Wine for Life

J

Joe Dressner

Joe Dressner
I'm organizing a new lobby group called Wine for Life.

I think it is time for the Wine Trade to stop blabbing about Resveratrol, the Mediterranean diet, and other research as if wine is a magic get-well potion. Millions of people in this country have no medical insurance and the entire system is totally screwed. America is the only country in the industrial world which does not view medical coverage as a right of every citizen and it is time for this to change.

I just found out on Tuesday that my brain cancer is sleeping. I'm now off chemotherapy, radiation and all the other luxuries of the cancer lifestyle.

I had to pay some of the more than $400,000 fees involved with nine months of cancer care and treatment, but the amount was truly trivial. Happily, I have good insurance from Louis/Dressner Selections and I was mostly covered. I had access to a great team of doctors who guided and treated me through this crisis and I still have money in the bank.

I am certain that if I had walked into an emergency room with no insurance I would be a dead man now. I see no reason why people all over the world suffer from poor medical care and I would like to give back and support the movement to end this in America and to strengthen medical resources abroad.

Here in the wine trade, we talk about health as a way to get people to buy more wine. Screw that, let's do some lobbying to help people in unfortunate situations who are not getting the coverage they deserve. I am asking members of the wine trade to join me in this fight.

This is no joke (something I am often guilty of doing). Wine is a celebration of life and we wine merchants and wine producers should lobby to make certain that the celebration is not limited only to those who have money.

Open those bottles for everyone!

Please e-mail me at:

thewineimporter@fastmail.fm
 
Can having a political position get any results? I'm not clear on how this will work. What do I need to do besides agree with you?
 
FWIW, my new insurance doesn't kick in for two months. In the mean time, my option is COBRA for $800 a month, or nothing. Guess Amy and I will be driving slowly for the next 60 days.
 
originally posted by Joe_Perry:
FWIW, my new insurance doesn't kick in for two months. In the mean time, my option is COBRA for $800 a month, or nothing. Guess Amy and I will be driving slowly for the next 60 days.
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Stay inside. Put duct tape around the windows and doors. Hold your breath. Oh wait; that'll never work!
 
Lobbying politicians to do the right thing? You mentioned you still had money in the bank...

Seriously, I suggest you consider policies or policy directions you want to advocate in favor of and
offer specific guidance for those you are hoping to enlist. At this national level the process is so
difficult to have any effect on that the only hope is to coordinate one single specific effort and hope for the best.

The Senate is more fucked up on this and there are only two per state so an email campaign to Senators
might do some good.

By the way, you didn't say how much was in that bank account...
 
I'm with Kay. I agree with you completely about health care and I drink wine. I don't see how I can make those two things go together but I'm happy to be informed.
 
Joe:

Great news, and congratulations.

There's quite a lot of political activity going on right now in support of the pending legislation on public health care (and, of course, a lot of activity against it). Are you advocating the bored community get behind this ongoing effort with additional time and $, or are you putting a new idea out there? If the former, yeah verily, I say, amen. If the later, I get your sentiment, but not your idea.

It's really great that you are doing better.

Ian
 
originally posted by Joe Dressner:
I have to admit there are rough edges with The Wine for Life campaign.

But the executive board is working on them.
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Please keep me informed. I await breathlessly for a mode of drinking wine that will aid--even in a slight way--the bringing about of health care, particularly since I live in DC and don't have a Senator or a representative with a vote who I can write to or even bribe with a bottle of wine.
 
Does anyone know which organization is doing the best work on health care? Who would merit support by the wine community?

I'm too busy doing IRA Retirement plans for myself to be up on what's going on.
 
What I'm looking for is an organization that is not affiliated with the Democratic Pary which is aggressively working for universal health coverage and medical reform.

Is there anyone out there?
 
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