Bob Hope, Red Skelton, "Fibber McGee and Molly," "Amos 'n' Andy" and "Inner Sanctum" were among the notable programs Tuesday night.
Here is the schedule:
Color Code:
Also of Interest
8:30- WMCA: Wake Up America Forum
Socialist Norman Thomas debates Conservative George E. Sokolsky on ”The Role of the Liberal Tradition in Human Progress”
8:45- WNYC: Contemporary Music Forum
Concert from New York Times Hall.
Five Bagatelles (Webber)/Piano Sonata (Siegel)/Three Piece for Violin, Piano (Fine)/Variations. Theme of Alban Berg (List)/Three Invocations (Talma)/String Quartet No. 7
9:30- WMCA: New World A-Comin’
Topics and guests of interest to African Americans
The debate on American Forum of the Air that night was over President Truman's plan for a comprehensive health insurance. The participants included Dr. Morris Fishbein editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association, AMA executive Dr. R.L. Sensenich, Dr. Michael Davis and Representative John Dingell (D-Mich).
Truman pushed hard for a comprehensive health care plan during his time in office but was defeated largely by the lobbying efforts and campaign of disinformation spearheaded by the AMA. Fishbein however went too far in his duplicity and was pushed out of his longtime position in 1950 for his egregious misstatements. (Some things never change e.g. talk of death panels by yahoos and charlatans). In his case, he went around telling gatherings about his fact-finding tour of Britain when he discovered doctors struggling with crowded waiting rooms of patients as a result of the creation of a national health system. Unfortunately for him this was revealed to be a fabrication. There had been no fact-finding tour. As his own earlier account of the trip revealed, he had spent only a few days in London, mostly attending the theater and social events and had paid only one brief visit to a general practitioner while he was there. The British medical establishment was outraged over his distortions and lies and the AMA banned him from making any public statements or speeches, correctly perceived by him as an invitation to take a hike.
Dingell of Michigan, the father of the current Dingell of Michigan, the longest serving member of the House, was a committed proponent of universal health care. He submitted his first bill calling for comprehensive health care in 1933, as a freshman, and then reintroduced it every subsequent session. After being elected to his father's seat, the junior Dingell has followed his father's tradition in every subsequent Congress.