A Curious Statistical Anomaly

I’d thought about writing something on this topic, but hadn’t really figured out what I wanted to say, when I found this article on Numbers on Teen Pregnancy as a Freakonomics NY Times Opinion piece (here’s the Freakonomincs NY Times blog).  I found the statistics on teen pregnancies interesting:

High teen pregnancy rates remain a serious problem in the U.S. Although they have declined since they peaked in 1990, rates are still twice as high as in Canada or England, and eight times as high as in the Netherlands or in Japan.

These international differences are due to low contraceptive use in the U.S.; most of the recent decline in teen pregnancy in the U.S. is due to more consistent use of birth control, although teens are also waiting longer to have sex than in the past. In 1995, almost 20 percent of girls had sex by age 17, compared to 15 percent in 2002.

Notice that the drop in pregnancies among teens has two components — more consistent use of birth control and teen waiting longer to have sex.  As to the first, it’s mighty difficult for teens to consistently use birth control when the sex education in our American school systems is mainly about abstinence. We currently have a shinning example of how well that works to lower teen pregnancy with the recent announcement of the pregnancy of the teenage daughter of the Republican Party’s Vice-Presidential nominee.  Palin espouses the party line of abstinence-only sex education and pairs it with absolutely no choice even for rape or incest.   Obviously, abstinence education didn’t work in this case, as it hasn’t worked for many other teens.  For Palin’s daughter, I’d hope that the future will not look as bleak as for most teenage mothers.  Again from the article:

…on average, teen pregnancies are more likely to result in premature births and low-birth-weight babies. This is not a good start in life. Babies with a low birth weight are more likely to have A.D.H.D. and are less likely to graduate from high school.

Teen moms are less likely than other women to attend or complete college, and their marriages are more likely to end in divorce; about 50 percent of women who married younger than age 18 are divorced after 10 years, compared to 20 percent of women who married at age 25 or older. In turn, single mothers have the highest poverty rates of any demographic group, and 60 percent of the U.S.-born children in mother-only families are poor.

Being a teenage mother, whether married to the father of the child or not, is a bad spot to be in. It’s not all roses and happy times. It’s mainly lots of work: studying for school, working to pay childcare, rent, food, and all the other assorted expenses of being on your own, and find the time and energy to actually spend time with the child, do the laundry, cook meals, study, and, oh yes, sleep.

How do I know? Been there. Done that. Came out okay with a child that I’m very proud of, a college degree, and I’m sure lots of bad decisions and good ones — but all ones I thought I had to make at the time.  How did I end up pregnant? Well, I know it seems strange, but my total sex education was a small six page booklet on menstruation along with the wisdom that only married women get pregnant.  Of course, this was in the dark ages — forty years ago now.  So this has been a perennial problem and it has never worked to stop teens from having sex by telling them to abstain or leaving them ignorant of what sex is and how one actually gets pregnant — (hint, a marriage license has absolutely no effect on the sperm and the egg getting together).

What does work in helping to reduce teen pregnancy?  Truth.  Unvarnished truth about how one gets pregnant, what those teenage hormones feel like, that love and hormones are indeed hard to tell apart but mostly it’s hormones at that age, and that if you are going to have sex, protect yourself and good solid information on how to do that.  Anything else is just leaving young people vulnerable to their hormones and if you don’t remember what that was like when you were a teen, you shouldn’t have any say over what to tell teens about sex.   Abstinence may work, but only if the teens have all the information about what is happening in their body and can make informed decisions.  Since many teens are not going to abstain, there must also be information and access to birth control.

If the Republicans want to stick their heads in the sand about these problems, then the least they can do is also set aside money for free child care, free health care, education assistance, and financial assistant to unwed teenage (and older) single parents.  But, wait…this is the party that is also cutting back on all these programs.  It seems the family values party doesn’t have any concern for families unless they meet strict definitions of what they consider a family and those families are all rich and don’t need any help.  And the Pro-Life policy would be better labeled Pro-Birth, because once the child is born, they no longer care about it until its old enough to vote.

Teenage pregnancy is a real problem for the people involved and for the country as a whole and ignoring it and placing the blame on the teens does nothing to rectify the problem or help to solve it.  I wish Ms. Palin good luck with the child she’s about to have and the marriage she’s about to undertake.  She has a better chance at success than many girls who find themselves in her position, but then she’s not typical.   Hopefully, her being in the limelight; after all it’s her mother who is the candidate, will not cause other teens to follow in her footsteps because she’s an outlier on the curve, not the norm (but I forgot Republicans don’t care that much for science either).

Note: On Where Did I Come From?  I found this book to be a great beginning in opening up discussion with children about sex and where babies come from.  It’s informative, funny, and straightforward.  If you’re looking for a way to broach the subject to young children who are asking — give this book a try.

Warning: This is going to be a political rant. If you’re Republican, come back tomorrow when I’ve gotten over my snit a bit.

I’ve been a Democrat since I could vote. There was a while when I changed my party to Republican; but that was to vote for the least bad one in the primary, and then still vote Democrat in the elections. At that time I figured that if you could at least get the least evil in a field of evil candidates on the opposition side then if my Democratic candidate lost — things wouldn’t be so bad for four years.

I favored Clinton over Obama, but when he won the race to become the only candidate left — well, okay he wasn’t a bad choice, even though his science and technology votes were definitely not well informed. I’d hoped that when he chose a running mate that he’d pick Clinton and it would be my dream ticket. Yesterday, he announced that he’d picked Biden as a running mate. I spent most of yesterday so upset and angry I couldn’t deal with his pick. I was close to tears most of the day because of the loss I felt — I’d lost hope. I’d lost the dream of my country restored to dignity and justice for all (not just those with money and power).

I’d have been okay if he’d at least picked a Veep who loved America and Americans. I’m not talking about saying the right thing, I’m talking about doing the right things. In the doing department, Biden has proven over and over that he cares more about business and greed, than in America or its people. Check out this article on CNet News about his technology voting over his career.

Biden has consistently voted and supported RIAA’s assault on American’s right to Fair Use of music they lawfully buy and own. He also voted for the Patriot Act (which, in truth, based on what it does is more accurately called the unPatriot Act — I doubt you could find a less patriotic bill if you looked for years). He voted for the war in Iraq (which makes one wonder if Obama truly means to get our soldiers out of there). On the other hand, he did vote against the FISA Bill (which Obama voted for), this bill allows the FBI to spy on American for no other reason that that they want to — no warrants, no oversight, no probable cause. They’ve been caught time and time again abusing powers like this, which is why it was stripped from them in the first place. So why, oh why, would anyone think it was a good idea to authorize them to do it again? But one good does not negate the all the bad, anti-American votes especially when these changes came at a time when Biden planned to run for the Presidency (there’s a reason he dropped out so early — no one wanted him).

I don’t want this man as Vice President. Heck, I don’t want him in the Senate either but I’m not in his state and had no say in that one. To be perfectly frank, Obama’s voting record isn’t stellar either but he didn’t change his tune to run for the office either — at least he’s consistent.

So, now the problem is: do I vote with my heart for the best of my country and go for a third party candidate? There are a couple of really, really good people running — people who seem, based on their lives, actions, and words to be pro-American people. The down side is that with our current system, none of them can win. Or do I vote Democrat again knowing that I’m really voting for “Republican Lite” and a continuation of the dissolution of everything that I have loved and cherished in my country, just because the alternative is even worse? Over the last eight years, I’ve seen America lose its standing as a moral force for good in the world. I’ve seen security theater become more important than actual security. I’ve seen/read/heard about Americans and others disappeared off the streets of America to be imprisoned (if the person is lucky) and to be outsourced for torture if they’re not. I’ve listen to the current President and his head of Justice actually defend torture — a method that will get you information, in fact it will get you any information you want; just tell them what you want said and the victim will say anything to make it stop. This is so unbelievable as behavior in a leader of this country that it often leaves me speechless that we’ve come to such a low point. It still shocks me to my core that the democrats in congress haven’t got the barest sliver of a spine necessary to impeach this man for his crimes against this country.

I’ve watched my country, that stood for years as a haven and supporter of freedom for all, become a country afraid of its own shadow and willing to destroy its Constitution and its Bill of Rights for the illusion of security. I’ve seen the government change from helping and supporting its people, to spying on anyone they please (pretty much anybody that doesn’t believe like they do) just because they can. Worse yet, I’ve seen the people of this country willing to give up freedoms for this same illusion of security. As Benjamin Franklin once said:

“People willing to trade their freedom for temporary security deserve neither and will lose both.”

He’s right you know, we currently have neither but most of us haven’t bothered to pay attention.

Our country could get back on track. It will take years, maybe decades, to recover from the damage done to her and her people over the last eight years, but it can be done. But to do it we need strong leadership and a leadership that is committed to making the hard decisions and choices that must be made to restore the basic rights guaranteed to the citizens of this country in our founding documents. We need somebody that understands that if you demolish your own foundations, you have nothing left to stand on. I believe that Obama has at least read the Constitution and Bill of Rights. Based on his voting record, I’m not so sure about Biden. And, based on its leadership, I know that the current administration either hasn’t or, if they have, they didn’t understand a word of it.

So, how do you turn a staunch Democrat away from the party? You pick a running mate that has proven time and time again that he has no consideration for the people of the country, and would rather give his support over to the businesses who give money to his campaign.

Welcome to America. We have the best government money can buy. Don’t worry about the people, we’ll bring them under control, and then you can do anything you want as long as it’s profitable and puts money into my campaign coffers. Maybe Obama should have checked the voting records of his potential running mates rather than going with someone who was simply reported to have some foreign policy experience. (Hint: Biden voted for the war in Iraq. He doesn’t have any credibility in the foreign policy arena.)

Obama, you not only made a bad choice, you’ve now proven to this voter that I can’t trust you to turn this country around since you’ve chosen as a running mate someone who helped get us in this position in the first place, and whose voting record proves that he has no interest in the citizens of this country.

What really fries my cookies, is that I still have to vote for you because the alternative is even worse. I want a country and a leadership I can be proud. I thought this time I just might get it. Now, I just hope that in four more years, I get my wish. I only hope America hasn’t been completely dismantled by then. When will the Democrats give me a candidate I can vote for? I’m sick of only being allowed to vote against the greater evil, and then having to live with the lesser.

NOTE:  We forgot to post last night when we got in.  We were so excited to be home, we unpacked dragged in the bags and just went to bed.  This morning we got up returned the rental car, got the mail we’d had held, watered the garden (lost the lettuce while we were gone), and otherwise cleaned up from the trip.  Tomorrow (Thursday) it will be back to the grind.

Didn’t get to post last night (Monday). We got into Terra Haute at about midnight or a bit later. We stayed at a Days Inn. I was so exhausted I just plain crashed. Hyperion managed to send some email and update a few people on where we were and then he turned in. I think we had lights off by 1 am (Hyperion here: It was 1 am because we changed time zones and I set our watches forward. From the time we entered the room, we we had the lights out within 15 minutes). Then we were up at 7 to start all over again. We hope to be home before midnight tonight (depending on how many stops we make along the way).

Yesterday (Monday), we stopped in St. Louis to see the Arch. We intended to just stop and take the tram to the top and then leave. Turns out they have a museum and two stores (Hyperion: Otherwise known as Money Suckers). Driving into the city, you catch a quick glimpse of the Arch and then it seems to disappear behind buildings, trees, bridge abutments, and other city architecture. When we actually turned to get to the parking lot and could see it — well, it’s so breathtakingly slim and shinning. I couldn’t believe there was a tram inside it. Then we walked up to the Arch. It’s huge. Tall. Overpowering but still slender and graceful — how do they get that tram in there. We paid for a ticket and caught the tram up. It’s more like a ferris wheel car and more or less goes up with a ratcheting motion as it changes angles within the structure. There’s a stop at the top and you can spend as much time as you wish there taking pictures out the small viewing windows. It’s over 600 feet high (think 60 story building — waving hands and simplifying like crazy). Lovely view of the city and river (with riverboat casino and helicopter pad).

After returning to the bottom level, we took a quick trip thorough the museum. It’s set up in concentric circles and as each circle moves out from the entryway it’s a different era until the modern era is the back wall. As you move around clockwise, the exhibits represent different concepts: Indians, soldiers, settlers, politics, etc, so that the whole forms a two dimensional space-time representation of the western expansion. There were way too many exhibits, plaques, material, and dioramas to see in the time we had so we took some pictures and hoped that the museum store would have a short booklet on the museum and it’s exhibits. I’ll save you the suspense, they didn’t. What’s up with museums? Most, if not all the museums (the historical ones mostly), never have books on their exhibits. I love museums and I usually buy the exhibit books so I can refer back to them at later times. Historical museums usually don’t have them. I guess they assume you’ll read the 40 billion non-fiction history books that they used to put the exhibit together. Not gonna happen. I want a booklet to show me what was there. Think of the money that museums, who are always looking for a revenue stream, could make from these. Again I ask, what are they thinking?.

We still dropped a bundle in the stores, mostly buying books for research, but let’s be honest: We also got fudge, root beer drops, and a few gifts for Christmas. Then it was time to hit the road again. Checking the clock, we found out our half-hour planned stay had stretch to nearly three hours. And we didn’t even stay to watch the official movie! Well, that set our on-the-road driving schedule back a bit. We’d originally planned to get past Indianapolis before stopping, but we still hadn’t eaten, and the road was long. So we stopped in Effingham for Pizza Hut. We had to check to make sure they were still open (damn time zones!), but all was well. The two of us made up half of the total customers. We had a Super Supreme Pizza and a nice conversation about the arch and, for some reason, the book, The Life of Pi. A good friend had lent it to us on CD and we loved it. Our friend … didn’t. Oh well, different tastes. So as we’re getting ready to leave, the cashier/waitress/server (she was pretty much the entire crew) asked if we were local or from away. We told her that we were heading home to Maryland. She nodded and said that was what she figured since nobody local ever came that late on a Monday night. So we chatted for a few minutes about cities and big towns, and departed happy and well stuffed.

We put in a book on CD to listen to. It’s Halo: Ghosts of Onyx by Eric Nylund, read by Jonathan Davis, and will probably show up on SFRevu once we get through all the disks. It’s not as engaging as The Bartimaeus Trilogy: Book One: The Amulet of Samarkand by Jonathan Stroud, read by Simon Jones (which we listened to on the way to Denver). It’s strictly military SF with lots of buzz words and technojargon, and quite frankly, a few really unbelievable scientific premises necessary to make the plotline work. But it kept us awake and going for a while, which is more than I can say for a certain truck driver we got behind, who was weaving back and forth across the lanes, obviously trying to make that last couple of miles before pulling off for the night. I really wish he’d done it earlier as I didn’t dare pass him, since I didn’t know if I’d have a lane from one second to the next.

But we reach the Indiana Tourist Info Center, got the book of hotel coupons, and darted five miles up the road to Terra Haute, which is where this whole post started.

Now, after all this, we’re finally up to today where, guess what? We’re driving on the road … again! Currently we’re in Ohio, just approaching the West Virginia line, which is about an hour away. Just in case you’re traveling on I-70 through Columbus, don’t trust the signs, make sure you’re in the center lane to stay on I-70. Otherwise lanes appear and disappear and suddenly you’ll find yourself heading in the wrong direction. Not that it could ever happen to us, but just FYI.

After that, things began to blur.  Coffee and soda will keep you going, but there’s nothing like the Appalachian mountains for sheer terror.  The Rockies are probably worse, but we didn’t get up into them, so I’ll just have to live with slowly climbing 3000 feet and then diving back down at a 6% grade.  Yeah, that will wake you up!    We changed drivers near Cumberland Maryland and Gayle took the wheel for the last leg.  That means she had to negotiate the  construction on I-270 and the Beltway.

Just a few odds and ends (some political ranting so you may want to skip.  If you’re a Republican, you’re not going to be happy.  Come back tomorrow instead.  If you want to object to what I’ve said … don’t.  These are my opinions and it’s my blog.):

• Finished my spool of thread. Plied it as 3-ply using Navaho plying. Turns out to be close to sock or light weight. I’ll figure the wraps per inch later. I ended up with about 329 yards. Just need to get it off the niddy-noddy and wash and skein it. Then start on the next spool.
• I can’t believe that our congress critters actually voted to give the telecoms immunity for performing illegal taps on American citizens at the behest of the Shrub without a warrant. Obama voted for the bill. I’ll still vote for him for Pres because I certainly won’t vote for a Republican. I’m trying to maintain the illusion that somehow someone will stand up for the America that we used to have. You know, the one with the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Of course our current White House sitter seems to think they are quaint little documents that don’t apply to him or his administration BUT they used to mean something to the people of this country and to the people of the world. Now, we have no honor or standing since we’ve violated most of the treaties we’ve signed, tortured people, hired others to torture people, and spied upon our own citizens just because…well because the W.H. sitter wanted to.
• At least one person in Congress wants to do the right thing. He’s trying to get Congress to impeach the Shrub. Congress can impeach a Pres for having a sex with a consenting adult but we can’t manage to impeach a person who lies to Congress, lies to the American people, violates the Constitution of this Country, ignores the rights and freedoms of the citizenry, and the laws of the land, and gets thousands of American killed in a war that he lied to start. Just where is our honor and integrity — does American even have any left anymore?
• And what do people care about? Not the fact that we’re losing our rights and freedoms and our country is being dismantled around us? No, they paying more attention to the sound bites about religion, patriotism, and safety. I think it was said best that “those who desire to give up freedom in order to gain security will not have, nor do they deserve, either one”.
• Okay, I’m grumpy. I want to live in the country that I grew up in again. I want my Congress critters to do the right things because it is the right thing to do … not because it will get them more pac money or elected next time. If you do the right thing for the right reason and because it is just and needed and for the betterment of all Americans — it will eventually be found that you are a patriot. Wrapping oneself in the flag, as far as I can see is a sure sign that one is NOT a patriot (just look at the current administration — I don’t think based on their statements to the press that they have even read our Constitution or our Bill of Rights).
• As a side note, security theater doesn’t make you safer. It just means that it takes longer to go anywhere or do anything. Entertaining as it may be to watch everyone line up and take off their shoes, it doesn’t make any flight any safer than it was before they made us take off our shoes.
• Did you know that deer will eat onions? I didn’t but one actually came into our garden and dug up our onions and ate them. So, beware there is a deer with really bad breath out there in Maryland somewhere.
• Why do gas prices always go up when there is a holiday when nothing else has changed? Why does gas go up when oil per barrel prices go up but they never go down when they drop?
• Why is the price of American oil the same as for foreign oil.  The pundits keep saying the price of oil is up because of Iran’s threats, or fighting in Nigeria, or whatever.  Is oil in Alaska threatened by Iran or Nigeria?  Why isn’t American pumped oil cheaper?  Oh yeah, because the oil companies have the God given right to make as much money as possible, regardless of how much it hurts America.  Why the hell doesn’t the government claim National Security when our National Security is actually really threatened?  Oh yeah, because the Shrub’s family all make their money off oil.  Silly me.
• Just where is the government funding for actual alternative energy? Why don’t people get rebates that actually would help them add solar panels to their roofs or windmills to their yards? Why do hybrids cost so much more than a gas guzzler?
• Did you know that if everyone took just one bag to the grocery store rather than using a plastic bag it would help save our environment, landfills, and oil? Just one bag not used every week for every person who goes shopping. Amazing how one person CAN make a difference.
• Can you believe that some people believe that Intelligent Design is actually a scientific theory? It’s a religious doctrine folks, not science. It should be taught, if taught at all, in a philosophy class, not in a science classroom. Science is the study of facts, testing what actually happened against what you thought would happen and adjusting. Adjusting facts to fit a belief is not science, it’s wishful thinking. Belief doesn’t have to make sense but science does or things fall apart.  Evolution is a FACT.  It’s observable and measurable.  It’s called a theory because scientists still haven’t worked out enough of the details to warrant changing the name.  “Theory” is a scientific term, with a scientific definition.  Twisting it to match a non-scientific usage doesn’t  change reality.  Evolution is a fact whether you want to call it a Law, Theory, Hypothosis, or Marmoset.
• Life is difficult. Things don’t always work out the way we want them too. It’s not always fair but it is the way it is. They only thing we can do is the best we can each day, living our lives as if this is all we got.  We should be the best person we can because we care about our family, our neighbors, and our fellow human beings and the planet we live on. If there is more (and there may or may not be depending on your beliefs) then living the best life you can, can not hurt your chances for a better afterlife either.

End of rants and odd thoughts. I’ve just had a bad day — I really, really should not listen to news anymore — it only depresses me and makes me think less of my fellow humans. When did the bottom line become the ultimate goal in life. I always thought it was to be the kind of person that other people wouldn’t mind spending time with or knowing.  But then again that’s just me.

I ran across this Wired article that mentioned an article in the March issue of the American Journal of Psychiatry that internet addiction be included in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders.  Really, people get a grip.

This is the kind of stuff that causes non-psychologists/psychiatrists to believe that all mental disorders are bunk.  Addiction is a real problem and some people, especially those with addictive personalities can become addiction to just about anything: drugs, alcohol, gambling, people. In other words,  just because some people get addicted to the internet, it doesn’t mean that the internet causes the addiction. There is nothing inherent in using the internet that causes people to become addicted to it.  When someone exhibits addictive behavior it is far better to first look at what else is going on in that person’s life.

Many of us in the computer field/industry use computers daily and nearly continuously for hours.  Are we addicted? No, we’re working.  On the other hand, a lonely person who’s bullied at home, school, or work may turn to the internet for the interactions and support that they are missing in their daily lives.  A relative of mine spent hours on the internet, everyone claimed she was addicted to it.  But in point of fact, she was miserable in her life and was not getting any support at home or from her family.  Addicted? It seemed that way but once she got divorced and remarried to someone she met over the internet the constant hours on line ended because she didn’t need the escape the internet was providing.

There is a fine line between addiction and use as a relief valve or escape from an unpleasant situation.  Labeling internet use over a certain number of hours, checking of email, desire to upgrade equipment, and so on as indicators of addiction seem to always come from people who don’t work on computers or write code for a living.

Before deciding to label something an addiction, it would be better to actually study the use patterns across groups controlling for profession, life style, and other factors — this wouldn’t be brought up to the association.  Perhaps if doctors learned to use computers as a tool to communicate information and assistance to their patients, they too might begin to check their email and consider upgrading their equipment and software.

There needs to be a lot more research and serious study of the issue before even contemplating adding another item to the book.

We just finished watching all three of the extended movies that make up Lord of the Rings (Directed by Peter Jackson). Understand, we didn’t do a marathon — we watched about half a movie a night and finished tonight. It’s a way to unwind. However, every time I watch, my husband (Hyperion: Poor, poor, pitiful, me!) ends up listening to me rant about how Frodo never would have made it without Sam and he doesn’t get enough credit — so I thought I’d share my pain here.

There’s a bit in movie two when Sam and Frodo are talking about about whether stories will ever be told about their adventure, and if Frodo will become a legend in hobbit history. During the talk, Frodo says, “What about Sam? Frodo wouldn’t have made it very far without Sam?” But, when I read the books as a teenager, I realized that Sam was just as much a hero as Frodo, if not more. Yes, Frodo carried the ring and had the weight of it, and the push of the evil on his shoulders for the whole journey. But it was Sam who kept him going. Sam who gave Frodo the help he needed to keep on track with the quest. He fed him. He watched out for him. He gave him hope and laughter when there was none to be had in what was going on around them. That doesn’t take away from Frodo’s efforts to complete the task set for him — to get to Mordor and destroy the ring. But Frodo couldn’t have done it without Sam.

At the end, if Gollum hadn’t shown up, it would have been Sam who would have had to force the destruction of the ring in spite of Frodo. Sam is the anchor to all that is right and worth saving in Middle Earth. No paragon of virtue, but a good person doing the best he can in bad circumstances. He deserves some credit for his part in the adventure as do Merry and Pippin. They each in their own way advanced the cause to save Middle Earth from darkness.

Jackson gives testimony to this by having the newly crowned Aragorn bow before the Hobbits. He also later (in the books) makes the Shire a protected area to help keep the Hobbits safe from human meddling. But as the Eye disintegrates in the final fall of Sauron, it’s Frodo’s name on everyone’s lips. In my youth, it was “Frodo Lives” on all the buttons, banners, and what not celebrating the books. But what about Sam?

To my mind, Sam is the everyman of the piece. He’s the guy that just does what needs to be done without thinking about glory or duty or any of that. He’s the electrician that goes out in the middle of storms to restore power — because it’s his job and it needs to be done (he in the generic form that includes women). He’s the one that stops to help when you have a flat on the side of the road and can’t find your jack and/or your spare is flat. The person who goes to the gas station and gets you gas when you run out. The person who is there with a helping hand when they could just as easily drive by and go on with their own life.

Sam is the person, we see every day in our lives who goes that extra mile and never asks for anything in return. So, why don’t more people recognize the heroism of Sam, Merry, and Pippin. The ones who are caught up and just do the best they can for what is right in spite of being small and overlooked.

I’m sure if you think about it there have been some Sams in your life. Maybe you are or have been a Sam. Maybe if we were all Sam more often the world wouldn’t be in the mess it is. So, lets have a cheer for Sam. Frodo never could have done it without Sam.

I’m sure out there somewhere is a nice blues jazz number with that this title, “Medical Insurance Blues”. However, it’s two days later and I’m still seeing red. Here’s the background. I have allergies — lots and lots of them. Basically, if you say I’m allergic to the world you’ve got it. I don’t even bother with the skin test anymore because the very last time I had one everything reacted so they tested for the base (no reaction) and for the needle invading the skin (no reaction). So, now I have them test my blood (RASP test). The doctors explain (patiently I might add) that the test is not sensitive enough and we should do the skin test. I counter with “Do the blood tests and if you need the skin test for some items, we’ll do those.” I’ve never been asked to retake a test because everything tests high enough.

Now for the problem. It’s pollen season in force big time down here in Maryland. My eyes have been itching like crazy and at times I wish I could do the cartoon thing of popping them out of my head and running water over them. So, I’ve been using the over the counter allergy drops and tears and anything else I could find. Finally, I gave up and saw the doctor. He gave me a prescription (hereafter Rx) for some eye drops. We dropped it off at the pharmacy but had to wait to pick it up the next day.

Go to pick it up and insurance has refused to pay for the Rx. Why, you might ask. Are you ready for this one. The insurance won’t pay because, get this, over the counter eye drops work just as well as the Rx ones. I just love the way an insurance clerk, whom I have never met, and who doesn’t have a medical degree, and who has never talked to my doctor, can make such judgments. Yes, statistically, for some people, maybe the over the counter drops work just as well. But to make this declaration without ever asking if I’d used over the counter drops is pure bottom-line bean counting.

Will I fight this? No. This is the third time they’ve done this. Insurance is Anthem BC/BS PPO — the plan is a good one and generally they’re okay but every now and then they come up with these gotchas. I fought for one drug and finally got them to pay for it but it took 5 months of fighting and faxing documents and getting papers signed and made out by the doctor. But I couldn’t afford the over $110/month to pay out of pocket for the drug. It was exhausting and depressing experience and in this case not worth the effort.

The doctor gave me a sample and I’ll use it sparingly until the season is over. The insurance covered it last year and maybe they’ll cover it again next year, but this year they decided to make me suffer. The thing is it would be easier to take in some ways IF the insurance company would at least acknowledge that they’re playing with my health. When they refused the sleeping pills about two years ago they said, and this is almost a direct quote from the manager of the telephone support.

We’re not making medical decisions and we’re not stopping you from getting the drug. You can get it anytime you want, you just have to pay the full price for it.

I just love the way they can distance themselves from the suffering they cause. What did I do about the sleeping pill. I decided to do without. It’s easier since I quit work and now work at home. Every now and then I just can’t sleep until after being awake for 36 to 48 hours.   I usually finally manage to sleep 8 hours and then I’m back to my normal 4-6 hours a night (if I’m lucky). Somedays, there just aren’t enough spoons within reach.

What I know is that I’m lucky. We have insurance through the company my husband works for, and many people don’t have any at all. I did find out that people with no insurance pay more for drugs than people with insurance. I’m not talking about the copay. If you pay attention to the sheets that come with your Rx, in some places they say the drug costs X and the insurance pays Y and your co-pay is Z. Then if insurance won’t pay, you usually pay the cost, X. However, if they make out the payment sheet thinking you don’t have insurance it’s usually X+some number B. So not having insurance costs even more for health care.

None of the present candidates have a decent health care plan. Mandatory health care unless the government is going to pay for it all isn’t going to do anything. If people can’t afford it now, they can’t afford it when it’s mandatory. Do govvies really think people don’t have it because they’d rather get a six pack? People don’t have health insurance because A) they have pre-existing conditions that run the cost through the roof or B) they’d rather feed their kids and keep a roof over their heads or C) they’ve got A and B. Let’s face it medical care should not be a profit making proposition.  I mean who came up with the brilliant idea to put the health of our citizens in the hands of someone whose business model makes money by NOT providing healthcare?  In America, we need free basic medical care for all citizens and clerks should not be denying things that a licensed doctor has prescribed for a patient. Why bother to license physicians if office clerks can over-rule them.

I feel better having let off steam. But I’m still outraged — and — my eyes still itch!

A new study found that pollution in the air changes the scent of flowers, either masking it or shortening the distance over which bees (and others) can smell them. I came across the report and all of a sudden realized that this means big trouble for all of us.

“The scent molecules produced by flowers in a less polluted environment, such as in the 1800s, could travel for roughly 1,000 to 1,200 meters [3,300 to 4,000 feet]; but in today’s polluted environment downwind of major cities, they may travel only 200 to 300 meters [650 to 980 feet],” said study team member Jose D. Fuentes.

Think about it, bees don’t gather nectar to eat they also pollinate the plants that they gather from. If they are having trouble finding the flowers because pollution has masked the scent it’s a bigger problem than declining bee colonies. If the plants aren’t pollinated then they don’t set fruit. Without pollination many plants just look pretty and the flowers fade and that’s it — no apples, no tomatoes, no whatever else they buzz around.

No one in Congress takes air pollution seriously (hey most people in the US don’t either) but it causes a lot of the acid rain that is destroying much of the forest along our northern borders and in Canada. It causes breathing problem in just about everyone and especially those with asthma and allergies. There’s a reason that in many states ozone alerts mean free bus rides.

We have a great problem with global warming but because we still have winter and summer and all the rest most people just scoff. How long and what disasters will we need to face before we admit that there is a problem and it needs to be treated seriously. This isn’t just a bunch of tree-huggers or granola do-gooders looking for a cause — this is the future of our planet and our species. We can no longer afford to have laws made to “get me elected again”, this country needs an environmental plan that is based on science and not the wishful thinking of those with a political agenda to pretend that it’s all going to go away if it’s just ignored.

It seems like every time some little study comes out there is another data point that is telling us it’s time to wake up pay attention to our wonderful world before it’s too late.