Nader critique of Obama's health reform; NY Times pro-single payer letters; Whole Foods CEO Wall Street Journal editorial opposes "government. takeover of our health care"

Nader critique of Obama's health reform;  NY Times pro-single payer letters;  Whole Foods CEO Wall Street Journal editorial opposes "government. takeover of our health care" 

SPN media alert:  Nader critique of Obama's health reform;  NY Times pro-single payer letters;  Whole Foods CEO Wall Street Journal editorial opposes "government. takeover of our health care".  Guidelines for letters to the editor.  

1)  Ralph Nader critiques Obama's health reform on "Democracy Now" Friday, 8/14/09 (http://www.democracynow.org/2009/8/14/you_dont_cut_deals_with_the):  "...You do not cut deals with the system that has to be replaced, which is the health insurance system and the monster costs imposed by the drug corporations..."

  2)  more good pro-single payer letters to the editor, NY Times, 8/15/09 (http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/15/opinion/l15health.html?_r=1&ref=todayspaper);  guidelines for NY Times letters to the editor:  http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/lettertoeditor.html?scp=1&sq=NY%20Times%20letters%20to%20the%20editor%20guidelines&st=cse;  (& for a source of possible talking points for your own letter, go to:  http://www.1payer.net/Talking-Points/.

and

3)  Whole Foods CEO opposes "government takeover of our health care system"  (from:  http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204251404574342170072865070.html);  excerpt:

the last thing our country needs is a massive new health-care entitlement that will create hundreds of billions of dollars of new unfunded deficits and move us much closer to a government takeover of our health-care system. Instead, we should be trying to achieve reforms by moving in the opposite direction—toward less government control and more individual empowerment.

WSJ Letters to the editor can be sent by email to: wsj.ltrs@wsj.com or Fax: 

1-212-416-2255 Attn: Tim Lemmer. See http://www.opinionjournal.com/guidelines/ before submitting. Editorial Page Submissions including the Op-Ed page pieces should go to: fax: 1-212-416-2255 Attn: Robert Pollock or email: edit.features@wsj.com.

----------------

Nader critique excerpt & 3 NY Times pro-single payer letters to the editor below:

1)  Nader critiques Obama's health reform efforts:  don't cut deals with the health insurance system;  look to your progressive base and the majority support of single payer for input and support

excerpt:

You do not cut deals with the system that has to be replaced, which is the health insurance system and the monster costs imposed by the drug corporations, all of which are getting huge taxpayer subsidies, by the way. 

So, what Obama failed to do, because he's never done it when he was campaigning, he did not pay adequate and due regard to the folks that brung him to the White House. He has not mobilized the progressive base in this country. He has not done anything but, you know, humor the labor unions. And as a result, he doesn't have a base out there. 

You point quite clearly to, or you imply, that there a lot of people for a single payer, a full Medicare-for-All system. And that's true. Every poll has shown a majority of the American people, majority of doctors, majority of nurses, are for the single-payer system. 

-------

2)  NY Times 8/15/09 letters   To the Editor:

"Thousands Wait in Line for Health Care That's Free" (news article, Aug. 13) demonstrates quite well why we need a single-payer system in this country.

It also illustrates why we need reforms in our health care system that make access to health care independent of our job status and our financial status. No one should have to be treated in an arena or at a fairground.

I would be happy to see the money spent on my benefits go to finance a single-payer system that covers health and dental care. It's time for our elected representatives to do what is right: make sure that every citizen in this country has access to decent care, both health and dental.

A. L. Alterman
Hastings-on-Hudson, N.Y., Aug. 13, 2009

•

To the Editor:

One phrase used by more than a few people in the debate on health care reform is that "our health care system is the envy of the world." Which world is that?

A recent Harris/Decima Poll in Canada, the country that probably knows our system the best, found a 10-to-1 majority who believe their system is better than ours. And Harris Polls in France and Britain found that most people there believe that their systems are "the envy of the world."

Humphrey Taylor
Chairman, The Harris Poll
New York, Aug. 13, 2009

•

To the Editor:

A neighbor asked me how I felt about President Obama's health care reform effort. My answer was that I had no answer. I'm confused. Aside from insiders, does anyone truly understand it?

Despite all the wild absurdities and tumultuous emotions, we're going to have health care legislation. But what will be in it?

At 93, I've enjoyed Medicare for 28 years. No complaints.

Why can't everyone have Medicare, which has performed admirably since 1965, instead of a whole new complicated bureaucracy that will still have to be tested?

Jack E. Cohen
Hewlett, N.Y., Aug. 13, 2009

--------

NY TImes guidelines for

Letters to the Editor Letters to the editor should only be sent to The Times, and not to other publications. We do not publish open letters or third-party letters. Letters for publication should be no longer than 150 words, must refer to an article that has appeared within the last seven days, and must include the writer's address and phone numbers. No attachments, please. We regret we cannot return or acknowledge unpublished letters. Writers of those letters selected for publication will be notified within a week. Letters may be shortened for space requirements. Send a letter to the editor by e-mailing letters@nytimes.com or faxing (212)556-3622. You may also mail your letter to: Letters to the Editor The New York Times 620 Eighth Avenue New York, NY 10018  To submit a letter to the City, Long Island, Westchester, New Jersey or Connecticut weekly sections, please e-mail region@nytimes.com.. About Letters  Thomas Feyer, the letters editor, gives tips for getting your letter published. Click here for full article. Additional Information?  Please call (212) 556-1831 for recorded instructions.  See: Op-Ed Submissions.  To write the editorial page editor, e-mail editorial@nytimes.com.  Other article submissions: Send your article to the editor of the department relevant to your piece (e.g. "News Editor," "Sports Editor") via regular mail to the address above.