12:02 – We’re gradually getting things organized and items checked off on our to-do list. I spent almost three hours yesterday dealing with Obamacare. I hope that man dies a horrible, painful, long death.
Our network is working fine, using a combination of WiFi and powerline Ethernet adapters. I just ordered another pair of those, preparing to move my desk/office upstairs. It’s just too inconvenient to be running up and down the stairs every time I need to work on my computer. For now, that computer is my Dell notebook, now running Linux. That’s yet another project for later, replacing Windows with Linux Mint on Barbara’s identical Dell notebook.
Other than considerable rain yesterday and heavy winds, the weather up here has been gorgeous. That probably won’t last much longer. The average high in December is 41 or 42F (5C), and the average low is about 14F (-10C). I did notice yesterday while it was raining heavily that our deck is not waterproof. The area underneath was soaked. That means we’ll need to cover our woodpile, once I get a steel tube rack set up and a cord or two of wood delivered.
Our USPS situation has changed. In Winston-Salem, we had a great carrier, Kevin, who generally picked up around 4:00 p.m. In Sparta, we now have a great carrier, Lori, who picks up around 9:00 or 9:30 a.m. The major implication is that we’ll now be shipping most kit orders the following day rather than the same day they’re placed. Except that Lori is a real sweetheart, and she mentioned yesterday morning that she generally comes back past our house in the afternoon. She’s already agreed to watch for a blaze pink flag on our front door that indicates we have kits waiting to be picked up, so I may be able to arrange for a routine afternoon pickup.
Time for me to head upstairs, take a shower, and then get back to getting things where they need to be.
When it comes to the Unaffordable Care Act, I am very glad my wife’s employer offers insurance. We are now down to two insurers offering coverage in our area, and one of them is making noises about leaving the exchange, and Bronze plans are now so expensive as to not be worthwhile.
“I hope that man dies a horrible, painful, long death.”
He generally does what he’s told; this whole national healthcare “plan” caper has been in the works for a very long time, and those of us with long memories, or just as old farts, recall Cankles trying to implement a similar flustercluck monstrosity when husband Larry Klinton was in the WH.
“… and Bronze plans are now so expensive as to not be worthwhile.”
One of the points of the whole exercise. Make it impossible for regular Murkan Mundanes to afford decent health care and put us all on some gigantic super-slush-fund thing they cobble together and loot at will in the coming years. The peeps who design and implement it all won’t be affected, of course.
“…watch for a blaze pink flag on our front door…”
R U sure that’s what it’s for? In other states that’s a sign that the occupants are ready and waiting for gender reassignment surgery.
Regards the ACA. I am thankful to my great grandmother for enrolling her family on the Dawes rolls ensuring that our Creek Indian nationality would be officially recognized. At the time it was a stigma to be an Indian so many of her relatives did not register. A “loophole” in the ACA exempts recognized Indian tribal members from the unconstitutional regulations. In addition the tribe provides me and my family with excellent health care paid for by the greedy white man at our casinos. I also qualify for special low cost car tags from my Muscogee Creek Nation.
Re: ACA
Since my health insurance is expiring after leaving my job last year, it was time for me to get health insurance. Used the Washington State health exchange. Process was quite easy, I spent maybe an hour investigating alternatives before choosing my plan. A day later, got notice that all was well, and the new health plan will start in January.
SWMBO also got her Medicare Supplement coverage (she is disabled, so has Medicare early), with a plan that is quite cheap and pays for just above everything, including excellent prescription coverage. She is pleased with her choice.
Since I turn 65 next fall, will be moving over to Medicare with a supplement.
Although I am not a fan of O or O-care, it has worked out well for us. YMMV.
As I mentioned before, all the ACA PPO plans have been terminated. My daughter and her spouse spent hours checking plans to see which of their doctors were under the plans and how their prescription drugs were covered. (One set of questions took 4 hours on hold being bounced from one person to another to get a simple question answered about the formulary at UHC.)
I think it’s so wonderful that you may have to change all your doctors each year as you bounce from plan to plan. It’s a great improvement in quality of care. /sarcasm
As I mentioned before, all the ACA PPO plans have been terminated.
There is one PPO plan available to individuals in Houston via Humana. It is not available through the ACA.
http://www.houstonchronicle.com/business/medical/article/New-Humana-plan-to-offer-access-to-Houston-s-top-6687778.php
What a nightmare! It is time to put all citizens in the USA on Medicare. Then we can move on to a while new set of problems. But, then the ERs are funded.
Apparently the Republicans held a debate yesterday? Anyhow, the front page of the Zurich paper tells me that Trump curb-stomped the rest of the candidates. I haven’t looked at any US sites yet.
In any case, Trump looks more and more like he has a real chance. I’m sure he will be a disaster in his own, unique way, but there is at least a real chance that he will take a chainsaw to parts of the regulatory and bureaucratic jungle.
I’m sure he will be a disaster in his own, unique way, but there is at least a real chance that he will take a chainsaw to parts of the regulatory and bureaucratic jungle.
Can he? Nixon tried to fight the bureaucracy and look what happened to him.
Nixon? What got him impeached then, would be snickered at today. The amount of power Bush and Obama have claimed for the executive would have been unthinkable 40 years ago.
What would stop a president today from just shutting down an entire agency, and firing all of the personnel? What, exactly, would Congress do about it? If they actually dared to file suit, the whole process could be dragged out for months, if not years, during which time people would actually discover just how non-essential those government services were. Think TSA and the Dept. of Education, to name two prime candidates.
Heh. Reagan tried to get rid of DOE back when it was still a baby. Didn’t work then. Would hope for it now, but the people that would wind up unemployed make that difficult.
One can hope.
Unemployed – hah. They’re anti-employed now, in the sense that every employed bureaucrat probably destroys far more than one job in private industry. Civil service is a great gig if you can get it: lifetime job, great bennies, and no meaningful performance requirements.
Of course, there are some good people who take some of those jobs, but the amount of deadwood was incredible 30 years ago, and I expect it has only gotten worse since. Plus the original question: does the job even need done? Which most of them don’t.
They don’t care (or even understand) about anti-employment. They only understand that they go to a “job” and do as they’re told. At the end of the week or month, they get a paycheck. To them, that is employment.
They have no concept of producing a good or service that other people want and are willing to pay for.
It would be cheaper to pay them unemployment. At least then they wouldn’t be actively preventing others from doing useful work.
If you folks things are bad now with Obola-No-Care (ONC), just wait until 2017. Traditional health insurance will all but be gone and what little is left will be taxed at a project 200% of premiums.
There may be some concierge care, but only the oligarchy will be allowed in or be able to afford it.
What is really devious about ONC is that the actual act itself is just a few thousands of pages that empower the regulatory agencies to do whatever they want without oversight or recourse by Congress. That is why the entire act has to be repealed and all the agencies created or expanded by it have to be dissolved. And we all know that a snowball has a better chance in hell.
Anyhow, the front page of the Zurich paper tells me that Trump curb-stomped the rest of the candidates.
Not really. He totally booted a question on our nuclear deterrence force. Obviously didn’t understand the question and gave a rambling, only slightly coherent answer.
“… only the oligarchy will be allowed in or be able to afford it.”
Yes, the corporate fascist/socialist combo oligarchy; socialism for them and rabid mad-dog-eat-mad-dog Thunderdome scenario for the rest of us worthless Mundanes.
“He totally booted a question on our nuclear deterrence force.”
Without even knowing what the exact question was, I feel safe in claiming that a number of goodly citizen-subjects on this board could have answered the question forthrightly and accurately. Including little ol’ me.
Without even knowing what the exact question was, I feel safe in claiming that a number of goodly citizen-subjects on this board could have answered the question forthrightly and accurately. Including little ol’ me.
What is the Nuclear Triad and why is it important to the USA?
BTW, should Trump ascend to the Presidency, I can guarantee that Trump will be educated on this and all other needful items. Including the Book of Secrets.
Jesus wept; that is about the easiest nuke question they could have asked anybody; the answer has been the same for longer than Mr. Lynn has been alive on Planet Earth.
But what is the Book of Secrets? Is that the one that covers the dead aliens kept on ice out West somewhere and the anti-gravity devices invented in Atlantis and now being studied at MIT?
I did not know what the Nuclear Triad was either and I would consider myself fairly well educated. I disagree with foxtrotalpha, Trump gave the right answer.
http://foxtrotalpha.jalopnik.com/donald-trump-has-no-idea-what-americas-nuclear-triad-is-1748283463
There is a Nicholas Cage movie about the President’s book of secrets, “National Treasure: Book of Secrets”:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Treasure:_Book_of_Secrets
The first National Treasure movie about the Free Masons was better.
@Lynn, I agree with your opinion of Trump’s answer, which is a prime example of how common (or maybe uncommon) of a man he is.
IMHO, more emphasis needs to be place on our submarine based weapons. When our submarines attack there is no time for the enemy to respond and part of when we do attack the enemies ability to respond will be virtually non-existent. At least it used to be that way when our submarines were on patrol, not sitting in port like most are today.