Self-Employment Health Care Blues

I can't believe it. People are letting the corporations scare them into complacency over changing our health care system.

Follow the money and you can see that the insurance companies and drug companies have a lot to lose. They are lobbying hard, advertising like mad, and spreading the message that a single-payer plan, a public option, expanded Medicare, or any other idea that doesn't increase the profitability of their interests - is a bad idea.
They are taking advantage of the fact that you can easily scare people into believing anything. Well, Roosevelt was right, "we have nothing to fear but fear itself". As a tool to manipulate people it has no peer.

Well, here's the deal from my vantage point:
As a self employed person who belongs to no other group I cannot get reasonably priced health insurance with any kind of real coverage. That's if I could. I have been denied because I have a condition that is not life threatening that is common to about 80% of women over 40. Ridiculous.
I believe that deciding to provide basic health care to all Americans is a moral duty of our Government. I would be thrilled it a unified Congress would just issue the statement that they believe Health Care is a right of the American Citizen and that they intend to work to make it a reality. Then they can fight all they want about how to get the job done.

There are lots of working models around the world to choose from. In the book, "The Healing of America", the 4 main models are described, pro and con. Hopefully we can take the good parts and make something that fits our American culture. But the key is reigning in the Insurance and Pharmaceutical corporations that are currently pulling all the strings. Talk about holding all the cards! These businesses can afford to pay to influence political leaders at all levels and to influence, quite successfully, the citizens as well, through advertising and what can only be called propaganda - promoting their self-interests.

Read this article for some insight about how Big Business uses Madison Avenue to control the direction of our Socio-Political future.

But I don't despair. I believe by getting the ball rolling towards Health Care reform we have an opportunity for future changes. And if we, the People, actually rise up from complacency and work actively toward what I consider part of our Nation's founding ideals. From the Preamble of the Constitution (In interpreting whether the proposed project constituted a "public use", the court pointed to the Preamble's reference to "promot[ing] the general Welfare" as evidence that "[t]he health of the people was in the minds of our forefathers". ( Ellis v. City of Grand Rapids. ) , and the Declaration of Independence as well; "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness". If "Life" does not include basic Health Care protection against preventable death I think we are missing the point.

Ah well. There is a lot of information out there for everyone to see. Do the research and make up your own mind how you would like to see our nation treat it's citizens in this regard.

Coopus Optimus...

This post is for the birds. Chickens in particular. Our laying hens had lived in temporary housing since we moved here in 1977. This year we put the finishing touches on the Ultimate Hen Coop and the girls finally have the deluxe housing they so richly deserve. Our steady egg production and happy hens indicate that they appreciate it.

It's testimony to how easy it is to raise poultry that they did so well in the various housing they were given. From a tiny 4 foot high by 4 foot wide by 2 feet deep coop to refurbished pig and goat pens, they still provided us with eggs and meat. Unfortunately they also provided a lot of the local wildlife with meat and eggs as well.
EVERYTHING likes poultry! And we have a wide variety of predators here: coyotes; fox; hawks; skunks; bobcat; cougar; raccoons... All fond of a chicken dinner. And rats, snakes, and squirrels enjoy eggs. And mice like the feed... The list goes on and on. Our eggs were fabulous but, given all the native competition, they were also rather expensive.

We had plenty of time to ponder the perfect hencoop and all the features that would make it most useful to us and the hens. Here are the things that ended up on our list:

1) Roomy. We wanted to make sure there was enough room the hens would not be too crowded. When crowded they have problems from illness to aggression. We also wanted to have room to raise meat birds part of the year. The bird's indoor portion of our coop is 6 feet by 10 feet in size, with a covered enclosed 10 by 10 foot space outside.

2) Easy to clean. Chicken manure is a wonderful thing. It can also be really disgusting. We wanted the main poop collection area, that is, the area where they sleep, to be dry and easy to access and clean. And cleanliness helps prevent parasites and other negative health issues.
One big step toward this was pouring a cement slab for the chicken's living area and putting their roost on hinges so it could easily be raised out of the way. It attaches to a hook in the ceiling. We also have a hinged lower wall behind the roost that opens so we can easily shovel out the manure mixed with bedding (wood shavings).

3) Safe. With all the hungry critters in the woods we know we have to be able to completely lock up our birds when there are predators in the area. We wanted to have both indoor and outdoor safe areas. This means a roof to protect from hawks as well as fencing that a skunk won't dig under or a raccoon dismantle or climb over. Foxes and bobcats can get in tiny openings, too. We also have a door that closes from indoors via a pulley system to lock the girls in at night, and a door separating their covered yard from the larger outdoor run. On nice days when there have been no predators about recently we can turn them loose into the world at large.

4) Sturdy. We can get a lot of snow here in the winter. We learned that chicken wire holds snow really well, until you are under it trying to do something. And it will also collapse under the weight of snow, taking wooden supports with it.  A solid roof that sheds snow was a must.
Also, any loose boards that can be pried make entries for a variety of critters. Solid siding is important.

5) Well ventilated. It gets hot here in the summer. Poultry wilts, wings sagging, which can result in health issues and egg production going down. Having good cross ventilation in the coop makes a world of difference. We were lucky to have scrounged 3 free windows that open from the dump/recycling center. We also put in a solid vent that is "screened" with chicken wire.

6) Versatile. We wanted ample room for the birds, to separate an injured bird, broody hen, or raise hatchery chicks. We wanted this space to be flexible, so in the chicken part of the coop we made chicken wire doors that could separate an area when needed, but open out of the way otherwise.

7) Human friendly. This means storage space, easy access to all parts of the coop, and lighting. It also meant a covered entry so we wouldn't get soaked unloading feed during the monsoon... I mean, rainy season.

You can see the nest boxes are located in the "human" area, taking no space from the hens at all, And are "double decked" with 4 boxes proving plenty for 14 hens.
The hens indoor area has a ceiling which creates an overhead loft for storage of various tools which are not in constant use. We also have a hinged shelf that holds a brooder (read: foil lined cardboard box) for hatchery chicks when needed, but otherwise folds out of the way. We keep the chicken feed and hen scratch in a metal garbage can for further protection from mice and such.

Everyone will come up with the design that best fits their needs and terrain, but we are tremendously happy with ours. 10 years in the planning, it paid off when we finally had the opportunity to build it.

A poem a day...

We occasionally get a wild idea to make ourself do something we have no time for. Here's one we had recently: write a Twitter length poem every day.
Given the restriction of only 140 characters I thought I might be able to do this, giving myself a little daily brain exercise. Here goes:

11/24 –
The mist is rising
This Autumn morning
As sun warmed breeze
Caresses night chilled Earth.

11/25 -
Morning dog walk.
I see, she smells, the day.
We both know
Cattle trucks have passed this way.

11/26 -

Rise early to prepare,

Food and kid projects,                                 

Music and lodging.                                    

Thankful we have it to share.

11/27 –

Family and friends

Are the mirror

Showing people are connected

One to another.

11/28-

Deep frost, like snow,

Crisp, bright,

With sky ice blue.

A day of clarity.

11/29-

Old sheep shed torn down.

Rotted wood and timber

Burns furiously

Its story now flame and ember.

11/30-

Lichen streamers

Wave from fir branches

Riding a canyon breeze

No one else sees

12/1-

December dawns

Bright and chill.

Yearling fawns

Nosing the frosty earth.

12/2-

Ducks drop from sky with a splash!

An aeronautic comedy.

No grace to this crash,

But it gets the job done.

12/3 –

Night wind howls.

Sings in the trees,

Roars through the canyon.

Liberating the last autumn leaves.

12/4 –

Too much to do!

Still at my desk working

As the full moon rises.

Hoping to finish one more thing.

12/5 –

Highest tide I've ever seen

On Humboldt Bay.

Sloughs are rivers, flats submerged,

Islands melt away.

12/6 –

Bitter cold night.

Ducks paddle

In frozen pond

To keep open channel.

12/7-

In the teens,

The pond a solid icy mass.

Poor ducks! They huddle
In a single liquid puddle.

12/8 –

Sunrise starts above

With pink-edged cloud.

Then pours light down mountain,

Through trees to ground.

12/9 –
Another freezing day.
We brave the wind and chill
Taking pup out for a walk.
Now must thaw: That wind could kill!

12/10 -
Where did the water go?
Vanished dead of night,
Temp. around 20
Buried pipes, no leak in sight.

12/11 –

The wild mallards return

On ice bound pond alight.                  

Slide, flapping, skating, skittering,

To onlookers delight!

12/12 – Precious elixir of life,

Water from the sky.

Without it follows strife,

We fear the well run dry.

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