Universal Health Care? Hmmm.

This blog post will deal with Senator Bernie Sanders’ call for universal health care under a single payer program. His proposed system would eliminate all health care premiums, co-pays, and deductibles. Everybody in the U.S. would be covered—nobody would be excluded. He proposes to pay for this kind of coverage by an elevation of taxes.

We need to look at this idea carefully. I believe that Senator Sanders is suffering under a utopian idea that has serious defects in it. He apparently does not have enough experience in health care delivery to understand what his proposal will entail. Let me explain:

Although many people agree with Senator Sanders, they do not understand that free health care will cause a huge increase in demand for this “free” benefit—I’m talking about a FLOOD of patients appearing in emergency rooms for treatment from everything from hang nails to bad dreams. I know this is true because of work that was done several years ago when I was a medical student. The Rand Corporation examined the effect of co-pays on emergency room visits. The study found that a $5 co-pay decreased ER visits remarkably from the going rate of then $0 dollars for each visit. Evidently, this minimal charge was enough to cause anyone going to an ER to think twice about it and try to remedy the situation by using a little common sense before resorting to ER care.

At the present time, states can impose copayments, coinsurance, deductibles, and other similar charges on most Medicaid-covered benefits, both inpatient and outpatient services, and the amounts that can be charged vary with income. All out of pocket charges are based on the individual state's payment for that service.

Even with the United States’ present policy to require minimal co-pays for ER visits, our ER’s are still treating a lot of minor problems because for Medicaid patients the cost is so low, they can’t afford to go any place else. Eliminating co-pays will only exacerbate that problem. (ER care is the most expensive care available for out-patient help.)

Under Sanders’ plan, hospital costs for maintaining ER services will escalate. I believe that health care should be available for everyone. However, I also believe that everyone should work for a living if they are physically able to do so; and they should make a reasonable effort to pay their own way through the health care delivery system.

The present system of entitlement payments for health care, housing, food stamps, financial assistance, and fictitious disability claims incentivizes people from working for a living. Adding another layer of entitlement payment will only make the welfare system worse than it already is. A single payer health care system will add huge numbers of inefficient bureaucratic workers to America’s present overload of government employees.

A Short Book Review—Miracles by Lee Strobel

 

Those of you who have been reading my blog posts know that I have been very concerned lately about intercessory prayer and its relationship to miraculous healings. Nancy and I have been absorbed lately by a book by Lee Strobel—Miracles.

This book is an entertaining, fast-paced defense of God’s miraculous action in the world. The book begins with an extensive interview of the editor of Skeptic magazine, Michael Shermer, and all through the book, Strobel continues to refer to the comprehensive remarks that Shermer makes, which were intended to blow holes in the idea that God is actually able to intervene in man’s affairs in such a way as to produce contradictions to the physical laws of the material universe.

After giving a lot of space to the arguments of Dr. Shermer, Strobel goes on to introduce a list of many committed Christians who have excellent arguments in opposition to the skepticism of Dr. Shermer. Those arguments are convincing and faith-producing. All through the book, Strobel plays the Devil’s advocate, repeatedly presenting alternative points of view to his interviewees. By the time one gets to the last chapter, a reader will see clearly that God’s miraculous actions in the world are not only true and believable, but they also are seen as characteristic of God’s plan for the ages.

One of his interviewees, Tom Doyle, and experienced missionary, convincingly makes the point that miracles are still going on in the world.

All that being said, the real clincher in this book comes in the last chapter, an interview with Dr. Douglas Groothuis. That chapter entitled “When Miracles Don’t Happen,” was, for me and Nancy, the most inspiring chapter of all. It has to do with Groothuis and his wife, a woman with a chronic disease that has culminated in advancing dementia. I am personally familiar with Dr. Groothuis; and I have learned a lot from him about the need to be a competent apologist for the faith. But…I had never heard about the struggle he and his wife have had over a chronic and advancing disease that has not been mitigated by any miraculous action on the part of God. This chapter is the ultimate in faith-building for those who would have God answer their prayers for miraculous healing.

PRAYING FOR SICK PATIENTS

The Study of the Therapeutic Effects of Intercessory Prayer (STEP), conducted under the auspices of the Harvard Medical School, was a 10-year, $2.4 million clinical trial of the effects of prayer on 1,802 cardiac bypass patients at 6 hospitals. Patients undergoing cardiac bypass surgery were broken into 3 groups. One group was prayed for by intercessors and a second group was not, although nobody in either group knew for sure whether they were being uplifted in prayer. A third group was prayed for after being told they definitely would receive prayer. Then researchers tracked the number of complications experienced by patients in each group. This study was what is called a prospective, randomized, double-blinded parallel group-controlled trial—a type of scientific study that is purported to be the gold standard of all scientific studies.

There was no difference in the rate of complications for patients who were prayed for and those who were not—absolutely ZERO! There was even a slightly greater number of patients who knew they were being prayed for who experienced complications.

   

This study is held up by those who believe that prayer has no effect as the definitive study showing that prayer does no good. We live in a scientific world, where many people put all their faith in science. Many people believe that science is the sole arbiter of truth. They believe that science is the very last word in determining truth.  They believe that science is the only way to know if something is true. The problem with that statement is that the statement cannot be proven true by science. 

You may recognize this problem because there is a very similar statement made by the believers in the New Age Movement. That movement states that “There is no such thing as absolute truth; and that is the absolute truth.” There is self-contradiction in both of these statements about science and about truth.

As a matter of fact, the STEP study contained a very significant defect.

Several other studies on the effects of intercessory prayer have been reported in the medical literature—most of them in the Southern Medical Journal. In one representative study, again, patients were divided into a group being prayed for and a group that did not receive prayer. To those who prayed for patients, born-again Christians, both Catholics and Protestants, were given the patient’s first name, condition, and diagnosis. They were instructed to pray to the Judeo-Christian God “for a rapid recovery and for prevention of complications and death, in addition to other areas of prayer they believed to be beneficial to patients.” The patients in the group who received prayer, had less congestive heart failure, fewer cardiac arrests, fewer episodes of pneumonia, and were less often intubated and ventilated; also, they needed less diuretic and antibiotic therapy.

Now, you may ask, “What was the difference between the 2 groups, the STEP group and the groups reported in the Southern Medical Journal?” The question one must ask about these 2 studies is this one: Is it important to know who was doing the praying, who they were praying to, and how they were praying?The prayers of the people in the Southern Medical Journal article were people who believed in a personal God who hears and answers prayers made on behalf of the sick.”

In the Harvard STEP study, the only Protestants recruited to participate in the study were all from the Silent Unity Church of Lee’s Summit, Missouri. This group claims to be Christian; but many Christian scholars wouldn’t give them that label. They trace themselves back to the New Thought movement of the late 19^th Century. This sect’s views on the divinity of Jesus, sin and salvation, the Trinity, the Bible, and just about every cornerstone of Christian doctrine would be unrecognizable to any main-stream Christian. Their theology includes a strange mixture of Hinduism, Spiritism, theosophy (the philosophical study of religion), Rosicrucianism (Rosicrucian teachings are a combination of occultism and other religious beliefs and practices, mostly concerning mysticism or Christian Gnosticism. The central feature of Rosicrucianism is the belief that its members possess secret wisdom that was handed down to them from ancient times.), and Christian Science blended with some species of Christianity. Biblical concepts for these people have been emptied of their historical meaning and refilled with ideas more suited to New Age mysticism or pantheism. Although there is some diversity among those affiliated with Unity, essentially, members of the Unity Church do not believe in miracles, do not believe in a personal God outside of us who intervenes in people’s lives, and do not believe it’s even appropriate to ask for supernatural help.  It is not surprising to me that their prayers did not result in healing of disease. They did not believe in the God to whom they were supposedly praying to!! I doubt that they were even praying at all consistently since they really did not believe that their prayers would accomplish anything.

It has been observed that the most effective intercessory prayer has been done by Pentecostals and charismatics who emphasize healing prayer. Effective intercessory prayer has been most effective when it is done in the presence of the sick person—not at a distance, where the sick person is not even known to the prayer. Effective intercessory prayer has been most effective when the prayer has been able to actually touch the sick person or even apply anointing oil to the patient.  

I lately have been rejuvenated in my praying by a remark made to me by a friend in a Bible study that Nancy and I lead. He had a daughter named Susan. Susan had an advanced form of brain cancer; and her recovery was thought to be impossible. So…I was praying for her relief from pain and suffering and for comfort for her family. My friend said to me after he heard me praying that way, “I am not praying for her that way—I am praying for her recovery.” That got me to thinking about how I was praying. I was not really praying for what I wanted. I was praying in doubt of God’s power. I don’t pray that way anymore. I pray for what I really want, and I believe I am going to realize God’s goodness in the end. Now, as it happens, Susan died. But…I am convinced that she was cured of her brain cancer—she is undoubtedly healed in heaven where moth and rust do not corrupt and where thieves don’t break in and steal.

All that being said, I still affirm that I strongly believe that God is powerful and that He is good. I believe that He always wants the best for His children. Yet, I also know that He never promises us a trouble-free life. He knows that we sometimes walk through the valley of the shadow of death, and when we do that, He does not promise us that He will deliver us from trouble, suffering, and even death. But…the thing He does promise us is that He will accompany us all the way through. When trouble comes to us, we should fear no evil because He is there with His rod and His staff to comfort us. Even in times of trouble, He will prepare for us a table of life even in the presence of our enemies.

I believe that God is so powerful that He can reach down at any time to deliver us from affliction. That being said, I am also convinced that He will often allow the aches and pains of our earthly lives to work their evil ways through our days on this earth. In the end, He will show His goodness and power to us, and He will take us home to live as His adopted children forever.

We live in a fallen world. We all know that—we know that we must contend with a lot of hard things, just because we are the sons of Adam. We suffer the effects of his fall from grace. That seems to be the price we have to pay for being on Earth and in our present circumstances.  I believe, nevertheless, that He wants us to communicate to Him the actual desires of our hearts. We must be honest with Him and tell Him what we really want of Him. We need to pray to Him with heartfelt prayers for things that even look impossible to us. We must know those things are not impossible to Him, while, at the same time, He may have other and better things in mind for us. The hard knocks in life that we may experience should not frighten us—God is certainly with us, He cares for us, and He will ultimately deliver good things to us.

From a practical point of view, I want you to know that there are times when we should avoid praying for complete healing for some diseases. This is not because I believe that God is incapable of healing those diseases, but I know that sometimes He does not do so for reasons of His own. I do not worry that such prayers might damage God’s reputation among the hearers of the prayers in case the patient does not recover. God can take care of His own reputation. But…I do not want to raise false hopes in close relatives who might feel bad if recovery does not occur. I pray those prayers for complete healing in private or with friends who understand my attitude toward intercessory prayer. A more constructive way to pray for one with a supposedly incurable disease is to remind him that better days are ahead for all faithful Christians—a life of health, strength, and communion with the Savior. Heaven is a place where there are no more tears, no more pain. Life there will be eternally satisfying to all of us who believe and trust that we will go there because Jesus, Himself, promised us that He is the Way. We will come to heaven by Him, alone!

Reverse Discrimination!

Colleges and universities in America should quit their de facto affirmative action decisions on whom to admit to their institutions and whom they should deny. Refusing to educate white males and others of the so-called “dominant culture” at higher levels of training is a subtle form of racist discrimination that is unfair and damaging to our society. Our institutions of higher learning are doing this because they deem it politically correct to do so, and not because the government has mandated that kind of decision-making. I think it would be more politically correct (in the real sense) to admit those persons to the institutions on the basis of merit and disregard their race or sex.

 

A few years ago, a son of our who is a mechanical engineer, applied to the engineering department of the University of Oklahoma for a faculty position. He was turned down because the university told him he was the wrong sex and the wrong color.

 

He subsequently went to another university in the Midwest where he became a world class engineer; he was widely published and traveled the world giving lectures and seminars. The University of Oklahoma had missed out on hiring a real authority in the field of engineering. This is the result of poor administrative decision making. This policy filters down into business decisions which discriminate against people with high qualifications for doing good work.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marijuana—What Are It’s Effects?

Studies done in July 2014 and reported in psychologytoday.com   (https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/you-illuminated/201407/7-short-term-effects-marijuana-the-brain) report several effects of marijuana over the short term; these effects include impaired memory, reduced anxiety, increased appetite, elevated heart rate, and reduced pain. Sleep alterations have also been reported; but the alterations are variable—some people report interruption of sleep and others report more relaxed, early onset sleep. One consistent finding is decreased REM sleep—that is sleep that contains dreams.

 Another study reported in healthyplace.com https://www.healthyplace.com/addictions/marijuana-addiction/short-term-and-long-term-effects-of-weed-marijuana reported short term effects as being:

1)   Euphoria, intoxication

2) Relaxation, detachment, decreased anxiety and alertness

3) Altered perception of time and space

4) Intensified experiences

5) Laughter, talkativeness

6) Depression

7) Amnesia, confusion, delusions, hallucinations, psychosis

8) Mania

9) Short term memory impairment

10)      Sudden increase in heart rate and risk for heart complications

 

11)       Lethargy

 

12)      Decreased concentration

13)      Slurred speech

14)      Cough, wheezing, and phlegm production

15)      Increased risk of cancer

16)      Frequent chest illness including lung infections

17)      Impaired immune system

18)      Alter hormones and disrupt menstruation cycle

19)      Negatively impact male and female fertility

20)     Negative impact on birthweights, cognition, and increased risk of cancers for children born to marijuana using mothers

21)      “Flashbacks” of drug experiences while not using

22)     Paranoia, panic disorder, fear.  

Long-term effects occur because tolerance builds to the drug, and users tend to use larger and larger doses. The long-term effects include: 

1)   Irritability, anger, aggression, restlessness

2) Depression, anxiety

3) Stomach pain

4) Decreased appetite, weight loss

5) Tremor

6) Sweating

7) Drug craving

8) Difficulty sleeping 

Long-term marijuana use can lead to negative effects on the# brain that can affect memory and learning: 

1)   Inability to focus, concentrate and retain information

2) Decreased math and verbal skills 

Effect of recreational marijuana sales on police reported crashes in Colorado, Oregon, and Washington

Study done in October 2018 https://www.iihs.org/frontend/iihs/documents/masterfiledocs.ashx?id=2173 (A comprehensive statistical study of the subject.) 

In January 2014, Colorado became the first U.S. state to allow retail sales of recreational marijuana, with Washington (July 2014) and Oregon (October 2015) following shortly afterward. With more states weighing legalization, it is important to understand the degree to which recreational marijuana legalization has affected traffic safety outcomes. The current study was based on the 2018 Highway Loss Data Institute research on the subject, which estimated that the legalization of retail sales was associated with a 6.0% increase in insurance collision claims compared with control states. The current study investigated police-reported crashes rather than insurance claims. Crash rates were computed for each month between January 2012 and December 2016 for the three study states as well as their neighboring states, which served as controls. Controlling for several demographic factors, the change in crash rate that occurred after recreational marijuana was legalized was compared with the change in crash rate in the control states over the same time frame. The legalization of retail sales in Colorado, Washington, and Oregon was associated with a 5.2% higher rate of police-reported crashes compared with neighboring states that did not legalize retail sales. These results contribute to the growing body of research on the impact of recreational marijuana legalization. 

In contrast to the above report, the American Public Health Association published in August 2017 the following conclusion of their study having to do with auto fatality rates: “Three years after recreational marijuana legalization, changes in motor vehicle crash fatality rates for Washington and Colorado were not significantly different from those in similar states without recreational marijuana legalization.” 

All the above summarize the pertinent scientific information about the effects of marijuana on the human psyche, auto crashes, and auto fatality rates. Now, I want to express my own opinion about this subject: In the 1960’s the Surgeon General of the United States Public Health Service, published a book entitled “Smoking and Health,” which chronicled all the bad effects of smoking. That book changed the attitude of the American public drastically; and as a result, large numbers of Americans quit smoking. The improved health effects were stunning. The incidence of heart disease and cancer plummeted. We must remember that the data which underlaid that report took decades to accrue. But…it produced a monumental public health improvement. I have often wondered why it took all that time and statistical study to come to the conclusion that smoking was bad for health. It seemed to me that the conclusion should have been made on the basis of a little common sense. Taking all that smoke into the human body should have intuitively informed us of its dangerous nature.  

I believe that the same trajectory in knowledge about marijuana smoking and other intake will be about the same for that drug as it was about nicotine in cigarettes. It seems to me that applying common sense to the subject should point to the same kind of conclusion, e.g., smoking marijuana is bad for one’s health and the health of the surrounding society. This conclusion should not take a rocket scientist to figure out. 

(There is an even more graphic illustration of the dangers of marijuana in the Imprimis publication by Hillsdale.edu for January 2019.)

 

How To Detroy America

How to access my blog posts: manringen.blogspot.com

Read this, think about this, understand this.

You have been fairly warned. 

A very important quick read... please ! 

We know Dick Lamm as Governor of Colorado. In that context his thoughts are particularly poignant. Last week there was an immigration overpopulation conference in Washington , DC , filled to capacity by many of America 's finest minds and leaders. A brilliant college professor by the name of Victor Hansen Davis talked about his latest book, 'Mexifornia,' explaining how immigration - both legal and illegal was destroying the entire state of California . He said it would march across the country until it destroyed all vestiges of The American Dream.

 Moments later, former Colorado Governor Richard D. Lamm stood up and gave a stunning speech on how to destroy America .

The audience sat spellbound as he described eight methods for the destruction of the United States . He said, 'If you believe that America is too smug, too self-satisfied, too rich, then let's destroy America . It is not that hard to do. No nation in history has survived the ravages of time. Arnold Toynbee observed that all great civilizations rise and fall and that 'An autopsy of history would show that all great nations commit suicide.'

'Here is how they do it,' Lamm said:

'First, to destroy America , turn America into a bilingual or multi-lingual and bi-cultural country...  History shows that no nation can survive the tension, conflict, and antagonism of two or more competing languages and cultures. It is a blessing for an individual to be bilingual; however, it is a curse for a society to be bilingual. The historical scholar, Seymour Lipset, put it this way: 'The histories of bilingual and bi-cultural societies that do not assimilate are histories of turmoil, tension, and tragedy.' Canada , Belgium , Malaysia , and Lebanon all face crises of national existence in which minorities press for autonomy, if not independence. Pakistan and Cyprus have divided. Nigeria suppressed an ethnic rebellion. France faces difficulties with Basques, Bretons, Corsicans and Muslims.'

Lamm went on:

'Second, to destroy America , invent 'multiculturalism' and encourage immigrants to maintain their culture. Make it an article of belief that all cultures are equal; that there are no cultural differences Make it an article of faith that the Black and Hispanic dropout rates are due solely to prejudice and discrimination by the majority. Every other explanation is out of bounds.

'Third, we could make the United States an 'Hispanic Quebec ' without much effort. The key is to celebrate diversity rather than unity. As Benjamin Schwarz said in the Atlantic Monthly recently: 'The apparent success of our own multi-ethnic and multicultural experiment might have been achieved not by tolerance but by hegemony. Without the dominance that once dictated ethnocentric and what it meant to be an American, we are left with only tolerance and pluralism to hold us together.' Lamm said, 'I would encourage all immigrants to keep their own language and culture. I would replace the melting pot metaphor with the salad bowl metaphor. It is important to ensure that we have various cultural subgroups living in America enforcing their differences rather than as Americans, emphasizing their similarities.'

'Fourth, I would make our fastest growing demographic group the least educated. I would add a second underclass, un-assimilated, under-educated, and antagonistic to our population. I would have this second underclass have a 50% dropout rate from high school.'

'My fifth point for destroying America would be to get big foundations and business to give these efforts lots of money. I would invest in ethnic identity, and I would establish the cult of 'Victimology...' I would get all minorities to think that their lack of success was the fault of the majority. I would start a grievance industry blaming all minority failure on the majority.'

'My sixth plan for America 's downfall would include dual citizenship, and promote divided loyalties. I would celebrate diversity over unity. I would stress differences rather than similarities. Diverse people worldwide are mostly engaged in hating each other - that is, when they are not killing each other. A diverse, peaceful, or stable society is against most historical precept. People undervalue the unity it takes to keep a nation together. Look at the ancient Greeks. The Greeks believed that they belonged to the same race; they possessed a common language and literature; and they worshiped the same gods. All Greece took part in the Olympic games. A common enemy, Persia , threatened their liberty. Yet all these bonds were not strong enough to overcome two factors: local patriotism and geographical conditions that nurtured political divisions. Greece fell. 'E. Pluribus Unum' -- From many, one. In that historical reality, if we put the emphasis on the 'pluribus' instead of the 'Unum,' we will 'Balkanize' America as surely as Kosovo.'  

'Next to last, I would place all subjects off limits. Make it taboo to talk about anything against the cult of 'diversity.' I would find a word similar to 'heretic' in the 16th century - that stopped discussion and paralyzed thinking. Words like 'racist' or 'xenophobe' halt discussion and debate. Having made America a bilingual/bi-cultural country, having established multi-culturalism, having the large foundations fund the doctrine of 'Victimology,' I would next make it impossible to enforce our immigration laws. I would develop a mantra: That because immigration has been good for America , it must always be good. I would make every individual immigrant symmetric and ignore the cumulative impact of millions of them.'

In the last minute of his speech, Governor Lamm wiped his brow. Profound silence followed. Finally he said, 'Lastly, I would censor Victor Hanson Davis's book 'Mexifornia.' His book is dangerous. It exposes the plan to destroy America . If you feel America deserves to be destroyed, don't read that book.

There was no applause. A chilling fear quietly rose like an ominous cloud above every attendee at the conference. Every American in that room knew that everything Lamm enumerated was proceeding methodically, quietly, darkly, yet pervasively across the United States today. Discussion is being suppressed. Over 100 languages are ripping the foundation of our educational system and national cohesiveness. Even barbaric cultures that practice female genital mutilation are growing as we celebrate 'diversity.' American jobs are vanishing into the Third World as corporations create a Third World in America Take note of California and other states. To date, ten million illegal aliens and growing fast. It is reminiscent of George Orwell's book '1984.' In that story, three slogans are engraved in the Ministry of Truth building: 'War is peace,' 'Freedom is slavery,' and 'Ignorance is strength'

Governor Lamm walked back to his seat. It dawned on everyone at the conference that our nation and the future of this great democracy is deeply in trouble and worsening fast. If we don't get this immigration monster stopped within three years, it will rage like a California wildfire and destroy everything in its path, especially The American Dream.

If you care for and love our country as I do, take the time to pass this on just as I did for you.

NOTHING (good) is going to happen if you don't!

Any effective invitation to Hell will certainly appear in the guise of scientific planning. C.S. Lewis

Ed and Nancy Manring

 

Please, Please, VOTE!

The November 6^th election this year is VERY important. I encourage every one of our readers to get out and vote. As Barack Obama has said, “Elections have consequences;” and that is certainly true this year. Our country is essentially deciding if our nation is going to follow our Constitution and our national customs of free market capitalism or…are we going to become another of the world’s failed socialist nations.

 If voters are thinking about following socialism’s course, they should look carefully at two blatant examples of modern-day socialism in our own experience, e.g., the failed USSR and Venezuela. Both of those nations have failed in providing even the basic freedoms our nation and other democratic nations of the world have deemed so desirable and fulfilling. They lack freedom of religion, the press, speech, and their economies are in shambles. Do we really want to go that way??!

Democrats want us to follow the socialist play book. Don’t vote for them. Some Democrats are saying in their campaigns that they support free market, Constitutional, government and closure of the U.S. border to illegal immigration. If you believe that, you should remember that if they are elected to a majority in the House and Senate, they will elect a socialistic House Speaker and a socialistic leader of the Senate. They will never vote to “Make America Great, Again.” Some of them, such as one prominent candidate for mayor of New York, Andrew Cuomo, famously said recently that “America never was that great.” Although 67% of New York likely voters disagreed with him, his statement accurately portrayed the opinion of many Democrats this year.

 The passengers of the Arbella who left England in 1630 with their new charter for an American colony had a great vision. They were to be an example for the rest of the world in rightful living. Future governor John Winthrop stated their purpose quite clearly: "We shall be as a city upon a hill, the eyes of all people are upon us."

 

I still think America is that great “city on a hill.”  Let’s put legislators in office who really believe in America.