Best Health Care, Really?

As the rest of the world is confronting new outbreaks of Covid-19, statistically they might begin to catch up to the United States. Or they would, if the United States stood still or even plateaued in the numbers of cases and deaths here. Other countries have higher death rates per million, but the staggering question for Americans has to be, what happened here? I do not lay the blame for Covid-19 at the feet of our president any more than I blame anyone else. It is a disease. Diseases happen. That being said, it baffles me why the country with the alleged best healthcare system in the world is doing so poorly among the so-called industrialized nations among whom America is supposed to be the leader.. There is one thing that sets us apart from almost every other nation in our “class,” especially in response to Covid-19. You can point to a lack of central leadership. It is a factor. You can point to the divisiveness among Americans over what should be no-brainer methods of containment. It contributes. Ultimately, though, there has been a fundamental lack of coordination between the myriad levels of government and the widely diverse healthcare system. In a word, health insurance is driving the bus. Or, rather, not driving when it should be. We tout our healthcare system as the best in the world. However, our overall ranking by the World Health Organization puts us at Number 37 in the world. What the nations above us have that we don't is universal healthcare, the one-payer system. When will we stubborn stupid Americans realize that the open market system does not work for everything and in every case? If it shows us nothing else, Covid-19 makes a great case for single payer, MediCare for all. It's not the perfect solution, but neither is it the death knell for capitalism. It gives protection to every consumer and worker who forms the foundation for every capitalist's dreams. And guess what? You'll save money paycheck to paychek!

Changing the Channel

When I originally began writing my blogs, my intention was to write about art and entertainment. Politics inevitably crept in, a little like Freddy Krueger slipping into my dreams. But politics has not been very artful of late. It has been entertaining, in that I have felt compelled to watch, the way I find myself sitting down to finish Field of Dreams no matter what point in the film I walk into, or an episode of Masterpiece's Van der Valk to find out just who is behind a rash of violent crimes, how our troubled hero will cope, and just why he is so troubled. I am not a fan of Reality TV, and the last four years have been a long, continuous, 24-7-365 broadcast. Last night's debate was almost refreshing. Both vice presidential candidates were relatively polite and controlled. Neither one seemed able to keep their responses within time limits, but aside from that they did okay. In an environment of extremes all around, okay was just fine. And that's all I plan to say today. Since almost everyone who is planning to vote has already made their choices, I feel it is pointless to keep badgering you. I think I'd rather watch Field of Dreams, or a good murder mystery, wouldn't you? Or Hocus Pocus, It's almost Halloween! I do marvel at the lengths Jeff Goldblum went to in order to be the highlight of the debate. He was almost permanently stuck in Vice President Pence's hair, softly sreaming his mantra, “Help me! Help me!” Help us!

America's Crisis of Conscience

Donald Trump is an arrogant, ignorant prick. Coming back from the hospital against better judgment, still battling Covid-19, he tells us it was no big deal, we need not be afraid of coronavirus. With over 210,000 Americans succumbed to this plague, and as many as a thousand new deaths daily, downplaying the severity of this health crisis simply because Trump, with access as President to the absolutely best health care available in the world, still holds onto the strange notion that hiding the truth is a sign of strength. The abomination that was his incessant shouting over both opponent and moderator at the first presidential debate still reverberates through my battered skull. Even getting sick from the highly contageous Covid has not stopped him from acting with foolish, ignorant bluster. Is this what we want representing us to the world? Have we become so caught up in our own self-righteousness that we no longer can recognize, let alone admit, when we are wrong? I hold that this is a minority view. But will that minority accept the decision of the majority to change course, to move forward by going back to a more reasoned and reasonable America once again worthy to lead the world? That is the question now. Trump obviously is counting on the answer, “No, they won't.” They'll take up arms and march to protect his power. He's doubling down on it. Republicans across the nation are searching for ways to make it harder to vote safely. Freedom itself hangs in the balance. Badgered as we have been, the worst possible thing now would be to give in and not vote at all. Trump wins automatically if we stay home. America is having a crisis of conscience. Are we going to move toward finally achieving and accepting an all inclusive society, a process our Forefathers began 244 years ago, or are we going to hold on, tooth and claw, to a white-domninant nation? The choice is that clear. Personally, to do it right, I'd say we need all the help we can get. America has been on a journey to Equality. Call it the Freedom Train. Donald Trump is trying to derail it. He wants us to forget who we are and how hard our parents and grandparents worked to lay down the tracks. So: do we want to be Proud White Boys or a truly democratic, all inclusive, all welcoming nation living up to and striving toward the ideal set down by Emma Lazarus, engraved at the foot of Liberty herself: “Keep, ancient lands, your storied pomp!” cries she With silent lips. “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tost to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!”

Good News For A Change: I Wrote A Book Not About Trump!

In difficult times, it is sometimes hard to find nice things about which to write. Therefore, I made something nice all by myself (with the help of all kinds of friends and family and figures from the arts). I wrote a book. I call it Infrequent Flier, and it is now available to the world! So, here is the description: Travel with me through space and time at the speed of sound. Sounds fast, isn't, really. Plenty of time to think about all kinds of stuff. Welcome aboard my spaceship, such as it is. Yes, it's smaller on the outside. The inside is infinite and filled with stories. Part memoir, part travelogue, part history, part cultural commentary, part art appreciation, all fun! There is more to art than what you know, or like, and more to any of us than meets the eye. The destination is fun but the adventure lies in the journey. From Mahler to Metallica, from Montana to Maastricht, from Shostakovich to Scheveningen, from van Gogh to Vonnegut, from Sir Winston to Doctor Who—join me on a trek across space, time, history and art. These are reflections and true stories (and some made up tales for spice) from what I know. Includes: “In Defense of Harry Potter,” “Ambush,” “42,” “Liberty Park,” “I Had to Be Fifty, “ “Timey Whimey,” “Best Westerns,” “The Naked Lady,” and dozens more. Explore with me, casually but honestly, a museum here, a battleground there, a song in the back of your mind, a film you cannot forget, the story of a hero or two, portraits of places that ring with poetry, and perfect days in abundance—all considered on long flights seven miles high. A perfect companion for the bathroom, the airplane, and the airplane bathroom! In the penultimate chapter of this book, I define a perfect day: “You have to be open to adventure and you have to be generous in how you define what an adventure is.” My own perfect days are filled with conversations shared with good friends. From art museums to symphony halls to breweries to mountain tops, I offer an adventure of a lifetime spent wasting hours on all the right things. This book is a conversation. One-sided, I admit. I talk, you listen—but feel free to jump in at any time. 511 pages. Available in paperback for $20, or on your Kindle for just $8.99. Please support a starving artist! Well, I am not exactly starving. In fact, I need to go on a diet. But that's another story.