Jamie Oliver in America

Jamie Oliver is a famous British chef, who's been on TV and writing cook books for many years now. He has come to America to discuss food and nutrition with parents and kids.

I watched Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution last night for the first time, and have to say I was completely shocked by what is going on in America. Now in all fairness, Jamie was visiting a part of the country said to be the worst in America (for these issues). But nevertheless, the results were scary.

McNugget Experiment Goes Wrong

Jamie took a bunch of kids aged six into his kitchen. He showed them a chicken and proceeded to cut off all the nice bits of meat. He then took the carcass, ground it up with some chemicals and artificial flavors, all the while explaining how nasty this was. He then cooked the slop into a chicken nugget and asked the kids if they would eat it. Historically, when you do this kind of demonstration for kids they reject the nasty food. These kids however, upon seeing the friendly shape of a chicken nugget instantly volunteered to eat it.

Name the Vegetable

Jamie went into a class of six year olds, and held up various vegetables. The kids were asked to identify them. The kids were unable to identify tomatoes, potatoes, cauliflower, and a wide range of other common food items. They didn't even understand how French Fries were made, what vegetable created them, or what vegetable was in tomato ketchup.

Diet

The kids at this school in West Virginia were on a school diet of frozen, fried and processed food. We're talking breakfast and lunch, pizza, pasta, nachos, fries, burgers, chicken nuggets, you name it. Massive intakes of fat and sodium every single day, leading to a shocking obesity rate. All meals washed down with sugary drinks.

Silverware

The school prepared food that could easily be eaten with fingers, and maybe a spoon. As a result, the kids at the school were never taught to use a knife and fork to eat their food. This simple skill, never learned by kids as old as 10.


It's an eye opening show, and certainly highlights just what is going wrong in America. Once again greed, stupidity, and cutting corners to save money have led to a horrible system that will cause unimaginable pain and suffering for decades to come.

The show highlighted just how badly we have our priorities wrong in this country. Children are obviously the future, and yet they are often denied basic health care, basic food and nutrition, and lack the most basic education. How are we ever going to improve this country, when we continue to squander our resources on wars, guns, bombs, and keeping our troops in over 150 countries for no reason? America needs to wake up to these massive social problems before we destroy ourselves.

Me Love You Long Time

I have an email address that I use to collect my spam. Any time I am forced to give an email address, and don't want to, I have a special account for that. As a result, that account is constantly filled with spam. Offers from Nigerian royalty to deposit a fortune into my bank account, notifications that I've won the Microsoft lottery, low cost penis enlargement, cheap Viagra, you name it. Needless to say I rarely check the account, but today when I did I had received a sample from a supposedly legitimate dating site showing me compatible girls in my area.

The following is the description allegedly written by Natalya, a 28-year-old woman from Kentucky. Something about her writing leads me to think this girl ain't from Kentucky!

"My name Natalya, I the young, harmonous beautiful girl. Has decided to create the structure to find the man of my dream. I adore children, but I do not have them. I like to read, especially Romantic products as I like to listen to music during free time from work. It is brought up in good family, make cleaning on the house, I love cleanliness and the order, and so I am able to prepare for the stunned dishes, it turns out it is very tasty and it is nourishing. Often I buy fruit because I very much love them, well in fact it is necessary keep up myself and to hold a beautiful harmonous figure as I like myself. Probably will suffice about myself, now tell about myself if I am interesting to you."

"Men happen different, but not everyone can achieve my heart, as for me the main thing In the man it not his appearance, and his internal beauty and sincerity. In fact in the person,As I count, there should be a honesty, a clean soul and kindly. Therefore, if you search for the same most, as I can write to me."

This is a Big Fucking Deal

Today when Barrack Obama signed health care reform into law, he was introduced by Joe Biden. As Joe stepped away from the lectern he said to Obama, "This is a big fucking deal." Unfortunately, he was a few inches too close to the microphone and the video has been running in the media and online for much of the afternoon.

But here's the thing. Health care reform IS a big fucking deal. The use of that language was not intentional, or at least it was not intentional that it be picked up by an overly sensitive mic. And the bottom line is that the use of the F word is not a big deal.

In America we seem to have reached a point where we have to pretend to be offended by just about everything. The real news today is that Obama signed health care reform. I don't give a flying fuck if the VP uttered the F word so quietly that you really have to play it back over and over, and be listening to the one specific recording where his remark is clear.

And what really annoys me more than anything here is this childish use of the term 'F-Bomb.' I mean really? A bomb? The device used to blow people up, maim people, kill hundreds or thousands of people? Isn't it really just a word? Do we really have to hit DEFCON 1 over a word now?

It's become a widespread concept in the media, referring to the word fuck in this manner, and I am sick of it. It's like a five year old child who has just heard a word she knows is bad, and widens her eyes before running off to tell the teacher of the horrible incident of cussing, in the hopes that she can see her child like version of justice meted out against the culprit.

So I say this to America: Grow the fuck up. Adults use adult language at times, and once in a while a child may hear it. I'd be more concerned about their lack of health care or quality of their education, than the chance over hearing of a private adult conversation where the F word could barely be heard.

British vs. American Healthcare

A friend of mine asked me to compare and contrast British versus American health care, as part of some ongoing discussions she's been having with some frightened Americans who are worried about health care reform. Given my various comments on this topic in the past, I thought that here on my blog was as good a place as any to give my point of view.

I lived in England until the age of 26. During this time I never saw a bill for health care. At point of service everything is free. If you are 18-65, not a student and employed, you do have to pay $8 for prescriptions (regardless of their actual cost), unless you are poor. Other than that, everything else is free.

No one ever told me who to have as a doctor. In fact the town I grew up in various doctor practices got together and built a very large doctor building containing about 60 or so doctors, perhaps more. The particular practice I attended had maybe eight doctors. I could go and see any of them, or stick to my own GP. Wait time for my doctor was probably about 6-48 hours depending on demand. If it was urgent I could always see one of the other doctors the same day. A typical wait time from check in to sitting in front of a doctor was about 10-60 minutes. I do not recall ever waiting longer than an hour.

On the few occasions I went to the ER (known as Casualty), I (or the person I was taking there) was seen in less than 30 minutes typically. Again, by an actual doctor, not a PA or nurse. If any forms were required they were strictly medical questionnaires, and not related to billing.

Of the people I know who became seriously ill, they were admitted to hospital in a timely fashion, and were treated well. There are still hospitals where room sharing takes place, something I don't agree with. But there are private health care options in the UK that are run as non-profit organizations, and if you are a private patient, there is no room sharing, and you don't have to wait. The last company I worked for in the UK from 1997-2000 provided private medical coverage to all their staff for free, although I never had occasion to use it.

Now despite being British, I am not on any level trying to show bias or exaggerate the quality of British health care. I've been told it varies by region, and that poorer areas may not do as well as my personal experience. However, it has to be said that the priority there is health care and not profit. No one asks to see your insurance card. No one ends up bankrupt because they got sick.

I moved to America in 2000, and have watched as the quality of health care has gone down, and the cost gone up.

When I first arrived, my job provided pretty decent insurance, at a reasonable price. The wait times to see my GP were longer than the UK, but the care was good.

Sadly though, what I have experienced over the years is massive increase in premiums, deductibles, out of pocket expenses, co-pays, and other BS that really makes you stop and think about seeking medical treatment. Doctors are now quick to push generics and the medicine insurance companies prefer, rather than the very best for the condition.

My wife once twisted her ankle on the stairs and she was between jobs ironically enough. We couldn't afford COBRA because it was ridiculously expensive. I took her to the ER and we asked what a typical ankle x-ray and check up would cost and we were told $450. The final bill for this one visit was $1,450, and the hospital started chasing us for the money, despite charging over three times their 'quote.'

This is one of the things about American health care that astounds me. Unlike any other business in the country, they can literally lie or refuse to give you a quote, and then just bill you later in whatever amount they feel like. If you don't pay, they will hound you with collectors and eventually destroy your credit rating in a manner that costs you a fortune in other areas of your life.

We ultimately sued the hospital chain in question in small claims and won, the judge ruling that they had misrepresented their fees up front, and must in fact stick to their original quote. But they didn't go down without a fight, they sent a lawyer who grilled my wife and I on the witness stand, and even tried to offer us a limited time settlement before the judge came in (trying in vain to intimidate us).

Billing issues in America are so out of control there are consultants who charge to discover medical billing errors.

My wife recently had an MRI and they sent us a bill for $7,500. We reminded them we have insurance, and the insurance company reminded them of their 'special arrangement.' The bill was lowered to $2,500. Our deductible was $1,500, so we ended up owing about $1,600 for a simple diagnostic test.

The company I work for just got new insurance with Blue Cross Blue Shield of Tennessee. This costs about 25% more than the old insurance and the deductible is now $2,000 for me, and $2,000 for my wife, with plenty of other expenses we'll owe even after these deductibles are met.

In an interesting twist, we had to wait for the new insurance to kick in, because our old insurance company deliberately withheld vital information for as long as they could so that we couldn't shop around. They had wanted to increase our premiums (for the entire company) by 35%.

So I have to say, my experience with the American system has not been great. If you are rich, you can probably enjoy some of the best health care in the world. If you are not on the board of directors, dream on. Your coverage will be rationed based on your bank balance. They will take every last penny and force you into bankruptcy if you are unlucky and get very sick.

One of the important things that no one ever talks about when they compare American health care to say England or Canada is the per capita cost involved. In other words, they fail to compare like with like.

America spends approximately $4,271 per person on health care; more than any other country in the world (see link). The UK by comparison spends $1,675. Canada spends $1,939.

So if the British system is lacking in any specific areas it is due to a lack of spending, not because the 'socialized' system is inherently flawed.

So how does Britain stack up with the US in health care?

When it comes to infant mortality the US dropped in 2009 from 42nd in the world to 46th. Britain is 32nd. And no, these figures are not from some left wing Obama-loving think tank. These are statistics produced by the CIA.

Infant mortality by the age of five (according to the UN) has the US at 33rd, eleven countries behind the UK.

In overall life expectancy the US ranks at 38th in the world, Britain is 22nd.

Available hospital beds per 1,000 people is 4.1 in the UK, and 3.6 in the US, ranking at 27th in the world.

When it comes to physicians, the US does better than the UK with 2.3 / 1,000 versus 2.2 / 1,000. Hardly a major difference, here, with both countries not even in the top 50 in the world.

Cancer deaths in the US are at 321.9 per 100K, and the UK rate is 253.5 per 100K.

America leads the world in obesity, with 30.6% of the population obese. The UK is catching up weighing in at 23%

When it comes to preventable health care related deaths, the US and UK do poorly. The US was 15th in the world for this, the UK did worse at 17th of the 18 countries studied.

The bottom line is that the US spends more on health care than any other country in the world, yet oddly in almost any area that you care to look, scores worse than other countries who spend far less money, yet achieve better results.

In my opinion, the need is not for a tax hike, because the amount of money needed is already being paid. However, there needs to be a radical re-think of where all the money is going. It strikes me that too much of our investment is siphoned off by rich for profit corporations, rather than going to care for people.

Depending on which statistic you read, there are upwards of 40,000,000 Americans who do not have proper access to health care. This, considering we are the richest nation in the world, is a disgrace.

When the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the US is health care related, there's a problem.

I personally believe that the US would do well to model some of the most successful health care countries like Japan, France and Germany when it comes to health care. I think Obama's health care plan is about as watered down as it could possibly be, but the reality is the need for reform is extreme. If this step towards a more inclusive system is the best we can do right now, it's better than nothing. I am honestly dismayed when I see such opposition to a much needed reform, because I see little about the current system that is not in dire need of reform.

For what we spend on health care, there is no excuse for the US not to be in the top ten for just about everything health related. Thousands of people (including babies and kids) are dying every year in the US for lack of proper health care, and yet people still protest reform.

GOP on the Wrong Side of History Again?!?

The Republican Party tried again yesterday evening to derail health care reform, and thankfully they failed. All 178 Republican Congressmen, together with 34 spineless fuckwits from the Dems, were not enough to beat the 219 vote majority supporting health care reform in this country.

The merits of this specific health care bill are not the issue I'd like to discuss this evening. It's clearly a compromise bill that does not contain the entire liberal wish list, but it is at its heart a sincere effort to being the much needed first steps of health care reform. With luck and time improvements can be made to bring comprehensive health care reform to the United States.

What I'd really like to talk about this evening is the role of the Republicans who are again standing on the side lines of history yelling NO in as loud a voice as possible. It should come as no surprise to students of history, but it is something worth repeating. Because there are still idiots out there who like to vote Republican, and perhaps they need to think long and hard about what these people stand for.

Here are some Republican positions in the recent past that tells you a lot about what they stand for:

• Civil Rights - Anti-lynching bills, and various civil rights bills of the 1950s and 60s were largely opposed by Republicans, hiding behind the rights of individual states as an excuse for not supporting bills to protect minority groups.
• Environmental Policy - Beginning with Nixon's Clean Air act of 1970, pretty much every effort to protect the environment has been opposed by the GOP.
• Abortion - The GOP have repeatedly taken steps to trample the rights of women, even though a clear majority of Americans do not believe that abortion should be outlawed or criminalized.
• Gay Rights - Although there have been many Republican politicians found 'researching' homosexual practices, you won't find many voting for equality for gay people.
• Tax - Cut taxes the GOP say, but whenever they are in office they won't cut spending. They just cut taxes for the rich, and keep up their stupid spending policies until will owe trillions to China. Then they point the finger of blame elsewhere.
  

It's pretty clear that history is littered with nasty old Republicans stamping their feet and pushing their self interest, and those of the rich lobbyists who line their pockets.

Here we are on a historic night of health care reform and a promise of extending coverage to uninsured Americans, and not a single one of them broke ranks to vote for what is right.

In any two party system the pendulum will ultimately swing both ways over time, but never forget the history of the GOP and their opposition to social justice and rights for the people.

Time For Tea To Come Clean?

You know I've been watching these Tea Baggers for a while now, and isn't it about time to call them out for what they really are? They are the KKK. Same kind of bigots, different costume.

Ever since Obama got elected, they've demanded their country back. Back from what? Is there some kind of problem with democracy now? Are they mad because the Republicans couldn't rig the election like they did in 2000?

It really is the most pathetic nonsense I've ever seen. Stirred up by various idiotic pundits on Fox News, the terminally stupid take to the streets to protest taxes and spending. Ignoring the fact that their good friend W. got us into this mess by spending money we didn't have invading countries.

The vitriol that they spew about Obama is completely out of proportion to his foot print in the White House. It seems as if they are just itching to call him the N word, but know that this is pretty much unacceptable these days. So instead they show pictures of him looking like Hitler, and use words they don't understand like socialism and Marxism. What the fuck is wrong with these people?

So far he has managed to stave off a second great depression. He's trying to make some very minor changes to health care to cover more Americans, and these protesting morons act like he has ordered the internment of Jews.

Barack Obama is about as centrist as you could imagine in politics. Despite the GOP vowing to pretty much road block anything and everything they can, Obama still tries to reach out to them and gain a consensus. And yet the racists still keep yelling 'socialism' and making Hitler references.

I think it's time for these cretins to stop with the bullshit, and just admit once and for all that they are simply racist fuckers, and they can't stand a black man in the White House. Let's have them don their white sheets and get real about why they are really protesting.

Apparently we live in 'toubled' times.

Delay Supports Delay

Former Republican House Majority Leader Tom Delay spoke out recently to support the actions taken by Jim Bunning, who if you recall recently stalled the unanimous Senate vote to extend unemployment and health care benefits for a month.

In his remarks Delay explained to a shocked reporter that unemployed people are essentially lazy people who only bother to get off their ass and look for a job when their benefits are about to be cut off. He suggested that we all know someone who is sponging off the system in this manner, and that really Bunning was doing us all a favor by being such a tool.

I have to say, even after all these years I am still shocked by fuckers like these. It's hard to even imagine how a person can remain so out of touch with reality, and also simultaneously be unaware at just how offensive their comments are. It's almost like having a conversation with a KKK member, who just tells you 'how it is.'

What made me laugh about the interview was that he also took the time to rail against Obama for, "...spending monies that we don't have..." This one always just leaves me speechless. Because when it comes to one of the hallmarks of the Bush administration, it is the unbridled spending of money we don't have, while simultaneously cutting taxes to the richest Americans.

There is no doubt in my mind that the Bush administration is 90% to blame for our current economic crisis. So when we see an ardent Bush supporter like the ever sleazy Tom Delay, talking about the need for saving money, it sounds a little hollow. If only we'd had that kind of thinking during their rein of terror and stupidity. There would be a lot of employed Americans very thankful for it.

Chat Roulette

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
Tech-Talch - Chatroulette
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The Daily Show takes an amusing look at Chat Roulette, and its place in Internet history. As usual also commenting on the news media's stupid old person view of it. Pretty funny.

Republican Shocker

I know that for some readers of my blog, this is going to come as something of a shock. So make sure you're sitting comfortably, and if you have a heart condition you might want to stop reading now...

Okay, so here's the news. Apparently, there is another stupid old white Republican douche bag in the Senate. I know, who would have thunk it?

This particular dinosaur is Jim Bunning, aged 78. He's the guy that just used another idiosyncrasy of the Senate to block a unanimous decision to extend unemployment and medical benefits to millions of Americans.

Having spent hours wasting everyone's time blocking a 30 day benefits extension, he likened the sacrifice he is forcing upon unemployed Americans, to his misfortune of missing a televised sporting event.

When pushed to reconsider his senile ramblings, he allegedly muttered "tough shit" and refused to alter his position.

Of course, sarcasm aside for a moment, it should come as no surprise whatsoever that a Republican doesn't give a fuck about poor people. Nor that a 78 year old former jock, would be too stupid to understand what the fuck is going on. But it raises two very important questions I've had for a long time:

1. Why the hell do we still allow these old morons to have any position of power whatsoever? Isn't it time we put an age limit on service?
2. If America is supposed to be the shining example of democracy for all the world to see, how is it that one decrepit douchebag can log jam the whole democratic process?

In any case, it seems even Republicans are embarrassed by this one. We all know that their master plan is to block everything they can to make Obama look ineffective, but sooner or later (with luck), the American people are going to wake up and realize that Republicans are deliberately hurting our country and the people in it, just to score political points. It's truly obscene.