From the Health Economy Now factsheet:

The US will spend over 2.5 trillion dollars on health care in 2009, totaling 17.6 percent of GDP. France, Canada , Germany, Japan and the UK are all at or below 11 percent.

U.S. manufacturers spend more per hour on health care than their competitors in Canada, Japan and the UK combined.

When the uninsured can’t pay for doctor and hospital visits and have no where else to turn, the cost is shifted to those who have insurance coverage.

As many as 1.5 million families lose their homes to foreclosure every year due to unaffordable medical costs.

Wasteful and inefficient spending in the U.S. health care system adds up to roughly $700 billion a year—costing nearly as much as the recent recovery package.

A study published in the Journal of Labor Economics found that a 20 percent increase in health care costs for U.S. employers results in 3.5 million jobs lost.

Healthy Economy Now represents a coalition of workers, businesses and organizations who understand that better health care is one key to revitalizing the American economy. Among the supporters of the organization are Blue Cross/Blue Shield, the American Medical Association, the SEIU, the Business Roundtable, American Cancer Society, the AARP and PhRMA.

Healthy Economy Now’s mission is to raise awareness about the crucial link between reforming the American health care system and revitalizing the American economy. At this time, the group wants to build momentum for quick action on health care reform in order to accelerate the nation’s economic recovery. The coalition draws support from all across the ideological spectrum including from the labor unions and business organizations.

Healthy Economy Now broadly supports making it possible for all Americans to have the quality, affordable health care of their choice. It is their belief that the first step is demanding action from Washington now. They view their job not as one to create policy but rather to build political will to achieve health care reform, so that Americans receive better health care and the American economy is no longer squeezed by skyrocketing costs. In support of this effort, they have released these two spots today. Each is a 30 second spot.

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Two new ads supporting healthcare reform from MoveOn.org and from Healthcare for America Now, a national grassroots campaign for quality, affordable health care in support of the President’s healthcare reform. The MoveOn ad shows the need for the choice of a public health insurance option—the heart of Obama’s health care plan while the Healthcare for America Now ad details anti-reform front man Rick Scott’s rather dubious and shady past in the health care industry.

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The liberal advocacy group MoveOn.org is to release this 30 second spot calling on Attorney General Eric Holder to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate how the Bush Administration arrived at the decision to institute torture as an instrument of state policy.

In addition House Speaker Nancy Pelosi is pressing the case for creation of a special “truth commission” to investigate the interrogation of terror suspects during the Bush administration. While several House committees already are examining the issue, the Speaker suggested “it might be further useful to have such a commission so that it removes all doubt that how we protect the American people is in a values-based way.”

The San Francisco Democrat said she is open to holding potential witnesses, including former government officials, harmless from prosecution for cooperating with the commission, but only in a limited way. “I don’t think you take immunity off the table,” she said, suggested immunity could encourage cooperation. But Speaker Pelosi stressed immunity “should not be granted in a blanket way.”

Over on the Huffington Post, former Senator Bob Graham, a former chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said that the criminal prosecution of Bush administration officials involved in implementing torture policies should not “be taken off the table.”

The former senator and longtime Florida Democrat said in an interview with the Huffington Post that he favored an inquiry into what transpired during the Bush years “so that there could be a record that is not too distant from the acts themselves for the benefit of the American people and the benefit of history.” As a rationale for such an inquiry, he noted that historical knowledge would have benefited the Bush administration officials who did not, according to a report in the New York Times on Wednesday, know about the “gruesome origins of the techniques they were approving.”

Regarding the outlines of a possible committee to investigate the Bush administration’s tactics, Graham said that it would have to be bipartisan, but could “be done within the Congress or another 9/11 commission-type citizens group.”

“As to criminal prosecution,” he added, “I don’t think that should be taken off the table. But I think it is premature with the current state of knowledge to determine if that is appropriate.”

Graham, who served as chair of the intelligence committee until 2002, was one of a handful of lawmakers who was reportedly briefed by the Bush administration about the CIA’s interrogation tactics, including the use of waterboarding. His ability to object to these practices, however, was limited do to secrecy restrictions imposed by the agency and White House.

Asked whether he saw anything new in the recently released Bush-era torture memos, Graham responded: “There has been so much in the press over the past two-plus years that there isn’t any particularly new information. There were some new details than we had from before and information on the treatment of some of the detainees that was new and I found it to be very distressing.”

I have taken the view that those who provided the intellectual underpinnings such Jay Bybee and John Yoo and those who made the political decision such Donald Rumsfeld to institute torture as an instrument of state policy should be held accountable for such.

The question is not Who’s Politicizing Intelligence Now? as Stephen Hayes of the Weekly Standard asks but rather who broke the law and on whose order.

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Americans United for Change has released a new 30 second spot encouraging Americans to support the President’s budget.

Americans United for Change (AUC) is a 501(c)(4) organization founded in 2005 that supports liberal causes. More on Americans United for Change from Source Watch.

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The DNC released this 30 second spot attacking South Carolina’s GOP Governor Mark Sanford over “just playing politics” by refusing to accept some $700 million assigned the Palmetto state in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. South Carolina could sure use some assistance. Labor Department figures released this past Wednesday showed South Carolina’s January unemployment rate hit 10.4 percent, second only to Michigan’s 11.6 percent. According to Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer, state lawmakers will attempt to override Governor Sanford and take the $700 million if he turns it down.

Meanwhile, Governor Sanford who a month ago compared President Obama to Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe continues to press the analogy. The United States faces a Zimbabwe-style economic collapse if it keeps “spending a bunch of money we don’t have,” said Mr. Sanford on Wednesday.

“What you’re doing is buying into the notion that if we just print some more money that we don’t have and send it to different states, we’ll create jobs,” he said. “If that’s the case, why isn’t Zimbabwe a rich place?”

It’s pretty clear Mr. Sanford knows nothing about economics.

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A new ad from Americans United for Change.

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A new ad on behalf the Employee Free Choice Act from American Rights At Work, a nonprofit advocacy organization whose mission is to support workers’ rights to a free choice and a fair chance to join a union. The group describes its vision describes its vision as “a nation where the freedom of workers to organize unions and bargain collectively with employers is guaranteed and promoted.” Both John Edwards and Hilda Solis have served on its board of directors which is currently headed by Congressman David Bonior, Democrat of Michigan.

The ad is 30 second spot.

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In the race for the Democratic nomination for Governor of Virginia, Terry McAuliffe has released a new ad, a 30 second spot entitled Jobs.

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Americans United for Change is a progressive non-profit issue-advocacy group that is helping to lead a coalition of more than 30 progressive and labor organizations all of which are working to ensure passage of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Today, they group unveiled a new television ad campaign in Ohio targeted at GOP Senator George Voinovich.

The spot titled ‘Day and Night – Ohio’ features highlights from a recent speech by President-elect Obama and will air on all four Cleveland, OH area broadcast stations on Friday, January 16th during Obama’s planned visit to the area to promote his plans for jobs and economic recovery. Brad Woodhouse, President of Americans United for Change, adds:

“There’s no stronger messenger to articulate the need for a major jobs and economic recovery package than President Elect Obama and no more compelling place for him to do it than the state of Ohio. The plan being offered by President Elect Obama will put millions of middle-class Americans back to work quickly through solid and sound long-term investments in health care, energy efficiency, transportation and education. The eyes of Ohio and the nation are on members of Congress like Senator Voinovich to move forward with Obama’s jobs plan as soon as possible to address the worsening economic recession that left 2.6 million Americans without jobs last year. Senator Voinovich possesses both a key vote and an influential voice and his support for the Obama plan, if he were willing to offer it, would go along away towards ensuring passage of this vitally important plan to turn our economy around.”

The ad is a 60 second spot.

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The top ad was released today. It is a 30 second spot and Internet-only. The bottom ad was released in late October of 2008. It is a 90 second spot and Internet-only.

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