Mad As Hell Doctors/Chris Giovacchini Ramirez/Cartoon

(P1) Political

Single-Payer System is the only solution to the nation's health care woes! Democrats in the administration say that it cannot pass. Yet they have the necessary votes to do what they want. Republicans vigorously opposed our two most popular programs, Social Security and Medicare, but two very courageous presidents, Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson, respectively, used all of their powers, including persuasion, to get the measures passed. This is a time for courage in the face of disgusting scare tactics and lies similar to those used by the same special interests who have opposed all social programs over the years.

The Democratic administration and congress not only are choosing to bypass a single payer provision, but we're also hearing noises that they may give up on the lesser public option and also not negotiate with drug companies for lowered prices. Both of these measures are necessary for even a modicum of success. In the event of their absence from the bill, President Obama must veto such a gutted mess that, in a year or so, Republicans would use as proof that healthcare reform had failed.

The devil is not in the details. The devil is in the health insurance and drug companies who will spend any amount of their vast wealth to stay alive and to thrive.

Let's not let insurance company profits dictate the quality of our health care. Those who stand and shout against reform are the very ones who suffer the most when insurance companies maximize profits by denying services.

Take a look at Dr. Adam Klugman's (yes, Jack's son) major efforts through Mad As Hell Doctors.Com.

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(P2) Poetical

Machine of a Man
by Chris Giovacchini-Ramirez
(see photo)

Suddenly, the elephant garlic is too big.
It hasn't been planted customarily
During the full moon in November.
The jeep battery goes dead.
Tippy nudges and drools at his elbow
For handouts once taboo.
She remembers that he doesn't.

The shovel is missing.
The raised vegetable beds are untended.
A homemade bird house is hung upside down.
In the shed, wine is turning to vinegar.

An aviary of wooden birds, whose pinwheel wings
Represent a progression of prototypes,
Hangs crippled in the garden breeze.
He can't get a dial tone on the television remote control.
The workbench and tools that created reindeer for Christmas,
Cats and dogs when it rained, lies silent in chaotic repose.

In spite of the latest medications, swallows weave the air,
Building mud nests in the corners of his mind.

A kiss on the cheek from
An old acquaintance, he rants, is a secret affair.
Television is mysterious array of images.
"Is that guy talking to me?," he asks.

Wrist watch worn upside down reflects a change in time.

It's a stigmata, on the family heart, that bleeds through stoic
Bandages and concealing clothes.

We cope.
We hold hands, I scratch his back, we sit together,
I ply and stretch his clenched hands.
When our eyes meet I tell him I love him,
"I love you too," he replies.

"I don't know where I am," he says. "This is a nursing home," I answer.
"Where do I go from here?", he asks. "Go toward the light," I tell him.

A tireless machine of a man.
An old piece of farm equipment,
Retired to a far corner of the field, oxidizing.

Comment or Read Comments Here on any of the above or below. Log in under "Name" or "Anonymous," but please be sure to sign some facsimile of your name. Actual name is best, but use what you like. Or email me at edcoletti@sbcglobal.net, and I can post it.

(P3) Philosophical