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Today I had planned on writing what I hoped would be my last post on the health care reform bill. Instead I am going to link to the great blog "Birds On A Wire" because Paula, who writes this blog, said everything I had intended to say; and she says it more eloquently. I will just make a few additional comments to her post.
The Republicans are furiously trying to stop this bill by any means available to them. They demagogue the bill with lies and distortions and are very successful in spreading their misinformation. People don't like the bill now because the party of NO has convinced them that it will increase the deficit astronomically, is too big and complicated, the government will be taking over your health care, and it has death panels. All of which are blatant lies. Oh yes, don't forget abortion. The Republicans have also misstated the claim that the government will pay for abortions if this bill is enacted. No matter how many times it is refuted many people only hear the negative drum beat.
In spite of polls showing that the Republicans have succeeded in getting people to turn away from supporting the bill, when those same people are asked if they support the things in the bill (like insuring everyone, reducing costs, providing preventative health care, and reigning in the insurance companies) they are overwhelmingly for it.
I don't know how much good it will do, but it can't hurt to start putting the pressure on your representatives to vote for the bill. This is especially important if your representative is a Blue Dog Democrat. So keep on making those telephone calls and writing those letters to them. It's crunch time.
Now please click on the link and get the facts on this piece of legislation.
http://www.birdsonawireblog.com/1/post/2010/03/perhaps-the-last-word-on-health-care-reform.html#comments
A caveat: The bill is large and complicated, but if you read the bill you find that the number of pages are due to the legal explanations ad infinitum. And the complicated issues can be reduced to nine pages.
11 comments:
Thanks for the ref, Darlene! I wish I could claim credit for the eloquence, but you'll have to applaud The New York Times editorial team for that. This ran in the online version of the NYT Saturday and Sunday. It was so well put together, I decided to reprint in toto, rather than paraphrase or offer highlights.
I urge everyone interested in health care reform to call, write or email their Congressional representative TODAY! Use some of the arguments presented in this editorial, if you need to. As the Times pointed out, the alternative to health care reform is unthinkable.
Thanks!!!! My Congressman is for it and my Senators are split!!! And the one who is anti is a retiring old fart like Jim Bunning of Kentucky and doesn't give a damn.
Blogger ate my comment; so trying again. It is frustrating. I also wrote about it again set to go in two days. Humans are so easily manipulated to go against their own best interests.
*Paula - No matter who wrote the piece, it was well worth referencing.
*Kay Dennison - Send the 'old fart' a message anyhow, Kay. Let him know history will remember him.
*Rain - I hate it when Blogger does that. I wish I had the courage to start over with a different blog. Sorry it happened to you. Your comments are always so good.
Good post, as always!
You have done so much to clarify the health care issue for me, and I appreciate it.
We have got to have this!
We have Medicare, but what about our kids and grandkids? If they can't thrive, what's the point of our being OK?
We hear about your Health Reforms here. I must say we're all quite bemused. Since social medicine works in so many other countries why is it such a problem in the US? Our health system in Australia is far from perfect, but I've had three operations, paying for Hospital Cover Only( I pay my own dentistry etc)and I've always felt secure and not out of pocket! I know people who can't afford insurance have to wait sometimes, but no-one becomes bankrupt! I gather the US problem is political. Well, sometimes I don't think democracy works!
We've got to have this health care reform!! Thanks for this post Darlene...it's always helpful to have things clarified. ~Joy
*Looking to the Stars - Thank you.
*Hattie - My children and grandchildren are the reason that I get on my soapbox on this issue. My daughter who is out of work had to give up her medication when she lost her insurance because it costs $450 a month.
*Rinkly Rimes - You are right. It's political. The Republican philosophy is they only want government to pay for defense and social issues are best left to the individuals. Of course our representatives are in the pocket of the insurance and pharmaceutical industries who would stand to lose a lot if we had the single payer system. So it's also money.
+Joy Des Jardins - You are welcome. Yes, even though it's not the best bill it is a start and must pass.
*daniel - Thank you for your visit.
I'm sorry; I must be dense, but I don't understand what you are saying. Is it a problem with translation or are you having a hard time commenting on my blog?
I use Blogger and have done nothing to my comment section. Perhaps Blogger is at fault.
Darlene I was thinking about you while reading an article. You are upset about people not understanding what is going on with health care or being duped. I think it will get worse in the future. The Texas Board of Education oversees textbooks sold in their state but also to many other states (47) and to the home school children, millions of kids. The board is now made up of super conservative Republicans Christian extremists like Peter Marshall, a Massachusetts-based preacher who has argued that California wildfires and Hurricane Katrina were God's punishment for tolerating gays. Another is David Barton, former vice chairman of the Texas Republican Party; has a bachelor's degree in religious education from Oral Roberts University; argues that the principle of separation between church and state is a myth. And Barbara Cargill, self-described ultra-conservative Republican who earned her undergraduate degree at Baylor University, the private Baptist college at Waco, has contradicted the world's leading astronomers with her own observation, "The universe is not expanding." The rest are of the same caliber.
Associated Press says: “A far-right faction of the Texas State Board of Education succeeded Friday in injecting conservative ideals into social studies, history and economics lessons that will be taught to millions of students for the next decade. Teachers in Texas will be required to cover the Judeo-Christian influences of the nation’s Founding Fathers, but not highlight the philosophical rationale for the separation of church and state.” They want public school students to better grasp an appreciation of the contributions of Phyllis Schlafly, the Contract with America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority and the National Rifle Association, Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich and William F. Buckley, Jr. but have deleted references to Albert Einstein and Thomas Edison. Also removed most of Thomas Jefferson’s writings as too secular. The press has said nothing about it. While everybody is concerned about health care the Texas Board of Education is rewriting history and science to reflect the far-right agenda. They won the curriculum change to reflect their views and no one has noticed. I think the future looks pretty dim.
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