Northwest passengers certainly HAD a scare, a BIG one when a Nigerian national, a young man of 23, attempted to set off some kind of explosive device held between his legs (!!) on a flight from The Netherlands to Detroit, Michigan. What kind of dedication to a cause, what kind of depression, what kind of sickness would allow any person to attempt such a thing? In short, what was he thinking? Only 23 and fully aware (I suppose) that he was at least killing himself and every man, woman and child on board that aircraft. A monster? No...a mad killing machine. It would take much rehearsal, much training, much forethought and insight to do such a thing...and it takes something else...desperation. He is (I presume) guilty of the attempted murder of 288 others and his own attempted suicide. What kind of humanity did this young man possess? Could you do as he did? If so, may I suggest a rapid trip to the nearest shrink to have your head examined. A Prozac sir or madam, a priest, a good steak dinner with a loved one...like your mother ( oh no, not THAT!), a meeting with a certifiably SANE human. What's it LIKE to be so desperate? To lack that amount of humanity? I can't imagine it, yet many are and many live with it day after day. Maybe it's a wonder there aren't MORE of this incidents, there are MANY you know, it shouldn't be a surprise. Bombings occur all over this world, damn Mr. Nobel anyway ( http://inventors.about.com/od/dstartinventions/a/Alfred_Nobel.htm ).
This 23 year old man HAD his whole life in front of him, maybe it was only going to be an average to poor life but it was one, and if he lived to an average (In Nigeria) age of 47...he was half way there. Time for a wife, a child or two or three, a house, a farm, a goat or 4...or become a successful businessman, doctor, engineer or bus driver...sure, why not (the list is long I fear) but this person-of-interest chose to end his life at 23 in the belly of an airplane along with everyone else on board. Pretty bleak. Pretty bleak. He'll have a trial the outcome of which will be a life sentence in some god-forbidden hell hole somewhere in the US, a Federal Penitentiary I suspect. Deserves it? Oh yes, he deserves it if anyone does. Lonely places those prisons, 3 walls and iron doors clanking shut, not for me brothers and sisters, not for me or YOU, for him though, for him. In later days we'll learn of his life, his struggles, his family, his friends and his conflicts and his choices. He made them, he'll get to live with them too now that he survived his own bombing attempt. How can this be prevented when such desperation, such pervasive evil exists in this world of ours? It won't be the last, how could it be?
What can we do to cause these folks that would do these heinous acts to reconsider (at least) and turn away from violence in the search of political change. That's what it's all about isn't it? Frustration that the other team is in charge and we (the perps) want to be the boss instead...and there is no other way than this? No other way? Education, hard-work, moving to where Life is better for us...none of this is enough? I guess not for this 23 year old Nigerian fellow, his life and its enumerable possibilites are over.
Saturday, December 26, 2009
Monday, December 21, 2009
The Health Care Debate, A Personal Matter
I watched the Senate debate last night concerning the health care bill now making its slower-than-molasses way thru the US Congress. I'm not going to go into the technicalities or the awful politicizing of each American's health care that BOTH Republicans and Democrats have done since September on this bill. There's no point in that, save to say that I have relatives, a daughter stuck with no health care at all due to her workplace not having any and my beloved wife Kelly who also has none as she is not yet 65 and thus not covered by Medicare. The rest of my immediate family does (I HOPE!) have coverage of one kind or another. My own is thru Medicare Advantage at Kaiser Permanente. My verdict so far is that it works for me and at a fraction of the cost that I had as a teacher to be enrolled at Kaiser, which had grown to over 1100 USD when we pulled the plug on it last year as unaffordable. We went to the Fingers-Crossed coverage plan for Kelly as I was then enrolled in Medicare.
A long time fan of Kaiser, I have had terrific, nay I say, life-saving, treatment by them several times in my recent past ie. two heart attacks among them. I am fortunate enough that I have first hand observation of another country's healthcare system, that of France. I have gotten prescriptions filled there, have gone to the doctor and the dentist there and have observed and spoken with French citizens about the health system's parts I haven't used (yet), such as the emergency room. I have a couple of examples of extraordinary health situations that were resolved on non-member persons (ex-pats) in the French system too. The World Health Organization thinks highly of the French system, rating it as the one of best in the world.
I hope in my heart of hearts that we in the US can have such coverage one day but I have my doubts. Too much money is involved, doctors with their own clinics, predatory insurance companies, astronomical drug costs, poor diets, alcoholism, rampant diabetes et al. It's a sick "system" that definetly needs some fixing, the current bill will help but will still need much further modification before it becomes anything worthy of praise. Still...this bill IS a start, it will be passed this week and passed by the same boring and unimaginative 60 Yeses and 40 Nos that we have come to expect from our so-called representatives in the Senate. How wonderful.
For example...my doctor's best friend vactioned in France last September. After hoisting lugage about for a few days he noticed a bump on his abdomen above his belly button. As a few days went by it grew larger and painful as well. He went to a doctor in Paris and was examined. "A rupture" was the diagnosis and he was sent forthwith to a local hospital. Given a name tag, there was no discussion of insurance, he was asked if he had any but that was all. This was before noontime. He was in bed, settled with his wife at his side at 1pm. He was operated on at 3pm and back in his bed at 4pm repaired. He spent the next 5 days healing further before he was released. Upon release he resumed his vacation and returned to San Francisco. A bill arrived from the hospital, the ONLY bill by the way, for $600 Euros (about 900 USD at the time). Try THAT in the US.
A long time fan of Kaiser, I have had terrific, nay I say, life-saving, treatment by them several times in my recent past ie. two heart attacks among them. I am fortunate enough that I have first hand observation of another country's healthcare system, that of France. I have gotten prescriptions filled there, have gone to the doctor and the dentist there and have observed and spoken with French citizens about the health system's parts I haven't used (yet), such as the emergency room. I have a couple of examples of extraordinary health situations that were resolved on non-member persons (ex-pats) in the French system too. The World Health Organization thinks highly of the French system, rating it as the one of best in the world.
I hope in my heart of hearts that we in the US can have such coverage one day but I have my doubts. Too much money is involved, doctors with their own clinics, predatory insurance companies, astronomical drug costs, poor diets, alcoholism, rampant diabetes et al. It's a sick "system" that definetly needs some fixing, the current bill will help but will still need much further modification before it becomes anything worthy of praise. Still...this bill IS a start, it will be passed this week and passed by the same boring and unimaginative 60 Yeses and 40 Nos that we have come to expect from our so-called representatives in the Senate. How wonderful.
For example...my doctor's best friend vactioned in France last September. After hoisting lugage about for a few days he noticed a bump on his abdomen above his belly button. As a few days went by it grew larger and painful as well. He went to a doctor in Paris and was examined. "A rupture" was the diagnosis and he was sent forthwith to a local hospital. Given a name tag, there was no discussion of insurance, he was asked if he had any but that was all. This was before noontime. He was in bed, settled with his wife at his side at 1pm. He was operated on at 3pm and back in his bed at 4pm repaired. He spent the next 5 days healing further before he was released. Upon release he resumed his vacation and returned to San Francisco. A bill arrived from the hospital, the ONLY bill by the way, for $600 Euros (about 900 USD at the time). Try THAT in the US.
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