Wednesday, January 4, 2012

What did they die for?

As the Iraq war "officially" ends, the question on my mind these days is...

What exactly did the soldiers die for?
Why did 4803 brave men and women die?  What was their purpose?
Why did 32,226 Americans have to suffer physical and mental injury and trauma?
Why are 120 veterans and active service members committing suicide every week?

I ask the question of Democrat or Republican.  I ask this question to hawks and pacifists.  I even ask this question of those in the armed forces or who are veterans themselves.

To what purpose were these brave soldiers sent to die?  Eight years later and nearly 5,000 dead, I think we deserve an answer.

And if there isn't an answer, somebody better damn well pay for it.


PEACE


p.s.  I realize I didn't mention the Iraqi dead.  That's for another post.

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Child Dental Care? Bah!

The New Year must feel like a trivial day for some when they are faced with struggles like this:

Many Illinois children who are covered by government-sponsored insurance programs often go without much-needed specialty dental treatment or wait for extended periods because of an ailing Medicaid system.
The biggest issues, advocates say, are Medicaid reimbursement rates in Illinois that are among the lowest in the country for specialized care and administrative hassles that go along with treating low-income patients. Dentists say they can't make ends meet.
Barriers to specialty dental care for low-income children remain a problem almost seven years after a federal judge ruled that the state had violated the rights of several hundred thousand poor children in Cook County.

Do tell how after a federal judge shows that the rights of poor children in Chicago and surrounding communities are being violated, how DOES this continue to happen?

And I didn't quite know that dental care is "specialized care".  People have and do die from untreated dental illness.  But hey, if you're poor then you don't really deserve this "specialized care".

Chicago IS a world class city.



***

On another personal note, I am a new uncle!  It's very exciting news for my sister and our family.  She gave birth to Jordan Itai on December 24th.  We went to his Bris on the 31st and the little guy handled it like a champ!  I will post pictures of the little guy once I have the clear from my sister, but I will just say this.... he's freakin adorable.

Mazal Tov!

PEACE

p.s.  Sorry for linking to fox news, I won't ever do it again