Right from Wrong . . . trusting those who've been perennially wrong . . .

(snark on) Ahh yes, the hew and cry of the conservatives over the fate of traditional health care insurers and the pharmaceutical companies tugs at one's heartstrings and gets the tears flowing in one's eyes.

Poor things. How will they ever cope without their mini-monopolies and their corrupt business practices? What kind of people are we as a society if we were to allow these beleaguered, ethically challenged corporations who profit so handsomely off of human suffering and economic misery, to wither on the vine of American capitalism? Ohhh the humanity!!! (snark off)

Two separate, but telling, stories just from this past week:

Pharmaceutical giant Pfizer pleading guilty to a U.S. criminal charge relating to promotion of its now-withdrawn Bextra pain medicine and agrees to pay a record $2.3 billion to settle allegations it improperly marketed 13 medicines.

Health care insurance giant Blue Cross Blue Shield caught doling out millions in bogus bonuses and spending money lavishly on executive retirement parties and other suspect expenses. All money, which it should be noted, that comes straight from it's customer's pricey premiums.

Do I want to see every single private insurance company removed from existence? No. But I tell you what -- faced with a cheaper, more efficient public option in the Medicare mold as competition, you'll start seeing many of the CEO con artists of these insurance companies start to act more like true capitalists as opposed to the heartless and greedy monopolists they currently are.

And that's why they fight the public option tooth and nail and with such viciousness. These health insurance CEO's aren't really that different than your average ghetto drug dealer who has a monopoly on the drug trade in his neighborhood, and, who when a new dealer shows up on his streets, declares all-out war on the threat to his profit margin. I would venture to say that their personal ethics and morals are about on par as well.

Why anyone would put any faith and trust in an industry that has been so corrupt and unfair for so long is completely unfathomable to me. They've had their goddamn chance to do good and right by their fellow Americans. They have failed that challenge miserably.

Give us a public option (key word is option). Americans deserve a fair playing field health care industry and it's long, long fucking overdue.



----k