Disturbing.

The case of Lightning Medicine Cloud has been closed. Forensic evidence points to blackleg as cause of death, not ritual mutilation. This would make sense with how sudden the deaths were, and there is a blackleg vaccine for cattle, though it may or may not work for bison. More on this in a bit.

The spiritual implications are interesting, given that another white bison calf is alive and kicking in the northeastern United States. Peter Fay, the caretaker of Yellow Medicine Dancing Boy, is not a Native American and has only had his bison farm for 4 years. The caretaker of Lightning Medicine Cloud, Arby Little Soldier, is not only a Native but is a descendant of Sitting Buffalo Bull through one of Sitting Bull's stepsons, Henry Little Soldier (so no actual blood relationship; genealogy info near the bottom of that page). To me, these men seem like wonderful decisions by the universe / White Buffalo Calf Woman / Wakan Tanka, the divine, etc., because of the unity inherent in Mitakuye Oyasin. Hold that thought.

Although technically I'm more of a Zen Catholic than anything (hating the church politics but loving me some liturgy whenever I find myself at a Mass), I identify as a pantheist. Pantheism can mean many things to many different people, but my particular flavor involves seeing everything as part of the Divine, as God in a sense, learning more about itself by working in harmony with itself, with all of us as part of its mechanisms. It's kinda like how we learn more about ourselves over time. As we learn more about ourselves and our place in the multiverses, the Divine learns more about itself, which enables it to grow and develop. Mind you, I have this belief set in a scientific context. Along with this expanding universe, I see all other currently not observed dimensions and parallel 'verses that may or may not happen at a different rate of time as parts of the Divine. It's like a macrocosm/microcosm thing, like what we have in our own bodies. This may not be the best description, but it's like the Divine is the mind/soul/spirit of a person in its own personal universe (body), with our various non-solar but still systems (nervous, endocrine, etc.) sustaining various forms of life (what with tons of different types of bacteria, viruses, etc., plus the teenyature universes of what those are made of). Knowing that everything is a necessary part of everything and that we are all in this together is the essence of Mitakuye Oyasin to me.

There needs to be a lot more love and patience and tolerance and understanding on this planet, because we really are all in this together. Many more non-Natives are more conscious of this message thanks to Lightning Medicine Cloud. However, knowing the divisions among some Natives are as politically and spiritually charged as those of non-Natives makes me sad. The issue of including non-Natives in some Native things is seen by some Natives as a Bad Thing, but it's also a Non-Issue for others. There's the worry of how to protect one's heritage while embracing Mitakuye Oyasin, and there's the bewilderment of intentions and perceptions on all sides. (For example, Johnny Depp was adopted into the Comanche Nation due to his role as Tonto but other Natives are upset by details behind his portrayal of Tonto.) There's also the perpetual headache of arguing over who might have the most authentic spirituality within the tribes, when that shouldn't even be a problem. (Read about the sacred white buffalo pipe controversy sometime. Ai yah.)

Lightning Medicine Cloud and his mom, taken on the day
of his naming ceremony. This photo is protected by Digimarc
so feel free to use it as a Facebook cover photo if you like.

As a non-Native, seeing the accusations flying over Little Buff Buff's death is disheartening. Even more disturbing are the conclusions with the facts so far. Lakota Ranch is about an hour and a half from where I currently live so it's a little surreal to me that this is all local news. I was there at the naming ceremony last year. I saw and felt the excitement of everyone there, and the deep respect and pride of many Natives as they celebrated this marvelous rare occurrence together. Now... the whole thing is disturbing, especially with the Facebook page completely gone now. That *really* bothers me, especially with the wording in the latest press release (August 24, 2012). "The Lightning Medicine Cloud website will remain open for upcoming news and updates, however Facebook has never been a spiritual thing for them, and is therefore discontinued." So.... the Facebook page was more for them than for the many others who found community there? Hrrmph. Disturbing.

[UPDATE: I am really disturbed now - looking for cached info on the Facebook page, there's apparently been a lot of name calling and insulting going on. I could see shutting it down from that, but the wording would still mention that, I would think. Even if they didn't maintain the page, whoever was admining could've said something like, "We want to remain true to the message and we obviously still have a long way to go as evidenced by the comments on the page, and so we're shutting this down in honor and respect to LMC." Or something. I just saw a cached version of the page with a comment from someone mentioning that his post was deleted ... can't handle the truth... etc..... Sigh.]

I donated a small amount of money when I heard about the deaths but I didn't designate it specifically for the justice fund or for anything else. It was most certainly not a pledge (I have the PayPal receipt as a pdf), and it was most certainly intended to help with the care and feeding of the bison there. I'm at peace with having donated, though I feel a little agitated since I wouldn't have made the donation otherwise. It's all just sad but I do hope some good happens out of this whole mess, especially if the transportation of Chief Hiawatha is still on as LMC's case is now closed. Whatever the intentions of anyone, I'm going to keep this perspective ahead of all others: ""Maybe Lightning Medicine Cloud was sent to get everyone's attention, So Yellow Medicine Dancing Boy can deliver the rest of the message?"

R.I.P. Little Buff Buff, and thank you for your short life.

I have a problem with my pants.

See, I have some pants that I've enjoyed wearing for.... what, maybe four years already? (Wowza, nice.) I'm now able to pull them down without undoing the zipper and wide thin hook catch dillie and button. Actually, I was able to do this last week, but it's kinda getting worse, and now I'm going to have to go shopping.

OH THE HORROR!!!

I loathe clothes shopping. Always have. Especially now that it's 107ish till October, I really hate it. Thank Buddha for elastic pants and laziness.

I'm down 8.2 pounds in 5 weeks, and I still have to eat 2 more required Points Plus for today, so I'mma have some booze. Yep, 2 shots of peach schnappes in diet cream soda, with my half-a-huge-cantaloupe. Tasty. I've had another 9.75 hour workday (I seem to be having a lot of those lately, which is great because I can do those again, but blargh, you know?) so I will deffo appreciate it.

In other news, it's runoff election day, and Texas has not disappointed me in the "we love tea!" category. (I hate tea. I not only dislike Tea Partiers in that they don't seem to enjoy rational conversation, but I actively dislike tea. Peach tea, green tea, apple tea, oolong tea with ginger, all that. I do not like tea. Since I'm half-asian, that makes me even more strange than most half-asians. I also dislike math, and I don't know how to play the violin other than having taken a class for one semester in college. I'm a bad asian. Woo, tangent.)

I'm worried about my cousin out in California and his new wife. They've been together for a while but haven't been married for too long, and she's having to play in Los Angeles traffic while he's starting treatment for acute myeloid leukemia. So far, so frustrating, and I hope it gets at least a little easier soon. I love how people mean so well when advising to do nutritional this and that because chemo destroys the immune system. Really, yes, but speaking as a cancer survivor, you've GOT to let the chemo work as medicine for a few days, otherwise the whole thing is a colossal and very expensive waste of time. I had to mention this on the Facespace, and also mentioned that my oncologist loved that I was seeing a nutritionist and taking Juice Plus supplements and getting massages in between treatments. I definitely felt much better when recovering from each session, and I'm glad I got the Western and alternative care I needed. I still worry about others having to go through the same and/or similar things, though.

How 'bout them Olympics? Yeah, I haven't watched any of it. I hear NBC has been pissing everyone off, but that's nothing new. They pissed me off years ago talking all over Bjork's incredible performance. She kinda had a wardrobe malfunction as the dress was supposed to unfold vertically as well (if memory serves me correctly), but it was still amazing to see. Here's that beauty unsullied by the commentary, because fuck those fucking fuckers.

I got your PointsPlus right here, pally!

So... three months on the job and I'm happy that I've not gained any stress weight. In fact, since I still have stress weight from the last two jobs plus gained poundage from years of medication roulette, and since I like the idea of "1) here's how you calculate points, and 2) only eat so many points a day to lose weight," I'm doing Weight Watchers At Work. (Yes, I'm doing this through my awesome workplace in a supportive group setting, and I have to say, the stresses I have there are familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar, and I definitely do not want to let the stress go to my thighs and arms again!)

So far, so good. Today was our three week weigh-in and so far I've lost 6.2 pounds. I'm not drinking Dr Pepper as often but I am drinking the shit out of diet 7up, diet Sprite, and diet Sierra Mist (and the dSM strawberry kiwi is impressing me). I'm not doing much exercise because of post-exertional malaise (thank you fibro and Sjogren's for the lovely uber-fatigue) but we found an elliptical that doesn't make my creaky knees hurt and I'm working out on that as I'm able. I also go down and up at least 6 flights of stairs a day so that's helpful.

Things I've learned from the first 3 weeks of Weight Watchers (because there's always something new to learn even with already knowing a ton about nutrition and healthiness and all that):

- Following the PointsPlus thing is really freakin' easy, especially with the handy special calculator. For fatigued and sometimes fibrofogged and somewhat lazy me, this rocks.

- Some of the proprietary Weight Watchers food is actually pretty good. I'm loving the mint cookie crisp snack bars, chocolate pretzel snack bars, bbq chips, and chocolate swirl cookies something fierce, although I'm definitely looking for popped bbq chips when grocery shopping since it's a lot cheaper. The snack bars are literally two bites worth of food, but that's really all that's needed for a quick snack since these are kinda dense and taste more rich than they look.

- Feeling deprived means you're doing it wrong. It's all about choosing what to eat, and when. Today for breakfast I had morning meds, a vanilla Chobani, and coffee with almond milk at 7:30 am. For a 9:50 am pre-two-meetings-in-a-row snack I had a mint cookie crisp bar. For lunch at 12:45 I had four slices of honey deli ham, 1 slice of colby jack cheese, and 1 tbsp of light Miracle Whip on an everything thin bagel, along with 15-16 French onion Sun Chips and some diet Sierra Mist. For a why-am-I-still-at-work snack at 5:40 pm, I had a chocolate pretzel blast bar. For dinner at 6:45 pm I had some strawberry kiwi diet Sierra Mist with a SmartOnes ravioli florentine, followed by 30-32 Sun Chips (harvest cheddar and french onion) and evening meds. I don't feel deprived At All. Points-wise, this takes up my 26 daily points and 9 of my 49 point slush per week. (It actually takes up 11 points but I had 2 activity points and traded those for food points. For me, 10 minutes of low intensity activity equals 1 activity point, and lotsa stuff counts as activity.) If I feel hungry later on tonight, I'll have some apples or cherries or grapes. Actually, cherries sound kinda good right now. BRB.

- A sushi roll is generally 12 points (3 points per 2 roll slices). Nigeri is better at 3 points per 4 nigeri. A hibachi filet mignon meal at Benihana (includnig veggies, soup, salad, etc.) is freakin' 27 points. I could splurge on that if I wanted to but yikes.

- Nuts are from the devil, y'all. Holy bajeebus. I'm way better off as a steakaholic!

- I generally eat healthy anyway, but now have a better idea of how much I go overboard when I know I go overboard. Like when I splurge on the coconut shrimp at anywhere. Or use as much olive oil as I'd normally use for any kind of stir-fry.

- I've totally missed out on incredibly indulgent eating, thanks to combinations I've learned about from coworkers. The french fries in a Frosty thing I knew about, but not the breadsticks dipped in alfredo sauce.

- I'm kind of an emotional eater in that I'll graze a lot and not really care about how much I graze, especially when I'm bored. When I'm upset, I go for either dairy (which usually makes my gut protest all violent-like) or fatty (nuts or the aforementioned coconut shrimp). Otherwise, if I'm really upset or in the zone doing work or focused on whatever, I'll forget to eat.

- I've tended to not remember to eat lunch until around 2pm for many years. Now I'm straight up eating lunch at 11:30am some days, by 12:45pm other days.

- I've been really pissy the last few days, wanting to eat a ton of anything in sight because my metabolism is currently ramped up, but yay for apples and carrots. Apples and carrots (and Sun Chips) are delicious.

- I'm totally getting a ton of protein-filled yumminess the next time I shop for groceries. Mmm... bison. Speaking of protein-filled yumminess, it is possible to go to Babe's Chicken House and eat only smoked chicken and a little bit of corn and come out absolutely stuffed and satisfied. Their smoked chicken is what we had for Thanksgiving or Christmas last year, or was it the year before? I dunno. I don't care. It was totes worth it.

In other news, fibro/Sjogren's flares from summertime really suck, photography is happening in bits and pieces, my Sims 3 addiction is still in place, and I have a good start on a screenplay I've been asked to write. It'll be a docu-fiction, and I'm really amazed that there's not been a movie done about the particular era of time I've chosen. The setting combined with the perspective of the person with the brilliant story idea makes me want to get it written as quickly as possible so no one else ganks the awesomeness. Seriously, I don't know how this isn't already a movie, and no, I'm not even mentioning general details since omg this is not going to be ganked from me!

And now is the time on Sprockets ven ve danz! 

A bazillion words about ACA in a few images.

These were all in my Facebook feed. Presented without comment. God bless America.

  

Health reform. OMFG, people are crazy today.

My Facebook feed is crazy gone nuts. Below I’m posting status updates I’ve received, and the next post will consist of images shared, but first, I gotta share a few things for sanity's sake.

A FEW THINGS

1. Constitutional Law. Obama knows it. See http://www.factcheck.org/2008/03/obama-a-constitutional-law-professor/ for more details.

My fave part in this is the last paragraph: "Furthermore, Obama was not merely an "instructor" as Phil Singer stated. As a 'senior lecturer,' Obama was in good company: The six other faculty members with the title include the associate dean of the law school and Judge Richard Posner, who is widely considered to be one of the nation’s top legal theorists."

2. Romneycare. Pretty much the same as Obamacare, and already existing in Taxachusetts. See http://www.politifact.com/truth-o-meter/article/2012/mar/20/romneycare-and-obamacare-can-you-tell-difference/ for that comparison.

Key detail: Both leave in place the major insurance systems: employer-provided insurance, Medicare for the seniors and Medicaid for the poor. They seek to reduce the number of uninsured by expanding Medicaid and by offering tax breaks to help moderate income people buy insurance. People are required to buy insurance or pay a penalty, a mechanism called the “individual mandate.” And companies that don’t offer insurance have to pay fines, with exceptions for small business and a few other cases.

3. Because it's been that kind of day today, this:

Area Man Passionate Defender Of What He Imagines Constitution To Be

http://www.theonion.com/articles/area-man-passionate-defender-of-what-he-imagines-c,2849

and this:

Man blames work stress after stealing condoms and octopus

http://www.eveshamjournal.co.uk/news/9788065.Man_blames_work_stress_after_stealing_condoms_and_octopus/ 

4a. How I feel about the law being upheld (because as the Princess of Problem Patients, this should've all happened years ago so I could've benefited from it in my time of need):

4b. How the Democrats feel about the law being upheld:

4c. How the Republicans feel about the law being upheld:

Just watch all the campaign commercials from now until Election Day. Sigh.

Actually, no. Watch this instead.

5. Also, read this. Trust.

Know Your Crew: Supreme Court or Wu Tang Clan?

http://thebureauchiefs.com/2012/06/know-your-crew-supreme-court-or-wu-tang-clan/

STATUS UPDATES ON THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Here they are, complete with all typos, starting from the latest in the day and going back in time toward the explosion that was the revealing of the ruling earlier in the day (except for the first post because that's the tone I want to set here, and it includes a comment made by the same person).

Mind you, half of these are from friends living with chronic health conditions on both red and blue sides.

You might want to get some snacks. And a comfy pillow for your headdesking.

Okay, breathe deeply....... here we go!

If you listen to all the pundits (no matter which station), you would think that we elected a magician who single-handedly writes, enforces AND interprets legislation. Do these "news" outlets really believe that I am so dumb that I have forgotten what I learned in elementary school civics class about the 3 branches of government??

 …  even sadder is that I am in the minority getting upset that they talk down to us. My FB feed is littered with updates blaming the President for today's decision. I would be willing to bet that most of those forgot that it took two houses to create that legislation (neither of which the President is a member) and today's interpretation was made by individuals appointed by several different Presidents of different political affiliations and confirmed by a group of people associated with different parties. I love that folks are passionate, but I wish that they would direct that passion to where they can truly affect change. No matter what the issue. 

--

To those against ACA (My family can't see this post, thankfully, on purpose). Who pays for SSDI, SSI, Medicare, and Medicaid? Anyone who works. How is this money paid in? By taxes on your paycheck. This is likely how the ACA tax will work. Everyone deserves equal access to medical care. Without SSDI, which I paid into, we would not be able to afford the $500 a month in prescription costs for three of our 4 family members. Even with my husbands employer insurance, which we pay $900 a month for health, vision, and dental, we practically need a small loan to get everyone new eye glasses. Mine run $300-$350 AFTER insurance. All 4 of us wear glasses. So $900 a month paid in, plus roughly $500 in scripts, we don't pay flat fees but pay 40% of medication cost. Plus office visits for routine care or emergencies. We almost declared bankruptcy because of medical bills when an old insurance company we had went out of network with the ONLY 2 hospitals in our town the month before our 10yo was born. Through no fault of our own we were no longer covered. Because of a dispute between the insurance carrier and the local hospitals/providers.

--

One can only hope that the Supreme Court is now free to consider other important matters, like making it a federal offense to post an intentionally vague status update.

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A FB "friend" just posted this. *headdesk*

"See this....

THIS is a list of socialist countries. If you want to be a socialist, I suggest MOVING to one of these countries.

Please stop trying to turn America into a socialist country.

Once again, if you like socialism and would like to BE a socialist please refer to list below for an appropriate place for you to MOVE.

Thank you." (followed by a link to a Wiki article highlighting official socialist countries on the world map)

I'm pretty sure she posted it because everyone is talking about the health care act being saved, and she thinks that is socialized medicine, and that socialized medicine is a BAD thing. Interesting since HER health care (Tricare) is FREE because her husband is in the military. It may still not be ideal, but it's better than nothing at all which is what many Americans have. I just can't help but cringe at the irony of her statement.

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Let me get this right:affordable health care for EVERYONE across the board and people are bitching?Boy,is my finger not on the pulse of the American public.I suppose if Wallstreet gave back a trillion dollars of stolen money the public would bitch about having to pay taxes on it.

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Speaking of healthcare...infusion time.

--

We'll be paying more for our personal health care and will lose some lovely little benefits (aka ways to pay fewer taxes because of our health bills), but as my husband put it, "Our kids are grown, and when I look at parents with young kids today, I worry. This country has been good to us, we're lucky, let's help those that have had less luck." Or as my step dad always says "I'm proud I make enough money to pay this much in taxes!" (He kind of twitches when he says it, but he is a die hard Republican and he means it. He's proud he's been successful enough in life to be able to complain about his tax bill.) Also, yes we pay for our disabled daughters health insurance, even though she is eligible to be covered by the state for years. We can, with budgeting and care, afford it. It has better coverage for her condition, and my husband feels a moral obligation to pay for it. Parenting doesn't stop when your child turns 18. When it is life or death, it's not a matter for politics, it's a matter of morality. For ourselves, we live too well during this time of economic hardship, to mind sacrifice. Also the company my husband works for is making enough profits, it's not going to put them out of business and maybe the next CEO won't make 40 million a year. (it's going to add up to barely a dent in his salary that will be needed to make up the difference.)

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Anybody else curious about the timing of the contempt vote? We should be talking about the healthcare decision not a madeup issue in congress. Another example of the irrelevance of the congress.

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‎~The Government: "It's not a tax. It's not a tax. IT'S NOT A TAX! WE'RE TELLING YOU IT'S NOT A TAX!!!!"

(THEN THE SUPREME COURT RULES)

The Government: "Oh, wait a minute. I think you misunderstood us. What we meant to say is that it IS a tax!"

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Just something to think about: I have individual health care. I pay "extra" for my healthcare because I'm in a "high risk" group. Per the experts the new healthcare law will make it cheaper for employers to stop giving health care as a benefit to their employees which will effectively make them all have to seek "individual healthcare coverage." If you have a pre-existing condtion, you will pay more. If you get coverage with one company, you can forget "shopping around" as I have tried to do, you will be denied. (And my doctor just confirmed this.) To me, just from my experience, the healthcare bill or Obamacare will not, does not help. My rates went up considerably when it was passed. My deductible at this point is so huge it will bankrupt me if something really bad happens. And that's just so I can afford healthcare at all. Yay. This was great. Now can we get rid of it and do something that really solves the problem?

--

Sharing this, along with a little song I extemporised on the original link:-

"Good-byeee! Good-byeee!

Wipe a tear, Rushie dear, from your eyeee!

Though it's hard to part, I know,

We're - all - tickled you want to go!

Don't cry-eee! Don't sigh-eee!

There's a silver lining in the skyeee!

Bonsoir, old thing! Cheerio! Chin chin!

Pogue mahon, Kiss my arse, Good-byeee!"

He should try France. He'd find it an impressive country.

Briefly.

--

Today's ruling may make the next paring down of the ol' friends list much easier. ... Some may be surprised by who this statement affects. ... I'm not so much concerned about your stance on the issue as your response and reaction to those who think differently.

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While I think that Obamacare is well intentioned, I personally feel this is not the way it should have been accomplished. Yes, pre-existing conditions being covered is excellent, yes, affordable healthcare is excellent. However, the current federally funded insurance health plan that covers about 1% of the population is riddled with flaws. Now imagine those flaws being blown up 99% and all of the little flaws are now massive being of a giant customer base. Insurance companies should be held liable for this type of coverage, not the government. It does not operate well for the chronically ill in other countries, why would it operate well in a country where obesity is an epidemic unlike other countries? What about conditions that insurances currently don't cover? One size does not fit all. Please no name calling, just because I don't agree with you doesn't mean I think less of you. I expect the same degree of respect.

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Sad friggin day in history. The SCOTUS upheld the individual mandate. Obamacare is an abomination of law. There needs to be a clear message sent to the people in Congress that created this by voting them out. All of them. Fire them.

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Obamacare, Obamacare, holy shit, it's hot outside! Obamacare, Obamacare!

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Thank you, Supreme Court.

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What the hell is wrong with the Supreme Court? Not only have they formally instituted Communism, they've given us the crappy death care systems of Canada and Europe.

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I generally don't bring up much when I sit back and watch things I don't agree with get drilled into my eyeholes by people who cant' stop posting their opinions on stuff, so just consider this post as me shutting up about it long enough and if you don't like it, disagree with it, but if you come on my wall get stupid then you're gone and I really don't care. LET ME GET THIS SHIT STRAIGHT ! Now I can go to jail for not doing my taxes right, even though I have a medical disability I can't get SS disability because I haven't paid in enough because when I ran my own small business I apparently didn't pay enough in for me to get it back. I can't buy a freaking big gulp, I can't order super sized fries, and now I will be punished if I don't buy health insurance. It's ok though because my husband served this ONCE great country for 20 years, so we have that wonderful GVT insurance for life. Sure we pay for it, and boy it's really grand, because nothing wakes you up like a Doctor telling you that their hands are tied because the insurance says your not worth treating since there isn't a cure, and the insurance doesn't cover "quality of life". So I am going to just swallow this shit and move on. All the things I can do wrong and will now be illegal? yeah WHAT THE HELL ABOUT ALL THE LAWS YOU MORONS WONT LET PEOPLE ENFORCE because it's not politically correct. You know what, that's a fucking oxy moron of the century, seriously? NOTHING IS CORRECT ABOUT OUR POLITICAL SYSTEM, and seriously I am sick and freaking tired of walking on egg shells around what might or might not offend everyone on the damn planet whether I agree with it or not. BUT NO ONE gives a rats ass about offended me by throwing their shit in my face, or my kids face. I'm sick of it, and I am really sick of seeing people with such short vision, parading as adults. I dare your ass to penalize me for doing something illegal because I GREW UP IN THIS COUNTRY TOO. I am so disgusted

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Hooray for Obama's Healthcare plan: supported by Senate, House, President and the Supreme Court. A VICTORY for ALL Americans. … Today's ruling should have been about declaring single payer health care, but this was the closest we got to a true universal plan and the corporations and big insurance companies get to retain their profits and control over medical care. But this is a great start and it's a plan that is intended to insure the 30 million uninsured. I can't agree enough with you that the corporate choke hold on our medical care should be stopped. We just see the problem and the steps we need to solve it differently.

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The health care plan is constitutional. A total right- wing ideologue like Roberts agrees. Why are so many people attacking and saying hateful things on my post to that effect?

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The conservative wing of the Supreme Court saw its shadow this morning. Four more years of Obama!

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IT PASSED!!!!!

--

(Including this because it’s so appropriate.)

Do you remember this?

"It was the end of the Earth year 2260, and the war had paused, suddenly and unexpectedly.

"All around us, it was as if the universe were holding its breath . . . waiting.

"All of life can be broken down into moments of transition or moments of revelation. This had the feeling of both.

"G'Quon wrote, "There is a greater darkness than the one we fight. It is the darkness of the soul that has lost its way.

""The war we fight is not against powers and principalities – it is against chaos and despair. Greater than the death of flesh is the death of hope, the death of dreams. Against this peril we can never surrender."

"The future is all around us, waiting in moments of transition, to be born in moments of revelation.

"No one knows the shape of that future, or where it will take us. We know only that it is always born in pain."

--

On this day when the new healthcare law has been upheld, I'm reposting a blog I wrote, suggesting healthcare is a human right, defensible under Christian theology.

Seemed to me to be a good day to remind ourselves of the underlying theological/social reasons for healthcare reform:

http://wheneftalks2.blogspot.com/2008/10/universal-health-coverage-should-be.html

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Dear Career Politicians,

I don't believe a word you say. You don't live among the people you represent, and you certainly don't seem to feel that you should be held accountable in the way that your constituents are. It's really too bad that the wild fires aren't in DC., because I am sick of ALL of you.

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The individual mandate stands!!!

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I wish Americans would quit treating politics like it is the Bedlam football game. Partisan politics (us versus them) does not help anyone except the big money people funding campaigns. I knew today would be a bad day on the Facebook news feed, regardless of who "won". Looks like I will have to unsubscribe a bunch of people, since the rhetoric will just get worse as November gets closer. Quoting the recently deceased Rodney King, "Can we all get along?"

--

And, while we're reviewing theological justifications for healthcare as a human right, it might be good to remind ourselves of what the United Methodist Church says: 

"Health care is a basic human right.

Providing the care needed to maintain health, prevent disease, and restore health after injury or illness is a responsibility each person owes others and government owes to all, a responsibility government ignores at its peril. In Ezekiel 34:4a, God points out the failures of the leadership of Israel to care for the weak: “You have not strengthened the weak, you have not healed the sick, you have not bound up the injured.” As a result all suffer."

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It isn't a victory for the Democrats or the Republicans. It is a victory for the people.

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Well we should probably move soon.

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The vote of "no confidence" is coming in November. I hope the myopic individuals in this country get their vision fixed because the vision for this country is not a good one. Look at the whole picture folks......BTW I am not saying that M.R. is the solution but it is a step forward from the person in there now. Have to start somewhere when things are heading in the wrong direction. I am here to tell you that 4 more years you all will be crying if things stay the same in the white house.

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expansion of medicare thrown out. states can opt in.

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SCOTUS on Medicare expansion: "F**k the poor!"

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Mittens, that statement on health care this morning sounds of sheer desperation!

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BREAKING NEWS: Supreme Court upholds individual mandate of Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. Here's why we care at LIVESTRONG: 

http://blog.livestrong.org/2012/06/28/affordable-care-act-upheld/

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My faith in the Supreme Court has been restored.

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Traditionally,SCOTUS has often made the narrowest possible rulings. Recently the court has swung for the fences more. This ruling looks more like the historic norm, I think?

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Big day's starting off on a good note so far for just about everyone... except CNN, perhaps.

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Census Bureau data show about 83,000 North Dakotans had no health insurance in 2010.

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Okay, I have to find a way to change the subject. How about OKC Thunder trade rumors? Any ideas? The Oklahoman says Sam Presti is trying to get into the top three so that they can draft Florida's Bradley Beal. Who could be traded? Westbrook? Harden? Ibaka?

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The Supreme Court has upheld Obamacare! What a win for Americans and Obama!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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Collecting reactions to the SCOTUS ruling this morning (some thoughtful, some amusing, some inspiring the headdesk)

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RIP Senator Ted Kennedy.....your hard work w/our president to make Obamacare happen, happened. We love, admired, and miss you and your fight for what's right! We are victorious......

Dammit, Linsanity should refer to ME!!!

NOTE: This is gonna take a while, so you might want to get some snacks.

Seriously, go get some snacks. I'm rambly in this post.

NOTE TWO: This also gets a bit TMI, so if you're squeamish, just skip the paragraph that starts with me rambling about being on Cipro. Or stop with the snacks then. You're welcome.

Why that title? Because within the last month and a half, I have not only lived more non-stop than I have in 10+ years, but have also been *able* to live more non-stop than I have in 10+ years.

See, I've dealt with fibromyalgia and endometriosis for 10+ years now, plus have been married (to the same guy!) for 10+ years, and life is greatly improved back to back in the day thanks to new meds and supplements I won't bore to list (except to say praise Shiva for NAC plus the serious cost-effectiveness of generic Deplin and Provigil).

So guess what's happened in the last month and a half?

Let's see... started new awesome job a week and a half before their centennial annual meeting (and fiscal year end, and if that's as stressed out as everyone gets at once then I am hella set as soon as life simmers down)....

Wait a sec. I should probably mention that I haven't been able to work a 40 hour work week since two jobs ago, since before I went to part-time in May 2007. (Yay for better living through chemistry!) I should probably also mention my fifth interview for my new job (phone, panel, boss, HR, boss's boss) started with getting to know some lovely women in a kinda cramped and stuffy restroom over 45 minutes while waiting for some tornadoes to pass overhead. (Everyone who was in there that I saw on my first day even remembered me when I was introduced around the building!)

I've also had the usual May Routine Doctor Appointment Slam-o-rama, except this has been freakin' nutso, even for me. Tomorrow will make the 11th appt in 4.5 weeks. This doesn't sound so bad, except that since I'm new, I can't take any accrued time off until mid-October (my six-month mark), and I'm getting to make up all the time I'm missing by staying late most days. (My new boss is so generously awesome with that, and with letting me adjust my hours to 8:30-5:30 because the stupid Sjogren's/fibro fatigue is so unpredictable and it's so much worse in hot weather and it's been 94ish for some days now and I get more puky than usual since I'm on Cipro... woo, tangent.)

Imagine, if you will, already trying-to-stay-not-so-fatigued me working a full work week, trying to keep working a 5 hr per week part-time job (and having to give that up, boo!), and seeing my primary care PA and rheumatologist and dermatologist and eye doctor and boob surgeon plus seeing some wonderful guys who work me with Active Release Techniques and sports therapy exercises in a non-woo evidence-based chiropractor office many many many many many times for the usual ribs popping out from new desk ergonomics and running way too non-stop in life. With a few evening massage appointments thrown in to help with the A.R.T. and chiro stuff. All within four weeks. While working extra to make up time. And learning LOTS of things on the job and making forms and tools to help me learn things. And I have eye doctor part two tomorrow.

Yeah, Linsanity should DEFINITELY apply to me more than that tall asian guy, dammit. One of my friends commented that it sounded like I was being chewed up like a dead hooker in a wood chipper. I thought this was pretty apt, except it'd have to be after being sliced and diced by my pimp. For reals.

Oh, and last week a relative in my immediate extended family passed away and I wasn't able to go to the funeral or graveside. I'd only seen him twice over the last 6-7 years but I have some great memories of him from when I was a wee bohemian, and he's very missed. I also had to officially give up (for now, dammit) my part-time job full of awesomeness that I'd missed doing for 6 years. Not only am I once again out in the liturgical cold, but I don't get my weekly dosage of awesome gayness. (There is fabulous gay, and there is awesome gay. I'm so friggin' sad about this, y'all.) Not only that, but working there helped me to realize that it was still possible for me to work and be productive in spite of craptastic health crap, and that did wonders with boosting my self-esteem and morale while faghagging. (There is also a definite probability that in the near future, previously kinda mentioned immediate family will meet up with other awesome gay in a business venture, so that's something I'm looking forward to when I can think about having energy again.)

Did I mention that I was in the presence of The Surgeon General of the United States on the same day I was in the presence of The Bloggess? Yeah, that was flippin' sweet! I'll have pics up someday. Check back around Yule. I might have something up then.

Oh yeah, breast cancer recurrence scare. I'm 8.5 years boob cancer free, and the type I had was stage IIA T2 N0 M0 grade 3 triple-negative. The last .5 year has been interesting with surprise spontaneous unilateral discharge (natually on my affected side) and ductogram and Aurora MRI, and let me tell you how amazing it is to talk with health insurance people when it takes 10 referrals before they, ahem, you find a place that does the special MRI that's needed, which was the place your surgeon's office tried to recommend in the first damn place the week prior but they would only talk with you instead of your physician's office. Also, let me share how spectacular it is when 15 different sets of customer service agents in various departments (Claims, I'm looking at you real hard) can't find your certificates of coverage that have been on file for more than a minute. All of these people are special in a really special way. (Note to self: make sure those idiots paid my pcp from that appt last May.)

(And that's special, not special. As in the state of being distinct, not the designation of a species.)

(Yes, my brain is a little tired. It's the feeling-like-crap from Cipro and adjusting pill-up times to avoid taking it with anything calcium/magnesium/aluminum. I couldn't even soak in epsom salts tonight because of my near-shortsightedness.)

Oh yeah, I'm on Cipro (TMI alert; skip to the next paragraph unless you like reading about bodily fluids) because the lump under my arm that I'd noticed that was alarmingly adjacent to a boob cancer scar almost two inches long thankfully turned out to be a sebaceous cyst (which is now an inch long but finally disappearing, yay). And because my boob discharge was alarmingly green after months of being strawish-clear. And because I have my first UTI in a very long while and it suuuuuuuucks. But finally, the Cipro is working because I'm back to strawish-clear boob ooze and starting to feel better while incredibly puky. I was quite pleased to hear from my cancer surgeon that (thanks to my photography) I'd documented the best case scenario for non-standard boob juicery, with it being green and coming out of multiple ducts (like 8 or 9 at the same time, this one time, which was freaky, and I know this because I was reading while sitting naked under a ceiling fan after a shower and noticed the dried evidence when I next saw myself in a mirror).

Oh, and I am apparently aging faster than I should, since my eyes are doing things that should be starting a few years from now, and I'm apparently in perimenopause now with all this gunk, so yay. I'm really flippin' old for 38. I'll be 39 in late August. And 40 next year. OMG 40. Next year. Hubby just turned 37. (Yes, in a row.) Last week. I'm old. Okay, happy thoughts needed stat so here's some nerd love.

In really happy news, I'm so pleased (and many many other adjectives) about season 3 of The Variants. (OMG dudes, they have a Wikipedia page! Someone should add Joe as a producer sometime. Just sayin'.) Hubby and I helped make season 3 happen via Kickstarter! I'm also excited about the upcoming Stella B. and the Busted League and really happy to see The Untitled Super Cool Nerd Show on air. Dallas totally rules the nerd landscape, you people. I'd go on about Dallas Comic Con and other stuff but nah. I'm off to play Sims 3 and calm my mind a little, since my brain is tired. The game I've been playing for the last month or so is in Hidden Springs, and the local unicorn had a habit of showing up at my sims' home until it got adopted, and one time when one sim was fishing, the other came by to hang out since the unicorn was there, and they both got blessed by the unicorn, and they were already engaged so they decided to have a private wedding, and so now I have two very happily married (and hot) lesbian sims with two dogs and a stray cat that adopted them plus the unicorn which was totally cool with joining the household. My Sims are honeyadventurooning in France right now. Gotta keep them away from that damn cat. I swear, that cat is so cute that they play with it instead of going to sleep or eating or whatever. Stupid cuteness.

You know, I'm not even going to bother reading over this and editing anything. 'Cos I'm Linsane, y'all.

Okay, I changed my mind and added a few links, and while proofreading my husband asked me if I was on a Mormon site.

Whaa?

Because he saw the flowers, and he thinks that Mormon websites are apparently full of flowers. Excuse me, *I* took that photo in the background (and he knows this and he knows I'm not Mormon), and it's all watery reflection of trees and non-blossoming lotus paddery so Not Full Of Flowers. I told him he was mean. Because I'm cranky. And need to be playing Sims 3 for 30 minutes before bedtime. And need to be taking my evening meds with a nom glass of Silk Dark Chocolate Almond Milk because screw Cipro, it's time for calcium. Mmm.... meds.

Also, please don't take that as a slam against Mormons. I've had Mormon friends since high school plus we have a Book of Mormon somewhere on one of our bookshelves (along with a Qur'an, the Jefferson Bible, the Bhagavad Gita, and other sacred scribblings), so don't start any shit. Thanks.

Pictures and words

There's a nasty issue going on locally, with the City of Dallas, Dallas Arboretum, and Dallas taxpayers. You can read details at Save Winfrey Point, if interested.

I want to go on record saying that I absolutely love what the Dallas Arboretum has done, and I thoroughly enjoy having the individual membership (currently hubby and I can go for free for a year for only $73, and individual admission plus parking is $17 each time so it's a deal for photo-happy me who's there more than 5x a year anyway).

However, as much as I love the Dallas Arboretum and what they do, they could do and could've done better with this hot mess. I've let them know this too, via email, because hey, they asked. *shrug*

I had to copysnip twice and wanted to make sure everyone
gets that nothing was left out with my posting the email contents.

Amiright!?

I didn't mind being directed to park here one day, but on a rainy day that would've been nasty.
Parking offsite (like at Winfrey Point) is unthinkable to me. I'd just rather not go in that case,
mainly because I dislike being in crowds when I'm getting my zen on.