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The Democrats and medical smoke and mirrors

Posted: August 20, 2024 by chrisharper in Uncategorized

By Christopher Harper

I just joined a growing group of millions in the United States who owe more than $200 billion in medical debt.

Last month, I underwent emergency surgery, which cost nearly $200,000. My cut is somewhere between $6,000 and $11,000. That’s likely to grow as the bills roll in.

Obama care didn’t help me a lick. Neither do the Democrats’ plans to “reduce” costs for drugs. In fact, the medications used during and after the surgery ran about $2,500. The new series of drugs cost another $2,000.

But at what cost? The hospital room alone ran more than $20,000!

Although I live mainly on Social Security, I do not qualify for any of the state and federal “plans” to pay for some of the costs of the surgery. I am also not eligible for health services, such as home support, which my wife and daughter provide.

Also, I don’t qualify for subsidized aftercare, such as a long-term facility, if that becomes necessary. Fortunately, I took out a specific insurance policy for such possibilities.

One in seven people with outstanding medical debt has faced lawsuits to recover the money, according to the Kaiser Foundation, which has no affiliation with Kaiser Permanente.

My case is typical. The Democrats propose a plan to give money from the federal budget to those with debt—a giveaway for mostly seniors like forgiving college debt.

The plan is mostly smoke and mirrors, but, of course, the Democrats blame the GOP rather than the abomination that Obamacare created.

Any of the Democrats’ plans shouldn’t fool older Americans. You might get lower costs for some medications, but the big-ticket items will likely cost more.

The Kaiser Foundation provides more information at https://www.kff.org/health-costs/report/kff-health-care-debt-survey/

Joe, get tested!

Posted: July 9, 2024 by chrisharper in Uncategorized

By Christopher Harper

I have no idea what caused Joe Biden’s mental mashups during last week’s debate. Take the tests, Joe, and share the results with the voters for your and the country’s good.

I can understand the reluctance to determine if your brain is out of whack and may worsen. The alternative, however, is to see the issues worsen while making critical decisions for the United States and the world.

Recently, I consulted my family doctor about some instances of mental freezes and confusion. He said my condition might be NPH, or is an abnormal cerebrospinal fluid commonly known as water on the brain. The buildup in the brain’s ventricles (cavities)occurs if the normal flow of CSF throughout the brain and thespinal cord is blocked, causing the ventricles to enlarge and putting pressure on the brain.
After an MRI, I started to understand how complicated it may be to find a treatment plan. But what’s worse is not knowing what is causing my mental issues. I can handle overseeing and protecting a stately blue house in central Pennsylvania. What I do and decide will have little or no impact except on my immediate neighbors.

Joe, you’ve got to come to terms with first finding out what’s going on and then determining what, if anything, can be done. You owe it to yourself and the rest of us.

Update: (DTG) Removed redundant ending paragraph

The DC Bubble

Posted: July 2, 2024 by chrisharper in Uncategorized
Tags: , , ,

By Christopher Harper

I spent nearly two years in the Washington news bubble, which became so bad that I left to cover the civil war in Lebanon.

My experience in Washington happened more than 40 years ago, but not much has changed.

Back then, Washington journalists had become part of the city’s elites, bringing down presidents, earning big bucks from book deals, and failing to acknowledge their biases.

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, nearly 2,000 journalists work in Washington, the highest concentration of reporters in the country. One out of every 30 people in the District of Columbia works in journalism.

A recent study from Syracuse University’s Newhouse School of Public Communications revealed a stark lack of political diversity among American journalists, with just 3.4% identifying as Republicans and a significant 36.4% as Democrats.

Simply put, many of those polled lied. Many journalists of my era chose their jobs because they wanted to see change. They spouted the required allegiance to objectivity, fairness, and nonpartisanship. But you also had to present a point of view to stay acceptable to those on the cocktail and dinner circuits.

I worked in Washington during Jimmy Carter’s presidency. The group grope was that Carter and his band of Georgians were country rabble and had no business running the country.

The press corps was hell-bent on ensuring he didn’t get a second term. I generally covered the second or third-string Carter f-up stories for Newsweek. It wasn’t hard to find these stories because Carter and his aides didn’t know much about running the federal government.

Back then, the bar talk revolved around how the country could survive a president who wore a sweater during an address to the nation about energy policy.

For the past eight years, the Washington media elite has attacked Trump as a dangerous rube who had no business running the country. Now, in yet another group grope, the journalistic elite, who covered up Biden’s intellectual decline, suddenly realized the current president isn’t up to snuff.

I hope the nation realizes President Biden was not the only loser in last week’s debate. The Washington media should also be blamed for allowing him to hide his weaknesses.

Making farming better

Posted: June 25, 2024 by chrisharper in Uncategorized
Tags: , ,

By Christopher Harper

Living in flyover country can expose you to issues that go unnoticed in the big city.

Just up the road near my home in central Pennsylvania is a prime example of what’s become known as “regenerative farming.”

Owner Josh Leidecker says the farm practices regenerative farming, or, more simply put, growing as nature intended. This method refers to growing practices that restore soil health and increase biodiversity through crop rotation and other means.

“It just takes a little while to get there,” Leidecker said of the vision for regenerative agriculture at Today Farm. “You know, we’ve got a big plan for this.”

Leidecker brings agriculture experience from his other business venture, Susquehanna Mills, an area manufacturer of organic cooking oils. The farm plans to grow oilseed crops and potatoes, some small stands of vegetables, and at least one of the fields will be grazing grounds for animals—a regenerative agriculture method.

What was once known as “organic farming” has become a national trend. Some regenerative farm techniques may include planting interceding crops to benefit the soil and feed livestock and using so-called”chicken tractors” as a form of crop tilling. The chickens move about the ground in a controlled manner and fertilize the ground with their feces, providing nutrients for crop rotation.

Here is a documentary about the farming methods: Roots So Deep (You Can See The Devil Down There) https://rootssodeep.org from Carbon Natio.

Teddy Gentry, the bass player of the band Alabama, is a leading proponent of regenerative farming. He speaks about transforming his fields by listening to quail sing. See https://www.instagram.com/p/C8Upm_muwjI/

Since 1989, Gentry has been a pioneer in the cattle industry, creating the South Poll breed to combine the best traits of four breeds, resulting in heat-tolerant and efficient cattle.

The Farming Systems Trial from the Pennsylvania-based Rodale Institute argues that organic agriculture performs as well as, if not better than, conventional agriculture. The study demonstrated how nutrient-dense organic food helped to prevent and reverse diseases.

The institute tries to create economic vitality in rural communities by training tomorrow’s organic farmers.

Jon Lundgren, a former entomologist for the U.S. Department of Agriculture, left the government when he realized the pesticides meant to control pest bugs were wiping out scores of beneficial insects critical for the local ecosystem. See: https://www.instagram.com/p/C7RRciMNAN-/

Hat tip to Elizabeth Harper

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