I remember when my family moved up here to Zone 5b, in the summer of 68. And while we were on the road, RFK was shot, and when we arrived in our new house, I watched RFK's funeral train make its way down the East Coast. The TV was black and white, and I was just in high school, so that was a long time ago.

My local single-payer activist sends some happy news: Dr. Margaret Flowers of PNHP has been invited by Sen. Kennedy's office to testify at the Senate Hearing on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP) on Thursday, June 11 at 3:00.

So, as she says, we can update the latest Healthcare-NOW! action alert: contact Sen. Kennedy's office (Phone: 202-224-4543 - Fax: 202-224-2417) and let them know we are glad to hear Dr. Margaret Flowers has been invited to testify on behalf of national single-payer healthcare reform and that we expect single-payer advocates to continue to have a seat at the table in meetings and senate hearings on health care reform.

Welch gives back Rangel contributions

Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said Welch should go further and recuse himself from the Rangel investigation entirely.

“That’s definitely a problem,” Sloan said. “If you have taken money from the guy, you shouldn’t be judging him. Even if you are objective, there’s a real appearance problem.”

Hospitals, firms in healthcare back Kennedy institute

Drug companies, hospitals, and insurance firms have helped to amass $20 million to finance a nonprofit educational institute in Boston that will honor Senator Edward M. Kennedy, using his career as a case study of a powerful senator.

The biggest donation has been $5 million from Amgen Inc., a national biotechnology drug firm based in California that depends heavily on federal healthcare policies and Medicare prescription drug reimbursements for its profits. One of Amgen's lobbyists, Nick Littlefield, is a former top Kennedy aide.

The Worcester Telegram & Gazette has an article about Kennedy's effort to form a "concensus" on health care, filled with fluffy quotes from special interest lobbyists.

Special attention is given to the role of John McDonough, who is described as a former law maker and head of Health Care For All. Sounds like a nice guy huh?

Let's review who McDonough really is:

Mass. health plan has national appeal

WASHINGTON - Key players in the debate over how to provide healthcare coverage for the nation's 47 million uninsured say they view Massachusetts' landmark 2006 law as an important model for what Washington could do and how to get it done.

Check out who Senator Kennedy has been talking to:

An Unofficial Perspective on the Fiscal Crisis at Cambridge Health Alliance

The transfer of vital organs from the have-nots to the have-mores doesn't just play out in cinematic goings-on in seedy London hotels, but also in the humdrum precincts of the American health (couldn't) care (less) system. In a recent press release, the Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP) reveal that "People who lack health insurance are about 20 times more likely to donate their liver or a kidney for a lifesaving transplant than to receive one".

S.1218, A bill to provide quality, affordable health care for all Americans

Sponsored by Senator Kennedy, the is the senate companion bill to HR 676.

Kennedy leads renewed effort on universal healthcare

The discussions signal that Kennedy, who instructed aides to begin holding the meetings while he is in Massachusetts undergoing treatment for brain cancer, intends to work vigorously to build bipartisan support for a major healthcare initiative when he returns to Washington in the fall. ...

For those interested in HR676 activism, I thought I'd pass along some notes I took at a discussion on health insurance/health care sponsored by the League of Women Voters at a nearby community college here in western PA. Seven people affiliated with our local group for single-payer care carpooled to the meeting. We were affluent (well, I'm culturally affluent) professional people; our driver had an Obama sign in his yard, but no horns or tail.

We were able to leave our literature next to the Obama leaflets on a table in the hall. The main event was a panel discussion moderated by a local chiropractor running for the state senate. The audience was between 30 and 40 people, mostly middle-aged to early retirement age.