Why are Democrats voting yes on Health Care Reform?

As found at VASS

Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Majority Leader Harry Reid, Rep. Kucinich, Senator Gillibrand, oh the list could go on and on. What reason do they all have in common to vote yes?



It seems that not much has changed since 1940.

If you can't laugh you'll wind up crying.

C-SPAN Health Care Reform - would you watch?

While not exactly being entertaining television, C-SPAN is a network all the same. So I thought to include this, but you can respond at the more politically oriented VASS if you prefer.

The questions at hand are transparency, health care, and the word of the President. All of these are issues that cause the politically tunnel-visioned to fume. But the issues still remain.

President Obama campaigned on a pledge to pass Health Care Reform, and to do so while the public was watching on C-SPAN. Now, there is a final Bill being worked on and Bill Lamb, CEO of C-SPAN, has requested to place the entire debate on the final Bill live on television.

"C-SPAN CEO Brian Lamb wrote [in part], ``Now that the process moves to the critical stage of reconciliation between the chambers, we respectfully request that you allow the public full access, through television, to legislation that will affect the lives of every single American."

The response from the White House has been



I don't feel that was an answer. In fact I beleive that at 1:00 - 1:12 on the video the reporter was threatened.

So the questions come down to these 2 things:

Has the Obama Administration lived up to it's promise of transparency?

If C-SPAN was allowed to provide live coverage (assuming Nancy pelosi and Harry Reid took the Bill from closed door meetings) would you watch it?

Top quotes of 2009

The annual Yale Book of Quotations list has come out and it is a revealing look at America in 2009. The top 10 quotes of the year, as selected by Yale, cover health care, advertising, waterboarding, a heroic action, a blast of nonsense, and a shock to the nation among it's topics.

The top quote as selected by Yale associate librarian Fred Shapiro is not one I would have selected. It may be one of the least known quote among the list. But at Yale it tops the list because

"That struck me as embodying the friction and polarization on the role of government." - Fed Shapiro

The number 1 quote is:

"Keep your government hands off my Medicare." Speaker at health care reform town hall meeting in Simpsonville, S.C., commenting on the government-created Medicare program, quoted by The Washington Post on July 28

I can understand the thought behind the quote, and I agree with it. But it still does not ring number 1 to me.

I would likely select the nuber 4 choice as the top of the list:

"You lie!" Wilson's shouted retort to Obama's address before a joint session of Congress on Sept. 9

Not only because it is a first to my knowledge, and an affront to the Office of the Presidency, but because it turns out it was true. Still it was an act that should never have occured, the apology that followed seemed sincere enough.

Number 3 on the list is one that is so popular it reminds me of a catchphrase that defined the 80's (Where's the beef?):

"There's an app for that." Apple's advertising slogan for the iPhone

A quote from early on in the year was perhaps the bravest and most heroic of quote all year:

"We're going to be in the Hudson." Captain Chesley "Sully" Sullenberger, responding to air traffic controllers asking on which runway he preferred to land US Airways Flight 1549 on Jan. 15 before he landed in the Hudson River.

And of course no one can forget the gaffe of President Obama that revealed an insensitivity and distrust of authority that honestly seems to abide in all people of color in this nation - normally with reason:

"The Cambridge police acted stupidly." Obama, commenting on a white police officer's arrest of black scholar Henry Louis Gates Jr. at his home in Cambridge, Mass., at a news conference July 22

The rest of the quotes really don't seem that big to me. They are either too obscure to have been widely known (Jesse Ventura's quote), or just so damn stupid it isn't worth repeating (Kanye West).

If I had to pick a couple more top quotes I might go with

"I believe Michael was murdered, I felt that from the start. Not just one person was involved, rather it was a conspiracy of people." - Latoya Jackson on the death of her brother Michael, Jul 13, 2009. She turned out to be at least partially right.

"The officer leaned (in), was straddling over him and pointed his gun directly into the backside and shot (Grant)." - Attorney John Burris describing the Jan 1, 2009 murder of Oscar Grant by then-BART officer Johannes Meserhle. The trial of the case has been delayed 1 year.

"What good is reading the bill if it’s a thousand pages and you don’t have two days and two lawyers to find out what it means after you read the bill?" - House Judiciary Chairman John Conyers (D-Mich.), July 27 2009. Perhaps the clearest explaination why Government and the economy is screwed up.

Those are some of my top quotes of 2009. What would you pick as the top quote to define the year?

Sen. Schumer responds to Michael Vass - repost from Mvass.com

***Due to the critical nature of this proposal, and how it will affect every American, I felt it important to post this here as well as at my political blog, VASS***

On August 11, 2009 I sent email and written letters to Senator Gillibrand, Senator Schumer, Representative Hinchey, and President Obama about the proposed Health Care Reform Bill currently in Congress. To date there has been only 1 response, from Senator Charles Schumer.

The entire email from Senator Schumer can be seen in the comments section of the post Asking Sen. Gillibrand, Sen. Schumer, Rep. Hinchey about the Healthcare Bill. This post is a commentary on the response I have received compared to what I asked.

First I want to thank Senator Schumer for responding. On an issue that is so critical to the nation, and so hotly debated, information is critical. I am happy to be able to share his response with all my readers, and the constituents of New York State that Sen. Schumer represents.

As to what I asked Sen. Schumer, I detailed 22 questions that I have found to be among the top questions Americans have about the health Care Reform and how it will affect American lives. Senator Schumer provided me what I believe is a form letter response. That response did not answer even the most simple question I asked,

“Have you personally read and understood all 1000+ pages of the proposed Health Care Reform Bill?”

Worse, the letter sent to me by Sen. Schumer assumes I support the Health Care Reform being proposed, and the public option.

“Thank you for contacting me and expressing your support for increasing access and coverage in health care reform.”

To be clear, I took a neutral stance in my letter asking that he provide answers to questions only.

Sen. Schumer further stated

“I also strongly support the establishment of a public health insurance option which would create a not-for-profit insurance plan, started by the government, which would compete on a level playing field with existing private health insurance plans. Because the public health insurance option would be not-for-profit, it would help to lower premiums and, therefore, exert downward pressure on the premiums of existing insurance plans. This change is pro-consumer because it adds competition to insurance markets, allowing New Yorkers and all Americans one more choice of affordable and comprehensive health insurance.”

It’s a nice pat response. But it does not address the question of why alternatives are not on the table. Like increasing competition by allowing Americans to pick ANY insurance plan in the nation and not just those in their state. Or the question of why any employer would continue to pay increased costs to maintain a healthcare plan (that workers may be happy with) when they can increase funds by dropping healthcare and forcing workers onto the Government plan (which they may not like or want). Or other questions that I directly asked about

“2) Does the current Health Care Reform Bill (HCRB) require any Americans to switch existing coverage to a Government plan? If so how many Americans are estimated to be required to change and where does that estimate come from?

7) Is there a punitive cost to the HCRB? To clarify, it has been stated that those electing not to take the Government plan will incur a 2.5% penalty assessed in their taxes. Is that correct? Is there any additional cost beyond that?

11) Will the American Government have access to private patient information that is currently restricted by law from the Government database?

12) What incentive will private insurers (who employ tens of thousands of Americans) have to compete with a Government plan that is paid for by taxpayers and thus can be run at an annual loss?
15) Will Congress and/or any elected official be mandated to be covered by the exact same Government program as the general public? If not why?

19) Why is there a need to pass the HCRB before the 4th quarter? Already we have seen that immediate passage of the Obama Stimulus package created unforeseen problems, as one example. Why is taking more time to review all aspects of the 1100 page Bill, and it’s most likely effects, counter-productive to the American public?

21) How many of the estimated 47 million people (roughly 12% of all Americans) without healthcare will remain without coverage based on the HCRB, if any?”

Notice that not one of my questions, and there are more, is answered. Not one of the issues that Americans across the globe have raised is covered. Not one reason other than Sen. Schumer says it’s a good idea and that he is working hard is provided.

Now I will not make a conclusion about the response of Sen. Schumer, beyond what observations I have already made. I leave that to you my reader.

Is his response to my 22 questions good enough? Is his answer enough of a reason for you to support the Health Care Reform? Are your questions answered?

I do not know if, or when, any other elected official will respond to my 22 questions on Health Care Reform. I do know that when the mid-term elections of 2010 come up, I will make sure that the several hundred thousand voting Americans that read my posts are reminded of the verbatim response (or lack thereof) our elected officials felt was worthy of giving the public.

In addition, I will be sending another letter to Sen. Schumer. In that letter, which I will provide to my readers on this blog, I will remind the Senator that he failed to address a single concern I mentioned. And that as a voting New York State resident, as well as member of the press, I am deserving of a bit more than what seems to be a form letter that fails to provide any direct or indirect information on one of the admittedly most important issues of our day.

Perhaps Sen. Schumer will respond better on the second try. In addition, I will attempt to contact the Senator via phone.

More as I have details.