"You might not think the elimination of the private medical insurance industry was so silly if you worked for an insurance company and your family depended upon it for survival. Also, why don't we eliminate profits from other essential industries as well, like food, clothing, and shelter if profit is so bad ?"

It's not that I'm not sympathetic to those who might lose their jobs if for-profit health insurers went under because of a new public plan. I'm most certainly not going to be sympathetic to those currently receiving passive dividend or stock option "income" off the suffering of others, should a public plan destroy the private sector.

But none of that is going to happen. And that's the point. There are approximately 1600, mostly for-profit, health coverage providers in the country. If a public option is offered up, it will make those 1600 shape up and eliminate the waste and the greed.

The "market" is working in food, clothing and shelter. We're not experiencing huge leaps over inflation rates in those industries. With health care, we are. The "market" isn't working, and that's exactly why a public plan is the right thing to do.

My 89 year old father-in-law is at this moment undergoing radiation to shrink a lung tumor threatening his life…..and so far, it's working.

There can be no price tag placed on life. That's the very reason why the profit motive in health care should be minimized.

Now let me tell you about my Father. He had bone cancer in his sinus cavity. Doctors in Akron said radiation was not particularly effective against this kind of cancer. Surgery involved removal of 1/2 the bone in his face and covering the area removed with a flap of skin with perhaps some rebuilding of the area in the future with composite materials. My Father was 86 and said no surgery. My Brother flew in from CA, made an appointment with another doctor in Cleveland who was supposedly the "best in the world" at this procedure then flew back to CA. I took my Dad to Cleveland and the doctor said the same as the Akron doctors. My Dad said no to surgery and told me "lets just go home and have a beer." I left his room to call my Brother and update him and when I came back my Dad was not in the room. The doctor had taken him to Oncology. I went there and here was the head of Oncology telling my Dad that Radiation would work — he did explain wearing a lead mask and receiving radiation for 30 some treatments but not much else. My Dad said ok so it all started. My dad could barely see because of macular degeneration but he could hear well. Within 5 treatments. His teeth had to be removed. The tumor broke through the roof of this mouth and he had to have a tube inserted for feeding. His hearing was destroyed and he got a staff infection so everyone had to wear a mask and he could not read lips or facial expressions to know what they were saying to him. Turns out the hearing loss and the loss of teeth is a normal outcome of radiation in that area. He wanted to stop the treatments but the head of oncology kept encouraging him to keep on — this guy had a golden tongue — sorta like you all accuse Obama of having. Two days before his medicare hospital time ended they told me I needed to find him a nursing home which was not easy with the staff infection. He died from pheumonia after 7-8 more months in the nursing home. He died from pneumonia because my Father asked me to not let them treat him for pheumonia AGAIN. I finally got doctors to agree he was terminal and he was allowed to refuse antibiotic treatment for the pneumonia . I was too naive when dealing with the oncologist and should have asked more questions upfront. The Akron doctor said he had about 9 months and he died in about 9 months. So there are good endings and there are bad endings. His cancer was rare and I feel University Hospital wanted to study my Dad's tumor because they paraded medical students through his room almost every day.

But it's actually Obama who is talking out of both sides of his mouth. Here he is talking to a different group in 2003.

“I happen to be a proponent of a single payer universal health care program.” (applause) “I see no reason why the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, spending 14 percent of its Gross National Product on health care cannot provide basic health insurance to everybody. And that’s what Jim is talking about when he says everybody in, nobody out. A single payer health care plan, a universal health care plan. And that’s what I’d like to see. But as all of you know, we may not get there immediately. Because first we have to take back the White House, we have to take back the Senate, and we have to take back the House.” – Obama, speaking to the Illinois AFL-CIO, June 30, 2003.

Oops. Busted, Barack.

Regarding the public paying for both the public and private options, I was talking about how it would be AFTER a public health care option was passed. I wasn't talking about Medicare. Once a person goes on Medicare, he/she isn't paying for private insurance any longer.

You might not think the elimination of the private medical insurance industry was so silly if you worked for an insurance company and your family depended upon it for survival. Also, why don't we eliminate profits from other essential industries as well, like food, clothing, and shelter if profit is so bad ? Those profiteers are equally silly, according to your standards. Reality isn't quite so simple. Goods and services are often supplied BECAUSE of the profit motive. You shouldn't be so quick to eliminate it, or you might eliminate the goods and services as well.

It was 50-50 on whether gramps would make it through the surgery, but he only had about 6 months without it. He made it through and got five extra years of pretty healthy life. He would have lived longer if not for a car accident.

What is the price on those five years? Who should be able to tell someone they can't have the five years? How will medicine improve if doctors can't try procedures that government charts say are not efficient enough?

"And something that no one seems willing to talk about is the fact that the extension of dying in this fashion all too often becomes a capitalist feast as some medical companies see their profits grow, the longer the dying process is extended."

When it comes to making profits from the suffering and death of others, I have no tolerance. It's the same with defense contractor's making profits from the widespread killing and mutilation of other human beings.

Something about that dynamic really pisses me off.