A lot of people seem to be confused on Prop 3 (Bond funding for Children's hospitals). The League of Women Voters says to vote Yes , the SF Guardian says to vote No. Although 80% of the money from Prop 3 would go to private hospitals, such as Children's Hospital Oakland, it is still a worthwhile expenditure of public funds. I know that CHO, the hospital I work it, is a major provider of healthcare to the uninsured and underinsured in the Bay Area. We do have an endowment but it is not nearly enough to cover the improvements that need to be made in the structure and facilities of the hospital needed. Also in these tough economic times, it endowments are not reliable. Children's is often not reimbursed for the care it provides, and yet continues to care for patients that cannot pay.
So vote Yes on 3, so we can make our facilities safe from earthquakes for our patients and staff and also so we can update our facilites to make the care of our patients state of the art. Please!
Monday, October 27, 2008
Sunday, October 19, 2008
Fear Mongering Schizophrenic campaign
Robo-calls, Palin rallies and TV ads all try to smear Barack Obama's name by associating him with a "washed up terrorist" in McCain's own words. Now although the McCain campaign is actively pursing this mud slinging tactic, when someone at his own rally declares he is afraid of an Obama presidency because he associated with domestic terrorists, McCain tells him that Obama is a decent man and he does not need to be afraid of him, to the round of a booing crowd. Is he schizophrenic? Is he senile? Why is McCain denying what his own campaign is so avidly trying to do: strike unwarranted fear into the hearts of poorly informed, easily swayed, ignorant Americans.
This is not only inaccurate and inappropriate it is highly irrepsonsible and dangerous. Barack Obama, as the first viable African American Candidate for president of the US, is already at a great risk to his life. He was given a secret service escort earlier in his campaign than any presidential candidate in history. Now Palin has people yelling at her rallies "terrorist" and "kill him". In my opinion, this is endangering the life of Obama even further. If anything happens to him, Palin AND McCain should be held accountable. Even Colin Powell has endorsed Senator Obama partly due to this petty and irresponsible campaigning by the McCain camp.
McCain has dug his own grave by aligning himself with George W. Bush, the worst president in American history. His ambition has overtaken his integrity. John McCain has sunk to the lowest common denominator, that of the current administration. Politics above policy. He wants to be president at all costs, including the cost of his own conscience. He is clearly uncomfortable with the turn his own campaign has taken as evidenced by his denial of the claims at his own rallies. He says he is not George Bush but he has made every effort to become just like him, including using the same robo-call tactics against Obama that McCain decried when they were used by Bush against McCain himself.
Fascists over the centuries have used the same fear mongering tactics to rise to power over and over again, but this time it looks like it may backfire against the McCain campaign.
I sincerely hope that Barack Obama landslides to victory on November 4th. I hope that this country sends a message that racism, fear mongering, and mud slinging are not going to be tolerated especially at a time when this country needs policies that work, thoughtful decision making, and a president that puts this country's well being before his/her own political ambitions.
This is not only inaccurate and inappropriate it is highly irrepsonsible and dangerous. Barack Obama, as the first viable African American Candidate for president of the US, is already at a great risk to his life. He was given a secret service escort earlier in his campaign than any presidential candidate in history. Now Palin has people yelling at her rallies "terrorist" and "kill him". In my opinion, this is endangering the life of Obama even further. If anything happens to him, Palin AND McCain should be held accountable. Even Colin Powell has endorsed Senator Obama partly due to this petty and irresponsible campaigning by the McCain camp.
McCain has dug his own grave by aligning himself with George W. Bush, the worst president in American history. His ambition has overtaken his integrity. John McCain has sunk to the lowest common denominator, that of the current administration. Politics above policy. He wants to be president at all costs, including the cost of his own conscience. He is clearly uncomfortable with the turn his own campaign has taken as evidenced by his denial of the claims at his own rallies. He says he is not George Bush but he has made every effort to become just like him, including using the same robo-call tactics against Obama that McCain decried when they were used by Bush against McCain himself.
Fascists over the centuries have used the same fear mongering tactics to rise to power over and over again, but this time it looks like it may backfire against the McCain campaign.
I sincerely hope that Barack Obama landslides to victory on November 4th. I hope that this country sends a message that racism, fear mongering, and mud slinging are not going to be tolerated especially at a time when this country needs policies that work, thoughtful decision making, and a president that puts this country's well being before his/her own political ambitions.
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
What's wrong with this country?
I need to rant. I never got it fully out of my system with George Bush rigged the election in 2000, or when he rigged the election in 2004. I have a lot of pent up political angst and this is my blog so I am now in a position to air my frustration... here goes..
Why on earth would anyone want John McCain to be our president for the next four years? What can he do for this country? He can take us further into a pointless war that we never should have started. He can get us deeper and deeper in debt. He can squeeze a few drops of oil out of Alaska's protected off shore sites, to avert the impending energy crisis for a day or two. He could die and leave Sarah Palin in charge of us, who has been shown to be a liar, a flip-flopper, and, gee, where DID all the money for the darn bridge wind up? Sarah has made sure that women who are raped in Alaska pay for the rape kit that is used in the Emergency Room. She wants those same women to carry their fetus to term if the rapist impregnates them. (She didn't even know what the Bush Doctrine is-and neither did I, but I am not running for Vice President). So I ask you what McCain can do for this country? At BEST he can live for four more years. At worst he can contribute further to the total demise of the United States of America that is already well underway, politically, financially and possibly literally.
Will John McCain provide universal health care? No. Now for anyone who thinks this does not apply to them, since they HAVE health insurance, let me give you a little scenario that happens every single day... you have a job, you get sick, you cannot work, you lose said job, then guess what? No more insurance. You figure, ok, I can pay for health insurance and then guess what? No one will insure you because you have a "pre-existing condition". So you use every penny you have for health care until you are homeless and piss poor and qualify for government health insurance. So I ask you.. why not just provide the insurance, without forcing someone to become a welfare/SSI recipient for the rest of his/her life?
Will John McCain protect our social security? It appears to me that John McCain is a big fan of investing MY social security in the stock market. Last time I checked the stock market was a big brown grizzly bear. No thank you!!!
Will John McCain stem global warming? Certainly not, and especially not if Sarah Palin has anything to do with it. She, like her possible predecessor, GWB, does not believe that the climate crisis is a man made phenomenon. Just what we need!!! Another 4-8 years of heads in the sand. So then, no reason to find sustainable sources of energy, move to hybrid or electric cars, or conserve. Just "Drill, Baby, Drill".
So why support John McCain? I would guess because one is strongly Anti-Choice to the point that not even women who become impregnated by a rape or incest event will be allowed to terminate their own pregnancy. See, because Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter got herself knocked up and opted to keep it. Wait rewind, she OPTED to keep it. She had a CHOICE. How about that? Ok, and how is a pregnant 17 year old a good thing? Granted 17 year olds can be great moms, but aren't the same people who are against abortion, also against pre-marital sex? hmmmmmm. And abortion is really basically a women's HEALTH issue. When abortion is illegal, women die from infections that are introduced by the hangers they use to terminate their own preganancy or back alley "doctors" use for this purpose. And of course it will be the poor and disenfranchised women who are hit the hardest.
On the other hand, there is Barack Obama.
Will Barack Obama push for universal health care? YES!
Will Barack Obama push for this country to change to renewable Energy sources? YES!
Will Barack Obama close the corporate loopholes so that they actually have to pay taxes on their billions of dollars? YES!
Will Barack Obama move to end this useless repeat of Vietnam so our and Iraq's citizens can stop dying and we can stop accruing this ridiculous debt? YES!
Will Barack Obama pander shamelessly to lobbyists the way the Bush administration has done? NO!!!
Will Barack Obam make gay and abortion rights a priority? YES! (this is clearly abhorrent to some people who can't understand why people want to have choices about who they love and what they do with their own bodies)
I guess I have answered my own question. It must be all about wanting to impose one's sense of morality and one's own personal choices on the rest of us. Because it can't possibly be about what is good for the people of this country and what makes sense poltically, economically, socially and environmentally. No, the choice for anyone who cares about their country, their neighbors, their health and the world is clear.
Ok, I'm done now!
Why on earth would anyone want John McCain to be our president for the next four years? What can he do for this country? He can take us further into a pointless war that we never should have started. He can get us deeper and deeper in debt. He can squeeze a few drops of oil out of Alaska's protected off shore sites, to avert the impending energy crisis for a day or two. He could die and leave Sarah Palin in charge of us, who has been shown to be a liar, a flip-flopper, and, gee, where DID all the money for the darn bridge wind up? Sarah has made sure that women who are raped in Alaska pay for the rape kit that is used in the Emergency Room. She wants those same women to carry their fetus to term if the rapist impregnates them. (She didn't even know what the Bush Doctrine is-and neither did I, but I am not running for Vice President). So I ask you what McCain can do for this country? At BEST he can live for four more years. At worst he can contribute further to the total demise of the United States of America that is already well underway, politically, financially and possibly literally.
Will John McCain provide universal health care? No. Now for anyone who thinks this does not apply to them, since they HAVE health insurance, let me give you a little scenario that happens every single day... you have a job, you get sick, you cannot work, you lose said job, then guess what? No more insurance. You figure, ok, I can pay for health insurance and then guess what? No one will insure you because you have a "pre-existing condition". So you use every penny you have for health care until you are homeless and piss poor and qualify for government health insurance. So I ask you.. why not just provide the insurance, without forcing someone to become a welfare/SSI recipient for the rest of his/her life?
Will John McCain protect our social security? It appears to me that John McCain is a big fan of investing MY social security in the stock market. Last time I checked the stock market was a big brown grizzly bear. No thank you!!!
Will John McCain stem global warming? Certainly not, and especially not if Sarah Palin has anything to do with it. She, like her possible predecessor, GWB, does not believe that the climate crisis is a man made phenomenon. Just what we need!!! Another 4-8 years of heads in the sand. So then, no reason to find sustainable sources of energy, move to hybrid or electric cars, or conserve. Just "Drill, Baby, Drill".
So why support John McCain? I would guess because one is strongly Anti-Choice to the point that not even women who become impregnated by a rape or incest event will be allowed to terminate their own pregnancy. See, because Sarah Palin's 17 year old daughter got herself knocked up and opted to keep it. Wait rewind, she OPTED to keep it. She had a CHOICE. How about that? Ok, and how is a pregnant 17 year old a good thing? Granted 17 year olds can be great moms, but aren't the same people who are against abortion, also against pre-marital sex? hmmmmmm. And abortion is really basically a women's HEALTH issue. When abortion is illegal, women die from infections that are introduced by the hangers they use to terminate their own preganancy or back alley "doctors" use for this purpose. And of course it will be the poor and disenfranchised women who are hit the hardest.
On the other hand, there is Barack Obama.
Will Barack Obama push for universal health care? YES!
Will Barack Obama push for this country to change to renewable Energy sources? YES!
Will Barack Obama close the corporate loopholes so that they actually have to pay taxes on their billions of dollars? YES!
Will Barack Obama move to end this useless repeat of Vietnam so our and Iraq's citizens can stop dying and we can stop accruing this ridiculous debt? YES!
Will Barack Obama pander shamelessly to lobbyists the way the Bush administration has done? NO!!!
Will Barack Obam make gay and abortion rights a priority? YES! (this is clearly abhorrent to some people who can't understand why people want to have choices about who they love and what they do with their own bodies)
I guess I have answered my own question. It must be all about wanting to impose one's sense of morality and one's own personal choices on the rest of us. Because it can't possibly be about what is good for the people of this country and what makes sense poltically, economically, socially and environmentally. No, the choice for anyone who cares about their country, their neighbors, their health and the world is clear.
Ok, I'm done now!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
I'm back and bloggier than ever
photo credit http://ericcable.com/Ha. Well maybe. We'll see. I do want to restart my blogging efforts. Now that the wedding is over and the honeymoon has come and gone, maybe I will have more free time. However, there is always something. We have been sorting out the wedding gifts, writing the thank you notes, and bringing back the duplicate gifts. I had previously thought that the point of a registry is to avoid
duplicate gifts, but apparently not. In our Sur La Table gift registry for multiple items it states "received #2, requested #1.". Now, I would have thought the software would have some mechanism for preventing the purchase of more than the requested number of items, but then, that's an assumption, and you know what they say about that! So back to the store we go with our duplicate pots to pick out new ones. I think the actual purpose of a registry is to get the bride and groom to "close it out". They give you a discount to buy the rest of the stuff on the list, only if you buy it all. So that means, you don't get the discount if you only buy some of the remaining stuff. That seems to be where they get ya! I remember them saying "register for lots of stuff that you don't even think anyone will buy, like a couch, because you get a 10% discount on it anyway". Well yeah, only if you buy everything left on the list! So that appears to be a bit of a scam, but we did not succumb. We only registered for things we thought people might buy, so I am only stuck with a set of sheets, and I have gift cards to put towards that purchase.
Today we went with our friends, Funnyman and Musicalia, to Pier 39. This is usually the type of place I wholeheartedly avoid, but once in a while it's fun to play the tourist. We had a "crab feast" for 4 which consisted of... crab. And nothing else. They just bring this huge platter of steaming hot crab legs cooked in butter and 4 bibs. After we tore through that deliciousness, we watched the scores of yelping sea lions frolic on the docks. Aside from a few playful pups, the mounds of sleeping sea lions were so still, the question was raised by Funnyman if some of them may actually not be alive. This kind of put a damper on watching the sea lions.
Then we watched people juggling fire and bouncing around in a trampoline and ate chocolate and cookies.
On the way home, Sweetpea had to stop short on the freeway due to an accident in front of him and we got rear ended. The perp took off (yes an actual hit and run) but fortunately there was only some small dents in my bumper! Too bad I didn't get his/her license plate.
Okay, back to work, organizing my life. Hasta luego!
Dr. A
Thursday, February 14, 2008
The sweet smell of pIzza
I just got home and it's Valentine's Day. Sweetpea is busy making, yes making, pizza in the kitchen. He makes awesome pizza, special for his non cheese eating, vegetarian fiance. My red roses are in the vase he bought me last year and I could not be happier. We have Nora Jones on the stereo, a bottle of chardonnay "breathing" and pizza in the oven. By next year at this time, we could have something else in the oven and who knows what else may be happening. It's so precious, this time when it's just "us". I hope someday there will be at least one little one (I know, it's better to have two, but let me just think about one at a time, please!!!). But right now, I am really enjoying being a couple. Even when Sweetpea was not living here, I felt it was a time to cherish. The anticipation of seeing him on the weekends made that time so treasured and exquisitely tender.
Now that he lives here I can see how people take each other for granted. We sit on the sofa on our respective laptops and I hate to think that I could forget how much I used to long for his company, now that I have it all the time.
I resolve on this Valentine's Day to make sure to always value my sweetpea's company, his thoughts, his cooking and our life together. Now if you will excuse me, I have pizza to eat...
Hasta Luego,
Dr.A
Now that he lives here I can see how people take each other for granted. We sit on the sofa on our respective laptops and I hate to think that I could forget how much I used to long for his company, now that I have it all the time.
I resolve on this Valentine's Day to make sure to always value my sweetpea's company, his thoughts, his cooking and our life together. Now if you will excuse me, I have pizza to eat...
Hasta Luego,
Dr.A
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
It's time
Okay, time for a new post. I got a bunch of blogging out of my system and now I am stagnating. Sweetpea moved in with me!!! It's been super crazy busy, with all the packing and moving and unpacking, but surprisingly all has gone very smoothly. No fighting about what to keep and what to give away. We have really been planning this for a while, so we had discussed a bunch of giving away, throwing away and storage prior to the move. Thus, things are good! I'm so happy when I come home and see his motorcycle in the garage. It would be so nice to say 'in the driveway', but I don't have a house. I have a condo. Thankfully, it's two bedrooms. And has laundry. The one thing I did not anticipate was the increase in laundry volume. I feel like we are drowning in laundry. Sweetpea has to learn to use the machines, but I am so compulsive about my laundry (delicates, handwash, cold, warm, bleach, etc) that it's probably best if I do it. It might be a weekend seminar otherwise.
He's been cooking, it is lovely. Finally, I am just so happy that he is here. He is right now rearranging the kitchen. Soo cute. Ok sorry.
In other news: I buckled and hired a wedding coordinator. And now I can finally sleep at night. I was worried about how I would coordinate everything the day of my wedding, and not lose my mind. Everyone I spoke to said that either the best thing they did was hire a wedding coordinator, or the worst thing they did was take it all on themselves. In between there are those amazing people who can actually delegate the various and assorted responsibilities successfully, but my day will be tight on time and I don't think our friends will have time to get up there, show me the love, and also do their tasks. Nope, it's all taken care of. The florist, the transportation shuttles, etceterah.
Any new pictures? Not so much, Let's see. I am going for a trial run on my hair and makeup next week, here are some pics of how I would like my hair to look:
We shall see if the actual pictures of me look anything like this next week!
Ok, well I can't think of any other big exciting news right now, except that my favorite baby is coming to see us this weekend, and he is bringing his parents, K &A, we are making them hotdogs and french fries!
Hasta luego
Dr. A
He's been cooking, it is lovely. Finally, I am just so happy that he is here. He is right now rearranging the kitchen. Soo cute. Ok sorry.
In other news: I buckled and hired a wedding coordinator. And now I can finally sleep at night. I was worried about how I would coordinate everything the day of my wedding, and not lose my mind. Everyone I spoke to said that either the best thing they did was hire a wedding coordinator, or the worst thing they did was take it all on themselves. In between there are those amazing people who can actually delegate the various and assorted responsibilities successfully, but my day will be tight on time and I don't think our friends will have time to get up there, show me the love, and also do their tasks. Nope, it's all taken care of. The florist, the transportation shuttles, etceterah.
Any new pictures? Not so much, Let's see. I am going for a trial run on my hair and makeup next week, here are some pics of how I would like my hair to look:
We shall see if the actual pictures of me look anything like this next week!
Ok, well I can't think of any other big exciting news right now, except that my favorite baby is coming to see us this weekend, and he is bringing his parents, K &A, we are making them hotdogs and french fries!
Hasta luego
Dr. A
Friday, February 1, 2008
My favorite baby
And one more post: little Pele, my favorite little guy.
He's waving to me! So precocious at only two and a half months.
Thank you Pele. We have to find you a baby suit for the wedding. Or else print up a t-shirt with our pictures on it saying 'hooray for love".
Hasta luego
Dr. A
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