Wednesday, August 12, 2015

Jolts of Reality


We have the complete Sopranos series on DVD, and we recently completed watching all 86 episodes again.  Toward the end, I wondered (inside of my head) how Tony could be so oblivious to the duplicity of his nature while expecting others to be upfront with him.  It was a rhetorical question I had posed many times before about him and other characters in the show, but this time I received an answer of, “It was in the script.”

Alas, I suppose I am sometimes really not as sharp as I would like to think of myself as being.  For I frequently shake my head in disgust over Arlynda loving to watch “reality” shows like Chrisley Knows Best, Duck Dynasty, Hardcore Pawn and Storage Wars because of being obviously scripted while I have a tendency to forget that such shows as The Sopranos are not real.

Yeah, Arlynda realizes that her reality shows are not real and calls them her trash.  As it turns out, the CNBC shows I like to watch could also be considered trash because of being too real.

It was around the same time as we finished watching the entire Sopranos series that I had my other jolt of reality.  For in telling what would be coming up after the next commercial break, one of CNBC’s anchors said, GlaxoSmithKline wins approval for the first ever malaria vaccine, but is there any money to be made from it?

What else should I expect from CNBC—huh?  For on Wall Street, the making of money is celebrated, and there really isn’t anything wrong with making money.  Within reason, that is.

My problem is that I look upon the medical and legal (including politics) professions as being more of a calling than a means to make money.  For what one does in those professions directly affects countless others—sometimes even for generations.

On a more personal level, Arlynda would not be so sick now if there was an emphasis upon actually treating people over cost-effectiveness.  I also have no doubt that there would be at least an idea for a treatment of my condition if there was a good profit to be made from it.

Is it not fairly common for people building products to joke about their shoddy construction as being job security?  After all, if what they built lasted for a long time, not nearly as many would be needed to be replaced—right?

Come on now, connect the dots.  Would it not be in the best interest of hospital systems for people to remain sick while believing that they are receiving the best possible care?  For when they recover, they do not need to spend money for treatment anymore.

On the other hand, supposed preventative care sure is a fat cash cow for the medical community.  Fleecing people coming and going is celebrated on my trash.  Sigh.

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10 comments:

  1. You need an NHS urgently!
    The main problem with ours today is the Conservative policy of bringing in American organisations to run parts of it thus privatising it by the back door, putting profit first and care second.
    Our old folks homes are all too often run for profit and care is poor, wages low and abuse common.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, my dear Adullamite!!! Hey, we have the best health care system in the world until one needs to actually use it.

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  2. You make some good points, but I don't know that the medical profession is entirely to blame, I know I'm out of shape and overweight, although I'm currently working on this, but so many people that I see are obese, smokers, and don't even think about their health until there's a problem. Personal responsibility needs to come into play at some point.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, my dear Stephen!!! I hope the medical care up there in Portland is better than we have. Aside from all of the problems we have had, Arlynda's Uncle Kenny has passed out several times from the lack of oxygen in his blood, but the doctors he goes to here insist that there is nothing wrong with his lungs or heart, nor can they find another reason for his lack of oxygen.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, my dear Ann!!! A big Amen to that!

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  4. I loved "The Sopranos". I'm now going through terrible withdrawal pangs...I no longer have "Dexter", my hero, in my life! I don't know what I'm going to do without dear Dexter!

    At least, I still have "Red" Reddington in my life. "Red" helps!

    You two take good care of yourselves. I really can't comment on your health care comments...it's all too complex...and if I started I'd probably still be here rambling through until next year or beyond! :)

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, my dear Lee!!! You could watch the entire series of Dexter on Netflix as many times as you like. The entire series of The Killing is on there, as well.

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    2. I've got seven of the eight seasons of "Dexter", Jerry...on DVD. I'm only missing the eighth...I've seen it but I've not yet got it in my collections.

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    3. Thanks for stopping by again, my dear Lee!!! I think I quit watching Dexter after the fourth season, but Arlynda stuck with it.

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