Approximately 1 million people will attend the Caribbean Day Parade on Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn on Monday, September 7. Help us spread information about our broken health care system and the Obama plan for health care reform. We will set up tables along the parade route with flyers listing online sources for issues such as comparative costs and results of health care spending (US vs. other countries), the economics of health care, how we will actually save a lot of money by investing in health care reform now, etc. We will also provide info on how to connect with other people who want to bring real change to our health care system and help people to get involved in pressuring Congress to pass a health care reform bill with a strong public option. VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Details here.
I am very passionate about health care and would prefer to live in a country in which health care is considered a right, not a privilage. But I also want to support the kind of health care reform which will ultimately benefit the consumer and allow for people like myself, who have pre-existing conditions and cannot afford to buy private insurance, to have an alternative. It has become increasingly daunting to sift through all of the news and information regarding the health care debate. It is almost as confusing as trying to figure out our insurance claims.
Personally, I cannot afford private insurance since I moved back to the US a few months ago. I studied and worked in the UK for two years and by the end of my stay there I had heard the arguments both for and against the National Health System. Arguments which were all founded upon some truth but health and subsequently health care are ultimately deeply personal issues in which emotion can color the debate. Emotion in general is not a bad thing. in fact, referencing personal experiences in which emotion shapes an opinion about an issue can be a powerful method for humanizing these debates. However, we must also search out as much of the facts as possible when forming an opinion about something as important as health care and health care reform. Bill Moyers interviewed several doctors on his show about the single payer option, an option that has been downplayed in recent discussions in Washington. Visit the site to have a look for yourself:
http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/05222009/watch2.html
When I lived in the UK I was able to call my local doctor's office if I had a minor health concern and I was seen either that day or the following day. I only paid a percentage of my wages to NHS which covered all my basic health care needs. There were some disadvantages though like long wait times for non-emergency health concerns like problems from an injury for example but overall the system worked to ensure that people maintained good health by monitoring it regularly. Cost was not a deterrent there. I just hope that the bill that is being debated in Washington will also ensure that our right to quality health care is met.
Hello:My name is Allie Feldman, and I'm helping Ben Baruch with Organizing for America here in New York. We just wanted to make sure everyone sees the email and video below discussing OFA's next nationwide initiative -- the Pledge Project. Please feel free to contact me or Ben if you have any questions or concerns.Stay tuned for more updates coming by the end of the week!Thanks,Allie--Allie FeldmanVolunteer Organizing for America | New Yorkallie.feldman@gmail.com 908-370-2689
Ben BaruchVolunteer LiaisonOrganizing for America | New York
bennett.baruch@obamaalumni.com
Just over a week ago, President Obama submitted his first budget and made it clear he was ready for the fight to come.The President isn't alone. We're ready for that fight too -- it's what you built this movement for.Watch a video I recorded announcing our new initiative, the Organizing for America Pledge Project:Americans are ready for the bold new direction this plan offers. It's what they voted for in November, and it's needed now more than ever as we continue to face an unprecedented economic crisis.But the special interests and old ways of Washington won't go away easily. In fact, they'll only fight back harder.It's up to you to organize support for President Obama's plan throughout the country. It's the only way we'll get the change this country needs.Take the next step now in our fight to bring change:http://my.barackobama.com/pledgeprojectThanks,MitchMitch StewartDirectorOrganizing for America
Hello New Yorkers for Obama:
I hope you are as fired up as I am after President Obama’s address to congress the other night! Across the country and here in New York we are inspired by the President’s message and motivated to organize for change.
I wanted to introduce myself to those of you who I don’t yet know. My name is Bennett Baruch and I worked as a grassroots organizer on the Obama campaign. Just like many of you, I knocked on doors, made phone calls and held organizing meetings with teams of volunteers. Together we won this election.
I am excited to serve as New York’s Volunteer Liaison to Organizing for America and I'm thrilled to tell you that Organizing for America is up and running! OFA’s mission is to mobilize our grassroots movement in support of President Obama’s policies for change and to build on and strengthen that grassroots organization we have all built together. I am an unpaid volunteer (not an official OFA staffer) who has been asked to help coordinate our efforts here in New York with OFA’s national office.
I know that many of you are already utilizing the Obama network to organize in your communities. In New York, we held 198 house parties and collected 1,578 stories around the economic crisis. Your efforts helped pass the Economic Recovery and Reinvestment Act and your involvement will be critical to its success.
You can act today to support our economic recovery. We've put together an easy to use online tool to look up the phone numbers of your representatives who voted in favor of the economic recovery plan -- take a few minutes today to thank them for doing what's right.
Take a minute to thank the Senators and Representatives who supported the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, and encourage them to continue working with President Obama to lift America out of this economic crisis. When you're done, report back to us about the calls you made.
Throughout the next weeks and months, I look forward to working with all of you to ensure that Organizing for America is successful here in New York. Please feel free to contact me with any questions or ideas as we continue to organize for change. Many thanks,Ben-- Bennett BaruchVolunteer LiaisonOrganizing for America | New YorkRespect. Empower. Include.
An open invitation to join : President Barack Obama Inauguration Day 2009 - Washington, DC Group!!!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/InaugurationDay2009
Make plans to be in DC on this historical day!
Make plans to be tuned in with TV and/or the Internet.
Be out in public with friends and fellow citizens.
A Grand and Wonderful Celebration!
Nov. 4, 2008--There's been an e-mail going around advising black folks on unacceptable behavior if Barack Obama wins. We at The Root thought we'd add a few tips of our own.
I know many people are familiar with the comments (from SP) but felt I had to share my personal feelings as a New Yorker. I love my country. I love it so much that I believe examining and speaking up about our country, society, and leaders is not only a right but a responsibility.
Our country is an experiment that demands the involvement of its citizens. My family came here at the turn of the century from places of persecution to live the American dream. Where did they find it? New York City!! They came here with nothing (except their children and dreams) and open and built businesses, fought in wars, became educated, raised their children, and to me are the definition of what is possible in America.People who know me know that I am not one to harp on Sept 11th (just the opposite) but on that day and those that followed I, like most New Yorkers, saw what people here were really made of. I could have left the island in the days that followed but wanted to be here to both draw from and give strength to my neighbors. I was never so proud to say that I was a native New Yorker! We were American enough to be targeted but not enough to be an example of what being American is. I wish I could understand why people would think that I am any less a part of this country than anyone else. Even if I go by the "rules" set forth by some (I attend a house of worship, love my family, volunteer and donate to causes, work hard...60 hours a week, respect my neighbors, etc.) I would still not be a real American. But lets go further...what I described are MY values and no one else’s.The American experiment is about living YOUR best life and pursuing YOUR dreams regardless of anyone else's opinions. This to me makes New York City the very definition of the real America!!! Now if I stuck to that, I would be no better than those who say the opposite. What makes this country so wonderful is our diversity and only the inclusion of ALL those who live here will make this grand experiment successful.
This is it!
We're coming down to the final stretch and Barack Obama needs your help now, more than ever before!
Please bring your cell phone, a charger and a few fun friends who care about change and join with thousands of your neighbors in the largest ever-attempted phone bank effort in New York state history. The Obama campaign is hosting several of these "mega call centers" all over New York, so invite your friends and family to make calls to voters in key battleground states and change America for years to come.
Visit http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/nylastcall to find a location near you.
first he is against the war, he was right when he voted that iraq dont have atomic bomb, he was right when he said that this war is waste of life and money, we gain nothing from this war but economic turmoil. you know that . bush = macain , no difference. macain will carry bush's stupid plan and will countinue the war. we need to stop this war right now and leave the world in peace. obama and we alltogather can bring this change. and it can happen only with your vote.
do you want peace or war ? if peace then vote for obama or if war then vote for macain and keep in mind war means distraction of all.
write something about your reason and openion to support obama?
http://ny.barackobama.com/NYlastcall