Scranton, PA, is holding a health reform read aloud

Let’s hear it for Scranton, the oft-derided hometown of my parents! Rising way above my parental criticism, this Wednesday, dozens of Pennsylvanians will dare to read in its entirety what most of us are content to just allow others to read for us, H.R. 3200. That's our one-thousand page health reform bill.

Not willing to take the word of Betsy McCaughey, Rush Limbaugh or Senator Orrin Hatch (R - UT) on the merits of the bill, these citizens will conduct their eleven-hour reading marathon in Scranton's courthouse square, beginning early in the morning. Daily Kos diarist “the girl” will be there, along with her nine-year-old son.

The take-away message from this event: don’t let others do your research for you. If health care reform matters to you, then dig a little deeper. Get more information from trusted sources, from multiple sources, and then compare the information. Does anything ring false? Take a look at this thorough fact-checker from Media Matters.

And if Betsy McCaughey has a problem with page 16 of the House bill, take a look at page 16 yourself. It's not easy reading or fun reading, but if you want the truth, you don't have to take someone else's word for it. Be an informed citizen so that you can participate in our democracy armed with the facts, not lies and propaganda.

Cheers to Scranton activists for taking back our health care bill. It’s not the death-knell document that the right-wing portrays it to be, and we can see that for ourselves.