ykwgmg : healthcare stuff

remember when the stimulus bill was passed back in march? it was full of lots of helpful solutions intended to assist the growing number of unemployed. included in the bill was a healthcare subsidy, in which the government covered roughly 65% of monthly COBRA costs. unfortunately, as many are finding out the hard way, the subsidy was only scheduled to last for 9 months, ending in a couple of weeks.

From March through November, the federal government picked up 65 percent of the cost. But the subsidy lasts for only nine months and will not be available to people who lose their jobs after Dec. 31, unless Congress extends it. On Wednesday, the House approved a six-month extension, and the bill now goes to the Senate.

The end of the subsidy can be particularly hard on families that are covered by a single health-insurance policy. Families USA, a nonprofit organization that lobbies for affordable health care, said the average monthly premium for a family covered by Cobra was $1,111, meaning that the subsidy was saving the typical family more than $700 a month.

In some states, the average unemployment benefit is smaller than the average cost of Cobra benefits, said Ron Pollack, the executive director of Families USA.

“This makes it clear that the people subsisting on unemployment benefits are very unlikely to be able to afford their Cobra premium,” Mr. Pollack said. (via)

i'll tell you what, that really gobbles my goop. COBRA is a failing system as it is. it's defined as 'continued coverage', making individuals eligible for the 'discounted group rate' that employers recieve. when i was unemployed, i couldn't afford it, even after the subsidy went into effect. i was uninsured for a year, and most of my unemployed friends are in the same position. and now, millions of americans who are taking advantage of the subsidy are about to have their monthly payments tripled. so, fingers crossed for that 6-month subsidy extension.



and while i'm at it...
speaking of failing systems, the increasingly disappointing healthcare bill getting pushed through congress is looking more and more like governement-subsidized-COBRA-for-all than medicare-for-all. in an interesting new development, howard dean and many other democratic leaders are calling for the abandonment of the current senate healthcare bill altogether, saying it does not represent real reform. i pretty much agree.

so those are some of my opinionz. you're welcome! ;(

ykwgmg: catholics

the stupid pope wants you to pray before you have sex. "you" being heterosexual married couples, because the rest of us should be living pleasure-less lives like the few catholic priests who don't give into their temptations to molest children. OYRGMAFB. god, catholics are just endlessly messed up*. listen to this ridiculousness:

"to place within us love that truly gives, tenderness that truly unites, self-offering that tells the truth and does not deceive, forgiveness that truly receives, loving physical union that welcome...open our hearts to you, to each other and to the goodness of your will...cover our poverty in the richness of your mercy and forgiveness. clothe us in true dignity and take to yourself our shared aspirations, for your glory, for ever and ever."

i don't know about you, but i.am.HOT. let's be honest, even for catholic gobbledygoop, this prayer isn't even well written. "self-offering that tells the truth and does not deceive". in addition to being nonsensical, that's redundant.

the prayer is part of the prayer book for spouses, yet another manual to teach catholics how to repress themselves, since the bible and the catechism aren't enough.

rev paul hendricks, the auxiliary bishop of southwark said "he thought the prayer's inclusion [in the book] was 'brave but good'." catholics encouraging more praying is brave? doing more of something you already do in excess, isn't brave. that's called gluttony, it's one of the seven deadly sins, and that's a big deal. so cut it out.

*i was raised catholic and attended catholic schools from K-12th grade. so i can say whatever i want.

(via)

ykwgmg: denny's

let me just say one thing; i didn't get the status of resident bitch for having a thick skin and letting things go easily. ok? and the things i could complain about could fill a damn book. but i can't help but point out that denny's usual desperation is glowing red hot in their newest ploy to trick drunk suburbanites into eating their shitty food late at night.

are you tired of boring old regular menus? well how about a RoCkStAr MeNu!!! featuring rock institutions like good charlotte, sum 41, rascal flatts, hoobastank and some other trash you've never heard of because TRL was cancelled.

oh? you don't really remember these bands? that's funny, because according to denny's, they're RoCkStArS!!! what's that? you think they're music is shitty? no...if there was ever an authority on quality music, it's denny's. i'm sure they're quite talented.

so run on down to denny's for a "hooburrito" or "the sumwich" you mindless consumer whores.

ykwgmg: snatch it down

the should-have-never-been-an-issue-in-the-first-place sexy billboard at houston & broadway has been replaced with an advert that depicts the sort of sexual exploitation americans can get behind. the sort that doesn't make you think about 'mos

YKWGMG: egypt

stupid egyptians cause WHO to begin officially referring to "swine flu" by it's clinical name, H1N1. this story just got a lot more BORING. who the hell is running your country egypt?

ykwgmg : twitter. more like shitter.

blogger mc everyman wrote this post defending twitter when he should have been writing about architecture. it's a classic case of an elitist trying to not look like an elitist by standing up for non-elitists who are being criticized by other elitists. geoff manaugh went ape-shit yesterday after maureen dowd wrote a tongue-in-cheek op-ed column trashing twitter. manaugh characterizes dowd is an elitist who wants to stifle anyone whom she doesn't approve of...which is mostly true...but that has nothing to do with her (or other's) criticism of twitter. throughout the post manaugh labors the notion that every thought is significant, and that twitter gives a voice to the gagged masses who have been yearning for a creative outlet. oyr. he seems to confuse the technology itself with the manner in which it's most often used. no one is complaining about a note taking technology that allows users to post messages limited to 140 characters, or the possibilities associated with such technology. twitter detractors, twittractors, are annoyed that twitter takes the sort of inane thoughts that were once relegated to personal diaries and the private mind and posts them publicly with the presumed arrogance that anyone wants to know your every thought. for some, twittercism may be caught up in class-ism and gender politics, but for me, and i assume many, twittercism is about the ego of twitterers. i don't want to know anyone's every thought, not virginia woolf, not my own mother's, in fact, sometimes i even wish i could escape my own thoughts. and as for maureen dowd, manaugh needs to take his own advice and get the f over it. maureen dowd is a polemicist, and if you can't approach her writing with that in mind, then don't read what she writes.

P.S. as a facebook account holder, and someone who just wrote a blog entry, this argument is obvi on shaky ground.

P.P.S. this twitter is sort of interesting. and actually requires some thought!

gobs my goop

you know what gobbles my goop? stealing. get your own ideas dlisted. GAH!

gobbling my goop : ambiguity

you know what gobbles my goop? ambiguity. you might have noticed my fellow correspondent g.animalz's post linking to a M83 video featuring two possi-lesbies (that's possible lesbians). while i enjoyed the sound, the visual gobbled the hell out of my goop. i've been told by some people that it's edgy and trendy to be ambiguous, but i'm here to inform you that it's nothing short of the devils work. so cut it out.

oh, oh, look at me. i don't need to make an explicit statement. i just craft a vision of sophisticated and subtle circumstances and let the viewer form their own perceptions. no ma'am! pick.a.side. hate your opposition. and defend your beliefs to the death even if you begin to think you might be wrong, 'cause that's how it's done.

;(

gobbling my goop : pan flutes

you know what gobbles my goop? pan flutes. god help the pan flute player, 'cause you are scaruuuuwed in life.



;(

gobbling my goop : twilight

hey, you know what gobbles my goop? twilight. hey you, twilight readers, why don't you go out and get a real book. one for grown-ups. they're found in the "adult section". yeah, why don't you just go do that...

j/k charbearz!

;(