My rebuttal to a neverending discussion regarding the complacency of some Americans.

And by Americans I mean those that label themselves as "conservative", "Christian", etc. I really don't believe in labels as my thoughts usually sway over to thinking of this awesome gadget, which having owned and used over many years can vouch for it's awesomeness.

Moving on.

In reply to Calvin's "facebook friend"...

I do not believe that 9/11 was an inside job and to assume this would just be that - an assumption. It would be me assuming that you drive a huge, gas-guzzler, wear a cowboy hat everyday and don't recycle because you live in Texas.

I don't assume anything.

Yes, I believe (meaning, it's my belief and opinion) that healthcare is a "right" to each human being, because, in all honesty what makes a person who is 45, unemployed with an existing health condition which hinders their ability to get proper healthcare coverage without going broke better than me or my husband.

A bit of a background on me and my husband (so that people realize we aren't hippies living in a van down by the river). We are both college educated. I have worked in many corporate settings and my husband works for one of the biggest companies (he works at Microsoft. Gasp. One of the most "liberal" companies and they happen to be successful). We do pretty well for ourselves and have the most awesome private health care coverage - more so than most Americans thanks to Microsoft. Yet, we still believe that healthcare should be provided to everyone.

A couple of statistics thanks to Harper's Index (September 2009 issue):

Percentage change since 2002 in average premiums paid to large U.S. health-insurance companies: +87

Percentage change in profits of the top ten insurance companies: +428

Chances that an American bankrupted by medical bills has health insurance: 7 in 10

I will not say anything else regarding the healthcare reform proposition except that it's Big Pharma and other corporations profiting from Americans' hard earned money - not the less fortunate.

Also, Texas is not at the top of the lowest unemployment list, by far, as you claimed earlier. Read this - The Bureau of Labor Statistics as it has the latest stats over the past few months. And of course Michigan would have the highest unemployment rate as it is the home of the auto manufacturing companies and we all know what's going on there... California - they currently have a Republican governor. Would you say he is cleaning up the mess of the past? Obama is trying to scrape and clean the scrambled-egg-pan left in the sink by George W. Bush, or better yet, a whole sink full of pans (the non-stick kind!), a sink the size of Texas.


From The Bureau of Labor Statistics:

Over the year, 45 states experienced statistically significant changes
in employment; 44 had decreases and 1 reported an increase.  The largest
statistically significant job losses occurred in California (-766,300),
Florida (-392,800), Michigan (-337,600), Ohio (-279,000), Illinois
(-272,600), and Texas (-266,300).  (Hence, not at the bottom of the list
for job losses.)


Going back to tie all this together:  Don't be complacent.  Be willing to change.
Situations change, jobs end and start.  We need to learn to not be so
smug as to think we will always have a job to provide for us and thus
always have proper healthcare for our families.

We are taught this, as Americans, to build up the ego, and have the "I'm-better-
than-you-because-I-work-here-and-have-this-and-that" syndrome.  We need
to get over ourselves, otherwise, our country is in big trouble.

The End.

P.S. I'm not sure why the bottom half of the post is italicized.

P.P.S. Here's hoping and praying Austin sleeps through the night soon.

P.P.S. Some of the sentences are cut off, not sure why...