As usual when I pontificate about health care, something that I know very little about, my liberal sister, who happens to have an advanced degree and work in the field likes to set me straight. Here is her response to one line of my universal health care posting.

[R]egarding your health care topic...I beg to differ with your statement that "While it is expensive, our health care system works. People have access to care in a timely manner."

"A decade’s worth of research since the last health reform debate underscores the value of health coverage. Numerous studies have documented that being uninsured is associated with delayed prevention, low adherence to recommended care, and worse outcomes. For example, about 25 percent of uninsured adults report delaying or forgoing needed health care due to cost, five times higher than the rate among insured people. Uninsured people who were injured or developed a chronic illness were less likely to receive initial and follow-up care, impeding recovery and accelerating the worsening of the condition. One study found that the risk of death is typically 25 percent higher for uninsured versus insured patients. Roughly, 22,000 people die each year due to lack of coverage. This is higher than number of people who died of homicide in 2006 (17,034)." http://www.americanprogress.org/issues/2008/03/lambrew_testimony.html

I also suggest you read the KFF brief: http://www.kff.org/uninsured/upload/1420-10.pdf

Not having insurance has financial and health consequences. The UC system mandated insurance for its students when they learned that 25% of students who were dropping out did so for medical reasons. http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/students/healthinsurance.html

I don't believe that a system in which people are dying prematurely and/or not getting care they need "works." While the Canadian system may not be perfect either, I don't think you can say that our system is significantly better for all Americans.

Love Your Liberal Sister Who Happens to Work in the Health Field,
Mish

I just got an email that made me laugh. Apparently, there is an NRA Wine Club. Yep, that's right, the National Rifle Association has a wine club. Is it just me, or is this hilarious? I was thinking maybe they should change their motto to something along the lines of:

Wine and guns, the recipe for a night to remember... if you can.

Last Spring, I happened across the Faces of Meth web site, which featured pictures of people who were addicted to meth. It showed them at the time of their first arrest and then several months or years later. The changes in these people are incredible. This one posting has been one of the most popular postings on this site. It continues to get about 12,000 page views a month, which for my site, is pretty significant.

I recently happened across this video on UkiahValley.TV which was created by our local county sheriff to support a program of providing free drug testing kits for parents. The video includes both background information about meth, as well as testimonials from those whose lives have been impacted by this terrible drug. The video seems like a pretty good resource to help people understand the damage meth can do.

Hopefully, the video will be helpful. Read the rest of this post!

I thought this Fox News story was pretty amusing. They've gathered 10 stories of dumb criminals from 2008. There were some pretty good stories.

My favorites include:

• the guy who robbed a bank with a note written on his paystub, which included his name and address.
• the guy who was driving away from the cops and when the detectives called their prime suspect to see if it was him, he answered his cell phone and said, "Dude, I can't talk. I'm being chased by the cops.
• the guy who tried to cash a personal check from his girlfriend's mother for $360 billion.

Even I feel a little sorry for these guys, although they clearly got what they deserved. Read the rest of this post!

This video mentioned on Meridian Magazine condensing all the things said by a mom in 24 hours into 3 minutes and sung to the tune of the William Tell Overture was very funny. If you've ever known a mom, it is worth watching!

Read the rest of this post!