DarkStar Spouts Off

Men's Retreat

I attended a men's retreat held by my church and I will never be the same.

Coming back, I thought about a thread I read on P6 and other places about Black men needing to talk through issues with other men. I'm looking but I can't find it which is too bad.

You see, I heard some very interesting testimonies. There seemed to be a single core running though them all and it dealt with relationships with fathers and men taking their problems on all alone.

Men need to talk with other men.

I am not the same and my family will be better for it.

Health Care

If you had free health care available, and it was "good", and you had paid health care available, that is also "good," what would you do?

HONOLULU (AP) - Hawaii is dropping the only state universal child health care program in the country just seven months after it launched.

Gov. Linda Lingle's administration cited budget shortfalls and other available health care options for eliminating funding for the program. A state official said families were dropping private coverage so their children would be eligible for the subsidized plan.

"People who were already able to afford health care began to stop paying for it so they could get it for free," said Dr. Kenny Fink, the administrator for Med-QUEST at the Department of Human Services. "I don't believe that was the intent of the program."

So, how many people are surprised?

My main criticism of this government provided health care has always been, when the money gets tight, the health care provided will get worse.

Men Need To Talk

Thanks to reader LLR for this one:

Starting a new Mens Group in DC/MD/VA area

I want to start a support group of like minded men to fellowship with, support and encourage.

Some of us go through a lot of crap in a week with no real brothers to download and get a word of help. Some need a new job and all of us have connections to something or ideas that don’t fit us but may benefit another.

Married men, need a “attaboy” every now and then when we do what is right but not necessarily what we would want to do

Single brothers need to hear some wisdom from fathers that have overcome…

This group would maybe do breakfast, go fishing, see a game together..etc. once a month. Whatever. But geared toward going deeper than usual.

If you are interested, give me a shout.

This is a good idea.

Troubles With The HPV Vaccine?

8 more deaths connected to HPV vaccine
Adverse reactions from Gardasil number in thousands

Another eight deaths in just the past few months are being connected to Gardasil, Merck & Co.'s vaccine that targets the sexually transmitted human papillomavirus and is being considered by many states as mandatory for all schoolgirls, according to documents released by Judicial Watch.

There also have been another 1,824 adverse reactions to the drug, bringing the "known total" of such problems to 3,461, according to the public interest group that investigates and prosecutes government corruption.

"In light of this information, it is disturbing that state and local governments might mandate in any way this vaccine for young girls," said Tom Fitton, the group's president. "These adverse reactions reports suggest the vaccine not only causes serious side effects, but might even be fatal."

More at the link.

Summer of Murders

This is the summer of murders of mostly Black teenage and young men by other Black teenage and young men. If the madness is to stop, or at least slow down, immediately the following has to happen:

• If you are caught with an unregistered gun, you get locked up with no bail until the hearing.
• If you are found guilty for committing a crime with a gun, registered or not, and it is not a case of self defense, you will be sentenced to 15 years with no parole. You do all of the time.
• If you are found guilty of witness intimidation, you will be sentenced to a minimum of 15 years with no parole. You do all of the time.
• If you are found guilty of killing a witness, you get life with no parole.

That is for the short term and this has to happen at the local level, not the federal level as Project Exile.

I Know This Statistic

I know one of the dead people named in this article.

I told my daughter that although there is a bond with the person who is now dead, if you see him in the street, speak and keep moving because I didn't want her to get caught up in the mess that he was involved in. Today she gave me a call telling me what happened. He is survived by both parents, siblings, 3 young children, nieces, nephews, cousins and, unfortunately, a strong object lesson.

Murder King Hospital

[ UPDATES ]

Occasionally, I've read news articles or commentary about Martin Luther King, Jr. Hospital in Los Angeles. Yesterday, I read about a tragic death at the hospital, then last night, I heard TWO AUDIO TAPES of people who called 9-1-1 to get help for a woman who was vomiting blood.

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Newly-released tapes show a woman died in King-Harbor Hospital in Los Angeles after doctors ignored her and 911 dispatchers would not arrange her transport to another facility.

  Forty-three-year-old Edith Isabel Rodriguez died in the emergency room May ninth.

Tape transcripts show the woman's boyfriend and a bystander called 9-1-1 to say hospital staff were ignoring Rodriguez while she vomited blood and writhed in pain for 45 minutes in the hospital waiting area.

Dispatchers said paramedics would not come to move Rodriguez to another hospital. Instead, dispatchers suggested contacting hospital administrators and security, who then arrested Rodriguez for a parole violation. She died on her way out of the hospital.

SHE WAS IN THE HOSPITAL AND WAS NOT GETTING HELP! One 9-1-1 operator was stunned. A second 9-1-1 operator was incensed that someone would be calling 9-1-1 from a hospital to say someone was dying in the hospital and assumed the person was under medical care!

Point blank: At a minimum, MANSLAUGHTER CHARGES should be filed against nurses and doctors on staff at the time.

Next, EVERY POLITICIAN who supported keeping that hospital open, should resign right now. If they don't resign, the good people in L.A. should recall each and everyone of their behinds! I don't care about the so-called reasons they worked to keep that murder palace open! THEY MUST LOSE THEIR DAMNED JOBS!

And the second 9-1-1 operator should be suspended!AT LEAST!

Just Think About This

Just think about this.

Are you tired of going to the bathroom to do a #1 or #2? Wouldn't you like to not have that "inconvenience"? Why don't you have an operation that plugs up the holes? That will solve it, right?

Huh? It's a natural process that cleans the system? So what? At least you won't have to take a time out to "relieve" yourself.

Now, think about taking a pill that stops your periods. And the difference is what?

Smoking Ban

The Maryland State Assembly seems close to outlawing smoking in all public buildings in Maryland.

I don't smoke and can't stand the smell. I like eating in restaurants that segregate smokers from non-smokers. Most times, 99.998% I'd say, I choose the non-smoking section. But sometimes, I choose otherwise. Be that as it may, if the State Assembly is going to outlaw smoking in all public buildings, they may as well outlaw smoking, period.

Smoking is not illegal. People are making a choice to smoke or not smoke. People are making a choice to patronize businesses that provide smoking sections or are entirely smoke free. Let people make their own choice. We are not stupid.

Again, the Maryland State Assembly is going too damn far. Next, they will go for smoking in cars and in private residences. Just watch. But they won't make it illegal, because they depend on the tax revenue.

Active and Vet Care

Since I was a kid, I've heard about the poor care of military veterans in VA hospitals.

The husband of a relative told me of his care when he was wounded in Vietnam. In fact, before he was wounded, he heard enough that when he was wounded, he made the hospital put him in the coldest area possible to minimize the chance of infection.

So, I have to ask, why now are politicians and military acting surprised about the revelations at Walter Reed and now other military hospitals?

This has been a long term shame and it has been known for some time.

You Are Going To Hate Me For This

You are going to hate me for this, but I have some questions:

1. Has this mother ever heard of toothpaste, tooth brush, and oral hygiene?
2. Did this mother realize sugar rots teeth?

Honoring Nursing and History

On Saturday, I went to an event sponsored by the Baltimore chapter of the Black Nurses Association, the Gamma Chapter of the Chi Eta Phi Sorority, Inc., and the Provident Hospital Helene Fuld School of Nursing Alumni Association.

It was an event meant to recognize individuals in the spirit of "The Nursing Legacy of Harriet R. Tubman." My cousin was one of the women who received the Harriet Tubman Legacy in Nursing Award.

I've attended Provident Hospital Alumni events in the past and these events have ALWAYS left me in awe at what the nurses educated at "the Black nursing school" of Provident has been able to accomplish over time.

For background information, the Provident Nursing School was the school in Baltimore, Maryland for Negro women to learn the art of nursing. The older women in my family who were nurses, including my mother, attended the school.

Two featured speakers were Lilyan Slater, R.N. and Esther McCready, R.N. About both women all I have to say is wow.

Lilyan Slater is older of the two women and spoke about the amount of materials she has about Black nurses in Baltimore. She is working with the Reginald Lewis Museum to get the material so that it is not lost.

Esther McCready spoke about what she went through to become the first Negro to attend and graduate from the University of Maryland Nursing School. This article matches, with much less detail, what she told to us about her path to attending and graduating from the University of Maryland.

One thing really struck me about what she said. She said she was isolated at the school. No one walked with her, talked to her, or ate with her. But, she said it didn't matter. When she was a child, she preferred to be by herself. That, she said, prepared her for being alone at the school. She said many times that she believes God prepared her for what she was going to do. Her faith, and the faith of Lilyan Slater came through strongly in their speech.

She also had an interest in music and had a second vocation which took her around the world as a musician. She also worked with Raven Symone.

At the end of the event, I spoke with my cousin and waited about 15-30 minutes to speak with both of the ladies. I told them both that I am not a nurse but my mother was a nurse. Given what my cousin told me, Esther McCready probably taught my mother. But, regardless of that, I wanted to thank them both for their contributions to Black nurses in Baltimore and the country.

Oh, yes, and how about this chain: Lilyan Slater mentored Esther McCready at Provident Hospital in Baltimore. Esther McCready taught my cousin at Provident. My cousin has taught at Provident and other schools. As people came up to speak with Lilyan Slater and Esther McCready, I kept hearing over and over again, "Thank you for teaching me." And what really moved me was hearing some women say the same to my cousin.

Wal-Mart Pushes Drugs

Wal-Mart is cutting prices on generic drugs:

TAMPA, Fla (Reuters) - Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, said on Thursday it would cut the prices of nearly 300 generic drugs to $4 per prescription starting in the retirement haven of Tampa, Florida.

Target Inc., which has faced increasingly stiff competition from Wal-Mart, said it would immediately match the drug prices in the Tampa Bay area as part of a long-standing practice of remaining price competitive with its larger rival.

Wal-Mart characterized the program as "part of its ongoing commitment to provide affordable health care to America's working families" and said it hoped to drive down drug prices in general.

Consumer advocates said the move might achieve just that, and shares of generic companies, as well as those of other retail pharmacies, fell.

When Wal-Mart decided to sell food in its Maryland stores, the Maryland state assembly, with the strong urging of Giant Foods, decided to tax Wal-Mart extra because Wal-Mart was taking business from Giant.

I wonder what the drug store companies will get Maryland political whores state legislators to do.

How About SorryAssBabyMomma?

Last week I blogged about the female who bore multiple children, one of which she let be around a man she knew was a pedophile. The end result is the pedophile killed the female's son, Irvin Harris. If you want to read what I wrote, go here and here.

Shanda Harris, the female, is 41, drug addicted, has a criminal record, and has multiple children. And, as I later said, I think the pedophile used her drug addition to get access to her son, Irvin Harris. But that's my speculation with nothing to back it up but "a feeling."

Last week I blogged about a "social commentary" web site called SorryAssBabyDaddies.

Today, I was looking at the referral links and I noticed a high number of searches for that web site. So, I clicked one of the searches and started looking at some other links. That's when I came across a story by Glenn Sacks and Jeffrey Leving of the Philadelphia Daily News. The article seems to be geared towards why non-custodial men are "dead beat" dads, and this article is something for another time. What caught my eye is this:

Ward excoriates dads and calls on her fellow sisters to publicly humiliate them, saying “our men have got to get it together…the only way to do that is to take their manhood away.” Ward, who at age 27 has had four children by four different fathers, eschews any personal fault for her own situation, claiming that none of her four births were intended.

OK.

She has 4 (four, fo', three plus one, five minus one, two squared) children by 4 (four, fo', three plus one, five minus one, two squared) different men.

This is what I wrote in the entry about SorryAssBabyDaddy:

I have no problem with the concept of the web site. These males need to be "called out" and shamed into doing the minimal, which would be child support. But it would be better if they became a good influence in their children's lives.

When I went to the list of "baby daddy's," something struck me. Unless I'm misunderstanding how the listing works, it looks like the creator of the web site has 3 kids. If this is the case, then maybe more should be said about the choices women make?

I was wrong! Sistah gurl has FOUR KIDS AT 27!!!!!!!!!!!!

OH YEAH, WHERE THE HELL IS HER RESPONSIBILITY IN ALL OF THIS!?!?!?!??!?!?!

Naw, you get one in my book. One. After that, you are just not being careful.

I don't see her taking responsibility for her mess!

Again, put the males who ain't manin' up out there!!!!

But there needs to be a web site called SorryAssBabyMomma and Fadia Ward's mess needs to be put there along with Shandra Harris. Sure, put them in totally different categories, but DAMN!!!!!

Lastly, why should men who are listed as being a dead beat, but provide proof that they are not dead beats, still have to pay $20 to be taken off of the website?

[ Update ]

I should have waited and followed more links.

If you can't muster any compassion for a woman who had her first child at 13, and three more by 24, stop reading. Ward already knows some people won't like her, or her plan. Her Web site invites women to post pictures of the men who knocked them up and the stories of how they took off without living up to a father's responsibility. But that's not about to stop her.

OK, that's enough. I'm done.

I understand why she's mad, but DAMN. Just DAMN.

[ Update 2 ]

OK, I kept reading links and refined the search a bit and came up with this link. So, to be fair...

Pregnant with her first child at age 12, she has four children - ages 3, 7, 10 and 14 - by four men. But she got pregnant with her two middle children despite using birth control, she said. Her fourth pregnancy came after the man "bamboozled" her by secretly removing his condom during sex, she said.

OK, you STILL ain't takin' responsibility...

Social Commentary Web Sites

I heard about this web site the other day on the radio and I just took a look at it.

Wow.

SorryAssBaby.Daddy.com.

Fadia Ward is a 27 year old single mother and lupus survivor who, like many other women in the U.S., is fighting the struggle of attaining due justice & support for her 4 beautiful children.

While undergoing research on the issue of back child support, Fadia stumbled across the following alarming statistic:  From 2002-2004, the "back child support epidemic" in the United States soared from $49 billion dollars to a whopping $89 billion.

Fadia was compelled to become an activist to do something about this growing national dilemma, while others just stand by.  She founded SorryAssBabyDaddies to warn, serve, and to protect, with hopes that lawmakers will be inspired to take action.

I have no problem with the concept of the web site. These males need to be "called out" and shamed into doing the minimal, which would be child support. But it would be better if they became a good influence in their children's lives.

When I went to the list of "baby daddy's," something struck me. Unless I'm misunderstanding how the listing works, it looks like the creator of the web site has 3 kids. If this is the case, then maybe more should be said about the choices women make?

Combine that web site with Don't Date Him Girl and these are two resources that women should probably use to screen their prospective romantic interests.

Health Savings Account

Some summary information on Health Savings Accounts (HSA), if you're interested:

The HSA, from the employee point of view:

Dollars put into a health savings account can be withdrawn instantly for qualified medical expenses as needed; any dollars remaining can be saved for spending in future years, or invested to accumulate savings for health needs after retirement.

How Does an HSA Coordinate with Your Health Insurance?

HSAs don’t replace a normal or typical health insurance policy. They are designed as a supplement to a high-deductible health insurance policy.

Because the HSA is tied to a high-deductible health insurance policy, you will “pay as you go” for medical care, using your tax-free HSA dollars, until you spend up to the deductible. Once you meet the deductible, the health insurance pays for most of your medical expenses for the rest of the year. You may choose your own doctor and level of care. By themselves, HSAs are savings vehicles — not insurance policies — so they don’t restrict your access to coverage or your choice of providers.

The HSA program has two parts: a high-deductible health plan (which usually costs less than other health plans) and a tax-advantaged, portable savings account for payment of current medical expenses which builds like a Medical IRA.

The HSA, from the employer point of view:

High-deductible health plans cost less (rather than trying to pay for another year of double –digit premium increases, your business could be saving money)

Health insurance is the #1 benefit sought by employees – the HSA program will enable your company to continue offering health insurance or perhaps start offering it; while helping your employees build a retirement nest egg.

The cost of the insurance premium and any contribution to employees’ HSAs are tax-deductible.

Make your firm more competitive by enabling it to attract and keep better, healthy employees.

HSAs can pay for many more medical procedures and products.

How do HSAs compare to other plans, such as HRAs and FSAs? Favorably. HSAs utilize lower cost high-deductible health plans. HSA are eligible for multiple classes (employees, retirees and owners). The employee becomes responsible for their medical expense spending. The money in the HSA account accumulates and earns interest and dividends. Any contributions are deductible for the business. The two possible drawbacks are because the employee owns the HSA account, when he/she leaves the account goes along; and the yearly contribution is limited (in 2005, $2,650 for an individual and $5,250 for a family).

 

More detailed information from the Treasury Department.

From the Treasury Department information, a high deductable health plan (HDHP) is defined as the following:

Health insurance plan with minimum deductible of
(for 2005):

– $1,000 (self-only coverage)
– $2,000 (family coverage)

• These amounts are indexed annually for inflation
• Annual out-of-pocket expenses (including deductibles and co-pays) cannot exceed (for 2005):

– $5,100 (self-only coverage)
– $10,200 (family coverage)

• These amounts are indexed annually for inflation

...

HDHPs must apply costs of prescription
drugs to the annual deductible or the
individual may not contribute to an HSA