End of Year

 If you see much television from the local stations this time of the year, you know we are inundated with campaign election commercials.  And yes, the word “inundated” is the correct word.  It seems like the campaign commercials are even outpacing the injury lawyer commercials, which in itself is quite an accomplishment.

The commercials this election cycle seem to be especially nasty, at least in Kansas.  There are two state-wide races…one for Governor and the other for US Senator.  These two have captured the attention of election pollsters and pundits from all over the nation.  These races may well define Kansas politics for the next several years to come.

Many of the commercials are placed by PACs…Political Action Committees…organizations which are hiding the identities of those who are actually funding the ads.  Those ads seem to be especially vitriolic this year.  Many of those ads spout information that sometimes resembles the truth, but for the most part is garbage dressed up in a slick outfit.

There is one refreshing ad on local TV, though…that of Congressman Ron Estes.  Estes has a simple ad which tells of one of the things he helped with over the past few years…the aviation industry in Kansas.  As I said, the ad is simple, direct, and as far as I can see, truthful.  Estes comes across as likeable and friendly.  He doesn’t pillory his competition.  In fact, he never mentions his competition, but rather speaks of some of his accomplishments and his continued attention to not only aviation, but also to the pocketbooks of citizens.

I don’t know whether I will vote for the Congressman or not.  As an Independent, I have disagreed with Estes on several of his votes these past couple of years.  However, I really appreciate his ad, and have contacted his Wichita office just to let them know that I have appreciated how he has so far conducted his campaign.

Of course, before the campaign ads are finished, we will soon have the Medicare enrollment ads suffocating us.  They all want us to sign up for their Advantage plans, and dangle all of these “extra” benefits such as dental services, money for over the counter medications, help with grocery buying, and so on.

What they DON’T tell you is their poor reimbursement rates for medical services and the fact that many providers are “out of network” or don’t accept their insurance for that very reason.  I think most of these ads are borderline con jobs.  They tell just enough of the truth to avoid being hauled up on fraud charges, yet they don’t tell the whole truth.  In my opinion, they are enticing people to sign up for something that in many cases will not be adequate for them.

Now, I’m not saying that all Advantage plans are bad and that everyone should avoid them.  You need to do your due diligence, do your research, get unbiased information…yes, that information is available…and make an informed decision as to what is best for your specific situation.  However, to make a decision simply based on a TV advertisement is NOT making an informed, researched decision.

These last months of the year 2026 will be interesting to say the least.  There will be political intrigue and fallout from the election, some unexpected shenanigans from the lame-duck congress, and continued ideological division among the population.

We are also entering the winter season, which brings about its own uncertainty regarding the depth of the cold and snows, and whether we’ll have a severe ice event with power outages and disruptions.  Or will the season be warmer than normal with little in the way of moisture and an early spring.

This is also the time of year when flu, colds, and other such ailments seem to come out of hiding to infect us.  Many of us will be vaccinated, but some won’t.  This will inevitably bring out the anti-vax crowd telling us that vaccines will kill us all.  And there will be those on the other side with just the opposite speech.  Again, do your research, get  unbiased information, check with your medical provider, and do what is best for you.

This winter, some of us who are already medically compromised may well succumb to some virus or disease this winter.  Others of us may find out for the first time we have a serious medical condition that may or may not be treatable.

And then there are the holidays…Thanksgiving, Christmas, the new year.  Each of those holidays has personal meaning for each of us.  Some of us find great joy in the celebration.  Others of us reminisce or perhaps become melancholy because of some past event.  And there are some of us who just don’t celebrate at all.  To each his own, and may God’s blessing be upon us all as we hurtle into these last few months.

Blessings.