Rural Medical Camp Reveals Third World Lives in U.S.

From NPR via Truthout:

It was a Third World scene with an American setting. Hundreds of tired and desperate people crowded around an aid worker with a bullhorn, straining to hear the instructions and worried they might be left out.

Some had arrived at the Wise County Fairgrounds in Wise, Virginia, two days before. They slept in cars, tents and the beds of pickup trucks, hoping to be among the first in line when the gate opened Friday before dawn. They drove in from 16 states, anxious to relieve pain, diagnose aches and see and hear better.

“I came here because of health care – being able to get things that we can’t afford to have ordinarily,” explained 52-year-old Otis Reece of Gate City, Va., as he waited in a wheelchair beside his red F-150 pickup. “Being on a fixed income, this is a fantastic situation to have things done we ordinarily would put off.”

For the past 10 years, during late weekends in July, the fairgrounds in Wise have been transformed into a mobile and makeshift field hospital providing free care for those in need. Sanitized horse stalls become draped examination rooms. A poultry barn is fixed with optometry equipment. And a vast, open-air pavilion is crammed with dozens of portable dental chairs and lamps.

A converted 18-wheeler with a mobile X-ray room makes chest X-rays possible. Technicians grind hundreds of lenses for new eyeglasses in two massive trailers. At a concession stand, dentures are molded and sculpted.

The 2009 Remote Area Medical (RAM) Expedition comes to the Virginia Appalachian mountains as Congress and President Obama wrestle with a health care overhaul. The event graphically illustrates gaps in the existing health care system.

“We’re willing to sleep in pickup trucks or cars and deal with the elements to at least get some kind of health care,” Reece adds. He earned a six-figure income working for an international industrial supply firm until an accident five years ago left him disabled. Joining him for dental, vision and medical checks are his wife, daughter, son-in-law and three grandchildren.

“Tomorrow, I’m going to see the doctor to get my ear and my nose fixed!” grandson Jacob shouts excitedly. His nose appears battered and his ear has an oozing scab.

Before the gate opened, Loretta Miller, 41, of Honaker, Va., got four hours’ sleep behind the wheel of her parked minivan. She was No. 39 in line for her eighth RAM expedition. Her visit last year saved her life.

“They done an ultrasound and told me that my gallbladder was enlarged and was ready to burst and it could kill me,” Miller recalls. “They told me if I hadn’t got help when I did, literally I could have died.”

Medical, dental and vision help is often elusive for the 2,700 people seeking treatment during the three-day RAM event. Just over half of the people attending this year have no insurance at all, according to a survey of the patients conducted by RAM. Forty-seven percent could be considered underinsured, given unaffordable copays or gaps in coverage provided by Medicare, Medicaid and conventional insurance plans. Only 11 patients have dental insurance, and just seven have vision coverage.

“White Man,” The Michael Gungor Band

h/t Nadia

America’s White Underclass

Writer Joe Bageant takes a crack at defining this demographic.

If in my travels and experience in American life I see that tens of millions of Americans being screwed silly by a handful of chiselers at the top, or if I see one percent of Americans earning as much annually as the bottom 45 percent of Americans, then that 45 percent is an underclass. When I see a 70-year-old man on his second pacemaker limping through Wal-Mart as a “greeter” so he can pay at least something on last winter’s heating bill this month, then he is part of an underclass. When I see the humiliated single mom waitress tugging downward on the ridiculously short red plastic skirt she must wear at the Hooter’s type joint so her crotch won’t show, she’s part of an underclass of humiliated and socially oppressed people. Screw the hairsplitting about who qualifies as underclass and what color they are. Just fix it. Or reap the consequences.

We’re finally starting to hear a little discussion about the white underclass in this country. Mainly because so many middle class folks are terrified of falling into it. Frankly, I hope they do. We’ve got room for them. All the lousy, humiliating jobs have not yet been outsourced. The Devil still has plenty for them to do down here.

(BTW, if you haven’t read it, his book, Deer Hunting With Jesus, offers an unvarnished, piercing perspective on how this country has been suckered into an increasingly desperate place by a small handful of  folks who are so good at gaming the system they are able to get many of us to say, “Thank you sir, may I have another….”)

Late Nite Music: Stevie Ray Vaughn and Jeff Beck

The first time I remember seeing Stevie Ray perform was on the undercard for the “George Thorogood and the Destroyers” tour back in ‘78 or ‘79 at the Armadillo World Headquarters (R.I.P.)  It’s not one of those venerable memories held by the more sagacious Austin music aficionados (“I first saw Stevie get up and play for the first time at Antones.” Or, “One night at Soap Creek Saloon, Jimmie Vaughn let his kid brother jam with the Thunderbirds.”)

But it’s all I’ve got.

It was Guitar Gunslingers Night.  The show opened with Bugs Henderson–then recognized as one of the true Texas hotshots on the axe.  Next came Stevie with Double Trouble, then came George Thorogood.  Bugs and Stevie let it all hang out, each trying to play such a  smokin’ hot set that folks would come away amazed at them as much as George–more so, if they could pull it off.  Stevie’s set was high-voltage as he roared through his blues/Hendrix repetoire with amazing energy, even playing a bit of behind-the-back guitar.  I’d like to say he was the best axeman that night.  But truthfully, Stevie was a still a couple of years away from finding his groove and  pushing through to the level he achieved with 1983’s watershed album, “Texas Flood.”   He seemed to be laboring a bit too hard at winning the Best Gunslinger award from the crowd.  We wouldn’t have thought this then, but in hindsight Stevie was still developing his sense of identity and still in a sort of exploration phase when it came to music and style.   George Thorogood had these things already, and when he and the Destroyers took the stage it didn’t take long to see why they were at the top of the bill.  Yeah, it was 3-chord 50’s blues/rock ‘n’ roll, but George and the band were so into it, and brought such passion, energy and showmanship to their performance, that the old music came alive again–it became electric, loud and frenzied as it pulled you into its primal energy.  And then you could see why there ever was such a thing called the Generation Gap.   You could better understand why moms and dads tuning their radios to Doris Day, Frank Sinatra and the Weavers’ “Goodnight Irene” in newly emerging suburban neighborhoods would want to scream, “Turn that awful noise DOWN!”  And you could understand why many kids mostly ignored their parents and continued to crank it up.  That was what I got when I saw George and the Destroyers play that night.

Still, that night many of us could tell that Stevie was also onto something special.  Thorogood was impressed, coming out for his encore wearing Stevie’s trademark hat as a bit of a  salute to the young guy just on the verge of hitting it big himself.  And here he is, in top form, blazing away with Jeff Beck., in the groove and playing the music that flows through him, music that no doubt inspired someone somewhere to yell out, “Would you turn that awful noise DOWN!”   Sorry, grandpa, but this music is meant to be played LOUD!

Colbert Helps Hannity By “Terro-forming” Americans About Health Care Reform

Colbert and his writers are as sharp and as creative as anyone working in the comedy biz right now.  If you missed this from last night, enjoy:

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True Cost of War Reflected in Soldier Suicides, Widespread PTSD Illnesses

Some say it’s because too many poorly trained National Guardsmen and reservists have been sent into the field.

But read this excerpt from CJ’s blog over at A Soldier’s Perspective.  He’s no mama’s boy, having served 14 years and 3 deployments,  receiving the Bronze Star and other assorted hardware he’d rather not brag about.

I am always tired. No matter how long I “sleep,” I NEVER wake up rested. I toss and turn throughout the night. I lie awake for hours enjoying the company of the beautiful woman beside, soundly sleeping. Sometimes, I get up and walk around the house or surf the internet. I’m not willing to get specific about the things keeping me awake at night publicly, but it’s a combination of bad dreams, everyday stresses, and physical discomfort. I have a prescription to Vicodin for nights that I can’t sleep through the pain that I rarely take. I’m afraid to get addicted to the pills if I take them every time I need them. A bottle typically lasts me about six to eight months. But, when I take them I keep Emily awake. Sometimes, they even keep me awake. I’m not in pain, but they make me itch.

I don’t like doing anything anymore. I hate leaving the house and when I do, I make sure I’m always armed. There’s a sense of impending doom just walking out my front door.

One of the things that keeps me up at night is the fact that I expend a LOT of energy trying to keep my life in order. For many years I’ve had memory issues and it’s gotten much worse lately. I have to write EVERYTHING down or I forget it. I’m not talking about complicated things or detailed things, I’m talking about virtually everything. I forget meetings, appointments, names, faces, promises made, places I’ve been, things I’ve done or not done, etc. The list literally goes on and on. It’s frustrating because I used to be a virtual encyclopedia of information. Now I have to strain to remember anything.

Why this confession from an active duty warrior whose code is to deny and push through any sort of weakness?  I’ll let him tell it:

I want other Soldiers to realize that the Army is serious about removing the stigma. I have a problem! And I’m still “Army Strong” in spite of it! Don’t believe me? Screw up and I’ll still nail your arse to the wall and start shooting darts.

Our troops need to understand that there is nothing weak about seeking help. I know because it has been much harder to acknowledge these issues than to hide them. It’s been a lot harder knowing I may very well be ending my career by admitting that I’m not all there mentally. Talking about this now after 15+ years – and prior to being eligible for retirement benefits – is probably the hardest thing I’ve ever done. I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried. I am, but I trust the Army on its word and I’m challenging that mentality.

Extremist conservatives would do well to refrain from ripping apart CJ’s  character in response to his candor.  For one thing, he’s a professed attender of Tea Parties; he’s likely watched and enjoyed FOX News a time or two.  For another thing, if he ever personally encountered people making such attacks, I suspect he’d be inclined to kick their sorry asses.

But the key here is that this problem goes well past issues one would label as liberal or conservative.   In January of ‘09 the number of soldier suicides exceeded the battle casualites in Afghanistan. (h/t P.J.)

Want to support the troops?  Factor these things into forming opinions on our military involvement in Iraq  and Afghanistan.  And never, ever, ever again can we turn a blind eye to the quality of care given to soldiers like CJ.  They will need our support for many years to come.

A Quick Shot of Historical Espresso–How We Got the New Testament

Over at Progressive Involvement, John gives us a concise explication of the formation of New Testament canon.

Very, very nice.

A Pastor’s Prayer For The ELCA

God of all creation, source of life, sustainer of all living things, renewer and reconciler of divided and broken people:

We need your Spirit among us in this volatile and divisive time.  Soon, delegates representing all regions and congregations throughout  the United States will gather to deliberate issues that propose to bring significant changes in the ways that regions, synods, and churches in the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America assess calls to the vocation of ordained ministry of Word and Sacrament.    People on both sides of these issues bring an intense  passion to their understandings and their positions regarding human sexuality.

God, you know our hearts, and how the worst sorts of attitudes, behaviors and actions can flow from them.  We live in a time when the pollutions of vicious slander and self-centered righteousness have fouled our discourse and have led us into division and discord, anger and intolerance, bickering and belittlement.  We need your light in the midst of this gathering darkness.  We need the illumination you brought forth in your Son, who revealed that no one is beyond your gracious love, and no one can live without it, no matter how right, or righteous, they believe themselves to be.

Along these lines, help us all to see that we are all in  the same desperate boat together.  None of us is getting out of here alive.  We all together receive the due penalty for our prideful selfishness.  Help all of us to see the unavoidable finality of our own deaths, that in recognizing death we might choose the life you offer through the power of the Spirit.

Uphold and sustain us, God, because the life you offer is a challenging life and no bed of roses.  You call us to love our enemies, bless those who persecute us, and live our lives in ways that bless others, be they friend or foe.  It’s a hard row to hoe, but you promise that this life-path will change the world even as it works great changes in us.  Help us, God, because we fail to live this life on a regular basis.   To put it colloquially, we really suck at it.  If left to our own devices, we humans likely wouldn’t be living on this planet at the moment.  Remind us that we aren’t left to our own devices, we’re given yours instead.  You have offered us life in the most precious way.  And it is this life that can save us from ourselves.  It is the life that can keep your church from disintegrating into yet more bickering factions whose disagreements do nothing but stain and discredit your message of life offered in the Crucified Jesus, lifted up over a world of bickering and dying people.  Help us all to look away from ourselves and our own well-formed opinions and arguments–and anything else that would inform us of our own righteousness.  Help us look up at the cross and to the person enthroned upon it, offering forgiveness and hope even to the people who so callously crucified him.   This, you say, is the only way we make it through our own self-inflicted mortality.

Help us, God.  And as it suits your good purposes, so inspire our thoughts and actions in ways that keep the people and congregations of the ELCA together in a shared sense of common mission, as well as a shared sense of needed redemption.   Ultimately, we pray,  your will be done– on earth as in heaven–that your power of life and love would be increased in our world;  that we who are broken might be healed.   Through Jesus, our Christ, and in the movement of the Holy Spirit, living and ruling together with the Divine Parent of all people, the Creator of the cosmos.  One God, now and forever.  Amen.

40 Years Ago Tomorrow: “The Eagle Has Landed”

This 11-year-old knew something big was happening.   All eyes in our household were glued to the black-and-white console TV while Uncle Walter (R.I.P.) kept us abreast of the history-changing event.  Decades later I met a rocket engineer who’d worked with NASA’s Apollo program under the noted German scientist, Wernher Von Braun.  He contended that the US had lost its technological/scientific edge and would be hard-pressed to repeat this moon shot.   Maybe, maybe not.  While it’s way cool to send robots to Mars–and the moonshot paved the way for such interplanetary adventuring–nothing in my experience can quite compare to the moment humankind pushed beyond millennia of mythological assumptions with the science that gave us this:

Homeless, sick and “thanking God for this wonderful place to live”

From Reuters Boston Photojournalist Brian Snyder, who spent a day with this family struggling to survive in the aftermath of Gilded Age II.

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