[Rhodes22-list] Politics and Science a reply to Mike W

[Michael D. Weisner]

Brad,

My favorite line from the story is:
"Daniel Becnel, Jr., a lawyer who said his clients have filed more than
60,000 claims, said measuring Katrina's devastation in dollars and cents is
a nearly impossible task."

He probably has the plaque on his wall that reads:
"The difficult we do today;  the impossible takes a trial."

Mike
s/v Shanghai'd Summer ('81)
Nissequogue River, NY

From: "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com> Saturday, January 12, 2008 10:37 AM
> Mike,
>
> On that note, I'm going to the hangar to get my blood pressure down and my
> oxygen intake up!
>
> Attached is a short story about what the lawyers are up to these days. 
> BTW,
> you heard it here first!  Trent Lott's brother-in-law, one of the biggest
> Katrina snakes, er, I mean lawyers, has been indicted on a judicial 
> bribery
> case. Did Lott really "retire" mid-term or duck for cover while there 
> still
> was some?  Stay tuned!
>
> Brad
>
> -----------------------
>
> Posted on Wed, Jan. 09, 2008
> Katrina claims get a price tag: $3,014,170,389,176,410 THE ASSOCIATED 
> PRESS
>
> NEW ORLEANS -- Hurricane Katrina's victims have put a price tag on their
> suffering: $3,014,170,389,176,410 and counting.
>
> That quadrillion-dollar figure represents a fraction of the roughly 
> 489,000
> claims that residents and business owners filed against the federal
> government over damage from the failure of levees and flood walls from the
> hurricane.
>
> The Army Corps of Engineers says it has received 247 claims for at least 
> $1
> billion apiece, including one for an even $3 quadrillion.
>
> "That's the mother of all high numbers," said Loren Scott, a Baton Rouge
> economist.
>
> Someone in Baker, 93 miles northwest of New Orleans, filed the claim that
> inflated the total from the trillions into the quadrillions. Baker is far
> from the epicenter of Katrina's destruction, but the city has a trailer 
> park
> where hundreds of evacuees have lived since the storm.
>
> For the sake of perspective: a mere $1 quadrillion would dwarf the U.S.
> gross domestic product, which Scott said was $13.2 trillion in 2007, while 
> a
> stack of 1 quadrillion pennies would reach Saturn.
>
> Some residents may have grossly exaggerated their claims to send a message
> to the corps, which has accepted blame for poorly designing the failed
> levees.
>
> "I understand the anger," Scott said. "I also understand it's a 
> negotiating
> tactic: Aim high and negotiate down."
>
> Lawyers have advised clients not to skimp in estimating their losses from
> Katrina, because the amounts listed on their claims forms can limit how 
> much
> they recover.
>
> Daniel Becnel, Jr., a lawyer who said his clients have filed more than
> 60,000 claims, said measuring Katrina's devastation in dollars and cents 
> is
> a nearly impossible task.
>
> "There's no way on earth you can figure it out," he said. "The trauma 
> these
> people have undergone is unlike anything that has occurred in the history 
> of
> our country."
>
> The Corps released zip codes, but no names, for the 247 claims of at least
> $1 billion. The list includes a $77 billion claim by the city of New
> Orleans. Fourteen involve a wrongful death claim. Fifteen were filed by
> businesses, including several insurance companies.
>
> Katrina, which is blamed for more than 1,600 deaths in Louisiana and
> Mississippi, is considered the most destructive storm to ever hit the U.S.
> It caused at least $60 billion in insured losses and could cost Gulf Coast
> states up to $125 billion, according to the National Oceanic and 
> Atmospheric
> Administration.
>
> Most of the claims were filed before a deadline that coincided with
> Katrina's second anniversary, but the Corps is still receiving them - 
> about
> 100 claims have arrived over the past three weeks - and is feeding them 
> into
> a computer database.
>
> The Corps says it isn't passing judgment on the merits of each claim. The
> federal courts are in charge of deciding if a claim is valid and how much
> compensation is warranted.
>
>
> On Jan 12, 2008 9:26 AM, Michael D. Weisner <mweisner at ebsmed.com> wrote:
>
>> Brad,
>>
>> You know, for a guy who has been deprived of proper oxygenation most of
>> the
>> time, at least that in which you are at altitude, your thought processes
>> are
>> remarkably keen.  It is a lousy way to get a bill defeated.  Maybe we 
>> need
>> to rethink the real problem - all them lawyers looking to pay for their
>> jumbo mortgages!
>>
>> Mike
>> s/v Shanghai'd Summer ('81)
>> Nissequogue River, NY
>>
>> From: "Brad Haslett" <flybrad at gmail.com> Saturday, January 12, 2008 10:16
>> AM
>> > Ed,
>> >
>> > I'll pass on oxygen debates.  My only choice is between "demand" and
>> > "100%".  But, since we are talking about oxygen, here's someone that
>> needs
>> > to be deprived of it!
>> >
>> > Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J.
>> >
>> > Bush was forced to use a pocket-veto during the current Congressional
>> > recess
>> > in an attempt to overcome a provision in the Defense spending bill that
>> > was
>> > slipped in by Lautenberg.  The immediate downside is that Armed Forces
>> > recruiters cannot offer bonuses and until this is settled,
>> re-enlistments
>> > can't receive bonuses either. The Lautenberg provision would have
>> allowed
>> > Americans to sue in American courts for issues they "suffered" under 
>> > the
>> > Saddam regime.  I'd say hanging the bastard would be justice enough.
>>  What
>> > it would really do is allow the new Iraqi government's money in 
>> > overseas
>> > banks to be tied up until all the litigation is settled.  The provision
>> > does
>> > two things - cuts off funding for Iraq to re-arm itself and the
>> resulting
>> > veto makes it more difficult for the US Services to man itself. In a
>> > nutshell, it is a poison pill designed for the anti-war crowd.
>> >
>> > Thanks Frank, you're a real patriot!
>> >
>> > Brad
>> >
>> > On Jan 12, 2008 8:55 AM, Tootle <ekroposki at charter.net> wrote:
>> >
>> >>
>> >> Mike:
>> >>
>> >> Now that you have some good experience under your belt, how about
>> running
>> >> for public office?
>> >>
>> >> When you asked the question, tongue in cheek, "To save 10% across the
>> >> board,
>> >> we could reduce
>> >> oxygen usage by 10% when treating patients requiring O2 therapy,
>> placing
>> >> patients on 90% instead of 100% oxygen."  Unfortunately you are now
>> >> critical
>> >> of a valid question.  A pulmonary doctor should be asked what is the
>> >> optimum
>> >> % for this patient.  Only a penny?  If it beyond what is necessary to
>> >> achieve results, why be wasting resources?
>> >>
>> >> Therefore, I disagree with your point of view, it was a valid question
>> in
>> >> all instances.  Just as often the minimal maintenance level of 2L is
>> not
>> >> adequate for a particular patient.  It resides in area of education,
>> >> experience and good judgement.
>> >>
>> >> Maybe the best dose of O2 is received in a cockpit of a sailboat in a
>> >> breeze?
>> >>
>> >> Ed K
>> >> Greenville, SC, USA
>> >> "Modern research ... Ah, the sound of a million monkeys typing (on
>> their
>> >> PCs?) ..."  Michael D. Weisner
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >>
>> >> R22MikeW wrote:
>> >> >
>> >> > Ron,
>> >> >
>> >> > Unfortunately, research funding cuts continue to be made by folks 
>> >> > who
>> >> > really
>> >> > have no idea what they are doing.  In the mid 80s I entered industry
>> as
>> >> a
>> >> > result of a similar instability in medical research and high energy
>> >> > physics
>> >> > funding cuts (can you say Reagan and Brookhaven?)  Most of us
>> scattered
>> >> > fairly quickly as the paycuts (10% at first) and layoffs began to
>> >> threaten
>> >> > the security of our growing families.  Every postdoc was approached
>> by
>> >> > industry and most of us found new "homes" within months.
>> >> >
>> >> > The attitude of the bean counters seem to be that research funding 
>> >> > is
>> a
>> >> > luxury.  It can therefore be cut without great loss.  One
>> administrator
>> >> > who
>> >> > had to cut 10% out of his budget at the last minute, thought hard 
>> >> > and
>> >> long
>> >> > when I offered, jokingly, "To save 10% across the board, we could
>> >> > reduce
>> >> > oxygen usage by 10% when treating patients requiring O2 therapy,
>> >> > placing
>> >> > patients on 90% instead of 100% oxygen."  He was so intrigued with
>> the
>> >> > idea
>> >> > that he asked for a full justification why some patients had been on
>> >> 100%
>> >> > oxygen in the first place.  Peter principle at work ...
>> >> >
>> >> > I hope your funding is restored - call Obama and ask him why IL was
>> not
>> >> > represented properly.
>> >> >
>> >> > Modern research ... Ah, the sound of a million monkeys typing (on
>> their
>> >> > PCs?) ...
>> >> >
>> >> > Mike
>> >> > s/v Shanghaid'd Summer ('81)
>> >> >        Nissequogue River, NY
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > From: "Ronald Lipton" <rlipton at earthlink.net> Saturday, January 12,
>> >> > 2008
>> >> > 12:17 AM
>> >> >> 2008 was supposed to be a good year for science in the US.  A study
>> >> >> by the National Academies had made a strong argument that basic
>> >> >> research is vital to the economic health of the US.  That resulted
>> in
>> >> >> a
>> >> >> bipartisan agreement to increase funding for the physical sciences.
>> >> >> Budgets were increased for the NSF and DOE Office of Science in
>> >> >> the appropriations bills passed by the House and Senate.  Last
>> summer
>> >> >> these bills were vetoed by the president as "budget busters".  The
>> >> >> government
>> >> >> operated on a continuing resolution until the end of last year when
>> >> >> the Omnibus bill was passed.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> This bill reduced overall funding for Science by $1 billion below
>> the
>> >> >> level agreed last summer.  The cuts in Particle Physics and at
>> >> >> Fermilab, where I work were particularly devastating.  All funding
>> >> >> for a new experiment to measure the properties of neutrinos was
>> >> >> cut.  R&D funds for the next generation particle accelerator, the
>> ILC,
>> >> >> which was intended to regain leadership in the field in the next
>> >> >> decade
>> >> >> from
>> >> >> a new machine in Europe scheduled to start up next year, were cut 
>> >> >> to
>> >> 1/4
>> >> >> the level expected.  Since the budget was passed 1/4 of the way
>> >> >> through
>> >> >> the year all of this money has been already been spent.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> As a result all work on the projects which would have been the
>> future
>> >> of
>> >> >> the
>> >> >> field in the US have to stop.  At Fermilab 170 people were working
>> on
>> >> >> these projects and will be reassigned and 200 layoffs are planned.
>>  At
>> >> >> Stanford Linear Accelerator Center 125 people will be laid off. 
>> >> >> The
>> >> >> Fermilab
>> >> >> budget was $52M below the budget initially passed by Congress. 
>> >> >> Those
>> >> >> of
>> >> >> us who survive will be asked to take 2-3 days/month of unpaid
>> >> >> furlough.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> The cuts were a result of a last minute flurry of adjustments to
>> bring
>> >> >> the
>> >> >> budget below the limit set by President Bush for veto.  Fermilab 
>> >> >> was
>> >> >> hit particularly hard because Dennis Hastert, former speaker of the
>> >> >> house,
>> >> >> had resigned a month earlier and none of the Illinois delegation 
>> >> >> was
>> >> >> watching the store.  The cuts were not the result of any plan as 
>> >> >> far
>> >> >> as
>> >> >> I can tell, just a random cut in the final weekend of preparation 
>> >> >> of
>> >> the
>> >> >> Omnibus bill. US commitment to ITER, a demonstration fusion reactor
>> >> >> to be built in France was also cut to zero in spite of 
>> >> >> international
>> >> >> funding
>> >> >> agreements that took decades to negotiate.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> This is the sort of thing that can't easily be recovered from.  The
>> >> >> accelerator
>> >> >> group at Stanford, the best in the world, will be fragmented.
>>  People
>> >> >> will be
>> >> >> laid off and leave the field.  Bright students will go elsewhere.
>>  The
>> >> >> international
>> >> >> community will get yet more evidence that the US is not a reliable
>> >> >> partner.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> I had been working on detectors for the ILC.  We had a program
>> >> >> that led the field in the development of advanced silicon detectors
>> >> >> and
>> >> >> electronics. Because we do R&D much of our work with US companies
>> >> >> funds
>> >> >> beyond state-of-the art work too risky for immediate commercial
>> >> >> applications but which
>> >> >> lay the technical base for the future.  We we strongly involved in
>> 3D
>> >> >> electronics,
>> >> >> where ~10 micron thick layers of circuit are stacked vertially,
>> >> >> increasing the
>> >> >> density of electronics without decreasing the transistor size.
>> >> >> We may be able to continue, but certainly at
>> >> >> a reduced level. Our group of IC design engineers, one of the best
>> >> >> such
>> >> >> groups
>> >> >> in the world, will likely fragment, and much of the R&D will be
>> >> >> delayed
>> >> >> or
>> >> >> narrowed.
>> >> >>
>> >> >> This was not due to on party or another, but our government has
>> become
>> >> >> increasingly
>> >> >> dysfunctional.   As by far the richest country in the world we 
>> >> >> could
>> >> >> afford to be inefficient,
>> >> >> but we have real challenges now.  Killing the future of a field of
>> >> >> science that, aside
>> >> >> from enormous scientific and intellectual contributions, has
>> generated
>> >> >> technologies such
>> >> >> as medical imaging, fast electronic logic, practical 
>> >> >> superconducting
>> >> >> magnets for MRI,
>> >> >> and the world wide web protocols, essentially by accident, is one
>> >> >> example of that
>> >> >> dysfunction that hits close to (my) home.
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >> >> Ron
>> >> >> __________________________________________________
>> >> >> Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
>> >> >>
>> >> >>
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >> > __________________________________________________
>> >> > Use Rhodes22-list at rhodes22.org, Help? www.rhodes22.org/list
>> >> >
>> >> >
>> >>
>> >> --
>> >> View this message in context:
>> >> http://www.nabble.com/Politics-and-Science-tp14770106p14774326.html
>> >> Sent from the Rhodes 22 mailing list archive at Nabble.com.
>> >>
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>> >
>>
>>
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