patrick stephens at psjs.net

I’m angry.

It’s anger that sits in the gut like spoiled milk.  Fermenting, curdling, and nauseating.

The world will not end because of an act of Congress. But both I and my children–and you and your children–have been made poorer.

I’ve worked hard and consider myself lucky, but I’m not wealthy. I have health insurance. As it happens, I have excellent insurance. Last night’s bill will impose a surtax on that insurance that will effectively double my annual tax bill. I’ve been careful and prudent and I am being punished and penalized. That 40% tax is simply, plainly unaffordable. I’ll have to reduce my insurance.

Of course there are others who will profit from this mess. But why, I ask, am I supposed to cheer this nakedly partisan, political decision as a triumph for social justice? Am I to understand that I had too much insurance? Was I too careful? Too prudent? Too responsible?

Why is it that those whose wealth far exceeds mine are so comfortable taking my money and making decisions about my family’s health?

What gives them the right?

Am I to understand that we have so perverted the ideals of the republic that we are to suppose that preferential treatment for Florida residents, special money to Kansas, and a last-minute, late-night $700,000 kickback are elements of social justice? I am to understand that because they could get the legislation passed that therefore it must have been right?

Universal insurance. Through a mandate. They’ve insured everyone because they’ve made it criminal to be uninsured.

Let’s be clear about this: if you do not buy health insurance you will be fined. If you do not pay the fine, you will go to prison.

If you buy too much health insurance, you will be fined. If you do not pay the fine, you will go to prison.

And this, this… monstrosity, this affront to liberty masquerades as justice?

Please don’t tell me that this is the “price of freedom” or other such nonsense. The price of freedom is not compulsion. War is not peace. Slavery is not freedom.

And please, please don’t tell me that this a recognition of a basic human right. We don’t recognize rights by criminalizing their exercise.

Politics, Uncategorized heath care reform

My son’s iPod won’t sync with the computer anymore. It works fine when disconnected, but iTunes won’t recognize the device. This sucks mostly because Apple’s support is among the worst in the industry.

To correct the problem (iTunes not recognizing the iPod) the The Apple website has such helpful suggestions as “restore the origial software on the iPod by…” yes, you guessed it, applying the update to the iPod from within iTunes. But iTunes doesn’t recognize the iPod, so the solution is to have iTunes recognize the iPod… … Apple brilliance strikes again.

As for tech support, Apple will only talk to me if I pay them $30. That’s not a charge to fix the problem, that’s the cost for the phone call.

Since the device otherwise works and since it will accept a charge through, it appears that the problem is a software problem. A software problem that, because it’s Apple, can only solved by replacing the hardware. That kind of idiotic hardware/software lock in is, of course, a feature to the kind folks at Apple, not a bug.

Uncategorized Apple

At Yahoo News.

The Commander of the American Legion is upset because the Obama administration wants to push some VA health care costs into the private sector, essentially billing combat wounded veterans for the cost of their care.

Here, in case anyone is curious, are Obama’s campaign promises regarding Veteran care.

I realize that Obama needs to try and cut spending where he can (although he found money to subsidize tattoo removal), and I’m all for saving money and cutting spending… but this seems an odd place to start.

When you’re quadrupling the federal deficit it seems odd to then insist that combat veterans pay for their medical care. Of all the things the federal govt. spends its money on, medical care for combat wounded veterans seems the most reasonable.

Uncategorized