Keith Olbermann's Special Comment On Health Care Reform - Wed. Oct. 7, 2009

Keith Olbermann dedicated his entire program tonight to Health Care. It was an outstanding hour of programming. As DarkSyde at Daily Kos said, "It is tragic, it is raw; the intense, personal emotional honesty this newscaster shares with his viewers is nothing short of riveting. If you haven’t seen it yet, this is something you are going to want to watch from heart rending start to sobering finish."

If you missed it watch it at Daily Kos TV:  Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5

Or watch at MSNBC.  Read the Transcript here.

The following 3 clips show much, but not all of the program:

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Transcript about the "plan"

So I propose tonight one act with two purposes. I propose we, all of us, embrace the selfless individuals at the National Association of Free Clinics. You know them, they conducted the mass health care free clinic in Houston that served 1,500 people. I want a mass health care free clinic every week in the principle cities of the states of the six senators key to defeating a filibuster against health care reform in the Senate.

I want Sens. Lincoln and Pryor to see what health care poverty is really like in Little Rock. I want Sen. Baucus to see it in Butte. I want Sen. Ben Nelson to see it in Lincoln. I want Sen. Landro to see it in Baton Rouge. I want Sen. Reid to see it in Las Vegas.

I'll donate. How much will you donate? We enable thousands of our neighbors to have just a portion of the bounty of good health, and we make a statement to the politicians, forgive me, William Jennings Bryan, "you shall not press down upon the brow of America this crown of insurance, you shall not crucify mankind upon a cross of blue."

We think these events will be firmed up presently. You will be able to link from our website.

Trust me, I'll remind you. Because in one party, in one demographic, in one protest movement, we are all brothers and sisters. We are united in membership in the party that insists that every chance at life be afforded to every American seeking that chance.

We are united in membership in the party that insists on the right of everyone to the startling, transcendent blessings of the technological advance of medical science. We are united in membership in the party that is for life, that is against death, that is for lower premiums, that is against higher deductibles, that is for the peace of mind that can be provided only by the elimination of the fear that cost will decide whether we live or we die!

Because that's the point, isn't it? It is hard enough to recover, to fight past pain and to stave off death, if just for a season or a week or a day. It is so hard, that eventually for you, for me, for this president, for these blue dogs, for these protestors it is so hard to recover, that for all of us there will come a time when we will not recover. So, why are we making it harder?

Keith will be providing information about how to donate in this cause as they get set up.  

National Association of Free Clinics   

The National Association of Free Clinics (NAFC) is the only nonprofit 501c(3)
organization whose mission is solely focused on the issues and needs of the
more than 1,200 free clinics and the people they serve in the United States.

Founded in 2001 and headquartered in Washington, D.C., the NAFC is an effective advocate for the issues and concerns of free clinics, their volunteer workforce of doctors, dentists, nurses, therapists, pharmacists, nurse practitioners, technicians and other health care professionals, and the patients served by free clinics in communities throughout the nation.  Learn More.

Countdown:Obama at a health care crossroads

Source: MSNBC

Keith Olbermann: Obama Could Have Primary Challenge If Public Option Is Dropped

Keith Olbermann & Washington Post's Gene Robinson: President Obama Could Have Primary Challenge If Public Option Is Dropped - 09/03/09

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Countdown: Handling health care negotiations

Source: MSNBC

Olbermann: Legislators for sale

Special Comment on Health Care Reform in this country, and in particular, the "public insurance option":

Excerpt:

You get something done, at a doctor's, at a dentist's, at an emergency room and the bills are in your hands before the pain medication wears off. And if you're one of the lucky ones, and you have insurance, you submit the endless paperwork and no matter whether it's insurance through your company, or your union, or your non-profit, or on your own dime, you then get your turn… at the roulette wheel.

How much of it is the insurance company going to pay this time? How much of it is the insurance company — about which you have next to no choice, and against which you have virtually no appeal — how much is this giant corporation going to give you back? What small percentage of what they told you they were going to pay you, will they actually pay you?
You know the answer. And, you know the answer if you don't have insurance. But do you know why that's the answer?

Because the insurance industry owns the Republican Party. Not exclusively. Pharma owns part of it, too. Hospitals and HMO's, another part. Nursing homes — they have a share. You name a Republican, any Republican, and he is literally brought to you by... campaign donations from the Health Sector.

Source: MSNBC