Socialized Medicine

Who wouldn’t love to be able to go to the doctor whenever you want on someone else’s dime? I can understand why people feel this way, especially those who are unable to afford health insurance but make too much money to qualify for medicare or medicaid. But, while some European countries can afford to pay for health care for everyone (at least for a while) their service is slow and the government gets to decide what doctor you can use, or whether you can go to the doctor. Maybe its just me, but I’d rather take my chances with an insurance company. At least I can choose to go elsewhere. With the government, you have no other options. Unless you’re really wealthy and can afford to pay for a private doctor.

Anyway, with the movie Sicko hitting theaters to rave revues, and many comments about how wonderful Castro’s socialized medicine system is in Cuba, I thought I’d do a little picture post courtesy of therealcuba.com

Here is a toilet in the emergency room at a Cuban hospital

Here’s the actual emergency room

Here’s where you’d get a blood sample taken

The wash basin in the orthopedic wing

And finally, here’s a picture of one of Cuba’s old folks homes. The brown stuff on the floor… take a guess

Socialized Medicine… I’ll take my chance with the evil capitalists.

Coulter v Edwards

I’m not typically one to run to the defense of Anne Coulter (or for Mark Elrod readers, ‘She who will not be named’) but after seeing what happened on Hardball on Tuesday, I can’t help standing up for her.

Watch the video and then read my comments.

First, this set up was completely uncouth. The guerilla ambush of Anne on a live national broadcast is sketchy at best.

Second, who in Edwards campaign thought this would be a good idea. Your candidate gets called a woman and effeminate and then you send your wife to do your dirty work. Is that not playing into the hands of your political enemies?

Third, Coulter is a satirist. She says some things that cross the line, but from what I’ve read she hasn’t said anything about the Edwards that I would consider off limits. She uses satire to point out their hypocrisy. Whether its being the “champion of the poor” and living in a 26000 sq ft house, getting a 400 dollar hair cut, working for a hedge fund, or starting an anti poverty group that pays you an enormous salary.

Fourth, the Edwards have been using Anne for fundraising purposes for a while. Anne called Elizabeth out on the show about that. And what do they do immediately after this episode of Hardball airs? Use it to try and raise money.

Their campaign is floudering. They are trying any and everything to keep afloat. Whether its trumping up how bad her cancer is, or guerrilla attacking a columnist on a live news show, they will do whatever it takes to raise money.

Why We Shouldn’t Go to War With Iran

Things are collapsing there. They have been for a while. The only thing that could possibly revive the popularity of the Theocratic state there is an invasion by us or Israel.

Check out this article 

Cops Have Issues

I read something yesterday about how cops get addicted to adrenaline, and that they don’t do stuff to “serve and protect” but just to keep getting that rush. What I read was written by a former narcotics agent. And then I see this, and I wonder if it isn’t true. This is obviously a ridiculous use for force for a minor offense. Sure the kids ran away, but I’d probably run too if I were 15 years old and a policeman is choking my friend. And I definitely would have stepped in when he started throwing a teenage girl around like a ragdoll.

Andrew Sullivan Weighs in on Socialized Medicine

He grew up in Britain, so he should know.

 Once the government concedes it has an obligation not only to provide healthcare for the truly needy, but for everyone, and everyone equally, the floodgates open. When the market for something is infinite – and who doesn’t want better and better health in an era of technological advance? – rationing is essential. Either the market rations it, or government does. I know which one I trust more.

A Little Fun Over the Weekend

Friday Night, Carrie and I went to a show in Nashville to see some friend’s band play. They are on tour, headed to a festival that they are playing for the second year in a row. The show was excellent (and only had a 6 dollar cover) and afterwards, we all went back to my place for drinks. The band ended up staying there, all six of them. I wasn’t sure we were gonna be able to fit them all in the living room, but we managed and it ended up being a fun night.

I met a guy named Shane that night as well. When several of the band members and I were outside hanging out drinking beer (doesn’t that just fit right in in east nashville?) Shane came up to us to say that he’d be back in a second, that he was a god, and that he was going to get numb. I wasn’t sure exactly what he meant at the time, but I imagined he was going to get high in some form or fashion.

He came back about 15 minutes later and sat down and just started hanging out with us, high as a paper kite. He was nice, though I couldn’t quite understand everything he was talking about. He offered to buy me a rock of crack cocaine, to which I declined, but we did have  a pretty good time sitting out there talking.

Even though Shane was likely up on crack, we just sat there and talked to him. For 30 minutes or so. Just like he was one of the guys. I don’t know that Shane is going to quit using anytime soon, but I felt blessed just to meet him. I’ve decided its not my place to try and fix anyone, and shunning them is not going to do the job either. Many of these people, homeless, addicts, thieves, dealers…. they are my neighbors. And living in this neighborhood, they aren’t just my figurative neighbor (you know the love they neighbor stuff that Jesus said). They are actually my neighbors. They live under overpasses or behind buildings near me. They live in the house next door and in the apartments two doors down. They are my neighbors. And I’m going to treat them that way. Its just that in this neighborhood, instead of borrowing a cup of sugar, sometimes your neighbors need someone to treat them with decency or to buy them some groceries. I think Christians would do good to spend more time around folks like these.

More Global Warming News… or Cooling?

No Al Gore bashing from me today. Just read a pretty heavy piece about why global warming is caused by the sun, and why we should be worried more about global cooling.

My Neighbor

I met Bootsie two days before my wedding. She had lost her cat and upon seeing my cat in the window, she thought maybe I’d picked hers up.

Bootsie lives two doors down in an apartment complex above a dilapidated electronics shop. She seemed really nice, she’s definitely old,  and I told her at our original meeting that if I saw her cat, I’d let her know.

This morning as I was heading out the door to work, she was walking by and asked if I’d seen her kitty. I said no, but I’d keep looking for it. She then asked if she could have a couple of dollars to go buy bologna and some bread at the store ’cause she was out of groceries. I didn’t have any cash, so I offered to drive her over to the store to pick up some things.  We picked her up enough food to last her and her husband a good week or two, and headed back home. I helped her taking the groceries upstairs and checked out her apartment. Its a studio with a kitchenette, about 350 square feet. It was kinda dirty, but not filthy, but it was obvious that she and her husband are struggling.

And she had a precious kitten that looked just like my cat. So I went inside and petted and played with it a bit, before I headed to work.

I think I’m gonna invite her over for dinner sometime… and keep checking up on her and her husband. They are too old to work, and I don’t know if they get social security or not, but they are obviously struggling, and I’ve never ever seen this woman out begging before.

If you think about it, say a prayer for Bootsie.

Alli, the new OTC diet pill

Before you start taking this, check out this post. You may laugh hysterically, and you definitely won’t take the pill unless you are so lazy that you’d rather crap your pants daily than get outside and exercise.

Ron Paul in The American Conservative

Brilliant article. They acknowledge what many don’t. That Ron Paul is the closest thing to Ronald Reagan that is out there right now, and the party that claims to worship Reagan just demonizes Paul.

Sad.