Aggressive common sense, politics and whatever else - as I see it.
“Oh but it’s free!” I hear that in defense of socialist medical plans all the time. Apparently HillaryCare is not free - someone would have to pay for it and it’s not going to be me. I don’t want medical insurance and Hillary’s communist plan would not change that.
So when you vote this year keep these phrases in mind. “enforcement mechanisms” and “going after peoples wages.”
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In preparation for dental implants I had two teeth pulled this morning. My only complaint is that for some reason the dentist does not see fit to provide a pain medication prescription after two rather difficult extractions.
She actually suggested using Ibuprofen. Oh well, it wont last long and if it gets too bad I’ll simply call and demand a prescription. As I’m writing this the local anesthetic is nearing the end of it’s usefulness and I’m realizing that the pain is not as bad as expected but still exceeds the efficacy of a few Advil.
Without having (or wanting) health insurance coverage I simply pay cash for the services as they are rendered. However, having had health insurance in the past I’ve noticed one major difference without it. In my experience doctors tend to literally hand out prescriptions when a patient is insured and are much more reluctant to do so for patients who pay out of pocket. This especially applies to pain medications. If you have experience with this let me in the comments, perhaps I’m in the minority on this one. Someone in the health care business might be able to enlighten me on this subject.
My other thought on this subject comes from seeing an article on CNN.com a few minutes ago with the headline “Brits resort to pulling own teeth.” Having posted about the health care & socialized medicine debate recently I finds it interesting that as an uninsured U.S. citizen I’m complaining about a little pain while 6% of Brits are pulling their own teeth according to CNN’s article. While it’s not the only case of people suffering or dying under the socialist medical services it certainly does sound like a painful example. Reminds me of Tom Hanks smashing his tooth out with a rock in the movie Castaway.
The article states the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, commissioned the survey which finds “that the NHS dental system is letting many patients down very badly.”
What? Does Michael Moore know about this? Someone should let him know so he can release a new version of Sicko.
One respondent in Lancashire, northern England, claimed to have extracted 14 of their own teeth with a pair of pliers. In Liverpool, one of those collecting data for the survey interviewed three people who had pulled out their own teeth in one morning.
“I took most of my teeth out in the shed with pliers. I have one to go,” another respondent wrote.
Others said they had fixed broken crowns using glue to avoid costly dental work.
Halsworth admitted that the first extraction had been “excruciatingly painful.” But she added: “It got that painful that I just had to do something… When you have taken a tooth out… the pain has gone.”
Sharon Grant, chair of the Commission for Patient and Public Involvement in Health, which commissioned the survey, said: “These findings indicate that the NHS dental system is letting many patients down very badly.
“Where NHS dental services are available, people are happy with the quality of treatment provided but many find the NHS fee system confusing and expensive, with some patients taking out loans to pay for treatment or more worryingly taking matters into their own hands.”
So in summery…
I call the dentist and setup an appointment, walk in and have the work done. With minimal wait and minimal expense - all without insurance. While in Briton the citizens with a socialized system said to be superior to that of the U.S., have to wait long enough for dental care that they start pulling their own teeth with pliers or fixing “broken crowns using glue to avoid costly dental work.” I seem to remember several scenes in Sicko talking about how the British system was free, so how is it costly?
If even one person has had to do this, their system has failed. Imagine cramming hand tools into your mouth and pulling a tooth out.
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Michael Moore is many things, to some he is a champion of the poor fighting the oppression of the evil Right and the horrible corporate profit mongers. To others he is simply a skillful liar who pretends to fight for the little guy while making millions of dollars selling pseudo-documentaries and books to anyone gullible enough to pay for them. (If you think he is something else, that’s what the comments are for.)
I know what I believe Michael Moore is
There are several books and documentaries that expose Moore for the hypocrite, liar, and fraud that he is. So far my favorite for no particular reason is Michael Moore Hates America
Hannity interviews a man who was a childhood friend of Michael Moore. This man has made a documentary called “Shooting Michael Moore” which shows everyone who the real Michael Moore is: A Hypocrite and a Liar.
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Michael Moore movies sure do seem to have a following. For some reason it does not matter how much truth or more importantly how many half truths, misrepresentations, mis-quotes, or outright lies the movies have. I wont even try to get into the lies Moore portrays as factual in the many movies. This is just a post with a short look into one of the reasons his films might be successful. As an added bonus it also includes a glimpse of what socialized medicine could be like in the future. If your a Sicko fan or if you just can’t get enough of Roger & Me or Fahrenheit 9/11, then you probably should not even bother watching this.
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Leona is back at home with a diagnosis of Autoimmune Hemolytic Anemia and a handful of medication. During her stay at the hospital she received injections of Polyflex and Dexamethasone along with subcutaneous fluids to treat the dehydration.
The tests show she does not have Feline leukemia virus or Feline immunodeficiency virus which is very good news. The bad news is that her red blood cell count is extremely low. Her condition is rare but treatable.
She is doing very well now that she is home and has actually started to eat a little for the first time in three days. The only real problem is that I have to manually give her medication. If you have ever tried to force cat to take a pill or liquid antibiotics you know it is a very unpleasant task. My first run at it resulted in a few minor scratches and a very unhappy cat. I suppose it will get easier with subsequent attempts at least I hope it will anyway.
Leona will have to go back to the doctor a few times over the next couple of months for blood tests to make sure her red blood cell count is doing better. I will have to make some serious adjustments to account for the lack of budget for something like this but Leona is very important to us.
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Over the past few days Leona has been a bit under the weather. She went to the doctor today and they decided they needed to keep her in the hospital at least overnight. For those that don’t know, Leona is the only cat I really like. Just over one year ago some depraved, vicious subhuman teenagers tried to drown her in a swimming pool. I answered a call in the area and heard cries for help, by the time I found her she had stopped breathing and I had to resuscitate her. She was about 3 weeks old then and has been very happy living with me and my wife since then.
Perhaps it has something to do with saving her life, or the particular circumstances that I did so. Who knows, but the result is that despite my generally inharmonious dealings with felines I have developed a very strong relationship with Leona.
I thought she was just depressed a couple of days ago when she started laying around but after the first days he stopped eating and became unresponsive. I got her into a veterinary clinic today where I was informed she has a fever, is anemic and dehydrated. What is not clear just yet is why, so she had to stay at the animal hospital to have tests.
The doctor says it could be nearly anything from a minor infection to Feline leukemia virus (FeLV), or Feline immunodeficiency virus. I really hope it is something minor, in the meantime I can’t help but be worried about her. I know she must be scared being away, especially under these circumstances.
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Congressman John Conyers (D) Michigan (H.R. 676 UNHI) does a lot of talking, Republican bashing and war protesting. The one thing he does not seem to do is read the bills he votes on. I guess he spends too much time talking/trying to impeach President George Bush or Impeach Dick Cheney to actually read something before voting on it. It would seem that bills he writes or sponsors are a lot safer without others reading them. Although Conyers has a poor record of bills being enacted into law when he sponsors them. (Relative to his peers)
According to Conyers most bills are not read before being voted on or becoming law. “Do you know what that would entail if we were to read each bill?” Conyers said in an interview with Michael Moore for Fahrenheit 9/11.
I think I know a little of what it might entail: Work - as in doing you job as a Congressman.
My opinion of Conyers was that he was an “extreme liberal” (borderline socialist) to begin with, however, after watching SiCKO creator Michael Moore’s Fahrenheit 9/11 I was even less impressed.
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The debate over Michael Moore’s SiCKO rages on! Michael Moore throws a fit on CNN and stirs up a big mess over allegedly being treated like he treats people. Of course his fans all agree and rally around him. It never ceases to amaze me how many people simply run to his side and claim the title of oppressed victim of corporate greed and Bush tyranny.
It seems I have digressed from my original post.
I found a clip of a Cuban Doctor on the news giving his perspective of the health care system in Cuba. After posting the video on YouTube I have already started receiving the emails and comments from Moore’s supporters.
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Update: I decided to watch the Movie SiCKO and I can say I was not dissappointed. I knew it would be the same old Moore lies and it was. Moore shows a 7 year old World Health Organization report showing the U.s. to be #37. He fails to mention the age of the report only stating that we are just behind Slovenia. The report he shows also has Cuba listed belor the U.S. although he later tries to frame the Cuban medical system as far superior to that of the U.S. ~Malagent 07-08-2007
The only good that can possibly come from Michael Moore’s SiCKO is that people are at least going to debate an issue. We can only hope that it does not follow the pattern of the 9/11 deniers (self proclaimed “911 Truth Movement”). Open debate coupled with critical thinking is a good thing. Denying mountains of evidence that disproves you conspiracy and pushing forward with lies, however, is nothing short of dangerous. Just watch Loose Change and do a little research to see what I mean.
I have yet to see the film and I will not pay to do so either. I will watch it only to see how much Moore twists the facts and selectively chooses his material. That way I will be prepared with that knowledge when the need arises for debate.
People all over are criticizing the U.S. Health Care system and I have yet to really see the problems they speak of. Recently I had a potential life threatening infection and I finally went to the emergency room at one of three local major hospitals. After what seemed like an eternal wait (it was only 2 hours altogether) I was diagnosed and received treatment for the pain and a referral to a local doctor for minor surgery to remove the infection. After waiting for my ride for an hour I was discharged and went to the local doctor for the treatment. When I arrived at the doctors office I started immediately on the single page of paperwork I had to fill out. Before I could complete it I was called back to the doctor. After an examination I was given a local anesthetic and received the needed treatment as well as antibiotics injection and a steroid injection as an anti-inflammatory medication. The hospital and Ear Nose & Throat physician informed me of what the problem was and the potential to be life threatening.
As it turns out I had Tonsilitus that resulted in peritonsillar abscess. I had not recognized the symptoms and as such I delayed my treatment long past the nearly unbearable pain and only sought treatment after my airway became restricted and breathing difficulty became a problem. I guess I will now better if it ever happens again.
Treatment is through surgical incision and removal of the infection, thereby relieving the pain of the stretched tissues. Antibiotics are also given to treat the infection.
Peritonsillar abscesses are widely considered one of the most painful complications, primarily the surgical draining of the abcess itself. The patient is operated on awake, surgically slicing open the tonsil and then draining the abscess from within by placing a suction tube within the opening.Complications:
Parapharyngeal abscess
Extension of abscess in other deep neck spaces leading to airway compromise
SepticaemiaGeorge Washington is believed to have died of complications arising from peritonsillar abscess.
James Gregory of the band The Ordinary Boys was almost killed by peritonsillar abscess because it was left untreated. ~ WikiPedia
My initial impression (while I was in pain and waiting) was that the system was obviously broken, however, in retrospect I feel very different. It has been several weeks and I have completely recovered which means I have no signs of infection, swelling, pain or otherwise, and I can eat again. I arrived at the hospital at about noon and I was on my way home - treated and medication in hand by 5pm including travel time. Oh, I almost forgot. I am one of those uninsured people that Michael Moore and others say can’t get health care in the U.S. or would die before I get it. Well just as before, I do not seek medical care often - only when it is needed. I rarely take prescription medications when prescribed and I rarely if ever get sick. When I do seek treatment I either pay outright for the doctor visit or go to the emergency department and pay the bill after it is sent. When I did have rather expensive health insurance many years ago I never used it and it was a tremendous waste of money through the years. I decided that even if not entirely responsible, it is cheaper to just pay as needed.
Now lets compare this to a Canadian citizen who needed treatment for a brain tumor and was made to wait and told he could not seek treatment elsewhere. Canada’s single payer health care system is not hat everyone says it is. Many Canadians are frustrated by the long wait which in some cases can extend into the years.
The Wall Street Journal has a brief examination of the French Health Care System as well.
Now we come to H.R. 676, which is proposed by Michael Moore and Dennis Kucinich in a video as being the solution.
… Michael Moore’s artistry as a documentary filmmaker is going to provide a tremendous boost for this legislation…
What? Artistry providing a tremendous boost for legislation? As a documentary filmmaker. I guess artistry is more important than truth when your pushing an agenda and want to make it popular.
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