Truth Hurts

I personally went to the website - www.healthcare.gov - and was able to navigate it with no issue. If your state has set up their own marketplace (i.e.: CA, OR, WA, N Y, KY, ID, MN, CO, NM, NY, MD, MA, RI, CT) it's different and perhaps a bit easier than the states that refused and are using the federal marketplace. It's still not that difficult and the website is working just fine. The individual mandate was the brainchild of The Heritage Foundation - a right-wing think-tank, and was embraced by Governor Romney as a centerpiece of health care reform in MA. The ACA is not socialized medicine. The Government does not provide health care nor control the costs. Insurance is purchased from marketplaces where private companies compete for your business. As of January 1st, preexisting conditions will no longer prevent you from obtaining health care. This is huge for millions of Americans. The Government rolled out a pilot program earlier this year where 100,000 pe...

Five days until we reach the debt ceiling. The House R's are now racing to come up with a solution before the Senate R's and moderate D's swoop in an steal their so-called "thunder". Vegas odds have the Senate leading us out of this mess with a token win for the R's, a debt ceiling increase to take us past the 1st of the year, changes to the sequester to allow Gov't agencies mo re flexibility, a repeal of the medical device tax and some changes to so-called entitlement programs. Michelle Bachmann believes President Obama is leading us towards the end of days. His Presidency is apparently the biblical sign of the apocalypse. Senator Cruz tried to argue for repeal of the Affordable Care Act to the President at the White House. That went over like a fart in church. The St. Louis Cardinals took a 1-0 lead in the best of 7 NLCS with a 3-2 win in 13 innings on Carlos Beltran's RBI single. Beltran drove in all three runs for the Cards. Game ...

Government is still shut-down. We hit the debt ceiling in six days. 2M Government workers just got their pay statements, a little over half of what they actually earned. Aviation safety professionals held a rally on Capitol Hill calling for an end to the #shutdown . The motorcade of Congressional leaders leaving their White House meeting pa ssed right by the rally. The air traffic control system is reaching a state of "yellow", meaning that in the 11th day of the furlough of those workers who maintain the equipment necessary to do my job, we're approaching a state where the system is stretched beyond its limitations. House R's want to take away Treasury Dept ability to reinvest the Gov't money when we're bumping up against the ceiling - an idea that benefits those who love to take our Gov't hostage and no one else, quite frankly. The markets responded positively to news that talks over a budget deal *may* be thawing. Anyone who thinks th...

In case anyone feels as if the Gov't shutdown isn't having an impact: One Congressman said it's a "few million". It's actually estimated at $12.5 million per hour. 1 million essential Government workers are on the job and will not get paid for work performed after October 1st until the shutdown ends. My personal experience: the talk at work is how people are going to manage without one or two paychecks, whether the bank will take an IOU for the mortgage or car note. Just what I want - air traffic controllers separating airplanes with concern over paying their bills in the forefront of their minds. Yes, we're professionals and we go to work and do our best work regardless of the circumstances. We still kick ass for the flying public, just like the other 985 thousand that are working for an IOU. Sure, I will eventually get paid - unlike the 800 thousand furloughed Government workers who may or may not. It's just not a very good feeling to have this ...

Well, that's my take on the glue that held the box together that used to hold this 28 pounds of cat litter that now sits in the Target parking lot. The glue was Made in China!

Today I returned to the real world. Sure, there was the quick visit to the Rite-Aid last night but it's not the same. I was annoyed last night, leaving the cocoon of the hospital room for the hustle and bustle that is San Diego. I thought maybe I had just gotten used to having everything taken care of for me - I didn't have to think about a thing! But what I found was it was more about being away from the noise, the traffic, everyone in their one mindset on their personal mission to get somewhere or do something. The hospital strips all of that away. It really de-stresses life like you can't do otherwise. We only went out for a short trip to Trader Joes and Sprouts, and didn't drive by the actual Hillcrest sign so I snapped the picture of the Trader Joes' rendition of the sign. I love where we live. Getting out and about always makes me realize why we moved here - not just to San Diego, but to Hillcrest. It's about acceptance. Hillcrest welcomes all kinds. It...