Monthly Archives: November 2021

When good Christians disagree – part 2

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Good Christians Disagree-2

In Part One of this post I posited that “good Christians disagree” about important things for reasons heavily correlated to two 2000-year-old variants in the faith that still foster both diversity and division. When you envision God primarily as Michelangelo’s bearded white male on the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel, and think of a mighty Christ “sitting on God’s right… Read more »

When good Christians disagree

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The leading Republican Senate candidate in Ohio, Josh Mandel, has already laid down a key marker for the 2022 election, saying on Twitter, “Evangelical Christians, Jewish conservatives and devout Catholics are our army.” I know so many people whom I would consider “good Christians” and they are of all denominational and political stripes. I also have met some really nasty… Read more »

Insurance advertising wars, Kars4Kids and “buying eyes”

Advertisements featuring the GEICO lizard, the apron-wearing Flo from Progressive Insurance, and the emu from Liberty Mutual are incessant on the channels I watch. They ought to be; Berkshire Hathaway’s GEICO is consistently one of the top advertisers on television, spending an estimated $1.6 billion annually to reach your eyes, and the other two are close behind Medicare Advantage and… Read more »

Seven bets on your 2022 Medicare supplement

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The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services have just released 2022 premium and deductible information for Parts A (mostly hospital services) and Part B (mostly outpatient services). I have recently updated my reasons why I see Medicaid Advantage (Part C) as a bad alternative to the Part B Medigap plans, and this post demonstrates a simple way to choose a… Read more »

The bad Medicare Advantage bets – 2022 update

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Life Expectancy

The best hospital in my area ran a full-page newspaper advertisement last Sunday stating clearly which Medicare Advantage (Part C) plans that they will accept during 2022 and which they will not. It is no secret that I am not a fan of Medicare Advantage, but even I was shocked to see how few plans that they do accept. Most… Read more »

Diversions: Remembering singer Eva Cassidy

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Eva Cassidy

Twenty-five years after the untimely death of singer Eva Cassidy, a re-mastered version of her last recording, “Live at Blues Alley,” has been released. In the winter of 2000-2001 I was commuting about three times a week, fifty miles and twelve busy English roundabouts, from Berkshire west to Andover in Hampshire (the hometown of the British Invasion band The Troggs)…. Read more »