One Step Forward, One Step Back

That's one small step for health care, one giant leap backward for U.S. energy policy.

In the wake of last week's relative victory for health care reform, President Obama decided today to shift the big fast car from fourth gear directly into reverse by ending the ban on drilling for oil along the Atlantic coast.

I see this as the same kind of mistake that the U.S. Mint has made each time it has tried to introduce a $1 coin into general circulation.  Why do you suppose we still use dollar bills far more than dollar coins?  It's because the Mint refuses to actually REPLACE the bills with the coins.  If you want to introduce a new form of currency to supplant an old one, you have to take the old one out of circulation.

I Wish I Could Write Like Maureen Dowd

Maureen Dowd has a turn of phrase to die for.  My last nine years of technical writing experience has obviously blunted my ability to one day craft a phrase like Dowd's that is as lyrical as it is stinging.

Part of it is practice, obviously.  If I wrote opinion columns instead of engineering manuals, I might at least stand a chance.  Part of it too is material.  Being a part of the Washington press corps, and among the D.C. news elite would be enough to give anyone ammunition to write something sensational.

As a person, she's a tough nut to crack.  Her feminist viewpoints may rub some the wrong way, but she does, after all, have a woman's point of view.  And as a woman in a generally male-dominated job, maybe she needs to speak just a bit louder to be heard.

Equally at home criticizing President George W. for being lazy, and President Bill Clinton for being a lying womanizer, no one seems immune from her gaze.  If she has an agenda, it seems to be to provide a wake up call to those who go through life half asleep.

And maybe that's the way a lot of columnists should operate.  Call out those who have it coming, regardless of their politics or prior good deeds.  Praise those who deserve it.

And always do it with eloquence.

Connecticut News Alternatives

I began to read what are called "alternative newspapers" years ago as a poor graduate student.  Okay, it was because they were free and I couldn't afford a subscription to "real" paper, but the locally-focused journalism to be found among the ads for strip clubs and escort services was always top notch.

The same holds true today for the Connecticut-based New Haven Independent, Connecticut Mirror, and CT News Junkie.  Each site focuses on local issues, events, and points of view with journalistic flair.   Surprisingly, all three sites manage to do this without advertising, relying on grants from foundations or the support of local readers.

The Independent is intensely focused on stories from within New Haven, or on how statewide issues affect New Haven.  Stories about gang violence, environmental activism, and community development fill the page, providing very human stories to be found in the city's varied neighborhoods.

Information Alone Does Not Make One Smart

I remember how excited I was to have my very own library card when I was a kid.  I could pick out whatever books I wanted, take them home, and enjoy them at my leisure.  As I got older, that card allowed me to do research for homework topics and get study aids for exams.

Admittedly, as an adult, I don't use my library card much anymore, preferring to look up information on the Internet, usually starting with a Google search.

Nicolas Carr asked the question, "Is Google Making Us Stupid?" in the July/August 2008 edition of The Atlantic.  True, Google is certainly changing the way people look for information.  But is this means of searching for information, and the ways in which it has changed how we approach a problem that needs solving, made us stupid?  Well...

The GOP Should Stay Away from Tea

In the interest of full disclosure, the Democratic Party is not "left" enough for me.

Which means it is a rare occasion that I will give the Republican Party some well-meaning advice:  stay away from the Tea Party.  Seriously, just walk away.

Given the violence and vandalism of the last few days that have been perpetrated on various Democratic members of Congress, it is clear that Tea Partiers are more about fanatic zealotry than any kind of rational thought or ideals.

And this violence is over something as relatively benign as health care for U.S. citizens.  What would be happening if instead of health care, Congress had been considering going to war with another country?  Oh, sorry, I guess we already did that one.  I guess helpful domestic agendas are all that's fair game right now.

A Vote for Progress Not Fear

According to Rep. Boehner of Ohio, the American people are "frightened" of the health care reform bill that narrowly passed in a vote late Sunday.

What exactly are they afraid of?  Are they afraid that when they apply for health insurance for their diabetic child they'll actually get coverage at a price that leaves enough in the household budget for heat in the winter?  Are they afraid that if they lose their job, they'll be able to continue to get health insurance at a rate they can pay until they find work again?

Those questions don't even make sense.  No one is afraid of being able to see a doctor and get treatment and still be able to buy food.  No one is afraid of not owing a hospital thousands of dollars for treatment of a loved one.

The government is stepping in and telling the insurance companies to stop screwing the American people, and it's about time.  And while it is not going to result in a perfect system, it will result in a better one.  Yesterday, House Speaker Pelosi was right in saying they were voting for progress.  Let's hope that progress keeps marching forward.

The Truth About Socialized Medicine

My first stint in graduate school was at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada.  Having seen the Canadian health system at work, I can say, unequivocally, and without reservation, that universal health care works.

During my time in Vancouver, a good friend and lab mate of my wife came down with a nasty kidney infection.  She checked into the University Hospital, had a shared room with one other person, for a couple of the six or seven days of her stay, and, when she was better, she signed on the dotted line and was released.  She was good as new, and payed exactly nothing out of pocket -- zero dollars -- for her entire hospital stay.

As any starving graduate student in the U.S. would know, a hospital stay of a week or more would mean having to decide between paying for a semester's worth of classes, or paying for the treatment of whatever sickness with which they were afflicted.  There would be no way to accomplish both.

Many years later after returning to the U.S., I got to see what high-deductible, low-cost insurance provides for low-wage and small business employees in the U.S.  And while my sister in law received decent treatment for her cancer after she was diagnosed, it came far too late in the game.  If she'd had Canadian-style insurance that had allowed her to afford simple regular checkups that might have caught the tumor early, she might still be alive today.

Deaths at Srebrenica Because of Gay Soldiers???

I almost don't know where to begin.  This has got to be one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

Retired Gen. John Sheehan stated before a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing that poor morale over openly gay Dutch soldiers was partially responsible for the failure of NATO forces to prevent the city of Srebrenica from being overrun by Serbian forces in 1995.  Some 8,000 Muslim men and boys were killed in the massacre.

But to suggest that poor morale over openly gay Dutch soldiers was part of the problem is outrageous.  There are no single words that can adequately describe how stupid a statement that was.

The Dutch Chief of Staff at the time of the Srebrenica incident has called Gen. Sheehan's remarks, "total nonsense".

That's a good start, but there are so many other words for it:  stupid, idiotic, blinkered, bigoted, homophobic.  Did I mention "stupid" already?

Supersonic Crazy People

It's Crazy People Day on the science and technology pages.

The BBC reports that technical glitches on the Bloodhound supersonic car have been fixed so that progress can be made on an attempt to break the world land speed record.  The car -- if one can call a hybrid aircraft/rocket engine with a steering wheel a car -- is being designed to drive 1,000 miles per hour (yes, 1,000 mph!), or about 30 percent faster than sound at sea level.

So long as the car doesn't fly off the ground (and the designers have apparently fixed that problem), they should be good to go late next year, with Wing Commander Andy Green strapped into the beast and hitting the gas.

And lately Toyota has been getting all the press about going fast...  I'll say it again.  1,000 miles per hour on land.

Starbucks Must Be a Dangerous Place

The next time I go to Starbucks, I must remember to go packing heat, out in the open, where all the baddies can see my big gun so they won't mess with me.

Starbucks, that genteel neighborhood coffee store, is finding it is becoming the battlefield upon which gun control advocates and gun enthusiasts are going to have themselves a big showdown.  Folks have been showing up at Starbucks, among other places, brandishing their handguns openly in holsters around their waists, ensuring that their state right to do so has not been, and will not be, infringed upon.

I know that at one point it seemed as though there was a Starbucks on every corner, but these franchises must be in some pretty bad neighborhoods if people feel they need to be carrying firearms just to go get their tall soy milk double-shot latte.

More Spectrum for Mobile Broadband

The FCC may be biting off more than it can effectively chew.

Next week, details of the "National Broadband Plan" will be unveiled, which are expected to cover the voluntary reallocation of unused television broadcasting spectrum, the establishment of a national mobile broadband network for first responders (fire departments, police, ambulances), and the delivery of mobile broadband services to rural areas of the country.  All of these initiatives are meant to leverage, "our country's mobile broadband leadership opportunity," and meet, "our global competitiveness challenge."

While the country's wireless service providers are drooling over the chance to acquire more bandwidth to serve their data-hungry audience, I think the FCC is counting on a lot of cooperation from all the parties involved, including those who have the most to lose.  And I don't think everyone is going to be so ready to play nice.

If It's a Broken Code, Don't Fix It

(No news in this one -- I just had to write about this album I heard.)

I'm a bit particular about the music I listen to.  It's taken me many years to even consider listening to music from genres outside my usual preferences.  And today I found one that knocked me out.

What I know of today's rap and hip-hop artists would fill a mighty short blog post, but I'm going to fill this one with praise for "A Badly Broken Code", by the singer-rapper Dessa.

I first heard a few bits of Dessa's record on an NPR feature a few weeks ago, and at first I didn't think a lot about it.  But snippets of the sound kept rolling around in my head, with snatches of melody and attitude that just stuck with me.  I finally dug in a bit more and I have to say this record is exceptional.

Drink to Keep from Getting Fat?

There is one thing about having a drink after work, or with dinner, that nearly every health study in the world seems to miss:  a bit of alcohol in the system relieves stress.  Maybe that's why there's a benefit to having the occasional drink?

According to the NPR Health Blog, a report from the Women's Health Study at Harvard University states that their study of women over 39, who started at a "normal weight", and who had a drink several times a week, tended to put on less weight than those who did not.  (Note they didn't lose weight, but they didn't get obese.)

The researchers are not entirely sure what caused this effect, but suspected that women who drink a bit tend to eat less (consciously trading food calories for drink calories), or that alcohol is metabolized differently than other sugars.

These points may be true, but as most health benefit studies surrounding alcohol go -- red wine leads to fewer heart attacks, for example -- one key point keeps getting missed.  Alcohol is metabolically, as well as socially, relaxing.

Water, Water Everywhere, but Running Out of Drops to Drink

Did you know that the water in your toilet is perfectly safe to drink?

Well, that may not be quite true.  The cleanliness of the serving vessel has quite an influence on the potability of the contents.

But the billions of gallons of water that are used to flush away human waste on a daily basis comes from the same supply as the drinking-quality H2O that runs from the tap.  Robert Glennon, professor of Law and Public Policy at the University of Arizona gave a lecture at Quinnipiac University recently, related to the contents of his book, "Unquenchable: America's Water Crisis and What to Do About It".

While the points he made about redistribution, selling water as a commodity, and methods of human waste disposal were compelling, there was an underlying current of government intervention that is absolutely required in order to make his "free market" ideas work.

Poor communities cannot pay for water as a product, and he admitted as much.  Alternative waste disposal methods and redistribution schemes will require government incentives and oversight.  The free market will not be enough to change the status quo.  America's culture of greed simply will not allow it.

Let us hope that Prof. Glennon can get the attention of our government leaders who may be able to do something about the oncoming water shortage before we all dry up.

Not Just Toyota...

It seems that cars are just dangerous beasts, whether you spend a lot or a little.  Some of the really expensive ones are surprisingly nasty.

In the wake of Toyota's grilling by Congress over its epidemic of runaway cars, NPR News did some digging and discovered that Toyota is not the only company that has had problems of this sort over the last 20 years.

Looking through the tables, it seems that neither luxury nor cheapo brands are immune.

Land Rover had more than 10 complaints per 100,000 cars sold in 1990, 1995, 1999, 2000, and 2002-2005.  Jaguar had a similar level of complaints for 10 of the last 20 years. Volvo, which prides itself on safety had five pretty bad years.  Mazda and Suzuki each had six years of complaints at this level or higher.

By comparison, Toyota landed in the doghouse in five of those years.  And these were all complaints about uncontrolled acceleration.  It's a sure bet there are lots of other problems that are worth noting as well.

Unnecessary Delays in Cheshire Trial

It is hard to fathom why justice is moving so slowly in the trial against Steven Hayes.

For Dr. Petit's sake, the state needs to do whatever is needed to make sure Hayes will be brought to swift justice.  If that means turning the lights off now and then, and making sure he takes his medication, then they need to find a way to do this.  He doesn't need the Hilton, just to be sane enough for justice to be served.

There is no reason for the courts to call a halt to all proceedings while complaints about Hayes' sleeping arrangements are processed.  A potential jury pool can be interviewed, ready for when Hayes is deemed competent to face them.  If the prison's chief psychiatrist is on vacation, the deputy should be able to fill in. Any prison nurse can provide him the proper medication.

And if Ullmann plans on using any more measuring sticks to determine if Hayes is being treated inhumanely, he should ask Dr. Petit for his thoughts on that night at his home in Cheshire.