Re: Op-Ed Columnist - The Swiss Menace - NYTimes.com

[David Farber <dave () farber net>]

Begin forwarded message:

From: Robert Alberti <alberti () sanction net>
Date: August 17, 2009 8:42:16 PM EDT
To: dave () farber net, brian.randell () ncl ac uk
Subject: Re: [IP] re: Op-Ed Columnist - The Swiss Menace - NYTimes.com
Reply-To: alberti () sanction net

What you're seeing is economic nationalism and bigotry being used by
American corporate media in their all-out propaganda offensive to
prevent any reform to health insurance in the United States.  In such an
environment, complaints that the British Health Service is being
slandered will never be aired, much less elicit any empathy.

While more than two-thirds of Americans desire such reform, much more
than two thirds of our Congress has been bribed, I'm sorry, "lobbied" by
the health care industry to ensure no such thing occurs.  The population
knows it.  We know that the supposedly brilliant Obama has somehow
managed to repeat the first term gaffes of the Clinton administration by
recklessly and naively attempting to tackle the health care industry
without laying sufficient Congressional groundwork.  In other words,
we're quite aware that we are being lied to and that our representatives
have been bought, so your average American is rather more concerned
about the destruction of our representative democracy than about the
hurt feelings of our British and Canadian neighbors.

In February of this year my daughter cut her thumb, requiring five
stitches - the cost to us was $1100, or 672 Pounds.  My mother waited
too long to go to the hospital because she had no health insurance (and
of course wouldn't burden her children with her problems).  She finally
went in the hospital on a Friday in March, and died on Sunday night: I
got the call at 5:30 a.m. Monday morning.

The health care industry has billions of dollars with which to bribe
Congress, broadcast lies on U.S. public airways, and organize fake
"grassroots movements" against health care reform, all of which they've
done. Half the Democrats are already bought, to say nothing of the
Republicans who offer bulk discounts. Most of the major media is heavily
sponsored by health care marketing, which tortures viewers with
schmaltzy commercials describing novel diseases and then tells us to ask
our doctors for the cure (then followed by a lengthy, graphic
description of the horrid side effects).

What we need in America more than health care reform is public financing
of electoral campaigns.  It is by bribing politicians with electoral
funding that American corporations have managed to undermine democracy.
Unfortunately what little organization there is among American populists
is presently focused on the unlikely goal of health care reform, so I
don't expect anything in America to improve any time soon.

As far as Britain or Canada goes, I wouldn't suggest holding your breath
for a U.S. apology.  You might pass out and end up in the hospital,
which at least you could afford.  I fractured several ribs in a bike
accident in May, but refused an ambulance and sought no treatment,
because I have twins starting the public University in a couple of weeks
and that's extremely expensive over here too.

-Bob Alberti

On Mon, 2009-08-17 at 13:44 -0400, Dave Farber wrote:
> > From: Brian Randell <Brian.Randell () ncl ac uk>
> > Date: August 17, 2009 13:30:33 EDT
> > To: dave () farber net
> > Subject: Re: [IP] Op-Ed Columnist - The Swiss Menace - NYTimes.com

> > I was pleased to see that you had circulated the above on IP. I
> > wonder whether the majority of IPers have any conception of the
> > amount of media coverage, and the extent of anger, here in the UK
> > concerning the misrepresentations and falsehoods about our National
> > Health Service being peddled by politicians and others opposed to
> > President Obama's healthcare reform efforts. If only pieces like the
> > above could drown out such critics.






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