May flights of angels sing you to your rest

Sharon-Gay Smith, a friend through the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, the Diocese of California, and Holy Trinity, Richmond, California.

804

08/26/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
Cpl. Darby T. Morin, 25, of Victoria, Canada, died Aug. 22 in Logar province, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained during a vehicle rollover. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team...

08/24/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Staff Sgt. Andrew T. Lobosco, 29, of Somerville, N.J., died Aug. 22 in Yakhchal, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when enemy forces attacked his unit. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group (Airborne), Fort Bragg, N.C.

08/24/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Sgt. Matthew L. Ingram, 25, of Pearl, Miss., died Aug. 21 in Kunar Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle, and his unit came under small arms fire from enemy forces.

08/24/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
Pfc. Jonathan C. Yanney, 20, of Litchfield, Minn...died Aug. 18 in Arghandab, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their unit. The soldiers were assigned to 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment...

08/24/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties
Spc. Troy O. Tom, 21, of Shiprock, N.M...died Aug. 18 in Arghandab, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their unit. The soldiers were assigned to 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment...



It looks like an odometer, I know, BUT IT'S NOT. These are irreplaceable lives, every single one of them.

May they rest in peace and rise in glory. May those who love them find comfort and healing.

Thanks for all the good you did for the people

Edward Kennedy
1932-2009

The Bush Crime Family... a gift that keeps on giving

Susie Madrak provides the goods at Crooks and Liars:

WASHINGTON — Huge flood-control pumps installed in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina don't protect the city adequately and the Army Corps of Engineers could have saved $430 million in replacement costs by buying proven equipment, a federal investigation finds.
USA Today

And....

Meanwhile, Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., asked the Government Accountability Office on Thursday to investigate the Corps and the contract it entered into with Moving Water Industries Corp.

MWI is owned by J. David Eller and his sons. Eller was once a business partner of former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush in a venture called Bush-El that marketed MWI pumps.
Washington Post, March 2007

At the end of Susie's post we read:

This begs a couple of questions: Why was a company under DOJ investigation for such serious charges given a major federal contract for New Orleans reconstruction in the first place? And why is the DOJ suit against MWI still unresolved after so many years?

Very good questions.

--the BB

Heart thread - 08/25/2009 - updated

I have two new prayer requests today.

A friend of a friend has learned she has cancer of the pancreas. I ask your prayers for Tricia.

Almighty God, we entrust all who are dear to us to thy never-failing care and love, for this life and the life to come, knowing that thou art doing for them better things than we can desire or pray for; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Another of Smokey's own:

Last Thursday Steve Uptegrove, a Wallowa-Whitman National Forest employee, was killed during a drug enforcement clean up action when he was hit by a falling snag. Steve had worked for the Forest Service since 1985 1975. It is with deep sorrow that I share this message. Please keep Steve's wife Hope, his family, loved ones, friends, and fellow Forest Service employees in your thoughts and prayers during this time of sorrow. In honor of Steve Uptegrove, Secretary Vilsack has ordered flags at all USDA facilities to be flown at half staff.

--Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell

Most merciful God, whose wisdom is beyond our understanding, deal graciously with those who love Steve in their grief. Surround them with your love, that they may not be overwhelmed by their loss, but have confidence in your goodness, and strength to meet the days to come; through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Updated with date correction on Steve's service; he began at the Deschutes National Forest in 1975.
--the BB

I am very pleased to read this

Senator Bingaman (D-NM) had a town hall meeting in Albuquerque today. I was at work but I read about it tonight at Daily Kos.

Here's the kicker:

So, the Senator set the table for our highlight moment. The remaining questions we'd carefully prepared and agreed upon had all been asked by other groups. Several of us whispered, wouldn't it be interesting to get a vote from the 200 participants on the public option, after such a thorough discussion? We wordsmithed the question. Our moderator wasn't sure -- we hadn't approved this as a group. So, we polled the table. It was thumbs up, even from our thoughtful skeptic.

We got our turn. The gentleman who asked the question for us was very clear: "Senator Bingaman, would you be willing to ask for a show of hands in this room of those who support a ROBUST public option, available IMMEDIATELY?"

...

Easily 90+% of the participants raised their hands! No kidding. He then asked who opposed a public option. Less than 10% of the participants raised their hands.

This was not your average town hall meeting. It had lots of organization. Only those willing to discuss seriously were allowed. They showed up two hours early, were divided into groups that worked on questions, issues, and statements, hammering out something they could agree on. It was very different from the usual, and obviously no heckling loudmouths had a seat at these working tables. But folks of any view were welcome to participate.

What I was looking for, hoping for is this:

But Bingaman said repeatedly that he favored the public option, and left no doubt about this. But he's skeptical that there are 60 votes for this. Fortunately, our group was prepared for this -- we asked if he'd support going the reconciliation route if there was no other way to get past "bipartisan" stonewalling or if there weren't 60 votes for true reform. "Yes", Bingaman said. It was an unhappy yes, because he had reservations about resorting to this. But -- a clear and unmistakable YES on using reconciliation if necessary.

When someone called me last evening on behalf of the DSCC (Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee) gearing up to get some money out of me to help elect and keep Democrats in the Senate - most unfortunate timing after my screed here, oh, and this one - I cut him short and said that until Senator Bingaman distances himself from the shenanigans of the Gang of Six I was not going to give a penny and that I was very distressed and disappointed in what I was seeing. I concluded that it would be good for the call to end right there and hung up, not giving him a chance to respond. I was in no mood for donation pitches.

That's for some context.

Here is a section of his position on health care reform from his official website:

Much attention has been given to whether the bill we send to the president should have a “public option.” I strongly support a public option. The most critical elements of such a plan are that it would be established and overseen by the federal government, and made available to all Americans. The primary purpose of the public plan is to ensure that there is at least one option for Americans that is affordable and would provide meaningful care. By leveraging competition, a public plan would also safeguard against unscrupulous insurances practices. You can learn how the public option fits into health care reform elsewhere on my website.

I am pleased to read that Jeff Bingaman is favoring a public option. I want him to do more than just favor it; I want him to fight for it. I want him to help put pressure where it can make a difference in the Senate so there WILL be 60 votes.

So, Senator Bingaman, are you listening? I would love to vote for you, even donate, but you need to earn that support and I just told you how.


Read it all in flitedocnm's post here.

FYI: The bolded portions were included in an e-mail to Senator Bingaman that I sent off just now, explaining where I am coming from and what I hope for.

--the BB

How far does one go to save one's own skin?

Or to further one's own purposes?

Do we need to, as Cheney said, "work on the dark side"?

A person of power, with a very sharp spear point slightly piercing the skin between his shoulder blades, is ordered to go there.

By now sweat sheeted off B’s head, running down his face and dripping off his nose. He closed his eyes, trying to recall what his uncle had once said after drinking too much. It was actually his mother’s uncle and the old sorcerer terrified little B. with his bloodshot eyes and wild expression. The old man laced his talk with warnings and dark threats. Such things were legend and not to be tried, dangerous to the one who worked them. If you went too far....

The emotional power of scenes like this engages me but I recoil at them. Intellectually I am trying to make them awful enough to tie the reader up in knots, but what am I trying to accomplish? Certainly part of it is forcing us to confront our own dark side, the evil of which we are capable and which we actually perpetrate. If we are not horrified then we have lost something: our compassion, our decency, our humanity.

My descriptions of evil are meant to be cautionary, to remind us what me must avoid, shun, oppose, refuse to do.

The dark and terrible portions of my stories are necessary because the world is not all sunshine. Not the world we know nor the world I imagine.

It is rather like facing what we as a nation have done, what has been done in our names. Glenn Greenwald wants all Americans to read the IG Torture Report that was released today. You may read excerpts at his post (click the link on his name).

My fictional world is shot through with grace. There are horrors and wickedness and suffering but one also finds compassion, honor, reconciliation, healing, and beauty. Not unlike the world we know.

At Doxy's wedding Bishop Curry told us all we are called to be witnesses. Witnesses to love in a world that needs that witness. I believe we are also witnesses of evil and must bear witness to that also. But the final word, always and ever, is Love, and is Yes.

Even after this breather, I don't think I'm ready to finish the scene I am writing. Not tonight.

Sweet dreams, my raucous raccoons!

--the BB

The Senate Finance Committee has no shame, no scruples, and no soul

To the Senate Finance health care bill.

It's a disaster waiting to happen. It screws over the American people and enriches the insurance companies.

From slinkerwink:

The Senate Finance Bill Forces You To Pay 35% of The Bill!
This is precisely why we need the public option as a cost containment in the final bill product, and why we MUST work hard to influence the final conference report! According to the Los Angeles Times, the Senate Finance Bill is a "bonanza" for private insurers because without a public option to lower premium costs and provide competition, what insurance companies get are 47 million new captive customers with big fat government subsidies (i.e. bailouts) that are forced to buy junk insurance plans.

...

And you know what's egregiously bad about this? Private insurance companies currently pay about 80% of insurance policy claims, and in the Senate Finance Bill, the requirement for them will be lowered to 65%! That means you'd be required to pick up 35% of your medical bills. See? You get covered, but you're forced to pay 35% of your bills.

You have been warned.

Keep pressuring your senators.

--the BB

There is now some hope

From the NYT:

Justice Dept. Report Advises Pursuing C.I.A. Abuse Cases
By DAVID JOHNSTON
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department’s ethics office has recommended reversing the Bush administration and reopening nearly a dozen prisoner-abuse cases, potentially exposing Central Intelligence Agency employees and contractors to prosecution for brutal treatment of terrorism suspects, according to a person officially briefed on the matter.

The recommendation by the Office of Professional Responsibility, presented to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. in recent weeks, comes as the Justice Department is about to disclose on Monday voluminous details on prisoner abuse that were gathered in 2004 by the C.I.A.’s inspector general but have never been released.

I am pleased with this indication that laws may be upheld. It is a first step to have this recommendation. Now to actually follow the recommendation, investigate, and prosecute where appropriate.

--the BB

Of course, I believe silliness is one of the gifts of the Spirit

Poster courtesy of Project for the Old American Century

Dare to dream otherwise!

--the BB

Let us pray for the people of Greece

Greek Forest Fire Rages near Athens, Damages Homes
Sat Aug 22, 2009 12:52pm EDT
ATHENS (Reuters) - A large wildfire raged out of control on the outskirts of Athens on Saturday, burning several homes and thousands of acres of forest.
--borrowed from JN1034

Here is a video from Greece:


John Aravosis talks of this on Americablog with links.
--the BB

A very wet thunderstorm has arrived; it's been gathering all afternoon

View through a wet screen
(Makes me think of Monet)

World through wet glass

My back yard seen through a wet window

--the BB

Dispelling myths

Have you read T. R. Ried's article in The Washington Post, "5 Myths About Health Care Around the World"? You should.

All the other developed countries have settled on one model for health-care delivery and finance; we've blended them all into a costly, confusing bureaucratic mess.

Which, in turn, punctures the most persistent myth of all: that America has "the finest health care" in the world. We don't. In terms of results, almost all advanced countries have better national health statistics than the United States does. In terms of finance, we force 700,000 Americans into bankruptcy each year because of medical bills. In France, the number of medical bankruptcies is zero. Britain: zero. Japan: zero. Germany: zero.

Given our remarkable medical assets -- the best-educated doctors and nurses, the most advanced hospitals, world-class research -- the United States could be, and should be, the best in the world. To get there, though, we have to be willing to learn some lessons about health-care administration from the other industrialized democracies.

Note: Yes, Ried has a book coming out tomorrow, but that doesn't invalidate his points.
--the BB

I'm calling horseshit!

There seem to be multiple versions of the "Gang of Six," but they all sound like bad news to me.

Ryan Grim reports at HuffPo:

A bipartisan group of centrist and conservative senators sent a letter to the Democratic and Republican leaders on Friday urging delay in consideration of health care reform.

The letter, obtained by the Huffington Post, was drafted by Sen. Ben Nelson (D-Neb.) and is also signed by Democratic Sens. Mary Landrieu (La.) and Ron Wyden (Ore.). Independent Joe Lieberman (Conn.), who caucuses with Democrats, signed on, as did Maine Republican Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins -- moderates heavily courted by President Obama.

And to what purpose, senators? You've had August to study costs and benefits. Is your staff lazy or incompetent? I tell you what: pull your spanner out of the spokes and shove it you-know-where.

It is a sad commentary that anyone would call these folks centrists. The perspective of the Village is badly skewed. And Nelson, Landrieu, and Wyden are DINOs, not Democrats.

Let's take a closer look at what these miserable excuses have been crafting, shall we?

Before they left Washington for the August recess, the Finance group, known as the "Gang of Six," had crafted the outlines of a package that trimmed more than $100 billion from the House price tag and jettisoned a government-run insurance option, which has become a rallying cry for many liberals but is opposed by Republicans. The senators also were looking to provide insurance subsidies to a smaller, less affluent group than the House bill would.

After meeting via teleconference for more than an hour late Thursday, the Senate group is now looking to go further. They support a requirement that all individuals carry health insurance, but they are considering creating a bare-bones insurance policy that would be easier for people to afford without government help. They are also talking about further reducing the number of people eligible for subsidies, said an aide familiar with the talks.
--MSNBC/WaPo

As Digby so aptly comments:

Awesome, awesome plan. If we could just get rid of all subsidies and consumer protections, it would be perfect. All that would be left is the mandate.

Buy insurance stock.

What I, as a New Mexican, find distressing is that Jeff Bingaman is participating in this. Matthew Reichbach reports at The New Mexico Independent:

U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman will participate in a teleconference to discuss health care reform legislation with his fellow members of the Senate Finance Committee’s “Gang of Six” according to “sources familiar with the agenda,” Roll Call reports.

Senator Bingaman, if you are part of this approach then you are tossing us, the American people, aside and I say, "Shame on you!" Distance yourself from this now or you will never get my vote in the future.

Riechbach reports in a follow-up:

The Senate Finance Committee’s “Gang of Six” held a teleconference last night that Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, D-Mont., said featured “a productive conversation.”

...

Bingaman, a Democrat, also sits on the Senate Health, Education Labor and Pensions Committee (commonly known as the “HELP committee”) which passed its own version of health care legislation earlier this year.

The other members of the “Gang of Six” besides Bingaman and Baucus are ranking member Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, Kent Conrad, D-N.D.,and Mike Enzi, R-Wy., and Olympia Snowe, R-Maine.

Hmmm.

Senator Jeff Bingaman [OpenSecrets]
Insurance: $160,875
Health Professionals: $547,616
Pharmaceuticals: $144,498
Hospitals/Nursing Homes: $100,986
Health Services/HMOs: $61,799

TOTAL: $1,015,774

Granted, that's only a third as much as Max Baucus got from the same sectors.
[Source: boldprogressives.org where you can see all the senators and their contributions from these sectors. Makes for interesting reading.]

Robert Reich has some pertinent observations:

I really don't get it. We have a Democratic president in the White House. Democrats control sixty votes in the Senate, enough to overcome a filibuster. It is possible to pass health care legislation through the Senate with 51 votes (that's what George W. Bush did with his tax cut plan). Democrats control the House. The Speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, is a tough lady. She has said there will be no health care reform bill without a public option.

So why does the fate of health care rest in Grassley's hands?

It's not even as if the gang represents America. The three Dems on the gang are from Montana, New Mexico, and North Dakota -- states that together account for just over 1 percent of Americans. The three Republicans are from Maine, Wyoming, and Iowa, which together account for 1.6 percent of the American population.

So, I repeat: Why has it come down to these six? Who anointed them? Apparently, the White House. At least that's what I'm repeatedly being told by sources both on the Hill and in the Administration. "The Finance Committee is where the action is. They'll tee-up the final bill," says someone who should know.

Mr. President, it is time you stopped playing so nice - and I do not buy that you are playing three-dimensional chess, you're just wussing - and kicked some senatorial ass. Get on it, dammit!


--the BB

796

08/22/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Justin R. Pellerin, 21, of Boscawen, N.H., died Aug. 20 in Wardak Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment...

08/21/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Pfc. Brian M. Wolverton, 21, of Oak Park, Calif., died Aug. 20 in Kunar province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when insurgents attacked his unit with indirect fire. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 32nd Infantry Regiment...

08/21/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Army 1st Sgt. Jose S.N. Crisostomo, 59, of Inarajan, Guam, died Aug. 18 in Kabul, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near his vehicle. He was assigned to International Security Assistance Force Kabul, Kabul, Afghanistan

08/20/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties (2 of 2)
Pfc. Morris L. Walker, 23, of Chapel Hill, N.C...died Aug. 18 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion...

08/20/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualties (1 of 2)
Staff Sgt. Clayton P. Bowen, 29, of San Antonio, Texas...died Aug. 18 in Paktika Province, Afghanistan, of wounds suffered when an improvised explosive device detonated near their vehicle. They were assigned to the 1st Battalion...

08/20/09 :
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Paul E. Dumont, Jr., 23, of Williamsburg, Va., died Aug. 19 at Kandahar Airfield, Afghanistan, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 149th Transportation Company, 10th Transportation Battalion, Fort Eustis,

4334

08/20/09
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Pfc. William Z. VanOsdol, 23, of Pinson, Ala., died Aug. 19 at Ad Diwaniyah, Iraq, of wounds suffered when enemy rocket fire struck his quarters. He was assigned to the 172nd Support Battalion, Schweinfurt, Germany.

08/19/09
DoD Identifies Army Casualty
Spc. Matthew D. Hastings, 23, of Claremore, Okla., died Aug. 17 in Baghdad, Iraq, of injuries sustained from a non-combat related incident. He was assigned to the 582nd Medical Logistics Company, 1st Medical Brigade, 13th Sustainment Command, Fort Hood, Texas.

Today's back yard tour

Sun Spray roses

Singing in the Rain rosebud

Cooking Sage

Texas Sundrops

Blue Mist in the breeze

Iceberg rose

Most of my very few blossoms on the very lush green trumpet vine are hidden amid the leaves where one cannot enjoy them.

But this cluster went "over the top."

Cosmos

Thompson Seedless grapes

One of the golf-ball-sized tomatoes I have been enjoying.
You can see that it grew amid vines that the hornworms
had been chewing on. This one is now in the kitchen.

Yellow pear tomatoes

Penstemon

A rosebud. I see it and think "speranza."

The Flame Seedless grapes had some critter chomp on all their upper leaves, leaving the grapes in full sunlight. So I have a vine of raisins. Not what I had hoped.

This petunia seems to be in a three-dimensional photo.

Cherry tomatoes

Piñata rose

This is the sole blossom right now. This bush almost died back altogether, its leaves badly sunburned this summer. There is new growth and I have not despaired.

And that concludes today's tour of the back yard. All close-ups as the late summer yard is not inspiring in larger vistas. But lots of beauty in spots.

For which I thank Godde, Ate Wi, Ina Maka, and all my relations (for many insects and other critters as well as the plant nations and the waters make this possible).

--the BB

Demand Accountability for Torture!

Mcjoan, one of my all-time heroines, informs us of the following:

Now viewed as obstructionists at best and bald-faced liars on healthcare reform at worst, the Republican leadership seems to have decided it cannot take the additional hit of Bush regime horrors coming out at this moment, and have taken the highly unusual step of writing to Attorney General Eric Holder warning him to call off his dogs. The nine Republican senators, Kit Bond (Mo.), Saxby Chambliss (Ga.), Tom Coburn (Okla.), Orrin Hatch (Utah) and Richard Burr (N.C.), Jon Kyl (Ariz.) Jeff Sessions (Ala.), John Cornyn (Texas) and Chuck Grassley (Iowa), are worried that however the scope of the prosecution is limited, all roads lead to Cheney.

Well now, isn't that just too damn bad?

If pursuit of lawbreakers in the interest of justice leads to Dick the Dick, so the fuck what? If he's innocent he gets a fair trial to prove it. If he's guilty, why in the name of all that is holy should he get off?

So, Kit, Saxby, Tom, Orrin, Richard, Jon, Jeff, John, and Chuck - justice obstructionists every one of you - why don't you just STFU?

If any gentle readers would like to sign a petition for Attorney General Holder to appoint a special prosecutor, you may do so here. I signed.

Framing, phrasing, and CHOICE - update to correct typo

Phrasing of questions makes a huge difference in polls.

SurveyUSA included the term "choice" in their question. Their August 19, 2009, poll - sponsored by MoveOn.org Political Action - yielded this result. [1200 Adults; margin of sampling error ± 2.9%]

Q. In any health care proposal, how important do you feel it is to give people a choice of both a public plan administered by the federal government and a private plan for their health insurance - extremely important, quite important, not that important, not at all important, not sure?

In tabular form the results are these:

Extremely important....58%
Quite important........19%
Not that important..... 7%
Not at all important...15%
Not sure............... 1%

Jed Lewison notes this:

If the question wording here sounds familiar, it's because NBC News and the Wall Street Journal used the exact same question in a poll conducted in June. That poll found nearly identical results to the one released today by MoveOn.org and SurveyUSA.

He also observes that recent NBC/WSJ polls drop the word choice and support for a public plan drops to 43%.

So, if we include the issue of choice, which is part of all the current proposals for a public OPTION, 77% of the public think it's important. Or, as Lewison puts it in the header of his post:

More than 3 in 4 support the public option

So let's put to rest the distortions, misleading comments, and outright lies that say or imply that the people are not behind a public option.

And if "the votes aren't there" in the Senate, then shame on the Senate because the American people want this (protest signs that I saw yesterday to the contrary notwithstanding).


--the BB

Maine does it right.

h/t to Susan Russell