A new report estimates that currently 68 adults under age 65 die every day because they don’t have adequate health insurance coverage.

That’s over 2000 Americans every month, almost as many as were killed on 9/11.

9/11 is happening every month.

(but only if you’re under 65)

Because those over 65 qualify for our wildly popular single-payer socialized-medicine program, Medicare.

Sure, you can challenge the numbers, but let’s say it’s greatly exaggerated. What if it’s half that?

What if it’s only a quarter?

Hell, what if only ONE American under the age of 65 dies each month from lack of health insurance? Is that acceptable?

NO FUCKING WAY.

I encourage you to share this with your friends, neighbors, followers, parents, uncles, aunts, pundits, naysayers, doom-and-gloomers, eternal optimists, Senators and Representatives.

9/11. Every Single Month.

Deaths Rising for Lack of Insurance, Study Finds – Prescriptions Blog – NYTimes.com.

On the Fox Business Network, a host chided a vice president of WellPoint, which has just told California customers to expect huge rate increases: “You handed the politicians red meat at a time when health care is being discussed. You gave it to them!”

Nearly 1 million self-insured individuals (self-employed, small business owners, etc) in California who buy insurance on the individual market — as opposed to getting it through their employers — are covered by Anthem Blue Cross, a WellPoint subsidiary.

These are the people who were recently told to expect dramatic rate increases, in some cases as high as 39 percent.

But WellPoint says it’s not that…they had to raise rates because they’re in a Death Spiral.

I never understood why they made band-aids flesh colored.   Who are you kidding?    Did they really think that camouflaging a wound was somehow better?   Wouldn’t it be better to make them BRIGHT ORANGE like traffic cones to serve as a warning:  HEY, DON’T BUMP HERE!?

The same theory has gone for years in hearing aid design.  They try to make the hearing aid flesh-colored so you can’t see it.  But you can see it.  Everyone can see it.

So why not make it look cooler?

Bluetooth Hearing Aid Design for the Hearing Impaired to Enjoy Music Too | Walyou.

Self-professed Fatty, Kevin Smith, got booted from a Southwest flight for being too fat.  Here’s my take:  if they had a problem with his weight…they should have said something before they sold him a ticket, before they checked his bags, before he went through security, before they took his ticket, before he walked down the jetway, and certainly before he sat down.  Kevin Smith has been a fat fuck for a long time….he knows it, I know it, and Southwest knows it. 

But how does a company enforce a policy that is subjective?   Without delving into the problems of obesity in America, how fat does someone have to be before they have to purchase an extra seat?  This isn’t purely an issue of weight…girth plays a big part of it.   Let’s face it, a dude with a bowling ball stomach can get away with a lot more weight than a woman with spill-over thighs.   After doing some digging, I discovered this page:  Southwest Airlines Fat Customers of Size Frequently Asked Questions.

Kevin’s a big dude.  And he’s a vocal dude.  And from the sound of his ThatKevinSmith Twitter Stream…he’s a pissed dude.  And I think he has a right to be.  

Filmmaker Kevin Smith Kicked Off Southwest Flight For Being Too Fat – The Consumerist.

Horrified by this vintage cigarette commercial for Camels:

YouTube – Cigarette Prefered by Doctors.

“I wish for everyone to help create  a strong, sustainable movement to educate every child about food, inspire families to cook again and empower people everywhere to fight obesity. “  – Jamie Oliver

TED Blog: Teach every child about food: Jamie Oliver’s TED Prize wish, now on TED.com.

If half the things they say about Spray-on liquid glass are true, then it’s the best thing since sliced bread.  Spray-on liquid glass is transparent, non-toxic, and can protect virtually any surface against almost any damage from hazards such as water, UV radiation, dirt, heat, and bacterial infections. The coating is also flexible and breathable, which makes it suitable for use on an enormous array of products.

MEDICAL APPLICATIONS: A year-long medical trial of the spray discovered many applications including coatings for equipment, medical implants, catheters, sutures and bandages.

NO MORE GRAFFITI: The war graves association in the UK is investigating using the spray to treat stone monuments and grave stones, since trials have shown the coating protects against weathering and graffiti. Trials in Turkey are testing the product on monuments such as the Ataturk Mausoleum in Ankara.

HAVE YOUR WINE BEFORE ITS TIME: Trials in vineyards have found spraying vines increases their resistance to fungal diseases, while other tests have shown sprayed seeds germinate and grow faster than untreated seeds, and coated wood is not attacked by termites. Other vineyard applications include coating corks with liquid glass to prevent “corking” and contamination of wine.

NO MORE CHINESE SECRETS: The spray cannot be seen by the naked eye, which means it could also be used to treat clothing and other materials to make them stain-resistant.

BYE BYE DAWN: In the home, spray-on glass would eliminate the need for scrubbing and make most cleaning products obsolete. Since it is available in both water-based and alcohol-based solutions, it can be used in the oven, in bathrooms, tiles, sinks, and almost every other surface in the home, and one spray is said to last a year.

Spray-on liquid glass is about to revolutionize almost everything.

A tactic familiar from insect behaviour seems to give viruses the edge in the eternal battle between them and their host.

New video catches viruses only a few hundred nanometres in size in the act of hopping over cells that are already infected. This allows them to concentrate their energies on previously uninfected cells, accelerating the spread of infection fivefold.

Viruses use ‘hive intelligence’ to focus their attack – life – 21 January 2010 – New Scientist.

Darth Parnell testifying before Congress in February 2009

Not much has been heard in the year since the CDC found that the CEO of Peanut Corporation of America,  Stewart Parnell, was responsible for knowingly shipping Samonella-infected peanut butter across the country, sickening over 700 people and killing at least 9.

In a time where the news media is crawling all over a story about an attempted underwear bomber that resulted in no deaths or injuries, you would think that this Stewart Parnell would be indicted for perpetrating the largest biological weapon attack on U.S. soil in history.

In December 2009 the Lynchburg News Advance reported that the “executives and former managers of the now-bankrupt company … [are] fighting among themselves for a piece of a $1 million corporate insurance policy.”  including:

- PCA President Stewart Parnell had demanded $951,000 of the $1 million policy for his legal defense;

- Former Blakely plant manager Samuel Lightsey asked for $500,000 for his defense in an ongoing criminal investigation;

- David Royster III and David Royster IV, former members of the PCA board of directors, asked to have unspecified funds reserved for their use; and

- Joe Sams, a former Blakely plant manager, and Mary Wilkerson, a former Blakely quality assurance manager, asked for $182,000 for legal costs.

Meanwhile, 9 Americans are dead.  Where is the justice?

Stewart Parnell, et al – Have You No Shame? Like Vultures on a Carcass : Marler Blog.

“Every time the reform seems less likely that it will happen, the entire group trades higher,” said Perry, who has advised his clients to buy shares of Wellcare Health Plans Inc. (WCG), recently up 1.3% to $36.74, and Humana Inc. (HUM), up 1% to $42.26.

Among the other recent gainers in the sector, Aetna rose 2.7% to $32.65, Cigna Corp. (CI) added 2.3% to $36.41 and Well Point Inc. (WLP) gained 2.7% to $58.07. Meanwhile, UnitedHealth Group Inc. (UNH) added 1.6% to $30.99.

Insurance Stocks Soar on News of Lieberman’s Obstructionism | CommonDreams.org.