by E.J.Dionne Jr.
The term “pro-life” is used with great seriousness in politics, and also as a political cudgel. If ever there were an issue on which those words have clear relevance and resonance, it is health-care reform.
Pro-life activists are deeply engaged in controversies around what care should be given at the end of life, and I strongly share their opposition to physician-assisted suicide. But who pays for end-of-life care when someone lacks health insurance? What sort of care can that uninsured person expect at the end of life? What good does it do to raise a ruckus around a general principle and not ask how the basic requirements of the sick can be met?
If a young woman is making up her mind about whether or not to have an abortion, is she not far more likely to choose life if she knows that she will receive decent health care while she is pregnant? Will she not feel more confident if she knows that both she and her baby will be able to see a doctor regularly after the child is born?
If we believe that all life is sacred, does that not mean that everyone should receive medical help in the early stages of an illness, before the illness becomes life-threatening? If we believe that human lives should not be bought and sold, doesn’t that require us to limit the impact that wealth and income have on access to life-enhancing and life-saving health care?
There is a terrible gap between the rhetoric people use in the health-care debate and the reality of our health-care situation. In particular, there is an enormous disconnect between the anti-government pronouncements we hear from opponents of universal coverage and the fact that government is already deeply enmeshed in our health-care system.
According to 2006 figures from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, government expenditures on health care in the United States already amounted to 7 percent of our Gross Domestic Product. That was identical to the Canadian government’s share, and not far off from Sweden’s 7.8 percent, Germany’s 8.1 percent, or France’s 8.8 percent. In other words, our government already spends a great deal on health care, and yet 45 million to 50 million of us still lack regular insurance.
As a society, we agreed more than 40 years ago that it was unconscionable for the elderly to lack health coverage. With Medicare, we socialized—yes, I used that word—the provision of health care for all senior citizens.
Medicare is not perfect, but what a world of good it has done. But why offer that guarantee only to the elderly? Shouldn’t their children and grandchildren have the same right to regular medical care that they do? Isn’t that what the elderly themselves want? How can so many who say they oppose “government meddling” in health care at one moment go on to declare their firm support for Medicare at another? They cannot have it both ways, although they keep trying.
Medicaid has also brought needed care to many poor Americans. But isn’t there something terribly arbitrary about saying that one group of poor Americans can rely on government for help, while members of another group, nearly as needy, are left to fend for themselves? What principle is involved here?
One of the best pieces of legislation signed into law by President Obama this year was the substantial expansion of the Children’s Health Insurance Program. It was an excellent step in the right direction. But what do we say about the parents of those children? If a parent gets sick and has no health care, how does that affect a child—even if the child is insured?
There are many roads to universal coverage. There are many practical reasons—related to controlling costs to government, businesses, and individuals—for supporting reform. But the most compelling argument, finally, is moral: A country that values life should not be placing so many obstacles in the way of those seeking health care.
An essential book for this fall is T.R. Reid’s The Healing of America: A Global Quest for Better, Cheaper, and Fairer Health Care. Reid, a former Washington Post reporter, embarked on an international search for better approaches to health coverage. Here’s what he concluded:
Those Americans who die or go broke because they happened to get sick represent a fundamental moral decision our country has made. Despite all the rights and privileges and entitlements that Americans enjoy today, we have never decided to provide medical care for everybody who needs it. In the world’s richest nation, we tolerate a health-care system that leads to large numbers of avoidable deaths and bankruptcies among our fellow citizens ...
All the other developed countries on earth have made a different moral decision. All the other countries like us—that is, wealthy, technologically advanced, industrialized democracies—guarantee medical care to anyone who gets sick. Countries that are just as committed as we are to equal opportunity, individual liberty, and the free market have concluded that everybody has a right to health care—and they provide it.
And we should, too.
E.J. Dionne Jr. is a syndicated columnist and senior fellow at The Brookings Institution in Washington, D.C.
Showing posts with label Political Rant. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Political Rant. Show all posts
Monday, April 5, 2010
The Cost of Doing Nothing About Health Care
by Jim Wallis 03-02-2010
After nearly a year of our work for health-care reform, the debate seems to be reaching the end. News reports indicate that the president will propose his plan for moving forward, and climactic votes could come soon.
So what are we to make of the current bill? While it is deeply flawed, it nevertheless does extend coverage to 30 million people currently without insurance and provides subsidies for them to purchase it. And despite many disappointments with what a real health-care reform bill could have been, covering 30 million more people is still a big deal. But the most telling argument for finally passing something is that the cost of doing nothing about health care is far greater.
A New York Times report summed up, very starkly, the likely consequences of doing nothing. With no action by Congress, “The unrelenting rise in medical costs is likely to wreak havoc within the system and beyond it, and pretty much everyone will be affected, directly or indirectly.”
Nearly every mainstream analysis calls for medical costs to continue to climb over the next decade, outpacing the growth in the overall economy and certainly increasing faster than the average paycheck. Those higher costs will translate into higher premiums, which will mean fewer individuals and businesses will be able to afford insurance coverage. More of everyone’s dollar will go to health care, and government programs like Medicare and Medicaid will struggle to find the money to operate … The higher premiums will also persuade more businesses, especially smaller ones, to decide not to offer insurance. More people who buy coverage on their own or are asked to pay a large share of premiums will find the price too high.
If this happens, estimates are that the number of people without health insurance would increase by more than one million per year (on top of the 49 million currently without coverage), and result in as many as 275,000 deaths over the next 10 years. Do we really want as many as 60 million Americans to be without health insurance in a decade? More families will go deeply into debt, and many will go bankrupt.
I am forced to conclude that while this very flawed legislation may be the lesser of evils, the consequences of inaction to America’s families would be far greater. So rather than issuing a moral clarion call to action, let’s just hope this finally passes, and then immediately get to work to make it better. If this effort fails, most observers think that Congress might not get back to health care for ten or fifteen years; and all the terrible costs and consequences the Times article analytically predicts are very likely to come true.
Jim Wallis is the author of Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street — A Moral Compass for the New Economy, CEO of Sojourners and blogs at www.godspolitics.com
After nearly a year of our work for health-care reform, the debate seems to be reaching the end. News reports indicate that the president will propose his plan for moving forward, and climactic votes could come soon.
So what are we to make of the current bill? While it is deeply flawed, it nevertheless does extend coverage to 30 million people currently without insurance and provides subsidies for them to purchase it. And despite many disappointments with what a real health-care reform bill could have been, covering 30 million more people is still a big deal. But the most telling argument for finally passing something is that the cost of doing nothing about health care is far greater.
A New York Times report summed up, very starkly, the likely consequences of doing nothing. With no action by Congress, “The unrelenting rise in medical costs is likely to wreak havoc within the system and beyond it, and pretty much everyone will be affected, directly or indirectly.”
Nearly every mainstream analysis calls for medical costs to continue to climb over the next decade, outpacing the growth in the overall economy and certainly increasing faster than the average paycheck. Those higher costs will translate into higher premiums, which will mean fewer individuals and businesses will be able to afford insurance coverage. More of everyone’s dollar will go to health care, and government programs like Medicare and Medicaid will struggle to find the money to operate … The higher premiums will also persuade more businesses, especially smaller ones, to decide not to offer insurance. More people who buy coverage on their own or are asked to pay a large share of premiums will find the price too high.
If this happens, estimates are that the number of people without health insurance would increase by more than one million per year (on top of the 49 million currently without coverage), and result in as many as 275,000 deaths over the next 10 years. Do we really want as many as 60 million Americans to be without health insurance in a decade? More families will go deeply into debt, and many will go bankrupt.
I am forced to conclude that while this very flawed legislation may be the lesser of evils, the consequences of inaction to America’s families would be far greater. So rather than issuing a moral clarion call to action, let’s just hope this finally passes, and then immediately get to work to make it better. If this effort fails, most observers think that Congress might not get back to health care for ten or fifteen years; and all the terrible costs and consequences the Times article analytically predicts are very likely to come true.
Jim Wallis is the author of Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street — A Moral Compass for the New Economy, CEO of Sojourners and blogs at www.godspolitics.com
We Had 8 Years of Bush and Cheney and NOW You Get Mad???
I did not write this, so I deserve no credit, but I am absolutely at a loss as to how people can be so upset about helping our fellow people. Please watch the video, through to the end, after reading. Thank you.
You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.
You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.
You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.
You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.
You didn't get mad when we spent over 714 billion(and counting) on said illegal war.
You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.
You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.
You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.
You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
You didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.
You didn't get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.
You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans...oh hell no.
You didn't get mad when the Supreme Court stopped a legal recount and appointed a President.
You didn't get mad when Cheney allowed Energy company officials to dictate energy policy.
You didn't get mad when a covert CIA operative got outed.
You didn't get mad when the Patriot Act got passed.
You didn't get mad when we illegally invaded a country that posed no threat to us.
You didn't get mad when we spent over 714 billion(and counting) on said illegal war.
You didn't get mad when over 10 billion dollars just disappeared in Iraq.
You didn't get mad when you found out we were torturing people.
You didn't get mad when the government was illegally wiretapping Americans.
You didn't get mad when we didn't catch Bin Laden.
You didn't get mad when you saw the horrible conditions at Walter Reed.
You didn't get mad when we let a major US city, New Orleans, drown.
You didn't get mad when we gave a 900 billion tax break to the rich.
You finally got mad when the government decided that people in America deserved the right to see a doctor if they are sick. Yes, illegal wars, lies, corruption, torture, stealing your tax dollars to make the rich richer, are all okay with you, but helping other Americans...oh hell no.
Sunday, February 7, 2010
I Singlehandedly Solved the Health Care Crisis During the SuperBowl
It's not a financial issue, it's a moral one, right? So, tax the Superbowl ads. You want a 30 second spot, well, you already pay a ton, so let's take a piece of each one.
Think about it:
2.5 mil per each 30 second spot times how many spots???? The ads will still cost you the same, they can't afford to try to charge you more, we just want a piece.
You could still have your little game. We really only watch the ads anyway. I mean come on, how can we sit and watch Bud Light spend that kind of money portraying hen picked men and not get a little pissed off and think of other ways such unbelievable amounts of money should be spent?
You can thank me when your MRI is free and you don't lose your house if you get leukemia. You can thank me when you don't have to have a spaghetti dinner to pay for your daughter's transplant.
This message brought to you by Olsons for You Deserve Healthcare Just as Much as I Do.
Honestly, I have to do something when the commercials aren't on.
What I've learned so far:
Think about it:
2.5 mil per each 30 second spot times how many spots???? The ads will still cost you the same, they can't afford to try to charge you more, we just want a piece.
You could still have your little game. We really only watch the ads anyway. I mean come on, how can we sit and watch Bud Light spend that kind of money portraying hen picked men and not get a little pissed off and think of other ways such unbelievable amounts of money should be spent?
You can thank me when your MRI is free and you don't lose your house if you get leukemia. You can thank me when you don't have to have a spaghetti dinner to pay for your daughter's transplant.
This message brought to you by Olsons for You Deserve Healthcare Just as Much as I Do.
Honestly, I have to do something when the commercials aren't on.
What I've learned so far:
- Go Daddy dot Com can run an ad, but an ad for a Gay man's dating service can't? Um, hello? I think Hooters has more class than this company.
- Doritos are overpriced. They have to be, there's been an ad every commercial break.
- There will be lots of kids in Haiti wearing t-shirts that say Colts SuperBowl Champs 2010
- The Who still ROCKS
I'm very happy for the Saints, really I am. They deserve a little happiness there.
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Haiti, Not Hatey to Quote My Son
Please help to combat this hatred, share your abundance and love. If this isn't evidence of that these men are truly evil, I don't know what is.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Seventeen Minutes Well Spent
My feelings exactly. Take the time to listen to the whole thing. War is not the answer.
Monday, February 16, 2009
Let the Pentagon Have Bake Sales!
Remember that great bumper sticker, Let the Pentagon Have Bake Sales? I'm about ready to make my own. Let the Pentagon Cut Out Box Tops.
Let them save boxtops, bundle them, and send them in for a pittance.
You know those Box Tops for Education? The ones that are on food boxes and bags and schools collect them as fundraisers? I've spent every spare moment of the last week trimming and bundling them for our school. I've done this once before, but I had more help that time. This time around it's been me trimming, me alone, bundling. I don't want to see another box top, bread bag, or crescent roll tube wrapper.
This experience has taught me a lot. First, that patience is a virtue that I have very little of. Second, people are feeding their children a lot of expensive crap (we hardly ever have a box top to give to this program). Third, companies will really make you jump through hoops to earn money when in reality these programs are just marketing and marketing analysis for them and we're saving them a ton by doing it.
Isn't it a little sad that while we spend billions on war and the red tape of government and our schools and health care get pushed to the back burner?
Dear President Obama,
I know you're very busy. I'll keep my note short and to the point.
I have an economic stimulus package for you. Could you require that the Pentagon cut box tops and send them in? You could ask the bank CEOs and anyone else involved in the fall of our economy to join in too.
In exchange, I ask that you use their salaries and any bail out money to fund our schools and fix our health care plan.
Thanks,
Elizabeth
Let them save boxtops, bundle them, and send them in for a pittance.
You know those Box Tops for Education? The ones that are on food boxes and bags and schools collect them as fundraisers? I've spent every spare moment of the last week trimming and bundling them for our school. I've done this once before, but I had more help that time. This time around it's been me trimming, me alone, bundling. I don't want to see another box top, bread bag, or crescent roll tube wrapper.
This experience has taught me a lot. First, that patience is a virtue that I have very little of. Second, people are feeding their children a lot of expensive crap (we hardly ever have a box top to give to this program). Third, companies will really make you jump through hoops to earn money when in reality these programs are just marketing and marketing analysis for them and we're saving them a ton by doing it.
Isn't it a little sad that while we spend billions on war and the red tape of government and our schools and health care get pushed to the back burner?
Dear President Obama,
I know you're very busy. I'll keep my note short and to the point.
I have an economic stimulus package for you. Could you require that the Pentagon cut box tops and send them in? You could ask the bank CEOs and anyone else involved in the fall of our economy to join in too.
In exchange, I ask that you use their salaries and any bail out money to fund our schools and fix our health care plan.
Thanks,
Elizabeth
Wednesday, December 17, 2008
Save Handmade!
Handmade Wooden Toy (above) found at Little Sapling Toys on Etsy.comMy dad used to say that you can't legislate common sense. Here's another attempt at doing that. Have you heard about this?
Quoted from http://www.coolmompicks.com/
"We're all for strengthening the safety standards of mass-produced toys, clothes, and accessories made in China, and banning toxins like phthalates and lead. But this year, congress passed the ill-conceived Consumer Products Safety Improvement Act, a law which goes into effect in two months and will absolutely decimate the small toy manufacturers, independent artisans, and crafters who have already earned the public trust.
With this act going into effect February 10 2009 so many people we love will be affected: Moms who sew beautiful handmade waldorf dolls out of home, artists who have spent decades hand-carving trucks and cars out of natural woods, that guy at the craft show who sold you the cute handmade puzzle--even larger US companies who employ local workers and have not once had any sort of safety issue will no longer be able to sell their goods. Not without investing tens of thousands of dollars into third-party testing and labeling, just to prove that toys that never had a single toxic chemical in them still don't have a single toxic chemical in them."
Read more about it here and be sure to take a few minutes to take action. This is so wrong!
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
What Do You CARE Anyway?
I'm so tired of gay people having to fight for the same rights that everyone else in this country. I am tired of so called Christians preaching words of hate and manipulating the Bible to meet their needs.
I'm just tired and I can't imagine how tiring it must be to be someone who, through no fault, NO CHOICE, of their own, is treated like a second class citizen in this great country of ours.
If I were gay, and I married a woman, what would you care anyway? How would my legal marriage affect you in a negative way? If I had children, they'd still talk to your kids at school and tell them that they have two moms, even if I wasn't married. And you know what? The kids wouldn't care.
I'm just tired and I can't imagine how tiring it must be to be someone who, through no fault, NO CHOICE, of their own, is treated like a second class citizen in this great country of ours.
If I were gay, and I married a woman, what would you care anyway? How would my legal marriage affect you in a negative way? If I had children, they'd still talk to your kids at school and tell them that they have two moms, even if I wasn't married. And you know what? The kids wouldn't care.
If my company insured my partner, it would cost you less money in the long run as uninsured people cost tax payers millions each year. Legal systems would be freed from unnecessary probate in the event my partner died.
But, I'm not gay, so why do I care? Because it's not fair. Because my brother's really good friend, who's been with her partner for dozens of years, has less rights than I do. Because my mother's neighbors who have been together over 20 years, still hide, still struggle. Because it's not fair. It's not fair.
I want to know, why do YOU care so much? Can someone please honestly answer that? Because honestly, it's about as un-Christian as it comes to openly hate others like that.
Don't speak the Bible to me, I'll counter you verse for verse. My Bible is dog-eared, written in, underlined, and most importantly, read and used. I spent years in college studying it. You want to quote verses? Bring it on. You want literal interpretation of the Bible to become the norm? Then read Deuteronomy. We'll have to start stoning women again. The Bible says insects have four legs. Seen any of them lately? I could go on and on.
The ultimate message of the Bible is love and when you use it against any of God's children, you are sinning. Oh yes, you are. Face it.
God is love. Jesus preached love and tolerance. He lived amongst those that you turn your faces from. Jesus hung out with the prostitutes, the lepers, and I would pretty much bet there were a few gay people there too. He loved unconditionally. Please don't call yourself a follower of Christ if you cannot do the same.
Gay people come wired that way. Just like eye color, handedness, and the color of the skin, it's all programmed in from the time sperm meets egg. It's not a choice. Would you choose to be persecuted, ridiculed, attacked, beaten, sneered at, stared at, and denied the rights of any other citizen of this country? Would you choose to live in fear?
I want to know, why do YOU care so much? Can someone please honestly answer that? Because honestly, it's about as un-Christian as it comes to openly hate others like that.
Don't speak the Bible to me, I'll counter you verse for verse. My Bible is dog-eared, written in, underlined, and most importantly, read and used. I spent years in college studying it. You want to quote verses? Bring it on. You want literal interpretation of the Bible to become the norm? Then read Deuteronomy. We'll have to start stoning women again. The Bible says insects have four legs. Seen any of them lately? I could go on and on.
The ultimate message of the Bible is love and when you use it against any of God's children, you are sinning. Oh yes, you are. Face it.
God is love. Jesus preached love and tolerance. He lived amongst those that you turn your faces from. Jesus hung out with the prostitutes, the lepers, and I would pretty much bet there were a few gay people there too. He loved unconditionally. Please don't call yourself a follower of Christ if you cannot do the same.
Gay people come wired that way. Just like eye color, handedness, and the color of the skin, it's all programmed in from the time sperm meets egg. It's not a choice. Would you choose to be persecuted, ridiculed, attacked, beaten, sneered at, stared at, and denied the rights of any other citizen of this country? Would you choose to live in fear?
Gay people have been around since the dawn of time. I pray for a future where it will no longer be an issue. In fact, I'm very certain that the fights of today towards equality and the legislation aimed at segregating people will be just be silly memories to our children.
Families are families. Love is love. So many gay families take the children that the rest of you have cast aside. The broken down, used up foster kids floundering in the system become whole again with the love of two parents. Who cares if they're the same sex?
So, put your hate away. Go back and really read your Bible with new eyes, cause you're doing it wrong and God is watching.
Peace.
The second is this: 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' There is no commandment greater than these."Mark 12:31
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Broken
It's been a long week. I'm home for a bit, before having to run out and help my mom get to the doctor today.
Her surgery went well, but the nursing care at the hospital wasn't the best. She left the hospital on Saturday night and is now in a transitional care unit in a nursing home, where the nursing care is careless and nonexistent. She's now fighting an infection in her incision which was most certainly caused by careless care.
Ugh.
It's hard to be a nurse and have your mom (who's also a nurse) be a patient. You see so much that is WRONG. And then when you're vocal about it, YOU'RE made to feel WRONG. I've watched nurses not wash their hands between patients, not change my mom's dressing, not be available for assistance, and basically not following or being aware of the surgeon's orders (some of this is not their fault, they are so overworked and understaffed, they don't have time to be meticulous).
I would guess 9 out of 10 nurses and nursing assistants, physical therapists, and occupational therapists snapped and chomped their gum throughout their time with mom. Unprofessional to say the least, gum chewing is a great way to spread your germs around--and to ingest airborne germs from your patients (gross, huh?). Oh and it's just plain annoying. But, the gum chewing isn't a huge deal. That can be fixed with a little policy enforcement and education.
The rest of it, well, it's just a mess. I pity anyone who has to be in the system. And let's face it, we all end up there from time to time. And I would estimate, most people know nothing about how it should be, nor can they advocate for themselves. I pity the poor person who cannot communicate, but who has full awareness (as many do in nursing homes).
Our health care system is so broken. We have to fix it. I watched nurses assigned to twelve heavy load patients. I watched one nursing assistant assigned to an entire hospital unit. I've watched my mom trying to jump through all the hoops, cross all the t's, dot all the i's on the acres of paperwork required by insurance companies, Medicare, and the hospital--AND STILL THERE IS MORE AND STILL THERE WILL BE SOME SILLY LITTLE THING THAT THEY WON'T PAY FOR OR CLAIM THAT SHE DID WRONG SO THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING.
Once in the transitional care unit, I watched my mom not receive her medication for almost twenty four hours. The nurse's excuse, "I forgot and went home." I watched one nurse, responsible for passing medications for an estimated 60 patients as well as be responsible for all of their dressing changes, treatments, and assessments (imagine trying to do that for 8 hours). This job is her second job. She was thrilled to get to work a double shift all night long and is frantically looking for a third job just to meet her living expenses. This while insurance company CEOs and health care administrators make billion dollar salaries.
In my past experience as a nurse, I've watched drug representatives (sales people) bring in free lunches, give away event tickets, and offer free trips for "education" to physicians. I specifically remember a week long trip to Bermuda that one of my docs took with his wife and family, where they handed him a pamphlet about their product, asked him to use it and to remember who paid for the trip. Yep, he kept prescribing the product, even though it was later found to cause severe health issues for it's users.
Corruption. Inadequate care. A broken system.
The lesson from this? We have to abolish the ability to profit from health care in this country. I believe that it should be illegal to profit from human suffering. We have to stop gouging patients, burning out nurses, and not paying staff a living wage. We need to free patients from the worry of paperwork and the fear that they will not be able to afford their care. Or free them from making the decision either to receive care or pay their living expenses. We need to make sure that everyone can just get what they need, when they need it.
In the meantime, teach your children, to be advocates for themselves. My mother can speak for herself. She's educated about her medications and care. She knows a thing or two (or ten) about health care. And yet, she still didn't get good care.
Do not be passive. Speak up. We have to rally and fight for a better system. Because, what we have is broken. It doesn't work. And we are the ones who suffer the consequences.
Her surgery went well, but the nursing care at the hospital wasn't the best. She left the hospital on Saturday night and is now in a transitional care unit in a nursing home, where the nursing care is careless and nonexistent. She's now fighting an infection in her incision which was most certainly caused by careless care.
Ugh.
It's hard to be a nurse and have your mom (who's also a nurse) be a patient. You see so much that is WRONG. And then when you're vocal about it, YOU'RE made to feel WRONG. I've watched nurses not wash their hands between patients, not change my mom's dressing, not be available for assistance, and basically not following or being aware of the surgeon's orders (some of this is not their fault, they are so overworked and understaffed, they don't have time to be meticulous).
I would guess 9 out of 10 nurses and nursing assistants, physical therapists, and occupational therapists snapped and chomped their gum throughout their time with mom. Unprofessional to say the least, gum chewing is a great way to spread your germs around--and to ingest airborne germs from your patients (gross, huh?). Oh and it's just plain annoying. But, the gum chewing isn't a huge deal. That can be fixed with a little policy enforcement and education.
The rest of it, well, it's just a mess. I pity anyone who has to be in the system. And let's face it, we all end up there from time to time. And I would estimate, most people know nothing about how it should be, nor can they advocate for themselves. I pity the poor person who cannot communicate, but who has full awareness (as many do in nursing homes).
Our health care system is so broken. We have to fix it. I watched nurses assigned to twelve heavy load patients. I watched one nursing assistant assigned to an entire hospital unit. I've watched my mom trying to jump through all the hoops, cross all the t's, dot all the i's on the acres of paperwork required by insurance companies, Medicare, and the hospital--AND STILL THERE IS MORE AND STILL THERE WILL BE SOME SILLY LITTLE THING THAT THEY WON'T PAY FOR OR CLAIM THAT SHE DID WRONG SO THAT THEY DON'T HAVE TO PAY FOR SOMETHING.
Once in the transitional care unit, I watched my mom not receive her medication for almost twenty four hours. The nurse's excuse, "I forgot and went home." I watched one nurse, responsible for passing medications for an estimated 60 patients as well as be responsible for all of their dressing changes, treatments, and assessments (imagine trying to do that for 8 hours). This job is her second job. She was thrilled to get to work a double shift all night long and is frantically looking for a third job just to meet her living expenses. This while insurance company CEOs and health care administrators make billion dollar salaries.
In my past experience as a nurse, I've watched drug representatives (sales people) bring in free lunches, give away event tickets, and offer free trips for "education" to physicians. I specifically remember a week long trip to Bermuda that one of my docs took with his wife and family, where they handed him a pamphlet about their product, asked him to use it and to remember who paid for the trip. Yep, he kept prescribing the product, even though it was later found to cause severe health issues for it's users.
Corruption. Inadequate care. A broken system.
The lesson from this? We have to abolish the ability to profit from health care in this country. I believe that it should be illegal to profit from human suffering. We have to stop gouging patients, burning out nurses, and not paying staff a living wage. We need to free patients from the worry of paperwork and the fear that they will not be able to afford their care. Or free them from making the decision either to receive care or pay their living expenses. We need to make sure that everyone can just get what they need, when they need it.
In the meantime, teach your children, to be advocates for themselves. My mother can speak for herself. She's educated about her medications and care. She knows a thing or two (or ten) about health care. And yet, she still didn't get good care.
Do not be passive. Speak up. We have to rally and fight for a better system. Because, what we have is broken. It doesn't work. And we are the ones who suffer the consequences.
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Yes We Can!
I was up so late last night! Celebrating, crying, cheering, and loving every minute of it. Hope is back after eight, long years. Thank God. Maybe we can be a UNITED States again.
Tony Morrison was on Good Morning America this morning. Her quote sums it up:
"In this country, race is not the measure, it's larger than that. It's not just a African American who won the Presidency, it's this particular man. This here, African American. And I think that the larger number of people who were inspired by him, of all races, felt that, felt that particularity about him."
If you missed President-elect (I get such a thrill calling him that) Obama's acceptance speech, please watch and listen. If you didn't vote for him, please listen with an open heart and mind. Can you feel it?
Tony Morrison was on Good Morning America this morning. Her quote sums it up:
"In this country, race is not the measure, it's larger than that. It's not just a African American who won the Presidency, it's this particular man. This here, African American. And I think that the larger number of people who were inspired by him, of all races, felt that, felt that particularity about him."
If you missed President-elect (I get such a thrill calling him that) Obama's acceptance speech, please watch and listen. If you didn't vote for him, please listen with an open heart and mind. Can you feel it?
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
Anticipation!!! A Watched Election Never Ends or How to Pass the Time While Waiting for the Results Without getting Into a Political Debate
Oprah's got me crying. Seeing those new citizens vote. Well, that's just what this is all about, isn't it?
I'm going nuts sitting here waiting for the election results. So, what am I doing? Well, I'm sending away for free samples.
Here's a good one:
I'm a coffee addict. I've switched to decaf, but D will appreciate this free sample!
I'm going nuts sitting here waiting for the election results. So, what am I doing? Well, I'm sending away for free samples.
Here's a good one:
I'm a coffee addict. I've switched to decaf, but D will appreciate this free sample!
537
537 People decided the 2000 election.
Your vote does count. No matter what, get out today and vote or your voice WILL NOT be heard.
People have died for this right. Citizens of other countries envy this right. Don't waste it.
"There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America—there’s the United States of America. There’s not a black America and white America and Latino America and Asian America; there’s the United States of America. The pundits like to slice-and-dice our country into Red States and Blue States; Red States for Republicans, Blue States for Democrats. But I’ve got news for them, too. We worship an awesome God in the Blue States, and we don’t like federal agents poking around our libraries in the Red States. We coach Little League in the Blue States and have gay friends in the Red States. There are patriots who opposed the war in Iraq and patriots who supported it. We are one people, all of us pledging allegiance to the stars and stripes, all of us defending the United States of America."- Barack Obama
Monday, November 3, 2008
I'm Joe the Plumber
Listen and watch the whole "Joe the Plumber" encounter and you just might learn something. Not only do I like his ideas, but I like how he presents them.
GObama!
Still Undecided?
We're down to the wire, thank God. I'm so looking forward to Charmin and cat food commercials on Wednesday!
My hope is that tomorrow is a clear victory for Barack Obama. I don't think our country could handle another election like 2000 and I know we wouldn't survive another eight years of the same mismanagement. Our country has been so divided for eight years. I'd like to see us as the UNITED States again.
It's time for a dignified, intelligent, honest President. I have to say, I haven't been real proud to be part of this country. That statement seems to incite rage in a lot of people. Hear me out, though. The last eight years have been a complete mess. Our country is near bankruptcy. We're fighting an unjust war that is depleting our resources. Health care expenses are raging out of control and the innocent victims are the seriously ill and the poor. We're melting our polar ice caps (supposedly, they will be gone in five years) and we're doing nothing about it. We aren't linking our country with effective mass transit and alternate sources of fuel and cars that run on them. Our economy is struggling to say the least. The corruption of our system is becoming more and more obvious to other countries.
I used to be very proud of our country. Maybe pride isn't quite the right word. I still believe we've got a really great country, but I'm ashamed of a lot of what we've been doing. This war, it gets me crazy. Here we're fighting a war with no concrete objective and no true measure of success. Meanwhile, we sit idly by as a genocide is occurring in Darfur. I actually get physically sick when I think about how this is actually like forgetting the Holocaust.
If you can't vote on the issues, then imagine our country with President Palin at the helm. She's a brilliant teleprompter reader, but she can't lead. As mayor of Wasilla, she took the city budget from surplus to extreme deficit. She claims we're "fighting God's war" in Iraq--a dangerous and misleading comment, not to mention the whole separation of church and state issue. This fact alone makes her just as dangerous as the terrorists, who also believe they're fighting "God's war." Her expensive wardrobe is just one example of her poor judgement. Troopergate is another. It's proven that she revels in crony-ism. And she agrees with Cheney that the VP should have more power--a frightening opinion that is completely against our Constitution.
(Sarah got pranked this week and it's making the rounds. Quite honestly, I felt sorry for her. I'm not without compassion. She seemed to have a hard time understanding them and really thought she was speaking to the right person. That could happen to anyone and really isn't a fair measure of her abilities. See, I'm giving an inch, right?)
If you're still undecided, then take a moment to think about where we were eight years ago. Clinton left our country with a surplus, Bush is leaving it in economic ruins. By his own admission, in his own words, McCain voted with Bush 90% of the time. Can our country handle more of this?
Please, no matter what, get out an vote. It's not over until the fat lady sings and I won't be singing until quite late tomorrow night! No matter how long the lines, no matter how bad the weather is, if your feet hurt, your dog died, you forgot to drink enough coffee, your head hurts, your car won't start, you're waiting for the mail, you're waiting for a phone call, your clothes don't match, your afraid of election judges, you're claustrophobic in booths, your kid is sick, you're running late, you feel stupid with an "I voted" sticker on, your polling place is too cold, you're hungry, or you're tired, you still have to vote.
Our kids are depending on us. Vote Obama. (And in about 30 years, let's look for this little girl in the video on the ballot!)
Now, a promise to my Republican friends: I'm done trying to convince you. Just vote. I still love ya.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
This Just In...
Barack Obama is leading over John McCain, 63.2% to 36.8%.
(This poll, though, is over at Zombie Pumpkins. Apparently, more people are carving Barack Obama into Pumpkins than McCain.)
Very important to know all the details about polls before you fall for them. Know who polled, who paid for it, how many people were polled, and who those people polled were before you judge a poll to be accurate. Same can be said for medical studies or any other studies!
I'm going to take this poll over at Zombie Pumpkins, though, very seriously.
Saturday, October 25, 2008
I Can't Imagine
Thank God for TiVo. I'd never see anything without it. I'm sitting here watching, well, sort of watching Oprah's Thursday show. Mary Kate and Ashley Olsen were on, hearing their voices is bizarre to me, but I don't want to talk about them.
What I'm struck with is the Internet millionaire who spent $240,000 on a car. I can't get past that. Even as I sit here, he's talking about his childhood pain of being teased for wearing a turban. I don't want to sound hard hearted, but after mentioning the $240, 000 car, I can't really feel sympathy. They're now chatting on what great revenge success is. Hmmm. None of this is sitting well with me.
I don't see success as the best revenge. What I see, with a car that expensive, is excess. I could not ever spend that amount of money on a car, knowing just how many people that could feed or clothe. I couldn't do it. I don't care how much money I had. I couldn't do it with good conscience.
Sarah Palin has had a very well discussed shopping spree. At what point, Sarah, did you think this was right? Our country is at it's lowest point, economically, in ages. We're all really struggling out here. How could you rationalize it away? When they scream, "Drill, Baby, Drill!" why don't you interrupt them and say that's derogatory towards women. When you had organizations rewrite invitations to you after their events, to include your children so that you could justify the travel expenditures now being scrutinized, at what point did you think that was okay?
I'm afraid that these people are the role models of our children. Do I think people with great wealth and possible power are all bad? Not at all. I just wonder what happens to them. What happens to switch your mind, from the poor little Indian boy living in a one bedroom apartment with your entire family to buying a car that expensive? How many rationalizations did you have to make when they handed you the keys?
Sarah, are you so blindsided by the possibility of power, that common sense went out the window? No one needs a $2700 blazer, come on. Your actions, or perhaps in this case, your inaction speaks so loudly for you. You should have said, thanks, but no thanks.
At what point will we finally begin to do the right thing in this country? This really scares me. This thought that wealth=happiness, stuff=bliss, I don't understand it. The pursuit of stuff and more stuff has practically bankrupted our country. The more things we amass, the further away from true charity and giving we get. It used to be that one's morals and values were so strongly held. Now, we forgive, overlook, rationalize, and make excuses for behavior that is just reprehensible.
I know there are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations out there. I know that they exist. I just got stuck today. Stuck on a candidate's shopping trip. Stuck on a quarter of a million dollar car (which, at my house would probably still have matchbox cars and Pokemon cards all over in it). I'm just stuck.
What I'm struck with is the Internet millionaire who spent $240,000 on a car. I can't get past that. Even as I sit here, he's talking about his childhood pain of being teased for wearing a turban. I don't want to sound hard hearted, but after mentioning the $240, 000 car, I can't really feel sympathy. They're now chatting on what great revenge success is. Hmmm. None of this is sitting well with me.
I don't see success as the best revenge. What I see, with a car that expensive, is excess. I could not ever spend that amount of money on a car, knowing just how many people that could feed or clothe. I couldn't do it. I don't care how much money I had. I couldn't do it with good conscience.
Sarah Palin has had a very well discussed shopping spree. At what point, Sarah, did you think this was right? Our country is at it's lowest point, economically, in ages. We're all really struggling out here. How could you rationalize it away? When they scream, "Drill, Baby, Drill!" why don't you interrupt them and say that's derogatory towards women. When you had organizations rewrite invitations to you after their events, to include your children so that you could justify the travel expenditures now being scrutinized, at what point did you think that was okay?
I'm afraid that these people are the role models of our children. Do I think people with great wealth and possible power are all bad? Not at all. I just wonder what happens to them. What happens to switch your mind, from the poor little Indian boy living in a one bedroom apartment with your entire family to buying a car that expensive? How many rationalizations did you have to make when they handed you the keys?
Sarah, are you so blindsided by the possibility of power, that common sense went out the window? No one needs a $2700 blazer, come on. Your actions, or perhaps in this case, your inaction speaks so loudly for you. You should have said, thanks, but no thanks.
At what point will we finally begin to do the right thing in this country? This really scares me. This thought that wealth=happiness, stuff=bliss, I don't understand it. The pursuit of stuff and more stuff has practically bankrupted our country. The more things we amass, the further away from true charity and giving we get. It used to be that one's morals and values were so strongly held. Now, we forgive, overlook, rationalize, and make excuses for behavior that is just reprehensible.
I know there are the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations out there. I know that they exist. I just got stuck today. Stuck on a candidate's shopping trip. Stuck on a quarter of a million dollar car (which, at my house would probably still have matchbox cars and Pokemon cards all over in it). I'm just stuck.
Friday, September 26, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
Something's Fishy
In honor of Sarah Palin's visit to our great state today, here's a fish recipe. Dig deeper. Read McCain/Palin records. Are they what they want you to think they are?
Fast and Easy Oven Fried Fish
Approximately 3 WW Points per serving
1 1/4 pound Tilapia filets
3 TB Dijon mustard
1 cup corn flake crumbs
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place corn flake crumbs onto a plate. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Paint one side of the fillet with Dijon. Press Dijon side of fish into cornflake crumbs and place on baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes easily.
Fast and Easy Oven Fried Fish
Approximately 3 WW Points per serving
1 1/4 pound Tilapia filets
3 TB Dijon mustard
1 cup corn flake crumbs
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Place corn flake crumbs onto a plate. Spray a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray. Paint one side of the fillet with Dijon. Press Dijon side of fish into cornflake crumbs and place on baking sheet. Bake about 10 minutes or until fish is opaque and flakes easily.
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