http://xkcd.com/616/

Because of this video, I’m changing my religion.  For real…I mean, on my Facebook and everything.

http://interstellarmachine.xanga.com/708274706/health-care-because-i-just-cant-let-it-go/

Health Care: Because I Just Can't Let it Go

Somehow, I got on the e-mailing list of a Health Care lobbyist group called Healthcare United. I first heard of the group through playing phone tag with callers to my home phone looking to speak to my spouse. As we recently had incurred several medical claims, I was concerned that this was perhaps my insurance company calling to straighten something out. In one message, they had left just enough information that I could track them down on the internet. Not only was I a little bit displeased at their utilization of urgent and deceptively corporate rhetoric in the phone message, I was also curious as to how they would get my home phone number, despite being on the DO NOT CALL list.

The next time they called, they asked for my spouse. I said I would take a message and asked where I they could be reached. When they said they were Healthcare United, I started out by simply saying that we had thought that they were our insurance company. The caller interrupted me with an abrupt, "we never said that." I only got a few words into my dissatisfaction when the caller hung up.

I went back to their website and decided that I ought to keep an eye on them. I signed up for updates and since I have be invited to participate in several surveys. Surveys, it seems, are targeting health care professionals.

One of the updates I received was a call out to all "members" to go to the website and download a calling list and script to call around to health care professionals in a town in Wisconsin, encouraging them to apply pressure toward a liberal health care agenda on the local and state government there. 

Ah-hah! That is where these people got my phone number. This lobbyist group is periodically publishing a list of people's contact information in conjunction with both employer and position information available to whoever might happen upon their site. Even worse, they are alerting liberal activists  to possibly my, or your personal information! Where are they getting this information? I have to assume it is from it members who may be compiling lists from hospital and state registration databases. This has to be some sort of privacy violation! Health care professionals, beware!

The other day, I received an e-mail from Jessica Kutch, the Online Campaign Manager of Service Employees International Union on the subject of health care addressed to the alias I used with the Healthcare United site. Healthcare United has apparently divulged my e-mail address and possibly any other information I provided (don't worry, I am not stupid enough to give these freaks any real information) to this union. Below is the oh so heart wrenching e-mail from Ms. Kutch:

Dear Interstellar,

What would you choose - taking a vacation or fixing health care?

That is the choice facing the U.S. House of Representatives, who are nearing a vote on historic health reform legislation but are scheduled to go on vacation at the end of next week.
It seems obvious to us - health care is more important than vacation. Congress should keep working until they pass a health reform bill.  
Our friends at Fire Dog Lake have launched a petition asking the U.S. House of Representatives to stay in session to pass health reform. Click here to sign the petition.
So far, they've collected 28,000 signatures - let's help them get to 35,000. They'll be delivering your signatures to the U.S. House. 
Some Members of Congress want three weeks of vacation before they tackle health care reform. But there is a real human cost for going on vacation. Three weeks in America without fixing health care means:

·         143,250 people will lose their health insurance coverage

·         53,507 people will file for bankruptcy because they can't pay their medical bills

·         1,265 people will die because they lack coverage

The House is so close to passing a health reform bill - they shouldn't take a vacation now when thousands are losing their health care or worse every day.
Click here to sign the petition and ask the House to stay in session to pass health care instead of going on vacation.
Fixing health care just can't wait. Let's join together and get this done.

Thanks for speaking out,
Jessica Kutch
Online Campaign Manager
SEIU.org 

I of course had to reply. I do not generally get into specifics with this sort of thing, but try to appeal to, in a broader sense, American values. In addition, I try to include only surface detail to show general perception, as opposed to my own, perhaps more informed position.  Lets be honest, this person is both involved in a union and takes the wrong position on health care, I am not sure they can deal with anything too complicated. My reply as follows:

Jessica,

The best thing would be for Congress to take a permanent vacation from the health care issue. Proliferation of health insurance is causing medical costs to sky rocket. Not even serious health care providers want Federal domination of the health insurance system. Hospitals in my locale are circulating petitions against it among their employees. Health insurance should be like auto insurance, for catastrophic needs only. Your car insurance does not pay for every little oil change does it?

The biggest problem with the bill as it stands in congress is that it will outlaw any new enrollment in private health insurance (see page 16), removing competition, increasing bureaucracy, and destroying America's high standards in health care. If you think that government health care is a good idea, ask someone in the military how many times they have had to get the same vaccination because their "paperwork was lost." 

Why should the taxpayer be liable for the poor health habits of others? A big part of liberty is that you can weigh the intangible benefits or disadvantages of your own actions and take responsibility for your own choices. Expansion of government health care opens the door to regulation of consumables beyond tobacco and more intrusion into your life.

On the surface, your advocacy of a health care bill sounds compassionate, but it is really short-sighted greed. The very fact that health care professionals like yourself can't see past their own wallets enough to despise greater government control over the individual, just so that legislation can be passed to funnel more money from the taxpayer into the ever festering inefficiencies of the medical industry. A health care professional advocating a bill like this is a conflict of interest in the most basic sense. While it will be a minor annoyance for the upper middle class, the lower classes will suffer the most.

I don't know where you got my e-mail address, but the fact that I did not solicit any propaganda laden correspondence; nor did I give it to you, Jessica; and you are apparently a member of a union further serves to prove that unions are becoming a threat to liberty and privacy. The fact that you are sending out mass e-mail (I am not so conceded to think you are singling me out), reeks of cowardice. Why don't you approach people in person, and let the Average Joe educate you on what America really wants?

Interstellar Machine 

A few questions to round out the topic:

• How does it make you feel that extremist groups may be cataloging and distributing your personal information?
• Have you ever been asked to transfer other people's personal information from your place of work to a lobbyist group? Would you do it if you were asked?
• Does the supposed "greater good" ever merit violation of values of privacy?
• Do you think that I should have downloaded the list of Wisconsin health care professional names and alerted them to the fact that their personal contact information was being distributed to the general public with target distribution to activists?