so many rants - so little time

wow - not sure what to rant about lately - there is so much out there my mind is spinning - so instead of worrying about which I'll jump in and start with the weirdest one tonight - what one is that? the alleged "war" on christmas....does Fox have so little real infotainment to present that this is all they can spit out day after day? Is it for the ratings? or to deflect us from what the shrub is doing????

If you read my previous blogs you know I was raised as a Christian and switched out of that religion... part of me began to hate this season because it is a time when all the idiotic nasty behaviors humans are capable of are out in full force.... drivers are more dangerous, shoppers are just damned rude and the closer we get to December 25- the worse humans behave...

Many years ago I decided that except for necessities I do not go near large stores from Thanksgiving until after January 2...There was a time when the stores did not put out Christmas stuff until after thanksgiving - now it's out there right around Labor Day and the weight of the Sunday papers grows each week..

So who started this war? the greedy corporations who want all your money and who do not give one thought to what Christmas is supposed to be celebrating.... Does Fox go after them? no the right wingnuts go after anyone who is not Christian and blames them...so anti semitism, anti Islam and anti all non-Christian religions is more rampant...

If you are a Christian ask yourself what gift giving has to do with your religion, what does a tree mean? what about the costly house decorations? the bills that come in January?

Do you ever stop and think that all religions have holidays that coincide with the Summer and Winter soltices and the Spring and Autumnal equinoxes.. our more modern religions started using the pagan celebrations of the time and incorporated them into their religions.

There was a period in my past when my friends and I spent a few years "doing" all the pagan celebrations as best we could - it was a lot of fun and very educational...no one felt left out and no one felt thier religion was being made fun of or that there was a war on anyone's religion....maybe we should all learn where our celebrations came from and gain tolerance

but to Fox and all other media outlets who are stuck on this "war" theme - I suggest they get a sense of proportion and a sense of humor

Hurrah for Howard

When I lived in Vermont I was not always a Dean fan....somewhere in the course of running for President, Howard changed from a boring bureaucrat to an exciting speaker.

I'm all for change and know it can happen at any age...so GOOD FOR DEAN-

here is some stuff from him that was in The Hill and on Truthout

Most important, we will talk about Democratic values, which are AmericaÂ’s values.

"The vast majority of Americans believe it is immoral to lets kids go hungry. We agree. The other party cuts school lunches (they just canÂ’t seem to leave that one alone.)

Americans believe it is immoral that not everyone has some kind of health insurance. We agree.

The vast majority of Americans believe that government overreaching into personal and family decisions is wrong. We agree.

Americans believe that it is immoral to leave huge debts to our children and grandchildren. We agree.

Americans believe that using issues to divide us as a country to win elections is bad for America. We will restore AmericaÂ’s sense of community.

Together, America can do better. And in 2006, the Democrats will lead America to do just that."

Medicare part D - for damnable

I am still pissed at the Medicare part D mess - it so reeks of the repugs - scare tactics followed by taking your money!

Maybe the best alternative is to NOT select a plan and to vote in saner heads in 2006 who will make the selection process SIMPLE and eliminate any penalties.....or select the cheapest plan and hope you don't lose too much money waiting until you needs meds. And why will you need meds? because the pharmacies will tell you you need them!- just like the ads- "ask your doctor if XYZ is right for you! What gaul.. let's get the pharmaceuticals out of the legislation business - and let's get the credit card industry out as well....

I have tried to access the Medicare website to see what plan[s] they suggest for me and this is what I get:

Medicare.gov - Page Temporarily Unavailable

We're currently experiencing high traffic. Please try again later. Sorry for any inconvenience.

Sounds just like the FEMA website after Katrina-

Justice IS falling apart!

This from the news wires:

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A chunk of marble fell from near the roof of the U.S. Supreme Court onto the stairs in the front of the building but no one was injured, a court spokeswoman said.

The marble was right above the inscription near the top of the building saying, "Equal Justice under Law."

DUH

No one was hurt - well that's what was said about the marble chunk's landing...but I say it's an omen that justice is falling apart in the USA and we are all getting hurt.

Medicare penalty redux

The more I read and think about the prescription "benefit" and the penalty to NOT buying into it now- the angrier I get. It reminds me of the credit card bill aka the bankruptcy "reform." It's all about scaring people into paying paying paying....

Here is the penalty: at least 1% of the national average premium will be added to your premium for each MONTH that you delay signing up...and of course, we are reminded, that the average premium will go UP each year ...[so they have already calculated that increase] Let's see - if you do not need medications now and you choose to sign up you are "giving" the feds about $360 a year to insure not paying the "penalty" later...

to me it sounds like the credit card bill - pay now and pay later OR ELSE!!!!

Why is our government into penalizing people who are healthy now? Is it the same reason the dark sider in the WH is pushing torture? They just don't like people? And why can't we look at better preventive care instead of warning people they WILL get sick as they age? Actually I have gotten sick less as I have aged...because I have learned how to follow alternative ideas re my health and well if I do need expensive meds at some point, I'll pay for them myself and not pay those dark siders their penalty -

I bet when we elect a saner Congress we will see major changes in this Medicare "benefit." Some people actually have respect for their elders and are not out to punish those who live a long time and stay healthy!