People more experienced are now more active on this WFC, which I found out at Boskone because both Hartwell and one of these people were there. As an aside I was well prepared to chew out either or both (yes, I’ve chewed Hartwell out on WFC matters) and glad I didn’t have to take the time.

The main part of Hartwell’s concerns was already taken care of: you can now register online. The rest of the website isn’t active yet but while they should get the boilerplate up it is boilerplate.

The German system has its share of problems, e.g. contraceptives and abortions are never covered by health insurance (but viagra and fertility treatments are), that bloody “Praxisgebühr”, glasses are no longer covered at all and only the most basic of dental work. Plus, we have a few newly in power neo-liberals (probably what you’d call libertarians in the US) chopping away at the healthcare system. But it’s still vastly preferable to the completely mess-up US system.

And regarding conservatives (and neo-liberals/libertarians), I completely agree.

Yes, it’s rough. And that’s me being lucky, well-insured, and with a generous, supportive employer.

You can analyze much of American politics and policy, not just healthcare, by keeping in mind that the guiding principle of virtually all conservatives as well as many others is the dread fear that someone, somewhere, might be enjoying an undeserved benefit at their expense.

And yes, there are those that abuse the system. But I’d rather put up with a few abusers, then see people forced to work through chemotherapy and other debilitating conditions, because they have to. You might still choose to work – and many do, including cancer patients – but you wouldn’t have to, if the side effects became too severe.

I know, tangential, but…

I can’t offer you much other than conversation. If you want to vent, feel free. I know it has helped me over the years to vent to someone other than the people in my immediate life who are already dealing with the burdens.

Except by draining my retirement funds, I don’t have anything remotely approaching the financial resources for six weeks of unpaid leave, let alone seven or eight months of either unpaid leave or short-term disability.

I’m the sole wage earner for two adults and a child, and our capital and long term savings were pretty much wiped out in the dot com crash, have never come back effectively because my income levels have never recovered.