I have a doctor’s appointment at 10 AM. It’s my semiannual check-up so I am fasting for the blood work. My blood pressure is up a bit this morning so I’m probably worrying about whether my blood pressure will be high at the doctor’s office.
This makes me crazy. Worrying about worrying.
I also plan to ask her about my ears. My ears have been stopped up several times in the last few months.
It feels a bit like a cold and I can’t hear very well. I fear that I am losing more of my hearing this way and would like to have an ear doctor look at it.
Eileen is spending the night in Ann Arbor. I ended the evening last night with Beethoven at the piano then off to read myself to sleep.
Earlier I had jumped from bed to figure out a hymn tune my new Episcopalian colleague I met with yesterday was looking for. Ironic because it comes from the Roman Catholic practice and reflects the Roman Catholic background of the Episcopal priest she is working for. I tossed most of my Roman Catholic reference books and hymnals when I quit working for them full-time. But with a little searching I think I managed to figure it out.
I finished volume 8 of Sandman yesterday and also the Icelandic murder mystery, The Flatey Enigma by Viktor Arnar Ingolfsson.
About half way through Payback by Margaret Atwood
and The Influencing Machine by Brooks Gladstone.
Both good reads. Atwood is an eloquent hymn to the human concept of debt. Gladstone is an insider’s examination of media in America, both presently and how we got here.
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Linda Greenhouse, the semi retired Supreme Court NYT reporter, dissects the specious arguments against the Affordable Health Care act in her blog.
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Citizens for R & E have done extensive research on the money congresspeople spend on themselves and their relatives. Mostly legal. Mostly questionable. Have fun and look up your state or take their witty little ethics online quiz.
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Supreme Court Expands Rights of Accused in Plea Bargains – NYTimes.com
A high percentage of court cases (97%? 94%?) are resolved in plea bargaining. The Supreme Court weighs in realistically to reflect this.
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Politics, Odors and Soap – NYTimes.com
Americans speak about values in six languages, from care to sanctity. Conservatives speak all six, but liberals are fluent in only three.
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Many Still Live With Homesickness – NYTimes.com
Interesting observations about technology and the unmentioned idea of homesickness.
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The myth of freedom in the land of the free – Opinion – Al Jazeera English
Clear essay about the lack of protection of rights in the USA.
Income inequality isn’t just about justice; it’s about freedom, too. One view of freedom minimises the state’s role in an individual’s life and maximises markets so that individuals are free to risk whatever they want to risk to be whatever they want to be. Another view sees the obligation of the state to hedge against the risk of the marketplace so that individuals can feel secure enough to be what they want to be.
Obviously, the libertarian view favours someone who can afford risk; the socialist view favours someone who can’t. One view has confidence in the market while the other is skeptical. One view sees income inequality as natural while the other sees it as politically oppressive.
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