Big Jilm

Well dang if I didn't run head first into "compassionate conservatism" about a month ago. I've been without health insurance for some time. It was getting really expensive- my premiums were going up every quarter and just got to be too much.
Middle of December I start feeling really cold. Can't get warm and start shivering uncontrollably even though I'm under blankets and have the heat cranked. It gets to the point where I know I need to get to the E.R. before I can no longer drive. Turns out I have a soft tissue infection turning my leg red and a fever over 103 degrees. They admit me to the hospital for four days. When the representative comes around to discuss insurance it was, "are you pregnant?". "Are you a single parent with dependent children?". The answers were no, so I am on the hook for the entire hospital bill which was subtotaled at that time to be over 11K. Since I was uninsured and a "cash" customer, it was reduced to under four grand. At my current earnings I will be paying that off for years. If I end up having to put any of it on a credit card, it will be at 30% interest.
Oddly enough, that is STILL cheaper than the money I would have paid in insurance premiums for the period I've been uninsured. I was just lucky that I didn't need more tests or actual surgery or I'd be really screwed.
I ask conservatives this and never get a good answer: "This is the greatest nation this earth has ever seen- THE most powerful country in existence. Shouldn't we be able to provide all our citizens with some basic level of health care? If not out of the good Christian ethic of helping the needy, at least for the common economic benefit of having a healthy populace?" "Do you want your co-workers, employees, ANYONE you or your family might meet in the course of a day, to be on the job working with a deadly communicable disease simply because they can't afford to see a doctor and get a $10 prescription that will cure them?"

Another funny anecdote: It is election season again and I'm starting to see those wonderful forwarded emails from conservative relatives and acquaintances. The last one was a recording of a call-in to a radio talk show. The caller says they are a neurosurgeon who has just left a conference in Washington where they learned about the finer points of Obama's health care law. The host and caller are riled up about how the new bill will not pay for certain medical procedures on the elderly and instead just pays for, essentially, 'hospice care'. If you're old, Obama is going to just let you die instead of paying for that expensive operation.
My reply:
"Let me get this straight. Conservatives did everything in their power to kill, gut, or bend to their will, the Health Care initiative. NOW they've got their panties in a bunch because this particular corner of Socialism doesn't go FAR ENOUGH in scope or coverage?!!? ... and are blaming Obama?" STFU!

So. I need some cash. If you need anything guitar or musical instrument related, why not buy it from me instead of the evil big box store?

That stack of Fender amps reminds me of shopping at Hollywood Vintage.
Here's one you'll never find unless you're looking for it!

One of my faves is the episode of the 90s TV series, "Eerie Indiana", where Marshall falls in love and gets advice from Elvis.
Eerie Indiana on Hulu

I've been in Tempe for years and Mill has always been like this. I live only a few blocks away and worked on mill for a few months and have never had any issues with it. Areas like that bring in a lot of money to the city and are pretty easy to avoid.

Twenty years ago Mill was very different. Almost all the businesses and shops were local. You could just start walking at the Jack in the Box and look for a band that you liked at Long Wong's, Edsel's Attic, Chuy's, or even a couple hotels and restaurants. I played Long Wong's every Wednesday for a chunk of 1994. Good times. They won't be back.

Switched majors in college from chemistry to art. Have a B.F.A. in Printmaking and a minor in photography/film.... which is dead.

Still have 3 credits of "F" in Ceramics, which was way, way too early in the morning for an art class

Worked in 4 different pottery/ceramic shops and owned my own as well. Go figure.

Surprised that I am not the only Eagle Scout here.

Was born without wisdom teeth. I didn't know how awesome that would be until later.

Have never had narcotic painkillers. I'm pretty sure I could show up to the hospital with a bloody stump for a leg and they'd give me Ibuprofen.

Snore. ..apparently.

Can write in cursive both forwards and backwards with both hands, and if I'm writing forward with the left, and backward with the right, I can do it simultaneously.

By the 7th grade could read 690 words a minute. I used to read a paperback novel a day in high school.

There were no blacks or Jews in my hometown. Didn't even meet any until college.

My girlfriend shuttled Ike Turner around in her Cadillac for a week.

I have seen a concert for the deaf.

Wonderfully creepy T-shirt from Rotten Cotton

"Some people think I'm robbing the cradle, but I say she's robbing the grave. ..." - Prof. Hubert J. Farnsworth

I think if you're both grown up and mentally mature adults who "get" each other, age shouldn't be a factor.

The sure sign of unnecessary legislation is when the proposed bill makes it illegal to do or be something that is already illegal. WTF? I'm sure that this state would surely benefit from frothy mouthed xenophobes parked in their car, in a Home Depot parking lot, calling the cops and checking to make sure that the cops arrive and "do their duty" and arrest all the "illegals". They'll be taking notes, too, so they can sue the authorities for failing to discharge their duties if the roundups and arrests aren't satisfactorily completed.

The Governor may weasel on this one and allow it to become law, or even sign it, thinking(or hoping) that it will immediately be struck down in court as unconstitutional. The danger is that it won't- leaving this state saddled with a poorly conceived, poorly written, unfeasable law on the books that does no good whatsoever.

I've always been curious about this, and wish some right-leaning scholar could set me straight: AFAIK, "brown" folks have been streaming into this country steadily for decades, if not most of the last century. They've always been here doing jobs that no one else will do and illegal status notwithstanding, contributing to the economy. Why did this only recently become a "problem" of such proportion that extensive legislation, funds, manpower, and sheer force of will are needed to cleanse this scourge from our lives? To the best of my reasoning ability- the "problem" is the same as it has always been. This is merely being exploited for political gain- the problem of illegal immigration for me ranks right up there with the problem of illegal garage sales. They're everywhere, sometimes unsightly, but probably contribute a surprising amount of money to the economy. And they probably do more good than harm.

I've got an idea! lets crack down on all those illegal garage sales. I bet most of them aren't reporting that income and probably haven't acquired any sort of tax resale license either. That's a LOT of untaxed revenue that should be going into the state's coffers!