Month: September 2019

Amid the long-awaited announcement from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi this week that the House of Representatives was launching a formal impeachment inquiry, I started reading Malcolm Gladwell’s new book, “Talking to Strangers”. In his book he begins with the assertion that we as human beings tend to believe that people we meet are telling us the truth despite multiple red flags and evidence to the contrary. His examples of how far we go to give people the benefit of the doubt, helps me understand why so many people continue to listen to and even support a proven liar like Donald Trump.

In my opinion Donald Trump is the worst kind of leader. He has learned to exploit this human vulnerability to immediately believe lies told to them. And what’s worse is that he does this for his own gain. He spews lies, half truths, and innuendos about the media, his political opponents, and factual statistics in service to whatever his personal agenda happens to be for the moment. He is dangerous because he is also corrupt and even criminal and quickly lies to deny his misdeeds or tries to convince us that each misdeed wasn’t really wrong. From the beginning, he lied about his tax returns. Business people and women publicly exposed his dirty business dealings and sexual assaults and he simply plays the victim of “fake news” and “false accusers”. How many times did he say things like, “I never met that woman”? Then pictures surface and he claims, “fake news” even louder. Those who expose him are viciously attacked with lies and insults. His willingness to weaponize false accusations has silenced his opponents in his own party.

Sadly, there is a segment of our population that only listens to Trump and Fox News. When an entire media outlet supports a liar by ignoring the lies, minimizing their impact, or outright spinning them to sound like truth, the listeners become unwitting accomplices in the undermining of our common good. According to Gladwell, on balance it is good that trusting each other is our default setting. However, this default setting makes life easy for people with corrupt intent like our Bernie Madoff and his ponzi scheme to do real harm for a long time. Trump is like Madoff, trying to swindle the American people for his ego and his financial profit. And he is willing, as we learned this past week, to invite a foreign government to take down his political opponent Joe Biden. This is in violation of his oath of office and an action for which he deserves to be impeached and removed from office. And there are so many other impeachable offenses.

So, I’m not saying silent as a citizen. It is only when the American people rise up and demand justice that justice will be served. I contacted Nancy Pelosi three times this week pressing for action. I contacted Mitch McConnell and will continue to do so as he and the republicans are the ones standing between American justice and this president. I contacted Senator Devin Nunes in real time to express my disgust during the hearing of the inspector general after Nunes acted again as a ridiculous human shield for this lawless administration.

With the exception of Fox News, investigative reporters are doing their constitutionally sanctioned job by exposing what our government officials are doing on our behalf. It is time for the Congress (both the House and especially the Senate) to be pushed to do theirs. Only when the American people press them will they do what is right and what is needed to clean house. And I’m talking about the White House. We do have a role to play and that is to make some noise to press for impeachment.

This past week revealed that Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau paraded himself in black face and brown face on at least four separate occasions from the 1980’s until 2001. Yes, he really should have known better and definitely should have done better. But couldn’t the same be said of all of us? When confronted by some of our youthful actions, few of us emerge without blemish. This is especially true when public sentiments about acceptable behaviors and lifestyles shift. What was perfectly fine to say or do twenty years ago may be taboo today. Is it fair to condemn each other and public figures today for past comments that are presently unacceptable?

I would say it depends on how the person has evolved with the times. Personally, I find it a distraction from important issues of the day to dig out someone’s behavior or comments from thirty years ago in an attempt to describe who that person is today. Of course, this excludes actual crimes like rape, murder, and theft where people were seriously injured for life. Time should never be an escape hatch from the consequences of such actions. But when it comes to sentiments and social attitudes, time should temper our judgement of others.

I know that I’m not the person I was thirty years ago. Many of my ideas, beliefs, attitudes, and values have shifted. For example, I was once pro-life and now I am pro-choice. I shutter at the thought of a college paper I turned in for a grade in which I cogently argued in favor of my pro-life stance at the time. Today, I vehemently disagree with my younger self. I haven’t always cared about the environment. But today, I care deeply. My point is that people can and often do change their opinions on social issues. But we’ve allowed the media and political opponents to normalize the practice of characterizing candidates using old comments or past behaviors. This practice steals the airtime from the real issues we need to hear these candidates address.

I guess my point is that we must give space for people in our lives and candidates running for our highest offices to tell us who they are today and what they stand for today. When past comments and behavior emerge, let’s provide them the opportunity to quickly acknowledge their past and tell us how they have evolved. Justin Trudeau did that this past week and I hope the Canadian people were listening and understanding and will quickly move on to the real issues their nation faces. And I hope that we will do the same during this crucial 2020 election season.

The co-pay for my routine blood work rose from $20 to $30 on my last visit. I paid it with a small sigh and later checked out the new co-payment schedule from Human Resources to ensure a mistake wasn’t made. And no surprise, the co-pay did rise. And so did my co-pay for my prescription medications. I understand that what I pay for each medical service is really low and is the result of negotiations between my employer and healthcare providers, including hospitals, doctors, procedures, and pharmaceutical companies. I also understand that these costs are only a fraction of what people without medical insurance would pay. For example, I noticed that those blood tests actually were billed for $700. That is too much! No wonder people without insurance risk losing their homes, having their wages garnished, or going bankrupt if they seek medical attention. It’s why many choose to forgo medical care until they are at death’s door when the cost is even higher and the public will foot the bill. In our capitalistic nation, greed in the healthcare field is out of control and needs fixing. However, I’m not entirely sure that Medicare for all is the only way forward.

The problem is how do we fix our crazy system. Early Saturday morning, C-Span interviewed Dr. Marty Makary, a John Hopkin’s cancer surgeon who writes on the subject of medical costs. His most recent book is, “The Price We Pay: What Broke American Health Care and How to Fix It.” During his interview he exposed the fact that 48% of federal spending is on health care. He explained that when we combine what we pay in federal taxes and insurance premiums, most of us are already spending about 1/3 of our income on health care. He attributes these high cost to price gouging by hospitals, insurance companies, and pharmaceutical companies. We often don’t know what a procedure or hospital stay will cost until after we get the bill. Why is that?

He argues that we are gouged because we don’t know the cost of a procedure before we undergo it. The same procedure can be much more costly depending on where you go to have it. He gave the example of one hospital charging $20,000 to deliver a baby and a cross town hospital charged $7,000. Same doctors, same level of care, but very different prices. A self-insured employer gave free diapers and baby wipes for a year to his employees who elected to have their babies at the $7000 hospital. I never considered which lab to visit to have my blood work done because my out of pocket would be the same. However, the cost to my employer who might be self-insured could be impacted. Employees like me should be educated to understand that when my employer’s cost rise, my co-pays will also rise. Some sites that allow for cost comparisons include MDsave.com; clearhealthcost.com and healthcarebluebook.com

The total cost of doctors’ services to the system is about 4-6% while the cost of hospital stays is 44%. Before undergoing a procedure, we should be asking what it costs because about 60% of medical procedures are in fact shop-able. Who knew? I certainly didn’t. I just try to stay in network by following the insurance plan laid out for me. However, for the uninsured or under-insured, the prices are also negotiable by individuals, not just by private insurance companies and government insurance policies.

On top of this, Dr. Makary explained that 21% of our medical treatments are actually unnecessary. The epidemic of over-treatment is driven by a combination of greed and patient demand. The opioid epidemic was fueled by greed. Some surgeries are also fueled by greed and the realization that there is a paying customer. My husband was given a choice recently to have surgery to repair his knee or continue with physical therapy. He is on Medicare and has supplemental insurance, so he is a paying customer. The surgeon, the hospital, and the drug companies all stand to gain from a surgery. He was never given a price tag to consider.

Not having to consider or compare prices for medical treatments or drugs or hospital stays is a problem if we continue in this market driven medical system. The cost of insurance premiums, hospital stays, and drugs keeps rising because corporate greed has taken over. I don’t know that I am for Medicare for all as the cost would be outrageous, but I do know that I am not for a profit driven medical care system. We need the full picture before we can make a wise decision.

There are very few people whom I truly dislike. But Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel is definitely one of them. It is my observation that this 77 year old man is single-handedly destroying our nation and the lives of many people. Is he actually evil or disloyal to America? Or does he really see the issues so differently? Either way, for the good of the nation, I say it is time for the people of Kentucky to ditch Mitch.

McConnell is the longest serving U.S. Senator in Kentucky history, having been first elected to the Senate in 1984. He has been re-elected five times by the people there and is now the longest serving Republican leader of the Senate. However, I don’t believe history will be kind to him. My case against McConnell began when he refused to give Obama’s supreme court nominee, Judge Merrick Garland a hearing, arguing repeatedly that we were too close to an election. Now, with a grin on his face he admits that he would gladly grant a hearing to a Trump supreme court nominee before the 2020 election. He is absolutely shameless in his hypocrisy.

The level of his abhorrent behavior is even worse when I consider that he has been a shield for a law-breaking and utterly corrupt president Trump. If any other president had even hinted at some of the things Trump is doing on a daily basis, that president would have already been impeached. I’m disgusted that this one person stubbornly stands between a nation’s need for justice and competency and a corrupt and obviously inept president. Imagine if Obama acted like Donald Trump? McConnell wouldn’t hold back for a moment. This is worse than hypocrisy; this is actually damaging to our nation and its reputation in the world. But there is much more to hold against McConnell.

The only person preventing the passing of reasonable gun regulations that 90% of Americans favor is “Massacre Mitch”. Even in the face of mass shooting after mass shooting, he refuses to bring the gun legislation to the Senate floor. The House of Representatives passed gun legislation and he refuses to even consider it for a Senate vote. What is he thinking? Who is he protecting? And why?

And finally, “Moscow Mitch” refuses to protect our elections against foreign influence. He wants Trump re-elected for some unknown reason. Perhaps he and Trump have some secret plan with Putin to rule the planet together. Or perhaps he is a white nationalist who wants these guns in the hands of white nationalists to carry out some secret plot to eliminate Jews, people of color, and immigrants. Or perhaps he has committed some horrible act and is being blackmailed to keep it all secret. Whatever the case may be, something is terribly wrong with this man. His stance on guns, Trump, and election protections are all harmful to Americans and they undermine our democracy. History will reveal his actual motives. But the time to rid ourselves of this dangerous man is now.

So, citizens of Kentucky, if you are paying any attention, it is time to ditch Mitch in 2020.

As students and faculty gradually began returning to campus this week, I was greeted by the expected query into how I spent my summer. Did I do anything special? Did I travel anywhere interesting? I admit that I’m often the person asking these questions myself because I enjoy hearing about the travels and adventures of the people around me. But I’m keenly aware that my summer this year was not nearly as interesting to others as it might have been in years past.

For the first time in at least 20 years, I did not venture outside California during the summer. And except for a week at the Welk Resort near San Diego, I didn’t even leave Ventura County where we live. I had a true “stay-cation” this year and I loved every minute of it. But more importantly, I have more energy going into this new academic year. I’m not struggling with jet lag, not trying to catch up on things, and not stressed to put together plans for the fall. I should spend more summers like this.

In the minds of many, I had a pretty boring summer. My big accomplishment was completing the bulk of the planning for our 2020 Family Reunion in San Diego next July. We used the time at the Welk Resort to visit hotel locations and to secure both the hotel and the park site for our picnic. I gardened and treated friends, neighbors, and colleagues to fresh organic produce from my yard. We had more cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, onions, peaches, plums and apples than we could consume. I selfishly used all the strawberries and blueberries we grew in my morning shakes. I added seven new calf-length rompers to my wardrobe, complete with matching jewelry and shoes. I paid off my daughter’s ugly student loan, so now each of my children are student loan free, married, and homeowners as of this summer. I endured the replacement of two crowns at the dentist. I had a July 4th backyard barbecue and my kids and husband ended the summer by throwing me a surprise birthday party last weekend. Even my son traveled from Baltimore to attend. I was shocked by the party, but felt overwhelming grateful and happy to be surrounded by love. And the best news of the summer was that my health tests revealed no negative progression in my kidneys and no sign of the suspected degenerative nerve problem that threatened to disrupt our lives. Exercise, water, and better eating make a lot of difference.

For the last 23 years, my 11-month contract gives me the entire month of July off work. Unlike past years, each day in July this year I set out to tackle precisely one project in the morning after my 45 minutes on the treadmill. At noon, I treated myself to a nice lunch and spent the rest of the day until bedtime simply enjoying myself. Over the month, I cleaned, organized, painted, gardened, downsized, decorated, shopped, planned, and even enjoyed participating in an audit. During my leisure time, I completed four 1000 piece puzzles, read a few non-fiction books and spent the bulk of this leisure time watching Chinese, Taiwanese, or Korean television dramas with English subtitles. I don’t quite understand my sudden fascination with these cultures, but it is strong and I’ve even taken to listening to the music. Without trying, I’m learning a lot of Mandarin Chinese phrases.

So, it is with a great deal of fondness that I bid farewell to summer 2019. I’ll be sad to say “see you later” to the sweetest watermelon and corn on the cob. But if God is gracious to me, then summer 2020 will leave with a similar level of satisfaction and a host of lasting memories.