English Sausage Rolls and the Observer
65Listen and Learn
Good morning breakfastpoppers. Today is Thursday, July, 29, 2010. I have to tell you that Scotty, the Observer is not present this morning. In fact, he has been missing for a full week. I believe that it is not without significance that fellow breakfastpopper Pino Krisio is missing too. I have just received an e-mail which confirms that they are together and are at present in the U.K. Scotty has made some important observations during his "fling" that he wishes to share with us. In his honor let's prepare some English Sausage Rolls and then meet at my place. I'll supply the Bloody Marys.
For the recipe you will need 1-16 ounce package ground pork sausage, 1-17 ounce package frozen puff pastry sheets that have been thawed, 1/4 cup Dijon mustard and 1 beaten egg. This is enough to make 12 rolls. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Unfold the pastry sheets and cut along the fold lines to form 12 equal squares. Brush each square with mustard. Divide sausage into 12 pieces and roll into small logs. Place one piece on each square. Roll dough around the sausage and seal with a brush of beaten egg. Place the rolls onto an ungreased baking sheet and brush tops with the rest of the egg. Bake for 20 minutes or until the rolls are puffed and golden. Wrap up the rolls and head for my place. I'll be waiting.
Welcome breakfastpoppers. I have in my hand Scotty's e-mail. Let me read it to you while we eat our sausage and sip our Bloddy Marys.
Dear friends, I am sorry I skipped out on you today but I had my reasons. I am in the U.K. now and I want to relay an incident that happened yesterday. Pino and I were enjoying a glass of wine in London and we began a conversation with a couple seated next to us at the pub. The woman, who was of a certain age, had a great deal of trouble reading the menu. Her companion had a great deal of trouble staying on the bar stool. After picking him off the floor at least a dozen times, he explained that he needed and was denied a hip replacement and that his lovely companion needed cataract surgery but was turned down. This of course led to a discussion of Britain's National Health Service, a model that the newly appointed head of Medicare and Medicaid in your country is just crazy about.
Britain's National Health Service is a fiscal failure. It is about to undergo some radical "change" in that it will be decentralized. The new structure will focus on patients and will transfer the bulk of Britain's $160 billion health care budget to doctors. Regional groups of General Practitioners will be responsible for buying hospital and medical services at negotiated prices.
The plan would drastically shrink the bureaucracy which had grown out of control. The result would be massive layoffs as the multiple layers of bureaucracy are peeled away. The reason for all this disruption is quite simple. Britain's current health care system, the one that Dr. Berwick loves so much, is inefficient and unsustainable. The goal now is to put the power back in the hands of patients and doctors. What a novel idea! Imagine that!
At the moment how and where patients are treated and by whom is determined by decisions made by 150 entities known as primary care trusts. All of these trusts would be abolished under the new plan.
Are you listening Dr. Berwick? Are you listening President Obama? How about the people in Washington who overhauled your system, are you listening? Are you capable of learning from the experience of others? I certainly hope so because you are headed down the exact same path as Britain and that path leads to certain disaster...POP...
Scary, nobody seem to be listening...Bartender
Good morning Tom,
How bizarre is this. I wonder if this administration will react to this news.If we had real reporters they might actually corner one of these fools, like Pelos,i and ask! Let's meet later at the bar. My treat.
First of all I love the recipe, takes me back to good old days back in England - which takes me to the second point...
I'm amazed at how many times I've read that the British Health Service is terrible and that it needs to be overhauled and replaced. I lived in the UK for thirty years and enjoyed free health care (aside from a $10 co-pay for prescription drugs).
One story that really highlights the good side of a national healthcare is when my wife (US citizen) visited the UK with her children, and one of them had a serious chest infection - they were treated for free (including free drugs as the patient was under 18) as they were guests of mine - had it been the other way around I would have been charged several hundred dollars.
Throughout my life I have had many operations in England - Appendix removal, two eye operations and other surgeries - I have never had a problem with any of them.
I have been to the ER in Britain about 10 times and not once did I wait more than an hour....when my mother visited the US and wash rushed to the ER (sadly she found out she had cancer when she was here and later died from it) - she waited in ER for 16 hours before being placed in a bed- during this time no doctor came to see her, she was not allowed pain killers as no doctor had came to see her.
Once she finally got a hospital bed, the first person to come to see her was someone from billing who was very upset that my mother's insurance were being difficult - in fact the billing rep tried to get my mother, who was still in severe pain, to call England at her own expense to sort things out. Had I been an American I probably would have sued for $20,000,000 - I didn't!
So what's my point - from my experience and a lot of other people's experience the UK system works - there are problems, and there are many horror stories - but overall the health care is good - but if you ask the right people you're going to get the answers you want - I bet no politician against the Healthcare bill who says that the system works now would report my mother's story....
....there are a lot of INTELLIGENT people in America - on both sides of the government - why not get the best out of current system and meld it with the best of the British system - then we'd have the best Healthcare in the world.
All this negitivity from both sides is KILLING people....
I for one hope the UK system NEVER becomes like the US system!
Good morning Jennifer,
I am so happy to see you at the breakfast table and yes things are really scary and insane. See you at the bar, I'm buying.
I'm like you an wondering if the administration will even notice. I am not very optimistic in view of their track record.
Good morning Simey,
I appreciate your comments and I agree that there is no perfect system. My experience with health care in this country has been very good. I am free to seek the best care and make the best decisions for myself in consultation with my doctor. A doctor, I might add, of my choosing. Just as a very sad aside, a friend of mine, who is from Britain was diagnosed with breast cancer and went through the most horrendous treatment. The protocol for breast cancer is very different from that in the U.S. In any case, after suffering so much she passed away last week. I can't help feeling that she would have fared better here. The point now is that the system in Britain is failing and something must be done about it. I agree that we should tweak our system and make it the best it can be, but emulating Britain completely is not the answer. Let's meet at the pub later!
Good morning Robert,
You're right. This administration never learns from the past and never gives the voice of the people a second thought. See you later at the bar!
The point I am making is that the system is not failing in the UK - only for a few - I am sorry for the loss of yor friend, but I have many friends who have had cancer in the UK and survived and are going strong; I have many friends who have had operations. Even if people don't like the UK health care system there are plenty of private solutions they can pay for (BUPA) etc.
My mother, prior to coming to the US, was constantly screened for Breast Cancer - exactly the same as here. Sadly there are bad doctors all over the world and there are always going to be some who are not treated correctly.
I note (with a grin) that British Health ranks above American Health despite a supposed very poor health system ($2500 spent on each UK citizen against $6000 spent on each US citizen). WHO rank the British system 18th and the US system 37th - so if the British system is failing - then the US system is failing even more!!!
What really is happening is that Health Care in Britain is now becoming a political tool just like in the US - for every article telling you how bad the system is, there is one that tells you how good it is.
Dear Simey,
I can't dispute your view of the system, after all, you lived it but it appears that it has turned out to be a fiscal disaster. What do you think?
It is nice to know that SimeyC is pleased with UK health care. I do know people in the UK that have gotten not so great treatment for cancer, I know folks in Canada that are not thrilled with Canada's health care system and I read where the EU wants Greece to overhaul its national health care system because it is too expensive. Here we've had a health care bill rammed down our throats, there was no meeting of the minds to take the best aspects of national health care and our private health care and put together a system that the majority of us would want and benefit from. Plus, our wonderful representative did not read the bill for the most part. Great system. Now to important things. What the heck is Scotty doing in the UK with Pino? And what does he look like? A one-eyed one-horned flying purple people eater? I realize that the couple he spoke to wouldn't know as one couldn't see because of cataracts and the other couldn't see because he couldn't focus. I eagerly await stories from Pino and Scotty next week. Meanwhile, to the bar. BARTENDER.........
Good morning taxlarry,
Let's face it, the dissatisfaction with the health care bill stems from the way it was pushed through and the total disregard Congress showed and still shows for us, the people who they are supposed to be working for. I'm glad Simey had good treatment in Britain and I don't doubt for one second that there are many, many people who are happy with the system the way it is. However, the system isn't working fiscally so it has to change. I think we can learn from Britain's experience. Unfortunately, we won't. See you at the bar.
taxlarry: *smile* one thing I am realizing is that on both sides of the ocean, politicians are using statistics and the power of misrepresentation of the facts to get their own political agendas passed - whether they are for or against healthcare - this is happening here too!
I've always said that the whole Healthcare debate needs to be done outside of a political agenda - there's no way any Republican is going to be objective, and there's now way that any Democrat is going to be objective!
There are good things in the healthcare bill and there are bad things in it - give it to the experts (healthcare professionals) and give them the power to come up with something that works.
Sadly, I am beginning to realize that no matter who you support - one policy or another is going to be forced on us by those in power - Clinton did it, Bush did it, Obama is doing it - it's the nature of the beast.
I'm an idealist (and no pro either party) and feel that if both sides actually worked together, regardless of who is in power, then we'd all see a lot of good done that would benefit everyone!!!
Ah well - I better stop drinking eh!!!
Dear Simey,
I suppose it is the same old tried and true statement. Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. I too long for the day that both parties can work together and truly represent the people of this nation and not their own agenda. P.S. Don't stop drinking!
breakfastpop: agreed - I must admit that while we often have differing views, we do normally find a lot of common ground - now if only our politicians could do the same - as for the drinking, can you send my boss an email letting him know it's OK to drink at work!!!
As soon as we can get this administration out of office then maybe we can get rid of this pathetic health bill.
Pop
First off ask Scotty if he happened to see any of those pretend Drs. Dressed in those butcher coats while visiting that pub. They should have been on hand to at least assist the poor chap back up off the floor onto his bar stool. As for the lady she should come over here and run for congress as a Democrat; with her eyesight she would fit nicely into Pelosi’s transparent world. She could read the bills as well or better than most of her fellow Democrats before being forced to vote in favor of them.
You said the magic words fiscal failure; all of Barrack Hussein’s programs are based on fiscal failure. How else does he hope to destroy the economy of this country? But what you describe next; decentralization; focusing on patients; transferring the bulk of Britain's health care budget to doctors; all these will come later (if we survive as a nation) once Obama Care is implemented then collapses the system.
Did you say massive layoffs as the multiple layers of bureaucracy are peeled away? Look out Greece here Britain comes. Also rest assured Britain’s radical Jihadist group pushing for the installation of Shari Law will not tolerate restoring the power back in the hands of patients and doctors; they will be out amongst the angry mob working up the insurrectionists.
Finally, Dr. Berwick nor the Bamster give a Rats Rear End about what the people want; just look at Arizona!
Dear Simey,
There is nothing wrong with not agreeing. It all depends on how you do it. I like the way you do it! Don't drink at work. Come after work. We'll wait for you and save you a seat.
Pop, Britains new plan (or old one for that matter) is nothing like HCR in the US. Britains plan is socialized medicine and it will stay socialized. The 'decentralization' you refer to is correct and your facts on the case are correct. However, your correlation to the US is incorrect. There is not many simliarities.
As you know, in the US, we do not have socialized medicine, all of our care and health treatment is 'for profit' and run by private industries who answer to shareholders and not patients.
However, Britain is catching up to our new HCR in the US which allows patients to see the doctors of their choice and not pay penalties for "out of network"
Dear taxlarry,
You asked what Scotty looks like and I am trying to formulate an answer. The weird thing is that Scotty looks like whatever you want him to look like. I discovered this awhile back when I spoke to Pino. I asked her about his looks and she described him completely differently than I would have described him. I guess this brings new meaning to the phrase" beauty is in the eyes of the beholder". See you later.
Dear tony,
From your mouth to God's ears.
Good morning Patriot,
The woman with the cataracts doesn't need to get better vision to read the bills because reading the bills is beneath the pay grade of those in Congress. Our future is unfolding in Europe and this president still likes what he sees. Incredible! See you at the pub. I'm buying and I'm bringing the sausage rolls.
Good morning LRC,
You are correct we don't have socialized medicine in the U.S....yet. Coming soon to a neighborhood near you. I realize now that your view of health care in our country is different from mine. You don't have health insurance so now you will be forced, maybe gladly, to purchase it and two, you are unbelievably healthy, a perfect specimen.
When all is said and done, the rich will have their doctors and pay in cash, while everyone else will have to buy whatever insurance the government demands and go to the doctors we are assigned. The main purpose of this health care bill was simply to have the government take over another aspect of our lives.
Pop,
The more I am finding out what is in the bill/law, the more worried I become. I am so excited to see how much more in taxes I will get to pay since my employer plan will be taxed as my income...GREAT!!
Great job POP! Your story reminds me of my parents, my father was hard of hearing and my mother had cataracts. They didn't go to the movies often, but when they did my mother would tell dad what they were saying, and dad would explain what they were doing. Thank goodness both of them got their problems fixed before they had to use Obamacare. Another disturbing thing in Obamacare, is that they are doing away with the special needs deductable which used to be $2500. This will place a huge burden on families who are already struggling. Just one of the many ways Obama is looking out for the people, (through his sun glasses, from the golf course.)
Britain is no economic powerhouse either. I just don't get what Obama wants OTHER THAN to make us a total welfare state where everyone NEEDS the government to take care of our every need.
Pop, this is why I left the republican party. Everything they stand for is based on what "might" happen and not the actual substance of the bills. Saying HCR will lead to socialized medicine is certainly a possibility but we have to vote on the bills themselves and not what we speculate they might become. If it is to become a socialized health care system in the US, we will have our chance to make our voices heard (I'll need to learn more but I'd probably support a single payer option)
I have good Health Care Coverage and am also very healthy. I can see why conservatives hate the mandate in HCR. I can agree with you there but the challenge is that many people need insurance and will end up costing us much more money when they get sick and don't have it (emergency room visits, state & Fed gov subsidies, etc).
Did you know that the US is the only country among developed countries where people go bankrupt due to health issues? More than 60% of personal bankruptcies are due to health issues. This simply does not happen in other countries (or is extremely rare). The rest of the world does not let their citzens be financially punished for getting ill.
Think about that number...60% of personal bankruptcies are because of health related issues. Far too long have we let insurance companies have their way with people.
Excellent hub POP, Britain has had problems with their health care for sometime and the point is, we do not want to emulate Britain or any other European country. We want Obuma gone and some new blood in congress to get rid of this mess Obuma has created and get a workable plan in place. See you at the bar.
I am sorry Pop, I was late for a breakfast, I had to watch Obama on View this morning. Well, my suggestion he has to resign as a president and joint these women on View, because he fits perfectly there. After all, I think they need a man 'view' also...
On a healthcare issue, so far healthcare in the USA was the best in the world. Do I know horrible stories about our healthcare? Yes, plenty. I have a lot of friends who are doctors here. But I also lived in Europe in different countries and have friends who live around the world. The regular American with any health insurance is getting better Quality of healthcare, than ANY person in another country! Therefore my suggestion to Obama with his health care reform 'if it works, don't fix it'!
As for comments above about healthcare in England - compare to Canada or Holland, English healthcare is not that bad. But, to prove your point Pop, with cancer cases they give the person nessessary but limited treatment and then if the person has money he/she comes to Sloan-Kettering in New York to continue getting treatments which the UK is uncappable to provide.
Dear sheila,
I hope we can somehow derail this monstrosity before we're told who we can and can't see. If not for the fact that I can choose my own doctor, I'm not sure what would have happened to me a few years ago.
Dear Sheri,
Just think the added taxes are just one aspect of the bill. The truth is that many employers are going to switch to plans that severely limit choices in order to cut expenses. That's what Obama and his cronies are counting on. Of course, none of this affects them or their families.
Dear jiberish,
There are so many things in this bill that are going to hit people hard. People I talk to don't seem to understand what the bill is all about. They will when it hurts their pocketbook and their health. As for Obama, like he said, he has the best health care in the world!
Dear Springboard,
That is exactly what Obama wants. He wants to control just about everything and as Ronald Reagan said, government control of health care is the road to socialism.
Dear LRC,
I am no fan of insurance companies. In fact I think of them as akin to the Mafia. However, change is already taking place in terms of health care. Companies are moving to policies that severely limit choice in terms of doctors and hospitals. Why? Because these plans are cheaper. Many will stop offering health insurance and pay the fine instead. None of this is good for the American people. A single payor system is socialized medicine and that is not a solution to the rising cost of health care. This bill was put together without input from the Republicans or the public and that is an absolute disgrace.
LRC, I thought you didn't have health insurance?
Dear Pamela,
What we need to do is start over and make the American people and the Republicans a part of the discussion. Crafting a bill of this magnitude behind closed doors should be considered a crime.
Dear Wanderlust,
I think Obama is qualified to be on the View. Let's face it he is way over his head as president. It is good to hear you say that our health care is the best in the world in terms of quality. That fact doesn't seem to register with many people. Once "changes" start to take place people are going to be very disappointed. It just may be too late by then.
Pop, yes I have insurance. I've always had it.
If this bill was put together without Republican input, can you tell me why many Republicans are claiming credit for different parts of the Health Care Reform?
John Kyle- R Arizona has called for the repeal of HCR while taking credit for some of the pieces of it. His words on CSPAN "Well, one of the things we did in the health care legislation was to provide a lot of different incentives for preventive care, for screening to try to help people avoid illnesses on the theory that it would be a lot cheaper if we didn’t do a lot of treatment that was unnecessary"
Republican Chuck Grassley who said the famous lie "Health Care Reform will pull the plug on grandma" started to recently take credit for HCR. In his own PR release, he said "I worked successfully to improve Medicare payments to doctors in rural states like Iowa and, in turn, access for beneficiaries, as part of the health care reform enacted this year"
The day it was passed, Grassley put out a PR release that said "health care legislation signed into law yesterday includes provisions Grassley co-authored to impose standards for the tax exemption of charitable hospitals for the first time."
Republican leader John Boehner has done the same. So if Republicans had no input, why are they claiming credit for different components of Health Care Reform?
Pop, I'd love to hear the explanation on this one.
Dear LRC,,
I stand by my statement, Republicans were shut out of the process and you just may be the only person who doesn't know that. The statements you mention, in my view, are just typical politicians trying to make nice with the public. By the way I am neither a Democrat or a Republican but rather an Independent so I call it like I see it.
Dear LRC,
Since you love statistics and fact-checking you might want to read MikeNV's hub titled "Obama Care A new Standard for destroying America's Economy and Health".
Good Afternoon POP...The repubs saw the juggernaut of Obamacare coming and knew they would be unable to stop it in toto...They instead chipped away at pieces of this largely unread, ungainly, bill filled with double-talk and typical lawyer obfuscation, and inserted provisions conducive to conservative thought...
Berwick is determined to reaffirm the bill's intent: Single payer vs competitive and free market solutions...Sure, we need reform, but not at the expense of a degraded Medicare, and decisions being made by bureaucratic bean counters...
I'm kicking those Bloody Marys up a notch with Jalapeno infused tomato juice...or maybe not...Larry
Good evening maven,
Hold the jalapeno in my Bloody Mary's because I am already on fire. You are the voice of reason and your comments reaffirm my thoughts and reassure me that people as smart as you exist. Thanks for being you!
Pop, you are denying a pretty big fact. GOP says they were shut out, then claim credit for many parts of the Health Care Reform bill. How is that possible? As public opinion on the bill continues to go up, they will continue to try and take credit for the bill that they claim they had no input on.
Dear LRC,
I have no interest whatsoever in defending the GOP. The bill is flawed and those who support it in its present form no matter what party they belong to are flawed as well. This bill is going to cause a great deal of harm. By the way did you check out the hub I referred to above? You might find it interesting. Honestly, LRC I don't know where you get your information from. The Dems crafted and passed this hideous bill on their own. If some Republicans are claiming they contributed to it, perhaps they did. But they must have done it in the dead of night with a flashlight!
Actually, the GOP contributed ideas during the 16 months that the bill was debated. Yes, I started reading the hub you referred me to. He used a lot of statistics and I couldn't find any credible source to back those statistics. Then I finally found info from the WHO which directly contradicted what he wrote (I'm referring to the probability of death from cancer in each country.
I'm assuming there is no comment box so that no one can point out the factual inaccuracies.
I've said this before and I'll say again. Anytime someone is using fear to get their message across they are typically spinning a story.
Dear LRC Blogger,
Let's be fair about this debate. You, clearly, are in favor of this bill. Honestly, I hope I am wrong and this thing works out. in my heart of hearts I don't believe it will, but I hope and pray you win.
You ask Barack if he's listening? Only if you're praising him in some way...
LRC ,
I guess the brittish during WWII used fear to build a case and fire up the brittish and US public vs the Nazi's. Get your head out of the sand look at Greece look at all the other socialized Medicine countries- Most of them are in financial straits because in part of the socialistic healthcare policies. Obama is trying to bring socialized medicine and that will lead to rationong, shortages and doctors retiring or giving up and closing practices because they can't make money and pay their employees but LIl BHO wouldn't mind them closing- never let a good crisis go to waste eh Barrack. Barrack does not people to be successful anymore doctors,private business owners and entrepreneurs are endangered species. Socialized medicine won't work the only thing the government can do better than the private sector is destroy stuff- see army navy airforce- marines.
TH
Tom, your comment that most other socialized countries are in dire straits in incorrect. Do some fact checking and you will find some in dire straits but you will find many others in good or better condition than the US.
The HCR Obama brought is not socialized medicine. You'll be happy to know that we still have a completely 'for profit' health care system in which shareholders in health care stocks are more important than patients.
The fact that you are using fear tactics "barack does not (want) people to be successful" is a pretty silly statement. I think most conservatives make statement like this out of frustration due to the fact that most of the country does not agree with your views and has told you so at the last 2 elections.
Dear Gary,
You're right he has the power of selective hearing!
I do not see how the Obama administration can still get away with telling us that this new Obamation of a healthcare system is going to be good for us especially in light of what we now know about the UK health care system! I also can't understand why the President doesn't have a ZERO % job approval! Who are the idiots still thinking this hopey changey thing is GOOD?!
Anyway - I share your outrage Pop! I'm with you all the way - fantastic Hub as is your usual style! Carol
Dear cjv,
I'm sorry to say and see that there still are plenty of people who just don't get what Obama is all about,or if they do they like it. Let's hope their numbers keep falling so that we can get our country back. Do you have any idea how much I enjoy the pleasure of your company at breakfast?
Old folks don't need all that stuff! Don't you know that we're expendable??
Dear habee,
Apparently we belong on the endangered species list!
Tom Whitworth Level 5 Commenter 22 months ago
Pop,
It sounds as if Scotty has dicovered that the English and UK citizens are goung to tranform their Health Care system to be like ours used to be while Dr. Burwick is transformining ours to be like theirs is now, Death panels and all!!!!!!!!!!!!!