Then: Palin did not protest too much

Good Reading Department: Yesterday Shannyn Moore posted a rundown of all the times the Slutty Flight Attendant didn't seem to have a problem when comics joked about her daughters:

10) Last September, a skit on Saturday Night Live suggested incest in the Palin family. "What about the husband?" asked a mock Times reporter. "You know he’s doing those daughters. I mean, come on. It's Alaska!" No outrage. Sarah Palin appeared on the show one month later in late October.



9) Days after the announcement of Bristol’s pregnancy, Conan O'Brien joked, "It's true, John McCain's running mate, Alaska Governor Sarah Palin, has revealed that her 17-year-old daughter is pregnant. Palin said, 'We should never have introduced her to John Edwards.'" Where was the outrage? Was Conan promoting infidelity with an underage girl?

8 ) From two different Tonight Shows: "Governor Palin announced over the weekend that her 17-year-old unmarried daughter is five months pregnant. Oh, boy, you thought John Edwards was in trouble before, now he's really done it!" AND... "All the Republicans are heaping praise on Governor Palin. Fred Thompson said, as an actor, he could see them making a movie about Sarah Palin and her family. Didn’t they already make that movie? I think it was called 'Knocked Up!'"–Jay Leno

Read the rest

The Cost Conundrum (Update 3)

The New Yorker looks at an example of the craziness that is the U.S. health care system:

The Cost Conundrum
by Atul Gawande
...
McAllen (Texas) calls itself the Square Dance Capital of the World. "Lonesome Dove" was set around here.

McAllen has another distinction, too: it is one of the most expensive health-care markets in the country. Only Miami—which has much higher labor and living costs—spends more per person on health care. In 2006, Medicare spent fifteen thousand dollars per enrollee here, almost twice the national average. The income per capita is twelve thousand dollars. In other words, Medicare spends three thousand dollars more per person here than the average person earns.

Article

Update 1: Following on this news comes a letter from my health insurance carrier. That private health insurance company has written to inform me that it has decided to limit my choice of pharmacy. Instead, they have formed an exclusive arrangement with Accredo and Walgreens in order to provide, and I quote, "excellent service" and "greater convenience."

Thank gawd, it's SO about time. Because Walgreens is located a whole block closer to my house than my current pharmacy where I've been forced to do business for the last 10 years.

Update 2: So Premera gave me two numbers to call (at least it was toll free). I have a choice between Accredo and Walgreens (then how is the arrangement "exclusive"?). One turned out to be a general public number with a robot. No thanks.

The other number was picked up by an actual person; but it was clear they had no idea of their special relationship with Premera. I was kept on hold while she read something, then sought instructions from a supervisor. Then she took down my doctor's name and number so they can bother her too. I suppose they're going to have to call me back to get my address, which they'll need if they're going to ship me the prescription.

All I have to say is keep up the good work, guys. Much more of this "excellence" and "convenience," and even more Americans will be on board with single payer.

Update 3 (6/19): My prescription arrived today, by UPS. The box was crammed full of non-recyclable materials, including a massive styrofoam 'vault.' Grrrrrrr. I called the service, who passed me to a pharmacist, who first said he would connect me to their (alleged) Green Team, but then couldn't remember who was on that team -- could he have them call me back? They haven't.

Two admirable news stories from The South

These are both really wonderful events:

First Black Mayor in City Known for Klan Killings
New York Times

The city of Philadelphia, Miss., where members of the Ku Klux Klan killed three civil rights workers in 1964 in one of the era’s most infamous acts, on Tuesday elected its first black mayor.

James A. Young, a Pentecostal minister and former county supervisor, narrowly beat the incumbent, Rayburn Waddell, in the Democratic primary. There is no Republican challenger...




Texas Mayor Trades Job for Romance in Mexico
Wall Street Journal

J.W. Lown, the mayor of San Angelo in West Texas, recently narrated a video touting his town as a great place to live. Then he left to pursue another passion.

Mr. Lown resigned this week -- less than a month after winning a fourth two-year term in a landslide -- saying he was leaving to carry on a relationship with a Mexican man who had been living illegally in the U.S.
...

With his partner unable to legally remain in the U.S., the mayor said he realized around election day -- May 9 -- that he faced a choice: betray his duty to abide by the law by helping the man hide from immigration authorities; end the relationship, or join him in Mexico. He chose Mexico.

Mr. Lown's colleagues and constituents have rallied around him. Some said they hadn't known he was gay. Others were surprised he got involved with an illegal immigrant. Neither issue drew widespread censure or disapproval.

"In this neck of the woods," said Councilman Johnny Silvas, "people are accepting."
...

The newest Mariners fan

Heretofore non-sports fan Marc Maron, Air America Media pundit, has chosen a baseball team to root for. He explains his variety of reasons in this segment from Friday's Break Room Live:



No sooner had Maron boarded the good ship Mariner than the team went out and got clobbered by the Twins 11-0 on Friday and 9-6 on Saturday, continuing a four game losing streak courtesy of Texas and Kansas City.

Only today's 5-3 win over Minnesota saves Maron from jinx status. Welcome, Marc, and see ya at Safeco Field.

This is also how you Do It

Public rental bikes, that is: the check-out stations have to be near everywhere you want to go.

Blueprint for London's Cycling Revolution (The Guardian)

"We are all polluters"

Did you catch last night's PBS Frontline report on Puget Sound and Chesapeake Bay?

If not, watch it now!

Money talks

Here's a video of Will Murray describing his proposal for a sidewalk in the Bitter Lake neighborhood. It's the fourth time he's submitted it -- ironic that it has been unsuccessful, considering the area is one of the urban villages that supposedly is the focus of our smart growth, walkable neighborhoods policies.



Seattle may claim to put a priority on pedestrian needs, but money talks. The $90,000 available annually in the Neighborhood Street Fund represents city hall's real level of interest in making streets safer. In other words -- very little.

There will be no comprehensive improvement in pedestrian infrastructure so long as city hall follows a divide and conquer strategy: allocating a tiny amount of funding and making the neighborhoods compete for it against each other. It distracts everyone from uniting as one community and demanding a solution that is good for everyone.