You have heard that health care for all will cost too much money. Yet the reverse is true, and over the next several months we will prove it. A reform in health care policy that includes everyone will save billions of dollars throughout our commonwealth. Who will save? The people who go to work every day, the business owner whether large or small, the families trying to send their children to college, the taxpayer. We will show you how to see the whole picture.

Gorilla in Waiting Room
I am pleased that Froma Harrop recognized the need to address our health care crisis (“Health Care Reform Must Start Now,” 12/15/08 TPP). I agree that “Now is precisely the time to strike” and “Health care is part and parcel of the economic crisis.” And who could argue with computerizing medical records and managing chronic illnesses?

However, Harrop blatantly ignores the 800-pound gorilla in the room which must be shown the door: health insurance companies. While she stresses that reform must be comprehensive (providing care for all medical necessities), she includes private insurers in the mix. Health insurance companies are a major part of the problem, not part of the solution. Cutting out the unnecessary middleman will eliminate the waste of 20 cents(+) on every health care dollar spent.

We’re all familiar with Rep. John Conyers (D-Mich.)’s public single-payer bill in Congress, HR 676. It would be fabulous if it had a chance of passing, but with no sponsors in the Senate and President-elect Obama clearly not committed to single-payer reform, its prospects do not look good.

Philadelphia City Council Votes to Support the Single-Payer Healthcare
Solution
January 30, 2009, Philadelphia, PA

City Council unanimously endorses the only State (HB 1660/SB 300) and
National Bills that Guarantee Comprehensive, Quality, Affordable
Healthcare for All

JANUARY 28--Earlier today, groups representing doctors, nurses, medical students, and labor unions successfully lobbied Philadelphia City
Council to pass a resolution in support of the Single Payer Healthcare
Solution. The resolution, sponsored by Councilman Greenlee and
Councilwoman Tasco, specifically embraced Rep. Kathy Manderino's HB
1660, Senator Jim Ferlo's SB 300, and Congressman John Conyers' HR 676.

The victory was the second critical breakthrough for Pennsylvania
citizens in the span of a week. The first triumph was last week's
blocked merger of Philadelphia-based Independence Blue Cross and
Pittsburgh-based Highmark, a monopoly merger that would have
constituted a 57%-70% market share of Pennsylvania health insurance
sales.

Dozens of citizens rallied behind and witnessed Philadelphia City
Council's bipartisan, unanimous passage of the resolution.

Erie Campaign Launched To Keep PA National Guard Home

 The Erie Peace Initiative (EPI) has begun circulating a “People's Resolution” that urges our governor to “… exhaust every avenue in his power to stop further deployment of Pennsylvania National Guard troops to Iraq.”

The local campaign is part of a coordinated state-wide grassroots effort to keep our National Guard home.  In October 2002, Congress authorized President Bush to federalize state Guard and send them to Iraq.  The stipulated purpose was to defend U.S. national security against the “threat posed by Iraq.”  In 2008, Iraq poses no threat to the United States; the authorization has expired; control over Pennsylvania National Guard now reverts to our governor.

Pennsylvania National Guard troops are needed at home.  EPI's Resolution calls on our governor not only to keep them home but also, without delay, to bring home those now deployed in Iraq.

We are collecting signatures on a petition, addressed to Govenor Rendell, to bring the PA National Guard home from Iraq, with no new deployments. We are working with partners across the state. Legislation will be introduced in the PA House and Senate.

Download the Word version of the petition here.

by Doris Cipolla

The Marriage Protection Amendment is tabled, but not dead. It wll emerge again. We need to be vigilant and alert to stop this direct assault to our Constitution.

Al Quaida could not have created a better weapon than the Marriage Protection Amendment to destroy our American democracy. The Marriage Amendment is much larger than a “gay issue.” The more serious matter is one of inserting prejudice and discrimination into our Commonwealth Constitution; moreover, amending a particular religious definition of marriage in our civil document is of grave concern.

The proponents of the Marriage Protection Amendment encourage its adoption to our constitution because twenty-seven other states have done so. Twenty-seven states have assaulted and violated a minority group of their citizens with discrimination and second-class status and Pennsylvania should follow suit? This kind of reasoning is frightening. Perhaps then “might does make right?”

On March 9. 2008, the Erie Peace Initiative held a peace rally to mark the 5th anniversary of the US invasion of Iraq. After the March, all US Congressional candidates for the PA-3 legislative district were invited to speak in a candidate forum at Cauley Auditorium in Erie PA. All four Democratic Party candidates and the Independent candidate attended. Republican incumbent Phil English did not attend. Video by Al Richardson.

PA ACLU sends letter requesting reasons why permission denied

The quadrennial presidential nomination propaganda fest indoctrinates and revives the naive, lazy person's self-delusion that all they have to do politically is get enough people to vote for the right candidates and the problems of the nation and world will be solved. Buzz-word copycatting “Change!

Jonathan Hutto is active duty U.S. Navy Seaman assigned to the Norfolk based aircraft carrier Theodore Roosevelt.