Insanity…
So my training is basically back on track, although things are bit different than I expected them to be. My wife and I decided to do the Insanity workout thing and it's nuts... We've gotten through the first few sessions at this point and it looks like we're going to be sticking to it, which is really cool. I don't know if this is actually going to fully prepare me for the Tough Mudder (or just destroy my body before the TM), but it's going to do something...
I'm actually pretty excited that we are doing this together (although we aren't doing it at the same time during the day) as it will keep us honest and on-schedule.
Catching up a bit on Training
So I've gotten in three runs over the last week, which is really good and at the end of the last one I was starting to feel like I'm getting back on track. I've been eating like an idiot, though so I need to get that under control. It's basically a month before the Tough Mudder and I really, really need to turn up the heat on the training if I don't want to end up destroyed...
Training
Trying to get things back on track - I've gotten in a run this week (3 miles), but I'm still fighting off a cold. The ToughMudder is going to be a bitch when I get there having had very little chance to train....
Oh well - should be fun regardless. I actually think that I should be able to get a good 3-runs per week in starting this weekend and, if I can get things intensively enough moving, maybe I can sort of caught up in time...
Supreme Court and Obamacare: why the conservatives are skeptical of the Affordable Care Act. – Slate Magazine
This is a very good article and I think summarizes things very well. I really do get depressed by the way that the conservatives frame their arguments for this entire discussion.
Maybe I'm just fooling myself, but I like to think that most Americans do feel some sort of compassion for those with pre-existing conditions that are being denied insurance. That they do feel some sort of connection to those in our society that are having to make a choice between food and healthcare, that they feel some level of responsibility for their neighbors' well-being as well as their own.
I wish that people would try to put themselves in the shoes of someone that was less fortunate than they are - that has health issues (or a child with health issues), that doesn't have a solid, predictably stable job... How would they feel if they were in that situation and the rest of America turned their back on them...
Maybe it's just that I'm naive, but I'm feeling very sad at the moment about this entire debate...
A Couple of Notes About ‘ObamaCare’
So I'm listening to coverage of the supreme court challenge of the healthcare mandate and I'm slightly disturbed by the misconceptions. And pissed about the shitty job the administration did in educating the public (i.e. 'selling it').
Some notes:
- ObamaCare will not force you to buy insurance if you already have insurance through your employer/union/whatever. The 'mandate' is to have coverage, NOT to buy coverage.
- The concept of a personal mandate is a Republican proposal from the 90s - personal responsibility... It was put forward as a better alternative than 'employer-mandated insurance'
- There are no fucking 'death panels'. Period.
- This is not a single-payer model in which the government determines what's right for you and your family. In fact the whole damn thing looks like the republicans put it together for their friends in the insurance industry. This is not socialism...
- There are no fucking 'death panels'. Period. In case you missed it...
- The mandate is estimated to only affect 7% of the US population... The rest of us have insurance through work, we're over a certain age, etc.
This law is a very small step and not the evil, over-handed government socializing our lives. This is about making sure that we are taking responsibility for our own health care and actually NOT forcing the burden of our health costs into the rest of society.
I'm really confused by republican opposition - this sets up personal responsibility, it should reduce the overall burden of society to cover health costs, it creates revenue for the private insurance companies, and it doesn't create a single-payer, government-run system... They should love this shit.
Training…
Man - things have not been good lately on the training front... I ended up traveling quite a bit and it got me out of my routine. I need to get things started back up this weekend - I've got the Tough Mudder in a couple of months and I'm going to get my ass kicked if I don't get back in the groove.
Lauren Zuniga, To the Oklahoma Lawmakers: a poem – YouTube
In the same vein as the last post - I really do think that our politicians today are doing very little with their time that is useful for our country... Thank you Lauren!
The GOP’s War on Women – Boing Boing
As a white male who is rapidly approaching middle age, I am constantly confused by all of the other white males (most of whom are really past middle age) that feel the need to legislate women's health issues.
In fact, I'm embarrassed about the whole thing. Not embarrassed about the topics, but embarrassed that a bunch of white, upper-middle-class men feel that they can tell all women (regardless of their religion, social-economic situation, race, etc.) what they can and can't do with their bodies ... regardless of the wishes of the woman, regardless of the medical needs of some future, individual situation....
I'm also embarrassed by their holier-than-thou attitude - 'women are too slutty and depraved to make their own decisions about their health' is basically what they are saying. Fuck them.
I realize that woman have had to deal with being treated like second-class citizens for a long time and maybe they are used to it or something, but I really don't understand how they can tolerate these idiot politicians - if all of the women in this country got out and voted on election day maybe we could get some of these self-serving idiots out of government and they can go back home and try to figure out why their wives aren't sleeping with them anymore (here's a tip to any politicians that might read this - it's your voting record....)
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