Universal Healthcare

Since Tuesday's election I've heard at least one story a day that has made me wonder more and more why we don't have Universal healthcare in these United States. In order:

1. Regis Philbin was remarking on his show how he had attended a benefit the previous night for a charity that helps pay the medical bills of injured soldiers who cannot afford to. These people fight and almost die for their country, and they have to go bankrupt because of the medical system? Way to support your troops america!

2. The automotive industry wants a $50 Billion bailout to help pay for "Future health care obligations" GM alone pays an average of $1500 PER CAR it builds for health care. (that sentence seems odd, $1500 of the sticker price per car built goes to pay for healthcare.) That's $14 Billion/year just for GM. They insure 1.1 Million workers, so that's almost $13000/year per worker!

3. The father of a woman I work with had a stroke Thursday morning. He couldn't afford the blood thinners he's been on since his last stroke since Medicare puts a cap on prescriptions, so he was taking half as many as he should have, hoping it would be ok.

I pay around $3600/year and my employer based insurance is amazing! If every household paid $300/month like ours does, that would work out to $849 Billion dollars a year for Universal healthcare. Add to that the annual budgets for medicare ($454B), medicaid ($100B), and the VA medical programs ($93B), and you're still looking at a savings of over $1 Trillion/year.

Day 1: Uh-Oh

It turns out that the cut-off point for the test is 40 WPM, and I was averaging 38 WPM. Started at www.keybr.com today, and averaged... 35WPM. Damn. Guess it doesn't really help that I'm typing this the old way. I also feel bad because it's Labor day, my wife has off, and here I am typing away, basically ignoring her while she paints the kitchen. Well, six more days and I'm sure I can improve more than 5 WPM, guilt free. Big training day is Saturday, with Jenna at a dog show all day, I'll have eight hours of practice time, to make up for my 42 minutes today.

Current WPM: 35, with gusts up to 50

Posting with a purpose!

I've got a typing test as part of a Civil Service exam a week from Monday (9/1), and the last time I took it, I flunked out on the typing portion, getting just slightly less than the 45wpm demanded by the exam. (My average was 43wpm.) The proctor was disappointed when I said I didn't make the typing cut off because I was the first one finisihed with the test, and aced the rest of it. If I'd typed just a little bit faster I would have had a new job two years ago.

This week in an effort to get away from my current job, which I won't post about because my wife would yell at me for doing so, I will be typing nonstop 3-4 hours a day and keeping track of my progress here, on my long forgotten blog. I've been meaning to start doing this since I got the notice of a testing time, but my schedule and lack of focus has gotten the best of me. I'm hoping that 25 hours of practice in a week will give me the necessary bump to get a swank (well, any) civil office job (maybe I should appear on the Colbert Report!).

Current WPM: 43

Political Hilarity?

When I first saw this on the news (and great job getting the free advertising on Hillary's part) I honestly thought MADtv or someone of their caliber (say a random person on the internet) had made a parody of the original advert. Sadly, this does not appear to be the case.

Apparently Hillary Clinton believes there is a singular person in charge of the United States' economy, an economic downturn could take place in a very short period of time, and that person, in their time of need, would call the President at 3AM, looking for a solution.

1. I don't know about you, but I have a hard time putting thoughts together at 3AM, even though that's when I start work EVERY morning.

2. Economic downturns happen over an extended period of time, that's why all the experts have such a hard time agreeing whether we're currently in a recession, a depression, or just a slowdown.

3. If they happen more quickly, it's going to be tied to a bigger issue, say a 9/11, or a Katrina (although, the more centered on New York, the more effective the issue.) These issues are more along the line of what I expect the President to be dealing with, not a bank realizing it shouldn't have bought sub-sub-sub-prime loans and whining to the fed about it.

Note to Network News Departments...

OK, Enough already! We realize almost all of you are based in New York, but why are breaking into normal programming with special reports on that matters to say MAYBE 1% of your viewing audience?

OK, it may have been a big enough to be your top story when it first broke, but it doesn't rate anywhere close to the previously held standards for special reports, be they assassination-related, scientifically ground-breaking, or politically scandalous on a national level. If the Governor of Idaho, or even here in Illinois, had done something horribly, horribly wrong, would it rate breaking into normal programming?

Hell, the current Governor of IL appears to have been the major recipient of Tony Rezko's kickback campaign, receiving millions upon millions of dollars in return for favorable state contracts. Was this even mentioned nationally?

Congratulations!

I want to be the first person to Congratulate my wife on her new promotion!

We also looked at a house that keeps growing and growing on us, so all sorts of great stuff is in the air.

Congratulations again, honey bunny, you deserve it!

Oh, Oh my.

I have no words.

Wait, I do have words: Wizard of Oz themed Rap video IN HEBREW.

Two more words: SINGING PUG

Also: DANCEFIGHTING

I may need a couple of days to recover from the awesomeness.

Added hilarity:
I'm assuming the costumer for the video was trying to get a Detroit Lions jacket for The Cowardly Lion, but had to go with whatever was in stock at the shop he was at.