DoctorD's Diary

On-Line Bill Pay

I just set up my American Express card to be paid automatically out of my bank account.  Was quite a chore!  Stuff on a web page, then on a phone robot, then a human person, and then back to the web.

I liked it better when we just dealt with human beings.  But I guess those days are rapidly fading.  

I tend to be against change, I think.  Almost all of them.  The good old days were the better old days.  Except with personal computers, of course.

Another funeral

We attended on Saturday the funeral of a friend, a woman that I had worked with during my stint in Corporate America some 25 years ago.  We kept in touch after we each left those jobs, and were able to have lunch every month or two.  I appreciated that:  I was doing too much work at home, all alone, and was glad to have someone to take a mid-day break with.

She died, from what we understand, not so much from a disease but from the side-effects of a medication that was supposed to improve her condition, a relatively newly-released drug.  It didn't.

My friend was my age, 69.  As my own age goes up, that is starting to sound unfairly young to me.  But my own wife died at age 60.  That, of course, seems worse.

The total cost of her treatment in the hospital ICU was over a million dollars.  Exactly who is going to pay this, how much of that cost will fall on her husband, has not yet been determined.  Judging from my own experiences, it may not be for quite a while.

Another lost hero

I did not know before today that Henry Ford had contributed significant financial support to Adolph Hitler.  That is very sad.  I would like our genius inventors to be good in other ways, too.

A bit of snow

We had a dusting of snow overnight.  The second slight snowfall we have had.

I'm expecting a lot more.  Last year, Lake Shore Drive was shut down in a severe blizzard.  We were trapped in our house for a couple days.  

It seems to me that the weather is much more severe than in the past.  I am, for sure, a believer in climate change or global warming.  Can't understand why some people aren't.

Is anybody out there anymore?

I know I say I am going to try to reignite this blog, but I never actually do so.  I don't stick with it.

I've tried using Facebook for a variety of things, including political discussions, but have not been happy with the results.  Too much ideological contention!

If you read this, I would be glad to have a comment.  I am trying to get back in the mood!

Robert Reich (The Most Important Economic Speech of His Presidency)

The President’s speech today in Osawatomie, Kansas — where Teddy Roosevelt gave his “New Nationalism” speech in 1910 — is the most important economic speech of his presidency in terms of connecting the dots, laying out the reasons behind our economic and political crises, and asserting a willingness to take on the powerful and the privileged that have gamed the system to their advantage.

via robertreich.org

Robert Reich's commentary on the President's speech in Kansas.

Finally, the Obama We Elected - Last night's speech was incredibly important, Robert Reich writes

(Newser) – The speech President Obama gave last night in Osawatomie, Kansas, was the "most important economic speech of his presidency," writes former labor secretary Robert Reich. "Here, finally, is the Barack Obama many of us thought we had elected in 2008," one who actually fights Big Money the way Teddy and Franklin Roosevelt did. Obama at last took a stab at "connecting the dots, laying out the reasons behind our economic and political crisis."

via www.newser.com

I think Obama's speech in Kansas was very impressive and very important--and not particularly partisan. It was educational, and excellent.

Barack Obama Addresses Payroll Tax Cuts, Economy In Kansas Speech

OSAWATOMIE, Kan. — President Barack Obama delivered a sweeping indictment of economic inequality in the U.S. on Tuesday as he summoned the memory of President Theodore Roosevelt and pledged to fight for fairness at a "make or break moment for the middle class."

via www.huffingtonpost.com

What a wonderful speech! A history lesson, a lesson in civic duty, and a call to recreate an opportunity society for all, with a special emphasis on the middle class.

Al Gore: What Do the Debt Ceiling and Climate Crisis Have in Common?

John Boehner, Harry Reid Debt Ceiling Plans Create Stalemate In Congress WASHINGTON -- Rival Democratic and Republican plans to raise the government's borrowing ability have thrust Congress into a standoff just one week away from a...

via www.huffingtonpost.com

It is indeed remarkable that the people who don't believe that not adjusting the debt limit and not doing anything about climate change and that raising taxes doesn't result in additional revenue and, very possibly, that man did not really land on the moon are the same people! And that the President was born in Kenya. These "beliefs" have little in common, yet somehow they "correlate" with each other.

Grandson and me

We are back from Detroit

I have seen my grandson. Wonderful!!

New baby!

I will be able to see the new baby in our family, Connor, over the weekend.  So far I have only seen photos and heard reports.  Can't wait!  Am excited, in a grandfatherly sort of way.

Harry Reid: GOP's Weekend Off May Cause Catastrophic Default

WASHINGTON -- House Republicans are setting up a catastrophic U.S. default by deciding to take a weekend off while time to resolve deadlocked negotiations ticks down to a close, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday.

via www.huffingtonpost.com

As of now, any kind of agreement still seems far away. Many Republicans say that they don't want to raise the debt limit under ANY conditions, no matter what concessions are made to the hard right. They are hoping, it seems, for a default--which they claim would not be a significant problem.

Who Me, Writer?

I have never thought of myself as a "Writer."  And I don't worry much about finding inspiration, a good place in which to do some writing, worrying over whether or not something might be publishable.

Even less so, a poet.

But I have written a lot.  Articles, chapters, volumes.  They have been published, almost all of them.

I keep thinking of this analogy: Paul Bunyon.  If you asked what he "is," he would say that he is a "logger."  That's the relevant noun.  If you asked what he does, he would say that he "chops down trees."  But the chopping really is a means to an end--creating logs (which then can be turned into boards or furniture or paper). 

Writing, for me, has always be like that, like chopping down trees.  It has never been an art or a practive, in and of itself.

Now, though, being retired, perhaps that is changing.  Maybe I am becoming a "Writer?"  I will try that on for a while, and see how it fits.

Maybe I'll ask Babe the Blue Ox.