One difference between the class-reductionist progressive & the human-rights-centered liberal is the former believe a policy that benefits everyone lifts all boats while the latter recognizes that people drown whether they are 3 inches or 10 feet underwater.
This has led me to think about what policies a truly anti-racist agenda would promote. Yes, of course, there are the obvious ones such as reparations, police accountability, etc., but let's dig deeper. Take healthcare. M4All won't cure racism, what will address it, though?
The FDA could require that research trials include diverse populations so we don't learn 10 years down the road that a drug that helps white men actually harms Black or Asian men. Ditto, include women since drugs also work differently for them. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/P…
Hospitals and Clinics outcomes by race should be tracked by the NIH or ACA and publicly available in an easy to use database. Let's know whether they have great disparities in treatment and outcomes so they are forced to to better or are avoided.
Universal Health Care. It does not have to be M4All. It should be universal, affordable, portable, and allow people to see a provider of their choice when they need to at a cost they can afford.
Clinics should have regular weekend and evening hours. With a large practice, there's no reason they cannot do so. Not all people can take paid time off to go to the doctor for routine health maintenance.
Treatment protocols should be prepared that redress racial disparities. For example, a Black person who has a broken leg is less likely to get pain meds than a white person presenting with an identical injury. The disparities in treatment are ghastly. minorityhealth.hhs.gov/Default.aspx
States should adopt California's Maternal Mortality program to reduce disparities in outcomes for Black women.
Use evidence-based standards for drug and alcohol treatment and end the courts' preference for the inferior Alcoholics Anonymous program which ranks near the bottom of all possible treatments.
Increase the number of mental health and drug treatment inpatient facilities.
Recognize that living in a racist society that puts lesser value on their lives causes PTSD, that PTSD is a normal reaction to the risks of Blackness in a white supremacist society.
Incentivize opening clinics in Black neighborhoods.
Flunk every med student who suggests Black people feel less pain than white people. Revoke the medical licenses of all practicing physicians who say it. It must be disqualifying to be that racist.
Any more ideas for health policies that not only help everybody but also redress disparities in health care access and treatment?
And yes, Congress must pass some sort of fix to Medicaid so that states cannot be so horseshit about it.
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Ted Hawkins is one of my favorite singers. Sadly, he died before most of his recordings were published. He had more success in Europe and in the US supported himself busking. The explanation is he was "difficult" but what does that mean in racist America?
He didn't want to change his song arrangements to something more commercial, is that difficult or integrity? What does difficult mean in white supremacy?
Whatever, don't let racist erasure win, listen to Ted Hawkins.
Think of The Lost Ones" which was too real for America
Mama is dyin' and Daddy is gone
I'd call the doctor but there's no telephone
Sister is cryin' and the medicine is gone
We are the lost ones livin' all alone
So, the very first thing I did today was trip and fall. HARD! My left knee is bruised with two cuts. My right elbow is bruised with 4 scratches. I have a goose egg on my forehead and my shoulders are killing me. My glasses are bent & my cane is broken.
But I have taken some ibuprofen and made a cup of coffee.
Coffee makes everything better.
This reminds me of when my mom died. I knew she was going to die. She had fallen and had a concussion. She was not getting better. She told the hospital no more food and water. Well, that puts an end to things quickly. That was her choice as much as I hated it. Anyway, my sisters
So, I made roast turkey today. I like turkey and WinCo gave free turkey if you bought $100 in groceries. It was the first time I went grocery shopping in months, so that was not a problem. I've taken the meat off and set the carcass to boiling into a delicious broth for dumplings
And so much turkey to make sandwiches and to freeze for hotdish, pot pie, etc. Just because this year's Thanksgiving is not a celebration, doesn't have to mean no turkey. And I think tomorrow I will make wild rice salad.
I love wild rice and here's a picture of a wild rice paddy I have paddled through hundreds of times when I was growing up. I've never harvested any as that is reserved only for indigenous people, but I have managed to get lost in the paddies more than once.
Political stupidity is not limited to white people. However, Black people choosing Trumpism and Republicans out of disappointment with Democrats failing to do enough to help should recognize why their grandparents and great-grandparents moved to the Dems thedailybeast.com/more-black-men…
During the Depression, the Republicans proved they were totally serious about doing nothing to help the commonweal. The Democrats were still the party of the Klan, but they also were the party of government intervention, in the belief that they party could promote economic health
For Black people to advance, the government had to push some civil rights policies. While the Democrats (in general) were anti-Black, they believed in government promoting public policy for the general welfare and Republicans were ideologically opposed to any intervention.
For me, Thanksgiving is time to start making Christmas presents. This year I am thinking of making homemade Hot Chocolate mix.
Sift together 2 cups of powdered milk, 1 cup of powdered sugar, & 2 cups of cocoa powder. I use Ghiradelli's Sweet Ground Dark Chocolate & Cocoa Powder
I am enjoying a cup right this minute. Yum!
Other things I have made. Mom's shelf-stable pie crust mix. 5 lbs flour (minus 2 cups), 1 lg can of Crisco, 2 TBSP salt. Mix, store in a sealed container. Just add water when you want to make the pie. Lasts without refrigeration for at least 1 year.