Calling donna!! Sitting down? In all your ILL work, have you ever come across (prepare yourself) a request from a 9 or 10 year old for a book of spells? We found her books on witchcraft and wizardry, but she returned them disappointed that they are just stories about spells or about witchcraft, but none of them tell how to actually do a real spell. OMG, I bit my tongue. I couldn't be the one to disavow her of her hope, could I? Isn't that a job for her mother? Anyway, I just happen to have a coworker who is a Wiccan witch and is "out" about it. So I suggested to this little girl that she speak with the other library clerk, because she is an actual witch. Her eyes got large and she practically made an appointment! I'm counting on my coworker to be able to explain to this little person what a real-life witch is and isn't. (Yes, I'll pre-warn her.) But, hey, if you know of any books out there of REAL spells, let me know fast! ;-)
Well, such books are out there, but unless I am greatly mistaken (do run this by your coworker), the Order of the Golden Dawn (which laid much of the basis for Wiccan ceremonial magic) essentially changed the definition of "magick" spells, from an emphasis on the being/spirit/deity being evoked and bending said entity to one's will [Hey Isis, turn this guy into a frog, eh?] to an emphasis on the practicant. The spells are basically theurgic in nature, enabling persons to become conscious of their participation in the Divine or Infinite or Deity (as you will)--cf. Neoplatonism, many Indian philosophies/religions, etc. Some will perceive this as the Divine/Goddess/etc descending into the practicant. To the extent that one's perception of the Universe changes, the Universe changes for one, and isn't that magical? Certainly it can bring about lasting positive change in a person. The particular techniques commonly used (as I understand them) in Wicca actually protect the participants from certain serious psychological dangers waiting for the unwary who get in over their heads without guidance. The human mind is a good deal more powerful than we normally give it credit for; there are angels and demons in us that as a rule we keep securely locked up and for good reason.
I'm sure your coworker will be considerate of the child and her family. Ten is (except in extraordinary cases) certainly too young to understand such things--but not too young to think about them. By 16 years of age some people will be ready to deal with them. By 14, a rare person. From some time around then I became quit certain that whatever it is that is truly true, true not only at all times and in all places, but beyond time and place--it must be so incredibly SIMPLE that the logical, thinking, rational human mind cannot grasp it. Later on I could articulate that we participate in it fully.
Some people argue against the mythology of Wicca--but what religion does not have its mythology? Myth is a very powerful means of teaching things that are difficult or impossible to communicate by words and ordinary reasoning. To confuse myth with history is to miss the point altogether.
Hope this is helpful. Do run it past your coworker and let me know if she feels I am seriously off base, and if possible how.
P.S.: I think you did just right to answer the little girl as you did. How fortunate to have such a resource person immediately available!
BTW, the contrast in the previous day's picture between Mount Mansfield covered with snow and the greensward in the foreground is really striking. I don't think there are many places one could get such a photo, listener.
Well, yes. Without Howard it would never have occurred to me that it was possible to actually get out and work on political campaigns. And I use the word "possible" quite explicitly.
Quote from the article: "But I say Whitman would have done much better if she had explained how exactly she intended to fire 40,000 state employees while growing the economy, improving schools and slashing spending. If she'd made any of it seem even remotely realistic, she might even have won, no matter how much cash she set fire to."
I rather suspect something like that was a big factor in Bardy's loss. (He apparently will be conceding in a couple of hours. Although there are still tens of thousanads of late-arriving mail ballots to be counted, what we've seen so far is Quiinn's margin gradually creaping up.
Hi y'all. No book of spells, but I want to give those of you who are in my email address book that there is a spam allegedly from me saying that I am in Wales and need you to send me money because I was held up.
The fact is that I am in Evanston (Wilmette actually, at work) and that I would go to the freaking AMERICAN EMBASSY before I would hit my friends and family up for cash.
At any rate, I have changed my password and deleted their phony email address.
Thank-you, Alan. I did reach her and she basically said that the "doing spells" part is a little bit of a red flag. When young women find out what it really means to be a witch and about the nature of spells they are generally disappointed. Spells aren't done very often, and never for a negative purpose or that in any way would interfere with a person's free will. For instance, it's one thing to create a spell to have love come into your life....it's like a prayer, but another thing to try to put a spell on a certain person to make them love you. Anything that interferes with a person's free will is taboo. She said she thinks of spells more as prayers. Anyway, she said that if she were to do a formal spell for someone, she would get their permission, even if it is just a spell for their health. (I suppose the Episcopal equivalent would be a laying on of hands.) She said also that teens are generally disappointed and don't understand about being a witch unless they come to a ritual, such as a Reclaiming ritual which are sometimes pretty ecstatic sometimes, with lots of chanting and dancing and just general good feeling.
Anyway, she's going to be on the lookout for our young aspiring spellbinder. :-)
I still hope donna comes by with that booklist. ;-)
I had a bout a couple of years ago with someone spoofing my main email addy. Since they didn't have my email actually, no friends got it. It was an offer for Russian Viagra. The email was in Russian. And I got *thousands* of bounce backs, which I couldn't block, since it was MY addy supposedly sending 'em. Took two or three months for it to clear.
Dang! I love country living: my uproad neighbor just dropped off a dozen organic free range eggs. $1/dozen for home delivery. Only catch is that delivery is sporadic depending on "da gurlz" so I have to keep backup store bought eggs around. She also mentioned that it IS snowing at ridge level. Isn't at river level.
Governor-elect Peter Shumlin's transition team includes Howard Dean and Bill Lofy! http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20101104/NEWS03/101104029/New-faces-in-Shumlin-s-inner-circle
VT Governor-elect Peter Shumlin's transition team includes Howard Dean and Bill Lofy! http://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20101104/NEWS03/101104029/New-faces-in-Shumlin-s-inner-circle
RE healthcare: The "personal mandate" met with considerable opposition here in Massachusetts for the simple reason that it is unfair. A small but significant portion of the population doesn't have health insurance because they can't afford the premiums. Telling these folks they have to buy it doesn't change the fact that they can't afford it.
I think myself that single payer, government funded health insurance, if insurance is the right word, is the only fair and morally right way to go. As Susan says, decent care when you're sick, like a decent education, is a human right not a privilege to be reserved for the rich. I don't mind paying taxes to provide healthcare and education for my fellow citizens.
I actually bought one once, but got cold feet and got rid of the book pronto. Sort'a wish I'd kept it though. Got it from a place called Pyramid Book Store. Chris and I went in there once when we were in Salem, and I subscribed to their catalog for years. They had a lot of really cool stuff. Phil didn't approve of such things, so I sort of drifted away, but this particular catalog didn't carry anything satanic or to do with black magic or anything like that. It was all just really interesting. But, my interest in it made him uneasy, and, well, I didn't like to make him uneasy...
Anyway, there are books out there that purport to contain real spells. I hope your young patron finds one. I really don't think she can hurt herself with them, since after all witchcraft isn't real (with apologies to Wikans), and it is sort of fun to think about.
I hadn't gotten your spam, but I am nonetheless glad to hear you are on home turf and not held up in Wales. If lots of people end up sending you money, though, a trip to Wales might be a way to spend it. ;-)
Alan, you give a fascinating and well thought out response.
Though I went through a brief period of non belief in mid adolescence, by about fourteen I was pretty much set in my belief system. All my tentative questing since then has been firmly grounded in that belief system which springs from but is not precisely identical with Roman Catholicism. Magic as both you and listener describe would not be incompatible with that belief system. I guess that's because I believe that the fundamental constituent element of the universe, from which it springs, is love. In practice it's a bit more complicated than that, music is in there too (see String Theory), but the root cause and prime mover of the world, the cosmos is love.
It's OK if you guys laugh at this post. Rereading it I see that it is a bit laughable. But, that's all right.
Both in Massachusetts and in the national law there are subsidies to help low- to moderate-income people afford health insurance. In fact, under the nationial law people with low or low-moderate incomes won't be buying health insurance because they will be on Medicaid. The few people who might really have trouble paying for health insurance are those with high-moderate incomes but exceptionally heavy expenses of other sorts. But those are essentially the same people who will have trouble paying the new taxes.
No, listener, I think what Puddle means is that she pays $1.00 for the eggs that her neighbor delivers, though delivery is irregular, while she pays $1.50 for store bought eggs, which, naturally, she has to pick up herself at the store.
Whatever happened to letting the punishment fit the crime?
I just sent this:
Dear MSNBC,
Suspending Keith Olbermann for not informing you in advance of his legal contributions seems an incredibly excessive response. It is not only excessive in terms of what Mr. Olbermann actually did, it punishes viewers and leaves your network looking fussy and foolish. I find I cannot in all good conscience watch any of your programs until this is resolved.
No one ever doubted what Keith Olberman's politcal leanings were, and now we apparently know yours as well.
When you punish Democrats, but not Republicans, it is more blatantly partisan than anything Keith Olberman ever did or said. I guess like FOX you want to be "unfair and unbalanced". It still won't bring FOX views to MSNBC.
Shame, shame on you. You've made a great number of viewers very angry.
But there are no exceptions made for people with heavy expenses. I personally went without health insurance for 12 years because I just could not pay for it. The premiums were far, far greater than my rent, food and other monthly expenses. I wasn't "poor" enough to get help. It just galls me to think that someone in the same situation will have no choice but to get insurance, will anyone care that they can't pay the rent too? And then, if you DON'T get it, the IRS will be collecting somewhere in the neighborhood of $975 from you for your fine for non-compliance.
Plus there's NOT ONE THING in that horrible bill that reins in the insurance companies. They can raise their premiums as high as they want to. That lousy bill does maybe 10% of good and 90% of awful.
If a Democrat pushes through a crappy bill he doesn't get a free pass from me just because he's a Democrat. And it IS a crappy bill.
Not sure that I get it Cat, but it does look interesting. I'm still waiting for the computer in a teardrop I heard about a while back. I'll prolly be gone before any of this shows up, though.
Well, when I was writing it I started with "Whatever happened to letting the punishment fit the crime?" But then I realised that would make an excellent closing line. So I "cut" it to use at the end. Then I forgot to paste it in at the end. Anyway, they'll get my gist. 8-)
I don't want health care for most people either, Susan. I want it for everybody, no exceptions. What if doctors and nurses got paid a good salary, but were on salary, not paid by each procedure they do? And what if THEIR insurance costs were lowered so that they could afford to make less money. What if research and surgeries were separate, and research and medications were separate, in the sense that procedures and medications weren't funding research? I think the system is the worst sort of octopus and should be revamped. It needs to make common sense. Instead it makes some greedy people very rich, while others suffer.
I'm too tired to be articulate tonight. Off to slumberland! Under the Wing.
I don't want health care for most people either, Susan. I want it for everybody, no exceptions. What if doctors got paid a good salary, but were on salary, not paid by each procedure they do? And what if THEIR insurance costs were lowered so that they could afford to make less money. What if research and surgeries were separate, and research and medications were separate, in the sense that procedures and medications weren't funding research? I think the system is the worst sort of octopus and should be revamped. It needs to make common sense. Instead it makes some greedy people very rich, while others suffer.
I'm too tired to be articulate tonight. Off to slumberland! Under the Wing.
Interesting. I think we are going to be seeing big advances in materials sciences pretty soon. In addition to MIM diodes and carbon nanomaterial computer chips, ultracapacitors to replace batteries in electric autos and portable electronics appear in the offing. Those are just three.
I don't find it laughable at all, Cat. Indeed quite understandable and reasonable, except that (pardon me) I really have no more than a tenuous intellectual grasp of Christianity, much less RC, mixed with bits of romantic childhood memories that give me some empathy. "Magic" is one thing I have trouble grasping (my instinct is to dismiss it as a delusion; or as a waste of time and a distraction from spiritual progress), but I can intellectualize it as an experiential change of perspective, and that seems to be the basic idea of the Order of the Golden Dawn--which was not religious in nature and included some notable Christians, some RC as I recall. I dare say that some people will have a dramatic, life-changing experience through Communion or the laying on of hands if they are prepared for it. One could describe those things as ceremonial magic, certainly. Prayer can do it too--although I have come to realize that word is a good deal more amorphous, or perhaps I should say imprecise or plastic or diffuse in meaning than I had understood. I think of prayer as petitionary prayer; and I do not approve of that. To ask for even more when we freely receive so much more than we deserve seems the height of ingratitude, and gratitude is a good foundation for...behavior, morality, life, personal relationships...and so forth. If we got what we deserved, who among us would escape being dragged out our cells and flogged at sunrise every day? I sure wouldn't. Love is a good, effective way of looking at it. "Magic" might be a path for some folks--a sort of interesting or attractive gateway that leads to a profound realization that others approach by different ways. [N.B.: I don't subscribe to the "all roads lead to the top of the mountain" philosophy; some do, but some go around the mountain, some go part way up and stop, some lead off cliffs.] Personally I figure the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn is about the place I would fit if I were a follower of modern Pagan Witchcraft. [You can read about it if you wish...] I used to figure that if I were going to be a Christian I would probably be a Holy Roller [hey, it was when the term was socially acceptable] and I can empathize with snake handlers. ["Grandad only got bit by one of his snakes once; the poor thing sickened and died."] If I were to be a religious "Hindu" I would probably be a devotee of Mother Kali. But I have a pretty strong prediliction for a non-anthropomorphic concept of the universe and its powers.
Howard Dean remains numero uno!
ReplyDeleteI'll second that! Still right at 40 degrees, and no snow yet.
ReplyDeleteCalling donna!!
ReplyDeleteSitting down? In all your ILL work, have you ever come across (prepare yourself) a request from a 9 or 10 year old for a book of spells? We found her books on witchcraft and wizardry, but she returned them disappointed that they are just stories about spells or about witchcraft, but none of them tell how to actually do a real spell. OMG, I bit my tongue. I couldn't be the one to disavow her of her hope, could I? Isn't that a job for her mother? Anyway, I just happen to have a coworker who is a Wiccan witch and is "out" about it. So I suggested to this little girl that she speak with the other library clerk, because she is an actual witch. Her eyes got large and she practically made an appointment! I'm counting on my coworker to be able to explain to this little person what a real-life witch is and isn't. (Yes, I'll pre-warn her.) But, hey, if you know of any books out there of REAL spells, let me know fast! ;-)
Just want to comment on how very different my life is than it would have been *because* of Howard Dean. ♥
ReplyDeleteWell spoken!
ReplyDeleteWell, such books are out there, but unless I am greatly mistaken (do run this by your coworker), the Order of the Golden Dawn (which laid much of the basis for Wiccan ceremonial magic) essentially changed the definition of "magick" spells, from an emphasis on the being/spirit/deity being evoked and bending said entity to one's will [Hey Isis, turn this guy into a frog, eh?] to an emphasis on the practicant. The spells are basically theurgic in nature, enabling persons to become conscious of their participation in the Divine or Infinite or Deity (as you will)--cf. Neoplatonism, many Indian philosophies/religions, etc. Some will perceive this as the Divine/Goddess/etc descending into the practicant. To the extent that one's perception of the Universe changes, the Universe changes for one, and isn't that magical? Certainly it can bring about lasting positive change in a person. The particular techniques commonly used (as I understand them) in Wicca actually protect the participants from certain serious psychological dangers waiting for the unwary who get in over their heads without guidance. The human mind is a good deal more powerful than we normally give it credit for; there are angels and demons in us that as a rule we keep securely locked up and for good reason.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure your coworker will be considerate of the child and her family. Ten is (except in extraordinary cases) certainly too young to understand such things--but not too young to think about them. By 16 years of age some people will be ready to deal with them. By 14, a rare person. From some time around then I became quit certain that whatever it is that is truly true, true not only at all times and in all places, but beyond time and place--it must be so incredibly SIMPLE that the logical, thinking, rational human mind cannot grasp it. Later on I could articulate that we participate in it fully.
Some people argue against the mythology of Wicca--but what religion does not have its mythology? Myth is a very powerful means of teaching things that are difficult or impossible to communicate by words and ordinary reasoning. To confuse myth with history is to miss the point altogether.
Hope this is helpful. Do run it past your coworker and let me know if she feels I am seriously off base, and if possible how.
P.S.: I think you did just right to answer the little girl as you did. How fortunate to have such a resource person immediately available!
Merry meet, merry part, and merry meet again!
Yeah!
ReplyDeleteComparison of Meg Whitman and Jerry Brown campaign expenditures (not final):
ReplyDeletehttp://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2010/11/steve-lopez-meg-whitman-spent-50-for-each-vote-she-got-is-that-an-outrageous-extravagance.html
BTW, the contrast in the previous day's picture between Mount Mansfield covered with snow and the greensward in the foreground is really striking. I don't think there are many places one could get such a photo, listener.
Well, yes. Without Howard it would never have occurred to me that it was possible to actually get out and work on political campaigns. And I use the word "possible" quite explicitly.
ReplyDeleteQuote from the article: "But I say Whitman would have done much better if she had explained how exactly she intended to fire 40,000 state employees while growing the economy, improving schools and slashing spending. If she'd made any of it seem even remotely realistic, she might even have won, no matter how much cash she set fire to."
ReplyDeleteI rather suspect something like that was a big factor in Bardy's loss. (He apparently will be conceding in a couple of hours. Although there are still tens of thousanads of late-arriving mail ballots to be counted, what we've seen so far is Quiinn's margin gradually creaping up.
Hi y'all. No book of spells, but I want to give those of you who are in my email address book that there is a spam allegedly from me saying that I am in Wales and need you to send me money because I was held up.
ReplyDeleteThe fact is that I am in Evanston (Wilmette actually, at work) and that I would go to the freaking AMERICAN EMBASSY before I would hit my friends and family up for cash.
At any rate, I have changed my password and deleted their phony email address.
Don't send me any money, okay?
Unless you really really want to.
Thank-you, Alan. I did reach her and she basically said that the "doing spells" part is a little bit of a red flag. When young women find out what it really means to be a witch and about the nature of spells they are generally disappointed. Spells aren't done very often, and never for a negative purpose or that in any way would interfere with a person's free will. For instance, it's one thing to create a spell to have love come into your life....it's like a prayer, but another thing to try to put a spell on a certain person to make them love you. Anything that interferes with a person's free will is taboo. She said she thinks of spells more as prayers. Anyway, she said that if she were to do a formal spell for someone, she would get their permission, even if it is just a spell for their health. (I suppose the Episcopal equivalent would be a laying on of hands.) She said also that teens are generally disappointed and don't understand about being a witch unless they come to a ritual, such as a Reclaiming ritual which are sometimes pretty ecstatic sometimes, with lots of chanting and dancing and just general good feeling.
ReplyDeleteAnyway, she's going to be on the lookout for our young aspiring spellbinder. :-)
I still hope donna comes by with that booklist. ;-)
I had a bout a couple of years ago with someone spoofing my main email addy. Since they didn't have my email actually, no friends got it. It was an offer for Russian Viagra. The email was in Russian. And I got *thousands* of bounce backs, which I couldn't block, since it was MY addy supposedly sending 'em. Took two or three months for it to clear.
ReplyDeleteDang! I love country living: my uproad neighbor just dropped off a dozen organic free range eggs. $1/dozen for home delivery. Only catch is that delivery is sporadic depending on "da gurlz" so I have to keep backup store bought eggs around. She also mentioned that it IS snowing at ridge level. Isn't at river level.
ReplyDeleteDEAN: NO to 2012 run against Obama
ReplyDeletehttp://blogs.burlingtonfreepress.com/politics/2010/11/04/dean-no-to-2012-run-against-obama/
Wowser! $1 per dozen for organic free range eggs is an absolute steal! Lucky YOU!
ReplyDeleteSporadic delivery here costs $3.00. And I pick them up!
ReplyDeleteGovernor-elect Peter Shumlin's transition team includes Howard Dean and Bill Lofy!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20101104/NEWS03/101104029/New-faces-in-Shumlin-s-inner-circle
VT Governor-elect Peter Shumlin's transition team includes Howard Dean and Bill Lofy!
ReplyDeletehttp://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/article/20101104/NEWS03/101104029/New-faces-in-Shumlin-s-inner-circle
RE healthcare: The "personal mandate" met with considerable opposition here in Massachusetts for the simple reason that it is unfair. A small but significant portion of the population doesn't have health insurance because they can't afford the premiums. Telling these folks they have to buy it doesn't change the fact that they can't afford it.
ReplyDeleteI think myself that single payer, government funded health insurance, if insurance is the right word, is the only fair and morally right way to go. As Susan says, decent care when you're sick, like a decent education, is a human right not a privilege to be reserved for the rich. I don't mind paying taxes to provide healthcare and education for my fellow citizens.
Store bought isn't so bad either: local store, local eggs, GIANT double yolkers. . . . I DO feel blessed, and dat's da troot.
ReplyDeleteThat he does.
ReplyDelete$1.50 dozen.
ReplyDeleteI'd add food security as a human right. We can do it if we really want to.
ReplyDeleteI actually bought one once, but got cold feet and got rid of the book pronto. Sort'a wish I'd kept it though. Got it from a place called Pyramid Book Store. Chris and I went in there once when we were in Salem, and I subscribed to their catalog for years. They had a lot of really cool stuff. Phil didn't approve of such things, so I sort of drifted away, but this particular catalog didn't carry anything satanic or to do with black magic or anything like that. It was all just really interesting. But, my interest in it made him uneasy, and, well, I didn't like to make him uneasy...
ReplyDeleteAnyway, there are books out there that purport to contain real spells. I hope your young patron finds one. I really don't think she can hurt herself with them, since after all witchcraft isn't real (with apologies to Wikans), and it is sort of fun to think about.
Okay, thanks for that news, donna. :-)
ReplyDeleteI hadn't gotten your spam, but I am nonetheless glad to hear you are on home turf and not held up in Wales. If lots of people end up sending you money, though, a trip to Wales might be a way to spend it. ;-)
Oohhh, so $1.50 for the eggs + $1.00 for the delivery?
ReplyDeleteYour $2.50 is still better than my $3.00 for the eggs and I pick them up!
Alan, you give a fascinating and well thought out response.
ReplyDeleteThough I went through a brief period of non belief in mid adolescence, by about fourteen I was pretty much set in my belief system. All my tentative questing since then has been firmly grounded in that belief system which springs from but is not precisely identical with Roman Catholicism. Magic as both you and listener describe would not be incompatible with that belief system. I guess that's because I believe that the fundamental constituent element of the universe, from which it springs, is love. In practice it's a bit more complicated than that, music is in there too (see String Theory), but the root cause and prime mover of the world, the cosmos is love.
It's OK if you guys laugh at this post. Rereading it I see that it is a bit laughable. But, that's all right.
If it weren't for Howard, none of you wonderful people would be my friends. And, I'd be very much the poorer.
ReplyDeleteCat ~
ReplyDeleteBoth in Massachusetts and in the national law there are subsidies to help low- to moderate-income people afford health insurance. In fact, under the nationial law people with low or low-moderate incomes won't be buying health insurance because they will be on Medicaid. The few people who might really have trouble paying for health insurance are those with high-moderate incomes but exceptionally heavy expenses of other sorts. But those are essentially the same people who will have trouble paying the new taxes.
Donna, if you go to Wales, could you pack me in your suitcase? I've been to England, Scotland and Ireland, but somehow or other never to Wales.
ReplyDeleteOn the other hand, it's good that you're safe at home. Phew!
No, listener, I think what Puddle means is that she pays $1.00 for the eggs that her neighbor delivers, though delivery is irregular, while she pays $1.50 for store bought eggs, which, naturally, she has to pick up herself at the store.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a good deal either way.
Yea!
ReplyDeleteAgreed. Food security is definitely a human right.
ReplyDeleteExcuse me, Guest. Who are you?
Gosh, maybe I was just in denial about what a fabulous deal that is!!
ReplyDeleteWhatever happened to letting the punishment fit the crime?
ReplyDeleteI just sent this:
Dear MSNBC,
Suspending Keith Olbermann for not informing you in advance of his legal contributions seems an incredibly excessive response. It is not only excessive in terms of what Mr. Olbermann actually did, it punishes viewers and leaves your network looking fussy and foolish. I find I cannot in all good conscience watch any of your programs until this is resolved.
Sincerely...
It is an amazing price either way.
ReplyDeleteExcellent letter, listener.
ReplyDeleteI sent one too:
ReplyDeleteMr. Griffin,
No one ever doubted what Keith Olberman's politcal leanings were, and now we apparently know yours as well.
When you punish Democrats, but not Republicans, it is more blatantly partisan than anything Keith Olberman ever did or said. I guess like FOX you want to be "unfair and unbalanced". It still won't bring FOX views to MSNBC.
Shame, shame on you. You've made a great number of viewers very angry.
that's "viewers" typing fast with slow fingers
ReplyDeleteBut there are no exceptions made for people with heavy expenses. I personally went without health insurance for 12 years because I just could not pay for it. The premiums were far, far greater than my rent, food and other monthly expenses. I wasn't "poor" enough to get help. It just galls me to think that someone in the same situation will have no choice but to get insurance, will anyone care that they can't pay the rent too? And then, if you DON'T get it, the IRS will be collecting somewhere in the neighborhood of $975 from you for your fine for non-compliance.
ReplyDeletePlus there's NOT ONE THING in that horrible bill that reins in the insurance companies. They can raise their premiums as high as they want to. That lousy bill does maybe 10% of good and 90% of awful.
If a Democrat pushes through a crappy bill he doesn't get a free pass from me just because he's a Democrat. And it IS a crappy bill.
Off to home, dinner, nap and Salt Mine No. 2. Will check in when I get back, along about Sunday evening, if energy levels permit.
ReplyDeleteTTFN
That guest is Alan in CA--forgot I am using a new browser on this computer and it doesn't know who I am unless I tell it...
ReplyDeleteThis article is by a friend of mine.
ReplyDeleteHigh Performance MIM May Revolutionize Electronics
http://hplusmagazine.com/editors-blog/hiHigh Performance MIM May Revolutionize Electronicsgh-performance-mim-may-revolutionize-electronics
http://hplusmagazine.com/editors-blog/high-performance-mim-may-revolutionize-electronics
ReplyDeleteNot sure that I get it Cat, but it does look interesting. I'm still waiting for the computer in a teardrop I heard about a while back. I'll prolly be gone before any of this shows up, though.
ReplyDeleteI don't like that last thought one bit. ♥
ReplyDeleteThanks, Alan!
ReplyDeleteYou spelled it correctly both times, Susan. :-)
ReplyDeleteVery well said!
ReplyDeleteWell, when I was writing it I started with "Whatever happened to letting the punishment fit the crime?" But then I realised that would make an excellent closing line. So I "cut" it to use at the end. Then I forgot to paste it in at the end. Anyway, they'll get my gist. 8-)
ReplyDeleteI don't want health care for most people either, Susan. I want it for everybody, no exceptions. What if doctors and nurses got paid a good salary, but were on salary, not paid by each procedure they do? And what if THEIR insurance costs were lowered so that they could afford to make less money. What if research and surgeries were separate, and research and medications were separate, in the sense that procedures and medications weren't funding research? I think the system is the worst sort of octopus and should be revamped. It needs to make common sense. Instead it makes some greedy people very rich, while others suffer.
ReplyDeleteI'm too tired to be articulate tonight. Off to slumberland! Under the Wing.
(Well...doctors. Nurses are already paid by salary in most cases.)
ReplyDeleteI don't want health care for most people either, Susan. I want it for everybody, no exceptions. What if doctors got paid a good salary, but were on salary, not paid by each procedure they do? And what if THEIR insurance costs were lowered so that they could afford to make less money. What if research and surgeries were separate, and research and medications were separate, in the sense that procedures and medications weren't funding research? I think the system is the worst sort of octopus and should be revamped. It needs to make common sense. Instead it makes some greedy people very rich, while others suffer.
ReplyDeleteI'm too tired to be articulate tonight. Off to slumberland! Under the Wing.
Interesting. I think we are going to be seeing big advances in materials sciences pretty soon. In addition to MIM diodes and carbon nanomaterial computer chips, ultracapacitors to replace batteries in electric autos and portable electronics appear in the offing. Those are just three.
ReplyDeleteI don't find it laughable at all, Cat. Indeed quite understandable and reasonable, except that (pardon me) I really have no more than a tenuous intellectual grasp of Christianity, much less RC, mixed with bits of romantic childhood memories that give me some empathy. "Magic" is one thing I have trouble grasping (my instinct is to dismiss it as a delusion; or as a waste of time and a distraction from spiritual progress), but I can intellectualize it as an experiential change of perspective, and that seems to be the basic idea of the Order of the Golden Dawn--which was not religious in nature and included some notable Christians, some RC as I recall. I dare say that some people will have a dramatic, life-changing experience through Communion or the laying on of hands if they are prepared for it. One could describe those things as ceremonial magic, certainly. Prayer can do it too--although I have come to realize that word is a good deal more amorphous, or perhaps I should say imprecise or plastic or diffuse in meaning than I had understood. I think of prayer as petitionary prayer; and I do not approve of that. To ask for even more when we freely receive so much more than we deserve seems the height of ingratitude, and gratitude is a good foundation for...behavior, morality, life, personal relationships...and so forth. If we got what we deserved, who among us would escape being dragged out our cells and flogged at sunrise every day? I sure wouldn't. Love is a good, effective way of looking at it. "Magic" might be a path for some folks--a sort of interesting or attractive gateway that leads to a profound realization that others approach by different ways. [N.B.: I don't subscribe to the "all roads lead to the top of the mountain" philosophy; some do, but some go around the mountain, some go part way up and stop, some lead off cliffs.] Personally I figure the New Reformed Orthodox Order of the Golden Dawn is about the place I would fit if I were a follower of modern Pagan Witchcraft. [You can read about it if you wish...] I used to figure that if I were going to be a Christian I would probably be a Holy Roller [hey, it was when the term was socially acceptable] and I can empathize with snake handlers. ["Grandad only got bit by one of his snakes once; the poor thing sickened and died."] If I were to be a religious "Hindu" I would probably be a devotee of Mother Kali. But I have a pretty strong prediliction for a non-anthropomorphic concept of the universe and its powers.
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