A
smile – is a sign of joy.
A hug – is a sign of love.
A laugh – is a sign of happiness.
And a friend like me? –
Well that’s just a sign
Of good taste!!
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STATE TREASURER
You can watch the State Treasurer Debate live on Thursday evening at 7:00
p.m with candidates Duane A. Davidson (Republican) and Mike
Pellicciotti (Democrat). Go to NWPB
2020 (KTNW-TV) or LWVWA’s Facebook page to livestream, or use the
link below to join the Zoom Webinar. The debate will also air on all local PBS
affiliates across the state. After the debate, the video will be available
on the LWVWA
website.
PRESENTED BY THE LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF WASHINGTON
EDUCATION FUND AND THE SPOKESMAN-REVIEW.
Updated information
on all of the state-wide and many of the local debates and forums scheduled
across the state are available on the LWVWA
website. Check back frequently as these details are subject to
change.
Posted inPolitics|Comments Off on Watch the State Treasurer Debate Tonight
From the Editors of the Scientific American, a prestigious magazine that brings knowledge to us all.
Scientific American has never endorsed a presidential candidate in its 175-year history. This year we are compelled to do so. We do not do this lightly.
The evidence and the science show that Donald Trump has badly damaged the U.S. and its people—because he rejects evidence and science. The most devastating example is his dishonest and inept response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which cost more than 190,000 Americans their lives by the middle of September. He has also attacked environmental protections, medical care, and the researchers and public science agencies that help this country prepare for its greatest challenges. That is why we urge you to vote for Joe Biden, who is offering fact-based plans to protect our health, our economy and the environment. These and other proposals he has put forth can set the country back on course for a safer, more prosperous and more equitable future.
It wasn’t just a testing problem: if almost everyone in the U.S. wore masks in public, it could save about 66,000 lives by the beginning of December, according to projections from the University of Washington School of Medicine. Such a strategy would hurt no one. It would close no business. It would cost next to nothing. But Trump and his vice president flouted local mask rules, making it a point not to wear masks themselves in public appearances. Trump has openly supported people who ignored governors in Michigan and California and elsewhere as they tried to impose social distancing and restrict public activities to control the virus. He encouraged governors in Florida, Arizona and Texas who resisted these public health measures, saying in April—again, falsely—that “the worst days of the pandemic are behind us” and ignoring infectious disease experts who warned at the time of a dangerous rebound if safety measures were loosened.
“Air-conditioning is the
answer,” he said. “It’s the hydroxychloroquine of climate.”
By Andy Borowitz
Photograph from Adobe Stock
Thanks to Dorothy W. and the NYT
WASHINGTON
(The Borowitz Report)—Blasting “dumb scientists for not
thinking of this before,” Donald J. Trump said that the planet would cool down
“right away” if everyone would just turn on the air-conditioning.
“Scientists
go around with their lab coats and test tubes and act like the planet is
burning up,” he said. “I guess those beauties have never thought of turning on
the A.C.”
“Air-conditioning
is the answer,” he said. “It’s the hydroxychloroquine of climate.”
Arguing
that his theory was “based on math,” Trump illustrated what would happen to the
planet’s temperature if people around the world all turned on the
air-conditioning at the exact same time.
“Let’s
say two billion people each turned down the A.C. four degrees,” he said. “Just
like that, the planet would be eight billion degrees cooler.”
Trump
disclosed that he did not come up with this mathematical equation all by
himself, acknowledging the assistance of the Secretary of Education, Betsy
DeVos.
Sponsored by the King County Bar Association and co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters. Free and open to the public. A conversation with the candidates for Washington State’s Chief Elections Officer re referenda, initiatives and elections. The session will focus on the role of the Secretary of State as the state’s chief elections officer and as such, the influence and effect that officer has on how referendums/initiatives are administered, voters are registered and elections conducted both safely and securely This is one of four programs that the bar association is holding on related themes. To register for this program, start at the series website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/government-by-the-people-initiatives-and-referenda-in-washington-state-tickets-115134971800 Click on the button that says “Select a Date” and choose the September 21 st event. Click on the word “Tickets”, when that page opens, click on the “Register” button. Fill in your name and email address twice on the registration page. As suggested, if you’re not a member of the bar association, you type “NA” in the box for membership number. (Below there are two blue buttons that allow you to opt out of receiving promotional emails from the bar association.) You’ll get an email from Eventbright that contains the log-in information for the program.
Katie Hafner, who writes for the New York Times, would like to do a story about people’s wish to at least stay alive long enough to vote!
She writes in an email: “This incredible tweet of my husband’s inspired me to suggest to my editor at the NYT a story about those at end of life who are determined to live long enough to vote. I’m looking for voters on both sides (i.e. Trump supporters as well as Biden supporters.) If not the voters themselves, I’d love to speak to family members.
Let me know if you know of anyone who might fit that description.”
Please email, call me or comment to this post if you or a family member is willing to be interviewed by Katie. Jim deMaine
Ed note: Times have changed. What if Churchill hadn’t warned about the evils of Hitler and the planned invasion of England and said, “Well I didn’t want to cause panic!”
Posted inHistory, Politics|Comments Off on A leader will lead and unite. A divider will stoke distrust and panic.
Ed note: This book is a project I’ve been working on for at least ten years–finally born. Notices will be posted here about Zoom discussions at local bookstores. Perhaps the one of most interest will be a Town Hall presentation/interview with Katy Sewall on November 16th. I’ll post that link when available. I’m honored to thank Skyline residents Cabby Tennis and Judy Mayotte for contributing their comments. Jeannie Fessenden and Elizabeth Graham kindly reviewed the manuscript. The book is available for pre-order on Amazon and Barnes and Noble–and your favorite local bookstore. It will be released on September 29th.
Seattle, WA — As a global pandemic brings end of life questions urgently to the fore, Clyde Hill Publishing announces the release of a physician’s memoir about helping patients plan for a more peaceful, healing death.
Is it possible to have a good death, free from unnecessary pain and trauma? What if our final days were designed to bring about reconciliation and release? In this wise and large-hearted book, Dr. Jim deMaine offers advice pointing the way toward a grace-filled transition out of life.
Facing Death, coming September 29, is both a memoir-in-vignettes and a handbook full of practical advice from Dr. deMaine’s forty years in busy hospitals and ICUs. Using stories from his own life and practice, the veteran physician walks readers through ethical questions around “heroic” interventions: Do we fully understand what we’re asking when we tell doctors to “do everything” to prolong life, even in cases when a patient has no chance of regaining consciousness? If we write advance directives outlining the kinds of care we would, or would not want, how can we ensure that they will be followed?
As a pulmonary and critical care specialist, Dr. deMaine developed deep experience navigating such quandaries with patients and their families. In Facing Death he also treads into territory many physicians avoid, such as the role of spirituality; conflicts between doctors and families; cultural traditions that can aid or impede the goal of a peaceful transition, and ways to leave a moral legacy for our descendants.
“Death is our final earthly act, one that, with conscientious preparation, can be an act of beauty for both the dying and for loved ones left behind. Facing Death is a gift from a most sensitive and wise physician that will inspire readers to think carefully and creatively about their own hopes for a healing, grace-filled transition from life to death. This is a book that will enrich and challenge you to act.”
Judith Mayotte, Emmy Award-winning producer, author, and former member of the Catholic order of the Sisters of Charity
“Jim’s stories are actually the best testament that can be made about being alive: to have the grace and wisdom to engage death as part of our lives and make our intentions known in ways that connect with what matters the most to us. Facing Death is a book of incredible insight, wisdom and love.”
Cheryl M. Scott, former CEO/President, Group Health Cooperative
“A down to earth and invaluable resource for learning more about death. It’s also, perhaps counterintuitively, a delight to read.”
From the foreword by Eric B. Larson, former executive director of Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute, elected member of the National Academy of Sciences Institute of Medicine, and co-producer of the Art of Aging, a news-magazine series on public television.
“Death is a truth we all share, and each of us must shape our response to it. Jim deMaine’s valuable book grows out of his personal sensitivity and professional wisdom as a physician and medical ethicist. The stories he tells in Facing Death offer a gift to those developing their spiritual and practical journeys toward life’s end.”
Bishop Cabell Tennis, former dean at St. Mark’s Episcopal Cathedral and past chair of the Washington Medical Quality Assurance Commission
About the Author: Jim deMaine spent nearly forty years caring for severely ill patients and witnessing their final days as a pulmonary and critical care specialist. He was the chief of medical specialties and co-chaired the ethics committee at Group Health Cooperative (now Kaiser Permanente). Dr. deMaine is honored to be a Clinical Professor of Medicine Emeritus at the University of Washington School of Medicine. His often dramatic experiences with patients near death led him to blog (www.endoflifeblog.com), then speak about their stories, with special attention to the issue of advocacy for patients unable to speak for themselves. Follow Dr. deMaine on Twitter @deMaineMD.
Pre-order the book on Barnes & Noble or Amazon. Booksellers, please purchase via Ingram Book Company via iPage.
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Andriy Derkach, a Ukrainian lawmaker, at a news conference last year related to elections in the United States.
Ed Note: Interesting that Steven Mnuchin has acted to sanction a pro-Russian Ukrainian. Every once in a while there’s a glimpse of a positive action from the administration.Has Mnuchin become more independent, or will these sanctions be reversed by “executive order?”
WASHINGTON — From the NYT: The Trump administration imposed sanctions on a Ukrainian lawmaker Thursday for waging “a covert influence campaign” to undermine the presidential election after he disseminated information intended to hurt former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr.
The Treasury Department accused Andriy Derkach, a member of the Ukrainian Parliament, of being “an active Russian agent for over a decade” and accused him of releasing “edited audiotapes” and “unsubstantiated allegations against U.S. and international political figures.”
While the announcement of the sanctions does not name Mr. Biden, the Democratic presidential nominee, it appears to describe recordings Mr. Derkach released of Mr. Biden talking to Petro O. Poroshenko, the former president of Ukraine, that Mr. Derkach claimed revealed corruption.
Mr. Derkach and other Russian agents “employ manipulation and deceit to attempt to influence elections in the United States and elsewhere around the world,” Steven Mnuchin, the Treasury secretary, said in a statement accompanying the sanctions. “The United States will continue to use all the tools at its disposal to counter these Russian disinformation campaigns and uphold the integrity of our election system.”
From Berta Beveridge: My daughter-in-law, Darcy Gaechter, is once again scheduled to be on the Today Show to talk about her book, Amazon Woman. Darcy and my son, Don, spent 142 days kayaking down the Amazon River, making her the first woman to ever do this. Her television segment will be this Monday morning, September 14, at approximately 9:25. You may remember she was scheduled to be on the Today Show in March, but the COVID pandemic shutdown of New York City cancelled her interview. I’m excited for her to be on the show and hope you have a chance to watch her interview.
About four years ago, without asking anybody, I changed my job description. It used to be “New York Times foreign affairs columnist.” Instead, I started calling myself the “New York Times humiliation and dignity columnist.” I even included it on my business card.
It had become so obvious to me that so much of what I’d been doing since I became a journalist in 1978 was reporting or opining about people, leaders, refugees, terrorists and nation-states acting out on their feelings of humiliation and questing for dignity — the two most powerful human emotions.
I raise this now because the success of Joe Biden’s campaign against Donald Trump may ride on his ability to speak to the sense of humiliation and quest for dignity of many Trump supporters, which Hillary Clinton failed to do.
It has been obvious ever since Trump first ran for president that many of his core supporters actually hate the people who hate Trump, more than they care about Trump or any particular action he takes, no matter how awful.
The media feed Trump’s supporters a daily diet of how outrageous this or that Trump action is — but none of it diminishes their support. Because many Trump supporters are not attracted to his policies. They’re attracted to his attitude — his willingness and evident delight in skewering the people they hate and who they feel look down on them.
Humiliation, in my view, is the most underestimated force in politics and international relations. The poverty of dignity explains so much more behavior than the poverty of money.
Tiny Naganohara aims to beat the world and operate the first self-driving amphibious bus for tourists
Ed Note: Perhaps a new way of commuting?Thanks to Gordon G.
By John Boyd
Photo: Saitama Institute of Technology
No longer a rare sight, amphibious buses can now be found making a splash around the globe by providing tourists with a different view of local attractions. Even Naganohara, a small town in Gunma Prefecture, Japan, population 5,600, operates an amphibious tourist bus daily in and alongside the Yanba Dam nine months of the year.
And that’s the problem—the experience is less of a thrill year by year. So the town, an hour’s train journey northwest of Tokyo, hit on the idea of making the amphibious bus self-driving.
A consortium that includes the Japan Amphibious Vehicle Association, Saitama Institute of Technology (SIT), ITbook Holdings,ABIT Corporation, and the town of Naganohara will begin in December what is billed as the first such trials in the world of an autonomous amphibious bus. Supported primarily by the Nippon Foundation, the consortium has secured some 250 million yen ($2.4 million) to fund the project through to March next year, after which, progress will be evaluated, with further funding expected to be made available.
The amphibious bus, the property of the town, comprises a converted truck design combined with a ship’s bottom and carries 40 passengers. It uses the truck’s diesel engine on land and a separate ship engine to travel in the dam at 3.6 knots an hour.
SIT is developing the self-driving technologies for both land and water that are based on the open-source Autoware platform for autonomous cars, and on controllers for modified Joy Cars.
From Lidia F: The article is from a newspaper (of very limited circulation). It was digitally scanned by Ann Parthemore who is my niece and who was impressed by the way these two women went about dealing with the pandemic and decided to set up their own 65K route and trained for it. Their first run was in mid August, or later, and the heat and humidity was high, traffic was a problem on narrow two lane road, but locals came out along the route and cheered them on and they persevered. It did not matter what their time was, they finished.!!!
Now
they are planning for another run on 9/11/20 except the route will be in
reverse.
What I would like to do is to ask for “Virtual Cheering” support from my friends and neighbors at Skyline (Kathy Bainbridge is one of them whom I have recruited!) This is not a fund raiser, it simply is a tribute to all the virtual walks that Lisa has created for us here in all the years we have lived here with a simple goal goal of fitness, no matter your age!
Anyone who is willing to comment on their effort can e-mail me and I shall make sure that Pat Murphy and her friend will get the message.
Ed Note: You can use the “popout” arrow at the top of the newspaper to enlarge the article. Then use “control +” to enlarge it further if needed. Or click on Download to view it.At times the blog is temperamental, my apologies.
Reload document 
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