Thanks, Liz!

And thanks to all who continue to donate. We're a little short of our goal to keep Kristy and I lodged. If need be, I will take the ditch and she can have the hotel. But I'd like to think you all out there can help us out just a little more. Apparently, we still need about $400. Brother or sister, can you spare a $10?

As it turns out, some stuff has come up in regard to some other business I was hoping to accomplish while back East, and it looks like I'll be putting off my trip to the Rally in DC. :(

Regarding the FAX (and please add this list to the blog in the future), you should FAX the following people:

Your two Senators

Your Congressman

Harry Reid (Senate Majority Leader)

Mitch McConnell (Senate Minority Leader)

Chair of Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (Ted Kennedy, MA)

Ranking member of Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions (Michael Enzi, WY)

President of the United States (Obama)

Speaker of the House (Nancy Pelosi, CA)

House Majority Leader (Steny Hoyer, MD)

House Minority Leader (John Boehner, OH)

Chair of House Ways and Means Committee (Charles B. Rangel, NY)

Ranking GOP member of House Ways and Means Committee (Dave Camp, MI)

Anyone else from your state that sits on the House Ways and Means Committee

http://waysandmeans.house.gov/members.asp

Make sure you address these people as "The Honorable", etc. as protocol demands. (See website on my blog referenced above.)

Make sure sentence 1 says you state why you are sending them the FAX ("As President of the United States,..." "As my Senator,..." "As a member of the House Ways and Means Committee from my State of ....")

Make sure sentence 1 says what this is about ("I write to you on the important issue of health care in this country...")

Make sure sentence 2 says how you want them to vote.

Keep the whole thing to one page.

BE POLITE! NO CAPS ALLOWED! (Yes, that is irony to see if you are thinking clearly.)

Make sure you include your physical address (so they know where you vote... include a district if you know what it is -- and you should!), as well as an email address and a phone number.

Also: please read and rec this post:

http://tpmcafe.talkingpointsmemo.com/talk/blogs/clearthinker/2009/07/some-fax-for-your-healthcare.php

that details how not to write your FAX. It is really a companion piece to this blog.

I'll have to see if my afternoon is open.

I was just in DC today actually. On the MARC train back, three guys came in together, and one was talking about homeless in CA. He said that Redondo closed off part of the beach to feed all the homeless people. Then he said they showed them how to collect benefits, then he laughed like it was funny.

It is morally repugnant to profit off the misery or ill health of Americans. It's criminal that medical bills to the private for-profit MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX make up 62% of all bankruptcies filed in the U.S. each year. Americans spend 2.5 Trillion Dollars a year on Health care. The overhead at the private for-profit MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX is upwards of 35% of the health care dollar spent each year in the U.S. That is approximately $900 Billion a year the MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX uses for BRIBING CONGRESS and their lavish lifestyles, huge salaries plus perks and bonuses. All the while milking the hard-working men/women of this great nation of their hard earned money.
On the other hand Medicare has an overhead of 2%, Canada's system is 1.5%, Europe's 2.5% on average. The money that could be saved by eliminating the private for-profit MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX is estimated at $900 Billion a year. Enough money to help pay for putting all Americans on MEDICARE/SINGLE-PAYER TYPE HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.

We have to fight back and call, write e-mails, letters-to-editors, Congress and to the White House to let them know how Americans feel about the private for-profit MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX that currently provides the health care in this country.

Here are some Senators and blue dog(dems) who are on the wrong side of Health Care reform. Give them a call and demand,
"MEDICARE/SINGLE-PAYER TYPE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL NOW!"

Thanks to Dateline_Molly for this chart that shows how much money was paid to Senators by the MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX to OBSTRUCT health care reform. Link Now, when I call each member I can quote to them how much money they were PAID/BRIBED by the MEDICAL/INSURANCE INDUSTRIAL COMPLEX to throw their constituents under the bus and deny them SINGLE-PAYER HEALTH CARE.

(blue dogs)
Ross D-AR, Boucher D-VA, Kind D-WI, Pomeroy D-ND, Tanner D-TN
Polis (CO), Titus (NV) and Altmire (PA)

These are the problem Democrats on the Energy and Commerce Committee: John Barrow (GA-12), Bruce Braley (IA-01), Bart Gordon (TN-04), Baron Hill (IN-09), Jay Inslee (WA-01), Jim Matheson (UT-02), Charlie Melancon LA-03, Zack Space (OH-18) and Bart Stupak (MI-01).

Joe Lieberman I-CT, Chuck Grassley R-IA, Lindsey Graham R-SC,
Susan Collins R-ME, Olympia Snowe R-ME, David Vitter R-LA,
Saxby Chambliss R-GA, Tom Coburn R-OK, Jon Kyl R-AZ,
John Thune R-SD, Richard Lugar R-IN, Jim DeMint R-SC
Jeff Sessions R-AL, Richard Shelby R-AL, Mel Martinez R-FL,
John McCain R-AZ, Mitch McConnell R-KY, Jim Inhofe R-OK,
Lamar Alexander R-TN, Dick Burr R-NC, John Cornyn R-TX

Mark Pryor D-AR, Thomas Carper D-DE, Mary Landrieu D-LA,
Max Baucus D-MT, Kent Conrad D-ND, Ben Nelson D-NE,
Maria Cantwell D-WA, Kay Hagan D-NC, Blanche Lincoln D-AR,
Ron Wyden D-OR, Evan Bayh D-IN, Diane Feinstein D-CA,
Arlen Specter D-PA

Here are the toll-free numbers for the Capitol Hill Switchboard:
(House and Senate)
1-800-828-0498
1-866-338-1015
1-866-220-0044
1-800-473-6711

Also give the President a call or write an e-mail:

White House Comments Line:

1-202-456-1111 M-F 9:00-5:00 est. (NOT A TOLL-FREE #)

President Obama's e-mail: http://www.whitehouse.gov/...

Nothing rattles the Congress and White House more than informed CITIZEN/VOTERS ringing the phones off the hook for real health care reform. Call the House, Senate and the White House and demand,
"MEDICARE/SINGLE-PAYER TYPE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL NOW!"
SEMPER FI!