This is My World

For the record, I would like to have this sign in my front yard.

Occasionally in life you run into people who are adamant about wanting to ban all guns.  In my lifetime I have ran into quite a few who wish to ban all guns on the basis that too many children hurt themselves when they find a firearm in the house.  I’ve always felt that this issue falls back on responsible parenting.  Personally, I managed to survive childhood with an arsenal of loaded guns in my house.  Additionally, I had my own firearms by age 12 along with a large collection of knives.  Nevertheless, responsible parenting and my childhood are not good enough arguments for people who want to ban all guns.  So, today I ran across a statistic that may be a decent argument.

Did you know that swimming pools are responsible for more at-home childhood deaths than simply having loaded guns in the house?  The truth is that 1 in 11,000 children with a swimming pool at home will drown in it.  Only 1 in 1,000,000 children die as a result of having a firearm in the home.  That being said, am I the only one that has noticed that a lot of people who are anti-gun have swimming pools at home?  Seems to me that their children are more in danger than children growing up with firearms in the home.

With all the talk lately about Obama’s Health Care bill, the “public-option,” and Government-run health care.  I thought I would take a few moments to share with you my experience with health care when the government puts their hands in it.

I have bumps on my arms.  They are NOT contagious because the person I share a bed with does not have them.  They are tiny red bumps that blister with clear fluid then pop and itch constantly.  It’s almost like chicken pox only smaller bumps and more itchy.   I don’t know if you know what it’s like to itch constantly for two weeks straight, but I can honestly say that it’s pure psychological torture.

So, after my most recent trip to the VA clinic in Evansville, I have decided that I have the qualifications to be a VA nurse practitioner.   This woman pulled out a big black book and compared the pictures in it to my arms.  She couldn’t find one that matched so she pulled out what looked like an anatomy text book to me and did the same thing.  After that didn’t help, she actually got on the internet and went to WebMD.

My thoughts were, “Really? I could have done this much at home.” Wouldn’t most doctor’s run tests to find out what is wrong?

After WebMD didn’t help her diagnose the bumps on my arm, she prescribed an antibiotic (which she and her nurse both called a steroid) and an antihistamine and sent me home.  She said if that didn’t clear it up she’d refer me to a dermatologist.

I took my last antibiotic (or steroid depending on who you ask) today and it didn’t clear up yet.  Needless to say, I’m not looking forward to the phone call tomorrow where I try to convince this woman to refer me to a dermatologist without me having to go to the Evansville clinic again.

I’m just saying, if it wasn’t for the love of my life, my knight in rusty armor with a bloody battle ax that probably needs sharpened, I would probably be off the deep end already.  I’m only 5′1″, the deep end of the swimming pool is probably not the safest place for short little me to be.

I don’t usually do this for all my friends.  However, there was one person I graduated high school with that was always level headed, polite, and a friend to everyone who would let him.  He is just one of those people that even in high school you could look at and know he was going to make something of himself. 

Now, he has one of the toughest and most dangerous jobs in the world.  He’s a United States Marine.  Today, August 10th, is his birthday.

From a Sailor to a Marine:

Happy Birthday Walter!

Either the stress of slowly starting my own business is starting to get to me, or I’ve had way too much time to think about my own way of life.  I’m not sure which, but here’s what’s on my mind today.

What are a human’s true basic necessities?

Well, I’ve come up with three basic things.  Food that’s safe to eat, water that’s safe to drink, and shelter to keep you safe from the elements.  So that’s food, water, shelter.

Sounds simple right? For some people it is.  If you can cook wild food over a campfire and live in a cave near a fresh water source, life wouldn’t be any simpler.  There are people who do it.  However, it would be trespassing if you were to find such a place on someone else’s land and fire is illegal during dry seasons in the National Forest. 

So, we’re back to owning or renting land for the necessity of shelter.  That requires money.  Money is something you have to work for. 

If you manage to work for your money within walking distance, you won’t need a car or gasoline.  Anything that close probably won’t have a fresh water source on it.  So, you’ll have to pay for nature’s most basic and abundant commodity.  After rent or mortgage, that’s bill number two.

Next, you will most likely have a neighbor.  Neighbors tend to be nosy.  So, if you don’t have electricity, it’ll become public knowledge and you run a chance of having visits from a social worker.  Not to mention most homes have electric stoves and many residential areas do not allow campfires.  There’s your third bill, electricity.

If you manage to find food somewhere or grow it yourself, good for you.  That’ll save you a grocery bill.  If not, that’s bill number four. 

It’s amazing how life’s basic necessities can be so complicated.  At one point in ancient history humans lived in caves near fresh water sources and knew what around them was safe to eat.  And now, many Americans think the only safe food to eat is in a grocery store.  Therefore, we come almost to crisis over the near collapse of a financial system that only serves to complicate life’s basic necessities: food, water, shelter.

Happy Fourth of July everyone!! 

In case you missed the history lesson, July 4, 1776 was the day the the United States of America declared itself a country.  So, now we celebrate every year the fact that we are no longer English Colonies. 

Today, I am going to eat bratwurst and barbecue chicken.  Later tonight, my family and I will set off fireworks. 

The whole day I will have the thought in the back of my mind that in 1776 the government in England had pushed the American colonists to their breaking point by over-stepping too many boundaries.  As a result, the colonists declared their independence.

My fellow citizens, I ask you this Independence Day to remember how independent you are to think for yourself.  Remember that you have a say as to where your tax money goes.  (Never mind, Obama changed that.)  You can decide whether or not you want to buy health insurance (until the current senate has their way).  If you choose to smoke cigarettes, you can (as long as the FDA still allows it). 

But here is what you do have.  If you don’t like the way the government is run, you can write the president, your senator, and your congressman.  Then, when they don’t listen, you have the right to vote on election day.  You also have the freedom to speak your mind to whomever will listen and the right to peacefully gather to protest.  There are some TEA parties going on this Independence Day.  If you don’t like what’s going on in D.C., I would encourage you to go, or at least start writing.

Most importantly

CELEBRATE YOUR INDEPENDENCE!!

Here in America one of our greatest freedoms is the freedom to be human.  Everyone has different ideals and morals.  If as adults we choose to go to an Amish doctor who prescribes lemons to keep our cancer from coming back, we can certainly do that as long as we can afford to pay them.  Which by the way an average middle-class family can afford to pay an Amish doctor.  They will also get better care than half the “professional” medical facilities. 

Today, after putting a few items on ebay, I ventured onto FoxNews.com and the top headline was “Senate Bill Would Fine People More Than $1,000 for Refusing Health Care Coverage.”  My first thought was that the government was impeding on my liberties again.  Of course, I was right. 

The first sentence in the third paragraph almost sums it up.  “In a revamped health care system envisioned by lawmakers, people would be required to carry health insurance just like motorists must get auto coverage now.”

I took a deep breath and turned red in the face.  My next words were “I’m not a car, I’m person!”  I’m 26 years old. If I’d rather pay $66 out of pocket to see the quack that shoves pills down people’s throats and swears there’s nothing wrong with them, that should be MY choice.  It’s not the government’s place to REQUIRE me to PAY for any insurance.  With my back problems, I actually do better if I DON’T go to the doctor. 

If you want to pay for medical insurance, that’s probably a good idea.  My point is that it’s not the government’s job to interfere with an American’s choice.  At the very least Americans should be afforded the right to CHOOSE coverage or not.