Got Thanksgiving Plans?

So, it’s almost Thanksgiving, and I and my lovely co-host chatblu are going to be MIA for a few days, hanging with friends and family. Have fun while we’re gone, visit our blogroll for political stuff (especially Reclusive Leftist – Violet is on fire!) and don’t mess up the carpets!

Decadent!

MB’s Favorite Thanksgiving Treat (which she can’t eat anymore, SIGH:)

Rich Chocolate Cheesecake

DOPES

The Department of Presidential Excitement is dedicated to the illusion that our President is contemplative, engaged, exciting, worldly, charming and devoted. DOPEs come in all sizes and shapes, with no real job description other than “produce adoration of The One”. Some DOPEs work directly for Obama, others pretend that they are journalists and commentators. The DOPEs write the speeches, choose the venues, pose the pictures, and whip the serfs into devoted fervor on his behalf. The DOPEs worked hard during the campaign to project just the right image for BHO, and their efforts have been unremitting throughout the ten looooooooong months of the Obama administration.

Obama spent only about 140 days in the Unites States Senate. He was elected in 2004, riding the crest of unremarkable service in the Illinois State Legislature. He made the “right” acquaintances – including Blagojevich, Ayers, Souros, and Oprah – and utilized the talents of his followers to put his name into the limelight. The DOPEs adjusted the limelight, tweaking it to blend with music (such as “I got 99 Problems and the B%tch Ain’t One”), backgrounds like Berlin, Styrofoam replicas of the Acropolis, the bestest speeches ever displayed upon a teleprompter, added a dash of Mile High Stadium resplendent with American flags, and voila! A President is born. Hope springs eternal. The times, they are a-changin’. All this was run ad nauseum on a variety of cable networks, with live commentary on a number of previously reasonable blogs.

The DOPEs worked feverishly during the election period to ascertain that this would be no ordinary victory. As opposed to the usual “I won” speech delivered in a ballroom, the DOPEs procured a park and filled it to the brim with adoring fans. Remember poor old Peggy Joseph? I wonder how her rent is going…. Anyhow, it was the bestest election night evah, and the party continued until daybreak. Newspapers, magazines, teevee, radio, and blogs were crowing with delight. The DOPEs truly outdid themselves.

Then came the inauguration. Washington filled with a blue million of the faithful to watch the Oath of Office, which was muffed. (It wasn’t the DOPEs fault-they really and truly believed that between Obama and Roberts, a relatively simple oath of office could be handled.) The true and actual oath of office was administered later, far from the adoring throngs. The inaugural luncheon was cribbed from Abraham Lincoln, but the DOPEs thought that was pretty classy, as many of them found historic parallels –tall, attorney, Illinois, etc. The DOPEs worked on a plethora of Inaugural Balls, and the effect was dazzling.

Then came the relative drudgery of attempting to govern. The DOPEs set up a record number of press conferences, Rose Garden photo ops/statements, Prime Time addresses (until the networks howled), and an flabbergasting amount of travel. (The DOPE that authorized the fly-over of Manhattan is no longer employed, however.) The DOPEs attempted to pull Obama out of the Cambridge fiasco by staging the “Beer Summit”. The DOPEs have ascertained that the President and his magnificent aura are front and center at all time. The DOPEs set up and encouraged the fruitless Copenhagen trip on behalf of Chicago, and produced a wonderful trip for Michelle and Oprah as well. The DOPEs are doing everything that they can, 24/7, to make Obama look wise, calm, and Presidential.

The DOPEs are working harder than ever on health care, as they realize that the passage of anything whatsoever is now crucial. The DOPEs are spending an inordinate amount of time explaining why the President is taking an equally inordinate amount of time to make a decision on Afghanistan. The DOPEs are laboring overtime to explain why so many (11.2% in The State Which Must Not Be Named) cannot find jobs. The DOPEs are putting a rosy glow on the “green shoots” appearing mostly in banks that owe We The People billions. The DOPEs have their work cut out for them explaining why the trip to China didn’t go so well.

The DOPEs have a lot to do, as there are 3+ years to go in this multi-media administrative extravaganza. Good luck to you, DOPEs. The American people are not as dumb as they seem.

This is an open thread.

Nope, No Sexism Here

A very interesting email arrived yesterday in my mailbox from someone named Mitch Stewart at Democrats.org, aka Organizing for America, aka The House of Obamacratic Propaganda. The title read simply, “Sarah Palin.” Here is part of the content:

Dear (madamab),

Right now, Sarah Palin is on a highly publicized, nationwide book tour, attacking President Obama and his plan for health reform at every turn.

It’s dangerous. Remember, this is the person who coined the term “Death Panels” — and opened the flood gates for months of false attacks by special interests and partisan extremists.

Whatever lie comes next will be widely covered by the media, then constantly echoed by right-wing attack groups and others who are trying to defeat reform.

As we approach the final sprint on health reform, we can’t afford more deception and delay. We need to be ready for anything — and have the resources to respond with ads, events, and calls to Congress when the attacks come.

So we’re setting a big goal: $500,000 in the next week to help push back against Sarah Palin and her allies. Please chip in $5 or more to help reach our goal.

This email truly left me speechless, and here’s why:

1) While I think it’s despicable that Sarah Palin and the GOP are going around lying about what’s in the bill and trying to scare people to death with overblown rhetoric about “death panels” and jail terms for those who do not pay for mandatory insurance, The Alaskan Pit Bull is surely not the only obstacle to Rahm Emanuel’s rubberstamping of something that says “health insurance reform” on it.

There are, in fact, many Democrats who are waffling about the 2074-page monstrosity that Harry Reid (actually, let’s face it, the insurance lobbyists who own Harry Reid) has created. And, there are liberal women like me, who are horrified at the misogynist Stupak Amendment and the similarly restrictive provisions of the Senate bill. And, there are women’s organizations like NOW, which are determined to stop Stupak-Pitts and the “Hyde Amendment on Steroids” in the Senate. And, there are single-payer advocacy groups, who do not all agree on the best way forward, but are certainly attempting to get a seat at the table and some how, some way, sneak a single-payer option past the corporate interests who are blocking it through our Preznit and Congresscritters.

In other words, opposition to the bill is not coming just from the Republicans, but also from left-leaning women, “moderate” Democrats, and those who know that an expanded Medicare system is the only way to solve our current health care crisis. But of course, Democrats.org isn’t going to admit that. Nosiree Bob! Better to blame the woman who has captured the hearts and minds of so many in the GOP conservative base, who is the one THEY’VE been waiting for, who is Reagan in a dress, with an extra dollop of fundiegelical to make Michelle Malkin and Dick Armey drool with pleasure.

IACF! (It’s All Clinton’s Fault!) has become IAPF (It’s All Palin’s Fault)!

2) The second part of what made me so angry about this email is that they want money from ME to combat the Republicans. Excuse the f*ck out of me, but didn’t you know this was coming, kids? I mean, I know you’re all 27 like Obama’s moronic, gropetastic speechwriter, but didn’t Obama make you watch any Vast Right Wing Conspiracy DVD’s or anything? Isn’t there some kind of understanding out in Obama-land that the Republicans always pull this type of stunt? They lie. They always, always lie. And their lies can only be combated with the truth. Guess what, children? There is no kumbaya. Surprise!

The thing with Republican lies is that they tend to tap into real fears and real anger. And right now, there is a growing malaise even among those who are not paying that much attention. The anti-incumbent feeling that elected Republicans Chris Christie Governor of New Jersey and Bob McDonnell Governor of Virginia is very, very real. People may not know what it is, but they feel that something, somewhere, is just not right with Obama and the Dems. There is too much vagueness and secrecy surrounding these giant health care bills. The economy is tanking and unemployment is going much higher than the President had claimed it would. Where is the change people can believe in? It’s in the banking industry’s pockets, and some are brazenly giving their CEO’s million-dollar bonuses with our taxpayer money. This is not going over well with Joe and Jane America.

So what do the Democrats do in response to these no-one-could-have-predicted attacks by the wingnuts? They try to whip up a Two-Minute Hate against Sarah Palin, like they did in the primaries. What they should do, of course, is stop the marketing blitz and get down to the business of governing like liberals. That’s how you beat the lies of the VRWC – by doing the right thing and then successfully selling it to the American people.

Nah. It’s so much easier to take those sweet, sweet payoff dollars from Big Pharma and stay in perpetual campaign mode, than to actually do the hard work that needs to be done to reverse the damage of 8 years of right-wing Reaganite policies.

How much you wanna bet that the “progressives” donate tons of money to the Obamacrats in order to beat that Satan in Red, Sarah Palin? I think the lovely folks at Democrats.org are going to have a banner fundraising effort, because all they have to do is blame a woman, some woman, any woman, and “progressives” will follow your every command. They’re hypnotized by their own misogyny, too blind to see how the Obamacrats are laughing at how dumb and gullible they are, falling for the same old stupid bait-and-switch, blaming the Republicans for their own corruption and evil.

IAPF! Works every time.

This is an open thread.

Crossroads, or Roundabout?

“We stand at a crossroads” is often repeated. So often, in fact, that I have come to believe that we are running in a circle at the crossroads rather than setting a course. The United States is 10 months into the Golden Age of Obama, and we continue to circle rather than forge ahead.

Unemployment is at a 20 year high, with few solutions to be found. Extensions have been granted to unemployment benefits, but those who have exhausted theirs must now reapply and wait for approval. The White House staff reassures us that job losses have slowed, but fail to realize that there were fewer jobs left to be lost. The staffers also refuse for the most part to acknowledge that many of these jobs will never return in any shape, form, or fashion. The “shovel ready” jobs are just not there, and much rigging of statistics in “jobs saved or created” data has surfaced. Stetson University has admitted that they misread the survey, and listed each student hired in work-study programs as one job, even though the student only worked 3-5 hours/week. Therefore, their numbers were overstated by a factor of roughly 80%.

Homelessness and hunger are the counterparts of unemployment. The local Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul Society, rescue missions and food pantries admit that they do not know how much more that they can do. Anyone who can scrape up any money at all is trying to help, but the numbers who can help are being toppled by those who need help. Many years of dealing with the chronic homeless, many of whom were turned out of institutions by Reagan’s policies, taught me a great deal. The new homeless, however, seems to be comprised by people who were previously functional in our society. My fear is that they will join the ranks of the chronic if immediate and sustained intervention does not take place.

Credit continues to be strangled. Credit card rates are astronomical, even for customers who are neither overlimit nor delinquent. Congress has taken steps to stop further escalations, but what about the damage already done. I am not a math major, but if people were struggling to pay at 19%, jacking the rate to 29% probably won’t increase compliance. If Congress truly considers small business to be the way forward, then measures must be implemented to beef up the SBA, or to create some other entity to keep the dollars flowing. One of my friends is a nurse midwife who works for one of the busier OB-GYN practices. Her boss lost his line of credit despite a stellar payment record. She is now paid every other month when the insurance check comes in. Try budgeting under those circumstances!

Afghanistan is still an absolute boondoggle. Obama and Co. continue to cogitate regarding the “way forward” while leaks within the DOD have grown to the size of a geyser. Gen. McChrystal actually took his grievances on the road and basically stated in a speech that he wasn’t getting what he needed to win. I’m not at all certain that I know the answer to Afghanistan, but I’m quite certain that we need for the Commander-in-Chief to figure something out here, PDQ. Americans are fighting, being horrifically maimed, and dying over there. The trip to Dover was poignant, Mr. President, and should have galvanized you into action. Instead, you continue to weigh your options. Weigh them quickly and well, before the fluid circumstances that comprise Middle Eastern politics take these options from you.

Health care reform is in an absolute mess. Deals and more deals have been cut with the insurance industry, Big Pharma, the AMA, the pro-lifers, and practically every special interest group. I could have sworn that I heard somewhere the lobbyists would be exiles in the Golden Age of Obama…..maybe I misunderstood. Even John Conyers, a lifelong Democratic Party stalwart has broken ranks and stated that Rahm Emmanuel would consider any bill to be a huge victory, regardless of its content.

In the meantime, our President is contemplating his options. Now, having survived the Bush years, I am all for measured reason – as long as an outcome is in sight. At this point in time, it appears as though the ship of state is sinking while the Skipper-In-Chief stands ashore weighing his options: do I send a rescue boat to remove the survivors, or send out some pumps to remove the water? Both are decent choices, in and of themselves. In the meantime, sir, the water is rising rapidly and the band is playing “Nearer My God To Thee”. A lot of TARP money remains to be spent, so assemble that crack squad and figure this out. A lot of good lives are hanging in the balance.

This is an open thread.

Um, huh?

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the Democrats and Republicans have been able to make the “debate” on health care so incredibly dumb. The Democrats have descended into “why do you hate poor people!!!111!!!” territory, whereas the Republicans have brandished their ignorance proudly, generating lots of heat, but no light.

Meanwhile, the true issues that need discussion are totally and completely obscured. And if anyone brings up the fact that Democrats are not doing what the public wants (a strong public option), or meeting their own stated objectives of cutting costs and expanding quality, affordable health care to cover those who don’t have it (in fact, the House health care bill removes coverage from those who already have it!), or points out the insane misogyny of Stupak-Pitts and the not-much-better abortion policy of the new 2074-page Senate Bill O’Crap, or asks why all single-payer advocates have been shut out of the debate entirely, or wonders if the Democrats are really doing much of anything at all except trying to grab the public’s cash and transfer it wholesale into the insurance company’s pockets, well, you know what happens to those people: They are called Republicans. Or selfish. Or accused of wanting the Democrats to fail. Or, the worst name of all:

SOCIALISTS.

How the hell are our Congresscritters getting away with this dumbing down of the national debate? I believe it’s because of the myth of corporate benignancy.

I hear tell that once, there was a time when corporations viewed their employees as family. (This is where the appellation “Ma Bell” came from, I suppose.) If I speak to my friends’ parents, they will often say that they worked at the same company for their entire lives. They got pensions (not 401ks which could be lost in the stock market), great benefits, profit-sharing, and even had contracts which prevented their being fired without due process or good cause. Imagine the paradise we’ve missed, Widdershins!

But alas, those halcyon days of yore are no more. Deregulation and corruption have turned corporations into rapacious, greedy monsters who shovel huge amounts of money into our political system in order to make sure the Parties pass laws that give them a giant, guaranteed ROI. With Bush II at the helm, they were able to game the system to a degree not seen since the robber baron days, and they weren’t about to give that up any time soon. Hence, their $800 billion investment in our DINO, corporatist Preznit.

And now, the Reaganite free-market worship of corporations has gotten so pervasive, that people use the word ”socialist” as a ”booga-booga” technique to scare people of all political beliefs and monetary status into not accepting the fact that capitalism is not a political system – it’s a financial system. And it’s never, ever worked without some other system to balance it. In America, and in every other civilized country, our standard of living has never been so high as when socialism was allowed to mix with and improve capitalism. Just think of the most liberal member of Congress, and who is it? Bernie Sanders, an Independent who calls himself…a socialist. (Gotta love Vermont!)

If America is ever going to become a functional nation again, we will have let go of the myths that poison our national discourse. One of the most toxic is the idea that business is somehow inherently good, and government is somehow inherently bad. It’s a simplistic frame that Reagan pushed very hard, and it’s become so difficult to dislodge. But we’ve got to try, or social justice will never be allowed to prevail in our country. And women will, now and forever, be under that corporate bus.

This is an open thread.

Courtesy of www.dobhran.com

The latest attempt to control health care costs may finally have gotten the attention of the general public. The US Preventative Services Task Force exists to improve services while attempting to control escalating health care costs. They have been tasked with the study of procedures and treatments to determine efficacy and also to perform risk/benefit analysis. The group has produced a new and controversial working thesis regarding mammography: in the 40-50 year age group, mammography adds additional radiation to the lifetime maximum, produces obfuscated results and many false positives, and finds actual and true carcinomas in 1 of 1900. This does, in all actuality, lend some credence to the fact that the American system of medical care spends money needlessly without regard to outcomes.

The first question that we should ponder is that of the panel’s composition. Which disciplines are represented? How many oncologists? How many radiologists? What representation does women’s health care have? If the board is comprised of pediatricians and gastroenterologists they are also physicians, but they may reach a completely different conclusion than an oncologist would. The second question that I have is the Breast Self-Examination. The USPSTF has concluded that this is also unnecessary, despite the fact that it is a simple procedure which saved countless lives in the years before mammograms became routine. It is true that many lumps discovered in BSE are fibrocystic in nature, but I am forced to conclude that the panel believes that discovery of the lumps would then lead to mammography, so they feel that ignorance would indeed be blissful. This is a whole lot like removing your rearview mirror because it would be very upsetting to see the car behind you that you will quickly and firmly hit.

Amazingly, women’s health care rights have found a new friend in the guise of the Republican party. The restriction of mammography seems to them to be indicative of the specter of government health care. As badly as I hate to admit this, they do actually have a point. On the other hand, women don’t have too much left to lose here: propositions already exist to prohibit abortion, pelvic exams and ovarian cancer screenings. The breasts represent the final distinct feminine feature, and the final straw, as far as I’m concerned.

President Obama has pledged to recommend standards of care and develop levels of coverage in his health care reform package. I have no problem with standards of care. Medicine and nursing have worked with the premise of providing care that meets or exceeds the community standard of practice for as long as I can recall. What I recommend is that we make ourselves clear that we are the community, we expect appropriate representation in the decision-making process, and we expect consistently high standards of care.

I also promise you faithfully that if these standards are permitted to go forward, no private insurance company will pay for mammograms under the age of 50. Under the best of circumstances, no private insurer will volunteer to exceed federal expectations. As far as I’m concerned, these circumstances are far from the best.

This is an open thread.

Yes, This is Sexist. Duh.

Our dear Canadian friend HT, whose country is (fortunately) much less insane than ours when it comes to women, asked in comments yesterday why there was a war against women in America. This was my response:

1. In terms of the latest revoltin’ development with the mammograms, I believe it’s simply because women live longer and cost insurance companies more money. If we die off earlier, it’s good for their bottom line. And nothing saves lives like mammograms and wellness exams. These, then, are the preventive measures that the insurance companies are now trying to “reform” out of being covered.

2. In terms of the religious half of the patriarchy, it’s because the fundies believe in the “talking snake” theory of evolution, as Mike Malloy used to say on Air America Radio. According to that theory, women are the source of all evil. After all, we only have pain during birth and our menstrual cycles because The Lord God punished us for eating the apple. So saith Genesis!

3. In terms of the corporatocracy half of the patriarchy, the more underpaid labor there is in the pool, the more profits they make. Thus, illegal immigration is encouraged, but the corporations who hire the illegal immigrants are no longer punished for it; and thus, women make 78 cents to every man’s dollar. Women’s inequality is a source of cashola to them.

4. If women are allowed to gain equality, then the Chalice principle will become more balanced with the Blade principle. There goes the patriarchy!

I thought I’d open this theorizing up to discussion today. What do you all think? Why is there a war on American women?

And… here are our actions today:

Lysistrata: We Say NO to Stupak and Pitts!

NOW Rally on 11/21 in Pitts’ Pennsylvania District

NOW Protest in DC on November 23rd

UPDATE: Lobby to Stop Stupak-Pitts on December 2nd in DC

---

 
Single-Payer/Medicare for All Actions

2009 Strategy Conference in St. Louis – November 14 and 15

Non-Violent Civil Disobedience

Medicare for All, not Warfare

Anti-War

No Escalation in Afghanistan

Climate Change

Demand that Ford Quit the Anti-Environmental Chamber of Commerce

Bonne anniversaire a chatblu!

Tomorrow is my 61st birthday. Hats and horns are optional. Between the birthday thing and the Stupak thing, I have been more contemplative than usual this week. In general, I have accepted the passage of time gracefully, at least I think so. While no one enjoys aging, it is considerably preferable to the only known alternative –“Live fast, die young, and have a good looking corpse”.

The world has made considerable progress since November 18th, 1948. Much that is good has transpired. Technology and medicine have progressed at a dizzying pace, possession of marijuana in small quantities is no longer a felony. The draft is no longer with us, and that is a triumph in and of itself. Civil rights have advanced up to and including the election of a non-white president, although much remains to be resolved for the average citizen. Attitudes toward alternative lifestyles, including LGBT, remaining unmarried, and having children outside of wedlock have softened. And yes, some attitudes toward women have changed, but not nearly as much as I would have hoped.

My mother’s generation won the right to work without being considered unfeminine. Certainly, World War II contributed toward a shift in that point of view, but some of it stayed around after V-J Day. Fortunately, both of my parents were college graduates, so they never considered that I would not be well-educated. Most women of my generation were admitted to state colleges and universities under a quota system. Mine admitted 70% male, 30% female freshman classes. Over the past 43 years, I have seen a dramatic change there, and now college campuses are evenly split to a slight plurality of females. That’s a major advancement, as far as I’m concerned. Post-graduate education used to be even harder for a woman to obtain. One of my sorority sisters was the only female in our school of veterinary medicine. She went to work win her father’s practice after graduation. There were three women in the school of law, and none in the medical college. Georgia Tech, a renowned school of engineering, did not admit women at the time. These barriers have come down, and women now have a decent shot at obtaining the post-graduate degree of their choice. This is also good progress.

Women still have their share of issues, however. The ERA seems hopelessly stalled. Roe v. Wade is established law, but has been and is being progressively eroded. There are more women holding political office, but we are far from the 30% solution. In many cases, salary is neither commensurate with the job done nor with male counterparts. Some men still have problems working with a female boss. Even getting in the door of top-notch firms is difficult. Many women find that obtaining time for children is nearly impossible until the midpoint of their career, so pregnancies and menopause are becoming neighbors. (I love my daughter to death, but if I were to cope with her teen-age years at my age, I would be a homicidal lunatic.) Many men “of a certain age” still hesitate to consult a female physician: they find this to be “embarrassing”, even though they are likely to be less uncovered than when visiting the beach. Only one of the three network newscasts in primetime is anchored by a woman. Much work remains to be done, and many who worked so diligently may not be here to see true equality.

On the lighter side, here is a great birthday gift. The article cheers me to read, and this would be the ultimate present for Chatblu’s 64th. Party on!

This is an open thread.

You Gotta Be Kidding Me

Ah, yes. Another weekend has come and gone, and it’s Manic Monday again. At least, the right wingers are manic with glee after our President’s latest inappropriate display of weakness before yet another world leader. The cheerleaders are manic with frustration (WARNING: GOES TO ORANGE SATAN) as they try to pretend that once again, this is no big deal. Poor dears. It must be difficult to keep up that level of denial. But seriously, what other President can you imagine bowing like this, not once, but twice? Well, except for the President Obama most resembles – Ronald Reagan, who was knighted by Queen Elizabeth and thus, bowed down to her (after he was no longer President, I must add in all fairness to that evil bastard).

Jake Tapper’s take on this matter seems somewhat fair and balanced. He writes, quoting a protocol expert friend of his:

“This picture shows two things,” my friend writes.

“1) The ‘right’ is wrong about Obama’s bow.

“2) The ‘left’ is wrong about Obama’s bow.

“His bow is neither (1) unprecedented nor (2) a sign of cultural understanding.

“At their 1971 meeting in Alaska, the first visit of a Japanese Emperor to America, President Nixon bowed and referred to Emperor Hirohito and his wife repeatedly as ‘Your Imperial Majesties.’”

(See that picture HERE.)

“Yet, (and?) Nixon gets the bow right. Slight arch from the waist hands at his side.

 ”Obama’s handshake/forward lurch was so jarring and inappropriate it recalls Bush’s back-rub of Merkel.”

In Republican news, Liz Cheney is going around talking about 2012 with her dad running for President (yeah, you might want to re-balance the anti-psychotics there, Liz) and Palin as Vice-President. Speaking of La Palin, she done wroted a book! (I guess, unless you have been living under a rock, you probably already knew that.) The pundits are furiously deconstructing every word, of course, and her exclusive Oprah interview is going to run today. I smell a major amount of cashola in the former Governor’s future, don’t you?

In climate change news, Al Gore is getting heckled by Tea Party flat-earthers, and no deal will be struck at the Copenhagen summit. (Yeah, what’s the rush, anyway? It’s not like anything bad is happening with the climate now. Snort.) In Afghanistan news, Obama is really, really close, just around the corner and all, to making some kind of decision about strategery and increasing troop levels. Hooray! I’m sure our men and women in Afghanistan have nothing better to do than to wait for His Unpreparedness to make up his noble, lofty mind about whether or not they will live or die. 

In health care news, the Senate is gearing up for its own debate on the various bills available. The “pro-life” whackjobs are manic about the fact that Stupak-like language may not be included in this bill. NOW, however, is not so sanguine, and is organizing protests of Stupak, so if you are in the neighborhood of DC, maybe you’d want to stop by.

And in movie news…I saw the world end this weekend. No, really! It was the mindless, special-effects-laden and John Cusack-starring “2012.” A happy mishmash of junk science, Biblical references and Mayan mysticism (and did I mention John Cusack?), it was the perfect escape from all the political mania I’ve just described. Have you seen any good movies lately? I’m thinking my next film will be the weird and possibly wonderful “The Men Who Stare at Goats.”

This is an open thread.

Pauvre chatblu!

Whiplash is a problem caused by sudden, sharp movement of the neck.  The usual reference to whiplash is that related to motor vehicle collisions, and the ambulance chasers who feed from them.  The mechanism of injury is imprecise.  Most injuries seem to occur when the neck snaps back and forth, or side to side, in rapid succession.  In some cases, there is apparent stretching, tearing or disruption of the anterior longitudinal ligament.  In many, however, no apparent pathology is noted, and the findings are for the most part subjective.  Whiplash may also occur in sports injuries, kicking, shaking, and on roller coaster-like rides. 

I believe that the current pain in my neck is secondary to the last three categories.

Women’s rights have been kicked to the curb in order to enhance the chances of a quick resolution to the mired Health Care bill. Representatives that we have contributed to, worked for, and supported have caved to pressure and voted for a bill that dilutes women’s health care and right to choice.  They assure us that it will be lost in committee, while the Senate rushes to adopt Stupakesque language for its own measures. 

Women have been considerably shaken by this.  Organizations like NOW and NARAL were swept away by the Democrats’ siren song – “Vote for Obama or lose your right to choose.”  Yeah, right.  Recent postings from women who did not see this coming, felt Obama to be “the perfect candidate” – hell, he was the Second Coming – now are lifting themselves up and saying “Whaaaat? What about us?” Face it, sweeties:  you are as expendable as we bitter, fat, old hags.  Soon, Donna Brazile will tell you to stay home as well.  You are no longer needed, but that is subject to change without notice.  Just try to remember how you have felt this week when the next representative of the Democratic Party assures you in dulcet tones that they are looking after your needs. 

The entire week has been a roller-coaster ride.  First came the great joy and tintinnabulation of the passage of the Bill of the Century:  Hurrah!  We’re saved!  You may not be, but our careers are.  Now no one can say that we accomplished nothing. We then suffered through one entire day of liberal commentators extolling the virtues of the bill.  The cards, calls and letters must have come rolling in, because the following day was devoted to the theme of “Women are not happy about this”.  (Good pickup, guys and girls.) The following day, new marching orders became evident:  the bill is amazing, and women should just suck it up, and take one for the team.  The most amazing player in this was Claire McCaskill, the candidate foisted upon us by Emily’s List, who then became instrumental in foisting Obama upon us because her kids thought that he was very cool.  Claire initially told the staff of “Morning Joe” that the bill would likely pass into law with the Stupak provision intact, but that it would be fine because middle class women would basically be unaffected.  WTF???  Apparently by that afternoon, she had seen the light, as she reversed her position before dusk.  No word if she had pulled a u-turn and resumed her initial stance.

At any rate, my neck hurts.  This could be attributed to the degree of arthritis that is commensurate with my age, or it could be that the pushing, kicking, shaking roller-coaster ride of the past week has really finished it off.

How’s yours??

This is an open thread.