Democrats

Democrats Stand Tall on Health Care For All

Speaking out on one of the most critically important issues of the 2008 campaign, although the specifics of their individual plans may differ slightly, every Democratic nominee on stage agrees that 40 million uninsured people in the most affluent country in the world is simply unacceptable.

AlterNet

By Matthew Rothschild, The New Press
Posted on July 24, 2007, Printed on July 24, 2007
http://www.alternet.org/story/57689/

The following is an excerpt of Matthew Rothschild's "You Have No Rights: Stories of America in an Age of Repression" (The New Press, 2007).

I gave a talk at the June Moon Madness program, which was a progressive networking event and fundraiser for KKFI. It was on June 16th, at the Uptown Theater in Kansas City. Here is the text of my talk:

ACHIEVING PROGRESSIVE POLITICAL UNITY

My name is Kelly Gerling. I was born within a mile of here at St. Lukes Hospital. This has always been home for me. I thank you for the chance to have your attention for the next 10 minutes. My work is in psychology with individuals and organizations. And my specialty is conflict resolution. Progressives are so conflicted and fragmented that the very idea of progressive political unity is hard to imagine . . .

Hello,

I'm Kelly Gerling, a founding member of our Kansas Progressive Caucus (KPC). I'm offering a public forum on the progressive political unity. I'm very excited about what we have accomplished with our KPC. I hope some of our members will come to represent Kansas progressives. My hope is to bring together progressive political individuals and groups to discuss how to amplify our power through progressive political unity.

If you have questions, just call me at 913-724-2400 or e-mail me at kelgerling@aol.com

Here is the text of the flyer:

YOU ARE INVITED TO THE JUNE MOON MADNESS FOLLOW-UP PUBLIC FORUM . . .

Body:
This is the story of one of the most vibrant and widespread upheavals of the 1960's–one that had profound impact on American society, yet has been virtually obliterated from the collective memory of that time.
In the 1960’s an anti-war movement emerged that altered the course of history. This movement didn’t take place on college campuses, but in barracks and on aircraft carriers. It flourished in army stockades, navy brigs and in the dingy towns that surround military bases. It penetrated elite military colleges like West Point. And it spread throughout the battlefields of Vietnam. It was a movement no one expected, least of all those in it. Hundreds went to prison and thousands into exile. And by 1971 it had, in the words of one colonel, infested the entire armed services. Yet today few people know about the GI movement against the war in Vietnam.

Progressive Caucus Member Kelly Gerling will be speaking at this event. Come to meet other progressives and have fun too!

June Moon Madness:
Progressive Lunacy
Networking for Unity
&
KKFI FUNd Raiser
Saturday, June 16, 2007

U.S. health care system
ranks last compared with five other nations on measures of quality, access, efficiency
Healthcare News
Published: Wednesday, 16-May-2007
Print - U.S. health care system ranks last compared with five other nations on measures of quality, access, efficiency Printer Friendly Email - U.S. health care system ranks last compared with five other nations on measures of quality, access, efficiency

Sicko

Michael Moore's scathing, important look at the U.S. healthcare system has plenty to rile the far right -- and a lot more to enrage the larger American public.

By Andrew O'Hehir

May. 20, 2007 | "I know the storm awaits me back in the United States," Michael Moore told a wall-to-wall throng of reporters here after the Saturday morning press premiere of his new film, "Sicko." Then he heaved a deep breath and added, "But this is just so pleasant."

It was indeed another gorgeous, summery morning on the French Riviera, but the real heat was indoors. There wasn't a single empty seat inside the Grand Théâtre Lumière -- which holds more than 2,000 people -- for "Sicko," and dozens of stragglers were locked out on the sidewalk. Moore's screed against the outrageous state of American healthcare was received with uproarious affection, but one might argue that Cannes provided the softest possible crowd. An American left-wing populist, attacking America's profit-motive, private-sector ideology before a roomful of international intellectuals, at least half of them Europeans. May I introduce a new phrase into the Franglais dictionary? C'était un slam-dunk.

Dennis Kucinich has filed Articles of Impeachment against Vice President Dick Chaney for his actions that helped lead us to war in Iraq.
The Kansas Progressive Caucus leadership is greatly encourged by this action and is in full support of it. There must be accountability or we can't move forward as a nation!

The following links provide more information:

Summary of Bill:
http://kucinich.house.gov/UploadedFiles/int2.pdf

Actual Resolution, H Res 333:
http://kucinich.house.gov/UploadedFiles/int3.pdf

Healthcare reform's unlikely ally: big business

latimes.com

A big-business coalition, breaking ranks with smaller firms, will lobby Sacramento and D.C. to expand coverage to all.
By Jordan Rau
Times Staff Writer

May 7, 2007

SACRAMENTO — Abandoning the business lobby's traditional resistance to healthcare reform, a new coalition of 36 major companies plans to launch a political campaign today calling for medical insurance to be expanded to everyone along lines Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is proposing for California.