Bill Moyers Journal, July 24, 2009: Health Care
OPS_admin | Jul 25, 2009 | Comments 0
The political posturing in the health care reform debate has provided plenty of grist for the news mill. But some important information is lost in the rhetoric. What exactly is in the plans Congress is considering, and will any of them help provide health care to more Americans affordably?
To get a clearer picture of what is and isn’t being considered during the debate, Bill Moyers sits down with two experts on health care policy. Trudy Lieberman covers health care reform for COLUMBIA JOURNALISM REVIEW and is the director of the health and medical reporting program at the CUNY Graduate School of Journalism. Marcia Angell is a senior lecturer in social medicine at Harvard Medical School and the former editor-in-chief of the NEW ENGLAND JOURNAL OF MEDICINE.
Transcript:
BILL MOYERS: Welcome to the Journal. . Transcripts | PBS
Push finally came to shove in Washington this week as the battle over health care reform escalated from scattered sniper fire into all-out combat.
REP. STEVE KING: Socialized medicine produces rationing of care
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: One of the plans that we’ve talked about is a public option
MALE REPORTER: You’ve been pushing Congress to pass health care reform by August. Why the rush?
MICHAEL STEELE: $239 billion to the deficit by 2019.
REP. LOUISE GOHMERT: We’re talking about a nightmare for the American people.
KATIE COURIC: It’s not going to add to the deficit?
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA: It will not add to the deficit
REP. LOUISE GOHMERT: It is insane
BILL MOYERS: If this all seems to be getting more and more confusing, well join the club. It’s hard to see what’s happening through all the gunsmoke.
The Republicans have more than health care reform in their bomb sights — they want a loss for Obama so crushing it will bring the administration to its knees and restore Republican control of Congress after next year’s elections. In the words of Republican Senator Jim DeMint, “If we’re able to stop Obama on this, it will be his Waterloo. It will break him.”
The Waterloo of DeMint’s metaphor, of course, was the battle in 1815 that ended Napoleon Bonaparte’s rule as Emperor of France — a humiliating defeat and a turning point in European history. Right-wingers like Glenn Beck see Obama as Napoleon, an emperor who must be stopped.
GLENN BECK: I mean, this guy is practically an imperial president now. When he starts to lose and people start to question him and push him back against the wall, he’s not going to know how to react.”
via Bill Moyers Journal . Transcripts | PBS.
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If we don't change our ways soon...
A new report by the Royal Society, chaired by Nobel prize-winning biologist Sir John Sulston warns that world population must be stabilized and consumption in wealthy nations must be reduced or the entire planet is in big trouble. As the report reads: "The number of people living on the planet has never been higher, their levels of consumption are unprecedented and vast changes are taking place in the environment. We can choose to rebalance the use of resources to a more egalitarian pattern of consumption... or we can choose to do nothing and to drift into a downward spiral of economic and environmental ills leading to a more unequal and inhospitable future."This is the same warning that President Jimmy Carter gave Americans back in the 1970's - but it was ignored when Ronald Reagan came to power with a "more positive" message basically telling Americans we can do whatever we want. And then after 9/11 - Bush told us all we should go shopping and consume ever more.And now with corporations calling the shots in Washington - long-term sustainability of the planet takes a back seat to short-term profits. If we don't change our ways soon - and embrace clean, alternative energy and educate women around the plant - then we all could be headed for a rough century.-Thom(Is there any chance we will learn in time? Tell us here.) -
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