Mainstream Media News Fails

Below are comments sent to four TV networks.  I don't count Fox as a news network and they would pay the least attention to my comments anyway.

NBC

No results found for "single payer." Find more recent stories in NBC News Health:

Is the result I received for my search. 

ACA is big news, and a lot of people are complaining about it.  Why don't you complete the story, tell the truth about Improved Medicare for All.  You are doing your viewers a disservice by denying the existence of H.R. 676, the Conyers Bill.  You are doing the country a disservice.  You are helping kill 45,000 people annually in the U.S. just because they cannot afford insurance.  You are aiding and abetting the healthcare establishment to put countless people into bankruptcy.  Did you know that of the bankruptcies filed in recent years, over 60% involved medical bills? And of those, over 75% of those people had insurance when they became sick? Clearly, insurance offered by the for-profit companies is not the answer.

What is the point of a free press if you don’t report the truth and the whole truth, holding bad actors accountable to society? You have become corrupt as Congress. This is not a good time to be an American and unless corporations drop the corporate personhood stuff and recover responsibility for corporate citizenship first and stockholders next, it will become far worse.

For more information, check PNHP.org, Healthcare-NOW.org.

CBS

Searching CBSnews.com for “single Payer” gave just three relevant results today, December 29^th, 2013

Shocked, Yet Awed by Single-Payer Logic:  On AUG 24, 2009

Vermont governor signs single-payer health law:  On MAY 26, 2011 1:09 PM EDT 

Canada Faces Same Cost Pressures as U.S., Despite Its Single-Payer System ; On OCT 19, 2010 

I’m pretty sure Walter Cronkite would be ashamed of your present organization.

The ACA is big news, and a lot of people are complaining about it.  Why don't you complete the story, tell the truth about Improved Medicare for All.  You are doing your viewers a disservice by denying the existence of H.R. 676, the Conyers Bill.  You are doing the country a disservice.  You are helping kill 45,000 people annually in the U.S. just because they cannot afford insurance.  You are aiding and abetting the healthcare establishment to put countless people into bankruptcy.  Did you know that of the bankruptcies filed in recent years, over 60% involved medical bills? And of those, over 75% of those people had insurance when they became sick? Clearly, insurance offered by the for-profit companies is not the answer.

What is the point of a free press if you don’t report the truth and the whole truth, holding bad actors accountable to society? You have become corrupt as Congress. This is not a good time to be an American and unless corporations drop the corporate personhood stuff and recover responsibility for corporate citizenship first and stockholders next, it will become far worse.

For more information, check PNHP.org, Healthcare-NOW.org.

ABC

My search of abcnews.go.com for single Payer gave several results for this year. First, I noticed the endorsement of 'Single Payer" by Colin Powell. In Dayton, Oh your affiliate doesn't have the most popular 6pm news. With this search result, I will make it a point to watch ABC news at 6:30. I am hoping I will see more coverage of the benefits of Improved Medicare for All and how it is better than ACA and will create more jobs than it destroys. See PNHP.org and healthcare-now.org for more.

CWTV

Causes? Why not do something that will "Save the Humans"? How about running some specials on Single Payer, Improved Medicare for All. You could feature Colin Powell, Wendell Potter, Donna Smith.  They will all tell you that the ACA makes no sense and the longer we put it off, the more it will cost in lives and money.

On working for Democracy and Justice

News-flash for those who think the mainstream media, print, or broadcast, is liberal: That’s crap.

I received a petition from ThePetitionSite.com entitled “Glitter is Not Bioterrorism!”  I searched the internet with “glitter bioterrorism” and got hits on several internet publications, no print or broadcast media outlets were represented, not even PBS or NPR! One found headline: “A Glitter-Covered Banner Got These Protesters Arrested for Staging a Bioterror Hoax” continued with: “Energy giants have lobbied police to treat environmental activists like potential terrorists. Looks like it's working”.

            Isn’t it a little scary, no, really scary that not one Oklahoma City paper or TV station reported this story? No wire service covered it! Okay, maybe the origin was “The Onion”. Nope, I just checked.

Not only are corporations manipulating law enforcement, but no mainstream media is covering it.  You can’t get mad about what you are unaware of, can you? Should we be concerned about this? The whole point of a free press is to hold bad actors accountable.  Do we have a free press? Not anymore, apparently.  The FCC has allowed so many mergers of media organizations, there is insufficient competition and diversity in local media markets. 

This story and the lack of coverage seems to suggest that the media consolidations went way too far to maintain an objective, investigative press not subject to corporate dictates.  Do you know why the country is going to hell without a whimper? Few people know the truth because mainstream media no longer believes it is their job to tell the truth. Investigative reporting has lost a great deal of its punch since the 70’s.

I recently learned about www.equalitytrust.org.uk.  Look for the list under “The Spirit Level” heading and check those links.  Watch this six minute video on Wealth Inequality in America:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTj9AcwkaKM

Until we understand what is going on in our country, it will be difficult to aim at the cause to fix it, including the injustice in healthcare.

Citations: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/190/634/963/glitter-is-not-bioterrorism/

http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/12/tar-sands-keystone-protesters-arrested-terrorism-glitter

Ms. Jana Collier, Editor-in-chief

Dayton Daily News

Dayton, OH

Dear Ms. Collier,

If you are serious about "Our mission is to provide investigative reporting and deliver in-depth coverage you won’t receive from any other source."...

Then you need to do more regarding your coverage of health care reform.  While you echo all the noise about how Obamacare is failing in one way or another, you have yet to offer your readers any original articles on the topic of Improved Medicare for All seen in the New York Times, The Washington Post or other periodicals.  You have failed to educate your readers on how the corporations have been brainwashing the public with propaganda linking any universal healthcare plan with socialism to scare them away from the most popular, comprehensive, cost-effective means of providing healthcare in the industrialized world.  You could have revealed the results of several surveys that show that Americans believe that the government needs to and should do something about the outrageous costs and injustices of our sick-care non-system.  Have you pointed out how imbalanced the messages are when the media calls playing clips of talking heads in Congress spouting lies over and over that people are taking it for the truth as news?  How many times could you count on "news" broadcasts the words, "the people don't want a government takeover of healthcare" coming from the mouths of Republicans in Congress? Did you offer any stories or opinions countering those scare tactics? No, no, no.

If you are really serious about providing the best in-depth articles, you would have your staff visit healthcare-now.org, pnhp.org, spanohio.org and read books listed at wndavis.blogspot.com and available at the Dayton Metro Library and wonder why you didn't do it sooner.  Anything you saw a reference to, that led to a broken link, you could ask me if I still have a copy.  I have so much I could provide, if you would only inquire.  Improved Medicare for All is the answer to so many issues of need, it's not funny.  So much money rides on the decisions about healthcare reform that the people making the money don't want the reform that would serve the public.  Saving that money absconded by insurance companies and co-conspirators could be put to so much better use. 

It's your job, although some so-called journalists deny it lately, to shed light on both sides of the issues so the people can make an informed decision.  Right now, only the arguments from the right are being heard over the omnipresent mainstream "liberal?" corporate media.  You need to balance that on the left, not with lip service, but with real facts.  If you don't, you will lose more readers to the DailyKos.com, Huffpost.com, NationofChange.org, etc.

Sincerely,

William N. Davis, II

Dayton, Ohio

Healthcare is a Human Right - far too little meaningful support from churches

Requested Post to Presbyterians everywhere on LinkedIn

I share the following with you because there is far too little meaningful support from churches in promoting the truth and differences between where we are and where we need to go and how to get there with Improved Medicare for All, HR 676.  We have many who "support it", but few who will evangelize about it.  Unfortunately, support is not all we need. Far too many people are disconnected and unaware of the truth, but well aware of the myths provided by the health insurance and medical industries.

I hope this will generate some interest in more people visiting Healthcare-Now as well as Physicians for a National Health Program, These organizations need your name on their list and  more money in their campaign chest not to mention feet on the ground for local functions to promote awareness.  How about if you arrange a showing and discussion of The Healthcare Movie.  Heathcare-Now has links to local organizations will people who will support you or help you get organized in your area.

Sincerely yours in Faith, Light and Action,

William N. Davis, II

Deacon, Stephen Minister and member

Westminster Presbyterian Church

Miami Valley Presbytery

Dayton, Ohio

Organizations of Faith for Single-Payer - From www.healthcare-now.org

Eleven faith-based organizations have passed resolutions in support of HR 676/Medicare for All so far.

In the summer of 2008, for example, the Presbyterian Church (USA), adopted a recommendation supporting national health care reform, calling for advocacy and education that pursues “the goal of obtaining legislation that enacts single-payer, universal national health insurance as the program that best responds to the moral imperative of the gospel.”

The United Methodists have called single-payer, the “Pure Alternative” to healthcare reform, and say that the, “United Methodist policy says ‘Yes’ to Jesus’ mandate that we move to a caring non-profit system that uses our money to cover everybody, not for profits, but for a single payer system that provides guaranteed quality healthcare for all.”

If your church or faith group wants to pass a resolution in favor of HR 676/single-payer, let us know. We’ll be happy to provide you with sample resolutions or more information.

Faith Endorsements for Medicare for All

Assembly of the Urban Caucus of the Episcopal Church
General Board on Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church
Presbyterian Health, Education and Welfare Association of the Presbyterian Church (USA)
Church Women United State Governments
Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly
Presbyterian Church (USA)
Union for Reform Judaism
Ainsworth United Church of Christ of Portland, Oregon
The Network of Spiritual Progressives – Tikkun Magazine
United Church of Christ
Episcopal Church’s General Convention

Tonight I watched the news and saw a piece about an officer who patrols the Golden Gate Bridge.  He watches for suicidal people who have come out to jump.  The example mentioned tonight was a young man whose wife had a baby with complications.  He was hopeless about the debts accumulated for his baby's care.  The officer talked him down, but who knows how he will deal with the debt.  Will some generous angel who saw the clip pony up the money to relieve this family?
Have you noticed we've become a country of beggars? Another local story aired earlier was about a school who had a couple kids start collecting money to help a classmate with cancer.  They collected $800, I think, a drop not in the bucket, but in the storage tank it will take to pay the ridiculous medical bills.  That's a wonderful display of kindness and effort on their part.
Too bad we waste so much time begging with cans on convenience store counters, etc.  Everyone's collecting for something. Food pantries, disease research, PTO/PTA's, USO, DAV, crippled children, starving children, oh and the pets people abandon.  Let's not forget the poor, poor pets.
Maybe if we refused to be manipulated by the wealthy into thinking our country is broke and cannot afford to heal the sick, support the weak and comfort the afflicted, we could have a country like others around the world that cover all of their residents (and American tourists too!) without questions or bills.  If our president hadn't settled for the terms of the PPACA, we could be on our way toward implementing HR 676 that would not require a stupid website with all the moving parts that are needed for the PPACA.
Maybe if more people would VOTE instead of staying home in greater numbers than those who cast a ballot for either candidate for an office, we could fix our broken government and tax system and sick-care non-system.  And maybe start employing more people.
Our healthcare kludge is so expensive and ineffective that we are outranked by over thirty countries in outcomes.  We have high costs of manufacturing because of the traditional way be compensate workers with healthcare that has become a cost component just totally out of control.  Our country's economy will never recover until we grapple and defeat the opponents of universal, comprehensive healthcare.  Universal, everyone is covered. Comprehensive, complete in services for medical, dental, optical, hearing, mental health from womb to tomb.

Rant over.  Share if you agree.

Dear Senator Portman,

I sent you an email shortly after your son came out.  Maybe you never received it for one reason or another.  I don’t remember sending it via this website.

I am happy that your son forced you to think and reconsider your views on LGBT issues.  I admire your support for the ENDA bill.

I asked if you would need for someone close to you to get cancer and die or live after an accident and be broke with the medical bills before you would rethink the prevailing view that Obamacare is bad and improving Medicare and extending it to all residents would be impossible and impractical and un-sustainable, not to mention socialistic.

I urge you to ask for the economic impact studies done by Gerald Friedman for various single payer plans. I would attach them, but your website doesn’t accommodate that.   You should visit Rep. John Conyers and websites like PNHP.ORG, Healthcare-Now.org and SPANOhio.org just to mention a few.

There are many good books on the topic, among them are:

 Hijacked The Road to Single Payer in the Aftermath of Stolen Health Care Reform

The Healing of America

10 Excellent Reasons for National Health Care

http://wndavis.blogspot.com/ is my functional if not pretty blog with more links, letters etc.

I also highly recommend The Healthcare Movie.  I have a few DVDs if you would like one.

I look forward to hearing from you for an opportunity to discuss this topic.  If you would like me to send you some documents to save your staff some Googling time, I’ll need an email address where I can send attachments.

Sincerely,

William N. Davis, II

Dayton, OH

NESRI | National Economic & Social Rights Initiative | Human Needs | Human Rights

Here's an interesting website I found Googling around.

NESRI | National Economic & Social Rights Initiative | Human Needs | Human Rights

I just sent this to the DDN.  Let's see if they print it.

Regarding the Roundtable discussion on health insurance: "Looking for Answers and there are none".
It is simply not true that there are no answers.  The roundtable participants just have not been looking in the right places and the Dayton Daily News hasdoen nothing to guide readers to answers.  The answer is Single Payer.  The question is "How can taxpayers prevent medical bankruptcy, provdide complete healthcare for everyone in America AND save a LOT of money in addition to creating more jobs?"  Despite my suggestions to print stories carried by other papers that have more well-informed readers, the DDN has done nothing to help inform people of how they have been brainwashed by Fox "News", Rush Limbaugh and the Republicans aided and abetted by every national media outlet.
If you really want the truth and answers about healthcare reform, you must seek it elsewhere, like pnhp.org, spanohio.org, healthcare-now.org, etc. 

14 Propaganda Techniques Fox “News” Uses to Brainwash Americans

14 Propaganda Techniques Fox “News” Uses to Brainwash Americans

Mercy Killers: Play Moves To Ohio As Healthcare Debate Continues | Wisdom Voices

Mercy Killers: Play Moves To Ohio As Healthcare Debate Continues | Wisdom Voices