Today, a family friend called me for help because she needed me to drive her from work to the emergency room. We walked in to the waiting room. The waiting room  was clean, quiet and empty. The friend was admitted within four minutes and deposited in a room on the emergency ward. A nurse came right in and really listened to my friend. As a result of listening, the nurse skimped the usual, standard exam and told us that since the doctor would be right in, there was no need for two exams. The tecknition came in and took an x-ray in minutes. Then the doctor came over and did a through job. The doctor was nice and understanding. The doctor called my friend’s personal doctor to confer. My friend’s personal doctor came right to the phone for a consultation, and then cleared his calendar to get her a quick appointment. My friend had a good diagnosis and received the right medicine for the condition. She felt better within minutes and was able to go home as soon as she felt better. The co-pay was $75. Everything in the process was perfect.

I know that the health system in America is ridiculous at times. But, I just wanted to tell this little story to illustrate the good care that some people have under the current system. I think the challenge is to improve the health care system without losing the good parts of the current system.

Friday, June 27, 2008

After six months of trying, Patricia and I  were unable to cure Maggie, our foster dog. I returned her to the Humane Society two days ago. I know that she was incurable and if she lived, she would have to forever have a cone, mittens and a coat to keep her from ripping her skin. She was a beautiful dog, very loyal, very loving and very affectionate. All of us in the family were attached to her.

Last night I had a very special dream. I was walking our small dog "Joe." We were on the sidewalk of a street in a city. On our right was a tall wall. Then we came to a gate.  Joe wanted to go inside, so we entered. All of a sudden everything turned colorful, like in the Wizard of Oz when Dorothy lands in the Emerald City. It was a large enclosed garden, like Grammacy Park in New York. Joe immediately ran away in joy and went from row to row of plants and trees. I called "Joe, come here. Now Joe come on." Then Joe returned with Maggie. She was beautiful. She was not wearing any cone or coat or boots. She was just very happy to run and run. I let them go running together and I started to walk to the only building in the park, a small place where you can sit in the shade with a water drinking fountain for people and dogs.

An attractive women of indeterminate age was about to pass me on the path when Maggie ran up to the lady with a big wag of  the tail. I said, "Is Maggie your dog now?" and she said: "I take care of Maggie." I said: "I cared for her for awhile. Did you get Maggie from the Humane Society?" And she said: "She came from the Humane Society to me. I take care of her now."  I said: "I don' know where I am right now. Is this far away?" She said: "No, we are very close to you and Patricia."

With that I sat down on the bench and the scene drifted away, but as the scene went to gray, I started to sing the old Hank Williams song: "I saw the light, I saw the light,
No more darkness, no more night.
Now I'm so happy, no sorrows in sight,
Praise the Lord, I saw the light."

And I woke up.

---

Subject: RE: question
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 12:57:49 -0500
From: Kathleen.M.Caprisecca@wellsfargo.com
To: dykerarms@hotmail.com

LOL!

isn't it amazing how stupid some of these politicians are? the guy made a name for himself by busting up rings like this and he thinks he's not going to get caught???

---

From: jim kane [mailto:dykerarms@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 9:13 AM
To: Caprisecca, Kathleen M.
Subject: RE: question

Call to switchboard: "I know that Kathy has probably left by now for the big job at X company, but I really need to reach her. May I have her forwarding address?"
 
Lets play Jeopardy:
 
The category is "Politicians."
 
The answer is "GoDaddy."
 
The correct question: What words were picked up by the government listening device in Governor Spitzer's hotel room?

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Subject: RE: question
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 10:59:33 -0500
From: Kathleen.M.Caprisecca@wellsfargo.com
To: dykerarms@hotmail.com

thanks and please remember, I'm asking for a good  reference...no damning with faint praise.

 

yes, it does have a slimy ring to it but hey, if they pay me enough, what do I care! seriously, it did give me pause, but i figure i'll give it a shot and see if anything comes from submitting my resume. who knows, maybe they actually have a lawyer in the office I can bounce things off of.

 

Your third option is the best. LOL!

 

btw - Rich G called me for Randy Reed's email so he's on the case.

---

From: jim kane [mailto:dykerarms@hotmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2008 8:34 AM
To: Caprisecca, Kathleen M.
Subject: RE: question

Please give both numbers if it helps. I will be happy to give a reference.
 
Don't you think that "GoDaddy" is an unfortunate name for a business? I am not sure exactly what is wrong with it but it has a slimy ring.
 
Maybe it would actually be good if someone overheard you turning down some good jobs because you felt such loyalty to your employer. "I don't care how much money you toss at me, etc. etc."
 
 
Here is another good one: In a loud voice say "thanks, that is an attractive offer. By the way, do you require a candidate to pass a drug test?"
 
How about: "thanks, that is a terrific offer. What did you say? Oh, no, besides me there is no one at this place worth employing."

---

From: Kathleen.M.Caprisecca@wellsfargo.com
Subject: question
Date: Wed, 12 Mar 2008 09:48:00 -0500
To: dykerarms@hotmail.com; Robert.Itkin@azbar.org

Good Morning,
I'd like to give your names as references for a job i've applied for with GoDaddy, providing their favorable, of course. Ok to give your cell numbers? I don't know if I'll hear from them, but I'd like to have all my ducks in a row. Apologies for the impersonal communication, but it's very difficult to have a private conversation at my desk and I'd like to keep this quiet.
Thanks!
KC

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It is true that each day can bring us a new and different experience. Like everyone who has a TV, I have watched election nights from home. Sometimes I don't care about the contest, sometimes I do.  In 2000,  I was a McCain supporter. I suffered the heartbreak of defeat in South Carolina. At that time, I could not stand Bush and Rove and the negative advertising that stopped the Straight Talk Express. This year I am behind McCain again and I have been able to witness the anger and frustration of the supporters of the other candidates. Coulter says she will campaign for Clinton; Hannidy says he is leaving the Republican Party; James Dobson says that he will not vote for President. Losing really stinks.

How many times have we witnessed an election in a third world country where the opposition will not accept the result of the election? The opposition then "boycotts" the next election. By boycotting the election, the opposition seeks to de-legitimize the election and the mandate of the winning party. How often have we witnessed this pattern and thought how superior we are here in our country, where we accept election results with a determination to get the other guy next time. Well, it turns out that most of the right wing talkers are just third-world sore losers. They won't "accept" McCain. They say that they put country ahead of politics, but faced with a McCain nomination they fear that they will lose influence in making Republican policy. So they would give us a Democratic administration rather than lose their influence. The right wing talkers have always claimed to put principle above personal interest, but by not accepting the nominee of the party they have in fact  put personal interest above principle.

I had the privilege of joining Senator McCain at the Biltmore last night to celebrate his resounding victories in the Super Tuesday primaries. It has been a thrill to be part of our Presidential election and a special thrill to win eight years after a crushing defeat.  As I walked out of the ballroom and the TV reporters were shutting down, I couldn't help thinking back to 1968 when another Senator won the California primary late in the evening. His supporters probably felt a lot like I did last night only to have their candidate  assassinated by an Arab extremist. Now it is possible that the Arab extremists' worst enemy might move into the White House. I pray to God: "Protect John McCain."

Yesterday, I had the chance to listen to a BBC program on global warming and the changes we will all have to make to our lives in order to be responsible global citizens.The story yesterday illustrates the BBC point of view.

 

The BBC brought us to a "house of the future" built by scientists to show us how to live. An actual family lives in the house. The lady of the house conducted the tour for the audience. First we were told that this is an attractive new home just south of London. Then we went to a kitchen with high teck appliances. The room has two ovens to improve efficiency depending ion the size of the task. There was no description of the size of the appliances, but I still remember stopping at an appliance store on my first trip to London many years ago and seeing the tiny appliances. Next stop was the living room and the host remarked on how it is so comfortable even though the house has no central heating (to save energy.) On a visit to the bathroom, the host explained that rain water is sent to an underground tank in the backyard. The rain water is used to flush. "Yes, the water looks a little strange, but it works just fine although you have to clean the toilets more often." The host then went out with the BBC for the day. She walked to the town center and explained that she belongs to a car club. She just walks up to one of the club cars and drives it away with her clubcard and password. If she needs to go to another city she takes the bus/train and then gets a car from the club. She never owns her own car. "I like this better. I get to drive a new car when I could not afford a new car before." In concluding the report, the reporter told us that we all have our part to do, we need to "recycle more and cycle more."

 

Yesterday's story follows the same European theme, that the people will have to consume less energy for the planet to come back from doom. No more AC, no more heat at home, use less water, reduce car ownership, bicycles in place of autos.

 

I listen to the BBC and I think that the people of Europe are very strange. The BBC/European vision of the future sounds like a visit to my past. In the BBC/Europea vision of the future, people won't travel much because of the carbon impact of cars and planes. Electric trains will be the main transportation vehicle. Few people will own cars, most will walk to the train, to the local shop, civic center and house of worship. I have already lived that life.

 

I lived in a building with 28 apartments, but only about 5 people owned cars. It was not unusual to borrow a car on Saturday to accomplish a chore. We saved energy by walking to the train or bus. We saved more energy by walking to the local stores. People did not take airplane trips. For example, my first airplane trip was when I worked for law firm of Sullivan and Cromwell. We lived an energy efficient life. Two adults and three children in a one bedroom apartment. The kitchen had one light bulb; the bathroom had one light bulb, the bedroom had one light bulb. (But the Living Room had two lamps and a TV set.) There was no air conditioning and very little heat. Our kitchen did not waste energy on things like a coffeemaker, a mixer, a dishwasher or a microwave oven. We did not have the chance to save rainwater like the BBC house of the future, but in every way we met the BBC energy standard. However, when I lived in Brooklyn, I did not know that I was living the life of the future.

 

Of course, I have a different vision of the future. I believe that people will continue to want the freedom to drive. People will continue to want electrical appliances, including refrigeration and air conditioning. In my opinion, the key to the future is energy production, not reduced energy consumption. With nuclear power plants and electric cars, the carbon footprint in America can and will be cut in half. Currently, fossils fuel power plants contribute 40% of the carbon in the USA, and private automobiles contribute about 12%. Therefore, the USA can reduce its carbon footprint by more than one-half without needing any new technology by nuclear power and electric vehicles.

 

Unfortunately, I don't own a worldwide radio network; I only have one blog. But who do you think has a better vision of the future, the BBC/Europe of little old me? As always, your comments are solicited.

 

  

In response to popular demand, I took
The Washington Post quiz on Democratic Candidates. Well, here are my results:
Johnny Edwards 3pts
Obama 11pts
Dodd 12pts
Bill "Pull Out right now" Richardson 14pts
Clinton 27pts.

Today I had the opportunity to take the candidate's quiz on The Washington Post's WEB site. It features 25 questions on political issues together with the answers provided by the Republican candidates. For each question, I was able to rank the question in importance to me from "not important" to "very important." I was able to pick the answer that most matches my view on the 25 issues. The trick is that you don't know the candidate you are picking.

I am now and for eight years I have been a supporter of McCain for President even though I do not agree with him on all of the issues. Leadership and character are the reasons to vote for the Arizona Senator. As we all know, Gov. Huckabee is surging in the Iowa polls and America's Mayor is leading in the national polls. I took the issues test and here are my surprising results:
1. Huckabee 4 pts.
2. McCain and Paul 12 pts each.
3. Thompson 13 pts.
4. Rudy 17 pts.
5. Mitt 23 pts.

Since the candidates positions on most issues are similar, I believe that the language employed by Gov. Romney must be closest to the language I associate with being a Republican President. I remember reading about the result of the first Nixon-Kennedy debate. The people who saw the debate on TV said that Kennedy won, the people who listened on the radio said that Nixon won. Try The Washington Post test yourself and see if you are as surprised by your results as I was by mine.

 

 

 

Recently my employer posted a warning on the company home page. The warning reminded employees that if employees are contacted by a member of the media, they should refer the inquiry to Corporate Communications. This caused me to ask “What is the media?”

 

I checked the dictionary and found that media involves any means of mass communication, not just the reporters for traditional news gathering organizations. For example, if an employee receives a call from Matt Drudge, common sense says that he is a member of the media even though he writes a WEB column. Remember Drudge broke the Lewinsky scandal when he put on his blog the fact that Newsweek magazine had killed the President/page story. After the Drudge report, Newsweek ran the story.

 

So now that I have a blog, am I a member of the media? I guess that if I am a member of the media, then everyone is a potential member of the media. Also, since it appears that I can be an employee and a member of the media at the same time, so when I am at work I better not talk to myself!

So what about all of the old institutional rules that seek to control the flow of information to the traditional media? I wonder if any of these efforts to punish employees for communicating to the media make sense any more.

 

The internet blogs are a worldwide version of the back alley behind the stock exchange. From time to time the runners will step outside for a break and talk to each other about what they have heard is going on. The information discussed is timely, relevant, unreliable, anonymous and sometimes absolutely true.

 

Well, here is my first blog. I hope to add something valuable to the public discussion of the issues of these times by applying the lessons of history to the challenges of today. Don’t expect anything new here but I will share my attempt to improve my mind with you.

Yesterday, as I drove my car I turned on the radio to find the breaking story that the interstate bridge over the Mississippi had collapsed killing or injuring many people. When the commentator explained that this bridge crossed the Mississippi at the campus of the University of Minnesota, I remembered the bridge, and not in a fond way.

About ten years ago, I visited the University of Minnesota for three days of conferences. The campus is on both sides of the river. On the first day I went for a walk that eventually let to a pathway that went along the river and under two bridges. I can remember turning to the left and seeing the two bridges for the first time. The first bridge in view was wonderful. It has multiple steel arches and crosses high over the river from bank to bank carrying a local street. It dates from before the great depression when important civic works like a Mississippi river bridge were expected not just to be strong, but to look strong and it does. Bridging the West of the continent to the East of the continent is important and this old bridge says to all who gaze upon it “I was important to the people who built me.”

Unfortunately, just up river from the old bridge was a modern interstate highway bridge. This “new” bridge was all business. Six lanes crossed the river on a bridge that looked more like an overpass than an important structure. I instantly hated the new bridge. Its casualness was demeaning to the great Mississippi. It was cheap and ugly and unworthy of its neighbor.

Some people believe that the most beautiful man-made objects are those where form and function come together. Think of the Brooklyn Bridge. Well, yesterday form and function once again came together when that ugly man made affront to beauty fulfilled its destiny and made its victims pay the ultimate toll.