Motivational Poster of The Week

Healthcare: The Day After

Those of us who care enough to pay attention to the recent healthcare debates have listened intently to try and discern the direction that our country is going. This needs to be done, primarily, because politicians rarely say what they mean and generally talk out of both sides of their collective mouths.

Once all the political rhetoric has been peeled away from the various arguments, and the “truth” (or at least something that’s fairly close to the truth) can be revealed, only then can we figure out what the hell is really going on.



Is the newly signed healthcare bill socialized medicine, today? No.

Does the newly signed healthcare bill pave the way for socialized medicine in the future? Absolutely.



That’s what frightens me the most about the entire situation. Medicare was thought to be great when it first reared its head. Now we know that is a complete joke that will shortly bankrupt this country. Social Security has been insolvent for years now, and this healthcare bill will no doubt follow suit.

The bottom line is this; do you, as free men and women want to have to go to the Federal Government for your healthcare, taxes, mortgages, and student loans? Because that’s where we’re at people!!!

The government seems to be hell-bent on providing ALL of our needs! Can anyone say "Russia"? This bill aims to completely shift the paradigm for insurance of all types. Auto insurance will be next, then homeowner’s insurance.



Look, if you smoke, knock yourself out; have a great time, but don’t ask me (a non-smoker) to pay for the higher premiums that you incur because of the decision YOU made to smoke. You are at a greater risk to kick the bucket than I am, therefore, your health insurance should cost more. Why is this so difficult to grasp?

Now before you bleeding-heart liberals dive in and start screaming about the lack of coverage for uninsured people; it is completely true that the system as it stands is jacked up.

But I feel that the open market is the best place to solve the issue; not Uncle Sam. One of the main reasons that new medicines and devices cost so

much is directly BECAUSE OF THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT / F.D.A.

Where does the train stop? How much government is enough? How many hand-outs and entitlement programs (funded by tax-payers) are enough to satisfy the craving for “free”? At what point do we take responsibility and accountability for our actions regarding our health? I’ve said 1000 times previously, health insurance will not make you healthier. All it’s going to do is allow you to run up even more medical bills that the government (see taxpayers) have to find a way to pay for. It makes no sense whatsoever!

If Uncle Sam would simply get out of the way and let the professionals take care of this mess, things would work out much better. We’ve seen the government’s best in action at the I.R.S. and the Post Office. Do you seriously want these buffoons determining when you are treated, by whom you are treated, and even IF you will be treated for whatever ails you? That’s precisely what is going to happen before the end of this decade.

In any case, the issue is far from being over as fourteen states have already lined up to file suit against the U.S. Government on the basis of the healthcare bill being unconstitutional. This one ought to be fun!

Motivational Poster of The Week

The Ex and Healthcare

As I’ve set back and listened to the debate raging in out nation’s Capitol, I find myself at a loss for the words to describe the lunacy that ensues daily in Washington. While “healthcare reform” is the term du jour, no one really seems to be addressing one of the core issues within the current healthcare structure; malpractice fraud and the overwhelming cost of needless litigation. When a patient sues a physician, it causes the doctor to practice more defensively; hence the term “defensive medicine”.



Case in point; my ex-wife, in all her wisdom, decided that my eldest daughter needed to go to the emergency room (see: expensive healthcare) for a superficial injury she received while playing in a soccer match over the weekend. She was kicked with the soccer ball, at close range, which struck her on the inside of her left thigh. It left a rather ugly indentation that is a perfect replica of the laces on a soccer ball. Now, while I marveled at my daughter’s soccer prowess, and bullet-proof defensive skills, I did not, at any time, deem her injury worthy of a trip to the E.R. That’s because it’s a superficial wound! There’s nothing to be done for it save ice and Ibuprofen, which I had been administering all weekend.



Now anyone that has been paying a modicum of attention to the healthcare debate in Washington would know that one of the reasons, as previously stated, that health insurance premiums continue to rise is because more and more healthcare professionals are being forced to practice defensive medicine so they don’t get sued. So there are a battery of tests run for the smallest injury or wound; and, that’s right, you guessed it, my daughter was the unknowing victim of defensive medicine. They actually X-rayed her leg! Now listen…..you do not have to have the letters, “M.D.” after your name to know that the chances of a rubber ball filled with air breaking the strongest bone in the body, the femur, are slim and none!



So why the X-ray? It’s expected by the patients today. We have been trained that that is the process we are to go through in order to receive a correct diagnosis. Lord forbid that the good doctor misdiagnose a superficial skin wound! What should have happened in this particular case is that the triage nurse, upon checking in my daughter, and thereby discovering the cause of her injury, should have given her 4 Ibuprofen, a Zip-lock bag full of ice, and a bill for $5 and laughed her mother out of the E.R.

Sadly, this did not happen, but the mere thought of it does make me warm inside. Now I realize that I’m a bit biased when it comes to the ex, but I think you get my drift here. It’s unnecessary and unwarranted E.R. visits just like this one that are driving our healthcare costs through the roof. But the physician’s hands are literally tied. If he were to diagnose such an injury without running the patient through some $3 million machine, there would undoubtedly be hell to pay. So the ex spent roughly $300 and my daughter left in EXACTLY the same condition in which she showed up. Does anyone think this is an issue, or is it just me?

Is the healthcare system out of whack? Yes.

Is my ex-wife an idiot? Yes.

We can’t fix “stupid”, but there’s still hope for the American healthcare system. We just need someone with the stones to step up to the plate and tell people, “No”.

(More on “No” later)

Quote O' The Day

"The federal government would run a health care system - or a public plan option - with the compassion of the IRS, the efficiency of the post office, and the incompetence of Katrina."



The Patient's Choice Act

Way to go Tennessee!!

As if the rest of the free world doesn't consider Tennesseans to be illiterate, inbred, hillbillies, the Memphis police department has stepped in to close the debate. According to a report from Devlin Barrett of the AP, http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20100314/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_pentagon_metro_shooting_guns;_ylt=Arb7ASs7kXfmiI4ckavu5EWs0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTN2dW9odXZjBGFzc2V0A2FwLzIwMTAwMzE0L3VzX3BlbnRhZ29uX21ldHJvX3Nob290aW5nX2d1bnMEY2NvZGUDbW9zdHBvcHVsYXIEY3BvcwMxBHBvcwMzBHB0A2hvbWVfY29rZQRzZWMDeW5fdG9wX3N0b3J5BHNsawNmdWxsbmJzcHN0b3I
the guns used in both the recent Pentagon shooting, and the one that occurred at a Las Vegas courthouse both came from the great state of Tennessee; courtesy of the Memphis police department. Apparently, police departments have the option to sell weapons that have been collected from various cases in order to buy weapons for the department, as well as other equipment, such as Kevlar vests. From what I read in the article it has been common practice in the past for police departments to do this. But until now, no one ever tried to attack the Pentagon with a freaking handgun!!!
So, basically, what Memphis has done is to further promote Southern stereotypes and set us back another 25 years or so. Thank you Memphis! You know, I have pushing fr years now to have Arkansas buy Memphis from us dirt-cheap. This only strengthens the case to have Memphis sold at auction by Powell Auction Co.
Way to go Memphis! I never liked you anyway.....

Linday Lohan Takes Swipe at E-Trade Babies. Huh?

Lindsay Lohan takes swipe at E-Trade babies



Tue Mar 9, 4:24 pm ET

MINEOLA, N.Y. – Lindsay Lohan is feuding with the E-Trade babies.
The actress has filed a $100 million lawsuit claiming a television ad for the Wall Street firm that aired during the Super Bowl and Olympics was modeled after her.
Talking babies in the ad engage in chatter that refers to "milkaholic Lindsay." The 23-year-old actress has famously sought substance abuse treatment.
Lohan's name was never mentioned. But her New York lawyer contends that "Lindsay" is an equally recognizable moniker for her client — like that of Oprah or Madonna.
Lohan's legal team is seeking an injunction to stop future airings.
An E-Trade spokeswoman is declining to comment.

My deal here is that, while I certainly don't think of Ms. Lohan when I here the name "Lindsay", I do think of her when I here the suffix, "holic". Maybe Lindsay should just crawl back into rehab and forget that none of us care if she ever comes out.

Thank God for Carl Edwards

I personally do not like Carl Edwards. I think he is a punk.....however, he is EXACTLY what NASCAR needs right now; some attitude. Turn the boys loose on Bristol because we all know that Bristol is "racin' the way it oughta' be"!!

9 Reasons Why NASCAR Sucks and Is Losing Support

Earlier this week, my Dad and I were having a conversation about NASCAR. (Now I fully understand that some of my readers just got up and walked away from the computer. No problem; everything on this blog isn’t for everybody.) I was telling my Dad about calling the local sports talk radio program early Saturday morning and going on a bit of a rant about NASCAR and its multiple shortcomings.

Any opportunity that I get to shred NASCAR, I will happily do so. And thus, the NASCAR blog post was conceived.



I would like to give my readers 9 reasons why the “sport” of NASCAR completely and unequivocally sucks and why it is losing support faster than Obama’s healthcare reform.



#1: Too many “cookie-cutter” tracks. For those of you who are wise enough to not care about NASCAR, a “cookie-cutter” track is a term generally used to refer to a 1 ½ mile oval track that seems to be all the rage in NASCAR racing these days. There is generally no side-by-side racing (or as I like to call it, “exciting racing”), and the track itself seems to be nearly as wide as it is long. As my Dad so loving puts it, “Hell, those guys could spin for 2 days before they hit anything solid.” Although I don’t have the actual number of tracks that fall into this dubious category, I would place the number somewhere in the neighborhood of 100 or so…….oh, wait! I’m sorry, there aren’t even that many NASCAR tracks on the current circuit, it just seems that way.



#2 Too many variables to determine the actual winner of a race. Okay, here is the MAIN reason that I only watch the last 25 laps of any NASCAR race, save Bristol. Isn’t racing supposed to be about the fastest thing winning? The fastest human; the fastest boat; the fastest, oh I don’t know……RACE CAR????? The thought of having some jackleg from Podunk Alabama, i.e. the front left tire changer on the pit crew, determine whether or not a driver wins a race is the single most idiotic concept that I can imagine in sports today. If we’re going to go this route, why not let the beer vendor at the baseball game call balls and strikes? Or how about letting my wife (love you honey!) referee a soccer match? It makes just about as much sense. Geez! Do I have to think of everything?



#3 Boring races. See point #1 above.



#4 Dale Earnhardt, Jr. This poor fellow had the bad luck of being born the son of one of the greatest drivers in NASCAR history. And then had the momentary lapse in judgment to try and follow in his father’s footsteps. NASCAR, the company, has marketed the soul out of Dale, Jr., and as we are now coming to see, he couldn’t carry his Daddy’s lug wrench on his best day at the track. He is now on the top team in NASCAR, Hendrick Motorsports, home of 4-time champions, Jeff Gordon and current champ, Jimmy Johnson. (more on this pitiful boob later). “Junior” is being shown to be nothing less than a fraud. He is not in the same class as his father as a driver. NASCAR puts all of its marketing eggs into Dale Jr.’s basket and race fans now see him for what he really is…..Kyle Petty.



#5 Jimmie Johnson is simply waaaaaay too vanilla. Jimmie Johnson, the current, defending king of NASCAR, is by all accounts is a well-mannered, likeable guy. He never says the wrong thing in an interview; he has never been caught drinking and driving; and word has it that Pope Benedict is considering him for sainthood at the end of the season if he can pull off 5 in a row! All these traits are great. I’d let him date my daughter. The problem is, he’s a NASCAR driver; not running for political office. Fans of the “sport” want to see Dale Sr. move someone out of the way to win at Bristol. They want a beer-swilling, loud-mouth redneck to be their anointed king, and J.J. just ain’t it! I wonder if John Daley’s golf career would allow him to try and qualify this weekend.



#6 Too many changes to the car to make things “fair” (Ugh!). Most of you know how I feel about the entire concept of “fair”; it makes me want to projectile vomit. The very essence of sports is that the best _______ wins. If you’re car isn’t fast enough to compete on a weekly basis, you might want to seek gameful employment elsewhere. If Ford builds a faster car than Chevrolet, then everybody go and get a Ford!!! Okay, I seriously have to stop on this point, because I just did vomit on my keyboard……..one moment please.



#7 Slowing down the cars???????? Now correct me if I‘m wrong here, but isn’t this RACING? I curse the individual that invented the restrictor plate. I can recall a time when “Awesome Bill” from Dawsonville was running laps at Daytona well over 200 miles per hour. And then one car crash injures some half-inebriated fan, and the cars are suddenly going too fast. This rule is second on the stupidity scale, right after the inbred tire-changer from Alabama determining whether or not his driver wins the race. This is also why I prefer NHRA drag racing to NASCAR. They have 8000 horsepower and are trying to faster!!!! You might want to take a few notes NASCAR.



#8 The races are too freakin’ long. 500 miles, or in real time 4 hours, is simply too long to sit in the baking sun and watch 43 dudes turn left. The only parts of the race that really matter anyway are the first 25 laps and the last 25 laps. This is because this is the only time when any real racing is taking place. The rest of the time, the boys are just riding around in their hotrods. So let’s do this; make all the races 75-100 laps. THEN you will see some racing! The drivers won’t be as tired, the fans won’t be nearly as drunk, and the racing will be more exciting. Everybody wins!



#9 Boring races. I know that I already touched on this one, but it needs more development than I allowed it in the previous point. The races, as we know, are too long; both in distance and real time. The cookie-cutter tracks have made this even more undesirable with 16-wide racing, and “spinning for 2 days and not hitting something solid!” So here’s what NASCAR should do; of the 43 participants in the race, 20 of them should be people who have never driven a NASCAR and/or blue-hairs from South Florida who haven’t held a driver’s license in the past 10 years. Or better yet, leave all the regular drivers in the field and have half of them drive in the opposite direction than the rest of the field! Wow! Now THAT’S exciting racing. Don’t nod off at the wheel fellas. It could be a very bad day if you do!

Jim Bunning, Hallof Fame Pitcher; Pitiful Legislator; Total Piece of Crap

Jim Bunning, the Republican senator (note that I will use a small "s" when referring to him) from Kentucky is at it again. He has once again held up the much-needed extension on unemployment benefits. He has accomplished this single-handedly and for no other reason than he "wants the $10 billion price of extending the programs offset by by reductions in spending elsewhere in the budget not to drive up the deficit." (yahoonews.com)

Now I would normally applaud his boldness to try and reel in the out-of-control spending that has gone on for decades in Washington; but now really isn't the time senator! People are out of work, and apparently cannot find work and need this money. Are you seriously playing political Monopoly (good word to use here) with the taxpayers money? Especially when it is going directly to meet their immediate needs? You are some piece of work fella'!!

Here's the real kicker though....dear senator Bunning isn't running for reelection this year!! Wow! It never ceases to amaze me how brave and daring a politician becomes when they have nothing to lose! He's not running for his senate seat again, so what does he care what people, especially his own constituents, might think about his little ploy to gain some attention.

According to the article in yahoonews.com, nearly 1.2 million unemployed workers will lose their jobless benefits, including 14,000 Kentuckians. Has this old man completely lost all sense of reality and reason? Does he not understand that Kentuckians are armed to the teeth and will shoot him on sight? I mean, play your little silly-ass games all you want, but don't piss off 14,000 rednecks with shotguns! Very bad play senator....rest in peace.

Motivational Poster of The Week