T. Rafael Cimino's Blog

Last weekend my wife and I had the opportunity to see the New York Metropolitan Opera’s performance of Don Carlo, a riveting display of power, government and it’s marriage to the Catholic Church during the period we know as the Spanish inquisition. While my first impression was to lament at how far we have slipped as a nation towards the goal of a church run state, my second thought was to realize ho w much the inquisition mirrored modern day Iraq and Iran. Still, the neo-evangelical base calls for administrative prayer in public schools, “intelligent design” in our science classrooms, and religious standards with regards to sexuality, mixed race couples, and what and what does not constitute a marriage. So while there are many who would have America represented as a “Christian” nation, the reality is that this association would limit our abilities around the globe. From a tactical position, and as a matter of state, it is imperative that the United States maintain a religiously neutral position, being a home to all who believe, and a kin to none.

It’s these same faithful who demand living proof. Truth be known that an effective war on terror is one that is fought as though we were the Mafia. Silent, discrete, and deadly. We could arm small brigades of Special Forces who would be trained to kill, and do so without headlines, media attention, Wiki-Leaks or worldwide speculation. The problem is that this is not a fight the American public can visualize. We are accustomed to watching CNN, Fox and MSNBC in high definition, and coming to a Best Buy near you, 3D. God knows what real war coverage sounds like through a kick-ass home theater system. For some reason though, we the faithful believe if we can’t see it, it doesn’t exist.

Let me make my argument a bit simpler. I grew up in Florida and we had our share of cockroaches. It seemed like a war, especially in the summer time when these things were everywhere. I learned though from a knowledgeable exterminator that the most effective tool was the edible poison and not the sprays, bombs, adhesive tapes or roach motels that were so popular. The most effective way to kill a roach is to kill its whole colony. The “Trojan horse” method he called it. Place some edible poison in places like switch plates, drain crevices, and electrical receptacles, they eat it, take it back to their buddies and hundreds die at a time. You could repel the little beasts for years. I had to ask though, “why doesn’t everyone do this?” His answer was simple. Because people want to see that they are killing something. It gives them a false sense of control. They feel comfortable seeing a few dozen of the little bastards with their legs in the air and ignore the thousand or so that may be living in their homes foundation or in the walls.

The same could be said for the war against our countries terrorists. We tolerate war, and in some cases encourage it, because the vivid results make us feel as though we are in control again.


T. Rafael Cimino

Less than two weeks ago, in the wake of the passage of North Carolina Amendment One, a group calling itself Go Plaid was formed. Here is a bit about this great cause.

PLAID is based on the idea that the constitution can’t protect the people until it first protects the person. Somehow, our country has adopted the idea that if you’re not part of the majority your rights don’t count – that the majority has the obligation to determine what’s correct for everyone. PLAID represents the different – the individual - in all of us. Some of the biggest offenders are our American churches, many of which are structured around the teachings of Jesus Christ, an individual who was executed for being different and standing up for those who stood out from the crowd.

PLAID is built on a five-tier platform with each level being as important as the others.

1. Equal Rights for Same-Sex Couples.

In North Carolina voters went to the poles to enact Amendment One, an addition to the State’s Constitution that would ban, not only same sex marriages, but civil unions and domestic partnerships as well. The movement to create and push Amendment One came from North Carolina’s many Evangelical Churches. These institutions promoted a climate of hate and fear with the sole purpose of achieving this legislative goal. By doing so they broke Federal law and jeopardized their 501c3 (Tax Exempt) status. PLAID supports a National amendment that would forbid discrimination against anyone based on his or her sexual orientation.

PLAID supports equal rights for all couples regardless of their sexual orientation.

2. Equal Rights for Women.

Across the country the American Right Wing and Evangelical forces have teamed up again to limit Women’s rights. While the age old battle over Abortion raged on, these self-proclaimed zealots of God took the fight a step further. They began attacking contraception. In America the average male worker makes 25% more for the same job as the average female counterpart. PLAID supports equal pay for equal work and a ban on all government intrusion into a woman’s reproductive rights.

Since the establishment of our country, no woman has been elected as president or vice president. Many National church groups have vowed to rally against a female presidential candidate.

PLAID supports equal rights, which include equal pay for all regardless of gender.

3. Equal treatment for All Races by our Criminal Justice system.

At the age of 24, Clarence Aaron, a black man, was sentenced to three consecutive life terms for his role in a small crack cocaine deal. He was not the buyer, the seller or the supplier. It was his first criminal offense and, prior to the arrest, he was a star linebacker for a prominent southern university. Since, he has applied for clemency, only to be turned down by the past Bush administration. It seems white applicants are four times more successful at receiving clemency or commutation than their black counterparts.

In Harris County Texas, Black Death sentences are the norm with 12 of every 13 going to a person of color. In one week the local DA introduced 6 Capital cases and half of all death row inmates come from this one county. Across the Texas and the rest of the country a disproportionate amount of Black inmates are put to death over whites and to date several executed blacks have been found not guilty by DNA evidence after the fact.

The Criminal Justice System has waged war against Black America. We incarcerate a significantly greater number of black Americans than we do any other racial or ethnic group. AND those who are sentenced receive significantly longer prison sentences than those of different races. We execute a disproportionately larger amount of black Americans than we do anyone else.

PLAID supports equal treatment of all classes and races and supports a National ban on all capital punishment.

4. Equal Rights for All Economic Classes.

A can of tomato pasta sauce costs one dollar. It’s the food of choice for many American middle and low-income families. Unfortunately this one can contains over 3050 milligrams of sodium. Low-income Americans are also targets with advertising for fast-food restaurants that offer cheap solutions for hungry families. The toll of all of this cheap food is a nation that is 40% Obese.

In the Tom Cruise film “Jerry McGuire,” Rene Zellwegger’s character says: “First class used to mean a better seat, now it means a better life.” Or in the case of American healthcare, it can mean the difference between life and death.

PLAID supports the same healthcare coverage for ALL Americans through a single payer system.

5. Equal Rights for All faiths.

In 2009 a Muslim group in Lower Manhattan attempted to construct a Mosque on property it owned with money it had raised. Because of its proximity to the world trade center/ Ground Zero, Conservative and Evangelical groups rallied in droves with an attempt force elected officials to take action against a group they were holding accountable for 9/11.

PLAID supports equal protection for all faiths, not just the popular ones.

It’s simple. The members of PLAID feel that it is wrong to judge a race, nationality, gender, religion or group based on the actions of individuals’… period.

P.L.A.I.D. stands for Peace & Love Against Institutionalized Discrimination. Plaid has also, throughout history, been a fashion statement of individuality.. something different. Our goal is to raise two million dollars to fund legal action to force the Federal Government to enforce the current regulations regarding 501c3's (Tax Deductible Organizations) ability to influence political matters like "same sex marriage" and "reproductive rights." The radical right uses an unfair advantage by instilling their ideology through thousands of fundamentalist evangelical churches; churches that operate as non-profit tax deductible organizations. Those who oppose their discriminatory doctrines don’t have the luxury of being able to grant tax free status to perspective donors. The participation of 501c3 tax deductible organizations in political activism is not only illegal, it carries a wide variety of criminal and civil penalties (United States Code).

Let's level the playing field. Let's GO PLAID.

By: T. Rafael Cimino, Go Plaid Founder

Official Website:

http://www.GoPlaid.org

Or Visit us on Facebook

http://www.facebook.com/GoPlaid

T. Rafael Cimino

Table 21

Mid Ocean

In Miami the airwaves are alive with the hypnotic beat of Power 96 Radio and its star DJ/Co Owner, Lazaro Mendez, a guy who walks with a profoundly altered gate and has the nickname, “The Pimp with a Limp.” He’s a colorful character and tells a bigger story about American Immigration than his Cuban heritage would suggest.

In 2008 Lazaro was awakened from a sound sleep by an early morning phone call. Months prior, the popular radio talent and world renowned music producer, had purchased a $ 175,000 powerboat with his brother, keeping it at their Florida Keys weekend home in Key Largo. One of the options that had been suggested by the boat-broker was a GPS activated theft tracking recovery system; a device that was designed to call-in should the boat ever be stolen. Now, as most of South Florida slept, Lazaro’s phone was ringing - an unwanted call from an unlikely entity - his new boat.

According to Lazaro, he immediately alerted the Coast Guard, Sheriff’s Department and Florida Marine Patrol. It was useless; the calls proved futile as the different agencies advised him that there was nothing they could do. Regardless, the Cuban American continued to watch the GPS signal on his lap-top computer. The system on his stolen boat sent back continuous satellite messages about its position, speed and heading. What he would learn later was that two Cuban Nationals had stolen the triple outboard center console boat and, as he tracked the blinking dot on his computer screen, they were making a bee-line course across Florida Bay toward Pinar del Rio, Cuba.

For most, the story would have stopped there, ending the mishap with a phone call to an insurance agent. The boat was, after all, properly covered with a generous policy and Lazaro could have a new one delivered in less than a month. For him, though, this was a personal affront and, to make matters worse, as he would later learn, the thieves had also taken his lucky fishing hat and prescription fishing sunglasses.

“They took my hat!” Lazaro later told a group of insurance executives at a South Florida Marine conference, “That put me over the edge.” During the next night the irate Cuban continued to watch as the blip began to move again under the cover of darkness, only this time its course was due west, from Pinar del Rio toward Isla Mujeres, Mexico. Immediately, a phone call was made to the insurance investigator who was working his case. “I’m getting on a plane in the next hour” Lazaro told him. After a brief dialog, the two agreed to meet at the first layover and fly into Mexico together.

Several hours later, in Isla Mujeres, the two watched as the 33’ powerboat idled into the harbor with at least thirty Cuban refugees on board. To make matters worse, the thief, who was piloting the boat, was wearing Lazaro’s stolen fishing hat. After a thousand dollar “incentive payment” was made to the local police officials, the boat and its crew were taken into custody. Eventually Lazaro got his boat, sunglasses and fishing hat back, but not without gaining a hefty education in the process.

According to the National Boat Owner’s Association, more vessels are stolen from South Florida then are taken from the rest of the country combined. Many of these boats are used to ferry Cuban refugees into Mexico and Florida. These practices are accentuated by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement policy called “Wet Foot/ Dry Foot,” a 1995 revision by the Clinton Administration to the 1966 Cuban Adjustment Act. This policy basically says that anyone fleeing Cuba, enroot to the U. S., would be awarded expedited permanent resident status provided they have put at least one foot on American soil, thus the term “Dry-Foot.” Those captured at sea would be returned with the label “Wet -Foot.” A more recent trend has been occurring where refugees are smuggled in through Mexico, such as in Lazaro's case, and then into Texas. The classification for these is, ironically, “Dusty-Foot.” In addition to their new immigration status, refuges are also awarded an average of $ 10,000 per person plus an adjustment stipend.

To capitalize on this policy, specialized immigration law firms in Texas and Florida have been arranging these smuggling trips, from pick-up to drop-off, in Florida or in Mexico, and to the boarder crossing in Texas. The firms also file the appropriate paper work with U. S. Immigration, collect the money, pay the smugglers and keep a sizeable fee for themselves. Little of what’s left actually goes to the refugees for whom the payment was intended.

Today, Isla Mureres, Mexico is still a port for hundreds of abandoned powerboats, some costing over half a million dollars and all stolen from Florida. I recently interviewed a top tier member of the Coast Guard's Florida Keys Sector Command and he explained that smugglers are making more doing this that they would importing cocaine. When asked about the possible legal risks involved, he answered, "If you are bringing in (To the U. S.) Cubans, you would face a $ 5,000 fine, no jail time and we might take your boat." "Might?" I asked. "Probably not," he answered.

For Americans, Cuba is more perception than reality. Personally, I’ve always been told that the people of Cuba stayed there because they were forced to remain on the island. Much had been made of a Cuban Military pilot who defected to the United States, flying his Mig to the Naval Air Station in Key West, Florida. Many years later, in 1980 the “Freedom Flotilla” Cuban boatlift brought over a hundred thousand refugees to Florida on a fleet of private American boats. It had been proclaimed a humanitarian effort by, then President, Jimmy Carter and remains one of the biggest blunders of his administration’s first and only term. Refugees complained that their temporary tent housing and food provisions provided by the U. S. government were far worse than anything they had ever encountered in Cuba. During the escapade, it was learned that most of those who were sent over were actually prisoners, released from Cuban jails. They flooded the streets of Miami and started a crime wave that lasted most of the 1980’s. In the end, the mass exodus left a permanent stain on South Florida. Today, there are still thousands of prisoners in U. S. Federal and various state prisons who were part of the original Cuban boatlift, a scenario made larger than life by the 1983 Brian De Palma film, “Scarface” staring Al Pacino as Tony Montana, a boatlift refugee turned drug-kingpin in a post flotilla Miami.

Much has been debated about actual conditions in Cuba, especially in the wake of the award winning Michael Mann documentary, “Sicko,” a film that told an alternative side of Castros health care system; one of benevolence and public service. Having actually visited Cuba myself many times, I’ve found a stark contrast to the impression I’ve been led to believe for so long.

During the boat lift of 1980 the population of Cuba was approximately ten million. In the end, just over one hundred thousand took advantage of the boat lift and most of them were prisoners who didn’t have much of a choice. Another misconception was that boats filled with refugees were being turned back to Cuba from Key West. Of the flotilla captains, some of whom I knew personally, all told me the same thing: Toward the end, they came back empty handed because no-one else wanted to go. While the numbers vary, it’s generally estimated that, of the hundred or so thousand total, only thirty thousand were actual non-criminals. That’s thirty thousand out of ten million or .3 %. And that Mig pilot who fled to Key West. It was later learned that, while being regarded as a hero here in the U.S., this pilot was facing the Cuban equivalent of an American Court Marshall for a multitude of unrelated military offenses.

The United States expends an enormous amount of energy and money maintaining its current failed policy with Cuba. Since the fall of Batista in 1959, and subsequent seizure of power by Fidel Castro, our relationship with the Caribbean Island has gone from bad to worse. During his first year in office, Barack Obama made steps to open up more free travel to Cuba but any further evolution of this trend has stalled. What is it about Cuba that we don't want people to see? What will it take for us to accept our offshore neighbor as something more than just a landmass, ninety miles from our most southern coast.? Only time will tell, but for now, this scenario has regained it's status as a Caribbean standstill.

By T. Rafael Cimino

T. Rafael Cimino

Mid Ocean

Table 21

We are the sum of our experiences, shaded and sculpted by our environment.

Here's to looking at another's.... shoes.

At the age of sixteen I lied about my age and became certified as an EMT. By the time I was a senior in High School I was the assistant chief of our local Volunteer Ambulance Corps. Later, in my late teens, I had the fortunate ability to become a Paramedic and work in an advanced level with the Fire Department. As you can imagine, it was commonplace to see people at their worst and deal with life threatening issues. These patients presented with a wide variety of illnesses and injures requiring our full attention; giving us little time to stop and absorb the gravity of what was occurring at any given place or time. Most of the time, we worked frantically on a scene, packaged the victim and loaded them into the ambulance for transportation to the closest hospital. During that time our hands moved as fast as possible. Time was our enemy and we knew it. We worked in a fluid motion, applying more bandages or starting IV’s. Sometimes breathing tubes were installed as other situations required electrical shocks to correct life threatening heart rhythms. This was done, the whole time trying to balance as our ride, a brightly colored box on wheels, sped through rush hour traffic with flashing lights and a blaring siren. As soon as we backed up to the Emergency-Room entrance, the truck’s back doors flew open and the patient, our patient, rolled out to awaiting nurses and doctors who continued the care.

During this next phase we would cool down, get something to drink or eat and let the adrenalin flow out of our systems. As we would go back to our truck - to the mess we left behind - the reflection of what we had encountered would set in. We would stand at those open truck doors and stare; sometimes for minutes on end. There was no forgetting what had just happened. Every piece of trash told a small part of the story. And, to add to the chaos of clutter, what the patient left behind told part of the tale also. Things like bloody towels, torn clothing, black-charred gloves, a baby’s diaper saturated with chlorinated water from a swimming pool, or a damaged motorcycle helmet. Of all the items left behind, the things that got to me the most though ware the shoes. A can’t think of a single object that expresses a human’s vulnerability more, or represents a bigger message.

Now this may seem strange, but to this day, when I’m dealing with someone who I don’t particularly like or agree with, I imagine that I'm talking to his or her shoes. Reducing them, in my mind, to that which is vulnerable. Respect, after all, is a commodity in short supply when we start to debate the issues that are really passionate to us. If we could only figure out how to wear their shoes for a while and feel what they feel, maybe we would understand more - respect more - learn more.

While 2011 will be remembered for many things, I have to agree with Michael Bloomberg who called it the year of the "fist." Despite the fact that, worldwide, the human race has never been healthier, more educated and more civilized, the threads of discontent found their way through the fabric of our society and many others around the globe.

Since 1981, when half the world lived in poverty, we have seen this number shrink to just under 20%. Most of this growth took place in China although it's own government reports over 180,000 civil riots in the last year alone. China accounted for 40% of the economic growth since 2008. A number that is expected to shrink to just 8% by 2012.

A pew research poll revealed that 77% of all Americans think corporations have too much power and those with money are directing the economic polices to their benefit. Surprisingly, 53% of republicans polled agree with this. Coming to the defense of the "haves" was none other than Michelle Bachman who proclaimed "Americans, and Occupy Wall Street in particular, need to wake up and stop blaming job creators for the failures created by selfish politicians." Leading the target list of the OWS movement is Charlotte based Bank of America. BOA announced last month it plans to lay-off as much as 30% of its workforce or 50,000 jobs... 20,000 of which will be here in North Carolina, my personal back yard.

This next year, Russia, China and France will choose new leaders. This will undoubtedly be eclipsed by our own election that will take center stage; not just here, but around the world.

In the end, we have seen a power shift, especially in the middle east where, much to the dismay of the American Right Wing, the power has shifted to independent forces from global super powers like us.

Back home we are complaining about our 18 % youth unemployment rate while Egypt struggles with 25%, Greece 40% and yet we have made massive strikes against education funding and we have raised college tuitions across the board.

If there is one point I want to transcend with this article, it's that everything is relative. In years to come we have a choice. Either we look optimistically toward the future and plan accordingly with education, health and wellbeing, or look around the globe and say "That used to be us."

It’s funny how those, in the name of Republicanism, can bash the preliminary steps being taken to correct an almost complete collapse of all things American; a collapse that comes on the heels of an eight-year Republican presidency.

The uncertain conditions that we are paying for today are the consequences of many years of failed economic, energy, social and foreign policies… and not just Bush policies. Some of Bill Clinton’s, Jimmy Carter's and Ronald Reagan's policies helped us see this day.

The fact that our current administration is seeing flack from both the right and the left is true evidence that our President is trying to take our country to a centrist state. “Sometimes, in order to stop a swinging pendulum, one has to take the bar to the middle.” 

Yes, buying jets, dispensing bonuses, and other grandiose spending trysts helps the economy, but not when these things are funded directly with the tax-payer’s dollars. For someone to justify, in these dire times, the fleecing of the American treasury by the very captains of industry who caused these problems, simply to fuel their own greed, is the biggest con of all; a country club of the usual suspects and the sacrificial goat… Bernie Madoff. We will throw him completely under the bus, and rightfully so, but let the hundreds of others just like him; these calculating captains of our banks and industrial anchors, run free.

All of this and not one written word about Iraq, the catalyst that started this destructive slide into a National… make that a World economic disaster. Our trophy? A free Iraq? Saying we liberated Iraq is like saying that Peter Bogdonovitch liberated Dorothy Stratton. 

If there’s one thing I ask you take from our President it’s that we are not a country of red and blue people. We are all purple, covered with the hurtful bruises of the past and that this is our time. Time to pick up and work together as one country, undivided and capable of defeating this divisive virus that was cast upon on us all some ten years ago.

T. Rafael Cimino

I’m sorry to say that we, as Americans, may have missed the window of opportunity to not only reform healthcare, but to save our countries economy at the same time. The same crisis that is healthcare can also be the same catalyst for meaningful economic reform. The kind of reform that is not only progressive in nature, but also conservative in principle.

A single payer system could have saved our nations economy and solidified our financial strength and this is how.

A single payer system, as originally designed by the current administration, is an extension of Medicare to each and every American, regardless of age or income. Opponents, of course, will call this “Socialized Medicine,” but a single payer system is no more socialized medicine than Social Security is socialized disability. While many like to belittle our government’s fiscal prowess, one fact stands alone and is undisputed. The U. S. Medicare system is one of the most efficient in the world and serves as a model for hundreds of countries that watch its every move. Medicare spends an average 2 cents of every healthcare dollar on administrative costs where as the average "for profit" Health Insurance Company spends over 25 cents of the same dollar.

Let’s face the facts. The U. S. Government is already paying seventy two percent of the healthcare bill. All of the debate; the tea parties; the town hall brawls; the bitter national polarity, is over the remaining twenty-eight percent. And it is this twenty-eight percent that remains the most expensive healthcare coverage on the planet; and the most profitable.

The key to solving the healthcare puzzle while at the same time giving our country an economic stimulus that we desperately need is in the numerous overlapping coverage redundancies. At any given time we are covered by literally thousands of different healthcare policies. Think about it. If you drive to work, your auto policy has a personal injury protection component, better known as PIP, built into it. Once you get to work, you are covered by your employer’s worker’s compensation policy. The building you work in has a liability policy and embedded into it is something called MRC. The initials “M-R-C” are probably the most expensive letters in the English alphabet. They stand for “Medical Risk Component” and cost the American consumer over 700 Billion dollars a year. MRC accounts for some of the highest profits for insurance companies and is an embedded tax that is stitched into everything we touch, drink, drive, eat, fly on or wear. If a product’s manufacturer has a liability policy they are paying for MRC.

If we were to wave a magic wand and cover every citizen with our current Medicare system, while at the same time mandate immediate reductions within State and local government this is what could happen.

* States would not require drivers to carry PIP insurance. It’s a redundant policy and would not be necessary, saving the auto owner an estimated $ 138 per vehicle per year.

* Our Medicaid system could be abolished saving hundreds of millions of dollars in duplicated efforts of maintaining two separate government systems.

* If you were a homeowner your property tax bill would be reduced significantly as State and local governments would not have to make their prescribed local contributions to Medicaid.

* As a business owner your worker’s compensation premiums would be reduced dramatically. This is an added benefit to the ailing construction industry that pays some of the highest rates in the country.

* The free market system would lower the price of consumer products because the price of liability insurance would be significantly reduced.

* Realistic Tort reform could take place because medical payments, one of the great stumbling points, would be off the table.

* Our struggling automakers could reduce the price of their cars by as much as $ 2,500, the amount that is built into every Ford, Chevy and Chrysler car/ truck to cover the company’s past and current healthcare obligations.

* Many who maintain menial employment for the healthcare benefit would simply quit, creating more jobs for an already scarce market.

* We could abolish the redundant Veteran’s Administration healthcare program and give our nations finest the same great medical treatment that we as civilians enjoy.

* Local and state governments would not be burdened by the healthcare cost for inmates in prisons and jails. Prosecutors, Sheriffs and Wardens could stop making incarceration decisions based on an offender’s health status.

* Medical mal-practice rates would drop significantly as the MRC of these polices are some of the highest in the insurance industry.

* Ambulances, Fire Departments and Rescue squads would not be overwhelmed with the burden of transporting the un-insured who merely need a priority status in emergency rooms. The type of status that only comes when an emergency vehicle transports a patient.

* Emergency Rooms could get back to treating real emergencies and would not be burdened with patients who use these life saving facilities as their primary care providers.

* We could significantly reduce the estimated 45,000 deaths that occur each and every year, attributed to patients with lacking or no health care coverage.

* Marriage could once again, be an institution of love, and not an avenue for dependent healthcare coverage.

* The elderly would benefit from having an insurance program with out deductibles. Some have to choose between going to the Doctor or eating.

* We could employ a sliding scale and adjust the tax percent to offer a bonafide incentive for healthy living.

The cost is simple. We would have to increase the Medicare tax that is already in place and deducted from earner’s paychecks. The rate is estimated at 5.6% and would be split by the employer and the employee. Employers who are currently providing private healthcare coverage could opt to pay the entire amount as part of a benefit package. Keep in mind that at the 5.6% rate, this bolsters Medicare to a point where it provides 100% coverage with no deductible.

The repercussions are obvious. We would significantly reduce the profits of the largest, most powerful insurance companies in the world. Could this be why, in late 2008, on the eve of a new presidency- a president with a healthcare reform agenda- America was thrust into a bailout program, essentially marrying government to the insurance industry.

As kids we were inundated with science fiction movies that depicted mankind being ruled by its own creation. 2001 and then 2010, the space odyssey movies, and more recently Steven Speilberg’s Eagle Eye with Shia Labeouf, all depicted computers, or robots turning against the very human race that created them. In George Orwell’s book 1984, he warned us of a “big brother” like government that watched our every move. While entertaining, these stories missed the mark because in the end, in real life, the one creation of man that has turned against us is not a robot, or a computer, or even our government. It’s our health insurance companies.