Falling Down

 I learned so much from falling down. I had things planned that day. First, take husband to his physical therapy. Then, get stamps at post office and pick up a few groceries before going home for lunch. Got the first thing done but the other two had to wait till another day. I fell in the parking lot of the post office and ended up in the ER. My BFF Linda picked up my husband and took him to our house and waited with him to see if I would be okay. The ER staff took good care of me and after a couple CT scans to prove there was no serious damage, I was released to drive myself home. 

So, I learned that getting up is vital if you hope to make progress. I learned that we often need to rely on the kindness of others if we hope to have success. And I learned to have patience with myself and others because none of us has achieved perfection. 

The Blame Game

 I am sharing this post that was written by a Facebook friend, Michael J C Taylor. Dr. TAYLOR is an American constitutional historian. https://www.facebook.com/dr.mjctaylor 

We are always looking for somebody to blame.

Yeah things are rotten all over. It’s because of the immigrants flooding our borders looking for a hand-out. It’s because of all these damned minorities demanding their “rights”. It is because of breakdown of the traditional family. It’s because of the Democrats or the Republicans we can’t get anything done. It’s because of one thing or another my life has gone straight to hell. 

And because of it everybody is a racist, a fascist, a homophobe, a redneck, a misogynist, a feminista, a religious nut, an atheist freak, or something else insulting. Of course when we assign blame we are obligated to involve ourselves in name-calling. It is as American as apple pie.

For every dysfunction and misery we experience in our lives we assign blame to others. It is much easier to assign culpability to someone else than it is to ruminate and dissect the nature of our problems and seek a solution. And in doing so it is also required we isolate ourselves within small hordes of like-minded people because there is strength in numbers no matter how wrong we may be. And yet we still wonder why human civilization is coming apart at the seams.

Though this phenomena has gone on since before recorded history social media has both exacerbated and amplified it. Longtime friendships have ended because of petty disagreements over nonsense, as well as family members disinheriting one another due disagreements. And all place the blame with the other. Blame is easy, assuming the responsibility to mend and maintain vital relationships that is hard, in fact too hard for too many.

Not only do we expect everyone within our families and communities to act congruent with the rules, but we jump down on them hard when they deviate. Why did that young man run from the cops when he was being arrested? It’s obvious he was guilty of something. Why did the cop draw his weapon and fire? It’s obvious the officer thought they were in imminent danger. Yet when we make such judgments and place blame we are doing so without knowing all of the circumstances and facts of the incident in question. We just assume we do because our chosen medial tells us so.

I hate to be the one to break it to you but people are not perfect and are prone to make mistakes. Big ones and often. Yes every one of us. Due to the constant battle between our rational and emotional selves we all eat it once in a while. And believe me when I tell you I am just as guilty of this as you. I am in no way, shape or form perfect, but because I am not I do my level best to refrain from passing such judgments of blame upon others until I am well acquainted with the provable facts of any situation.

If we are to heal as a people, as a community and as a country we must stop looking for somebody to blame. We must look beyond blame and seek a solution to the problems which afflict us all. In our common struggles there is a unity of purpose, but if we continue to dwell in the despair of division the miserable doldrums of our lives will never change.

So must we always look for somebody to blame. I am doing my best not to, but I am human and will fail occasionally. And for that I am the one to blame.

Thoughts on ‘A Promised Land’ by Barack Obama

I just finished reading the first chapter. Like his other two books that I’ve read, this one does not disappoint. President Obama speaks with clarity and insight that gives the reader a peek into the people and processes that shaped his worldview. He asks questions we must resolve ourselves. Such as the one posed to him by his mother, Ann Durham, when she learned he’d been involved in a bullying episode. “What kind of person do you want to be?” She explained that there are people who only think of themselves and there are people who imagine how others feel and make sure they don’t do things that make others feel bad. This is a guiding principle akin to the Golden Rule. 

As he reflects on events shaping his life, Obama pondered What made some movements successful, while others failed. He looked at compromise and wondered when it was acceptable and when it was selling out and how could one know the difference. Each person must consider which principles will guide their relationships and how far they are willing to go to live by those principles. Lastly, how does societal change happen and how can we be sure everyone’s voice is heard? 

On to Chapter Two. 

Prescription Drug Costs

I don’t know if my story applies to many others, but here goes. My husband received a kidney transplant in October 2009. Since that time, he’s been on three different daily doses of anti-rejection drugs. Fortunately, our employer-provided health insurance has covered them and his other medications with very reasonable copays. The highest has been $15 for a month’s supply. Imagine my surprise when last week I was notified by our pharmacy that the copay for one was now $100 for a month’s supply. It’s very shocking when you are on a fixed retirement income and so many other costs are rising. I called our prescription drug provider and was told that as per the agreement, if a month’s supply was under $1000 the copay was $15 maximum but if it exceeds $1000, then the copay becomes $100. His myfortic acid had gone from $967 to $1027, a $50 increase. So, now our copay increased from $15 to $100, an $85 increase. Insane, I told the insurance customer service person. She reminded me of all the years it had only been $15 and said I could be grateful for that.

I called the pharmacy and was told they could try to submit it to Medicare Part B if they had a prescription from his nephrologist listing his diagnosis. So, I called the doctor and requested they send the pharmacy an updated prescription. Imagine my delight and surprise when I got notified by the pharmacy that his prescription was ready to pick up and the copay was ZERO! I’m happy but wondering why this wasn’t done way back when he first started this medication. Oh well, as least it’s covered now and I hope and pray Republicans don’t find a way to cut Medicare in the future as those cuts hurt people in ways the lawmakers can’t even imagine. If any of this resonates with you, please pass it on or comment. Thank you.

Pigeonholing People

Political pundits get into trouble when they insist on pigeonholing voters. Yet, they persist in trying to lump people together. Here’s an example: An over 70 rural white voter, according to the pundits, most likely is conservative, feels threatened by people of color and immigrants, feels “economic anxiety” and is most likely a Trump supporter. Isn’t that how many in that demographic are characterized? Yet, I and many of my friends are over 70 rural white voters and we voted for Hillary Clinton.

Another example: A 40 year old, white, non-college educated male factory worker. Again, the pundits pigeonhole this person as most likely threatened by immigrants coming to take their jobs and most likely a Trump supporter. But, is it true? I know several men who fit this category and they are avid Bernie Sanders supporters.

The point is that political pundits err when they insist on trying to find simplistic explanations for complex issues like why certain candidates are popular. For a more nuanced explanation than I can give, see

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/07/19/opinion/trump-corporations-white-working-class.html

Political Polling

According to the NCPP, there are 20 questions that journalists should use in looking at public polling data. I think they are actually good for all of us to know. Are you interested in knowing how the NCAA suggests a reporter analyze a poll? If so, please go here for the article:  http://www.ncpp.org/?q=node/4   Maybe even copy and paste it to your favorite journalist! Here is a PDF file you can send to them:  http://www.ncpp.org/files/20%20Questions%203rd%20edition_Web%20ver_2006.pdf

In short, here are the 20 questions:

1. Who did the poll?
2. Who paid for the poll and why was it done?
3. How many people were interviewed for the survey?
4. How were those people chosen?
5. What area (nation, state, or region) or what group (teachers,lawyers, Democratic voters, etc.) were these people chosen from?
6. Are the results based on the answers of all the people interviewed?
7. Who should have been interviewed and was not? Or do response rates matter?
8. When was the poll done?
9. How were the interviews conducted?
10. What about polls on the Internet or World Wide Web?
11. What is the sampling error for the poll results?
12. Who’s on first?
13. What other kinds of factors can skew poll results?
14. What questions were asked?
15. In what order were the questions asked?
16. What about "push polls?"
17. What other polls have been done on this topic? Do they say the same thing? If they are different, why are they different?
18. What about exit polls?
19. What else needs to be included in the report of the poll?
20. So I've asked all the questions. The answers sound good. Should we report the results?   

Each of the questions is discussed in depth in the article. I hope you will be better informed and not so quick to panic at the next dire polling report you read or hear about.

For a quick minute explanation go here:  http://www.takepart.com/video/how-political-polls-work-civics-minute-video

The Right to Vote

Did you know that the U. S. Constitution did NOT originally define who had the right to vote? It deferred that decision to each state. As you can imagine, this created much confusion. Many states only allowed Caucasian male property owners the franchise. Some allowed Caucasian males with taxable income to vote. New Jersey even allowed women to vote if they met the property requirement. In some places freed slaves and non-white Americans were allowed to vote, again if they met the property requirement. Many states and local jurisdictions started requiring poll taxes be paid to vote and literacy tests passed. By the time of the Civil War, most white males were allowed to vote whether they owned property or not. By not clearly defining the right to vote, the framers of the Constitution created chaos. Many citizens were kept from voting because they were deemed to be "undesirable". Now, if any of this is beginning to sound like what is again happening in our country, you might want to start paying attention!

Carol Anderson, Professor Of African American Studies at Emory University, and best selling author of White Rage: The Unspoken Truth Of Our Nation’s Divide, has a new book on voting rights entitled, One Person, No Vote. Available on September 11, 2018, this is the story of how absolutely fragile the voting franchise is in our country. Anderson details how these rights have been challenged before leading to several amendments to the U. S. Constitution that guarantee citizens' right to vote. Unfortunately, there are always those who want to make voting harder, especially for persons of color and poor people.  Professor Anderson's newest book is very well written with extensive notes. It is a must read for anyone interested in learning about the history of voting in the United States of America. 

In 1965, our Congress also passed the Voting Rights Act. See this link for brief timeline of voting rights up to 2016:  https://www.aclu.org/timeline-history-voting-rights-act As you can see, citizens are again having to face efforts by some in power to keep others from be able to vote. In 2013, the Supreme Court of the United States, in Shelby vs. Holder, gutted a critical protection of the voting rights act, section 4. This allowed states to begin enacting voter new restriction laws. Since then there have been numerous court fights and decisions to restore voters' rights. A simple review of the ACLU timeline linked above is illuminating. There is no ABSOLUTE right to vote. Voting can be restricted. 

No one should take their right to vote for granted. To learn if you can vote this year by clicking this link:  iwillvote.com Then, please check this link to learn all you can about voting and access to resources to help you exercise your rights. http://www.usa.gov/Citizen/Topics/Voting/Learn.shtml