Evolution of Consciousness

Congressman Mike Thompson attended a business luncheon in Fort Bragg a week ago Friday. About twenty healthcare activists stood outside with placards, encouraging drivers to honk for Single Payer. Christina Aanestad, from KZYX radio, covered the event. I happened to catch her report the following Tuesday.

Mike Thompson’s basic response to the question of why he refuses to support Single Payer was that there are just too many Americans out there who love their health insurance and are terrified of change. Huh? Who are these people? Where are they? (Dick Cheney’s man-sized safe comes to mind.) The truth is they don’t exist, at least not in the vast numbers that Mike is suggesting. This inane excuse is nothing more than a sound bite cooked up by the insurance industry.

Another talking point the spinmeisters came up with was the phrase “quality, affordable health care.” It doesn’t really mean anything, but they found, through focus groups, that some voters salivate when they hear these words. So any time you hear a politician or pundit use the phrase “quality, affordable health care” you know they are on the industry payroll.

They have also co-opted the term “universal healthcare.” It used to mean everyone is covered, but the industry (and their shills) now use it to mean that government will force everyone to buy health insurance from the for-profit outfits that have wrought this crisis.

Note to Mike: when people use the term “crisis,” that means something is wrong. Polls in the real world, where many of us live, indicate a solid majority (more than 60%) of Americans support Single Payer, with a similar percentage of physicians and nurses concurring.

Congressman Mike, on the other hand, dismissed the twenty folks that appeared in the middle of a workday to stand along Highway One promoting healthcare for all. He said something like, “Look, there’s only twenty people out there, and the numbers go way down from there.” (Sweet Jesus, give me the strength….)

Petra was right, Mike Thompson is an embarrassment. As Mike rambled on, he started doin’ that pseudo folksy shtick that Republicans “flat out” perfected during the Bush era, where they start droppin’ their g’s (providin’, payin’). Apparently, this makes voters want to have a beer with you. It is all so stupid it makes you want to cry. 

With Democrats like this who needs Republicans?

It’s time to give Mike an ultimatum: either co-sponsor HR 676 (Single Payer) or lose our vote. That’s all the leverage we have with this guy. He’s coming up for re-election next year, and the medical industrial complex is already busy featherin’ his nest (see opensecrets.org). Twelve years of non-representation is enough.

Nancy Pelosi says, “Over and over again, we hear single payer, single payer, single payer. Well, it’s not going to be a single payer.”

How do you like that? Nancy’s tired of hearing what the people want.

It sounds to me like Nancy’s getting a little too complacent. As Republicans drift further into irrelevance, Democrats, spinelessly filling the void, are beginning to feel invincible. What we’re left with is Republican Lite: Compassionate Corruption.

Max Baucus, the Democratic senator given charge of healthcare reform, pounds his gavel and calls for the police to arrest citizens asking why single payer remains absent from the discussion. It’s a good question: Why is the best answer to the healthcare crisis being completely ignored? Most politicians won’t tell you the real answer, which is money. They are bought, and they do as their masters tell them. Master says, “keep single payer off the table,” and they do it. Max, like our very own Representative Mike Thompson, has been well greased by the health/insurance industry.

The parable of the financial meltdown is illuminating. Wall Street implodes in unregulated greed. Government bails out Wall Street with taxpayer money. Wall Street uses that money for retreats and bonuses (“rewarding excellence”), and hands some of it back to government. Government takes the bribe and continues legislating on Wall Street’s behalf.

Somebody’s getting screwed (see mirror).

We need to remove money from politics. Let’s outlaw all political contributions, period. Public servants earn a salary and that’s it, no more bribery. While we’re at it, let’s scale back some of their perks (remember, we’re supposed to be the boss here). For instance, I propose that public servants receive the exact same healthcare package that any newborn gets in this country (currently, bubkes). If this were the case, healthcare would get reformed in a hurry.

Now the reason politicians feel compelled to raise endless amounts of money (besides greed and corruption) is to finance their campaign commercials. The 30-second ad has become the essential campaign tool for the television age. The more money you have, the more ads you can run, the better your chances of winning. These short ads are marketing pieces (commercials), usually negative, whose primary purpose is to manipulate, not inform. We need to outlaw all these campaign commercials, which only serve to elevate the candidate with the most money and the least scruples.

Instead, media outlets should be required to donate a certain amount of airtime during campaign season to intelligent political debate, where all candidates can openly discuss the issues. This way, any competent citizen could run for office, regardless of wealth, and have an equal chance at winning. Money should not be the mitigating factor in politics.

If we let greed continue to run things in this country, I don’t think we are long for this world. Greed is selfish in nature. Money has no conscience. The “invisible hand of the market” does not consider consequences beyond profit.

We can do better. We need to do better.

Healthcare activists flexed a little muscle last week, and witnessed some progress. 

When single-payer advocates realized they were not being represented at the White House “Health Summit,” they protested in strong enough numbers to gain a couple last-minute invitations for Representative John Conyers (lead sponsor of HR 676) and Dr. Oliver Fein (president of Physicians for a National Health Program). Thus, after being told by the powers that be in Washington that single-payer was completely “off the table,” activists ignored that ridiculous edict and managed to get a couple feet in the door. By insisting on it. In large numbers.

Recent breakthroughs also occurred last week on the justice front. After repeatedly ignoring congressional subpoenas over the past few years, ex-Bushists Karl Rove and Harriet Miers finally agreed to testify before the House Judiciary Committee. This investigation will focus on the politically-motivated firings of U.S. attorneys and prosecution of Alabama Governor Don Siegelman. Additionally, the Obama Administration released some of the secret Justice Department memos that provided spurious legal cover for the Bush Administration to disregard Constitutional and international law. This was followed by a spirited debate in the Senate on a proposed Bush Truth Commission (over 40,000 signatures were quickly gathered online, demonstrating strong public support for such an investigation — a week later that number has grown to 75,000).

And so it begins. The great uprising of the people in this country. Frederick Douglass once observed, “Power concedes nothing without a demand. It never did and it never will.” This, of course, is still true today; therefore, I encourage everyone to become involved in your government. Don’t let them trash this planet in your name. This is a time of great opportunity, but we must step into it together. Humans need to evolve quickly, else we shall all perish. Notice how quickly the outmoded ideas are falling away. It is time to awaken to our higher destiny.

If you have access to the Internet, it is easy to become involved. There are many websites to help keep you informed and that make it easy to communicate your thoughts and wishes to Congress and the White House. If you have a phone, use it. Call or write often. Get into the habit of doing it whenever the impulse strikes. If you can get to the library, there are good books on whatever subjects interest you. The important thing is to become involved. Educate yourself, then make yourself heard. Speak up. Let them know you’re watching!

Healthcare Watch: HR 676 (single-payer for all Americans) now has 64 cosponsors. Mike Thompson (CA First District) is still missing from that list.

A look at the “Health Care” section of the “Open for Questions” feature at change.gov reveals a powerful desire from American citizens for single-payer healthcare. An overwhelming majority of the comments on healthcare, numbering in the thousands, asked for essentially the same thing: single-payer (or HR 676). The ratio of yes/no votes on these comments ran about 20 to 1 for single payer. This indicates that the disinformation machine from the insurance/pharma industries is losing its grip on the public. I credit the movie “Sicko” for much of this awareness (if you have not seen “Sicko,” now is a good time). 

I think we are on the cusp of a great battle, essentially between the ascendant plutocracy (governance by the wealthy) and that silly old dream of democracy (governance by the people), and I see the healthcare crisis as representative of this larger struggle. 

For more than seventy years, base money interests (currently in the guise of health insurance and big pharma) have prevented us from adopting the vastly superior single-payer system. The rest of the world has benefitted from this simple concept, but America has not. We lag behind — paying more, getting less, becoming sicker — so a greedy few can continue enriching themselves at the expense of the many others. It’s been an obscene development in this country, and is a direct result of the ideology that puts profit before people.

The majority of American people (and physicians) want single-payer but an extremely wealthy, self-interested minority does not, and thus far they have managed to have their way, because big dollars mean big influence in government. Many Americans have suffered, and many have died, as a result. The for-profit “health” industry continues pumping vast sums from their ill-gotten gains into government, and HR 676 continues to languish — stuck “in committee” — in the House of Representatives.

For those of you in California’s First Congressional District, you should know that your representative, Mike Thompson, has not yet co-sponsored HR 676 (93 reps have, and he’s had years to do it). A quick look at his campaign finances (opensecrets.org) reveals that the “health” industry was a major contributor to his recent re-election, which most likely explains Mike’s reticence to support HR 676. PACs usually have candidates sign “position papers” before the money passes hands, and it is easy to imagine this one saying something like, “I will not support the single-payer solution.” This all-too-common example of concentrated wealth wielding disproportionate influence in government is probably the single greatest impediment to true democracy in this country, and we need to eradicate it from our system.

Tell your representatives (House and Senate) to support HR 676. Tell Obama the same thing (change.gov). Speak up. Join the millions who are trying to turn this ship around. It will take a lot of voices to overwhelm the money interests, but the numbers are in our favor — we only have to use them. 

Let’s take this country back.

Single Payer Now!

Healthcare in America is headed for reform, but the quality of it will depend on you.

Americans currently pay the most for their healthcare, by far, but receive inferior coverage and service. Why? Because the profit motive sits between us and our providers. The medical ethos in this country has become “first, maximize thy profit.” Corporate greed must be removed from our healthcare, and adopting single payer is the best way to do it.

Health insurers and big pharma do not want the gravy train to end. They have money, lobbyists, and clout. So, unless a lot of us insist on single payer, we won’t get it. It’s as simple as that.  

The windows of opportunity for healthcare reform don’t come around all that often. FDR made initial attempts in the 30s, Harry Truman tried in the 40s. Lyndon Johnson managed to push Medicare through for seniors in 65. Nixon tried in 74, the Clintons in 93. Special interests usually kill the effort. The years go by, and more Americans suffer and die, needlessly (while others get richer). Now, we have another chance.

Everyone has three congresspersons: one representative and two senators. Rattle their cages! Tell them you want single payer healthcare in this country, now. Go to the website change.gov and send Obama the same message. If enough of us speak up for single payer, right now, I think we have a good chance at it.

For more information…

• Physicians for a National Health Program
• Ralph Nader on Single Payer