Neverending Stories

There are some tales that come back again and again, or that come and just won't go away ...

Limited Engagement - We're BAA-ACK!  In Iraq, that is.  It seems like only yesterday we left thinking the Iraqi Army was in good shape to control their own destiny.  How silly of us to be so hopeful.  Now we are involved in 'limited' air attacks on fighters and weapons of the Islamic State (IS).  I don't know about the rest of you, but I wish they'd change that acronym back to ISIS or something, since 'IS' brings to my mind images of the bored voices at the end of a tech support call.   The Prez tells us there will be no resumption of US forces on the ground in Iraq, but, well ..., if we really want Iraq to NOT be a medieval theocratic rogue state and/or carved into three pieces that's exactly what we might have to do.

You First ... No, You First - As it ever was, the Muddle East continues to prove the toughest worldwide political nut to crack, most likely because there is so much at stake for the participants.  After a 3-day cease fire in which both sides licked their wounds, buried their dead, and sorted through the rubble of their neighborhoods - all much worse for the Gazans but a toll for the Israelis too, the violence resumed.  Israel says Hamas (Leaders of Gaza and a certified Terrorist group, according to Israel and the US) fired rockets even before the cease fire officially ended.  Hamas denied this but followed on with dozens of rockets, I guess to make a point or because they buy them in batches and  need to use up the remnants.  With that Israel walked out of the Egyptian-brokered peace talks, stating they would not return until Hamas 'cut it out with those rockets already, enough is enough!'  Immediately Hamas said it would not cut it out with those rockets unless Israel came back to the table with concessions Hamas wants, like the ability to cross into Egypt and into Israel freely.  That last bit is not going to seem like a smart idea to the Israelis who've just finished destroying tunnels Hamas fighters used to sneak into Israel.  On the other hand, Hamas doesn't have much reason to negotiate if Israel doesn't give them something they can show their people was worth all the bloodshed to get.  Not good positions from which to start peace talks.  Just like always, it seems.

Run, Hilary, Run - There's something about people in general that makes us wish to form dynasties.  I guess when we get something that seems good, we want to perpetuate it, even if that something is Bill Clinton and the 'good' looks better in hindsight than it did at the time, and even if perpetuating it means electing the former first lady, Senator, and Secretary of State, Hilary. She's only run for President once before, so the part of this story that is neverending is probably Bill Clinton.  OK, he was a democratic President and he helped swing the needle back from its conservative setting under Reagan, but not as far as it should have, and besides he had the self-control of a barnyard rooster.  Hilary would seem fresher without him and those of us with long memories wouldn't have to suffer the PTSD caused by that whole saga of the intern and the cigar. So, Run, Hilary, Run, but leave Bill in the barnyard and maybe the Clinton story will be neverending (in a good way).

Contagion 2014

I believe it's time to conclude that technological ability has finally and completely outstripped logic and common sense.  Exactly when clinical calm is needed, we go a little crazy in an overly-confident-in-our-own-abilities sort of way. 

I mean, we've recently proven we can't even keep track of deadly smallpox samples from the 70's, vials of which turned up in some sort of forgotten government lab storage room within spitting distance of Congress.  So what makes us think we are capable of safely transporting Ebola-infected patients from Central Africa all the way to Atlanta? Think of all the things that could go wrong.  Look at the people falling ill with the disease in Nigeria, spread from an infected patient who had been (supposedly) isolated.  Are we so blind to think we are infallible (queue the tape on those smallpox vials)?

It's hard to imagine it being better to bring these patients all the way to the US rather than transporting a medical team and appropriate equipment to Africa.  Or do we have tools we can't or don't want to share?  There have been reports of an experimental medicine being given to the two patients in Atlanta - a medicine which has not yet been approved and is in vanishingly short supply (or so we are told).  I guess we don't want the thousands at risk in Africa to get the idea we can save them.

One of the core principles of epidemiology formulated since the late 1800s tells us that at a minimum you absolutely do not move sick people to unaffected population areas.  It is ethically unforgivable to expose unsuspecting people and risk a widening of the outbreak.

But then again this is 2014, and US Scientists have been working on Ebola since the late 80s.  In the mid-1990s they discovered the lethal factor in Ebola, and this new miracle medicine was devised by generating antibodies to cloned components of the virus.  Its clear somebody's been driving research into a very rare, geographically isolated (well, it was) virus with some clear purpose in mind; and that purpose was not making money in the clinic (with so few outbreaks normally you'd never sell enough).

Maybe in that light this is a golden opportunity for all those people who've worked all these years to show what they can do.  Epidemiology (and logic) be damned!

Dropping Ballast

You may have read in the news last week that a prominent West Coast Biotech has decided to close two of its locations in the US and cut 15% of its workforce, mostly affecting US staff.  And it announced this move in the same press conference in which it reported excellent earnings.

You may also have noticed that stock market analysts cheered the announcement and investors responded to move the company's shares to an all-time high, if only for a brief while.

That response may be because it is Business 101 to manage profit in a more tightly competitive market where sales may increase more slowly than before by cutting the bottom line, meaning staff and infrastructure.  But when that bottom line move guts communities and leaves skilled workers on the sidewalk it's a painfully sad event (even if the push out the door is done with velvet gloves, it's still a push).

It's even sadder when the hammer falls harder on US workers than the company's foreign workforce, especially considering the US is still that company's number 1 market, and likely to be so for some time to come.

Even so, this company is just doing what is considered the best way for a business to operate today; nothing unusual at all.  But that is precisely why this move bothers me so much - that businesses consider this standard procedure.

Consider there are two ways to manage the situation this West Coast Bio faced: What they did - cut costs ahead of need; or, use their excellent earnings to buy some time to figure out how to better utilize those US locations and staff to make the company even stronger and more competitive.

To take the second path involves some complex thinking and planning, and then execution.  Taking the first path is easy, and I guess that at least partly explains the decision. But there's more to it I think.  There's the impression that this company - like many modern corporations, considers only the Board of Directors and Executive Management to be 'the company', with employees just resources to add or drop like ballast.

Peril in the Air

The passengers were by this time well settled-in to the rhythm of the flight:  most were watching movies or playing games on the inflight entertainment screens; some were probably trying to sleep or if that failed get some work done or catch up on a book.  Children - getting perhaps a little bored and restless, were needing the attention of Moms and Dads.  The crew went about their jobs as competently and politely as they could. They'd done this a thousand time before. Routine.

If you were in business or first, you might be up stretching your legs and enjoying a drink in the lounge.  But, whether enjoying the luxury available beyond economy class, or weathering the practicalities of the cheaper seats, you were inextricably linked to your fellow travelers.  Linked in your dependence on machinery continuing to defy gravity and basic nature; linked in your frail mortality; and linked in common fate marked by the trail of a rocket as it rose, unheeded, to meet you.

The rocket came without sound; without warning of any kind.  One moment everything was as normal and mundane as any flight could be; the next, a sudden concussion, chaotic ripping wind, and blackness.  If you managed to remain conscious it would have been for moments only, as after the heat swiftly would have come breathlessness and killing cold.

The passengers who shared a common fate over Ukraine never knew who killed them, or why.  The distinction of whether the pro-Russian separatists or even Russians themselves did the deed has no power to undo it. The victim's cares have moved on, leaving their families and friends to grieve, and politicians to threaten each other and send blame flying everywhere but where it truly belongs.

There is nothing any of the living can do for those who died on that Malaysian Airlines flight, except to put an end to the fighting that put an end to them.

And, when you are taking your next flight and have settled in with a book, or a movie, or are about to drift off to sleep, stop for a quiet moment and think what it might be like if your plane was suddenly torn apart by violent men with hate and a rocket.  When you do, you'll be in momentary solidarity with those who fell over Ukraine.

Remember

Independence 2014

In a matter of hours we'll be celebrating our Day of Independence here in the USA.  We celebrate with our families and friends, over food and drink; watching fireworks in the evening after a day spotting warplanes as they fly-by.

Its an old tradition, and - as happens with Christmas, we tend to focus on the fun and forget some of the meaning.

But we shouldn't let this happen to arguably the most important US National Holiday of them all.  We need to remember exactly what Independence means and why we must keep it.

So, when dawn rises on July 4, 2014,  I will spend some time reflecting on the bravery of the founders of this Republic, and the close calls that could have ended the experiment before it began, because it was a close thing, folks.

I will also reflect on the dangers now threatening our Independence, and none of them involve being taken over by another country, or people, or culture.  Our dangers come entirely from within, forced upon ourselves by domestic spying, irreparably divisive politics, and moral disconnects like gun-fans who equate Independence with the ability to stand their ground, no matter what.  Dangers come from crazy rulings that corporations are people and can have religious beliefs and spend unlimited money in elections.  And from government vendettas against investigative journalism - Egypt may imprison news crews but so do we.

We've had times of danger to our independence before, and we've always survived them.  The time since September 2001 has been particularly bad, though, and the threats have been unrelenting to the point that survival of our Independence is in doubt.

The Patriot Act - so named to make anyone considering voting against its intrusive provisions appear treasonous, started us off under a wall of fear.  And it has only gotten worse.  Even our progressive President and his Democratic Party have drunk the  koolaid and invaded our privacy. Put people on watch-lists and no-fly lists on meager evidence with no viable means of redress.  Even killed American citizens overseas without due process.

Its not looking good, folks.  Independence in American is down on one knee and is having trouble rising back up. And now that good knee is looking a little shaky too.

So on July 4, 2014, remember that our founders rebelled against Britain not because they particularly wanted America to be a separate county, but because the British government - their own government - had taken away a measure of their Independence, and they wanted it back.

Spend some time thinking about that and the state of our Independence today; where its headed, and what that may mean for you and your family.  Practice your right to Independent ideas and reflect.  It may be an increasingly rare opportunity.

Mistakes of Logic

The clear window of sound logical reasoning is perhaps the greatest tool available to the human mind.  It helps us decipher truth from supposition, and helps us predict the consequences of actions.

Sadly, logical reasoning - often called 'thinking critically', is a seldom and poorly-applied instrument in the realms of government and law, where you'd think they should be most abundantly and expertly employed.

Hobbling Logic at Hobby Lobby

Take for instance, the Hobby Lobby Supreme Court decision just announced.  In a 5-4 decree, the court agreed that a private, for-profit company could be excluded based on religious belief from the requirement to pay for emergency birth control as a feature of its government-mandated health insurance.  The majority of the Justices appear to feel that this is justified since birth control is controversial and opposition to it could be a strongly held religious belief.  They said that this decision would not impact other provisions of the health insurance law that mandate other controversial services, but let's examine that logically:

What difference would there be?  That opposition to birth control is a more strongly-held religious belief than other concerning provisions? 

I would be willing to bet you can find people who are as upset about other clauses in the healthcare laws. 

And what about belief systems that say the only healing you should receive comes from God and not from medicine?  Or that only alternative medications and therapies based on strong religious and cultural beliefs are correct and not western medicine?  

Logically, the arguments are the same, and if the right to allow an exclusion based on religion is right in one case, it's logically right in every case.  

Logic is destroyed by biased interpretation - if your personal concern is a dislike of birth control, that's what you seek to exempt on religious grounds. And you make up illogical reasons why the same exclusion does not apply to other mandated procedures and services. But logically, if any one provision can be excluded based on religion, then any of them can. 

Certainly the precedent will be now be set for court cases testing each and every one of the provisions.

Also missing from the Court's decision was any logical consideration of the rights of the employees.  Those working for Hobby Lobby will not have access to the same coverage as those working for other companies.  As the arguers for the Hobby Lobby decision claimed, the company's workers might be able to get birth control from some other path, but that doesn't change the fact that their beliefs are not being considered while the beliefs of the company's owner hold sway.  This makes no logical sense considering the health services are for the individual worker's benefit, not the company's.  A company does not and can not receive birth control; that service applies only to its individual workers.

The Sterling Conundrum

The LA Clippers ownership debacle is another example, with less impact on society but no less illogical.  

You may recall that owner Donald Sterling was purged from participating in the National Basketball Association based on the leak to the press of racist comments he made in private conversations.  Part of that purge included pressure on him to sell the Clippers to another party, but this was something he didn't want to do and vowed to fight the move.

Enter the plan for his ex-wife and co-owner to have him declared unfit based on diminished capacity and forge a deal without his permission.

So, where's the logical mistake here?  Well, simply this:  if Donald Sterling is suffering from diminished mental capacity, then couldn't his racist remarks be the result of that mental deterioration? If so, then he is suffering an illness and should not have been excluded from the League and forced to sell.  On the other hand, if he is not mentally deficient, then he can't be excluded from decisions on the sale of the team.  

It's either one or the other, logically speaking, but our disgust at his rants have biased us against him, and make us willing to listen to specious and illogical arguments being used to disenfranchise him.  We don't like him so we suspend logic, but that isn't the way decisions should be made.  Of course, that's the way decisions are made all the time. 

It's human nature to look for loopholes in logic to suit our biases, but - logically, there are no such things ...

 

Waiting To Go

The hours before a momentous departure lead to introspection.  As I type this the anti-malarials I started a few hours ago are slowly saturating my blood and turning me inhospitable to Plasmodium (it is hoped).  This drug combo also lightens the head and could be fuzzing my thoughts, but I must 'speak' anyway.

You see, my Uncle passed away last week, after a run of 92 years.  We all thought he'd glide through 100 still motoring around his beloved Island, but life ran out and the ticket's been punched for his last great voyage. Near the end, he was more than ready to go, I'm told.  Tired and not interested in fighting for another day.  He'd been through a tough surgery with complications that ensured he'd never go home again.  Instead, he went to rehab and then hospice, and then ... just gone.

The last few weeks of his life, he was just waiting to go.

I can hear you commenting that this man had a long life, and that we should all be so lucky.  And I can't disagree.

But I miss him, and as I find myself waiting to go on another kind of voyage, I can't help but feel a commonality.  After all, we'll all follow him sooner or later.