Last night, Keith Olbermann devoted his entire show to a special comment on healthcare. Among other things, he hammered the point that none of us, supporters or opponents, are really talking about what healthcare is—preventing death.[...]

As long as Dylan Ratigan, Rep. Anthony Weiner and Michelle Cottle of The New Republic have Betsy McCaughey pinned down, I might as well get a few kicks in. If you aren’t familiar with Betsy McCaughey, you would know her if you saw her, because she seems to be everywhere. She was influential in killing healthcare reform during the Clinton administration, but more recently, she is the progenitor of the “death panel” myth.[...]

Despite this really visible opposition to change, or perhaps because of it, I am starting to feel the slightest bit…hmm, what’s the word…un-pessimistic.[...]

To those in favor of major healthcare reform, Massachusetts’ Mandatory Health Insurance represents a model of healthcare equity and universal coverage. To those opposed, it serves as a prime example of governmental intrusion and unwelcome mandatory participation. Whichever side of the healthcare reform bill issue you’re on, there are positives and negatives to take away [...]

Representative Alan Grayson caused a stir in the House yesterday when he presented “the Republican healthcare bill.” It was quite simple: 1. Don’t get sick. 2. If you do get sick, die quickly.[...]

Yesterday’s healthcare debate in the Senate Finance Committee was a dismal spectacle for so many reasons. Two public options were voted down. Sen. Baucus offered no better reason for voting against Sen. Schumer’s public option than his belief that other senators were not going to vote for it when the bill left committee. It was something less than heroic. But the last straw was when Sen. Grassley unabashedly adduced research that wouldn’t pass muster in an A.P. Government class.

Watching coverage of the protesters who brought assault weapons to Health Care rallies, I found myself imagining how I might explain the choice to a child. “Why do those people have those big guns?” “Because it’s their right to have them.” “Are they mad because someone told them they couldn’t have them?” “No, they’re protesting [...]