Past as It Plays Itself Foward In Time

It wasn't like this. It was gritty. Dirty. There was a smell, sometimes. There was people selling vegetables in boxes on sidewalks or in half stall stores. There were winos and bums and people who had no place to go. People stood around talking all day long. They didn't need talk radio to keep a conversation going.

There were people going to work or to school. The streets were filled with busy people.

It was filled with motion.

There were no tables or chairs outside. No place for them. The sidewalks were narrow then.

There were belching cars and trolleys trying to get some place. Everybody was trying to get some place other than where they were.

Me included.

No, it didn't look like this. I tramped up and down those streets and what I knew is gone. I only have the memory of it.

I remember the good pretzel place where you had to wait for a hot one because they sold out quick. You could have plain with mustard or extra salty. Small, or freaky big. A couple of stores down from the pretzel place was my home away from home bookstore.

The bookstore, I think it was called Robin's, is where they sold alternative comic books. Where I could get a copy of High Times for a quarter. I was more interested in the hydroponics than the weed.

I was a strange person.

I must have been the only person to buy High Times for the articles and to check out Vaughn Bode's comic called Cheech Wizard. Bode was the only cartoonist I knew that celebrated big behind women.

There were days when I'd have just a dollar and have to choose between a photo magazine and three other candidates. If you didn't buy it when you laid eyes on it it could be gone.

One day I found this book called I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream. Paperback. It was right next to the Ice Berg Slim books . My arms where loaded up but I flipped to a few pages and thought this dude Ellison was on to something.

I fell in love with his writing. I fell in love with how he would talk to you in the fourth wall breaking pages before the start of a story. I didn't care for his gangster books. Gangsters were getting shot up all over town and making the tabloid covers every other day. Fiction couldn't trump that Goombah reality.

I kept my radar out for anything else he wrote. One day when I was able I paid full price cash money for a paperback that had the original script of the City on the Edge of Forever. Then I bought his other books with covers intact.

So when I heard that Harlan Ellison was going to be in Hollywood I thought I could go see him in person. I needed to make amends for buying those first stripped books when I was a teenager.

But meeting inspirations can be tricky.

So this is the past that you need to known to put context to the future that was.

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Programming School Dropout and Redemption

I've been avoiding telling folks this but it is time to come clean and start again. I am the beauty school dropout in Grease.



I hate quitting anything. Really, I can be guilty of hanging on for dear life until I get it done. Well, life snuck up on me and went booger-booger.

Strike 1. I was doing okay. I wrote my first program and thought my homework was done. What I failed to realize was there were a whole bunch of lessons underneath the first one. I catch that mistake two days before the first quiz and try to cram it down.

You can't do that with an intro Python programing class. I tried but it was painful.

Strike 2. My day job at the Salt Mine got crazy. I can't go into details but let me just say the widgets were asking questions of the whatsits and the whatsits were waiting on the doohickies and in the meantime salt is flowing all over the conveyer belt.

It was lunar baby, stuff was flying everywhere and all I had was a spoon.

Strike 3. I came home and tried again. I'm in Lesson two. I'm still learning vocabulary and programing at the same time. The dude shifted from vocabulary to concept and then from concept to implementation.

I was still on understanding the concepts when bango zoom he was talking about the rafinstinbonk.

It was over. I cured up in my bed, I knew I didn't have a flipping chance.

A Possibility for Redemption

A new session of the class is starting up on April 16th. I'm stubborn. I do not like not learning what I set out to learn. You don't get to be this old without picking up some life skills.

Boomer power baby!

I am gathering supportive tutorial materials:

Videos

Khan Academy has some programming videos:



I can watch or listen to these on my phone via YouTube.

Tutorials

One size does not fit all and I'm looking for re-enforcements.

• At Python.org there is a Beginner's Guide page for non-programmers to access tutorials and resources.
• There is another interactive tutorial at Learn Python.org.
• Python Turtle is for kids and those willing to think like one. There is no shame in my game. You download the software and the follow the instructions to learn concepts in order to move the turtle.
• Yes, there is a podcast for just about everything, this one is for young programmers so if I add the numbers my age I could be youngish.

What About Life?

I know. I could be setting myself up for a fall again. Salt is still shooting across the room but the flow is now in check for the time being. If I can get a better bead on the topic before the new session starts I'll sign up again.

If not, slow and steady will have to be my workflow. Monty would have wanted it that way.

(The programming language was named after Monty Python, which is nice to know but I still feel like a git.)

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Libraries and Occupations - Then and Now

The library nerd in me loves that this video even exists. Matthew Battles is an author and librarian. His book, "Library: An Unquiet History" talks about how libraries constantly are re-invented for the needs of the time.



In this video, Battles talks about the 19th century Chartist movement paved the path toward the public library system we have today. Toward the end of the video Battles makes the point about how the camp libraries of the Occupy movement will also shape how we share information in the days to come.

For more info on the book:

• WorldCat Book Information Page
• WW Norton's book page with the opportunity to read an excerpt.
• Review of the book by John Kennerly
• Google Books information page with links of other folks talking about the book.

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In Memory of Mr. Gil Scott-Heron

I'm tired. I'm tired of the willful ignorance that is romping around as political discussions. On this day one of the great men of poetry and music has pass to the other side. I speak of Mr. Gil Scott-Heron.

I saw the man perform many years ago. I don't know much more to say. I did a tweet. I wrote 480 words in Facebook.

But my heart wants to write a book and nobody reads anymore, so I am told. This is a poem from the (currently) last album Where Did the Night Go?



I can tell you that one of the first things I did when I got my hands on the Internet was to look for him. No joke. He had been quiet for too long and I was trying to catch up. I wasn't alone.

Eventually the silent collective of those of us caring about GSH found out he was in England. Having some turbulence over there with the chemicals. I had to adjust that the man who made it clear to leave the stuff alone was juiced and volatile.

This is The Bottle



It took about 10 years for the BBC interview video to surface on the web. I could see he had been roughed up by his addictions. Gil was still inside but not the same. Still, the silent collective couldn't let him go. We sent invisible good wishes and petitions up on high on his behalf.

These past two years were very encouraging. I didn't care if he was doing covers of blues songs or small snips of poetry. The man was working and staying focus. As much as he could. Maybe the next album would light into the soul like a B-Movie

.

When folks do a tribute page they want other people to know that this person is important. You should know why we honor this conflicted but talented man. He wasn't perfect. Dang sure no angel.

Scott-Heron made it hard to be a fan.

But for a moment we gather and understood what it was and what it could be in terms of storytelling, poetry, performance and musicianship.

I'm about to crash. I need to sleep. Or be sad. Maybe both.

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Andre Coleman - I'm A Reporter

I made a mistake yesterday in that my rant about my feelings about bloggers and journalism should have been in a separate post from the actual recording. So I'm just going to err on the side of caution and just let the video speak for itself.

This is the second video of my recording of Andre Coleman's talk at the 2011 Citizen Journalism Speaker Series. Andre Coleman is a reporter/journalist with the Pasadena Weekly.



There are things I agree with Mr. Coleman and things I don't. The truth is I have to acknowledge that I have very strong feelings about newspapers, journalism and blogging.

I invested a lot of nickles, dimes and quarters in purchasing newspapers. I've invest a lot of time participating in blogging and community building. Which is why I have said and continue to say I'm not a journalist.

Unless I record that once in a lifetime video in which case "Yes, I am and pay me."

One of these days maybe I'll whip up a post on the 10 Things Journalists Need to Get Straight About Bloggers and New Media. I'll be able to write that post once I finish removing a number of bias cut logs in my eyes.

This could take a bit of time.

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The Stripper Bookstores and the License to Read

I don't want to misled anyone. This is not about strippers running bookstores. This is memory about an old bookstore and news vendor practice. On my other blog, Create Video Notebook, I was explaining about being willing to learn when you know nothing about a topic.

As a teen I really wanted to know about photography but outside of looking at Life Magazine there wasn't the information explosion that is occurring now. There were photography books at the library.

Most of those books talked about chemicals, processing charts or lighting concepts. I didn't understand a word or the multiple charts that were in those books. There were art books about photographers. Karsh, Diane Arbus, the photographers on the WPA project. It did not matter I went through those books like a house on fire.

I wanted to do what they did but I couldn't make the connection between their work and the technical photography guides. It was a secret closed language.

I don't know about the rest of the country but on the east coast there were bookstores and magazine stands. A lot of them. They did good business but not everything sold.

What the newspaper and bookstore vendors were supposed to do with unsold items was to strip off the top portion of the cover of a magazine or the full cover of a book and send it back to the distributor or publisher. This would indicate that this item was unsold and disposed of.

I guess there was some kind of credit in place, I don't know.

The reality was that instead of throwing perfectly ok materials in the trash there was usually a back room or pile where you could pick up said items for 25 cents to $1. Being a broke person who generally only had 50 cents to a $1 at a time this was a win-win situation for me.

I could buy the photography magazines. I could buy Harlan Ellison and fall in love with his rants and some of his fiction. I picked up cooking magazines art and design books, Philip K. Dick and whatever else I could put my hot little hands on.

I had to decide between Dirty Duck and Pudge, Girl Blimp. It was stressful because if you didn't pick it up on Friday afternoon it might not be there when you got back to the store on Monday. I had to go with Pudge, that girl was whacked.

Now as long as one or two of them where doing it on the down low there wasn't much of a fuss. When people were opening full scale stripped bookstores is when it got out of hand.

It was understandably from an author and publisher point of view a nightmare. The publisher sells 10 magazines to the bookstore, sells six and loses money on four of them only to have the bookstore make hand over fist money at 25 cents per book or magazine.

I'm not condoning theft. Nope. It was hurtful in the short term view of things.

Except I and many other people were able to sample a variety of content that we might not have risked money on. Because in time I did pay full price for Harlan Ellison's books, photography magazines and other types of reading materials.

This goes back to the HarperCollins 26 e-book lock down being proposed. A library has the ability to expose readers to new content. Placing a license lock on that content restricts access to those who might want to read it.

Maybe that is the point. I don't know. But books and information can't really be sold like a pack of Ding Dongs.

I think the old newspaper and bookstore folks were on to something. It wasn't just the old discounted stuff that sold. Some people bought new books and magazines as well as the discounted items.

Unrestricted access does produce paying readers.

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Another View About HarperCollins e-Book License

I'm not sure we are gonna make it to 2012. This year is frisky enough as it is. Mercy! The latest thing to get me all twisty is the HarperCollins e-book flap. In a nutshell, HarperCollins wants to change the buying terms for e-books for libraries. Instead of one book, one reader one purchase they want to change to a license model.

For example, if a library has an e-book that they lend to library users they can only do that 26 times per book. After that time the library would have to pony up for another license for the next 26 readers.

So let's say the e-book in question is To Kill A Mockingbird. The first 26 people get to read the book. The library looks at the purchasing budget already slashed to hell by city and local governments. They don't have the money to get another license. To Kill A Mockingbird is no longer available at that library.

No sweat you say, what about e-book inter-library loan?

You don't think for a moment that the publisher is going to stand for any form of inter-library loan of an e-book, do you? I doubt if they would even consider inter-branch acceptable. Let's not forget about the license fee, the library would pay one way or the other.

The choice is to either not purchase the e-book or repeatedly pay for the right to distribute the e-book to library users.

Wait a minute you say. There is another choice, just plunk down $7.99 for a paperback copy. And you would be right. The library could do that, so long as there is a physical copy to be obtained.

But time changes things. Mimeo paper use to be common. It isn't any more. There may be a time when a physical book is no longer published.

What if the publisher only had e-book copies of certain books? What if the library e-book is in low but steady demand? Does the library still buy the book at $26 a pop when you might loan only three copies a year for five years?

This is getting messy. Would a library invest in one poet e-book or an anthology? Would the library even buy poetry books, essays, philosophy books or political analysis of historical events?

Does the library stock historical cookbooks, wood crafting books or automotive manuals? Does a non-music contain practice books and musical scores? Will the decision be made to have only one physical or electronic copy of a book?

Do you really want to put commercial book publishers in a position of deciding the amount of times a library book can be read? Because that can become content control. That control could be taken away from librarians and libraries.

I'm asking folks to really think about the implications of that question.

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Aint Got No on the Finally Freakout Friday

It is a time of reflection and moving forward. What have we got? What have we lost?

I had a scare a few weeks back. In the middle of it I wondered if I truly contributed more than I have taken from this life. The answer is, I could do better.

I have to make choices that will take me into uncharted lands and people. Not that I shy away from such possibilities but I need to make more of an effort not to be complacent.



I also need to kick the gratitude thing up a notch or two. By word and by deed. This is a musical reminder from Miss Nina Simone who had a way of making her point in 88 keys.

For me 2011 means going forward but with no resolutions I'll do it or I won't. But I'm willing to give it a try.

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The $99 Netbook, Frugality and Technology Don't Always Mix

The circular felt onto my desk, my eyes paused in disbelief. $99 for a Netbook? At CVS? I went into a logic loop.

No, yes, impossible, really? I went to the CVS web site but they had bupkis, that is more like the CVS I know. Separation of drugs from any knowledge of what is in the retail store.


It took a bit but I tracked the sucker down. The Sylvania Netbook is for real. The retail price is $99 plus sales tax plus the CA e-Waste fee if you live in California.

Now before you rush out to buy this netbook we need to talk. This is going to make about as much sense as trying to convince a bored teenager not to swig on a can of Colt45 but I have to make the effort.

The Very Short Version

This is an underpowered computer. It is designed for using on-line applications like Google Apps, Zoho Apps, Facebook, YouTube or Twitter. It is strictly for connecting to the Internet away from home.

It is an limited function device. Unless you have a Wi-Fi connection at home you will not be able to use this computer to connect to the Internet unless you purchase additional devices and/or subscription service.

You can rack up another $250 to $400 trying to make it work but I think there are better uses for your cash.

Quick Specifications:

• It is not a powerful CPU. It is a chugita chugita Via 8805 CPU.
• Windows CE - I don't know where to begin on this one. Let's say that this variation of Windows was designed for low powered devices.
  
• 128MB internal memory. I ain't seen internal memory that small since the PC-AT class computers of the early 1990s. It can only handle really limited tasks. I stand corrected. Task.
• 2GB of internal storage. Saving early versions of MS Word or Open Office docs, yes it is possible. Downloading all of your 5 megapixel photos from your camera, I don't think so.
  
• You can purchase an 8GB SDHC memory card for additional storage but you will pay more for it at CVC and similar drug stores. They tend to really mark up stuff like memory cards. If you need it you'll pay 2x more for the SD card unless it is a blowout kind of deal.
• You have to have either a viable Wi-Fi connection or be willing to purchase additional devices, for example, Virgin Mobile sells Broadband2Go. You purchase the device and the service plan.

When Need Overrules Practicality

My friends that are Frugalistas are waving their hands in the air. They want it known that they can't buy a used notebook because they don't know how to tell a good one from a bad one. Sure they understand that this netbook only connects to the Internet at local Wi-Fi hot spots.

The Frugalistas just want to keep up the the TwitFaceTube generation. And to help find employment, connect with family and stay information viable at under $150.

I know. Seriously. Those of you having to go to the friends house got old years ago. You are tired of the bum rush to get a computer at the library. You need it for school and you can just about scrape up $150.

I am sympathetic. I know what it is like to need a computer and can almost buy it without going broke.

College Students

If you are a college student that needs an Internet computer and your campus does have Wi-Fi or you can get to a public library then yes, go for it because you need to have something to help you stay competitive with other students.

The keyboard is cramped. You will be sorry but you will be connected.

Members of the Fiscally Challenged Club - Working Adult Division

I can't recommend this computer. It would be so much better to save your money and purchase a new notebook or a decent used notebook computer.

You are not going to be able to install modern software. I keep typing this but you have to understand; you could spend almost $250 to get what you need to make this Wi-Fi capable in your home. $99 Netbook + $250 Wi-Fi = $349.

That is not frugal. That is stupid. Frugalistas are not stupid.

Folks on the Go or Conventioneers

I suppose it is a cheap way to have a function computer without worrying that you could lose everything. For use at the airport, hotel room or as a passenger in a car, maybe.

I still think you are gonna get the shank due to its lack of functionality and the size of the keyboard. If you can also use it like an e-book reader then, sigh, perhaps.

Well, I've said my piece. The choice is yours.

Oh, one more thing. Don't go looking for tech help in same place that sells suppositories.

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Two Games About Women's Bodies and Both Make Me Sad

The power of intention always whacks me upside my head. My post for BlogHer about the FOX News report on Abstinence Video Game is up but as part of my research I was lead to these two games.

I'm not a gamer. I do not want to kill anything or anyone in reality or in a virtual environment. I will if I have to protect my life. But the hunt and execution has not thrill for me.

I do believe in sex education and empowerment but I'm not sure this is quiet the way to go. From E4 comes Privates where the troops are posted in the vagina to kill off the STD and nasty stuff in the lady bits.



It is a shooter game for ages 14 and older. I saw another example of the game and there is a bit of "disease ed" tossed in the game but there is something about having my or any woman's vagina thought of as a toxic battle ground is profoundly uncomfortable.

Having it voiced with a British sounding accents is makes me thing of Dr. Who. I would not mind a certain Doctor riding me up the pleasure canal but he is gonna have to leave the sonic screwdriver in his coat.

Non-sexual education parents can squawk all they want but the more they suppress education based sexual health instruction the more the commercial marketplace will pick up the slack.

This might be a good example of why you don't want that to happen. Except I've got one more.

Hey Baby is a game where a woman walks down a street. Dude says the wrong thing and blammo, he's dead and the remark is on a tombstone.

Look, you can't grow up in an urban area or ride a bus without hearing some clown spewing a line or two. The low hanging fruits of the world will say dumb, vile and bordering on psychotic things to women and young girls.

I'm not sure I want to promote a shooting game as a method of handling the problem. And let me say this as a person who had to walk pass east coast construction crews back in the day.



Um, yeah.

I'm not sure killing a person for saying "God Bless You" is in the same league as I wanna suck your (insert the blank).

For some folks this is gonna be a hoot.

Not for me. It is the same line of thinking that every guy does this. Excluding the teen years, real mature thinking men do not insult women this way. I think the game might send the message that most men do let the brain dribble out of their mouths.

I can't support this but I haven't the right to tell others not to engage in this type of play. The hundreds of women abusing and hating games out in the world is way too many.

This one game is nowhere near as noxious as what people are plunking down cash money for modified versions of Grand Thief Auto and worse. Much worse. So much worse I'm not going to mention the name or link to them.

So there you have it. I don't want to kill for pleasure. And until producers can figure out a way to have entertaining game play that does not involve death I'm not going to have much to do with gaming.

We can do better. We are just not willing as yet. I hope I can hang on until we do.

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The Gift of Self-Pleasure - Thinking Outside of The Polarities

I know that I prefer and desire males as sexual partners and life companions. I don't think it was socialization; I'm real sure it was because I was checking out certain fellas in school kinda confirmed to me where my path was destined.

It wasn't a choice. It is a part of who I am. I can't be programmed out of my preferences that gets my heart beating a little faster. I believe the same could be said for gay, lesbian, transgendered and bi-sexual person.

There is no need to bring shame, guilt or other people's deeply embedded fears into our body, mind and soul.



So to represent an example of allowing ourselves to love within and outside of the binary polarities this is a clip from Barbara Carrellas speaking at the New Life Expo.

As you contemplate the images in your head before you start to stoke the furnace here is a tip. Don't censor. Let your imagination go places it generally have not allowed it go before.

Really, who is gonna know?

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The Confederate Flag – The Push Me Pull You of Culture and Race

Tenured Radical had a post on the 2009 conservative march in Washington. If you follow the link you will see two men holding a flag. I also encourage you to read her full post. When I see the fabric that is called the “Confederate flag” I have very specific emotions. They are visceral. I feel fear inducing recollections based in historical facts and events. No, this is not about bashing white people.

First A Bit of Historical Context

One of the learning skills impressed upon me as a teen was to know what a word or concept really means. For the benefit of our overseas readers, I want to give a brief summary about what has become to be known as the Confederate flag. This is photo is the first actual Confederate Flag, 1861 from the Smithsonian Institute.

 

This is not the flag that gets people blood red upset. In fact, most Americans would probably confuse it with an early version of a American or Union flag. It is most certainly not a Union flag. When I look at it I have no immediate attachment, fear or hatred of it. It is a historically valuable object created at the time of the separation of the southern states during the Civil War. The history of that war is painful but it is a part of my collective American history and it is exactly where it belongs, protected in a museum. 

Rebel Flag

 

This is a Rebel flag. It is not a true Confederate flag; it is a latter day variation of the third Confederate flag from 1865.

During World War 2 some of the southern solders brought along the Rebel flag to show pride in their country and to represent their state. Other states and countries were doing the same thing. After World War 2 southern college students began bringing the flag to football games. The Rebel flag became a southern cultural icon, so I have been told. One that African-Americans at the time were nervous about but that is a story for another time.

David Sarratt writes about the historical Rebel flag’s resurgence:

White Southerners believed that their exclusive culture was being threatened, and the flag became a symbol against civil rights. The segregationist Dixiecrat party of 1948, who ran Strom Thurmond for president, took on the Confederate flag as its symbol. Anti-Civil Rights sentiment ran strong in the South, which was once again feeling imposed upon by a distant federal government. The conflict was on again.

The Rebel flag was embraced by the Klu Klux Klan and every anti-civil rights and hate group from here to Georgia and all points beyond. It was used to support intimidation, threatens fire bombing and murder. The victims were not just African-Americans but Jews, women and European-Americans.  It was used as a rally banner to defend southern land from any group that tried to challenge the Jim Crow laws and system of segregated government.

The rest of the country was in no way exempt from this type of behavior by the way. In some respects, they did dirt worse than the South.

The points that the Segregationists wanted understood was that they resented outsiders coming into the South to dictate change. They felt that they had a regional system that worked for them. Southerners felt race relations and integration was a state’s rights issue, not a federal concern. Segregationists felt they were defending their American rights of self-governance and expression.  They felt that the federal government was overreaching it jurisdiction.

Is any of this sounding familiar? In a 2009 sort of way?

Support for The Confederate/Rebel Flag

• Confederate Digest response to Is the Conservative Flag Racist? Mr. Conn’s answer is no.
• Parents who want to defend their children’s right to wear the Confederate flag on their clothing. They want to defend and protect their cultural heritage.
• Greg Zotta’s perspective on the right to display the Confederate flag.

Other Points of View about the Contemporary Usage of the Rebel/Confederate Flag

• Rev. Ryusho has the same questions I have, why bring that flag to DC?
• Tension between NAACP and South Carolina Conservative Action Council on Confederate flag. You should view the video or read the text of the news story.
• Fox The Poet uses the Rebel flag as a jumping off point for one of his poems.

Historic Culture Clash

I have tried and continue to try to understand the conservative point of view to the various issues of the day. There are legitimate concerns about the budget, corporate financial malfeasance, health care and repairing and developing new infrastructures.

That damn flag make it almost impossible to have those conversations. You see, that Rebel flag is a part of my history too. A part of my heritage.  The blood soaked one. The one stained in humiliations and screaming voices too numerous to count.  I can’t speak for Native Americans, Latinos/a or Asian-Americans, but I bet some of them ain’t feeling the warm fuzzes for the Rebel flag either.

When I see the Rebel flag at a conservative march on Washington or at healthcare protests that tells me I am not invited. In fact, it might be detrimental to my health and longevity to attend. I have history to back me up on this particular theory of mine. I have no desire to test it out in real life. It is scary enough reading blog posts and comments that damn me to hell for breathing.

I am not advocating suppressing any groups history or culture. I’m all about the solutions. Got any?

Resources:

For more information about the History of the Confederate flag visit the American Studies Department of the University of Virginia historical overview.

The Smithsonian Museum has an online collection of military resources, images and objects called The Price of Freedom: Americans at War.

Gena Haskett is a Contributing Editor at BlogHer where this post originally appeared.

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Health Care Reform Crib Sheet For Busy People Part 2

I got a letter from my insurance company telling me that they will decide if a medication is valid, not my doctor. The insurance company will decide on the dosage, the length of time I can and can't have the medication and whether I take a prerequisite medication before I can receive the one that my doctor wants me to have. This gives me an excellent opportunity to review of my last post.

You see, if I'm telling you about this situation and I have no visible proof then it is anecdotal. I'm not lying, I really got the letter but you don't know that for sure. There is nothing wrong with anecdotal statements. If is one person telling another “this is my experience” that is not a problem. But when the anecdotal statement leaps into a friend of a friend… then that is a problem. E-mail chain letters are never valid anecdotal resources.

Now if I uploaded a copy of the actual letter then I would be posting the document that is the primary source. In this case, from my insurance company.

If I read about it in a newspaper article and the newspaper confirms with the insurance company that they are changing the terms of prescription coverage or they publish an authentic copy of the letter then the newspaper article is a secondary source. If newspaper columnists, editorial writers or bloggers are commenting on the change in prescription coverage then it is opinion.

Here is a chart to help visualize on overview of the playing field. You can also click to see a large version of the chart:

Vested Stakeholders

Health care is a multi-billion dollar industry. The business of health care intersects with many stakeholders beyond the insurance and pharmaceutical industries. Everybody has something to say. I can’t list all the stakeholders but I want to give you examples and a few questions to ask to help you evaluate the information being presented.

Three Questions To Think About As You Evaluate An Information Source

• Who are you are dealing with? Check the Mission statement or the About Us page.
• Who do they cite as being in support of the point of view expressed on the website or blog? Is it a primary source, a newspaper or an anecdotal statement.
• Where does the money come from to support the web site and the activities being promoted by the web site? Again, you shouldn't have to spend all day trying to find that out. That information should be no more than two clicks away from the main page. I’m being generous.

Medical Stakeholders

Many of the sites that I will use as an example have multiple functions. Certainly physicians have a stake in any discussion of health care reform. One of the places that I visited was the American Medical Association current topics page. This lead me to an AMA advocacy site that goes into details on their perspective on health care reform. You can watch a question and answer video with doctor responses or read a short summary of what they want in health care reform.

Not all doctors belong to the AMA or even the ones that do support the AMA’s position on health reform. Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) is: “a single issue organization advocating a universal, comprehensive single-payer national health program. PNHP has more than 17,000 members and chapters across the United States.” There is video, links and resources to evaluate.

On August 20, 2009 Health Affairs held a meeting at the National Press Club to discuss Fact vs. Fiction, Key Issues in Health Reform. There were representatives from both sides of the debate. You can download the audio file, PowerPoint presentation or view video clips of the sessions. Every one who presented was a stakeholder who explained their point of view.

Trade and Professional Unions

The more union members work the more the union like any plan that would benefit their membership. There is no question that they are involved in the health care debate. One of the web sites is from the AFL – CIO is advocacy driven the Health Care for America Now. American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) Make America Happen/highway to heath care is another union supporting health care reform website.

Advocacy

This group contains folks that are actively supporting, actively trying to defeat the reform measure or adding their interpretations based on their group affinity. Also included are corporations and organizations that benefit no matter what the position the public holds on health care.

Hand Off My Health does not like the current health reform proposed at this writing. It does not support a government financed option. One of the questions I ask of an organization is where did they get their information. It should not take more than three clicks to find that out.

Look for a mission statement or an About Us page. Also you can get a lot of information by checking out pages that list links and resources. Many of the resources were to the Heritage Foundation. The Heritage Foundation believes that:

To formulate and promote conservative public policies based on the principles of free enterprise, limited government, individual freedom, traditional American values, and a strong national defense.

That is fine. I clearly understand the reasoning of the Heritage Foundation. If the budget was balanced they still would not be in favor of any kind of government or public health plan. There was full disclosure and they do have a page specifically detailing The Heritage Foundation's point of view on health reform. It took a while to find out the home base of the Hands Off My Health and related web sites.

At Get Better Health.com you can listen to a discussion between medical professionals. Now if I hadn’t done any research I wouldn’t have known that the guy leading the discussion is one of the participants at CMPI, which is the main website that Hands Off My Health Care and others are spun off from. I still would have researched the name of the doctor and looked up the web site.

Just one more thing. Get Better Health is a sponsored website. I do appreciate that they were upfront about it on their About page:

Better Health accepts sponsorship for content licensing, advertising, events (including salons, debates, forums, conferences, presentations), and information-sharing with our network. Individual bloggers receive revenue-share from licensing and advertising their content, and additional compensation for participation in events. We give 10% of our post-tax profits to non-profit health organizations to support their work.

This does not make their point of view any less valid. This means you have to check the front end and the back end of the horse to make sure it is what it is.

Bloggers

There are keyboards smoking across the country from the heated exchange of facts, opinion and commentary about this topic. I really don’t have to leave BlogHer to find different views but let me show you other bloggers with something to say about health reform.

Disruptive Women in Health Care is a health information blog. The bloggers come from a variety of viewpoints on health issues.

Nurse Ratched’s Place has a post up, she is a working nurse and gives her opinion on health care reform. California Nurses have videos that contain advocacy and commentary about issues concerning their work and health reform.

Melissa Suran in her post The Young and Insured-Less wants to know if those in their Twenties are included in the health care debate.

Resources

Last week Nancy Watzman wrote about the financial lobbying power of contributions to congress members. Congressional Quarterly Politics is a free, non-partisan journalism site that looks at issues and the money that tag along the congressional health care trail. Can you spell PAC?

Center for Media and Democracy’s PR Watch has a post by Wendell Potter about his role as a health care PR person. He talks about the techniques used in disinformation campaigns in the past and the present.

The Cato Institute, like the Heritage Foundation, believes in limited role of government. On the web site you will find ideas, suggestions and alternatives to a government financed health care option.

Citizenship Is Not Easy

Being informed is our responsibility. Don’t abdicate that responsibility. If you really want to be a patriot share a comment or a relevant link that others would find useful. We don’t have to agree but we can respectfully educate each other.

Gena Haskett is a Contributing Editor and the post originally appeared BlogHer.

Update 02/22/2010 Typographical corrections.

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Health Reform Crib Sheet For Busy People Part 1

This year, many first year college students will take a class taught by library staff on critical thinking and evaluating sources. I am trying to convince their parents and other interested people that they need to do the same. There is more to contemporary education than reading, writing and arithmetic. The current health care debate is the prime reason why we need information evaluation and literacy skills.  This is a my attempt at a functional crib sheet.

To begin,  I want to focus on primary and secondary sources and the tools that you can use to help make sense out of the verbal and textual clutter. Next week I’ll show how to evaluate material associated with vested interests and opinion.

Let me say that this topic is a challenge. I would like to keep politics out of this post. That is impossible. My goal for this specific post is to help us make informed decisions.  If you haven’t done so please check out Nancy Watzman’s BlogHer post on More Tools to Get Your Own Scoop on Health Care Debate.

Who Said What? - Look For Primary Sources

The primary source is the originator of the statement or documentation. It can be a person, organization or, in this case, a branch of the United States government. There are multiple health care bills and proposals; the one that has gotten the most publicity as of this writing is from the House of Representatives. It is known as  H.R. 3200, the "America's Affordable Health Choices Act of 2009."

This is the primary source you use to support or refute a fact or statement being discussed about the proposed legislation. Internet users can view and download a copy of the printed bill or you can access a web version from the Library of Congress Thomas.gov portal. I found the web version easier to navigate and target the sections of the bill I am most interested in reviewing.

The Cost of Health Care

Reading a health care bill is one thing but it is also important to understand what has been spent by the government and the projected futures expenses.  Again, I’m going to use governmental figures because no matter what political party is in office there is always someone standing in the corner saying, “We are in trouble. We can’t continue spending like this; please pay attention.” 

Allow me to cast a light on the Accountants, Analysts and Researchers  in the following governmental offices:

The Congressional Budget Office has a section on the website that is a quick view on health care spending and projections.  You might want to take a look at a 2007 report that really is clear and concise on why we are in this situation. Insurance, Providers and Patients all have a share of the responsibility for the expense. We need to be honest about the problem. This report does it in 30 pages. There are people who have issues with the Congressional Budget Office. Not to worry. I have more.

From Census.gov this is the 2009 Statistical Abstract where you can view health care expenditures from 1961 to projected 2017. Let me give you a hint. The numbers do not go down over time. You can see a quick pdf chart of the figures.

The Government Accountability Office constantly looks at how money is spent. There is so much data here I get the warm fuzzies just thinking about diving in the data flow. You might feel otherwise. I understand.

Please use the search engine and type in “health care”. Then filter by the year you want to see data. You can read summaries, the full text, or an accessible version for text readers. 

The main point of this section is know your facts and share with others if asked. You should direct attention, whenever possible to the primary source of information. Everything else is a secondary or derivative source and subject to interpretation.

Secondary Sources - Verification and Interpretation

Traditionally, secondary sources have been newspapers, magazines, radio and television. Responsible journalists will cite the source of the topic they are reporting. Secondary sources can also point to expert might support or disprove the presented information. That is why you will see a lot of news articles and television news programs seek out the expert.  “The expert states…” not the reporter/journalist. 

Bloggers can be secondary sources if they cite the primary source without distortion, that they provide linked attribution that can be easily followed by their visitors and that there is a clear separation between providing facts and providing opinion.

Check It Once and Check It Again

Journalism and news reporting can be helpful to consumers when they examine a statement and methodically evaluate the source and credibility.  My love knows no bounds for FactCheck.org  and their review of a chain e-mail letter Twenty Six Lies About H.R. 3200. And how can I not mention PolitiFact's Truth-O-Meter on the same e-mail meme.

Another place to hang around is the Association for Health Care Journalists blog. These are the folks that we want to keep an eye on because there is reporting here that may or may not make print in your local newspapers or television news program.

For example, you might have heard about the dust up concerning John Mackey, the CEO of Whole Foods and his Op-Ed piece in the Wall Street Journal.  Via Pia Christensen's post, I found out that Mr. Mackey has very interesting connections to the health care industry.

The original post was written by Laura Bennett and appeared on Muckety.com. Muckety.com helps you see visual relationships between people and companies. It was a little clunky for me but it does work.  Many media outlets are creating their own “health blog” including the Wall Street Journal, National Public Radio and Consumer Reports.org Health Blog. 

I have questions if this is a good thing or not. If the media outlets has not provided credible journalism in their traditional environment what makes them think a blog is the way to go?

Other Voices

I don’t have to tell you that there is an increasing disconnect between certain types of journalism and consumers. Some newspapers are so busy trying to learn to tweet that they have forgotten how to tell the story. There are a lot of reasons why we are getting the kind of reporting that does not seem to be serving our needs. Sadly too many examples to lists.

There are other bloggers that can say it better than I can.  Mary Turck writes about the Spinning The News:

Too much news reporting is about spin and who’s spinning which directions and which spin is working. It’s about tactics and winning and losing and the horse race — and not about the issues and facts.

Rebecca Critchfield primarily writes about health and nutrition but I think this statement could be applied to health reporting as well. In her post called  the Price of Misinformation she writes:

It’s one thing when people hear new information and share it with others (there’s a reason they call it a “rumormill” and “myths”), but when the media are behind the misinformation it helps no one. People trust the media and they assume that the stories are well-researched. But that’s not always the case in this day and age of a small news hole and the fierce competition to stand out with breaking news. The pressure for ratings is higher than ever and staying relevant in the land of Twitter and the Blogosphere is a challenge for mainstream media.

Next time, a look at how to evaluate those with a vested interest in the health care debate and how to spot an editorial, an advocacy post and various forms of dis-information.

Gena Haskett is a Contributing Editor at BlogHer and that is where this post originally appeared.

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Clean Coal Research Using Information Literacy Skills

One of my first memories of being in downtown Los Angeles was the sensation of feeling acid rain in my eyes. It stung. I did not know what it was or the cause but I knew that something was dreadfully wrong. That was a long time ago.  The air quality in Los Angeles has improved. It was an involuntary lesson that continues to help me to remember that environmental concerns isn't a buzz word or a hoax perpetuated on the gullible. You see, it really doesn't matter to me if you believe in global warming or not.

I say that because I know that humans and human activities have an effect on the environment. Environmental concerns matter if you breath, use water or sleep on the planet. It is a multi-level problem. It is so much more than changing the type of light bulbs in your home.

Congress will make a decision on an energy bill. There are many vested interests. I want to be a participant; but before I can put my two cents in I need to know and understand a lot of different issues. One in particular is the concept of Clean Coal. Coal is not clean. The process of extraction is certainly not clean or environmentally friendly. Remember that Coal Ash spill in Tennessee a while back?

I need to know more. This is gonna be a two-fer. I want to find accessible information about Clean Coal. I also want to share with you the consumer friendly version of quick research and information evaluation process.

What Do I Want?
I want to know what is "Clean Coal", what is the process of making coal clean and what is the environmental impact both short and long term. I would like to get the information from authoritative sources like scientists or science educators but I need the information presented in plain English. If I can't find science accessible resources than environmental reporting would be acceptable if I can identify the source and verify information.

Definition:
I need to know what the term means. Since I am not going to write a master's thesis I can go to Wikipedia for an introductory background. I will not accept anything presented as fact because there are vested interest who can, have and will manipulate information. It is a just a starting point. Another definition I found is Ask an Engineer at the MIT School of Engineering.

Cornel University Legal Information Institute does have a definition that is being used by the U.S.Government under Title 42 > Chapter 85 > Subchapter IV-A > § 7651n where you can find out that there isn’t necessarily one simple definition.

Next, I’d use a couple of search engines to find definitions but 'I’d go into the advanced function and confine the search to the .edu domain. I’m looking for unbiased academic information. That said, I do know that certain colleges and universities get funding from coal production companies to aid in supporting research, products and services. Look for disclosure statements, outside associations sources of funding or where the school is located. If it is smack dab next to a mining community there may be issues both pro or con.

For example, from the University of Kentucky there is Understanding Clean Coal Technologies with links to videos and podcasts. Digging deeper into the website they have extensive information about mining coal, gas and oil. If you look at the list of collaborators there seem to represent companies with a vested interest in mining. It doesn’t make the info good or bad, it just means you have to consider the source of the information. Compare the University of Kentucky’s site with the one at Purdue University. What do they have in common, what are the difference and what are the vested interests, both inside and outside, of the university?

Finding Resources

Certainly I would also look at science specific magazines like Popular Science, websites like How Stuff Works, blogs, non-profit organizations, television and government agencies. Remember this is still in the discovery phase. I'm just sucking it in at this point.

You can Twitter your way to being informed. You can using the basic search feature to enter the term or use hash tags to find folks that mention the term. But did you know about the advanced Twitter search? It gives you more options like finding a specific person, date ranges or if there are links in the tweet.

Do you use a URL shortner? Some of those have search features as well. Bit.ly has a search function. For those URLs that were shortened by Bit.ly I can do a search for Clean Coal. I came up with 340 links that way - everything from parody, rants, educators, manufacturers and publications. Similar sites have search features as well.

Here is one more way to find folks that are talking about this topic. Blog Pulse tracks blogs and the topics like Clean Coal that bloggers are talking about. This is everybody into the pool; you will see links to politicians, newspapers, blogs, partisan opinions and if you dig long and hard a scientist or two.

Credibility

So you spent some time getting the lingo down, understanding concepts and weeding out the pretenders and political bloviates. How do you know if you are getting the straight scoop or not?  It does come down to transparency and credibility.

• What is the background of the writer?
• Who owns the website or blog?
• How is it resource supported, by ads, what kind?
• Is there an "About Us" page that fully discloses the author and the source of information?
• Is it academic writing or is it some guy on a coach?
• Is it a public relations tool or it is an advocacy site?
• Does it give you the information in the way that you expect?
• When was it updated?

Purpose

The last thing I’d want you to think about is the purpose of the site. I’m sure that if I go to a few environmental  or green websites they are not going to be too crazy about the concept of Clean Coal. I want to know why. I’d want them to be specific and give examples. I would not expect the coal manufactures to give me a complete picture either. This however would be their opportunity to present their point of view. I would equally expect them to be specific and give examples.

This is a very important issue. I’m not going to give you answers, heck I’m still putting together my own. I do want you to have skills in finding those answers for yourself. I am not unbiased. I think the coal industry is doing the equivalent of what automakers have done, known to my ancestors as the old shuck and jive. But I might be wrong. Or not.

I need to be able to ask questions of the energy plan. I hope you will do the same.

I know I missed the one resource that folks would want others to know about. Don’t hate, participate and plunk them in the comments.

Other Links About Clean Coal

• Janice Weis, Associate Director of the Environmental Law program at Lewis and Clark Law School moderated a discussion with a representative from the Sierra Club and the American Coal Council in April 2009 at  You can listen to the podcast or view an on-line presentation.
• CE Virginia DeBolt also had questions about Clean Coal in her April 2009 post.
• At the Environmentalist Dr. James Hansen wants the President to know about the destruction of Coal River Mountain
• At This is Reality you can view the anti-clean coal commercial, obtain facts about coal and environmental effects of coal and check out the blog.

This post originally appeared on BlogHer, where I am a Contributing Editor. 

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