Arizona: The new home of fruits and nuts

Picture this.  You are out of milk and bread so you hop in the car, drive to Safeway or 7-11, and as you get out of the car to walk into the store, someone approaches you.  They don't want your money.  They want your ID.  And, they want one other thing.  They want proof that you are a legal U.S. resident.   What would you do?

That was the scenario facing a large section of the population in Arizona after the kooky governor there and her cronies implemented SB1070, a law that the U.S. Supreme Court has now largely ruled unconstitutional.   It was a huge victory for civil rights, a great defeat for racism.   And it is a dual message to states and the federal government.  It is not up to individual states to decide how to enforce federal immigration laws.

Shortly after the SCOTUS decision was released, Arizona's eccentric governor Jan Brewer took to the airwaves to declare it was a tremendous victory for Arizona.   As the day wore on, perhaps her advisers informed her that in reality, it was an overwhelming repudiation of the Arizona law.  By the end of the day, Brewer was telling Fox News (of course) that the ruling was "unconscionable."  She shifted the blame to President Obama, claiming that his administration had told Arizona to "drop dead."  Obama has also come under attack from immigration rights leaders for deporting more illegal immigrants than any other president, including George Bush.

I believe that if there are people in the U.S. living here illegally, then in many cases they should be deported.  However I feel more strongly that if those same illegal immigrants have been here for a number of years, have assimilated into American culture, have contributed to society and to their communities, are crime free, attend school, hold down jobs or serve in the military, then steps should be made available to allow them to become legal US citizens and residents.   It goes a step beyond what Obama did a few weeks back in announcing plans to allow young immigrants brought here illegally by their parents years ago to stay and be welcomed.

Now back to my question.  What would you do if you were stopped by law enforcement and asked to provide documentation to prove you were in the US legally?  A driver's license would not work.    You would have to present your passport or immigration papers.  I don't carry my passport with me and I don't know anyone else who does either.  Proving you are in the US legally on a moments notice, no matter who you are, is a dilemma that fortunately has been  deemed unconstitutional by the Supreme Court.    Now, signs like the one we saw last year on a car in Arizona will hopefully no longer be necessary.  That sign read, "Don't Stop Me.  I'm not Latino, just tanned."

Lawyers, used car salesmen, and ...

Those of you who know me know  that I am very healthy. I'm in my 50s, I eat well, exercise for more than an hour a day, five days a week.   Don't smoke, have a cocktail or two each evening, and have little stress in my life.   My family has no history of cancer or heart disease.   My dad was healthy into his 80s. My mom is still going strong.

I do have slightly elevated cholesterol that, with a daily low dosage treatment of Simvastatin, is in the exceptionally healthy range and has been for eight years. Simvastatin is so widely used, that it costs less than aspirin ($14 for a year prescription).   That's the only medication I take.  The most serious medical ailment I have ever had was an appendicitis.

So, you'd think that I could easily get health insurance.  Guess again.

After I retired from News10, I had to buy insurance on my own.  I started out paying about $2500 per year for coverage from Bupa (a Latin America company) that allowed me to be in the US for up to six months of the year.  The deductible is $3000 annually.  It is basically catastrophic coverage.  In the past four years, I have thankfully never had to use it.  Now, my premium has exploded to $5500 per year for the same coverage.  And I am shopping around.

I want insurance that will cover me mainly in Mexico, but also in the US when I am here.   That rules out your major carriers like Blue Cross and Aetna who do not provide coverage out of the US (even though the cost of health care in Mexico is about one-third of what it is here). So, I need to go with international companies that I had never heard of before.  IMG, Azimuth, Best Doctors, etc.    Each company has their own way of covering their asses, while not covering mine.

IMG doesn't take at risk clients (cholesterol is a risk).   Azimuth would cover me but would exclude any illness or treatment related to elevated cholesterol.  Heart attack, stroke, circulatory issues, blood issues, leukemia .. all not covered while I still pay $4500 per year.  What the hell good is it?  This afternoon, I got the latest results from the Best Doctors application.  For a $4400 annual premium, They will insure me with a $5000 deductible for most things but a $20,000 annual deductible for anything related to cholesterol.    I am waiting to get further clarification on what anything related to cholesterol would include.  But I imagine, it's probably the same list as the one the good folks at Azimuth threw at me.

OK, here's the deal.  I hear a lot of people complain about President Obama's health care plan.   Probably a lot of those people who are critical already have good health care coverage from work,  or worked for some government agency at one time or another and have lifetime coverage with little out of pocket expense,  or currently have Medicare.   They are the lucky ones.   While the criticism in some cases may be warranted, the reality is, something has to be done to open up medical care to the uninsured or under insured.  Or better yet, quality affordable health insurance needs to become more readily available.  

Last year, a  New York Times article reported that for the third year in a row, health insurance companies were enjoying record profits.  While any industry deserves to make a profit, the question has to be at what cost is it to its customers?   I would like to be one of their customers.     And they want me but only if they are assured they will not have to risk anything if I am their customer.

There used to be an old joke about the most unscrupulous profession  ... the punch line being something about attorneys and used car salesmen. That's so 1980s.  In 2012, it is health insurance executives and the people who try sell their policies, who seemingly care little about the clients, and only about their client's money.

The joy of giving: How much or how many

“Hey-lo.  Ho er yu?”

Those are sweet sounds to my ears, spoken by eight Mexicans who until a few months ago, spoke no English.

Now, three times a week, from 4:00 to 6:00PM, I meet with Maria, Avelino, Maria Belin, Eric, Angelica, Eduardo, Lettie, and Nubia, and do my best to teach my new friends my version of English.   It is one of the most rewarding things I have done since I retired four years ago.

The youngest in the class are the three teenagers who realize that to achieve their dreams of being successful, they must learn English.  There is the retired doctor from Guadalajara.  Her dream was to live on the beach and learn English.   There is the jewelry designer who realizes in a resort town, she needs to communicate with the tourists.  And the farmer who helps a friend operate one of those para sailing operations and wants to be able to communicate with his gringo clients.   They are all so appreciative and inquisitive.  Full of questions.  Full of anticipation.

English is not an easy language for native Spanish speakers.  In Spanish, all letters and letter combinations always sound the same.  In English, the same letter can have a different sound in different words.  Think yellow vs. llama, can vs. cane, wide vs. width.  Combine that with the fact 70% of English verbs are irregular.   If the past of walk is walked, why isn’t the past of run, runed?  Get it?

They always have questions … and good questions.  Last week, they were stumped over the difference between “how much” and “how many.”   In Spanish, one word (cuanto/s) covers both.   As best I could, I explained that how much refers to items that cannot be precisely counted … how much gasoline, how much money, how much milk.   How many is used for items that can be counted … how many gallons of gas, how many dollars, how many glasses of milk. 

And of course, they want to know the “dirty” words (actually, they already know them. They just want to be sure they mean what they think they do).  When we were talking about things you find in a kitchen, the word “fork” really threw them.

When I was working, putting together stories for TV news, I always would try to think about how my story of that day may help at least one viewer in at least one way.  Though sometimes a challenge, the reward would come when I would get a letter, or phone call or email … or sometimes a face to face encounter … with that one viewer saying thanks.

Now, rewards come in a different way.  Every week I thank the students, and encourage them by telling them how much they have progressed.  To which they reply, “No, tank yu.”  Today is my last class until the fall.  I am returning to California for the summer.  But we are exchanging email addresses, Facebook names, and phone numbers.  We will be in touch.   As much as they appreciate the help I am giving them, I appreciate them for making me feel so welcome as a guest in their country.  That is the Mexican way.