Socialized Health Care - The Brave New World
As support for socialized health care increases, so does
the potential for government intrusion into private choices of lifestyle.See comments by John W. Cartmell, MS, at end of article.
Brave New World is a novel by Aldous Huxley, first published in 1932. Set in London in 2540, the novel anticipates developments in reproductive technology, biological engineering, and sleep-learning that combine to change society.
Warfare and poverty have been eliminated and everyone is permanently happy due to government-provided stimulation. The irony is that all of these things have been achieved by eliminating many things that humans consider to be central to their identity — family, culture, art, literature, science, religion, and philosophy. It is also a hedonistic society, deriving pleasure from promiscuous sex and drug use. Additionally, stability has been achieved and is maintained via deliberately engineered and rigidly enforced social stratification.
Although the novel is set in the future, it contains contemporary issues of the early 20th century. The Industrial Revolution was bringing about massive changes to the world. Mass production had made cars, telephones and radios relatively cheap and widely available throughout the developed world. The Russian Revolution of 1917 and the First World War (1914–1918) were resonating throughout the world. Characters from the futuristic fantasy expressed widely held opinions, particularly the fear of losing individual identity in the fast-paced world of the future.
"A new bitterness, and a new bewilderment, ran through all social life, and were reflected in all literature and art. It was contemptuous, not only of the old Capitalism, but of the old Socialism." http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brave_New_World
New Rules: Menus must say what's in your mealTrans Fats to be banned. Some King County restaurateurs say ruling is unworkable, will cost them business
July 20, 2007 http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=transfat20m&date=20070720&query=trans+fatsBy Carol M. Ostrom
Seattle Times health reporterDespite objections from restaurant owners and food-industry officials, the King County Board of Health on Thursday banned artificial trans fat and required nutrition labeling for menu items in chain restaurants.
With the vote, King County joins a handful of jurisdictions in the country to ban artificial trans fats in restaurant meals and becomes only the second to require nutrition labeling on menus.
While most restaurant owners and their supporters testified against the trans-fat ban -- most said they're already getting rid of trans fats but they simply hate mandates -- they saved their harshest words for the nutrition-labeling requirement.See http://www.dietadvisor.com/news_banning_trans_fats.htm for comments by John W. Cartmell, MS, Certified Nutritionist.
Smoker Refused Operation on Broken Ankle
9-17-2007 http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/09/14/nsmoker114.xml
A smoker is facing years of pain after a National Heath Service (NHS) hospital refused to set his broken ankle unless he gives up cigarettes. John Nuttall, 57, needs the operation to fix the ankle he broke in three places two years ago and which was not healed by a plaster cast.
Doctors at the Royal Cornwall Hospital in Truro have refused to operate to rebuild the ankle because they say Mr. Nuttall's heavy smoking would reduce the chance of a full recovery. "Smoking has a very big influence on the outcome of this type of surgery and the healing process would be hindered significantly."
A British couple have won the right to test embryos for a gene that leads to high cholesterol levels and an increased risk of heart attacks,
The decision will reopen controversy over the ethics of designer babies, as it allows doctors to screen embryos for not only the severe form of a condition, but also the milder type, which is usually treatable. Critics argue the test would allow couples to destroy embryos that would have had a good chance of becoming children with fulfilling and reasonably healthy lives, Embryo screening has previously been approved only for genetic disorders that cause serious disease.
The test could also create unprecedented moral dilemmas for some couples. What if they produce no embryos completely unaffected by the disease? Should they implant embryos they know have a genetic risk of premature heart disease and death, or throw them away and deny them a chance of life?
Children herded like cattle into Maryland courthouse for forced vaccinations
11-19-07 http://www.newstarget.com:80/022267.htmlFollowing the State of Maryland's threats against parents who refuse to have their children vaccinated, children were herded into a Price George County courthouse being guarded by armed personnel with attack dogs. Inside, the children were forcibly vaccinated, many against their will, under orders from the State Attorney General, various State Judges and the local School Board Director, all of whom illegally conspired to threaten parents with imprisonment if they did not submit their children to vaccinations.
The State of Maryland has now turned to Gestapo tactics to force its medical will upon the People, stripping parents of any right to decide how they wish to protect their own children from infectious disease. Health authorities there have already announced their intent to essentially kidnap parents and throw them in jail, removing them from their children for up to thirty days if they continue to refuse to have their children vaccinated. This will all be conducted at gunpoint, with armed personnel and attack dogs at the ready, making sure nobody steps out of line, and suppressing any attempt at public dissent against the Orwellian vaccination policies.
The entire campaign against these parents is blatantly illegal. There is no law in Maryland requiring the vaccination of children, thus parents who refuse to do so may not be legally charged with violating any law.
Testimony of illegal alien care from 1 Florida hospital
5-13-08 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bLJxmJZXgNISocialized health care will cause increased costs from care of illegal migrants.
Japan, Seeking Trim Waists
To reach its goals of shrinking the overweight population by 10 percent over the next four years and 25 percent over the next seven years, the government will impose financial penalties on companies and local governments that fail to meet specific targets. Most Japanese are covered under public health care or through their work.
Critics say the government guidelines are too strict and that more than half of all men will be considered overweight. The effect, they say, will be to encourage overmedication and ultimately, will raise health care costs.
NJ flu-shot mandate for preschoolers draws outcry
10-16-08
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20081016/D93RQCN80.html
New Jersey parents are furious over a first-in-the-nation requirement that children get a flu shot in order to attend preschools and day-care centers. The decision should be the parents', not the state's, they contend.
Children from 6 months to 5 years old who attend a child-care center or preschool have to receive the flu vaccine, along with a pneumococcal vaccine. The Health Council was acting on the recommendations of the Federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has depicted children under 5 as a group particularly in need of flu shots. State health officials and the CDC insist the flu vaccine is safe and effective,
"Vaccines not only protect the child being vaccinated but also the general community and the most vulnerable individuals within the community," New Jersey's Health Department said in a statement. It has depicted young children as "particularly efficient" in transmitting the flu to others.
Opposition to the policy is vehement. Assemblywoman Charlotte Vandervalk, one of the speakers at the rally, said she now has 34 co-sponsors for a bill that would allow for conscientious objections to mandatory vaccinations. "The right to informed consent is so basic," she said in an interview. "Parents have a right to decide for their own children what is injected in their bodies."
New Jersey's health department has come out strongly against the legislation. "Broad exemptions to mandatory vaccination weaken the entire compliance and enforcement structure," it said.
The department also contends that New Jersey is particularly vulnerable to vaccine-preventable diseases - with a high population density, a mobile population and many recently arrived immigrants. "In light of New Jersey's special traits, the highest number of children possible must receive vaccines to protect them and others," the department said.
Among the speakers was Robin Stavola of Colts Neck, N.J., who said her daughter, Holly, died in 2000 at age 5 less than two weeks after receiving eight different vaccines, including a booster shot.
"There's not been a response from the government that is credible in terms of doing the scientific research that will screen out vulnerable children," said Barbara Loe Fisher, co-founder of the National Vaccine Information Center in Vienna, Va., an advocacy group skeptical of vaccination policies. "There's an acknowledgment that prescription drugs can cause different reactions in people, but there's a blanket statement by health authorities that we all have to vaccinate, all in the same way," Fisher said. She was harshly critical last year when school officials in Maryland's Prince George's County threatened to impose jail terms and fines on parents whose children didn't get required vaccinations.
Email Sent from Canada to a friend in the States.
I saw on the news up here in Canada where Hillary Clinton introduced her new health care plan. Something similar to what we have in Canada. As someone who lives with the Canada health care plan, I thought I would give you some facts about this great medical plan that we have in Canada.
1) The health care plan in Canada is not free. We pay a premium every month of $96. for the two of us to be covered. Sounds great eh. What they don't tell you is how much we pay in taxes to keep the health care system afloat. I am personally in the 55% tax bracket. Yes 55% of my earnings go to taxes. A large portion of that goes for health care. It's our #1 expense.
2) I would not classify what we have as health care plan, it is more like a health diagnosis system. You can get in to see a doctor quick enough so he can tell you, "yes indeed you are sick or you need an operation" but now the challenge becomes getting treated or operated on. We have waiting lists out the yin yang, some as much as 2 years down the road.
3) Rather than fix what is wrong with you, the usual tactic in Canada is to prescribe drugs. Have a pain, here is a drug to take- not what is causing the pain and why. No time for checking you out because it is more important to move as many patients thru as possible each hour for Government re-imbursement.
4) Many Canadians do not have a family Doctor.
5) Don't require emergency treatment as you may wait for hours in the emergency room waiting to be seen.
6) My father in law cut his hand on a power saw a few weeks back and it required his hand be put in a splint. To our surprise, we had to pay $125. for the splint because it is not covered under health care. Plus we have to pay $60. for each visit for him to check it out each week.
7) A cousin was diagnosed with a heart blockage. Put on a waiting list . Died before he could get treatment.
8) Government allots only so many operations per year. When that is done, no more operations unless you go to your local newspaper and plead your case and embarrass the government. Then money suddenly appears.
9)The Government takes great pride in telling us how much more they are funding for health care, but waiting lists never get shorter. Government just keeps throwing money at the problem but it never goes away. They are good at finding new ways to tax us, but they don't call it a tax anymore; it's now a "user fee".
10) A friend needs an operation for a blockage in her leg, but because she is a smoker they will not do it. Despite paying into the health care system all these years. My friend is 65 years old. Now there is talk that maybe we should not treat fat and obese people either because they are a drain on the health care system. Let me see now, what we want in Canada is a health care system for healthy people only. That should reduce our health care costs.
11) Forget about a second opinion, whoever sees you is who you get.
12) I can spend what money I have left after taxes on booze, cigarettes, junk food and anything else that could kill me, but I am not allowed by law to spend my money on getting an operation because that would be jumping the queue. I must wait my turn except if I am a hockey player or athlete, then I can get in right away. Go figger. Where else in the world can you spend money to kill yourself but not to get healthy.
13) Immigrants are covered automatically at tax payers' expense, having never contributed a dollar to the system or ever paid a premium.
14) Oh yeah, we now give free needles to drug users to try and keep them healthy. But people with diabetes, who pay into the health care system, have to pay for their needles because they're not covered by the health care system.
I send this out not looking for sympathy, but as your election looms in the states, you will be hearing more and more about universal health care, with the advocates pointing to Canada. I just want to make sure you hear the truth about health care up here and have some food for thought and informed questions to ask when broached with this subject.
Step wisely and don't make the same mistakes we have.Author unknown.
John W. Cartmell, MS comments:
The reason smokers heal more slowly and are prone to more complications after surgery is likely due to Vitamin C deficiency. Smoking typically depletes about 20 mg of Vit. C per cigarette, or 400 mg of C per pack. The amount of Vitamin C in an average orange is 60-100 mg. Vit. C is needed as part of the structure of collagen, the connective tissue protein that holds one cell to another. A common first sign of Vit. C deficiency is easy bruising. Adequate Vit. C is essential to prevent hemorrhaging during surgery and to promote healing after surgery. It shouldn't be necessary to deny smokers surgery until they quit smoking, The smoker could be instructed instead to supplement with Vit. C before and after surgery. The denial of health care to smokers by the British National Heath Service illustrates how socializing health care does not change the fact that our health care system is ineffective at restoring health, focusing primarily on treating symptoms. The only real change is the government controls how much you're charged, how much treatment you can have, and eventually may tell you how you must live your life if you want to receive full benefits.
In Mr. Nuttall's case, a deficiency of Vit. C might not be the only thing causing his fractured ankle to not heal properly. Deficiencies in calcium and Vit. D could also cause impaired healing of a bone fracture regardless of smoking.
It's important to remember that in a socialized health care system, where everyone helps pay for your health care, your health is everyone's business and you don't have the right to indulge in high risk behaviors without restraint. You may be punished by fines or denial of health care benefits if you indulge in lifestyle choices like using tobacco, caffeine, alcohol, or failure to comply with dietary protocols for conditions like obesity, diabetes, high cholesterol or heart disease. With socialized health care, there is no free lunch; you pay with ever increasing taxes for less quality care and less freedom of choice. If Maryland feels justified in forcing vaccinations upon children against the will of their parents, you can imagine how it might be if we ever have a national socialized health care system.
Shortly after the report about a smoker being denied surgery, I received an unverified email which reiterates my own concerns about socialized health care. I include it below in its entirety.
Personally, I have the following questions and concerns about socialized health care:
1. When the government provides a service, it often ends up costing more money. How can we expect a socialized health care system to control health care costs unless the quality or availability of care is restricted?.
2. Disease care is not health care. The common symptom in every disease is the loss of health, and the loss of health is the one symptom health care consistently fails to treat. Socialized health care will likely still focus on treatment of symptoms (primarily with drugs), rather than actively seeking to promote health to prevent disease or restore health in the face of disease.3. The stated intent of a government program is often later ignored. Social security taxes were supposed to accrue in a trust account and be used only to pay benefits. Now money going into the trust fund pays for current benefits, and anything left goes into the general fund to pay for other government services. How can we be sure the government won't use socialized health care as a means to tax the people without protest, using some of the money for purposes unrelated to health care, regardless of the original law or its intent?4.In a socialized health care system, it's everyone's business who's running up excessive costs, because everyone is paying the premium. What's to keep the government from using the health care system to force lifestyle compliance with government standards by punishing people who smoke or diabetics who cheat, with fines, jail time or loss of benefits? What's to keep the health care system from refusing care for the elderly unless they agree to euthanasia? What risks to individual freedom and privacy will a socialized health care system present?5. The US government has failed to enforce immigration laws and maintain security of our borders for over 40 years. Illegal immigrants receive "free" health care and are a tremendous financial burden on our health care system. If we establish socialized health care, will it cover illegal aliens? Almost certainly, with the original intent of the national health care system, to provide health care for Americans, ignored. As of 2007, $2.5 Billion dollars a year are spent on Medicaid for illegal aliens. http://www.cis.org/articles/2004/fiscalexec.htmlJohn W. Cartmell, MS
www.dietadvisor.com