The Kindness of Strangers
Aug 1st, 2008 at 10:55 am by Susie
I’m not crazy about asking for help. (In fact, I’m downright phobic about it.) But thanks to bloggers like Digby, Glenn Greenwald, John Amato, John Cole, Jill Cozzi, Jonathan Schwarz, World O’Crap, Avedon, funnyfarmer at American Street and everyone else who picked up my original post, I now have the luxury of knowing I have health insurance for several months, despite my recent un-employment. (Unlike so many other people in the same boat.)
To all of these kind people and their readers, thank you from the bottom of my heart. What an amazing gift you’ve given me.
And isn’t it a shame that our “civilized” nation leaves us without the security of health care when we’re least able to afford it? A special shout out to the Reagan administration, which came up with the heartwarming idea of taxing unemployment checks to pay for … a tax cut for the wealthy! (And Ronnie made it all sound so reasonable.) 
So glad to hear you’ll have a little peace of mind while you go through your health challenges.
As an American living in Canada, all I can say is: I didn’t come here for the health care, but it’s sure a big part of why I stay!
I’ve endured several health emergencies and complications, and it’s criminal when people have to add the worry of how they’re going to pay for care to the pain and suffering and fear they’re already experiencing. My father, living in Oregon, was recently diagnosed with lung cancer, and I can honestly say the stress of dealing with the insurance companies was FAR worse than the medical condition. With what we’re learning about the effect of stress on our ability to fight disease, is it any wonder things are spiraling out of control?
And could someone please explain exactly what insurance companies do for HEALTH? (Don’t believe for a second that the “wait times” Canada is experiencing are anything other than a conservative agenda aimed at strangling the health care system to make the public believe we need private health companies to relieve the backlog.)
Health care should be a right, not a privilege. It’s possible, America. Just wiki “Tommy Douglas” if you want to know how Canada did it.
I’m bloody glad to hear it!
Now, take sitemeter off your page until they fix it - they seem to have done something yesterday that’s blocking anyone from viewing it in IE.
(I don’t use IE, but I use an IE-based browser that does everything all the others do and some that they don’t, and I want to keep using it. Opera and Safari, and IE itself, are all crap by comparison, and don’t let me work the way I want to.)
Okay, I took it off.
Hey Ms. Susie, glad you have your health insurance for a few months longer and I hope you find another job with great bennies soon . I gave what I could. I admire you greatly even when I don’t agree. I just wanted to say that in the great O and C split of 2007-2008 I eventually ended being for O when Edwards left the race. Water under the bridge and all that I still don’t comprehend how the O man makes some of the choices he makes to “distance” himself from us scary lefties, Clinton had done much of the same during her quest for the presidency. Let me go back and revise that “I don’t think I comprehend” statement I do understand it but 2000,2002,2004,2006(despite the victory in congress) should have proven beyond a doubt that running as the don’t rock the boat non standing up for democratic principles alternative to radical republicans was/is not a good option. Wins were made to seem less then what they should have been and loses are shown as a sign of the weakness of democratic party ideas by the media as we saw in 2000 and 2004. “You see religous folks put W. over the top so the democrats need to find religon, quick even though they are not sincere if they do!!!!” Actually it was shennigans in Florida and Ohio but who am I to quibble. So I’ve worked up to this question. What do we do when we know dang well O and his insiders have more likely as not made the determination that we could no more risk not voting for him to prevent a McCain presidency than we would vote for Mckinney, Nader, or Barr @ this time? Yeah, yeah I know if only Clinton was The One I don’t doubt we’d be having this situation with Mrs. Clinton. A vote for any of spoilers in truth I believe would be casting a vote for McCain. That Nader statement about “not a dimes worth between Gore and “W haunts me to this day. Peace and thank you for being you.