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Fixing A Broken System: Healthcare - Part I
My family hasn't seen Michael Moore's "Sicko" yet as of this writing, but we understand that he will be accused of left-wing bias and selective presentation of information. There is always the option of someone making a counter-documentary, as usually happens, though his documentaries tend to start the ball rolling.
What would such a counter-documentary cover? Long lines for services? High taxes in countries with good coverage? How much better the US compares to some of the poorer African countries? Would they be able to explain why my two brothers and their families or my own son currently have no healthcare?
Here are the basic options available in developed countries today:
SOCIALIZED MEDICINE
Examples: Great Britain, the US Veteran's Administration
The government hires physicians and runs hospitals and the government pays. Patients choose their own doctor. Everyone is covered.
SINGLE-PAYER
Example: Canada
Physicians have private practices, hospitals may be owned by nonprofits or by the government. The government pays the bills based on fee structures negotiates with health care providers. Patients choose their own doctor. Everyone is covered.
NONPROFIT MULTI-PAYER
Example: France
Medical practices and hospitals are private (nonprofit or for-profit). Payroll contributions cover 75% and the government makes up the rest. Patients choose their own doctor. 99% are covered.
CORPORATE HEALTH CARE
Example: United States
Individuals or employers purchase coverage from mostly for-profit insurance companies. The elderly, disabled, veterans, some children, some low income people are covered through public programs.
Employers and individuals pay premiums. Most plans require copays and deductibles and some costs are excluded. The government subsidizes employer plans through tax breaks and covers some families through publicly funded programs. Physician choice is restricted by the insured. Penalties may apply for seeing "out-of-network" providers.
Those with insurance, those covered by the VA (works like socialized medicine), those with Medicaid and Medicare (works like single-payer system) are covered. Those with chronic illness or pre-existing conditions may not be able to find coverage at any price. About 50 million have no coverage, including 9 million children. Cost per capital is almost double the other systems.
(Source: http://www.yesmagazine.org/article.asp?ID=1515)
Now that we have some basics for comparison, we can think in terms of how we stack up, as we peruse "Sicko" and/or analyze the situation around American healthcare.
What do you think of these different approaches? Which ones make the most sense to you?
The health care plan that Richard has suggested, after doing extensive research on healthcare stats for a client, is that each of us will find an appropriate and still extant ice floe at the moment necessary. It is supposedly a very nice an inexpensive treatment option.
Just announced that Al Gore will kick off LiveEarth at the American Indian Museum early tomorrow--Saturday. Maybe we will live blog??
Anyone who can get here is welcome!
We are less interested in Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks than we are in the world music that will be there.
Anyone else making it to one of the venues? Personally, I'd love to be in Rio...
Talkin' to meself here, but Silence is Complicity has a nice thread header at Kos:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/6/14028/18875
Court dismisses challenge to domestic spying
3-judge panel splits along party lines over Bush’s surveillance program
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19632877/
MOVE ON ORG SUPPORTING IMPEACHMENT??
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
http://pol.moveon.org/subpoena/email0703.html
Dear MoveOn member,
You've probably seen the news this morning: President Bush let Cheney aide Scooter Libby, the one man who was convicted for the lies around the Iraq war, go free. Paris Hilton served more jail time than he will.
Bush and Cheney think their administration is above the law. That's un-American, and this July 4th it's time for Congress to re-assert its constitutional authority and stop the administration's obstruction of justice.
Congress can start by demanding answers from the Bush administration about the Iraq war and their illegal spying program, and not backing down until they get them. Cheney won't testify? Subpoena him. He won't come? Hold him in contempt of Congress and send over the police. And if that doesn't work, impeach the guy. We just can't let President Bush and his administration dismantle our Constitution.
This July 4th, it's time to bring checks and balances back again. Click here to sign the petition and send a message to Congress to act now (the text of the petition is in the box to the right):
http://pol.moveon.org/subpoena
Then please send this message to your friends, family, and others who would be interested. This issue has everyone outraged--only 32 percent of Republicans agree with the president's decision. [1]
This isn't just about the Bush administration, of course. Law is determined through precedent. If Congress doesn't rein the Bush administration in, it'll change the rules for every administration that comes after.
We'll be in Rhinebeck for an engagaement party during Live Earth, which made us realize we've never been to a wedding as a couple, other than to our nephew's. And that's so many decades we call it an era. I don't know what that means, except we moved around, especially at "that age," and no one we've known has dared take that leap. Divorced, though, with a party, often hosted by both.
Given the change, and not PM, ice floe seems reasonable, and preferable to the canoe in the tropics sent out to sea. Don't want to spend my last minutes too hot. Rather with the few remaining polar bears, too hungry to pounce.
Alan holds onto his job becuse of insurance, but we are at pre-layoff. Reuters is merging with Thompson, and the new guy in charge from Reuters, who fired him from his last salaried job there, when they got rid of the profitable Air Cargo section, will once again go with the slash and burn he knows. They want to divest of the print magazines, also money-makers, and fire the old guys (that's Alan).
So, even though having insurance does not mean much if you're sick, corporate insurance is a tad better, again, if not really sick. So, I'm rushing to take postponed tests and buy glasses.
I wrote a few paragraphs of comment about the movie, but for those who haven't seen it, I now won't mention the very choice bits and points made.
Anything that indicts Nixon, private corporations as self-serving, sails flotillas to Cuba, and shows other governments doing people's laundry, well, movingly funny, when not bringing tears.
There is a Live Earth event here (4 venues) and I didn't RSVP til I check who wants to come. Just saw off visitors and am thinking of going to "Sicko" this weekend. The lines should not be as long as last weekend, though hope it's doing well. Also want to see "La Vie En Rose," story of Edith Piaf. It was a hit in France and got young people interested in her again, and did well at the Film Festival here. So little time, so much to do! I love summer!
Here is the FDL announcement of the DC concert, complete with Youtube video of Garth Brooks singing my favorite song of his:
We Shall Be Free
Check it out:
http://www.firedoglake.com/2007/07/06/for-our-dc-area-readers-concert-tomorrow/
Carol, Thanks for that! It is also the second-to-last day of the Folklife Festival, at the other end of the Mall--so we will running from 4th St. to 12th-14th Streets for most of the day!
The American Indian Museum has some of the best food around, but then, so does the Folklife Festival! Tomorrow may just turn out to be a celebration of the stomachs of the world as well as the preservation of the world!!
Sorry Sparrow I ducked out before anyone responded to it.
Prissy....yet still...Christy.
Ok
How about 'Impeach The Bastards! PLEASE?'
New poll shows majority of Americans think Cheney should be impeached
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Threepart_case_for_Cheneys_impeachment_made_0706.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steve-young/heard-the-one...
Steve Young
Heard the One About O'Reilly in Washington? You Can't
Posted July 6, 2007 | 08:47 AM (EST)
(snip)
What is the sound Bill O'Reilly makes in Washington?
Answer: Nothing. (Radio SFX: Bird-Chirping)
Yesterday, Bill's Washington, D.C. radio station (WJFK,106.7 FM) dropped his show. (Radio SFX: Applause, applause)
Metallica frontman James Hetfield was denied entry into Luton airport yesterday, when security officials pulled him over.
The rocker was prevented from leaving the airport terminal once he got off the plane because of his ¡Taliban-like beard¢, The Times reports.
After a brief interrogation in which Hetfield explained he was in a world-famous rock band, officials apparently let him got.
Read more: http://www.metalhammer.co.uk/news/article/?id=46782
Back from my impromptum 'protest'--or rather truth telling mission.
I will post more after resting, but for now, I'll tell you that I used an older sign I had that said:
TRUTH>>>>>>>>
(I had a few people ask me what that means!)
And as part of the rest of my 'impromptu protest' I created another sign. It said:
(symbol for not equal) Under Bush
NO MORE Obstruction of Justice
Lies!!!!
BTW...Lol Christy.
I guess that's prissy enough for me.
Will post more about my experience after I hydrate and rest a little.
What do you think of these different approaches? Which ones make the most sense to you?
Posted by DiAnne Grieser at July 6, 2007 02:00 PM
I've always maintained that Medicare must kick in for those who are denied private sector coverage, much like in the workers compensation world in many states.
This is a position that Congressman John Conyers is taking. I wish him luck.
DiAnne - thanks for crossposting this from your own blog. I had it linked to my own blog as well.
As for Live Earth, I'll tune into the live feeds on Sirius Satellite Radio.
That'll be a lot of time inside my car (parked with the engine off, of course) - I get Sirius only in my cars.
Here's proof before the city hauls it away...
http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t216/madamedefarge_photos/IMG_3179.jpg
Posted by: Ally McRepuke at July 6, 2007 08:13 PM
Doesn't Sirius live-stream its broadcasts on the internet for subscribers?
madame defarge
Thanks for posting that - love it!
Ally
My son moved to Chinatown and I read a local paper there that said Roh was just in town. I would bet we have some SK conservatives here as you do there. Any time there is a war, people tend to come to the US who supported the US in the war, because they are the ones allowed in. As the wars continue and ramifications are more widespread, sometimes they realize that they have made a mistake. Still, policy is very strict about who is admitted and they pretty much must support the status quo.
As regards immigration, it is impossible to control for who is coming in the country. Atta and his boys were well educated and wealthy and so were the physicians who came to the UK to work for the NHS. So much for the "flypaper theory" where we fight them over there so they won't follow us home. In actuality, couldn't one say that it works in reverse? We had an attack here by primarily Saudis, and it attracted us over to Iraq, where our military would be made vulnerable.
I got an ad for Mother Jones and the flyer said that Halliburton has contracts to build 14 permanent bases in Iraq. I had heard 4. If that is truly happening, and there are more contractors than military in Iraq, then how likely are we to leave, really?
I would also like to know who will be the 10th Congressman to sign on to Kucinich's "impeach Cheney" resolution on Monday. The poll Christy cited by American Research Group is up at Common Dreams now. It's being sent around.
Everything is so slow. I wish they would just resign, like Nixon.
When I mentioned immigrants in the same breath as those who came here on temporary visas, I wasn't implying they were immigrants. Sometimes there is a disconnect between my thinking and my writing or speaking. I don't want to set up a bunch of false analogies.
My son is taking these classes like Argument, Persuasion etc. and I am a lost lamb up against him. On the other hand, I'm a good "typical liberal" to practice on, probably. For the class he's taking now, he will have to argue from a conservative viewpoint even.
Today, as part of my daily protest, I called the White House switchboard and asked to be transfered to the "NO comment" line (the first time I did this, they said "It's the Comment Line, sir" and I said "the president doesn't listen to the comment line suggestions" and it should be re-named)
(Hey, how about "The Black Hole Line")
I got to the "No comment" Comment line and talked to a hapless volunteer operator. She asked, what is your comment? I said, First of all I recommend shutting down the "Comment Line" since George Bush couldn't care less what the American people think. I said Bush doesn't care what Congress thinks so why would he possibly care about what I have to say?
The operator didn't like the idea of shutting down the comment line. I think she got a little angry and said she wouldn't talk to me anymore because I wanted the comment line shut down. I said, Bush would never shut down the comment line - he wants the sham to keep going - he wants to pretend like he listens to the people.
ETc...
Those numbers again - Switchboard 202-456-1414
No Comment Black Hole line - 202-456-1111
Monday, I think I will call in with the information about the poll on impeaching Cheney...
LOL
Olbermann asks Bush/Cheney to resign
http://youtube.com/watch?v=iGq7mqkDJ7E
I heard Live Earth must be watched on-line using Internet Explorer. If that's true it's wierd, as Gore is on Bd of Directors for Apple.
Someone on FOX wants "equal time" to air pros of global warming (or that it doesn't exist, is a natural cycle etc.)
http://rawstory.com/news/2007/Gibson_wants_equal_time_to_rail_0705.html
Isn't he aware that Reagan banished the "Fairness Doctrine" in media coverage years ago?
As the thread header points out, these people had plenty of time to make their own documentary and didn't.
http://liveearth.msn.com/about/factsheet
I guess it can be seen on Real Player.
Starting in Sydney.
Doesn't Sirius live-stream its broadcasts on the internet for subscribers?
Posted by: V at July 6, 2007 08:29 PM
Yes, but on my iMac running Firefox, I need to purchase a plug-in (it's NOT free). On Windows PCs running Internet Explorer, the plug-in is free.
Besides, the sound quality is pretty poor anyway... so I'll camp out in my car. :)
For the class he's taking now, he will have to argue from a conservative viewpoint even.
Posted by: not my president at July 6, 2007 09:01 PM
That's excellent. It's always nice to be forced to defend a viewpoint you disagree with, just to understand it further.
Best wishes to your son as he plots his life in Chinatown. I am about to embark on a similar change for myself before too long.
Ok...so anyone want to hear about my impromptu protest?
DiAnne. Australia is another where the government pays doctors in public hospitals. For those with health insurance the doctors and specialists charge more than the government scheduled fee. The insurer only has to cover that gap. So, it's a win-win for insurance-gobblers, but their fees never come down accordingly.
About 25 years ago, my brother could afford private health care although he had no insurance. He had a very large wound in his ankle as a result of employer negligence on a drilling rig. He'd shattered bones which were pinned and plated. He assumed the adage "you get what you pay for" and checked into a Private Hospital to have something done about the open wound in his ankle.
Medicare is paid for by tax payers contributing a small percentage of their taxable income. My brother felt that he could pay for this private treatment. When the 3rd skingraft wouldn't take over a badly infected wound his surgeon said, "One more. If it doesn't take, we'll take the leg." Nurses came to him and urged him to go to a public hospital. And he did. He fled to a public teaching hospital in Sydney. He was attended firstly by a team of about 10 specialists in antibiotics and the treatment of infections. He spent many hours each day for weeks in some chamber like they put divers in at times. Once his infection was completely clear, he was given skin grafts which naturally adhered to healthy tissue. In a major Sydney hospital for a few months, he walked out with both legs and his bank account intact except for the Private Hospital's enormous bankrupting errors.
22 years ago, I had a serious car accident and according to all, the only surprise is that I lived. I also had private health insurance. But, being an emergency, I was taken to the public hospital and treated as a public patient. I had the best specialists available and hospitalisation for months. Ever since then I've needed hospitalisation several times a year for chronic illness.
This year I've had 2 hospitalisations. Ten days in hospital with truckloads of IV *stuff* pumped into a pickline so that all could be given through the same vein, specialists, training specialists, all at no cost to me. I gave up my private health cover long ago.
I am able to give back in a small way. The public hospital that I go to here in Tasmania runs a program with the University of Tasmania. UTAS doctors and specialists, train students and a part of their 5th and 6th year program involves meeting regular patients with complex conditions. Under qualified supervision the students meet a patient, take an oral history and a physical examination.
My brother learned to go with the public system. Even better, he says, go to a teaching hospital.
We do have very long waiting lists for operations but if you are an emergency, you will be treated immediately. Recently a friend was told to present at hospital immediately. There was noone to see her at the Private Hospital even though she had insurance. All beds were full and her specialist of choice had gone home. She was told to go immediately to emergency at the public hospital. Her insurer saved megabucks over her being classified as a public patient for this ongoing condition.
Health care for all should never be bargained with. It should be a Right - just as the right to be educated and the right to be safe and the right to be loved.
What is the sound Bill O'Reilly makes in Washington?
Answer: Nothing. (Radio SFX: Bird-Chirping)
Yesterday, Bill's Washington, D.C. radio station (WJFK,106.7 FM) dropped his show. (Radio SFX: Applause, applause)
Posted by: not my president at July 6, 2007 07:38 PM
@@@@@@@
Interesting timing. Could this be a sign that America is tired of getting yelled in the face by rightwing poohbah pundits???
Talkin' to meself here, but Silence is Complicity has a nice thread header at Kos:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/7/6/14028/18875
Posted by: karen at July 6, 2007 03:05 PM
I'm usually the one doing that Karen. I never get here early enough. Yes, there are a few Live Earth concerts happening here too. Nothing in Tassie it seems and I wasn't up to organising anything. I'll turn the telly on, if it is going to broadcast Live.
Ok. so even though I'm hydrated, I'm pretty exhausted. So if anyone wants to know about the protest and all the excitement I had there, let me know and I'll post it tomorrow when I can type straight.
(I guess you can call me a tease...)
Everything is so slow. I wish they would just resign, like Nixon.
Posted by: not my president at July 6, 2007 08:58 PM
Now that BushW has fired and picked up all legal people who are his friends and allies. Isn't impeachment pretty hopeless? What ever he wants, he gets. He'll just veto the verdict if he doesn't agree.
And issue himself a pardon!
http://www.theage.com.au/news/music/sydney-gets-live-earth-rolling/2007/07/07/1183351498390.html
Sydney
July 7, 2007 - 12:05PM
The Live Earth concert is up and rocking in front of thousands at Sydney's Moore Park.
Former US vice-president Al Gore and a traditional welcome ceremony kicked off the first in a series of world-wide concerts designed to highlight climate change and inspire volunteers to join the fight against global warming.
Please please please...
Register and vote for Carlos here:
http://lab.wgbh.org/open-call/carlos-arredondo
Only 1 hour left (eastern time) or more if you're a West Coaster.
Woz...You're on your own time zone. But we love ya anyway!
PLEASE GO REGISTER AND VOTE FOR CARLOS please!!!!!
I got an ad for Mother Jones and the flyer said that Halliburton has contracts to build 14 permanent bases in Iraq. I had heard 4. If that is truly happening, and there are more contractors than military in Iraq, then how likely are we to leave, really?
Posted by: not my president at July 6, 2007 08:58 PM
Yes, it's 13 or 14, including an immense billion-dollar Cheney-bunker-style American "embassy". When I found that out a year or two ago, I knew we were entrenched for decades.
The flypaper theory is one thing (and the flies in my life have never like the flypaper as much as, say, the fresh fruit on the counter next to it), but I still fail to understand why we invest billions in infrastructure over there when our own infrastructure is badly crumbling and horribly hampering our ability to stay economically competitive now and in the future. Even our military bases in this country are falling apart, BRAC notwithstanding.
What we need is a catchy name for the theory of shortchanging your own people to invest in the future of those you have made your enemy.
We sure are making an attractive international terrorist training camp magnet in Iraq. Might as well start AlQaeda, Inc. while we're at it and make a killing on stock shares or an IPO.
Woz...You're on your own time zone. But we love ya anyway!
Posted by: sparrow at July 6, 2007 11:09 PM
Thanks sparrow - but being here alone is when I forget to do things! Like post a link! :(
Still. I've tried to register and vote for Carlos but I'm not sure that it goes through. The page ends up distorted and unreadable. I'll go try a few other browsers till one ot them works.
Oh yes, Sparrow - doesn't matter how few people are here, I still manage to switch from reading top down, to bottom up and vice versa again and again. I can completely confuse myself when there is noone else here except for the echos of hours past. And yes, I'd certainly like to see the photos and hear all the exciting things from the protest.
No - sad to say the vote stands at 51 no matter how I try to do it. I've registered and am able to login - but then it flickers and doesn't change.
V
I am so glad to hear you say all that, not sorry it's happened but glad you have nailed it like that.
Woz
I fear you are not exaggerating - this administration has tried to amass enough power to do anything they want. We have term limits but Gingrich did have the goal of "permanent Republican majority," ie. a one-party state (dictatorship). The last two elections are in question. The courts are stacked. Congress is weak even though less skewed than before 2006.
A friend in eastern Oregon just told me Michael Moore is on Daily Kos, challenging the CEO of Blue Cross to a debate because a memo was leaked on how Blue Cross was to deal with Sicko.
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/7/6/94342/72898
She is watching Live Earth simulcast in Australia at same time her Australian friend is watching. She's setting my alarm for 4 AM to watch the Shanghai simulcast. The Johannesberg concert starts 9 AM our time. Rio concert starts noon our time. They still haven't announced when the Antarctica concert will be.
There are lots of house parties around here and most are already full. Need people to start new ones.
LineUp for Concerts
http://liveearth.msn.com/concerts/Australia
My friend is watching this and so obsessed that I won't feel guilty if I wait and catch the highlights. No house parties near her red area so she is having her own.
Poll over last 3 days shows 64% of Americans (sampled to represent the population) disagree with the commutation of the sentence of Scooter Libby.
http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6209926.html
The commutation did not help Bush with his base, and his rating now stands at 26%
http://blog.seattlepi.nwsource.com/seattlepolitics/archives/117655.asp
US Voters ready to accept black or woman as president
http://rawstory.com/news/afp/US_voters_are_ready_to_elect_a_blac_07062007.html
No Republican blacks or women are running for president
Also, Ron Paul now has more campaign money than John McCain.
Thanks for trying to vote, Woz. It only took me two days for them to correctly allow me to register and vote.
Very frustrating.
Still too early to be awake for good...
Ok...bummer! So I'm still awake.
The problem is that the other day, I did the Superman-paratrooper dive down one of the steep hill near my house. The end result is missing skin on both my knees, my hands, my back and one elbow. So no matteer which way I roll, I end up waking up with the sharp pain from the ouchey hitting the bed.
So...Here I am.
But even Woz is probably asleep...
Sparrow! And I fell out of bed the other night! I had to lay there on the floor laughing till I got back to bed. And nothing hurts! No - I'm not asleep - it's only a little after 5:30pm
But really, Sparrow - Why? Is it an age thing? After turning 55 my friend in Melbourne decided to do something really daring and she flew to Sydney to climb the Sydney Harbour Bridge. 3 years later she's still having panic attacks about it! I will remember not to try and do one of those Superman paratrooper deals. Actually I can't even ride a ferris wheel these days. Going to bed is about the most dangerous thing I do these days apparently.
Since I'm here and almost cogniscent now, I tell you about my impromptu protest.
So yesterday, since I was feeling rather bummed about not being able to protest in DC but in the mood to get out there and make a difference like Cindy Sheehan did, I decided to go park myself in my little town the way Kay did a few summers ago.
(Of course you saw me ask for suggestions on the blog for signs...)
Anyways, so after I ran the few errands, I gathered up my cardboard, duct tape (silver, blue, and black) and my implement for cutting, and I grabbed the sign I already had from the last protest and I went to go sit-in at the one main 4-way stop that qualifies as the only traffic filled intersection in this small town. (Nope--we don't have a signal---just that one 4 way stop that most people have to use to get home or to the local lakes.) Often, in this tiny town, we have police sitting at either side of the town watching for those speeders passing through.
Anyways, I digress a little...
So as I drove into town with my convertible top down (in order to fit the 5 foot long pieces of cardboard for my protest) and my implements of dissent, I saw the police car parked at the coffee shop downtown. (Stop making assumptions here because that rarely happens. Take my word for it. I've never seen a police car near the coffee shop before, only at the gas station or at the side of the road issuing their ticket.)
Anyways, so seeing the police officer pulled over 50 yards away from my intended protest spot, I got a little nervous right from the get go. So I decided to implement a plan. I assumed that if I were eating from, say, the DQ right near there, they couldn't kick me off for eating with a sign near me. So I bought my protest food--and I grabbed the 3 x 3 foot sign that is painted red-black and white with the arrows in opposite directions that says "Bush...Truth" and I parked me and my food right at that 4-way intersection in plain view.
I have to admit, I was quite scared even at this point. It's already scarier protesting by yourself in a small town where everyone considers you an outsider unless your family has lived there 150 years... And it's also scarier being by yourself instead of with a group of people. Seeing the police car was just the icing on the cake to make the experience scarier.
So I was standing there holding my sign out for quite a while. Most people were silent. I felt pretty ridiculous at times. Eventually someone shouted something out the window of their passing car. This brave soul shouted, "SUPPORT THE TROOPS!" Well, I am. And had the brave soul allowed me my turn to converse, I would have said that. Instead, he drove away.
But at that point, I hadn't heard completely what was said anyways. Just then, a younger girl, with her kids in a wagon, walked by me and asked me if my purpose was to get yelled at or something. I asked her if she was able to hear what they had said, and she told me. Then as I told her my reason for being there, she said, she supported my efforts. I invited her to join me but she refused (kids in wagon) and she went on her merry way.
So I went back to my lonely protest and eventually another car stopped and asked me what my sign meant. I explained and they approved and went on their way.
Soon, an elderly lady came by with her two little grand kids and asked who I support. (Imagine bright red sign
TRUTH>>>>>>>>
and she asks me WHO I support?!!!
So I gave the OBVIOUS answer. I said I support TRUTH. I support public servants who TELL the truth and DON"T OBSTRUCT JUSTICE.
Well, this little old lady gave me the, "I know you just hate Bush" type looks and glared at me and walked away.
Within 5 minutes of the lady walking away, I saw a police car in the distance. He pulled up near me and said, "Not to stifle dissent but...." Then he started asking me my name and taking notes. (I gave him my first name and asked him, "Am I doing something wrong? (No) Then, why do you need my name if I'm not doing something wrong? I'm worried about the NSA warrantless spying and I'm not doing anything wrong but they're spying on people who aren't doing anything wrong either.")
Back to his questions: Am I from A-A? (No). Do I live in M______? (Yes) What does my sign mean? (Oh, I was HAPPY to discuss that!) What's my last name?! (Ok...gave it at that point. Unsure of if I could get in trouble for not giving it.) Which people people do I think tell the truth, anyways? (Oh...I LOVED being able to talk to the POLICE about lies, obstruction of justice, building a case carefully only to have the perp get off. Would I be able to get off if I lied and obstructed justice?--His response, "Rich people get away with things sometimes..." My response, "Well if I WERE AN OFFICER, I would be VERY P.O. at someone who is GAINING from furthering the obstruction now let someone go...")
So it was very weird, because he kept his sunglasses on and DID NOT MAKE or MAINTAIN eye contact with me which is something that makes me wonder what that meant! Anyways, eventually, he asked me how long I intended to stay there. I couldn't say, "Until all this traffic dies down." So instead, I said, "Oh...until I'm done eating."
Thus, he agreed that I have the right to eat my dinner where I was but that he didn't want an accident at the four corners as a result of people reading my sign. I reassured him that I would not cause an accident and he drove away.
So I stood there longer with my sign more sedately across my front as I veeeeeeerrrry slooooowly nibbled my DQ and talking on the phone. I was actually QUITE scared and shaking as a result of this 'confrontation' with the police. (And while on the phone, I saw the same police car circle around AGAIN!)
Eventually, seeing that there was more traffic, I ran and got more junk food from DQ and resumed my spot. All the meanwhile counting the number of people on their cell phones. I politely answered the questions that passerbyers asked.
Then I saw the police officer drive by again but this time in an unmarked car. (Maybe he was off work at that point.) Whatever...
At this point, traffic was starting to slim, so I decided to get the Reuben sandwiches that the bar behind me had on special. (Family needed dinner too!) So I went inside and ordered dinner and had people in the bar staring at me weirdly and a few asked me about the sign.
As I walked out, I decided that I DID NOT want to give the police ANY REASON to pull me over, and walking out of a bar and driving might be a bad thing.
So I plopped my sign on the main road bridge (in a wide open space) and grabbed my utensils for making new signs, and I spent the next hour making the new sign while the other one stood in plain view!
I had different reactions from the passerbyers, everything from, "Can't wait to see the next sign...good luck" to glares and "F*** You's" shouted out the window of a passing car or two. I noticed when people stopped to say something encouraging but others kept their eyes down (and even their kid's eyes were down!) and they shuffled by without comment.
As I was adding the "Obstruction" to the sign, it got to be quite funny. I think the local Republican Bush supporters decided to try to hide me and my sign. The first car pulled up and parked in front of me. The passenger got out of the car and said, "Sorry to block your sign..." (lol) So I said, "No problem. But since you're here, how do you spell "Obstruction?"
I got up and moved the sign and my belongings to the next open area. And ANOTHER car pulled in and blocked me before I even finished the word.
So I moved again! And you guessed it...
Another car pulled in front of me.
So laughing, I grabbed my stuff and walked across the road to the other side. That's when one other person joined me.
I eventually finished my new sign, "unequal under Bush, NO MORE obstruction of justice ...lies" and left. I very carefully drove home.
And that ends my tale...nobody better yell at me for the junk food.
Sparrow, that's a riot. Well done! I'm afraid that I just don't have the guts to stand up alone and get abused. Perhaps it's more that I don't want the grief any more. I used to be a good militant. Now I love peace. I can't handle confontation.
In terms of the original sign - I don't think it was easy to understand. I wonder if people didn't understand what you meant with it. Yes, it's truth going in the opposite direction to Bush. But - surely it means more than that. Out on the road, you want drivers and passengers to see, read and understand a big sign, in the blink of an eye, during those moments that they pass.
In any case it provoked comment, thought and questions. And that's a good thing. Well done. I've always admired the lone protesters. And that's why I really wanted to vote for Carlos.
And I didn't know that DQ = Junk Food? Never heard of it.
DQ=Dairy Queen= chilidogs, icecream, and nothing that you really want to eat long term!
IMPEACHING CHENEY: SEND EMAILS VIA WORKING ASSETS:
http://actforchange.workingassets.com/campaign/impeach_cheney
For six long years, Vice President Dick Cheney has subverted long-standing protocols and laws in exercising his power. Recent polls indicate that for the first time, a majority of the American people want to see Cheney impeached -- but until recently, Congress lacked the courage to act.
Now, however, the movement to impeach Cheney is picking up speed. More than a dozen members of the House of Representatives have now signed on as co-sponsors of H. Res. 333, "Impeaching Richard B. Cheney, Vice President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors." The bill is currently in the House Judiciary Committee, but unfortunately won't pass out of that committee until there is broad and overwhelming public support for the bill's goals. That's where we come in.
Ask your representative to sign on as a co-sponsor of H. Res. 333.
Cheney was instrumental in the effort to "out" covert CIA agent Valerie Plame in a cheap act of political retribution against her husband, Joe Wilson, an outspoken Bush critic. He pressured our intelligence agencies, deceived Congress and then misled the nation into invading Iraq based on a false threat of weapons of mass destruction. He continues to imply a link between Iraq and the Sept. 11th hijackers -- even though this claim has been disproved time and time again.
If the checks and balances inherent to our constitutional form of government are to mean anything at all, Congress must take action against an executive branch official who has committed such grave misdeeds. Imagine how much damage Cheney can do if left in office another 18 months.
Impeach Cheney petition at US Alone
85,000 signers
IMPEACH CHENEY POLL AND BLOG
http://www.usalone.com/cheney_impeachment.php
I am not quite sure what this blog actually does but I think it sends a message to your three congressmembers calling for Cheney's impeachment. It also tallies your vote for impeaching Cheney....
Sparrow,
I just hope you saved me a Dilly Bar.