You all are my best friends, Thanks to RJ at Global Glass Onion who puts out his weekly wrap up today so don't miss that, and my gentle friend the Ozarker over at Conflicted Doomer.These are good people.
And don't miss Bill Hick's post at Downward Spiral today! Friday Rant: The Liberals and Progressives Don't "Get It," Either Of course maybe I'm being partial, but I think Bill blows Kunstler clear out of the water! Also, be sure to visit the excellent forums linked at the bottom of this post. Lots of great information and up to the minute news discussions going on there.
I have to say that, I wouldn't wish a gall bladder attack and 9 hours in ER on my worst enemy, not even a politician!
Sorry I didn't post yesterday, I'm still sick cause I still have my freakin' gall bladder!
They gave me some meds for the nausea and it helps but it also makes a person sleep which i guess is a good thing. Anyway, we'll have a post today!
You know something? Our medical system is screwed up, big time. I hadn't been to a doc in about 14 or 15 years I guess so I kind of lost out on what was going on. It was like going to some alien planet the other night at the ER. It's only about making money. If you get better it's mostly by accident I guess.
They said I didn't have "sludge" (whatever the hell that is) around my gall bladder so I could wait 2 weeks and go to this doctor's office and have it taken out there. They said that also gives us time to save up for a down payment for the surgery. I'm NOT asking for anymore donations, so don't get me wrong about telling you that, I'm just sayin what happened. Also, now evidently, you have to be looked at by about 10 different people too. Each one of them a cog in the endlessly turning wheel of commerce. One takes your blood pressure, one for blood samples, one for ultra sound and then another to look at the ultra sound and tell the doctor what it says then the assistant doc, then in two weeks i'll actually see the doctor. Danm.
Ok, also, evidently it's weirder than a two headed dog not to us prescription meds or have a personal doctor. I asked the lady doctor who I saw there if she would be my doctor and she looked at me like I'd asked her to be my girlfriend or something. "No, she snapped, I specialize in emergency medicine!"
Well damn.
Who knew?
Also, evidently smoking is the cause of every illness on earth because just about everyone I saw wanted to know if I smoked.. Told them I quit but if I could lay my hands on one I'd sure as hell smoke it! LOL They hate that.
Who knew that smoking caused gall stones? I did not.
Poor hub, sitting out there in that awful chair all those hours, at least I finally got to lay down in a bed.
Oh, and the lady that took my blood??? she was about my age with dyed black hair, funny teeth and a bit of an accent. Coincidence? :D
The ultra sound girl was a real trip too. LOL
I already knew I had stones, they'd just never bothered me before. But I ask her what is the picture showing, "I can't tell you, that would be a diagnosis." she says.
she has to show them to somebody who reads them, and then that person tells the doc. Yet more cogs.
Oh, she also informed me that the reason medical care was so high was because of Gov. subsidies.
you know I was pretty sick cause I just let that one slide.
and one more anomoly. Not once did anyone, nurse or doc, listen to my heart or take my pulse or weigh me.
One asked me how much I weighed, I just guessed cause I don't have a scale either.
but no one had a stethoscope. Is that odd? Or maybe the heart listener was on vacation. LOL That's probably it.
Out in the lobby, it was mostly people like us, one lady was having a horrible time with her kidney stones, she was crying and that made me feel bad for her. A heavy set man across from us had a bit of swelling in his leg and by the time I got to see anyone his leg had really gotten big. I said something to the nurse about it, I hope he was ok.
There was an emo kind of fellow there with something going on in his nostril too. Very odd, and he had a lady with him. He was cussin' to beat the band and rubbing his nose and sticking kleenex in it and all that, he finally got mad and left.
Lots of elderly people. Lots of them.
Hub noticed several signs in the waiting area too that said something to the effect that if you have flu like symptoms, to protect their staff, please leave.
Now what the hell kind of hospital does that?
I had to answer some wacky questions too. They asked me was I on any meds. I said no. Then asked me what pharmacy I used. What? I said. Where do you get your prescriptions filled? I don't get prescriptions filled. LOL
Where then was the last pharmacy I had prescriptions filled at? Hell, I don't know that would have been almost 20 years ago! I know, what about that new one across the street. I'll use that one ok?
they were satisfied with that.
Not having a phone or driver's license didn't hurt me too bad.
the little guy that rolled in a computer machine thing to put all my info into just scanned my expired photo id and that was good enough. He was joking and said that's so they'd be able to take our house if they needed to.
The joke's on them then. LOL
I don't think he really meant that though.
Also the lady asked me did I have any religious or financial considerations they should be aware of, I told her, "I like Jesus and I don't have any money."
She seemed satisfied with that.
And another thing, this end of life will? it's a big deal I guess. I don't have one myself and they like for you to have one at the hospital I'll bet 3 different cogs asked me about mine while I was there. One said I needed to get one and bring it by for them to scan into the system so they would know what to do if the time came.
Kind of made it seem a bit creepy after all that.
The doc I was telling you about, she was really pretty I asked someone and they told me she was from India. I thought about all the little girl babies being killed over there so families didn't have to pay someone to marry them and was glad she made it out ok.
She asked me did I work.
think about that for a sec. you know, used to be, you asked a lady did she work outside the home. Remember that?
Now there is no work unless it's paid work. no work unless you work for someone else. Odd I think.
I told her yes I worked, I had a big garden and I am an artist. I need to get better so I can can my tomatoes and weed the garden.
She said I looked like an artist because I have long hair and she asked me was I expensive. I said not expensive enough evidently, but if she would like to see some of my work I had done the mural on the front of Nelson's Gallery in town and had work there on display and for sale.
I secretly snickered in my head thinking of her looking at paintings of "Terrible Angels" and drawings of collapse and destruction. :D
Well, I guess if I just behave myself, no beer, no meat or oily things, for a couple weeks, I'll be able to get this traitorous thing removed and be good to go!
Again, thank you all for being such good friends to me. Me and hub appreciate you all.
your friend,
pam
Japan
NDReport: Researchers confirm ground-up TV cathode-ray tubes block 99 percent of radiation
With the boom in new TV buying that has accompanied the switch to terrestrial digital broadcasting an equivalent rush to throw away old CRT-based TVs is also expected. As such, NIMS believes there should be an ample supply of CRTs to grind up for anti-radiation applications in the area around the crisis-stricken Fukushima No. 1 Nuclear Power Plant.
ProjectWorldAwareness: Japan Says Citizens ‘Have No Right To A Healthy Radiation, Free Life’
Global Conflict
SOTT: Iran to UN: Israel behind scientist's murder
ABCNews: Fort Hood Plot: AWOL Soldier Planned Dual Bombing, Shooting, Officials Say
BusinessInsider: U.S. Accuses Iran Of Harboring Network That Funds Al Qaeda
CNN: Kandahar mayor killed in suicide attack; Taliban claim responsibility
Hacker News
NYT: New Hacking Case Outrages Britain
LONDON — Britain was awash in a new surge of outrage over the phone hacking scandal on Thursday, as news emerged that Scotland Yard had added to the list of probable victims a woman whose 8-year-old daughter was murdered by a repeat sex offender in 2000.
CNN: Anti-pedophile campaigner says hackers targeted her
Financial News
ModernSurvivalBlog: Lowest to Highest Taxes by State
Casaubon'sBook: Yes, Food Stamps are More Important than Defense
CNN: U.S. will pay for half of all health care costs by 2020
BusinessInsider: Time Ticks Down As Boehner, House Prepare Another Vote To Nowhere
Reuters: US health bill to approach 20 pct of spend by 2020
BusinessInsider: Apple Pulls ITunes from Christian Values Network
Apple has pulled its iTunes store from the Christian Values Network due to what it sees as the network’s contributions to controversial groups, as tech companies tread carefully in the midst of complicated social issues.
DailyBail: Ron Paul Asks Fed Governor Thomas Hoenig: "What Is The Definition Of A Dollar?" (Congressional Video)
BusinessInsider: Wow -- Maybe We Really ARE Governed By A Bunch Of Irresponsible Wack-Jobs
Guardian: Shock US GDP figures send FTSE 100 and Wall Street sharply lower
TruthOut: Why the GOP Aims to Sink the Economy
Bloomberg: Why the Debt Crisis Is Even Worse Than You Think
If Washington is deadlocked now, how will it deal with the much bigger debt problems that lurk in the decades to come?
Bloomberg: Roach Says Chinese Officials ‘Appalled’ by Impasse on Raising Debt Ceiling
CNN: Economy still stuck in the mud
BBC: Credit Suisse to cut 4% of global workforce by 2012
Credit Suisse is to cut more than 2,000 jobs - or 4% of its global workforce of 50,700 - by the end of next year in an attempt to make savings.
Bloomberg: German Unemployment Fell in July as Hiring Resisted Crisis
IBTimes: Dollar slides as economic growth evaporates
BusinessInsider: Consumer Confidence: Still Not Collapsing, Probably Irrelevant
TheAtlantic: What Happens if We Don't Raise the Debt Ceiling?
Time: Still True Today: Frequently Forgotten Facts of the Debt Debate
MaxKeiser: Good Morning America, Goodbye ‘Exorbitant Privilege’
HillbillyReport: The Real Cost of Social Security Surplus Raiding
Bloomberg: Container-Ship Plunge Signals U.S. Slowdown
Bloomberg: Foreclosure Filings Decline in 84% of Largest U.S. Cities as Glut Grows
MSNBC: Layoffs ease in glimmer of hope for job market
New claims for jobless benefits drop below 400,000 for first time since April
MyBudget360: No debt ceiling for the Federal Reserve and too big to fail banks
The double standard of American banking and opaque Federal Reserve policy.
RawStory: Global markets sinking in response to failure of GOP vote
Peak oil and Energy News
NatGeo: Debt Ceiling Impasse Could Hit Clean Energy Hard
TreeHugger: Shell Profits Double as Tar Sands and Liquefied Natural Gas Move Forward
LegitGov: Exxon Mobil profit jumps 41pc
Commodities/Metals
MineWeb: Ivory Coast gold output to almost double in 2 years - Minister
Gold production capacity in Ivory Coast to hit 13 tonnes by 2013 up from 7 tonnes currently and reach, 20 tonnes by 2020
MineWeb: t's not the US debt ceiling that's really driving gold prices
Daily commentary on the gold market from Julian Phillips - contrary to most pof the media Julian believes that the U.S. political impasse is not the main price driver at the moment.
Environmental News
USAToday: Tropical Storm Don bound for Texas
HurricaneTrack: DON LOOKS TO BE WEAK AT LANDFALL WITH MUCH NEEDED RAIN, NEW THREAT TO LESSER ANTILLES WITH 91L
TruthOut: Fracking Operations Cause Thousands of Earthquakes in Arkansas
ExtinctionProtocol: Growing threat of wildfires in the Arctic could unleash greenhouse gases from tundra
CSMonitor: South Korea mobilizes to cope with flooding, landslides
ExtinctionProtocol: Unknown infectious agent suspected in mysterious death of fowl on Marshall Islands
ExtinctionProtocol: First Sierra Leone, now France- beaches blanketed by toxic seaweed
Toxic blue-green algae has killed 31 wild boar in a cove in Brittany, northern France. The algae is common on beaches in the area but turns deadly when it comes into contact with nitrogen waste flowing to the cove from intensive pig farms near the Gouessant estuary. The gas is as toxic as cyanide, prompting local authorities to close nearby beaches. In 2009 fumes from the seaweed-like sludge knocked out a council worker clearing the beach. A local horse rider also passed out and their horse died.
ModernSurvivalBlog: Atlantic Magnetic Anomaly Signaling Disaster?
MSNBC: Tropical storm heading for Texas coast
Oil companies evacuate workers from offshore platforms
BBC: Plant evolved a bat beckoning beacon
America in Decline
BlackListedNews: Bank ‘Activity’ Required For Wisconsin Voter ID
TruthOut: America Held Hostage to Two-Party Failure: Government of, by and for the Corporations
Cryptogon: House Panel Approves Broadened ISP Snooping Bill
CommonDreams: At the DHS, One Analyst For Many Right-Wing ExtremistsDaryl Johnson, a conservative Mormon who headed the DHS unit analyzing threats from domestic extremists, was the principal author of the report.
Food and Water
FarmWars: Genetically engineered maize with synthetic toxin approved for usage in EU food and feed
FoodRenegade: FDA Admits Arsenic in Supermarket Chickens
Science and Technology
ArcheologyNewsNetwork: Tomb of Philip the Apostle discovered in Turkey?
BlackListedNews: Minority rules: Scientists discover tipping point for the spread of ideasTroy, N.Y. – Scientists at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute have found that when just 10 percent of the population holds an unshakable belief, their belief will always be adopted by the majority of the society. The scientists, who are members of the Social Cognitive Networks Academic Research Center (SCNARC) at Rensselaer, used computational and analytical methods to discover the tipping point where a minority belief becomes the majority opinion. The finding has implications for the study and influence of societal interactions ranging from the spread of innovations to the movement of political ideals.
TechReview: Three-Dimensional Photonic Crystals Shine
In work that could improve solar cells and LEDs, researchers have, for the first time, made practical working devices out of three-dimensional photonic crystals.
PopSci: As Synthetic Biology Marches On, Our First Encounter With Alien Life May Happen in the Lab
ArcheologyNewsNetwork: Dark winters led to bigger human brains and eyeballs
The farther that human populations live from the equator, the bigger their brains, according to a new study by Oxford University. But it turns out that this is not because they are smarter, but because they need bigger vision areas in the brain to cope with the low light levels experienced at high latitudes.
MSNBC: 'Oldest bird' knocked off its perch
The newfound fossil of a 155 million-year-old feathered dinosaur has led scientists to claim that Archaeopteryx, the species long held forth as the "oldest bird," is no bird at all.
MSNBC: Found at last: Earth's first companion asteroid
Trojan space rock may be easier to reach than moon, could be rich in elements
CSMonitor: Russian telescope launch pulls national space program out of black hole
The Spektr-R, a space telescope that was put in orbit Monday, is just one of the ways the Russian space program is getting back on track.
Medical and Health
SFExaminer: It’s official: Circumcision ban off November ballot in San Francisco
Doomsteading, Gardening, Urban Farming
CanadianDoomer: Unusual Stockpile Items
ModernSurvivalBlog: Disinfectant Bleach-Water Ratio
ModernSurvivalOnline: Guest Post: Communications Options For a Natural or Man-Made Disaster
ModernSurvivalOnline: Guest Post: Communications Options For a Natural or Man-Made Disaster
FoodRenegade: Old-Fashioned Refried Beans
Other News
WashingtonPost: Judge orders Nixon grand jury testimony unsealed
A federal judge has ordered the government to unseal grand jury transcripts of testimony by former President Richard Nixon about the Watergate scandal.WikiHow: How to Purposefully Forget Things
Ruling in a lawsuit brought by a historian and several historical associations, Chief U.S. District Judge Royce C. Lamberth ordered the transcripts to be unsealed.
BusinessInsider: Rupert Murdoch's Pie-Throwing Attacker Pleeds Guilty, Faces Prison
UPI: Mexican troops mistakenly cross into Texas
DONNA, Texas, July 27 (UPI) -- Mexico's secretary of defense said four Humvees carrying soldiers that inadvertently crossed into U.S. territory reported to U.S. customs before returning home.TransitionVoice: Will Republican party die in childbirth?
"Military personnel of this jurisdiction were patrolling along the border zone when they involuntarily crossed into U.S. territory on the international 'Rio Bravo-Donna' bridge due to the fact the turn-around was on the American side," Mexico's secretary of defense said in a statement translated from Spanish, the San Antonio Express-News reported Wednesday. "The situation was clarified with the immigration authorities of our neighboring country."
The Forums
TinfoilPalace:Tourists warned over 'killer seaweed' in France
TinfoilPalace:GLP is a joke
TheOilAge:Egypt’s Simmering Rage & New Elections
TheOilAge:A Nightmare on Wall Street
Hubberts-Arms:DEBT DEAL IMMINENT? I think this is it..MARKETS REBOUND
Hubberts-Arms:Suck it up, serfs
SilentCountry:Friday Rant: The Liberals and Progressives Don't "Get It," Either
SilentCountry:ITS Bank Eated Friday, Debt Ceiling Edition
Yay - glad to hear you're okay! Sorry it was such an ordeal. Modern medicine is all about the $$$ and if the patient so happens to get better that's merely a bonus.
ReplyDeleteTake care of yourself!
I'm curious what happens to people with no resources, if you don't have the op. it will kill eventually.
ReplyDeleteDoes your estimated bill match up to Al's projection?
'Well, I gave the students these data (shows overhead). These came from a Blue Cross, Blue Shield ad. The ad appeared in Newsweek magazine and the ad gave these figures to show the cost escalation of gall bladder surgery in the years since 1950, when that surgery cost $361. I said, “Make a semi logarithmic plot, let’s see what's happening.” The students found that the first four points lined up on a straight line whose slope indicated inflation of about 6% per year, but the fourth, fifth, and sixth were on a steeper line, almost 10% inflation per year. Well, then I said to the students, “Run that steeper line on out to the year 2000, let’s get an idea of what gall bladder surgery might cost,” and this was, 2000 was four years ago—the answer is $25,000. The lesson there is awfully clear: if you're thinking about gall bladder surgery, do it now. (audience laughter)'
http://old.globalpublicmedia.com/transcripts/645
What's with the SOTT article and the Christian theme in this issue its your gall bladder that's got the problem not your brain ;¬)
Hi and thanks for commenting. I swear, if this thing ends up costing 25 grand we're doomed!
ReplyDeleteThe SOTT article is just one that showed up on my twitter and did you mean the article about finding the tomb as Christian themed?
I thought it was just interesting. I post stuff from that site every once in a while. I think some folks like those types of stories.
You never know what's gonna show up in the news you know! Thanks again for commenting.
pam