Tom: August 2009 Archives

Health Care As A Right?

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I recently heard about the uproar by Whole Foods customers based on this opinion piece written by the Whole Foods CEO where he said that health care is not a right. There were articles talking about people boycotting Whole Foods because the CEO does not share their view that health care is a right. Here are some articles:
1. Customers call for Whole Foods boycott
2. Whole Food Boycott Grows
3. A Shoppers' Rebellion at Whole Foods

I heard about this before I ever read the opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal, but I thought it was silly because it showed the liberals/progressives as not being very tolerant after all. If they were tolerant of other views, why would they urge a boycott of Whole Foods just because the CEO does not think health care is a right?  Do they understand that one of his main reasons for NOT supporting a national health system is that it would degrade the health care provided to his employees?

I went on to read the opinion piece and I have to say that John Mackey, the CEO has some very good points. The main one that I agree with is that health care should not be a right if the more basic needs like food and water are not rights. Also, if you look at the basics necessities of life, food, water, shelter, security, etc..., none of them are rights. Obviously you won't find them in the US Bill of Rights, so I also looked at the United Nations Universal Delcration of Human Rights and still didn't find any reference to health care as a right.

So to all the liberals out there that feel health care is a right, you first have to prove that the more basic necessities are a right first. Good luck with that. I do support nationalized health care, but not based on having it as a right. We also don't have the right to well maintained roads but I support that too.

I support nationalized health care for 2 main reasons:
1. There is no such thing as lifetime employment anymore, and when people move from job to job they have to deal with new health plans (assuming their employer offers coverage) and lots of complexity. Why not make things simple by having health care that people can keep no matter where they work and whether they have a job or not? I think every one of us, at some point in our lives, will be thankful for having a national health system.
2. We already have medicare, social security, public schools, etc... So you can't say that the government has no place here because the government is everywhere else.

So I stop at supporting a national health system. I don't want to get into how it will be paid for, the deficiencies of other national health systems, etc... But I think the basic idea of a national health system is something that makes sense and that we should move toward. I've leave it to the liberals to be intolerant and boycott people that don't agree with them.

August in Tahoe

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timber_kayak.jpg
Over the weekend of August 14th Timber, Wookie, and I went to Tahoe for the weekend. While we were there we stayed at the Cedar House Sport Hotel, which is dog friendly. They charge an extra $50 for the entire stay for your canine buddy to stay with you, but they are very accomodating. They had a dog bed, water and food dishes, and some treats waiting for Wookie when we arrived. Breakfast is included in the room rates, and one day we had frittatas for breakfast while on the other day we had oatmeal (with home made granola) and lox & bagel.

On Saturday we spent the day kayaking with Wookie in the boat with me around Sand Harbor State Park on the Northeast end of Lake Tahoe. It was a warm day, and the water was beautiful. In the evening we went to Shakespeare Under the Stars, also in Sand Harbor State Park. It was a really nice show and a great venue.

On Sunday we took our time going home. We stopped by Machado's in Auburn to pick up some fruit and an apple pie. All in all it was a nice weekend.

Birthday Poem

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Thanks to the birthday committee for coming up with this birthday poem:

Tom's Birthday is tomorrow August 8th. Lets wish him a Bug-Free, Unblocked and Patch-Less Weekend Birthday

Today from the Sun there is a special Ray
To celebrate this wonderful Day

When it comes to pets, he is no Rookie
We overheard this from his dog Wookie

Don.t think he.s ever been to Prespa
Wonder if he.d go there on his green Vespa ?

We are not sure if he likes the Salsa
But its widely known that he.s from Alaska

He hates the scam named Phishing
But he loves to go Salmon Fishing

He juggles the deep waters for the freshest of fish
And don.t you worry, he.s equally good at preparing any dish

To our team he.s brought a lot of good Luck
And we think .tis all coz of his bright blue Truck

Continuous improvement is his Motto
Did you also know he loves to take a good Photo

He takes good care of us, but he.s not our Mom
He is ETTQA.s manager and his name.s (drumroll) *** Tom****

-         T.B.C

Sugarland Concert

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I finally got a chance to watch the Sugarland concert that Timber recorded, and it was pretty good. Even if you don't like country music you should check it out.

4th of July

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dio-train.jpg
For the 4th of July this year we went up to Old Town Sacramento and had some fun with trains. We got to take Dio on an old steam engine and we also got to go through the California State Railroad Museum. Overall it was a fun day and on the drive home that night we got to see fireworks in lots of small towns.

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Trips
Adventure Race
DCNYC
Denali
Desolation Wilderness
Eastern Sierras
Half Dome
Hetch Hetchy
John Muir Wilderness
Lost Coast
Mount Shasta[2][3]
Mount Whintey
Prairie Creek Redwoods SP
Skyline to the Sea Trail
Utah
White Mountain Peak[1][2]
Clouds Rest