The World According to Shawn
Sunday, April 24, 2011
When I read something the other day I didn't know if I should be insulted or embarrassed. I read that Mexico under article 4 of there constitution provides universal health care to all of their citizens. My first though was wait, you are telling me that a country that economically is listed as a "Third World" country can provide every single citizen with a fundamental need like health care, but yet we can't get it right in the United States, one of the wealthiest nations in the world. I wanted to know more about why over the years universal health care has failed in the United States. Historically I couldn't find a lot of information about it, but the first mentions of an attempt were under Jimmy Carter. It appears that at that time the congress felt it wasn't the right time to deal with that issue, as there was an oil crisis, and a hostage situation going on with countries in the Middle East region. The next time it comes up is under Bill Clinton in the 90's, and it seems that congress felt it wasn't the right time, because the economy was on the rise, and people were making enough money to cover there own health care expenses. Now in 2009 Obama began this fight to enact a universal health care bill to provide all American citizens with this right that is given to all Mexican citizens at birth. It's now 2011 and the congress has picked it apart until the point that it can no longer be called universal. The stipulations that's have been included give too many people the right to opt out. Why on earth would you want to opt out of receiving such a benefit? Of course Mexico isn't the only country that gives this benefit to its citizens when I look at the list its filled with countries that simply shouldn't be able to afford it yet they break their banks for something that is unarguable a right that should be given at birth. After writing about it here however I'm neither insulted, nor embarrassed, the feeling I have is one of heart-break, I just wonder if we are ever going to get things together and do the right thing for a change. Why aren't American people outraged they are taken advantage of by their own government, the government set up by the people and to work for the people has failed the people time and time again.
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Tuesday, April 19, 2011
Last year during the NBA finals I watched game 7 with my friend Rich from work, and immediately after the game was over I made a bet with him that the Lakers and Celtics would both play again in the 2011 finals. We still have almost 2 months to go before the Finals start, but I'm still holding onto that prediction even though the NBA is definitely not the same as it was 12 months ago. Lebron James is now a Miami Heat player, the Thunder are even better than they were last year, and the Chicago Bulls are back!
There are six games left in the EPL season and Manchester United are on top of the table by 7 points, and they are also through to the semi-finals of the champions league. Atleast one team I'm a fan of actually wins championships.
In other news I've just been growing very tired of the day to day life here in San Diego. I'm so ready to be done with this place, but I have more than 3 months left. On one hand I should be happy and enjoy the time I have left cause I do have some very good friends here, but as I'm closing this chapter of my life I really feel like it was wasted time.
Saturday, April 02, 2011
It's been a little while since I wrote a blog and literally everything has changed since then. So I'll start with the biggest changes and work my way down. I got accepted into a college in Dublin in about mid-February. The college wasn't originally my first choice, as when I started looking into grad schools last year, I had London on my mind. It was after my visit to Europe in September when a good friend of mine really sold me on the idea of going to school in Ireland. I have about 4 months left in California, which really excites me, because as I've said many times, I don't think Southern California and I were a good fit from the beginning.
I'm currently in a relationship, which given the previous paragraph might seem a bit odd. I didn't expect it to happen especially so close to the end of my time on the west coast, but what can I say the heart wants what it wants.
My friend Max visited for 12 days from Holland and we had a really good time, I took him to Six Flags, Vegas, and to Tijuana during his holiday. It was the least I could do for him being my host when I was in The Netherlands last year. i have one more visitor coming in July and that should be a blast as well.
I went to Spring training in Arizona, something I had wanted to attend since I was a little kid. I saw the Angels and Dodgers and the Giants and the Reds, I really enjoyed the Giants game, mostly because I got to watch Tim Lincecum pitch. It's only the second time I've been to a baseball game and seen a Cy Young award winner pitch, the other was Jake Peavy.
During that same trip I saw the Grand Canyon, which i have to say is the most amazing landmark, monument, or overall thing I have ever seen. I was blown away by the beauty and shear scale of it.
I have softened my stance on hating Lady Gaga, which is a rare occurrence for me. I still don't consider myself a fan of her music, but I didn't realize until Thursday night how personal she is with her fan base. She also puts her fame to use for good causes at this early point in her career, so someone who does that can't be all bad.
