Soapbox

States Rights Attack!

Am I the only one who hears folks yelling about the Constitution and State’s Rights in the same breath, and feels their irony senses start to tingle? Let me get the obvious out of the way: I’m not a Constitutional Scholar I didn’t play one on TV While I’m at it, let me get the less obvious out of the way too: I’m not a historian I don’t think I’m smarter than the average bear I…
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Soapbox

Random statement of fact

Honor Roll or not (though he is), my fifth-grader has the capacity to act much smarter than your pet. Mind you, I have nothing against your pet. I’m sure he/she is adorable and a beloved member of your family – but let’s not get carried away. I think it’s worth pointing out my fifth-grader is a person – a little human being. I’m not advocating cruel treatment of any animals…
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Soapbox

Fighting the good fight

The latest skirmish in the Insurance Wars… a conversation with a customer service rep.** You said you paid that bill. “We did but we changed our minds.” Come again? “We paid it but we took our money back.” I realize your reasons seem self-evident to you, but could you give me a clue? “We sent you a letter in the beginning of the year which clearly states this…
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AppleSoapbox

Elegance begets elegance

Many great pieces will be written about Steve Jobs today, as his death becomes widely known while people watch or listen to the morning news. At least a few (if not many) will probably hit upon some of these thoughts, my thoughts. Many things have inspired me. Some are obvious: my wife, my kids, my friends, my passions, my pains. Others aren’t quite so obvious, like the feel of a seemingly…
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Soapbox

Feeling it

This is well trod ground as topics go. However, I’m not afraid to boldly tread where better men have trod before! It might be the dullest post you’ve ever kept your eyes open for, but some of you may feel me on this one. As for the rest of you [INSERT RASPBERRY HERE] … and I ain’t talkin’ about no damned fruit, neither! – – – I type. I used to write.
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Soapbox

The boss

So the wife called me from the gym, asking if I’d taken the whites out of the dryer and put them away. You know what? I was pretty ticked off. Who is she to call me, checking up as if I was some kind of delinquent child. I hadn’t, but that’s beside the point. There’s a principle that’s been violated and I have every right to be upset about it. I’m going to let…
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Soapbox

Love, your health insurance company

I like getting love letters from my health insurance company. They catch me off guard, but it’s nice to know someone is looking out for me. A few weeks ago I got a letter asking about all of my other insurance carriers after I made a rather large claim. They said they wanted to make sure I could “maximize my coverage.” As they said, “We’re constantly looking for ways…
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Soapbox

My Medical Riff

Sit back and enjoy a good old fashioned rant, boys and girls. Don’t sit too close though. There could be some spittle involved – unintentional, of course. I’m not going to review my medical history with you now. You’ve either been reading along and know it already, or you haven’t. Maybe you’ll get the basic idea – or not. I’m really not sorry. The…
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Soapbox

One fine whine

One of the advantages of US style health care is being able to obtain services without having to wait until the sun goes supernova (which could be a really long time, since our sun doesn’t have enough mass to go it alone). – common wisdom in the US. When I say common wisdom (an oxymoron in the US) I’m refering to the part about waiting for healthcare, not the part about the sun.
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