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Take two Our Fathers and see me in the morning

Sunday, December 6, 2009

In an oddly named article (To a Divisive Debate, Now Add Religion ) the Times relates that the Christian Scientists have now gotten into the act on health care.

I say the article is oddly named, because of I’m not mistaken, religion has been dividing the debate on health care for months now, with the Catholic Church leading the way by demanding that its dogma be enshrined in law.

The Christian Scientists, at least, are not demanding that we do so with theirs, only that we encourage insurance companies to pay for wholly worthless “medical” treatment, that is, prayer. This would, at first blush, appear to contradict the act’s emphasis on evidence based health care. It would also appear to contradict it at the second blush, not to mention all the other blushes that come after.

Believe it or not, the power of prayer has actually been studied, so we have empirical evidence that it doesn’t work:

In the largest study of its kind, researchers found that having people pray for heart bypass surgery patients had no effect on their recovery. In fact, patients who knew they were being prayed for had a slightly higher rate of complications.

But the Christian Scientists soldier on. (Was ever a moniker more misleading? This is a group whose members let their children die, rather than give them medical treatment. Sounds neither Christian nor scientific to me.)

Needless to say, this nonsense has strong Congressional backing. Even Ted Kennedy supported it while he was with us, proving once again that no one is infallible on any issue. The miracle is that the Christian Scientists are probably not going to get their way and the rest of us, may not in the end have to subsidize the rantings of Christian witch doctors.


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It begins-the Christmas Season, that is

Sunday, December 6, 2009

Some months ago my wife and I signed up for a bus trip to New York sponsored by the Groton Rec Department, which trip occurred yesterday. The fates decreed that the 5th of December should be a miserable day. To rub it in, it was sandwiched between two glorious fall days. Such is life.

We made the best of it. Herewith a few pictures, none of which are that good, but I feel obliged to post some, for my cherished little Panasonic DLC-LX3 gave the last full measure of devotion, as it chose to expire as we sat in a wine bar, wet and dripping, at the end of the day. Whether from the wet (from which I made every attempt to shelter it) or some other cause, its life is ended. Push any button, and it does not respond. It was a camera, take it for all in all, I shall not look upon its like again Unless, that is, like the ghost of Hamlet’s father, it returns from its grave, of which I have some hope. Tomorrow it embarks on a trip to a camera repair outfit in Enfield, from which I trust it shall return resurrected.

Actually, it did not give the last full measure, as it expired before I got a chance to take a night time picture of the fabled Rockefeller Center Christmas tree, seen here in daytime less-than-splendour.

Being a huge chocolate fan, I was intrigued by the large numbers of folks carrying M&M shopping bags. Where there are such bags, there are no doubt, M&Ms, a fact to which sign gave further proof.

However, even I am not crazy enough to wait in line just to enter a store to buy M&Ms (and other assorted Hershey products), but much to my surprise lots of people were. The line stretched quite a ways, which just proves the power of marketing. Tourists go all the way to NYC and then stand in line to buy things they can probably buy at the local drug store.

One nice thing about rain, only partly redeeming its camera destroying qualities, is the reflections it creates on the streets, illustrated in the next two pictures.

We did survive, no mean feat considering the mobs of umbrella wielding people.

One last picture, in the spirit of the season.

By the way, for the photographers among you, I highly recommend Lightzone, which I got bundled with my DVD burning software. It does a great job on processing Raw pictures taken in low light, requiring a minimum of thought on the part of the photographer. Witness the pictures above, which have pretty good dynamic range, no thanks to me or the original output of my late, lamented camera.


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Friday Night Music-Layla

Friday, December 4, 2009

Various incarnations, with one necessary common element. Take your pick, or watch several. Just a great song.

Derek and the Dominos

Acoustic with Mark Knopfler

2008 concert version

Jazz version


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They can dish it out, but they can’t take it

Thursday, December 3, 2009

The Republicans are still whining about the fact that mean old Al Franken made them vote in favor of rapists a few months back.

This from the party that has made a habit out of proposing resolutions designed solely to force Democrats to cast votes that can be easily misrepresented (or, to be fair, that force the Democrats to act like the cowards they are). Recall the vote to condemn Moveon. These types of votes have been the Republican’s stock in trade for years. Franken’s amendment at least had a legitimate legislative purpose, the Republicans’ resolutions typically have no legislative effect; they are designed purely to embarrass their opponents.

Like most bullies, the Republicans can’t take it when someone stands up to them, or subjects them to their own tactics. There’s a lesson here, which will of course be lost on folks like Harry Reid.


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Thought for the Day

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

Would you buy a used war from these men?


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Another Fun Fact about Health Care

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Those opposing health care are always telling us we have the best health care in the world, but, aside from your occasional Shah, how many people exile themselves from their native land to get the benefits of that system?

Just another example of the Daily Show being more incisive than what passes for television journalism in this age.


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Don’t forget

Monday, November 30, 2009

A reminder.

Ned Lamont will be coming to Southeast Connecticut. If you are interested in meeting Ned and hearing his views on state issues (he’s exploring, as they say), here’s your opportunity. He will be at the home of Camille and Nick Burlingham, 9 High Ridge Drive, in Pawcatuck on Dec 7th, from 6 PM until 8.


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The Way it Is

Monday, November 30, 2009

Mike Huckabee personally pardoned a guy with a long and violent criminal history who, if police suspicions turn out to be true, just killed four cops. Mike Dukakis was governor of a state whose parole board released a man, a fact of which Dukakis was probably unaware, who then went on to commit murder. Dukakis was attacked unmercifully, and the press picked up on the story, to the point where he was asked a question during a debate that presupposed that he had no sympathy for the victims of crime (he blew the answer, of course). What are the odds that this story will dog Huckabee? Not great, given that this is at least the second guy he pardoned (the first story is even worse, given Huckabee’s motivations) that went on to commit murder.

Bill Clinton was roundly criticized for grounding an airplane in order to get an expensive haircut. The fact that the story was untrue made no difference. We never heard the end of John Edwards’ $500.00 haircut, and we never heard the beginning of how much Willard Romney pays for his. Nor will the fact that Sarah Palin is doing her bus tour from the comfort of a private plane make a dent in the national conversation, any more than has her shameful use of her child as a stage prop.

There’s a bit of a pattern here. Can you spot it? It’s just the way it is.


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Glass Houses

Monday, November 30, 2009

The citizens of Switzerland just voted to bar the erection of minarets in their country. The Muslim world is in a bit of an uproar about it.

I’ll grant you it’s a trifle xenophobic. Well, more than a trifle. Still, it’s hard to see how the Muslims can complain, when there are Muslim countries that impose the death penalty on apostates and generally make life miserable for those that don’t share their faith. Banning buildings, as unjustified as that might be, is weak beer in comparison. It’s an odd thing that, other than the Quakers, those who experience religious persecution are capable of seeing the injustice in it, until they gain enough power to do the persecuting themselves.


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The Price of Timidity

Sunday, November 29, 2009

Or maybe it’s the price of deception.

According to a new Daily Kos poll, the Democrats are still ahead in generic polling. The problem is that very few of them intend to show up at the polls in November, as compared to Republicans and Independents, both of whom intend to show up in droves.

This is what happens when you run on a campaign of “hope” and then dash those hopes at every opportunity. If there’s a Democratic constituency Obama has not disappointed, I’m not aware of it. Add to that the milquetoast Harry Reid (“It takes 60 votes to pass anything in the Senate” and I don’t intend to make it difficult for the obstructionists) and a party that’s still in a defensive crouch from it’s wilderness years (you can count the number of Senators who are unabashed supporters of their own party’s platform on one hand), and it’s no wonder that Democrats are planning to sit next year out. In what other way can they express their displeasure?

Besides being incapable of delivering for their own, the Democrats are incapable of framing the debate. Whenever someone actually comes up with a way of making the Republicans look bad, someone steps up to make sure it doesn’t happen:

On the eve of the President announcing his war strategy in Afghanistan, critics of the policy have used the cost as a primary reason for their opposition. They could have used the argument that our presence in Afghanistan does nothing for our national security, fuels the insurgency and props up a corrupt government that inflames the local population, leading to no good outcomes whatsoever, but they went with cost. And David Obey put together a plan in the House to pay for the war through a graduated tax, the argument being that sacrifice must be shared and those cheerleading for more war should at least contribute something to it.

This has touched off a major debate inside the Republican Party, forking them between the war fever and the anti-tax fervor of their base. This was in full display on the Sunday morning shows, with Republicans from various wings of the party clashing over the concept of a war surtax. Richard Lugar (R-IN) called it a worthwhile notion on CNN, while Lindsey Graham (R-SC) on ABC called for cuts in domestic spending to pay for the war, the expected position for proponents of limited government and unlimited war.

But then there’s this:

The chairman of the Armed Services Committee backed off his support for a war tax today, saying the state of the economy prevents any tax increases.

“Well in the middle of a recession we’re probably not going to be able to increase taxes,” [Carl] Levin told CBS’s Face the Nation.

Levin still supports the idea of a surtax, but says it “should have happened some time ago.”

Good dog, Carl. Nothing like combining bad public policy with a tin ear for politics. How did these people get elected in the first place?

Only the Democrats could deliver this country into the hands of a right wing rump minority. If they do lose big time next November, the conventional wisdom will be that the country has turned to the right-the low turnout will be ignored. If these findings hold up, by the way, Chris Dodd can kiss his Senate seat good-bye.


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