Website Progress

I've finally back to work on my artscommunity.com website. I've been too distracted by other things to get really dug into it, but now I'm fleshing out my vision for what it should look like. It's been a while and I'd forgotten some things about basic syntax, so the execution takes longer than I expected. I'm mocking it up on my computer. It's going to, ultimately, consolidate a lot of stuff, but to start with I need the interface and a few elements to support some of my volunteer projects and create materials I can show to potential customers. I hate sales but I love developing marketing materials. I've been having fun building the elements. I should have done much of this a year ago. I haven't been procrastinating. It just takes longer than I expect to do anything. This is not an announcement, just a status report.

We Dance on the Second Law of Thermodynamics

As long as the sun shines with light and earth radiates infrared into the night

we dance on the second law of thermodynamics.

We are fossil sunstuff born in long ago cataclysms of dying suns.

Our lives dance due to things made from the chaos of spreading space and time.

 

Our eyes should be wide with wonder,

at the massiveness,

the mysteriousness of it all.

We live in a moment of creation and destruction,

and the more we feel it we realize we are in it's thrall...

We who are here are here because of ancient dreams and bursting things.

As if a single word were spoken saying "breath" from a single spot.

And you can hear the sound, the sound of creation all around.

It is in every moment, and we should hear it and sing along.

We create our present moment.

 

Dancing on the moment of creation we ride a wave coming from the past.

We have to live in the moment though not one moment ever lasts.

Born, awakening, sleeping, dying. Seven days in every moment.

You may see a book of paper. I see a book of life.

You may see a frozen dictation. But I see a blowing wind.

Christopher H. Holte Today, 10/16/2014

My Hypothesis confirmed -- Thomas Duncan died due to substandard treatment and now Nurses getting sick

The Nurses at the Presbyterian Hospital tell a horror story of how the late patient Duncan was given substandard treatment that probably contributed to his death. They make 5 allegations, which I extracted from a CNN report:

"A nurses' union is sounding the alarm about the lack of safety protocols at Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas after two nurses there apparently contracted Ebola from a patient who later died of the virus."

This is a follow on post to an earlier post: http://holtesthoughts.blogspot.com/2014/10/ebola-or-why-medicaid-expansion-matters.html

1. Duncan wasn't immediately isolated
2. The nurses' protective gear left their necks exposed
3. At one point, hazardous waste piled up
4. Nurses got no 'hands-on' training
5. The nurses 'feel unsupported - fear retaliation for talking

http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/15/health/texas-ebola-nurses-union-claims/index.html?hpt=hp_t1

The nurses tell horror stories of how during his initial admitting process he was left in the hall and treated by Nurses wearing minimal protective gear. They then go on to say that when he was finally placed in an isolation ward the gear they were given wasn't much better. Thus it's only a surprise that only two nurses have tested positive for Ebola. And it remains to be seen if they will get the kind of first class care that is necessary for them to survive.

More details:

"The nurses' statement alleged that when Duncan was brought to Texas Health Presbyterian by ambulance with Ebola-like symptoms, he was “left for several hours, not in isolation, in an area” where up to seven other patients were. “Subsequently, a nurse supervisor arrived and demanded that he be moved to an isolation unit, yet faced stiff resistance from other hospital authorities,” they alleged."

They also note:

"Duncan's lab samples were sent through the usual hospital tube system “without being specifically sealed and hand-delivered. The result is that the entire tube system … was potentially contaminated,” they said."

They deny that Presbyterian understood or passed on CDC guidelines:

"The statement described a hospital with no clear rules on how to handle Ebola patients, despite months of alerts from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta about the possibility of Ebola coming to the United States."

“There was no advanced preparedness on what to do with the patient. There was no protocol. There was no system. The nurses were asked to call the infectious disease department” if they had questions, but that department didn't have answers either, the statement said. So nurses were essentially left to figure things out on their own as they dealt with “copious amounts” of highly contagious bodily fluids from the dying Duncan while they wore gloves with no wrist tape, flimsy gowns that did not cover their necks, and no surgical booties, the statement alleged."

All this has policy implications. I'd like to think that what we need is a National Health Militia that is more like the Founders would have constituted it had they known what we know now. Further Reading:

http://holtesthoughts.blogspot.com/2014/10/why-we-need-national-health-service.html

Source for second half of article:http://www.latimes.com/nation/la-na-ebola-dallas-20141014-story.html#page=1

What is wrong with our attitude towards Ebola is now coming back to bite us:

http://mic.com/articles/100618/one-powerful-illustration-shows-exactly-what-s-wrong-with-media-coverage-of-ebola

Private Manning and Years of Tradition of Keeping Secrets

One reason why many folks of my Generation and older were shocked and angry when Private Manning "did his thing" is that we come from a long tradition of secrecy. I had friends and family members with clearances who'd sworn a blood oath to keep secrets and took that oath seriously. I was one of them. Sometimes I'd been let in on some of the secrets (illegally since the law doesn't let relatives let relatives in on them) but it was always with the implicit understanding we'd keep them for the family member. Most of the time a relative would point to an article in Science or Popular Mechanics and say "that's what I was working on." They were forbidden to talk about it, kept that promise, and suddenly this joker spills an entire database of secrets out to the press. I never read Manning's material first hand. I was offended by his action. I knew people who wanted to "take him out" for breaking the silence that millions of American men and women had been keeping on what our government was doing. We really believed that "loose lips sink ships" and that most of what we were doing was honorable (even the dishonorable parts) and for the sake of our country and even mankind as a whole. We thought we were the good guys.

In fact I was working with Military Medical ID secrets and had worked on Pay and Personnel, news releases, and other non-classified but equally private information. I took pride in keeping appropriate secrets and also agreed with that "oath keepers" notion that we would never obey an illegal or immoral order. But the reality began to set in even before Private Manning did his thing. And as time goes by I'm realizing that the secrets we were keeping were not good for our country, that such secrets sink ships even more than loose lips about them, and that we really need to rethink this whole "secrecy thing.

Trouble is

Trouble is, when we live in a society where we can trust each other but not those outside our own group that is a dangerous place to be. And we do. Russians, Israelis, Arab Nations, Vatican, French, British, emerging nations, ancient Nations, Chinese and even little countries like Rwanda, all have people keeping secrets. And "loose lips" really do "sink ships." The Pueblo was sunk to protect North Korean secrets. And the USS Liberty was sunk to keep Israeli secrets. We remember these transgressions because they illustrate the "great" (actually it's not great at all) "game" that is international spying, covert operations and terrorism. Folks die to keep secrets. Folks commit suicide, are murdered, are jailed, are defamed and blacklisted, suicided, labeled crazy or otherwise sidelined to keep secrets. And the law gives officials and judges power to keep secrets that shouldn't be kept. And the nature of the release of secrets is such that their release kills people, shocks Wall Street, brings down governments, and hurts people. Truth hurts. Untruth hurts more.

Keeping Crimes Secret Hurts a Lot more.

But keeping crimes secrets hurts a lot more. I had no trouble keeping my secrets because I understood them, was hiding nothing that shouldn't be kept secret, and it was my honor and duty to "fermé le bouche" about them. And I'm hyper-sensitive about such things, so I don't think I have the wisdom to decide which secrets ought not to be kept. But I'm out of government work because I no longer believe that much of what we are doing is right. There is a lot of crime committed in "secret-land" and it needs to be stopped. I believe the Congress needs to amend it's whistle blower and secrecy laws to make it easier to declassify information about crimes and harder for courts and the Government to use secrecy to cover them up.

Legacy of Ashes

Right now I'm reading "Legacy of Ashes" by Tim Weiner, and it is like all books on the CIA, FBI, etc... Told by authors who depend on professional liars for their source information. So it has a lot of tantalizing clues in it, and some areas that contradict what other books on the CIA tell me, and stories I've heard from some of those friends and relatives I mentioned. But it points to the fact that we don't get a straight story, even when the authorities are pretending to come clean. The meat of the story is how the CIA deflected the Church Committee and avoided prosecution after years of violating it's own charter, and that alone makes the book a good read. It's not definitive. Not sure there ever will be a definitive book on the CIA, spycraft involves regularly recording misinformation, disinformation and lies within lies. But it does have it's clues. For example on page 336 it discusses how Colby tried (mostly successfully) to dissemble, deflect and hide CIA domestic spying. Ultimately Colby let himself be a scapegoat too, but first he:

"by laying the issue of illegal domestic surveillance at the doorstep of Jim Angleton, who had been opening first class mail in partnership with the FBI for twenty years."

He then notes the treasonous attitude of Angleton (and by implication most of the CIA) when he quotes Angleton:

"It is inconceivable" he said "that a secret arm of the government has to comply with all the overt orders of the government."

Anyone familiar with the CIA and it's 17 fighting, struggling, rival and different internal agencies, or the Special Ops community, to any degree will recognize this quote as part of a "protecting the President" [from knowledge] attitude of many folks in our Security forces. It is dangerous to play with Special Ops. Unemployed Special Ops people formed the Nucleus of Mussolini's Fascist party in the 1900's and they are very dangerous folks to any civilian government. Anyone wondering how Obama can be continuing programs he criticized for reaching office need only hear this quote from Angleton and a few more to understand how hard it is to reign in a security state once it's formed.

More likely they'll quietly remind officials like Presidents where the real power is.

So I'm not onboard with keeping all the secrets that some of our officials want to keep in a democracy. I don't see Snowden the way I saw Manning, though I wish he'd focused on just the "bad secrets" and not spilled the beans on the huge spying capabilities I've known about for years. What switched me is that Angleton's words applied in 1975 and they never stopped spying domestically. And they not only kept secrets but lied. And not only lied, but lied for the private gain of a cabal. That is what hurts most. I innocently helped them betray my country. Snowden is nominally a traitor and were I forced to sit on a jury trying him I'd find him guilty. But so are the folks at NSA and the FBI who are undermining our democracy and subverting our countries basic principles. Like Angleton they assert impunity.

Legacy of Ashes: http://www.amazon.com/Legacy-Ashes-The-History-CIA/dp/0307389006

Why We Need a National Health Service

The Constitution was designed for a Networked but Federated system for responding to national threats. The founders divided into groups around George Washington, who would prefer a National Military ("Continental Army") and others who wanted more localized militia. But they all agreed on the need for collaboration and coordination. They just weren't sure on how to achieve that goal as militia forces had weaknesses in training and discipline and were not always effective over trained, disciplined "professional" forces like the infamous redcoats we fought during our revolt from Britain. The constitution spells out the powers of congress on our national operations including the duty and power to organize arm, and discipline a national militia.

Clearly the Federal Government is responsible for defending the country from all threats. And the founders clearly envisioned a medical component for the militia, though the science of health and the military was in it's primitive state when the constitution was written. Folks defending the Affordable Care Act were able to cite the 1792 Militia Act which mandated that militia members provide their own arms and the Seamans Act, which mandated that Ships carry insurance on seamen.

But I'm not defending private solutions for our health care issues. The authority for the arms requirement of the USA militia is in Article 1 Section 8 of the constitution as well as the commerce clause. I'm citing these because it is clear that the principle of Federalism involves collaboration and cooperation directed from a general staff with consent of legislatures and local government -- and that has been focused on national services from the beginning of our country. We need a National Health Service organized along militia principles.

Article 1 Section 8 Militia

The Surgeon General is an old position. He should be the Article 1, Section 8 head of a National Health Service Militia which should be the organizing, provisioning and disciplining body for that service under the supervision of congress. The Surgeon General should also be responsible for governing such part of them as employed in the Service of the United States. It should have 50+ membership branches (with intermediate administrative branches by region for organization purposes) with each member at the employ of the States. This National MHS and it's officers and education should be shared collaboratively between the member governors and the Surgeon General. The National MHS would have a governors Board composed of delegates from each subdivision and a legislative advisory board elected by general members (interested people) of the MHS.

Such organizations, being collaborative between States and Federal Government would be explicitly constitutional, but including a legislative advisory body within them ensures that Federal principles are replicated within the States. To do that right this principle needs to be replicated within each state as well. A section 4 Republican guarantee to every State involves replicating this structure within each State so that Hospitals, Schools, clinics, Towns, Counties and Cities are involved in this system and represented in it's governance.

What is missing from most of our top down bureaucracies is a rational legislature. A principle of good requirements and good lawmaking is involving the stakeholders in making such laws. A legislative advisory organization led by experts and elected representatives of an expert community can provide such guidance in an excellent way. This is what we need to organize our response to both emergency and to budget and policy decision making. Collaboration and bottom up forms to counter the effectiveness and inertia of top down decision making.

I propose that the HS include a HS membership organization (which can be an umbrella with chapters and subchapters) with formal advisory powers. It should be self governing and self-funding through membership or similar fees and independently bottom up run. It would be self governing over those parts of it's membership that are self funding. This would be a formal organization with open general membership and a "bar" of people of good character with voting powers and officer eligibility.

Federal Government as Collaborative Government.

The original vision of the Founders was of a country that would be a collaboration between the states. It also is one of Federalism and Commonwealth. It was not intended to be yet another incarnation of the Top Down bureaucratic Imperium of Rome. It was supposed to be a new idea of a new government that would be as Lincoln said "of the people, for the people and by the people". And we can make it so.

Discussion

Constitution on militia:

To define and punish Piracies and Felonies committed on the high Seas, and Offenses against the Law of Nations;

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

To raise and support Armies, but no Appropriation of Money to that Use shall be for a longer Term than two Years;

To provide and maintain a Navy;

To make Rules for the Government and Regulation of the land and naval Forces;

To provide for calling forth the Militia to execute the Laws of the Union, suppress Insurrections and repel Invasions;

To provide for organizing, arming, and disciplining the Militia, and for governing such Part of them as may be employed in the Service of the United States, reserving to the States respectively, the Appointment of the Officers, and the Authority of training the Militia according to the discipline prescribed by Congress;

1792 Militia Act which mandated that militia members provide their own arms:

"Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, That each and every free able-bodied white male citizen of the respective states, resident therein, who is or shall be of the age of eighteen years, and under the age of forty-five years (except as is herein after excepted) shall severally and respectively be enrolled in the militia by the captain or commanding officer of the company, within whose bounds such citizen shall reside, and that within twelve months after the passing of this act. And it shall at all times hereafter be the duty of every such captain or commanding officer of a company to enroll every such citizen, as aforesaid, and also those who shall, from time to time, arrive at the age of eighteen years, or being of the age of eighteen years and under the age of forty-five years (except as before excepted) shall come to reside within his bounds; and shall without delay notify such citizen of the said enrollment, by a proper non-commissioned officer of the company, by whom such notice may be proved. That every citizen so enrolled and notified, shall, within six months thereafter, provide himself with a good musket or firelock, a sufficient bayonet and belt, two spare flints, and a knapsack, a pouch with a box therein to contain not less than twenty-four cartridges, suited to the bore of his musket or firelock, each cartridge to contain a proper quantity of powder and ball: or with a good rifle, knapsack, shot-pouch and powder-horn, twenty balls suited to the bore of his rifle, and a quarter of a pound of powder; and shall appear, so armed, accoutred and provided, when called out to exercise, or into service, except, that when called out on company days to exercise only, he may appear without a knapsack."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/wonkblog/wp/2012/06/26/george-washingtons-individual-mandates/

Seamans Act:

In 1790, the very first Congress—which incidentally included 20 framers—passed a law that included a mandate: namely, a requirement that ship owners buy medical insurance for their seamen. This law was then signed by another framer: President George Washington. That’s right, the father of our country had no difficulty imposing a health insurance mandate.[...]

Six years later, in 1798, Congress addressed the problem that the employer mandate to buy medical insurance for seamen covered drugs and physician services but not hospital stays. And you know what this Congress, with five framers serving in it, did? It enacted a federal law requiring the seamen to buy hospital insurance for themselves. That’s right, Congress enacted an individual mandate requiring the purchase of health insurance. And this act was signed by another founder, President John Adams.

That's from Einer Elhauge, a professor at Harvard Law, who continues, "not only did most framers support these federal mandates to buy firearms and health insurance, but there is no evidence that any of the few framers who voted against these mandates ever objected on constitutional grounds. Presumably one would have done so if there was some unstated original understanding that such federal mandates were unconstitutional."

Fighting the Devil - written 1978

I am fighting the devil in my life

It is powerful and it is hidden.

And it is not a man, not a person.

It casts its shadow over my dreams.

It tries to blind me in my eyes.

It seems to feed upon my screams.

preventing me from seeing the Way.

Shadowing me with fears at the end of the day.

 

But I am a noble fighter, a warrior all the way

and though all tries to steer me towards ruin,

through the power of desires and delusion,

Yet I shall find my way

Using the power of the law of life,

To steer it better to steer it right.

Using the inward power of mystic wisdom

to see through to truth and through delusion

and act wisely and bravely, no matter my plight.

 

I am courageous and afraid.

Prone to foolishness and to evil.

Yet I am also noble and I'm brave;

Because I keep my eyes open and hold fast to the one law that endures;

When I persevere in doing what is right,

All the mighty forces of the Universe come to my aide.

 

Christopher H. Holte, written in 1978. I had already been practicing Buddhism for 5 years.

Don't cry

To Evi

Don't Cry

Don't cry my friend

If you're unhappy with long and painful sighs

Don't lament the end

for ends are always new beginnings.

Don't feel sorry for the past

Do learn, we need to learn fast.

the way to amend bad ends is to make amends.

...and move on.

 

To Jeannette

Little Girl

You have a little girl

such a bright and happy little girl.

Do teach her well and she will grow

to love you so, basking in the warm glow,

of love and loves greatest rewards

 

Try too hard to hold her in her grasp

and she will go

Try to hold her too hard

and you will never know, why you lost her.

 

Chris Holte, 1982

In the early 80's I tried to help a woman and her child who lived in East Germany, Dresden. I believe this poem was written thinking of them.