Labor Day in the United States exists to celebrate the rights that workers in the United States have achieved in the past century, and to give us time to allow those who keep the power on and the trains running and all those other jobs that require you to get your hands dirty, a day to be recognized for their work.

We must remember the past, and some of the incidents that made labor unions so critical, and continue to make them important today.

Health and safety have improved vastly across the board in the past century. We hope never to have another incident like The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, where 146 men, women and girls died when the exits were barred and a fire broke out.

However, some industries seem hardly to have changed in the past century. Farmworkers struggle to live on less money than most Americans make in a year.

The median personal income from farm work and other work sources combined was between $5,000 and $7,500.

And the modern meatpacking industry seems in some ways hardly to have moved beyond conditions described by Upton Sinclair in “The Jungle.”

…the reported injury and illness rate for meatpacking was a staggering 20 per hundred full-time workers in 2001…

…OSHA administrators and independent researchers have found a common corporate practice [in the meatpacking industry] of underreporting injuries of all kinds. One recent estimate puts the undercount of nonfatal occupational injuries across industrial sectors as high as 69 percent.“

And then there is the industry of my home state, the coal industry. From the Mine Wars in the US of over a century ago, to modern mine disasters, such as the Upper Big Branch Mine and the Sago Mine men die while trying to make a living digging coal.

[Massey Energy] amassed more than 1,100 violations in the past three years, many of them serious. Federal regulators even ordered parts of the mine closed 60 times over the past year.

…two Massey Energy Co. officials who spent four unsupervised hours underground immediately after the deadly April 5 explosion.

[Coal companies including ICG and Massey Energy] …hope to use newly loosened campaign-finance laws to pool their money and defeat Democratic congressional candidates they consider “anti-coal,” …” they want to “”create a politically active nonprofit under Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, so they won’t have to publicly disclose their activities — such as advertising — until they file a tax return next year…

Today is the day to remember those who have lost their lives and their health doing nothing more than trying to make living.

Happy 90th anniversary of women having the right to vote! Go us!

Dear Teabaggers who are all up in arms about the Obama administration “destroying the constitution”, where the hell were you during the previous administration when Bush and his cronies were, you know, actually acting unconstitutionally?

Have you even READ the document you are so loudly and ignorantly defending?

Let’s start with one of the most egregious things the Bush administration did.

Here’s a section of the Constitution that delineates the powers of Congress (that’s Section 8 by the way):

To declare War, grant Letters of Marque and Reprisal, and make Rules concerning Captures on Land and Water;

Funny how Bush managed to skip that bit when it came to Iraq, isn’t it.

Then there was the issue of signing statements. Odd how nothing in Article 2 gives the president the right to say, “well, I know Congress passed the laws, but I’m telling you to ignore the law, just because I said so.”

Then let’s look at the Amendments, shall we?

Amendment 1 – Freedom of Religion, Press, Expression (this is the one that comes BEFORE the gun amendment.)

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

See that first part? You know what that means? Let me emphasize: no law respecting an establishment of religion. It means the United States is NOT a Christian nation, and attempts to make it one are unconstitutional.

Next part: abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press. This one’s a little less clear. They wanted the only reporters to be “embedded” reporters. The goal was to stop independent press coverage of the war. That was walking a very fine line IMO.

Moving on: Amendment 4 – Search and Seizure

The right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures, shall not be violated, and no Warrants shall issue, but upon probable cause, supported by Oath or affirmation, and particularly describing the place to be searched, and the persons or things to be seized.

Two words for you here, warrant-less wiretaps.

Next up: Amendment 5 – Trial and Punishment, Compensation for Takings

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offense to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

No one may be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law.

Let me add to that: Amendment 6 – Right to Speedy Trial, Confrontation of Witnesses

In all criminal prosecutions, the accused shall enjoy the right to a speedy and public trial, by an impartial jury of the State and district wherein the crime shall have been committed, which district shall have been previously ascertained by law, and to be informed of the nature and cause of the accusation; to be confronted with the witnesses against him; to have compulsory process for obtaining witnesses in his favor, and to have the Assistance of Counsel for his defence.

So, the above amendments are referring to citizens, and in theory, non-citizens do not have such rights. However, lets go back to the rights of the administrative branch. He shall have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties.

What this means is we have treaties that govern how we can treat non-citizens, prisoners of war, etc. The Geneva Convention is one of the most famous, but there are other laws and treaties that govern how non-citizens should be treated.

Then we have the fools who believe that the Constitution is NOT a living malleable document and should never have been modified by succeeding generations (Despite Article 5 of the Constitution which clearly delineates the process for creating and ratifying Amendments). Fools like Sarah Palin would would not be able to vote if we followed the Constitution as it was originally written.

I rather like the right to vote and not be a second class citizen. I’m funny like that.

So what are these conservatives up in arms about? They’re enraged that liberals such as myself believe that all Americans–not just the rich–deserve access to health care.

Funny how those conservatives who claim that the United States is a Christian nation seem to be missing some important points of Christianity.*

Perhaps they need to read their bibles instead of just thumping them. But since they clearly can’t read the constitution, I have little hope for them.

* See: Deut. 26:5-9, Luke 4:16-21, Ps. 140:12, Is. 25:4, Ps. 10:14, Is 41:17, Luke 6:20-21, James 2:5, Deut. 15:7, Deut. 26:12, Lev. 19:19, Prov. 31:8, Is. 58:66, Jer. 22:3, Luke 12:33, Luke 3:11, Mt. 5:42 etc

As I mentioned to my friend Erin on twitter, I think it is fitting that the death of Senator Byrd has created an extra long Independence Day weekend to West Virginians.

Most who have never lived here do not understand precisely what Senator Robert C. Byrd meant to the state and its residents. They know he was was a member of Congress longer than anyone else ever. They know he was called the King of Pork. They may even know he had been majority leader, minority leader, and President Pro Tem of the Senate. What they don’t understand–can’t understand really–is what all this meant to those of us who lived here.

Senator Byrd had a checkered past in some ways. He was born in a time when racism was accepted and spent the first part of his life believing in those principles. However, he came to discover that outside differences mean nothing, and he came to profoundly regret his earlier beliefs and apologized for his earlier beliefs and actions.

Senator Byrd was the first person in his family to go to school past the second grade. While he was in Washington D.C. representing West Virginia, he got his law degree by taking night classes. But his education was far greater than that. He was a musician, a lover of poetry and verse, and he revered the Constitution and this country.

He went to Washington DC with one objective–to represent his state and to do everything in his power to improve the lives of its citizens. The “King of Pork” wasn’t an insult to him, or to those of us who lived here. He didn’t want to build a bridge to nowhere, he wanted to bring in money to improve the state and its population. He helped us build roads. He helped us build infrastructure. He helped drive government agencies and projects to the state. And he helped build the educational system in the state.

The building in which I work is officially called the Robert C Byrd Health Sciences Center, and within that complex of structures we have one of the top Rural Health programs in the country. The money he brought in did far more than provide jobs–it helped to create an educational system dedicated not just to educating future health professionals but to improve the health of all the citizens of the state by sending its students throughout the state to help provide health care in isolated and impoverished areas.

This is the legacy he left us.

He helped create systems that do more than create a handful of jobs, these systems support and improve the entire state and all its citizens. These systems attempt to reach out to those in isolation and poverty and provide them with the things that most people take for granted: Roads. Education. Health care.

He was a great man, and his like will not be seen again.

I’ve been watching the uproar over Facebook with a fair amount of bemusement.

Yes, I am on Facebook and have been there for awhile, however, from the beginning I have been careful what information I placed there. If you could find it by doing a public search of my name, I was OK placing on Facebook, otherwise, for get it. So my address and phone number have never been on listed, and the only e-mail addresses are my work address (which you can find it you search my name) and my address I give out to businesses and such. And neither of those was ever public. (Go ahead. Search for me on Facebook. See what you find.)

Yes, I probably do know a bit more about online privacy than most people, but it seems to me that not placing your phone number and address on a free website is a reasonable thing to do. If someone needs that information, they can e-mail me (or search for my work number–that’s out in the wild as well.)

But that’s where we get to the part I don’t quite get.

Facebook is a FREE service. It provides you with e-mail and a place to post pictures and an easy way to stay in contact with family and friends–all at absolutely NO COST TO THE USER!

Why on earth are people offended when a free service does things to make money? It’s not like there is a legal requirement that you use Facebook, it’s not like you are required to post your address or phone number, or give them anything more than a throw away e-mail address (OK, yes it was different in the beginning, when you need to have an edu account, but that’s essentially a public address.)

TANSTAAFL people!

Believe it or not, the internet costs money! Facebook (and Google and Yahoo and everyone else) has to pay money for the hardware upon which their content sits. And the busier your site, and the more content you have, the more expensive the underlying architecture.

For example, it costs me about $100 a year for hosting for this site. That’s about what I’ve been paying since Michael bought me my domain for Christmas a really long time ago (and I’ve used a variety of hosting services over time.)

Because I pay for this site, I expect certain things in return, such as prompt customer service, privacy, and the ability to do as I please (within reason) with my site.

I do not have the same expectations about Facebook. They are providing something for free, so I expect that they will want something in return, in this case, advertising.

You get what you pay for, and if the dollar amount you pay is free, then you’re going to have to expect to pay the price in some other way.

Would I pay if Facebook changed to a pay service? It depends upon how much they charged and whether those I keep in touch with remained on Facebook.

In many ways, I really like Facebook–I like a semi-secure place where I can keep track of a variety of friends and control to some degree what information is available to those who are not my friends. I love regaining contact with people I haven’t seen in years–yes, there are people who I don’t care as much about, but I can hide their status updates if they post things that annoy me, so it all comes out in the wash.

So yes, I would be willing to pay a small amount for Facebook; less than I pay to host my own site though–I don’t love it that much.

And that is what I think people need to keep in mind when they get all up in arms about the way Facebook or any other free service treats their information: You have recognize you’re going to pay the price in one way or another. Realize this, and privacy concerns really shouldn’t be an issue.

Go here. Really. I mean it.

Thanks Eric/Evan!

Last night on Twitter, Janiece made the following comment:

The thing I don’t like about FB: Finding out the RETARDED political opinions of people I otherwise like or care for. TMI, baby, TMI. LALALA.

This gave me the idea of creating Facebook groups and fan clubs for ridiculous politics. I enjoyed it so much, I thought I’d invite y’all to play along.

Here’s what amused me last night (you can see my thought process progress):

…I have joined the Millard Fillmore fan club

Teapot Dome: HARDING WAS FRAMED!

Michelle is now a fan of Aaron “Hamilton Shot First” Burr

Michelle has joined the group Did Washington Really Cross the Delaware: Dry Boots Say NO!

Michelle has joined the group Strange Women Lying in Ponds Distributing Swords Is A GOOD Basis for a System of Government

Michelle is now a fan of Watery Tarts Throwing Swords

Michelle has joined the group Standing Tall for Napoleon.

Michelle is now a fan of Justice for Olympus! No parole for Prometheus!

Michelle has joined the group Was Balder Really Shot by Holder? Loki’s Part in the Conspiracy.

Michelle has joined the group Justice for Finnegas! Make Fionn mac Cumhail Return the Salmon!

This is what I woke up to this morning:

Rep. Emanuel Cleaver (D-Mo.) issued a statement late Saturday saying that he was spit upon while walking to the Capitol to cast a vote, leading the Capitol Police to usher him into the building out of concern for his safety. Police detained the individual, who was then released because Cleaver declined to press charges.

“They were shouting, sort of harassing,” Lewis said. “But, it’s OK, I’ve faced this before. It reminded me of the ’60s. It was a lot of downright hate and anger and people being downright mean.”

Lewis said he was leaving the Cannon office building across from the Capitol when protesters shouted “Kill the bill, kill the bill,” Lewis said.

“I said ‘I’m for the bill, I support the bill, I’m voting for the bill,’ ” Lewis said.

A colleague who was accompanying Lewis said people in the crowd responded by saying “Kill the bill, then the n-word.”

Rep. Andre Carson, D-Ind., told a reporter that as he left the Cannon House Office Building with Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., a leader of the civil rights era, some among the crowd chanted “the N-word, the N-word, 15 times.” Both Carson and Lewis are black, and Lewis spokeswoman Brenda Jones also said that it occurred.

“It was like going into the time machine with John Lewis,” said Carson, a large former police officer who said he wasn’t frightened but worried about the 70-year-old Lewis, who is twice his age. “He said it reminded him of another time.”

That’s right. If you support health care for all Americans, you deserve to be belittled, insulted, and spat upon.

Republicans, I ask you to consider what “your side” is doing and how “your side” is acting.

When you allow these extremists to speak unchallenged, you allow them to speak for you.

YOU hurled homophobic insults at a member of Congress. YOU yelled racial slurs at a 70 year old veteran of the Civil Rights Protests. YOU spit in the face of a Congressman.

When you allow extremists to go unchallenged, when you accept their version of events without consideration, without evaluation, then you are no better than those cursing and spitting.

I’ll note that the Republican party is the party that has claimed the mantle of the party of God, and the party supporting religion.

Funny how Conservatives are willing to bring out the bible to support prayer in schools and to support forcing evangelical Christianity upon all Americans. Yet the actual messages of faith seem missing when it comes to their politics.

To be without health insurance in this country means to be without access to medical care. But health is not a luxury, nor should it be the sole possession of a privileged few. We are all created b’tzelem elohim — in the image of God — and this makes each human life as precious as the next. By ‘pricing out’ a portion of this country’s population from health care coverage, we mock the image of God and destroy the vessels of God’s work.
— Rabbi Alexander Schindler, Past President, Union of American Hebrew Congregations [1992]

The health of a society is truly measured by the quality of its concern and care for the health of its members… The right of every individual to adequate health care flows from the sanctity of human life and that dignity belongs to all human beings… We believe that health is a fundamental human right which has as its prerequisites social justice and equality and that it should be equally available and accessible to all.
— Imam Sa’dullah Khan, The Islamic Center of Southern California

Every person has the right to adequate health care. This right flows from the sanctity of human life and the dignity that belongs to all persons, who are made in the image of God… Our call for health care reform is rooted in the biblical call to heal the sick and to serve ‘the least of these,’ the priorities of justice and the principle of the common good. The existing patterns of health care in the United Sates do no meet the minimal standard of social justice and the common good.
— Resolution on Health Care Reform, U.S. Catholic Bishops [1993]

Of all forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane.
— Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

“Now because the Spirit of Christ is implanted within Christians, we are to show great, transforming, sacrificial and unmerited love both to other Christians and to the world.”
–John 13:35

Addendum the First:
I was thinking about this a little more while I was baking, and what I was thinking addresses Jim’s point.

Yes, the Teabaggers are not necessarily Republicans, however, the Republican party has been more than willing to use their momentum and their outrage to push their own agenda. When the ideas of this fringe group mesh with their own ideas, Republicans are more that willing to give them support, either implicit or explicit. (See: Sarah Palin, Michelle Bachman etc)

The Republican party is more than willing to accept Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck as mouth pieces to fire the party up and get Conservatives behind the conservative agenda. They allow Americans to believe that these individuals speak for the Republican party. They’ve enjoyed the momentum given them by the “Tea Party” activists, and do nothing to counter the outright lies. They do nothing to distance themselves from the vitriol and hatred, but instead point to it as “the anger of the American public.”

Bullshit.

That is not the anger of the “American public” but instead the anger of a handful of extremists who know how to gain the attention of the media, and have the money to spread their lies.

What I’m saying, is that if Republicans want to use these extremists to rally their base, then they need to accept that these individuals are going to represent them, unless they speak up and condemn those individuals.

91 years ago today The Great War, the War to End All Wars, official ended.

Twenty one years later, the second World War started, and horrors even greater were seen and experienced by soldiers and civilians alike.

On May 26, 1954, President Eisenhower officially changed Armistice Day–a day to honor those who fought in WWI–to Veterans Day, to honor all veterans.

Five years later, the Vietnam War would begin, and the American view of military service would change profoundly.

Of all the war memorials in the US (not including Arlington Memorial Cemetery) I believe that the Vietnam War Memorial is the most profoundly affecting.

The men and women who served during Vietnam were, for the most part, not the brave volunteers of the Greatest Generation, going off to defend our country from an unprovoked attack. Instead, many were drafted, often against their will, and sent to fight a war that was not supported by the American people.

Those who returned home were treated shamefully. Although I was only five when the war ended, I do not remember a time when I was unaware of this embarrassment (lest you think me a prodigal, wise beyond my years, my mother comes from a military family, and her father, who joined to fight in WWII, retired towards the end of the Vietnam War.)

It is because the war was so controversial, and because so many veterans were treated shamefully upon their return home, that I find The Wall so affecting.

It is if, as a country, we suddenly woke up to the wrongness of our actions. To me, the Wall, and the listing of the names of those who died, is in part an apology to each soldier listed there, it makes them individuals remembered for their service that was so unappreciated at the time.

Of course for the current wars, we have digital memorials that are updated daily, remembering those who have died with more than just names. And these memorials are deeply affecting. But nothing compares to standing at the wall and seeing name after name listed. The sheer magnitude of the loss is almost overwhelming.

So on Veterans’ Day, we should remember the individuals who have served, but in remembering the individual losses, we should not lose sight of the vast number who have given their lives in their service. We should remember not just those individuals who served and the sacrifices they made, but also the loss to the country of so many of our sons and daughters.

American Military Service from the Civil War to the First Gulf War
U.S. Military Service During War 41,891,368
Battle Deaths 651,030
Other Deaths (In Theater) 308,800
Other Deaths in Service (Non-Theater) 230,279
Non-mortal Woundings 1,431,290

To those who serve, past and present, thank you for your sacrifices so that we may remain free.

Inter Arma Silent Leges
-Cicero

If we let people see that kind of thing, there would never again be any war.
– Pentagon official, on why US military censored graphic footage from the Gulf War

It is well that war is so terrible; else we would grow too fond of it
– Robert E. Lee

A man’s country is not a certain area of land, of mountains, rivers, and woods, but it is a principle; and patriotism is loyalty to that principle.
– George William Curtis

The ultimate measure of a man is not where he stands in moments of comfort, but where he stands at times of challenge and controversy.
– Martin Luther King, Jr.

The price of freedom is eternal vigilance.
– Thomas Jefferson

Those who deny freedom to others deserve it not for themselves.
-Abraham Lincoln

They that can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
– Benjamin Franklin

We must be free not because we claim freedom, but because we practice it.
– William Faulkner

Lack of Paid Sick Days May Worsen Flu Pandemic

Public health experts worried about the spread of the H1N1 flu are raising concerns that workers who deal with the public, like waiters and child care employees, are jeopardizing others by reporting to work sick because they do not get paid for days they miss for illness.

You mean there are people who don’t realize those cooking and serving your food always come to work as long as their able to remain upright and stumble forward?

All I can think is, “no shit!” Where the hell have y’all been?

It’s banned books week again, the time when we recognize that individuals throughout the country attempt to stifle free thought and intellectual freedom by keeping books out of the hands of children.

Here are the top 10 most challenged books of 2008:

1. And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson and Peter Parnell
2. His Dark Materials trilogy, by Philip Pullman
3. TTYL; TTFN; L8R, G8R (series), by Lauren Myracle
4. Scary Stories (series), by Alvin Schwartz
5. Bless Me, Ultima, by Rudolfo Anaya
6. The Perks of Being a Wallflower, by Stephen Chbosky
7. Gossip Girl (series), by Cecily von Ziegesar
8. Uncle Bobby’s Wedding, by Sarah S. Brannen
9. The Kite Runner, by Khaled Hosseini
10. Flashcards of My Life, by Charise Mericle Harper

(more…)

When I was listening to the news Sunday night, they played an interview with Ron Paul. I know people who think Ron Paul is the best thing since buttered bread, but after this interview I have even less of a clue as to why.

What stopped me in my tracks was Paul’s instance that “health care is not a right.”

Additionally, he said that insurance companies have every right to deny people on the basis of pre-existing conditions.

Over at Eric‘s place, we once jokingly referred to the conservative Republican policy as, “Fuck you, I’ve got mine,” after a conservative made the comment that he was perfectly happy with his health care and didn’t want the government to screw things up for him.

I cannot even wrap my mind around this mindset, because it is wrong on so many levels.

First and foremost, it boggles my mind that conservatives–most of whom claim to be Christians–believe so strongly in karma. According to conservatives, if someone doesn’t have health care (or a job, or whatever) it’s because they are lazy, or they don’t work hard enough, or they did something bad to cause their current state.

Second, that attitude–fuck you, I’ve got mine–pretty much goes against the New Testament. I don’t think the take of the Good Samaritan implied that if someone can’t afford health insurance they don’t deserve medical care. My understanding is that we are expected to help others, regardless of who we are, who they are, and what they have done.

Third, such a policy is narrow-minded in the extreme. No just on a financial level, but on a public health level. The fact this attitude is concurrent with a possible flu pandemic shows just how incapable some of these people are of seeing beyond their own noses.

The fact these individuals can hold such mutually exclusive ideas in mind (Christianity and refusal to accept the need to universal health care) leads me to wonder about the mental strain that is required to keep such mutually exclusive ideas in the same brain.

Labor Day in the United States exists to celebrate the rights that workers in the United States have achieved in the past century, and to give us time to allow those who keep the power on and the trains running and all those other jobs that require you to get your hands dirty, a day to be recognized for their work.

We should remember the past, and some of the incidents that made labor unions so critical:

The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire

Child Labor in the United States

And we should also consider the state of Unions in the US and the status of laborers. By this I don’t mean lawyers and CEOs, but the people who do the work in the service and manufacturing industries: slaughterhouses, commercial farms, coal mines.

We must remember that for those at the bottom, wages have remained stagnant or decreased with inflation, rates of health insurance coverage are falling (while health costs rise), and workplace safety is again becoming an issue, as owners place profits over the safety of their employees.

Bureau of Labor Statistics
National Agricultural Workers Survey
US Department of Labor

Today is a good day to remember those who have lost their lives and their health doing nothing more than trying to make living.

There have been a huge number of lies thrown about recently regarding end-of-life care and the health system in the United States. I’d like to take some time to address this issue.

Most people would like to spend their final days and hours in their homes, perhaps lying in bed, surrounded by their family and friends and the sounds of the voices of their loved ones one.

That, however, is not the reality for many people. What often happens instead is the dying individual is in a hospital, hooked up to machines, and the sounds of beeping and whirring medical machines–or even the sounds of arguing over what the patient truly would have wanted to happen at the end of their live.

But who knew what they really wanted? If the subject was never brought up, this burden is placed upon loved ones who must guess what it is their mother or grandfather or sister of lover wanted. Did they want to be allowed to drift off quietly? Or did they wish instead to “not go gentle into that good night,” utilizing all that medical science has available?

If a discussion is not had, then loved ones must make the agonizing decisions regarding what they hope and believe the dying would have wanted.

And it can be worse than that. One sibling may believe a parent would want to be allowed to die peacefully, while another may just as strongly believe that all measures should be taken to keep the parent alive.

These are discussions that can tear a family asunder and create irreconcilable rifts and animosity.

When your doctor wants to discuss end-of-life care with you, it is these issues she wants to discuss. She does not want to force you to end your life against your will, she instead wants you to make your wishes known to her and to your family, so that these decisions can be made in accordance with your will, instead of in a panic of grief.

Take a moment and think. How do you envision the end of your life? What do you want? What do you want to have happen to your body? Would you like your organs to be donated? Would you prefer to be cremated or buried? Do your loved ones have any idea what your wishes would be at the end of your life? Ask them. You may be surprised at their answers–as well as at their own wishes.

When your doctor asks about end-of-life planning, it is to facilitate such discussions. It is to keep your loved ones from having to make such decisions for you, through their grief, with only vague ideas from long ago discussions to guide them.

It is to be compensated for such discussions that end-of-life discussions were entered into the Health Reform Bill. Currently, many insurers do not pay doctors for such discussions. Add to that the fact that many doctors never learned how to discuss such matters with their patients, and you have a situation where doctors do not initiate these discussions with their patients, and where decisions are left unmade until it is too late for the patient to have any input.

Please discuss your wishes with your family and physician, and please, when you hear someone ignorantly spout nonsense about death panels, gently educate them as to what end-of-life care truly is, and how much of a difference it can make in the lives of the dying and their families.

Our deaths are inevitable. How our last days and hours are spent is not.

The West Virginia Center for End-of-Life Care