I think I'm just going to have to quit watching the news. I'm afraid to turn it on when I get home from my pseudo job in case someone brought a loaded gun to a town hall meeting and actually used it! I mean come on folks...enough is enough.
I understand that this is a HUGE issue and one that no one should take lightly. There are millions of citizens on both sides of the issue, that have legitimate questions about what is being proposed in this health care/insurance reform debate. I wouldn't know what anyone really wants to know because people are just going to these meetings and shouting. If you listen really carefully they're not really shouting anything that makes sense - they're just shouting. "EH!" "BOOOOO!" "ARGGGGGHHH!" Matey?
I think the thing that is starting to really bother me the most is that now people are attending these meetings to shout about everything BUT health care/insurance reform. They don't like taxes, they are, "...afraid of Obama...," (PLEASE can we call him Mr. Obama or President Obama even if you are "afraid of him"), they're comparing him to Hitler and Stalin (they have to read from a prepared statement in order not to get those two mixed up when talking about them), they don't want their guns taken away (I've read most of the health care reform proposals and I swear I didn't see anything in there about guns but if I went to one of these meetings I might want one to put myself out of my misery) - it's the chance all of the nuts have been waiting for! If that offends anyone...SORRY! These are people who also don't believe that President Obama is a citizen - they hear what they want to hear and they really don't want to hear the truth because it would destroy their conspiracy theories and wild ass ideas of rampant socialism and anarchy. But...I digress...
Hey...I believe in free speech - that's one of the many things I like about this country. But there is free speech and then there is intimidation and the mob mentality - NOT THE SAME! What is really sad is that there are regular folks, especially older folks, that have had the bejeezus scared out of them (I've always wanted to use that word in a sentence) with the hyperbole, hateful rhetoric and downright lies that have been sent to them. I think there is literally one email that has circulated throughout the country that started this whole thing. I got it, read it, laughed, started to answer it and address each point and then deleted it. Even the so called "right wing" media is perpetuating these lies and now we have at least two Republican Senators agreeing that we must be scared of this health plan. And can someone PULEEEEZZZ put Glenn Beck out of his/our misery!?!?!?!
You all know what I'm talking about - the "death panels!" After watching a clip of someone shouting out to their Congressman, "We're afraid of Obama! You should be afraid of Obama!" Jon Stewart just summed up the idiocy - "Obama scary man! Obama make sun go away!" Sarah Palin shoots off her mouth on Facebook about this whole thing and then has to back track - sorry hockey mom...already out there! Or did she "tweet" it? I forget...
I'm sure those of you who read this blog - all five of you - understand this part of the health care package as it reads, but let me just put it in plain English. There is one section in this massive bill that says doctors will be reimbursed, or patients will be if they have to file their own claim forms, IF THE PATIENT CHOOSES to meet with his/her doctor, and in some cases other family members, to discuss living wills and options on "end of life" care. They can do this if they are healthy, sick, young, middle aged, old - whenever. But if they ever become incapacitated or have a terminal illness they will know their options and might just have a living will that relieves their loved ones of having to make tough decisions. It's an individual's choice whether or not he or she wants to have this discussion outside of their family with a physician. The only thing that is changing is that for the first time a claim can be filed so that this service is covered by insurance. Voila - there you have it - that's it!
This is actually already going on right now - some doctors, those that have the time, sit down with patients when asked and discuss these things; healthy patients and those that are not healthy. The doctor can charge a patient for the time if they choose but it comes out of the patient's pocket to pay for this discussion. Most doctors don't even address this because they don't want to charge for it and because patients don't even know they can ask them about these things.
I think a discussion with your family and/or doctor, lawyer about a living will is a great idea. I'm drafting my own - since I have no money for an attorney - so that if something were to happen to me and say, I was brain dead, my family would not have to make the decision to turn off life support. Or if I am diagnosed with untreatable and terminal cancer, I can say to them...please don't spend a lot of money on treatments that will not work - put me in a hospice, or take me in your home IF YOU CHOOSE, keep me comfortable and let me die in peace. Not easy things to discuss but necessary. If anything, this one part of the health reform should be singled out, whether it passes or not, as a huge issue that should be addressed by everyone. I wish that I could reach out to all of the seniors who are literally scared to death (no pun intended) about this one passage and tell them that they are valued, that no American would ever want to devalue them and ration their health care and let them die, that President Obama and the members of Congress are human beings like us that would NEVER institute these so called "death panels."
The absolute worst thing I've seen so far on the coverage of these town hall mob scenes (they're not meetings in most cases so don't kid yourself) is what I saw tonight. I've seen a lot of people carrying some ridiculous signs at these mob gatherings - some have nothing to do with the health care discussion. "No more taxes!" "Obama's health care is kool-aid and I'm not thirsty!" (one of my personal favorites), "Adam really won American Idol - it was fixed!", "This is socialism!" (REALLY?), "My cat needs a bath and my monkey is on strike!" and so on. I actually laugh out loud at most of these. They are not relevant and the pictures they have on the signs are not only funny but also in most cases offensive. But today...I saw a mother put a sign in her young daughter's hands that read, "Obama Lies. Grandma Dies." The mother then sort of pointed her daughter towards the media cameras so that they would be sure and get the shot. Honest to God - and the young girl couldn't have been older than six or seven years old! If this was a parody I would be laughing...but it's not funny.
I'm afraid to go to one of these mob gatherings and I'm sure there are millions like me who are also afraid. Now there's a real irony - we're afraid of the people who have been reading things that have made them so scared they are turning to violence in some cases. And I'm afraid it is going to get worse - there are irresponsible people in power and in the news media that have left a loaded gun on the table...I hope it is never picked up and used.
Speaking of loaded guns...the man who showed up at the town hall meeting that President Obama had in New Hampshire with a LOADED pistol strapped to his leg thought it was the right thing to do. It was his right, by God, and he was going to exercise that right. How about exercising some good sense. In fact, when asked if the pistol was loaded he responded with, "Who would be silly enough to carry one that wasn't loaded?" It would have been bad enough if he were at any meeting, but he was at the meeting that the President of the United States was holding. He said he thought that if 1000 people came to that meeting with loaded guns it would have been safer. Is he nuts? Well, yes, I would say that he is a little off but that's just me.
And don't let anyone tell you that President Obama's town hall meeting was "stacked" with those who supported his plan, well his plan in general. There were plenty of people there that were not in favor of it; reporters scoured the crowd to make sure that there was a mix of those for and those against the plan. Here's the difference in his meeting and the others - they have respect for the President, or at least the Office of the Presidency, and showed that respect. I think it is a shame that people do not show the same respect for their Congressmen/women - they have worked very hard and are putting themselves out there just as he is.
What do I want? I want the health insurance companies to get out of the way of the care my doctor needs to give me. I want to be able to choose my doctor with no restrictions. I want pre-existing conditions to go away so that I can go to my endocrinologist as recommended and have my thyroid checked for cancer. And, so that my sister's diabetes care is covered - including free or affordable eye and foot exams. I want to be able to afford to purchase insurance if it is not provided by my employer, and if it is provided I want it provided to my employer at a reasonable cost so that I'm not picking up over half of the monthly premium. In fact, I have no problem whatsoever with it being a requirement that everyone carry health insurance. If there is a sliding scale of the cost based on your income, then we should all have insurance. We're required to carry at minimum auto liability insurance.
I want the drug companies to quit changing one molecule in a drug that is ready to have a generic version released on the market so that they can have the same drug released as a better version of the one they already have - they do this...really! I want the drug companies or the FDA to dramatically cut the time we wait for generic drugs to be released to the public. And, if it will help bring the cost down for those who have diabetes and are insulin dependent, make insulin a prescription that is covered by insurance. We all know why it is not a prescription - the insurance companies didn't want to pay for it. And it's not like these diabetics have a choice whether or not to inject insulin two to three times a day - they will die if they don't. How in the world did we let these companies get away with this?!
I would bet you everything I'm worth (not much of a bet right now, but whatever) that if every single person in this country were asked, "Do you think we need to fix our health care system and put some regulations on the health insurance companies and drug companies?" the answer would be shouted louder than any one has shouted in any mob scene so far...YES!!!!!!!!!! I don't have all of the answers - hell, I can't even hear the questions being asked, much less the answers to the questions! Let's all calm down, ask our questions, allow the answers to get past the lips of the person being asked, treat our neighbors and friends with whom we may or may not agree with respect, and figure out together how to fix this. If the bill put forth isn't what we want let's tell them to work on it and make it right. Let's not just say "no" to everything for the sake of politics. I don't want government involved in everything I do; I don't want our debt to go into overdrive; but I sure don't mind getting some help with this problem.
Folks...I may not agree with everything that the President wants to do but I do agree with his intent. And I do agree with him when he says that if we don't do something now, it will never get better. This has gone on long enough - let's fix it now so that not only will we reap the benefits of a better system, but also our children and grandchildren will look back and be proud that we took a stand and said we deserve something better than what we have today. And if you don't want to join me in this noble endeavor, then go find a monkey to wash your cat!
http://www.monkeywashingcat.com/
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