 |  |  |
 |
Is Healthcare A Right?- Social Obligations
Over at Dr. Helen's she has an post asking Should Healthcare Be a Right? It is a good question and one that I'd like to address quickly.
At the moment those of us who live in the United States live within a very angry country. People are irate about many different things but if you ask me much of the anger boils down to one thing, responsibility.
It all comes down to who you believe should be responsible for certain things. Some people feel that too many people are looking for a free handout and that they are not taking responsible for themselves and for their families.
Others maintain that we are operating on a class system and that "those that have got" don't care about "those that don't" and that they should. I mulled over getting into a long discussion about Maslow's Hierarchy but think that I am going to pass. Instead I'll provide you with this cool graphic.
I find some of this to be relatively simple. We have a social responsibility and obligation to try and provide food, shelter, education and healthcare to everyone. I know, some of you are busy shouting socialist at me. Too bad that you use it as a pejorative term when you don't really understand it. But that is neither here nor there.
I am not a proponent of trying to provide everything for free or to suggest that people shouldn't have any personal obligation to secure these things for themselves and their families. They should. As I have written many times I do not believe that welfare should be given without conditions.
We need to demand accountability from people. We need to set standards and require that those who are able meet those standards. The challenge is that not everyone can do so. Some are always going to be incapable and unable and it is wrong to ignore them.
Some people will suffer some sort of catastrophic event and find themselves stuck in a downward spiral. Some of them will try very hard to pull themselves out and will be unable to do so.
It is not about handouts, but giving a handup. We are a better and stronger society when we look out for each other. Better education for all helps us. Better and more affordable healthcare is good for society.
People shouldn't be afraid to work hard but they also shouldn't feel that hard work offers no rewards or incentives.
At the moment those of us who live in the United States live within a very angry country. People are irate about many different things but if you ask me much of the anger boils down to one thing, responsibility.
It all comes down to who you believe should be responsible for certain things. Some people feel that too many people are looking for a free handout and that they are not taking responsible for themselves and for their families.
Others maintain that we are operating on a class system and that "those that have got" don't care about "those that don't" and that they should. I mulled over getting into a long discussion about Maslow's Hierarchy but think that I am going to pass. Instead I'll provide you with this cool graphic.
I find some of this to be relatively simple. We have a social responsibility and obligation to try and provide food, shelter, education and healthcare to everyone. I know, some of you are busy shouting socialist at me. Too bad that you use it as a pejorative term when you don't really understand it. But that is neither here nor there.I am not a proponent of trying to provide everything for free or to suggest that people shouldn't have any personal obligation to secure these things for themselves and their families. They should. As I have written many times I do not believe that welfare should be given without conditions.
We need to demand accountability from people. We need to set standards and require that those who are able meet those standards. The challenge is that not everyone can do so. Some are always going to be incapable and unable and it is wrong to ignore them.
Some people will suffer some sort of catastrophic event and find themselves stuck in a downward spiral. Some of them will try very hard to pull themselves out and will be unable to do so.
It is not about handouts, but giving a handup. We are a better and stronger society when we look out for each other. Better education for all helps us. Better and more affordable healthcare is good for society.
People shouldn't be afraid to work hard but they also shouldn't feel that hard work offers no rewards or incentives.
Attempted Burglary- A Stranger in My Backyard
Consider this the preface to the post:
I am a big fan of soundtracks. A good soundtrack is a critical part of a movie/television show as it helps to paint a picture and set the mood. Think
about watching a horror movie, without the sound it is just not that scary. The music sets the tone, even if you are not familiar with a particular movie the music
affects your feelings and emotions.
I'd argue that even the most familiar flick can become a bit more threatening with just a few tweaks here and there. The point here is that when I tell a story I often wish that I could have my own soundtrack playing in the background, but I am the guy that wants his own theme song.
We live in a safe neighborhood in which the neighbors know and look out for each other and like many neighborhoods there is a certain amount of crime therein. It is not a regular occurrence so the appearance of a police car parked the wrong direction in front of my home was unexpected.
As I pulled into my driveway my eyes scanned the area searching for evidence of why the police were there. Slowly exiting the car I wondered why and where the police were. It took all of a moment to notice that my neighbor's side gate was wide open and that my own side gate had been pushed open as well.
My neighbor is a sweet old lady who lives alone. I was very concerned about what was going on wanted to immediately check on her. At the same time I wanted to be cautious. I didn't know what was going on, couldn't say that the police were there because of a problem or for some innocuous reason.
The front yard was empty and I couldn't hear anything. It seemed natural to assume that the police were either inside her home or in the backyard, at least I suspected as much. I decided to take a moment to poke my head inside my own home. I figured that it couldn't hurt to take a quick look inside.
Wandered through the house and didn't notice anything so I popped back outside. This time I was greeted by my neighbor's son who started out by saying "Mom's ok." He told me that a short time earlier his mother had woken up and discovered a man inside her bedroom. He had his back to her and was rifling through her dresser.
When she asked him what he was doing he took off running. I was relieved to hear that was all he did and that she was not hurt. When the dust cleared she got out of bed called the police and her sons and started to take inventory of what was missing. Wedding ring, anniversary ring, assorted odds and ends of this and that, call them tchotchkes and knick knacks.
But the most important thing he stole was a sense of safety and trust in the sanctity of her own home. It was a profound violation.
During my conversation with her son my neighbor walked outside. When she saw me she hugged me and asked me why I hadn't been home. I asked her if she had screamed and she said no. But she said that if they had seen me (she assumes that there were two, but doesn't know for certain) they wouldn't have done this.
The thing is, I am pretty sure that they did see me. I took my daughter to school that day and noticed a strange car parked in front of our homes. Certainly it is possible that the car had nothing to do with anything, but when we reviewed the chronology it makes sense that this white sedan was a part of this.
I haven't mentioned yet that I made a point of walking the perimeter of my home to see if this guy had tried to get inside my home. The answer is that he had. I found evidence that he had been on my back patio and had tried to open my sliding doors and it appears that he might have tried to force open a window in the dining room. The good news is that he didn't get in.
Outside we spoke with the police and I described the car I saw to them. Made a point of asking the officer what he thought. He assured me that we live in a safe neighborhood and that no matter what we do there are going to be episodes like this. I can live and agree with that. Really all I can do is try and make it tough for them to get in here and hope that they will find an easier mark.
But I'd be lying if I said that it didn't anger or concern me that someone would do this. I take this very seriously. A brazen attempt like this makes me wonder what they are willing to do. My family's safety is sacrosanct.
I will do what I need to do to protect them.
So now along with all of the other stress and chaos I have this to think about it. I am sure that in a few days the memory will fade and I'll be more relaxed about things. But for a little while here I have found myself making extra sure that the doors are locked, windows are closed and that my favorite Louisville Sluggers are accessible.
Text Messaging to Save Elephants
I found this article on CNN and thought that it was interesting. Elephants are among my favorite animals.
Crossposted here.
OL PEJETA, Kenya (AP) -- The text message from the elephant flashed across Richard Lesowapir's screen: Kimani was heading for neighboring farms.The huge
bull elephant had a long history of raiding villagers' crops during the harvest, sometimes wiping out six months of income at a time. But this time a mobile phone card inserted in his collar sent rangers a text message. Lesowapir, an armed guard and a driver arrived in a jeep bristling with spotlights to frighten Kimani back into the Ol Pejeta conservancy.
Kenya is the first country to try elephant texting as a way to protect both a growing human population and the wild animals that now have less room to roam. Elephants are ranked as "near threatened" in the Red List, an index of vulnerable species published by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
The race to save Kimani began two years ago. The Kenya Wildlife Service had already reluctantly shot five elephants from the conservancy who refused to stop crop-raiding, and Kimani was the last of the regular raiders. The Save the Elephants group wanted to see if he could break the habit.
So they placed a mobile phone SIM card in Kimani's collar, then set up a virtual "geofence" using a global positioning system that mirrored the conservatory's boundaries. Whenever Kimani approaches the virtual fence, his collar texts rangers.
They have intercepted Kimani 15 times since the project began. Once
almost a nightly raider, he last went near a farmer's field four months ago.
It's a huge relief to the small farmers who rely on their crops for food and cash for school fees. Basila Mwasu, a 31-year-old mother of two, lives a stone's throw from the conservancy fence. She and her neighbors used to drum through the night on pots and pans in front of flaming bonfires to try to frighten the elephants away.
Once an elephant stuck its trunk through a window into a room where her baby daughter was sleeping and the family had stored some corn. She beat it back with a burning stick. Another time, an elephant killed a neighbor who was defending his crop.
"We had to go into town to tell the game [wardens] to chase the elephants away or we're going to kill them all," Mwasu remembered.
But the elephants kept coming back.
Batian Craig, the conservation and security manager at the 90,000-acre Ol Pejeta conservancy, says community development programs are of little use if farmers don't have crops. He recalled the time when 15 families had their harvests wiped out.
"As soon as a farmer has lost his livelihood for six months, he doesn't give a damn whether he has a school or a road or water or whatever," he said.
Crossposted here.
Mother's Cookies- A Victim Of the Times
I really liked those frosted animal cookies.
(10-08) 17:21 PDT -- Mother's Cookies, an Oakland institution for 92 years, has been shuttered, its owner seeking bankruptcy protection for the company.Crossposted here.
The ending was abrupt: Workers for the company, which shifted its baking and distribution operations to plants in Ohio and Canada in 2006, told workers Friday that operations would cease and cookies would no longer be made as of Monday.
The company cited rising prices for raw materials and fuel, and on Monday filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware.
The company that made Mother's cookies at the end was the Archway & Mother's Cake and Cookie Co. of Battle Creek, Mich. It was owned by Catterton Partners, a private-equity firm in Greenwich, Conn., which in 2005 purchased it from an Italian firm, Parmalat Finanziaria,
which was plagued by scandals at home.
In 2006, Mother's Cake & Cookie Co. was uprooted from its plant on 81st Avenue in Oakland and relocated. About 230 employees lost their jobs.
According to industry lore, the company was founded in 1914 by a newspaper vendor, N.M. Wheatley, as a one-person shop. It expanded and moved to the 81st Avenue location in 1949.
Mother's later had a series of corporate owners: a Belgian company, Artal B.V., bought it in 1991; it was owned by Specialty Foods Corp. of Illinois in the late 1990s; in 2000, Specialty sold Mother's and Archway Cookies to Parmalat, which in turn sold the combined business to Catterton for an undisclosed sum."
What's Your Favorite Topic To Blog About?
*Sticky Post- New Posts found below**
Before I sign off I have one question for you. What is your favorite topic to blog about?
Before I sign off I have one question for you. What is your favorite topic to blog about?
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)