The grassroots health care movement mobilized thousands of phone calls to Capitol Hill July 8, demanding enactment of health care reform with a strong public option that goes into effect immediately with no delaying “trigger.”
The Campaign for America’s Future initiated the July 8 call-in, urging supporters, “No month will be as critical as the month of July in the fight to win health care for all.”
The House and Senate are both moving fast to complete the drafting of health care reform legislation before they recess in early August.
Prospects for a public plan option are improving, thanks to increasing grassroots pressure, the CAF statement, signed by co-director Roger Hickey, said. But, it warned, “the massive lobbying effort from the insurance and drug companies is far from finished and several senators have yet to take a stand.”
The group pointed to a victory: Sens. Arlen Specter, D-Pa., and Kay Hagen, D-N.C., both endorsed the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pension Committee bill that includes a public option after first saying they opposed it. Both changed their positions after MoveOn.org mobilized the senators’ constituents to demand they support inclusion of a public option.
“The lesson,” the center said, is: “when we mobilize the grassroots, we make democracy work for the common good.”
The phone number of the Capitol Hill main switchboard is (202) 224-3121 or toll-free 1-877-762-8762.
This reporter phoned his congressman, Elijah Cummings of Maryland, for no charge from Washington State to express appreciation for his support of the public option.
MoveOn.org also initiated a second call-in campaign, this time to the White House, to protest Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel’s support of a “trigger” mechanism that would postpone implementation of a public option until the nation reaches some point of extreme crisis in the future.
“The ‘trigger’ is a trap to kill health care reform,” says a statement from MoveOn. “It would delay the public health insurance option for years even though we’re facing a health care crisis now.”
Right now, when key committees are finalizing health care legislation, “Emanuel’s remarks will only embolden conservative opponents of reform,” MoveOn continued. “He should be standing with the majority of Americans for a strong public health insurance option — not disastrous half-measures like the ‘trigger.’”
The Huffington Post reports that Emanuel has been floating the idea of a “trigger” since January, a “Trojan horse” of the medical-insurance lobby.
The White House public comment line is 202-456-1111 or 202-456-1414. (Again, this reporter phoned the White House and, after a three or four minute wait, was connected to a receptionist who listened to my message supporting the public option but opposing the “trigger.” She thanked me for the call and assured me my views would be conveyed to the president).
greenerpastures21212 @ yahoo.com
Wednesday, July 8, 2009
Call-in day presses Congress to pass public option
Monday, June 29, 2009
Communist Party Statement on Honduras Crisis
The Communist Party USA (CPUSA) joins with the world in denouncing the coup d’etat this morning against the legally elected president of the Republic of Honduras, Manuel Zelaya, by the Honduran military, in which, according to a statement by the president’s wife, Mr. Zelaya was threatened and beaten before being sent into exile in Costa Rica.
• The CPUSA denounces alarming reports of physical attacks by troops against the ambassadors of Cuba, Venezuela and Nicaragua in Tegucigalpa, and calls for protection of all diplomatic personal; and, if the reports of the attacks are confirmed, punishment of all the responsible parties for this gross violation of Honduran and international law.
The CPUSA further:
• Demands that president Zelaya and other members of his government be returned to power immediately, and that the troops return to their barracks.
• Demands the immediate release of all labor, community and student leaders who have reportedly been rounded up by the army, and the restoration of freedom of the press.
• Recognizes that the Obama administration has repudiated the coup, and insists that President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton hold firm to this position, refusing diplomatic recognition and any military aid to Honduras until President Zelaya is restored to power.
• Calls upon unions and other people’s organizations in the United States to actively support our brothers and sisters in Honduras in resisting this brutal military coup d’etat.
EMERGENCY RALLY IN SUPPORT OF HONDURAS
END THE COUP NOW! RESTORE DEMOCRATICALLY ELECTED MANUEL ZELAYA TO POWER!
NO TO US INTERVENTION! YES TO SELF DETERMINATION FOR THE PEOPLE OF HONDURAS AND ALL OF THE AMERICAS!
WHEN: Monday, June 29, 2009, from 3-6 PM
WHERE: In front of the Honduran Mission to the United Nations, 866 UN Plaza (to the east of 1st Avenue, between 48th and 49th streets), Manhattan, NYC
WHY:
At 6 AM on Sunday, June 28, 2009, Honduras’ popular president Manuel Zelaya was kidnapped, removed from power, and brought to Costa Rica, where he remains at this moment. It is no coincidence that this is the day that millions of Hondurans were preparing to vote on whether they wanted to reform their constitution – similar to what the people of Venezuela, Ecuador, and Bolivia have done in recent years.
Manuel Zelaya is backed by a majority of labor unions and social movements in Honduras. This coup was carried out in a way that mirrors the removal of President Jean-Bertrand Aristide from Haiti and the attempted coup against President Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, who was brought back to power by the Venezuelan people. Clearly, this is an act of economic and political elites in Honduras, the US, and elsewhere who are desperate to prevent Honduras from continuing to unify with the more leftist and socialist countries in Latin America.
Following the kidnapping of Zelaya, Honduras’ foreign minister and ambassadors from Cuba, Venezuela, and Nicaragua have also been kidnapped – in clear violation of international laws. Now, the people of Honduras of taken to the streets in protest and Presidents Evo Morales of Bolivia, Hugo Chávez of Venezuela, and others have made public statements condemning the coup d'etat in Honduras and calling on the international community to react to ensure democracy is restored and the constitutional president is reinstated. Washington, on the other hand, remains silent as of now.
JOIN THE PEOPLE OF HONDURAS AND INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY IN CONDEMNING THE COUP D’ETAT AND DEMANDING THAT MANUEL ZELAYA AND THE KIDNAPPED FOREIGN MINISTER AND AMBASSADORS BE REINSTATED.
(Some of the information above is excerpted from an article by Eva Golinger at http://www.venezuelanalysi
This rally is sponsored called by the Alberto Lovera Bolivarian Circle of NY and other progressive organizations and movements throughout NYC. For more information, email cbalbertolovera@gmail.com.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
YCL weekly update
Registration is open for the YCL National Marxism-Leninism School happening on August 15th-23rd in NYC. Join with other young people from around the country in discussing the current economic crisis, the Obama Administration, the fights against racism and sexism, what does socialism mean for young people today and more! You can sign up with our online registration form!
II. In the News: Iranian Presidential Elections
On Friday, June 12th, 2009 Presidential elections were held in Iran. The election polls predicted the presidency going to Mr. Mir-Hossein Mousavi, a refortmist candidate, by a significant majority. Incumbent President Mahoud Ahmadinejad however, claimed victory by 66% of the votes with Mousavi receiving only 33% of the votes. Some reports have claimed that Ahmadinejad won because of rural votes, contradicting the reality that only 32% of the population is rural. Millions of Iranians, from all over the country, have been protesting in city squares, at universities and in main streets over the last week demanding a new election. Read the Tudeh Party's Statement.
1. What is the difference between the two candidates?
2. Would the election of a reformist candidate allow for fundamental change in the Iranian governemt?
3. Why do people on the left support Ahmadinejad?
III. Mass Action: National (and local) D.R.E.A.M. Act Graduations and rallies.
The D.R.E.A.M. Coalition is holding a national graduation for many senators and other elected officials. The D.R.E.A.M. Act that, if passed, would allow undocumented immigrants the right to instate to instate tuition and a path way to citizenship. Dreamactivist.org lets us know, "The D.R.E.A.M. Act has four basic requirements which are: You entered the country before the age if 16; You graduate high school or obtain a GED; You have good moral character (no criminal record); and You have at least five years of continuous presence in the US. Find a "graduation" or rally in your area and learn more at dreamactivist.org
IV. Green Workers Cooperative Struggles for a Green Economy
NYU-YCL club member, Andrew King, with a group of other students from the New School developed a youtube video about the Green Workers Cooperative in the South Bronx. This organizatio, along with others, is working to combat environmental racism and unemployment in the South Bronx Community. King says, "Let us look to them as a model for building a new green-collar economy nationwide, because, as their slogan states, Your work should not kill you, your community or the earth..." Want to watch the video? Click on this link or go to youtube.com, type in monimiddle, then click on "Green Worker Cooperative Presentation".
Saturday, June 20, 2009
In Poll, Wide Support for Government-Run Health
The poll found that most Americans would be willing to pay higher taxes so everyone could have health insurance and that they said the government could do a better job of holding down health-care costs than the private sector.
Yet the survey also revealed considerable unease about the impact of heightened government involvement, on both the economy and the quality of the respondents’ own medical care. While 85 percent of respondents said the health care system needed to be fundamentally changed or completely rebuilt, 77 percent said they were very or somewhat satisfied with the quality of their own care.
That paradox was skillfully exploited by opponents of the last failed attempt at overhauling the health system, during former President Bill Clinton’s first term. Sixteen years later, it underscores the tricky task facing lawmakers and President Obama as they try to address the health system’s substantial problems without igniting fears that people could lose what they like.
Across a number of questions, the poll detected substantial support for a greater government role in health care, a position generally identified with the Democratic Party. When asked which party was more likely to improve health care, only 18 percent of respondents said the Republicans, compared with 57 percent who picked the Democrats. Even one of four Republicans said the Democrats would do better.
The national telephone survey, which was conducted from June 12 to 16, found that 72 percent of those questioned supported a government-administered insurance plan — something like Medicare for those under 65 — that would compete for customers with private insurers. Twenty percent said they were opposed.
Republicans in Congress have fiercely criticized the proposal as an unneeded expansion of government that might evolve into a system of nationalized health coverage and lead to the rationing of care.
But in the poll, the proposal received broad bipartisan backing, with half of those who call themselves Republicans saying they would support a public plan, along with nearly three-fourths of independents and almost nine in 10 Democrats.
The poll, of 895 adults, has a margin of sampling error of plus or minus three percentage points.
Mr. Obama and many Democrats have argued that a public plan would be essential, in the president’s words, to “keep insurance companies honest.” But Mr. Obama has also signaled a willingness to compromise for Republican support, perhaps by establishing member-owned insurance cooperatives instead.
It is not clear how fully the public understands the complexities of the government plan proposal, and the poll results indicate that those who said they were following the debate were somewhat less supportive.
But they clearly indicate growing confidence in the government’s ability to manage health care. Half of those questioned said they thought government would be better at providing medical coverage than private insurers, up from 30 percent in polls conducted in 2007. Nearly 60 percent said Washington would have more success in holding down costs, up from 47 percent.
Sixty-four percent said they thought the federal government should guarantee coverage, a figure that has stayed steady all decade. Nearly six in 10 said they would be willing to pay higher taxes to make sure that all are insured, with four in 10 willing to pay as much as $500 more a year.
And a plurality, 48 percent, said they supported a requirement that all Americans have health insurance so long as public subsidies are offered to those who cannot afford it. Thirty-eight percent said they were opposed.
In a follow-up interview, Matt Flurkey, 56, a public plan supporter from Plymouth, Minn., said he could accept that the quality of his care might diminish if coverage was universal. “Even though it might not be quite as good as what we get now,” he said, “I think the government should run health care. Far too many people are being denied now, and costs would be lower.”
While the survey results depict a nation desperate for change, it also reveals a deep wariness of the possible consequences. Half to two-thirds of respondents said they worried that if the government guaranteed health coverage, they would see declines in the quality of their own care and in their ability to choose doctors and get needed treatment.
“It is the responsibility of the government to guarantee insurance for all,” said Juanita Lomaz, a 65-year-old office worker from Bakersfield, Calif. “But my care will get worse because they’ll have to limit care in order to cover everyone.”
When asked their opinion of specific changes being considered in Washington, three-fourths of those surveyed said they favored requiring health insurers to cover anyone, regardless of pre-existing medical conditions. Only a fifth supported taxing employer-provided health benefits to help pay the cost of coverage for the uninsured. And there was deep uncertainty about whether employers should be required to either help insure their workers or pay into a fund for covering the uninsured.
Three of four people questioned said unnecessary medical tests and treatments had become a serious problem, suggesting that they would support calls by health researchers for a payment system that would better reward appropriate care. But an even higher number, 87 percent, said the inability of people to have the needed tests and treatments was a serious problem. One in four said that in the last 12 months they or someone in their household had cut back on medications because of the expense, and one in five said someone had skipped a recommended test or treatment.
The poll found that Americans were far less satisfied with the cost of health care than with the quality of it. Mr. Obama, who has emphasized the need to reduce costs, has found an audience for his argument that health care legislation is vital to economic recovery. Eighty-six percent of those polled said rising costs posed a serious economic threat.
Yet only a fifth of those with insurance said the cost of their own medical care posed a hardship. And only a fourth said that keeping health costs down was a more urgent need than providing coverage for the country’s nearly 50 million uninsured. That was a notable change from a Times/CBS poll taken in early April, when 40 percent said that controlling costs was more pressing.
Marina Stefan and Dalia Sussman contributed reporting.
Thursday, June 18, 2009
Elena Mora on CNN discussing Cuba
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
New religion commission begins work
Reprinted from the People's Weekly World
CHICAGO — The Communist Party USA has established a new Religion Commission to strengthen its work among religious people and organizations. In its leadership are activists representing various religious traditions from around the country. Tim Yeager, a Chicago trade unionist and a member of the Episcopal Church, serves as its chair.
“We want to reach out to religious people and communities, to find ways of improving our coalition work with them, and to welcome people of faith into the party,” Yeager said. “We invite questions and responses from people who would like to dialogue with us on matters pertaining to religion, Marxism and the struggle for more peaceful, just and secure world.”
There is a common misconception concerning the position of the Communist Party USA about religion, Yeager noted. Many who are unfamiliar with the party wrongly assume that all Communists are atheists, or that the party requires its members to be atheists. Nothing could be farther from the truth, he said. Religious people are welcome to join. The party’s Constitution specifically states that membership is open to “[a]ny person living in the United States, 18 years of age or over, regardless of race, color, national origin, sexual orientation, gender, or religious belief…”
Yeager acknowledged that relations between some Marxist parties and religious institutions in other parts of the world have been marked by conflict. In tsarist Russia, the Russian Orthodox Church had been an arm of the state, and its leadership was opposed to the Revolution. The Bolsheviks adopted an official atheist position, and for many years waged a struggle against organized religion. Elsewhere, such as in Latin America, Marxist parties and religious progressives have worked together against repressive regimes and imperialist intervention.
“There has been no state church in the United States since shortly after we gained our independence, and we have a tradition of religious diversity,” Yeager said. “The so-called Christian Right in recent years has certainly made progress, but some of the greatest leaders in our history have been men and women of faith, and our party has been proud to work with them. The best known example, of course, would be the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”
The Religion Commission will be producing articles on matters pertaining to religion and social progress, he said. Its goal is to share with the broader people’s movement the party’s thinking on the religious aspects of current struggles, taking up theoretical questions, and discussing the relationships, contradictions and commonalities among science, Marxism and religion. The commission also announced plans to hold a series of gatherings around the country, open to the public, to discuss how people from religious traditions and the party can better work together, building toward a national conference in 2010.
“As Marx said, the goal is not merely to explain the world, but to change it. We hope that the new Religion Commission will help build greater unity toward that end,” Yeager said. “We welcome people from faith communities to join us.”
For more information, contact Tim Yeager at rtyeager @ gmail.com
