Health Care Reform Rally at State House and a Little Bitty Rant

Last night I went to the candlelight vigil for health care reform at the State House in Providence. There were about two hundred people there. Moveon.org organized these vigils nationwide. Here in Rhode Island the local chapter of Moveon.org was joined by Ocean State Action and Progressive Democrats. There were a few dissenters who were pretty much ignored. Most people are for health care reform in some form or another. You would be hard put to find anyone in America who has not or does not know someone who has had a bad experience with health care. The news media covers the events where there is lots of dissent and opposition to health care reform because they report what their corporate pay masters tell them to report. Most of the health care debate is being fueled by PR firms hired by the health care and pharmaceutical industries which have poured billions into the effort. The health care insurance industry, the pharmaceutical industry, the oil industry and Wall Street pour billions of dollars into the campaign coffers of our elected officials and they expect service for their dollars. So our elected officials serve the interests of these industries and not the interests of the American people. The clause in the Medicare legislation covering prescription drugs that legally provides for the United States Government to pay 125 percent of the cost of the drug to the drug companies is a good example of how these groups rule this country. I ask myself, how did this legislation pass? I know it was passed during the Bush administration, but this goes far beyond party politics. Democrats and Republicans alike are on these corporate payrolls. A Democratic Senator from South Dakota, Tim Johnson, who has accepted money from the banking and finance industry, voted with the banks, against legislation that would have placed a cap on the interest rates banks and lenders could charge for short term loans to military personnel. Now with the reshuffling between Senate committees due to Ted Kennedy’s passing, this Senator, because of seniority, has a good shot at heading the Banking Committee. Good for the banks, bad for the people. We need to take back this country from the corporate greed heads who rule it. One way is to call, write, and email your elected official. Voice your opinion. You don’t have to be a genius or write like a Pulitzer Prize winner, simply state, “I don’t like this about that.” Or “I like this about that.” We need to let them know that we are paying attention.