I Think We've Got A Bleeder Right Now

Ashley Freund, 20, on break at 
Applebees
Originally uploaded by baileyw

Bailey Wilkins

December 10, 2009-Ashley Freund has the same common worries as many of her fellow young people: work, bills, friendships, boyfriends, the list continues. However, Freund has an additional worry that is becoming more and more common for people her age, that being health care.

Freund, 20, lives in Grand Blanc with her parents. They previously had health care from her dad’s job, but since being laid off in September, the entire family has gone without coverage. Without income, the have no money to provide basic needs, nonetheless health insurance.

“The biggest problem I have is the stress I know it causes my parents,” says Freund. “They hate that they can’t provide for me, but I don’t blame them. I just wish I could take care of myself.”

Taking care of herself provides yet another obstacle. Freund works as a hostess at Applebee’s. The company does not provide benefits, however they do try to help their employees get coverage.

“Applebee’s teamed with Aflac to try to provide ‘affordable’ coverage,” says Freund, “but I make like $500 a month. Just the $80 a month for benefits is too much.  I can’t afford any of it.”

This is an issue that causes a lot of additional stress for people of all ages.  Nationalized health care was one of the main issues that Obama was elected president on (for more on his plan, see the video below). The House of Representatives recently passed their own form of a health care bill and the Senate appears to be on track to do the same.  If they do, both legislative groups must conference to agree on one bill for a vote, and if passed, then the president must sign the bill into a law.  

According to a Gallup report, 16 percent of Americans do not have health insurance coverage of any kind.  Over 31 percent of Americans age 19-29 are currently living without health insurance. However, there are some programs out there trying to help.

The World Is Spinning Around Out Of Control Again

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In the most important political news of the past week, last Tuesday President Obama gave his West Point Address (part one of the speech can be viewed above).  While the topics varied to things like job creation and healthcare, most of the focus was on the War in Afghanistan.  The Huffington Post did a story covering the speech just hours after it ended.

"Declaring "our security is at stake," President Barack Obama ordered an additional 30,000 U.S. troops into the long war in Afghanistan Tuesday night, nearly tripling the force he inherited as commander in chief. He promised an impatient public he would begin bringing units home in 18 months.

The buildup to about 100,000 troops will begin almost immediately – the first Marines will be in place by Christmas – and will cost $30 billion for the first year alone.

In a prime-time speech at the U.S. Military Academy, the president told the nation his new policy was designed to "bring this war to a successful conclusion," though he made no mention of defeating Taliban insurgents or capturing al-Qaida terrorist leader Osama bin Laden."
[Read Full Article Here]

Obama went on to say that we must not give al-Qaida a "safe haven" and we must prepare the Afghani government to handle this issue on their own.  There has been slightly odd reaction to the speech.  In an unusual event for this nation's politics, there is not a clear partisan divide on the opinion of this speech.

Get My Television Fix

Last night, The American Music Awards aired on ABC.  The show closed with what was expected to be an interesting performance by American Idol runner-up Adam Lambert.  Lambert, in his usual shocking fashion, really went all out for his performance.

Lambert, who is openly gay, played a sort of circus dominatrix and his performance included some suggestive dancing as well as a kiss with a male band member.  Of course all of this was intended to shock, and shock it did.

Many people are up in arms this morning about the nature of his performance.  Some feel the FCC should consider fining ABC for not censoring the performance.  I feel we all just need to lighten up sometimes.  We sometimes expect our government to get involved and fix every little thing we might not approve of.  There really was no violation of the laws of the FCC, so we all just need to relax a little.

Talk Is Cheap And Lies Are Expensive

As of this morning, the health care bill debate rages on in the Senate.  With no Republican support, all 58 Democrats and the two Independents must vote for the bill to guarantee it's passage and avoid a Republican filibuster.  This has led to much infighting between liberal and moderate democrats.  The following is from an MSNBC.com article posted this morning.

"The dispute among Democrats foretells of a rowdy floor debate next month on legislation that would extend health care coverage to roughly 31 million Americans. Republicans have already made clear they aren't supporting the bill.

Final passage is in jeopardy, even after the chamber's historic 60-39 vote Saturday night to begin debate.

Calling Out To Idiot America

I was watching MSNBC last Wednesday when I saw the above interview of a young girl at one of Sarah Palin's book signings.  At the time I didn't think much of it until over the past few days, the young girl in the clip has been mentioned by Bill O'Reilly and Glenn Beck.  She also posted on her blog her feelings on the experience. Here is some of what Jackie had to say about her interview with Norah O'Donnell.

"This all started as me, a young 17 year old American going to see a woman I admire and turned into this crazy event hah I'll start at the very beginning...She had me read my shirt and then proceeded to ask me "Did you know Sarah Palin supported the bailout" to be 100% honest I was like, are you kidding me? She is trying to use my shirt against me. I was so shocked by the craftiness she had that I was truly stumped. I asked her where she got her fact and she read her little note. Then she asked me what I liked about Sarah, and I talked about the Constitution...In one day I met a role model, and met the liberal media and their crafty schemes. I fell prey to liberal bias, but I'd like to think I did an okay job."
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When I orginally saw this interview, I simply thought it was another example of a person with strong conviction of their beliefs, but very few facts.  Unfortunately, it happens all the time.  What I didn't expect was the firestorm it created.  O'Reilly and Beck called out O'Donnell on being an example of "liberal media."  They think that she badgered the poor girl.  Between this incident and Palin's own similar comments about Katie Couric this week, I am left wondering when good journalism became "badgering."

I Vanished From All Your Joy, I Am The Disappearing Boy

I know I recently posted a blog about gay marriage and gay rights. Normally, I wouldn't repeat a topic this soon; however, it is something that I cannot seem to get off my mind right now.

This past week, a very good friend of mine committed suicide. Kyle was only 20 years old and he was gay. The latter never really stood out in my mind when I thought of him, but for the purpose of looking at what led to his decision, it is a very important fact. I've heard in the past of suicide being more common in young gay people and this event led me to want to know just how much more common.

As it turns out, gay youth are four times more likely to committ suicide than heterosexual youth.  I found this absolutely shocking, honestly.  My first thought was that I cannot believe I didn't already know this.  Then I wondered how many people do know this, when really everyone should.  It is so representative of what gay and lesbian people go through, especially when they are young. It also demonstrates a world that harbors intolerance and is not welcoming to  people many would consider different.

Red Alert Is The Color Of Panic

In looking at Barack Obama, I very often see someone who appears the complete opposite of the nation he represents. He is always calm, cool, collected; ready for anything that comes his way. As a nation, we are worrisome, panicky and ready to lose our minds over the next big dilemma.

The H1N1 flu is a prime example of our tendency to overreact. It is a serious problem for certain demographics; however, it is not nearly the pandemic we seem to be attempting to stave off. People die every single year from the common flu. Every fall, some people get vaccinated, some just ride out the illness, some never get it and, yes, for some it is fatal. But every fall there doesn't seem to be countless news stories, every day, covering the symptoms, the causes and the effects of the regular flu. H1N1 came along and we collectively freaked out.

The media is a large part of this. The coverage that has been granted to this flu only amps up the panic in the American people. The 24-hour news networks seemingly have a flu story every half hour; whether it's a doctor talking about the flu, how to prevent the flu, or someone who has suffered from it. This kind of attention just promotes the absolute hysteria we work ourselves into over something that is not much scarier than many of the other illnesses people regularly get this time of year.