Ha, HA! Happy Halloween!

2.2 Million a Word

Please take a look at this article. In part, it says:

"The House health care bill unveiled Thursday clocks in at 1,990 pages and about 400,000 words. With an estimated 10-year cost of $894 billion, that comes out to about $2.24 million per word."

I thought it was very creative reporting. Note that the estimated cost is only for 10 years, not beyond. I certainly doesn't include all the "tweaking" they'll be attempting to throw in over those ten years to get the support of one special interest group or another.

Consider the words of Frederic Bastiat (1848):

"The State is the great fiction through which everyone seeks to live at the expense of everyone else...The State cannot satisfy one party without adding to the labor of the others."

I don't know how much more I can say about health care. To me, it is so blindingly obvious that this is a tyrant lying in wait to gobble up more of what the United States stands for...freedom...that I'm feeling a little sick to my stomach thinking about it. Of course, I think the fact that the American people don't want it should stand for itself.

Me, being me, however, I think I will enjoy a little chuckle at the Politico article, call my "representatives" in Washington, and hold my little ones a bit tighter tonight. For the people in Washington, its votes that are at stake today. For me, its the future of four beautiful children. My stakes couldn't be higher. I can't help feeling like that counts for something.

Obscene Profits

First of all, let me say that I don't have a problem with profits. I enjoyed economics from the time I was in high school. I remember hearing someone at my school say something about Hollywood actors or Major League sports figures. The implication was that it was ridiculous that these people, whose talents were so unimportant, could make such enormous sums of money when teachers, and even doctors, weren't even close. Even as a child who didn't really understand the trade off between services and freedom, I thought this was silly. They make more because people demand their services more. If you disagree with what an actor makes, don't see his film. If you don't approve of what they pay sports figures, don't go to, listen to, or watch sports. When enough people devalue these abilities, they will not be able to demand high salaries.

And so, I now hear that insurance companies are making windfall profits while people are dying after being denied services. That sounds really sad. Too bad it's not true. I want to share this article with you.

FACT CHECK: Health insurer profits not so fat

Basically, based on this assumption of "evil" insurance companies, the government is suggesting that it swoop in and save us. The senate is, once again, drafting legislation that includes a public option. This means that the government will start its own insurance company to compete with the ones that now operate. Except that "compete" isn't the word. After all, they government doesn't have any accountability. They don't have to answer to shareholders. They don't have to turn a profit. Rather, they can just take the money they need from us and our children.

Would this lower health care costs? Let me ask you this...when someone holds out a basket of Halloween candy that includes both full-sized candy bars and dum-dum suckers, which do you take? The person who doesn't have to pay, takes the candy bar. The insurance company says, "Now wait a minute, let's look at the facts. There's calories and cavities to consider. Which of these option is really better?" Take accountability out of health care and you will watch costs skyrocket. And it seems to me that taking accountability away is what the government does best.

The Word of People Much Smarter than Me: Religious Freedom

I shared a few quotes from this talk last week. Today, I want to share the entire thing.

Strike for Freedom

Since I am committed to bringing you the good news in the fight for America, I have to weigh in on yesterday’s little-noticed news about the free press. It’s not a secret that the White House has started a war against Fox News. The have been sending their cronies out to other news outlets to say that Fox News is not a news organization and they will not treat them as such. Twice, that I have heard of, that statement has been followed by the assertion that other news organizations should stop treating Fox as legitimate. It’s a very devious tactic, from a very vindictive White House, who attacks any one who disagrees with them as “racists,” among other things.

Two days ago, the White House did more than just tell everyone else to stop listening to Fox. They agreed to make their “pay czar” (the man responsible for limiting the pay of business executives) available to the members of the White House pool. This is a situation where the five major networks have agreed to pool their resources so that only one has responsibility for the film crew covering the White House. It is a rotating responsibility. All of the networks share the footage. I am not very familiar with the details. But the White House agreed to let these networks interview the “pay czar” as long as Fox was excluded.

The heads of these networks met together and unanimously decided that they would not allow that precedent to be set. They demanded that Fox be included. The White House, perhaps realizing the damage that could happen if this attempt at censorship became a major news story, backed down. I watch coverage of all the networks at times. I know that Fox has been critical of others and the others have been critical of Fox. But these media giants realized that the government cannot take control of the media or limit free speech. I am proud that we live in a place where the right to speak is valued above consensus. I am proud of all the major news networks today.

Bringing the Country Together

Here's Obama on the campaign:



Here he is now:



President Obama is the most divisive president ever. Consider the words of Michael Gerson,

"According to the Pew Research Center, the gap between Republican and Democratic approval ratings for Bush a few months into his first term was about 51 percentage points. For Obama, this partisan gap stands at 61 points. Obama has been a unifier, of sorts. He has united Democrats and united Republicans -- against each other."

This research is from back in April. Do you think it has gotten better? I am proud that conservatives are finally coming together in defense of freedom. I just wish it wasn't at such a cost. Unite and stand together. We can preserve freedom for our children.

Community Teeth

It's a little off subject, but it needs saying...

A few months ago my husband came home from work and told me a story. One of his coworkers had been on this blog. I guess he must have found it very interesting because, rather than any thoughts on the content, he said to Nate, “Did you know that you’re not mentioned anywhere on there?” The answer is, of course, he didn’t. Neither did he care. Nate never reads my writing. I think he’s afraid he won’t like it and have to answer when I ask him his thoughts.

Still, I found it curious that other people would notice how conspicuously absent Nate is from the things that I write. I decided it’s time to change this trend. I don’t want there to be any ambiguity about how much I appreciate and adore my husband.

This month has been rather trying. I have lost my last two grandparents, everyone in my family has been sick, and I noticed a rather unpleasant lump on my gums above a tooth which has already had a root canal, a crown and dental surgery. Through it all, there has been my wonderful husband.

The internet said the gum lump was an abscess and my husband insisted that I go to the dentist immediately. The dentist confirmed the e-diagnosis and explained that I would either have to have the tooth extracted and a bridge put in, or the dental surgery would need to be repeated. He referred me to an endodontist. What does this mean to me? A lot of money.

What was Nate’s reaction? He smiled pityingly and nodded. He had been expecting it, but he was not upset. Our financial situation is not currently ideal. I admit that a part of me wanted to feel less than blessed at this expense showing up right now. It feels like we've had one unexpected expense after another. I also admit that I was concerned about my husband’s feelings on the matter. If you know Nate, you know that he wouldn’t get angry; it’s not his style. But I was worried he would see my teeth as a source of stress, as I did. He would never say that I was causing him stress. But I knew that I would be hurt when I saw that he was upset by a problem that was uniquely mine. Only, he didn’t get upset. He took the news like he would have if I had announced that we were having chicken for dinner. I felt profoundly grateful.

I tried to explain to Nate why his casualness meant so much to me. I wasn’t any better at explaining it to him than I have been at explaining it to you. I told him, “thanks for not making me feel like a liability.” He looked confused and responded, “You’re not a liability.” It was clear that he didn’t see what I was thanking him for. I didn’t know how to better explain it.

Today, Nate came home from work wearing an almost giddy smile. He declared that he was going to be able to work a few of his days off next month. In a very excited tone, he said, “It’ll be an extra thousand dollars. That will pay for your tooth.” I can’t describe what I felt when I saw my husband obviously thrilled about the opportunity to work even more hours for the privilege of, again, flushing a lot of money into my mouth.

It was finally clear to me why he hadn’t understood my concerns. He had never seen my bad teeth as a failing from me, the way I did. Instead, he saw his lack of being able to pay for something I needed as a failing on his part. I had expected him to wonder why I was asking so much of him. Instead, he took great pleasure in finding a way to support me. He didn’t see all the things he could have bought with the money that would now be wasted-at all. Strange.

I don’t know why the world has become such a selfish place. I suspect that the attitude of “her problems” and “his problems” is the primary reason behind the skyrocketing divorce rate. I have just realized that I am in a relationship where my teeth aren’t even mine. They are ours. Perhaps community teeth are the secret to a forever marriage. One thing is for certain, most of society's ills wouldn't even exist if there were more men of integrity around- more men like Nate.

So, today I am addressing the fact that I have not previously talked about my husband. I am posting here, for anyone in the world with internet access to read, that I am madly in love with the man I married 10 years ago. I will be forever grateful that he is mine.

Brilliant and Powerful

I know this blog is becoming a little video-centric, but this may be the most amazing one yet. I couldn't resist. I know none of you has time to sit and watch this. Here's the deal. Wait until it's time to fold laundry. Turn it on. You'll be amazed by this man.

The Word of People Much Smarter than Me: Freedom and Christianity

From a talk by Dallin H. Oaks:

It was the Christian principles of human worth and dignity that made possible the formation of the United States Constitution over 200 years ago, and only those principles in the hearts of a majority of our diverse population can sustain that constitution today. Our constitution’s revolutionary concepts of sovereignty in the people and significant guarantees of personal rights were, as John A. Howard has written,

"generated by a people for whom Christianity had been for a century and a half the compelling feature of their lives. It was Jesus who first stated that all men are created equal [and] that every person . . . is valued and loved by God."

Professor Dinesh D’Souza reminds us:

"The attempt to ground respect for equality on a purely secular basis ignores the vital contribution by Christianity to its spread. It is folly to believe that it could survive without the continuing aid of religious belief."

Religious values and political realities are so interlinked in the origin and perpetuation of this nation that we cannot lose the influence of Christianity in the public square without seriously jeopardizing our freedoms. I maintain that this is a political fact, well qualified for argument in the public square by religious people whose freedom to believe and act must always be protected by what is properly called our “First Freedom,” the free exercise of religion.

80 Years Later

This is a long video, but very interesting. As a disclaimer, I should note that I have found economics interesting since high school. If you have the time, check it out.

Check out my book!

This has the best the best book ever written. You know you want to read it. Everyone's doing it.

The Words of People Much Smarter than Me: Agency

The following is from a speech given by Marion G. Romney.

"Free agency means the freedom and power to choose and act. Next to life itself, it is man’s most precious inheritance.

"Free agency was operative in the spirit world. The gospel plan, as there proposed and adopted, provided that men should enjoy agency in mortality. Satan, with a third of the hosts of heaven, fought it there and lost, but they did not give up their opposition to the principle.

"In the Garden of Eden, God endowed Adam and his posterity with free agency. Satan and his followers have, from then until now, sought directly and in every conceivable indirect manner to substitute the principle of force for the principle of free agency.

"In the book of First Samuel, we have an instructive example of the results of making wrong decisions. In the first chapter we are told that Israel objected to being governed by judges. They wanted a king. The prophet told them that a king would make them servants. But they hearkened not, and persisted in demanding a king. This grieved Samuel, and the Lord said to him, 'Hearken unto the voice of the people … for they have not rejected thee, but they have rejected me.' (1 Sam. 8:7.)

"Israel thus surrendered the form of free government God had given them. They got their king all right, and a few decades later they were taken captive into slavery. Slavery entered into by one’s own choice is no less slavery than that imposed upon him by external force."

Perhaps Obama can pay for his own date night now?

So, I have heard that a lot of people are shocked about this morning's announcement that President Obama has been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for "Obama's vision of and work for a world without nuclear weapons." Some people are even expressing anger that the apparently political move. I just want you to know that I am not angry. I cried when I heard the news. In fact, I am at a complete loss to explain how I feel right now. So, I'm going to let the quadruplets do it for me.



Have a wonderful day! Who knows, tomorrow you could be the recipient of a 1.2 million dollar prize for nothing. I'm voting for you.

Sick, Sad & Wrong

Okay, check out this video. So sad, and so funny. Here's the real sick thing. This was aired by CNN, not as a joke, but as an example of the great things this school is doing. Anyone else wonder what the Math scores are like at this school?

Are there other options?

The question is whether Americans really want healthcare reform. I don't know. We are continually told that we do. What the polls have documented, very well, is that we don't want the plans that are currently being debated in congress. I stumbled upon this video discussing some alternatives yesterday. I suppose the point is that it is possible to be in favor of reform and not in favor of increasing the size and spending of the federal government.

New Perspectives on Universal Healthcare

I admit that I have been avoiding sharing my thoughts on healthcare because it is such a divisive issue. But, yesterday, I sat in a dentist’s office waiting room for an hour, reading Newsweek. I have never been exposed to such a load of slanted, untrue nonsense. I wondered whether this was a perspective my dentist espoused or whether he just stuck the magazines in his office without being concerned about what they said. Throughout my life, this would have made me very uneasy about speaking my mind. It’s much easier to preach to those who agree with you. I found myself, however, being very candid in small talk with the dentist, even when it became civilly political. In fact, I still do not know what his position is. But I have realized that I am growing out of being afraid to be who I am.

If I can be straight forward in person, I can certainly be unafraid on the internet. I am extremely secure in my beliefs.

Today, I want to share one more reason why the government plans being put forward will not fulfill the promise of lowering healthcare costs. Do you want to know who usually ends up in my husband’s ER? It’s not poor people without insurance who have neglected their healthcare to the point that they have no choice but emergent care, as the proponents of universal coverage would have you believe.

It’s people on Medicaid.

A very frequent conversation goes something like this:

Doctor: The symptoms are indicative of a viral infection. You will need to stay hydrated and I can give you something to help with the symptoms. But resting and waiting it out are the best treatment options now.

Patient: I was really thinking I need a chest x-ray.

Doctor: It wouldn’t help at all in your situation. If you start suffering from new symptoms, please see your regular doctor, but I am sure a little time will allow your body to heal.

Patient: Just do the x-ray to be sure.

Doctor: Listen, I’m trying to keep your bill down. If I thought an x-ray would show anything, I would order one, but…

Patient: I don’t get a bill. I’m on Medicaid.

You think I’m kidding? My husband hears this ALL the time. I know people who would indiscriminately take their children to the emergency room for ear infections because they did not like the family practice doctors who would take them. There is a reason that ER visits increased in Massachusetts when universal coverage was implemented. I’ll be sharing additional perspectives as they arise.

White Coats and Paid Bills

I don’t pretend to be an uninterested bystander in the health care debate. I admit that, being married to a doctor, this is something that will fundamentally affect everything that happens to my family over the course of our lives. But, I am honest in saying that my opinion in this matter is focused much more directly on what I feel is right, rather than what I want from the situation. I suppose that is why I disagree with all of the propaganda my husband and I have been getting from doctor’s organizations. If you didn’t catch my commentary on the AMA’s position, find it here.

This week we got something from another organization: The American College of Emergency Physicians (ACEP). My husband is a member of this organization. Like the AMA, he was signed up for his affiliation by the residency program he is in. He did not review their policies or endorse their agenda. He hasn’t paid them a dime. But, since he is a member, we get front row seats to the propaganda battle being wages in the United States. Last week, ACEP decided it was time to dispel the myths being dispersed by the proponents of Obama Care. Here are some of the observations they made:

Myth: Emergency medical care is expensive and inefficient. Reducing emergency care will “bend the cost curve” on our nation’s rising health care costs.

The Facts:
• The 120 million annual visits made to emergency departments account for only 3% of all health care spending.
• Emergency departments are equipped with state-of- the-art diagnostic equipment and highly trained physicians who can draw on many hospital resources quickly, providing coordinated, efficient patient care.
• The fixed costs of being open 24/7 are high, but the variable costs for seeing patients in the emergency department are the same as anywhere else care is provided.

Myth: Emergency departments are crowded with patients seeking non-urgent care.

The Facts:
• Only 12.1% of emergency patients have non-urgent conditions that could wait 2 to 24 hours for medical care, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
• Crowded conditions and longer wait times are primarily caused by patients being “boarded,” or forced to stay in the emergency department – often on gurneys lining the hallways - long after they have been seen and admitted to the hospital.

Myth: Your local emergency department will always be there when you need it.

The Facts:
• Hundreds of emergency departments have closed nationwide because of an overburdened emergency care system.
• The nation’s emergency departments must accommodate an average increase of 3 million more patient visits each year.
• Every 60 seconds emergency care is delayed when an ambulance is diverted to a distant hospital because a nearer one is unable to accept more patients.
• Seventy-five percent (75%) of emergency department directors report significant problems getting needed on-call specialists, such as neurosurgeons and orthopedists, to provide vital on-call services to emergency patients.

Myth: The need for emergency care will decrease when health care reform is enacted.

The Facts:
• With a growing and aging population, our role in providing care to the sick and injured any time day or night, and our front line responsibility in responding to natural and man-made disasters, will be in even greater demand.
• Since enacting its universal health care legislation, Massachusetts has experienced an increase in emergency department patients. • Emergency medicine is an essential community service that is vitally important to our nation’s health care system.

WAIT A MINUTE! The whole pitch being made to the American public is based on the idea that poor people without insurance are showing up in the Nation’s Emergency Rooms and costing us tons of money. You mean that’s simply NOT TRUE? You want to know another fact? It is a fact that studies have shown there is no discernible difference in the health of the insured vs. the uninsured.

Here’s the disturbing part. Following these facts, ACEP says that they support a government option. Why? It will cost us more, take away from physician autonomy and not help in the things everyone keeps promising, according to your own facts. Well. I suppose that if everyone had insurance, more Emergency bills would be paid (at least theoretically).

Huh.

So are the physician proponents of Government Healthcare the ones who care? Or are they part of big business and propaganda like those grassroots physicians assembled at the White House yesterday?

Hilarious!!

This is hilarious. I mean, it's sad that they are painting it as bad that the president hasn't done more of his socialist agenda. I, personally, think he has done MORE than enough. It's funny, though. And I LOVE funny. Have a wonderful day and remember that there is always good news to accompany the bad.

Wait a minute...Did I hear you right?

Keep reading...Keep questioning

Not being all that interested in who will host the 2016 Olympic games, the title that caught my attention this morning was, "H1N1 Kills Moms-to-Be." I clicked on it and read the headline, "CDC: Nearly 1 in 3 Pregnant Women who contracted H1N1 Have Died in U.S."

I was shocked! This strain has a lower mortality rate than the regular flu. Why in the world would it kill one third of pregnant women who contracted it? Perhaps there is a reason to freak out about this after all? But, I wondered, what in the world would make it so much more deadly to pregnant women when it's not dangerous to the elderly? I read on...

“'Since the virus was first recognized in late April, early May, 100 pregnant women across the country have been hospitalized due to the novel H1N1 flu and 28 have died,' Tom Skinner, a spokesman for the Centers for Disease and Control and Prevention told FOXNews.com."

Oh no!

Wait a minute...It said this was among women "hospitalized" with the disease. How many women didn't bother to get treatment for their mild flu? How many were treated and released? How many were hospitalized with the flu, but were not given the expensive and often superfluous tests to determine exactly which strain they were suffering from. Could it be that the headline was a bold faced lie? There is a huge difference between the number contracting the disease and the number hospitalized with it. And, let's face it, these morbid conclusions come from a pretty small sample size.

Huh.

I guess you really shouldn't trust anyone. I should note that I went back to the website later and found that the wording had been amended. But, the point of this post is that you should always check for yourself facts that seem unbelievable. There's a good chance they're simply not true.