Your editorial dated Tuesday, August 18 is a perfect example of why there is so much anger and misinformation regarding healthcare. When you say people should make sure that “the only healthcare reform that comes about this year is a cut in the benefits lawmakers will receive” or when at a meeting with their member of congress, they should speak any way they get a chance, you are guilty of misguidance and stoking the flames. Encouraging disruption is a dishonest and desperate tactic. It’s only used by those who don’t have anything to contribute to the debate.  It’s no better than saying that the government is going to institute “death panels” to decide who lives and dies. Rumors like these are completely unfounded and wrong. And it’s particularly wrong to deceive the elderly into believing that the government is going to take away their healthcare (Medicare) and give it to illegal immigrants. The only people talking about taking away Medicare are those who are spreading these ridiculous lies. These are just examples of the ludicrous rumors that have been debunked time and time again. Our country doesn’t have time for trickery.

If we don’t tackle this problem now, it will haunt us, our children, and our grandchildren for decades. If you truly believe that there aren’t any problems with our current healthcare system, then I suggest that you actually talk to your readers. Our premiums have doubled over the past decade, and they’re expected to again over the next. It’s expected that by 2018, it will cost the average family of four nearly $25000. What’s more is that small businesses around the country are becoming less and less able to afford insurance for their employees. Because of this, 14000 Americans lose their coverage every day. Over half of all cases of bankruptcy are due to medical costs. These are problems for people who are covered. There are nearly 50 million who still don’t have coverage, and that means those who are covered end up paying for those who aren’t through higher premiums. This isn’t about giving free healthcare to the lazy. These are hardworking people who aren’t looking for hand-outs, just some relief from skyrocketing costs.

Whether or not you acknowledge these problems in your column, they cannot and will not be ignored by your readers. If we don’t reduce costs, our country is going to go broke much faster than it is already.  We’re bankrupting ourselves, and that should be a concern of both liberals and conservatives. I encourage you to speak out on behalf of your readers. Promote discussion of ideas. Don’t scare them into believing that healthcare reform is evil. Try doing that to someone who just lost their healthcare plan or who had their provider deny them treatment due to “pre-existing conditions.”

BRYAN KING

via Bill Maher: New Rule: No Shame in Being the Sorry Party.

via Specter Town Hall Crowd Gets Rough And Rowdy (VIDEO).

Back in April, when the debate over torture was roaring, Jon Stewart invited Cliff May, a national-security hawk and former spokesman for the Republican Party, to come on The Daily Show and defend waterboarding. May was hesitant. He thought Stewart would paint him as a crazy extremist. The audience would jeer. It would be a disaster. “I was apprehensive about going on, even though I've been on TV for a dozen years,” says May. “A lot of my friends told me: 'Don't do it. You're meat going into the sausage factory.'”

But May had a change of heart after soliciting advice from his friend Bill Kristol, editor of the Weekly Standard. “Kristol told me: 'You'll be pleasantly surprised. He doesn't take cheap shots. Jon is smart. You'll do just fine.'” Kristol proved to be right. Stewart's interview of May — a crackling, lengthy debate about where to draw the line between freedom and security — produced one of the most clarifying discussions about torture on television. “Literally, this is the best conversation I've had on this subject anywhere,” May told Stewart.

via Why Neoconservative Pundits Love Jon Stewart — Daily Intel — New York News Blog — New York Magazine.

via Bill Maher: New Rule: Smart President ≠ Smart Country.

It was late Friday when the House passed legislation that would, for the first time, require limits on pollution blamed for global warming _ mainly carbon dioxide from burning fossil fuels. Now the Senate has the chance to change the way Americans produce and use energy.

What would the country look like a decade from now if the House-passed bill _ or, more likely, a water-down version _ were to become the law of the land?

“It will open the door to a clean energy economy and a better future for America,” President Barack Obama said Saturday.

via How The Climate Bill May Spur An Energy Revolution.