Disgusted, I am... So the Republicans have a majority in both the House and the Senate, the President is a Republican. During the 2016, both Trump and the majority of Republican candidates for both the House and the Senate loudly and proudly proclaimed their goal of “repealing and replacing” ObamaCare. If there was anything the Republicans stood for, eliminating ObamaCare was it. Naturally, they have completely failed. The House passed some tweaks to ObamaCare, pitched (falsely) as repeal and replace – and then fell all over themselves distancing themselves from the monstrosity they passed, begging the Senate to “amend” it with something better. The Senate tried, three times, with different bills that tweaked ObamaCare less and less. Last night, the Senate gave up on that idea, and instead decided to to a straight repeal. Already this morning that idea is also dead, as enough Republican Senators have come out against repeal to ensure its defeat.
Of all the issues at play in the last election, this is the one with the most direct impact on Debbie and I. Last year we spent over $22,000 on ObamaCare premiums, and a further $14,000 in out-of-pocket expenses. This year the totals will be even higher, unfortunately (mainly because of mainstream but expensive osteoporosis drugs that are not covered by ObamaCare policies). Repeal of ObamaCare would have meant the return of old-fashioned major medical policies, which were they available would cut our healthcare costs by about 60% (this is based on information from Blue Cross, a major supporter of ObamaCare).
As of this September, I'll be enrolled in MediCare, and (theoretically, anyway) insulated from the ongoing disaster that is ObamaCare. Debbie still has three years to go on ObamaCare, and already we're being warned to expect yet another 30% or 35% increase in premiums. At this rate, by the time she can enroll in MediCare, her ObamaCare premiums will be even more than we pay for both of us now. Worse, it seems all-too-likely that we'll be hit with income tax increases as the ObamaCare exchanges continue failing because of insurer withdrawal (because they're losing money). The Democrats in Congress are already floating the idea, and I won't be a bit surprised if enough Republicans sign up to that idea to make it politically doable. There's also talk of taking higher income people out of MediCare. Either way, we'd be back in the super-high premium insurance boat again.
Anyway, I am utterly disgusted with our federal government's overwhelming incompetence. The more I learn about how it actually works, and how self-interested the typical politician is, the more disgusted I get. I can easily see how the most informed people would be the ones most likely to support revolution, as a clean slate seems vastly easier than reforming the bureaucratic state. Hell, after reading up on the bureaucratic heaven that is the Veteran's Administration (where even murders can't be easily fired), even I feel the urge to revolt! I still hold some hope that my “big three” reforms could be enacted (term limits, abolishing civil service job protections, enacting efficiency incentives) – but in twenty years of hoping I've seen exactly zero progress on that front. Sheesh...
Tuesday, July 18, 2017
Paradise ponders: missing parts, hospice, and unexpected rain edition...
Paradise ponders: missing parts, hospice, and unexpected rain edition... I spent most of yesterday working, again, on the plumbing for my new irrigation pump. The biggest piece of progress was building a mount (of wood) for the four pressure gauges the system needs, and running some of the tubing for those gauges. Further progress was blocked because of some missing parts. These are things I ordered from Amazon, but which are taking longer to get here than expected. Some are due in today, the rest tomorrow. I hope.
John H. wrote, asking why on earth I needed four pressure gauges when everyone one else makes do with just one. Fair question. :) The four gauges, in order of the direction of water flow, are as follows:
I got a letter yesterday from the hospice that took care of my mom just before she died last year. Like the six or seven other letters I've received from them, it was a particularly warm and friendly message from the nurse who took such great care of mom. This is the last letter I'll be getting from them, I discovered as I read it – they stay in touch for a year, offering any help we might need. I've talked with the nurse several times over the past year, just friendly conversations and catching up with each other. I called her again this morning, to say thanks one last time for all her care. I discovered that she's leaving the local hospice, to go to a much more remote part of Utah to open up a new hospice – where she will be the head of the nursing staff. She's very excited about this – just 29 years old and taking on quite a responsibility. Her husband is a diesel mechanic, and found a great job at a big-rig service facility. It was a lot of fun to hear her so excited about this new adventure for the two of them...
My friend and neighbor Tim D. cut his alfalfa a few days ago, and yesterday morning he turned it all over with his tractor rake. Not 15 minutes after he finished, we got rain – on a day forecast to be hot and clear! We ended up getting two tenths of an inch over a couple hours, enough to thoroughly wet his hay. But then just three hours later, it had been actually hot and clear, and you'd never know that hay had ever been wet. This afternoon they'll be baling those fields, and hopefully today is hot and clear to get that hay thoroughly dried out...
John H. wrote, asking why on earth I needed four pressure gauges when everyone one else makes do with just one. Fair question. :) The four gauges, in order of the direction of water flow, are as follows:
- Supply pressure. This measures the pressure of the water on the input side of the pump. Ordinarily this should be at around 60psi, in which case the pump will be off and the water will flow around it. When the supply pressure drops below 60psi (as it does with alarming regularity), then the pump will kick on and all the irrigation water will flow through the pump.
- After-pump pressure. This measures the pressure of the water on the output side of the pump. If the supply pressure is over 60psi, this will be the same (or nearly so) as the supply pressure. However, when the supply pressure drops below 60psi, the pump will kick on and the pressure should be regulated at between 60 and 70psi.
- Between-filters pressure. This measures the pressure of the water on the output of the coarse filter, which is also the input to the fine filter. The difference between this and the after-pump pressure increases as the filter gets more clogged. When this difference gets over about 8psi, then it's time to clean the filter.
- After-filters pressure. This measures the pressure of the water in the line that goes directly to sprinklers, which is also the pressure of the water just after the fine filter. The difference between this and the between-filters pressure increases as the filter gets more clogged. When this difference gets over about 8psi, then it's time to clean the filter.
I got a letter yesterday from the hospice that took care of my mom just before she died last year. Like the six or seven other letters I've received from them, it was a particularly warm and friendly message from the nurse who took such great care of mom. This is the last letter I'll be getting from them, I discovered as I read it – they stay in touch for a year, offering any help we might need. I've talked with the nurse several times over the past year, just friendly conversations and catching up with each other. I called her again this morning, to say thanks one last time for all her care. I discovered that she's leaving the local hospice, to go to a much more remote part of Utah to open up a new hospice – where she will be the head of the nursing staff. She's very excited about this – just 29 years old and taking on quite a responsibility. Her husband is a diesel mechanic, and found a great job at a big-rig service facility. It was a lot of fun to hear her so excited about this new adventure for the two of them...
My friend and neighbor Tim D. cut his alfalfa a few days ago, and yesterday morning he turned it all over with his tractor rake. Not 15 minutes after he finished, we got rain – on a day forecast to be hot and clear! We ended up getting two tenths of an inch over a couple hours, enough to thoroughly wet his hay. But then just three hours later, it had been actually hot and clear, and you'd never know that hay had ever been wet. This afternoon they'll be baling those fields, and hopefully today is hot and clear to get that hay thoroughly dried out...
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