The view from me

Here's the Thing About Bush

2005-10-08T09:01:00.000-04:00

Here’s the thing about Bush. His administration is like every office in which I’ve ever worked, especially the NJTPA from which I recently retired. He’s a frightened, narcissistic chief executive who attained his position by dubious means and maintains a sense of false superiority by surrounding himself with mediocrity. His minions are remarkable only by their willingness to suffer his temper tantrums and bad behavior and his immature demands for jollity at their expense. He and his minions spend their days ridiculing competence and excellence as an affront to their G-d given right to rule. Meanwhile they wheel and deal to get whatever they can, while they can. The jig is up. It’s about time.

October 8, 2005
The Trouble With Harry
By MAUREEN DOWD

Conservatives may consider Harriet Miers the last straw.

But what will Harriet Miers consider the last straw with conservatives?

Maybe it will be Bork Borking her.

The old Supreme Court nominee reject rejected the new Supreme Court nominee, calling her "a disaster on every level" and "a slap in the face" to conservatives. Robert Bork complained to Tucker Carlson on MSNBC last night that Ms. Miers had "no experience with constitutional law whatever," that it was wrong for W. to choose a justice simply to have a woman's perspective and that conservative reaction veered between "disapproval and outrage."

WHAM! BLAM! POW!

Way to crack the gal right across the kisser, when she's already on the ropes from so much conservative wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Senator Sam Brownback suggested it would be futile for the "very decent lady," as he dismissively called her, to compete with John Roberts's masterly performance because that would be like "following Elvis."

Pat Buchanan told Keith Olbermann that conservatives were "agonized," "depressed," and "virtually heartbroken," and Charles Krauthammer wrote: "If Harriet Miers were not a crony of the president of the United States, her nomination to the Supreme Court would be a joke, as it would have occurred to no one else to nominate her." Ouch.

Conservatives are shocked to discover that President Bush has been stuffing his administration with cronies and mediocrities in important places? If Ms. Miers were a sworn foe of Roe v. Wade and an ardent advocate of originalism in constitutional jurisprudence, would the same conservatives be so sick about her qualifications? Clarence Thomas, after all, was anything but a leading light of American jurisprudence.

The New Republic this week chooses the biggest 15 hacks in the Bush administration, noting that "no administration has etched the principles of hackocracy into its governing philosophy as deeply as this one." Ms. Miers wins at No. 1.

W.'s case for her elevation is their closeness, because she is, as Alexander Hamilton put it, one of the "obsequious instruments of his pleasure."

But there is some sign, at least, that there are limits to cronyism, even for the Bush administration. The president had nominated Timothy Flanigan to be deputy attorney general, a job in which he would oversee all U.S. attorneys, the criminal division of Justice and the F.B.I. His qualification for this was a stint as Alberto Gonzales's deputy White House counsel, a job where he helped write the torture memos. In Congressional testimony at one point, he said that waterboarding was a good thing, because it doesn't leave visible or permanent marks. After his White House stint, Mr. Flanigan was a senior executive at Tyco International, where his main contribution was hiring Jack Abramoff, the Republican influence peddler, to protect Tyco's offshore tax shelters. Yesterday, Mr. Flanigan withdrew amid growing questions.

The right is right about Ms. Miers's insufficiency to join the Brethren, even if the right is cynical. Actually, there's a lot of cynicism in the Miers affair. Those on the left are perfectly happy to look away from mediocrity because it is the lesser of two evils, because they were spared the nightmare of a reactionary maniac.

W. is so loath to leave his little bubble - where caretakers tell him how brilliant and bold he is - that he keeps selecting the people in charge of the selection committees. It's just so much easier to choose a sycophant who's already in the room than to create one from scratch.

He used to disdain pointy-headed liberals from Yale, but now he's angry at pointy-headed conservatives demanding some sort of genius for the Supreme Court, rather than a den mother who did all of W.'s legal wet work and who prefers John Grisham to Leo Strauss.

While the Bushies have been trying to reassure the right that W. knows Harry's heart, that she's a good Christian church lady who will vote in a way that will please them, Harry is probably working herself up to a good grudge against all those meanies who are savaging her as a lightweight apple polisher. Imagine! After she rechristened herself midlife as born again and Republican for them.

Even if she was going to be a loyal conservative jurist before, why should she be now, after all the loathsome things they've said?

The old maxim goes that a neoconservative is a liberal who got mugged by reality. But if you're a conservative mugged by conservatives, neo and paleo, it may have the opposite effect and turn you into ... David Souter!!!!

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Birthdays

2005-09-25T06:17:00.000-04:00

9/25/2005 5:55 AM

It’s my birthday and I can’t sleep.  I’m tired but that isn’t enough anymore.

I keep thinking about my life:  the things for which I am lucky and the things for which I’m not.

I can’t decide which wins.

On the one hand, I don’t live in Faluja or Saudi Arabia or New Orleans; but I live right on top of a canyon of carbon monoxide generated daily by thousands of internal combustion engines traveling the Jersey Turnpike and GW Bridge.

I have genuine love in my life from my sisters and I suppose from Chris, but I have to witness one of those sisters struggle with multiple sclerosis in a nursing home while I remain living an apartment that is full of memories of her.  Each wall, corridor and room has a memory of her that used to make me cry in remembrance.  I wish I could forget but I can’t.

I miss Sharon’s company more than anything.  I hate that she’s not around anymore.  I still have the last set of birthday cards she bought me; because she can’t or won’t do that anymore.  It’s the little things that hurt the most:  her picking me up in her car so we can go someplace together; me calling her whenever I make something so she can be the first to share it; complaining, laughing; going on vacation together.

We still talk every day; twice a day; I spend three days a week with her.  We still laugh and eat but it’s now done in alien territory from which she cannot escape.

I am free of that horrible job and those people who had nothing but contempt for me and lucky that Chris is so generous that I can have these few years to do what I like but I still want recognition that I suppose I’ll never get despite my pretensions as a playwright.  I do enjoy the time spent collaborating but I was hoping something would come of it and I see now nothing ever will.

Is my life worth anything?  I wonder.

New Statesman - Arts - Real people power, or pernicious platitudes?

2005-07-07T16:01:00.000-04:00

New Statesman - Arts - Real people power, or pernicious platitudes?

Yogi the Pug Home page

2005-06-25T10:52:00.000-04:00

Yogi the Pug Home page

More on Geldof's Bid for Attention

2005-06-23T11:47:00.000-04:00

The Observer | OMM | The Gallagher interview in full

Sunday June 19, 2005

David Walliams: The first time I ever saw you, you were getting into a taxi in Camden. This was probably about 1995. I sort of bowed down and you waved out the window like the Queen, and from that moment I've always loved you.

Noel Gallagher: I don't remember that.

DW: Of course you don't remember that.

NG: It is the kind of thing I fucking do.

....

DW: Do you feel any guilt about being wealthy?

NG: No. Not at all. None. I was signing on 13 years ago. Absolutely no guilt whatsoever.

DW: Noel, you didn't feature on the Band Aid 20 record, did you?

NG: We were in LA recording the new album. You kind of get forced into those things, don't you? But there were lots of people in there that we have a problem with.

DW: Who?

NG: The Darkness. Keane. I like Bono. He's a friend of mine. I like Chris Martin. He's a friend of mine. Probably everyone else... I could pick an argument with them.

DW: Were you asked to do Live8?

NG: We can't do it. We've got a gig in Manchester that night.

DW: Would you do it otherwise?

NG: I'm not sure about this Live 8 thing. Correct me if I am wrong, but are they hoping that one of these guys from the G8 is on a quick 15-minute break at Gleneagles and sees Annie Lennox singing 'Sweet Dreams' and thinks, 'Fuck me, she might have a point there, you know.' It's not going to fucking happen, is it? Keane doing 'Somewhere Only We Know' and some Japanese businessman going: 'Aw, look at him ... we should really fuckin' drop that debt, you know.' It's not going to happen, is it?

DW: I suppose it's about raising public awareness. Matt [Lucas] and I got involved with Comic Relief this year and it does teach kids that there are people in the world that are less fortunate than us. I don't think you do engage with those sort of issues unless something like music or comedy brings you to them.

NG: Yeah, I understand. If we didn't have 60,000 people in a stadium waiting for us to come and play already... It just can't happen.

DW: Did you watch the first Live Aid on telly?

NG: Yes. I watched it in a caravan in Wales - in Rhyl. And we watched it again on DVD recently, just to see [Paul] Weller really ... with fuckin' no socks on, dancing with no guitar. What struck me was that the boy bands of the day such as Spandau Ballet and Duran Duran could all play their instruments. It's so far removed from the bands of today like Westlife and Boyzone, who are utter shit. I am not a fan of Duran Duran or Spandau Ballet, but now there is pop music and alternative music and there is nothing in between the two. I enjoyed Live Aid more the second time around, I think.

Geldof and His Exercise in Self-Congratulation -- You Go Italians!

2005-06-22T09:15:00.000-04:00

The Italians got it right. A bunch of over-privileged, overpaid, spoiled brats get to show off and tell the world how wonderful they are. If they really gave a shit about the poor, they'd be building full-service dormitories on their country estates so the homeless would have places to live.

Geldof chides Italian stars for Live 8 apathy - Yahoo! UK & Ireland News

Wednesday June 22, 11:35 AM

Geldof chides Italian stars for Live 8 apathy

ROME (Reuters) - Bob Geldof told Italy's rock stars on Tuesday there was no excuse to miss the Rome stage of the Live 8 concert next month, as some of the country's top acts hesitated over playing "the biggest concert of your life".

Rome will host a huge free concert in the Circus Maximus -- the ancient Roman chariot race track -- on July 2, one of eight events around the world aimed at focusing the world's attention on poverty reduction, but some big stars are wavering.

Vasco Rossi, possibly Italy's most popular rock singer, has pulled out of the concert where he had been due to top the bill, saying it clashes with another gig he is due to play in Ancona, on the other side of the Italian peninsula.

Another singer demanded more information on what the gig is about before agreeing to appear.

"Vasco is a great star, a really great, great artist, and I think he should be on that stage," Geldof, the organiser of the event, told a news conference in Rome.

"Where's Vasco? Vasco where are you? We want Vasco. We need Vasco," he said, to spontaneous applause from Italian reporters.

Geldof said many of other acts were juggling their schedules to play at one of the eight Live 8 concerts being staged ahead of the Group of Eight (G8) in Scotland on July 6-8.

U2, Coldplay, Elton John, REM and Green Day are all playing their own concerts on July 2 -- many in different countries -- and still plan to perform at Live 8, Geldof said.

"He's not going to lose his voice," he said. "He only has to sing two songs."

Unlike in Britain, where Live 8 has received massive publicity, it has been barely mentioned by Italian media.

Singer Lorenzo Jovanotti, another household name in Italian pop who has performed in the past to campaign against poverty, said he would not agree to play Live 8 until he got more information about the Rome concert.

Geldof said Jovanotti was right to want to find out more about the event and said he would speak to him personally.

Geldof, who organised the 1985 Live Aid concert in London and Philadelphia, has drawn some of the world's best known acts to play at the concerts, even persuading Britain's feud-riven Pink Floyd to reunite for the first time in 24 years.

Geldof got the idea of inviting the line-up that created Dark Side of the Moon and The Wall to reform after he read an interview on the Internet with drummer Nick Mason.

"He said the only reason he could stand to get the band back together would be a new Live Aid," Geldof said.

"It's bad enough to force a divorced man and wife to get back together ... This is four people with four divorces."

Geldof said any pop act should leap at the chance to play Live 8 as it would be an historical event, but that he would not be performing himself.

"I would love to play on that stage, but as an artist I don't deserve to, so I am not going to," he said. Geldof's solo career has never reached the success he had as frontman for the Boomtown Rats which split in the 1980s.

As well as Rome, Live 8 will be held in London, Paris, Berlin, Philadelphia, Tokyo, Toronto and Johannesburg. An organiser for the Italian event said the global show would open in London with U2 and Paul McCartney performing together.

The secret Downing Street memo - Sunday Times - Times Online

2005-06-17T13:18:00.000-04:00

The secret Downing Street memo - Sunday Times - Times Online

Actress Anne Bancroft dies

2005-06-07T20:40:00.000-04:00

Actress Anne Bancroft dies - Yahoo! UK & Ireland News

A graduate of the same Bronx high school from which I graduated, and one of my favorite actresses of all time. Rest in peace.

Perchance to Dream

2005-06-07T09:35:00.000-04:00

I had one of those really "real" dreams last night; more like a nightmare actually.

I dreamt about my office; only the remodeling was still going on. There were hundreds more people; new people working there; and of course none of them had anything to do. In order to accommodate all these new people, the office was being reconfigured again, only this time I was being reassigned.

In place of my office, I found myself in a bare cubicle. At first, I wasn't alarmed. It was dark, but self-contained. Then I realized there were at least five other people sharing this tiny cubicle with me. I was no longer near a window; had no private office and began to panic that I'd never be able to write amidst all the noise generated from so many people with nothing to do all day.

Then I walked around and saw people jammed into tiny spaces everywhere I turned. All the rooms were small and full of people. I didn't know what any of them did.

It dawned on me that the "bully squad" had finally got their revenge on me. I was utterly humiliated and set out to call my union but since I no longer had privacy I looked for a place to make a call with my cellphone. I walked down the hallways and saw more and more people.....got angrier and sadder, and then I woke.

So disturbing was this dream that as I struggled to wake, it took several moments for me to realize that it never happened. Several more moments passed before I recognized how lucky I am to be out of that place.

2005-06-05T16:58:00.000-04:00

Buster

I Hate and Despise ...[you fill in the blank]

2005-06-04T19:25:00.000-04:00

When I was in high school, it was the fashion for a short while to carry clipboards instead of looseleaf binders. I still have mine and you can still see the faint pencil marks on the clip where I wrote, "I despite and hate geometry," and the even clearer pencil marks on the board where I wrote, "....lousy minutes left," to count off the remaining moments of mathematical torture.

Geometry was a piece of cake compared to the agony of keeping a computer up and running these days. I've been futzing around on mine since about 8 a.m. and since it's just before 8 p.m. as I write this, I've spent a full 12 hours in total frustration, aggravation, and anger.

The first lesson I will offer it that whatever goes wrong is usually something very simple; and probably obvious, but not until after you've spent hours on it.

This morning I turned on the computer to check emails before I got dressed. I couldn't get my DSL to connect. I tried all the things they tell you to do. Plug, unplug, power up, reboot, etc. Nothing worked. After 45 minutes, I broke down and called my provider.

After trying to negotiate with the all too perky voice of some female robot pretending to be human, I finally got a real person. I was very nasty; he was very calm and nice. At some point, I realized that the plugs were in the wrong holes. Two days ago, the last time I lost service, I unplugged and then replugged only to discover that, in fact, my internet provider was experiencing problems with DSL service. I must've switched the plugs accidentally. I apologized profusely for being nasty and hung up. I was back online.

Then I receive a notice that one of my software packages required an update, I downloaded and discovered the update did not work and nothing I did would fix it. I tried to remove the program but when I tried to reload an earlier version, it wouldn't let me. I ended up doing a system restore, which fixed that problem.

It was already 11:30 am by this time, and I was due somewhere at noon. I rushed out of the house only to find that the network adapter I had ordered for my TIVO had arrived. Rather than wait, I decided I'd plug it in and leave. How long could that take?

That was only the beginning of four more hours of trial and tribulations. At first I thought they must've sent me the wrong thing because I couldn't imagine how an Ethernet plug would fit. I was beside myself. I tried every which way and finally opened the manual. Yes, apparently there was a way. After about an hour, I figured that one.

I plugged the thing in.....nothing, niente, zippo. No connection.

Another couple of hours. [I called to cancel my original plans; I was in too deep. I couldn't leave in full snit.] This time, I hadn't pushed the doo-hickey in far enough and the cables had to be unplugged and plugged again a few more times; I had to boot up and down, etc. Finally!

I rebooted my computer only something was horribly wrong. My system tray wasn't working anymore. I booted, rebooted, and I knew the software was there, but I couldn't control it.

The Tivo recognized the network, but according to the manual, my computer should've been looking for new hardware. Needless to say, it wasn't. I spent another 40 minutes on that and then gave up to concentrate on my system tray problem.

Nothing was working. I searched all the knowledge bases and manuals at my disposal. Another system restore was the only thing I could think of that I hadn't tried. But I had already restored; would there be another suitable date?

I took the next previous date; noticed that I hadn't done any monkeying around and invoked the restore point. Hallelujah! Everything seemed to be working again.

So I closed the computer and decided to call it a day.

A few minutes later, I realized I needed to get back online. I wanted to print something. I booted up.

The network wasn't working ... again. This time it was the plugs.

I printed what I wanted and shut the system down again, made myself the first food I've eaten since breakfast, and realized I had promised myself to write everyday only I hadn't today.

So here I am. And for the moment, all is fine. Fingers crossed!

What a Dream

2005-06-03T09:20:00.000-04:00

I happened upon this documentary. It's about a young Jewish woman who tries to regain her Hassidic father's attention by schlepping through post-war Hungary looking for a couch that belonged to the family. The story of Pearl Gluck's Divan is a metaphor for assimilation in America. Tousled-haired, Yiddish-speaking, courageous Gluck is torn between the simple comforts of an unquestioning Hassidic world in Boro Park, Brooklyn, New York and the enticements of a secular, and oh-so-questioning Jewish intellectualism I associate with the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

The former shtetls in Hungary surrounded by forests of birch trees that she filmed are probably very much like the Petrikow from where my own father came. The admonitions she received from her father and his Hassidic brethren to marry, tame her hair, and be quiet are also very familiar. I ached watching her reconnect with her father recognizing the silent joy in spending time just laughing and talking.

But for some reason, all this made me dream of Nazis. In my dream it was the day before I knew the Nazis were going to take over again. I wanted to get out. I saw city buses passing my street; all of them going to freedom, but I wouldn't leave without my family. And then an Aryan-looking man arrived with a clipboard and called out my name.

My heart was pounding; I was frightened; there were brutal murders, gratuitious violence and blood-soaked bodies that seemed commonplace. There was more to the dream, a lot of it inexplicable, but that's the gist.

I see this lovely young woman and the collection of former Hasids who are her friends and I realize she could be the daughter I never had; and I wonder why.

Deep Throat Revealed

2005-06-02T10:54:00.000-04:00

Not too long ago, I knew all the nooks and crannies of Washington, D.C. From 1974 to 1978, I worked in the NEA Building which was right across the street from the Washington Post. My friends and I frequented the same outdoor cafe on Dupont Circle that was frequented by Carl Bernstein. One balmy summer evening I was seated at an adjoining table and watched him write furiously onto a yellow legal pad. I've always imagined that it was an early draft of All the President's Men. Months later, Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman were camped for days in huge movie trailers right outside the Dupont Circle building.

When Bob Woodward had a byline in the Post on a topic other than Watergate, there was something in his story that I thought needed elaboration. I picked up the phone, dialed the paper and asked to speak to him. To my complete surprise, within seconds, I was speaking to him.

I had neither fear nor too many failures then. Those were heady days, indeed! Washington, D.C. was the center of the universe. I was on the social fringe of some of the most influential people of those times. I have sat in the living rooms of Michael Straight, Liz Carpenter; broke bread with Joseph Rauh; rejected the sexual advances of Mendel Rivers and Ken Gray; smoked dope with major congressional players; partied with nationally syndicated columnists.

Watergate was the watershed of my generation. I stayed home from work to watch John Dean testify.

But now 30 years later, there's something very unsettling about Mark Felt revealing his identity as Deep Throat. It goes with the changes in this country, I think. Look at all the Watergate felons who are calling Felt a traitor. The United States is sliding down a very slippery slope, I fear. We were the cradle of democracy and all that is right; now we're becoming the cesspool of "spin," "might makes right," and "let them eat cake."

Give Me an 'Effin Break

2005-06-01T11:09:00.000-04:00

Another opportunity for over-privileged, overpaid giant egos to pat themselves on the back for doing nothing extraordinary. I'm old enough to remember "Hands Across America" to end poverty. The self-congratulatory organizers collected millions never managed to distribute the funds. If these people were interested in ending poverty they'd be doing something that mattered.

Technology Junkie but Not Geeky Enough Apparently

2005-05-29T11:12:00.000-04:00

Each morning I think I'm going to write, I get out of bed, fire up the desktop in my bedroom and proceed to get completely preoccupied with everything but writing.

A few days ago, it was Internet Relay Chat (RC). I convinced myself I needed it. I downloaded some software, paid $20 for it only to find that IRC is all but passe and I could've downloaded a free version of what I just paid $20.

Nonetheless, I found where I was going on IRC and discovered that it was just me and a group of 13 year old geeks who were so thrilled to be talking to a woman, they almost cried when I signed off.

Unfortunately, while on IRC, I asked a question about downloading. That convinced me I needed Bit Torrent. It seemed like a good idea at the time. I subscribed to Torrent Spy, downloaded Azureus and tried to get it to work.

Two hours later I was still fuzting around trying to figure out ways to open my NAT to port 6661, whatever the fuck that means!

I upgraded my router; I surfed all around for instructions; and I still don't know what I'm doing.
Why? I don't know because when I checked the downloads, there was absolutely nothing I'd be interested in having. There were a lot of Airwolf episodes and Star Wars though.

I deleted the Azureus; but now I wonder will I regret that decision.

After hours of wringing my hands, I discovered that I didn't need Azureus after all! I had another client already installed that worked beautifully without all that fussing and manipulating. It was so invisible, as a matter of fact, I didn't realize I had it. Problem solved.

Except......

My wireless TIVO connection seemed to go nuts. I no longer was getting a reliable signal from my wireless USB adapter, the one I bought with the gift certificate I got for Christmas. I tried everything and now days later of sleepless nights trying to figure out why it didn't work anymore, I've decided to go wired ethernet instead. I've bitten the bullet, forked over the cash and have ordered a new adapter. If this one doesn't work, I don't know what I'll do!

Attention diverted back to writing, I then became obsessed with finding the utility that will make by Gmail into a Drive on my computer. By the time I located, downloaded and configured that little thing, another hour or two.

Have I done any writing? NO! [Not unless you consider this writing. I'm still not sure.]

Now What?

2005-05-27T08:31:00.000-04:00

hi chuck, i updated plaxo for you.... how are you doing? i will be leaving for amsterdam wednesday may 4, back on may 11. arlene will be at my house with my puppy and doing the manual for you.... speak to you soon. bonnie

May 9, 2005

Janet, I am sending this to you because I don’t know what else to do ….

FYI, Sharon never received her meds on Sunday. I was there with her most of the day. She’s supposed to get them at around 1:30 pm. The shift changes at 3 pm. No one bothered to give them to her. After several attempts to find the nurse who dispenses meds, Sharon finally got them at around 4 from the next shift, and an hour later she got her regular 5 pm meds.

This is probably what led to her latest infection about which you will read below.

Today, I was there again and no one had taken her temperature. I took it. It was within normal range, but high for Sharon. It was 98. [Sharon runs normal at 97. By the time she reaches 99, she’s in big trouble.] But she was feeling better and did get her medications. I left around 2 pm. I called her at 3:20 and since her temperature had not yet been taken, I asked her to take it herself. It was 99. That’s not good.

I instructed her to get to the nurse’s station and ask for Tylenol and have someone take her temperature.

Long story short, they told her they were told ‘NOT TO TAKE HER TEMPERATURE’ and gave her some song and dance about the Tylenol….but after the stink I made yesterday, they went to the trouble of giving her the 5 pm. Meds…..

Then someone did take her temperature and gave her Tylenol.

This is not asking anything other than basic care. Yesterday should never have happened, nor should I have to be there every three hours today.

I just think this should be documented.

May 9, 2005

Susan, since you asked......

Today has been hideous. The only reason I came there at all today was because Sharon's phone wasn't working. I came in with the dog just to fix the phone and go home. I found my sister in the middle of the room, pale as a ghost, shivering from head to foot. I rushed to the nurse's station and alerted them that Sharon needs help. "She's fine," I was told. "I was just in her room." I said she's shivering, she's got temperature. "No she's just upset about her phone."

Come on. She was obviously ill. Sharon's there for a reason. .Let me remind you, that Christopher Reeve's recent death was caused by the same sort of opportunistic infection to which paraplegics like Sharon are prone. These infections are serious and life-threatening. During these episodes Sharon is seriously impaired cognitively, has virtually no problem-solving skills. It goes without saying, she is weaker than usual and virtually unable to move. Sharon requires total care. She is not even aware that she is sick until you point it out to her.

"I'm just cold," she told me. "Is the window closed?"

I had to knock a few heads and I know I made a couple of enemies today, but just because Sharon requires little care when she is well, is no excuse for assuming she is self-sufficient. Hardly.

Maria and Dennis were the only bright spots in an otherwise wretched set of experiences. Apart from Dennis, Sharon received minimal to zero care today, and only that because I made such a stink. Indeed, if I didn't make a stink she'd be sleeping on urine-soaked sheets and you'd find her lunch and dinner trays sitting in her room; her dinner tray is probably still there as a matter of fact. .

Dennis took charge and was wonderful....but apart from he and Maria, I have few compliments left for the remaining staff.

I left for an hour to bring the dog home and returned as quickly as I could. A nurse did bring her afternoon meds, and said she'd be back to check on her. I thanked her but I sat there from the change of shift until 7 p.m. and not a person came in to take her temperature. She started to feel better but then her temperature spiked again. I frantically went out to the nurse's station. "Who's on this evening?" I asked. "I don't know. Can I tell you later? Who are you? I'm busy right now."

Not the response for which I was looking after the day I'd had.

I raised another stink. I spoke to the nursing supervisor. Asked that Sharon's temperature be taken, that they help her to catherize again, and give her some tylenol for her fever. And for my troubles, I was told off by the two nurses..I DON'T CARE. At least they finally went into my sister's room.

What galls me more is that when they came into her room.....finally....they entreated my cognitively-impaired, fevered sister, "You know I take good care of you." I informed the nurses that it was I, not Sharon, who complained and that I'd do it again. Sharon's health is my responsibility.

I am totally disgusted. Sharon requires so little attention most of the time; which is why now that she needs attention, the cavalier attitudes are so appalling. You know that my sister Bonnie and I are aware of the difficult job that you do; why?

I finally left after Sharon's temperature was finally taken, and a Tylenol was administered. I presume she'll be catherized; at least I hope she will.

Sent: Tuesday, May 10, 2005 8:11 AM

Subject: RE:
Hi

I hope that you had a nice vacation. I am leaving this Thursday for a week. I spoke to Arlene yesterday and she was upset about Sharon, who was not feeling well. She got together with Dennis, the unit manager, and Maria and I believe felt better after that. Change is always hard but it is a challenge dealing with the nursing industry and change is inevitable.

See you when I get back.

Chuck

I am flabbergasted....this is Arlene, by the way. I was just checking emails.

It is now Tuesday and I have had to call your office again because no one has bothered to take Sharon's temperature today. I did and then after I left, I had her take it herself and guess what? It's up again....This is not an extraordinary request...this is basic, simple nursing. Indeed, Sharon was told again today that the nurses were instructed NOT to take her temperature! May I ask what logic rules that?

Heartfelt platitudes about change are falling on very deaf ears at the moment.

Your human resource issues and staff turnover do not explain why no medication was dispensed on Sunday; nor do th ey explain how someone in such obvious distress was ignored.

Yesterday should never have happened....never. . I was there in her room with her all afternoon until 4 on Sunday........The prophylactic antibiotic is part of those afternoon meds that she got 5 hours too late, and this may be why she had the infection in the first place.

I shall make sure bonnie gets your email.

Just so you know, this is more than upset.

Have a lovely vacation.

Arlene

chuck, we would like to see you alone. if later you want to call maria or anyone else into our meeting that would be fine..... thanks bonnie

Subject: RE: Meeting May 25

I have put it on my calendar. There is no reason not to have nursing
represented as I am aware. I was not pleased with getting a phone call from
Janet L, Esq. yesterday and finding out that e-mail that I had sent you
was being forwarded to her without my knowledge.
Chuck

Hi Bonnie: I spoke with Chuck last Thursday, when you gave me the heads-up that he was back. I was going to write you but I have been busy taking my husband from doctor to doctor these past few days and didn't get a chance to write you.

Chuck was really taken aback that you were upset. He feels that you and Arlene have a certain comfort level bases on the staff and that your unhappiness is directly related to the change of DoN and the staff. He also said that Arlene may have overreacted.

Point of information, he was upset that Arlene was using your e-mail when she contacted him. He may have written things that he did not want her to read. I had to review the e-mail twice to figure out that it was Arlene who copied me and not you, while you were away.

He also said that Sharon forgets things. I do not recall exactly what specifically he was referring to, but the implication as I recall was that her forgetfulness was exacerbating the problems she was having.

He is very upset that you are upset with him and JH@R. That is probably why he wants this meeting with you and Arlene. I said that it would not be wise to have you upset. Probably because you do so much for the place. I did NOT tell him anything about your intention to leave money to JH@R in your Wills.

My other client who complained, was saying that her family member is dirty and always in the same dirty clothes when she comes to visit. Chuck has written her off as a complainer and suggested that she should take her family member to another facility, which she refuses because it would give Chuck too much pleasure to get rid of her. That is NOT the impression that I got when I told him that you and Arlene were upset about Sharon's care.

I believe that he will work with you to insure that your concerns are addressed. Please don't get emotional or defensive. You are justified if Sharon's health is compromised by the quality of care and if the poor quality of care persists, you have every right to call in the Office of the Ombudsman who is charged with protecting the frail institutionalized elderly. My other client calls Chuck a master manipulator, so keep that in mind.

Let me know what happens.

As for dinner, my husband has asked when, but since his stroke and with the wedding coming up, I would prefer to wait until after the wedding, so I have something to look forward to.

Be well. Stay strong.

Janet

hi janet,  thanks for the heads up.  arlene has said from the beginning that chuck is a master manipulator and i preferred to see the nice side of people.  i always thought you get more with honey than vinagar, until now.  arlene made a big mistake letting them know that when sharon is running a fever, she is forgetful.  they are jumping all over that.  anyway, the quality of care has rolled all the way back since the last director of nursing left under a cloud or "I don't know what"!!! she was young and great and really turned the place around.  since she left, all the good and caring staff has left and all that's left is the flotsom and jetsom as i call them.  arlene and i are back on 24/7 watch so they don't kill sharon...

chuck knew i was away, arlene was in my house watching little buster, who did chuck think he was getting e-mails from!!!!!!

we have a meeting tomorrow at 1:00 i will let you know what happens....

janet, what's with your husband, did he have another stroke??? i hope not... why the doctors?? we can hold our dinner off til july, after the wedding... and janet, thanks for always being there for us.............. bonnie

2005-01-27T16:19:00.000-05:00

Meet Buster

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2004-12-31T22:40:00.000-05:00

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2004-12-31T22:32:00.000-05:00

2004-12-31T22:31:00.000-05:00

2004-10-01T10:10:00.000-04:00

I was sitting in my office in the USA on Wednesday afternoon and I get pinged by Dian who was at home in the Netherlands. She wanted to make sure that I knew that Robbie was on Radio Wales right at that moment. The whole thing was being broadcast online. That was news I had to share, so I pinged Tabby, who was in her kitchen in Canada. The three of us then fired up Skype and conferenced with each other while waiting for Robbie to come on. The radio station then announced a contest to win a CD. The next thing I know, I'm Skyping the radio station, [www.skype.com] and before I fully realized what was happening, I was speaking to someone in Wales. "Is this the radio station?" I ask. "Yes," a woman said, to which I reply, "I'm calling from the United States," adding, "a friend in Holland told me about the show, and we told another friend in Canada about it, and the answer to the quiz is 'Peter'," I gushed. [The quiz question was "What is Robbie Williams' middle name?] The woman asked me my name and my telephone number, said thank you and hung up. The next thing I know I hear someonhe on Radio Wales say that the station has received calls from as far away as the United States. Dian, Tabby and I were screaming and laughing so hard, none of us ever heard them read the email from Felix; or find out that an autographed copy of Feel was won by Mandy. Quite a banner day for Lyrical on Radio Wales, on Wednesday, September 29, 2004.