The Healthcare Holocaust Of The United States of America

[berni_mccoy]

When Rep. Grayson called our current health care system in the United States a holocaust, this was about as accurate a term as anyone could label it with.

Keeping in mind that there is some sensitivity that should be considered for the millions of Jews who were slaughtered in The Holocaust and that many people will be reminded of that genocide whenever the word holocaust is used, that event was labelled as such from a more ancient word.

The word holocaust means to sacrifice lives through fire.

When you consider that more than 44 thousand Americans are dying each year because they cannot afford healthcare. What is the sacrifice? They are dying so the insurance companies can reap billions in profits and then turn around and burn those profits finding ways to kill even more Americans. Since Nixon began the health care scam that brings us to where we are, it's likely that more than ONE MILLION AMERICANS have died because they could not afford health care.

That is indeed a holocaust where the poor who become sick are expected to die quickly so the Health Insurance companies can burn more profit. Rep. Grayson was not overstating the situation. I've posted in that past at how many people are dying. 44 thousand Americans being sacrificed a year is a number that is unimaginable. In other words, in the time it has taken me to post this, someone just died because they could not afford health care. More than 120 people have died yesterday while the Senate Finance Committee voted down the Public Option. And during the month of the August recess, while Angry Republican Mobs try to shout down town hall discussions of why we need health care reform, approximately 4000 Americans died.

Every day matters. We must end the slaughter of American lives at the Altar of Profit of the Health Insurance Companies.

When Rep. Grayson called our miserable situation a holocaust, he was not overstating or committing hyperbole. He was speaking the truth of the reality we live in.

[virgogal]

1. Where did you get the figure of one million?

[Tansy_Gold]

3. 45,000 a year every year since Nixon. n/t

[virgogal]

5. Then where did THAT figure come from? What is the credible source?

[berni_mccoy]

7. Grayson quoted a Harvard study that shows 44k Americans are dying each year

because they can not afford health care.

[Melissa G]

14. No, I think his comments were because they don't have Health Insurance

Lots of us with crappy health insurance might be dying as well, which is why we need heath care reform, not health insurance reform.

[berni_mccoy]

9. LINK to results of study.

http://prescriptions.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/09/17/harvard-medical-study-links-lack-of-insurance-to-45000-us-deaths-a-year/

[virgogal]

10. Thank you------the Virgo in me makes me ask those questions.

[berni_mccoy]

22. And they were valid questions. Thanks.

[orpupilofnature57]

32. It's that innate analytical bug.

[berni_mccoy]

16. I'm not even counting that number to get to 1 million. I'm scaling it from the start

If you do 44k / year since then the number is 1.6 million.

[berni_mccoy]

6. Nixon started Health Care for Profit in the form of HMOs in 1971

Extrapolate the death rate to 1972 and you get more than a million. 1.6 million to be exact, but the numbers won't be 44k all the way back to 1972. It took some time to get to 44k, so 1 million accounts for that rate of increase.

[orpupilofnature57]

2. Trickie Dick is gone ,But his Spirit lives on ,on Hatch , Grassley and

the rest of Poppy's buds.

[brentspeak]

8. Actually, Nixon did try to implement plans for universal healthcare

It wasn't an ideal single-payer system that he had in mind, but it was something. As bizarre as it seems, Nixon was the last U.S. President who could truly be called "progressive" on domestic issues:

http://healthcare.change.org/blog/view/the_presidents_who_took_us_the_closest_to_universal_health_care_part_2

[izquierdista]

12. "Progressive"?

In a pig's eye! If you believe that line of bullshit, you probably believed he had a "secret plan" to end the war, too.

[berni_mccoy]

20. +1

I was wtfing at that too.

[brentspeak]

23. I said progressive on domestic issues

He was a duplicitous sleaze on all other things, especially the Vietnam War, foreign affairs (i.e., Chile), and breaking into political opponents' apartments and then lying about it, but he was responsible for

1) indexing Social Security to inflation (Supplemental Security Income)

2) establishing the Environmental Protection Agency (and signing the Clean Air Act)

3) increasing federal funds for food and public assistance programs -- while simultaneously decreasing the military budget

4) desegregating public schools and ordering the Justice Dept. to bring sex discrimination suits under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act

[berni_mccoy]

24. His "attempt" at universal healthcare is about has feeble as Baucus' bill

in other words, it was more of a mis-labelled gift to the health insurance industry.

[izquierdista]

25. Two possibilities

(1) You are wet behind the years and are reading about Nixon out of a history book or (2) You have forgotten that the man could lie even before opening his mouth. He was NOT responsible for the first three things on the list, they were pushed by the Democrats in Congress. As for the 4th, allowing a certain amount of desegregation and sex discrimination suits allowed him to stoke up his "Southern strategy" and "Silent Majority" base. He was a pro at setting up a straw man to denounce.

You need to know more about Nixon. I learned about him from the original Nixon-haters, people who saw through him when they saw his name on the ballot in his first run for Congress.

[orpupilofnature57]

31. Thank you ,I thought I was in the Twilight Zone. Sincerly Nixon -hater

[2Design]

4. exactly n/t

[Generator]

11. It even has a Polanski tie in!

The holocaust-and the Nazi that got away and was captured as an old man! Well anyway-Holocaust is loaded language and YET-45k a year is 8 years of soldiers in Iraq dying but 8 years of death every year. Or a 9/11 plus extras every month. OH YES, let's tie it to 9/11. WAIT. WE can't do that. They own it. Evil fucks-they do seem to own death quite well. That's the Republicons for those not paying attention.

[nadinbrzezinski]

13. Yes he did, and a tie in, with a personal, and very remarkable story

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=6668327&mesg_id=6668327

It shouldn't be remarkable, alas it is.

Oh and on edit, I am a child of the holocaust, perhaps I have read the dictionary, but the word did not bother me... one bit. Accurate...

[berni_mccoy]

15. Thank you for confirming that.

I know that some on the right are going to accuse him of using the term improperly and that is the motivation for my post. I greatly appreciate that you have spoken up on this.

[nadinbrzezinski]

17. Oh you welcome and they don't need the right

Rachel tried to push him. IT was an appropriate use of the term. That said, I know a few Jews, most likely not even children of survivors, or history students, who will be ahem, annoyed.

Me, it was an appropriate of the word... people forget many of these words are Latin in origin... and we don't have exclusive use over the term.

[berni_mccoy]

18. She pushed him because I think she wanted to hear him say he meant the more general use of the word

And I believe that's his intent. However, it is a charged word and there will be reaction to its use. I prefer to get out in front of it.

Again, thanks.

[Brickbat]

19. "Holocaust" is actually from the Greek.

From holokaustos "burned whole," from holos "whole" + kaustos, verbal adj. of kaiein "to burn."

[nadinbrzezinski]

21. True, greco latin roots, that is what I meant to say

Thanks.

[berni_mccoy]

26. Morning kick.

[Hubert Flottz]

27. K&R

I agree berni

[berni_mccoy]

30. Thank you. If only people could see that more than a million have died needlessly...

then people would be more willing to accept the fact that we need universal healthcare.

[chimpymustgo]

28. Great post. K&R.

[berni_mccoy]

29. Thanks.

[bullwinkle428]

33. 44,000 every year : the equivalent of a September 11th EVERY MONTH!!

Ya think the Repukes might use the word "holocaust" if terrorists were killing that many Americans each year?

[berni_mccoy]

34. Yes, they certainly would and they would be using it to pass any law they wanted