Some
highly profitable and job creating industries simply can't be
reformed. Slavery and child labor cannot not be made humane and
reasonable, not with kind and solicitous masters or school and limited
hours for the kids. Both these practices were eventually cast aside.
Allowing souless, greedy private insurance corporations to collect a
toll for standing between patients and doctors may be next.
In his speech on health care to a joint session of Congress,
President Obama talked about the long, long history of health-care
reform efforts in this country, and said he wants to be the last
President to take up the issue. Let's hope not.
Barack
Obama and Democratic majorities in the House and Senate were swept into
office on a promise they would deliver affordable and accessible health
care for all Americans. But the corporate media journalism limits the
national health care conversation to what insurance companies, drug
companies, for-profit health care professionals, their executives,
lobbyists and politicians of both parties and other hirelings have to
say. So it isn't as easy as it ought to be to tell what the politicians
are doing about accomplishing health care for everybody. Hence we offer
these ten points.
WASHINGTON - Sen. Max Baucus met with advocates for single-payer health care in a
closed meeting on Wednesday and expressed regret that he had not
included them in the earlier negotiations for reform.
Karen Ignagni is not the problem.
As president of America's Health Insurance Plans, Karen Ignagni represents the health insurance industry.
The same health insurance industry that would be wiped out by a single payer national health insurance system.
We know where Karen Ignagni stands.
She stands with the health insurance industry.
Against the will of the American people.
If she stood with the will of the American people, she would
effectively be asking her member insurance companies to commit suicide.
Not going to happen.
Most people, when they arrive in Washington, D.C., see it for what it is - a cesspool of corruption.
Two reasonable reactions to the cesspool.
One, run away screaming in fear.
Two, stay and fight back and bring to justice those who have corrupted our democracy.
Unfortunately, many choose a third way - stay and be transformed.
Instead of seeing a cesspool, they begin seeing a hot tub.
The result - profits and wealth for the corporate elite - death, disease and destruction for the American people.
WASHINGTON, DC - U.S. Representative Eric Massa of New York said this week that in the 86 days since he took office, he has received many letters from his constituents. Some are general letters supporting him or proposed legislation; some letters express disagreement with some of what Congress is working on. Other letters begin with the phrase, "Help me, or I might lose my house," Massa said.
While the one reform that could cure what ails America's health care
system has attracted plenty of adherents in the House -- 72 members
have signed on as backers of House Judiciary Committee chair John
Conyers' single-payer proposal and others back a plan introduced by
Washington Democrat Jim McDermott's legislation -- there has not been a
Senate proposal to rally around.
Until now.
If you think the bonuses you are
paying to AIG executives or the money flow from AIG bailout funds to foreign
banks is shocking, wait until you get a load of what will be sold to you as
healthcare reform. That is, unless we all actually call the hand right now and
tell Congress we will hold them directly accountable should they set us up for
healthcare collapse by funding huge healthcare insurance company CEO bonuses
with our money.
Despite the shock and awe of Democrats' melodramatic press releases,
nobody was genuinely bewildered or surprised by the recent McClatchy
newspaper headline screaming that "GOP lawmakers tout projects in the
stimulus bill they opposed." We all know that politicians love to brag
about bringing home the bacon - even the bacon they vote against.
Far more baffling are those same politicians contradicting their entire
foundational philosophy. When that starts happening, as it is in the
debate over health care, things can become authentically confusing.
