What can you say?

What can you say to those "bleeding heart liberals" who throw the number of 47 million people in the US being uninsured at you? Especially when they add that 9 million of them are children and most of them are working families?

Well, first you can point out that the numbers are misleading. Of that 47 million, about 10 million aren't even citizens! Almost 18 million make more than $50,000/year; they can afford to have the insurance but they choose not to (more than half of 18 million make more than $75,000/yr.) It's not a money issue here. And 19 million are young people (between the ages of 18 and 34) who feel they don't need it right now. And finally almost half of 47 million are only temporarily uninsured, like for four months, because they're between jobs. Yes, those numbers and groups can overlap, but there is an exaggeration of lack of health insurance in the US. (I'm taking these numbers from "Next on the Statists' List: Health Care" by David Limbaugh, but I'd heard them before.)

Second, point out that lack of health insurance doesn't mean lack of coverage. The law requires emergency room care even when someone can't afford it.

Third, and most importantly, you can tell them government health care will do the opposite of what's intended. Government mandated health coverage will make people less likely to get health care. I know it sounds crazy, but it's a simple matter of economics.

Government control of medicine is price control. When the price is required by government fiat to be lower than the market dictates, you get more demand (more people taking advantage of the lower price) and less production. Fewer people will be encouraged to become doctors and nurses. So you end up with a shortage.

That's why the long waiting periods for care in Great Britain and Canada. Many people die while waiting for their treatment! That's why they need "advisory boards" to decide what medical treatments are not financially feasible. So they'll be weeding out the people who won't benefit enough from treatment (i.e., they're old anyway and will be dying soon) and weeding out the treatments that are too costly.

So the old man above will not receive much care in Obama-care. Too bad, huh?

With My Boots On

Latest reports are that Medicare has only eight more years. To be honest, I don't expect to be able to use any Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security.

For one thing, I can't imagine not working. Yes, I'm getting older, and a few times, my mind has wandered over the path of thought the word "retirement" leads it. Thoughts like how many more years? How will we be able to live? But I'm pretty sure that even once I retire, I'm not going to stop working. How boring would that be? How useless I would feel.

My dad worked up until he died. I guess you'd say he died with his boots on.

In the movie Secondhand Lions, Hub, one of Walter's great-uncles, is fighting the idea of growing old. He's used to a life of war and battle, having fought in two world wars and numerous other smaller wars. Now Hub keeps doing crazy, dangerous stuff and Walter's afraid he's going to die. At one point, Hub and Garth, his brother, use their money to buy a lion so they can have a lion hunt. But the lion is an aging lioness that won't even run. Walter keeps her as a pet. Then when the boyfriend of Walter's mother is beating up the boy, the lion attacks the boyfriend and dies in the fight.

"She died with her boots on," the uncles told Walter, "protecting her cub."

Later, Walter convinces Hub that he needs both his great-uncles to take care of him. Hub promises to lay off the crazy behavior until Walter has graduated from college. The movie ends (and begins) with the uncles flying a homemade WWI bi-plane into a barn. The sheriff telling Walter says, "They died with their boots on."

That's what I want. Let me die with my boots on.

My Prayer

Dear God,
On this National Day of Prayer, I pray for our leaders, for the people whom we put into power over us, starting with Barack Obama. I don't pray for him enough. Lord, be with him. Be that niggling little voice of conscience that never leaves him. Surround him with people who will tell him the truth, and help him to accept the truth. Even, Lord, if it's Your will, provide him a "road to Damascus" experience and a change of heart. I pray that Your will be done.

I ask the same for Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi. Let the believers in Congress listen to Your voice and act on Your directions in interactions with these leaders and other congressmen. Further, let the believers wake up to their true duty. And Lord, if they do not, help us to vote them out of office. Guide us in knowing the truth about our representatives.

Please help me love those certain people in our government that I have trouble loving. Show me again how to love with Your love those that I have, in my fleshly reasoning, written off as not deserving of respect or love. And forgive me for my arrogance of judging, better left up to You.

There are many more to pray for, but I wanted to start with these people. Thank you for reminding me that You, Father God, have the ultimate victory.

Connie