Okay, guys.
If you care about having a public option for health care in the United States, please
sign this petition asking the Massachusetts legislature to allow Governor Deval Patrick to appoint a new Senator in Ted Kennedy's place.
People have asked me a lot of questions about the health care initiative and I am more than happy to answer more. If you are confused or don't understand parts of the proposed program, I will do my best to answer them.
If you are trying to help support health care reform in the US, here are a few key pieces of information that should help you dispel some of the ridiculous bs going around about it.
If you already know these things and are fully informed about what the bill as it stands entails, and simply disagree fundamentally with the idea of public health care, I totally respect that (as long as you do agree that the system as it is needs fixing in
some way-- I know there are a bunch of people out there who have extremely different but equally big suggestions on how to fix it-- if not, I will have to take you to task!)
But I also know there is a lot of misinformation flying around and some people may be opposed to it because they've been fed a line of bullshit. When I was in Colorado, I saw an ad that said that the public option would mean breast cancer patients wouldn't get treated. It's sometimes hard to know what to call bullshit on. I think this will also help those of you who are supporting the health care reform to have the right talking points at your fingertips when discussing the issue.
( fallacies in health care reform )For those of you who want to do something to get active in helping with health care, here are some things you can do.
--Write to your Congresspeople. Write to your rep and your Senators. If they have already pledged support, send them a thank you. If they have not, please ask them to do so. Tell them a personal story about you or someone you know who needs health care or has been adversely affected by the private system.
One of the big things we can do is ask senators to pledge to support the bill. They are at 45 senators now-- it was 46 but now we have to subtract Kennedy and see what the new Senator is like. If your senator has already pledged support, great. If not, ask them to. The senators most likely to be convinced to pledge who have not yet done so are Kent Conrad of North Dakota; Ron Wyden of Oregon; Thomas Carper of Delaware; Jon Tester of Montana; Blanche Lincoln of Arkansas; Bill Nelson of Florida; and Mark Warner of Virginia. If you live in one of those states, it would be extra helpful.
--Be on the lookout for attack ads that are clearly misinformative or lying. Write to TV networks and radio networks to complain. I don't mean ads that disagree but get their information right-- people have a right to disagree. But if an ad is really out there, which some of them are, send a network an email telling them that you are upset that they accepted the ad. Do the same to channels showing pundits who are lying. Again, not disagreeing, but lying or misrepresenting information.
--Stop watching Fox News. Ask everyone you know to stop watching Fox News. Especially if they have a Nielsen box.
--
Participate in the "Can't Afford to Wait" photo drive. Take a photo to be sent to Congress expressing your need for health care.
--Find out about rallies and other activities in your area. There is a big rally planned in DC on September 13th (the one against the reform is on the 12th).
--Talk to your family and friends. A lot of people I know are on the fence simply because they don't know very much. Or they have seen attack ads and don't know what is myth and what is reality.
--
More things you can do are in the comments.
Okay! If you have any other questions that I can answer, please let me know and I will do my best.