Ok, I wasn't going to comment on the New Hampshire debates, but I can't refrain from mentioning this. On the topic of health care, Mitt Romney just attributed the high cost of health care to the fact that "47 million Americans don't want to play."
In other words (in the rhetoric of "personal responisbility"), not having health insurance coverage is a choice in a game. It's like when I don't buy a scratch-off ticket at the gas station.
The man even tried to spin Massachusetts' personal mandate as a conservative policy. Nice try, dude. I think that my face just broke out due to all of the grease from Mitt Romney's soul.
Saturday, January 05, 2008
"Food as Medicine"
As I described in an earlier post (Part II will come sometime...), my organization focuses on the concept of "food as medicine" to improve our clients' health. And as I was talking with my mother today, I suddenly realized that "food as medicine" isn't some complex theory to which I was introduced through my fellowship. Rather, I've been embracing this very concept for most of my life.
I woke up this morning with a sore throat. This is bad news for obvious reasons, but it's an especially unfortunate circumstance considering that my job involves my interacting with very ill people with compromised immune systems. (And as far as I'm concerned, there is no way in hell that I'm going to make someone with a serious life-challenging illness even sicker.) I was explaining this situation to my mother this afternooon, when -- Eureka -- the realization hit me.
Since I was a kid, my mom has told me a little proverb whenever I've been ill, and today was no exception. In Chinese, that proverb is "人怕病，病怕撑!" (or "Rén pà bìng, bìng pà chēng!"). Directly translated, this proverb means "People fear illness, [but] illness fears fullness." To sound less like Rivers Cuomo, crooning about his Asian Fetish, I'll provide a richer characterization.
My mother always used this saying at the meal table when I was a bit under the weather since generally, appetite decreases during illness. The idea is that while sick, malnutrition will do your body and your recovery no favors. Thus, "fullness" in this saying means satiety. The point of the proverb is to encourage people to eat, allowing them to acquire sufficient nutrition to overcome their illnesses.
This concept is so ingrained into my head that I follow it without particular thought. Knowing that I was sick, I ate an especially full breakfast this morning, including oatmeal, yogurt, an orange, and a multivitamin. For lunch, I had a salad, some turkey, some fish, mixed vegetables, and an apple. I also drank a lot of fluids. It was only later today, during my conversation with my mother, that the dots connected in my head.
Food as medicine. It's not rocket science so much as conventional wisdom.
I woke up this morning with a sore throat. This is bad news for obvious reasons, but it's an especially unfortunate circumstance considering that my job involves my interacting with very ill people with compromised immune systems. (And as far as I'm concerned, there is no way in hell that I'm going to make someone with a serious life-challenging illness even sicker.) I was explaining this situation to my mother this afternooon, when -- Eureka -- the realization hit me.
Since I was a kid, my mom has told me a little proverb whenever I've been ill, and today was no exception. In Chinese, that proverb is "人怕病，病怕撑!" (or "Rén pà bìng, bìng pà chēng!"). Directly translated, this proverb means "People fear illness, [but] illness fears fullness." To sound less like Rivers Cuomo, crooning about his Asian Fetish, I'll provide a richer characterization.
My mother always used this saying at the meal table when I was a bit under the weather since generally, appetite decreases during illness. The idea is that while sick, malnutrition will do your body and your recovery no favors. Thus, "fullness" in this saying means satiety. The point of the proverb is to encourage people to eat, allowing them to acquire sufficient nutrition to overcome their illnesses.
This concept is so ingrained into my head that I follow it without particular thought. Knowing that I was sick, I ate an especially full breakfast this morning, including oatmeal, yogurt, an orange, and a multivitamin. For lunch, I had a salad, some turkey, some fish, mixed vegetables, and an apple. I also drank a lot of fluids. It was only later today, during my conversation with my mother, that the dots connected in my head.
Food as medicine. It's not rocket science so much as conventional wisdom.
Politics and excitement
I expected myself to be excited about the Iowa Caucuses, but I have to say that I'm energized about the primary process to an unanticipated degree. I'm not sure if it's me, this year's candidates, or some combination of the two. Regardless, I have an optimistic feeling in my gut that I haven't had for quite some time as a young, disaffected voter.
I've spent the last two hours reading political blogs and using the Kaiser Foundation's health08.org tool to compare health care platforms. (Aside: I think that I've also decided to spell health care as two separate words from now on for no apparent reason.)
Bob Herbert has summed up a lot of my opinions in his latest editorial.
Optimism, heh. Who knew?
I've spent the last two hours reading political blogs and using the Kaiser Foundation's health08.org tool to compare health care platforms. (Aside: I think that I've also decided to spell health care as two separate words from now on for no apparent reason.)
Bob Herbert has summed up a lot of my opinions in his latest editorial.
Optimism, heh. Who knew?
Friday, January 04, 2008
The time for change.
The results of last night's caucuses in Iowa are inspiring to me for several reasons. Obama's and Huckabee's victories are an indication that Iowans are ready for political change, and I hope that this sentiment is carried across the country. I am truly sick and tired of this do-nothing Congress kowtowing to a lame duck Administration. (And I haven't even started my "policy placement" for my fellowship. yet! Ask me about my faith in the political process in a few months.)
Specifically, on the issue of health care, the Bush Administration simply needs to shut up and get the hell out. Ohio recently applied to expand its Medicaid program to cover more uninsured children. Due to the President's "compassion" (I swear that his spokesperson used this word...), Ohio's application was rejected. The Administration has decided that an August 2007 directive for SCHIP magically applies to Medicaid programs as well. This impossible directive mandated that states must enroll 95% of children below 200% of poverty before expanding programs. No state has ever enrolled that many children, and I promise you that it's not from a lack of trying. I work with many low-income clients on a daily basis through my job, and not even 95% of them have telephones!
I'd analyze more of the Administration's rhetoric on this topic (like its xenophobic banter behind its mandate for citizenship documentation for Medicaid or the concept of "crowdout"), but I need to get to work.
For now, I'll just be content that change is brewing across the nation. Thank goodness.
Specifically, on the issue of health care, the Bush Administration simply needs to shut up and get the hell out. Ohio recently applied to expand its Medicaid program to cover more uninsured children. Due to the President's "compassion" (I swear that his spokesperson used this word...), Ohio's application was rejected. The Administration has decided that an August 2007 directive for SCHIP magically applies to Medicaid programs as well. This impossible directive mandated that states must enroll 95% of children below 200% of poverty before expanding programs. No state has ever enrolled that many children, and I promise you that it's not from a lack of trying. I work with many low-income clients on a daily basis through my job, and not even 95% of them have telephones!
I'd analyze more of the Administration's rhetoric on this topic (like its xenophobic banter behind its mandate for citizenship documentation for Medicaid or the concept of "crowdout"), but I need to get to work.
For now, I'll just be content that change is brewing across the nation. Thank goodness.
Thursday, January 03, 2008
Ron-don-caucus!
So Warren went to an Iowan caucus! I'm jealous because D.C. is not only primary-less; it's freaking disenfranchised!
Anyway, to celebrate the crazy, messed up process that makes up the Iowa primaries, here's a shoutout to my boy, Ron-don-paul:
Anyway, to celebrate the crazy, messed up process that makes up the Iowa primaries, here's a shoutout to my boy, Ron-don-paul:
Wednesday, January 02, 2008
Happy New Work
So 2008 was ushered with style in Brooklyn (more on this later). However, New Year also brought some heavy responsibilities. I'm applying for the Jack Kent Cooke scholarship for graduate school, and there are a whopping 4 essays to write. Brutal.
I'm having a difficult time, in particular, with one of the prompts. It asks me to respond to a piece of art (liberally defined) by another person. I have 1000 characters with which to talk about any work of artistic expression. And I think that I'm going to write about Weezer's "Only in Dreams" from The Blue Album.
This is a strange choice, and I'm not certain how it will turn out. However, I have to give it the good ol' slightly-post-college try, no?
I think my mother pretty much characterized the required work ethic I'll need for the next several days on the phone tonight: "Work hard and relax! Oh, wait, I guess you can't do both. Work hard!"'
Here I go.
I'm having a difficult time, in particular, with one of the prompts. It asks me to respond to a piece of art (liberally defined) by another person. I have 1000 characters with which to talk about any work of artistic expression. And I think that I'm going to write about Weezer's "Only in Dreams" from The Blue Album.
This is a strange choice, and I'm not certain how it will turn out. However, I have to give it the good ol' slightly-post-college try, no?
I think my mother pretty much characterized the required work ethic I'll need for the next several days on the phone tonight: "Work hard and relax! Oh, wait, I guess you can't do both. Work hard!"'
Here I go.
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