In which I discern what is wrong with health care in America

So, once again winter is upon us, and we are bombarded with dire warnings about the threat to civilization which is influenza.  Granted that this year's strain is not considered to be quite the existential threat as some in recent memory, one still cannot turn around without seeing a pharmacy, clinic, doc-in-a-box, or grocery store advising that it is one's civic duty to get a flu shot, and advertising the convenience of getting shot up at whichever venue is doing the advertising.

Now, the Army tends to have quite the institutional memory--albeit not necessarily for the relevant facts at the moment--and still, after losing more troops to the Spanish Influenza of 1918 than to the Kaiser's (or Commissar's) rifles, demands that everyone get a flu shot every year.  So, based on 20 years of experience, I usually ignore the blandishments to get a flu shot, because I know that I have a better chance of becoming mildly ill if I do, than of becoming very ill if I don't.

Howsomever, She Who Must Be Obeyed informed me in no uncertain terms that I must get a show, because her doctor had informed her that, if I didn't, the possibilities of my ruining her vacation next month approach certainty.  So, on the way home from work today I decided to stop at the national chain pharmacy on the way and pay them the advertised $30 cash for a shot, reasoning that it would be more convenient than to make an appointment with my HMO, and visit them.

You can see this coming, right?

Pharmacy girl:  Have you filled with us before?
Me:  {To self:  She must mean "have you filled a prescription with us before?"}  No.
Pg:  {Deer in headlights look}  Okay, I'll be back in a second.
{Five minutes go by.}
{Note:  Elapsed time may be slightly exaggerated.}
Pg: {Sets a ream of paper on counter.}{Note:  Amount of paperwork may be slightly exaggerated.}
Fill out this part of this form, all of this form front and back, and all of this form, then take them to Drop-Off with your insurance, and they'll call you when they're ready.
Me: Um, I don't have my insurance card with me...
Pg:  {Deer in headlights, followed by deer being chased by wolf.} Um.  Er.  Uh.  {Looks away}
Me: Nevermind.

So I went home and called my HMO, which had openings all afternoon after 2 PM, so I showered and changed and went and got the shot and was on my way home in half an hour or so.

Now, some will no doubt argue that the ease with which I got the shot at my health care provider gives the lie to my claim that the earlier goat rope was indicative of anything wrong with Health Care In America, but I disagree. 

If influenza was really the public health hazard that public health officials and the media want us to believe, then there would have been no walking out of the pharmacy and going elsewhere.  Influenza inoculation would be handled like the polio inoculations of my childhood, with everyone lining up at their local school gym; all military recruits would be tested for allergies to eggs, and those who are allergic would be medically discharged, and subject to quarantine.

The fact that all that paperwork is necessary to get a simple vaccination that some would suggest is vital to continuing Life As We Know It suggests to me that, in fact, this particular train is being driven by paper shufflers and hucksters, no doubt with heavy kibitzing by lawyers and politicians.  (Note that the paperwork was not necessary with my HMO because it was already done, not because my HMO gives out shots to whoever walks in the door;  I did, however, have to update the emergency notification and HIPPA "what ethnicity am I?" paperwork, it having been a few years since I had need for a sawbones...)

Now, I'm hardly the first person to suggest that the Problem with  Health Care in America is not that it's expensive--it is, after all, not just unethical but illegal to deny critical health care to someone who can't afford to pay for it--but that Health Care in America is in the hands of lawyers and bureaucrats, who have ensured that it is expensive.

Makes me wonder how many people recognize the signs of the looters and moochers among us.

It will astonish some to learn that I have no desire to own one

But they're all a bunch of stupid, narrow-minded mundanes...
A 'Star Trek: TNG'-style communicator for your shirt

Ron Paul's Exit Interview

Dr Wookie Suit sits down and talks to the Washington Compost:

Wolverines!!!

Zachary Lehman takes two Asian exchange students to see the remake of Red Dawn:  'Red Dawn' Doles Out Tea Party Patriotism.   (h/t Instapundit.)

I'm not gonna lie: I have low expectations, especially since the production caved in and remade it was north Korea as the bad guys!  But I've seen a few reviews that say that, if you can mentally substitute ChiComs for norks, it's pretty good.  So maybe I'll see it after all.

A Shovel-Ready Project

From the Wile E. Coyote School of Gunsmithing:  DIY: Shovel AK - photo tsunami warning!
Note:  Thread is 17 pages long so far, there is little or no significant content after the original post.

FWIW, I do not actually belong to the WECSOG, since they demand an unreasonable amount of personal information for membership. I realize they're trying to keep criminals, terrorists, snitches, ATF agents, and other riff-raff out, but I am none of the above, so screw 'em.


h/t Robb Allen's twitter feed.

"Two Cheers for Anarchism"

Two Cheers for Anarchism - FORTUNE Features

Ron Paul's Farewell to Congress

Short version: "Fuck alla you fascist assholes."

Transcript: Ron Paul’s farewell address to Congress | WashingtonExaminer.com

UPDATE:  I don't know what happened to the embedded video when I first posted this, added it back in...

QOTD, 11/23/2012

Seen on Shooters Northwest:

Probably would have been more to the point if he had phrased it "tell me how much of what you earn belongs to me", though.

Well, this was an unexpected development...

Shortly after posting a post to Facespace reflecting on the fact that, over the years, I have spent more than a couple of Thanksgivings away from home, the team I was assigned to, and a couple of others, were called into a meeting and informed that, for reasons I won't go into now, we were being sent home a month early.

So, we're thankful for that.  I'm also thankful for a surprise seat, assigned at the gate, that has legroom, but not for 5 hour flights with no meal service, even for purchase.

The cats seem to have gotten over my coming home, although Mrs. Drang says they were all upset while I was gone.

Cats.  Whudda ya gonna do?

A Taste of New York

Lunch yesterday, Coney Island/Brighton Beach.
(Street food cart, in case you couldn't tell.)

Nathan's Famous Hot Dogs was closed.

A little bit of home...

...in Brighton Beach.

Everyone else loves them some Dunkin' Donuts.

Coney Island & Elsewhere

It occurs to me that most of my geographical knowledge of New York comes from watching The Warriors.
Also seen, but not photographed:
Sign on entering Brooklyn:

You Are Now Entering Brooklyn
HOW SWEET IT IS!

which I always associated with Jackie Gleason, and Miami.
Also:

You Are Now Leaving Brooklyn
FUGHEDDABOUDIT!

There's a boardwalk under all that sand...

Staten Island

Not the worst we've seen, but i wasn't able to get discrete photos without addresses or other identifying info.

Seen on the streets of Noo Yawk

On a Pepsi truck

Where's Drang?

UPDATE/EDIT: Snapped this on my way into the city last week, not sure why it took so long to post...

I aint'nt ded yet

I am currently sitting in a 12-Man Bay in barracks at Ft. Dix, NJ, waiting to deploy to the Belly of the Beast area effected by Hurricane Sandy, to perform what are as of yet unclear duties. (I've gotten some training, but things are subject to change.) So posting will be sporadic.

There may or may not be photos and/or videos, depending.

I sure miss Mrs. Drang and the cats.

Impeach Boehner!

In Other Words….

EDIT: Okay, "impeach" wasn't the right word.  Recall.  Replace as Speaker, at a minimum.

We don't want a "loyal opposition", not now. We want, we need, utter, dogged, Churchillian opposition to any and all laws, rules, regulations, policies, or procedures that will further erode the Constitution of these United States, and our individual freedom and rights.

WTF? of the day, 11/05/12

Victoria’s Secret show tosses hurricane-relief Guardsmen out of armory - NYPOST.com

By TARA PALMERI and DAVID K. LI
Last Updated: 5:24 AM, November 5, 2012
Posted: 2:06 AM, November 5, 2012The Victoria’s Secret show must go on — even if it means kicking out hardworking men and women in uniform.
Dozens of National Guardsmen, and Army and Air Force personnel who have been sleeping at Manhattan’s Lexington Armory in between hurricane-relief shifts are being booted — to make room for Victoria’s Secret models in anticipation of Wednesday’s runway show.

There's a whole lotta WTF? in a short article, but the next-to-last 'graph threw in another:

A massive transformer generator was being brought in for the show...

Then again: New York City Marathon canceled but still has generators and supplies unused in park in spite of Hurricane Sandy recovery needs - NYPOST.com

QOTD, 11/04/2012

Power, Lincoln, comes not from hate, but from truth.
Abraham Lincoln, Vampire Hunter

Heh

Seen on Facebook:

"Remember, remember..."

In my previous post, I linked to Why Was There No October Surprise? Because Every Freakin’ Day for the Last Four Years Has Been an October Surprise. Rarely does a comment on a blog post, even at PJ Media, get an Instalanche, but this one did--with good reason:

10. Winslow

The Sixth of November

Remember, remember, this sixth of November,
The radicals’ treasonous plot.
I know of no reason the radicals’ treason
Should e’er be forgiv’n or forgot.

The Sixties were waning, and Leftists were claiming
That radical changes were due.
Their Marxist solution was armed revolution:
The Weathermen made their debut.

The radicals raged on the national stage, and
Horrific explosions ensued.
Their bombs were dramatic, but also erratic;
They sometimes killed radicals, too.

The Leftists grew older, the underground, colder,
And so they came in from the cold.
“Subvert from within – in the long run, we’ll win,” said
The Leftists, determined and bold.

And thus it began – this nefarious plan – and
The radicals slowly took charge:
Complete infiltration of all education;
The long institutional march.

The journalist schools would produce useful fools, for
The Left would need media shills.
And Hollywood, too, would assist in the coup, with
Its slick propagandizing skills.

“Community action” would build a new faction;
’Twould organize proles on the street.
A smooth politician would front for the mission,
And run for the president’s seat.

The radicals’ goal, which they proudly extol, is
A communist U.S. of A.
Collectivist schemes lead to brutal regimes, and
For this do the radicals pray.

But Jefferson’s aim, with the charters he framed, was
To guard individual rights.
And “redistribution” was not a solution,
But one of the evils to fight.

So let us remember, this sixth of November,
Just what is at stake on this date.
Will Jefferson’s dream, or the radicals’ scheme, now
Determine America’s fate?
November 2, 2012 - 12:16 pm

Turtles Scandals All the way Down

Zombie » Why Was There No October Surprise? Because Every Freakin’ Day for the Last Four Years Has Been an October Surprise The post concludes with a long list of what would have been scandals, if they had occurred during a Republican presidency.

Grr -- Update

Both Daily Pundit and Emergency Preps seem to be off line.

I notice that the URL I get redirected to has the phrases "suspended page" and "disabled" in it.

Guessing some Bill got some libtard pissed off enough to whine; perhaps Bue Host is run by a bunch of O-Bots.

Remember:  Progressives do care about Constitutional Rights--for themselves.  Disagreeing with them is racist.

Back up now.

More on The Outage, plus some thought on same: Thank You

Bill Whittle: Falling On Principle