As MSNBC adds another anchor to its new dayside line-up today, something is becoming clear – the network is taking major steps to change their “whiteness” overload.

You could make the case that it actually began with someone who has been with MSNBC for awhile. Tamron Hall has been getting a major promotional push recently, both on msnbc.com and on MSNBC – with her own series of promos. Hall now officially anchors the 11amET and 2pmET hours.

But that’s not all. Today it was announced that former HLN anchor Richard Lui would be joining MSNBC as a dayside anchor. Two weeks ago, in a surprise announcement, Martin Bashir made the move from ABC’s Nightline to a dayside hour, assumed to be 3pmET. Cenk Uygur of The Young Turks has been filling in regularly on the 3pm and 4pmET hours, and former CNNer Veronica De La Cruz is now contributing to MSNBC as well as NBC News.

Maybe on some level this is a reaction to a Dallas Tea Party critique back in February. But MSNBC, and on a larger scale, NBCU, have pushed diversity regularly. Still, as Sklar pointed out at the time, the line-up had very few non-white regulars – which was the same for the other cable news networks.

While Lawrence O’Donnell is the highest-profile new host on MSNBC, in a prime time role, these other additions should not go unnoticed. And the network should be praised. I asked Sklar (who also runs the Change The Ratio Tumblr) for her take:

I think it’s fantastic. Two weeks ago we saw with the Shirley Sherrod story how important it is to have a diverse group of talent on hand to not only report on a story but to put it in context. That applies every day, across the board. Any newsroom will be richer for having a diverse staff to draw upon. So good on MSNBC.

—–
» Follow Steve Krakauer on Twitter

According to the World Health Organization, the United States ranks a dismal 37th in quality of health care, far below other large nations (almost all of whom have some form of national health care coverage) and just below Costa Rica. In fact, we drop even lower on the report when it comes to “fairness” and “health level,” where our tolerance of discrimination against those with pre-existing conditions stands out as an embarrassing anomaly compared to other countries.

The Status Quo Is Not Good Enough.

On July 4, 2009, my brother Eric passed away after being denied private insurance for five years (read his story at www.ericslaw.com). It has broken my heart and my mother’s heart, and I am sad to report he is not alone. An estimated 44,000 people die each year in the U.S. because insurance was unavailable or inadequate to provide the treatment they needed. If you break it down, that’s an estimated 122 people who die every day because they cannot get in to see a doctor. And this is okay? Why do we continue to preserve a broken system that continues to fail the very citizens who make up and enrich the fabric of our nation?

And it doesn’t stop there. Thousands of Americans are bankrupted by medical bills which are soaring out of control. It happened to my family, and it can happen to yours. Pay attention, the reality is that nearly every other industrialized nation has a better health care system, according to the WHO, than we do. Our health care costs are far higher than other nations, and yet our government pays a far smaller share (at 44%) of the nation’s total expenditure on health care than other countries do. I have been spending some time in France (which ranks #1 in health care according to the WHO) and have spoken with numerous French people who tell me this would NEVER happen in their country.

The bottom line is – America’s health care crisis is not a Democratic issue, nor a Republican issue. It is an American issue. And regardless of how the seats are filled in the House or Senate, all Americans have a right to expect this increasingly dangerous issue to be solved by their elected leaders.

Naïve as I know it sounds, health care reform should be about… well, health care reform, period. More specifically, it should be about human lives. Not bottom lines, not about 2012, not about 2010, and not about political score keeping.

What Choosing to Pass Health Care Reform Will Mean – to Politicians and to the People.

For politicians, namely the House Democrats needed to propel health care reform through this latest obstacle, the temptation to simply quit is obvious. But the benefits of doing so – silencing the political discord – will be temporary. To have worked on – and, most likely, voted for – some draft of health care reform over the past year, only to have NOTHING ultimately passed will surely be used against Democrats across the board. And their re-election hopes would probably be as dim as those of the last Democratic incumbents who failed on health care in 1994.

But should Democrats stand firmly (and, finally, united) behind an effort to get the Senate bill passed, those up for re-election this fall will immediately start seeing benefits delivered to constituents from what will be recognized as the most significant legislative achievement in decades. Things like an end to discrimination against those with pre-existing conditions, fewer insurance policy rescissions, the shrinking of the Medicare “donut hole” which translates into help for seniors, kids being kept on policies even after they graduate high school and until they are age 27 – well, these are all benefits that are REAL and would start IMMEDIATELY.

While many deliverables in the bill would have to wait, make no mistake that passing health care reform would begin improving people’s lives on day one. And doing so would at least ensure a majority of House dems a fighting chance at re-election they may otherwise not have, not to mention a lasting achievement that no one will ever be able to take away.

Let’s Finish the Job.

So, after an evening engaging in self-pity and finger-pointing over Tuesday’s election in Massachusetts, progressives and health care reform supporters everywhere must now regroup and face the road ahead. More specifically, they must face the fork in the road ahead. The choices now facing Americans who want better, more affordable health care are to:

1. Pass the bill before Brown gets seated: The simplest method, but it seems unlikely from a political standpoint and has already been discounted by many, as it would probably generate significant backlash and be viewed as an attempt to ignore the will of the electorate.
2. Look for a new 60th vote among Republicans: Not a single GOP Senator backed the Senate bill before and it seems unlikely that any would risk the wrath of the Republican party now.
3. Pass the Senate bill as-is: Perhaps the most feasible option, though the challenge here will be herding the needed votes among a fragmented majority in the House.
4. Package the Senate bill with reconciliation: Could address the issues in getting the Senate bill through the House, but could also be politically unpopular, despite the fact the Republican party used the process twice to handle the Bush tax cuts of 2001 and 2003.
5. Give up: In the end, this might be an even bigger political loss to swallow than to attempt any of the four options above.
6. Go with GOP Plan: Let me know when there is one.

As I write this, Democratic leadership in Washington is undoubtedly huddling to discuss these options and find a unified strategy. I hope to meet with some of those leaders in the next several days and remind them again of why it is so important not to give up and return to the status quo.

What Side of History Will Your Elected Official Be On?

I hope every member of Congress does some serious soul-searching today. By working to pass health care reform, as imperfect as it may initially be, they can make a life-changing difference to millions of Americans. The leaders who stand behind this mission will save thousands of people serious financial hardship and physical suffering every year, while ensuring higher quality care to millions more. And they may even save their political lives while they are at it.

No one ever said legislation was easy – especially if it creates fundamental change. Americans have a right to expect the health care crisis to be solved by leaders in Congress. But we must earn that right daily by demanding change. Loudly. Frequently. And persistently.

Since my brother died in July, I’ve been challenging our leaders in Washington, on both sides of the aisle, to be part of finding the solution rather than exacerbating the problem. Not next year, not in 20 years. Now.

Help ensure Congress does the right thing and finishes what they started. Call your representatives in Congress at 202-224-3121 and demand passage of health care reform now. You can also visit http://www.ericslaw.com and sign our petition and share your own health care stories, which will be delivered to all members of the House and Senate next week.

Since my brother, Eric De La Cruz, passed away on July 4th, 2009 – in part because he could not get insurance due to a pre-existing condition – I’ve traveled the country, mobilizing people to get involved and apply pressure to our elected leaders to pass health care reform.

That journey has been not only a healing process for me, but also an awakening to just how endangered the species of “change” is in the American political environment today. Given the implied mandate for health care reform that seemingly came with Barack Obama’s election, I’ve been amazed at the political gauntlet laid before health care reform by a legislative system in need of reform itself. Reform to rid itself of the legalized bribery that “campaign financing” has become, the wholly undemocratic abuse of procedural rules in Congress, and the outright lies that continue to bubble forth from the GOP and well-funded shills for the Big PhRMA and Insurance industries, who all seem to be working hard to forever preserve a broken system that views people as bottom lines rather than human lives.

Some people I’ve met on the road ask, “Is the health care reform bill even worth fighting for anymore?”

To that I can only say, “Hell, yes!”

In private moments, I could never even imagine asking my brother – who would have immediately benefited from such legislation – to think about quitting on something this important.

The greater the emphasis on perfection, the further it recedes

Eric, who was diagnosed with severe dilated cardiomyopathy more than five years ago, was also an artist, musician and designer. He knew better than most that perfection in anything, whether it be art or politics, was a dangerous, illusory concept.

The notion that, because we may end up with something less than the ideal reform progressives envisioned a year ago, we should discard this bill and start over from scratch is logic as flawed as any bill. Killing this bill means unnecessary suffering to tens of millions of people who are in real need right now and who will benefit from this bill, as flawed as it is. The idea that we are “settling” for something not worth having simply because it falls short of the ideal ignores how historically difficult – and, yes, sometimes lengthy – the process of truly fundamental governmental reform can be. And, of course, if we don’t pass health care reform now, our next chance will likely not come for at least another decade, which is truly something we need to think about.

Imperfect as it may be, the Senate bill does three incredibly important things:

1. It lays out a new system through which people who don’t have reliable or complete coverage through their work can obtain the type of group health insurance that employees in big companies get.

2. It allocates hundreds of billions of dollars in federal aid to enable people to buy coverage, through “exchanges” as well as through expanded Medicaid.

3. Finally, what would have been most important for Eric, it puts for-profit private insurers under new, tighter regulations that will end their ability to discriminate against the sick.

Had this bill been in effect years ago when my brother was diagnosed, it would have helped him obtain the coverage he needed for treatment that would have saved his life.

No, it’s not perfect – far from it. But it’s a start.

The presence of a public option in the bill would go much farther toward ensuring greater cost reduction and universal coverage. Unlike the House bill, the Senate bill still grants an anti-trust exemption to insurance companies, which is a big problem yet to be fixed. But many of the provisions in this bill are still worthy achievements that set the stage for further change in the future. Again, something that we should not only think about, but celebrate.

Today there is an important election in Massachusetts for the late Ted Kennedy’s Senate seat – a race which could make Kennedy’s dream of universal health care seem a lot more distant if it is won by the Republican candidate. But regardless of what happens today, we – the people – need to finish health care reform. My brother fought a much harder and difficult battle for his own life. For any of us to give up on this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change our future and potentially save the millions of other “Eric’s” out there, just because the bill isn’t perfect, is out of the question.

Please make it out to the polls today if you live in Massachusetts, or make a few calls to those who do. Find out how and read more about my brother’s plight at www.EricsLaw.com.

Veronica De La Cruz is a former CNN TV journalist currently focusing her efforts on the fight for health care reform in memory of her late brother Eric. This post was reprinted with slight modifications from the Huffington Post.

On July 4, 2009, I lost my brother and my only sibling Eric Alexander De La Cruz. He passed away while awaiting a heart transplant. Five years ago, he was diagnosed with severe dilated cardiomyopathy, a weakening of the heart that prevents it from pumping normally. Since then, we had tried to get Eric insurance coverage that would allow him to get the treatment he needed, but no private insurer would offer him insurance because of this preexisting condition.

Medical bills have bankrupted our family. My mother even shared her own heart medication with Eric when he couldn’t afford it.

My brother and I grew up in Northern California and, though we were a couple years apart, we were always very close. As kids, we spent all our time on the ice at the local rink. Eric played hockey, while I trained as a figure skater.

As adults, we remained best friends, talking and joking on the phone or over e-mail. We loved trading music and would always keep each other up to date on what was happening in the world of hockey or figure skating. Eric loved the Ducks, and it would crush him if they didn’t win. He was a talented artist, music producer, and designer. Most of all, my brother Eric made me see that there is more to life than work.

When Eric’s heart condition was diagnosed, our lives changed forever. This past May, his kidneys began to fail and doctors told me only a heart transplant would save his life. Since he was young and otherwise healthy, I thought our chances were excellent.

But Eric did not have the luxury of insurance coverage provided through his employer. His only insurer, state Medicaid, wouldn’t cover the out-of-state operation Eric needed. He was denied federal Medicare — twice.

Eventually, when we finally did get federal coverage for Eric, the hospital still demanded private supplemental insurance to help cover the huge expenses. Again, Eric’s preexisting condition became a factor in trying to secure that supplemental policy. We were told we might still have to come up with nearly a million dollars.

Medical bills have bankrupted our family. My mother even shared her own heart medication with Eric when he couldn’t afford it. With Eric’s health deteriorating, and feeling desperate, I began relying on the kindness of strangers.

In May, I started talking about Eric on the social media network Twitter. To my amazement, complete strangers started to come together in support. Within a week, hundreds of donors had raised $6,000 and Eric’s cause was being promoted by celebrities like Demi Moore, Alyssa Milano and P. Diddy. Those willing to champion Eric’s fight for his life soon numbered in the thousands. Popular bands Nine Inch Nails and Jane’s Addiction, as well as professional skateboarder Tony Hawk, helped put fundraising into overdrive. Altogether, “Eric’s Twitter Army” raised nearly $1 million in a matter of weeks.

In June, Eric was moved to a California hospital, where he was put at the top of the heart transplant list. It was a happy time for us and we were busy planning for the future. We were looking forward to doing normal things together, like walking his dog Chance and finally getting on the ice again. And every day, I took time to assure him that everything was going to be okay.

But sadly enough, doctors informed me the fight would be hard. In fact, they pulled me aside to say, “You guys got here two years too late.” They explained that Eric’s battle for a heart should have started two years earlier — back when we were trying to secure insurance coverage and one by one each insurance company was saying no. The day my brother passed away I promised him I would do two things: take care of Mom and his dog, and try my hardest to change the health care system. I sat by his bedside crying, promising that I would do everything within my own power to make sure that no one suffered again needlessly, the way he did.

Still deeply mourning my brother, I’ve been trying to fulfill those promises. In August, I flew to Washington, D.C. to lobby Congress for health care reform, arguing that coverage must be available to all, even to those with preexisting conditions, and that insurance companies must be prohibited from dropping sick patients.

At private meetings with lawmakers, I detailed every painful step of Eric’s battle. It was emotionally draining, but I wanted every single member of Congress to hear his story. I’m also starting a foundation to raise more funds to help others in Eric’s situation, and my mission is to mobilize as many people as possible to help prevent other tragedies like his from happening.

My brother’s inability to get adequate health insurance has had a devastating impact on my life. It’s broken my mother’s heart and has sent the lives of other friends and family members into a tailspin. Being excluded from the health care system because of a preexisting condition robbed my only sibling of his fair chance at life, and it robbed all of us of his gifts, talents and love.

Health care reform may come too late for Eric, but I hope it will come in time to help thousands of other families who may otherwise also lose loved ones simply because private insurance companies choose to turn away the sick, leaving them with no other options. Helping to bring about the day when everyone has the right to health insurance will be my brother Eric’s greatest gift, so please, do your part.

The House is voting today on this historic and important legislation. Let’s hope they listened. Health care is a basic human right, and should no longer be looked at as a privilege.

Related:
Pretty Help Machine: Trent Reznor and “Eric’s Army” Unite On Twitter To Save A Life [Mediaite]

Veronica De La Cruz is a former CNN TV journalist currently focusing her efforts on the fight for health care reform in memory of her late brother Eric. This post was reprinted with slight modifications from the Huffington Post.

Here’s the update: after big first week of awareness-raising, petition-signing and media coverage the De La Cruz family was able to appeal Medicare’s denial of coverage for Eric, and their appeal was successful. (Not sure if that’s attributable to Harry Reid’s office “looking into” it circa May 18th, but somehow I doubt it). Thanks to federal Medicare, Eric was able to get on the transplant list — but it will cost thousands of dollars to pay for the operation — which he needs to have before he can get treatment.

Enter Twitter. Veronica launched a fundraising campaign to raise money for the (very) expensive operation and Twitter jumped on board, under the hashtag #ERIC and with the distinctive supporter logo shown above (also seen here). It started to catch on. The retweets worked their way up, until Eric’s cause was being retweeted by Al Roker, Demi Moore, P. Diddy, Alyssa Milano, Kathy Ireland, Annie Duke, Kevin Smith, and Twitter celebs like Pete Cashmore and The Expert (for some context: Pete Cashmore has 716,304 followers; Alyssa Milano has 68,268; The Expert has 21,288; Al Roker has 19,307).

Even better, some celeb supporters did more than retweet. Trent Reznor of Nine Inch Nails joined the cause early and upped the ante significantly, putting the fundraising call out on his website and selling off various passes to the upcoming Nine Inch Nails/Jane’s Addiction tour. Per Paste mag:

A $300 donation will grant concert attendees access to the pre-show soundcheck and a meet-and-greet with the band, while $1,000 will get you backstage for dinner and relaxing with the band, as well as stage-side viewing for the show, autographs and pictures. For fans without tickets, a $1,200 donation comes with two tickets to the show and VIP treatment backstage. This is NIN’s final tour, so fans of the band will want to seize this opportunity.

Reznor raised over $260K in the first day — and as of now he has raised over $850K. He announced on his site that he had sold out of all the VIP packages in North America (and that’s a lot of cities!), so is offering something else awesome instead: One hundred collectable, signed skateboards by Tony Hawk (737,211 Twitter followers – and another #ERIC supporter). A $1,000 donation wins the skateboard plus a copy of NIN’s rarest CD release, STILL, signed by Reznor. Here’s a Twitpic of Hawk doing the signing; here’s Reznor’s appeal for a more help:

Please consider helping if you haven’t already — we’re showing the world the power of a strong and committed community, and we’re quite possibly saving a life in the process. We still have a ways to go financially. Thank you all.

There’s retweeting, and then there’s this. Wow.

(On the other hand, I have to say that one of the weird things I’ve noticed during this campaign is a lack of CNN presence. Veronica worked at CNN, came up to New York from Atlanta, was with them until the end of 2008, parted amicably. I’ve kept an eye on her feed and the #ERIC feed Tweetdeck columns, and I have yet to notice a CNN-based retweet; searches within Rick Sanchez and Anderson Cooper for #Eric came up nil. I’m just surprised that there would be so little effort to help a former colleague — never mind that this is a legitimate story.)

So what happens now? I guess they wait — now that they are on the transplant list — and can prove that they have the money — they need an actual donor. Eric is in critical condition and, well, there’s a reason all this is happening with such urgency in the first place. In the meantime, Veronica and her family are doing what they can — with the help of “Eric’s Twitter Army.” From Trent Reznor to Tony Hawk to every celebrity retweeting out to thousands, to each individual person sending a flare up via Twitter — every little bit counts, especially now. I’ll leave the last word to Veronica:

Happy 2 be able 2 lean on my Twitter friends 4 strength, even from Cyberspace. xo