Learning From the Entitlement Crowd

As a lot of you know, I've been on hiatus for a while (much too long) dealing with some personal things going on in my life. My friends and family have been a blessing as has the new man in my life. All have been supportive and caring, and all will have my undying gratitude and love.

Since beginning my new life, I got a job with the nation's largest retailer. The atmosphere there is great, and things are looking up. Starting in apparel, I've moved on to the jewelry department where I got a small raise. A small wonder in the short two months I've been there. Working there has also opened my eyes to some of the things that continue to astound me by those who choose to live off the public dole instead of being free individuals who pave their own way in life.

One of the first things I learned is that most clothing does have limits. When cards are replenished, this is one of the first noticeable things one sees. I really wish I didn't have to see it, but..... For those who may think I'm exaggerating, go to peopleofwalmart.com for proof. Asking that material to hold back more blubber than an Eskimo fishing expedition is like trying to dam the Colorado River with Lincoln Logs.

This next lesson may make some of you queasy, so please take a few moments to grab some Pepto Bismol. Trust me. Ready? Here goes.

Those who carry an EBT card full of YOUR money are able to buy jewelry with it as long as the cash balance allows. This includes certified diamonds, gemstones, and high-end watches. I guess buying silly items such as soap, laundry detergent, or toothpaste escapes some people. Mama needs a new nose stud. And the arrogance with which it is presented is disgusting. It's almost as if the nose of the hard workers of this country is being rubbed in the fact that the only skill these people have is scamming us out of more of our money.

How many of you know that those who use food stamps don't pay taxes on food that you and I do? That's the way it works here in Pennsylvania. While you and I are paying a few extra cents on pop (soda for the rest of yinz) and other taxable food items, they don't. While it may seem petty to gripe about something like that, take the number of cases sold times 36 cents here in PA and do the math. Working people pay $3.60 more on ten cases than those who appear to have no desire to work. Multiply that by the number of cases sold nationwide at different tax rates, and you've got yourself a huge number. Better stop now or I'm going to wind up with a migraine.

So how does one keep their sanity when the welfare floodgates open approximately twice a month? I'll give you a few pointers to hopefully make it a more pleasant experience.

• Avoid going there at the beginning and midway through the month. That's when cards are replenished and the entitlement mentality flourishes. If you must go then, be prepared to see things nightmares are made of.
• If you can do so, shop very early in the day. Most of the entitlement crowd likes to stay up playing XBox until the wee hours of the morning and sleep until at least noon. This also avoids having to hear them screech at their out-of-control minions. How do I know this? You'd be surprised at the number of them going into the store with their kids in tow when I'm leaving at 11 p.m.
  
• Those of you who have elderly or disabled people with you when you go might want to follow the second bit of advice also. The availability of motorized shopping carts plummets when the welfare crowd descends upon the store.
  
• Thinking of having a cookout on the patio grilling some Delmonico or New York strip steaks? Again, go early. These items are big with those who have a card full of food stamps as are crab legs and pricey seafood.
• Avoid the electronics and toy departments unless absolutely necessary. Should you feel the need to get away from these bloodsuckers, go to the cleaning or personal care departments. A lot of them don't spend much time there.

Now that I've done my good deed for the day, I'm going to pose some questions to those dregs of society who have no desire to work. These are things I'd love to be able to ask while I'm breaking down freight or breaking my back moving merchandise.

1. What makes you think that you are entitled to the fruits of my hard work and that of millions of other Americans? If your answer is "Because I got pregnant and have no education", you lose. You should NOT be rewarded for irresponsible behavior and poor decision-making. You want the freedom to make your own choices, be free enough to accept the consequences of those decisions.
2. Why should I have to pay for your cell phone? Here in PA, welfare will provide a cell phone. That's a travesty. If your answer is "Because I deserve to have one just like everyone else", you lose. You deserve it if you earn it. All other circumstances constitute theft of the American worker with big government as your shakedown man.
3. Why are so many of those who have food stamps and choose to use them on a permanent basis so obese? If your answer is "They don't have money for food", you lose once again. Food stamps should not be feeding a steady diet of Ho Ho's and junk food. And it's about time yinz start doing what the rest of us do: get the most for your dollar. Instead of buying the high-end food and lots of convenience foods, get more for less. Just because government gave you a certain amount of my money, be frugal and don't waste it. I don't have a choice in the matter, and neither should you.
   
4. When one decides to live off of welfare, why does personal hygiene seem to be the first thing to go? While I understand that circumstances in a person's life may be that they don't have a lot of money (Believe me; I'm living it.), there is NO reason to be filthy dirty. Have some self-respect and some consideration for those around you. Instead of spending $30 on snow crab legs, use it to go to the laundromat. Take the $20-$25 you spend on fancy steaks and buy soap and shampoo. It really doesn't cost that much. You may have to be poor, but you don't have to be dirty. Oh....and please at least wash your children's faces and hands before going out in public. They will learn what you teach them.
5. Why is it that the generational welfare crowd sees no problem with multiplying like rabbits? If you need welfare for one child, doesn't that give you any hint that it's not going to get better when you have 3, 4, 5, or 8? Refer to #1 for more ranting.

Thanks to those who have taken the time to read my rant. It's a much needed venting that's long overdue.

An Open Letter to the Government

Dear U.S. Government:

As a concerned citizen of this great country, I feel that it is my duty to inform you of exactly what I will not concede in your never-ending quest for power and control. While I will continue to be a law-abiding citizen under current laws, there may come a time when I will no longer be said law-abiding citizen. There are certain things I will not tolerate.

1. Should you get the urge to curtail my God-given right of free speech, I will not shut up. You may take away the means by which I communicate, but you will not stifle my voice.
   
2. For years, there has been a movement to strike all reference to Christianity from the public sector. Hear me when I say that I will not renounce my faith in God. The day may come when religion in general is abolished and we will not be given a choice of who to worship. I will NEVER worship any other deity than the one god who sent His only son to save mankind. I will die for my faith.
3. My firearms are off limits to you. Guns, in the hands of peaceful and law-abiding citizens, keep society as a whole safe. We who believe in the right to bear arms keep society safe from not only the dregs of society, but we are the last line in defense of an overreaching government. You will get my guns if I am dead or if you can find them. And I can hide them well.
4. The money earned by my family is ours. You have no right to rob us of the fruits of our productivity and give it to those you deem worthy. That is theft on your part, and it is a disgrace.
5. The health decisions my family makes are our responsibility. We do not need you to tell us what treatments we can and cannot have.
   
6. My children are exactly that: MINE. You will not indoctrinate them, you will not force me to vaccinate them, and you sure as hell won't take them from me. Those are my most precious blessings from God himself. I will decide what I believe God wants me to teach those angels, not you.
7. I will continue to exercise my freedom and take full responsibility for the decisions I make. I do not need you to determine what is best for me.

This country is my home. Just as I would not tolerate an intruder coming in and destroying my house, I will be damned if I will stand by and watch the government destroy my home.

Consider yourselves warned.

Sincerely,
blackandgoldfan

The World of Socialized Medicine

Obamarx and his minions keep pushing this hideous piece of legislation that isn't worth the toilet paper it's written on despite the cries from concerned American citizens. The left is always pointing out the examples of Britain and Canada to support their argument. They may want to rethink that strategy.

The following are stories from Britain and Canada of patients who have lived (and died) under the same system the left wants to implement for us.

To read more stories like these and view the original articles, visit BigGovHealth.

Britain

Linda O’Boyle

When Linda O’Boyle, 64, was diagnosed with cancer, she decided to pay for additional, private treatment out of pocket, hoping to prolong her life. O’Boyle was told that a medication not provided by NHS would increase her chances of fighting the disease. After deciding to use her savings to pay for these outside medications, NHS withdrew their services, including chemotherapy because current government laws ban a patient from combining public and private healthcare. O’Boyle passed away March 26, 2008.

Katie Hilliard

Katie Hilliard, 24, asked to be given a smear test twice, and was refused because she was “too young.” Katie now has cervical cancer, and it has spread to her lymph nodes and lungs. Doctors have given her 11 months to two years to live.

Debbie Hirsts

Debbie Hirsts, 57, was denied access by the NHS to a drug that would have slowed the progression of her breast cancer. With her oncologist’s support, Debbie decided to raise the $120,000 for the medicine herself. The situation changed in December 2007, when Debbie’s doctor told her the NHS would no longer allow her to subsidize the medication. If Debbie decided to pay for the medicine out-of-pocket, she would then need pay for all of her cancer treatments, which she could not afford, and would no longer receive free health benefits from the NHS.

Mark Cannon

Mark Cannon, 30, died eight and a half weeks after being admitted to the hospital with a broken leg. He was clearly distressed and in pain, but he had to wait three days to see the pain team. His father Allan, from Barton Turf, has been campaigning with Mencap to raise awareness of the ingrained discrimination he claims to have encountered from NHS staff towards his son, who had severe learning difficulties and could manage very little speech.

Alan Francis

Alan Francis, a 68-year-old leukaemia patient, was denied a life-saving bone marrow operation by the Health Commission Wales (HCW). The HCW would have refused to fund the operation, which would have entailed taking the marrow from the donor in Australia and flying it to the UK.

Lynda Coghill

Lynda Coghill, was diagnosed with ovarian cancer at 39. At an appointment after surgery and radiation, she told her oncologist she was still bleeding. He did a quick exam, announced she had a new tumor, and said bluntly: “Your chances are slim to none.” He told her to wait a few weeks for the results of a biopsy, then left to treat a patient down the hall. “I looked at the nurse in sheer disbelief,” Ms. Coghill says. “The doctor had proceeded to tell me, in less than 30 seconds, that I was going to die.” She cried for days, unable to eat or sleep. She and her husband planned her funeral. At last, she contacted the sympathetic nurse from the doctor’s office and persuaded her to call for an “unofficial” biopsy report. The tumor was benign. Eight years later, Ms. Coghill remains angry about having been treated “like a numbered object on an assembly line.”

Canada

David Malleau

David Malleau, a 44 year-old truck driver suffered a devastating car accident in 2004 that forced doctors at Hamilton General Hospital to remove a fist-sized piece of bone from his skull to relieve pressure on his brain. Once the swelling subsided and he was ready for surgery in March 2005, Malleau was sent home and placed on a waiting list. Three months passed. Then six. He waited at home, a prisoner unable to leave the house for fear something would hit the exposed side of his brain - for him a potentially fatal incident. In the end, it took nearly a year before he could get skull replacement surgery.

Jordan Johanson

Jordan Johanson, 18, died at Rockyview Hospital in late March. He died following a 12-hour wait for surgery on his appendix. Darcy Johanson, the boy’s father, said “Young kids shouldn’t be dying like this. If something can be done to fix it, they should get on with it.”

Lindsay McCreith

Lindsay McCreith, 66, was told he had a brain tumor but that he would have to wait four and a half months to obtain an MRI to rule out the possibility that it was cancerous. Unwilling to risk the progression of what might be cancer, Mr. McCreith obtained an MRI in Buffalo, which revealed the tumor was malignant. Even with this diagnosis in hand, the Ontario system still refused to provide timely treatment, so Mr. McCreith had surgery in Buffalo to remove the cancerous brain tumor in March, 2006. In Ontario, Mr. McCreith would have waited eight months for surgery, according to his family doctor. Eight months is enough time for a cancer to worsen, spread and progress to an irreversible stage. Had Mr. McCreith not paid $26,600 for immediate care, he might be dead today.

Sheila Nunn

Sheila Nunn, a Kitchener woman suffering seizures, was told by her doctor that she urgently needed an MRI scan. She was also told she would have to wait three months to have it done locally. Nunn, who had been suffering blackouts, memory loss, confusion and seizures for two months, decided to take action: She paid $1,100 to have the MRI scan done in Michigan.

Those in support of socialized medicine keep telling us that there's no rationing of services. Evidently, they've never heard the stories of these people who have lived it.

Hey government wonks! Don't pee on my leg and tell me it's raining!

And These People Want to Run Healthcare???

This comes from worldnetdaily.com. There's too much information for me to pick out talking points, so I'm just posting the whole article. Government efficiency at its finest!!

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OUTBREAK!
See how government 'fixed' hazards of infectious waste
Public exposed as contagious medical trash routinely trucked across America's highways

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Posted: June 29, 2009
9:39 pm Eastern

By Chelsea Schilling
© 2009 WorldNetDaily

Contaminated needles and scalpels, bloodied bandages, body parts, unused prescription drugs, soiled hospital garments, radioactive waste and refuse tainted with infectious disease: These are only a few items that may be discarded on a curbside, abandoned in a nearby lake or piled in a dumpster headed for the local landfill.

Some say Americans are simply oblivious to the imminent risk of major hazards and contagions spreading throughout their communities at any given time.

Former Rep. Richard Pombo, R-Calif., grew concerned about medical waste hauling after Sept. 11. He told WND that 15 years ago, the nation's hospitals incinerated much of the infectious waste on site. However, the Environmental Protection Agency mandated strict guidelines for incinerators after concerns about air pollution, forcing most hospitals to hire truck drivers to haul medical waste away.

"What happened was that most hospitals and most doctors' offices started going off site because they had no other way of treating it on site," Pombo said. "So this industry was born that picked up medical waste and took it to a centralized site. Those centralized sites are sometimes several hundred miles away from the doctor's office or the hospital where they're picking this stuff up."

Darrell Henry, executive director of the Healthcare Waste and Emergency Preparedness Coalition, expressed concerns about national safety when contagious medical waste that could be contaminated with hepatitis, tuberculosis, flu or even small pox is trucked across America's roadways.

"More than 80 percent of the hospitals in the country truck this stuff somewhere," he told WND. "They throw this stuff on the back dock and let it sit there. A truck comes and picks it up, and now it's a mobile Petri dish moving across our highways, going to be treated somewhere when you could have treated it on site and been done with it."

Biohazard bags and sharps piled into bins at medical facility (photo: Healthcare Waste and Emergency Preparedness Coalition)

While they are subject to the same background checks as other truck drivers, workers who haul infectious waste often do not have special training or licensing for dealing with contagious materials. San-I-Pak World Health Systems Vice President Arthur McCoy told WND some drivers are drug addicts who collect medical scraps and sift through the piles in search of their next high.

Trucker hauls medical waste

"A lot of times these guys have been arrested because they want to get into the medical waste and try to recover narcotics or prescription medicines," he said. "Then, after these guys are contaminated, they go to the same gas stations, grocery stores and restaurants as the rest of us. There's a lot of cross contamination."

Each year, there are numerous news reports of medical waste trucks involved in accidents on major U.S. highways. In many cases, hospital refuse and even hazardous radioactive medical waste is strewn across roads, discarded in ditches or illegally dumped on beaches and in America's communities.

Pombo said some companies charge medical facilities up to $20 per pound to haul infectious waste away.

"To save a few hundred dollars, they might throw it on the dumpster the day before trash day, and it will be hauled to the regular trash facility," he said. "It then goes through the regular transfer station with people separating out recyclables. They don't know what they're being exposed to."

McCoy said he has witnessed small clinics discarding numerous red biohazard bags in trash bins.

"I was just casually driving by a little medical complex and saw medical waste bags piling up out of a dumpster," he said. "That's how common this is. It's pretty scary."

One such example was documented in the following KVUE News report after police found hundreds of syringes near a busy shopping center in Cedar Park, Texas, in October:

Despite shocking details of the public's daily exposure to infectious waste, Henry said his major concern is about emergency preparedness. He said medical facilities must be equipped to deal with contagions during pandemics, natural disasters and national emergencies – when infection is rampant and waste haulers cannot meet hospital waste removal demands.

"In New York on Sept. 11, nothing got on or off Manhattan Island for a week," he said, "yet you had hospitals that needed sustainable operation capability to keep going."

Pombo added, "After Sept. 11 in New York City, the hospitals that had the capability of treating on site were able to treat their waste. For the ones that didn't, the stuff stacked up, and it was basically locked down. The trucks couldn't get in and out. So there were patient rooms in the hospitals that had bags and bags of contagious medical waste because they had no way to treat it."

Medical waste mixed with regular garbage (photo: HWEPC)

Pombo noted that officials had no way of controlling contagions when people were locked down during Hurricane Katrina in 2005, and hospitals could have been ready with on-site waste treatment equipment.

"Their transportation system was gone," he said. "They had no way of getting anything in and out once it flooded."

Likewise, Henry said if there's an earthquake in a location like San Francisco, hospitals must keep functioning.

"They won't have to worry and wait for trucks to come pick stuff up and take it over the bridge. Last time when the Oakland Bay Bridge collapsed, they closed all the bridges for days," he said.

Pombo, Henry and McCoy are each concerned the same issues might arise in cases of bioterrorism. While contagious waste management is a subject often neglected in the news media and by lawmakers, they say the nation could be crippled in the event of such emergencies under the current system.

Following recent swine flu concerns, Henry wrote a letter to Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of Health and Human Services, warning her of the need to control infectious waste during national emergencies.

Rep. Frank Pallone Jr., D-N.J., introduced legislation in May to set a nationwide uniform tracking system for medical waste disposal.

The Medical Waste Management Act of 2009, or HR 2552, has been referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. It mandates the monitoring of waste from the place of origin to disposal facilities and addresses syringe disposal procedures.

However, Henry said the legislation simply creates a paper trail for tracking purposes and doesn't encourage hospitals to destroy infectious waste on site.

"This legislation basically tells EPA to decide how it's to be treated. But I look at this and ask, are you going to let EPA decide how to do this?" Henry said. "They could screw this up. We're looking to ensure that certain on-site capabilities qualify under EPA so that in an emergency the hospitals can do this on site. EPA is just looking at putting a regulatory scheme into place, not considering the best practices for hospitals and medical waste infection control."

While certain types of pathological and pharmaceutical waste must be incinerated, affordable technologies can cleanly, safely and economically sterilize other infectious waste at each hospital – and experts say doing so would be cleaner, safer and less costly than the current alternative.

Autoclave on hospital grounds can sterilize and compact medical waste (photo: San-I-Pak)

McCoy said San-I-Pak, the world leader in on-site waste treatment systems, provides autoclaves to hospitals to sanitize and compact infectious waste so contagions never leave hospital grounds. The machines allow medical facilities to remain efficient during emergencies so they are not forced to depend on truck drivers to haul away contaminated refuse.

"In our system, the waste is automatically loaded into the autoclave from the collection carts. Nobody ever touches the material," he said. "Once the material goes into the San-I-Pak unit, it's sterilized. After it's sterilized, it discharges into a compactor and then it's comingled with the rest of the waste."

The autoclaves cost less than off-site disposal and are also capable of sterilizing hospital laundry and even disposable items such as gowns, masks and gloves under extreme circumstances.

After processing, the waste is said to be cleaner than common household garbage.

Henry said the government should focus on enabling hospitals to buy similar equipment that would help them deal with a crisis rather than mandating restrictions and paper trails on off-site disposal of infectious waste.

Pombo said most people aren't aware that infectious and potentially contagious waste is being trucked through their communities, and the subject isn't a particularly glamorous issue for lawmakers to address.

"One of the problems is that this is garbage," Pombo said. "Nobody pays a lot of attention to what comes out of that end of the facility. Until there's a major outbreak of something that gets a lot of press attention, no one will pay attention."

Lakers Fans: Take a Lesson From Da 'burgh!

Last night on Fox, I watched as they showed footage of the "celebratory" riots that occurred after the L.A. Lakers won yet another championship. This makes NO SENSE whatsoever!

My beloved Penguins have just won a championship. Yes, people poured onto the street to celebrate, but there were no riots. People weren't looting stores and burning cars the way they did in L.A. How is that celebrating? I personally think it's an excuse for the dregs of society to take what they want at an opportune moment.

Is this how a civilized society acts? I guess when you're a creation of the left's social policies (L.A.), you act the way government has dictated.

Do we really want the United States of Los Angeles?

Ayn Rand: Gotta Love Her

We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission; which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.

--Ayn Rand

I wonder if she had a time-travel machine. She seems to have been so spot-on about our present day world.