We went to see Michael Moore’s Sicko. It’s an accessible look at the dysfunctional American health care system. The film points out problems with the system in real human terms. Despite spending more per capita on health care then any other nation, health care in the U.S. doesn’t compete with outcomes achieved in other industrialized nations. This shows up in how long the average American lives, the numbers of infants and children who die, and even how tall Americans are.
Why do Americans put up with it? Maybe we’re suckers. Maybe we’ve been led to believe that having the government provide decent health care to everyone somehow threatens the American way of life. Maybe we’ve fallen for a market-driven fantasy that would have us believe that one glorious day, everyone will be really rich and able to get the same nip and tuck jobs reserved for Paris Hilton. The price for preserving our hopes? The uninsured line America’s overcrowded emergency rooms. Meanwhile those in the insured middle class can be just an illness away from bankruptcy and destitution.
If you’re lucky enough to still have medical insurance, you probably have had first hand experience with the red tape that keeps our system free. If you get sick, you probably have to make sure to see a physician that your insurance company approves of. Make sure the insurance company approves of your doctor before you get sick. They can provide you with a list. If you’re really sick, and need to see a specialist, you may have to get a doctor’s note to see another doctor, if your insurance company preapproves. Of course, the insurance company has to approve the treatment and the medication. At every step of the way, be assured that insurance company bureaucrats will keep their watchful eye on the bottom line. If you get well, you can look forward to letters from the insurance company which will let you know if they’ve shelled out ridiculous amounts of cash for the treatment you received, or if you have to spend the rest of your life paying off the debt you may have accrued in the few hours of surgery you had to get from, say the car accident you were in while dashing off to work. Not to worry, you can rest at ease if you just keep $100,000 or so in the bank. Best to start at birth.
Compare this with other countries with national health care. If you’re sick, just go to the doctor. Need medicine? Go get it. No complicated bureaucracy making relatively arbitrary decisions about who gets their care paid for and who doesn’t. With single payer systems, taxpayers also benefit from collective bargaining power to get better deals from the giant pharmaceutical companies. The numbers are in. American health care is a ripoff. We pay too much for too little and it shows.
KUT out of Austin, Texas, U.S.A. is participating in the day of Internet Radio Silence today. It appears to be another misguided attempt by the RIAA to set up a legally-mandated protection racket benefiting major players in the recording industry while, in effect, restricting the spread of American culture to the international public, no matter the intention of the artists the RIAA claims to represent. According to indiepod.com,
the RIAA’s affiliate organization SoundExchange claims it has the right to collect royalties for any artist, no matter if they have signed with an RIAA label or not. ‘SoundExchange (the RIAA) considers any digital performance of a song as falling under their compulsory license. If any artist records a song, SoundExchange has the right to collect royalties for its performance on Internet radio. Artists can offer to download their music for free, but they cannot offer their songs to Internet radio for free … So how it works is that SoundExchange collects money through compulsory royalties from Webcasters and holds onto the money. If a label or artist wants their share of the money, they must become a member of SoundExchange and pay a fee to collect their royalties.
The future for independent American musicians who want to get international exposure through internet radio? Take off to the great white north, eh?
More information:
Each generation of kids in one U.K. family has less freedom to roam: link.
Via boingboing.net
I went with our crew, team Manu Chao, to see him perform at the Palladium Ballroom in Dallas, Texas as described in the Fort Worth Star Telegram.
Manu Chao can mix anything up: languages, melodies, and rhythms. Some songs I only recognized from the lyrics, as the underlying melody and rhythm were completely different from the recorded versions. The crowd was filled with Manu Chao lovers, and sang along much of the night. Energy levels were high, it was as much a workout as a concert. My lovely wife hopped like she’s never hopped before. I hopped until I stopped, and was still sore for 3 days.
We returned to the Dallas Plaza hotel, a 15 minute walk from the Ballroom. It was economical, though not without it’s challenges. We were more amused then inconvenienced though, and would probably stay there again, if we planned on attending a weekend show at the Palladium.
The following day, we went camping at Lake Whitney State Park, a fine park between Fort Worth and Waco with swimming and plenty of camping next to the lake. One caveat, presumably due to a particularly rainy summer, there were lots of mosquitoes. While I’m normally the last person to get bothered by them, there were plenty to go around and they were voracious!
There are two coconut-based soups from Madam Mam’s restaurant that I’m just crazy about. Kao Soi is a rich red-curry soup with egg noodles, pickled mustard, and roasted [probably hot] pepper. It’s particularly spicy.
Tom Kha is a coconut soup with lemon grass, lime juice, magrood leaf, galanga, pepper and cilantro. It’s sour and uniquely flavorful.
I think I’d like to eat my way through Thailand.