Monday, September 30, 2013

+13% Part D increase for 2013

The price of my Medicare Part D prescription drug plan from United Health Care starting in January, 2014, has an effective increase of 13%. My actual cost will actually be even more as the “plan costs” passed on from the pharmaceutical company charges also increase. The monthly plan charge has increased 6%; the one-month quantity has decreased from 31 days to 30, +3%; and I reach the full pay tier $120 dollars sooner, +4%.

Wednesday, September 25, 2013

A restricted number displaying on Caller ID as Anonymous called..

Jul-06 01:46 PM - Saturday
Jul-30 11:00 AM - Tuesday
Aug-06 10:36 AM - Tuesday
Aug-22 10:06 AM - Thursday
Aug-24 03:00 PM  - Saturday
Aug-31 04:50 PM - Saturday
Sep-01 03:25 PM - Sunday
Sep-02 11:42 AM - Holiday
Sep-03 11:10 AM
Sep-03 04:30 PM
Sep-04 08:53 AM
Sep-04 06:15 PM
Sep-05 06:05 PM
Sep-06 09:49 AM - Friday
Sep-06 06:31 PM -
Sep-07 09:09 AM - Saturday
Sep-12 06:50 PM - Thursday

 It's actually interesting and not random ... different days, times, work days, ...  18 tries.  I wonder what it's like to program an auto-dialer ...
 

Wednesday, September 11, 2013

On blogging

The opportunity to reach more and different people has made me more willing to write, and more careful – I usually think, craft, revise before posting, which also helps me to shape and critique my own opinion.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Highway One - no widening

Highway 1 express bus connecting Watsonville and Santa Cruz with siren-like lane priority and shuttle/mini/taxi on demand last mile service at the few stops. Parking at access points.  Widening will be an expensive short-term fix and the traffic will only increase to fill and clog the new lanes.

No bombs; no boots.

Real leadership moves the world towards warm-heartedness and
civility. 

Instead of using fear and muscle, the US could encourage the UN to sanction with shunning.

Saturday, August 3, 2013

Becoming a zealot

What I like to do is make an argument clear and incisive and simple.
         
Parity has me beat.  While it seems to me obvious that it is not at all equal for my insurance to pay out for treatments I refuse, I am not unable to communicate that simply and easily and well enough to get an "A Ha" of comprehension.
         
Every time I befuddle and don't convince, my formulation of the issue gets more strident.
         
When simple language doesn't convince, I begin to speak in headlines:

          Board approves more dollars for force over user objection.

         
When I can't adequately rally my peers I speak in bolder terms:
         
          Civil rights denied. 
         
          Parity discriminates.
         
And I watch this in myself and see the beginnings of zealotry. 
         
And I wonder is this how it starts.  When rational discourse doesn't work, and when one believes strongly in a cause, does one then turn to the irrational, the yellow journalism and shrill language of a DJ Jaffe, the tyranny of the worst case that AMI uses so effectively.  Are AMI arguments so irrational and emotional and skewed because those families can't convince anyone that they are indeed innocent and their kids are indeed diseased.  So they turn to emotional evangelizing, and at that they are effective.  But their arguments are intellectually transparent.  Why are they so easily able to fool the legislators.  What need are they filling?

1997
         
         

Monday, June 10, 2013

Rights and Duties

Humans have rights; states have responsibilities. If humans had responsibilities, states could use non-performance to deprive citizens of rights. If states had rights protection could confiscation.