The day I met Dr. Ignacio Ponseti

I cried in the shower Monday morning when I learned about Dr. Ponseti's death. He passed away Sunday, Oct. 18th, after complications following a stroke he'd suffered while quietly working in his office (pictured above) at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics last week. He was 95.

I've known Dr. Ponseti since 2004 when a friend invited me to accompany her and her 10-year-old son for a consultation on her son's relapsed clubfoot. I watched quietly as Dr. Ponseti examined Gabriel, assisted by Dr. Stuart Weinstein and Dr. Jose Morcuende. During the consultation and initial treatment, Dr. Ponseti gently massaged the affected foot, talking in his soft Mallorcan-accent to Gabe and then to Gabe's mother. He wasn't just massaging the foot, but feeling the pattern of bones, tendons, ligaments, an inner terrain known intimately by Dr. Ponseti.

I returned several times for in-person interviews with Dr. Ponseti, who shared his time, his stories, and his gentle spirit with enormous generosity. I kept in touch via email, and a year later, Gabriel walked down the halls of the University of Iowa's Ponseti Clubfoot Treatment Center located at the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics in Iowa City--fully cured. Gabriel's case made medical history for being the oldest child treated by the Ponseti team for clubfoot correction, a success story.

But curing clubfeet is not the only legacy Dr. Ponseti leaves us. His example of caring for others extends throughout his life, including an amazing evacuation of 40 injured soldiers and loyalists out of the country during the outbreak of the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

The details read like a movie, which I don't doubt posts like mine may encourage: When the commander and ambulance driver abandoned them, Ignacio Ponseti, only in his twenties himself, did not leave these injured; he and another man scavanged up some mules and vehicles to help transport this motley entourage over the Pyrenees Mountains to safety in France.

I plan to write more about Dr. Ponseti, because this modest man deserves to be introduced to people who didn't know him, those who have never heard his name outside the medical community or very far outside of Iowa.

Of course, the impact of his orthopedic work and expertise has attracted the deserved accolades within the worldwide medical community, and without a doubt, his method will continue to make a miraculous difference for children all around the globe.

But the choices he made in each phase of his life inspires--from dangerous risks to save others in Spain, his work in Mexico while he was a refugee, his arrival in Iowa in 1941 and his persistance in working past retirement in 1985 until his death last week--all this illuminates an extraordinary life lived selflessly, with a focus on helping others.

His shining example proves that ONE person (and the quality of one's choices) can, indeed, touch the world. Dr. Ponseti is my hero.

Swine Flu Paranoia Gets Out Of Hand

With all the bad news lately, we needed something a little silly.
Source: Stacy's Random Thoughts, written by my sis, Stacy.

Like to be a fly on the wall? Next teleconference on government regulations...

Future Town Hall Teleconference Meeting Dates - All town hall teleconferences will be held from 1:00pm to 3:00pm EST, unless otherwise noted.

• June 9 - Liability (including Self-Insurance), No-Fault Insurance and Workers' Compensation Policy - Q&A


• July 1 - Liability (including Self-Insurances), No-Fault Insurance and Workers' Compensation Technical Support Q&A


• July 8 - GHP (Group Health Plans) NOTE: This is like the one I covered today, June 4th, 2009. This teleconference will cover questions related to employer-paid health plans.

Visit the CMS site for a complete schedule through the end of 2009.

Worried about privacy? You should be. Update on MMSEA 111 teleconference

I just finished my first live Tweet reporting of a teleconference hosted by Medicare (technically, the "Centers for Medicare and Medicaid," or CMS). It was about the new federal requirement for employers to send quarterly reports of all subscriber personal information. I will create a report of my Tweets and post them where you can read them, or feel free to browse twitter.com/WriterMom08. In the meantime, here are my impressions:

1. CMS representatives sounded supportive, asking participants with questions to send details via email so they could help them after the teleconference.

2. HOWEVER--although CMS representative Bill Decker opened the session with assurances that this new government regulation is for cross-checking Medicare beneficiaries only, questions from attendees came up about getting social security numbers of spouses or employees in other locations who were refusing to provide them, as well as dates of birth. CMS's response: "We ask you to *ask* for the SSN, it doesn't hurt to ask." Sounds like if SSNs can be obtained, then go for it.

3. The new mandatory reporting allows employers to satisfy this requirement in either of two ways:

• By submitting "Active Covered Individuals" [those eligible for Medicare: age 55, handicapped, or on kidney dialysis]
• Or by using the "Finder File" feature [collect ALL employee and dependent personal information, filter list against Medicare's list or hire an outside contractor to do this, then submit to Medicare].

However, in both cases, the employer will be asking employees for spousal and dependent SSNs and dates of birth in order to determine Medicare eligibility--or, like my husband's employer, collect the information and send it to an outside third party to do the filter for submission to CMS.

I reiterate--I DO NOT WANT my husband's employer to have my SSN, or worse, some "outside third party." The SSN was never intended to be used as a de facto identifier anyway, so I object anytime it is used in this manner. Also, giving my SSN to an employer with whom I have no other contact is creepy. Why should they be able to access any information about me (or my children)? I know they're not "supposed to," but the potential for that exists; just think of Joe the Plumber (more details here).

But perhaps most frighteningly, giving up my SSN exposes me to greater potential of identity theft, since the information will be collected and disseminated in a myriad of electronic locations beyond my control, or beyond legitimate uses by the IRS or any of my previous actual employers. All it takes is for someone to lose a hard drive or for someone to steal a laptop for my personal information--and yours--to be compromised.

Tell me what you think.

In the meantime, if your spouse's employer asks for your SSN, use this form instead provided by the same agency requiring the collection of this information.

As for the potential for turning this into a National Healthcare Database, I think you can see how easy it would be to enlarge this system beyond simply "Medicare recipients." To comply, employers are already gathering your personal information for their quarterly reports to the government, including unprecedented collection of information on spouses and children of employees. It could be used as a national database of current healthcare beneficiaries, just a step away from becoming a national healthcare database.

Secret attempt to build National Healthcare Database already underway?

ALERT: The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), a branch of the Health & Human Services department of the federal government, is requiring employers under stiff penalites to gather and report all employee social security numbers, PLUS the SSNs of their SPOUSES and CHILDREN. Normally, an employer does not have the SSNs of an employee's family members as most health care benefits are paid under the employee's SSN. This "mandatory reporting" requirement began as a test mode earlier this year and is underway NOW.

There is a lot more detail about this regulation, but it is not only a violation of privacy and (possibly) SSN rules, it may be a disguised method for building the National Healthcare Databasethat the Obama administration has been talking about without allowing any national discussion or input from We The People.

Read more about the new MMSEA 111 regulation being implemented NOW, here at the CMS site.

Additionally, CMS is conducting a teleconference TODAY, June 4th, from 1pm to 3pm EST. As soon as I get the phone number, I will post it here on my blog, plus I'll announce it on Twitter and Facebook.

800-779-4354 - read the instructions HERE.*

THIS IS WRONG. We all must protest this activity NOW. I am in the process of contacting various news outlets to bring attention to this issue, but I need your help.

Here is my email I am using, and I encourage you to use this if you wish to contact your representatives and news outlets, too:

TODAY at 1pm EST, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid (CMS) is conducting a teleconference call to explain to employers and insurers the NEW mandatory regs on collecting Social Security Numbers of not only covered employees in group plans, but their SPOUSES and their CHILDREN to be submitted quarterly to the CMS office through third party contractors.

I learned about this when the human resources department at my husband's employer contacted him via email requesting my SSN, although I am not an employee. I didn't want them to have my SSN nor access to my health records, so I investigated this and discovered that although this new regulation, called "MMSEA 111," is supposedly to identify group health participants who are also eligible for Medicare (I am not)--to reportedly stop Medicare fraud--but it could easily be a secret effort to set up a National Healthcare Database without public knowledge or consent.

This requires employers to throw a wide net to gather SSNs of spouses and children which they don't normally have in their records since benefits are usually paid under the employee's SSN--and as I mentioned, it shifts the burdern of verifying Medicare recipients from the public to the private sector and may be the first step toward a NATIONAL HEALTHCARE DATABASE.

NO ONE in the media is talking about this. The process started late last year and the additions to Medicare regulation was signed just a few months ago at the end of December 2008, and is being implemented RIGHT NOW.

I am not eligible for Medicare, nor does anyone in my family receive Medicare benefits, so therefore, we should NOT have to turn over our SSNs to my husband's employer nor to CMS! This is a violation of our privacy rights and our right to protect our own SSNs. My husband is upset at me now, because he fears losing his job over not giving up my SSN (top management there do not like what they perceive to be "troublemakers"). But this is wrong.

PLEASE FOLLOW UP ON THIS STORY.

Here is a direct link to this information at CMS: http://www.cms.hhs.gov/MandatoryInsRep/

The next deadline for employers to comply with this new regulation is July 1st, just a few weeks away, during this initial "testing" phase in gathering and transferring all of these SSNs from employers to third party contractors who will then forward it to CMS.

Please help dig out the details of this massive collection of employee's families' private information, which includes the name, SSN, date of birth, and gender. This is gross example of a federal agency shifting the burden of verifying Medicare recipients--which is the agency's responsibility--to the private sector. But more insidiously, this may be a "behind-the-scenes" effort to build that National Healthcare Database without public discussion and voter participation.

Again, the teleconference is TODAY, June 4th, from 1pm to 3pm EST (800-779-4354).

I have a background as a human resources director and benefits specialist, so I understand the issues at stake. I welcome your questions and urge you to get this information out to the public as quickly as possible.

Sincerely,

Kimn Swenson Gollnick

* (PLEASE NOTE: If you join the teleconference, I suggest that you do so to listen only. I do not advise nor condone turning it into a protest, but to use it as a way to gather more information on this new regulation and to monitor the government's actions.)

Goodbye, Seattle P-I

Overlooking Elliott Bay in Seattle, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer has been a fixture of Seattle since 1863. I worked at the P-I in the early 1990s. No, not as a reporter, but just before I began my freelance career. I worked on the P-I business staff as the benefits specialist, serving under Dianne Marr, the human resources director. Just the two of us representing the entire human resources department.

For nearly two years, I assisted the publisher and business staff, but my main duties involved assisting our reporters, photographers, and copy desk staff with all their questions and employee needs. I hung out at the copy desk downstairs with Katie and picked up on the newsroom chatter. I marveled at the stacks of new books wrapped in press releases quietly awaiting book reviews. I joked with our technical crew when databases needed backup or printers went on the fritz. These were people I came to care about and who I think of when I think of what makes up a newspaper, from all departments.

Today, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer distributed the last newspaper print issue. The last one.

Publisher Roger Ogelsby (who came on board after I left) says the P-I will be an "online only" newspaper, starting tomorrow. It's an interesting experiment, but I know one thing--it's just not the same. The New York Times says it "will resemble a local Huffington Post more than a traditional newspaper, with a news staff of about 20 people rather than the 165 it had, and a site with mostly commentary, advice and links to other news sites, along with some original reporting."

Of course, that's the nature of change, but this means 160 employees have lost their jobs and the people of Seattle and Washington state have lost one of its two biggest major newspapers. I don't know if the Seattle Times, privately owned, will be far behind.

All I know is this: the Fourth Estate is suffering.

But on this day, I wish to share my memories of the Seattle P-I:

Weekly editorial meetings on the first floor. Art Thiel's laugh and his sports columns, Steve Swearingen's mustache, Katherine White's kindness, Dianne Marr's quiet humor. Sitting with an employee who needed advice on his benefits after learning he was HIV positive. Getting to know one of the Hearst heirs, a young man sent to work at the P-I to "learn the ropes" of one of the family businesses--and I witnessed what happens to a person when there's no need to work for a living. Filing a dozen "thank you" letters for one of our reporters in his personnel file which thanked the P-I for sending a journalist who listened carefully and sorted through facts and fallacies to find the truth. (Some of our editors wanted to fire him because they would send him to an interview to get a quote for a story that was already "decided," but this reporter, a true journalist at heart, wrote the story based on the facts he turned up, not the ones decided before the facts were known. The public showed their appreciation in writing, and these thank you letters that kept coming in helped him keep his job--showing me the power of positive feedback and the power of a simple thank you.)

"Ronnie," my ventriloquial sidekick, also made an appearance at the P-I. I brought him in his suitcase to the building one day because after work, I had a gig--"Ronnie" and I were scheduled to tape a public service announcement at KOMO-TV in Seattle for a county-wide event coming up. One of the business staff found out "Ronnie" was in my office. Eagerly, she asked if "Ronnie" could speak to a group of elementary school students coming to visit the paper that same afternoon. I hesitated, not having anything prepared, but then agreed. Why not? I sat down and whipped off a few one-liners for "Ronnie" and made my way, suitcase in hand, to the large conference room overlooking the water. The kids' eyes opened wide as "Ronnie" joked about the newspaper biz and sang a silly song. "Ronnie" was a hit! He surprised even me.

I remember the year of the reporters' strike and the tense guild negotiations. I also remember discussions and disagreements over the JOA, the Joint Operating Agreement with the Seattle Times. Way back, the Times and the P-I signed this agreement in which the Times published both papers and ran the classifieds and collected the revenue (our staff consisted only of the reporters, photogs, news and business staff). Then the Times sent the P-I's portion of the profits to our business manager. A long-running disagreement existed over the correct amount. Eventually, the tenseness erupted in a legal fight in 2006. It was settled in April 2007. The details of that settlement seem chilling in light of the P-I's demise as a print product today.

And now, it's over. At least, the print product is gone, with all the people needed to produce it. Good-bye, dear Old Friend. Such sad news for all of us who worked there, who read your pages, who loved to see the turning world globe atop the P-I building. For 146 years, you've served the people of the greater Seattle region. I wish you all the best in the new online venture even as I mourn the loss of jobs and a tangible, rustley paper to hold in my hands. Thank you for being part of my experience, because after I left to start a family, I began my freelance writing career.

Thank you, to the hard-working journalists and editors and copy staff who gave me my first education in the news business.

• Hearst Ends Seattle Newspaper's 146-Year Run
• Preserving journalism through tough times
• What led to the Seattle P-I's demise?
• Class final: How to kill an American newspaper

Inauguration 2009

Barack Obama will be sworn in as President of the United States today during the Inauguration Ceremony that begins at 9am EST. Watch the inauguration and speech here:


Inauguration Schedule:

• National Mall to open for citizens wishing to attend the swearing-in ceremony
• Swearing in ceremony and celebrations to start at 10 AM ET on the West front of the US Capitol building
• Musical Selections: The United States Marine Band, followed by The San Francisco Boys Chorus and the San Francisco Girls Chorus
• Call to Order and Welcoming Remarks: Senator Dianne Feinstein
• Invocation: Dr. Rick Warren
• Musical Selection: Aretha Franklin
• Vice President-elect Joseph R. Biden, Jr. will be sworn into office by Associate Justice of the Supreme Court, the Honorable John Paul Stevens
• Musical Selection: John Williams, composer/arranger with Itzhak Perlman, (violin), Yo-Yo Ma (cello), Gabriela Montero (piano) and Anthony McGill (clarinet)
• President-elect Barack H. Obama will take the Oath of Office, using President Lincoln’s Inaugural Bible, administered by the Chief Justice of the United States, the Honorable John G. Roberts, Jr.
• Inaugural Address
• Poem: Elizabeth Alexander
• Benediction: The Reverend Dr. Joseph E. Lowery
• The National Anthem: The United States Navy Band “Sea Chanters”
• President Obama to escort outgoing President George W. Bush in a departure ceremony
• Luncheon for the new president at the Capitol’s Statuary Hall
• 56th Inaugural Parade from the Capitol to the White House
• Presidential Inaugural Committee to host ten official inaugural balls

He will be sworn in using the Bible used by Abraham Lincoln. What passage will he chose to be sworn in on? Read the history of previous presidents' picks here.

Photo by Michaela McNichol/Library of Congress

Rosenblat's lie

See my new post about the lie perpetuated by Herman Rosenblat about meeting his wife while in a concentration camp during the Holocaust: Ink-spots.blogspot.com.

Free book!

To celebrate the generosity of the season, I am offering one signed FREE book to the first person to follow this blog ... your choice from one of these titles (one book per person):

• Getting Your Financial House in Order
• Chicken Soup for the Soul: Great and Grand (NEW release!)
• Chicken Soup for the Christian Woman's Soul
• God's Abundance for a More Joyful Life
• Beanie Baby Stories for the Heart

Check out the covers here.

American Indian Heritage Day

...is TODAY, November 28, 2008. "For the first time, federal legislation has set aside the day after Thanksgiving for this year only to honor the contributions American Indians have made to the United States." Read the rest of the story here.

• Notable American Indians
• Native American proverbs and wisdom
• States and places with American Indian names
• Sacagawea dollar coin with information on the design.
• More information on National American Indian and Alaska Native Heritage Month (November), with activities to do with your children.

America in danger?

• Bloomberg Report, 11/24/08: "Russian Professor Says U.S. Will Break Up After Economic Crisis"


• The Drudge Report, 11/25/08 (with more details from the interview): "Russian Analyst Predicts Decline and Breakup of USA."
And then this startling development...


• USA Today: "Venezuela's Chavez welcomes Russian warships"

So a Russian professor predicts the break-up of the U.S. into six regions as a result of the financial meltdown and cultural instability, leaving two major world powers: China and Russia. Then, on 9/11/08 no less, Russian bombers arrived in Venezuela, welcomed by President Chavez. Now Russian nuclear warships arrived at Venezuela's shores for "training exercises." Chavez said, "The Yankee hegemony is finished." Given the financial meltdown here in the U.S. and a time of transition between President Bush and President-elect Obama, this raises alarming concerns. What do you think?

Newspaper front pages for the election

To celebrate the historic presidential win of Barack Obama, enjoy browsing the front pages of America's newspapers announcing his victory, all available online through the new interactive Newseum in Washington D.C. Actually, the site contains 735 front pages from 67 countries. Look for your hometown paper here.

In honor of my two hometowns, these front pages come from the Seattle Times, the Seattle Post-Intelligencer (where I worked in the business office) and The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa):

Historic Election Nov. 4th, 2008

I am very proud that America elected our first African-American president. What a monumental moment in history! We've come a long way, America.

Congratulations, Barack Obama. You have been charged with the people's trust. Please honor that trust.

In my journalism class, supporters of President-elect Obama unanimously expressed how John McCain's concession speech moved them and deserved more attention by the mainstream media. As of this posting, I haven't seen the speech, so click and watch it with me:

Why I didn't vote for Obama

Barack Obama in his own words:

On the Constitution: "When we get in a tussle, we appeal to the Founding Fathers and the Constitution's ratifiers to give direction. Some, like Justice Scalia, conclude that the original understanding must be followed and if we obey this rule, democracy is respected. Others, like Justice Breyers, insist that sometimes the original understanding can take you only so far--that on the truly big arguments, we have to take context, history, and the practical outcomes of a decision into account. I have to side with Justice Breyer's view of the Constitution--that it is not a static but rather a living document and must be read in the context of an ever-changing world." (The Audacity of Hope, by Barack Obama, p. 89-92, October 1, 2006)

On abortion: "The first thing I'd do as president is sign the Freedom of Choice Act. That's the first thing I'd do." [FOCA is legislation sponsored by Obama and 18 other senators that would "abolish all state laws limiting or regulating abortion," including the federal ban on partial birth abortion]." (Barack Obama's speech before Planned Parenthood Action Fund, July 17, 2007)

On sex education for students: Voted YES to amend the Illinois School Code and Comprehensive Health Education Act (Bill No. SB0099), changing the law covering 6th-12th grade students to include all students in grades K-12; granted, the bill includes the term "age-appropriate," but although it provides a specific section defining terms such as "factual information" and "medically accurate," it fails to specify or define "age appropriate," leaving it wide open to interpretation. (January 11, 2005)

Later Obama addessed the controversy over this legislation: "I remember him [Alan Keyes] using this in a, his campaign against me saying, [mimicking Keyes] 'Barack Obama supports teaching sex education to kindergartners.' [Laughter] And, which I didn’t know what to tell him. But it’s the right thing to do, you know, to provide age-appropriate sex education, science-based sex education in the schools." (July 17, 2007)

On energy: "Let me sort of describe my overall policy. What I've said is that we would put a cap and trade system in place that is as aggressive, if not more aggressive, than anybody else's out there. I was the first to call for a 100% auction on the cap and trade system, which means that every unit of carbon or greenhouse gases emitted would be charged to the polluter. ...So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can; it’s just that it will bankrupt them because they’re going to be charged a huge sum for all that greenhouse gas that’s being emitted. ...The only thing I've said with respect to coal--I haven't been some coal booster. What I have said is that for us to take coal off the table as a (sic) ideological matter--as opposed to saying if technology allows us to use coal in a clean way--we should pursue it. So if somebody wants to build a coal-powered plant, they can. It's just that it will bankrupt them." (San Francisco Chronicle video interview, January 17, 2008)

On conservative Americans in Pennsylvania: "You go into these small towns in Pennsylvania and, like a lot of small towns in the Midwest, the jobs have been gone now for 25 years and nothing’s replaced them. And they fell through the Clinton administration, and the Bush administration, and each successive administration has said that somehow these communities are gonna regenerate and they have not. And it’s not surprising then they get bitter, they cling to guns or religion or antipathy toward people who aren’t like them or anti-immigrant sentiment or anti-trade sentiment as a way to explain their frustrations." (In a speech given at the Getty fund-raiser held at Alex Mehran's mansion in San Fransisco, April 6, 2008)

On taxes: We've all heard of Joe the Plumber, but to be fair, not many of us have seen the entire conversation in context between Obama and Joe, so here it is (from ABC News, 5:47 length). UPDATE: Video was removed from YouTube. Try this link instead (5:47 length). In 2001, he also discussed how to achieve redistribution of wealth through legislation during a Chicago Public Radio interview on WBEZ-FM (4:17 length).

For more on taxes, read this.

On healthcare: "I happen to be a proponent of a single-payer universal healthcare program. ...A single payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that’s what I’d like to see." (Speech to the Illinois AFL-CIO, June 30, 2003) He later denied he ever held this position, in spite of this video proving it, and findings by FactCheck.org (see second bullet point).

On the war in Iraq: "I am unwavering in the belief that this has been a strategic mistake and that this war has to end." (Reuters, July 5, 2008) We all want the war to end, but we don't all agree that intervening on behalf of the Iraqi people was a mistake. See Dear Mr. Obama (1:55 length).

On national service and security: "We cannot continue to rely only on our military in order to achieve the national security objectives that we've set. We’ve got to have a civilian national security force that’s just as powerful, just as strong, just as well-funded." (In a campaign speech given in Colorado Springs, CO on July 2, 2008)

Some believe this is out of context. See what you think.

On faith: "I am a Christian. So, I have a deep faith. So I draw from the Christian faith. On the other hand, I was born in Hawaii where obviously there are a lot of Eastern influences. I lived in Indonesia, the largest Muslim country in the world, between the ages of six and 10. My father was from Kenya, and although he was probably most accurately labeled an agnostic, his father was Muslim. And I'd say, probably, intellectually I've drawn as much from Judaism as any other faith. ...So, I'm rooted in the Christian tradition. I believe that there are many paths to the same place, and that is a belief that there is a higher power, a belief that we are connected as a people." *

Like other candidates, Obama also carries several specific "lucky charms" (White House Photo of the Day, Time.com); his include a Madonna and child along with the Hindu monkey god, Lord Hanuman (June 2, 2008).

* "Jesus answered, 'I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.' " (John 14:6, New International Version)

(Interview by Cathleen Falsani of the Chicago Sun-Times in 2004 with Obama on his faith and spirituality, released this month four years later and also highlighted on the Huffington Post.)

Obama's interview in "On faith" added 11/12/08.

Obama's grandmother

Barack Obama's grandmother, Madelyn Dunham, died early this morning of cancer. She also suffered from a broken hip after a fall earlier in October.

It took mainstream media about two hours to verify the news, since I noticed bloggers talking about it at 3pm CST but I couldn't find a verifiable, credible source and did not want to report rumor or gossip earlier today. But the terribly sad news IS true.

Last April, USA Today published a nice piece about Madelyn Dunham.

fall

You know it's fall when
campaign signs
litter the lawn like
leaves.

Photo by K.S. Gollnick (10/8/08), taken on the drive to school in Cedar Rapids, IA.

McCain/Palin in Cedar Rapids, IA

John McCain and Sarah Palin spoke to an enthusiastic crowd today at the PS Air hanger on the west end of the Eastern Iowa International Airport in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. I arrived late with several busloads of other attendees, delayed by the crush of traffic crawling on I-380 this morning between 9 and 10am trying to get to the airport (some who certainly missed flights and most for the rally, evidenced by the majority of vehicles turning into the wide acreage used for today's event parking).

Fortunately, candidates for local races spoke first so I didn't miss the McCain plane landing and the speeches of Sarah and John.

Sarah was confident, warm, fresh. She caught my attention in particular when she talked about our city's flood victims and acknowledged the need to expedite and coordinate help for them--this personalized her presentation. And yes, I forgave her for calling our city "Grand Rapids" instead of Cedar Rapids (they'd just flown in from Grand Rapids, Michigan).
She introduced John and he gave an equally stirring speech, including comments on the Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac debacle. McCain had urged the Congress back in 2006 about the potential for their failure but the Democratically-controlled Congress refused to act on the warnings--and sure enough, Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac fell, resulting in our government scrambling to rescue it earlier this month.
You can watch both of their speeches here.

Jim MacDonald after the rally.

And of course, protestors made an appearance.

I liked the ones holding signs, moving slowly alongside the lines of attendees waiting to be screened through security. I appreciated their respect for our right to be there, while also communicating their objections to certain issues and ideologies.

However, other groups erupted and disrupted the speeches. These protestors struck me as insulting and immature. Of course, it occurs to me that these displays are never really targeted toward attendees, but more likely for TV cameras and YouTube audiences.

A couple of disruptive groups interrupted Palin and then John. The worst was a couple of guys and a couple of girls protesting the Viet Nam war (say what? didn't that *end*, like, 40 years ago???)--or perhaps it was McCain's participation in the Viet Nam war? (um, he served and suffered as a P.O.W., enduring worse than the paper cuts and hurt feelings these protestors have suffered in their short, passionate lives).

Anyway, their shouts and shenanigans interrupted John's speech for two or three minutes, causing McCain supporters to drown them out shouting, "JOHN MIC-CAIN, JOHN MIC-CAIN...." Police escorted the disruptive protestors out of the area. I was relieved, because for a few moments the raised emotions signalled an edginess, as if just a moment more would push the rally into a riot. Police presence probably diffused this. Officials did not arrest the protestors but released them back into the wild.

Quite an eventful event.

Afterward, Angie, a student reporter accompanied by a student photographer, both working for "The Torch" of Kennedy High School in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, asked to interview me. I felt flattered and tried to answer her questions as interestingly as I could on the fly. (There's a reason I'm a writer--I write as a process of organizing my thoughts, in order to know what I think, if you know what I mean.) I'll try to get a copy of the issue in which she publishes the story and perhaps post a link to a PDF version.

After the rally, McCain and Palin toured the flood-damaged neighborhoods of downtown with Cedar Rapids officials, including the mayor pro-tem, Brian Fagan. This is yet another issue: Cedar Rapidians are growing impatient to the point of downright angry with Mayor Kay Halloran for her lack of visibility, which translates as indifference toward those who suffered in the catastrophic floods of June '08. I fear whether her health is a factor. More later.*

P.S. Out of fairness, I wanted to attend an Obama rally, too, but it looks like it's too late. According to his website (scroll down to "Obama Events"), his plans include Pennsylvania, Virginia, Missouri, Ohio--no more appearances scheduled in Iowa. McCain is coming through Iowa again on Saturday, Oct. 11th.

---

Cedar Rapids, IA - Mayor Kay Halloran has obstructive sleep apnea. Now that the diagnosis is public, the tone of the press has softened considerably. (I can't even find the articles from KCRG and the Gazette attacking her for not providing an interview prior to this announcement.)

However, does sleep apnea explain why she chooses to remain in the background while the mayor pro-tem, Brian Fagan, seems to serve as the city's public leader?

Or is she naturally an introvert?

It's hard not to recall the hands-on public style of Guiliani, mayor of New York, after the catastrophic morning of 9/11 when he provided visible leadership at Ground Zero, while our mayor remains invisible to the public, inaccessible to her citizens who suffered enourmously after the June floods in Cedar Rapids. It doesn't help when she's caught on-camera barking dismissively, "We didn't cause the flood."

Interestingly, both the video and the Gazette story with that quote do not appear online, and all previous articles casting her in a negative light have vanished. I objected to KCRG's daily negative coverage of Halloran (some would call them attacks) prior to her diagnosis--which included a daily countdown of her refusal to do an interview with reporters--but neither do I agree with the media's apparent "cleaning up" of news stories afterward.

Professor's body identified

The body of UI political science professor Arthur Miller was identified during an autopsy this morning using dental records, ending a week of wondering what heppened to him and increasing speculation as to his guilt or innocence over his actions toward four students during finals week in May.

"Miller is accused of offering higher grades to female students if they would let him see or fondle their breasts. He was arrested and charged Aug. 8 with four felony counts of accepting bribes." --GazetteOnline.com

His wife reported him missing Wednesday, Aug. 20. Iowa City police located his BMW in Hickory Hill Park and initiated a two-day search for him in addition to a missing rifle he purchased in June. They ended the search and re-opened the park to the public Thursday night.

"On Sunday, a man [Daniel Hoover of Marion] who works with Linn County Search and Recovery searched the park and found Miller's body in a small, brushy clearing near a meadow on the north side of the park. Miller's body was found slumped over the rifle, lying in a prone position with the yellow blanket nearby . . . about a 5-minute trek on a narrow path from Miller's car." --Press-Citizen.com

My thoughts: From the various local news outlets, it appears that the four female students 1) did not know each other and 2) reported the sexual solicitations by Professor Miller separately and independently of each other, lending credibility to their claims. In addition, the police obtained emails initiated by Professor Miller which "referenced meetings about grades, an extension, a final, assistance and 'grades and offer by Miller to negotiate,' according to an evidence sheet included in the search warrant".

I realize it's easy to assume his guilt since he killed himself, but then again, I believe that an innocent man would want to defend himself. But no matter where you and I fall on this issue, we can agree, at least on a human level, that it's tragic.

UI professor might be dead...

Breaking news: University of Iowa political science professor Arthur H. Miller was reported missing by his wife early this morning and police located his red BMW this afternoon at Upper Hickory Hill Park in Iowa City near the UI campus. He was charged August 10th with four counts of bribery for soliciting sexual favors from female students in May 2008 in exchange for better grades. He purchased a rifle in mid-June, which is also missing. The GazetteOnline.com is reporting that police think he's dead. WKOWTV is reporting that Miller left a cryptic suicide note for his wife saying he was sorry.

Two months since the flood...

Today I drove through a few neighborhoods near I-380 in downtown Cedar Rapids. The devastation is still overwhelming. I plan to post photos as soon as I upload them from the camera. In the meantime, consider the costs of what the city of Cedar Rapids has spent thus far on flood recovery, posted at my financial blog, "Getting Your Financial House in Order."