The sun in shining, the air is warm, the parks are green and lucious, and the trees are in bloom. This can only mean one thing. Fucking idiots bringing their dogs to restaurants. What the fuck?!?!?! I don't even know where to begin on this.
My main problem with this is a result of a restaurant actually trying to do the right thing. Allow me to explain. When the weather is nice many restaurants have a license to extend their restaurant, with barriers of course, to the sidewalk to provide outdoor seating for it's patrons. Well sometimes people want to bring their dog out to dinner with them and the establishment requires them to leave the dog on the leash AND outside the barrier. Seems logical to not have a dog in a restaurant citing several (and also basic) city health standards (which is another issue all together. 2+2=4 moron). So now not only does the establishment's outdoor seating area take up half the city sidewalk, but we have to worry about your dog. Why, as a human and MUCH more important than cainine, am I forced to negotiate sidewalk congestion (garbage, other people, you fucking DOG) for the comfort of both your dog and you as a selfish person who cant realize that maybe the dog should sit this little excursion out. And eventually another dog is going to walk by and everything is going to have to stop while the dogs say hello to each other and possibly play/fight each other. Then the dog, who you have idiotically tied the leash to the table, your chair, or the barrier is going to take off like a bat out of hell and possibly cause a big commotion.
Are you not at all worried that your dog doesnt like sitting/laying down on concrete for an hour while you eat delicious food (all food is delicious looking to dogs by the way)? Are you not worried about someone in a rush not seeing your dog and tripping over the dog and doing a faceplant into a filthy and very hard sidewalk potentially causing serious injury? Well I bet you would be more worried that your dog was OK and not even the slightest bit concerned about the person.
Dont get me wrong, I like dogs. By all means walk them and take them to the park and let them shit on my sidewalk (please take care of that by the way) and let them play with other dogs. May I please pet your dog? If I am at the park please, let your dog approach me. I actually dont blame the dogs at all. Its not their fault you are a total selfish idiot.
Since its about 96.42% females who do this incredibly rude and selfish act of idiocracy I will leave you with one last thought. Your mothers are not going to forgive you for not bearing them grandchildren by having a dog that you call your kid and take to public places.
I know its harsh, but at least I'm giving it you straight. You are a total selfish person who thinks only of themselves. If you were really thinking about the dog, you would eat your dinner and take to dog for a nice long walk on a beautiful spring day. Not make them sit or lay down on a sidewalk and taunt them with food. Grow up and think of others, including your dog.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
recent online poker sessions
My weekly cash game at my friend Andy's house hasnt been happening for me the last few weeks. mainly due to lack of attendence by other regulars and also a busy music schedule for me this month. Over the weekends and weeknights off, I feed the monkey by playing online.
I have done OK online lately. I play on Full Tilt for those of you who are interested. I much prefer to see the people I'm playing with. Online is really tricky for me, especially when the stakes are so low (cuz i dont have thousands to play with, sorry). Also when the stakes are low people are able to make "bad plays" that cause you to go broke when they river you. This seems to happen WAY more often online than in real life. Again probably only because you see so many more hands per hour than you do live. Its obviously the same statistical probability but because things happen so much faster it seems to happen more often.
Cash games are my jam but I want to get more into tournaments. Money has been a little tight lately and you can play an online sit 'n go tournament for like $10-$20 and play for hours. For a 90 person tournament you can stand to win $200+. The top 9 cash. I also like to play the KO tournaments. This means every player has a bounty and if you knock them out you get their bounty. Lately I've been doing a $13 buy-in for a 90 person KO sit 'n go. $10 goes to the prize pool, $2 goes to your bounty, and $1 goes to Full Tilt. Last Sunday I won one of these tournaments and won $288 for the win plus $2 for each person I knocked out. I ended up winning about $326ish. I knocked out a bunch of people, Its great to win and it encouraged me to keep going.
After that I would play one or two a week and I didnt win, but went fairly deep. I'm realizing that tournament play is a lot different. I've been playing poker for only about a year so the whole thing is a little new to me. I find its a little less profitable to make "plays" with weak starting hands, especially at the beginning of a tournament. Mainly because chip stacks are pretty even to start, and you dont want to get short stacked right away forcing you to put all your money in with Ace, 3 offsuit or something like that.
Last night I called it a night early and decided to try and do some damage on Full Tilt. Didnt do well at all. I played 3 tournamets (at once) that I ended up doing pretty well in, but unfortunately not the last 9 in any of them. Two of them I busted out after calling "all-in" bets with the best hand and getting drawn out on (meaning they had "outs" to beat my hand and they caught them), and the other I made a bad read and called All-In when the guy had the nuts (best possible hand given the cards on the board). It was a great play by him/her and I should have stuck to my tight strategy but didnt. I then went on to play heads up cash games (which i dont do often) and got smoked. I was totally on tilt after my three tournament bust outs and I continued to get hammered heads up. I was playing well I just couldn't seem to make hands like 2 pair and straights (which are monsters heads up) hold up. It was amazing. Not saying I didnt make some bad plays, but a few times I had huge hands that got rivered and those of course are the ones that stick out. While I was doing this I also sat down at a full table cash game to try and recoup some of my funds (famous last words right?). I actually did OK.
I sat down at a higher stakes table than usual (again, HORRIBLE idea) and I started getting hammered. It was an aggressive table and I'm not used to the stakes, so I was basically playing with scared money. Playing with scared money is the absolute best way to lose everything. You have to sit down and not care about losing it all. So I sat down with $100 and fairly soon was down to about $65. Then after a while I was in late position and i got dealt KK. the second best starting hand in No Limit Texas Hold 'Em (from now on refered to as NLHE). With hands like KK or QQ or JJ etc I am usually aggressive preflop most of the time. I hate having KK and getting some yahoo with A,6 offsuit getting an Ace on the turn and beating me. So ahead of me someone raises the blinds ($.50/$1. i play this a lot live, but online i'm usually at lower stakes tables.) to $3.50. A pot sized raise. anything from 3 to 5 times the big blind is standard. I have to re-raise in this spot. I want to see where I stand. I make it $8 to go and he calls. The flop came Q,9,5 with 2 clubs. This is a great flop for Kings. I am worried about QQ hitting top set, but A,Q suited is just as likely. I decided to raise his continuation flop bet. A lot of times I would just call and try to trap. but again draws seem to always hit online, and I'm worried he has a flush draw. He called my raise so I'm putting him on a club draw or A,Q (both of which I beat) or top set of Queens which means I'm dead to another King. The turn is a brick. I think it was the 7 of diamonds so there is a straight out there, but 6,8 is an unlikely holding given the pre-flop action. He leads out with a little more than 1/2 pot sized bet (there is probably about $45-$50 in the pot). This is making me lean more towards A,Q or a flush draw. I feel like after watching this guy's betting patters (which is all you really have online, which is why I dont like it) and also concidering relatively standard poker strategy, a set would probably check-raise in this spot. Especially since I had him covered and we were both kinda pot committed. I decide to call. I was fairly certin I had him beat, and I wanted to trap. Basically as long as an Ace or a club didnt come on the river I was calling anything. Although I think a check would scare me enough to POSSIBLY make me check it down. The river was a total brick. Any draw missed. I'm pretty sure it was a deuce or a trey, and DEFINATELY not a club. He shoves for his last 26 or so dollars and I insta-call. I drag the $120 or so pot with KK. He had A,Q of hearts. Cant really blame him. I kinda played the hand like either a moster or a monster-draw. I think my smooth call on the river told him i was drawing for a flush and when it didnt hit he thought he was good. He left cuz I took all his money and he didnt want to rebuy.
So now I'm sitting with about $150. I got it to over $200 when this magical hand happened:
I was in the big blind with A,4 offsuit. Any time the table folded all the way around to the small blind this guy would raise me. I was sick of it. I had an ace and when he raised me (as I KNEW he would do) I re-raised him and he smooth called. Now I'm in trouble. What is he calling me with? did he actually have a monster the time I finally take a stand for my big blind? wouldnt be the first time that happened. Even if I flop an Ace I gotta be either out kicked or the guy has a pocket pair and i have him beat. so its the two of us with $16 in the pot. Flop comes A,A,Q. I actually feel great right now. I think one Ace on the flop would be more scary for me. Its not out of the question that he has an Ace, but pretty unlikely. he leads out with about a $7 bet. less than half the pot. I'm a little suspicious actually. Thats a small bet and im starting to think he has an Ace. And given the preflop action, a BIG ace. I have 2 decisions: 1.) fold, or 2.) big raise. I chose option 2. I had trip Aces and a much bigger stack. I put in a big raise to I think $25 or $30. He smooth calls. I'm pretty much ready to wave the white flag. The turn bricks and he puts in another smallish bet. Its a value bet and I have to call even though I KNOW i'm beat. So far he basically value bet, called my raise on the flop, and value bet again. I'm totally screwed. The river is 7 and he shoves for his last $20 or so. If i call i still have over the $100 I bought in with. I'm certainly getting pot odds to call, but of course hes putting the rest of his money in knowing that I have odds to call. i call and he shows Q,7! he had three pair! (AA, QQ, 77. 3 pair is not actually a hand, but its funny to say). i busted him out with trip Aces. I had big time kicker issues, even though it seemed unlikely he had an ace. I decided that I won $100+ back and I should just cut my tournament and heads up losses. I was still down for the night, but not THAT down with over a $100 win at a full table.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more from JRod at a later date...
I have done OK online lately. I play on Full Tilt for those of you who are interested. I much prefer to see the people I'm playing with. Online is really tricky for me, especially when the stakes are so low (cuz i dont have thousands to play with, sorry). Also when the stakes are low people are able to make "bad plays" that cause you to go broke when they river you. This seems to happen WAY more often online than in real life. Again probably only because you see so many more hands per hour than you do live. Its obviously the same statistical probability but because things happen so much faster it seems to happen more often.
Cash games are my jam but I want to get more into tournaments. Money has been a little tight lately and you can play an online sit 'n go tournament for like $10-$20 and play for hours. For a 90 person tournament you can stand to win $200+. The top 9 cash. I also like to play the KO tournaments. This means every player has a bounty and if you knock them out you get their bounty. Lately I've been doing a $13 buy-in for a 90 person KO sit 'n go. $10 goes to the prize pool, $2 goes to your bounty, and $1 goes to Full Tilt. Last Sunday I won one of these tournaments and won $288 for the win plus $2 for each person I knocked out. I ended up winning about $326ish. I knocked out a bunch of people, Its great to win and it encouraged me to keep going.
After that I would play one or two a week and I didnt win, but went fairly deep. I'm realizing that tournament play is a lot different. I've been playing poker for only about a year so the whole thing is a little new to me. I find its a little less profitable to make "plays" with weak starting hands, especially at the beginning of a tournament. Mainly because chip stacks are pretty even to start, and you dont want to get short stacked right away forcing you to put all your money in with Ace, 3 offsuit or something like that.
Last night I called it a night early and decided to try and do some damage on Full Tilt. Didnt do well at all. I played 3 tournamets (at once) that I ended up doing pretty well in, but unfortunately not the last 9 in any of them. Two of them I busted out after calling "all-in" bets with the best hand and getting drawn out on (meaning they had "outs" to beat my hand and they caught them), and the other I made a bad read and called All-In when the guy had the nuts (best possible hand given the cards on the board). It was a great play by him/her and I should have stuck to my tight strategy but didnt. I then went on to play heads up cash games (which i dont do often) and got smoked. I was totally on tilt after my three tournament bust outs and I continued to get hammered heads up. I was playing well I just couldn't seem to make hands like 2 pair and straights (which are monsters heads up) hold up. It was amazing. Not saying I didnt make some bad plays, but a few times I had huge hands that got rivered and those of course are the ones that stick out. While I was doing this I also sat down at a full table cash game to try and recoup some of my funds (famous last words right?). I actually did OK.
I sat down at a higher stakes table than usual (again, HORRIBLE idea) and I started getting hammered. It was an aggressive table and I'm not used to the stakes, so I was basically playing with scared money. Playing with scared money is the absolute best way to lose everything. You have to sit down and not care about losing it all. So I sat down with $100 and fairly soon was down to about $65. Then after a while I was in late position and i got dealt KK. the second best starting hand in No Limit Texas Hold 'Em (from now on refered to as NLHE). With hands like KK or QQ or JJ etc I am usually aggressive preflop most of the time. I hate having KK and getting some yahoo with A,6 offsuit getting an Ace on the turn and beating me. So ahead of me someone raises the blinds ($.50/$1. i play this a lot live, but online i'm usually at lower stakes tables.) to $3.50. A pot sized raise. anything from 3 to 5 times the big blind is standard. I have to re-raise in this spot. I want to see where I stand. I make it $8 to go and he calls. The flop came Q,9,5 with 2 clubs. This is a great flop for Kings. I am worried about QQ hitting top set, but A,Q suited is just as likely. I decided to raise his continuation flop bet. A lot of times I would just call and try to trap. but again draws seem to always hit online, and I'm worried he has a flush draw. He called my raise so I'm putting him on a club draw or A,Q (both of which I beat) or top set of Queens which means I'm dead to another King. The turn is a brick. I think it was the 7 of diamonds so there is a straight out there, but 6,8 is an unlikely holding given the pre-flop action. He leads out with a little more than 1/2 pot sized bet (there is probably about $45-$50 in the pot). This is making me lean more towards A,Q or a flush draw. I feel like after watching this guy's betting patters (which is all you really have online, which is why I dont like it) and also concidering relatively standard poker strategy, a set would probably check-raise in this spot. Especially since I had him covered and we were both kinda pot committed. I decide to call. I was fairly certin I had him beat, and I wanted to trap. Basically as long as an Ace or a club didnt come on the river I was calling anything. Although I think a check would scare me enough to POSSIBLY make me check it down. The river was a total brick. Any draw missed. I'm pretty sure it was a deuce or a trey, and DEFINATELY not a club. He shoves for his last 26 or so dollars and I insta-call. I drag the $120 or so pot with KK. He had A,Q of hearts. Cant really blame him. I kinda played the hand like either a moster or a monster-draw. I think my smooth call on the river told him i was drawing for a flush and when it didnt hit he thought he was good. He left cuz I took all his money and he didnt want to rebuy.
So now I'm sitting with about $150. I got it to over $200 when this magical hand happened:
I was in the big blind with A,4 offsuit. Any time the table folded all the way around to the small blind this guy would raise me. I was sick of it. I had an ace and when he raised me (as I KNEW he would do) I re-raised him and he smooth called. Now I'm in trouble. What is he calling me with? did he actually have a monster the time I finally take a stand for my big blind? wouldnt be the first time that happened. Even if I flop an Ace I gotta be either out kicked or the guy has a pocket pair and i have him beat. so its the two of us with $16 in the pot. Flop comes A,A,Q. I actually feel great right now. I think one Ace on the flop would be more scary for me. Its not out of the question that he has an Ace, but pretty unlikely. he leads out with about a $7 bet. less than half the pot. I'm a little suspicious actually. Thats a small bet and im starting to think he has an Ace. And given the preflop action, a BIG ace. I have 2 decisions: 1.) fold, or 2.) big raise. I chose option 2. I had trip Aces and a much bigger stack. I put in a big raise to I think $25 or $30. He smooth calls. I'm pretty much ready to wave the white flag. The turn bricks and he puts in another smallish bet. Its a value bet and I have to call even though I KNOW i'm beat. So far he basically value bet, called my raise on the flop, and value bet again. I'm totally screwed. The river is 7 and he shoves for his last $20 or so. If i call i still have over the $100 I bought in with. I'm certainly getting pot odds to call, but of course hes putting the rest of his money in knowing that I have odds to call. i call and he shows Q,7! he had three pair! (AA, QQ, 77. 3 pair is not actually a hand, but its funny to say). i busted him out with trip Aces. I had big time kicker issues, even though it seemed unlikely he had an ace. I decided that I won $100+ back and I should just cut my tournament and heads up losses. I was still down for the night, but not THAT down with over a $100 win at a full table.
Thanks for reading. Stay tuned for more from JRod at a later date...
reincarnation of my blog
A few friends are blogging now so I miss the 4-6 days that i actually blogged. So here I am starting it up again. I have decided to rework the blog from basically a forum (realized this AFTER the fact) and make it more of what a blog is intended to do. Talk about stuff I want to talk about.
For the reader this is going to mean food, beverage, poker, and music. Also life in general. I will try to limit posts to one topic per blog post, but a lot of times the topics run together. For that I apologize in advance.
For the reader this is going to mean food, beverage, poker, and music. Also life in general. I will try to limit posts to one topic per blog post, but a lot of times the topics run together. For that I apologize in advance.
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
"Thanksgiving" - by K Charles Marshall
Well as Thanksgiving is fast approaching, perhaps it is only appropriate for us to take a moment and give thanks to the government that is looking out for us. Indeed, with all the "bad-government" talk these days – I think someone should stand up say thanks to the President and Congress for rushing in and saving the day. Seriously... some people could be morally opposed to throwing bad money at a bad problem – but not in America. Capitalism is so antiquated – why bother letting the markets handle problems when you can intervene and make them do what you tell them! It's a win-win - now if I don't pay my Citi Card on time I can just call up and tell them I'm a majority shareholder so they can suck it! A more cowardly administration might be reluctant to spend so much money bailing out all the important financial gurus of today (damn they're so good at their job) but not here. No, we're pledging approximately $4.6 trillion dollars to the effort. Now when I read that this morning – I was like "hey $4.6 trillion that's not so bad… our national debt is like $11 trillion" but really, $4.6 trillion is a lot of freaking money – another sign of how awesome and fearless our country really is. Check out these numbers from Jim Bianco:
• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion
TOTAL: $3.92 trillion ___________________________________________________________________
(Data courtesy of Bianco Research)
So, on this Thanksgiving, I'm going to say "Thanks to America." Really… Thanks! Lets not be constrained by silly economic principles that use confusing French words like laissez-faire (besides who likes the French anyway), lets not let real capitalist countries like China force us to remain true to that stodgy "invisible hand", lets not worry about our children or grandchildren who will some day have to pay back all this debt (with interest – Carpe Diem right?) No, this Thanksgiving we can say thanks knowing that whatever we do, however much we suck at our jobs, however inferior our products are to the products of those damn foreigners, we can rest assured that America's government has our back and that, my friends, is worth our thanks.
• Marshall Plan: Cost: $12.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $115.3 billion
• Louisiana Purchase: Cost: $15 million, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $217 billion
• Race to the Moon: Cost: $36.4 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $237 billion
• S&L Crisis: Cost: $153 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $256 billion
• Korean War: Cost: $54 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $454 billion
• The New Deal: Cost: $32 billion (Est), Inflation Adjusted Cost: $500 billion (Est)
• Invasion of Iraq: Cost: $551b, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $597 billion
• Vietnam War: Cost: $111 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $698 billion
• NASA: Cost: $416.7 billion, Inflation Adjusted Cost: $851.2 billion
TOTAL: $3.92 trillion ___________________________________________________________________
(Data courtesy of Bianco Research)
So, on this Thanksgiving, I'm going to say "Thanks to America." Really… Thanks! Lets not be constrained by silly economic principles that use confusing French words like laissez-faire (besides who likes the French anyway), lets not let real capitalist countries like China force us to remain true to that stodgy "invisible hand", lets not worry about our children or grandchildren who will some day have to pay back all this debt (with interest – Carpe Diem right?) No, this Thanksgiving we can say thanks knowing that whatever we do, however much we suck at our jobs, however inferior our products are to the products of those damn foreigners, we can rest assured that America's government has our back and that, my friends, is worth our thanks.
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Mr. Marshall's first submission
Greetings to my fellow Weaver Blog readers and contributors. I was delighted that J-Rod asked me to contribute some ideas to his new blog. I, like many of you, have surely spent many an hour puzzling over what goes on in that "big head" of his and so I suspect, this Blog may be a refreshing and illuminating foray into Weaverdom. I was struck by the notion Jarrod alluded to earlier about Conservative and Liberal and how these terms are simply insufficient for our present day discourse. If anything has been made clear over the last 8 years, it is that what used to be known as conservative (manifested in the Republican model) is no longer such. The days of small government, free markets, and individual liberty have been trumped by expansive deficit, government interventions, and a perversion of the constitution. Indeed, "the dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present" and so too are the labels which once characterized American political life. The challenges which face us today – sprawling wars, an economic collapse, a cultural battles within our borders – require solutions that far exceed the polities of Republican and Democrat. Without echoing the mantra of a "team of rivals" or "bipartisan cooperation" we need to find thoughtful strategies that are pragmatic and effective (if not intelligent) for if we are to continue on the path, blazed by both Republicans and Democrats, America shall certainly "perish from the earth." – K.Charles Marshall
The Farce that is Universal Healthcare
The concept is Utopian. What human being with even a shred of compassion for his fellow man wouldn't want free or practically free healthcare for all other citizens of this great land? One would have to be a real heartless bastard to not think this was a great idea!
But then we run into the problem of "how the hell can we make this work?" Are we going to have to garnish the paychecks of those who make enough money to afford their own healthcare to make up for those who aren't as fortunate? Well that hardly seems fair. I understand we are all in this together as people, but where does it end? What should be the reason for accepting such a tax increase (especially with Obama's already higher tax on the wealthy)? Patriotism? That hardly seems fair either. However taxes are not my concern for the healthcare system. As you will read below there are other issues that are much more devistating to a universal healthcare system than higher taxes.
I can hear some of my fellow young Americans already beginning to feel uncomfortable. They are stirring and just waiting to say "well maybe if we didn't spend $10 Billion dollars a month on Iraq then it wouldn't be an issue". True. I agree Iraq is the wrong battlfield and we should focus our military efforts elsewhere. But to resort to that old trump card would be irresponsible, because the bottom line is that we are in Iraq and need to see it through. Hindsight is always 20/20 and we can't continue using this arguement for every fiscal problem we have, especially since most of these problems have been problems long before the Iraq war.
Here are the problems with Universal Heathcare:
But then we run into the problem of "how the hell can we make this work?" Are we going to have to garnish the paychecks of those who make enough money to afford their own healthcare to make up for those who aren't as fortunate? Well that hardly seems fair. I understand we are all in this together as people, but where does it end? What should be the reason for accepting such a tax increase (especially with Obama's already higher tax on the wealthy)? Patriotism? That hardly seems fair either. However taxes are not my concern for the healthcare system. As you will read below there are other issues that are much more devistating to a universal healthcare system than higher taxes.
I can hear some of my fellow young Americans already beginning to feel uncomfortable. They are stirring and just waiting to say "well maybe if we didn't spend $10 Billion dollars a month on Iraq then it wouldn't be an issue". True. I agree Iraq is the wrong battlfield and we should focus our military efforts elsewhere. But to resort to that old trump card would be irresponsible, because the bottom line is that we are in Iraq and need to see it through. Hindsight is always 20/20 and we can't continue using this arguement for every fiscal problem we have, especially since most of these problems have been problems long before the Iraq war.
Here are the problems with Universal Heathcare:
- We will throw away laissez faire thus contradicting what our Founding Father's sought in small government (some of the most liberal thinkers ever by the way)
- Doctor's will be forced to take on way too many patients. This creates overcrowded waiting rooms, and much longer waiting lists for appointments and surguries. There are two ways to combat this; doctors will be allowed to practice without the same level of qualifications that they need today. The other is to allow nurses, RNs and fellows to perform pysicals, initial diagnosis, and even minor surguries and procedures.
- The government will get in between you and your doctor. They will regulate which medicines and tools the doctors are able to use (see denti-cal).
- Because government will intervene with the healthcare, healthcare will have to follow the economic state of the nation. During tough times, the government is going to have to cut the bottomline. This makes for cheaper materials and less effective medicines and treatment techniques.
All of these options drive down the quality of healthcare. Sure everybody has it, but no one will get the attention and perhaps treatments that they need. At least not as quickly and not as available.
I have some thoughts on how we can make healthcare either Universal or extremely affordable.
First, lets regulate the pharmacuetical companies and health insurance providers. These people (CEOs and other ranking officials) are the scum of the earth. They exploit people's need for their drugs and health plans and hammer people hard for them. There is a lot of corruption in these businesses and we could cut costs big time for making people accountable for their actions.
We could perhaps borrow from the law sector. People who can afford a lawyer should be allowed to hire that lawyer and receive the legal council that they desire. If you can't afford a lawyer, a public defender is provided for you. We could do this for healthcare as well. If you choose to have a certain doctor or healthplan then you should be allowed to have it. If not, then there should be a seperate entity with free healthcare for those who choose to use it. This could have tax implications, but perhaps those who don't have healthcare should be responsible for being taxed on such matters. Perhaps you can get a tax exemption if you can prove that you already have healthcare. I would accept that over a universal system that throws everyone under the same system. Also, what exactly is the role of Medicare and Medicaid? I thought these programs were designed to help those who can't afford heathcare? Personally I need to research that a little more.
The last thing I will say is that everyone in healthcare (along with many other businesses) got greedy. There is absolutely no morality anymore, and its sad. The answer however, is not a universal heathcare system. Thatwould end up doing more harm than good. Is reform needed, yes. Does anyone know how to change it? No. If there was a right way of doing things, we would be doing it already. But lets not make a bad situation worse.
Introduction Part Deux
Politics, the economy, the war in Iraq, healthcare and immigration are just a few of the topics that flood conversations (both public and private) all over the country. As a youth of America I and other people my age are constantly engaged in conversations and debates about our country’s current state.
Lately I have attempted to keep in touch with old friends that I blame myself for losing touch with, and some shocking perception of my political views have come to light. I have been described in an extremely wide range of political thought from a crazy right wing Republican to one of the most liberal people on earth. Both boggle my mind, but mostly the ladder. I am here to let my readers know what exactly is going on in this massive head of mine.
First, I never think in terms of Republican and Democrat. I think this is a dangerous approach to logical thinking. Especially since most of America is in the center of the political spectrum, I think it is most prudent to describe views, policies, and other topics in terms of Conservative and Liberal. That being said, I am for the most part conservative. Many social issues such as abortion, gay marriage, government programs (depending on the program), public housing, etc., I tend be lean toward the liberal side.
In the spirit of this blog, I will be expressing some of my personal views on some hot issues in the hopes that you will read and comment of why you agree or disagree. I will also be posting some articles I find pertinent (as many of you have witnessed on my facebook page). I usually will post an article I find interesting or funny, but mainly articles that the extremely liberal and self-serving mainstream media will not show you. I do this to try and give another perspective on what is going on in the country and world.
Thanks for reading
Lately I have attempted to keep in touch with old friends that I blame myself for losing touch with, and some shocking perception of my political views have come to light. I have been described in an extremely wide range of political thought from a crazy right wing Republican to one of the most liberal people on earth. Both boggle my mind, but mostly the ladder. I am here to let my readers know what exactly is going on in this massive head of mine.
First, I never think in terms of Republican and Democrat. I think this is a dangerous approach to logical thinking. Especially since most of America is in the center of the political spectrum, I think it is most prudent to describe views, policies, and other topics in terms of Conservative and Liberal. That being said, I am for the most part conservative. Many social issues such as abortion, gay marriage, government programs (depending on the program), public housing, etc., I tend be lean toward the liberal side.
In the spirit of this blog, I will be expressing some of my personal views on some hot issues in the hopes that you will read and comment of why you agree or disagree. I will also be posting some articles I find pertinent (as many of you have witnessed on my facebook page). I usually will post an article I find interesting or funny, but mainly articles that the extremely liberal and self-serving mainstream media will not show you. I do this to try and give another perspective on what is going on in the country and world.
Thanks for reading
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