Collective Sigh

Compare and contrast


Hurricane Katrina makes landfall at 7 a.m. on August 29, 2005.



August 29, 2005 - Bush shares birthday cake with Senator John McCain in Phoenix, visits Arizona resort and California to promote Medicare drug benefits, and goes to bed without acting on Louisiana Governor Blanco's requests.



August 30, 2005 - Another day and another photo op in BushWorld before going to bed at his Crawford estate for a good night's sleep on his last day of vacation.




August 31, 2005 - Bush surveys damage from the comfort of Air Force One.



September 2, 2005 - "Brownie, you're doing a heck of a job"


****

May 12, 2008 - A 7.9 magnitude earthquake devastates China's Sichuan province.

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao reacts a bit differently...

Little more than 90 minutes after the 7.9 magnitude quake struck at 2:30 p.m., Wen was headed for the airport. By early evening he had arrived in the provincial capital Chengdu, 930 miles (1,500 km) from Beijing. That night, the country's state-owned TV stations repeatedly broadcast scenes of the Premier rallying rescue forces, issuing orders during a rainstorm, poring over maps, even venturing into the ruins to assure victims still trapped in the rubble that they should "Hold on a little longer" as help was on the way.

Surely I'm not the only one struck by the difference in the response.

Confusion, chocolate, the primary, McCain's folly,

I suppose I should start every post with "sorry for the long silence". As I've said before, chemo is a bitch and it doesn't get easier. I'm hanging in there. barely. I've finished five rounds, with one more to go before some tests to monitor progress.

Among the many hateful side effects, perhaps the most devastating to me is chemo brain. A definition from no less than the Mayo Clinic -

Research now shows that what these people are experiencing is called mild cognitive impairment — the loss of the ability to remember certain things, learn new skills and complete certain tasks. The cause of mild cognitive impairment during cancer treatment still isn't clear, nor is it clear how often it happens or what may trigger it. Doctors aren't sure what they can do about it."

I'm not sure what to do about it either. And it sure interferes with my blogging and even commenting around the blogosphere.

But in a way it's a handy excuse. My daughter no longer accuses me of getting senile.

Another annoying side effect is peripheral neuropathy - a numb, tingling sensation in my hands and feet. So far, it's just annoying - but if it gets worse it could get painful and cause nerve damage. Before that happens, they may adjust the chemo dosages downward. While I would welcome less 'poison' in my system, I also know the more offense the better.

But there's one thing that helps keep my spirits up, and that's my medical oncologist's latest 'prescription' for that foul-tasting 'chemo mouth' side effect.

Chocolate.

Yes.

It's the one thing that seems to counteract that awful acid/metal taste.

There may be long silences here, but rest assured that while I flounder around the internet and start posts and comments that never make it to completion - me and my bag of Hershey Kisses are still here.

I wish the treatments were over and I was pronounced cured. My second wish is for the primaries to be over.

I used to think it would be kind of cool to vote in a presidential primary and know that my vote actually meant something. Now I have great sympathy for the people in early primary states. I've thought about changing our voice mail greeting to "I've already voted - go away".

I've phone banked before (and I'm really, really bad at it) so I know the difficulties. But still - just go away.

My prediction for today's results - a slim victory for Obama, maybe Obama 48% Clinton 45%. I realize most polls give Obama a bigger margin of victory, but I know far too many rednecked Democrats who won't vote for a black candidate and far too many Republicans who have changed their registration to either Democratic or "unaffiliated" (we're an open primary state) in order to vote for Clinton.

I may have been confused and unfocused the last week or so, but not so much I didn't notice how St. John McSame scrambled to meet Elizabeth Edwards' challenge on health insurance for the uninsurable.

With federal financial assistance, his plan would encourage states to create high-risk pools that would contract with insurers to cover consumers who have been rejected on the open market.

That should go over quite well with the 'drown the government in a bathtub' crowd.

North Carolina HAS a contract with Blue Cross/Blue Shield to cover high-risk 'consumers'. They wanted $1400 per month from us, and that was BEFORE I was diagnosed with cancer.

I really should send copies of my bills to the McCain campaign crowd. I haven't added them all up, and more come in every day. But I am confident they are pushing or exceeding $75K.

In the meantime, I'm glad to see both Clinton and Obama now want to make it illegal for health insurance companies to deny an applicant because of health status. That wasn't always the case, and it's a nice baby step forward.

But what makes them think the health insurance companies won't hike the premiums for everyone else?

I have chemo-brain...what's their excuse?

You want change we can believe in or want to fight for the middle class worker? Single-payer - or at the very least Medicare For All...and make outsourcing it to the private insurers illegal while you're at it.

Go get 'em, girl

Elizabeth Edwards shoots back at John "Cheap Shot" McNasty on health insurance and pre-existing conditions.

Pod people

I've had this column at TPM Cafe by Maggie Mahar bookmarked for a week now, trying to figure out how many good things I can say about it without going overboard.

Point number one - "It is time, I think, to face the realpolitik of health care reform."

Those of us who are intensely interested in health insurance reform and advocates for a single-payer system need to come to grips with the fact that there is no magic wand.

Even if a President Kucinich or likewise-minded individual were to be sworn into office it would certainly not bring about, by itself, a reasonable single-payer system.

I can't get exercised over any one candidate's health care proposals because it truly doesn't matter that much. A president alone cannot do it. What the candidate says during the campaign and what he/she is able to accomplish once in office rarely match.

Besides the will of the Oval Office, real reform would take political will on the part of the House and Senate AND social solidarity on the part of citizens.

The latter part - social solidarity - is the one that has had my brain churning for a week.

In the words of Ms. Mahar - "The French are willing to provide generous coverage for all because they feel that nothing is too good for another Frenchman. We, unfortunately, do not feel that way about each other."

It's true. We don't.

Is it because of our large immigrant population?

No.

"...the truth is that many countries have a large immigrant population. For example, fifteen percent of Germany’s citizens are not German by birth, and one-third of that group is Turkish. Yet Germany’s spreads out a social safety net for everyone."

Ditto Belgium, Canada, France, Denmark the Netherlands, Switzerland, Sweden, and Norway.

The difference between these countries and the United States is that they are predominatly middle class whereas the United States has splintered into economic pods.

It's inevitable that any society will arrange itself into 'classes', but the gulf between the ultra-wealthy and the poor in the United States has become not only an economic nightmare but a moral blot on our social conscience with those in between drifting toward the bottom.

Princeton health care economist Uwe Reinhardt takes the most pessimistic view - we will never 'pull together to create and finance a high-quality healthcare system for all Americans because we don’t identify with each other. Instead, we live in our separate pods, defined, to a large degree, by how much we earn, and what we can afford to buy.'

The ultra-rich, rich, upper middle class, lower middle class, working poor, and very poor live in their own separate neighborhoods, send their children to their own schools, attend their own churches, patronize their own businesses.

Pod people.

And the only way any pod can be heard in Washington over the din of special interests is money.

Maggie Mahar rejects the pessimistic view of "never" and promises a "Part Two".

I await it eagerly.

Stuff

Sorry for the long silence - I am still alive and kicking, though after this fourth Satan-inspired round of chemo the "alive" is "just barely" and the "kicking" is more like making feeble gestures with my big toe.

Geez. Chemo is a bitch.

Anyone who has suffered through it or suffered along with a loved one can sympathize with "chemo mouth", that awful bleachy-bile taste that makes everything you try to eat or drink a disgusting mess. Getting something in my stomach - and keeping it there - is one of the main goals of my last several days.

And "chemo brain". I'm not making that up. I never claimed to be the brightest light bulb in the pack, but this is ridiculous. Writing down medication instructions - or having my reliable Mr. Andante present to hear them - is a MUST because I will forget.

Fatigue.

Holy cow. I've spent the last several days after this fourth round either lolling on the sofa (NOT eating bon-bons) or in the bed. I can walk to the car and back, but that's it. Anything further requires a wheelchair.

It's getting a bit better every day...I'm typing this, aren't I?...but it sure is a long haul.

On the plus side, my good Dr. Nuisance says he'll now be scheduling some scans & such to monitor progress. I hope for good news soon.

***Among the many things I've meant to write about lately was this heroic bit from Should Be First Lady and Favorite Person Elizabeth Edwards:

Elizabeth Edwards, the wife of former Democratic presidential contender John Edwards, said she and John McCain have one thing in common: “Neither one of us would be covered by his health policy.”

Brava!

Forget all the crap about whose health care plans is best, Obama or Clinton - any plan that includes the blood-sucking insurance companies is doomed to failure. They will fight tooth-and-nail to keep that heinous 'pre-existing conditions' garbage and make universal health care impossible for people like me.

***Who cares if the Clinton's made a gazillion bucks since 2000? So did John & Elizabeth Edwards, but as long as a candidate's heart is in the right place it's neither here nor there. See Roosevelt, Franklin Delano.

***And I totally missed the boat when it came to Women's History Month.

One of my favorite ladies of history is the estimable Mrs. Margaret Tobin Brown. Pioneer, entrepreneur, suffragette, soup-kitchen organizer and worker, and strong advocate for the unemployed, children, and women.

Mrs. Brown was one of the first women in the United States to run for political office - before women could even vote.

History wasn't through with Mrs. Brown, however. She was returning to the United States from a trip to Europe when her ship hit an iceberg.

After the ship struck the iceberg, Margaret helped load others into lifeboats and eventually was forced to board lifeboat six. She and the other women in lifeboat six worked together to row, keep spirits up, and dispel the gloom that was broadcast by the emotional and unstable Robert Hichens. However, Margaret's most significant work occurred on Carpathia, where she assisted Titanic survivors, and afterwards in New York. By the time Carpathia reached New York harbor, Margaret had helped establish the Survivor's Committee, been elected as chair, and raised almost $10,000 for destitute survivors. Margaret's language skills in French, German, and Russian were an asset, and she remained on Carpathia until all Titanic survivors had met with friends, family, or medical/emergency assistance.

The "Unsinkable Molly Brown" continued her work for human rights, literacy, and health care the rest of her life but was most annoyed when, as a woman, she was not allowed to testify before Congress regarding the Titanic disaster.

***Past time to try to eat or drink something that doesn't taste like Clorox. Wish me luck, and keep the prayers & positive thoughts coming my way.

Thanks, I needed that

It was a particularly rough round with chemo this past week, but thanks to PZ Myers I end the week laughing like I haven't laughed in ages.

Lookee here...

Paul Scofield, British Actor, Dies at 86

I know I saw A Man for All Seasons at least five times in theaters when it was first released. Each time I took away something new from Scofield's portrayal of Sir Thomas More.

A lift of the eyebrow, a slight gesture of the hand - there was always something new and meaningful to discover in his characterization.

Actor Richard Burton, once regarded as the natural heir to Laurence Olivier and John Gielgud at the summit of British theater, said it was Scofield who deserved that place. ''Of the 10 greatest moments in the theater, eight are Scofield's,'' he said.

Amen, and rest ye gentle, Mr. Scofield.