Butterflies From My Head

Tags

budgets, critical thinking, general crap I was thinking about, Health care

As I have noted before, my head overloads at times. I figure not to deprive you of the wisdom that gushes forth unprompted. It would be a waste to well, let it go to waste.

I was thinking about words. I do some of my best thinking while plodding along my daily walk with Diego the Wonder dog of the Chihuahuan desert. I like some words, and I don’t like some words. Are you like that? Trouble is, I don’t really hate any word, so when I think of words I don’t like, I can’t remember them. If I hated them, no doubt I would. But I just dislike them.

One I did think of was embarrassment. I’m never sure when I type that sucker if it is double M and double S or if one of them is singular and if so, which one. I don’t like words with P’s in them much. I play a game similar to boggle and P words slow me down. My pinkie is apparently not as dexterous as my other fingers. And I just discovered in typing apparently, that p’s together are okay, but words like pope and people and popular screw me up because the p’s are separate. If the P word has an L in it, then I tend to get married to the backspace, because I always screw those up.

Glad I got that off my chest. Are there letters you don’t like? I have to think more about that.

I read a few days ago that some professorial type did a study on Fox watchers. I mean he actually talked to admitted Fox watchers. Actually he TESTED Fox watchers. He found that their median IQ was 80, a full 20 points below the national or international average of 100. He was quick to point out that people with 80 IQ’s were fully functional and could have  “happy life”.  Yes they certainly can. Most dogs have happy lives too, and I’m quite sure their IQ’s are no better than 80.

The point is, such folks are probably fairly incapable of critical thought. You ever hear a statement that upon first impression sounded right? Upon reflection, you of course see the fallacies within it. You realize it is not at all true, but it’s one of those things that people might have accepted for centuries without really asking themselves, “is this really true?”

Take for instance the phrase, give a man a fish and you will feed him forever, teach a man to fish and he will feed himself.

That  sounds oh so true. But is it?

It can be. But if the man lives in the desert, it’s not likely to help him much. Or if he is very old, or disabled, or has others to care for that take up all his time. So it’s a general proposition that handouts aren’t always the best answer, but then again, sometimes they are.

Comparisons can get you in a world of trouble too. The Republicans like to compare the state of the US budget with a family budget. It seems to make sense. The average person when faced with personal debt will first of all cut out a lot of things from their budget. They will cut our so-called luxuries. But what is a luxury just for starters? To a musician, cutting out a ticket to the symphony may be worse than cutting 25% of the food budget. Ya see what I mean?

And cutting spending (which Republicans tout at the answer), isn’t really how we operate is it? Like I said, it’s part of what we do. But we do other things as well. We get a second job sometimes (create more revenue) or we invest in education to learn new things that might get us a higher paying job (stimulus). Republicans always forget that stuff.

They call the wealthy job creators. But they aren’t really, only incidentally. Nobody starts out with the desire to “hire people”. When people have jobs, they get paid, and they spend money. That creates demand for products and services. That causes entrepreneurs to invest in increased production which leads usually to hiring of new people. See how that works? It’s money in the hands of the consumer that generates jobs.

My dental issues have reached gargantuan levels. The amount of money is staggering. I can afford it, if that is the right word. Spending money on my mouth is hardly my way of having fun. I would rather buy a Prius, or some similar new vehicle. And believe me I could almost do that.

My dentist is a man who thrives on courtesy. While I’m sitting there with my mouths gaping, he chatters, “Good job Sherry, you’re a great patient. Lisa? Isn’t Sherry a fine patient? Lisa you did this prep perfectly. Good job, Lisa!” Lisa of course, thanks him profusely. Excuse me if I’m not overwhelmed by “being a great patient.” I’m a paying one and that is all he cares about.

When I protest that I’m a bit shocked (well I did nearly pass out when I saw the numbers on the estimate), he nods, “yes, yes, it is expensive. So expensive. But we will work with you. Whatever you need to do, we will work with you to achieve.”

Translation: We will not cut a penny off the bill, and we will not let you owe us for ten years, paying a bit at a time. But we will do what you need a tooth at a time, even if it takes ten years. He actually proudly told me of the woman who took ten years to get her teeth done. He no doubt thinks he’s benevolent.

I figure that even the average working class stiff can’t afford dental care without insurance. Dental care is not a right. It’s only a privilege for those who can pay. How can people think that way? Of course the same goes for health care in general. Aren’t these human rights?

When the US is only the 16th best country to be born in today, something ain’t right.

So what are you bitching about today?