From the crowd that brought us ‘shrink the government to a size where it can be drowned in a bathtub’ comes « a truly brilliant idea »:

‘The Bush administration is threatening to shut an airfield at Midway Atoll in the mid-Pacific that has been available as an emergency landing site for decades. The airlines say the closing would force many two-engine planes flying between North America and Asia to make a long detour to hug the coastline of Alaska and the Russian far east, and could force some flight cancellations. Three- and four-engine planes are not required to stay within a certain range of emergency fields. But safety experts say that these planes will still face increased risk in flying the mid-Pacific route, because they will be farther from land in case of fire, system failure or passenger illness, which are the main reasons for emergency landings.

’The airlines are furious. “It seems like the government has just lost sight of the importance of Midway,” said Gene Cameron, the manager of flight dispatching at United Airlines. Dispatchers plan aircraft routes based on prevailing winds and, especially in flights over water, availability of alternate landing spots. But the Transportation Department, which has paid $3.5 million to the Interior Department to keep the airfield open for the last few months, is determined to stop. “There is no other airport available to commercial interests that we pay to operate,” said Brian Turmail, a Transportation Department spokesman.’

As Duane Woerth, the president of the Air Line Pilots Association, said:

‘I’m really ripped about this ridiculous loss of safety … This is an inherently governmental function. They keep trying to outsource this inherently governmental responsibility.’

Well, that’s the Emperor’s M.O., Duane. The market is God. Worship the market. The market can do no wrong. Screw safety and everybody and everything else. The market must be appeased.

Ridiculous indeed.

Speaking of Ohio, « Johnny Reb Asscroft is up to his usual tricks »:

‘Bush administration lawyers argued in three closely contested states last week that only the Justice Department, and not voters themselves, may sue to enforce the voting rights set out in the Help America Vote Act, which was passed in the aftermath of the disputed 2000 election. Veteran voting-rights lawyers expressed surprise at the government’s action, saying that closing the courthouse door to aspiring voters would reverse decades of precedent.

‘Since the civil rights era of the 1960s, individuals have gone to federal court to enforce their right to vote, often with the support of groups such as the NAACP, the AFL–CIO, the League of Women Voters or the state parties. And until now, the Justice Department and the Supreme Court had taken the view that individual voters could sue to enforce federal election law. But in legal briefs filed in connection with cases in Ohio, Michigan and Florida, the administration’s lawyers argue that the new law gives Atty. Gen. John Ashcroft the exclusive power to bring lawsuits to enforce its provisions. These include a requirement that states provide “uniform and nondiscriminatory” voting systems, and give provisional ballots to those who say they have registered but whose names do not appear on the rolls.’

Like I said, Tuesday is gonna be a wonder to behold.

« Our Life in Michigan – Strolling Around Northside Elementary School »

Wow … fog in Ann Arbor. Who knew? Reminds me of San Francisco.

Another summery (sort of) day today, though it was windier and a little chillier. It’s supposed to start storming again tonight, though, so we’ll see how long the rain lasts.

Last night there was an amazing lunar eclipse, the last that will be visible in Michigan till March 2007 (seems a long time away, though 2 years and 4 months isn’t really a long time at all in the scheme of things), according to the news. The moon started vanishing at a little after 9.00 and by 11.00 it was hidden behind the earth’s shadow, a tint of deep maroon. Incredible.

« No comment needed ».

There was a big article on the front page of the Michigan Daily this morning about a student who got hit by a car yesterday evening as she was crossing Bonisteel and Murfin on North Campus. A Department of Public safety representative said that speeding is more rampant on North Campus because there are fewer stop signs on North Campus. I’m sorry, but the only thing that curtails speeding behavior on Central Campus is physics. If there is no vehicular traffic between East University and State, I guarantee you that most cars and trucks and motorcycles will treat South University as though they were on I-94. Now, I’m not saying it’s all the fault of the vehicles. If I were a driver and I were trying to get anywhere in the center of town most days, especially the area around State and William, I would be highly frustrated by the almost practiced obliviousness of the pedestrians in that area, most of whom act like State Street is some sort of pretty concrete footpath and that the big shiny vehicles all around them don’t exist.

It was almost muggy tonight when I walked home from campus at around 7.30. The temps were in the low 60s, but the humidity was up in the 70-80% range.

It’s almost the end of October, and it’s like the middle of summer.

The only way you can tell it’s autumn riught now is that we’ve passed the peak of fall colors. Central campus is covered in carpets of yellow, red, and orange leaves, and it’s like a scene out of “A Charlie Brown Thanskgiving.” It’s great (except that it will soon be over and the leaves will be gone).

The ASquared database was hosed last night; thank god for Google caching. If you made a comment yesterday, it’s probably lost, however.

We apologize for the inconvenience. Our web host, Textdrive, is very dissatisfied with the server farm in Texas and is moving to a new provider. They’re ironing things out and it should get better soon.

It was a busy week, one of the busier I’ve had at SI. I had a poster presentation on Wednesday afternoon based on some of the work in my summer directed field experience with the IPL (as did about 60 or 70 other SI students, based on their various DFEs), and I had a screening interview on Friday afternoon for a fellowship at North Carolina State. Both went reasonably well, I think, although I think I may have flubbed a question in the interview. Nonetheless, it was good practice, if nothing else. They seemed to like my resume. They wanted to know why I had chosen to go to library school after my previous work experience in law firms and civil service (although my jobs in high school, during summers in college, and my first job out of college were all library jobs), a question which I have a feeling I’m going to get a lot and am going to have to form a coherent answer about.

The poster presentation was a lot of advance work. I began planning the poster a couple of weeks beforehand. We had to submit a title for the poster on October 1, but other than that, I hadn’t done much work on it. (I can’t believe I actually “planned” this thing, because I’ve never put together a poster in my life unless it was a really crappy one in junior high that I’ve completely forgotten about.) I struggled with ideas for days and days and finally the little light bulb went off over my fat head and a burst of something approaching creativity ensued. There was a map to be obtained, and there were JPGs of covers of newspapers to be found, and there were articles to be read about the distinction between print news and online news, and there were sections to lay out on PowerPoint, and there was much gritting of teeth over the uselessness of PowerPoint in its Windows incarnation, and there was sleeplessness and worry. This process somehow unfolded deliberately and did not completely collapse into confusion and ennui, which surprised me.

The actual physical labor on the slides for the poster and the poster itself didn’t really start up in earnest until the Wednesday or Thursday of the week prior to the event. I got a lot of help from Steve; in fact, although the poster would have gotten done with or without Steve’s help, because it had to be done to receive credit for the DFE, the poster wouldn’t have been nearly as effective without his good eye for detail, his visual instinct (an instinct I just don’t have), and his hard work. Steve and I (mostly Steve, because he’s better at it) sat at the dinner table for hours on Tuesday night cutting out letters for the banner with scissors and Exacto knife only to discover that the banner ended up too large for the final product. Then there was the mishap in which I forgot to include one of the words of the banner (our banner titles were submitted in advance, and I had no clue whether it would be an issue if the final title on the poster didn’t exactly match the submission) and we had to drive to Angell Hall at midnight to print out that single word.

Anyway, the final product looked great, and the event was well-attended, not only by the presenters, but by professors, potential employers, and other SI students. A lot of the other students had fantastic posters and fantastic DFEs. One student who’s in my cataloging study/work group had a really great poster on his work adding blogs to the IPL, complete with photos of the front pages of dozens of blogs flying off the sides of the poster like a blizzard. A friend of mine had a terrific poster of her experience going through a culinary archive.

One first-year student asked me about my experience at IPL and I was able to talk to him at length about the worthwhileness of having worked there. A number of people paid compliments. I was nervous at first but acquitted myself fairly well, I think. I could have rehearsed my spiel a little better, but I managed.

The poster ended up winning what I gather was the equivalent of an honorable mention (there were two $25 Borders certificate winners and five $10 winners, and I was one of the latter), which was surprising and gratifying. I gave the gift certificate to Steve, of course, but I owe him way more than that for his help (and his patience when I was starting to fray at the edges late in the night).

It’s official: Snow due anyday now, since Dairy Queen is now closed for the season.

« Our Life in Michigan – Rainy Saturday Afternoon | Fall Peak Colors »

« Our Life in Michigan – Fall Campus Colors »

Fascinating (and welcome) ghost-town feel to Ann Arbor today (the grim Scandinavian weather added to that feel). The center of town was completely deserted. Liberty Street was like a graveyard. Ambrosia, which has more and more become almost impossible to find an empty seat in, was blessedly empty except for a couple of students and an employer interviewing an earnest applicant and telling him that he wouldn’t be able to offer him health benefits (“I don’t get sick a lot” was the applicant’s response). Campus, likewise, was eerily quiet. I wandered into Angell Hall to use the color printer and there were so many empty computer stations I scarcely knew where to sit. Work at GovDocs was quiet until about 1.00, when everybody seemed to descend on the room at once. I went to Michigan Book & Supply and the art department upstairs was so dead that the clerk had NPR’s “All Things Considered” on (tuned to Bush blathering about what a “national security risk” Kerry is) and took, oh, a good ten minutes to count up the 30-odd pieces of card stock I was buying (she was so bored she lost count and had to start over). The only un-tomblike place was the drivethrough at the Michigan Credit Union office on William next door to the District Library, which, like every other day, was a miniature version of the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

I know for a fact that ASquared wasn’t ever this dead during the summer. I don’t think it was even this dead last year, though come to think of it we may have been out of town ourselves last “fall study break,” I don’t recall for sure.

I wonder where all the students go on their “fall study breaks”? Florida? Mexico?

When I see the kind of ominous, implacable steel-gray overcast skies I saw today, I start wondering if maybe Dixie Franklin wasn’t right when she called post-summer Michigan a “sunless horror, devoid of joy and hope,” except that with a year’s experience, I realize that the weather here can change on a dime. It’s supposed to be sunny on Wednesday and Thursday. We’ll see.

It’s cold, my hands hurt. The fall colors are gorgeous and I wish I were a better photographer who could capture some of the magic.

I love October best of all, but it’s also sad, because one of my least favorite months, November, is howling like a wolf at the door.

In November, my skin dries out and is itchy and historically my deepest depressions/anxiety attacks have happened. It’s a nasty month, with all the leaves gone and everything brown and barren-looking, waiting for snow to cover it up.

But for now, I will enjoy the last of October. God it’s beautiful around Ann Arbor right now.

Meanwhile, « badly mismanaged Delta Air Lines reports that it is running out of cash »:

‘Delta Air Lines, which is struggling to avoid a bankruptcy filing, said yesterday that it expected to lose as much as $675 million for the third quarter and that it was using cash at a steep rate. The news from Delta, reported in a regulatory filing, renewed speculation that the airline could seek bankruptcy protection as soon as late October. If that happens, half the country’s old-line air carriers would be in bankruptcy proceedings.’

In other words, the executives at Delta, who have horribly mismanaged the airline for decades, are about to sneak into bankruptcy court and smash the unions.

Sad. So very sad.

I was feeling sorry for myself on the way home last night (the usual grad student complaints and kvetches, not worth going into detail about) until a trio of first-year biz school students got on the bus and started exchanging grim graveyard jokes with one another about how they were failing all of their classes but it really didn’t matter because you couldn’t flunk out of biz school without at least a warning first, right? I got off the bus and started my walk home, happy in the knowledge that I’m not failing in (or flailing in) a stats or accounting class.

Yesterday was the beginning of the term “study break” (what a joke) and also of (true) autumn: rain most of the day (not heavy, but not sporadic, either), windy conditions, and cold that that was deep enough to make me actually rue not having brought my gloves and a heavy jacket. I waited for the bus last night, and, predictably, the one that should have showed didn’t show until 20 minutes later and by that time I was across the street waiting for another bus that would show five minutes after that one. It was not a pleasant wait, despite whatever affection I may have for the presence of seasonal weather. I walked from Stadium and Packard home and was bone-cold by the time I made it through the door. On the plus side, traffic was relatively light, both pedestrian and vehicular. I actually made it across Stadium without having to wait for five minutes for all the cross-traffic to clear.

It’s currently 39 on its way down to 35 degrees overnight.

It’s the 16th of October.

I’d say I want to move back south to New Mexico, but I’m told Santa Fe got a huge snow dump the other day.

I’m not going to be warm again until May, am I?

Banned from the bike though I am, I did manage to sneak a ride tonight.

I had a meeting with a client on the UM campus. So I loaded the Bobcat into the Jeep and drove to a parking spot as close as I could get, then got out the bike and rode the six last blocks. I hate walking all that way; truth is, my feet are in almost as bad shape as my hands when it comes to walking long distances, especially if I’m in a hurry. Everything tenses up and starts hurting; they have since my San Francisco days.

The ride was very nice, even though dodging cars on East University was dicey. It was lovely to fly through the diag without trudging along.

I really miss my bike riding and hope the surgeon relents next week when I see him.

Little-noticed news today includes news that Gulf War Syndrome-suffering veterans are probably suffering from exposure to toxic chemicals, something the Pentagon has been lying about for over a decade; a revealing report in the Times that shows that private freight railroads have been engaged in a decades-long pattern of death- and injury-causing neglect and have then hidden behind Amtrak, which means they’ve passed on the expensive consequences of their bad behavior to the taxpayers and, in corporate news, that the Ford Motor Company is shamelessly resurrecting dead people to shill for cars they probably would have hated—in this case, Steve McQueen, who has been dead for 24 years. « Read more »

There’s just 19 days left until the big election, when we get to find out if our countrymen will embrace the Boy Emperor’s uniquely Amurrican brand of nascent fascism or if we get to step back a bit from the brink for four years. In the event of a renewal of Imperial power, Canada is looking mighty good to me.

On the homefront, I still am trying to be careful with my wrists, but it’s not easy. I’m getting better and better, but it’s taking a very long time (not to mention expense and pain). It’s much easier to quickly update links on The AntiFascist than it is to write longish entries here in my ‘blogs, so that’s primarily where the action is these days, I’m afraid. But I’m still not going anywhere; as my favorite quote goes, ‘I shall yell “Tripe!” whenever tripe is served!’

Good night, y’all.

A couple of law students were on the bus this morning. East Coasters, from the sound of it:

“We had a big fight this morning.”

“What about?”

“She started shouting at me. ‘I can’t believe you made me move to this sh*t place!’”

“Dude, that sounds rough.”

“Yeah. Well. I told her, ‘At least we aren’t in Ithaca!’”

“I’m doing really well. It’s really brutal, and I’m really stressed out, but I’m doing well.”

A first-year grad stuent, apparently, on her cell phone.

The crowd in the Diag on Friday was relatively small (only about 100, if you believe the Daily), but everybody there was passionate and in a defiant mood, even though the overriding mood of the times is one of fear and (sometimes) despair. Ralph Williams, who has been in the English Department here since 1969, gave a short but powerful speech. As I stood there, I couldn’t help but recall all of the similar rallies and other events I strenuously avoided in White Plaza at Stanford when I was an undergrad. Those were different times. It’s strange how these times seem so much “better” in many material ways yet somehow also on the brink of being suddenly, frighteningly, and unimaginably worse. Proposal 2 is just one close-to-home and concrete example of that paradox.

The Michigan Daily carried a headline in yesterday’s edition: “Coming Out rally highlights empowerment.” That has got to be one of the dullest, innocuous, sleep-deprived headlines ever. (I know because I wrote a lot of the other dullest headlines ever when I was a page editor in college.)

Anyway, the other unsuccessful aspect of this article was that it spoke briefly about Proposal 2, which it called “a ballot initiative seeking to amend the state constitution to ban gay marriage and similar unions.”

Folks, Proposal 2 will not just ban “gay marriage and similar unions.” It will take away health and other benefits from any unmarried couples, whether they’re gay, bi, straight, or any variation thereof. The proponents of this amendment want to destroy any relationship that is not defined by the rite of holy matrimony. That isn’t just gay relationships, although they would love you to believe that.

The University’s Regental By-law 14.06, revised in 1993, reads as follows:

The University is committed to a policy of nondiscrimination and equal opportunity for all persons regardless of race, sex, color, religion, creed, national origin or ancestry, age, marital status, sexual orientation, disability, or Vietnam-era veteran status.

I’m no lawyer, but you don’t have to be one to know that the legality of that bylaw will be in serious doubt if Proposal 2 goes through.

Please remember that when you go to the ballot box on November 2.

And a big fat jeer to the Daily for not pointing out how pernicious and ominous Proposal 2 is, and how many people’s lives at the University of Michigan – not just students, but employees – this hate amendment will affect if it goes into law.

It was kind of chilly yesterday, but today it was back to sun and nearly 70-degree temps. I see the National Weather Service is predicting “showers likely” for the rest of the week; I’ll believe it when I see it. Today I walked around campus in a bulky zippered sweatshirt because I thought it would be cold. I felt like a dork.

Very sad news in the paper this morning:

’ The Yankee Air Museum, a popular air history attraction at the Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, burned to the ground Saturday evening when a fast-moving fire swept through the building, destroying priceless aviation artifacts and two airplanes.

‘Three of the museum’s most prized aircraft—a C-47, B-25D and B-17G restored to flying condition—were saved because the crew of the B-25 had just returned from a flight and was able to move the planes out of the burning hangar.

‘The fire was reported at about 6:30 p.m. and soon had engulfed the 50,000-square-foot hangar, which was built in 1941 by Henry Ford for the production of B-24 Liberator bombers. No one was injured and no cause had been determined Saturday night.’

Being the classic airplane nut that I am, it’s sorrowful news; but at least they saved the three most important restoration aircraft.

I ran over to Willow Run to see if I could get some pics, but the fire department is still pouring water on the smoking ruins, so I could only get a few from far away.

Also, autumn color is in its full glory this weekend, and the weather is perfect. This is my favorite time to be in Ann Arbor; it’s just glorious. Breathtaking. Some pics (which don’t do it justice):

« Our Life in Michigan – Autumn Sunday Afternoon »

Yet another gorgeous, mild, cloudless October morning in Ann Arbor … what is this, California?

Yesterday we took a drive during the big game between UM and Minnesota and the trees had exploded with color seemingly overnight, with a riot of reds and yellows and oranges everywhere you looked. Absolutely stupendous. If there’s no other reason to live in Ann Arbor, this is it.

« Our Life in Michigan – Autumn Day at Delhi Park » Actually, it’s pronounced ‘Dell-High’ …

[What, no questions about us faggots and our families and how evil we are?]

Kerry:
1. Won’t cede sovereignty over US, but our country is strongest when we lead alliances.2. I have plan to hunt down and kill terrorists and get things better in Iraq.
3. We have a crisis here in the middle class … healthcare … schools and teachers …
4. I ask you privilege of leading nation to be strong and respected again.

Bush:
1. We’ve been through hell … lists some dubious achievements.
2. We’re at war.
3. We need big energy.
4. More work to be done.
5. Terra.
6. WMDs
7. Haters
8. Faith, liberty, freedom on march
9. God bless

Whatta tool.

Three instances of your mistakes and how you corrected it:

Emperor says … he has made decisions.

Beat.

Says he’ll take responsibility for tactical problems in war.

On big decisions in Iraq and Afghanistan weren’t mistakes. Trying to trap me into saying it was wrong. Again gets hyper defensive on Iraq. Goes way off on Saddam. And tax cuts.

Made mistakes in appointing people, won’t name names on TV. (?!)

Kerry’s response: Bush made huge mistakes. Look into your hearts: Was war last resort? No plan to win peace. Incompetent in delivery of services. Beyond pitiful and embarrassing. Saddam’s intent is an excuse.

Bush gets defensive on equipment and Iraq. He gets clipped.

Kerry says which is worse, how I talked about $87 billion or invading Iraq? Invokes Halliburton.

Kerry on abortion:

I respect the belief about life and when it begins. Raised a Catholic. Helped lead me yesterday and today. I can’t take an article of faith and legislate it for someone who doesn’t share it. I can’t do that. I can council people. I can talk about responsibility and abstinence. I have to represent ALL the people. Don’t deny poor people the right to have Constitutional rights. Brings up international family planning.

Time for the Fascist Fundamentlist answer. Emperor says we’re not spending tax money on abortions. Brings up partial birth abortions. Supports parental notification. Unborn victims of violence act. Create culture of life. He’s much calmer. Did they give him a shot? Tell him to chill out? He’s much more effective this way.

Kerry’s follow-up. Slams Bush’s warping of his record. It’s not as simple as Bush wants you to believe.

Bush says it is that simple. Simple things for simple minds. You can run but you can’t hide.

Emperor: ‘I’m NOT TELLING!’

That’s supposed to be funny?

Strict interpretation. Personal opinion. Here’s who I wouldn’t pick. Invokes Pledge case. Dred Scott case (??!!). What appalling ignorance of American history. No litmus test except for interpretation.

Kerry’s response goes to Bush’s words four years ago … we need conservative judges. His two favorites are Scalia and Thomas. I don’t we need a good liberal or conservative. I subscribe to the Potter Stewart standard. Mark of good justice is if you can’t tell the decision is written by a label. Supreme court and justice dept. is at stake. Brings up right to choose.

Embryonic stem cells (here we go).

Kerry says he respects the question and feeling, invokes Nancy Reagan and Michael J. Fox and Christopher Reeve. We can do it ethically. Embryos from fertility clinics not from abortions are available. It is respecting life to reach for that cure. Bush has chosen a policy that makes that impossible.

Emperor whines a justification of his policy. Says it requires destruction of life. He’s first to allow it. (?!) Hopes for cure too. He’s totally lost in this and he knows it. Claims it’s destroying life to save life (?).

Kerry: Bush is a waffler!!!!! The lines he’s made available are not adequate. 11-20 now. Not enough, they’re contaminated. We have to do it.

Bush justifies his flip-flopping. YAWN.

Defend the Orwell Act, Boy Emperor …

Bush says your rights aren’t being watered down. Every action being taken against terrorists requires court order and scrutiny. (?) Justification, oversimplication, lie, idiotic statement, blah blah blah. TERRA!!!! It doesn’t abridge your rights.

Kerry reponds. Republicans want the act changed. Many folks are concerned about it. Inspector general of Justice Dept. found it abused rights. Notes sneak and peek. Notes incarceration. Notes lack of intent. I voted for it. I believe in those portions that make us stronger. But some parts change Constitution.

Manufacturing competitiveness:

Kerry talks about ways to be competitive, cites examples of administration failure … incentives to move offshore. Tax benefits for companies that stay. Manufacturing and new jobs credit. Cost of healthcare is hurting business more than anything. Boo-YEAH! Education is important … especially science and technology … energy independence … great entrepreneurial spirit to free ourselves from mideast energy dependence.

Bush keeps going back to tort reform … insurance pooling … health savings accounts … claims Robert Rubin says Kerry’s plan won’t work … claims energy plan is stuck in Senate … Kerry misses votes … keep taxes low.

Gibson horns in again.

Kerry says you can’t stop all outsourcing but you can create a level playing field. Bush just lied. 96% of small businesses won’t be affected.

Bush is confused. Whut? Invokes some yokel in Ohio.

Emperor on the environment:

Off road diesel engines … increase wetlands … refurbish inner city sore spots … Clear Skies Orwellian Initiative … conservation reserve program … Healthy Forests Orwellian Initiative … hydrogen auto technology … unClean Coal Orwellian … I’m a good steward of the land … LOUD GUFFAW!!!

Kerry: Emperor isn’t living in reality. Don’t throw labels around, they don’t mean anything. Labels don’t fit. One of worst administrations in modern history. Orwellian names. We’re going back. His chief EPA investigator resigned … backwards … science.

Bush jumps on Kyoto treaty … it would cost jobs. Popular in halls of Europe. Good god, he’s such a tin-foil hat Freeper.

Kerry: Kyoto was flawed, but it was a start … Bush didn’t try to fix it … we walked away from 180 countries work over 10 years.

Explain your spending and lack of vetoes.

Emperor: We have a deficit because of Clinton recession. It ain’t my fault. We’re at war. TRIFECTA!!! Money, ammunitions and pay! Security! We have an obligation to spend that money. Everybody got tax relief. Trickle down!!! Voodoo economics! Haven’t vetoed anything because we’re working together (?). I won’t shortchange our troops.

Kerry responds. My healthcare plan is not what Bush says it is. You have the choice and control. On deficit. Bush was handed $5.6 TRILLION surplus. He now has a $2.6 TRILLION deficit. First in 72 years to lose jobs. Tax cut during war. 1% of America, the highest in America got $89 billion tax cut. Tax cut for less than $200,000.

Gibson cuts in with ‘How you gonna cut the deficit?’

Bush whines about it’s all Clinton’s fault. What a whiner.

After 9/11 and after the end of the recession, Kerry says Bush lost millions of jobs and gave money to the wealthiest. $25 billion giveaway to corporations. ENRON!

What about Trial Lawyer Edwards?

Kerry says he and John are for tort reform, look it up. Is it a problem? Yes. Do we need to fix it? Yes. But it’s less than 1% of the total cost of healthcare. $3,500 up in Missouri, 64%. 5,000,000 have lost healthcare under Bush. I have specific plans. It can happen, but we have to roll back unaffordable tax cut for those over $200,000 a year.

Bush is swamped. Kerry is the most liberal senator of all. Nyaah nyaah nyaah. He’s gonna tax us all!!!! AAAAAAAAGGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH! Frivolous lawsuits!!!! AAAAAGGGGGHHHHH!!!!! Federal government will run healthcare! That’s what li-bruhls do! Rationing! Ruin quality of care!

Kerry we should look at limitations. Bush is trying to scare with labels. Compassionate conservative: Biggest deficits in American history. Dropping kids off insurance rolls.

Bush: Trial lawyers! Senate votes! Blah!

Why did you block importation of Canadian drugs to save 40-60%?

Bush: I want you to be safe and protected and all huggly-wuggly and safety-wafety. Slams the third world. Pisses off his Big Pharma buddies by weakly touting generic drugs. Shillls for drug card scam. Blathers on and on.

Kerry: Notes that the Emperor four years ago was asked same question and said it was a good idea. He lied. Notes that Senate passed it. We’re talking about American drugs, not third world ones. Slams the Emperor on Medicare and bulk buying. Bush sides with corporations.

Bush blames Clinton. Kerry doesn’t have any accomplishments on Medicare in 20 years in the Senate.

Kerry: Actually in 1997 we fixed Medicare and I was one involved. WE BALANCED THE BUDGET TOO, something you don’t know how to do!

AWESOME DUDE!!!!!

Why no more terrorist attacks and what will you do about our safety?

Kerry notes that Emperor has told us it’s not a question of if but of when. These people wait and plot and plan. I agree we have to go after them. I can do it far more effectively. We need the best intelligence. We need better cooperation in the world. Better homeland security. 95% of containers are not inspected. Bags are x-rayed, but not cargo holds of aircraft. Notes Bush choice of massive tax cut over homeland security. Overcrowded hospitals.

Bush says he tripled the homeland security budget. Brings up some unrelated 1993 Kerry vote. Says we have to be right 100%, we have to be offensive. People are working hard. Loves the PATRIOT Act. Says Kerry wants to weaken it. Kerry can’t succeed in Iraq and it will be a haven for terrorists. Dredges up same old talking points. Yadda yadda yadda.

Gibson asks Kerry if he thinks terror is inevitable. Kerry says Bush said it is. The test is not if you’ve added money. He chose a tax cut.

Bush says he’s worried about our country. Way to defeat the enemy is to spread freedom.

The Emperor on the draft:

Rumors on the internet: We’re not going to have a draft period. Volunteer army is best to fight 21st century wars. We don’t need as much manpower on Korean peninsula.

I can’t follow him any longer. He’s off the rails, making no sense. But promises no draft while he’s the emperor.

Kerry responds that he doesn’t support draft and proceeds to highlight his military supporters (generals) and then talks about the Emperor’s failures and the way he’s overextended the military. National Guard, Stop Loss, back-door draft, underpaid military, hurts communities. I will add 40,000 active-duty forces. My foreign policy will build alliances, not going it alone.

Emperor is about to have a cow. ‘Tell Tony Blair we’re going alone!’ About to split a gut.

Kerry says eight countries have left the coalition. Missouri would be third largest country in alliance (in population). 90% of costs coming from our pockets.

Asks Kerry about Iran.

Iran is a huge threat and you can’t just rely on sanctions, notes that threat has grown while Bush was preoccupied in Iraq. Talks about North Korea’s capabilities and notes Emperor’s failure to engage. We were safer before he came to office. We have to join with the Brits and French and Germans and lead the world to crack down on proliferation. Bush slow even in Russia. He wants to take 13 years. Kerry plan is within four. Talks about bunker busters and proliferation. We will get tough with Iran if we have to.

Bush: ‘That answer almost made me want to scowl.’ Naive and dangerous. Claims that he’s following Kerry’s plan. More and more petulant. Almost shouting. We did what Clinton did and it’s wrong it doesn’t work (?).

A woman’s family travelled overseas and noted intensity of hatred to US …

Emperor says, ‘We’ve got a great country and I recognize I’ve made some decisions …’ Invokes Reagan and the Cold War. He made decisions because it was best for our security. Slaps Arafat. Slaps Europe. It was unpopular but the right thing to do. Democracy. Blah blah. Terra. Blah blah. International Criminal Court. Blah blah. Sometimes decisions are unpopular, but right. Presidency is not popularity.

Kerry responds. Sounds calmer and more in control. Bush sounds like he’s spraying spit all over the state. Kerry notes Bush’s words four years ago about what he would do in war. Brings up Shinseki. Notes betrayal by administration of what had been promised. ‘He rushed to war without plan for peace … he broke his word.’

Bush says he asked the generals if they had what they needed. Sounds petulant. Blames the generals.

Kerry notes that winning the peace is larger than the military. President’s job is to win the peace. He didn’t do what he was supposed to do. Our kids are being killed … KICK ASS!!!!

To Kerry: Proceeding with same plan in Iraq?

Kerry responds of course not … trots out Republicans who oppose the way things are being handled in Iraq. Attacks vociferously the current way things are going in Iraq. Talks about training troops faster and getting allies back in the game.

Bush says ‘From tyranny to elections! Iraqis love to be free!’ Says not to listen to political rhetoric. Lays claim to Kerry’s plan. Attacks idea of summit on Iraq. He’s getting shriller and angrier.

Kerry followup: The right war was Osama and Afghanistan and Tora Bora when we had him cornered.

Bush followup: It’s a misunderstanding that the war on terra is just Osama.

Pathetic.

To the Emperor: ‘What about the whole WMDs in Iraq thing … is this a reasonable justification?’

Each situation is different … you have to use diplomacy first. [Lying sack of …]

From there on, he’s just repeating, ‘9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11! 9/11!’

Now he’s linking Al Quaida to 9/11 again …

Now he’s bringing up the Freepers’ UN Oil for Food shibboleth … and he sounds testy and slurring and there are plenty of pauses between his sentences.

Kerry’s replies … ‘The world is more dangerous because the [Emperor] made the wrong choices … he took his eye off the ball.’

Sorry, I know I’m partisan, but Kerry is kicking the Boy Emperor’s ASS. It’s that simple.
Bush comes back with a lame-o attack. ‘Saddam! Terrorists!’

Kerry comes back with a direct slap about sanctions … KICK BUTT!!

First question to Kerry: Do you have a reply to the Fascists calling you a flip-flopper?

Answer: Bush is running a campaign of mass deception.

No duh.

His answer encompasses a whole lot of ground.

The Emperor just repeats his campaign stuff. ‘He’s wishy-washy because he is.’ Pathetic.

Listening to the Town Hall debate on CSPAN Radio on XM … and thanking Good God Almighty that I don’t have television in my home.

I’m on way in a couple of hours to get an MRI done of my hands and wrists.

Yes, in a couple of hours. My MRI is scheduled for 00:20 … that’s 20 minutes after MIDNIGHT. Weirdest time for a medical test I’ve ever heard of. It’s been scheduled for over a month and I wasn’t given much of a choice. Strange stuff.

I have to go to the ER at University Hospital and go ‘past the Psych ER’ into the basement. At midnight. Sounds like some bad teen horror flick. Then when I’m done, I have to pick up a red phone and ask for security to let me out of the place.

I had to warn them 72 hours in advance if I had a body piercing(s) (I don’t, so I didn’t).

MRIs are notoriously claustrophobia-inducing; since I’ve never had a problem with that, I’m not worried.

And after Monday’s Electromyography/Nerve Conduction test, this is gonna be a piece of cake.

In case you’ve never had or heard of an EMG/Nerve Conduction, well, see what they do is they stick electrodes on your fingers and then zap your arms, wrists and hands with electrical current. It’s basically an electrocution and your hand jumps around. This test measures the speed that electricity travels up the nerves in your arms and indicates if those nerves are damaged (i.e., if you have Carpal Tunnel Syndrome).

Once that fun little exercise is complete, the real torture begins. They stick these needles and wires directly into the muscles in your arms and hands and listen to the electrical signals which result when those muscles are at rest or flexing. Again, this tests nerve response and whether they are connected properly to said muscles.

Having a needle stuck into your muscles and then wiggled around in there until the resident finds a signal is … well, not pleasant. I was sore and bleeding slightly afterward. And in my left deltoid, the resident couldn’t find a proper signal, so the attending had to come in and do it. It was quite interesting.

Add in some bloodwork and a flu shot and I was poked by large ugly needles some 17 times on Monday.

The good news/bad news: I don’t have CTS, but I do have something wrong and nobody knows what it.

The final indignity that day was a visit to the dermatologist where I had an encounter with a cupful of liquid nitrogen in order to have a slightly embarrassing problem taken care of by a couple of residents, one of whom was younger, I swear, than Doogie Howser.

In other words, tonight’s MRI should be a complete piece of cake. I can’t wait.

Good night, y’all.