While the illegal State of Hawaii evicts those unfortunate in our society from their last stronghold of stability, a country like Venezuela cares not only for their own citizens, but also those who are visiting. And for free.Something wrong with this picture? As long as you have a government/system based on profits...and not the welfare of its citizens...you will have those who fall through the cracks.Donna------------------------------Health Care and Democracy: A Look at the VenezuelanHealthcare SystemBy Caitlin McNultyUpsidedownWorldJune 25, 20009http://upsidedownworld.org/main/content/view/1925/35/The right to health care is guaranteed in theVenezuelan Constitution, which was written and ratifiedby the people in 1999. Through implementing a state-funded social program called Barrio Adentro, or insidethe barrio, free comprehensive health care is availableto all Venezuelans. Beginning in June 2003 through atrade pact with Cuba, Venezuela began to bring Cubandoctors, medical technology, and medications into ruraland urban communities free of charge in exchange forlow-cost oil. The 1.5 million dollar per year programexpanded to provide a broad network of smallneighborhood clinics, larger regional clinics, andhospitals which aim to serve the entire Venezuelanpopulation. (1) Chavez has referred to this new healthcare system as the "democratization of health care"stating that "health care has become a fundamentalsocial right and the state will assume the principalrole in the construction of a participatory system fornational public health." (2) In Venezuela, not only ishealth care a right; it is recognized as an essentialfor true participatory democracy.Some of what characterizes this movement towards healthcare for all includes popular participation,preventative medicine, and evaluation of communityhealth issues. Western medicine typically operates in atop-down fashion. Doctors treat symptoms, and oftenfail to evaluate the larger picture of community healthissues or teach prevention. (3) In a private for-profitsystem, there is little incentive to prevent costlyillnesses. In Venezuela, however, Barrio Adentro beganconstructing clinics within neighborhoods where manyhad never been to a doctor. Through this program, acommunity can organize to receive funding to build aclinic and bring in doctors. The community isresponsible for creating health committees, the membersof which go door to door to assess the specific healthissues of their community. Doctors who live in thecommunities also make house calls. (4) Peopleparticipate in the process of serving the health needsof the entire population.The extensive health program is also being used totrain a new generation of Venezuelan doctors. Thetraining program takes place within the clinic systemitself and relies heavily on experiential learning. Theprogram seeks to build a new relationship betweendoctor and patient based on the values of service,solidarity and compassion. Doctors participating in thetraining program are coming from the communities theyare learning in and serving, building on their intimateknowledge of the communities to provide trulycompassionate and personalized care. Using popularforums, medical professionals are able to respond tothe needs of the community and offer education,treatment and consultation addressing unique publichealth issues.(6)Although the system began by focusing exclusively onpreventative health, it has expanded to includeemergency health services, mental health services,surgeries, cancer treatment, dental care, access tooptometrists as well as free glasses and contactlenses, support systems for those with disabilities andtheir families, as well as access to a large variety ofmedical specialists. They have succeeded in taking anunder funded, corrupt public health care system andchanging not only the quality and accessibility butalso the mentality of those working there. Instead of afor-profit industry systematically denying access tolarge sectors of the population, health care inVenezuela is seen as a basic human right. No one isturned away, and no one is denied care. In Venezuela,they treat whole person, not simply their illness, andmoney stays where it belongs- outside of the healthcare system.(7)During my time in Venezuela, I developed a cough thatwent on for three weeks and progressively worsened.Finally, after I had become incredibly congested anddeveloped a fever, I decided to attend a Barrio Adentroclinic. The closest one available was a Barrio AdentroII Centro de Diagonostico Integral (CDI) and I headedin without my medical records or calling to make anappointment. Immediately, I was ushered into a smallroom where Carmen, a friendly Cuban doctor, beganquestioning me about my symptoms. She listened to mylungs and walked me over to another examination roomwhere, again without waiting, I had x-rays taken.Afterwards, the technician walked me to a chair andapologized profusely that I had to wait for the x-raysto be developed, promising that it would take no morethan five minutes. Sure enough, five minutes later hereturned with both x-rays developed. Carmen studied thex-rays and informed me that I had pneumonia, showing methe telltale shadows. She sent me away with my x-rays,three medications to treat my pneumonia, congestion,and fever, and made me promise to come back if myconditioned failed to improve or worsened within threedays. I walked out of the clinic with a diagnosis andtreatment within twenty-five minutes of entering,without paying a dime. There was no wait, no paperwork,and no questions about my ability to pay, mynationality, or whether, as a foreigner, I was entitledto free comprehensive health care. There was nomonetary value connected with my physical well-being;the care I received was not contingent upon my abilityto pay. I was treated with dignity, respect, andcompassion, my illness was cured and I was able tocontinue with my journey in Venezuela.This past year, a family friend was not so lucky. Atthe age of 56, she was going back to school and wasuninsured. She came down with what she thought was asevere case of the flu, and as her condition worsenedshe decided not to see a doctor because of the cost.She died at home in bed, losing her life to a systemthat did not respect her basic human right to survive.Her death is not an isolated incident. Over 18,000United States residents die every year because of theirlack of prohibitively expensive health insurance. TheUnited States has the distinct honor of being the "onlywealthy industrialized nation that does not ensure thatall citizens have coverage".(8) Instead, we havecommodified the public health and well being of thoselive in the US, leaving them on their own to obtaininsurance. Those whose jobs do not provide insurance,can't get enough hours to qualify for health carecoverage through their workplace, are unemployed, orhave "previously existing conditions" that exclude themfrom coverage are forced to choose between thepotentially fatal decision of refusing medical care andaccumulating medical bills that trap them in aninescapable cycle of debt. And sometimes, that decisionis made for them. Doctors often ask that dreadedquestion; "do you have insurance?" before schedulingcritical tests, procedures, or treatments. When theanswer is no, treatments that were deemed necessarybefore are suddenly canceled as the ability to paybecomes more important than the patient's health.(9)It is estimated that there are over fifty millionUnited States residents currently living without healthinsurance, a number that will skyrocket as unemploymentrates increase and people lose their work-based healthcare coverage in this time of international financialcrisis.(10) Already this year, 7.5 million people havelost work-related coverage. Budget cuts for the stateof Washington this year will remove over forty thousandpeople from Washington Basic Health, a subsidizedprogram which already has a waiting list of seventeenthousand people.(11) As I returned to the US fromVenezuela, I was faced with the realization that as asociety, the United States places a monetary value onlife. That we make life and death judgments based on anindividual's ability to pay. And that someone with thesame condition I had recently recovered from had diedbecause, according to our system, her life wasn'tinsured.Many in the United States fear that people would abusea free health care system, causing overcrowding and acompromised level of care. Others claim that a singlepayer system would limit the freedoms of both doctorand patient. These claims, propagated by the corporatemedia in the United States, are a hollow attempt tokeep those in the US from organizing to demand singlepayer health care. Primary care and preventativemedicine are seen as the first steps towardssustainable universal health care, keeping people outof costly hospital stays, tests, and treatments downthe road. Socializing the costs of medicine keepscosts low by preventing expensive treatments and healthproblems. It is difficult to understand how muchquality, free health care means until you find yourselfin a position of vulnerability and need. I felt a senseof security traveling in Venezuela that I do not feelin the United States; in Venezuela, there is a safetynet ready to catch you when you fall. People in the USmust ask themselves, as a country, where our values lieand how we have not only let people slip through thecracks but worked to systematically exclude them. Do webelieve that insurance corporations and the medicalindustrial complex should be profiting from denyingcare and keeping sick people from receiving treatment?Or do we believe that care should be separate from anindividual's ability to pay? As a nation, we mustembrace our humanity and value life over profits.
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  • Why did the upper middle class allow the US Federal government to nationalize the entire Ahupuaa of Nuuanu? Let me paint the landscape....

    On the international level of thinking
    Hillary Rodham said, “In concluding, I hope you will indulge me one final observation. Like most Americans, I never had the chance to travel widely outside our country as a
    child or young adult. Most of my early professional career was as a lawyer
    and advocate for children and who found themselves on society’s margins
    here at home. But during the eight years of my husband’s presidency, and
    then in my eight years as a Senator, I have been privileged to travel on
    behalf of the United States to more than 80 countries.
    I’ve had the opportunity to get to know many world leaders. As a member of
    the Senate Armed Services Committee I’ve spent time with our military
    commanders, as well as our brave troops serving in Iraq and Afghanistan,
    and I have immersed myself in an array of military issues. I’ve spent many
    hours with American and non-American aid workers, businessmen and
    women, religious leaders, teachers, doctors, nurses, students, volunteers and
    others who have made it their mission to help people across the world. I
    have also learned invaluable lessons from countless ordinary citizens in
    foreign capitals, small towns, and rural villages whose lives offered a
    glimpse into a world far removed from what many of us experience on a
    daily basis here in America.
    In recent years, as other nations have risen to compete for military,
    economic, and political influence, some have argued that we have reached
    the end of the “American moment” in world history. I disagree. Yes, the
    conventional paradigms have shifted. But America’s success has never been
    solely a function of our power; it has always been inspired by our values.
    With so many troubles here at home and across the world, millions of people
    are still trying to come to our country -- legally and illegally. Why? Because
    we are guided by unchanging truths: that all people are created equal; that
    each person has a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. And in
    these truths we will find, as we have for more than two centuries, the
    courage, the discipline, and the creativity to meet the challenges of this everchanging world.
    I am humbled to be a public servant, and honored by the responsibility
    placed on me by our President-Elect, who embodies the American Dream
    not only here at home but far beyond our shores.
    Page 16
    No matter how daunting our challenges may be, I have a steadfast faith in
    our country and our people, and I am proud to be an American at the
    dawning of this new American moment.
    Thank you, Mr. Chairman and members of the committee, for granting me
    your time and attention today. I know there is a lot more territory to cover
    and I’d be delighted to answer your questions.

    In the twilight--the far reaching for power:
    "Research shows the presence of women raises the standards of ethical behavior and lowers corruption," said Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State By Deborah White, About.com

    Expanding America via ‘youth’s
    “For Saul Alinsky is more than a man who has created a particular approach to community organizing, he is the articulate proponent of what many consider to be a dangerous socio/political philosophy. An understanding of the “Alinsky-type method” (i.e. his organizing method) as well as the philosophy on which it is based must start with an understanding of the man himself.”

    Kaohi said, What I found most intriguing was her title for her third chapter and use of the word “Politicalpornography” page 44 (Rodham,1969) This chapter is worth reading, Hillary writes: “One of the more intriguing puzzles to solve concerns Alinsky’s relationship to the War on Poverty.” The chapter is worth reading, to understand how Hawaii arrives to YOUTH”S, “opportunity” and “maximum feasible participation” I find this notion(s) money making based on youth woes, such as suicide rates, mental depression, traveling pre-schools a bit miniporn. The real question we should ask ourselves, do children vote?

    http://www.thedowettfoundation (interesting site)

    Hillary writes, “Somehow Alinsky’s use of participation as a process through which individuals determine the action to be taken by a community organization has been lost in the academic/bureaucratic crossfire.” On the other hand, Rodham present’s Alinsky’s unpowering concern, “Throughout his career he had begun his organizing campaigns with cash in had, completely independent of the power structure with which he wished to bargain. His entire analysis of the process of social chance argued that official community action programs would soon fall under the direction of city Hall.” (Moynihan, pp. 185-186)

    My point or the bottom line when the ‘valley girl’ mentality comes to Waianae or Waimanalo, I wonder, how am I going to side step the middle age wanna be ‘Lolita’s? The flip side of this coin are the Hawaii based Union leaders that are residing in Waianae and Waimanalo and the seduction for power. Kaohi (Waianae/Waimanalo resident
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