"We didn't come here to fear the future. We came here to shape it."
President Barak Obama - 9-9-09
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Flower and Song: the flowers - the gifts we receive; the songs - our offerings we leave behind. These are my public markings of both, offered in gratitude.
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- el poquito
- Barn's burnt down / now I can see / the moon. ~ Masahide samurai-poet (1657-1723)
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6 comments:
"...Under this plan, it will be against the law for insurance companies to deny you coverage because of a pre-existing condition. ...it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it most. They will no longer be able to place some arbitrary cap on the amount of coverage you can receive in a given year or a lifetime. We will place a limit on how much you can be charged for out-of-pocket expenses, because in the United States of America, no one should go broke because they get sick."
Yesterday was a great day all around: Obama presented his health-care plan, and the Beatles remixed catalog was released. Thank you, Oh Great Mystery! : )
Enjoy your many blissful moments, Mr Shark, listening again to all that great music with that young'n there.
xo
el
Honestly - I didn't hear it.
I was away for the week with some friends from high school (we graduated in 1966). We drove a long way to meet. We laughed, we talked, and we cried. Obama's speech only came up as a topic of conversation. Luckily (in our old age), we three are politically aligned (although in high school I was the Goldwater Republican), so there was no real contention when we talked. I didn't learn of the CONFLICT over the President's words until I returned home to watch TV.
The lesson I'm learning with this new, young, president, is - the truth is obvious. Even if people don't see or agree with the facts that I see, I need to look with my heart, not my brain or emotions. I need to keep visualizing the Little Prince, and the lesson he tried to teach the Pilot. "It's only with the heart that we see what is true".
I admit I'm more inclined to see Obama's finger pointing at the moon (the truth), than Bush's. Yes, I said it. Bush was TRYING to point to the truth. I see it know. Sadly, I was too angry to see Bush's efforts at the time.
Honestly, I don't know what's going to happen with the Health Care initiative. I know what "the right thing" is. I only hope congressmen and senators put aside their partisan banners long enough to realize it as well. Do I know where their fears are coming from? Yes, I do. I've been afraid, intimidated, and insecure in my job too. Would I vote for a bill if my career as an elected politician depended on it? I don't know. I DON'T KNOW. All I can do is HOPE that men and women will do the right thing.
My wife will pray. I think she has the better idea.I should too.
It's easier to be angry at the congressman who yelled "That's a lie!" at the president. But that is pointless. People disagree. Personally, I think he's an idiot. However, my MOTHER disagrees with me! She is frightened WITLESS of the reality of an African-American president with an independent, free-thinking, American wife you is capable of speaking out on her own. My mother is convinced we are entering an era of totalitarian socialism. When she brings up the topic, I nod and say, "Si mama, Mexico and the United States are exactly alike in their approach to political dissension".
They're not - but there is no point in arguing with my mother. She is 85 years old, and SHE IS ALWAYS RIGHT!
It is a great day for the nation. And right or wrong, it will always be MY nation. God bless the United States of America. I will continue my struggle to make it the country I believe it should be.
God that sound's pompous! Let me rephrase that. "I'd rather live here than in Mexico with my aunts and uncles! Okay, that sounds authentic!
Excuse my ramblings. It's too late, and I'm too tired.
No problem with the ramblings - feel free.
I understand an 85 yr old's not welcoming change. Thing is it's all changing rapidly - with or without us.
All these political arguments take a different turn when you know folks personally who are struggling, losing their homes and lives due to illness. I know too many cancer patients. i know, up close too many horrendous stories of whole family's lives damaged - due to the financial burden of trying to save their lives. Most of my adult life I had no medical insurance - couldn't afford it. Fortunately, before I got waylaid by lymphoma [ a cancer of the immune system], my wife found employment with EXCELLENT insurance, so I've lived on both sides of the fence. My medical bills to date are in the hundreds of thousands, only made manageable by having such good insurance. Still, with co-pays and inability to work myself we fell into financial distress to the point we were advised by a financial counselor that we should sell our home of 25 yrs and move into and apartment to pay our bills. With that advice I felt like an absolute failure to my family. We stayed. We struggled. Somehow we were able to remain. Others are not as lucky. I've heard of too many folks who not only have to fend off life-threatening illness, but also poverty and homelessness.
Stories like these take it out of the abstract and philosophical, making it all too real and something no one in a supposedly 'enlightened' nation should have to live.
And if socialism is the threat, then I guess we should also re-evaluate police and fire dep'ts, interstate highways, public schools, airports, social security and... and... and...
I hope for the sake of many, this nation can begin to live beyond our short-sighted, fearful, self-preservationist perceptions of who deserves the right of health and well-being.
Just my p.o.v. from where I've been and who I've known.
Met a man the other week, a Canadian. He pulled out his health care card and showed it to me and asked if he could ask a question that I might find offensive. Sure, why not. He wanted to know why the American people are so stubborn and stupid about the health care debate. Said he had his medical card all his life. Never signed a paper. Was airlifted to high tech med center after heart attack. Care, rehab, & meds are all free. If he needs appointment, no red tape and always gets in within two days. I responded I had no idea why people are so resistant unless it is because they listen to and believe hate radio.
Take care. I wish you the best.
thanks S. W. for dropping by.
I live near the Canadian border and have had a lot of opportunity to spend time there, and know folks there. It truly is a kinder, gentler nation. The difference in a bridge length between Detroit and Windsor, Ontario is dramatic! just look up the murder and crime rates between the two cities, separated only by a river. It's only one of the many differences.
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I wish you the best also.
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