MEDICARE ANYONE?

HOW IS YOUR HEALTH INSURANCE WORKING?

Whatever they say about Obama Care, it simply can’t get any worse than what we have now.

Let me tell you what just happened to me:

Back in mid August, I had a pretty severe pain in my ear when I ate. I made an appointment and went to the doctor. She spent about 35 seconds looking in my ear, moving my jaw, and diagnosed TMJ. No treatment, end of appointment. I went to see my dentist, who thought it could be caused by a minor infection under an implanted tooth. He took the crown off the implant (which was really a tough job, for both him and me)! He scraped the gum clean, injected antibiotic and told me that, if that were causing the trouble, it would be well in about two days. He also had a recent X-ray which indicated no problems.

It didn’t get well; in fact it has been slowly getting worse and gives me excruciating pain in my ear. So, I decided, I would need to see an ENT specialist. The specialist won’t see me without a referral from my doctor. My doctor has moved to a new office, where they have set up a fire-wall telephone system. You can’t get through to anyone; one must leave a message, which is then ignored. It is now the middle of October, and I still have no real diagnosis of my condition. I suppose it could be TNJ, but, I find it hard to believe that this escalating pain inside my ear is something so simple.

Here is what I have learned from this experience: More and more doctors are offering "Concierge Service" to Medicare patients. For a fee up-front of $1,000 or more per year, you get all the services that "Medicare doesn’t pay for." In reality, that means preferential treatment. If you are wealthy enough to pay for the favor, you go to the head of the queue. This is not "fee for service" but fee "to be served." Insurance companies are deciding what fee doctors should charge, doctors are not getting the super-high income that they were promised in exchange for their years of schooling and high education debt, and we, my friends, are expected to pay for that or die.

This is the best indicator of the need for Universal Health Care with mandatory participation that I have ever come across. Health Care should be equally available to every human.

IT'S MORE THAN JUST NEW YORK'S JOB

A friend sent this to me and he got it from a woman who is 80 so the original person forwarding must be around the same age. The media is slow to pick this story up (the tea baggers are much more interesting I guess) so please share with you circle of email friends. Thanks

Subject: Fwd: Down on Wall Street

I got this message from a person who was in my first grade class and now she's a good friend. I am quite excited about what is happening on Wall Street and around the country, something she expresses in this email.

At last, there are those in our citizenry who are actually starting a movement that can work. If enough people follow this lead, it is possible for a turn-around. The only thing that will bring about a change in Wall Street power and greed and government control, is when enough people say, "enough".
Loeva

Dear All,

This Wednesday a march will start at City Hall, made up of supporters of many different groups, all united in taking a stand and coming together to send a powerful message to Wall Street and our government. I feel that it is really important to participate in sending the message -- there are people who are being directly impacted by the extreme imbalance of how wealth is being divided in our country. Small businesses are struggling with no help available -- I am sure you all know people who are being hit as much as I do. These are people who want to work and try keep their businesses afloat, who pay their taxes yet get none of the big business breaks, and who are being directly impacted by the economic slow-down. Meanwhile the hedge fund brokers, investment banks, and corporations, along with the top one percent of wealthiest Americans, are getting breaks left and right... and their wealth is multiplying exponentially, and in the case of hedge funds, from the little I can understand, all too often at the expense of the losses of others.... now even other nations and currencies are being used for this money making game... And these bankers and brokers look at it all as numbers on paper. I think it is important that we take a stand as the middle class population that is trying to survive, trying to pay for our kids to be educated so that they have futures that will enable them to support themselves and even their families -- there are living beings who are being completely overlooked as the pen and paper approach works out how to make profits for a rarefied clientele. So I will go down. Definitely at least once. No excuse to feel the way I do and not make the effort. I urge you all to consider joining this march -- there is power in numbers.

I have forwarded the email below because it seems to have the best information, but you can go down on your own or with any other group you are affiliated with.

Hope to see you there!
Veronique

Subject: Down on Wall Street

Dear Veronique, Occupy Wall Street is calling for a just and equitable society. Join us on Wednesday or sign the petition to show your support! Over the past two weeks, we’ve seen something unusual and promising: a gathering of people -- mostly young -- who are protesting the corporate power and coarse inequality that characterizes our society and economy. For two weeks, these inspired and inspiring young people, under the banner of Occupy Wall Street, have occupied our attention and camped out in Liberty Plaza. WFP staff have brought back exciting reports from a demonstration that gets more interesting every day. We stand with them in their call for a more just and equitable society. It’s time to do more than just stand with these protesters. It’s time to walk with them. This Wednesday, October 5, we will join with allies in labor and community and environmental and on-line groups, tenants and homeowners, workers and free-lancers, musicians and teachers and subway riders and students and anyone else who is sick and tired of the “greed is good” mentality that is destroying our country. We will join the protesters for a Solidarity March. Starting in front of City Hall at 4:30 pm, we’ll march down Wall Street to support the protesters and show the world that the spirit of Wisconsin and Tahrir Square is alive and well in New York City. We owe the Occupy Wall Street folks a debt (and we don’t mean a collateralized debt-swap). They have put their bodies on the line, in the rain and the cold, night after night to say: Enough is Enough. As the demonstrators settle in for the long haul, they need all kinds of support. Most important is showing up. But if you can't come out for Wednesday's march or any other events, you can help in other ways. They need some basic supplies to continue their occupation: sleeping bags, food donations, and simple sanitation supplies like garbage bags.   Executive Director, WFP   P.S. - If you’re not in New York, you can find other events across the country at the Occupy Together website: http://www.occupytogether.org/

ECONOMIC REVOLUTION???

The Neo-Republicans are attempting to do a revolution by economics. IF they succeed, we are done. They don't have a Monica to send into the Oval Office this time, the birther bit didn't work, pretty much everyone, who wants to know, now knows that he is not a Muslim. So, he's black -- and they can't make him act up to where they can dismiss him as an angry black man. SO they are making him look incompetent. O.K., he has helped them more than he should have in order to try to NOT cross into that angry black man stereotype. He has, however, learned from his own mistakes. He didn't start any wars, he didn't cause the depression, and he was the right man for this time.

While I am ranting...... I think one of the things we have to develop is NOT a way to continue the wasteful life-style where growth is the only thing that matters. GROWTH has got us into this mess. Keynesian economics were just right for solving the problems of the great depression; it fueled the frenzy of manufacturing -- that also fueled the disaster of ecological destruction. That is not a good path to solutions today. The NeoRepublican's screeching about "Job creators," is pure bull -s.... What we need is a new economic theory based upon the reality of resource famine. There are too many humans and not enough production. All I see is self-proclaimed experts trying to find a way to support the life style that may not be supportable.. What do you see?

For your attention

Greetings friends:

Instead of sending out e-mails that you may or may not want to read, I have decided to start a BLOG.
I can post my rants on various issues, and you can choose to read me, OR NOT!
When I sent the daily reports from Hungary I really got great feedback. I have, however, been a bit uncomfortable about whether "invading" your e-mail was the right thing to do. Now you have control.

My blogs will definitely be aimed at pooling our resources to enhance the democratic process. (Please note, that is democratic with a little "d"). Should you NOT want to know what I have discovered, or what I think about what I have discovered, that is perfectly O.K. with me.

My main objective is to challenge the many forms of spin that I see and hear every day. These are tough times in the world, and particularly in the USA. Please feel to respond.

I will remove any responses that advocate violence, and excessive use of expletives will probably get deleted too (though, sometimes, some words can make a stronger point)