Runner’s diary, Monday

After a week during which I was plagued by a terrible cold that robbed me of energy, I got back on the treadmill today — three miles in 27 minutes (almost exactly), the hardest three I’ve run in a long while. I still have this cold, though it seems to be getting better. I did some light stretching after the run and hope to do another three tomorrow. I’m shooting for four runs (meeting Friday morning) for the week.

Today’s iPod selection: a mix

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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Knightmares at the Garden

Dave Anderson dreams about the Knicks — or, dreams of a way out of the mess that Isaiah Thomas has helped bury the team in. A hint: It involves the sale of the team, the erasure of Thomas from memory and some very wishful thinking.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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The real impact of a broken health system

Another hospital closing? Central Jersey residents may not care — we have access to numerous successful hospitals in New Brunswick, Princeton, the Trenton area, etc. — but we should. The closing of hospitals because of financial problems is a symptom of the larger failures of our healthcare system. The cost of treating the uninsured is strangling hospitals like Muhlenberg and can only get worse, spreading to healthy hospitals in a dangerous death spiral.

Reform is needed. Single-payer, universal healthcare is needed. The system just isn’t working.

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

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Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.

The right question about Iraq

Juan Cole sums up the real issues in Iraq and calls into question the myth that things are getting better and that the surge is working:

I review the news below and don’t somehow conclude that the US occupation of Iraq is a success story. I know we are paying a lot for our presence in Iraq. I can’t figure out what the average American is receiving for the money. It isn’t increased security, since Iraq is a training ground for terrorists who will likely hit the US or US interests in future. It isn’t extra petroleum, at least not for us ordinary folks. Maybe the US oil majors will do well out of it. But even they say they can’t do business in Iraq without oil legislations. And petroleum prices held above $98 a barrel on Friday. The Turkish invasion of Iraq was cited as one reason for the price increase. Instead of asking “are things hopeful in Iraq?” or “is there progress in Iraq?”, the American media and public should be asking, “What are we getting out of all this?” That is the question the US Right fears most of all, which is why they ask the ‘progress’ question all the time. They only have two settings, “slow progress” and “progress.” A burned out hulk of a city like Falluja? A sign of “slow progress.”

South Brunswick Post, The Cranbury Press
The Blog of South Brunswick

E-mail me by clicking here.

Email me at grassroots at comcast dot net.