fucking unbelievable and pathetic
December 13, 2006 / 11:01 a.m.
So I log onto Talkingpointsmemo.com (which is a blog run by someone who lives in NYC and covers national politics) this morning, like i do every morning, and i see this headline:
"(December 13, 2006 -- 12:09 PM EST // link)
Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) to roll out his proposal for universal health care today.
-- David Kurtz"
Which leads to a detailed article in USA Today detailing Ron Wyden (aka Oregon's top politician) and how he has a very real plan to provide universal health-care coverage.
Here's an actual portion from the article, or you can read the whole thing:
"A dozen years after Congress rejected a Clinton administration plan for universal health care, Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden is readying a proposal to provide health care coverage to all Americans through a pool of private insurance plans.......
Called the "Healthy Americans Act," the plan would require that employers "cash out" their existing health plans by terminating coverage and paying the amount saved directly to workers as increased wages. Workers then would be required to buy health insurance from a large pool of private plans.
After two years, companies would no longer have to pay the higher wages. Instead, Wyden said, they would pay into an insurance pool, based on annual revenues and the number of full-time workers.
The Lewin Group, a Virginia-based health care consulting firm that reviewed Wyden's plan, said it would reduce health spending by private employers by nearly three-quarters, and would save $1.4 trillion in total national health care spending over the next decade.
Increases in premium payments for individuals and families would be offset by higher wages and subsidies provided under the plan, the report said. As an example, Wyden cited a worker who earned $60,000 last year, and received about $12,000 worth of health care coverage."
So that sounds great, right? I know i was excited. 50 million+ americans (my girlfriend who has stage Four Hodgkin's and myself included) and counting without any health insurance? Millions a year dying or suffering because they can't afford the proper care?
So yeah, it takes on added significance when your girlfriend has cancer and doesn't have health insurance, and you've just spent the last two months since the diagnosis seeing first hand how someone in this situation immediately becomes a second class citizen to health care in almost every situation (just imagine, it's to depressing to detail).
But wait!
Out of all the major news sources in Oregon, One fucking tv station has a link 80 percent down it's website page. I don't count Koin.com, because they only mention it by way of the National AP Wire scroll, which they have absolutely no control over locally.
Here's what Koin finds more important, by the way:
"One Person Dead In Small Plane Crash
One person died Tuesday when a small plane crashed Tuesday on the Oregon Coast.
Update: Fallen Tree Closes Cornelius Pass
Cornelius Pass Road has reopened after a large tree fell across the roadway and became tangled in power lines.
Local 6-Year-Old An Oscar Mayer 'Winner'
A Portland-area kindergartner has won a national Oscar Mayer jingle-singing contest.
382,000 Boeing Workers At Risk After Theft
The theft of a laptop computer has put 382,000 Boeing workers and retirees at risk for identity theft and credit-card fraud.
Les Schwab Considers Leaving Oregon
Les Schwab Tire Centers is moving its corporate offices from Prineville, Ore.
Pig Farmer Accused In Serial Killings
A jury has been chosen in the murder trial of a British Columbia pig farmer accused of killing at least 26 women.
Man Arrested Twice For Alcohol-Related Crashes
Oregon State Police arrested a man twice for two separate alcohol-related crashes in the same night.
Fatal Crash Kills Pregnant Woman
A pregnant woman is killed in a head-on collision after losing control of her vehicle on Highway 97.
Update: Missing Vancouver Teen Returns Home
Missing and endangered teen Lila High, 15, has returned home according to police."
Again, NO mention of it anywhere on their website other than on the AP wire scroll, which, again, incidentally, means total shit.
The other two major stations? Nothing!
The Oregonian page? Nothing! (i guess they're too busy all taking lessons on how to write news articles above a fourth grade reading comprehension level... true story, it's actually been studied).
So it doesn't matter, does it?
Three hikers on Mt. Hood who put themselves into the situation where they were in a blizzard and are helpless (yeah, it sucks) are all front page stories. THAT'S what is important.
And you wonder why nobody cares or gives a shit or fuck about ANYTHING important anymore.
Fuck everything.