Just follow this link to down load a pdf of the sign: http://www.trivediforcongress.com/window_sign1.pdf
What is the cost of doing nothing ?
An American economy crippled by the spiraling costs of healthcare, American businesses or individuals who are unable to compete globally because our competitors have minimized their Health Care cost or in some cases offer none.
Health Care and Health Care Insurance are not the same thing .... some Health Care Insurance policies aren't worth the paper their printed because they cover very little. We cannot rely on Health Care Insurance policies if their are no standards on what minimums they have to cover. Preventative care should be covered for all so that expensive surgeries and procedures due to neglect are minimized.
Having a public HealthCare option makes good economic sense in the long run. We need to work towards phasing in a Single Payer system because the numerous for profit Health Care systems are not cost effective in the numbers they serve. A good first start would be establishing a centralized modern Information System network which could share Health Care information with every Major Health Care facility on an as needed basis. The ultimate goal would be that a U.S. Citizen enters any Hospital or treatment facility with his Social Security or Insurance plan number and a record of important healthcare information about the patient is made available so that nurses and doctors can have some basic information to better care for the patient. Example: A patient has a known allergy to various medications. This information alone could save many American Lives, prevent malpractice lawsuits and eliminate the costly and endless reiteration of basic patient information. Safe Guarding and verification of this centralized Information would have to be a number one priority of a National Health Care Organization; new Quantum Encryption technology could be used to safeguard the security of this data.
Maybe the answer is a Quasi Public Agency (Not unlike the U.S. Postal Service) single payer organization staffed with formerly practicing medical professionals with the goal of maximizing benefits at the lowest reasonable cost ?
We cannot rely on the private sector which is motivated by profit to serve the best interest of the American people. An efficient public or Quasi-Public Agency is needed to institute real change with the ultimate goal of a Single payer system. I urge you to consider these ideas so that we can move forward in providing healthcare for every American citizen in this country.
Please post your opinions on HealthCare here:
http://pol.moveon.org/public_option/?rc=homepage
Sincerely,
Vince Cipriano
United We Can !
http://my.barackobama.com/page/community/blog/vince
"This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless
we make it a good place for all of us to live in." -Theodore Roosevelt
Join us at Keystone Progress (http://keystoneprogress.ning.com) and then
Berks Progress (http://keystoneprogress.ning.com/group/berksprogress)
There are many businesses and organizations in Berks County that have been an incredible support to the Barack Obama campaign. Below is a list of some of the ones that we are aware of; however, we are sure we did not list them all. But, we are indebted to them all!
Please frequent these businesses and let them know how much you appreciate their support in helping put Barack Obama in the White House!
Berks for Obama
For the first time, the weekly Democratic address has been released as a web video. It will also continue to air on the radio.
President-elect Obama plans to to publish these weekly updates through the Transition and then from the White House.
Today's address from the President-elect concerns the current economic crisis:
Also available on AOL, Yahoo, and MSN High-resolution, Quicktime format: (106MB .mov file).
Remarks of President-elect Barack Obama
November 15, 2008
Today, the leaders of the G-20 countries -- a group that includes the world's largest economies -- are gathering in Washington to seek solutions to the ongoing turmoil in our financial markets. I'm glad President Bush has initiated this process -- because our global economic crisis requires a coordinated global response.
And yet, as we act in concert with other nations, we must also act immediately here at home to address America's own economic crisis. This week, amid continued volatility in our markets, we learned that unemployment insurance claims rose to their highest levels since September 11, 2001. We've lost jobs for ten straight months -- nearly 1.2 million jobs this year, many of them in our struggling auto industry. And millions of our fellow citizens lie awake each night wondering how they're going to pay their bills, stay in their homes, and save for retirement.
Make no mistake: this is the greatest economic challenge of our time. And while the road ahead will be long, and the work will be hard, I know that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis -- because here in America we always rise to the moment, no matter how hard. And I am more hopeful than ever before that America will rise once again.
But we must act right now. Next week, Congress will meet to address the spreading impact of the economic crisis. I urge them to pass at least a down-payment on a rescue plan that will create jobs, relieve the squeeze on families, and help get the economy growing again. In particular, we cannot afford to delay providing help for the more than one million Americans who will have exhausted their unemployment insurance by the end of this year. If Congress does not pass an immediate plan that gives the economy the boost it needs, I will make it my first order of business as President.
Even as we dig ourselves out of this recession, we must also recognize that out of this economic crisis comes an opportunity to create new jobs, strengthen our middle class, and keep our economy competitive in the 21st century.
That starts with the kinds of long-term investments that we've neglected for too long. That means putting two million Americans to work rebuilding our crumbling roads, bridges, and schools. It means investing $150 billion to build an American green energy economy that will create five million new jobs, while freeing our nation from the tyranny of foreign oil, and saving our planet for our children. It means making health care affordable for anyone who has it, accessible for anyone who wants it, and reducing costs for small businesses. And it also means giving every child the world-class education they need to compete with any worker, anywhere in the world.
Doing all this will require not just new policies, but a new spirit of service and sacrifice, where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other. If this financial crisis has taught us anything, it's that we cannot have a thriving Wall Street while Main Street suffers -- in this country, we rise or fall as one nation; as one people. And that is how we will meet the challenges of our time -- together. Thank you.
Drinking Liberally ReadingThursday, Nov. 13th, 2008 - 7:00, Canal Street Restaurant & Pub535 Canal St is few blocks past RACC along the riverfrontReading, PA, 19606
The story of the campaign and this historic moment has been your story. Share your story and your ideas, and be part of bringing positive lasting change to this country.
Berks for Obama is teaming up with the Southeastern Berks Democratic Club, the Kutztown Democrats, and F Troop (Precinct Leaders in the 130th Legislative District) to put a float in the Boyertown Halloween Parade. This is a huge community event, and will provide great visibility and outreach for us close to Election Day. We need volunteers to walk the parade route with the float and toss candy and Obama-Biden stickers to the crowd. More details, and signup info are at the link below. Candy donations welcome! Thanks!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/gpg7lx
Talk about a shock to the system. Has anyone bothered to notice the radical changes that John McCain and Sarah Palin are planning for the nation’s health insurance system?
These are changes that will set in motion nothing less than the dismantling of the employer-based coverage that protects most American families.
A study coming out Tuesday from scholars at Columbia, Harvard, Purdue and Michigan projects that 20 million Americans who have employment-based health insurance would lose it under the McCain plan.
There is nothing secret about Senator McCain’s far-reaching proposals, but they haven’t gotten much attention because the chatter in this campaign has mostly been about nonsense — lipstick, celebrities and “Drill, baby, drill!”
For starters, the McCain health plan would treat employer-paid health benefits as income that employees would have to pay taxes on.
“It means your employer is going to have to make an estimate on how much the employer is paying for health insurance on your behalf, and you are going to have to pay taxes on that money,” said Sherry Glied, an economist who chairs the Department of Health Policy and Management at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health.
Ms. Glied is one of the four scholars who have just completed an independent joint study of the plan. Their findings are being published on the Web site of the policy journal, Health Affairs.
According to the study: “The McCain plan will force millions of Americans into the weakest segment of the private insurance system — the nongroup market — where cost-sharing is high, covered services are limited and people will lose access to benefits they have now.”
The net effect of the plan, the study said, “almost certainly will be to increase family costs for medical care.”
Under the McCain plan (now the McCain-Palin plan) employees who continue to receive employer-paid health benefits would look at their pay stubs each week or each month and find that additional money had been withheld to cover the taxes on the value of their benefits.
While there might be less money in the paycheck, that would not be anything to worry about, according to Senator McCain. That’s because the government would be offering all taxpayers a refundable tax credit — $2,500 for a single worker and $5,000 per family — to be used “to help pay for your health care.”
You may think this is a good move or a bad one — but it’s a monumental change in the way health coverage would be provided to scores of millions of Americans. Why not more attention?
The whole idea of the McCain plan is to get families out of employer-paid health coverage and into the health insurance marketplace, where naked competition is supposed to take care of all ills. (We’re seeing in the Bear Stearns, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch fiascos just how well the unfettered marketplace has been working.)
Taxing employer-paid health benefits is the first step in this transition, the equivalent of injecting poison into the system. It’s the beginning of the end.
When younger, healthier workers start seeing additional taxes taken out of their paychecks, some (perhaps many) will opt out of the employer-based plans — either to buy cheaper insurance on their own or to go without coverage.
That will leave employers with a pool of older, less healthy workers to cover. That coverage will necessarily be more expensive, which will encourage more and more employers to give up on the idea of providing coverage at all.
The upshot is that many more Americans — millions more — will find themselves on their own in the bewildering and often treacherous health insurance marketplace. As Senator McCain has said: “I believe the key to real reform is to restore control over our health care system to the patients themselves.”
Yet another radical element of McCain’s plan is his proposal to undermine state health insurance regulations by allowing consumers to buy insurance from sellers anywhere in the country. So a requirement in one state that insurers cover, for example, vaccinations, or annual physicals, or breast examinations, would essentially be meaningless.
In a refrain we’ve heard many times in recent years, Mr. McCain said he is committed to ridding the market of these “needless and costly” insurance regulations.
This entire McCain health insurance transformation is right out of the right-wing Republicans’ ideological playbook: fewer regulations; let the market decide; and send unsophisticated consumers into the crucible alone.
You would think that with some of the most venerable houses on Wall Street crumbling like sand castles right before our eyes, we’d be a little wary about spreading this toxic formula even further into the health care system.
But we’re not even paying much attention.
Berks for Obama is fielding a team in this year's Humane Society's Walk for the Animals. Our dog pack is "Bark for Obama". This is a great visibility event. The Humane Society of Berks County will give us custom-made t-shirts with our dog pack's name, and a "BARK FOR OBAMA" banner that will be flying over our table. Even if you are not able to participate in the walk, you can help with visibility for Berks for Obama by donating to the Bark for Obama dogpack. Even a small amount will help, as the winning dogpack gets BIG-TIME PUBLICITY !Ray & I will be walking, along with our 3 Siberian Huskies, in the 31st Walk for the Animals & Walktoberfest to raise money for Humane Society of Berks County and for the Bark for Obama team - please make a donation by visiting our Firstgiving page:http://www.firstgiving.com/berksforobama
To see other Bark for Obama teams:http://www.firstgiving.com/process/teamarea/default.asp?did=1769&TeamId=47380&EventId=32548If you would like to donate for the Prussman family, you can donate online with a credit card. All donations are secure and sent directly to the Humane Society of Berks County by Firstgiving, who will email you a printable record of yourdonation. You can also donate for any one of the other walkers in the Bark for Obama team.
If you would rather donate in person, stop in at the Obama Reading Campaign Headquarters and fill out one of our Pledge sheets and drop off your donation at the same time.
Thanks and Happy Howling for Obama !
As we approach the long-awaited Democratic Convention, we move another step closer to the climax of this long campaign season. Many of us have been actively working on this campaign for close to two years. Others have joined during the PA Primary. Still others have gotten active during the summer season of heavy voter registrations. And we welcome those who have been awaiting the end of the primary season and are now ready to work toward a Democratic victory in November.
On the night of Barack Obama's Acceptance Speech in Denver, we move into the final sprint on our quest for Change. Lets all dig deep into our souls, and find the energy needed for the final push. "America, our moment is now".
YES WE CAN
BUDDY THE HORSE GOES BUGGY FOR OBAMA
I am traveling by Horse and buggy http://hometown.aol.com/vote4barackobama/myhomepage/election.html
I am seeking supporters who will let me stay at their properties over night as i tie buddy to the rear of buggy and he eats hay and sleeps. Stalls are great too and so are fenced fields of green grass. Thats buddys favorite thing. He loves to run and kick his hind legs in the air above his head height as he frolicks with freedom in a pasture.
I do seek to help more in rural appalachia and not big cities as Buddy is not fond of the traffic and Barack has lots of city support.
I also seek someone to do logistics in arranging to find me these locations as i travel south for the winter.
Presently i am in Lancaster county Pa. 5 miles south. I can be shipped by uhaul to cover distances if needed. I seek no pay just help along the way.
PS: My arm was broken 3 1/2 weeks ago and i am almost ready to leave this old dairy barn this weekend and help the campaign.
hugs Danielle Clarke
NOTE: This is about BUDDY GOING BUGGY FOR OBAMA not Danielle and please email me at vote4barackobamaATaolDOTcom but please be serious and helpful asi get too many emails of simple supprt while what i need are emails with logistical help.
BERKS CO. & READING, PA VOLUNTEER FOR OBAMA...
HELP GET THE VOTE OUT AND CHANGE AMERICA
Campaign for CHANGE in Reading, Pennsylvania
CONTACT: COLIN HICKS
147 N. 5TH ST. SUITE 2
READING, PA
(610) 564-4817
MAKE PHONE CALLS
CANVASS
REGISTER VOTERS
LET'S SEND OBAMA TO THE WHITE HOUSE TO LEAD THE CHANGE IN THIS COUNTRY
YES
WE
CAN
Wal-Mart Actively Working Against Senator Obama and Democratic Candidates
Wal-Mart
Sam’s Club
From the Wall Street Journal
The Wal-Mart human-resources managers who run the meetings don't specifically tell attendees how to vote in November's election, but make it clear that voting for Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama would be tantamount to inviting unions in, according to Wal-Mart employees who attended gatherings in Maryland, Missouri and other states.
"The meeting leader said, 'I am not telling you how to vote, but if the Democrats win, this bill will pass and you won't have a vote on whether you want a union,'" said a Wal-Mart customer-service supervisor from Missouri. "I am not a stupid person. They were telling me how to vote," she said
Wall Street Journal article at this link: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB121755649066303381.html
Please remember this when shopping!
Let Wal-Mark know how you feel!
Wal-Mart Stores, Inc
702 S.W. 8th Street
Bentonville, Arkansas 72716
(479) 273-4000
