Question: What element of the Democratic platform do you most disagree with?
Dennis Kucinich: You know I smile because I’m probably the only one running for president who took an issue to the democratic platform personally and asked them to act on it. And let me tell you what the issue was: healthcare. In 2000, I took this proposal for a not-for-profit healthcare system – Medicare for all – to the democratic platform committee. I was asked by the campaign of the presidential candidate to withdraw the proposal because it was . . . it was not favored by the insurance interests who were contributing mightily to the Democratic party. And virtually the same thing happened in 2004. So here’s the Democratic party, these candidates are saying “universal healthcare” like it’s some kind of mantra. “Universal healthcare, universal healthcare.” And people go, “Oh, they’re for me. They’re gonna give me universal healthcare.” The insurance companies want universal healthcare as long as the government is subsidizing them so they can maintain their . . . their holding their privileged profit position. I’m talking about no more healthcare for profit. Everyone knows these insurance companies make money not providing healthcare. Everyone knows that. So I’m saying no more for-profit healthcare; not-for-profit system; all the money goes into care for people. And then you have enough money not only for basic care, but for vision care, dental care, mental healthcare, long term care, prescription drugs – all covered 100 percent under the Kucinich program. The Democrats, noooo. They wanna protect the insurance companies.
Recorded on: 10/19/07
Kucinich talks about frustrations with the Democractic Party over health care and with the Republicans over the Patriot Act.
LinkedIn meets Tinder in this mindful networking app
Swipe right to make the connections that could change your career.
Swipe right. Match. Meet over coffee or set up a call.
No, we aren't talking about Tinder. Introducing Shapr, a free app that helps people with synergistic professional goals and skill sets easily meet and collaborate.
Douglas Rushkoff – It’s not the technology’s fault
It's up to us humans to re-humanize our world. An economy that prioritizes growth and profits over humanity has led to digital platforms that "strip the topsoil" of human behavior, whole industries, and the planet, giving less and less back. And only we can save us.
- It's an all-hands-on-deck moment in the arc of civilization.
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Physicists puzzled by strange numbers that could explain reality
Eight-dimensional octonions may hold the clues to solve fundamental mysteries.
- Physicists discover complex numbers called octonions that work in 8 dimensions.
- The numbers have been found linked to fundamental forces of reality.
- Understanding octonions can lead to a new model of physics.
Why 'upgrading' humanity is a transhumanist myth
Upload your mind? Here's a reality check on the Singularity.
- Though computer engineers claim to know what human consciousness is, many neuroscientists say that we're nowhere close to understanding what it is, or its source.
- Scientists are currently trying to upload human minds to silicon chips, or re-create consciousness with algorithms, but this may be hubristic because we still know so little about what it means to be human.
- Is transhumanism a journey forward or an escape from reality?
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