We are a commune of inquiring, skeptical, politically centrist, capitalist, anglophile, traditionalist New England Yankee humans, humanoids, and animals with many interests beyond and above politics. Each of us has had a high-school education (or GED), but all had ADD so didn't pay attention very well, especially the dogs. Each one of us does "try my best to be just like I am," and none of us enjoys working for others, including for Maggie, from whom we receive neither a nickel nor a dime. Freedom from nags, cranks, government, do-gooders, control-freaks and idiots is all that we ask for.
People ask me, as a Physician, whether or how I would reform healthcare. (What they mean, it turns out, is not to reform medical care but to change how medical insurance works. Nobody really wants medical care in the US to change because it is the best and most caring in the world, by far, thanks to our free choices, national prosperity, brains, and freedom in general.)
It's become clear to me that people are divided into two basic camps on medical insurance: those who want to insure cheaply against major expense and those who want what amounts to pre-paid medical care. In any event, it is stunning to me that 85% of Americans were content with their medical care situation pre-Obamacare so I'm not sure that represented any crisis requiring massive Federal intervention and control.
As someone whose bias is against government getting involved further in our lives, if I were King here's what I would do about medical insurance - free it up:
1. I'd permit medical insurors to create national markets for insurance, like MLS does with real estate. They would be happy to do so were they free to do that.
2. I'd make medical insurance portable across state lines, and detach it from employment. If any employer wants to chip in, or if a union contract requires a business to chip in, fine. They could offer vouchers as a benefit, if they want to.
3. I'd demand that insurors insure everybody who wants to buy some, creating high-risk pools just as they do for auto insurance if needed.
4. I would permit the freedom to sell any kind or style of medical insurance people might want with whatever sort of coverage they want to buy. Or not to buy, if they want. It's a free country, and people are free to be foolish or to trust in the benevolence of others.
5. Regarding Medicare and Medicaid, I would fold them together somehow as means-tested charities for the poor, run by states or municipalities.
(As an off-topic aside, let me tell you the problems with many government-paid Medicaid patients and charity patients: they miss appointments, they are not appreciative and treat you like a servant, they will not make morning appointments, they resist advice, their fees do not pay the rent so docs have to limit their numbers - and they are prone to lawsuits against you. I know about this, because I do around 10-15% charity work in my office as my form of tithing, volunteer one day/week in a charity clinic, and teach for free 1/2 day/week. Just another greedy doc. )
Addendum: A reader asks about tort reform. Good question. God knows how much of medical expenses are CYA by docs and hospitals. The reality is that medical care is an art, and that any medical decision can be challenged or questioned if somebody wants to sue their doc.
" If you want to provide public services to a lot of poor people, you need a lot of rich people to pay taxes. And if you provide such services, immigrants will pour in, and the most diligent and cleverest of them will fight for the available spots in the best schools. We’re seeing the fruits of New York’s success every day. There’s nothing wrong with New York that a million Asian immigrants wouldn’t fix really fast."
Hunting Woodcock, which we usually do in conjunction with hunting Ruffed Grouse, is an interesting and challenging sport. They tend to fly in a spiral, and many of us have a moment of remorse when we take one of these lovely little tasty birds from the dog.
The dog is needed not so much to flush them or point them as to find them when shot. Their camo is perfect.
Always make a sauce for them by sauteeing all of their innards and guts in butter and shallots, and shmooshing them up with a fork with a little brandy and pepper. There's no mess in there, because they conveniently flush out their GI track when they flush.
Readers know that the best Woodcock recipe is Woodcock Ravioli in a splash of gibier sauce and shaved black truffle on top.
"The job market is so awful now, and people don't take you seriously with anything less," said Linda Ahlskog, a part-Hispanic graphic-design student in Natchitoches, La. Jordan Machado, a Hispanic from Cypress, Calif., who runs his own business, said he would "support" his daughter if she decided to join the military or learn a trade, but "especially nowadays … in order to get that middle-class money, you need to have that degree." Even Parkinson, the Ohio electrician, although skeptical of the four-year commitment, is working to complete a two-year degree. "I'm more than halfway there, I might as well get it. It never hurts to get an education or degree, but as far as going to a four-year college and taking on major debt, you might not have a job when you get done. I wouldn't do it."
A colleague at work confided in me, over beers, that he and his girl started out with nudist cruises but have "graduated" to "Lifestyle" Cruising. I had never heard of this.
Nudism cruises are fairly sedate, it seems, but for "Lifestyle" the organizers charter a cruise boat for a few days of an orgiastic circus.
Lose your inhibitions, etc., I suppose. It does not sound like a New England Yankee sort of thing. They make you bring a heterosexual date for sharing. I don't think these things exist for gays, but who knows?
And for what? Eighty-five percent of Americans were happy with their health care before Obamacare, according to the American Customer Satisfaction Index — higher than almost any other product or service polled, with even Amazon coming in at 88 percent satisfaction. Even uninsured Americans were as satisfied with their health care as Canadians were with their national health care.
If Obamacare is fully implemented, at least 129 million (68%) will not be able to keep their previous health care plan either because they already have or will lose that coverage by the end of 2014.
One comment: It's not "health care," it's "medical care," and it's not even "medical care" - it's medical insurance. People want valuable stuff for free. That will never happen. I am still waiting for my free legal care.
One more link. Somebody put this together for laughs: My Cancellation
Kennedy’s murder was a national tragedy, to be sure, but an
honest assessment of his record shows that our lawless and reckless
35th president was anything but a national treasure.
I have missed meaningful paper gains in the past year by being out of equities. I must be a lousy gambler. I steer clear of casinos. Zero Hedge explains what I have been seeing this year: The worse the economic numbers are, the higher the markets go. That's because lousy real numbers make the Fed afraid of quitting QE (which they should have done more than a year ago) and want to print money like crazy.
AKA "Boom-de re". Probably an 1890s whorehouse song, later a music hall tune. (Various lyrics at that link.) Here's Mary Martin around 1943 (a decade after giving birth to Larry Hagman):
It may seem odd to take advice from a cartoonist, but "Dilbert" is usually spot-on with its portrayal of the absurdities we run into here in the office ranks.
Scott Adams has a unique understanding of human nature. He also understands management reality, which he juxtaposes with the goal-based thoughts of standard office denizens. The result is a very humorous and informative strip.
His advice on how to manage your career is equally useful. Most of us are so far along, it may not benefit us at this stage of our careers. You're never too old to learn, though. My career improved after I made some alterations in office demeanor in my late 40's, and I continue to evolve.
I shared the linked article with my staff and my sons. It makes several points which I truly believe.
It's rare to see anyone under 30 with a camera anymore. The usefulness and use of cell phone cameras is growing to the point that there are now cell phone photo contests. I still like my point and shoot and my Canon SX50, but never have one with me when I need it. Also, I rarely carry my cell phone: nobody has my number.
A reader sends in this pic from a "TMobile $99 Nokia 521 no contract smartphone w 4 " screen."
The American Psychiatric Association is confused about the PC answer to that question. It must be difficult to be both multiculturally-sensitive and yet PC in the American way, given that pedophilia seems quite accepted in Muslim areas along with recreational homosexuality, rape, etc.
“In the hands of a skillful indoctrinator, the average student not only thinks what the indoctrinator wants him to think . . . but is altogether positive that he has arrived at his position by independent intellectual exertion. This man is outraged by the suggestion that he is the flesh-and-blood tribute to the success of his indoctrinators.”
We have some number of readers who think NYC is Gomorrah. It's Gotham, not Gomorrah. I'm a country boy, but I love it and find the neighborhoods endlessly fascinating.
I spent yesterday overseeing a relative who had a procedure at the Hospital for Special Surgery. It's ranked #1 in the world for Orthopedics. I have rarely seen any place run in such a friendly, cheerful, efficient, and well-organized manner. Even their security people are full of Good Morning and Welcome and How Can I Help You?, etc.
A chilly day in New York. As various things were going on, I got out to stroll around 1st and 2nd Avenues a bit, on the Upper East Side of Manhattan in the pleasant but not fancy part of the East Side, and I made a wonderful new 83 year-old friend in the Ambulatory Surgery waiting area too. A retired Econ. Prof from Chicago with a remarkable life story but I won't go into it. Everybody has a story, don't they? His wife was getting a shoulder repair.
Tourists never see the Upper East Side, way over near the East River. Lots of people live and/or work there, but it's a hike to the Lexington Ave. line (The Second Ave. El was torn down in 1942, and has not been replaced yet).
Marianne used to enjoy these sort of pics - just a random street photo gallery -
A "rape culture" in America? I don't think so. For starters, it's a felony and I'd guess 100% of Americans think it should be. The letter-writer is right, of course.
Trading is not investing, but people make money doing it. This is a fascinating view of a growing part of Wall St. and world markets, and interesting people too. (H/T Exposing Wall Street's Hidden "Code")
The problem now is not the delivery system of the program, it’s the program itself. Not the computer screen but what’s inside the program. This is something you can’t get the IT guy in to fix.
They said if you liked your insurance you could keep your insurance—but that’s not true. It was never true! They said if you liked your doctor you could keep your doctor—but that’s not true. It was never true! They said they would cover everyone who needed it, and instead people who had coverage are losing it—millions of them! They said they would make insurance less expensive—but it’s more expensive! Premium shock, deductible shock. They said don’t worry, your health information will be secure, but instead the whole setup looks like a hacker’s holiday. Bad guys are apparently already going for your private information.
80+% of Americans were comfortable with what they had, before all of this. That's a high % for anything.
On paper, the $4,955 family is poor. But so were the Polynesian beach combers. Poverty is relative. From the perspective of a white male capitalist, the $4,955 family is ridiculously poor, but its life is actually comfortable and worry-free compared to the $110,729 family.
The famous rebel spy Nathan Hale taught in this one-room school in East Haddam, CT (then a part of Moodus, CT), for a short while after graduating from Yale. He felt too isolated there, apparently, so took another teaching job in the city down in New London.
Q: Where can single men over the age of 60 find younger women who are interested in them? A: Try a bookstore, under Fiction.
Q: What can a man do while his wife is going Through menopause? A: Keep busy. If handy with tools, you can finish the basement. When done, you have a place to live.
Q: Someone has told me that menopause is mentioned in the Bible... Is that true? Where is it? A: Yes. Matthew 14:92: "And Mary rode Joseph's ass all the way to Egypt ..."
Q: How can I increase the heart rate of my over-60 year-old mate? A: Tell him you're pregnant.
Q: How can I avoid that terrible curse of unsightly wrinkles? A: Take off your glasses.
Q: Seriously! What can I do for these Crow's feet and all those wrinkles on my face? A: Go braless. It will usually pull them out..
Q: Why should 60-plus people use valet parking? A: Valets don't forget where they park your car.
Q: Is it common for 60-plus year olds to have problems with short term memory storage? A: Storing memory is not a problem, Retrieving it is the problem.
Q: As people age, do they sleep more soundly? A: Yes, but usually in the afternoon.
Q: Where should 60-plus year olds look for eye glasses? A: On their foreheads.
Q: What is the most common remark made by 60-plus year olds when they enter antique stores? A: "Gosh, I remember these."
Since the 1970s, however, the World Health Organisation has defined health as ‘a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being’ and demands ‘Health for All’.
Good grief. I suppose that will ensure steady work for the public health people forever.
A reader sent that pic of his pup Dexter retrieving a Woodcock. Many dogs will not pick up a Woodcock - something about their odor.
Best piece I've seen on the politics of Obamacare, by McArdle:
Friction Physics Reveals Details Of How People