Bullet Points:
** I’m sure you’ve read this one, but it’s worth posting here. “Meta will change its hiring practices from using a “diverse slate approach” sourcing candidates with “different backgrounds” to instead seeking as-yet unknown “other ways to build an industry-leading workforce and leverage teams made up of world-class people from all types of backgrounds.” So are they saying that the content of character is more important than skin color or where you put your parts? What a novel notion.
** Value and Medical Insurance.
** Captioned graphic – Almost 100% of university professors are elite leftists, communists, and freaks. I’m not sure the STEM staff are as bad as the rest, but they’re still in the ballpark. Their job is to indoctrinate students who parrot back their sewage and hate to receive high marks. What use are they? What is the alternative? Institutions like Satan’s Vatican (Harvard) have as much money as the budget of many nations banked with their own hedge funds.
** Old NFO reports: The liberal parliament in the United Kingdom is on the brink of a collapse after a scandal involving mass rape perpetrated by migrant gangs rocked national politics across the pond.
** BRM discusses US options to build warships overseas – Consider this: Hyundai Heavy Industries’ shipbuilding division in South Korea is the biggest shipbuilder in the world. It produces most classes of warships, including submarines and huge tonnages of commercial vessels. It has around 14,000 employees. This is fewer people than work in the shipbuilding divisions of BAE Systems plc, which are only capable of producing sharply limited numbers of warships and auxiliaries, very slowly and expensively.
** The Europeans are demonstrating how their war on the weather is being won by paying heavy taxes. They are bracing for the coldest winter in a decade. Well done, EuroZone! Keep paying those high taxes and eliminating fossil fuels to keep you warm.
** Fighting the weather, with Old NFO.
** Helpful hints for men who wish to make themselves indispensable around the house.
** What happens when your weight matches your blood sugar? Life in the fat lane.
** Apple CEO accurately explains why some high-tech companies manufacture in China. It’s not because of low wages. The US must focus on STEM education. If there is to be a US Department of Education, let it be the Department of Technical Education, focusing funding in that area alone.
** Should you dance like nobody’s watching?
** Claudio is gossiping again…
Should the US Invade Canada?
LSP, who has a horse in that race, suggested that there might be an opportunity here on his blog. The Canadian military is too weak to do much to stop us.
The two-week war shouldn’t cost the US that much, would double our land mass, and the world calls “imperialists” anyway, so there wouldn’t be a change in the rhetoric.
Much of the timber and oil that the US currently uses comes from Canada. And they are friendly in Canada and are accustomed to a government boot on their necks. They willingly pay extortionary taxes to Ottawa, which doesn’t do much in exchange except distribute the loot among woke cronies. We can cut their taxes and deliver the Bill of Rights, and everyone knows that inside every Canadian, an American is screaming to get out. Our first recruits will be the Canadian truck drivers and farmers who have been so cruelly oppressed.
We can do a Wag-the-Dog Scenario as a pretext for invasion. Hollywood has already shown us how to do this. 51st State? HogsbreathSS, job opportunity! Some US Soldiers with dual citizenship can form a Fifth Column and say, “eh” with the best of them.
The Social Security System
A government Ponzi scheme that you are forced to participate in. If it was a private system, the operators of the system would be charged with embezzlement.
Healthcare Insurance
A cardiologist expresses frustration at the way the system works. What do you think, Mike_C?
The Catholic Church and Illegal Immigration
The Catholic Church has very clear teachings on immigration and border control, but Bishops Cupich, McElroy, and their episcopal brethren are seemingly content to ignore and even denigrate these teachings. Why? Because the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) profits from the ongoing immigration crisis. Over the past decade, the USCCB and groups like Catholic Charities have collected over $2 billion from the U.S. government for migrant and refugee “services.” Lawsuits have alleged that these “services” include shuttling illegal immigrants released by Border Patrol further into the U.S. and providing them with pre-paid debit cards, phones, and food and housing vouchers.
Identify the Aircraft
1
No. 18 Squadron RNZAF pilot Flying Officer GM Robertson
2
3
Yes, it’s been on VM before, more than once, but it’s a fan favorite.
Identify the Armor
4
What’s in the canteen?
Yes, you can also ID the tank
Parting Shot
End
1 is a Kittyhawk
Yes, it is.
(1) Kittyhawk, as above.
(2) Avro Lincoln
(3) Vickers Wellesley
(4) Judging by the expression on the radio operator’s face, urine.
*
– Kle.
Oh, and it’s a Panzer III.
-Kle.
Well done. I’m guessing that he’s drinking schnapps, not piss, but almost the same thing.
If was on the Ostfront it would be Russian vodka mixed with riesling wine according to my Opa
It looks like they’re in Afrika
Oh i knew that. I was just saying if it were on the eastern front then thats what it might be some what in jest.
Facial expression – may also be the unit’s last booze allotment for the month?
2025… sure, but it’s only LA. Nobody cares what happens to LA, except to celebrate, really.
*
Medical insurance… any insurance really… I still say the only solution is to make the industry
illegal. It’s a filthy scam, and nothing more. I know I’m the only one who wants that though.
*
– Kle.
I wonder what the cost of medical services would be without insurance.
You’d need to look back to the early 70’s it looks like….
“A limited HMO bill was enacted in 1973. In 1974, Nixon proposed more comprehensive health insurance reform—a private health insurance employer mandate …”
Medical insurance, per se, isn’t the issue. The driving factor of medical costs, since inception, has been the two-headed hydra of Medicare/Medicaid. And it’s been known since the mid 70’s. ’60 Minutes’ and ’20/20′ have done coverage on the requirements of regulation and paperwork, placing the costs of meds and procedures at NYFC levels rather than forcing NYFC to curb their prices and such.
–
All tied to Big Government.
–
Insurance Companies, yeah, some are really out of control but they wouldn’t be nearly as bad without Big Government.
–
And allowing people to pay base cost rather than through insurance would help. A lot. I’ve bought meds ‘off-insurance’ that were cheaper than the copay through the med insurance system.
–
With a little work, you can find doctors who are ‘off-insurance’ and you pay up front for the expenses. It usually comes out to less than what you pay for medical insurance because like any other insurance you are paying for the ones who use it to the fullest extent even if you never use the system.
X2…MrsPaulM was having “plate” surgery from a slip and fall broken arm. Checking out…a bit of deer in the headlights as I had no idea what to do within “the medical healthcare nebula”, walk up to the desk and ask for the bill, young gal says” “You’re all set.”
Me being me I ask: “Uh, no payment?”
Her: “Not at this time.”
Of course I have to ask, “So what are we talking about here for our cost, ballpark?”
Now it was her turn to have the deer in the headlights look like I had two heads.”What do you mean?”
Me: “Well, when you go thru the McDonald’s drive-thru they tell you how much you owe before getting your food.”
Her: Uh, we won’t know until it’s submitted to insurance.”
Me: Really? No idea?
Her: (fiddles on the computer)…”Looks like the total is $21K and you are on a Blue Cross-Blue Shield 80/20.”
Me: “Thank you.”
The total was about that but the 100 sheets of various ‘delayed’ billing received ‘by mail’ over the next 6-9 months (??) looked like hieroglyphics designed to obfuscate who pays what, how much each procedure was. A total idiotic mess.
– Heard it now costs in excess of $40K to have a baby. Stupid. People are going at home with mid wives for $5K or so.
– With us both edging into retirement age the weekly “3rd Party Medicare Strategy” mailings. Why does it take a 3rd party skimming off government run “insurance” for Medicare Part A or B (have to select), or Medicare ‘Gap”…whatever the hay that is? Last week we received a massive Fed-Ex mailing…the government issued Medicare “manual”…that we didnt request. How costly is that tome? Medicare – just ONE component of the so-called healthcare system is so stupidly complicated, which appears on purpose so “system” grifters can skim off the top. Infuriating.
wandering over to a field I know a bit better, I’ve got a dumb question:
how do you protect the dentist from a suit by a patient to whom he did not give another Rx for pain meds (when the patient calls service at 0dark00 because the patient “lost” the first script)?
should this be factored into the your cost for your root canal procedure?
should the insurance company factor in only time and materials when considering how much to pay the dentist for the procedure?
there are other factors: chairside assistant, sterilization person, appointment person (can’t employ the word “secretary” these days), office rent, electricity, mandatory continuing education (primarily used by dental supply/manufacturing companies to assure that all dentists are using the latest/greatest/most expensive made in China equipment), ad inf
should skill be factored into payment? should years of practice?
should “insurance” cover dental procedures? medical procedures?
should I continue?
The entire “Insurance” system has been co-opted by greed, indoctrinating the patient into believing they have no skin in the game when they go to the doctor (or dentist), hence we live in a “blame” society (some blame is warranted but certainly not all). “We” have had our mindset changed to be “dependent” despite the trust level having nearly entirely eroded to nothing by those actually using their heads and paying attention. Time to rework “the medical delivery system”.
Time for a rework? Definitely. What does the new system look like and how do you implement it in fifty states, each with their own insurance rules, kickbacks to local government insurance departments (rice bowls) that allow some insurers in and exclude others? The devil is in the details and none of us want to end up with ObamaCare or a medicare system that accounts for 24% of the US budget ($1.6 trillion).
Start with eliminating State Insurance Commissions/Meddling, allow people to shop across state lines and let the insurance companies do their business. Problem: K-Street (etc). Too much like mafia-grade forcing people into something they may not want or need…a la cart choice would be better.
– But engineer types can’t help but be solution oriented (and linear thinkers to some degree), so there I go offering solutions to problems these “industries with their various “products” don’t want (or cancer would be cured by now and O-NoCare would have never happened). So the your opening salvo answer is “No”, wokeness cannot be cured, neither can graft when you are trying to take away TPTB cash cow sandbox. Matt 6:24…which one are those industries serving?
– But that’s just me.
to return to (what I believe are) the main points:
should there be “medical insurance”? should it be controlled by “gubbmint”? should it be controlled by corporations?
1. no. we are a free society (debatable). individuals should put earned $ into investments of their choosing for whatever future use
1.a. courses in investment and how to handle money should be given to every student beginning 5th grade
1.b. no government/corporate plans would be available, no g/c “banks” allowed to “hold” these funds
2. I do not trust the gubbmint to get its grubby little paws on my money
in re getting permission to do a prodedure:
I personally know of a person (who barely graduated dental school) who obtained a position in a company providing “dental insurance” in which said person “granted” permissions for fine quality dentists to perform a procedure (YGBKM).
the wiser dentists would advise their patients that the patient was responsible for the quoted amount for the procedure (to be paid in full prior to said procedure); the dentist would (upon receiving payment and performing the procedure) then fill out and sign the necessary paperwork mailing/handing it to the patient first making copies for their own records should any future question(s) arise.
(Usually the patient was typically advised by the insurance company that this particular dentist was charging way far too much for said procedure and that the insurance company was providing the patient with payment for the average charged for this procedure – $3 for a $300 procedure – average maybe in Bangladesh)
insurance companies were also known to set up clinics and hire dentists who had just graduated (or just retired) at wages a barista wouldn’t accept and use that number as their standard
Think of it this way:
would you prefer to pay a reasonable (high though not terribly excessive) fee for your dentist to take their time, wait for the anesthetic to take fully, work carefully (dentists typically work in tenths of millimeters), treat you as though you are an anxious human being having a temporary communications problem
or treat you as though the dentist had five other patients in chairs situated around the office all clamoring for his attention.
IDA:
1. Curtiss P-40 Kittyhawk
2. Avro Type 694 Lincoln
3. Vickers Wellesley
4. Panzer III
A SASR with about 1000 .50 BMG Raufoss MK 211 Mod 0 HEIAP 665 GR rounds would make for some nice company in my FFP. Eh! I’ll take some bacon with that job eh!
X2
Identify the Aircraft:
1. Curtiss P-40 Warhawk
2. Avro Lincoln GR.Mk 31
3. Vickers Wellesley
Identify the Armor:
4. Assuming water; Panzer III variant with 5 cm KwK 38 L/42 gun.
Didn’t one South American country set up a retirement system where certain basics were required, but the companies could add bells and whistles. The companies would then compete for business and the citizens could check over what was offered and go with the one they liked best. I think that the portfolios could be moved during competition time, but my memory is too fuzzy on that point. No idea if it’s still ongoing – politicians like to meddle too much.
Making yourself indispensable around the house – make sure all the lids are screwed down tightly?
Dancing – with my luck someone would be watching, and they would call 911 to report a medical emergency…
A “firehose effect” postings today…a lot going on on the world of We The People…so maybe I’ll head to The Shop sooner rather than later (tax prep can wait – especially since I’m guessing my SSA will be getting taxed on top of it being a tax on top of the 53 other taxes we pay into the grift and every nickel from “my account” was stolen by the DC Thieves in Charge, aka “Criminals Without Oversight”).
***
M&I System: Agree with Dr. Potter, it is the backdoor to socialized medicine (already there on many fronts, especially the O-Care system theft). However, first thought: “Does anyone want a quicker nose job?” (kidding, but her points are well-founded)
***
LA…God is trying to get the attention of the people with this…doubtful enough will “see” it while TPTB out there pass the buck around their pandering cul-de-sac trying to look good despite having manure all over their faces. And…why is it my responsibility to pay for their ineptitude? (This was entirely preventable and looks purposeful when taken as a whole.)
***
#4- Have no idea on the canteen (still probably tasted losuy like our BSA galvy ones), but I do like the fact he rolled up his shorts.
LA. Civil wars have started over less.
——
https://www.wbap.com/wildfire-crisis-in-los-angeles-sparks-outrage-over-parking-enforcement/
As I posted on LSP’s blog, I find no humor in the idea of invading Canada. We should take a lesson from Putin invading Ukraine. Not all Canadians are Toronto sodomites.
Satire, WSF
I get the satire. Is Trump joking?
Yes, in the sense of trolling.
*
Also, how about that “soft power” the (D) are always pretending they have and know how to use?
Trump isn’t even in office, and he brought down the Canadian government by making fun of them…
*
– Kle.
Trump wants some sort of financial alliance with Canada. The 51st State is all hyperbole.
Make an over the top ploy so when you settle for what you really want both players think they got a great deal.
Trump was using it as a maneuvering point to force Canada to cut it’s tariffs on US goods. It’s all about the trade wars, baby.
–
The thing is, in order to make it a valid maneuvering point, there has to be some truth in the statement.
–
Would the US benefit from absorbing most of Canada into it? Yes. Very much so. Would the Canadian provinces benefit from being absorbed into the US envelope of states/territories/protectorates? Yes. Very much so.
–
Would a lot of people not in the big cities enjoy sticking it to Toronto and Quebec? Yes. Very much so.
–
Thus it’s a valid threat. A valid move. Cut your tariffs and cut your bullcrap or we’ll cut your knees out from under you by taking your resources, your farms, your good people that you (Canada’s elite) have been dunking on.
–
Seriously, would most of current Canada do better under the US? Yes. Very much so. Together we’d be an economic powerhouse that wouldn’t need most of the rest of the world.
–
And it’s the same thing dealing with The Panama Canal. We are being shafted by the Chinese rulers who control America’s Ditch. We need a much more favorable agreement and we need the ChiComs gone. So by threatening Panama with America’s Door Kickers, we may be able to get the much more favorable agreement. Or… well… we took it once. We can take it again.
–
Same same with Greenland. Oh, Denmark, after rebuilding you after WWII and paying you princely sums for use of Greenland during and after WWII and keeping you safe from Soviet influence, you then go and kick us in the balls over tariffs and treaties and shipping and stupidity and you want to imprison our soldiers and… So, well, we’ll take Greenland and you can keep your tariffs and treaties and keep stabbing us in the back every chance you want and can.
–
And look what’s happened. Trump opened his mouth and now Greenlanders are calling for either complete independence from anyone or independence from Denmark and, hey, US control sounds good. Apparently the Greenlanders are rather peeved that Denmark won’t let any of Greenland’s material riches be utilized. Greenland, if even partially mined, would be one of the richest places in the world, making the Arab Oil States look like McMansion neighborhoods in comparison.
–
This is how diplomacy works. Open a dialogue, toss a threat with teeth on the table to counter the open threats from one’s opposite across the table, counter any resistance, contact through the media or back channels the actual people who live in the affected area under contention, and then work it out. Real diplomacy. Not the crap the US State Department has been doing since FDR’s stooges took over. Real diplomacy is saying “Let’s fix this thing together” while muttering “Or I’ll kick your teeth in and take it” quietly. Real diplomacy is saying “Oh, your custom of burning the wife is quaint and needs to stop or our custom of shooting and looting people whose customs we despise will take place.”
–
Ah, Canada. Clean up your act or we’ll take the best part from you. Ah, Panama, clean up your act or we’ll take the ditch back from you. Ah, Denmark, you don’t matter so we’ll take Greenland from you if you.
–
If there’s one thing the US diplomats and State Department could learn from The Donald is ‘The Art of the Deal.’ For far too long our diplomats and bureaucrats have approached the world, had in hand, apologizing from the beginning and working to screw the US from the beginning. We need to bargain from a position of strength and, well, like dating, from a seemingly uncaring position. Don’t want to deal with us, we won’t call you and we’ll talk to someone else, goodbye, opportunity knocked and you didn’t answer.
I had previously [jokingly] quipped that “Danes like America” (re: happy we would buy Greenland)…which is not true. They don’t (as Mike_C pointed out). What they do like is (as I define it) “anything for a party”, so co-opt our holidays (like Rabild, which is our July 4th) because they prefer “happy” to “work” (American’s are workhorses…well, some us anymore). Greenlander’s (who do like America) are exactly as you describe, tired of Danmark’s stranglehold on their resources and livelihoods so would embrace APDJT again trolling a purchase which immediately had Fred X pandering because he’s not Margrethe II.
USCCB apparently decided to serve Caesar not their parishes
Spelled out in Shepherds for Sale.
Hyundai is a boat builder?…who knew. (well, you guys did. Me…thought they had good autos. But ships…never would have guessed, let alone industry’s largest.)
***
Turns out the Firetruck Inspections story is in fact 100% true, altho not for emissions as some have reported (which they deny, deny, deny…failing the delays are for “other reasons not stated”). Inspections are being completed by Davis Mobile Equipment in Sacramento. Wonder who owns that shop? Right on video they state they are not delaying the out of state help, then go on to say a brake inspection is 45 minutes let alone trucks waiting in line. Typical government…the house is burning down and ONLY government paper pushers and ninny’s would delay help over something like an inspection procedure.
* “Hey goofballs in charge, when someone’s house is burning down they don’t care if the firetruck brakes meet spec or the headlights work!”
What a bunch of dipsticks.
***
Indispensable around the place? I went away for a bit, MrsPaulM was away visiting family, since no one would be home I took the tractor key (but for some reason tossed it in the pickup before heading out). A storm hit, bit of a gully-washer, roads needed regrading…MrsPaulM, who had returned before me, and being wicked smart, somehow determined that all 2016 upward sub-compact Case/IH Tractors use the same key so ordered a couple via Amazon, free 2 day shipping. Yeah, I’m no good at “loving” sabotage to look like the Hub-Hero, especially with the Missus.
***
BTW, #4…I like the boots on that soldier.
All the big RoK companies build everything, on the zaibatsu model. I
know that’s the Japanese term and the two of them don’t get along,
but IDK what the South Korean term is. But yeah, Hyundai builds
tons of stuff… ships, rifles, AFVs, consumer goods, etc.
*
– Kle.
Well, yeah, Japan has an ‘interesting’ history with Korea.
–
But one thing that Japan did well in its control of Korea was education and opportunity. They educated and trained the Koreans as if they were Japanese, and hired and promoted Koreans. Koreans learned about the zaibatsu model from the Japanese who owned them before and during The War.
–
Did Japan treat Korea badly? Yes. But the Koreans also learned a lot from the Japanese. And Hyundai and the other Korean zaibatsu are the results.
Most of the STEM teachers I’ve met are pretty solid people. When “STEM” got corrupted into “STEAM” (those artsy-farsty types whined about “inclusion”) the teachers were pretty upset.
.
Your weight should NEVER match your glucose level! Mine never even got close when I was at my 250lb Fat Boy weight. It came down quite a bit now that I’m down to 175, and my a1C dropped like a rock.
.
SS….don’t get me started.
.
Makes me wonder if the unvaxxed will be in demand for untainted blood……Shades of “The Immortal” with Christopher George.
I have pretty top of the line medical insurance through the company I work for.
Last week I paid $1,000 round trip for my wife and I to spend another $1,000 at a surgeon’s office to see if she is a candidate for surgery.
She is.
So in 2 weeks I spend $2,000 round trip with car and hotel and give the surgeon $8,000 and the hospital $2,000 all out of pocket.
Insurance won’t cover any of this and it is the only way she’ll get relief.
The medical system and insurance want her to get semi-annual cortisone shots to her spine. It keeps the cash flowing.
should medical care be gratis? should dental care be gratis? should medications be gratis?
should there be any government involvement in any of the preceding? corporate? (family?)
if so, how much? based upon income, religion, race, country of origin?
I don’t think so. But I’m paying for the coverage and not getting it.
Which is typical. This morning got a return “message received” email by State Farm from the supposed “can’t process your [contact form] error”. It did go through. The email looked like an 80’s DOS screen shot with all manner of characters inserted into my 3 line contact statement. With everything we have in communication capability this is unnerving they can’t even get this right. But when I place an order with RevRace (Swedish outdoor clothing…great stuff BTW,but being American best to size up one level) it comes in proper English and within an hour or two…but SF, an [assumed] American company looks like some 80 yo programmer is running IT.
At least you and yours and the rest of us here in the US of A have that opportunity to pay out the nose for unapproved procedures and medications.
–
Unlike lower and middle class British trapped in their National Health Service. Said NHS will cancel passports of people they suspect leaving the country to get unapproved medical treatment. To the point of taking children from their parents, said children to die under NHS supervision when said children could be saved by going to such hot-spots of medical innovation like Spain. Friggin Spain is ahead of Britain.
–
Now if you’re upper class and one of the elites, you could get your own treatment in Great Britain from concierge doctors or go to the US or Germany for your own personal treatments and medications. Not an elite, no treatment.
>What do you think, Mike_C?
I have friends on both sides of that. As the MD trying to actually take care of patients, and as the MD working for the insurance company. The one working for insurance is a bit of a “bleeding heart” and is frequently fighting her own company because she seems to believe in covering things that ought to be covered. Somehow she remains employed. But for me personally, this sort of crap is one reason I’m not doing any clinical work.
God Bless your friend, Mike.
X2
Thank you, DrJim. She’s a good egg.
She’s looking for a new job. Her current boss, and the boss’s boss, were abruptly fired within the last month. I’m not sure of the details, but likely they were her top cover for actually helping patients. (Don’t get me wrong, I have no problems with insurance companies making money. I have problems with companies who knowingly with aforethought break their own rules by denying stuff their policies cover, and instead making nominally covered patients file appeals.) Anyway, she sees the writing on the wall.
—
Just got off the phone with an old friend. A rare one-man private practionner subspecialist (and NOT a cardiologist even!). Guy’s trying to hire another MD. Says the recent fellowship grads are telling him they want a 9-5 job, without call, and they want $400k per annum for that. What a bunch of entitled little shits. Which is an anecdotal way of saying that it’s not only the insurance companies that are the problem in our broken medical system.
Is it true that the insurance industry led to the industrialization of medicine, killing private practice and making most doctors employees?
Then these employees want 9-5, high income (is a union on the horizon?) and will follow orders and not fight for the patient for fear of loss of employment?
Our family doctor when I was a kid made emergency house calls, black bag and all. His office was the home’s converted expanded garage. Delivered all four of us kids. Top rate practical doctoring…people paid directly.
I don’t know about that one way or the other — above my pay grade — but it’s certainly plausible.
What I did (and continue to) see was an astonishing amount of resources devoted to dealing with essentially paperwork and regulations. People like to talk as if we (the US) has a “free market” health system, unlike those benighted Canucks and Brits, etc etc. But we don’t. Medicare/Medicaid, not to mention the VA, are yuuuge proportions of the overall medical market. And what the first two do greatly influences even so-called private care.
—
Most of the MDs I know (the ones still actually taking care of patients, as opposed to those who fled to industry) are employees [1]. The guy I was talking to last night is a very rare solo practionner subspecialist. And it’s killing him because he is NEVER off. He’s not making housecalls or anything (not that kind of specialty), but as a subspecialist if you fail to respond to a consult, well that’s not a big deal (for you at least, though it might screw a patient). The problem is that if you are nonresponsive, then the referring doc goes and finds some other specialist, so you’ve lost not the fee for that one case, you’ve lost a referral stream. You can get away with this if you are the only obscurologist for 100 miles in all directions, but if you live in a major metro area, then you can be easily replaced. I imagine this is no different than being a plumber or electrician, for example.
[1] Physicians belonging to supposedly “independent physician-owned groups” are still functionally employees for the most part.
—
Medicine IS becoming more 9-5 (or rather shift work) anyway. The residency (training) programs are reflecting that, and it started around the time I was in training. (Yes, I went through “the last hard class” as the old chestnut goes. But even though the “law” had changed, the culture had not, so we were pulling 30h shifts within 100+ hour weeks, and so forth. By the time I finished fellowship interns would just drop whatever they were doing and walk out of the hospital at X time “because the rules say I can do this.” The “old” system was definitely abusive, and probably did more harm than (we) old timers like to admit, but the pendulum has swung too far. Though what’s happened to Medical culture is likely a reflection of the general decline in personal responsibility and work ethic in society at large.
There was a Tucker interview with a brother and sister. The sister was a surgeon who quit when she realized the game was to generate income not heal the patient.
Sell the cure not promote the health.
I have no complaints about my Lockheed insurance from before I retired. I had a rare stage four cancer with a 10 % chance of living six months. I signed up for research, but I had to fail out of extreme chemotherapy to get in. I thrived on chemo and did not get into CAR-T research. My bill was $660k for six one week hospital stays. Three of them ICU plus a month of radiation. LM paid $334k in allowable charges. The hospital wrote off the rest. my out of pocket was $40k including 50 trips to Houston and deductibles. Some people had insurance that paid for their hotels. Several were from over seas with US health insurance. The Houston homeless suck. The harassed my wife at stop lights, spitting on the old truck and yelling. Stay away from Houston. But as several people told me “Go to MD Andersen if you want to live”
LL, it will be a quick maneuver war, not least because of the absence of an army to oppose us. Speaking of which, what happened to the UKR Trans Brigade? They seem strangely silent.