health reform

Time for Health Care Action

October 31, 2009 By Sarah Reinhard 5 Comments

The health care debate comes to American parishes this weekend, with the U.S. Bishops asking ALL parishes to run the following bulletin insert, spoken about on this page. It’s a simple message to take action and use a link the bishops provide from their website to send messages to Congress. Its very easy to use.

I’m going to post the information from the PDF, which you can find here, if you prefer to read it directly from the USCCB. This page, which has an easy to use GREEN BUTTON to click and send a note to your congress people. The beauty of this is that the link does the mailing for you automatically.

Many thanks to Pat Gohn of Among Women for tipping us off to this. (My parish, for one, did not get the memo…or our deadlines are just longer than most other bulletins.)

Tell Congress: Remove Abortion Funding & Mandates from Needed Health Care Reform

Congress is preparing to debate health care reform legislation on the House and Senate floors. Genuine health care reform should protect the life and dignity of all people from the moment of conception until natural death. The U.S. bishops’ conference has concluded that all committee-approved bills are seriously deficient on the issues of abortion and conscience, and do not provide adequate access to health care for immigrants and the poor. The bills will have to change or the bishops have pledged to oppose them.

Our nation is at a crossroads. Policies adopted in health care reform will have an impact for good or ill for years to come. None of the bills retains longstanding current policies against abortion funding or abortion coverage mandates, and none fully protects conscience rights in health care.

As the U.S. bishops’ letter of October 8 states:
“No one should be required to pay for or participate in abortion. It is essential that the legislation clearly apply to this new program longstanding and widely supported federal restrictions on abortion funding and mandates, and protections for rights of conscience. No current bill meets this test…. If acceptable language in these areas cannot be found, we will have to oppose the health care bill vigorously.”

For the full text of this letter and more information on proposed legislation and the bishops’ advocacy for authentic health care reform, visit: www.usccb.org/healthcare.

Congressional leaders are attempting to put together final bills for floor consideration. Please contact your Representative and Senators today and urge them to fix these bills with the pro-life amendments noted below. Otherwise much needed health care reform will have to be opposed. Health care reform should be about saving lives, not destroying them.

ACTION: Contact Members through e-mail, phone calls or FAX letters.
- To send a pre-written, instant e-mail to Congress go to www.usccb.org/action.
- Call the U.S. Capitol switchboard at: 202-224-3121, or call your Members’ local offices.
- Full contact info can be found on Members’ web sites at www.house.gov & www.senate.gov.

MESSAGE to SENATE:
“During floor debate on the health care reform bill, please support an amendment to incorporate longstanding policies against abortion funding and in favor of conscience rights. If these serious concerns are not addressed, the final bill should be opposed.”

MESSAGE to HOUSE:
“Please support the Stupak Amendment that addresses essential pro-life concerns on abortion funding and conscience rights in the health care reform bill. Help ensure that the Rule for the bill allows a vote on this amendment. If these serious concerns are not addressed, the final bill should be opposed.”

WHEN: Both House and Senate are preparing for floor votes now. Act today! Thank you!

Filed Under: in the world Tagged With: health care, health reform, news

A Queen, a Bucket, and a Daybook

August 24, 2009 By Sarah Reinhard 3 Comments

Mary this week:
What do a queen and a beach bucket have in common? This week’s column at Today’s Catholic Woman on Mary’s title Queen of the Apostles.

Outside my window:
The sun is just coming up. We have less and less time with our friend the sun, and though it’s been a cool summer anyway, there’s a different sort of nip in the air. Last night I had my wool blanket on (and off, and on again, and off again) and this morning, for the first time in months, I’m wearing socks to keep my feet warm. Fall is coming! I love the seasons!

In thanksgiving:
For wifi — in my house!
For a long overdue visit with family.
For tomatoes by the buckets-full.
For baby feet.

Kitchen meanderings:
This week, because I can’t spend all this time canning tomatoes without enjoying some of the fruits of our labor, we’ll be enjoying red sauces at least once (or twice, or three times…).

Nose inserted:
I finished Our Lady of Guadalupe: Mother of the Civilization of Love yesterday while we were in between rounds of tomatoes. This week, I’ll start Every Woman’s Journey, by Katrina Zeno, which I received in my mailbox a while ago thanks to the Tiber River reviewer program.

In my ears:
Right now it’s the rather strange compilation iTunes DJ puts together. Later today, while we’re canning, it will either be podcasts or conversation. Later this week, it might be Taylor Swift or Darius Rucker or Sarah Bauer or something else altogether.

Around the house:
One is sleeping, one is lounging, and I’m in the living room with the lounging one, enjoying the strange experience of having wireless internet in my home, despite living in the boonies.

A favorite thing:
Our new Verizon MiFi, which came at a very low cost thanks to a phone upgrade and a rebate paired together. For the first time ever, we have wifi in our house! It’s great! (Except for the fact that one of our PCs won’t play nice…I think it’s a Windows Vista problem, but that doesn’t help me solve it…grrr!)

Plans made, possibly kept:
It’s the last week of my summer sabbatical. No, my book isn’t done, but I really didn’t expect it to be. It has a pretty long deadline on it, so that’s really not a point of stress. This week, I’ll be working forward a bit on things like laundry and meal planning. And I’m going to keep praying. I have a great deal of peace at this point in my sabbatical, and I am looking forward to the revised responsibilities I’ll have at the parish. All the other kids around us start school, but we’re waiting until after Labor Day. Going back to the office will be enough of a change for now. One thing at a time. (I’m not good at that. Not at all. But I’m trying.)

Food for thought:
All of the health-care interest groups — hospitals, insurance companies, professional groups, pharmaceuticals, device manufacturers, even advocates for the poor — have a major stake in the current [health care] system. Overturning it would favor only the 300 million of us who use the system and — whether we realize it or not — pay for it. Until we start asking the type of questions my father’s death inspired me to ask, until we demand the same price and quality accountability in health care that we demand in everything else, each new health-care reform will cost us more and serve us less. (From the long, but worth reading, article in The Atlantic Monthly, “How American Health Care Killed My Father,” by David Goldhill)

Worth a thousand words:

Filed Under: daybook, Inspired by the Virgin Mary, writing Tagged With: daybook, family, health reform, links, pictures, Today's Catholic Woman, Virgin Mary, writing

Three Cheers!

August 6, 2009 By Sarah Reinhard Leave a Comment

Every week, there’s something worth celebrating. Sometimes, I look down my nose about it. Other times, I shrug about how small my “successes” are, especially when I think about what I could have done, or should have done, or would have done.

But you know what?

There’s a temptation in my demand for perfection, one that makes me blind to the forest for all the trees (or vice versa).

So, every Thursday, along with the fine folks at Faith & Family Live, I sit down and think about what my small successes are. Feel free to join in. It’s a great practice in humility and a wonderful way to encourage each other.

1. I completed the library’s summer reading program. Every year, I struggle. Ten books? No problem! I’ll confidently think as I fill out the form. And then I’ll get enchanted with a 600-page book of some sort that will take longer than three days to read and put me behind. But this year, somehow, I read my ten books before the deadline (which, by the way, is long before when I consider the end of the summer to be!).

2. I wrote my representatives and senators about the proposed health care reform that’s in the House right now.

3. Last Friday, when my mother-in-law asked me if I wanted to spend the day freezing sweet corn, I said yes. We might not eat corn again this summer after spending all day with the intricacies of 24 dozen ears, but when the snow’s flying, I’ll savor those kernels of summer sunshine!

What are you cheering about this week? Go on over to Faith & Family Live and share!

Filed Under: Small Successes Tagged With: health reform, homemaking, reading, Small Successes

Is this for real?

August 4, 2009 By Sarah Reinhard Leave a Comment

Over the weekend I came across some information about the proposed health care reform bill. I wasn’t going to blog it, because I usually stay away from politics and the like.

But this is important.

I can’t help but feel like the next step, if this passes, will be even scarier.

I have quite a few elderly people in my life. I hope to someday be an elderly person. I hope to raise people who will one day be elderly people.

This bill will affect everyone. Don’t be fooled by the pretty language you might be hearing, by the way the word “change” might appeal to your inner sensibility, especially when you look at what you perceive to be the sorry state of health care in this country.

Because it could be worse.

And I think it will be worse if this bill passes.

As I usually do when we might disagree, I encourage you to read this for yourself. Here’s the link to the full text of the proposed bill that’s in the House right now (H.R. 3200), if you have time and inclination to read it (and you should, if you live in this country and plan to grow old in this country, though it’s 400 pages). I found a helpful summary via Jean at Catholic Fire.

Second, here’s a YouTube video about a rather scary proposition at Cars.gov (um, don’t go there — watch the video first).

Is this for real? I mean, really. Is this for real? Or am I just having a bad day? (I wasn’t, not really, though I’ve been working up a letter for my representatives and senators and will be sending that tomorrow.)