The Nuns, NSA and Guns
It would seem that an order of Nuns has filed a petition to not
provide birth control in any form stating that to do so would be a
violation of their conscience and religious beliefs. Supreme court
justice Sonia Sotomayor issued a stay late Tuesday preventing the
government from enforcing the so-called contraceptive mandate against
the Little Sisters of the Poor Home for the Aged. Apparently she
agreed with them and gave the Obama administration until Friday to
appeal her ruling , which they did, arguing that they, the Nuns,
could get out of it by certifying that they don't want to provide
contraceptive coverage. In that case, it would be up to a third-party
administrator to decide whether to provide it. The Nuns lawyer
responded with a 17 page appeal suggesting that by having them sign
the paper it essentially means that they are advocating that someone
else “sins” on their behalf.
But it's not just about the Nuns. The administration has called
for all catholic groups to be forced into providing contraception
(and in effect any religious group or organization) even though it
goes against their religious beliefs.
Some of you reading this may think well that's just to bad for
them but the law is the law. It may be,that it now a part of the
law,but it's not morally right to force people into either violating
their conscience or being seriously fined. I will also remind you
that if they can force you to violate your religious beliefs, in
violation of the first amendment, whats going to stop them from
forcing everyone to violate their consciences? Would you be OK if the
government passed a law saying that you had to cheat on your spouse,
even though most in our society would disagree and all holy writings
say no? What gives the federal government the right to force you or
your religious group to violate your conscience? Seems to me the
constitution says they don't.
In NSA related news, the Obama administration has asked for the
FISA court to allow for the continuation of the NSA programs of mass
collecting all of our digital data.
“The Obama administration moved on two fronts Friday to preserve
the National Security Agency's controversial spy programs, appealing
a major ruling against the agency while winning permission from a
secretive court to continue collecting Americans' phone records.”
(AP)
To start with we shouldn't have secret courts, this isn't the
Soviet Union or North Korea, but the fact that the Obama
administration would request that such a program continue (I know
that Bush started all this but he resides in Texas now not DC and is
of no importance to this discussion) tells me just how little regard
that they have for the constitution and the rule of law, not that
this is their only violation but it is one of the more blatant
examples. This request follows the ruling from U.S. District Court
Judge Richard Leon in which he called the NSA program
"almost-Orwellian technology" and challenged its
constitutionality. In the judges words:
"I cannot imagine a more 'indiscriminate' and 'arbitrary
invasion' than this systematic and high-tech collection and retention
of personal data on virtually every single citizen for purposes of
querying and analyzing it without prior judicial approval,Surely such
a program infringes on 'that degree of privacy' that the founders
enshrined in the Fourth Amendment. Indeed I have little doubt that
the author of our Constitution, James Madison, who cautioned us to
beware 'the abridgement of freedom of the people by gradual and
silent encroachments by those in power,' would be aghast.”
I don't think I could have said it any better.
On a side note Senator Rand Paul ® of Kentucky will be filing a
class action law suit against the Obama administration and the NSA
for their violations of the 4th amendment via the NSA
programs. He reportedly has hundreds of thousands of people joining
him in this action, Ill keep you posted as I hear more about it.
I guess this wouldn't be complete if we didn't add another back
door effort to regulate gun ownership. The Obama administration on
Friday proposed two new executive actions to make it easier for
states to provide mental health information to the national
background check system,both pertain to the ability of states to
provide information about the mentally ill and those seeking mental
health treatment to the National Instant Criminal Background Check
System.
One proposal would formally give permission to states to submit
"the limited information necessary to help keep guns out of
potentially dangerous hands," without having to worry about the
privacy provisions in a law known as HIPAA.
If I believed that this was really about keeping guns out of the
hands of truly insane people I would be all for it but the wording is
a bit vague. First “those seeking mental health treatment.” Why
would they want information just based on someone who is seeking
help? Why would you put that in a “ Criminal background check?”
Does the fact that I have sought out mental health treatment for
PTSD, and I am likely to again in the future, make me some sort of
criminal? I can understand that perhaps those that have been
institutionalized might need extra scrutiny but by doing this you
are going to make a whole lot of war vets very leery about seeking
mental health for PTSD if there is even the slightest chance that
they could loose their guns or the ability to buy them.
The second part “out of potentially dangerous hands” is also a
bit vague. It wasn't that long ago when the politically correct
thought was that “every man is a potential rapist” so using that
argument would suggest that all of us gun owners have potentially
dangerous hands, If having a Penis makes me a potential rapist, then
having a gun surely must make me a potential killer. I'm no more
dangerous then anyone else who legally owns and carry a firearm but
who exactly determines that, which leads to my third point.
This would be in violation of the HIPPA law, giving your doctor
the right to report you with no warning to you and , from what I can
tell, you will have very little recourse once your mental health
issues have been sent. So I go in to see my doctor because I am
depressed or having more nightmares then normal, due to PTSD related
issues, and he is anti gun, all he has to do is submit my information
to this data base and it could stop my ability to own or posses a
firearm. No crimes committed, no laws broken, yet my name would be
entered into a criminal background data base all for seeking help.
One last note, totally unrelated to the above.
Thank you to my fellow Iraq vets for securing hell. Apparently our
blood and tears were not payment enough and the minions of hell
crawled back out of their caves and have returned. Never forget.
Tuesday, January 7, 2014
Thursday, December 19, 2013
GQ, Phil Robertson and his "Shocking" response.
Before I get started I'd like to thank a few folks/organizations
for pulling me out of my silence. I have been avoiding politics and
anything PC for a while now and have literally let my blog sort of
die out.
Well after the news came out of the “ Duck Commander” Phil Robertson, being “suspended indefinitely” for answering a question that we all know, at least anyone who watches the show would reasonably assume, would be his answer. But before I wade into that mess let me thank the appropriate sources.
Thanks to my wife who first pointed it out to me yesterday. This is my only sincere thanks
Thank you to all the national media for making it go viral. Thank you to AE for making it such a big deal, because with out you most of us wouldn't even know who he is, but a special thanks to GQ magazine for asking such a daring and thought provoking question from a well known conservative Christian of whom, I am sure, you believed would give you anything but blunt and to the point answer.
Now that the preliminaries are over; why is everyone in such an uproar over what he said? What did he say that would really shock anyone? Was it his use of the words, vagina and anus? Was it because he said that he can't understand the appeal? Perhaps it was because he used the dreaded “sin” word? Or was it because he followed suit with a translation of what the book of Romans says? What part of it was so shocking?
First he is a conservative, fundamentalist, Christian. According to what he believes the Bible calls homosexuality a sin in both the OT and the NT. I am not going to write it all out for you because most of you who have even the slightest bit of knowledge of the bible already know this. So if this has been what he has been taught, since he was saved in the 60's, what did you really think his answer would be?
My guess is that someone at GQ wanted to either get some free publicity or they are angered that such a family friendly show, that unabashedly uses the name of Jesus in their prayers, is so popular with literally millions. Not sure it can be said about their magazine.
Second I am hard pressed to believe that it was the words anus or vagina. I heard some say that he was crude in using those words, why? Is that not what they are called? When I speak to my teenagers about sex I use the appropriate terminology so why shouldn’t he? Seems to me that this is less crude then the words some people use to describe body parts.
Thirdly, It can't be because he doesn't understand the appeal. Why should he? He is a straight male. I am a straight male, and though I have family members that are gay and I love them all, I don't understand the appeal. I see men as nothing more that other hairy hominids and I generally don't find them attractive. In the same vein I would also suggest to you that I don't expect a gay man to see what appeal a woman has to me. It is no more in his nature, to be attracted to women, then it is in mine to get warm fuzzies for other men.
As far as him calling it a sin and then listing off some things that the book of Romans says, go look at my first point.
Next I would like to address the idea of “hate speech.”
Let me give you a very point blank explanation of “hate speech.” I started working on a construction crew, back a few years ago when my kids were little, and ,as my custom was, I went by my middle name rather than my than my first. I soon found out that all the guys on this crew were members of the KKK., in Florida, and had come north looking for work. Long story short, when they found out what my real name was I was verbally assaulted. The kindest words used was “sand nigger” because of my Cuban heritage, and I was threatened with bodily harm. Worse yet they destroyed my work and then told the boss ( he was not one of them) that I did sloppy work and was incompetent,as a result I was fired. That is hate.
If they had just left it as comments or expressing their opinion of me, then that would be free speech, but they took it further they didn't just express their hatred they took action and that's the difference.
Last I had heard Mr. Robertson has not threatened anyone he simply gave his OPINION based on his religious views AFTER HE WAS ASKED. Again what did you think he would say?
The last point is the suggestion that he was implying that blacks were more happy under the Jim Crow laws. This is not what he said. He said that he grew up on a farm,as did everyone he knew, and he worked side by side with blacks. He said that the folks he knew seemed to be happy and that they were God fearing loving people. He never said that prejudice never happened or that those laws were good, what he said was that he had never SEEN any of it.
Growing up in Maine I didn't see any of it either. It doesn't mean it didn't happen, It just means I didn't see it. Does that make me a bigot?
The bottom line is this. Phil Robertson said what he believed when he was asked. He has that right. AE has the right to fire or suspend him if he doesn't meet with whatever standards they have set up. GQ has the right to ask such profound questions, but lets stop with all the hysterics over a conservative Christian speaking what he believes to be true when we all know that this would be his answer in the first place.
Well after the news came out of the “ Duck Commander” Phil Robertson, being “suspended indefinitely” for answering a question that we all know, at least anyone who watches the show would reasonably assume, would be his answer. But before I wade into that mess let me thank the appropriate sources.
Thanks to my wife who first pointed it out to me yesterday. This is my only sincere thanks
Thank you to all the national media for making it go viral. Thank you to AE for making it such a big deal, because with out you most of us wouldn't even know who he is, but a special thanks to GQ magazine for asking such a daring and thought provoking question from a well known conservative Christian of whom, I am sure, you believed would give you anything but blunt and to the point answer.
Now that the preliminaries are over; why is everyone in such an uproar over what he said? What did he say that would really shock anyone? Was it his use of the words, vagina and anus? Was it because he said that he can't understand the appeal? Perhaps it was because he used the dreaded “sin” word? Or was it because he followed suit with a translation of what the book of Romans says? What part of it was so shocking?
First he is a conservative, fundamentalist, Christian. According to what he believes the Bible calls homosexuality a sin in both the OT and the NT. I am not going to write it all out for you because most of you who have even the slightest bit of knowledge of the bible already know this. So if this has been what he has been taught, since he was saved in the 60's, what did you really think his answer would be?
My guess is that someone at GQ wanted to either get some free publicity or they are angered that such a family friendly show, that unabashedly uses the name of Jesus in their prayers, is so popular with literally millions. Not sure it can be said about their magazine.
Second I am hard pressed to believe that it was the words anus or vagina. I heard some say that he was crude in using those words, why? Is that not what they are called? When I speak to my teenagers about sex I use the appropriate terminology so why shouldn’t he? Seems to me that this is less crude then the words some people use to describe body parts.
Thirdly, It can't be because he doesn't understand the appeal. Why should he? He is a straight male. I am a straight male, and though I have family members that are gay and I love them all, I don't understand the appeal. I see men as nothing more that other hairy hominids and I generally don't find them attractive. In the same vein I would also suggest to you that I don't expect a gay man to see what appeal a woman has to me. It is no more in his nature, to be attracted to women, then it is in mine to get warm fuzzies for other men.
As far as him calling it a sin and then listing off some things that the book of Romans says, go look at my first point.
Next I would like to address the idea of “hate speech.”
Let me give you a very point blank explanation of “hate speech.” I started working on a construction crew, back a few years ago when my kids were little, and ,as my custom was, I went by my middle name rather than my than my first. I soon found out that all the guys on this crew were members of the KKK., in Florida, and had come north looking for work. Long story short, when they found out what my real name was I was verbally assaulted. The kindest words used was “sand nigger” because of my Cuban heritage, and I was threatened with bodily harm. Worse yet they destroyed my work and then told the boss ( he was not one of them) that I did sloppy work and was incompetent,as a result I was fired. That is hate.
If they had just left it as comments or expressing their opinion of me, then that would be free speech, but they took it further they didn't just express their hatred they took action and that's the difference.
Last I had heard Mr. Robertson has not threatened anyone he simply gave his OPINION based on his religious views AFTER HE WAS ASKED. Again what did you think he would say?
The last point is the suggestion that he was implying that blacks were more happy under the Jim Crow laws. This is not what he said. He said that he grew up on a farm,as did everyone he knew, and he worked side by side with blacks. He said that the folks he knew seemed to be happy and that they were God fearing loving people. He never said that prejudice never happened or that those laws were good, what he said was that he had never SEEN any of it.
Growing up in Maine I didn't see any of it either. It doesn't mean it didn't happen, It just means I didn't see it. Does that make me a bigot?
The bottom line is this. Phil Robertson said what he believed when he was asked. He has that right. AE has the right to fire or suspend him if he doesn't meet with whatever standards they have set up. GQ has the right to ask such profound questions, but lets stop with all the hysterics over a conservative Christian speaking what he believes to be true when we all know that this would be his answer in the first place.
Wednesday, November 6, 2013
The Simple Truth is That He lied.
Do you remember these phrases? “I am not a crook” or “ I
did not have sexual relations with that woman” how about “ read
my lips no new taxes.” Do you remember these words? For those of
you who are not old enough to remember the first one is attributed to
President Richard Nixon during the Watergate scandal that forced him
into resigning from office rather than face impeachment. The second
was President Bill Clinton trying hard to deflect reports of him
having oral sex with an intern in the oval office which wound up with
him committing perjury and getting articles of impeachment drawn up
against him. The only thing that saved him was a lack of democrat
votes. The last is from President George Bush the elder who famously
said that during one of his campaign speeches. He won the election
but reneged on his promise and was defeated soundly in his next
election.
Fast forward to today. We once again have a sitting president who has lied to the American people. His words, repeated over and over again, concerning the ACA “ if you like your plan you can keep your plan. Period” These words are what sold a large part of the American population to elect him as president and reelect him four years later. Now the truth has finally hit home. He lied.
I have watched and listened as his various spokespersons have been out there trying to spin it that he didn't actually lie ,that he either misspoke or we just didn't understand what it was that he was saying. Really? Funny thing I watched a whole bunch of his speeches and it seemed pretty clear to me. I didn't hear about any caveats or qualifiers. I only heard him say (I and 330 million other Americans) “if you like your plan you can keep it.” Not sure what part of that sentence, repeated over and over, that I didn't understand.
Of course the newest spin is to blame it on the insurance companies.
I actually heard the following on the radio.
The president said you could keep your plan as long as it doesn't change and the president didn't tell them that they had to change their policies....
Thank you for clearing that up for me.
So what exactly was the point of the ACA if not to force insurance companies to change their plans to include more coverage, thus ensuing higher costs and causing people to lose the coverage they were told that they could keep? Someone else commented that these were bare bones policies so they had to go. That's not the point. The president said if you like your plan you can keep it. So why aren't they able to keep them?
Another person said that there is no way that the administration could have known that this was going to happen. Hmmm...I am not a brain surgeon and even I knew that this was going to happen. Simple economics would tell you this. If you buy a Yugo you are going to pay a Yugo price. If you buy a BMW you are going to have to pay the BMW price not the Yugo price, and if your forced to by the BMW your still going to have to pay the BMW price. This is not complicated.
Now with people coming out and sharing their individual horror stories on the major news networks and papers, the administration has chosen to try and attack and marginalize these people, accusing them of lying or of not giving out of all the facts. Yet the facts were simple. They had coverage they liked and they were getting the kind of care they needed but because of the new ACA regulations they had to be changed and the people lost the coverage that they had or are being forced into higher costing plans, what part of this is misleading or lacking of truth?
There is also word out there that the Obama administration knew that this was going to happen and even predicted that somewhere close to 65 percent would loose their coverage and yet they continued to preach that no one was going to loose it. The estimated number that I have heard is somewhere between 50 to 129 million people, which is essentially the entire individual market, are going to loose their coverage.
The bottom line is that now that the ACA has rolled out the American people are waking up to the truth. They can't keep their policies and it's going to cost them dearly. Many are trying to figure out how they are going to pay for the extra costs and they are angry. Many things that have happened, prior to this, they mostly ignored because it didn't effect them directly. This time it does and they are voicing their displeasure.
When I was growing up there was always a price for lying and it was always considered a better thing to confess your mistakes and make things right. This is what I have taught to my own children and I hope they will do the same with theirs. So here is my simple minded solution for you Mr. President. Admit that you were wrong, stop this madness and fix it. It's as simple as that. If not, you can expect that your party will be thoroughly trashed, as every republican in the nation will loudly remind everyone just who is to blame. You and the democratic party.
Fast forward to today. We once again have a sitting president who has lied to the American people. His words, repeated over and over again, concerning the ACA “ if you like your plan you can keep your plan. Period” These words are what sold a large part of the American population to elect him as president and reelect him four years later. Now the truth has finally hit home. He lied.
I have watched and listened as his various spokespersons have been out there trying to spin it that he didn't actually lie ,that he either misspoke or we just didn't understand what it was that he was saying. Really? Funny thing I watched a whole bunch of his speeches and it seemed pretty clear to me. I didn't hear about any caveats or qualifiers. I only heard him say (I and 330 million other Americans) “if you like your plan you can keep it.” Not sure what part of that sentence, repeated over and over, that I didn't understand.
Of course the newest spin is to blame it on the insurance companies.
I actually heard the following on the radio.
The president said you could keep your plan as long as it doesn't change and the president didn't tell them that they had to change their policies....
Thank you for clearing that up for me.
So what exactly was the point of the ACA if not to force insurance companies to change their plans to include more coverage, thus ensuing higher costs and causing people to lose the coverage they were told that they could keep? Someone else commented that these were bare bones policies so they had to go. That's not the point. The president said if you like your plan you can keep it. So why aren't they able to keep them?
Another person said that there is no way that the administration could have known that this was going to happen. Hmmm...I am not a brain surgeon and even I knew that this was going to happen. Simple economics would tell you this. If you buy a Yugo you are going to pay a Yugo price. If you buy a BMW you are going to have to pay the BMW price not the Yugo price, and if your forced to by the BMW your still going to have to pay the BMW price. This is not complicated.
Now with people coming out and sharing their individual horror stories on the major news networks and papers, the administration has chosen to try and attack and marginalize these people, accusing them of lying or of not giving out of all the facts. Yet the facts were simple. They had coverage they liked and they were getting the kind of care they needed but because of the new ACA regulations they had to be changed and the people lost the coverage that they had or are being forced into higher costing plans, what part of this is misleading or lacking of truth?
There is also word out there that the Obama administration knew that this was going to happen and even predicted that somewhere close to 65 percent would loose their coverage and yet they continued to preach that no one was going to loose it. The estimated number that I have heard is somewhere between 50 to 129 million people, which is essentially the entire individual market, are going to loose their coverage.
The bottom line is that now that the ACA has rolled out the American people are waking up to the truth. They can't keep their policies and it's going to cost them dearly. Many are trying to figure out how they are going to pay for the extra costs and they are angry. Many things that have happened, prior to this, they mostly ignored because it didn't effect them directly. This time it does and they are voicing their displeasure.
When I was growing up there was always a price for lying and it was always considered a better thing to confess your mistakes and make things right. This is what I have taught to my own children and I hope they will do the same with theirs. So here is my simple minded solution for you Mr. President. Admit that you were wrong, stop this madness and fix it. It's as simple as that. If not, you can expect that your party will be thoroughly trashed, as every republican in the nation will loudly remind everyone just who is to blame. You and the democratic party.
Monday, November 4, 2013
Redundancy and Waste
While the news has been filled with Obama care troubles and the
NSA spying on our friends, one subject has seemingly disappeared from
the stage, The budget and debt ceiling. A couple of weeks ago you
didn't hear much else, yet now it seems to have vanished.
Just in case anyone has forgotten we get to go to the edge of the cliff again in the middle of January and already both sides are suggesting that they aren't going to get much done before then. Lest you have forgotten here is the simplified crux of the problem.
Democrats are unwilling to cut any programs and want to raise taxes. Republicans are refusing to raise any more taxes with out the cuts and the tea party wants Obama care defunded before they will budge on anything. This of course leads to nothing being accomplished.
There are some things that could be done though that might actually work, if we could find any real leadership that is. The first would be ending all the pork projects that get attached to bills, which have nothing to do with running the government and only politically help the person who attached the bill. A fine example was Mitch McConnell being able to get some extra funding for a bridge project in his home state as a way to get him to go along with Harry Reid temporary budget plan and push the battle again down the road.
The second would be getting rid of all the wasteful government run redundancy. I saw a small part of in a visit to a VA hospital in Boston for a simple consult...
When my wife and I arrived we had no idea of where to go but once we did we made a bee line for the desk that was clearly marked “clinic check in.” After waiting for the others that were ahead of me the lady took my card and swiped it through her swiper, for a lack of another term, and then informed me that I had to go to a different desk on the other side of that same area to check in. So off we headed to the other desk. Upon our arrival at that desk there was a gentleman standing there who was looking just a bit on the ticked off side while a woman sat at another desk on a computer. After about 5 minutes of standing there the lady at the computer turned around and informed us that there was no one there to check us in, the woman who does that had just stepped out and she had no idea when said woman would be back and she wasn't able to check us in so we should go to the other desk,the first one that we had been to,and have her check us in. By this time there was about 8 of us standing there waiting to get checked in and all of us told her that they had just sent us here from the desk she was trying to send us back to. She muttered something about “well you should sit down and wait because I don't know how long it's going to be.” Now gentle readers I am not a brain surgeon and I admit that I don't understand all the intricacies of running a government agency, but where I normally go we check ourselves in via a kiosk. If I can do it, with nothing more then a high school education, surely a government employee sitting right there should be able to. Also understand there were multiple “check in desks”all within 50 feet of each other. Not a single one could check us in. The lady sitting there was clearly capable of cruising through Facebook and her personal emails, her screen was facing us so we could see what she was doing, but she was not competent enough to swipe a card and putting a check mark next to our names on the paper.
After about another15 minutes the lady who did know how to swipe a card and check us in finally arrived. The other lady,as it turned out, was a nurse who's sole purpose was to take our vital signs. She also turned out to be the next person I had to see. Once I got to her she told me to stand there and wait ,quite rudely I might add, while she finished what she was doing on the computer. And what was she doing that was of such vital government mandated importance? She was writing an email on her Yahoo account. So I stood there for another 10 minutes while she hunted and pecked her way across the keyboard. To say that I was angry would be a massive understatement.
Finally I was checked in. I was an hour late for my appointment, but I was finally checked in. Twenty minutes later we were ushered into an examination room. The short version is that apparently the doctor never looked at my records. I spent an hour having another examination ,that I had already had,that was in fact the reason that I was there in the first place. Redundancy and stupidity combined. What was supposed to be a simple consult turned into a 4 hour marathon over something that shouldn't have taken more then a half hour.
Here is my point. If the nurse, or any of the other check in spots, had checked us in, they are all on the same system after all, they could have saved us all time and moved on to other vets who needed help. Better yet they could simplify by having one desk with say three people ,who all know how to swipe a card and check us in, thus saving time and money in wasted salaries.
Second if the doctors would actually take a minute to read the files of the veterans before they talk to them, then they would save a lot of time by not doing the same exams over and over (I had the same test and exam 3 times in the last 3 weeks) and they could move more quickly on to other Veterans.
Remember this was just one small area of this particular VA, if I saw the redundancy and wasted time there, just imagine how much of it goes on all over the VA system not to mention the rest of the government.
Just keep I mind,as we approach yet another cliff, that there is a lot of money that could be saved just by taking care of these two things that I have mentioned ,and I am sure that there is more that could be added to the list, but I suspect it will be those of us who are veterans,seniors or poor, that once again will be the targets because , after all, we are such leeches to society.
Just my Simple Minded Opinion.
Just in case anyone has forgotten we get to go to the edge of the cliff again in the middle of January and already both sides are suggesting that they aren't going to get much done before then. Lest you have forgotten here is the simplified crux of the problem.
Democrats are unwilling to cut any programs and want to raise taxes. Republicans are refusing to raise any more taxes with out the cuts and the tea party wants Obama care defunded before they will budge on anything. This of course leads to nothing being accomplished.
There are some things that could be done though that might actually work, if we could find any real leadership that is. The first would be ending all the pork projects that get attached to bills, which have nothing to do with running the government and only politically help the person who attached the bill. A fine example was Mitch McConnell being able to get some extra funding for a bridge project in his home state as a way to get him to go along with Harry Reid temporary budget plan and push the battle again down the road.
The second would be getting rid of all the wasteful government run redundancy. I saw a small part of in a visit to a VA hospital in Boston for a simple consult...
When my wife and I arrived we had no idea of where to go but once we did we made a bee line for the desk that was clearly marked “clinic check in.” After waiting for the others that were ahead of me the lady took my card and swiped it through her swiper, for a lack of another term, and then informed me that I had to go to a different desk on the other side of that same area to check in. So off we headed to the other desk. Upon our arrival at that desk there was a gentleman standing there who was looking just a bit on the ticked off side while a woman sat at another desk on a computer. After about 5 minutes of standing there the lady at the computer turned around and informed us that there was no one there to check us in, the woman who does that had just stepped out and she had no idea when said woman would be back and she wasn't able to check us in so we should go to the other desk,the first one that we had been to,and have her check us in. By this time there was about 8 of us standing there waiting to get checked in and all of us told her that they had just sent us here from the desk she was trying to send us back to. She muttered something about “well you should sit down and wait because I don't know how long it's going to be.” Now gentle readers I am not a brain surgeon and I admit that I don't understand all the intricacies of running a government agency, but where I normally go we check ourselves in via a kiosk. If I can do it, with nothing more then a high school education, surely a government employee sitting right there should be able to. Also understand there were multiple “check in desks”all within 50 feet of each other. Not a single one could check us in. The lady sitting there was clearly capable of cruising through Facebook and her personal emails, her screen was facing us so we could see what she was doing, but she was not competent enough to swipe a card and putting a check mark next to our names on the paper.
After about another15 minutes the lady who did know how to swipe a card and check us in finally arrived. The other lady,as it turned out, was a nurse who's sole purpose was to take our vital signs. She also turned out to be the next person I had to see. Once I got to her she told me to stand there and wait ,quite rudely I might add, while she finished what she was doing on the computer. And what was she doing that was of such vital government mandated importance? She was writing an email on her Yahoo account. So I stood there for another 10 minutes while she hunted and pecked her way across the keyboard. To say that I was angry would be a massive understatement.
Finally I was checked in. I was an hour late for my appointment, but I was finally checked in. Twenty minutes later we were ushered into an examination room. The short version is that apparently the doctor never looked at my records. I spent an hour having another examination ,that I had already had,that was in fact the reason that I was there in the first place. Redundancy and stupidity combined. What was supposed to be a simple consult turned into a 4 hour marathon over something that shouldn't have taken more then a half hour.
Here is my point. If the nurse, or any of the other check in spots, had checked us in, they are all on the same system after all, they could have saved us all time and moved on to other vets who needed help. Better yet they could simplify by having one desk with say three people ,who all know how to swipe a card and check us in, thus saving time and money in wasted salaries.
Second if the doctors would actually take a minute to read the files of the veterans before they talk to them, then they would save a lot of time by not doing the same exams over and over (I had the same test and exam 3 times in the last 3 weeks) and they could move more quickly on to other Veterans.
Remember this was just one small area of this particular VA, if I saw the redundancy and wasted time there, just imagine how much of it goes on all over the VA system not to mention the rest of the government.
Just keep I mind,as we approach yet another cliff, that there is a lot of money that could be saved just by taking care of these two things that I have mentioned ,and I am sure that there is more that could be added to the list, but I suspect it will be those of us who are veterans,seniors or poor, that once again will be the targets because , after all, we are such leeches to society.
Just my Simple Minded Opinion.
Monday, October 28, 2013
Tin Foil Hat # who knows...
Late last week, and over the weekend, reports have come out of
Germany, France and Spain, amongst others, that show the NSA spying
on our allies. The reports are saying that they have been doing this
to the tune of millions of phone calls and emails. The white house
spokesman, Jay Carney, told reporters that the president knew nothing
about it and it was being looked into. Then another report came out
saying that he has known about it at least since 2010. Once again
the president knows nothing, just like fast and furious and
Benghazi....Oh wait 60 minutes showed that he and Hillary DID know
about that one apparently only lefties can point out things to other
lefties....
In Wyoming there have a couple of towns and schools that have allowed themselves to be used as human guinea pigs letting the feds put RFID chips into their bodies as an experiment to see how well this system can work. Apparently some parents were outraged when they found out that the schools had implanted their kids with them with out their knowledge but most seemed to be OK with it. Those that resisted it were concerned for various reasons, health concerns, constitutional concerns and some were for religious reasons. The author of the article went on to label those people as “kooks.” Now while I don't believe that RFID chips are the mark of the beast, as some extreme religious groups might, I do have to ask; why would anyone want an implant in their bodies that allow the government to know everything you are doing and everywhere you are going? Some argue that you can be tracked via your cell phone, and that true, but you can leave that at home
It has also been reported that with Obama care will come possible forced home visits for certain classes of people, such as mothers under the age of 21 and families of veterans who have had combat tours.
According the Health and Human Services website from the 15th of August it says that under the ACA government agents can engage in "home health visits" for those in certain “high-risk” categories.
Those categories include,besides the two mentioned above, Families where someone is a tobacco user;
Families where children have low student achievement, developmental delays, or disabilities, and
Families with individuals who are serving or formerly served in the armed forces, including such families that have members of the armed forces who have had multiple deployments outside the United States. Also mentioned were homeschoolers. One person suggested that the wording was so broad and vague that a large swath of the American population could easily be included. Hows that change stuff working for you now? To quote Ronald Reagan “ the scariest words ever uttered are I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”
When Alicia was 12 weeks pregnant, she took herself to a health clinic about a mile from her home in Jackson, Wis., for a prenatal checkup. But what started as a routine visit ended with Beltran eventually handcuffed and shackled in government custody – and at the center of a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state’s fetal protection law.....
This is scary, she used the doctor patient confidentiality and it was used against her, Ill let the article speak for it's self:
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/24/21117142-shackled-and-pregnant-wis-case-challenges-fetal-protection-law
I recently heard of an atheist group that was challenging a particular cities use of clergy at the scene of crimes or tragedies as being in any way helpful. While I respect atheists rights to believe, or not ,as they so choose here is my own thought for what it's worth. Re-posted from my Face Book page;
Just before the Iraq war officially started we had the CG call a halt to everything,except that which provided our security, to give Marines and sailors a chance to meet with chaplains and attend services of their choice. They had tents, big tents, set up for protestants and Catholics, they had smaller ones for those that were Mormons and Jews and even one for those few Muslims that we had in our unit. There wasn't a tent that was not packed. I was in the protestant tent and I had Marines from my platoon that were Catholic or non church going people in there along with us. They didn't care about PC or even if they were in the right place they simply wanted to make their peace with God, however they perceived God to be, before we went into hell. Later that evening , as we were getting ready to roll out, I watched as Christian chaplains and Rabbis moved among the troops praying with them and giving blessings. It didn't matter to most of us what religion they represented, they simply brought us comfort that God would be with us as we walked through the valley of the shadow of death. If you don't believe in God that is your choice, and I respect that, and as much as I am able I will defend your right to believe as you do, but please stop trying to make the rest of us conform to your beliefs or lack there of. I do not claim Christianity as my religion nor am I Jewish, though my beliefs tend that way, but if I am in distress and in need of comfort I am not going to argue about who talks to me or tries to bring me comfort or prays with me. Do chaplains of all stripes serve a purpose and bring comfort? Yes.
Tin Foil Hat Time
In Wyoming there have a couple of towns and schools that have allowed themselves to be used as human guinea pigs letting the feds put RFID chips into their bodies as an experiment to see how well this system can work. Apparently some parents were outraged when they found out that the schools had implanted their kids with them with out their knowledge but most seemed to be OK with it. Those that resisted it were concerned for various reasons, health concerns, constitutional concerns and some were for religious reasons. The author of the article went on to label those people as “kooks.” Now while I don't believe that RFID chips are the mark of the beast, as some extreme religious groups might, I do have to ask; why would anyone want an implant in their bodies that allow the government to know everything you are doing and everywhere you are going? Some argue that you can be tracked via your cell phone, and that true, but you can leave that at home
It has also been reported that with Obama care will come possible forced home visits for certain classes of people, such as mothers under the age of 21 and families of veterans who have had combat tours.
According the Health and Human Services website from the 15th of August it says that under the ACA government agents can engage in "home health visits" for those in certain “high-risk” categories.
Those categories include,besides the two mentioned above, Families where someone is a tobacco user;
Families where children have low student achievement, developmental delays, or disabilities, and
Families with individuals who are serving or formerly served in the armed forces, including such families that have members of the armed forces who have had multiple deployments outside the United States. Also mentioned were homeschoolers. One person suggested that the wording was so broad and vague that a large swath of the American population could easily be included. Hows that change stuff working for you now? To quote Ronald Reagan “ the scariest words ever uttered are I'm from the government and I'm here to help.”
When Alicia was 12 weeks pregnant, she took herself to a health clinic about a mile from her home in Jackson, Wis., for a prenatal checkup. But what started as a routine visit ended with Beltran eventually handcuffed and shackled in government custody – and at the center of a first-of-its-kind federal lawsuit challenging the constitutionality of a state’s fetal protection law.....
This is scary, she used the doctor patient confidentiality and it was used against her, Ill let the article speak for it's self:
http://usnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/10/24/21117142-shackled-and-pregnant-wis-case-challenges-fetal-protection-law
I recently heard of an atheist group that was challenging a particular cities use of clergy at the scene of crimes or tragedies as being in any way helpful. While I respect atheists rights to believe, or not ,as they so choose here is my own thought for what it's worth. Re-posted from my Face Book page;
Just before the Iraq war officially started we had the CG call a halt to everything,except that which provided our security, to give Marines and sailors a chance to meet with chaplains and attend services of their choice. They had tents, big tents, set up for protestants and Catholics, they had smaller ones for those that were Mormons and Jews and even one for those few Muslims that we had in our unit. There wasn't a tent that was not packed. I was in the protestant tent and I had Marines from my platoon that were Catholic or non church going people in there along with us. They didn't care about PC or even if they were in the right place they simply wanted to make their peace with God, however they perceived God to be, before we went into hell. Later that evening , as we were getting ready to roll out, I watched as Christian chaplains and Rabbis moved among the troops praying with them and giving blessings. It didn't matter to most of us what religion they represented, they simply brought us comfort that God would be with us as we walked through the valley of the shadow of death. If you don't believe in God that is your choice, and I respect that, and as much as I am able I will defend your right to believe as you do, but please stop trying to make the rest of us conform to your beliefs or lack there of. I do not claim Christianity as my religion nor am I Jewish, though my beliefs tend that way, but if I am in distress and in need of comfort I am not going to argue about who talks to me or tries to bring me comfort or prays with me. Do chaplains of all stripes serve a purpose and bring comfort? Yes.
Tin Foil Hat Time
Friday, October 11, 2013
Tinfoil Hat Time
Due to a lack of government funding and partial shut down this
will not be nearly as silly or as long and I will have three armed
guards, who also are not being paid, watching you....
Number one today under the category of “I wish I was Big Bird” apparently the government was able to find money to continue to fund PBS to the tune of 445 million, while shutting down national monuments and threatening to chop money from seniors and disabled vets. When asked, Big Bird, who was heading south for the winter and is a senior himself thought that it was good that the government had it proprieties straight and that it was by far more important to take care of talking birds and a critter that lives in a garbage can rather then fund those who actually have done something like contribute to society.
Under the category of “2 inches is bigger than you think” a Rhode Island 7th grader was suspended from school for have a 2 inch plastic toy gun on a key chain. Apparently the keys, that were being held hostage by the toy gun, panicked and called 911 and after some intense negotiations with the SWAT team the gun surrendered and blood shed was averted.....
In a unusual posting the Washington Post apparently gave the president 4 Pinocchio’s, the highest number given for lying, based on a comment that Mr. Obama said, “never in the history of the United States has a non germane (relevant to a subject under consideration) bill ever been attached to debt ceiling talks” According to the post he only missed that by about 1400 starting with Ted Kennedy and Walter Mondale back in 1973. The words ooops comes to mind.
So while Vietnam vets are being arrested and WW2 vets are being barred from their respective monuments a rally was allowed in support of illegal aliens, complete with staging, guards and a wonderful guest appearance by Nancy Pelosi. Imagine that, we can celebrate those who come here illegally and demand that they have rights , all under the guise of free speech, while prohibiting those who fought for those rights from visiting the memorials built in their honor.
A town in New Jersey has decided that pan handlers need to have a permit to pan handle. I am a bit confused; how does someone who doesn’t have any money, hence they are out pan handling, get the money to buy this permit? They have also suggested that should someone be found with out one that they could go to jail...OK so lets get this straight If I don't have a permit and it's a cold January night you are going to arrest me and put me in a place that warm and that I can get fed...prepare for full jails....
A judge in Ohio has declared a man legally dead....even though the man was standing right in front of him...apparently this man wandered off back in 2005 and was declared legally dead by the same judge. Shortly after being declared dead he returned from the other side but the judge refused to acknowledge his presence in effect telling him he was still dead, the ghost defamation league has filed a formal complaint stating that the man in no way represents the ghostly community and should be restored to life......
Schools in NH and CT have decided that playing tag and using baseballs, footballs,etc are just way to dangerous for kids and could promote violence so these activities will no longer be allowed. When asked the children were basically non committal as they were busy playing Assassins Creed and Grand Theft Auto....
Number one today under the category of “I wish I was Big Bird” apparently the government was able to find money to continue to fund PBS to the tune of 445 million, while shutting down national monuments and threatening to chop money from seniors and disabled vets. When asked, Big Bird, who was heading south for the winter and is a senior himself thought that it was good that the government had it proprieties straight and that it was by far more important to take care of talking birds and a critter that lives in a garbage can rather then fund those who actually have done something like contribute to society.
Under the category of “2 inches is bigger than you think” a Rhode Island 7th grader was suspended from school for have a 2 inch plastic toy gun on a key chain. Apparently the keys, that were being held hostage by the toy gun, panicked and called 911 and after some intense negotiations with the SWAT team the gun surrendered and blood shed was averted.....
In a unusual posting the Washington Post apparently gave the president 4 Pinocchio’s, the highest number given for lying, based on a comment that Mr. Obama said, “never in the history of the United States has a non germane (relevant to a subject under consideration) bill ever been attached to debt ceiling talks” According to the post he only missed that by about 1400 starting with Ted Kennedy and Walter Mondale back in 1973. The words ooops comes to mind.
So while Vietnam vets are being arrested and WW2 vets are being barred from their respective monuments a rally was allowed in support of illegal aliens, complete with staging, guards and a wonderful guest appearance by Nancy Pelosi. Imagine that, we can celebrate those who come here illegally and demand that they have rights , all under the guise of free speech, while prohibiting those who fought for those rights from visiting the memorials built in their honor.
A town in New Jersey has decided that pan handlers need to have a permit to pan handle. I am a bit confused; how does someone who doesn’t have any money, hence they are out pan handling, get the money to buy this permit? They have also suggested that should someone be found with out one that they could go to jail...OK so lets get this straight If I don't have a permit and it's a cold January night you are going to arrest me and put me in a place that warm and that I can get fed...prepare for full jails....
A judge in Ohio has declared a man legally dead....even though the man was standing right in front of him...apparently this man wandered off back in 2005 and was declared legally dead by the same judge. Shortly after being declared dead he returned from the other side but the judge refused to acknowledge his presence in effect telling him he was still dead, the ghost defamation league has filed a formal complaint stating that the man in no way represents the ghostly community and should be restored to life......
Schools in NH and CT have decided that playing tag and using baseballs, footballs,etc are just way to dangerous for kids and could promote violence so these activities will no longer be allowed. When asked the children were basically non committal as they were busy playing Assassins Creed and Grand Theft Auto....
Tuesday, October 8, 2013
A Short letter to congress
Dear congress, I realize the chances of any of you reading this is
slim but perhaps the folks at the NSA could relay this message to
you.....
First the simple statement; You are toying with my life. Not just my life, but the life of my family, and many other disabled veterans. It's interesting to note that you have made sure the military is still getting paid,wouldn't want a bunch of unhappy, still active, combat veterans on your hands, which is well and good, and that those furloughed will get back pay, which is also well and good, but you are refusing to honor your commitment to all of us disabled veterans. From what I understand the house voted to continue funding the VA but the senate refused to even consider it. Mind telling me why?
Those of us who are disabled veterans already paid the price for serving the country and protecting your sorry backsides, yet while we will likely not get paid, and our hospitals and clinics get shut down, you will still be receiving your pay and benefits. This is wrong on so many levels.
Sadly I get it. You are so worried about how you will look to your constituents or to the radical factions in your parties that you are willing to sell me and mine down the river just to save face. You talk up a storm and try to be all sympathetic while the cameras are rolling or when you are with a friendly crowd but the bottom line is that you are all hiding behind a mask of sympathy while the truth is that none of you really give a care, you have your agenda and your pride and to hell with anything that will get in the way.
And why should you care? You're still getting paid. You will still be able to keep a roof over your head and food on the table, even if this goes on for months, and the worst pain that you are likely to see is perhaps not getting re elected ,but that's OK too because you will just move on to some lobbying group or write your memoirs. Bottom line is that if you do nothing it isn't going to hurt you.
For those of us who live in the real world, those of us who live from pay check to paycheck, your reality is not even remotely close to ours. This is going to hurt ,and hurt bad ,but I suppose that’s what you want; Cause pain and then blame the other side. Great, meanwhile we suffer.
Simply put; If we don't get paid, we won't be keeping a roof over our heads or food on the table. We will literally become a homeless veteran family and likely it won't just be us, it will hit thousands of families. You see my wife and I balanced our budget, unlike congress, and have determined that we are about to reach our limit. Unlike you though, we can't negotiate for more funding, we can't just opt out to not pay our debts. I can't go to the bank and ask them to lend me more money so that I can pay them what I already owe. By stopping our pay you are telling all of us that our sacrifice and the sacrifices of all disabled veterans is worthless to you. We only matter as a political tool. Just remember most of us vote, and if I am sleeping in a card board box eating only what I can find out of a trash bin. I won't forget and I will make damn sure no one else will either.
This is reality; this is no game.
First the simple statement; You are toying with my life. Not just my life, but the life of my family, and many other disabled veterans. It's interesting to note that you have made sure the military is still getting paid,wouldn't want a bunch of unhappy, still active, combat veterans on your hands, which is well and good, and that those furloughed will get back pay, which is also well and good, but you are refusing to honor your commitment to all of us disabled veterans. From what I understand the house voted to continue funding the VA but the senate refused to even consider it. Mind telling me why?
Those of us who are disabled veterans already paid the price for serving the country and protecting your sorry backsides, yet while we will likely not get paid, and our hospitals and clinics get shut down, you will still be receiving your pay and benefits. This is wrong on so many levels.
Sadly I get it. You are so worried about how you will look to your constituents or to the radical factions in your parties that you are willing to sell me and mine down the river just to save face. You talk up a storm and try to be all sympathetic while the cameras are rolling or when you are with a friendly crowd but the bottom line is that you are all hiding behind a mask of sympathy while the truth is that none of you really give a care, you have your agenda and your pride and to hell with anything that will get in the way.
And why should you care? You're still getting paid. You will still be able to keep a roof over your head and food on the table, even if this goes on for months, and the worst pain that you are likely to see is perhaps not getting re elected ,but that's OK too because you will just move on to some lobbying group or write your memoirs. Bottom line is that if you do nothing it isn't going to hurt you.
For those of us who live in the real world, those of us who live from pay check to paycheck, your reality is not even remotely close to ours. This is going to hurt ,and hurt bad ,but I suppose that’s what you want; Cause pain and then blame the other side. Great, meanwhile we suffer.
Simply put; If we don't get paid, we won't be keeping a roof over our heads or food on the table. We will literally become a homeless veteran family and likely it won't just be us, it will hit thousands of families. You see my wife and I balanced our budget, unlike congress, and have determined that we are about to reach our limit. Unlike you though, we can't negotiate for more funding, we can't just opt out to not pay our debts. I can't go to the bank and ask them to lend me more money so that I can pay them what I already owe. By stopping our pay you are telling all of us that our sacrifice and the sacrifices of all disabled veterans is worthless to you. We only matter as a political tool. Just remember most of us vote, and if I am sleeping in a card board box eating only what I can find out of a trash bin. I won't forget and I will make damn sure no one else will either.
This is reality; this is no game.
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