Those Damn Suburban Neighborhoods

Here's Donald Trump at a campaign rally earlier this month in Johnstown, Pennsylvania:

"Suburban women, will you please like me?  Please.  Please.  I saved your damn neighborhood, OK?"

I've been a suburban woman for most of my life, and I'm wondering what exactly Donald Trump has saved me from, or rather, what he's saved my DAMN neighborhood from.

The coronavirus?  No.

Climate change?  No.

Failing infrastructure?  No.

Expensive health care?  No.

Rising drug prices?  No.

Right wing terrorists?  No.

Oh, that's right.  He saved my DAMN neighborhood from all those scary people of color.  Except for the fact that my WONDERFUL neighborhood is filled with people of all races, and many of us reject Trump's racist appeals.  Apparently we're not alone.  The Guardian reports that "Biden leads by 23 points among suburban women in swing states. . . and by 19 points among suburban women overall."

Meanwhile, the campaign is sending Ivanka Trump out to convince us that her father is "the people's president."  The idea is to soften his corrosive personality and policies.  She doesn't mention, of course, the 545 migrant children whose parents are missing or the 225,000 Americans dead from COVID-19. Nothing about our 32.8 million fellow citizens who lack health insurance or that children remain the poorest age group in our country. 

No, the Trumps think we're all still watching Leave It to Beaver and Father Knows Best.  But we've grown and embraced change.  Most of us recoil at President Trump's racist insinuations; they degrade and insult our communities.

This man needs to go.  So does his family. 

Our country cannot tolerate such hate and division.

Education 101

Saturday's editorial in The New York Times, "Reopening Schools Will Be a Huge Undertaking. It Must Be Done," elicited almost 2,000 largely oppositional comments.  In it, the editorial staff argued that public schools should open this fall with unprecedented federal funding and with imaginative use of outdoor space.  As one reader noted, the word "teachers" appeared only once, in the second-to-last paragraph.

This says it all to me and, at the same time, doesn't surprise me.  "What do our teachers think about re-opening?" seems like an obvious question.  Yet for too long our society has discounted the role and expertise of its teachers.  We don't pay them enough, we don't support them enough, and we don't consult them enough. . . but we ask them to solve society's problems that society fails to solve.

Consider for starters poverty, hunger, racial disparities, and economic inequality.  We expect our teachers to overcome these challenges and ensure that all of their students achieve at a defined level-- despite low salaries, marginal benefits, and often poor working conditions.   At a most basic level, the schools that my kids attended lacked soap in the bathroom dispensers, doors on stalls, sufficient cleaning supplies, working windows, and mold- and asbestos-free classrooms.  Even when there's no coronavirus circulating, many Durham schools are neither safe nor clean.

Just as the pandemic has exposed the failure of public health and elder care in the United States, so it exposes public education.  How did we get to the point where teachers buy their own paper?  Need subsidized housing?  Work second jobs?  Crowdfund surgeries and new equipment?  Why do we tolerate dilapidated buildings and aging school buses?  Why do we short-change our children and their teachers?

It's past time to ask these questions.  Covid-19 will eventually resolve, but the ills that plague our schools will not unless we demand something different.  As fellow citizens protest policing and racism, let's add public education to the conversation.  It's related, after all, and it serves our future and our national treasure: our children.

Random Thoughts, 4th of July Weekend

I've always wanted to see Mount Rushmore, in part because I like Alfred Hitchcock's North by Northwest.  But not anymore.  The land belongs to the Lakota, the sculptor was a white supremacist, and the carved faces (a quartet that's never made sense to me) insult the lives and history of native Americans.

If Donald Trump wants to call his opposition an angry mob whose behavior defines the word "totalitarianism," then he can very well learn how to pronounce it.

The Washington Redskins should have changed their name decades ago.  Given the recent outcry of protest across the country, FedEx and Nike have pulled their support, and it looks like the name will finally change.  Two of the team's main corporate sponsors, their money made the difference.  I guess we should celebrate this?

Mandy Cohen, North Carolina's Secretary of Health and Human Services, lamented our state's lack of chemical reagents to run more coronavirus tests, but we need help from the federal government to do so.  "We can't solve that problem from the state level," she said.  In the midst of this pandemic, do Trump's idolatrous crowds in Tulsa and the Black Hills have any idea how morally and criminally negligent his administration has been?

My mother and I watched two episodes of The Dick Van Dyke Show on Friday night in memory of Carl Reiner, who produced the show and occasionally appeared in it.  Dick Van Dyke and Mary Tyler Moore are two of my favorite comedians, and we laughed and laughed.  It felt good.

Rebuilding

When I restarted this blog four months ago, I was excited to think that I'd be writing about the coming presidential election, starting with the Democratic primaries and moving into the general election.  I love national politics; I'm fascinated by the two parties, the candidates who emerge, the winnowing that takes place, the roll of pollsters and pundits, and the final call on a Tuesday night in November.

But this time it's different.  The Democratic primary yielded no single candidate who ever captured my whole-hearted enthusiasm, and the Republican party has tied itself to a president whose values upend the country I love.  Donald Trump's rally last night in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was so offensive and destructive that it's hard to see how we'll recover.

Still, Donald Trump didn't come out of nowhere.  He tapped into a hatred that has long haunted us, one that surrounds us every day but one that we choose not to see.  George Floyd's murder made it impossible for us to look away, finally, but the hard work ahead feels equally impossible.  I don't know where to begin.  I feel weary, not up to the challenge.

I know that it's time for younger voices, for younger leadership.  Kids and young adults are wiser than the rest of us, certainly when it comes to sensitivity surrounding race, gender, and culture.  Many in my generation grew up with Dick and Jane readers and Father Knows Best television shows.  Our worlds were white through and through and often still are.  How do we change?

All kinds of ways. . . books we must read, voices we must hear, organizations we must support, ideas we must consider. . . and votes we must take.  Here's what must happen as elections move forward:

Joe Biden hires and hears consultants much younger than he.

Donald Trump's supporters face their hatred; if and when they don't, the rest of us call them out.

Elections officials do everything they can to ensure a fair vote.

Candidates at every level make clear where they stand on institutional redesign--from police departments to prisons to public schools to health care to immigration to climate change to banking--and we elect those who will follow through.

We, the people, start to rebuild our country.

Another Wish List

Last week I posted a list of my personal wishes during this time of coronavirus.  In light of the murder of George Floyd last Monday, I post a new list.  Here's what I wish for America:

1. A dinner table where everyone is fed.

2. A neighborhood where everyone can jog.

3. A school where everyone is educated.

4. A hospital where everyone has the same chance.

5. A police department where everyone is safe.

6.  A government that works for everyone.

7.  A people that confronts its racist past.

8. A nation that's willing to force change.

9. A United States that gets it: "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

10. An America that redefines "We, the People," to include everyone.

Disaster in Chief

President Trump's son-in-law appeared on Fox News on Wednesday to declare victory over the coronavirus:  "We're on the other side of the medical aspect of this," Jared Kushner said.  "We've achieved all of the different milestones that are needed.  The federal government rose to the challenge, and this is a great success story."  Really?

Over 65,000 Americans dead and the number climbing.  States, hospitals, and nursing homes desperate for equipment.  Testing widely unavailable.  No cure, no vaccine.

If we're truly on the other side of this, let's give the Disaster in Chief credit for his accomplishments:

1. He ignored the warnings contained in the President's Daily Brief as early as January, failing in his fundamental duty to protect the American people.

2. He downplayed the danger, saying on February 26, "You have 15 people, and the 15 within a couple of days is going to be down close to zero."  We currently have over one million cases.

3. He failed to manage testing for Americans.  When asked about this on March 13 he said, "I don't take responsibility at all."  Instead Trump blamed--you know who--Barack Obama.  We still don't have enough tests today.

4. He fomented xenophobia and racism, calling the virus the "China virus" and continued to defend his use of the term.

5. He failed to coordinate the purchasing of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the states, leaving them to compete with each other and with the federal government, driving up prices more than 1,000%.

6. He attacked, and continues to attack, the press, calling them "horrid," "nasty," and "third-rate."  His belittling, abusive language demeans us all.

7. He promoted unproven and dangerous treatments: think bleach, UV light, and hydroxychloroquine.

8. He criticized governors as they attempted to manage the crisis on their own.  "She doesn't get it done," he said of Michigan's Gretchen Whitmer, and Jay Inslee of Washington "shouldn't be relying on the federal government."

9. He incited, and continues to incite, violent protests against state stay-at-home orders.  Calling on protesters to liberate Michigan, Virginia, and Minnesota on April 17, he also defended the mob in Lansing on Friday as "very good people."

10. He communicated clearly about the danger that lies ahead, saying on April 29, "If it does come back--it's not going to come back--and I've spoken to 10 different people, it's not going to be like it was . .  . If we have embers of corona coupled with the flu, that's not going to be pleasant, but it's not going to be what we've gone through in any way, shape or form . . . You may not even have corona coming back, just so you understand."  Huh?

So go ahead, Jared.  Declare victory and see what happens.  Wasn't it George W. Bush who famously said, "Mission Accomplished?"  Now how'd that turn out . . .

The Case for Amy

The Democratic primary keeps shifting ground, and so do I.   Buffeted about as candidates rise and fall, I change my mind sometimes from one week to the next.  Here’s where I stand now.

Though I will actively support him or whoever wins the Democratic primary, Bernie Sanders is too far left for me.  His non-negotiable policies make him an easy target for Donald Trump, and I don’t think he’ll attract disaffected voters in the middle.  Elizabeth Warren, who became my choice early on as the candidate to forge a left and centrist coalition, stumbled as she struggled to defend Medicare for All and never recovered her footing.  Joe Biden, another one of my early preferences, doesn’t inspire confidence; he lacks fresh, quick thinking, and he’s rooted in the past.  Meanwhile, looming larger each day is a billionaire whose racist, sexist past repels me.

Michael Bloomberg made three stops in North Carolina on Thursday, when early voting began.  His sleek, posted signs at our nearby library are the only indications of the presidential race.  With ads that inspire viewers to reflect on the possibility of a renewed America, one not governed by a divisive and vengeful demagogue, he's hard to resist.  I’ve had several friends tell me this week that he’s the only candidate who can defeat Donald Trump.

Yet I resist.

Bloomberg’s rivals at the moment, those with centrist views similar to his own, are Pete Buttigieg, Tom Steyer, and Amy Klobuchar.  Regarding Mayor Pete, I didn’t have a good sense of the size of South Bend, Indiana, until I saw its population rank (according to NerdWallet).  It turns out that South Bend is smaller than High Point, Wilmington, Cary, Fayetteville, Winston-Salem, Durham, Greensboro, Raleigh, and Charlotte, NC.  This ranking made it clear to me: despite Buttigieg’s military service and wide-ranging intellect, he doesn’t have the experience to run this vast, unruly country.

Tom Steyer makes a lot of sense, and I agree with much of what he says.  I liked that he came to Durham and visited with residents of McDougald Terrace, unafraid to tackle the thorny issues of race, housing, health, and safety.  He lacks government experience, though, and I’d prefer someone who can take charge of Washington immediately. 

Which brings me to Amy Klobuchar, my current choice.  Representing Minnesota in the Senate since 2006, she leads her fellow senators in enacting legislation as a sponsor or co-sponsor.  Her policies are practical and focused on the needs of ordinary Americans.  She recognizes the crisis of aging in America, which I don’t hear other candidates discuss.  She has a strong history of tackling gun violence, and she’s identified numerous steps she’ll take to address climate change.  She’s been a leader in legislation to protect LGBTQ rights, and she understands the challenges of substance use and mental health.

Klobuchar is certainly as qualified for the job as Joe Biden and Bernie Sanders and more so than everyone else.  Yet nervous Democrats are looking to Michael Bloomberg.  It’s hard not to conclude that once again, we’re not ready to trust and elect a woman for our highest office.  When I first watched Senator Klobuchar at the debates, I admit that I didn’t think she had the gravitas for the job.  I now think she’s grown into it, into a definition of Commander in Chief as a woman.  She’s smart, she’s reasoned, she’s experienced, and she’s passionate.

I say give her a chance.

Gastrolinguistics

When I recently had an episode of what seemed like acid reflux, I consulted the next morning with my primary care physician--the internet.  Lots of sites popped up with descriptions of symptoms, treatments, risk factors, and the like, but what interested me most were the words themselves--ugly and unpleasant.  As I've written before, the medical profession seems especially taken with nasty words.  Here are some new definitions for the words that constitute the world of acid reflux and its more serious counterpart, GERD (gastroesophageal reflux disorder):

GERD--A nickname for Gertrude

Acid reflux--A series of repetitive LSD trips

Dyspepsia--The act of dissing Pepsi in favor of Coke

Regurgitation--The recitation of Gregorian chants

Lower esophageal sphincter--the part of the sphinx where the human head meets the lion's body

Hiatal hernia--a shell necklace made by indigenous Hawaiians

Dysphasia--A phase of the moon when the earth is most distant from the sun

Barium swallow--A species of aerial-feeding birds native to the barrier islands of Virginia and North Carolina

Esophageal manometry--A measuring device used to determine the age of Aesop's Fables

Endoscopy--A close examination of "Endymion," a poem by John Keats

Medical Millionaires

Steven Brill's report in this week's Time magazine details the outrageous medical costs that are passed on to consumers.  Read it and weep.  In "Bitter Pill" he follows the money--to administrative salaries, expensive equipment, and old-fashioned price-gouging.  Here's a condensed version of the article, which you can sing to the tune of "How Much is that Doggie in the Window?":

How much is that gauze pad that I need now?
The one that the hospital bought
I think it's sold cheaper at a Walmart
But sadly I'm stuck here and caught.

The hospitals charge us what they feel like
For drugs and machines and lab work
Don't try to make sense of bills they send you
You'll end up by going berserk.

The doctors don't make the really big bucks
Consultants and drug makers do
Machines and equipment are real cash cows
Whose cash comes from me and from you.

So try not to ever, ever get sick
Don't land at the hospital's door
For if you are there for even one day
You'll end up by being quite poor.

Random Questions from the Week's News

Is Chris Christie becoming a Democrat?  (Answer: Possibly.)

Is Time magazine about to redirect the healthcare debate, with Stephen Brill's exhaustive cover story about the rip-off costs of American medicine?  (Answer: I hope so.)

Can Congressional Republicans become even more dysfunctional?  (Answer: Afraid so.)

Did the NC legislature really vote to refuse Medicaid expansion and to return $64 million in unspent grant money to the federal government?  (Answer: Incredibly, yes.)

When do the Cardinals arriving at the Vatican change into their red robes (and do they wear matching shoes)?  (Answer: You know the Vatican, "Mum's the word.")

Heavenly Health Insurance

The absurdity of American health insurance arrived in my mail not long ago.  My friend Hildegard, who died recently and who would have howled with laughter at this nonsense, received a HIPAA certificate from her former insurance company.  No doubt she'd be glad to hear that she'll need this evidence of coverage--when she arrives in heaven--"to reduce a preexisting condition exclusion period under another plan, to help [her] get special enrollment in another plan, or to get certain types of individual health coverage even if [she has] health problems."

Health problems?  Does this include death?  I wouldn't be surprised to hear that St. Peter himself collects co-pays from every American who arrives at the pearly gates.

We've got an antiquated system of health insurance.  The HIPAA Portability Rights that Hildegard's certificate guaranteed were an important step in 1996, but this was 16 years ago.  We've got to join the 21st century.

Obamacare moves us in the right direction.  I'm interested to see what happens when the state and federal governments establish the newly-required exchanges.

In the meantime, don't worry if you're covered by insurance at work: if you die, your next insurer can't hold your death against you.

In the Botanical Gardens, as in Life. . .

The Republican Party keeps getting kookier and kookier

Dominated by old, angry white men

Their misogyny is breathtaking.

The rest of us watch their antics puzzled, in disbelief

As these creatures--with tough shells and thick skin--trudge ever onward.

Wimbledon Wistfulness

There's something reassuring about Serena Williams and Roger Federer having won at Wimbledon this weekend.  Familiar people, masters of a sport they love and winning at the game on their own.

Rarely in public life do we watch individuals succeed through their own talents and hard work.  Think, in contrast, of the presidential election: so much of the outcome depends on fundraising and not on the merits of the candidates.  In fact, our entire political system--including the Supreme Court--is driven by moneyed interests and the influence they wield.  An individual's talents and hard work get lost in the quest for gold.

Other aspects of public life, too--from health care to the food and water supply to the economy itself--often depend less on the integrity of the individuals involved than on the corporate interests that drive decisions.  We can't reliably trust the medications we take, the procedures we undergo, the food we eat, and the water we drink.  Sounds like a third world country.

Maybe that's why we yearn for Wimbledon, a reminder of a more ordered world where personal accomplishment and individual skill actually matter.  Were it so in the rest of our lives.

Tennis, anyone?

Mitt Romney in Knots

Mitt Romney spent the week trying to explain his position on health care reform.  Pretend you're Mitt and sing to the tune of "Hello, Goodbye," by the Beatles.

It's a tax, no it's not
It's a tax, or it's a penalty.
Oh no.
For FOX it's a tax, for Mass it is not.
Tax? Penalty?
I don't know what to call this thing I once stood for.
Tax? Penalty?
I don't know what to call this thing I once stood for.

Obamacare, Romneycare,
What's the diff? I'm not sure I can say.
Oh no.
Barack's plan's not mine, and mine's not Barack's.
Mandated care?
I think we'll just keep quiet from now on that's for sure.
Mandated care?
I think we'll just keep quiet from now on that's for sure.

Why, why, why, why, why, why do you say
Mandated care?
Oh no.
Barack's plan's not mine, and mine's not Barack's.
Mandated care?
I don't know why I have to say what I support.
Mandated care?
I don't know why I have to say what I support.

Can I run, can I hide
From that plan of mine in my old state?
Oh no.
But health care for all is not in my sights.
A change in view?
Not really, yes, well maybe, who knows where I stand?
A change in view?
Not really, yes, well maybe, who knows where I stand?
A change in view?
Not really, yes, well maybe, who knows where I stand?

Follow-Up Questions on Health Care

1. To Mitt Romney: What exactly isn't working in your Massachusetts plan and how would you change it?

2. To Barack Obama: Now that your legislation has been approved by the Supreme Court, can you and your staff please do a better job explaining its merits to the country?

3. To columnists Robert Reich and Linda Greenhouse: How did both of you know on Wednesday night--before the ruling had been announced--that the Supreme Court would uphold the law's constitutionality?

4. To Chief Justice John Roberts: Will we see now a new model of judicial leadership or a return to politics as usual?

5. To Governor Bobby Jindal of Louisiana: How could you even think of denying an expanded Medicaid program to your state's poorest residents?

The answer to #5 can't possibly be reassuring, yet it lies in the heart of too many heartless Americans.  We claim liberty and justice for all, but we don't come close.  

The Wizards of Oz

The Supreme Court justices remind me of the Wizard of Oz, hiding behind their robes and occasionally roaring at us.  This image couldn't have been stronger this week as we awaited their ruling on the Affordable Care Act and then learned of their decision.  Sing to the tune of "We're Off to See the Wizard."

We're waiting for the wizards to give us a piece of their mind
We hear they will decide the fate of health care for our time
These wizards, you see, I'm not sure why, can rule the land until they die
And in their rule they sit on high like God
And adjudicate the fate of all.
Dumb diddy dumb diddy dumb
We're waiting for the wizards to give us a piece of their mind.

We've now heard from the wizards who startled us all with their news
The head wizard he cast his lot with those who usually lose
He gave the President a win that's barely heard above the din
Of those who fear that Armageddon's near
And that we're becoming mere socialists.
Dumb diddy dumb diddy dumb
We've now heard from the wizards who startled us all with their news.

On Mary Kennedy

For those of us who've been around for awhile, the news of another tragic, untimely Kennedy death was no surprise.  We know the drill: initial news reports of something awful, an explanatory family statement, a gathering of the family and other famous people at a New England church, and handsome children as pall bearers--bearing weight beyond their years.  What are we to make of this?

When something happens repeatedly, I believe we're meant to take notice.  Many of these deaths have been the direct result of mental illness and its twin sister substance abuse, or these have been implicated in the deceased's life story.  The so-called "Kennedy Curse" is the unspoken scourge in far too many American families.

Here we are in the 21st century with smart bombs and smart phones and smart boards to take your breath away.  Yet when it comes to treating severe mental illness, we are no farther along than our Elizabethan ancestors were.  Macbeth's lament for his wife's madness could be spoken by many today:

"Canst thou not minister to a mind diseased,
Pluck from that memory a rooted sorrow,
Raze out the written troubles of the brain,
And with some sweet oblivious antidote
Cleanse the stuffed bosom of that perilous stuff
Which weighs upon the heart?"

The answer in too many cases is still "no."

Perhaps if we addressed mental illness with the same intensity that we give warfare and technology, we could offer patients more hope.  Instead, the doctor's response in the play--"Therein the patient must minister to himself"--is still often what happens today.  And as Mary Kennedy reminds us, this is unacceptable.

"The Scream"

That "The Scream" sold for nearly $120 million last night at Sotheby's seems fitting.  It is the symbol of our time, after all, and only increases in relevance as life grows more bizarre.  All you need to do is read the front page of any American newspaper or listen to the evening news, and you'll feel exactly like the figure in Edvard Munch's pastel.

3 Ring Circus

So now the health care bill has moved to Ring #3, our august Supreme Court, which may overturn the work of Rings #1 and #2. Meanwhile, medical costs keep rising and more people lose health insurance. It's as if Washington fiddles while America burns. Here's a revised version of "Send in the Clowns" (with apologies to Judy Collins):

Isn't it rich?
Aren't we screwed?
Us here all the time paying bills
You in your robes. . .
Where are the clowns?

Isn't it strange?
Don't you agree?
One who keeps losing ground
One who won't budge. . .
But where are the clowns?
Send in the clowns.

Just when we'd hoped for a change
Finally thinking Americans would be insured.
Hoping for fairness for all in our usual way,
Sure of our rights. . .
No one is there.

Don't you love farce?
Your fault, we fear.
We thought that you'd want what we want. . .
Sorry, D.C.
But where are the clowns?
Quick, send in the clowns
Don't bother, they're here.

Isn't it rich?
Isn't it queer?
Not having insurance after all these years.
But where are the clowns?
There ought to be clowns. . .
Well, maybe next year.

Quotes of the Week

Here's what a few people said this week. We need voices like these when hypocrisy and deception are so widespread:

Reporter Marie Colvin, speaking before she died yesterday about Syrian armed forces: “It’s a complete and utter lie they’re only going after terrorists. The Syrian Army is simply shelling a city of cold, starving civilians.”

Virologist Renato Dulbecco, who died Sunday and whose Nobel Prize-winning research showed that genetic mutations cause cancer: “While we spend our life asking questions about the nature of cancer and ways to prevent or cure it, society merrily produces oncogenic substances and permeates the environment with them.”

New York Times columnist Gail Collins, yesterday, in discussion with David Brooks about the abortion legislation proposed in Virginia: "I’m being driven crazy by people who are obsessed with limiting the scope of government, but feel perfectly free to demand that government get involved in women’s most personal choices."

Former Labor Secretary Robert Reich commenting on the huge sums of money that superdonors are contributing to conservative PACs: "Whoever emerges as the GOP standard-bearer will be deeply indebted to a handful of people, each of whom will expect a good return on their investment. . . Never before in the history of our Republic have so few spent so much to influence the votes of so many."

Food writer Mark Bittman commenting on Procter & Gamble's sale of Pringles to Kelloggs: "[If we didn't process so much real food,]Kellogg’s and P.&G.’s bottom lines might not look so good. We ourselves, however, might look better, as would our health care bills, which in general rise along with Big Food’s influence and profits."