Don't thank Congress for their "Healthcare Reform" - ask them to kill it!

Written by: Jeff Markel on Nov 14, 2009 1:31 AM EST

Linked to groups: DFA New Jersey, Essex County, NJ, DFA

I have been getting progressively more and more dismayed at the number of groups, DFA among them, which are encouraging people to thank their Representatives for having passed the so-called healthcare reform bill HR 3962.

I'm reasonably sure I'm not the only one who feels both abused by Big Insurance and betrayed by the hard-fought Democratic majorities in Congress - so being asked to thank them for whatever bones they've chosen to throw us is just too far for me to go. I think it's too far for DFA to go.

Here's a note i sent to DFA Chairman Dean:

Dear Chairman Dean -

I've been a supporter of DFA pretty much since its founding, and was a student at one of its first campaign training schools, in New Brunswick NJ ( taught principally - and well, I might add - by current Executive Director Arshad Hasan).

I've been following the status of healthcare reform for many years now and, while DFA has been a great force in keeping the public option fight alive, I think it's now time for DFA not only to stop, but to reverse course and denounce the current legislation, HR 3962, for what it is: a bad deal for Americans, not as a reason to laud, or to thank, the members of Congress who passed it.

HR 3962 does not address the needs of nearly enough people - only an estimated 6 million of the nearly 50 million uninsured - and will provide only marginally better insurance coverage for those who are insured. At the same time it will pretty much guarantee that such coverage will be significantly MORE expensive than it already is. Further, it seems mostly to serve the needs, not of people, but of insurance companies, which would receive a windfall of 40-plus million new, mandated-by-law, customers - customers who will have little-to-no choice in how or who will insure them. The "public plan option" will be relegated to being the insurer of last resort for those who are too old or too unhealthy for a for-profit insurer to accept.

The only option left on the table that makes real sense (in fact the only option that EVER made any sense) is a single-payer, Medicare-style system. There are at least three single-payer bills now languishing in committee that could reach the goal of affordable, universal healthcare, any of which are worthy of DFA's backing. Those are Rep. Conyers' HR 676, Rep. McDermott's HR 1200, and Sen. Sanders' S. 703.

It's long past time that you (we!) in DFA support only healthcare plans that are right for Americans - not bills which simply provide a new class of customers to Big Insurance and Big Pharma. We need simple, affordable, reliable health CARE, not expensive, confusing, byzantine, bureaucratic for-profit health INSURANCE.

So please - stop asking us to thank our Congress-critters for passing an "historic" bill that will make a bad situation no better (and probably make it worse). If that is the best they can do, they deserve no positive reinforcement for it - they should be criticized long and loudly for abdicating their responsibility to their constituents. DFA - as an institution and as individual member-activists - should be insisting that they kill HR 3962 and instead give us healthcare reform that actually meets our needs.

Thanks

Jeff Markel
Maplewood, NJ

Member DFA-NJ, Essex County, NJ DFA

Discuss

Corzine/Weinberg Slate Endorsed by Grassrooters!

Written by: Paul Eisenman on Oct 29, 2009 7:33 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Bergen Grassroots, DFA New Jersey, Hudson DFA

Fellow Grassrooter,

The Members in Good Standing of Bergen Grassroots have voted overwhelmingly in favor of endorsing the Corzine/Weinberg slate for Governor and Lieutenant Governor.

An Oct. 20 gubernatorial forum attended by about 50 members of Bergen Grassroots and of the Ethical Culture Society of Bergen County (forum cosponsors) featured Chris Daggett, independent candidate for the seat and Ridgewood Councilmember Paul Aronsohn as Corzine's surrogate. There was an empty seat for Republican candidate Chris Christie.

After the debate, a DemoChoice ballot appeared on the Internet to permit dues-paying members of Bergen Grassroots to choose a candidate for endorsement. Bergen Grassroots' by-laws stipulate that for a member to be considered in good standing, he or she must have paid dues in full not later than 30 days after 12 months since the previous dues payment. The ballot offered the names of the three candidates plus a choice marked "Other" for voters who might have wanted to support one of the nine minor-party candidates for the post, or as a means of saying "None of the above." No voter chose that option.

As an exercise of the democratic process, the turnout was disappointing albeit typical of general election statistics: 56.7% of the eligible voters participated. 

Nevertheless, the Corzine/Weinberg ticket attracted 81% of the vote, more than half of those entitled to vote. Independent candidate Chris Daggett received the other 19%.

It would not be a foregone conclusion that candidate Christie would not receive any votes at all; there are Republicans among the 400plus people who participate by receiving Grassrooter mail and attending meetings from time to time. 

According to its statement of policy, Bergen Grassroots is a political activist group whose members include Republican and Democratic Party members as well as unaffiliated voters. Bergen Grassroots supports candidates for office, sponsors forums to educate the public on political and social issues, engages people in the political process, and seeks to inform lawmakers and other officials at every level of government of its policies and platform.

Discuss

I Pay But I Don't Get It

Written by: Larry Furman on Aug 12, 2009 9:00 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Framing Committee, Middlesex County DFA, BlueWaveNJ, DFA New Jersey

I have a good job. I buy the health insurance my Human Resources Dept tells me to buy. (This is not, by the way, a "free market" as described by Adam Smith, John Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman, and the other neo-classical economists.) I pay enough that I could be driving a Mercedes - hell I could be driving a Hummer - 2400 miles per month - at current gas prices!.

But my coverage stinks. It's rationed by insurance company beancounters. If I see their doctors - and a complete physical takes about two hours and 30 seconds - two hours waiting and 30 seconds in which the doc says "You're breathing. That's good. You're blood pressure is high, if it gets higher we'll put you on meds."

But that's ok. As long as I don't get sick I'm ok. That's why my blood pressure is high. I'm worried about getting sick. Or losing my job. In either case I'll lose my house.

One thing I don't worry about is that my octagenarian father has good health care. He worked hard all his life. He takes care of himself. And he's on Medicare. It's great. Efficient. Government run. Not sexy like the Apollo Mission to the moon, but very important. And for the health care that my kids teachers get. They go to public school. The teachers are in the unions. And the health care is good. The kids too get good health care. Even if their parents work but don't get health care, then, thanks to Presidents Clinton and Obama, and despite the efforts and vetos of President Bush, they get health care.

But one of the things that really gets me, the thing that makes my blood boil - which is why I'll need blood pressure meds - is that close to 50 Million Americans - one out of six - have no health insurance. And it's people between the age of 18 and 65. People who work, or would work, if they could find jobs. This is wrong on many levels.

The other thing that is killing me - almost literally - is that people who make $Millions - insurance industry executives, and lobbyists and rich "Philosophers" Beck, Dobbs, Hannity, Limbaugh, and O'Reilley - wait, they're not philosophers, they're not Thinkers - they're actors - and they are telling me what's good for me. That's un-American. They are sending people to disrupt "Town Hall meetings with Representatives from Congress.

On March 23, 1775, Patrick Henry, speaking at St. John's church in Richmond, Virginia said "give me liberty or give me death." Those guys have taken my liberty and are giving me death.

Lou Dobbs Wins Coveted Father Caughlin Award

Written by: Larry Furman on Aug 12, 2009 8:48 AM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA New Jersey, Middlesex County DFA, Framing Committee

New York, August 12. CNN Commentator Lou "Loser" Dobbs (click here) edged out Rush "I Hope He Dies" Limbaugh, Bill "Bubbles" O'Reilly and Glenn "Porn-Man" Beck in the competion for the coveted and prestigious "Father Coughlin" award. The award, sponsored by the KKK, the Aryan Nations, and others is given to the broadcast personality who "embodies the malignant spirit of Father Caughlin, who uses hate speech to incite violence, obfuscate the real issues, hijack the debate, and fire up the base."

In explaining their decision Derrick William "Billy Bob" Roberts and Karl "The Roverer" Rove said, "We like Limbaugh, we like his stuff. It's good. Catchy. While he has a dedicated following, most of his listeners can't read and don't vote. Limbaugh is an overweight drug-addict, not that there's anything wrong with that, but he's tired and a has-been."

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 DFA Progressive Values group name change to Empathy Cafe.

Written by: Edwin Rutsch on Aug 10, 2009 11:19 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Washington Fair Elections, Sacramento For Democracy, Democracy for Texas, PA for Democracy, East Bay DFA

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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Congressman Kratovil wins how ?

Written by: Stephen Crockett on Aug 7, 2009 9:47 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Gettysburg Area DFA Meetup, Roosevelt Democratic Club, Mobile DFA, DFA/Greater Bowie DEMOCRATS, Democracy for Lititz

Frank Kratovil of Maryland’s 1^st 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^st. Most Republicans I know from the dozen or so counties comprising the 1^st 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.

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Why All Progressives, Democrats, Unionists and Reformers Should Join ACORN

Written by: Stephen Crockett on Jul 29, 2009 4:56 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Capital Area DFA (Harrisburg PA), Gettysburg Area DFA Meetup, Progressive Democracy South Jersey, Middlesex County DFA, Democracy for Lititz

We are all familiar with the highly partisan and blatantly dishonest attacks on the low and moderate income advocacy group ACORN that dominated Fox News election coverage last Fall. Republican Right Wing partisans have remained loyal to their absurd talking points after the November election and continue to intentionally spread lies about the ACORN organization that all progressives, Democrats, labor activists and reformers should actively refute. These politically-motivated attacks on ACORN are based on two ridiculous ideas.

The first ridiculous idea is that this relatively small group of relatively poor individuals somehow is responsible for the mortgage crisis and the collapse of the economy. After decades of Reagan-Bush Republican mismanagement, Wall Street greed, assaults on unionized labor, unsound tax policies, unfair trade policies, disastrous healthcare policies, runaway corporate corruption, huge sweetheart government contracts going to Republican connected corporations and absurd financial deregulation, we need to understand that the structure of our economy needs serious fundamental reform. Reagan-Bush Republicanism ruled the market economically and politically to create the economic crisis.

The economic collapse has many more serious fundamental causes than just the collapse of the mortgage market. Income inequality, speculation, ending anti-usury laws, not enforcing anti-monopoly laws and excessive credit card debt can be added to the previous list of root causes underlining the current economic crisis. The Republican Right bears most of the responsibility for this situation. ACORN bears none!

First of all, sub-prime mortgages did not create the mortgage crisis. The notable economist Paul Krugman has debunked this Republican myth very effectively. The mortgage crisis has been spread across all income levels. Foreclosures are not limited just too poor people.

ACORN has never issued any mortgages nor has it pressured lenders to issue high-rate, unaffordable loans to poor and middle class Americans. Instead, for over a decade, ACORN has been the national leader in the fight against predatory lending.

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Bergenfield Forgery Indictments Upheld!

Written by: Paul Eisenman on Jul 23, 2009 7:05 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Bergen Grassroots, Hudson DFA, DFA New Jersey

Hi %%first%,

As we now know from Bergenfield Mayor Tim Driscoll's explosive report at our Bergen Grassroots June meeting, there were five forged resignations, not two, when attempts were made to change the balance of power on the Municipal County Committee at a time when the committee was voting to replace retired state Senator Byron Baer.

In June, Mayor Driscoll told us that three of the forgery victims chose not to complain because the two who did received abusive mail and threats. Nevertheless, the investigation went forward and two former members of the Bergenfield Council were charged with two of the forgeries and indicted.

As the day nears for the two to face trial, their attorneys continue to seek means to get the indictments quashed.

In the most recent attempt, a State Superior Court judge denied motions to dismiss forgery indictments against the two on Wednesday (July 22).

For complete details, access this article by copying and pasting the entire address below into your web browser.
http://www.northjersey.com/news/state/elections/Forgery_indictments_upheld.html

Thanks for all you do,

Paul

Get on the bus ! July 30, Rally and Lobby in DC for HR 676

Written by: JOANNE O'Neill on Jul 21, 2009 10:52 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for Gloucester County , Philly for Change, Jersey Shore DFA, Mercer County Democracy for America, DFA New Jersey

Medicare:

Made in America Rally and Lobby Day

 July 30th - Washington D.C.

--------------------§§§§§------------------

July 30th is Medicare's 44th Birthday.

We want you to help us celebrate that event in Washington in a way that will make Congress understand that the new legislation to reform health care that is coming out of Congress isn't acceptable. It leaves private insurance in the mix, won't insure millions of the uninsured, won't give us our choice of doctors, won't control costs, won't provide relief to fiscally strapped state and local governments, and won't end discrimination based on age and income. We want Medicare Expanded and Improved to cover everyone.

CHOICE OF BUSES

New Jersey: For seats,please contact Deepak Kumar at 856-630-8774 or e-mail him at kumard99@students.rowan.edu.  

·         The cost is $20/seat.

·         Make checks payable to New Jersey One Plan, One Nation Coalition.

·         Deepak will tell you where to send the checks.

New Brunswick - will leave at 8:00 AM from the Labor Education Center at Rutgers .

Directions: http://maps.rutgers.edu/directions.aspx?id=179

Cherry Hill (South Jersey) - will leave at 7:30 AM from the Cherry Hill Mall, Rt.38, meet at northeast corner near Penny's

Pennsylvania:

Philadelphia: To register for bus go to    https://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5488/t/3442/l/eng/p/salsa/event/common/public/?event_KEY=7538

•   First come, first served.
•   Round trip bus ticket is $30.
• Leaves Philadelphia at 7 AM and returns 7 PM that night.
•  For more information, contact Joan Martini at (215) 242 - 4057 or hcap.members@gmail.com.

Medicare: Made in America rally and lobby day

• Download a flyer for the rally http://www.healthcare-now.org/docs/july302.pdf .
• If not riding one of the buses : Download Transportation Guide  http://www.healthcare-now.org/docs/july30busguide.pdf
• If you are part of an organization that might want to co-sponsor the event ,scroll down and you will see Cosponsorship Form: http://www.healthcare-now.org/campaigns/single-payer-rally/ 
• plus there are other options for you to choose,  if you can help at the event, give a donation towards the buses, or towards the rally, wish to help advertise the event ..... your help would be greatly appreciated !!!!!

Rally starts at 1 pm - 2 pm in the Upper Senate Park

9am - 11:30 am Volunteers needed for morning drop to all Members of Congress. Meet in Room 2138 Judiciary Committee Room of Rayburn House Building for materials to deliver to every member of Congress! Email info@healthcare-now.org if you plan to help with the morning lobby visits.

2pm onward - Activists will take to the hill for meetings with Members of Congress. If you need help in setting up a meeting with your Member, please email info@healthcare-now.org. Lobby materials will be available in the Judiciary Committee Room for pick up on the day of the meetings.

Featured speakers include:

·         Dr. David Scheiner - President Obama's personal physician

·         Sidney Wolfe, MD - Acting President of Public Citizen (you might have seen him on Bill Moyers' recent Frontline show)

·         Terry O'Neill - the newly elected national President of the National Organization for Women

·         Jos Williams - President, AFL-CIO Metropolitan Washington Labor Council, AFL-CIO

·         Senator James Ferlo - Pennsylvania State Senator

·         Sameer Dossani - Demand Dignity Campaign Director, Amnesty International

·         Barbara Ehrenreich - Feminist, sociologist, political activist, and author of  "Nickled and Dimed"

·         Congressman John Conyers, Jr - Chair, House Judiciary Committee, and sponsor of HR 676

·         Medea Benjamin - Cofounder of Code Pink and Global Exchange

·         Tim Carpenter - Progressive Democrats of America, Executive Director

·         Donna Smith - of SICKO fame, California Nurses Association. 

Medicare has successfully provided care to seniors and people with disabilities for almost half a century.  Its single payer structure with only 3% administrative costs stands in sharp contrast to the 20% and higher wasted by the private insurance companies on administration and profits.  As Washington struggles to fund health care reform, an expanded and improved Medicare shows the way to do it!

Hope to see you on the bus!

No Healthcare Reform Equals No Senate Job

Written by: Stephen Crockett on Jun 22, 2009 9:56 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for Carroll County, Democracy for Howard County, Roosevelt Democratic Club, DFA New Jersey, DFA Passaic County

It mystifies this writer that many Senate Democrats have failed to understand that killing the “public option” compromise position being pushed by the Obama will mean the end of their Senate careers. Politics has changed dramatically in the last few years and many Senate incumbents seem to have missed the size and intensity of the paradigm shift.

It is no accident that the Republican Party is in electoral meltdown. The Republican leadership is still stuck in the politics of the 1980’s and 1990’s. Unfortunately, the Democrats in power have not embraced the public sea change in attitudes completely. They do not understand that the Democratic wave does not threaten their hold on power. It does!

The Democratic shift is not based on partisan identity divorced from real changes in government policy. The Democratic election wins in 2006 and 2008 were strong rejections of both the Republican Right and the current unfair status quo in government policy.

If Democrats do nothing to reform the rigged economic system and fail to give American workers a fair shake, they are going to get replaced either in a primary or general election. If Democrats fail to protect civil liberties, they will be defeated. If Democrats start unnecessary wars, they will go down along with the already defeated Senate Republicans.

Of course, this is not good news for the Republican Right. The public is rejecting Republican Right politics and Republican-lite politics. Americans want real and meaningful reforms. Nothing less will do. Democrats who want to do the bidding of large corporations like the health insurance industry are going to get their backsides handed to them in 2010, 2012 and 2014. Senators from both major political parties better get with the program!

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