WOULD EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP ABOUT HEALTHCARE REFORM?! I am so sick and tired of hearing the same comment over and over again. The answer to healthcare is not a socialist method of healthcare. Socialism does not create good products and services. Now before people start trying to paint me as a National Corporatist let me remind everyone that I take no political stand except my own. You want a new look on the system, I’ve got one.

First of all, the insurance companies are not 100% to blame for the failing of the nations healthcare system. Insurance companies have existed for years and have had no effect on healthcare; however the power of certain groups to force businesses to insure their employees creates a Corporatist control mechanism backed by Socialist greed. The end result is that business bid for the cheapest insurance and have an incentive to keep switching to keep insurance rates down. As insurance becomes more prevalent in society medical agencies and drug companies realize that they can bill for close to anything for products and services since the insurance companies pay based on a thought to be “discounted” cost. An insurance company will traditionally pay about the same as what the consumer would pay if the insurance companies did not exist.

However, this is not to blame the drug companies or doctors on their own. Many insurance companies do not fulfill 100% of their coverage payments. They are better than the current Public Aid options for fulfillment, but they are definitely no where close to perfect and in order to be able to receive payments from them, you must first be accepted into their network, which for some companies may not be possible.

Alright, this is a lot of text, so what am I getting at? The FDA, the Food and Drug Administration is a Government agency of the United States Department of Health and Human Services and is responsible for regulating and supervising the safety of foods, tobacco products, dietary supplements, Medication drugs, vaccines, Biopharmaceutical, blood transfusion, medical devices, Electromagnetic radiation emitting devices, veterinary products, and cosmetics. Presently the FDA is funded two ways by Federal Funding and by user fees. The FDA is allowed to determine what is considered a Drug and what products are considered medical devices. Since 1902 the FDA has the ability to mandate that fees be paid for any and all items which are considered to fall into one of these two categories in addition to several others. They are also tied to a handful of stories about questionable ethics and principles. This is so much so that there are additional agencies produced to oversee the activities of the FDA. Strange that a government entity which approves Leeches as a Medical Device.

Health care is a cluster-fuck of bad ideas that have all culminated in a superstructure of crap. Socialization of the healthcare system will not result in some form of automatic success, but will just simply ensure that businesses have more regulations enforced on them and that every person will have the right to have more money drained consistently from them as a result.

I’m not trying to fearmonger I am just stating the facts. Just like the problems with our economic collapse and our current legislative system, the healthcare system does not require reform but instead requires revolution. It must be over thrown and rebuilt. I oppose anything the government wants to do to save healthcare unless it wishes to put and end to the FDA or at the very least the last hundred years of taxation and manipulative legislation it has created.

Have you ever watched a parade and hoped it would rain? Have you ever been to the circus and waited with anticipation for a tightrope walker to fall? I am starting to think that a lot more people than I thought have. A few more people than I expected have asked me if my proposal yesterday to Teri was too early or was the right thing to do. I was even grilled by one person to make sure I was making the right decision. Twenty questions later he gave me his blessing. I don’t need someone else’s blessing to decide whether or not I want to tell someone I love them so much that I want to spend the rest of my life with them. I make the decision about the person I want to face the troubles, enjoy the happiness, work through the loss, and forge the rest of my life with. I know that quite a few people just simply worry because we live in a world where relationships and marriages end without any provocation or warning (and I myself am proof of that).

However, what it comes down to is that when I talk to Teri, she is my equal and I am her equal. We have a mutual respect and admiration for each other. She is my friend and she is my partner. I don’t have some kind of dreamy vision of her, I see her as an intelligent, beautiful, responsible, generous, devoted, and loving woman, and though I see all that I can still see the things that make her Teri, the dark sides as well as the light.

For those of you who are unaware I enjoy assessing people for what they are made of. Learning the deeper complexities of people makes me feel excited. I am very aware of Teri’s faults and the things which will add a layer of complexity to our life together; however there is not a moment that I feel as though these faults are any different than my own. Though they are unique in what they are they are still a subject which the two of us discuss and continue to find balance for.

Commitment is about telling another person that they are everything you have been searching for, and that you accept them as who they are and are willing to be there for them always. I go into this with no false visions of what will happen or how difficult this will be. Marriage is hard work, determination, and faith. I have no doubts about the way I feel about Teri and I look forward to facing the days ahead with her.

As many of you know, there is very little about the Christmas Holiday which I enjoy. Usually, during this holiday I am either short on money, time, or good cheer. By the last week prior to Christmas, my stress levels have me passed the point I can breathe. Last year this was caused when I not only got my check two and a half weeks late, but also did not get my usual Christmas bonus. The year before that Rebecca had lost her job and Christmas would mostly be about preparing to buffer ourselves against the problems to come.

When the month began I had already been handed a bit more than I could handle. Wally decided that he could no longer work at the store because he was looking for more work and didn’t feel he could keep up the responsibility. This wasn’t a huge problem, however, since I had been handling the FNMs prior to that with little trouble, the additional Friday gave me time to be able to get some side responsibilities done, however and would allow me additional shopping time this year.

In addition, the two weeks prior to Thanksgiving I floated the store a loan which I was sure would have paid off by now. However, due to the random decrease in player attendance at both the FNMs and the Drafts, income tanked during the month of November and I am still sitting on $800 which will end up being paid back to me in slow installments.

During the last week of the month, I was notified by Rebecca that the custody agreement, which I thought was going to be sufficient, was not usable and would have to be amended. This meant that I would not be allowed to see my daughter for at least another month, and it was especially painful because of the time of year, and my family’s desire to see her again.

However, Teri has been amazingly supportive during this time. It’s a little tougher for her and I really appreciate the attempts she has been making. I feel awful because I know what a mess I become this time of year and the fact that she understands is help on it’s own.

I have new plans for the store next year and so far they seem to be fairly awesome. Tom is going to come on in a more Partner style position and I am still in the market for a few others. I am currently watching one of my clients deal with a nightmare situation and I don’t want to end up there myself.

So where am I going with all this?

Mostly I am just passing out status updates to the world and explaining why the great deal of silence lately. Although it’s not completely responsible I was trying to enjoy as much of my time in November as I could.

To anyone which may feel like I have been ignoring them or not communicating with them as much, I apologize and to those of you who feel I was rude or insincere, I apologize.

For years I have always thought of myself as a good communicator. However, in the last few years I have had it brought to my attention that some of the ways I communicate have been rather rude, or at least so I am told. When enough isolated people tell you that certain mannerisms you had may be impeding your ability to have a positive relationship with people, you start to realize that there must be a reason.

As I have had it informed to me, and not directly I might add (and yes this is actually said with the tone it sounds like, I tend to type the way I speak), I tend to speak down to people when engaged in an argument. To be quite sincere however, it is not a trait I have really felt so bad for doing though. As of the present, the only people who seem to get offended by it our people who tend not to be too terribly sure of their own opinions, hence the trouble in being able to say something about this to me directly. If you feel this includes you, it probably does. If you want to get mad and go tell someone else, then don’t expect me to change my opinion.

When I began this blog, my intention was to take a scenario and apply my personally crooked opinion to it. The intent wasn’t even to garner a fan base, I just wanted to have another outlet for personal expression of opinion.

Apparently, however, the method of expressing opinions is such a problem that people will allow it to change the way they treat and interact with other people. People find themselves unable to confront their problems head on and they make excuses for why they use surrogates to get the job done.

Again, if this feels like a personally attack on anyone, let me inform you that this is not directed at anyone. I’m sick of failed communication with people and my attitude of speaking down to people cannot end unless people can site some examples. So I urge you, if you feel that this is a problem and you want to explain to me what it is that was done and why it makes you feel so sad then reply and let me know. Otherwise, get over it.

I have always learned that when you feel strongly about something you have to commit yourself to feeling that it is the right answer and that you have the right answer. As many people have experienced I tend to come off as being either liberal or conservative to which I will remind all of you I am neither. I enjoy taking the opposed stance in an argument though and standing my ground. However, if you would like to have an open discussion, prepare to experience a difference scenario all together.

Communication is one of the best parts of being a human being. Failure to communicate is one of the greatest threats to our social existence. Be a part of life, communicate. You can find out some great things about people when you take a moment to tell them they are doing something you don’t like and people aren’t going to change the way they treat you unless you give them a reason to.

Have you ever tried to do something, but could only remember to do it while you were in locations which didn’t give you access to the things you wanted to do. This is the perpetual state I have been in for the last few years. I have been trying to get the new logo spread around quite a bit. Now that I think I have the proper coloring down for it I would like to get all of our promotional materials printed up and displayed. Unfortunately, I forgot to save the work to the company machine and instead left it on the comic shop’s machine. Fail!

It took me two weeks to remember that I needed to do laundry any time other than when I was in the north suburbs. Today, I actually got my laundry done. Well, part of it anyway. Damnit, I forgot to put the load in the washing machine. Fixed!

Finally downloaded more episodes of The Whistler…

Whistler, The
CAST: Bill Forman, Marvin Miller, Everett Clarke, Doris Singleton, Lurene Tuttle, Jack Webb, Hy Averback, Joe Kearns, Paul Frees, Howard Culver, Charlotte Lawrence, John Dehner, Mary Shipp, Elliott Lewis, Jack Moyles, Charles Seel
ANNOUNCERS: Marvin Miller
PRODUCERS/DIRECTORS: George Allen, Sherman Marks, Sterling Tracy
SOUND EFFECTS: Berne Surrey, Gene Twombly
MUSICAL DIRECTOR AND ORIGINAL MUSIC SCORE: Wilbur Hatch, Dorothy Roberts did the whistling
The Whistler – 1942-1948
The show first broadcast its fantastic thirty-minute crime mystery series in May 1942 and did not finish until September 1948. There were more than 450 shows of murder and intrigue in all. Although it ran for 6 years it was broadcast for only one year on a national network. The show opened to the sound of footsteps and an eerie whistle, which went on throughout the introductory music. The Whistler always began the show with the opening lines; I am the Whistler, and I know many things, for I walk by night. I know many strange tales, many secrets hidden in the hearts of men and women who have stepped into the shadows. Yes, I know the nameless terrors of which they dare not speak…”

This only took me a little over a month to remember. I hate my awful memory.

Why is it that life doesn’t have any hacks or enhancers? I could really use some kind of undelete or undo button for my brain so I could at least go back a few thoughts.