Apparently, the Insurance Companies are determined to continue raping the public for as long as possible. In the last few weeks, I've heard of so many people who's company is canceling them DUE TO PRE-EXISTING CONDITIONS (including one of my own children, my best friend, my cousin, and, at least 50 others. None of these people had anything major wrong with them. My daughter's insurance company is presently hunting to find out if a few tests she needed could be linked to a pre-existing condition. Her co-worker, father of two young boys, just had his entire family's insurance canceled because HE SMOKED THIRTY YEARS AGO! He's perfectly healthy as is the rest of his family, yet they now have no insurance. My cousin, a forty year old, healthy single man had a small hernia. His short out patient surgery motivated his company to cancel his "PRE-EXISTING CONDITION." And, you expect these companies to shape up and treat us all right? I have some land to sell you in the swamps of New Orleans. The ONLY SOLUTION is a public option. It's the only measure that will enable the public at large to be covered for their medical needs, big or small. Don't deny it. The present climate is soooooo ready for a big time rebellion from the common people (the large majority of us). Your careers and the health (in fact, the very lives) of millions are in your hands. Decent people,NOT the wealthy nor the large corporations, cannot continue to watch this tragedy without becoming sick to their stomachs. Do the right thing. Give us a public option.

Cooperatives are not the answer; for them to work requires very specific sets of circumstances. We need a public option. Nearly half of the Senate (48 Senators) are eligible for Medicare benefits; nearly a fourth of the House (103 Representatives) are, too. Why should the public be denied the same kind of single payer, public option our representatives have?

Olympia is a very good senator, in most respects, and Mainers feel lucky to have her. However, there IS a problem with possible influence in this case. She has taken considerable moneys from the health insurance and managed-care industries and must be receiving serious heat from them. According to a local station reporting a MoveOn.org protest (http://www.wgme.com/newsroom/top_stories/videos/wgme_vid_907.shtml), as of mid-October, she had received "$474,000 dollars in campaign contributions from insurance companies and HMO's during her career." For Maine, a relatively poor state, this is serious money. The solution is to bar paid lobbyists. Period. I doubt that I'm the only voter who would rather keep her for us "the people."

I'm from the United States and we have that pay to play government. Why yes we do, but it seems to be working. We vote and send people to Washington to represent us and then corporations pay them to represent the corporations instead. I mean, aren't corporations more important than people? Its obvious that they are because their paid representatives seem to always pass laws and legislation to protect them from the citizens of the United States. The representatives must know what they're doing, don't they? I mean don't they?