E PLURIBUS.....PLURIBUS

While all 50 United States follow, like lemmings, as the same bureaucrats who created the current financial crisis pretend to correct it, in the European Union it’s not so easy.
Over the weekend, Europe’s leaders met and pledged to implement steps to allow EU member countries to recover from their own fiscal woes. But while individual countries vowed to help their own floundering banks, the group stopped short of any “joint effort” to pool aid for any European bank that needed help. Spain, Germany, and Estonia could not, in the end, act as financial equals.

Beyond the obvious economic differences between Malta and Berlin, for example, the EU lacks homogeneity among its members. While Americans claim regional differences—New Englanders vs. Southerners or Midwesterners vs. anybody else, for example—when push comes to shove we put our hands over our hearts and sing the Star Spangled Banner as if we mean it (assuming we can remember the words and carry the obtuse tune, that is.)

Overseas, the Italians have little in common with the Danes, and Athens has a worldview very different from Warsaw, while the French disagree with almost everyone. The EU may be a “union” in theory—Teutonic, Nordic, Baltic and Greco-Roman offshoots joined by a common currency—but it is a mistake to think of the EU as a “United States of Europe.”


Varied as the root backgrounds of Americans may be, and deep as the classic distrust even fourth generation U.S. WASPS and ethnics still have for each other, we coexist as “one people.” We may think of ourselves as “Irish Americans,” “African-Americans,” or “Jewish Americans,” at times, but when terrorists take down two towers in New York City or the stock market crashes on Wall Street, we understand how connected we are and how common our pain really is.

Americans tend to forget their individual differences in times of crisis, becoming more “American” as times get tougher. Europeans, instead, retreat into their distinct cultural caves when life throws them a curve.

Though historically Washington is the cultural “new kid on the block” (compared to, say, Rome or Paris) Americans have been sharing a uniform currency, singular allegiance, common language and free travel between all the states of our union for more than 200 years. In Europe all of these are recent (1992) ideas, which, in some places, haven’t caught on yet.
Since we’ve been “one people” longer than they have been trying to become such a thing our job is more difficult now. Iowa and Maine, Georgia and Nevada may all want Europe’s leaders to stabilize the European markets so Wall Street can benefit, but London, Amsterdam, and Budapest may not be in harmony about how to do it jointly.

The almighty dollar may be less mighty these days, but the world still recognizes it on a price tag. Euro prices, conversely, are still translated into lire, francs or marks—whatever currency locals think of as “real money.”

So as long as our friends overseas count their money differently within their individual borders, they will find it harder to come together to embrace a European economic solution. Until then, their global neighbors can only wait, and pray.
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NOT IN YOUR WILDEST, RUSH LIMBAUGH!

If there were an award for the most asinine remarks about l'Affair Edwards, it would have to go to radio blowhard Rush Limbaugh who blamed Elizabeth Edwards for her husband’s sexcapades commenting, on air:
"...if Elizabeth Edwards is smarter than John Edwards, is it likely that she thinks she knows better than he does what his speeches ought to contain and what kind of things he ought to be doing strategy-wise in the campaign? If she is smarter than he is, could it have been her decision to keep going with the campaign? In other words, could it be that she doesn't shut up? Now, that's as far as I'm going to go...It just seems to me that Edwards might be attracted to a woman whose mouth did something other than talk...my theory that I just explained to you about why — you know, what could have John Edwards’ motivations been to have the affair with Reille Hunter, given his wife is smarter than he is and probably nagging him a lot about doing this, and he found somebody that did something with her mouth other than talk…"

I know a little about talk radio. For 13 years, I had one of the top-rated radio talk shows on Southern New England’s flagship talk station. Rush was also syndicated on that station. I met him, and he was already a jackass then.


Rush enjoys taking potshots at people from the safety of his bunker in Florida. He never engages in debate—even with his callers. Anyone who dares to challenge one of his statements disappears quickly into the silence created by turning off the caller’s sound.


Limbaugh has three failed marriages under his belt. As TV commentator Keith Olbermann pointed out recently, Rush earns a reported $30 million but can’t find a woman to put up with him at any price.


Now, in a monologue more shallow and stupid than his usual lack-of-depth ravings, Limbaugh blames Elizabeth Edwards for he husband’s “straying” because, in the Rush World, intelligent, capable women apparently can’t also have sex appeal.


Such a distorted view may spring from the probability that no intelligent, capable woman would want to have sex with Limbaugh (especially without benefit of all those pain-killing drugs he’s so fond of.)


Rush Limbaugh isn’t a conservative, he’s a failed sportscaster who found a niche in talk radio and he’s milking it for everything he can. He spends most of his time, alone now, in a mansion in Florida, from whence he broadcasts his daily tirades.
For a few hours a day, Rush can beat up on the poor, the halt, the liberal, and even cancer-stricken women like Elizabeth Edwards from the solitude of his studio. Then, the red “On Air” lights go off, he gets into a limousine, and goes home again-- still alone.

No throngs of women scream at curbside or tear at his clothes as they might were he a sex object.

So if Rush, and men like him, want a woman to use her mouth for “something other than talk,” they will simply have to pay for it.
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FATHERS KILLING DAUGHTERS -- FOR "HONOR"

New Year’s Day 2008, in Lewisville Texas, teenage sisters Sarah and Amina Said were shot to death in a taxi—allegedly by their Egyptian Muslim father, a taxi driver charged with the murders but still at large.

His motive? They had dated non-Muslim boys.

A month earlier, across the border in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, 16-year-old Aqsa Parvez was strangled to death by her Pakistani father for refusing to wear the hijab or head scarf. She was also “guilty” of changing into Western clothes once she got to school.

On July 6, 2008 twenty-five year old Sandeela Kanwal was strangled to death, allegedly by her father, Chaudhry Rashid, 54 in Atlanta, GA. Two months ago Kamwal had fled her groom in an unhappy arranged marriage and wanted to divorce. Father and daughter had not spoken since.

These four women were victims of so-called “Honor Killings,” not sanctioned by Islam’s holy book, the Koran, but tolerated and criminally overlooked in many Muslim countries. The United Nations Populations Fund estimates 5000 such killings occur annually worldwide, though they are vastly underreported.

The horrific statement such crimes make about women as disposables in extremist Islam exposes a frightening and repulsive subtext of Americans apparently unwilling or unable to leave barbaric practices in the “old country.” While many American Muslims are working to build bridges with non-Muslim neighbors, “honor killings” feed a national distrust of Islam, still raging since 9/11.

Though Islamic religious law does not sanction the killing of women in cases such as these, it does breed a misogyny too extreme to respect logic, reason and compassion. Women cannot drive cars or speak to a male stranger without severe punishment. When such primitive patriarchal dominance subjects intelligent, educated and reasonable women to the whims of sometimes uneducated, unreasonable and fanatical males, the consequences will eventually reach criminal stages.

The women will rebel, at their peril, and the men will react in the extreme. Ironically, in fanatic Islamic circles, the murdered victim is disgraced as the one who brought shame to the family while the male murderer is defended as the injured party.

In all of the above cases, the fathers are said to have had a history of physically and/or sexually abusing the young women before murdering them. And though Mrs. Said did flee to another state with her daughters, her husband’s fixation that “Western culture was corrupting the chastity of his daughters, “ as the Dallas Morning News describes it, gave murder better odds than attempted escape. Generally mothers and siblings do not go to authorities, or file charges at any point.

American justice cannot tolerate misogynistic violence and death in the name of “honor” any more than it can allow parents to leave unwanted female children on a hillside to die, as the ancients did.

The embrace of “hungry masses yearning to breathe free…” is the promise of one famous Lady to all comers—male and female. Those who cannot accept equality under the law here must be prosecuted to the fullest extent.

MY DOG WHO SPOKE TO MY SOUL

Last week I had a total meltdown, in my car, in the garage, sobbing uncontrollably. I had just returned from doing a few errands when I realized—again—that my faithful companion of the last 16 years was forever gone from the back seat.

Joachim—or more officially, “Joachim the Good Dog” as we liked to clarify—was no ordinary beagle: he was, simply, a very special dog. Sweet and serene, he never growled, bit, or threatened. He loved people of all ages, other dogs, and even cats.

And he also loved me: his adoptive “mother” of the past decade and a half.

That I adored him goes without saying. I rescued him from the SPCA and he became my pet. I took him everywhere with me, nursed him when he was ill, fed him scraps from my dinner, walked him in rain, sleet and snow-- at all hours-- and tried to attend to his every need.

In exchange, he gave me unquestioned devotion and a quiet and comforting companionship too precious to lose.

Now it is lost.

Books are written about dogs and dog-lovers: Hollywood makes movies about dogs, their owners and the special bonds between them. Poems and essays also abound about the loss of faithful pets and the humans left behind to mourn them.

There was a time when I might have pooh-poohed the sadness people described upon the death of their dogs. Sure, I would have thought, they’re sad, but they’ll get over it. After all, in the end, it’s a dog.

I had no idea, before Joachim.

When my rational side kicks in, I focus on the “important things” and on my many “blessings.” I am grateful for my good health, and for my loving family. I live a decent life and have much to be thankful for, in fact.

But I miss my friend.

I miss the sound of his steady breathing as he slept next to my bed, his wagging tail whenever he saw me, and the warmth of his body at my feet as we watched TV or read together in the evening.

I miss his bark from the back seat, signaling me to open his window so he could drive with the breezes blowing back his velvet ears.

I miss his constancy and, yes, the unquestioning love people talk about when they talk about great dogs.

Our vet suggests another dog to fill the void. Despite his good intentions, the suggestion seems a bit like telling a parent who loses a child that, “It’s a good thing you have other children.” No living being can replace another that was loved and lost.

For the moment, the idea feels like investing again in certain heartache.
I don’t want. “another dog:” I want my Joachim back.

And that can never be.
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PRIDE OVERTAKEN BY NEED TO SURVIVE

Michelle Obama raised eyebrows when she said, “For the first time in my adult life, I am proud of my country,” because, “hope is making a comeback” and the country is “hungry for change.”

Unlike her, I feel disappointed in my country-- more specifically, in its federal and state leaders—and not for the first time.
I am not unpatriotic. I appreciate the liberty the United States promises and the great American (immigrant) spirit that made it a superpower. I cry at the Star Spangled Banner and at Fourth of July parades. I am grateful for the quality of my life here

But I do not agree that the USA is the only place on earth where one can enjoy such life quality. Today, many countries offer the same (or higher) levels of personal freedom, economic advantages, high living standards, affordable (even free) quality health care, free education and exciting employment opportunities.

America has hit a new low in global perception of its once unchallenged “greatness.” Not since Vietnam have we been weighed down by such misguided militaristic blockheadedness. Our leaders seem determined to again airlift the last remaining US diplomat from the roof of a stormed embassy before we have the good sense to come home and bind our domestic wounds.

But the war is not the only reason to be ashamed of what we have become.
We have triggered a global food crisis that threatens the lives of people far outside U.S. borders. We were warned this could happen: even Fidel Castro predicted the famine-for-fuel folly we have created.

Meanwhile, America’s richest 2% enjoys tax relief while working class majorities lose their jobs, homes and aid in record numbers. It will be decades before the internal economic damage of this millennium can be repaired.

China and India—once considered far beneath the USA technologically and economically—are now countries on which we depend. Indeed we are in their debt to the tune of trillions of dollars.

The Executive and Legislative branches, meanwhile, are so politically compromised they do nothing. Laws controlling immigration, regulating monopolies, protecting the environment, and upholding human rights go unenforced. Washington sits idly by while pharmaceutical firms, the ghost of organized labor and other campaign-supporting lobbies hold America hostage.

American children are undereducated: our elders uncared for. Nuclear families have disintegrated and our society cannot fill the void. Our greatest institutions—religion, government, and academia—have served up an endless and spirit-breaking series of scandals, crimes, and hopeless disappointments. Americans have been lied to, taken advantage of, and used by the very people and entities they most need to trust to survive.

If Barack Obama—or anyone running for president this year—really had a cure for all this, it wouldn’t matter. A corrupt and prostituted Congress insures that no remedies that might disrupt the political power and personal fortunes of a few will be enacted.

Obama, Clinton and McCain are part of the problem. You simply cannot get into the US Senate or any high level of federal or state office in America unless you turn a blind eye to corruption, power, and political gain.

McCain can’t tell the Sunnis from the Shiites, and admits economics is not his strong suit. He’s called a war hero, not because he rescued a village or several military colleagues while sustaining injuries, but because he got caught by the enemy who put him in a prison camp.

Barack Obama came out of nowhere—or rather out of the belly of Chicago’s Democratic party-- arguably one of the most corrupt political machines in the nation going back to Mayor Daley the Elder. No one knows who Obama really is, and no one wants to ask because his half-blackness has become his invisible protective shield. Can anyone question his white half without being “racist?”

Hillary Clinton, meanwhile, tells us repeatedly she “has baggage” and everyone’s been through it anyway so this makes her the candidate of choice. Not the most uplifting rationale.

Unemployment is moving toward 6%, 4000 military are dead in Iraq and we are almost out of available soldiers to send anywhere. Bank foreclosures are at a historic high, consumer confidence hasn’t been lower in 26 years, and even Republicans gag at the mention of W.

Our global neighbors either hate, distrust, or deride us. The dollar is worth half a British Pound and only two-thirds of a Euro. We depend on Canadian pharmacies for our medicines and anonymous voices from Mumbai and Manila for our “technical support.”

Michelle Obama, professional six-figure administrator and former aide to Chicago’s Mayor Daley, may be “proud.” We’d be “proud” too if millions of people were paving our way to the biggest political payoff in the country (if not the world.)

The rest of us have to focus on “survival,” which may not allow for much “pride.”
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WOMEN ARE BETTER SHOPPERS: EVEN FOR SEX!

Now that former New York governor has resigned amid revelations he was a client of an elite prostitution ring, several lingering questions remain.

Were the thousands of dollars Spitzer paid hookers from taxpayers’ money? Will he be charged for transporting a woman across state lines for sexual purposes? Will his wife leave him?

Then there is the bigger question haunting many women (and a few men, I would guess) since the $2000-$5000 rates per hour of horizontal refreshment first hit the headlines: What exactly DO these women do for that kind of money? (More to the point, what do these hookers do that isn’t being done, can’t be done, hasn’t been tried at home for the bubble?)


There used to be a myth that young men dated “nice” girls but married “good” girls. This not only separated the men from the boys, but it also separated the sexually active from the virginal where girls were concerned.


Then after Woodstock, drugs and free love, the sexual revolution gained momentum, peaked, and finally seemed to stabilize with generally accepted pre-marital sex and a higher tolerance for what used to be called “sexual gymnastics.” By the time the Lewinsky story unfolded with no less than the president of the United States making a distinction between oral sex and “sexual relations with that woman,” the nation shook its head in disapproval, but it did not swoon in puritanical shock.


Now wives and significant others meet in small groups for the 21st century version of the old Tupperware party. Instead of salad spinners, however, they buy the latest in sex toys for their own bedrooms (or motel rooms.) So today’s average sexually active couple seems to have the same motivation, equipment and capability as Client #9. Her post-partum stretch marks and his emerging beer gut are compensated for by an assumed bond of affection we call a “relationship.”


Perhaps that is the problem for men like Mr. Spitzer (and now, we find, for his gubernatorial successor and the new first lady of New York as well.) Maybe it’s about the boredom of the same-old-same-old that makes a $5000 an hour hooker so desirable.


There was a time when wives who recognized the male need for diversity tried to “become” other partners. Out of this French maid and cheerleader costume fantasies were born.


So while the male quest for diverse sexual experiences has been recognized, little has been said about the female partner’s equal frustration and boredom after years of the same partner with the same moves and too often the same unfulfilling result. So women too have gone on to seek sexual highs elsewhere and now almost match male levels in experience, diversity and unfaithfulness.

My guess is, however, that women have not been willing to buy sex at the $5000 an hour level, and with good reason: they know that the generic brand is usually just as good as the high-priced item. So if women decide to get a little something on the side, for a change of pace or to see how the other half lives, they are usually looking for free samples. And they usually find them!
They’re just better comparison shoppers than men are.
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THE (37th) BEST HEALTH CARE IN THE WORLD

John McCain should stop flashing a spotlight on what he doesn’t know. He’s already pleaded ignorance about the economy, which, in the current recession, is a big problem. More recently he is fond of noting, incorrectly, that we have “the best health care in the world.”

In a globally televised March 4th speech almost as exciting as a Cialis commercial McCain said this again. In a flat, barely audible voice, he read haltingly from a teleprompter high above his head, forcing him to look heavenward as if seeking divine aid. Periodically, McCain winced inexplicably as if speaking were painful for him. His concluding remarks were drowned out by a torrent of falling confetti and balloons. (The words, “ John McCain is too old and feeble for this.” did not flash across the screen, but they might as well have.) Still, his facts are wrong.

The presidential hopeful ought to read the World Health Organization’s rankings of global health systems, which places the U.S. at 37th. France and Italy top that list, and most of Europe, Costa Rica and even Colombia are ranked higher than the U.S.

Cuba, the government American politicians love to hate, is just below the U.S. on the WHO list.

Though Americans have been brainwashed into thinking they have “the best” health care, those who venture abroad and end up in foreign health facilities are often pleasantly surprised at the courtesy, skill and efficiency of the hospital systems. They are especially impressed that it’s all free.

More stunning, countries with government-regulated health care provide decent services for anyone who needs them—even doubting and degrading Americans of the “Show ‘em a buck and they speak English.” variety. Young, old, rich or poor, native, naturalized or visiting, no one is turned away. It’s not perfect, but it is no less perfect than the U.S. system, plus it’s free.

Those who wish to may pay for additional top professionals from their own country or elsewhere, but even wealth does not preclude eligibility for free government health care.

The web site http://www.photius.com/rankings/healthranks.html raises amazing questions.

How do they do it? (By avoiding massive defense spending, for one thing.)

Why do they do it? (Because in at least 36 civilized countries in the world, the public health and welfare is more of a priority than it is in the U.S.)

Why can’t the U.S. match the health delivery records of countries like Andorra, Chile and Costa Rica, all ranked above it? (Because the medical and pharmaceutical lobbies that own America’s politicians are more powerful than the voters who allegedly elect lawmakers.)

With Medicaid and Medicare headed for bankruptcy, prescription drugs grossly unaffordable and health insurance widely unavailable for too many Americans, McCain’s military blindness to national faults may be one of the most dangerous-- and least obvious-- flaws in his candidacy.

While the Clinton and Obama national health insurance proposals aren’t perfect, McCain’s “even greater privatization” plan ignores the embarrassing reality that the richest and most-powerful superpower, enslaved by private health insurers, would rather leave citizens ailing, wounded and unattended than care for them.

National security smokescreens only mask America’s growing public health crisis. Better for John McCain to wake up, answer the “red phone” and hear the national cry for real economic and health care solutions, now!

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