Thursday, December 17, 2009

A Cat's Eye View


Baxter here. Please, make it STOP! This has been a Very Bad Week and I am Cranky.

I'm Sick of those Republicans being so Obstructionist about Health Care Reform.

My Male Human just doesn't understand how they can be against giving Unfortunate Uninsured Humans health insurance. In My Personal Opinion, what it really comes down to (other than their being on the Payroll of Big Pharma and Big Insurance) is that they will oppose ANTHING that President Obama is for. For instance, if President Obama said he was Against Killing Innocent Kittens, the Republicans would be totally in FAVOR of Killing Kittens, and would probably say that NOT Killing Kittens would be what the Nazis would do, and if we don't Kill Kittens then we will Lose Our Country. (Doesn't matter if it Makes Sense, you understand).

Despite the Watered-Down nature of whatever the Final Bill may be, though, the Senate should go ahead and pass SOMETHING. As a Cat, I am one of the Uninsured, since my Humans never bought that Pet Insurance stuff. So I am a Little Worried about what will happen after my Humans retire and are not rolling in that Money stuff they rely on. Will they still be able to Afford to take Me to the Vet? I have Great Sympathy for the Uninsured Humans. It must be Scary to have to choose between Health Care and, say, Food.

If you Disagree that the Bill should be passed, please go read Paul Krugman's op-ed piece in the NY Times, entitled "Pass the Bill." He points out that, when Everything is Said and Done, the Bill does at least do a couple of Good Things:

It would "prohibit discrimination by insurance companies on the basis of medical condition or history: Americans could no longer be denied health insurance because of a pre-existing condition, or have their insurance canceled when they get sick. Second, the bill would provide substantial financial aid to those who don’t get insurance through their employers, as well as tax breaks for small employers that do provide insurance.

All of this would be paid for in large part with the first serious effort ever to rein in rising health care costs."


Perfect? Certainly NOT. But better than before? This Cat thinks so. As Paul Krugman puts it:

"Whereas flawed social insurance programs have tended to get better over time, the story of health reform suggests that rejecting an imperfect deal in the hope of eventually getting something better is a recipe for getting nothing at all."

I also liked this line in his Column:

"...some of those senators seem motivated largely by a desire to protect the interests of insurance companies — with the possible exception of Mr. Lieberman, who seems motivated by sheer spite."

That Lieberman Human is a real Piece of Work. I don't understand him One Bit. So Spite seems like about the only reason he could have for acting the way he does.

Let's see, what else has my Fur in a Knot? Oh yes, General Motors. What a Bunch of Incompetent, Selfish Boobs. Once again they can't come to an Agreement to sell my Humans' favorite Car Company, Saab, so it looks as if they're going to close it down. Now, as a Cat, I don't care about Cars. But I know my Humans are going to be Very Sad about this, so I am Sad too. We Cats also Frown upon Inefficiency and Stupidity. And the way G.M. handled the whole Saab brand was Reprehensible. They never Understood who the Saab buyer was and they came out with Cars that didn't appeal to them, nor could they compete for the Mainstream Person. Stupid G.M. They deserve to go Bankrupt but unfortunately, as Usual, they've been Saved, while poor old Saab, and over 3000 jobs in Sweden, go down the Tubes.

Then there's this Climate Summit thing going on in Copenhagen. Apparently they came to some kind of Watered Down Agreement but these countries couldn't even manage to put in a Deadline to Finalize a Treaty by Next Year. That's Finalize a Treaty, not Solve Global Warming.

"The accord drops the expected goal of concluding a binding international treaty by the end of 2010, which leaves the implementation of its provisions uncertain. It is likely to undergo many months, perhaps years, of additional negotiation before it emerges in any internationally enforceable form."

Months? YEARS? I'll be Long Dead by then. And my Humans' house will probably be Waterfront Property by then - and New York City will be the new Atlantis! What is wrong with Humans anyway? Why can't they just Agree on Anything? We Cats don't always Like each other, but if we have to Live Together, we can Manage to develop an Understanding and not Fight all the time.

Well, I'm Sorry to have Vented so much today. There are a Few Good Things happening in My Life, so I should be a Little Grateful for them.

For One Thing, my Humans are Back for Good it seems. They aren't going Away every weekend anymore. I don't quite understand it, but from what I can Tell, that Cabin they go to can't be used in the Winter. They're kind of Grumpy, but it's Good for Me, anyway. Now I finally have some Company on Weekends, which is a Nice Change. I make sure to get up in front of the Computer every chance I get to make sure they have plenty of Time to Pay Attention to Me.

Of course, on the Negative Side, That Dog is here All the Time now. Day and Night, Weekends and Weekdays. She just doesn't Go Away. But I'm getting Tougher. I don't let her take advantage of Me.

I'll end This Week's News Roundup with a little Good News.

Let's see. Here's a good story. This Guy is getting a Kidney Transplant because his Son posted the request on Facebook. How Cool is That? I guess Facebook does have its Uses. A lot of people, including my Female Human, spend most of their Time playing Games, posting Useless Information about Which Movie they would be if they were a Movie, and telling people what they had for Lunch, but now and then it Serves a Purpose!

More Good News: Scientists in the UK have decoded the entire DNA of two deadly cancers: Malignant Melanoma and Lung Cancer. This should lead to a Cure at some Point. Interesting Factoid: For every 15 cigarettes you smoke, One Error occurs in your DNA. Glad I, as a Cat, have not had the Opportunity or Temptation to Smoke. However, my Female Human smoked for several years and had WAY more than 15 cigarettes. I'm Keeping my Toes crossed that she Escapes any Dire Consequences.

So that's it for This Week. I hope you Enjoy your Weekends and have Lots of Catnip stored up. I hear it's supposed to Snow on the East Coast over the Weekend so we may be Stuck Indoors a lot!

16 comments:

Fran said...

I heard a good argument for going ahead w a health care bill on PBS.
The gist was better we do SOMETHING now while there is money (may not be an option down the road). It will create access for 31, 000 people.
It does stop the denial for pre existing conditions.

I still favor getting a foot in the door on reform rather than nothing at all.

Climate change ~ sham agreements, sham results.
I strongly dislike vague promises that things will be done many years after the alleged leaders will long be out of office.
The 2 biggest polluter/offenders, the US & China are the 2 biggest wafflers.

Distributorcap said...

baxter

you know way more than any of those useless senators who only care about money and getting teevee time. most of them (even the dems) are pretty bad when it comes to caring about other humans.

so you know, the bill is a very bad bill - it forces people to buy insurance - even if you dont want it (which should be your choice) from those incredibly greedy and evil insurance companies. worse those insurance companies are a virtual monopoly in most states - so you have to buy from them at their prices. not fair and not right. in some cases you could be spending almost 20% of your money before the govt will help. very bad.

also for those that are already sick (or the elderly) - while the evil and greedy insurance companies cant deny coverage - they can charge you a lot more for it. a lot. like 50% more.

no the bill isnt perfect -far from it - but no matter what passes - they will NEVER fix it- we will be stuck with a very bad bill that will insure 30,000,000 more at very high rates - this is not affordable or universal.

is it better than nothing - maybe? this human is not smart enough to know that. what this human is smart enough to know is that cats like you have it so good with nice humans, who we all hope stay healthy (since that is really what this bill is about - DONT GET SICK).

i wish cats could vote so we could vote out the 80 or so senators who love to be cruel to their citizens

ps - carlos is looking out for the snow - how about you?

TomCat said...

Baxter, withhold your support until the Senate passes Medicat for all. If Obama and the Dems claim to be against health care for cats, they can allow a vote anyway, and when all the Repuglicans vote for it, they can vote for it too, and you'll be covered.

Tommy Korioth said...

Well written! Toonces the driving cat is proud and my dog Scout is worried about my healthcare as well.

MRMacrum said...

Everyone wants to blame the Republicans for this fiasco over Healthcare Reform. Certainly their shitty attitude about saying "No" to anything like bad children pouting is not helping. But I blame the Democrats for trying to go for it all this first round. The package was flawed right out of the gate. Because the Dems put all their eggs in this basket, anything that passes now will be percieved as a failure on their part.

This concession of something is better than nothing will only become that if something actually comes from the near nothing being proposed now. I won't hold my breath.

I am disgusted with the whole lot of them in DC. Doesn't matter which side of the aisle they sit on.

libhom said...

This bill has been coopted completely by the HMOs and insurance companies. There's no real reform left in it. If either of my New York Senators vote for cloture on it, I will never vote for them for any public office for the rest of their lives.

The irony is that Republicans are obstructing a Republican wealthcare bill.

Comrade Kevin said...

The Elitism of our Founders as for why they gave individual Senators this degree of power is the major problem, here.

Christopher said...

Obama and Nanny Pelosi and Harry Reid are the $20 Vegas convention whores for the health lobbyists.

At least 166 former aides from the nine congressional leadership offices and five committees involved in shaping health overhaul legislation — along with at least 13 former lawmakers — registered to represent at least 338 health care clients since the beginning of last year, according to the analysis.

Their health care clients spent $635 million on lobbying over the past two years, the study shows. The total of insider lobbyists jumps to 278 when non-health-care firms that reported lobbying on health issues are added in, the analysis found.

Randal Graves said...

I'm going to start voting for cats from now on.

Oso said...

I believe Libhom got it exactly right.

And Baxter you are a very wise cat,like most cats are. Dulce who is here with me agrees, although she also feels calico's are the elite of the cat world. She is spoiled,Baxter so just try to indulge her, I do.

Mauigirl said...

Baxter here. I thank Everyone for their Excellent Comments. I do know this Bill isn't great, but it does make some Improvements. I am hoping that it will be revised to the Better when the final Bill is created to be voted on in Both the House and Senate. And even if it isn't Excellent, perhaps it is a Step in the Right Direction. But please, be easy on Me, I am only a Cat, so some of this may be Beyond my understanding. I do Respect your Opinions Greatly and know that there is much to be Displeased about in thie Bill.

Bee said...

Ok, you had me at the killing the kittens or we're nazis rant...LOL!

TomCat said...

Off topic, Merry Christmas to Baxter, Maui and all here!

Mauigirl said...

Thanks TomCat!! Merry Christmas to you too!

TomCat said...

Thanks Maui!

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