Martin Luther King Jr. Page
Read Dr. King's Beyond Vietnam Speech http://www.mlkonline.net
Martin Luther King Jr. and His Vision
We are looking to Chairman Charles Rangel and Congressman Pete Stark to hold hearings for single payer national healthcare-- when we can commemorate the vision and courage of Dr. Martin Luther King and his commitment to healthcare. This is the time when we can come to Washington and testify in official hearings for H.R. 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act-- finally. We have waited way too long for this moment.
How To Organize A Healthcare-NOW "Truth Hearing during the 2007-2008 Congressional Session
ON PRESIDENT BUSH AND HIS WAR COMMITMENT
The president tells us Iraq is a "noble" war, but his wife, his children and his nieces and nephews are not listening. None has enlisted in the armed services, and none seems to be paying attention to the sacrifices of military families. Until Jenna's trip to Panama, the presidential daughters performed community service only when mandated by a court after they were cited for underage drinking. Since then they have surfaced in public during lavish presidential trips with their parents, bar-hopping outings in Georgetown and champagne-popping art openings in New York.
Excerpt from KITTY KELLEY, who wrote "The Family: The Real Story of the Bush Dynasty."
Take Action
Tell Congressmembers: Rangel, Pelosi, and Stark we want hearings on H.R. 676.
We are Counting on Them!
"Of all the forms of inequality, injustice in health care is the most shocking and inhumane."
Martin Luther King, Jr
Congressman Rangel and Congressman Stark: You can do it!" NOW IS THE TIME for powerful Members of Congress whom we elected to hold hearings on national healthcare and the other issues of grave importance to us.
The nationwide polls were clear. "The voters said over and over again that a solution to the healthcare crisis is their most important domestic issue." We have suffered enough. Please don't disappoint us. MORE
EVERYBODY TAKE ACTION!
Congressman Charles Rangel, the new Chair of the House Ways and Means Committee and Congressman Pete Stark, Chair of the Subcommittee on Health are key to holding hearings on H.R. 676. It is up to you and me and all of us to urge them to hold those hearings. Our idea is to call on them in person, go wherever they are appearing, organize delegations to meet with them, send postcards and faxes and telephone Mr. Rangel and Mr. Stark and their healthcare staff. Call and write to Speaker Pelosi also because she will play a big role in the official healthcare hearings.
For years, we have been told by the politicians and the media that single payer is, without doubt, the most economical and most comprehensive and best healthcare system we could provide for America, "but that there was no movement to support it."
But now we have the movement. That movement rose up to elect a new Congress and it will be channeled to take action during this Congress and into the Presidential election. We have elected a new batch of Congress people. Now we (and they) have to take the next step. They should hear from us now and every day until they hold the hearings and put single payer, national healthcare on the table for discussion and passage.
No Compromise on Basic Principles
We can’t accept compromise responses, or incremental excuses that continue to pour money into the coffers of the insurance and drug companies. We require a national healthcare system that serves everyone. We can afford a first rate national healthcare system for all children and their parents and grandparents if we get rid of insurance company profits. We can afford prescription drugs for everyone if we focus on enhancing and improving Medicare so that it is able to function as the negotiator for reasonable prices based on a pool of 300 million participants. These are issues that the new Congress is beginning to approach. They are all addressed clearlyin the single payer bill, H.R. 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act.
We are already paying for it.
Our money is being eaten up by profits. But, no new expenditure is necessary. We have plenty of doctors and nurses, dentists, opticians, mental health specialists, drugs, hospitals and medical equipment, enough to serve every person in this country.
Our failure is not that we are spending money using too much healthcare. It is that the profit-makers are taking about one third or more of our healthcare dollars for non-healthcare purposes. We could have a great healthcare system similar to those in the rest of the advanced world, but we must elect public officials who respect democracy and listen to their constituents. Contact our office to find out what you can do, info@healthcare-now.org, and check out a list of actions below that can be taken for this campaign.
Order your yard signs here: www.campaign-supply.com/index.html It would be good to have Healthcare-NOW! on these yard signs as well as your own information. Call for Congressional HEarings on your yard signs!
You can also simply make a tax-deductible contribution right now via Secure Donations by Groundspring. Or make a monthly pledge. That would be even better. "Donate Now!"
YOUR INVOLVEMENT IS CRITICAL! Here Are Some of the Ways You Can Work With Us
- We have an interactive internet campaign intended to reach millions and get them involved; Send a message to your friends to join us. Send email lists of people who would be interested. info@healthcare-now.org
- You can help organize a Healthcare-NOW Truth Hearing like the ones in over 250 cities calling our Congress members home to hear our views about the healthcare crisis and the solutions; Some cities have had two or three hearings already and are continuing to build their local coalitions through this method.
- EVENTS Rallies, debates, seminars, demonstrations, candidate forums, marches, book signings, film festivals, pot-lucks, and conferences in cities and towns nationwide show the desperate need for a solution to the health care crisis; LINK: See the resources on these pages.
- Film showings in our communities help people understand the depths of the crisis and organize community networks to respond;LINK: See how to do it and a list of films and power points.
- Speaker Training by Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP); Invite a speaker from Healthcare-NOW or PNHP. pnhp.org@aol.com
- City and State organizing. Create resolutions in favor of a national healthcare system that would provide for guaranteed healthcare coverage; Sample Resolutions
- Study groups to read and discuss the important books or articles in our NEWS section exposing the prescription drug industry and the insurance companies. Call Healthcare-NOW, 1-800-453-1305, for suggestions.
- A Letter Writing Brigade --Letters to the editor and other follow-up actions. Call Healthcare-NOW to get on the mailing list for articles that need a response. Or email joykal1@aol.com
- Sunday Night at the Movies (or Friday or Tuesday, whatever) Organize a regular film evening in your neighborhood to show Healthcare-NOW films or to show and discuss Michael Moore's next film, "Sicko." Invite Congress Members and other elected officials and their staff to come speak about their position on national healthcare for all. Make some popcorn!
- Link with seniors and others in the affordable prescription drug movement including support for communities and individuals who are seeking to purchase prescription drugs from other countries; Older Women’s League materials are available from their office in Washington.
- Join with the Older Women's League in its year-long campaign for single payer with year around Mother's Day cards and other educational materials. "Listen to your Mother!"
- Material support. Join Healthcare-NOW and contribute some bucks along with your time and your talents. We really need some more paid staff to win this campaign.
- Hold educational fora with elected officials – state, federal and local;
- Work on your governor and urge him/her to join with other governors to endorse H.R. 676 as the best way to deal with the health crisis in your State.
- Do some Media Outreach to get increased understanding of the need for universal health care. Call in to talk shows and write letters to the editors of newspapers -- small and large. Write to the blogs too! And distribute Healthcare-NOW films to local public access television stations.
- Organize in the Parks and the Streets; take copies of the petition and other materials. Get lots of signatures and send them to Healthcare-NOW. We will take them in large batches to Congress. Or take your laptop to the park and get people to sign on line and tell their healthcare story.
- DIRECT ACTION AC/DC -- Accompany people who are being denied healthcare; join them in challenging health industry denials.
- Hold Student Campus Teach-Ins with our Generation Debt Network; Organize Campus Chapters of Healthcare-NOW.
- Collect the stories of those who are being denied healthcare; take friends and neighbors to the healthcareTruth Hearings being organized nationwide.
- Hold a Healthcare NOW Truth Hearing in your community and send the testimony to Congressman Rangel's Ways and Means Committee
- Make alliance with the veterans who are fighting for the healthcare they need. Join their coalitions and urge them to join yours.
“King March, 2007: Margie Rece, Healthcare-NOW, Atlanta