president repeals global gag rule

recipient:

Banc of America Insurance Services, Inc/ Plan Administrator/ 6301 Owensmouth Ave Suite 700/ Woodland Hills, CA 9136-9663

sent: 

White House Blog: “Statement released after the President rescinds “Mexico City Policy“

reasoning:

the Mexico City Policy has been the political football that has dictated the direction of various presidential administrations in regard to international family planning and women’s health issues. it was one of the first things President Bush reinstated once in office, and it’s one of the first things President Obama has repealed. themain component of the policy was US funding for organizations that promote or provide abortions overseas.

Reinstating the Global Gag Rule was a prime example of Christian Right morality dictating much of US policy during the Bush administration – the thinking against the Mexico City Policy was that supporting family planning and abortions would mean women, young girls would be having sex all over the place. the ABC rule of abstinence, being faithful, and condoms sounds good in theory, but it’s completely unrealistic – people are going to have sex for the sake of having sex, not always for baby-making -> it’s human nature. and to take away access to family planning and birth control is more harmful to the poor than it is helpful.

healthcare in the new administration

recipient:

American Express/P.O. Box 31511/Salt Lake City, UT 84131-9934

sent:

WebMD article by Salynn Boyles – Obama Wins: What It Means for Health Care

reasoning:

obama’s healthcare plan was infinitely better than mccain’s. and now that he is president-elect, what are the specifics of how he’s going to alleviate the problem of having practically 25% of the US population uninsured. my coverage under my parents’ plan is about to run out, and looking at individual plans for $75-90/month, i think i’ll just have to forgo insurance for awhile -> don’t get hurt and hope for the best.

but like immigration, and education issues, healthcare looks like it’s going to be taking a backseat to the current economic crisis. while healthcare costs are more and more expensive, and it seems that we cannot afford to reform the system now, the editors @ The New Republic suggest otherwise – doing so would help the economy. it’s promising to hear experts say that out of all the obama healthcare initiatives, one that is the most feasible, and likely to happen soon is the expansion of SCHIP: healthcare for uninsured, low-income children. as much as universal health coverage makes some people shudder at the thought of “socialism”, the argument loses ground when it comes to children. why shouldn’t all of our children be covered? they have no control over their situations (though one man in NH says then they shouldn’t have been born) , they are not yet old enough to provide for themselves, like we give them “access” to schools, so should the same be for healthcare. like the prison system, immigration system, and education system, the healthcare system is broken, with the new administration, and tom daschle for secretary of HHS, hopefully we will see improvements very soon b/c we need help and practically anything is better than what it is now.

Gardasil: One Less

recipient:

Real Simple/ PO Box 64523/ Tampa, FL 33664-4523

sent:

BBC “Gay Men Seek ‘Female Cancer’ Jab” article

reasoning:

i just got my 3rd and last shot of Gardasil. i am now protected against certain types of HPV, particularly the strains that have been shown to cause cervical cancer. woo. i didn’t actively seek out the vaccine, it was one i had definitely heard of, these “one less” commercials are on constant play if you turn on the TV, but it was something i didn’t think i needed. and while vaccines have done a lot of good, i’m wary that soonwe’ll be vaccinating ourselves against everything in the world, and simply start a new series of bacteria, germs and illnesses. i went in to get a physical in january, and my doctor immediately advised that i should start on the gardasil track. i knew that SL had done it and she said it was painful and expensive. but dr. madden assured me that it was now covered by insurance – it was a huge fight that doctors took on against the insurance companies, “how can you deny people something that could potentially save their lives?” i was still a bit hesitant, but the doctor was insistent. i was also somewhat convinced when she said, “how amazing is it that we’ve developed a vaccine against a cancer? think about the implications that soon we’ll have something for every cancer, and no one will have to suffer.” unfortunately, the first shot hurt like hell, and committed me for 6 months to this new health and scientific experiment that i wasn’t necessarily ready for or on board with.

“I hope for the best”

this, even more so than the Matt from Matt & Kim video {see true success is health insurance} exemplifies to me one of the main cruxes and reality of the healthcare problem in the united states today.  somehow the stereotype still exists that only poor people, or people on welfare can’t afford to have it, but it’s so many more people, different types of people who are working and who are successful by any American standards.  a lot of the attempts towards universal healthcare have the companies providing healthcare options for their employees, but what about the single, independent business owners for whom providing healthcare for themselves, and their 2-3 employees may be too expensive and costly?

when maxwell, awesome independent clothing designer, says he has to avoid getting hurt or sick b/c he doesn’t have health insurance and hospital visits are too expensive, that’s telling of how precarious a situation so many people and their families face.  it must be stressful for parents to watch their kids, and make sure they don’t hurt themselves too much b/c they can’t afford to go to the hospital. 

bruises, broken arms, colds, and ear infections are a natural part, a seeming rite-of-passage, of childhood, have to be avoided, and kids must stay inside in front of the TV in hermetically sealed bubbles is sad. maybe it’s not that extreme, but being afraid to let kids be kids, or to live life because an injury or sickness might realistically set you back, and put you in financial debt, is sad.

if somehow we could figure out a way similar to how the europeans do it, where everyone is covered, you can go to any hospital, and any doctor, perhaps also take some dependence off prescription drugs, get rid of medical malpractice, then america could really live up to being one of the most wealthy countries in the world that actually takes care of its citizens. that argument always comes up, if we have the most money, but yet something like people’s health isn’t covered, where’s all the money going? right now – probably the war effort, but even there, veterans need healthcare, the cases at walter reed, and the number of soldiers coming back with PTSD are huge, and despicable. the iraq war veterans, the children, the single independent business owners, SiCKO – it should not have come to this point.

“true success is health insurance”

in relation to the previous post, this is a video I came across of Matt, from Matt & Kim, one of the funnest, cutest, happiest bands ever, talking about health insurance and its relation to safety, protection, health, and skateboarding.  even fairly successful musical artists, meaning international touring artists, do not have health insurance.  so it’s not something that’s relegated to the dirt poor living in the slums.  lots of people who make enough money to support themselves, still can’t afford to have health insurance – often the system is too expensive and set up to work against single, independent payers. 

check out matt & kim: www.myspace.com/mattandkim

their “yea yeah” video is awesome. 

babies are inevitable

- we might as well provide and ensure they have proper healthcare.

Recipient:

Domino Magazine/PO Box 37759/Boone, IA 50037-2759

Sent:

Jobs with Justice ”Healthcare for All” sticker

also, the dialogue i had with a NH gentleman regarding healthcare, and children [see below]

Reasoning:

With Michael Moore’s SiCKO documentary and John Edwards’ populist campaign the possibility of universal healthcare in America has entered into the public sphere and been given legitimate consideration by politicians/legislators, healthcare providers, and mainstream media.

while clinton and obama’s healthcare plans (<-respectively linked) are not anywhere near a conception of universality, the question has been posed to them in debates, and they have responded in standard presidential candidate fashion how and what their plans will do to start closing in on the healthcare inequality gap in America. 

while canvassing in New Hampshire this summer, one of our target issues was “accessible healthcare” which everyone we talked to immediately concluded we were implying universal healthcare.  which we were, but the libertarians in NH were not so receptive to that, so we changed our tune to “affordable healthcare, so those who work can have it”.  

but perhaps reasoning for why social services in the US are considerably lacking in comparison to the ones in Europe can be the intense inclination towards individualism, a “pull yourself up by the bootstraps to achieve the American Dream” mentality, that can be why our taxes are comparably lower b/c most Americans are unwilling to have their money go towards helping others, especially people that do not resemble themselves.  

After going door-to-door, i started to get that most people do not want to pay for other people to have healthcare, enter in “the welfare queens”, “the illegal immigrants”, etc.  we began to construct our words in terms of “universal healthcare for children”.  that’s hard to argue against, children should not be “punished” for the behavior/socio-economic status of their parents, they are our future, let them lead the way, but we got to make sure they are healthy and protected first.

here’s a conversation i had with a most polite guy, very much the blue-collar family man.

Man: I don’t believe in universal healthcare

Me: Ok, but what about healthcare for all the children, at least?

Man: That’s the parents’ responsibility.

Me: Yeah, definitely, but sometimes the parents can’t provide for their children, their job doesn’t pay enough, or they can’t work…

Man: Then they should have thought about that before they had children.

-I was dumbstruck.  that people would consider first if they can afford to provide their children with healthcare before they start making babies, that it’s one of the first thoughts any couple has sex before they have sex was just inane to me. i walked away in a daze.  The gentleman was incredibly polite, so i didn’t brush him off as the typical ignorant NH “Libertarian”, but the lack of acknowledgment that people are sexual beings, and will have kids whether or not they are socially, and economically prepared for them is thinking that is doomed to fail from the beginning, much like the fundamentalist Christian Right’s reinstatement of the “Global Gag Rule“.  we are so far from achieving any sort or form of equality.  

the person in IA receiving this sticker, and conversation about healthcare may be ambivalent, it might go the way of the trash as i’m sure much of what i send does.  maybe i’ll become the notorious crazy radical from MA who keeps sending in everything except for the applications and money they need to do business, but for now, the nopostagerequired envelopes – they are my own soapbox.