Health

Kucinich Denounces Health Care Sell-Out by Pelosi and the House Dems

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Under the misleading title of “Health Care Reform” the Obama Administration and Congressional Democrats have given the insurance companies the biggest boost in history, and screwed ordinary Americans. Congressman Dennis Kucinich has the courage to explain why. Here, in full, are Kucinich’s explanation from his official website and below it an article from The Raw Story that explains his position further. Kucinich: Why I Voted NO

Washington, Nov 7 –
After voting against H.R. 3962 – Affordable Health Care for America Act, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today made the following statement:

“We have been led to believe that we must make our health care choices only within the current structure of a predatory, for-profit insurance system which makes money not providing health care. We cannot fault the insurance companies for being what they are.

Health

Reactions to the House Victory

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I am finding I go first these days to Open Left. In a post by Adam Green:
Tonight was the opposite of a “bold progressive” night. With a huge majority in the House, a vote with only 219 Dems should have been because progressives pushed this bill to the limit. Instead, it was watered-down, watered-down, watered-down. And still, only 219 Dems. This is why we fight.

Health

Swine Flu: Fact Versus Fantasy

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The twenty-something son of good friends of mine had some scary symptoms with swine flu last week and recovered. My son at college had a mild go of flu, most likely the H1N1. How worried should we be and where’s the best advice? Swine flu is estimated to have killed 800 people in the US already. This is much less than the 36,000 who are said to die of the flu every winter in the US, so is there little to worry about?

Health

Obama’s Political Troubles, and Ours

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A story is being circulated to explain Obama’s political difficulties, especially the losses in Virginia, New Jersey, and New York. According to this story, Obama ran an idealistic campaign, but then encountered the practical difficulties of governing, thereby disillusioning many “independents,” and leaving the way open for the Republican scoundrels to attack him. Like most political spins, this one implicitly portrays “idealists” as naïve, unpractical, and irrelevant. It’s important, therefore, to have a counter-narrative, especially since it also has the merit of being true. It was, broadly speaking, a center-left politics that underlay the extraordinary enthusiasm of the Obama campaigns.

Health

Practical loving ways to heal through chronic illness

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Tikkun author Dr. Abby Caplin sent me a link to her new blog, Permission to Heal, a while back but I haven’t managed to take a look until now. I found it a sweet read. She started off by saying:
Welcome! This blog is for people living with chronic illness, who might be up in the middle of the night, or down in the middle of the day. I hope this blog will give you hope, ideas and confidence so you can start to feel better soon!

Health

Stop Joe! Stop Lieberman From Undermining Health Care

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From the Progressive Change Campaign Committee today:
You may have heard the news. Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT) is threatening to help Republicans block a vote on health care reform if the bill includes a public health insurance option. But when reporters asked Lieberman if he’d be willing to lose his powerful committee chairmanship as a consequence, he said: “Oh, God no.” What’s our answer? Hell yeah!

Health

Please Joe, Say It Ain't So!

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Senator Joe Lieberman announced today that he will not support a health care bill that includes a public option. According to the Wall Street Journal, Liberman said “I think that a lot of people may think that the public option is free. It’s not. It’s going to cost the taxpayers and people that have health insurance now, and if it doesn’t, it’s going to add terribly to our national debt.” While I’m deeply disappointed in Joe, I’m not surprised.

Health

Why is the Health Reform Start Date 2013?

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I posted an action diary yesterday morning telling readers how they can become involved in the fight to pass a public option (with links). I encourage my readers to pressure Harry Reid to pass a public option. Deborah Phelan asked a great question in the comment thread that merits a complete response. She asks:
One other issue I think needs addressing in this is why none of this legislation (correct me if I’m wrong) is going into effect until 2013….. That is 4 years away!

Health

Obama's Health Plan Re-examined

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Everyone knows that a meal in an expensive restaurant will probably taste better than a meal in a cheap restaurant, that a $5000 sofa will probably look better than a $500 sofa, or that a $500,000 house will probably be in a better location and be better built than a $50,000 house. Why is it then that Obama’s supporters are so convinced that cheaper health care will be better health care? There are at least four reasons to question their assumption. First, medicine is not a hard science like physics or chemistry. It has a hard science dimension, but it is also a clinical practice, more akin to art in some ways than science.