Finally!

A candidate I can believe in!

In Praise of Modern Medicine

This has been on my mind for a couple of days now.

It all started with a bull session at work during shift change when the subject of insurance came up. One of my young, therefore liberal, co-workers opined that the Benevolent Federal Government (yeah, about that bridge...) should ensure that everyone had health insurance.

His point was that the uninsured costs us all in the fact that hospitals and doctors charge us more to cover those who don't pay. My reply was that non-life threatening medical care should be dependent on the ability to pay, period.

I then informed this young innocent that my wife, having been diagnosed with lung cancer in December, would likely have been near death by now under a socialized medical scheme. As it is, I told him, I would be willing to pay every cent I make for the rest of my life if that's what it took for the results we have gotten.

Under a socialized system the care she needed either would not have been available or would have been available at a future date based on a first-come first-served basis. She would likely have died on the waiting list.

As it is, without the corporate health insurance policy we would have had huge bills to pay. Thankfully the bills are manageable and well within our ability to stay ahead of them.

Under a socialized system the techniques and medicines that have been used so far likely would have never been developed, or would be prohibitively expensive and so not available to the commoners such as ourselves.

As it is the medicines and techniques she desperately needed were available, and they have done their work.

Our system may not be perfect. It is horrendously expensive, but it is readily available to all who need the care. Most importantly, the care is immediate, and for the most part effective. There are some things that are yet beyond the understanding of medicine to cure, but what we have is the best that is available in all the known world.

These advances are not without cost. Doctors and drug companies may make huge profits but I will never say they don't deserve them. Doctors gain their skills only after long and brutal hours of training and residency. Drug companies invest untold millions in their quest for new and better medicines, at great risk. The result is longer and better lives for us all.

They earn every penny.

Red Curtain of Blood, Part 2

Words fail me.

Hat tip: Ace O' Spades HQ.

?!?!?!?!?!?

Can't afford meat, but apparently twinkies are still on the menu.

Hm. Subsidized housing. Unemployed, as are her siblings and sibling's spouses. Food stamps and welfare. Never had a job. No high school diploma. No marketable skills.

Here's the Red Curtain of Blood Money Quote:

People tell Nunez her daughter could get more money in public assistance if she had a child.

"A lot of people have told me, 'Why don't your daughter have a kid?'"

AAAAAAAAAUUUUUUUUUUUGGGGGGGGGHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Hey, here's an idea for you. Go to the local junior college, sign up for the free GED courses, actually pass them, and GET A JOB! So your van's broke down? Take a bus! Or how about WALK, you look like you could use the exercise.

Once you stop living off of MY dime maybe you will be able to afford meat. Or Jenny Craig.

Do you get the idea that people who have never planned for their future and whine about the way their lives turn out just really infuriate me?

Links

I switched over to the new Blogger layout so that I could edit the colors of the links. In the process some of my links got lost.

The new layout makes it easier to edit and add things, but there will always be growing pains. This is one of them.

I am working diligently to restore the missing links, but inevitably I will miss some. If you no longer see yourself linked, please drop me a note in comments and I will restore the link.

Thank you.

Birthday Wishes

Today is her birthday. We won't be celebrating today because I have to work, so we went out last Wednesday.

I dropped a C note on dinner for the two of us, a bit extravagant but we hadn't been out for a while since she hasn't felt up to it. She was feeling OK Wednesday, so off we went.

Her hair is growing back, it's short but it's there. She didn't wear her head scarf like she usually does, she said she felt a bit self-conscious at first but after a while it was OK. The hair loss was a Big Deal, so I'm glad to see it come back in. Hopefully when it grows back in a bit more it will turn back to red, it's a bit dark at the moment. If not, there's always Clairol.

She's still suffering some from the chemo, it upsets her stomach, and since she just had a treatment on Tuesday we were hoping she would get some time before the onset of troubles.I suggested we wait until the week after her birthday, say on the Tuesday or Wednesday following, but she said it was more likely she would be feeling knocked down the week after the treatment rather than the week of.

Unfortunately that didn't happen, so she's been feeling the effects of our night out for the past couple of days. But it was still worth it.

Happy Birthday Boo. Glad you are feeling better.

For The Boys

In lieu of actual content:

Here's some eye candy.

Medical Update

She had a treatment today, and they went over the scans they took last week.

The tumor has shrunk almost 50 percent.

The docs say another 3 treatments and she should be in remission.

3 more treatments including today's, that is. That's another month and a half.

So she should be in remission by September. After that, regular checkups every 6 months to ensure the monster stays gone.

This is a much better prognosis than was anticipated. My relief knows no bounds.

And now we are so happy we do the dance of joy!



Thank you everyone for your prayers and well-wishes.

Asshats Revisited

So it seems that Phred Phelps's merry band of phelchers are going to be picketing Tony Snow's funeral.

Classy bunch.

When are the courts going to seize their assets to pay their court ordered fine?

Hat tip to Ms Underestimated.

Asshats R Us

Here we have a government employee, someone who has never, ever held a job in the public sector, deciding when it is appropriate to half-staff the national ensign.

He says that he did not think it was appropriate to honor the late Senator Jesse Helms because of his "doctrine of negativity, hate, and prejudice" and his opposition to civil rights bills and the federal Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, according to the article in the News and Observer.

Of course the Screws and Disturber is a typically lefty rag, and so the article paints this guy as some sort of hero who quit rather than violate his own personal code of ethics by lowering the flag.

One of my favorite lines from the article is this one: "He also trained new employees on proper flag etiquette, including a one-person folding technique he learned in Boy Scouts."

I was in the Boy Scouts, and I served 20 years in the military, and I have never seen a one-person flag folding technique that would not drape the flag on the ground. In case you didn't know, that's a flag folding no-no.

The State of North Carolina is better off without him.

Hat tip, of all places, to Chris Muir in a Day by Day cartoon.

A Future Review

I just ordered a new DVD, it's a war film that I have never heard of that is being sold through independent channels. If it's any good I'll post a full review and order information.

Sorry for the light posting, life at the Refuge is calming down somewhat. The only thing I've been doing lately is working on the wife's dollhouse.

Until next time, here's a video for you to check out. More like them can be found here.

Video from Grouchy Media.

All The News

Since our media's motto is "good news is no news" (or so it appears to be) we have to rely on foreign sources. Such as the UK Times.

Fox News has also gotten into the act. Good for them.

Barking Moonbat Early Warning System has done all the work, so here's all the news you need to know!

I Hate a Thief

For those of you who have been paying attention, you are aware of my particular fondness for a little railroad in south-central Pennsylvania.

For those of you who have not been paying attention, I have a particular fondness for a little railroad in south-central Pennsylvania.

The short story; the East Broad Top is a narrow gauge railroad 33 miles in length that mostly made a living hauling coal from the east side of the Broad Top mountain (there was a standard gauge railroad that took care of the west side, called the Huntingdon and Broad Top).

The railroad closed down in 1956 but the new owners didn't scrap it. In 1960 they brought 5 of the 33 miles back on-line as a tourist attraction. The rest of the road has sunk into 60 years of decay and negligence - but lest you think I'm saying something against the present owners, nothing could be further from the truth.

The railroad is still there, all of it (that hasn't fallen or been torn down), against all odds, and at great personal cost to the family. They are to be commended for their sacrifice, and my undying thanks go to them.

Apparently last week some sub-human miscreants made off with a quarter mile of the hundred year old rail, likely to cut it up for scrap.

This was no casual in-and-out lift a few rails into the back of a truck common thievery. Oh no, this was carefully planned and executed, complete with official looking fake contracts complete with forged signatures.

Several locals checked on the work in progress to see what was going on, and were convinced by the falsified paperwork that all was in order. The thieves made a clean getaway.

Since the East Broad Top is a National Historic Landmark the act of thievery may itself be a felony, added with the fraud and forgery charges.

One can hope that this slime is apprehended and has a lot of time to regret what they have done.

Unfortunately there are others who have similar, although worse, problems. Over in Merry Olde, five plaques were stolen or damaged from Naval monuments.

One can hope that those punks are found and hung from the yardarms of HMS Victory.

If, by rare chance, anyone stumbles upon this story and has anything to add please contact the Huntingdon County PA authorities and/or the East Broad Top Railroad.

Photo by Larry

UPDATE: The thieves have been found, and the rail has been recovered. Unfortunately the recovered rail had already been cut up into 3 foot sections, so cannot be re-installed.

RIP Senator Jesse Helms

Former North Carolina Senator Jesse Helms, 86, died in Raleigh North Carolina yesterday, July 4th, at 1:15 AM.

Jesse Helms was often at the center of controversy. He retired from the Senate in 2003 due to failing health.

"It has always been my contention," he wrote in his memoir, "that there is no sense in being in office if you don't have the courage to do what is right, even if it is the most unpopular position in the world."

Godspeed Senator.

Photo from WRAL.com

WWJD (What Would John Do)

Dearly beloved, bow your heads for some words from The Duke.



Amen.

Hat tip to LC Forger from comments on this post at the Anti Idiotarian Rottweiler and from his own corner of the Empire.

Best Wishes on this July 4th

Steaks and ribs have been grilled and subsequently consumed.

The dog is munching on bones and the cats are enjoying the fat.

Humans are full and are sitting around watching "10,000 BC".

The only fly in the ointment is that I only had two Sierra Nevadas, and they are now gone.

Pop-its have been popped and a preemptive Morning Glory has been set off, with the rest to be held in reserve until it gets dark. At this time sparklers will also be sparkled.

But best of all, I was able to tell my 9 year old why such festivities were observed.

Life is good.

July 4

Happy 4th of July folks.

Iowa History

I happened upon the Iowa state quarter while digging in my pockets for change. Although I didn’t immediately recognize the design as a Grant Wood painting, I did recognize the schoolhouse – or at least I thought I did.

Looking up the design at the US Mint’s website I see that Mr. Wood used a generic one-room schoolhouse as the subject of his painting Arbor Day, the likes of which dotted the Iowa prairie from the time the first settlers arrived there. These structures formed the cornerstones of the small towns where they were located, often serving as the town’s church and meeting house as well as school.

I thought that the schoolhouse pictured was the Goldenrod School, where Jessie Field Shambaugh laid the foundations of the 4H club. The lack of front windows on the Goldenrod School clearly rules that possibility out, but the building is typical of the schoolhouses of the era.

The school is now a part of the Goldenrod School and Nodaway Valley Historical Museum, located just south of Clarinda Iowa on Highway 71.

I am myself an alumni of the very Page County School Systems that Jessie Field Shambaugh presided over as Superintendent from 1906 to 1912.

Mrs. Shambaugh passed away at the ripe old age of 89 on January 15, 1971 after a fall at her daughter’s house southeast of Clarinda. She is buried in the Clarinda Cemetery.

This public service announcement is to let you know that yes, things of importance do indeed happen in “flyover” country.

The Natural Order of Things

Webster’s defines a right as “Something (as a power or privilege) to which one has a just or lawful claim.”

The Declaration of Independence states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”

I come before you today to tell you that you have no natural rights. None. Nada. Zip. Zilch. What you have been endowed by your Creator with is a condition, that of Life, and nothing more.

If Life was a natural right, there would be no death and the world would become a crowded place indeed. If Life was indeed your right, endowed by your Creator, nothing on Heaven or Earth could take this condition from you. We know this to be false, because people die every single day.

You must, by the sweat of your brow, secure those things that will sustain your own life. These things include food, shelter and such clothing as is needed to protect you from the elements. If you fail to secure these things, you will surely die.

Some choose to secure these things by building or gathering them, some will purchase or trade for these things from those who do build or gather, and some will choose to take these things from those who build, gather or buy them, either legally (through government approved theft) or illegally.

The bottom line is that you have only those rights that you are willing to fight and die for.

This week the Supreme Court of the United States issued a ruling on the Second Amendment. They decided that the Constitution actually did mean what it said, that the right to keep and bear arms is indeed an individual, rather than a collective one.

The Second Amendment supporters broke into waves of the Happy Dance, while the gun grabbers hung their heads like sad little pandas.

It didn’t take long, however, for the forces to once again muster on the battleground. The supporters rightly recognized that Heller vs. DC is only a start, and the grabbers rightly recognized that the momentum must be stopped before it gains too much speed.

The bottom line is that you have only those rights that you are willing to fight and die for.

The Second Amendment has been under relentless attack since 1934, and those who caved to “reasonable restrictions” were late to the battle. Fortunately it seems that the battle is not completely lost, although the ground that has been lost so far may never be fully regained.

It is sad, however, that those who will stand up for the Second Amendment will all too often allow attacks on the other nine to go on without opposition.

If you have ever said, “Well, I’m not afraid, I have nothing to hide…” when the Patriot Act or the War on Drugs is discussed, you are part of the problem. The War on Drugs is especially destructive to the Fourth Amendment, and if you don’t see a problem with the no-knock raid you obviously haven’t been paying attention. Wake up; the same folks that are behind the no-knock warrants for drugs and the seizing of property and cash without benefit of trial will eventually use the same tactics to confiscate your firearms for the “public safety.” Can’t have you gun nuts knocking off the cops when they bash down your door at 4AM because they have the wrong house, now can we?

If you have ever wished the government would pass laws to shut Fred Phelps or Code Pink up, you are part of the problem. If you don’t have an issue with McCain-Feingold, you are part of the problem. The free speech part of the First Amendment was to protect that speech that others would find offensive, particularly political speech.

If you have ever wished the government would outlaw Islam, you are part of the problem.

If you didn’t see the government’s treatment of Jose Padilla as wrong, you are part of the problem. Jose Padilla was - and is - an American citizen, he was not captured on the battlefield bearing arms against this country, and so does not meet the current definition of "enemy combatant" like the detainees in Guantanamo. He is a gutter turd, but he's our gutter turd.

The bottom line is that you have only those rights that you are willing to fight and die for.

And if you wish to secure these Constitutional rights for yourself, you must also secure them for those you do not personally like or agree with. Like Code Pink, Fred Phelps, or Jose Padilla. They, too, have the right to speak and the right to have their day in court.

I don’t remember where I heard this first, but it’s probably a wise idea to heed this little nugget: Imagine the same power that you are willing to grant the Government in the hands of your worst enemy.

Vote accordingly.