Monday, August 25, 2008

Echos Come Up From The Basement Of My Brain Sometimes.

I don't know why. They just do. Miscellaneous thoughts or feelings that didn't quite gel at the time, but weren't quite forgotten. Like a Christmas present from your uncle you're not quite sure what to do with. Except it's like the Christmas presents come up from the basement where they've been stored and pop up on your kitchen table every once in awhile.

Day of Rage. That's what popped up on the kitchen table of my brain today for no particular reason. I remember hearing something about it on the news years ago and thinking I was gonna have to look into it. The term just sounded so cool. Day of Rage. If I remembered correctly it had something to do with Palestinians being a little sick of the uninvited guests who showed up after Hitler tried to kill them all. Sure enough, I looked it up today:

The mainstream Palestinian movement Fatah and Islamic groups had called for a ''day of rage'' today to mark the start of the first Palestinian uprising, which began in 1987 and ended after the 1993 Oslo peace accord.


I'm jealous. I want a Day of Rage. Mine wouldn't have anything to do with Middle Eastern politics though. I think my Day of Rage would be declared against health insurance companies. Me and any of you that want to join me could get us some of those cool Yasser Arafat head scarves and some slingshots, and we'd ride up to insurance company headquarters and let the stones fly, breaking many windows.

Then Aetna would come at us with a tank, and start firing rubber bullets. But we'd be like, "Fuck you Aetna. There's no reason for you to require a Prior Auth for Imitrex and then cover Maxalt unless you're getting some sort of payola from Merck! Eat a rock bastards!"

And they would indeed eat rocks. Many rocks. And not just Aetna.

After our Day of Rage the corporate media would have to pay attention to us, at least for a little bit, if for no other reason than because Aetna would have to explain to their shareholders why they spent money on tank deployment. We could use the opportunity to explain that $31.18 a week to make sure every old codger in this country gets the medical care they need is a bargain, and that bargain's got nothing to do with the private sector.

I didn't make that number up. $31.18 a week is what I chip into Medicare. And that covers 43,000,000 of this country's oldest and sickest citizens. If you're not a pharmacist, you're probably chipping in far less. Go look. And while you're at it compare what you're paying Medicare to how much you're paying Aetna or one of their ilk to pretend to cover your healthy ass.

After we had a chance to make our case to the corporate media, Aetna and their ilk would be shamed out of business and Medicare would be expanded to cover the entire population, saving everyone money and boosting the quality of care. That's right bitch. I said saving money and improving the quality of care. Any of you right wing corpo-stooges want me to prove it you just drop me a line. I'll warn you though, you better ask politely. You come in my house with any of that Rush Limbaugh attitude and I will get out my fact claws and tear you to shreds.

Anyway, that's my day of rage. I might have to go down to the basement and see what else is there.

11 comments:

Scritches.com said...

Bring it on, baby! I'm with you all the way.

Unknown said...

What a glorious day that would be!!

Anonymous said...

Anyway, that's my day of rage. I might have to go down to the basement and see what else is there.

I'm hiding in the basement. Come find me. :)

Left Bower said...

I had a day of fury some time ago. It involved me taking vengence against a bunch of those d*ckh**ds that take up two/three parks, whilst parking. Eat key, sucker. What? Why did I juce a bag of oranges onto your car? Day-of-fury'd.

Jsut don't get that mixed up with day of furry. *shudder*

Anonymous said...

The other day it occurred to me that the money that we all send to the health insurance companies before seeing the paycheck stub, could in fact be sent to some 'central governmental' agency to reduce the intricacies of different programs, and simplify the reimbursement schema to the healthcare providers. Kids should get in on the preventative measurse, and older ones of us (working stiffs) as a majority don't have catastrophic illnesses, but when we do, we like to be able to get what is necessary to get on with our lives and back to work, not lose everything and then have to rely on the 'dole-outs'. The idea is probably called 'national health insurance' but it's time has come, and it'll be here until we all reach the educational level of medical physicians, plus our own radiologist, lab technologist, etc., unfortunately we pharmacists will have to remain a business as we can't dispense our own prescriptions.

Phathead said...

I think it would be quite beneficial for the profession of we as a whole had our own Day of Rage.

Could you imagine finally being able to go off on the crackhead who calls 40 times a day to get his Lortab refilled? Or to tell the old coot who read in a book that only name brand drugs work that she's a quack? Or tell the woman with 9 kids, all by different daddies, that maybe she should close her legs once in a while?

Hell I'm gettin' a woody just thinking of the proposition...

Cracked Pestle said...

I'm chipping in 67.19 every two weeks to Medicare, and, and, AND 91.05 to medical insurance. I think you're onto something here, Drugmonkey.

Anonymous said...

I would gladly take a small pay cut for universal health insurance. It just kills me to see hard-working people have to go w/o care because they can't afford their co-pay! Call me naive, but come on, we already make plenty.
The upside -- we wouldn't have to deal w/ reimbursements, prior auths, and keeping all the plans straight!

Anonymous said...

Speaking of rage: what are your thoughts on the talk of the State of Texas requiring mandatory Gardasil vaccination in school aged girls? Yes, the "cervical cancer" vaccine brought to you by the honest and generous people responsible for Vytorin.

Anonymous said...

You're my hero. All of my pharmacists are broken down shells of human spirits with no fight left in them.

Strange Fruit said...

I've been looking forward to socialized medicine for the entire 30 years I've been practicing pharmacy. Everyone has always looked at me like I'm a lunatic, and said brilliant things like, "But I've heard such horror stories about socialized medicine." And have you not been listening, and watching, to the stories you hear and see every day right in your own pharmacy, right from your own friends and family, about the horrors of their own medical insurance experiences? Get civilized.