I will plug until the beat is gone . . .

Various things I've read/learned/been interested with in the past week:

Smart:
Misuse of information and knowledge is like a gun in a fool's hand. (I forget who said it. Whoops.)

Scary:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/dannywestneat/2008257389_danny12m.html

Funny:
A title in The Economist -
The War Over Lobbyists
Or, pots denouncing kettles

TRUTH:
The end statement from afformentioned title - "Both candidates promise to change Washington. But the imperatives of politics, which requires lots of money and foot-soldiers, haven't changed yet."

Fascinating, but true:
The author is speaking about her husband dying from cancer (anyone that's basically watched a loved one die can understand) - "We held on to hope, which, in this crisis, was another word for denial."

A little more truth:
"If your joy is derived from what society thinks of you, you're always going to be disappointed." - Madonna

I'm also sickenly fascinated by our healthcare system. Or lackthereof. Or possible lackthereof (more of a personal fear, than national fear, I suppose). Do you know about your health insurance? When are you covered? When aren't you? What's your co-pay? What about prescription drug coverage? Howwww about alternative therapies (chiropractor, psychologist, etc.)?
News flash! This stuff will affect everyone. If it stays the same and Medicare doesn't exist anymore, people who are covered by insurance will eventually be just as screwed as those that aren't. How do you think the hospital pays for all those un-insured patients?? Equally frightening - with some of the proposed plans, people with insurance now will be penalized.
Why can't we just be like Europe? Their system works. (Okay, I have no real information on this, but everyone I live with right now is from either Belgium or Germany and they say it's much better than out system.)
I guess my biggest concern here is that I have the potential to be one of those uninsured, fresh out of college, doe-eyed, scared-to-death, chronic/pre-existing condition Americans with $1,000/month prescription costs. That number is prescriptions alone. Doctor's visits and lab reports every three months are another $1,000. So that's at least &16,000 a year. Surprise, McCain wants to give people a $2,500 tax break. I'm sorry. That won't help me sleep easier OR cover much of anything. Maybe like three months worth of insulin.

Our government is in serious trouble, right? People keep saying this, right? And other people keep hearing it, riiiight? But until more people really look into it and learn the basics and realize this affects them just as much as it affects the uninsured, we are screwedddd.

OH and people need to stop miss-pronouncing diabetes. It's die-uh-beat-eez.