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Unruly Puppet Mob Member Writes to his Senator

Dear Senator Bill Nelson:

I remember the fall of 1992, watching the FSU homecoming parade pass by the law school, at which I was a first-year student, along Jefferson Street. I, along with other students, stepped outside to watch the parade. There was an odd incident when a student tried to mount a horse in the parade with bad results (but that’s not important now). It’s a vivid memory, just like my memory of spotting then-Senator Bob Graham walking by, waving and smiling. From half the width of the two-lane street away from him I shouted, “I don’t have health insurance!”, at which Senator Graham swiveled toward me, smiled broadly, and headed my way with hand outstretched. When we were just close enough for the handshake, I finished my thought by saying, “and I like it that way!” at which Senator Graham dropped the hand, dropped the smile, and performed an impressively smart military-style about face and got himself away from me. From now until this blog post, that has been the sum of my discourse with my senatorial representation about my health care, but my desire to maintain control over my own body and health remains the same.

As an aside, Senator Nelson, If I was appearing before you today at an open town hall meeting, I would be wearing a coat and tie. That, after all, is the uniform when meeting with and speaking to one’s senatorial representative. It’s a matter of decorum; I wouldn’t dream of appearing in court without a coat and tie, nor would I try to persuade a powerful politician without the proper attire. I only mention that because one of your senatorial colleagues finds the participation of “well-dressed” Americans in important political discourse to be prima facie evidence that their views are illegitimate and can not only be dismissed, but demonized. I trust you find that point of view to be as absurd as I do, if not a window into a certain mindset that requires dissent from our leaders to come only from the poor, uneducated, and ill-mannered. That’s silly, isn’t it?

And before I get to my petition to redress grievances, if you will, let me address the issue of whether or not I am part of a “mob” sent by puppet masters to publicly disagree with you about pending health care legislation (notwithstanding that today at 11:33 a.m. Mitch Stewart from BarackObama.com sent me email starting with the words “Organizing for America” and going on to give me instructions about calling Congressman Algrayson and giving me instructions on precisely what I was to say to him or his office).

Senator Nelson, I’m not part of a mob. When I was a child my family moved into your district while you were still a Congressman. We attended a church with which you were affiliated (and where I first heard your name), the Tabernacle Church of Melbourne, pastored at that time by the extraordinary and late Jamie Buckingham. As a young teen I even picnicked at your family’s home on the river south of Melbourne. I’ve seen you many times, most recently at a ceremony at the Kennedy Space Center (holy cow, Aldrin was there! Wasn’t that great?). You (along with then-Senator Paula Hawkins) granted me a nomination to West Point (since I had two nominations we decided to forfeit yours to another candidate) — thank you for that, by the way. Later as a younger attorney I applied and interviewed to work for you while you were Florida’s Commissioner of Insurance. My point in all this is that I am not a puppet; I am not a mob member; even though you and I disagree on much, our lives have crossed paths several times. We are neighbors and know many of the same people.

Let me wrap up the “non-mob” disclaimer by telling you that I make my living by representing the poor; my clients are either children or parents who are at odds with a certain state agency that has the most beneficent mission statement possible, that usually actually does have the best of intentions, but which in practice often destroys children and families or simply behaves like a powerful faceless agency with limited accountability that never has to pay for its mistakes or sometimes cavalier attitudes. I get paid a pittance to clean up messes (if I can) or at least to act as a speed bump in cases involving a state agency that has the power, if not over people’s very lives, over their families and children. It is thankless work, representing the flawed and poor and discouraged. It does not have the potential political rewards attendant to being a community organizer, but it does teach me much about the power and dysfunctions of government agencies. It is from that point of view that I respectfully ask you to pause before you vote for the Senate’s health care bill and consider what it will take from at least some of us.

I started with my account of telling then-Senator Graham that I didn’t have health insurance back in 1992, but liked it that way because I am now in my 40s, have children and run a small business, and still like it that way. It’s not that I wouldn’t choose to have it, it’s just that I don’t need it imposed on me and, respectfully, it is none of your business.

I also happen to have severe hypertension. It is controlled by medication, thankfully — I’m told it seriously threatened my life before I got treatment. Here’s what I do: I take three pills every day. It would be either one or two pills if I didn’t take generics, but I’m willing to split it up and take generics because I can get my prescriptions filled at an established and reputable American retail chain at a cost of $120 for an entire year. So far to keep myself alive with a genuine and serious medical condition, I have to pay 33 cents a day. I see my doctor, who does a great job of working with me to keep costs down, every three months or so. I pay out of pocket for $65 per visit. Nobody is obligated to pay that for me. That’s another 71 cents per day. My doctor bugs me to get labs done, and I resist because I’m a stubborn and difficult patient, but my dear wife has found a local lab that will do all sorts of blood draws and panels for $20 a pop. So I spend about $80 a year on that to keep peace with my doctor. There’s another 22 cents per day. So all told, outside of catastrophic care insurance (with which I might find common ground with you in that it could be addressed), I am in my 40s with a serious and ongoing condition and keep myself alive and get needed treatment at the cost of one dollar and twenty-six cents a day, at most. I couldn’t do it without my wife, who is genius at finding solutions for needed services (the Administration should hire her), but I do it, and hang on to my autonomy, dignity, self-sufficiency and liberty all at the same time.

Now I know that not every American can take care of his or her medical needs at that low cost. I get that. But why should I be required to give up control over my own body and future when I have my own perfectly good private (and non-burdensome) solution? Can you make that case to me?

Here’s another aside. Why the need for such enormous health care bills? If I understand the goals of the administration, why wouldn’t the proposed law simply read as follows: “The eligibility requirements of Medicaid are amended to declare that all persons applying from within a postal code contained within the boundaries of the United States and all persons who are bona fide citizens of the United States residing abroad are eligible for any and all Medicaid services”? Anyway…

This leads me to my actual point. I’ve read (with difficulty, even though I am an attorney) Senate Bill 444 which can only be read to lead to mandatory handing over of private medical records to be digitized and maintained and used by a non-profit company under the control of the federal government which may or not be dissolved after ten years (huh? explain, sir, if you can). Here’s the thing, Senator Nelson: all other things aside, all debate about a public option and everything else forgotten for the moment, I simply don’t want to give up my private medical records. It does not matter that proposed laws have supposed safeguards for privacy. Even if those promises were genuine and were faithfully followed, the fact remains that my medical records are mine. I own them. They are my property. They are my “papers” within the meaning of the 4th Amendment. Mine. I’m old and wise enough to be rather annoyed that in federal jurisprudence, the word “privacy” has so little to no meaning outside of authorizing abortion.

So, to narrow our disagreements to one, as to my medical records: you can’t have them. When it comes time to remit my personal medical records to federal authorities so that the new health care system can be implemented, I will not obey. Sir, here is my question to you. Senator Nelson, can you look me in the eye and tell me that you will vote for any legislation that will criminalize (or at least impose a fine) on me for not handing over my personal property — my most private personal papers even in the face of the 4th Amendment– for the use of the federal government if I do not wish to do so?

God bless you, Senator, and I thank you for considering my thoughts.

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Posted by ArrMatey on August 6, 2009 8:49 pm

» Filed Under 1st Amendment, 4th Amendment, Government, Government corruption, Government malfeasance/misfeasance, Government tyranny, Healthcare, News

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