Friday 6/13 – Thursday 6/19
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14 SATURDAY Last year I saw an orthopedic surgeon about a swollen knee. When it turned out the consultation wasn’t covered by my insurance, I got a $400 bill–but after a long conversation with the billing department, I got off for half of that. That was how I learned what the folks behind the Service Employees International Union’s Hospital Accountability Project have known for a while: self-paying patients in Cook County often have to cough up more than double what insurance companies negotiate for the same services. The union released “Uninsured and Overcharged,” a study of discriminatory pricing, in January, and has been lobbying for hospitals to stop the practice ever since; it’ll host a free town hall meeting on the topic today at 1 at the IBEW Hall, 600 W. Washington. Speakers include Physicians for a National Health Care Plan national coordinator Dr. Quentin Young, state senator Barack Obama, and SEIU Local One president Tom Balanoff. The panel, moderated by WVON’s Cliff Kelley, will be followed by a rally at Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, 836 W. Wellington; shuttles will be provided. For more information call 312-541-9588 or see www.hospitalmonitor.org.
By nurturing a climate of fear and conformity, the cold war was a godsend for Soviet and U.S. leaders alike, writes In These Times founder James Weinstein in his new book, The Long Detour: The History and Future of the American Left. The cold war “provided the Soviet Union with a rationale for the Communist Party’s unquestioned rule at home and in Eastern Europe,” says Weinstein. The long-term effect stateside was to derail the progressive agenda: “By equating opposition to corporate domination of public life with disloyalty, our country’s rulers disoriented the left, stifled public discussion of the most basic public policy issues, and transformed the left into a plethora of single-issue movements.” Weinstein, a lifelong socialist and “pathological optimist,” says it’s high time progressives regrouped. He’ll attend a release party for his book tonight from 7 to midnight at the offices of In These Times, 2040 N. Milwaukee; call 773-772-0100, ext. 246, or see www.thelongdetour.com for more information.
17 TUESDAY Last week attorney general John Ashcroft called for the expansion of the Patriot Act, explaining that “we need for the law to make it clear that it’s just as much a conspiracy to aid and assist the terrorists, to join them for fighting purposes, as it is to carry them a lunch or to provide them with a weapon.” But a Justice Department report released a few days earlier found “significant problems” with the administration’s treatment of the 762 foreign nationals held on immigration violations under the current version of the law (some were held up to eight months, and 505 were deported, but only one–Zacarias Moussaoui–was charged with a crime related to terrorism). Tonight Emma Lozano of Centro Sin Fronteras and Jim Fennerty of the National Lawyers Guild will discuss the Patriot Act and immigrants’ rights at a meeting of Logan Square Neighbors for Justice and Peace. It starts at 7 at Grace United Methodist Church, 3325 W. Wrightwood, and it’s free. For more information call 773-252-9956.
