I spent most of Wednesday in Bed, I don't know if the Storms brought something with it but I had a Headache, Sneezed a lot, felt generally icky and not so good. I still haven't heard from the Specialist to get that appointment for my Ear, so, if by end of Week they haven't contacted me my Primary Doc wants to know. This happened last time she tried to get a Specialist to contact me about that lump on my Forehead, which never did get resolved and I finally decided not to pursue it further. But, the Ear Issue could be Serious and she told me to inform her if they don't contact me right away, so, I will. When it comes to Dermatology I find that they don't seem eager to pick up New Patients, so mebbe they're devoid of openings for anyone 'New'? I have a PPO so I'm not restricted on why I can be seen by, so, that's not the Issue like it would be with an HMO.
When we transfer to HUMANA at the first of the Year, by necessity, we'll keep all our existing Docs and I'm glad about that. The Man's Cardiologist, Dr. Singh, had no problem with the change, nor did my Primary Doc, and the VA Docs for The Man don't care which Civilian Docs you're seeing, they don't restrict him from seeing anyone Civilian. So our transition should be a smooth one with no conflicts that are obvious. They'd all heard about AETNA and United Healthcare dropping Medicare eligible Veterans and their Families locally, they all felt like we did about it, shitty thing to do to our Older Service Families. But, you know, anytime any Business feels that way about our Veterans and their Dependents, then I'd rather not do Business with them frankly, fuck them. And our VA Subcontracted Nurse was saying AETNA is the Worst anyway, she doesn't even know how they stay in Business coz they charge so much?! I didn't know that, never had AETNA and now I'd never want them as an Option either.
I had been pleased with United Healthcare tho', never had any problems personally and liked them enuf to keep them, they dropped us involuntarily, not the other way around. But, pretty sure people had begun to have Issues with them, hence, why their CEO got Assassinated, most likely? Mangione probably Targeted that Healthcare's CEO for a more personal reason than randomly, I suspect? We know he expressed hostility towards the Health Insurance Industry, we don't exactly know why, but I would think it was deeply Personal in some way. I don't condone violence and murder, but I do know that desperate people are more prone to doing desperate things. And that's what worries me about what's looming large in America right now as ordinary Citizens might become more desperate. People not being able to afford to Live or seek Care reach a level of desperation you can't fathom unless you are in their Situation. Give People nothing left to Lose and they likely have no more Fucks to Give either.
I know when talking to The Young Prince about the whole Wal-Mart Ban, I Raised him to be Honest and have Principles, he's not Criminally inclined. But, he said after going hungry and not getting help, you will steal Food before you will starve and I agree, some basic Needs will require being met and Starvation is not a pleasant thing to suffer needlessly when our Country has such abundance. No Human in America should go Hungry and especially no Child in America. Nobody facing a Medical Crisis or Emergency should be turned away for lack of being able to Pay for Emergency Services in the Richest Country on Earth. I don't think anyone in America should have to live on the Streets and not have adequate Shelter. We extend more Compassion to Domestic Animals than that. I don't think that's a Socialist or Political Viewpoint in any way, so much as it's a Humanitarian Viewpoint. I don't want any Sentient Being to have to suffer, period.
I finally got rid of my Headache and tried to take this Show on the Road, big mistake, even tho' I tell The Man to use the Bathroom before we leave he insists he doesn't have to. Then when we get someplace far enuf way from any Public Restroom he suddenly has an Urgency to Go. And, we've had bad accidents before now, which is messy, so I end up having to mad dash back to where I know there is a Public Restroom available that won't give you a hassle about using it. Now, it's not as if any Business doesn't have one, but they refuse to let Customers use it. And once, when they got surly about it when he wouldn't be able to make it anywhere else... he had his accident right there and they had to clean shit up off their floor for Minimum Wage. Oh well, I had to clean my Truck up when I got Home too and he had the humiliation of what happened in Public, so nobody was Happy, were they? *Insert Resting Bitch Face and takes a Deep Breath... Inhale... Exhale! Ohmmmmm*
So, since I'd had to drive more than halfway back Home I aborted the whole going out thing. He was petulant, but, he had refused to wear a Pull-Up either and I don't battle him about it, we just stay Home when it's too much hassle to take the Show on the Road. I don't get Mad, I just cancel whatever was planned and decide, well, mebbe another day things will work out better and we'll try again? That's all you can do when you're a Caregiver, some Days just don't work out and it's best then to just go nowhere to spare yourself. With starting the day out not feeling great until past Noon anyway, I didn't have it in me for Extreme Caregiver Episodes playing out in Public. Nice Day after the Storms cleared, so it was a pity, I had high Hopes. HAD being the Key Word here. *Eye Roll and Le Sigh* Well, at least he made it to McDonalds in time and the Kids there were not playing Toilet Police. *Whew* I remained Composed and Calm.
"This is why I can't Eat!" he says angrily... "And you shouldn't have fed me Breakfast!"... as if NOT ever Eating is a Solution... especially when you're on loads of Medications that can't be taken on an Empty Stomach... but, to the Dementia and TBI Addled Mind, that's his Logic. *Bigger Sigh* I have no Words, so, just don't respond and drive Home in Silence, he can't pick a Fight with someone not Listening, Engaging or Talking. *Winks* Works for me. *Bwahahahaha* I'll just go Home and Blog until I pick a Grandchild up from Work, park your Ass in front of your rerun Programs on the Big Screen... so, don't threaten me with a
Good Time. *Smiles* He'll be fine now, disaster was averted, everything is as it should be. Tomorrow will be a brand new day.
I did manage to find Two very large spectacular Wishing Stones before he informed me we had to find a Bathroom FAST. And I Traded in 19 Lbs. of Aluminum at the Recycle Center that we'd gleaned a few days before, so, it was productive until it wasn't. Small Victories, and, the Weather did improve over this Morning by the time it was Afternoon. If I Need to Get Out I'll just ask The Daughter if she'll Babysit her Dad for me so I can unwind some for a while, she and Mando are here and The Man is back in his Routine at Home so he should be Chill enough to manage until Sundown, when deterioration sets in. Lately I just put him comfortably in a Room by himself with Snacks and a TV, in a Media Chair, away from everyone else come Sundown and then there's no Old Man Drama. The Young Prince has been visiting a Friend for a couple days, he said he forgot how much Work his Grandpa is to be around. It's hard for him to see his Grandpa deteriorating and with being gone so long he sees how much further he's deteriorated since they lived here.
I'm thinking he is weighing whose harder to be around, his Husband Allen, or his Grandpa? And which is less Emotionally difficult? At least his Husband is Working during the Day and is Medicated at Night, so, I'm Guessing Allen is easier? *Winks* Since The Young Prince is Schizophrenic, he just can't handle if someone else is difficult to be around, and has their own significant Issues, so, it's understandably hard for him to Cope, but he has to. He needs a Full Time Caregiver and cannot be Employed, too much Liability for any Employer, and he hasn't been able to Qualify for SSI, they keep raising the Bar on how Crazy you need to be apparently. Even if you're Unemployable and have no Income or ability to Care for yourself, if your Family do, Social Security feels they should just take Care of you for Life with no Federal Assistance or Present Help. Tho' he did Qualify for limited Mental Health/Health and some temporary Nutritional Assistance at least. And, his Spouse has to be gone more than half the Day to Work, so he's without a Caregiver more often than he has one available.
Anyway, The System isn't good, but it's only worsening under this Administration, to where we may have NO System in place for the most vulnerable of our Society very soon. This Regime has quite an obvious Hitleresque Take on who they deem the "Undesirables" of Society they would prefer to just Eliminate and Voice it quite often. So, I'm not being hyperbolic about their intentions, they say it loud and proud with no shame or conscience. When people boldly proclaim or do heinous shit, you should Believe they do support such things and aren't "Just Joking" or don't really mean it. When ICE is shooting Pastors in the Head from Rooftops, who are merely Praying for them, and posing no Threat whatsoever, I know what kind of Goons he's Hiring to do his dirty work and Arm with Weaponry to use against People on our Streets in America. I don't have to fucking Speculate, I see it with my own Eyes. And it reminds me of what Hired Goons used to do all the time to People of Color during the Civil Rights Era, and it's deeply disturbing that we're regressing.
Lost Ground mebbe that will take Generations to try to Recover to even be where we used to be before this Fuckery. Well, fuckedy fuck fuck! Granted, it never actually ever stopped and People of Color have endured it now for Hundreds of Years here, but it's escalating rapidly now and going almost completely unchallenged. And we know Women's Rights are being stripped quickly, and Gay Rights, and the Rights of the Disabled, and certain persecuted Religions, or where someone Immigrated from. He welcomed a very minuscule Minority of White South Africans to America who he deemed needed immediate Asylum and granted it. Whereas some Asylum seekers from other Nations have languished for Years waiting for their Cases to be heard and are being Deported when they show up for their Court Hearings they're required to attend. Guess what Color they are? NOT White. Which is Donnie Two Dolls and his Cabal's only Real Criteria. Be Rich... oh, and definitely be White... and be willing and able to Pay big Bribes to this New Feudal System in place.
And the ones who'll be the most disillusioned shall be the Poor and mostly White, predominantly uneducated, MAGA devout Base, or Angry Old more Affluent White Folk, who he weaponed, Conned, and used until they are no longer any use to him and his Cabal of Elite. Then under the Bus they go and they never saw it coming... Eyes kept Wide Shut, Warnings not heeded. So long as it was someone else he made Suffer they were Fine with that, so long as he didn't Come for them... but until it's them, I never expected a Revelation, I honestly didn't, he was their Guy until it's them. And deception works like that, playing into people's fears, biases, insecurities, anger. Psychologically there is even a 'Type' of person more vulnerable for that kind of manipulation and exploitation.
I had a Clinical Psychologist explain it and then it made perfect sense. In fact, those with a more Liberal Mindset and those with a more Conservative Mindset are Psychologically different in how they Process the World around them. In personality, moral reasoning and reactions to threats, real or perceived. It can and often does influence how people perceive and respond to the World... it's called Personality Psychology and is some fascinating stuff to delve into and does identify consistent correlations with Political Ideology. I didn't even have to go too deep into the Weeds to see that there's merit to the Studies and Research that have been done. It was worth copying and Pasting the most interesting parts of the Research. And of coarse some folks are a blend. I would have to say, based on their Analysis I lean more towards being Liberal for sure, tho' not Extremely so and have some Conservative leanings which aren't as dominant in my Personality and Experiences.
Something to chew on and consider anyway as to our 'differences' being Deeper, and more Politically Exploitable on both Sides, than we might think:
- Openness to Experience: This trait is strongly associated with a liberal mindset. Those high in openness are curious, imaginative, and embrace variety and new ideas.
- Conscientiousness: Conservatives tend to score higher on conscientiousness. This involves being organized, disciplined, and responsible.
- Other traits: While less consistent, some studies show a link between liberals and higher agreeableness, and between conservatives and lower agreeableness. Findings for neuroticism and extraversion have been mixed or less clear.
- Liberals tend to build their morality primarily on two foundations:
- Care/Harm: Protecting others from harm and suffering.
- Fairness/Cheating: Ensuring justice and equal treatment for all.
- Conservatives use a broader "moral palette" that also heavily includes three "binding" foundations:
- Ingroup/Loyalty: Protecting one's own group, family, or nation.
- Authority/Respect: Deferring to authority figures and traditions.
- Purity/Sanctity: Valuing spiritual and physical cleanliness and avoiding disgust.
- Threat sensitivity: Conservatives tend to have a stronger and more pronounced physiological reaction to threatening or fear-inducing stimuli. This has been observed in their stronger reactions to stimuli like loud noises or disgusting images.
- Brain structure: Some research has found differences in brain regions associated with emotion and conflict processing. One study noted that liberals tended to have more gray matter in the anterior cingulate cortex (involved in conflict resolution), while conservatives had a larger amygdala (involved in emotional and threat evaluation).
- Embracing versus resisting change: Liberals are generally more comfortable with novelty, nuance, and complexity, and are more likely to advocate for social change. Conservatives, by contrast, are often more driven by a desire for security, predictability, and stability and tend to uphold traditional social arrangements.
- "Closed-mindedness": Historically, conservatives were described as more "closed-minded" or resistant to uncertainty than liberals. However, a 2020 meta-analysis found this difference has significantly diminished in the United States over time, suggesting that both liberals and conservatives have become more alike in their self-described "closed-mindedness".
- Liberal empathy: Liberals tend to express greater compassion for larger, less-defined, and more permeable social circles (universalism), such as all of humanity.
- Conservative empathy: Conservatives, conversely, tend to express compassion for more localized, well-defined, and less-permeable social circles (parochialism), such as family or nation.
- Levels of empathy: Some studies have found that liberals show higher general levels of empathy than conservatives, while others suggest that both groups display similar levels but direct their empathy differently towards in-groups and out-groups.
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