Here is my response:
Dear Senator Feinstein,
I wrote to you about the Citizens United case before. Thank you for responding. In your response you mentioned several measures to expose corporations' activities, such as requiring disclosure to shareholders. But why should a corporation be able to spend money on politics at all without shareholder approval? If corporations are to be allowed to spend money on elections, they should be required to get shareholder approval. However, in my opinion this doesn't go far enough. I wish you would come out in support of a constitutional amendment to declare once and for all that corporations are not the people and they do not have first amendment rights. Corporate money should be kept out of politics. They have so much money that they will overwhelm citizens if they are allowed to throw their resources into elections. We must stop them now before it's too late. The future of democracy depends on it, and we will look back on right now as the pivotal point when Congress and the citizens could and should have taken action. Whether we will look back on a victory or a defeat is in all of our hands but especially in yours as an elected official. Stand strong.
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( 2.8 / 18 )Tell Congress to get healthcare reform done, and do it right!
Here's what I just wrote:
Please insist on a strong public option in the final healthcare bill. It's the least we can possibly settle for if we can't get single payer Medicare for All. You're my Senator. I'm counting on you to represent me. I need you to stay strong and get healthcare reform done right.
Thank you.
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( 2.6 / 18 )We don't have to accept the Supreme Court's ridiculous idea that corporations are people. A corporation is not a person! A corporation is not a citizen. A corporation does not have lungs, so a corporation does not have speech. We need a constitutional amendment to state in no uncertain terms that corporations are not people and they have no rights in the democratic process.
Get your bumper sticker at http://www.peaceteam.net/bumper_stickers.php
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( 2.8 / 11 )They told us they'd get our solar panels installed in February, and they did. They finished this morning and now we just have to wait for SDG&E's approval to turn on the system. We'll still be connected to the grid, sometimes drawing down electricity and sometimes pushing out extra. We'll only get an electric bill once a year, and if we generate more than we use, they have to pay us!
Photos of the installation are posted here and I'll add photos of the end result soon.
I can't wait to start generating our own renewable energy!
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( 1 / 1 )Here's what happened when a couple of doctors tried to take Obama at his word that he wants to hear about better health reform ideas:
Medicare-for-all doctors arrested outside Obama-GOP meeting
Jan. 29, 2010
Rising to President Obama's challenge in his State of the Union address that others come up with a better approach to health care reform than his own, two Maryland physicians who advocate for a single-payer program stood on the sidewalk this morning outside the Renaissance Baltimore Harborplace Hotel, where the president was meeting with House Republicans, and held a large banner reading, “Letting you know: Medicare for all.”
After refusing to move across the street, the two physicians were briefly taken into custody by law enforcement officials, issued a citation and then released.
One of the two was Dr. Margaret Flowers, a pediatrician and congressional fellow for Physicians for a National Health Program, an organization of 17,000 physicians who support a single-payer system, who is trying to deliver an open letter to the president calling on him to meet with her and other Medicare-for-All advocates.
Joining her was Dr. Carol Paris, a practicing psychiatrist and fellow PNHP member from southern Maryland.
Read more
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( 0 / 0 )Last night in the State of the Union, President Obama opened the door to alternative solutions for healthcare reform. We need to take him up on it! The solution is single payer Medicare for All.
Tell President Obama to start from scratch and put single payer on the table!
Here's an Open Letter to President Obama on Health Care Reform From Margaret Flowers, MD
January 28, 2010 by Healthcare-NOW!
Dear President Obama,
I was overjoyed to hear you say in your State of the Union address last night:
“But if anyone from either party has a better approach that will bring down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen Medicare for seniors, and stop insurance company abuses, let me know.”
My colleagues, fellow health advocates and I have been trying to meet with you for over a year now because we have an approach which will meet all of your goals and more.
I am a pediatrician who, like many of my primary care colleagues, left practice because it is nearly impossible to deliver high quality health care in this environment. I have been volunteering for Physicians for a National Health Program ever since. For over a year now, I have been working with the Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Health Care/ National Single Payer Alliance. This alliance represents over 20 million people nationwide from doctors to nurses to labor, faith and community groups who advocate on behalf of the majority of Americans, including doctors, who favor a national Medicare for All health system.
Read the rest
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( 3.2 / 12 )When Shahram Hashemi, a university student from Iran, saw an airplane fly into the second World Trade Center building on 9-11, he immediately took action. As many ran away from the wreckage, he ran towards it, joining a group of civilian volunteers to extinguish fires and clear rubble for the search and rescue teams.
That day, Shahram helped save over a dozen lives - while here in America on a student visa.
Shahram is one of the many Iranians who have contributed to American society, but Rep. Gresham Barrett has chosen to ignore that.
more
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( 3 / 10 )Single-Payer's Last Stand?
By Greg Kaufmann
January 1, 2010
Published by The Nation.
The Progressive Caucus (CPC) is the largest caucus in Congress with 82 members—it dwarfs the often-hyped Blue Dog Democrats with its 52 yapping pups.
Yet the CPC has struggled to get the respect and attention it has strived for—prior to this Congress, it seemed like the mainstream media wouldn't even refer to it by name, instead using vague descriptions like "the liberal wing of the party."
That's because getting the talented but diverse Caucus to unite and show its legislative muscle has often been described—even by its own members—as herding cats.
This might be the moment for the Caucus to change all that in dramatic fashion.
Read More...
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( 2.9 / 16 )obituary
I hope death brought him peace. He brought happiness to others in a million ways, but had trouble finding happiness in his own life. Nonetheless, there are so many happy memories I will treasure.
Dancing with Michael was a dream, especially his signature "one step" that glided across the floor with complete freedom.
He took the time and thought to have real conversations every time, not settling for pleasantries.
He organized many social events that brought people together.
He introduced people to the joys of dancing and canoeing. He took the time and effort to learn his students' names.
He was a master gingerbread architect.
He had a fine, strong voice for Christmas carols.
He was a great cook.
He made lovely flower arrangements.
He always stopped to pet dogs (with the owner's permission, of course).
He gave his time, talent, and heart to serving others, criss-crossing the country to volunteer for people in need, including the victims of the 2007 wildfires here in San Diego.
No one who knew him will ever forget him.
More pictures
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( 2.8 / 19 )On Thursday, I read something that made me ashamed to be a Kucinich supporter: From Congressmen Dennis Kucinich and John Conyers
My disappointment soon extended to Rep. Anthony Weiner, not to mention Speaker Pelosi: NEWS: REP. WEINER WITHDRAWS SINGLE PAYER AMENDMENT FROM CURRENT HEALTH CARE DEBATE
Despite the clear superiority of the single-payer system, single-payer was taken off the table by the White House, ignored or maligned by the corporate media, silenced by Congressional leadership, and now, surrendered by its erstwhile champions in the Congress. The American people have been betrayed by all of our elected officials. We're on our own. We'll be okay as long as we never get sick. Cross your fingers.
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