Are Docs Really Afraid of "Obamacare"?

Dear Madame L,

I just read that some study found that 83% of doctors say have considered quitting their practice because of Obamacare. Is that true?

Sincerely,

Needs a Doctor

Dear Needs a Doctor,

Madame L has searched for the study that makes that claim, and here's what she has found:

The survey, which was supposedly performed by a non-partisan group, was actually conducted by the Doctor Patient Medical Association (DPMA), founded by Kathryn Serkes, a conservative Republican and Tea Party member who wrote in 2009 that "Obamacare" would "kill sick people."

The "survey" was not scientifically or statistically valid.  It was conducted by fax and online from April 18 to May 22, 2012 by sending faxes to 36,000 doctors, out of which 699 completed the surveys.

This is as useful as asking all the kids in an elementary school what they think of  the principal, and having the two who spent time in detention respond that they hate him/her.

As far as Madame L knows, the Affordable Care Act (ACA) will help doctors and patients, and even health insurance companies, who will profit as the whole American public is required to buy insurance from them. 

Sincerely,

Madame L

The Book Review, Sunday, July 8, 2012: Fantastic Mr Fox, by Roald Dahl

Madame L mentioned the movie "Fantastic Mr. Fox" in her "Fiction Friday" column on Aunt Louise's blog last week ("The Bechdel Test")  and promised to write more about it.

The movie is based, loosely, on the children's book by Roald Dahl. (Madame L is fascinated by the fact that in the American-made movie the American usage of using a period at the end of "Mr" is followed, although the British usage of no period after "Mr" is followed for the book, which may be only because the edition Madame L has was published in England.)

In "Fantastic Mr Fox," Mr and Mrs Fox and the four Little Foxes live in a hole under a big tree. Mr Fox can't keep living the staid, non-stealing family life he's been trying to live, so he starts stealing chickens, ducks, geese, turkeys, and apple cider from Farmers Boggis, Bunce, and Bean. 

The three farmers, about whom children sing a ditty about how horrible, crooked, and mean they are, vow to get revenge. They destroy the Fox Family's home and make it impossible for the Foxes and all the other underground-dwelling creatures to come out again. But the animals get the last laugh, and all the meals they can eat for the rest of their natural lives, making fools of the three evil farmers.

The movie expands brilliantly, in modern-American-movie fashion, on the book: Here, Mr. and Mrs. Fox have only one child, a sullen teenage son; a nephew who must come to live with them while his father sorts through some emotional problems; and Mr. Fox wants to live in a tree instead of under one. 

Yep, folks, it's the American Dream for the Foxes.

(The first [above] and second [below] "official movie trailers" for the movie)

Although the movie is made with puppets, using "still-life animation," and uses the word "cuss" instead of actual cuss words, it's not necessarily for every family. Parents might watch it with older children, probably slightly older than the age of those who would be reading the book; but it has violence which Madame L thinks not all parents would want their younger children to watch. (Yes, Madame L knows it's cartoon violence.)

Madame L read the book after watching the movie, and read about the Bechdel Test after that. So what?

Both the book and the movie fail the Bechdel Test miserably, which of course doesn't make them any less enjoyable. 

It does make Madame L wonder, though, with the same wonderment that many of us have been feeling for years: Why men and boys all the time? Can't women and girls be heroes? Why do we keep reading and seeing these male-centered views of the world? When will we see the wife be more than the person who goes down into the cellar to choose some bottles of alcoholic cider, having to ask her husband repeatedly how many bottles he wants? When will we see movies about women and girls (and female cartoon animals, too) being smart and ingenious and outwitting the bad guys?

Please see Laura's comment about the Bechdel Test. And here's the song she mentions, "Fairytale," by Sara Bareilles:

Madame L particularly likes the closing line: "I don't want the next-best thing."

(As of this writing, the movie "Fantastic Mr. Fox" was available for $6.99 and the book "Fantastic Mr Fox" for $6.78 at Amazon.com.)

Weird Word of the Week: Eyjafjallajokull

"Eyjafjallajokull" is the name of the volcano in Iceland which erupted so spectacularly in 2010. The name is Icelandic for "island-mountain glacier"

Here's a photo of the volcanic plume in April 2010:

And, since you'll need to pronounce this volcano's name correctly if you're going to show off your knowledge, here's a clip of an Icelandic man pronouncing the volcano's name correctly.

How to Pronounce Haute Couture

Dear Madame L,

I can't speak French and I don't try to because I'm continually embarrassed by my mistakes. But I feel bad that I can't even pronounce some French words and expressions that we've borrowed into English, such as "haute couture."

Can you help me?

Sincerely,

Aurally Deficient

Dear Pronunciator,

Here's a great resource for pronouncing difficult words, including "haute couture."

Okay, Madame L was just messing with you. Here's a "real" pronunciation guide for this expression, from Wikianswers:

"The French word haute sounds like "oat" (the H is silent), and then koo-TOOR.
The term is pronounced many different ways, as it is a French term but often spoken in English context."

Good luck,

Madame L

Our Divine Constitution

Dear Madame L,

First, Happy Independence Day! 

But what do you think about the Supreme Court's ruling on the Affordable Care Act (aka Obamacare)? I've heard that Chief Justice Roberts essentially wrote both opinions, the one mostly sustaining the ACA and the one trashing it. How can this be? 

What's wrong with the Supreme Court any more? And what's wrong with our Congress, playing all these games while not doing their job?

Sincerely,

Do We Need a New Constitution?

Dear Constitutionally Doubting,

Madame L does not think we need a new constitution, but rather that we need to become a better set of citizens; we need to become involved in the issues of our time and our country; and we need to insist---by our votes, by our letters, by our volunteer work in local, state, and national politics---that our elected and appointed officials do their jobs correctly.

Madame L thinks you may enjoy a 1987 General Conference talk by then-President of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Ezra Taft Benson.

In the talk, "Our Divine Constitution," Pres. Benson pointed out that John Adams said, “'Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.' (The Works of John Adams, ed. C. F. Adams, Boston: Little, Brown Co., 1851, 4:31)."

He added, "If the Constitution is to have continuance, this American nation, and especially the Latter-day Saints, must be virtuous."

Pres. Benson concluded:

"I have faith that the Constitution will be saved as prophesied by Joseph Smith. It will be saved by the righteous citizens of this nation who love and cherish freedom. It will be saved by enlightened members of this Church—among others—men and women who understand and abide the principles of the Constitution.

"I reverence the Constitution of the United States as a sacred document. To me its words are akin to the revelations of God, for God has placed His stamp of approval upon it.

"I testify that the God of heaven sent some of His choicest spirits to lay the foundation of this government, and He has now sent other choice spirits to help preserve it.

"We, the blessed beneficiaries of the Constitution, face difficult days in America, “a land which is choice above all other lands” (Ether 2:10).

"May God give us the faith and the courage exhibited by those patriots who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and their sacred honor.

"May we be equally as valiant and as free, I pray in the name of Jesus Christ, amen."

Madame L has said before, and will say again, that as responsible citizens who want to ensure a viable future for our country we must, must, must become involved in politics. Madame L hopes you will do what must be done toward this end. Even if you disagree vehemently with Madame L on political and social issues, she hopes you will make your views known and vote your conscience. 

Happy Fourth to you, too,

Madame L

Best Advice Ever for Helicopter Moms

Dear Madame L,

I'll be visiting my daughter and her family soon, and I need your advice. Sometimes I feel like I'm trying too hard to be a good "mommy," even though my daugher is a "mommy" now herself and obviously doesn't need me to be hovering over her, taking care of her all the time.

Do you have any suggestions for how to tone it down before I offend my daughter and her husband and make my grandkids back away in horror of being suffocated?

Sincerely,

Helicopter Mom

Dear Mom,

Not only does Madame L have some great advice for you, but she got it from her favorite advice columnist of al time, Cary Tennis at Salon.com.

Someone recently asked him a similar question---was it you by any chance?---and here's an excerpt from his answer:

"Make a list of the things you say and do that represent this behavior you would like to change. Be concrete. Use the words you would use. Such questions and offers of help might sound like the following:

“Oh, here, I can wash those.”
“Are you taking your vitamins?”
“Here, I bought you this shirt.”
“Have you talked to your father?”
“I made you a sandwich.”
“Are you getting enough sleep?”
“Here is an extra bottle of vitamins. I can get more.”
“Do you need money?”
“Would you like a sandwich?”
“I could buy you some groceries.”

Having made the list, think of things you might say or do that are opposite to these statements.

For instance, instead of saying, “Do you need money?” try saying, “I know you are managing your money and I’m glad.” In other words, try replacing statements of concern with statements of confidence. This will make you feel better and will communicate to your children that you are confident about their ability to manage in the world. 

Here is another idea. Try making positive statements in general. Instead of saying, “Do you need clothes?” try saying, “You look good.” Instead of saying, “I’ve been worried about you,” try saying, “It’s good to see you.”

When you start to say, “Do you need … Can I get you …” just stop. Just sit there and see how long you can go without saying “Do you need … Can I get you …” Make it a contest for yourself. You will probably find that as you practice you can go for longer periods of time not being Mom too much.

They still need you to be Mom now and then. They’ll let you know when they need you to be Mom. They just also need you to acknowledge that they’re doing adult things their own way, and they need to be able to make mistakes, too, just like you and I did.

See, isn't that great advice?

Can Madame L get you anything else? Oops, Madame L means to say, Is there anything else you'd like to share with Madame L? Maybe make her a sandwich?

Best,

Madame L

The Book Review, Sunday, July 1, 2012: The Aleppo Codex

This fascinating book tells the ancient and the modern history of the definitive and most trustworthy copy of the Jewish Bible in existence, the Aleppo Codex.

And here why it's so interesting: it is, as the sub-title says, "A True Story of Obsession, Faith, and the Pursuit of an Ancient Bible.

Madame L cannot recommend this book highly enough. If you're interested in the Diaspora, ancient scripture, modern history, Israel and Palestine, or anything related to any of these, you'll have a hard time putting it down. It's not like a novel, where you can just keep reading and reading, though; it takes time to digest some of the details. So you'll have to put it down every once in awhile and think about it, wonder what Matti Friedman is going to find out next.

Madame L has read her share of books that tell not only the details of some mystery or historical event but also the details of how the author found out those details. But this is the first one of those kinds of books that Madame L has ever read that is actually interesting.

It's part of the mystery to know how Matti Friedman had to track down every bit of information he finally got --- part of the mystery, and part of the story --- because those details had been kept secret from so many people for so long that keeping them secret even longer was easier for so many people than telling the truth.

Madame L kept guessing: Was it the Arabs who burned the synagogue who tore out the 100 pages? Was it the rabbi  or the sexton who was supposed to be guarding it? Was it the Aleppo Jews who came to the synagogue to pick up the pieces and salvage what they could after the riots and looting? Was it the Gentile who kept the book safe until the violence died down? Was it the courier?

Madame L is very tempted to tell you the story's ending. Should she do it? If she keeps the ending secret from her readers, what good will that do? Will it make her readers decide to run down to their local library to get the book so they can find out for themselves? Or will her readers shrug their shoulders and say, oh well, Madame L is stingy with the truth, like those people who kept the secret of what happened to the Aleppo Codex secret for decades? 

Madame L doesn't think her job as a book reviewer is to string her readers along, and she knows many of her readers want to know more about the world and its history but don't have time to read this long book, so she will share this with her readers: The secret is not that the Arabs in Aleppo burned the book in 1947. It's not that the man entrusted to bring whatever remained of it to Jerusalem was a dishonest man. It's not that devious scholars wanted to suppress part of this ancient work because it would contradict their understanding and teachings.

It's this: Greedy and dishonest men in the very government of Israel, scholars at the very university that was supposed to be enlightening people, the very department charged with keeping this and other antiquities safe and available for scholars, stole parts of it.

So about 100 pages of the 400-page Codex are missing today, most of the first five books (the books of Moses), and some of the prophets, including parts of Isaiah. 

And those that remain, are they where scholars can translate them and make them available for the rest of us to read, to enhance our understanding of the Old Testament? No, they are not. 

There. Now Madame L has given away the secret. But there's more: Many similar codices and scrolls, brought by Jews from Yemen and other Arab countries when they fled to Israel, have suffered a similar fate. 

Reading about this made Madame L want to cry. As Mr. Friedman concludes his story:

"Had the mob destroyed the codex, my story would have been simpler...

"The hunger for old and beautiful things is not new...But here the object stolen is not a thing of beauty but a book that condemns theft. The page with the passage Thou shalt not steal was stolen. Also missing are the commandments not to bear false witness, covet another's property, or commit murder, all of which have been violated in these chapters.

"The Hebrew Bible, of which our codex was the most perfect copy, the one used by Maimonides himself, was meant to serve humans as a moral compass. Its story is a tragedy of human weakness. The book was the result of generations of scholarship...It was a singular accomplishment and a testimony to the faith of the men who created it. It was desecrated. Maimonides would have reacted with dismay to this story, no doubt, but perhaps also with a sad smile of recognition: this is what men do. The story of this book, he might say, should come as no surprise to any who have read it. There is noting new under the sun, reads the book of Ecclesiastes...

"Those who understand the book's meaning and those who do not; those who would protect it and those who would destroy it; and those who seek it for the right reasons and those whose desire for it is base and dark --- the book contained all these people and their conflicting motivations before it succumbed to them. We might file this tale between Cain and Abel and the golden calf, parables about the many ways we fail: A volume that survived one thousand years of turbulent history was betrayed in our times by the people charged with guarding it. It fell victim to the instincts it was created to temper and was devoured by the creatures it was meant to save."

Madame L checked this book out from her local library, but it's also available new at Amazon.com for $14.7l.