Tuesday, September 30, 2008

Riley on the Road to Recovery

As some of you have heard, Riley has had an awful, awful week. We found him struggling to stand at the top of the stairs when we returned from the Tigers game a week ago today. It was heartbreaking and terrifying to see him unable to control his left legs, and looking to us for help. We made an emergency trip to the local vet, who ruled out poisoning or stroke, and said it looked like a neck problem. By Wednesday morning, he was much worse -- virtually paralyzed in all four legs. His big tail seemed the be the only thing working normally.

After a trip to MSU's animal hospital, we were refereed to private-practice specialists. Dr. Galle at the Animal Neurology and MRI Center in Commerce Twp. diagnosed a ruptured disc in Riley's neck. We left Riley in his capable hands for a Thursday morning surgery to remove the ruptured disc material, which was pressing down on his spinal cord. He didn't seem to recover much in the first 48 hours; A second surgery was required Saturday night in the same spot to remove a blood clot which formed in the area.

After several days where things looked a little bleak, he has begun to rebound. He's walking again, I understand, but not necessarily very well. It will be a pretty long recovery for him, as the surgery itself involved cutting through a lot of muscle to get to the spine, and of course the recovery of neurological function is somewhat unpredictable. But it's a very good sign that he has motor function... it means he's on track for a recovery. We're now cautiously optimistic that he'll recover 80-90% of his mobility and strength.

We're silly, sentimental pet owners, I guess. A week ago, I really feared losing him, and I still don't know if it will be worth the effort and expense. I just hope Riley is able to recover enough to enjoy several more healthy years.

I understand it's sort of an unusual injury for a retriever mix, but the MRI that revealed the rupture also shows he has degenerating discs. Our crash-o-matic red rover isn't a puppy anymore, and is going to have to endure some lifestyle changes to prevent a re-occurance. He'll probably get more walks to prevent rambunctiousness, and he'll be a downstairs dog from now on, as his love of leaping off the stairs is a no-no.

It's been stressful and sad... I apologize that we haven't been able to keep everyone up to date, but those aren't easy phone calls to make. We'll let you know when we know more. Riley may be coming home later this week... Think good thoughts for him, everyone.

Wednesday, September 17, 2008

The Meltdown

Dad wrote this morning, expressing amazement that I hadn't commented on "this week's triumph of Reaganism." With a few edits, here is my reply:

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

Reaganism?

Financial crises have been around a lot longer than Reaganism or, for that matter, the Republic. Maybe Reagan et. al. bear some responsibility, but the biggest culprit was a lack of investor scrutiny toward the banks they invested in. It's easy and seductive to claim this is a political problem. I think that's secondary to the fact that this is a business problem, brought on by a cultural obsession with short-term profits. We're finding that such profits often come at the long-term expense of these financial companies, and the chickens have come home to roost. And these sophisticated big banks weren't ignorant buyers of these shaky mortgages in the first place -- if they were going to invest tens of billions of dollars in mortgage-backed securities, they could have done a bit more homework on what they were buying. Wall Street lost its appreciation for credit risk, and that wasn't the fault of any politician. Goldman, in particular, did a good job of recognizing these risks and unloading them.

The main political issue, to me, has been the loss of manufacturing jobs and the turmoil that comes with the massive job turnover we've had in a "globalized" economy. Families which used to be able to depend on a stable, well-paying job now find that they've been living much closer to insolvency. Rather than a secure job that pays $25/hr, blue-collar guys are in tenuous jobs which pay $17. They lose their overtime for a few months, gas prices spike, and suddenly they can't make all the mortgage payments... Down comes the house of cards. The mortgage-holders didn't appreciate the actual default risk, and now the effects are cascading through the system.

So, maybe Reagan and his cronies bear some blame, but the lion's share goes to the management of these companies, who sold out their shareholders for immediate gain -- an old, old tale. But I'd be interested to hear why you think this is all Reagan's fault.

Modern-Day Robin Hood?

St. Pioneer Press:
GOP delegate's hotel tryst goes bad when he wakes up with $120,000 missing


I'm sure it couldn't have happened to a nicer guy:


The theft occurred early on Sept. 4, hours after Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin gave her speech accepting her party's vice presidential nomination. A police report said Schwartz told officers he met a woman at the bar and took her to his $319-a-night room.

"Victim reported suspect made victim drinks, told him to get undressed, which is the last thing he remembers," a police narrative said. "Upon waking, victim discovered money, jewelry gone; total loss over $120K."

...Aside from the watch, ring, necklace, earrings and belt, Schwartz also reported a $1,000 purse or wallet, a $1,500 cell phone, $500 in cash and a couple of rings worth $50 had been taken.


Schwartz is now mum on the event, but he was more talkative with media beforehand:

In an interview filmed the afternoon of Sept. 3 and posted on the Web site LinkTV.org, Schwartz was candid about how he envisioned change under a McCain presidency.

"Less taxes and more war," he said, smiling. He said the U.S. should "bomb the hell" out of Iran because the country threatens Israel.

Monday, September 08, 2008

A few more thoughts on Sarah Palin

To use a baseball anaolgy, Sarah Palin has done well in AAA. Now she's being asked to bat cleanup for the Yankees, and there's no real reason to think she's up to the job.

Four or eight years from now, after having a chance to build a track record in a position of real responsibility, maybe she would make a strong V.P. candidate. Maybe she serves a couple terms as governor, and gets herself elected to the Senate. Maybe she authors some legislation and gets some visa stamps on that brand-new passport of hers. After all, she seems to have some of the prerequisite characteristics:

Palin might be one tough cookie. I had a boss at my first gig in New York, working for TIME Online, who was also one tough cookie. That boss, Janice, was smart, no-nonsense, likable and professional. She knew a lot about a lot of issues, as you'd expect of an editor for TIME. Palin may also be one tough cookie. But that doesn't qualify her to be president.

Palin might be an admirable person. She is raising a child with Down Syndrome and dealing with a rebellious teenage daughter who is proving to be a challenging kid. But America is filled with millions of great people -- even other people who have raised kids with Down Syndrome. They're not necessarily qualified to be President.

Palin might have an ability to get things done. If I lived in Wasilla, I know that during those long Alaskan winters, I'd appreciate the hockey arena she worked to build as mayor. Hell, I'd even think it was worth the debt the town took on to make it happen. And as governor, it seems she did move quickly on some of her agenda. But that is still small potatoes. Lots of people get lots more important things done everyday, and mostly, they're not qualified to be President.

Palin might have some real political skills. She fought to the top of Alaska's old-boys club, delivered a much-admired speech (at least in some quarters) and seems to be more polished than you'd expect. But then we didn't expect much, and every state capitol has a few truly skilled politicians in-house. So that doesn't really qualify her to be President.

None of that qualifies her to be President of the United States of America. Not even close.

There is no G.E.D. to replace actual experience in national and international issues. Maybe in 4 or 8 years, Palin would be ready to make a bid for one of America's top offices. I'd still disagree with her politics. But at least she'd have some preparation.

Thursday, September 04, 2008

Sarah Palin: A Postmodern Veep candidate

Sarah Palin read a capable speech last night. But she is not qualified to be President. Therefore, she isn't qualified to be Vice-President.

If she's so qualified, how come even Republican insiders are all over the television admitting that they didn't know much about her before last week? Aren't most qualified candidates, you know, people we've heard of?

Choosing her as a Veep candidate embodies the most blatantly cynical post-modernist aspects of our political process. Palin was chosen precisely because she is an unknown personality -- a blank red slate onto which all the right-wing crazies can write their own opinions and beliefs. America has never seen a Veep candidate chosen so much for symbolism as Sarah Palin.

In the last 48 hours, I have heard an astonishing amount of propaganda about Sarah Palin from the mouths of Republicans. Propaganda is distinguished from actual argumentation by the fact that it's disingenuous, and designed to make an emotional appeal. She read a speech, written by George W. Bush's speechwriter, whom she had met just a week ago. She had met John McCain exactly once in her life before being chosen as Veep candidate.

I've heard that she is being discriminated against because she's a working mother. They say that questioning the value of her almost-2-years as governor of Alaska (population, 670,000) and her stint as small-town mayor (Quoth Palin, "It's not rocket science") is an insult to working mothers everywhere. I've heard that examining her experience is "sexist", because the same standard isn't applied to Barack Obama... a patently false claim. Obama's experience and preparedness to be president was a question fought over 50 states for some 18 months. The voters have given their verdict, and Obama passes the test. In her speech, she assaulted Obama's experience. She must have brass balls under that skirt. Consider: He has been a candidate for President almost as long as she has been governor of Alaska (about 1 month less).

I've heard that she represents certain values. I'm listening now to Pat Robertson explain that this really shows that -- despite a career of showing a distaste for "agents of intolerance" -- John McCain really is a fire-breathing God-in-government conservative. Thank the Lord, say the Christianists, he chose this God-fearing exemplar, this hero of the right wing, to be his co-pilot.

The Republicans at the convention, good partisans all, tell us how much -- how DEEPLY they love Sarah Palin. That seems improbable, since most of them couldn't have told you the name of Alaska's governor a week ago. But she's the blank slate, the empty vessel into which they must pour their adoration. They have no choice; they must.

It's all propaganda. If she were a second-term governor who had some serious accomplishments on her resume, you could take this nomination seriously. I can't. I'm going to venture a guess that there are approximately 10,000 Republican women currently living in the United States with more "executive experience" and more seasoning than Sarah Palin.

Hey, being a working mom is hard, do doubt. It's a credit to her. But it's also a credit to about 100 million other American women who have done it. What makes her so special? Running a suburb 30-odd miles from Anchorage which has a reputation as the Meth capital of Alaska? Being elected governor as the hand-picked choice of "Uncle Ted" Stevens, the dean of the Alaska's Republican machine? She should thank her good fortune.

People point to her 80% approval ratings -- in a state that keeps electing Don Young, Ted Stevens and the Murkowskis. It's a lot easier to keep those approval ratings up when people don't pay taxes, and the government distributes $3200 bribes from the oil industry on an annual basis to each and every resident. You don't have to make many "tough decisions" when you never have to think about raising unpopular taxes and there's a trans-Yukon pipeline of federal money rolling into your state.

Can you imagine her -- really, now -- six weeks into the McCain administration thrust into the Oval Office if the aging McCain's ticker fails? The neophyte governor, so excited about building roads and getting to fire political appointees, would be a doe in the headlights having to make future-of-the-world decisions. She hasn't the first bit of understanding how to wield power. THAT is the key to being a President. Understanding what power is, how to use it, how to store it up. Does anyone truly think she is the best lieutenant for John McCain?

No... No... She's been chosen entirely for image purposes. Substance is not the issue. McCain disagrees with her on key issues like global warming, religious intolerance, and so on. Palin, not McCain, thinks Iraq is a mission from God.

Yet he abandoned his principles to choose her, and in so doing, the key question for the voter is, What the hell does he stand for anymore?