Since his death earlier in the week it has been all Ted Kennedy, all the time in the press. If I hear him referred to as a great man, the Liberal Lion, or any of the other nonsense one more time I think I will hurl! So with that in mind I will provide my own eulogy for him. It may not be as flowery but it will be closer to the truth than what you have heard since he died.
There is one word that I would use to describe Senator Edward Kennedy : Scum! Yes, rich people can be scum, they just dress a little nicer than the perv in the alley. He was a philanderer, a lush, an adulterer, and some would say, a murderer. He used is money and power to walk on people "beneath" him and saw nothing wrong with indulging his most vile interests. His grand work as a public servant was not to benefit the "little people" that he claimed to champion but to feed his gigantic ego. He constantly sought to live up to the standards of his older brothers (in the philandering, of course) and exceeded them because of his longevity.
As to his legislative record which has been lauded in the past few days that is the magic of Hollywood. He is to a great extent responsible for the mess our health care costs are in. During his watch we got Medicare, Medicaid, HMO's and just about every other abomination that has perverted the way we manage health care. The insurance companies that this administration seeks to destroy were his big buddies when he came up with HMO's. Every initiative he sponsored or supported was about government control not benefiting the middle class. It was always about his power and self aggrandizement, nothing more.
Now there is talk of rallying around Teddy to get the health care reform passed. I think that is a great idea! He was a polarizing figure when he was alive so why shouldn't he be in death? Let's call it Teddycare and see what the American taxpayer thinks of it. I am very confident that such a move will be the death nail in the coffin of health care reform. Contrary to what the talking heads would have you believe this country is not as liberal as Kennedy or Obama and the people do not trust the government to takeover and run the health care system.
Yes, it is goodbye, good riddance, and via con diablo, Teddy. Hopefully the likes of you we will never see again!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
Sunday, August 23, 2009
What is a Full Life?
Watching the Fox News Sunday program this morning prompted me to consider a hot topic in the health care reform discussion : End of Life counseling. Their discussion focused on materials that health care providers to veterans were required to refer their patients to. The booklet "Your Life, Your Choices" had a worksheet that guided the veterans in making decisions on advanced care planning. If you haven't heard of this terminology it includes living wills, do not resuscitate orders, and advanced directives to physicians. The big hubbub was about the inferences made by some of the questions that the veteran might be better off dead than to live in a wheelchair or other non-terminal disability.
Let me start this by saying that I am in favor of advanced care planning. Living wills and advanced directives are important for a person to prepare so that loved ones will know his or her wishes. Too many times a person is incapacitated and the family is not aware of their wishes and a struggle ensues as to how to proceed with care. Some family members want all means possible and some want Momma on a Viking funeral pyre. Without anything written down know one knows what an individual wants. A second and just as important part after the directives are prepared is a frank and open discussion of them with the family. A face-to-face with the family can save much grief at a time of suffering the loss of a loved one. Unfortunately only a very small numbers of people have done such planning and the problems continue.
The key omission in the previous paragraph is the role of the government. THERE IS NONE!!!! Our benevolent leaders, who know what is best for us, is on a campaign to get people in any government supported facility to prepare advanced care planning documents. This started a couple of years ago when Medicare put a requirement that advanced care planning be addressed within 14 days of admission to a nursing home. At such time the resident asked to decide many end of life issues such as "Do you want to be a DNR?" "Do you want your life prolonged by artificial means?" These are decisions that should only be made after much consideration, not in a moment of debility or illness. So the government comes along and makes this a centerpiece of health care reform and the inference drawn from it is that these advanced directives are going to be used to deny care to the elderly. If the government is that sinister then it is way past time for another revolution!
Here are some key points on advanced directives:
1. They are only as good as the person chosen to see that they are carried out. Choose your Medical Power of Attorney wisely! The pressures that can come to bear on this person are enormous and you don't want Sara Milktoast in charge of it.
2. Make sure the documents are legally executed, especially the Medical Power of Attorney. This requires notarization of your signature and witnesses.
3. Prepare your advanced directives while you are healthy and of undisputed "sound mind". Just a precaution to eliminate the question.
4. If you have questions about end of life issues ask your doctor. He or she should be able to answer your questions regarding medical treatment, effects of afflictions such as heart attacks and strokes, and living on life support.
In answer to the question in the title, a full life is what YOU say it is. Not me, the government, your kids, or some doctor. I see people in their 90's every day living a full life, engaged in the activities of daily living just as you and me. Their bodies don't work like they used to but they have faced tougher challenges than a wheelchair. As the saying goes "old age is not for sissies".
Let me start this by saying that I am in favor of advanced care planning. Living wills and advanced directives are important for a person to prepare so that loved ones will know his or her wishes. Too many times a person is incapacitated and the family is not aware of their wishes and a struggle ensues as to how to proceed with care. Some family members want all means possible and some want Momma on a Viking funeral pyre. Without anything written down know one knows what an individual wants. A second and just as important part after the directives are prepared is a frank and open discussion of them with the family. A face-to-face with the family can save much grief at a time of suffering the loss of a loved one. Unfortunately only a very small numbers of people have done such planning and the problems continue.
The key omission in the previous paragraph is the role of the government. THERE IS NONE!!!! Our benevolent leaders, who know what is best for us, is on a campaign to get people in any government supported facility to prepare advanced care planning documents. This started a couple of years ago when Medicare put a requirement that advanced care planning be addressed within 14 days of admission to a nursing home. At such time the resident asked to decide many end of life issues such as "Do you want to be a DNR?" "Do you want your life prolonged by artificial means?" These are decisions that should only be made after much consideration, not in a moment of debility or illness. So the government comes along and makes this a centerpiece of health care reform and the inference drawn from it is that these advanced directives are going to be used to deny care to the elderly. If the government is that sinister then it is way past time for another revolution!
Here are some key points on advanced directives:
1. They are only as good as the person chosen to see that they are carried out. Choose your Medical Power of Attorney wisely! The pressures that can come to bear on this person are enormous and you don't want Sara Milktoast in charge of it.
2. Make sure the documents are legally executed, especially the Medical Power of Attorney. This requires notarization of your signature and witnesses.
3. Prepare your advanced directives while you are healthy and of undisputed "sound mind". Just a precaution to eliminate the question.
4. If you have questions about end of life issues ask your doctor. He or she should be able to answer your questions regarding medical treatment, effects of afflictions such as heart attacks and strokes, and living on life support.
In answer to the question in the title, a full life is what YOU say it is. Not me, the government, your kids, or some doctor. I see people in their 90's every day living a full life, engaged in the activities of daily living just as you and me. Their bodies don't work like they used to but they have faced tougher challenges than a wheelchair. As the saying goes "old age is not for sissies".
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Obamacare - Coming to YOUR Doctor's Office
It is always puzzling what it takes to fire up the American people. For about the last year we have been hit with a succession of "crises" that any one of them should have thrown us into a collective seizure. Let's travel down memory lane: First, we had the housing market crater, which led to a panic sell off of stocks, which caused a "collapse" of many financial institutions, followed by a series of Bernie Madoff-like ponzi schemes, followed closely by bailouts of said financial institutions, GM & Chrysler, and auto manufacturers in general. I could have left one out but you get the drift. All of these crises were to a great extent manufactured and resulted in an ungodly amount of borrowing by the government to pump money into the aforementioned segments of the economy.
Now here comes the House with their as-yet-unfinished masterpiece aimed to "fix" our "broken" healthcare system. Everything was going along all cun-by-yah until the unthinkable happened : people started reading the bill as proposed by the house. Let the wailing and knashing of teeth begin!!! Hence followed the rather raucous town hall meetings sponsored by Democrat congressmen and the AMA to explain to us what a wonderful bill it will be. The response was not pretty! Meetings got loud, congressmen became scared, and the attendance at future meetings will be more friendly.
There are several things that resulted from these town hall meetings. First, these liberal congressmen pushing this crappy bill probably realize that passing this bill in its current form has about as much chance of making it to Obama as I do high jumping ten feet. Second, the great unwashed (that's us) really don't want the government screwing up the healthcare system in the same manner they did the post office, General Motors, the Veterans Administration, etc. Therefore the public option is probably dead. Third the liberals in this country are a much smaller group than they thought they were.
Is this the end of this madness? Absolutely not! They will get what they can this time and be back at us next year to finish the job. The only hope we have to stop them is to find and elect conservative congressmen and senators that come with a spine. Reducing or eliminating their majority in 2010 is crucial to the future of our healthcare delivery system. Otherwise we will wake up one morning and some congressional staffer will be prescribing our medications. They are emboldened by their political advantage and are ripe for a fall.
Now here comes the House with their as-yet-unfinished masterpiece aimed to "fix" our "broken" healthcare system. Everything was going along all cun-by-yah until the unthinkable happened : people started reading the bill as proposed by the house. Let the wailing and knashing of teeth begin!!! Hence followed the rather raucous town hall meetings sponsored by Democrat congressmen and the AMA to explain to us what a wonderful bill it will be. The response was not pretty! Meetings got loud, congressmen became scared, and the attendance at future meetings will be more friendly.
There are several things that resulted from these town hall meetings. First, these liberal congressmen pushing this crappy bill probably realize that passing this bill in its current form has about as much chance of making it to Obama as I do high jumping ten feet. Second, the great unwashed (that's us) really don't want the government screwing up the healthcare system in the same manner they did the post office, General Motors, the Veterans Administration, etc. Therefore the public option is probably dead. Third the liberals in this country are a much smaller group than they thought they were.
Is this the end of this madness? Absolutely not! They will get what they can this time and be back at us next year to finish the job. The only hope we have to stop them is to find and elect conservative congressmen and senators that come with a spine. Reducing or eliminating their majority in 2010 is crucial to the future of our healthcare delivery system. Otherwise we will wake up one morning and some congressional staffer will be prescribing our medications. They are emboldened by their political advantage and are ripe for a fall.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
Another Government Giveaway
Recently the government began the Car Allowance Rebate System, referred to by that catchy acronym C.A.R.S. The purpose of this program, the best I can figure, is to stimulate the auto industry. The latest number I have heard is that 224,000 rebates have been awarded for a total of $1 billion. A secondary purpose is to get gas guzzling "clunkers" off the road, replacing them with more fuel efficient newer models. To all the weak-kneed liberals that believe government is the answer to all of our problems this program is the answer to our prayers. As you might imagine I have a different perspective.
Let's look at the concept of the program. If you own a car model year 1994 - 2001 you may receive an allowance of up to $4,500 by trading it in on a new one with better gas mileage. Apparently this is a very popular idea with the consumers because that $1 billion was snatched up in just a few days. Duh! What did they expect? The mindset of the average consumer looks at it as a great deal, getting $4,500 for some piece of crap Ford that isn't worth $500. It is perceived as getting something for nothing, everybody's dream. What about the other side of the deal? Oh yeah, you have to buy a new car and, the last time I checked, those are selling for quite a bit more than this rebate amount. So in the frenzy of "the deal" these lucky people ignore what they ultimately borrow and focus only on the monthly payment. Our wonderful friends at the banks will help us there by financing this car for seven years to get that payment down where they can afford it. The problem is that it will wear out in five to seven years so you will need to buy another one as soon as (or before) you get this one paid off.
Another problem I have is dumping more of MY money into the the auto industry, banks, and the above mentioned people wanting something for nothing. Is this my reward for working hard, saving money, paying off MY debts, and living a fiscally conservative life? To top it all off, the House, seeing the popularity of the program, is falling all over itself to pump another $2 billion into it. I may have a seizure (or a real heart attack) if these idiots keep up these shenanigans!
Here's the deal. Last fall these idiots told us we were on the verge of financial collapse and we had to pump a trillion or so dollars into the financial institutions. We don't have time to study the legislation, put any controls on it, or exercise any kind of prudence. This whole program was to avoid calamity. Get the banks to lending again. It was all B.S. The point is if we keep letting them do the same thing to us over and over again and continue to expect different results then we, and not the politicians, are the insane ones and need to have a collective group session with a psychiatrist!
Let's look at the concept of the program. If you own a car model year 1994 - 2001 you may receive an allowance of up to $4,500 by trading it in on a new one with better gas mileage. Apparently this is a very popular idea with the consumers because that $1 billion was snatched up in just a few days. Duh! What did they expect? The mindset of the average consumer looks at it as a great deal, getting $4,500 for some piece of crap Ford that isn't worth $500. It is perceived as getting something for nothing, everybody's dream. What about the other side of the deal? Oh yeah, you have to buy a new car and, the last time I checked, those are selling for quite a bit more than this rebate amount. So in the frenzy of "the deal" these lucky people ignore what they ultimately borrow and focus only on the monthly payment. Our wonderful friends at the banks will help us there by financing this car for seven years to get that payment down where they can afford it. The problem is that it will wear out in five to seven years so you will need to buy another one as soon as (or before) you get this one paid off.
Another problem I have is dumping more of MY money into the the auto industry, banks, and the above mentioned people wanting something for nothing. Is this my reward for working hard, saving money, paying off MY debts, and living a fiscally conservative life? To top it all off, the House, seeing the popularity of the program, is falling all over itself to pump another $2 billion into it. I may have a seizure (or a real heart attack) if these idiots keep up these shenanigans!
Here's the deal. Last fall these idiots told us we were on the verge of financial collapse and we had to pump a trillion or so dollars into the financial institutions. We don't have time to study the legislation, put any controls on it, or exercise any kind of prudence. This whole program was to avoid calamity. Get the banks to lending again. It was all B.S. The point is if we keep letting them do the same thing to us over and over again and continue to expect different results then we, and not the politicians, are the insane ones and need to have a collective group session with a psychiatrist!
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