RFK Jr. meeting with the Senators this week

 To shore up support for being confirmed as Secretary of HHS.  Possible topics of discussion:

Dead bear cubs.  Whale heads.  Cap'n Crunch.  Chocolate Twinkies.  The benefits of drinking raw milk from a bucket after squirting it from a cow's udder.  Under his tenure where to go for a tetanus shot if you step on a rusty nail.  How he seduces so many women (is it the croaky voice over a romantic candlelit roadkill dinner?)  Will we all have to shop at Whole Foods from now on?

Not a shoe-in by any stretch.  I give it about a 50/50.

Health insurance is great until you get sick

 That's the sentiment of many.  In the wake of the murder of United Healthcare CEO Brian Thompson last Wednesday outside a Midtown Manhattan hotel many folk have gone on social media and unleashed a torrent of vitriol against the health insurance industry in general and Brian Thompson and United Healthcare in particular.  Seems some ai-driven program denied the claims of at least one-third of United Healthcare subscribers who actually had to use their insurance.  The wonders of our health insurance system - you pay into the program your whole life, you get really sick one day and finally get a notice in the mail "Claim Denied" and have to foot the bill yourself.   You're not Diddy.  Never understood how so many cancer survivors and their families use up their entire life savings and eventually go bankrupt.  I thought that's why we have health insurance.  Hannity would probably say at least that's not socialism.  Health care in America.  I thought Obama fixed all that.  I can't wait for the Singularity.

The Democrats and their hurricane-making machines

 Latest conspiracy theory being peddled by Marjorie Taylor Greene.  I'm beginning to think she might be a left-wing plant to make conservatives look bad.  The Democrats can't even make health care affordable for most Americans how are they gonna control the weather?

On to Trump.  The New York Times is taking his latest campaign rambles and rants, lies and misinformation very seriously indeed but they're missing something big time here.  Let me illustrate with an anecdote.  Back in the day we lived close to an older couple.  The elderly husband eventually developed Alzheimer's.  The wife asked my sister for a favor if she could just take him out and walk him around the block.  Nice day and a group of black guys hangin' on the corner.  As my sister and her ward got closer he started using the N-word.  Why this even came out in an Alzheimer's state is itself an interesting question.  I mean why not "look at the pink elephant"?  Anyway he was like "look at the (N-words)" etc. etc. They were naturally getting a little upset, just a tad mind you until my sister explained to them he had Alzheimer's.  They completely understood and let it go.  Last time my sister took him out for a walk btw.  Now my point about the Ole Gray Lady and the mainstream media in general.  IMO Trump has some cognitive issues.  Something is off.  Don't think it's weed.  Might be pre-Alzheimer's, dementia or something else.  DO NOT treat Trump's pronouncements and latest utterances as you would a normal person.  You don't fact-check some old guy in a nursing home say who's rambling on about when are the elves gonna bring in his food.  You let it ride but that's the problem with the msm they're missing the bigger picture.

Having said that I don't know what the problem with MTG is.

Kamala Chameleon

 Kamala Harris was once against fracking now she supports it.  She was once in favor of a looser immigration policy now she advocates for tighter border controls.  She now agrees with Trump's idea of no taxes on tips.  You have the right to adjust and tweak your views but this smacks of political opportunism.  Speaking of tweaking Trump is now playing around with the abortion issue instead of just sticking with his state by state approach thus potentially alienating that part of his base.  He wrote on Truth Social a second Trump term would be great for women's reproductive rights.  Maybe Trump nephew Fred is right he's showing early signs of dementia.  The Hulkster can't save him at this point.  His proposal to require insurance companies to pay for IVF treatments is hardly in line with smaller government.  I don't think Trump was ever a true conservative in the first place.

This election can best be summed up as Make America Confused Again.

For a man who refused anesthesia for a colonoscopy

I don't understand his vacillation over the proposed debate with Kamala Harris slated for Sept. 10 hosted by ABC News.  According to the new book I'll Take Your Questions Now by Stephanie Grisham Trump's former WH press secretary then President Trump made a visit in 2019 to Walter Reed Medical Center for a routine colonoscopy but refused being put under so as not to give temporary power to VP Mike Pence.  WOW.  I mean a lot can happen in 20-30 minutes a war could start or something .  FF to now and I still don't know if there will be a debate.  It's on again off again on again off again.  He would still prefer Fox News to host the debate I guess with Sean Hannity as moderator.  He still wants to campaign against Joe Biden, he's stuck in a reverie about it and can't seem to adjust to new circumstances.  He had his nursing home jokes all lined up.  This whole thing makes him look weak and shows his campaign is still dangerously off course.  Meanwhile JD Vance continues to defend his cat lady comments like give it up already.

I wish I didn't have to write this stuff.

Doctors

I asked my doctor once how often should you eat red meat.  He said twice a month.  If everyone followed that the beef industry would go out of business.  Then I asked him how much coffee should you drink in a day.  He said one cup.  Look I'm paying for the visit I may as well pick his brain.  Why do they say drink 8 glasses of water a day?  He says nobody knows how that started just drink water.  What causes tinnitus?  It's mostly related to hearing loss as you get older but he did bring up RF hearing once which is an actual noise so he can think out of the box a little.  Insurance didn't cover my Colovantage blood test for colon cancer.  Oh well.  Spanish chef at work said flip the questions back to him.  If he asks you how your bowel movements are ask him how his movements are.  Asked him once what's a good sleep aid.  He said melatonin.  Gotta agree with him there.  Another time he suggested brisk walking is better than regular walking.  Just be glad I'm walking.  Was in the waiting room once and glanced at the table with the reading material and next to Golf Digest was Heart Failure magazine like am I dead and don't know it yet?

Doctors are ego-driven.  They want you to respect their expertise.  Never be afraid to question them.  If you catch them googling leave.

I'd rather watch an Omega XL commercial or a Steven Seagal movie

DNC kicks off tonight in Chicago.  Biden to deliver keynote address, Obama the orator on second night and Bill Clinton on third.  Kamala Harris big night on the fourth and final night of course.  Out of all the candidates for her VP pick Tim Walz is probably the most socially radical but doesn't look it.  He looks like the friendly uncle who gives you a 5 dollar bill in the alley after your parents yelled at you.  The economy and the working class will be a big theme Biden's attempted but failed vax mandate on companies with over 100 employees already having been memory-holed.  Immigration, crime and safety, health care.  Trump has the edge on some key issues but Dems are better on health care as you'll be paying less for colonoscopy.  I've heard Harris isn't too swift on foreign policy which is half the presidency.  Of course oiling up the abortion machinery will be peppered in whenever possible. 

I'm gonna check the movie listings.

What the CIA couldn't do old age did

Socialists are in mourning today. Former Cuban dictator Fidel Castro dead at the ripe old age of 90. In this fast-paced and ever-changing world we're definitely talking a retro channel in History here, pre-Internet dictator, blast from the past cigar-chomping revolutionary. I had to laugh at an Onion parody once where they had "Candid Camera" host Allen Funt calling up John F. Kennedy saying the Cuban Missile Crisis was all a hoax and the photo of JFK all relieved. Castro outlasted the power of what 10 U.S. presidents? Political tortoise crawling through the ages, a perennial figure in the pages of the past all yellowed and tattered. I know Michael Moore has said the Cuban healthcare system is the best in the world. I guess you don't get a bill in the mail for colonic polyp lab analysis, dunno. All those Hollywood celebs who hate Trump here's a great place to shuffle on over;)

The implosion of Obamacare?

With major insurers opting out of the exchange and premiums going up is it still worth keeping or even tweaking?  Will it eventually be replaced by HillaryCare and how would this differ from DonaldCare?  How are our nation's part-timers holding up those kept under 30 hours/week because of the original mandate?  Finally whatever happened to if you like your colonoscopist you can keep your colonoscopist?

Why didn't Yogi say that?

Hillary told Chuck Todd on Meet the Press "the unborn person doesn't have constitutional rights."  I pass a Planned Parenthood on my way to work every day and they have a big banner "Health Care Happens Here."  Makes it sound like I can walk in and maybe they can treat my catastrophic tinnitus and premature waking.  This is not really a pro-life thread, you can discuss what have you.

Hippyfied health care

CVS won't sell tobacco products but medical marijuana dispensaries seem to be sprouting up everywhere these days.  Alcohol continues to be heavily demonized (e.g. nearly every insomnia website warns don't drink before bedtime) but hemp use is actually being medically encouraged within a limited for now framework of course.  Granny don't smoke, Granny don't drink, Granny light up a joint in the cancer ward.

Planned Parenthood, fetal harvesting and a roomful of beagles

Liberals have always acted like you're emotionally, morally and spiritually obligated to support Planned Parenthood. Actually that's not true, it's up to you. I'm not against birth control but I am personally against abortion so for me to support Planned Parenthood is a logical impossibility and the extended topic of fetal harvesting is definitely out of the question.  Doesn't make me a bad person. It's a larger issue for me than the latest undercover viral video made by the pro-life group Center for Medical Progress showing PP not in the best light. We can discuss that and folks are sure to bring up PP health clinics are big on breast cancer screenings, STD prevention and whatnot but now we got a little beagle problem on our hands. Let's say your local animal shelter does exemplary work for the most part, placing adoptions of pets, spaying and neutering and shots but in the room in the back they gas beagles maybe once a week. Some will support the shelter 100%, some will support part of the shelter and pretend the other room doesn't even exist and some may not go there at all because they're morally opposed to cat/dog euthanasia on principle. The grisly room in the back overrides everything else for some people. In my view that's perfectly valid and needs to be respected. Ditto those who withhold their moral support for PP because an integral part of their daily work is they do provide abortions. Again I'm not getting why I'm a bad person if I don't support the organization.

Take me to your 9 Leaders

Thoughts on the SCOTUS' latest rulings on ObamaCare and gay marriage...

Are you ready for Ebola?

It must have something to do with gay marriage. I'm not a medical authority but I do support a travel ban until it's contained. CDC Director Frieden is way over his head since the most serious thing he had to do as NYC Health Commissioner under Bloomberg was to try to ban big sugary drinks. The Drudge Report lately could be more accurately titled the Ebola Report and on the flipside the other school of thought that's been developing is that the media is talking about this way too much, a journalistic preoccupation or obsession or overkill. Then again I can understand it too since we have a decent chance at a real medieval plague here especially since nobody's on the same page. I myself get instinctively cranky whenever a subject is ground into a fine dust. As Saty once said everyone knows about the tits and I feel the same way about Ebola at least for now or I was but the CDC doesn't inspire me with confidence so I'm beginning to worry. FDNY now can't say "Ebola" over the dispatch for fear some nerd might be listening in on some scanner. OK so BB, Saty and maybe Dave can respond:)

Voluntarily signing over your privacy

Yesterday I got in the mail a questionnaire from my doctor's hospital group. I knew beforehand I wasn't gonna send it in, just a vibe you get but I read it anyway. First few questions the gist was how are your doctor's visits, did you call him up within the past 3 months with a medical concern, did he discuss your blood results in a prompt fashion and overall how is he doing on a scale of 1 to 10. I fairly like my doctor who's a young guy, a budding professional and I didn't want to get him in trouble. I WISH there was a section on colonoscopies though and I would editorialize when you wiki it there are at least 3 or 4 other major and valid screening tests for colorectal and yet when you go to the doctor they act like there's only one procedure (the worst one). Anyway towards the end another question asked how would you rate your overall physical health? That's hard to say, I engage in the proper John Tesh-recommended behaviors and habits during the first half of the day and in the latter half I tend to have a cigar and later on some brandy, half ascetic and half hedonist I guess you could say. The question after that how would you rate your mental and emotional health? Dunno, why don't you leave me alone? I've had alot of philosophical and spiritual suffering in my life but I never thought of it in terms of mental health just the human condition. I mean what a useless question anyway, most folks are gonna go with the correct answer of at least good and nobody's gonna admit they're nuts at least on paper. The whole thing smacked of bureaucratic Big Brotherism, overly prying like a mental colonoscopy. Then I pretty much tore it up and chucked it in the garbage. Nosy nosy nosy:)

Is a Sebelius book in the works?

She's now being kinda more blunt and candid on the talk show circuit about the whole health care debacle. Yeah yeah I know she voluntarily resigned but in my book the president still threw her under the bus. Makes ya wonder why Jay Carney is still sticking it through when it would probably be better for the both of them to work on the same book and rake in the dough. Smaller networks of doctors and higher premiums, the federal government deciding what treatments you get - what's not to like? They say in particular cancer patients are gonna be screwed bigtime under ObamaCare. I don't think though the Sebelius resignation is gonna swing the midterms in a more positive direction for the Democrats if that's the strategy here, I mean it's not like she's the Frankenstein who created the thing in the first place.

The liberal obsession with the Koch Brothers

Sounds like a brand of soda pop. I never really heard about the Koch Brothers until liberals started talking about them so much. Conservatives also seem to like to comment on the liberal obsession with the Koch Bros so conservatives have an obsession with their obsession just like they have an obsession with reading NY Times editorials (hey guys they're just editorials, don't let them ruin your day). Charles and David Koch of the Koch Industries have been responsible for much charitable giving to various cultural and medical institutions but Harry Reid and Chuckie Schumer say they're unAmerican for funding anti-ObamaCare ads and for calling for smaller government. BB has a bit of a Koch fetish too so maybe he can explain. The pro-Obama Hollywood tripe that spews out daily is ok though.

When dorks become dangerous

Bored with masturbation and stalking the girl next door they've turned to malicious code. Turns out my techno-problem is fairly common and yahoo'ed it yesterday. Others say too they can't sign into their blogs from their smartphone apps even though they're using such premium browsers like Google Chrome and Opera. Last night I had a fairly long web session on my phone, wasted more than a few minutes but judging from the various sites I visited I came to the fairly strong conclusion we're in the middle of a kind of minor cyberattack. I mean you're trying to download a Kasperskey antivirus scanner but what gets downloaded instead is Spicy Games, c'mon. Tech support forums, imo most don't help the user to resolve his or her particular problem. It's usually the same old pat techno-answers probably by some guy in Rangoon (clear cookies, cache or go to Settings and get a signed browser, works better) and in the end the gadget-user still has the problem. It's like with tinnitus, most mainstream doctors will tell you there's about four or five main things that cause it only it doesn't explain your tinnitus. So whether it's the doctor who can't just admit ignorance and bafflement or one of them techno-advisors it's always our analysis of the problem HAS TO be right, try it again. So the moral of the story is there are alot of sucky sites out there only Healthcare.gov is the most prominent and gets the most press. Blame those Chechen contractors if you like.

& then there's this

The lust is clearly off the apple. A notable quotable from Barbara Walters on the Piers Morgan show. Even our Earth Goddess Oprah has cooled towards Obama who's lately been reduced to becoming a running infomercial for the ACA and taking selfies at important occasions like Nelson Mandela's memorial service. Oh well he still has BB, Saty and Chris Matthews but as for me with every passing day he's going more and more into the Jimmy Carter category. Maybe he can pick up a hammer and bucket of nails with Bob Vila and do some Habitat for Humanity after his second term runs out.

Turns out all that Rt-Wing Propaganda was right

Hundreds of thousands of Americans have now gotten cancellation notices from their health insurance companies in the mail. The Obama M.O. - get people off insurance to get them back on again, the running carousel. Presidential flackey Jay Carney has said they were substandard policies anyway. The NYT has opined in one of their trademark by now way out there editorials that Obama didn't outright lie when he said oh about a hundred times you'll be able to keep your doctor and your health-care policy, he simply misspoke. The happy and breezy young girl of the government website is no longer there either. Maybe that's because she too has recognized that ObamaCare is going down as one of the biggert clusterfucks in American history. When Biebs finally comes down with the Brazilian clap he doesn't have to worry but the rest of us as the song says don't come from money, we're not royals. Dems are stuck with this and it'll be real interesting how all this plays out in the 014 midterms.