The Senate vote is a shocking display of how beholden the corrupt GOP is, to the health insurance industry. Not a single Republican voted with the 60 majority to even begin debate.

Secure in their own government-subsidized health insurance, the Republicans are marching in lock-step exactly as they did during the
failed Bush Regime. They have absolutely no idea what it is to work for a subsistence wage, unable to access routine medical care & always be one illness away from financial ruin.

100 million Americans – 1/3rd of their countrymen – are un or underinsured and in that exact position. While they kick and scream in obstruction of
this direly needed social progress, and flail around with scare tactics like “socialism” and red herrings like “tort reform”. The Republicans are perfectly content to let this barbaric, only-in-America conditon continue,
so that their corrupt masters at insurers like Cigna, United HC, Humana
and Aetna – can go right on making massive profits by insuring only the
well and excluding the sick (well documented fact on B/P).

Clinging like a wounded bear to the failed free-market health care system which they have forced down the throat of the American people since the Truman administration, the GOP has zero credibility by now on this matter.

Others have suggested it represents pro-active pressure, for Obama to now earn the Peace Prize and not sink back into the same patterns as other American presidents, which have often resulted in misuse of military power.

That being said, Obama inherited from Bush protracted wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and is not able to just flip the off switch. It is up to him to find the very difficult pathways, to keep pressure on gihadists whom will strike at innocents around the world again, but also eliminate U.S. military presence where it should never have been placed by his predecessors.

In reality there was a big increase in the number of applications from the United States, right after George Bush was reelected in 2004. If they were to get back into power I’d expect it will go through the ceiling again.

Even if his bill becomes law unaltered, uninsured Americans would get subsidized according to means, to go buy policies from the insurance sharks. And they supposedly cannot exclude on pre-existing illness or cancel you after you get too sick.

Which gets the foot in the door, on an item of mass social deprivation which has gone on for decades. From there future Congresses can realize what a giveaway they handed insurers, and rework the thing into a far more efficient single-payer model.

At least I hold out some hope of that result. Meanwhile, active political bloggers will keep spotlighting the campaign-donor corruptions of most of Capitol Hill – we know Media Inc. won’t do it. Besides, I haven’t got a musket… ;^)

And as the chart above shows, we’ve come in at nearly the lowest costs per capita. Americans are being misled by their media about ours and other well working national systems.

Sammy: I hope Obama’s policy successes as he goes along, will give us reason for optimism against entrenched corporate interests that benefit from the status quo.

They wanted McCain and didn’t get him, and they wanted Bush 1 when ordinary Americans overrode that for Bill Clinton. From the abolition of slavery to woman’s right to vote, from child labor laws and 40-hour work weeks, minimum wage and retirement security, guaranteed civil rights by gender, ethnicity, age and infirmity – America has always met these social crossroads and made the choice for social progress, instead of a broken status quo…

Thoreau Fan / goodoleboy: Knowledge is power (or, is supposed to be… ;^)

The campaign financing websites are the place to start – follow the money to the truth. We have to dig it up and elevate it manually, since the major media keeps it all hush-hush. Darn that “liberal” media… ;^)

http://www.OpenSecrets.org

I have found one site that seems to be easier for me to use.

http://www.OpenSecrets.com

Non Partison information on
Any lawmaker or office you want information on. So far great site.
just plug in the name and pick the
election year you want to view.