Julia Stimson Thorne, 1944-2006

This is a sad day, especially for Vanessa and Alexandra, their two daughters. Peace and best wishes to their friends and family.

With sincere sorrow to Vanessa & Alexandra...their mother will live on forever in their hearts.

“The death of a mother is the first sorrow wept without her”

“A mother's children are portraits of herself.”

“A Mother holds her children's hands for a while...their hearts forever”

Having lost my mother over three years ago, this comes as a sad reminder of what all of us must go through in life. My heart goes out to the Kerry family, particularly the girls.

I remember meeting Vanessa over three years ago when Teresa, and John were visiting SF for his birthday. I met a confident, straightforward young woman who was beautiful, intelligent and modest. A person who could come up to everyone and be the exact same way--no matter who you were.

I always felt both Vanessa and Alex were raised well, and to that one must credit Julia for the bulk of their upbringing. It is in them that she lives on.

May all parents be so blessed to have their reflection so well-lived and passed on to their children.

Extending sincere sympathies to all who knew, loved, and admired her.

May she rest in eternal peace in the wake of a life well lived.

All of you have expressed my thoughts too.

Thoughts are with the family

Thanks for posting this.

Rush Limbaugh Arrested

http://www.cnn.com/2006/LAW/04/28/linbaugh.arrest.ap/index.html

I have read articles about Julia, and articles written by her.

I extend encouragement to her family and friends.

Julia was true to herself and her priorities, and that is a courageous act in itself. She passed that courage, strength, honesty, and transparency on to her daughters, Vanessa and Alexandra. Their lives beautifully reflect all she taught them in word and deed.

She was an inspiration to many, and will continue to be so through her legacy and written works.

Julia:

You are not now, nor will you ever be, alone.

blessed be,
Otter

Sorry to disrupt the continuity

Now Limbaugh's lawyer says he wasn't arrested & they'll have a press conference tonight

http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/060428/laf068.html?.v=18

Liars

Ya know, 't'ain't normally my style to flog posts written on other blogs, and I don't normally repost stuff from previous threads except and unless I wrote 'em myself first, and even then not so much...

But imho this item that dwahzon posted earlier this ayem abstitively, posolutely deserves to be re-featured here just to make sure that more of y'all read it than otherwise might have (and if you ain't yet done that then go do so now, dang it!):

==============

[Posted by: dwahzon at April 28, 2006 04:58 PM]

And here's a testament to the power of words...

I Have One Hero. I Fail Him Every Day.
by withthelidoff

A few weeks ago, Frontline did an hour on "Tank Man," the mysterious Chinese man who, in 1989, stood up to tanks in Tiananmen Square. I've spent the subsequent weeks deeply upset with myself.

Tiananmen Square, and Tank Man in particular, is my very first memory of current events. And it's never faded.

At the time, I was 7 years old. My world very happily didn't extend much beyond a four block radius of my house, and the closest I came to awareness was that I could recognize the opening chimes of the McNeil/ Lehrer News Hour. For whatever reason, I don't remember much of my childhood. I don't know if I just don't bother remembering things or if I'm blocking something or what, but my one vivid memory is sitting slack-jawed watching this man stare down a tank. I had army men, I knew about tanks. I knew that they ran over people. I couldn't remotely comprehend what was actually going on, and I'm pretty sure I remember dinner being ready, but I knew right then that something huge was happening. Something that had to, in some way, involve me. I didn't realize how long it would last, but a desperate gnawing in my gut started that night and hasn't ever gone away. Without knowing a single thing about what was happening in that man's world, I knew I needed to find my tank.

read the rest here...
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/28/145541/307

==============

The whole of that post, my friends, is some pretty damn sure meaningful stuff. Go. Read. And then come on back here and report to us what you have gleaned from reading it.

One thing that yr hmnl otr crspndnt hmslf gleaned from reading it is this:

It is long past time that I shoulda / coulda / woulda found my own tank.

But the really big question is:

Have you / will you / can you / shall you too??

tank you and good knight,
Otter

According to CNN, ya know, the media outlet where Rush's current galpal is an ancor... 'Limbaugh was booked on a single charge that was filed Friday, said Teri Barbera, a spokeswoman for the Palm Beach County Jail. He left about an hour later, after Limbaugh was photographed and fingerprinted and he posted $3,000 bail, Barbera said.'

Arrested Development

My deepest sympathies go out to the Thorne, Charlesworth and Kerry families.

monkey:

Kagan, kagout.

whatever woiks,
Otter

A video posted Friday on the Internet from al Qaeda No. 2, Ayman al-Zawahiri, alleges insurgents have "broken the back of America in Iraq." "Iraq, America, Britain and their allies have achieved nothing but losses, disaster and misfortunes," he said.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/04/28/zawahiri.tape/index.html

They continue to play Bush like a fiddle.

If I Were A Rich Man...

I'm really confused. I thought MonKey was swinging on a cruise. How is monkey here?

Hi, MonKey, Hope you had a good time.

Ok..please look at the post I placed on the thread below this for volunteer activities in your area. (I thought this thread was devoted to Julia Stimson Thorne

We mean well but I have yet to see a thread which has remained "devoted" to one thing .. our collective consciousness streams .. that may be the legacy of johnkerry.com coming through

By the way, inspirational, maddening at the same time -
I did not know that Bush's new press secretary, Snow, had made very derogatory remarks about Jesse Jackson in particular and black people in general - hear it at Democracy Now. Jesse kept his cool & very articulately discussed that & alot of other things.

Also deciding what to do to help with the following -
HUGE antiwar effort in NYC tomorrow (will have to do something
here since we're not there!)
Rally r/t Darfur genocide Sunday (will have to do something here
since we're not in DC!)
Activities Monday r/t immigrant rights (luckily, have day off all 3
days)

Here is the Democracy Now link - all of it was exceptional today (about peak oil, then Jesse Jackson & his take on things, & then head of a Mexican-American group).

http://www.Democracynow.org - main page for today

For one thing, Jesse Jackson pointed out that Iraqis can vote via satellite from US but New Orleanians can't vote via satellite from US (if not in New Orleans).

The guy from the Hispanic org pointed out that the proposed Sensenbrenner bill which punishes those who might help immigrants is the modern version of the old bill in which those were punished who helped fugitive slaves.

(I do remember that DCP was compared to the Underground Railroad - now let's prove it!)

I am not hijacking the thread and do not believe anyone in the Kerry family would think so, as they exemplify social action & should be in the White House.

Here is the example of crude ignorance followed by class:

Snow said, "People like Jesse Jackson who have committed themselves to a view that blacks are constantly victims, have succeeded in creating in the United States the most dangerous thing that we've encountered in our lifetime; which is, an underclass that doesn't seem to be going anywhere."

REV. JESSE JACKSON: You know, I’m reluctant to dignify it, except there is an attempt to make the quest for racial justice illegitimate, an attempt to make gender equality illegitimate, an attempt to make a call to peace unpatriotic. That's a kind of a consistent rightwing line. The fact is that people of color were locked out of opportunity by law and must be protected by law. And now this administration, that law is not being enforced.

For example, we were denied the right to vote by law for 346 years until 1965. The law in 1965 was an 1870 law passed that would not honored by the States, and the federal government had to intervene. What’s relevant today about that is, in Louisiana today, that law has been suspended again. So, Iraqi Americans can vote by satellite from America to Baghdad and Fallujah, but New Orleanians cannot vote by satellite from New York or from Memphis to New Orleans. So we're fighting for a democracy in Iraq we do not honor at home. And who are the victims of that for the most part? People of color. So that's not something I’m creating. That is government policy.

do not believe anyone in the Kerry family would think so, as they exemplify social action & should be in the White House.

Posted by: DiAnne at April 28, 2006 09:35 PM

I didn't mean to imply critism at all Dianne. If anything, I was just saying I posted it there because I wasn't sure where to place it.

And for me personally, I have to place emotional goodbyes or well wishes on one thread and then place the other concerns somewhere else. But that is just me and I didn't mean to insult you by anything I said.

Sparrow
I didn't feel insulted. I was just commenting that we "tend" to not do very well at keeping to topic!

I do very much appreciate this thread & have just been reading alot on-line about Julia & am wondering if she was related to the very wonderful Stimsons in the Bullitt family in Seattle who have been incredible donors & philanthropists for progressive politics & the environment. From what I can tell, one & the same. I had read a book about the female members of that family & have met some. Also she had 7 ancestors who were Patriots in the American Revolution.

Dianne,

I'm glad you're not insulted. I guess I never realized before that I need to compartmentalize.

If nothing else, start a new thread?

Condolences to the family of Julia Stimson Thorne...

But, as any of us knows who has lost family and wondered why the world didn't stop turning when we were in those first hours/days of shocked mourning, the world still turns, and life goes on, even when we don't feel like going with it.

And, who knows? If she were alive, maybe she'd get a giggle over Rushie Limberger's arrest... saw Rushie's mug shot, and he imitated Lay and smiled like the mug shot was a publicity photo....

Jason Leopold: Fitzgerald to Seek Indictment of Rove
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/042806Y.shtml
Despite vehement denials by his attorney who said this week that Karl Rove is neither a "target" nor in danger of being indicted in the CIA leak case, the special counsel leading the investigation has already written up charges against Rove, and a grand jury is expected to vote on whether to indict the Deputy White House Chief of Staff sometime next week, sources knowledgeable about the probe said Friday afternoon.

{{{Okay. I'll only believe this if I see the news conference about it. If this is valid, I hope they wait until Monday so the news isn't forgotten over the weekend....}}}

NonnyO
Thankyou for posting that - I had just read it & hoped that the long-awaited "frog march" was coming closer.

& it's not Earth Day yet but I guess I'm jumping the gun.

Let Us Now Spit Upon The Earth
You can do it the old way, or you can do it like Bush -- with smirks, mountain bikes and oil
By Mark Morford

Look, see those tire marks? That ungainly footprint? Feel that breath of humid doom upon your skin? Yes, the president was just here. Up in Napa Valley, riding his official Trek Mountain Bike One over the rocks and down the trails and through the cool California mud, a small army of handlers and Secret Service agents and emergency medical personnel by his side and/or rumbling along behind him in big black SUVs. It was very cute, in a fingernail-yanked-with-pliers sort of way.

It was Earth Day weekend. The president talked about how mountain biking helped him "settle his soul" and "burn off excess energy when you're living life to its fullest," which apparently means blindly running your nation into a bloody flaming wall at full speed like a drunk NASCAR driver on Ambien. He talked about how he enjoyed mountain biking because it had such minimal impact on the pristine, wild surroundings. Shockingly, lightning did not strike him dead on the spot.

Later on, the prez talked up the need for wildly implausible hydrogen-powered cars to the California Fuel Cell Partnership, a group who, if they had a drop of integrity and brains among them, didn't believe a single word he said.

Bush on Earth Day. It's like Satan talking up the joys of Easter. It's like Paris Hilton chatting about treading the planet with humility and grace. It's like Jerry Falwell gushing about his love of Brokeback Mountain, Eli Lilly extolling the virtues of meditation and green tea. It is, in a word, embarrassing. Humiliating. Intellectually bludgeoning. And hypocritical in a way, and at a depth, that is as nauseating to stomach as the testosterone levels at a Duke lacrosse frat party. ...

(click here to read the rest)

(Full URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/gate/archive/2006/04/28/notes042806.DTL&nl=fix)

Senator Kennedy, The Democrats & Iran

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2006/4/28/181643/061

by Georgia 10

Really good.

Rest in peace, Julia Thorne, extraordinary mother of wonderful daughters; and twin sister of a lovely, lovely man. Love and light to the entire Kerry-Thorne clan.

Hey good question:

Why hasn’t any Democrat on either the Senate Armed Services Committee or the Senate Foreign Relations Committee publicly demanded to know under what authority the Bush Administration is doing advance work inside Iran? We now know that Bush redirected resources from Afghanistan towards Iraq war planning in the spring and summer of 2002, without congressional authorization, so it is entirely plausible that we have already been engaged in these activities for over a year now inside Iran, as new reports indicate. Yet we have heard or seen nothing from Carl Levin, Joe Biden, or Bill Nelson of Florida, who is the only Democrat on both the Armed Services and the Foreign Relations committees.

not quite new
http://www.theleftcoaster.com/archives/007390.php

My heart goes out to the Thorne/Kerry family. However, I am sure that Julia Thorne had access to some of the best health care this country had to offer. Today I had the opportunity to meet a 46 year old man who has recently changed jobs. He was celebrating his 11 year old son's birthday with his family. I met him while he was in his hospital bed and his wife had just taken their children home. This young man has recently left his job in order to open a new business with his friends. Of course that meant he is between insurance coverages. The new health insurance he and his partners chose for themselves and their employees does not go into effect until May 1, and it does not cover pre-existing conditions.Today this father, and new business owner without health insurance learned that he has metastatic malignant melanoma (an incurable cancer).

Tragedy happens everyday and in any way.

Oh oncall, that is such a tragic happening, and I know he is not alone in his need or what must be his rage and frustration.

Every other industrialized nation covers people for sudden tragic illness except this one. What can we do?

Karen, I can tell you of many similar circumstances.

We can shake our fists until our hands drop off. But only when big business convinces our leaders that single payor health plans are good for business will this country move towards a more humane health insurance system.

That is a sad and unfortunate story, Oncall, and one that happens all too frequently in our country.

It seems more and more like it's "LIFE" for those with money, and the elite, and a substandard quality of life for everyone else. This is not the America I saw when growing up. This is not the America I saw when a young woman - that America had hope for everyone for a better standard of living than the generation before it. This generation has witnessed the deterioration of a glorious opportunity for citizens of the United States of America. Sure, we still have it better than most of the population in the world, but our standard of living and opportunities for full lives, where everyone has the opportunity to fulfill his dreams, is on a great decline. I hate to think that America has peaked already, a generation or two ago.

We can do better. We have to.

"There is a new Dr. Seuss book out, and it's about President Bush.

The name?

'Sham I Am.'"

-Jay Leno

Pentagon's Plan For Dirty War
By Chris Floyd
The plan is the culmination and codification of an ad hoc array of progams and powers that Bush has doled out to Rumsfeld over the years, including a series of executive orders signed after the 2004 election that essentially turned the world into a "global free-fire zone" for the Pentagon's secret armies and proxy foreign militias, as a top Pentagon official told The New Yorker. "We're going to be riding with the bad boys.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12867.htm

Blood Payments for Flawed Leadership
By Mike Whitney
Bad news continues to pile up around Don Rumsfeld like garbage at a land fill. The latest blast came from an unlikely source, The Army Times”, which conducted a poll showing that 64% of enlisted men think Rumsfeld
should tender his resignation immediately.
http://informationclearinghouse.info/article12872.htm
Excerpt:

A Washington Post article last Sunday “Rumsfeld OKs wider anti-terror role for Military”, exposed another frightening part of Rumsfeld’s “transformative” vision. Following the next terrorist attack on American soil, Rumsfeld plans to deploy “elite Special operations troops” to conduct military operations in countries outside of war zones. Under the secretary’s direction, 53,000 paramilitaries and Green Berets will be released into sovereign nations in violation of international law, conducting renditions, assassinations, sabotage, and acts of piracy. Rumsfeld’s plan abandons all prior constraints on the military and converts the entire world into a “free-fire” zone.

There’s no doubt that Rumsfeld’s malignant strategy encompasses the American “homeland” as well. It was Rumsfeld who pushed the Posse Comitatus law towards extinction by setting up NorthCom, a military command post within the United States. This creates the possibility that future military operations will target the American people, a threat which was anticipated by the founding fathers. Under new legislation the military is free to spy on American citizens, deploy mercenaries to natural disasters, and, in the event of a terrorist attack, arrest citizens without charges.

All this leaves little doubt that Rumsfeld’s ultimate goal is to remove the military from all congressional oversight and create a global policing apparatus for transnational corporations. The final component of his plan will be set in motion following the next terrorist attack.

{{{ So, my question is: HOW does anyone KNOW that there IS going to be a "next terrorist attack"??? Unless, of course, they are planning on doing the attacking or are in cahoots with someone who is planning a "next" CRIMINAL attack - terror or fear are the resulting feelings from those who survive the CRIMINAL acts - the acts themselves that create fear are CRIMINAL acts... not that I'm nit-picking or anything you understand.... I'm tired of hearing 'terrorist' and 'terrorist acts' or phrases like that which are repeated endlessly and which seem to be a psy-ops technique to keep sheeple afraid of their own shadows. Like Pavlov's dogs, when RumDum and Dumbya, et al., say the words 'terror' or 'terrorist' we're supposed to quake in fear and terror, or crawl under our beds and shiver and shake, every time they utter the words.... I'm not a Pavlovian dog, so that tactic doesn't work on me, but I've been embarrassed by, and disgusted with, the sheeple who seem to have done just that - and voted for Dumbya in that fear, which is the most disgusting thing of all.}}}

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060428/ts_nm/mexico_drugs_dc

Mexico set to decriminalize pot and cocaine

MEXICO CITY (Reuters) - Possessing marijuana, cocaine and even heroin will no longer be a crime in Mexico if the drugs are carried in small amounts for personal use, under legislation passed by the Mexican Congress.

The measure given final passage by senators late on Thursday allows police to focus on their battle against major drug dealers, the government says, and President Vicente Fox is expected to sign it into law.

{{{More on link, technicalities involving various drugs, limits on amounts....}}}

Posted by: not my president at April 28, 2006 02:55 PM

The only point I agree with for any of the immigration issues is that I think emigrants should learn at least enough English to understand people who use English as the dominant language in this country. I don't much understand most of the other 'issues' surrounding Mexican-American immigration, just that I know a physical wall is a monumental waste of money and time to build (and it would be an environmental disaster for animals in those regions).

My Scandinavian and Alsatian ancestors got here in the 19th century. No one bent over backwards teaching Scandinavians or Alsatians English as a second language, and certainly no one put documents in Norwegian, Swedish, Danish, or Alsatian and expected Americans to learn their language to make them feel more comfortable as new citizens. (Census data reflects the fact that they probably didn't speak English all that well, either, even if they likely knew enough to get by.) My Dutch ancestors got here ca 1630, so likely by the generation of the grandchildren of the immigrants, no one knew how to speak Dutch any longer.

It's one thing to learn a second language by choice (as I did with Norwegian - I knew if I learned one of the three Scandinavian languages I could then at least read old documents for genealogy research in all three languages since they are so close - and it's proven to be true). That was my choice. My genetic and cultural heritage includes seven distinct groups, so if I were using the cultural identifiers with a hyphen (Something-American), I could use any of those identifiers, or all seven plus the word American tacked on at the end.

It was suggested a few years ago that we "should" learn Spanish to make it easier for Mexicans to assimilate, and that notion offends me. While I love the songs and dance and art and culture of Mexico, it is not my cultural or ethnic heritage, and I don't wish to learn Spanish. If Mexicans (or any other immigrants from any other country) choose to become Americans, one of the things they need to do is learn the national anthem - in English. If anyone from this country went to Mexico and obtained Mexican citizenship, we'd be expected to learn their national anthem in Spanish/Mexican, yes? (Or fill in any other name for any other country/language. If any one of us went to another country and became a citizen of that country, would we not be expected to learn the national anthem of that country in the dominant language of that country? We'd be expected to at least learn enough of the language of a chosen new country to get by.) Why would it be unreasonable to expect new US citizens to learn our national anthem in English, and learn our dominant language?

Technically, since our earliest ancestors chose to invade this part of the world, we "should" have learned the dominant language of any number of Native Americans and not be speaking English at all... and, yes, I know history is written by the invading 'victors,' which is why we speak English in this country of immigrants.

Whether or not Mexican-Americans "should" or "should not" sing our national anthem in Spanish is a nonsense side issue that has no relevance to the more serious things going on in this country, or what's going on in the world as a result of the bad "leadership" of the people in *our* White House.

In practical reality: What can we do to rid our nation of that cancerous wart of a dictator masquerading as the leader of this country? What can we do to get our senators and representatives off their arses and yelling about the de facto dictatorship that has resulted in broken laws, broken treaties, war crimes as a result of all of those, and the death and maiming of thousands of our people and others as a result of the de facto dictatorship??? What can we do to force our senators to censure, our representatives to impeach, and get The Hague to arrest our de facto dictators and try them for war crimes??? We have far bigger things to worry about than bickering about what language our national anthem "should" be sung in.

My thoughts and hopes go out to the Thornes and Kerry family.

Life and light.
Marjorie

Lind on Rumy and Dumbo

http://www.d-n-i.net/lind/lind_4_27_06.htm

synopsis:
If Rumy goes, who replaces him? Dumbo is the real culprit and he is still around.
The quest for high tech, very expensive weapons without a change in how they are used is wrong.

National Catholic Reporter

http://nationalcatholicreporter.org/fwis/
But compassion is not enough. Two whole societies have been grievously wounded by a war that did not need to be.

There is simply no such thing anymore as a "non-combatant," an uninvolved citizen, in an all-out military assault. However possible it may once have been to make a genuine case for the "just war," war is clearly obsolete now.

[snip](end of article)
And, from where I stand, so-called "pre-emptive war" in a day of "strategic" nuclear weapons is simply madness masking as governance. That "doctrine" is heresy and it must go -- not simply to protect the integrity of other nations but to preserve our own, as well.

On learning languages: I think most Americans feel as Nonny does; that learning another language should be a choice, and that we should not *have* to learn another language in order to help new immigrants assimilate. But I am also concerned about the number of Americans who either travel abroad and insist that the rest of the world accomodate our need to be understood immediately, or who decide never to leave the country because it is too foreign.

I dislike our insularity and arrogance (including inside myself) when I come across it, and I am grateful for the foreign language requirements of my undergraduate and graduate programs, if only because I feel that, at least I am TRYING to acknowledge and honor the fact that I am not traveling in some extended cultural landscape of the USA.

That said, when I was in Switzerland and Germany, and people spoke to me in German or Italian, I would answer in my really poor French, causing them much confusion AND glee. We would quickly switch to English--their English was, as a rule, much better than my French!

Julia
by The Beatles

Half of what I say is meaningless
But I say it just to reach you, Julia

Julia, Julia, oceanchild, calls me
So I sing a song of love, Julia
Julia, seashell eyes, windy smile, calls me
So I sing a song of love, Julia

Her hair of floating sky is shimmering, glimmering
In the sun

Julia, Julia, morning moon, touch me
So I sing a song of love, Julia

When I cannot sing my heart
I can only speak my mind, Julia

Julia, sleeping sand, silent cloud, touch me
So I sing a song of love, Julia
Hum hum hum hum... calls me
So I sing a song of love for Julia, Julia, Julia

Catching up on last night's thread.

Oncall,

I'm with you on the healthcare issue. There is a person at my temp job who looks like he's got a brain tumor. I feel bad for him though, because I suspect he can't afford the costs to have it taken care of. You have to wonder how horrible one must feel to know they feel ill but can not go to the doctor or hospital. When they knowingly just wait for whatever illness is going to undo them to just happen.

We talk about life and quality of life and this is the core issue. We should have the expectation that our work will provide for us or our families. Nobody is asking for a 60,000 foot mansion on taxpayer's and business's pocketbook, but healthcare for all America's citizens should be mandatory.

Nonnyo,

What can we do?

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/28/194731/425

And if we can't leave home, then grab a phone book and call to see if they need phone canvassers yet.

Oncall,

Now I'm really worried about that man and others like him. Are there any foundations that man can go to for help?

3 years, and the mission is - well . . .

Apr. 29, 2006 12:00 AM

May 1 marks the third anniversary of President Bush's aircraft-carrier declaration, "Mission Accomplished."

Three years later - yes, three years! - and the United States under this administration is shamefully still occupying Iraq.

Bush and his increasingly corrupt circle in Washington, D.C., used false intelligence, misleading Congress and the American people into an unnecessary invasion and occupation of a country that had neither attacked nor posed an imminent threat to us.

As a result, nearly 2,400 American troops have died, more then 18,000 have been injured and at least 100,00 innocent Iraqi civilians have been killed.

According to the first reliable study from Iraqi and U.S. public health experts, 50,000 were women and children, their deaths the result of airstrikes and heavy free-fire attacks by U.S. and coalition forces. What's next? Iran and countless more deaths?

Arizona Sens. John McCain and Jon Kyl and House members across the Valley, from Trent Franks to Jeff Flake, have supported President Bush and his failed polices in Iraq. It is time we put them on notice that we represent a growing majority of their constituents, and we vote!

We do not believe that the occupation of Iraq reflects the will or the wisdom of the American people. Recent polls support this conclusion. In the streets this weekend and at the polls in November we should yell loud and clear: "Stop the War - Support the Troops - Bring them home!" - Dan O'Neal, Gilbert
The writer is Arizona state co-coordinator of the Progressive Democrats of America.

Posted by: sparrow at April 29, 2006 09:25 AM

In my experience patients without *any* type of insurance are given the care they need. That includes medications and hospital services.

About 10 years ago, recognizing that there was a growing problem of uninsued individuals in our county, my wife and others formed a clinic for those without any form of insurance (I remember the first meeting in our family room). The clinic has developed good working relationships with the local hospitals. The clinic also serves those between jobs and without COBRA insurance.

As you can see, it is only the good will of health care providers that will provide for those in need of adequate healthcare.

I tell my patients when they get angry at their insurance company, they need to remember that the company is in business to make a profit and not necessarily to help people.

However, I have seen my fair share of people with resources who have effectively "gamed" the system. For example, I know a man with homes in London and India who has medicaid insurance. He does not have to declare his property as assets, and therefore receives medicaid. That to me is another perfect example of the need for a single payer system.

Posted by: karen at April 29, 2006 08:44 AM

"Choice." Yes, that's the correct word.

If I had the opportunity to travel to another country, I'd pack one of my translating dictionaries and/or I'd find the translating dictionaries online and take my laptop with in travels and somehow manage to communicate with people from other countries in their own languages. As is, I am singularly fortunate to have a network of pen-pals from various countries who know a whole bunch of languages and I can write to any of them to translate whatever I can't understand. (I can do word-for-word translating sometimes with the translating dictionaries; I just don't get the finer nuances of things in other languages. If I'm in a hurry, and think they're online with the time differences, I just write one of my pen-pals.)

I don't genuinely expect anyone to accommodate me all the time and speak or write American English to make things easier for me to understand them, but I'm always pleased when pen-pals know English (as a second language, no less) as well as I do - and at my age, I don't have much time to immerse myself in too many more languages. Right now I am dealing with the three Scandinavian languages (some of the very earliest records have a few Latin and German words/letters thrown in!), but I'll have to delve further into Dutch, some French, and probably Alsatian German in the future (yes, all in old records from the 19th century or earlier, sometimes much earlier, like the 16th or 17th century, in Gothic script/penmanship, no less). It's practical for me to know a few words of those languages that I need to have for genealogy and early documentation purposes; eminently practical...! Okay, I'm a bit daft; I consider it a great adventure in learning, just as I would consider it a great adventure to travel and at least learn a few words of someone else's language in the countries I'd choose to travel to.... ('Choose' being the operative word.)

But I don't want to be forced to learn someone else's language that I'll never use for lack of contact with anyone who uses that language and whose countries I have no desire to visit, and language from another country I'd not consider moving to or taking up residency or citizenship (and which I don't need to know for my genealogy research). True, I love the music and art and dance from that region, but I can appreciate that via CD and TV programs, too. (I already know I'm allergic to most of the foods from that region and don't wish to get three day migraines, so I enjoy the culture from afar.) The last time I knew anyone who could speak Spanish was in college. If it ever turns out that I find Spanish ancestors somewhere down the line, I'll learn it on a need to know basis since I'm good at acquiring books and translating dictionaries, but I wouldn't use it daily and I know it. It's not practical for me to learn Spanish. (Anyway, my two oldest great-nephews who are in private elementary school have been learning Spanish since first grade. If I need to know anything in Spanish, I'll ask them to translate. They'd get a kick out of it, I think.)

Yes, I'll acknowledge my arrogance; but at my age, I also have to acknowledge what is or is not practical for me to learn - I have to finally acknowledge my limitations, physically and medically, as well the time constraint of age. I've lived over half of my life span, and plan on living to age 100 with a clear mind. That's 'only' 40 more years.... While I'm greedy for knowledge, I also know that I have to limit my various interests to only a couple of dozen things for the next 40 years so I can finish some of my various projects.... The last six years have forced me to be a great deal more practical than I might have been before.

Still, the flap about our national anthem being sung in Spanish is a side issue that is totally irrelevant to the much, much larger and more important (and genuine) issues affecting many people today: stupid illegal wars; illegal torture and detention of people, LYING dictator wannabes who need to be censured and impeached and sent to The Hague to be tried for war crimes.... Serious stuff people need to pay attention to before we all end up in one of Halliburton's concentration camps.....
~~~~~

I woke up to morning news and the lead story was Rushie Limberger's arrest and smiling mug shot.... Now that's "reality TV" one can gossip about with glee!!! Bwahahahahaha...!!! :-) Oh, and last night's in-state news featured film footage of high school students from Stillwater, two of whom were arrested, who had skipped school and marched to a local military recruiting office and someone had sprayed red paint on the windows at the recruiting office. College students from the U of M had also done some peace marching yesterday, too, in the Twin Cities.... All of which warms the cockles of my heart on this drizzly and rainy day.... Ah, it feels like the 60s and 70s to see high school and college students demonstrating and marching again.... :-)

NonnyO
Bert was at the event you mentioned where students went to the recruiting office & will be doing stories on it for Kos & our blog & I can link you to it when it's done. I saw the photos & can email you the link now.

Also, Truthout just sent out the original Rush Limbaugh title where he is "arrested" - not just a "deal is made" or something like that. ARRESTED - you know - like when bail is set, etc.?!
We have to ingrain those words in the people's mind - RUSH LIMBAUGH WAS ARRESTED -- for drug scamming.

Posted by: DiAnne at April 29, 2006 10:56 AM

Yes, I'd appreciate the link to the story. I saw a couple of different versions on different in-state networks, so some gave it the coverage it deserved and others only mentioned it in passing with a mere few seconds of moving video.

Yes, it needs to be ingrained that Rushie was ARRESTED. True, some kind of deal was made and he's out on bail with a suspended sentence of some sort for the next year and a half and as long as he stays in treatment and doesn't get in any more trouble, the whole thing will be erased from his record, but yes, Rushie was ARRESTED, and his smiling mug shot is plastered on the TV screen (DeLay must be his hero, 'cuz he emulated him with a smiling mug shot...).

Someone on a morning show today said he was being made an example of because he is a celebrity. The other person disagreed, pointed out the addictive effects of the drug he was taking, that anyone else would be in jail for what Rushie did, that he was getting special treatment because his sentence is so light.
~~~~~

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060429/ap_on_re_us/anti_war_protest

Thousands Converge on NYC for War Protest

NEW YORK - A day after the military announced that April was the deadliest month for U.S. forces in Iraq this year, thousands of anti-war demonstrators converged on lower Manhattan on Saturday to call for an immediate withdrawal of troops from that country.

{{{More on link. I hope the photo stays the same: it's two guys in orange jump suits with Bu$h & Chinkster masks, holding a sign that says "Try All War Criminals" - neat! :-)}}}

NonnyO

Thanks for coverage on NYC protest - that will remind me to watch for it. Besides MSM, could try NYC IndyMedia & United for Peace & Justice links.

& I'm sure you've come across this more-than-gossip stuff that I hope is getting major coverage - procurement of prostitutes by a defense contractor - for politicians - another Watergate Hotel scandal. I've been busy at work & meant to read about this, but now it's getting sent around through the usual channels as an example of hypocrisy of the "moral majority" types.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12521205

Oncall,

I'm happy to know that there is that system for them to fall back on even if it's organized by hospitals and medical providers.

Now on to a different subject....my assumption is that we are all suffering from more illnesses due to pollution than ever before.

So as far as I'm concerned that's two strikes against irresponsible businesses and why the government is suppose to create laws that protect us from corporate abuse.

NonnyO
I don't think the story is written yet but I sent you the photos from which those accompanying the story will be chosen, so you can see even more.

Sparrow
I work with kids & asthma & peanut allergies are rampant, plus the kids are always sick. This was definitely not the case when I was small, or even when my son (who is 25) was.

NonnyO
An example SHOULD be made of Rush Limbaugh because he is a celebrity. Oxycontin abuse is another thing, along with methamphetamine manufacture and addiction - in poor rural areas and in "red states" and "blue states" both. Rush Limbaugh is the poster boy for Oxycontin abuse.

About language

I'm a communication specialist and work with kids, including those of Mexican immigrants. Some of the children have language delays and disorders and have difficulty learning one, let alone two languages.

Nevertheless, children pick up languages very easily. Those with Spanish-speaking parents will pick up English just from television and stores and daycare and preschool and the street. They are neurologically programmed to do so. They will learn to sort out which persons speak which language, they will be able to discern accents, they will learn which words have synonyms in both languages and which things cannot be well translated from one language to the other. All of this they will be able to do without direct instruction, unless there is something neurologically amiss.

What will be difficult is that their parents may not be able to make phone calls, including for medical needs, without interpretation. They may not be able to read to them, possibly in either language. The kids are still in a much better position to adapt.

If someone comes here after puberty, they will always have accented English. They can still learn pretty quickly, but the brain is much less plastic and they will literally use different brain areas and mechanisms for their mother tongue and 2nd language.

Then take someone older who knows only one language and is transplanted here - be it Spanish, Ukrainian, Arabic or other (those are the 3 main interpreters I use here). It's very very hard to learn language when older but can be done. I think most people could learn basic functional phrases, food names, survival reading but that's a far cry from processing and producing rapid sequential speech.

That's for immigrants and foreign students, visitors etc. of different ages.

Now the issue of language itself - we are probably one of the most monolingual places on the planet. English has been kind of the universal language of the planet because of our economic, cultural and military dominance. European students that I know are required to learn a minimum of THREE languages and be fluent in TWO, besides their own. That makes four. They do it.

Canada has everything written also in French, as on products and signs. To enter Canada as an immigrant, points are added for various comprehension and production levels of French, with a gradated system for level of accomplishment. I wish we had more things written both in Spanish and English, but we have quite alot now.

In Europe, international visual symbols are used on the trains. There is so much we could do with that. I thought America was supposed to be a Melting Pot with open arms for all. The truth of that little myth is that Canada has alot of immigrants that we historically refused or had quotas for, such as Indians and Pakistanis and even Italians (check out Toronto!)

I would give anything to be more fluent in French and Spanish. I can understand children but not adults. I can read menus, find the right bathroom and laboriously make my way through articles without a dictionary but without true mastery. English shares 40% of its vocabulary with Latin-based languages. The rest, such as the syntax, is mostly derived from Germanic-Old English type branch (NonnyO may know more).

I found my small town to be closed culturally even to those from other towns. All strangers were viewed with suspicion in rural South Dakota. An out-of-town license plate brought merchants out of their stores. Native Americans were treated shamefully. When I saw signs in the post office about "aliens" (immigrants), I thought they meant people from outer space. I was confused for a long time. I think I was 12 when I first saw a black person (in Minneapolis). My dad said (loudly), "Look! An interracial couple!" - and he was one of the more enlightened ones (a teacher, had been in the Army, had black musician friends).

My impression of this country is that it has many people who expect to keep a White Anglo Saxon Majority in control forever, even if they are a minority - like South Africa wanted to do in the days before Nelson Mandela and was boycotted for. Someone just sent me a long long diatribe by an anti-immigrant person who feels Vincente Fox is starting a big war and invasion against US. She was soliciting comments so I sent it out to several people - let me know if anyone is interested in receiving it and responding.

Our cities have alot of cultures, cultural events and openness.
Most students here at least study a 2nd language (my son has done Japanese and Spanish).

We can not continue to think we can arrogantly dominate the world for language, culture, resources and money. I would give anything to have more time off work and time to use a program like Rosetta Stone and learn at least one other language well & to travel more, see the world. Most of the people I work with are only interested in "trading up" for a bigger house and some have even come to work bragging about how much they sold their house for - more square footage means more utilities so more of earth's resources are being squandered. & they're either proud of it or not even aware of it. For shame.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/4/29/114853/825

OK! Hot off the press - here is the link to Bert of MN Vets for Peace's diary on Kos. Please vote for it, comment on it, send the link around.

It's about MN students protesting (& more) at recruiting office & the pics (as usual) are great!

Bravo Kayakbiker!!

50 year old Republican Congressman Drunk at Frat Party

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/28/AR2006042801329.html

Another one for the collection of "moral" people who preach

Posted by: DiAnne at April 29, 2006 12:22 PM

Hey, Duke Cunningham had hookers provided for him too in DC.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12521205/

We have been treated to mugshots of Tom DeLay, Rush Limbaugh, Duke Cunningham, Jack Abramoff, all prominent members of the "Holier Than Thou" club... Pat Robertson running his big fat hypocritical mouth where it doesnt't belong.

I can hardly wait for the next values driven, morally superior snake oil salesman to step on their tail.

Wolves, FOX... Perfect.

Scott Ritter on Kerry plan:

During a speech, Ritter said that he felt that John Kerry’s Iraq plan was “rational, sound and plausible, however it was not enough unless he takes responsibility for his vote.”

Pamela Leavey writes, “He has,” I told Ritter, “repeatedly starting in late October with his speech at Georgetown University and most recently with his “Dissent” speech, this last Saturday in Boston.” I told Ritter, I would be happy to send him copies of Kerry’s statements and speeches to verify this,

“Then, under those circumstances,” Ritter told me, “I would be behind his plan.”

Read the rest of this entry » http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=2793

I can hardly wait for the next values driven, morally superior snake oil salesman to step on their tail.

Wolves, FOX... Perfect.

Posted by: monkey at April 29, 2006 12:43 PM

A Suit to Suit a Viper

I took a viper and I put him in a suit
I combed his hair across his head
To make him look real cute

I reminded him to keep his venom low
I taught him everything I know
Everything I know

I found a scorpion and trained him how to sit
He practiced tea and sympathy
His act was quite a hit

I took his stinger and wrapped it in a bow
I taught him everything I know
Everything I know

(chorus)
They sit angelic, composed and full of grace
They learn their lines by heart and keep a poker face
I know the world will benefit when they are truly free
To come and poison you and me
To come and posion you and me

I spied a vampire and put him to the test
Got him a lawyer and then
Sued God for damages

I told him: "be patient, blood will surely flow"
I taught him everything I know
Everything I know

I gussied up a tumor and took it to DC
And there it had a great career
It acted naturally

At the cocktail parties it always thanks the host
I taught it everything I know
Everything I know

(chorus)
They sit angelic, composed and full of grace
They learn their lines by heart and keep a poker face
I know the world will benefit when they are truly free
To come and poison you and me
To come and posion you and me

I took a viper and I put him in a suit
I combed his hair across his head
To make him look real cute

I reminded him to keep his venom low
I taught him everything I know
Everything I know

I found a scorpion and trained him how to sit
He practiced tea and sympathy
His act was quite a hit

I took his stinger and wrapped it in a bow
I taught him everything I know
Everything I know

(chorus)
They sit angelic, composed and full of grace
They learn their lines by heart and keep a poker face
I know the world will benefit when they are truly free
To come and poison you and me
To come and posion you and me

+++

One may smile and smile and be a villain

Hamlet
Wm. Shakespeare

http://www.correntewire.com/song_in_the_key_of_a_well_oiled_man

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12538277/ PILE ON! LOVING IT!!!!

More on Ney!!!!

Here is the Boston GLobe obituary for Julia Thorne. It's a very fine piece, and well worth reading.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/obituaries/articles/2006/04/28/julia_thorne_at_61_author_activist_was_ex_wife_of_senator_kerry

some excerpts:
In a telephone interview, John Kerry called Ms. Thorne ''a great friend to a lot of people" and spoke with emotion of her accomplishments as a parent. ''She was the best mom two daughters could want," he said. ''She was completely committed to the kids and their future."
Her daughter echoed that view.
''She was a phenomenal mother," said Vanessa Kerry, of Cambridge. ''And she affected many others, too. So many people have come up to me over the years, even on the campaign trail, to say how much of a difference her books made for them. . .."
. . ''What she disdained more than anything was politics," said Douglas Brinkley in a telephone interview yesterday. Brinkley, the author of ''Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War," added that Ms. Thorne ''didn't enjoy the breakfasts, the lunches, the shaking of hands: the upbeat rigamarole of politics. She loathed the back-stabbing of it. She went on her own journey, one based on spirituality and nature."
. .. Ms. Thorne and Kerry remained friendly after their divorce and she supported his presidential candidacy in 2004. ''I don't have a single reservation about this man," she said in 2003. ''He is an extraordinarily astute politician."
There could be little doubt, though, of her own sense of relief not to be involved in the campaign. ''After 14 years as a political wife, I associated politics only with anger, fear, and loneliness," she wrote in ''A Change of Heart."
''She saw the life of the rich and famous and rejected it," Brinkley said yesterday. ''She saw the life of a celebrity in the modern world and disdained it. She sought the life of a serious person in a thoughtful community." . . .