I have two things to write about today, and both seem a little heavy for this early on a Monday morning.
The first is this whole health care for children issue (the State Children's Health Insurance Program) for which Bush just vetoed the funding. Read about it here. If you're not pissed off about this, why not? I think you can probably guess my feelings, but I'll give you the tiniest glimpse anyway.
I find it to be TOTALLY reprehensible that we continue to spend money on this dumb-shit war, and are considering expanding to Iran (when we can't even take care of the soldiers who are there now or the veterans from every war we've been in in the past(that would still be living, of course)), but we can't spend a little money at home to take care of KIDS. Why are we out there "protecting American freedom" when our AMERICAN CITIZENS are living in poverty without proper food, housing, or medical care. Let's look to our own country and our own citizens before we start trying to "solve" the problems of other countries. I'm all for being a world citizen, but not at the expense of our own.
I know first hand how scary it is to not have money but need to see a doctor, and I certainly have had it easy. I remember being 25, in a new city, with no job, and realizing that something was happening to me (which turned out to be shingles) and I needed to see a doctor. The only one I could find that would even accept me without insurance charged me $75 to look at me for a second, say "yah- that's probably shingles", and give me a prescription for something that , had I been pregnant like I thought I was, would have caused me to miscarry or for my baby to have been born with serious defects. He didn't give a shit.
Now imagine if it was you, or your child, who didn't have insurance. Your son falls from the bars at school and breaks his arm. Your baby daughter is up all night wailing and you have NO IDEA what's wrong. But taking them to the doctor is not an option because you have no insurance and the doctor's visit will cost more than you actually have and you'd rather be able to feed them this month.
And you work, so you don't qualify for the need-based aid, yet you don't make nearly enough to cover insurance or paying out of pocket.
This happens, and more often than I think many people realize. And it's revolting and shameful that our president could veto money that would help these people. These children.
Even with insurance, we pay $30 every time we step foot in a doctor's office. That's after the $217 per month that we pay just to have Cole in the program. And we're the lucky ones, because John and I both work here and both have our premiums paid by the company. We're insanely lucky.
I'm so riled up about this that I can't really structure this post any more. I'll just end with this: Bush doesn't just hate black people, as Kanye West informed us; he hates children. Let's hope that House Democrats and Republicans care about Americans and children a little more than the President, who I'd say is the Devil himself, except I don't think he's smart enough.
