Issues, Behavior, Beliefs, Which Irritate Me

by | Feb 14, 2023 | Life, Religion and God

Issues, Behavior, and Cultural Myths, Which Irritate Me

I’m guessing there are many aspects of life, and they are different for everyone, which irritates all of us, some more than others. I’m definitely in the “more than others” category. Here’s a partial list of issues, beliefs, or behavior, which irritates me. I’m guessing you will identify with some of them, and I’m confident some of you will not like several of my thoughts in this article. If you’re interested in my partial list, please continue reading. After you finish reading this article, if you want to send me to a deserted island, let me know. But I’m sorry, I do not believe in many of our absurd, cultural myths.

LOG OUT BUTTON: Many web developers think it’s cool to hide the log out button. Why? Logging out, especially on a bank site, is critical for your financial safety. Why do these idiots hide the log out button? It should be prominently displayed, so that everyone will see it.

PARENTHESIS AROUND THE AREA CODE:

Maybe it made sense back in 1983, but in the year 2023, there is absolutely no need to place parentheses around the area code, as is often required on website forms. Why do people continue to insist on doing this? I don’t get it.

GAS STATION PRICES: You will never see the price of gas listed simply as $3.98 per gallon. No, it will be $3.98 9/10. Why do we need that useless tenths category?

ALCOHOL: Why do most Americans associate having a good time with alcohol? Why can’t you go out and enjoy yourself without indulging in something I find unhealthy and unnecessary? Yes, I realize, that’s my issue, not your issue.

WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS? Wherever I go, I’m a person who analyzes many aspects of an organization. I’m sorry, but I can’t help myself, that’s what I do instinctively. When I transition to a new company, a new job, or a new organization, I always see them doing things which make no sense to anyone, not even themselves. When I ask the question, this doesn’t make any sense, why are you continuing to do this, you know what the answer is. We’ve always done it this way. I hate that response.
I worked in the federal government for 25 years, and on several occasions, I wrote letters to upper management, showing them how we could accomplish our tasks more efficiently. If that wasn’t enough, I would also point out that it would actually save money. Even though many of the senior managers liked or agreed with my suggestions, guess what the usual response was.

TO BE PERFECTLY HONEST WITH YOU: Very often, I’m in an extended conversation with someone who suddenly prefaces their next statement by saying, “To Be Perfectly Honest With You”. When I hear that expression, my initial thought is, have you been lying to me all this time?

KNOCK on WOOD: Yes, in the 21st Century, people still preface their wishful comments by knocking on a table or something similar. Really? Why?

ADULTS DO THIS ALL THE TIME: When people are giving you a verbal list of several items, you will see them counting with their fingers. You’re no longer 7 years old, please stop doing that!

THE FOX PROPAGANDA NETWORK:  Millions of American incredibly believe the non-stop lies and propaganda coming from Fox is news. The Alternate Reality which Fox creates for their addicted viewers, is extremely dangerous for our democracy and our country.

THE CONCEPT of GOD, HEAVEN, HELL, and a DEVIL with a tail: When we were growing up, most of us believed in Santa Claus, Batman, and Superman. When we reached a certain age, we eventually figured out that Santa Claus, Batman, and Superman do not exist, they are CULTURAL MYTHS! For the rest of our lives, we may have a little chuckle when any of them are brought up in conversation, possibly wondering why or how you possibly believed in them as a little kid.

But for many reasons, which I will not get into in this article, millions of adult Americans, still believe the absurd cultural myths related to the concept of a God and associated issues. When I ask people where is your god, they look up in the sky. When I ask them where is hell and where does the devil live, they look down and say underground. I then ask, does the devil live under Bermuda, Hawaii, the North Pole, China, or somewhere else. I’m always met with a blank stare.

I then ask the big one, if your God is all-powerful, why doesn’t your god eliminate the devil? Once again, I rarely get an answer.

If they’re still talking to me, I usually ask them where is heaven? Once again, they look up in the sky and point in that direction. That’s very impressive reasoning!

I then ask them questions such as, how are people transported to heaven? Do they have bathrooms, supermarkets, food, McDonalds, Burger King, and roads in heaven? Do people live in single family homes, townhomes, or apartment buildings. Do women have wings? Is there a heaven for fish, lions, tigers, elephants, insects, horses, etc.? I never get an answer. By that time, they are no longer talking to me. How can people possibly believe this mumbo jumbo? In terms of heaven, I almost get it. I realize people never want to face the reality that after you die, it’s over. But please, the concept is absurd! After you die, it is in fact all over.  

JEWISH PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE in GOD: This one is mind boggling to me. I ask them where was your all-powerful God while the Nazis were killing over 6 MILLION JEWS over a period of several years. I never once heard an acceptable answer.

BLACK PEOPLE STILL BELIEVE in GOD: What was your all-powerful God doing while white Christians, many of them holding a bible in their hands, enslaved huge numbers of black people for a very long period of time.

CATHOLICS STILL BELIEVE in GOD: How many hundreds of Priests sexually abused or raped thousands of little boys or girls over the years? And you still believe in that religion?

FAMILY MEMBERS of CRIME VICTIMS: Family members of people who were kidnapped, raped, assaulted, or murdered, still pray to their God. Why? I ask them, where was your all-powerful God while your son, daughter, mother, or father was being kidnapped, raped, robbed, or murdered. Once again, I never heard an acceptable answer.

ATHLETES THANK GOD for their ACHIVEMENTS: I almost want to throw up when I see football players point up to the sky and say thank you after they score a touchdown. It’s the same with baseball players who hit a home run. Do you really believe there’s a god watching your game and rooting for you against your opponent? And that God has the power to intervene in the game on your behalf?

PRAYING: Do you believe there’s a god who understands numerous languages and simultaneously monitors almost 8 billion people?

I also ask them other questions such as, why do you have to get on your knees before you can pray? Why do you have to bow your head while talking to God? Why do you have to clasp your hands together? I have other questions I ask, but you get the idea. I never once received what I consider an intelligent reply. But very often, they walk away from me before I can ask those other questions. It’s literally mind boggling to me that people actually believe there’s a god listening to their prayers, even though several million other people might be praying at the same exact time. Where is that God? How does that God hear you? How does God hear millions of people praying simultaneously?

We currently live in the scientifically advanced 21st century, where we’ve been exploring outer space for over 60 years. Despite our numerous scientific advances, incredibly, people still believe these absurd, totally illogical, cultural myths. Yes, that’s the same mumbo jumbo which was pounded into them since they were three years old.

Hopefully, after reading this article, some of you will still talk to me.

Do Your Own Research on Obamacare

by | Feb 5, 2023 | Health, Politics

Ignore Fox Propaganda, Do Your Own Research on Obamacare

Today, intelligent people are used to non-stop propaganda and lies coming out of right-wing media. The volume and nature of their lies are literally mind boggling.  Unfortunately, millions of low IQ, Fox/Trump supporters incredibly believe virtually everything they’re told. Today, Trump World is buried under so much propaganda, it’s become an alternate reality where facts, the truth, and/or proof, are totally irrelevant. However, if you will recall, this kind of propaganda and non-stop lying started to become commonplace when Obama was President. Back in 2010, when Obamacare became the law, we saw the precursor of right-wing propaganda on a mass scale.

Do you remember the lies perpetrated by right-wing media, who didn’t want Obama to receive any credit for this major bill, which transformed how healthcare is administered in America?

  • It’s a government takeover of healthcare.
  • You won’t be able to keep your doctor.
  • Death Panels!
  • Healthcare costs are rising because of Obamacare.
  • etc.

I’m sure some of you will remember the national surveys administered after the law was passed. If you recall, when asked if you approve of the “Affordable Care Act”, something like 59% of Americans were in favor of it. However, when the same exact survey went out, but instead described the law as “Obamacare”, the percentage of Americans who said they were in favor of the law, dropped to something like 47%. I think this is a good example, which illustrates how powerful propaganda can be.

During the Trump Administration, Republicans tried everything under the sun to destroy Obamacare and failed. One of the reasons they failed, despite promises from Trump every two weeks, for a fabulous new healthcare program, they literally had no alternative plan. As Trump said, I didn’t realize healthcare was so complicated.

As of early 2023, approximately 35 million Americans get their critical healthcare via Obamacare, the program Trump and the Republican Party tried to destroy. Man, this is a lifesaver for a huge number of Americans. What would they do if Obamacare didn’t exist?

I’m going to talk more about the law, but I want to pause for a brief story about a woman I met in early 2013. She was an accountant for a small company which had only 7 employees. This very small company could not afford to provide health insurance, so she was living without coverage. I asked her why she was taking such a huge chance on having her life destroyed by one unexpected, major health crisis. She told me that she wanted to get health insurance, but she couldn’t afford the exorbitant cost for one individual. I told her about Obamacare, she researched it, and several weeks later, she had a very good health insurance plan, which cost about $145 per month.

Before I get into the huge benefits of the law and how it changed healthcare in America, I want to point out that all insurance companies, such as Blue Cross and Aetna, who participate in the plan, are private companies. These companies go on the 50-state healthcare exchanges and compete with other private companies for the business of American consumers. That is the free market at its best. This is not a government takeover of healthcare.

There are other benefits from the law, but I’m going to highlight only what I believe are the big ones.

Thanks to the law,

  • You can no longer be turned down for health insurance because of pre-existing conditions. It’s estimated that 35-40% of Americans have pre-existing conditions.
  • If you’re self-employed, you can now buy quality health insurance.
  • If you lose your job, the unemployed can buy quality health insurance.
  • Women can no longer be charged more than men for their health insurance premiums.
  • Medicaid was expanded.
  • Preventive care is free to the patient.
  • Your policy can no longer be terminated because you are using up the benefits. For example, before Obamacare, if you got cancer and your treatments were very expensive, after a certain point, the insurance company could legally terminate your policy. However, under the Affordable Care Act, you cannot be denied coverage for any reason, other than your failure to pay the premiums or fraud. This is called a guarantee issue.

Wow! That is an incredible list of enhancements to how healthcare is administered in America. Remember, before Obamacare became the law, around 35-40% of Americans could be turned down because they have a pre-existing condition. Women could be charged more than men. Really? Yes!

Before the law was passed, if you got cancer and your medical costs skyrocketed, insurance companies could literally drop you. And I love the fact the preventive care is now free. That means your annual physical doesn’t cost you one penny! This component of the law should motivate millions to sign up for an annual physical, where they can discover health issues while they’re minor ones, before they become dangerous and expensive to treat.

I don’t want to imply that Obamacare is perfect. It still has several flaws which need to be corrected. But overall, it’s the best thing which happened to healthcare in our lifetime. And don’t let anyone hit you with a bogus argument about subsidies. Everyone in America, who has employee sponsored healthcare, is being subsidized by the federal government. 

Why Is Trump World Attacking the Covid-19 Vaccine?

by | Jan 10, 2023 | Politics

Why Is Trump World Attacking the Covid-19 Vaccine?

If you haven’t noticed, right wing propaganda experts recently crafted an array of attacks directed at the safety and effectiveness of our Covid-19 vaccine. They are claiming the vaccine is ineffective and/or dangerous. Florida governor Ron DeSantis, actually started an investigation of the vaccine. Yes, you read that correctly, he’s investigating the vaccine.

Why are they doing this? In order to understand their motivation, you must understand two concepts. They are:

  • Trump supporters make up the largest cult since Hitler took power in Germany during the 1930s.
  • The primary roles of cult members.

In a cult,

  • Facts, Proof, Science, and Logic are totally irrelevant.
  • The Supreme Leader is always right.
  • Nobody is allowed to criticize or disagree with the Supreme Leader.
  • If anything good happens, they give credit to their leader.
  • If anything bad happens, it’s never the fault or responsibility of their Supreme Leader. They always make up excuses and/or find a scapegoat to blame for whatever went wrong.
  • The primary job of cult members is to protect and defend their Supreme Leader.

When Trump was President, over a quarter million of his supporters, probably many more, died as a result of Covid-19. Most of them died for two reasons.

  1. They refused to wear masks
  2. They refused to get the Covid-19 vaccine.

Since cult members can never hold their leader accountable or responsible for anything negative, they must now create an array of excuses or reasons which will absolve Trump of all blame or responsibility for so many deaths.

In this case, the new argument is, Trump was right when he refused to direct his supporters to wear masks and follow the science, by getting vaccinated. He was right because the vaccine was ineffective and/or dangerous. You are almost certainly going to come across these bogus allegations in the near future.

Let’s start with the claim the vaccine is dangerous. Here’s the response from the CDC on this allegation.

MYTH: The ingredients in COVID-19 vaccines are dangerous.

  • FACT: Nearly all the ingredients in Covid-19 vaccines are the same ingredients found in many foods, fats, sugars, and salts.
  • Exact vaccine ingredients vary by manufacturer. Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines also contain messenger RNA (mRNA) and the Johnson & Johnson/Janssen COVID-19 vaccine contains a harmless version of a virus unrelated to the virus that causes COVID-19.
  • The Novavax COVID-19 vaccine includes harmless pieces (proteins) of the virus that causes COVID-19; they are pieces of what is often called the “spike protein.” These give instructions to cells in your body to create an immune response. This response helps protect you from getting sick with COVID-19 in the future. After the body produces an immune response, it discards all the vaccine ingredients just as it would discard any information that cells no longer need. This process is a part of normal body functioning.
  • COVID-19 vaccines do NOT contain ingredients like preservatives, tissues (like aborted fetal cells), antibiotics, food proteins, medicines, latex, or metals

Next, let’s move onto the claim the vaccine is ineffective or doesn’t work.

Red and Blue states had a similar death rate during the winters of 2020 and 2021. “However, in the summer of 2021, after vaccines because widely available, the Republican death rate rose to nearly double that of Democrats, and this gap widened further in the winter of 2021.

The death rates in blue states, where covid-19 vaccination rates are much higher, significantly declined after vaccines were made available.

In order to understand the effectiveness of the Covid-19 vaccine, you should understand the following. Before the Covid-19 vaccine became available, the death rate in both Blue and Red states was almost identical. However, that changed big time after the drug companies had their vaccines approved by the FDA.

If you have any doubts, please research the death rates in red states versus blue states. Depending upon what studies you find, the death rate ranged from somewhere between 50-75% higher in RED states, versus BLUE states. You don’t need to know anything else to understand how critical the Covid-19 vaccine was in saving lives.

Check this out: The five states with the highest per capita death rates are all RED states: Oklahoma, Alabama, Florida, Kentucky, and West Virginia.

Here’s some additional information from other studies. As of August 2022, the risk of dying from COVID-19 among unvaccinated adults, compared with adults who received only a primary series of vaccinations, was 9 times higher for adults aged 65–79 years and 4 times higher for adults aged greater than 80 years.

A similar pattern was observed among younger adult age groups in August 2022. Compared with adults who received a primary series in the same age group, the risk of dying from COVID-19 among unvaccinated adults was 3 times higher for adults aged 18–29 years, 5 times higher for adults aged 30–49 years, and 6 times higher for adults aged 50–64 years.

Additional booster doses provide added protection.

In August 2022, adults greater than 50 years with at least 2 booster doses had 3 times lower risk of dying from COVID-19 than adults of the same age with one booster dose.

Despite the above CDC statistics, it became a badge of honor in Trump World to mock the disease and the Covid vaccine. In addition, there were bogus conspiracy theories about the vaccine. It’s very hard to comprehend, but many Trump supporters actually believe one or more of these conspiracy theories. Here are some of the Covid-19 vaccine conspiracy theories.

  • The government is using the vaccine to imbed a computer chip in your body, so they can track you.
  • The vaccine doesn’t work
  • The vaccine rewrites your DNA
  • The vaccine makes you magnetic
  • The vaccine makes you infertile
  • The vaccine will make you gay

It’s important to understand that cult members will obey all directives from their Supreme Leader. Therefore, when he was President, if Trump had repeatedly told his supporters to wear masks and get vaccinated, they would have obeyed him.  That would have probably saved close to a quarter million lives, maybe more.

The Top Ten Causes of Death in America

by | Jan 3, 2023 | Health

The Top Ten Causes of Death in America

I think it’s important to be cognizant of the dangers we face in our daily lives. In some cases, there’s nothing we can do. However, very often, lifestyle changes can play a crucial role in keeping you healthy and avoiding some of the following frequent causes of death.

  1. Heart Attacks

About 24% of deaths in America are a result of heart attacks. In real numbers, that’s approximately 650,000 people per year.

  1. Cancer

About 22% of deaths in America are cancer related. In terms of the numbers, it’s around 600,000 per year

  1. Unintentional Injuries

This accounts for about 6% of deaths or about 170,000 people per year. A significant percentage are a result of motor vehicle accidents, which account for about 37,000 deaths per year. Many of those are caused by DUI drivers.

  1. Chronic Lower Respiratory Disease

This accounts for approximately 6% of deaths or around 160,000 per year. In this category, we’re talking about.

  • chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD)
  • bronchitis
  • emphysema
  • asthma
  1. Stroke and Cerebrovascular Diseases

This accounts for about 5% of deaths or approximately 147,000 per year

  1. Alzheimer’s

This accounts for about 4% of deaths or approximately 121,000 per year

  1. Diabetes

This accounts for about 3% of deaths or approximately 83,000 per year

  1. Influenza and Pneumonia

This accounts for about 2% of deaths or approximately 56,000 per year

  1. Kidney Disease

This accounts for about 1.8% of deaths or approximately 51,000 per year

  1. Suicide

On average, there are about 47,000 deaths annually in America as a result of suicides.

  • It is the 2nd leading cause of death for people between the ages of 10 and 34.
  • The 24-Hour National Suicide Prevention Lifeline number is: 800-273-8255

Obviously, we cannot prevent many of the deaths described above, however, there is some general advice, which should improve our health and help us potentially avoid some of the diseases and pitfalls mentioned above.  We’re already familiar with much of the advice, but do we follow these guidelines?

  • Eat healthy foods [something the author of this article doesn’t do, unless you consider a daily dose of burgers, fries, steaks, Italian food, and lots of chocolate chip cookies / ice cream good choices]
  • Get plenty of sleep [I don’t get nearly enough sleep]
  • Exercise Often [I go to the gym every day]
  • Avoid alcohol or drink only in moderation [I never touched alcohol]
  • Do not smoke [I never smoked]
  • Do not use illegal drugs [I never touched illegal drugs]
  • Build healthy and positive relationships. This is critical and let me add one thought of my own. Laughter is the best medicine on the planet.
  • Avoid the use of unnecessary legal prescription drugs.
  • Establish an ongoing relationship with a doctor. Go for annual physicals, which thanks to Obamacare, are now free. You should also schedule regular dental appointments.

How does your lifestyle jive with the recommendations listed above?