I had planned on using my one diary for today to update my story about the Mad As Hell Doctors and their Care-a-van for Single Payer. And I will, at the end of this post. But whilst looking for some background information (ok, ok, I was perusing HuffPo), I found this story about Senator Diaz inviting SARAH PALIN to testify in front of the Senate Aging Committee hearing next week on "President Obama's proposed health care reform and the impact it will have on New York State senior citizens."
WTF? Apparently Ms. Palin mentioned Senator Diaz in one of her infamous Facebook press releases and Senator Diaz feels that is enough cred to invite her to speak. According to "Cathy Bern-Smith, a spokesperson for the senator, that in another Facebook entry, Palin had referred to "a letter that Senator Diaz wrote to [Rep.] Henry Waxman, (D-Calif.), that was posted on the senator's website."
"There was this Internet conversation going on where she made a comment on her post about something the senator had said," Bern-Smith added. "So we thought, well let's invite her."
Why would an ex-governor from Alaska make me so angry? Because spokespeople for the single payer option, including the Mad As Hell Doctors, have been summarily prohibited from presenting their views and virtually dismissed from the discussion. The Mad As Hell Doctors have yet to even receive a response from the White House about their impending march on DC, let alone granted an audience with those to whom their message is relevant. RATHER, a state Senator of New York has given a woman who cited "death panels" killing her parents and down syndrome child a public hearing on health care reform.
(I'm sorry, but at this point the phrase "A dingo ate my baby" keeps running through my mind!)
Why is a Democrat (albeit a very conservative Reverend-type of Democrat) giving an ex-governor of the extreme-Repbulican ilk (who's state was one of the few cut off from Medicaid because it was run SO POORLY that people were dying) a voice on a subject she has little to no knowledge of? This is the woman who "insisted that White House adviser Dr. Ezekiel Emanuel wanted to redefine the Hippocratic Oath. She also claimed -- again falsely -- that the House health care bill would "absolutely require" end-of-life counseling for seniors "that will tell them how to end their life sooner." As an added bonus, Betsy McCaughey has ALSO been invited to speak.
Has this debate become such a circus, such a charade, that we are now inviting those who "make stuff up" to air their fantasies at hearings?
:::Sigh:::
Sorry. I had to rant. It struck me as so ludicrous I could not even fathom teh stoopidity.
So...an update on the Mad As Hell Doctors who begin their cross-country caravan on September 8.
Their planned stops for single payer forums are:
Portland OR - 9/08
Seattle OR - 9/08
Spokane WA - 9/09
Kennewick WA - 9/09
Helena MT - 9/10
Idaho Falls ID - 9/11
Pocatello ID - 9/11
Salt Lake City UT - 9/12
Fort Collins CO - 9/13
Denver CO - 9/14
Des Moines IA - 9/15
Twin Cities MN - 9/16
Madison WI - 9/17
Gary IN - 9/18
Fort Wayne IN - 9/18
Bloomington IL - 9/19
Nashville TN - 9/20
Louisville KY - 9/22
Xenia OH - 9/23
Detroit MI - 9/24
Chicago IL - 9/25 & 9/26
Toledo OH - 9/27
Cleveland OH - 9/28
Port Clinton OH - 9/28
Pittsburgh PA - 9/29
Gettysburg PA - 9/30
Washington DC - 9/30 through 10/1
Once in Washington, from their website:
Imagine...
Thousands of cars pulling into the nation's capital for a protest on the White House lawn. The sidewalks are filled with supporters carrying signs in support of the Mad As Hell Doctors who have captured the imagination and the ignited the passion of their fellow citizens. We wave and honk at the camera crews, as do the endless line of cars behind us, as we wend our way toward the White House. On every antenna, on the backside of every car, and flapping like flags from sidewalk supporters, is the symbol of this new movement: the White Ribbon.
When we arrive, we go directly to the White House Lawn and begin passing out ribbons to the multitude of people waiting for the protest to begin. Politicians, celebrities, entertainers and hand selected citizens stand at the microphone one after the other, offering testimonials and expressing outrage at a corrupted health care system that puts profit before people. Our message to the President and Congress is clear:
Single Payer is the Solution. We Demand it Now.