Data Troll

Musings of a database designer, right-wing constitutional anarchist and overly idealistic schmuck.

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Location: Texas, United States

A middle-aged database designer, specializing in Oracle. I have a teen-aged son and Chinese wife.

Sunday, December 05, 2004

Vanity Health Care

I find I have some readership on my site, so I guess I should to post more.

America has lost all reason in what it considers heath care. My son, several years ago at the age of 11, pointed it out best. While watching a program discussing prescription medicine benefits for Medicare, turned to my mother and announced ‘Now, all those 70-year-old men can get Viagra!’

Viagra, Cealis, Levetra, Botox, plastic surgery, gastric bypasses, hair implants, Ritalin (for 90% of the kids who are on it), etc., etc. We are spending many billions a year on what can only be referred to as ‘vanity medicine’. The amount we spend on this stuff probably would be enough to provide essential healthcare to half of Africa. A recent figure listed that 44% of Americans are on a prescription; how much of that is truly needed?

I have news for my fellow Americans: we do not need to have the sex lives of crazed jack-rabbits. Fighting Mother Nature via cosmetic surgery is an utter waste of great talent and resources. Botox??? Don’t people realize that stands for Botulism TOXIN and works by poisoning muscles?? Steroids?? Excessive Ritalin prescriptions and gastric bypass surgery fit in the ‘we’re too lazy to try discipline’ category.

And lastly, we men do not need a full head of hair; I myself have a shiny cranium. Of course, it is not due to hair loss; I would say I suffer from GFM- Gravitaitional Follicle Migration. The only woman who would run her fingers through my long, wavy locks these days would be a chiropractor adjusting my back :)

I, as a political conservative, defend the individual’s right to be this stupid; but that so many people spend so much on this junk is a sad demonstration of the degeneracy of our current society. And- most importantly- not one penny of tax money should EVER go for any of this. Will the Federal government make that logical decision when it comes to granting prescription drug benefits for Medicare? Hah! Don’t make me laugh. Medicaid money goes for Viagra now. You Americans remember that come April 15th (tax day for the non-American readers).

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