“It’s my duty and pride tonight to be able to announce exactly what the Republicans plan to do for health care in America,” announced Rep. Alan Grayson (D-FL) on the House floor Wednesday night. Taking out a chart, he continued, “Here it is. The Republican health care plan for America: ‘don’t get sick.’ If you have insurance don’t get sick, if you don’t have insurance, don’t get sick; if you’re sick, don’t get sick. … If you do get sick America, the Republican health care plan is this: ‘die quickly.’” The speech generated instant controversy as offended Republicans accused him of degrading “the integrity and proceedings of the House” (even though GOP lawmakers have been making absurdly false claims on the floor about Democratic plans for months). While Grayson later admitted that his hyperbole was “tongue-in-cheek,” he stood by his statement and refused to apologize…to the GOP. “I apologize to the dead and their families that we haven’t voted sooner,” Grayson said, referring to the thousands of Americans who have died because they lacked health insurance. Grayson’s comments highlighted a sad truth: Too many Americans get sick and face crippling medical debt as a result of either having no health insurance or having to pay high premiums charged by private insurers. Unfortunately, the Republican solution is to keep the status quo or make the situation even worse.

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In the Personal Health column in today’s NY Times, Jane Brody writes about stopping to congratulate a young mother who was chatting to her toddler while walking along the streets of New York City recently. Brody commented that seeing this interaction between mother and barely verbal daughter was a rare occurrence in her Brooklyn neighborhood. Most parents Brody sees are chatting on their cell phones, BlackBerry’s or listening to their iPods while in the company of their young children. Brody bemoans the lack of one-on-one interaction between parents and young children and the ill effects it can have on a child’s communication development.

I too am alarmed by the lack of one-on-one communication not only between parents and children but adults and other adults. On a recent trip to Las Vegas my husband and I dined at the Voo Doo Lounge on the 52^nd floor of the Rio Hotel. The view is simply spectacular, the food very upscale and we both enjoyed our selves immensely during our visit. At an adjacent table I noticed a group of young women, obviously friends on vacation enjoying a nice evening out together. One young woman seated closest to us was absorbed by her cell phone, when she wasn’t talking on it; she was texting or checking her e-mail. This went on throughout dinner and afterwards. She barely acknowledged her dinner companions and had to be coaxed away from the phone to pose for photos at the table. I was appalled. This girl was basically saying to her friends, “you aren’t important enough for me to devote my undivided attention to.” She would have been better off staying in her room and talking on the phone rather than spending major dollars to text and chat at the table. I started to notice all of the people on the streets, at the pool, in clubs everywhere with phones seemingly permanently attached to their hands.  Particularly disturbing to me are people at live music venues talking or texting while an amazing musician performs. If you want to talk on your phone- stay home and talk or walk out of the venue- but please, I beg of you let the people who enjoy live music listen to it undisturbed by your private conversations.

Call me old fashioned our just plain out of it, but can’t we just live in this moment for a change? Do we constantly have to be in touch electronically? Is it possible to leave your phone in the car, turn off the computer and just enjoy this moment in time? I think we’re losing part of our souls because we can’t focus on the matter at hand. In our desperation to keep up with everyone and everything we are losing ourselves. In a simpler time, we read books, had conversations, sat in silence and listened to our children. When we are still and more focused we tend to notice the details, the leaves falling from the trees, the neighbor’s door slightly ajar, cobwebs clinging to trees dusted with dew, our children asking questions. All little things but perfection in and of themselves.

The Census Bureau reports that 15% of South Carolina residents are not covered by health insurance. The latest shocking report on the state of health care in South Carolina adds a sense of urgency to the need for strong political leadership in these troubled times. Unfortunately the current white male dominated state and federal legislative delegations all seem to be in deep denial about how critical South Carolina’s health needs truly are. MNCBC’s Rachel Maddow detailed the state’s issues with the health and wellbeing of its residents on a recent program;

http://videocafe.crooksandliars.com/heather/rachel-maddow-show-sorry-state-south-carol

More troubling news about out state turned up when the Census Bureau examined median family income and educational attainment levels. Residents born in another state made nearly $10,000 more a year than native South Carolinians. Twenty percent of the folks born in South Carolina living in Greenville, were college graduates, 42% of Greenville residents born outside SC had obtained a bachelor’s degree. The link between higher education and higher wages is abundantly clear.

But take heart fellow travelers, even though times are tough and likely to get much worse before they get better in South Carolina under Republican domination, Jenny Sanford is writing an inspirational memoir which could pick up our spirits. The book is due out this May according to a report on The Huffington Post

 http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/09/22/jenny-sanford-memoir-due-_n_294760.html

Is there any doubt left in your mind that Jenny was the brains behind the Sanford operation. He’s a doofus. I’m just glad that the Sanford’s can profit from this fiasco while the rest of us suffer in silence as unwillingly participants in an extra marital affair gone public.

 Laughter is still free…click on this and learn how you can help protect insurance executives…

http://pol.moveon.org/insurance_execs/?id=17291-5496894-sjigg0x&t=1