Healthy People Must Buy Insurance

We have gone a long way to get people to stop smoking by taxing it to the point where no one can afford to smoke. We made the argument that these taxes would be used to pay for “smoke related illnesses” that the American taxpayer was currently paying. That seemed like a good argument, except that the real reason was the campaign to convince people how unhealthy smoking really was just was not working. If I can not convince you that smoking is bad for you, then I will make cigarettes $10 a pack instead of $10 a carton so you can not afford to smoke. According to the statistics, a large number of people have finally “seen the light” and quit.

The problem we are having now is that the healthy people, the “non-smokers” of healthcare are saying, “I’m a healthy person, why should I pay high premiums for health insurance I never use?” This type of logic would seem to make good sense from a personal perspective. I know people who live in large metropolitan areas who don’t own cars. They live and shop in their own neighborhoods and commute to work using mass transit. When they want to leave town, they rent a car and that is cheaper than the monthly upkeep and insurance on a car.

The President is quoted as saying, "People have made some pretty compelling arguments to me that if we want to have a system that drives down costs for everybody, then we've got to have healthier people not opt out of the system," Okay, so if we want to make sure the American automobile industry stays sound, then every American should be compelled to own at least one American made car. Buy as many of any other car as you like, but you must buy at least one American made car at least once each decade. Truthfully, if everyone is compelled to have health insurance, as President Obama desires, then the cost for all to have health insurance will surely go down; won’t it? I mean, if we equally share in the bounty of our economy then we can eliminate poverty, right? At least great thinkers like Karl Marx have thought so.

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1. "ABC News Exclusive: President Obama Shares His Health Care Vision - ABC News." ABCNews.com - Breaking news, politics, online news, world news, feature stories, celebrity interviews and more - ABC News. 24 June 2009. 24 June 2009

Old Friends

I connected with an old friend today, Rick Marshall. We didn't meet, but I found his blog and was able to do a little catching up. Rick and I go back a ways, having both worked at the Seattle VA for a spell. We collaborated on some things with World VistA, and we have had some interesting discussions over the years. Rick is the all-round genius on a lot of things, and it is always a joy just to sit and listen to him expound on just about anything. His energy is contagious and his enthusiasm knows no bounds. I look forward to watching his blog and commenting here and there where I think I understand what he is talking about :)

You Will Be Assimilated!

I guess one of the most surprising things about living in Alaska has been how quickly we have acclimated to the climate. We had a couple of weeks this winter when the temp never got above zero; the the ice was about a half-inch thick on the inside of the windows; and when the temperature gradient between inside and outside approached 100 degrees. So when the temperature got back up in to the mid- to upper-20's, we were ready to pull out the shirt sleeves and the shorts!

Today we were doing our usual Saturday shopping and running around and we were in jeans and t-shirts and were really comfortable. Then we noticed that the outside temp was 49 degrees and could not help but laugh. In late August/early September, Christy and I are going to be in the D.C. area for Christy to attend a practicum for her school. We figure we will just melt into puddles and they will have to send us home in a blotter!

Redoubt...continued

So Mt. Redoubt was downgraded from Red to Orange yesterday afternoon and then sends up another explosion (the biggest so far) this morning. Check out the news at http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=10076548. Here is a photo from the news service:

They are still saying the ash won't effect Anchorage...much, but some say we could get 1/8 inch of ash. Doesn't sound like much, but any ash is like small glass particles and it really messes up your car and your electronics (like this computer). All you can do is try to "seal" your windows and doors and cover your electronics. We put our computers in the bags and put them away in the closet and throw blankets over the TV and other stuff. Right now there is no ash here and even if it gets to Anchorage, it might not come this far. Will keep you posted.

Redoubt Explodes

So after many weeks of wondering, Mt. Redoubt finally erupted last night (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/29833845/). The ash plume headed North and East from the mountain, so we are okay for now. The heaviest ash fell north of the Mat-Su valley in quantities of about 1/8 to 1/4 inch. The problem with the ash is that is like little pieces of sharp glass. It can really mess up your car engine and your computers and other electronics, so you end up covering things up to keep the dust out.

Right now the wind is taking the dust away, but the wind doesn't blow in the same direction all the time. The last time Redoubt erupted it blew on and off over a period of five months, so we have taken the precautions we need to make sure everything is okay.

You can check the NOAA site for the latest info.

Long Time

Guess it has been a while since I posted anything here, but things have been rocking along about like normal. Christy is working on her Masters Degree and I am working on my Bachelors so all of our "free time" is spent doing schoolwork, mostly. We took a Sunday afternoon a couple of weeks ago to drive up to Wasilla to see what we could see. Mostly it is small-town USA with more snow. That was about the size of it. The weather here hasn't broken yet, but our snowfall is way below normal. There isn't even a good inch on the ground right now so it looks like we will be trucking in snow again to start the Ididarod race next month. Hard to believe it is almost March, but then it is also hard to believe that I just turned 57. Not exactly a "milestone", but a little daunting. Actually, for the first time in a long time I don't feel old. Being in school again has gotten me excited about the future. A friend of ours Mother just died at the age of 97; so I figure I have another good 40 years or so!

So - so

I guess we are starting to settle into a routine. Melissa is off on Monday's now, and Ian is off on Tuesdays. Our Saturdays, which we had hoped to make family days, are rapidly turning into school days for both Christy and I. We wondered this last Saturday why she was able to have Saturdays free in Washington, and then finally remembered that she had Fridays off - which is when she got the bulk of her schoolwork done. Since I didn't start school until we moved here, that made Saturdays our day, except when we were busy with church business (which was most Saturdays!).

We think we may have found a home church, and we are delighted about that. It has been too long since we were connected, but I do have to admit the break has been nice. We realized that in Washington the church was our life, and that meant we didn't have a lot of time for each other. Of course, with the kids and grand kids around we still don't have a lot of time for each other, but we can see the light at the end of the tunnel as things settle down. Melissa is talking about getting a car with her tax return, so that will give her a lot more freedom and liberty. She has also saved up the money to pay for her schooling, and pay cash for it, so that is a really big accomplishment.

Stay tuned for more. The Winter is still upon us, and the Spring doesn't hit until the end of April or the first part of May. Oh yeah, the high temp for today is 10!

More later...