And today in Healthcare news…

The Supreme Court today upheld the central mandate of the Affordable Healthcare Act, aka Obamacare, making it mandatory that a person has health insurance. For millions of people with preexisting conditions who currently cannot get covered by an insurance company to literally save their life, this is a godsend. It also will make prescriptions less expensive for seniors, and their are tax benefits for small business should they chose to provide coverage for their employees. It’s a move towards a socialized healthcare system that works for many countries around the world, and will lower costs.

Not everyone, naturally, is thrilled with this.

The Republican and Tea Party people are absolutely appalled. Well, at first they weren’t. All the GOP tweets about letting freedom ring and the law has been struck down… oh wait, what’s that you say? To quote Rick Perry, ‘Oops.’ Delete. Meanwhile, Mitt Romney has already vowed to repeal it the first day he gets into office, which would happen if we live in the Twilight Zone. Admit it, you just shuddered at the thought. Michelle Bachmann and Rick Perry both tried to say something intelligent but, oh yeah, no one cares about them anymore. John Boehner looked like he wanted to cry in even picture taken of him today. Oh, and Rush Limbaugh vows to leave the country; on a related note, hundreds of people began taking up a collection for his going away party and travel expenses, with volunteers to pack his suitcases fighting for the coveted roll.

Then there are the common Facebookers, my apologies, newly minted Constitutional scholars, who also vow angrily to leave and move to Canada, now disgusted at how socialized the US has become. Because, as everyone knows, Canada doesn’t have anything remotely like a universal healthcare system, right? My first thought is, who says Canada even wants you anyway?

I guess you can’t please everyone. So okay, good luck. Don’t let the door hit you in the ass on your way out. And don’t you come back now, ya hear?

Spam Job Offers

So after a week of nonsensical double talk by my DM and utter everyday bullshit that retail always is, I decided to update my online resume as well as join Linked-In to try to get my name out there. I need to get out of retail. After 14 years, it’s time, I have experience and know how, and I have proven over time that I can do anything I put my mind to. While I am planning to ride out the holiday season at the store, if I was offered an Office Manager position somewhere tomorrow I would tell my job two weeks and peace out. And considering the comments he’s made over the past week about certain things, as well as that the company I work for is paying me way below what my peers at other retailers are making in this market,  I really wouldn’t feel that bad.

But more about his comments later. What has come to annoy me is the spamming I have received since updating my resume. Suddenly, I have six emails in my in box from company A-B-C and Duh, extolling the virtues of my resume, and how I would absolutely be a perfect fit… selling insurance door to door. Or being a used car salesman. In Burr Ridge or Naperville. Uhh, no. What part of office management or inventory specialist in Chicago proper did you not understand? I don’t want to sell things anymore, if I would not be looking.

But it didn’t stop there. I actually got a call on my cell phone last night, a cold call, from a woman who saw my resume and thought I’d be a perfect fit to work… for Primerica. For those out on the job hunt, Primerica is one of those companies that prey on  those on the job hunt to be a debt and investment counselor. I actually fell for it once, about 5 or so years ago, and made a commute to the far reaches beyond Oakbrook to check out a Primerica seminar. It felt more like a door to door salesman pyramid scheme, so I started posting ‘Primerica need not to inquire’ on my online resume.

In any case, i quickly stopped the woman, thanked her for considering me, but firmly rebuffed her with “Primerica is not the direction I wish to move towards in this stage of my career.” And with that, I ended the call.

I find it so amazing that there are so many unsubstantiated companies out there, prowling the internet, trying to find people looking fior a solid career with the lure of quick and yet unattainable amounts of cash. Frankly, these get rich quick and their ilk type of job ‘opportunites’ are dead end in this economic climate. Hey, if you find success in one of them, more power to you. But frankly, i would rather eat dirt that go door to door or cold call someone to sell catalogs or insurance. It just reeks of carpetbagger or snakoil salesman.

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Speaking of snake oil salesmen, hopefully those of you reading have had a chance to make your voice heard and vote so we can keep those type of people out of public office and we don’t have another 8 years of being Bush-whacked. I voted for Obama/Biden,  the duo who I see as hope and change, so the scary McCain/Palin ticket does not get into office. I know my friend Alan would say neither is good enough, which is why I imagine he voted for some random Green party candidate. And that’s fine, it’s his opinion, and he voted, so he made his voice heard. I only hope everyone takes time out today to do the right thing and also make their own voice heard. If not, the only person you have to blame is yourself.

No debate, McCain is an idiot

I hate to mix into politics, but have to bitch about the naivety of Republicans and the fantasy land they live in.

I find it so amazing that McCain fans are living in denial in thinking that he won the debate. I mean, did they watch the same thing I did? You know, the feeble old man who wouldn’t even look at Barack Obama as if he were Medusa and one glance would turn him to stone. It was pathetic. He didn’t sound self assured, he refused to acknowledge Obama at all, and he certainly didn’t look like a President… more like one of those old geezers that sat in the balcony on the Muppet Show. A complete boob.

The opinion polls further support that Obama won the debate overall by a margin of 51-38. And why not. He was clear and concise, spoke eloquently, and did not mock McCain like McCain did him. And he actually looked like a President-confident and strong, which is what we need.

Now what i can’t wait for is to watch Joe Biden eat Sarah Palin for lunch- and dinner- during the VP debates. that should be comedic. Hell, Palin should just get it over with a send Tina Fey in her place. Fey would probably do a better job.

Super Tuesday

Pop quiz hot shot: Did you get your ass out there and vote today? I did.

7 am, the library at the end of my street is our precinct. I got in, got my Democratic ballot and slipped into a booth pretty quickly. But I still hadn’t made a final decision. I like Barack, but he just seems too broad. I don’t know, he’s got the charm, he has the ambition, he seems to has the general publics’ best interest at heart. I think. I mean, he doesn’t really take a firm position on anything. Rick decided to vote for him, reasoning that Hillary comes off like a micro-manager: always has their hands in everything, but without the ability to see it through to completion because there’s too much clogging the system. Obama, he said, is a the big picture guy, and they are the ones everyone remembers, like FDR and Kennedy.

So 7:06 am, and I’m stuck. I waffled between the two in the booth, and then went with my gut for my final decision. I chose Hillary. Sorry, but she’s got balls. Final answer.

But I did split the delegates between the two. And I harbor the hope that the winner chooses the other as his/her running mate. I think that if Hil is the Democratic choice, she just may turn to Barack and ask him to be the Veep. Then we would get the best of both worlds.

It’s interesting as I see the early results, Obama is leading far and away over Hil here in Illinois, at 65% of the votes with 60% of precincts reporting. Not a huge surprise, while they both have the home state advantage, Barack is a little more recent and has momentum. Then I look and see Hillary took NY and Mass, and it’s no surprise there either. It’s going to be a long night.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the ticket, Mr. McCain, or as I now dub him, Major McPain, is limping into the top slot, while the catchers Mitt slides into second. These two are seriously dumber than a box of hair. At least Romney has some personality; McPain is just so… oh hell, blah doesn’t do him justice. But I was shocked that Ron Paul actually got 5% of the early returns here in Illinois. He’s got this expression that just screams, Uhh, gee Tennesee, dum dum dee dum (I know I’m pissing off Ed and Alan right now). But I will concede that he can speak more intelligently than he looks, as the debate revealed. He is actually the lesser of the Republican evils. Sorry, you don’t have a chance in hell.

It could be worse, far worse. Mike Huckabee. What a genius name, can you imagine saying that? President Huckabee. *wretch* He won in West Virginia already, but that’s not surprising either. With that name, it sounds like he would be at home in Appalachia. Yes folks, the flip side is instead of Ron Paul, we could have a man that makes James Stockdale look brilliant: President Huckberry FuckFinn running things. Ugh. What an ass. He might as well get Fred Phelps for a running mate, they are soul mates.

Ok, I’ll stop my riffing on the candidates lest I get trapped into some political conflict with someone. I’ll turn my target toward another horror of the day.

I discovered some of my coworkers, and evidentially, half of Illinois chose to not vote. I see there are over 7 million registered voters in the state of Illinois alone. As I look at the returns, maybe half voted. As one guy I work with put it, ‘no one is ever happy with whomever makes it into office anyway.’ Sure, yeah, you have a point, you can’t make everyone happy all of the time. But why be apathetic about it? You’re given a chance to make your voice heard, if you choose to say screw it instead because the weather was mediocre or because no one is happy because their guy or gal didn’t make it into office, then you deserve to suffer.

As I rode the bus to work yesterday, two guys stood near by me, and glanced over my copy of the Red Eye as I happened to turn to a page featuring the candidates. The one turned to his friend: ‘Are you voting tomorrow?’ The reply: ‘No, it’s just the primary, I’ll wait until November.’

Now given, the second gent did go on to say he was actually going to vote, but he did express a sentiment that many feel. Why bother? To which I express this sentiment: If you chose not to vote, hey it’s your prerogative to throw away your rights. But then sit down and zip it. I never want to hear you bitch, whine or moan about the state of our country, no matter how fucked up it is. You gave that up the moment you chose not to exercise your voting rights.