A new day in Health Care

Today is a new day as far as the health of America goes.

As of today:

More children are covered, as they cannot be denied health care due to pre-existing conditions.

And young people can now stay on their parent's insurance plan until age 26.

People with serious disease no longer have to worry about losing benefits because of lifetime limits. In other words, some one's cancer treatment won't stop just because of some limit imposed by the insurance executive. (It's not the government controlling health care, it's the insurance companies). Annual limits on coverage are being phased out on most plans.

You can't be dropped from your insurance after a diagnosis or accident.

Screenings like cholesterol checks and blood pressure and preventive measures like mammograms and colonoscopies are now covered at no cost to the individual. All new health plans will pay for preventive services for pregnant women, so the health of babies being born will improve. And screenings and immunizations for babies and children are now provided with no co-pay and no deductible.

All new health plans allow you to choose your OB/GYN, pediatrician or primary doctor.

Four million seniors are getting $250 checks to help close the donut hole in prescription drug coverage. Next year they will get a 50% discount on their name brand prescriptions.






More rights, more choice, more benefits, and more peace of mind.

Now, let's get real.

Republicans are running on the promise of repealing these benefits. They want the donut hole to remain for seniors. They want children who now have insurance to lose that coverage.

They are offering a plan to "repeal and replace the government takeover of health care." Empty words, empty promises, because there is no plan. And they cannot repeal the act. But rest assured, if given the opportunity, they will work to preserve the insurance industries control of health care. Insurance executives will be determining your benefits and coverage.

Here are the benefits to my congressional district, currently represented by Artur Davis, who voted against Health Care Reform for his constituents, but soon to be represented by Terri Sewell, who will stand by the president and the people she represents.

Benefits for AL-07

In the other District that represents portions of our area, represented by Spencer Bachus, here are the benefits.

Benefits for AL-06

And here are the benefits for every congressional district in the country. Find yours.

Benefits by district

Shame on the GOP and the Tea Party for wanting to take us back to a time when children with pre-existing illness could be denied coverage.

Health care reform will benefit all of us.


Here are people who are benefiting from health care reform with very good reasons.

Who's supporting who?

In two weeks we will wake up knowing who will lead Bessemer into the "teens," the second decade of the 21st century.

The case has been made with certainty for Ken Gulley, (here and here), but a lot will be said and every effort will be made to de-rail his campaign before the runoff election on October 5.

Take for instance that silly lawsuit that was dismissed last week. All that did was make the Bessemer Progressives realize that maybe there is someone worse than Sarah Belcher in District 3. Unfortunately, we supported that person, pretty much only because she was the only person running against Belcher. But I've seen a glimmer of hope that Ms. Belcher will work with Gulley if he is elected. It never hurts to be an optimist.

I have copies of Ken Gulley's and Ed May's campaign finance reports.

There are no big surprises, but it is obvious where the support for each candidate is coming from.

Ken Gulley has the bulk of his money coming from individuals, with over 40 people donating to his campaign. This does not count the numerous people who donated at three fund raising events that raised a total of over $800. His other donors are primarily local small businesses. His total contributions were $21,109.

Ed May, on the other hand, had only one individual contribute and the bulk of his money came from PACS and Corporations. At least 56% ($25,240) of his contributions are from PACS associated with city attorneys, and it's probable ,that another $14,500 did also, as it was funnelled through PACs that one of those attorneys used during the 2006 campaign. His total contributions are $44,540.

I guess what it boils down to is that the people who live in Bessemer and the people who own small businesses want a change in the leadership of our city. And those who are embedded in the city's affairs and their special interest groups like the status quo.

Speaking of the people of Bessemer they were recently asked to voice their opinion on a poll on the mayor's campaign web site. The Mayor asked, "Are you happy with the current growth of Bessemer?" A simple question.

The poll is no longer on the site.

But before it was removed a week ago, here were the results. 76.5% of respondents chose "No," and only 23.5% chose "Yes."

(You can click on the pictures to enlarge them)

Individuals, not PACS, vote in online polls. Individuals are funding and supporting the Gulley campaign, because they are not happy with the growth of Bessemer, according to the mayor's own polling, and do not think he has addressed the issues of importance to the city, according to a poll on Bessemer Opinions that was posted just after the election in August.

While on the mayor's campaign web site I noticed a couple of things that he or his campaign manager or web site manager should have caught. I am not the best speller, or typist, and often I hit the wrong keys and I may misspell words on this blog. But I use spell check and I have readers who alert me if something slips by, and I correct it. But May's campaign site has been up for 6 weeks or so, and this is how the home page appears. I circled a couple of misspelled words.

If you want people to be impressed with you, you can't have little errors and if you do you must correct them when they are found. (I had one in my book and when I found out about it, I corrected it. Some of you have "rare and valuable" imperfect early copies of Those Others.)

There are actually other errors but I don't want to post all of his pages on here.

My annual flowers (and some of my perennials) are just drying up. It's fall, it's unusually hot and dry, so the changes in our gardens are inevitable. Here are a couple of zinnia flowers that were hanging on last week, but even those are gone now. This purple one has a little spider creature on it that I didn't notice when I was taking the photograph.

This orange flower looks as if it has no stem. It just seems to be floating, like something we might see on Pandora.

Railroad Park

Yesterday I visited the new Railroad Park in Birmingham. There were quite a few people there, some with dogs, some with kids, some on bikes, some on roller blades and some with skateboards.

The park is a big expanse of green with a lake and a stream and trails around the perimeter and criss-crossing.

Here is an article from USA Today about the park.

In this picture you can see that there is a perimeter trail but also a meandering trail, and a stream in between. Joggers were making their way primarily on the flatter outer trail, while cyclists seemed to prefer the ups and down of the inner trails.

There were kids wading barefoot in the stream. Later I saw two middle-aged African American women wading gingerly in the water.

"How long since you've done that?" I asked them.

"I've never done it," one of them answered, laughing. "This is wonderful. This is the best thing," she said, indicating the park.

It was really refreshing to see people in Birmingham appreciating the beauty that has always been around them. I mean, sure the park didn't always look this way, but there are signs in the park that explain the history, and that the site was once natural, then industrial, and now (somewhat) natural again.

From the park you can see that Birmingham is a city on the move. Large cranes indicate construction at nearby Children's Hospital. Here is a construction webcam where you can see what's going on. There's a time-lapse video there where you can watch months of construction in about 30 seconds. Pretty neat.

Students were lounging in the grass, some were reading, some were talking on their phones, others were napping.

The buildings of downtown, including the Wells Fargo building with their new sign atop, provide a backdrop to the new park.

There are walls and barriers within the park made of bricks and stone that were found on the site. I don't have a picture, but the bricks and such are stacked and encased in wire cloth to hold them in place. Interesting.

Also, informational signs are placed though out the park to inform visitors of some history, or some nature, within and around the park.

And at the west end of the park you can smell the bread baking from the bread factory across the street.

Read more about your park at the Park website.

Dr. Robert Bentley and taxes

Has Robert Bentley read the Alabama constitution? Has he even looked at how money is generated for the state?

When asked if the burden of taxation unfairly targets the poor last night, he said "No."

This is not new. In 2008 when the Alabama legislature was considering removing sales tax from groceries, Bentley defended Alabama's regressive taxes.





"They (the people of Alabama) have a right to pay the taxes they will pay."

That is his explanation?


Alabama boasts the lowest taxes in the nation.

Trouble is, the poor shoulder the burden.

The 1901 Alabama Constitution was written with that in mind, and no one has been willing to do anything about it in the 109 years since. What this means is that people don't care. Or not enough people.

If they cared, something would have been done. But the Robert Bentley's of the state enjoy low taxation, heck I think Ron Sparks pointed out that Bentley himself only paid $4000 in income tax on an income of $200,000 of income. Sparks paid almost $12,000 on an income of $79,000.


Bentley was also trying to scare people into voting for him, claiming that under Health Care Reform there would be no physicians in the state in 10 years. What a crock. Sparks pointed out that Bentley, like so many others, has not read the bill, and its obvious. Here's a challenge. Before voting for Bentley because he says he will fight the federal government, based on the 10th amendment and that tired old state's rights (Jim Crow, Slavery) argument, read the bill. Educate yourselves about it. And quit telling, and believing, lies.

Here's the deal in a broader sense about teabaggers like Bentley. They cannot tell the truth. They make stuff up, like Bentley's comment about healthcare. Take teabggin' darlin' Christine O'Donnell, winner of the Delaware GOP primary, on stem-cell research.

"They are -- they are doing that here in the United States. American scientific
companies are cross-breeding humans and animals and coming up with mice with
fully functioning human brains. So they're already into this experiment."

Actually she may have something there.

Summer's about over and that means the dog days are about over.

Florence and the Machine: Dog Days are Over.

Won't you be my gaybor?

It's a beautiful day in the gayborhood...

Wanted: Gay (or gay-friendly progressive) home buyers who are interested in: A. Preservation and Restoration of Historic Homes; B. Working to have South Bessemer designated a historic neighborhood; C. promoting Diversity and Equality in Bessemer.


Here are some of the homes in South Bessemer that are for sale. Some of these homes have been restored, some have been partially updated, and some need a good amount of work. Contact me to obtain the addresses of the homes.

This is the Honeycutt House. It's 100 years old! Built c. 1910, it is a front gabled bungalow with a full-facade recessed front porch.

This is the Leckie House, built c. 1912, altered to become an airplane bungalow. I think it has been divided into apartments, but could be restored to single family.




The Harper House, built c. 1922, is a side-gabled bungalow. There have been some changes to this house, but I don't know much about it.

The Trotter-Sweatman House was built c. 1904. It is a good example of an American Foursquare house. Distinguishing characteristics are the paneled frieze band under the eaves extending around the house and the windows with upper sash border muntins. Two prominent Bessemer families occupied the house until 1972. Legend says the house is still occupied by a ghost of one of the Trotters. Our house harbors a ghost as well.

The T. W. Huey House was built c. 1928. It is a one story buff-brick bungalow with an enclosed projecting porch. The terrace leading to the entry is interesting, as is the decoration of the gables, lined with dentil blocks and containing lunette vents along the peaks.

This is the Harris-Woodrow House, built in 1913. It is a hip-roofed bungalow with interesting windows and a porch with nice columns. I don't know much about this house.

I love this house. The Read House, built c. 1915, is a cross-gabled Craftsman bungalow with a full-facade and wrapping projecting porch. Look at the stylized buttresses supporting the porch roof and the projecting entry bay with the double door and transom and sidelights. I think this house was divided into apartments in 1975. Again, if so, could be converted to single-family.


So, those are the current listed houses for sale. I know there are others but they don't have signs out front and I am hesitant to "advertise" them on this blog.

Now is the time to be looking and buying in Bessemer. You wont get a better deal on a Historic Home, and right now both prices and interest rates are low. After the election we will have a new mayor*, and look for support (in words if not more) for neighborhood development. Home values will rise. Now is the time to buy.

And if you call a realtor, tell them you saw the house on Bessemer Opinions.

* The lawsuit challenging mayoral Candidate Ken Gulley has been dismissed. This is what I would call a lulupalooser of a decision, because it now allows the Gulley canpaign to resume its focus on the issues at hand, rather than having to fend off an effort to keep Bessemer from moving forward.

Self-pleasure and the mayor's race

It's hard to imagine Ed May and masturbation would come up in the same blog post, but it happened. Right now.

Just turn off your imagination right now, though. It's not like that.

No, I wanted to write about the primaries last night, but then this information comes out about the local mayoral candidates and something very strange is going on.

In today's Birmingham News the finance reports of the candidates are disclosed.

The article explains that Ken Gulley outspent his rivals by a huge margin. That is no surprise.

But this is:

"Ed May did not file campaign finance disclosures for the two reporting periods
before the general election. Candidates do not have to file disclosure forms
unless they raise or spend $1,000 or more. Candidates who don't raise or spend
more than $1,000 can instead file a waiver indicating they did not need to file
disclosure forms. May also did not file any waiver."

My understanding is that as a candidate you must file either a form or a waiver. Ed May did neither. What does this tell us? What are the possible reasons?

1. He is hiding something. I can't believe the hundreds of signs he has put out cost less than $1000.

2. He does not respect the process. Somebody doesn't respect it, that's for sure. There's that silly lawsuit challenging Ken Gulley's residence, but I don't think it's tied to the May campaign. Seems there's another fish splashing water out of the bowl in this case.

3. He's lazy. He said after the poor showing in the general election that he had not campaigned. That could indicate laziness, or maybe his lack of campaigning reflects one of these other possibilities.

4. He's unorganized. Have you seen his desk?

5. He has such high regard for himself that he feels he does not have to follow the rules.

In any case, I don't think we want a person who falls under any of the above categories to be our mayor.

Ken Gulley raised over $21,000, and the contributors listed include business leaders, realty groups, law firms, investment firms, insurance firms and numerous individuals; people who love our city, understand our city, and want our city to prosper.

Who is left to contribute to May? No one. I guess maybe that's the reason he has no contributions. But he still needed to file a waiver.

Oh, you are wondering about the masturbation reference.

In Delaware the Republicans chose Teabagger party doll Christine O'Donnell as their candidate, a move that those who rely on statistics and advanced polling say will decrease the GOP's chance of taking the senate from 30% to 15%. It turns a sure Republican win in November in Delaware to a probable Democrat win.

O'Donnell is known for, among other things, speaking out against masturbation.
How can that be? I mean she is a teabagger, without question, and got the Teabagger party endorsement. And teabagging leads to...oh, never mind. But she said:

"The Bible says that lust in your heart is committing adultery. So you can't masturbate without lust."

Hey, I don't make up the news, I only report it. And I'm not going to dwell on this. But do you really think that little kids, male and female, when they are exploring their body and just learning about things are full of lust? No, they are just doing what feels good with no emotional attachment at all.

And monkeys. They masturbate. Are they lusting after furry hunk they just saw swinging through the trees?

And does fantasy always equal lust? Hardly.

OK, enough of that.

I mean, it was bad enough that every candidate had to give an opinion on the proposed mosque in New York. Are we now going to examine every candidate's view on self-pleasure? Let's hope not.

But last night's primaries give new hope to the Democrats for November. Independents and moderate Republicans do not want to elect radical wing nuts to congress. So they will either stay at home or vote for the Democrats in November.



So, Twitter was set to launch a new interface last night, but my twitter page looks the same. But I like what's coming. Watch the video. Then follow me....

Glenn Shadix memorial service

The change of venue for Glenn Shadix's memorial service was probably the most fortunate thing that occurred surrounding his death. As we were planning the service there was no way to estimate the number of people that might show up. The sanctuary at Covenant Community Church was precisely the right size, as it was about full, but not overcrowded. Things happen for a reason.


The people from Covenant jumped in to help make our plans coalesce into a service that was unlike most, but that Glenn's mother said he would have loved. I'm not going to name names out of fear of leaving someone out, but you Covenant people know who you are. The service would not have been the same with anyone else doing the behind the scenes stuff. Again, things happen for a reason.


Here is a review, if you will, for those who were not able to attend. Prior to the service a slide show of photos of Glenn with lots of movie shots displayed on the TV screens in the sanctuary and the lobby. This brought an occasional smile to folks.



A program with this picture of Glenn and a list of the participants and the order of service, and an insert that listed many (but not all) of Glenn's movies, television shows and plays, was handed out. And cards for people to write their wishes or memories on were available and the messages will be printed on Glenn's web site at a later date.





The order of service was as follows: Instrumental music; Welcome and instruction (you know, turn off your cell phones and not video or audio or photos during the service); hymn - I'll Fly Away - Tena Wilson; Scripture reading - 23rd Psalm, and Prayer - Rev. J. R. Finney; music - What a Wonderful World - Ken Talley; Eulogy - Joe Openshaw; music - "Get Happy" - Vanessa Anderson (a Judy Garland favorite of Glenn); Poem - On Death (Kahlil Gibran) - Gigi Talley; Message of Comfort - Rev. J. R. Finney; hymn - Amazing Grace - Tena Wilson; Closing Prayer - Rev. J. R. Finney; music - Banana Boat (Day-O) - Ken, Tena and Vanessa.



Glenn's ashes were on the altar in a beautiful black walnut (I believe) box that had a little painting on the lid (done by one of Glenn's close friends), surrounded by two studio photo portraits of Glenn and two lit candles. Beautiful radiating flower arrangements were placed below the altar. Behind Glenn on the back wall was a beautiful dove and rainbow stained glass piece, recently hung by the church. Palm trees flanked the back wall, giving the scene a California look, in my opinion.



Here is the eulogy that I delivered. Well, here it is as it was written, I have no idea how closely I followed the printed words. I needed a teleprompter. If the eulogy is not visible, click on the link and you can read it.

Eulogy for Glenn Shadix

Rev. Finney and I accompanied the family out during final strains of Day-O. Truthfully, it was all I could do to keep from standing up and dancing (in that Beetlejuice style) when Ken and Tena and Vanessa were singing. If I had, would others have followed? We'll never know.



William Glenn Scott's (Glenn Shadix) memorial service was meant to be a celebration and a remembrance of his life. It is impossible to do that without grieving, and we knew that going in. All those who took part truly feel that it was the greatest honor to do so. Thank you to the family, and most of all, thank you to Glenn.


Glenn's family has suggested donations be made to Alabama School of Fine Arts new theater project. I would suggest, and I think Glenn would approve, making a donation to Covenant Community Church as well, because they went beyond the call of duty (with love) to serve this family.