Addiction Management

If I hadn't bled all over my kitchen over the weekend I would have assumed there was liquid caffeine running through my veins, so I have no room to mock anyone for their addiction to legally-attainable substances*.

I am very good at making sure I have access to adequate coffee/soda supplies in my apartment/cubicle/road trips, and Excedrin to keep the headaches away should I fail. Folgers singles--the coffee snob shudders, but you throw some milk and sugar in there, and Thanksgiving morning at a house with no coffeemaker becomes bearable, while you try to convince someone to go to Dunkin Donuts and get you some brewed coffee. :)

I realize this is junkie behavior.

But I would never go outside in -20°F weather with no socks looking for a fix (warning: gory medical photos). Hell, I've got wool socks over my cotton socks and my waterproof insulated boots just to dig out my car and go grocery shopping when it's +20°F.

Do you file this under "global warming is deadly!" or "tobacco use is deadly!"??

No word on whether this dumbass has medical insurance, but since they didn't leave him to die on the street he must (if President Obama isn't lying to me...hah!); in the brave new world of government healthcare I'm sure he'll pay a bigger penalty for smoking than he will be for being stupid. Fat people--well, you don't deserve surgery unrelated to your condition, because of your "lifestyle choices." Snowboarders--that knee replacement is no problem!

But mostly I'm annoyed with the tone of the article. We're supposed to feel sorry for him, he almost died, he might lose toes...he's an idiot. The idiot supply in this country is in no danger of drying up.

It's a good cautionary tale--wear socks in January, nothing good happens when you go out after midnight--but I think they're missing a bigger picture here. There's no more personal responsibility/adulthood anymore. A 27-year-old man is a kid who needs our sympathy because no one reminded him to put on socks before he went outside in the snow. Seriously!? And this gets him on TV?

If he gets a book deal, it's safe to say western civilization is dead.

Alright, I need more coffee.

(I will say that once I got past the "poor kid" crap, I did find learning about how they treat frostbite/hypothermia, in case I'm stupid enough to go out on the NY Thruway between now and the end of Lake Effect Snow Season, and two pairs of socks aren't enough.)

* I do not believe hardcore junkies or even teenagers shooting up heroin for the first time are going to read a government pamphlet, even if it's yellow. Although I guess I'm mocking the "wanna make a difference without doing any real work" nanny crowd more than the users here, aren't I?

Office Numbers for Senators "undecided" on Motion to Proceed

Nelson's other numbers:
(402) 391-3411
(402) 441-4600
(308) 631-7614
(308) 293-5818
(402) 209-3595

Landrieu's other numbers:
(504) 589-2427
(225) 389-0395
(318) 676-3085
(337) 436-6650
Her website sounds like she's already accepted the bribe.

Bayh's other numbers:
(317) 554-0750
(812) 465-6500
(260) 426-3151
(219) 852-2763
(812) 218-2317
(574) 236-8302

Blanche's other numbers:
1-800-352-9364
(870)382-1023
(870) 910-6896
(479) 251-1224
(870) 774-3106


Probably all closed for the weekend, but save this list for Monday.

This remind you of anyone?

Lots of anyones, actually.

Metaphor

Selling us stuff we don't need, forcing it upon us when we don't want it, then handing us a bill: Grobama, totally tone deaf, doesn't care if you don't have ears--you're going to buy his earmuffs. Because he's selling earmuffs, and only earmuffs, don't bother distracting him with alternatives (elbowmuffs!), hold still and shut up and that'll be seven dollars.

Worth noting that this is Classic Sesame Street; these days Kermit would play along so as not to hurt Grover's precious self-esteem.

(What? No, I've been watching the German-language Sesamstrasse as an intellectual exercise. I know nahe and fern now. Heh heh.)

In which I can't separate baseball and politics

Yesterday I was reading rumors about "WH Counsel Craig" and saw "WH Craig Counsell" and couldn't figure out what the W stands for.

Today I'm wondering how much Corey Hart's appendectomy cost relative to the "surtax" his salary would be subjected to by Obamacare...and if he would have gotten the surgery early enough--or if he (or his employer) would have had to pay for treatment in Bermuda--under the plan the Democrats are going to institute in September regardless of the will of the people. And probably without even knowing what the fuck the actual plan SAYS.

(I'm guessing normal people don't have these concerns. They just post on Facebook about how they're bored of hearing people talk about Obama/Congress. I'm starting to look forward to the gulag, just to get away from people who couldn't care less about living in a fascist dictatorship as long as there's something on TV and cute dresses at the mall.)

It's worse than I thought.

I'm pretty much Bob here (except I couldn't find a quote in WI less than $420/mo, even explicitly requesting pregnancy not be included, and that's waaaaaaay more than I spend out of pocket in a year)--I'm going to be fined a couple months' rent and still have no health insurance (which is not the same as "no health care"...but that confisicated money would certainly come in handy when I see a doctor or a dentist, assholes).

Worse, if I start making more money and decide to purchase health insurance, insurers won't be allowed to sell it to me. The public option is the ONLY option.*

How the hell am I a criminal requiring punishment for not purchasing a product no one is legally allowed to sell to me?!

I got "unfriended" on Facebook this week when I pointed out to someone complaining that his doctor's office charged him for filling out and mailing some paperwork that office overhead needed to process his request--the woman who took his call, the woman who dug out his records (and/or the computer system that holds his records--for a one-doc practice, that software run high six-figures) and copied his info into the form, the phone, the copier, the electricity, the postage to mail his paperwork, not to mention the malpractice insurance--was not free. Apparently this guy is one of those assholes who thinks doctors and their staff should be providing their services to him for free, at a loss to themselves.

And that's where I'm getting stuck. How did we get to a point where everyone believes they deserve free services at a loss to everyone else, and believes punishing people who don't want to pay other people's way is just?

*Now taking bets on how long it will be before hospitals and clinics are legally forbidden from seeing uninsured patients in exchange for cash, thereby forcing everyone into buying the public option or leaving the country to be seen (or, in case of an emergency, being left to die on the street). If I was a doc with a private practice, I would totally be financing an MRI machine and relocating to the Bahamas.

So much for creating or saving

Congress steps up to deliver another job-killing, economy-stifling totalitarian regulatory bill to The Won for signing--and it will be pushed through partially-read so Nancy and Barry aren't late for their vacations, like that $787B fail in February was.

Imagine trying to explain to any Founder that the government is going to fine him percentage of his income unless he purchases a specific product (...and some of them will be fined anyway for the crime of "household income over the NFL league minimum").

Why would anyone want the government in charge of their medical decisions?!?!

Testimony about unsafe/illegal working conditions at the Agriprocessor plant in Postville may be lost because the prosecution didn't get depositions scheduled before the deportations of illegal aliens they employed.

I'm not really surprised that different federal bureaucracies don't communicate. But imagine the assorted inevitable disasters when the various federal bureaucracies need 20 days to process requests from your doctor, or don't submit the proper forms to the right clinic before your scheduled operation...

I've long been arguing that immigration enforcement is more humanitarian than our current setup--trafficked "sex workers" (including children) and other illegal workers can't freely contact the local authorities to report their abusers--so this just fries my hash anyway.

Well.

The guy from Oak Creek who beat his beagle to death instead of calling the Human Society for a cut-rate euthanasia is going to the House of Corrections (don't read the article if your squeamish or eating breakfast). And how unsurprising to learn he's been on drugs and was drinking the night before he killed his dog--had enough money for beer, but not for a sliding-scale vet fee? I feel sorry for the kid, I know I'll be crazy with grief if Satan's Little Helper gets sick, but not crazy enough to beat him to death with a baseball bat to save ten bucks.

Maybe they can teach him some priorities while he's being "corrected", but I doubt it.

I'm getting really sick of good people getting stuck paying room and board for worthless people. Whack the guy in the head with a baseball bat a few times and call it done. The guy who beat his girlfriend's baby to death with a video game controller? Beat him to death with a video game controller and call it done (insert criticism of 19-year-olds with toddlers dating 26-y-o men here). The illegal alien who got "so damn drunk" and shot the sheriff's deputy on the side of the road? Shoot him and leave him on the side of the road. Maybe it won't deter anyone from being a violent shit-head, but it should cut down on repeat offenders and ease prison overcrowding.


Actually, I'm just getting sick of the Marxist direction U.S. society is taking. Everytime Michelle Obama or Hillary Clinton get applause from morons after promising to take my wages away for redistribution, I start thinking about emigrating somewhere people realize Communism is oppressive--except I can't figure out where that might be. Rich women, married to rich men, insisting spinsters with a negative debt-to-asset ratio don't deserve to keep their wages because the government should pay for other women's maternity care (that's the message I got from Mrs. Obama's speech in PA...)? This can't possibly be what Thomas Jefferson had in mind when he wrote the Declaration of Independence.

(I can't blog about politics without getting angry and sad and regretful and angry. It might just be beer and quilts for awhile.)

What the headline should read

Well-paid woman fights to make health insurance even LESS affordable for working-class Americans.

State-mandated $50k/yr of treatment? For 16 years? That's a hefty premium hike for everyone else.

I'm not sure I understand why I'm expected to pay for everyone else's bad luck. Or meddling feel-gooders' need to be warm and fuzzy.

Something to look forward to under HillaryCare

Or ObamaCare, or, HuckaMed...

A new study has found such sporting events are associated with a 326% increase in cardiac emergencies among men and nearly a doubled risk among women. These are actual myocardial infarctions and cardiac arrhythmias, not surrogate endpoints for heart problems. For those with heart disease, the risks are twice those of people without a history of heart problems.

Calls have already begun to ban all competitive sports to protect public health and contain healthcare costs...

I hate soccer.