Shamelessly Stolen From Twitter

I may not stop laughing until Thanksgiving after reading this comic.

George Carlin - The American Dream

My favorite comedian of all time speaking truth about "The American Dream".

A Rant About Opposition To The Affordable Healthcare Act

Cross-posted at An Angry Dakota Democrat

Over the past 30 years, every politician that has run for the White House, had a platform for reforming healthcare so that all Americans get adequate healthcare. So when President Obama used his political capital of his first term to pass the Affordable Care Act, which could conceivably give health care protection to millions of Americans who did not or could not afford protection before, I thought it was a good idea. After all, I thought, who would balk at the idea of holding people personally responsible for obtaining health insurance so the costs of most medical procedures would not come back on the rest of the population who have insurance but continue to see rates rise. Boy was I wrong. There was stiff resistance from Day 1.

Freedom in the Time of Healthcare

The other day I was standing in a long line at the cable company, and listening to the discussion in front of me. I couldn't be accused of eavesdropping, because there was no way I couldn't listen. The discussion was about Obamacare. I could tell as soon as I got in line behind them, because I heard the phrase "shoved down my throat." I'm so sick of that one. "This is the land of the free, why should I have to be forced to buy healthcare? I don't want that shoved down my throat." I guess he meant the medicine. I waited in line, hearing what else he had to say. "Premiums are going up, I don't even know if I can afford them. Do you know how long we'll have to wait under this new system? I don't want to be forced to buy insurance and would rather pay the penalty. They shouldn't make me." I decided I couldn't hold my tongue and jumped in as politely as I could.

"Premiums are going up, you say?" He looked and nodded. "Good thing that hasn't been happening all along, at several percentage points higher until a few years ago. I used to pay for a family plan about ten years ago. It was a good plan. My wife and I have one now, coverage not as good, but we are covered. It's more than twice what I paid ten years ago."

"Wow, that's a lot to pay a month." he said

 "It is. Income hasn't doubled over the same time period. It sucks. My wife spent five days in the hospital last month. The bill is into five figures, but we pay less than $300.00. If we didn't have insurance, we would have been screwed."

"I'm not sure what doctor you are using, but my wife has been having a lot of medical problems lately. I can count on one hand the times I got a same day appointment. I'm not sure what mythical land you live in where there are no wait times, but I'd like to live there. My wife has quite a rash that we showed to the doctor recently. She has an appointment for the dermatologist in November. When she needed a bunch of tests, the doctor sent us to the emergency room so we could do them right away. Normally it would have taken well over a week to get them, as well as the results."

"I get into my doctor pretty fast." he said. "But I live in a really small town."

The conversation ended with him mumbling about losing his freedom. What I wanted to say, but didn't was this: I understand you don't want to have to be forced to buy health insurance, and that's fine and all, but when you end up in the emergency room with a broken leg and can't afford it, it's not free. I pay for your unpaid medical bills. Me, and everyone else with insurance pays for it. No one asked me if I wanted to pay for it, I don't have a choice. It's factored into the rates. One could say that those of us with insurance are getting the uninsured's unpaid bills.  The uninsured, non-paying people are getting a 'free ride' and this just puts that to a stop. It is the rare snowflake indeed who goes their entire life without needing medical care.


I guess the 'freedom' he is losing is the freedom to go to the emergency room on my dime, as well as yours.

Outrageous Indeed

#Outrageous! 7th grader suspended from school for playing with an airsoft gun in his yard http://t.co/LdIkkHecWO

— NRA (@NRA) September 24, 2013

Three days ago I was very upset about the above tweet, and I still am. Why, do you ask? The above Tweet is all the proof you need to know the NRA doesn’t give a fuck about responsible gun use, even if it’s only a “toy” pellet gun.

The above picture is a Crossman Stinger P311 Airsoft pistol you can buy off Amazon for $14.97, and for a similar price at your local WalMart. It may not be the exact gun these kids were “playing with” near a school bus stop, but it’s very similar and there’s nothing about it that makes it a toy if misused.

The Stinger P311 is a pellet gun that uses air to discharge pellets or other projectiles at up to 325 FPS (feet per second), which is powerful enough to break someone’s skin and/or seriously injure them if shot in the eyes. It is designed for target practice and not for use or purchase by children under the age of sixteen.

The fact is, kids barely old enough to be teenagers, shot other kids with an Airsoft gun without a care for basic firearm safety or local firearm laws… and yet the NRA thinks it’s outrageous these kids are paying the price for their stupidity? The NRA, and their members that agree with them, are wrong.

If these punks were arrested and sent to Juvenile Hall rather than suspended from school, do you think the NRA would still be outraged?

Don’t get me wrong. Target shooting is fun when it’s done right. I love my pistol crossbow. It shoots 6 1/4” field point bolts at 165 FPS, and I only use targets designed for its use or homemade ones that will prevent any type of “pass through” through wear and tear.

Even though I cannot kill someone with my pistol crossbow, I treat it as if I can. I never load it unless it’s pointed at the ground. I never put my finger near the trigger unless the safety’s off and I’m already aimed at my target. And I’ll never aim it at a human or animal unless I’m in mortal danger and I intend to kill them.

The fact these kids were never taught basic firearms safety, local laws, or to respect what damage guns can do is what we should be outraged about.

Would You Like Fries With This Rant?

Sometimes perception is everything. At first, I was supportive of the fast food strike. What seems like a lifetime ago, my first “real” job was working at a McDonald’s in high school. I learned how to work a cash register that computed everything for me. I learned how to count inventory and what FIFO means. I learned how to cook a mean Quarter Pounder with Cheese, but I also had timers that told me when I had to do everything.

I also learned it was no way to make a living long term, especially since minimum wage at the time was only $3.35 an hour. I also hated it, and I did whatever it took to get out of there. I worked hard in school to get good grades. I stayed out of trouble. I worked on skills that would make me marketable in other career fields, and found solace in a pizza restaurant that wasn’t nearly as anal as Mickey D’s.

Once I determined managing a pizza restaurant was not my cup of tea upon college graduation, I got the fuck out of there. I started a new career, and I busted my ass to rise to the top of my profession because I did not want to go back to fast food. Ever.

***

Fast forward to 2013… today’s fast food workers want to unionize. I’m okay with that. Today’s fast food workers want to work for higher wages. I’m cool with that too.

Today’s fast food workers want to work for $15 an hour? When nearly everything is automated? When a good portion of them don’t have the decency to wash their hands after using the restroom? (I learned about that fact in management training) When these workers don’t have special skills?

What kind of delusional fucks are they?

I’m sorry, but I’m not on board with this. Want to work for $15 an hour? Learn to do something other than flip a burger, deep frying French fries or count change.

Fast food was never meant to be a career. It is and always has been a way for high school and college kids to dip their toes into the job market and nothing more. End of story.

My Discussion Over EBT

This is what my life has come to. I am in a discussion on Facebook over Electronic Benefits Transfer for the State of South Dakota. EBT is the way that you receive Supplemental Nutritional Assistance (SNAP) in the Mount Rushmore state. The more I think about the stupidity of this debate, the angrier I get. Why? Because those people that live in what would be called a metropolitan area in the state are snobbish over what the program should entail.

Huron is a town of about 13,000 people. It has a Wal-Mart that stays open 24 hours and 1 grocery store that does the same. One of my friends posted online that she waited in line at a convenience store and the person in front of them purchased approximately $20 in candy with her EBT card and was sarcastic in saying that it was nice seeing her tax dollars at work that way. So she gets a couple other people to comment on the post saying that EBT is abused everyday with things like that and that EBT shouldn't be allowed at convenience stores. So being the putz that I am, I post that sometimes the convenience store is all that is open in the early evenings and nights for some places and that EBT should be allowed.

You know when you post something and see it right in front of you and you just know that you are going to somehow regret it? Well, I had that feeling. And boy was I right. I was told that Huron has a Walmart and Coburn's Grocery Store that are open 24 hours a day and that people should go there. I said that if you lived in a smaller community like a Miller, SD or a Redfield, SD that the closest Walmart is 40 miles away and you need something late at night, wouldn't it be better for people if they could run down to the local convenience store, pay a little bit more for what they need and get back home rather than doing the round trip? That was mistake #2 on my part. I got responses about how EBT should only be used for good food like meats, fruits, and vegetables. And the always popular they should plan better. Really? There has never, ever been a time when your plan has fallen apart? So if the county grocery store is 23 miles away and closes at 6 and your work holds you there until 5:45, so you cannot make it to the grocery store, apparently it is too bad for you. Your plan sucked even though you were supposed to be of at 5PM. We all know that every plan works every time. And the best argument was that convenience stores were overpriced and understocked for a family to do good choices about their nutritional needs. Well, duh! We all know that, but they are allowed to use convenience stores when they want to. I do agree with the argument that it sets a bad example for the children of the family.

And never mind the rules and regulations you have to follow to use your EBT card.

You CANNOT Buy:

• Items that carry a supplement facts label,
• beer, wine, liquor, cigarettes or tobacco,
• any nonfood items, such as:
  • pet foods,
  • soaps and paper products,
  • household supplies,
• vitamins and medicines,
• grooming items, toothpaste and cosmetics,
• food that will be eaten in the store, or
• hot foods prepared to eat immediately.

You also get stigmatized as an EBT card carrier. Hell, I was stigmatized as a WIC user for the first 3 years of my son's life. I got the dirty looks, the snarls, the jokes, the pity of people. These people also get the exact same treatment. And that is why I am angry. Instead of looking at the person using WIC or EBT as a person who has the same wants, needs, and emotions as you, most people look down upon them as less than what they are. People who need public assistance to help them out in their time of need. Instead, they go through what I did. Some even get worse treatment. I have seen people be treated with outright contempt because others thought that they were gaming the system.

I am ashamed for my friend who started this post. She is a God fearing lady who has overcame heart problems to find true love and is a great mom to her, I hope to be soon, stepdaughter. However, she has failed what we are told to believe by those who preach the word of the Christian God. That we are all God's children. That we are all in the likeness of the creator. That we should help the poor and meek. That we should give to the less fortunate. That we are all equal in the eyes of the Lord. I cherish her friendship and hope that over time, she becomes less judgmental. After all, that is the way of Christianity, or so I am told. But in the bigger scheme of things, to become more tolerant of those that do not have the same morals as she does. Because in doing so, she will become a better person and that in turn will make this a better world. Even if it is just in a very small way.