People Before Profit blog

Pelosi announces the House health plan

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 18:21:00 +0000

After months of struggle by a growing movement outside and inside the halls of Congress, House Democrats released a health care reform plan they say will extend coverage to millions now without it and create a new option of government-run insurance. A vote is expected next week on the plan which House leaders say reflects the conditions set forth by President Obama.

The bill released today includes a public option that incorporates compromises demanded by moderate and conservative Democrats.

The government-run insurance plan would negotiate rates with doctors and hospitals, rather than using prices set by the government. House and Senate liberals had pushed for government-set rates, arguing that these would be more competitive. Liberals say that by tying rates to those of insurance companies, rather than Medicare, the ability of the public option to compete with private insurance companies could be undermined.
Congressional Progressive Caucus co-chair Lynn Woolsey, D-Calf., said she and her allies would continue to fight for a stronger public option.

"It's not even the fourth quarter," said Woolsey, who noted the public option had only recently been dismissed as dead by many pundits. "We will be insisting on the option being as strong as it possibly can be."
Woolsey and other progressive Democrats are set to meet with President Obama later today.

Speaking on the steps of the Capitol, Speaker Nancy Pelosi said Congress was "on the cusp of delivering on the promise of making affordable, quality health insurance available to every American."

House leaders say the bill, once fully phased in over several years, will extend coverage to 96 percent of Americans.

It works by creating a new government-regulated "exchange" where private companies would sell policies in competition with the government. Federal subsidies would be available to millions of lower income individuals and families to help them afford the policies, and to small businesses as an incentive to offer coverage to workers. Large firms would be required to cover workers, and most people would be required to carry insurance.

The Senate is considering legislation unveiled by Majority Leader Harry Reid earlier this week. It also includes a public option but one that allows states to drop out if they wish, something the House bill does not allow.

Obama declared that House Democrats had reached a "critical milestone" on the road to health care overhaul and offered praise for their inclusion of an option for government-run insurance. He also said the bill "clearly meets two of the fundamental criteria I have set out: It is fully paid for and will reduce the deficit in the long term."
Republicans reacted immediately with harsh attacks.

Rep. Tom Price, R-Ga., described the measure as a "government takeover that will limit choice, competition and innovation in health care."

The legislation will be partially financed by an income tax surcharge of 5.4 percent on individuals making at least $500,000 annually and couples making at least $1 million.
Reaction from labor, which has played a leading role in the fight for health care reform, was positive.

"What Speaker Pelosi showed us today is that the majority in Congress will not govern out of fear but will lead with conviction," declared Any Stern, president of the 2.1 million member Service Employees International Union. "The chorus of ‘no we can't' from the insurance industry, special interests and Republicans will not stand in the way of the change demanded in November."

Although the bill would not take full effect until 2013, there would be immediate creation of a temporary government program to help people turned down by private insurers because of medical problems. After that, insurers no longer could refuse to provide coverage to the sick, nor could they charge more because of poor health of the insured.
The plan also expands Medicaid, the federal-state health program for low income people. It also requires employers to offer insurance to their workers or face penalties.

Pelosi and the Democratic leadership have not resolved disputes over abortion services and health care for immigrants, questions that will have to be settled before the bill can come to a vote.

The House bill also strips the health insurance industry of a long-standing exemption from anti-trust laws and gives the Federal trade Commission the authority to examine the health insurance industry at its own initiative.

While the bill requires the drug industry to for up the $80 billion it promised to contribute toward financing of health care reform it gives the pharmaceutical industry a major chunk of the "market protection" it has been looking for. Big pharma will be essentially free to market in any way it pleases new high-tech drugs that combat cancer, Parkinson's and other deadly disease for a period of 12 years.

Medical device makers, on the other hand, are not happy with the bill. The bill includes a 2.5 percent excise tax on sales of their products which they say will cost them $20 billion over the next ten years. The Senate bill includes a similar tax on that group of businesses.

Congress probes link between football and brain damage

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:09:00 +0000

Fans of American football love the game especially because it brings millions together nationwide to celebrate team unity, home pride and athleticism. Yet for years many have argued there is a serious link between players who suffer repeated concussions and long-term consequences such as brain injuries.

Roger Goodell, commissioner of the National Football League, faced heated questions from the House Judiciary Committee Oct. 28, with lawmakers joining former players and others in accusing the league of neglect of its responsibilities to active and retired players with brain injuries.

In his opening statement Rep. John Conyers Jr., D-Mich., the committee chairman, said the issue of brain injuries in football warrants federal scrutiny because the league is a monopoly whose existence was legislatively sanctioned. Conyers was referring to the antitrust exemption for broadcasting that has helped the NFL grow into a multibillion-dollar operation.

Some on the committee, including Rep. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., whose husband played in the NFL, said it's time for Congress to re-examine the league's antitrust exemption and maybe it ought to be removed entirely.

"We need an expeditious, independent review of the data," Conyers said.

"I say this not simply because of the impact of these injuries on the 2,000 current players and more than 10,000 retirees associated with the NFL and their families," said Conyers. "I say it because of the effect on millions of players at the college, high school and youth levels."

Conyers asked Goodell whether he thinks there is a connection between the game and head injuries. Goodell said the NFL is taking steps to make the game safer. However he dodged the question, saying a medical expert could give a better answer than he could.

However, Dr. Ira Casson, the co-chairman of the NFL's research committee, has been criticized for discrediting outside research and for his role in the league's study of brain injuries in retired players. Independent experts have said his study is flawed by conflicts of interests and statistical problems.

None of the three primary authors of the NFL's research committee, including Casson, were present during the hearing.

Rep. Linda Sanchez, D-Calif., said the NFL has a reputation of a blanket denial or minimizing the fact that there may be a link between players and brain injuries.

"It sort of reminds me of the tobacco companies pre-'90s when they kept saying, ‘Oh, there's no link between smoking and damage to your health,'" said Sanchez.

Several experts told the committee there is compelling evidence of a link between brain injuries suffered by players and memory-related diseases later in life. The connection has been firmly established, they said.

Dr. Robert Cantu, co-director of Boston University's Center for the Study of Traumatic Encephalopathy, told lawmakers that studies of the brains of former professional football players consistently reveal permanent damage.

"We have a serious public health problem today resulting from repetitive head trauma experienced by NFL players," Cantu said. "The problem is much bigger than the NFL, however. It affects football players at all levels, including college, high school and youth leagues. And it is not just in football but in other sports." Blows to the head need to be minimized through rule and technique changes, he said.

Cantu's colleague Dr. Ann McKee said radical steps need to be taken in order to change the way football is played.

Family members of injured players also testified including Eleanor Perfetto, whose husband, Ralph Wenzel, a former NFL offensive lineman, is now institutionalized with dementia at age 66; and Dick Benson, whose teenage son died of a brain hemorrhage in 2002 after repeated concussions playing high school football.

"The NFL must stop its denial of the relationship between brain trauma and brain disease," said Perfetto. "The evidence is there," she said, and the NFL "must do more to protect current players and children so they are not faced with this travesty later in life."

Gay Culverhouse, the daughter of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers owner Hugh Culverhouse, had some of the sharpest comments. She said NFL teams are profit-hungry organizations that abuse and then abandon players who will do anything to stay on the field. Culverhouse said an independent neurologist needs to be present at every NFL game to make decisions about whether and when injured players can return to the field.

"The team doctor is hired by the coach and paid by the front office," said Culverhouse. "The team doctor is not an advocate for the patient. If the player chooses independent medical counsel, he is considered to be not a team player."

Rep. Anthony Weiner, D-N.Y., said the issue of player safety is similar to any worker's rights and benefits on the job. "This is a worker safety thing - no different than if someone was coming off the assembly line at a production plant and 20 years later, they all had arthritis in their right knee. We'd look at it the exact same way," he said.

Speaker after speaker stressed the importance of making sure that the NFL is held accountable for the health and well-being of its players.

"The serious issues presented by today's hearing involve matters of life and death," said Conyers. "They go to the heart of one of our nation's most popular and profitable sports. And equally important, they affect millions of players of all ages and their families. So the sooner we can get to the bottom of these issues, the better."

Photo: Ed Yourdon http://www.flickr.com/photos/yourdon/3889206133/ Creative Commons 2.0 Generic

New Yorkers protest education cuts

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 08:09:00 +0000

NEW YORK-Teachers, students and others are horrified at the prospect of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of mid-year budget cuts to public education as the state faces a $3 billion budget shortfall-and they're fighting back.

The Alliance for Quality Education, a coalition of more than 230 organizations of parents, children's advocates, schools, teachers and others, is organizing people to contact their representatives as well as to attend hearings sponsored by the legislature. Under Governor David Paterson's (D) plans, public schools across the state would be hit with a whopping $686 million mid-year cut.

At an October 23 meeting in Syracuse, AQE members broke pencils during the meeting to symbolize "the state's broken promise" to public schools. Because so many people showed up to speak against the cut, the meeting went on for nearly six hours.

Revenues have been lower than expected, leaving the state with a $3 billion budget shortfall. Paterson has called a special meeting of the State Senate and Assembly to discuss his plans, which include $1.3 billion in cuts to local governments, health and education. The rest is to be made up, mainly, of extraordinary borrowing from the state's rainy day fund.

In higher education, Paterson proposes slashing $53 million in funding to the City University of New York alone. These cuts, as well as proposed cuts to health care, public schools and municipalities, all require legislative approval. However, millions of dollars have already been cut at state agencies, where the Governor doesn't need to seek legislative approval. He has already ordered an eleven percent cut, amounting to $90 million, to the State University of New York.

Mid-year cuts are considered to be the most devastating, because institutions have already made their budget based on projected funding.

Across New York City, protests have erupted at various CUNY campuses, and have included students, professors, city school teachers, labor unionists and others. Organizers of the various campaigns include the United Federation of Teachers and its parent organization, the New York State United Teachers; United University Professionals and the Professional Staff Congress, which represent professors at SUNY and CUNY respectively; the New York Public Interest Research Group; student organizations other labor unions and community residents.

At Hunter College, an October 28 demonstration brought out hundreds of people. "Now is the time we should be supporting schools, now is the time to be building schools," NYSUT Executive Vice President Alan Lubin told the crowd.

Education advocates point out that the proposed cuts are on the heels of tens of millions of dollars in cuts to education in the past year, as well as a tuition hike. They are demanding that there be no cuts to education going forward, and that the legislature roll back Paterson's cuts to SUNY.

"Students are already being squeezed into overcrowded classes, missing out on courses we need, and paying more for school," said Chris McCall, NYPIRG's higher education project leader.

Similar actions are being proposed to fight the proposed health care and municipal cuts.

Others have suggested that there should be no cuts at all. Suggested ways of increased savings include cuts in spending that benefit only the wealthy and big corporations, such as: the ending of subsidies for "industrial development zones," (saving the state $4 billion), reducing the number of governmental units down from the current 10,000 , the ending of subsidies and tax breaks to developers of housing for those above the median income ($3 billion) and other such measures.

Proposals for increased revenues include a one percent surtax on people making over $1 billion yearly (there are 60 such people in New York City alone, meaning a possible billion dollars in revenue), a one percent stock transfer surtax on those with net assets above $500,000 (another billion dollars) and other proposals.

PHOTO: A student at the Borough of Manhattan Community College, where NYPIRG kicked off its campaign against budget cuts, holds a "CUNY withdrawal slip" for $53 billion.

Photo provided by NYPIRG.

U.S. official quits Afghanistan job over war

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 16:29:00 +0000

Vice President Joe Biden's foreign policy adviser will meet this week with a highly respected U.S. Foreign Service officer who quit his job in Afghanistan last month because he lost faith in the purpose of the war, according to a report in the Washington Post.

The action by Matthew Hoh, 36, a former Marine captain with a stellar career in combat in Iraq, and then at the Pentagon and in civilian State Department roles, was reported by the Post in an extensive Oct. 27 article by Karen DeYoung.

Hoh was the top U.S. civilian official in Afghanistan's Zabul province, considered a Taliban hotbed.

Citing "doubts and reservations about our current strategy and planned future strategy," Hoh wrote in a Sept. 10 letter to the head of the Foreign Service, Nancy Powell, "My resignation is based not upon how we are pursuing this war, but why and to what end."

To put it simply, he wrote, "I fail to see the value or the worth in continued U.S. casualties or expenditures of resources in support of the Afghan government in what is truly a 35-year civil war."

The U.S. and NATO military presence greatly fuels the Afghan insurgency, he said.

"If the history of Afghanistan is one great stage play, the United States is no more than a supporting actor, among several previously, in a tragedy that not only pits tribes, valleys, clans, villages and families against one another, but, from at least the end of King Zahir Shah's reign, has violently and savagely pitted the urban, secular, educated and modern of Afghanistan against the rural, religious, illiterate and traditional. It is this latter group that composes and supports the Pashtun insurgency," Hoh wrote.

"I have observed that the bulk of the insurgency fights not for the white banner of the Taliban, but rather against the presence of foreign soldiers and taxes imposed by an unrepresentative government in Kabul."

Hoh lambasted the current Afghan government for its corruption, saying its failings "appear legion and metastatic."

"Our forces, devoted and faithful, have been committed to conflict in an indefinite and unplanned manner that has become a cavalier, politically expedient and Pollyannaish misadventure ... shaped more by the political climate in Washington, D.C. than in Afghan cities, villages, mountains and valleys," he wrote.

Hoh received a citation for bravery for his Iraq service, and suffered post-traumatic stress disorder after being unable to save four fellow Marines after a 2006 helicopter crash in Anbar.

"I'm not some peacenik, pot-smoking hippie who wants everyone to be in love," he told DeYoung. "There are plenty of dudes who need to be killed," he said of al-Qaeda and the Taliban. "I was never more happy than when our Iraq team whacked a bunch of guys."

Hoh is the first U.S. official known to resign in protest over the Afghan war, according to the Post.

He is considered an outstanding officer and he is being taken seriously by the White House.

After he sent his letter, U.S. Ambassador Karl Eikenberry offered him a senior embassy position in Kabul, and he also was flown to Washington to meet in person with President Obama's special envoy to the region, Richard Holbrooke.

"We took his letter very seriously, because he was a good officer," Holbrooke told the Post. "We all thought that given how serious his letter was, how much commitment there was, and his prior track record, we should pay close attention to him." Holbrooke offered him a job which he first accepted but then turned down.

The killing of 8 U.S. troops by roadside bombs on Tuesday brought the number of U.S. casualties in Afghanistan in October to 55, making this the deadliest month so far in the eight-year war. The U.S. currently has 66,000 troops in Afghanistan, in addition to NATO forces.

Photo: U.S. soldiers fire mortars in the Pech Valley of Afghanistan's Kunar province. (AP/David Guttenfelder)

Obama to sign hate crimes bill

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 12:40:00 +0000

Eleven years after Matthew Shepard's brutal murder because he was gay, President Barack Obama will sign the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act into law this afternoon.

The new provision makes it a federal crime to assault someone because of his or her sexual orientation, disability or gender identity. The measure is named after the victims of two horrific crimes in 1998: Matthew Shepard, an openly gay college student from Wyoming who was beaten to death; and James Byrd Jr., an African American from Texas who was tied to a pick-up truck and dragged to death.

The long-sought hate crimes provision is part of the fiscal year 2010 defense authorization bill.

Signing the bill into law was more than a decade in the making advocates say. It is an update to the federal hate crimes statue that Congress initially passed in 1968. The original law protected people from attacks motivated by race, religion or ethnicity. It will now include gay, lesbian, transgender and disabled people.

The new law lets the Justice Department get involved in ways beyond merely charging people with crimes. The federal government under the new law can now help state and local officials tackle hate crimes by providing them with federal investigators, forensic tools and money. Up to $100,000 could be granted by the Justice Department to local officials to cover the costs of prosecuting a hate crime.

Gay rights advocates say the symbolism of the bill is significant.

"It's the first time that transgender people will be in federal code in a positive way," said Mara Keisling, director of the National Center for Transgender Equality. Speaking to National Public Radio Keisling adds, "That's a really important historical moment for the country - certainly for transgender people, but really also for the whole country."

Keisling notes the transgender community documents an average of one murder a month.

Advocates add that the law will lead to a rise in the number of reported hate crimes that normally fall under the radar.

Speaking to NPR Michael Lieberman with the Anti-Defamation League said, "If you're an individual who's been the victim of a crime, why would you bother to report that you'd been the victim of a hate crime unless you thought that law enforcement officials were going to take it seriously?"

Lieberman is also chairman of a federal hate crimes coalition in Washington.

"After an effective hate crime law has been passed, the numbers actually may go up," he said. "And that may be a very good thing, because it's a much more accurate reflection of the national problem."

Nationally, hate crimes against gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people have increased in recent years, advocates say. In June, the National Coalition of Anti-Violence Programs, which examines hate crimes against sexual minorities, reported that bias-related killings were at their highest level since 1999, with at least 29 committed in 2008.

The news of the act being signed into law could not have come at a better time, many say.

"We want people to know about their rights, but having the law on your side is powerful," said Karina Claudio-Betancourt, a community organizer to the New York Times. Claudio-Betancourt is a project organizer for the Brooklyn-based nonprofit group Gays and Lesbians of Bushwick Empowered, which provides services to the gay community and runs programs in public schools to combat homophobia.

The bill also protects people with disabilities for the first time.

Attorney General Eric Holder, civil rights leaders and members of Shepard's family will attend the signing ceremony. Afterward there will be a reception with gay rights groups as well as civil rights leaders to commemorate the occasion.

Photo: VJnet http://www.flickr.com/photos/vjnet/4045194677/ Creative Commons 2.0

UC panel: Keep higher education public and affordable

Wed, 28 Oct 2009 09:19:00 +0000

BERKELEY, Calif. - Keeping California's public higher education both public and affordable was the theme as a star-studded panel gathered with hundreds of faculty members, students and concerned community members on the University of California campus here Oct. 26 to project a way forward in the face of the state's growing budget crisis.

The panel discussion was part of a week of actions on UC campuses around the state, protesting the Board of Regents' proposal to hike fees by nearly one-third and the wave of cutbacks hitting faculty, students and campus workers alike.

California's unique requirement that both budgets and taxes must be passed by a two-thirds legislative majority, and Prop. 13, the 1978 ballot measure capping both commercial and residential property taxes, were special targets.

Stressing that "a lack of democracy" underlies much of the current crisis, UC Berkeley linguistics professor George Lakoff highlighted the one-sentence ballot measure he has prepared: "All legislative actions on revenue and budget must be determined by majority vote." The measure is championed by the CA Majority Rule coalition which hopes to get it on the ballot next year.

Lakoff, well-known for analyzing the use of language in politics, said that while "it only takes a majority to decide on majority rule," passing the measure will not be easy. He called for building a broad grassroots infrastructure of volunteer signature-gatherers, speakers and fund-raisers. "Conservatives have this kind of network," he said. "We need it, too. It's not just about the university - it's about every issue in the state."

The UC professor brought the audience to its feet as, choking back tears, he said, "Last week I became a grandfather - I want all this to be available for her!"

San Francisco Assessor/Recorder Phil Ting, a 1991 UC Berkeley graduate, targeted Prop. 13 as "the biggest tax loophole" in California history. "What Prop. 13 told Californians is, we want to stop paying for education, health care and public services," he said. "What's the rationale for subsidizing Disney World and Great America?"Ting's "Close the Loophole" campaign would keep protections for homeowners while requiring corporate landowners to pay their fair share of state taxes.

Student Senator Ariel Boone pointed out the hardships increasingly faced by UC students, who are now having their financial aid delayed, "sitting on the floor, being unable to get classes they need to graduate - part of the student experience today is having to fight for our university."

Boone called on the united movement of students, faculty and workers to "say ‘Yes' by proposing our solutions and demanding positive changes." Citing earlier campus struggles including the 1960s Free Speech Movement, she declared, "Students have fought before and won, we can do it again. This movement is our chance to say yes to public education."

California Assembly Majority Leader Alberto Torrico, D-Fremont, who is among a number of elected officials backing CA Majority Rule's ballot measure, has authored another measure to ease the fiscal crisis. Oil companies are making huge profits, he said, but California is the only oil-producing state that doesn't levy an oil-extraction tax.

Torrico's AB 656 would impose a 9.9 percent tax on oil extraction, to raise up to $1 billion for California higher education. "Even Governor Palin's Alaska, and George Bush's Texas, charge an oil extraction fee - let's do it in California!" he said.

UC Riverside's students, 80 percent people of color and many working as well as studying, are specially threatened by the university's proposals, said Prof. Jayna Brown of UC Riverside's Ethnic Studies Department. "My fear is that as fees go up and programs like the Educational Opportunity Program shrink, my students won't be able to get an education. I know my own university experience wouldn't happen for others if this process continues," she said.

A similar theme was expressed by UC Berkeley city planning professor Ananya Roy, who called on the university to "retain its public character" and continue to be both "elite and equitable."

The week of activities on the Berkeley campus includes a lecture by "Shock Doctrine" author Naomi Klein, and will end Nov. 2 with campus-wide Day of the Dead observances.

Message to banks: ‘Time to bail us out’

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:05:00 +0000

CHICAGO - It was a snapshot of America. At least struggling America.

Thousands gathered here to tell the American Bankers Association that the loan they took from the American people is in default. Angry at foreclosures, soaring corporate profits and CEO pay, people from across the Midwest demanded that banks bailed out with some $17.8 trillion of taxpayer funds meet their obligations.

"We want our money back," said speaker after speaker, demanding that the money be in the form of a moratorium on foreclosures, investing in good, green jobs, getting credit working and government regulations on financial institutions.

"It's time to bail us out," speakers said. "Enough is enough," the crowd chanted.

"We're pissed off," said Carl Rosen, president of UE's western region, "seeing so many foreclosures and lay-offs while there has been a huge bailout to the banks." One hundred UE workers lost their jobs in Illinois/Iowa Quad Cities area after Wells Fargo pulled a line of credit from a die-casting factory.

Students from D.C., Florida and California marched next to the UE workers.

"Students and workers have the same struggle with these banks," said Maria, from the Student Labor Action Project, who didn't give her last name. Instead of profiteering banks, she says, the government should run the Stafford program, making loans directly to students, saving taxpayers and students money.

It was clear from the speeches, slogans and signs that the labor union-led community coalition is tapping into deep anger at the corporate and financial elite. Under right-wing Republican and Glenn Beck-type of mis-leadership, including the "tea party" movement, they use the anger to blame the Obama administration, immigrants, people of color, unions and others for the economic woes.

Instead, the thousands that marched on the Sheraton Hotel, where the ABA was celebrating its profit recovery, were a virtual rainbow of America. SEIU, the service employees union, signs in Polish, Spanish and English demanded good jobs. Homeowners and community activists from predominantly African American neighborhoods in Chicago held up signs with Chicago neighborhood names and the number of foreclosures in that area; S. Chicago: 902, Portage Park: 883, Englewood: 1,350 and Humboldt Park: 1,355 ... for a grand total of 44,091 foreclosures in the city alone.

Angenita Tanner runs a child care business. Wearing a SEIU shirt, Tanner, an African American woman, wove a story of the "real" economy and how the bank profiteering has an impact on state budgets and people's lives.

Tanner's child care program receives state funds that have been slashed because of the budget crisis and the refusal by lawmakers to raise taxes on the wealthiest in the state. "I have parents who are losing their homes and have to pay me in food instead of money" to keep their children in the program so they can go to work, Tanner said. "But I have bills to pay, too," she said. "I fell behind in my mortgage. I called the bank because they said they'd be 'glad to help.' But it was all a game. They never helped.

"No one wants to lose their job or home. The people bailed out the banks, but the banks should bailout the people," she said.

According to Action Now, a local community organization and rally sponsor, the African American community lost $11 trillion in assets through this mortgage/financial crisis. "It was the largest transfer of wealth out of the African American community, ever," said Action Now's Denise Dixon.

Union leader Anna Burger, head of Change to Win, said banks should loan money to businesses and entrepreneurs at the same low interest rate they enjoy. "Investment could go to the infrastructure and human services," she said, creating jobs and needed services, especially for women who make up 40 percent of America's breadwinners. "There's a lot of services moms need, like child care," she said.

According to the rally organizers, the top six banks raked in $30 billion in profits this year alone, and executives are on pace to get almost $150 billion in bonuses and compensation.

Yet in the "real" economy, layoffs and furloughs continue and unemployment has hit a 26-year high. A home is foreclosed upon every 13 seconds, small businesses continue to close, and cities, towns and states continue to cut services. In the United States, more thank 5 million homes are in foreclosure.

Labor leader Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, asked the crowd, "How do you like Obama cutting these CEO bonuses to shreds?"

Trumka urged the crowd to not just be angry and outraged but to organize and make a difference. "Commit to do one thing," he said, "call your member of Congress everyday and tell them four things" -- reform the Federal Bank and make it a real public agency; regulate the shadow economy like hedge funds, derivatives; create a consumer protection agency to protect people from sub-prime loans and sky high credit card rates; and reform CEO compensation and corporate governance.

Speakers promised that this was just the beginning of a movement to break the power of the banks and Wall Street.

"I'm here because the banks did the same thing in my home country, Ecuador, as they are doing here," said SEIU member Luisa Moreno. Speaking in Spanish, she said, "Le están robando al pueblo." (They are robbing the people.)

Photos: John Bachtell/PW

Health reform and rural America

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 17:36:00 +0000

Health reform being considered in Congress now would address the special concerns of rural Americans, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius told reporters Tuesday, Oct 27th.

Introducing a new report title "More Choices, Better Coverage," published by her Department, Sec. Sebelius explained that health insurance reform would improve access, affordability and quality for 50 million people living in rural areas who now say health insurance is impossible or nearly impossible to afford.

About one in five uninsured people live in rural areas where poverty rates are also substantially higher than in cities, the report found.

Health reform would remedy the discrepancy in health care access by providing subsidies and tax credits to low-income people who cannot afford insurance. In addition, the creation of an insurance exchange would provide rural residents with more choices of insurance plans. Currently the strongest private market monopolies can be founding rural or mainly rural states, Sebelius pointed out. "This means that [with reform] family farms and self-employed rural citizens can join together with negotiating power like the big guys now have."

More choice means that the cost of premiums will be brought under control better, she added.

In addition, most workers in small businesses without insurance work in rural areas. The small business tax credits in both the House and Senate versions of the health reform bill would return as much as 50 percent of the cost of health insurance premiums to small business owners when they decide to provide coverage for themselves, their family members or other workers.

In addition to these direct benefits, other reforms contained in the health reform package will benefit workers and self-employed people, including family farm owners, in rural areas, Secretary Sebelius continued.

Right now, small business owners pay as much as an 18 percent higher rate for employee insurance. In addition, if one employee has a major health issue, the rise in costs can often force that small business out of the market. By eliminating cost-sharing for preventative measures, discrimination based on preexisting conditions and other industry reforms, small business owners will see some parity with bigger businesses in insurance costs.

Rural residents also face problems with finding doctors. "Two-thirds of the underserved areas in the country are in rural areas," Sebelius said. The health reform bills in both house of Congress plan to provide new subsidies for student loan repayments and scholarships for doctors, nurses, physician assistants, dentists and mental health specialists to practice in rural areas should increase the number of health care workers in rural areas.

"Health insurance reform will make sure that every American, whether they're living under a skyscraper in New York City, or on a family farm in Kansas or North carolina has access to quality, available coverage," Sebelius said.

Tide turns on health care reform

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:43:00 +0000

The announcement by Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that the public option will reach the Senate floor was greeted by labor and other leaders as proof that the tide has turned in favor of health care reform.

It follows weeks of street demonstrations, Internet campaigns, TV and radio ads, and lobbying Congress for a bold public option.

Reid overrode the more conservative Senate Finance Committee bill to insert the public option into the legislation. His version of the option, however, would allow states to opt out of the national plan.

Vowing to continue the fight for health care reform, the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, the nation's two labor federations, announced a national "Day of Action Call-In" to Congress on Nov. 5. Labor wants the public option but opposes parts of the Senate plan that would pay for health reform with increased taxes on workers.

"If you want to tax the gold-plated Goldman Sachs plan, that's up to you," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said at a press conference yesterday, "but we can't accept taxes on middle class American health care plans."

Labor is much happier with one of three measures circulating in the House, which pays for reform by a tax surcharge on only the wealthiest Americans.

AFSCME President Gerald McEntee, whose 1.4-million-member union represents tens of thousands of health care workers, said, "While the bill is by no means perfect, it is a significant improvement. Now we will work for an improved bill on the Senate floor and to pass a strong bill in the House."

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi restated that her chamber's bill - which will combine the three measures passed by committees earlier this year - would also have a public option.

The public option is supported by many liberals and progressives because they made the assessment that they could not win passage of more advanced legislation this year.

Alternatives to the current system fall on a continuum, they say.

The most progressive plan would be a national health service like the British have, in which health care is available to all and all health care providers are employed by the national health service.

The next best is a "Medicare-for-all" plan, similar to what exists in Canada.
Less advanced, but still an improvement over what we have now, many activists say, is a plan that includes a public option available to all. Under this plan a government-run program competes with private insurance companies.

The plan put forward by Sen. Reid is somewhat less than that. It contains a public option but it is not available to everyone. People who have insurance at work or people who live in states that choose not to join the program, for example, would not be included.

But it is superior, progressives say, to a public option with a "trigger." Such an option would go into effect in the future, only if rates charged by private insurers continue to be unaffordable.

Supporters of health care reform were pleased that the public option, after weathering so many attacks, continues to enjoy wide support.

Dolores Randall, a nurse at Cook County Hospital in Chicago, said, "The media made a big mistake on this issue. The crazies who disrupted those town hall meetings in August were described as if they represented majority opinion. All they were was the crazies come out to have a big pep rally. They did not represent public opinion here or anywhere else."

Health Care for America Now, the labor movement and progressive activists mounted an unprecedented push to regain the lead position on the issue.

Voters were mobilized and the insurance industry was singled out as the main culprit.

At press conferences, congressional hearings and almost every meeting held by health insurers, progressives brought forward the victims of health insurance greed and their stories.

Since late August HCAN and the labor movement have conducted more than 200 large demonstrations. Many were ignored by the major media, including demonstrations in New York and Los Angeles. The Los Angeles Times, for example, ignored a demonstration of several hundred thousand people that took place at WellPoint there. The crowds surrounded the insurance headquarters as well as the office of the newspaper itself, which is only a few blocks away.

In Salt Lake City, labor, MoveOn and other activists who stood outside Republican Sen. Orrin Hatch's office holding signs noted that Hatch has taken $913,000 in contributions from health insurance companies. The action forced Hatch to say on national television that "MoveOn is not going to smear me without getting kicked in the teeth by me."

President Obama himself has gone on the attack against the insurance companies. In a September speech to Congress about health reform Obama called for a strong public option and accused the right wing of "lies, plain and simple."
"As soon as I sign this bill," Obama declared, "it will be against the law for insurance companies to drop your coverage when you get sick or water it down when you need it most.

Organizing for America, the group created to organize Obama's former campaign volunteers, on Oct. 20 alone generated 315,000 calls to Congress demanding health care overhaul.

After pretending to cooperate with the Obama administration and Democrats, industry CEOs and lobbyists double-crossed their onetime political allies on the Senate Finance Committee by publicly attacking its compromise bill.

The industry wasn't happy with, among other things, amendments that reduced penalties for those who fail to buy private insurance and it threatened drastic hikes in insurance premium rates.

Liberal Democrats were angry but even the moderates and conservatives felt blindsided and caught by surprise.

On Oct. 21 the House Judiciary Committee voted to strip the industry of its 64-year-old anti-trust exemption as the chorus of support for a public option grew even more among elected officials.

Photo: PW/Ben Sears

Jewish peace conference takes Washington spotlight

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 16:13:00 +0000

The first national conference of the surging Jewish-American peace movement, at Washington's Grand Hyatt Hotel, has drawn over 1,500 participants, exceeding organizers' expectations.

Called "Driving Change, Securing Peace," the Oct. 25-28 inaugural conference of J Street is signaling a major shift in the political winds in Washington.

J Street, founded in early 2008, calls itself "the political arm of the pro-Israel, pro-peace movement." Its aim, it said at the time, was to change U.S. policy to one of pro-actively working to achieve Israeli-Palestinian peace with a two-state solution, and to mobilize and build support for that among Jewish Americans.

Now, its official debut on the national scene is featuring a high-profile array of U.S. and Israeli policymakers and peace advocates, and a keynote address by White House National Security Adviser Gen. Jim Jones.

Indicating the changing mood on Capitol Hill, more than 150 members of Congress, including a number of Jewish lawmakers, are hosting a celebratory evening dinner, keynoted by former Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb.

"Welcome to a new era when it comes to advocacy on Israel and the Middle East," J Street Executive Director Jeremy Ben-Ami told the crowd in his opening remarks.

In the weeks leading up to the conference, as its momentum and media attention grew both here and in Israel, it was hit by a flurry of attacks from right-wing groups accusing it of being anti-Israel.

It did not appear to dampen support for the event, as the participation indicates.

A group of Israeli notables including 11 Knesset members and several generals placed a full-page congratulatory ad in the Washington Post, the Israeli daily Haaretz, and local Jewish newspapers around the U.S. The ad welcomed J Street's efforts to "help Israel achieve sustainable peace with its neighbors" and called the organization "an important new voice in the pro-Israel community."

Earlier Israeli Kadima Party leader Tzipi Livni, the former foreign minister, sent a letter of congratulations to J Street on the conference. The "discussion within the pro-Israel community of what best advances Israel's cause should be inclusive and broad enough to encompass a variety of views," Livni wrote.

The question of "What it means to be "pro-Israel" was taken up in one of today's conference sessions, in a debate between Matt Yglesias of the Center for American Progress and Jonathan Chait from The New Republic, moderated by J.J. Goldberg of The Forward.

Other sessions include rabbis discussing "What's Jewish About J Street?" and "Dancing on the Head of a Pin: The Role of Rabbis in the Pro-Israel, Pro-Peace Movement."

A panel on "Culture as a Tool for Change" featured short films presented by The Other Israel Film Festival.

J Street, named as a takeoff on Washington's K Street which is known for its lobbyist offices, makes a point of its support for Israel and argues that a peaceful two-state solution is in Israeli as well as U.S. interests.

It says, "J Street represents Americans, primarily but not exclusively Jewish, who support Israel and its desire for security as the Jewish homeland, as well as the right of the Palestinians to a sovereign state of their own - two states living side-by-side in peace and security. We believe ending the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is in the best interests of Israel, the United States, the Palestinians, and the region as a whole."

The organization, formed in 2008, says, "We seek to change the direction of American policy in the Middle East and to broaden the public and policy debate in the U.S. about the Middle East. We support strong American leadership to end the Arab-Israeli and Palestinian-Israeli conflicts peacefully and diplomatically."

With the arrival of the Obama administration, it appears that the time for such a shift, and for the burgeoning "pro-Israel, pro-peace" movement, has arrived.

J Street and the grassroots peace advocacy group Brit Tzedek v'Shalom (Jewish Alliance for Justice and Peace) have announced they are merging and will launch a nationwide grassroots organizing campaign among American Jews to back strong U.S. peace efforts.

Connecticut health care advocates support Dodd

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 14:48:00 +0000

STAMFORD, CT - Health care, union and religious activists came together outside the Stamford Place Hilton recently to welcome President Obama to Connecticut and rally in favor of a strong public option with no taxation of healthcare benefits. Obama was in Connecticut for a fundraiser for Senator Chris Dodd.

Across the street, Dump Dodd "teabaggers" carried signs demonizing President Obama and Senator Dodd, government healthcare and environmental protection.

In the traffic came many honks of support for healthcare reform, but the biggest cheers came from school buses with children pressed against the windows shouting, "Obama, Obama!"

The multi-racial healthcare reform supporters were a stark contrast to the all-white Dump Dodd crowd. Several families from Stamford who had never participated in a demonstration before came out to support the public option, joining with long-time activists who had taken part in the national call-in day to Congress on October 20.

The Dump Dodd group has attempted to create hysteria in Connecticut by scapegoating Dodd for the Wall Street financial scandals. Seizing on this opportunity, the national Republican Party has named Dodd their number one target in 2010 in their attempt to re-take the Senate majority.

Dodd, with a lifetime pro-worker voting record over 90% has the strong support of organized labor. Picking up from where Sen. Kennedy left off, Dodd has the lead in committee negotiations on healthcare, and has pledged to stand firm for inclusion of a public option.

Photo: Paul Wessel

Baltimore demands a public health care option

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 12:02:00 +0000

BALTIMORE - Several hundred community and labor activists rallied at the historic Senator Theater, demanding that Congress pass heath care reform that includes a public option.

A rapper, salsa dancers, a singer songwriter and the Smoth Teaze Singers, along with a Do Wop group, provided entertainment while a dozen speakers, including Congressman Elijah Cummings, Maryland AFL-CIO president Fred Mason and Baltimore NAACP president "Doc" Cheatham, called on Congress to act now.

The evening closed with karoke for, as one participant remarked, the brave and the uninhibited.

The event was chaired by City Councilman Bill Henry.

Attempts by a dozen "tea-baggers" to disrupt the event failed miserably. One activist remarked that their presence fired up the crowd and sharpened the political character of the event.

"If they hadn't showed up, we should have paid somebody to act like them." he said.

The stark reality of the American health care system was described by the NAACP's Cheatham.

"Insurance companies have raised their premiums 87% over the last decade. At the same time, 880,000 African-Americans have died because of lack of insurance. We can't afford to wait any longer."

In her remarks, event organizer Caroli Mullen targeted "moderate" Congress people who were sitting on the fence, telling the audience that "Democrats better get some spine,"

According to Mullen, reform must be based on the premise that health care is a right, not a privilege.

Mullen told the World how the event was conceived. "We were literally sitting around the kitchen talking about how the 'tea-baggers' were getting publicity by disrupting town hall meetings. The media was ignoring the majority of us who favor reform. We needed to stage a public event to let Congress know Baltimore supported a public option."

Mullen said that while she supports a public option, a single-payer system was the best way to provide comprehensive, universal care.

One theme of the meeting was the pernicious role the health care industry was playing in the national debate.

According to Dr. Joseph Adams, a primary care physician and MoveOn.org leader, the insurance industry has four lobbyists in Washington for every member of Congress.

Congressman Cummings pointed out that two Maryland companies - BlueCross-BlueShield and United Heathcare, control 80% of the private health care market.

Cummings said "what good is having choice if you can't afford it? A public option gives us real choice because it will bring down costs."

One often overlooked aspect of the health care debate is the somewhat bipartisan attempt to tax "premium" health care plans.

The AFL-CIO's Mason pointed out that union workers often gave up wage and pension increases to save their health care coverage.

Mason called for a plan that covers the 47 million uninsured without punishing insured workers "who have already given and given."

The Senator Theater, which closed this year, was the last of the "single-screen" movie houses in Maryland. It seated 900at capacity. Over the years it was the scene of many movie premiers, including several by Baltimore director John Waters.

Californians demand action on climate change

Tue, 27 Oct 2009 07:40:00 +0000

Photo: by Smoobs www.flickr.com/photos/smoo/4047462868/sizes/l/#cc_license Creative Commons 2.0 Generic

In New York, Puerto Ricans show support for island’s public employees

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 20:46:00 +0000

NEW YORK — Braving the cold, the wind, and the rain, Puerto Ricans and others gathered in front of the offices of the Puerto Rico Federal Affairs Administration here Oct. 15 in support of their brothers and sisters in Puerto Rico who marched 100,000-plus strong to protest the latest wholesale firings of government workers by Gov. Luis Fortuño. He was elected to his first term last year as a Republican, promising to jumpstart the economy, but so far, job losses and negative growth have continued.

A representative of the newly formed group Red de Apoyo a los Trabajadores en Puerto Rico (Support Network for Puerto Rican Workers) stated that Fortuño's decision to push through his plan for the massive firings of public employees is social and economic barbarity that will only intensify the economic crisis and increase privatizing basic services.

In Puerto Rico, union, church and other members of civil society protested the firings of more than 25,000 public employees by the Fortuño administration since he took office in January. At the end of September, Fortuño announced the firing of an additional 10,000 public workers.

The administration says the firings are in accordance with Public Law 7, which declares a state of emergency, and establishes a plan to stabilize the economy and save Puerto Rican credit.

Hiram Rivera, the leader of the Nationalist Party in New York, said the crisis worsens when lawmakers refuse to impose taxes on foreign corporations. Flyers, distributed throughout iPuerto Rico's working-class and poor neighborhoods, state in 2008 foreign corporations, which in many cases do not pay taxes, realized profits of $33 million that were taken out of the country.

This was underscored by Edwin Irizarry Mora, the former gubernatorial candidate from the Puerto Rican Independence Party, in his reply to Fortuño's argument that his administration had exhausted all alternatives before falling back on the decision to fire the public employees. Irizarry reiterated that the alternatives his party has proposed is the imposition of taxes on foreign entities.

This was a detail of the 1947 Law of Industrial Incentives of Operation Bootstrap, , to build factories in Puerto Rico. Under a 1947 law, the brainchild of Governor Luis Muñoz Marín, whose main focus was to attract foreign capital, corporations were exempted from paying taxes on their profits for a period of 10 years. This grace period was later extended to 25 years.

The government built factories that were rented to these corporations. Plus the labor pool was another incentive. Wages paid to Puerto Rican workers were much lower than those paid to their counterparts in the United States.

Upon conclusion of the 25-year grace period, during which the corporations realized millions in profits, instead of beginning to pay the taxes, they pulled up stakes and took their industries to other countries, leaving thousands of unemployed workers. In the countries to where these corporations took their business their products were produced by workers receiving even less than the Puerto Rican workers had received.

The companies that chose to remain in Puerto Rico are still exempt from taxes, taxes that many argue, would prevent the loss of jobs and not allow the wasteful extravagances of this administration.

The Service Employees International Union put $200,000 towards a campaign to educate and mobilize their members and allies about the struggles of the Puerto Rican public employees.

New Haven marks International Day of Climate Action

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:09:00 +0000

Over 200 people braved rain and wind on the historic New Haven Green October 24 for International Day of Climate Action. After some speeches and music, a human "350" was formed, signifying the immediate decrease in carbon footprint that must be achieved in the world, down from the present 385 which is melting the artic icecaps. An evening program featured more speakers and a potluck dinner. Students and community activists mingled together, joining with similar actions taking place on all continents.

Organizers of the 350.org campaign are calling for a rapid reduction in carbon emission. They hope to influence work on a United Nations treaty scheduled for completion this December at a conference in Copenhagen, Denmark. They support a high enough price on carbon to cut down usage and measures to insure a fair chance for developing countries. In 2007 they helped organize over 2,000 demonstrations in the United States, which leads the industrialized world in per capita emissions, which succeeded in the first Congressional action to reduce carbon dioxide.

Photo: Justin Haaheim

Protests rock Chicago bankers conference

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 19:00:00 +0000

CHICAGO — Chanting "ABA you're the worst, time to put the people first," over 1,000 people confronted the officers of some of America's biggest banks today, Oct. 26, on the second of three days of protest during an ABA (American Bankers Association) conference. Tomorrow on the third day thousands more, including AFL-CIO president Richard Trumka and Change to Win president Anna Burger, will demonstrate in the name of taxpayers, retirees, family farmers, clergy, workers, students, homeowners, and community allies.

Today's protest also included protesters taking over the lobby of Goldman Sachs Chicago Headquarters demanding that the officers accept a letter from people hurt by their policies. Protesters carried signs demanding rigorous re-regulation of banks and financial institutions and for breaking up the biggest banks deemed "too big to fail."

Tea baggers leave Los Angeles

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 17:06:00 +0000

A counter-demonstration to a tea bagger anti-health care rally was held at Griffith Park in the Los Angeles area. The location was hard to find, hidden in an area of the park that was not easily accessible

The police closed off the road leading to that area so only a few of us were able to get there.

The tea baggers had their rally and claimed they were grassroots in nature proudly pointing to their hand made signs but their buses said differently.

At one point it was suggested that we go into the crowd and have a dialog with them - not in a confrontational way - but to ask them why they would want to deny us healthcare.

Honduran freedom fighter seeks American allies

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 13:16:00 +0000

DALLAS -- Dr. Luther Castillo, Communications Secretary for the Committee to Oppose the Coup d'etat in Honduras, spoke recently at a meeting held in the Honduran immigrant community in Plano, Texas, on October 17. Castillo responded to a call from the Dallas Committee for the Restoration of Democracy in Honduras.

Dr. Castillo was already internationally famous before the June 28 coup, because he established a medical clinic for the desperately poor Garifuna peoples of Central America. Pastors for Peace and other North American organizations attempted to help with this humanitarian effort.

After the oligarchy kidnapped president Manuel Zelaya Rosales, Castillo was in danger because of his close ties to the progressive aspects of the Honduran government. He came to the United States and began organizing support for democracy. In September, he was well received at the AFL-CIO convention, which then strengthened its position in favor of the democratic forces.

Following the Plano meeting Dr. Castillo visited religious, civil rights, and union groups to make personal appeals for support. He asks that U.S. citizens put more pressure on the government here to restore democracy in Honduras. Even though President Obama has denounced the coup d'etat, certain Republican Congressmen have been promoting the illegal Honduran government and trying to legitimize the elections that the illegal government expects to hold in November. The U.S. could add additional economic sanctions against the illegal government, too, says Castillo.
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At a local union meeting, Castillo said that 16 of the 40 protestors killed in the streets of Honduras so far were union leaders. The president of the agricultural workers' union had been murdered the previous day, Castillo said. He expressed his great appreciation for the AFL-CIO and the many unions that were passing resolutions in favor of Honduran democracy.

Second $250 stimulus urged for 57 million

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 12:05:00 +0000

President Obama has asked Congress to pass a second $250 stimulus - that's $250 per person for 57 million people. They include those on Social Security, railroad retirees, veterans and people with disabilities. The $250 payments will help make up for any decrease in 2010 Social Security checks.

Decreases are expected because the premium is going up for the prescription drug plan, Medicare Part D. Those premiums are deducted from the monthly checks for millions on Social Security. Others, like this writer, have opted to pay the premiums directly. Either way, it takes part of our Social Security check.

For the past 35 years, Social Security checks have gone up each year thanks to COLA - cost of living adjustment. Yet for 2010, no COLA increase will be paid. The reason given is that the consumer price index has gone down! (Cost of living adjustments are tied to the federal consumer price index.)

Seniors are asking, "How can that be?" Their medical costs are shooting up. And the average monthly SS check is only $1,061.

"While inflation is down over all, medical inflation, which comprises 30 percent of seniors' average expenses, is still going up," said Dave Certner, legislative policy director at AARP. "Combined with losses in savings, investments and home values, seniors feel like they're falling further and further behind."

Fortunately, there is a law that limits the increase in Medicare Part B premiums that cover doctors' visits. The cost for doctors' visits is also going up. But under this law, the increase cannot be larger than the COLA increase in our Social Security benefits. Since there is no COLA increase for 2010, they cannot raise the Part B deduction from our SS checks.

Advocates for seniors and others depending on Social Security say a similar law is urgently needed to protect SS checks from increases in Part D for prescription drugs.

This crisis is yet another reason to pass real health care reform. Edward F. Coyle, of the Alliance for Retired Americans, explains:

In addition to economic recovery measures such as the additional $250 Obama is calling for, Coyle says, "we must help current and future retirees by making sweeping, positive changes to health care."

"Congress must quickly pass a health insurance reform bill that closes the Medicare Part D doughnut hole, lowers prescription drug costs, helps early retirees afford health care coverage, and assists middle-class families with the costs of long-term care."

"It must be a bill that has a public option as an alternative to insurance companies that profit by denying care and discriminating against pre-existing conditions," Coyle says. "The final bill must not tax health plans or benefits, as this would hurt retirees the hardest."

Photo: Retired truck driver Frank Ferrira, 90, talks about Social Security at a Florida senior center. (AP/J Pat Carter)

PA rally backs single payer bills

Mon, 26 Oct 2009 11:46:00 +0000

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Close to 1500 Pennsylvanians packed the main Capitol rotunda recently to call for passage of a bill that could make their state the first in the nation to put a single payer health insurance plan in place.

State Sen. Jim Ferlo from western Pennsylvania captured the sentiment of the day and drew loud applause when he told the crowd, "We are for a public option; a public option is a single payer plan." He went on to say that "We have never seen such a movement for health care as we see today, but our voices are not always heard because we are facing a corporate media." He called the attempts by some in Congress to appease the private health insurance industry "gobbledy gook" and contrasted the complex 1000 page bills with the single payer HR 676, which he noted is only nine pages long. Kevin Zeese of Prosperity Agenda agreed and denounced the influence of big insurance in Washington saying "We need to make the insurance industry radioactive!"

The rally drew supporters from all parts of the state and included a wide range of health care, professional, community, labor and faith based groups. They carried signs bearing the words "Everybody in; Nobody out!" and "Health care for all now". One sign proclaimed "Pregnant with hope for health care for all!" The crowd was addressed by a remarkable range of speakers: some from local Pennsylvania communities and some from national organizations. Former CIGNA executive Wendell Potter told how he had travelled a political journey from private insurance industry PR representative to strong advocate for single payer. Dr. Margaret Flowers of Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), one of the activists forcibly removed from the Senate Finance Committee hearings earlier this year, said that making sure everyone has access to quality health care "is what civilized countries do." The rally also included moments of levity and political satire, such as when the "billionaires for wealthcare now" displayed signs reading "Down with socialism! Up with feudalism!"

Following the rally, the crowd broke into smaller groups, and many headed for the offices of key legislators to urge support for the two key bills which would bring a single payer plan to the keystone state. House Bill 1660 and its companion Senate Bill 400 have the support of organizations ranging from PNHP and the Progressive Democrats of America to the Pennsylvania AFL-CIO, represented at the rally by its president Bill George, to the nonpartisan League of Women Voters. Governor Ed Rendell has said he would sign single payer legislation if it reaches his desk.

Diane Mohney also contributed to this article.