In Kentucky there is one person that working folks simply know as Congressman Awesome. With our depressing Congressional delegation, he is the one bresh of fresh air on the national scene. He is Congressman John Yarmuth of Kentucky's Third Congressional District in the Louisville area. He has been a godsend not only for Kentucky Democrats, but for all of those in the country who truly believe in Democratic ideals for our country. With the dangerous environment for incumbents, national Democrats need to do all they can do to help us get John Yarmuth re-elected.
(Great music Bill. Thanks - promoted by Hillbilly)
Hope you enjoy this selection of youtube presentations that support an economical and effecient Single Payer, Medicare for All healthcare system. Pass them on to your lists.
I had the opportunity to shoot video of Congressman John Conyers May 30, 2009 and he warned us that Barack Obama was back tracking on his Health Care reform commitments. John Conyers was right. It's too bad we didn't listen. I quote Congressman Conyers: "What kind of Healthcare are we going to get?" I'm here to predict you get the kind of healthcare you deserve, not the kind you ought to have, not the kind that you want, but it's all going to depend on you."
That video is after the hump
Conyers had this to say about Barack Obama: " We seem to be getting an inordinate amount of reverse advice giving." "Well, listen to Amy Goodman." She's got the tapes of him making some of the most brilliant remarks in Support of HR 676 that anybody has ever made, but he ain't making them now." Watch The video below.
Breaking the bills down, this is effectively what we'll get if either bill passes, or some combination from conference committee: unaffordable mandates to buy junk insurance, only a fraction of people covered, restrictions on access to abortions, unacceptably high costs, no bargaining power for the government, nothing kicking in until 2013 or 2014 -- more than enough time for the final bill to be used as an excuse to prevent any fixes further down the road. There's more, but you can read all that in the link above.
Call your Representatives and your Senators and tell them to kill these bills. If either of these bills pass, or some combination of them passes, we will not get another shot at true health care reform for years -- maybe never again. Thousands, indeed millions, of Americans will be dead before another chance comes. Don't let them down by refusing to kill this pretense at reform.
It's easier than you think. Every Representative and about a third of Senators are up for re-election next year. In order not to risk losing voters, they'll be nervous about doing anything they think will upset them too much. We've got them by the gonads. So all we have to do is tell the politicians who are up for re-election that they can either kill the bill and work to pass HR 676, or they can forget about money and votes. We'll support primary challengers from the left and independent challengers from the left in the general election (unless the primary challengers win, in which case we'll support them). Then we make stick to our word.
I know some of you think this is suicide, but why? The GOP is going to win precisely because voters are so sick of Democrats behaving like Republicans that they're likely to stay home in droves and not vote. They're not buying the Dems-better-than-Repubs argument anymore because Dems have spent every day since taking back power proving that to be a bald faced lie. Like it or not, we are in an ideological war that was waged by the conservative movement against the left (and the rest of America). We have to win this war, and we have to either purge the conservatives or tell them who's boss in the Democratic Party. We're not going to win it by allowing the enemy to always compromise our ranks with their moles. If we lose, so does the rest of America.
One thing the healthcare debate has shown us is that here in Kentucky we have exactly one member of our Congressional delegation, Congressman John Yarmuth known by most Progressives in the state simply as "Congressman Awesome". There are many reasons for that, but mostly because on almost every issue he has sided with Progressives and voted accordingly.
According to a post on Pennsylvania blog, House speaker Nancy Pelosi will allow a mere twenty minutes of debate on single-payer, albeit indirectly.
The debate will actually be on an amendment put forth by Anthony Weiner, Democrat of New York's 9th District, which would effectively transform the corporate giveaway that is HR 3200 into something very close to the single-payer form offered by Dennis Kucinich and John Conyers's HR 676. According to David Swanson, the debate on the Weiner amendment is being used as cover for dropping Kucinich's amendment, which would allow states to create their own single-payer health insurance systems.
This is probably our last, best chance to improve what is shaping up to be a disastrously bad bill that will force Americans into buying unaffordable insurance. Click on the House Telephone Directory link, call as many representatives as you can, and demand that they pass the Weiner amendment. This may be our only shot at getting something that will work for all Americans, instead of simply further enriching Big Insurance.
With all the arguments over Public Options and Death Panels one solid truth is constantly overlooked. Single-Payer is the best option to fix the healthcare crisis in America. Although it is not the most profitable that is what makes it the best option for the most Americans. That is because private insurance has failed on many levels.
With all the crazed lunatic "tea-baggers" storming townhall meetings to protest "government-run healthcare", one must wonder about their intelligence level as well as their eternal souls, if one believes in such things. The truth is that what is being proposed by Democrats in Congress and President Obama is far from "government-run". A true government-run system is called single-payer and if Democrats had any guts and Republicans weren't so beholden to Big Insurance it would be the system being debated now, and eventually enacted.
Is it any wonder Republicans are angry about Health Care Reform. I would be to if I believed the B.S. Republican Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-2) is spewing when he says, "One nonpartisan analyst predicts that 114 million Americans will lose their coverage under H.R. 3200." That's a quote from a letter I received from Congressman Brett Guthrie (KY-2) after going to his website, filling out a Health Care questionnaire and later calling his office and politely expressing my views on Health Care. When I read the letter I couldn't believe my eyes. My, my Congressman you ain't gonna be happy when Single Payer is debated on the House floor.
When Congressman Brett Guthrie speaks of, one nonpartisan analyst, he is speaking of the Lewin Group. Well guess who owns the Lewin Group? UnitedHealth Group. Now ain't that a joke.
Congressman John Yarmuth took his position on Health Care when he co-sponsored HR 676 (Single Payer Health Care) and those of us that believe "Single Payer" is the only way to go applaud him for standing up against the Insurance Lobby. So where is his support from the Kentucky Democratic Party when it comes to real Health Care Reform? Is the Kentucky Democratic Party with John Yarmuth or against him? Will they leave him to hang out to dry on this issue or will they rally around him and demand real Health Care Reform? I believe it's time to ask every elected Kentucky Democrat and those seeking office exactly where they stand on Real Health Care Reform. What do you think?
(Thanks a million for the post - promoted by Hillbilly)
Thursday night I was channel surfing and came across the meeting of the Ways & Means Committee on C-Span 3. I was just going to watch long enough to see what subject it was when I heard them talking about the healthcare bill. I immediately sat down and started to watch more intently.
It didn't take long to realize that there were very different intentions at the meeting. The Democrats wanted to pass legislation that would work for the majority of Americans, even if it didn't quite work as well for the HMO, insurance companies.
Republicans hoped to amend the legislation so that insurance companies would make even more money and there would be less, or no healthcare reform.
Over the next several days we hope to post the Kentucky Democratic U.S. Senatorial Candidates position on HR 676 (Single Payer Health Care). Our goal here is not to criticize the candidates, but to inform you so you can make a decision in the Kentucky Democratic U.S. Senatorial Primary based on facts. Today we have Kentucky Democratic U.S. Senatorial Candidate Darlene Price's position on Single Payer Health Care. Our email correspondence is as follows:
I tuned into CSPAN 3 to watch the Live Stream video of the House single payer hearing. When the hearing had to temporarily adjourn for members to cast 3 votes on the House floor CSPAN 3 inserted a video of Betsy McCaughey, PhD. of the conservative Manhattan Institute speaking about the evils of single payer. When CSPAN 3 retuned to the single payer hearing, the hearing was already in progress. What kind of coverage is this? Of course the video of the hearing is up now without Betsy McCaughey, PhD. of the conservative Manhattan Institute. Kind of like it never happened, but it did and I have the video to prove it. It appears to me CSPAN 3 has taken sides on this issue and what they did is very questionable. Dennis Kucinich kind of evened things out when set Dr. David Gratzer, Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow, straight during the hearing and that video is below, if CSPAN 3 doesn't make me take it down. The video of Dennis Kucinich is after the hump.
The Health, Employment, Labor, and Pensions Subcommittee of the House Education & Labor Committee will hold a hearing titled “Examining the Single Payer Health Care Option” this Wednesday, June 10th at 10:30 am at the 2175 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C. Will C-SPAN cover it or cover it up? My guess is they won't televise it unless they receive thousands of calls, so give them a call at (202) 737-3220 and tell them what you think.
Congressman John Yarmuth co-sponsor of HR 676, single payer healthcare, introduced Congressman John Conyers , click here to view the video, and Congressman Conyers let it all hang out and with his soft unassuming voice and mannerisms exposing the maneuvering by the Whitehouse, Nancy Pelosi and members of Congress to kill HR 676, single payer healthcare. Click here to view the video.
Friday And Saturday Evening Check Your Local Listings. Why single-payer health care isn't among the health-care reform plans under consideration. Guests include Donna Smith (California Nurses Association), Dr. Sidney Wolfe (Public Citizen) and Dr. David Himmelstein (Physicians for a National Health Program).
