As a case in point, it has now been revealed that ISIS is using chemical weapons on our allies and has the capability of producing more. Chemical weapons, as you may recall, are generally considered to be in violation of Obama's "red line" - if you use them anywhere in the world, he will come sweeping down on you with his mighty sword of vengeance.
Just kidding! He actually won't do squat unless it's an actual chemical attack on the United States which renders every golf course unplayable.
And speaking of good reasons to carry a set of clubs...
At a recent speech, she started barking like a dog to prove that Republicans are liars. No, we don't get the connection, either - but then again, we haven't had as many concussions or drunken blackouts as Mrs. Clinton.
BONUS: SOCIALISM MEDIA
Thanks to Bernie Sanders and rampant national ignorance, socialism is enjoying newfound popularity amongst those who can never imagine themselves working hard enough to pay taxes. And according to Bernie and alleged-filmmaker Michael Moore, life in socialist countries is pure paradise!
But here's an interesting reality check from a (non-political) friend's Facebook post:
Actual conversation today...
Us: "So how do you like living in Brussels?
Her: Well, you know, it's a socialist country so they're always on strike. The last time we flew in we couldn't get home from the airport due to the transportation strike.
Us: Why are they striking?
Her: For higher wages; with the 40% tax it's hard for people to make a living. A US couple started a coffee shop to create jobs helping women out of the sex trafficking industry, but the government requires all businesses for the first year to hire people released from prison. Yeah, and they're just all very laid back. When we first moved there the movers tried 3 times to get my armoire up the stairs and then just said, 'You'll just have to find some other way, we can't do it.' Customer service is practically non-existent."
This is the same Brussels, by the way, which just busted another terror cell of radical Islamists several days ago. Apparently socialism makes it easy for people to live comfortably without actually working, leaving more time for hobbies like waging jihad.
And while we're on the topic of socialist enterprises with non-existent customer service...
BONUS 2: TURN YOUR HEAD AND KAFKA
As you may recall (assuming you drink less than we do), as of our last Obamacare update daughter Jarlsberg's insurance had been cancelled without explanation, leaving her without coverage for her critically important epilepsy medications and neurologist appointments. But at least her new policy was going into effect February 1st, so new bills would be taken care of while we tried to clear up the old mess.
And for the senior Jarlsbergs, Healthcare.gov was sending threatening letters about canceling our insurance unless we sent them further proof of income. Which we did. Multiple times.
So you can imagine our delight when daughter Jarlsberg called several days ago, trying to hold back tears, when she went to pick up this month's medications and found out that now her new, fully paid up policy, has also been cancelled without warning or reason by Blue Cross Blue Shield.
This precipitated a one hour phone call over the weekend in which we tried to get things straightened out, only to find out that only "level one" employees staff the phones on the weekend, and they aren't technically empowered to do any damn thing at all. In fact, we suspect that they're only on staff to be used as meat in case their superiors go cannibalistic during a national emergency.
So yesterday we called again, this time a 90-minute call. The first 45 minutes was a woman breathing heavily and mumbling to herself in confusion while looking at her computer screen. She then put us on a "brief hold" which stretched into a full half-hour. She eventually returned to say that the problem was all in our imagination, and daughter Jarlsberg has always been insured.
It was at this point that heated words were exchanged and it was decided (unilaterally) that the whole fustercluck needed to get expedited to someone with both authority and, just maybe, a triple digit IQ. "I'm turning it over to Finance," clucked the customer service person, as if this would fill us with ineffable joy. But we effed anyway - and demanded that "Finance" not only fix this problem but call us to explain everything in detail or we'd file a complaint with the Oklahoma Insurance Commission.
But...we were lying. We'd already filed the complaint online during that half-hour of nerve-shredding muzak on hold. And we're ready to go to war.
For now, the situation remains hopelessly unresolved - but we've floated daughter Jarlsberg over $1000 to make sure she can buy the medications that Blue Cross, Healthcare.gov, and B. Hussein want to deny her.
As far as the senior Jarlsberg's health insurance plan goes, well, Healthcare.gov just sent a forbidding collection agency-style "second notice" that our insurance will soon be terminated for failure to provide proof of income.
Speaking to a functionary who can only dream of someday becoming a "level one" employee, we were told that if we've submitted all of our documentation (which we have, four times), then "you should be fine."
"Then why are we still getting threatening letters?"
"Because they haven't looked at what you sent in."
"Why not?"
"They got millions of files to look at. They way behind."
"So what's going to keep them from cancelling my insurance if they never look at my records?"
"If they do, you can call up again and say that you sent your records."
"And will anyone look at them then?!"
"Maybe. They got millions of files to look at."
Now, imagine these kinds of interactions for every aspect of your life - and you've got the Socialist utopia that Hillary, Bernie, and millions of brain-dead millenials are hoping to foist off on our nation. Your every hope, dream, and aspiration would depend on the approval of some anonymous, non-accountable dolt who would see you only as a file. Or would if you weren't eternally at the bottom of a metastasizing stack of "millions of files."
@ Stilton We are sorry to hear of your continuing Obamacare saga. It reminds me of dealing with the Department of Veteran Affairs, and the high numbers of vets committing suicide each year. Rest assured that customer service ineptitude is found everywhere. I returned a new TV for warranty repair on 12/14/2015. I started looking for it on 1/28/2016. After several calls and emails, on 2/12/2016 I was assured that I will be receiving a new TV via FEDEX. They will email the tracing number in two to three weeks. I’m glad that I wasn’t expecting to watch the Superbowl on a new TV.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, keep knocking on that door and going up levels until you get satisfaction.
Hello Stilton,
ReplyDeleteIt's everywhere.
I do videos for people. My Sony ($3,500) camera failed again, and I bought a $1500 Panasonic camera. I was having problems editing the video from the camera and sent an email to Panasonic.
Panasonic sent an email back to me informing me that their company only answers questions from residents of Mainland China.
Bill Moore
I have 4 health insurances and my wife has three. Once again what little retirement I do get was dinged for more health insurance, about 15% of what I took home last month.
ReplyDeleteSo I was wondering where my $2500 dollars zero promised me went.
I think I have the answer though, my new name will be martinez or guzman and I am now a gang member illegally here from Honduras or Guatemala who is both a widow and an orphan.
I can feel the riches pouring in as soon as I can find someone to speak spanish to the govt. clerk who will fill in my forms for me. (and register me as a demonRat voter no less!)
Don't ask me what this will allow me to do to the IRS but my wife and I are looking for 29 spanish first name to claim every kid in my old imaginary village as my dependent.
Hasta la vista baby!
Watch for me in my new ranch house (not the style home but a house with a ranch!) and a brand spanking new. fully loaded, matching pair of Land Rovers. Oh and the 2 new John Deere out front.
Doc I feel your pain.
Welcome to corporate america, where I got taught your exact lessons back in 1987.
ReplyDeleteYou are nothing but a number waiting to be ignored, now go away!
Bill
ReplyDeleteI bought one of the first Panasonic Microwave Convection ovens, I replaced it with another when that one died, when the new one went kaput shortly after that I sent it back.
I went in person to the Panasonic repair center where I had dropped it off.
I was informed there was grease in it so the warantee was void.
I told her it was a fricking microwave OVEN not a TV to little effect.
Later I get a bill of lading for over $400 from a trucking outfit (remember I drove the 60 miles to drop it off) only to find out it was for my defective unrepaired Microwave.
Panasonic lost a good customer over this.
Joseph ET
ReplyDeleteMy meds have not kicked in yet and there is not enough space here to get started on the VA.
I am grateful to my fellow Americans for the care I do receive though.
I would just like all of you who think single payer health care is the answer, that the VA (and military medicine) are the peak of socialized medicine, It's all down hill from there. Think about that for a moment.
A grateful veteran medicated for your protection.
If I wanted to live in Venezuela I would have moved there. Now it's everywhere around me. Swell.
ReplyDeleteSo sorry for all of you. I believe it's called "dumbing down of America". Or maybe "the inmates running the asylum". What the future holds for a socialistic society. Why try when you're getting paid a ridiculous wage for doing nothing.
ReplyDeleteThe video of billary barking was one of the funniest things I've ever seen. At last she's found a demographic she can communicate with. (No offense to dogs, they're smarter than that.)
Is it possible you are seeing regime retaliation for this blog?
ReplyDeleteSounds like you could write a movie.
ReplyDeleteDo all the illegals on Medicaid have the same problems?
ReplyDeleteIt tookb over a year for my dad's accountant to straighten out an IRS mistake. There were threatening letters every month; seizing bank accounts, more penalties. He asked "why are they still sending these? Are you sending what you need to?" She said "yes I am but they dont open letters. I've had another client with a similar issue and it took over 2 years." My mom passed away knowing this was going on. Thanks irs. My health insurance problem was last year. They switched me to a new plan and gave me a new pcp saying "since you didnt pick one". Ok but my old one should take this new plan since she is part of the hospital network. Many, many calls it was changed to my ob/gyn. Well getting closer. Thats her husband but my oldeat son was also switched to the new plan and they switched his pcp to the ob/gyn. Oook? More calls. Was told she wasnt put as part osf the plan origianlly, need to have her fill out an 'add on' form. Why not tell me 3 months prior? We did that and shockingly, both were 'lost'. Did it again and finally have the correct pcp and I was finally able to go to my neurologist. My next recent issue with health insurance was my ex's fault. Never gave me the new insurance cards for our boys. Had new cards since July 1, 2014. Our youngest had many dr visits between then & now. Only found out because I called to ask a general question of why does the address keep changing when he goes to the dr? Gee, now I know.
ReplyDeleteThis world is not my final home. THANK GOD!!!! If you can make it through the rest of this year, when the flap-jack is turned over, maybe we will be rid of disastercare. There has to be something better, impossible to be worse.
ReplyDelete
ReplyDeleteIf simply reading the troubles you are experiencing makes this patriotic, legal, working, American citizen as angry as it does I can only imagine the level of anger any sane person would be feeling.
Is this why the powers that be seem to be orchestrating a concerted effort to eliminate the Constitution in particular the Bill of Rights?
Any sane person would be feeling EXPERIENCING them.
ReplyDeleteAnd now I've gone and done it, opened up the avenue for
taking away my second amendment right to bear arms, haven't I?
How to at least begin to fix this Obamacrap..TRUMP TRUMP TRUMP!
ReplyDeleteYour anger is justified. Believing in Trump isnt't. He has always supported single payer government medical insurance. He is not a conservative. He is a populist who lives off the anger of people and off the free press given him by the manipulative MSM. I suggest that you read the article on American Thinker on Facebook: "Democrat Strategy: It's all Trump." The article said that the Dems know that they have terrible candidates. By giving Trump so much publicity it makes him look inevitable, and once locked in, they will turn on him with a vengeance that he won't be expecting because they have treated him so nicely, that he is a stereotype capitalist, and once he is the only candidate they will start never ending pounding. And likely he won't handle it well, and there will be nothing we can do about it. He changes his positions depending on the crowd. He attacks without merit others. He mistates info on other candidates. Now he is threatening to sue Cruz. Look at Conservative Review online: Presidential Candidates. Pick the candidate. Click on your issues.
DeleteClick on red to read bad positions, blue to read good positions, grey to read mixed or undecided or neutral positions.
ISIS & Chemical weapons on our allies: It's understandable why he doesn't stress this small stuff. After all, in the Obama era, the role of "allies" and "enemies" swap so fluidly that it's hard to keep track, and there seems to be little point in doing so. It's all part of the "acceptable level of carnage" the left is willing to accept to not do anything.
ReplyDeleteHillary barking like a dog: Probably logical from Hillary's point of view. After all, more people like dogs than Hillary the human.
Socialism: "Socialism" has always been an easy sell to the poor, powerless and uneducated. And why wouldn't it be, since it promises so much and (at least in the sales pitch) demands so little? And thanks to a better part of a decade of Progressive policy, there are more poor, powerless and uneducated than ever before.
And also notice that when socialism and "free markets" are compared, it's always theoretical socialism against free market reality, even though the last century is completely littered with socialist failure. (If the East Germans couldn't make it work, nobody could) The Scandinavian fantasy they like to evoke (care-free blue-eyed blondes singing europop) has been gone for decades. (Will someone explain why uber-taxed single-payer Swedes now need "private" health insurance?)
So considering the dismal level of historical and economic literacy, it's not a surprise that so many young people are smitten by Sanders and the left's victimology rhetoric. Look at it this way: If you are under 30, you've come into adulthood during an age of mediocre and deteriorating economic growth. You didn't understand any life before this. And if you are still dense enough to buy into Obama's rhetoric that everything now is better than ever even though you're working 2 or more jobs and still making less than $50k and still not covering your 6-figures of student loan debt, then why wouldn't you think that the game is rigged against you?
When you've spent your whole life swimming in the sewer, it's hard to comprehend a world that doesn't stink.
Life in Europe: I've never taken a trip to Europe what was not somehow disrupted at least once by a strike. It's just a fact of life there. America would be like this today had Ronald Reagan not laid down the law with the illegally-striking air traffic controller's union in 1981. If PATCO had gotten away with it, the floodgates would have opened with every public sector union striking every so many years for a raise. The cost of this kind of constant disruption to the economy would be immeasurable enough to see it it that the unions would always get their way, and pretty much control the government. Everyone in America owes Reagan gratitude for knowing where this would eventually lead, and doing the hard thing by taking a stand. And he took a lot of heat for it; there's little doubt how a Jimmy Carter or a squishy Ford would have dealt with this situation, and this would be our reality today had Reagan not done what he did 35 years ago, saving America for at least one more generation, most of which will never have a clue about it.
ReplyDeleteEurope subsidizing terrorism via welfare: Just google "europe welfare terrorists" and you'll find no shortage of material about how Europe is committing suicide through it's insanely generous benefits. Being able to live a comfortable middle-class existence without having to do any work whatsoever gives people a lot of free time to cause mischief. Nancy Pelosi might fantasize about becoming free to be an artist, but other have less benign agendas. It gives the expression "Idle hands are the devil's workshop" a literal dimension.
Jarlsbergs vs ObamaCare: I wish there was something I could say, but we both know the reality; this is the future. Kafka is going to look more like an episode of "Spongebob Squarepants" compared to what more and more of us are going to be living through very soon.
@Joseph ET said "It reminds me of dealing with the Department of Veteran Affairs, and the high numbers of vets committing suicide each year."
ReplyDeleteIt almost makes one wonder if that's not the actual plan.
Remember, pure socialism is like an ant colony: Everyone works for the queen. Once you become injured, ineffective, or just too old to work, you are left to die. The colony does not care to waste resources on anyone who is not contributing to the collective. Ultimately, this is why socialism consumes itself. The left likes to characterize "capitalism" as dog-eat-dog, but ultimately socialism does worse; with people competing against each other for ever dwindling resources, instead of creating new ones.
Your travails with the Liberal Leviathan are staggeringly reminiscent of a classic Monty Python skit:
ReplyDeleteI've come here to buy an argument.
No, you can't do that!
....and so on....
Makes Abbot and Costello's old "Who's on First" skit look like a Mensa meeting.
Hey Hillary... I played the video of you barking for my dog last night, and she said, "bark bark woof rarf grrrr rarf bark snarl woof!" And I'm pretty sure she meant, "I wish you were a tree so I could pee on your leg!"
ReplyDeleteStilton, you have the patience of Job, and I pray you will end up as blessed as Job was after his ordeal. However, you made a vital mistake in your youth that has brought this upon you. You made the choice to be a productive citizen, and now the gubmint has you pigeon-holed in the "we don't need to give this guy nuttin'!" category because you dared support yourself thus far. Perhaps you should consider REM1875's idea above. Change your name to Achmed Ramirez, completely quit working, dress the missus up in a burka, and march your butt down to DSS and get your fair share of free shit.
John the Econ,
My brother emigrated to Sweden in 1972, and still think it's the greatest country on Earth. I remember when they could go to the doctor or pharmacy and not pay a red cent beyond their gawd-awful taxes rates. Now they are paying for medical care on top of the even more gawd-awful tax rates. And... they are overrun with Mid-eastern immigrants, their culture is near gone, and they have one of the highest rape rates in the world. Still clinging to the socialist dream though, the poor misguided bastard.
I received a gift from Omaha Steaks. Within the package was a Prescription Savings Coupon. The coupon is for 75% savings on "any FDA-approved prescription medication not covered by insurance". The coupon is reusable and does not expire nor involve membership fees or the like. The coupon is offered through Healthcare Alliance.
ReplyDeletewww.TheHealthareAlliance.com
Or call 1-866-501-0994
I have yet to uee the coupon. I have no connection to Omaha Steaks or the Health Alliance.
Correction: it is Healthcare Alliance. I see I left out the 'c' (as in 'care') in the web address.
ReplyDelete@Colby Muenster, when I was in school during the '80s, Sweden was the "gold standard" of "social democracy", and the automatic response to any argument about conservative principles and the free markets was met with something that started with "Well, in Sweden...".
ReplyDeleteTo be fair, Sweden had a lot going for it, and if socialism had a chance of working anywhere, it was Sweden. It was a relatively small country (<9-million) with relatively high literacy and worker productivity. But most importantly, it was a small and very homogeneous country culturally and socially. It certainly was not a "diverse" country by any stretch of the imagination. This gave socialism a vital advantage; In order for socialism to work at any level, there has to be a near unanimous level of social solidarity and trust of your fellow citizen, which simply doesn't exist when more than one culture is involved. Sweden also tightly restricted immigration to keep it that way, which any Progressive today would consider abhorrent.
And for a period of time, it worked relatively well. But as you pointed out, that hasn't been the case for some time. Top-down control of the economy predictably caused many a crisis, such as a construction boom and bust not dissimilar to what our Federal government caused via Freddie & Frannie, and interest rate manipulations that robbed consumers as our Fed has been doing to us. As centralized mismanagement and the inherent traits of socialism took its inevitable toll on the economy with ever increasing demands upon the state with ever decreasing resources, changes had to be made. By the beginning of the '90s, there was mass privatization and deregulation. Over the last two decades, the Swedes have implemented reforms that any nominal Democrat here would proclaim as "draconian" and "the agenda of the radical-right". They even now have "school choice".
And then there's the migrant crisis. For some reason, the "multiculturalists" took over about the same time, and Sweden hasn't been homogeneous for decades now. Making matters worse, Sweden's native birthrate has been below replacement since the '70s. Meanwhile, the migrant population is replacing itself at a far greater rate, meaning that in but a few generations, the "social democracy" of Sweden will not be run by ethnic Swedes. Sweden today is a multiculturalism horror story that is not being openly reported. Sweden has dozens of the infamous "no-go zones" where normal Swedish law and civil rights do not apply. Migrants are emigrating specifically because of Sweden's reputation for its generous benefits, and the system is near collapse. Antisemitism is rampant, and the Jews are fleeing. In what was once one of the safest countries in the world, unescorted women are no longer safe in public. In what was once considered one of the most sexually liberated countries in the world, women are now told that it's best to remain "modest".
Today, as everywhere else where Progressivism runs amok, it's as though the inmates are running the asylum. The government and mainstream media suppresses everything going on. In a recent case of a migrant youth killing an aid worker, the National Police Commissioner expressed sympathy for the murderer while ignoring the victim. The political establishment's condoning the insanity of the status quo is predictably causing rise to "right-wing extremist groups" demanding that the situation be addressed.
Sweden, socialist utopia, may in fact be on the verge of a civil war.
Stilton. Welcome to Terry Gilliam's "Brazil".
ReplyDeleteHarry Tuttle: Bloody paperwork. Huh!
Sam Lowry: I suppose one has to expect a certain amount.
Harry Tuttle: Why? I came into this game for the action, the excitement. Go anywhere, travel light, get in, get out, wherever there's trouble, a man alone. Now they got the whole country sectioned off, you can't make a move without a form.
What service you are doing for others, my friend, by relaying to all of us your highly ridiculous treatment from our loving government! I am sure it is at least as bad you describe, and probably even more so! We now live in the greatest nation on earth, yet the folks here are some of the most unaware you will find! Decades of plenty and fairly easy living have made too many people just totally dumb and numb to reality! Socialism is living hell!
ReplyDeleteRush made a great point today: If socialism is so wonderful and the greatest system of government ever known, why aren't all the world's countries doing it?
ReplyDeleteI accidently cracked the screen on my state of the art smartphone about one month ago. About one week ago that same phone locked up and refused to boot up. This is the second time this has occured, and I was told that it is a common problem with my particular model phone. Although my phone's problem is admitted and well documented, because I happened to cause a small crack in the corner of the display, which has absolutely nothing to do with the boot up problem, I am now forced to pay hundreds of dollars for a replacement device.
ReplyDeleteI am so pleased with the customer service department I just dealt with.
Mrs. Clinton will need to be careful around Pres Obama with so accurate a bark as that.
ReplyDelete@Joseph ET- Sadly, it is hard to find decent customer service these days (though when I encounter an exception, it makes me a customer for life). Still, when you're dealing with a company you can at least raise enough hell to make something happen - or sue if it doesn't. Not so when you're fighting an immense and faceless bureaucracy.
ReplyDelete@Bill- How does one even respond to an assertion as ridiculous as that?! Especially if you don't speak Mandarin.
@REM1875- I believe it's called "white privilege" to pay for services that others are getting for free on your dime. The current system does little to encourage me to maximize my income and incur additional punishment, nor does it encourage me to be rigorously scrupulous (although I am) about following the law.
@Anonymous- Certainly there are plenty of corporations that are just as bad. But as I said, at least there are theoretical methods of redressing complaints with private companies.
@REM1875- Great, albeit frustrating, story. And it honks me off no end that the VA system does such a miserable job of caring for our vets, and that seemingly no one is willing to look at the VA's example and see what a healthcare disaster our entire nation is heading towards.
@TrickyRicky- Well, that would explain why everything is printed in Spanish these days.
@Judi King- I will very, very gently say that "customer service" these days strikes me as being a "full employment act" for members of certain demographic groups who would normally be considered unemployable. Or at the least unintelligible.
And yes, Hillary barking was hilarious. Maybe if she'd learned to do that decades ago, Bill wouldn't have been chasing other women. (I didn't just write that out loud, did I?)
@Anonymous- I genuinely don't think I'm being singled out for special (mis)treatment. I think my daughter and I are just run-of-the-mill victims of genuinely dangerous ineptitude. The reason I keep documenting this is NOT because it's "all about me," but rather because I believe it's emblematic of what's happening to all Americans whether they know it yet or not.
@TMay- I could write a movie, but I know enough about Hollywood to realize that I don't want a piece of that insanity either. Instead, I'll just encourage everyone to enjoy a movie marathon of "Idiocracy," "1984," and Terry Gilliam's "Brazil."
@Jerry- I'm going to go way out on a limb and say no. Moreover, the illegals have no problem just ignoring the bureaucracy and going straight to an emergency room for whatever medical care they need for free. I, on the other hand, am hampered by a sense of self-sufficiency which requires me to pay the bills, either via insurance or my own bank account.
@AmyH- Holy Moley, your troubles far outweigh the ones I've been going through. And you bring out a great point: when dealing with bureaucracies, the penalties are immediate but the remedies take months or years.
ReplyDelete@chef621- I have no doubt that there are options HUGELY better than Obamacare, but so much of the system has been dismantled and rearranged under this president that I don't know if those options are available anymore. I think single-payer is inevitable at this point...meaning in the not-distant future we'll look back on these as the "good old days."
@American Cowboy- The Constitution and the Bill of Rights are under attack from above because those documents exist to limit the government's power over the people. And the government increasingly doesn't like it.
@Vegasray2014- At this point, Trump is a total wildcard to me. I neither like nor trust him. BUT...I'm not sure if anyone other than a chaotic rule-breaker can effect the changes our country needs. Considering Trump's momentum, I'd certainly like to hear more detailed specifics about his plans and personal philosophy in case I need to cast my vote for him.
@John the Econ- You're right about the fluid roles in the Middle East. I've read plenty of articles suggesting that the growth of ISIS was considered advantageous to Obama's grand scheme until it got to be a PR problem.
Regarding Hillary barking, I can only imagine that if elected, her term will seemingly be in dog years...feeling like 28 years rather than 4.
Great summary of why Socialism is, and always has been, an easy sell to certain groups. And also great point about Reagan and the air traffic controllers.
On the topic of subsidized terror in Europe, I'll also point out that the Socialistic support of an immigrant population makes it possible for the group to survive and thrive with no assimilation whatsoever. Usually people would have to mix with others to hold a job or open a business. Not so in a country where the checks are delivered every month.
And on insurance, as I said in a comment above, I believe we'll soon look back on these as "the good old days" when getting treatment was just a pain in the ass instead of impossible. And I do believe that various government policies are intended to help us shuffle off this mortal coil ASAP as a form of "cost control" for Social Security, Medicare, and other expenses. Like you say, at a certain point in life the government considers us to be only a liability. And that's not who you want making your healthcare decisions.
@Anonymous- It feels like a Monty Python sketch. Although currently, I feel like I'm the old man slung over someone's shoulder while shouting "I don't want to go on the cart!"
@Colby Muenster- The choice to be a productive citizen is increasingly the choice to be portrayed as a victimizer of others. In today's groupthink, self-reliance is a crime because it doesn't benefit the masses. Oddly, if I then ask what the masses are doing for me I'm just considered an asshole.
@Anonymous- There are various programs like that which offer discounts on meds, though I'm not specifically familiar with that one. Meanwhile, most of my prescriptions are already cheaper than dirt ($11 for a 3 month supply) NOT because of any government program, not my insurance (which actually would make the pills more expensive), but because of free market capitalism which has made many generics available at giveaway prices.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, my daughter's meds are significantly more expensive - and it's critical that she gets the actual prescribed meds rather than a cheaper generic. Epilepsy and bargain hunting don't mix. Sadly, it also seems that epilepsy and Obamacare don't mix either.
@NVRick- I love Terry Gilliam's funny but thoroughly depressing "Brazil" and will have to watch it again soon. When dealing with Healthcare.gov, it's very easy for me to imagine the person on the other end of the phone wearing a bloodstained white smock and a chipped porcelain baby mask.
@PRY- I know I'm a voice in the wilderness here, unlikely to reach anyone who thinks Obamacare is a good thing. At this point, I think I'm just documenting our downfall - though even that electronic "documentation" won't survive a North Korean EMP attack.
@Shelly- I think the usual excuse about why other countries aren't doing Socialism (at least, not successfully) is that it will only work with someone smart and strong enough at the top to make it all work. God help us now that so much of the country is embracing the delusion of benign dictatorship.
@Geoff King- Sorry about that. A lot of companies will weasel word their way out of giving coverage you're owed. I'll point out a happy exception: I use a PUR water filter on my faucet to get drinking water. On two occasions, I've had a much used (and surely out of warranty) dispenser start leaking and in both occasions PUR sent a replacement for free with no hassle whatsoever. And isn't it sad that good customer service is so rare that I remember this with such fondness?
@TMay- One thing I know to the soles of my shoes is that Trump is no conservative. I'm not sure what he is because his positions are so fluid. He calls himself a "nationalist," but that's certainly not a well-defined term.
The current election cycle calls to mind a scathingly hilarious satiric novel from a few years ago called "CLUMP: An American Splatire." The protagonist is a presidential candidate who is a wildly popular but dangerously volatile celebrity...who happens to be headless. His lack of any discernible position on any issue is sold to voters as a virtue: "He's not for anything you're against. He's not against anything you're for" and, because his positions are entirely poll driven, the headless man's campaign slogan is "Your Voice is His Voice." His name is Clump rather than Trump, but the parallels are spooky.
@Shirley Stock- I'm sure it's nothing that a good shock collar wouldn't take care of.
ReplyDeleteDoc, You have got to get John The Econ off of the lomotil...
Nice to see the Kenyan lion dog back in action again.
ReplyDeleteYa know, Stilt, this almost makes me wonder if you aren't on some kind of "list" that dotgove maintains to "punish troublemakers and their families".
ReplyDeleteGee....almost sounds like something old Adolf would do, doesn't it?
I feel your pain...we finally gave up after repeatedly sending in reams of documents and offering up our firstborn...and the neighbors kids too. When we got the 3rd, or was it the 4th, "your papers are not in ordnung" letter we talked to the healthcare company directly. They provided some insight on the situation from their prospective and at that point we decided to pull the plug. We'll get stuck next tax time paying penalty and probably have to reimburse on Govt's share on what was covered but at least the headache is gone...
ReplyDeletebobbookworm
Ronald Reagan needed to be cloned. He was the greatest president of the people, by the people and for the people that ever has been during my lifetime. It is frightening to see how things are moving along in this country of followers. Leaders are confusing the masses. The masses are growing and the leftovers (those of us with IQs over 100) have to deal with the disaster that is left behind. It is kind of like nuclear waste... there is no place to put it that is safe. There is no place to put these socialists that is safe. If we dig a hole and toss them in, they will find a way to seep back up to the surface and kill the rest of the human race with their toxic ideas. God help us. chef621, I do agree with you that this is not my last home. Trump 2016! Also, why is Kasich still in this race? Can the man speak without using his hands just one time? Go away, please!
ReplyDeleteCorrected website : I hope you can watch a video of Trump on OccupyDemocrats.com/2016/01/25/watch-devastating-video-proves-trump-is-playing-his-fans-like-a-fiddle/
ReplyDeleteIt shows video of him personally loving up Hillary, Pelosi, Obama, very pro-choice, against throwing people out, nationalized single-payer healthcare, gun reform, pro eminent domain, raising taxes - proposal for largest tax increase in history, for impeachment of Pres. George W., "I'm a Democrat", Elizabeth Warren used the word "we" for her and Trump as in "Donald Trump and I both agree that there should be more taxation.", "Hillary is a great friend of mine. Her husband is a great friend of mine." , "Republicans are just too crazy right." etc. It was created by a Romney pac. It has pieces of tape from CNN, Fox, Wolf, NBC Meet the Press, CBS 60 Minutes, Good Morning America.. lots of dates.
The Trump tapes: Vol. 1
Who's most qualified to make a nuclear deal with Iran?
Trump: 'Hillary Clinton'
Plus he's talking of creating a third party. which would split the Republicans and hand the election to Hillary or Sanders, looks like Hillary presently, or Biden.
"Donald Trump warns of a third party run"
ReplyDelete2/19/2016
http://www.allthatsnews.com/articles/politics/donald-trump-warns-third-party-run