Indeed, the IRS data shows that in 2007—the most recent data
available—the top 1 percent of taxpayers paid 40.4 percent of the total
income taxes collected by the federal government. This is the highest
percentage in modern history. By contrast, the top 1 percent paid 24.8
percent of the income tax burden in 1987, the year following the 1986
tax reform act.
Remarkably, the share of the tax burden borne by the top 1 percent
now exceeds the share paid by the bottom 95 percent of taxpayers
combined. In 2007, the bottom 95 percent paid 39.4 percent of the
income tax burden. This is down from the 58 percent of the total income
tax burden they paid twenty years ago.
To put this in perspective, the top 1 percent is comprised of just
1.4 million taxpayers and they pay a larger share of the income tax
burden now than the bottom 134 million taxpayers combined.
1
This results, of course, in a large ground of voters who have no
incentive to suppose government spending programs because they're
pretty sure that *they* won't be paying for them.
(Which is only partly true--they'll certainly be paying for increases in corporate taxes, in the form of higher prices)
Less obviously, there are also several million high-income people who
*will* pay higher taxes under Obamaism...but who will benefit so much
from the Obama/Pelosi/Reid programs that they will still come out way
ahead. Trial lawyers, for example. University and K-12 top
administrators. Congresscreatures and senior government officials.
Posted by: david foster at July 31, 2009 12:58 PM (uWlpq)
I WANT THE COOKIE
I'm a very scarred and broken person.
Yesterday, out of the blue, a friend of mine mused, "You know, you've been pregnant now
pretty much non-stop for the past two years. I don't know if I could
have done that. You're very strong." And it was just...nice...to have
someone acknowledge that, to acknowledge my perpetual state of stress
and worry and fear for the past 2+ years.
And this friend is the eternal optimist, the person who kept telling me to keep my chin up, that it would all work out, that she was sure that this time would be the time...despite the fact that she has said this four times.
It was nice to finally have her acknowledge the crap sandwich I've been eating for so long.
I talked with Heidi recently, and she teases me that I still always worry about saying the wrong thing, about offending, about not properly acknowledging her suffering. She said she is hard to offend.
I must be easy to offend.
You know the smartass expression "What do you want, a cookie?" Yes, sometimes I feel like I want the cookie. Or the medal. Or whatever else people sarcastically offer to complaining people.
Sometimes I still want to go back and choke everyone who poo-pooed my problems as I went along. Everyone who said that so-and-so had a miscarriage and got pregnant again the next month and everything was fine. Everyone who scoffed at my woes and said I just haven't been patient enough yet. Everyone who said I just wanted things to come too easily.
A year ago, I already thought this experience had made me a worse person. That was still after only one miscarriage, for heaven's sake.
Some people deal with adversity with grace and composure, like Heidi and David. They don't need the cookie.
I need the cookie.
I don't know if that makes me a bad person. Probably. But I dwell on it sometimes, I know unhealthily.
Your readers are a tough bunch. Mostly military. Not the sort who are into Oprah-style sentimentality. No "Million Little Fibers" for them. Yet they're here. They could easily click away from your site and never come back. But they don't. So you must be doing something right.
We all want a cookie sometimes. It's OK. Just don't ask the government to give you one because it's your 'right'.
BTW, I was thinking about Heidi this morning on the way to work. And David ... and you.
Right now, my iPod happens to be playing a Swedish song called "On a Kangaroo". It's a sign.
Posted by: Amritas at July 30, 2009 12:35 PM (+nV09)
I so agree with Tim and Amritas. And oh what I would give to bake you the cookie that you deserve... Instead I will settle for lots of virtual hugs, good thoughts and prayers.
Posted by: jck at July 30, 2009 01:41 PM (fRt6P)
4
So, where do I send the cookies? ;D You deserve all the cookies your collected readership could bake.
Posted by: Ruth H at July 30, 2009 02:10 PM (zlUde)
5
I'll send you the 3 dozenGhirardelli chocolate chip cookies I baked last night. You definitely deserve them! :-)
Posted by: Heather at July 30, 2009 02:15 PM (BjblJ)
7
Aww, thanks everyone. You put a tear in my eye...
Posted by: Sarah at July 30, 2009 05:11 PM (TWet1)
8
You deserve an award for all you've been through. AND a cookie. You've had A LOT thrown at you. And 2 years of hope and uncertainty and fear and disappointment... That just isn't fair. It sucks. You've handled it all with grace, dignity, AND a sense of humor. Don't doubt that for an instant.
And if you think you didn't handle all this with grace and courage and so you are bad for needing a cookie, I don't even want to think of what I deserve for all my whining and complaining--It's certainly not something as nice as a cookie!
11
As long as you keep making bacon cookies, you must share!
I have a sock drawer full of medals, including a purple one I don't really want (nor did I ever want it) you are welcome to that--as I think you've earned it through your suffering with the Try2Care (tm) military health system.
Posted by: chuck at July 31, 2009 12:21 AM (bMH2g)
12
You think it's unhealthy to dwell on the fact that you've had multiple miscarriages and have watched - often without the benefit of your husband by your side and often with the added bonus of idiot medical personnel - your hopes and dreams for a family crumble before your eyes?
Jesus, Sarah...how else do you expect to handle this? How does anyone else expect you to handle this? More to the point, WTH does it matter what anyone else thinks about how you handle it? You are handling it the best way YOU know how. And you're handling it. You're not in denial. You're facing the issue pretty much head on and you're trying to move forward.
I fail to see how that could ever be construed as "unhealthy".
Cut yourself some slack. You are doing just fine. And yes - this is going to change you. Fundamentally. For bad? For good? Who knows? Change is change. I think the biggest tragedy in all of it is if this whole thing comes to actually DEFINE you. And I don't see that. I see it as one square in the quilt of who you are as a person but I don't see this as truly defining you. You are a resilient person - I like that word more than I like "strong" because resilient people get knocked down and they get the crap beat out of them. But they get back UP.
You're resilient.
And you amaze me. And I'm glad you're my friend. And I'll stop now because I'm gushing ;~)
Posted by: HomefrontSix at July 31, 2009 04:47 AM (R4ZnA)
13
I like HF6's word - "resilient." It really is the best I'm aware of... *hugs & cookies* :-)
Posted by: Krista at August 01, 2009 02:17 PM (sUTgZ)
Handling things well is so overrated. Handle it however you damn well feel like handling it. And for goodness sake, who looks at a woman who's had a miscarriage and says "oh well I know a friend who went through the very same thing and SHE'S fine!" Well, you're different. You're situation is different and just because others have been there before you that doesn't mean you deserve any less whine-time or coddling if that's what you need.
I think I'd feel the same way. Some people aren't complainers and abhor those who are. When something doen't go my way, I would really like a little time to complain about it. So, on some small level, I understand what you want.
Cookies go good with wine. When you're unpregnant (and baby in arms), have a couple glasses. You deserve it.
Posted by: Sara Vidotto at August 02, 2009 03:09 PM (AnKbP)
15
It's late, but on a loooong road trip I was wondering and hoping.
So here's a cookie, virtual as it may be. Hubby stole the stroopwafels, after all. I admire and salute your courage.
There's a reason we have three dogs now.
Posted by: Eowyn at August 02, 2009 08:02 PM (g/iMK)
Hey Sarah, I have a possible favor to ask you. Would you mind mentioning a fundraiser I am participating in? Each year crossfitters around the world workout for donations benefitting the wounded warrior project and athletes for a cure (prostate cancer). There is no minimum donation required. The event is called Fight Gone Bad. I understand if this is a conflict of interest and you can't do it. But if you can and you're willing, I'd love the support.
Posted by: Sara Vidotto at August 07, 2009 09:51 PM (oukWQ)
17
P.S. I have a donation page where people can donate online safely. If you're willing, I'll send you the link and a FGB icon with it.
Posted by: Sara Vidotto at August 07, 2009 09:52 PM (oukWQ)
AL GORE'S BIGGEST FAN
An inventive counterpoint to anthropogenic global warming (via Amritas):
In a way I am happy to accept AGW as real, because if you do then it becomes highly illogical to
-send
tonnes of food to low carbon footprint 3rd world countries leading to a
population boom (Daniel Quinn has written some good stuff on this -
more food, more people);
-then subsequently invite them to high carbon footprint countries (my country having the highest immigration rate in the world).
This
provides a handy excuse to call for a stop foreign "aid", and to stop
immigration, while retaining moral highground versus the left. If they
really cared about AGW and really believed it to be the greatest threat
to humanity, they would stop feeding "surplus" carbon producing humans,
and also stop transferring them from low carbon footprint societies to
high carbon footprint societies.
It's a fun argument to make
against AGW freaks; public policies must mesh together; in my country's
case we committed to reducing total carbon emissions to 6% (I think)
under the Kyoto accord while simultaneously increasing our population
through immigration by about 7% during the implementation phase. You
can have the world's highest immigration rate while also fueling a
population explosion in the third world, or you can fight AGW, but you
can't do both, not at the same time. Public policy debates with
leftists rarely present such easy rebuttals to what is so dear to them.
Hey, if AGW gets us off the hook from foreign aid and gets us
zero immigration, I'll be Al Gore's biggest fan, but for some reason
I'm quite certain that's not their end game.
I think it would be hilarious to hear that brought up in a global warming debate.
1
A logical liberal argument - unnecessary. As long as it makes you feel good in that "WAY TO GO!!!!" kind of way (thank you South Park). The lefties just want more control.
Good post.
Posted by: Patrick at August 01, 2009 08:12 AM (/iKMZ)
2
That is really brilliant... there are just SO MANY complications to trying to make EVERYTHING turn out "right" in life, aren't there? ;-)
Posted by: Krista at August 01, 2009 02:10 PM (sUTgZ)
1
For some women and for some pregnancies, you don't feel like ass the ENTIRE time. So lettuce hope you iz lucky and the funk goes away. :-p I still need a Sarah lesson on knitting so I am no help whatsoever.
Posted by: wifeunit at July 29, 2009 09:20 PM (4B1kO)
ANOTHER LOOK IN THE KANGAROO POUCH
I always feel weird giving too much information, but I feel like I need to explain why I am so crazy and why this is such a rollercoaster for me. To do so, I have to tell you personal stuff like how I woke up in the middle of the night bleeding profusely, more than last week, far more than simple spotting. And how my heart just sank, and how I never fell back asleep and just kept bleeding and bleeding.
And how I spent another morning composing my "the baby is dead" post in my head.
But the baby is not dead.
John Elway baby is progressing just fine. He even did a little dance for us on screen, which was probably the most amazing thing I've ever seen, and downright adorable. Just a few little wiggles to say hello and to let me know that he's still there and still going strong.
Heartbeat looks good, umbilical cord growing strong, and we even saw one little arm. (Hopefully there's another one just like it on the other side.)
He's almost an inch long.
And he's a he only because I now think of it as John Elway. Despite my initial longing for a boy, I have completely come to terms with having a girl over the past 2.5 years and think that would be perfectly fine too.
But the bleeding, I cannot stand any more of it. It causes so much stress. The doctor assumes that it is a reaction to the progesterone supplements, which he says I only have to tough out for another week and a half.
This baby has made it further than any other baby before. I feel good about that. I will feel better once I stop bleeding.
1
I am relieved the doctor feels comfortable there is a reason for the bleeding even if it is terribly scary. I am so happy to hear everything is on track and hope things just keep on progressing. Minus the bleeding and nausea would be fantastic. Yay for John Elway!
Posted by: wifeunit at July 29, 2009 12:44 PM (4B1kO)
2
I've been checking in all afternoon hoping to get the update. It is so wonderful to hear that the baby is fine! Continuing to be happy and hopeful.
Posted by: Courtney at July 29, 2009 12:44 PM (jKra5)
I'm so happy to hear that your pregnancy is still on course. My thoughts and prayers are with you.
Posted by: Val L. at July 29, 2009 12:56 PM (4iXKP)
4
I'm sitting here with tears of happiness in my eyes. I've checked three times here just like Courtney. What a thrill. I wish they had ultrasounds when I had babies. The first one I saw was my granddaughter 16 years ago, she was full term (9.4 oz) and looked like her little nose was pressed up against a window. I had the most awesome feeling that I was in the middle of 180 years. I had left my 81 year old Mother in Rockport to fly to Sherman Oaks to be there when she was born and I figured she and my mother would have 90 years with advancements in medicine. To hear that heartbeat and see that baby was a feeling that truly describes awesome. She is 16 now, brilliant, planning to be a physician and starting this next semester of her junior year she will be doing rounds at a hospital in anticipation of med school. She actually plans to also get a PhD to and do research. Life is one day at a time, one week at a time and then beyond.
Posted by: Ruth H at July 29, 2009 01:18 PM (JCV5R)
5
I am sending you big hugs and love. I am getting slightly more happy for you as each week goes by.
Posted by: Reasa at July 29, 2009 03:36 PM (uKniq)
6
An inch! An arm! Wiggly baby! I'm so happy for you.
Posted by: Heather at July 29, 2009 03:38 PM (BjblJ)
7
Yeah, the last two comments above pretty much cover it for me. How wonderful.
I doubt I'll truly stop holding my breath for you until you're holding a healthy baby in your arms, but I let some air go today. Just. Wonderful.
*Keeping up with prayers, love, and happy thoughts (and happy tears)*
11
week-to-week kanagaroo photos! i can feel the incredible agony and stress and equal bits of joy that must bring. hang in there!
Posted by: Darla at July 29, 2009 10:54 PM (LP4DK)
12
I am so relieved every time I get an update like this. Nothing that compares to your relief, I'm sure, and I can't imagine the emotional rollercoaster you are one when you wake up like that, or the hours you spend in the ER waiting on retarded medicos to take care of the kid with the sniffles before they get to you.
If you need someone to call the hospital and throw rank around, I'm more than willing to make a long-distance ass of myself, and my sister WORKS at the Pope/FT Bragg hospital, (till October) if you need an inside track. A phone call is all it takes. I can even fake a long-distance call from your DH calling all the way from "over there" if need be. I have no shame if it'll help.
Other than that, Joseph Charles has a nice ring to it, as does Josephine Charlotte. Since I doubt anyone can come up with a name that includes "pole position."
Posted by: chuck at July 30, 2009 07:49 AM (bMH2g)
13
Sarah - I was thinking about you yesterday/today. Am happy to read this latest update. Thinking of you
Posted by: Keri at July 30, 2009 08:20 AM (k6Euw)
14quietly, quietly whispering, "go john elway! go!"
Posted by: Lissa at July 30, 2009 09:01 AM (eSfKC)
1
On a related note, here's a great tweet containing a response to a STUPID "editorial", and the STUPID editorial itself: http://twitter.com/cboyack/statuses/2895776279
Enjoy! :-)
Posted by: Krista at July 28, 2009 05:06 PM (sUTgZ)
Police are investigating a brick with an offensive message thrown into the window of an East Austin home.
The brick, thrown through a 4-year-old boy’s bedroom window, read “Keep Eastside Black. Keep Eastside Strong.â€
The homeowner, Barbara Frische, who is white, said she has lived in the home for 10 years.
[...] Police have not classified this incident as a hate crime, said Austin
Police Sgt. Richard Stresing, because hate crimes target an individual
specifically because of an identifying characteristic, like race.
Police say the incident has been classified as criminal mischief and
deadly conduct.
Of course, makes perfect sense. A brick saying "Keep Eastside black" thrown into a white family's house has nothing to do with race, obviously.
Hate Whitey all ya' want, but just look at a Black person the wrong way and your labeled a racist. Must be that "post racial" president we have now, all that "we are the world" groove all across the land...
Posted by: tim at July 28, 2009 03:52 PM (nno0f)
3
Austin is a liberal city. That is one of the reasons I wasn't planning on staying here after earning my M.Ed. Unfortunately, because of my difficultly in finding a teaching job - at this point ANY teaching job - here I'm stuck... I don't watch local news and I listen to talk radio out of San Antonio, so I actually missed this story...
Posted by: Miss Ladybug at August 01, 2009 11:44 PM (paOhf)
THEY JUST PAID FOR IT
I had this conversation this weekend:
Friend: Well, I think people need health coverage. And I include dental in that because I think dentist visits are so important.
Sarah: Oh, my family never had dental insurance growing up.
Friend: That's terrible! My kids go to the dentist twice a year, no questions.
Sarah: Oh no, we went to the dentist twice a year too, just that my parents had to pay for it out of pocket each time, for all five of us.
Friend: [horrified look, as if I had said my dad did all our own dentistry at home in the garage]
The conversation turned to other matters, but as I think back on it now, I wish I could go back and restart the conversation from this point. I find it fascinating that this friend equated not having dental insurance with not visiting the dentist at all. My parents took us regularly, and they paid for everything on their own: cleanings, x-rays, fillings, sealant, my broken front tooth that rebroke six times during my teen years, retainers, four sets of braces, Mom's crowns and root canals, etc. I know it wasn't cheap, and I have since thanked my parents for all the dental work they bought for me, especially since now I have to buy my own retainers each time the dog chews one up.
But we received dental care. The lack of insurance didn't keep my parents from taking care of our health.
Why is it that people act like they have no concept of taking care of routine health concerns on their own? As if to say that if it's not covered by insurance, you're out of luck? We weren't out of luck; we just paid for it.
Same here...we grew up without medial insurance too. When I tell this to other people they act like it's child neglect. However, we all got all our vaccinations, very rarely went to the doctor for anything but the normal check-ups (i.e. if we had a cold, our parents just nursed us as home, no need to go to the doctor for that). I did have a bad ear infection problem, and the doctor said, either he could put tubes in my ears, or I would grow out of it naturally...so my parents just learned how to treat infections at home, as my tubes got wider on their own as I got older, and I no longer had a problem with water getting caught in there.
Oh, and we children never got any cavities...never. And the only broken bone was a pinkie finger, that my brother broke body surfing when he was 14. Some people would say: "well, you guys were lucky." I disagree, my parents focused a lot on prevention and just eating healthy foods (we never had soda growing up, and never had sugary cereals, etc.) and we were encouraged to be very active. And I think that had a lot to do with our health. Oh, and yeah, we also all 4 of us had braces.
Until marrying my husband, I also had no medical insurance. But you would be surprised at how "cheap" dental/medical care can be, if you are paying out of pocket. I thought I was getting a cavity. So I went to the dentist, he x-rayed me, found nothing but one tooth was a little spongy, so he filled that with a plastic sealant, and did the same for the rest of my molars...price tag? $76. I think that the best combination is not having medical coverage for normal check-ups etc., but having catastrophic insurance with a $5000 deductible, which covers those unexpected incidents like a car accident, or a prolonged illness.
I also went to the doctor for something, and when I was leaving got a bill for $150, which they expected my insurance to cover. So I pulled out my credit card to pay, and the office staff said: "oh, you don't have insurance, and are paying immediately?" And they were a little perplexed, because they didn't know how to deal with this, and then figured it out, and my bill was reduced to just over $90. They explained that because they have to wait 3+ months sometimes for the insurance companies to pay, they charge more for insured patients. (The same goes for if you want to get your car repaired under your insurance out of pocket...my husband had to replace his windshield...if he had gone through his insurance, they would have charged over $500...out of pocket about $380.)
So it seems it is self-reliance versus thinking that if the government doesn't take care of it, there is no way you could do it on your own. Weird.
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at July 26, 2009 02:44 PM (irIko)
2
CVG -- I was thinking of your stories when I posted this. I don't think my parents ever got any sort of uninsured cheaper price at the dentist, but that sure would've been cool. I agree with you that health could be like car insurance; we currently have a $1000 deductible on our cars, which is higher than they recommend, but we have NEVER filed an insurance claim, so for us, it was annoying to keep paying every month for the lower deductible. We too replaced our own windshield last year. It seems like people could pay for regular dentist and doctor check-ups on their own. I am very trusting of the free market, but I bet that a regular dental cleaning would cost less if no insurance covered it. I bet certain dentists would set up shop to only do cleanings and we could get the price down to $30 for a quick visit...hell, like the cost of changing your oil. It's regular maintenance; I don't understand why insurance or "society" is supposed to pick up the tab.
Posted by: Sarah at July 26, 2009 03:03 PM (TWet1)
3
I read an article a while back about a doctor (GP) who didn't accept medical insurance and only charged $50 a visit. Basta! His philosophy was that it was quicker, easier, and it improved the patient/doctor relationship, because there was no else involved in the discussion.
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at July 26, 2009 03:22 PM (irIko)
With all due rspect I think the point is that there are so many people who can't afford even routine care. For instance, my friends daughter who was treated for neuroblastoma (a form of brain cancer) that was found by a very persistent well care nurse at the doc's office. She recieved a life saving stem cell transplant. Recently she had a recurrence. A recurrence they would not have not known about had it not been for a routine follow up at Children's Hospital here in Philadelphia. A visit paid for by the state sponsored insurance program in the state of New Jersey (finally one good thing comes out of that state) She is receiving Proton therapy instead of radiation because at her age the radiation would give her an automatic IQ drop of 30 points.
So pay for it now, or pay for it later - in the form of special needs education if she survives this bout and most likely state assistance to the mom (her husband who was my friend passed away 3 years ago from Esophogeal cancer, so they are a single parent household) who will have to stay home with a severely learning disabled child. The state and the tax payer will pay either way. I'd rather my tax money go to treat the disease and not the fallout of rhe treatment for the rest of the kids life.
As for dental, we have really bad teeth in my family. I had at least 6 root canals by the time I hit puberty. If it were not for my dad's dental insurance through GE I probably would not have any teeth at all. My mom was a single working woman in the 70's and 80's and just would not have been able to afford the work that was needed. So I am grateful that we had it.
I think leaving it to the parents to assume the burden of all costs for wellcare is to assume that many of them have some sort of intelligence. It would be a distaster of epic proportions in this city if there were no care available for kids with a state program. There would seriously be a lot of dead kids.
I'm not for universal healthcare by any stretch. I am however very much for well care for kids whose parents cannot afford it. And persoanlly I don't mind having my taxes pay for it. I think healthcare should be like every other important issue, it should become about states right. No healthcare for kids in Nebraska? Move to California or New Jersey where there is.
I do respect both of your opinions, I just happen to disagree on this point with you.
Mare, I believe there are always exceptions. Just like with the abortion argument. I am pro-choice, but I find it very sad that abortion is always argued for because of victims of rape and incest and in the case of the life of the mother or fetus, when those cases only represent 8-15% (depending on polls) of actual abortions...the rest are just birth control.
Universal healthcare coverage is always argued for with cases exactly like you mentioned...but why not ONLY cover those cases, and not make it universal?
It's like welfare. It's always argued for as a safety net for those facing great misfortune. I have to admit that I am partial to having a limited safety net in this country...unfortunately this has become a safety hammock.
So I agree with you, Mare. Those are cases that deserve help...but why should help be extended to everyone, letting them off the hook for taking care of something that should be routine and expected, like maintaining your house?
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at July 26, 2009 08:19 PM (irIko)
7
Here's another sob story: My mom has Lupus and has spent roughly $200 per month on prescriptions alone for the past 23 years. Not even to mention doctor visits. My family is no stranger to long-term health care problems. Still, my mother opposes changes to the system, even ones that might potentially benefit her.
On the other end of the spectrum, I have two brothers in their 20s who are in good health and who don't make much money. They shouldn't be forced to buy expensive plans that they won't use.
Like CVG, I don't like to make decisions for the whole of society based on outliers.
Posted by: Sarah at July 26, 2009 08:35 PM (TWet1)
I was speaking specifically about kids, not adults who can make their own living and can pay for visits and or policies. If the state system could get it together to treat these extraordinary cases in a timely fashion so that the kids could actually have a good shot at recovery then I'd agree with you CVG. In Grace's case she had a short window (21 days) to get to one of the 5 Proton centers in the country or go with standard radiation. She had to get a condressman and a senator to help push through the paperwork.
I don't know what the answer is but I don't think I'd want to be the person who has sit across from a parent with a sick kid and say "Sorry life screwed you but your kid is going to die because you don't make enough money to pay for the treatment"
There has to be a better answer to the healthcare issue than what's been proposed. We have the best healthcare available in the world, but the insurance companies make folks jump through flaming hoops to be able to use it. And I do think everyone should have some sort of coverage.
Even a healthy 20 year old could wake up tomorrow and get hit by a bus needing continuing nursing care for the rest of their life. If they have a policy it could be the difference between spending that time in a state hospital with a low quality of care funded by the taxpayer anyway or a private facility where it might be better.
I'm sorry your mom has Lupus Sarah, that really sucks. Is she covered by insurance or do they consider it a pre-existing condition. Insurance not covering pre-existing stuff is another thing that makes me angry about the system.
I really think we need healthcare insurance reform instead of national healtcare.
9
When I lived in Arkansas, I worked for a company that, when health coverage was offered, they decided to go with a "self-insurance" plan. Every year, premiums went up. One or two women covered by the plan have a baby? We all ended up paying for it the next plan year with higher premiums. Right now, I'm uninsured (underemployment...), but I don't want what Obama and the Dems are trying to sell us. This is a small scale where the plan had to break even. Just imagine this times thousands of participants. We - the American taxpayer - can't afford it.
They eventually added dental & vision, but I'd been paying for that out-of-pocket before. Cleaning twice a year (the premium ended up being what I spent on the cleanings out of pocket). I wear contacts, so it was nice to get that added.
Growing up, I went to Army doctors and dentists, pre-Tricare. Lucky for us, most often, we were somewhere where waiting to get in to see someone wasn't a big hassle (overseas in smaller military communities, mostly). Also lucky for us, we weren't prone to being chronically sick or injured accidentally much.
Posted by: Miss Ladybug at August 02, 2009 12:17 AM (paOhf)
10
This part of Atlas Shrugged about dentistry has been in my head for a week now:
"Then there was one old guy, a widower with no family, who had one hobby: phonograph records. I guess that was all he ever got out of life. In the old days, he used to skip meals just to buy himself some new recording of classical music. Well, they didn't give him any 'allowance' for records -- 'personal luxury,' they called it. But at that same meeting, Millie Bush, somebody's daughter, a mean ugly little eight year-old, was voted a pair of gold braces for her buck teeth -- this was 'medical need,' because the staff psychologist had said that the poor girl would get an inferiority complex if her teeth weren't straightened out. The old guy who loved music, turned to drink, instead. He got so you never saw him fully conscious any more. But it seems like there was one thing he couldn't quite forget. One night, he came staggering down the street, saw Millie Bush, swung his fist and knocked all her teeth out. Every one of them."
The Twentieth Century Motor Company shows how socialist principles - purportedly more civilized than capitalist ones - lead to savagery.
Welcome to the Twenty-First Century Motor Company. All Omericans are its employees. It doesn't pay you; you pay it.
Posted by: Amritas at August 02, 2009 03:54 AM (h9KHg)
So, naturally we just go to the escrowed set of [anthropogenic global warming]
models with their predictions made over the past 20 years or so, enter
in all data for actual emissions, volcanic activity, and other model
inputs for the time from the prediction was made until today, and then
run the mdoels and compare their outputs to actual temperature change
in order to build a distribution of model accuracy, right? Ha ha.
Needless to say, no such repository exists.
Yeah, why not?
I heard the other day that the Marines SF are going to start being trained in Pashto, Dari, and Urdu. My first thought was, "What took you so long?" Really, we haven't had this idea until eight years into the war?
I had the same thought when I read that Manzi paragraph: no one has thought to compare global warming model predictions to actual data? Sheesh.
2
PreCISEly. It's so destructive to political dogma to actually consider that you could be wrong, LOL!
Well, maybe "LOL" is inappropriate, considering the all-too-serious consequences that are being imposed on us as a result of that wrong-line dogma...
Posted by: Krista at July 25, 2009 10:24 AM (sUTgZ)
If the glueball warmening folks used actual data, then NONE of their models work. That's why they don't acknowledge things like ocean temperatures, or that big-assed orange ball and solar flare activity having an impact on climate.
Second, since when has the USMC been known for being deep thinkers? First, we'll teach them languages. Next, bathing; and finally, how to use spoons without hurting your eyes....
Posted by: chuck at July 25, 2009 11:10 AM (bMH2g)
4
During the Stalin era in the USSR, the official version of genetics was
Lysenkoism, which taught that acquired characteristics are inherited
(wrong! giraffes do not have long necks because of
stretching)--genetics of course has very practical applications in
agriculture, and geneticists who challenged Lysenkoism were actually
shot. Some of our climate-change "experts" seem to want to go down a
similar path.
People who do mathematical modeling in a responsible way and who
respect the customers they are doing it for carry out & make
available a "sensitivity analysis" which shows how the conclusions
change when any of the assumptions are varied. I haven't seen much in
the way of sensitivity analyses in the voluminous public discussions of
global warming; I *have* seen a lot of ad hominem attacks on anyone who
dares challenge the official view.
Posted by: david foster at July 25, 2009 06:08 PM (uWlpq)
What little I have seen of the language policy of the military over the last few years has been disappointing. I think German, Italian, and Japanese were taken a lot more seriously in WWII.
There is no way that a one-year course can make Marines - or anyone - "fluent" in languages that are not as close to English as, say, Spanish. Most certainly not if they're only learning "two new phrases" a day!
david,
Some of our climate-change "experts" seem to want to go down a
similar path.
That's a pretty harsh charge. I don't think "a lot of ad hominem attacks on anyone who
dares challenge the official view" will necessarily lead to executions. Americans can get very loud and angry, but they generally haven't resorted to violence ... yet.
Posted by: Amritas at July 25, 2009 07:48 PM (h9KHg)
6
Amiritas...a harsh charge indeed, and deliberately so. I have seen
statements from climate-change "experts," some of them prominent, who
have asserted that disagreement with climate change is on a par with
Holocaust denial, and some of them have asserted that such disagreement
should be prohibited. There are also scientists who feel their careers
would suffer or have suffered should they challenge the orthodoxy.
When you say "Americans can get very loud & angry but generally
haven't resorted to violence..yet," I think you're thinking about good
old rough-and-tumble American debate. But there are a lot of people in
our society today who don't really agree with our free-speech
traditions.
A guy in my high school was fond of misquoting Voltaire--"Death to what
you say and I disagree with your right to say it." He was kidding (I
think). Many of those of the "progressive" side are not.
Posted by: david foster at July 25, 2009 08:19 PM (uWlpq)
7
As a data point, the language schools and their student allocations at the Defense Language Institute are decided YEARS in advance. The Marines are probably only 3 or 4 years behind the power curve, not 8. That's par for the course.
Like I should talk--I took Russian there in 2004-5. They never got tired of telling us that the Cold War was over when justifying cutting our teaching staff or moving us to an even older building.
THE CURE IS NOT THE CURE
I do this every deployment: I get to this point where I don't even intentionally do it, but I realize I have started listening to The Cure. (I did it last July too.) It's just not such a good plan when you're trying to stay upbeat. But "Disintegration is the best album ever" and it's hard to avoid music you like.
The thing is that The Cure has so many deployment-applicable lyrics:
I've been looking so long at these pictures of you
That I almost believe that they're real
I've been living so long with my pictures of you
That I almost believe that the pictures are
All I can feel
However far away
I will always love you
Daylight licked me into shape
I must have been asleep for days
And moving lips to breathe her name
I opened up my eyes
And found myself alone
Waiting
For the telephone to ring
And I'm wondering
Where she's been
And I'm crying for yesterday
And the tap drips
Drip drip drip drip drip drip drip...
It's always the same...
AWTM said I need to listen to The String Beans instead, something cheery. I'd better go find some Elvis or Weezer instead.
1
The Cure is one of my faves as well and, I didn't realize it before, but I seem to plug them in a great deal when my husband is gone too. How weird!
Maybe I'll just download the whole album from iTunes and REALLY have a good, rainy day??
Posted by: Guard Wife at July 23, 2009 09:53 AM (qk9Ip)
2
Oh, see, I have a tendency to listen to crap like the Top Gun Soundtrack during deployments. And I have to steer clear of Motown and Sarah Mclachlan at all costs - it's a Pavlovian thing for me. I'll just stop there...
Posted by: airforcewife at July 23, 2009 10:21 AM (CDkfD)
I WISH I WERE A KANGAROO
OK, I wish I were a kangaroo.
I am watching National Geographic. Kangaroos have two awesome reproductive features that I wish I had.
1) When the joey is 5 weeks along, it gets born and makes the trek up to the pouch to settle in for nine months. What I wouldn't give to take my baby out and keep it in a nice, warm pocket for the rest of its gestation time, so I could peek in on it and make sure it's OK.
2) Once the joey gets settled, the kangaroo mates again, producing a back-up embryo. It sits dormant in embroyonic diapause, and if anything happens to the joey in the pouch, the back-up embryo starts to grow again to replace it. Obviously, that also would've been a great feature for me.
Posted by: CaliValleyGirl at July 22, 2009 04:57 PM (irIko)
2
Awww. I wonder how many other mothers want to go roo. Genetic engineering might make it possible. But then their kids might be teased as 'pouchers'. And becoming a kangawoman could have some unexpected side effects, like longer feet and an urge to hop.
What would you want to be if you were watching another channel?
Posted by: Amritas at July 22, 2009 06:32 PM (h9KHg)
3
I don't know if you would enjoy the other aspects of marsupial reproductive systems...you know, the dual vaginas and uteri. These merge together as needed to form a birth canal. That's three, er, orifices to manage.
The male appendage related to all this is, well, bifurcated. Whether or not this is a bonus is not my call to make.
Posted by: deskmerc at July 23, 2009 01:10 AM (pYOXQ)
5
Wow, have I learned a lot of fascinating things about kangaroos this morning! LOL...
I love National Geographic. And Discovery. And Nova. And Nature. Maybe we should actually consider getting cable just for educational purposes... ;-)
Posted by: Krista at July 24, 2009 12:56 PM (sUTgZ)
THE BABY IS STILL JOHN ELWAY
Well, we made it. The baby has a heartbeat. It grew exactly a week's worth of size and progress.
Whew.
Because that's not what I was expecting.
This morning I woke up to blood, heavier than I've had with any other pregnancy. I sat the 20 minutes waiting to be seen just trying not to cry, trying not to compose the "my baby is dead" blog post in my head, trying not to imagine doing this over again.
You know, when I told my husband we should go for this, I easy peasy said, "We try once more before you go, and if it's a win, then we're great; and if it's a loss, then we haven't really lost anything because I can still do the IVF."
It sounded far easier in my head to have one more loss than it feels in real life.
I've now made the ultrasound tech a nervous wreck too. She quietly fired up the machine, started ultrasounding, and as soon as she could see anything -- a second faster than I could locate it -- immediately says, "We have a heartbeat," and let out a sigh of relief.
The baby was hanging upside down in my uterus like a bat. It was kinda comical.
But I couldn't even enjoy it. I just felt the relief that it was there, and then immediately started thinking about making it one more week.
Pregnancy, for me, is like deployment. (Actually, pregnancy is worse, because my husband has lived through two deployments; our baby has never lived through pregnancy.) But pregnancy reminds me of the remarks I made at the 2007 Milblogs Conference:
Your deployment is
filled with the ebb and flow of adrenaline; your life is monotonous
days punctuated by moments of anxiety or excitement; our adrenaline is
always half-on, since every moment that we'Â’re not on the phone with you
is a moment when you'Â’re possibly in danger. Such is the life for those
on the homefront, those who stand and wait.
Every moment that I am not looking at that ultrasound screen is a moment when I doubt the baby is alive. I know that is normal for many pregnant women, but for me it has been borne out by too much experience. Baby #2 died within a day of our seeing it on the ultrasound screen. And I don't lose babies naturally; I generally have to find out about it and take medicine to get it out. I won't know it's dead until I see it dead on screen.
And now I have morning sickness, so it's a constant reminder that I'm pregnant. And my house is empty, no husband to lovingly distract me from my worries.
So I asked my mother to come visit.
I need the distraction. I hate to admit that I can't handle this on my own, but it is proving harder than I figured. So my mother's going to come out for a few days and be there for next week's ultrasound. If we make it past next week, that will be the longest I've ever kept a baby alive.
I read this chapter in The Sandbox last night, on how casually an Afghan man says he would divorce his wife and choose another if she couldn't bear children.
Thank heavens I'm an American. Thank heavens I have such a wonderful husband.
1
I'm glad you - and the baby! - have made it through another week. And I'm glad your mother will be there, not just for a few days, but also on the day of the week.
Posted by: Amritas at July 22, 2009 12:48 PM (+nV09)
2
Whew! I know all your online friends are happy at this news. I'm glad your mother can be with you, you really shouldn't be alone. It will be very comforting to your husband, too. And as for the man in the sandbox, he really sounds like a nice guy who just doesn't get our culture, but apparently he did love someone, maybe she is lucky her father is taking her away.
Posted by: Ruth H at July 22, 2009 01:01 PM (YpblU)
3
I was writing you an email and figured I should check and see if my answers were here. I am so glad the growth is spot on. (!!) But the bleeding just kills me. What a kick in the pants. It is a 'don't get too positive/don't start thinking too far ahead' slap in the face and I hate it. So I am doubly glad your mom is going to come for a few days and will be there for the next appointment. I think what you are saying about pregnancy for you relating so well to deployment emotions makes perfect sense. And I just wish there was something to put in the mail to help ease the roller coaster effect it has.
Posted by: wifeunit at July 22, 2009 01:38 PM (4B1kO)
4
I am so relieved. And glad your mom is going to be there.
Posted by: dutchgirl at July 22, 2009 01:49 PM (hLAkQ)
Congratulations! I've been checking everyday for an update.
With my first pregnancy (back when I was blissfully ignorant of infertility), I didn't have an ultrasound until 20-weeks. On the second round, after months of negative HPTs, two miscarriages and a clomid-assisted IUI, you get very frequent monitoring, which in my case showed a subchorionic blood clot and my doctor basically saying--don't get too attached just yet--wait and see. It was several more weeks of weekly ultrasounds before the clot was absorbed and I was given the all clear. So you end up with this love/hate feeling about the ultrasound. Yes, it reassures you, but it can also get you worried about things you would have never otherwise known about.
I never went so far as to get a home doppler kit, but I seriously considered it.
I'm praying for John Elway.
Posted by: Christa at July 22, 2009 04:28 PM (2qSbp)
8
Dang, I NEVER thought I'd be rooting for John Elway
But in this
case, I am so an Elway fan!!!! Reeaalllly glad to read this today.
Whew. Enjoy having Mom around, and I'll be praying for more good news
next week!!
Posted by: RC at July 22, 2009 06:48 PM (0bg5E)
9
I'm getting my last chemo next Thurs and my mom is coming to be with me for a few days, just like you (but different reason). Sometimes you just need your mom - and I'm 51 and I STILL do sometimes! Hoping so badly that you and the baby are ok.
Posted by: Amy at July 22, 2009 09:02 PM (9fDOS)
10
Thinking lots of good thoughts for you and John Elway!
Posted by: Butterfly Wife at July 22, 2009 10:58 PM (x8bmT)
11
You ARE strong enough to do this on your own. You are just wise enough not to. I'm praying for John Elway and you and your dear hubby.
12
With the pregnancy and the deployment and the shadows of my life that have almost mimicked yours ... I will throw myself at your feet and come keep you company! I can weed, roll yarn bowls, toss bones for the pup, dirty dishes and cause laundry. Will that help? If that doesn't help we'll create a pouch for you! I'm sure a scientist somewhere has invented the pouch/kangaroo ... we'll find him together!
Posted by: Darla at July 22, 2009 11:28 PM (LP4DK)
SOOO glad to hear this. I am so, so thankful to hear this and hoping with you for another week.
And this:
Every moment that I am not looking at that ultrasound screen is a moment when I doubt the baby is alive. I know that is normal for many pregnant women, but for me it has been borne out by too much experience. Baby #2 died within a day of our seeing it on the ultrasound screen. And I don't lose babies naturally; I generally have to find out about it and take medicine to get it out. I won't know it's dead until I see it dead on screen.
Man, did I ever relate to this. I had both of my miscarriages and my two infections that followed the miscarriages diagnosed via ultrasound. I came to hate them. I too, lived for the next ultrasound with my pregnancy with Rusty. Praying that your ultrasounds contiue to show that beating heart and that precious babe.
Posted by: Stacy at July 23, 2009 09:45 PM (JGYbs)
17
So thankful that everything looked ok on u/s!! Glad to hear that your mother is coming to town to stay with you, too!
Posted by: Courtney at July 23, 2009 11:47 PM (q408u)
18
*sniffle* Yay!!! *hugs* And yes, thank heavens!!! :-) Will be maintaining thoughts & prayers... *more hugs*
Posted by: Krista at July 24, 2009 01:07 PM (sUTgZ)
19
Hooray! And may I suggest Gingerbons - made in Australia, ginger coated with a dusting of powdered sugar - ginger that is stretchy, but not candied. The British Navy used ginger for sea sickness, but it's also good for anyone's nausea. And you should have a military cure for morning sickness, don't you think?
Posted by: Oda Mae at July 25, 2009 03:55 PM (tKtQ9)
20
Wonderful news. Baby has a heartbeat. And I am so glad your Mother is coming out to visit, cause, sometimes a girl just needs her Mama to lean on and love on.
Posted by: Pamela at July 28, 2009 01:29 AM (NazsP)
Afghanistan's sheer distances are the chief problem. It is not just
that there is no factory. It is not just that the factory has no
electricity. It is not just that the worker has no education that
would make him able to take a job in the factory if you built one and
provided it with energy. What could rural Afghanistan produce that is
worth enough to make it worthwhile to export -- by donkey, over
mountains, in many cases?
Comments and links are worth reading too.
Posted by: Sarah at
09:21 AM
| No Comments
| Add Comment
Post contains 99 words, total size 1 kb.
1
Sometimes I felt uncomfortable speaking of Obama as if he were a Communist, but he might as well be one. Of course, he doesn't care about the CPUSA. They lack the power he craves. But they share the same goals. Omerica = USSA. RIP USA?
No Communist conspiracy theories, please. Obama is not the puppet of the CPUSA. They lack the power he craves - and has. The horrifying thing about Obama is not that he is a secret alien, Muslim, or Communist - he's none of the above - but what he does in the public eye for all to see. Unfortunately, so few look. Content with vOting for him, they sit back and wait for their handOuts.
Posted by: Amritas at July 21, 2009 12:53 PM (+nV09)
I just thought I'd recap some of my experiences, which aren't that far off from what Crowder went through in Canada. A "greatest hits," if you will, of the past two years of my life.
I wish my husband wasn't unreachable in Afghanistan, because he has some good stories too. I seem to remember him needing a physical a while back and thinking he had a 7 AM appointment. It turns out that 7 AM was just the cattle call: every soldier who needed a physical that day turned up at 7 AM to sit and wait his turn. I remember him saying there was a sign in the room that said something to the effect of "Have a seat; this WILL take all day." Heh.
Sean Hannity expressed surprise that Crowder had to take a number like it was a butcher shop or something. We take a number so often in the military life that I didn't even bat an eye at that. In fact, I take a number every week when I go in to get my bloodwork done.
In my experience, I have had trouble getting actual human beings to answer my questions and give me the help I need. Last year when I had Miscarriage #2:
I went home. And the next day, which was Friday,
I was supposed to get a phone consultation with the doctor and a
prescription filled. I called at 10 AM and left a message. I called
at noon and left another message on a different machine. An hour
later, I got a call back from one nurse, saying she'd follow up and
make sure my prescription got filled. At 2 PM, I called the advice
nurse and asked if she knew what was going on. At 3:30, the advice
nurse goes home. At 4:20, no one is answering the phones in reception
any more. At 4:30, you can no longer leave messages on voicemail. I
called the pharmacy: no prescription had been called in. And now it
was the weekend. My mother said, "You mean NO ONE is available to help
you on the weekend?"
My mother was freaking out. "This is how things work for you? You
haven't talked to a human being all day long, just answering
machines!" But for me, this was totally normal. I never talk to human
beings when I call the hospital. I don't even know how to call a human
being, save the advice nurse. In fact, that's why I called her in the
afternoon, just because she's the only human being I know how to
reach! My mom was shocked that someone, anyone!, didn't call me during
the day to let me know what was going on.
My husband called from Iraq at 5:15 PM to see how things were going.
Five minutes later, the doctor beeped in. I had to hang up with my
husband from Iraq to talk to the doctor! If that doesn't suck, I don't
know what does.
Sometimes I've had trouble getting an actual human being to remember I'm being cared for. During Miscarriage #1, they wheeled my hospital bed back to the ultrasound room, and when they were done, they left me in the hallway and said somebody would take me back to the ER. Well, somebody forgot. They left me lying there alone in a hallway after just telling me my baby was dead for an hour. I begged anyone who walked by me to call someone to come get me, but still no one came.
Waiting...yep, I'm familiar with it.
A few months ago I went to the weekend clinic because I thought I might have strep throat. I had an appointment but still had to wait an hour past my appointment time to be seen. He looked at my throat, said he would test for strep, and sent me home. I was to call in 48 hours for the results, and if it was strep, they would then give me antibiotics. I called two days later and got an answering machine that said to leave a message and someone would call me back with my results within 48 hours. Two more days later, they called and said I didn't have strep. By that time, my symptoms had pretty much gone away, but thank heavens I didn't have strep, because then I would've had to go back in to get the meds. Four days to let me know if I had strep. The reason I went in on the weekend is because I deal with children in my job and didn't want to pass strep to them.
And we have the Canadian-style waiting that Crowder experienced. I had to go to the ER on a Friday night back in January:
Since it was a Friday night and I wouldn't be able to reach my
doctor or nurse until Monday, we decided we'd better head to the ER.
Luckily we ate dinner first, because we had no idea what we were in for.
I expected to be there until midnight. I didn't expect to be there
until 4:30 AM. During that time, I had less than ten minutes of actual
medical care -- take blood pressure, ask about my symptoms, quick
pelvic exam -- and was eventually told...drumroll..."Geez, I don't know
anything about fertility stuff, so just call your doctor Monday
morning."
In the meantime, while we were sitting around all night, I also wrote about the family next to us:
The gist is that the daughter had a chronic problem that had been
happening for months. The parents were separated and the mother was
"too lazy" to make the kid an appointment. The dad said that he works
here in the hospital and had asked colleagues about his daughter's
problem, but since it persisted, they wanted to have it checked out.
On a Friday night. In the ER.
There was no emergency, no sudden change in her condition that made
them feel that treatment was necessary, nothing like that. This dad
just brought his three kids in to spend the night in the ER. My husband
and I were there for eight hours, until 5 AM, and this family had
arrived before us and was still there when we left.
That is not an emergency.
This family was clogging up the ER and making me and, more importantly,
other people with more pressing problems wait longer. They were sapping
resources. If you work in the hospital, can't you find the time to make
an appointment for your daughter? Why are you taking care of a child's
chronic health problem in the middle of the night on a Friday?
Because you don't have to pay anything either way, that's why.
Why make a regular doctor's appointment during the week, and have to
ask for time off work and take the kid out of school, when you could
just bring everyone to camp out in the ER all night. There is no cost
difference, so it's just easier to do it off hours.
No wonder it took me so long to be seen. And I feel even worse for the
guy with the gall stones; he really would've liked to have been treated
faster.
I am sure that this family isn't the only one of its kind. They bog
down the system for all of us. A problem that's been going on for three
months is not something that requires ER care on a weekend. Make a
normal appointment and free up that ER doctor for someone who really
needs him.
And that, I think, is the crux of the problem. We don't pay for any of our care, so for most people, it's easier to take care of things on nights and weekends than it is to do it during the week. What's the difference, we don't pay either way. And I'm guilty of abusing the system as well: if I had had to pay $100 to go in and find out if I had strep or not, I probably wouldn't have. I would've taken a cough drop and dealt with it. But I used resources because they were free.
Or at least, free to me. Somebody paid.
After Miscarriage #2, the doctor was telling me my options. These words actually came out of his mouth: "Well, we could do another D&C surgery, but that costs the taxpayers an awful lot of money, so maybe you could consider miscarrying naturally?"
Don't let anyone tell you that medical decisions won't be made based on cost once the government is in charge. I have already experienced it firsthand in the military system.
2
AWTM, can you imagine if Sarah were mentioned on Glenn Beck? "Here's a story by a military wife who's experienced socialized medicine firsthand ..." Then he reads part of her post. And what if that clip were immortalized on YouTube?
Posted by: Amritas at July 21, 2009 01:02 PM (+nV09)
3
When I worked in a MN clinic we had numerous Canadian patients that paid out-of-pocket for cardiac surgery because they had been put on several year waiting lists in Canada.
2-3 years to wait for open-heart surgery? I can't even begin to say how ridiculous that is.
AWTM, I hope he reads it too!
Posted by: Susan at July 21, 2009 01:10 PM (Y8ZGj)
I called my insurance company to ask which ER I should go to because I was having chest pain (from indigestion) they told me to dial 911. Which I was not going to do in the city. I took a cab instead. People had been waiting for so long they were ordering Chinese food and having it delivered to the ER waiting room.
But on the other hand when I was pregant and they thought it might be ectopic I got an emergency appt that day with the head of the practice (my friend who is a doc at that hospital was shocked they didn't give me to an intern), plus a trans vaginal and a regular ultrasound that day. No waiting.
I bitch about how expensive my insurance is but I will gladly pay for it.
5Don't let anyone tell you that medical decisions won't be made based on cost once the government is in charge.
Shhhh, Sarah, don't give away our game!
We think of all the money wasted on caring for Omegas, even Gammas and Betas. There are millions and millions of you and so few of us Alphas. If our freeee healthcare harms or even kills some lesser Omericans, we don't care. We can always import millions more from Mexico. And we are sure millions of Afghans and Iraqis would love to join our forces when they flee the Middle East. Imagine your tax dollars paying for Taliban freedom fighter healthcare in your town! Only we elites deserve the best treatments - funded by you. The rest are expendable.
"Half of China may well have to die" - Mao
To keep costs down, we could license 'doctors' from fly-by-night
medical 'schools'. Maybe even a few witch doctors. Literally. Anyone
who objects must be anti-diversity and arrested by the civilian
security fOrce. Omerica will only be following in the footsteps of South Africa:
A sangoma is a practitioner of herbal medicine, divination and counselling in traditional Nguni (Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and Swazi) societies of Southern Africa (effectively an African shaman) ... Public health specialists are now enlisting sangomas in the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS ...
Sangomas far outnumber western-style doctors in Southern Africa, and
are consulted first (or exclusively) by approximately 80% of the
indigenous population.
Just imagine ... socialist sangomas! You'll pay for them, and yet they'll be 'free'!
Posted by: kevin at July 21, 2009 01:54 PM (+nV09)
6
Sarah, each of your stories shocked me when I read them in isolation, but
... when they're compiled into one post ...
... when I realize that you're not an exception, that there are many others who've gone through the same things ... or worse ...
I don't know what to say other than "no" to socialized medicine.
There are things I admire about the military, but this is definitely not one of them!
Posted by: Amritas at July 21, 2009 02:39 PM (+nV09)
At our hospital, folks would go to the ER because for non-emergent, but still urgent care that they needed to be seen for they couldn't get an appointment within two weeks to be seen. I'd call and say I need an appointment for my 1 year old who has a 104 degree fever. They'd say, "Hmmm... let's look at Peds. We have an appointment for a month from tomorrow. Will that work?" Well of course that wouldn't work. When I finally, 6 months in, came to terms with the fact that I had PPD, it was a month before I could get in to see my doctor. That was a LONG month.
So on base here, people would go to the ER for non-emergent care because the clinics couldn't or wouldn't see us in a timely manner. It was the only way we could be seen sometimes! And so yeah--you gotta believe the works were junked up.
And then don't get me started on the restrictions they impose on making appointments. You have to call at the right time--beause after the doctor releases their schedule, it's filled up for a month within two days, but if you call for a regular care appointment that you know you're going to need a month or even 2 weeks early to be sure you'll get in they'll say, "I'm sorry. We can't make appointments out that far."
So that's my experience. And, like you, because of my experience with military medicine, though God knows the 'price' has been a Godsend for us, I am firmly AGAINST universalized medicine--and that's even considering my lefty leanings.
8
I tell people all the time that yeah it'd be nice if everyone had healthcare but they DO.NOT.WANT. what we get. My doctor in bootcamp held an x-ray of my leg up to the ceiling light while he was seated at his desk and told me my leg wasn't broken (it was, in two places). Then he scheduled my next appointment for while he was on leave, which I only found out after I walked a mile and a half on the still broken leg to the clinic the day of my appointment. When I stood there in tears from the pain and asked the receptionist if I could see a different doctor, I was told no because he WAS my doctor. And what was I supposed to do? It's not like I could take my business elsewhere or complain to anybody who actually cared. It didn't even get casted for another five months when it was still broken and I failed my sea duty screening--which is the ONLY reason they allowed it to be casted. All told, three separate breaks and ten months to heal. Yeah, I want that for everybody!
Posted by: Ann M. at July 22, 2009 09:59 PM (+GQ3g)
9
I've spent almost my entire life going to the Naval hospital here in town . . . I have a LOT of stories! I was safe and happy in the OB department, which seems to have its act together. I wanted to stay as far away from Family Practice (or whatever they call it now) as I could.
So far, my favorite doctors are the civilians who work there.
Posted by: Deltasierra at July 23, 2009 01:55 AM (unCAk)
I remember when developed a sinus infection right out of basic training and had that infection for eight months. Doctor after doctor refused to give me antibiotics. Most insisted that I would go into septic shock, even though I had antibiotics for various diseases my whole life. Some claimed that prescribing me antibiotics would cause my body to mutate into an antibiotic-resistant blob, consuming millions of innocent victims before a new strain could be found.
The prescription was constantly "just take some over the counter antihistamines." When I would begin to tolerate them, they would tell me to increase the dosages. I took OTC antihistamines for so long I started having terrible nightmares and sleep problems, psychological problems, tremors, sweats.
Finally after eight months, one single military doctor prescribed antibiotics. Within a week my nose had cleared up. Depending on who you talk to the psychological and sleep issues took several months to improve, some of my friends and family claim I am different to this day.
Posted by: Phang at July 23, 2009 06:37 PM (5YBfn)
11
It's probably worth noting that the a significant portion of TriCare's customer base--the active duty military--is noticeably healthier on average than most of the citizenry. They had to be pretty healthy to get in, they have to stay pretty healthy (and pretty active) (and relatively thin) to stay in. And yet the stories I read (and have lived) demonstrate a level of care that many civilians would find absolutely unacceptable.
What happens when the same universal coverage is applied to the general civilian populace? Does anyone really think that their satisfaction with their health care is going to improve?
12
My spouse was an Air Force doc until recently. It is really easy to view the military MD as an evil villian and civilian docs working for Tri- Care as heroes. But the civ docs are like any civ working on base...it is a pretty sweet gig .... you get the benefits of working for a system without having the lawyers breathing down your neck and often a lot of benefits usually reserved to military members with the added benefit of treating a patient population that MUST comply or at least will be pressured to.....WITHOUT having to answer to administrative command who hold your entire career and lives in their hand and without having to live with deployments, recalls and constant SNAFU politically based policy shifting. They punch in and punch out....something most docs working in the private sector can't even do. The worst thing for medical care is to make it totally free.....medicaid patients are horribly (and accurately) notorious for abusing and clogging up the medical system. Example: The guy who walked into my husband's ER with a rash at 2AM (!). When asked how long he had had it........A COUPLE OF MONTHS! nice...
Posted by: hillbilly mama at July 25, 2009 12:07 AM (REtDW)
What happens when the same universal coverage is applied to the general
civilian populace? Does anyone really think that their satisfaction
with their health care is going to improve?
Civilians can pretty much get away with being ignorant about the military but this is one instance where a lack of knowledge could lead to a lot of hurt. None of the arguments I've heard for socialized health care ever bring up the military, probably because those who make those arguments know nothing about the military.
hillbilly mama,
Thanks for writing,
It is really easy to view the military MD as an evil villain
My mother is a civilian who has worked with military medical personnel for years. Most are good, while some are ... not as good. However, that describes people in general. The problem is not "evil" MDs - military or civilian - but the pitfalls inherent in a 'free' government-run health care system.
Posted by: Amritas at July 25, 2009 01:56 AM (h9KHg)
14
I will add that my military dentist in Germany was the best dentist I've ever had. The optometrist, not so much. I don't generally worry whether the doctor wears a uniform or not.
Posted by: Sarah at July 25, 2009 09:20 AM (TWet1)
I've been told by military Dr.s before that they don't care about their patients. They get paid the same amount whether or not they come in to work and even if they do their job right. They're not making the same money as civilian Dr.s, so why should they care.
They butchered my son in a surgery. They've told me for yrs that I'm depressed, etc so they don't have to waste time on me. Turns out that I'm not depressed, but have some major intestinal bacterial infection. They still after a yr. can't find what's causing it to continue. No one cares.
However, until the libs have their way with the health care, we're getting more civilian Dr.s in the military hospitals. They are paid more to care and you can clearly see the difference if you're lucky enough to see one.
Posted by: Lisa Keyser at July 25, 2009 12:29 PM (uvsIW)
PEEK-A-BOO
Stacy commissioned a baby blanket for her son a while back, and she put up pics of him with it. I sure hope he likes it! It looked so small while I was making it and so big now next to a little boy...
157kb generated in CPU 0.0731, elapsed 0.1361 seconds.
63 queries taking 0.1076 seconds, 337 records returned.
Powered by Minx 1.1.6c-pink.
Search Thingy
There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living. --The Count of Monte Cristo--
While our troops go out to defend our country, it is incumbent upon us to make the country worth defending. --Deskmerc--
Contrary to what you've just seen, war is neither glamorous nor fun. There are no winners, only losers. There are no good wars, with the following exceptions: The American Revolution, WWII, and the Star Wars Trilogy. --Bart Simpson--
If you want to be a peacemaker, you've gotta learn to kick ass. --Sheriff of East Houston, Superman II--
Going to war without France is like going deer hunting without an accordion. You just leave a lot of useless noisy baggage behind. --Jed Babbin--
Dante once said that the hottest places in hell are reserved for those who in a period of moral crisis maintain their neutrality. --President John F. Kennedy--
War is a bloody, killing business. You've got to spill their blood, or they will spill yours. --General Patton--
We've gotta keep our heads until this peace craze blows over. --Full Metal Jacket--
Those who threaten us and kill innocents around the world do not need to be treated more sensitively. They need to be destroyed. --Dick Cheney--
The Flag has to come first if freedom is to survive. --Col Steven Arrington--
The purpose of diplomacy isn't to make us feel good about Eurocentric diplomatic skills, and having countries from the axis of chocolate tie our shoelaces together does nothing to advance our infantry. --Sir George--
I just don't care about the criticism I receive every day, because I know the cause I defend is right. --Oriol--
It's days like this when we're reminded that freedom isn't free. --Chaplain Jacob--
Bumper stickers aren't going to accomplish some of the missions this country is going to face. --David Smith--
The success of multilateralism is measured not merely by following a process, but by achieving results. --President Bush--
Live and act within the limit of your knowledge and keep expanding it to the limit of your life.
--John Galt--
First, go buy a six pack and swig it all down. Then, watch Ace Ventura. And after that, buy a Hard Rock Cafe shirt and come talk to me. You really need to lighten up, man.
--Sminklemeyer--
You've got to kill people, and when you've killed enough they stop fighting --General Curtis Lemay--
If we wish to be free, if we mean to preserve inviolate those inestimable privileges for which we have been so long contending, if we mean not basely to abandon the noble struggle in which we have been so long engaged, and which we have pledged ourselves never to abandon until the glorious object of our contest shall be obtained -- we must fight! --Patrick Henry--
America has never been united by blood or birth or soil. We are bound by ideals that move us beyond our backgrounds, lift us above our interests and teach us what it means to be citizens. Every child must be taught these principles. Every citizen must uphold them. And every immigrant, by embracing these ideals, makes our country more, not less, American. --President George W. Bush--
are usually just cheerleading sessions, full of sound and fury and signifying nothing but a soothing reduction in blood pressure brought about by the narcotic high of being agreed with. --Bill Whittle
War is an ugly thing, but not the ugliest of things. The decayed and degraded state of moral and patriotic feeling which thinks that nothing is worth war is much worse. The person who has nothing for which he is willing to fight, nothing which is more important than his own personal safety, is a miserable creature and has no chance of being free unless made and kept so by the exertions of better men than himself.
--John Stuart Mill--
We are determined that before the sun sets on this terrible struggle, our flag will be recognized throughout the world as a symbol of freedom on the one hand and of overwhelming force on the other. --General George Marshall--
We can continue to try and clean up the gutters all over the world and spend all of our resources looking at just the dirty spots and trying to make them clean. Or we can lift our eyes up and look into the skies and move forward in an evolutionary way.
--Buzz Aldrin--
America is the greatest, freest and most decent society in existence. It is an oasis of goodness in a desert of cynicism and barbarism. This country, once an experiment unique in the world, is now the last best hope for the world.
--Dinesh D'Souza--
Recent anti-Israel protests remind us again of our era's peculiar alliance: the most violent, intolerant, militantly religious movement in modern times has the peace movement on its side. --James Lileks--
As a wise man once said: we will pay any price, bear any burden, meet any hardship, support any friend, oppose any foe, in order to assure the survival and the success of liberty.
Unless the price is too high, the burden too great, the hardship too hard, the friend acts disproportionately, and the foe fights back. In which case, we need a timetable.
--James Lileks--
I am not willing to kill a man so that he will agree with my faith, but I am prepared to kill a man so that he cannot force my compatriots to submit to his.
--Froggy--
You can say what you want about President Bush; but the truth is that he can take a punch. The man has taken a swift kick in the crotch for breakfast every day for 6 years and he keeps getting up with a smile in his heart and a sense of swift determination to see the job through to the best of his abilties.
--Varifrank--
In a perfect world, We'd live in peace and love and harmony with each oither and the world, but then, in a perfect world, Yoko would have taken the bullet.
--SarahBellum--
Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same, or one day we will spend our sunset years telling our children and our children's children what it was once like in the United States where men were free. --Ronald Reagan--
America is rather like life. You can usually find in it what you look for. It will probably be interesting, and it is sure to be large. --E.M. Forster--
Do not fear the enemy, for your enemy can only take your life. It is far better that you fear the media, for they will steal your HONOR. That awful power, the public opinion of a nation, is created in America by a horde of ignorant, self-complacent simpletons who failed at ditching and shoemaking and fetched up in journalism on their way to the poorhouse. --Mark Twain--
The Enlightenment was followed by the French Revolution and the Napoleonic wars, which touched every European state, sparked vicious guerrilla conflicts across the Continent and killed millions. Then, things really turned ugly after the invention of soccer. --Iowahawk--
Every time I meet an Iraqi Army Soldier or Policeman that I haven't met before, I shake his hand and thank him for his service. Many times I am thanked for being here and helping his country. I always tell them that free people help each other and that those that truly value freedom help those seeking it no matter the cost. --Jack Army--
Right, left - the terms are useless nowadays anyway. There are statists, and there are individualists. There are pessimists, and optimists. There are people who look backwards and trust in the West, and those who look forward and trust in The World. Those are the continuums that seem to matter the most right now. --Lileks--
The best argument against democracy is a five-minute conversation with the average voter.
--Winston Churchill--
A man or a nation is not placed upon this earth to do merely what is pleasant and what is profitable. It is often called upon to carry out what is both unpleasant and unprofitable, but if it is obviously right it is mere shirking not to undertake it. --Arthur Conan Doyle--
A man who has nothing which he cares about more than he does about his personal safety is a miserable creature who has no chance of being free, unless made and kept so by the existing of better men than himself. --John Stuart Mill--
After the attacks on September 11, 2001, most of the sheep, that is, most citizens in America said, "Thank God I wasn't on one of those planes." The sheepdogs, the warriors, said, "Dear God, I wish I could have been on one of those planes. Maybe I could have made a difference." --Dave Grossman--
At heart I’m a cowboy; my attitude is if they’re not going to stand up and fight for what they believe in then they can go pound sand. --Bill Whittle--
A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury, with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship. --Alexander Tyler--
By that time a village half-wit could see what generations of professors had pretended not to notice. --Atlas Shrugged--
I kept asking Clarence why our world seemed to be collapsing and everything seemed so shitty. And he'd say, "That's the way it goes, but don't forget, it goes the other way too." --Alabama Worley--
So Bush is history, and we have a new president who promises to heal the planet, and yet the jihadists don’t seem to have got the Obama message that there are no enemies, just friends we haven’t yet held talks without preconditions with.
--Mark Steyn--
"I had started alone in this journey called life, people started
gathering up on the way, and the caravan got bigger everyday." --Urdu couplet
The book and the sword are the two things that control the world. We either gonna control them through knowledge and influence their minds, or we gonna bring the sword and take their heads off. --RZA--
It's a daily game of public Frogger, hopping frantically to avoid being crushed under the weight of your own narcissism, banality, and plain old stupidity. --Mary Katharine Ham--
There are more instances of the abridgment of freedoms
of the people by gradual and silent encroachment of those in power than by violent and sudden usurpations. --James Madison--
It is in the heat of emotion that good people must remember to stand on principle. --Larry Elder--
Please show this to the president and ask him to remember the wishes of the forgotten man, that is, the one who dared to vote against him. We expect to be tramped on but we do wish the stepping would be a little less hard. --from a letter to Eleanor Roosevelt--
The world economy depends every day on some engineer, farmer, architect, radiator shop owner, truck driver or plumber getting up at 5AM, going to work, toiling hard, and producing real wealth so that an array of bureaucrats, regulators, and redistributors can manage the proper allotment of much of the natural largess produced. --VDH--
Parents are often so busy with the physical rearing of children that they miss the glory of parenthood, just as the grandeur of the trees is lost when raking leaves. --Marcelene Cox--