Orlando's blog

Health Care Reform: An Eleven-Year-Old Boy Reminds Congress What's at Stake

Orlando — Fri, 12 Mar 2010 03:38:03 +0000

Feature video:

Include this post in the featured videos

Indonesia Travel Journal: Improving Infrastructure One Trillion at a Time.

Orlando — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 02:18:51 +0000

There is a report in the Jakarta Post this morning announcing that the city will begin construction on a sewage system next year. The first phase of the project will take almost 10 years and only serve about 10 percent of the city, but it's a start. In 20 years, a projected expansion plan will reach a quarter of the population.

I was happy to see the article because over the weekend I was discussing this very issue with a friend as we strode by one of the many canals in Jakarta. The canals never smell very good but on this particular day it was so overpowering I had to pinch my nose to stop myself from gagging. The rivers and canals in and around the city could be a great source of beauty. For now, they are festering streams of garbage and human waste.

I try not to look into the water as I walk by. An assault on one of my senses is manageable but an assault on two brings me into the dangerous I-think-I-might-vomit zone. Sometimes, as I'm walking to catch my angkot to work, I notice men are fishing the canals. I seriously, seriously hope that it is only for recreation but I suspect that there are young bellies to fill with any available food.

So, I am heartened by the fact that the city planners understand they have an issue and are taking steps to remedy it. They need a loan of 3.8 trillion rupiahs to get started (US$412.5 million). Compared to the US military budget, it's a pittance but over here--where the annual per capita income in 2008 was about $3,900--it is an obscene amount of money.

Jakarta is, like many cities in developing nations, rife with contradictions. On my way to work today, I'll probably stop at my local, five-story, air-conditioned shopping mall. I might get Starbucks, if I feel like splurging. If I don't, there are probably ten or twelve other cafes where I can spend less for my coffee. I might get lunch or do some shopping. I can find almost anything I want or need at the mall (which I have very mixed feelings about, believe me). But on my walk home from work tonight, I'll stroll along a poo canal, trying not to breathe too deeply.

Feature video:

Include this post in the featured videos

Tebow Superbowl Ad: A Lot of Money for a lot of Fluff

Orlando — Mon, 08 Feb 2010 04:43:28 +0000

Focus on the Family paid how much for this ad?

It's clear after watching the ad that what they paid for was the controversy surrounding the ad. Now they can say, "Look, we just love our children. Those godless feminists are so unhinged that they freak out over some happy music and a warm hug between mother and son."

Mission accomplished. I hope the money was worth it.

Feature video:

Include this post in the featured videos

Stuff I Want to Learn: Is Privatizing Social Security a Good Idea?

Orlando — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 03:31:08 +0000

I should make clear from the outset that I am not an economist. So this post is more of a question for those of you out there who actually know something about the way economies, and more specifically financial investments, work.

In 2005, President Bush made embarked on an ambitious public relations tour to convince the American people that privatizing social security was a great idea. He sold us the war in Iraq, so he was probably feeling pretty good about his chances. At the time, I thought it was a horrible idea. I can’t explain why from any fact-based point of view. It just seemed to me that moving what amounts to our citizens’ national trust fund into each citizen’s hands and placing it at the mercy of the stock market couldn't possibly be successful. I didn’t want to be responsible for my own social security investment. I might make a good guess at where to invest the money and when to move it out of one fund and into another, but I might also make a catastrophically bad guess. As it turned out, most Americans, whether from fact-based knowledge or gut instinct, agreed with me and the plan failed.

After 2009, it seems to me that our collective opinion was correct. Can you imagine the public reaction when the stock market lost so much of its value so quickly had the entire social security fund been in the hands of individuals and the market?

But what still seems to me to be a horrible idea is back on the table, at least on the conservative side. I’ve just read two stories, here and here, suggesting that, while Republicans won’t necessarily be running on the issue, they are beginning to talk it up on the airwaves.

So here are my questions: Is there any merit in the idea? Can anything good come from privatizing social security? Would there truly be cost savings? Can someone who think the earth is 6,000 years old successfully manage complicated financial transactions? What about someone who tries hard to understand mathematical and financial concepts but still falls far short (i.e., me)?

Please help me understand!

Feature video:

Include this post in the featured videos

Is Tim Tebow’s Mother Breaking the Ninth Commandment?

Orlando — Sun, 31 Jan 2010 04:01:44 +0000

During the Superbowl, Focus on the Family, James Dobson’s group, will run a commercial spot featuring Tim Tebow’s family. Family lore has it that in the late 1980’s, while pregnant and living in the Philippines, Tebow’s mother became ill with amoebic dysentery and doctors there recommended that she abort the pregnancy because they said the medication she took to recover from the illness would cause damage to the fetus.

She refused to have the abortion and twenty some years later her son is a star college quarterback about to go through the NFL draft. And—oh my goodness—if she had listened to doctors’ advice the world would have been deprived of a super-athlete-all-around-good-guy.

I don’t mean to diminish Mrs. Tebow’s decision. She is, of course, entitled to make her own choices about her own body. She believed abortion was the wrong choice for her. It is the leap of reasoning that I find offensive: I didn’t end my pregnancy, even though doctors told me to, and I ended up with an extraordinary athlete for a son. If you abort your pregnancy, you might be giving up your avenue to fame and fortune.

Now, as it turns out, the story may not be as clear cut as it seems. According to Gloria Allred, in the Philippines, abortion is illegal and punishable by imprisonment in all circumstances, and it has been since 1930. The law also mandates a prison sentence for anyone who assists in the procedure, including doctors.

I don’t know if Mrs. Tebow is lying, but I am interested to hear the story fleshed out in more detail. Did the doctors suggest she travel back to the United States for the medical procedure, for example? It seems highly unlikely to me that a doctor in the Philippines would risk his or her career, let alone a few years in prison, to perform an abortion, especially considering the diagnosis doesn’t appear to have included a risk to her own health.

In any case, Mrs. Tebow is confident that she made the right decision. That’s great. She has a son to be proud of. But I’ll thank her and all anti-abortion advocates to be confident in their own decisions and leave the rest of us to be confident in ours.

Feature video:

Include this post in the featured videos

Conservatives in Uproar over Activist Supreme Court

Orlando — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 13:15:36 +0000

Just kidding.

Overturning decades of case law, the Roberts court has now declared that corporations are human beings, at least in the political arena. The majority ignored precedent, opting instead to side with the wealthy and powerful against the individual citizens of a democracy. Can you hear the outrage of the neo-populist conservatives? Yeah, me neither.

What conservatives really mean when they say “activist” judges is judges that don’t agree with them. When the Supreme Court essentially takes a crap all over our approximately two-hundred and thirty year old political system, conservatives don’t care because they think the decision will benefit them.

I get that politically the United States is acrimoniously divided. What I wish, more than just about anything, is for a little intellectual honesty from the conservative side when it comes to arguing for their policies. Of course, I realize this is like wishing for a unicorn on my next birthday. Conservatives could never win on the actual merits of their arguments, so why should they stop lying when lying to an uninformed and largely undereducated public is working wonders?

Feature video:

Include this post in the featured videos

Supreme Court Rules Corporations are King

Orlando — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 01:18:51 +0000

In perhaps the worst decision of all time, the Supreme Court overturned spending limits on campaign contributions from corporations.

The court's 5-4 vote ends a 20-year ban on businesses using money from their own funds to pay for campaign ads.

But US President Barack Obama condemned the decision, pledging to work with Congress for a "forceful response".

Forceful response, huh? I’m not holding my breath.

The possibilities this opens up for better and more fair representation for corporations is endless. Think of it. Now, banks can use their billions of dollars in profits to elect representatives who will not require them to pay back taxpayer dollars they used to stay solvent. Instead of paying to retrofit their facilities to be kinder to the earth, big polluters can use that money instead to pad the campaign funds of candidates who love acid rain and hate spotted owls. And if you think health care reform is ever going to see the light of day, think again. Insurance companies are going to rain money into the 2010 races.

If the United States didn’t already have a corporate oligarchy, we will have one now. I don’t blame the George Bushes for appointing justices who disdain individual opportunity and representative democracy. I blame all the assholes who voted for them. You wanted abortion to be illegal and immigrants to stay home. How’d that work out for you? At least you’ll still have your guns when they come to raze your house to make way for their new CEO-only gated communities.

Feature video:

Include this post in the featured videos

Temporary Protection Status for Haitians in the United States: The Right Thing to Do

Orlando — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 03:18:10 +0000

On Friday, the Obama administration granted temporary protected status to any Haitian immigrants in the United States that were awaiting deportation. That means that about 30,000 Haitians will be able to stay in the United States and work legally for up to 18 months. And in yet another example of Republican projection, Rep Steve King (R-IA) suggested that the order was an example of the “Never let a crisis go to waste” philosophy.

Are political calculations being considered in the decisions made by the White House? Certainly. Politics is always one of the factors in all decisions made by any president. Sometimes those politics keep a president from doing the right thing. This is one of those cases where it hasn’t. The Obama administration knew that it was going to get whacked eventually on granting legal status, even temporarily, to immigrants set for deportation. Probably they didn’t think anyone would be callous enough to respond so quickly, but then again they have been dealing with Republicans in Congress for a year, so maybe they aren’t surprised. In any case, they went ahead and did it anyway, because it was the right thing to do. In Haiti, the infrastructure, such as it was, has been destroyed, bodies litter the streets, more people are sure to die, and getting them basic humanitarian aid is complicated by numerous factors. Forcing 30,000 Haitians back into this situation would be madness.

Feature video:

Include this post in the featured videos

Indonesian Travel Journal: Best Suggestion Ever

Orlando — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 06:01:06 +0000

On my way to Jakarta, I had a nine hour layover in Seoul, Korea. As I was planning my trip, I considered spending that time sight-seeing or finding a restaurant with some excellent bi bim bop. But then I realized I would be tired and grimy, so then I decided to try to find out if there was any place at the Seoul airport where I could take a shower. I was explaining this idea to a friend who frequently travels to India and she made a suggestion that changed my entire trip. She said, “Why don’t you look for a day-rate hotel?” Whichever hotel maven thought up this idea was a genius. I booked a room in a hotel close to the airport for seven hours. Their van picked me up and brought me back. I had a four-hour nap, a long hot bath and then a steam in a shower sauna (How is it that every home is not equipped with one of these?). So today, instead of feeling exhausted and upside down, I feel pretty good. I’m ready to start exploring.

Feature video:

Include this post in the featured videos

Indonesian Travel Journal: How to Pack

Orlando — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 03:34:46 +0000

Step 1: Wake up early, determined to finish packing up at least one room.

Step 2: Check email.

Step 3: Check Dagblog.

Step 4: Check Facebook.

Step 5: Read news.

Step 6: Shower.

Step 7: Head next door to see what the family is up to. (Wii!)

Step 8: Play Lego Star Wars on the Wii

Step 9: Play Just Dance on the Wii (FREAKING AWESOME!)

Step 10: Have lunch with a friend you won't see for a couple years at least.

Step 11: Get home from lunch determined to finish the room by dinner.

Step 12: Order some shoes online.

Step 13: Go to the post office.

Step 14: Get a pedicure.

Step 15: Drive a half hour to see a newly-born member of the family.

Step 16: Drive back.

Step 17: Stop by the doctor's office to get a tetanus shot.

Step 18: Get home and go next door to see what the family cooked for dinner.

Step 19: Eat with the family and then watch some television.

Step 20: Return home to go to bed, determined to wake up early and finish at least one room.

I figure if I can sustain this schedule for 13 more days, I won't actually have to pack. It's a strategy that's working for me so far.

Feature video:

Include this post in the featured videos