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12/31/2009, 9:15 p.m. e.s.t.

I was going to do a big long retrospective, but frankly, the fellas over at JibJab did it better than I ever could, so on the eve of what was, in all respects societal, economic and otherwise a pretty crappy year overall I'll let them do the talking.

Enjoy! (h/t to MikesMixedMemories for the idea).

LOL, those zany guys! So, Happy New Year to our little corner of the internet, and the Bee is hoping we all have a better 2010.

Now, for a public service announcement: If you're going out tonight, remember, your localities are broke, so the cops will have free rein to pull you over for whatever the hell they can think of, and the tickets will be steep. So be careful out there. And if you do get busted for something, be sure to drop by and tell us all about it! Feel free to embellish!

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Potluck for Sunday, December 27, 2009

Thursday morning, the Senate finally passed its version of the Healthcare Reform bill. After what felt like ice ages of prattling, posturing, bickering, cow-towing, stammering spittle filled "you'll all die, die, DIE!" admonitions and general higgledy piggledy on the Senate floor, in the press and around the office water cooler, the Senate finally passed the stone. And crystallized urine describes it well. The Bee doesn't have much to say about it other than "it's crap, and let's see what the House and Senate together can come up with," amidst hopes that House Rep Anthony Weiner will drag Reid out back into the Capital alley and knock the tar out of him. Until then, for this sunny Sunday-after-the-yule, I will lay it on a bit heavier with the SMF than the WTF??. With Lil'Bee in a tizzy still over her Santa Loot, I'm finding it difficult to be my usual cantankerous self. Don't worry, I'm sure I'll be back to my old ways next week.

WTF?? 1. When Did It Become Gauche to Die? It happens to everyone. The only thing any of us are assured of from the moment we are born is that we will die. Some of us will die badly - in wracking pain, fighting for the last breath all while lying in a hospital or hospice bed. Maybe we'll be raving from hallucinations at the end, and our dignity will be spare...spare indeed. palliative care, i.e. hard drugs at the end, can calm us down, quieten us, relieve the constant, horrendous pain and let us slip quietly into that good night. So what's wrong with that? Guilt, mixed with wishful thinking, of those left behind evidently, and the article linked above is full of it. Families who wonder if without the drugs, the loved one might have lived...just a few more days. Or weeks. End of Life care became a hot-button issue when republicans over the summer began to screech about death panels in the House bill. One doctor is quoted as saying Do I consider myself a Dr. Death who is bumping people off on a regular basis?...I don't think so. In my own head I've sort of come to the realization that these people deserve to pass comfortably. That they do, Doctor, that they do. Despite the lamentations of persons who perhaps would be served better by not attending church so much, miracles don't happen. When an 82 year old is lying in a bed shriveled from liver cancer, there won't be a miracle. They won't spring up and start singing "I've got a golden ticket" like Grandpa in a Willie Wonka movie. Perhaps my lack of any religious belief makes me think that it is futile to feel guilt when helping someone die quietly, when dying is all they can do at the moment. All the arguments of "palliative care" vs "terminal care" in the world won't change that fact, and guilt at administering drugs to someone dying badly seems self-indulgent in the face of it.

WTF?? 2. So, Why wasn't this guy on the no-fly list, again? Umar Farouk Abdulmatallab tried to blow up a Northwest Airlines flight headed for Detroit on Christmas Day and fortunately failed when his device failed. Now we learn that not only did Abdulmatallab's father warn US officials in Nigeria about his son's extremist beliefs and his fear that his son might do something stupid, but now we learn that 4 weeks ago he was named in reports that linked him to al Qaida operations in Yemen and a hit on a Saudi official. We can't rely on Homeland Security to keep these guys off our planes. However, there is always Jasper Schuringa, the Bee's personal hero of the week.

SMF 1. The Dutch. Who knew? Who knew the Dutch could be a take-charge, bust-some-heads kind of people? Jasper Schuringa sure is. When Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab, a Nigerian man (who probably should have been on the no-fly list, if his father's claims of having warned US Officials about his extremist religious belief is true, and those claims do seem to be true) tried to blow up the Northwest flight headed for Detroit. Jasper Schuringa and some of his fellow passengers jumped Abdulmatallab and definitely stopped him from causing further damage and quite possibly saved all lives aboard. So, notice to potential terrorists on board planes: the rules have changed. Don't count on the Jaspers flying with you to sit back calmly while you try to rush them to their fiery deaths.

SMF 2. TERRORISTS DELAY OHIO BOUND PLANE! Oh, wait, no, just a couple of escaped otters.

SMF 3. Talk about a tough old goat. A 52 year old Michigan man was stabbed in a robbery attempt, walked down to a restaurant, called 911, told them he was going to go inside 'cause they got a chair and it's cold out here, then ordered himself a cup of coffee to soothe the 5 inch knife sticking out of his chest. Who says Americans have gone soft?

SMF 4. A Memo from the Boss of the Chop Shop. Get a memo from the boss reaming you over some minor infraction? Some little mistake? Just imagine if you worked for this guy:

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12/23/2009

If wishes were horses, we'd have a nice Senate Healthcare bill with at least a public option, but preferably an entire single-payer utilizing the best of the Euro/Canadian models. However, what we got is shit.

One can hope that the House Reps open a can of whoop-ass in January when they have to sit down with some dodgy old Senators to come up with a final bill. In the meantime, here is the Bee's Christmas Present for those republicans and blue-dumbasses:

And for all my loyal, and well-loved readers, here is my Christmas/Holiday/Post-Hanukkah/Kwanzaa/Whatever-you-dig Present for you:

Mmmmmmm...That Nat!

And to all, a good night!

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This past week has been a roller-coaster ride, what with the Senate gutting the healthcare reform bill and Lieberscum's posturing, so I'm slowing down the pace a bit. This week's Potluck will be all "Strikes My Fancy." I figure there will be plenty of WTF's later in the week to make up for my decision to forgo them today.

SMF 1. The Indians Finally Win One. In 1887, a law allotting 40-60 acres per American Indian was passed, and surprises, that land was never transferred. Thirteen years ago, a massive suit was filed against the United States Government to determine the disposition, and get some justice, for Indians wronged so many times and so many ways. They got it when, just a couple of weeks ago, the Government settled for $1.4 billion. The Washington Post ran a decent enough analysis, which you can read here. In a nutshell, the Indians finally won one. That doesn't happen very often, even today.

SMF 2. I don't normally rejoice when someone dies... but I have to admit, I did say a "FINALLY!" when Jerry Falwell finally kicked the bucket, and I'm saying the same thing this week now that Oral Roberts is finally gone too. Roberts was a snake-oil salesman who convinced his listeners and viewers to send him a load of dough that made him quite wealthy, all while spouting nonsense about "Prosperity Christianity." Evidently, if one tithes enough (to Oral Roberts), donates enough (to Oral Roberts), and prays hard enough (to Oral Roberts), god would make one rich. Yeah. No, that didn't happen, at least not for anyone but Oral. He bilked his congregations out of money they didn't have, he promised them healings he couldn't in a dog's dream deliver because there is no such thing and let's not forget that whole smarmy episode in the 80's where he claimed "geeeawwd" would call him home if he didn't raise more cash from his parishioners calling into his 800-tvleach line. I'm sure some died-in-the-wool follower is right now saying "See, Myrtle, you never sent him that $20, and now god's called him home!" Only 22 years late. Jesus said that it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to go to heaven. Oral must have just skipped over that part, as every preacher who gets himself a tv show, or a mega-church, or who panders in the political ring, must do. I've heard it apologized that "well, the New Testament was talking about this gate into Jerusalem...yadda yadda blah blah blah." No, Jesus was talking about an actual needle - for sewing clothes - they had them then. He was saying, if you're still rich, you didn't give away enough. Oral was one of those who ignored that part of his beloved savior's teachings, and ripped off his followers all the while rationalizing his behavior to himself, probably up to his very death. Bee says: Good riddance to bad rubbish.

SMF 3. Happy 50th, Second City. Some of the funniest people you'll ever want to see got their start with Second City. People like John Candy ("Those aren't pillows! ARRRRRRIIIIIIGGGGGHHHHHH!") Dan Akroyd (Ellwood Blues, the coolest of cool), Gilda Radner (Hi, I'm Baba Wawa) and slew of others, including one of my personal favorites, Mike Myers (Let's shag, bayby!). Second City has a whole slew of pieces, covering all 50 years, that will have you howling. I highly recommend a trip over if you're in the mood for a guffaw. Even if you're not in the mood, go anyway, because you probably need it. It's better than an Oral Roberts healing, that's for darn-tootin'.

And finally, SMF 4. Research shows that Whiskey hangover is worse than a Vodka hangover. I wonder how much money was sunk into paying people to drink themselves into a stupor so they could prove what most of us already know?

So happy holidays, and a big screw you to Bill O'Reilly with his war on christmas tripe. I figure if I walk into any retail store anywhere near christmas and the clerk doesn't tell me to go fuck myself, then I'm getting off lucky, and if I get a Happy Holidays! from them, I'm doing even better.

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12/16/2009

The Bee's word of the day this crappy Wednesday is "Soulless Little Prick," and of course, I'm talking about Lieberscum.

Honestly, WTF did this little toad ever do to become so frigging popular all of a sudden? Let's see, he stabbed his own party in the back last year when he gave a real pile of crap of a speech at the REPUBLICAN convention. Me, I was ready to put a stiletto heel into his forehead. But our President wanted to forgive and forget. Now, I'm usually all over forgiving and forgetting, and I'm usually pretty hip on giving people a second chance to redeem themselves.

However, the little soulless prick has somehow managed to convince the Senate Democrats that he is more powerful than they, that he alone is the final voice on the healthcare reform bill they had already screwed up, and now, thanks to him, they are screwing it up even more, until it is an even paler version of an already pale version of the House healthcare reform bill which, despite Stupak, had some redeeming qualities. The Senate bill almost had some redeeming qualities, like the medicare buy-in for those 55 - 64, which I surmise would have also helped create some jobs by convincing those who want to retire that they now can. Well, that's pretty much dead in the water. Why? Because Lieberman and his trashy pharma/United Healthcare owned wife don't like that anyone might actually be HELPED by any legislation coming out of congress?

What exactly is there in the rulebook that says this soulless prick gets to wield that type of power in the Senate?

The best thing that could happen this this soulless little prick right now is that he be dragged by Anthony Weiner out into the Capital's back alley and have the snot beaten out of him.

Meanwhile, according to the WaPo today, the longer the Senate drags this out and the more they screw it up the more the American people say "screw it" themselves.

I'm about there, myself. Not quite, but I'm close to being there.

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WTF?? 1. Put it in a .pdf, stupid! The Transportation Security Administration posted a little document, 93 pages worth, last spring on the internet as part of a contract solicitation, and boy did they post it. It showed its readers everything from airport security screening procedure to which countries' passport-holders were subject to heightened security screening. Here's the kick in the head: They posted the redacted version. The problem was that the redacted version was not a .pdf document, so the black-lines could be removed by readers with a cut'n'paste. What the Bee wants to know is what fool who doesn't even know how to right click the mouse did they put on that particular assignment? Of course, the TSA says that particular version of their manual was never implemented, that there are 6 other versions since, yadda yadda CYA CYA...yeah, right. Good job, Homeland Security.

WTF?? 2. Poor kids get prescribed anti-psychotics while middle-class kids get prescribed therapy. A team from Rutgers and Columbia conducted some research and found that children on Medicaid are prescribed anti-psychotics four times more often than their private insurance peers. Why? The reason is simple, and just what you would expect - greed. Medicaid reimburses more cash to the doctors who prescribe for drug treatment than for therapy or counseling. Poor kids have problems, mostly stemming from poverty, and get prescribed thorazine, for crikey's sake, while middle-class kids get prescribed therapy and counseling. WTF?? Anti-psychotics?? Why? So a doc can afford a new Lexus next year? Drive a Buick, asshole. Meanwhile, kids who are perfectly normal but living in the abnormal world of poverty where frustration reigns their entire life, who fight with mom and dad, who fight with siblings, who have trouble sleeping at night, but who are NOT bi-polar, who are NOT schizophrenic, who do NOT have terrible mental illnesses, are kicked in the head by the medical establishment which decides that it would rather have the higher reimbursement for the Zyprexa than get them into what they really need, which is some counseling to deal with the grim everyday reality of poverty. meanwhile, they suffer the side effects of these anti-psychotic drugs, which can be harsh: bloating and weight gain with most of these drugs. Zyprexa can cause hyperglycemia. Medicaid is an important program and is absolutely crucial to low income families, but the doctors who participate need to be taught a thing or two about how to actually TREAT patients. This NYT article mentions a 15 year old who was diagnosed as bi-polar, after one single visit (which we all know probably meant 10 minutes tops with the doctor). She refused to take the medication prescribed because she decided she could "control her moods." And she was right. The article quotes a psychiatrist in the Bronx who says "It's easier for patients, and it's easier for docs," said Dr. Derek H. Suite, a psychiatrist in the Bronx whose pediatric cases include children and adolescents covered by Medicaid and who sometimes prescribes antipsychotics. "But the question is, 'What are you prescribing it for?' That's where it gets a little fuzzy." A little fuzzy? A LITTLE FUZZY?? There is nothing fuzzy about If the child does not have a severe mental illness you do not prescribe anti-psychotics. Period. There is nothing fuzzy about that at all. It is easier for the doctor. Not for the patient.

WTF?? 3. Uganda. By now, most of you have heard that Uganda passed a new law outlawing homosexuality. If you're not aware that this law was helped along by the talibangelicals here in this country looking to start themselves a genocide in the living out of their sick, twisted fantasies of torturing and murdering homosexuals, then drop by my good buddy Tom's blog Who Hijacked My Country and scroll down to "Uganda-Gate" on December 10, 2009 for his dead-on-target analysis of how US preachers were in on that little horror show. But what you may not know is that Uganda also passed a law outlawing female circumcision. Normally, I would put this in my Strikes My Fancy bucket, but for the very incongruity of these two laws, they both deserve WTF?? status. One is horrible beyond imagination and just might result in another genocide on the African continent. One is a human rights victory that has been hard fought for by feminists and humanitarians for decades. The Bee makes no attempt at sorting out the irrationality in the Ugandan government. But what the Bee can say is this: If the law outlawing homosexuality results in one single death, then the Scott Lively's who spread their own talibanesque bile here will have that blood on their hands, and should be subject to the world court's wrath. They are still sorting out the Rwandan genocide, 16 years later, so I doubt they will take kindly to having another on their hands. In all seriousness, public hangings would be in order.

Something that Strikes My Fancy this week:

SMF 1. What Kind of Jail Time Could She Possibly Get? In Dartmouth Massachusetts, a 98 year old woman smothered her 100 year old roommate to death. Now, call the Bee crass, crude, unpolished, uncouth, sick and twisted, but this one struck the dark-humor side of my funny bone, particularly when the perpetrator, Laura Lundquist, was indicted for second-degree murder. You can't make this stuff up. Rather than indictment for murder, Lundquist might be better served by just having a room to herself. Meanwhile, the judge ordered Lundquist to be held in a hospital to determine if she is fit to stand trial after her lawyer claimed she suffers from dementia. Ya think? Come'on, judge, she's 98. Do you think she'll live through the trial?? Then what if she's found guilty? Is she really going to go do hard time in the can? Sometimes, the letter of the law must be followed. Sometimes, it's better to chalk it up to bizarre and unfortunate, give the crazy old bat a room of her own and let it go. To tell the truth, living with a 100 year old happy-hugger might make me a bit murderous, too.

And on that note, have a wonderful Sunday, ya'll. Come'on back now, y'hear?

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12/8/2009

The Senate effectively killed the Nelson/Hatch amendment to the healthcare bill, which contained the same language as Stupak/Pitts. Merry Christmas to all who voiced their loathing of what both versions of this amendment. While, in the Bee's humble estimation, the hyperbole that these amendments would reverse Roe v Wade and make abortion illegal once and for all was way overinflated, I do see this as a rebuke of those who would make this the ONLY issue on the table. Like Nelson, and Hatch.

However, this win just might come at a very, very high price. It looks like we can kiss the public option goodbye.

On a high point, however, Medicare benefits may be temporarily expanded to persons 55 - 64 years of age. This might be good news for a couple of reasons. I work with a woman whose job is even crappier than mine - tanking homebuilders. I push the paper, she maintains the relationships with the builders. She has expressed fear of losing her job, just because her portfolio, which 2 years ago was among the strongest in the bank, is now going down the toilet. Her fears stem not from retiring early, but of losing her health insurance. This might just give her an out, considering she would fall within this expanded age group. This might give a lot of people considering early retirement an out - and likewise, an in for younger workers looking for an opportunity to move up the corporate ladder. This might be a backdoor way to create some jobs.

Of course, the republicans hate it. But then, they hate everything. And the Blue Dogs hate it. And we hate the Blue Dogs.

There was talk of an expansion of Medicaid, which desperately needs to happen to get some lower income families covered, particularly with the high unemployment rate and COBRA benefits running out steadily (for those who can even afford it) - and it didn't get enough support in the Senate.

And don't worry, they still have plenty of time to screw it up royally for a country already buried under the weight of the healthcare insurance industry.

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We have quite the full plate for our Sunday Potluck. The WTF?? section definitely outweighs the Strikes My Fancy section because it's been a WTF?? week.

WTF?? 1. Evidently, in Arizona, it is a crime to put out jugs of water in a desert park so the illegals coming across the desert seeking a better life don't die of dehydration. Walt Staton, Tuscon, is a member of a group called No More Deaths, which seeks to prevent more border-crossing deaths by providing basic necessities - like water in the desert. Staton was convicted of "littering" (like bodies lying in the desert isn't litter) and sentenced to 300 hours of community service, one year of probation and was barred from the Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge for a year. WTF?? It's a crime now to provide aid to people crossing a desert? I don't give a damn if they are illegals, they deserve some f'ing water because they are HUMAN BEINGS. If the occupants of this country had denied aid to the illegals crossing over in the Mayflower, we wouldn't have that lovely little national holiday called Thanksgiving. If the occupants of this country had not provided aid to the illegals in Jamestown, they would have died out within a month. Think on that, Judge Roy Bean Wannabe, and tell me this: How do you explain that ruling to your kids...or your grandchildren, when they ask you what it means to be a decent human being?

WTF?? 2. Anti-Abortion groups just chap my ass, mostly because they are arrogant bastards. Ever notice they tend to be a) too old to breed, b) too male to breed or c) too stupid and shouldn't be allowed to breed? In Stafford, Virginia, just up the highway from yours truly, lives a nutter who runs American Life League. Why do I bring them up? Because in June 2008, they created this Advertisement. One of their favorite boogymen is the Pill. Yes, the Pill. They believe that the Pill causes "preborn" (WTF is that, anyway??) babies to fail to "implant" in their mother's uterus. So, besides being too old to breed, too male to breed, my main beef is that they are c) too plug ignorant to be allowed to breed. Any quick look in wikipedia with the search string "reproduction" would teach them the facts of life. But, people like this tend to be talibangelically religious, which just breeds ignorance.

For example, WTF?? 3. the Jesus Is Your Boyfriend movement. I'm not even christian and this offends me on soooo many levels. Turning Jesus into a biker-bad-boy to attract tween girls? You know, if the talibangelicals in this country have to resort to this schmaltz to attract younger adherents, then there just might be a problem with the underlying theology. Course, you'll never get them to admit that. (h/t to my buddy Scott for tuning me into # 2 & 3 above)

WTF?? 4. On the heels of President Obama telling us last week that 30,000 more troops would be sent to escalate the Afghan war, Defense Secretary Roberts Gates admitted this week that the US has not had a clue where Bin Laden is for several years. Around 2003, when the war in Iraq was getting up to speed and, I believe, after the Mission Accomplished fiasco, Bush said in a press conference that Bin Laden was no longer the prime objective. My suspicions at the time were that Bin Laden was indeed dead, and all the videos trotted out on a regular basis to keep the "fear factor" alive in the american public and keep the republican base intent on the continuation of the Iraq war were merely smoke and mirrors produced just for those reasons. i.e., Wag the Dog. I still suspect that Bin Laden is dead and has been dead since at least early 2003. Gates: You can't find him, because he's PUSHING UP DAISIES, DUMMY!

I can't end this without at least one Strikes My Fancy posting, can I now?

SMF 1. A PhD student at Southampton's School of Ocean and Earth Science has formally described four new species of deep sea King Crab. For all you seafood lovers out there, here's my quick recipe for steaming King Crab in the microwave:

If you get the really honking-big suckers, cut them into sections. Wrap a couple of thoroughly thawed sections in a damp paper towel, wrap in plastic wrap and stick in the microwave for 30 - 60 seconds, depending on the size of the leg or claw. They come out perfect, and you can't ask for easier than that. I was skeptical at first, but trust me on this one - try it and you won't be disappointed. This works just as well for snow crab. Bon Appetit!

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12/3/2009

Today the Senate finally got around to voting on some portions of its healthcare reform bill, and this actually did surprise me. It did not completely shit on women.

Included in the amendment passed today, insurers would be required to cover mammograms and other preventative care for women. Also included was a rebuke of the recent independent panel findings that women don't need mammograms until they are 50 years old. Any woman can tell you something. She knows someone who has, or has had, breast cancer. I know a survivor who runs a support group for other survivors. 40 of them, and that's just one little grassroots startup support group. Mr. Bee's mother died of it. It is showing up in younger and younger women - some in their 20's. Mammograms starting at 40 is, realistically, a conservative starting point. If I had my druthers, we'd all start having them at 25. They are not fun and hurt like a bitch, but breast cancer hurts a hell of a lot more when it is missed and spreads. So I can say Kudos to the Senate tonight for not letting the girls down entirely.

Meanwhile, the American Medical Association has given some support to the Senate version of the healthcare reform bill, with reservations. Other groups oppose it. Vehemently. The American College of Surgeons oppose it, as does the American Society of Cataract and Refractive Surgery. Let's not forget the California Medical Association, the (now, don't get yourself into a tizzy over this bit of heart-stopping shocking news) Texas medical association and the Florida medical association. Why do they oppose it?

1. It includes a public option.

2. It does nothing to make it harder to sue physicians after they cut out the wrong kidney or amputate the wrong leg off of your diabetic mother.

3. They don't like that it creates a Medicare advisory board that can keep tabs on those docs and set their reimbursement fees. Because heaven forbid anyone watch what their track records are with their Medicare patients, and OH MY GOD THE WORLD IS GOING TO END if the board says "We're paying you too much, you aren't doing a very good job keeping your patients healthy. Or alive. So we're not going to pay you as much anymore."

4. They really don't like that there might be a tax on elective cosmetic surgery, because that might mean that fewer Housewives of Beverly Hills will get gift certificates from their hubbies go to the Doctor Millers of the country for their fake boobs and butt implants. After seeing some of the horror stories of the past couple of decades of women who had surgeries go very, very badly, this might be a good thing. Besides, real men like them real. Real women, too, if you swing that way.

5. They don't like that there will be increased reporting on physician error. Meaning, we'll all know when they screw up. They really don't like that. Hospitals particularly like to keep that hush hush.

At least they do support the part that makes it illegal for insurance companies to deny coverage based on pre-existing conditions. Probably because people who get denied may not come in for any treatment, because they can't afford it, and at least if people come in, the doc might get paid at some point.

If the above reasons for opposing the Senate Healthcare Reform Bill are the best these doc associations can come up with, then I'm all for it.

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