Ah, well. It makes April more manageable. So where should we go instead? Hmmm.
October 21st, 2009
A Thought Experiment on Health Care
I was just talking with my mother about this today. She’s very Republican, a Fox watcher. But she went through the same stuff I did when Dad got sick and passed away and she has lots of friends who have been put in financial dire straits by an ill loved one. She’d expressed her reservations about the government getting into Health Care and this popped out of my mouth.
Imagine The Government didn’t build the US Highway and Interstate System, instead leaving it to private industry. At first it’s a good deal. Roads are built between major destinations at no taxpayer cost. Sure, you have to pay your way (via tolls and user fees), but who doesn’t have to pay their way in this world, right? As the years pass, the gaps in the system become evident. Smaller places that can’t yield enough profit to have roads are put in financial distress; the road companies shrug and say we can’t make a profit doing that. How about a subsidy from The Government? We could do it if you help us defray the cost.
Over the years the Road Companies get very big. New technologies provide ways to make cheaper roads and better access to every corner of America, or very nearly. They’ve also been raising their tolls and charges faster than inflation, because, hey, technology only makes things a little less expensive. There’s all these people we employ, research and development on new road surfaces and collection methods, retention bonuses and advertising. Why advertising? Because if people use the competition’s roads, we get less money and we can’t do our public service for you, the road user.
Sure, at first the toll was only for cars, but ever since we started marketing our Walking Lanez (TM) for folks without cars to get where they’re going for a low monthly costs (You saw our commercial about how dangerous those Public Sidewalks are, didn’t you? Those things are classic examples of Big Government–I hear they’re breeding grounds for crime.), and our new Bike Lanez (TM), we’ve taken they way you used to travel by road and taken it to the next level. Now we’re proud to say you can’t take a step off your property without using one of our fine paid connections to the post office, the corner store, we even make sure you can get to see Grandma every Sunday (normal rates apply).
But there are always complainers. People who feel the need to go a lot of places are complaining to their Congressmen that tolls and road fees are eating up too big a portion of their income, and if they suddenly have to make several unplanned big trips they could even go bankrupt. This is America, friends. Everyone must pay their way, right? We even generously offer insurance plans against the possibility of a long unplanned trip for only pennies a day. Not all trips are covered, of course. If you use one of our competitors roads, or you insist on the most direct, flat, and level route, then you just need to realize these things cost us as much as it costs you. Commercials don’t make themselves, you know.
So, stepping outside this voice a moment, you have a system where an essential service has been abdicated early on to private industry to the point that no-one alive knows any other way. The fear of change holds us fast, and the fear of having to raise funds from individuals holds Congress fast, and we’re paying money into a system that Government can indeed handle (imagine if The Government had built the roads instead–what, you say?). Stepping even further back from this thought experiment, Mom’s on Medicare and she’s knows exactly what would happen without it. No-one on Medicare wants it to go away.
Stepping back in to the experiment again: Just picture an adult at the height of their earning power who bought a house right near where he needs to be and has no interest in traveling. He just pays his tolls and writes outraged letter about how if he can live this way, then anyone can. But when he has a heart attack and the Government ambulance ready to whisk him to the National Health Service Hospital says “We’ve got it all covered, sir. We just need the tolls in advance. We take Mastercard and Visa.” “I can’t afford that! I’ve never needed it before! You can’t plan for something …like…”
Extreme, yes. But thought experiments are fun that way. And this worked pretty well on Mom. I’ve heard arguments not unlike this about schools, police and fire departments, but imagining if every single road meant paying up no matter where you went and what you did, and the rapacity of private interests and what they would do to maximize their profits at our expense, is it really such a fantasy?
Support a Public Option for healthcare in this country. Hell, demand it. If someone like Chuck Grassley has to discard every bit of his credibility to preserve the current healthcare system, then you know our elected officials have a price. All we have to do is make it not worth it for them; Congress understands unemployment, because it’s something that can actually happen to them.
October 18th, 2009
Catching Up–Fallcon 2009
It’s a week out from the Minnesota Fallcon and here’s the report and pics.
Will G and I drove to Des Moines to meet up with Carter, who had rented a rather nice Ford Edge for the journey north. We’d been to Fallcon a few times earlier in the decade, but we’d been absent for the last four or so. We’re stepping up our con presence now, and this seemed an obvious choice. Tables are free and they’re exceedingly nice. Will Beard wasn’t able to make it, so that gave us two entire tables to spread out our stuff.
Anyways, the journey was nice and smooth. New cars have the rather obvious addition of a stereo pin input jack for the sound system to facilitate mp3 players. I’ve been slowly rebuilding my 80s metal collection lately; I sold off most of my metal when I went through a serious jazz phase after starting my first radio gig, a weekly jazz show on KTXT in Lubbock, Texas. I was brought on to complement the serious jazz guy they got. This is my usual role in the world; I am there to do all the weird stuff. Anyways, I had my little player (a little Creative model because I despise being told what to do with my music) full of Borknagar and Agathodaimon and Candlemass and Bolt Thrower and if I keep ticking these off I’m gonna have to go headbang some. I also plugged in some sold new comedy albums from Louis CK and Dana Gould.
We made our usual stop at Owatonna, MN to go to the giant Cabela’s store there. They’ve built up a lot of new stuff around that thing. Will was the most amazed; he’d never been. He got a stuffed wolverine. Seriously. I always buy a new cap (this time a wool ballcap that made my hand hot just carrying it) and something made me buy a skullcap-style insulated cap. This was a good thing.
We used my GPS (nicknamed Tina after Will and Kelli and my trip to visit Wizard World Chicago Comicon Banana Nut Crunch Whatever it’s called now) and it steered us nicely to the Ramada on Industrial Ave. It’s in the process of renovation so there are dodgy touches here and there (the pillows actually gave me a bit of a rash), but they’re trying hard.
We were able to slip into the bar for a quick one and some food. They had a great Oatmeal Stout on tap (Lake Superior)–not to thick, but nice and dark. We were too late for the Friday load-in, but we’re nimble and quick to set up. Next morning we headed to the Minnesota state fairgrounds and to the Grandstand there.
The last Fallcon we’d been to was in the Ag Building, which is a good deal smaller. There’s a gigantic garage door at one end, and this was open for the bigger booths to move in. This is where the new cap turned out to be a great idea. Had it on the whole day. Coupled with the vest and trousers, I was either completing a gentleman thief look, or I’m the worst Little Steven impersonator ever. But I’m warm, and that’s what counts.
We tried out Carter’s idea of dividing the table up by creator, and this worked pretty well. I can pretty much cover a table with all the stuff I’ve written. That’s pretty cool. SYPHILITIC COWBOYS got a lot of double and triple takes, but the big seller for me was ZOO FORCE: We Heart Libraries. The cover has the uncanny ability to draw in librarians with its awesomeness. Shades and Angels books did well, too; I even did some trade on FRAGMENTA 2. The economy being what it is, though, it’s still pretty hard to get that cold dollar, the money from folks who haven’t read any of our stuff before.
I nabbed a great New Gods Kalibak figure for my pal Lonnie; I always find him some ugly dude for his desk at these things. I got a Kirby-looking Superman fig for myself, along with a few movies. I’m a big fan of Sergio Martino, especially the movies ISLAND OF THE FISHMEN and AFTER THE FALL OF NEW YORK. So what do I find but QUEEN OF THE FISHMEN, a sequel to BOTH movies. It’s a clever way to save dough on footage and props and isn’t as bad as you think. The movie follows two kids who are hunting rats to fill their hungry bellies. They even witness some events of ATFONY before they set out for the island where the fishmen live. Crazy.
People were very nice, interested in all this newness. Just a couple tables down was Gerry Conway. On Sunday I worked up the nerve to say hi and give him a copy of NUMBERS. Even met Michael T Gilbert; I think I have to get a NEUTRO from him.
We were bordered on the left by a large dealer booth. This is one of the great things about FALLCON; they mix up the floorplan. There’s no Artists Alley ghetto. Everything’s mixed up nicely.
Saturday night we passed on the free steak dinner Fallcon had going. We had a Hawkeyes game to catch. So we ensconced ourselves in the hotel bar and persuaded the bartender to have one of the big screens show Iowa v Michigan. After a great game and a couple more Oatmeal Stouts, it was off to bed.
Sunday was much warmer, so I was able to leave the cap aside. I spent a little time hunting up a NEUTRO, to no avail (although Michael T Gilbert knew exactly what I was talking about–because he’s Michael T Gilbert ferchrissakes).
I went around picking up some minis and such that were new to me, and ended up getting t
wo issues of the Michelle Bachmann comic being produced by a group of folks who know the pain we feel when we see Rep Steve King (R-Iowa) has shot his mouth off again. It’s a fun comic with the sweep and verve of an issue of WORLD WAR 3 ILLUSTRATED. It made me want to do a Steve King comic, when actually what we need is a Chuck Grassley comic. Seriously, Grassley is selling his soul and can’t find a buyer.
Our Fallcon exclusive postcards disappeared fast. You have to see us at a con or you’re just not gonna get one, folks! We’re doing a new one for every con we go to now.
I took some video, but Blogger’s video embedding plain stinks. Ah well.
In all, it was a great time, but there’s that point on Sunday when we know we’ve had enough fun…
If we nab a table at New York Comicon in ’10, it may be hard to come back next year, but you never know.
October 18th, 2009
Catching Up: September CLP Summit in Des Moines
Every month or so, either Will and I go up to Des Moines or Carter comes back to Iowa City/Coralville and we strategize, work on stuff together, or, um, go watch the Hawkeyes beat Penn State at a tiki bar.
The following video is not Bigfoot. Yes, we’re wearing flight helmets. Watching this, you know what I know about the night.
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