Vomitrocities, Part 2

Little did I guess when I chose the title to the previous post that I'd soon be experiencing my own little vomitrocity, culminating in my admission to hospital over the weekend with the mother of all gallbladder attacks. Talk about karma! I am feeling much better now (morphine drips* sure are grand!) but not up to my usual mental or physical par --  so blogging will be limited.

Meanwhile, I'll be doing the lazy aggregation thing and posting links as I try to play catch-up on the news I've missed. When I got home last night, I naturally turned on CNN to see if they were still playing scavenger hunt on the missing plane. They were. Ashleigh Banfield was doing her chirpy ping thing, I guess because Don Lemon got tired of playing with his toy airplane.

  But Bill Moyers had a great show about restaurant slaves and sub-minimum wage. I was extremely and most pleasantly surprised that 60 Minutes, which had been veering into right wing territory for quite awhile, turned the tables on itself and did an excellent story on extreme poverty and lack of medical care in Appalachia. It seems that corporate media world in general is waking up and smelling the humanitarian crisis coffee in this country. Everybody who's anybody finally seems to be noticing that we are living in a third world country. Whether this will lead to drastic change is another story. Because the plutocrats own the joint, and they are a tenacious bunch.

Contributor Pearl Volkov shares her TimesPick comment on Ross Douthat's health care column:

Your concerns are valid, Mr. Douthat. I am a U.S. citizen living in Canada as a permanent resident and receive full medical coverage as well as my family in this country. How come Canada can accomplish this feat without bankrupting the nation? And do it at a fraction of the cost of the U.S. with better quality coverage? Simple. Our taxes which are more progressive cover the costs and there are no private for profit insurance companies or private medical conglomerates involved and hospitals are regulated with costs for medical care included in our coverage and no one's care is tied to their jobs.

Until and unless the health care needs for citizens are removed from the private sector, any form of Obamacare or other coverage will become an albatross for the nation and force medical needs to offer less and less help for the people.

Simple? We will have to have a financial and political revolution in my birth country before sanity will prevail and not only in the health care sector. It is depressing to witness what is happening and what the future holds. I am indeed fortunate to be living in Canada at this point in time.

You can say that again, Pearl. My hospital roommate, who'd just undergone cancer surgery, was more worried about what, when, and even if her crappy insurance would pay than with her own recovery and prognosis. Her son was upset because his boss had been giving him a hard time about taking time off to care for his mother. These are people who've worked all their lives and played by all the rules.

Something is terribly wrong with this country, and has been for a very long time. 

To be continued.... 

P.S. (4/8) I want to thank those who've commented here and emailed me with get-well wishes. I think my gall is now being properly redirected toward those who truly deserve it. See: Schumer, Chuck, above. 

P.P.S. (4/10) Several medical professionals have told me it was unlikely that I received a continuous pure morphine drip. To the best of my recollection, the nurse did use the word morphine, but she most probably said "morphine-like" or something similar. In any case, whatever I got morphed that bitch of a pain right away, and I was very sad when they discontinued it after a very short time. I guess I'll find out exactly what they shot into my veins when I get the bill. And then I'll really need some strong meds.