How Scared Are They?

How scared is the health care industry about health insurance reform?

As reported by OpenSecrets.org, "...insurers, pharmaceutical companies, medical associations and hospitals have hired more than 350 former government staff members and retired members of Congress as part of a $1.4 million-a-day lobbying campaign">

$1,400,000 per DAY!

350 former government staff member and RETIRED MEMBERS OF CONGRESS.

They are scared shitless!

GOOD! Maybe that means we will get some meaningful reform, maybe even a (heaven forbid) public option.

How Times Have Changed

Happy 4th of July eve.

The fourth of July use to be a very exciting time for me -- back when I was about 10 years old. We could get real fireworks and fire crackers, like these.

And they were legal! They went on sale about two weeks before the 4th. I saved up my money to buy mostly firecrackers. My parents got the bigger stuff to let off on the 4th, like my favorite -- buzz bombs.


But us kids got the firecrackers. They were great fun. We would light them and throw them. We would put them in cans and blow the cans in the air. After a rain, we would put them under slugs and blow them up. (In Seattle, we had lots of slugs and they always came out after a rain.) Did we hurt ourselves. Occasionally. There was usually a burned finger or two, but it was not big deal and our parents just reminded us to be careful. There was never any thought of taking the firecrackers away for us.

Fast forward 50 years. The "real" fireworks are illegal. I do live in one of the few communities in Southern California the still permit "safe and sane" fireworks, but they are really not the same. The two granddaughters that we sit for (I am not going to say babysit, because they constantly remind me that they are not babies) don't like fireworks. They have gone to firework celebrations in the past and the noise scares them. How times have changed. I liked to loud explosions. Still do. The loud bangs were the fun thing about firecrackers. Well, second to being able to blow things up with them.

I don't remember the animals being scared by the noises either. Now, one of our dogs is terrified by the noise. She tries to find a dark quiet spot in the house when the fireworks start going off, curls up in a ball, and shakes. We have to sedate her so that she will sleep through it.

So enjoy your holiday weekend. I will be tending a scared dog and remembering what the 4th of July was really like, back in the olden days.

Eye Sea U

I am getting cataract surgery on my right eye in a couple of weeks. Two weeks after that the Dr. will do the left eye. He says that after the surgery I will not need my glasses to see at a distance. At best, I will only need glasses for reading and maybe not even that.

I go my first pair of glasses when I was about 15 years old. I began wearing them all the time when I was in my early 20's. I have been wearing glasses continuously for the last 40 years. I am so use to wearing glasses that sometimes I have to put my hands up to my eyes to be sure that I have them on.

I have mixed emotions about not needed to wear glasses. They have been a part of me for so long that I feel that something is missing if I don't have them on. I suppose a psychologist will say that I am hiding behind my glasses and maybe I am, but so what. And I guess I could always wear glasses even if I don't need them, but that seems kind of dumb.

So, being able to see again will be nice. The jury is still out on not having to wear glasses.

Follow The Money

There is an excellent series of articles on Open Secrets that detail all the money that the health care industry is funneling to Congress. Take a look! They must really be scared of health care reform.

Time

Time is an interesting quantity. It goes in only one direction. It cannot be turned around or reversed. While its speed in constant (in non-quantum terms anyway), it seems to vary depending on what is happening at the time. Einstein has often been quoted as saying "When a man sits with a pretty girl for an hour, it seems like a minute. But let him sit on a hot stove for a minute and it's longer than any hour. That's relativity."

As we get older, time seems to go quicker. This was brought into focus for me a couple of days ago. We were watching a video of our youngest son's wedding. Our oldest grandson was 10 at the time and he was in the wedding party. He is now twenty. Ten years no longer seems like a long time to me, but when I look at the grandson 10 years ago, and look at him today, there is a lifetime of difference. He has gone from a small child to a full grown adult; needed to be cared for to caring for himself -- and in only ten years. It is amazing how much change can happen to a child in ten years.

Just think what this world could be like if we all changed as much in the next ten years.

Some People Are Just Mean

It was late in the afternoon and we were all gathered watching the end of the graduation ceremonies. My daughter-in-law's sister was getting her masters with honors in social work. She did it on her own with jobs, student loans, and scholarships. We were all very proud of her. Her mother had brought a lei for her to wear. It was draped over the back of a chair. We were waiting to give it to her as she walked by. We saw her coming, turned around to grab the lei, and it was gone. Someone had stolen it while we were watching from her to come by.

Why?

This Is How You Connect With People

Obama signs a note for a fourth grader so she will not get in trouble for skipping school to go to his town hall meeting with her dad. It is the personal things like this that Obama does that endears him to the American people.

Torture Anyone?

Next time someone tells you we need to torture to keep us safe, refer them to what the experts say. A great summary is available at the Washington's Blog.

The discussion is broken down into three catagories:

All of the Experts Say that Torture Doesn't Work


All of the Top Experts say Torture HURTS National Security


Most of Those Torture Were INNOCENT

Bottom line -- torture gives us bad information, makes us less save, and needlessly harms innocent people.

Nicaragua Has Better Health Care Than We Do

What if this had happened here, in the good old US of A.

From familyonbikes

Adolfo took us to the state hospital – an amazing example of efficiency! We had expected to wait in line for hours and hours – it was, after all, a free hospital. But within seconds of arriving, they had whisked us in (they only let me in with him because he doesn’t speak Spanish – Adolfo and the boys had to wait outside). The doctor examined his thumb and sent us down for an x-ray – which was taken immediately with no wait at all. Back to the doctor who saw him immediately and assured him there was nothing broken. She sent us to the pharmacy where they gave him some anti-inflammant tablets and we were on our way.

If Nicaragua can have this kind of treatment, why can't we? How long would any of us spent in emergency, even if we had the best health insurance available, in any hospital in the US?

I am embarrassed.

Gay Marriage Legal In Sims 3

The new version of Sims, Sims 3, will now allow gay marriage.

This will drive the gay marriage haters crazy -- gay marriage in a popular video game. I love it!!!