There is no CARE in American healthcare

"I wish to be left alone (unregulated)," said Scrooge, aka American health insurance corporations. "Since you ask me what I wish, gentlemen, that is my answer. I don't make merry myself at Christmas, and I can't afford to make idle people, aka the American unemployed, merry. I help to support the establishments, private prisons, insurance corporations, Walmart, etc. I have mentioned - they cost enough: and those who are badly off must go there."

"Many can't go there; and many would rather die," said the gentleman in reply.

"If they would rather die," said Scrooge aka American health insurance corporations, "they had better do it, and decrease the surplus population aka the middle class."

Healthcare and Insurance. Two words that should never be intertwined. The United States is the only country in the world that has an industry in place that makes a profit from people being sick. In 2010 The Commonwealth Fund  published a report that compares the US to six other countries. We rank dead last.


"Despite having the most costly health system in the world, the United States consistently underperforms on most dimensions of performance, relative to other countries. This report—an update to three earlier editions—includes data from seven countries and incorporates patients' and physicians' survey results on care experiences and ratings on dimensions of care. Compared with six other nations—Australia, Canada, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom—the U.S. health care system ranks last or next-to-last on five dimensions of a high performance health system: quality, access, efficiency, equity, and healthy lives." the introduction to the overview of the report states.

It is with facts like these that I am truly ashamed of the American greed.  Nuff said.

800 Broadway

Times-Star Building then.

I have lived in Cincinnati all my life but am starting to realize just how little I really know about the Queen City's history. When I worked for the Hamilton County Clerk of Courts we would refer many of our "customers" to 800 Broadway for domestic relation issues, probation and juvenile court. We referred to it as 800 Broadway.

But in all the fifteen years I worked for the county I had no idea 800 Broadway was originally the Cincinnati Times-Star Building built in 1933 and designed by the firm of Samuel Hannaford & Sons.

800 Broadway now

From Wikipedia: "Much of the decorated facade plays homage to the printing and publishing businesses. Two hundred feet above the street stand four pillars at each of the tower's corners, representing patriotism, truth, speed and progress.

The newspaper plant occupied the first six stories. The floors above were offices. The Cincinnati Times-Star was an outgrowth of several newspapers and was owned by Cincinnati's Taft family. Charles Phelps Taft was editor.

The building was bought by Hamilton County in the late 1980s, it is used for county offices."

It looks like I still have a lot to learn.

Joe Bonamassa Rocks the House

Inside the historic Taft Theater in downtown Cincinnati

Went to see Joe Bonamassa on a moonlit Saturday night in March at the beautiful Taft Theater in downtown Cincinnati. Who the heck is Joe Bonamassa you say? well, I had never heard of him either until some friends turned us on to him last year. WNKU 89.7 on the FM dial features his music on a regular basis.

Bonamassa rips through The Ballad of John Henry

Bonamassa is a gifted guitarist who did his first show on November 11, 1989 when he was only in the seventh grade. Supported by his parents, sister and a slew of aunts and uncles and grandparents he performed in an old converted bank-turned-restaurant/blues club called The Metro in Utica, New York. And then went home to do his homework.

One of the things that stand out about Bonamassa is his soul wrenching gift on the guitar...or rather guitars in the plural. He owns many guitars including a Gibson Les Paul Historic Gold Top and a Gibson Korina Flying V. He plays in the older, smaller historic theaters which do a much better job of acoustics than the larger stadiums and collisseums. He has an intimate relationship with his audience and those who know him, love him. His back up on this night was a trio of fine musicians; Carmine Rojas playing the bass, Bogie Bowles on the drums and Rick Melick on the keyboard.

Last year we saw Bonamassa for the first time at the historic Victoria Theater in Dayton. We loved him so much that when he was scheduled at the Taft Theater this past March we jumped on the tickets. On this particular Saturday in March he was at the historic Taft Theater in downtown Cincinnati where there isn't a bad seat in the house. The light show was phenomenal and mesmerizing. The crowd was an eclectic mixture of middle, young and a little younger crowd. I would say a good half of the crowd was probably old enough to be Bonamassa's parents. His style is a mix of Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jimi Hendrix. He works hard with a full tour schedule mostly in the US but he's played in Europe as well. Watch Eric Clapton Perform Live With Bonamassa at the Royal Albert Hall in England here.

His story is fascinating having been in love with the guitar from a very young age, his passion for his music is apparent. If you ever get a chance to see him I highly recommend. It's an experience you'll never forget.

Step Right Up Folks - Congressman for Sale!

Welcome back my friends to the show that never ends...we're so glad you could attend, come inside, come inside...as the song goes.

Hurry up get your piece before...well it's doubtful the pieces will run out because Congressman John Boehner, Speaker of the House, has some pretty creative backers. I'm sure the securities and investment backers will help him create his own political derivative system. Then if he fails he can vote to bail himself out.

In a front page Enquirer story dated Feb.7, 2011 titled "Powerful Boehner a money magnet" Boehner is touted as a "prolific fundraiser." His millions in donations (over 15 mil this past election) come from some of the biggest special interest "bigs" out there. He's got 'em all. Big Pharm, Big Bank, Big Tobacco, Big Health Insurance and Big Coal.

So step right up folks! Come one, come all! You too can buy a piece of Congressman Boehner.

Ya got Big Pharm advertising new diseases every hour on TV sending millions to the doctor convinced they have a new disease, which of course requires a new prescription. Ya got Big Tobacco legally killing millions of Americans. And ya got Big Health Insurance making a profit from people getting sick. Ya got Big Bank killing off the middle class while Big Coal sacrifices lives in the name of outdated energy production as they continue to pollute the environment.

Change? Nah. The song remains the same...

Who the Hell is Cincy Cher?

Hey there Cincinnati! Cincy Cher here. An homegrown perspective. Yep, been here all my life living in the eastern burbs of Greater Cincinnati. 

Love the river. Love boating. Love the rambling hills of Cincinnati. Love Skyline, White Castle, Big Boy and Sunny Moorman. Love live music all over town. Love the arts and local artists. Love local dives, especially those on the river. Love to write. Love playing with anything digital (we'll leave that to your imagination). Champion for the little guy. Voice for the oppressed majority.

What I don't like is a bumbling city council, corrupt government, greed, paying outrageous amounts for parking downtown and the sucky Bengals. Hate too many cops on the river, on the road and working for every level of government in our system. Hate lousy drivers who don't use their turn signals. Hate bureaucracy.

But a wise man once said, "When you love something or someone, you love 'em warts and all." And I love Cincinnati...warts and all.