WPMI: “Good news for Lauren Rainey and dozens like her”

The news today has come in big headlines; a lot of it’s been bad, which is usually the case. This story, however, is nothing but good. From WPMI (NBC 15, Mobile), in its entirety:

Good news for Lauren Rainey and dozens like her

It looks like a severely handicapped Mobile girl will maintain her at home nursing care. For months NBC-15 has reported on Lauren Rainey’s battle with Alabama Medicaid. The state agency indicated last fall that it was drastically reducing nursing for Lauren.

Lauren is 13-years-old. She is a dwarf, is deaf, has an artificial airway, a weak immune system, and severe bone abnormalities. After NBC-15’s Bruce Mildwurf profiled Lauren’s story, Medicaid was flooded with e-mails and phone calls from around the world.

Medicaid then held a 90-day investigation period and has now decided to change its regulations so that Lauren and dozens like her will continue to receive adequate help. The new policies will go into effect in May. NBC-15 will continue to follow the story.

Details to come from WPMI. Previous posts on Lauren’s case available here.

Lebanon: All bets are off

The Lebanese government has just resigned.

Lebanon’s pro-Syrian government abruptly resigned today during a stormy parliamentary debate, prompting a tremendous roar from tens of thousands of anti-government protesters. The demonstrators, awash in a sea of red, white and green Lebanese flags, had demanded the government’s resignation — and the withdrawal of Syrian troops from Lebanon — since the assassination of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri two weeks ago.

Even Thomas Friedman knew that Lebanon was rapidly approaching a tipping point, precipitated in part by the assassination of Hariri.

In Lebanon, the murder of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri, which Syria is widely suspected of having had a hand in, has reframed that drama. A month ago, Lebanon was the story of a tiny Christian minority trying to resist the Syrian occupation, which had the tacit support of the pro-Syrian Lebanese government and a cadre of Lebanese politicians who had sold their souls to Damascus. After the Hariri murder, Lebanese just snapped. Lebanon became the story of a broad majority of Lebanese Christians, Muslims and Druse no longer willing to remain silent, but instead telling the Syrians, and their Lebanese puppet president, to “go home.” Lebanon went from a country where few dared whisper “When will Syria leave?” to a country where nearly everyone was shouting it, and Syria was having to answer.

As Friedman’s op-ed percolates through the media and the notions of reframing and “tipping points” themselves become the new Middle East metaphor, it’s useful to remember that “tipped” situations are highly volatile and are already in motion - and perhaps not in the direction you want. The fall of the government in Damascus will bring great joy to the anti-Syrian movement in Lebanon, and considerable pleasure to the Bush administration. What happens next, however, may be less positive. Protests in Lebanon have been largely peaceful, but if that changes, the caretaker government may be pushed beyond its capacity to maintain order. In any event, Syria will be in no position to maintain order in a country where they’re not wanted. Damacsus will be under heightened pressure to withdraw from Lebanon - quickly - and failure to do according to the new “framework” of expectations may result in conflict with the Lebanese themselves, and with the United States and its nearby military. The probability of an American presence in Lebanon has just gone up considerably. The White House may see this as another opportunity to demonstrate its special brand of democracy-building liberation.

In any event: all bets are now officially off in Lebanon.

Just a thought: If Syria really was behind the Hariri assassination - which, as Friedman states, it is widely suspected of being - then Syria rather badly miscalculated the effects.

The monopolist

It’s funny, the things that stay with you.

I have never been able to beat my brother at Monopoly.

We haven’t played for years - thirty years, give or take, but the ache of repeated failure is as fresh now as it was back in the days when we’d sit on the hardwood floor with the game board between us. Silver tokens, green houses, red hotels. Railroads and utilities, Community Chest and the infamous Chance. Legendary street names. Funny money, wrinkled colored bills. I’d begin each match determined to clear the slate and avenge the losses of the past. I could do it; I was smart, after all, savvy, an A student. And I was older, a whole two years older; that difference meant more back then. Greg sat opposite me, inexplicably confident. We each began with a fifteen hundred dollar stake and a world of financial possibilities; the games always ended with me mortgaged to the hilt, each of my title deeds face down, and Greg smirking as I counted out the few paltry bills left to me. It was never enough. Game over. Again.

I would have accused him of cheating, but pride prevented me. Besides, how does one cheat at Monopoly? I demanded to know the secret of his success. It couldn’t be blind, persistent, annoying luck. Could it?

“I got a system,” was always the smug reply.

“Bullshit you do,” was always my retort, and I would demand a rematch. Which I would lose. Again. And again.

I mentioned that two years separated the two of us; I mentioned that I was a pretty good student. The combination of those facts occasionally made things difficult for Greg. He was continually subjected to comparisons when it came to grades, behavior, God knows what else. He would complain about it, and I was as sympathetic as an older sibling could be. That is, not unsympathetic, but more likely to shrug in a “that’s life, kid” manner. The irony, of course, is that Greg passed me in the smarts department years ago. I can’t even describe what he does for a living - something obscurely techie. But back then, I was large and in charge in the household.

Except for this Monopoly thing.

Years elapsed; we left games behind, moved to different cities and diferent concerns. I went on to play others in occasional Monopoly matches. I lost some games. I won some. I proved to myself that I was, at the very least, an average player who was capable of success against anyone.

Well, almost anyone.

I don’t revisit those Monopoly games of my own accord; rather, they revisit me, returning at odd moments. A couple of months ago, M and I were browsing in an antiques store when we ran across a old edition of the venerable board game. It came in a small, battered cardboard box bound with a thin rubberband. No board was included; just the tokens, the dice, the funny money. I looked down at it and immediately thought of Greg.

“I’m gonna buy it,” I said. The box now sits on our coffee table where I can see it every day.

A couple of weeks ago, I followed an online link that led me to a Mac version of the game. Not too expensive. I hadn’t played in a while. I wondered if it had online play capabilities. It did not.

I passed on buying the game. For now.

(Question: Why has Hasbro - no longer Parker Brothers, incredibly - passed on making untold billions by declining to market a proper and official online edition of this game? Doesn’t Hasbro like money? I await an answer.)

An idea has been growing in the back of my mind: a long-distance Monopoly game, played on two boards with identical setups right down to the order of the Chance and Community Chest cards, turn-based, played via email.

Just two players.

The Monopoly thing has stayed with me.

I wonder if it’s stayed with my brother?

Waveflux by design

A couple of weeks back, I mused aloud on my desire for a logo for this blog. Something that would look good on the site, and perhaps on a t-shirt. Since then, Atrios at Eschaton has expressed a similar desire, and has invited his readers to provide him with graphics. Now I imagine that Atrios is not unlike myself when it comes to graphics: that is, slightly impaired. However, Atrios is popular and successful, and so is in the enviable position of being able to ask admirers to shower logos upon him, which they are probably doing even as we speak. Waveflux is not in such a position. And Waveflux is not jealous, much.

Actually, I do look forward to seeing whatever Atrios comes up with, and more power to him. But hey, let’s get back to me.

I spent some time browsing various sites, looking for inspiration, ideas, or sources I might exploit. I thought I found such a source in LogoYes, an online, Flash-driven logo factory that draws on a database of thousands of premade graphics. You plug in some parameters (basic style, type of “industry,” basic subject, additional text) and Bob’s your uncle and here’s your logo, all for ninety-nine dollars. Was ninety-nine bucks too much for what was essentially a vanity project? Yes, I decided, it was too much - and that decision allowed me to see more drawbacks in the LogoYes scenario. There was no precise fit among the ready-made images for whatever it is that this site represents, nothing that felt really dead-on. The images themselves were, on the whole, less interesting than they first appeared. Additionally, the graphics remain the intellectual property of LogoYes. I can understand the reasoning behind that, but it made the idea of using their stuff even less attractive than it might have been. So LogoYes became, ah, LogoNo.

While coming to my conclusions on LogoYes, I ran across a critical and thoughtful post (and accompanying discussion) on such DIY graphics by designer Jason Santa Maria. As a professional, he takes the expected dim view of auto-art resources like LogoYes:

Plain and simple, technology does not take the place of good ideas. You pay a specialist for a reason. I don’t get under the hood of my car and ask the mechanic to use a different oil filter. I am paying him for his knowledge and experience, and I pay a premium price because I want the job done right.

You can say that a DIY logo is a good idea, and you are entitled to your opinions. There are circumstances when a fast and cheap logo makes sense. Does Tony Luke’s Pizza really need an expensive logo that breaks new boundaries in the restaurant business? Well, that’s a question for Tony Luke. LogoYes is threatening. Not because I feel like they have achieved a level of work I can’t, but because they contribute to the already size-able pile of shit I have to weed through in order to convince a client of the value of good design.

I agree with Santa Maria’s argument, and lust after his skills (check out the rest of his site). But it’s an argument that provides me no comfort, as his skills are quite beyond my reach. I can live with that. Logos aren’t in the same category as, say, health care; there’s no arguably intrinsic right to good graphic design. It’s properly part of the marketplace, and you get the design that you can buy, or beg, or work up on your own. So until the happy day that I can commission the likes of a Santa Maria to break new boundaries in the blogging business, I’m pretty much on my own. I don’t mind that too much; there’s something satisfying about the ownership that comes from having invested time and admittedly limited skills to make something of one’s own. For now, I guess that’s sufficient.

Which brings me back to this business of a logo. I actually decided on a concept, not earth-shattering but appropriate: a simple sinewave, which matches up with the spam-ridden but serviceable email address for this site. Good idea, or good enough.

All that’s left, apparently, is to draw it.

Matt Blunt: Failing the test on Medicaid

Like a bad student fudging answers on a test, Missouri governor Matt Blunt spins the facts on state Medicaid spending in hopes of what he considers a passing grade: support for his draconian budget cuts. A Sunday St. Louis Post-Dispatch editorial corrects Blunt’s answers with a red pen:

Gov. Matt Blunt says Missouri’s Medicaid program is the 2nd most expensive in the country.

But Missouri actually is:
33rd in spending per Medicaid enrollee
39th in state general revenue spending for Medicaid.
13th in Medicaid spending as a percentage of personal income.
21st in income eligibility for a parent.

If Mr. Blunt’s proposed changes go into effect and other states don’t change, Missouri will be:

40th in income eligibility for a parent.

Additionally: The editorial states that Missouri collects less tax money per person than all but five other states. A governor that handcuffs himself to a “no new taxes” pledge also shackles his state to substandard services.

If it’s a good idea and it involves health care…

…Matt Blunt, with the connivance of the GOP, will try to destroy it.

The latest target: The Missouri Foundation for Health and its Community Advisory Committee.

The latest weapon: House Bill No. 605.

From Roy Temple:

Maybe the GOP is attacking the foundation because it produces factually accurate information that proves very embarassing to them as they pursue ideological goals that don’t make common sense.

The same ideological mindset that prompted the attack on First Steps and the proposed gutting of Medicaid is the source of this citizen-hostile idea and, you can bet, many more to come. Contact your Missouri legislator to register your opposition.

The orchestra gets dressed

Looks like St. Louis may be back in the symphony orchestra game next week. Via Sarah Bryan Miller of the P-D:

Symphony, musicians announce an accord

Negotiators for the players and the administration of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra agreed to settle a work stoppage Thursday night. The settlement is subject to approval by the musicians.

“We have reached an agreement,” said Symphony Society president Randy Adams. The two sides had met for five hours with federal mediator Charles O. Fuchs.

Almost eight weeks after the music stopped, the announcement was good news - finally - for the musicians, management and supporters of the orchestra. [...]

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay got Bob Soutier, president of the Greater St. Louis Labor Council, involved in discussions with both sides. Soutier met with Adams on Wednesday afternoon.

Yet another positive for Mayor Slay’s reelect ads. One wonders if he might have stepped in sooner…but it’s good news all the same.

We may also cheerfully expect the SLSO Blog to return to life, like flowers in the spring (or use your own rebirth metaphor here).

TIME.com has a brief mention of the story as well.

Life under Blunt: The attack on foster families

Matt Blunt continues his assault on the social safety net on which millions of Missourians depend. Not content to gut the state’s commitment to Medicaid or to try to eliminate the popular First Steps intervention program, the governor has now turned his guns on families who adopt - and has apparently reneged on a promise in the process. This from Matthew Franck of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch:

Blunt plans to cut funds for families who adopt

Gov. Matt Blunt vowed last month to spend $9.5 million to beef up efforts to find permanent homes for foster children. But his budget would actually cut monthly support payments to the adoptive parents and guardians of more than 4,000 children.

Under the plan, the state would seek to save $12 million by eliminating monthly support checks to thousands of families earning twice the rate of poverty.

Many parents view the payments - which range from $225 to $651 a month - as essential to covering the costs of raising foster children, many of whom have severe disabilities.

They also feel Blunt wasn’t being upfront when he promised in his State of the State address last month to invest nearly $10 million in the programs.

“I feel duped by the governor,” said Melanie Scheetz, director of the Foster and Adoptive Care Coalition of St. Louis. [...]

Members of the governor’s staff say cutting off higher-income families is the best way to sustain rapidly growing programs. They said the $12 million in savings would allow the state to cover payments to the hundreds of lower-income families who are expected to adopt next year. The parents and guardians of 13,656 children are expected to qualify for the support payments next year, up from 8,972 three years ago.

“You need to make sure that you’re getting the money to those that need it most,” said Commissioner of Administration Mike Keathley, the architect of Blunt’s budget.

Critics say the plan could have been designed only by those who don’t understand families who adopt foster children. They say the children often have disabilities that would break the budgets of even wealthier families.

Others question whether the governor can legally cut off payments to the families, who signed contracts with the state when they agreed to take in children permanently.

The Temple Report, which has had its hands full covering the heartless and partisan policies of the Blunt administration, also links to the P-D article which is well worth the reading. Blunt’s stubborn ideology - driven either by utter ignorance of the needs of real people, or an unwillingness to care - will cause hardship for countless citizens.

Chadiha beats up Parcells; my brother beats up Chadiha

My younger brother, Greg, and I traded a couple of sports-related emails yesterday. The last one I sent asked his opinion on Sports Illustrated columnist Jeffri Chadiha’s slam on Bill Parcells down in Dallas:

The magic is fading

Parcells’ act has worn thin with Cowboys

I’m starting to wonder how badly this will all end for Bill Parcells. His brief tenure with the Cowboys is already taking misguided turns — there’s no way he can seriously consider Drew Bledsoe as the answer for what ailed a 6-10 team last season — but there will certainly be more decisions that will leave us shaking our heads. Call it intuition. The unquestioned faith Parcells inspired in so many other franchises isn’t in Dallas right now. [...]

The longer he sticks around Dallas, the more people are going to wonder if Bill Belichick had more to do with his success than anybody realized. I’m already thinking that, by the way. Secondly, Parcells already has significantly improved his financial situation. He lost quite a bit in his ‘02 divorce from his ex-wife Judy (including an undisclosed monetary settlement and two homes), but the four-year, $17.1 million deal he signed with Dallas has surely eased that pain.

Finally, I don’t know if Parcells has fostered an environment that will yield future success. Valley Ranch is currently a tense place. Parcells has fired four assistants since ‘03 — John McNulty, George Warhop, Steve Hoffman and Jim Jeffcoat — and I suspect he played some role in the retirement of Larry Lacewell, the Cowboys director of college and pro scouting and a longtime friend of Jones. McNulty’s dismissal was particularly harsh. After McNulty informed Parcells he had a job offer from New York Giants head coach Tom Coughlin last January, Parcells wouldn’t let him out of his contract. A few days later, after Coughlin had filled all his positions, Parcells dumped McNulty and replaced him with Todd Haley. And this was after that 10-6 season.

Greg loves football. He loves the Cowboys. He likes Parcells. He does not like many sports columnists. His response was swift:

Damn, Chadiha’s article sounds like Parcells fired one of his cousins. More likely, it was one of his bosses’ cousins…

Editor: “Chadiha! Get me a story trashing that arrogant Tuna Parcells…..you know, questioning the Bledsoe move, the 6-10 season, his relationships in the Dallas organization…..and don’t be so friggin’ SOFT this time.”

Chadiha: “Gosh, Chief!! Do you really think I’m *ready* to jump on the bandwagon with all the other Tuna-bashers?!”

Editor: “Shaddup, kid, and do what I say do!! (Turning away) Lane!! Kent!! Where’s that piece on Superman for the front page?!”

LOL The simple rules for head coaches are as follows:

Win = get praised
Lose = get damned

After Parcells 1st year in Dallas (10-6), the media world was lavish with their praise for him. The Tuna took 53 lemons — 54, if you include Jerry Jones — and made some very sweet lemonade for the Dallas organization. After all, he exceeded expectations by a wide margin.

After his 2nd year (6-10), a year where expectations were not even met, but missed by a mile, it’s only natural that he get trashed by any and every sportwriter that’s been told to do so. After all, that’s what they do, right?

My only point is that Parcells has always been a cold-hearted, love-my-favorites, whip-my-stepchildren kind of dude. Win OR lose. Winning doesn’t make you a prince (apologies to Belichick, who looked like a complete idiot back when he was screwing up the Browns) and losing doesn’t make you a ogre (apologies to Butch Davis, who looked like a complete idiot when HE was screwing up the Browns). Hmmmmmm…I need to investigate that link between Cleveland and NFL head coaches looking foolish. :o) I wonder if Romeo Crennel checked that out before he took the bait?

At any rate, Parcells-bashing is back in vogue now. If you look at the Tuna’s career, he has always gone from good cop to bad cop in the media view, depending on the situation he’s in, trying to get in, or trying to get out of. Based on that, if Parcells starts winning again, I’m sure Jeff Chadiha’s editor will switch his slant on Parcells to a more positive one. :o)

Greg’s thinking of launching his own blog. I think he has a promising future.

God is wry

Wednesday: Pope John Paul II’s new book essentially separates gay men and lesbians from the human family.

Thursday: Pope John Paul II suffers a health reversal that threatens to separate him from the human family.

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