The Satanic Nurses, Part II
If Gwynn would have thought about her comment before she made it, she would have phrased it differently. That lapse was so unlike her. Bitesmiler was one who planned everything; she considered every utterance and every tilt of her head as vitally important to her message and her image. It wasn’t until much later that she would look back and ponder what was responsible for her poor choice of words.
When Brett Ledderer saw the CNN Headline News segment, he smiled at Bitesmiler’s comment. “You’ve shafted the patients, bitch,” he said aloud, though no one was there to hear, “and now you’re asking that your members get the same treatment! Happy to oblige!” Ledderer, CEO of one of the largest health care systems in the U.S., Benifica Medical, had done battle with Bitesmiler on many occasions and he always found the ultimate, obligatory handshake and smile for the media upon reaching a compromise to be repugnant. Benifica, which owned and operated hospitals and emergency treatment centers in 40 states, had been forced to redirect more than $7 billion away from direct patient care since Bitesmiler began attacking the company’s practices and use it, instead, for increased salaries and benefits for nurses and as a reserve fund to fight the increasing number of malpractice suits brought against the company. Ledderer hated Bitesmiler. If he could have been assured that he would never have been caught, he would have taken her out in his yacht, drowned her, and dumped her concrete-weighted body in the Atlantic. But Ledderer was not a bad man, not a mean-spirited man. He was, though, a man who, when pushed hard enough, reacted badly.
Brett Ledderer, despite his position and his wealth, had a self-deprecating sense of humor that bordered on the absurd. During a speech to the Health Care Executives New Century Forum, he described his efforts to hire a new Executive Vice President for Medical Research. “I wooed Dr. Regarola for weeks, visiting his office several times to try to get a sense of the man, what he wanted, and how Benifica could help him achieve his vision. I offered him the position and waited for his response. Tragically, he was offered a similar position with a competitor, which he accepted and went on to initiate a new medical protocol which has saved at least 10,000 lives to date.”
Saturday, February 4, 2006
The Satanic Nurses
It's time for a little fun. I may continue this little charade, or I may not. It felt good to get it started, nonetheless...
The Satanic Nurses
Part I
The executive director of the National Association of Union Nurses had burnt-orange-hued hair that erupted from her head like angry shards of sharpened tensile steel wire, warning all who approached to keep the appropriate distance. Gwynn Bitesmiler applied her makeup with the same intensity of purpose with which she groomed her hair. She painted her face to amplify her sharp cheekbones and the fierceness of her brows. Mascara and eye shadow were applied with the objective of giving her eyes the look of a bird of prey. Her clothes were carefully chosen to project the image that this was a no-nonsense woman who was most comfortable wielding power. Every aspect of her grooming, her demeanor, and her carefully chosen words were meant to give her opponents a hint of what they were facing when they faced her.
Her objective was for her appearance to reinforce her reputation: powerful, dangerous, unflinching bitch who would happily sacrifice her closest friends and family if it meant reaching her political goals. She wanted people to fear her, not out of some twisted personal psychosis, but out of her understanding that being feared made attainment of political goals far more likely.
Bitesmiler’s political goals were simple: enactment of legislation that would guarantee that nurses’ pay and benefits were, at minimum, equivalent to ninety percent of the compensation of physicians working in the same environment. Her tactics helped define ‘hardball politics.’ Six nationwide nursing strikes in six years had brought the organization’s message home: either pay us what we’re worth, or face the consequences of hospitals without nurses.
The last nationwide strike was particularly ugly. Critics, and even some supporters, charged Bitesmiler with holding some of the nation’s most vulnerable people— hospital patients— hostage to political demands. Bitesmiler responded by saying that her organization’s members simply decided they could not make a living wage at their chosen profession and stopped practicing it…and would continue to do so…until they received higher pay. She likened the actions of the organization’s members to an individual who, upon evaluating his work load against his pay scale, decides, “it’s just not worth it,” and quits the job. “Our members want to contribute to the health of our citizens, but they have to consider their own circumstances as well,” she said, adding, “When the health care system in this country looks out after its workers the same way it looks out after its patients, then our job will be done.” When she uttered that statement, there were people working to make sure that is exactly what would happen. Those people were not her allies. They were not her allies in the least.
The Satanic Nurses
Part I
The executive director of the National Association of Union Nurses had burnt-orange-hued hair that erupted from her head like angry shards of sharpened tensile steel wire, warning all who approached to keep the appropriate distance. Gwynn Bitesmiler applied her makeup with the same intensity of purpose with which she groomed her hair. She painted her face to amplify her sharp cheekbones and the fierceness of her brows. Mascara and eye shadow were applied with the objective of giving her eyes the look of a bird of prey. Her clothes were carefully chosen to project the image that this was a no-nonsense woman who was most comfortable wielding power. Every aspect of her grooming, her demeanor, and her carefully chosen words were meant to give her opponents a hint of what they were facing when they faced her.
Her objective was for her appearance to reinforce her reputation: powerful, dangerous, unflinching bitch who would happily sacrifice her closest friends and family if it meant reaching her political goals. She wanted people to fear her, not out of some twisted personal psychosis, but out of her understanding that being feared made attainment of political goals far more likely.
Bitesmiler’s political goals were simple: enactment of legislation that would guarantee that nurses’ pay and benefits were, at minimum, equivalent to ninety percent of the compensation of physicians working in the same environment. Her tactics helped define ‘hardball politics.’ Six nationwide nursing strikes in six years had brought the organization’s message home: either pay us what we’re worth, or face the consequences of hospitals without nurses.
The last nationwide strike was particularly ugly. Critics, and even some supporters, charged Bitesmiler with holding some of the nation’s most vulnerable people— hospital patients— hostage to political demands. Bitesmiler responded by saying that her organization’s members simply decided they could not make a living wage at their chosen profession and stopped practicing it…and would continue to do so…until they received higher pay. She likened the actions of the organization’s members to an individual who, upon evaluating his work load against his pay scale, decides, “it’s just not worth it,” and quits the job. “Our members want to contribute to the health of our citizens, but they have to consider their own circumstances as well,” she said, adding, “When the health care system in this country looks out after its workers the same way it looks out after its patients, then our job will be done.” When she uttered that statement, there were people working to make sure that is exactly what would happen. Those people were not her allies. They were not her allies in the least.
Midnight and Beyond
I see the world from a different perspective around midnight. The race of the day is over, my wife is asleep in bed, and I have decompressed from a long week and a particularly long day. After going out for sushi and attending an odd, but interesting, musical, I feel relaxed...save for a godawful pain in the right side of my neck and my right shoulder, which has been growing worse for several days. But even that pain seems a bit more distant after midnight. I feel like I have a private pocket of time that's all mine...my experiences, my thoughts, my ideas...they're all mind in this little private pocket.
It is tough to establish a line, or a measure, of what's reasonable as to the level of freedom, luxury, and access to basic necessities that is unselfish...where my North American experiences go over that line and turn my expectations into selfishness.
I wonder whether anyone has ever measured what financial resources, in local capital, would be available to every person on earth if the cash wealth of this planet were distributed equally. I have a sense that the poorest among this planet's inhabitants would be dramatically enriched, and that the world's richest people would still live far above where the least fortunate live today. Just a gut feel, nothing I know how to meaure.
It's morning, now, hours after I wrote the words above. I wanted to view them outside of my "private pocket" to see whether they still make sense. They do, but perhaps the light of day makes the thoughts behind them seem less acute.
Surprise! My wife just got up...far earlier than normal, despite the fact that she was awake far later than normal. It's late in the morning for me to have gotten up so recently, too...well after 7:30 and nearing 8:00, which is extremely late for me on an average Saturday. I've just poured my first super-mug of coffee and my wife is busy making her first cup of tea.
Now that my wife is up and about, I'll abandon this little project and may come back to write more later in the day...but for now, I will post these Friday night and Saturday morning thoughts and experiences.
It is tough to establish a line, or a measure, of what's reasonable as to the level of freedom, luxury, and access to basic necessities that is unselfish...where my North American experiences go over that line and turn my expectations into selfishness.
I wonder whether anyone has ever measured what financial resources, in local capital, would be available to every person on earth if the cash wealth of this planet were distributed equally. I have a sense that the poorest among this planet's inhabitants would be dramatically enriched, and that the world's richest people would still live far above where the least fortunate live today. Just a gut feel, nothing I know how to meaure.
It's morning, now, hours after I wrote the words above. I wanted to view them outside of my "private pocket" to see whether they still make sense. They do, but perhaps the light of day makes the thoughts behind them seem less acute.
Surprise! My wife just got up...far earlier than normal, despite the fact that she was awake far later than normal. It's late in the morning for me to have gotten up so recently, too...well after 7:30 and nearing 8:00, which is extremely late for me on an average Saturday. I've just poured my first super-mug of coffee and my wife is busy making her first cup of tea.
Now that my wife is up and about, I'll abandon this little project and may come back to write more later in the day...but for now, I will post these Friday night and Saturday morning thoughts and experiences.
Friday, February 3, 2006
Just a Tad...
On the way home from work today, I heard portions of an interview of a Russian woman (I don't know her role, but think she might be a newspaper reporter or theatre critic). The interview dealt with the good and bad of Russian theatre. What struck me about the translation of the interview was one particular comment, made, I think, in connection with some Russians' tendency to look more at the venue than the play in judging quality. The quote went something like this: "Many times, people are more interested in the fancy wrappings around candy and they don't care about whether the candy is good." I understand the point, but I think the concept behind this specific example was stretched to the limit.
My wife and I are off soon to enjoy a volcano role at a sushi place, after which we will go to Watertower Theatre in Addison to see Urinetown, the Musical. So, my time is limited and can only write a tad...which I have done.
My wife and I are off soon to enjoy a volcano role at a sushi place, after which we will go to Watertower Theatre in Addison to see Urinetown, the Musical. So, my time is limited and can only write a tad...which I have done.
Thursday, February 2, 2006
Lost Post and Misplaced Thoughts
I spent about 30 minutes writing a post this evening, right after my mindless little post about micro/macro legal perspectives. As I was submitting it, blogger.com locked up. Oh well, 30 minutes of lost time. The only issue of particular note was my comment about going to Dubrovnik, Croatia in May...I hope my wife will come along.
During the last little while, I have watched television news and it has driven me to a bit of distraction...I should stop watching. I've said it before and I will say it again...Nancy Grace on CNN is not a journalist...she should be boiled in her own juices. Anderson Cooper has his strong points, but he has plenty of weak ones. I have even more weak ones!
I want to try to remember to write comments later concerning random ideas, thoughts, opinions, and observations about:
All of this should give me plenty of subjects for future blogs.
During the last little while, I have watched television news and it has driven me to a bit of distraction...I should stop watching. I've said it before and I will say it again...Nancy Grace on CNN is not a journalist...she should be boiled in her own juices. Anderson Cooper has his strong points, but he has plenty of weak ones. I have even more weak ones!
I want to try to remember to write comments later concerning random ideas, thoughts, opinions, and observations about:
- Kinky Friedman running for Texas' governor
- Creating products and services for the home-school market
- Pooling family's/friends' money to create a real compound
- Living on the Mexican Pacific coast
- Joining the Peace Corps...are Geezers too old to join?
- My abhorrance of all things religious, at least when those things are fanatical
- My offense at receiving a business email with a link to a nutcase Christian website
- How it might feel to have a completely new body, but the same brain/thought processes/memory
- Whether good fences really DO make good neighbors?
- Why certain types of emotions bring tears, while others bring smiles and laughter
- Why I have never needed, nor wanted, friends outside my marriage and family and whether that's really how I feel
- Why I have never, to date, published a book
- What it is about HGTV programs that appeals to me
- Whether it is worthwhile to have my turntable repaired
- Whether it is possible to have my LPs converted to CDs or MP3 files
- My admiration of Emily Dickinson, Mark Twain, and Jimmy Carter
- Why my wife's breast cancer made me realize how exceptionally important she is to me
- Why I think my own health probably will prevent me from ever being an old man
- What it is about dark cherry and teak woods that I find appealing
- How it has come to pass that my intense dislike for certain Japanese styles evolved into an intense respect for certain other Japanese styles
- Why I regard people who mispronounce 'nuclear' and 'realtor' as insufficiently intelligent
All of this should give me plenty of subjects for future blogs.
Legal or Not
The macro viewpoint of what is legal should echo the micro perspective.
For example, in the micro perspective, if an individual named George unleashes his viscious dogs on an old man with the express purpose of killing the old man because George thinks the guy is dangerous, George probably would be found guilty in a court of law of attempted murder. If the old man died as a result, George would be guilty of murder. In either case, George would be viewed as a criminal.
In the macro view, if George, the leader of a country, unleashes the country's military in an invasion of another country with the express purpose of killing the leader of that country because George thinks the guy has weapons of mass destruction, George probably would be found guilty in a politically corrupt and morally bankrupt political party of regime-change. If thousands of his own troups died as a result of his folly and tens of thousands of people in the occupried country died, George would be found guilty in a politically corrupt and morally bankrupt political party of regime-change. In either case, somehow George is not viewed as having broken any laws.
Something is wrong. In the second scenario, George should be subject to imprisonment, but he's not.
For example, in the micro perspective, if an individual named George unleashes his viscious dogs on an old man with the express purpose of killing the old man because George thinks the guy is dangerous, George probably would be found guilty in a court of law of attempted murder. If the old man died as a result, George would be guilty of murder. In either case, George would be viewed as a criminal.
In the macro view, if George, the leader of a country, unleashes the country's military in an invasion of another country with the express purpose of killing the leader of that country because George thinks the guy has weapons of mass destruction, George probably would be found guilty in a politically corrupt and morally bankrupt political party of regime-change. If thousands of his own troups died as a result of his folly and tens of thousands of people in the occupried country died, George would be found guilty in a politically corrupt and morally bankrupt political party of regime-change. In either case, somehow George is not viewed as having broken any laws.
Something is wrong. In the second scenario, George should be subject to imprisonment, but he's not.
Wednesday, February 1, 2006
Our Addiction to Foreign Oil
George Bush finally got something right; Americans are 'addicted' to foreign oil. But that's all he got right in his State of the Union address last night. I'll limit my very short comments to the single topic of his 'plan' to treat that addiction.
Bush's 'plan' is based on an irrational belief that advances in existing technology will treat our addiction. His plan to fix the problem is so completely and utterly inadequate I am surprised his comments were not met with jeers and laughter...but I guess those who would have provided the noise were not admitted to hear his speech last night. His policies betray his commitment to reducing our dependence on foreign oil. His refusal to let stand, much less make more stringent, CAFE standards to reduce gasoline use tell the real truth. His refusal to insist that Hummers and other such monstrosities be subject to gas mileage standards tell the real truth. His half-hearted approach to deal with an approaching catastrophe tell the truth.
If George Bush were a true leader, which of course he is not, he would have told the American public that it's past time for us to start taking action to cut our fuel consumption...he would have insisted that all of us need to recognize our own contributions to fuel overconsumption and that we need to STOP IT! Bush would have said the problem is something that cannot be ignored, nor can it be dealt with through half-hearted programs that look decades into the future for solutions. He would have said the only rational way for us to deal with the issue is to launch a no-holds-barred program of energy research, with the objective of identifying fresh new ways of generating energy to meet our requirements, and that our requirements would have to be reduced, regardless of the solution. He would have vowed to reach, by a near-term, specific date, energy self-sufficiency. He would have vowed to reach, by another specific date, the target of finding ways of replacing petroleum in products...in addition of replacing petroleum as an energy source.
But George Bush is not a leader...he is an arrogant, uninformed, brutal, uncaring, loser. And 'we' elected him. Ten years from now, I wonder how many people who voted for Bush will look back and recognize that the reason they are living in a 3rd rate country that has neither power nor respect and understand that their votes were responsible for it?
It's not entirely attributable to Bush, though. Where are the intelligent, articulate Democrats or independents who could provide a voice for reason? Kerry's laughable attempt to work a fillibuster of Alito's nomination provides proof that he's not the one. And everyone else seems silent.
Bush's 'plan' is based on an irrational belief that advances in existing technology will treat our addiction. His plan to fix the problem is so completely and utterly inadequate I am surprised his comments were not met with jeers and laughter...but I guess those who would have provided the noise were not admitted to hear his speech last night. His policies betray his commitment to reducing our dependence on foreign oil. His refusal to let stand, much less make more stringent, CAFE standards to reduce gasoline use tell the real truth. His refusal to insist that Hummers and other such monstrosities be subject to gas mileage standards tell the real truth. His half-hearted approach to deal with an approaching catastrophe tell the truth.
If George Bush were a true leader, which of course he is not, he would have told the American public that it's past time for us to start taking action to cut our fuel consumption...he would have insisted that all of us need to recognize our own contributions to fuel overconsumption and that we need to STOP IT! Bush would have said the problem is something that cannot be ignored, nor can it be dealt with through half-hearted programs that look decades into the future for solutions. He would have said the only rational way for us to deal with the issue is to launch a no-holds-barred program of energy research, with the objective of identifying fresh new ways of generating energy to meet our requirements, and that our requirements would have to be reduced, regardless of the solution. He would have vowed to reach, by a near-term, specific date, energy self-sufficiency. He would have vowed to reach, by another specific date, the target of finding ways of replacing petroleum in products...in addition of replacing petroleum as an energy source.
But George Bush is not a leader...he is an arrogant, uninformed, brutal, uncaring, loser. And 'we' elected him. Ten years from now, I wonder how many people who voted for Bush will look back and recognize that the reason they are living in a 3rd rate country that has neither power nor respect and understand that their votes were responsible for it?
It's not entirely attributable to Bush, though. Where are the intelligent, articulate Democrats or independents who could provide a voice for reason? Kerry's laughable attempt to work a fillibuster of Alito's nomination provides proof that he's not the one. And everyone else seems silent.