Dark Money by Jane Mayer

Just finished DARK MONEY by Jane Mayer, not a new book, but an important one. It is terrifying, in that it makes it so abundantly clear that money has shaped policy in a terribly ugly way. The subtitle of the book is the hidden history of the billionaires behind the rise of the radical right. Its focus is on the Koch brothers,but there are others, and their agenda is hands off business and money, so they can screw their employees,not hire union workers, taxes are tyranny, no environmental regulations-everything for the betterment of their businesses. The upshot? What is good for big billionaires business people is not good for most of America, but by employing the false rhetoric of populism, they get common folks to believe they are on their side. And they pay to get common folks on their sides-millions of dollars in districts all across America. Their  beliefs advance their personal and corporate interests. One example is the DeVos family, a billionaire family invested in shaping politics as such. They make political deals, and one was providing Betsy DeVos with a cabinet position: as Secretary of Education, a job for which she is grossly unprepared and not qualified for. She never stepped into the foot of a public school until she got this position in the Trump administration, and she is not interested in the needs of this population; hence, vouchers as a suggestion to help dismantle the public school system.

These libertarian ideas are dangerous and appalling, and here we are stuck in an America that has been manipulated by the finances of self-serving"rich" interests. This is not my America-yet how to stop this? A MUST READ book, but very depressing in its reality-based focus.

Remote Area Medical

Several years ago, my husband an I (he is a physician) did volunteer work in Wise, Virginia, for Remote Area Medical. This is a three-day event in Appalachia for people who have no insurance. People drive hundreds of miles to line up in the middle of the night, just to have an opportunity to be seen by a doctor, dentist, or just take a simple procedural test, like a mammogram (some of the women had not gotten one for decades-too expensive. I was in charge of recruiting women to take this test). It was gratifying work; I was so happy to do it, but also sad and frustrated. Sad because a basic human right-health insurance-was clearly not available to people and frustrated because (according to my husband) there was no follow up for patients once they left Virginia. Ultimately, he stopped wanting to go down to Wise, since he was not convinced this was good care-to be seen once; to get medication and never to be seen again. What is even more depressing is reading in the NYT this week that Remote Area Medical is thriving-bigger than ever. The lines are longer and there are more desperate people. This made me feel when I retire, I will go back there, even if my husband does not come with me, but also I felt so sad that the state of healthcare in our country has grown worse-not better. The biggest part of my frustration is that now the Republican majority wants to dismantle whatever little is left of a broken healthcare system, leaving millions without the proper care. Those same senators would make it their business to go down to Wise, Virginia for Remote Area Medical, and see the countless families whose children have never seen a dentist (age nine), who have never been tested for cancer or diabetes, even though it runs in their families; the countless toothless people who have never been to a a dentist. Maybe then they will give pause and say, something is terribly wrong with the heartless way we regard people's lives. Perhaps they might think to do the right thing.

What is a Hero?

What is a hero? Someone who stands by their conscience, someone who stands up against a bully, someone who dares to defy the norm. I have never been part of the norm, and revel in the fact that this feels like a good thing. I admire people who are very principled and it is their principles that motivate them. Part of the reason I do not respect our president is that he lacks a conscience and principles; this translates to being morally reprehensible. It is not about party; there are Republicans I admire, even though I am a Democrat. And this week there are three I applaud as heroes: Senator Susan Collins of Maine; Senator Lisa Murkowski of Alaska and Senator John McCain of Arizona. These three stood up to the bully pulpit and said NO to the Republicans who are trying to sabotage our healthcare system. They are Republican, and the senator from Alaska was even threatened by the president, who said he would withhold money from her state, something he cannot do. Bravo to these three brave souls. My only prayer is that more and more Republican senators will follow suit as 45 continues to dismantle our system, without a thought to what is fair, decent and right. MIGHT is never RIGHT. And these three people stand up unafraid. So proud to be a part of their America!

Another Brooklyn

Two years ago Jacqueline Woodson, my friend, gave me a copy of ANOTHER BROOKLYN (uncorrected proofs), before it was nominated as a National Book Award finalist. I admired the writing, was moved by the story and thought-like always-she is a superb writer. Reading it two years later has made me appreciate the book so much more! It is elegant writing-sad, poignant, poetic-a story about friendship, family, loss. For whatever reason, I loved the book this time, much more the second time around. I suppose I have been reading a lot of poetry this year, and this has changed my sensibilities. ANOTHER BROOKLYN is an elegy, a lamentation, filled with the beautiful and figurative diction of a long-lasting and terrific poem. I LOVE this book and believe me, you will too!