A great article on an increasing popular documentary, Race to Nowhere, on the circus that has become high school and the enormous pressures faced by teens to always be on, always be doing something, always be "going, going, going"... not sure where. I think this is probably more true of the very sad but get-ahead-at-any-cost East coast, and parts of the west coast where you're judged by the amount of vapor you exhale.
Article from The NY Times appears here.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, December 08, 2010
Tuesday, December 07, 2010
Monday, December 06, 2010
On Health and Education
2 articles of note: one on personal health (destressing using breathing), and the other on making the world a better place via education.
On personal health: Click here.
On Improving Global Education: Click here.
On personal health: Click here.
On Improving Global Education: Click here.
Thursday, December 02, 2010
Wikileaks Cast of Characters
Want a Who's Who amongst Global Wikileak Characters?
Here's your chance: CNN has done a good job.
Don't worry, there's not much text to read -- just a picture and a short description.
Here's your chance: CNN has done a good job.
Don't worry, there's not much text to read -- just a picture and a short description.
Want some McSurance with your Fries?
Slate has a fantastic article on so-called "mini-meds" that are not quite full health insurance but more of an "insurance" on paper.
McDonald's offers hourly workers at its 1,500 company-owned restaurants four health-insurance options... Only one of these options (annual premium: about $6,000 per year, obviously more than most hourly workers can pay) is "comprehensive" (i.e., real) insurance. The other three are mini-meds. The cheapest option (and the one nearly all its hourly workers opt for) cost $710 per year in 2008... and had an annual benefit ceiling of $2,000. The other two options cost $1,332 and $1,947 per year and had annual benefit ceilings of $5,000 and $10,000.
...the sliding premiums for the three insurance options available to corporate suits and some restaurant managers but not to hourly employees actually begin at levels below those paid by hourly workers for mini-med plans even though the suits' policies contain no annual benefit limits. That's right. Some nonhourly employees at McDonald's pay less for their real health insurance—with no annual limits and, indeed, an employee out-of-pocket maximum of $4,000 for covered expenses—than the schmucks shoveling French fries and flipping Big Macs pay for fake health insurance with annual benefit limits of $2,000, $5,000, and $10,000, and no employee out-of-pocket maximum for covered expenses. Oh, and the absolute highest health premium the suits might pay ($1,435 for higher-earning employees in the "no deductible PPO") is less than a quarter the premium McDonald's expects the schmucks to pay for the only policy hourly workers can opt for that isn't a mini-med.
Much more in the article available here.
So the question is, is mini-med better than nothing? I say no, absolutely not. Here's why (from article):
Rockefeller answered with the analogy of a car whose brakes don't work 10 percent of the time. "Your brakes have to work all the time," he said, "or else you're not going to drive the car." The point he was trying to make, however awkwardly, was that it's no use saying insurance works out really well for the 90 or 98 percent of policyholders to whom disaster doesn't strike if it works out really badly for the 10 percent or 2 percent to whom disaster does strike, because the main reason we buy insurance in the first place (Duh!) is because we might end up being that 10 percent or 2 percent.
That point was driven poignantly home by Eugene Melville, a witness who works part-time for a big-box retailer that he declined to identify. Melville, who choked up several times in the hearing room, said he purchased through his employer a mini-med policy from Aetna with a $20,000 annual limit. In July, Melville said, he went to the doctor "for what I thought was an injury from a car accident." The doctor noticed a lump in Melville's neck, ordered up a biopsy, and diagnosed Melville with oral cancer. Melville figured he had close to $20,000 left to spend on the recommended treatment, but he quickly learned that within that $20,000 ceiling there were smaller ceilings—$2,000 on hospital lab tests, surgical supplies, and drugs; $2,000 for outpatient treatments such as chemotherapy—that effectively prevented him from using his mini-med insurance at all. Eventually he enrolled in a program for the medically indigent that did not offer the surgical options recommended by his doctor. The kicker, Melville said, was that Aetna sent him a letter suggesting that his oral cancer was a preexisting condition.
It's simply criminal. The minimum wage is $7.25. Working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, that's a gross income of $15,080. Pay some Federal Income tax, state income tax, Medicare, and FICA, and you might be lucky to take home $1000 a month. Pay rent, utilities, etc, and... well, you see where this is going. Either offer a real plan that can be used, or don't offer anything at all. The illusion of insurance is probably the worst. It's like thinking Santa really exists. You could say they know exactly what they're getting into, to which I reply, when was the last time you read and can recall every detail of any of your insurance policies?
Next time you order a double cheeseburger and large fries, think about that, will you?
McDonald's offers hourly workers at its 1,500 company-owned restaurants four health-insurance options... Only one of these options (annual premium: about $6,000 per year, obviously more than most hourly workers can pay) is "comprehensive" (i.e., real) insurance. The other three are mini-meds. The cheapest option (and the one nearly all its hourly workers opt for) cost $710 per year in 2008... and had an annual benefit ceiling of $2,000. The other two options cost $1,332 and $1,947 per year and had annual benefit ceilings of $5,000 and $10,000.
...the sliding premiums for the three insurance options available to corporate suits and some restaurant managers but not to hourly employees actually begin at levels below those paid by hourly workers for mini-med plans even though the suits' policies contain no annual benefit limits. That's right. Some nonhourly employees at McDonald's pay less for their real health insurance—with no annual limits and, indeed, an employee out-of-pocket maximum of $4,000 for covered expenses—than the schmucks shoveling French fries and flipping Big Macs pay for fake health insurance with annual benefit limits of $2,000, $5,000, and $10,000, and no employee out-of-pocket maximum for covered expenses. Oh, and the absolute highest health premium the suits might pay ($1,435 for higher-earning employees in the "no deductible PPO") is less than a quarter the premium McDonald's expects the schmucks to pay for the only policy hourly workers can opt for that isn't a mini-med.
Much more in the article available here.
So the question is, is mini-med better than nothing? I say no, absolutely not. Here's why (from article):
Rockefeller answered with the analogy of a car whose brakes don't work 10 percent of the time. "Your brakes have to work all the time," he said, "or else you're not going to drive the car." The point he was trying to make, however awkwardly, was that it's no use saying insurance works out really well for the 90 or 98 percent of policyholders to whom disaster doesn't strike if it works out really badly for the 10 percent or 2 percent to whom disaster does strike, because the main reason we buy insurance in the first place (Duh!) is because we might end up being that 10 percent or 2 percent.
That point was driven poignantly home by Eugene Melville, a witness who works part-time for a big-box retailer that he declined to identify. Melville, who choked up several times in the hearing room, said he purchased through his employer a mini-med policy from Aetna with a $20,000 annual limit. In July, Melville said, he went to the doctor "for what I thought was an injury from a car accident." The doctor noticed a lump in Melville's neck, ordered up a biopsy, and diagnosed Melville with oral cancer. Melville figured he had close to $20,000 left to spend on the recommended treatment, but he quickly learned that within that $20,000 ceiling there were smaller ceilings—$2,000 on hospital lab tests, surgical supplies, and drugs; $2,000 for outpatient treatments such as chemotherapy—that effectively prevented him from using his mini-med insurance at all. Eventually he enrolled in a program for the medically indigent that did not offer the surgical options recommended by his doctor. The kicker, Melville said, was that Aetna sent him a letter suggesting that his oral cancer was a preexisting condition.
It's simply criminal. The minimum wage is $7.25. Working 40 hours a week, 52 weeks a year, that's a gross income of $15,080. Pay some Federal Income tax, state income tax, Medicare, and FICA, and you might be lucky to take home $1000 a month. Pay rent, utilities, etc, and... well, you see where this is going. Either offer a real plan that can be used, or don't offer anything at all. The illusion of insurance is probably the worst. It's like thinking Santa really exists. You could say they know exactly what they're getting into, to which I reply, when was the last time you read and can recall every detail of any of your insurance policies?
Next time you order a double cheeseburger and large fries, think about that, will you?
Wednesday, December 01, 2010
Idiotic threats
CNN.com reports that:
Senate Republicans promised Wednesday to block legislative action on every issue being considered by the lame-duck Congress until the dispute over extending the Bush-era tax cuts is resolved and an extension of current government funding is approved.
Politicians are stupid. Period. This reminds of the mid-1990s when Newt Gingrich shut down the government. Okay Republicans, go ahead. Block everything so that your special interest groups and those who need the tax cut least come before all else in the agenda.
The funny thing is that deep at heart I'm probably a fiscal Republican, but the crazy nonsense that goes on in the Grand Ol' Party makes me cringe. Not that the Dems are any better either, by the way.
Senate Republicans promised Wednesday to block legislative action on every issue being considered by the lame-duck Congress until the dispute over extending the Bush-era tax cuts is resolved and an extension of current government funding is approved.
Politicians are stupid. Period. This reminds of the mid-1990s when Newt Gingrich shut down the government. Okay Republicans, go ahead. Block everything so that your special interest groups and those who need the tax cut least come before all else in the agenda.
The funny thing is that deep at heart I'm probably a fiscal Republican, but the crazy nonsense that goes on in the Grand Ol' Party makes me cringe. Not that the Dems are any better either, by the way.
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
I'm back! And, are some dentists crooks?
Wow. It's been over a year since I last posted. Horrendous. But, I would like to come back and restart posting. I have found that it is incredible and often jaw-dropping to see posts several months/years ex-poste. And, it makes for quite the diary/memory bank. Too bad this can't be a pensieve.
For today, I'll leave you with this: Dentist visit soon? Watch what you wish for.
Enjoy!
For today, I'll leave you with this: Dentist visit soon? Watch what you wish for.
Enjoy!
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
Friday, June 26, 2009
The most useful airlines link
The most useful link while making airline reservations, ever: here.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/06/24/airline.fees/index.html
Still to come: Obesity Charge. Enjoy!
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TRAVEL/06/24/airline.fees/index.html
Still to come: Obesity Charge. Enjoy!
Saturday, June 20, 2009
Never stop learning
"We shall not cease from exploration
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
--T.S. Eliot, The Four Quartets
And the end of all our exploring
Will be to arrive where we started
And know the place for the first time."
--T.S. Eliot, The Four Quartets
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Friday, May 29, 2009
Sophie Madeleine
Did you hear the Beard Song that I posted below? It's by Sophie Madeleine. She has an album. You can get more info, listen to all the songs right here!
Support the girl!
Enjoy!
Support the girl!
Enjoy!
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Friday, May 22, 2009
Saturday, May 02, 2009
Jury Duty
I think this would be my reaction too if asked to participate in jury duty.
In case you're wondering what it says, I'll type it out for you:
"Apparently you morons didn't understand me the first time. I CANNOT take time off from work. I'm not putting my family's well being at stake to participate in this crap. I don't believe in our "justice" system and I don't want to have a goddamn thing to do with it. Jury duty is a complete waste of time. I would rather count the wrinkles on my dog's balls than sit on a jury. Get it through your thick skulls. Leave me the F_ _K alone."
I love it.
In case you're wondering what it says, I'll type it out for you:
"Apparently you morons didn't understand me the first time. I CANNOT take time off from work. I'm not putting my family's well being at stake to participate in this crap. I don't believe in our "justice" system and I don't want to have a goddamn thing to do with it. Jury duty is a complete waste of time. I would rather count the wrinkles on my dog's balls than sit on a jury. Get it through your thick skulls. Leave me the F_ _K alone."
I love it.
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