Several of my colleagues and I were speculating today about the news that an unnamed Department of Human Services employee is under investigation for embezzling $1 million in Medicaid funds. We kept asking each other how this person managed to siphon away that much money without anyone noticing. My guess is that this person established a dummy medical provider and submitted false claims to the state. I can’t think of any other way one could get around the Department’s internal financial controls. The details will emerge soon enough and we’ll have to take a few licks in the media about not doing enough to prevent fraud and abuse, along with assorted cracks about government workers. It’s dismaying news and a distraction from all the good work DHS does.

Look, Senator McCain, I had plans for Friday evening. And those plans involved me and a friend getting together to watch the debate, down a couple beers (well, I’m actually more the sipping type, but that’s beside the point), and mock your responses MST3K-style. But apparently, you’re of the opinion that we’ll wake up to mile-long soup lines across America if you don’t hustle back to Washington to save the day. Well, that’s just great, but the local deli isn’t going to take back this cheese plate I picked up.

I checked Wikipedia and, as far as I can tell, presidential candidates of the past continued their campaigns in the midst of wars, depressions, and other calamities. So how about dropping this weak attempt at mavericky-ness and showing up as planned? The republic will endure.

The sweeping government plan to buy up nearly a trillion dollars in toxic mortgage securities may scuttle any hopes of achieving universal health care in the short term, but it may actually improve prospects in the long term. Here’s why:

When a President McCain or Obama is sworn in next January, the country is still going to be in the grips of sticker shock. $700 billion is equivalent to what we’ve already allocated to military operations in Iraq. And consider the worrisome economic climate that is likely to greet the new president when he assumes office. Home foreclosures will continue in significant numbers well into 2009 and it’s going to take even longer for the economy as a whole to recover. Elected officials will have little appetite for any new investments, especially if they sense any lingering voter resentment over the size and scope of the bailout. Make no mistake–the next administration will spend much of its first term trying to keep things afloat and it will be lucky to realize even a handful of domestic achievements. Health care reform isn’t going to be one of them.

But let’s assume that this Congress manages to implement a bailout that ultimately puts the country on more solid economic footing and perhaps even succeeds in bringing some tangible benefits. It might be enough to silence the most vocal opponents of government intervention in the marketplace while restoring confidence in government’s ability to assure the welfare of its people. A competently executed bailout could reframe the discussion surrounding government’s role in a complex world.

It may not seem like it right now, but this crisis may eventually set the stage for a grown-up solution to providing affordable health care to everyone.

Sean Forbes loves music, even though he is mostly deaf. In an interview with Weekend America, Forbes talks about about interpreting live concerts into American Sign Language. He’s also the founder of the Deaf Performing Artists Network (D-PAN), which creates ASL versions of music videos. Be sure to check out their video for Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” on the same page. It’s lovely in its blending of sign and other visual imagery. More D-PAN videos can be found here.

Thanks to Rose for the tip.

In the bad old days, staff at state institutions for people with cognitive disabilities would regularly restrain patients to their beds for even the most minor infractions. But thanks to the work of advocates and legislators, that practice became illegal except in very specific circumstances when the patient is a threat to himself/herself or others. Today, individuals in these facilities are treated humanely. Or so we thought. Investigators recently cited a state facility in rural Minnesota for using restraints (including metal handcuffs) to control and punish residents. Staff restrained residents for “infractions” like touching a pizza box and going outside without a coat.

I’m sure that the staff are good people who are trying to do their jobs in an environment with limited resources, but it’s worrisome that the practice of using restraints became commonplace and dare I say routine in the span of two years. The citation demonstrates the critical role state agencies play in providing oversight to facilities that serve people with disabilities.

And a note to the reporter who broke the story: using the word “retarded” in both the title and body of your article signals that you could use a hand stepping out of your personal timewarp.