Blackjack leaves a hard life on the streets

Stray Cats

Estimates  range from 60 to 80 million stray cats on U.S.streets. They aren't all feral, many have been abandoned by their owner/parents, some 3.3 million each year just in this country. On the human side, there are 653,104 people experiencing homelessness on a single night, and in some cases they curl up with their pets under whatever protection they can find. It is a tragedy and in America, of all the countries in the world, it should not be happening. This piece is about Blackjack who had been on the streets for seven years, 45 in human years.

Blackjack was a black cat who had experienced lots of hard knocks, spending most of his life roaming the streets, until a young woman took him into her home. He thought he had hit the pot of gold, but it turned out to be a hoarding situation. With no help, Blackjack's health worsened and he began to regress. Knowing about the hoarding, volunteers came in and rescued the big black guy, and just in time. Here's the scenario...

"When they found Blackjack, he couldn't open his eyes. He was brought to us in Montreal in poor condition, covered in filth with his nose and eyes blocked due to an infection, Chatons Orphelins Montreal shared. He was treated for an upper respiratory infection and spent most of his time resting and healing."

Still, he wolfed down the food he was given. Somewhat withdrawn, when he did begin to recuperate, his foster family noticed a limp. Back to the vet with this scenario...

"Though he'd recovered from his cold, his eyes remained painful and closed due to entropion, which caused his eyelids to roll inward. Additionally, he had multiple infected teeth that needed to be extracted."

With the help of the Montreal community, Blackjack got all the help he needed, but after his years of struggling, he still couldn't trust people. However, the bunch from Chatons Orphelins Montreal wouldn't give up and even with his damaged leg, he began to play with the other cats. Then they discovered Blackjack was deaf, but apparently this didn't affect his lifestyle in the least. The rescue staff says he has come out of his shell and "has blossomed into a stunning house panther with a fluffy coat."

This is just one story of what must be millions when it comes to the stray domestic animals in this country. PLEASE support your local animal rescue, and PLEASE give all you can in donations to your favorite animal causes. You'll be glad you did.

The Luigi Mangione shooting will set gun control back 20 years

Guns on the street

Gun control activists have said for years that guns are too accessible; they are easily available on the street. There are over 500 million guns in circulation today, which is roughly 1.5 firearms per person. This makes the US the country with the highest rate of civilian gun ownership in the world. This is why we have already had 16,002 gun deaths and 30,441 injuries according to Gun Violence Archive. There have been 487 mass shootings in the U.S. in 2004. And now new technology has given us the ghost gun.

Everytown reports the ATF estimates that more than 70,700 suspected privately made firearms (i.e., ghost guns) were recovered by law enforcement between 2016 and 2022. They are easy to make with the parts readily available from over 100 companies, but the feds have enacted regulations requiring identification on these weapons and their parts. My point here is that Luigi Mangione used a ghost gun to kill UnitedHealthcare CEO, Brian Thompson, through new technical knowledge, something occurring regularly today.

Mangione also used a silencer, which provided him a cover so that he could easily escape.

Luigi Mangione

The combination of all these factors is clear evidence that current gun laws are inadequate. It is my opinion that we should start over at the federal level and impose the kind of measures that fit today's needs. It is time that hard core gun rights states understand that it is, in fact, the gun that kills...because there are so many of them available. I find it impossible to understand how these people cannot read facts and understand the situation.

Just yesterday there was another school shooting where a student and teacher were killed, six other students wounded. It was the Abundant Life Christian School in Madison, WI, and the shooter, a teenage student, is also dead. CNN reports on school shootings...

"There have been at least 83 school shootings in the United States so far this year, as of December 16. Twenty-seven were on college campuses, and 56 were on K-12 school grounds. The incidents left 38 people dead and at least 115 other victims injured..."

The Brady report says Americans are 25 times more likely to be shot and killed than others in high income countries. Every day 327 people are shot in the U.S.; 117 will die. Every day 23 minors are shot in the U.S. There is much more in this Brady report that I suggest you look at and understand gun violence won't go away until something permanent and emphatic is done about it. From Luigi Mangione to Madison, WI, there is a message to the American public. In reality it is both guns and people who kill. Let's stop it today!

UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty's arrogance is unconscionable

Andrew Witty

Brian Thompson, former CEO of UnitedHealthcare, was shot and killed just over a week ago, supposedly due to the company's miserable response to the needs of their policyholders. And then a pretentious UnitedHealth Group CEO Andrew Witty in a New York Times op-ed last Friday...

"attempted to deflect his insurance network’s responsibility in the growing inequity in America’s health care system, vaguely pointing to a 'patchwork' of failures decades in the making while swearing that his corporate network—which reported $22 billion in profits in 2023 alone, nearly three times the figure reported by CVS, the second-most-profitable health insurance company that year—was consistently fighting to 'deliver high-quality care and lower costs.'"

In reference to Witty's point, "was consistently fighting to 'deliver high-quality care and lower costs," I pointed out in yesterday's blog that UnitedHealthcare has a 32% denial rate compared to an industry average of 16%. And, as an example, UnitedHealthcare's rates in Massachusetts are $251 monthly compared to Blue Cross $212. These facts are hardly in the best interest of Witty's company's policyholders. There were 2500 comments in hours temporarily shutting down the comments section. Here's the scenario...

"Users shared their own horrible experiences [in the comments] with the health insurance industry, deriding Witty’s vapid analysis as a “self-serving essay” that did nothing to address UnitedHealthcare’s role in a system that prioritizes shareholder profits over successful medical outcomes for its clients."

ProPublica, one of the leaders in investigative journalism reports that, " UnitedHealth Is Strategically Limiting Access to Critical Treatment for Kids With Autism." There's more...

"Leaked internal documents show that the insurance giant is culling providers of applied behavior analysis from its network and scrutinizing the medical necessity of therapy. Advocates say the company’s strategy may be illegal."

AOC claims denied healthcare
is an act of violence

This "is the story about Sharelle Menard and her son, Benji, from Louisiana, who was diagnosed with severe autism at age three. Benji, who is now 10, requires 33 hours of weekly therapy to prevent the "screaming, and screaming, and screaming," prevalent before the medication, according to his mother. UnitedHealthcare, has begun denying him the hours he requires to maintain his progress. ProPublica says,,,

Inside the insurance conglomerate, the nation’s largest and most profitable, the slashing of care to children like Benji does have a reason, though it has little to do with their needs. It is part of a secret internal cost-cutting campaign that targets a growing financial burden for the company: the treatment of thousands of children with autism across the country."

The company has acknowledged "that the therapy, called applied behavior analysis, is the 'evidence-based gold standard treatment for those with medically necessary needs.'" The problem, however, is cost and now UnitedHealthcare is “'pursuing market-specific action plans' to limit children’s access to the treatment. "ProPublica reports...

Although the company expects to spend about $290 million for ABA therapy within its Medicaid plans this year, even after earnings of $22 billion in net profits last year, they are investing heavily in a plan to save millions by limiting access to such care.

NPR thinks Americans have had it with their country's healthcare. In a recent article, they say, "The fury over the state of U.S. health care isn't going away." Commenting how the U.S, has the most expensive healthcare in the world, the piece goes on to say, UnitedHealthcare has been widely criticized for making health care more expensive and more difficult to access. All of which is the reason for the negative response against Brian Thompson and his company.

Luigi Mangione has been arrested for Thompson's murder, but so far his supporters have raised over $65,000 for his defense. Me thinks we have a problem here and it needs fixing...NOW!

Leaked internal documents show that the insurance giant is culling providers of applied behavior analysis from its network and scrutinizing the medical necessity of therapy. Advocates say the company’s strategy may be illegal.

Leaked internal documents show that the insurance giant is culling providers of applied behavior analysis from its network and scrutinizing the medical necessity of therapy. Advocates say the company’s strategy may be illegal.

UnitedHealth Is Strategically Limiting Access to Critical Treatment for Kids With Autism

UnitedHealth Is Strategically Limiting Access to Critical Treatment for Kids With Autism

 

AARP labeled an accessory to UnitedHealthcare's 'scamming' of the elderly

I am a member of AARP, have been for over 25 years, and I was shocked with the recent article, "How AARP Shills for UnitedHealthcare." It comes from The American Prospect, whose founders include Robert Reich, Former United States Secretary of Labor, American professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator. With that credibility I can proceed to point out just how AARP, a non-profit organization, forces profit-centered UnitedHealthcare on its 58 million members, knowing full-well it is the industry’s worst insurer.

Robert Kuttner, author of the article, and co-founder and co-editor of The American Prospect, and professor at Brandeis University’s Heller School. who lives in Massachusetts says...

"where I live, a supplemental Medicare policy from UnitedHealth costs $251 a month. An identical policy from Blue Cross, which has the state’s best record in not denying care, costs $212."

Kuttner asks, "Why on earth would consumers buy such a flawed insurance product?" It's obvious, we are forced to do so by AARP, have no choice, and AARP doesn't seem to care that its members are the losers. Data confirms...

"In 2023, UnitedHealth’s denial rate of claims was 32 percent, compared to an industry average of 16 percent. Nonprofits had a far better record than for-profits."

I have trusted AARP for the 25 years I have been a member, as I am sure the 58 million members have. But I am seriously searching for new coverage, but time is limited. This is what HealthCare.gov says...

"You can change your plan during the yearly open enrollment period, which is 

November 1–January 15. You can also change your plan outside of open enrollment if you experience a life event that qualifies you for a Special Enrollment Period."

AARP has been a huckster for UnitedHealthcare for 27 years receiving a kick back of 4.95 percent of premium income from AARP subscribers. Here's the scenario...

"According to AARP’s audited financial report, AARP made $289.3 million from member dues, but $1.134 billion from kickbacks from insurers, of which the lion’s share, $905 million, was from health insurers. AARP delicately refers to these as royalties.

There's more...

"In its role as supposed advocate for the elderly, in 2003 AARP lobbied heavily in favor of George W. Bush’s misbranded and badly flawed “Medicare Part D”—the private insurance company drug insurance policies blessed by the federal government. Part D was mainly a way for UnitedHealth and others to make even more money and AARP to reap more kickbacks."

AARP is a non-profit but has been able to avoid taxes paying only about $3 million in federal income taxes on “royalties” of well over a billion. AARP has been sued by members but you won't believe the court decision...

"Credulous judges have thrown out the suits on the grounds that the premium rates had been duly approved by regulators, that premiums would not necessarily have been lower, and that the purchasers were consenting adults."

Kuttner says AARP won't talk to him but comments that in their "Online Community, the comments are thick with scathing accounts of UnitedHealth claims denials and bewilderment that AARP would sponsor such a product. Now, one can only hope that the bad publicity (but not condoning the murder of Brian Thompson) could cause AARP to change carriers; are they willing to lose the income? Donald Trump and Elon Musk must be stopped in their tracks to radically change Medicare.

UPDATE - 12/15/24: The arguable politics of Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton

LATEST: New York Attorney General Letitia James today released a statement after the Attorney General of Texas filed a lawsuit against a New York doctor for providing telehealth abortion care. See it here.

Ken Paxton

What is the goal of this sue-happy backwoods lawyer from Texas in his non-stop litigation? He has filed 100 lawsuits against Joe Biden, alone. He is so proud of this distorted interpretation of the law that he posts it on his own site. He is suing companies over forever chemicals, also filed a lawsuit to stop Texas counties from sending out voter registration. The list goes on and on with this scenario...

"In 2020, seven members of Paxton’s staff reported concerns to federal authorities that he was abusing the powers of the office of Attorney General. All of those aides were subsequently fired, resigned, or placed on leave. Four of those fired aides then filed a whistleblower lawsuit against Paxton. And while Paxton survived a trial in the Texas Senate over their allegations, the lawsuit remained."

This is Texas politics and Paxton, along with Texas Gov. Greg Abbott, are beginning to make Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis look good. These two tyrants have turned the state of Texas into an oligarchy, and the residents of the state seem either oblivious or uncaring. There is even an influx of people moving into the state. I dare say most of them are conservatives since most liberals would not deign to this kind of rule. Paxton was denied in appeal his motion to allow Texas fair-goers to carry guns in the fairgrounds.

Paxton joined Abbott in erecting barbed wire and floating marine barriers on the Mexican border for the purpose of denying immigrants entry. Two died from the razor wire and, since 1998, at least 8,000 undocumented migrants have died attempting to cross the border from Mexico to the US. Of course these people from Mexico and other countries should be forced to enter legally, and that is a huge shortcoming by both the right and the left, but the way

Greg Abbott

Texas is handling it is barbaric. 

And yet another massively inhumane law, The Texas Heartbeat Act, which has been in effect since September 2021, prohibits abortions once a 'fetal heartbeat' is detected, except in emergency situations. Any doctor who violates this strict law risks up to 99 years in prison. There have been three deaths of Texas women who weren't allowed the care to save their lives. This has prompted many women to travel out of the state for abortions. The law has also motivated several doctors to close practices and move out of Texas.

So, I say, why would anyone want to live where the state government is in perpetual litigation for, in some cases, questionable issues.. Your tax dollars are paying for the millions in attorneys fees from the law firms Paxton has hired. The time spent on all these escapades could certainly go toward more productive things for the people of Texas. The Washington Post wrote in 2022...

"Ken Paxton, the Republican attorney general of Texas, has been under felony indictment for securities fraud since 2015...He is under FBI investigation for assisting a real estate developer who allegedly hired his mistress and remodeled his home."

And Texas politics strikes once again. Prosecutors in March of 2024 agreed to drop the securities fraud charges facing Attorney General Ken Paxton if he performs 100 hours of community service and fulfills other conditions of a pretrial agreement. 

Yes, people are still dying from the killing machine at the border, and women die because of a cruel law that sacrifices their life for political gain. It is all beyond understanding.

Two sides of death

Heaven and Hell

Thomas Paine was a deist, which is the belief in a God who created the universe but does not intervene in its functioning. He was an opponent of organized religion and Christianity, but he believed in a deity that was evident in nature. I am an agnostic, somewhat similar to Paine, and, in lieu of Christianity, I have a different opinion about the hereafter. Here is more Paine...

Paine believed that those who spent their lives trying to make others happy would be happy in the afterlife. He also believed that the wicked would be punished.

My opinion of the hereafter is a place where there is a huge chain-link fence to affinity, with one side bright, cheerful, upbeat and festive. The inhabitants reside in paradise, a blissful utopia that sees its residents in the prime of existence with no physical problems.

The other side dark, raining, sleeting, snowing with regular bouts of oppressive wind and engulfing surges of water. The occupants are all chained with a length that only allows them the room to get to the fence and wish they had led a better life.

There is a watchdog and it is his job to come up with methods to further torture those on the dark side. Like the denial of food and drink, forcing the bottom dwellers to disrobe in the cold, rain and snow. Making these poor souls walk on hot coals to get to the food and drink they are allowed.

Donald Trump will destroy democracy

These are two very specialized ideologies, but meant to be a simplification of the unyielding difference between right and wrong. We have lost our way in this determination today, particularly on the political scene. We have an incoming Oval Office lunatic that has threatened to jail Jan. 6 committee members and his enemies in general; He wants to deport 11 million immigrants and doesn't care if there are U.S. citizens caught up in the process; He has focused on unqualified and incompetent people to fill his administration.

There is more, much more, and the downside of it all is that Donald Trump wants to destroy our democracy and replace it with an autocracy. And, unfortunately, some of the American public, and it must be a relatively large portion, has turned into apathetics. They want someone to make their decisions, and for the life of me I will never understand how they want to trust Donald Trump with this task. The next four years could prove a reckoning and this includes Trump and all his minions.

Donald Trump's new administration of criminals

People who left Trump White
House first admin.

Donald Trump could not have done any better in assembling a gang of criminals for his administration than if he had conducted his recruitment in a prison. To begin with, Trump, himself, has been indicted in four cases, convicted in one and penalized in several civil lawsuits. Political scientists Austin Sarat and Tom Dumm, in a Salon article republished by RawStory, say...

"There is, of course, nothing wrong with giving people second chances after they have paid their debt to society," the pair wrote. "But everyone Trump has nominated or appointed thinks they owe no debt to society. Each of them contends or is portrayed by Trump’s transition team as a victim of a political prosecution or a left-wing smear campaign."

• First, there is former trade adviser Peter Navarro who will return to the White House after serving a prison sentence for contempt of Congress.
• And then there is his son-in-law, Jared Kushner's father, Charles Kushner, who will be ambassador to France, despite his own criminal convictions.
• Although there is no litigation, former Fox News host Pete Hegseth was picked to be defense secretary, in spite of multiple charges of misconduct.
• Again with no litigation, former Rep. Matt Gaetz had to withdraw as attorney general nominee due to accusations of his sexual trysts with minors.

The authors bring up the competence of the nominees and while Navarro and Gaetz are questionable, and Kushner is most certainly borderline, Pete Hegseth's nomination as

Pete Hegseth

Defense Secretary is beyond ludicrous. There are lots more who are somewhat dubious but don't necessarily carry the baggage of legal problems. Are you ready for this?

• Marco Rubio does not have the strength to be Secretary of State.
• Pam Bondi would trash the Attorney General's office with her spoken vendetta of Donald Trump's enemies.
• There are screams all over the medical community from doctors and scientists that Robert F. Kennedy Jr. will destroy medicine as we know it today.
• And Kristi Noem as the Secretary of homeland security is another one that keeps you rolling in the aisles with laughter.
• Tulsi Gabbard, as Director of national intelligence, is highly questionable since she doesn't really know if she's on our side or the side of the Russians.
• Dr. Mehmet Oz has a fascination with Medicare advantage, in lieu of its rival so his nomination as Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services administrator could jeopardize regular Medicare.
• Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy heading Department of Government Efficiency is a total joke. Two morons for the job and Ronald Reagan couldn't make it work. Donald Trump sure as hell won't be able to.
• Stephen Miller as Deputy chief of staff for policy and homeland security adviser worries me a lot. This man and his ideologies are just plain scary.
• Kash Patel as FBI director is in the Pam Bondi mode; would rein the department with his rage against Trump enemies.
• here is one who appears qualified for the job, Susie Wiles, as White House chief of staff. And if she can hold Donald Trump down, she will deserve our applause.

It will be interesting if all, or at least some of these nominees are approved by the Senate, just how long it will take for the axe to fall on the first one.