Eloquent editorial -

I have been surprised and happy at all the comments from Facebook friends about my last posting (my posts here show up there as notes).

In a rare instance last week, I wrote that post in a moment of real outrage and passion. I usually tend to wait until I'm thoughtful and less emotional to post. Interesting, that.

Below is a link to a smart, well-written, opinion from Frank Rich about the events of the past week. I really liked it, and wanted to share.

For me, I keep thinking that it's good to be a part of history. I keep telling myself to pay attention. As some of you know, I've been fantasizing for some time about moving to Vashon Island. It seems a safe harbor, a quiet green refuge in the midst of turbulent times. And then I read Mr. Rich, and wonder if that's a cop-out somehow - if I should instead stay where I am, in hyper-diverse south Seattle, and dig in for the long haul.

More will be revealed.

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/28/opinion/28rich.html





Free Counter

disgraceful and shameful behavior - some of you so-called Americans should be ashamed of yourselves.

So. I have tried to avoid it to just enjoy the good news, but I can't ignore anymore after watching the nightly news.

American citizens shouting the n word at our elected representatives, representatives who already lived through one civil rights movement.

Other elected representatives holding up signs egging on their demonstrators, signs saying Kill the Bill.

Rush Limbaugh saying "We have to wipe all of them out."

I know and love some Republicans, they are among my beloved family and some friends. Please, if you are one, denounce this appalling behavior. Call your representative and tell them this is not okay. It's one thing to disagree, one thing to debate, one thing to protest - but this is just disgraceful.



Free Counter

Healthcare for all!!! Yay Yay Yay Yay!!!

I know there is much work to be done - hurdles, battles, etc etc... but I also have to shout it out - at some point soon I will conceivably be able to buy health insurance for my husband and myself. Coverage that is real. Not the kind with an $8000 deductible.

The insurance companies will not be able to say "No, you have too many issues. We can't cover you, people with actual illness. That might cut into our profit margin!"

We will be able to have coverage. Maybe not for a few years, I know - but the last time something this significant changed it was likely the start of Medicare. Civil rights legislation. Where would we be today if those had not been pushed through? I am hopeful, at least a tiny bit, today. Like I was a year or so ago.



Free Counter

The Working Poor, Blue Collar Artist Guide to Life (in Tough Times)

That's the title of my new book. Don't steal it.

Do Not Steal - stealing does not help, even in tough times.

Say Yes! to everything everyone offers.

Is taking food from a dumpster stealing? Nope. Taking anything thrown away by someone else is just fine.

And do accept, gracefully, everything anyone wants to give you.

Organic produce a friend got from the dumpster behind the really expensive natural foods store? YES!

Old furniture an acquaintance wants to get rid of? YES!

Free samples from every single vendor at the NW Womens' Show? YES!

Charity care from any doctor or hospital that will see you? YES!

In good times, these tactics may not be necessary - you may want to buy your own produce, not clutter your garage and bathroom with lots of stuff. You may actually have real health insurance.

But in tough times? That old chair might bring $5 at your summer garage sale. Or a lot more, if you dust it off, do a little research, and realize it's a collectible. Every free sample means one less trip to the drugstore, and a slightly bruised organic apple is just as tasty and nutritious as the ones still in the store.

And health care should be a right, not a privilege, in a country as wealthy as ours. So go take it. Stealing may be appropriate in this particular situation. Some would say that insurance companies and ridiculously laden bureacratic operations have stolen the ability of the working poor to access the care they need to stay alive. In this, the wealthiest country in the entire world. A country where hedge fund managers live in 30,000 square foot homes and find ways to dodge taxes. And politicians, even the good ones, talk and talk and talk and achieve next to nothing.

No one will change things for us, so we'd better do it for ourselves. So go ahead, storm the doctors' offices and hospitals and demand the care you need.

Sometimes it feels good to be ahead of the curve. We have been blue collar artists, and -consequently - among the working poor all of our lives. We know how to do this.

Maybe we will prosper. We will certainly survive.

- Inspired by news of 45,000 people cut from WA State's Basic Health. 45,000 poor people who, like us, will have no health insurance. Also inspired by the thrift and wisdom of friends.





Free Counter