Stuff

Bullets in a box. Yes you may save the pic to somewhere in your computer, caption it if you want to, and upload it to social media. Link back to this blog is not necessary. As usual, copyright monopolist trolls are unwelcome here. I took the photo myself and I can prove that. So go away.

     Measles Outbreak: I noted with interest the measles outbreak, particularly in California. I suppose that the reason is actually "reasons" and therefore multi-factorial. Having said that, I have to admit that my first inclination was to blame the "Vaccines cause autism" crowd in general and Jenny McCarthy in particular. [To be fair, hers is the only name that I associate with this issue]. I was also horrified to discover that one of the Wahlberg brothers married her and that they now have their own show. I remember hearing or reading somewhere long ago something like "Love is blind and marriage is an institution for the blind." On the other hand, politics and mystical false medical beliefs aside, I know nothing about Ms. McCarthy the human being so I will stop myself here. Except to note that I am no fan of the organization that I associate with her-- something about autism squeaking-- and that's all about that.

     I am Charlie Hebdo: I'm not Charlie Hebdo. My take on this as an American is absolute horror that twelve people lost their lives over cartoons in a magazine that regularly publishes satirical cartoons. Seriously, if you don't care for the material that a magazine publishes then quit reading that magazine. To persist is a form of mental masturbation.

     Disability Services: It's a continuing saga which appears to be full of disconnects and non-connects, at least for me. Hey, if you aren't going to help me, then don't hinder me. Get out of my way.

     "Free" Community College: It's a nice thought. I want to know more about how Obummer is planning to have this one paid for. Dad used to tell me that there is no such thing as a free lunch. The other problem is the sense of entitlement that this sort of thing will foster in a society that is already full of people thinking that they are owed that free lunch.

     Guns: I like guns. I think hunting is cool so long as the hunters et. al. actually eat the animals they shoot. It's people that need control, not guns. And not all people either. Just a few people. 

     The Government: Less government, more fun. The government should stay out of healthcare, out of the marriage business altogether, out of spying on the citizens. And now Obummer [once again] is calling for "hackers" to be prosecuted under RICO. The political insanity does not end.

                                      radical sapphoq

     

I've Got Things to Say About the V.A.

     As an adult child of a parent who served in Korea and the relative of several other veterans alive and deceased, I certainly have things to say about the V.A. and the recent investigation. Yes I do. [Paragraph eight for those who want to skip the antipasto].

     I do not like the President. I refer to him as Obummer because he certainly has been a bummer. The government should be involved in as little as possible in my opinion. I think the government should get out of the marriage business, health care insurance, and the interwebz. And quit picking on responsible and sane and law-abiding citizens who like guns.

     I believe that folks who get married by any clergy should be referred to as married. Those who get married by a justice of the peace, that would be a secular ceremony and thus "partnered" with the same rights and responsibilities as those couples who opted for a religious sort of ceremony. This is a long-time opinion that I hold. Clergy and places of worship are already protected by law in that they are not required to solemnize any sort of coupling that they cannot agree with by reasons of faith or other. Civil rights for all civils [*civilians]. Thus two adults of the same gender can get hitched at city hall or by any clergy that will have them. End of problem. 

     I am furious about the Obummer Care fiasco. I am livid about forcing seniors and disabled into this "donut hole" where people are then required to beg for charity in order to pay for meds. [N.B. Any disabled person is not eligible for their state's pharmacy discount program unless they are age 62. And if they worked long enough not to be eligible for Medicaid, well, it's shit out of luck time for them]. To be fair, the whole donut hole crap was started during Bush 43. Obummer did not help matters. In a few years, there will be a new tax for anyone who has signed up for expensive "better than the usual" health insurance. It's in there. I read the manuscript. Fasten your seatbelts folks. This healthcare crapola is scheduled to get worse and worse.

     Obummer and the N.S.A. versus the Interwebz: G.T.F.O., period. Leave the internet alone for crying out loud. Parents bear the responsibility for what their kids view on the web and on television and every other thing. If I wanted a set of rug rats, I would have had them. We don't want any stinking national I.D. card with our very own government generated "password" on it in order to access the Interwebz. Hey, alternative satellite web to be started by the people for the people and screw the N.S.A. and national internet i.d. cards, I'm down with that. Screw you N.S.A. for doing what you are doing and screw the politicians too.

     And hey, don't like guns? Don't get one. I'd rather have my loaded gun when a serial killer or a rapist barges into my space than do what has been suggested by Paul Rosenthal, democrat politician. Women who are about to get raped should "pee their panties?" Or maybe upchuck on the bad guy. Uh, no. Blow the rapist away and apologize later. Hey. Those who have ever been suicidal ought to hook up with a crossbow or something else instead of a gun. Arrows are harder to aim at oneself than bullets are. Just saying. Anyway, guns or other weapons for safety for all civils [*civilians] who want them and don't have a mental hell history and stuff like that. A national registry-- hell no Jack. 

     Less government, more fun.


     Unfortunately, I have been exposed to the ways and means of the local Veteran's Administration as the relative of a veteran. First off, the wait for appointments. Yep, someone got that right. I swear, the system is hoping that veterans [and old people and the disabled] will die rather than render aid in a timely manner. When the appointments to see the V.A. "primary care doc" must all get previewed by a nurse in that office first and said nurse never calls back, even after being called repeatedly, there might be a problem. My solution was simple. Take Dad to our family doc for all care and concerns. Visit the V.A. primary care doc when forced to-- which is currently once or twice a year.

     Getting Dad to the V.A. emergency room during a severe illness is impossible. The local ambulance will not deliver any vet to the V.A. hospital without a hefty charge of over a thousand bucks. So Dad goes to the local hospital's E.R. No matter how incompetent the medical staff there might be, he does not have any other choice. The local ambulance service will only deliver to one hospital. You know why??? Because Medicare balks at paying ambulance services for deliver to anywhere but the local hospital. Thanks for nothing, inefficient Medicare system. The V.A. medical staff all want the families to get their loved one to the V.A. E.R. during a crisis. Hey, not possible.

     Appointments at the V.A. next. These would be the specialty clinics-- eye appointments, neurology, urology and all the other ologies that are at the V.A. and not at the local V.A. "primary care physician's" office. Count on spending most of the day there for one appointment. Taking a demented and incontinent and very tired vet to a crowded waiting room for several hours at a clip just does not work out well for anyone except the V.A.'s way of doing things. Which is to say, inefficient way of doing things.

     If Dad had bloods or tests done at the local hospital E.R. or via the family doc, that doesn't matter. The V.A. wants their own tests. Go ahead, give the old man yet another swallowing eval or head scan or bloods or urine tests. It's only money. It's wasteful. And stressful for the already stressed out patient.

     I pause here to say yes, there are many dedicated staff people at the V.A. [the V.A. primary care doc and nurse excluded]. Even so, the system is stifling.

     Do I think Obummer should screw around with the V.A. system?, having said all of that. Hell no. Obummer should not be engaging in healthcare policies. The V.A. system is inefficient yes. We don't need the president to step in. Step out Obummer and go away. Privatization does not benefit the patient. We can create change without the latest dictator in D.C. And we can do it faster and better than Obummer can. 

radical sapphoq says: The above is a rant and includes my opinions. My opinions aren't necessarily fact but neither are they necessarily fiction. I said it once and I'm about to say it again. Less government, more fun. I'm out. 

Cyber-Bullying Versus Being Fauxfended

"1. Bullying is not okay. Period.

 2. Freedom of religion does not give you the right to 

     physically or verbally assault people.

 3. If your sincerely-held religious beliefs require you to 

      bully children, then your beliefs are fucked up.”


                                                                                                                                                        ~ Jim C. Hines


Jim C. Hines is on twitter as @jimchines.

His most excellent blog can be found 

at http://www.jimchines.com/blog/

An excellent article on cyber-harassment written by him:

http://www.jimchines.com/2014/01/online-harassment/


Other articles of note:

http://freethoughtblogs.com/pharyngula/2014/01/10/lets-just-call-it-talking/

         
http://talkingpointsmemo.com/cafe/let-s-be-real-online-

harassment-isn-t-virtual-for-women


http://www.psmag.com/navigation/health-and-behavior/women-
arent-welcome-internet-72170/



Experiencing abusive behavior from others online?
Received threats due to stuff posted online?
Or, want to be part of the solution instead of the problem?

http://www.haltabuse.org/



Being fauxfended on the other hand is not the same thing at all. If you tell me that I am a big meanie poopy head because I happen to not agree with you, I can shrug that off easily enough.
If you accuse me of being stupid or racist or an anti-feminist or full of false ego or something, I can blow those comments off also.

A good solid definition can be found in The Urban Dictionary:
http://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=fauxfended

Here are some articles and things that talk about people who were fauxfended:

http://thegraph.com/2012/09/personalities-vs-facts/

http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Journalism/2014/01/04/HuffPo-No-Apology-For-Pearl-Harbor-Insult-Is-Perfect-Response

http://sistertoldjah.com/archives/2013/01/08/class-act-katherine-webb-says-musburger-not-creepy-for-gushing-about-her-on-natl-tv/

http://kmgarcia2000.blogspot.com/2012/09/blaming-victims.html



What no one should blow off are threats such as "I'm going to rape you, kill you, or otherwise ef you up." That sort of thing ought to require the attention of the nearest law enforcement agency. [And hopefully, the nearest law enforcement agency will be better informed than the one here is and more equipped to skillfully handle a complaint of cyber-bullying than the one 'round here is].

radical sapphoq says: Some people use cyber-bullying as a convenient argument for using one's wallet name on the internet. I've seen people on Fakeboo, FedBoo, SpaceCase [using one of my fake socks because I will not help the government to collect info or meta-data on me], I mean that website-- you know the one I mean-- using their "real names" and making vicious comments about other people. 
People are people whether using their legal names on the internet or not.

Those who are in the public eye tend to use their names online. The rest of us don't. Some of the rest of us have had problems with people stalking us [either online or in 'real' life F2F] or threatening us. Some of us may be hiding from a past domestic violence situation or other troublesome history and thus we cannot safely enjoy the internet using our wallet info. Some of us prefer that our bosses and our elderly relatives not be able to find us on the internet. Some of us value our privacy and refuse to give out our real names and locations. Some of us have more than one of the above listed reasons for a decision to use socks or pseudonyms online. Some of us may have solid reasons that I have not listed here.

I am against laws that require us to use our wallet information online and against laws that would assign each of us some sort of internet 'number' that a government can use to trace back to us. Period. The dark net has its uses. Hopefully, an alter-net will become a reality for those of us who refuse to succumb to the line of thinking that starts with the dreaded words "It's for your own good that we are...".

               ~ LESS GOVERNMENT MORE FUN ~