Rebuttal- Health Care

Ok, in response to the comment on my healthcare post - (Can you tell it's been awhile since I've had a good debate? K, "serious, bossy know-it-all face" is on... hehehe...)

Also, may I stress that I'm not talking specifically about Obama's plan (which I still need to reread a few times, since it's written in governmentese), but the general idea of a UHC system (which, yes, is likely to suck under American government control, because our government fucks up everything it touches; However, it's better to at least attempt change for the better than to leave things as they are.)

This is meant to be reform, not replacement. My little plan in particular does not replace current private insurance companies/policies but expands the national ones. Obama's proposed plan (what I've read and understood so far) was pretty much the same. It was also (as far as I recall) completely optional- you can choose the new plan or stick with your own private (or supplemental) insurance company. The point is to expand services to citizens who can not afford them on their own. (Besides, my dad works for a healthcare company... They're reducing their corruption, but that doesn't mean they're still not overcharging and bribing their way around the world. I've said it before - whether or not we get a UHC system in this country, something has to change... What this type plan means exactly for the workers, I'm honestly not all that sure, but then again, this is all still a work-in-progress and it's a team effort.)

Everything anyone has ever heard about only being limited to certain doctors and no options - of course possible, but not necessarily true. In Canada, they do often have problems with this, but you also have to consider other factors- shortage of practitioners and equipment, and reluctance of practitioners to accept the insurance program, for example. These are other issues that must be addressed, especially regarding malpractice insurance and salaries. In the majority of countries with UHC (see Europe), citizens can see any doctor they want to (also shown in Sicko). Unless the plan is mandatory (and the odds of that passing are probably close to zip), there will always be options. *Also, in Australia, we discussed this in a few of my classes. Not one single person said they were (or knew anyone who was) limited to certain doctors because of UHC.)

I did some research regarding Hawaii. Hawaii is just one state, and it certainly does not have the same level of funding or resources as an entire country. This kind of plan requires time, a much larger budget, and more equipment than what one state can provide. This has to be a gradual process - it's not something that we can set up overnight and expect to be perfect in the morning. Instant is bad. Also, it isn't meant to be a complete charity, either. We're still putting something in. Fundamentally, UHC is reform, not replacement, that should be prepared to cover basic care for the majority (whether or not it needs to). Medicaid & Medicare programs leave too many stuck in the middle - those who earn too much for the government programs but too little for private insurance- primarily the lower middle class and lower classes who are still living above the poverty line.

How do those countries suck? (What news were you watching, too?) The media is always biased. This blog is obviously biased against the biased media. [See side panel]. Fox new is biased [EXTREMELY conservative], MSNBC & ABC are biased [EXTREMELY liberal]. If I watch the news, it's CNN or CSPAN. Sometimes leans, but is generally bland as hell, which is how news should be. Regardless of source, it's still a good idea to be a skeptical about what one hears without doing research...)

I'm sorry, but I really must quote Karl Rove (I know, I know, hold your nausea) on this one "If Democrats enact a public-option health-insurance program, America is on the way to becoming a European-style welfare state." Ok, what the fuck is everyone's problem with Europe? Statistically speaking, the standard of life is significantly better there than here (I have WHO stats in front of me, as well as world rankings for quality of life.) Our overall health is lower, our literacy is lower, we have more waste and pollution than most industrialized countries (and we're not doing all that much about it either, compared to them). The Scandinavian countries are well known for their quality of life - they are supposed to be the best in terms of equality, health, and politics, especially for women. And the UN rated Iceland, Norway, and Australia to be the top 3 countries in the world (2005)- ALL have UHC systems that work. The idea of UHC is absolutely viable and has been proven to work. The American plan of course will need tweaking to fit our economy and society-- but it can work.



(& birth control really isn't that bad... everyone I know who is on it, who had similar symptoms to you- they love it... some companies even make special pills just for really bad symptoms... hell, you could probably have a special combo created just for you... the only other treatments shown to be relatively effective are acupuncture; TENS - which I personally think is a horrific idea - and [the collective] all of the things you already do... a hysterectomy might not actually fix everything, as technically the hormones/whatever else may still be around to do who knows what, plus the regular surgery does not generally include the ovaries, so... again, without knowing exactly where the issue lies, it's possible that wouldn't completely fix the problem... plus a whole bunch of other things I know you wouldn't want to experience... you'd get to deal with the joys of menopause... that can't be fun...)

IQ and Standardized Testing - GREs...

So I totally feel like an idiot right now - I just took an IQ test (after spending I don't even know how many hours randomly browsing Wikipedia for the hell of it... I don't know why I'm still awake. My mind just jumps from one topic to another, & the site really just... Well, it doesn't help!) and somehow I got a score of 156. While previous tests ("legit," as in "official"...) confirm the same thing (well, a few points higher... solid 160 at one point...), I do not for a second believe this to be my true intelligence. 130 is the minimum cutoff for "superior intelligence" or the "genius" level as we used to call it. I am not a genius - I won't pretend to be one for a second. I've always been in the "well above average" range, in the honors programs, and I can't deny that-- but genius? Absolutely not. No fucking way. It's simply not possible. (-_-" Though an Occupational IQ Scale says that I fall into the range of Research Scientist... That is what I've been trained to be, and where I'm "supposed" to go, so I guess it's not that far off... ugh...) My PSAT and SAT scores were high, but not that high. I completely bombed the first (and only) GRE practice test I ever took. I am a disaster when it comes to standardized testing - I don't fit into their little box, and I never have.

As hard as they've tried, standardized tests will ALWAYS be biased. Take the GRE verbal section for example. Truck is to tunnel as boat is to:
a) river
b) bridge
c) bathtub
d) ocean

Now is it just me, or does that not make any damn sense whatsoever? The "trick" to analogies is making a sentence for them - "A truck travels through the tunnel... So a boat travels through..." Technically speaking, you can make up a fucking relationship between boat and any of those words... It's completely relative! Of course, there's supposed to be a right answer there (& since I don't remember what 4 options there really were to begin with... I think maybe canal was there instead of bridge, & I think boat may have actually been apple, but I'm probably making that up just so it all makes sense... Either way, it's beside the point...) but the only people who are aware of that "right answer" are the people who made up the stupid question in the first place. And if you don't know what any of those words mean - you're royally screwed- and believe me, those words are impossible-- even for me, the self-proclaimed Linguist and Grammar Fanatic who spent a lot of her childhood memorizing the dictionary because she ran out of books to read (yes, seriously... I'm a speed reader, & I literally couldn't sleep unless I read something, and Merriam Webster was the only thing I hadn't finished...)

I took one look at the practice book & started bawling. Yes, it's that scary. And for what? A number that determines how the rest of my life will go. A number that either says I'm not smart enough for a better life - that I'm only allowed my little bachelor's degree and a lower salary than someone who could afford a private tutor; Or that says I am smart enough to go to graduate school - that I know enough million-dollar words that I will NEVER use, that I remember math formulas I learned in 7th grade and never used again, that I am knowledgeable about the 2 month existence of the South Venezuelan 4th Parliamentary Hiatus (I'm making this up, but the essay question was really somewhere along these lines...)--!! It's simply ridiculous to expect everyone to be the same. We're not all the same, and we shouldn't have to be! We go to different colleges for a reason - generally they play to our strengths. We choose different programs for a reason. I'm a psych major. I have to be good with statistics, sociology, and basic bio & chem, but I don't have to know much of calculus anymore. So why is it on the GRE (& no calculator!!!)??? Even your personal statement, the 1 item that is supposed to tell grad schools who you are and explain your life's purpose (well ok, in the form of your career goals...), is basically scripted.

Your entire life, from birth til death, must follow a basic pattern. Your intelligence, or at least the "basic," useless knowledge you attain, must follow a pattern. You are expected to be just as efficient, exactly the same, as everyone else your age - even though you are different, your experiences are different, your life is different.

"Is this the life that you lead?
Or the life that's led for you?
Will you take the road that's been laid out before you?" ("Paper Wings," Rise Against)

Or will you make your own? Go read some Robert Frost... Be different, and love it. You only have 1 chance at this life, so make it count.


(I'll get around to replies to HC post later this week- there's an article I want to find.)

Privacy Please...

It's scary how easily that which empowers us imprisons us as well... What a scary world indeed... What Google Knows About You.

I think we all have good reason to be afraid of Big Brother... well, ok, maybe not quite afraid, but seriously pissed off. My private life has never been private, OL & IRL. From the moment someone finds out you exist, someone is studying you and keeping records. The day you join the rest of the world, the first time you walk, your first words, your first day at school, your first kiss... Somebody knows where you've been, what you've done. And you can never escape that. You think you're alone, but they're just watching over your shoulder... It's no wonder everyone I know has become more paranoid... We joke about the FBI reading our IMs - we throw in random words, to "attract their attention" & then start rambling about random things, just to confuse them... We joke, but we know that it's a real possibility.

Might I recommend to you an incredible story that has inspired me to buy an XBox just for the sake of hacking it? (Well, ok, it's inspired me to do other things as well... but I plan to do that soon too...) Cory Doctorow's Little Brother. (It's like a modern version of 1984, a book that you MUST read at some point in your life - it's that good.) I got the free e-book (which comes in like 500 different formats, & you can upload your own version), but you can also buy a hard copy on Amazon or ebay, & the audiobook on the "official" site. Share it with the world (wooo DRM-free! Creative Commons License!!!)