[Peace-discuss] Fw: UPDATE: Blue Dogs and Healthcare Reform

[Stuart Levy]

On Tue, Mar 23, 2010 at 04:33:41PM -0500, C. G. Estabrook wrote:
> I think the Obama administration consciously encouraged a manufactured
> "health care debate." There was no need for one: there was an obvious
> solution, had they wanted it. But (among other things) they needed a 
> distraction from their unpopular imperial war. They looked at the Johnson 
> administration and realized that LBJ hadn't adequately masked his murders. 
> --CGE

That's interesting, but I think the (literal) money is on the health care side.
With something like $300 billion/year going to just the *overhead* portion of
*private* health insurance costs, I think the lobbying weight would be on
making sure that nothing radical like a single-payer scheme
took all that away from them.  There's a good deal more money at
stake in maintaining health-care corruption than in even
maintaining the military industry.

I wish that the morality of how the US deals
(militarily, environmentally, economically...)
with people in distant parts of the world
were a big political issue -- one that would
make a misbehaving government fear its people --
but I don't think that it weighs heavily
on the consciences of enough of us.  The wars are
unpopular, but not deeply.

> Laurie Solomon wrote:
>> Focusing on the wars allows us to ignore health care and other domestic 
>> policies just as focusing on domestic and foreign policies allows us to 
>> ignore racism , sexism, and religious bigotry.  Focusing
>>  on anything allows us to ignore other things if we so choose to do
>> so and elect to exercise that option.  However, no one is forcing
>> anyone to forgo the option of not ignoring other issues if they
>> seriously want to explore and undertake them. It certainly is a
>> matter of priorities and what weightings pone wants to give the
>> various issues at hand.  Again you seem to have the arrogance to
>> insist that everyone recognize and abide by your priorities and your
>> selections of focal points while denying others the same right to be
>> arrogant and insist on others - including you - recognizing and
>> abiding by their priorities and selections of focal points.
>> -------------------------------------------------- From: "C. G. Estabrook" 
>> <galliher at illinois.edu> Sent: Monday, March 22, 2010 9:54 PM To: "Jenifer 
>> Cartwright" <jencart13 at yahoo.com> Cc: "Peace-discuss"
>>  <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> Subject: Re: [Peace-discuss] Fw: 
>> UPDATE: Blue Dogs and Healthcare Reform
>>> The administration's "healthcare reform" - it hardly deserves the name - 
>>> allows us to ignore the fact that they're killing people far
>>> away?
>>> Jenifer Cartwright wrote:
>>>> Huh??? I think yr answer was meant for a different email. This one was 
>>>> about Healthcare Reform! --Jenifer
>>>> --- On *Mon, 3/22/10, Ricky Baldwin /<baldwinricky at yahoo.com>/* wrote:
>>>> From: Ricky Baldwin <baldwinricky at yahoo.com> Subject: Re: 
>>>> [Peace-discuss] Fw: UPDATE: Blue Dogs and Healthcare Reform To: "Jenifer 
>>>> Cartwright" <jencart13 at yahoo.com>, "C. G. Estabrook" 
>>>> <galliher at illinois.edu> Cc: "Peace-discuss" 
>>>> <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> Date: Monday, March 22, 2010, 9:44 PM
>>>> Well, of course, Johnson's against the war now that there's a Dem
>>>> in the White House, like Gill opposed it when the POP held the 
>>>> Presidential stool. I wouldn't make TOO much of the distinction.
>>>> Pulling out troops is also not the only way to save lives (although we 
>>>> should support it, too).
>>>> Ricky
>>>> "Speak your mind even if your voice shakes." - Maggie Kuhn
>>>> --- On *Mon, 3/22/10, C. G. Estabrook /<galliher at illinois.edu>/* wrote:
>>>> From: C. G. Estabrook <galliher at illinois.edu> Subject: Re: 
>>>> [Peace-discuss] Fw: UPDATE: Blue Dogs and Healthcare Reform To: "Jenifer 
>>>> Cartwright" <jencart13 at yahoo.com> Cc: "Peace-discuss" 
>>>> <peace-discuss at lists.chambana.net> Date: Monday, March 22, 2010, 9:38 PM
>>>> In the 15th Illinois Congressional district, the Republican incumbent is 
>>>> to the Left of his Democratic challenger in regard to killing people in 
>>>> the Middle East.
>>>> Tim Johnson votes against money for Obama's wars, while David Gill 
>>>> favors an American "presence" (i.e., killing people) in Afghanistan, 
>>>> etc. --CGE
>
>
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