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What About Free Speech & Responsibility?

Okay, people. Can we please ease up on the political correctness here?

First, there was the outcry this week over Don Imus again:

I noticed it this week only because hearing about it vaguely annoyed me. But I was pre-occupied with more pressing matters so I didn't linger on it.

This morning, I checked my morning e-mail and found an e-mail asking me to sign a petition to let Kathy Lee Gifford her latest dumb ass crap had pissed off a bunch of pagans.

Oy Vai.

Here's what Kathy Lee Gifford did and said:

Now, because I identify as a pagan, I am automatically supposed to get my bloomers bunched up over this?

FIRST:  I say bullshit. So you don't like what Kathy Lee Gifford said. Big deal. That doesn't mean you get to shut her up. Sorry. You can bitch about she said. You can start petitions to make her apologize for what she says. But that doesn't mean she will shut up or her employers will censor her or force her to apologize.

Last time I checked, I live in America and you know what? I can say whatever the hell I want about anyone I want because we have a little thing here called Free Speech. I may not like what people say but they have the right to say them without fear of losing their jobs or harassment or censorship.

SECOND: So Kathy Lee referred to pagans as "bad and nasty". Does anyone in this country not know what an ignorant, vapid, dunder-headed ancient bag of dusty wind Kathy Lee Gifford actually is? Hello? Is KATHY LEE GIFFORD'S  uneducated, narrow-minded stupid ass OPINION really that big of a deal?

THIRD: As a pagan-type person, I want to  know who the bad guys are.  I want to know who doesn't like me. I don't want them hiding off in the shadows making idiotic, insipid dumbass comments where I can't see or hear them.  I want them front and center for all the world to see.

"Well", said someone today as we were discussing this, "with that logic I guess it would be fine with you if a pedophile moved into your neighborhood because they have a right to live, right?"

Would I be "fine" with it? No. I wouldn't care to have a pedo in my neighborhood, especially if I had kids. BUT, the pedo has a right to live anywhere he wants as long as he follows the rules, goes to therapy AND DOESN'T DO ANY KID TOUCHING OR RAPING OF ANY KIND. We live in a free society and because it's free, all kinds of people get to live wherever they want.

What about what happened to that guy in California, recently? He only said he was obsessed with kids and thought about touching them and they ran him out of the fucking state. True enough, he was wacko- certifiable. True enough, he got put in the pokey because he wouldn't keep away from the grade school after the court order forbid him to be within 400 yards or something of it. But chasing him out of his home because of what he might do? That was wrong. Better safe than sorry you might think but I think we tread on dangerous ground when we begin participating in mob mentality. Very dangerous ground.

So I may not like it and it may worry me but the pedo still has the right to live wherever he wants to live. Once he violates the rules and touches ANY kid, I'll sign every damn petition that comes down the pike and do whatever I can to get him and keep him out of my neighborhood. Get the fuck out and don't come back. Have a terrific, incarcerated life, you piece of shit rat bastard.

"You'd feel differently if you had kids. You'd want to know your kids are safe".

Uhm, wouldn't that be my responsibility? As a parent it'd be up to me to protect my kid, right? I'll tell you, I'd have ZERO FUCKING PROBLEM telling my kid:

"See that person who lives in the green house on the corner"?

"Yes, Mommy."

"Well, stay way from them. You have my permission to ignore that person. You don't have to say hello or be polite to them. If they touch you or come near you, scream your head off and run away from them as fast as you can. That's a bad, sick person and they hurt children so stay away from them".

And if they didn't stay away from the weirdo on the corner, we'd be having some chats and some grounding going on at my house.  Sometimes, a little healthy fear is good for a kid.

So, do I like what Don Imus or Kathy Lee said? Not particularly. I also consider the source. Kathy Lee Gifford is an ignorant sack of aging wind and Don Imus is a dinosaur. I'd tell my kid to run away from them screaming too.

What about you?

More Dear Doctor Fun

Well, just to show me... Dear Doctor's office returned my call about 4PM.

I still did not speak to the doctor directly.

NURSE 1: I got a message here that you called Dear Doctor for a referral for a new doctor?

ME: Yes.

NURSE 1: Well, Dear Doctor cannot automatically refer you to a new doctor. Can you SEND US A LIST (emphasis mine) of the physicians in your network and if he knows any of them, he will be happy to recommend them.

ME: I need to provide you with a list? Are you telling me Dear Doctor doesn't have the name of a doctor who can provide me with the level of care he can without looking at a list *I* send him?

NURSE 1:  Yes.

Motherfucker. I even have to provide a name for my own fucking recommendation.

ME: Well, you know, I really don't think I care to go to all the trouble to do that. You guys have already inconvenienced and insulted my intelligence enough for one day. But, perhaps he knows of the new physician I intend to visit. Her name is Hopefully Competent, MD and she works of the Hospital Dear Doctor left to be a part of your retarded three-ring circus family practice.

NURSE 1: Well, I'll pass this information on to Dear Doctor and give you a jingle back.

ME: I'll wait with baited breath.

About 10 minutes later, another nurse from Dear Doctor's office called me.

NURSE 2: This is Perky Unhelpful Nurse 2 at Dear Doctor's office.  Unfortunately, Dear Doctor doesn't know Hopefully Competent MD.

What a fucking surprise.

NURSE 2: I am sorry this has happened. Unfortunately this does happen sometimes when you switch insurance. My husband had to go through this very thing last year so I know it is devastating.

Uh, hello ? You fuckers STILL aren't listening to me and if it's so "devastating" why the fuck do you do it?

ME: Wait a minute! Just hold it! this has nothing to do with MY insurance company.  My insurance company called YOUR business office and wanted to make it so I could continue to see Dear Doctor.  YOUR BUSINESS OFFICE has refused to accept my insurance. It has ZERO to do with my insurance and everything to do with YOUR business office.

NURSE 2: Oh. So this has to do with our policies and not your insurance?

"CLICK" goes the lightbulb.

ME: That would be correct.

(long pause)

NURSE 2: Oh. Well. I'm very sorry we cannot help you.

ME: Well, a few hours ago I might agree with you. But I don't now because even if Jesus came down and visited your business office and made them see the light, I would still need to take a big pass on ever being treated in that office again.

What is too bad is that Dear Doctor is a good doctor and I was very pleased with  his medical expertise and attention; it's your business office that sucks big time. I have had to see a lot of doctors in the last 10 years regarding my spinal cord injury and I have NEVER been treated so poorly or not been allowed to speak with to my doctor when I specifically asked to do so. And as long as Dear Doctor is hooked up with your outfit, I'll seek medical treatment elsewhere. I have enough going on without being treated like an inconvenient commodity.

(long pause)

NURSE 2: Well, I wish we could help but apparently we can't. Oh and the doctor says your prescriptions will need to be refilled by your new physician.

No surprise there, either.

ME: I figured as much.

And that was the end of that.

So, once I have calmed down enough to write a decent letter, I will once again write to Dear Doctor because I am not at all sure he ever received the first one. And to make sure he will receive it, Manthing said he will have a chat with him at his next appointment and hand deliver a copy of the letter to him, in case Dear Doctor never receives the second one.

Because as Eden has pointed out in the past, there's a chance he doesn't know what is going on. Still, it seems to me that he'd want to make it his business to know. I'll post a copy here once it's done.

Dear Doctor

Dear Former Primary Care Physician:

Since you didn't respond to my first letter regarding your business office, here's another. Your business office manager is an asshole. The "patient services representatives" all need a pole right up their ass. Your business office's best practices suck. Your business office is not at all accessible for people with disabilities disability friendly. In fact, I'm surprised it's set up to see sick people at all.

Signed,

Me, your former patient.

DISCLAIMER: Please note there is some explicit language in this post. If you can't take swearing, pass for the day.

Because I thought he was a great doctor and I was happy with the level of medical care he gave me, I was willing to take a cab to my appointments because I cannot drive and his office is not on a bus line. I was willing to accept the surly and unprofessional receptionist as she was.  I could overlook the nurse's attempts at bullying me to climb on the scale and their impatience with me for wanting to discuss my health issues with the doctor and not them. I could look past the paper signs in the exam rooms that told patients that referrals had to be picked up at the office and not faxed because "too many of them had been lost".

But today was the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back. This isn't the first time I've had dealings with the business side of his practice and I am done with it and done with "Family Practice". I thought it might be easier to see the same doctor Manthing sees. How terribly mistaken one can be.

When I called to reschedule a missed appointment today, I was told there was a "restriction" on my account. Evidently, even though my new insurance pays out of network benefits, and his practice is not affiliated with a large health care management group to restrict what his practice can and cannot do, the business office refused to talk with my insurance company and make it so that I could continue to allow him to continue to be my health care provider.

ME: "Well, jeez, what would have happened if I had been able to make the original appointment?"

BUSINESS OFFICE: "Let me check your chart. Ohhhhhhhhh, you are a Medicare supplemental patient. You would not have been seen by the doctor."

ME: "Uh, why didn't your office contact me about this problem?"

BUSINESS OFFICE: "We have a busy practice and don't call patients about their accounts. That is their responsibility."

ME: "How does one know there's a problem if the business office doesn't let you know?"

BUSINESS OFFICE: "Office policy is that we don't call patients about their accounts. We don't have time."

Nice. Fuckers.

Obviously, I was going to get nowhere so, I moved on.

ME: "Okay. You know, I am really tired of all this shit crap with the business side of things there. For months we have gone back forth over this issue. I'm done. Obviously, the business office could care less about accommodating patients with special needs. I have health issues that need addressing so I'd like to talk with the doctor. to see if he can refer me to another doctor who would a continue to provide me with the quality of care he provides." 

BUSINESS OFFICE: "Ma'am, all you need to do is contact your insurance provider who can refer you to a physician in your network."

ME: "I would like to speak to the doctor regarding a referral. I realize you don't think that's what I should do however, I would like to speak to the doctor to get a referral. I will look up the name he gives me to see if they take my insurance".

BUSINESS OFFICE: "Well, I'll send the message back but really all you need to do is call your insurance provider. Our medical staff is very busy."

ME: "What is the issue with talking with the doctor or his nurse? Why does this need to be so difficult? What is the problem?"

BUSINESS OFFICE: "Fine! I'll send the message back!"

ME: "Thank you. Now I need to speak to a nurse about the prescriptions that need to be refilled so I have a little time to find a new physician".

BUSINESS OFFICE: "I can only send that message back as well".

So instead of waiting around for phone calls that I know will never come, I called my pharmacy who informed me she had called my doctor's office last week and gotten refills on my current medications. Nobody called to let me know that.

How fucking bizarre is that? Walgreen's did a better job of getting scripts for my refills than the doctor's office!

Deciding luck might be with me for a few minutes, I decided to roll the dice, do some research on a new primary care physician and make an appointment. In doing that, I realized I'd need my medical records.

Shit, Piss, Fuck, Cunt, Cocksucker, Motherfucker and Tits to quote a great philosopher.

ME: "I need to speak to someone in medical records to have my  records sent to me. How do I go about it?"

RECEPTIONIST: "Medical records doesn't speak to patients. You need to drop by the office and pick up a form to request your records".

WTF?! The medical records department doesn't talk to patients either?

ME: "The form cannot be mailed? I am disabled and unable to drive so dropping by is not really something I can do easily."

RECEPTIONIST: "I'll send the message to records. Where do you want the form sent to?"

I gave her my address but I have no real clue if the form will be sent.

Call me persnickety but I like the idea of being treated like a person instead of a inconvenient commodity. And maybe, I'll think twice about continuing to see a physician who allows his patients to be treated that way in the future.

Interestingly, the new physician has patient forms on-line so you can download them and have them ready for your appointment or send them back. And she's a woman.

I need a nap.

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A Room of One's Own

Okay, so it's been a few weeks. I've had a bunch to do in preparation for getting the equipment for my new workspace.

I had to transform this:

To this (with some help of course):

Doing that meant moving the furkids into the kitchen and finding a place for everything else, which is no easy feat nor for the faint of heart.

We live in a small house that is positively CRAMMED with stuff and so when you move one thing, you have to move at least three other things. It's a bit like living in a jigsaw puzzle. So when you move substantial things around like storage space or furniture or furkids kennels, it takes awhile. Then add me and my spine to the mix, it probably takes 3 times as long for me to get anything done even with help.

But it is done now and once I got to work in here, I realized how much I missed having a space of my own in which to write. I had been working and writing at a station in the living room which is perfect for web surfing, light e-mail reading and photo editing but it lacks the flat space and the environment conducive to productivity and writing. And it's nice to have a desk again with a good comfortable chair in which to lean back in and think deep thoughts about social media and writing and and art- whatever pops into my head to feed my insatiable curiosity and active imagination.

Though I share this space with the washer and dryer and an art making nook, I have really been enjoying  have a space where I can be alone, that is mine to write in again. In her book, "A Room of One's Own", Virginia Woolf wrote, "'a woman must have money and a room of her own if she is to write fiction". I don;t have a lot of money so I don't write a lot of fiction but I have to say it has been lovely to write and work with no other person in the room; no TV droning on and on with programs I detest. I have caught myself wondering if this isn't more important than having having a studio. Perhaps not.  Perhaps they are equally important and I am just a space hog.

What do you think?  How important is having a space in which to create where you can be alone ? Do you have a space of your own at home where you can be alone to blog or do art or write or mix music or whatever it is you do? If so, how important is it to you? If not, how do you manage?

I'm Back And It's Finally Over

I've been on vacation with Manthing's family in the Outer Banks, Duck, NC to be more exact.

It was a nice vacation lots of doing nothing in particular. I read, did a little research for an article, some cross-stitching, lots of laying around, kid- wrangling (we have 6 nieces, ages 3 to 12), swimming, movie watching and video game playing.

I also got together with some dear friends also down on vacation for an afternoon of shopping. Manthing and I took a trip to the Aquarium at Roanoke Island , where I delighted in watching the Otters. I got used to nothing in particular, quickly. Photos forthcoming.

But now I am back and I got my Rantipants on.

Last night, I got an e-mail regarding my comment on Twitter about Obama. So far, I haven't made public comment on the DEM Race. I am so fucking glad it's over, I nearly wet myself. But now, it seems more than a little obvious to me that what the American people want (the popular vote) is not what is important here.

I belong to neither party. I see my political leanings as moderate. I vote my conscience, who I believe is the best person for the the job and as a famous Queen once said: "We are not amused".

The choices presented to me suck- big green ones. Obama or McCain: a choice between bad and worse.

There's a lot of talk about Civil Rights and how far we've come, "in just 50 years", now that Obama has enough Dem Delegate votes to win the nomination at the convention. It isn't only that he is inexperienced, Obama's speech/pandering last night was nauseatingly condescending and sickeningly hypocritical. To her credit, Clinton stuck to the topic at hand and thanked everyone who has supported her and continues to do so.

Just as I would not vote for Clinton based solely on her gender, I would not vote for a man or a woman based on their ethnicity. That's right I said ethnicity and not race. To refer to Obama as a different race, is stupid. Despite skin pigmentation and ethnicity differences, he is still a member of the human race is he not? 

This Dem nominee race has also seen a little history repeating itself. No matter how things change, they still stay the same.

In 1848 the first Women's Rights Convention was held in Seneca Fall, NY. 68 women and 32 men sign a Declaration of Sentiments, which outlines grievances and sets the agenda for the women's rights movement. A set of 12 resolutions is adopted calling for equal treatment of women and men under the law and voting rights for women.

The Emancipation Proclamation abolished American slavery in 1863.

The 13th Amendment, ratified in 1865, made abolition law and prohibited all forms of slavery.

" Section 1. Neither slavery nor involuntary servitude, except as a punishment for crime where  of the party shall have been duly convicted, shall exist within the United States, or any place subject to their jurisdiction".

 

The 15th Amendment, ratified in 1869 gave Black men the right to vote.

Section 1. The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of race, color, or previous condition of servitude.

Seventy years later, the 19th Amendment, ratified in 1919 gave women the right to vote.

"The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex. Congress shall have power to enforce this  article by appropriate legislation."

True enough, it is a historical first that an American woman campaigned for a presidential nomination and it only took 22 years. The first woman to run for "high office" was Ferraro in 1984.

I won't pretend I won't be disappointed if Clinton chooses to become Obama's running mate. In thinking about it, it does take the sting out of a nomination for Obama. If change from the status quo is what we are truly looking for then perhaps, tenatively and cautiously I would be open to voting an Obama/Clinton ticket. Once I quit retching, anyway. Worse than an Obama/Clinton ticket  would be a McCain/And Anyone He Picks ticket.

Given how history appears to repeat itself, I wonder if I will see another qualified woman run for and win the office of President of the United States in my lifetime. I sure hope it won't take 81 years to see a qualified woman in the office of the President of the United states.

In case you are interested you can find a pretty comprehensive list of Women Presidents Appointed Heads of state around the world here.

*Note: I used the candidates voting records instead of the usual wiki bios in the links.

***UPDATE***

For those interested:

You can find info about Victoria Woodhull here.

Info about Margaret Chase Smith can be found here.

Info about Shirley Chisholm can be found here.