One of the things that frustrates me the most about the folks that advocate restricting the rights of homosexuals is that they pretend that gay people are all horrible, scummy, degenerate losers.

The reality is that yeah, there’s some horrible, scummy, degenerate loser homosexuals.

There’s also some horrible, scummy, degenerate loser heterosexuals.

There’s horrible, scummy, degenerate loser priests, politicians, teachers, doctors, lawyers, retail workers, men, women, whatever. ALL segments of society have some horrible, scummy, degenerate losers as members.

Despite what you might be told, merely being gay doesn’t mean an increased likelihood that someone’s going to be horrible, scummy, or degenerate (unless, of course, you consider homosexuality itself as degenerate, which many bigoted people do.)

The truth of our multi-faceted society is that there’s plenty of perfectly nice, kind, caring, loving normal folks who happen to be homosexual. These people raise children, work in important jobs, and contribute to our society in countless ways.

And that first one- that they raise children- is a pretty big deal. Plenty of us have homosexual relatives, and more and more people have parents who happen to be homosexual.

Sure, given “normal” circumstances, two men or two women who are in a relationship together won’t wind up with children. Big deal- plenty of people these days have kids in “non-traditional” ways. There’s kids who have different daddies (and mommy never tells), there’s donated sperm, there’s donated eggs, there’s adoption, there’s people who had kids while in a heterosexual relationship and then divorced and wound up in a homosexual relationship, there’s people who have kids from former marriages and have remarried (thus the kids aren’t with both of their bio-parents)…

The point is that families are made up of seemingly infinite combinations.

Fortunately, the President of the United States of America recognizes that. From his proclamation naming September 28th “Family Day”:

Our family provides one of the strongest influences on our lives. American families from every walk of life have taught us time and again that children raised in loving, caring homes have the ability to reject negative behaviors and reach their highest potential. Whether children are raised by two parents, a single parent, grandparents, a same-sex couple, or a guardian, families encourage us to do our best and enable us to accomplish great things.

(emphasis added)

The point is this: It’s about the families, stupid. It doesn’t matter WHAT combination of parents or grandparents or whatever makes up a family; what matters is supporting that family as best we can.

If you don’t like homosexual behavior, cool. Don’t do it. But just because someone else does it doesn’t mean you should seek to harm their family; if anything, if they’ve got a family, you should be supporting them. This means, at least in the upcoming election here in Washington State, voting in favor of Referendum 71.

Ref 71 will uphold the state’s domestic partner law. It is NOT a “gay marriage” law; what it says is that certain couples that register as a domestic partnership have all of the same rights as traditionally married couples do- stuff about inheritance, being able to visit sick or injured family members in a hospital, make medical decisions, death benefits, and so forth.

It’s not just “gay” couples, either. Thousands of Washington senior citizens are in long-term, committed partnerships, but they can’t get married without losing pensions, Social Security benefits, you name it. These senior citizens are allowed to register their partnerships and gain the rights of marriage without losing thousands of dollars from their fixed incomes.

Kudos to the President for recognizing that whether you like it or not, there’s a bunch of kids who are in families with non-traditional parents, including gay people. Whether you like the choices of the parents or not, you can step up to help out those children this fall and vote in favor of Referendum 71.

Superb video. What I’d say to those who believe in God (which is most people in the USA) is this: Don’t bother trying to prove that God exists, because you can’t. Recognize that the very basis of your belief is mystical faith. This might make you a bit ashamed, but you shouldn’t be; while it’s completely illogical to believe in something that cannot possibly be proven, humans are themselves extremely illogical on a frequent basis.

Instead, just cheerfully admit that you have no proof, that you can’t prove it, and that it doesn’t matter; you’re going to believe it anyway. And then don’t try to force your mystical beliefs into realms of science or politics; mystical beliefs don’t have a place there. Instead, we should simply stick to the logical things that science can theorize and show proof of, and then base our governmental and societal actions upon the actual evidence.

People are still welcome to believe whatever they desire, but removing mystical belief from the realm of government means that we are not going a step further and using the power of that government to force others to hew to ANY mystical belief.

I, ________________________, do solemnly swear to uphold the principles of a socialism-free society and heretofore pledge my word that I shall strictly adhere to the following:

I will complain about the destruction of 1st Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 1st Amendment Rights.

I will complain about the destruction of my 2nd Amendment Rights in this country, while I am duly being allowed to exercise my 2nd Amendment rights by legally but brazenly brandishing unconcealed firearms in public.

I will foreswear the time-honored principles of fairness, decency, and respect by screaming unintelligible platitudes regarding tyranny, Nazi-ism, and socialism at public town halls. Also.

I pledge to eliminate all government intervention in my life. I will abstain from the use of and participation in any socialist goods and services including but not limited to the following:

Social Security
Medicare/Medicaid
State Children’s Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP)
Police, Fire, and Emergency Services
US Postal Service
Roads and Highways
Air Travel (regulated by the socialist FAA)
The US Railway System
Public Subways and Metro Systems
Public Bus and Lightrail Systems
Rest Areas on Highways
Sidewalks
All Government-Funded Local/State Projects (e.g., see Iowa 2009 federal senate appropriations)
Public Water and Sewer Services (goodbye socialist toilet, shower, dishwasher, kitchen sink, outdoor hose!)
Public and State Universities and Colleges
Public Primary and Secondary Schools
Sesame Street
Publicly Funded Anti-Drug Use Education for Children
Public Museums
Libraries
Public Parks and Beaches
State and National Parks
Public Zoos
Unemployment Insurance
Municipal Garbage and Recycling Services
Treatment at Any Hospital or Clinic That Ever Received Funding From Local, State or Federal Government (pretty much all of them)
Medical Services and Medications That Were Created or Derived From Any Government Grant or Research Funding (again, pretty much all of them)
Socialist Byproducts of Government Investment Such as Duct Tape and Velcro (Nazi-NASA Inventions)
Use of the Internets, email, and networked computers, as the DoD’s ARPANET was the basis for subsequent computer networking
Foodstuffs, Meats, Produce and Crops That Were Grown With, Fed With, Raised With or That Contain Inputs From Crops Grown With Government Subsidies
Clothing Made from Crops (e.g. cotton) That Were Grown With or That Contain Inputs From Government Subsidies
If a veteran of the government-run socialist US military, I will forego my VA benefits and insist on paying for my own medical care

I will not tour socialist government buildings like the Capitol in Washington, D.C.

I pledge to never take myself, my family, or my children on a tour of the following types of socialist locations, including but not limited to:

Smithsonian Museums such as the Air and Space Museum or Museum of American History
The socialist Washington, Lincoln, and Jefferson Monuments
The government-operated Statue of Liberty
The Grand Canyon
The socialist World War II and Vietnam Veterans Memorials
The government-run socialist-propaganda location known as Arlington National Cemetery
All other public-funded socialist sites, whether it be in my state or in Washington, DC
I will urge my Member of Congress and Senators to forego their government salary and government-provided healthcare.

I will oppose and condemn the government-funded and therefore socialist military of the United States of America.

I will boycott the products of socialist defense contractors such as GE, Lockheed-Martin, Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Dynamics, Raytheon, Humana, FedEx, General Motors, Honeywell, and hundreds of others that are paid by our socialist government to produce goods for our socialist army.

I will protest socialist security departments such as the Pentagon, FBI, CIA, Department of Homeland Security, TSA, Department of Justice and their socialist employees.

Upon reaching eligible retirement age, I will tear up my socialist Social Security checks.

Upon reaching age 65, I will forego Medicare and pay for my own private health insurance until I die.

I got a couple of notes over the past week or two about healthcare reform. They’re thoughtful and not shrill, so they deserve attention; it’s nice to have a reasonable discussion of things instead of the ridiculous “town hall” meetings where angry, fearful people go and yell their heads off.

One was from a friend of mine whose wife is a doctor. We had a decent discussion; I don’t think we totally agree, but it’s refreshing to A) hear from someone who’s very connected to the field, and B) who is a reasonable guy and not a raving loony.

His quote:

Doctors also pay about 10% in malpractice insurance. Why is there no talk about tort reform or loser pays in a lawsuit? We have all seen the latest pharmaceutical commercials that spend over half the time explaining side effects and who shouldn’t take their drug. Liablility and lawsuits are a major cause of inflated prices in everything we buy in the United States.

(Note: This comment was before President Obama’s speech the other night, where the President said that one of the things that he wanted to work on in healthcare reform was tort reform and liability costs.)

The next was a comment on my blog’s web site:

And, BTW, I think health care reform is necessary. I think it’s long overdue. Tort reform, separating health care from employment (a la car insurance), and having people pay for and be more responnsible for thier own health care are steps in the right direction.

Again with the tort reform.

So what’s the deal? Do lawsuits and liability insurance really drive up the costs of healthcare?

Well, no. Not really. To doctors, they seem pretty outrageous, because malpractice insurance premiums have zoomed upwards over the past few decades. (Kind of like how healthcare insurance has zoomed up for the rest of us, but I digress.) They (doctors) feel like they’re getting the shaft from these for-profit malpractice insurance companies.

They kind of are, but I am personally a big believer in leaving liability right as it is. Doctors don’t lose their licenses very often in America; it’s hard to get one doctor to testify against another. One of the better ways that bad doctors are run out of business is when they keep losing settlements and lawsuits, and nobody will insure them.

Anyway, what’s the real cost of lawsuits and settlements? We keep hearing how tremendously expensive these lawsuits are, so it’s got to be a lot- hundreds of dollars per capita every year, right?

Wrong. It’s about $12 bucks a year. Per person.

A terrific study was done by researchers Amitabh Chandra, Shantanu Nundy, and Seth A. Seabury.. They figured out how much lawsuit settlements and judgements cost in 2005, and also looked at how much those types of costs went up from 1993 until 2005.

They did point out that malpractice insurance costs went up more than the payments (via judgements and settlements) did. A big part of this was because the insurance companies make a significant amount of money by investing the premiums they take in; if those investments don’t do well, the next year they increase the premium amount because, surprise surprise, they’re in business to make money.

Malpractice costs overall are fairly consistently estimated to be 1 to 2 percent of overall healthcare spending. This 2004 report by the CBO (Congressional Budget Office) pegged the costs at 2%.

WellPoint Inc, the largest healthcare insurer in the US by enrollment, said in a May 27 report that malpractice was not a big driver in the spending trends on healthcare insurance.

The point to all of this is that when you hear someone say “tort reform, tort reform” and suggesting that healthcare costs are being driven upwards by malpractice and liability, you need to know that these things are NOT really a big part of the overall problem.

More importantly, they’re not a reason to refuse to do any kind of healthcare reform, and fixing or changing them around alone will not affect more than just a percent or two of the overall spending on healthcare.