I strongly support President Obama's three principles for real health care reform and urge you to do so too. Any plan Congress passes must reduce health care costs, guarantee choice – including a public insurance option – and ensure quality care for every American.
If President Obama's healthcare plan gets changed to exclude a public option like Medicare, then it is not real healthcare reform. Real healthcare reform depends on whether the American public is allowed to choose a universally available public option or not. If we are allowed to choose a Medicare-like option, the healthcare bill will bring true healthcare reform. It will ensure choice, competition and will reduce costs.
One reason given for opposing a public option is that private insurance companies won't be able to compete in the marketplace if we have a strong public option.
But why should we deny people the right to get healthcare through a public option like Medicare just to put corporate profits ahead of people’s health?
If we're denied a public option, we won't achieve real healthcare reform at all. It's time to stand up to the special interests and enact real reform that includes a public option.
Please support a public option in healthcare reform and urge Congress to do the same.
To see where members of Congress currently stand on the public option and to contact them, see this link: http://standwithdrdean.com/where_congress_stands
Thanks!
The stimulus money will be coming. If your city is headed by Republicans, the mayor and city council may spend the money on pet projects and friends and later complain that the stimulus funds did not help the economy, and was foolish.
Before the stimulus money comes, form a mayoral stimulus fund advisory committee or a city council advisory committee and be totally involved in the spending choices. Investigate the contracors to ensure they are not using the money to pad the pockets of those who already have jobs. This money is intended to employ those who are unemployed or underemployed. The money should not be used for overtime work or those not really impacted by the economic downturn.
You must be the eyes for the administration and speak out loudly and often if you see your local officials acting in bad faith. We will need to stop the spending BEFORE the money is gone and redirect it to those who were intended to benefit from the Stimulus Package.
Many (Republicans) want this Stimulus Package to fail. We must see that it has a chance to produce its intended effects. There must be full transparency and accountability for every cent your area gets.
If you see something suspicious, let us know.
Loraine
The OFA 2.0 Thing - Links, Video, Resources & Inspiration
I just had some rare vacation time in New York where I had time to
do lots of reading and research on what’s up with the OFA 2.0 thing.
The Dec 13th and 14th Change is Coming House Meetings that I went to
at SEIU 1021 in San Francisco were very inspiring. The first day was
for volunteers and the second day was focused on organizers. There
was a great deal of organizer talent in the room Sunday.
California OFA Campaign veterans & volunteers have created a great
new web tool www.CommunityOrganize.com to serve as an organizing
tool for teams across the state of California.
http://progressiveresourcecatalog.org/index.php/Obama/Home
http://ProgressiveResourceCatalog.org
Equally inspiring was yesterday’s CA Democratic delegate elections that
I attended in my own AD 13 district, and in AD 16 where I was attending to support the Labor / Burton slate.
Next up for inspiration is a gathering of thousands in Oakland to watch
the inauguration live on large screens, where 2 million people in DC will
be gathered to watch the inauguration live on large screens, as one billion people worldwide will watch the inauguration live on small screens. Jan 20 - Inauguration Day - Oakland Arena Celebration
http://www.green960.com/pages/inauguration09.html
- http://www.coliseum.com/events/show.php?id=1229554633
OK so now here is my collection of articles, video and links and recourses
on the OFA 2.0 thing, that I hope will be helpful for fellow
community organizers and information networking geeks.
Fist here is the essential information on Plans distributed at he Dec 14th
Change is Coming meeting at SEIU 1021 in San Francisco:
---------------------
Obama for America 2.0 Plans
The MyBO.com website will continue as an organizing tool
http://my.barackobama.com
There will be paid staff on the ground in every state, working with
unpaid staff and volunteers, just as in the election. Details are still to be
worked out, but the basics should be hammered out by late January.
They are moving with “deliberate haste”.
Obama for America (OFA) 2.0 will have 4 goals:
This includes pushing president Obama’s agenda, and it also
includes organizing around state and local laws / initiatives.
develop grassroots leaders to organize and serve their communities
and the grassroots, so that each knows and responds to the priorities
of the other.
again at both the local and national levels.
The process of creating and structuring this organization is meant to be
transparent and open.
Feedback survey forms are at:
http://my.barackobama.com/page/s/pesurvpage1/
Archive of every useful document from the campaign.
Send to ofa.archive@gmail.com
-------------------------------------------
These Are My Assembled Links & Resources:
http://marcambinder.theatlantic.com/archives/2009/01/the_organizing_dnc.php
From the Los Angeles Times December 31
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-obama31-2008dec31,0,2985997.story
More Hints from Chicago on Obama For America 2 By Micah L. Sifry, 12/11/2008 - 10:04pm
http://www.techpresident.com/blog/entry/33394/more_hints_from_chicago_on_obama_for_america_2
Joe Garofoli, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer - November 24, 2008
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/11/24/MN7214842D.DTL
Obama Campaign Testing the Waters for an Ongoing Grassroots Movement By Nancy Scola, 11/19/2008 - 11:55am
http://www.techpresident.com/blog/entry/33244/obama_campaign_testing_the_waters_for_an_ongoing_grassroots_movement
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/craig-newmark/a-craigslist-for-service_b_150924.html
http://my.barackobama.com/page/group/OrganizingforChangeLegacyConferenceParti
The Democrats' New Weapon - the Obama campaign helped make the DNC's voter database 10 times larger. By David Talbot Thursday, December 18, 2008
http://www.technologyreview.com/computing/21902/page1/
Joe Trippi declares political parties dead
http://www.techpresident.com/blog/entry/33393/liveblogging_the_harvard_internet_politics_conference_part_7_joe_trippi_declares_political_parties_dead
YouTube: A conversation with Marshall Ganz http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhCoz5hMhTI Marshall Ganz on the Future of the Obama Movement http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C1ISwjmwZ1U Q&A with Marshall Ganz and Jeremy Bird http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jcz7awW9EX8
Marshall Ganz and his community organizing background
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NglXpj94Z2o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F0sWUI3pZ3I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnhmByYxEIo
In case you missed it on Sunday, here’s a link to the video of Barack on 60 Minutes: http://www.cbsnews.com/video/60minutes/
Obama was the only candidate for this election who has the skills to be our next leader. Obama has the skill to bring U.S. citizens together and can vastly improve the American image and level or respect abroad. Obama has the verbal skills to communicate effecively and give an interesting and meaningful speech. He has the moral backround to keep his administration "clean."
President-elect Obam is to be given a ruined country/ Job loss and business failures are extremely high. The treasury is bare and laden with trillions in loans. People are afraid and feel insecure. China has gained enormous power. The current elected White House officials are running off with the money, filling their personal pockets, and giving "the finger" to the American public.
Americans expect an affluent society, but they have just been robbed of their savings, pensions, houses, jobs, and security. Obama was the only candidate who could deal in any reasonable way with this gigantic mess that Bush and his "friends" are leaving behind.
We wish President-elect Obama the best and we will continue to work to support his efforts. We, as a nation, pray he is successful.
I'm about to head to Grant Park to talk to everyone gathered there, but I wanted to write to you first. We just made history. And I don't want you to forget how we did it. You made history every single day during this campaign -- every day you knocked on doors, made a donation, or talked to your family, friends, and neighbors about why you believe it's time for change. I want to thank all of you who gave your time, talent, and passion to this campaign. We have a lot of work to do to get our country back on track, and I'll be in touch soon about what comes next. But I want to be very clear about one thing... All of this happened because of you. Thank you, Barack
Find a polling place near you at Last Call for Change.
To learn more about what Ryan's volunteer effort and how you can get involved too, watch below and then go to Last Call For Change to find a phone bank near your house.
Let's see...there's McCain the candidate and the rich lady ...Cindy...well made-up and wearing expensive designer clothes. Then there is the McCain family which includes the adopted girl from Bangladesh and McCain's daughter's friends from the show "The Hills."
Next there are the Palins and their kids...one with Downs Syndrome, who gets passed around like a hot potato- usually ending up in the arms of the littlest girl, and one pregnant daughter...planning a quick marriage...of course the fiance travels with them too. I never see a "Nanny"...is that Mr. Palin? Now, they have added "Joe the plumber, as a regular member of the circuit. They paid Joe's back taxes, got him a plumber's license, set him up in business as a plumber, so I guess he "owes" them his loyalty, bought and paid for...plus the trips and perks. They even dragged min Elisabeth from "The View." (Do I really care what Elisabeth thinks about who should be president?)
This is being printed and rolling off the presses, as I write this, on the front cover of Friday's edition of the New Mexico Sun News, circulation 10,000, Northern and Central New Mexico.This was the idea of the Managing Editor, Jerry Greenker, kind of as a declaration of our own support, our own way of endorsing OBAMA, kind of as an affirmation, kind of a doctoral thesis in Political Journalistm, kind of a journalistic stunt, and kind of the reason that people are driven to write science fiction, to see which of their predictions actually come true!Since I had been scrutinizing through some of the best reading in my life, the newspaper endorsements for Obama from all over the United States, I had a plan to publish as much as would be allowed in a 32 page twice monthly local and alternative newspaper. This fit in well with Jerry's Idea, so we are going for it, and are happy to share this with mybarackobama.com readers, the most open and most creative true political forum in the United States.Jerry put it this way in his page 2 story:"The New Mexico Sun News proudly and confidently declares Barack Obama to be the 44th President of the United States....this declaration comes from Santa Fe, NM, via a local, biweekly newspaper 11 days before Election Day. It is based on extensive research, an analysis of all of the editorial pages in America, "gut feelings," and the need for the American people to have closure and certainty about something in their lives. Also, our next issue comes out 3 days after the Nov. 4 election. So if we wanted to be first, we had to be bold."______________________endorsement issue theme story, New Mexico Sun News:"Editorial Page Avalanche for Obama Will Lead to Electoral College Landslide" by Stephen Fox[I believe this will be the first in the nation, over trepidations from some that this would be like Truman holding the Chicago Tribune printed the night before that 'DEWEY WINS!' when he hadn't won....Well, that's the way it is when you are ahead of the curve, and we wanted to get it out of the way for our readers by letting them know where we stood, well in advance of election day. For months, I have been coordinating, coaching, and doing free editing to help Obama supporters in every state write letters to the Editor and longer Opinion Editorials; to see this latest and on-going deluge of endorsements reaffirms my faith both in independent and discerning American Editorial Pages and the strength of my tactics, but above all, the intelligence, compassion, and coolness of our best candidate, Obama, who has convinced hundreds of millions of American he is the right choice now! - Recent newspaper endorsements of Obama, selected for the quality of their writing and the depths of their insights. Stephen Fox, Contributing Editor New Mexico Sun News]starting with the Washington Post: Barack Obama for President "THE NOMINATING process this year produced two unusually talented and qualified presidential candidates. There are few public figures we have respected more over the years than Sen. John McCain. Yet it is without ambivalence that we endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president. The choice is made easy in part by Mr. McCain's disappointing campaign, above all his irresponsible selection of a running mate who is not ready to be president. It is made easy in larger part, though, because of our admiration for Mr. Obama and the impressive qualities he has shown during this long race. Yes, we have reservations and concerns, almost inevitably, given Mr. Obama's relatively brief experience in national politics. But we also have enormous hopes......"----Washington Post EditorialThe text of the endorsements have all appeared in my 6 prior posted articles at OpEdNews, and here is a list of them for easier access:OpEdNews has been the site of choice to post the growing list of major and minor newspaper endorsements for Obama. The Editorials are quoted generally in full, with interspliced commentaries from major editors and commentators, explaining what is behind the Editorials. Part I Obama's Editorial Endorsements: including Washington Post, Fidel Castro, Richard Lugar, Chuck Hagel, & more! http://www.opednews.com/articles/Obama-s-Endorsements-The-by-Stephen-Fox-081016-633.html ******* Part II Editorial Page Endorsements of Obama Denver Post, Chicago Tribune, San Francsico Chronicle, Los Angeles Times
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Editorial-Page-Endorsement-by-Stephen-Fox-081017-544.html ******** Part III New Endorsements: Salt Lake City Tribune, Bangor and Brunswick, Maine, Philadelphia, Miami, Portland, Kansas Cityhttp://www.opednews.com/articles/EndorspLements-Salt-Lake-Ci-by-Stephen-Fox-081018-476.html ******** More Obama Endorsements IV: Sacramento, Katie Couric, Malaysia, Houston Chronicle, Detroit, Waco Tx (sort of) http://www.opednews.com/articles/More-Obama-Endorsements-IV-by-Stephen-Fox-081019-492.html *********Endorsements 5: Cleveland, Austin, St.Pete, Gainesville, Tuscaloosa, Orlando http://www.opednews.com/articles/ENDORSEMENTS-5-Cleveland-by-Stephen-Fox-081019-341.html *********ENDORSEMENTS 6: College Station, New Haven, San Antonio, Columbus, Las Vegas, Lexington KY http://www.opednews.com/articles/ENDORSEMENTS-6-College-St-by-Stephen-Fox-081020-511.html If your time permits, please TAKE THE TIME TO COMMENT AND SHARE YOUR INSIGHTS, which become a vital part of a larger on-going dialogue. Thank you, AND ON TO VICTORY! Stephen Fox Founder, New Millennium Fine Art Contributing Editor New Millennium Fine Art Santa Fe,NM (505)983-2002Jerry Greenker, Managing Editor New Mexico Sun News (505) 603-8968
