Back to ACORN General Hospital
American Thinker
By Carol Peracchio
Guess who’s going to be much better off thanks President Obama’s health care scheme?
I read a fascinating survey recently. According to Rasmussen,
Forty-two percent (42%) of Americans say every one in the United States should have free health care. The latest Rasmussen Reports national telephone survey finds that 44% disagree.
Wait a minute! Obama says we all want nationalized healthcare now, if not sooner. A survey asking if everyone should have free healthcare is like asking if Christmas should come again this year. Yet, it appears more Americans actually favor the evil healthcare status quo.
The survey had another shocker:
However, by a two-to-one margin (60% to 27%), Americans reject free health care for all if it means changing their own coverage and joining a program administered by the government.
~snipet~
“Free” healthcare is too big a risk if it means giving up your private insurance for ObamaCare. The survey results are especially stunning because the healthcare the participants reject is free.
Obama’s health care website.
See VIDEO BELOW OR YOU CAN go to the website and then Scroll down to the bottom of the page, past the heart-wrenching tales of health insurance lost, and the frightening predictions of how we’re all about to die, or if we’re very, very lucky, merely go bankrupt. Check out the video link of HHS Secretary Sebelius at the AFSCME Nurses Association.
To the average nurse, the term “nurses association” brings to mind the American Nurses Association (ANA), or the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses (AACN): professional organizations based on a particular nursing specialty, such as the operating room or ER. I’d never heard of the AFSCME Nurses Association. I couldn’t think of any nursing acronym that would fit those letters, so I googled them.
It’s a union!
The AFSCME nurses’ union, United Nurses of America, (UNA) has 60,000 members, both RNs and LPNs. In America today there are approximately 2.9 million RNs. There were over 730,000 LPNs in America in 2008. Therefore, UNA represents 1.6 percent of America’s licensed nurses. The UNA is the Obama administration’s favorite nursing go-to group for healthcare reform cover. And they’re quite the resource when crafting those oh-so-important media images of nursing support for socialized medicine.
Unlike 98.4% of you nurses out there, I have actually belonged to a union. Years ago, after accepting a new hospital position I was filling out the obligatory HR paperwork. Among the forms was an index card.
“What’s this?” I asked.
“It’s for the union.”
I handed it to her. “You don’t understand. I am an RN. A professional. I won’t be joining a union.”
She handed the card back to me. “No, you don’t understand. This is a closed shop. Fill out the card.”
Except for irritation at the dues deducted from my paycheck, the union had no effect on my life. Then, a few months later, the hospital informed us that they were in dire financial straits and needed concessions from all employees. So, I made plans to attend my one and only union meeting.
We gathered to hear how our union was going to fight for our rights. The representative got up to the microphone and said — I swear I am not making this up — “We’ve looked over what they’re asking and we recommend you take it.” End of meeting.
Thankfully, a better position at a non-union hospital became available and my brief stint as a union nurse was over. Until now. Because as I look over Obama’s healthcare plan, and the AFSCME and SEIU websites, it’s obvious that the service employees unions are all over Obama’s health care “reform.”
At Obama’s website there is a frightening report titled The Costs of Inaction. Over at the SEIU healthcare website is an article titled “The Cost of Doing Nothing.” However, things turn serious when one starts clicking on the links.
My first article for American Thinker was titled “Welcome to ACORN General Hospital.” I wrote that Barack and Michelle’s healthcare vision seemed to be hospitals as agents for community organizing. At the time I thought I was indulging in a little hyperbole. Little did I know that I was right on the money.
For example, at the SEIU website is a link to the Healthcare Equality Project:
The Healthcare Equality Project (HEP) is a national partnership between nationwide and community-based organizations, faith networks, students, parents and individuals working to achieve comprehensive health care reform that will eliminate healthcare disparities once and for all. We want to ensure that healthcare reform efforts – beyond simply expanding insurance coverage – become an engine for reducing the unfair, pervasive and life-threatening healthcare disparities that plague women, racial, ethnic and other minorities.
Guess who’s featured on the Partner Organizations list? That’s right — ACORN!
At the AFSCME Health Care web page is a link to Health Care for America NOW! a “grassroots” organization. Among their goals:
We are fighting for a uniquely American solution that gives you a guarantee of coverage and real choice: keep your private insurance plan or join a new public health insurance plan so you are no longer at the mercy of the private insurance industry.
That reads like it was downloaded from the President’s teleprompter. And once again, prominent on the steering committee is ACORN, along with SEIU, AFSCME, and the AFL-CIO.
So what is the unions’ goal for American healthcare? According to the Kaiser Family Foundation on March 19th, 2009:
The Service Employees International Union and the California Nurses Association on Wednesday announced an agreement under which they will seek to unionize employees at hospitals nationwide and promote expansion of health insurance to all U.S. residents, the New York Times reports. Under the agreement, the unions will focus on efforts to unionize employees of larger hospital systems, where nurses would join CNA and other workers would join SEIU.
It brings to mind a mental picture of the AXIS powers dividing up the healthcare world, doesn’t it? And why not? If the UAW gets to have controlling interest in the American auto industry, why shouldn’t AFSCME, SEIU, and ACORN be allowed to run the 14% of GDP currently known as the American healthcare system? Millions and millions and millions of new dues-paying members from countless communities ripe for organizing. All without the hassle of passing card check.
Wild Thing’s comment……..
This is going to be a hard time ahead not just for we possible patients but also for the nurses and doctors. There are a lot, many, really dedicated nurses and doctors and I can just imagine how ticked they must be too at all of this happening.
“It would be sacreligious to question the Messiah and his healing works and powers.”
“The Psalm of B.O…”
Obama is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He maketh me measure my carbon footprint
He leadeth me beside the closed factories.
He destroyeth my faith in the American electorate.
He leadeth me down the path of Marxism for his name’s sake.
Yea, though I walk through the valley of the hope & change, I fear this evil:
For the media will cover for him; The fairness doctrine will silence me.
Thou preparest an unconditional meeting with our enemies:
thou anointest my head with ACORNS and kool-aid;
my income tax bill runneth over.
Surely hope and change will give way to reality and anger
And we will only live with BO for 4 years.
by 2nd Divison Vet
Each State has a Nurses Association and there is one on the Federal level which is where she is from.
The Nurses Association is pro-Union, in Pennsylvania they got rid of Mandatory overtime, and generally support the Government in anyway they can. Now the thing with Mandatory Overtime is usually, someone who is scheduled to work calls off and the incoming shift is short and sometimes by more than one nurse. It use to be some one had to stay over at least 4 hours to cover the ‘hole.’ Patient Care, right ? Thanks to this nitwit on the video, there is no mandatory overtime because that would be unfair. But the Hospitals can not discipline Nurses that call off all the time and usually it is the same ones. But in Nursing that is the nature of the game and you are suppose to know that going in. Many times I’d get a phone call that my wife had to stay over because someone didn’t show up and sometimes it was for another full shift. So instead of Medical Professionals handling care some bureaucrat in Washington will be doing that for us. Doctors will not be considering the best method of treatment, the bureaucrat will and that will be due to patients age, and what will it cost, too old or too expensive…forget it then you are shipped to the waiting ward, waiting to croak.
Can the Government help this. My wife worked a 12 hour shift last night. When she got there at 7 PM they had 12 empty beds. At Midnight they had 3 all ‘train-wrecks’, my Wife and two other nurses on the floor. On a 36 bed unit 3 Nurses and 12 patients each, this is BS. The government will screw this up even more if it is allowed to.
She, my wife, has flat out stated if they force a Union on her hospital she will retire immediately. She will not work for a union.
The Unions big thing is supposedly, patient care, then how can a Nurse walk out on a strike. In their code of ethics, is a clause about abandoning a patient and also most Hospitals will fire a Nurse if she/he abandons a patient.
There will be a big push, for Nationalized Health Care, and this is the worse thing we can do is go along with this.
Mark,thank you so much for the information.
I feel horrible how your wife has to work
hour like that. And people not showing up
for work putting more pressure on the
ones that are responsible people. grrrrr
Yes that women in the video I have seen her
on TV too pushing Obama’s agenda. She is
terrible and very cold.Pefect for one of
Obama’s people.
Thanks again Mark and your wife too.