Two Stories; Giving and Taking

This is a story about two stories.  Both are typically American.  Both reflect values.  One story is about values cherished.  The other is about values gone awry.  The stories tell a story; about what is good in America and what is wrong with America.  Each story is about responsibility; accepted and denied. Both stories were on the recent nightly news and were broadcast within minutes of each other.  One story can warm the heart and bring a tear.  The other story is a groin kick that makes you wonder about the double dealing we often think pervades our society.    

When Movies Matter

“Epps asked me if I could write and read, and on being informed that I had received some instruction in those branches of education, he assured me, with emphasis, if he ever caught me with a book, or with pen and ink, he would give me a hundred lashes.”

~ Excerpted from the book 12 Years a Slave by Solomon Northup, who could not only read, but wrote eloquently and passionately. 

Every so often a movie is released that is important more for its message than its entertainment value (and oftentimes they are still from an artistic point of view, excellent viewing).  Nearly always these films are historical dramas. 

Trick or Treat; And Make It a Double

I've been a bad blogger.  I don’t mean in the sense that this blog as a whole is trash; although that in itself might be a problem.  I've been lax and lazy.  When I published my last post the Halloween candy hadn't yet hit the store shelves.  Now the big wide seasonal aisle in the local super is well stocked with bags of mini candy bars and little boxes of candies.  I've noticed over the years that the bags of candy keep getting smaller and smaller as do the bars inside the bags.  It used to be that two or three bags of Snickers might handle the Halloween crowd.  Now you need at least six or seven.  Well you actually need less than that to feed the little monsters but that wouldn't allow for the proper snacking between the time you buy the candy and Halloween night. 

A Terrorism of Indifference

"I would invite anyone in Washington to come look my patients in the eye and tell them that waiting for a flight is a bigger problem than traveling farther and waiting longer for chemotherapy."  ~  Dr. William Nibley, of United Cancer Specialists in Utah.

It came home to roost this past week.  The IT is sequestration.  You remember sequestration don’t you?  It’s only been about 8 weeks since President Obama and Congress foisted the sequester on the folks they’re paid to serve, and for the most part it’s been almost forgotten; by the public, by the media and most of all by the men and women who are responsible for it.  Perfectly content and comfortable with sequestration conveniently out of the news, they were no doubt equally disappointed when it came back to the headlines with something of a vengeance.

A Convenient Epiphany

In the capitals of our nation a person’s worth is defined by the size of his bank account, his clout or his political expediency.

There has been a mass epiphany within the ranks of the Republican Party's politicians.  For many in The Grand Old Party, the notion of gay marriage no longer poses the threat to western civilization that it did about 5 months ago.  Let me think, just what was it that happened 5 months ago?  Oh yeah, I remember, that was along about the time of the last election when the self-described Party of Lincoln got shellacked when it came to garnering votes from just about everyone who isn’t an old white guy.  And just for the record I'm an OWG myself. I just happen to be an OWG who doesn't relate at all to the GOP. 

What's Happened Here?

When did it all change?  Why did it all change?  How did it all change so much?  I grew up in the suburbs of San Mateo.  It was a middle class neighborhood in the hills above the town, on the San Francisco Bay Peninsula, about 30 minutes south of San Francisco itself.  It was the fifties and sixties; a time when we boomers lived the American Dream defined by well-manicured lawns, ranch style homes and the notion that we, the children, would live in a better America. 

Sequestering Morality

Emergency responders like the ones who are here today — their ability to help communities respond to and recover from disasters will be degraded.  Border Patrol agents will see their hours reduced.  FBI agents will be furloughed.  Federal prosecutors will have to close cases and let criminals go. 

~  Remarks by President Obama on Sequestration, February, 19th 2013

"A culture that victimizes it's weakest members is a culture in decline."  ~  John Barry of The Southern Tier AIDS Program.

We’ve been sequestered!  Or is it sequestrated?  I don’t know; either way it comes out to the same thing.  We’ve been screwed.  By our government.  Again.  Actually I couldn’t say whether or not I’m actually part of the “we” that’s being screwed.  I’m in the comfortable middle class and I imagine I’ll come through this without really noticing much.  If I decide I want to take a flight somewhere I might have to show up at the airport a little earlier; so I lose a little sleep.

Life is Not Fair

The game of life is hard to play
I'm gonna lose it anyway
The losing card I'll someday lay
So this is all I have to say

~  Suicide is Painless (M*A*S*H Theme).  Music by Johnny Mandel, Lyrics by Mike Altman

"Life is not fair; get used to it."
~  Bill Gates

"The world is not fair and often fools, cowards, and the selfish hide in high places."
~  Bryant H. McGill; Author and poet.

Within the short space of a week I was reminded more than once that life is not fair. They came of course by way of that universally respected organ of philosophic discussion; Facebook.  

One was a debate about 49er quarterbacks.  I’d expressed displeasure over Alex Smith, the starting quarterback apparently losing his job because his understudy had performed well the week before while Smith sat out with a concussion.  My contention was that Smith had been playing well over the course of the season and done nothing to lose his status as the starting player.  There was an exchange of opinions over the merits of one player over the other with one poster punctuating his comment with, “Life’s not fair.”

A few days later a friend posted a commencement address made (allegedly) by Bill Gates in which he listed 11 things that they don’t teach you in high school.  Rule number one on the list of Gatesian sagacity was; “Life is not fair – get used to it.”  Ouch. 

Let me make it clear, these weren’t the first times I’ve come across that pearl, “Life’s not fair.”   You hear it all the time.  At times its glib bullshit – something to say when you’ve really nothing more of any substance to add to the conversation.  Other times it’s used as Gates intended; a sort of hardnosed, Darwinian, tough love approach to survival in this veil of tears.

An Open Letter From a Breaking Heart

This is a post written by Calvin Peña.  I met Calvin, who is one of my daughter's friends, through social media.  This post by Calvin started out as a message that he sent me in response to my last post; America Heal Thyself IV.  His words resonated so I asked him permission to publish it as a post.

An Open Letter From a Breaking Heart

Calvin Peña

Even when I was a regular church-goer I never thought I would break down and cry at a Bible verse.  Think again.  I came across a verse in Matthew 25 recently that brought me to uncontrollable tears: "He will reply, 'Truly I tell you, that whatever you did not do for the least of these, you did not do for me." 

America; Heal Thyself III

 Third Part in a Series

"Just go to an emergency room"

“People have access to health care in America.  After all just go to an emergency room.”  George W. Bush

Mitt Romney recently echoed Mr. Bush in a 60 Minutes interview. If you have a heart attack “you go to the hospital, you get treated, you get care, and it’s paid for, either by charity, the government or by the hospital.”

“Just go to the emergency room” is a great plan if you have a heart attack, break a limb, have a stroke or get shot. That’s what every rational person does because the emergency room is there for critical conditions that require immediate attention. 

America; Heal Thy Self I

 First Part in a Series
The Rhetoric

“We are the only industrialized country in the world that does not have national health insurance. We are the richest in wealth and the poorest in health of all the industrial nations.”  ~ Studs Terkel

“If they would rather die they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population.”  ~ Ebenezer Scrooge speaking of the poor. 

Countries with universal healthcare: Norway, New Zealand, Japan, Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, Kuwait, Sweden, Bahrain, Brunei, Canada, Netherlands, Austria, UAE, Finland, Slovenia, Denmark, Luxembourg, France, Australia, Ireland, Italy, Portugal, Cyprus, Greece, Spain, South Korea, Iceland, Hong Kong, Singapore, Switzerland, Israel. 

 

Richie Batra’s comment was chilling, “if u want insurance buy it, if not pay Cash..if not, go Die..im not worried about anyone but myself and nobody should worry about me either(sic)."  Mr. Batra’s remark was a comment in a thread responding to an article last December in Think Progress covering then presidential candidate Rick Santorum’s Q & A with a group of high school students.

Justice Served -- Late or Not At All

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State ~ From The Sixth Amendment of The United States Constitution

So it’s come to this.  California is closing the courthouse doors.  The recently enacted state budget is slashing 350 million dollars from the California Judicial System.  Over the last three years the court budget has been reduced by more than 30 percent.  And of course, he remarked dryly, the criminal element has chosen to reduce its activity by 30 percent so as not to further burden the groaning justice system.  This is just another casualty of the scorched earth, revenue free budget passed by that pompous Sacramento crowd. 

Let’s take a moment to delve into some of the details of what the budgetary meat axe wrought.

                You’d best get used to that albatross you once called your loved one because a divorce is now going to take 18 months.  That’s going to take a toll on the kitchen crockery.

                Lawsuits are now going to take five years to get to trial.  On the plus side I guess this gives the frivolous a few moments of pause but a truly egregious offense will fester. 

                Child custody cases which used to take four weeks will now wait for up to four months and there really isn’t anything humorous or cute I can say to that.

                In San Joaquin County the small claims court is closed.  Yes, I said closed, as in out of business.  So you’re a landlord whose property got trashed or a tenant whose landlord unfairly kept a deposit?  You’re just going to have to suck up that loss. 

                According to an article in The L.A. Times, the cuts may require changes in the law allowing for shorter trials or trials without juries.

                And you know that right to a speedy trial that The United States Constitution guarantees.  Well you can look for that guarantee to expire soon.  Closed courthouses, staff cuts and shorter hours will guarantee nothing but a pushed out trial date.

                But here is my favorite of all from The Times article, “State lawmakers raided Judiciary Branch funds for courthouse construction to balance this year's budget. The funds, built up through legal fees and fines, were supposed to be used to replace decrepit courthouses riddled with health and safety problems. State legislators said the funds would be repaid in more solvent times.”  That’s absolutely hilarious.  They’re going to pay it back.  That money is as gone as the 500 dollars you loaned to your 20 something year old child who says he swears he'll pay it back once he's back on his feet.  The difference of course is you love your child and you'll simply write it off.  Nobody loves the legislators, I dare say not even their parents.  I wouldn’t loan a thin dime to any of those brigands.  And if they don’t pay it back I suppose the courts can sue the state; that is if they have time to wait for it to go to trial.

Look, this is nothing short of travesty.  In a previous post, I commented on The State Legislature abdicating its responsibility and here is yet another instance.  It is a case of the budgetary knife cutting not just to the bone but into the bone so that the marrow is oozing out.  And we have a Republican wing of the legislature to thank for this.  A contingent that has made a no taxation vow come hell, high water or the rending of The Constitution.  Republican bashing you say?  Sure, but if it were on the Democratic foot I would be bashing them and frankly I’m a little tired of the continual caving on the part of the Democrats.

I’m also getting a little tired of the shop worn “tax and spend” cliche and the overworked analogy of “Well when you max out your credit at home you stop spending."  Personally I recall a time when my expenditures were exceeding my income.  Yes I did cut where I could but I also decided that I needed to raise more revenue and that’s just what I did.  I took a second job.  It wasn’t fun and it put a crimp on my lifestyle but I needed more revenue.  Well, California needs more revenue and while that might not be fun either we’re well beyond the point of biting that bullet.

Many of the cuts could have been avoided simply by renewing a quarter-percentage point increase in personal income tax and a one percent increase in sales tax.  These aren’t exactly usury taxes that require pulling the musket down off the wall and marching on Sacramento but a minority of legislators dug in their ideological heels.  The result is that in The State of California you’ll have your justice served; it will just be served late and cold.