Health care & the blame game...

I read an interesting article this morning in the Times, discussing who is to blame for the rising costs of health care. The article hit home for me, because it discusses how hard small companies are getting hit with the costs.

I've worked at a small company for nearly 12 years. We've had between 8 & 15 employees during my tenure, and we're sitting at the low of 8 right now. Our costs for health insurance have gone up around 30% a year since I've started. I remember when I was hired, we basically had full coverage - $5 co-pays on prescriptions, and an incredibly low deductible ... it would be considered a "Cadillac" plan today. Every year, we've had to offset the rising cost by dropping benefits and increasing what we contribute. This year, we changed from an HMO plan to an HSA plan, which is terrifying to me.

In case you don't know, the HSA plan is a "Health Savings Account". We have no co-pays, and a $6000 deductible - after which we only have to pay 20% of costs. The only benefit is that we get to put up to $6000 a year into a savings account pre-tax to pay for health care costs, which is great if you can afford to contribute $115 a *week* towards your health care. It really makes me think back to the health care debates these past few years - where that sleazy schmuck Alan Grayson was railing on the Republicans for their health care plan: don't get sick - and if you get sick, die quickly. That's basically what our health care plan is now: the "Don't Get Sick" plan. My budget is tight enough as it is - and I can't really afford to be dropping way over 10% of my income on a kidney stone.

I like my job - as much as a job can be liked. I really like where I work, I like my co-workers and I've rarely thought about leaving, until now. This new health plan makes me think hard about where I am and where I'm going. If I knew that I could get another job with similar pay that just had a decent health program, I'd be re-building my resume instead of bitching to Blogger. Yeah, it's *that* scary for a single-income family of 4. Risking bankruptcy on a hard six is a tough bet to take for a man who doesn't gamble because there isn't a lucky bone in his body.

I'm not planning on packing up and leaving because there's no guarantee that I could even get another job, let alone another job that has a real insurance program. If I set aside my health worries, I'm still very happy where I'm at. But what really irks me is when my bosses call our new health program the Obama plan (yes - I have multiple boss at a company with only 8 employees). They blame "Obamacare" for this year's 30% increase in costs, citing the law's individual mandate and pre-existing conditions clauses - ignoring the fact that 30% a year increases has been the trend at least since I've been in the job market. It's also an interesting leap of logic to say that adding a few hundred million new paying customers is a bad thing to the insurance industry, even if a small percentage of them have some pre-existing conditions. The insurance industry runs on statistics, and the health market just got a few more decimal points.

In case you haven't guessed, my bosses are Republicans. I should forward this Times article to them, because it quotes experts in the health insurance industry saying that *maybe* 1-2% of the rate increase is due to Obama's Health Care Reform bill. And that those few percentage points are mostly attributable to "free coverage of preventive services". The vast majority of this year's increase is due to the same old shit that's been going on this past decade. Not that it would make a difference if they read the article anyhow - it'd be easier to pick up and move Mt. Everest than to change a Republican's mind with piddly little facts.

But wait - it gets better. I've done my fair share of research on the HSA/HDHP plan, and it turns out that our piece-of-shit plan is actually the Bush plan. Bush signed the law making HSAs available back in 2003, and it's been gaining popularity with employers ever since. It's easy to see why the "Don't Get Sick" plan is so popular with employers: it's the cheapest thing to offer, and still be able to claim a Health Plan on their benefits package. The Democrats railed on Bush in '03 about this plan, saying that it only caters to the young and healthy that don't have families, or really need health care for many years - or the super-rich who are just looking for a $6,000-a-year tax shelter. And you know what? They were right!

I have two young daughters: 4 & 5. Last year they each got pink-eye twice. With our HMO, each bout with pink-eye cost us $45: $30 co-pay to see the doctor, and $15 co-pay for the antibiotic eyedrops to cure them. Total cost under HMO for 2 kids, 2 rounds each: $180. A low car payment. It affected our budget, but we could manage. If that were to happen this year without co-pays? $150 is a low estimate for a pediatrician visit. $50 for antibiotic eyedrops. $200 per case X 2 children X 2 cases = $800. That's a house payment. If pink-eye revisits our house this year, we're screwed. And that's just pink-eye!! So to my loving daughters: DON'T GET SICK!!! Unfortunately, with both of my girls in school this year, telling them to not get sick is about as realistic as telling them to not want candy, or stop liking cartoons. It just ain't gonna happen.

It's even worse for one of my co-workers, who is an insulin-dependent diabetic. The poor guy needs $500 worth of medicine every month just to keep his heart beating. It wasn't so bad with a $30 co-pay at the pharmacy, but a jump to $500 a month is going to do a number to his bank account. His health care costs just jumped 1000%+!!! His only saving grace is that both he and his wife work full time, and they've only got a shared-custody teenager to worry about. If I had his health situation with my home situation, I'd be in full-blown panic mode right about now.

... more fun than a Glenn Beck novel

I recently got into an argument on Facebook with a person who just got terribly under my skin, and I thought that I would share it here. It all started with a question on my Brother's 'wall' asking how you felt about the "Ground Zero Mosque". I said my piece, and kept watching the thread grow with other people's opinions, which were mostly well-informed opinions, and while I disagreed I could still see the points they were making. But there was one person who was putting out some crazy ultra-right-wing conspiracy theory about Obama being a closet Muslim, and how the Muslims are secretly trying to take over the world. I told myself that I wasn't going to touch it - just let it fly, and I was happy with that. Until I came across this jewel later in the day from the same person:

Yes, we should know our enemy, Israel deals with constant attacks from Muslims over land, religion, and they didn't ask for that. How many times did the twin towards get attack by terrorist (and they were muslims) before they finally accomplish what they set out to do? I know that there are peaceful and law abiding muslims, but they are taught by the Koren. You need to look up the Koran Bible on the Internet and read it. It is very short but to the point that who does not believe as they do should die! And there is a whole lot of extremist that are already practicing this. That why we are having so many terrorist acts all over the world. And they believe in ultimate power and will not stop at anything to get it. We want to be a compassionate nation and because of that we have opened our doors to anyone that wants to hurt us. Where do you draw the line. I really don't think its by going and apologizing for what we do that is right. Saul was told by God to kill everyone in a nation they went to war with or they would raise up against him. Saul disobeyed God and lost many people and land was almost wiped out. This nation has been disobedient in many things.

We need to pray as a nation for forgiveness, and pray the wrath of God pass over us.

I am a person that will tell you the truth. If you are disobedient to the word of God, you open the doors of hell upon yourself. We need the word so we are wise in the ways of the Lord. God is a compassionate God, but he also has law that we must live by. Why are we such a big target, because of the filth that comes from our nation. And we are not the only ones. We will all answer to God one day, but the Koran will make you answer to it now.

Thanks for this pole. The truth needs to be told.

This just floored me!! Conspiracy theories are one thing, but the thing I had just read was a misinformed, lie-filled, pile of drivel ... being sold as "truth". This woman was telling blatant and obvious lies about something that she apparently knew nothing about. She was using those lies to build a case for GENOCIDE ... and she wasn't stopping - the attacks kept on coming. I think the last sentence about the "truth needs to be told" is a large part of what spurred me to action. Here was my reply:

BJ Shaffer:
Yeah, the truth does need to be told. I doubt (name withheld)'s ever seen a Quran, or spent one iota of time looking into it. Everything you've said about that text, (name withheld), or the relevant religion is categorically *wrong*.
The Quran is not short. It's about as long as the New Testament of the Bible.
The Quran is not full of "to the point" horrible, evil, genocidal commandments. It is written in poetic metre, full of allegory and is generally compassionate in nature.
Sure, there are calls for violence - primarily to those who would harm the Believer. Extremists tend to quote these passages (out of context) as justification for their own evil. However, there are also many calls for compassion and understanding - specifically towards Christians and Jews:

"Surely those who believe, and those who are Jews, and the Christians, and the Sabians -- whoever believes in God and the Last Day and does good, they shall have their reward from their Lord. And there will be no fear for them, nor shall they grieve" (2:62).

"...and nearest among them in love to the believers will you find those who say, 'We are Christians,' because amongst these are men devoted to learning and men who have renounced the world, and they are not arrogant" (5:82)

Just as there are many calls for compassion and understanding in the Holy Bible ... as well as calls for violence. The Bible ain't all bubble gum and teddy bears, sweetheart. (name withheld) - you yourself just related the story where God ordered Saul to commit Genocide!! The wiping out of an entire race of people!! What can be more horrible than that?!? If you're pro-genocide ... hey, more power to you. It worked for Hitler.

"When the Lord your God brings you into the land you are entering to possess and drives out before you may nations...then you must destroy them totally. Make no treaty with them and show them no mercy." Deuteronomy 7:1-2

"...do not leave alive anything that breaths. Completely destroy them...as the Lord your God has commanded you..." Deuteronomy 20:16

You speak of the attacks on Israel by the Palestinian Muslims - without mentioning that one of the world's worst humanitarian crises was committed on the Palestinians by the Israeli Jews. When Israel declared itself a country in 1948, over 700,000 Palestinians were slaughtered, evicted or fled the territory that Israel claimed. This is historical FACT. You can't talk your way out of it any more than you can talk your way out of the Holocaust. So yes, the grievance of the Palestinians *is* a very real one. Yes, this was a grievance cited by the group behind 9/11. Does it justify what was done on 9/11? Hell no!

But does it mean that devout Muslims who fastidiously study the Quran are an evil organization hell-bent on destruction, usurping authority and taking over the world? If you believe that, you're F-ing crazy. And yes, I realize that I've just wasted about 20 minutes of my life typing all of this out ... nothing can change the mind of the small-minded, and this is only working to raise my blood pressure. So I'm done. You're blocked.

And I did block her. I was so angry by the end of my own posting that I wanted nothing to do with her afterwards. I understand completely that the most sound logic in the world can't touch the mind of one who blindly believes. I was done. I said my piece and was ready to move on. But the next day, messages started coming in. More than one person from my brother's friends list whom I have never met were sending me personal messages saying "Thank you for taking that woman to task".

I knew that I was being a dick when I posted my response. I wanted to go back and re-read my post to see if it was more sensible than I'd originally thought - I mean, hey - I was gaining fans from it. So I unblocked the friend-of-a-friend so that I could go back and read all of the context and following replies ... and lo-and-behold ... she had been back to the conversation with *another* jewel of a message:

I did not understand what an infidel was, thought it was someone who cheated on their spouse. But (relative's name withheld) corrected me and says in the Muslim meaning it is a christian. So if they believe their bible like we believe ours.

We had a Russian Evangelist at our church years ago and he came with stories of when he worked in a Muslim Nation. I think it was that he had witnessed to a muslim and he had converted to christianity. The young man went home to tell his mother and she was so grieved but knew what the muslim bible had taught. She tried to poison her son for a whole week. But because he was now under God protection, she didn't seceded. She went to her sons work place to tell this Evangelist what she was trying to do and she also gave her life to God.

It is a real thing as to what the Muslims believe. That a mother would kill her own son. I know we don't mean that much to them.

They are very busy putting everything in place to do what they came to do, America needs to wise up. President Bush knew, he did his homework. That is why we are at war. And we need to step it up if we want to put this to rest, or it will come back on us, with a vengeance.

Seriously ... WTF?!? How much Bullshit can one person drum up?!? Again, the last sentence is what irked me the most ... that ex-President Bush knew that Islam was Evil, and that is why we are at war?!? No, wait ... I clearly remember the days after 9/11 when Bush was at the highest popularity of his presidency. I knew that he clearly said the war on Terror was NOT a war on Islam. Here were my replies:

BJ Shaffer:
I know I said I was going to block her, but I just HAD to go back and look at the crazy stuff being said. I know, I know ... glutton for punishment is me.

Ms. (name withheld) *REALLY* needs to check her sources:
Infidel: "In the Islamic doctrinal sense, the term refers to a person who does not recognize the one God (Allah) - atheists and polytheists - and not to religions such as Christianity, Judaism - who are seen as "People of the Book (Ahl-e-kitab)"
-- An Introductory Dictionary of Theology and Religious Studies, p. 630 (a slightly more reputed source on Theology than "(relative's name withheld)")

I may slam George W. Bush a lot - but the *one* thing he did do right was make it crystal clear that the war on Terror was absolutely *NOT* a war against Islam:

"The face of terror is not the true faith of Islam. That's not what Islam is all about. Islam is peace. These terrorists don't represent peace. They represent evil and war."
--Remarks by the President at Islamic Center of Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C. September 17, 2001

"I've made it clear, Madam President, that the war against terrorism is not a war against Muslims, nor is it a war against Arabs. It's a war against evil people who conduct crimes against innocent people."
--Remarks by President George W. Bush and President Megawati of Indonesia The Oval Office, Washington, D.C. September 19, 2001

"All Americans must recognize that the face of terror is not the true faith -- face of Islam. Islam is a faith that brings comfort to a billion people around the world. It's a faith that has made brothers and sisters of every race. It's a faith based upon love, not hate."
-- President George W. Bush Holds Roundtable with Arab and Muslim-American Leaders Afghanistan Embassy, Washington, D.C. September 10, 2002

"Islam is a vibrant faith. Millions of our fellow citizens are Muslim. We respect the faith. We honor its traditions. Our enemy does not. Our enemy doesn't follow the great traditions of Islam. They've hijacked a great religion."
-- Remarks by President George W. Bush on U.S. Humanitarian Aid to Afghanistan Presidential Hall, Dwight David Eisenhower Executive Office Building, Washington, D.C. October 11, 2002

"Some of the comments that have been uttered about Islam do not reflect the sentiments of my government or the sentiments of most Americans. Islam, as practiced by the vast majority of people, is a peaceful religion, a religion that respects others. Ours is a country based upon tolerance and we welcome people of all faiths in America."
-- Remarks by President George W. Bush in a statement to reporters during a meeting with U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan The Oval Office, Washington, DC November 13, 2002

"Wouldn't it be nice if we all did our homework and expressed a little religious tolerance from time to time?"
-- BJ Shaffer August 19, 2010

BJ Shaffer: ... and one last word. Yes, Islam IS harsh on people who leave the faith. The third-person anecdote about the boy who converts to Christianity being poisoned by his mother may or may not have actually happened. Either way is plausible. But don't think for a second that as Christians you are immune to the same level of wrath prescribed by a strict interpretation of The Holy Bible:

"If your very own brother, or your son or daughter, or the wife you love, or your closest friend secretly entices you, saying, "Let us go and worship other gods" (gods that neither you nor your fathers have known, gods of the peoples around you, whether near or far, from one end of the land to the other), do not yield to him or listen to him. Show him no pity. Do not spare him or shield him. You must certainly put him to death. Your hand must be the first in putting him to death, and then the hands of all the people. Stone him to death, because he tried to turn you away from the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery." --Deuteronomy 13:6-10 (New International Version)

You just can't argue with facts. What?!? George W Bush knew what was going on with the secret underground Muslim plot for world domination, and that's why we are at war with Islam? Here's a quote ... NO ... here's FIVE quotes, from the man himself, stating that you are full of shit. Islam is evil because of a 3rd-party anecdote about a mother poisoning her son for converting to Christianity?!? Take a hard look at your own Good Book - and tell me that Christianity has a better prescription for leaving the faith.

In the end, my brother deleted the whole thing - he had his little bro going fisticuffs with a member of his congregation, and he didn't want to deal with it. That's fine. I'd never ask him to take sides between his family and his faith (especially considering how fucked up our family is). Not to mention that I was being an egotistical prick. I did however, make a suggestion for him to ask his pastor for a sermon on religious tolerance because this woman is apparently terrified of a particular religion for all the wrong reasons.

But today I ask myself after it is all said and done, wiped from the existence of Facebook ... why did I even bother responding to her inane words? Why did her anti-Muslim propaganda affect me so strongly? She wasn't trashing my own religion - I'm no Muslim. Hell, I don't even consider myself a Christian. I'm not sure what I am ... I probably best describe myself as Agnostic. Which is just a fancy word for "I don't know"; none of the answers people have tried to sell me seem right ... so I'm still looking. I'm not angry or resentful towards Christians in general. I don't like a lot of the things that the extreme fundamentalist wing of Christianity does ... but no worse than i dislike the extreme fundamentalist wing of Islam. Why does the Islamophobia that's running so rampant, especially among the Religious Right, bother me so much?

I think the answer to that question is best answered by Martin Niemoller, the old and long-dead Protestant Priest who was incarcerated by the Nazis so many years before I was born:

First they came for the Communists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist.
Then they came for the Trade Unionists,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Trade Unionist.
Then they came for the Jews,
and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Jew.
Then they came for me,
and by that time nobody was left to speak up.

I think that if we see a group of people being wrongly attacked, we really need to stand up for something higher than ourselves and defend them. When we see lies and pernicious propaganda being spread for no greater cause than to demonize and sow fear - we need to do what we can to cut through that propaganda and expose what lies beneath. In the end, it's in our own best interest to stand up for those who are being wrongly persecuted. If I don't, who is going to help me when it's my turn under the sword?

The best tools to use in such a situation are simple: education, facts and truth. Ego and cockiness are best left at the door ... but it's just so damn hard to not bring them along.

Nonono ... I said DON'T panic. [presses don't panic button again]

A friend at a message board pointed this out to me:
Egypt orders all pigs summarily executed

WTF? No... seriously. What The Fuck?!?

Scientists have established that this disease is passing from person to person. What is the government of Egypt thinking by slaughtering all swine in the country? They can't possibly stop the encroachment of Swine Flu by killing pigs. The name Swine Flu is a descriptor of the type of influenza - not meaning that people get it from pigs. It was probably originally a disease restricted to swine that somehow mutated and jumped to humans, but that most likely happened with patient zero who was in Mexico. Killing pigs now won't change the fact that people are passing the virus amongst eachother. If they wanted to take extreme action, they would have done a better job of protecting their people by shutting down borders and airports. There hasn't been a case of swine flu in their borders yet. Note that I'm not endorsing extreme action - I'm just saying that killing the pigs will have ZERO effect on the health of their population. They could kill all their birds, goats, cats, dogs, elephants and toads and have the same effect cumulatively as slaughtering all of their pigs.

I can only figure 3 possibilities for this insane move:
1) Egyptian government is a bunch of knee-jerk morons who thought that they could protect themselves by declaring genocide on pigs. Which has NO groundwork in truth whatsoever. What are they going to do when somebody tells them that it passes from human to human? Kill all the humans? Idiots.

2) Egyptian government is trying to get back at the evil pigs who brought this disease upon mankind. Vengeful Idiots.

3) Egyptian government is listening to Extremist Islamic Militants who are declaring the swine flu as Allahs revenge on the infidels of the west. Evil Vengeful Idiots.

Each option is more sick and disgusting than the one before it. First, they are euthenizing every swine in the country. No more pigs for Egypt. That's it - last generation. If they had their way, they would execute the extinction of the species. Second, what about the citizens whose livelihood depends on their flock of swine? They already shooed out the chicken-keepers with a similar move last year or the year before with the wave of Avian Flu that made an appearance. Now they're taking out the pig farmers too.

Fuckin pig killers. This is what happens when leaders don't listen to simple rational reason. Mindless slaughter. Disgusting.

Don't Panic (in big bold letters on the front)

SWINE FLU!!! RUN!!!!
If you watch/listen to/read the news at all, you know about the swine flu pandemic and how it's pretty much the end of the world. It's hit Mexico, then skipped the border into Texas & California and from there has raced like wildfire through Kansas, Ohio & New York. People are dying, and the world may never be the same.

Here's some headlines from the big news sites:

MSNBC:



















CNN:


















FOXNEWS:













2 Headlines with photo & an in the case of Fox, an entire special alert section with 8 or 9 links for information. If it's this bad - deadly and from sea to shining sea - it's time to lock the doors, skip work & school and prepare for the end, right? Well ... let's take a step back.

All of these news agencies aren't exactly Fair and Balanced ®. They're sensationalist news - meaning that they make their money through publicity. More people watching means more revenue. Scaring more people means more people watching. More people staying at home are more people watching TV. They're not going to lie outright, that would be criminal, but they're going to exaggerate by putting out the large n mighty pictures of people at military checkpoints or airports wearing facemasks and of military personnel in biohazard suits - and they're going to grab your attention with death counts and news of the spread of this deadly disease. They want your eyes glued to their screen, and they'll spin the information however they need to get it. When push comes to shove, you can't always trust the news outlets.

All of this is not to say to ignore the threat. This outbreak is dangerous, it is scary, people have died, and it has popped up in some large population areas. You probably already know that the worst thing to do in an emergency is panic - but it seems like that's exactly what the Big News want you to do.

You may ask - "I want to know what's going on, but if I can't trust the big news networks to relay the unbiased news, who can I trust?" I say "Go to the government agencies." The Center for Disease Control (CDC) is at the front lines of this thing in the U.S. The World Health Organization (WHO) is monitoring it on both sides of the US/Mexico border. Both organizations are staffed by top scientists and researchers who are watching and fighting this thing ... and both organizations have very nice web sites.

So - good places to watch for information:
CDC Swine Flu investigation page - lots of good info about what's going on, real counts of infections and links for information on what you can/should be doing as a citizen as well as info that's been sent to doctors and labs who are actively looking for signs of swine flu. It has information on what they've found with this specific strain of flu- i.e. what drugs it is resistant to and what drugs affects it. It also has a link to the WHO who is monitoring spread & casualties worldwide.
Pandemicflu.gov A web site that devotes itself full-time to relaying factual information about flu outbreaks from government agencies. If you want the most reliable information from the best sources, but broken down a little to make it more "digestible", this is the place to go.

Unbiased. Factual. Non-sensationalistic. Ten times more trustworthy than Fox, CNN & MSNBC combined.

I'd like a large State meal, hold the Church.

This is the 'straw that broke the camels back' for me in starting this blog. I've tossed the idea around for a while, but this is what spurred me into action. 3/25/09 - one month ago - at the U.S. House Subcommittee on Energy and Environment, John Simkus (R) Illinois Representative speaks to the committee:

You may be shaking your head after this. It is kind of dizzying. In case you didn't catch it - or in case somebody pulls the youtube video - here's some highlights:

He quotes from the bible: Genesis 8:21-22:

I will not again curse the ground any more for man's sake; for the imagination of man's heart is evil from his youth; neither will I again smite any more every thing living, as I have done. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease.

And Matthew 24:

And he shall send his angels with a great sound of a trumpet, and they shall gather together his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

He says:

the earth will end only when God declares it’s time to be over. Man will not destroy this earth. This earth will not be destroyed by a flood

and

Today we have about 388 parts per million in the atmosphere. I think in the age of dinosaurs, when we had the most flora and fauna, we were probably at 4,000 parts per million. There is a theological debate that this is a carbon-starved planet — not too much carbon

and

I believe that god's word is infallible. Unchanging. Perfect.

Let's examine this. First off, he's reciting from a bible - in Congress - as a purpose for making decisions in legislation. He begins by praising the first amendment which grants him free speech, but promptly steps on the piece of the same amendment that provides the separation between church and state. Ironically, the separation of church and state is stated in the first amendment BEFORE the freedom of speech ... but that's neither here nor there.

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

OK. So he's reciting from the bible in a more relaxed discussion in congress. He's not proposing a law or anything, so we'll let it fly and not call him "unconstitutional" (though I'd be more confortable with a Representative who believed more in the inerrancy of the constitution than the bible). He's not exactly being very tolerant of his non-christian constituents, but he has every right to express his religious convictions.

In doing so, he basically establishes himself as a breed of fundamentalist: he believes in the inerrancy of the bible. That the words from Genesis to Revelations are infallible and perfect. That the words are directly from god and should be obeyed to the letter. I won't get into the whole "dashing baby's heads into walls" or "killing your children for talking back to you" parts of the bible ... but I find his religious beliefs very disturbing in the context of him being an American Legislator doing Legislation Legislatively. With his statement of beliefs, along with the scripture that he quotes, he is basically saying that we should just sit back and not do anything about the environment. The world is going to end when God chooses, and there's nothing we can do about it. Global warming is a myth, because God promised that he wouldn't flood us out again. If a flood were to occur, the eyes of billions of people would be lying to them because the Bible says it can't happen.

Now here is where it gets really really good. In the same breath - he goes on to talk about scientific terms of PPM (parts per million - most likely a measure of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere - though he never specifies) - saying that In "dinosaur times", the measure of was closer to 4000 PPM. I don't want to get on the topic of what a measurement of 4000 PPM would mean for our everyday lives, though I think we'd like it a lot less than the dinosaurs. I want to talk about the dinosaurs.

Dinosaur Times.

Where in the bible does it talk about dinosaurs? This man is taking bits and pieces of science, and merging it into his literalist theological world view... which is a recipe for disaster. And ridicule. Let's make fun of the ignorant ass.

If the bible is inerrant, then man existed in the first week of the existence of Earth, and therefore at the same time as dinosaurs. Scientists today agree that man and dinosaurs never walked the earth together. Apparently, Mr. Simkus' view of the world is less of the bible, and less of real science, and more like Hanna Barbara. (If you're too young to catch the reference, google "yabba dabba doo"). Now ... somewhere between trips to the Buffalo Lodge, taking the foot-car to the drive-in for bronto-ribs, and using bronto's for cranes at the coal mine (which Mr. Simkus has a vested interest in), the great caveman of 6000 years ago was able to piece together the highly specialized and delicate equipment to measure Carbon Dioxide in the atmosphere to be 4000 parts per million. Bravo, Fred. Bravo. Have a burger on me.



Can't we please just say that Congress is no place for thelogical debates? Shimkus seems to think that the state of the environment in 2009 is a thelogicial issue, but I really don't see where in the bible it mentions anything about Carbon Dioxide being 388 PPM vs 4000 PPM in the literalist interpretation of the beginning of the world ... let alone the passage that explains what miracle Fred Flintstone made to drop the volume of Carbon Dioxide by an astounding 3600 PPM in a short 6000 years. Why don't we leave the science up to the scientists? From there, can we please forbid thelogical debates that are mixed with faulty, hand-picked pseudoscience? It makes for a fun time of ridiculing people, but I really feel sorry for the Illinois taxpayers who paid this schmuck to give this presentation.

Oh yeah - at the end, this joker brings up the Clean Air Act of 1990 and 4 mines in Illinois that have closed down since then. I do feel bad for the coal miners who lost their jobs, but keep in mind that the Clean Air Act didn't directly put these men out of work. The Clean Air Act put regulations on power plants, who had to limit their Sulfur Dioxide (think acid rain) emissions. Doing so meant using their energy sources more efficiently, which dropped demand and increased selectiveness for coal fuel. Thus the coal market got more selective, and those mines that couldn't provide the best goods at the lowest price got shut down. Directly, it was the free capitalist market that put these guys on the breadline.

Also keep in mind that during the 70's and 80's, acid rain was starting to become a serious problem. Acid rain doesn't eat the flesh off your bones like the term might make you think, but it is quite poisonous and it falls into lakes and streams and fields and forests - killing the wildlife, fauna and poisoning the groundwater. A few unemployed miners ... or a few unemployed lumberjacks (trees really didn't like sulfur dioxide poisoning) ... and thousands of dead fish and animals and people.

So after all this ... one has to wonder: how does a man with deep fundamentalist views, who easily confuses himself by merging literal bible interpretation with pseudoscience and is obviously pro "acid rain" get into Congress? Oh ... ok. He bought it.

Introductions

Hi.

My name's BJ Shaffer, I commonly go by Vasagi on the internet. I'm 32, married, father of two. I work full time at a small company writing & supporting computer software; focusing mainly on web applications, SQL, and data presentation... so yeah, I'm a nerd.

Now that the handshake is out of the way, on to why I'm firing up this blog: I'm tired of the level of ignorance that I see around me every day. I need a place to come rant and rave and bitch and moan about the closed-minded people, ideas and concepts that I run into. Now ... keep in mind that I'm purposely not saying 'stupid' people. I believe that there are very few genuinely stupid people. Stupidity is the incapability of learning. A stupid person cannot pick up a concept no matter how it is presented to them, or how many ways. In politically correct terms, a stupid person is mentally challenged. An ignorant person is one who refuses to learn. They have the capacity for learning, but for whatever reason refuse.

Ignorance is a dangerous thing. In today's modern world, people will use your ignorance to their own ends. You will be misled, lied to, manipulated and taken advantage of. Technology driven mass-media just makes it that much easier. The only defense that we have against these manipulative forces is to educate ourselves. To learn who is trying to do harm, and who is truly benevolent. The quote at the top of this blog struck a major chord with me - if we are ignorant and fail to question authority, we are in the control of people above us. If we know and understand, and look at new information skeptically, then the people in power work for us. Absolutely.

There is no excuse for ignorance. You are reading my words. Just by opening a browser and getting to this blog, you've demonstrated the ability to use the internet, which is most likely the single largest body of knowledge in your grasp. If you don't know a term, google it. If you want to know how a nuclear power plant works, you can find out with 3 clicks or less. Information that was imagined by the world's greatest minds 30 years ago is at your fingertips if you have so much as a library card. You don't need a college education to be "smart" - a degree is not a measure of your IQ. It just proves that you've spent a lot of money to take the intelligence directly from an expert. The only thing that it's good for is a line on a resume.

Just because the information's freely available doesn't mean that it's any good, though. In your search for enlightenment, you're going to run into mistakes, contradictions, deception; you need to look at everything with a skeptical eye - or a gain of salt as my mother likes to say. You need to be selective about what pieces of information you accept into your personal world view. You need to challenge ideas, question authority - never take 'because I said so' as an acceptable answer. Check the citations, research the sources - was the man who did the study qualified, or did he go straight from clown college to the lab?

All of this junk I just wrote can be summarized in 4 words: Educate Yourself. Question Everything. And that's the reason I'm here. To rant and rave about ignorance and lies in one hand ... and to try to find my own truth with the other.