Doom and Destruction of Biblical Proportions?

H/T to DistributorCap for pointing out that the verse in Revelation 8:8-9 is eerily similar to the idea of a huge oil rig blowing up, catching fire, and spewing oil into the ocean.



8 The second angel blew his trumpet, and something like a great mountain, burning with fire, was thrown into the sea, and a third of the sea became blood. 9 A third of the living creatures in the sea died, and a third of the ships were destroyed.

As you know, I am not a particularly religious person, but even if the Bible is not true, then it is still a strange coincidence and quite chilling.

And the next verse is even worse - look out for a falling meteor or nuclear bomb or something hitting the earth next:

8:10 And the third angel sounded, and there fell from heaven a great star, burning as a torch, and it fell upon the third part of the rivers, and upon the fountains of the waters; 8:11 And the name of the star is called Wormwood: and the third part of the waters became wormwood; and many men died of the waters, because they were made bitter.

Let's hope this doesn't happen next. But the way things are going, who can tell?

Please go read DCap's post - he really sums up the whole horrible situation very eloquently - and scathingly. If we don't pay attention this time, our world may very well be doomed.

She's Not Dead Yet!

Monty Python's classic "Bring Out Your Dead" clip pretty much describes how my day at the hospital nearly went.

My mother had a bad setback two days ago. As many of you know, she was rehospitalized a week ago with dehydration and high potassium but she had been making progress, was eating about as well as she usually does, and was doing OK using a Bi-Pap machine to help her breathe except when she was eating, since it involves a mask over her face.

So I had gone to the hospital around suppertime since that was when I could talk to her without her wearing the mask, plus I could help her eat. So there I was, trying to be the ever-helpful daughter, and coaxing her to eat and drink more. She was having a little trouble with choking a bit on her food and said she didn't want anymore, so I encouraged her to have a sip of milk. She sipped it and at first she seemed fine but then started to cough. Not a big deal for anyone who has something go down the wrong way, but because of her weak lungs she was having trouble getting it out. I asked someone to get the nurse, thinking perhaps she needed some suction or something to help her, when suddenly she just flopped over.

After I tried to wake her up I went and got the nurse, who came in and checked her pulse and found there was none. In a split second I had to decide whether to have her revived or not, and since I felt responsible for the whole thing, decided to have her receive a full "code." I was kind of crowded into the back of the room so I just sat there calmly while all this went on around me, as if I were an extra in an "ER" episode playing the part of the concerned family member. (No, they didn't need to use the paddles or yell "Clear!" so apparently it wasn't that hard to bring her back with some CPR and epinephrine.)

Naturally she was entubated to be able to keep oxygen going to her brain during all of this, so they took her back to the ICU and put her on a ventilator. She woke up and was aware of her surroundings, and the next day, although not able to talk due to the ventilator, she was perfectly cognizant and able to nod yes or no and express things with her eyes and hands.

But immediately the resident doctors who are in the ICU began asking me what the next step would be if she couldn't get off the ventilator. I had decided I didn't want her resuscitated a second time, and signed a paper stating that. I also knew I didn't want her to have a tracheostomy, where they would put a hole in her throat to assiste her breathing so that at least she could talk again. But she would have to have it for the rest of her life and it sounded like a very uncomfortable procedure with a limited outcome, given her age and condition.

She did well overnight but when they tried to wean her off the ventilator yesterday they said she couldn't come off it yet. The resident again asked me what my next step would be. She said they didn't usually keep them on a ventilator more than 3 days if there isn't an ability to take them off. Her recommendation was the tracheostomy which I had decided not to do.

We waited till today and went to see her and another resident asked me bluntly if we had made a decision yet on the ventilator. My mother, you have to understand, at this point is doing fine on the ventilator - oxygen levels, heart rate, blood pressure all good. The only problem is they don't think she can go off of it. My aunt and I came back later on and told this resident that yes, we would try taking her off it and that we understood she might not survive. I did say I'd like to talk to the attending physician first.

Lo and behold, the pulmonologist came in to the room and said Mom is doing OK - that she is 91 years old and will naturally take longer to come back and be able to get off the vent. He said he certainly saw no reason to rush into anything without giving it a few more days. They had started giving her liquid nourishment (since she can't eat with the vent in her throat) and he said this may give her more strength and she'll better withstand the removal of the vent.

Thank goodness he came in and told me this. I had made up my mind to be resolute and get this done for my mother's own good, thinking there would be no other choice. I know she hates the thing being down her throat and she did say yes (nodding and even writing it on a piece of paper) when I asked her if she wanted it off "no matter what" and gave her a pretty good idea that if it didn't work, that would be it.

But as it turned out, once again, "reports of her death were exaggerated." It is my belief that residents, no matter how skillful and and well-intentioned, should not be the doctors discussing end-of-life decisions with the family. They don't have enough experience to know what may or may not happen in specific circumstances. They only know the protocols and procedures they have been taught and only have limited experience in real life situations.

This is another example of the failure of our health care system and another reason "end-of-life" discussions should be covered in our healthcare as a matter of course, so that we get a better opportunity to talk about all of the pros and cons of a situation with a team of knowledgable professionals.

I am not blaming only the resident; I experienced a similar situation last time she was hospitalized with the pulmonologist who is the partner of the one I spoke to today (I like to call him "Dr. Death.") He practically convinced me my mother was not long for the world when she was in the hospital last time. She came home and lived two months at home after that, enjoying her day-to-day life; she had Easter dinner and Mother's Day celebrations over at our house, as well as enjoying a lovely lobster dinner sitting outside on our deck, with us, her stepdaughter (my half-sister) and her husband, who came up to see her from South Carolina earlier this month.

I sometimes wonder whether doctors realize how influential their attitudes can be on these types of decisions. In the case of Dr. Death, I got the distinct impression he disapproved when I told him I had not signed a DNR on my mother at that time. Guess he thought at 91 she wasn't worth saving, or knew that even if she recovered this time, she'd be back again soon - and of course, she was.

But what these doctors don't realize is that even a couple of months can be worthwhile for a person that age - another enjoyable family get-together, another chance to smell flowers and feel the breeze on her face. It isn't the quantity of the time, but the quality.

I second-guessed myself somewhat after I had them resuscitate my mother the other day. It had been very peaceful and I wondered if I'd done the right thing by having them revive her. But she did come out of it with her brain intact and as a result, at least my aunt, her sister, was able to come in and visit her and talk to her again. These things are important, both for the ill person and for the family.

I'm not saying anything against anyone who has made the choice, with or without a discussion with their loved one, not to pursue aggressive treatment. Each choice should be individual and based on the feelings of both the patient and their family.

But the doctors' influence should be kept to a minimum. The doctor should tell the family and the patient what the pros and cons are, what the prognosis is, what they might expect depending on what course of action they take, and then let the patient and the family decide. The family should not be rushed in this decision and should be given as much time as is needed, as long as the patient is not suffering.

Just thought I should share this experience in case anyone else has been struggling with this type of situation. There are no easy answers, but be aware that you need to get plenty of second opinions before making a decision. You don't want your loved one to be put in the position of yelling, "But I'm not dead yet!"

It's a Shanda

"Shanda" is Yiddish for "shame." But it has a further connotation of disgrace or outrage. It's a better word for what is going on in the Gulf than simple "shame." People use "shame" for trivial matters - "It's a shame it had to rain over the weekend." A shanda is a bigger deal.

In today's NY Times, Bob Herbert talks about the bigger ramifications of the oil "spill" (gusher) in the Gulf.

He points out that the livelihoods of thousands of people are at risk, to say nothing of all the types of wildlife that depend on the wetlands along Louisiana's coast.

"The vast, sprawling coastal marshes of Louisiana, where the Mississippi River drains into the gulf, are among the finest natural resources to be found anywhere in the world. And they are a positively crucial resource for America. Think shrimp estuaries and bird rookeries and oyster fishing grounds.

These wetlands are one of the nation’s most abundant sources of seafood. And they are indispensable when it comes to the nation’s bird population. Most of the migratory ducks and geese in the United States spend time in the Louisiana wetlands as they travel to and from Latin America.

Think songbirds. Paul Harrison, a specialist on the Mississippi River and its environs at the Environmental Defense Fund, told me that the wetlands are relied on by all 110 neo-tropical migratory songbird species. The migrating season for these beautiful, delicate creatures is right now — as many as 25 million can pass through the area each day."

I think of the wonderful variety of birds I have been seeing and hearing in the woods near our cabin, and wonder whether they will be there next year.

So far no one has managed to stop the oil from continuing to pour into the once-pristine waters of the Gulf of Mexico. How long can this go on? How many people have to die, how many birds and animals must perish, before America says "enough"?

I know the government is doing things to try to help and that BP is supposedly trying to stop it. But this is a disaster of such magnitude that ordinary effort is not enough. This should be an all-out assault on that oil leak.

Has the government done enough? Maybe, maybe not.

According to the May 8 Times Picayune, President Obama's administration did respond appropriately and quickly to the disaster as it became apparent that it was a bigger problem than originally believed.

"While the Obama administration has faced second-guessing about the speed and effectiveness of some of its actions, a narrative pieced together by The Associated Press, based on documents, interviews and public statements, shows little resemblance to Katrina in either the characterization of the threat or the federal government's response."

And according to Reuters, the government doesn't have the oil industry skills needed to be of any real help:

"The federal government, not in the oil well business, is limited by what direct impact it can have on stopping the leak. The U.S. military does not have skills in the oil sector and officials have stressed the Pentagon is already providing whatever support it can to assist the U.S. response to the disaster.

The Obama administration has piled heavy pressure on BP to speed up its efforts to plug it up. 'We are continuing to push BP to do everything that it can,' said White House spokesman Robert Gibbs."

But is pushing BP enough? BP is the company that brought us this disaster in the first place. They won't want to spend any more money than they have to to clean it up.

And why doesn't the federal government have more ability to stop this leak? Surely our navy has some equipment, some expertise in deep underwater maneuvers, that could be helpful in plugging that hole that is gushing oil a mile underwater. And if not, why not? We have the most powerful navy in the world. Wouldn't you think they would have some knowledge of how to deal with things in the deepest depths of the ocean?

Of course the Republicans don't come off looking good here, not surprisingly. They recently blocked legislation that would have raised the cap on BP's monetary liability from $75 million to $10 billion.

On the other hand, the Obama administration is still playing both sides against the middle on this. Interior Secretary Salazar recently told Congress that too high a cap might endanger the smaller independent oil companies, the same argument given by the GOP.

I can't help thinking that no one is doing enough about this disaster.

Bob Herbert expresses the same feeling, that there has not been a strong enough response to this disaster, either by the Obama administration, or, for that matter, by the public. I mean, why aren't people marching on Washington demanding something more be done?

"The response of the Obama administration and the general public to this latest outrage at the hands of a giant, politically connected corporation has been embarrassingly tepid. We take our whippings in stride in this country. We behave as though there is nothing we can do about it."

While much of the coziness between the government and the oil companies that led us to this place can be blamed on the Republicans, not all of it can be. The Democrats are equally to blame for not overseeing the industry more carefully now that they are in power, and instead just let things go along as before. And many of them were pretty cozy with the oil industry to begin with. As Herbert says,

"The risks unleashed by the explosion of the Deepwater Horizon oil rig are profound — the latest to be set in motion by the scandalous, rapacious greed of the oil industry and its powerful allies and enablers in government. America is selling its soul for oil."

Of course, I'm not sure America still has a soul to sell these days, but if there's a little something left of it, it will soon be gone if something isn't done to fix this mess and prevent future similar disasters. It's a shanda.

A Cat's Eye View: Baxter's Back

Baxter here. Hoo boy, it's been a long month since my Human last posted here. A lot of Water has gone under the Bridge, as the saying goes. Or maybe I should say, a lot of OIL has gone under the Bridge.

I Apologize for My long Absence here. My Female Human has been Too Preoccupied with her Mother to pay much attention to Me or her Blog. Funny, though, she always has time for that Facebook thing. I myself have a Catbook page but I really never got into it Much.

To be Honest, the main Reason I have time to be on the Computer is because my Human has a Day to Herself and can help Me. It's not for a Good Reason, but it is still a Day to Herself. Her Mother had to go to the Emergency Room of the local Hospital yesterday due to Dehydration. She has been admitted to the Hospital and is doing Well. However, my Human is not sure what to do when her Mother gets Out, as it seems as if, more and more, she really may belong in a Nursing Home due to her Frail Condition. Plus her 89-year-old Aunt has been helping with her Mother's care at home, and my Human is afraid it is starting to Stress Her Out too.

As a Cat, I can't really Comment, but I did spend some Time in the Cat equivalent of a Nursing Home, I suppose you could say. I was at a cat rescue called HAAL (short for Humane Animal Adoption League) before my Humans brought me home. The HAAL Humans were very nice to Us and let us out of our Cages to Play and took Very Good Care of Us. While of course I Prefer being in a whole House, it was Pleasant there. (If You are feeling Generous, please do click on the Link and learn more, and if you can Donate to them, I'm sure they would Appreciate it Deeply.)

My Human also wants me to tell You how much she Appreciates everyone's comments and Good Wishes for her and her Mother. She feels Very Blessed to have so many Friends here in the Interwebs.

As for Me, I have a lot of Catching Up to do on Current Events. As mentioned above, the Biggest Story to me in the past Month is the Horrendous Oil Explosion in the Gulf that is Still Going On.

How those Idiots at BP let this Happen I don't know. But as a Cat, I feel Fellowship with all of the Life in the Gulf that is being Devastated by this continuing Debacle, and it makes me Very Sad. If an Oil Company doesn't know what they would do if their Stupid Oil Well blew up and caused all the Oil to spout out into the Ocean, then they Darn Well shouldn't be Drilling down there in the First Place. Period. And the Government shouldn't be letting Them!

I won't get into all the Stupid things I've heard about - batteries missing and Whatnot, How to Stop It, and Who is to blame. But I'll let Jon Stewart explain it All for you:

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
There Will Be Blame
www.thedailyshow.com
Daily Show Full Episodes Political Humor Tea Party

In Other News, there was That Day when the Dow Jones Average tanked almost a Thousand Points and still No One really Knows Why. That was Scary. Luckily for my Humans' 401ks, it did Rebound Somewhat by the end of the Day. My Female Human happened to be watching CNN at the time it happened, and she saw her Retirement pass before her Eyes for a few minutes there.

Also during this past Month, President Obama nominated Elena Kagan to the Supreme Court, receiving both Pats on the Head and whacks with the Rolled-Up Newspaper from Both Sides. Liberals are Worried she isn't Liberal Enough, and of Course, the Right would never think ANYONE the President nominated would be Conservative enough. We Cats tend to be Very Liberal, so in My View she probably isn't Liberal Enough. It seems as if the Republicans never have any Compunction about nominating people that are to the Right of Genghis Kahn, while Democrats are afraid to go anywhere but Slightly Left of Center at the Most when they nominate a Justice, resulting in a Court that shifts increasingly Rightward.

However, Elena Kagan hasn't really left enough of a Paper Trail to keep her from being Nominated or even give the Liberals any real reason to Worry. I say, give her the Benefit of the Doubt and hope she is more Liberal than she lets on. That happens sometimes even when a Justice is appointed by the Republicans. Let's hope it works for the Dems too.

I shall End with one of my Cheery and Uplifting stories so as to leave You on a Positive Note. My Human told me about this so I thought I'd pass it on to You. She was walking That Dog the other Morning, and as they started to pass a Garbage Can on the Street, she noticed that the white plastic garbage bag in the can was Wiggling, as if Something was Stuck Inside and trying to get Out! Holes at the bottom of the bag showed where the Creature had gotten in, but it wasn't smart enough to go Back the Way it Came.

A Man walking his dog approached, and my Human called his Attention to the bag. "I think there's a squirrel or something stuck inside that bag!" she said.

He looked while That Dog and his dog started sniffing hello. My Human said she was worried because the Garbage Truck would be along shortly. The Man looked around and got a long Stick and came back and started Poking the bag with it. He said, "I think it's a bird!" Suddenly the bag tore, and flying out of it came a large, disgruntled Starling! He took off indignantly, as if it were Their fault that he was stuck inside.

"We did our good deed for the day!" said the Man, and continued on with his dog, as did my Female Human. One less thing to Worry About.

Personally, I think they should have brought the Bag Home to Me so I could deal with that Starling!

In the Meantime, I'm going to add Beer to the Catnip I regularly Consume just to get through the latest News Events. Sometimes you need more Sedation than Others. Hang in there, and maybe Things will Improve.

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Alone Time

A month ago yesterday my mother came home from the nursing home where she was having rehabilitation.

As usual in such situations, the nursing home gave very little warning that her Medicare coverage was being withdrawn because she had "stopped progressing" in her rehabilitation. There was a "family meeting" on a Friday and I was informed that she had to leave by the following Wednesday, March 24, and oh, by the way, she needs 24/7 care now.

I don't mean to be cranky about this; it is the way things work, and nursing homes can get in trouble with Medicare if they let a patient stay longer just because it isn't convenient for them to come home so soon.

Be that as it may, it basically gave me two business days to set up care for my mother and make arrangements for whatever she would need when she returned to her apartment.

Luckily, with the help of information supplied by the nursing home administrator, I was able to line up overnight care for my mother through an agency, and did receive all of the necessary equipment in time for her return to her studio apartment. She needs to be on oxygen, so that included an oxygen concentrator machine, as well as a wheelchair, a walker, and a hospital bed so her feet could be put up at night.

At first I had the overnight aides coming at 9 p.m. and leaving at 9 a.m., but that meant I had to rush over there by 9 a.m. every morning, seven days a week. If I wanted to get away for an hour here or there I had to get my long-suffering husband or my aunt (who luckily lives one floor above my mother) to come Mom-sit. I am so grateful to both of them for all their help. My husband has come over to Mom's apartment and made us all dinner or we've brought her to our house and had dinner together a number of times, and he is always ready and willing to lend a hand.

I eventually changed the aides' hours to 11 p.m. to 11 a.m., which gave me back my mornings, and hired another aide privately three evenings a week so I could escape by 7 p.m. for a more normal evening.

The rest of the time I've been spending with my mother. And I'm happy to report that mentally she has improved remarkably since she got out of the nursing home. It makes me realize how important it is that health coverage for seniors should include at-home care instead of only nursing home care.

No matter how good a nursing home may be (and the one she was at was lovely and the people couldn't have been nicer) it is still not the same as being in familiar surroundings. Some people do well in a nursing home, if they're naturally gregarious and enjoy having a lot of activity around them. My mother isn't one of them. She found the ongoing commotion confusing and the soap operas her roommate favored on television made her think people all around her were in terrible predicaments. Her roommate also watched the Catholic Mass on television and I'd come to visit my mother and she'd be expecting me to take her to church. So I'm so grateful she was able to come home and is getting back to her normal self. And I'm lucky I was able to retire just when my mother needed me.

However, I had no idea how all-consuming being a caregiver can be. I figured if I did the daytime care, I'd be able to sit and blog or play on Facebook or read a book, chatting occasionally with my mother and making her meals. No such luck. For one thing, my mother's eyesight has gotten too bad for her to read, so she is only able to watch (mostly listen to) television, so I feel kind of bad reading while she can't. The other reason is that just as I might be getting into something, either in a book or on the computer, Mom has a request..."Could you please put another pillow behind my back?" or "I need to go to the bathroom." She can walk by herself but needs help.

Sometimes she'll take a nap but inevitably just as I'm settling in to watch one of my own personal guilty pleasures (such as one of HGTV's home makeovers or a cooking show) she'll wake up and want to get up again.

Mom loves MSNBC and CNN so that's what's on most of the day. I am now more well-informed on political issues than I ever was before. And I'm grateful that she is into politics because we have that in common and now that she's coming around again mentally we can discuss the issues, and it's great.

But the only problem is these programs are all covering the same Big Stories every day, multiple times. One day they kept showing a speech by Sarah Palin campaigning for John McCain that nearly drove me insane. If I had to hear her screechy annoying voice once more I might have lost control. I finally had to switch to a public television station and watch a cooking show, much to my mother's dismay.

The other thing that takes up a lot of time is dealing with the comings and goings of the aides, and the visiting nurse who comes twice a week but I never know when until a half hour before when she calls to say she's on her way. Plus there was a physical therapist who came three times a week for the first month. And on top of that I had to get Mom to two different doctor appointments during this past month when she was still quite unsteady and needed the wheelchair.

At first I was doing fine with all of this, but then it started to wear on me and as my mother got better and I was no longer expecting her to die at any moment, I found myself getting cranky to her by the late afternoon, and then of course feeling really guilty about it.

I found the cocktail hour was getting earlier each day. I'd go home for an hour while my aunt sat with Mom and I would walk the dog and then sneak a glass of wine on the deck, sitting in the sun. Or I'd bring a bottle over to Mom's and have two or three glasses of wine while she'd have her evening sherry, which she is now able to enjoy once again. I'd get an evening off and go out with friends and drink way more than usual just to de-stress.

I started having trouble sleeping, waking up in the middle of the night confused, worrying about my mother, sometimes not even sure if I was in my own house after being at her apartment all day.

I finally realize what my problem is - I'm not good at being with anybody all day long. I was brought up as an only child and I need my alone time!

So I'm finally having some this weekend. I managed to get two aides to cover the daytime with my mother, and the usual overnight aides are covering the nights. And we headed off to our cabin in the Adirondacks for three nights.

On the way up Route 22 from Whitehall to our turnoff there was a large male turkey in the middle of the road, strutting his stuff, showing off for a modest female who was at the side of the road, studiously pretending to ignore him. We had to wait while he ambled off the road.

Then came the turn toward our cabin, and then we were going up the familiar gravel road. As we pulled into the property in the early twilight we saw our personal Great Horned Owl fly across the pond from one tree to another. Later that night we heard him calling in the woods.

This weekend was the first time we were able to get to the cabin since the first weekend in December, and we were pleased to find it just as we left it. No one broke in, no trees fell on it, and it didn't burn in our absence. Within a half hour of arriving, we had the propane flowing, the generator generating, the well pump pumping, and the water running.

We've managed to have beautiful weather even though at home it is now raining. Somehow we always manage to get lucky with the weather.

Ed's dad joined us on Saturday and he has been enjoying his own escape - from visiting the nursing home where Ed's mom is every day, twice a day. No matter how much you love someone, you need time away in order to get back to them again with your patience intact.

When I return to the "real world," I'll need to reconsider the care my mother is getting, as the expense is untenable. We will be getting her on Medicaid shortly, but it won't cover the amount of care she has been receiving.

Somehow there has to be a balance achieved between leaving her alone some of the time but not endangering her welfare. I don't know yet what that balance will be. As she has improved I think she may be able to stay alone at night but won't know until I stay there myself and see how she is.

Long-term care is another area of our health care system that desperately needs reform. As the Baby Boomers age, I am hoping our generation will take on this task because you know we will not be willing to go gentle into that good night without making some major changes in how we are treated on that last journey!

Naturally from my constant exposure to news programs over the past month, I have a lot of fodder for commentary here but first wanted to let you all know why my posts have been so few and far between.

I am incensed about the new immigration law in Arizona, am glad that President Obama will get to appoint another Supreme Court Justice, and have lots of other opinions on various subjects to share. Baxter too is waiting patiently to get his turn to blog, so either he or I will be back soon to do so!

It's Too Late Baby - But I'll Blog Against Theocracy Anyway

I just revisited the Blog Against Theocracy site and realized it says that no posts will be accepted after April 5th. Unfortunately I was unable to get to writing about this important subject until today. I will try to link to it anyway.

As some of you know, I have become the caretaker of my 91-year-old mother, Marge. She's a great lady and is doing much better since she's been home rather than in an instutional setting. However, her frailty does make her care a fairly time-consuming and and relatively exhausting job. Thank goodness for the aides that come to keep an eye on her at night. During the day she is pretty with-it and we have a good time chatting. Her sense of humor is still there and we are doing well. But it doesn't allow me much time or energy to blog.

Where shall I begin about the issue of theocracy in this country? I've written about this before but it seems as if the situation is getting worse. What with the Texas School Board trying to change the textbooks to go along with their version of reality, which is based on religious beliefs rather than science, and those who refuse to vote for the health care bill if the insurance companies cover abortion, "theocracy" is everywhere these days. Where do people get the nerve to say they won't let their taxes fund an abortion paid for through a private insurance company? After all, my taxes pay for wars, and I don't believe in them either. If everyone got to choose exactly what their taxes pay for I don't think much would get done.

We have moved from the silliness of lawsuits over whether or not to allow religious statues on public property or plaques of the Ten Commandments to be displayed in front of a town hall, to more important issues. Now it's coming down to whether our children will be educated properly or not; it's come down to arguing over what someone's taxes cover or not. The religious people in this country are overwhelming the secular side of our society.

What really gets me is, it is the Christians, who outnumber any other religion in this country by a huge majority, that claim their rights are being trampled every time something isn't done their way. They don't understand that freedom of speech and religion means that you are free to practice your own religion without infringement. It does not mean that you have the right to force YOUR religion on other people.

The whole issue of gay marriage is a good example of why we need separation of church and state. There is no logical reason why gay couples shouldn't benefit from the blessings of the government in terms of joint property, laws of inheritance, visiting privileges at hospitals, and all of the other rights that heterosexual married couples take for granted.

The only reason to deny same-sex couples these rights is found in the Bible, where believers claim that "God" doesn't approve of same-sex couples. This is a religious context, not a civic context.

The solution would be to allow any couple of consenting adults to marry in a civic ceremony. If religion comes into it, then they are welcome to also be married in the church of their choice. Some churches may choose to marry same-sex couples, some may not. But that is a private, religious context. The civic context should not be consigned to the same rules.

Interestingly, just today I had a chat with one of my mother's aides who comes in to help out for two hours twice a week. She is of Mexican descent and I had assumed she was Catholic. However, we got into a discussion of religion and it turned out she had been "saved" in a Protestant religion in 2001 before 9/11. As a result, she believes the Bible is the word of God and everything in it is true.

She brought up the idea of gay marriage and I said I was in favor of it since I believe God would want people who love each other to be able to pledge their lives to each other. She said that the Bible doesn't allow for that, it's not natural and that with God, all things are possible, so anyone who is gay could change if they believed.

Naturally I didn't get into a big argument about this (I do need her to take care of my mother), but it made me think. There are a lot of people out there who really believe that the Bible actually is the word-for-word "Word of God" and because of that they are willing to consign a whole group of people to second-class status. If these people continue to gain power in our government and our civic organizations such as school boards, our country is going to fall further and further behind, what with rejecting evolution, believing gay people are "unnatural" and many other beliefs that are not consistent with science or good sense.

Organized religion in general has a tendency to become corrupt, or at the very least, the participants tend to protect the organization rather than the beliefs on which it is founded. Look at the scandals in the Catholic Church. I'm sure none of those in charge feel good about the terrible things that some priests have done to young children. But rather than expose those priests and the church to public scrutiny, they hid this behavior and just transferred the priests elsewhere. As a result, there is now a sitting Pope who may have conspired in this cover-up and the church is in crisis.

If even a church cannot stay pure, how could incorporating religion into government have any better result?

Don't Forget to Blog Against Theocracy

This weekend, April 2-4, is the Blog Against Theocracy blogswarm. Go to Blue Gal or Tengrain's place for more information. You can click on the badge on my sidebar, to the right, for instructions on how to participate.

The purpose of the blogswarm is to write anything at all about why there must be a separation of church and state in this country. I'm sure most of us, whether religious or not, can understand why it is best to keep religion out of government, if you want to keep government out of religion.

Will look forward to reading the many insightful posts that I expect will be written on this subject!

A Cat's Eye View

Baxter here. Many Apologies, over a Week has passed since the last Post here. My Female Human has been busily making Arrangements for her Mother, who came home from the Nursing Home yesterday. My Human's Mother is Very Happy to be back in her Own Apartment and seems to be doing Very Well, considering her Age and Condition. A Nurse's Aide comes in to watch her at Night, and during the Day my Female Human will be there helping her.

All this is All Very Well, and I have Nothing against the Female Human's Mother. But for Me it is NOT an improvement. I was just getting used to having more Company around Here, and whenever That Dog was out in the Yard or Asleep I got to cuddle up on the Couch with my Human. Now she is gone All Day again just as she was in the Old Days when she did what she called "Working." From what I understand, she says what she is doing NOW is Work too!

That Dog is probably not Happy either. She is stuck in the House. However, at 4 p.m. the Female Human's Aunt comes down to her Mother's Apartment and sits there while my Human comes home and walks That Dog. Still no help for Me, but what can you do.

But I digress! You don't come here to hear about my Female Human's Personal Issues. You expect More from an intelligent Feline like Myself. So without Further Ado I will launch into my usual News Summary.

Of course, the Big News is the Passage of the Landmark Healthcare Legislation. Or Historic Healthcare Legislation, however you want to put it. As Most of You are already Well Aware, on Sunday night the House passed the Senate Health Care bill that had already passed before the New Year. They then went ahead and passed a bunch of amendments to it, which the Senate then had to Approve. And, with a few changes, they did. The last step was that the House then approved the slightly changed Reconciliation Bill that will put those amendments into Effect.

The Best Moment before President Obama spoke at the Signing Ceremony was when Vice President Biden uttered the Now-Famous Phrase, "This is a Big F*cking Deal" in the President's ear just before he turned the mic over to him. T-shirts are being sold as we speak.

Right Now my Ears are twitching and my Whiskers are bristling, however, because MSNBC is televising the speech Sarah Palin is making at a big Rally for John McCain. I must say, that Woman's voice goes right through Me! "Send the Maverick back to the Senate!" she says. Ugh.

In Other News, the Radical Organization, PETA, has enlisted the So-Called OctoMom to support their cause of promoting Spaying and Neutering for Pets. It's Bad Enough that this Female Human had, via Artificial Means, eight babies at once when she already HAD six kids; now she's so desperate for Money, she's willing to let PETA put a sign on her lawn? Check it out:


In return, OctoMom gets $5000 a month and some veggie burgers and dogs to feed her "Litter." No, I am not being Crass. The word "litter" was on PETA's BLOG for Heaven's Sakes, with a line drawn through it. Go see for yourself.

In other Animal-Related News, a video is Making the Rounds on TV and the Internet that shows a Pitbull Mix (reported in varying ways by the Media, including calling it a Bulldog, a Pitbull, a Pitbull-Boxer mix and a Pitbull-Bulldog mix) attacking a Police Car and ripping off the Bumper and wrecking the Tires. Here is a news Clip with part of the video, if you have been Living Under a Rock and haven't seen it yet:


Now, as you All well know, as a Cat, I am not a Fan of Dogs, but would never wish them Harm. So I'd like to commend the Police in this situation for trying pepper spray and a Taser to stop the dog instead of just shooting him. The dog's name is Winston and he is actually very nice to People and didn't even attack the Officer who got out of the car to spray and Taser him. (Please note, the Taser hardly slowed him down at all - so don't expect one of those Electric Fences to ever work on your pet Pitbull.)

The story does have a Happy Ending because the Dog is just under probation and the Owner is to get him Obedience training to get his Canine Good Citizen certification.

As for the damage to the Squad Car: I would be Concerned, if I were the Police, that their Squad Cars are so fragile the front bumper can be totally removed by a Dog! Shouldn't vehicles be a little more Sturdy than THAT? I'll bet the Dog wouldn't have made a dent in my Humans' old 1955 DeSoto that they used to have! That was when Cars were Cars and were Meant to Last!

Speaking of Cars, there is Good News out of Trollhattan, the location of the Swedish Headquarters of the new Saab-Spyker company. They have started shipping their first Batch of New Cars under the new Ownership! Plus, they're cutting Prices! It just might be time for a New Car for my Humans. We'll see if they are Tempted.

So, that is the News for this Week. I know I haven't covered Every News Item but these were the Things I wanted to share with You personally.

Until Next Time, hang in there, try to ignore the Republicans, and keep your Catnip at the Ready!

Kucinich Comes Through

Dennis Kucinich announced today at a press conference that he would support the health care legislation when it comes to a vote.

Although he still prefers a single payer option, he has agreed to support the bill in its current form. I applaud the courageous stance he has taken to try to establish universal health care in this country. I also applaud his pragmatism in realizing that, in the current climate, that kind of health care bill would never pass this Congress. To quote his prepared remarks (from Common Dreams):

"In the past week it has become clear that the vote on the final health care bill will be very close. I take this vote with the utmost seriousness. I am quite aware of the historic fight that has lasted the better part of the last century to bring America in line with other modern democracies in providing single payer health care. I have seen the political pressure and the financial pressure being asserted to prevent a minimal recognition of this right, even within the context of a system dominated by private insurance companies.

I know I have to make a decision, not on the bill as I would like to see it, but the bill as it is. My criticisms of the legislation have been well reported. I do not retract them. I incorporate them in this statement. They still stand as legitimate and cautionary. I still have doubts about the bill. I do not think it is a first step toward anything I have supported in the past. This is not the bill I wanted to support, even as I continue efforts until the last minute to modify the bill.

However after careful discussions with the President Obama, Speaker Pelosi, Elizabeth my wife and close friends, I have decided to cast a vote in favor of the legislation. If my vote is to be counted, let it now count for passage of the bill, hopefully in the direction of comprehensive health care reform. We must include coverage for those excluded from this bill. We must free the states. We must have control over private insurance companies and the cost their very existence imposes on American families. We must strive to provide a significant place for alternative and complementary medicine, religious health science practice, and the personal responsibility aspects of health care which include diet, nutrition, and exercise.

The health care debate has been severely hampered by fear, myths, and by hyper-partisanship. The President clearly does not advocate socialism or a government takeover of health care. The fear that this legislation has engendered has deep roots, not in foreign ideology but in a lack of confidence, a timidity, mistrust and fear which post 911 America has been unable to shake.

This fear has so infected our politics, our economics and our international relations that as a nation we are losing sight of the expanded vision, the electrifying potential we caught a glimpse of with the election of Barack Obama. The transformational potential of his presidency, and of ourselves, can still be courageously summoned in ways that will reconnect America to our hopes for expanded opportunities for jobs, housing, education, peace, and yes, health care."

Thank you, Dennis. I know it wasn't easy for you to give up your ideals in order to vote for something you cannot fully support. Some may say you have caved to pressure, others may say you have sold out.

But I say you have done the right thing, the only thing you could do, in order to make sure more Americans receive the health care they deserve. It is not the end of the fight; it is only the beginning.

The Real Reason to Pass Health Care Reform: It's the Right Thing to Do

President Obama has been storming the countryside trying to round up support for the health care legislation he is championing. Simultaneously, the GOP and their minions have been spreading their own propaganda explaining why health care legislation should not be passed. The legislation itself is not ideal, and is being attacked from both the right and the left. It doesn't go far enough for the left (hence Dennis Kucinich says he will not vote for it), and for the right, anything is too far.

I read an opinion piece in yesterday's Star Ledger that was sourced from the Washington Post columnist, Robert J. Samuelson. In his column, which was entitled in the Ledger, "The Great Miseducation on Health Care," he debunks a number of arguments that are often made in support of health care reform. They include:

Uninsured people use the Emergency Rooms of hospitals for their medical care, which is more expensive. Thus, the idea goes, if everyone had health care, costs would decrease since there would be fewer people accessing the ER for their primary care.

However, according to Samuelson,

"A study by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation found that the insured accounted for 83 percent of emergency-room visits, reflecting their share of the population. After Massachusetts adopted universal insurance, emergency-room use remained higher than the national average, an Urban Institute study found. More than two-fifths of visits represented non-emergencies. Of those, a majority of adult respondents to a survey said it was 'more convenient' to go to the emergency room or they couldn't 'get [a doctor's] appointment as soon as needed.' If universal coverage makes appointments harder to get, emergency-room use may increase."

Insuring the uninsured will improve the nation's health. Again, Samuelson denies this claim, citing a number of studies showing conflicting results from previous health care improvements such as Medicare. His explanation:

"How could this be? No one knows, but possible explanations include: (a) many uninsured are fairly healthy -- about two-fifths are age 18 to 34; (b) some are too sick to be helped or have problems rooted in personal behaviors -- smoking, diet, drinking or drug abuse; and (c) the uninsured already receive 50 to 70 percent of the care of the insured from hospitals, clinics and doctors, estimates the Congressional Budget Office."

He goes on to say that the real problem is cost and uncontrolled spending, and criticizes the current bill for not addressing this issue. He concludes:

"He's telling people what they want to hear, not what they need to know. Whatever their sins, insurers are mainly intermediaries; they pass along the costs of the delivery system. In 2009, the largest 14 insurers had profits of roughly $9 billion; that approached 0.4 percent of total health spending of $2.472 trillion. This hardly explains high health costs. What people need to know is that Obama's plan evades health care's major problems and would worsen the budget outlook. It's a big new spending program when government hasn't paid for the spending programs it already has."

Of course, the fallacy of his conclusion is that "Insurers are mainly intermediaries; they pass along the costs of the delivery system." No, the main problem with the insurers is they are geared toward making a profit, and they try to get out of covering anyone who really needs the insurance, such as, say, sick people. Maybe profit isn't that large a percentage of overall health care costs, but it is certainly the motivating factor behind insurance company policies which result in sick people being unable to become insured, or if insured, not being covered for their illnesses.

The other problem with the insurance industry when there isn't universal coverage is, that people who have the insurance get a much CHEAPER rate than those who don't. So uninsured people are hit from two sides: One, they have to pay out of their own pockets for medical care, and two: their medical care is much more expensive than that of people with insurance.

If anyone can show me this is not true, I welcome it. But I've seen my bills from medical procedures. They show one, very high, price, then the "adjusted" price accepted by the doctor from my insurance, and then what my insurance pays, leaving a small amount for me to pay. I can only assume the uninsured pay the first price. If everyone were insured, there would be only the "adjusted" price. And that alone would be a vast improvement.

OK, so where does that leave us with President Obama's arguments in favor of health care? Is he really lying to us and not telling us "what we need to know"? No. He is giving the arguments that will pass muster with the portion of the population who have drunk the Kool-Aid of the right wing and think the main problem is they will lose something in this bargain. They will get screwed somehow if their uninsured neighbor manages to get the same benefits they have. They will have to pay more. They will lose something they had. It's all about them.

So to reach those people, he has to give them cost-related, "them"-related arguments. The rest know that health care for all is the right thing to do and don't care as much about those arguments.

Think I'm being unkind to those opposed to the health care legislation on the right? Check out Nick Silver's post on fivethirtyeight.com on the two sides of the health care debate. In his post he analyzes the results of a recent Gallup poll that included the verbatims (what people actually said, for those who don't know market research-speak) from the survey. The results showed that the nation is almost equally divided on the current legislation, with a slight tip against the bill, 48% to 45%.

Among those who support the legislation, 29% say it is because "people need health insurance/too many are uninsured." In addition, 12% said it is "a moral responsibility." 12% also felt it would reduce costs and 10% said it would make health insurance more affordable. Several key reasons included the word "help" as in, "help senior citizens," "help the poor," and that they or a family member lacked insurance.

Among those against the legislation, the top reason was it would increase costs of insurance (20%) and another 5% said it would cost the government too much. 15% were opposed to government involvement in health care or "big government" in general. 7% mentioned being against "socialized medicine" -- even though Obama's plan is not socialized medicine -- or the "public option," even though the public option is not currently in the bill. 6% said that health care is a privilege, not an entitlement and 4% were worried it would affect their own insurance.

To be sure, some of the pro-health care people are concerned about costs and are thinking this would be a way to reduce them, and if this isn't true, they have perhaps been misled. However, that does not seem to be the most important issue to them.

When you look at the verbatims themselves, the pattern is more noticeable. FiveThirtyEight.com provided "word clouds" showing the prevalence of certain words in the actual comments the respondents made to the survey.

Pro-Health Care respondents focused mostly on words like "People," "Need," "Everyone" "Insurance."

Anti-Health Care respondents, in contrast, focused much more on words such as "Government," "Pay," and "Cost," as well as "People" and "Insurance."


When you look at some of the actual comments, which Silver posted a link to on his site, "Pro" people said things like:

"THE HEALTHCARE SYSTEM IN OUR COUNTRY IS AN ABOMINATION. BECAUSE THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD HAS A DISMAL HEALTHCARE SYSTEM. HEALTHCARE IS A RIGHT, NOT A PRIVILEGE.

BECAUSE THIS COUNTRY IS TERRIBLE FOR US. THE BIGGEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD NOT TO HAVE HEALTHCARE FOR THEIR PEOPLE. I'M SET BUT MY CHILDREN WON'T BE. THEY NEED TO GIVE IT A START.

I THINK WE ARE IN A FIRST-WORLD COUNTRY THAT SHOULD HAVE HEALTHCARE INSURANCE. I AM FORTUNATE TO HAVE INSURANCE BUT I DON'T KNOW HOW OTHER PEOPLE MAKE IT WHO DO NOT HAVE INSURANCE. MEDICARE DOESN'T COVER EVERYTHING. MEDICARE ONLY PAYS 80 PERCENT AND SOMEONE HAS TO PAY THE DIFFERENCE.

IT'S OUR BASIC DUTY TO PROVIDE HEALTHCARE FOR THE POOR AND ELDERLY.

SO PEOPLE CAN GET HELP.

BECAUSE I THINK IT'S NEEDED TO CHANGE TO SAVE MONEY FOR SOME PEOPLE THAT DON'T HAVE IT BECAUSE EVERYBODY SHOULD HAVE HEALTHCARE.

I DON'T THINK IT'S FAIR FOR PEOPLE TO BE WITHOUT HEALTHCARE COVERAGE.

BECAUSE I FEEL EVERYONE SHOULD HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTHCARE REGARDLESS OF INCOME, EMPLOYMENT, AND WHERE THEY LIVE."

Among the "Anti" respondents, comments skewed toward these:

"I BELIEVE IT'S GOING TO SCREW EVERYTHING UP WITH THE GOVERNMENT GETTING INVOLVED. YOU WON'T BE ABLE TO GET THE CARE YOU NEED. PEOPLE WILL BE TURNED AWAY.

I FEEL THAT THEY ARE TRYING TO LEAN TOWARDS WHAT EUROPEAN COUNTRIES. NONE OF IT WORKED. ALL FAILED. EVERYBODY THAT'S TRIED HAS FAILED. IT WILL HURT ME. I'M DIABETIC AND IT WOULD PUSH ME INTO SOMETHING. I HAVE A DOCTOR WHO TAKES CARE OF ME. IF THEY GO WITH THE REFORM, I CAN'T CHOOSE MY DOCTOR.

GOVERNMENT CONTROL.

GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER AND INCREASED DEBT.

IT WILL BE SOCIALIZED MEDICINE.

THE COST TO ME, AND THAT PEOPLE WHO CHOOSE TO HAVE UNHEALTHY LIFESTYLES, LIKE DOING DRUGS AND SMOKING, I SHOULDN'T HAVE TO PAY FOR.

I DON'T THINK PEOPLE SHOULD GET THINGS FOR NOTHING.

I DON'T WANNA HAVE TO PAY FOR SOMEONE ELSE'S HEALTHCARE, THAT'S WHAT WELFARE IS FOR. I CHOSE A CAREER THAT PAYS FOR MY HEALTHCARE.

I THINK EVERYONE SHOULD WORK AND SUPPLY THEIR OWN INSURANCE.

GOVERNMENT TAKEOVER AND INCREASED DEBT.

BECAUSE I DON'T WANNA HAVE MONEY TAKEN OUT OF MY CHECK TO PAY FOR PEOPLE WHO WON'T WORK"

Yes, I cherrypicked these comments. However, let me be clear, the "Pro" people had no verbatims that talked about "I don't want to pay for someone else" or "I don't want to pay for people who won't work."

If you want to look at the entire list, please go to FiveThirtyEight.com and click on "verbatim responses" in the first paragraph.

I felt this was a very telling survey result, and an example of how looking at the verbatims can really take you behind the numbers and understand the mindset of the people responding to the survey.

It is obvious that the "Anti" respondents are highly influenced by the right-wing talking points and have a much more egocentric outlook on the subject. The "Pro" respondents, while still concerned about costs in general, appear to be much more altruistic in their outlooks and talk much more about helping others.

So is it any wonder that, in order to convince people who are not currently on the health care bandwagon to support his initiative, President Obama has to appeal to the cost side of the equation and not the altruism side?

In reality, I don't know whether expanding health care coverage to the uninsured will increase or decrease overall costs. I think it remains to be seen. But that is not the real reason we should be increasing coverage of the uninsured. It's just the right thing to do.

As for the left-wing opponents of the bill, all I can say is what one pro-health care respondent said:

"THEY GOTTA MAKE ONE STEP AND THEN ANOTHER AND THEN ADJUST IT IF YOU NEED TO, BUT YOU CAN'T SIT ON YOUR THUMBS AND DO NOTHING."

Dennis Kucinich, I love you and think you are ideologically pure. But opposing this bill will not be helpful. The result, if it fails, is that nothing at all will be done; and in addition, President Obama will have a very difficult time getting anything else accomplished. The Republicans will feel they have won and have the upper hand. And that would be a disaster. I'm not saying the bill is perfect as it is, far from it. But it will help insure more people, and will accomplish part of what needs to be done. Rome is never built in a day.