Re: The Skinny Constituency

[Guest guest]

In the big scheme of things, skin color, eye color, hair color, shape of ears, nose, or body, country origin, there are more differences between the sexes than anything else. Women live about 10 yrs longer.

A major perceived difference is often attributable to a difference in access to medical care.

Since the early 60's, that access has increased the lifespan significantly and can be seen in SSDI data. We will probably live easily into our 90's. I expect 96 yo. Even my CHF bro should reach 96 yo with the access to necessary meds.

The med care revolution had a ways to go to provide ALL people inside our borders, regardless of any discriminator. Surely, now we provide $200k operations for babies with no insurance, also surgery for elders with short lifespan, just to see how long we can promote their life - for OUR benefit.

There are still gaps - vision care, dental care, and hearing care. IOW, why NOT place tooth implants in place of dentures? Why NOT 50$ hearing aids (replacing $4000 units)? Fortunately, vets have access to free hearing aids, but not their wives.

Why not full vision, hearing screening for children entering school?

Why not adequate nutrition for ALL school children? In Texas, school funding is STILL a FARCE. There is not equality - school districts in poor neighborhoods do NOT get the same funding as Clear Lake, eg.

How did the medical care ever get so confused, complicated and silly?

Regards

[ ] The Skinny Constituency

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/11/06/opinion/06whitehead.html?_r=1 & ei=5070 & emc=eta1 & oref=sloginNew York TimesOp-Ed ContributorFinally, a Thin President By COLSON WHITEHEADPublished: November 5, 2008 OVER the coming days and weeks, there will be many "I never thought I'd see the day" pieces, but none of them will be more overflowing with "I never thought I'd see the day"-ness than this one. I'm black, you see, and I haven't gained a pound since college. I skip breakfast most days, have maybe half a sandwich for lunch, and sometimes I forget to eat dinner. Just slips my mind. Yesterday morning, I woke up to a new world. America had elected a Skinny Black Guy president.I never thought I'd see the day. What were the chances that someone who looked like me would come to lead the most powerful nation on earth? Slim.Skinny Black Guys of my parents' generation pinned their hopes on Sammy Jr. His was a big-tent candidacy, rallying Skinny Black Guys, the Rat Pack and the Jewish vote in one crooning, light-footed package. He won South Carolina, but he never gathered momentum. In the end, the Candy Man couldn't.No one stepped up for a long time. was black and skinny, but also pretty weird, and after a while he wasn't even black any more, although he did retain his beanpole silhouette. We thought we had a winner in Rock, but then he started in with his infamous "There are Russians, and then there are ... Georgians" routine and we decided he was too raw for the national stage. So we waited. Some lost faith. Others gorged themselves on protein shakes, believing that America might accept a black mesomorph. And some of us kept hoping. We were hungry for change, if not brunch.Like many Americans, I first saw Barack Obama at the 2004 Democratic convention. I remember telling my wife excitedly, "This guy is probably stuffed after a cup of minestrone!" We knew it'd be an uphill battle. America has a long, troubled history. Last summer, The Wall Street Journal came out and said what all Americans felt, but were too afraid to say aloud: "In a nation in which 66 percent of the voting-age population is overweight and 32 percent is obese, could Senator Obama's skinniness be a liability? Despite his visits to waffle houses, ice-cream parlors and greasy-spoon diners around the country, his slim physique just might have some Americans wondering whether he is truly like them." Had he bitten off more than he could chew?I voted for Mr. Obama, but don't give me that "you're racist" line. Skinny Black Guys vote Democratic 90 percent of the time, through thin and thin. Now our day has come.On the right, there's been much anxiety over what a Skinny Black Guy administration will look like. Will he paint the White House a warm, Cablinasian caramel, lop off the East Wing for a more svelte profile? Pack his cabinet with Garrett , Dave Chappelle and Jimmie ? Such talk is ridiculous, although Mr. Obama doesn't hide the fact that he keeps Urkel on speed-dial "because you never know." I'm confident he'll reach across the aisle to Skinny White Guys, Haven't Been Able to Get to the Gym White Guys, and If They Were Women They'd Be Called Zaftig White Guys.He is going to raise taxes on the middle class, though. They were right about that. Skinny Black Guys hate the middle class. No reason. Just do. What else can we expect from a Skinny Black Guy White House? (I never thought I'd live to write those words!) We'll turn the corner, or close the menu, as we like to say, on the war on terrorism. The time may come to sit down at the (under-catered) table with the Taliban. The president-elect has a lot in common with these guys. No, not that. It's hard to get good takeout in the caves of Tora Bora, so you know they're pretty lean by now. Nothing breaks the ice like, "Is that my stomach growling, or yours?"There's a lot of work to be done to get America back on track. There won't be time for full meals, just light snacking. No problem. With the economy tanking, we'll to have to tighten our belts. Again, no prob. When Skinny Black Guys say, "I'll just have the Cobb salad," it's not a calorie thing. We're cheap. It'll come in handy when cutting the fat out of the budget in time for beach season. A lot of bigots woke up yesterday to the reality of our modern world. To them I say, just because you have a high metabolism, it doesn't mean that you don't have a fierce moral vision and the right ideas to fix this country. It just means that you don't gain weight easily.Somewhere, the Candy Man is smiling. Colson Whitehead is the author of the forthcoming novel "Sag Harbor."

[Guest guest]

One reason is a lack of a market. When I go to the doctor I pay only a portion for the service. If I have used up my deductable, I may pay next to nothing. Things that have no price will always be used incorrectly as there are no signals that we can use to allocate resources. Not sure what the solution is but I am confident that our new president will solve all our problems.Positive DennisFrom: jwwright

<jwwright@...> ; berko5517 <michelleberkovitz@...>Sent: Saturday, November 8, 2008 11:40:40 AMSubject: Re: [ ] The Skinny Constituency

I

How did the medical care ever get so confused, complicated and silly?

Regards

[Guest guest]

The American model became so silly because the States never had a Tommy who spearheaded publicly paid health care for Canadians. Of course, our Canadian government (which I didn't vote for) is doing its level best to dismantle Tommy's hard work by pointing to the US model and telling us that private health care means shorter waits (which begs another discussion, but I digress), and anyway, why shouldn't everyone pay for their own care?

We have checks and balances in our system that preclude the need for horrendous overhead like the States has. Like, when you're in a hospital - all your medications are free, in fact, everything is free. If you feel your heart pounding and you think you're having an attack, you get looked at right away at the emergency ward, before everybody else. Very competent staff tend to you, check you out and everything is free, including any medication, tests or operations. Everything. Since it's free, we don't have to pay for all the paperwork and staff needed to bill us and collect the fees. We get seen right away and don't have to prove we've got coverage and the triage nurse only has to verify that we're Canadian citizens.

There is a monthly premium health care fee calculated according to ability to pay. Below a certain income there is no cost, and above this, the fee increases with income. But the fee is affordable. Since our coverage is public, we don't have to prove to iinsurance companies that we're low-risk. We're all covered regardless of our state of health, race, gender-orientation or age.

I'm really glad Obama's looking into public health care for the less fortunate and lets hope this begins the process to include everyone.

Lowther

From: Dennis De Jarnette <positivedennis@...>Subject: Re: [ ] The Skinny Constituency Received: Sunday, November 9, 2008, 12:51 PM

One reason is a lack of a market. When I go to the doctor I pay only a portion for the service. If I have used up my deductable, I may pay next to nothing. Things that have no price will always be used incorrectly as there are no signals that we can use to allocate resources. Not sure what the solution is but I am confident that our new president will solve all our problems.Positive Dennis

From: jwwright <jwwrighteastex (DOT) net> ; berko5517 <michelleberkovitz@ hotmail.com>Sent: Saturday, November 8, 2008 11:40:40 AMSubject: Re: [ ] The Skinny Constituency

I

How did the medical care ever get so confused, complicated and silly?

Regards

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