"I'm a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work the more I have of it." - Thomas Jefferson

This is the shirt I'm wearing today. From Shirt.Woot.com a week or so ago. 

Pam's cell phone rang last night after we'd both been asleep for awhile. I answered it because it takes her an hour or so to return from sleep to full consciousness, and it was the night supervisor on her unit at the hospital. They'd discovered that during the day shift someone had gone through all the purses in the break room and stolen cash from each. She wanted to know if Pam was missing money or had seen anything suspicious. I woke her up and she looked. No money missing from her purse, but she keeps hers out at the desk where she works, not in the break room. In her stupor she couldn't think of anything suspicious, but this morning she recalled someone who doesn't normally work on their floor going into that room frequently. Once, while Pam was in there, she noticed this gal going through a purse, but just assumed it was hers. 

I'm interested to see what she has to say when she gets home tonight.

The new bed is made, the new ceiling fan installed, and some of the pictures hung. We'll go shopping Monday for some kind of a bedspread and pillows (?) and decide what else goes on the wall and then the room will be DONE!

I watched some of the NHL playoff games on Versus this evening but there weren't any fights. 

Like NASCAR and accidents - what's the point if they're not going to fight?

Tomorrow is Easter and I have no idea what to expect. Will we have our normal group or lots of visitors? Last year we were surprised at the number who came. 

I'll have to talk myself down in the morning. Too easy to get anxious, tense, and that means unnatural preaching. No good.

There's considerable disagreement about who should receive college scholarships. Should they be given to students who qualify academically but lack the financial means? Or should those who either don't meet the normal academic standards and/or don't need the financial assistance get a scholarship because their presence on campus contributes in some other way? For example, it has been SOP for colleges and universities to give scholarships to minority students in order to have a more diverse student body, passing over applicants with greater needs or better academic credentials. 

Then there's the scholarship recipients who signed their application with an X but can fly down the field with a football tucked under their arm. 

I thought about that issue today as I read an article about the national debt and the budget deficit. There seems to be general agreement that the most significant problems are the entitlement programs - Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. 

I hasten to confess I do not understand the ins and outs of Medicare. I've got another four and a half years before I need to learn that system. But unless I'm totally off base, Americans who are 65 and older receive financial assistance for medical costs like hospital stays, long-term care and medications. 

Pam and I have always lived carefully on a fairly modest income and are perfectly happy doing so. If someone gave us a million dollars we wouldn't turn it down but we have everything we need and more. We have one credit card and pay it off every month. If we can't afford it we don't buy it. Pretty simple. We're happy, content and thankfully on the same page when it comes to budgetary matters. 

We also don't have any problem with those who are significantly blessed financially. More power to 'em! The truth, whether they realize it or not, is that those blessings come from God, and he does all things well. Assuming they came by their wealth honestly it's all good.

What I do have a problem with is paying for the prescriptions and hospital stays of people who have significant wealth, just because they've passed their 65th birthday. Why should we be taxed at a rate higher than it otherwise would be so that someone who, at 70 years old, is pulling down six, or even seven figures annually? They're making four times our combined income yet we're subsidizing their healthcare. Why?

The answer: means testing.

I'll let the big boys figure out where the line should be drawn, but at some point age should be irrelevant. If someone has a lot of money they should go out and buy insurance to cover those costs, unless they want to pay them out of pocket! I shouldn't be expected to cover those costs just because they're over 65 and I'm under. 

And what I really don't understand is why means testing isn't so obvious that it was implemented yesterday.