Tuesday, November 20, 2012

For 11/19/12

The net was down most of the day  and then the power went down.
I went and rescued the boat's engine and found and fixed the slow leak.

The project went longer than predicted and started later.
The actual problem was trivial.  Finding it and power were much larger obstacles than they should have been.

1
Business Day

This Week in Small Business: Happy Holidays?

Thanksgiving-shift protests, profiting from pot, a new search engine, and why social media are boring.
Entrepreneurship; Small Business; Start-ups; United States Economy; 

Not a set of topics I have been paying attention to.
Much of the bits I have been watching Are wrong.
2
Multimedia

When Interest Creates a Conflict

Sometimes the only way to cover the human toll of disease, poverty and war is to rely on private aid groups for access. But when those groups hire photographers directly, that can create a different kind of conflict, raising ethical quandaries.
Conflicts of Interest; Famine; Grants (Corporate and Foundation); Nonprofit Organizations; Philanthropy; Photography; 

"You get the pictures.  I'll make the war."
William Randolf Hearst

3
Opinion

Judicial Elections, Unhinged

Record spending in state supreme court races continues a damaging trend.
Elections, Courts and the Judiciary; Campaign Finance; Political Advertising; Political Action Committees; Editorials; 

The GOP wants to run a coup.

4
Science

The Rising Sea, and the Urge to Fight It

Dauphin Island, Ala., rebuilt time and again, presents a microcosm of the issues facing American beachfront communities as the seas advance.
Coast Erosion; Global Warming; Greenhouse Gas Emissions; Hurricane Katrina (2005); Sand and Gravel; Ships and Shipping; Tidal Waves and Tsunamis; 

Keep the rates on flood insurance rising.  
Offer a policy That pays pre-event value in cash and moving expenses for any surviving personal property in return for relocation.

Beach communities are temporary.   "One might get twenty years."
                                                                                 Old Fire Island resident

"Side by side upon the rock
The dumpy houses stand.
Come and see my shining palace
Built upon the sand"
              Edna St.Vincent Millay



5
Opinion

Is Rush Limbaugh's Country Gone?

The 21st century version of class conflict sets the stage for an exceptionally bitter face-off between the left and the right in Congress.
Capitalism (Theory and Philosophy); Federal Taxes (US); Polls and Public Opinion; Presidential Election of 2012; Socialism (Theory and Philosophy); 

The GOP is sometimes defeated.  Defeat does not destroy it.
They consider politics to be religious war.  Their opposition is not just different, it is evil.

6
Health

Managing the Assisted Living vs. Hospice Dilemma

When hospice services are brought into assistant living facilities for older residents with terminal illnesses, problems can arise. Here are tips for making sure there is good communication between families, hospice staff, assisted living staff and paid caregivers.
Death and Dying; Elder Care; Hospice Care; Nursing Homes; Retirement Communities and Assisted Living; 

Don't do it. 
Hospice and assisted living have incompatible goals.  
When hospice care is appropriate place the person in an hospice facility.
Assisted living friends can visit.  Assisted living staffers should have no responsibility for the care of hospice patients.

7
World

From India, Pressure on Ireland Over Abortion Laws

The death of an Indian woman denied a potentially life-saving abortion prompts outrage in India.
Abortion; Human Rights and Human Rights Violations; Women's Rights; 

The Catholic Church Has run Ireland as a private preserve.  When the Irish are ready, The Catholic Church will find itself without political power.
Then there will be changes, not before then.

8
U.S.

Medicare Premiums to Rise by $5 a Month

Medicare premiums will rise by $5 a month next year, the government said Friday, which was less than expected.
Medicare; Elderly; Health Insurance and Managed Care; 

I did not expect them to rise at all. The rise will be found to be unnecessary.
The GOP can't stand being wrong.

9
Business Day

America's Mid-20th-Century Infrastructure

Americans are curiously willing to tolerate shoddy infrastructure rather than supporting spending to repair and improve it, an economist writes.
Electric Light and Power; Identification Devices; Infrastructure (Public Works); Power Outages and Blackouts; 

Everything should profit the supporters of the GOP.
The government must not employ Democrats.  "Democrats are EVIL."

10
U.S.

Whether ‘Fiscal Cliff’ or Debtpocalypse, by Any Name, It Spells Austerity

Absent Congressional action, the country faces more than half a trillion dollars in tax increases and spending cuts next year, and semantic debate has sprung up alongside the policy debate.
Federal Budget (US); Federal Taxes (US); United States Economy; Recession and Depression; 

Austerity = Depression.

11
Opinion

Captain Higginson Takes Command

How a transcendentalist minister took charge of the first official black regiment.
Blacks; Civil War (US) (1861-65); Draft and Recruitment (Military); Slavery;
12
Business Day

E.P.A. Upholds Federal Mandate for Ethanol in Gasoline

The agency rejected requests from several states to relax the ethanol mandate because of a sharp decline in the corn crop.
Ethanol; Law and Legislation; Alternative and Renewable Energy; 

Power politics.

13
Opinion

The Age of Possibility

The world is entering a post-familial age. Supple minds will be needed to recognize and navigate the new normal.
Social Conditions and Trends; Families and Family Life; Marriages; 

David Brooks misses the point again.  
Consider Family,  no matter how formulated, as a great enabler.
The pregnant girl gets support and possibly respect.
Unconditional love is just that, unconditional.
Resources may be limited.  
Love and respect are not limited.  
Rejection is always destructive

14
Health

For Alzheimer’s, Detection Advances Outpace Treatment Options

Families facing a diagnosis of the disease can only ask: Should they live their lives differently, get their affairs in order, join a clinical trial of an experimental drug?
Alzheimer's Disease; Memory; Elderly; 

When memory is gone,  Learning ends.  

I have promised mother that she can live in her house and garden as long as she wants.  
I have not promised that I will be the care giver.  
When I cannot do the job I will pass it on.
My siblings may have to work out an arrangement.

15
Opinion

Child's Pose

What I taught my 5-year-old yoga student to help her manage her panic was harder to learn myself.
Anxiety and Stress; Children and Childhood; Education (K-12); Emotions; Meditation; Yoga; 

Did it work?

She is much more formal than I.  Do you find that you need the form or can peace be improvised.


16
U.S.

Providers Push Back on Medicaid Inquiries

Big and prosperous medical practices under investigation by the state say they are being wrongly targeted because they are successful.
Medicaid; Health Insurance and Managed Care; 

Usually there is an indictment and a conviction before punishment is administered.  Texas should end lynching and follow its rules.

17
World

Killing of Honduran Teenager Could Jeopardize U.S. Aid

American officials are seeking more information after learning that the soldiers who killed a 15-year-old were trained and vetted by the United States.
Murders and Attempted Murders; Defense and Military Forces; Police; 

We may have trained these soldiers but they are ultimately responsible for their actions.  
"I was under orders." is not an excuse. 
The U.S. is not responsible for them and cannot interfere in their trial.
Tell the GOP to but out.

18
Magazine

‘Girls Love Math. We Never Stop Doing It.’

Why do women squander so much of our youth worrying about being too old?
Age, Chronological; Women and Girls; 

We will never learn the result if we don't try the experiment.
I am enthusiastic.  
Sooner is better.    As soon as you can is best.

19
Business Day

As Labor Talks Collapse, Hostess Turns Out Lights

The bankrupt maker of cream-filled pastries like Twinkies and Ho Hos said on Friday that it planned to liquidate, a week after one of the company's biggest unions went on strike to protest a labor contract.
Bankruptcies; Labor and Jobs; Layoffs and Job Reductions; Organized Labor; 

The GOP just can't accept defeat.  "Death before dishonor."

20
Opinion

Inside Syria, a Grandma Faces Down War

Talking to Syrians in rebel-held territory, you get a real sense of frightened moms and dads just trying to keep their kids alive. Or, in some cases, their grandchildren.
Middle East and North Africa Unrest (2010- ); Refugees and Displaced Persons; 

This is an improvised revolt.  
If it were organized, the military would be composed of "spare" people.

The revolt is running like 1914 (The Western Front) rather than 1950 (Korea).

Youths who have no experience of war are called cannon fodder.
For good reason.

"If they ask you why we died
Say because our fathers lied"
                        Rudyard Kipling  1920(?)


When and as you can.  I will be in and out through the holiday to Sunday

I have to do what cooking gets done.  Thursday afternoon.  I have to shop.

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