I may have missed something but I think NRA fear-mongering.

Incidentally, count me as an "Obama is a lesser evil" guy rather than thinking he is pretty good and just stopped by the Republicans.

On foreign policy the President can do pretty much what he wants, and we are still in Afghanistan. The only reason we are not still in Iraq was that Bush signed a treaty that said we have to get out. On civil liberties, Obama has expanded government power to kill pretty much anyone the President says needs to be killed, has fought in the courts for the continued right to hold people without trial, to wiretap with (in practice no restrictions) and on and on. Plus Drone warfare.00

When it comes to domestic policy, yeah the Republicans blocked a lot of things. But Obama had continuously pushed for Social Security cuts. The catfood commission (i.e. Bowles-Simpson) was a Republican idea but Obama's. And he said even before he was elected that cutting "entitlements" was one of his goals. The administrations is still talking about "tweaks" - raising the retirement age and reducing cost of living adjustments. Now even if the effect of raising the retirement age is to cause people to wait longer to retire that is reduction in benefits. But most people retire as soon as they can which means that raising the retirement age lowers benefits. And cost of living rises faster for old people than the population as a whole not more slowly. So reducing cost of living adjustments is a benefit cut as well. And Social Security is one of the most miserly public pension plans among the rich nations. I will add that Obama, even when he came in with huge popular support, failed to push for a large enough stimulus. Maybe he could not have won, but he never even fought for as much as was needed. I could go on, but in my opinion Obama has been a cautious center-right President when we needed a Roosevelt. Does not mean I won't vote for him over the little man in the Monopoly set, but definitely a lesser evil, not an imperfect good.

My feelings towards Obama are always going to be sullied by the fact that he SENDS ROBOTS TO KILL PEOPLE.

On foreign policy the President can do pretty much what he wants, and we are still in Afghanistan. The only reason we are not still in Iraq was that Bush signed a treaty that said we have to get out. On civil liberties, Obama has expanded government power to kill pretty much anyone the President says needs to be killed, has fought in the courts for the continued right to hold people without trial, to wiretap with (in practice no restrictions) and on and on. Plus Drone warfare.00

I'm with you on all of that. I really hoped once we killed bin Laden, Obama would take the opportunity to declare "victory" and pull us the hell out. I'm also infuriated by him just sweeping the torture program under the rug. Yes, he put a stop to it, but an executive orders are ridiculously easy to overturn (which Romney has already said he wants to do, though he won't actually day he wants to restart the program. There's plenty of other Republicans chomping at the bit to do so, though.) and he let everyone involved walk without even a slap on the wrist.

The civil liberties, detention and assassination without oversight are equally disturbing, especially if the Bushies get their hands on the reigns again.

I am just about to be discharged from hospital. I am so hoping this was all worth it. I ended up being admitted, and the attending in Obs was dubious about the mythical episode where I reacted badly to meds, since he'd read back over a year and not found it. And the people that claim it have never been able to provide documentation, going as far as to say they're going for it, and never coming back.

His resident is putting a big old note right in the binder (again) that I have been closely monitored at the recommended doses, and came out of it peachy keen.

Hopefully this will at least forestall the this-is-never-done-this-way naysayers, Or force them to come up with more specific argument. Which is cool., Making them think again is also not a bad thing, I figure.

ita !, you're an ER urban legend! Congrats!

"This one time, in the ER, she complained of ITCHING with that dosage! ITCHING. A friend's cousin's sister's dogsitter's aunt's daughter was the attending that night and she SWEARS she saw her scratching. SO DON'T GIVE HER THE MEDS! Or baaaad things will happen..."

Medical sanity-ma, ita.

So now my friend has pivoted to ranting about government waste and corruption (which I agree is a problem) and the problems with current two-party system (again, I'm all for viable third party) so he's voting libertarian this year. Um, victory, I guess.

I still haven't had a real defense of Romney, yet.

Strix, don't make me laugh. Someone called me by the name of the chick getting a similar regimen to mine for her sickle cell anaemia pain (unsurprisingly, also black, and to emphasise similarity--around my apparent age)--if it turns out Tiffany stopped breathing a) I will feel bad for her-she seemed nice that one time we met in ER room 3, and b) FUCK YOU, WORLD.

Stupider things have happened. My migraine doctor doesn't believe the records exist either.

I have to say--the nurses here are disproportionately nice. I mean, given any random sampling of people, they're way easy to have conversations with. Me and J were getting along so well, we were totally maxing and relaxing--she chased the orderly away, and wouldn't let me walk (across the hallway) to where I was being admitted, but insisted on fetching a wheelchair and wheeling me over herself. And then we did that awkward sort of goodbye--"Nothing personal, but I hope to never see you again..."

I just hope some of the stuff that happened (or rather, didn't) while I was under observation takes, and the ER are finally able to trust the words of someone who works on the same floor that they do, not off in the Medical Plaza way so far ((one block) away in their ivory tower.

I think you should just record your doc the next time on your phone and play back the instructions (hopefully, your doc has a really pissed off voice) the next time you're in the ER.

The Ongoing Saga Of ita !'s HealthCare UnProvider's is soooo 2010, don't they know?

I have a chicken roasting. And then zombies. (Not to be roasted, you understand. To be watched.)

Also, ever since I broke my arm, I have had to sleep weird, and my right shoulder is so fucked up. I can hardly lift it above shoulder level. And reaching back to scratch my back is a joke. Oh, well. I have to go in to see my doc to get a 6 month's refill on my sleepy meds this week anyway; maybe she will also prescribe some Flexeril for a week and I can eke out $$ for a massage or something. I STILL can't do a lot of yoga poses (no Downward Dog, e.g.) and I am tight as a..uh, tight thing?

And I still have a lingering cough from my Two Weeks of The Cold From Hell. We were plague house for a while — even DH got it from me, and he took Friday last off, and was sick with me all through the holiday weekend. I finally started feeling better this weekend, but I still have to sit down and rest after doing anything strenuous like, oh, taking a shower or putting on pants.

I just hope some of the stuff that happened (or rather, didn't) while I was under observation takes, and the ER are finally able to trust the words of someone who works on the same floor that they do, not off in the Medical Plaza way so far ((one block) away in their ivory tower.

That would be great.

Strix, do you have insurance? You might be able to wrangle a PT referral from your doc.