Ill Fares the Land, By Tony Judt, THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, APRIL 29, 2010

1. “HEALTHCARE IS A HUMAN RIGHT” HAS REAL MEANINGTHE MORAL AND ETHICAL IMPERATIVEINHERENT in the COREVALUES of a DEMOCRATIC SOCIETY (1) MAXIMIZE PERSONAL POTENTIAL (HEALTHY STATES, food, housing, education, employment, security) (2) COMPASSION and CARING (relieve individual pain, suffering and anxiety) (3) SOCIAL and ECONOMIC JUSTICE (provide for the vulnerable ) (4) CIVIC RESPONSIBILITY (society as a participatory commonwealth)

2. “Something is profoundly wrong with the way we live today. For thirty years we have made a virtue out of the pursuit of material self-interest: indeed, this very pursuit now constitutes whatever remains of our sense of collective purpose. We know what things cost but have no idea what they are worth. We no longer ask of a judicial ruling or a legislative act: Is it good? Is it fair? Is it just? Is it right? Will it help bring about a better society or a better world? “The materialistic and selfish quality of contemporary life is not inherent in the human condition. Much of what appears "natural" today dates from the 1980s: the obsession with wealth creation, the cult of privatization and the private sector, the growing disparities of rich and poor. And above all, the rhetoric that accompanies these: uncritical admiration for unfettered markets, disdain for the public sector, the delusion of endless growth. “If we do no more than pick up the pieces and carry on as before, we can look forward to greater upheavals in years to come. “And yet we seem unable to conceive of alternatives. This too is something new.” Ill Fares the Land, By Tony Judt, THE NEW YORK REVIEW OF BOOKS, APRIL 29, 2010

3. “The moral of Katrina is mostly being missed….The cause was political through and through �- a matter of values and principles. The progressive-liberal values are America's values, and we need to go back to them. The heart of progressive-liberal values is simple: empathy (caring about and for people) and responsibility (acting responsibly on that empathy). These values translate into a simple principle: Use the common wealth for the common good to better all our lives. In short, promoting the common good is the central role of government.” GEORGE LAKOFF

4. “THERE’S BEEN A COUP D’ETAT IN THE UNITED STATES AND GOLDMAN SACHS WON” --- Michael Moore “Capitalism: A Love Story George Soros harshly criticizes true believers in the wonders of unregulated free markets, an ideology he calls"market fundamentalism.“ “Market fundamentalists... [claim] that the common interest is best served by everybody looking out for his own interests. This claim is false...There are many political and social objectives which are not properly served by the market mechanism... These include the preservation of competition and of stability in financial markets, not to mention issues like the environment and social justice. "By promoting market values into a governing principle, market fundamentalism has undermined our society. Representative democracy presupposes moral values, such as honesty and integrity, particularly in our representatives. When success takes precedence over integrity, and politics is dominated by money, the political process deteriorates."

5. “TO THEIR MISFORTUNE, DEMOCRATS IN RECENT YEARS HAVE NOT SPOKEN CONVINCINGLY ABOUT SELF-GOVERNMENT AND COMMUNITY…..FOR UNLIKE CONSERVATISM, CONTEMPORARY LIBERALISM LACKS A SECOND VOICE, OR COMMUNAL STRAND. ITS PREDOMINENT IMPULSE IS INDIVIDUALISTIC. LIKE LAISSE-FAIRE CONSERVATIVES, LIBERALS BELIEVE THAT GOVERNMENT SHOULD BE NEUTRAL ON MORAL AND RELIGIOUS QUESTIONS….THEY BELIEVE GOVERNMENT SHOULD PROTECT PEOPLE’S RIGHTS, NOT PROMOTE CIVIC VIRTUE…. “A POLITICS THAT BRACKETS MORALITY AND RELIGION TOO COMPLETELY SOON GENERATES ITS OWN DISENCHANTMENT. WHERE POLITICAL DISCOURSE LACKS MORAL RESONANCE, THE YEARNING FOR A PUBLIC LIFE OF LARGER MEANING FINDS ITS OWN EXPRESSION. “THE CHRISTIAN COALITION AND OTHER SIMILAR GROUPS SEEK TO CLOTHE THE NAKED PUBLIC SQUARE WITH NARROW, INTOLERANT MORALISMS. FUNDAMENTALISTS RUSH IN WHERE LIBERALS FEAR TO TREAD….A POLITICAL AGENDA LACKING SUBSTANTIVE MORAL DISCOURSE IS ONE SYMPTOM OF THE PROCEDURAL REPUBLIC.” MICHAEL SANDEL, PROFESSOR OF GOVERNMENT, HARVARD UNIVERSITY 2005www.justiceharvard.org

6. Religious and Free-Market Fundamentalism Have More in Common Than Their Fans in the Tea Party “Because fundamentalists are ideologically driven, they tend to reject basic facts that do not comport with their ideology. Religious fundamentalists have unyielding faith in the literal veracity of the Bible and consequently dispute all conflicting science, such as the theory of evolution. By the same token, free-market fundamentalists dispute basic facts that call into question the efficiency and fairness of strict laissez-faire economics. “Since the fundamentalists' extreme views usually do not square with the facts, they commonly proceed to make up their own facts, resorting to disinformation and conspiracy theories. As such, religious fundamentalists have claimed that the theory of evolution is a "fraud.“ Free-market fundamentalists have likewise resorted to glaring misrepresentations in order to defend their ideology. Partisans of deregulation have notably challenged the Obama administration's health care reform by claiming that America provides better and cheaper access to medical treatment than nations with universal health care, whose systems are less market-driven and more regulated. While fundamentalists are adamant that an unregulated market efficiently provides for everyone's health care, the opposite is true. America is the only developed country allowing insurance companies to profit from basic health coverage. “Indifference toward the plight of the uninsured illustrates a salient feature of fundamentalism: obliviousness towards the social costs of ideological purity. Religious fundamentalists have displayed an equivalent indifference to the social costs of their purist ideology.” By MugambiJouet, Truthout Saturday, 21 July 2012

8. SINGLE PAYER LEGISLATION(STATE/FEDERAL) SB810, HR676 ELECTED GOVERNMENT(STATE/FEDERAL) STUDENTS PUBLICOPINION ADVOCACY/EDUCATION COMMUNITY ORGANIZING/EDUCATION PROFESSIONAL/TECHNICAL ANALYSIS(EPI STUDIES/DRAFT LAWS) MORAL PASSIONFRAMING DIRECT ACTION