Category: General

I pulled a muscle in my back getting off the sofa this morning (where I sleep every night since Connor kicked me out of the bed) and then proceeded to check my bank account for my bonus I was told should be in the bank.  Huh?  No bonus?  In furry I almost quit my job.  Then I found out I received bad information from the rumor mill that is my workpalce and that my bonus was approved, plus a raise, just not in time for this payroll deposit.

So the rest of the day was busier than any on record and in the middle of it I proceeded with the final interview for the newest Junior Sys. Admin position I’m hiring for.  At least I didn’t have to pay for lunch.

So on the way home, down the country back roads, my back still in pain, plus I was hungy, and out of no where a loud explosion occurred on the right side of my truck.  Did someone shoot it?  That was my first thought but no.  I ran over some piece of plastic that fell off the top of the work van full of illegal aliens in front of me.  My back right tire was flat.  But I was about a mile from home so I hobbled to the driveway.

A few minutes later I got out the jack and surprise, the portion of the jack handle that’s suppose to fit in the jack itself to crank it doesn’t fit.  Not even close.  I even read the instructions.  Not something I’m known for.  Ford obviously put their best Engineers on jack handles.  Therefore I was off to Advanced Auto.

The clerk roaming the isles asked what I was going to lift.  I said “my F-150”.  To which he replied “this is the kit you need”.  It was a 2-ton Hydraulic floor lift and two jack stands for $27.  I’ll take it.

Well I shouldn’t have.  I got under the rear end of the truck, positioned the jack to the axel and pumped it to it’s maximum height of thirteen inches.  Which is about two inches too low for an F-150.  So now I’ve got a jack to return, blown rear tire, my back still hurts and it hasn’t rained in two months but it’s going to pour tomorrow.  Okay, the gods have spoken.

All this on a day I was excited about.  I was expecting lots of money in the bank and steaks for dinner.  Instead I got microwave soup and a flat.

I learned today…

 

“In a recent Institute for Traffic Safety study, listening to right-wing talk radio was found to be nearly twice as distracting while driving as listening to NPR.”

 

Hmmm….  Nothing bad can come from this.  Attention Neocons: Please enjoy more right-wing ranting.  You can thank Rush for the higher insurance rates.

http://www.wral.com/news/national_world/national/story/1124144/

Pat Robertson is quite simply the biggest jackass alive.

As of today a permit is required to get a keg in NC. It’s suppose to curb drinking by minors. They’ll probably be exclusively for restaurants. Whatever. Kegs were expensive anyway.

http://www.wral.com/news/10438844/detail.html?rss=ral&psp=news

From the Discovery article:

http://dsc.discovery.com/news/2006/11/28/sealion_ani.html?category=animals

“People should understand these animals are out there not to attack people or humans. But they’re out there to survive for themselves,”

– Jim Oswald, a spokesman for the Marine Mammal Center

I find it reassuring when a guy who is a spokesman for a Mammal Center isn’t aware that all people are humans.

This kid was on Ellen and given a Nintendo Wii months early. His mom didn’t shelter him and look at what a difference it made.

http://www.nogged.com/viewvideo.php?videoID=89

“A panel studying what to do with one of the largest pieces of land in downtown Raleigh meets Tuesday. It is the same group that helped create plans to rebuild post-Katrina New Orleans and post-9/11 lower Manhattan.”

http://www.wral.com/news/10143925/detail.html

Is this headline meant to impress or discourage?  We all know how well the projects in Manhattan and New Orleans are going.  Sounds like another great choice by Raleigh city planners.

Here’s the proof. Notice that her right side is much uglier. No doubt she’s two faced now. How much do I dislike this woman? So much that I went in search of this kind of trash on her:

http://www.sadlyno.com/archives/001820.html

Does NOT start with insurance reform. Every time I hear a discussion about the cost of health care the only thing I’m really hearing is people talking about the cost of health insurance and the cap on insurance benefits. These insurance problems are not the cause of exaggerated health care costs, they are the result.

Excessive health care costs start with the hospital corporations and pharmaceutical companies. Numerous Americans are unaware that their local hospital is a corporation first and a institution for medical care second. If they could generate a higher return for shareholders by selling donuts instead of bypasses they would not hesitate for one second to put a deep fryer in the ER. With a child on the way and limited child birth benefits I have examined the cost of child birth in depth. The average cost is over 10.5 thousand dollars. The hospital bed for one night is over $450. These absurd dollar figures are what I’m talking about when I debate about the cost of health care.

But you never hear the media or public at large cast blame on the hospitals, doctors and rarely pharmaceutical companies (except the AARP). Most people are too blinded by the notion that the hospitals and doctors are our friends and saviors there to help in our time of need. And most of us would pay anything for medical attention when we’ve got a nail through our foot or a dislocated shoulder. Can you think of another service or purchase you would sign a contract to pay for in advance of that service being rendered and without a cost estimate provided up front? Every time you go to an ER in one of America’s private hospitals that’s exactly what you are required to do – or else. Or else what? Or else you suffer while you’re transferred to a public hospital, still for profit, to receive a reduced level of care. People have been known to die in ambulances during these transfers. If you make it you’ll receive care, get billed an excessive amount, and when you can’t pay in six months your credit will be destroyed.

As long as the majority of American hospitals are run by for profit, public corporations the cost of medical care must increase. The insurance companies will struggle to negotiate the best rates while those without insurance will face the highest bills and be forced into personal bankruptcy. The hospitals will never see the money from the bills insurance doesn’t cover and this in turn will add fuel to the fire. If a pandemic ever did actually hit this country it’s not the population that would die, it’s the economy.

So what do we do about it? The Neocon’s will love this answer: More government price regulation.

What dare say you!? Damn your words socialist pig! Regulate prices in a free market economy? Yep. Price caps. A single syringe that costs a hospital $2.75 should no longer be invoiced to patients as a line item for $52.00. We don’t want our government wasting money on $200 toilet plungers, why should consumers pay 500 to 1000 percent markup on hospital supplies and pharmaceuticals?

I’m certain no change will happen without a serious change in political leadership. The corporate lobbies in Washington are the only real interest of our legislators. The current Administration and Congress will fill the media with international conflict, self-made wars of convenience, and Congressional porn scandals long enough to distract you from their investments in corporations they pass laws in support of. Two of their favorites? Hospital Corporation of America and Glaxo Smith Kline. Just look and the recent Medicare “Reform” Act. “A big wet kiss for the Pharma Industry”. The rich get richer and the poor get sick and go bankrupt. And by the way you still owe them for the enema.