I am rather fond of Real Clear Politics. So, when I wanted to see what the political numbers were for the House election, I went to them. The rankings look like this:
Democrats Republicans
Not Up 145 178
Likely 21 28
Leans 17 23
Toss Up 23
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/house/2012_elections_house_map.html
OK, a little more conservative leaning than I thought it would be, but there are still 23 toss up states. How does the map look without tossups?
Democrat Republican
261 174
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/2012/house/2012_elections_house_map_no_toss_ups.html
Wow, the democrats pick up all of the tossups, all of the seats leaning republican, all of the seats the republicans are likely to get, and four seats that aren't even up for election! Looks like it's going to be a big win for the democrats!
Oh, wait, no. "RCP House map (Coming Soon)"
Monday, September 3, 2012
Friday, August 24, 2012
Teaching
Looks like I'll be teaching in about a week. This is good news for me obviously, but also good news for people who have been waiting for my Sumerian materials. This is due to an easing of other concerns. I will have quite a lot of my materials together. My resume will look better. I will be able to fund any of my projects that I need to fund.
Another big thing is that I'll be set up into a routine. This is big (see last sentence). You'd think that I would get less art and writing done when I have other things to get done, but this doesn't seem to be the case. When I'm a little bit productive I tend to be quite productive.
So, why am I telling you all this? What's my point? I don't really have a point. This is a blog. It's just an update to my life.
Another big thing is that I'll be set up into a routine. This is big (see last sentence). You'd think that I would get less art and writing done when I have other things to get done, but this doesn't seem to be the case. When I'm a little bit productive I tend to be quite productive.
So, why am I telling you all this? What's my point? I don't really have a point. This is a blog. It's just an update to my life.
Saturday, August 18, 2012
I'm not a Republican
Ok, I used to be a Republican. I like the fact that the party works together to get things done. I like the fact that they have far and away better (and more) economic think tanks than the Democrats. I like their view on states rights, smaller government, and minimal regulation.
There's a lot not to like however. You see I am not a racist. I am also not a christian. I don't think the government should be expanded in general. Why would I want the government telling me what to do in my bedroom?
The Democrats want to censor what I eat, listen to, and watch for my own good. The Republicans don't like censorship, unless its to filter out immorality and people who disagree with them.
Both Parties are RACIST! (All caps for emphasis, and a "!" to be redundant.) The Republican base is racist. The Democratic leadership just wants to make decisions for people they think don't know any better. So if I were black I'd have to deal with people who think I'm a criminal on the right, and people who think I'm stupid on the left.
Gay rights is another thing. I don't think that the government should be able to tell anyone who can and cannot get married. As long as they are telling people what to do and what not to do I don't see any reason why Gays cannot marry. Thing is though, I'm not gay and my state already allows gay marriage. It's not really a big issue for me, but politicians on both sides want to make it the big issue every election.
The War on Women. Neither side is really against women. Why would they be? They have no motive for it. But I hear about it more than I care to think of it. The Right points out that the left makes many women out of work. The left makes it harder for people to find work regardless of gender. It's not targeted. The left say that the right doesn't want women to have control over their own bodies. The right doesn't want anyone to have control over their own bodies.
I have generally considered myself so far right that I'm only left of crazy. Apparently that makes me a centrist these days because the republicans have moved well right of my views.
We have a Democrat president (Hard to notice beyond both parties obsessed with his race). He got into office saying he was willing to reach across the isle and get things done. He did find common ground that both parties can agree upon. Both parties are doing everything that they can to prevent democrats from getting anything done. Both parties seem to have a greater disdain for black voters. Both parties have found that if the Republicans go right and the Democrats go left they can both fit in the category of crazy.
So where does that leave me? Apparently I'm a libertarian. I'm in the same political camp with the drug addled pot heads.
At least I'm not an occupier (A bunch of rich kids yelling, "What do we want? We don't know! When do we want it? Right now!" Meanwhile a homeless guy is taping up a sign saying, "No rapes between here and the dumpster.")
There's a lot not to like however. You see I am not a racist. I am also not a christian. I don't think the government should be expanded in general. Why would I want the government telling me what to do in my bedroom?
The Democrats want to censor what I eat, listen to, and watch for my own good. The Republicans don't like censorship, unless its to filter out immorality and people who disagree with them.
Both Parties are RACIST! (All caps for emphasis, and a "!" to be redundant.) The Republican base is racist. The Democratic leadership just wants to make decisions for people they think don't know any better. So if I were black I'd have to deal with people who think I'm a criminal on the right, and people who think I'm stupid on the left.
Gay rights is another thing. I don't think that the government should be able to tell anyone who can and cannot get married. As long as they are telling people what to do and what not to do I don't see any reason why Gays cannot marry. Thing is though, I'm not gay and my state already allows gay marriage. It's not really a big issue for me, but politicians on both sides want to make it the big issue every election.
The War on Women. Neither side is really against women. Why would they be? They have no motive for it. But I hear about it more than I care to think of it. The Right points out that the left makes many women out of work. The left makes it harder for people to find work regardless of gender. It's not targeted. The left say that the right doesn't want women to have control over their own bodies. The right doesn't want anyone to have control over their own bodies.
I have generally considered myself so far right that I'm only left of crazy. Apparently that makes me a centrist these days because the republicans have moved well right of my views.
We have a Democrat president (Hard to notice beyond both parties obsessed with his race). He got into office saying he was willing to reach across the isle and get things done. He did find common ground that both parties can agree upon. Both parties are doing everything that they can to prevent democrats from getting anything done. Both parties seem to have a greater disdain for black voters. Both parties have found that if the Republicans go right and the Democrats go left they can both fit in the category of crazy.
So where does that leave me? Apparently I'm a libertarian. I'm in the same political camp with the drug addled pot heads.
At least I'm not an occupier (A bunch of rich kids yelling, "What do we want? We don't know! When do we want it? Right now!" Meanwhile a homeless guy is taping up a sign saying, "No rapes between here and the dumpster.")
Friday, August 17, 2012
Novel: Outer Layer
I'm writing a novel. My proof readers say it's a good novel. I hope they're right. That's not what this post is about though. This post is an update on how things are going with that novel.
Ch 15: Needs a lot of work. Most of the substance is written, but I need to shift a lot of text around and do a lot of work before I hand it out to be read.
Ch 13 and 14: Need some work. There are notable descriptions absent.
Everything through 12 has been read through and given the green light by one of my readers.
Ch 15: Needs a lot of work. Most of the substance is written, but I need to shift a lot of text around and do a lot of work before I hand it out to be read.
Ch 13 and 14: Need some work. There are notable descriptions absent.
Everything through 12 has been read through and given the green light by one of my readers.
Blogger 3 WP 1
So, I noticed that WP erases my tags if I'm not done typing. This clinches things for where various posts are going. Blogger is going to be my all purpose blog. If you want to know what's going on in the life of this Sumerian you come to blogger.
I'm still going to use WP though. It will be more focused on Temple of Sumer related stuff. Word Press will have Sumerian insights, updates on my Myths Comic, and anything related to the Sumerian community.
Blogger will have more random commentary like the last post about my cat and health care. You will still see Sumerian stuff here, but it will not be particularly focused. It will be properly tagged though.
I'm still going to use WP though. It will be more focused on Temple of Sumer related stuff. Word Press will have Sumerian insights, updates on my Myths Comic, and anything related to the Sumerian community.
Blogger will have more random commentary like the last post about my cat and health care. You will still see Sumerian stuff here, but it will not be particularly focused. It will be properly tagged though.
Universal Health Care. . . And my cat
So I had to get an operation done on my cat. It was just a tooth pull, but it's a cat so the poor boy had to be put under while it was done.This made the procedure far more involved than it would have been for a human, and we don't have health insurance on the cat. This means that we had to spend a bit over 500.00 to get the tooth pulled, and we found out he needed a 30+ dollar prescription for antibiotics.
Ack! 500 all at once for one cat tooth! I wish I had insurance! I would have paid twenty a month just so that when things like this come up they don't hit all at once. (We charged it. We'll have to spend small amounts per month paying this off for a while, so we will not be paying all at once anyway, but darn it! There's a principal to this sort of thing.)
Ack 30 some dollars on an antibiotic? Well, actually that's not all that bad. Come to think of it, last time I was in the hospital for something that I had to go under for it cost more than 500. I wonder why cat health is so much cheaper. It's pretty much the same things being done, only I'll do what the doc tells me and I don't have a tiny body.
Well, let us say I need some medicine. Let us pretend that it takes a quarter to actually make the medicine, but if you add R&D, labor, and shipping you have to add several dollars. This makes the drug inherently worth like five bucks by the time it gets to me.
Now to get the medicine to me the drug company needs insurance, the prescribing doctor needs insurance, and I need insurance. Each time you add a middle man you need to pay a little extra because these people's time is considered valuable. This adds to the cost of the drug.
OK, so now add a government agency to the mix to make sure I have insurance. This is one more person, and it adds to the inherent value of the drug.
So now let us say that the drug is worth 50 bucks. It only cost about a quarter in materials, but a lot of people have spent time to make sure it is the right drug for me. This labor cost means that the drug really IS worth 50.00 and not 0.25.
But I have insurance. They'll pay for it. But where do they get the money to pay for it? ME! But what if I am low income, or otherwise don't have to pay thanks to some universal health care exemption / loop hole. Well the drug company isn't simply going to eat 50.00 they're going to add the cost of my medicine to everyone who does have to pay.
Who is that exactly? Well the wealthy only make up a small percentage of the people who need medicine. The upper 1% of the economy only makes up 1% of the population believe it or not. The majority of this extra cost will go to the middle class.
But wont drug costs go down since we no longer have to pay for the uninsured? No. We haven't magically made it so that people who couldn't put money into the system before can now. You think it was the wealthy who couldn't afford insurance? Noooo. It was the poor people who STILL are poor.
Only it's worse now. We aren't simply paying for the medical bills of the people who can't afford it. We're buying insurance for the poor. Think about that. We're paying someone else to pay for the medical bills of the people who can't afford it. It's worse than that. We're also paying taxes to make sure that the bills of people who can't afford it are paid. Think about that.
Bill needs 50.00 to buy meds. Ed pays Tom 60.00 to pay Bill 50.00. Ed THEN pays Joe 5.00 to keep an eye out to make sure that everyone pays who they are supposed to pay.
But back to my cat.
Bailey doesn't have prescription drug coverage. He doesn't have to go through drug companies and massive regulations. There's still some labor costs involved, but we can get his meds from another country if we want. All in all I feel much better about his vet bill after I've compared the cost to what a human would need.
Ack! 500 all at once for one cat tooth! I wish I had insurance! I would have paid twenty a month just so that when things like this come up they don't hit all at once. (We charged it. We'll have to spend small amounts per month paying this off for a while, so we will not be paying all at once anyway, but darn it! There's a principal to this sort of thing.)
Ack 30 some dollars on an antibiotic? Well, actually that's not all that bad. Come to think of it, last time I was in the hospital for something that I had to go under for it cost more than 500. I wonder why cat health is so much cheaper. It's pretty much the same things being done, only I'll do what the doc tells me and I don't have a tiny body.
Well, let us say I need some medicine. Let us pretend that it takes a quarter to actually make the medicine, but if you add R&D, labor, and shipping you have to add several dollars. This makes the drug inherently worth like five bucks by the time it gets to me.
Now to get the medicine to me the drug company needs insurance, the prescribing doctor needs insurance, and I need insurance. Each time you add a middle man you need to pay a little extra because these people's time is considered valuable. This adds to the cost of the drug.
OK, so now add a government agency to the mix to make sure I have insurance. This is one more person, and it adds to the inherent value of the drug.
So now let us say that the drug is worth 50 bucks. It only cost about a quarter in materials, but a lot of people have spent time to make sure it is the right drug for me. This labor cost means that the drug really IS worth 50.00 and not 0.25.
But I have insurance. They'll pay for it. But where do they get the money to pay for it? ME! But what if I am low income, or otherwise don't have to pay thanks to some universal health care exemption / loop hole. Well the drug company isn't simply going to eat 50.00 they're going to add the cost of my medicine to everyone who does have to pay.
Who is that exactly? Well the wealthy only make up a small percentage of the people who need medicine. The upper 1% of the economy only makes up 1% of the population believe it or not. The majority of this extra cost will go to the middle class.
But wont drug costs go down since we no longer have to pay for the uninsured? No. We haven't magically made it so that people who couldn't put money into the system before can now. You think it was the wealthy who couldn't afford insurance? Noooo. It was the poor people who STILL are poor.
Only it's worse now. We aren't simply paying for the medical bills of the people who can't afford it. We're buying insurance for the poor. Think about that. We're paying someone else to pay for the medical bills of the people who can't afford it. It's worse than that. We're also paying taxes to make sure that the bills of people who can't afford it are paid. Think about that.
Bill needs 50.00 to buy meds. Ed pays Tom 60.00 to pay Bill 50.00. Ed THEN pays Joe 5.00 to keep an eye out to make sure that everyone pays who they are supposed to pay.
But back to my cat.
Bailey doesn't have prescription drug coverage. He doesn't have to go through drug companies and massive regulations. There's still some labor costs involved, but we can get his meds from another country if we want. All in all I feel much better about his vet bill after I've compared the cost to what a human would need.
Thursday, August 16, 2012
Life and Education
So I thought I would do a general post on what I'm up to. If you know me from the real world you know that I recently graduated with a masters in Education. I can teach in Utah, and in a few (Days or weeks, I'm not sure) I will be able to teach in Iowa and Illinois. If you are wondering what I've been up to then that is it.
I have not done much with the Comic in quite some time, but now I'm in a bit of a holding pattern as I wait for papers to be processed. That means that I can get back to working on the comic.
I'm also writing an urban fantasy. Yes it has Sumerian gods, but no it isn't Sumerian centric. Honestly it is DC area centric. I've been fascinated by the urban myths of the place since my childhood when I used to live there. My story focuses upon an underworld demon who is investigating crimes against death committed by a Necromancer lurking in and around the city. The necromancer has his own plans though, and both must work against the clock to get what they want. At every turn our hero delves into the twists and turns of the myths and history of our nation's capital. Suffice it to say it has been fun to write.
I have not done much with the Comic in quite some time, but now I'm in a bit of a holding pattern as I wait for papers to be processed. That means that I can get back to working on the comic.
I'm also writing an urban fantasy. Yes it has Sumerian gods, but no it isn't Sumerian centric. Honestly it is DC area centric. I've been fascinated by the urban myths of the place since my childhood when I used to live there. My story focuses upon an underworld demon who is investigating crimes against death committed by a Necromancer lurking in and around the city. The necromancer has his own plans though, and both must work against the clock to get what they want. At every turn our hero delves into the twists and turns of the myths and history of our nation's capital. Suffice it to say it has been fun to write.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)