As Plain as the Nose on Your Face - Hail to the POTUS

I am so impressed with the POTUS. He is a wise and great POTUS, and if he can do all that he is done in 14 days - a mere fortnight - then Saints Be Praised - the next 4 years plus 4 more years will truly be the New American Revolution.

I've been watching the House vs Senate / Dems vs GOP stimulus bill tennis match with great interest. It's the first time in history that you have a doubles game like this going on. I don't know what to watch/read/listen to first.

But here's the thing that seems to have escaped everyone - in all the hue and cry about bipartisanship and stimulus and all the handwringing about waste and pork ...

He's got them talking. He's got them working together. Everyone is focused on the same thing - making this bill the best it can be. The Dems and GOPs who agree with him. The Dems and GOPs who don't. The Senate and the House.

Its the weirdest game of four handed bridge I've ever seen.

Here's the other thing that it seems everyone is missing. Stimulus jobs aren't just the jobs that have a blue collar - or a pink collar - even putting sod on the National Mall will put people to work - people who need to build skills. Family Planning allows counselors and other health care professinals to keep their jobs - and helps people manage their lives without being the unwilling victims of a treacherous biology.

All jobs are good jobs. All strata of workers deserve to be "stimulated" - because it will boost the economy at all all levels.

I just wish I could tell the POTUS that I know his wiley plan. He's amazing. Wish we had one. Our own - and home-grown - but a visionary leader is an amazing thing.

Especially one that can get all four sides of a debate working together.

Incognito, Ergo Sum,

Jane Doe, Citizen

Today in the Paper ...

Hey There, Hi There,

It is Monday. Felt like a Monday all day, too. On to the news.

A member of the Royal family makes racist comments. Yawn. What healthy 20 something British soldier laddie doesn't use a bit of misplaced profanity now and then. Get over it.

The war continues in the Gaza - a tragedy for both sides, but brighter lights than I have not been able to either adequately describe the problem, or offer a remedy with sticking power. My heart bleeds and breaks for the people caught in the crossfire of history and religious politics.

American car makers hire 100 monkeys to create names for their new cars - randomly typing in a warehouse/zoo in Detroit - and the legible words that appear most often get put on a carnival wheel and become car names if their lucky number comes up -

• the GM Spark - better from GM than Ford (Pinto, anyone?)
  
• the Ford Fiesta (cause every car is a party - better Fiesta than Siesta),
  
• the Kia Soul'ster (because you pray every time you get behind the wheel - when they say driving a Kia is a religious experience, it's not necesarily a good thing)
• the Dodge Circuit EV - (let us conjugate the verb Dodge - dodge, dodgey, dodged as in avoided - mmmm..... subliminal reason for car sales - the name means "to avoid")

So - they finally get the idea that small is better and hybrids or electric cars are what the public and the planet need. All it took was the looming spectre of bankruptcy and a government bailout. Nicely done, gentlemen. All three CEOs should be replaced immediately, the companies merged, and Ralph Nader put in charge of the auto industry. And the CFO should be the guy that writes the Lemon-Aid books. Al Gore can advise from the sidelines.

What about the ZENN? If the Big Boys of Detroit are going to make electric cars, and the provinces open up the roads for them, then why haven't they already done so for the ZENN? Time to find out what' up with that.

Incognito Ergo Sum,

Jane Doe, Citizen.

A Paper in Hand...

Hey there, hi there...

I've decided to try something new this calendar year - I am going to open a blog post when I start reading my daily paper (which is not always daily, just to be clear) so I can capture my moments of brilliance amidst the mountains of fodderall that churn through my mind when I get my daily local news update. I will try to keep my observations germaine, witty, ascerbic, and thought provoking. I will try. And if I don't have anything to say - then I won't.

So here we go. Wonder if I'll find anything to blog about today:

Easy Peasey!

the headline is "are they worth it" and it refers to the salaries paid to some top Winnipeg executives. It is fair to line-list all the CEOs in Winnipeg and list their salaries. I'm sure these guys are nice guys - this is about the position, not the person. (are they all men? or am I missing something here? I'll have to reread the list).

They should also list the number of employees who make minimum wage working for these companies, how many pay bands of employees there are, and what the average wage is per worker. That plus a performance factor - how well does this guy do his job? Do the staff have everything they need to do their jobs well?

I am a believer in the 6-Step system of Compensation - the lowest paid employee should make 1/6 of what the highest paid employee/owner/ceo makes - and there are only 6 incremental pay bands between Joe Labor and Jane CEO (that has a nice ring to it, doesn't it - Jane CEO).

so, if Mr. McFeeters (cause he's the first guy on the list) makes $5,294,772 (which is the biggest number on the list) so Joe Laborer should make a cool $882,462. Sound completely unrealistic? It is. Both sides of the equation need to be making a lot less to have a sound business model, in my humble opinion.

Who do you think is doing more on a day to day basis to make the company profitable, dealing with clients, dealing with sales, dealing with complaints - than the staff? Who have to put up with fear of being fired, due to the global recession? How many job grades are there at Great West Life? Or at any of these companies?

What exactly would Mr. McFeeters or other C-Suite Dwellers have to do to be given their two weeks notice? Just curious. I wonder how that compares to the rank and file in this very large and very non-union shop. What does the average employee have to do to get canned, in these tough economic times. It is the worker at the lower end of the pecking order that is the cannon fodder in times of economic challenge - just take a look at the Three Stooges of the US Car Industry. Even when GM was losing money like water over Niagara - the CEO got higher compensation. Give me a break (only if I have medical benefits).

Lots of good questions ... to be asked of the C-Level suite all down the list. I'd love some answers - but there is no way to get them from all the CEOs. That's because, too often at the top of the big pyramid of the workplace, the C stand for Crap - and crap runs downhill. Profit, like power, stays at the top.

Incognito ergo sum,
Jane Doe, Citizen.

My Cat gets Better Medical Care

Hey There Hi There.

Recently, a man died in a local hospital waiting room after sitting there unattended for 34 hours.  All he needed was to have his catheter changed, and get some antibiotics into his system.  He was in plain site in the waiting room, having somehow bypassed the usual triage procedures - and sat there dead long enough for rigor mortis to set in.

I cannot express my outrage in words strong enough.  His invisibility to the staff of the health care facility appears to be due to a variety of incidental factors -his being aboriginal, his being "of the street" in looks, his being in a wheelchair as a double amputee, his having a speech impediment that inhibited his communication, his passivity (no doubt a product of years of being in one gov't system or another as a disadvantaged and vulnerable person).  He was there for HOURS, unattended, unmonitored, uncared for.  The ticking of the clock and the beating of his heart were not in time.

Hospitals need a "patient advocate" that literally lives in the emergency ward, and helps the health care workers manage the expectations of those who are sitting for ridiculously long amounts of time to receive urgent or emergency medical care.  We need to put the URGE back in URGENT.   AND if there were more general practitioners available to take new patients, we wouldn't have people using the emergency wards as a 24 hour walk in clinic - because they need medical attention.

He had a name. Brian Sinclair was a vulnerable person and the system that my tax dollars pays for failed him. Completely.  No one will be held accountable, no one will be punished.  There will be much hand wringing, much regret, some apologies, something restorative, and likely a Health Care policy called "Sinclair's Law" that ensures that people sitting in a hospital waiting room must be accounted for in addition to any supposed registration at the Triage Desk.  And it will happen again and again because we as a nation of compassionate citizens have lost our way.  And we are wandering blind without a compass, a map, and our vision of the North Star.  I am ashamed.

In sharp contrast  -  I had to take my cat to the vet.  He had a sore on his paw, aggrivated by his licking at it because it is sore.  The vet examined him, sedated him, did a needle biopsy, aspirated the inflammation, did a paw smear, did a slide of the matter taken from the biopsy, gave him antibiotics and a steroid shot - and presented a full range of diagnosis  possibilities from "a simple allergy" to "contact dermatitis feline style" to "cyst" etc... depending on how the cat responds to the medication given.  

I was asked to call the office with an update on Monday, and then two weeks later, if things were healing up well.  I got my cat back, slightly doped up, and paid my bill, and left feeling that he had been well cared for, that I had been given a wealth of information and options, and that there was genuine concern for both my well-being and the health of my cat.

I am so fortunate that I have a great general practitioner for my personal health care - and I am active in advocating for a better medical system.  I believe in two tiers of medical care.  It is the only way to take the strain off the system.  Here is what I propose:

1. graduates of Canadian medical institutions have to do 3 years as a GP in a major metropolitan area, or 2 years in a rural/remote setting.  They get significant tax breaks on their student loans for this period of public service.
2. A fee guide be set for standard medical practices, similar to the dental fee guides that exist in that industry.
3. up to 40% of any GP or specialist's practice can be for paying clients under the fee guide.  These paying patients get no special status or privileges other than access to those 40% app't slots on the daily calendar.
4. Support technology (radiation, ultrasound, mri, etc) are run 24 hours a day, and these technicians are fairly compensated for taking the midnight shift.  Same for diagnostic labs, etc... medicine becomes a full time business in public service.  
5. Diagnostic services can be purchased by any client willing to pay the full rate, but those privately paid appointments are scheduled during that later shift, so public health patients get their tests done first.  The paying patients are paying for the extra time/costs of running the overnight shifts, essentially.  If there are no paying patients, then public health needs fill up those slots.

Does any of this need to be complicated? Sure, there would be push-back, but for the sake of people like Brian Sinclair, can we please fix the problems in the medical system to protect those people who need medical attention and can't speak for themselves.  Money has to start changing hands.  But those who can pay don't get priority sequencing, daylight hours, or percale sheets.

My cat can't speak for himself either, but the system in the veterinary world supports a pay-for-services model that allows me to provide him with the best care I can afford (thanks to the miracle of credit cards).  He's worth every penny.  I'm worth more than my tax dollars are getting me when it comes to the medical system as it stands.

To the spirit of Brian Sinclair - as a citizen who paid for your neglect, I apologize.  To the family of Brian Sinclair, as a citizen who has a voice to speak, I offer the hollow comfort of these words of outrage as a sympathy card - and I share your grief.  To the medical staff who looked through a vulnerable person, and then didn't see the dead man that replaced him - you should be ashamed of yourself.  

Incognito, Ergo Sum,

Jane Doe, Citizen.

Water Water Anywhere?

Greetings, Fellow Citizens,

Doing my weekly blitz of the newsprint media - and shocked to learn that newsprint is generally NOT made of recycled paper fibre - something has got to change there as well.... but here's what set off the alarm bells and made me dust off the keyboard and get back to the business of blogging.

Water Shortages Looming - by Steve Rennie (Canadian Press)

Talk about the glass being half empty. And what are we going to do about it? Try to get a complacent population to implement some water conservation? That would be the only way to keep the Federal Government's hands of managing another resource for us.

How can we instill the concept of personal responsibility - civic responsibility - the responsibility of citizens to manage their own lives to the extent that they are doing the right thing for the greater good - this isn't a noble concept, but a survival skill that ensures there will be enough fresh water, enough power/fuel, enough food for everyone to share the resources of the planet.

Glad to see that our Fair City is thinking about imposing restrictions on the sale of bottled water in civic institutions, BUT this will simply force people to buy soft drinks or sugar-filled juices THAT COME IN THE SAME DISPOSABLE BOTTLES - which may or may not recycled.

Hello - McFLY - ITS NOT THE CONTENT THAT ARE THE PROBLEM - its the delivery medium.

Forest - trees - what is so hard about thinking it through. And why can't medical science or Big Pharma discover a cure to the Political Knee Jerk Reaction? That would be as much a benefit to the human race as The Cure for All Diseases. Maybe we need to pay our politicians based on performance, and reward them for Gold Medal Level Stewardship of our culture, our nation and a sustainable way of life. Don't even get me started on the Olympics, the investment in sport versus arts & culture - and the amount of jet fuel and resources required to make the Olympics happen.

Incognito Ergo Sum,
Jane Doe, Citizen

Pass the Salt, I've got a Raw Wound.

Yes, Jane has been a very bad blogger. But at least - we haven't taken a full trip around the sun since I last posted. Almost.... but not quite....

but now, down to business.... I'm reading a week's worth of newspapers and having apoplexy.

We aren't banning plastic bags or implementing any definitive strategy to discourage their use.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/local_picture/story/4136750p-4728838c.html

We're increasing the speed limit to 110.
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/local/story/4133506p-4726279c.html
in complete defiance of every good reason to lower them, if anything
http://www.winnipegfreepress.com/subscriber/westview/story/4110866p-4707149c.html


WAKE UP MANITOBA -and live up to your name. Keystone - the linchpin that holds it all together - be a leader for the rest of this nation rather than an apathetic follower of the lowest common denominator and the path of least resistance.

I hang my head in shame. I am too angry to be eloquent. Time to think about some form of political action that has impact.

Incongnito ergo sum,
Jane Doe, Citizen

No Sweat - applause for the MB Gov't

Hey there, Hi there

Yes I know its been a while. Sorry 'bout that. Today, here I am.

In a stunning move amidst other "no, we aren't going to call an election' glad-handing of funds to an eager and willing to be bought off public - the Government of Manitoba got something right. I applaud this move that keeps my tax dollars out of the sweat shops - and might even help bring some off-shore apparel manufacturing jobs back home to Manitoba - or Canada if every other province, city, territory, and government or publicly funded agency will step up to the plate and do the right thing.

HEY - you out there - anybody in government making buying decisions - Do the Right Thing! That means YOU! If you are spending from the public purse - SMARTEN UP! And while you're at it - use recycled paper and stop drinking bottled water!

It is truly "un-Canadian" to expect people in the developing world to accept less than a living wage and less than a healthy work environment while the middle men/women reap the profits. Children need education, women need equitable pay and safe working conditions, and there needs to be a Global code of workers rights that is enforceable. Ah Utopia.

Made in Canada - not by a multi-national with offshore interests - made with quality - not paid by piecework - made by workers with benefits, not made at the expense and exploitation of the developing world.

Buy Canadian. Look for the Union label or the hallmark of the Independant Tradesperson. Vote with your dollars, and speak out.

Now, if only we could get drive-thru windows closed as a key source of environmental pollution due to the idling cars that line up to roll up the rim. (not meaning to single out any one chain - honest!)

Another day, another crusade. Someone's got to keep rattling the cages and giving the monkeys bananas when they do their tricks well. Might as well be me. I'm just one Canadian trying to shed some light where I can. And not afraid to rail against the darkness. Got a match?

Incognito Ergo Sum,
Jane Doe, Citizen