There must be a lot of differences there on Long Island. Even back in
the 1970s doctors who made house calls were a long extinct species
around here.
---
Carl Sagan
“ The truth may be puzzling. It may take some work to grapple with. It may be
counterintuitive. It may contradict deeply held prejudices. It may not be
consonant with what we desperately want to be true. But our preferences do not
determine what's true. ”
― Carl Sagan
On 3/19/2019 12:51 PM, Miriam Vieni wrote:
73 degrees? Weren't you just writing about snow recently? Is the climate so
different where you're going today?
Anyway, as we talk about changes, I should talk about what has happened to medical care in the New
York City metropolitan area. It's on my mind because of my wonderful podiatrist who still functions
like doctors did in the 1970's. He visits me at home because basically, I'm pretty much homebound.
I called his office to tell him about a painful toe. I was particularly concerned because I'm
diabetic. The wonderful thing is that I called his office and it's still an office with one person,
his elderly receptionist, answering the phone. I told her what my concern was. She said,
"He'll visit you later today". And he did, on his way home. He lives near me. We were
talking about what has happened to the doctors. No one has a private practice anymore. There are
three or four large corporations here now, associated with hospitals. Each hospital has turned into
a corporation and swallowed up a number of smaller hospitals and has a network of doctors. The
doctor becomes a salaried employee. The reward for this is that the corporation takes over billing,
insurance costs,, etc. When you call your doctor now, you reach a call center. You never speak to
your doctors office directly unless you're insistent. Usually, you leave messages and it's like
playing "telephone" with your message being relayed to the doctor and the doctor's
response being relayed back to you. When you visit a doctor, paperwork is much more complicated
than it used to be. It usually takes at least a month or more to get a doctor's appointment.
There's more, but I won't continue. This is one example of how the world has
changed. It's why I'm grateful for my podiatrist.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Tuesday, March 19, 2019 10:36 AM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: about Democracy Now
Right. Everything is moving Right. The Left was fooled into believing we were moving
Left, when the right wing Establishment went quietly about, building their "safe
houses" and putting key players in place.
Judges and appointed government officials were set in place. Laws and Courts favored the
privileged. Public school curriculum was manipulated. The Main Media became the
"Voice of Right Wing Reason".
The Journalists were driven to the Right, or they were left without News Papers
or Publications that would publish their opinions or investigative reports.
I doubt that the average Working Class member has any idea how far to the Right we have
swung. Of course we never were that "City on the Hill" that we told ourselves
we were. But for a short period of time we truly did care for the poor and the down
trodden.
Anyway, back to Amy Goodman. It's been some time, but I have sent email notes to
Democracy Now, in the past, usually thanking them for something they reported on. But I
would also feel it my duty to tell them exactly what you've written to me. We on the
Left need to apply all the vocal pressure we can, in order to try balancing the constant
pressure from the Right. I did a great deal of that when Bob Edwards was canned by NPR.
They knuckled under quite quickly. NPR now stands for, "No Public
Responsibility".
But there I go again, bitching over spilled milk.
We're off to Forks today. It's 100 miles each way. Our client was in a rehab
center in Sequim, but they sent her home before we could see her. I called her
last evening to get her home address, and she told me she was moved to the
Forks hospital. That does not bode well.
She's also Diabetic.
But it will be a lovely day for a trip to the Pacific Ocean. The forecast is
for 73 degrees and blue skies. Highway 101 winds alongside crystal clear Lake
Crescent and past the edge of the Olympic Rain Forest. Did you know this is
the only rain forest in the contiguous lower 48 states? Back in my youth, I
wandered along the Ho river and marveled at the moss laden giant Evergreens.
Somewhere I have a big box filled with color photos I took during my winter
trip around the Peninsula back in 1957.
Talk about remote. We drove North from Seattle, and at Edmonds we took a Ferry
across Puget Sound to Kingston, on the Kitsap Peninsula.
We drove across to Low Fall and Ferried across Hood Canal to Southworth in
Jefferson county. From there we drove over 120 miles to the Rain Forest. It
was January and just as clear and sunny as it is today. The air is clean and
sweet and the sun is just warm enough to make us believe we are truly in a
Garden of Eden...except we have giant banana slugs instead of Serpents.
Oh well, even Perfection has its flaws.
Carl Jarvis
On 3/19/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Carl,
Of course, it's still the best of the lot in terms of well funded
sources, (and I do keep wondering from where all of their money
comes). And Amy gave a lot of the fine investigative reporters their
start. But I have watched carefully. At first, her coverage of Syria
was inclusive, but then it became atrocious. Yes, she did have two
interviews with a Venezuelan official spokesperson. But she hasn't
once interviewed the several investigative reporters who have been in
Venezuela for many weeks so they could describe what is actdually
happening there. She stopped covering the Julian Assenge business when
it became too much of a hot potato. She hasn't had Max Blumenthal or
Ben Norton, or the guy from the Electronic Intifada, or any of the
people who are acdtually far left and journalists. She has stayed with
safe progressive subjects, nothing risky. She used to do things very
differently. I wouldn't know about half the people I know about, if it
weren't for her program. But, like NPR, she has changed. It is the capture of
everything by the powerful. Everything is moving to the right.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Monday, March 18, 2019 9:08 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: about Democracy Now
Miriam,
Over the long haul, Democracy Now touches base with most of the issues
the Mass Media ignores. I don't always care about some of the topics,
and especially some of the people being interviewed. But overall I
still feel that the program is doing a credible job, day after day.
Just about every person and program I follow have their strong points
and weak points. But when I stop and recall turning on the TV after
work to get the evening news, along with a pile of advertisements, and
60 Minutes was about the most radical news program on the air, and the
New York Times was the Left Leaning newspaper, I thank all the clever
people who created the internet, and all the diverse opinions I can
visit. If we need to worry about programming that is sliding to the Right, NPR
gets my vote.
Carl Jarvis
On 3/18/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Remember when I said that Democracy Now has changed, sort of moved to
the right? Interesting that on Unauthorized Disclosure Ranya was
saying that a lot of people who used to donate to Democracy Now, now
donate instead to The Real News Network. I know why. Amy is playing
it safe a lot of the time.
She
spent much of a second program on the shootings in New Zealand this
morning.
She managed not to even mention the demonstrations in Washington
against the continuing attempted coup by the US in Venezuela. But The
Real News Network had a small video showing the demonstration and
pieces of talks by max Blumenthal, Jill Stein, and Daniel Ellsberg.
Amy didn't even have it in her headlines.
Miriam
