Health care coverage is a humanitarian right- Medicare4All

Medicare for All: "Everyone deserves healthcare—pandemic or not—and Medicare for All can get us there... We need Congress to put people before profits and support Medicare for All."

Report echo published in Common Dreams

'Everyone In, Nobody Out': Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Washington) and Rep. Debbie Dingell (D-Michigan) introduce Medicare for All Act, with112 Co-Sponsors.

"A system that prioritizes profits over patients and ties coverage to employment was no match for a global pandemic and will never meet the needs of our people."

Medicare4All would have prevented hundreds of of COVID deaths:

"We need to be prepared for the next pandemic, and we can't be under the current for-profit system."

Affirming that healthcare is a basic human right and that people must come before profits, Reps. Pramila Jayapal and Debbie Dingell introduced the Medicare for All Act of 2021, on Wednesday, exactly one year after the first coronavirus cases were confirmed in all 50 U.S. states and the District of Columbia.

Jayapal (D-Wash.) and Dingell (D-Mich.) unveiled the landmark legislation at a virtual town hall Wednesday afternoon, where they highlighted the devastating effects of a virus that has killed more than 537,000 people in the United States while leaving millions more uninsured due to pandemic-related job loss and underemployment.

The bill (pdf)—backed by a record 112 House co-sponsors—guarantees healthcare to every U.S. resident as a human right. It provides comprehensive benefits including primary care, vision, dental, prescription drugs, mental health, long-term services and supports, reproductive healthcare, and other services. It eliminates copays and private insurance premiums.

In a statement introducing the bill, Jayapal noted that the country is currently experiencing the highest increase in uninsured people ever recorded.

"While this devastating pandemic is shining a bright light on our broken, for-profit healthcare system, we were already leaving nearly half of all adults under the age of 65 uninsured or underinsured before Covid-19 hit," said Jayapal. "And we were cruelly doing so while paying more per capita for healthcare than any other country in the world."

On Tuesday, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen published a report showing that around 40% of U.S. Covid-19 infections and 33% of virus deaths are attributable to a lack of adequate health insurance coverage. At the onset of the pandemic, around 87 million Americans were uninsured or underinsured.

"There is a solution to this health crisis—a popular one that guarantees healthcare to every person as a human right and finally puts people over profits and care over corporations," said Jayapal. "That solution is Medicare for All—everyone in, nobody out—and I am proud to introduce it today alongside a powerful movement across America."

In a statement introducing the bill, Jayapal noted that the country is currently experiencing the highest increase in uninsured people ever recorded.

Dingell said in a statement that "a system that prioritizes profits over patients and ties coverage to employment was no match for a global pandemic and will never meet the needs of our people."

"In the wealthiest nation on Earth, patients should not be launching GoFundMe pages to afford lifesaving healthcare for themselves or their loved ones," she asserted. "Medicare For All will build an inclusive healthcare system that won't just open the door to care for millions of our neighbors, but do it more efficiently and effectively than the one we have today."

"Now is not the time to shy away from these generational fights," stressed Dingell, "it is the time for action."

Representatives of the more than 300 local, state, and national organizations endorsing the bill agreed.

"While this devastating pandemic is shining a bright light on our broken, for-profit healthcare system, we were already leaving nearly half of all adults under the age of 65 uninsured or underinsured before Covid-19 hit," said Jayapal. "And we were cruelly doing so while paying more per capita for healthcare than any other country in the world."

On Tuesday, the consumer advocacy group Public Citizen published a report showing that around 40% of U.S. Covid-19 infections and 33% of virus deaths are attributable to a lack of adequate health insurance coverage. At the onset of the pandemic, around 87 million Americans were uninsured or underinsured.

"There is a solution to this health crisis—a popular one that guarantees healthcare to every person as a human right and finally puts people over profits and care over corporations," said Jayapal. "That solution is Medicare for All—everyone in, nobody out—and I am proud to introduce it today alongside a powerful movement across America."

"Physicians cannot give patients the care they need in a fractured and profit-driven system," said Dr. Susan Rogers, a Chicago-based internal medicine physician and president of Physicians for a National Health Plan (PNHP), in a statement. "For too long, doctors have watched helplessly as our patients delayed or skipped needed care—even walked out of our hospital doors—because they could not afford to pay."

"We can't let Congress sit on their hands while our patients suffer and die needlessly," added Rogers. "It's time to invest in a system that is designed to improve health outcomes, not profit margins. It's time for single-payer Medicare for All."

American voters fired Donald Trump and Mike Pence

New reports overlook the rejection of Mike Pence and focus on Donald Trump's election loss.  In my opinion, both of them were fired by the majority of American voters.

Published on Sunday, November 08, 2020
by  Common Dreams

'Great News for Progressives Around the World': International Applause After US Voters Fire Donald Trump

"It's time to get back to building bridges, not walls." Leaders from around the world congratulate the Democrats, but say much damage done by Trump requires repair. 

By Jon Queally, staff writer

Celebrations took place across the globe and congratulations from world leaders for U.S. President-elect Joe Biden and Vice President-election Kamala Harris poured in Saturday and into Sunday after the Democratic ticket was declared the decisive winner in the 2020, election and results showed that Donald J. Trump had been soundly "fired" by the American people.

"Great news for progressives around the world that Joe Biden and Kamala Harris have defeated Trump," tweeted former Labour Party leader Jeremy Corbyn from the United Kingdom, one of America's longest and closest allies. "Let's work together internationally to build a better, fairer, greener, peaceful and more equal world."

From London, the city's progressive Mayor Sadiq Khan—who often clashed with Trump and denounced the U.S. president's racism—congratulated both Biden and Harris on their victory. "London looks forward to working with you," Khan tweeted. "It's time to get back to building bridges, not walls."

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Arden, who recently won a landslide reelection victory in her country, sent well-wishes to the incoming U.S. leaders.

"Congratulations President-elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris on your victory in the U.S. presidential election," Arden declared in an Instagram post. "With so many issues facing the international community, your message of unity is one we share. New Zealand looks forward to working with you both!"

While Trump, as of this writing, has still refused to acknowledge his defeat or issue a concession, Slate's Ben Mathis-Lilley on Saturday explained that Biden's victory is quite decisive in historical terms:

Defeating a sitting United States president is an extraordinarily hard thing to do, but with the vote count mounting in his favor, Biden turns out to have done it with relative ease. Per current estimates, he will receive something like 51.3 percent of the national popular vote, 3 percentage points more than Hillary Clinton and a higher total than any candidate challenging an incumbent president since FDR got 57 percent against Herbert Hoover in 1932. That’s more than Ronald Reagan got (50.7 percent) in his 1980 win over Jimmy Carter, which is still (accurately!) heralded as a paradigm shift in American politics.

Mahmoud Abbas, President of the Palestinian Authority, also congratulated the pair in a Sunday statement and urged the new U.S. administration to "strengthen the Palestinian-American relationship" as a way to foster "peace, stability and security" throughout the Middle East region. Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, meanwhile, tweeted: "Joe, we've had a long & warm personal relationship for nearly 40 years, and I know you as a great friend of Israel."

From Iran, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif—who criticized Trump relentlessly for imposing brutal sanctions on the Iranian people and pulling out of the international nuclear agreement that was implemented under the Obama-Biden administration—suggested it was a new day for future relations between the two nations. "The American people have spoken," said Zarif.

Separately, Iran's Vice-President Eshagh Jahangiri said his government hopes for "a change in the destructive policies of the United States, a return to the rule of law and international obligations, and respect for nations" now that Trump will soon be leaving the White House.

And President Hassan Rouhani said Sunday that Biden must work to repair the damage done by Trump and the betrayal committed against previous international commitments made by the United States.

"An opportunity has arisen now for the next U.S. administration to make up for the past mistakes and return to the course of commitment to international obligations by respecting international principles," Rouhani said. "The Islamic Republic," he added, "considers constructive interaction with the world to be its strategy."

Mexico President Andrés Manuel López Obrador took a more hesitant approach to the U.S. election results, indicating in a Saturday statement that he would withhold his congratulations until any legal challenges related to vote count were resolved or when the results are officially certified.

"With regard to the U.S. election, we are going to wait until all the legal matters have been resolved," López Obrador said at a news conference. "I can't congratulate one candidate or the other. I want to wait until the electoral process is over."

Kenyan President Uhuru Kenyatta said the "emphatic win" by Biden and Harris in the U.S. was "a demonstration of Americans' confidence in the leadership credentials of the former vice-president." And in Nigeria, President Muhammadu Buhari said Trump's ouster arrived at "time of uncertainty and fear in world affairs" as he congratulated Biden. "His election," Buhari added, "is a reminder that democracy is the best form of government because it offers the people the opportunity to change their government by peaceful means."

But most people of the world—like most within the United States—have been able to see that Biden's win was decisive, and despite Trump's refusal to concede and his continued unhinged proclamations that he won when all the evidence shows he clearly lost, led to street celebrations both in the U.S. and abroad.

As Slate reports, fireworks erupted across Europe and people across the continent were queuing up for champagne at local shops and dancing in the streets.

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Hurricane Dorian and climate change - hitting vulnerable communities first

This echo includes links to several articles about climate change.

Bahamas Stunned as Hurricane Dorian Receded: ‘It’s Like a Bomb Went Off’- The New York Times

George Bolter and his parents walked through the remains of his home destroyed by Hurricane Dorian, in the Pine Bay neighborhood of Freeport, Bahamas, on Wednesday September 4, 2019. Ramon Espinosa/Associated Press

Opinion echo published in Common Dreams- by Jessica Corbitt

Analysis Finds US Corporate Media 'Failing to Connect Climate Crisis to Strongest Atlantic Storm Ever to Hit Land'"The media needs to do more," Justice Democrats wrote in an email to supporters Wednesday

Devastation from Hurricane Dorian provokes calls for reporters to acknowledge the climate emergency's connection to extreme weather.

An airplane sat on the side of a road in the aftermath of Hurricane Dorian, in the Pine Bay neighborhood, of Freeport, Bahamas, on Wednesday.CreditRamon Espinosa/Associated Press

While Hurricane Dorian marched up the U.S. Southeastern coast Wednesday (September 4, 2019) after devastating the Northern Bahamas, advocates for ambitious climate action reiterated the global emergency's connection to extreme weather—even as an analysis showed that major corporate news outlets are failing to report on it.

After making landfall as a Category 5* hurricane on Sunday (September 2, 2019), Dorian crawled across the Bahamas Monday and Tuesday—leaving a trail of utter destruction in its wake.

(Maine Writer ~Donald Trump reported to the media that he never heard of a Category 5 since he's been in office! #SIASD #OMG!)

The Union of Concerned Scientists explained earlier this year how experts believe the human-caused climate crisis is causing more intense hurricanes:

While hurricanes are a natural part of our climate system, recent research suggests that there has been an increase in intense hurricane activity in the North Atlantic since the 1970s. In the future, there may not necessarily be more hurricanes, but there will likely be more intense hurricanes that carry higher wind speeds and more precipitation as a result of global warming. The impacts of this trend are likely to be exacerbated by sea level rise and a growing population along coastlines.

"Although Hurricane Dorian exemplifies what climate scientists have warned about, major U.S. media outlets are failing to connect the climate crisis to the strongest Atlantic storm ever to hit land," Public Citizen declared in an analysis Tuesday.

The consumer advocacy group found that "between Friday and Monday, climate or global warming was mentioned in just 7.2 percent of the 167 pieces on ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC, and Fox. The top 49 newspapers by circulation didn't do much better. Of them, 32 covered Dorian in their print editions, but only eight papers connected Dorian to climate. Of 363 articles about Dorian in those papers' print editions, just nine (2.5 percent) mentioned climate change."

Public Citizen highlighted the findings on Dorian coverage in a pair of tweets Tuesday. "For the last damn time: Climate change makes hurricanes worse," and "the media's cowardice makes climate change worse," the group wrote.

For the last damn time:
Climate change makes hurricanes worse.

And also:
Climate change makes floods worse.
Climate change makes droughts worse.
Climate change makes wildfires worse.

And finally:
The media's cowardice makes climate change worse. pic.twitter.com/FRbMjkGMgA

— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) September 3, 2019

"It is mind-boggling that major media outlets can report about a storm of epic proportions that is exactly what climate scientists have warned about yet fail to mention two key words: 'climate change," said Allison Fisher, outreach director for Public Citizen's Energy Program. "We can't address the looming climate catastrophe if we aren't talking about it."

Public Citizen was far from alone in that observation. As New York Times columnist David Leonhardt wrote Tuesday, "much of the conversation about Hurricane Dorian—including most media coverage—ignores climate change." According to him, "That's a mistake. It's akin to talking about lung cancer and being afraid to mention smoking, or talking about traffic deaths and being afraid to talk about drunken driving."

"The media needs to do more," Justice Democrats wrote in an email to supporters Wednesday. "These natural disasters are escalating because of climate change, but too few reporters and pundits are willing to make that connection clear to the public. It doesn't matter if the climate crisis is a politicized issue—we can't afford to protect the feelings of conservatives and climate deniers in an era where we're seeing record high temperatures, massive ice melts, and deadly natural disasters."

While much of the corporate media failed to make the climate connection in Dorian coverage, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) acknowledged it on Twitter Tuesday evening. Sharing a video taken from a helicopter over the Bahamas, she tweeted, "This is what climate change looks like: it hits vulnerable communities first."

This is what climate change looks like: it hits vulnerable communities first.

I can already hear climate deniers screeching: “It’s always been like this! You’re dim,” etc.

No. This is about science & leadership. We either decarbonize & cut emissions, or we don’t & let people die. https://t.co/paUHKAp03e

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) September 3, 2019

Ocasio-Cortez, the House's lead sponsor of the historic Green New Deal resolution unveiled in February, added that the global community has a clear choice: either decarbonize and dramatically reduce planet-heating emissions—or don't, and "let people die."

Aerial footage of the Bahamas post-Dorian was also shared on social media by Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old whose protests outside the Swedish Parliament last year helped spur the global climate strike movement. The teen activist tweeted Wednesday, "How many more nations in ruins do we need to see?"

How many more nations in ruins do we need to see?#ClimateEmergency#EcologicalEmergency https://t.co/rHvNjpGnFc

— Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) September 4, 2019

The indepedent news program Democracy Now! is among the outlets that have acknowledged how the climate crisis relates to Dorian, including with a Wednesday morning report entitled, "'This Is a Climate Emergency': Islands Devastated by Dorian Are on the Frontlines of a Dying Planet."

"While the science has yet to come in on the specifics of just how much worse climate change made Dorian, we already know enough to say that warming worsened the damage," Michael Mann, a professor at Pennsylvania State University, and Andrew Dessler, a professor at Texas A&M University, wrote in an op-ed published by The Guardian Wednesday.

After outlining what scientists do know about planetary heating and hurricanes—including the evolving theory that climate change may cause storms to stall, leading to extra flooding and damage—the pair concluded that Dorian is "a preview of the climate crisis to come. The only question is whether we have the foresight to address it."

"Global heating made Hurricane Dorian bigger, wetter – and more deadly" | My op-ed with @AndrewDessler in The @Guardian: https://t.co/eWBHpB6Jgv

— Michael E. Mann (@MichaelEMann) September 4, 2019

Emergency response and humanitarian crews continued assessing the damage in the Bahamas and providing relief to residents of the islands Wednesday while Dorian moved parallel along the Florida coast as a Category 2 hurricane, with maximum sustained winds of 105 mph. According to the National Hurricane Center, as of mid-afternoon Wednesday, there are various hurricane, tropical storm, and storm surge watches and warnings in effect between Florida and Virginia.

Trump's failure to fight climate change is a crime against humanity

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/18/opinions/trumps-failure-to-fight-climate-change-sachs/index.html

*https://www.cnn.com/2019/09/01/politics/donald-trump-category-5-hurricane-dorian/index.html

But, Donald Trump doesn't think he's 'ever even heard of a Category 5' hurricane. Yet, four such intense storms have threatened the US since he took office.