Here’s the article that sparked our discussion: http://www.cato-at-liberty.org/2009/09/10/obamas-health-care-speech-in-plain-english/

*It’s important to note that Old Friend started with pleasantries, and I’m only using pieces of his email.

People see what they want to see, not necessarily the reality of the situation. Is that a accurate depiction of the market since January 20th? No, the Dow is up over 14% since then. Photo Credit: George Bentley

The first thing he writes is pretty much par for the course. For some reason, many conservatives are just AGAINST the current administration. Before they say anything else, they will let you know they just don’t approve of anything Obama is doing, no way, no how.

Old Friend: I am strongly opposed to the direction this administration is taking the country . . . I’m wary of federal officials trying to leverage their authority to expand government intervention.

Me: Regarding the direction the Obama Administration is taking this country, what direction is that? From where I’m sitting that direction is out of a recession, towards a positive opinion of the USA on the global political level, towards significant positive action on climate change, and generally leaving the country in a better place than it was when he came into office.

I try not to react to individual details of any plan. I read and understand details, but then put them into a little formula in my head. My calculations on recent contentious issues have usually resulted in a “this is generally better than what we had before” conclusion, in favor of the current administration. That said, I think most of the plans presented by Dems start out way too far left, and I’m glad we have the Republicans there to call out and eliminate the crazy parts of these bills.

The second point he makes is also a conservative status quo argument. He picks out a detail that might look like an egregious omission or oversight on the part of the Obama Administration and then proceeds to ask a number of questions that try to further prove that ‘Obama doesn’t know what he’s getting himself into here.’ Honestly, I feel that there are a number of good reasons to take issue with the proposed legislation, but this isn’t one of them.

Old Friend: How many people are truly uninsured because they can’t afford it?  I’ve heard Obama say 30 million and 60 million, which is a significant difference.  How much coverage does each uninsured individual need?  How do they calculate how much insuring 30 or 60 million people with different needs would cost (an elderly woman on food stamps with heart trouble vs. a recent college graduate with no major ailments, for example)?  Government officials can’t really know the answer to either question, it’s impossible for them to–how could they possibly make an accurate count?

Me: To your concern over accurate count, I’m not sure I understand why that’s particularly important, even from a cost calculation standpoint. The proposed system is supposed to be self contained from a cost perspective. When we put the uninsured and underinsured into health insurance plans from the government the coverage is supposed to pay for itself. The premiums collected are meant to cover the costs of treatments. If they can’t afford the coverage it comes out of their taxes (tax rebates to pay for their premiums). [Currently] if you don’t have insurance and you can afford it, you’re part of the problem because when you go to the emergency room the rest of us are paying for you, that will no longer be an issue.

From a personal perspective on this, I work for a small company (3 employees) and my wife is self employed. We’re healthy and fairly young. My employer doesn’t pay my health insurance because I chose a compensation plan that allowed me to make more dollars in exchange for not being covered. We buy our own basic health insurance, but it’s the cheapest we could find because we’re only concerned with covering ourselves for a catastrophic injury or condition. We pay all other medically related costs out of pocket (doctor visits, prescriptions, etc.), so we’re pretty much getting screwed out of over $2,000/year by our insurance company. Now I’m not complaining, we could choose to pay $4K/year and have our visits and prescriptions covered, but we would lose financially in that scenario too.

Insurance companies employ teams of people to find reasons to deny claims and increase profits. Photo Credit: UN1SON

The problem with current costs is lack of competition and insurance company profiteering. There really isn’t much difference in premiums between what we would pay for checkup and prescription coverage and what an unhealthy 50 year old couple would pay, and that’s just wrong. I think the proposed legislation would provide for many levels of coverage (from both government and private insurers) that aren’t currently available. Now I’m not saying we would definitely switch to a government plan if one was available, but I sure would take a hard look at the cost/benefit analysis and take advantage of covered preventative doctor visits if I could get them for what I’m paying currently. And that’s where I see a real benefit, making preventative health care more affordable will mean less catastrophic health issues for everyone in the country. Less catastrophic issues means less money spent on them by insurance companies which means lower premiums for everyone.

What I’m not in favor of is government handouts that don’t produce some sort of return on investment. Welfare for instance, is a total joke. Yes there are people out there that truly need it, but for the most part our welfare system provides an incentive for people to not work. Our unemployment system is also heavily abused, we need to do something to clean up the corruption and abuse in those types of systems because they don’t do much to provide a return on the investment so the money goes in and never comes back out. Health care is different, if it’s done correctly it will pay us back.

Opposition to Obama & Healthcare Reform is a post from: Tim Staines' Weblog

I love that this post ranks on the first page of Cuil (along with a bunch of other posts from this site): http://timstaines.net/2008/06/28/5/

I have to admit that this pretty much proves (from my perspective) that Cuil is a significantly less useful search engine than Google.

Let’s see if Cuil ranks this one on the first page for a search on ‘Tim Staines.’

Google vs. Cuil is a post from: Tim Staines' Weblog

Solid Search Engine Optimization is time consuming and detailed work that doesn’t result in overnight windfalls of profit or massive upward shifts in traffic to a site. Sure there are ways to profit on the quick if you’ve worked hard to build a system that allows you or your team to respond to current events AND you have a business model built around doing just that. But developing that system is time consuming and detailed work; just ask Brent Payne at Chicago ‘s Tribune network.

My point is this: Search Engine Optimization is something that should be researched before being purchased. If you are the consumer of SEO services that cost you $2,000/yr or more (quality SEO, like any other service that will boost business, has a cost), you should take an hour or more and read about it before you buy the service or sign a contract. Here’s a good place to start.

Keep in mind that SEO is a marketing activity, and an important one. Everyone searches for everything. If they hear about “IT” on the radio or see IT on TV or in print, they are going to look for IT on the web, and they’re going to use a search engine to find IT. When they don’t hear about IT or see IT they are still they going to look for IT on the web when they don’t know what IT is. Here are several different ways to think about what SEO does for your website and your company, and make sure to read the comments too.

The last thing I want to say on this topic is that Search Engine Optimization is essential to getting the most out of your website. If you run a business and have a website, but you don’t have time to learn and implement SEO for yourself, you should seriously consider hiring a good Search Marketer to do it for you. Your website isn’t doing you any good if it’s not driving business through your doors, making your phone ring, or filling up your Inbox. The potential return on your SEO investment can be enormous, and if you talk to qualified Search Marketers, they should be able to get a feel for the magnitude of potential benefit within a few minutes of talking with most small and medium sized businesses.

Search Engine Optimization – A necessary evil? is a post from: Tim Staines' Weblog

So I wanted to write a blog post about all the things I have learned in the past couple of years so that I could sharpen my arguments and try and convince them to act with more respect for the environment. I found something as I was researching sites like these:

• http://www.epa.gov/climatechange/
• http://www.unep.org/Themes/climatechange/
• http://www.pewclimate.org/
• http://www.noaa.gov/climate.html

What I stumbled upon was this site that has all the answers: http://gristmill.grist.org/skeptics

So anyone who wants to argue with me from now on is going to get directed straight to this website so they can either enlighten themselves or choose to continue being misinformed and unaware of their ignorance.

Instead of arguing with my friends and family about this, I will make a point to only inform them that they are misinformed and direct them to where they can find the resources that reveal the true story.

Short and sweet, just the way it should be!

Tim Staines

Some of my Friends and Family are Climate Change Skeptics is a post from: Tim Staines' Weblog

The building was constructed on pilings, as there is no solid ground for a foundation. It sits roughly half way between Tangier Island, Virginia and Crisfield, Maryland . . . don’t try to look for it on Google Earth; with a full-time population of one, it doesn’t seem to be on the radar (or satellite) for the high technology world, and that’s exactly the point.

You have to see this place to believe it, and I will add some amazing pictures to this post if I can figure out how. But what I really want to convey is how inspired I was to have had the chance to visit this place. Everything about it and CBF is incredible. We were fortunate enough to hitch a ride on the Karen N., a huge, diesel powered, jet-drive propelled, work of art that is Captained by Shawn Ridgely, a long-time friend of mine.

This beast is 40+ feet long, has an 18″ draft, and cruises at 20+ knots . . . if you’re not a boater, that’s like a bus that can carry 25 people at highway speeds and fit into your local parking garage. He teaches kids about the Chesapeake from the southern tip of Blackwater National Wildlife Refuge, which happens to be where we boarded. From there, we took an hour ride to our destination, arriving a couple hours before dusk.

We might as well have been in the South Pacific. The island serves as another CBF Learning Center, housing kids for 2 to 3 days at a time, and educating them on some of the issues that affect the Bay while providing them with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to experience this magical place first-hand. You cannot leave without feeling moved. The whole facility is run with electricity produced by three solar panels and the occasional stationary bike ride for some added water pressure. Adam, our host and the current manager of the Center, lives there full time. His only connection to the modern world, besides a weak cell phone signal and a marine radio, is a 20foot Carolina Skiff that he uses to cross the miles of open water between the island and the closest civilization.

We had a great night with a wonderful sunset and perfect temperatures, and then headed off to our third CBF station the next day. The Isobel Island Learning Center is managed by Willie with the help of Lauren, two of our bunk nights from the previous night. We all went into Tangier, had lunch, and visited the newly opened museum. If you haven’t been, you need to go. Tangier will be another blog post all together.

So here’s the deal, the Chesapeake Bay Foundation owns and manages some incredible facilities. They provide a service to our generations to come, by opening everyone’s eyes to the issues that challenge the Bay’s health. I love the Bay, I miss it when I haven’t been around it for a while, I don’t take it for granted, I am amazed by almost every place that I visit within its reach, and I don’t want to lose it. If you haven’t experienced any of these feelings, you need to. Check out the CBF website and find something that interests you. Sign up to go to one of their centers, grow your own oysters, donate some money.

Do something! It will change your life, I promise.

Tim Staines

An Amazing Adventure in Our Back Yard is a post from: Tim Staines' Weblog

I don’t have an iphone or a blackberry, because I’m connected enough as it is, but I do now have this blog, and a Twitter account, and I’m trying to get a grip on Digg and Reddit and Sphinn. They seem to be more necessary for my line of work.

Most of my friends aren’t even aware of this networking driven sub-culture that could potentially dominate communications over the next twenty years. They still use IE, and manipulating their ipod is the leading edge of their technological expertise (which isn’t necessarily bad). I think there’s a good chance that the skill of adopting technologies sooner than later is becoming mandatory for success in many ways.

Before computers and swift technology advancement you didn’t really need to pick up on things quite as fast. It would be decades before a more efficient way of doing something came to market, so you could learn how to apply your skill and you never really had to worry about learning that new skillset because you would be retired or in management before the innovation changed your process.

Now, improvements are occurring so fast that adopting and keeping current with new efficiencies in your field is critical to not falling behind. This is still a relatively new phenomenon, but it’s one that is only going to become more exaggerated over time. So help your friends out, tell them about the tech tools they could benefit from, get them to join LinkedIn, or set them up with a Blog. They’ll thank you for it later!

Early Adopters is a post from: Tim Staines' Weblog

http://www.google.com/support/faqs/bin/blogsearch/about_pinging.html/

UPDATE:

Looks like they redirected the URL above to the generic help page when they should have redirected it to:

http://www.google.com/help/blogsearch/pinging_API.html

Google Help not so Helpful is a post from: Tim Staines' Weblog

This is a work in progress. is a post from: Tim Staines' Weblog