Symbolism At Its Worst

What's the point?  I admit I didn't expect Obama to sign up for the ACA and he didn't disappoint me though he'd have you believe otherwise. He did tell us he was going to do so knowing full well he wasn't.  Just what did he sign up for?

He didn't go through the long wait, his staffers did.  And you can be sure none of his sensitive information was shared with the site anyway.  But what did they actually do?  Other than log on to the site?  So why the charade?

He gets his health care through the military as commander in chief.  He will continue to do so.

The gesture was an empty one which has become the norm with this President.  In fact the whole law is an empty gesture at this point since he has changed it so many times.

What's the point of passing legislation, even bad legislation with the support of only one party, if the President can continually change it on a whim without consulting Congress?  When is it no longer the law that was passed therefore null and void? With all the exemptions and delays and tweaks does any one know what exactly it says anymore? I'll bet even the "Secretary" doesn't - if she ever did. The law suits will be coming.  Bet on it.

To me this is about as low as it can go.  This is the President's signature legislation and he won't even be enrolled in it.  Why?  Could he not drop the military coverage for the one of his own creation?  He can do what he wants - he has already shown that so my guess is he could. It's just another obfuscation.

I think it's an unconscionable slap in the face of every American citizen who is being forced to make changes they neither need nor want while he goes blithly on his way untouched by it. 

Here's to You A&E! Braaaak!

Why, oh why,  does everything have to become an issue?  Duck Dynasty is meant to be entertainment, pure and simple.  And that's what it is.  Simple. Goofy. Redneck. Entertaining.

A show that has propelled a family to fame and fortune because they produced a great duck call.  Man, if that isn't living the American dream, what is?

With that fame and fortune come things that aren't quite so innocent.  A magazine interview becomes an expose on politically incorrect thinking which is seized upon by extremists for a cause - that everyone must view them as they view themselves.  Acceptable. Well, tough.  Not everyone feels the same.

So who are these bearded wonders?  I don't know. A family of Louisiana Rednecks who make no apology for who they are nor should they.  Certainly not to a cable channel that programs questionable content all the time if you choose to look at it that way.

It reminds me of the Paula Deen flap over having used the "n" word 30 some years ago.  Who growing up in the same environment didn't?  In this case you have a family deeply steeped in the teachings of the bible.  They don't fool around with other women.  They're a tight family unit.  They care for their kids and each other. They end their programs gathered around a table and thank the Lord for their blessings.

That the patriarch doesn't see homosexuality as normal,  but as a sin along with other oddities such as bestiality shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone. Why did it even have to come up in an interview?  These people are not and don't pretend to be the social arbiters of the nation or even of their fans.  They're just having fun and making oodles of money while they're at it.

If you find them offensive watch something else. For heaven's sake don't suspend one of them for having voiced an opinion after having been asked.  You might as well bench all of them because they probably all think the same thing.  And so do many who watch them.  What are you going to do to the fans?

Watch it or not.  I do and I will even knowing, gasp, how Phil thinks. Stuff your duck with political correctness and let the rest of us enjoy the show for what it is.  Entertainment.  Pure and simple.  And clean.  And reverent toward the big duck hunter in the sky who they have to thank for their success. We could do a whole lot worse.

The Waiting Game Promotes Wondering

The holiday season is not the time of year I like to sit in doctors waiting rooms but this year I seem to be doing little else.

It has gotten me to wondering about what sort of experiences those affected by the ACA insurance debacle will be facing come the new year.

I recently got a new primary care physician.  I like him and have found that there are times when a change can be advantageous.  Even so, long term associations that have been good are hard to let go even if you get to a point of diminishing returns. Which I had.

Being of ever advancing years, I have a handful of nagging issues that had for years never been satisfactorily addressed.  On the other hand, I'm not in as bad a shape as I had thought.  With the new cholesterol guidelines and new blood pressure guidelines I see pressures to take certain meds along with ones I am taking to soon go away.  Goes to show if you wait long enough...

As for those nagging ones, my lower back has been an issue for years.  I finally reached the point where meds were no longer working.  I don't want even stronger ones.  So.  The new doc does his poking and prodding and figures the previous diagnosis had either been a red herring or I had a combination of issues.  So.  A new x-ray of a new spot.  Bingo!  A pretty good dose of arthritis in the last joint of my tailbone.  Painful. That area had never even been considered. Off to a spinal diagnostician I go and he decides to do an MRI to confirm the x-ray.  Do you see the costs going up here?

Okay.  A shot to my bottom.  Owwww.  Now I need an MRI of the old problem because I still show symptoms and the two don't relate.  That comes tomorrow.  No shot though because it hasn't been the required 10 days since the last one.  Nor could he do the MRI the same day because medicare wouldn't pay for two the same day.  However that works.  More $$$$ to be sure.  All this last minute rush is to get it in before January 1 when the new deductible cycle kicks in.

If there is to be another shot I may squeeze it in right after Christmas but I doubt it.  Why?  I still have to have a spot checked out which I suspect is the return of a pesky basal cell.  Removal, if in fact I'm correct, will again come after the first when it will be out of pocket.

Not that any of you are interested in all this but I've been thinking about all the new doctors I've seen and will be seeing all based on the change of my primary care physician.  Fortunately I wasn't wed to anyone from my past and am actually looking forward to a better level of expertise than I've experienced before.  But it is complicated, time consuming and fraught with anxiety. Will they fix the problem this time or not?

There are always the questions.  Who did that procedure, who did another one.  Over the years it's hard to remember names of someone you may have seen but once.  So familiarity has its blessings.  But so does a look see through fresh eyes.

Hopefully I'm settled in with this new entourage for some time to come.  Hopefully I'll remain in relatively good if not better health.  And hopefully the Secretary will keep her nose out of it.

For those who are just approaching major changes in not only their insurance but their health care protocols in total, I can empathize though I've had it relatively easy.  Many won't and that's enough to make anyone queasy.

Walk A Mile In Paul Ryan's Shoes

Is it all for political show?  The idea that no Republican Senator supports the Ryan-Murray budget deal?  Because it doesn't go far enough when it comes to addressing entitlements, spending, etc?

They've gone right back to the Tea Party ways - our way or the highway.  What part of "you're not going to get it all especially at one time" do they not understand?  If it's just political posturing, what's the point?

That there is a deal at all is huge considering the climate of animosity in Congress.  I thought the other day that the Republicans might be getting smart but I see I am wrong.

I suggest any one of those Republican Senators who has the nerve to sit down across the table from Patty Murray, who is a  loyal, tough Democratic worker bee, and see if they can work out a better deal. Or a deal at all.

It's a good thing the Presidential elections are two years down the road.  Republicans are going to have a tough enough time with the mid-terms until and unless something gets through to the obstructionists and explains to them how politics actually work.  They who are holding up Ronald Reagan as their beacon, the man who knew 80% was better than none.  Take it in small increments.  The wins will build. Settling for nothing but everything guarantees you'll get nothing.

It seems elementary to me that in order to move the Republican agenda forward they are going to have to keep the House, take the Senate and the Presidency.  It isn't going to happen as long as the party remains divided or if the obstinate faction wins the battle for the heart soul of the party.

The excuse for the negativity is often blamed on their constituents.  "It's what I was elected to do."  Bull.  None of you were elected to block any sort of progress what-so-ever.  You were elected to figure out how to make things work.  That doesn't mean digging in for an impossible solution then bragging about how you stood on principle!

I'd think you'd have learned after the government shut down.  Apparently you haven't.  That nullifies loyalty and support.  How many of us can you afford to lose?

We Seniors Are ABout To Get Ours!

I really wish Congress had learned from Obamacare that any bill with the Secretary shall in it spells doom.  But they haven't and it scares me.

They are scheduled, today, to vote on the "Doc Fix" which will give the feds, as in HHS, authority to dictate "applicable use criteria" for medical services for seniors.

It's tied in with reimbursements to doctors which is woefully low to begin with.  The reason why it's so difficult to find a doctor to take a medicare patient.  What has been a short term fix from year to year is now scheduled to become permanent.  Woe is us.  It gives the Secretary the right to make a judgement on things like CT scans and MRIs.  To make matters worse, the doctors went along with this in order to get higher reimbursements and while they have a say in the decisions it's a weak one.  The power is with the Secretary shall.

Now I don't know about any of you, but I do not want Kathleen Sebelius anywhere near my medical care.  She knows nothing about me nor my needs and even if she did she isn't qualified to make any determination about what is or is not appropriate.  That's between my doctors and me.

At the moment this is aimed at radiological services but contains a provision giving the Secretary the authority to expand it to other services.

I'm not saying that Medicare doesn't need reformed.  It certainly does, but I implore the medical and senior citizen community to speak up against giving this power over to the government.  If the Secretary could micromanage effectively I'd not be so worried but it is evident this one cannot manage at all what's more micro manage.  If we've learned anything from Obamacare it should be that government has no place in determining, on their own, what is and what isn't important or appropriate in health care, no matter your age.

Is there such a disconnect that no one notices the language in this bill?  Don't they see the same red flags?  Have they even read the legislation?  Or are they so anxious to get home for the holidays they'll vote for anything just to get out the door.

You know, in a way I hope it slams shut on their foot.  And when they go to the doctor to get it fixed they find that the Secretary has determined they can't get an x-ray, a cast or even a pain pill.

One day those who vote for these ludicrous bills will be forced to abide by them just as we are.  It can't happen too soon. They ought, too, remember they will one day be old and until then their parents already are.  Is this really what they wish on them?