In a lengthy interview on Democracy Now! with Amy Goodman, Congressman Dennis Kucinich explained why he would not vote for the present health care bill and defended his position against attacks from people on the left like Markos Moulitsas. He also spoke about the subjects of Afghanistan, campaign finance, and the passing of activist Granny D.
I mean, I have a responsibility to take a stand here on behalf of those who want a public option. There's about thirty-four members of the Senate, at least, who have signed on to saying they support a public option. If I were to just concede right now and say, "Well, you know, whatever you want. All this pressure's building. Just forget about it," actually weakens every last-minute bit of negotiations that would try to improve the bill. So I think that it's really critical to take this stand, because without it, there's no real control over premiums. Without it, we have nothing in the bill except the privatization of our healthcare system.
When it finally came time for the Committee to meet and vote the result was almost anti-climactic. Jack Hanna, the Chair of the Rules Committee said that there that there was "great concensus in support of this resolution" and urged that the entire membership be permitted to consider it." Democratic Chair T.J. Rooney shepherded the resolution to the floor, and in seconds it was over. The resolution was passed by acclamation.
Midterm Momentum Is All GOP's November Is Looking Grim For Democrats, And It Could Still Get Worse by Charlie Cook, via nationaljournal.com, Tuesday, Jan. 26, 2010
Whenever someone asks if the 2010 midterm elections will be "another 1994" it makes me roll my eyes. No two election years are alike -- the causes, circumstances and dynamics are always different to anyone who takes more than a casual look.
But 1994, and for that matter 2006, were "nationalized" elections, elections where overarching national dynamics often trump candidates, campaigns, local political history and natural tendencies.
Often in these elections, inferior, underfunded or less-organized candidates and campaigns beat more amply funded and better-prepared candidates and campaigns.
The primary difference between this year and previous nationalized elections is that this one looks so bad for Democrats so early.
These kinds of years also see states and districts that normally fall easily into one party's column inexplicably fall into the other's hands.
There is no reason to believe that 2010 is not just as nationalized as 1994 and 2006 were, or for that matter 1958, 1974 and 1982. To be sure, the causes, circumstances and dynamics are different, but the trend line is the same for each. At least today it is.
In another arrogant collusion to once again deny us any possibility of what we want -- real health care reform, single payer, public option -- those who do what they want, but not what we want, have decided to scrap the conference committee to reconcile the Senate and House versions. Instead, they have decided to have a secret meeting of the 3 major players, Pelosi, Reid, Obama, behind closed doors without reporters or C-Span.
This is a call to action. We need to call congress and tell them we are furious. Like modern day Paul Reveres, we need to ride through the countryside on our internet horses and yell from the rooftops, "The fascists are coming. The fascists are coming." And we aren't gonna take it any more. No we aren't.
It's time for the Second American Revolution. We need to let Congress know we aren't going to take this any more. No taxation without representation. No mandates to force us to buy junk health insurance when we don't have a democratic say in what is being put into law.
To the rooftops, to the tubes, to Congress, say NO! We won't take it any more. The Second American Revolution is coming. The Second American Revolution is Coming.
Follow below for more to do and a very cogent letter from PDA.
David Swanson, Washington Director of Democrats.com, talks with Paul Jay of The Real News, dissecting the politics of health care reform and the roadblocks in the way of getting to a real reform that serves peoples needs rather than politicians needs and the fact that politicians, even democrats and so-called "progressive" politicians and not just republicans, are the major roadblocks.
Real News Network - December 21, 2009 No public option, no bill?
David Swanson: Will progressives shoot down a healthcare bill that lacks a public option
David Swanson is the creator of ImpeachCheney.org, co-founder of AfterDowningStreet.org and Washington Director of Democrats.com A writer and organizer, Swanson has worked for ACORN, the International Labor Communications Association, Dennis Kucinich's 2004 presidential campaign and many others. Swanson is the author of the new book "Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union" by Seven Stories Press. You can order it and find out when his tour will be in your town: http://davidswanson.org/book.
President Franklin D. Roosevelt, in his speech accepting the Democratic nomination for a second term, delivered at Philadelphia on 27 June 1936, said, "The economic royalists complain that we seek to overthrow the institutions of America. What they really complain of is that we seek to take away their power. Our allegiance to American institutions requires the overthrow of this kind of power."
This is a book review of John Geyman's book Do Not Resuscitate: Why the Health Insurance Industry Is Dying, and How We Must Replace It. Here I argue that the rereading of this book is especially timely as Congress nears the last stages of preparation for a vote upon "health insurance reform" nears. We need to remember, now of all times, that the fight for health care for all is nowhere near over.
You didn't misread that title - SB400, the bill in the PA State Senate for statewide single payer health care, is getting some hearings because of Republican State Senator Don White. Here in Pennsylvania, single payer isn't a partisan issue. We've got bipartisan bills in the Senate and House with Governor Rendell's pledge to sign them if they pass.
The hearing will take place on December 16, from 9:00-10:30 AM in room 8E-A East Wing, located on the lower level of the Capitol building. Those in support of SB400 will have 45 minutes to present their information and arguments, and those opposed will also have 45 minutes.
This is a vitally important step forward, and one of the only times in history that a state-based single payer bill has been granted a senate committee hearing.
Whether you live in Pennsylvania or not, this is great news for progressives. Follow me below the fold to find out more and see how you can help.
Francois Marie Arouet (pen name Voltaire) was born on November 21, 1694 in Paris. Voltaire's intelligence, wit and style made him one of France's greatest writers and philosophers.
[...]
In 1726, Voltaire insulted the powerful young nobleman, "Chevalier De Rohan," and was given two options: imprisonment or exile. He chose exile ...
Woooo, some drama ... could be a notable lesson here?
In case you're unaware, there is currently a bill in the Pennsylvania state legislature to establish a statewide single-payer (that's something close to Medicare for all) system. Governor Rendell has pledged to sign it if it gets to his desk, and there are currently 35 co-sponsors in the House - including 4 Republicans - and 9 co-sponsors in the Senate. That's out of a Senate of 50 and a House of 203.
This Friday, the 30th, there will be a protest at a Blue Cross/Blue Shield building in Philadelphia in support of single payer, and in my state of Pennsylvania this will have particular significance because of how close we are to real health care reform.
IMPORTANT: If you can't make it to the protest, but live in Pennsylvania, please contact your state legislators and/or the media to either thank them for their support or to urge them to support these bills (SB 400 and HB 1660). You can do that here.
Yesterday, the U.S. Senate Finance Committee passed the Baucus health care bill.
What a disappointment. No public health insurance plan. No universal coverage. No real price controls. Billions of taxpayer dollars for insurance companies.
The U.S. health system has left 46 million Americans uninsured. [1] 45,000 people die every year due to lack of insurance. [2] Insurance companies deny coverage to thousands more when they actually get sick. And insurance is simply too expensive for millions of people and businesses.
The Baucus bill solves none of those problems.
By contrast, Medicare is so efficient that it could insure all Americans for the same amount of money that we now give to private corporations. [3]
Under such a single-payer system, you still get to choose your doctor... except without a profiteering insurance corporation standing between you and your health care.
Will you ask Congress to support real reform -- in terms they can understand?
(1) "Income, poverty and health insurance coverage in the United States: 2008." Census Bureau, September 10, 2009.
(2) "Harvard study finds nearly 45,000 excess deaths annually linked to lack of health coverage." Physicians for a National Health Program, September 18, 2009.
(3) "Single payer system cost?" Physicians for a National Health Program.
Last night, I went onto the House floor and did something that the Republicans aren't used to. I told the truth about the Republican health care plan. The plan is simple:
1. Don't get sick.
2. If you do get sick...
3. Die quickly.
Sounds about right! The Party of No, Knows one thing -- How to say NO!
It's not like Grayson didn't use any Facts to back it up ...
44789 / 365 = 122.7 people per day
Die for "Lack of health insurance" ...
What does 120 People a Day look like, anyways?
That about what it takes to fill up 2 city buses ...
As our cities start to crumble,
And the towers fall around us,
The sun is slowly fading,
And it's colder than the sea . . .
45,000 Americans died last year because they couldn't get the medical care they needed, 45,000 more Americans will die this year, 45,000 Americans are going to die next year and the year after that and the year after that because corporate profit is more important than human lives, because money determines who receives medical care and who doesn't, because the depravity of Republicans, the moral cowardice of Democrats, the craven propaganda peddling of the corporate media, and the back room deals of Barack Obama have turned an electoral mandate for health care reform into a Category Five Clusterfuck of co-ops that can't compete, mandates that punish the powerless, and a public option trigger that will never be pulled.
Brace yourselves for three more years of change we can't believe in, brace yourselves for more "bipartisan solutions", brace yourselves for escalating establishment attacks on progressives, brace yourselves for more Republican outrages, more Republican threats, more Republican attacks. The truth is burning, crosses are burning, trillions of dollars are burning, Baucus and Conrad and Snowe have lit the funeral pyre of real change and we have Obama to thank for that, he's the one who gave them the torches.
45,000 Americans are dying every year because they cannot get the medical care they need. America is suffering a Hurricane Katrina death toll every month. A 9/11 death toll every 30 days. More than 3,000 Americans died in January because they couldn't get the medical care they needed, 3,000 more died in February, 3,000 more in March and April and May and June and July and August. A hurricane didn't kill them. Muslim hijackers didn't kill them. The corporate hijackers of America's government killed them, the Muhammed Attas of K Street, the Bin Ladins of the Beltway, the Jihadists of Corporate Greed killed them. They were American citizens, they needed health care, they asked to be given medical treatment, but the profit driven health insurance industry gave them a death sentence instead.
Wyden amendment gaining support By Tony Romm, The Hill - 09/22/2009
An amendment to the Senate Finance Committee's healthcare bill that would permit employees to shop around for health insurance policies is slowly gaining momentum on the Hill.
The idea, pitched by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) last week, would open the proposed "insurance exchange" -- where consumers can compare and purchase insurance plans -- to Americans who already receive coverage from their employers.
...
What has made Wyden's proposal especially appealing today, however, is the Congressional Budget Office's recent cost estimate. By their math, his amendment would reduce the bill's impact on the deficit by about $1 billion over the next 10 years.
Health Reform's Missing Ingredient By Ron Wyden, Senator D-OR, NYTimes Op-Ed
September 17, 2009
The various bills making their way through Congress would, as the president explained, provide some consumer choice by establishing large marketplaces where people could easily compare insurance plans and pick the one that best suits their needs.
[...]
The problem with these bills, however, is that they would not make the exchanges available to all Americans. Only very small companies and those individuals who can't get insurance outside of the exchange - 25 million people - would be allowed to shop there. This would leave more than 200 million Americans with no more options, private or public, than they have today.
Poll Finds Most Doctors Support Public Option by Joseph Shapiro, NPR -- September 14, 2009
When polled, "nearly 3/4 of physicians supported some form of a public option, either alone or in combination with private insurance options,"
[...]
Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York, conducted a random survey, by mail and by phone, of 2,130 doctors. They surveyed them from June right up to early September.
Most doctors - 63 percent - say they favor giving patients a choice that would include both public and private insurance.
[...]
another 10 percent of doctors say they favor a public option only; they'd like to see a single-payer health care system. Together, the two groups add up to 73 percent.
Reform Immigration -
March on Washington
