President’s Message, by Margaret McCown Liles

So, Rupert Murdoch’s mavens of misinformation have once again stirred up their faithful to protest health care reform, not at tea-bag parties, but at town-hall meetings. As at the tea-bag parties, the first thing one notices about the health reform protesters is that they (like the tea-baggers) are a pretty lily-white bunch, and a very misinformed bunch.

It was interesting to watch a senior citizen, obviously old enough to be on Medicare, express her fear of a government run health insurance program. Then there are the ridiculous rumors that the health reform measures would lead to rampant euthanasia, evidently stemming from the inclusion of coverage for a discussion with your doctor about living wills. Equally nonsensical is the claim that the health reform package will mandate abortion.

The best way to counter this misinformation that these protesters are spouting, is to politely call your Congressman and encourage him to support the health reform package, tell him your own story about health insurance abuse if you have one. Tell him you believe that access to basic health care is a human right, not a privilege, and we should join the rest of the industrialized world and provide that care for all Americans. Tell him that we are ranked 37th among nations (by the WHO) yet pay twice as much per-capita as the country that ranks first, France—the reason: health insurance companies. Call your congressman, once, twice, three times a week. Call Senator Feinstein too.

If you are able, attend your Congressman’s meeting. Provide a sane, educated counter part to the misinformed FOX News crowd who are spreading t the message of heath insurance companies.