Tag: Healthcare

Aug 04 2009

Progressive Democrats Take A Stand On Health Care

An amendment introduced by representative Anthony Weiner, which would have created national single payer, has been traded in for a vote on the House floor in September, as a part of the deal between liberal and conservative members of the Democratic Party. The case – in support of single payer – made by some Democrats during the mark-up echoed the speeches given at a rally, which took place in the Upper Senate Park on Thursday, July 30th. That same day a number of members of the Congressional Progressive Caucus held a press conference on the Capitol Hill where they announced their intent to fight for a robust public option. The Real News spoke to David Swanson from Democrats.com who attended both the rally and the press conference.

Real News Network – August 3, 2009 – 9 minutes

Some members of Congress are going to fight for a robust public option and a single-payer amendment

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.

Aug 01 2009

Rudy G: $250k+ people are “struggling”, ignores tent cities and class war. I say “Eat the Rich”

Crossposted at Daily Kos

Exemption for Eating the Rich will be allowed for those who earn abovve $250,000k on proof of empathy.

Fact 1 – Rudy 9/11,9/11,9/11 Guiliani says a massive wealth transfer from “rich to poor” is taking place and that people who earn $250,000 + are “really struggling”. He also hopes health care reform fails.

GIULIANI: We already have major distribution of wealth going on in this country. … Redistribution of wealth, from rich to poor. The rich pay – the so-called rich. We’re talking about $250,000 or more in New York City. I know this is hard for people to understand. These people sometimes are two-earner families. They’re really struggling

thinkprogress.org

So, Rudy G declares more class war.

   My suggestion: Eat the rich.

   The fact is, the Wealthy Corporatists hate spending because it leads to taxes, which they can easily afford, but never mind that. I got mine, you can go fuck yourself. That seems to be the GOP plan, and it has been for the last 90 years.

   They don’t want health care reform, or anything at all, since they can afford it, so why can’t you.

   They have NO IDEA what real Struggling is.

   Go cry me a fucking river banker boy. You want to see struggling? It ain’t paying more for first class, it ain’t having your taxes go up 3%, it ain’t having the taxpayers pay for your bailout bonus. It is living in a tent under a bridge.

   Jeeves! Get me my tiny violin!

Jun 24 2009

Two Years since SiCKO: Have Americans seen any Progress?

This is really long diary that was posted at DailyKos two days ago. It pays respect where respect is due and looks at the history of the elected officials we are expecting healthcare reform from at the same time. This is a tribute to some good Americans and tragic story of murder and corruption that ends with a question.

On this day two years ago Michael Moore’s SiCKO was released in American movie theaters. In the two years since SiCKO a majority of the American people now want what all Americans need. Somewhere between 59 and 65 percent of Americans want a single payer system that is financed by taxpayers.

For the first time since a now six year old bill called H.R. 676 that was never meant to pass in the first place, someone was working to raise awareness on the issue Americans face from the merchants of death. So this seems like a good time to remember one the few loud voices in this nation that is not influenced by free market of death and praise a few others who are taking it to the streets. Some people who believe our good health is a priority.

There is still the problem of the U.S. Government that will not represent the will of the people and can not look at the devastation that Americans must face each day. The falsehood of the present healthcare debate prevents anything but false reform. In the transition from Bush to Obama will honest hardworking Americans see justice or just campaign donation based propaganda?

Jun 19 2009

PBS Newshour – How to Lose Weight (really!)

Dr. Kessler (former commissioner of the Food and Drug Administration) Delves Into the Mysteries of Food Cravings and Overeating

Health correspondent Betty Ann Bowser
talks to author Dr. David Kessler about overeating and what is behind people’s cravings, the subject of his new book, “The End of Overeating”

On Tuesday evening’s Newshour, Dr. Kessler made some very interesting observations regarding the food industry’s neurological manipulations of people who eat their products.

The food industry has been able to figure out the bliss point, the optimal combinations of fat and salt, fat and sugar, fat, sugar and salt that you think tastes good, but when you look at the science, we now know that those ingredients stimulate, they activate the brain’s circuitry.

To find out what the ONE simple thing people can do to lose weight, hop in a barrel and follow me over the fa-a-a-a-alls…

Jun 17 2009

Bernie Sanders on Single Payer — Take Action

Bernie Sanders is circulating a petition advocating Single Payer.  Here’s what the good Senator has to say about it in his e-mail.  

Please read it and go to his web site and show your support for Single Payer.  We may have to settle for the fall-back position of a Public Option, but we should show them our true desires anyway.  

A PETITION TO CONGRESS

Supporting Single-Payer Health Care

Our current private health insurance system is the most costly, wasteful, complicated and bureaucratic in the world. Today, 46 million people have no health insurance. Even more are underinsured with high deductibles and co-payments. Close to 20,000 Americans die each year because they don’t have regular access to a doctor.  

The time is now for our nation to address the most profound moral and economic issue we face.  

The time is now for our country to join the rest of the industrialized world and provide cost-effective, comprehensive quality health care to every man, woman and child in our country.  

The time is now to take on the powerful special interests in the insurance and pharmaceutical industries and pass a single-payer national health care program.

Sign the petition

Tell Bernie your experience with health care and insurance.

For more background information, see my diary from a few days ago Healthcare: The Big Issue, The Big Test for Obama

We’ve got to keep pushing, keep yelling, keep demanding.  YYEELLLL!!!

Jun 12 2009

Healthcare: The Big Issue, The Big Test for Obama

I want to try to take buhdy’s essay, “Obama uses his Loud Voice on Health Care” one step further into activism.  So often on this blog, we ask, “But what can we do?”  I want to offer an answer to this question.

We must get Obama’s back on this issue.  In massive, massive numbers, with really loud voices, we must get behind him and push, massively, loudly, strongly.  I want every person on this blog to reach out to friends, family, e lists, and every contact we have to move folks in the direction of REAL healthcare reform.

Buhdy correctly identifies this as the defining issue.  This is the issue Obama wishes to succeed.  If he can win on healthcare reform, if we can keep his back on healthcare reform so that he can win, then we will have a solid basis for further progressive successes in the future.  

Please continue beyond the fold—

May 19 2009

Hoisting Luntz By His Own Petard

A week or so ago, as noted in this story and a few diaries, Frank Luntz, the other side’s wannabe equivalent to George Lakoff (apologies in advance to George, who is sincere in his efforts to make us effective speakers, unlike Dr. Luntz, who is a whore), published a talking points manifesto.  It is intended for those who – lacking any actual plan or constructive suggestion regarding healthcare – ceaselessly bloviate on the topic nonetheless, and to suggest how they might successfully torpedo any honest efforts at fixing our healthcare mess.  It is essentially a talking points manual for the talking heads of the Party of No on how to kill healthcare reform.

I would love to be searingly derisive of this effort, but there is much that can be learned from it which, no doubt contrary to Dr. Luntz’s intentions, can be used to sabotage the saboteurs.  Let me clarify that my healthcare reform may not be your’s.  I am a universal single-payer advocate.  But it is likely that our mutual truths are informed by this examination and commentary.

Let the fun begin!

(cross posted on the DailyKos)

Jan 03 2009

A Century Of Progress

cross-posted from The Dream Antilles

Photobucket

Well, not really.  On my drive home from running errands, I heard part of the Metropolitan Opera’s Saturday broadcast of La Boheme.  It amazes me that an Opera set in 1830 and written in 1896, would have a setting that is so very timely in 2009.

Please join me in the nosebleed seats.

Dec 10 2008

Manufacturing Tuesday: Week of 12.08.08

Damn, talk about a pretty intense week!  The auto sector looks like it just…just might get saved.  Still, it looks as if the issue of over capacity is being looked on, which means job cuts.  Sadly, that seems to be the theme of this week’s manufacturing update. Well actually there is something on health care…think of it as “nyceve lite”. They say it gets darkest before the light, well this must be a long tunnel then.  ISM is saying that ’09 will suck as bad as 2008.  Well before I dispense with the unfortunates, it’s time for the Numbers!

Apr 18 2008

Bootleg Raw: Of Souls and Sorrows

Since returning from Boston, I have received every morning a harried phone call from Mom documenting my Grandmother’s decline. She has another infection, she has fallen, she has blacked out and isn’t certain what transpired. Each time the conversation ends, this morning I gave Mom some half assed advice that she treated like a sliver of brilliance because she too is stressed out, I think that there are countless other middle aged Americans getting these same phone calls. After all we are a nation of traveling and middle class aspiring wanderers and consumers dancing the ultimate unicorn shuffle thinking that we matter as individuals that we should be out achieving and growing and living in districts with good schools in suburbs with no trees or working OT to send the kiddies to private school and telling ourselves the money is worth it so somebody will recognize our offspring in their specialness and all of this is often done hours away from our parents who live in a small towns with no jobs/declining post industrial city with no jobs/NAFTAized regions with no jobs and the only people we know who stayed behind have no jobs or low paying jobs with no benefits who are dully caring for their parents while trying to talk their own kids out joining the service because their own options are limited. And really. They can go to college and become teachers and scientists and get plowed under by debt and live in a studio apartment after graduation with six other roommates because they pay more in rent than Mom and Dad do for the mortgage.

This is America. We have choices. We can just amble on down the road of personal responsibility and free market solutions and buy lottery tickets or hope to hit the big one at the local casino where everybody says: that buffet is really great. Really, I know somebody who won 80,000 or my neighbor’s cousin’s aunt does.

And each time I get the phone call I try to remember how much vacation time I have. Not much. Because I took a vacation this year. Stayed in America because Europe was too pricey and I am not keen on those charming third world countries where they put you on a compound to create the illusion of an  local economy. Then I berate myself for even taking a vacation, who can even afford to take one now? Who even gets paid vacation? That search is starting to take on Holy Grail like proportions for the average working American. Yeah. We will give you a job and the best that you can hope for is that we won’t humiliate you too too often and we will let you train your replacement. Deal?

My girlfriend who has been at her job in Canada two years gets twice as much paid vacation as I, at my job almost ten. But those Canadians pay high taxes. I hear they all want to come here but they won’t work cheap like those other immigrants…. you know the nice ones who enjoy and value hard work for slavery wages.

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