SO MANY DEMOCRATS INCLUDING MY HYPOCRITICAL CALIFORNIAN GOVERNOR ARE VOCIFEROUSLY ANTI HEALTHCARE FOR ALL - THIS ODDLY ENOUGH INCLUDES THE UNIONS IN MY STATE. NURSES ARE PASSIONATELY FOR IT - NONE OF MY SENATORS OR REPS WILL PUBLICLY STATE THEIR SUPPORT. I HAVE SAT IN THE OFFICES OF ALL OF THEM CONFRONTING THEM WITH THE VARIOUS HARDCORE FACTS ONLY TO CONSISTENTLY BE TURNED AWAY WITH SOME ABSURD REASONING.
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT ALL OF THEM ARE ON THE TAKE FROM THE INSURANCE LOBBIES?
THIS IS A CRISIS SITUATION - AMERICANS NEED TO STOP PAYING THOSE ABSURD BILLS AND DEMAND TO HAVE WHAT THE POPULATION OF EVERY MAJOR EUROPEAN COUNTRY ALREADY HAS.
We have had Kaiser Permanente since 1975 and it saved our daughter’s life! It is also not-for-profit and should be used as a guide for single payer universal healthcare in the USA. There is NO VALID REASON to put profits ahead of saving lives! Shut down the criminal for profit healthcare industries and insurance companies!
This article should fuel a much-needed conversation.
Hakeem Jeffries, currently the leader of the House Democrats, opposes universal healthcare, because he's a notable recipient of HELL Corp casg.
When Dems win in November, he's the assumed Speaker of the House, who gets to decide which bills are allowed to come to the floor of the House for debate.
On Saturday he said he doesn't support "Medicare for All." That is actually just a name. It won't be "Medicare"--which is still limited by provisions that were written back in the 1960s when medical care options were more limited than today. The operational part is "For All."
Tricksters will raise all kinds of spurious objections. Thanks to Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill last July, cutting healthcare spending to give billionaires *more* taxcuts, many people will lose coverage. Hospitals will lose funding, and rural hospitals will close because all hospitals were already struggling. People will still need care, so they end up in emergency rooms which is much more expensive and not really a solution unless your problem is something very minor. (A broken bone can be diagnosed, but for treatment you'll still need to see an orthopedist and possibly a surgeon.)
Our whole system could come crashing down after the cuts kick in big time in January. That's because it's all interconnected.
I'm on "Medicare for All" through my husband, a military retiree. I have Medicare coverage, and TRICARE. It has been very satisfactory. It's not profit-oriented.
The astronomical billions we WASTE through the Pentagon could easily pay for a "M4A" type program.
We have to put so much pressure on Hakeem Jeffries that he sells out his Very Generous Donors, the HELL Corporations. Or, we drive him out. I'm sure he's popular in his district because they don't know who he is under the folksy charm.
If free health care works in every developed nation, that tells you how backward the US is, along with silly guns as a freedom, I'd say change the behavior to accommodate the breath of life.
Abdul has this on his platform free health care as a given right.
Hello everyone in Alberta, oh and Saskatchewan - take note of this and please move Danielle Smith out of office, and also Scott Moe of SK. They’re moving hard and fast on privatising health care. Also, check out Andy Sytsema’s diagram of how she’s spending a whack load of money, top loading management at AHS, with no care, and telling us public health care is not sustainable because it’s too expensive, for the province with record oil returns last year. Yet she still posted a $9 BILLION deficit! Think people of Alberta! How does this make sense?! Fire the vile, evil, amoral, lying bitch out of here! I do not HATE. But in her case, I’m thinking of making an exception! LIVID!! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🇨🇦
"In this society, a single murder by gun is illegal, but mass murder by pen is just increasing shareholder value." Read this sentence and came here to share these exact lyrics! Great minds and all.
It will be interesting to see if a party that has such contempt for the positions of its' own base can win elections. Republicans are going to have their own problems, what with the spiraling cost of living and all, but it's rare to have them come out and proclaim how much they despise large parts of their voter base. I think the Dems are absolutely doomed this fall, unless the party leadership has a Road to Damascus moment, and I don't think they will.
As far as removing Republican power structures, I think that ship has already sailed. Unless somebody can come up with a way to totally remake the courts, the media, the military and almost all law enforcement. It's going to take generations to undo Project 2025, if it ever can be done without civil war, which I doubt.
Suki, you do not understand the structure of American federal governance. The Speaker of the House controls the legislation that can be introduced, debated, and voted on. If you dream of any progress, you must come down to the rough and tumble arena of politics long enough to understand who opposes progress and how much power they have.
When the Democrats win in November, Jeffries will be the conventional choice for Speaker. The Dems in particular like "orderly" rather than a debate on the merits.
Jeffries has announced his opposition to a national healthcare plan. His big donors (HELL Corporations) draw down big salaries based in denying health care to people who need it (and who have paid "insurance" for it). Jeffries wants to preserve the HELL Corps profits.
If you don't want to spend critical time arguing with private-for-profit corporations that are thoroughly incentivized to deny you, you have to buckle up for the fight-back against ANY politician who's willing to sell you out.
With enough argument and pressure, Jeffries might even see the light.
Don't sacrifice your life just because argument isn't "nice."
Superb article Qasim! I have similar experience to you and your son, but involving my wife who became ill when we lived in the US for a year back in 1986. I live in the UK now. A national healthcare system is the mark of a civil society and the UK has led the way since 1948. Even so, the profiteers have tried their best to dismantle it over here and we see the slow creep of privatised healthcare. Hopefully the current Labour government will halt the slide.
Any politician who opposes universal healthcare should be deemed a right-wing extremist, certainly not a “ moderate”. We Americans need to demand more from our government.
There are a lot of red lines Hakeem crosses, from opposition to universal healthcare to unconditional support for Israel. These positions are at odds with 90% of the Democratic base. It's a pretty unprecedented position in American political history-the sheer contempt the party establishment has for their voters. I doubt the Dems will win this fall, but if they do, and Jefferies is elected Speaker, I bet it will be a pyrrhic victory of massive proportion, as the base won't turn up to vote again, no matter what Trump and the MAGA movement does.
That's Hakeem Jeffries you're talking about, leader of the Democratic House. When Dems win, and if he becomes Speaker, he gets to block any bill his HELL Corp donors don't like. He'll allow some "let's fix ACA" BS bill, because ACA has been instrumental in the ballooning profits of the HELL Corps.
IF you have a Democratic representative in Congress, tell them you do not want Jeffries controlling the debate for us all!
BRILIANT, POINTED, DEVASTATING.
SO MANY DEMOCRATS INCLUDING MY HYPOCRITICAL CALIFORNIAN GOVERNOR ARE VOCIFEROUSLY ANTI HEALTHCARE FOR ALL - THIS ODDLY ENOUGH INCLUDES THE UNIONS IN MY STATE. NURSES ARE PASSIONATELY FOR IT - NONE OF MY SENATORS OR REPS WILL PUBLICLY STATE THEIR SUPPORT. I HAVE SAT IN THE OFFICES OF ALL OF THEM CONFRONTING THEM WITH THE VARIOUS HARDCORE FACTS ONLY TO CONSISTENTLY BE TURNED AWAY WITH SOME ABSURD REASONING.
IS IT POSSIBLE THAT ALL OF THEM ARE ON THE TAKE FROM THE INSURANCE LOBBIES?
THIS IS A CRISIS SITUATION - AMERICANS NEED TO STOP PAYING THOSE ABSURD BILLS AND DEMAND TO HAVE WHAT THE POPULATION OF EVERY MAJOR EUROPEAN COUNTRY ALREADY HAS.
Excellent piece. I agree completely!
THAT is capitalism for you…….fuck that shit.
As my late friend Vic Sadot was fond of saying, “Any argument for insurance is a better argument for socialism.”
We have had Kaiser Permanente since 1975 and it saved our daughter’s life! It is also not-for-profit and should be used as a guide for single payer universal healthcare in the USA. There is NO VALID REASON to put profits ahead of saving lives! Shut down the criminal for profit healthcare industries and insurance companies!
I'm an R.N., and I agree. Profit health "care" insurance is where the bottom line is profit, not care.
This is interesting Qasim. Regarding United Health Care. I have a comment to make regarding this if it’s ok to message you.
This article should fuel a much-needed conversation.
Hakeem Jeffries, currently the leader of the House Democrats, opposes universal healthcare, because he's a notable recipient of HELL Corp casg.
When Dems win in November, he's the assumed Speaker of the House, who gets to decide which bills are allowed to come to the floor of the House for debate.
On Saturday he said he doesn't support "Medicare for All." That is actually just a name. It won't be "Medicare"--which is still limited by provisions that were written back in the 1960s when medical care options were more limited than today. The operational part is "For All."
Tricksters will raise all kinds of spurious objections. Thanks to Republicans' One Big Beautiful Bill last July, cutting healthcare spending to give billionaires *more* taxcuts, many people will lose coverage. Hospitals will lose funding, and rural hospitals will close because all hospitals were already struggling. People will still need care, so they end up in emergency rooms which is much more expensive and not really a solution unless your problem is something very minor. (A broken bone can be diagnosed, but for treatment you'll still need to see an orthopedist and possibly a surgeon.)
Our whole system could come crashing down after the cuts kick in big time in January. That's because it's all interconnected.
I'm on "Medicare for All" through my husband, a military retiree. I have Medicare coverage, and TRICARE. It has been very satisfactory. It's not profit-oriented.
The astronomical billions we WASTE through the Pentagon could easily pay for a "M4A" type program.
We have to put so much pressure on Hakeem Jeffries that he sells out his Very Generous Donors, the HELL Corporations. Or, we drive him out. I'm sure he's popular in his district because they don't know who he is under the folksy charm.
He’s had his chance. Time for him to go!
If free health care works in every developed nation, that tells you how backward the US is, along with silly guns as a freedom, I'd say change the behavior to accommodate the breath of life.
Abdul has this on his platform free health care as a given right.
Hello everyone in Alberta, oh and Saskatchewan - take note of this and please move Danielle Smith out of office, and also Scott Moe of SK. They’re moving hard and fast on privatising health care. Also, check out Andy Sytsema’s diagram of how she’s spending a whack load of money, top loading management at AHS, with no care, and telling us public health care is not sustainable because it’s too expensive, for the province with record oil returns last year. Yet she still posted a $9 BILLION deficit! Think people of Alberta! How does this make sense?! Fire the vile, evil, amoral, lying bitch out of here! I do not HATE. But in her case, I’m thinking of making an exception! LIVID!! 🤬🤬🤬🤬🇨🇦
🎶 “As through this world I’ve rambled
I’ve seen lots of funny men:
Some’ll rob you with a six-gun
And some with a fountain pen.”
(Woody Guthrie, “Pretty Boy Floyd”)
https://youtu.be/I4zHMjItFwA
"In this society, a single murder by gun is illegal, but mass murder by pen is just increasing shareholder value." Read this sentence and came here to share these exact lyrics! Great minds and all.
That is what is up. Even a majority of Republicans want universal healthcare.
This is because we all know somebody who's dead, undertreated or deeply broke because of companies like UHC.
ThankYou for this.
If you want Medicare for all check who’s getting money from Healthcare Insurance companies.
Hakeem Jeffries, to name the greatest obstructionist.
Hopefully you will never have to deal with an insurance company claim denied.
We will see who you’re angry with when you inevitably must deal with healthcare bills.
I don’t actually care who the Democratic Speaker is, I hope we can stop the intramural fighting amongst Dems&win.
Yes defeating removing Republican power structure IS the most important thing.
It will be interesting to see if a party that has such contempt for the positions of its' own base can win elections. Republicans are going to have their own problems, what with the spiraling cost of living and all, but it's rare to have them come out and proclaim how much they despise large parts of their voter base. I think the Dems are absolutely doomed this fall, unless the party leadership has a Road to Damascus moment, and I don't think they will.
As far as removing Republican power structures, I think that ship has already sailed. Unless somebody can come up with a way to totally remake the courts, the media, the military and almost all law enforcement. It's going to take generations to undo Project 2025, if it ever can be done without civil war, which I doubt.
Suki, you do not understand the structure of American federal governance. The Speaker of the House controls the legislation that can be introduced, debated, and voted on. If you dream of any progress, you must come down to the rough and tumble arena of politics long enough to understand who opposes progress and how much power they have.
When the Democrats win in November, Jeffries will be the conventional choice for Speaker. The Dems in particular like "orderly" rather than a debate on the merits.
Jeffries has announced his opposition to a national healthcare plan. His big donors (HELL Corporations) draw down big salaries based in denying health care to people who need it (and who have paid "insurance" for it). Jeffries wants to preserve the HELL Corps profits.
If you don't want to spend critical time arguing with private-for-profit corporations that are thoroughly incentivized to deny you, you have to buckle up for the fight-back against ANY politician who's willing to sell you out.
With enough argument and pressure, Jeffries might even see the light.
Don't sacrifice your life just because argument isn't "nice."
Ok goodbye.
I’ve lived through Newt Gingrich, Dennis Hastert, John Boehner, Paul Ryan&Nancy Pelosi. Mike Johnson.
Mitch McConnell blocked Merrick Garland for 9mos.
I turn 75 in 3 days. My tolerance for men assuming I’m stupid is now 0.
Why do you assume I’m a man? So you wouldn't have to read what I wrote?
I blocked then unblocked you. If you want to have a conversation with someone don’t start out telling them they don’t understand.
You’re correct, I did assume you were a man, because women usually must learn not to lead with that sentence. Now: Go away
Superb article Qasim! I have similar experience to you and your son, but involving my wife who became ill when we lived in the US for a year back in 1986. I live in the UK now. A national healthcare system is the mark of a civil society and the UK has led the way since 1948. Even so, the profiteers have tried their best to dismantle it over here and we see the slow creep of privatised healthcare. Hopefully the current Labour government will halt the slide.
Any politician who opposes universal healthcare should be deemed a right-wing extremist, certainly not a “ moderate”. We Americans need to demand more from our government.
There are a lot of red lines Hakeem crosses, from opposition to universal healthcare to unconditional support for Israel. These positions are at odds with 90% of the Democratic base. It's a pretty unprecedented position in American political history-the sheer contempt the party establishment has for their voters. I doubt the Dems will win this fall, but if they do, and Jefferies is elected Speaker, I bet it will be a pyrrhic victory of massive proportion, as the base won't turn up to vote again, no matter what Trump and the MAGA movement does.
This is no time for half-measures.
That's Hakeem Jeffries you're talking about, leader of the Democratic House. When Dems win, and if he becomes Speaker, he gets to block any bill his HELL Corp donors don't like. He'll allow some "let's fix ACA" BS bill, because ACA has been instrumental in the ballooning profits of the HELL Corps.
IF you have a Democratic representative in Congress, tell them you do not want Jeffries controlling the debate for us all!
Agree!
A Canadian icon. Canadians had the opportunity to vote for who they thought was Canada's greatest Canadian.
We chose an Irish immigrant, Baptist preacher, father of Shirley Douglas and grandfather of Kiefer Sutherland.
Premier of Saskatchewan Tommy Douglas.
The man who should have been Prime Minister.
The man who created Canada's universal healthcare .
He always balanced the budget in Saskatchewan.
Here are a few videos of him
He remains an inspiration to millions of Canadians. He saved our lives and the lives of our loved ones.
https://youtu.be/RSfvWiUt_l8?si=wYL4g6NyIlYNnmUf
https://youtu.be/1YkHtqnfJ00?si=NfwpChjSVS6dIhZ9
https://youtu.be/C2oUInTUlAM?si=LNgcWuUxmS5_JNCB
totally agree with Gdasas! brilliant article with is much needed these days. Thank you.