The counting is done….and I saw history
Last night was very moving;
McCains was magnanimous on defeat, and it was the best speech of his campaign (Not because he was giving victory to Obama, but because he truly spoke from his heart, and there was some real emotion in it…unlike a lot of his other speech’s. IMO)
CNN— Did anybody else see the guy that was embeded with McCain on CNN make the comment to the effect of “there were some rumors in the campaign that from early on McCain knew he couldn’t beat Obama” I don’t want to miss quote him but he then went on to say how he heard rumors that McCain felt it would be generally bad for the country for the A) first black candidate to lose and B) because Obama had so unified so many it would be bad for America. It was a very odd comment just curious if anybody else heard that ?
Obama’s acceptance speech was well thats what he does best, and it was a great speech, drawing on Kennedy “Ask not what your country can do for you”, MKL Jr. “I have been to the mountain top/the road is long”, and the 100 year history of our country with the voter in Georgia….
I watched the whole thing looking at the people with tears in their eyes, the huge crowds, the group in front of the white house…. This is for a PRESIDENT, sure he is the most powerful man in our country, but I dont think many would argue that in terms of politics Americans are burnt out were tired of Washington as a whole, but really feel fairly powerless as individuals…..Last night the apathy was gone… if just for one night
When I saw history
There are moments in our lives that become imprinted into our consciousness, where it is bigger then we are a you feel connected to every single person experiencing it, because you are all part of something. In my life I can think of 3 moments:
The OJ verdict
9-11
2008 Presidential Election
There are other moments that I remember, the Berlin Wall, Gulf War I and II, the LA Riots… But these three events are imprinted with in me.
OJ was the first time in my life when I remember that stop and watch feeling. I was in Spanish class and we turned the TV on to watch the verdict being read….
9-11 I remember every detail of that day, and I dont mean I remember where I was Moment by Moment I remember the emotion, the fear, the excitement, I remember where I went and who I talked to. I truly understand what people mean when they talk about the Kennedy Assassination or Pearl Harbor, I was there I lived it and I’ll never forget it…
This election, this election is something different, it is something you got to watch, experience and eventually take part in. I have felt privileged to be a part of this election. One way or another by tomorrow morning the past 8 years will be in the rear view mirror, we will have a new President elect, possibly the First black president, possibly the first female vice president…..
In my humble opinion, we have 2 presidential candidates that truely think they have a new and better way…4 years ago I couldn’t say that
Be a part of history, cast a ballot let your voice be heard, its a chance to make history
The one about the 2nd Amendment….
The 2nd amendment to the constitution…..
1) I don’t think that there is any need for regular citizens to own assult rifles. If you cant hit your target with the 1st 50 bullets, what makes you think your gonna hit it with the next 50?
2) The Second Amendment states “A well regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”
People always want to drop that first part …
This story astonishs me. Rarely do I find myself at a loss for words (ask anybody who’s asked about the 2008 election). But when I read this stoyr, I am speechless. The headline reads “Police identify 8 year old boy killed at Sportsmens Club”, now when I read that I assuemed Sportsmens club was one of those gun shows that travle around the country. From the headline I figured it was the story of a tragic death when somebody forgot to unload a gun or something along those lines, Tragic yes, but what I found when I read the story was so much more disturbing to me…
First off I should state the “sportsmens club” is not a gun show as I had thought, but rather it is a shooting club, which again I think thats great, responsible people should be able to fire guns if that is what they enjoy doing for entertainment, personal I’d rather play hockey, but I can undersand the excitement, skill and pleasure target shooting can bring (not to mention the stress release)
I take issue with things like this:
(From the news story above) “The Westfield Sportsman’s Club boasted in an advertisement for the event posted on its website that the $5 entry fee was waived for children under age 16 and there was “no age limit or licenses required to shoot machine guns.”
So, you wana know how an 8 year old was killed at this fun family event?
” He was firing a 9-mm Micro Uzi machine gun, a fully automatic weapon, said Westfield Police Lieutenant Hipolito Nuñez.”
with out getting too graphic, the poor child was not strong enough to controle the guns recoil and ended up shooting himself to death… I really hope they hold the parents AND the Sportsmens club repsonsible for this terrible death. SOMEBODY had to know giving an 8 year old fully automatic Uzi was a bad IDEA?!
Tax Returns for Palin (2006 and 2007)
Todd and Sarah Palin had a combined income of 166,080 in 2007 an paid $24,738 in taxes, according to tax returns the campaign released late this afternoon. The couple made $127,869 in 2006 and paid $11,944 in taxes.
In 2006, they gave 3.3% of their adjusted gross income to charity. In 2007, they gave 1.5% to charity.
14.8% in 2007
9.3% in 2006
Does that seem a little off to anybody?
Back at the dr
Well I am sitting in the doctors office for my follow up visit to the physical I had earlier this month. Once again I get a unique expirience.
First we debate what my actual first name is; Nathan or Nathaniel. I always use nathan, although my birth certificate says Nathaniel. Why? Because when I was little I couldent spell Nathaniel. Any way apparently the drs office decided to use the formal version and my insurance rejected the claim. So after a very odd conversation we got that corrected.
Next they become concerned that I have no emergency contact listed. I tell then that my mom lives in new Mexico, my brother in las vegas and my sister is in Omaha. So any emergency thy would need a contact would most likely be more pressing then having them fly up here. The woman behind the desk will not accept this answer and presses “what if you break your leg and need a ride home?”
Oh the wealth of smart ass answers that come up:
“what sort of tests do you plan on performing that may break my leg”
“why would breaking my leg prevent me from making a phone call?”
But I digress, I informed her that there was no need for an emergency contact. Apparently this is new to them because she percisted. “what about a neighbor” “I just moved” finally she relents and says “well when you find one let us know”
Other then that my Doctor said that my cholesteral is not as bad as he/we first thought. So that’s good. Um yeah so that’s all I got for now.
Oh one last thing I did write this using my iPhone wicked awesome!!!!
That one 08
I went into this political season favoring Obama for a couple of reasons:
1) Bush let me down, in 2000 I voted for Bush because I thought he would make the better president, in 2002 and 2003 I believed him and is office when they told me that Iraq was a threat to the US. I believed him about the WMD’s, and the intent to use them. By 2004 I was starting to have my doubts about Bush, but at this time I still thought he was the “lesser of 2 evils”.
I was wrong, Bush’s policies were not only wrong, they were intentionally deceptive. I and I think the American People were lied to. We were dragged into a war with Iraq that was based on knowingly false information. Further, at no time has the Bush administration stood up and said anything even close to “we were wrong about Iraq, we made a HUGE mistake, but we have started this, and we need to finish it, but we may need the world community’s help”. Honestly if they would have said something like this and let me know that they were good intentioned bad choices, I think I could have been more forgiving, but instead they continue to plow down a road that is now clearly the wrong path
To further elaborate on Bush (because he was the key initial reason I was initially interested in Obama). During the Bush administration we have had:
[LIST]
[*]9-11
[*]War in Afghanistan
[*]War in Iraq
[*]Hurricane Katrina (and the failures of FEMA and others)
[*]Economic Collapse rivaling the great depression
[*]A budget surplus of 236Billion in 2000 that has fallen to a deficit of 477 Billion
[/LIST]
Now you can say that these were not the Bush administrations fault, that these were years in the making and it just happened to be when Bush was in office that they actually happened. You can only make that excuse so many times, sooner or later there NEEDS to be accountability, and there seems to be NO accountability in the current administration.
2)honestly I remember seeing the speech that Obama gave back in 2004 at the DNC in Chicago. I remember being enthralled by his speech and being excited about politics in a way I never had before.
ALL that being said, after the initial excitement of this electrifying democratic primaries were over and it was clear Obama was going to be the candidate. I started hearing from a few close friends that they were actually considering voting republican (After the last 8 years, and the lowest approval rating in presidential history I was suppressed that ANYBODY would think the republicans still had a valued message that would resonate with anybody).
The main person who surprised me was my brother, I trust and value his opinion, we have a similar background and up bringing so obviously we have similar values. So when he told me that he was considering voting for John McCain it sort of derailed the Obama “train” (the momentum that he had been gaining since Iowa, and even the DNC).
My initial reaction was to start doing some research and finding out more about WHY I wanted to vote for Obama, beyond the fact that he is an eloquent speaker. I started looking at some of his policies, beliefs and records. The key issues that stood out for me were:
Setting a time frame for ending the war in Iraq (You can argue if this is good or bad, but my personal belief is that it is a good thing and this is what I wanted from a president)
His beliefs on credit cards and credit card reform. I am fortunate I only have 1 credit card with a balance of less then 300 dollars, but I do NOT like the shady way credit cards are set up. And Obama’s beliefs parallel my own.
Health Care, I like Obama’s plan to basically use the uninsured populous to collectively bargain for a better health care rate and costs.
McCain’s plan doesn’t make sense to me (maybe he is articulating it poorly), but from what I can gather, I will get a 5000$ credit to buy insurance on my own, and the money will be paid directly to the insurance companies, not to me, and I have to cover any difference. McCain stats the average cost is 5800 dollars Obama states 12000 Even if we split the difference were looking at 9000 dollars. In addition the idea of being able to shop across state lines SOUNDS like a good idea, but that’s what the did with the credit card companies, and all that allowed was for credit card companies to move to states with the most relaxed laws and regulations (ever wonder why so many credit card companies are in The Dakota’s, because they have no cap on interest).
Woman’s rights/Roe V Wade: It wasn’t until last nights debate, but I really did NOT like the idea that McCain was so opposed to the right to choose. I realize that there is a large portion of the population that is for banning all abortions, but I am not part of that group. I believe (as Obama stated much more clearly then I could ever hope [quote]ultimately I believe is that women in consultation with their families, their doctors, their religious advisers, are in the best position to make this decision.[/quote]
Obama’s plans for our energy in the future I think are a more realistic plan. When McCain says he wants to drill offshore, I have no problem with that. I agree, but he seems to be focused on the energy sources we already have, and it is more then clear that we as a country do NOT have the energy reserves to sustain our country with out innovation, and for FAR too long we have had this attitude of “lets do what we are doing, and also try and find something else” We have been doing that for YEARS and its not working, there was an electric car for lease from 1996-2000 in California because state law mandated that a % of new car sales HAD to be electric, when the oil and auto mfgrs lobbied and got the law repealed, the electric car went away. To fix this energy problem we are going to have to be forced. 4 dollar a gallon gas hurt, sure, but lets be honest, I didn’t start carpooling, I didn’t stop going out to eat…… And I doubt the rest of us made any dramatic life changes. Drilling for more oil is a band aid on a bullet wound.
Finally, personal finance taxes, the short version is according to Obama’s plan in my income bracket I will keep more of my money….
I really think McCain was effective in the beginning when he was on the attack, when he pressed Obama for specifics and pointed out some of the nonspecific. I have paid attention the entire campaign, and if McCain would have been more like this earlier on, I thing he would have had a STRONG chance of being in a much better position this week.
I think McCain’s education plan is better laid out, he is for vouchers, which I think is much more on the right track. Obama did not have a clear message on education. Or at least not one that I could understand.
I think when McCain stopped doing that it was to his detriment.
When I looked into the issues, and weighed the things that are important to me, Obama came out ahead. I like the fact that Obama will state when he agrees with McCain on issues, rarely do I hear the inverse. I liked last night when Obama said something to the effect of “listen we both want whets best for this country, we just disagree on how exactly to implement these things” I couldn’t agree more, I truly believe McCain would be a good president, Honestly after the last 8 years it would be difficult to not be great by contrast, But I think Obama will be the BETTER president. I like that Obama is not more then 2 times my age, I have a hard time understanding where a 70 year old is coming from, just like he has a hard time understanding where I am coming from, we have different things that are important in our lives.
So, there is my political journey and how I came to decide how to cast my vote in November.
My Taxes (Obama Vs. McCain, the numbers)
There has been a LOT of back and forth during this political campaign, lots of half truths and miss information… From BOTH parties, here is how your income tax break down based on your income.
| BREAKING DOWN THE NUMBERS | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Here’s how the average tax bill could change in 2009 if either John McCain’s or Barack Obama’s tax proposals were fully in place. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Source (CNN) |
MY Health Care plan (everybody else has one right?)
If medical treatment and medical insurance are one in the same then the so be it, although I don’t necessarily think they are.
This is just off the top of my head, so I am sure there are some problems with this, but why not charge based on the ability to pay, and then include discounts for healthy choices …
Lets say that based on my income a yearly physical is 100 dollars. When I go to the Doctor I am smoking half a pack a day and I am drinking 10 alcoholic drinks a week, Those are kid of abstract so lets say that after testing my HR is 85BPM (high from what I understand) I am prehypertensive BP (140-90) and my bad Cholesterol is 250, lets also say I am 60 lbs over weight….
Because of my poor health lets say the dr schedules a follow up visit once a month for the next six months just to check these vitals BP, HR, Cholesterol and weight.He also tells me that by quitting smoking, lowering the number of Alcohol I drink and exercising more I could make strides in all of these and if I do, there is the opportunity for discounts****s on my premiums of say 10% for each (total of 40% off) Plus an additional 20% if I quit smoking (tested monthly, tests could easily catch cheaters ) The total bill will not be due until after the 6 months is up.
Now I don’t have to do any of this, I can continue on my way and pay my 100$ fee and never worry about it again. But if I want I can make healthier choices and lower my costs… Then with my medical history, as I can continue my discounts so long as I stay within what is considered a healthy range, further to maintain the discounts I must continue my regular visits. What ever is considered to be the proper number of visits per year (not including emergency, or sickness visits) Again for arguments sake lets say that is one check up per year, if I miss an entire year, and dont reschedule then I loose some (depending on how many visits I miss) of the discounts that I have earned.
I think that this sounds like it could be a fair plan, that way people receive the medical care the need, they are encouraged to live healthier lives, but they are not forced to.
Maybe The cost of child care is based on the parents income, but to ensure and encourage parents to follow all of the important medical visits and to keep their children healthy there is some way to earn a 100% refund for children under 18 if metrics are maintained….
My Doctor Visit
Well I finally broke down and decided to go get a physical yesterday. Its been close to 10 years since the last time I had a check up, and I figured it was about time.
I don’t like the doctors office for a number of reasons, but usually because things happen to me that don’t happen to other people.
- Ruptured ear drum leads to impacted ear wax
- Orgasm triggered migrains and to quote the dr “well THATS weird“
- Bells Palsy When my face was paralyzed! LOL OK that was funny Right Sarah?
- Stitches when I stabbed myself with a knife (long story)
- OH When I got hit with a hockey puck in my knee and my ankle swelled up to 3 times its size
Anyway you get the point, when I go to the doctor, something weird happens. So I make my appointment and head off to the clinic. I do everything I’m told I even fast for the 15 hrs prior so they can do some tests (I have a theory that they do that just to see if you will actually play their game...).
So I’m sitting in the lobby listening to my iPhone when I hear the nurse come in and say “-athan” I look over and she smiles at me as I get up. We go back and she weighs me (EEEK maybe thats why they had me fasting) Then she takes me into one of those meat lockers they call an exam room, why the F are those things always 34 degrees?! She says “So your birthday is 3-22-1965” Um no not even close, Do I REALLY look like I’m 42?!?! Not off to a great start…apparently she was looking for JAY-son…..
A few minutes later I’m called back and we again weigh me (Hey I lots 3 lbs sitting in the lobby, now height awe F*** I’m shrinking! I’ve lost an inch and a half!) Well enough of that, we go sit down and she takes my vitals and then reads them back to me like I have some understanding of if they are good or bad “BP 120 over 77, Heart rate 52 BPM“, So I dont want to disappoint her, I’ve seen ER Damn it… so I shout “I need 15cc’s of morphine and a crash cart STAT!” she looks a confused, and a little scared and tells me the doctor will be here in just a moment (I am not sure if that was meant to be a threat/warning or not)
Well the doctor comes in and he sits down and grabs my chart and starts reading it, he has this aloof attitude as though he is FAR to important to be here, but is making some kind of charity exception. After finishing my chart he looks at me and says “It appears that you are allergic to cats”as though I had failed to disclose some important fact to him by not announcing it when he entered the room. I explained that I had a very minor cat allergy so minor in fact that It rarely is even noticed. He responds “yes well its good that you mentioned it“. HmmMaybe there is some new medication that is made from cat hair … I know in china town you can buy tiger paws to increase your virility (although I’m not sure exactly what your supposed to do with the paw....) I thank him, not being able to come up with anything else to say to that comment.
He begins the exam checking my neck for what ever they are looking for, listening to me breath, and the having me lay down then he puts his hand on my stomach and thumps it with his other hand apparently checking the acoustics of my abdominal cavity. I have this weird image of doctors all over the world gathering with their patients and performing a stomp style routine by thumping the beat out on peoples stomachs…
Once he has determined that the doughy goodness of my stomach is not properly tuned for a doctors only bongo session he tells me I can stand up and put my shirt back on. Then turning he glances at my chart again and says, and I swear I am not making this up “Well your pretty young I dont think I need to check your prostate or stick my finger up your butt”
SHAWA?!?!?!?!? Aside from the fact that I am fairly sure (based on my medical knowledge from TV) that I am a good 10 years off from that humiliating experience. This doctor has a sense of humor?! If there is one rule I live my life by it is that there are some people who never have a sense of humor and joking with them will only make things worse among these are Doctors, Police officers, and your barber. That being said my tongue is faster then my brain, and before I can stop my self I say “well there goes your tip”.
After that he takes me out to the “other” lobby, I swear to God Doctors offices are built around waiting, I think the plan is if they make you wait long enough you just might drop dead and then they dont have do do anything…
There’s the lobby when you come in, then you have to go to the exam room and wait there, then there is the lobby for the lab area then you are taken to the lab “collection” area (slang for where you pee in a cup and they stab you with needles, kind of like the movie train spotting) Then when they are done with that there is the lobby to make a follow up appointment, after that you have to wait in the pharmacy.
Is all that waiting really needed?! Couldn’t the doctor stick me with a needle or do you need a special correspondents course ordered from Guam to be qualified to do that ?
And if he can write the prescription why the hell cant he just give me the pills. I mean come on pharmacists are professional counters! “Hmm this prescription is for 30 days and you take 3 pills a day, dont worry I can figure this out…I went to Pharmacy school……” Christ you can do that by 3rd grade (although there is a strong chance I would put one or more of the pills in my mouth in 3rd grade… )
Oh and one last thing EVERYBODY a the clinic told me about there great new product, they now have my records available to me ONLINE?! They all told me about how great it was and how I could go on day or night and check out my own medical history….with them…..that started yesterday……and so far says “allergic to cats”. Oh well they were excited about it…. I remember how I felt when I got my first internet. Oh yeah that was over 15 YEARS AGO… well at least our medical technology is keeping up (if you have a moment read this artical from 2004 about he new medical “devices” that were recently approved by the FDA), even if the record keeping isnt.
Well thats about it for my first doctors visit in 10 years…Now where are those test results….
