Feb 21 2008

Do I Have To Kill Myself Before They’ll Help Me?

The “they” refers to the Human Service Center in Peoria, Illinois–but I’m getting ahead of myself. Last Friday night, I decided that I really couldn’t wait for my Feb. 29th appointment at the neighborhood clinic to start being treated for my depression/possible bipolar.

So, having found out that my friend who’d gotten the Cymbalta had gotten it after she’d called a crisis hotline and been directed to a free clinic, I called such a hotline.

The line was busy for about an hour. I started wondering if I was calling the right number, then took a break. Then started trying again and the phone rang on the second try.

The volunteer I spoke with sounded very kind and sympathetic and was helpful. She asked me about my life and problems. Also, she directed me to call the local mental health association and the Human Service Center, which I couldn’t do until Monday.

After having spoken with her, I felt hopeful. It had been a long time, but I finally came to the conclusion that depression is treatable; something that I never thought would be possible. It was just the feeling that I had been waiting for. And my spirits were lifted even more Saturday morning by the synchronicity of seeing a table that had been set up by a local mental health group. I picked up some of their literature including a booklet on depression and asked if they were taking appointments or making referrals after describing my problems. They weren’t.

At home later that day I read the depression booklet and checked the symptoms I’ve been suffering from on its checklist so I could show whoever I spoke with what the problem was. The rest of the weekend, I felt rather good–optimistic that I’d soon be getting the help I need.

So Monday morning I first called the local mental health association, describing my depression, etc. and asked for resources. I was referred to the Human Service Center.

The Human Service Center in Peoria, Illinois is to helping people like me who need help what FEMA has been to helping New Orleanians after the federal flood. It’s run by the Fayette Companies. Here’s a link to their corporate/public relations bullshit.

The first time I called the Human Service Center, the receptionist said she was putting me through to Bill, the intake guy. All I got was his voice mail. I think this happened three times–after which I’d started crying. Because I thought an agency supposedly helping people in distress should provide human beings to talk to. I asked to be able to talk to a human being.

Then, the receptionist said she was connecting me to their Emergency Response Services. Again, all I got was voice mail. So I called again and was instructed to call back in a half-hour, which I did–and got the same results. Except that when I called again after that, I was instructed to leave my phone number so Bill could get back to me. I left my cell number–then had the presence of mind to ask for the Human Service Center’s address.

Fortunately it was easy to get to by bus, so I took the next one there. During which, I never heard back from Bill. The receptionist asked if I’d been told to come down there. I said No, then told about all the calls I’d made. By that time I was feeling terrible–which I also told her.

She asked me to wait–and soon Bill appeared. I told him about the depression (no chance to bring up the bipolar–he was so hurried) and how it had gotten so bad I knew I needed meds for it. He said the first opening for an appointment would be at 12:30 Feb. 29th, after which I told him about my clinic appointment for that day. So he said I should keep that and if they thought I needed help they’d refer me to the Human Service Center. He did mention that I could talk to someone in Emergency Response Services if I wanted to.

So I did. Bad idea. Because the person I talked to was an extremely clueless jerk with an artificial arm named Ed. (The jerk–not the arm!) Now, I know it must seem politically incorrect for me to mention his arm–but believe me, I would never have brought it up, had I been able to get the help I need. For if he knew what he was doing, this would not have made a difference. But for a reason I’m bringing up below, I’m mentioning it.

And Ed is the actual first name he gave, me, folks–I only wish I also knew his last name because this asshole deserves all the bad publicity he can get. I’m singling him out for criticism because he’s the only person there I dealt with at length.

I told Ed everything–about my depression/bipolar, which I’d had for years, that in the last couple of years had steadily gotten bad enough for me to need meds, how this had affected my job and I now need to apply for disability. He asked me a few questions like if I was having trouble sleeping, which I have been. And I showed him the symptom checklist I’d filled out.

Ed told me in effect that the Human Service Center has no interest in helping someone like me–who has no history of mental health treatment. This in spite of the fact that I had been crying and had told not only him but Bill and others there that I desperately need treatment including meds. He said the Human Service Center is only interested in helping what it calls a “target population” of people who’ve already had mental health problems and been getting treatment for them.

He also wouldn’t give me any info about applying for disability, saying people can only get that when there was a history of being disabled. (He was wrong–I just read in a book on bipolar yesterday that you can get disability if you’ve either had a disability for a year or more, or have a disability that’s expected to last for a year or more–which depression or bipolar would.) I had no chance to tell him that due to low energy I don’t feel up to the effort and the stress of looking for a new job.

And at any rate–suppose I was being properly treated with the combination of meds (once those that would be effective for me were found) and counseling I need to be getting? Perhaps I’d feel well enough to seek employment and work. But until this happens, I don’t know.

More about Ed–I wonder what his qualifications are and how he got hired (affirmative action because of the arm, maybe?), because of the obvious disconnect between the way I’ve been feeling and what I know I suffer from and the meds and other help I both need and deserve. And what he thought I’m going through and his not thinking I need help.

For a while I had the surreal feeling of being in a commercial, in which Ed would come out and say, “I’m no counselor–but I did spend the night at a Holiday Inn Express.” Or, “I’m not a counselor–but I play one on TV.” Or, “We can’t help you–but I’ve got some good news–I just saved a bundle on car insurance by switching to Geico!”

In short–Ed is incompetent at dealing with people who really need help for their mental problems and are reaching out for it. He’s to people like me what FEMA’s Michael Brown was to the people of New Orleans and the Mississippi Gulf Coast. Heckuva job, Eddie!

And, considering how they feel about mental health care, I wouldn’t be surprised if Ed were somehow involved with the Church of Scientology or some other anti-medication cult. Because here’s where I imagine Ed and Tom Cruise would see eye-to-eye: he said doctors are often too quick to prescribe medications. Perhaps in some cases this is true–but it wouldn’t be in my case.

Ed also gave me a new Emergency Response Services number to call if I ever needed to call a hotline–but I don’t think I’ll call that one. I’d probably get someone’s voice mail. He also suggested that I ask the clinic I’d made the appointment at to move the appointment up–which they weren’t able to.

Then Ed, after I’d told him I enjoyed being online, suggested that I “journal”–which I told him I’ve been doing, in the sense of blogging. In fact, one of the more clueless things Ed said was that he thought I was sad Monday because the library was closed that day and I couldn’t get online and was missing my support network!

So I told Ed I would be blogging–because little did he know I was way ahead of him. Unknown to him, I was already mentally going over what I was going to say in my diary about this experience incluuding Ed–which I’d been planning to diary on, whether I got help out of my quest for help or not. So others could learn from my experience.

And little does Ed know he’s going to get his 15 minutes of fame out of this diary! I mean, you can’t make this stuff up! The only good thing about my session with Ed, aside from material for this diary, was that it was free–so all I wasted was my time.

Lastly about Ed and Bill, the intake guy–I also wonder how big a role sexism played in the way they gave me the shaft. I wonder if both just saw me as a complaining, whining, neurotic woman who wanted attention. They just patronized me and treated me as if what I’m going through was no big deal. How seriously would they have treated what I had to say and the problems I was struggling with, had I been bearing a penis and balls? And explained the fact that I hadn’t sought treatment for so long because I’d manfully been fighting to deal with my problems on my own? Had I been a man, I imagine they would have been far more helpful–even if they were unable to help me, they probably would have given me places I could go for what I needed.

Where does one go if she suspects she’s been subjected to sex discrimination or disability discrimination (I also wonder if I hadn’t been taken seriously because of my speech disablilty), anyway? And above all, do I have to kill myself so they’ll help me?

Ed and everybody else at the Human Service Center should get out of the business or at least reform as an agency prepared to help people who realize that they’re afflicted with major mental problems that have been adversely beeh affecting their lives and are reaching out for help for the first time. If there were any justice in the world, Ed would be fired and have to go without health insurance–then start suffering from depression, etc. the way I have and be denied help by the Human Service Center.

I mean, what good is the Human Service Center if they won’t even help people who due to lack of insurance or whatever reason have been forced to let mental problems go untreated. Aren’t they even aware that this could be when such people most need help because their problems have gotten worse due to lack of treatment? And don’t they know that when people’s mental ills go untreated, more often than not, they’ll get worse?

Here’s something I need help with: I’m planning to crosspost this on depressiontribe, Daily Kos and my blog–but does anybody know of any mental health care consumer blogs (or health care consumer blogs in general) where consumers can post their bad experiences getting or trying to get mental health care? Or other website/blogs for people with depression, etc., who might benefit from reading about my experience? I think the word about how unhelpful Ed and the Human Service Center have been in my situation needs to get out in order to alert others.

And I’ve an idea: Here’s the phone number for the Human Service Center. (309)671-8000. If this sort of thing bothers you, call them and tell them that they’re very wrong to be rejecting people seeking mental health treatment who haven’t already been getting this treatment. Maybe if they’re flooded with irate phone calls on this topic, someone there will listen.  

Feb 21 2008

Green Goodness

Hey all welcome to your weekly dose of green positivity!!!

Enjoy the articles.

Cleaner water through nanotech

Could tiny particles added to  water sources help solve one of the world’s biggest problems?

Coated silica particles filter out toxins, pathogens

Tiny particles of pure silica coated with an active material could be used to remove toxic chemicals, bacteria, viruses, and other hazardous materials from water much more effectively and at lower cost than conventional water purification methods, according to researchers writing in the current issue of the International Journal of Nanotechnology.

We can hope the fisherman listen to this guy BEFORE they kill otters.

Despite of this potential conflict, Kai Chan of the University of British Columbia believes there is a way to ensure Canadian First Nations fishers can benefit from the otters’ presence.

“Efforts to restore wildlife populations should not be played out in a win-lose framework that pits conservation against the economic interests of the local people,” observes Chan, who spoke at the American Association for the Advancement of Science Annual Conference in Boston (February 14 to 18).

GO MOMS!!

Moms have always been the most “eco” people on the planet. Now, they’re forming networks to help support each other’s efforts to “go green” in ways that are actually bring more women into the environmental movement.

A recent story in the New York Times focused on the work the EcoMom Alliance is doing to build a membership base of mothers who are looking, not for the answers to “why” as much as the answers to “how”? Through their workshops, houseparties and web outreach, they’ve helped educate 9,000 moms about ways they can reduce the size of their environmental footprint and help protect themselves and their kids from environmental threats.

Britain looking into huge offshore wind farms.

British Gas parent company Centrica said on Thursday it was evaluating a potential multi-billion pound increase in investment in renewable energy, largely targeted at offshore turbines.

The move would help Britain achieve ambitious goals of producing 33 gigawatts of electricity from offshore wind by 2020, enough to power every UK home, at an overall cost of around 70 billion pounds ($136 billion).

African Development Bank saves some forests.

The African Development Bank (AfDB) will provide $814 million over the next two years to help safeguard Central African forests threatened by war, poverty and poor governance, the bank said on Thursday.

Bank President Donald Kaberuka told reporters the money would go to 13 projects aimed at improving the management of natural resources in 2008-2010 in the Congo Basin, home to 37 percent of the world’s remaining tropical forests.

“Forests (in the Congo Basin) have an important economic and climatic role … Unfortunately, these forests are threatened mainly by poverty, governance crises and conflicts,” he said.

The bank previously provided a total of $2.7 billion to Central African states to improve farming and protect forests.

Not good green news but interesting. China finds new dinosaur

BEIJING (Reuters) – Scientists have found the fossil of a new herbivorous dinosaur species that stood five meters (5.5 yards) high and lived 60 million years ago, the official Xinhua agency reported on Thursday.

The large long-necked sauropod, which was found in Eastern Zhejiang province and has not yet been named, was around 15 meters long, the report quoted a museum curator as saying.

In 1977, a 22-meter-long dinosaur was unearthed in the same province, and last year scientists announced they had identified another fossil found there as a new species.

China makes regular finds of rare fossils, which are sometimes smuggled out of the country to be sold for large sums.

WOO HOO, one illegal animal parts trading ring down!

Key members of a smuggling ring trading tiger skins and bear parts into China will face trial in March after a 6 month operation in which WWF and TRAFFIC provided technical assistance to customs, police and navy officials in the Russian far east.

About 900 paws of brown and black bears, 4 tiger skins, more than 60 kilos of tiger bones and 531 saiga horns, valued at more than $US 200,000 were seized in three joint seizures by customs, police and navy services.

Go send some money to WWF and TRAFFIC if you can…

Gorillas bring countries together.

“For the first time, the three countries have decided to protect the great apes which are threatened with extinction and insecurity in the region,” Moses Mapesa, the head of the Uganda Wildlife Authority (UWA), told a news conference in Kampala.

His Rwandan counterpart, Rosette Rugamba, said gorilla numbers were at risk from poaching, encroachment by humans and insecurity. Eastern Congo is a hotbed of militia groups, some of which have been accused of hunting mountain gorillas.

“The 10-year trans-boundary strategic plan will identify groups and communities which affect the life in the Virunga area and directly address encroachment and poaching,” she said.

The first four years of the plan, costing 4.1 million euro ($6.03 million), is being funded by the Dutch government.

Earth Hour: Pass the info around.

As many as 30 million people are tipped to switch off lights and televisions around the world to help fight climate change with 24 cities joining Earth Hour on March 29, environment group WWF said on Wednesday.

Following last year’s Earth Hour in Australia, where 2.2 million Sydneysiders powered-down for an hour, cities including Atlanta, San Francisco, Bangkok, Ottawa, Dublin, Vancouver, Montreal and Phoenix have also signed on, WWF said.

They joined Copenhagen and Aarhus, Manila, Fiji’s capital Suva, Chicago, Tel Aviv, Christchurch, Toronto, Odense and Aalborg, as well as major Australian cities including Melbourne, Perth, Brisbane and the national capital Canberra.

It’s about damn time!

At a press event meant to highlight LA’s renewed focus on clean energy – carefully staged with a row of solar panels as the backdrop – Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa and several state officials, including Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, announced a solar initiative that would create up to 400 green jobs over the next 3 years to install and maintain solar panels on buildings around the city.

Claiming that, “Clean energy is not a luxury; it’s a necessity,” he went on to broadly outline the plan’s structure, to be carried out by the city’s Department of Water and Power – at a cost of $270 million through 2017 – as one component of a jobs strategy meant to generate 100,000 living-wage positions. The DWP, which currently produces 10.5 MW of solar energy, is working to comply with a new state law requiring retail energy suppliers to increase their solar output – in this case, to 280 MW – by installing solar panels throughout the city.

Ok this is just cool…for all you booklovers out there.

TreeHugger loves stairs as bookshelves and as storage as a way if getting more stuff into less space, but we have never imagined one like this, designed by Tim Sloan of Levitate Achitects. It is an alternating step design that rises twice as steeply as conventional stairs, turned into an extraordinary library. The architect told Kristin Hohenadel at Apartment Therapy:

Go look at the pics…I want one.

So how embarrasing to us will it be when China becomes more environmentally advanced then we are?

In preparation for the upcoming Beijing Olympics – its unofficial coming out party to the world (and its chance to prove its eco-progressive, technological chops) – China has announced its intention to invest heavily in nanotechnology. At least that was the message conveyed to Richard Applebaum and Rachel Parker of UCBS’s Center for Nanotechnology in Society, who conducted 60 interviews with Chinese officials about the state of nanotechnology.

Reporting from the AAAS meeting, Wired Science’s Alexis Madrigal noted that Chinese scientists plan on “leapfrogging” the U.S. and EU countries through technology transfer and by upping domestic research capacity, or “indigenous innovation” (what they call zizhu chuangxin).

One prevalent nanotechnology application the scientists highlighted – which Tim wrote about a few years ago – was the use of a nanopolymer coating in parking lots to absorb exhaust. Madrigal compared the technology to the one used by V-REMS (Virginia’s Regional Environmental Management System), which is described in the following terms:

– Photocatalytic TiO2 cement building materials and coverings may absorb and eliminate from 20% to 80% of air pollutants.

– TiO2 is commonly used to cover surfaces that are difficult to clean by hand. The TiO2 covering functions as a self cleaning chemical to keep the surface free of accumulating air pollution.

Or, as Tim put it earlier:

“This particular multi-functional material is created by applying a titanium dioxide coating on concrete. The reaction with Titanium Dioxide works through adding sunlight. Titanium dioxide has the ability to absorb UV light (why it is used in sun-block lotions); this capture of UV radiation then enables a catalytic reaction to take place which destroys common pollutants from vehicle emissions that happen to touch the surface of the titanium dioxide

Hmmm with some of that money we are wasting in Iraq we could coat our parking lots and streets with this. Oh wait that would make sense.

Brazilian Pulp Paper Co showing the world how to be sustainable.

or five years ORSA, one of the largest integrated paper and corrugated cardboard box producers in Brazil, has managed the world’s largest private tropical forest, where the company harvests only 30 cubic metres (12,713 board feet) of timber per hectare (2.47 acres) every 30 years, just below the natural regeneration rate. Trees are felled and transported to reduce them impact on the forest and are recorded in a computerized inventory.

The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the international industry watchdog, certifies and inspects the project every six months. Roughly 80 percent of the 1.7-million-hectare (4.2-million-acre) property is standing forest and one-third is managed and FSC certified.

British Columbia, Canada to start new carbon tax, aka an economic incentive that actually works

he carbon tax will start on July 1 at a rate based on C$10 per tonne of carbon emissions and rise C$5 a year to C$30 per tonne by 2012. It works out to an extra 2.4 cents on a liter of gasoline, rising to 7.24 cents per liter of gasoline by 2012. The carbon tax on diesel and home heating oil will start at 2.7 cents per liter and increase to 8.2 cents per liter over the same five-year period. But the beautiful part is that the money, “C$1.8-billion over three years, will be returned to taxpayers through personal income tax and business tax cuts.” This makes putting a price on carbon politically acceptable, and it leaves people with more of their hard-earned cash to switch to low-carbon technologies.

British Columbia has a goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 33 per cent by 2020, and this should help it reach that goal

Get a visual on CA’s solar history This actually makes you feel like SOME progress is being made.

Total Installs: 30,079  Total KW: 131,801.94  KW/Install: 4.38  Kilotons of Carbon Saved: 573.48

Solar balloons anyone?

CoolEarth, a company we’ve briefly covered before, has created an innovative way to harness the sun’s energy. Instead of large expensive solar panels or costly concentrating mirrors, the company is using balloons made of metalized plastic films. Half of the balloon is transparent, letting the light in to be concentrated into a small high-efficiency solar panel by the concave interior. Each is 2 meters across and, depending on the source, estimates vary from 500 watt to 1 kilowatt. They are supported by cables, leaving the ground below clear and limiting environmental impact.

The company has just raised $21 million, and it says that “this is just the initial closing of the round, [it could be extended] over the next 60 days.” The company closed a $1 million round of angel investing last June. Read on for more photos and details.

 

Feb 21 2008

News From America!

It’s Thursday, and that means it is time to review the news from that cute little  heavily nuclear armed and aggressive country that lies on your map between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans!

Photobucket

Those adorable characters have certainly been busy! And speaking of Getting Busy, we simply must start off with John McCain and his lobbyist ‘friend.’ (A big wink of the all seeing eye!) As usual, those wacky Americans are in all in a tizzy and a buzz over, sex…..as if it was somehow shocking that an attractive lobbyist would seek career advancement and that a horny old goat would succumb to her charms! (was that TOO catty?) Human Nature and the birds and the bees at its best, it makes the world go round. And if the Senator who prides himself on his ethical behavior (ever since he was implicated in a billion dollar banking scandal that is!) happened to do a few favors for her…well, who can blame him! We have seen this Hollywood script before….oh wait! Our editor has just informed us that Senator McCain is the de facto Republican (an American political party….and come to think of it, weren’t they the ones who were in a uproar over “family values” just a while back? Heavens!) nominee for their presidency! We cannot help but wonder if these “shocking” developments will cause the Senator to withdraw from the race…what merry chaos would ensue!

In other news from the land of Big Macs and torture….

In a somehow related story, those oh-so machismo Americans used one of their Big Guns (titter) to blow up one of their spy satellites…at a cost in development and deployment of only 30 years and simply hundreds of BILLIONS and BILLIONS of dollars! How precious those little boys playing with their toys are! We are of course all waiting to see who they will bomb or invade next, those lovable scoundrels!

The Brits have had to apologize…yes the Brits! Not the Americans….have apologized for being foolish enough to have taken those America scamps at their word, when they said they were not using British soil for rendition flights.Fortunately, those same Americas who lied to them about the flights in the first place have now given their COMPLETE assurances that the occupants of these jolly holiday flights were not tortured… and that it was all quite legal and that they could show them documents that they had had written that say so! I believe the words…”pinkie swear”….were used. No wonder the Brits were deceived by those clever Americans. Certainly not even they would violate the sanctity and trust of a pinkie swear! But it looks like because of those antiquated values of ‘human decency’ and ‘The Rule of Law’ and such poppycock, it is an embarrassment to the Brits that they assisted in torture. There could even be consequences, oh my, for the blatant illegality of the whole mess! Fortunately the Americas are beyond the capacity for shame for actually engaging in torture, so we will be spared any unpleasant trials and such like.

Oh! And even though those Americans rascals have decided to have some nice trials for those Gitmo folks…you remember them!….they have decided, wisely I am sure (oh my!) before the trials that it would be embarrassing to actually acquit anyone! Wat til you read this! American logic at its pinnacle!


“I said to him that if we come up short and there are some acquittals in our cases, it will at least validate the process,” Davis continued. “At which point, [Haynes’s] eyes got wide and he said, ‘Wait a minute, we can’t have acquittals. If we’ve been holding these guys for so long, how can we explain letting them get off? We can’t have acquittals, we’ve got to have convictions.'”

I’m afraid this reporter simply cannot take anymore. They are after all simply adorable in small doses, but like chocolate, if you take too much you will simply be sick….so ta ta for now, children!

Feb 21 2008

Pony Party…. Rain


This is the springtime of my loving – the second season I am to know

You are the sunlight in my growing – so little warmth I’ve felt before.

It isn’t hard to feel me glowing – I watched the fire that grew so low.

It is the summer of my smiles – flee from me Keepers of the Gloom.

Speak to me only with your eyes. It is to you I give this tune.

Ain’t so hard to recognize – These things are clear to all from

time to time.

Talk Talk – I’ve felt the coldness of my winter

I never thought it would ever go. I cursed the gloom that set upon us…

But I know that I love you so

These are the seasons of emotion and like the winds they rise and fall

This is the wonder of devotion – I see the torch we all must hold.

This is the mystery of the quotient – Upon us all a little rain must fall.


Thanks for stopping in, so glad you’re here …. (yes, YOU!)

Feel free to chatter below…

or stroll over to the Recent or Rec’d list…

there are many fine offerings today

O &… Please don’t rec the pony party, another will trot up in a few hours.

(^.^)

Feb 21 2008

Focus, people. “It’s the credibility, stupid”

( – promoted by buhdydharma )

No, I’m not calling you stupid.

But there will be a lot of different permutations and lots of spin coming from this story which seems to have fallen from above and into our laps.  And there will be a lot of attempts to detract from the various pieces (sex scandal, lobbyist favors, etc.) and focus on “the NY Times is lying” or other things that are not really the meat of this story.

And yes, there are already different angles here, but this is the general way that the “counter attack” will be played out.  Don’t address the issue, attack the messenger.  Classic ad hominem attack and was used to bury the Bush National Guard story by making it about CBS and Dan Rather instead of actually addressing the substance of the story.

Mark my words – this will be used by McCain and his camp, if it already hasn’t started.  And the ONLY response is to shoot down the ad hominem attack and focus on the real story – the story of John McCain’s lack of credibility and believability.

The New York Times is not the story here.  Hell, the “sex” part is even tangential to this story, but it will keep it in the media.  It is John McCain and his credibility that is the story.  

Mr. “straight talk” denies that his aides ever intervened in this relationship.  His aides state unequivocally that they did intervene.  He says that he “never did a favor for a lobbyist or a special interest”.  Besides the very obvious Charles Keating, there is the curious case of Paxson Communications, which raised questions from the FCC Chairman:

The stories also allege that McCain wrote letters and pushed legislation involving television station ownership that would have benefited Iseman’s clients.

In late 1999, McCain twice wrote letters to the Federal Communications Commission on behalf of Florida-based Paxson Communications – which had paid Iseman as its lobbyist – urging quick consideration of a proposal to buy a television station license in Pittsburgh. At the time, Paxson’s chief executive, Lowell W. “Bud” Paxson, also was a major contributor to McCain’s 2000 presidential campaign.

McCain did not urge the FCC commissioners to approve the proposal, but he asked for speedy consideration of the deal, which was pending from two years earlier. In an unusual response, then-FCC Chairman William Kennard complained that McCain’s request “comes at a sensitive time in the deliberative process” and “could have procedural and substantive impacts on the commission’s deliberations and, thus, on the due process rights of the parties.”

McCain wrote the letters after he received more than $20,000 in contributions from Paxson executives and lobbyists. Paxson also lent McCain his company’s jet at least four times during 1999 for campaign travel.

I know that this is potentially a very tasty story.  But in this early time in the story’s cycle, it is the time for us to set the narrative, as opposed to having the narrative set for us.  We should be going on and staying on offense.  This is a perfect time for keep Senator Hothead on his heels and get our “macaca moment”.

If he is portrayed as not credible and not likeable, then he is done.  The “100 years in Iraq”, the Katrina birthday cake picture, the Bush bear hug picture, the “bomb bomb bomb Iran” sing along – all of that will be more support as opposed to the foundation for taking McCain down.

We made the mistake in 2004 by not being aggressive enough on the Dan Rather pushback.  We can NOT afford to make the same mistake again now.  This is about McCain’s character.  It is about his judgment.  It is about his being believable.

It is NOT about the NY Times, whether he did have an affair or not – it is about his moral values and his bad decision making.  And if we push hard enough here, we may very well watch him explode and his campaign implode.

Eyes on the prize – we have been handed a colossal gift – let’s make the best use of it.  This is a story that is indicative of the type of person John McCain is.  It is an example of a bigger problem that is part of McCain’s core.

Let’s do everything we can to keep that as the story.  Not the New York Times and not even the sex allegations.

Feb 21 2008

Pony Party, Olympics, Politics, Spielberg

Before you tune me out with the ‘oh, that’s just 73v spouting off about sports again’ chorus…

Yahoo!Movies, as well as a plethora of actual news organizations are reporting that Steven Spielberg has withdrawn as the artistic director for the Opening and Closing Ceremonies of the 2008 Olympic Games  in Beijing.

From the linked Yahoo! article

Last week, the American director withdrew from his role as an artistic adviser to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Summer Games, accusing China of not doing enough to press for peace in the troubled Sudanese region.

Officially, the Chinese government has not directly criticized Spielberg by name, expressing only “regret” over his decision. But the state-run media and the public have been far less restrained.

Of course, the assumption is that the state-run media is being used as a P.R. tool by the Chinese government, handling the criticism while the ‘official’ statement only expresses ‘regret’.

[From the People’s Daily] “A certain Western director was very naive and made an unreasonable move toward the issue of the Beijing Olympics. This is perhaps because of his unique Hollywood characteristics,” it said.

Over the weekend, the Guangming Daily, also published by the Communist Party, ran an editorial saying Spielberg “broke his promise to make his contribution to the Beijing Olympics and betrayed the Olympic spirit.” (both quoted in the Yahoo!Movies article)

I also found this Taipei Times editorial very interesting.  From the editorial:

he New Zealand Olympic Committee added a clause to athlete contracts a while ago banning them from making political statements or demonstrating while in Beijing — whether protesting on their own or responding to questions from journalists. It reneged on that position yesterday, however, in a U-turn that opposition Green MP Keith Locke welcomed, saying it would give New Zealand athletes the right to speak freely about what they saw in China.

This development followed on the heels of the British Olympic Association backing down last week from plans to add their own clauses to athlete’s contracts limiting free speech.

Olymic athletes and Hollywood directors have and enviable (even if some find it undeserved) platform and audience to positively affect public opinion globally…to educate and expose.  My kudos to Mr. Spielberg for putting human rights and his principles first.  

~73v

Feb 21 2008

Congressional races round 2: Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware

Here’s part three of the second round of congressional races.  Earlier parts are here

Colorado has 7 representatives: 4 Democrats and 3 Republicans.  Filing deadline May 29, primary August 12

Connecticut has 5 representative, 4 Democrats and 1 Republican.  Filing deadline May 3, primary August 12

Delaware has 1 representative, a Republican.  Filing deadline July 25, primary Sept 9

District: CO-01

Location This oddly shaped district includes metro Denver, southern suburbs like Glendale, south to Sheridan and Cherry Hills Village, and northeast in a stair step pattern

Representative Diana DeGette (D)

First elected  1996

2006 margin 80-20 (against a Green)

2004 margin 73-25

Bush margin 2004 31-68

Notes on opponents Neither recent opponent had money.  DeGette has won easily since her first race

Current opponents None declared

Demographics 30% Latino (49th place)

Assessment Safe

District: CO-02

Location Boulder, and points west, in the Rockies.  Also the exurbs of Denver

Representative Mark Udall (D) retiring (to run for

Senate)

First elected  1998

2006 margin 68-28

2004 margin 67-30

Bush margin 2004 41-58

Notes on opponents Neither recent opponent raised more than $15,000

Current opponents There are three declared Democrats, and no Republicans (although some are considering it).  The declared:

1. Joan Fitz-Gerald

2. Will Shafroth

3. Jared Polis

All three look good, but, from their websites, Joan Fitz-Gerald looks the most progressive (to me).

Demographics Not unusual on what I track

Assessment This district is increasingly Democratic (Udall’s margin increased each time; Bush got less in 2004 than 2000) and with three good Democrats, it should stay blue

District: CO-03

Location Western Colorado (bordering UT), and east along the southern edge (bordering NM), includes Durango and Pueblo and Aspen

Representative John Salazar (D)

First elected  2004

2006 margin 62-37

2004 margin 51-47

Bush margin 2004 55-44

Notes on opponents Walcher, in 2004, raised $1.5 million, about the same as Salazar.  In 2006, Tipton raised almost a million, Salazar more than $2 million

Current opponents None declared

Demographics Relatively rural (39%, 95th place) few Blacks (0.7%, 23rd least) or Asians (0.5%, rank NA) but 21.5% Latino (69th most)

Assessment This is a Republican district, but Salazar, a moderate Democrat, seems safe.  It’d be nice to have a more progressive rep, but Salazar is better than McInnis was.

District: CO-04

Location Shaped like a backwards F, this is eastern CO (bordering KS and NE) and moves a bit west to Fort Collins (bordering WY) and the northwestern suburbs of Denver

Representative Marilyn Musgrave (R)

First elected  2002

2006 margin 46-43 (remainder Reform)

2004 margin 51-45

Bush margin 2004 58-41

Notes on opponents Angie Paccione, in 2006, raised almost $2 million to Musgrave’s $3.2 million;

Current opponents Betsey Markey

Demographics 23rd fewest Blacks (0.7%)

Assessment Musgrave was labeled “one of the most corrupt members of congress by Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington.  Not a lot of Republicans could lose in this district, but Musgrave is one of them

District: CO-05

Location Central CO, including Colorado Springs

Representative Doug Lamborn (R)

First elected  2006

2006 margin 60-40

2004 margin NA

Bush margin 2004 66-33

Notes on opponents Fawcett raised $600K to Lamborn’s $900K

Current opponents No declared Democrats, but there’s several Republicans going after Lamborn.

Demographics More veterans than all but 4 districts, and the 33rd most Republican district.

Assessment A long shot

District: CO-06

Location Exurbs of Denver, and a large area south and east of Denver

Representative Tom Tancredo (R)*retiring*

First elected  1998

2006 margin 59-40

2004 margin 59-39

Bush margin 2004 60-39

Notes on opponents Each recent opponent raised almost a million

Current opponents Mike Collins

Demographics One of the wealthiest districts (median income = $73K, 6th place, and fewest people in poverty of any district (2.7%)

Assessment No Republicans have declared, but this is a solidly Republican district.  

District: CO-07

Location More of suburban Denver, and a long strip eastward

Representative Ed Perlmutter (D)

First elected  2006

2006 margin 55-42

2004 margin NA

Bush margin 2004 48-51

Notes on opponents In 2006, Perlmutter and his opponent (Rick O’Donnell) raised almost $3 million each

Current opponents none declared

Demographics Not unusual in what I track

Assessment Of the Democrats in CO, this is probably the  least safe, but the Republicans don’t even have a declared candidate

District: CT-01

Location Shaped like a backwards C, including Hartford and suburbs, running north to tha border of MA, and looping south and then west to almost form a circle

Representative John Larson (D)

First elected  1998

2006 margin 74-26

2004 margin 73-27

Bush margin 2004 39-60

Notes on opponents Neither recent opponent raised money

Current opponents None declared

Demographics Not unusual on things I track

Assessment Safe

District: CT-02

Location Eastern CT, bordering RI, MA and Long Island Sound, including Storrs and New London

Representative Joe Courtney (D)

First elected  2006

2006 margin 83 votes

2004 margin NA

Bush margin 2004  44-54

Notes on opponents In 2006, Courtney knocked off Rob Simmons. Courtney had $2.5 million, Simmons over $3 million

Current opponents Sean Sullivan

Demographics 31st fewest people in poverty (5.8%)

Assessment Having beaten an incumbent, Courtney should have an easier time now, but this district is far from safe.

District: CT-03

Location New Haven and areas around it

Representative Rosa DeLauro

First elected  1990

2006 margin 76-22

2004 margin 72-25

Bush margin 2004 42-56

Notes on opponents neither recent opponent raised money

Current opponents None declared

Demographics Not unusual on what I track

Assessment Safe

District: CT-04

Location NYC suburbs – Stamford, Darien, Norwalk, Bridgeport, bordering NY and Long Island Sound

Representative Christopher Shays (R)

First elected  1987

2006 margin 51-48

2004 margin 52-48

Bush margin 2004 48-52

Notes on opponents In the 2006 race, Dianne Farrell raised almost $3 million, Shays, almost $4 million

Current opponents Jim Himes a former investment banker who then ran non-profits; others are considering it

Demographics 30th richest district (median income = $67K)

Assessment Shays has been close… will this be the year? Likely to be very close again

District: CT-05

Location Western CT, bordering NY and MA, but going inland to New Britain and Meriden

Representative Chris Murphy (D)

First elected  2006

2006 margin 54-44

2004 margin NA

Bush margin 2004 49-49

Notes on opponents In 2006, Murphy beat Nancy Johnson, the incumbent.  She raised $5 million (not a typo) he raised $2.5 million.

Current opponents David Capiello

Demographics Not unusual on what I track

Assessment Not quite safe, but probably OK; comments on dailyKos indicate Capiello has little money and not much chance

District: DE-AL

Location Delaware.  

Representative Mike Castle (R)

First elected  1992

2006 margin 57-39

2004 margin 69-30

Bush margin 2004 46-53

Notes on opponents Spivack, in 2006, raised $300K to Castle’s $1.1 million

Current opponents

1. Jerry Northington who blogs on daily Kos as possum.

2. Karen Hartley-Nagle

3. 3. Chris Bullock

Demographics Not unusual on what I track

Assessment Castle used to win more easily, and he’s getting older, and has been ill, and Delaware is more and more Democratic…. we have a shot!

Feb 21 2008

Chicken Little As Red Herring

You’re waking up to the exciting news that a falling satellite has been shot out of the sky, thus preventing a potentially dangerous crash landing, with a potentially dangerous release of toxic gas. The Pentagon is proudly showing off the video. On television, it will likely be the most played clip of the day. You can expect much hyperventilated cheerleading from the usual professional hairpieces. But there’s one aspect to the story that I don’t expect the TV news to cover. It’s tucked in this New York Times report:

Completing a mission in which an interceptor designed for missile defense was used for the first time to attack a satellite, the Lake Erie, an Aegis-class cruiser, fired a single missile just before 10:30 p.m. Eastern time, and the missile hit the satellite as it traveled at more than 17,000 miles per hour, the Pentagon said in its official announcement.

It almost sounds good. As if the most expensive weapons system in human history was finally being put to positive use. But what if that was the purpose, all along? Two days ago, the science journal Nature had this:

A plan by the US government to shoot down an out-of-control spy satellite has been described as a cynical tit-for-tat move in response to China doing the same last year. Scientists and arms-control experts fear that the operation will create damaging debris and weaken international efforts to ban space weaponry.

On 14 February, officials from the Pentagon, White House and NASA announced plans to use a ship-based missile to strike the satellite as it passes roughly 240 kilometres overhead. The satellite, which belongs to the National Reconnaissance Office in Virginia, dropped out of control after its launch in December 2006, and would re-enter Earth’s atmosphere around early March if no action were taken.

The strike is necessary to prevent the dispersal of around 450 kilograms of hazardous hydrazine thruster fuel onboard, according to James Jeffrey, assistant to the president and deputy national security adviser. If the fuel survived re-entry, it could be dispersed over an area of roughly 20,000 square metres, although “the likelihood of the satellite falling in a populated area is small,” he says. “Nevertheless, if the satellite did fall in a populated area, there was the possibility of death or injury to human beings.” The Pentagon denies that the shoot-down is to protect classified technologies on the satellite.

But scientists familiar with both satellite re-entry and the US missile defence system question the decision. The chances that the tank, which is 1 metre in diameter, will survive and strike land are extremely small, says Geoffrey Forden, a physicist at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge. “Most likely it will land in the ocean,” he says. The reasons given for the plan “don’t sound too credible to me”, he adds. “I think they’re doing it mainly to tell the Chinese that we can blow up a satellite too,” says Jonathan McDowell, an astronomer at the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics in Cambridge, Massachusetts. “This gives the US cover to carry out a test.”

And I’m guessing that the corporate media will do their job to ensure that such cover is provided.

Feb 21 2008

Freedom Rider: Democrats Target Kucinich for Defeat w/poll