Happy American Independence Day!

In honor of Independence day: I Have a Dream



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iEMXaTktUfA&feature=related


Those who might not know the history, on August 28, 1963 Martin Luther King helped organize a massive march on Washington, DC. In DC he gave this speech, considered by many to be the greatest show of American rhetoric ever (there are many other legendary speeches too). In comparison to Finnish politics, rhetorics has always held an important place here in the US. I mostly have a sceptic attitude towards great rhetorical talent, since it can be used for any cause... however, since racism and xenophobia are some of my pet peeves, I have made an exception for Martin Luther King. Here he urges people not to give up until actual equality is gained, and (in my ears) to work and live together in peace. King didn't want people to give in to hate despite all the injustice. However, soon after his assassination there were horrible and violent racial riots especially in California. Too much hatred and he was no longer there to convince people that peace was the solution.

The speech transcribed.

Under the North Star

I've mentioned many times I love my country... as it is. But I think it's funny too in some way, especially the national emotions of shame and melancholy.

Here's something for Midsummer Eve. Kari Tapio singing "Here under the North Star" - old guy, well-known song. Original melody is Italian, but this tells about Finns. My favourite lines:

"On täällä elämä raskasta työtä, ja siinä harvoin on onni myötä. Sen tietää vain yksin suomalainen." Translated: "Life here is heavy work and fortune rarely follows you. Only a Finn will know this."



Here's the youtube version, sorry about not fitting youtube videos in my blog...

Arizona Arizona

There's been a lot of talk about the new immigration law in Arizona... Some of it is fairly amusing, some interesting and some annoying. I haven't researched the facts very much, so if you know more, please tell me. This is what I've understood so far:

People in Arizona voted for a law that allows the police to check any immigrant's papers to see if they are legally in the US. Problems with the law: how can the police enforce this law without racial profiling which in itself is questionable?

I'm a legal immigrant to the US and when I got my green card status I was told that I need to keep documents on me at all time to be able to prove that I'm legal. I haven't in fact always had my wallet on me - yesterday for instance I went on a walk without it... would I get in trouble if something had happened? Most likely not unless I was very unlucky. You see, I'm white and look like my roots are from northern Europe. Even in Arizona I'd most likely not be harassed. How could a police even suspect that I'm not third or tenth generation American?

What if I looked Latino though? What if I was from New Mexico, tenth generation American and looked like I was Latino, and even spoke Spanish? The proponents of the law were trying to make sure it wouldn't allow for racial profiling, but how else would the police know who to check? The law is clearly meant to reduce the amount of illegal immigrants from Mexico and South America. So what will it do without racial profiling? Will everyone be checked all the time? But I don't think there's any law for American Citizens requiring them to have ID with them at all times - so if they are checked they could be in a similar situation as illegal immigrants - no papers.

The whole situation seems to me very strange...

No blog...

... it's very hot so don't want to write much. Taught about the book of Ruth today. Realized that the relationship of that book to the book of Judges is similar as Miyazaki's My Neighbour Totoro vs. for instance Pan's labyrinth, or maybe even Gandhi. In one there are some few good people, but mostly evil, and it's scary and horrible but if you suffer through you feel like you've gained something. In the other people are so nice and help each other out that you read the whole book or watch the whole film smiling, and come out with a feeling that the world is after all a beautiful place.

Both have their places I think.

Continuing the discussion on health care

It seems like there wasn't enough said about health care yet, so let's start a discussion here. Mainly the Finnish system vs the American one. They are very different. In Finland we pay with our tax money so that (hopefully) everyone gets health care by public health care stations and hospitals. Everyone gets a government heath care insurance when they are Finnish. Besides the public options, there are private hospitals and dentists that you can use, and employers often offer work related health care. Terms for this vary a lot, but they are often provided by the private facilities.

Complaints: for public options there may be long lines for different operations. This depends very much on the place. Private options don't get covered by the government insurance (you can get a private one too but people rarely do) unless they're for treatment of a sickness, in which case the insurance covers a part of it. Medication gets partly covered by insurance but can still get fairly expensive.

American system: people get insurance through work, by buying it themselves or through government options (Medicaid for poor, Medicare for elderly, besides these there are options for low-income families' children like CHP+.) These vary very much depending on states. In some states employers give more insurance than in others. Small businesses might not do this. Students in general seem to be covered well by insurances but if they have wives or children the insurance gets fairly expensive.

Without insurance people can still get treatment in emergency rooms. Hospitals pay for this (not sure if the state gives them subsidies - anyone?)

Complaints: Many people still don't have insurance, which they seem to be fine about until they get sick. Having read loads of credit reports in my former job I know that medical bills are a major credit problem across the country. If people are fine with losing their financial credibility this might not be such a problem - nobody goes to prison for unpaid medical bills - but for those who want to pay their bills this will be a major issue, since they tend to be VERY high.

In some states and insurance companies pre-existing conditions might be a reason for not getting insurance. Pregnancy mostly counts as a pre-existing condition, so if you don't have insurance in the beginning you will not be able to give birth without some serious hospital bills, unless you're poor enough to qualify for Medicaid (you have to be poor indeed since I've never qualified.)

In BOTH systems there are always complaints about delays or bad care. I've had to wait for acute care during after-hours both in Finland and the US, and I've sometimes been cared for faster than I'd ever imagined in both countries. In Finland this seems to depend on where you are, and how unlucky with timing (for instance, falling on ice the same day that everyone else does the same...) Also, a friend of mine keeps telling me Tampere has about the worst birthing facilities in the whole country. Bad luck if you have to give birth there (this might have changed, or be changing). In the US it equally seems to depend on place and luck, but of course you might have more of a choice. Unless your insurance, like mine, only covers their own place.

Covered everything important? What do you think?

What counts as uncomfortable?

A couple of months ago we had some friends over for dinner, non of them mormons. After dinner we decided to amuse ourselves with Eurovision song contest "worst bits" from the last couple of years. Worst or best... after that we looked up a youtube video on Boney M, who all the Europeans knew but none of the Americans. And then a friend of ours showed a video from last year, Lady Gaga's "Telephone" (with Beyoncé). We're all so ancient that hardly anyone knew about it beforehand... but we were watching the video and everyone was probably a bit in a shock except for the guy who introduced it.

After watching it J, a woman, just bluntly said: That's just porn! And the two other women in the group, D and myself, started laughing because we'd been thinking about the same thing but hadn't wanted to express it. D said: I though I was just so old that I shouldn't say anything...

The funny thing is, Lady Gaga is sometimes marketed as empowering - in fact, this video ends with her and Beyoncé killing a bunch of people in a restaurant because Beyoncé's boyfriend is so annoying. Sure, getting rid of annoying boyfriends can be empowering, but really is it empowering to be dancing in your bra and knickers? Is it empowering for women to take charge of your own sexuality and use it for your advance? Maybe... But I can't help wondering if it doesn't kick back, since although you might feel like a subject doing your burlesque dance or similar, the people watching still objectify you.

Oh, V who showed the video mentioned that this is just normal MTV-style now... really goes to show I'm old. But what kind of image of how a woman should be do the younger generation get? Scary...

Two cool links that go with this story, one of them a song from the '70's feminists in Finland (in Finnish) and another one an Onion-story that I hope everyone will enjoy.

Maternity package

When I want to torture myself about living in the US I go and look at the pictures of the maternity package sent to every Finnish woman giving birth. This is not the only benefit you get for having a baby in Finland, but it's the most tangible one. There are researches about the birth rate in Europe, and surprise surprise, the Nordic countries where babies and mothers are supported in every way lead the way. Where Italians have one child or less, Finns are getting to three. I think (but am not sure) that Norwegians might be ahead of that too. Explanations abound, but I think personally, that when getting a child is not really a financial problem (before they get a bit older) it means that those who want to have children can.

America is a different story altogether - people have loads of children compared to Europe, with hardly any benefits. True, there is a tax benefit - but even with that, all the stuff you need to get, the fact that childcare is frighteningly expensive, the fact that you don't get paid for your maternity leave (in some work places you might) and all this makes you really count whether you can afford the baby or not... fortunately, with the American volunteer spirit, friends and family will help out.

But then there are all the American mothers who get babies without planning, without any economical possibilities of taking care of them and so on... I think might have to do with lack of sex ed and also a more negative attitude towards contraception than, say, in Finland. These mothers go to Medicaid for health insurance to cover their labour and oh-oh if they're too "rich" for that. They'd get used clothes for their babies (very sensible I think) and as to childcare, they hope there's a grandmother or aunt who can help out... because they can't afford to take more time off work than a couple of weeks.

After this rant, let me add a list of what the maternity package of 2009 includes (they haven't translated the 2010 package to English yet on Kela's pages, and I'm too lazy to do it myself):

-Snowsuit
-hat
-insulated mittens and booties
-Sleeping bag / quilt
-Knitted hat
-Balaclava hat
-Socks and mittens *2
-Bodysuit *5
-Romper suit *4
-Footed leggings (pants with socks)
-Leggings (pants)
-Knitted overall
-Stretch suit
-Play suit
-Mattress
-Mattress cover
-Under sheet
-Duvet cover
-Blanket
-Bath towel with hood
-Nail scissors
-Hairbrush
-Toothbrush
-Bath thermometer
-Cream
-Bib
-Cloth nappy set + 2 inserts
-Muslin squares
-Bra pads
-Sanitary towels
-Condoms
-Lubrication gel for parents
-Picture book, 16 pages.
-Toy
-Leaflets
-Box (can be used as crib)