(Books+Tattoos+Music) x (Heart+Soul) = Me

An old Irish Saying...

When we drink, we get drunk.
When we get drunk, we fall asleep.
When we fall asleep, we commit no sin.
When we commit no sin, we go to heaven.
So, let’s all get drunk, and go to heaven!

Observation

I usually try not to notice or point out people’s race, skin color, age, gender, etc.

But… has anyone noticed that just about all the people that are so vocally against healthcare reform are old white people???  And they keep talking about wanting their country back.  Back from what?  Back from having an African-American president?  Face the facts:  We have an African-American president that is getting people to really think about issues, that is trying to really change this country for the better. Damn, that’s pretty scary huh?

If you are against healthcare reform, that’s ok - just don’t scream and yell and call people hateful names and tell blatant lies.  If you really don’t want things to change or don’t like the proposed bill then speak eloquently and use facts. Otherwise, no one is going to pay attention.

Really?!

Buy your kid’s school supplies here and receive tons of candy for free! 

Seriously?!  Who ok’d this idea??? 

Top Five Health Care Reform Lies

Lie #1: President Obama wants to euthanize your grandma!!!

The truth: These accusations—of “death panels” and forced euthanasia—are, of course, flatly untrue. As an article from the Associated Press puts it: “No ‘death panel’ in health care bill.”⁴ What’s the real deal? Reform legislation includes a provision, supported by the AARP, to offer senior citizens access to a professional medical counselor who will provide them with information on preparing a living will and other issues facing older Americans.⁵

Lie #2: Democrats are going to outlaw private insurance and force you into a government plan!!!

The truth: With reform, choices will increase, not decrease. Obama’s reform plans will create a health insurance exchange, a one-stop shopping marketplace for affordable, high-quality insurance options.⁶ Included in the exchange is the public health insurance option—a nationwide plan with a broad network of providers—that will operate alongside private insurance companies, injecting competition into the market to drive quality up and costs down.⁷

If you’re happy with your coverage and doctors, you can keep them.⁸ But the new public plan will expand choices to millions of businesses or individuals who choose to opt into it, including many who simply can’t afford health care now.

Lie #3: President Obama wants to implement Soviet-style rationing!!!

The truth: Health care reform will expand access to high-quality health insurance, and give individuals, families, and businesses more choices for coverage. Right now, big corporations decide whether to give you coverage, what doctors you get to see, and whether a particular procedure or medicine is covered—that is rationed care. And a big part of reform is to stop that.

Health care reform will do away with some of the most nefarious aspects of this rationing: discrimination for pre-existing conditions, insurers that cancel coverage when you get sick, gender discrimination, and lifetime and yearly limits on coverage.⁹ And outside of that, as noted above, reform will increase insurance options, not force anyone into a rationed situation. 

Lie #4: Obama is secretly plotting to cut senior citizens’ Medicare benefits!!!

The truth: Health care reform plans will not reduce Medicare benefits.¹⁰ Reform includes savings from Medicare that are unrelated to patient care—in fact, the savings comes from cutting billions of dollars in overpayments to insurance companies and eliminating waste, fraud, and abuse.¹¹

Lie #5: Obama’s health care plan will bankrupt America!!!

The truth: We need health care reform now in order to prevent bankruptcy—to control spiraling costs that affect individuals, families, small businesses, and the American economy.

FML

I have been having issues with the post office and just need to get it all of my chest.  The worst part is that because this is a government agency there’s not much else I can do… FML.

I order from amazon and etsy… A LOT!  If my package is sent via the postal service and not UPS I either get the package in my mailbox (if it’s small enough) or a post card letting me know they will be holding a package from me (if it’s too big for my mailbox) and I go to the local post office to pick it up.  Also, I recently (within the last year?) replaced my front fence and gate with an iron fence and gate.  The large gate for the car stays locked during the day every day when my husband and I are away.  The small gate for people to walk through stays locked about 95% of the time.  The only reason it’s not always locked is because we get a lot of company.  I also have 2 guard dogs that stay in the front yard of my house all day.  Again, these are guard dogs so even if they are laying in the back yard, they will always come running to the front when they hear or smell someone walking too close to our fence.  Oh, also, the gate tends to stick so people usually have a hard time opening the gate even if it’s unlocked.  Basically, I am pretty secure in the security of our house.  So when I came home on Friday, July 10^th at about 7:30 p.m.  I had to park my car outside the large gate (which was locked) because I would be leaving the house again soon.  I walked into my yard through the small gate and I had a little trouble opening it because it was stuck again.  As I walked toward my porch I noticed something strewn about.  As I got closer I realized it was little bits of cardboard.  I quickly realized what had happened and saw the glasses in the corner – they were destroyed. 

I called the 800 number for the post office on 7/11 and was given a confirmation number.  When I didn’t receive a call by 7/14 I called back to find out what happened.  Apparently someone had called me but because I didn’t answer my phone they closed the case!  I remember receiving a call on 7/13 but before I could answer it the person on the other end had hung up.  I received no voicemail message.  I therefore had to open another case and was given a new confirmation number.  That week I finally received a call from Sue at the consumer affairs office.  After letting her know the situation she stated she would have to do some research and call me back.  When she did call me back, she stated that the employee had put the package on my porch.  When I let her know that making a notation for the post office to not leave packages in my yard was not enough and that I needed to be reimbursed she stated  she would forward my info to the station manager at my post office (Stan).  I received a call from Stan who stated I should bring in the box and glasses to him so that he could look at it.  When I told him that getting the box to him would be impossible (because it was torn to shreds and put in the recycling bin) he stated he would need the box in order to do anything.  I told him I would dig through my recycling bin and try to find him a shred of cardboard.  We then proceeded to figure out a time I could bring him the items and because I work far from my home and he didn’t want to wait until after 5:00 for me he said he would try to see if I could bring the items to a post office near my place of employment; he stated he would call me back to let me know.  After waiting 2 days and not hearing from him, I called the post office and was told that he had gone on vacation!  I had spoken to a Mr. Rodriguez who said I could bring my items to him.  However, I realized that the post office I was calling was not the post office that I pick up my items from and rather than have another obstacle (possibly bringing my items to the wrong station) I called the 800 number once again to get clarification.  I was given yet another confirmation number and received a voicemail message from Mr. Cantu at the local staion on 7/25.  When I finally spoke to Mr. Cantu, he confirmed that his post office is indeed my post office even though I pick up my items from another location.  After several phone conversations with Mr. Cantu, he informed me on 7/31 that he couldn’t get anyone in his station to fess up to having put the package in my yard.  He also stated he couldn’t reimburse me and suggested I call the consumer affairs office.  I informed him that I had already spoken to that office and in fact they were the ones to suggest that my local post office would be able to assist me.  Mr. Cantu basically said there was nothing he could do and that I should call consumer affairs.  On 7/31 I called the 800 number to get the phone number for my local consumer affairs office.  I called and spoke to Al Dean who was not helpful at all.  He had the audacity to suggest that the mail carrier put the package in my mailbox and some random stranger walking by my house decided to open my mailbox and throw my package over the fence!  He also stated that Sue looked up my address on google and that my gate was open.  I informed him that the pictures on google are not live pictures and are actually old pictures that must be about a year old because that’s about how long it’s been since I replaced my entire front fence and gate.  I stated he could feel free to drive by if he wanted.  Mr. Dean stated that because the package was not insured and because of the governemnt “code” regarding postal service that the post office is not responsible and does not have to reimburse me for their mistake.  He stated that at this point I could to talk to the station manager, Stan, who would return from vacation on 8/10.

So having been told 3 different versions of what did or might have happened I’m sure you can imagine how frustrated I am.  On 8/1 I emailed 2 local news stations hoping that they may be able to help me.  I am not asking for hundreds of dollars.  I’m not even asking for $100.  All I’m asking is that the post office reimburse me for the frames they damaged due to their carelessness.  To top it off, these were vintage frames, so it’s not like I can order the same pair again!