Listening to many of the members of Congress talk about health care makes me ask one question: do any of them remember the preamble to the Constitution?
We, the People of the United States of America,
- in order to form a more perfect union,
- establish justice,
- insure domestic tranquility,
- provide for the common defense,
- promote the general welfare, and
- secure the blessings of liberty to our selves and our posterity, do ordain and establish this constitution for the United States of America.
A public health care plan that is available to all on day one and is accountable to Congress sounds to me as if it falls under the rubric "promote the general welfare."
Happy 4th, everyone — and come Monday, some patriotic phone calls to encourage them to pledge to stop any bill that does not have a plan like that are definitely in order.





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Declaration of Independence is more in order today [g]
We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Health Care is a Right not a privilege.
Single Payer: The real public option
In a 5/4 decision, the Supreme Court has ruled that wealth equals equality, so clearly some are more equal than the rest of us.
Assholes every one of them who support the big health companies! When are they going to learn that this country is founded upon the idea that the PEOPLE get to decide how thing works!! You can help make the changes by supporting YouStreet! I know it is only a beginning but… We have to start some where to get our country back from those who only want to bleed us dry! They would just love to go back to the Feudal system where the few control everything!!
Personally, I reject that decision. Lincoln said labor is the superior to capital and deserves the higher consideration, if you don’t mind I’ll run with that. [g]
When was it otherwise?
Seems to me that promoting domestic tranquility would be promoting the general welfare. Scuse me if I’ve been too inspired by what the Iranians are doing. (And can anyone say whether the “peace sign” two fingers means the same thing in Iran as it did with us hippies?) Gotta give great credit to Iranians for the fabric on the fingers, though.
IRAN, I love you!
Have you ever noticed that (generally) the harder the labor, the lower the pay?
Yeah, especially if you’re a teacher or a cop or a firefighter or a soldier….
I guess it’s time to remind politicians of who the largest word in this cloud are. And how many of us there are, and how many of us would like something resembling the health and pension benefits that we’re giving them.
F*ck the insurance companies, and the politicians who bow to them.
Cops today make a decent living, maybe not commensurate with level of danger they sometimes face. When my dad joined the local police force in 1953 I think he was making about $250 a month, low even by the standards of the day. He continued for 20 years and rose to the rank of lieutenant but never reached the point where he could give up his second job.
I guess once we convince the CongressCriminals to give us the same health care they enjoy, we win.
Oh, wait…talk like that will lead to getting drug-tested and shunned. After all, who am I to question the ruling class?
PJ, sometimes when I read things I get it wrong… but this was just funny. You wrote:
And I read:
Like an SAT question … which one is more correct? And no, I’m not dyslexic, just tired.
Chuck Grassley: If You Want Good Health Insurance, Work For The Government
Isn’t it nice how they can fellate the corporations while simultaneously screwing the American public? Now THAT’S what I call multitasking.
That would be the corporate-government daisy-chain, right?
They will always seek to dominate the many!! Some how, some way we must change the way of things!! We must make this the country that our founders envisioned!! For the People by the People, anything less is just more of the same ole shit!! “We the People” must be the mantra of all progressives! It is the only way all citizens will have the opportunity to make the most of their and their children’s lives!!!
I guess once we convince the CongressCriminals to give us the same health care they enjoy, we win.
Oh, wait…talk like that will lead to getting drug-tested and shunned.
whuh? they drug-test congressfolk?
I wanna see the daily PBT’s on Boner, stat….
We should probably be careful with this analogy. It is taking all my self-control not to picture those flabby old geezers engaged in the act. One slip and my sanity will go up in smoke.
The Founders crafted a set of ideals and immediately the powerful (in some cases the same individuals) set about looking for loopholes. I think for it to be otherwise humans will have to evolve beyond greed and self-serving opportunism. Unfortunately natural selection tends to favor greedy opportunists.
ROTFLMAO… Happy 4th, ratfood. Hey, JayT… you up here in the reaches of NoVA?
Yes, the police have made gains but when you compare what cops,teachers, firefighters and soldiers do compared to bankers, ceo’s, brokers, etc., the disparity is staggering. Compensation is so skewed in this country most folks can’t wrap their heads around it. What is it now, the average CEO makes 200 or 400 times the pay of the average worker?
You know Jane might want to add one more criteria to the Whip questions.
#4 Every American should have the same health plan as every member of Congress.
heya Jo – nah, my job is to keep Indianapolis safe for sane people – and as soon as I meet some, I’m gonna ask ‘em how I’m doing….
Peterr – all below is related to health care…
# establish justice – it is a right and you don’t have it then it is discrimination….
# insure domestic tranquility – HELLO Obama, if we had public/single payer then we would not be making a kizillion phone calls and running commercials
# provide for the common defense – if every person in America is covered they we can spend our time dealing with other issues instead of being disenrolled or denied claims or denied authorizations or can’t get insurance or dealing with bankruptcy or …..
# promote the general welfare – having a healthy population makes a more productive workforce, they are healthy, have universal health care and also focus on other issues than who the fuck pays for their healthcare or if they can pay…..
And I will continue to say….
Fuck Reagan and the horse he rode in on…..
jayT… well, keep Indianapolis safe for the rest of us then… I had the impression you were here in Northern Virginia. Remember, sanity is just an illusion…
I know but we as a People and in order for the many to succeed we just have to change the way of things!!
One of the reasons I support the “Death Tax”!!
seems to me this is the only way to eliminate the rich from continuing to suppress the many with their money!!
With a Dildo the size of a 747 so they don’t forget what has happened to them!!
You are aware that the Senate Bill ghetto-izes public option with a means test, just like welfare right?
So, presumably you’re going to be whipping Kennedy to get that fixed?
But then that’s the problem with advocating for something that’s only a set of vague principles and talking points; you can’t ever know what you’re really whipping for.
Single payer advocates, of course, don’t have that problem, since their approach is embodied in legislation.
Well said, Maggie. Public OPTION, exactly because it leaves for-profit health care system in place, can’t claim that health care is a right. And in fact, they are careful not to.