Added thoughts
I received a blog comment regarding my latest blog....So I have some more things to say about it.
A) I do NOT think that all Republican ideals are wrong.
B) I do NOT think that all Democratic ideals are right.
C) I do NOT think that ALL REPUBLICANS are bad people.
D) I do NOT think that ALL DEMOCRATS are good people.
We all have to keep in mind that the game of politics is slimy, no matter what party you align with. But, the point in my last blog was about how well the Republican party has manufactured its identity, using behind-the-scenes tactics, by involving itself with illegal activity or by allowing itself to be aligned with dictators or countries with major human rights abuses, but then turns around and tells the American public that it's the "Christian" party.
And ya know, this also happens in Decmocratic administrations. President Clinton really pushed for trade with China -- a country who breaks severe human rights codes and who does not give freedom to its people. And now that very country owns us!
But the propoganda in running a campaign is so incredibly transparent! I mean, McCain's speech the other day was full of it! For example, he said "My opponant will close trade opportunities. I will open more trade opportunities!" Well, that makes no sense: a) Obama has advisors on his staff who worked in the Clinton and Bush administrations who advise him on China Foreign Affairs policy...people who PUSHED TO OPEN THAT TRADE! and b) If the Republicans want to act like the only Christ followers and the "true American Patriots" in this political arena, then stop giving our jobs to foreign countries who do not have democratic freedoms, do not have freedom of religion, do not have laws in place to protect its citizens from executions and the such...Stop telling us that if we don't support the war, then we are bad Americans and bad Christians. People, we have to start thinking about this! THat makes ZERO sense, but that propoganda has worked for years! They purposefully infiltrated the church community in this country so that they could tap into a well-organized and large group of people. They strategically did that! Strategy for winning....now we have millions and millions of church-goers who believe that to be a good Christian is to be a Republican. Hello??
Back to "My opponant will close trade opporunities"...Obama wouldn't stop trade with China. We're so deeply involved with them, we owe them trillions of dollars, and they manufacture all of our goods now. But the vast majority of Americans just hear the words "I will open trade, my opponant will close it!" They don't dig deeper. And political campaign advisers KNOW that the poeple will not think about it. They KNOW that asking Palin to the be the VP would strike a chord with people begause she is so dynamic and beautiful! Hell she was a beauty queen in Alaska for goodness sake! I mean good for her and good for her that she is so well-spoken and intelligent! But if the ol' Pres (assuming he wins..god help us...), kicks the bucket, Palin would be running this country??? HEllo! I don't care about having a dynamic speaker...I want a president and VP who are well rounded human beings with a ton of experience (which, granted, McCain certainly does have), but who also want to help us here in the U.S., regular folks. I believe that McCain will tow the Bush line too closely and that just doesn't work for the vast majority of the people in this country. The top one percent have made a lot of money in this administration, and the rest of us are drowning. So, I just can't stomach a McCain/Palin presidency.
And in my last blog I said "If McCain wins, I'm off to France for free health care, etc..." In the comment by a person about this, she says that the health care in other countries is so bad and you have no choices and it's not as good as ours. In India, maybe. In Mexico, yes. But...
Have you watched Sicko by M. Moore? You should if you haven't. Of course anyone doing a documentary has a point to make, and he certainly makes it without showing the other side's defense, but I tend to believe what he shows in the film.
I have actually been in hospitals in other countries (in Europe and down in New Zealand) and the care was excellent, the hospitals are VERY clean, nice, modern, up-to-date, efficient, actually quite nicer than ours and it cost us about $30....and that included the E.R., an I.V., medicine, everything. We had to go in an ambulance in New Zealand to the ER and I think we paid $130...that's because we weren't citizens of the country. We would have paid NOTHING if we were citizens of New Zealand. But as a citizen of the US, without insurance, that would have been well over $2000 in our country. So...I think the idea that Canada and Europe or places with socialized medicine receive worse care and have no choices is just propoganda --- which makes my point about how little we know about what goes on behind the scenes (i.e Lobbying, Political Hit Men, Insurance Companies, and so on...and it happens in BOTH paries). This has been the norm for a long long time, and seems like it happens more under Repub administrations...It's run so privately and secretly. UGH!!!
Obama has a few former lobbyists in his campaign staff, but he is more-than-anything reaching out to people outside of Washington: acedemics, professionals, and the so forth. I hope that if he wins, he is able to function more in this capacity than being forced to function the way it has been all of these years...Anyway, I'm getting off the subject.
Anyway, back to health care outside of the US...
I am a US citizen, but almost always wait to have my annual check-ups and dental work until I'm working overseas. That way I can actually afford it and it's just as top-notch as here AND I had an entire phone book of doctors to choose from...
Now, I do have to say that the Italian service and facilities are a tad third-world, but a lot of their systems are. But that's ITALY specifically. Even still it wasn't too bad, just not as good as say Germany, Switzerland, US, etc. As a matter of fact, the hospital facilities in Italy were like going to a ghetto clinic on that "other side of town" here in the U.S., but the hospitals in Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand, were like going to something like Grey's Anatomy minus the drama and the one in Switzerland was an awesome building, architecturally. The people were smart, helpful, knowledgable and they were REAL DOCTORS and NURSES. The propoganda we hear about how awful health care is in these countries is a riot! It's almost as if Oz behind the curtain up there on Capital Hill makes us imagine roaches roaming the halls, scattering at the feet of some Frankenstein-esque nim-wit so-called-doctor with one eye and fecal matter on his hands. Let me tell ya, there aren't many hospitals in this country that I would feel comfortable licking the floor (not as if I go around and lick floors on a regular basis), but the ones I've been to in other countries like Switzerland or New Zealand...well, if I had the urge to lick a floor, I'd do it there and not at many other places I've seen. I'm not dogging our system of hospitals, because we do have top-notch facilities and some of the best doctors in the world, for that I am so thankful! We really do -- as long as you can afford it.
Anyway, I wish more people could get sick in Europe and have to head to a hospital! Ha...no no, I don't wish illness on anyone! But take it from a person who travels a lot and trust me when I say...I KNOW THAT THE SYSTEM WORKS VERY WELL over there, as it is here. But these specific foreign systems take care of the people without burying them so deeply in debt that they can't really afford to live comfortably anymore. I don't know if we can ever change our health care system to make it more affordable for our citizens. And no I don't want it to lower in standards. But if you really know about the systems in Scandinavia, Europe, England...the standards aren't any lower than ours. The choices are actually there. And they do some great medical research. It's just silly for us to think that private equals better. That's not always the case. But lobbies and marketing firms, alongside some politicians have done a great job making us believe so.
I LOVE AMERICA so much and wish we could get back to a more honest approach to taking care of our citizens and I wish that we could shake off all of the slimy politicians (on both sides of the isle) and start to believe again in those who want to lead us. I happen to believe in Obama and I hope you do to.
Ciao - Ginger
A) I do NOT think that all Republican ideals are wrong.
B) I do NOT think that all Democratic ideals are right.
C) I do NOT think that ALL REPUBLICANS are bad people.
D) I do NOT think that ALL DEMOCRATS are good people.
We all have to keep in mind that the game of politics is slimy, no matter what party you align with. But, the point in my last blog was about how well the Republican party has manufactured its identity, using behind-the-scenes tactics, by involving itself with illegal activity or by allowing itself to be aligned with dictators or countries with major human rights abuses, but then turns around and tells the American public that it's the "Christian" party.
And ya know, this also happens in Decmocratic administrations. President Clinton really pushed for trade with China -- a country who breaks severe human rights codes and who does not give freedom to its people. And now that very country owns us!
But the propoganda in running a campaign is so incredibly transparent! I mean, McCain's speech the other day was full of it! For example, he said "My opponant will close trade opportunities. I will open more trade opportunities!" Well, that makes no sense: a) Obama has advisors on his staff who worked in the Clinton and Bush administrations who advise him on China Foreign Affairs policy...people who PUSHED TO OPEN THAT TRADE! and b) If the Republicans want to act like the only Christ followers and the "true American Patriots" in this political arena, then stop giving our jobs to foreign countries who do not have democratic freedoms, do not have freedom of religion, do not have laws in place to protect its citizens from executions and the such...Stop telling us that if we don't support the war, then we are bad Americans and bad Christians. People, we have to start thinking about this! THat makes ZERO sense, but that propoganda has worked for years! They purposefully infiltrated the church community in this country so that they could tap into a well-organized and large group of people. They strategically did that! Strategy for winning....now we have millions and millions of church-goers who believe that to be a good Christian is to be a Republican. Hello??
Back to "My opponant will close trade opporunities"...Obama wouldn't stop trade with China. We're so deeply involved with them, we owe them trillions of dollars, and they manufacture all of our goods now. But the vast majority of Americans just hear the words "I will open trade, my opponant will close it!" They don't dig deeper. And political campaign advisers KNOW that the poeple will not think about it. They KNOW that asking Palin to the be the VP would strike a chord with people begause she is so dynamic and beautiful! Hell she was a beauty queen in Alaska for goodness sake! I mean good for her and good for her that she is so well-spoken and intelligent! But if the ol' Pres (assuming he wins..god help us...), kicks the bucket, Palin would be running this country??? HEllo! I don't care about having a dynamic speaker...I want a president and VP who are well rounded human beings with a ton of experience (which, granted, McCain certainly does have), but who also want to help us here in the U.S., regular folks. I believe that McCain will tow the Bush line too closely and that just doesn't work for the vast majority of the people in this country. The top one percent have made a lot of money in this administration, and the rest of us are drowning. So, I just can't stomach a McCain/Palin presidency.
And in my last blog I said "If McCain wins, I'm off to France for free health care, etc..." In the comment by a person about this, she says that the health care in other countries is so bad and you have no choices and it's not as good as ours. In India, maybe. In Mexico, yes. But...
Have you watched Sicko by M. Moore? You should if you haven't. Of course anyone doing a documentary has a point to make, and he certainly makes it without showing the other side's defense, but I tend to believe what he shows in the film.
I have actually been in hospitals in other countries (in Europe and down in New Zealand) and the care was excellent, the hospitals are VERY clean, nice, modern, up-to-date, efficient, actually quite nicer than ours and it cost us about $30....and that included the E.R., an I.V., medicine, everything. We had to go in an ambulance in New Zealand to the ER and I think we paid $130...that's because we weren't citizens of the country. We would have paid NOTHING if we were citizens of New Zealand. But as a citizen of the US, without insurance, that would have been well over $2000 in our country. So...I think the idea that Canada and Europe or places with socialized medicine receive worse care and have no choices is just propoganda --- which makes my point about how little we know about what goes on behind the scenes (i.e Lobbying, Political Hit Men, Insurance Companies, and so on...and it happens in BOTH paries). This has been the norm for a long long time, and seems like it happens more under Repub administrations...It's run so privately and secretly. UGH!!!
Obama has a few former lobbyists in his campaign staff, but he is more-than-anything reaching out to people outside of Washington: acedemics, professionals, and the so forth. I hope that if he wins, he is able to function more in this capacity than being forced to function the way it has been all of these years...Anyway, I'm getting off the subject.
Anyway, back to health care outside of the US...
I am a US citizen, but almost always wait to have my annual check-ups and dental work until I'm working overseas. That way I can actually afford it and it's just as top-notch as here AND I had an entire phone book of doctors to choose from...
Now, I do have to say that the Italian service and facilities are a tad third-world, but a lot of their systems are. But that's ITALY specifically. Even still it wasn't too bad, just not as good as say Germany, Switzerland, US, etc. As a matter of fact, the hospital facilities in Italy were like going to a ghetto clinic on that "other side of town" here in the U.S., but the hospitals in Germany, Switzerland, New Zealand, were like going to something like Grey's Anatomy minus the drama and the one in Switzerland was an awesome building, architecturally. The people were smart, helpful, knowledgable and they were REAL DOCTORS and NURSES. The propoganda we hear about how awful health care is in these countries is a riot! It's almost as if Oz behind the curtain up there on Capital Hill makes us imagine roaches roaming the halls, scattering at the feet of some Frankenstein-esque nim-wit so-called-doctor with one eye and fecal matter on his hands. Let me tell ya, there aren't many hospitals in this country that I would feel comfortable licking the floor (not as if I go around and lick floors on a regular basis), but the ones I've been to in other countries like Switzerland or New Zealand...well, if I had the urge to lick a floor, I'd do it there and not at many other places I've seen. I'm not dogging our system of hospitals, because we do have top-notch facilities and some of the best doctors in the world, for that I am so thankful! We really do -- as long as you can afford it.
Anyway, I wish more people could get sick in Europe and have to head to a hospital! Ha...no no, I don't wish illness on anyone! But take it from a person who travels a lot and trust me when I say...I KNOW THAT THE SYSTEM WORKS VERY WELL over there, as it is here. But these specific foreign systems take care of the people without burying them so deeply in debt that they can't really afford to live comfortably anymore. I don't know if we can ever change our health care system to make it more affordable for our citizens. And no I don't want it to lower in standards. But if you really know about the systems in Scandinavia, Europe, England...the standards aren't any lower than ours. The choices are actually there. And they do some great medical research. It's just silly for us to think that private equals better. That's not always the case. But lobbies and marketing firms, alongside some politicians have done a great job making us believe so.
I LOVE AMERICA so much and wish we could get back to a more honest approach to taking care of our citizens and I wish that we could shake off all of the slimy politicians (on both sides of the isle) and start to believe again in those who want to lead us. I happen to believe in Obama and I hope you do to.
Ciao - Ginger
posted by Ginger Leigh & Jane Reece at
10:18 AM
1 Comments:
a friend of mine recently had to go to the ER while in canada. not only did she get excellent care (and some very helpful advice that she had never received here in the states), but they APOLOGIZED for having to charge her because she isn't a canadian citizen. can't say that i've EVER had a hospital apologize for charging me because i don't have insurance.
and yes, as far as research... i think we are allowed to believe that the u.s. has the market cornered on research, medical and otherwise, and every other country follows our lead, which is equal parts ignorance and arrogance. it's an outdated self-perception. the fact of the matter is that we're getting left behind. we rank, what? 20th in education or something pathetic like that?
i always think about david sedaris's comment on having learned while living in france that every country has a slogan, and none of them are "we're #2!!"
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