More on healthcare

Hopefully I can quickly and succinctly express myself of healthcare, or share the links to articles that I agree with. I agree with them because of the facts they present. I just read this in the Wall Street Journal about how Tennessee tried to create universal healthcare for the entire state. It nearly bankrupted them, and is a chilling example of what could happen to the entire country.

Here is an op-ed from the WSJ describing what the government can do to facilitate universal healthcare.

“While we clearly need health-care reform, the last thing our country needs is a massive new health-care entitlement that will create hundreds of billions of dollars of new unfunded deficits and move us much closer to a government takeover of our health-care system. Instead, we should be trying to achieve reforms by moving in the opposite direction—toward less government control and more individual empowerment.”

And here is Ed Shultz himself, getting fed his own socks by Bishop Harry Jackson after he goes on and on like a pompous idiot about how America shouldn’t hide their Bibles under the beds and Dobson, Graham, et. al. made plenty of money on their books but won’t stand up to support a “christian” president on “his” healthcare plan. True to liberal form, Ed builds up his christian strawman and beats it into dust…but I don’t think he was expecting Jackson to disagree with him!

Jackson makes it clear that support or non-support for the president’s plan has nothing to do with morality – it is how the plan is to be executed and whether a public plan is even a good idea. Another example I have read about is the Candadian single payer government run program. Although the Canadians are seen to be healthier than Americans, the average wait time for a doctors appointment is 17 weeks (don’t remember source). This is what Jackson is referring to: if he had lived in Canada, he would be dead.

And who says the Canadian system is even doing good?

UPDATE: Here is more on the failings of the Canadian system.

Healthcare debate

I have been trying to follow the debate going on about needed healthcare reform in the US. I won’t try to sum up everything I have read, but will just say: no government run program. Obama said it better himself: UPS and FedEx are doing great, it’s the Post Office that has problems.

I have seen and read about the town hall meetings, from the rowdy “un-american” ones to the Obama’s own choreographed versions, where the president out talks people 9-to-1 and the children of his campaign staff ask innocent gratuitous questions. And then there is this town hall meeting with Sheila Jackson-Lee, where first, she is rude to a constituent by talking on her cell phone while the person was talking.

But this takes the prize:

A graduate student in social work at University of Houston, also an Obama delegate in 2008, lied and said she was a primary pediatric care physician for four years and asked a very leading question for Jackson-Lee. Oh yeah, and Jackson-Lee’s husband just happens to be a vice chancellor for student affairs and vice president for student affairs. Unbelievable deceit. Absolutely unbelievable!!

I have also read some on Saul Alinsky, and as one commenter to that blog stated, typical Alinsky tactic. One story I read of Alinsky goes like this: in the 1970′s, he advised a group of protestors to not picket, but instead, dress-up like the KKK, go to the rally, and whenever you hear something you want to protest, cheer instead. It will give the illusion that the KKK supports that official, who I think was George Bush Sr.

Do conservatives do things like this? I cannot think of a case… am I blind? Because this is simply mind blowing…

I have to admit, this isn’t really a good post. My brain is overwhelmed with too much fresh information and my mind is too undisciplined (it’s true, I am working on that). And I am short on time – but the more I read, the more I see my own naivete, the more I want to stay involved and alert. News Real Blog has been a great source of information for me lately….

UPDATE:

Another post by Patterico states that local constituents opposed to Obamacare were not informed of when her town hall meetings were going to be held. In the past, she has aggressively informed her district. Well, this time she only informed her Democrat cronies, to counter the Tea-Baggers.

Dude, what is up with people still using that term? It’s still a vulgar term, people!

Aggressive ride

So, yesterday I had a 1.5 hr ride scheduled, zone 2 (aerobic endurance). I have been trying to hook up with my neighbor Trey, a marathoner/triathlete, for a ride for some time time now, and yesterday we were finally able to coordinate it, along with another neighbor triathlete Glenn.

I should have known I would not stay zone 2. Ego? Machismo? Yeah probably. I didn’t want to get dropped….plus,I had a lot of energy in the tank, too.

Both guys are stronger than me, but I was able to keep up and take the front from time to time. I chased Trey up several hills and at the end of our 25 mile ride, I felt literally spent. No more left in the tank. Actually it was two miles from the end when I realized it, when all I could do was just spin in a lower gear and keep the two of them at least within eyesight.

It felt good, though, to train with others and get challenged like that. A plan is a good thing, but sometimes circumstances need to be taken advantage of. In my mind, I simply had decided to take today (Monday) off to recovery. I felt that going full throttle was more important than the plan. Next weekend’s three hour fifty mile ride, well, that’s a different story. No sprints on that puppy. And at least Trey will be going, too, but I will let him go as fast as he wants, if need be.

And my feet didn’t hurt at all. I think for the first time I felt absolute confidence in my ability…no worried searching for twinges or tenderness in my sole, no snippets of apprehension. I felt like a “normal” athlete again. To God be that glory.

And you know what, considering all the zone 3-5 work this weekend, I feel pretty good today. A little tight and sore, but not fatigued. I was going to take today off, but will go the pool this evening instead of this morning. The intensity of training the next three weeks will go up, and I will be adding more speed to the mid-week workouts as well. Hopefully at week four, I will really feel the fatigue so I can relax and recover.