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Democracy for America group blog for PA for Democracy
9/22/09 Health Insurance Reform Rally - Philadelphia, PA
Linked to groups: Philly for Change, Montco DFA, Northeast Philadelphia for Democracy, Local Politics Matter, PA Single Payer Healthcare Action Committee
We came. We held signs. We cheered speakers. We rallied. We marched through the streets. We shouted at insurance companies. We have done this and much more, many times before. Do our voices count more than the money coming from these companies?
Here are some photos.












John Grant's "Questioning the Army Experience Center"
Linked to groups: Philly for Change, PA Single Payer Healthcare Action Committee, PA for Democracy, Montco DFA, Local Politics Matter
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Above left: The marchers gather at Woodhaven and Knights Roads. Above right: writer Chris Hedges speaks next to Gold Star Mother Celeste Zappala, whose son Sherwood was killed in Iraq. |
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Below Left: Philadelphia
cops protect the Army Experience Center from all the rowdy citizens asking
uncomfortable questions while
inside members of A Gathering Of Eagles grin and mug at marchers
behind the glass panels. They were at
the AEC to commemorate 9/11. Right: one of the marchers who would not yield and stop asking questions is arrested
and rushed out a back door by Civil Affairs
officers.![]() ![]() |
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| John Grant, writer and photographer, is the President of Veterans For Peace, Chapter 31 - Philadelphia Area |
Inching Closer to the "Public Option"
Linked to groups: Lower Bucks for Democracy, Montco DFA, Northeast Philadelphia for Democracy, Local Politics Matter, PA Single Payer Healthcare Action Committee
Today, supporters of the Public Option for
Health Care Reform received an assurance from PA
Sen. Arlen Specter that he will support the
Option.
A rally was called to meet him at the Amtrak Station before he boarded a train to return to Washington. He approached the rally smiling, confident and shook hands as he held an impromptu meeting with the media to declare his position. The Fox affiliate, WTXF 29, and the Philadelphia/Wilmington PBS station, WHYY, were on hand to record the event.
On September 3rd,
a similar rally was held in Philadelphia outside of the Blue Cross Headquarters
and then outside Sen. Casey's office. A spokesperson addressed the group
and assured us Sen. Casey was absolutely committed to the Public Option.
The night before, a candle light vigil was held in the small suburban town of Glenside, in Montgomery County, PA.

That group numbered about 75 and could be characterized as being extremely civil and quiet. Even the counter demonstrators, who numbered about 15, did not try to disrupt the peaceful event. However, their signs showed a low degree of understanding of the issues and incomprehensible statements that reflected the same. For example, "Keep government hands off of my Medicare", and "Abortion is not Health Care", to name a few.
These are the most recent rallies I have attended. There were others and together, they have had an effect on elected officials and public opinion.
It is a pity that the persons most needing enlightenment, keep their minds and ears shut to fact and reason. It comes as no surprise that they are the ones most vehemently opposed to having children hear a speech from our President. The demographics from the last Election showed Obama and the Democrats scored higher as education levels went up. It appears the children of the ignorant will have to break out of the mold their parents try to force upon them, by virtue of their own rebellion, in their later development.
Meanwhile, minority children who advance themselves through education, will leave the ignorant, racist offspring in the dust, making them more irrelevant. (That's right, all those nut-jobs, birthers, deathers, hate mongers, etc., are just racists who can't accept the fact that Obama is the President.)

They're Ba-ack!!
Linked to groups: Montco DFA, PA for Democracy, PA Single Payer Healthcare Action Committee, Philly for Change
It does my heart good to see that the Billionaires are back. The former Billionaires for Bush are now the Billionaires for Wealth Care. Witness as they hook up with the teabagger element to make their point on health insurance reform:
House Democrats Who Are "True Healthcare Heroes"
Linked to groups: Philly for Change, Montco DFA, Upper Bucks for Democracy, Lower Bucks for Democracy, PA for Democracy
This is Jim Dean's "Heroes" in the House list. Other than Chaka Fattah, I don't see anyone from PA. Let's pepper them with messages and tell them to go on the record as not supporting any bill without a Public Option!
Here Are the Names of All 64 House Democrats Who Are True Healthcare Heroes
Albio Sires (NJ-13) Alcee Hastings (FL-23) Andre Carson (IN-07)
Barbara Lee (CA-09) Barney Frank (MA-14) Bennie Thompson (MS-02)
Bill Delahunt (MA-10) Bill Pascrell (NJ-08) Bob Filner (CA-51)
Carolyn Kilpatrick (MI-13) Carolyn Maloney (NY-14) Chaka Fattah (PA-02)
Chellie Pingree (ME-01) Corrine Brown (FL-03) Dennis Kucinich (OH-10)
Diane Watson (CA-33) Donald Payne (NJ-10) Donna Edwards (MD-04)
Earl Blumenauer (OR-03) Ed Towns (NY-10) Eddie Bernice Johnson (TX-30)
Elijah Cummings (MD-07) Emanuel Cleaver (MO-05) Eric Massa (NY-29)
Pete Stark (CA-13) Grace Napolitano (CA-38) Gwen Moore (WI-04)
Jackie Spier (CA-12) Jerry Nadler (NY-08) Jesse Jackson, Jr. (IL-02)
Jim McDermott (WA-07) Jim McGovern (MA-03) John Conyers (MI-14)
John Olver (MA-01) John Tierney (MA-06) John Yarmuth (KY-03)
Jose Serrano (NY-16) Judy Chu (CA-32) Keith Ellison (MN-05)
Laura Richardson (CA-37) Linda Sanchez (CA-39) Lloyd Doggett (TX-25)
Lucille Roybal-Alard (CA-34) Luis Gutierrez (IL-04) Lynn Woolsey (CA-06)
Marcia Fudge (OH-11) Marcy Kaptur (OH-09) Maurice Hinchey (NY-22)
Maxine Waters (CA-35) Mazie Hirono (HI-02) Mel Watts (NC-12)
Michael Honda (CA-15) Mike Capuano (MA-08) Nydia Valezquez (NY-12)
Peter DeFazio (OR-04) Phil Hare (IL-17) Raul Grijalva (AZ-07)
Robert Wexler (FL-19) Rush Holt (NJ-12) Sam Farr (CA-17)
Sheila Jackson Lee (TX-18) William Lacy Clay (M0-01) Yvette Clarke (NY-11)
Hank Johnson (GA-04)
Jim Dean says The Media got it wrong on the Public Option
Linked to groups: Northeast Philadelphia for Democracy, PA for Democracy, Montco DFA, PA Single Payer Healthcare Action Committee, Upper Bucks for Democracy
Just minutes ago, I got an email from Jim Dean that contained this:
Over the weekend Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius said the Obama administration was open to considering co-ops in a healthcare reform bill. Immediately, insurance-funded media went on the attack. Some reporters called the public option dead -- others "off the table".
The media is wrong... again.
Let's be clear: A Healthcare bill without a public option is D.O.A. in the House. Period.
To pass any bill in the House they need at least 218 votes but 64 House Democrats have stood up and said they will not vote for a bill without a public option. That means a bill without a public option would only have 193 votes.
The Health Care War Is Over!
Linked to groups: Local Politics Matter, Upper Bucks for Democracy, Lower Bucks for Democracy, Asheville Democracy for America, Montco DFA
Now, about that treaty.......
Seasoned political observers have stated we will have national Health Care Reform legislation passed this Fall. How it will measure up to what we have been advocating depends on politics.
At the end of WW I, the Treaty of Versailles took from Italy most of what they fought and died for. (Italy's objectives and strategies don't parrallel the Health Care issue, it's just an analogy.) We can't let the same happen with respect to Health Care.
The Republicans in this Congress have proven bipartisanship is a waste of time and works only to their advantage. Their demands weakened legislation that they still voted against, even though it contained exactly what they asked for. How many times will the Democrats fall for this sucker punch?
Forget bipartisanship, Democrats! Hold fast to the Public Option as a minimum. Don't accept any watered-down nonsense like co-ops.
Go for the support to block a filibuster and vote on the Reform we need. This is the message we need to send, particularly to the handful of Senators who can prevent a filibuster. There has to be enough of them to vote their core values to do what is right for The People, and not obey The Money.
Do I expect too much from a Democracy?
Town Hall Meeting Is Civil
Linked to groups: Upper Bucks for Democracy, Local Politics Matter, PA Single Payer Healthcare Action Committee, Philly for Change, Northeast Philadelphia for Democracy
Aug 12th - Philadelphia - Tonight I attended the Health Care Town Hall Forum with Rep. Joe Sestak, hosted by the Broad Street Ministry.
While Democrat Sestak's 7th CD is in the suburbs, totally outside of Philadelphia, he chose the city to centralize the meeting in the most populous region of Pennsylvania, having recently announced he will oppose Arlen Specter in the 2010 primary.
The meeting was promoted heavily in advance by advocacy groups, including Health Care for America Now and Democracy for America. Early arrival was stressed. Scheduled start was 6:30. I arrived before 5 and found the line already in the hundreds, mostly supporters. At start, the church sanctuary was filled, as was the downstairs community room which had closed circuit TV of the meeting. The Philadelphia Inquirer reported attendance to be about 650, diverse and mostly supporters. A few hundred more were shut out, as the Church was filled to capacity.
Rev. Bill Golderer in his introductory remarks, pointed to the hundreds of folded paper birds suspended from above, as part of an art work that adorns the sanctuary. Inside the folds, he explained, are prayers of children, and asked attendees to be mindful of that and conduct themselves with respect towards their neighbor.
Behavior was almost perfect. There was only one person, called "Chris", who suddenly jumped up out of turn, started waving his arms and bellowing, "when do we get our chance?". Cameras whirled, focused and flashed to capture that moment. Other than that, no "Town Hall Hooligans" at all. The Philadelphia Inquirer described the meeting as "a spoonful of sugar".
That night, I decided to compare my observations with TV coverage. The Fox affiliate, WTXF 29, reported on the Town Hall, showing clips of outbursts at older meetings, preceding their clip of Chris's tantrum. The impression was this meeting was just more of the same. Nothing could be further from the truth. I know. I was there. So was the Philadelphia Inquirer. Their reporting agrees with mine.
DFA Progressive Values group name change to Empathy Cafe.
Linked to groups: Empathy Cafe, Courage Campaign, Walnut Creek DFA, Florida DFA, blog for America Test and Poll Group
Greetings
The DFA What are Progressive Values? group
has not had much activity for some time. I wanted to let you know I've just
changed the group name to Empathy Cafe.
http://democracyforamerica.com/groups/2285-empathy-cafe
From my work of interviewing people about
progressive values I've come to see empathy as a core progressive value. It's
also the value that Obama ran on. See this compilation video I made from Obama's
speeches on empathy.
http://progressivespirit.com/Empathy/Obama/ObamaOnEmpathy.htm
So with that in mind I've been refocusing my work
on supporting Obama's call for standing in each other's shoes. Below is
some of the work we've been doing. More to come shortly.
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I wanted to let you know the video of the June 25th Empathy Healthcare Cafe is now online. I've created a 10 minute overview video of the Cafe. If you want to see more detail, there are 13 other clips of the event on Youtube as well. Please do forward the link to anyone that may be interested in viewing it. The overview video is located here:
Empathy Healthcare Cafe - Overview (1 of 13)
You can see full event videos here.
http://progressivespirit.com/Empathy/Projects/Empathy-Cafe/6-25-2009.htm
Read more
Congressman Kratovil wins how ?
Linked to groups: Jersey Shore DFA, DFA Anne Arundel, Somerset for Democracy, Morris County DFA, DFA Radio
Frank Kratovil of Maryland’s 1<sup>st</sup> Congressional District faces a very difficult re-election race because the district historically leans Republican. However Kratovil has a very effective secret weapon, it is an active and well-financed coalition from an element of the Republican Party mostly from the extreme Far Right wing of the Republican coalition. They are the “tea-baggers, Obama birthers and Healthcare Town Hall disrupters” you have been seeing on television and reading about in your local newspapers!
This group is not really representative of the typical Republican voters from sprawling Maryland 1<sup>st</sup>. Most Republicans I know from the dozen or so counties comprising the 1<sup>st</sup> Congressional District are relatively moderate and always reasonable.
They dislike taxes like everyone else. However, they believe government does on most occasions some things very well (like Social Security, the American military, Medicare, national parks, etc.)
The Republicans I know simply dismiss the nonsense about Obama not being born in America. Obama’s Hawaiian original birth certificates in all forms (long and short) have been made public. The birth announcement was published in the Hawaiian newspapers when he was born.
These local Republican voters would never deny other citizens their right to interact with their member of Congress just to score political points. This kind of rude behavior has never been tolerated by either major political party in recent memory. I have lived in the District for over 35 years.
Read more
Videos of some of the 64 House Healthcare Heroes standing strong for a public health insurance option
Congressman Emanuel Cleaver
Congressman Lloyd Dogget
Congressman Keith Ellison
Congressman Bob Filner
Congressman Phil Hare
Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey
Congresswoman Maxine Waters
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