Yesterday, I got up at 4 am and started the drive from Savannah to Atlanta at 440 am. I was tired. Driving when it is dark and even the birds are still sleeping is difficult to do without assistance. Of course, I had coffee. But I have found long drives require more than just caffeine to keep me alert.

The best thing to make me forget my warm cozy bed is good conversation. Unfortunately, this was a solo flight. The next best thing to having a good conversation is listening to someone else’s good conversation. Talk radio generally has plentiful discussions, many of them which can get your blood boiling. I scanned the airwaves. I heard stations from Chicago, Des Moines, Cincinnati, Charlotte and New Orleans. Sports stations. No help.

I finally gave up on Talk Radio and turned to the FM stations. If you can’t talk, and there’s nothing to listen to, good music is a good alternative. I found a station whose tag line was “Songs You Love to Sing Along.” Perfect. After Low Rider, they cut to commercials…and then static. Back to scanning.

Finally in the Atlanta metro area, I started listening to some morning shows. I hate morning shows. The first one lost me when they started guffawing about farts. I guess their audience is in the 10 to 14 year old age range (mentally). Of course the reason I hate most morning shows is that this tends to be how they are anyway.

{Classical music stations all have hosts with calm, soothing voices. There may be some bantering with the traffic guy or the weather gal, but for the most part, they play the music which is all the entertainment the audience wants anyway. Since most people listen to radio other than classical, I wonder if people really do want juvenile jokes and inane babble for their drive into the office.}

The show that got me on the last leg of the drive did have an amusing Cajun dialogue that made me laugh on the punchline. And I heard the weather forecast for the weekend. I don’t think I heard any music. The traffic report didn’t mean anything to me, since I don’t know the roads. And then there was the 3 minute pre-recorded monologue.

Mr. Monologue sounded like he was in his 50’s or 60’s. He said he had heard people complaining about taxes, and complaining that the government was taking away their rights. He said we pay federal, state, local and county taxes. He said we get certain benefits from these taxes (roads, etc). He suggested we think about how these governments take away our “rights.” He listed as many ways as he could think of that the government affected our daily life: we have to obey traffic laws; we have to get a driver’s license; we have to get our dog vaccinated. And that was about it. His point: what are we complaining about? We are free; this is a great country; the government is looking out for our best interests; stop the moaning.

My retort: Old Man, have you been living under a rock? Please stay home on election day.

On that last leg of my journey, I was alert and ready for action. Increased blood pressure is a wonderful thing.

Have you seen Bump+? Having heard many stories and known more than a few women who were unexpectedly expecting, I have a hard time finding ANY of these characters believable. It really seems as though the show is geared to be a platform to convince us that abortion is the best choice for these women.

What woman is going to confess to adultery on a reality show if her motive to have an abortion is to conceal it from her deployed husband? Like nobody would see it and tell him?

Sheesh.

Give me the intelligent college girl with the bright future. Give me the 18 year old good girl who left home and is shacking up with some 30 year old unemployed slacker. Give me the unwed career woman or the pregnant with #5 welfare mom. Give me likeable women.

And let’s admit that it’s all acting and not pretend that these women are actually going to take advice from random strangers on the internet.

Dialogue, yes.

Pathetic reality show-esque acting, no.

One key obstacle appeared on its way to a resolution when Sen. Ben Nelson, D-Neb., requested the elimination of an intensely controversial, one-of-a-kind federal subsidy to cover the entire cost of a Medicaid expansion in his home state.

Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned, deeply regretted what he had done. He returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.” Matthew 27: 3-4

Nelson is giving the money back because Nebraska told him they don’t want it. I’m not sure he has even as much remorse as Judas had.

Virginia Veteran Wins Battle to Keep His Flagpole in Yard:

Warner and Sen. Jim Webb, both Virginia Democrats, had rallied behind Barfoot, a World War II veteran.

In a letter last week, Webb urged the association to “consider the exceptional nature of Col. Barfoot’s service when considering his pride and determination in honoring our flag.”

So, if you aren’t a Medal of Honor recipient, fat chance getting Virginia Democrats to support you in your efforts to fly the nation’s symbol in your yard.

As a side note, our new house in Georgia happens to have a flagpole in the front. He has a light shining on the flag so you don’t have to take it down, but perhaps my Scouting sons will want to do daily flag ceremonies. We’ll need to add an artillary piece and play Retreat every evening.

Obama Doesn’t “Get” the Military He Commands

Aye!

GOP Gains Could Hurt Obama Political Capital, If Not Agenda – FOXNews.com: “Still, Democrats suggest the Tuesday night wins are anything but helpful to the Republican Party.

‘They’re in a civil war over the definition of their party,’ said Paul Blank, a Democratic consultant. ‘And the extremists have won.'”

Yes, and the Democrats know all about that.

If the couple in the pew behind you, who talked throughout the entire Mass, tells you how well-behaved your children are, can you take it as a complement? Or can you just assume they have no idea of what they speak?

…does poverty make you fat.

Wallets Thin, Waistlines Expand in Recession

No excuses, people. Smaller portions ALWAYS save money. You don’t have to buy organic to be healthy. Frozen vegetables are not very expensive. Beans have lots of nutrients and are really cheap.

Put down the halloween candy and pick up an apple. They are in season and inexpensive.

No matter how cheap McDonald’s is, the grocery store is cheaper. The economy does not make you fat. Your lifestyle makes you fat. Period.

It doesn’t matter who is in power, I have a deep-rooted distrust of the government. It’s a good thing.

This doesn’t mean that I don’t think it’s good for anything. I mean, my husband works for the federal government. Governments, big and small, have some usefulness.

But we need to keep an eye on them. Whose best interest do they really protect? Ultimately, their own. And the bigger they are, the worse the self-protectionism gets. So we just need to watch them.

So, let’s look at the H1N1 virus and the vaccine that is in short supply. This article, and others, have been highlighting how there isn’t enough vaccine available to meet demand and that those who are not in a high-risk group are getting it. Selfish people, huh?

So who is most at risk? According to this site:

• pregnant women
• those who come in regular contact with anyone under the age of 6 months (from family members to day care workers)
• those in health care
• those between the ages of 6 months and 24 years
• people between the ages of 24 and 64 who have certain medical conditions

Fair enough. I have no argument with that list. If you fall in one of those categories, go get the vaccine, if you can get it.

However, it is very interesting to note that according to that site, those groups make up approximately 159 million people.

I checked this database with 2000 census figures, and people 24 years and younger are about 81 million. So 78 million people are in one of the other categories. Seems a bit high, but I won’t even argue that. Fine 159 million people should get the H1N1 vaccine.

But now I go back to the first article cited, (forgive me for reading a Fox News article. I realize it is opinion journalism, but I did find a second source for the number they used…or is the Wall Street Journal also opinion journalism?). And what started me on this whole rabbit chase was this line:

Because the U.S. has only received about 24 million of the 250 million vaccine doses it ordered…

OK. So, we ordered a little extra. 91 million extra. In the U.S., they say that those under 10 should have 2 doses. That’s 39 million people (assuming every single person in that age group got the vaccine). We’re down to 52 million extra doses. Over 30% extra.

Two things:

#1 And we want the government running a health care system? They won’t waste money?

#2 It is not in the government’s best interest to lose money on this deal. It is in the government’s best interest to have every single H1N1 dose used up. And paid for (mainly with private insurance).

So, who do they expect will use up those 52 million surplus vaccines? Are they hoarding them with the intent to resell them at a higher price to another country? Do they intend to frighten the daylights out of everybody in order to create panic and high demand for the vaccine?

If anybody can enlighten me as to why we would order so many extra doses, please do so. For now, I think we just need to pay close attention to what happens if the rest of the order comes in and demand drops.

I am completely disgusted by this NPR article:

The Telltale Wombs Of Lewiston, Maine

the article’s conclusion:

For most Americans this is an incredibly difficult idea to accept: It’s hard to understand that more care isn’t necessarily better for you.

But study after study has borne out the truth of this completely anti-intuitive conclusion. In fact, Fisher and other researchers estimate that almost one-third of the care given in our country today is that kind of care — care that isn’t really helping people.

The United States spends more than $2 trillion on health care every year. So the cost of that 30 percent unnecessary care annually? $660 billion.

I am not at all arguing that people are only getting care that is necessary. I, myself, hesitate before going to the doctor, am wary of most medical procedures, ask tons of questions, do my own research, and pay attention to how this or that drug may be affecting me or my children. But I think many people probably do go to the doctor more than necessary and take medicine that isn’t necessary and try procedures that aren’t necessary. But since I’m not a doctor, that’s not for me to decide.

The point of this article was that doctors are in it for the money. They can’t help themselves. Yes, they want what’s good for the patient; yes, they want to avoid a lawsuit. But when push comes to shove, they will lean toward this expensive procedure over that cheaper one simply because it lines their pockets.

So, we, dear citizens, need somebody to protect us from evil doctors and their greedy eyes. We can not trust doctors to give us the best care – and, really, it is silly that you should be able to get in to see a doctor every time little Junior gets a fever. You are just a nervous mother, and the nurse can tell you over the phone the best treatment for the next 48 hours (because we can’t see him any sooner anyway).

No, listening to your doctor and doing research on your own is not a good way to manage your health, either. You are too stupid to be able to differentiate between good medical advice and uneducated guesses by lay people. And you are too stupid to know if something is wrong with your body or not. We need an independent group – not you or your doctor – to tell you what should be done about your health.

Can we not understand that we are wasting money every day by going to the doctor needlessly? We all need to tighten our belts a little. If we all just gave up one doctor’s visit a year, one unnecessary prescription, a few fewer physical therapy sessions for that broken hip, a few days less in the hospital after heart surgery, we could afford universal health care. We need somebody out there to ensure that everybody sacrifices equally.

Of course, we will not short anybody on vaccines. Vaccines are in Merck’s our country’s best interest.

Seriously, why do I suspect that I’d have to wait less for an appointment to get my daughter on the pill than to get her a physical? One-third of the care currently provided is unnecessary? Expect to receive one-third less care if this plan goes through. We, dear citizens, are getting too much of a good thing, and it’s time to stop.