Yes it has been longer than I planned since I posted. Sorry, but the world is still here and I am not the cause of any great losses. Now to the point. What the hell is going on people when you are too damned lazy to fight for your rights and allow the U.S. Senate, specifically Max Bacus (D-Mont)to sink any possibility that you will be ensured of needed health care? So much information and misinformation out there it is confusing right? Wrong! I hope if you are one of those who sits on the fence undecided, or better yet one of those who thinks a public plan is "socialized medicine" that I piss you off. My second hope is that you will sit back and think about this so called debate honestly in simple terms.
More after the fold:
Cross posted from Idealthoughts
with a cleaner title here
President Obama was forced this week, after giving a press conference about health care to accept from the Senate their typical delaying game and post pone his deadline to get a plan by August. Congress, and I include both Houses here could not have their month long summer vacation recess delayed. So rather than put in the time to represent the people (novel concept right?) they gave the typical flurry of excuses, the primary one being that they had to "get back to their constitutes and see if the plan they were going to present was acceptable. Well........ I mean oops they don't have one do they? Suppose though they did? I will ask a rhetorical question here, when was the last time your local Congressman or Senator offered up a copy of a purposed piece of legislation for you to review, either through their of ice , or one thee famous Town Hall meetings? I thought so. Remember the Patriot Act? Hell even the members of Congress didn't read the provisions before they passed it did they. I won't go back to that pre war intelligence estimate concerning WMDs in Iraq before Congress voted to invade that country.
Then there is the cry "we need bipartisan support" to get major health care reform done". Yet to Senator Jim DeMint (R-SC)said that "health care reform would be Obama's Waterloo, and they could break him (Obama) over this" Then Rep. Michelle Bachman (R- Minn) you know that Congresswoman from Minnesota that belongs in a straight jacket and padded cell, compared the public plan option as a "increased hassle factor for her" when she took her kids to the doctor because "she would have to "wait longer" to see the doctor. I can see on the Republican side there is absolutely no understanding of the need for complete health care for all Americans when Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill) claimed in the same article that taking the kids to a fast food restaurant was a healthy meal choice.
"I think most all of us here have had the opportunity to take our kids to a fast-food restaurant," said Rep. Judy Biggert (R-Ill.). "We want to get a good dinner, and you walk in and there's 50 people there and it seems like everybody in line wants to buy food for their soccer team or whatever. The American people aren't particularly good at standing in line, but that's exactly what's going to happen if this health care plan goes through."
Then in the same meeting of Republican women Representatives, Virginia Foxx (R-NC) claimed there were "no Americans who didn't have health care". I thought women were smarter than us guys? Well Ms. Foxx with that statement just sank that notion. She then goes on to admit there are 7.5 million Americans "who can't afford health care" (talk about a contradiction, but then she got those numbers wrong since there are 47.5 million Americans <span style="font-style: italic;">without</span> health insurance).
Then there are the varies Congress folks and Senators all vying to get face time on TV be it cable or national media who talk about "the cost" to Americans. Talk about a verbal shell game. I pay for my coverage and granted it is employer provided, so I pay a share and my employer pays a share to an insurance company (talk about double billing!) and I may get a fairly decent plan, but nothing like these Congress people enjoy. Most Americans are dissatisfied with their health care in some form or another. Many complaints involve the rising costs and inability to maintain coverage should they lose their jobs or change jobs. There are many rationals put out for the reasons for the sharp rise of health care. Some blame patients and their "demand for the most expensive treatments and medications", others blame "medical technology advances" yet this in all should not have a real affect on the consumer. However the one isue often over looked is insurance company greed. Here is a prime example. United Healthcare Insurance Company just reported a $859 million dollar profit for the second quarter of this year. That is up from $337 million dollars a year earlier. Good business right? Wrong, especially at a time when we supposedly are in a recession, workers are losing their jobs in record numbers, and an average of 14,500 people daily are losing their health insurance, but I will bet you there are some nice multimillion dollar bonuses floating around this company.
The argument against single payer health insurance as an option is one of the biggest farces I have ever heard. I quote one of the major Republican talking points here; "Do you want some government bureaucrat making decisions decisions about your health care?"My answer is hell yes. That would be 100% better then some corporate flunky worried about their job or bonus making a decision based on the profit needs or share holders dividend. The long lines Michelle Bachman and other Republicans and insurance industry spokes people talk about are already here. You don't think so? Go to your local ER. Why are they there? Because people cannot afford to pay the premiums or deductibles most insurance health plans charge. Here is a typical example. Remember when under your health plan it was $5 to $10 dollars to visit your doctor? Today it is $30 to $50 dollars. Now do you understand those big profits? Health Care costs are rising more than three times faster then workers wages, yet Republicans and Blue Dog Democrats complain that should we pass a single payer option, the poor insurance companies would not be able to compete. I wonder why.
Another argument offered is that the costs as estimated by the Congressional Budget Office would be over a trillion dollars. Well here's an idea, since a single payer plan is going to put private insurance companies out of business let's fund the single payer option by taking a percentage of what we pay in premiums and pay it back to the government and we keep the balance. That's a tax plan I can live with where I get money back. As for the final scare tactic used by this whole right wing for greed profit capitolism crowd we can re-employ those displaced workers who are already trained in government service to perform the same jobs they were doing, except for the executives who have made enough money to retire in the Bahamas.
The idea that all things in this country need to show a profit and be a "for profit venture" is crap. Bill Maher today has a wonderful article in the Huffington Post concerning this, one of famous "New Rules". It aired tonight on his Real Time with Bill Maher show with some live TV modifications and should be out on YouTube shortly. I is worth a look see. Thislink will take you to the print version. Along this same line of reasoning nurses released an ad today in support of the House bill that has provisions for a single payer option. You think the politicians and pundits know what they are talking about? Bull shit! Nurses though who work the nations ERs and hospitals do. Have a look see.
As a nurse myself I will continue to argue and support a single payer option as do most of my colleagues. Health care is an obligation and right for individuals in a society. Another myth perpetuated by the right wing is that the people of Canada hate their health care system, as they try to show how socialized medicine is a failure. Yet they fail to have on any Canadians to back their arguments and should you read any of the Canadian press, that country's leaders and citizenry are pretty pissed at the portrayal of their health care system by their neighbors to the south. In fact here's the one fact that destroys all of the lies about the so called hatred of Canadians toward their "socialized" heartily care system. In a recent poll, Canadians voted Tommy Douglas the founder of Canada's socialized health care systemtheir number one greatest hero.
<div style="text-align: justify;">The fact that we as Americans are allowing our elected officials to try once again to sham us and give us nothing for something is a disgrace. If the Senate cannot offer us what we want, then vote them out come 2010 and 2012, or even 2014 if that is how long it takes. Sooner or later they ill get the message that it is the voters way or the highway. Want to get hold of any member of the legislative branch you need to talk to? Go
here. Make the call then write your Senator and Congressman a letter letting them know that pharmaceutical companies, hospitals and the insurance industry lobbyist DO NOT control the ballot boxes and there will be repercussions should they fail to act in YOUR interest. It is your duty as a voter to hold your elected employee (that is right folks they are employed by you the voter) responsible for his/her actions. Another suggestion to help in the future is to help get newer and better Democrats elected. To do so you might want to consider a small contribution to
Act Blue. You can contribute
here. While there see which candidate from your area Act Blue is supporting. The House and Senate may be able to take a month long holiday, but you and I can't, we as Americans can no longer allow his shit.
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