In "The Expectation Came Unexpectedly" I hinted at at least one issue during the birth of our twins (the oxygen mask shown in the second picture). However there's a couple of other things that readers might find interesting, or at least helpful if they find themselves in the same position.
I talked about Princess's back labor and how that influenced her decision to go with a c-section. Well, after they had pulled the twins, and their placentas, out there was some internal bleeding. Not enough to be life threatening, but enough that the doctor felt they should give her fluids and keep an eye on her. I'm not sure of the technical term, but they were afraid that the placenta had grown into the uterus. However, the evidence didn't add up, and a second opinion confirmed that it was something relatively rare but not life threatening. It did require some internal stitches (along with the additional blood loss), but not much more than that.
Princess also became violently ill once again. This time the nausea came prior to the medication. This suggests that it is the labor that caused her vomiting. Now that some time has passed, we've termed it "an allergy to labor". It's funny now, but 36 hours of being unable to eat wasn't very humorous at the time.
Princess had some problems breastfeeding Munchkin. Basically, we switched to formula to keep Munchkin from screaming from hunger. She chalked it up to inexperience, and since I had no experience in the matter, we left it at that. However, the same problem occured this time. This caused some distress in Princess, since we know of several people who were able to. It doesn't help that there are some (although it seems a small but vocal minority) who are fanatical that a mother who doesn't breastfeed is tantamount to child abuse. It turns out that Princess's mother wasn't able to breastfeed either. Both produced the milk, but were unable to express enough to feed the children. Perhaps there's a genetic predisposition to being unable to breastfeed.
Boo had to be given oxygen when she was first born. She wasn't able to expel the fluid from her lungs very well, so they gave her some oxygen to help her breath until she could get clear her lungs. It didn't take long for us to know that she was going to be the most vocal of the two.
We also have to take Boo for an MRI in about a month. She was breech for quite some time, and that means there's a possibility of hip dysplasia. The nurses and doctors who've examined her aren't that concerned with it, but MRIs are a standard procedure in those cases (read CYA). Judging by how well Boo and Peep kick when we're changing their diapers, I'm not that concerned either.
Peep and Boo were originally Peek and Boo. They both would lift their arms and cover their eyes, but then lower them when it came time to let us know that they needed fed/changed/held etc. Since Boo is the less... reserved of the two, she would almost always be the one to cry first. However, when Peep got the hiccups she made this adorable little "peep" sound that cemented the change to her nickname.
The week passed and we were beginning to get into a rhythm. Granted, the rhythm we're getting into is conflicting with our circadian rhythm, but we're getting a rhythm. Princess is very surprised at how well I can function with lack of REM sleep, but several years of late nights and early mornings (involving alcohol, of course) might have prepared me for it.
Where was I going with this? Sorry, lack of sleep makes it easier for me to go off on a tangent. Anyway, last night Princess's incision started leaking. By leaking I mean we thought Boo had pooped on Princess. There was a smell to it that supported the crap hypothesis, but when Princess went to check on it she found that it was leaking from her incision. We called her OB-Gyn, and she asked a few questions. Since there was no fever, and the leaking subsided there didn't seem to be that much of a problem. They still saw her today and examined the leaking. It turns out not to be a big deal, but last night I prepared myself for a late night ER visit and a phone call to my boss telling him I might be a little late.
Now, things have settled down, at least until the next bit of drama occurs. Everyone is doing well, and Princess is now capable of driving. Grandma and Grandpa will be at the house until Friday, and then Mamaw and Papaw will come to relieve them (and Papaw will become Munchkin's jungle gym).
My intent is to next make a post on some suggestions on preparations on twins. It has more to do with what I found besides the list of things to bring with you to the hospital.
August 31, 2009
The Issues of Arrival
"Your Name"
A reader sent me an email with a link to a youtube video. It's a song sung by Gory Bateson called "Your Name". At first, it seems to be a typical country-western/gospel song until you listen closely to the words. Expand this post to see the video.
Gory gets extra points for using the word "fuck".
(Tip o' the trident to Nick at CSUS)
The Expectation Came Unexpectedly
On Friday, Aug. 21st, I wrote that Princess and I were getting closer. Well, as John Lennon once said:
"Life is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans."John Lennon, smart man, shot in the back very sad.
Okay, I'm rambling a bit. Sue me. I'm only getting about an hour and a half of sleep at a time.
On my way home from work on the 21st, a little after 5 pm, Princess called. Just as I answered I hit a dead zone (yes, they do exist even with Verizon) and had to wait a couple of minutes to call her back. When I did, she told me to all a wonderful, amazing, stupendous friend who had volunteered to watch Munchkin when Princess went into labor.
A couple of weeks earlier, Princess's phrasing had almost made me panic and run home from work early. So this time I verified that she meant what I thought she meant, and then completed the final three minutes of the trip home in about a minute and a half. Apparently, I also called our friend.
We grabbed all of the bags containing our clothes, toiletries, etc. and piled into the minivan. Well, I actually had to help Princess to the minivan because she was having back labor, again. We picked up Munchkin, who was playing at a friend's house, and headed to the hospital.
We made it there in record time, and that was with Princess attempting to crush my hand every two minutes. Munchkin helped carry some of the items, and we grabbed a wheelchair so Princess wouldn't have to walk. About ten minutes after we arrived, our friend's husband arrived and took Munchkin to their house to play with their two daughters.
Princess used some very colorful language to tell them to give her some chemical help in dealing with the pain. She also found out that Baby "B" was still breech. Her original intention was to attempt a VBAC, but elected to go with c-section when she found out that Baby "B" may need an emergency c-section anyway.
Actually, I think it went something like:
Get the fucking scaple.The medical personel started to work then Baby "A", hereafter referred to as Peep, was born (click on picture for stats).
 |
| From IVF |
Then, a minute later Baby "B", hereafter known as Boo, was pulled out into this world.
 |
| From IVF |
So for the past week plus, I haven't been able to get online, return phone calls, sleep, have any coherent thoughts, or sleep. Yes, I know I mentioned sleep twice, but there's a reason for that.
Now, the week has passed, and I'm back at work. My M&F-I-L are visiting to help, and after they go back to their home my Mamma and Padre will be coming by to help, so we do have help for now. We also have several close friends who have volunteered to help in any way that they can.
That's the story for the past week. If you'll excuse me, I'm now going to paint eyeballs on my eyelids and attempt to get some rest before I go home at 5 pm.
August 21, 2009
Getting Closer
As some of you know, Princess and I are expecting twins. Well, unless they decide they don't want to wait, they will be born on Monday, Aug. 24th.
Princess says that she must have a comfortable womb, because no one who's been in there has ever wanted to come out. For Munchkin labor was actually induced a couple of days after her actual due date, because of pregnancy induced hypertension. Even then there was an issue that prevented Munchkin from being born naturally, and she was eventually delivered by c-section.
To give you some idea, we arrived at 6:30 am, they started the drip for the induction medication, Princess's labor actually started around noon, and Munchkin was finally delivered via c-section at 11:05 pm. That doesn't include Princess's adverse reaction to the pain medication given to her.
There are some signs that Princess won't make it to Monday, but we're going to have two more girls in our lives by this time next week.
August 20, 2009
What is "Traditional" Marriage?
Recent articles by Rebecca and PZ talk about some in the Bahama's protesting a bill that would outlaw marital rape. Why are they protesting?
"It is ridiculous for them to try to make that a law, because I don’t think a man can rape his own wife. After two people get married, the Bible says that they become one – one flesh. How is it possible to rape what is yours?" asked Mr. Sutherland....
Elvis Russell told the Journal that he does not support the bill either because there is no such thing as rape within a marriage.And it's not just the men...
"Even if a woman says no to her husband it still can’t be considered rape because she is his wife. He already paid his dues at the church and she already said ‘I do,’ so from then on, even if [a man] forces sex on his wife, it isn’t rape," he said.
Deanne Sweeting said that she strongly disagrees with the bill and does not understand why so many women are supporting it....
"I disagree with the bill because I disagree that a man can rape his wife. The Bible tells me that a man’s body is his wife’s and her body is his. How could he rape her?" asked Ms. Sweeting.
Coralee Clarke told the Journal that although she is not married, she believes that a man is entitled to sex from his wife whenever he feels like it.There are some who support the bill of course, on grounds that rape is rape.
"If a man wants to have sex with his wife he is supposed to [have sex with her] regardless of what the circumstances [are]. I don’t see why he should be charged with raping his own wife, she is never supposed to say no," said Ms. Clarke.
"If I were married and my husband wanted to have sex with me I wouldn’t stop him, [because] I’m not supposed to, even if I was tired or feeling sick, I wouldn’t tell him no."
Reading the comments of the protestors, and thinking about objections to gay marriage has gotten me to thinking. My marriage is by no means a "traditional" marriage.
Calling our marriage "traditional" is a stretch, unless the only criteria is "one man + one woman". Otherwise, there are several aspects of it that go against tradition.
The most obvious is probably my non-belief and her self-identification as a christian. There are some who consider that aspect opposite of the purpose of marriage.
Malachi 2:15 informs us that an important purpose of marriage is to produce godly offspring—According to this, our marriage wouldn't be "traditional" even if we were both atheists. We're more interested in teaching our daughters to think for themselves, and give them the tools to choose their own paths.
According to the protestors in the Bahama's, ours isn't a traditional marriage because Princess is not my property. We're equal participants in our marriage, and we purposefully kept "obey" out of our vows. We both work (although she's off work now because of the impending births of our next two girls), we share the responsibilities of child rearing, and we both do the house and yard work. We talk over decisions that need to be made, and her input is just as important as mine.
Then there's the ceremony. At the time we got married, in late 2000, I was a non-practicing Pentecostal (i.e. agnostic) and she was Roman Catholic. In order to prevent making some of my family uncomfortable she elected not to have mass during the ceremony (something my MIL couldn't understand). As I wrote earlier we kept "obey" out of the vows, and the participants were a bit non-traditional.
In our party, we had a mixture of "witnesses". On my side I had my "best man" (I'll explain the quotes later), my two cousins (twins and Pentecostal), and a friend who is a child of Arab christian parents. On her side it was the "maid of honor" (again I'll get to this), a former co-worker of Princess's who was the matron of honor, and a bridesmaid who has been her friend for many years. Basically, our party was a mixture of friends, and some happened to be family.
Now for the part that was non-traditional, and caused some confusion among the attendees. The "best man" was a female friend of mine that introduced me to Princess, with the help of her mother. The "maid of honor" was Princess's brother. She wore a black dress of the same cut as the bridesmaids, and he wore a tux. My "best man" was willing to wear a tux, but only if the "maid of honor" wore a dress. Unfortunately, the open bar at the reception was after the wedding, so we couldn't convince him to do so without including money. Needless to say the duties of both of them didn't exactly fit into the normal niche.
So there are many aspects of our marriage that are "non-traditional", and it starts at the ceremony. However, I have never heard anyone complain that she and I should not be married. I have heard a few complain that we seem too happily married, but I have no idea what that means.
My point is that a marriage is a marriage. There is no such thing as a "traditional" marriage. Throughout history marriages have been about politics and power, convenience and appearances, and sometimes love has been involved. Sometimes its one man and one woman, except in the cases of multiple women, additional concubines, and sometimes an understanding that they are allowed to see other people. The purposes and participants in "traditional" marriage are so varied that it makes the very concept of a "traditional" one defunct.
Traditional has come to mean "I like it the way it is, and I don't want it to change". The problem is the reasoning behind their opinion. People keep tagging onto the end, "... even if it doesn't affect me and benefits others."
August 18, 2009
What if I'm Okay with Dieing?
If you haven't been living in a bubble for the past few weeks, you've heard talk of the Death Panels. Of course, it all seems to be the opposition crying "the sky is falling", when all it's all really just a few drops of rain.
My biggest confusion is why talk of living wills and the option to die painlessly is such a big topic of discussion. As Mrs. Lemming said in a letter to the Cincy Enquirer,
"No one ever gets out of here alive."Why is it such a bad thing to be able to be given the options and then choosing our exit?
Death is inevitable. Even religions acknowledge that eventually our body is going to stop functioning. In order for your soul to go to heaven (or hell), your body has to die, in order for your soul to be reincarnated in another body (whether human, mouse, or cow) you have to die, and in order for you to make it to Valhalla you have to die (in battle).
Death is more inevitable than taxes. Every body has a finite number of heartbeats, breaths, and exchange of electrical charges between neurons. You can't file a complaint with the government to keep it from happening, you can't hide your heartbeats through creative bookkeeping, and you can't move to a land where death doesn't exist. Eventually, all that will be left of us are a conglomeration of organic molecules that no longer function as they did when we are alive.
The only thing you can do is live your life, and prepare for the eventual end of it. No, I don't mean attempting to cover your bases on an afterlife, but making sure that if you have fewer heartbeats than you allowed for that you've covered everything you can.
In the past couple of years, my wife and I have been going over such things. We've both updated our life insurance policies so the one that survives has enough capital to go on, and if something happens to both of us Munchkin (and now her soon to be born siblings) have a guardian and some financial help with their upbringing. We've filled out a living will and DNR giving some legal clout to our wishes should we be incapable of telling a doctor the extent of life support that we want, and made sure that the other knows of our wishes. There's still a few more 'i's to cross and 't's to dot, but we're taking the steps.
As much as I would like to bounce my great-great-great(ad infinitum)...grandchildren on my knee, I know that is very unlikely to happen. The best I can do is make sure my family will be taken care of after I'm gone, and that I can make my wishes known for how my final days/hours/minutes will be dealt with.
If at the end of my life my organs are failing, I'm going to be unable to talk, or listen, to my wife and children because my brain isn't aware of the rest of my body let alone the outside world, and I won't be able to leave a bed because it's only the machines hooked up to me that are keeping me alive then I want the plug pulled. If someone else wants to be put onto life support until even the machines can no longer keep their body alive then that's up to them. However, whether I'm kept alive artificially or not should be my choice.
And that's what it comes down to. Everyone should be given the choice, and, just as important, everyone that may get into such a situation should have it explained to them what their choices are. Contrary to what the opposition would have you believe the Death Panels are not going to tell you how you'll die. A representative is going to tell you what your options are and let you choose the one that most appeals to you.
It's not about the government gaining the ability to euthanize. It's about giving everyone the liberty to die as they wish.
August 12, 2009
Health Care (Bill) Warning... Hoax
Last week, on August 6th, I received an email from a coworker. It was the day before the SSA trip to the Creation Mausoleum, and I was a bit busy so I didn't worry to much about it. However, the coworker made a few errors.
- The email pertained to the subjects of politics and religion (double whammy).
- The email was sent to the "everyone" address of our company, and the two sister companies that share the building with us (triple whammy).
- After I did a quick check of the first seven points mentioned in the email, I didn't find that one of them wasn't misleading (hat-trick whammy).
If anyone else receives and email titled "Prophet warning in Health Bill", I have two words for you:
DON'T PANIC
Below is the email that I got from my coworker. I'm not a lawyer, but I'll do my best to translate the legal speak in the actual bill.
For clarity, I'm going to use this layout in going through it:
The text of the email in italics
The actually wording of the bill in quotes (if applicable)
My comments underneath
Now, away we go.
Subject: FW: Prophet warning in Health Bill
Good Morning Everyone,
Pleasant enough start, but seeing the word "prophet" in the title raised a red flag.
I am forwarding a message I received from a good and well respected
friend of mine whose opinion I value highly. Even before receiving it I
heard about it from my daughter and son-in-law who is a physical
therapist and a family medical doctor. The message is about the Health
Bill being proposed in congress and what it really means to us as
individuals and as a nation if this were to pass. After reading the
e-mail I decided that I must share this message from Rick Joynor and
Mathew Staver with as many people as possible.
It starts off with an appeal to authority. Not a good sign.
Once you read down a little more, you'll find that he (and the person who sent the email to him) got one of the names wrong. It's Rick Joyner, and when I read this article about him my BS meter pegged at its highest reading.
Then I did a search for Mathew Staver, and got this. Yes, Mr. Staver is dean and professor of law at Liberty University. Yes, that Liberty University, the one that "trains champions for Christ".
First of all let me say I have never sent out a mass e-mail because I
don't like to waste time, mine or anyone else's; however, this message
is of the utmost importance to us all.
Actually, it was a waste of time on everyone's part, but I'll get to that when we get to the point by point included (that goes on forever).
Second, this is a long message and will take some time to read and
digest. Please forward the message to your home e-mail and read it
there or read it at lunchtime. As important as this is we all still
have a job to do and we must maintain good work ethics.
Speaking of work, he really should have paid more attention to the employee handbook when it talks about what we can and can't use company email for.
Thank you for taking the time to read this later and understanding the
gravity of what is happening in Washington. We can do something about
it and make our voices heard by doing what Mr. Joynor asks at the end of
his e-mail.
If I agree with what Mr. Joyner says, sure. However, I'm not just going to take his word for it.
Thank you and God Bless,
[Name Redacted]
I hear a bell tolling.
Now, onto the rest of the email.
-----Original Message-----
Subject: Prophet warning in Health Bill
Date: Tue, 4 Aug 2009 21:01:08 -0400
Rick Joynor, a prophet in his own right has sent out this important
message. We must pray for its defeat and take some action in the natural
by contacting our representatives.
Still didn't get the name right. Some "prophet" he must be. I have to admit that I am impressed that they didn't start calling for prayer warriors, though.
SPECIAL BULLETIN
NATIONAL HEALTH SCARE
By Rick Joyner
Mr. Joyner must have signed this himself, since they finally got the spelling right.
When I read the brief on what was contained in the National Health Care bill that is now being presented before Congress, I could not believe I was reading something that was actually being considered in the United States of America. This is not about money or government mismanagement-this is about something far more diabolical than that. As incomprehensible as it may seem, this is about euthanasia, the power to determine who lives or dies in America. Hitler and Stalin would have loved to have had a means such as this for dispatching the millions they killed-it would have made their job much easier, and probably given them the ability to kill many more than they did. THIS BILL IS THAT SINISTER. This is not a joke-this is actually the nature of what is being proposed in the National Health Care legislation, and it is the obvious reason why the Obama Administration wants to ram it through Congress before anyone gets a chance to read it.
Wow. The first paragraph and he's already bringing up euthenasia, Hitler (see Godwin's Law), and Stalin. After reading about Pastor Joyner, I'm expecting to be more entertained than scared.
The paragraphs following aren't much better, and the ones I scanned didn't contain any useful information. Mostly complaints about bureaucrats and talking about praying, quite often specifically praying for President Obama.
The following is a brief outline of this bill put together by
Mat Staver of the Freedom Foundation and Liberty Counsel (contact info
is at the end). The comments by the brief are Mat's, except where I have
noted my own by putting them in italics. The bold is also mine.
After reading, please do not wait to contact your representatives to
protest this. If you don't get through, keep calling, send emails, but
do not stop until you know your voice has been heard.
Now, keep in mind that the bill itself is 1,017 pages. So Mr. Staver was able to find fault with quite a few sections. However, my reading of it didn't feel as "SINISTER" as Mr. Joyner (or Mr. Staver) found it.
Since I talked about finding errors in the first seven point, I'll keep them in here.
Obama Health Care Plan Details
HR 3200 currently under consideration in the House of Representatives
I linked to the bill above, but if you want to verify that I have put in the right wording you can find it here.
Pg 22 of the HC Bill MANDATES the Government will audit the books of
ALL EMPLOYERS that self insure!!
9 (C) The financial solvency and capital re-
10 serve levels of employers that self-insure by em-
11 ployer size.
Since he doesn't actually give any details, I'm going to assume this is the section he meant. However, if you read pg. 21 (starting on line 26) you'll find that this section pertains to a "...study of the large group insured and self-insured employer health care markets. Such study shall examine the following:"
First of all, a "large study" does not imply "ALL EMPLOYERS". Second, unless such a company had something to hide, why would they care? Don't they have to pay taxes and such to the government on their earnings anyway?
Pg 29 lines 4-16 in the HC Bill - YOUR HEALTH CARE IS RATIONED!!!
4 (A) ANNUAL LIMITATION.—The cost-shar-
5 ing incurred under the essential benefits pack-
6 age with respect to an individual (or family) for
7 a year does not exceed the applicable level spec-
ified in subparagraph (B).
9 (B) APPLICABLE LEVEL.—The applicable
10 level specified in this subparagraph for Y1 is
11 $5,000 for an individual and $10,000 for a
12 family. Such levels shall be increased (rounded
13 to the nearest $100) for each subsequent year
14 by the annual percentage increase in the Con-
15 sumer Price Index (United States city average)
16 applicable to such year.
Again, if you read the part before it says "(1) NO COST-SHARING FOR PREVENTIVE SERVICES.—There shall be no cost-sharing under the essential benefits package for preventive items and services (as specified under the benefit standards), including well baby and well child care."
He may even be right on this one, but I have to ask, aren't we currently rationed, anyway? As David Leonhardt of the New York Times put it:
...rationing is an inescapable part of economic life. It is the process of allocating scarce resources. We ration spots in good public high schools. We ration lakefront homes. We ration the best cuts of stake.
Healthcare, I realize, seems as if it should be different. But it isn't.
If you go to visit your general practioner for something you feel is wrong, does he keep you there until he finds out what is wrong? Nope. He rations you to about 15 minutes or so to explain your symptoms, and then he gives a diagnosis and possibly medication. If that doesn't work, you have to call and make another appointment.
That's rationing, and we deal with it every day.
Pg 30 Sec 123 of HC Bill - THERE WILL BE A GOVERNMENT COMMITTEE that
decides what treatments/benefits you get
11 SEC. 123. HEALTH BENEFITS ADVISORY COMMITTEE.
12 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
13 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is established a pri-
14 vate-public advisory committee which shall be a
15 panel of medical and other experts to be known as
16 the Health Benefits Advisory Committee to rec-
17 ommend covered benefits and essential, enhanced,
18 and premium plans.
19 (2) CHAIR.—The Surgeon General shall be a
20 member and the chair of the Health Benefits Advi
21 sory Committee.
22 (3) MEMBERSHIP.—The Health Benefits Advi-
23 sory Committee shall be composed of the following
24 members, in addition to the Surgeon General:
(pg. 31)
1 (A) 9 members who are not Federal em-
2 ployees or officers and who are appointed by
3 the President.
4 (B) 9 members who are not Federal em-
5 ployees or officers and who are appointed by
6 the Comptroller General of the United States in
7 a manner similar to the manner in which the
8 Comptroller General appoints members to the
9 Medicare Payment Advisory Commission under
10 section 1805(c) of the Social Security Act.
11 (C) Such even number of members (not to
12 exceed 8) who are Federal employees and offi-
13 cers, as the President may appoint.
14 Such initial appointments shall be made not later
15 than 60 days after the date of the enactment of this
16 Act.
Wasn't Mr. Joyner earlier complaining about there no medical knowledge being needed? I'm actually impressed with the idea, but I'm going to reserve judgement on how it will work in reality.
Pg 42 of HC Bill - The Health Choices Commissioner will choose your
benefits for you. You have no choice!
4 (a) DUTIES.—The Commissioner is responsible for
5 carrying out the following functions under this division:
...
15 (3) INDIVIDUAL AFFORDABILITY CREDITS.—
16 The administration of individual affordability credits
17 under subtitle C of title II, including determination
18 of eligibility for such credits.
The benefits are chosen by your income. There's a table on page 137 that helps to clarify it. It starts at 133% of the Federal Poverty Level, and continues up to 400%. Anyone below that 133% is considered to have income of that 133%.
So, in essence they base your benefits on your income. Now we're forced to do that anyway, because a persons income and expenses affect which benefits package we can afford. However, with this it means that those who are at or below the poverty level can still get insurance. The horror.
Pg 50 Section 152 in HC Bill - HC will be provided to ALL non-U.S.
citizens, illegal or otherwise
21 SEC. 152. PROHIBITING DISCRIMINATION IN HEALTH CARE.
22 (a) IN GENERAL.—Except as otherwise explicitly per-
23 mitted by this Act and by subsequent regulations con-
24 sistent with this Act, all health care and related services
25 (including insurance coverage and public health activities)
(pg. 51)
1 covered by this Act shall be provided without regard to
2 personal characteristics extraneous to the provision of
3 high quality health care or related services.
4 (b) IMPLEMENTATION.—To implement the require
5 ment set forth in subsection (a), the Secretary of Health
6 and Human Services shall, not later than 18 months after
7 the date of the enactment of this Act, promulgate such
8 regulations as are necessary or appropriate to insure that
9 all health care and related services (including insurance
10 coverage and public health activities) covered by this Act
11 are provided (whether directly or through contractual, li-
12 censing, or other arrangements) without regard to per-
13 sonal characteristics extraneous to the provision of high
14 quality health care or related services.
Someone who doesn't fear every word written by the "Obama Administration" could also be taken to mean that coverage can't be denied, no matter what the persons race, sexual orientation, or any other bias may be present.
Also, Mr. Staver must have skipped section 246, on page 143, in his reading.
3 SEC. 246. NO FEDERAL PAYMENT FOR UNDOCUMENTED
4 ALIENS.
5 Nothing in this subtitle shall allow Federal payments
6 for affordability credits on behalf of individuals who are
7 not lawfully present in the United States.
Pg 58 HC Bill - Government will have real-time access to individual's
finances and a National ID Health Care Card will be issued!
5 ‘‘(D) enable the real-time (or near real-
6 time) determination of an individual’s financial
7 responsibility at the point of service and, to the
8 extent possible, prior to service, including
9 whether the individual is eligible for a specific
10 service with a specific physician at a specific fa-
11 cility, which may include utilization of a ma-
12 chine-readable health plan beneficiary identi-
13 fication card;
Currently, the government has a record of every cent I make. Sometimes, they even give me money back. According to this, W-2's are some sort of conspiracy.
Also, I right now carry an insurance card in my wallet that tells any medical facility how much my copay is. Big whoop.
Pg 59 HC Bill lines 21-24 Government will have direct access to your
banks accounts for electronic funds transfer.
21 ‘‘(C) enable electronic funds transfers, in
22 order to allow automated reconciliation with the
23 related health care payment and remittance ad-
24 vice;
You mean like we can make an electronic transfer of money to pay our various bills, now? Or possibly the debit card that I use to buy groceries and other items?
Welcome to the 21st century, Mr. Staver.
(NOTE FROM RJ-This really does mean they can take your money at any
time. Who will have this authority?-a government bureaucrat.)
If they could, this would mean that the clerk at Shell, or the "bureaucrat" at my electric company could clean me out.
For some reason, I'm picturing Chicken Little here.
Pg 65 Sec 164 is a payoff subsidized plan for retirees and their
families in unions and community organizations (ACORN).
12 SEC. 164. REINSURANCE PROGRAM FOR RETIREES.
13 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—
14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after
15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary
16 of Health and Human Services shall establish a tem-
17 porary reinsurance program (in this section referred
18 to as the ‘‘reinsurance program’’) to provide reim-
19 bursement to assist participating employment-based
20 plans with the cost of providing health benefits to
21 retirees and to eligible spouses, surviving spouses
22 and dependents of such retirees.
He read that and immediately thought of ACORN? I read that and think of the Teamsters, UMWA, and health insurance plans for those who retire from a job.
And for the record, I don't think ACORN is the devil they make it out to be.
Now, I'm going to skip ahead to the points that deal with "euthanasia".
Pg 425 Lines 4-12 Government mandates Advance [Death] Care Planning
Consult. Think Senior Citizens end of life.
(Perhaps Mr. Staver read an earlier version. In the one I found online it's lines 3-11)
3 ‘‘(A) An explanation by the practitioner of ad-
4 vance care planning, including key questions and
5 considerations, important steps, and suggested peo-
6 ple to talk to.
7 ‘‘(B) An explanation by the practitioner of ad-
8 vance directives, including living wills and durable
9 powers of attorney, and their uses.
10 ‘‘(C) An explanation by the practitioner of the
11 role and responsibilities of a health care proxy.
The government mandates that the practioner tell them what their options are. I have trouble seeing that as a problem.
Pg 425 Lines 17-19 Government will instruct and consult regarding
living wills, durable powers of attorney. Mandatory!
12 ‘‘(D) The provision by the practitioner of a list
13 of national and State-specific resources to assist con-
14 sumers and their families with advance care plan-
15 ning, including the national toll-free hotline, the ad-
16 vance care planning clearinghouses, and State legal
17 service organizations (including those funded
18 through the Older Americans Act of 1965).
Actually, the "practioner" will give them a "list of national and State-specific resources... (including those funded through the Older Americans Act of 1965)." So it's mandatory for the practioner to tell you where you can find the resources. Somehow, I don't believe this section is as nefarious as Mr. Staver makes it out to be.
Pg 425 Lines 22-25, 426 Lines 1-3 Government provides approved list of
end of life resources, guiding you in death.
19 ‘‘(E) An explanation by the practitioner of the
20 continuum of end-of-life services and supports avail-
21 able, including palliative care and hospice, and bene-
22 fits for such services and supports that are available
23 under this title.
(page 426)
1 ‘‘(F)(i) Subject to clause (ii), an explanation of
2 orders regarding life sustaining treatment or similar
3 orders, which shall include—
They don't guide. They tell you your options. Also, notice that line three continues:
4 ‘‘(I) the reasons why the development of
5 such an order is beneficial to the individual and
6 the individual’s family and the reasons why
7 such an order should be updated periodically as
8 the health of the individual changes;
9 ‘‘(II) the information needed for an indi-
10 vidual or legal surrogate to make informed deci-
11 sions regarding the completion of such an
12 order; and
13 ‘‘(III) the identification of resources that
14 an individual may use to determine the require-
15 ments of the State in which such individual re-
16 sides so that the treatment wishes of that indi-
17 vidual will be carried out if the individual is un-
18 able to communicate those wishes, including re-
19 quirements regarding the designation of a sur-
20 rogate decisionmaker (also known as a health
21 care proxy).
Basically, this is to make sure that the wishes of the person are carried out. You fill out the paperwork, and your wishes are carried out. No one else has any say on how you are treated when the time comes that your body is failing.
Pg 427 Lines 15-24 Government mandates program for orders for end of
life. The government has a say in how your life ends.
13 ‘‘(II) distributes or makes accessible such
14 orders to physicians and other health profes-
15 sionals that (acting within the scope of the pro-
16 fessional’s authority under State law) may sign
17 orders for life sustaining treatment;
Umm... Line 17 says "life sustaining treatment". In other words, withing the limits of state laws doctors and other health professionals can override a living will under certain circumstances.
Pg 429 Lines 1-9 An "adv. care planning consult" will be used
frequently as patient's health deteriorates.
(in the copy of the bill I found, it starts on page 428)
17 ‘‘(B) An advance care planning consultation with re-
18 spect to an individual may be conducted more frequently
19 than provided under paragraph (1) if there is a significant
20 change in the health condition of the individual, including
21 diagnosis of a chronic, progressive, life-limiting disease, a
22 life-threatening or terminal diagnosis or life-threatening
23 injury, or upon admission to a skilled nursing facility, a
24 long-term care facility (as defined by the Secretary), or
25 a hospice program.
I cannot find anything bad about this. As the patients health gets worse, they consult the patient to make sure the patients wishes are followed.
Pg 429 Lines 10-12 "adv. care consultation" may include an ORDER for
end of life plans. AN ORDER from Government.
1 ‘‘(4) A consultation under this subsection may in-
2 clude the formulation of an order regarding life sustaining
3 treatment or a similar order.
Actually, the order is from the patient, and has the weight of the government behind it when it comes to following the patients wishes. From page 429 lines 17-20:
17 ‘‘(ii) effectively communicates the individual’s
18 preferences regarding life sustaining treatment, in-
19 cluding an indication of the treatment and care de-
20 sired by the individual;
So the preferences can include anything from do everything possible, to just make the patient comfortable. It's up to the patient, but the government order is to follow the patients wishes.
Pg 429 Lines 13-25 - The government will specify which doctors can
write an end of life order.
8 ‘‘(i) is signed and dated by a physician (as de-
9 fined in subsection (r)(1)) or another health care
10 professional (as specified by the Secretary and who
11 is acting within the scope of the professional’s au-
12 thority under State law in signing such an order, in-
13 cluding a nurse practitioner or physician assistant)
14 and is in a form that permits it to stay with the in-
15 dividual and be followed by health care professionals
16 and providers across the continuum of care;
Actually, State law decides who has enough authority to witness the patient's wishes. Still, it's up to the patient how their care will be done.
PG 430 Lines 11-15 The government will decide what level of treatment
you will have at end of life.
4 ‘‘(B) The level of treatment indicated under subpara-
5 graph (A)(ii) may range from an indication for full treat-
6 ment to an indication to limit some or all or specified
7 interventions. Such indicated levels of treatment may in-
8 clude indications respecting, among other items—
No, the government will order the caregivers to follow the patients wishes, as outlined in paragraph (A) (ii), which I quoted above (page 429 lines 17-20). The patient gets to decide and put their wishes in writing, and the government backs their decision. The government no more gets to decide a patients healthcare than they get to decide who a person votes for in an election.
(NOTE FROM RJ: The above really does give the government the authority
to determine who lives and dies, and when. A government bureaucrat
really will be making this decision for you and your loved ones.)
I'm calling bullshit. It doesn't give the government authority. The government backs the wishes of the patient.
The rest of the email is virtually identical. Take issue with everything involved, and make it seem like the government is going to take everything out of the hands of the individual. It's a scare tactic.
Mathew D. Staver*
Founder and Chairman Dean and Professor of Law Liberty Counsel
Liberty University School of Law Offices in Florida, Virginia and the
District of Columbia, Lynchburg, Virginia
(800) 671-1776 - Telephone (434) 592-5300 - Telephone
www.LC.org
www.law.liberty.edu
*Licensed in Florida and the District of Columbia
Now do you understand why we have to stand up today against this bill
and declare with all of the courageous souls who are sounding the
alarm and let us say to the bill-
"YOU SHALL NOT PASS."
Click here to search for your local Representative
Click here to search for your local Senator
The entire email is full of misrepresentation and cherry-picking. As an example, they completely skip over the section that starts on page 170:
19 ‘‘(5) RELIGIOUS CONSCIENCE EXEMPTION.—
20 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) shall
21 not apply to any individual (and any qualifying
22 child residing with such individual) for any pe-
23 riod if such individual has in effect an exemp-
24 tion which certifies that such individual is a
25 member of a recognized religious sect or divi-
(page 171)
1 sion thereof described in section 1402(g)(1) and
2 an adherent of established tenets or teachings
3 of such sect or division as described in such sec-
4 tion.
So if you have a religious objection, as Mr. Joyner and Mr. Staver apparently do, not only do they get to opt out but they can also opt out their "dependents". Somehow, I don't see the holocaust or the purge in Russia being as effective if it was voluntary.
Expanding Post Test
If this works, and you want to be able to compress your posts for easier viewing, you can thank...Bronze Dog by going to this link.
August 11, 2009
What I Learned At the Creation Mausoleum
On Friday, August 7th, I attended the Creation Mausoleum with over 300 other atheists. Actually, it was a mixture of atheists, agnostics, and secular people of varying views but to the Mausoleum anyone who doesn't believe the way they do are atheists.
I arrived a little early. I pulled into my parking space at about 9:15 am, and signing in and picking up your ticket was to start at 9:30 am. I was directed to my parking spot by what appeared to be officers of the law, but in reality they were just the security for the Mausoleum. Before I saw their arm patches, I thought that the museum had possibly had the local sheriffs to come in just in case us rowdy atheists wanted to make some trouble.
Not long after the lines started forming, and everyone got in place to go and get their tickets. Since my last name is in the last half of the alphabet, I was in the line that passed closest to the mausoleum. While in line I struck up a conversation with the No Guy In The Sky and Mixter. This was the first time that I've had a real world conversation with someone as irreverant as me, and it was a refreshing experience.
After getting my ticket I had a gentleman, Mike from Kentucky, take my picture with PZ. Others were waiting to get their picture taken with the atheist celebrity, so I went on my merry way to see what the mausoleum had to offer. I also took off the armband, because I now had the SSA nametag and nifty pin on button.
Once in line, I met a history major who happened to be working on some research in Cincinnati. I can't remember his name, but I remember his research was on radiation effects. He mentioned Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Chernobyl (and a glowing forest near it). Unfortunately, before we could get deeper into the conversation we saw a kid sitting near a couple of velociraptors.Him: What's wrong with this picture?
Me: There's no running, screaming, and dieing.
Him: Those teeth weren't made for eating leaves.
Me: Nope... Haven't you heard. They were made for cracking coconuts.
After this, things went downhill. If not for the other rational thinkers, I believe I might have ran out screaming in pain before I reached the display of Martin Luther.
The kid and velociraptors were on display while we were in line for the Walk Through History. While in line, there was a plaque that the 7 C's in God's Eternal Plan. They were:
However, 2, 3, and 4 were the only ones that seemed to aptly describe the mausoleum.
I first "Twilight Zone" moment was the display of two paleontologists. Well one paleontologist that follows the evidence, and another who considers the Bible to be the only evidence he needs. This was the beginning of a trend. Find a passage of the Bible that could be referencing something like real science (if you close one eye, tilt your head three degrees to the north, and scream "LALALALALA" at the top of your lungs), and try your damndest to make the evidence fit your pre-selected conclusion by cherry-picking.
Another theme was putting "Human Reason" in one column and "God's Word" in another. Also, don't worry about the order that scientific consensus has established for how things came about. They utilize section 4 article 6 of their Statement of Faith to it's fullest extent all through the mausoleum.
Early on, they concluded that coal didn't come about the way geology has explained. Their explanation (I kid you not) is a floating forest. My first thought was those forests would have to be huge. Coal seams in the Appalachian Mountain range of Virginia can run through several counties. Not to mention that there is usually several feet between coal seams, with some existing so close to the surface that the floating forests would have been noticed by early explorers, if not, in some cases, in recent memory of the current habitants.
According to the mausoleum's explanation for strata, rock layers are a result of the flood. However, the mass of solid minerals shows, in kilograms per cubic meter, 1346 for bituminous coal, 1506 for anthracite coal, 2611 for limestone, and 2323 for sandstone.
In water heavy materials settle first. That means that the layers should have the heaviest at the bottom, and the lightest at the top. E.g. limestone, sandstone, anthracite, and bituminous. However, coal seams can be found in between layers of sandstone in virginia. In most cases, there's more than one coal seam in any given area, with tens of feet of sandstone separating them. According to the floating forest hypothesis, the FFs would have needed to drop the "bark peat" at random intervals, over a vast area in exactly the same time period to boot, in order to create those seams in the way that we see them today.
The ignorance and misrepresentation doesn't stop there. Continuing on the walkthrough, you reach a section that becomes darker and more sinister. This is the beginning of the "Reason and Atheists" (R&A) section, as I would like to call it. In this one, they use infidel philospher as an adjective to describe Voltaire, they have a large newpaper article printed on the wall calling a self-professed agnostic an "atheist", and following the newspaper graffiti they have the book that the agnostic wrote about his agnosticism.
Honestly, when I saw Charles Templeton's name I immediately thought of the Templeton Foundation. However, the two are apparently unrelated. Still, there seems to be a bur under the dinosaddle that a onetime evangelical Christian would eventually begin criticizing his former faith.
After that they begin blaming Adam and Eve for all of the world's woes, that is until they get to a display that is supposed to represent modern times. Then it starts reiterating the blame of R&A. Once I made it through that, things were pretty much a blur. All I did was take pictures, and continue on my way. The mind can only take so much stupidity before it goes on autopilot, I guess. Kind of like the way a person will faint when pain gets above a certain threshold.
The next thing I remember is smelling food. I was able to make it to the Palm Cafe area to have my lunch, and listen to others in our group discussing what they had seen so far, and even just everyday humdrum things. Then one of our group came up to tell me that the next room had the saddled triceratops. Like a few others, I was debating getting my picture taken on it, but was informed by other attendees that no one over twelve was allowed on. I don't recall seeing any sign near it (see the picture at the last link), but I just decided to move on. Then I saw two pictures that disturbed me more deeply than anything I had up to this point. I almost felt like running, but kept my self discipline enough that I made it to the Dragon Hall Bookstore.
Once there, I took a little time to browse and try to calm down. A DVD caught my eye. The title was Genesis: Today's Answer to RACISM. Vaguely, I recalled the Tower of Babel section of the tour, and shuttered to myself. However, when I turned it over I read this:Racism has infected our culture, and evolutionary beliefs have dehumanized our perception of different people groups.
Thoughts of slaves being brought to the New World, having their progeny continuing to be enslaved for two hundred and fifty years, and then the passing of the 13th Amendment six years after the publication of The Origin of Species. I stumbled my way outside, either to get some fresh air or throw up, and saw the Botanical Gardens.
I took a few calming breaths and thought a walk among the flowers and trees would do me some good. I resolved to not look at any of the plaques, and to just enjoy seeing the pond, flowers, buzzing bees, and listen to the breeze through the leaves. Just as I was beginning to recoup my sanity, I saw something out of place over top of the leaves. With a groan, I walked around until I could see for myself that it was what I thought it was. Yes, it was a T-Rex among the trees, and to further push my sanity to the breaking points I saw it decorated with green Christmas lights.
A low groan may have escaped, but I trudged on hoping to find some semblance of sanity on these delusional grounds. There were some waterfalls that were beautiful, if you ignored the pump station that was so visible among them, the pond was teaming with pan fish and koi, pink blooms were blossoming from the lily pads at the edge of the pond, and another waterfall greeted my eyes and calmed my senses.
However, it was not to last. On my way back to the museum I took a path that dead ended at the edge of the pond. Beyond the leaves I saw something that caused me to question my sanity once again. Moving back to the first spot that I took a picture of the gardens, I saw what my mind had subconciously blocked out before.
The mausoleum had stuck Nessie into their pond. Memories of PZ's recent post about Nessie vs. evolution popped up in my head. The world started spinning, and I'm not sure if the laughter I heard was from others or from myself (either outloud or inside my head).
Regardless, I glanced at my watch and saw that the time was only a little after noon. For a split second, I debated walking around some more to see what other insanity and delusion the mausoleum had to offer, but that laughter inside my head changed to a chuckl and I decided that I was pushing my limits of tolerance of ignorance.
I regret that I didn't continue to explore and talk to the other secular folks who attended. However, my mind has limits on the amount of stupidity that it can take, and I learned the threshold when I went to the Creation Mausoleum.
August 9, 2009
Mausoleum Tour Pictures
 |
| From Creation Museum |
I've met PZ, and had my picture taken with him. There's also an album of the pictures I took. Sorry some are blurry, but laughter made the camera shake a little.
Things have been a little busy, this weekend, but I hope to give a few highlights in the coming days. Just wait until you hear about how "infidel philosopher" can be used as an adjective. It's priceless.
August 4, 2009
Skeptilove
Allison Smith, known to some by her founding of SAPS, has started a blog called
Skeptilove
Reporting on the selfless, generous acts of non-believers.
The cause?
SkeptiLove is devoted to reporting on the generous acts of non-believers (and differently abled believers), and to bringing skeptics, critical thinkers, agnostics, atheists, humanists, and secularists together to participate in charitable projects.
Are you an atheist, agnostic, Bright, or free-thinker that is tired of hearing the canard "You can't be good without God"? How many times have you heard someone claim that without religion and churches nothing would be donated to the needy?
Skeptilove has done an articles on a non-believer working with Habitat for Humanity, Kitty Mervine who made wool hats for people in Afghanistan, and JREF donating shirts to an organization that educates children of low-income families.
Techskeptic did a post on Atheist Charities a while ago, and now we have a blog that gives examples of individuals giving their time, and sometimes platelets, to help others.
I think the idea is wonderful. Promoting "Be good for godness sake", and even taking suggestions for charities that atheists might feel more comfortable about giving money to.
(Via Skepchick)
August 3, 2009
Fifth Column Concern
With the upcoming trip to the Creation Mausoleum many have voiced concerns about everyone in the group behaving themselves. The most likely scenario involves a skeptic who gets fed-up with seeing/hearing the propoganda coming from AiG and blows their top. However, another concern is the possibility of fifth column attendees.
Fifth column refers to having people in the group who are there specifically to undermine the group's efforts. While I agree that the underground popularity of the event could make it a target, I don't think it's likely.
However, I thought of a way to separate the wheat from the chaff, so to speak. Ask them a few simple questions that I would expect anyone going on this trip would have an answer to.
What is the current scientific concensus for the age of the Earth, based on scientific evidence?
or
What is the current scientific concensus for the age of the universe, based on scientific evidence?
or even
Can you give a description of the Theory of Evolution?
In most cases the answers I've seen from creationists to the first two will be off by orders of magnitude, and for the last it often starts with cosmology (Big Bang Theory) and goes on to abiogenesis without ever touching on the actual definition of ToE. However, I would think that anyone skeptical about creationism would have knowledge of at least one of those questions.
During my contemplation of this other thoughts occured to me. The foremost being why are we concerned about this in the first place? Do we really have so little trust in mankind that we think they need told to behave in an appopriate manner, or that they will actively try to discredit our group? Unfortunately, the answer for that is yes.
The reason for mistrusting those who actually belong in our group is human nature. Some people are just unable to keep their heads when listening or seeing fallacious arguments or listening to people spout complete ignorance. Some people are willing to listen calmly, point out the errors, and then laugh when they are at a more appropriate place. However, some can't keep their heads for long enough to make it through the claims by the creationists. Of course, some people are also just assholes.
Mistrust of creationists is even more common. Considering the descriptiive caricatures that creationists, and even those who are simply believers, often misrepresent us with it's hard to dismiss the idea that some are zealous enough in their beliefs to actively cause trouble. It's not difficult to envision someone fanatical enough in their beliefs that they attempt to discredit the group by posing as a member and then causing a problem. However, as I pointed out above, I don't think they could fit into the group well enough to make it very far into the tour with us.
The highest possibility that I see is a protest group. Even then, I don't expect there to be any sort of confrontation, at least if AiG upholds the policies as they were explained to PZ. I expect that all of us who registered will go on the tour, listen calmly, and hopefully get the chance to ask questions of the staff at an appropriate time. I don't expect a battle between Ken Ham on a T-Rex and PZ on a giant squid, but I don't see AiG's claims made during the tour going unchallenged when the time comes that we can ask questions.
Honestly, I only expect that I'll wake up Saturday morning with nothing having changed, except that I will have finally met PZ Myers and several other free-thinkers and skeptics.
