Single payer health care, Karl Rove, and Inherent Contempt

This morning at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in Pittsburgh, I attended a press conference sponsored by the Western PA Coalition for Single-Payer Healthcare. The event brought together folks who are advocating legislation basically extending Medicare to all Americans. The feds will pay the bills, and the private sector will handle delivery of the health care. Sounds like a good deal to me!

State Senator Jim Ferlo's office reserved the room and the Senator was there to introduce speakers including Donna Smith recently in the movie Sicko and is co-chair of the Healthcare not Warfare campaign with PDA (Progressive Democrats of America), as well as labor leaders, other politicians and a visit by Congressman John Conyers of Michigan! It's his bill that is up for debate on extending Medicare (HR 676) to all Americans.

What a fantastic event! The speakers were great and had everyone applauding and cheering the prospect of a single payer system. Ron Codario, M.D. (steering committee of Western PA Coalition for Single-Payer Healthcare and member of Healthcare-NOW and Physicians for a National Health Program) was there to urge everyone to get out there and get this passed NOW!

Rep Conyers was inspiring and couldn't help but get the crowd excited with how his committee is dealing with Karl Rove and Harriet Myers thumbing their nose at being sobpoenaed to Congress...he told the crowd that he may use the power of Inherent Contempt of Congress to arrest Rove and place him in the jail cell below the captiol! YES!

All in all a great event and I'm more hopeful that we can build enough support to get HR 676 and PA State legislation passed so that all Americans can sleep better at night knowing they won't have to lose their livihood to save their life!

Wakeup, Americans!

Here's some pics from the event...