In Brazil Sex Change Operations are Free

Brazil's public health system will begin providing free sex-change operations in compliance with a court order, the Health Ministry said Friday.

Ministry spokesman Edmilson Oliveira da Silva said the government would not appeal Wednesday's ruling by a panel of federal judges giving the government 30 days to offer the procedure or face fines of US$5,000 (€3,700) a day.

"The health minister was prompted by the judges' decision," Silva said. "But we already had a technical group studying the procedure with the idea of including it among the procedures that are covered."

Federal prosecutors from Rio Grande do Sul state had argued that sexual reassignment surgery is covered under a constitutional clause guaranteeing medical care as a basic right.

Does Brazil have the type of care that we can receive here in the United States? I would say not for the free services but if you have the money to pay for medical care then the care is good.

Brazil's public health system offers free care to all Brazilians, including a variety of surgeries and free AIDS medication. But long lines and poorly equipped facilities mean that those who can afford it usually choose to pay for private hospitals and clinics.

I have always beleived the road to quality health care for all resides in an expansion of the Medicare system to include all citizens. It is why I support HR 676 which would provide for single payer health care for all.

Can you imagine the oputcry from the religious right if we were to approve all sexual reassignment surgery? Brazil may be a developing nation but it seems light years ahead in its social positions on issues of sexuality. It is one of the best countries on earth for AIDS policy as shown with its policy of free AIDS medications for its citizens. Is Brazil perfect for health care, of course not but maybe we could learn a lesson or two from them. It is time that Americans understand that our health care system is failing us. We rank 37 in the world in health care delviery and 42 in life expectnacy but first in per capita cost. Those are all alarming but true statistics.

Brazilian Immigrants Heading Home

Illegal immigration is one of the major issues facing our nation. How we solve that issue is one of the pressing problems of our times. I have always felt that any solution must include economic fairness back in the home countries of the immigrants. This article shows the growing trend of Brazilian immigrants heading home.

Why are they heading home? It is not one simple answer but a large part of it is the growing economy back in Brazil that has left the value of the dollar lower and the monies made in the United States worth less back home. They have decided that it is not worth leaving their families and risking deportation in order to work in the United States.

If we want to have the same effect on Mexican immigrants we must force the government of Mexico to institute policies that will result in greater economic fairness. As long as the money being earned in the United States will feed their families back home we have no hope of solving this problem. They will find a way into the country if it means the survival of their family.

I think this report shows that we can solve this problem and that we can solve it humanely. Border security coupled with economic fairness back in the home countries will being to reap benefits. Brazil has seen an economic rebirth and it is this rebirth that is the fueling the return of these immigrants. No one wants to leave their families for the uncertainty of life as an illegal immigrant within the United States. It is for most the last resort. Lets follow the example from Brazil and pressure Mexico to enact real reforms.

Ford To Build Subcompact Car In Brazil, Import to U.S.

Ford Motor will build its forthcoming subcompact sedan for the North American market in Brazil, in what is considered by some to be a risky attempt to generate profits in that segment of the U.S. market.

Ford has chosen its Sao Bernardo Assembly plant in the state of Sao Paulo as the source for the critical small car, according to officials at Ford and two automotive consulting firms - Global Insight and CSM Worldwide - briefed on the issue. The vehicle is set to launch in 2009 to 2010, said the officials who requested anonymity because Ford hasn't publicly disclosed the plan.

This is great for Brazil but what about the U.S.? Our manufacturing base is nearly gone and until we can resurrect it we can not secure our economic future. Surely these cars could have been built within the United States by opening and refitting a closed auto plant. This should be a wake up call to legislators to start really looking into the reasons that our auto industry is dying.

I was recently in Brazil and saw many small cars made by American car companies that are not available here, some with flexible technology. It would seem to be smart business for the auto industry to provide fuel efficient models like they do in Brazil. We can not compete with the lower wages of Brazil or other countries. Does that mean that we must accept the demise of our manufacturing sector?

Jimmy Carter Is Right

Former President Jimmy Carter is today backing off his scathing criticism of the Bush Administration. In the Saturday article in the Arkansas-Democrat Gazette, he said that the Bush Administration was the worst in history for international relations. Today he said those remarks were careless.

I am in Brazil on vacation and I believe that what President Carter has said is the view of most of the worlds people. In my brief conversations with Brazilians, they have told me how much they hate President Bush. They have called him a killer, an idiot, a tyrant and the most dangerous man on earth. They have a real fear of him and are reluctant to have their government sign any trade agreements.

Brazilians have a long history of loving all things American. The movie theaters are filled with American movies, the malls filled with American products yet they distrust America and loathe President Bush. Anti-Americanism is high throughout South America and has contributed to the rise of leftist governments in Venezuela and Bolivia. Since President Bush started the Iraq War, I have seen firsthand the decline in the view of America.

Jimmy Carter is being diplomatic when he says his remarks were careless but a majority of the world shares that view. The image of America has been destroyed by the Bush Administration and made our nation less safe as a result.

In Rio Death Comes Early

Why would I be posting a story about violence in the slums of Rio de Janeiro on a site dedicated to preserving the American Middle Class? I see many parallels between the growing violence in Rio and the growing violence in our inner cities. My partner is from Brazil and I have been there many times. It is a gorgeous country with many dichotomies. It has an enormous gap between rich and poor and it is this gap that fuels so much of its societies ills. Our own nation is seeing a growing gap between rich and poor as the middle class is being slowly dismantled. We are seeing the increase in street gangs that Rio has been dealing with for years and with this increase comes more violence. How can we expect a different outcome as the gap between rich and poor continues to grow in this nation. What future are we offering our young poor that would turn them away from this type of violence? Do we want our inner cities to become our favelas?

Read the article here.