Waxing Poetic

Visited Baltimore this past weekend. I visited the Great Black in Wax Museum while I was there and was inspired to write this poem. I didn't know what to expect when I went to the Museum but figured it was some soft-shoe around history that focused on "accomplishments." All I knew before going there was that they had Obama in wax so I prepared myself for the worst. It's still very rough, but, it's probably best kept this way.

Ripped from lives, land and loved ones

Betrayed by own, handed to the man

Shackled minds and bodies

Tortured, raped and dismembered

Remembered languages, religions and customs

Left on distant shores

For the land of the FREE, LIBERTY, JUSTICE

Broken minds, spirits and backs

From sun up to sun down and again

Land of opportunity only cause others lack

Wealth of nations owed to every crack of 9 tails

Picket fences, backyards and 2.5 kids

Built on hundreds of years of hopes and tears

Jim Crowed and left back

Force fed and then crack

Hits the streets with Strawberries, 9s

Now cops on the beat

With firearms aimed and night sticks

Swinging free

Like the strange fruit hanging, limbs loose

Create our own middle passage

Packed in Ghettoes and slums

Gunned down by fellow brothers

For whips, ice and pride

Past lost in the hustle

Ripped from Lands, Lovers

Betrayed by fellow brothers

Land of the FREE, LIBERTY, JUSTICE

Built at the tip of 9 tails

Where do your Health Care Premiums go?

CEO compensation compiled by the AMA in an article about the hard times hitting health care CEOs.

http://www.ama-assn.org/amednews/2009/images/gbisc0601a.pdf

The Health Care Debate Part 1

America needs Universal, Single-payer, and “Socialized" health system. That was likely the most anticlimactic statement; I'm a big lefty and everyone knows that. Before I go on I must note that no plan being currently considered meets these criteria. There are many reasons to switch to the system I want; at the same time I realize some have concerns.
I will not every pay any attention to the unrealistic/outrageous questions that some ask.

The Other side:
1. How much is this expansion going to cost us?
The short answer is less. The long answer is that we don't know. The fact is that we already have the highest healthcare costs and the poorest outcomes in the "developed" world. Countries with Universal systems use their bargaining power to rein in costs. For instance the very same drugs cost less in Canada; savings range from 20 -45%.

2. What about long waits? I've heard they ration in Canada and those other socialist Lands.
Health insurance already rations. We judge people's worth to society based on their pocketbook. Fat cats get the best treatment. Health insurance workers decide whether people should have based on their bottom line, they even have metrics that are judged by Wall Street money in/payments for procedures.

3. Those damned illegals will use it!
"Illegals" already use the emergency rooms and that comes directly from you and I. The point is to formally account for these costs. Its best to treat people before a minor thing escalates into something more dangerous. Treating all with respect and the best care is the compassionate thing to do.

4. The government can't run anything!
We come together as a society because the whole is greater than the sum of our parts. The government is not a mythical giant living on Capitol Hill, we are the government. Our family members serve in the armed services, post offices and fire houses. All of these are government agencies that play vital roles in our everyday lives and do so admirably.

5. I'm happy with my Doctor can I still see her/him?
Hopefully. Many doctors over the years have shifted between and off the various Health Insurance plan. This is a free country, just as you want a choice of plans; Doctors want the freedom to move between networks.

Health care is a right, without it, life is not possible, liberty and happiness cannot be pursued. Right now we are carelessly discussing and calculating the worth of those without health insurance. People are standing up and shouting that fellow Americans are not good enough. I believe our obligation to protect Americans should go beyond military might; the health of everyone on our soil is just as significant.