Angels And Demons - The Book, The Movie, The Ingrigue

Angels and Demons gets my personal vote and Summer Movie Favorite. I had read Dan Brown's book Angels and Demons a few years ago, with the same passion that I read Divinci Code.

The movie follows the book very closely in the search for the sect that called themselves the Illuminati from ancient Roman times. They have mysteriously reappeared within the Vatican just at the time following the Pope's death, and while the Conclave selecting the new Pope has been locked in.

The supposed Illuminati have taken four pope candidates from within the Vatican and is threatening to kill and mutilate one pope at 8:00p.m. and one pope each hour until Midnight when a mysterious cannister of antimatter stolen from a Swiss Lab will be released upon the City - destroying the Vatican and Rome in payback for the horror unleashed by the Catholic Church upon the Illuminati centuries before.


Catholic Church - interesting history about the Catholic Church, Rome, Vatican, ancient art, ancient icons and relics.

Ron Howard/Tom Hanks - Link to film trailer


Sets, scenes and special effects - not to mention can't breathe scenes

Question:

Who was the blonde swiss army guard - was it liesel from Sound of Music??

I give this movie a ***** stars.

More Health Care Reform Banter And Why I Oppose A Single Payer Government System

This comment came as a response to my healthcare blog

Why is it fair that insurance companies, and ONLY insurance companies (in lockstep with each other... no real competition that I can tell) get to set the amount of money a doctor makes, and why is this so much better than single payer Government setting prices?

This Blog Will Address That Comment

Because from those same doctors offices I've worked at -and since many of my readers are healthcare providers, you know how little they are paid under that existing single payer system for medicare and medicaid patients. So little, that many many doctors here in the triangle have stopped even taking those patients, or limit the percent of those patients they'll take. And, under a national healthcare system this would only get worse.

I think the Government payer system (unless they just run it under the same medicare, medicaid department, and don't add another whole bureaucratic layer), has the real potential to make a mess of a national healthcare system. Doctors would still charge the real costs, get paid less under a new medicare/medicaid like single payer government program, and participants might lose access to doctors as they pullout or pullback on accepting patients.

Here's a novel idea. Why don't they simply let all uninsured people pick their "government" plan (rather like Medicare), make it a cafeteria plan, let people sign up for it a year at a time like regular health insurance. But make them fill out a "certificate of need" each year, so it's more of a gap insurance for people who have lost their income, or have extraneous circumstances...set up an individual prepaid health account per family, just like regular insurance. Charge the family a nominal visit fee $5.00 (like medicaid), and when the money in their prepaid health savings account is gone, they have to go back and reapply for more funds (under some tight guidelines). This is not meant to be a permanent solution to not having insurance.

And leave everyone else alone who are happy with their BCBS, Aetna employer coverages. Then instead of COBRA through the employer, that family would be directly picked up by the Government plan, if there is a need, layoff, changing life circumstances. This would untie the hands of employees during gaps, and would untie the costs of employers for COBRA.

This would be far cheaper than trying to insure every person in the United States - that's just a totally unworkable option it looks like.

It's Supposed To Be Land Of The Free...Not Everything Is Free

My Comment 6/9/09 on Huffington Post Regarding Next Late Great Reform - Healthcare in U.S.

Health Care Reform 2009 (Do Over) - People Using bankruptcy to avoid paying their medical bills.

People should not be ALLOWED to use services and run up medical bills, then just take bankruptcy (which current laws leave no negative stigma over using), and get it all for totally free - and that's what people are doing. The Constitution does not guarantee anyone free health care - people used to try to pay (even if it is a little bit each month over the rest of your life), Maybe what we need is for-profit hospitals and insurance companies and doctors not running up medical costs by unnecessary tests, prescriptions, and hospitalizations.

I used to work for a back center in NC, who would "run" a patient's insurance card before they were even seen, for covered benefits, and then "prescribe" every darned treatment the insurance would cover - running up huge bills.

See here's how it works. You get treatment. The doctor bills the maximum marked up rate for their services. not the "insurance contracted" rate, which is far lower than their regular billing rate. The insurance pays the lower rate - the doctor writes off the difference as a loss of revenue for tax purposes. Win-Win for them. Same for Hospitals - over bill contracted rates, write off the difference as a loss.

This is where American healthcare is going to hell in a handbasket. Doctors should ONLY be allowed to bill the insurance and the patient for the amount they agreed to accept for services. Then the reported cost of healthcare would be accurate and significantly lower. People should not be allowed to bail out on medical expenses, if they received the treatment.

NC Governor Bev Purdue Signs No Texting Law

NC Governor Bev Purdue Signs No Texting Law 6/9/09

http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1562889.html

This law is completely unenforceable. What should happen is if an accident does occur while texting or talking, a large fine $2500 - non negotiable in court under any circumstances should be given. Driving privileges should be suspended until the fine is paid in full, and the insurance should go sky high as a result. Now that makes more sense, has some real teeth that might actually make people THINK about the consequences before texting. BTW, by the time an officer pulls you over, runs your license in his patrol car, and actually gets to your car, a savvy person could just turn off or ditch the cell phone, or cancel the text msg.

This joins a long list of NC laws that has no value, and was passed to satisfy the panderings of a few people, and to play me-too joining other states in passing every law that every other state passes. Can't NC ever think for itself, or dare to take a different/smarter/more efficient approach.

So What Is It About Politicians and Law Makers - There Is No Bigger Piece of Our Pie!

The proposed tax increase of the day is...

Raise this tax (today it's a new law on NC State gasoline taxes at 29 cents a gallon now, and scheduled to readjust to a lower rate based on gas prices (lower) for the past six months.

Today NC legislators are just one short vote away from passing a new law that would essentially block the lower rate from going into effect, and making the 29 cents a gallon rate to become the new minimum for the next two years - meaning gas prices in NC could actually go appreciably higher over the next two years when the higher gas tax is figured in.

This new minimum 29 cent tax is necessary because of the shortfall of revenue due to the economy. What don't they get---they are passing on higher costs to the same people here in North Carolina who have lost their jobs, houses, cars. Regular folks are having a loss of revenue too. Some are just barely staying afloat. But every federal, state, county and local government wants a bigger piece of our financial disaster. Hey Politicians - we're all tapped out here!

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