Recreational Marijuana sales in Oregon

The month of October was to be filled with Halloween and Christmas irritations. Oregon recreational marijuana sales began October 1st 2015. Quickly over shadowed by a tragic school shooting at Umpqua College in Roseberg Oregon.

How has sales progressed for the local stores. Many more hoops to jump through. As some stores were ready and some were not. People here were not rushing off to the local stores to buy those high priced ounces.

When speaking with a local police officer who would only speak to me if his name was omitted, he stated,

"It seems quiet around here. I haven't seen tons of cars stopping at this shop yet." He was just outside of Waldport Oregon sitting down the street at a small shop there.

Noticing a larger police force recently as if the police are playing dominoes. Come to the coast then go inland.  Another thing asked of this officer was.

Are there more DUI's now? writer asked

I don't know the over all stats but the last DUI road block we didn't get any more people. Police officer states.

Since marijuana is illegal federally many folks are staying to the black market. Afraid to enter stores with so many cameras. These pot stores make a mall look like a joke with security. 

Sales will most likely have to be reviewed in a couple months to see how Oregon is really progressing with it's share of the pot profits for recreational marijuana. 

Violent acts

Males have a historical record of violence.

Some of us have twisted desires that we feed in various ways. Others hunt other creatures so we can fill our freezers and our egos with stories of that land mark killing. Our children some times grow up in violent environments we males created.  We punch, kick, bite and fight.  Not to say women are not violent. Women also perpetuate verbal and physical abuse in the home. Men are more frequently arrested and jailed for violence.

We go to war, we rape, murder and pillage. then we are told to remain calm.

 For years women's rights's came to the forefront. While males in America were just the workers of concrete, builders of walls, and defenders of the home front. We were forgotten in education, drugged by our families and stuffed into endless routines of mediocrity. Our educational dreams not met in favor of going to work as soon as we could walk.

The kicker is the knowledge that all these younger gentlemen who have murdered, are possibly ADHD babies. The medications taken by parents and children must be closely scrutinized. To rule out any chance the drugs have caused a mental dysfunction, that may precipitate a killing spree.

The pharmaceutical companies who produce these medications in mass do not want any thing to stop the sales. How far will a trillion dollar industry go to cover things up? Just look at the tobacco companies.

Remembering all the Ritalin commercials in Arizona alone. Does your child have trouble staying seated while in class. Are they a disruption to others? Has your child drained you, are you feeling exhausted. Mostly they were talking about boys. Male children who need to run, exercise and really be more physically active than females. Society just wanted them to shut up, stay quiet, and stop running around. So we medicated these children by the millions in some sort of mass attempt at giving parents a rest.

And those resting parents? They needed drugs too, for depression, pain, sleep and anxiety. We took those pills maybe for years before giving birth to what we thought was a healthy baby. Then they grew up and killed.

Parents sat those drugged up kids in front of televisions to watch violence over and over and over. The desensitization began. Parents left guns out, ammo out, parents cussed and parents raged. And we thought these little people could handle all that, maybe not.
Our nation may never completely figure out why the school shootings happen.

 Medications have side effects. Many medications have unknown effects on our brains.. Just another avenue to investigate when dealing with violent acts.

School shootings - just an opinon

The news today released some of the manifesto rants of  Chris Mercer, who was in his mind sane.  Chris Mercer killed nine people and himself at Umpqua College in Roseberg  Oregon.

The news, now vilifying those who rant or journal. We may be creating more problems than trying to figure out how to stop the violence.

Our President wants more gun control laws passed. Families who had a loved one killed want more gun control passed.

These situations remind me of the bear stories in Alaska. The bears attack when they feel threatened or their young have been separated from them. It is a stress response.

America has cut mental health services down to half of what they were at one time. The government stating the states need to create their own services, our tax dollars gone for these services.

Our society didn't want monies given out to these kind of services.

We want to blame the guns, but this isn't a gun problem, the problem is people. People, males primarily, who have so much anger they can't channel it out of themselves without help. Who do we get to help?

Each shooting had the same issue, anger, fear, deep seeded resentments. The people couldn't or wouldn't let go of. And we sit around demanding change to cut down gun sales. This is not an efficient action to stop the violence.

Tardiness and failure to provide healthcare

Due to an error in judgement I was late to a Physical Therapy appointment by ten minutes. The lobby was empty. There were no other patients. The receptionist stated.

"By the time I get you warmed up, the nine o'clock appointment will be here. So we will need to reschedule."

Too tired to argue the point I left after being told they would call and reschedule.

Perhaps I am seeing the world from a viewpoint that others may not see. So I am left believing that my health care doesn't matter.

Health care is different than Health insurance. Health care is what we get when we seek medical attention for an injury or illness, and health insurance is a system we created to compensate those who provide that care. The issue for me is, and has always been. we do too little and charge incredibly high prices for services rendered and not rendered.

The deductible is listed at 1500/3000. Then I have to pay a copay of twenty five dollars each visit. Afterwards bills begin pouring in.  Currently we owe around ten thousand in medical costs.

The Affordable Care Act was nothing more than a forced insurance scam that has done nothing to improve services or cut cost.  Physicians are making record amounts of money. The insurance companies profits have sky rocketed into an unknown arena, where only the ultra rich have access to the best health care. Those who do not have that privilege are just screwed.

Back to the Physical therapy office: There were no other patients, all they do is turn a timer on and I warm my arms up by using a hand bicycle. Then I perform some of the exercise routines I was taught, then possibly a few shoulder stretches, and finally ice and a tens unit on another timer. For this they charge a whopping $350.00. or more. Guess they were never taught how to multi-task. Multi-tasking obviously is not something this office practices.Then returning home to a message informing me I will be charged for a, "no show appointment." I had to call and let them know I would not be paying any such fee, since they turned me away and there were no other patients.

Perhaps one day being late will be greeted with, lets get started. 

President Obama WAKE UP

If the new forced health insurance purchasing program has shown anything,. The Affordable Care Act has taken trillions out of our pockets and added to the wealth of those who were invested in the scheme.

Age may have something to do with or not. Yes, cynical enters my thoughts. When I was a teenager, I had a horrible motorcycle crash. The bike was too big for me. I was not a well trained rider. The witness said it flipped three times. They said I continued to hold the handle bars, as my body was smashed into the pavement over and over. The visor was ripped from the helmet. My face a bloody torn mess. I woke to find myself flat on my back, unable to move. I heard a vehicle then voices were heard,"is he alive?" They left and there I was. I passed out until the next party came to rescue me, my parents. I was placed on a blanket in the back of my dad's pickup. My mother was a medical assistant who thought she was a mini doctor.

Back home she scrubbed me raw trying to get the asphalt from my face and knees.  A few days passed until I couldn't take the pain any longer. My mother finally agreed to allow me to see a doctor. One she worked for. He quickly assessed me and sent me over to the hospital for x-rays. He berated my mother for keeping me at home. The x-rays revealed a spinal fracture from a small bone. My front lip had been ripped in half and my left face was gone. It was nothing but hamburger. The bills began coming in. The insurance had them pay one hundred dollars.

Now, there are bills for over ten thousand dollars for premiums for my spouse and I. The insurance we have is horrible. I have never seen such outrageous amounts of money placed onto the payee. It seems we have insurance that means nothing.

Health insurance was about pooling monies from millions so coverage could be given to all. Small co-pays and no deductibles.
Now, what has been created is nothing more than a shell game. Where all the money goes, who knows. I might as well pay for all the services myself and skip having a huge deductible we are unable to cover.
If this is what Obama wanted, was to rip off more Americans he has succeeded. And those numbers they tossed out about one million uninsured getting coverage, well this writer now questions if anyone knows the truth. Even the man who created this scam told NBC news, "I never thought they would buy it, but Washington did."
Yes, the current insurance comes from a corporation who has more profit than it seriously needs. However, to cut the company cost, they placed nearly all of the financial burden on the workers.

President Obama can never understand this situation. When all of Washington politicians have their own insurance, they created and we pay for. All though to be fair, they deny that. And, they even went to ABC news to tell the story of how they created their insurance coverage.

We can not afford this new type of insurance, it is cheaper to find services that we can afford. Now  when we have injuries or illness we seek home remedies just like the old west.

This is a serious situation for all Americans. If our national leaders continue on this path they should have all Americans financially subservient by 2018. Obama wake up and fix this crap you allowed to pass. Shut it down and go to a unified system like Canada.

Samaritan Hospitals in Oregon treat Cancer and Heart disease

We just received Heart to Heart in the mail. A small magazine from Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital. Two stories jumped out at me.
The first is found on page ten, Cancer care. Macke and Mary Williams story centered around them both surviving Cancer, quoting from the story, "they considered themselves, "Mayo people." A happy robust appearing couple. Both struck by different forms of cancer. Survivors, who were grateful to the Mario Pastega House. "A home that serves families needing access to Samaritan's Corvallis-based services." Quoted from page 12. The theme from the story is one of hope.

The second story found on page 24 highlights that no matter what your title in life, heart problems arise. The President of Samaritan, Larry A Mullins found out he needed heart bypass surgery. Mr. Mullins survived and gave much thanks and appreciation to his care team. Mr. Mullins had many other offers from colleagues across the country and he chose Samaritan.

These stories provide a small glimpse into the health care system in Oregon. And the great work these facilities are doing.

Best wishes to both parties for continued good health and happy living.

Fear and the Food Industry

The prime definition of fear from Merriam Webster: to be afraid of (someone or something).
The prime definition of afraid from Merriam Webster: filled with fear or apprehension <afraid of machines> <afraid for his job>.

These emotions have driven humans to overpopulate this planet, without regard for food.

A friend recently came to speak with me about food sources on this planet. He pointed out that unless, every person and family begins growing enough produce to feed themselves, they may see starvation in the next twenty years. At least that was his theory. He also went on to tell me we were the largest meat source available now on the planet. I had to stop him, and ask if he were all right, was he having any thought problems. I even tried to check his vitals. At this juncture he adamantly told me to to f- off.  

A little Internet search regarding food supplies. We find stories about the need for GMO's, (genetically modified foods). Another story from the Washington Post from 2012 brought up the fact we may not be growing enough food. 

Over the years food for me has become a weapon. One bite of any juicy tasteful burger and fries and I am a goner. Physically, what that food does is not pretty. Gastric upset, weight gain, may be attributed to the chemicals we put into food. But the food industry says, no way. 

Just like the tobacco industry and the chemicals they put into tobacco. The food industry has long held a denial of any problems. Their stance is, to make money you must cut corners. Which in simple speak means, we get the chemicals because the food industry really can not make healthy any thing we ingest that is processed. 

McDonald's new CEO Steve Easterbrook unveiled his plans to make McDonald's food better. A sell off of franchise's, reduction in staff. Mr. Easterbrook really isn't giving any information how they will give their food a boost. It seems the company solution, get rid of as many non profitable facilities as possible, without regard to the people who have stayed with the company.

If our food supply is in danger, than Americans have more opportunities than ever to create and produce better food in this global economy.