Welcome!

Blake explains below the inspiration for this blog. Now I will discuss some of our goals, and the ground rules. We want to encourage and facilitate dialogue about this issues. This isn't going to be a conventional blog with a single voice or a main point of view. Blake and I will post regularly, at least at first, to keep it going. (Mostly Blake, I hope, since I have to take care of Stayin' Alive), but we want this to be a community project.

That means you too can post on this blog, so long as your posts are consistent with our mission statement (see top of the page). Just e-mail your proposed post to one of us (not both, please, that will just cause confusion). The editor will either post it for you as-is, ask for (or suggest) revisions, or tell you in a kind way why it isn't suitable but give you suitable encouragement. (Or, conceivably, if you deserve it, tell you something else.) Regular contributors who prove their mettle will get the keys to the kingdom and have the privilege of posting on their own.

Meanwhile, the comments are unmoderated and we invite everyone to comment. Disagreeing with the poster or with our mission statement doesn't make you a troll, but disagreement must be civil and based on facts and/or reason. Gratuitous insults (and that includes calling people ignorant), inappropriate language, and data free analysis are not welcome here. (We do reserve the right to delete truly offensive comments.)

But the more comments the better! Don't be shy! Let's hear from you. Personal stories are definitely okay -- we care about how the crisis in health care affects people, including you and the people you care about. Contributors don't have to be experts on anything more than their own lives. Experts on policy, social science and medicine are also more than welcome, but keep it accessible. This is about democracy.

So, boldly we go. Let's make it work, together.