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Blatherings
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November 27th, 2009
November 20th, 2009
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| Whistleblower under attack - "Defence Minister Peter MacKay...attacked Colvin's credibility after the diplomat's testimony that suggested widespread Canadian knowledge and cover-up of the abuse of Afghan prisoners transferred by Canadians to local authorities..." I heard the basics of this story on NPR yesterday morning and was very ashamed. I suppose it was naive to imagine that the Canadian government and military were above this sort of thing, but I thought they'd learned something after Somalia. Apparently not. I'm unimpressed by the Tory attempt to discredit the whistleblower. In fact, I'm generally unimpressed by any attack on any whistleblower. The more anyone shouts and stomps about a whistleblower, the more likely I am to believe the whistleblower. Especially when it looks like they've been working to cover it up for some time. Bravo to Colvin for coming forward and here's to hoping it leads to a shakeup and gets the nasties out of there for good this time. *sigh* | ||||||
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November 8th, 2009
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| It's not just the health insurance companies that are stupid. It's the providers too (as I've mentioned before in my tale of why nobody should ever go to River Ranch Radiology): http://consumerist.com/5398768/hosp Granted, it's an error. But it's a very bad and very stupid error, and the bit about the patient being indigent is getting into evil territory. It demonstrates once again that the US model of health care is too focused on dollars over concern for humanity, which can never realistically be rectified as long as it remains a for-profit industry. It also reflects what I've been saying for some time about US health care: the stress of wondering if an error will come your way and then the subsequent stress of having to deal with the error and try to get it fixed is obscene. The last thing anyone needs when they are ill or dealing with an ill or deceased loved one is to have to deal with someone else's massive clerical errors. A more streamlined, single-payer system that covers everybody reduces errors simply by having less options that could be accidentally selected. | ||||||
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November 1st, 2009
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| *whimper* After all of that hassle trying to get BPA banned from baby bottles, now I read in Consumer Reports that it's in the epoxy that lines most food cans too. As in, almost all canned food, sometimes in really high doses. It looks like this news started coming out shortly before my surgery and then some afterwards, all while I was too busy to notice. The article is in the December 2009 issue of CR. There's also gobs of info here: http://www.ewg.org/reports/bispheno It looks like there's legislation pending (http://markey.house.gov/index.php?opti The industry is running around screaming, of course, and doctoring up some studies to say it really is safe, really really, and please don't look at the studies in Japan where voluntary elimination of BPA in food containers almost a decade ago have reduced exposure significantly, no no no, don't look at that at all, instead look at our bogus studies that try to make it sound like the birth control pill is more dangerous and please continue to overlook the fact that nobody is feeding birth control pills to children but they are feeding canned foods to children... Gah. I want to write to the couple of companies left from which I actually buy canned foods (I wish there was a healthier, organic version of Campbell's cream of mushroom soup that tasted as good, but there isn't, and don't bother telling me about another brand because I've tried lots and nobody else comes close to that taste, not even Campbell's supposedly healthier versions) and tell them off about the BPA. I want to write to my elected representatives. But the nature of this sort of thing is that those who will pay attention to me already agree with me and are working to get it out, and those who disagree with me won't listen. Plus, I'm really exhausted right now and damn it, I shouldn't HAVE to go on letter-writing campaigns all the time to get poison out of the food supply! *more whimpering* At least a bunch of informed scientists are hassling the government for me. Thank you to them. And some states have started banning it in baby bottles/cups. Canada has already banned it as well, I believe. Makes me homesick for sensibility, yet again. | ||||||
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October 29th, 2009
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| Lack of health insurance played a role in thousands of child deaths, researchers say "This does not mean that the children received less aggressive care at the hospital but that they were probably in poorer health before the arrived, researchers said." Hopefully that's the last nail in the coffin of the moral hazard myth. Then again, anti-healthcare rhetoric knows no bounds. | ||||||
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October 28th, 2009
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| Gah, every time Senator John Cornyn opens his mouth about health care or replies to one of the petitions/emails I've signed/sent regarding health care, I just want so badly to paint my cane to say CLUE STICK in big bright letters and then find out where his local office is and then go down there and beat him with it. Stupid dumbfuck Republican asshole moron stinkface idiot. I used to be able to laugh at Texas, being represented by such idiots who are always being quoted on NPR with such incredibly ridiculous statements that reveal how out of touch they are, but now...*sigh*. | ||||||
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October 27th, 2009
October 26th, 2009
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| Sen. Franken: "You said the way we're going will increase bankruptcies...How many bankruptcies because of medical crises were there last year in Switzerland?" So awesome. | ||||||
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October 22nd, 2009
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| Hey all of you out there who are horrible parents like Corran and I as evidenced by your non-standard-sized child, pay attention. Your kid can be denied health care coverage in the US if they're too thin or too fat, and the latest case shows that if you're proactive in trying to address the issue, that might be what gets you in trouble too: Heavy infant in Grand Junction denied health insurance Toddler denied insurance for being too small And here we were being so damned thrilled that Peo weighed in just over 30 lbs at her 4th birthday doctor's appointment last week, because the Wii Fit board still marks her as being just under 30. Guess she's at risk of being denied coverage. How fun. | ||||||
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October 16th, 2009
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| I was sitting with some other parents outside of Peo's music class and we were discussing school and whether each of our kids likes it or not. I said that Peo loves it and was furious with me yesterday because as far as she sees it, I made her miss the morning of school to take her to the doctor where she got jabbed with needles. Worse, at first I said she'd only get one because the doctor said that, but then it turned out she needed four (she couldn't have the combo because she's had her full dose of one of the ones in the combo). So I said that I was getting angry glares all morning for depriving of her of school and taking her to "a place where people HURT ME!" The other parents laughed that knowing laugh...except one. Who then jumped down my throat about the mercury in vaccines. I immediately thought, "Do I get into it with this person or leave it?" I decided to leave it. But then she repeated about vaccines having mercury in them and that not being safe. So I got sucked in and said, "Actually, they don't have mercury any more." She said, "Yes they do." I sighed and said, "Some childhood vaccines used to have thimerosal, which contains mercury, but they haven't had it in years." She says something about being a research biologist so therefore she knows about such things. I said, "Okay, whatever, but you're wrong. I was worried about it too and my pediatrician has shown me labels on vaccines that indicate they are thimerosal-free." (Actually it was our Vegas pediatrician and I'll admit I haven't had the Austin one do so, but that's because I know thimerosal has been phased out for years.) So of course, she brings up the autism thing. To which I said that the MMR study often cited as "proving" the link between vaccines and autism was a badly done study with something like 12 kids, several of whom exhibited signs of autism BEFORE they got the MMR. I said, "A study of 12 is not good science." One of the other parents nervously said, "Um, I'm pretty sure they don't put mercury in them any more." So the anti-vax woman keeps going on and on, and eventually I said, "Look, I respect those parents who choose not to vaccinate. I let them know when my kid has been vaccinated so they can keep their kids away for a week or so. I support parent choice. But I don't have a lot of sympathy for the parents who post to message boards complaining that they're boiling sheets for their five kids with mumps because if they made that decision." She was furious and told me I had no right to tell anyone how to decide for their kids, and then snidely said that if I chose to vaccinate, that was my problem. And I said (probably stupidly), "And if someone else choose to live with sixteenth century medicine, I'm not obligated to feel sorry for them if it doesn't work out." Then she told me off for being insulting and starting such a discussion. I pointed out that she was the one who started it by coming down on me for having vaccinated my kid. She said that wasn't true. I said yeah it was. She said she wasn't judging me, so I repeated back her initial statements and of course she didn't like that. She demanded that we drop it. I said, "Okay, then drop it." She says, "YOU drop it!" I said, "It's dropped!" She says, "Then you have to stop talking about it!" I said, "I have! If you want it dropped, then drop it!" She says, "YOU drop it!" again. I rolled my eyes and said, "It would be dropped if you would stop telling me to drop it!" She stormed off. One of the other mothers had slipped away earlier. The one who was left and I then had a lengthy conversation about how it's kinda sorta important to read the CURRENT information before espousing to others. She was the one who had said she was pretty sure the mercury was gone too. She pointed out that those who choose not to vaccinate can largely do so since the rest of us do vaccinate and keep many of these diseases from being so prevalent in the first place. We talked about autism levels being on the rise and all of the various factors that might or might not be part of that, and how maybe the thimerosal was involved, but how the fact remains that the standard childhood vaccines just don't have it anymore. Then we talked about how frustrating it can be when people decide something is true, even when it's not, and spread it around with authority and other people believe that and that's how myths get propagated. I brought up the example of pineapple juice in infertility...a few years ago it was all over the fertility discussion that vast quantities of pineapple juice could help you conceive. I had the audacity to ask if there was clinical data on that and ruffled some feathers. I don't know if it helps or not, maybe it does. I know people who had trouble conceiving for years and then drank pineapple juice and got pregnant. But I also know people, like myself, who had trouble conceiving for years and then one time it finally worked and no pineapple juice was consumed. Correlation is not causation. I also know that for women with PCOS, carb intake must be strictly managed to keep estrogen levels stable, and juice of any kind is counter-productive. So spreading around anecdotal information can actually be dangerous. Maybe there is clinical data now about pineapple juice. Maybe there will one day be conclusive, well-researched proof about vaccines and autism. But right now, the FACT is that the mercury has been removed from all childhood vaccines. There are flu vaccines with thimerosal but there are also ones without and I know that's what our pediatrician uses. Some vaccines never had it at all. Here is a government table that lists information on thimerosal in vaccines, because nobody should take my word for it any more than the person who spouted off at me today. I suppose one could say that the government is biased and might be lying and hiding mercury in them, but that reaches a level of unlikely conspiracy that I refuse to discuss as plausible. If people want to argue about whether vaccines are a good idea or not, that's one thing, but I do require that people bloody well get their facts straight before jumping on others, mmmkay? The mercury was there in some, it is gone now. Point. | ||||||
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October 10th, 2009
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| I heard this story on NPR a couple of weeks ago and it's really pathetic. But here's the guy's own words in a Washington Post opinion piece: I Didn't Tell. It Didn't Matter. - Trying to serve his country, a young man faced bigotry and abuse Basically, it sums up why "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" doesn't work. As he says, "The irony of 'don't ask, don't tell' is that it protects bigots and punishes gays who comply." Which is probably the point. | ||||||
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September 28th, 2009
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| Time to post some articles about food I've had sitting in tabs forever... Getting Real About the High Price of Cheap Food - If you haven't read Michael Pollan's stuff, this is a good summary of the problem with artificially cheap food. Yes, I do get that not everyone can afford the organic/pastured stuff, although I do know lots of people who choose to spend money on things like high-cost cell phone plans and top-tier cable packages instead of better quality food. Not everyone has a choice (some areas don't even have pastured meat available), but more people have more of a choice than many would like to admit. If you choose HBO over organic apples, that's totally up to you, but please don't include yourself with the "I can't afford it" crowd because there are people out there who are highly frugal and still truly can't afford organic/pastured. For the record, Corran and I aren't purists on this stuff. We still do the occasional convenience/processed food when we could do scratch for the same sort of thing. But yeah, some nights, it's easier to pop a couple of Marie Callendar's frozen chicken pot pies in the oven (which is what we're doing tonight) than to get all-organic, all-pastured ingredients and make from scratch. The scratch one would be healthier and taste better but cost several times as much in money and time. We're realistic about it. It's just that when there's a choice to use the better stuff when we are doing real cooking, we've been trying to make that choice as often as possible (given that it's not like the regular grocery store even carries pastured meat). If everyone made a small effort, everyone would discover that the real stuff tastes better and sales would increase so the price would fall and availability would increase, creating a feedback loop for positive change. Those of us who can afford it need to help pave the way now so one day everyone else can too. It's not right that a poor mom can make food stamps go further with junk food than organic produce. Highlights from the article:
Consumers Devouring Nutrient-Spiked Foods - This one is about not falling for the bogus health claims all over food packaging these days. Chocolate bars will not cure your heart disease. Breakfast cereal is not going to make your kid athletic. We like Pollan's edict (from his book, not this article) that the more a processed food shouts about its health benefits, the more you should be skeptical because it's covering up for all of its unhealthy ingredients...and fruit and veg don't need to make those bogus claims for obvious reasons.
Read the labels, folks. "Whole grain" on the front might just mean a sprinkling of oats on top of something that's otherwise highly processed white flour and lots of sugar. Check for levels of bad fats, sodium (a big one in processed foods), and specific nasty ingredients like high fructose corn syrup, MSG, etc. Also, be aware that a sneaky trick used to hide the amount of sugar (especially in cereals, because they know mothers read the ingredients there) is to use several kinds of sugar so they're all further down the list, since ingredient lists are by highest amount first. So don't be fooled and think that a breakfast cereal isn't too sugary because flour or oats is the first ingredient; check for sugar, sucrose, dextrose, corn syrup, high-fructose corn syrup, and other sugar names. If it's got several, they're deliberately hiding the sugar content from you. Make your choice an informed one, so at least if you decide you're really craving that sugar cereal, you know what you're eating. After all of that unpleasant news, here's a pick-me-up that's totally unhealthy but fun: How to make cake and cookies look like a hamburger and fries meal - Yeah, I see the HFCS-and-other-ickies-laden foods there, which totally conflicts with what I've posted above, but here's the thing: if everyone only had this kind of processed stuff once a month or less, it wouldn't be a problem. So the next time you want to have a box mix, turn it into a super-cool and special activity you can do with your kids* instead of an every-night calorie binge. * For those who say they or their kids can't do fun/artistic stuff like this with food, PAH-LEEZE, Peo decorated her first cake before she was 3 and entered her first cake show shortly after. Yeah, each was a big sticky mess and far from sculpturally accurate, but that's not the point. She had fun. She valued that time with me and I with her. She learned stuff about cooking and construction. That's pretty big value for the investment of time and cleaning, and you get cake out of it, which tastes good even if the icing is lumpy. | ||||||
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September 27th, 2009
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| I've lost count of how many of these hideous stories there have been lately, but have another one just for kicks... US Health Care Sucks Reason Number 51239713783 CA Insurer: Woman's Bleeding Breast Not Emergency Summed up, a woman woke to a shirt covered in blood and appeared to be bleeding from her breast, so she went to the emergency room. Her insurance tried to deny the claim on the basis of it not being an emergency. They've paid up now that her local news team came a-callin'. | ||||||
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| "I think your mom probably did." Awesome. | ||||||
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September 22nd, 2009
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| Apparently, in recent years these have also been reasons US health insurance companies have used to deny coverage: being a cop, firefighter, construction worker, athelete, logger, migrant worker, or war correspondent. Or having had acne, allergies, ADD, or bunions. And: 'Pregnancy and expectant fatherhood are common grounds for denial. Blue Shield of California's 2006 guide even goes a step farther and considers families with an adoption in process a "declinable condition."' Consumerist: Sorry, Sir, Firefighting Is A Pre-Existing Condition And in case you missed it, being a victim of domestic abuse is a condition that insurance companies have used to deny coverage as well. I recall that in Sicko, Moore had a huge list of conditions that lead to exclusion. With all of this, who the hell has coverage other than through work/Medicare/Medicaid? Sheesh. | ||||||
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September 20th, 2009
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| Source on Daily Kos, which includes a PDF version for handy printing. The Teabagger Socialist-Free Purity Pledge by Laura Clawson I, ________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following: I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights. I will complain about the destruction of my 2nd Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights by legally but brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public. I will foreswear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls. Also. I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following: * Social Security * Medicare/Medicaid * State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP) * Police, Fire, and Emergency Services * US Postal Service * Roads and Highways * Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA) * The US Railway System * Public Subways and Metro Systems * Public Bus and Lightrail Systems * Rest Areas on Highways * Sidewalks * All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., see Iowa 2009 federal senate appropriations) * Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!) * Public and State Universities and Colleges * Public Primary and Secondary Schools * Sesame Street * Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children * Public Museums * Libraries * Public Parks and Beaches * State and National Parks * Public Zoos * Unemployment Insurance * Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services * Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them) * Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them) * Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions) * Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD's ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking * Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies * Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C. I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist locations, including but not limited to: * Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History * The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments * The government-operated Statue of Liberty * The Grand Canyon * The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials * The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery * All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided healthcare. I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America. I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army. I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees. Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks. Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die. SWORN ON A BIBLE AND SIGNED THIS DAY OF __________ IN THE YEAR ___. _____________ _________________________ Signed Printed Name/Town and State | ||||||
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September 15th, 2009
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| Oh, this is a special new level of sick... Domestic violence is a "pre-existing condition"? - "...in DC and eight other states, including Idaho, Mississippi, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, and Wyoming, insurance companies have gone too far, claiming that 'domestic violence victim' is also a pre-existing condition." That is FUCKED UP. | ||||||
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August 22nd, 2009
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| Some interesting stories I've seen lately: Taco Joint Fined $46G for Firing Mom for Breastfeeding The Lighter Side: What Do Republicans Really Want? More Shoppers Thinking Twice in the Checkout Line (many people should be thinking more without a recession!) Awesome Doctor Who cakes on Cake Wrecks' Sunday Sweets from a few weeks ago | ||||||
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August 6th, 2009
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| Okay, I'm about ready to lose my pacifism on stupid people regarding the US health care issue. ATTENTION: CANADA DOES NOT SLAUGHTER SENIOR CITIZENS! They are not put on ice floes, literally or figuratively. I have never heard of a Canadian senior citizen being told by the government that they have lost government health care coverage because they're too old (and if someone out there has first-hand, documented proof of such a thing happening, let me know). Sometimes people who are very ill - whether due to age or other factors - may be told by a doctor that they can't have surgery because the procedure will kill them, but it's NOT the government telling them they are expendable! Any responsible surgeon in any country would think twice about performing surgery on someone in a severely precarious health condition! Whereas in the US, lots of people of all ages can't get needed surgery because for-profit insurance companies deny it on the basis of cost. GAHHHHHHHHH. TEH STOOOOPID, IT BURRRNNZZZ! I just got a version of the email shown on this debunking page, and found the page when I looked up whether or not it's true that in the UK, people over 59 are routinely denied certain types of care (it is a total lie): http://www.factcheck.org/askfactcheck/i I went through the pasted-on headers and replied to everyone on the list with that URL and a note that, having lived in Canada for most of my life, I had never seen a senior be denied care as described. Yeah, yeah, I know...I probably broke a rule of netiquette by sending the email to everyone listed but my tolerance level for this garbage has been drastically exceeded at this point. The people being targeted with these LIES are often the ones who stand to gain the most from proper national health care (and I'm not saying the current watered-down bill is that...frankly it's not enough, not by far, but I'll grudgingly tolerate it as better than nothing). Which is exactly why the lies are being spread, because if the average person knew how much better they could have it and was willing demand it of their elected officials, the industries involved would not have a good day. Corran and I were talking last night about the mind-bogglingly absurd notion being spread around that this bill will hurt small business. Nuh-uh! That's the Walmarts of the world spreading that lie, because companies like Walmart - who run a scam whereby they offer coverage to all employees but at a cost exceeding the wage of most of those employees, and then turn around and advise employees to use what state programs they can - are the ones who will suffer if they actually have to provide AFFORDABLE coverage to employees. Small businesses will be exempt, and those employees could use the public option. As I said to Corran in the discussion, I think the administration has approached this stupidly by shoving it all into one giant omni-bill. If they'd brought it about in stages, each of which is individually harder to attack, I think they would have had more success. For example, if the first bill had just been a patients' bill of rights that stopped a lot of the insurance industry's evil practices (rejection based on pre-existing, dumping coverage when you get an expensive illness, lifetime caps, etc.), it would have been hard to argue that to the general public, because most people would like to get better service. Then another bill introducing a public option, then only putting in the mandatory thing later when that option is up and running and shown to be successful, etc. But by cramming it all together in a way that even lawmakers can't/won't fully read, it's open to either deliberate or clueless misreadings of certain clauses that INCREASE care for seniors as forced euthanasia. So please, spread the word: this health care bill is supposed to help, not kill. Don't let stupidity be the reason nothing changes. PS If you need yet another story of how broken the system is: Health Insurance Woes: My $22,000 Bill for Having a Baby: And I had coverage for maternity care! Women in the US really need to be aware that a lot of plans have been shedding maternity coverage lately. This came up in a discussion at my infertility support group in Vegas a couple of years ago, where someone had stopped coverage for awhile (in order to save up for non-covered fertility stuff) and then when they came back to ask for the same plan, discovered that the new plan *at the same price* now no longer included maternity coverage beyond some small figure, not even enough for a standard, uncomplicated birth, let alone a c-section or any other issues. It turns out that a lot of coverage has started dumping maternity coverage and subscribers who don't read every update suddenly find themselves in dire straits. So if you're pregnant or planning to be, better check your policy first, and often. | ||||||
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Blatherings
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