Month: May 2017

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Pre-Existing

A short list of pre-existing conditions not covered under #Trumpcare:

• AIDS/HIV
• acid reflux
• acne
• ADD
• addiction
• Alzheimer's/dementia
• anemia
• aneurysm
• angioplasty
• anorexia
• anxiety
• arrhythmia
• arthritis
• asthma
• atrial fibrillation
• autism
• bariatric surgery
• basal cell carcinoma
• bipolar disorder
• blood clot
• breast cancer
• bulimia
• bypass surgery
• celiac disease
• cerebral aneurysm
• cerebral embolism
• cerebral palsy
• cerebral thrombosis
• cervical cancer
• colon cancer
• colon polyps
• congestive heart failure
• COPD
• Crohn's disease
• cystic fibrosis
• DMD
• depression
• diabetes
• disabilities
• Down syndrome
• eating disorder
• enlarged prostate
• epilepsy
• glaucoma
• gout
• heart disease
• heart murmur
• heartburn
• hemophilia
• hepatitis C
• herpes
• high cholesterol
• hypertension
• hysterectomy
• kidney disease
• kidney stones
• kidney transplant
• leukemia
• lung cancer
• lupus
• lymphoma
• mental health issues
• migraines
• MS
• muscular dystrophy
• narcolepsy
• nasal polyps
• obesity
• OCD
• organ transplant
• osteoporosis
• pacemaker
• panic disorder
• paralysis
• paraplegia
• Parkinson's disease
• pregnancy
• restless leg syndrome
• schizophrenia
• seasonal affective disorder
• seizures
• sickle cell disease
• skin cancer
• sleep apnea
• sleep disorders
• stent
• stroke
• thyroid issues
• tooth disease
• tuberculosis
• ulcers

So in other words, pretty much everything, and what Congress has just said is, GO FUCK YOURSELVES!

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I Find This Sad, But At The Same Time…

…strangely reassuring and well worth a few minutes of your time to read in full.

Western civilization will completely collapse in the next 200 years

Hari Seldon is a fictional character in Isaac Asimov's Foundation series who studied broad patterns of human behavior, and through that study was able to predict the collapse of civilization. The general principle is simple: large masses of humans are similar to large masses of atoms in a gas. Predicting the behavior of any individual atom is nearly impossible, but the prediction of the behavior of a gas–how it will react to changes in temperature and pressure, for example–is simple and deterministic. You don't need to know how each individual atom will behave, because in the aggregate masses of atoms show statistical properties that are invariant. Isaac Asimov's premise in the Foundation books is that large masses of people are predictable for the same reason: the large-scale flow of action is driven by statistical factors that will cause predictable patterns to emerge, even if the behaviors of individuals cannot.

So call me Hari Seldon… because I've been looking at some patterns recently, and I'm convinced Western Civilization will completely collapse within the next 200 years.

(continue reading)

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Cautiously Optimistic

From The Palmer Report:

New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman has never backed away from a fight with Donald Trump – and he's tended to win those battles. Schneiderman has succeeded in taking down the phony Trump University and the fraudulent Trump Foundation. He's also reportedly bringing state level RICO indictments against the Trump organization (link). And today, Schneiderman is also going after Trump over the AHCA.

Here's the official statement which New York AG Eric Schneiderman released today: "The healthcare bill passed today by House Republicans is a threat to the health and wellbeing of all New Yorkers. In addition to the devastating impact this bill would have on every New Yorker's access to affordable healthcare, the legislation that passed the House today is unconstitutional in several critical respects—and I stand ready to challenge it in court."

It continues: "First, House Republicans' attempt to effectively deny women access to reproductive healthcare services is a cruel and unconstitutional attack on women's rights – especially the most vulnerable. Further, the Collins-Faso Amendment is a cynical ploy by House Republican leadership and President Trump that exceeds Congress's authority by interfering with how New York has long elected to fund its Medicaid program. This bill threatens to slash essential healthcare services for millions of New Yorkers who need them the most. For these reasons, if this disastrous and unconstitutional healthcare bill is ultimately signed into law, I will challenge it in court." (link)

If the Senate votes no on the AHCA, or if the Democrats are able to filibuster it, then it will fail, and Obamacare will remain intact. But even if it does pass, it's clear the battle will just be beginning. And if New York can get the AHCA ruled unconstitiutional, it would be nullified in all fifty states. If the Democrats then win the midterms, they could reinstate Obamacare. So the fight against the AHCA is just getting started. 

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Throwback Thursday

 My freshman yearbook photo.

The Top 10 Songs that year…
1. Tie a Yellow Ribbon Round the Old Oak Tree, Tony Orlando and Dawn
2. Bad, Bad Leroy Brown, Jim Croce
3. Killing Me Softly With His Song, Roberta Flack
4. Let's Get It On, Marvin Gaye
5. My Love, Paul McCartney and Wings
6. Why Me, Kris Kristofferson
7. Crocodile Rock, Elton John
8. Will It Go Round in Circles, Billy Preston
9. You're So Vain, Carly Simon
10. Touch Me In the Morning, Diana Ros

Yes, I'm old.

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Be Careful What You Ask For

Well, we dodged at least one bullet today. 45's extra super special "Religious Freedom" EO doesn't explicitly allow discrimination against LGBT folks as previously feared. It's more of a feel-good-but-has-no-real-teeth-behind-it proclamation that might make it easier for churches and other religious groups to engage in politics without endangering their tax-exempt status. It does not appear to have any backdoor anti-gay discrimination language and its scope would be simply limited to employer-provided insurance and churches which endorse candidates. While the "christian" reich-wing wants full repeal of the Johnson amendment that put the whole church-taxation trigger in place, that isn't going to happen by way of a simple, crayon-scrawled Executive Order.

It should be noted that if there is anything in the order that runs counter to the Johnson Amendment, it cannot take effect without congressional action to repeal Jonson, but right on cue—because of course—one pencil-neck white male republican congressman from Indiana stood up today and advocated for a full repeal of said amendment.

Nothing triggers those Whitejesus® freaks like that pesky separation of church-and-state thing.

According to an article over at The Hill, "some social conservatives voiced frustration the order does not include provisions to allow them to oppose LGBT rights on religious grounds." While an earlier draft of the religious liberty order would have let federal contractors discriminate against LGBT employees based on faith beliefs, Thursday's version did not include such provisions, so naturally their panties are in a twist. Those "social conservatives" don't really care about "religious liberty" in any other context, so since this EO doesn't explicitly let them screw over gay people, they naturally aren't going to be happy.

Poor babies!

But the question I have (sort of prompted by the graphic above) is what happens when say, oh…I dunno…a Muslim congregation or Imam starts advocating politically? Is that allowed, or will it prompt a visit from Homeland Security?

Oh stupid me…I already know the answer to that! "Religious Liberty" only applies to Christians!

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Snowflake-in-Chief

From The Guardian:

Trumpism is a movement built on victimhood. It holds that Americans are unemployed because immigrants stole their jobs. It argues that people of color are diluting the culture of America and that LGBT people having rights is an attack on the traditional family. Its slogan, Make America Great Again, speaks to that victimhood. We were great once. We aren't anymore, because of those people.

Saying "Happy Holidays" instead of "Merry Christmas" is enough to inspire a meltdown. Nando's, a chicken chain, recently "triggered" multiple Trump supporters by simply handing out "#everyoneiswelcome" posters in their DC stores. The act of simply existing while transgender sends some into a tizzy.

The reality is that, yes, we actually are all unique, no matter our political leanings. Having strong reactions to things does not necessarily imply weakness or fragility, and is not the same thing as being triggered. The phenomenon of living in an ideological bubble where opinions that align with our own are considered good and opinions that challenge your beliefs are considered bad is not unique to either party or any movement. It is also not the same thing as a safe space.

Not every protest is a tantrum. Using speech to criticize speech is not censorship. Dismissing the struggles of marginalized communities as "identity politics" is intellectually lazy. Sometimes, something just is racist or sexist, and if describing it as such is enough to make you have a meltdown, then maybe you're the fragile one. I'm talking to you, Donald.

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Quote of the Day

We cannot allow Pence and the rest of the Trump team to get away with decisions that the right-wing would have burned Hillary Clinton at the stake for – but of course, she would never have made those decisions because Clinton is a true patriot and is not beholden to the oligarchs in the Kremlin." ~ Natalie Dickinson

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Quote of the Day

I'm very positive about California, but then again, the rest of the country, you have to realize that just under 50% of the population are very racist. They voted for their racism. That's why the polls were never accurate because no one wanted to admit their racism. Before the election, I said they would go into the voting booth and say 'Fuck Transgender bathrooms, Fuck Black Lives Matter, Fuck those Mexicans! I want mine!' And that's exactly what they did. And don't think gay marriage didn't have anything to do with it! That was the last gasp of the white, heterosexual male." ~ Zoey Tur

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Let's Play a Game

I call it Stupid or Don't Give a Fuck.

This is a discussion Ben and I were having the other day while driving home from lunch. We've both noticed an increase in the general assholery of our fellow Americans lately, both on the road and off.

We used to quickly dismiss it as just plain stupidity (left turns from right hand lanes, etc.) but the thought occurred to me the other day that it's more than just stupidity. I think that with everything going on in the world over which they feel they have no control, a lot of people have just developed an entitled, fuck-it-all mentality when it comes to the little things they can control.

"Why should I follow traffic rules when no one else does?"

"Why should I actually have my fast food order sorted before I get to the head of the line?"

"Why should I do x, y, z and maintain basic civility toward people when it's obvious no one else is and they're getting away with it?"

Now granted, there have always been self-important, entitled assholes:

But it seems that until last November this douchebaggery was just kind of simmering there, for the most part held in check by civil society.

Not any more!

The "election" of the Cheeto-faced Jizztrumpet and the ongoing train-wreck that has followed has unleashed all that pent-up effluent and has allowed it to run freely in the streets with its head held high. People who would otherwise be muzzled by basic standards of civil behavior can now be flaming douchebags to anyone and everyone without any fear of repercussion. Because if the President can get away with Treason, why do I have to play by the rules?

BECAUSE FOLLOWING THE RULES AND TREATING OTHER PEOPLE WITH RESPECT IS THE RIGHT THING TO DO, MOTHERFUCKERS.

So I would suggest start playing a game when you're out and about and see something that leaves you shaking your head in disbelief. Try and figure out if someone did something out of sheer stupidity or out of a misplaced fuck-it-all sense of entitlement.