Thank you for this connection to your blog. I do wish to add to the cyber discussion regarding health care reform. First please know that former governor and doctor Howard Dean will be in Reston, VA at a town hall meeting next week. Rep Moran, I believe this is who it is, will also be there. Please, all those who wish to see real reform so all Americans have access to quality health care, come out. There is power in numbers. Think of solid questions to ask the two men. Remember the media will be there, so a good turnout is crucial. I do not have the specific information about the meeting but if one googles howard dean and health care reform town hall meetings or call Rep Moran’s office, you can get the details.
I heard Dr Dean at at Politics and Prose, and came away, surprisingly, impressed! I used to work for politicians (one president and two senators), and must say, Dr Dean is saying it the way it is, not just how he sees it. He has done his homework. He has studied the diverse European, Australian and Canadian systems. He is not going to compromise on health care access for all. As a former front line staffer in the world of politics, if this is sacrificed, then we Americans are again left with the inhumane and greed oriented system that we currently have.
As an American who has lived in 3 different European countries: the UK, Luxembourg and Germany, I would vote tomorrow for any of these systems to be implemented, immediately. My personal experience has made listening to utter ignorance and exploitation ranting of that ignorance a painful experience, indeed.
I alert all readers to an excellent op-ed article in yesterday’s (Augut 18) Washington Post, by Robert Kuttner. He sums up perfectly my own sentiment, the utter amazement how the progressive members of our society (or, the illusion of one), are not as organized as the zealots. It is time to begin. So, please all, come to Reston, find out about other town hall meeting, participate in any and all gatherings of those who want to move our society forward in right thinking and values. Believe me, my first hand experience in Europe, further reinforced my respect for those societies – and they are just that, tending to not just needs of Self, but to the needs of the greater good. The systems are so much more streamlined. I had very carrying doctors, etc., tend to me, not rushed! Even at the busy Hospital of Tropical Medicine. I got in right away to a general practitioner and physiotherapist. NO bill followed me. The taxes that I paid I saw back: in health care, public transportation (but this has slipped in service since the private sector too over the lines. But, good news, the government is already buying back some lines and the people are very happy about this).
Of course there are problems and sad stories. It is time to move beyond the childish notion that this health care ‘discussion’ has taken in beginning on the premise that there is perfection. This should not be the point of departure: anything human beings touch will not be perfect. Welcome to the human condition. The discussion should be around civic society and care for its citizens, reducing an out of control paperwork mill, and eliminating perverse and narcissistic greed by the few. Remember, Europeans see their taxes at work, daily. Flaws yes, but one is hard bent to find any European who wants to go the American way, regardless of their economic status. Unlike here, there is thousands of years of tribal and cultural identity that unite the people of Europe, a sense of community, that is dearly lacking more and more (if ever truly was), in the American landscape.
Please do your part for American society. Also, please start following the money: who is getting it, who is giving it, and don’t forget about our Empire overreach. We have the money for health care for all; but we Americans are allowing our taxes to go to occupation that is now spreading in Africa (for its oil and other resources). Only average Americans can put the breaks on the money machine that has corrupted the US political system, making us have more in common with Brazil than Sweden.
Be aware that the unemployment and uninsured stats do not reveal the true numbers, and the human faces and stories behind the sickness called America’s for profit medical system. Let’s bring health into American life! We have much to learn from other countries.
Thank you for your attention.
Comment by Michele Linnen — August 19, 2009 @ 4:41 pm
| Reply
Thank you for this connection to your blog. I do wish to add to the cyber discussion regarding health care reform. First please know that former governor and doctor Howard Dean will be in Reston, VA at a town hall meeting next week. Rep Moran, I believe this is who it is, will also be there. Please, all those who wish to see real reform so all Americans have access to quality health care, come out. There is power in numbers. Think of solid questions to ask the two men. Remember the media will be there, so a good turnout is crucial. I do not have the specific information about the meeting but if one googles howard dean and health care reform town hall meetings or call Rep Moran’s office, you can get the details.
I heard Dr Dean at at Politics and Prose, and came away, surprisingly, impressed! I used to work for politicians (one president and two senators), and must say, Dr Dean is saying it the way it is, not just how he sees it. He has done his homework. He has studied the diverse European, Australian and Canadian systems. He is not going to compromise on health care access for all. As a former front line staffer in the world of politics, if this is sacrificed, then we Americans are again left with the inhumane and greed oriented system that we currently have.
As an American who has lived in 3 different European countries: the UK, Luxembourg and Germany, I would vote tomorrow for any of these systems to be implemented, immediately. My personal experience has made listening to utter ignorance and exploitation ranting of that ignorance a painful experience, indeed.
I alert all readers to an excellent op-ed article in yesterday’s (Augut 18) Washington Post, by Robert Kuttner. He sums up perfectly my own sentiment, the utter amazement how the progressive members of our society (or, the illusion of one), are not as organized as the zealots. It is time to begin. So, please all, come to Reston, find out about other town hall meeting, participate in any and all gatherings of those who want to move our society forward in right thinking and values. Believe me, my first hand experience in Europe, further reinforced my respect for those societies – and they are just that, tending to not just needs of Self, but to the needs of the greater good. The systems are so much more streamlined. I had very carrying doctors, etc., tend to me, not rushed! Even at the busy Hospital of Tropical Medicine. I got in right away to a general practitioner and physiotherapist. NO bill followed me. The taxes that I paid I saw back: in health care, public transportation (but this has slipped in service since the private sector too over the lines. But, good news, the government is already buying back some lines and the people are very happy about this).
Of course there are problems and sad stories. It is time to move beyond the childish notion that this health care ‘discussion’ has taken in beginning on the premise that there is perfection. This should not be the point of departure: anything human beings touch will not be perfect. Welcome to the human condition. The discussion should be around civic society and care for its citizens, reducing an out of control paperwork mill, and eliminating perverse and narcissistic greed by the few. Remember, Europeans see their taxes at work, daily. Flaws yes, but one is hard bent to find any European who wants to go the American way, regardless of their economic status. Unlike here, there is thousands of years of tribal and cultural identity that unite the people of Europe, a sense of community, that is dearly lacking more and more (if ever truly was), in the American landscape.
Please do your part for American society. Also, please start following the money: who is getting it, who is giving it, and don’t forget about our Empire overreach. We have the money for health care for all; but we Americans are allowing our taxes to go to occupation that is now spreading in Africa (for its oil and other resources). Only average Americans can put the breaks on the money machine that has corrupted the US political system, making us have more in common with Brazil than Sweden.
Be aware that the unemployment and uninsured stats do not reveal the true numbers, and the human faces and stories behind the sickness called America’s for profit medical system. Let’s bring health into American life! We have much to learn from other countries.
Thank you for your attention.
Comment by Michele Linnen — August 19, 2009 @ 4:41 pm |