Left of the Dial

Family Values

And by that I mean placing absolutely no value upon the concept of "family," if it butts up against Big Business. 

What a complete and total jerk. 

Health State of the Union

Oh, sure. Nothin' broke here: 

With median annual compensation of more than $12.4 million, C.E.O.’s at the big health-care companies make two-thirds more than their counterparts in finance and are the highest paid of any industry. The health-care industry’s total annual profit has grown to an estimated $200 billion, and it doled out nearly $170 million in campaign contributions in 2007 and 2008. It now spends more than any other industry lobbying the federal government—$3.5 billion over the past decade and a record $263 million in the first six months of this year. That’s six lobbyists and nearly half a million dollars for each member of Congress. It’s been a good year on K Street, too.

It should come as no surprise, then, that we spend 17 percent of our G.D.P. and more than $7,500 per American per year on health care. That’s 50% more than any other industrialized nation. Meanwhile, the quality of care we get in return has fallen to embarrassing lows. According to the World Health Organization, our health-care system ranks 37th in overall quality and fairness, placing us between Costa Rica and Slovenia. We rank 41st in infant-mortality rates, alongside Slovakia and Serbia, and dead last among 19 leading industrialized countries in preventable deaths. Nearly two-thirds of personal bankruptcies in the U.S. are caused by illness, yet more than three-quarters of those people actually had health insurance when they fell ill. In other words, we’re all getting ripped off.

In Memoriam

The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq or who died at a military hospital of their injuries:

Nekl B. Allen, 29, of Rochester, N.Y.; staff sergeant, Army. Allen was one of two soldiers killed Sept. 12 when their vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb and small-arms fire in central Afghanistan's Wardak province, west of Kabul. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) at Ft. Drum, N.Y.

Bryan D. Berky, 25, of Melrose, Fla., staff sergeant, Air Force. Berky was killed Sept. 12 in a firefight with insurgents after his unit was ambushed near Bala Baluk in western Afghanistan's Farah province, on the Iranian border. He was assigned to the 28th Civil Engineer Squadron at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D.

Bradley S. Bohle, 29, of Glen Burnie, Md.; sergeant first class, Army. Bohle was among three soldiers who died Wednesday of injuries suffered a day earlier when insurgents attacked their vehicle with a makeshift bomb in southwest Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Daniel L. Cox, 23, of Parsons, Kan.; specialist, Army. Cox was one of two soldiers killed Sept. 12 when their vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb and small-arms fire in central Afghanistan's Wardak province, west of Kabul. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 87th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) at Ft. Drum, N.Y.

Robert D. Gordon II, 22, of River Falls, Ala.; sergeant, Army. Gordon died Wednesday at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, from a noncombat-related illness after becoming ill Sept. 11 in southern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Tyler A. Juden, 23, of Winfield, Kan.; sergeant, Army. Juden was killed Sept. 12 when his unit was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire in Turan in western Afghanistan's Farah province, on the Iranian border. He was assigned to the 4th Squadron, 73rd Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Matthew M. Martinek, 20, of DeKalb, Ill.; private first class, Army. Martinek died Sept. 11 at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries suffered Sept. 4 when his vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb, rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire in southeast Afghanistan's Paktika province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Shawn P. McCloskey, 33, of Peachtree City, Ga.; sergeant first class, Army. McCloskey was among three soldiers who died Wednesday of injuries suffered a day earlier when insurgents attacked their vehicle with a makeshift bomb in southwest Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Andrew H. McConnell, 24, of Carlisle, Pa.; sergeant, Army. McConnell was one of two soldiers killed Monday when insurgents attacked their vehicle with a makeshift bomb in southern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Joshua M. Mills, 24, of El Paso; staff sergeant, Army. Mills was among three soldiers who died Wednesday of injuries suffered a day earlier when insurgents attacked their vehicle with a makeshift bomb in southwest Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Battalion, 7th Special Forces Group at Ft. Bragg, N.C.

Jeremiah J. Monroe, 31, of Niskayuna, N.Y.; private first class, Army. Monroe was killed Thursday when his vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb in southwest Afghanistan's Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 7th Engineer Battalion, 10th Sustainment Brigade, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) at Ft. Drum, N.Y.

Duane A. Thornsbury, 30, of Bridgeport, W.Va.; sergeant first class, Army. Thornsbury was killed Sept.12 when his vehicle overturned in a nonhostile accident in Baghdad. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group at Ft. Carson, Colo.

Demetrius L. Void, 20, of Orangeburg, S.C.; specialist, Army. Void was killed Tuesday when a military vehicle struck him during physical training at Kandahar airfield in southwest Afghanistan's Kandahar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 57th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, 11th Signal Brigade, 3rd Corps at Ft. Hood, Texas.

David T. Wright II, 26, of Moore, Okla.; first lieutenant, Army. Wright was one of two soldiers killed Monday when insurgents attacked their vehicle with a makeshift bomb in southern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 1st Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Smooth Jazz

More like smothered jazz. 

I've pretty wide-ranging, catholic tastes. There are a few genres with which I haven't really clicked—such as opera, although I love classical—but I keep hoping I will someday. 

And then there's smooth jazz, which is utterly devoid of any value whatsoever, as far as I can see. 

Very briefly and oversimplifying, I've always felt music shouldn't be safe. It should be dangerous in some way, pushing some boundaries somehow. Beethoven, Robert Johnson, Hank Williams, John Coltrane, the Sex Pistols, to name just a very few, they all did in different ways. 

Smooth jazz, though, is just aural wallpaper, meant to be comforting and virtually invisible. But it's not. It's artificial and pervasive and saccharine and just, to use a technical term, yucky.  The musicians are uniformly masters of their instruments. They simply have nothing to say. But they keep flapping their gums anyway. 

This says it ever so much better that I could. 

In Memoriam

The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq or who died at a military hospital of their injuries:

Darryn D. Andrews, 34, of Dallas; second lieutenant, Army. Andrews was killed Sept. 4 when his vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb and rocket-propelled grenade in southeast Afghanistan's Paktia province, south of Kabul. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Christopher S. Fowlkes, 20, of Gaffney, S.C.; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Fowlkes died Thursday at Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Landstuhl, Germany, of injuries suffered Sept. 3 when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in southwest Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Randy M. Haney, 27, of Orlando, Fla.; sergeant, Army. Haney was killed Sept. 6 when his unit was attacked with small-arms fire and rocket-propelled grenades in eastern Afghanistan's Nangarhar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Special Troops Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colo.

Joseph D. Helton, 24, of Monroe Ga.; first lieutenant, Air Force. Helton was killed Tuesday when his vehicle was attacked with a makeshift bomb near Baghdad. He was assigned to the 6th Security Forces Squadron at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla.

Edwin W. Johnson Jr., 31, of Columbus, Ga.; gunnery sergeant, Marine Corps. Johnson was among four troops killed Tuesday during a firefight with insurgents who ambushed their unit in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, III Marine Expeditionary Force, Okinawa, Japan.

Michael E. Johnson, 25, of Virginia Beach, Va.; first lieutenant, Marine Corps. Johnson was among four troops killed Tuesday during a firefight with insurgents who ambushed their unit in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 7th Communications Battalion, 3rd Marine Headquarters Group, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan. 

Aaron M. Kenefick, 30, of Roswell, Ga.; staff sergeant, Marine Corps. Kenefick was among four troops killed Tuesday during a firefight with insurgents who ambushed their unit in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Combat Assault Battalion, 3rd Marine Division, 3rd Marine Expeditionary Force in Okinawa, Japan.

James R. Layton, 22, of Riverbank, Calif., northeast of Modesto; petty officer third class, Navy. Layton was among four troops killed Tuesday during a firefight with insurgents who ambushed their unit in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. A hospital corpsman who provided medical attention to troops in the field, he was assigned to an embedded training team with the Combined Security Transition Command in Afghanistan, which is responsible for training and equipping Afghan security forces.

Youvert Loney, 28, of Pohnpei, Micronesia; sergeant, Army. Loney was killed Sept. 5 when his unit was attacked with recoilless rifles and small-arms fire during an ambush by insurgents in Abad in eastern Afghanistan's Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 12th Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colo.

Thomas F. Lyons, 20, of Fernley, Nev.; private first class, Army. Lyons was among three military police officers killed Tuesday when an armor-piercing rocket struck their convoy vehicle near Baiji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 545th Military Police Company, Arctic Military Police Battalion at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Joshua S. Meadows, 30, of Bastrop, Texas; captain, Marine Corps. Meadows was killed in combat Sept. 5 in western Afghanistan's Farah province, on the Iranian border. He was assigned to the 1st Marine Special Operations Battalion, Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command at Camp Pendleton.

Michael C. Murphrey, 25, of Snyder, Texas; staff sergeant, Army. Murphrey was killed Sept. 6 when his unit was attacked with a makeshift bomb in southeast Afghanistan's Paktika province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 501st Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team (Airborne), 25th Infantry Division at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Zachary T. Myers, 21, of Delaware, Ohio; private first class, Army. Myers was among three military police officers killed Tuesday when an armor-piercing rocket struck their convoy vehicle near Baiji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 545th Military Police Company, Arctic Military Police Battalion at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Tyler E. Parten, 24, of Jonesboro, Ark.; first lieutenant, Army. Parten was killed Thursday when his unit was attacked with rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire in eastern Afghanistan's in Kunar province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 61st Cavalry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division at Ft. Carson, Colo.

Shannon M. Smith, 31, of Marion, Ohio; staff sergeant, Army. Smith was among three military police officers killed Tuesday when an armor-piercing rocket struck their convoy vehicle near Baiji, Iraq, north of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 545th Military Police Company, Arctic Military Police Battalion at Ft. Richardson, Alaska.

Portesting Refrom

So here's the thing. It's easy to make fun of someone for a typo. Left of the Dialian DT, for instance, although an excellent writer, can rarely go more than five sentences without one, often with unintentionally hysterical results. 

But, really, who amongst us hasn't laid down a typoe or two now and again. (Other than the otherworldy Top Management, of course.) My usual email program has an autocorrect function, and it's the rare sentence I write nowadays which doesn't force the spellcheck to kick into overdrive. 

So. Living in a glass house as I do, I try not to throw stones when it comes to typoes.

Still, being human and therefore inherently flawed (again, except for the wondrous Top Management), it's a bit hard not get a chuckle when it comes to such a mistake, not in an email or a manuscript, but on an actual handprinted sign. Such as this classic. 

So when I first saw another such sign as today's 9/12 rally, along with the small smile it brought, I couldn't help but think, "hey, it happens." 

But then two things made me realize my initial thoughts were perhaps a bit off base. The first is the lettering style. I mean, I love those curly letters. Used to make them myself. I haven't since about sixth grade, and don't think I've seen anyone else use them since then either, but it really adds weight to the sign, I think. 

The best part, however, has to be this: 

Click on the photo to get a slightly larger version in a new window. Now check out the upper left hand corner. 

The sign maker misspelled the name of this great nation of ours. 

Now that is impressive.  

In Memoriam

The Defense Department last week identified the following American military personnel killed in Afghanistan and Iraq:

Christopher S. Baltazar Jr., 19, of San Antonio; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Baltazar was killed in combat Thursday in southwest Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Jordan M. Brochu, 20, of Cumberland, Maine; private first class, Army. Brochu was one of two soldiers killed Monday when a roadside bomb exploded near them in Shuyene Sufia, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Benjamin P. Castiglione, 21, of Howell, Mich.; petty officer third class, Navy. Castiglione was killed in combat Thursday in southwest Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. A hospital corpsman who provide medical attention to troops in the field, he was assigned to the 2nd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Jason S. Dahlke, 29, of Orlando, Fla.; staff sergeant, Army. Dahlke was one of two soldiers who died Aug. 29, a day after being shot during a firefight in southeast Afghanistan's Paktika province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

David R. Hall, 31, of Elyria, Ohio; lance corporal, Marine Corps. Hall was killed Monday when a roadside bomb exploded near him in southwest Afghanistan's Helmand province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, 2nd Marine Division, 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force at Camp Lejeune, N.C.

Eric W. Hario, 19, of Monroe, Mich.; private first class, Army. Hario was one of two soldiers who died Aug. 29, a day after being shot during a firefight in southeast Afghanistan's Paktika province, on the Pakistani border. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment at Hunter Army Airfield, Ga.

Todd W. Selge, 25, of Burnsville, Minn.; staff sergeant, Army. Selge was one of two soldiers killed Thursday when their vehicle overturned in Baqubah, Iraq, northeast of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Wash. 

Jordan M. Shay, 22, of Salisbury, Mass.; specialist, Army. Shay was one of two soldiers killed Thursday when their vehicle overturned in Baqubah, Iraq, northeast of Baghdad. He was assigned to the 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, 3rd Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Wash. 

Tyler R. Walshe-Vietti, 21, of Shasta, Calif.; specialist, Army. Walshe-Vietti was killed Monday when a roadside bomb exploded near him in southern Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Jonathan D. Welch, 19, of Yorba Linda; specialist, Army. Welch was one of two soldiers killed Monday when a roadside bomb exploded near them in Shuyene Sufia, Afghanistan. He was assigned to the 1st Battalion, 17th Infantry Regiment, 5th Stryker Brigade, 2nd Infantry Division at Ft. Lewis, Wash.

Abraham S. Wheeler III, 22, of Columbia, S.C.; specialist, Army. Wheeler was killed Aug. 28 when a roadside bomb exploded near his vehicle in central Afghanistan's Logar province, south of Kabul. He was assigned to the 3rd Squadron, 71st Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) at Ft. Drum, N.Y.