Grey days and dubious blessings

I have my friend of many years on my mind this evening, Billy Herbst. The Grand Master of Astrologers. Not the kind who give you a horoscope--those charlatans of fantasy who pander to the weaknesses of vulnerable people. Billy is a great scientist and writer of the old school. He belongs to the same class as 16th century John Dee. Check out his website. It's full of fascinating information and insights into what is happening in the world today, and why.

http://www.billherbst.com/

Billy had a stroke at the end of November. He's lucky to be a left-hander, because most right-handed stroke victims have severe speech impairment. His speech is fine. I guess God figured that it would be just too cruel. But he can't see too well, can't balance, and can't walk very well yet. He hasn't been able to afford health insurance for years, being a diabetic, and this is disastrous for him.

We spoke on the phone last night and it always makes me smile to hear his voice. We've known each other since '87, and he has seen me through every kind of change a life can take you through. He's a brilliant editor too, and edited my book, Companion, before I submitted it for publication. If I get 5 stars out of 5 from readers, I am sure that three of those stars belong to Billy.

He's like the millions of other Americans who cannot get health insurance, because of pre-existing conditions... the insurance companies will be glad to charge a fortune for a premium that will not cover what you need. And even if you have insurance! I have two friends who work full time--she's diabetic, and they have health coverage, but their medication co-pay costs so much every month that they have nothing left over even to go out for dinner, once in a while...

Billy's in need of so much, and he will not get what he needs. The consequences will be lethal. Isn't that called murder? Didn't every person in the US just pay over $25,000 for the war in Iraq? But we're going to kill Billy? No just passively let him die... I mean, we are going to kill him, because we won't make it possible for him to get the basic medical care that he needs to stay alive. Diabetes doesn't have to be a lethal disease.

Can anyone explain this to me so it makes sense?
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