Liberal or not too liberal?

Aloha . . . I forget the quote and will look it up but it was perhaps by Churchill (?) who said something about as you get older you get more conservative. I used to think I was very liberal. In comparison to my Aunt Karen in Houston, Texas I am. Compared to many people I am conservative. I think we need a sliding scale. Is it liberal to advocate for universal health insurance?

But I must face facts - I am not as liberal as I think I am or would like to be! I try to be critical in my thinking and of precise nomenclature when I speak. I attempt to be intellectually rigorous in my examination of public policy and other endeavors. I fail a lot and tend to be reactionary, my passions inflame me.

Anyone have leads on websites where you can search for quotes like the one I am thinking of?

Thanks for reading,

D.

Staying in Touch - GrandCentral.com

Aloha . . . in the interest of staying in touch . . . while in Fiji I will have my mobile with me but the roaming charges are $3.49 a minute since ATT has no real agreement with Vodaphone. Data roaming is cheaper.

Note the GrandCentral.com button off to the right. Hit that button and it will connect you with my GrandCentral voice mail and allows you to leave a message. You can also set it to automatically forward the call to any phone anywhere. I used the button and it works well thus far.

I joined GrandCentral.com years ago before it was acquired by Google since I thought it was a great idea - especially since in those days you were not allowed to keep your mobile number if you changed companies. I have a permanent number through GrandCentral that I do not really use that much . . . till now I guess! The beauty of this is that I can forward all calls from my mobile to my GrandCentral number automatically. GrandCentral then saves the message as an email to me and I play it over the net when I get access, either through my mobile or laptop.

I wait for the day when I can use Skype from any phone anywhere. While I was aware of GrandCentral I want to acknowledge and thank David Pogue of the New York Times for prompting my memory on how useful the voicemail to email option is.

So while I am working in Fiji I will not have to pay ridiculous charges for my mobile service and still be able to pick up my voice mail from ATT via the web.

Thanks for reading and if you do call, thanks!

D.

David McCullough

Applications going out!

Aloha - I applied or rather, reapplied to the International Medical Corps tonight. Although I leave for Fiji for three weeks on January 12 I made myself available to IMC by March 1. I will follow up with a phone call tomorrow.

The weather in Sebastopol, California is cold, wet and dreary . . . a bit tiring to be sure. Tomorrow I plan to drive up the the coast and stay at my family place to do some mountain biking - either that or begin getting my things together for my trip to Fiji. I won't take many clothes but do have to take a number of gifts.

I don't know what to expect except that it is wise not to expect anything. Talked with an old friend last night who was recently in Samoa for the first time in years. Most of the people she knew are gone but out of the ones left, many are alcoholics or have serious problems. I know the type and as Judy said to me, many people who come to the South Pacific are running away from something or trying to find something they will never find. I saw that in Fiji, Cook Islands, Papua New Guinea and so forth. There is some of that in me.

Finally though, I am going to do something against Bush, against the wanton specter of madness and destruction that Americans are pursuing under his leadership. No, I am not so hellishly innocent that I think this will change under a new administration but it is my hope that we will be doing less harm. Nor do I proclaim my innocence in the scheme of things.

Thanks for reading.

David

Leaving for Fiji January 12, 2008

Bula Vinaka,

I am leaving for Fiji on a medical mission for three weeks from January 12 to February 4, 2008. It has been eleven years since I have been in Fiji. The last time I left the United States was in 2003 when I was on a medical trip to Mexico . . . which I absolutely loved. In the future I am not sure that I can stay away from being overseas for so long. Many say we are lucky to live here and in some ways I can understand and in some ways agree. Yet I look at how much we consume in America - as living proof I am going to take my ipod and my computer so I can blog, check email, post photos of my trip and so on and so forth. Mainly for me I think as I am not sure how many people I know will care enough to read my ramblings.

Work at Sutter continues to be problematic in the sense that Corporate either does not know or refuses to tell our hospital if it will stay open or not. So the employees and community live in a constant state of uncertainty and hence concern about if they will continue to be able to pay their mortgage or rent and if medical care will be available for the community (in a timely manner!).

Late here and I work tomorrow for another 13 hour shift. Thanks for reading.

David