film criticism by maryann johanson | since 1997
Universal single-payer. Universal single-payer. Universal single-payer. It’s the only thing that makes any sense. It’s ridiculous to talk about all these different tendrils of problems and how it looks like they may be on their way to be mended, a little, when one simple change could have fixed them all, forever.
For a succinct explanation of why the just-passed health-care reform legislation is complete bullshit and a total gift to greedy, murderous insurance corporations, see this rundown from Firedoglake [warning: PDF]. Did you know that: This bill is almost identical to the plan written by AHIP, the insurance company trade association, in 2009. Or that: The … more…
“The people’s interest, and the people’s future”? What a crock. As long as for-profit insurance companies are allowed to continue doing business, this bullshit “reform” is in the insurance companies’ interest. Maybe it’s true that the bill on offer prohibits insurance companies from denying you coverage for a preexisting condition, or from dropping you when … more…
Obviously, the Olympics with its international competition and accompanying bragging rights is a kind of ritualized war. Here’s an idea: Could we perhaps actually replace war with the Olympics alone? I mean, if two countries have a beef over, say, natural resources or territorial rights, does it really make any less sense to leave the … more…
So, Obama runs down the outrages of the health insurance companies, yet doesn’t mention the obvious solution: Shut. Them. Down. We don’t need the health insurance companies. The purpose of health insurance companies is to turn a profit, not to provide health care — in fact providing health care is antithetical to the purpose of … more…
Mr. President, with all due respect, fuck you very much. In February 2008, the Obama campaign ran this ad against Hillary Clinton (via Dead Horse): If Obama recognized in early 2008 that individual mandates are bad — and they are, unless the insurance corporations are stringently regulated, as they are in other countries that require … more…
Take a break from work: watch a trailer… Oh my goodness, won’t someone think of the children? The wee babies, they’re going to diiiiiiiiiiieeeeeeee! Is there no heroic doctor among us who can help them? Hoorah! It’s Harrison Ford to the rescue! But hey, why doesn’t Brendan Fraser just take his dying kids back to … more…
Another example of why the U.S.’s health insurance paradigm must die: I’d like men to think very carefully about this: Imagine you were told you could get health insurance only if you were to have a vasectomy… (via Feministing)
President Obama, we already know that health care is strangling us. You don’t need to tell us. Do something about it. Go get righteous on the people who are holding up the process. And stop talking about making it easy for everyone to buy insurance. Insurance is the problem, not the solution. And you know … more…
In the interest of presenting both sides of the story, here’s the best the anti-health-care-reform people can muster: Dear God! East Germany had a single-payer auto industry! And because we love cars in America, we cannot let single-payer health car happen. Won’t someone think of the cars? Also: just because there may be problems with … more…
