate how and by what means we manage our bodies and our health. Would anyone in their right mind suggest that government run schools are imposing on the private school industries right to do business? This would only be true if you didn't believe things like opportunities for education and the chance to lead a healthy life were not unalienable rights.

Cliff Notes:

We pay a lot for healthcare and we don't get much.

Single payer could solve this, but zero chance of it happening overnight (sorry dreamers).

A government sponsored health plan in direct competition with private plans could help get us there.

Read more at Physicians for a National Health Program http://www.pnhp.org/

Up next: The Great Debate. We recently had a health issues debate with people representing all three candidates, including real life advisors to Sen. Obama (oh my). Some very interesting stuff, including a discussion of the madness we have created by tying health insurance to employment.

White vs. Wheat

Thanks to our friend, vegan, and nutritionist Shannon for this contribution. You can see her latest work here on page 7.

Q. If you compare the label of white and wheat bread side-by-side, white bread almost looks better in terms of calories, fat, and vitamins. Why?

So, I guess to answer your question fully I would need to see which breads you were looking at... if the labels look similar, it could be in part because the 'wheat bread' is just caramel colored white bread. unless it says 100% whole wheat, which in case it would be just that. When you say that the white looks 'better' what do you mean? less calories?

One misleading thing about the nutritiousness of either is that whole wheat bread has all the nutrients in their 'natural' state, whereas white bread has been enriched with what was removed during processing (aka, added back in), and more of some vitamins are added to enriched foods (folic acid for example).

Since 100% whole wheat bread is denser, it can have a higher calorie count, but balance this against its nutritional advantages: more fiber and it has a lesser effect on your blood sugar, which in the end is going to be benefit your overall health. I compare white bread to enriched cake. Many (most) store-bought breads from the bread aisle--wheat, white or otherwise--contain high fructose corn syrup, making them all nutritionally poor. The best bet is to buy it fresh, or from the health food section of the market, or to make it yourself.

I think bread is one of those foods where you get what you pay for. Unfortunately cheap bread is most likely going to have a lot of additives to keep its shelf life long, whereas healthful breads you can buy fresh and freeze what you don't use.

--Shannon

Tempeh Rueben

[Notes: Similar to Reuben served at Yellow Sub in Lawrence, KS.]

Recipe by the Moosewood Collective
Serving Size : 4

-------- ------------ --------------------------------
1/4 cup vegetable oil
2 cups chopped onions
2 cloves garlic -- minced or pressed
8 ounces tempeh -- thinly sliced or cubed
2 teaspoons tamari soy sauce
4 slices bread -- preferably rye, toasted
1 1/2 cups Russian Dressing [I use mustard instead of dressing but put whatever dressing you fancy on it.]
1 1/2 cups sauerkraut -- warmed
1 1/2 cups swiss cheese -- (1 1/2 - 2 cups) (5 - 7 oz.) grated

Sauté the onions and garlic in oil for 2 or 3 minutes until the onions begin to soften. Add the tempeh and continue to sauté on low heat, stirring frequently, for about 20 minutes. While the tempeh is browning, get the remaining ingredients ready. When the tempeh is crisp and lightly browned, add the soy sauce.

Build the sandwiches on the toast by layering the tempeh mixture. Russian Dressing, sauerkraut, and Swiss cheese. Broil the sandwiches until the cheese is melted. Serve piping hot.

Tina

Wondering where you can download karaoke versions of her songs?

Check it out.

http://www.tina-turner.nl/

A Great Ecard Site (finally)

Submitted by CK

someecards.com

"When you care enough to hit Send"

Excellent Danish film

I mentioned the Danish film "After the Wedding" in an earlier post. Finally watched it last night and stayed up until 1:30am to watch all of it. Not much keeps me up that late on a work night, so this was a great film.

Director Susanne Bier cleverly uses physical space as a metaphor for emotional distance in this film juxtaposing life in India and Denmark. A Danish aid-worker returns to Denmark after 20 years at an orphanage in Mumbai to meet with a donor who promises to save the orphanage. The ensuing drama asks us to question the nature of philanthropy and the complexity of an ethical life. The saints are all sinners and the sinners saints. Pramod, the small boy at the orphanage, asks Jacob: "Are the people unhappy because they live so far apart in Denmark?". Back in the West, secrets and lies occupy the space that wealth provides.

I highly recommend this film but be ready for an emotional punch.

Volunteer for Greenfest

Sign up here to volunteer for Chicago's Greenfest in May. Volunteers get a free t-shirt and access to the festival at Navy Pier in exchange for a minimum 4.5 hour shift. I'm in.

Banana-Raspberry Cake with Lemon Frosting

Another family favorite. Introduced by Clare. Amazing.
*****
Banana-Raspberry-Cake with Lemon Frosting
Mashed ripe banana adds moistness. The frosting, with cream cheese as its base, is similar to that of a traditional carrot cake.

Cake:
Cooking spray
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/3 cups granulated sugar
1/4 cup butter, softened
3 large eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup low-fat buttermilk
1 cup mashed ripe banana (about 2 bananas)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Frosting:
3/4 cup (6 ounces) 1/3-less-fat cream cheese, chilled
2 tablespoons butter, softened
2 teaspoons grated lemon rind
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Dash of salt
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted
1 1/2 cups fresh raspberries (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare the cake, coat 2 (8-inch) round cake pans with cooking spray; line bottoms with wax paper. Coat wax paper with cooking spray; dust each pan with 1 1/2 teaspoons flour.

Place granulated sugar and 1/4 cup butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 3 minutes). Add eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition.

Lightly spoon 1 3/4 cups flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine flour, baking powder, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, stirring well with a whisk.

Combine buttermilk, banana, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add the flour mixture and buttermilk mixture alternately to the sugar mixture, beginning and ending with flour mixture (mix after each addition just until blended). Pour batter into prepared pans.

Bake cake at 350° for 25 minutes or until wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool in pans 10 minutes on a wire rack; remove from pans. Peel off wax paper. Cool layers completely on wire rack.

To prepare frosting, combine cream cheese, 2 tablespoons butter, rind, 1/2 teaspoon vanilla, and dash of salt in a large bowl. Beat with a mixer at high speed until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar; beat at low speed just until blended (do not overbeat).

Place 1 cake layer on a plate, and spread with 1/3 cup frosting. Arrange raspberries in a single layer over frosting, and top with remaining cake layer. Spread remaining frosting over top and sides of cake. Store cake loosely covered in refrigerator. Garnish with fresh raspberries, if desired.

Yield: 14 servings (serving size: 1 slice)

CALORIES 289 (25% from fat); FAT 8g (sat 4.6g,mono 2.4g,poly 0.4g); PROTEIN 4.5g; CHOLESTEROL 60mg; CALCIUM 65mg; SODIUM 247mg; FIBER 1.2g; IRON 1mg; CARBOHYDRATE 51.7g

Cooking Light, JANUARY 2003

New Leaf Grocery Super Green Salad

New Leaf Grocery Super Green Salad

Mix of sweet and bitter greens (spinach and spring mix ok)
avocado
green onions
thinly sliced pears
cilantro
sea salt
lemon juice
olive oil


Toss green with all other ingredients. Serve and watch your guests SWOON over this delightful salad full of piquant flavors.

Note: This salad does not keep, so only make what you plan to eat the day you made it.

#71 Being the only white person around

Thanks to Catherine for sending this hilarious blog about White People.

Stuff White People Like

Here's one of my favorites:
#71 Being the only white person around
This concept ties heavily into post #7 Diversity and post #19 Travelling, but is important that you fully understand how white people view authenticity and experience.

In most situations, white people are very comforted by seeing their own kind. However, when they are eating at a new ethnic restaurant or traveling to a foreign nation, nothing spoils their fun more than seeing another white person.

Many white people will look into the window of an ethnic restaurant to see if there are other white people in there. It is determined to be an acceptable restaurant if the white people in there are accompanied by ethnic friends. But if there is a table occupied entirely by white people, it is deemed unacceptable.

The arrival of the “other white people” to either restaurants or vacation spots instantly means that lines will grow, authenticity will be lost, and the euphoria of being a cultural pioneer will be over.

Being aware of this can be extremely valuable in your efforts to gain the trust of white friends and co-workers. If you bring a white person to an ethnic restaurant and another white person (or group of white people) shows up, you can lose all respect and trust that you have worked so hard to acquire. Do your best to find a table with a divider, or ask the waiter to put future white people out of sight.

Note: This does not apply to night clubs.

Review- Banff Film Festival

Do you get an adrenaline rush from watching Mountain Dew ads? Then this is the show for you!!!
I attended the Banff Film Festival (Wyoming is presumable the last stop on tour) over the weekend, and walked away with an uncomfortable feeling. This could have resulted from watching the following: the endless montage of base jumpers plummeting from cliffs, Dean Potter climbing up the Delicate Arch with no ropes(pictured here), and a 24 hour bike race in which the lead rider destroys his leg muscles due to refusal to leave "the zone". Though touted as a festival in which conservation and cultural connection are leading themes, I mostly experienced an MTV-like barrage of dudes doing tricks with awesome gear. On a bright note, the climbing film "Aerialist", the skiing film “Wings on your Feet” (Le ali ai piedi), and the cartoon "Badgered" provided a little more substance to the lineup. If the festival is coming to your town, it is well worth going to see these three selections! Warning: viewers may experience need to purchase kayak and/or make plans for unrealistic outdoor adventure.