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Haitian relief organized by Alex Wirth, Santa Fe Prep Junior

2010-01-20T16:54:00.000-07:00

EDITOR'S NOTE: This is not a usual post for my Grassroots! site. But I believe the relief effort initiated by Alex Wirth for the horrendous catastrophe that has hit Haiti deserves note.

I have led an effort on my (Santa Fe Prep) student council to organize a response and would invite you all to donate. An online donation to Mercy Corps emergency response team: www.mercycorps.org/fundraising/sfpstudentcouncil will help us reach a fundraising goal of $3,000 dollars for the people in the region. If you need any more motivation, here is a video I made outlining the student council's response to the crisis. www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljQ4DK9OWCc
Any donation is appreciated. - Alex

Municipal Election Voters' Guide to be published, Friday, Jan 22

2010-01-20T16:30:00.000-07:00

League of Women Voters of Santa Fe County will prepare their Municipal Election Voters' Guide to be published in the January 22 issue of The New Mexican.

The League will also post the Guide on their website: www.lwvsfc.org

Also, plan to attend Candidate Forums. Read about dates & locations here.

Santa Fe municipal elections coming. Engage! Attend candidate forums!

2010-01-20T16:24:00.000-07:00

Candidate Forums -- Santa Fe Municipal Election
These forums are co-sponsored by the League of Women Voters of Santa Fe County and the American Association of University Women-Santa Fe Chapter.

City Councilor Forum Thursday, January 28, 6:30-8 pm

Unitarian Church

District 1

Chris Calvert (incumbent)

Doug Nava

Russell Simon

District 2

Stefanie Beninato

Rebecca Wurzburger (incumbent)

District 3

Carmichael Dominguez (incumbent)

District 4

Ronald Trujillo (incumbent)

Mayoral Forum Tuesday, February 2, 6:30-8 pm

Santa Fe Prep Auditorium

Mayoral

Miguel Chavez

David Coss (incumbent)

Asenath Kepler

For more information, please contact Meredith Machen, president@lwvsfc.org, 988-4523 office or 577-6337 cell.

PLUS INFO ON OUR VOTER'S GUIDE IS HERE.

Democratic Party of Santa Fe County ... active and invigorated! Events planned.

2010-01-20T16:15:00.002-07:00

Future Events:
Tuesday, January 19, 2010 CANCELLED
LEGISLATIVE DINNER
Community Convention Center, Santa Fe

Fat Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Mardi Gras Party
The Eldorado Hotel, 6-10pm
Dancing with The Wise Guys, games, contests
Party with your friends and Neighbors
Tickets: $45 each or $40 each for two or more.

Saturday February 20, 2010
CONVENTION & ELECTION OF DELEGATES
Ortiz Middle School, Santa Fe

The County Democratic Party has lots going on! For full details about current and future activities, contact me: Richard D. Ellenberg, Chair Democratic Party of Santa Fe County, 505.992.1396, sfdchair@gmail.com, and visit our website http://www.santafedemocrats.org

PAST EVENT: ELECTION DAY! Join a Santa Fe phone bank! Help keep Democrats' 60-vote coalition in U.S. Senate!

2010-01-19T11:34:00.002-07:00

FROM PAM COLEMAN, OFA, on 1/19:
US Senate race in MA still too close to call...so we need to make calls to help get out the vote!

Phone bank schedule....
TODAY, Tuesday - Jan 19 -----ELECTION DAY
9 am - 6 pm
Santa Fe Firehouse # 3
Cerillos just south of 2nd Street
Please call with any questions...(505) 715-0787
See you then!
Peace and Blessings,
Pam

We must pass Healthcare reform if we have any chance of passing any type of Democratic legislation in the future. THAT MEANS WE NEED TO KEEP OUR 6O DEMOCRATIC VOTES IN THE SENATE. If you'd like to get involved in this historical vote, please contact me: Pam Coleman, Regional Field Director, Organizing for America, (505) 715-0787, ColemanP@dnc.org

PAST EVENT: CANDLELIGHT VIGIL in ABQ December 3rd

2009-11-25T11:22:00.003-07:00

After reading about this event, to return to EngageVolunteer, click here:

From Linda Allison, Albuquerque

CANDLELIGHT VIGIL

JOIN US

Thursday Evening, DEC 3RD

6:00 P.M. TO 8:00 P.M.

NOB HILL

Gathter at 5:30 pm at the parking lot on Silver behind La Montanita Grocery Store

on Central Avenue & Carlisle Blvd

TO HONOR THE 45,000 AMERICANS

THAT DIE EVERY YEAR DUE TO LACK OF HEALTH CARE

AND THE 50 MILLION AMERICANS

WHO ARE WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE

Please bring a small candle and flashlight in case the weather hampers the candles.

SPONSORED BY DEMOCRATS FOR CHANGE

For further information contact Linda: lalallison7@gmail.com

Here's a great Resource Center for the Healthcare bills...

2009-11-19T07:58:00.000-07:00

Thanks to Senator Debbie Stabenow of Michigan for this rich site...one stop shop about the healthcare bills:

http://stabenow.senate.gov/healthcare/

Our rally brings together two activists. Read the resulting interview in today's Santa Fe New Mexican.

2009-10-12T21:30:00.006-06:00

Doctor pushes for a nation with universal health care

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/Local%20News/11-Lehrer-interview--ready

Dr. Tyler Taylor is interviewed by Michael Lehrer, a former Los Angeles teacher and a writer who now lives in Santa Fe. He became acquainted with Dr. Taylor when the doctor spoke at our public option rally. The interview is a result of e-mails and conversations between Lehrer and Taylor. [Photo of Dr. Taylor reused from The New Mexican article.]

Our rally is how Dr. Taylor and Michale Lehrer first met!!! How cool is that??!!

Lemons, lemons everywhere...all to let Sen. Bingaman know we feel the Baucus bill is a lemon without the Public Option!

2009-09-22T20:02:00.009-06:00

Lemons...60 juicy lemons...one pitcher-full that said PLEASE MAKE LEMONADE and two baskets-full all hand-signed by Santa Feans in favor of the PUBLIC OPTION NOW! ... all were delivered today to Senator Bingaman's Santa Fe office at noon by 20 volunteers from Grassroots4PublicOption!

We want to let Sen. Bingaman know that we think the Senate Finance Committee health-care bill authored by Sen. Max Baucus, which does not include the public option, is a lemon! We are urging Sen. Bingaman to continue his efforts to fight for the public option, and that we will not take 'no public option' for an answer. We want him to make lemonade out of these lemons. (The lemon concept was part of a nationwide MoveOn effort, and Bingaman's office had already received quite a few lemons prior to our arrival, but nowhere near 60!!!)

Before we entered Sen. Bingaman's office, we gathered outside for approx 30 minutes, holding up a banner and signs PUBLIC OPTION NOW! and HONK IF YOU SUPPORT PUBLIC OPTION. We also continued gathering signatures from passersby on our petition that asks for the public health-insurance option to be included in any healthcare reform passed by Congress.

Grassroots4PublicOption delivered about 850 copies of petition signatures today to Bingaman. About half of the petitions were collected at the Sept. 13 March4Healthcare and the balance before and after the event. The originals are being delivered to the White House by Friday.

A gracious Bingaman staffer ushered all of us into their Conference Room and spent at least 15 to 20 minutes to accept our lemons and petitions, answer our questions, assure us that Sen Bingaman supports the public option and promise that she would convey our messages to him. She also quipped that they office staff have been checking out lemon recipes! That got a great laugh from us.

Thank you, Democracy for New Mexico!

2009-09-21T11:38:00.002-06:00

In a gross oversight, I neglected to publically thank Democracy for New Mexico for their tremendous support of March4Healthcare! They not only helped publicize the event on their blog beforehand, they sent notices to their email list, took photos and videos at the event, and posted an in-depth commentary the day after. Don't miss their post:

http://www.democracyfornewmexico.com/democracy_for_new_mexico/2009/09/public-option-rally-draws-400-noisy-advocates-to-albuquerque-civic-plaza-photos-and-video.html

My sincerest thanks to Barbara Wold especially.

Summary of March4Healthcare.

2009-09-14T20:13:00.015-06:00

Yesterday was a huge success!

The crowd of approximately 400 remained engaged and energized the entire two hours of our program. Our speakers' remarks hit the bulls eye, their expertise gave the event huge credibility, their swagger and passion kept all of us riveted! They signed up and stepped forward and really helped us make the event happen. We got coverage by all three tv-networks, story with photos from The Albuquerque Journal, numerous blog postings, pre-event coverage by KSFR 101.1FM in Santa Fe - and likely other media we don't know about yet.

The crowd began to

gather.

And gather!

Our distinguished speakers...

2009-09-14T20:00:00.000-06:00

Over the next couple days, I'll be posting photos of our fantastic speakers. And eventually hope to share their remarks with you.

Senator Dede Feldman

Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino

Kathryn Harris Tijerina

Michelle Brown-Yazzie

Charlotte Roybal

Dr. Tyler Taylor

Carmen Emerson

Carter Bundy

MEDIA COVERAGE, BLOGS & MORE PHOTOS

2009-09-14T19:46:00.003-06:00

In advance, we thank all the media who gave us coverage. We didn't hear, read or see it all, but you know who you are and we sincerely thank you! If we've missed you below, we would like to include you; please contact me at ggp.hd1340 at hotmail.com.

All three local TV news programs covered our event:

Channel 4 KOB - mentioned our rally #2 in the lead-in to the news. Video @ 4:34 with interview with Patricia McBride (Grassroots4PublicOption volunteer)
Channel 7 KOAT - just after 5 p.m.
Channel 13 KRQE - started late due to tennis match (Federer & Nadal) - mentioned our rally in the lead-in. Video at 5:33, including footage of Connie Bell (Grassroots4PublicOption volunteer) with no audio.

The ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL Staff Writer Juan Carolos Rodriguez covered our event and was accompanied by the Journal's photographer Adolphe Pierre-Louis. Their coverage appeared Monday in the Metro & NM section.

The Examiner's article by Regina Gail Purcell was up on the web, with three pictures.
http://www.examiner.com/x-3523-Albuquerque-Liberal-Examiner~y2009m9d13-March-for-Healthcare

KSFR 101.1FM provided coverage via pre-event interviews on 8/24, 8/31 and 9/11 on THE JOURNEY HOME, hosted by Diego Mulligan. CLICK HERE for PODCASTS of the broadcasts.

THE NEW MEXICAN provided pre-event In Brief coverage.

PHOTOS "facebooked" by Suzanne in Albuquerque who was a tremendous help in staging the event.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=32694&id=1483658941&l=ea8d1af182

PHOTOS/SLIDES by Patricia, Grassroots4PublicOption volunteer. http://s855.photobucket.com/albums/ab120/grassrootsnm/?albumview=slideshow

Thanks to Melody for these three images!

Senator Dede Feldman's "Fierce Urgency of Now" speech and fervor.

2009-09-14T19:45:00.002-06:00

For the Public Option: It’s the Fierce Urgency of Now
Speech to the Rally for the Public Option 9/13/09

New Mexico Senator Dede Feldman

“The fierce urgency of now,” that’s what Martin Luther King called it in 1967 a the Riverside Church in New York as he realized that unless civil rights advocates, students and Americans from every race, creed and ideology joined together, the Vietnam War would destroy a Great Society and divide and devastate a generation of idealistic young Americans.

And it is a phrase that Barak Obama used last year to inspire millions of young Americans to vote and to believe that they could change the future, even against insurmountable odds, vicious lies, and a racist rumor mill based on fears, not facts. Finally, finally, last week ,we heard from our President, we heard that same focus on the moment, that same rejection of the status quo, and that sharp determination to act now.

The fierce urgency of now. Did you hear it? Did you feel it? Do you feel it now?

I hope so, because now is the time to act. Now is the time to tell the House of Representatives that we need a strong public option to keep insurance companies honest and control costs Now is the time to tell the US Senate that it’s time to come to the table. It’s time to stop inventing ways to avoid the issue, to stop waiting for the perfect deal, to stop watering down a good public program into small local co-ops which lack the clout and the purchasing power to provide a low-cost alternative for the hundreds of thousands of uninsured New Mexicans who so desperately need it.

But make no mistake, no matter how eloquent our President is, it is Congress that holds the lock-- and the key-- on health care reform. And if Congress fails to act, and act boldly, every other cause that we hold dear will suffer. It will become much harder to enact strong measures to control climate change, and it will be much harder to address an incipient war in Vietnam-- this one in Afganistan.

The Clock is ticking. It ticks for both the insured and the uninsured. If you are a family or business with insurance, your premium has doubled in the past ten years, straining your budget—and the state’s—to the breaking point. The full cots of the average employer-sponsored health insurance plan for a family in New Mexico is now an annual $13,581, accounting for 31% of median household income. And it will get much worse, according to a recent study by the New America Foundation which uses New Mexico as a worst case scenario. By 2016, it will cost $28,553 annually and take up 56.5% of median family income.

Small businesses and Families are hanging on by their fingernails and often they are falling off the cliff into the vast army of the uninsured. The insured now account for almost one in every four New Mexicans. Without insurance these New Mexicans fall further into poor health, delaying life-saving check- ups and tests, sinking deeper into chronic diseases or giving up hope. Meanwhile, they require higher-priced care, and flood emergency rooms—driving up prices higher for the rest of us. And the cycle continues. It’s continued in New Mexico for almost two decades.

And there is no safety net.

Not now.

Not in an era of financial crisis where the state of New Mexico is in the hole to the tune of 450 million dollars and we are wondering how to deal with the new folks who are now applying for Medicaid because they have lost their jobs, their homes and other assets.

In the time of Martin Luther King and the Great Society we were building safety nets. Medicare. Medicaid. Food Stamps. Headstart. Now we are shredding them. Next month the New Mexico legislature will go into a special session. On the table are hundreds of million of dollars in Medicaid cuts for people with disabilities, rural health care clinics, school nurses, EMTs treatment centers for the mentally ill---programs that can actually help those who have fallen on hard times.

Rising prices. A swelling army of the uninsured. Busted budgets. A shredded safety net. Further divisions among those who have and have not.

That is the fierce urgency of now—that is the status quo in New Mexico and much of the US where overall 14,000 loose their insurance every day. That is the cost of doing nothing that those who are now telling us to beware of the “fast sale” on health care reform, those who are stirring up a new round of lies, based on a new set of fears, that is the reality that they don’t want us to talk about.

They don’t want to talk about it because in every study we’ve done in New Mexico and now on the national level , the cost of doing nothing is more expensive than any kind of health care reform-- with or without a public option. So when they try and scare you with that one trillion dollar price tag. Remember, that it is over ten years-- it amounts to 100 billion a year. And remember what Sen. Bingaman told us at the NM First Town Hall, that in two years, if we do nothing, the cost will be $320 billion a year. So the cost of nothing is at least triple the cost of health care reform—just two years from now.

So, if you have the will to change, the numbers are there. We are on solid ground. The cost is not a deal breaker.

That’s why we must act now to build on our common values, our belief we are all in this together, and that as our President said the other night,” when fortune turns against one of us, others are there to lend a helping hand.” That we believe in this country,--and here in New Mexico --that hard work and responsibility should be rewarded with some measure of security and fair play and the acknowledgment that some times government has to step in to help deliver on that promise. “

That’s why we need a public option. That’s why we must not shy away from this alternative just because it is a government initiative. This plan has been distorted as “creeping socialism”, as a giant bureaucracy that will come between patients and their doctors. The reality is much different. … a public option is not a single payer system., as much as some of us might like that. It is not Medicare for All, It is an insurance product, one among many, that will be offered under an insurance exchange or gateway system that will impose some consistency and sense into the labyrinth of policies which now create unnecessary expense. And it will provide consumers a choice, and keep costs down, by competing with existing companies. That used to be called the American way.

That’s why it has been endorsed by a three fourths vote by the National Conference of State Legislatures, each one of which is struggling to pay for escalating health care costs for teachers, public employees, and the busy emergency rooms now serving the uninsured through out the country.

And it is why 42 of us in the New Mexico legislature have written to the New Mexico congressional delegation in support of the public option and a provision to allow states who wish to develop their own comprehensive plans to do so without preemption by ERISA or other federal reforms.

But In order to keep this option on the table, in the coming days and weeks, each one of us must step up to debunk the myths and the fears that are going to come with more and more frequency, with louder, more impolite interruptions as we get closer to our goal.

No good thing ever comes without a struggle.

Are you ready?” I am.

And so was Ted Kennedy, who understood the fierce urgency of now --even as he faced his own death. I’d like to close with an excerpt of the letter that was written to President Obama back in May…because I think it was not really written to President Obama, but to all of us. It goes like this.

“In the past year, the prospect of victory sustained me—and the work of achieving it summoned my energy and determination. (Remember it was Ted Kennedy and his staff who authored the Senate’s HELP committee bill, you know, the only one that has come out of committee in the Senate) There will be struggles—there always have been—and they are already underway again. But as we moved forward in these months, I learned that you will not yield to calls to retreat…. that you will stay with the cause until it’s won. I saw your conviction that the time is now, and witnessed your unwavering commitment and understanding that health care is a decisive issue for our future prosperity. But you have also reminded all of us that it concerns more than materials things; that what we face is above all a moral issue; that at stake are not just the details of policy, but fundamental principles of social justice and the character of our country. “

Those are the stakes. Those are the reasons why health care reform is the civil rights issue of our time. We must not fail. We will not fail. Carpe Diem.

Thank you.

Senator Jerry Ortiz y Pino's impassioned call for the public option!

2009-09-14T19:30:00.005-06:00

Senator Ortiz y Pino's four points about which he spoke without referencing notes on Sunday.

In responding to our request for a recap, he shares his four key points with "a little bit of amplification."

1. I am astounded that we have to mobilize this level of public outrage in order to convince the Congress that the "public option" is crucial to any health care reform effort...when that public option is itself a pallid, watered-down version of what we actually need: a true single payer plan that eliminates private for-profit insurance companies' role.

2. Insurance companies should have never been invited to the table to craft health care reform because they don't contribute anything to health care, they only take our money, making our system hideously expensive and subject to corporate manipulation.

3. Earlier this week we as a Nation paused to consider and pray for the 3,000 lives that were lost on September 11, 2001 in the attacks on the Pentagon and the World Trade Center. But every single year, we now know that 18,000 Americans die due to the lack of insurance coverage. And their deaths go unnoticed.

4. Democratic Congress people have received more of the insurance companies' political contributions than the Republicans have, so it should not surprise us that there is lagging support for the public option. And until we have campaign finance reform including public financing of congressional elections we will continue to see the outrageous influence of money on politics.

Dr. Tyler Taylor delivers a physician's view of the Public Option.

2009-09-14T19:15:00.005-06:00

Good afternoon, and thank you for coming out today. I appreciate the dedication of the organizers and all of you attending.

Just this year, I had my 30th anniversary as a family physician. During all that time, I have worked in small towns, and cared for patients in offices, hospitals, ERs, nursing homes, and in their homes. The last 9 years I have been in Los Alamos. My career has given me quite an opportunity to observe our health care system where the rubber meets the road. Sadly, I have come to the conclusion, as have many others, that we are witnessing a relentless implosion of that health care system.

I don't want to bore you or depress you, but it's important, as a starting point, for me to share the kinds of problems that I see getting steadily worse over the years:
-Increasing insurance company intrusion into patient care.
-Steadily more arrogance and deceitfulness on the part of insurers.
-Incomes of specialists rising much faster than those of PCPs.

-Fewer young physicians choosing to do primary care, and PCPs getting more scarce.

-Drs. saying they “have to” see more patients per day, to make the income they feel they deserve.

-More tests being ordered because doctors are rushing through visits and are afraid of malpractice suits.

-Hugely expensive diagnostic equipment and treatments being overused.

-Inner city hospitals going under, while their ERs are swamped with uninsured patients, or those on Medicaid.

-Increasing numbers of elderly, and of middle class folks, who can’t afford important medicines.
-Rising confusion and anger among patients about how complex and unfair their health coverage has become.
-Worsening problems in finding affordable mental health care for my patients.
-Medical software at times being used in ways that are meaningless, and that obscure the truth,
-Increasing number of doctors no longer willing to take patients with Medicare or Medicaid,
-Billing functions in offices and hospitals getting to be huge and complex, as payers create ever more complex games to avoid paying for services. In a 2009 survey, the cost of dealing with these insurers was found to be $68,000/per doctor/per year.
-Having a flood of reliable and unreliable healthcare information coming at physicians each month, making it very hard to know what are truly the “best practices” we’re supposed to follow

-Seeing our healthcare system waste so much money, while our country acts like we can’t afford to provide basic quality care to the 15% of our population who are uninsured.

So, most primary care physicians are clearly aware that we are working within a marketplace, and not a true healthcare system. We find these problems with payers, including both insurance companies and Federal payers, infuriating. These hurdles too often seem more about their profit margin or budget than good patient care, or creating a better healthcare system. What is especially disturbing is that profit-driven business ethics have permeated the once-honorable professional ethics of Medicine, and patients suffer most of the consequences. It often feels to me like an era of devoted, super-responsible primary care physicians is closing. Morale among my colleagues is low, with apathy, burnout and cynicism rampant. A large national survey of physicians last year showed that 30% of them plan to leave patient care within the next 3 years. One third of them describe their morale as "low" or "very poor".

So, to have major health care reform seem like a very real possibility in 2009, is almost beyond my comprehension. This new reality, though, has certainly been noted and embraced by the large national

primary care organizations. Seven of them, representing over 450,000 family physicians, internists,
pediatricians and medical students have put out a joint letter this summer. It clearly says that we are very supportive of the healthcare efforts currently in Congress, and believe that moving forward in 2009 is urgent. I’ve brought copies of that joint letter, if anyone would like a copy after today's program.

We all know that there are two quite frustrated groups currently in the U. S., those that want much less healthcare change than is being proposed, and those that want much more. To the latter group, I suggest that 4 huge sea changes are happening here, if Congress passes some version of the bills currently before the 2 chambers. First, the principal of regulating insurance companies for the good of the public will be established. Secondly, the right to healthcare for all will no longer be in debate. Thirdly, health insurance companies will no longer have such enormous profits to use for stymieing future reforms, nor will they seem invincible. And lastly, a fundamental recognition of the need to change the incentives in healthcare will have occurred.

It is amazing to me that the current efforts at health care reform have been portrayed as somewhat radical. To me, the two public option plans in Congress are middle of the road compromises, which balance compassion for people and competition for profit. They combine commonsense and decades of healthcare research. They have not been cooked up in a hurry, since people in several think tanks and agencies have been developing these ideas for years. And our legislators are mostly doing what we pay them to do, putting together various promising ideas in the most practical and affordable way. So I would say it is a typically American solution, merging our compassion for our neighbors, our tradition of capitalism, and our problem-solving abilities. I believe that we can be proud we are hammering out a middle path, as ugly as it may sometimes get at the moment.

I am convinced that more than 80% of the healthcare reforms before Congress will become law this year – an incredible historic achievement. But what about the Public Option? It is a hugely important component that would begin to slow down healthcare inflation, saving Americans $1-3 trillion over the next 11 years, according to the Commonwealth Fund. A Public Option plan would also offer 3 other things: planning and procedures not distorted by fickle Wall Street pressures, a great chance to improve the incentives for providers of healthcare, and a new standard for insurance company business transparency. These 4 features make it a dynamo of positive change among health insurers.

But if it doesn’t pass in 2009, I say “Don’t despair”. Having lived in Alabama in the 1950’s, ‘60s and ‘70s,
I’m keenly aware that making America more just is a slow, steady process. For African-Americans, it took 25 years to go from integrating the military to opening to all the buses, restaurants, schools, voting booths, housing and job opportunities. 25 years of battles, and step-by-step recognitions that everyone in the U.S. deserves basic civil rights.

Today we are rallying for the right to be free of excessive and unjust fear: Fear of getting sick, or having sick children, or dying, for lack of health insurance. Fear of going bankrupt, of losing one’s employer-based insurance, or having to choose between buying medicine and paying rent. But when universal coverage with much fairer insurance has a strong likelihood of becoming law before Christmas, we are living in an exciting time! We must keep pushing for it, to make sure the scales tip in our favor. But remember that greater justice in any social sphere takes years, maybe decades. If there is no Public Option this year, the continued skyrocketing of insurance premiums means it will be back on the table soon. And we’ll be ready for fight for it again then.

Thank you for all you are doing to make sure America takes the biggest possible stride for healthcare sanity and justice in 2009.

Carmen Emerson, a voice of Faith.

2009-09-14T18:30:00.002-06:00

From Carmen Emerson, Ministerial Intern, First Unitarian Church (Albuquerque)

“I am here today as a voice of faith: all of the world’s wisdom traditions remind us that we are connected, and that we have a responsibility to take care of the most vulnerable in our society. The Hebrew scriptures call us to “act justly, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with our God” (Micah 6:8). The New Testament Gospels call us to “love our neighbors as ourselves,” and we are also reminded by Jesus that that which we do “for the least of us” – for the hungry, the thirsty, the imprisoned, the lonely, the sick – that which we do for the least of these, we do for him (Matthew 25:34-45). The Qu’ran reinds us to “do good to parents, kinsfolk, orphans, the poor, the neighbor who is near of kin, the neighbor who is a stranger, the companion by your side, the wayfarer you meet…” (Muhsin Khan 4:36). As we heard from our Native American friends earlier this afternoon, we are all connected. We are all connected – and it matters that we pay attention to healthcare reform. It is a moral issue, and it is a justice issue.

I am also here today as a voice of reason: We need to understand that our nation can be strengthened through the public option. This matters to me, as a citizen of the United States. It stands to reason that healthy children, healthy adults and healthy families are productive, creative members of a strong and healthy nation. From personal experience I know what it means to be distracted by illness and entering despair because there is no access to healthcare coverage. When we are distracted by our illnesses and by the inadequacies of a healthcare system that may doom us to a life of poverty or early demise, we are not creative and productive. We are simply scared, and more easily taken advantage of again and again by the status quo who trade in fear. We are a better people than this – and we have a responsibility to fix the healthcare system. We are a better people than we have been this summer, and we need to have the courage and the civility to move forward with this reform so that American really is a land of opportunity, healthcare, and justice for all.

Healthcare is a human right, not a status quo privilege. We need to tell our Congress and our President to trust us with the facts, and to get on with healthcare reform!”

FRIDAY, 9.25...CALL, EMAIL OR FAX BINGAMAN'S OFFICE TODAY!!!!

2009-09-14T18:27:00.002-06:00

Senators are debating the Public Option today in Finance. We've all got to call Bingaman’s office today. It’s important to flood his office again with phone calls and emails. We hope you will call and get your friends to do the same.

Senator Jeff Bingaman (D- NM)
DC PHONE: 202-224-5521
NM PHONE: 800-443-8658
DC FAX: 202-224-2852
http://bingaman.senate.gov/contact/types/email-issue.cfm

Volunteers needed to register voters at Annual Solar Fiesta in ABQ Sunday, 9.27

2009-09-14T18:25:00.004-06:00

Posted at Dory Shonagon's request. Please pass it along....

The Bernalillo Democratic Party has a table this weekend at the NMSEA 10th Annual Solar Fiesta at Highland High School in Albuquerque. They need volunteers for Sunday. Shifts are two hours and gets you FREE ADMISSION to the Fiesta, which looks pretty cool!

Volunteers must be credentialed to collect voter registrations. If you can help, please call Dory Shonaghan at 827-1331.

For more info re: Fiesta: http://www.nmsea.org/Solar_Fiesta/Solar_Fiesta_2009/index.php

MOVING, POIGNANT...A CALL TO PRESIDENT OBAMA TO "LEVEL WITH THE PEOPLE NOW!"

2009-09-14T18:17:00.000-06:00

This letter to President Obama starkly reveals and eloquently expresses why we elected him, how he stirred within us the hope we came to believe in, and why we desperately need him to "level with the people NOW." I urge you to read this in its entirey.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-loeb/letter-to-obama-from-a-dy_b_224588.html

Then...please re-send it to President Obama.

Go to http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/
Complete the form & write a simple message into the Message Box
Include this link (copy & paste it).
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-loeb/letter-to-obama-from-a-dy_b_224588.html

And then pass it on.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-loeb/letter-to-obama-from-a-dy_b_224588.html

The Finance Bill. It's a Lemon. Take a big, juicy yellow one to Sen. Bingaman on Monday or Tuesday!

2009-09-14T18:16:00.003-06:00

You've probably heard about this via an email from MoveOn. They have cooked up a clever campaign to get Senator Bingaman's attention: delivering lemons to his Santa Fe office—along with a flyer laying out the problems with the new Senate Finance Committee bill before the committee hearings begin on Tuesday.

If you want to join a group of Grassroots4PublicOption volunteers Tuesday at lunch, we're gathering at Senator Bingaman's office, 119 East Marcy, to deliver the lemons -- and deliver the petition signatures we gathered at the March4Healthcare on Sunday demanding the Public Option.

As MoveOn says...Here's one way to judge a health care bill: if the insurance companies love it, it's probably terrible for the rest of us...Well, the insurance companies are sure pleased with the new Senate Finance Committee bill...The bill doesn't include a public health insurance option—but it still requires people to purchase private insurance that's increasingly expensive. One industry whistleblower says it should be renamed "The Insurance Industry Profit Protection and Enhancement Act."

In short, it's a real lemon.

If you want to join the fun and help out, visit this MoveOn website:
http://pol.moveon.org/lemons/?event_id=93451&id=17261-8190812-2ViMUIx&t=3

MESSAGE FROM ROBERT REICH.

2009-09-14T18:15:00.002-06:00

Please watch Robert Reich give a very cogent explanation of the Public Option on this video. And then pass it on!

2 minutes - worth it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZXFHXqrrJ6g

Quick connect to Senators Bingaman & Udall. Now more than ever, you need to contact them about your demand for the Public Option...especially Senator Bingaman.

2009-09-14T18:15:00.000-06:00

Here's the AFSCME toll-free connection to contact Congress:
1-877-264-HCAN.

It's so fast and easy! Just key in your zipcode and you are quickly linked to a choice to contact either of your two Senators. Two quick calls, and you've contacted both of them!

Thanks for the info, AFSCME, American Federation of State, County and Municiple Employees, the largest public employee and health care workers union in the United States.

WHAT TO BRING! A BANJO, METAL TEAPOT & SPOON TO CLANG IT WITH!!!

2009-09-11T23:45:00.003-06:00

Become a Public Option NOW! Trubadour!
Play banjo, acoustic guitar, flute or harmonica? Bring it along! As folks gather, share your music. No stage. No amplification. Strictly solo or jamming. Who knows…a new trio or quintet might be discovered!

Sound the alarm in support of the Public Option!
We're going to sound our own alarms loud enough that Washington hears us!
Bring alarm clocks, cow bells, didgeridoos, whistles, and, yes, even metal tea pots, pans and metal spoons for banging together!!! We'll use them on cue during the event. Reherasals before our official program begins. It will be fun.

Come meet our distinguished Guest Speakers in person on Sunday.

2009-09-11T23:40:00.002-06:00

Grassroots4PublicOption takes great pleasure in announcing a new speaker will join March4Healthcare Albuquerque, Dr. Tyler Taylor, Los Alamos physician. The rally begins at Noon in Civic Plaza and the speakers will be introduced starting at approximately 12:20.

State Sen. Dede Feldman
State Sen. Jerry Ortiz y Pino
Kathryn Harris Tijerina, Attorney and activist
Michelle Brown-Yazzie, Health and social justice activist
Dr. Tyler Taylor, Los Alamos physician
Carter Bundy, AFSCME Legislative Director

We are honored to have these distinguished speakers take part. Their activism strengthens our resolve!

A MAP...so you can find Civic Plaza and find a place to park!

2009-09-11T18:16:00.008-06:00

CIVIC PLAZA

IS TO THE LEFT OF THE CONVENTION CENTER ON THIS MAP - ACROSS 3rd STREET

NOTE: The Parking Garage UNDER Civic Plaza is CLOSED on Sunday. (Sorry. We even tried to get them to open it for us!)

The CONVENTION CENTER Parking Garage should have 200 spaces available on Sunday.

And directly across the street from that is a lot with 120 spaces

Plus there's additional parking in garages on Copper & 3rd and Copper & 5th,

and metered street parking.

For a LARGER MAP, scroll all the way down to the BOTTOM of the PAGE.

ALL THE WAY DOWN!

THIS SUNDAY, 9/13...alarms must go off in Washington. Our message? PUBLIC OPTION NOW!

2009-09-08T22:00:00.005-06:00

MARCH 4 HEALTHCARE
THIS SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 13, Noon-2:00pm
ALBUQUERQUE CIVIC PLAZA
3rd Street between Marquette and Tijeras NW, ALBUQUERQUE

We need to sound the alarm in support of the
PUBLIC OPTION!
We cannot allow Insurance Companies to win!

We are Grassroots 4 Public Option, New Mexico non-partisan volunteers who are dedicated to fighting for vigorous healthcare reform and the public option. Contact us if you feel the need to fight along with us. Why? Because this Sunday, September 13, we are joining a network of nationwide marches to Washington DC and over 15 other cities, each of which will march simultaneously.
National map & info: http://www.march4healthcare.com/

JOIN OUR ALBUQUERQUE RALLY!

Congress is wavering on the public option. We must make our voices heard if we expect lower healthcare costs and coverage for all. Let's get our signatures delivered to President Obama and Senator Bingaman. They need to see our passion! They need to understand we want the Public Option NOW! We want them to fight for it!

Let's March, New Mexico!!!

Albuquerque Info at http://march4healthcareabq.blogspot.com/
Need More info? Contact us at march4healthcare@gmail.com
or call 505.989.8231
Send our link to family, friends, your entire email address book.

WE NEED TO SOUND THE ALARM!

The time is NOW!

T-SHIRTS

2009-09-08T21:50:00.004-06:00

Get a t-shirt...for only $10. Want to look spiffy and declair your intentions? It says: PUBLIC OPTION NOW!! There are still a limited quantity available, so call today: Connie 699-9454

VOLUNTEER BRIEFINGS...PLEASE ATTEND. THIS NEEDS TO GO SMOOTHLY!

2009-09-08T01:13:00.002-06:00

Sunday

On Civic Plaza, 3rd Street between Marquette and Tijeras NW
11:00am (no later) if you are working DURING the event to greet people, hand out signs, answer questions and/or gather signatures on petitions.
People will gather early and we want to be set up and ready to welcome them.

Let the "Blue Dog" Democrats hear your voices regarding the Public Option

2009-08-25T23:48:00.004-06:00

NOTE: A very special thanks to Cindy Folsom for her research on the following.

There are many so called, “Blue Dog” Democrats, who oppose a public option as part of any health care reform bill. These Blue Dogs are fiscal conservatives from conservative states. We must work to change their minds. It is most meaningful if these senators hear from their constituents. If you have family, friends and/or contacts in any of the states where these senators reside, encourage them to contact their senator(s) as supporters of a public option. As concerned citizens, however, we can also write, call, fax and/or email them as well.

Progressive groups, Democracy for America, OpenLeft and Healthcare for America Now have 45 senators on record in support of a public option. We need at least 5 more senators to make a public option bill unstoppable (for 50 votes if the bill goes to reconciliation).

While 45 senators have stood up to be counted, Senators Baucus (MT), Conrad (ND), Wyden (OR), Carper (DE), Tester (MT), Lincoln (AR), Landrieu (LA), Bayh (IN), Nelson (FL) and Warner (VA) have not. It's time to get them and other Senate holdouts on the record that they'll vote for a public option in the final health care reform bill.

Important “Blue Dog” Democratic Senators to Contact:

Senator Max Baucus (D-MT)
http://baucus.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
511 Hart Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20510
(202) 224-2651(Office)
(202) 224-9412 (Fax)

Senator Kent Conrad (D-SD)
530 Hart Senate Office Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510-3403
Phone: (202) 224-2043
Fax: (202) 224-7776
Online: http://conrad.senate.gov/contact
E-mail: https://conrad.senate.gov/contact/webform.cfm

Senator Ron Wyden (D-OR)
223 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-3703
Phone: (202) 224-5244
Fax: (202) 228-2717
http://wyden.senate.gov/contact/

Senator Tom Carper (D-DE)
http://carper.senate.gov/contact/
United States Senate
513 Hart Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: (202) 224-2441
Fax: (202) 228-2190

Senator Jon Tester (D-MT)
http://tester.senate.gov/Contact/
724 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-2604
Phone: (202) 224-2644
Fax: (202) 224-8594

Senator Blanche Lincoln (D-AR)
http://lincoln.senate.gov/contact/
355 Dirksen Senate Office Bldg.
Washington, D.C. 20515
Office: 202-224-4843;
Fax: 202-228-1371

Senator Bill Nelson (D-FL)
http://billnelson.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
716 Senate Hart Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-5274
Fax: 202-228-2183

Senator Mark Warner (D-VA)
http://warner.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?p=contact
459A Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
Phone: 202-224-2023
Fax: 202-224-6295

Senator Evan Bayh (D-IN)
http://bayh.senate.gov/contact/
131 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510
(202) 224-5623
(202) 228-1377 fax

Senator Mary Landrieu (D-LA)
http://landrieu.senate.gov/contact/index.cfm
328 Hart Senate Building
United States Senate
Washington, DC 20510
Voice: (202)224-5824
Fax:(202) 224-9735

For more information on talking points and the reconciliation process visit:

http://www.prospect.org/cs/articles?article=the_fifty_vote_senate

http://blog.oup.com/2009/08/power-of-reconciliation/

http://www.healthcarereformmyths.org/HealthcareReformMyths.php