Progressive Democrats Sonoma County

Elliott Gould warns us not to believe the myths about single payer health care. “Single payer is no more socialized medicine than the police department is socialized crime fighting,” he says. California OneCare is publicly financed, privately delivered health care, and poll after poll has shown

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Senator Mark Leno, author of Senate Bill 810, says that it’s time for Californians to be innovators once again. We can become the first state to enact a publicly funded, privately delivered single payer health care system that will cover everybody and save money.

Protest! Health Care, not Warfare! Progressive Democrats, Sonoma County from Jon Stiffler on Vimeo.

Mark Leno
February 18, 2010, San Fransisco, CA

Published by The San Fransisco Chronicle

As outraged families and small businesses react to the latest health insurance premium increases, Californians are forced to face the fact that insurance companies are not in business to provide health care to people who need it. Premium increases are just part of the concerns—pre-existing condition denials, overturned doctors’ decisions, coverage rescissions and other insurance industry abuses are sadly commonplace.

It is impossible to make a profit serving customers who are likely to cost the insurer more than the premiums they pay. This means that if any one of us gets seriously sick or injured, we become an undesirable customer to health insurers. That’s the message Anthem Blue Cross sent to millions of Californians when it increased premiums by up to 39 percent. The insurer clearly doesn’t care if it loses these customers.

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Conor Boylan, National Field Director, Progressive Democrats of America speaks with host Norman Solomon about current activism on behalf of progressive political agendas in the United States.

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Progressives Moving Forward! from Jon Stiffler on Vimeo.

COMMUNITY FORUM

When
Feb 03, 2010
07:00 PM to 09:00 PM

Where
Santa Rosa City Council Chambers,
100 Santa Rosa Avenue

Contact Jake Bayless

It’s clear new digital media have disrupted the traditional media landscape. It’s often less clear how new media can help local communities become informed and engaged in civic life. GoLocal and Empire Report ask you to join local media, governmental officials, and community leaders to discuss how new media can inform and engage our local communities.

By Norman Solomon
Marin IJ
February 2, 2010

WHEN A LARGE crowd gathered at the Sausalito Cruising Club to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama, euphoria was in the air.

Many of us there had worked hard to make the historic moment possible. On that bright winter morning, we were proud, excited and hopeful.

Fifty-four weeks later, the mood is very different.

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Norman Solomon interview 1/27/10 from Jon Stiffler on Vimeo.

By Richard Halstead
Marin IJ
January 27, 2010

Marin residents who listened to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Wednesday included a progressive Democrat, who disliked many of the president’s policy prescriptions, and two Republicans, who admire many of those same policies but doubt Obama’s sincerity.

“The speech was nice but reflected deteriorating policies,” said Norman Solomon, a West Marin author and progressive activist.

Referring to Obama’s proposal for a three-year budget freeze, Solomon said, “Now he’s not only a military hawk in Afghanistan, he’s also become a deficit hawk with the domestic budget. This is exactly the wrong direction in terms of job creation. FDR would be rolling over in his grave.”

And that was not all that rankled Solomon.

Read the rest here

From: Dr Bill Honigman
Tue, Jan 26, 2010

From bay area activist Susan Harman, and my response below:

Subject: Write Back! Letters needed to refute the Oakland Tribune editorial against SB 810

Dear East Bay Single Payer Activists,

Below is an editorial in today’s Oakland Tribune.

It is part of a newly emerging and growing opposition to single payer, which exists both at the elite level (like the Trib’s publishers) as well as at the grassroots (like Tea Partiers). Such a movement will embolden Republican legislators to fight against SB 810, instead of being resigned to its passage and delivery to the governor. And it will embolden the GOP to wage electoral campaigns for assembly and senate seats on a platform of opposing single payer.

We can add to the momentum from the resolution that the California Democratic Party approved last November — calling for an end to the air war in Afghanistan, withdrawal of U.S. forces and an increase in humanitarian/development aid to that long-suffering country.

This gathering in Sonoma County will give a boost to a new effort, in the Bay Area and elsewhere, combining grassroots organizing with media outreach to reframe the politics of U.S. policies toward Afghanistan. Please bring a checkbook.

Speakers will include Karen Bernal and Norman Solomon. The two of them, along with Marcy Winograd (who is now running against incumbent war hawk Rep. Jane Harman), co-authored the military-out-of-Afghanistan resolution that is now the official position of the California Democratic Party.

Norman Solomon on KPFA Radio, “The Morning Show” — talking about themes in his piece “Democrats Boosting Right-Wing Populism.” The 25-minute live interview begins at 7:35 a.m., at 94.1 FM in Northern California… and streaming at kpfa.org .

CLICK HERE to listen to this archived program.

BBC World Service
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p005td2n

The Program is 53 mins long, and Karen’s segment is from 27:05 – 31.35 .

Karen is the PDA Northern CA Co-Coordinator and is Chair of the CDP Progressive Caucus.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 16, 2010

PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS SONOMA COUNTY TO HOLD REGULAR VIGILS AIMED AT ENDING CONGRESSIONAL FUNDING FOR WARS IN AFGHANISTAN AND IRAQ

Progressive Democrats Sonoma County, the local chapter of Progressive Democrats of America, plans regular Brown Bag Lunch Vigils in front of Rep. Lynn Woolsey’s Santa Rosa District office to stop the escalation and funding for war. We thank Rep. Woolsey for signing on to support HR 2454, calling for an exit strategy from Afghanistan and HR 3699, prohibiting any increase in the number of U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan. Further, we call on Rep. Woolsey to publicly commit to voting “No” on any bills that fund wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, or Yemen, and to publicly urge her colleagues and the House leadership to make the same commitment. The first vigil is planned for Wednesday, January 20th at noon.

When: Wednesday, January 20, 2010
12 PM – 1 PM

Where: Office of Rep. Lynn Woolsey
1101 College Avenue
Santa Rosa , CA 95404
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ED. NOTE: Please RSVP for this event here:
https://www.thedatabank.com/dpg/309/personalopt1.asp?formid=meet&c=9243517

Thank you!

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PDA Board member David Swanson speaking about his new book DAYBREAk: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union on Jan. 13 as part of a nationwide book tour.

More info about the book can be found here: http://davidswanson.org/book

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN to David’s Jan. 13 talk

Tim Carpenter discusses the recent developments in the Health Care debate in Washington.

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Donna Smith
January 6, 2010

URGENT—Take Action NOW: Tell Speaker Pelosi & Majority Leader Reid – NO on MANDATE, YES on STATES’ RIGHTS

If there is nothing to protect that relates to national security, every bit of the health reform legislation debate and negotiation should be done in public. Period.

We read today that C-SPAN is arguing that the negotiations between the House and the Senate on their healthcare bills need to be done while their cameras are rolling. I agree.

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Michael Aparicio
Empire Report
December 22, 2009

Despite an administrative campaign defined by misinformation and scare tactics, and a competing union’s million dollar anti-union efforts, Memorial Hospital employees vote to unionize with National Union of Healthcare Workers. Why is their victory expected to have national significance?

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You are invited to join us for a very special evening with

David Swanson, author of
DAYBREAK: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union

Wednesday, January 13, 2010 – 7:00 PM

The Glaser Center
547 Mendocino Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA

PDSonoma County is very pleased to present author and activist David Swanson at this talk and book-signing event in Santa Rosa.

Donations accepted at the door, sliding scale $5-$20; no one turned away. Doors Open – 6:30 p.m.
Light refreshments available