Healthcare nuttiness

Ye gods. The incomprehensible health care plan now in the Senate Finance Committee has 564 amendments. A public option that would compete with the insurance industry is still being lied about and demonized in the Senate, the House and the country at large.

In the meantime, lots of Americans know that there is universal health care in Canada, France, Germany, Italy, the UK, Denmark, Sweden and Cuba. But the list of countries with some kind of universal coverage goes on: Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Israel, Finland, Luxembourg, Iceland, Costa Rica, Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, Oman and South Korea, Plus those little places called Russia, Ukraine, China, Japan, New Zealand and Australia.

Here in the US we have that (sssh!) socialist coverage for seniors called Medicare. Instead of 564 amendments and perpetual kowtowing to the ever more voracious profiteers of the health industry, we could extend Medicare to all. But not while legislators float on a sea of lobbyists and sell themselves to corporate greed. Nor while millions allow themselves to be hypnotized by the Fox machine.

It seems we cannot even get that public option. The whole scene is just plain nuts.