Nationalize Healthcare and The Crippling of America

Lately, my blog has become mostly fluff. Life is just too hard to spend my free time on negative topics… like the Swine Flu or today’s politics. But today’s post is important. (Since I post so rarely about this stuff, it most certain must be.)

People routinely misunderstand Shakespeare’s Henry VI quote:

“The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”

When taken in context, it’s understood that lawyers were the primary obstacle to the speaker’s desired revolution. Ahh… context, what a glorious thing. With today’s political runaway train, we might be needing our next revolution quicker that we might have thought.

The Democrats are trying to jam nationalized health care down America’s throat, consequences be damned.
“Don’t take time to consider the costs or implications,” they say.
“But what about our concerns?” we reply.
“We’ve got it covered,” they demand.

I, for one, am the last person on the face of the earth to trust a politician. (Where are term limits?!?) I’m far more admiring of the folks at NCAP who relayed this information today:

How will ObamaCare affect insurance premiums in the private health care markets? Despite indignant Democratic denials, the near-certainty is that their plan will cause costs to rise across the board, says the Wall Street Journal.

The latest data comes from the insurance company WellPoint Inc., which mined its own actuarial data to model ObamaCare in the 14 states where it runs Blue Cross plans. The study therefore takes into account market and demographic differences that other industry studies have not, such as the one from the trade group America’s Health Insurance Plans, which looked at aggregate national trends:

* In all of the 14 states WellPoint scrutinized, ObamaCare would drive up premiums for the small businesses and individuals who are most of WellPoint’s customers (other big insurers, like Aetna, focus on the market among large businesses).
* Young and healthy consumers will see the largest increases — their premiums would more than triple in some states — though average middle-class buyers will pay more too.

What distinguishes the Wellpoint study is its detailed rigor, says the Journal:

* Take Ohio, where a young, healthy 25-year-old living in Columbus can purchase insurance from WellPoint today for about $52 per month in the individual market.
* WellPoint’s actuaries calculate the bill will rise to $79 because Democrats are going to require it to issue policies to anyone who applies, even if they’ve waited until they’re sick to buy insurance.
* They’ll also require the company to charge everyone nearly the same rate, bringing the premium to $134.
* Add in an extra $17, since Democrats will require higher benefit levels, and a share of the new health industry taxes ($6), and monthly premiums have risen to $157, a 199 percent boost.
* Meanwhile, a 40-year-old husband and wife with two kids would see their premiums jump by 122 percent — to $737 from $332 — while a small business with eight employees in Franklin County would see premiums climb by 86 percent.

The story is largely the same from state to state, though the increases are smaller in the few states that have already adopted the same mandates and regulations that Democrats want to impose on all states, says the Journal.

We may not be able to avoid hyper inflation given how this and previous administrations have spent our tax dollars, but giving the government control of our entire health care system will certainly push us over the edge.

To counter any opposition who might claim that I have to answers to our “problem”… I say, sure I do. Tort reform.

Government Wastes Money

Just in case you didn’t know… our government wastes money. Not just a little, mind you, gigantic heaping TONS of money. Just how much? You take a guess. How about a cool $90 billion on “flawed projects”… IN A SINGLE YEAR!

In the words of Ricky Ricardo, “It’s just so ridiculous.”

Dojo Info 10/28/09

1. Verizon, Motorola unveil the Droid
   Droid is working hard to be hip but in a cooler, less squeeky-clean (i.e. Apple) way.
2. YouVersion Live
   “Share content on mobile devices during live events and services.” That’s where we’re heading, yep. Wish there was a standardized protocol for doing that with business cards.
3. Google Caffeine – A Taste Test
   Sounds like it’s just an infrastructure upgrade but active site owners can never be too careful. It’d be nice to get more specific advice from the Google power meisters.
4. Font Capture
   Ever wanted a computer font of your own handwriting? Yes, I thought you did.
5. Is Brett Favre sports’ biggest turncoat?
   Pay close attention to… “No. 4 Defendant: Rick Pitino.” He’s certainly not helping his rep with recent actions.

Google Maps Subtle Sponsors

I’ve always been interested in how a good number of Internet start-ups begin with an idea that people like but may not have the slightest idea how that idea might generate revenue. I mean, YouTube!… hello!

But smart people will usually find a way to make it happen.

Today, for the first time, I noticed that Google maps now have business “imprinted” on their maps. Have you seen this? I wonder how much that costs? (BTW, that La Quinta is very nice.)

Incredible Sand Animation Is Stunning

The artist is Kseniya Simonova from Ukraine’s Got Talent television show. She is so gifted!

Long March to #8 Starts Tonight

Are UK fans often unrealistic? Sure.
Are UK fans more obnoxious than other fans? More than likely.
Are UK fans looking forward to this basketball season? You better believe it.

“To whom much has been given, much will be expected.”

‘That Way’ at the Office

Could this be the new Rickroll’d?

Smartphone Comparison Shows MyTouch the Winner

Check that stuff out. Looks promising but proof is in the playing.

• Total Cost of Ownership: myTouch 3G versus iPhone 3GS versus Palm Pre
  Cost of ownership is worthwhile to consider.
• CNET picked the Pre over the MyTouch.
  2nd generation phone better than first but still behind iPhone and Palm.
• Quick review: MyTouch 3G
  Looks like he’s not enamored with the myTouch.
• T-Mobile launches iPhone challenger
  Has a lot to offer but still too early to tell.
• T-Mobile myTouch 3G
  4.5 stars from this tech heavy reviewer is stellar.

Louisville Author’s New Work Coming Soon

A friend of mine is a local author who’s new book—The Requiem Rose: A Waverly Hills Story—is coming out in November. Here’s part of the synopsis:

In 1929, at the height of the tuberculosis epidemic, a patient dies every hour at the Waverly Hills Tuberculosis Sanatorium, set high upon a wooded hillside in Louisville, Kentucky. Wolfgang Pike is both priest and doctor at the sanatorium, but his medicine can’t cure the sick and his religion can’t bring peace to them—nor to himself. He was a doctor before he was a priest, and in between he met and married the love of his life, Rose, who died tragically on a downtown street. With his childhood dreams of being the next Mozart unfulfilled, his new life revolves around writing the perfect requiem for his late wife. But nothing is perfect enough for Rose’s memory.

Sounds intriguing! If you’re so inclined, head over to his site to find out more.

Dojo Info 10/5/09

1. ‘State of the Internet’ assessed
   The United States ranks 18th in the world for connection speed. What the #$@$?!?!
2. Banking Trojan steals money from under your nose
   Wow… these idiots are getting good. Bet Apple loves that it only targets PCs. Bottom line: Never open an attachment from someone you don’t know personally.
3. Dell brings wireless recharging to laptops
   So now electricity can be wirelessly transmitted?!? HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE?!?!
4. Google urges Web adoption of vector graphics
   I remember groups talking about this a decade ago. Flash was the first big step. There’s plenty of room for more!
5. Google Reinvents the Phone with Google Voice
   Ok, I’ve got mine, now what? I’m trying to figure out why it’s cool. Can anyone tell me?

Sagarin Ranks Kentucky #1 Program of All-Time

It’s been argued long and hard but now it’s official… at least according to data guru Jeff Sagarin, Kentucky is the #1 basketball program of all time. Numbers don’t lie.

I’ve held this position for some time but it’s a close call when you consider that UCLA does have more national titles. Weighting the different variables played a big role on how the final numbers fell out. But I think any UK fan will agree that we deserve the accolade.

Now Kentucky fans can do what they do best… boast!