Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Better Health and Arrogant People

The first part of this post is about me personally, the last part is about arrogant people, specifically some people on Wall Street. If you want, just skip down to the words Wall Street Arrogance in bold.

I had an interesting day. I saw my personal physician today. I had an adverse to some pills he had put me on a few weeks back and we changed the medication about 2 weeks ago. This was a follow up to how that worked out for me and a chance to review a whole bunch of blood tests I had taken at the time.

Back to the story. Anyways, we reviewed my test results and he actually thanked me. I had basically passed all the tests but one and the most important ones I did well on. He told me how amazing it was. I have to say I really like my doctor and have tried as much as I can to work with him on improving my numbers. I actually take the pills he has me on. I told him thank you and that I appreciated his concerns for my well being. I began seeing doctors again about a year or less. He then said something really funny, he said that when he met me he didn't think I had a year before I died.

When I began seeing him my blood pressure was categorized as a hypertensive emergency which basically means that I should have been in the middle of a heart attack. My original tests also showed that I had already suffered one heart attack which I had failed to see a doctor about. I was a very bad prospect as a patient. He showed me my history of test results and explained that the cholesterol levels and triglyceride levels should have begun causing severe organ breakdown that would have led to organ failure (I forget which organs). He told me that when I left his office the first time he almost cried because he thought I was going to die. Most people just plan a party for after I am gone.

While I have a choice of healthcare providers, I chose to go with a very large HMO called Kaiser Permanente. Some people love it and others don't; but, I have had it for 25 years because it was cheaper for my family of 5. I don't promote products on this site and don't provide links to products or other sites unless I am quoting them and don't intend to now. I just want to point out that I couldn't be happier with my doctor and truly believe I am getting the best care possible.

That is the bright side of today. I have been feeling really tired lately, I attributed this to the pills; but, it turns out that I failed one test regarding thyroid function. I don't really understand it; but, he said that there is no particular reason for it, some people's thyroids just work less well as they age. I was a little concerned; but, he said that if it turned out that was what was happening there was some simple medication to deal with it. I told him if that was what it was, I would take the pills because I cannot stand being tired all the time anymore. He then sent me off to get some more blood drawn and we shall see what the results are. I asked him about the lung x-ray that he sent me for in the last couple of weeks and he made a funny face and admitted that my lungs were clean "as always". I smoke and he sent me because of that. He wants me to stop smoking and I think it frustrates him that my lungs are so clean and I passed all my breathing tests with a clean bill of health.

I don't think he actually wants me to have lung problems, he just wants to catch it early and get me to stop smoking. I have often told him that I just need him to keep me around enough to see my granddaughter and retire (both will happen this year). He says his goal is to me have a long and healthy retirement and I actually believe him. I worked hard to get my medical benefits and if I had died 6 years ago my organization would have lost tens upon tens of millions because of the work I have done.

I have a relative who is a plumber and employees others. His company has under 50 employees and cannot afford to provide health insurance. He is incredibly traditionally conservative and said that he was happy that his employees had signed up for the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) because they would be healthier and be able to show up for work more often. Imagine if we lived in a country where only the old got healthcare and the young workers did not. That is what we were headed to.

Wall Street Arrogance

New York Magazine - One-Percent Jokes and Plutocrats in Drag: What I Saw When I Crashed a Wall Street Secret Society. Firstly, the article's title is misleading, I don't care if they dress up in drag or even the fact that Wall Street has a secret society for the wealthy. What you need to walk away from the article understanding is how little they care about people who are not wealthy.

The article states that there was a skit making fun of the 99%, they were ridiculing Occupy Wall Street. The Occupy movement really upset and worried the bankers. In fact, the banks paid the NYPD for their overtime. The tea party was seen as merely an annoyance by people who could easily be co-opted. By having the media turn tea party supporters against the Occupy movement, the Republican party was able to use conservatives traditional biases against the left to prevent them from gaining enough support to take back the Republican party.

The real problem Wall Street has with both the tea party and the Occupy movement is the same. They are afraid that we will bring back true nationalism, a concern over this country. Anytime people in either movement are against sovereignty, it is because they are being led by outside sources or extremists. There is nothing wrong with believing in America and our sovereign right to decide how this country will be managed. Whether you are liberal or conservative, if you believe in America, you are the true enemy of the globalist agenda and their agenda is simple. Making maximum profits for a few who owe allegiance to no nation or group other than the oligarchy they seek to create.