Though very much an anomaly, our Everyday Citizen database was "offline" due to a weird and unrepeatable technical snafu for almost 3 weeks! We are happy to say that it's now completely fixed. We thank all of you for your patience.

Readership continues to grow at this site. Just in the last month, we had 704,238 hits (visits) - even though much of the that time, our writers were unable to post new content due to the extremely rare technical difficulties! In a normal, unfettered month, we have over 900,000 and during one recent month we even crested the million hit mark. These are, without a doubt, very respectable stats for a website of this kind. I believe it is because Everyday Citizen has high quality writers and thoughtful commenters.

And, the good news abounds! This widely acclaimed excellent citizen journalism site, founded in 1997, is fully re-tweaked, re-wired and very sturdy. Good to go for years to come. Writers can rest assured that their archives are working perfectly and are well protected with multiple backups. Our dedicated readers can now return frequently to find new content. New visitors can learn more by reading about our Directory of Writers, our Table of Contents and More About Us.

"My name is Wendell Potter and for 20 years I worked as a senior executive at health insurance companies, and I saw how they confuse their customers and dump the sick -- all so they can satisfy their Wall Street investors."

As a senior vice president of CIGNA, Potter had access to the inner workings of major insurance companies.

He had walked away from a six-figure salary and two decades as an insurance executive because he could no longer abide the routine practices of an industry where the needs of sick and suffering Americans take a backseat to the bottom line. The last straw: when he visited a rural health clinic and saw hundreds of Americans standing in line in the rain to receive treatment in stalls built for livestock.

Now, Wendell Potter is the insurance industry's worst nightmare.

Those of you who have followed the stories I've written here (such as this one) regarding Mabel Rawlinson may remember that finally last summer President Obama signed a bill authorizing the U.S. Congress to award her with a Congressional Gold Medal.

In World War II, over 1,100 women, called the Women's Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), were trained to fly for the Air Force. All 1,100 of the WASP will be honorees at the ceremony this week in Washington DC.

Of course, Mabel won't be there. I will go in her place. Mabel died in 1943 in the cockpit of her Air Force bomber. Only 38 of these brave women died in service to the country. My mother's sister, Mabel Rawlinson, was one of those 38 fallen heroes.

Wednesday morning, my heart will be heavy as I enter the United States Capitol building.

"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane." (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

As we prepare to hear Barack Obama speak tomorrow night, I can't help but wish we were all gathering to hear Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. speak to us instead.

Why Dr. King and not President Obama? King didn't believe in incrementalism. His love for humanity gave him determination, resolve and the courage to fight. King demanded justice and nothing short of justice. King had a clear, bright, unequivocal, and unwavering acknowledgment of the differences between right and wrong. He was angry and brilliant and full of compassion and indignation.

What we need today and tomorrow is a President who strives to be more like Dr. King.

Perhaps, from within the White House bubble, our President cannot find his way to my blog post here. Yet, maybe he will. So, Mr. President, if you are reading this, I wish to respectfully ask you to read some words spoken by Dr. King at the Prayer Pilgrimage for Freedom, May 17, 1957 in front of the Lincoln Memorial. I believe these words are ones that should be addressed to you and our current leadership in Washington in the same spirit and with the same clarity that Dr. King addressed our leaders 53 years ago:

In this junction of our nation's history there is an urgent need for dedicated and courageous leadership. ...

There is need for a strong, aggressive leadership from the federal government. ...

This dearth of positive leadership from the federal government is not confined to one particular party. Both parties have betrayed the cause of justice. ...

In the midst of these prevailing conditions, we come to Washington today pleading with the president and the members of Congress to provide a strong, moral and courageous leadership for a situation that cannot permanently be evaded. ... The hour is late. The clock of destiny is ticking out. We must act now, before it is too late. ...

There is a dire need today for a liberalism which is truly liberal. What we are witnessing today... is a sort of quasi liberalism which is based on the principle of looking sympathetically at all sides. It is a liberalism so bent on seeing all sides that it fails to become committed to either side. It is a liberalism that is so objectively analytical that it is not subjectively committed. It is a liberalism which is neither hot nor cold, but lukewarm. ...

We call for a liberalism... which will be thoroughly committed... and will not be deterred by the propaganda and subtle words of those who say, "Slow up for a while; you are pushing too fast."

(Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.)

"We know through painful experience that freedom is never voluntarily given by the oppressor; it must be demanded by the oppressed." - Martin Luther King, Jr.

We can look back at history and see that all significant social changes began as people-powered tidal waves. The people maintained ownership and control of their own movements. The movements germinated, bubbled up and remained political forces powered by the people - and were never given away or handed off to Washington to mismanage.

Rising health care costs are crippling the economy, squeezing middle class families' budgets, and making health care unattainable for a growing number of Americans. More than 14,000 people lose their coverage every day. We know that as the number of unemployed goes up, the number of uninsured goes up as well. Most of these individuals are not eligible for Medicaid or Medicare. They are exposed and vulnerable, without access to any health care services.

Approximately 46 million Americans went without insurance in 2008 - a figure expected to rise in 2009 due to the recession - causing an estimated 45,000 premature deaths this year alone (pdf). Over the next decade, the cost of private health insurance is expected to double.

In about 30 minutes from now, set for about 1 a.m. Monday, the Senate leadership hopes to pass their health care reform bill. This comes after months of debates, town hall meetings, countless revisions and ongoing confusion.

Is the Senate bill still worth passing in the Senate? Most Republicans, on the right, and many Democrats, on the left, say it's not worth passing.

Not me. I know I'm shocking some people by saying this. Here goes... I think the Senate should pass this bill. Here's why...

Mike Kruger, staffer with the Committee on Education and Labor, wants readers at Everyday Citizen to know that the U.S. House is doing the people's work.

He said, "The 111th Congress inherited the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the legacy of eight years of failed Bush economic policies. Over the past year, House Democrats have led an unprecedented effort to prevent a devastating recession from turning into a depression and revive our economy."

Mike backs this with details and facts, pointing out that electing Democrats to Congress means that important work gets done for children, students, working Americans and families. He sent EverydayCitizen.com this "top 10 list" of congressional achievements in 2009. Check it out...

The Census Bureau defines people as insured if they were covered by any type of health insurance coverage for part or all of the previous year. In order to be categorized as uninsured, an individual would have to be uninsured for all of the previous year.

Nearly a third of people in Texas who are of working age are uninsured. Although Texas is the fastest-growing state, 31 percent of its residents, aged 18 to 64, are uninsured and generally unable to receive medical care of any kind.

“There is a broad and obviously inaccurate presumption that employers provide health insurance,” said Dr. Charles Tolbert, chair and professor of sociology at Baylor University. “By starting with the working-age population, who are most widely believed to be covered by employer insurance, the data are all that much more telling,” he said.

If it becomes law, the bill currently passed today in the U.S. House would end the practice of setting premiums higher for females and denying coverage to women simply because of their gender.

Today, too many women in the U.S. depend on a health care system that is failing them.

According to a 2008 report by the National Women's Law Center, typical 25-year-old women paid between 6% and 45% more than 25-year-old men for the same insurance market or health plans. Older women faced similar, and often even greater disparities.

Women will continue to be denied maternity coverage or charged significantly higher premiums than men in the health insurance market until Congress adopts a national health system reform bill, like the current bill in the U.S. House.

Does Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species need a special introduction? At least one man, creationist Ray Comfort thinks so. On Thursday, November 19, mere days before the 150th anniversary of the publication of Darwin's work, evangelical Christians, led by Comfort, plan to distribute more than 100,000 free copies of Charles Darwin's seminal work on the theory of evolution on college campuses.

These copies include a "special introduction" by Comfort which claims, among other things, that evolution is scientifically false and that Darwin was a misogynist racist whose ideas inspired Hitler. In addition to the 100,000 books that creationists will distribute on campuses, another 70,000 of these "special" editions have been purchased by churches and individuals for further distribution to students. According to the creationist website, livingwaters.com, "In one day, 170,000 future doctors, lawyers and politicians will freely get information about Intelligent Design (and the gospel) placed directly into their hands!"