The Serpent in Our Eden
Takes Many Guises
Because of His Lurking, Hissing Presence, Our Eden Is No Longer a Garden.
It Has Become a Jungle.
Tuesday, May 16, 2017
38 comments:
IF YOU DON'T UNDERSTAND THE FOLLOWING, YOU DON'T BELONG HERE, SO KINDLY GET OUT AND STAY OUT.
We welcome Conversation
But without Vituperation.
If your aim is Vilification ––
Other forms of Denigration ––
Unfounded Accusation --
Determined Obfuscation ––
Alienation with Self-Justification ––
We WILL use COMMENT ERADICATION.
IN ADDITION
Gratuitous Displays of Extraneous Knowledge Offered Not To Shed Light Or Enhance the Discussion, But For The Primary Purpose Of Giving An Impression Of Superiority are obnoxiously SELF-AGGRANDIZING, and therefore, Subject to Removal at the Discretion of the Censor-in-Residence.
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
LOL! Ramirez must never have known a day without good insurance. It sure as hell isn't some Garden of Eden out there. When all is said and done, my wife and I may not even have a roof over our heads after my health problem. It's horrifying, almost worse than the disease. I worry more about our financial future than I do about my health. She'd have been better off, financially, if I died.
ReplyDeleteJMJ
Good morning, Jersey! I m really sorry to see you talking this way; it's not like you so i have to assume things must be pretty bad.
DeleteThs number flashed across the TV screen last night:
1-800-662-4633
It's a law firm called BINDER & BINDER. They offer a free consultation over the telephone. They specialize in getting money from Social Security to help people in dire straits.
There are literally DOZENS of law firms who claim to do this. Just make sure tyou get one who will agree to work on a CONTINGENCY basis. [In case you don't already know it that means you pay nothing unless they win your case.]
Type this into Google:
Law Firms offering help in getting benefits from Social Security
Be sure to add your geographical location. You'll be amazed at what comes up.
I wish I had more to offer you at this terrible time, but see what you can dig up from this little bit of information.
As an old hand I can tell you the:
PERSISTENCE PAYS OFF.
Unfortunately our government is NOT anyone's friend, and never has been. In the last hundred years it has become little kore than a vicious, pretentious, hypocritical, self-serving entity interested only in preserving its power and perpetuating itself.
Welcome to "mortality", Jersey, and the fact that your federal "uncle" can't afford to keep you alive forever any more than you can.
Delete...and we are still under Obamacare!
DeleteI, too am very sorry and upset to hear your news. Why can't people see that government has destroyed the health care market?
Do you enjoy going to the DMV? Do you love the efficiency of the IRS and other government bureaucracies?
Do you really want a government as inefficient, incompetents and trillions in debt running your health care?
What leftists either do not realize –– or simply refuse to ADMIT –– is that GOVERNMENT has pathetically limited power to do ANYTHING helpful, constructive or enriching.
DeleteALL goverment can do is increase TAXATION while giving less and less in return for the money they EXTORT from us citizens.
Government's claim to be THE primary agent of unlimited eleemosynary power is utterly FALSE. Whenever Goverment "provides" something, it costs at least three times more than it would in a truly competitive, genuine free market society, which we, Alas! are not.
As the brilliant satirist, humorist, political sage, P.J. O'Rourke, said a good many years ago, "If you think medical care is too expensive NOW, just wait till it's FREE."
This does not mean we don't love you, Jersey, or that we have no desire to help, but –– and here's the really BITCHY part of Reality –– there are many dreadful problems and hideous challenges that are utterly beyond our power to ameliorate or control.
That said, I urge you once again to find a lawyer who will work on a CONTINGENCY basis to help you get as much of your own back as you possibly can from the Robber Bastards in Dee Cee.
Unfortunately, you have the distinct disadvantage of being WHITE, and of having WORKED for a LIVING all your life. If you were a typical BLACK BUM (third generation Welfare Recipient who never held a job_, a toothless Redneck living in a shack or with no running water or an ILLEGAL ALIEN dropping ANCHOR BBIES all over the place, the GOVERNMENT would be likely be BEGGING you on BENDED KNEE to TAKE the MONEY we taxpayers provide for murky purposes of which we mostly do not approve.
I know you don't want to believe in God, but there are times –– and situations –– where belief in God truly IS your ONLY hope.
I know for a fact that God has helped ME enormously, and seen me through many crises in a life that for too many years closely resembled a Soap Opera. ;-)
I hope we may talk soon.
Meanwhile, don't let the bastards get you down.
Thank you, FT.
DeleteI hired (on contingency) a good lawyer last month. He helped us when my wife almost died some years ago and his assistance was invaluable. He agreed to take my case. I just want to get back some of the income I lost from from this disease so I can make sure we don't lose the house.
I don't even blame the government - not totally, anyway - for the way they're treating me. After the recession, SS permanent and temporary disability claims went through the roof. Everyone who lost their jobs, who had a bad back or some other chronic condition they'd been walking around and working with anyway, suddenly flooded the application rolls, desperate to get any kind of income. I don't blame them either. As well, many of the people who had chronic issues were able to deal with them when they had good jobs, take those jobs away, and chronic conditions that were otherwise no financial big deal suddenly became big deals as they had to pay out of empty pockets for the meds or treatments they needed. But the government has to at least try to weed out the fraud from the genuine, and this has caused serious back-logs, pretty much automatic denials on first applications and appeals, piles of auditing, etc.
That's why universal healthcare (again, not government-controls-everything healthcare, just everyone "covered," however we make it so) is so important. If people regularly see doctors and get preventative treatment and regular treatment for chronic issues, worse conditions down the line can be avoided. According to studies I've seen, America has the highest preventable death rates in the developed world.
Silver,
I've had great experiences with the DMV, and some not-so-great. Varies from state to state. Can't complain. The IRS has never been much of a problem for me. I had some issues in the past, when I was making a pretty good living, but was able to work them out pretty easily. I know they're very overwhelmed with their work too, but the GOP refuses to fund them as needed (it's easy to beat up on the "tax man"). And Medicare works far better than any private insurance company (though they work with them too).
No one I know wants the government "running your healthcare." We just one one pool of payers, so everyone is covered. You can use whatever private/public/for-profit/non-profit systems to make things run. You could even do it in such a way the government has really nothing to do with it but dispersing the money, while the private sector handles the rest. There are all sorts of systems. I don't know why conservatives have this very specific and particular picture in mind. I guess they're thinking "Medicare for all," which is what people like me have been saying for years, but even Medicare contracts out a lot. And they are far more efficient and competent than any private sector insurance company, which is why Obama put the hammer down on the private supplementals, as the whole point was to be more efficient, and they weren't.
FJ,
I don't know what to say abut that comment. I've paid thousands and thousands in taxes and insurance premiums over the years. All I'm asking for is what I paid for. But that comment? I really don't know what to say to you right now.
JMJ
You'll get exactly what you paid for. You're just discovering now that you haven't paid for "everything".
DeleteJMJ,
DeleteShe'd have been better off, financially, if I died.
Oh, man! I hope that you haven't said that to your wife.
Mr. AOW has said that same thing to me so many times. Very disheartening to hear those words from someone whom one loves!
I hope that you can get SSDI. It means a lot to have an income and feel as if one is contributing to the household.
My reminding Mr. AOW that his SSDI kept us afloat made a big difference in his feelings. Just sayin'.
I don't think I have, but I've suffered some crazy pain and had to zonked out and hospitalized a few times through this, so who knows what I've said! I hope I haven't, but I probably have. Ya' get down when you get hit like this. I am a very hard worker, strong and a little macho, so it's kinda extra hard on me. I know pride is bad and all, but we all need a little.
DeleteWe worked hard (I'm assuming quite assuredly in Mr AOW's case), we paid our taxes, we paid our premiums. You can never be sure when you're going to get sick, when you're up or down on your luck, the timing and order of things. "Insurance" is a way of coping with that uncertainty, it is an intrinsically communal construct, and it seems to me we should all be covered and all pay into it just like we do for SS and Medicare (only we should all be paying, instead of capping the tax after the first 127K of income). And this "one year" thing with SSDI is kinda sick. If I was some schmuck laid off for being a schmuck, or if I hurt myself at work, or if I lived in pretty much any other developed nation on the planet, I'd have a temporary income to survive with right now. But no, I get some out-of-the-blue weird cancer, and I literally have to put myself - and my very ill wife - in poverty just to get treatment. It's just immoral. It has damaged more as a person than the cancer and the injuries combined.
As I've oft said, I'm EXTREMELY LUCKY to have good friends and family, and I truly believe I'm going to get though this and get back to work and things will be alright, thanks to them, just as Mr AOW has you (I couldn't imagine what would happen to the foolish burglar who ever tried to mess with your house! LOL!). But I can't imagine what it must be like for those not so lucky.
JMJ
FT, we can soon. I've just started getting epidurals, and it seems to be working. I've gone from completely down a month or so there, to something much closer to functional. Damned surgeries till have to wait though. Even the epidurals are risky.
DeleteJMJ
JMJ,
DeleteI have a few questions:
1. Is there a limit as to how many epidurals you are allowed to have?
2. Why the wait for the surgeries?
3. I don't understand what you mean by this "one year" thing with SSDI.
----------------
From what I understand, pain is not considered a disability by the SSA. WTH? My pain was so bad for months that I could not work at all. Even now, I'm still in search of a diagnosis that will explain this horrific pain.
---------------
If I was some schmuck laid off for being a schmuck, or if I hurt myself at work, or if I lived in pretty much any other developed nation on the planet, I'd have a temporary income to survive with right now.
I know what you mean. If one has "paid his dues" (taxes, premiums, etc.) I have a hard time understanding why there isn't a social safety net for those in your situation -- especially in light of your wife being ill, too?
If Mr. AOW and I had had a mortgage, we'd have gone under within a year of his having that stroke.
JFK's Ghost said
Delete"LIFE IS NOT FAIR."
Don't ask why. There is no answer. It's just they way things are, and always will be.
The Town Crier said
ReplyDelete"US" by Paul Genova
(Mr. Paul Genova has been President and Chief Operating Officer of Wireless Telecom Group Inc. since June 30, 2016.
I haven't said too much about this election since the start...but this is how I feel....
I'm noticing that a lot of people aren't graciously accepting the fact that their candidate lost
In fact you seem to be posting even more hateful things about those who voted for Trump.
Some are apparently "triggered" because they are posting how "sick" you feel about the results.
How did this happen you ask? Well here is how it happened!
You created "us" when you attacked our freedom of speech.
You created "us" when you attacked our right to bear arms.
You created "us" when you attacked our Christian beliefs.
You created "us" when you constantly referred to us as racists.
You created "us" when you constantly called us xenophobic.
You created "us" when you told us to get on board or get out of the way.
You created "us" when you attacked our flag
You created "us" when you forcibly took God out of our schools.
You created "us" when you confused women's rights with feminism.
You created "us" when you began to discredit masculinity.
You created "us" when you decided to "educate"our children to develo into soft, self-indulgent, weak-minded, self-righteous nitwits.
You created "us" when you decided to vote for progressive ideals.
You created "us" when you attacked our traditions, clerisyed cstoms and long-established way of life.
You created "us" when you schemed to expand the power of our central government to reach epic –– truly MONSTROUS –– proportions.
You created "us" The Silent Majority
You created "us" when you began condining the murder of innocent law enforcement officers and legitimate American citizens by strident, violence-prone, out-of-control minorities, and illegal aliens..
You created "us" when you lied and said we could keep our insurance plans and our doctors.
You created "us" when you encouraged industry to send our jobs overseas, because of your ever=espnding punitive taxation.
You created "us" when you tooked the ter way and encouraged scum like Colin Kaepernick to a knee during our National Anthem.
You created "us" when you forced us to buy INADEQUATE health care many of us could not afford and then penalized us for not participating.
And we became fed up, so we pushed back and spoke up.
And we did it with ballots, not bullets.
With ballots, not riots.
With ballots, not looting.
With ballots, not blocking traffic.
With ballots, not fires, except the one you started inside of "us."
"YOU" created "US".
It really is just that simple.
No, we didn't create you. You were simply distracted by stupid non-issues instead of paying attention to what really matters and what's really happening on the ground out there in the real world. You watched too much FOX, listened to too many angry talking heads on the AM radio, and you came to believe that somehow you were under some kind of assault from a "Left" that hasn't had majority power in this country in over a generation.
DeleteThe only thing "simple" here is your thinking. Instead of focusing on healthcare, education, jobs, the physical and institutional infrastructure of the country, Milton Friedman economics that have caused massive debts and deficits at every level from the personal on up to the federal, the police and military states run amok, you have been distracted by complete BS for morons. Grow up.
JMJ
Always realize, 90% of the time, the left has nothing but a sun narrative. Your job is to find the truth, and hammer them with it! They will run of course, then come back with their new story. Makes no difference! You win a few more times at the ballot box, and change a few RINO'S to conservatives or libertarians while in the process, the left is DONE! DOA for those of you on the left-)
ReplyDeleteSo, Keep up monitoring their bull, and keep shoving it right back at them...
" ... Your job is to find the truth, and hammer them with it!"
DeleteThe "truth," believe it or not, is not the exclusive province of any one particular faction. Don't you mean "Hammer them with what YOU think is RIGHT?"
Also, ALL of us need to learn ince agains that "A soft answer turneth away wrath."
No one can fight a fire with GASOLINE.
We must learn to PERSUADE instead of trying to COERCE.
All the left has, a bunch of innuendo, hoaxes, lies, and bullshit. They push one, and when it is proven wrong, they jump to another. The Al Gore global Warming didn’t get to far, then came climate change!
ReplyDeleteThis is why they need the leftist media. They require someone with supposed credibility, to spread their bullshit with a straight face. Doubt me? Think of the gentle giant, that peaceful young man who wouldn’t harm a Fly (until he beat the hell out of that little Indian man at the Convenience store, . Now then..........how much press was given to the lefts narrative that he was gunned down, with his hands up? This narrative theoretically allowed Black Lives Matter bunch and the rest of the racist black groups, to set Ferguson on fire and. Burned down and looted business, after business, and the police were told to allow it.
Now then, when the truth came out, how much air time did that get? And what about those people, who were on tape, breaking the law for a phony narrative; a narrative created by those charming, and delightful, leftists! A narrative that was 100% bassackwards, and ruined a police officers career because of it, even though he did nothing wrong.
No offense, but to many people are silent on these issues. Your country is being controlled by a bunch of unelected officials who create false narratives so as they can govern as they wish. If they can't win at the ballot box, they create a narrative that is false, then demand action which is how their agenda goes forward, even as they lose election, after election. They use PRESSURE to force people to do their bidding while they hold no office, and when they do hold office, just run you over.
How dumb, are we? If you lose when you lose at the ballot box, and lose when you win at the ballot box, then why worry about being PC in hoping you keep winning by saying things that are not contentious? If you actually believe what you run on, you are allowing yourself to be manipulated; manipulated by the MINORITY of America. How stupid a position is that?!?!?! And in all reality........you are being manipulated not only by the minority, but also a smaller minority than you think, since at least 1/3 of them are ILLEGAL!
Republicans/conservatives on here, and out there, need to grow some gonads, honestly. Why do ANY OF US debate a false narrative in a thread? Explain that! Someone might read it?
Is it not better to create your own thread of truth, then answer a bald face lie in public? Instead of answering their nonsense, shouldn't you be laughing at them!
You know how when the left comes up with something, absolutely outrageous, and even a 5 year old knows they are lying like hell to create a narrative! And then, some Republican addresses their nonsense, and all you get on here is links, so and so addresses Trump may be from Mars, lol. Correct?
That is exactly why, you need to LAMBAST them, if you post in their thread. How can you argue with someone who creates facts out of thin air? Is it not better to create a lie, as many lefties have done, such as Republicans hate you if you are black or brown.
Republicans will take away your birth control.
Republicans want to throw Blacks, Muslims, and Mexicans in jail. Republicans hate you.
Republicans are homophobic. It’s always the SAME NARRATIVE, the same, almost verbatim! Nazis, racists, crazy, hated the poor.
Republicans HATE the poor, and love the rich. ETC.
The left can get very ugly when they lose, they will stop at nothing to get back into power. Right after the election the left wanted to challenge the states that could swing the electoral college their way, when that failed, they wanted to go to the Electoral College and argue why they should vote Clinton, then when that failed they went to the House to try to stop it there. Then when that failed tried to get him ruled incompetent so he would not be sworn in, now they want impeachment.They marched, Protested, Rioted, even resorted to wearing Pussy hats!
Concentrating almost exclusively on "THEIR" obvious flaws and failngs by restating them in minute, exhaustive, frankly STUPEFYING, detail does nothng to REPAIR the damages "they" have wrought. It only fans the flames of anger, contempt and derision which has NO CONSTRUCTIVE VALUE or reparative effect at ALL.
Delete"Be not overcome by Evil, but overcome Evil with good."
Admittedly that's a lot harder to do than merely reiterate a litany of complaints every chance you get, but POSITIVE THINKING is what we most desperately need.
Try to FORGET "THEM," and concentrate, instead, on digging deeply into your mind in hope of findung a creatve, cinstructive, HELPFUL idea that might move us forward.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteWe don't apprecuate ritualistic NAME-CALLING here, TOM. It's a frankly LOUSY substitute for honest, creative, hopefully constructive, THOUGHT.
DeleteThe extreme left wing base of the Democrat Party, you know, the loons who scream about Trump supporters as fascists while they assault Trump supporters, start fires and riot, demand blind opposition to anything Trump does. Are now on the loose yelling , scratching, and screaming that "Trump Gave Highly Classified Information" during his meeting with Russian officials!
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, If it's true that he did this, and I have no reason to take the Washington Post all that seriously, then he has the authority to do so.
All this story does is show how stupid the media and anti Trump people think he is and how stupid they really are.
The media is excepting rational people to believe that Trump is committing all of these crimes in broad daylight, and with the room filled with people and not even trying to cover it up. With all of these leakers in the White House Trump probably doesn't even let people know what he had for lunch/ This story is just too Stupid, stupid, stupid...to even try and deny! More Unnamed sources strikes again! Unnamed sources sure does get around!
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThe left is downright scarey. They should never be in power again.
ReplyDeleteRghtwing extremists can be every bit as frightening.
DeletePlease don't forget Theocracy (Mediaeval Catholicism, Islamism, Voodoo, etc.), Cannibalism, Communism, and Fascism are all branches of the SAME Evil Tree.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeletePLEASE DO NOT MAKE PERSONAL REMARKS ABOUT OTHER BLOGGERS. WE DON'T PERMIT THAT HERE. NOT ONLY IS IT NOT GOOD ETIQUETTE, IT'S A WASTE OF ENERGY.
DeleteSorry
DeleteIn March of 2011, the Russian security service sent a stark warning to the F.B.I., reporting that Tamerlan Tsarnaev was “a follower of radical Islam” who had “changed drastically since
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
DeleteWhat do Liberals look for in someone before voting for them?
ReplyDeleteRight for Abortion
Criminal Forgiveness
illegal's Rights
Gays and Lesbians Bathrooms
Welfare
Big government
Legalization of drugs
Pay attention and you will hear and see Liberals debate and fight for the aforementioned with passion and conviction. Ask yourself if you've ever heard or seen a Liberal champion for anything normal and or positive. I'll never understand how anyone with a 3rd grade education can't see things fundamentally wrong with the twisted ideologies from the Left.
We raise our children on advice such as; "hang with dogs, you'll get fleas".
We Republicans say these things to encourage our children to surround themselves with good influence...it's kind of a fundamental thing that good parenting includes.
Do Liberals tell their children; " Now Johnny, you go seek the weirdest, least productive, drug using illegal criminals and make them your best friends?" It seems as if to do!
Is this just part of the twisted ideologies that have caused mass decay at the core of the Democratic Party?
You know, when I think of Hillary the first thing that comes to mind is Nurse Ratchet from One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. She might be smiling, but there lurks a demon behind that smile. When I see Melania, I see a woman who defines herself by being a parent of a young boy. She doesn't gloat over her millions, her looks, her accessories, her marriage, etc. She is okay with herself. She doesn't need accolades from the WaPoop or NYT to give her reason to enjoy life. She seems very happy to be herself whether the msm, dems or whomever like it or not. I really like that.
ReplyDeleteADVICE TO ALL PROSPECTVE COMMENTERS:
ReplyDeleteConcentrating almost exclusively on "THEIR" obvious flaws and failngs by restating them in minute, exhaustive, frankly STUPEFYING, detail does nothng to REPAIR the damages "they" have wrought. It only fans the flames of anger, contempt and derision which has NO CONSTRUCTIVE VALUE or reparative effect at ALL.
"Be not overcome by Evil, but overcome Evil with good."
Admittedly that's a lot harder to do than merely reiterate a litany of complaints every chance you get, but POSITIVE THINKING is what we most desperately need.
Try to FORGET "THEM," and concentrate, instead, on digging deeply into your mind in hope of findung a creatve, cinstructive, HELPFUL idea that might move us forward.
I tried a Google search of "disadvantages of single payer" (no quotation marks) and got a multitude of hits. Apparently, most articles agree that single payer would indeed provided healthcare access to more people, but that one consequence of that increase in the number of people seeking medical care would also result in long wait times. Some articles mention a reduction in the number of providers (doctors)
ReplyDeleteThis particular article stated:
...According the United States Department of Commerce: “The United States leads the world in the production of medical technologies and is the industry’s largest consumer” [4]. As Americans, we expect quick results, the best technology, and access to our healthcare providers. With a single payer system, access actually decreases with increase demand on the remaining providers. In addition, investment in new technology decreases because of less profit to healthcare companies. As a result, the development and implementation of new technologies suffer. The reason the United States leads the world in medical technology is because of the market we provide for its development. This includes both the access to a large marketplace of patients and the higher payments for those services. Although the U.S may lag the world in certain measures of health, that does not mean switching to a single payer system is the answer. Our demand for the best technology, immediate or quick access to services, and demographic diversity all guide us away from both our current system and a single payer system, but toward a unique, yet to be developed system....
As always Socialism assure just one thing:
DeleteDEPRIVATION, INFEROR SERVICE and MUTUALLY SHARED POVERTY.
The director of the FBI serves at the pleasure of the President -- and James Comey so acknowledged in the open letter he released after his dismissal.
ReplyDeleteComy was an incompetent! He botched the Clinton investigation from the standpoint of both Dems and Republicans. And has kept alive the Russian witch hunt when zero evidence of anything tangible has yet to be shown unless talking to a Russian or shaking hands with one is somehow evidence of being a traitor. Showboat Comy's dog and pony show has been closed down, thank Trump!
I'm sick and tired of the Liberals shouting, screaming, and ranting "Constitutional crisis!" every time that Trump does something. What's more, I think that many Americans feel the same way that I do -- even some who were lifelong Democrats that I know are.
And WE are "sick and tired" of LITANIES –– i.e.endless lists of complaints and accusations –– that offer nothng that might help find a solutiin to our obvious problems.
DeleteWe KNOW math the problems are, and need no reminders. What we DO need is some CREATIVE thinking, some ENCOURAGEMENT, –– even a bit of HUMOR to make the irony more palatable and less infuriating.
These long, tedious recitals reiterating everything we believe to be wrong are as depressing and disheartening as they are useless.