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Missy and a Dahlia 2006

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On this day...

  • 2007: Party and flat beer — The party for Kate was a success! We had many new people here and everyone [...]
  • 2006: WTF is the deal? [update] — I can’t help but be a little miffed at Wil Wheaton. He runs to Boston [...]

Almost there!

Welp, we made it through both the Mayan Apocalypse and Christmas! Woo! All that’s left is to drink out 2012 and bring on 2013. It’s gonna be a very strenuous year, but I believe a very good year for us. Time to start anew. Get rid of the old. Turn our sedate, comfortable lives [...]

Be gone 2012!

This year is ending on a shitty note. We need more money in savings for the move – and spending over $800 on the Nutsville trip isn’t helping. My family is falling apart and I can’t do anything about it.

Ugh.

I generally do not like the end of the year, what [...]

Why Obamacare is NOT the Answer

Look, I think everyone deserves to see a physician when they are sick, regardless of their economic status. I’m not saying fuck the poor. Far from it. Hell WE don’t have insurance per se. We have AFLAC and a dental/vision discount plan. But there are some very real consequences of Obamacare that no one is addressing, right OR left.

First and foremost: this healthcare tax will crush small businesses. It’s not some crazed right wing conspiracy theory, it is a FACT. Companies with 50 or more employees must raise prices (A LOT), layoff employees, cut everyone to part time (less than 30 hrs/wk) or at the very least freeze hiring. Think of all the small businesses you patronise. Think about that family owned restaurant chain with a couple of locations. THOSE are the businesses facing bankruptcy or harsh measures to stay afloat. Go read this article from the New York Post, Nov 17, 2012. I’ll wait. Does that clarify it for you?

Many companies will likely choose to pay the penalty instead, which is still expensive — $2,000 per worker multiplied by the entire workforce, after subtracting the statutory exemption for the first 30 workers. For a 50-person company, then, the tax would be $40,000, or $2,000 times 20.

That might not seem like a lot, but for many small businesses that could be the difference between survival and failure. – Michael Tanner, NYPost, 11.17.12

All the dumbasses bitching at John Schnatter (Papa John’s) for his plans to adjust for this tax, saying “well, I’ll pay 10¢ more per pizza!”, are just being reactionary and not seeing the full picture. Sure, raising prices will be one part of the adjustments, but so will cutting employee hours and/or layoffs. The liberals screaming “BOYCOTT” to companies who have publicly stated their plans to add surcharges and cut hours are clearly missing the point. This WILL happen across the board. Just like raising the minimum wage causes price increases across the board, so will Obamacare.

But it’s not the higher prices that we should worry about. It’s the ripple of layoffs, hiring freezes, cut hours and small business closures we should be worried about. You don’t think small business matters? Read this. I’ll wait. This particularly sticks out:

The latest figures show that small businesses create 75 percent of the net new jobs in our economy. -SBA Report

Obamacare will push this country’s fragile economy even further towards collapse. This tax will rot our economy from the inside out. It’s a very bad idea. The restaurant industry will be particularly hard hit. And this is the industry I want to go into, so, yah, it’s important to me.

So, what to do? I propose we do nothing – other than STOP Obamacare. Of course, it’s too late for that. Obama’s raison d’etre is to be remembered as the President Who Gave Everyone Healthcare. Fuck everything else, this is his goal. Fuck the economy, fuck the small businesses, fuck the people who will be laid off or have their hours cut. Fuck all of it, he wants his place in history.

If we could stop Obamacare, then what have we lost? NOTHING. Everything remains as fucked up as it is.

Well, you ask, how is that helping? I’ll tell you: concierge doctors. That is the fancy name given to doctors who don’t take insurance, just cold hard cash. Some offer monthly fees, sort of like a retainer, others just charge you for whatever service you need. They are often not cheap like this 82 year old Illinois doctor that charges $5, but paying $500 for a treatment or even $5000 for a surgery beats the shit out of your $12,000/yr insurance payments with a $5000 deductible. Look at the numbers! Even if you pay only $6000/yr w/ a $2500 deductible, it is still cheaper to PAY CASH. But no one will have cash because we’ll all be paying for coverage we don’t necessarily want with Obamacare.

In one fell swoop, our chance of eventually having a real choice of who we want to take care of us and another small business model is demolished.

Continue reading Why Obamacare is NOT the Answer

Dealing with family and still being grateful

Ha, NO that is not a joke title. :)

The trip was very eye opening. We went up to Nutsville for the weekend and did I learn a LOT. Much of it was bad, as usual, but I did have some bright spots. I’ll do the bad first, so we can end on a better, more grateful note.

First: my parents look like walking cadavers. My father is skin and bones and wears oxygen 24/7. His lung capacity is 31%. My mother is maybe 100# soaking wet. She careens around like a drunken zombie. She is wizened and has little control of her left arm. They look like death eating a cracker. It was shocking. Things up there are much, much worse than last year. Oh, so much worse.

Second: my brother is deeply depressed. He has totally given up. I’ve also realised that he lies to me about most things. After talking with my niece, it’s clear he lies to me on a regular basis. Which is very disappointing, to say the least.

Third: my niece is unhappy and stuck between two families full of FAIL. My family is crazed, unhinged and unreliable. Her mother’s family is full of drug dealers and crazy people. Nice choice.

While I like knowing the truth, I have to say that this trip hurt me quite a bit. Not personally, but just seeing the despair and truly unhealthy nature of my family really made me feel bad for them.

It’s really hard to see your family home become an asylum of depression, sickness and crazy.

Continue reading Dealing with family and still being grateful

Brining Poultry

I am happy to report that our Thanksgiving feast for two turned out magnificently! Anyone who tells you that brining is useless CLEARLY has not brined! OMG the chicken was the best chicken I’ve ever had, hands down. Here’s my brine recipe (I’m sure it would be just as good for turkey but you’ll [...]