The country turned an important corner last night when Congress affirmed the moral imperative of providing quality health care to more Americans and passed the President’s sweeping health insurance reform bill. It is to President Obama’s credit that he was willing to commit his office to such a challenge when others before him had failed.

But this is not health care reform, and the task of providing health care that Americans can afford is still before us. Too much was sacrificed to corporate interests in the sausage-making process. Rather than address the fundamental flaws in our health care system, we applied a giant band-aid. This health care bill does not come close to doing all that needs to be done to meet the needs of our citizens and our businesses as we retool our economy for the 21st century.

There are many good and praise-worthy things in this health care bill: help for those with pre-existing conditions, guaranteed coverage for children, money for community health centers, and expansion of Medicaid and SCHIP. But there is also cause for serious concern. Never before has the government mandated that its citizens pay directly to private corporations almost as much as they do in federal taxes, especially when those corporations have been granted unregulated monopolies.

This bill fundamentally shifts the relationships of governance in order to achieve its objectives. It was hard to reconcile the President’s campaign against the evils of the insurance industry with a solution of “corporate tithing” that drives millions of people onto their rolls. We have empowered another quasi-governmental, “too big to fail” industry with alarming nonchalance.

Over the course of the past year, it was exciting to take part in covering the health care debate as online journalists, watching “new media” mature as we all explored new ways to deliver information beat-by-beat to our audiences. At the same time, we witnessed a political process that could not keep pace with the depth and intensity of this coverage. Myths were exploded almost as quickly as they were generated. In the end, it was not a lack of 60 votes or 50 votes that caused the President to break faith with his supporters and sacrifice the public option, it was a lack of political will.

We saw in the last days what President Obama was capable of when he truly put the force of his political skill behind an effort. But as time wore on, the mountain of data unearthed could lead to only one conclusion: this bill, with its eerie similarities to a plan written by insurance industry lobbyists in 2008, was what the president wanted.

Rather than use his talents to rein in corporate interests, as he promised on the campaign trail, the President used his office to shield them from accountability. This was our chance to weaken them, and the Americans that Obama inspired with his message of change would have fought like hell by his side to do just that. Sadly, that opportunity was squandered. President Obama made himself the defender of the corporate interest problem that we still need to overcome. Perhaps that is the best that can be achieved within our current system. If so, that is a sobering reality.

This bill is a first step, not the last. The Democrats must fix this bill while they still have the chance. Before they leave Americans at the mercy of the system they have created, it is imperative that they address the issues of cost control, the dangerously weak enforcement mechanisms, and the anti-trust exemption for insurance companies.

Even a single, solitary Senator can begin that process immediately by introducing a public option amendment when the Senate takes up the reconciliation bill later this week. Now that the health care bill has passed, there is no need to worry that this move could endanger the overall package. The Senate should also consider the bill ending the anti-trust exemption for insurance companies already passed by the House. And when Congress takes up immigration reform, we hope that they provide for the health care needs of immigrants, a need too quickly cast aside in the face of right wing demagoguery.

((I left out a large statement about the abortion language in the bill.))

… And finally, most of all, we hope that members of both parties find the courage to stand up to the corporate lobbyists who dominated this process–because if left unchecked, their pernicious influence will continue to infect every aspect of our government to the detriment of its citizens. We who are voters must clearly communicate in November that we will accept nothing less because the fight cannot end until we as a nation decide to take on the corporate interests that are corrupting our political institutions and strangling their ability to provide affordable healthcare to everyone.

Read the whole article, here.

See, Big Pharma Wins Big in Health Care Reform, Unsilent Generation, March 22, 2010, by Unsilent Generation.

Evans Liberal Politics feels secure in endorsing this statement about health care reform. As to the need for health care for immigrants to America, let’s remember that these people are human beings like you and me, that they hurt the same, and bleed the same. Remember that all of us are sons and daughters of immigrants to this country, ultimately. It’s one thing to want to stop illegal immigration, and quite another to treat them like semi-slaves and not human beings with the “inherent worth and dignity” of every other person, just like you and me. Just like all the second, third and fourth generation immigrants which of course most of us are.

Let’s hope the health care reform bill is more than just a “band-aid”, however. And this IS reform, not what we wanted, but reform, yes.

In Other News…

Google Shuts Down China Site in Dispute Over Censorship

The New York Times, March 23, 2010, by Michael Helft and David Barboza

SAN FRANCISCO — Just over two months after threatening to leave China because of censorship and intrusions from hackers, Google on Monday closed its Internet search service there and began directing users in that country to its uncensored search engine in Hong Kong.

While the decision to route mainland Chinese users to Hong Kong is an attempt by Google to skirt censorship requirements without running afoul of Chinese laws, it appears to have angered officials in China, setting the stage for a possible escalation of the conflict, which may include blocking the Hong Kong search service in mainland China.

Congratulations to Google for standing up to China and doing the right thing!

UPDATE: See, China Counters Google Move by Restricting Hong Kong Site, The New York Times, March 23, 2010, by Michael Wines and Jonathan Ansfield.

BEIJING — As Google began redirecting tens of millions of Chinese users on Tuesday to its uncensored Web site in Hong Kong, the company’s remaining mainland operations came under pressure from its Chinese partners and from the government itself.

The Chinese government moved on Tuesday to restrict access of mainland users to the Hong Kong site, the use of which Google had hoped would allow it to keep its pledge to end censorship while retaining a share of China’s fast-growing Internet search market.

But mainland Chinese users on Tuesday could not see uncensored Hong Kong content because government computers either disabled searches for objectionable content completely or blocked links to certain results.

Beijing officials were clearly angered by Google’s decision, which focused global attention on the government’s censorship policies, and there were signs of possible escalation in the dispute.

More News Updates

Obama to Sign Health Care Bill Today As GOP Challenges Constitutionality, ABC News, March 23, 2010, by Huma Khan.

President Obama will sign the historic health care bill into law this morning, but Republicans are still battling with promises of lawsuits and heated rhetoric, including a shot from one GOP governor who blasted what he called Obama’s “nanny nation approach” to government.

Heck, Republicans, is “nanny nation approach” the best you can do???

The Arena: New Strategies Looking Like Old Strategies, ABC News The Note, March 23, 2010.

Axelrod Says McCain’s “Disappointing Attitude” Belongs “On the Sandlot”, ABC News Political Punch, March 23, 2010.

Republicans Face Drawbacks of United Stand on Health Bill, The New York Times, March 23, 2010, by Adam Nagourney.

Real Reform in an Election Year, The New York Times, Editorial, March 22, 2010:

The White House and Democratic leaders in Congress won’t have much time to savor their victory on health care reform if they hope to achieve the next big goal: enacting financial regulatory reform before the midterm elections. A year and a half after the country’s banking system nearly imploded, it is still operating under the same inadequate rules and regulations.

Unless President Obama throws himself fully into the fight, there is not much chance of pulling this off in an election year, when many lawmakers are more focused on deep-pocketed donors than on the public interest. After months of talks that led to some compromises between Democrats and Republicans, no Republicans voted for the Senate’s version when the banking committee passed it on Monday. That bill, too, is flawed, and the banks are lobbying relentlessly to water it down even more. (And the banks “own” Congress…. Obama, please, please make this your fight! ~ Paul Evans)

From Borowitz Report on Twitter: GOP congressman regrets “Baby killer!” outburst: “I meant to say, ‘Baby eater!’”

Aided by Glenn Beck, Conspiracy Theories Bloom Over FEMA ‘Concentration Camps’, AlterNet, March 23, 2010, by Larry Keller:

“Fear that the federal govt will concoct a pretense for confining dissidents to prison camps spreads as the country experiences a surge in groups on the radical right.”

Glenn Beck is a liar and a hypocrite: He says, if your church uses words like “social justice” you must leave your church. Glenn Beck is a Mormon. (not to mention a self-proclaimed “rodeo clown”:

John Cory, Truthout: “He is a self-professed rodeo clown and a millionaire huckster – a true American success story. Glenn Beck said, ‘I beg you, look for the words ’social justice’ or ‘economic justice’ on your church Web site. If you find it, run as fast as you can. Social justice and economic justice, they are code words. Now, am I advising people to leave their church? Yes.’ Really? Glenn Beck is a Mormon.”

Seven Years and a $747 Billon in Waste, Fraud and Abuse in Iraq, AlterNet, March 20, 2010 by Robert Greenwald.

It’s not so much the continuation of these wars that I personally am against with Obama at the helm. It’s the fact that the “waste, fraud, abuse” and outsourcing of the wars to private armies continues unabated, along with anti-terrorism law which takes away our rights and civil liberties. ~ Paul Evans

Obama’s New Banking Nominees Have Surprisingly Progressive Creds, AlterNet, March 23, 2010, by Zach Carter.

“After a series of poor economic appointments, Obama is considering three strong candidates for posts at the Fed.”

Michael Moore: Republicans Should Be Happy — Health Care Bill Will Save Their Lives, Too, AlterNet, March 22, 2010, by Michael Moore.

White House photo gallery: “This is What Change Looks Like: Passing Health Care Reform”, great pictures!

President Obama should fight on many fronts, The Progressive, March 22, 2010, by Alvaro Huerta, excerpt quoted verbatim:

President Obama needs to maintain his forceful, proactive leadership approach that he only too recently has adopted.

It took him more than a year to discard the fantasy of bipartisanship on health care reform, even though the Republicans obstructed him every step of the way and showed no interest in meaningful compromise. Their goal, all along, has been to make him fail.

Finally, he’s woken up to this reality.

Finally, he’s asserting himself, engaging in a nationwide campaign-style speaking tour to push health care reform through.

The bill is still not strong enough, and the lack of a public option remains a major flaw. But at least the president recognizes the need to get tough with his opponents.

He should apply this lesson to other issues now, including creating more jobs, re-regulating Wall Street and fixing our flawed immigration system.

On these issues, too, he’ll face lockstep opposition from Republicans. They seem to believe that by preventing Obama from sufficiently helping working people in this country, they can achieve their main objective: to regain control of Congress and the White House.

Comment by Paul Evans: for idealists like Obama (as well as myself), the dream of bipartisanship is over. Actually, liberals and progressives have basically the same complaints as the Tea Baggers, strange as that might seem. We want the system reformed and the legislation this nation passes to actually benefit it’s citizens. The “far right” simply feels getting government out of the people’s lives will solve matters, while we want to reform the system and make Washington actually work for us. It’s a shame there seems to be no common ground, but, remember: everybody except the very rich still love this nation, and unselfishly want to work for a better government.

The rich, and the lobbyists, are the ones in control of the Republican Party, and they just want to loot the Treasury and strip ordinary Americans of what little money we still have. It also has to be said that the Democrats are far too much under the say of corporations and lobbyists, as well. Until we strip them out of the electoral and legislative process, the nation can’t change very much for the better. Liberals and Tea Partiers DO need to remember that both sides are decent, ordinary Americans. It’s the super rich and the mega corporations who are ruining this fair land.