I was on the 10:15 out of White Plains (Westchestah County) with a 1:55 connection home from Philly. I got to the airport about 6:45 in the ay em, 'cause that is when my ride had to be there. The bank of fog obscuring the runway was a bad omen.
Shortly after 7:00 the airline called and told me my flight was cancelled. Not delayed. It just was not going to happen at all. I went to the counter for new flights. The nice lady rebooked me on an earlier flight for Philly slated to leave at 8:00. These new arrangements would help me make an earlier connection home. I would be back to God's country by mid afternoon instead of supper time. The whole situation was a good deal for this frequent traveller.
The flight was delayed until 8:30. then 9:00. I had missed my connection. The line at the counter stretched about 20 people deep now. It was not moving. I had my travel agent rebook me back on the 1:55 from Philly to Indy. A new departure was announced for 10:15. They hoped to have an update by 10:30. They finally boarded us at 11:10..
We pulled from the gate. There was a ground hold in Philly. We sat on our little Dash-8 waiting for the clearance that came around noon. My 1:55 connection was going to be tight. Except I knew that if the flights into Philly were running that late, the odds were good those flights leaving the City of Brotherly Love were off schedule too.
I love being right except when being right causes me to spend even more time in an airport. My 1:55 was delayed to 3:41. Then the 3:41 was moved to 4:41. This was followed by additional delays to 5:39. We finally boarded about ten minutes late to the revised schedule.
We then sat in the plane waiting on a crew that needed to deadhead to Indy. This means they were not working the flight, the crew just needed a ride. The Pilot said this errant crew was scheduled to LAND in a few minutes. An hour later we finally pushed back from the gate.
When I turned my phone on after landing in Indy I had a message from the airline. It informed me my 1:55 flight was delayed.
I got home around 10:00 in the pee em.
People are always telling me they think I have a great job. They tell me it must be fun to travel all over, staying in hotels, flying the friendly skies.
Usta have to travel all the time and oh how I remember days exactly like this but I'm going to change the subject in this here comment section because I just cannot wait to poke at you with the following link.
ReplyDeleteDid the founding fathers really mandate the purchase of health insurance? You betcha!
Have a nice homey weekend, hoose.
How about that. I learned something today.
ReplyDeleteInteresting and again almost the whole truth, a little more digging and you find.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.forbes.com/sites/rickungar/2011/01/17/congress-passes-socialized-medicine-and-mandates-health-insurance-in-1798/
Read the comments.
James Old Guy
Um, James? THERE ARE ABOUT 300 COMMENTS.
ReplyDeleteWhich one are you talking about?
I'm talking about this one myself:
ReplyDeleteThis 1798 statute (5 Cong. Ch. 77, July 16, 1798, 1 Stat. 605) is currently making the blogospheric rounds as purported proof that the 2010 congressional mandate to purchase health insurance from a private company is based on long-established practice. INCORRECT.
Sections 1 and 2 of the act impose a 20 cent per month tax on seamen’s wages, to be withheld by the employer.
Section 3 requires that all the withheld taxes be turned over to the U.S. Treasury on a quarterly basis, and that the revenue shall be expended in the district where it was collected. The revenue shall be spent to support sick and injured seamen.
So the Act is totally dissimilar to the Obamacare mandate. In the 1798 Act, the government imposes a tax, collects all the tax revenue, and spends the revenue as it chooses. This is a good precedent for programs in which the government imposes a tax and then spends the money on medical programs (e.g., Medicare), but it has nothing to do with mandating that individuals purchase a private product.
Under section 4, if there is a surplus in a district, the surplus shall be spent in the construction of marine hospitals; the executive may combine the tax revenue with voluntary private donations of land or money for hospital construction. The President may also receive voluntary private donations for relief of the seamen, or for operation of the hospitals.
Section 5 instructs the President to select the directors of the marine hospitals. The directors shall make quarterly reports to the Secretary of the Treasury. The directors will be reimbursed for expenses, but will not receive other compensation.
Today, the 1798 Act is viewed as the beginning of the creation of the U.S. Public Health Service.
Erin
ReplyDeleteI read them all, those that point out the differences are very interesting, as opposed to those that like to paint with a broad brush. To me it is kin to the abortion arguments, if the federal government dictates what a woman can do with her body, then they can dictate damn near anything else. While there are problems and I mean multiple problems with today's health care, the approach to ignore the real issues and just dictate a half ass non solution is typical of the modern Congress, both republican and democrat. Personally I would have started with shooting a few lawyers but then again, I like simple solutions.
James Old Guy
Flying isn't fun at all, except that it gets you there real fast. Well, that's the idea. In theory. Those of us who fly much, know that reality looks a bit different. Oh, for the good ol' days of air travel. Wait, never mind. I hated the people who smoked.
ReplyDeleteI used to got to trade shows in Chicago.
ReplyDeleteFirst year, we all flew.
Travel time to airport, check in (no TSA, arrange cab, get to hotel: 5 hours.
Time to drive: 5 hours.
Time via Amtrack: 5 hours.
Amtrack after that.
Dunno if I'll get to all of them, James, but I'll give it another look.
ReplyDeleteOhio voters sure as hell don't like the mandate and I can understand that. Who wants to give the GD insurance companies more money?
In the private sector, something like 20 percent of every healthcare dollar goes to administration because there are so many insurers and so many inconsistencies.
I still believe the public option will rise from the ashes, perhaps in an expansion of Medicare. Whatever the case, methinks the fat lady ain't sung yet.
To that end, anyone hear any details on the "replace" portion of the GOP's "repeal and replace" battle call?
James, I appreciate that you would tailor an argument in such a way, but--to use Cain's vernacular--them's apples and oranges to me. The "mandate" was a rightie "everyone uses it and everyone ought to pay for it" construct.
You all know I could find plenty of solid links that tie Newt Gingrich and the Heritage Foundation to that assertion, but I'm too lazy and it's too early.
I remember smoking on airplanes! Thank god I quit back in 1993, because my private insurer is getting awfully snitty about smokers and how much they pay for coverage/deductions, etc. Last time I checked, the GOV didn't treat smoking Vets or Seniors any different than the nonsmoking ones.
Anyone else here have private insurance? Anyone else have to fill out one of those prickly questionnaires yet?
Good christ. This comment has gone on long enough.
One of the main reasons private insurance is so screwed up is the rules and regulations that govern it are so complex.
ReplyDeleteThere are quite a few states that just aren't worth competing in at my company. NJ, CA, MA, and NY are all areas where the local regulations favor companies that are already in place, and new laws pop up to dissuade any new players from trying to come in.
Those states have created environments where there is no competition or innovation, and they are driving the move towards single payer. Considering the graft and fraud involved in the current single payer systems out there, I'd prefer to stay the way we are, or go the German route.