Blaming the Affordable Care Act

When I was young and foolish, I drove my grandfather’s jeep into a deep snowdrift near our house.  The  drift was deeper than I thought, and the jeep rolled over.  My Dad got the tractor and a chain, and we drug it home.  The only damage was a broken windshield. Nonetheless, from that point on, when anything went wrong with the jeep, including a dead battery, my grandfather would nod his head and say, “That’s because Roy rolled the jeep over.”

I was reminded of that when my aunt, an elderly Democrat who voted for Obama, began to rail against the Affordable Care Act.  Her doctor evidently was worried about her use of pain pills, and told her he would not prescribe any more.  He told her it was because of Obamacare.  She had been getting visits from a home health care nurse, but that ended.  She blamed Obamacare.

Since she is on Medicare, neither of those developments had anything to do with the Affordable Care Act.  Medicare would not affect her pain pill prescription, and it limits the number of home health care visits after a hospital stay.  It is just so convenient to blame everything unpopular on Obamacare.  Every time someone’s insurance rates go up from now on, we know what to blame.  

Wine in the News

Item 1:  The British wine industry is booming.  Sparkling wines from Britain have been beating Champagnes at competition.  According to an article by George Kantchev in yesterday’s Times, the British wine industry has doubled in the last 30 years.  Why?  It’s because of global climate change.  Republicans can deny it all they want, but it is here, and its effects are obviously being felt.  Just ask British vintners.

Item 2:  Willam I. Koch of Koch Brothers fame has filed suit against Rudy Kurniawan, a rare wine dealer, who sold counterfeit wine.  Mr. Koch paid 9,000 bucks for a 1949 Chateau Lafleur, and $30,000 for a 1947 Chateau Petrus.  They were fakes.

Mosi Secret, writing in the Dec. 14 issue of the Times, noted that Mr. Koch spent up to $2.1 million dollars on 219 bottles of counterfeit wines.  Mr. Koch was really upset to find out the wines were bogus.

I don’t like William Koch, but I will give him some free advice.  You can buy two bottles of Sutter Home Sauvignon Blanc (2012--a very good year) for under 18 bucks at the State Wine and Spirits store, and by the time you have finished both bottles, you won’t care about fake wines or anything else.

A well-regulated militia

Since the Newtown murders last year, over 11,000 people were killed by guns in the U.S.  This was reported in the on-line publication Slate, and you can see the carnage on a day-by-day count at <http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/crime/2012/12/gun_death_tally_every_american_gun_death_since_newtown_sandy_hook_shooting.html>.  

As Slate points out, this is the number reported in publications across the country. It is an undercount, since suicides by guns are generally not reported.

For comparison, this month the American death total hit 2000 in the Afghan war.  That is 2000 too many.  So is 11,000.  

Belgian Senate votes to allow euthanasia for children

Belgium has allowed euthanasia for adults since 2002.  Now the Belgian Senate has voted to allow euthanasia for children who are afflicted with “constant and unbearable physical suffering” who have a “capacity of discernment.”  The vote to was 71-17.

The law must still be adopted by the lower house, which will probably happen.  The bill does contain all sorts of safeguards, including parental approval.  

It must be wonderful to live in a country where legislators are willing to put the interests of suffering children above the interests of religious dogma.  

If you want to read the complete article on the vote in the Belgian parliament, go to <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/13/world/europe/belgian-senate-votes-to-allow-euthanasia-for-terminally-ill-children.html?ref=todayspaper&_r=0>.

Republicans win

There’s been a good deal of focus on the divisions in the Republican ranks over the budget deal.  Paul Ryan is receiving kudos for bucking the Tea Party wing of his party, and, of course, Mario Rubio and Ted Cruz are decrying the “compromise.”

Nonetheless, the Republican philosophy reigns supreme.  While the Democrats will be able to cancel some of the sequester cuts and add #31.5 billion to transportation and education, there are no increases in taxes on the wealthiest Americans.  Federal workers will have to pay more for their pension plans.  Money is not provided for cities and states to undertake infrastructure repair.  Airline ticket prices will rise. 

Worst of all, there will be no extension of jobless benefits that expire on January 1.  That effects approximately 1,300,000 Americans.  

Happy New Year.

Deregulating phones and electricity

Reader George sent the following letter to our state legislators Yudichak, Argall, and Heffley regarding two bills now before the PA legislature.  With some slight editing, here is what George wrote:

Subject: HB 1608 & SB1121

The proposed HB1608, by Rep. Warren Kampf, would eliminate traditional telephone service. Sadly legislators who propose these bills do not listen to what people have to say on how they would be affected. There were many seniors like me calling and expressing concerns with examples of how they would be affected. [The bill would allow phone companies to eliminate land line service.]

Somehow when things like this happen it’s not for the well-being of people but for the well-being of companies and legislators.  This industry must not be de-regulated. We must keep PUC control in place.

Another subject was SB1121, electric suppliers.  This is an attempt to eliminate one’s default supplier of electric service and allow it to be auctioned off as if we were slaves to the highest bidder.

It seems like an attempt for government finding another way to tax us. With electric companies paying the state $100 for each acquired customer,  they will just find a way to pass this expense along to us customers.  I for one do not want to be told who will supply my electric service.  

Please vote NO should any of these bills ever come for a vote.

Let’s do something positive and get these guys on board to eliminate property taxes and do something good for once to help PA grow again.

Sincerely,

George.

Health care exchange

Here’s a headline I really like:  “Health Care Exchange Is Vastly Improved, Users Say.”  That was in today’s New York Times, and I was really happy to see it.  Unfortunately, the article did say that while people were being enrolled, they were still encountering delays and problems.

It is so frustrating that one of the major achievements of the Obama presidency is being derailed by computer problems.  

Note to readers:

Yesterday I posted a “want ad” for a person to run for the state House.  For some reason it was published before previous postings.  I don’t know how to correct it, since I don’t even understand how it happened.  I need a computer savvy person to live in our house (fresh eggs available every morning) to post for me.  I’ll sit in a little room and type out content on an old Underwood typewriter and hand it over to my expert.  Any takers?