The Chagrin of a Fallen Billionaire

The Feds caught billionaire fraudster Allen Stanford in VA Thursday night. His wealth is reported to be the creation of an international Ponzi scheme, taking new investors money to pay the profits of existing clients. CNN has the story here.

The poor sap complained a couple a months ago that he had to fly commercial airlines after the federal government confiscated his six private jets.

"They make you take your shoes off and everything," he said. "It's terrible."

Wow what a poor soul. Having to take your shoes off at security. That's definitely the worse part of being poor.

I wouldn't mind a view of the East River :)

Would the UN building in Manhattan be better used as housing?

David Rothkopf thinks so. He thinks the member states would get more out of the funds raised by the condo project than any of the results we've seen with the UN's "negotiations" with N. Korea.

"Seriously, I can hardly understand how in a city in which every cab driver is prepared to get all up in your grille about the most casual comment, these UN folks can manage to negotiate the basics of daily life. It takes more gumption than they have ever displayed to get a waiter to bring you a menu at most Manhattan coffee shops."

Kidney Stones, you are the bane of my life!

I have not been writing very much lately. I realize many of posts start off with a phrase like the previous sentence. But this time I have an excuse. Aside from a somewhat intense week of final exams, which I thankfully passed with A's, I have been suffering from kidney stones for a little less than a week. And holy fuck do they hurt.

I awoke Thursday night after several glasses of wine to a massive pain in my lower right back side. I was howling for a long time (Casey thought I was either having an orgasm or a baby) before I started crying. Then the vomit came. The pain was so intense that I spent a great deal of the night in front of the toilet. I wondered if I had alcohol poisoning for a while, but I hadn't drunk that much.

After a 5th puke session, my pain subsided enough for me to fall asleep. The next morning, I still felt some aftershock pain in my back, but it was a fraction of what I had experienced the night before. This was good, because I had to go into WOSU for training on new protocol that had been adopted since I left in December.

On my way home, I called my mom to tell her about this bizarrely intense pain. Right away, she said "You have a kidney stone." She had had one herself a couple years ago, and funnily enough, she said that it was the closest thing to a labor pain she had suffered through outside of labor. I no longer felt like a big wussy for crying and writhing around in pain.

Casey and I went out for dinner that night, and I was still quite tender. To his chagrin, I refused to stop at Bodega on the way home for a beer... I just needed to lie down for a while. A sharp pain returned, but it was momentary and I was able to fall asleep. The next day, I felt completely fine. Story over... or so I thought.

But then, Monday morning, I awoke to the most tortuous of pains. I realized that I could not go through this process again. I woke Casey up and told him I needed to go to the hospital. When we finally got to a hospital that was open, (we made a detour to an urgent care that was near to us that refused to let me in because they did not open until 9am) I ran in. The pain slowly increased in intensity, to the point that I was bawling and yelling for pain meds by the time they were trying to get my medical info. It was like the labor scene in Nine Months, except not nearly as cute or endearing.

They finally gave me some really amazing pain meds that made me feel happy. I was able to relax and watch CNN with Casey for a bit. They conducted a CT scan which confirmed I had a stone that is small enough to pass. The doc prescribed me some pain meds (he almost gave me a prescription for Flomax, that medecine that helps old men who can't pee because of prostate enlargement, further contributing to my comlex that I am an old man...)

They finally released me around 1, and I just yesterday got over the pain. I am not sure if I have passed it, or if it is just in a position where it does not hurt. But I can't even describe how much of a hell this has been. After being home for a couple of hours, it became difficult to keep any food or liquids down, which meant that I couldn't keep pain meds down, which meant I was still experiencing a great deal of pain. With the aid of soda crackers and 7up, I was finally able to keep food, liquid (ungodly amounts of water) and meds down.

I wish I could feel relief at this point. I do in that I have no pain right now, and this is without the aid of pain meds (none since 4:30 am.) However, I felt this way a week ago when I originally thought I had passed the stone. And then Monday happened. I fear having to go through this again.

If the fear of having to relive this were not bad enough, I don't even want to think about the hospital bill we will be getting. My mom has insurance, but she doubts they will cover anything. I have written before about how shitty GM insurance has become. I have been trying to figure out an estimate for the bill, with a CT scan, an IV, those shots of that happy drug, the blood test, and the urine test, etc., and I hope that it is less than $3000. My family has promised to pay for it (thank god, I had to miss this whole week of work), but we are all struggling right now. It just doesn't seem fair that the insurance should be able to get away with not paying... they have the means. I will let you know when I get the bill the final total.

If we had a single payer system like in Europe or Canada, all of us could live with a peace of mind that no matter our income, we will always have the right to healthcare.

A Valentine Wish for (gay) Love and Financial Equality

I have no analysis for you, but this is just fabulous, albeit late (Suze's Valentine's Day wish.)



I keep waiting for her to say: "What is going on my little honies?" or "As much as this pains me, I have to deny all straight people the right to marriage, you simply cannot afford it and don't deserve it."

Just another facet of the logical argument for gay marriage. NPR featured a story on the gay tax, making a similar argument. Gays are paying taxes, but are being cheated of the financial rewards of marriage straight people enjoy.

GM Bankruptcy... thank god Mama T's plant isn't closing

Great relief today after the announcement of the list of closing plants that accompanies GM's bankruptcy. Mama T's plant is not one of them!! Sorry for those who lost out on this one.

I was frightened over the weekend when I heard that there would be plant closings, and that dental insurance was being cut. Fortunately, neither affect our family. The UAW conceded dental insurance for retirees only. But according to Mama T, it is only a matter of time before her dental insurance will be cut. We already have a shitty deal for health insurance -- our family is afforded only 3 doctor visits a year, which is wholly inadequate for a family of two kids, a mom, and a 20 something.

NPR details the loss here