Single payer in CA is on its way. Good job Donna. You made it happen. Other states should follow. Maybe if more states do it, then Washington will be pressured into making it national. It worked in Canada state by state before a national one was ironed out.

So very, very well put and eloquently stated. Logical, straight-to-the-heart, and when stated in the context of a war - which it truly is - that has more casualties than 10 9-11's per year, horrifyingly compelling.

Now if only the Rethuglicons and Dumbocrats would read it....

"When fascism comes to America, it will be wrapped in the flag, carrying a cross."
Sinclair Lewis, "It Cant Happen Here", 1935

Profiting from the sufferings of others indebts the soul.

To murder and get away with it cannot happen in this world. I want to see the killers of this world escape the wrath of those they have slain ... by never dying.

In October 1981, we entered Humanity's Next Cycle, in which last shall be made first and highest shall be made lowest.

How many times larger than the eye of a needle is an adult camel? We must save the doomed souls of the rich and powerful by assuring that they die destitute and powerless. They must be loved to death.

All are priceless, unto the least and beginning there. Therefore, no door in this world will be closed to a poor person. No poor person will be in a locked room.

This world will go on a Planetary State Of Emergency and the business of this world's people will be that of saving lives.

Love is the way. There is no other way.

Noble sentiments from an admirable organizer, but politically naive. Says author Smith: "This healthcare war is stoppable. This healthcare war is winnable. It is not a matter of political will that stops us from fixing it. It is blatant greed and self-will run riot of those who have no fear of such terror in their own lives at the hands of the healthcare terrorists." --Please note that the last-quoted sentence affirms what the second-to-last sentence denies. And the last sentence is the true one: The political will of the rich few runs the terrorism of health "care" in America exactly as this ruling will runs all the other terrorisms, from fear of economic ostracism (unemployment) to fear of the imperial enemy of the day. It is all business as usual--a corporate capitalist business, where they are the winners.

Several years ago Robert Fulghum wrote a bittersweet commentary, "Everything I Needed To Know I Learned In Kindergarten"--the point being that the "moral problem" is already solved, but adults willfully disregard the elementary canons of morality that they teach to children in kindergarten. They have bigger fish to fry, such as the American Dream (everybody gets rich).

experiences do not paint the whole picture, but do help give an idea - on why health care cannot be compared to a marketplace to shop and compare..

on presenting with a referral note from the pmd to the er for evaluation of severe abdominal pain on friday 5pm, the er administrator and finance staff present did not know if the insurance was accepted by hospital,ER or surgeon, and asked me to call the insurance, where it was difficult to speak to a person, who in turn wanted to know the name of the er doc and surgeon. how would one know if one went in an emergency? do you worry about appendicitis or insurance acceptance?
so the administrator would have me sign accepting all financial responsibility if not paid by insurance, but cannot tell me who accepts it.

not that one would want to go to a hospital an hour away vs 5 mins in an emergency; and if you did it might still not help. if a surgical emergency requiring hospitalization, you may be involved with the surgeon, radiologists, pathologists, invasive radiologists, pain team and anesthesiologists, and if older, with a cardiologist and pulmonary specialist. within a hospital, you get seen by the person on call. both within a department, say radiology, and between departments, say pathology and surgery, physicians accept different insurances. the hospital wants you accept financial responsibility if the physician does not accept your insurance, but there is no way for the patient to know in advance, who all, in this large group accept your insurance, to coordinate it.
often, the physician himself does not know, since they may have signed up with >20 insurances, the list changing annually.
the best thing currently may be to write on the financial responsibility form, that you want to be seen only by physicians accepting your insurance.
only people who have not had personal experience with a major emergency or chronic illness can like the current system.

The real terrorists are the cold-blooded owners of the "healthcare" corporations; insurance, hospitals, drug companies, medical supply companies, etc, etc, etc. Because I did not have health insurance and therefore no access to healthcare my body is left with 20% scars, mostly where they can be seen, face, neck, chest, forearms, hands. That is REAL terrorism!

All part of the ruling class' war on the citizens of the Fascist States of America. Direct casualties from medical errors and denial of care is almost 250000 per year. That's right our current medical industry not only kills the uninsured but kills 195000 additional victims who are fortunate enough to be able to go to a hospital and be billed for service. Even after the hospital kills them. This is not being done by accident and there will be no universal health care until we take it for ourselves. The entire system is broken and needs to be re-tooled from the bottom up. No box of band-aids is big enough to cover this social and moral wound.

Thanks for the very effective analogy Donna. Yes, a war against US citizens has been killing thousands for decades, in our homes, neighborhoods and communities, right under our noses.
The context you use helps people to understand the horror that is not in the middle east, not somewhere far, far away, but here at home. Where we think we are safe.
Your words will help people to KNOW what they probably already feel. And to act to create change.
As Joe Hill said, and Howard Zinn lived, don't mourn, organize.
I sincerely appreciate the work that you do for all of us Donna.

US medical doctors have American blood on their hands.

For years the AMA called universal health care socialized medicine to deter America from covering every US citizen with health care.

The AMA knew it would cost them profits. Now they are more interested in tort reform than in extending health care. At one point "only" 20,000 Americans were dying every year because of substandard health care..now the number is 45,000

45,000 AMERICANS DIE from LACK of HEALTH INSURANCE EVERY YEAR !!!

"Steffie Woolhandler, study co-author, professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a primary care physician at Cambridge Health Alliance, noted: “Historically, every other developed nation has achieved universal health care through some form of nonprofit national health insurance. Our failure to do so means that all Americans pay higher health care costs, and 45,000 pay with their lives.”

“The Institute of Medicine, using older studies, estimated that one American dies every 30 minutes from lack of health insurance,” remarked David Himmelstein, study co-author, associate professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School, and a primary care physician at Cambridge Health Alliance. “Even this grim figure is an underestimate — now one dies every 12 minutes.”

http://www.harvardscience.harvard.edu/medicine-health/articles/new-study-finds-45000-deaths-annually-linked-lack-health-coverage

No terrorist group has killed as many Americans as the lack of health insurance has.

People don't matter to the ruling class. Money matters. No matter how many soldiers die in these perpetual wars, the military industrial media governmental complex makes money. That is the important thing to them.

Too many people in the richest 5% have substantial holdings in the insurance, drug, hospital rackets. They have no interest in giving up a single penny of profits----no matter how horribly people suffer or how many die, it simply is not a part of the equation.

Health care for profit has always been immoral. Everybody has always known it. Just as with the corrupt financial industry, nobody minded until the profits became truly criminal.

There will be no reform until all elections are paid for by the taxpayer, a single payer health care plan becomes law, and criminal penalties are actually levied for bribery, extortion, and tax evasion.

Now THAT'S the way to frame the issue on behalf of SINGLE-PAYER; if unsuccessful, Frame OBAMA!

Privatized medicine makes as much sense as privatized education, privatized roads, water/sewer, police/fire departments. These are services that should fall under the term of "the commons", things that are important to the community as a whole, which everybody should have equal access to, not just those that can afford them! These are services that need to be run and regulated by local, state or federal governments for the good of our communitys as a whole. Not so that somebody can make a buck off of it.
What are the arguments that are presented for privatizing the commons? Less cost to run because of competition, better service, it will create jobs. None of these things ever happen. What is the legal obligation of a corporation? It is to maximize profits for the shareholders and the company. You can be sure that if it came down to a privite company doing repairs on a road that it owns or making it's profit projections, profit will always trump repairs. By the way, this road that use to be public and gave access to everyone, is now a toll road. And you can bet your bottom dollar that the toll is never going to go down.

Tongue in cheek, I have made the following proposal in various venues.

We must agree that reaching out, shaking hands with a stranger, and verbalizing "How do you do?" is rather inane, particularly when the other simply repeats, "How do you do?."

A proper American greeting is a smile, firm handclasp, and the positive statement: "I want to profit from your ill health, pain and misery." To which the other American squeezes harder and replies: "I want to profit from YOUR ill health, pain and misery." The two Americans then chorus in unison: "We want to profit from ANYONE'S ill health, pain and misery," - then bump elbows and hips.

Bravo! I've been involved in single-payer discussions since early 2007 and have never seen the issue framed anywhere nearly this effectively.

Rather than preaching to the choir here (and at places like PDA, which linked to this), how can this approach be expanded to reach the general public?

The 45,000 Americans per year are victims of a silent Civil War in America.

Also, our economy is a victim of this insane health care system.

If single payer were the reality in America, what else would we be spending our money on?

Just imagine who else could profit, for a change.

Single Payer is on television tonight, Friday, Feb. 5, 2010. This out over the internet, pass it on:

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Bill Moyers Journal will have an important segment this Friday night, February 5th. It will feature our close ally, Dr. Margaret Flowers of Physicians for National Health Program.
Since President Obama's State of the Union address, Dr. Flowers has been trying to respond to his request for "better ideas" on health care reform. She wrote a letter that night to the president explaining that improved Medicare for all is the better idea he's looking for. She went to the White House, but they refused to take her letter.

The next day, she and Dr. Carol Paris were in Baltimore outside the Republican Caucus meeting where President Obama spoke trying to give White House staff materials on a better way to reform health care. They were arrested. Inside, President Obama once again asked for "better ideas," especially those supported by doctors and nurses he added.
President Obama--why are you not listening to us?

There are 87 cosponsors of the improved Medicare for All bill in the House of Representatives. Over and over again, Republicans have claimed to be the "Party of Medicare." Medicare is our most beloved social program, and while not perfect, could be improved and used as the vehicle to extend true universal health care to the entire country.

Health care reform is a mess in large part because President Obama took single-payer, Medicare for All, off the table. The approach favored by 60% of doctors, the national nurses union, and a majority of Americans was not even considered.

Watch Dr. Flowers make the case for Medicare for all on Bill Moyers Journal.

We are not giving up, neither should you. If you haven't already, email the president, and tell him that improved Medicare for all is the best idea to reform health care.

Thanks for all that you do,
Healthcare-NOW! National Staff

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You can watch Bill Moyers' shows online at his website, if you miss it, or you don't have cable.