Smarmoofus Spot

Seattle Waterfront Park – Photo Date: March 22, 2004; Location: Seattle, WA

Michael Hiltzik of the Los Angeles Times recently asked “What do we need health insurers for anyway?” Frankly, I’ve been wondering the same thing. (Some of you may have heard me express my lack of sympathy for a multi-billion-dollar-industry-that-produces-nothing before.) Throughout the ongoing debate about health care reform in this country, money seems to be the underlying issue. Who will pay for providing care to those who can’t pay for it themselves? How do we control the costs for people who are facing insurance premium increases? If the government steps in, how will it pay for its intervention? And, seemingly the biggest question among conservatives, Why should I have to pay for the bum down the street?

I formed my opinion on this debate in 1997, shortly after I aged out of being a military dependent and learned what the rest of you already knew: the private healthcare system sucks.  I grew up with socialized healthcare, and I credit my survival to the excellent (and aggressive) care I received.  I have seen a system that works, right here in the U.S., and opponents would be hard pressed to disavow me of my belief that the U.S. Government can manage it.

And, since the government already picks up the slack for the most medically vulnerable (read medically expensive) in our nation (the elderly, disabled, and children in poverty) through programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and CHIP, anyway, why not let it take the healthy and robust people on board, as well?  If we diverted all those billions of dollars we pay in insurance premiums every year to the government coffers (well, knowing the Government, perhaps to a special health care program that cannot be pillaged), and eliminate the cap on earnings that is taxed for Social Security, I think we could pretty much pay for the plan.

MommyWizdom’s Boggle Me Thursday is back yet again!  MommyWizdom says today’s board is a good one.  Let’s see…

Inside the three(?)* minutes:

goat goats sat fat fats fast stag snag nag nags run runs toga togas got too

tan rungs rung toast sang tang fang fangs gas fag fags sag rust sun runt tog

..

Outside the three minutes:

gnat gnats goo

sung oat oats

togs tag tags

is a game brought to you by MommyWizdom.

* I missed the “start” button on my timer tonight, and noticed after about 4 or 5 minutes had elapsed, so I just arbitrarily picked a few of my last finds and put them in the “outside the three minutes” section.  I have no idea how many I found within the timer.

“Road Trip” – Photo Date: January 1, 2010; Location: Somewhere in Alabama

G-man, I’m here! Finally! So sorry I’m late! Please don’t grade me down!

There was no moon and the dry winter air seemed to soak up all the light so that each step away from the house was a step into the unknown and unknowable.  But anything, she rationalized, was better than what she left behind.  This heavy void gave her hope.  Free!  Soon she would be free!

Story behind the story:

I don’t know.  Really, I don’t.  It was dark out when I went to visit some relafriends last night, and that was a feeling I had.  That’s all.

is hosted by g-man (visit him to let him know if you’re playing and to see other participants).

Speaking of nothing being free, I’m going on the Great American Road Trip, take 2, with an aniticipated departure date of April 3rd.  I am currently seeking sponsors for this trip.  A page explaining the different sponsorship levels and what you can receive for your generous contribution will be coming soon, but in the meantime, please read about this trip here.

I will be embarking on another cross-country roadtrip soon, and this time I’m taking you with me!  Of course, that means you’ll have to chip in a bit for gas.  But don’t worry, your share of the cost will be minimal.  And in exchange for your contribution, you may be eligible to receive a professionally-printed photo diary of my journey (ship date will be mid-August), or other memorabilia.

To give you an idea of what a cross-country road trip with me looks like, my last one, in the spring of 2008, followed this map:

View Larger Map

More details to follow soon, but know that there are varying levels of sponsorship available. Certainly a level you can afford.

“Thaw” – Photo Date: February 10, 2010; Location: Central Arkansas

My site was infected with a virus.  I believe I have it cleaned up, but maybe not… after everything else that could go wrong, Erica told me tonight that my site is down, and she is getting an error message when she tries to view it.  She told me this while I was looking at my site.  I can’t find the problem, and my blog is working for me in both FF and IE.  If you can see this post (and don’t get any bells, alarms, or whistles from your antivirus program), please comment to reassure me.  Also, let me know what browser and OS you’re using.  Blah.

The warning she received was something to the effect of:

Warning: Cannot modify header information – headers already sent by (output started at /home/content/s/m/a/smarmoofus/html/wp-config.php:2) in /home/content/s/m/a/smarmoofus/html/wp-includes/pluggable.php on line 868

MommyWizdom’s Boggle Me Thursday is back for another round!  Just as before, there is no winning or losing.  We play merely for the fun of playing.  So here goes!

Inside the three minutes:

ant nay any sit sat rat rats art arts artsy pat spat hit hits tap taps

sits tar tart tarts tars arty this stat tit tits say tat tats try his pats

 ..

Outside the three minutes

star stars starts star

spa sty stir sir

path paths thy stair

stairs strait straits thirty

 
is a game brought to you by MommyWizdom.