Whitcomb: Old Songs; Rx for 2 Hospitals? Jettison Jones Act; World Cup Window on the World

Whitcomb: Old Songs; Rx for 2 Hospitals? Jettison Jones Act; World Cup Window on the World

“This is our winter.

Modern lantern looks with a deathly eye,

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burning before me

dazzling thousand windows.

Raise my cry,

so that he does not collide with houses:

This is our winter, everything cannot come back.’’

-- From “The Outskirts to the Center,’’ by Joseph Brodsky (1940-1996), Russian-American Nobel Prize-winning poet

 

 

“I am one of those people who just can’t help getting a kick out of life – even when it’s a kick in the teeth.’’

-- Polly Adler (1900-1962), proprietor of New York City brothels, in her autobiography, A House Is Not a Home

 

 

“Philosophy teaches us to bear with equanimity the misfortunes of others.’’

-- Oscar Wilde  (1854-1900), Anglo-Irish playwright and poet

 

 

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As I drove south on Route 91 in Vermont on the Sunday before Thanksgiving, the radio station I was listening to played an odd mixture of current rock and old Christmas songs from the ‘40s, such as Irving Berlin’s maudlin, or nostalgic, “White Christmas,’’ famously sung by Bing Crosby in the 1942 movie Holiday Inn,  and the maudlin, or at least sad, “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,’’ by Hugh Martin and Ralph Blaine and sung by soon-to-be torch-singer Judy Garland in the 1944 film Meet Me in St. Louis. I’m surprised that they didn’t play “The Christmas Song” (“Chestnuts roasting on an open fire….”)

 

These songs dial-up memories, including memories of memories, for times, people and places partly imaginary,  and tinctured with wishful thinking and regrets. They also evoke self-pity – “why am I alone when everyone else is together enjoying the {alleged} joys of the season.’’ That old fear of missing out (FOMO). No wonder they’re so popular, even with people who know nothing of their origins. And, of course, unlike most pop songs these days, they have memorable melodies.

 

That “Christmas’’ starts so early diffuses its pleasures while widening the opportunity presented to already deeply indebted consumers to dig themselves deeper.  The thud that follows may be especially loud after Jan. 1, when a recession may set in.

 

Anyway, here’s the intro to “White Christmas.’’

 

“The sun is shining, the grass is green

The orange and palm trees sway

There’s never been such a day

In Beverly Hills, L. A.

But it’s December the 24th

And I am longing to be up north.’’

 

 

Squirrel City

I’ve always been impressed by those nests that always hard-working squirrels build high in trees as insulation from the cold and to escape predators.  They look so fragile in our windy region but are actually quite sturdy.

 

Squirrels are good engineers as they weave together twigs, moss, leaves, paper and other materials to build most of the nest. Then they stabilize the structure by packing wet leaves on the top. These nests can withstand gales.

 

 

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Sea turtles visiting the southern New England coast are staying later in the fall these days before heading south because it’s generally been staying warmer later around here because of climate change. But then a sudden cold snap can stun and sicken them.

 

So the New England Aquarium in Boston and its partners have been transporting these creatures, some near death, to the aquarium’s Sea Turtle Hospital for treatment.

 

Dr. Charles Innis, director of animal health at the New England Aquarium, “All of our sea turtle patients receive individualized care based on their condition. Depending on the severity, turtles may need weeks, months, and sometimes more than a year of treatment before they are at a point where we can clear them for release back into the ocean.”

 

It does seem odd or charming to call reptiles “patients.’’ But in any case, kudos to the New England Aquarium for saving these animals, some of whom are from endangered species. Boston is a world medical capital in many ways.

 

 

Hospitals’ Savior?

Atlanta-based Centurion Foundation, a “nonprofit,’’ wants to buy CharterCARE Health Partners, the for-profit that owns the long financially troubled Roger Williams  Medical Center, in Providence, and Our Lady of Fatima Hospital, in North Providence, from a rapacious private-equity operation, Los Angeles-based Prospect Medical Holdings. Centurion itself is run by people with investment banking and accounting backgrounds and is real-estate-focused.

 

QHR Health, a  Tennessee-based hospital-management firm managed by yet another private-equity firm, Grant Avenue Capital, is supposed to help in the hospitals’ transition to new ownership and provide consulting support to the hospitals’ boards.

 

For those two hospitals to be owned by a “nonprofit” sounds nice, especially since the two hospitals are particularly known for serving low-income populations. But it’s early in this proposed deal. “Nonprofits’’ can be hyper-profitable for some insiders, such as senior executives, and others involved in such complex sales and acquisitions.

 

Rhode Island Atty. Gen. Peter Neronha and other regulators will have their work cut out for them in analyzing this deal.

 

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A warning again, since the Medicare enrollment deadline is Wednesday:

If your interest in being in Medicare is solely in having broad, geographically and otherwise flexible health-care coverage, of all things, and not peripheral stuff too, you should stick with Original Medicare and stay away from private-sector Medicare Advantage plans, which relentlessly market themselves with assorted gimmicks but can stiff you when you seek coverage for serious situations. Indeed, some are scams.

 

The TV ads for Medicare Advantage consist of many lies and near-lies.

 

 

Stick It to Putin: Get Rid of Jones Act

I join the throng asking President Biden to immediately suspend that much-outdated, indeed now-crazy Jones Act, which mandates that all vessels moving goods between American ports, including heating oil and diesel, must be American-built, -owned and -crewed. This anti-competitive law drives up prices and can threaten supplies of crucial goods in some parts of the country.

With the world energy crisis created by Putin’s assault on Ukraine, the Jones Act looks even worse. It limits how much fuel can be shipped to such places as New England, which has few regional sources of energy, besides nuclear and a growing but still small, proportion of solar, hydro and wind. Mr. Biden should recognize the  urgent need to help consumers get through the “Putin Winter.’’

And there’s an environmental angle here. The Jones Act serves to divert fuel and other stuff to trucks, which increases both prices and pollution. We need more ships coming into the Port of Providence and fewer trucks on the road.

 

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There are probably few examples in history of a big country brutally invading a smaller one,  especially targeting its civilians, while the victim’s allies block it from defending itself by destroying the aggressor’s weaponry in the latter’s land, such as missile-launching sites.

 

The Atlantic Council noted:

“{T}he United States and Ukraine’s other Western allies have been protecting Russia from Ukrainian counterattack ever since the {full-scale} invasion, began on Feb. 24. Ukraine has a legal right to hit back inside Russia, but is currently not being permitted to do so by partners whose support Kyiv cannot afford to lose. The U.S. and others have placed limits on acceptable targets for the arms they provide, while also demanding assurances from Kyiv that these weapons will not be used inside Russia itself.

“The current approach grants Putin impunity to continue attacking and escalating without fear of a proportionate response. It has resulted in a surrealistic war where the aggressor benefits from guarantees that any destruction will be limited to the territory of his victim.’’

 

 

 

Advance Against Alzheimer’s?

This is another “we’ll see’’ situation that gives hope.

 

Japan’s Eisai Co. and Cambridge, Mass.-based Biogen Inc. have developed a drug, called lecanemab, that destroys the amyloid protein plaques associated with Alzheimer’s disease. Patients in the drug trial have had a slowing of symptoms. Researchers have much to learn about the drug’s benefits, side-effects and cost, but the apparent breakthrough may the most hopeful sign yet that a highly effective treatment of this terrible dementia might be in the offing.

 

Hit this link for The New England Journal of Medicine article on this:

 

Further, since the buildup of abnormal proteins in the brain is also seen in such  (usually)  old-age-related ailments as Lewy body dementia and Parkinson’s disease, lecanemab may have wider applications than just for Alzheimer’s as the population continues to age.

 

This could be another triumph for New England’s bio-tech industry, but it may take many months to find out for sure.

 

 

The Fear Factor

American crime rates remain much lower than they were back in the 1970s, ‘80s, and early ‘90s (mostly under “tough on crime” Republican presidents). But with the chaos associated with COVID,  and demographic change, rates of some crimes have risen in the past couple of years.

 

However, the public’s perception of crime is crucial. And that depends greatly on how much the media sensationalize crime, especially violent crime in our heavily armed country. Instant coverage without context or data gets the public riled up to believe that crime has never been higher, which of course, affects voting decisions.

See HERE

 

 

Window on the World

Americans’ growing enthusiasm for soccer (called “football” in most of the world) is happy news. Following what is the nearest thing to the world’s official sport better connects us with other countries and cultures, unlike the mostly U.S.-focused baseball and “American football.’’

 

Americans are famously ignorant about the rest of the planet. Following international soccer, through the year, and not just the World Cup competition in that awful place Qatar (I’ve been there), provides an education in far more than just soccer. Consider the cultural and geopolitical news that comes out of international soccer competition, such as Iranian players finding ways to bravely protest their Islamo-Fascist government during the World Cup competition, and geography lessons.

 

 

Keeping the Lid On

“I believe in free trade and member states should continue to trade with China but we cannot make these decisions only based on commercial considerations.’’

“We’ve seen this issue with Russia, it’s not just a commercial decision, it has to do with our security. Over-dependence of resources on authoritarian regimes like Russia makes us vulnerable and we should not repeat that mistake with China.  We should assess our vulnerabilities and reduce them.”

-- Jens Stoltenberg, NATO secretary general

 

The riots in China over dictator Xi Jinping’s insane COVID restrictions show both how a police state can suppress opposition and that such suppression can eventually result in explosive social disorder. A stable society has mechanisms for letting citizens blow off steam.

And by seeking to eliminate any outbreaks of COVID, Xi’s regime ensures that China’s general population has little or no herd immunity, and plays havoc with supply chains.

China’s problems will intensify deglobalization of supply chains as it becomes clearer that the nation is not a reliable source of products; likewise, with Russia’s weaponization of fossil-fuel supplies. More and more, many nations, including, obviously, America, are seeking greater self-sufficiency. Of  course, it’s a lot easier for big rich countries.

 

 

Partisan Justices

U.S. Supreme Court justices should not be attending parties and dinners, going on luxury trips and otherwise cavorting with members and allies of the far-right Federalist Society, which is part of the GOP/QAnon Party and a powerful tool of billionaire campaign donors seeking to further expand their wealth and power via outrageously preferential treatment on the court.

 

But some are doing it anyway, shredding even further what should be the court’s reputation for impartially deciding on the constitutionality of laws. They are dangerously corrupt.

 

Speaking of the Constitution, there will be quite a stir with the publication on Jan. 24 of lawyer Philip K.  Howard’s new book, Not Accountable: Rethinking the Constitutionality of Public Employee Unions.