Originally posted to MySpace, August 22, 2010 Kelly claims: "The only words in the liberal one-page dictionary seem to be "America is Bad", "Wealth Redistribution", and, of course let's not forget the ever popular "Blame Bush". Fact: I have never personally said the U.S. is “bad” . If you want a quote from me, use this: America needs to get its act together. 1. The U.S. has a poverty rate of over 13% (2008, US Census Bureau). Statistics for Germany are comparable ( http://www.dw-world.de/dw/article/0,,3344134,00.html ). Nevertheless, beggars and the homeless are rarely seen on the street. Not one time in my 18 years over there do I recall seeing a person who clearly had no place to live. Most beggars on the street are punk rockers who have chosen not to be productive members of society. The difference in income between rich and poor in the U.S. is a gap the size of the Grand Canyon ( http://extremeinequality.org/?page_id=8 ). Someday, t...

Originally, posted to MySpace, July 26, 2009     When it comes to America’s screwed-up health care system, the insurance industry is not entirely innocent. Since my back trouble returned, I have been looking at various health insurance plans. The gist is that no one is willing to cover my pre-existing condition without making me suffer for it financially. Insurance companies will fight over your business—provided you are a fit as a fiddle. Yet, if you have so much as a pimple on your butt, insurance will cost you an arm and a leg. A former high school classmate of mine used to have his own insurance company. A recent online discussion prompted me to ask him to explain why health care in the U.S. is so expensive. He responded with a detailed letter that was eventually summed up in one sentence: the insurance industry is “in business to make money”. It’s a basic law of economics that people get into business to earn a profit. You can’t blame them for that. Hell, whether ...

Originally posted to MySpace, July 19, 2009   I have a bad back. I injured it in 1995 while living in Germany. At first it caused only acute pain. As time went by, the pain became chronic and eventually got so bad that I went to the doctor. An MRI of my spine in 2002 revealed the trouble: I had two bulging discs. Though not severe, they did prove to be a real pain in the butt—I mean back. A major flare-up in 2006 prompted me to visit my doctor again, have more scans done, and seek out a back specialist. He was shocked at how herniated the discs were, but he remained confident that it was treatable. The two cortisone treatments he gave me proved worthless. I never returned for a third. Thanks to the nature of the German medical system, all these visits to the doctor and radiologist never cost me a dime, except for the quarterly ten-euro fee for visits to the doctor. I never had a deductible. I never had a co-payment. For the lion’s share of medical treatment under the German s...

Originally posted to MySpace, May 31, 2009   American pharmaceutical commercials are a riot. They spend more time warning you about the dangers of the medication than praising its benefits. Y ou get 15 seconds of “This is some good stuff...”, then 1 minute and 45 seconds of “...but it could also cause x, y, z, and it might even KILL you.” In the past, US drug commercials simply included fine print towards the end—with or without a voice announcement—that read “Use only as directed,” i.e., as directed by the instructions in or on the package or as your doctor tells you. In Germany, every pharmaceutical ad on TV ends with the same message displayed on a solid color background with a voiceover:   Zu Risiken und Nebenwirkungen lesen Sie die Packungsbeilage und fragen Sie Ihren Arzt oder Apotheker. Loosely translated, it means “For information on risks and side-effects, read the enclosed instructions and ask your doctor or pharmacist.” That’s quite a mouthful (reflecting...

 Originally posted to MySpace, May 18, 2009   Who Wants to be a Millionaire? is a popular game show. It has been adapted for TV in many countries, including Germany, where its title — Wer wird Millionär? — translates as “Who Will Become a Millionaire?” There are quite a few other differences worthy of mention.  American version German version Response time is limited Candidates can take forever Wildcards are called “lifelines” Wildcards are called “jokers” Hostess is stiff and humorless Host is charming and funny You can ask an “expert”, who usually turns out to be an idiot You can phone a friend, some of whom actually help you answer the question Elimination round selects the person in the chair Person in the chair selected at random?   Has America’s fast-food culture always been part of its TV competitions? For as long as I...

Originally posted to MySpace, May 18, 2009   After spending the past 18 years in Germany, I recently returned home to my native Amarillo. I am readjusting to life here and have been pleased to notice some things which became second nature to me overseas. One is the practice of taking your own bags to the grocery store to put your items in. The other is drop-off points for recyclable materials. One thing I miss, however, is a means of recycling glass containers such as beer and wine bottles. I was surprised to learn that Amarillo used to have a program for returning glass but that it was canceled in 2002. Perhaps this is a result of our reliance on lightweight, easily disposable containers made of plastic and aluminum. In Germany, beverages come mostly in cartons or bottles. The bottles of glass or plastic are recyclable, and a mandatory deposit imposed in 2004 encourages consumers to return them for recycling. That year, Germany recycled over 2.1 million tons of glass. Those ...

 Originally posted to MySpace, April 7, 2009 After spending the past 18 years living in Germany, I have returned home to the States. To my amazement—and sometimes my dismay—I have noticed some things about my native land that remind me of my former country of residence. At German grocery stores in the early 90's, you generally took your own cloth bag to put groceries in and you bagged the items yourself. Now, major supermarkets offer you a choice of paper or plastic bags, and they occasionally have baggers on hand who will offer their services to you. Here in the States, stores are only just now discovering how to cut costs and help the environment by offering their customers bags made of cloth. What a novel idea: the customer brings their own reusable bags with them! I won't even try to recall the last time I saw a grocery store employee whose sole task was to bag items and carry the sacks to your car for you. I can't wait to see what other things the U.S. and Euro...