Mixed Grill

Since my last blog, there have been one or two minor things that have come up, and I was tempted to say something about them. Why didn't I? Because they were minor. I don't blog just to "hear" myself. I blog when I have observations to make on points I think are important.

Noise
My last blog was about the illiterate (and too-often hysterical) crap that TAHCS sends out. I know some of their people read my blog, and so are extremely likely to have seen that particular post, but they've done nothing to improve themselves. As a matter of fact, they've sent out more illiterate (and hysterical) stuff during this week, and it's sad (but in a funny way).

“I wonder if illiterate people get the full effect of alphabet soup?” (Jerry Seinfeld)

I think (I hope!) most recipients of TAHCS "literature" see it for what it is, and give it all the credence it deserves. Because there is almost no hope for improvement, I'm going to let the quality of their output speak for itself.

"Noise proves nothing. Often a hen who has merely laid an egg cackles as if she had laid an asteroid." (Mark Twain)

Are We There Yet?
I suppose the answer to that question depends on where we want to be.

"If you do not know where you are going, every road will get you nowhere." (Henry Kissinger)

There's a difference, I think, in knowing where you want to be and knowing how to get there. The DME industry knows where it wants to be, but doesn't know how to get there. I've said it before and I'm going to say it again: The industry "leaders" keep approaching the problem of competitive bidding the same way.

"Never be afraid to try something new. Remember, amateurs built the ark. Professionals built the Titanic." (Anonymous)

It's great that Kendrick Meek introduced 3790, and it's equally great that there is a decent number of co-sponsors. The problem is that 3790's momentum has all but stopped, and there's still no sign of a companion bill for the Senate.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and guess that it was AMEPA's intention to "persuade" Meek to rally support for the industry in the Senate, should his bid for election as one of Florida's Senators succeed. The problem with that strategy is that Meek isn't going to win. I've looked at the poll numbers, and Rubio is still way ahead. That's highly unlikely to change.

I've researched this particular race because of Meek's involvement with the industry, and though I'm convinced that there is no good option for Florida voters this time around, Meek is going to be out of a job soon.

This being the case, I wonder why FAHCS is having Meek as their keynote speaker at the event they're having tomorrow. Meek's numbers have been bad for a while, and his lame-duck future robs him of relevance.

"We'd all like to vote for the best man but he's never a candidate." (Kin Hubbard)

"Democracy is being allowed to vote for the candidate you dislike least." (Robert Byrne)

Based on the poll numbers I've seen, I can only conclude that Meek is the one Florida voters dislike (or distrust) most. I'm not sure if Florida voters are being entirely fair, because my look at the candidates shows me that none of them is a good choice.

"Get all the fools on your side and you can be elected to anything." (Frank Dane)

In my own area, I am bombarded with negative attack ads on radio, TV, and in the mail, and I'm damned sick of it. I don't want propaganda from one candidate taking his opponent's past sins out of context. I want information from candidates about their stands on issues. I don't want empty rhetoric about jobs, or healthcare, or how a candidate won't participate in party politics because I resent being lied to.

Here's what we should do: Fire all of them and tell them why we fired them. Then tell their successors why we fired the incumbents and that we'll do the same to them if they don't behave themselves and serve our interests (as opposed to mindlessly serving the agendas of the political parties).

Our interests include reforming unresponsive and dictatorial government agencies (I'm talking to you, CMS). Somewhere along the way the people we pay decided that they're in charge; they get away with that because we allow it. It's time to take back control and remind them they're there to serve.

"The Democrats are the party that says government will make you smarter, taller, richer, and remove the crabgrass on your lawn. The Republicans are the party that says government doesn't work and then they get elected and prove it." (P.J. O'Rourke)

"Government is like a baby. An alimentary canal with a big appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other." (Ronald Reagan)

The fact is that we have too much government in our lives. These days Congress is having hearings about and trying to regulate everything. Our personal freedoms have been whittled away; there is no part of our lives that the government doesn't poke its collective nose into. It would be one thing if government did so with common sense, but it doesn't. It makes laws about things most members know nothing about, and then wonders why things don't work and the electorate is angry.

A perfect example of this is competitive bidding for DME suppliers. It's a stupid policy to punish all for the sins of a few, yet that's what Congress (and CMS) are doing.

Getting rid of competitive bidding is a legislative issue. Repealing it is literally going to take an act of Congress. But if we have the same corrupt idiots sitting in the House and Senate, how much luck will be having in eliminating the program?

Every legislator gets elected one vote at a time. Each one of you has the power to make or break a candidate's successful election. If you don't like the status quo, go to the polls (and if you don't vote, don't whine about how unhappy you are that so-and-so got elected).

"Politicians are the same all over. They promise to build a bridge where there is no river." (Nikita Khrushchev)

"My choice early in life was either to be a piano-player in a whorehouse or a politician. And to tell the truth, there's hardly any difference." (Harry S. Truman)

"A good politician is quite as unthinkable as an honest burglar." (H. L. Mencken)

"The mistake a lot of politicians make is in forgetting they've been appointed and thinking they've been anointed." (Claude Pepper)

I think that last one says it all.