Republican Cruelty Demonstrated by their opposition to Obamacare

by | Jun 17, 2021 | Health, Politics

When it comes to Obamacare, the Republicans repeatedly demonstrated cruelty towards the American people.  Even though the concept originated with Republican Mitt Romney, they repeatedly tried their best to block it because, in my opinion, they didn’t want President Obama receiving credit for a national health insurance law. They created an array of bogus scare tactics such as “Death Panels’, and it’s a government takeover of healthcare, etc. Nothing could be further from the truth because, per the law, all insurance is provided by PRIVATE companies.

Apparently, Republicans couldn’t care less if millions of Americans are forced to live without health insurance. When Trump was President, and they controlled both houses, they never came up with an alternative to Obamacare. That didn’t stop Trump from repeatedly promising the best health care bill ever will be ready to go in two weeks. In my opinion, that was the biggest broken promise (out of many) from Trump. Of course, his loyal followers will never hold him accountable for that failure.

Republicans recently tried to destroy the Affordable Care Act law forever, with a Texas case, supported by 17 Republican State Attorney Generals, which advanced to the Supreme Court. Thankfully, on June 17, 2021, the Supreme Court announced a 7-2 decision, rejecting the lawsuit, because they didn’t have legal standing. I’m sure the 21 million Americans on Obamacare are breathing a sigh of relief, knowing they can keep their health insurance.

Let’s acknowledge that Obamacare has flaws which need to be fixed, but that’s very doable. The main reason everyone should support the Affordable Care Act is it provides insurance to around 20-21 million people, who prior to this law, often went without health insurance. But the law did a lot more than fill in a desperately needed gap in coverage. Even though most people (around 85%) still obtain health insurance through their employers, the law has a major impact on everyone. Check out the following positive changes which apply to all Americans.

  • You can no longer be denied health insurance because of Pre-Existing Conditions, and it also eliminated the Pre-Condition Penalties. By the way, it’s estimated that over 40% of Americans have pre-existing conditions.
  • The unemployed can buy quality health insurance.
  • Those who are Self-Employed can buy quality health insurance.
  • Those who have jobs where their employer doesn’t provide health coverage can now buy it.
  • Women cannot be charged extra for their premiums, which was typical before Obamacare.
  • The Affordable Care Act prohibits employers from imposing annual or lifetime limits on benefits and caps out-of-pocket spending. If you get a serious illness, such as cancer, this one is huge.
  • Children can stay on the parent’s policies up to the age of 25.
  • Medicaid was expanded.
  • For Medicare recipients, Obamacare closes the so-called Prescription Drug Doughnut Hole.
  • The next one is so important, I’m going to highlight it with a different color. Insurance companies and doctors all agree on the critical importance of preventive care, which often discovers health problems before they become serious, major issues.
  • Thanks to Obamacare, preventive care is free to the patient.

Do not listen to the never ending bogus, phony Republican claims about Obamacare. And don’t believe  what I wrote. I encourage you to do your own research, something which rarely happens in Trump World. I’m confident you’ll learn that even with its flaws, Obamacare is having a major positive impact on America. If the Republicans don’t like the law, why don’t they come up with a better alternative? As mentioned above, they had a golden opportunity to create their own health care law during the first 2 years of the Trump Administration, but they did nothing. I think they just don’t care. They instead concentrate their efforts on taking away health insurance from approximately 21 million Americans. That is cruel and despicable.

NASA Developing A Telescope To Find Asteroids/Comets Headed Towards Earth

by | Jun 15, 2021 | Science

Around 66 million years ago, scientists believe an asteroid, approximately 7-9 miles wide, crashed into earth, just east of Mexico. It was the final blow which made dinosaurs extinct. It just didn’t impact dinosaurs. Most scientists believe around 80% of life on the planet, possibly more, also became extinct, eventually leading to new forms in the evolutionary process. Shhhhhhh, don’t mention the science of evolution to Trump lovers.  That wasn’t the only reason for the dinosaur extinction, but it was the primary one.

Why do we care about the above? Because an asteroid which crashes into the planet earth can do massive damage, possibly even destroying all forms of life.  Scientists estimate an asteroid 55-60 miles wide would destroy every civilization on the planet. Asteroids/Comets are constantly headed in our direction. The last known asteroid which caused serious damage entered Earth’s atmosphere over Chelyabinsk, Russia in 2013. That’s approximately 930 miles east of Moscow. It exploded in the air, releasing 20 to 30 times more energy than that of the first atomic bombs, generating brightness greater than the sun, generating heat, damaging more than 7,000 buildings, and injuring approximately 1,000 people. The shock wave broke windows almost 60 miles away. The asteroid wasn’t detected because it apparently came from the same direction as the sun.

In light of this major threat, NASA will launch a new telescope in 2026, which will be our first line of defense in protecting the planet. The primary mission is to search the solar system for potentially dangerous asteroids or comets headed towards earth. The Near-Earth Object Surveyor space telescope (NEO) was approved by NASA, and is currently in the design phase. The infrared telescope will help scientists find asteroids and comets which come within 30 million miles of the Earth’s orbit. Yes, 30 million miles is considered close enough to pose a danger. There’s no guarantee this telescope will find all dangerous objects headed our way (remember the one which exploded over Russia in 2013), but they hope to have a success rate above 90%.

Unfortunately, finding asteroids or comets headed our way is only part of the equation. The second part is can we change the path of the asteroid or comet. I’m sorry to say, we still don’t know if that’s possible. There are some proposed strategies, but as of today, they are only theories.  NASA will soon conduct some experiments to see if we can find a methodology that can reliably re-direct an asteroid away from our planet.

Please keep in mind, when they find an asteroid headed our way, NASA needs lots of time to prepare a mission to hopefully redirect the asteroid or comet. If they find an asteroid headed our way, scheduled to arrive, in let’s say only 4-6 months, that would not be nearly enough time to prepare a mission. If that happens, we may not be around to worry about climate change.

Eating Healthy Is Overrated

by | Jun 12, 2021 | Health, Life

Let me make several points very clear before we get into the heart of this article. I am not saying eating healthy is a bad thing, because it’s obvious that everyone should do such. But for many people, such as myself, that’s never going to happen. I want people to know there are other factors, which in my opinion, are every bit as important as one’s diet, possibly more important. Don’t beat yourself up if you have poor eating habits, try to make up for it in other ways.

Next, this article is not based on science, it’s nothing more than my personal opinion. So please don’t refer me to scientific data proving a certain type of diet is better or healthier for you. That’s a given, nobody’s disagreeing with that premise. From my perspective, lifestyle choices are every bit as important as what you eat. I’m talking about regular exercise, which everyone in the field of medical science agrees pays huge dividends. Did you know that most surveys reveal approximately only one out of four Americans participates in a regular exercise program? That’s hard to believe.

But there’s a lot more than exercise, such as avoiding alcohol, cigarettes, and prescription drugs. Yes I said prescription drugs. Americans are like junkies, strung out on array of prescription drugs. All one has to do is listen to those never-ending drug commercials on TV when they get to the disclaimer. This drug can cause strokes, tumors, heart attacks, and on rare occasions, even death. Why would anyone voluntarily choose to take a prescription drug with so many negative possibilities? Yes, I realize that for people with certain health conditions, they must take some prescription drugs. However, I am talking about the millions of Americans who see a drug commercial and ask or demand that their doctor orders a prescription for the drug they saw on TV. Why do you think drug companies spend millions of dollars on this type of advertising? If you watch those commercials, the message is very clear. Take this drug and your life will become better in so many ways.

Before I leave this subject, allow me to summarize an article I read a few years go. It was written by physician who talked about the perils of prescription drugs. He described the following scenario for many of his patients. He said I prescribe prescription A for one of my patients. About 3 months later, I have to prescribe prescription B to treat the side effects of prescription A. Fast forward another 3 months, and then I have to prescribe prescription C for her, which counters the side effects of taking the combination of prescriptions A & B. He said it’s a never-ending cycle, which I’m sure which enriches America’s drug companies, but it probably creates more health issues than it resolves.

We all know that breathing in cigarette smoke is extremely harmful, but let’s talk briefly about alcohol, something most Americans regularly consume. Multiple studies revealed the kind of damage alcohol does to your body and possibly your brain. The type of alcohol (beer, wine, whiskey) is irrelevant. All forms are harmful when regularly consuming alcohol. By the way, I don’t believe the claims that a certain level of alcohol consumption is actually good for you.

Let’s move on to the subject of one’s diet. As for me, I’m the role model for everything doctors tell you to avoid. My lifetime diet primarily consists of burgers, fries, steaks, chicken, Italian food, ice cream, chocolate chip cookies, and cake. Hmmmmmm, I’m getting hungry just thinking about the above. I know, you’re probably thinking I’m 50 pounds overweight, can barely buckle up my belt, and I’m burdened with an array of medical issues. You would be wrong. I’m about 5 to 6 pounds overweight, which isn’t too bad for a guy my age. But here’s the good news. With exception of allergy medicine, I do NOT take any prescription drugs!

I never smoked, I never drank any form of alcohol, and I’ve been physically fit my entire life. I try to make it to the gym every morning. Five days a week, I do cardio, and twice a week, even though I hate it, I do circuit weights. No, I’m not training for the Olympics, I do just enough to maintain a decent level of fitness. When my father was my age, he could barely walk up a flight of stairs, while I take them two at a time. I have yet to meet a woman who can outlast me on the dance floor. I’m LOL. I can still go to a dance club and dance the night away. If disco would somehow make a comeback, I would be so happy.

Every year I go for my annual physical. Last year, my blood pressure was almost the same as it was 25 years ago. My cholesterol is slightly elevated, and my triglycerides are way too high. That’s the price I pay for eating so many cookies and lots of ice cream and cake. Yesterday I went to the Cheesecake Factory and couldn’t decide between Chocolate Oriole or Hershey’s chocolate cheesecake. But have no fear, I knew whatever I chose would be delicious. I just had to work a little harder in the gym this morning.

I know several people who eat a very healthy diet, but they still suffer form an array of health issues. It could be genetics, or maybe it’s a combination of a lack of exercise, too much alcohol, and/or a reliance upon prescription drugs. From my perspective, the good eaters I referred to are proof that a healthy diet isn’t enough. I’m sure everyone will probably think my next comment is nothing more than wishful thinking, and you’re probably right. Eating healthy is a good thing, but it may be overrated. Despite what so many scientists tell us, I think one can make up for a poor diet with an array of lifestyle choices which I described above. I want to believe those lifestyle choices may be more important than a healthy diet, but who am I to counter what the world of science tells us.

The Democrats HR1 Bill is Another Idiotic Bill from a Party Which Often Demonstrates Stupidity

by | Jun 7, 2021 | Life, Politics

America is in big trouble. We need two strong political parties which act as a counterbalance to the other. That would hopefully result in common sense compromises to solve problems and/or resolve issues. This is what the majority of Americans want from their representatives in Washington, DC. At this point in time, the Republican Party has numerous bigots, racists, people who are anti-science, and those who have no interest in facts or the truth. To compound matters, they are a Trump CULT, worshipping an egomaniac, a pathological liar, a criminal, and an imbecile. They will do everything Trump wants, even if it is suicidal for the party.

On the other side of the ledger are the Democrats, who mean well, but can’t think their way out of a paper bag. They come up with one dumb policy after another. They are the party which came up with the idiotic slogan to “Defund the Police”. Are you serious? They also impeached Trump over one phone call, while never utilizing the 10 accusations of Trump Obstructing Justice, provided by the Mueller Report. How stupid can one party be?

The other problem with the Democrats is their inability to come up with focused legislation, which deals directly with a specific issue. Unfortunately, they try to change the world with every bill they craft. A good example is the infrastructure bill, which America needs badly. Instead of concentrating solely on roads, bridges, rail, and the Internet, they threw in the “kitchen sink”. Guess what? They did it again with HR1, the bill they crafted to counter the Republican Party’s attempt to thwart democracy by imposing numerous voter restrictions.  The Republicans enacted a series of laws which did serious damage to voter rights. But the biggest threat to our democracy are their laws which give a state legislature the ability to overturn the results of an election. Every American should be terrified of that dangerous component of the Republican Party’s pathetic attempt to stay in power and thwart our democracy.

Back to the idiots in the Democratic Party. Instead of crafting a bill, with a laser like focus on the most important issue, they once again tried to change everything which is wrong in the world with their HR1 bill. They should instead focus primarily on blocking the ability of a state legislature to overturn an election.  Thank you Joe Manchin for voting against it.

Here are some of the idiotic components of the Democratic bill.

  • H.R 1 would prevent election officials from maintaining accurate voter lists and make it harder for them to determine if voters are registered in multiple jurisdictions. This increases the likelihood that voter rolls are outdated, inaccurate, or contain ineligible voters.
  • The bill would dramatically expand automatic voter registration.  People who never give their consent could be added to voter rolls. H.R. 1 goes so far as designating colleges as automatic voter registration agencies. Are they crazy?
  • The bill would prohibit some commonsense voter ID rules and allow convicted felons to vote.
  • It enables same day registration during early voting and on election day.
  • Provisional ballots cast outside a voter’s precinct must be counted. What are they thinking?

In sum, what the Democrats are doing with this proposed bill, is trying to take the voting process and verification protocols away from the states, thereby giving it to the federal government. I understand why they want to do that, but it’s a mistake. Even if it passes, which is unlikely, I’m confident the Supreme Court would vote it down. They should instead concentrate on a very focused bill, which doesn’t allow state legislatures to overturn an election, or in any way, prohibit citizens from registering and voting. They need to incorporate some commonsense oversight which most people will agree with, as well as the Supreme Court.