All In On Health Care Reform

 Health Care  No Responses »
Jul 112013
 

MPR’s Catherine Richert delivers a must-read on how Minnesota is the only state to implement all three major components of the ACA: a state-run exchange, the Medicaid expansion, and a basic health plan (in the form of MinnesotaCare). Richert notes that Minnesota’s ambitious plans may either earn it accolades as a leader in health care reform if everything goes well. Or it may become a whipping post for reform opponents if things go badly.

Minnesota has a history of leadership on health care access and I expect that to continue long after 2014. Implementation may be a bit rocky in the early going, but that’s to be expected with any major initiative like this. Of course, my position within the state bureaucracy may bias me. Minnesota has too much at stake to allow all this work come to a futile end. The risks to the state are huge, but the payoff should be a healthier, more economically secure citizenry.

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Image Makeover

 Geeking Out  No Responses »
Jul 102013
 

Most of my comics reading is done at Comixology. It works well enough, but I don’t actually own the comics I purchase on Comixology. Instead, I’m paying for a license to read specific comics files stored on Comixology’s servers. If I lost Internet access or if Comixology goes out of business, I lose access to my collection. It’s another example of digital rights management (DRM) that inconveniences paying customers like me while doing nothing to discourage piracy. But unless I want to pirate (which I don’t), it’s the only way to get the digital comics I want.

That is, until Image Comics, publisher of notable titles like The Walking Dead and the excellent Saga, began selling DRM-free comics on its own site. I tried out the store last night and, while the layout needs some improvement, it delivers as promised. I can download my comics in a number of formats and read them on my PC or iPad. And I own the actual digital file. The selection at the store is still paltry, but Image is promising to add more current and back issues.

I’m hoping that Marvel and DC will eventually follow suit and offer DRM-free comics. Digital music went through a similar evolution when the industry realized that customers will gladly pay for content that doesn’t come with burdensome restrictions. Hopefully, the comics industry is coming to the same realization.

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Burn It All Down

 Politics  No Responses »
Jul 092013
 

I’m running short on time tonight, but this Greg Sargent piece on “sabotage governing” is worth reading. It describes how the modern GOP is willing to inflict harm on the nation and its citizens, as demonstrated by the party’s thuggish efforts to undermine the implementation of Obamacare. I know that not all Republicans are this nihilistic, but the right wing of the party has replaced policy with threats. I’m not sure how such impulses can help the party remain viable in the long run.

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Paying For It

 Disability  No Responses »
Jul 082013
 

The Times looks at efforts by people with disabilities in France to legalize sexual surrogacy services. France allows prostitution to a certain extent, but sexual surrogacy (the kind of sex-as-therapy service depicted in the movie The Sessions) is not allowed and the French government doesn’t seem inclined to join other European countries, like Germany and Switzerland, that have legalized the practice.

Until technology finally produces a functional and affordable sexbot, the issue of how people with disabilities can express their sexuality is going to remain fraught with emotion and controversy. It’s a subject that forces people to confront some conflicting notions about the nature of sex and love in a modern society. We want to believe that everyone can enjoy sex in the context of a relationship that is free of any commercial taint. But we also recognize that none of us is promised such a relationship. And for people with disabilities, opportunities to even seek a relationship can be rare. So, should those people with disabilities who can’t find a romantic partner be allowed access to sex workers (another marginalized population)? And if commercial sex is an acceptable option for people with disabilities, shouldn’t it be acceptable for everyone else?

As another gimp who has experienced his share of sexual frustration, I get where these activists are coming from. But I’m not sure I agree with their attempts to frame the debate in quasi-medical terms. Sex work is sex work and we do ourselves and sex workers a disservice by trying to behind the kind of medicalized language that, in other settings, provokes a lot of outrage from the disability community. We can’t duck behind the medical model when it might help us get laid. If someone wants to pay for sex, fine. I’m not sure the government should subsidize the activity for anyone, but that’s the extent of my qualms. I’m sure plenty of sex workers would be happy to see clients with disabilities without having to receive any additional training or certification.

But good on the French for having the debate. We Americans can’t seem to discuss gimp sex without a lot of nervous giggling and awkward silence.

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The Rough Road To Implementation

 Health Care, Wonkery  No Responses »
Jul 032013
 

The Obama administration announced yesterday that it would delay implementation of the employer insurance mandate until 2015, which prompted Republicans to squeal in glee and remind Americans yet again that Obamacare will be the nation’s downfall. The mandate requires employers with more than 50 full-time employees to provide health insurance or pay a penalty. Ezra Klein points out that the employer mandate is an ill-conceived policy that encourages businesses to reduce worker hours to dodge the penalty.

The mandate is largely symbolic and delaying it won’t undermine the law’s core purpose: to provide health coverage to the uninsured. It’s easy to view this as a cave to the business community, but the administration may have decided that it’s better to ensure that the exchanges are running smoothly before focusing on less critical provisions of the law.

Nobody talks much now about the rocky implementation of the Medicare prescription drug benefit a few years ago. I expect the same will hold true of Obamacare.

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Urban Renewal

 Local  1 Response »
Jul 022013
 

Big changes may be coming to my corner of downtown Minneapolis. Yesterday, real estate developer Ryan Companies (owned by the family of Wisconsin congressman Paul Ryan) cleared the first administrative hurdle to begin construction on a major office and retail complex that would also include a park. It would be a welcome change to the east end of downtown, which is currently awash in a sea of drab parking lots. On weekends when I venture outside, my neighborhood can seem eerily deserted, so this project could restore some life to the area. And we certainly need the additional green space. Perhaps I’ll get my movie theater back as well.

Plenty of other pieces still need to fall in place before construction can begin, but it’s worth noting that this wouldn’t even be considered if not for the new Vikings stadium that will be built soon. I’m still not thrilled with public funding for a sports stadium, but perhaps this will be the rare case where a stadium will bring economic benefit to the surrounding area.

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Unsportsmanlike Conduct

 Health Care, Politics  No Responses »
Jul 012013
 

Congressional Republicans are warning professional sports leagues to stay away from any involvement in promoting Obamacare. Jonathan Cohn rightly accuses the GOP of trying to keep people in the dark about public benefits that will be available to them; benefits that were passed into law and affirmed by the Supreme Court. It’s clear that the GOP still can’t accept the legitimacy of Obamacare to the point where they are openly interfering with its implementation.

There are plenty of other ways to get the word out. Advocates and grassroots organizations will make sure of that. But this is just further evidence that Republicans are no longer a party of opposition. They are a syndicate whose only tools of persuasion are fear and intimidation.

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Alternate Input Device

 Disability, Tech  No Responses »
Jun 282013
 

9to5Mac uncovers a new accessibility option in the forthcoming iOS7 that allows users to control an iPhone or iPad using head movement. A video at the link offers a demonstration of the head gesture system. I probably don’t have enough head movement to make this work for me, but I’m sure others will be able to make good use of the feature. What intrigues me more about this function is that it appears to support other kinds of switches to mimic touch gestures. Will this be the key to me finally being able to turn pages independently? Stay tuned.

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Critic at Large: Joyland

 Books  No Responses »
Jun 272013
 

I’ve enjoyed Stephen King’s books since I was a kid, but I’m the first to recognize his penchant for overwriting. He sometimes delves into a character’s head for several pages when a few paragraphs would do. That’s why Joyland is such a pleasant surprise. It’s an economical thriller that is thoroughly engaging but doesn’t overstay its welcome. It tells the story of Devon Jones, a lovelorn college student coming of age in the early 1970s who takes a summer job at Joyland, a struggling amusement park in North Carolina. This being a King novel, there are plenty of eccentric characters, a restless ghost, and a romance, all of it infused with a bittersweet nostalgia.

Joyland doesn’t break any new narrative ground. It’s marketed as a pulpy murder mystery, but King’s prose is graceful and understated. For a beach read (it’s not available as an e-book), it’s surprisingly thoughtful. I read it in just a few hours, but the story still lingers in my thoughts.

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