Success Warrior: The Blog That Embraces ADHD

No Health Check This Year

Tia came home for lunch and announced that our yearly health check for our health insurance has been canceled.  Each year, we get our blood pressure, weight, cholesterol, and some other things checked.  If everything falls into the healthy range, we get a discount off the monthly premium.  If something is out of line, we can still get the discount if we work with a health coach to correct the problem.  It was a savings of about $37 a month per person so by taking care of ourselves we were saving about $75 a month.

Were.

You see, along with all other great money saving tactics that are quickly becoming our new and improved health care "solution", Tia's insurance company is doing away with the program.  There isn't going to be any discount for healthy people.  I suppose that once it's a law that you can't drop the insurance, there's no point in trying to do things to keep the healthy people in your system.  It's not like we'll be able to drop the insurance just because it's too expensive. 

So far in the last two months, her insurance company has raised the premium, raised the deductible, and now gotten rid of the healthy incentive program.  I don't know if I can afford to have the government make my health insurance any more affordable. 

This has been the most interesting part the new health insurance bill to me.  The cost is going to go up and people are going to be forced to participate, whether they can afford it or not, or they face the threat of a fine (where will that money come from?).  The government is going to chip in and help people who can't afford it (where will that money come from?).  How will they decide who can afford the premiums?  I'll bet that a lot of people end up breaking this law.

Another interesting aspect is that there will probably be a battle down the road between the government and the insurance companies.  I think the insurance companies are being lured into a trap blinding by their greed or arrogant in their belief to control the congressional puppets.  Whether or not there is a public option at the outset, there will be one eventually.  Costs are going to go up and people are going to demand that the government fix it.  This will lead to a public option.  It won't work of course and it will require further laws to try to fix it and eventually the insurance companies will have to become part of the government under a single payer solution.

I'm sure they realize this going into the deal and it's going to be interesting to see how it all plays out.   

For now, there won't be much for us to do but grit our teeth and hang on for the ride.  

It's too bad our system is so corrupt.  We aren't even allowed to ask the right questions in order to get to the right answers.  Our saintly politicians are asking themselves how they can get everyone in the country access to health insurance (while increasing profits for some parts of the sector and not decreasing profits for other parts).  

If, instead, we were allowed to ask how we can make health care more affordable, things would be different.  Unfortunately, we know many of the answers and they would all hurt the bottom lines of the biggest lobbying factions in DC.  This obviously can't be allowed.

If we followed a whole host of good decisions (like removing restrictions on the number of medical colleges, allowing people lower on the medical scale (PA, RN, etc) to perform more functions, got rid of the FDA, lifted prescription monopolies, capped lawsuits, and on and on), we could probably reduce medical costs to 10% of what they are now.  

There is a hospital in India that is doing heart surgery at a cost that is 10% of what it is in America so it's possible.

Can you imagine that?  What if a doctor visit was the equivalent of today's copay?  How many people could afford to go to the doctor?  You wouldn't have to put a gun to peoples' heads and make them pay $15,000 a year for insurance while subsidizing the people that don't have that kind of money.  Just about anyone would be able to afford medical care and how much cheaper would it be to subsidize the people that couldn't afford it?

If insurance premiums were $1,500 a year instead of $15,000, do you think we would see a reversal in the trend of businesses dropping insurance?  Many companies would probably pick up the entire tab as a perk for their employees.  Self employed people would be able to afford coverage.

It would be such a different world and this whole debate that's going on now would be moot.  Instead we have to deal with government enforced corporatism.  It will all change someday though.  We just have to let enough people feel enough pain.  The pain of not changing has to outweigh the fear of changing.  I think our government is up to the task though, don't you?

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Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

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I Find Myself Oddly Optimistic

Not about me or my life.  I'm always personally optimistic.  That's just the way I am. 

No, this morning, I find myself optimistic for the human race.  I believe that we can transform ourselves and dare I say it, even in my lifetime.  That might be too optimistic but if you're going to be optimistic, you might as well go all the way.  There is nothing harmed in believing in the best.

The fact that people with the same beliefs can connect around the globe via the Internets is magical.  Geographically, I would be isolated but with the social web, connections become possible.  Education and support is just a click away (and it's that way for everyone - it's just a matter of time). 

It's not that I'm completely oblivious to the reality of the situation.  People have been well trained to believe in governments, religions, and corporations.  These illusory institutions derive all of their power from the belief of the people.  The bailouts for businesses "too big to fail" was nothing more than the audience clapping to keep Tinkerbell alive after she swallowed the poison.  We used fake fiat "money" to bail out make-believe entities to prop up the phantasm we call the national economy.  In reality, it was all done to keep the power in the hands of the elite and keep the rest of us subjugated for a while longer.  The great thing about the bailouts and stimulus and letting Goldman Sachs openly run the country is that it signals a change is coming.  The curtain is being pulled back and we get to see the sorry excuse of a wizard who really knows absolutely nothing about what to do and is struggling to maintain control in any way possible.  The bad news that I've pointed out is that one of those ways is going to be an increase in the overt use of force.  That curtain will be pulled back as well.  Now, every attempt is made to keep the government force as something under the surface that isn't talked about.  Politicians never talk about it and people have been trained to ignore it.  The coercion is just "normal".

As the system continues to break down, the thin, opaque veil covering the government's guns is going to be pulled aside to reveal what was there all along but held in reserve as long as the tax-slaves did what they were told to do.  When the bribery of the people begins to fail, as taxes rise, as laws become even more restrictive, as the Constitution is torn into smaller bits, people are going to become harder to control.  They are going to demand things for themselves.  This, of course, is going to take away money from those in power.  They have built a world based on false scarcity in order to be in the "haves" while creating a system where everyone else is a "have not" but if they work hard enough, they too can have the American Dream.  An elusive and obscure thing, which probably general translates into having money.

While the struggle between freedom and oppression continues, it gives us time and the forum to point to other answers.  People are going to be looking for answers.  Answers that politics, religion, and corporations can't answer because they only have two guiding principles: money and control over large groups of people (which leads to more money, of course).  None of them can give any credence to freedom or to the inherent beauty and connectedness of people.  They have to create a world that is divided.  Divided by social class, by made-up geographical boundaries ("These are my tax-slaves, go get your own!), by different gods or different interpretations of the same gods, by laws, and any other way that they can.  We cannot be allowed to see that we are all part of the same one-ness and that we could create so much good if we stopped paying heed to the people ruling over us.

When (and at this point, it's "when" - which plays a big role in my optimism) people spread the word and start to come together in understanding that we don't need some rich guy in a big white building telling us how to live, we are going to start into the next level of our evolution as a race.  We will move toward being civilized.  What we are told as being "civilization" today is anything but civilized.  We can't go around killing hundreds of thousands of people based on politics, religion, or corporations and really, truly believe that we are civilized.  Civilized people don't kill people for money or for land or for disagreeing.  Our rulers are not civilized and away from the cameras, they probably don't even pretend to be.  They live the high life and plan their next move in keeping the people subjugated and work every angle so that the people do it with the least amount of visible coercion.

Meanwhile, the masses, who have been trained that obedience to the law is the highest ethical principle possible, do what they're told but now they are starting to look around more.  Something isn't right.  Where does it end?  Where do the privacy violations end?  Where do the Constitutional violations end?  How high can taxes go?  Is there ever going to be a point where the people in power have enough?

The answer is no and more and more people are coming to this understanding.  There is no static area in the control of people.  If you don't continue to exert more control on people, the people will take more control for themselves.  This is completely unacceptable to the ruling elite.  The whole system is a fraud.  The elite know this and they have to protect it.  If the number of people who realize the truth gets to a critical mass (and some say that number is between 5-20% of the people), the system will completely unravel and the "haves" who really don't "have" anything (when you consider that our money is nothing more than glorified Monopoly money) other than the control of the people will find themselves not only losing what they do have but facing the potential of facing the wrath of an awakened people.

I have seen this on a much smaller scale with people who figure out that they have been lied to all their lives by the religion that they were brainwashed into believing.  When they figure it out, they lash out.  Sometimes in destructive ways, sometimes in self-destructive ways, sometimes falling into a deep depression, and all of this over the loss of a belief system.

When you take away a belief system and add the realization that 50% of your money has been taken from you for your entire life to support the elite in outrageous style of gross opulence, people might be more than a bit peeved and might tend toward the destructive side rather than the self-destructive side (although, physically battling against the elite could be classified as both). 

My goal, before all of this happens, is to spread the word as much as possible that we can create a peaceful transition.  We have the technology to live in a civilized world but where no one needs to die because of starvation or the lack of drinkable water.  We can do that today if we choose, if we quit letting the elite choose who will live and die.  It's within our power to come together and move our race to the next level.

It all begins when people stop clapping to save the fictional fairy called the government.  That is our first step toward freedom.  We need to distance ourselves as much as possible from that particular evil.  It will destroy itself in time (all governments do) and we can speed it up by not giving it any support other than what's taken from us by force and by teaching people about the possibilities that we can achieve if we are free.  The government is not real.  It exists in the minds of the people.  When they stop believing, it will go away.

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

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I'm Back Home

 
One for the ladies.

What a nice holiday I've had.  Most people might not think much of it but for me, it has been great.

It started with my birthday on Wednesday.  Plenty of birthday wishes from all my Facebook friends, a new football jersey from Rick, a couple of new books from Lynette, a couple pair of new Levis (much needed) from Tia (plus I got to pick lunch), and a new UnderArmour shirt bought with money from my mom and dad.  All of that was before noon.

We dropped Trey off at my brother's house and went to Salt Lake for sushi at the Ginza.  It was very close to the arena where TSO was going to be playing.  Tia wasn't much of a sushi person before this but had said months ago that she would go for my birthday.  The restaurant was two blocks away from the concert so I took her up on it.  She has changed her mind on sushi now so we'll be trying it again in Ogden in the next couple of months.

Milan and Rhonda had arrived a few minutes before us.  Ron, Lisa, and Brian, arrived after the food had arrived but they ate earlier so they were just stopping in for the company and some drinks.  This was the first time that we had met Rhonda.  We hit it off famously even though we couldn't get Milan to shut up.  He's such a chatty Cathy but we were able to talk around him.  Lisa and I managed to get everyone laughing and I couldn't believe that it was time to go to the concert so soon.  I'm so glad that I had planned for a couple of hours of visiting.  When I planned it, I was worried that it was too much time because, in truth, Milan is very quiet but as it turned out, it wasn't near enough time.

We walked to the concert and took our seats on the second row, dead center.  Awesomely placed.  Rhonda said that we had played it up so much that there was a good chance that the concert wouldn't live up to expectations.  Honestly, as good as I feel I am with words, I don't think that there is an adequate way to describe a TSO concert.  Words fail.  You have to go to understand what it's all about. 

We heard one of their songs played on the radio as we drove to dinner and it was a pleasant reminder of what we had just experienced but it was like listening to an old scratchy 45 compared to being on the second row during a live performance.

Tia, Rhonda, Milan, and I stopped at Wingers on the way to pick up Trey for a quick bite to eat.  Tia, Trey, and I had a lot more driving to do that night and we figured that Trey had dinner already so this gave us a great excuse to spend a few more minutes with Rhonda and Milan.  Rhonda asked where we planned on settling down in the future.  I mentioned that we didn't know but listed off some places we were considering.  Rhonda asked why New Hampshire was on our list.  There were several reasons but one of which I listed off was the Free State Project.  Rhonda nodded as if she knew what I was talking about and it turned out that she did understand what I was talking about.  Huzzah!  We, again, ran out of time way too soon.  We made plans to get together soon and we'll have to see what we can work out.

We dropped them off at Milan's and then went to pick up Trey.  We drove south for about 3 hours and stopped for the night in Beaver (heh, heh, he said beaver, heh, heh).  It was midnight and from there, we were going to be leaving the freeway and even though we could probably find our way, we would be waking people up at 2 am by our arrival so we caught some sleep and continued our trip in the morning.

We were staying in this beautiful house by Zion's National Park.  Visit my Facebook page (link at the bottom of this post) to see the pics.  We went climbing up a mountain on RZRs, which are like 4-wheelers except that you sit in a seat and have a steering wheel.  When we came back, I fell asleep watching the Dallas/Oakland game.  The day before had been quite a day and it caught up to me while watching the blowout of a game.  Then it was turkey time.  I felt like I ate too much but I didn't really eat that much.  I drank more pop in three days than I drank in the previous 30 days so that's probably what the weird feeling was.

Speaking of weird feelings, where we went was way out in BFE, where even few radio waves dare to go.  The one that we were able to connect to was playing this song when I found it.  I had Tia cracking up because after the first go 'round, I was singing along to the chorus.

This song is so spot on for the genre and I had a great time singing along.

For two whole days, I did absolutely no homework.  It wasn't something that could last but those two days off were pure bliss.  Even the day that I decided I better do *something* wasn't too terrible.  During different parts of the day, I found myself on an extremely comfy couch in front of the fireplace in a room that had windows for walls and I read "The Last Picture Show" by Larry McMurtry.  I don't mean that I read a bit.  I mean I read the entire book.  For those of you that haven't read it, I'll sum it up quickly for you.  Teenagers have sex (with each other, alone, and with cows), the end. 

Today, no homework has been done because there has been no time.  We stopped on the way home and picked up a Christmas tree.  If you weren't reading this blog a year ago, let me fill you in.  Last year, Trey somehow managed to break the tree (really, the parts that held the tree up) so that we had to undecorate the tree, throw it away, buy a real tree quickly, redecorate it, and call it good.  Trey says he doesn't remember the incident, which is good but at the time he did it, he felt badly enough that he drew me a picture and wrote me and apology for ruining the tree.  It was so cute that it was impossible to be mad at him.  That tree had plastic parts for the stand.  This year, one of the criteria for our purchase was a metal stand. 

We made it home in the early evening, which is wonderful.  We hate getting home for a trip super-late at night, when you just dump all the stuff from the car into the living room and go to bed and then wake up to the disaster of the unloading in the morning.  We have completely unpacked, I've gotten tons of laundry done, Tia has set up the tree, Trey has had some dinner, and now he's in bed and I'm typing up this blog post.

We're going to decorate the tree tomorrow.  I have the day off so I'll help and then it will be time to jump into homework to make up for taking three days off.  Tia and I are hoping to watch a DVD tomorrow night after Trey goes to sleep, The Ugly Truth, some kind of chick-flick or something.  I have five days to show her that my lack of attention to her is solely based on college.  My goal is to prove that it is exactly the reason and I will never take such a heavy credit-load ever again.  College has taken up my entire life this semester.

I also have Gandhi and Star Trek from Netflix waiting for me this week. 

Even with the homework as we close in on the end of the semester, I am looking forward to this week.

I'm sure that I'm leaving something out but consider yourselves mostly caught up.

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook 

My Happy Days

Yesterday was a great day.

I went to lunch with a hot redhead and some friends.  I made a new friend, Rhonda.  We had wine and sushi and lots of laughs.  My unfriend Lisa was good for plenty of humor.

We met earlier enough that we could sit and visit for a couple of hours before walking to the arena for the Trans-Siberian Orchestra concert.

We were dead center on row 2 for another kick-ass concert.  They get better every year.  The violinists this year were great!

We went out for a quick bite to eat after the concert where my new friend and I dominated the conversation because she speaks Libertarian.  We had to cut the conversation short before we solved all of the country's problems but we're going to get together again.

Then we started our trip toward southern Utah.

This morning, we found ourselves on the outskirts of Zion's National Park for a family Thanksgiving.  We've been riding four-wheelers, I've taken lots of pics (which will have to wait until I get home to download), had a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner, fell asleep and missed Oakland's only touchdown, and had a piece of pie. 

No homework for two days in a row.  Yay!

I have more to say but I don't enjoy typing on the laptop so I'm going to cut this short.  I hope that everyone is having a great holiday with tasty food and great friends.

Last Night's Episode of V

By "last night's" I actually mean "tonight's" because this blog post is on a delayed release but by "tonight's", I mean the episode that was on my DVR and I have no actual idea of when it was actually broadcast.  Is that in any way clear?  How about, "The Most Recent Episode of V" as long as one hasn't aired between when I wrote this blog post and when I set it to be released.

Not coincidentally, when this blog post releases, it will be my birthday and I will be sitting on row 2 as the Trans-Siberian Orchestra starts their most-kick-ass concert ever.  I will have eaten a bit at a sushi place (that I've never tried but that's not important), shared some wine with some great friends, spent the first day of my vacation not doing a bit of homework at all, and will be quite content and excited as the lights dim and then flash brilliantly (if you've ever seen a TSO concert, you know what I'm talking about).  I'll be sitting next to my beautiful wife as we celebrate one of *our* traditions.  We see TSO every single year and this year we'll be doing it on row two with some great friends.  I have a blog post wandering around my mind about my wife but for now, let me just say that I would not be close to the man that I am without her.  She gives me the strength and support to just be me, and if you know me, that's saying a great deal.

As you read this, I will be in one of those places and times that makes life worth living.

Anyway, the episode of V.

The V start their universal health care and it's really cool except that there are long waiting times.  If you are connected, you can skip to the front of the line.  Being connected requires that you prove useful for the evil plans of the invaders.

In the show, the flu vaccine is poisonous and the good guys blow it up.

That's all I have to say about that for now.  It was the last episode for a couple of months. 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I'd like to get back to the concert that TSO is putting on for my birthday.  Awfully kind of them, don't you think?

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook 

What Did I Learn?

 
I had the last meeting of one of my classes today.  We had to answer the question: what did we learn from spending a day with a teacher?

I learned that I will not be teaching high school.

It goes against my personality and my values.

That's all for tonight.  We're packing for our trip tomorrow. 

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook 

And If I Don't Agree?

Democrats are considering a 1% tax on everyone that makes between $30k-150k a year to help pay for the ongoing and escalating war in Afghanistan. 

"I have a great idea.  Let's tax the middle class to fund a war that they don't want to be involved in."

"Sounds good to me."

Obviously, if you disagree, umm, too bad.

This is one of the things that has lead me to Voluntaryism.  Even if this was a Democracy and the majority of the people believed in destroying other nations to take advantage of their location or resources, I would be against it.  If I had a choice, I would not fund it.  Now they are thinking about putting a gun to my head and taking another 1% for something that I don't want.  Then they'll go out and kill people in the name of America (of which, I am a part). 

Obviously, a better system would be to allow people that want to fund murder, let them but don't force me to fund murder.  

The problem that our rulers would have with that is that at least 60% of Americans would opt out of funding wars and the other 40% wouldn't be able to make up the difference.  The wars would end.  If this was a Voluntary society, there would be no war in Iraq.  Hell, if this was a Democracy, there would be no war in Iraq.

If the rulers decide to take more in taxes (and don't forget that taxes are going to be raised for health care too and for what ever else the rulers want to buy), I'll pay of course.  Protection money.  I'm not going to let them take away my house or throw me in jail.  I'd rather pay the protection money than have the IRS try to ruin life for me and my family. 

Luckily for us, we live pretty frugally and don't have any debt aside from a mortgage.  After our next move, we're going to pay off our mortgage as quickly as possible.  We want to get into the best position that we can. 

The next few years are probably going to be eye opening for a lot of people.  Our government is unsustainable but it's going to try hard to stay alive and it's going to have to destroy a lot of lives in the effort.  Sacrifices will have to made on the alter to appease the corporate gods.  Human sacrifices.  People are going to die, probably lots of them.  It's my goal to not have my family be numbered amongst them.

Some 20+ states are going to be raising unemployment taxes on businesses this year, some as high as 9 times more from last year.  When those taxes hit businesses, more people are going to lose their jobs.   I don't think people understand the government's magic money tree.  Unemployment benefits are great.  It's so nice that the government just hands out this free money.  How wonderful.  How kind.  Since the states lowered unemployment taxes during the good years, there wasn't enough to deal with the bad years and that money has to be made up somehow, while still in the bad years.  Obviously raising taxes on businesses is just going to mean more lost jobs.  That will raise the need for unemployment funds and, well, I'm sure you have it figured out.

I'm sure that you have also heard about the University of California raising tuition rates by 32% because they don't have funding anymore.  Good gawd!  People will either be blocked out of the system or have to incur that much more debt trying to get some kind of education.  We have a Prussian school system whose educational focus (the main focus, of course, is to teach blind obedience - or else, again, there would be no wars) is to prepare students for college, which they won't be able to afford, even if the failing system somehow manages to get them to pass the SAT.

Speaking of debt, here's a good question.  If the Federal Reserve is the only entity allowed to create money and all the money that it creates is lent out and then has to be repaid with interest, where does the interest come from?  If they only give out the principal and they are the only ones that can create money, where does the interest come from? 

If more people understood how the Fed worked, they would absolutely freak.  We are tax slaves and we can never, ever be free because there is no way to ever pay off the interest.  It will just keep building.  Inflation will continue to rise.  Debt will continue to rise.  Taxes will continue to rise.

Until it all gets to the breaking point.

Do you think we have enough troops to continue the illegal occupation of Iraq, surge in Afghanistan, start a war with Iran, and suppress all insurrections at home?  Seems like something is going to have to break.

Back to my question.  And if I disagree with the wars and their funding?

For now, all I can do is bide my time, protect my family, and continue to point out what's happening.  Government only exists with the consent of the governed.  When enough people stop believing in the most pervasive religion in America, we can move on to real answers, and peace.

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook 

7th Day; 7 Words

 

Make sure you're on the memorable list.

 

Leave your seven words in the comments.

Homework Help: Name the Artist

Need some serious help here.  Name the artist that belongs to each painting.

Californication

Short one today because I have to read and comment on Thoreau and Douglass today before going to work.

California is in a tough, tough spot financially.  Isn't everybody?  Anyway, Democrats want to raise taxes and Republicans want to reduce spending and there's a battle going on where no matter what happens, the people of California will end up losing. 

San Francisco is trying to figure out how to get by with reduced police and fire departments.  Something that hasn't happened yet but they are looking at it.

Statewide, they are trying to figure out what else can be cut from their failing school system and yet continue to get Federal money.

University of California is raising tuition by 32% to try to cover it's shortfall, which will likely make college unaffordable to a great many people.  Students are protesting and being arrested for protesting.

Finances have gotten so bad that the state was looking into the constitutionality of claiming bankruptcy or reverting back to being a federal territory.

California was able to get to the high priority stuff though.  They are banning the highest quality TVs from being sold in the state.  Out of work cops, firefighters, school teachers, and students will have to buy their TVs online now or spend their newly-found free time watching inferior sets.

***

Remember, I'm going to be funding my return to college by being an affiliate of BeachBody.com products so please visit the site and make a purchase, no matter how small.  Insanity has been released so go check it out.

Feel free to "friend" me on Facebook