Has Anyone Seen My Photo ID?

("G.O.P. Legislators Move to Tighten Rules on Voting")

Give the Republicans credit for being relentless. Here we go again with the voter fraud scare. It doesn't really rank up there with death panels, but it is hard to hit a home run every time at bat.

Untold thousands of elderly, as well as impoverished African Americans and Latinos lose the privilege the constitution guarantees them due to the misdirection created by the Republican machine. As reported in the NY Times, an investigation from 2002 to 2007 by the Justice Department, initiated at the request of then President Bush, found a total of 86 convictions for this crime (" In 5 Year Effort ,Scant Evidence of Voter Fraud", April 12, 2007) . Most reported incidents related to mistakes in completing forms or in understanding eligibility requirements. There were 122 million votes cast in the 2004 election. In short, it was the problem that wasn't then and isn't now.

While elections are immensely impacted by Republicans who stuff the pockets of candidates with vast amounts of corporate monies, while gerrymandering runs rampant, while voter intimidation is sure to keep many away, and while confusing or misleading ballots will further effect outcomes, the Republicans try to divert our attention from all of this.

Republican legislators speak of "preserv(ing) the integrity of the ballot box" by setting these voter eligibility requirements. Here, as in so many other areas, integrity and Republican seem like mutually exclusive terms. The only fraud committed here is by the party raising this issue

Credit Undue

"Don't Scorn Paul Ryan" correctly asserts that controlling the costs of Medicare is critical. But the fact that there needs to be debate about this program does not mean that the debate should be centered where Mr. Ryan suggests. The Democrats were the ones who started this discussion in 2009 when they spoke of ways to rein in costs of care. They contended, and still believe, that the principal way to attack this issue is by study and a determination of where the waste can be cut out of the system.

For that, they were scorned and ridiculed by the Republicans who utilized the opportunity to completely misrepresent the motives and goals of the Democrats. The famous "death panels" that never were, became the rallying cry for those who tried to decimate, if not eradicate, what they derisively now refer to as "Obamacare".

Don't give Mr. Ryan credit for initiating a serious debate by merely attempting to shift the burden of spiraling costs onto the backs of the elderly. Mr. Ryan's proposal passes on these phantom savings to the most well-to-do by way of tax cuts, even though this trickle-down theory has proven ineffective time and again. Enough with the pat on the back for a good try. Mr. Nocera is right that Mr. Ryan may not deserve our scorn, but that certainly does not mean that he deserves even the most infinitesimally small amount of our praise.

An Open Invitation to Sarah Palin

"Palin to Begin Public Tour this Weekend"


Dear Ms. Palin:

I am so excited to learn of your "One Nation" bus tour beginning this weekend in Washington, and leading eventually to New Hampshire. Along the way we are told you will be visiting historical and cultural East Coast sights. For reasons only you know, the times and places of your stops are undisclosed. I hope it is not because you feel that many in this part of the country find your views unfounded and inappropriate.

Speaking of views, I have a proposal for a perfect stop in my neighborhood, Fort Lee, New Jersey. The Fort Lee Historical Park sits merely feet away from the George Washington Bridge. Your tour bus will certainly travel Route 95 and will pass within spitting distance of this site. If you disembark, you will (as the website reports) find a "bluff where the Continental Army positioned its batteries over the Hudson in 1776". Each year we celebrate a day where many garbed in the attire of that era parade through this park.

I know how much you like to enjoy beautiful vistas (like being able to see Russia from near your home in Alaska) and I can tell you that from this perch you will have an unimpeded and spectacular view of the New York City skyline. At that moment, you will be able to connect to a spot of great historical significance for this country, and gaze out at the greatest city in the world (unfortunately one that neither understands your politics or your attraction to so many).

While I know the thrill would not be the same as your shooting at animals from your perch in a plane, the next best thing would be to stand high above the Hudson, as the first leader of our country did over 200 years ago, and take pot-shots at your critics in the Big Apple.

Please let me know as soon as possible if you will accept my sincere invitation. Hoping to see you in my backyard, so we can celebrate together this Memorial Day weekend and discuss why you believe you would make an acceptable President for a country so in need of something other than extreme right wing politics and policy.

Where is the Bravery?

Mr. Brooks ("Medicare Survival Guide") writes of the Republican party being punished for being brave on the issue of entitlements. Where is the bravery in the Ryan plan? Where is the bravery in the party itself?

Who among them will address the hard issues like the hand outs to the pharmaceutical companies? Who among them has taken on big oil? Who among them is willing to stabilize an economy in trouble off the backs of the wealthy, not the old, the sick or the impoverished? Who among them has suggested that the Supreme Court went a step too far in the Citizens United decision? Who among them will say that the issue of raising the debt ceiling is not the time or place to play chicken with this country's well being? Who among them will be the first to govern not to bring down the Democrats but to bring up this nation? Who among them is willing to denounce the Tea Party for what it really is, intellectually bankrupt? Who among them is willing to govern from the middle and not the extreme right?

There was no bravery in Mr.Ryan's plan. There was just more of the old Republican theory of catering to the rich and leaving the rest to fend for themselves, packaged in a new box. No, Mr. Brooks, this was not the Republicans being harmed because they threatened to be different, but only because they refused to be.

Less Than Universal Caring

("Gaining Upset, Democrat Wins New York Seat")

New York's most conservative district can thank Paul Ryan for this morning finding itself in Democratic hands. I applaud those life long Republicans who found that Mr. Ryan and his cronies made a serious error in judgment in seeking to attack and dismantle Medicare.

For many of those who otherwise consider themselves Republicans, their ballot yesterday was a call to preserve the government's expansive role in protecting a portion of our population from battling on their own against the ravages of an incomprehensible and unrelentingly harsh health care system. However, for these same people, permitting the government to protect the rest of the population in this country in a similar manner would be considered socialism and utterly unthinkable. Leave logic at the doorstep on your way in to this universe.

The Guardian ( A Lullaby)

Rest now, and dry your eyes
Let sleep envelop you
Dream now, of better times
Lie still and be renewed

Rest safe here in my arms
Be silent and serene
Rest safe here from all harm
Be quiet and at peace

And when the night's descended and all around seems dark
And when there just appears no where to go
Know I'll be there to guide you and bring you to the light
Know I'll be there to bring you safely home

My darling close your eyes
I'm standing watch tonight
My darling still your cries
I'm here to make all right

When you wake I'll be there
Still on guard for you
When you wake have no fear
For I will protect you

For when the night's descended and all around seems dark
For when there just appears no where to go
Know I'll be there to guide you and bring you to the light
Know I'll be there to bring you safely home.

The Fear of Forgetting

"Our Irrational Fear of Forgetting" minimizes the devastating impact of memory loss. My mother is 93 and I have watched her disappear, step by agonizing step, over the past years. I look each day for the light that still shines within her, but it is often hard to find. She has lost time and place, and the world has become an unrecognizable blur to her.

Advances in modern medicine now allow our old to become ever older. The problem is that we are outliving our bodies and our minds. It is not anything that an attitude adjustment can fix. As my family copes daily with the hardships that have become a given in my mom's existence, it does make those of us who watch and suffer with her and for her, fearful. Burden is a harsh word, but it is something that my mother desperately wants not to be, and it is something that we hope never to be to our children.

Losing much of one's identity to a disease for which there are no answers does generate very rational concerns. I remember my mom, many years ago, before she exhibited any signs of noticeable deterioration, complaining about her inability to recall and retrieve. I always assured her it was nothing. But now, when I am unable to remember information, or my wife is unable to complete a thought, it raises the spectre of something much larger. Our children already have had discussions with us as to the scope of their role when we are in decline.

So, while "Forget Memory, Try Imagination" is a catchy slogan, it does not allay my trepidation. For those who have been touched by the tragedy of Alzheimer's or dementia, who watch mothers and fathers or grandparents diminish and fade away, fear is a natural, and very rational, response.

Distractions

(" A Summer to Simmer")

The recession that strangles this nation, does not appear ready to loosen its grip. We wake up each morning to the reality of yet one more day in which unemployment is rampant, health care is withheld from an enormous portion of our population while coverage for the rest is woefully inadequate and incomprehensibly complicated, housing foreclosures have blighted entire regions, and the imbalance between those who have and those who don't is monumental and growing larger.

The chasm between the fundamental beliefs of our political parties has stymied any efforts to make meaningful progress on so many fronts, and we remain in constant pain.

In a time such as this, events of the moment serve merely to distract. Recent seismic happenings in the Middle East, North Africa, Japan are of consequence today but only part of the landscape tomorrow. The personal failings of a former governor of California or the former leader of the IMF are just temporary fodder. When we are living under the weight of a population struggling to survive, everything else ultimately seems of little consequence.

Why Put Off Til Tomorrow

If tomorrow is really the end of the world, at least I am at a Yankee- Met game tonight. My list of other things to do VERY quickly.

1. Get off this diet and have an enormous double cheeseburger, fries and of course a diet coke as I don't want to think I am really pigging out.

2. Write my definitive masterpiece. Sending 3 paragraphs to the NY Times often enough that they are sometimes compelled to put my words in print does not constitutes a masterpiece.

3. Visit the Hall of Fame in Cooperstown. Can I really consider myself a baseball fan if I have never even contemplated doing this?

4. Perform something profoundly good for the entire planet. Even though this would be of absolutely no long term significance, I have always believed that I had the capacity to be of assistance, and well, better late than never.

5. Promote world peace day. Wouldn't it be wonderful if our last day on earth was one was there was no killing?

6. Dismantle the Republican party.

7. Get laser eye surgery. It would be nice to wake up in the morning and be able to read the numbers on the clock.

8. Go see "Book of Mormon". Again.

9. Watch "It's A Wonderful Life". Again.

10. Be helpful around the house without me having to be reminded about what it was that I was supposed to do, and promised to do, but never did.

11. Get a good night's sleep, without being interrupted several times to have to go to the bathroom.

12. Post a notice on the door of my office that I am taking a short vacation but will return the day after tomorrow.

13. Learn how to operate a smart phone so I don't feel so dumb.

14. Have a "Last Supper" with everyone I love or admire, and anyone who has been willing to overlook my eccentricities. As long as I can eat a double cheeseburger, fries and of course, drink a diet coke.

Death by Numbers

I survey the landscape of death that now consumes the middle East and North Africa. Protests and killings have become a fact of life in Yemen, Bahrain, Egypt, Syria, Tunisia, Libya, Kuwait, Somalia, Morocco and Jordan. We have been numbed to the death tolls in Afghanistan and Iraq. Pakistan has become the most recent focus of an inevitable death march.

I was born in 1952. Where has death by intention, through wars and armed conflicts taken this world since I entered it? From the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the Korean Peninsula, to Southeast Asia and Sudan we have seen battles where some estimate of casualties in each of these areas of the world approaches or exceeds 1,000,000. The Iran-Iraq war may also have the dubious honor of joining the one million plus club.

Genocides have decimated populations in Cambodia, Rwanda, Sudan, Guatemala, Iraq, Burundi, Sri Lanka, Equatorial Guinea, East Timor, Argentina, China and Zanzibar. Drug wars have eradicated thousands in Mexico.

Israel and its neighbors have been in a continual struggle since the time of my birth. Short and violent conflicts have dotted the history of this region. Death is always seemingly but waiting at the doorstep.

In my lifetime I have only viewed paintings of our world in the blood red of death by numbers. I wonder if I will ever see a canvas filled with the colors of peace.