Nightly Protest From the Rooftops of Iran

Listen to the sounds of protest from the rooftops of Iran.... the voice of a child in the darkness crying out " God is Great"

These voices in the night have more power than nuclear weapons. Watch the video below and add your prayers to the chorus. In the end, whatever our religion,we are all children of the same God. In the end a mushroom cloud will kill us all.

May God bless the brave Iranians whose voices are heard every night on the rooftops of Iran.

Medicare Is Socialized Medicine

Listen up my fellow Americans, especially those of you who fear that socialized medicine is the work of Satan.

Here in America we already have socialized medicine in the form of Medicare, a single payer, government run system for people over 65 and the disabled. Medicare comes in two parts. Part A covers hospitalization and Part B covers various tests and outpatient treatments.

Guess what, under this government run, single payer system, seniors get to choose their own doctors, their own hospitals, and since their health care is administered by the federal government, its administrative costs are much less than those of private health insurance companies( even given bloated government bureaurocracy).

There are no referrals or permissions necessary as with HMO's. On top of that, every hospital in the country accepts Medicare which means a New Yorker who breaks an arm in Arizona won't be turned away from the local emergency room if he hasn't got cash or a credit card. Medicare is good everywhere in the United States.

Scare Tactics

It amazes me how many grey-hairs I see in videos and TV coverage of the protests against the health care legislation now being hammered out in Congress. I'm stunned to find that many of these mature adults who are screaming about socialized medicine like it was the end of days, do not realize that Medicare, on which they rely, is socialized medicine. It may not be perfect, but it works. Every doctor I know spends more time hassling with insurance companies and filling out forms than seeing patients. Physicians can opt out of Medicare, but most don't. The fees aren't as high as for private insurance, but there is less hassle and they do get paid. Every hospital has a huge accounting staff just to handle insurance billing as every Insurance company has different rules, different forms and a different contract with the hospital.

Here's what folks. The American health care system is broken. We have to fix it, pronto. Entrenched Insurance interests are trying to scare the pants off you not because they care about you, but because they care about their bottom line. They won't make as much money if everybody has the single payer government option. It's that simple. They are businesses with a primary fiduciary responsibility to their investors and shareholders not to you. You are the product on which they make a profit. That's the way business works and in this country, health care is a business and a very lucrative one at that.

If I have to choose between corporate greed and government beaurocracy, I'll take the government. But you don't have to. As the President says " If you like your present plan you can keep it" Something for everybody. In the meantime, please remember that Medicare is not a dirty word.. Millions of seniors depend upon it and are happy to have it.

Today In Iran They Remembered Neda

Today in Iran they remembered Neda, the young woman whose shooting by a rooftop sniper made her a symbol of the opposition to Iran's ruling theocracy, and a martyr to the cause.

Today, July 30th, it is 40 days, since she was gunned down in the streets of Tehran during post election demonstrations-- an important interval in terms of Iranian mourning customs. Family, friends, and reformers asked for governmental permission to mourn at the graveside. It was denied.Word went out, by word of mouth and on the internet, that mourners were to gather at Beheshteh Zahra cemetery in Tehran with Neda's family at the grave today. Thousands did just that in a breathtaking show of solidarity . In spite of attempts to stifle communication with the outside world, the internet is full of words and images from Iran today, and of demonstrations in the name of Neda

You can read the excellent, English language reports from people on the scene at the Tehran Bureau website. There is a good slide show of today's events posted online by an Iranian blogger. One of my favorite American political bloggers has done an excellent post which gives the blow by blow of today's action. Another good source of information is the New York Times blog The Lede, which has been filing reports from Iran all day long. Videos are being uploaded to YouTube by the minute it seems, The one below was filed today. Have a look. Neda may be gone, but she is far from forgotten.








photo source:http://twitpic.com/c5ai9

Sunday Gold Star for Susan

Susan's blog, Everyday People, is one of my favorites. She gets a gold star from me today for talking about right and left wing conspiracy theories in a post I can only say I wish I had written. It is just terrific. Go have a look for yourself.

Everyday People: Enough With the Conspiracy Theories!

My Experience With Socialized Medicine

They are wrangling in Congress right now about universal healthcare. Everybody knows that the current American system is broken, but there is a lot of disagreement about how to fix it. Personally, I think that what we need is a single payer, government run system or what a lot folks are referring to rather stridently as " socialized medicine".

They say it like they are discussing Armageddon. You would think that Joe Stalin was going to come back from the grave and throw them all into prison or something. " You won't get to choose your doctor" they say. Well, do you get to choose your doctor now? is my response. Not if you have an employer funded health insurance plan. Your employer chooses your doctor not you and if you lose your job( as millions of Americans are in the process of doing) you won't have any insurance at all. Get a grip folks. The only people doing well under the American system are the insurance companies and big pharma.

I had a personal experience with socialized medicine a few years ago in Iceland. I sprained my ankle very badly( I'd like to say I did it hiking a difficult mountain pass, but I actually fell off a curb in Akranes)In any case, it was a bad sprain. My foot was the size of a basketball and I couldn't walk.

A friend took me to the local hospital. We walked in and within ten minutes I was seeing a very nice, white coated, English speaking doctor. There were no forms to fill out, no releases to sign. He examined my foot and sent me down the hall, where a nice technician(also English speaking) took four x-rays of my foot and ankle to make sure no bones were broken. Next, the doctor bound up my foot with some very tight supportive bandage, told me no bones were broken but I should stay off the foot and take ibuprophen. We shook hands and off I went to pay the bill. I was worried because I didn't have travel insurance and was wondering about the cost. I handed over my credit card. The total charge for everything, including the four x-rays was $50.00. The x-rays and emergency room visit in my home town would have been five times that amount, and I had no insurance at the time. It made a believer out of me, I can tell you.

47 million Americand have no health insurance, and the number is growing as jobs are lost. Many more are under-insured. The leading cause of bankruptcy in the USA is medical bills. People lose their homes if they get cancer or have a heart attack. It is crazy. The United States spends more on healthcare per capita than any other developed nation but we are at the bottom of the list when it comes to infant mortality and life expectancy. Medicine is not a business. It is not about profit. It is about people.

Let's hear it for socialized medicine