SEIU Rejoices at Limbaugh's Love of Socialized Medicine

The irony of Rush Limbaugh's declaration that he received the finest care at Queen's Medical Center in Hawaii and that nothing is wrong with our healthcare system is that the hospital he was admitted to is unionized and Hawaii requires all employers to provide healthcare. Poor Fuzzball probably didn't realize that at the time:

We're thrilled to hear that Limbaugh appreciates Hawaii's exemplary health care system. Here's why:

1. Hawaii is a shining example of progressive health care reform. In fact, Hawaii is so forward-thinking that the Senate bill excludes Hawaii from some of its provisions, because Hawaii's requirements on employers go farther than the federal legislation.

Since 1974, Hawaii has required all employers to provide quality health care benefits to any employee who works 20 hours a week or more. Because of Hawaii's increased coverage, reports the New York Times, "hospital and insurance executives in Hawaii say they have been able to innovate efficiencies. For instance, the state's top three medical providers are adopting electronic medical records -- years ahead of most mainland counterparts."
One reporter noted "the medical system in Hawaii is as close to socialized medicine as there is in the United States, and, much of the Democrats reform bill is based in the Hawaii system."
2. Limbaugh stayed at Queen's Medical Center, where nursing staff are represented by the Hawaii Nurses' Association (read: a labor union). The nurses at Queen's are protected by their contract, which adheres to the ANA's safe-staffing principles guaranteeing appropriate staffing levels for any patient care unit. Read more at SEIU

Obama Considering Mary Beth Maxwell for Labor

Mary Beth Maxwell is the choice of the gay and lesbian community.

Politico: Gay and lesbian activists, who had been getting a bit restless about the Obama transition's centrism, were welcomed into transition headquarters yesterday for a big meeting with John Podesta, who's leading the transition, and Jim Messina, personnel director of the transition and a deputy chief of staff in the new White House. Participants said afterward that the session, which drew about 60 attendees and a cadre of senior Obama advisers, was very positive and productive. A prominent lesbian activist will chair the White House Council on Environmental Quality. And at the meeting, Obama officials said they're giving serious consideration to two favorites of the community – John Berry for Interior and Mary Beth Maxwell for Labor.

WSJ: For the rainbow cabinet of the nation’s first African American president, Mary Beth Maxwell is the perfect labor secretary you’ve probably never heard of: a gay woman, community organizer and labor leader with an adopted African American son. And this founding executive director of American Rights at Work is about to get the full-court press.

Maxwell already had the strong backing of former Rep. David Bonior, who despite repeated attempts to get his name removed from consideration continues to be on the short list of potential labor secretaries. Bonior, 63 years old, says it is time for his generation to turn over power to a new generation, and Maxwell, whose labor-backed organization pushes for expanded collective bargaining rights, is his pick.

Some labor leaders from both the AFL-CIO and Change to Win, a splinter union group led by the Service Employees International Union, back her as a consensus choice, citing her efforts on behalf of legislation to allow unionization at workplaces with the signing of cards, not secret balloting.

More on Mary Beth.
Here is Mary Beth speaking on workers rights as human rights: