Everyone has a different set of social references.  They help put people and issues in context and create a meaning through analogy that’s might not be possible with abstract words standing alone.  So, to help understand the republican field, here they are as Buffy villains.  In keeping with the analogy, note that several have already fallen by the wayside.  [via FireFawkes]

Really, when I start to get below the surface it just makes me cry.

To build a future of quality health care, we must trust patients and doctors to make medical decisions and empower them with better information and better options. We share a common goal: making health care more affordable and accessible for all Americans. The best way to achieve that goal is by expanding consumer choice, not government control. So I have proposed ending the bias in the tax code against those who do not get their health insurance through their employer. This one reform would put private coverage within reach for millions, and I call on the Congress to pass it this year. The Congress must also expand health savings accounts, create Association Health Plans for small businesses, promote health information technology and confront the epidemic of junk medical lawsuits. With all these steps, we will help ensure that decisions about your medical care are made in the privacy of your doctor’s office — not in the halls of Congress. – President George W. Bush, January 28, 2008

Pretty words.  Kinda like the faux wood paneling at Borghealth - completely innocuous and intended to make you forget you’re in a room with a bunch of sick people.

So let’s talk about consumer choice instead of government control under President Bush’s reality. 

Consumer choice as long as a woman doesn’t choose to abort a pregnancy.

Consumer choice as long as you don’t follow your doctor’s recommendation for medical marijuana.

Consumer choice as long as your treatment isn’t derived from stem cell research.

Consumer choice as long as your medications are Made (and priced) in the U.S.A.

Consumer choice as long as your health insurance coverage isn’t based on a same-sex marriage.

Consumer choice as long as Oregon consumers don’t choose death with dignity.

And of course, consumer choice, but buyer beware, because there shouldn’t be any redress against malpractice by your private sector, privately chosen, medical services supplier.

 As someone who paid $3108 (plus co-pays) for the pleasure of being a member of BorgHealth last year, I did like the tax break talk though.  I always like tax break talk.  Almost as much as I like free drink talk.  I’m just not sure how much more consumer choice I can take from the federal government.  At this rate I could end up like poor Terry Schiavo.

In fairness, I detest the crowd that would deny me treatment based on animal research just as much – I just can’t pin that one on the current administration.

Good weekend including the Cirque du Soleil Corteo show here in San Diego and a great breakfast with an old friend. 

Lousy Monday with a lot of rain and a router upgrade that’s fighting back.  Even though the symptoms don’t make any sense to me, the common denominator in all our recent internet problems seems to be the wireless router, upgrading the software seems to have made things worse, and replacement looks to be cheaper than having someone come by to confirm the diagnosis.

My preferred stance on snow is that it’s fine as long as you go to it.  It should never come to you.

On his way to work yesterday, just after finishing a particularly aggravating round of Business of Law, Spinner called and said he saw snow on Mount Palomar.  I didn’t really need any further prompts, and took Nissantruck out for a rare chance to use his 4×4, and his first look at snow since we left Idaho in ’99.  The only thing missing was a small, overly active dog.  Snow needs to be bounced through. 

My internet connection’s been spotty for over a week now, and charting the fingerpointing of diagnosis and responsibility looks like the flowing arms of some hindu god. Then tonight the TV dropped dead. Just dead, not even a nice shower of sparks. Dead.

On a related note, local bureaucrats made their way down some list yesterday and let me volunteer to work the upcoming election. Chuckie’s going to bring democracy to North County. I’m going to be the Touchscreen Inspector for my little precinct. The way things are going though that might mean Dick Cheney will get California’s democratic delegates.
[Via BlackBerry]

Limited internet access for the last week or so has probably been good for me, especially since I’ve been reading and finally started getting to the gym again, something that slipped over the holidays.  The jolt to the system from going luke-warm turkey reminds me of what’s supposed to be important.

But on a borrowed connection this morning I saw this.  Even the worst addict respects quality stuff.  Maybe I can’t always hold out for the best, but I know it’s out there and I want it.

And to be candid, despite my good intentions, I like it when my addictions are enabled.  It helps me rationalize my own inability to say no.  So please feed the monkeys on my back, just do it with quality stuff.

Having some home internet issues. Something that my ISP is absolutely certain is not their responsibility is preventing access to part of the internet, including the admin page for Howling Point.
[Via BlackBerry]

Proud to announce that Nissantruck is now officially not a Gross Polluter. For a truck that’s fourteen years old with 165,000 miles on two continents, I’d say that’s pretty good.
[Via BlackBerry]

I was on my third day of solid hearings, meetings and keyboard pounding when I finally pushed things aside this afternoon and went for a swim.  It wasn’t until I was there that I realized it was my first time at the pool since the holidays.  Maybe I needed the break, but it feels good that it’s over.

Tip for aspiring attorneys:

Skip those silly written briefs.  They scatch, they chafe, and you’re supporting the killing of innocent trees.  *sob* Red always wanted to be housing for the homeless, but instead he was mulched into becoming a motion to compel responses to the fifteenth set…  *sob*  Always go to court with something soft, supporting and straight from the package for that comfy and confident feeling needed to steamroll your opposition.

Yes, it was a good morning in court today.