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