Song in my Head: Why do fools fall in love.

In Season: zucchini...lots of zucchini

Great post describing Bushes "communication style" from The Selfmade Pundit:

Bush’s “guess” that we’re “closer [to getting] Hussein than we were yesterday” is is the kind of unsupported speculation that you would expect to find in a weblog or a State of the Union address.

Have you sanitized your keyboard lately.

Alter-Abled News

Having a permanent disability is no cake-walk. Fortunately, I chose to live in a progressive state, that until recently, provided the best state health care program in America. Services included, doctor visits, medications, hospital visits, eyeglasses, crutches, mental health therapy, to name a few. As of March 2003, many of these services lost their funding and were eliminated. Prescription drugs were unavailable to many who were provided their medicine at a low cost. That fiasco lasted about a month because the state decided that it was cruel and inhumane to cut off people's medicines. However, many services have yet to be re-instated at their former level.

When a person applies for Federal disability insurance it takes 2 years after your application is filed before you are eligible for Medicare/Medicaid. That is 2 years, for a very sick person, to be paying for hospital, drug, and doctor visit costs. Oregon was progressive enough to fill this gap for many. But with the economy in the dumps in the NW and rising health care costs, they just don't have the money.

Fortunately, our legislators decided to put hospital visits back on The Oregon Health Plan. According to this article, if I fall and break my arm, the ER visit will be covered. Well, I am sincerely grateful for this. If I lived in another state I would have had to pay for all my monthly visits to my primary care doctor, 2 visits to an opthomologist and a visual field test, a bone density test, my yearly Pap, birth control, medical devices, eyeglasses, mammogram, not to even include dental care.

This situation is shameful. I have a friend who had esophagal cancer and has no health insurance for a year and a half when his Medicare will kick in. I read James C's story about having 3 different illnesses with no health care coverage. I talk regularly to friends who grumble how they haven't been to a doctor in years. Young families , who are exceedingly needy for health care, struggle to make ends meet.



THe unfairness of this system is appalling. My government is not meeting my basic needs and I implore anyone. someone, to help make this a national campaign issue of primary importance. Preventative medicine is a cost saver in the long run. We need another alternative, besides the workplace, to get affordable health care coverage.

And......from drudge (snort):
Could this be evidence of "weapons of mass destruction?