Social Healthcare - Social Wellfare!

Finally! It's so wonderful to hear a US citizen in her position say something like this.

I have friends who are citizens and residents of the US who can't afford healthcare at all on their own - and yet others who are working their butts of to pay for the basic necessities, paying to keep their healthcare, and yet have to choose between paying the rent and buying groceries that month - and luckily, the fortunate ones who are able to cover it all, PLUS having children and dogs (yes, both in plural).

This is why I am so happy that I live in a country like Denmark - and why I worry what it will be looking like if we go on with a right-wing government; they have already been here for three electoral periods, and it only seems to get worse.

We pay high taxes here in Denmark, but we also have a motherload of benifits. We have free public schools, our universities (college/grad school) are for free - you can basically get the education to become almost(!) anything you want for free (except for the books at university and study trips in general).

We even have educational grants for everybody the age of 18 and up so you don't have to have more than a student or part time job to put yourself through school (although this is one of the things the right wing government has wrecked - you can only get the grant for the minimum/normal time of one education).

We also have free healthcare; visits at the doctor and the hospitals are for free.

We have social security; when being out of a job for some reason and have a social security number, you're most likely to be approved for social security and activation - such as classes and an internship with the possibility of being hired in the end.

Imagine having all of this as a US citizen. The security it is to have. Yes, we pay a shitload in taxes (approximately 35 - 60 %, all depending on your income) - but we don't have to worry about spending money on healthcare and tuition fees. And if you wonder about how little things cost in Denmark if we can afford living with such taxes: Our minimum wage is just above 100 kr. (€13/£10/$20) per hour - as far as I remember, the US minimum wage is around $7-8.

Either way, someone is going to pay for the hospital visit. Pay the doc. Pay the school. Support the unemployed, students, sick, and elderly (if they are being supported, that is - because they may not be!). So why not do it through taxes and get it overwith already?

You may not have a kid to put through school, but don't you think another kid could benefit from that?
You may drink a lot of milk and have strong bones (well done!), but don't you think that someone with osteoporosis could benifit from that?
You may be physically strong/healthy, but don't you think someone with cancer or a weak heart could benifit from that?
You may be an unfertil man, but don't you think a pregnant woman could benifit from that?
Your parents may have saved for their retirement while they could (or passed on to a better place), but don't you think someone who has been forced to retire early or had too little money or otherwise have been unable to save could benifit from that?

I'm not saying that it should be put directly into work in the US - it took us two World Wars to decide to get the point, and we have a significally longer history than the US as a nation - but it would be nice to see some baby steps towards something similar in the US.

Obama promised change, and I do hope some of these baby steps are included when the financial crisis is over and done with.

Crack in airplane window

I got this as a forward through a Yahoo! Group.

Warning for the faint of heart: PG-13!

~~~~

This is scary for anyone who travels frequently by plane!!!! Actual crack in a US Airways Boeing 737 window frame! Fliers beware of the sub standard maintenance on the airplanes that you fly on. This is an actual crack that was found in the window frame on a 737. I'll definitely think twice before flying USAir.

Scroll down to see the picture.

Losing the respect that once was

The latest thing that I read was that he is now having his own magazine. "Jamie Magazine".

Jamie Oliver has had quite the influence on me. I applied to - and got accepted at - Copenhagen Catering College after seeing him being so enthusiastic about food on "The Naked Chef". I was enchanted when he started Fifteen and thrilled when he came through on the school dinners. And I don't know what took him so long before doing something like "Jamie's Italian Escape", doing something for himself.

But somehow it just seems to go too far in the non-sexual exhibitionistic direction. It's all out there on the telly - also involving Jools (Jamie's missus) breaking down in tears by the mention of (false) rumours of Jamie cheating on her and the birth of one of their two first daughters (I can't remember which for the life of me).

And now a magazine.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure he's genuine and wants to do good with it, just as he says. And having a magazine has been a dream of his. And he can channel a lot of experience from himself and a lot of other people in that magazine. But "Jamie Magazine"?!

*sigh*

I know that Jamie knows his shit. But although I first saw him as a pompous arse, and in spite of doing reality TV ("Hell's Kitchen") and having several restaurants and michelin stars around the world, I still have more respect for Gordon Ramsay and find him much less overexposed.

I never imagined the day that I god sick of Jamie Oliver. But now I do.

Ideas for new blogs #2

Again, I've been on LJ.

"Whether you call it Black Friday or Buy Nothing Day, today is going to be a long day for those who work in retail. The customer might always be right in the store, but here on LJ let's hear some stories about times when the customer was wrongedy wrong wrong."

"Today is Thanksgiving in the U.S., one of the few American holidays where the only things you're expected to buy are groceries. Some cooks like to go all out (see: turducken), others prefer to just go out. What kind of cook are you?"

"Thanksgiving is almost here in the U.S., heralding the start of the holiday season and the first of many meals where you might be confronted with a traditional dish that you happen to find disgusting. What holiday food do you hate to see on the table?"

"Beer and cigarettes once went together like bread and butter, but now smoking in bars is banned in many cities. When you see smokers standing outside bars in the cold and rain, what is your first reaction? Walk on by, join them, or scorn them?"

"Goooooooooaaaaaaaaalllllll! Today marks the anniversary of football (soccer) star Pele's 1000th goal. Why has professional footie never caught on in the United States?"

"Hospital dramas are a time-honored staple of television, from General Hospital to County General to Seattle Grace. Which TV hospital would you most want to check in to? And who would be your doctor?"

Boyzone: "Better" video

This is the most beautiful music video I have ever seen.



What ruins it for me afterwards is the supposed "controversy" about Stephen Gately having a male partner in the video - the rest of the guys having female partners. WTF is the problem?! That's the most beautiful part of the video! The rest of the couples are more or less ruined for me after seeing Stephen with partner! As I think I've stated before (or almost, anyway) it's a question of focus - which is why I used the headline I used - so although they did made a point of having a male actor as Stephen's partner for the sake of honesty, Stephen being who he is, I don't think that is the point of the video. That isn't the actual focus. The love between two individuals is.

*sigh*

Enjoy the video, nonetheless.

Living as a Mormon, part 2

Another thing I need to update this blog with is how I'm doing with the Word of Wisdom.

As for now, I'm too dizzy from not sleeping to do something good, but I can do a list of what will be in it at the very least. Then we're prepared.

So, here goes:

• How am I doing?
• Where do/did I fail?
• Pork?!
• Focus
• Quote: Chocolat
• Anden: "Tal for dig selv"
• Conclusion
• Christmas?!

*sigh* Yah. Let's wait and see.

Ideas for new blogs

I got the idea of writing them down as they come - for example: I just ran into LJ's front page, where they have a bubble, suggesting ideas for people with a writer's block. the most recent was:

"Today is the anniversary of Tricky Dick Nixon's famous "I am not a crook" statement. Let's take a moment to ponder the many politicians caught being naughty. What's your favorite political scandal?"

Although - I'll have to wait to answer that, since I'm in the middle of something else right now.

//EDIT// They keep on coming as I flip through their ideas!
"A lot of characters in kids' books have it pretty good, from calling the start of the wild rumpus to ordering room service from their hotel suite. If you could be any character from children's literature, who would you be?"

"Field mice always sleep facing northwest. Kangaroos can't walk backwards. Female hyenas have penises. Let's face it, nature is weird. What's the strangest thing you know about the animal kingdom?"

"Some people spend their whole lives preparing the answer to this question: What albums are on your personal all-time Top 10 list?" -- I have always dreamt of doing like the characters Rob, Barry, and Dick in the movie "High Fidelity"; doing top 5s.

Speaking of "High Fidelity", I came up with a new one: Naming the Danish actors/actresses you might know through Hollywood (in this case: Iben Hjejle, who portrays Laura), naming movie, actor/actress, and character.

"Bram Stoker, author of Dracula, and Vlad the Impaler, the original Dracula, have the same birthday. Coincidence?"

"It's the anniversary of the Russian Revolution, marking the Marxist overthrow of the Russian government. Karl Marx once wrote that "religion is the opium of the people." What is the new opium of the people?" (Oooh, this is a good one!)

"One of the highlights of going to a literary festival is hearing authors read from their own works. What author, living or dead, would you most like to hear read?"

"Now that the election is over, we can get to the important stuff. Why is there a light in the refrigerator but not in the freezer?"

"As the Northern hemisphere spins toward the shortest day of the year, it's getting dark earlier and earlier. What comforts do you fall back on when the days are short and the nights are long?"

"NaNoWriMo starts today. Give us a one-sentence description of the novel you plan to write."

Anyway. Not supposed to be doing this right now. See ya!