At Salon, Joe Conason urges Democrats to push back when they are accused of creating "death panels" as part of health care reform:
The proper reply to "death panels" was that they already exist in the corporate bureaucracy of the insurance companies -- and in the lobbying firms where reform that would save tens of thousands of lives annually has been killed every time.
Representative Alan Grayson is pushing hard for Medicare for anyone who wants to buy into the program. It's a four page bill. It's understandable. The framework is already set up for implementing it. It is cost-effective. Grayson sent me this mass-distributed email for further explanation.
Dear Erich,
72 hours. 66 cosponsors in the House. 21,254 citizen cosponsors at WeWantMedicare.com.
The Public Option Act. It's simple. It's popular. 82% of Scott Brown voters favor it. It lets anyone buy into Medicare at cost. You want it, you pay for it, and you're in.
You know and I know that it's a winner.
Private insurers make money denying us the care we need, when we need it most. Medicare doesn't. So we want Medicare. And we want it now.
Ask your Member of Congress to stand up for us. Call your member of Congress now, and ask him or her to cosponsor HR 4789, the Public Option Act.
Call the switchboard: (202) 224-3121
This is the week to act. We are likely to vote on a healthcare bill without a public option. We should get a vote on the Public Option Act as well. The four-page bill opens Medicare to all. It's that simple.
Call your member of Congress now, and ask if he or she has the guts to stand up for you.
Call the switchboard: (202) 224-3121
Courage,
Alan
Why do we need the public option program Grayson suggests? Because we currently and needlessly have a for-profit health insurance industry that provides the insureds no benefit for a big chunk of the premiums they pay. Grayson recently explained at Huffpo:Health insurance companies charge as much money as possible, and they provide as little care as possible. The difference is called profit. You can't blame them for it; that's what a corporation does. Birds got to fly, fish got to swim, health insurers got to rip you off. And if you get really expensive, they've got to pull the plug on you. So for those of us who would like to stay alive, we need a public option. In many areas of the country, one or two insurers have over 80% of the market. They can charge anything they want. And when you get sick, they can flip the bird at you. So we need a public option.
I like the new law passed by Israel regarding organ donation. If you want to receive one, you'd better be willing to give one up, as explained by the AP:
Israel is launching a potentially trailblazing experiment in organ donation: Sign a donor card, and you and your family move up in line for a transplant if one is needed.The new law is the first of its kind in the world . . .
Congressman Anthony Weiner fields health care reform questions from FOX's panel of right-wingers:
I heard one new idea in last night's State of the Union. In response to the Supreme Court deciding that multi-national corporations should have all the rights of individual breathing citizens -- allowing them to spend whatever they want to influence elections (as reported here) -- Obama suggested that all contacts between lobbyists and public servants be publicly documented. This includes the identity of the client corporations and amounts of money and time involved. The applause were uneven. This morning a new FaceBook group appeared: 'Our Corporate Congress': Make NASCAR-type patches mandatory Congress-wear. I'm not much of a joiner, but I like this idea. Allow the Congressman from Exxon to proudly wear the oil patch right next to his Monsanto and Pfizer badges. Let the senator who filibusters public transit bills proudly show his AAA patch and Ford logo.