Journal mcgrew's Journal: Funny Papers 11
Here are a few snippets from the daily newspaper that covers Springfield, home of Ward 2 Alderman Gail Simpson.
You can't make this stuff up!
Man robbed of can of beer
A 50-year-old man allegedly pushed a 58-year-old man and then took his can of beer inside an apartment Saturday.The victim told police he was inside the residence in the 2600 block of South Sixth Street when the other man pushed him about 6 p.m.
The victim suffered back pain and was later treated at St. John's Hospital.
The attacker then took a can of Steel Reserve malt liquor, police were told. It was valued at $1.
No arrest has been made.
Steel reserve is possibly the nastiest tasing beer on the face of the earth.
Man hits teen with cane
A 30-year-old man allegedly used a cane to hit a teen.Police said the victim was an 18-year-old male, and the battery occurred at a basketball court in the 1400 block of Michigan Avenue about noon Sunday.
The victim was uninjured and did not need medical treatment.
No arrest was made.Southern Illinois driver hits two deer in 10 minutes
JERSEYVILLE -- Kathryn Gowin was already spooked after she hit a deer with her Ford Explorer last week in southern Illinois.Then 10 minutes later, she hit another one.
Gowin says she's been driving the back roads near her Bunker Hill home for more than 30 years, and she's never hit a deer.
She says the first deer darted into the driver's side of her SUV, damaging her wheel well, grill, bumper and headlight.
Since her car was drivable and she was close to home, Illinois State Police told her to drive the rest of the way.
But half a mile later, a second deer lunged into the road, this time into the passenger side. It took out her right front fender and door.
She was uninjured. It isn't clear whether the deer fared as well.
No arrests were made...
This next item isn't the least bit funny.
Health insurance might have saved woman's life
Verta Wells harnessed her upbeat personality and work ethic to battle poverty, alcohol and single parenthood.Wells, a waitress at Steak n Shake, also was working as a receptionist at JC Penney and taking college classes to become a medical assistant. She always was smiling and serving others, according to friends, customers and co-workers.
Her drive to be self-sufficient, however, combined with bad luck and lack of health insurance, contributed to her undoing.
Fearing large out-of-pocket medical expenses, she avoided care in 2008 and 2009 for symptoms of what turned out to be breast cancer that spread to her brain, bones and internal organs. The cancer wasn't discovered until March, and she lived only a few more months.
"I feel like we failed her as a system and as a society," said Victoria Johnson, a medical student at Southern Illinois University School of Medicine who interviewed her in March.
Wells, 41, who died July 2 at St. John's Hospital, is one of the thousands of uninsured Americans -- estimates range from 18,000 to 44,800 -- who die prematurely each year because of factors related to their inability to obtain health insurance.
40,000 people die yearly of auto accidents. At least they get medical care before they die, bacause liability insurance for drivers is mandatory.
The SJ-R's news is publiched under the GPL. Is your newspaper?
Died for lack of health insurance (Score:2)
Who's to say she would have gotten a mammogram even if she did have insurance? I mean, all she had to do is stop by her local Planned Parenthood or YWCA for a free mammogram.
I know this, and I don't even have tits.
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How would she know that her symptoms indicated she needed to get a mammogram? That's for an MD to determine. Are uninsured people supposed to diagnose their own illnesses and seek out the necessary examinations themselves?
This doesn't make any sense. Early detection of breast cancer happens before the onset of clinical symptoms via mammography. In fact, many breast cancers have no clinical symptoms at all. At Wells's age, she needed to be getting routine mammograms.
Just so you know, health insurance is not required in order to receive medical care--even routine care [google.com]. Why she didn't use these services is a question she'd be pondering right now if she wasn't quite so dead.
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Thanks for the link. I'm sure those free clinics in MA and MO would have helped her. Oh wait, the only one in Springfield, MO probably couldn't have. http://ksmu.org/content/view/4153/66/ [ksmu.org]
Get back to me when you've stopped blaming the victim.
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I suggested she needed to get a mammogram based on her age and sex. In most cases, a medical degree is not required to ascertain a person's approximate age and sex.
I'm not blaming the victim--I'm merely pointing out that you can't fix stupid.
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How is someone working two minimum wage jobs supposed to afford a mammogram? You might as well say she should buy a Rolls Royce. If you can't afford something, you can't afford it.
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How is someone working two minimum wage jobs supposed to afford a mammogram? You might as well say she should buy a Rolls Royce. If you can't afford something, you can't afford it.
As I said earlier, she could have gotten a free mammogram. She just chose not to.
Haelth care (Score:2)
When I read stories like this, I appreciate Australias Medicare system all the more.
Strangely, despite our "socialism" we have virtually avoided major problems and bank bailouts,
we have not even had a recession.