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To ensure our Congressional representatives don’t forget about their constituents’ support for meaningful healthcare reform, a number of other organizations will be hosting a Congressional Send-Off demonstration, scheduled 4:30-6 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 1, at the Amtrak station in downtown Fresno.While there is no indication any of our Representatives or Senators have placed the event on their calendars, the intent is to hold a live, positive demonstration reminding our representatives that we support meaningful healthcare reform with a strong public option. As such, participants are invited to bring signs, chants and energy to devote to this effort.
If you attend:
Avoid parking in Amtrak lots, because two trains are scheduled to arrive while the rally is under way and we don’t want to negatively impact Amtrak passengers. Street parking is available nearby; consider bringing change for meters.
We’ll be packing Rep. Costa’s suitcase with information about the benefits his CD-20 constituents will … Read the details.
This just in: FCDCC Chair Gary Alford is scheduled to be a guest on the Bill McEwen Radio Show, scheduled noon-1 p.m. today, Aug. 31, on KYNO-AM, 1300 on the AM dial. The day’s topic will be healthcare reform, and joining Gary as a guest will be Michael Der Manouel, President of the Der Manouel Insurance Group here in Fresno.
Tune in and call in! The phone number for listeners to call in is (559) 499-1300.
From the wires at YouTube: A very simple explanation of why we need meaningful healthcare reform now.
Scroll down to view, and enjoy. But more important, call your Representatives and Senators today to tell them you support a strong public option as part of healthcare reform. They are:
Representatives:
George Radanovich – District 19Local: (559) 449-2490Washington, D.C.: (202) 225-4540
Jim Costa – District 20Local: (559) 495-1620Washington, D.C.: (202) 225-3341
Devin Nunes – District 21Local: (559) 323-5235Washington D.C.: (202) 225-2523
Senators:
Diane FeinsteinLocal: (559) 485-7430Washington, D.C.: (202) 224-3841
Barbara BoxerLocal: (559) 497-5109Washington, D.C.: (202) 224-3553
If the viewscreen below is not visible, this simple explanation can be viewed directly on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jng4TnKqy6A.
Need specifics on how healthcare reform would help those in your Congressional district? The U.S. House of Representatives has made available a series of one-sheet recaps, detailing how the healthcare reform proposals under consideration would affect those in your district.
Want the specifics? Click on your U.S. Representative’s name below to download the one-sheet for your district. (You’ll need Adobe Reader to view the files.)
Representative Dennis Cardoza
Representative Jim Costa
Representative Devin Nunes
Representative George Radanovich
From our friends at Whitehouse.gov:
In his weekly address, President Obama debunks the myths around health insurance reform, and discusses the public option proposal in which many of them are rooted — but he focuses his address on the stark moral and historical turning point at which we find ourselves.
“This is our chance to march forward. I cannot promise you that the reforms we seek will be perfect or make a difference overnight. But I can promise you this: if we pass health insurance reform, we will look back many years from now and say, this was the moment we summoned what’s best in each of us to make life better for all of us. This was the moment we built a health care system worthy of the nation and the people we love. This was the moment we earned our place alongside the greatest generations. And that … Read the details.
Here’s a recap of Republican Representative Devin Nunes’ town hall meeting from Larry Johnson, Treasurer of the Fresno County Democratic Central Committee:
There wasn’t anything surprising at Rep. Devin Nunes’ town hall meeting Aug. 20. In fact, members of the news teams there said it was a boring, non-news event any of them could have covered without attending.
We were all ushered in together—even the “Reserved RSVP” folks in the front three rows. They were mostly well-dressed doctors, attorneys, hospital administrators, pharmacy owners, dairy owners and the like; perhaps much of the Republican Party’s base in the San Joaquin Valley.
The room could hold 200, and it was full. I did not do a head count, but I would say the breakdown was … Read the details.
For your consideration: This note from Kate Folmar, Communications Director for the California Democratic Party. Titled ‘President Obama’s Eight Health Insurance Reform Guarantees,’ the note outlines what is included in the President’s healthcare reform plan.
#1- No Discrimination for Pre-Existing Conditions
In the past three years, 12.6 million of Americans were discriminated against because of a pre-existing condition, which could include anything from diabetes, to chronic asthma, to bi-polar disorder. Millions who want health insurance but can’t get it because insurance companies are allowed to deny coverage and cherry-pick their customers, leaving people who need insurance the most out of the system.
Health insurance reform will prohibit insurance companies from denying coverage based on a pre-existing condition.
#2- No Exorbitant Out-of-Pocket Expenses, Deductibles or Co-Pays
Right now there is no set limit on the amount your insurance company can charge you for out-of-pocket expenses, deductibles and co-pays. High … Read the details.
In solidarity with Hmong American Community United (HACU), the Fresno County Democratic Party invites its members to participate in a protest demanding that the governments of Laos and Thailand cease the forced repatriation of several thousand Hmong refugees currently held in a crowded Thai jail. As reported by our friends at HACU:
Hmong women and children (infants) with Refugee status have been detained in a crowded jail for 999 days without proper food and water. The governments of Thailand and Laos are denying 4,858 Hmong in the Thai refugee camp their International human rights to political asylum. All will be forced to return to Laos no later than September.
According to HACU, both Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch have reported refugee abuse in Laos. The protest’s goals include a cessation of this forced repatriation, allowing the United Nations unhindered access to these refugees so their true … Read the details.
From our treasurer Larry Johnson, who saw the announcement in the Fresno Bee:
Rep. Devin Nunes R-Visalia (21st CD) will hold a healthcare reform meeting scheduled 8-10 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 20 in the lecture hall adjacent to the library at Clovis East High School, 2940 Leonard Ave, in Clovis.
Parking is available on Donner Ave or in lots accessed from Donner Ave. Seating will be on a first-come first seated basis.
For more information, call (559) 733-3861.
Here is our chance to hear what he has to say and perhaps, if enough of us show up, give him a bit of pause that the valley is not all right wing. Try and be there if you can.
Our friend Nayamin Martinez also writes:
We need to be there to politely, and I honestly stress the word politely, correct his misconceptions about health care. It is very important … Read the details.
This weekend the FCDCC Campaign Services Committee coordinated a huge effort to contact Fresno-area Democrats who had their party affiliation changed without their approval just prior to last year’s Presidential Election.
FCDCC members, along with volunteers from Santa Cruz, San Francisco, and all over Fresno County, fanned out across targeted precincts to bring affected individuals back to their party of choice. Affected individuals had their party choice changed on voter registration forms without their knowledge, by a group paid to gather signatures on petitions for a variety of wedge issues. Called ’slamming,’ this practice is indeed illegal.
One ’slamming’ victim told FCDCC Chair Gary Alford that she remembered being approached about an abortion issue but was not told that her party affiliation would be changed.
The volunteers accomplished more than 190 changes in registration over the weekend. All of the people contacted expressed their … Read the details.
From our friends at Whitehouse.gov:
In his weekly address, President Obama calls health insurance reform critical to our nation’s long-term economic strength, and dispels the outlandish rumors being promoted by those who are defending the status quo.
If the viewscreen below is not visible, President Obama’s weekly address is available on YouTube at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGdbKEr29I0.
It’s not often that the Democratic Party recommends that we call the GOP. But this may be an appropriate time. Watch this video, produced by the DNC, about current Republican ‘mob tactics’ against healthcare reform.
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