Ever since we heard that Princess o' Darkness Ann Coulter would be speaking at Cleary University's Livingston Economic Club luncheon, there has been a lot of discussion about how to respond. Some advocated a boycott of businesses that sponsor the LEC series. Some talked about picket lines and protests. What with one thing and another (balanced state budget, anyone?), the discussion tapered off.
Well, behind the scenes two local organizations were working to present a positive alternative to Coulter. Voter's Voice (a multiparty group that encourages civil discourse and accurate information) joined with the Community Universalist Unitarian Church to organize an evening of healthy discussion. They contacted Ann Arbor author Jonathan Cohn, and invited him to give a talk about his book, Sick, which analyzes America's employer-based health care system.
Cohn's talk was very well-received by the 150 or so folks who came out to the Howell Opera House on a dark & stormy night. Proceeds from the evening benefited the new VINA Dental Clinic, which provides much-needed dental care for low-income county residents. Over $1500 was raised for the VINA clinic in just a few hours. Great ideas, great discussion, great support for a worthy local organization. Sounds like a positive alternative to me!
Cohn spoke about the people he met while writing his book, and gave a brief overview of how our health care system came to its present state. Dr. Kelster (my better half) is a health-care provider, so I've heard a lot of this before. Given that he's been a doc for over two decades now, I'm both sad and angry that we're still hearing about hard-working families being pushed into bankruptcy because they lost their health insurance... or sitting on a gurney in a hospital hallway for 18 hours... or dying because they didn't get timely care.
It's wrong. It's wasteful. It's not what our country should be about.
I was pleased to see local reporters there. With all the hoo-ha about Coulter, it would have been easy to ignore the Cohn event. After all, Jonathan's not a tall blonde with a mile-wide mean streak and a national TV presence. He is a mild-mannered guy who has spent a lot of time researching his topic and asking useful questions.
This isn't sexy or headline-grabbing stuff. But it's a safe bet that the average American would rather have affordable health care than an hour or two of AC's snarky one-liners.
1 comment:
Ann’s ad hominem attacks on anyone with different ideas are her stock in trade on the lecture circuit. Given her audience of primarily white, well-heeled suburban conservative males untouched by the Iraq war, it’s no surprise that many find her red-meat politics ideal postprandial entertainment. Her audience’s support for Bush’s strategic blunder in Iraq is limited to their “We Support our Troops” magnet. Anesthetized by their selfishness, they feel no compunction over promoting a war in which someone else’s children are asked to do the dying. Coulter rails against liberals as traitors and fifth-columnists, bemoans the fags and perverts that have despoiled our country, and suggests that we kill all Islamists as a preventative measure. The Coulters and Limbaughs of this country pollute a vast swath of broadcast spectrum spewing their ignorant brand of conservatism without challenge from the left. Time and time again they show that it’s easier to hate than to understand.
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