Oblivious

I'm doing election work right now, which means that every day I find myself talking to hundreds of Ohioans about the upcoming elections, and what it means for our state and our country, and unfortunately, more often than not I find myself faced with a slew of uncaring people, proud non voters, people with ad fatigue who want to take it out on me (I don't blame them), and surprisingly enough, a cadre of those folks that I'm talking about are people who are working with me on the elections. 

For anyone following the elections this year, if you have picked up a national paper, you have undoubtedly seen an article or two (or 50) about the Ohio elections. It would appear that the world is obsessed with us. Unfortunately, we are not that obsessed with ourselves (or the rest of the world for that matter). I understand that people have jobs and families to worry about, and are more concerned about their next paycheck than the next casualty in Iraq or Darfur, but..... well, I guess I'm getting a little fed up with it all.  This is not to say that I don't fight my own cynicism on a daily basis, but what to do when you are faced with the cynicism of seemingly a whole state?  I can't fight that fight for others, but I'm sick of being shat upon for fighting it within myself. Put down for caring about something, ANYthing. 

 

Well, that wasn't supposed to be the point of this post. I wanted to link readers to an article in today's Washington Post about Lima Company, a reservist unit of the Marines that saw some of the heaviest losses in Iraq, and who happened to also be based here in Ohio. I guess it kind of links together. This is a quote from a member of Lima Co.:

 

"Is this what my friends died for?" he finds himself asking on days when he feels alone in a crowd. "It's amazing how oblivious we are as Americans to how much all of this costs," he said.

Bogusness on the VA Front

This is a follow up to my recent post PTSD. A report was issued last week about VA centers, and the increase they are seeing for a demand for mental health services, how it is stretching them thin (they were not expecting to be seeing this many people, which is what my previous post talks about: how could they underestimate so much?), and how the administration isn't giving them the support they need. Disgraceful.

 

Vet Centers see escalating demand for help as troops return

By David Goldstein

McClatchy Newspapers

WASHINGTON - A network of community-based walk-in veterans' treatment centers is under increasing pressure as more and more former troops who served in Iraq and Afghanistan have come looking for help.

Half of the Vet Centers sampled reported that their expanding caseloads have affected their ability to treat their current clientele.

"The administration's failure to increase staffing and other resources for Vet Centers has put their capacity to meet the needs of veterans and their families at risk," the report said.

"The Vet Centers' staff are dedicated and deeply committed to meeting the needs of veterans and their families, but without additional resources, even dedicated staff has limits," said Rep. Michael Michaud, D-Maine, the House VA Committee member who requested the report.

From USA Today

 

Calif. authorities: GOP campaign warning Hispanics

 

SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) — State investigators have linked a Republican campaign to letters sent to thousands of Southern California Hispanics warning them they could go to jail or be deported if they vote next month, a spokesman for the attorney general said.

The letter, written in Spanish, tells recipients: "You are advised that if your residence in this country is illegal or you are an immigrant, voting in a federal election is a crime that could result in jail time."

In fact, immigrants who are naturalized U.S. citizens can vote.

Sounds eerily familiar to tactics used in 2000 and 2004 to scare away African Americans from the polls.

 

 

What's Wrong With Us?

From the Guardian (because its not JUST us, its the UK, China and Russia too).

 

UK refuses to back cluster bomb ban as extent of use in Lebanon revealed

 

· Global ban also opposed by China, US and Russia
· Unexploded devices still killing three people a day
Richard Norton-Taylor and Ewen MacAskill
Thursday October 19, 2006
The Guardian


The location of an Israeli cluster bomb is marked with red paint near the village of El Maalliye in southern Lebanon. Photograph: Sergey Ponomarev/AP
 

Britain has joined the US, China and Russia to block a proposed ban on cluster bombs in the wake of extensive use of the weapons during the war in Lebanon.

A group of countries, led by Sweden, is urging a worldwide ban on cluster bombs at arms talks in Geneva. Each bomb contains hundreds of small "bomblets", many of which fail to explode until picked up by inquisitive children or stepped on by civilians.

Israeli forces dropped an estimated 1m cluster bomblets in southern Lebanon this summer - 90% of which were dropped in the last three days of the conflict, a new report from Landmine Action said yesterday. The weapons have left a trail of unexploded munitions that is killing between three and four civilians each day and impeding relief work.

In just one month, the UN identified more than 500 areas hit by cluster bombs, the report said.

Most Israeli cluster strikes hit built-up areas. Landmine Action says when the research for its report was undertaken a month after the ceasefire, water and power supplies had been blocked, and schools, roads, houses, and gardens were still littered with unexploded devices.

The report says: "In many affected areas, farmers have not been able to safely harvest what was left of this summer's tobacco, wheat, and fruit; late-yielding crops such as olives will remain too dangerous to harvest by November and winter crops will be lost because farmers will be unable to plough their grains and vegetables."

Simon Conway, the director of Landmine Action, said: "Every day women and children are killed or injured as they sift through the rubble of their former homes by cluster munitions that failed to go off. If they were any other kind of product, they would have been recalled."

According to the UN's mine action coordinating centre, Israeli forces fired 1,800 rocket systems, each with 12 individual rockets, into south Lebanon.

Flawed weapons

· Cluster bombs are usually dropped from medium to high altitudes and consist of dozens of bomblets in an outer casing. They have anti-armour and anti-personnel capabilities

· They do not have precision guidance. With a 5% dud rate, unexploded bombs become landmines

· According to Human Rights Watch, Nato aircraft dropped nearly 2,000 during the campaign in the former Yugoslavia in 1999

· They also estimate that 1,600 Kuwaiti and Iraqi civilians were killed by the estimated 1.2m duds left after the 1991 Gulf war

Don't Be A Sucker

Found this on RaisingKaine.com where they say:

1947 Newsreel - Don't Be a Sucker - Harry Truman talks back to the right-wing. This is about the division of minorities and rise of a right-wing conservative agenda. It looks frighteningly familiar. They've just waited until enough people forgot. Please watch and pass along.

Please do pass it along!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8VLbqt99YVA

Follow up to "Per Readers Request"

Here is Kaiser's state health fact's latest on ADAP's (AIDS Drug Assistance Program) cost containment strategies. Looking only briefly at it, you could conclude, hunh, not too bad, only 3 states are using cost containment strategies in their ADAPs. Then you get to the bottom of the chart and see the note: (emphasis added): 

 

Data includes cost-containment measures other than capped enrollment and client waiting lists

 

Those states that do have waiting lists (Ohio is not one of them currently, though I am unsure about the capped enrollment issue), don't have exceptionally long lists, as far as waiting lists can go (unless of course, you are the one waiting, then the #s cease to matter so much). But the fact that there are already waiting lists in existence, and that is without the implementation of the CDC's recommendation of testing everyone at least once a year, is worrisome.

 

I admit this is an area that I am woefully ignorant about, but if you want more facts, go here . Or if you have an opinion of your own, and know anything about this, PLEASE chime in.

 

If you are simply interested in what states have implemented Medicaid cost containment strategies, that information is hot off the presses as well for 06-07.

 

I'm Just Awash With Inspiration From Others

This is something that is perfectly distilled, and just awesome in general. Here is an excerpt to whet your appetite, but it is short, and just go and read it.

We are not brave. We are not special. We are not tragic. We are not heroic. We are not "an inspiration". We are not the Bogey Man. We are not objects of pity. And we are not the living embodiment of our impairments. You can't predict what any one of us is going to be like just because you know someone else with the same impairment. We are people. Like you. We have the same rights that you have. We do the same things you do, but we do some of them differently.

You could join us at any time. Just by taking your eyes off the road for a split second. That's all it takes. If that happens, will you be special? Will you be brave? Will you just sit there quietly and accept it if no-one will employ you? If you're prevented from going where you want to go and seeing who you want to see? If no-one takes what you say seriously any more?

No? Then why should we?

CRUTCH!

This is hot! Once you've watched this, you've got to check out dude's website.

If You Are a Healthcare Justice Wonk....

You will find this interesting. Its a presentation of Herndon Alliance Data by American Environics and Lake Associates, about health care values polling of Americans.

Sharing the Burden

File under why "I love Bob Herbert." He always manages to write
cohesively about things I'm thinking about & quite honestly don't
understand why everyone else isn't thinking about, or feeling too, &
therefore have difficulty writing about myself.

This is a follow-up to my recent post " I would argue." Herbert's
column "Sacrifices of war fall to only a few" Herbert talks to Sgt.
Mike Krause of the 101st Airborne Division of the army.

But there is a definite edge in his voice, an undercurrent of
bitterness, when he talks about the tiny percentage of the American
population that is shouldering the burden of the wars in Iraq and
Afghanistan. "We're nowhere close to sharing the sacrifice," he said.
"And it should be shared, because it's only in that sharing that
society will truly care about what's going on over there.
 

"Right now it's such a small minority of families who have a stake in
all of this. I hear people say things like, 'We lost a lot of good
people over there.' I sort of snap around and say: 'We? You didn't
lose anybody.' You know what I mean? "

While most Americans are free to go about their daily business,
unaffected by the wars in any way, scores of thousands of troops have
been sent off on repeat tours into the combat zones.

Krause is proud of his service and still loves the military. "But
we're a nation at war," he said, "and we should all be in this
together."
 

 

 

Wal-Mart At It Again

Excerpts from a TomPaine.com article Wal-Mart's Benefits Squeeze, by Cindy Zeldin,

Wal-Mart's health insurance options for 2007, dubbed the "value plan" and the "freedom plan," feature deductibles reaching as high as $6,000 for family coverage under the "freedom plan"—meaning that a Wal-Mart employee selecting that plan would have to fork over $6,000 before insurance started covering their family's medical bills. That's a lot of money for a cashier earning Wal-Mart wages, and it begs some serious questions about how a deductible that high can be met without going into debt.

Shoot, I couldn't afford a $6,000 a year deductible

In a backdoor way, Wal-Mart's strategy is to do what many insurers have always done: get into the game of cherry-picking. Insurance companies have long been aware that one of the best ways to turn a profit is to enroll people with low health risk. Large nationwide employers, however, have never really been in the game of hiring workers based on health status. Typically, ability to perform the job in question is the deciding factor, making Wal-Mart's entry into the cherry-picking game revolutionary. And as the nation's largest private employer, Wal-Mart's employee benefit decisions will reverberate throughout the economy.

Like everything Wal-Mart does, it casts the largest shadow.

By offering high deductible policies instead of eliminating coverage altogether, Wal-Mart can still say to its critics that it is providing a benefit that works well enough for most of its employees, and technically, they will be right. But future health isn't always predictable, and the slice of WalMart workers who will fare poorly under the new plan are the very ones who will end up actually needing to use their insurance. After all, while many medical expenses are predictable, many are not—that's part of the reason we have insurance in the first place. And for those workers or their family members with unanticipated health expenses—those who become pregnant, are in a serious accident, or have children who are diagnosed with a chronic condition—well, they won't just be slightly worse off. They'll likely end up in a sea of medical debt.

PTSD

The Washington Post had an article today entitled VA Mental Health Caseload Surges that says 1/3 of Iraq and Afghanistan soldiers are reporting stress or other mental health issues. First off, that number seems low. I mean, I'm sure that is all that is actually trying to access services, or who will admit to struggling, but you can't tell me that only 1/3 of the troops have suffered some sort of mental health issues. The article states

Nearly 64,000 of the more than 184,000 veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars who have sought VA health care were found to exhibit potential symptoms of post-traumatic stress, drug abuse or other mental disorders as of the end of June, according to the latest report by the Veterans Health Administration.

Again, it seems lower than reality. I mean, how many Vietnam vets actually sought out mental health services from the VA? The stigma at the time was greater than now, but still, I don't think that it has any actual bearing on what is happening with returning troops, some of them returning home from multiple tours of duty. Sure, there is "debriefing" that happens as the troops are just about to be sent home, but that about amounts to a bunch of war weary guys and gals in a room together, wanting nothing more than to get home to their families, being asked: OK, anyone in here have any issues they need to deal with? Come on. Would YOU bring something up in that setting?

The article continues to say that out of those 64,000 mentioned above,

30,000 had possible post-traumatic stress disorder

Possible PTSD? What does that mean? The top doc at the VA, Michael J. Kussman says

the number of troops reporting symptoms of stress probably represents a "gross overestimation" of those actually suffering from mental health disorders.

Gross OVERestimation? His reasoning?

Most of the troops who return from Iraq have "normal reactions to abnormal situations," such as flashbacks or trouble sleeping, Kussman said.

Uh, yeah, that's what PTSD is?! If you are a human being, and you are witness to and or participant in horrible situations (such as war, natural disaster, you name it), your "normal" reaction would be to have some sort of stress, or other mental reaction. I'm worried that the number isn't considered UNDERestimated, like why isn't it at 100%? Who are those who he thinks shouldn't be having this human reaction?

Is it just because there is still such a stigma associated with the idea of a "mental health disorder"? They're not crazy, they just are freaked the fuck out because they have been sent to and participated in war. Sorry folks, but PTSD is a normal reaction to the abnormal, and it IS a mental health disorder.

Then, another disturbing point in the article comes when Paul Rieckhoff, the executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America says that the Buffalo VA has a "wish list"

of needed supplies and other expenses, including wheelchairs, rehabilitation equipment and medical monitors.

If our own vets have to make wish lists for their health care needs, needs that arose due to their serving their country.... Dude, why did we start this f-ing war in the first place? And why can't we finally let it out? The truth. What war means? I guess that might hinder the next war waiting in the wings.

Reasoning v. Wisdom

The king said: 'Nagasena, he who escapes reindividualization [rebirth], is it by reasoning that he escapes it?'

'Both by reasoning, your Majesty, and by wisdom, and by other good qualities.'

'But are not reasoning and wisdom surely much the same?'

'Certainly not. Reasoning is one thing, wisdom another. Sheep and goats, oxen and buffaloes, camels and asses have reasoning, but wisdom they have not.'

'Well put, Nagasena!'

-Milindapanha 32

 

Blossom Music Venue in Cleveland Needs to Hear From You

Bob Dyer of the Akron Beacon Journal did a story recently on a man who uses a wheelchair, and his experience trying to enjoy some music at Blossom, the large outdoor Cleveland area music center.

To sum it up, the guy paid out the nose for the ticket (big surprise) and in the end, was seated in an area reserved for people who use wheelchairs. As soon as the music started, people in front of him and the others seated in the same area, stood up and began to dance. This made it impossible for those seated in chairs to see the stage. They couldn't even see the large video screens. The man asked the people who were blocking his view to stop. They made some rude comments, and security was called to the scene, with promises to fix the situation. Another security person came, listened to the man's situation, and also promised to remedy the situation. Never happened.

Miles believes the least Blossom could do is refund his $150. But he's not hopeful.

``I know there's a snowball's chance of that happening. They don't care.''

Which just might be true.

When I contacted Blossom's marketing director, Tim McGrath, he said: ``I'm sure we comply with the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act), but let me get you some information.''

That was 27 days and two phone calls ago. I'm still waiting.

Perhaps McGrath is having a hard time trying to figure out how to defend the indefensible.

For those of you who would like to contact McGrath to let him know how you
feel about Blossom's failure to give a damn, you can call "guest services"
at 330.916.6068. or their general line 330.920.8040

Tell Them Now

The Columbus Dispatch had an editorial about Israel today entitled "Lethal Litter" that surprisingly enough I agree with.  Me agreeing with the Dispatch or not is not the important part. The important part is what the editorial urges Israel to do, and what Israel actually has the  power and ability to do. The important part is: will they?

 

Right now, there are innocent civilian Lebanese men women and, perhaps most importantly, children who are attempting to rebuild their lives, homes, and routines after the tragic violence that we bore witness to this summer.  As they go about this task of rebuilding, there are some who are alive right as you read this.  Right now they are sitting down to eat dinner with their family, they are sleeping, they are studying for school, they are LIVING. But tomorrow, or the next day, or the day after that, they will be dead.  And they don't have to be. Of course I could go on and on about the destructiveness of war, the necessity or stupidity of it all. It doesn't matter. What matters is that if you have the ability to save innocent lives, you MUST take that ability and do everything you can with it. Right now, Israel has some ability to do that, to save innocent lives. 

 

Currently, there are between 350,000 and 1 million unexploded "cluster bombs" scattered throughout Lebanon. According to the Dispatch,

Newer cluster bombs are designed so that the bomblets deteriorate if they don't explode, lowering the chances that a child, farmer or other innocent will be blown up.

But the U.S.-made bombs employed by Israel are older and lack the automatic-disarmament feature, leaving southern Lebanon covered with a deadly litter.

They suggest, and I give a hardy second that

To ensure that the bloodshed really is ended, Israel should provide detailed information on where the bombs were used, so United Nations workers can find and neutralize them.

Many of you know that Marla received the nickname "cluster bomb" girl, because of her strong advocacy in this area. She would identify areas where cluster bombs were known to be sitting unexploded, where they would most likely be picked up by an unsuspecting child drawn to the colorful objects, and would notify those whose job it was to neutralize the bombs where they were. It was a no-brainer for Marla: innocent life + possible harm + ability to deter said harm = duh! deter it!! 

 

Here's to hoping that it is seen so obviously by the Israeli government as the right thing to do.

 

There is no need to wait. Israeli citizens don't have time to wait. Lebanese citizens don't have time to wait. The world doesn't have time to wait. Tell. Them. Now.

Remember When You Were 18?

A tiny ray of light in Indiana.

Many youths leaving foster care when they turn 18 now will have government-provided health insurance under a change announced Tuesday by the state.

Those young people will qualify for Medicaid, the federal-state health-care program for the poor, if their incomes are less than $19,600, which is twice the federal poverty level for a single person.

Many children in foster care are there because they've been abused or neglected and, as a result, might have chronic physical and mental health needs, Lawson said.

"Simply to cut off their medical care because they turned 18 was horrible for us to do," Lawson said.

FYI for those of you not very familiar with Medicaid eligibility: you have to be not only financially eligible for Medicaid, but also categorically eligible, meaning: You have to be poor and fit into a "category" of being a child (up to age 18), a pregnant woman, a parent of a child, aged, blind, or disabled. In other words, if you just turned 19, and aren't pregnant or have a baby already, it doesn't matter how poor or sick or without a saftey net of family you are, you are pretty much SOL in most states.  In Indiana, the transition from being in foster homes to being basically kicked out into the cold cruel world just became a smidgen easier. Not by much, but we have to count every victory don't we? Or we would all just sink under the weight of cynicism.

Are We Surprised?

 

" Health Savings Accounts and High Deductible Health Plans: Are They An Option for Low-Income Families?," Kaiser Family Foundation : The issue paper, based on analyses of available data and research, examines whether low-income families could benefit from health savings accounts and high deductible health plans. According to the paper, such plans shift financial risk to consumers through higher deductibles, and out-of-pocket costs for such plans could consume up to 15% of the annual income for low-income families. In addition, the paper says that the incomes of most low-income families and individuals are not high enough to benefit from the tax deductions associated with HSAs and such plans reduce the use of preventive care and primary services (Kaiser Family Foundation, "Health Savings Accounts and High Deductible Health Plans: Are They An Option for Low-Income Families?," October 2006).

Of Course Kids Always Get Hit the Worst

When someone has a stupid idea, and decides to legislate based on that stupid idea, doesn't it seem that those who can least afford to take the brunt of that stupidity (in this case children), are the ones who end up taking it anyways? 

 

I've written many past posts (Only Crazy Horse Need Apply, Don't Even Bother, I TOLD you I loved Bob Herbert) on, first: the arrogant stupidity of County caseworkers taking it upon themselves to decide whose citizenship should be questioned (based on "foreign sounding" last names), second: the arrogant stupidity of Ohio legislators deciding that instead of questioning a Medicaid applicant based solely on last name, we should just question EVERYONE's citizenship and bog down an already overburdened system with more administrative crap (mind you, these were Rs wanting to legislate more bureaucracy), and third: the arrogant stupidity of our federal legislators doing the same thing as the state wanted to, and actually getting away with it.  So dear readers,  what happens when we legislate based on arrogant stupidity and xenophobic rumors?

Thousands of low-income children have been unable to enroll in Virginia's Medicaid program since July 1 because of new, tougher federal rules requiring proof of citizenship and identity, state officials said.

Officials for the state program for the poor and disabled said as many as 10,000 eligible children are living without health care largely because their families have been unable to present original birth certificates and other needed documentation to state or local Medicaid officials.

And that is just in one state. 10,000 uninsured children. I sure wish some "pro-lifers" would stand up and show they give a crap about what happens after a child is born. Well, I guess if I'm going to wish for anything, it would be that we just leave this arrogant xenophobic legislating behind all together. Wouldn't that be nice?

It is Just All Too Much

I have so many things to say today that I can barely think straight, of course all about my new favorite idiot, our SOB of a SOS, Blackwell.  I mean, can this guy screw up any more? Well, I guess I hope he can. The more he gets out there, the less people will vote for him (I pray). So, after I get over hitting my head against a wall, look out for a post on #1 Blackwell on health care #2 Blackwell on taxes #3 Blackwell on white supremacy.