Rasta Rants

  Well yesterday was the beginning of a new chapter in America. What happened at the Capitol was unacceptable regardless of political party affiliation. It was however not unexpected and not surprising. With the constant protesting and violence that has haunted many American cities for the past year or more driven by radical Democrats, it is not surprising that at some point the opposing party would resort to the same sort of behavior. Peaceful Protests are acceptable - violence is not. It is still unknown whether the actual perpetrators of this heinous behavior were truly conservative Trump supporters or paid disruptors specifically mingling in with the peaceful protesters in the capital. Unlike the Democrats who have refused to condemn violence that there constituents have perpetrated for the past three years, the Republican Party condemned the activities on the capital immediately and apologized for any role they had in leading up to this tragedy. There have been many reports...

Well its been a long time since I posted anything. Just been too busy with work. COVID 19 is here and I am so sad and disappointed about what the world has done. I have learned a massive lesson and not a good one. Actually we should all be very concerned about what has happened and I don't mean just the virus. So few disclaimers so I can avoid hate mail. I am deeply concerned about death - any single death. Everyone is a tragedy I am not a republican I am an Independent I have been in the healthcare business for over 40 years - so I know a fair amount I do not rely on any specific source for news - I verify everything myself Most of the stats I will quote are US based although I may add a few others In 2009 the world faced a pandemic called H1N1. It like Coronavirus was a virus with little or no data available. WHO declared it as a pandemic just as they did COVID 19. On the day that happened the worldwide reaction was very muted. In the US as a comparison the stock mar...

The Democrats are spending a great deal of time promoting Medicare for All. There are now nine separate Medicare for All plans that are being considered. I have shared some information about those in a previous post and will update with more details as they emerge from the legislative process. When I look at this it seems so apparent that there is a much better way of doing what I think we all want. Since the politicians are completely polarized and entrenched in their camps it is unlikely that we will see a healthcare solution that is actually in the best interest of the American people. For those who have read my blog before you know this is always my focus and I could care less about either political party or their agenda. After spending 40 years in the US healthcare system I have seen a lot and learned a lot. When this concept of Medicare for All surfaced in the 2016 Presidential Campaign, I could not help but think that the proponents were missing the point. As I have said b...

As some of you may know I work in the healthcare field and have for over 40 years. While I am not the smartest guy on the planet a lot has rubbed off on me over the years. Not the theoretical trash but the real world, "here's how it is done" stuff. All this press and debate about Medicare for All (MFA) has caught my attention and I feel it is my duty to educate my readers on just what all this means. The Democrats and many others are touting this as the best way to fix the US healthcare system. The press has jumped on it also and I fear most Americans don't really understand what it will mean. Since this will undoubtedly be a big part of the 2020 Presidential Election, I thought we should take a closer look. The Current US Healthcare Landscape Here is what US health care coverage looks like today: ·        Approximately 20.5 million people get coverage through Health Exchanges (primarily individuals) ·        A...

What a mess this is. Not just in the US but worldwide. I am struggling to understand it and find the deeper I dig the less I comprehend the upheaval. For this blog I will focus primarily on US immigration as I am most familiar with it and live in the US. That said lets not be myopic, the rest of the world is struggling with it also. Europe Asia and even the Middle East. I assume no one will argue with me that the US has the most liberal and easy immigration policy in the world? Ha! I bet many will. The reality is we really do have a very open policy. Add to this that we do not even enforce most of the immigration laws we have and you can quickly see the quagmire we face. So while America is a melting pot and has been a socially integrated society since its inception we now face some realities that must be addressed. I think we can all agree that no country can have a completely open immigration policy. No country could exist if it just opened its borders and let anyone in at anyt...

Since Donald Trump was elected President we have been on a roller-coaster ride. Not that politics was clean stable or effective prior to his Presidency either. This is just a new chapter in American politics and the Presidency. While clearly he has polarized the nation if not the world the journey has been interesting and not all together unsuccessful. The Campaign Trump was a fighter and hit a nerve in the American population that had been demoralized by the Obama Presidency. He rode the wave of that popularity all the way to the White House. The shock and surprise of the left side of the political aisle is still palpable. The attempts to stop him from winning were legendary and even involve foreign governments. The dirt post election has been very embarrassing for America. The dirt that came out during the campaign was bad. We look like a small third world country full of corruption and underhanded politics. The Trump Presidency He took office and immediately began to dismantle...

A great deal of change is happening in the US. Some would say for the best and others would disagree. President Trump continues to be a very divisive figure but actually is doing some good things despite his stupid and childish Tweets. Social media is so prevalent in the world and certainly in the US. Sadly some of my long term concerns about social media are coming home to roost. Prove of this is the recent problems at Facebook and Zuckerberg testifying in the Senate today. So you may ask what's the problem? First is our right to privacy. With social media and Millennials we have a society that increasingly has no desire to protect their own privacy. The social media giants are driven to make money and will sell whatever data they have to whomever will pay (hence the Facebook issue). Sadly the millennials who for the most part lack social skills and are lazy, have traded their privacy for expediency. In short they don't really care who sees their lives play out on social m...

I am so often asked about new cars and what folks should look at in various segments of the new car market. While I could never share all the knowledge I have about all cars I have decided to share thougths on a few. Remember I come at this a bit different than many because I am at heart a racer first and a consumer second. My exposure to cars is my passion and I study them as a hobby. For ease of reading I have made my recommdnations based on the category the car/SUV/Truck falls into. I will only cover one category in this post but will add more soon. Large Luxury Sedans This segment actually should be broken down by price because comparing a Chrysler 300 to a Bentley Flying Spur is just not fair. So I will focus where the real world lives and say between $50,000 and $70,000. When I define price I mean the real price that you can buy a new car for with decent options - not some list price for a stripped prior year model. Before you send me nasty emails I know in the real world t...

So we all know that marijuana is now legal in several states for recreational use. Actually it is now legal in 28 states. The map below shows the states with medical marijuana and recreational approval. There are only 8 states that have approved recreational use with California being the biggest. The results of surveys about legal recreational use states are very limited and the data is very inconsistent. What we do know is three irrefutable facts: It is a multi-billion dollar business and growing It is primarily a cash business It is still illegal on a Federal basis With California coming on line a few days ago we are going to see the largest marijuana marketplace in the country. As with all new things there will be challenegs. Governor Jerry Brown is already seeing this. He was a big proponent of recreational marijuana (maybe because he has used it personally his entire adult life) and signed it into law last year. Many cities in California however are not as enthusiastic. ...

This word means contention, argument, debate and dispute. I find that we are in a great controversy about all this sexual misconduct that is in the press daily. Before we get into this I want to state explicitly I am against all forms of sexual harassment or abuse of any kind and think it should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. That said I find a lot of what is going on now to be strange if not hypocrytical. Here is what I mean: Hollywood is acting as though sexual misconduct and harassment are new and shocking to this industry. Are you kidding? This is the industry that has fostered this behavior for decades. Back in the 50's Hollywood was known for the "casting couch". Nothing has changed but the sick individuals who are perpetuating the behavior.  This is the problem with power and fame. On the one hand you have Hollywood executives who control the success or failure of actors and others. These people know and feel their power. They literally...

Is anyone out there as tired of the hatred and fighting as I am? It has to stop. America was born out of a concept of freedom and I respect that but we also have to be united and work on problems together. A house divided cannot stand . All this hatred, the left versus right, the biased reporting, the political unheaval and the lack of respect and common decncy has to stop. What caused all this? Lets go back to 2001 after 9/11. We were united as a country because we had been attacked horribly. We changed many things and we compromised to get them done. President Bush was not a dynamic leader but he was forceful and pushed us through. Was the Iraq war a mistake? Maybe but it is not the root cuase of where we are today. Obama came along and we were in trouble. The mortagage crisis had turned into a world economic crisis and he was dynamic and a great orator. We bought it hook, line and sinker. He was a community organizer and in his heart a socialist. His roots started to show by mid...