Why we Need Health Care Reform

I wrote to my congressman in support of the Health Care Reform bill. In response he sent a letter with some startling statistics. Congressman Oberstar writes:

It is imperative that health insurance reform legislation be enacted to help Americans afford their health care by lowering the cost of premiums and out-of-pocket expenses, and to relieve the burden on small businesses across the country. The cost of inaction is too great. Since 2000, employer-sponsored health insurance premiums have more than doubled, representing a growth rate three times faster than cumulative wage increases. The average cost of an employer-based family health insurance policy in 2009 was $13,375, nearly the annual earnings of a full-time minimum wage job. Without reform the average family premium is projected to be $23,842 in 2020. Many families already pay more than $1,000 in additional premium costs each year to compensate for those who do not have insurance. Further bolstering the need for reform, 60 percent of personal bankruptcies were related to medical costs in 2007.

We need health insurance reform because American businesses are losing their ability to compete in the global marketplace due to rising health care costs. The burden is particularly heavy on small businesses. Since 2000, small business premiums have risen 129 percent. In 2008, 38 percent of small companies offered health coverage, compared with 41 percent in 2007 and 61 percent in 1993. On average, small businesses pay up to 18 percent more than large firms for the same health insurance policy and an employee of a small business is 50 percent more likely to lose job-based coverage than an employee of a large business.

I would like to see a public option but I recognize that that choice is just too radical for some people at this time. I am thankful that the government is doing something to reform our broken system and I look forward to continued reform and refinement of the system.

Sara's Birthday Extravaganza

Things are getting out of hand here in Duluth with all the birthday celebrations. First it was Kay's Birthday Extravaganza, then Lynn's Birthday Extravaganza and now my birthday extravaganza.

Dave put presents out in advance of the actual day.
Petra was certain the presents were for her.
I mean, why wouldn't they be?
She's so dang cute!

My mom invited us out to her house for cake the weekend before my birthday. Kris and Carolyn (and their kids Catherine and Emma) also were visiting. As soon as they pulled into town, the 6 of us headed out to Clover Valley for some country fun and German Chocolate cake. German Chocolate cake is my favorite. My mom makes it for me once a year and that is just the right amount. Kris thought it was so filling he dubbed it "the steak of cake's." Of course he had 2 pieces so it's no wonder he was full but he is also correct - it is amazingly dense cake - YUM.

Yes the "4" represents decades not years - good one mom.

We took a walk up to the old fire tower after lunch 

and then returned to my mom's to play on the swing...

That evening we joined Kris and Carolyn at The Edge Waterpark and Hotel where they had reserved a room for the night. What a blast! Dave and I stayed there once before about 4 years ago when we sold our country house and moved back to town but we didn't have nearly the amount of fun we had when we got to join friends on the waterslides.

Kris, Carolyn and kids joined us at our house on Monday for a few overnights. On Tuesday morning the Karsell's joined me for my yoga class and in the evening we went to Lynn and Mark's for dinner. Wednesday morning we stuffed ourselves at Uncle Louie's Diner and then the Karsell's headed home. Now we've celebrated both Dave's birthday and my birthday this year with them. How fun.

Dave and I had a few days to organize ourselves before our Hotdish potluck event on Sunday.

The weather has been beautiful so we took a walk on Park Point, skipped some stones, sat on the beach and enjoyed ourselves. This is the first time we've taken Petra to the beach since her knee surgery last fall. She did so good. She was very tired by the end of the walk and a little gimpy later in the day but by the next day she was just fine.

On Saturday, the day before the party, Dave and I blew up a bunch of balloons and stuck them to the ceiling with static cling. Some of the balloons didn't have enough integrity and would randomly explode, scaring the crap out of us and the dog. We lost about 6-10 balloons pre-party but only 1 at the actual party which was lucky since we live in the 'hood and people get scared by loud noises.

At the party:

We had a bunch of lovely guests (click the image to see larger).

 We had tator tots on cocktail toothpicks for appetizers
(don't try this at home).

Everyone went above and beyond in making tasty and beautiful hotdishes.

We even played party games: Pin the Tail on the Donkey.

The weekend after my birthday Emily took me out to dinner to celebrate since she couldn't make it to any of the other festivities. In all, I've had a great time celebrating for the past 4 weekends. 

Happy Birthday to me! I love being 40!

Lynn's Birthday Extravaganza

So, the very next night after Kay's Birthday Extravaganza, Dave and I took Lynn out for her birthday. Well, technically, we were using a payment we had received for teaching at the Homestead Road Dance a few weeks earlier. But anyway, we went to Hanabi, a new restaurant in Duluth. It was soooo fancy (compared to the down-home style we are used to. People were still dining in sweatshirts but the restaurant itself was very fancy.) They had a few vegetarian options (enough to make a meal) and Dave and Lynn ordered something with fish. Our dinners were beautiful and delicious.

We're not 100% sure on what we ate but I do know that this one is seaweed salad and I have had the exact same thing at Nokomis. I really like it.

Dave got this one with the ends all fancified. Usually when you have Sushi the ends are all crumbly and falling apart (at least when we make our own at home this is what happens) but they deep-fried the ends to keep them together and then presented it so gourmet.

Turns out we knew our waitress too. She used to work at the Scenic and both Lynn and I recognized her. You really can't go anywhere in Duluth without running into someone you know.

After dinner we headed over to a swing dance at Norway Hall. We heard about it when we were teaching at the Homestead Road dance. It seemed like the perfect thing to do since it was Lynn's birthday and since we all love to dance.

The band was the Fractals and they really went nuts playing great danceable songs. I think we danced for about 3 hours. Everyone there was super friendly. We all danced with multiple people (besides the few we came with - me, Lynn, Dave, Vicky & Dennis). We were really happy to meet people who wanted to dance. We just had a blast! Happy Birthday Lynn!

Kay's Birthday Extravaganza

For the past 4 weekends I have been celebrating birthdays: friends' birthdays and my own birthday. It's a big year for some of us - the BIG Four-Oh. Hard to believe it, but it's here. And it has been great! Starting on the 3rd weekend of March, Kay came up from the cities and the flock gathered around her. Kim flew in from Portland, Renee A. (U) drove up from the cities, Renee M. from TH and I was already here in Duluth.

Kim, Kay and Renee M came to my Yin Yoga class and we had some inappropriate laughing which could've turned into something quite hysterical but luckily, now that we are all 40, or near 40, our maturity got the better of us. I say luckily because as the teacher of the class I don't think it would've been acceptable to totally lose it in front of my regular students.

Anyway, from there we went down to Renee's to get ready for dinner. Dinner was at Va Bene - a lovely Italian restaurant on Superior Street. They were so nice to us. I think we were there for 2.5 hours, making a scene, laughing our heads off and taking pictures- and they never asked us to be quiet. We closed down the restaurant and moved on to the Red Star lounge. We had such a blast talking, catching up, drinking martini's and dancing. I haven't had a night like this since college.

The lovely thing about this night is that, although we had drinks, we were not out to get drunk (as perhaps we might have been in college). We were out to get to know each other again, to share stories of growing up and of living our adult lives. I'm so glad to have gotten together with these old girlfriends. Thank you Kay for bringing us all together. Happy Birthday!

Here's to friends ~ Cheers!

Pork Products

As Sara read Eating Animals she would read sections of it to me. And as she progressed through the end of the book it created a discussion in our house. The discussion centered on the suffering of animals and particularly our role in it.

This winter we took a class at Yoga North that detailed the concept of suffering – how we suffer, how to alleviate suffering and what does it mean to suffer as a person. This class and Eating Animals seemed linked in that if you are party to the suffering of the food you eat and you are what you eat, then very simply, aren’t you suffering? This doesn’t sit right – do we have to be a party to suffering? Does being a vegetarian immunize us from the suffering of animals? What about milk and cheese, doesn’t the cow suffer, doesn’t the calf suffer? What about vegans? Considering the migrant workers, the pesticides and the herbicides, is there any less suffering in vegetable matter? Doesn’t the suffering continue with the exploited land and workers and water?

If so then isn’t all food infected with suffering? What can you?  To live we must eat.

Author Jonathan Safran Foer didn’t do a very good job in his book Eating Animals. He presented a world where all animal production is cruel and painful and if you eat animals or produce animals for food then you are complicit in a great suffering. Is that true for the entire world? I wasn’t convinced. I went down to my local food coop and looked at the labels on the pork chops. They read Pastures-a-plenty Kerkhovan Minnesota. A trip to their website confirmed my suspicion. They are raising and selling pork in such a way as their animals don’t suffer – their lives are as close to suffer free as can be possible – raised on open pastures the sows birth on pasture, feed on pasture and live without hormone supplements or drugs or confinement. The farm is a family business that employs another family business to process their pork – no slaughter house, just a family butcher shop. Can you trace a line so clearly with the tomatoes in the supermarket? How about the pineapple or mango?

Eating animals isn’t bad. It isn’t bad for you and it doesn’t have to include suffering. The pork chops from Pastures-a-plenty are delicious; they feed my body and my conscience. Shouldn’t we support farms like these? Aren’t they a big part to the solution to removing suffering from our food? Can’t we all take a more active role in understanding where all our food comes from? I think we can.

Please visit Pastures-a-plenty and Organic Valley and make up your own mind about suffering and food.