the smedley log - suburban scrawl

Only one person without health coverage?

Having just received an email from my lone “no” vote (so far) in the “do you have health coverage” poll, I must admit a little disbelief myself. Surely, there must be someone else without the benefit of a health plan reading this blog. Whether or not that’s true (and whether or not I can stir such people to cast votes in the poll), the question will remain for at least a few more days.

Of course, if the question is no longer up, or if you’d like to ruminate further on the subject (with or without health coverage), feel free to leave a comment.

Is freedom afraid of fire?

“So I don’t see the flag burning issue going away any time soon. Not unless they find a way to put education in the water like they do with fluoride.”
- from a comment at The Dilbert Blog

I’m not a big fan of Scott Adams. I certainly don’t read his flagship comic, Dilbert, but (since both Frank and Owen pointed it out) I came across his recent post on Congressional attempts to deal with the burning of our beloved United States flag. While Adams’ commentary is tinged with wit, the following paragraph was the one that really spoke to me:

It seems to me that the great thing about the flag is that it symbolizes something inherently indestructible: the concept of freedom. You can burn the flag as many times as you want and the concept of freedom is not only still there – it’s stronger. I like that about my flag. I would go so far as to say it’s my flag’s best feature. (full text)

While he obviously opposes attempts to outlaw flag-burning, he also points out other societal problems we’ve yet to squelch, like “crime, drugs, war, poverty, terrorism, healthcare, immigration, and the mystery of why our children are such idiots compared to Norwegians.”

Anyway, to get back to my original thought, if you are viewing this during the week of July 4, you’ll notice a corresponding poll question in the sidebar. You feedback is appreciated.)

For the southpaws - okay, and the northpaws, too

According to my Left-Hander’s 2006 Calendar, the only notable Southpaw with a birthday this week is Helen Keller (tomorrow). Still, pretty impressive.

On a somewhat related note, to reiterate the question I asked last week, there’s a new poll in the sidebar. Please feel free to participate by selecting the most appropriate response (or making one up).

Where you’re from

-because tracking software only tells me so much, there’s a poll in the sidebar.