Oct 4 2013
I recently read a post by a friend referring to an article on
MediaMatters which claims to debunk many "myths" about Obamacare. The
problem is that the article doesn't debunk everything they claim to
debunk. First, here's the article: http://mediamatters.org/research/2013/10/01/15-myths-the-media-should-ignore-during-obamaca/196181
Now, many of those myths are indeed falsehoods, but not all of them. Let's start with Myth #7: Obamacare "Narrow Networks" Will Constrain Health Choices.
They "debunk" that by quoting a NYT article which states "narrow
networks make health insurance affordable to the uninsured by reducing
costs due to streamlined provider networks." What? That's not debunking
the myth, that's agreeing with it. Yes, narrow networks do help keep
costs lower than they otherwise would be, but that actually affirms the
"myth" that narrow networks will give people fewer choices.
On other
myths, such as Myth #9: The Affordable Care Act Covers Abortions,
neither side is really verifiable. One side says that Planned
Parenthood will use the grant monies to fund abortion, but the other
side quotes some talking heads making claims about future events saying,
"no they won't." There's no proof on either side, so the myth can't
actually be debunked.
One myth, Myth #10: The Affordable
Care Act Is A Job Killer
is just straight up true and they did not actually debunk it. They're
claiming it's debunked because they quote some studies saying it's
debunked, but they're ignoring lots of other data saying that it's
actually true. Here are just a few instances from the past few weeks: http://michellemalkin.com/2013/09/15/obamacare-related-layoffs-hour-cuts-and-private-coverage-dumps-of-the-week/.
Yes, that blog is biased towards the right, but it's undeniable that
businesses are cutting hours and instituting hiring freezes due to the
extra costs and strains of Obamacare. I've read many more instances than
just the ones in that article. Now this doesn't mean that every
business will be cutting hours and instituting hiring freezes, but just that
some have already done so and it's affecting the economy.
Last,
with regards to Myth #2: Premium Prices Will Increase Due To Health
Care Law,
they haven't really debunked it because they're making some unfounded
assumptions. First, they quote a study done by the Health and Human
Services Department (HHS Dept) claiming that premiums are "expected" to
be 16% lower than predicted. This can't really be treated as "proof"
because it's a prediction, not something that has happened...it's not
based on observations. The only other report they quote is another study
by the HHS Dept claiming "56 percent...of the people who don't have
health insurance today may be able to get coverage through the Health
Insurance Marketplace for less than $100 per month." "May be able to?"
That doesn't sound very convincing.
To analyze this myth from a
logical perspective, just think about how insurance works. First,
Obamacare mandates certain minimum covered items in all health care
plans. That means that some low-cost plans will have to cover more
things than before. This means that premiums will have to go up to cover
those costs. Second, Obamacare mandates there be no premium difference
due to gender. So if a plan previously cost $100 for a male and $150 for
a female, does it make sense for the insurer to drop the female down to
$100? No, because if they could cover their costs at that level they
would have done it already. Instead they'll raise both plans to $150,
and premiums have gone up once again.
Now, in some markets,
there will definitely be some affordable plans at the beginning, when
things are just getting rolling. This is because the system hasn't
really taken hold yet. Once people start getting enrolled in the system,
it's fairly predictable that premiums will increase due to a phenomenon
known as the "death spiral." This is a well-known phenomenon in the
health insurance industry (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Death_spiral_%28insurance%29)
that will take hold in the next few years in the Obamacare exchanges.
Many young, healthy people have already said they would rather go
without insurance and just pay the penalty. Since sick people can no
longer be denied coverage under Obamacare, this will quickly lead to
spiraling costs.
So yes, in general, more people will have insurance at first, but
costs will quickly increase. And government will once again have their
fingers deeper into our pie. I'll be curious to watch my predictions
unfold, and for once, I hope I'm wrong.
Sep 23 2012
Before I begin, I'm going to make a statement that will seem controversial to
some: the ark of the covenant has been found, but not revealed. If
you have no idea what I'm talking about, you may want to watch this video.
What is your initial reaction to this? Does your spirit burn within
you as you watch, bearing witness to the truth you hear? Or do you
discount what you hear, dismissing the "discovery" as the story of a
liar?
And most of all...why?
The ease with which so many Christians discount Mr. Wyatt's
archaeological discoveries continues to astonish me. Even after there is
copious evidence supporting many of his discoveries (Noah's Ark, the
Red Sea crossing site, the real Mount Sinai), many Christians just flat
out refuse to believe.
This is just one example of the infiltration of secular humanism into
Christianity. Have we become so enamored with being thought of as
"reasonable" by others that we're unwilling to believe something
"foolish" and "risky?"
What's the bigger risk here? The risk that one day evidence will turn
up proving that we were wrong to believe? Or the risk that by holding
tightly to our human wisdom, we risk God proclaiming us foolish?
"Where is the one who is wise? Where is the scribe? Where is
the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the
world? For since, in the wisdom of God, the world did not know God
through wisdom, it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to
save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom,
but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to
Gentiles...but God chose what is foolish in the world to shame the wise;
God chose what is weak in the world to shame the strong..."
1 Corinthians 1:20-23,27
Do we have such a love for our own wisdom that we are unwilling to accept
God's wisdom when we deem it foolish?
Jun 4 2011
Hilary went out with some friends tonight, so it was just me and
my boys: Caspian (almost 5 yrs) and Perrin (2 yrs). The first question
of an evening like this is: pizza, pizza, or pizza?
It's the beginning of the weekend, and pizza would kick things off
right, so I had to evaluate our options. Hilary had the car, so we
couldn't simply run out and pick up a pizza. We didn't have any crusts
to make one at home, and delivery is always a last option now that most
pizza places charge a delivery fee. There was one good option remaining:
Hunt Brothers pizza at the local gas station.
I love Hunt Brothers pizza; the crust is delicious, the toppings are
unlimited, and the price is right. But the gas station is about a mile
from our house...could a five and a two year old walk there and back? I
did want to wear them out so they'd go to sleep quickly, so I ended up
deciding to give it a shot. Pizza and a hike? Sounds like a winning
combination!
We started out walking our subdivision's sidewalks until we reached
Jessamine Station Road, a country road which heads into town (over a
railroad) and creates the intersection for the first of Wilmore's two
stoplights. Having never walked into town on this road, I wasn't sure if
there was a sidewalk over the railroad, but I figured it wouldn't be
too difficult to head off the road and cross the railroad on foot.
Luckily, there turned out to be a sidewalk, since the areas around the
railroad bridge were completely overgrown.
It's been too long since I've truly been out in nature. Yeah, I've
gone on walks down to the "creek park" with my family, but out in the
wild? It's been years. The wildflowers overgrowing the sides of the
bridge were my first taste of wild nature in a long time, and they were
beautiful, especially the thistles. Caspian and Perrin had never seen
thistles before, so they were amazed at how tall and spiky they were,
but I was simply reminded of the stark beauty of a plant with such a
contradictory nature (and these were some of the tallest thistles I'd
ever seen: some were over eight feet tall).
After our brief wildflower stop by the railroad bridge, we continued
on into town to the Clucker's Marathon where our pizza awaited us. We
ate, did the potty thing, and then started back home at 9:00 so we could
hopefully make it before dark. I got the leftover pizza bagged for easy
carrying, grabbed my boys' hands, and headed off toward the cemetary.
We passed the cemetary coming down the hill to Clucker's, so of
course Caspian was begging to get to walk back through it on our way
home. Why are cemetaries so fascinating to kids? Perhaps because death
is such a foreign concept to them? Caspian & Perrin didn't really
understand the reverence of a cemetary, but that's ok, they've got time
to get it.
As we wandered amongst the gravestones, I thought about the route we
would be taking to get back home. I really didn't want to walk home the
same way we came; the sidewalk on the railroad bridge was a bit narrow,
and there were other ways to walk home that didn't seem all that much
longer than the country road route. There is a creek that runs through
Wilmore, from the north side of town, southeast past Clucker's out the
east side of town, ending up not too far from our house. I wondered if
we could simply follow the creek home? There was a portion of its route
with which I was unfamiliar, though. The creek winds past the cemetary,
across a playground, and then through a tunnel under the railroad
tracks. Once it gets on the other side of the tracks, I wasn't sure what
happened to it for the next thousand feet until it gets to the "creek
park" which is near our house.
I was feeling adventurous! I hadn't gone hiking or trailblazing or
even just wandering around the woods in years (pretty sad for an Eagle
Scout, huh?), so I asked Caspian if he would like to go on an adventure,
and with his enthusiastic support, we set off. First we had to get from
the cemetary to the playground where the creek was most accessible. I
remembered from my childhood that there used to be a shortcut out the
back of the cemetary, so I took the boys through to see if it was still
there. It was somewhat overgrown but still passable, so with my five
year old hanging on my back, and holding the leftover pizza and my two
year old in my arms, we plunged through the undergrowth for fifty feet
to come out on the gravel road behind the playground.
At the playground, we dropped down into the dry creekbed and followed
it across to where it meets the twenty foot high railroad track
embankment. Just before disappearing into a tunnel through the
embankment, the dry creekbed merges with a flowing creek, so we couldn't
walk in the creekbed any longer. We waited beside the stream as a train
thundered past, then followed a short trail down to the creek to see
what awaited us. It was approaching dusk, and the tall trees and steep
embankment on three sides cast the tunnel entrance in shadow. At this
point, the creek was nice and shallow, with plenty of rocks for
crossing, so with Perrin in my arms and Caspian following close behind
me, I carefully crossed the creek.
As I approached the tunnel entrance, I could see that it was a
sizable tunnel (a small car could easily drive through), so I pulled out
my LED keychain flashlight and peered into the tunnel to see if it was
passable. Somebody must continue to cross through the tunnel
occasionally, because there was a meandering path of large rocks going
through the tunnel to allow easy pasage over the water. The water was
only a few inches deep, so even if we fell in we would only get wet, but
falling in a creek—regardless of its depth—could be scary for a young
kid, so we played it safe and kept to the rocks. With only a few
balancing errors, we managed to pick our way through the tunnel without
soaking our feet, and on the other side emerged once again in the
twilight.
Now we were faced with a choice. There were woods all around, so it
wasn't immediately apparent which way we should go. I knew that if we
were able to continue following the creek, it would lead us to the park,
but I wasn't sure if we would be able to follow it owing to the dense
woods surrounding it. On our left, however, there appeared to be a path
worn into the overgrowth, so I gambled on that being the better option.
Growing up in the Boy Scouts, I went on regular outings to the Red
River Gorge as a boy. Of all the different hikes we went on, though, the
ones I enjoyed most were when we just hiked cross-country without a
trail. Crashing through the forest, making our way over mountains and
around fallen trees, we were a piece of the wilderness for a weekend. I
believe God created us to be a part of the natural world he created, in
all its wonder and wildness, and when I'm able to spend time out there
in the wild, my sense of awe grows to unspeakable proportions.
All these memories and my sense of wonder came alive again as I led
my boys along the little worn path through the wilderness in Wilmore.
All around was dense woods and weeds as far as we could see, so we just
continued along the path, avoiding the poison ivy as best we could. I
knew we were heading in the right direction, so I figured we'd come out
somewhere recognizable sooner or later.
Pretty soon we came upon a clearing. As we emerged from the tall
weeds into the clearing, I began marveling at how such a long stretch of
wilderness could exist in the heart of a small town like Wilmore. The
clearing was long and narrow, just wide enough for a large truck to fit
in, with tall woods stretching out on either side. It apparently went on
for quite a while, but was very directional, so we followed the
clearing in the direction it was headed.
As we walked, I noticed it was getting pretty dark, so I kept up the
pace and looked about for signs of light. Although I saw some
streetlights a ways off through the trees, the lights I noticed the most
were the fireflies. The tall woods and dense undergrowth seemed to
contain and reflect their light...and there were thousands of them! As
far as we could see ahead of us down the clearing, hundreds and hundreds
of fireflies flashed to each other in the fading daylight. I stood for a
couple minutes and simply soaked it in. It was beautiful.
Eventually, we had to keep going since it was almost dark, and after a
bit longer we came to a gate at the end of the clearing. Thankfully it
was standing open, so we went through the opening, and came out of the
woods smack in somebody's back yard! We walked around to the sidewalk in
front of their house and I took a minute to get my bearings. We were
exactly where I wanted to be, just a hundred feet from the "creek park,"
at the entrance to the road that led most directly up the street to our
house. Incredible. I had been afraid that we had overshot our street
and would have to backtrack a bit, but we were right on the money.
Ten minutes later we were home, showering and getting in bed while
waiting for Hilary to arrive home from her outing. Perhaps we didn't
hike twenty miles across the Cumberland Ridge (as I did many times in
Boy Scouts), but it was every bit as enjoyable, and I got to share God's
wilderness with my boys, right here in the heart of Wilmore.
Jun 10 2009
I apologize for my several month absence, but we had a baby! It’s
another healthy boy (that makes two of ’em), and it’s directly related
to my topic today: how hospitals are really just businesses trying to
maximize their profits and don’t really care about you other than
that they can make money off of you.
Let me start by saying that we have
a Health Savings Account (HSA), and we love it! If you don’t know what HSAs are
all about, read about them at Wikipedia.
Because of the deposit arrangement with my employer, the net effect is
that we’ve had no out-of-pocket healthcare expenses since last July
(that’s right, none—we don’t have copays). I recommend that everyone
look into HSAs if their employer offers one—they’re awesome!
As
a result of having an HSA, we’ve been learning what things actually
cost and what doctors and hospitals are actually charging for things. We
have had two all-natural births, but after watching The Business of Being Born,
I was made more aware of just how serious this hospital-business
problem has become. Here are some samples from the itemized insurance
statements:
- My wife’s room and board: $1700
This
is pretty outrageous, but is the most justifiable expense on the list.
They could conceivably be lumping in a bunch of expenses like nurses,
etc. But still…$1700 for two days and two nights? That’s like staying at
the crappiest, most expensive hotel ever! - My newborn son’s
room and board: $1400
What!?!
He was in a bassinet in our room ALL OF THE TIME except when they took
his pictures and tested his hearing! And he breastfed! What in the world
is this charge about!?! It's highway robbery! - 10-12 motrin:
$150
Are you kidding me!? Where are they buying this? Is it coated
in 24 karat gold? - 4-6 percocet: $550
I’m
speechless. Perhaps we should take our unused percocet prescription and
sell it on the street! Oh, wait…percocet is actually dirt cheap.
WHAT!?!
Wow, I didn’t like hospitals before, but now I
really hate them. We also had a similar experience last autumn with the
emergency room. My wife stopped in because she was pregnant and was
having abdominal pains, and after making her wait for hours before
deciding she was perfectly all right, they charged us over $1000!
What
a bunch of scum-sucking vermin.
PS. don’t even think of suggesting
socialized/single-payer healthcare. Read this testimony by a Florida neurosurgeon to see why.
What we need is a real, free market system unencumbered by government
regulation and insurance mandates.
Mar 10 2009
As much as I love the internet, I am really annoyed by how many
myths and mistruths are fostered by it. I’m not really sure where this
particular myth got started, but it was probably even around before the
internet age. Which myth? I’m sure you know the one: “the United States
began as a Christian nation.”
Ummm, No.
That’s wrong, and
no amount of believing it will make it so. Was the U.S. founded with
Christian moral principles in mind? Mostly. Was the U.S. founded by
people who believed in God? Yes. Was the U.S. founded by Christians? No.
While a few of the founding fathers were Christians (most notably
George Washington), the majority were deists.
The
“age of enlightenment” was still going strong, and French enlightenment
philosophy had a strong grip on the minds of our founding fathers. This
meant that they wanted to found the nation on a belief in God, but they
believed in not locking the entire country down to one religion, so it
wasn’t The Christian God.
Thus the newborn republic was imbued
with the concept of “separation of church and state” right from the
start, even though that particular phrase wasn’t used at first. A
country in which men were truly free had to be one where no particular
religion could be favored or forced upon the people.
A Concept Distorted
One
current problem with this concept is that some people on the liberal
end of the spectrum think “no religion” means “no God” and are trying to
force the mention of God out of public life. This obviously wasn’t the
view of the founding fathers, since they themselves believed in God but
simply didn’t want to force their views on other people.
Another
current problem is with conservatives reacting to the liberals’
position. Since liberals are trying to completely remove God from public
life, conservatives are fighting back by trying to insert Christianity
everywhere possible in public life. Now, I’m a Christian, but this is
not the right way to go.
This is exactly what
the founding fathers didn’t want to happen! If the current majority
religion gets thrust upon everyone, whether or not they want it, then it
sets a precedent for later generations. Just because Christianity is
currently the majority religion doesn’t mean it will always be so. What
if someday another religion gains a majority following in the U.S.? We
wouldn’t want that religion thrust upon us, so why do we think we have the
right to thrust our religion upon others? What happened to the golden rule?
The
core problem lies in the misinterpretation of Christ’s teaching that He
is the only way to get to God. While I believe this to be true, it is
frequently misinterpreted, e.g., “since what I believe is true, then I
have the right and obligation to show everyone else how wrong they
are…and since their religion isn’t true, I won’t allow them to practice
it.” While I may be disappointed that other people believe in wrong and
kooky things, I will defend their right to believe them, since each
person is ultimately free to make his own choices.
One last
observation puts the nail in the coffin (for me, at least). Christ
Himself wouldn’t want Christianity thrust upon people unwillingly! While
He was on Earth, He never forced himself upon anyone, which is part of
the reason He didn’t want to be involved in government. His message was
(and is) all about a change of the heart, not a particular practice or
group policy.
