Senator Bill Frist, MD. That’s the new majority leader of the US senate. NYTimes and Washington Post are on all fours, singing his praises with articles entitled: “The Good Doctor” and “Is there a doctor in the house”… obviously these journalists have fallen asleep at the wheel as the drivers of free and independent press that criticizes in the public interest. Instead of referring to the major media’s articles, let us all refer to proper investigative journalism, which can be found at such media as: www.laweekly.com, www.salon.com, www.villagevoice.com . These investigations aren’t so warm and fuzzy with their coverage of the new leader. They are not busy shining his boots with their words of praise for the MD. Instead they refer to facts… facts that endanger the American public. These facts include:
Frist has voted against sex education, international family planning, emergency contraception [the morning-after pill], affirmative action, hate crimes legislation, and the Employment Non-Discrimination Act.
The basis of the Frist family fortune is HCA Inc. (Hospital Corporation of America), the largest for-profit hospital chain in the country, which was founded by Frist?s father and brother.
In 1994, Frist ? who?d never bothered to vote before first running for the Senate that year ? spent some $3.4 million of his personal fortune to buy the seat from Tennessee (HCA?s headquarters) that he now occupies
Frist has used his influence to further HCA?s cause by stopping a strong patients? bill of rights, gridlocking a mandatory Medicare prescription-drug benefit, and promoting caps on damages for victims who sue negligent hospitals like HCA?s
The good Dr. Frist voted against patients? rights to sue their HMOs for failure to provide adequate treatment, and voted to give tax subsidies to HMOs and insurance companies to offer prescription drugs to seniors, rather than providing them through Medicare.
What does this mean? Obviously this is not just another dumb politician. This is a crook who represents a danger to the health and finances of every citizen. What should be done? Let him go the way of Mr. Segregation LOTT, mass protests demanding his resignation… he’d crumble instantly and resign to his millions. It worked only a few months ago, it would work again.