Airlines - why I never want to fly again

I read today that Spirit Airlines is starting to charge people 45 dollars for packing a carry-on in the overhead compartment. The only thing I can say is: W T F.

And they wonder why demand for flying is down. Its not that demand is down, its that people are so god damn frustrated with flying that people are looking into other options for travel.

First off, you're crammed into a seat that is too small for any normal sized human. I'm 6'1. Not some sort of super tall monster, probably about average for an american male. Sitting in a seat requires me to spread my legs since there isn't enough room to do otherwise. If I have people sitting next to me, I have to twist my body to sit in the tiny seat. If someone puts their seat back, its almost impossible. Left to right if your ass is wider than 15 inches you're crammed in. If some fat lady sits next to you, you're screwed.

They charge you for a snack. They charge you for checked bags. They charge you for carry on now apparently. They charge you more if you want an emergency exit seat, or any seat that might be chance give you a little more room.

They cancel flights without warning. They overbook every flight, and can kick you off of the flight at their whim. They'll cancel your flight at midnight, and make you pay out of your own pocket to stay at a high priced city hotel without any apology.

What it amounts to is so much bullshit that its just not worth it anymore. Who wants the grief? Is it worth flying to some scenic destination, only to dread the horrible torture of getting back home? Not for me. I've avoided flying for a few years now, and do not plan to fly again unless things change.

Give us some room, bring back some of the pleasure of flying. Now its like cattle being led to the slaughter. Except cattle have a little more comfort. PETA would be all over the airlines if they were flying animals with the conditions passengers have to endure.

Tiger Woods - so what?

Yes, as american's we are preoccupied with Tiger Woods sinful ways.

Okay, I have to ding Tiger for a couple of items:

a) He pushed himself with a squeaky clean image.

b) He's a lousy husband.

Beyond this, I don't really see what the problem is or why its a problem. He's not a sex addict, he's just an average guy doing what any other guy with money and options would do. Why do rockstars have wild & kinky sex with a different woman every night?

Because they can.

So I say, let Tiger have his fun. Sure, he's a lousy husband but not every marriage is as perfect as it looks from the outside. And even if a guy is married to beautiful super model, every guy has a wandering eye. Its evolution. Men are programmed to want a different woman every night, and every man has to fight the urge to not wander.

When you have money, options, fame, and fortune, with women throwing themselves at you every day, its only human to give into those urges. So, I say let Tiger have his fun and do what he wants in his personal life.

Healthcare reform - Good or Bad?

I'm still on the fence with all of this healthcare discussion. Personally, I think we need to have some sort of universal healthcare safety net in america. On the other hand, I think what was recently passed is probably too huge & complicated. I would have started smaller.

What we really need in america is a basic safety net of care for everyone. Bare bones coverage, in case you get hit by a bus or get cancer. Nothing fancy, no coverage for Viagra or other frills, just the basics. If you want better, you can pay for it.

Universal healthcare is a key part to a civilized society. Even cavemen took care of each other, the sick and elderly were treated with respect and well taken care of. Its disturbing that for decades in america, if you got sick you basically were thrown to the wayside if you didn't have the money to cover it.

Without improving healthcare, the people really hurt are middle class americans. Those who have some savings, maybe are paying off a house, saving for college. They lose their job and insurance, and get sick, and they lose everything. Savings are gone, then they sell the house, the college fund goes, everything. Only when they are completely broke, does the government pitch in to help.

Its not clear to me if the new healthcare bill fixes this or not, but it seems like a step in the right direction at least.

If I had my choice, I'd have started with some form of "unemployment health insurance". Give people at least the peace of mind to know if they lose their job they won't go without some sort of basic coverage. I'd create some sort of "government buyer" to push down the costs of meds. I'm not a big fan of government-run anything, but I would have created a public option. If only to give the health insurance companies some competition. Right now, they have no incentive to reduce costs. When it comes to something like life & death, competition doesn't really work and people pay more and more.

We also need to find way to prevent unnecessary & overpriced care. 20 dollar aspirins need to end. Going for 6 tests every time you go to the doctor needs to end. Doctors need incentives to keep people healthy. Now, they have incentives to keep people sick & medicated. I don't know the answer to that one, but we should find a way to change it.

Either way, at least the democrats are trying to do the right thing. They may have let the power of majority get to their heads, and created a huge monster of a bill, but on the other side the republicans have offered no ideas and only want to point out problems with this and no solutions themselves. As General Chaos always says, if don't have anything useful to say, then just stfu.