LOVE STORY

I will seek and find you.

I shall take you to bed and have my way with you.

I will make you ache, shake and sweat until you moan and groan.

I will make you beg for mercy, beg for me to stop.

I will exhaust you to the point that you will be relieved when I'm finished with you.

And, when I am finished, you will be weak for days.

All my love,

The Flu

Now get your mind out of the gutter, and go get your flu shot!

Don't blame me. Blame Doug.

DRILL, BABY, DRILL

 

The U.S. Coast Guard was searching Friday for two workers missing after a fire erupted on an oil platform in the Gulf of Mexico, sending an ominous black plume of smoke into the air reminiscent of the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion that transformed the oil industry and life along the coast.

The fire, begun while workers were using a torch to cut an oil line, critically injured at least four workers who had burns over much of their bodies.

The images were eerily similar to the massive oil leak that killed 11 workers and took months to bring under control. It came a day after BP agreed to plead guilty to a raft of charges in the 2010 spill and pay a record $4.5 billion in penalties.

Only two workers missing and four badly burned this time, which is a heavy price to pay for our voracious appetites for oil and gas.  During the campaign, Republicans mocked President Obama for investing in clean energy.

Still, the accident was a vivid reminder of the dangerous business of offshore drilling and the risk it poses to the Gulf of Mexico’s ecosystem and shoreline.

A sheen of oil about a half-mile long and 200 yards wide was reported on the Gulf surface, but officials believe it came from residual oil on the platform.

“It’s not going to be an uncontrolled discharge from everything we’re getting right now,” Coast Guard Capt. Ed Cubanski said.

We can only hope the drilling disaster will not worsen and pray the missing will be found safe and the injured will heal.  The platform, which is 25 miles SE of Grand Isle, LA, is owned by Houston-based Black Elk Energy.  We shall see.

The mocking Republicans remain in denial about climate change which will result in further violent weather, extreme weather, and rising ocean levels.  Even now, a bi-partisan group of senators urge Obama to proceed with the Keystone XL pipeline.  When will we ever learn?

UPDATE: The US Coast Guard has called off the search for the missing; one body has been found.

POST-ELECTION WISDOM OF BOBBY JINDAL

“We’ve got to make sure that we are not the party of big business, big banks, big Wall Street bailouts, big corporate loopholes, big anything,”Jindal told POLITICO in a 45-minute telephone interview. “We cannot be, we must not be, the party that simply protects the rich so they get to keep their toys.”
....

If he does consider a White House run, his analysis Monday suggests he’s aligning himself with an emerging school of thought on the right that GOP’s consecutive White House defeats can’t merely be solved by passing an immigration reform bill and appealing more directly to nonwhites. Jindal, a Brown Graduate and Rhodes Scholar, is already a favorite of conservative intellectuals and his assessment that Republican difficulties owe as much to economics as demographics will be well-received by right-leaning thinkers.

Jindal is the purest of opportunists. Romney is dead as a politician, and Jindal has ambitions, so he dismisses him. If the Republicans need the support of brown people to win, Jindal is brown, the man in waiting, so to speak. He has the charisma of a door post, and he is a dismal failure as governor. In my opinion, he will not go far as a national candidate.

The governor may talk a good talk, but before Republicans latch on to him as their savior, they should educate themselves on the wreck the governor has made of the State of Louisiana.  If he had an infinite amount of time, rather than the two terms allowed him, I believe Jindal would privatize every state institution.  The budget is in deep deficit, but his only solution is cut, cut, cut.  The governor will not entertain any suggestion at all to raise taxes of any kind to fill the gap in his own state.  He governs like a dictator, and the supine Louisiana legislature goes along in fear and dread of the force of opposition from the tea party conservatives who are seem to be the majority of voters in the state.  By many measures of quality of life, Louisiana places at or near the bottom in the good stuff and at or near the top in the bad stuff. As the saying goes, "TBTG for Mississippi".

As Louisiana  debuts one of the nation’s most extensive private-school voucher programs, deep divides persist over who should be accountable for ferreting out academic failure and financial abuse: the government or parents.
....

About 5,600 students and 119 private schools will participate in Louisiana’s new statewide voucher program this fall.

But wait!

Despite [Superintentendant John] White’s own assertions about the importance of accountability to the voucher program, he has chosen not to hold voucher schools to the same standards. Private schools receiving vouchers will be able to continue receiving tax money previously earmarked for public schools–more than $8,000 per pupil–while scoring in the F range.

Yes, that’s right, an F. Private schools can score an F and continue receiving public funding.

And no change in policy appears on the horizon.

Nearly 1,000 rank-and-file state employees have lost their jobs since July, bringing the total to nearly 3,200 since Gov. Bobby Jindal took office in 2008, according to a Civil Service report.

The State Civil Service on Tuesday reported 967 state employee layoffs for the first four months of the state fiscal year. The number exceeds the 957 employees losing their jobs in all of fiscal year 2010-11, according to the report.

The Civil Service totals do not include the announced reduction of 1,500 state employees planned for Jan. 21 throughout the LSU public hospital system.

The reductions have occurred as Jindal moved many traditional government functions to the private sector, particularly in the health care arena.

Budget cuts have led to additional reductions in the state workforce.

This in the midst of a recession.

Census data released Thursday indicates poverty levels in Louisiana have continued to climb while household incomes declined in the last year, making the state one of the poorest in the nation.

But while more people are finding themselves mired in poverty unemployment levels have slowly been ticking down — a trend officials say they find perplexing.

Reports from the U.S. Census Bureau's American Community Survey say the median, or midpoint, household income in Louisiana declined 4.7 percent from $43,804 in 2010 to $41,734 in 2011.

Additionally, reports say the number of people in poverty increased from 18.7 percent in 2010 to 20.4 percent in 2011, a 1.7 percent increase. According to the data, the New Orleans metro area, which includes Metairie and Kenner, is among the 10 metropolitan areas in the United States with the highest percent of people living in poverty.

Perhaps not so perplexing if one considers that the jobs created are mainly shit jobs that do not lift working people out of poverty.

Louisiana’s physicians are complaining about “the lack of detail and preparation” as LSU embarks on budget cuts that affect training programs for the state’s future physicians.

“We have created another tsunami or Hurricane Katrina-type condition in regard to graduate medical education in the state,” said Dr. Andy Blalock, the Louisiana State Medical Society president.

Blalock warned Monday that the state’s “best and brightest” current and future medical students and physicians in training would leave or not come at all amid the tumult.

LSU medical school statistics show that 70 percent of those who do their physician training in Louisiana continue to practice in the state. Each physician practice means $2 million to the state’s economy, Blalock said.

Translation: there was no plan.  The Jindal administration makes it up as they go along.

The national agency that accredits graduate medical education programs is pressing LSU officials for information on their plans to revamp physician training programs.

The inquiry from the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education, called ACGME, came in response to publicized comments by LSU System Executive Vice President Frank Opelka about a redesign of LSU hospitals’ clinics, which would affect “Graduate Medical Education.” GME is the name for programs that train physicians.

Whoops!  Jindal's hasty and ill-planned (no plan) move to privatize the operations of several state-owned hospitals risks loss of accreditation for the graduate medical programs at Louisiana State University, the state's flagship university.  Oh well.  Our Ivy-League and Oxford-educated governor surely must know what he's doing.

While other Republican governors are starting to back away from their opposition to implementing a key part of President Obama's health care law, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal said Tuesday that he's not reconsidering.

"We are not implementing the exchange," Jindal said in a phone interview on Tuesday night.
....

If state governments do not agree to set up an exchange, the law says that the federal government will step in and do it.

So what's the point of Jindal's decision to opt out?  To keep his hands from being soiled by the touch of "socialism"?

Bobby never gives interviews to the local media, only condescending to speak to the national media.  I'm guessing it's because the locals know more, and their questions are likely to probe deeper than he'd care to answer, and, of course, the media here doesn't give him the national exposure he so craves.  Since Jindal was elected, he's seldom home in Louisiana, as he's been all around the country campaigning for "other candidates".   Now that the election is over, the governor will perform his duties as Chairman of the Republican Governors Association, which I expect will require him to be out of state as much as ever.  Jindal often says he's not looking for a job since he has the best job in the world, but those of us in Louisiana wonder why he's seldom here working at his job.

WEDDING BAND WOES

When we married 51 years ago, I wore a plain wide wedding band similar to the ring pictured on the left. Many years later I developed a rash under the ring, which surprised me because I thought no one was allergic to gold.  After asking around, I was told that the rash was probably from one of the alloy metals in the ring, the most likely culprit being nickel.  Though it saddened me, I had to stop wearing the ring.

 

As a replacement I bought a thin gold band similar to the ring on the right, with the thought that it might not cause a rash, and indeed it did not. It wasn't the same as wearing the original ring, but it served its purpose for many years.

Then the other night I noticed that the knuckle on my ring finger hurt and was enlarged from arthritis.  Yikes!  I thought I'd better get the ring off before it had to be cut off.  It was a struggle, but I finally was able to work the ring off.

Now what do I do?  Shall I buy a larger ring to fit over the enlarged knuckle but will fit loosely at the base of my finger or just give up the idea of wearing a ring?  I lean toward the idea of no ring.

Sigh...I really love the original.

UPDATE: The wedding band on a chain "close to my heart".

 

HOW IS IT PRO-LIFE TO ALLOW A YOUNG WOMAN TO DIE?

Two investigations are under way into the death of a woman who was 17 weeks pregnant, at University Hospital Galway last month.

Savita Halappanavar (31), a dentist, presented with back pain at the hospital on October 21st, was found to be miscarrying, and died of septicaemia a week later.

Her husband, Praveen Halappanavar (34), an engineer at Boston Scientific in Galway, says she asked several times over a three-day period that the pregnancy be terminated. He says that, having been told she was miscarrying, and after one day in severe pain, Ms Halappanavar asked for a medical termination.

This was refused, he says, because the foetal heartbeat was still present and they were told, “this is a Catholic country”.

She spent a further 2½ days “in agony” until the foetal heartbeat stopped.

The dead foetus was removed and Savita was taken to the high dependency unit and then the intensive care unit, where she died of septicaemia on the 28th.

An autopsy carried out by Dr Grace Callagy two days later found she died of septicaemia “documented ante-mortem” and E.coli ESBL.

I simply cannot understand why any church that calls itself Christian would teach that an incomplete spontaneous abortion can't be completed by medical assistance. For doctors to stand by and watch this beautiful young woman die in prolonged agony for the sake of their tender consciences is far beyond the bounds of acceptable behavior. First, do no harm. The medical staff could have saved one life.   

The treatment of Savita in the hospital demands an investigation, which is now in progress.   The Roman Catholic hierarchy has a lot to answer for in the "Catholic country" of Ireland if its teaching demands or encourages this type of cruel treatment by doctors, whose mission it is to heal, in complete disregard for the life of Savita.  How is this behavior pro-life?  How is this treatment in any way compassionate?  The more I think about this sequence of events, the more horrified I am.    

H/T to Jezebel. 

MAXINE - PREPARE FOR 2013

 

As we progress into 2013, I want to thank you all for your educational e-mails over the past year. I am totally screwed up now and have little chance of recovery. 

I can no longer open a bathroom door without using a paper towel, nor let the waitress put lemon slices in my ice water without worrying about the bacteria on the lemon peel. 

 I can't sit down on a hotel bedspread because I can only imagine what has happened on it since it was last washed. 

 I have trouble shaking hands with someone who has been driving because the number one pastime while driving alone is picking one's nose. 

Eating a little snack sends me on a guilt trip because I can only imagine how many gallons of trans fats I have consumed over the years. 

I can't touch any woman's handbag for fear she has placed it on the floor of a public toilet. 

I must send my special thanks for the email about rat poo in the glue on envelopes because I now have to use a wet sponge with every envelope that needs sealing. ALSO, now I have to scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason. 

I can't use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.

Thanks to you I have learned that my prayers only get answered if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.  

I no longer use plastic wrap in the microwave because it causes seven different types of cancer. 

And thanks for letting me know I can't boil a cup of water in the microwave anymore because it will blow up in my face, disfiguring me for life. 

And thanks to your great advice I can't ever pick up a dime coin dropped in the car park because it was probably placed there by a sex molester waiting to grab me as I bend over. 

I can't do any gardening because I'm afraid I'll get bitten by the Violin Spider and my hand will fall off. 

If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 70 minutes, a large dove with diarrhea will land on your head at 5:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon, and the fleas from 120 camels will infest your back, causing you to grow a hairy hump. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of my next door neighbor's ex mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's best friend's beautician! 

Oh, and by the way... A German scientist from Argentina , after a lengthy study, has discovered that people with insufficient brain activity read their e-mails with their hand on the mouse Don't bother taking it off now, it's too late. 

P. S. I now keep my toothbrush in the living room, because I was told by e-mail that water splashes over 6 ft. out of the toilet... 

NOW YOU HAVE YOURSELF A VERY GOOD DAY.

I realize that 2013 is a month and a half  away, but forewarned is forearmed.  Maxine and I take care of our friends.  I trust Maxine will cut me slack for posting the information on my blog rather than sending out 144,000 emails.

Thanks or blame to Doug.

PROPINQUITY GOING ON

Preacher Pat Robertson on l'affaire Petraeus.

“She is an extremely good-looking woman.  She is a marathon runner, she’d run Iron Man triathlons, and so she’s out running with him, and she’s writing a biography. And I think the term is propinquity. And there was a lot of propinquity going on.”
....

“He's off in a foreign land and he’s lonely and here’s a good-looking lady throwing herself at him. He’s a man.”

Blame the woman.  Poor manly, military men; they're defenseless against the wiles of a good-looking "lady".  And I love the way the good-looking "lady" co-anchor agrees with Robertson that there was a lot of propinquity going on.

What's wrong with these people?  What about the sanctity of marriage between a man and a woman?  Do you laugh or cry?  A lot of what's wrong with these people is that they buy into patriarchy.
 
H/T to ThinkProgress.

UPDATE: Thanks to Prairie Soul in the comments comes a link to a reality-based opinion piece in the New York Times by Frank Bruni.

Such adamant women, such pregnable men. We’ve been stuck on this since Eve, Adam and the Garden of Eden. And it’s true: Eve shouldn’t have been so pushy with the apple. 

But Adam could have had a V8.

MORE ACTUAL NEWSPAPER HEADLINES

• Squad helps dog bite victim


• Shot off woman's leg helps Nicklaus to 66


• Enraged cow injures farmer with axe


• Plane too close to ground, crash probe told


• Miners refuse to work after death


• Juvenile court to try shooting defendant


• Stolen painting found by tree


• 2 sisters reunited after 18 years in checkout counter


• Never withhold herpes infection from loved one


• Drunken drivers paid $1000 in '84


• War dims hope for peace


• If strike isn't settled quickly, it may last a while


• Cold wave linked to temperatures


• Enfiels couple slain; Police suspect homicide

Thanks again to Paul (A.), who says, "Cheers".

From mycoted.

NOT A FAN OF OBAMA

Arizona woman, in despair at the re-election of Democratic President Barack Obama, ran down her husband with the family car in suburban Phoenix on Saturday because he failed to vote in the election, police said on Monday.

Holly Solomon, 28, was arrested after running over husband Daniel Solomon following a wild chase that left him pinned underneath the vehicle.

Daniel Solomon, 36, was in critical condition at a local hospital, but is expected to survive, Gilbert police spokesman Sergeant Jesse Sanger said.

The TV announcer said, "This woman is not a fan of Obama."  Apparently the woman is not much of a fan of her husband, either.  The reactions to the election of certain conservatives gets crazier and crazier.  Cool down, people.

H/T to Adrastos at First Draft.

IT'S NOT EASY BEING A VISIONARY

Thanks to the recommendation of Tobias Haller, I put "Vision", the German film based on the life of Hildegard von Bingen, in my Netflix queue and watched it last week.  The film, written and directed by Margarethe von Trotta, opens with gory scenes of flagellation, and I debated whether to speed the scenes forward or stop watching altogether, but I did neither, thus the movie and I got off to an inauspicious start.  However did Christians come to think the sick practice of self-flagellation served any good purpose?   The reminder of one instance  amongst many of how often the followers of Christ went off track throughout the history of the church helped me to put today's conflicts and wanderings off the path in perspective. 

Hildegard was an extraordinarily gifted woman, who was well-educated from her childhood in 12th century Germany, when few women were fortunate enough to receive that sort of attention.  She was a "writer, composer, philosopher, Christian mystic, Benedictine abbess, visionary, and polymath."  Hildegard faced opposition nearly every step of the way from the male-dominated church in her efforts to fulfill the visions and messages she received from God, but she usually had her way in the end, often aided by the patronage of the powerful.  The church has come a long way, baby, but is not yet where it ought to be in terms of equality for women, as witness the struggle in the Church of England over women bishops and the roadblock in the Roman Catholic Church to ordination of women.  And that's not to mention the fundamentalist Christian churches which, to this day, teach submission of women to men.

Barbara Sukowa is formidable, indeed, as Hildegard.  She would have intimidated me.  All of the actors performed well.  The scenes in the monastery were well done, and seemed authentic to me, although I'm hardly an expert on life in a 12th century religious community.  The triangular relationship between Hildegard, Jutta (Lena Stolz), Hildegard's best friend from childhood, and the young sister Richardis (Hannah Herzsprung) hints at something beyond best friends and/or mother/daughter, but we are left to draw our own conclusions.  Except for the gory parts, I enjoyed the film and the lovely music in the sound track, which included Hildegard's compositions.