Right now politicians in Washington, D.C. are debating a number of ways to deal with the high costs associated with health care.  More and more I feel disenchanted by the way corporations seem to be spreading rumors and outright falsehoods to protect their profits.

Now I know the way arguments like this tend to go.  If you're a liberal you're probably agreeing with me.  If you're a conservative you may have already tuned me out.  I hope that whichever side you fall on that you continue to read.

It's hard to sit and listen to such obviously false and inflammatory statements without being inflammatory right back.

I'm somebody that believes health care reform in this country is absolutely essential. And it's my personal opinion that a public option is one of the best ways to ensure world-class care is provided at the lowest cost to the most Americans.

But I'm willing to have a rational debate about that with honest people on the other side of the fence. Then I hear something so clearly untrue and I simply don't know where to start.

The "Death Panels" that numerous conservative publications, pundits, and groups have discussed don't exist. What the current proposal actually states is that individuals will be covered for one consultation every five years where they'll discuss any advanced directives they would like put in place. This is simply a meeting where you get to say if you want to be taken off life support if you'd be a vegetable the rest of your life. Of course, if you'd prefer that heroic measures be taken, then there's no mandate that you have one of these meetings.

I've heard complaints on conservative websites about taxpayers "being forced to pay for abortion procedures with their tax dollars."  While the current proposal has set up a mechanism with separate plans to avoid this scenario, I have a deeper problem with the argument.

I have been against the war in Iraq since before the first bullet was fired.  I protested because I saw the war as setting a dangerous precedent; pre-emptive warfare is something that I believed and continue to believe is un-American.

But at no point did I consider not paying my taxes.  Every election I have a say in the way my country is run and the way my taxes are spent.  Every day I can choose to protest or support decisions made by those elected leaders.  But it is inevitable that some of our dollars will be spent doing things we disagree with.

I would also like to point out that the brave Americans who fight for our country are government employees in a government run military.  I wonder why we all seem to acknowledge that the defense of our freedoms is too sacred to be placed in private hands, but the protection of our health is not worthy of similar treatment.

There is also talk of a bureaucrat being put in between you and your doctor.  Yes, there would be a bureaucrat in the middle with a public system.

But right now there's a CEO in between you and your doctor.  And a whole HMO infrastructure too.  They're responsible to their shareholders.  As executives, their chief responsibility is always their fiduciary duty to shareholders.

I would rather have a bureaucrat in between me and my doctor than somebody who is legally bound to create as much profit as possible between my pocket and my doctor's hand.

Most of the people I talk to don't like their health insurance.  In fact, the people that seem to have the biggest problem with it are those trying to start up their own small business.

Trying to get insured when you're an individual is extraordinarily difficult.  From pre-existing conditions to outrageously priced plans, you'll be extremely lucky if you can insure yourself for under $250 a month.  And if you're older or have a family this number shots through the roof.

I believe that this stops many creative and industrious folks from launching their own small business.

So what do you think about health insurance?  I've tried to be civl and I hope nobody is offended by my tone.  I hope that dissenting and supporting views can be kept constructive in the comments.  But if you feel like shouting, I won't delete that...this is America after all.