Use Back button
to return. Features
|
By
JIM STREET Ed
& Pub It’s only
three letters long: “Why.” It is one of the biggest little words in the
dictionary, second perhaps only to “if.” But it has been all but totally
forgotten in all the debate about “healthcare reform.” Failure to
consider the “why” of any problem is going to result in a lot of wrong
responses. Why is your
hand burning? Perhaps it’s on the stove. Remove hand from stove. Problem
solved. Why is it cold
in the bedroom? The window’s open. Close window, turn on heater. Problem
solved. Why are you
overweight? Because you eat too much. Stop eating so much. Problem solved. OPINION The healthcare
“crisis” is a direct result of too much insurance. Does anybody talk about
less insurance? No. All they talk about is more insurance. And more
government control. If your hand
is still burning, turn up the heat on the stove. That’ll help. Well, it makes
as much sense as the bloviating going on in Washington. If costs are
too high, they want to solve it by adding $1 trillion to the cost – their
estimate. Some say it will be $2.5 trillion or more. Put your hand back on
the stove. In last week’s
“healthcare summit,” thank God the Republicans didn’t listen to some of their
own advice. They didn’t boycott the event and wound up finally getting to air
some of their solutions. No one can now
claim the Republicans are “Missing in Action,” voting no but offering nothing
in return. And there was
some hope that at least some of their thoughts, such as tort reform and
letting people buy policies across state lines, might be in a new, “smaller”
bill to have been submitted this week but there was precious little in
Obama’s statement Wednesday. While the GOP
plans were better by several orders of magnitude than the Democratic takeover
of the industry, there was still precious little about removing insurance as
the primary financing mechanism for health care. There was some
reference to “catastrophic” coverage – the only insurance that makes sense in
my view. But it’s not nearly enough. And the
Associated Press quoted House Speaker Nancy Pelosi as saying after the
nationally televised event that it proved GOP lawmakers were "accepting
of the status quo" in which insurance companies mistreat consumers. To be sure,
the insurance companies have not made the job any easier. Several West Coast
insurers filed for hefty rate increases just as the summit was getting under
way. And the attitude of too many insurance companies of late has just
compounded the efforts to get a handle on healthcare costs. But that’s
just the point. Insurance is fine for those events that only happen to a
small percentage of the coverage pool. Everyone pays into a “shared risk”
fund so those who do have a serious loss can draw on that money. Those who
don’t need it have the peace of mind of knowing it’s there if they ever need
it. But insurance
is exactly the wrong model to pay for something everyone is going to need, Health
“insurance” has been around for a while but it really got a big push after
World War II when wage and price controls forced employers to find “perks”
when they couldn’t offer more pay. It got another
huge boost when insurance companies found 30 some years later they could
boost sales by offering to eliminate “out of pocket costs.” We started
looking to insurance to pay for every little tummy ache and, guess what.
Prices soared exponentially. The White
House had hoped the soap-opera summit would force Republicans to submit to
its massive plan and, as one unnamed Democratic was quoted as saying before
it happened, it would “give a face to gridlock in the form of House and
Senate Republicans.” But that
“gridlock” was the GOP’s response to the American people who said in no
uncertain terms they don’t like the proposed healthcare monstrosity. It’s
particularly onerous now with the nation speeding down the track to a certain
economic train wreck. The Rasmussen
Poll showed that 61 percent of the country wanted them to go back to the
drawing board and other polls showed similar results. And “gridlock”
can’t be all bad. It means the government can’t function and can’t spend our
hard-earned tax dollars. It’s not
really about healthcare, anyway. It’s about how we pay for it. And, in fact,
it’s really about government control of every aspect of our lives. The United
States of America is a model to the world for freedom and prosperity. And we
have the best healthcare system in the world. Bar none. But the party in
power wants to throw all that away. They say we need to be more like the rest
of the world. Why? The Indian
Head Nickel It was minted
form 1913 to 1938 and was worth five cents. It is also known as the Buffalo
Nickel or Bison Nickel. On one side
was a profile of an American Indian chief and on the other side was the
profile of the American Buffalo. By 1950 or
1960, most were removed from circulation and today there might be one in
25,000 in circulation and they’re worth from 35 cents to $1,200 depending on
the coin. Looking at
that coin reminded me of something in the Bible. Just as there
are two sides to that coin, Christians can go through life two different ways
and it all depends on our attitude or response. We can be
unhappy or dissatisfied with everything. It is called murmuring. It can be
toward God and some examples are in Exodus 16:8, Psalm 78:17 to 21 and
Proverbs 19:3. It can be
against spiritual leaders or pastors or preachers (Exodus 16:2 and 3, Numbers
16:2and 3, 16:41.) How about
circumstances or just having our way (Romans 9:19 and 20)? It can be
against others in Church (Luke 10:40, James 5:9.) It can even be against
Jesus Christ himself (John 6:41 to 43.) These things
God is not pleased with. God is pleased when we are thankful or can give
thanks just as Jesus did (Matthew 11:41, John 11:41), We should try
to find a way to give thanks always and in everything (Philippians 2:14 and 15,
1 Thessalonians 5:18.) See you in
Church next Sunday. Brother J Where months
got names Since the earliest times, the natural
cycles of the Sun and Moon have been used to measure intervals of time. Solar cycles define days, years and
seasons while the Moon marks off months. There are two major lunar cycles, the
best known being the 29 1/2-day synodic month during which the Moon goes from
new Moon to new Moon. "Synodic" refers to the meeting of the Sun
and Moon. Less apparent is the 27 1/3-day
sidereal month which is based on the Moon's position as seen against the
background stars. If Earth weren't orbiting the Sun,
synodic and sidereal months would be equal but, since we are moving, the
synodic month takes longer. In a sidereal month, the Moon travels
360 degrees, or one complete circle, around Earth, before re-passing the same
background stars. During this time, however, Earth has
traveled nearly 1/12 of the way around the Sun, meaning the Moon must travel
nearly 390 degrees and two more days before reaching the next new Moon. A year being 365 1/4 days, there is
not an even number of synodic or sidereal months in a year. This was not a problem for cultures
that referred to these intervals by the names they gave full Moons, like
Harvest, Hunter's and Long Night Moon. But when our ancestors devised formal
calendars, adjustments were required, like adding or subtracting days and
even ignoring periods of time. These months approximate but no longer
exactly correspond with the lunar cycles. The names we use for our months derive
from the Romans and their Latin language. Originally, the Roman year had 10
months that began with March, named for Mars, the god of war. The second month, April, was named for
Aphrodite, or Venus, the goddess of love and beauty. May is the month of Maia, goddess of
spring. June honors Juno, goddess of women, childbirth and marriage. July was originally called Quintilis –
quintus is Latin for fifth – as the fifth month. It was renamed by Julius
Caesar in 46 BC to honor himself. Similarly, August, first known as
Sextilis as the sixth month, was changed by Augustus Caesar. The next four retained their Latin
numeric names. September was from septem for seven, as the seventh month,
October, for octo, as the eighth month, November, for novem, as the ninth
month and December, or decem, as the tenth month. The winter months apparently went
unnamed until about 700 BC when the eleventh and twelfth months were added. January was named for Janus, the
double-faced god of beginnings and endings who could see the past and the
future. February came from Februa, the
festival of purification. So like the names we use for many
constellations, as well as the days of the week, the names of our months were
invented by our ancient ancestors.
Sunday, Feb. 21, the Moon is at first
quarter. Thursday evening and all night, Feb.
25, Mars is to the left of the bright gibbous Moon. Sunday, Feb. 28, the Monday evening, March 1, the Moon is
to the right of Saturn as they rise around 8 p.m., following each other
across the sky all night. By morning the Moon is to the lower left of the
planet. Sunday, March 7, the Moon is at third
quarter.
The Sun, Moon and planets rise in the
east and set in the west due to Earth's west-to-east rotation on its axis. Evenings, Mars is prominent high in
the east as Saturn rises some two hours after sunset. Mornings, Saturn is in the west
southwest. Stargazer
appears every other week, space permitting. Paul Derrick is an amateur
astronomer who lives in Waco. Contact him at 918 N. 30th, Waco, 76707, (254)
753-6920 or paulderrickwaco@aol.com. See the Stargazer Web site at stargazerpaul.com. Digging up old
bones By
TUMBLEWEED SMITH Texas
Tales Tina and
Robert Roland have some unusual animals on their ranch east of Snyder. It’s
like a drive-through zoo. They don’t
allow any hunting so the watusis, zebus, water buffaloes, bisons, pot-bellied
pigs, horses and miniature donkeys walk around freely. The Rolands
love to look for arrowheads and other artifacts. Once they found a big white
bone sticking out of the ground in a canyon near a small body of water. Robert has
found buffalo jaws before and they assumed it was one of those. But there was
something about this one that made them curious. After poking
around it with a screwdriver and pocketknife they decided to call in an
expert paleontologist from Texas Tech to come down and investigate. “The
paleontologist looked and told me this is a geotolony, a large land turtle,
“that stood about three feet tall,” Tina said. “He was a big dude. Remains of
other turtles were found at the site. “We named this
first one after a friend of ours named Freddy,” she said. “So this turtle is
named Freddy Leone Geotolony.” They found a
huge turtle shell almost intact. The paleontologist told the Rolands when her
calendar cleared up she and a team would come down for two weeks and take a
good look at what might be there. Texas Tech got
interested in the project and for the past five years, a team of scientists
from the university has spent a month every summer digging up the remains of
ancient wildlife. “We have some
60 different animals at this time,” Tina said. “These include mastodons,
zebras, bats, alligators, horned toads, extinct hawks and eagles. “We had a
turkey last year that had a claw on its leg,” she said. “We found remains of
a three-toed horse that, fully grown, stands only three and a half feet tall.
“These are
going back 2.2 million years and, in this moist sand, they are perfectly
preserved,” Tina said. “Usually, you find things similar to this in tar pits
in California and when they recover something there, they’re all covered in
black tar.” The Rolands
provide food and shelter for the people on the dig. They housed them in
campers and tents at first, then bought a mobile home. “Whatever we
need to do, we will do,” Tina said. “We know this is important and we’re
excited about it. “Just to know
that these things existed around here is fascinating,” she said. “I think the
count is now something like 20,000 pieces we’ve donated to the Texas Tech
Museum. “It’s all
going toward research,” Tina said. “The scientists never believed there would
be that much in one area. They cast every piece in plaster and treat each one
to preserve them.” The site where
the dig is taking place is only five by eight feet. Scientists keep finding
so many things in this small area they are hesitant to leave it and look
elsewhere on the ranch. Tina says
there’s nothing like this anywhere else in the United States. She and Robert
are aware that these old remains need to be shared. Tommy Ray McDonald SAN ANGELO –
Funeral services will be at 3 p.m. today, March 5, at Sanderson Church of
Christ with Kenn Norris officiating for Tommy Ray “Buff” McDonald, 57, of
Sanderson, who died here Tuesday after a long illness. Interment will
follow at Cedar Grove Cemetery. McDonald was
born August 16, 1952, in Sanderson to James T. and Billie M. Wheat McDonald.
He graduated from Bel Air High School in El Paso. “Buff” had a
number of skills and trades that he worked at but became an electrician. He enjoyed being with his family and
friends and was loved by children who made a point to interact with them. He loved music
and, during conversations, would often break out with a song that was
relevant to that conversation. He also loved
traveling to see friends or relatives but almost as soon as he left Sanderson
he was ready to come home. Buff was
especially drawn to the Big Bend area, both while working on a vending route
and also as a river rat. No one who met
him came away from the encounter without a smile. He was
preceded in death by his father, James T. McDonald. He is survived
by his mother, Billie McDonald, of Sanderson; one son, Christopher Dillon
and Missy McDonald of Wichita Falls;
two brothers, Earl and Rose McDonald of Spring and Gary and Denise McDonald
of San Angelo; nephews, Matthew and Jill McDonald of Spring and Pace and Jwan
Morgan of Sweetwater; his great nephew, Tyler Morgan of San Angelo; a
“special nephew” Brent Elston of San Diego, CA; his “other brother,” David
Jones of Fredericksburg; his special friends, Albert Cantu and Pam Douglas,
and numerous aunts, uncles and cousins.
The family
requests that memorials be made to the Rob McClellan Scholarship Fund, P.O.
Box 747, Sanderson. Sarah Joy
Sublett MIDLAND –
Susie and Phillip Sublett of Sanderson have announced the birth of their
daughter, Sarah Joy Sublett, who arrived Jan. 4 at Midland Memorial Hospital
West Campus here. She weighed
six pounds, nine ounces, and was 19 inches long. Paternal
grandparents are Nan Sublett of Rule and Cynthia Hope and John Sublett of
Azle. Maternal grandparents are the late Joyce Owen Goldwire and the late
A.N. Farley, Jr., of Sanderson. Colby
Pendleton GRAPEVINE –
Colby Alan Pace Pendleton was born here Feb. 12 to Lance and Jill Pendleton
of Newark. He weighed in
at six pounds, eight ounces and was 20 inches long. Paternal
grandparents are Barry and Susan Pendleton of Sanderson. Material
grandparents are Jack and Janice Weed of Wilmington, MA. He was
welcomed by his big sister Savanna Ryan Pendleton. |
|
|