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Tuesday, July 2, 2013

PUBLIC OPTION IS NOT OPTIONAL

PUBLIC OPTION IS NOT OPTIONAL
The Public Option is not an option.It is the core of the health care plan! Stop playing games with us
The only way to reform the most corrupt health care system in the world is to let the Government run it. The doctors know this, the fat cat capitalists know this and above all the greedy Pharmasnootikal companies know this.

Our Social Security program and our Medicare program are the greatest relief efforts ever given to the poor, old,and oppressed in this country. Why do you think these loonies who want to protect their own nests are freaking out?

Every argument you hear being presented against this "option" was heard when SS was being debated and many decades later when Medicare finally passed.The rich do not want to give away one solitary dollar of their treasures.

To understand the mentality of the wealthy classes, read the classic Balzac novel, Eugenie Grandet where the miser Grandet each evening retires to his barricaded retreat in the cellar of his castle and metaphorically bathes in his gold bullions. He has the lost the love of his only daughter because of his affliction but he has all that he really needs, his bullions. With those bullions he can buy back her affection.

An over simplification perhaps but human evil and human greed are difficult to explain to people who are without desperately needed medicine or surgeries. Dramatizing what motivates the affluent is a fair weapon.

Richard H Thaler, a respected behavioral economist, addressed the pros and cons of the "public option" in yesterday's Sunday Times. Here is some of what he says:

"In debating the public option — that is, an insurance option run by the government —the politicians themselves are making exaggerated claims about its pros and cons. We hear from the right that an insurance plan run by the government will drive all private-sector insurers out of business and be the first step toward socialism, if not communism. The left claims that only a public option can give evil insurers the competition they need to create much-needed reform.

"Nailing down this detail is crucial. If the public option does not have to break even — if, in fact, it is to receive government subsidies — then it is correct to worry that it would destroy competition, not foster it. If the public plan runs a deficit, who will fix it? If it is Congress, we have to worry that what should be economic decisions will turn into political battles.

"A second detail is whether the government will grant the public plan the power to impose special deals with suppliers like hospitals and drug companies — a move that would dampen, not enhance, competition with the private sector.

Well I think Mr. Thaler is trying to straddle the middle here and that is not what this health care situation needs. It needs to be run by the government which of course is not going to foster competition. Who needs competition in life and death decisions anyhow?

Are we implying that doctors practice their profession for profits. I thought they took an oath to abide by a higher standard than collecting gold bullions.

Look,there are certain areas of life where competition is not needed. or desired and health is one of them. Let Uncle Sam monitor the doctors,nurses,surgeons,drug companies and the malpractice lawyers. It has worked out for many many years in SS and medicare

Socialized medicine will not lead to Communism. After all Medicare and SS legislation preceeded the Nixon,Reagan, Bush,Bush,Obama eras which were closer to fascism than to socialism.

 

Thursday, May 16, 2013

Your personal computer, be it a laptop or a desktop can last you as long as a Volkswagen if you regularly perform some simple tasks. My suggestions are based on my own personal experiences. I taught myself how to operate a PC in the earliest days of the Internet. I learned the hard way after repeated freezes and crashes. In those early days there was no google to go to for advice. The only way out of the simplest problem was to reboot. There were no preventive maintenance programs.

1.Do not trust the protection promised by your Internet Providers,Cable or Phone Company DSL providers or any other third party program. The "Lord helps those who protect themselves" is a good motto when you are dealing with millions of hackers who get their jollies from destroying your equipment. Invest in a good top of the line software package and do not skimp on the price. Most are ineffective and a complete waste. Besides the anti-virus feature they should also provide anti-spam, network security,anti-phishing,id protection, a two way firewall, anti-tracking devices,Internet worm protection, browser protection,intrusion preventions and web site authentication. My personal favorite is the Norton Internet Security package. It is simple but incredibly effective. Run the scan feature at least once a week to see where your problems originate and delete the suspect programs. Once you have Norton installed you won't even know what horrible things are going on in the background because Norton cuts 99% of them off before they ever cause a critical problem. Scan and delete the programs causing them anyway. Eventually they will wear your PC down much as an engine running with 2 year old engine oil in the crankcase of your car. If your DSL constantly slows down until you would be better off with the old dial-up, be advised it is most likely a virus problem. Your DSL repairmen whether they be from Direct TV,Time-Warner, or Verizon will not tell you this as they understandably have to to justify their jobs. The answerman tells you right now that almost all slow-down problems ruining your cyber experience are related to hidden infections you know nothing about! Buy and install the Norton programs or equivalent software packages from reliable manufacturers. The times you are suddenly logged off will virtually disappear. The Norton pkg costs about $89.00 at Staples, Best Buy etc.

2. Get a good Malaware program like Malwarebytes. Copy and paste this link in your browser window and then click on go: http://www.malwarebytes.org/. This program scans your hard drive for worms, bugs,viruses etc which are already on your PC. It identifies them by name, Vondos,Trojan, etc and removes them with a quick reboot and restart. Dell customer support showed me where to get a free download of this program but you might have to pay for it if you find it on your own.

3. Use the chkdsk feature, monthly. Run it at night while you are sleeping as it can take hours to complete: Follow these instructions very carefully. Click Start and then click My Computer. Right-click the hard disk drive to scan, and click Properties. In the Local Disk Properties window, click the Tools tab. Click Check Now. In the Check Disk Local Disk window, click to select the box next to Automatically fix file system errors. note It is advisable to select "Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors" to physically check the surface of the hard disk. However, this step increases the time it takes to complete the scan. What do you care? You will be snoring away. Click Start. A prompt may appear to perform the scan the next time the computer restarts. If so, click Yes. The computer restarts and runs Checkdisk and you go to bed. That's it. Actually its not as difficult as it sounds.If my instructions confuse you, ask the manufacturer of your PC to help you or google check disk. There is an optional program, DEFRAG which you can also use but I don't think its that important. Comments and topic suggestions welcomed and appreciated