Wendell Potter, head executive at the large health insurance company named Cigna, had an epiphany one day. While visiting a health fair near his hometown in Tennessee he discovered that it was a free clinic instead, and that hundreds of people had driven long distances, including from other states, because they needed care but had no health coverage. He was stunned by such 3rd world conditions in the US and woke up. Below are some of his pics. He now speaks out against insurance company practices, from his inside knowledge. Click here to see the fantastic and important interview by Bill Moyers: http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/07102009/watch2.html
"With almost 20 years inside the health insurance industry, Wendell Potter saw for-profit insurers hijack our health care system and put profits before patients. Now, he speaks with Bill Moyers about how those companies are standing in the way of health care reform."
Do you ever wonder who serves who? It seems more and more like the machine or the system expects us to serve *it* -- instead of us expecting it to serve us!!
Do you feel vaguely dehumanized like I do every time you have to reach a voice messaging system and have to navigate the prompts, even though none of them describe the purpose of your call? Are you also vaguely sickened by the increase of computers initiating calls to you?
When you call and finally speak to a service provider, are you annoyed and confused by their repeating of your account info, even though you just punched it in in order to reach them?
Here's another example this morning. I have been getting spam text messages on my phone, which are illegal since there's a cost to receive each message. A few years ago I asked that spam be blocked from my text messaging, so I called this morning to find out how to report these coming through. Apparently the spam blocking filter needs to be renewed annually. WTF?? Like there is going to be a time where I will have a change of heart and actually want spam???
The main thing is that nobody bothered to tell me this, so the filter went off and I started getting spam. Are the spammers somehow paying the phone providers to have access to us, the cattle? It doesn't make sense to me that filtering would require annual renewal.
It seems like just another way the machine manipulates and uses us, instead of serving us.
The word 'succor' came to me this morning, an old-fashioned word seldom used now.
To live a principled life isn't effective if one has to abuse onesself to achieve it. Principles are our guiding light. If we don't walk in beauty towards them we are missing the whole point!
May we all receive succor and offer it back, which is the whole joy. And principle! :)
Rest stop. I have now gone 13 miles!
I'm riding in a fundraiser today. This is the check-in.
June's pile of unavoidable junkmail was smaller than in previous months. It weighs only 5 lbs. The current total now is 48 lbs forced on me so far this year, without choice.
The Tour de France started in 1913. Beginning today with a 15 km individual time trial in the principality of Monaco, the 2009 Tour de France goes until July 26th. Total distance 3,500 km (approx 2,150 miles) in 21 stages:
- 10 flat stages
- 7 mountain stages
- 1 medium mountain stage
- 2 individual time-trial stages
- 1 team time-trial stage
Below is a video representing the entire route. It's hard to imagine *racing* such a long distance over often difficult terrain in only three weeks.
