Jackson County Democratic Party Newsletter - May 11th, 2009
Jackson County Democratic Party Newsletter - May 11th, 2009
EVENTS
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Create real solutions for Oregon! Please join us in learning how to serve Oregon by serving in the Oregon Legislature. Emerging Leaders Day is a bi-ennial opportunity for aspiring Democratic legislators to spend the day "serving" with current House Democratic lawmakers. During Emerging Leaders Day, community leaders from around the state learn the nuts and bolts of the legislative process and get a firsthand view of democracy at work. LEADERS FROM ALL 60 OREGON HOUSE DISTRICTS ARE WELCOME!! For more information contact Lynn Howe 541-778-9600 or lynnhowe@excite.com by May 25th, 2009 - SPACE IS LIMITED! Emerging Leaders Day is sponsored by Future PAC, the Campaign Committee of the Oregon House Democratic Caucus. This flier and all other costs associated with Emerging Leaders Day are paid for by Future PAC. |
Thursday, June 4th 2009 The Jackson County Democratic Party encourages those of you seriously considering becoming candidates, to
attend with Lynn Howe at "Emerging Leaders Day". Oregon House Democrats presents
E m e r g i n g L e a d e r s D a y
2009 8am - 5pm Salem Lynn Howe is willing to assist with arranging carpools.
Come to our party!
Sunday, May 17, 4-6 p.m.
Party Theme: How we will win real health care reform in 2009
Special Guest: U.S.Congressman Earl Blumenauer via live telconference.
Entertainment
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Click on videos above for some great entertainment: President Obama and Wanda Sykes at the White House Correspondents' Association Dinner |
JCDP Articles & Action
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"ACTION" - WRITE YOUR EMAIL LETTER by Friday, May 15th to the WAYS AND MEANS CHAIRS asking for Attorney General's Civil Rights Enforcement Unit: Full Information and Talking Points Senator Joanne Verger Representative Peter Buckley Representative Chip Shields |
Needed: Attorney General's Civil Rights Enforcement Unit We need to act. The problem is, right now, we do not have the legal resources we need to guarantee the civil rights and civil liberties of our citizens. The Oregon Department of Justice used to have a civil rights enforcement unit, but back in the 1980s, the funding for this unit was eliminated. Today, as a result, there is not a single attorney at the Department devoted to civil rights and civil liberties enforcement work. This is unacceptable.
Each day, Oregonians face discrimination because of their race, their age, their gender, their disability, or their sexual orientation. Illegal wiretapping robs our right to privacy. Wanton disregard for the American’s with Disabilities Act leaves entire neighborhoods inaccessible to every Oregonian. Servicemen and women are unlawfully denied their jobs when they return from serving our country. |
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"Almost everyone in America today sees the need to overhaul the health care system because it is broken and its escalating costs are helping to keep our economy in recession. Many people feel the way to fix the system is to pass a universal health care law that would expand Medicare to cover everyone and have the government administer the plan without the involvement of private insurance companies. This expanded Medicare-like plan is often referred to as a "single-payer health system." It has many proponents, but they are not getting a fair hearing in Congress as the following article indicates. I'm very impressed by the peaceful but assertive tactics used by the doctors who protested being denied an invitation to speak to the Senate committee." – Allen Hallmark, Vice Chair JCDP Read Full Article |
Doctors Arrested at Senate "Roundtable" on Healthcare Doctors and other advocates of a national single-payer health system -- also known as improved Medicare for All -- directly confronted senators at a Senate Finance Committee "roundtable" on health reform today. Videos are available here and C-SPAN coverage is here.
One by one, single-payer advocates in the audience stood up and asked why single-payer experts were being excluded from the proceedings. They each spoke out in turn until they were removed from the committee hearing room by Capitol police, at which point another person would speak up. Eight were arrested. |
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“ACTION” – Click here to write your Senator. Last week, Senator Max Baucus, Chairman of the Senate Finance Committee (which will have a huge hand in shaping health care reform this year) said, "Today we kicked off the process of writing a comprehensive health reform bill." The Finance Committee will meet Tuesday to focus on coverage. Your Senator sits on the Finance Committee, so your voice is extremely important right now. Read More |
The Senate Finance Committee is Writing Comprehensive Health Reform Bill - WRITE YOUR SENATOR ON THE FINANCE COMMITTEE NOW!!!!! The more the Finance Committee hears from you, the more the legislation that they're writing will embody our values. |
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Taken together, Obama said, the measures (against offshore tax havens) will bring the government $210 billion over the next decade, money he said could be used to help close the budget deficit and "provide tax breaks to U.S. companies that play by the rules." The steps are included in Obama's $3.4 trillion budget and will be detailed in Congress later this week. The administration hopes to have legislation passed this year making the proposals law, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs told reporters at his press briefing this afternoon. A Government Accountability Office study released in January found that 83 of the 100 largest U.S. corporations have subsidiaries in tax havens, most notably the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and Ireland.
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President Obama announced today a series of measures to shut down offshore tax havens and end provisions that U.S. companies have used to under report overseas profits, steps he said would provide a financial boon to the U.S.
In remarks at the White House, Obama said, "We're beginning to restore fairness and balance to the tax code," and he called the steps "a down payment" on the broader tax reform he promised during last year's campaign. |
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"Action" - Call your state legislators 1-800-332-2313 to vote to fund HB 2009 and other health measures. The Provider Tax is key! We need that passed to meet expected need: Remember, for any dollars that providers pay into the tax to get matching federal funds, they get back in fees for services to needy Oregonians. |
Negotiations over a provider tax that could potentially insure 180,000 Oregonians appear stalled after lawmakers cancelled a legislative hearing scheduled for Thursday morning (May 7) because an agreement had not been reached with the hospitals and health insurers. Senator Alan Bates (D-Ashland) had hoped negotiations could be wrapped up before the economic forecast is revealed next Friday. State economists predict a shortfall of $4.4 billion over the next biennium (2009-11).
Earlier, lawmakers considered a tax on union trusts and self-insured employers. However that proposal has fallen by the wayside, said Tom Burns, an aide to Rep. Mitch Greenlick (D-Portland), who drafted House Bill 2009. It was impossible to determine whether those funds would qualify for federal matching dollars, he said.
Meanwhile, the State Capitol buzzed with rumors about the plight of the provider tax and the impact of the revenue forecast. With fewer dollars in the state’s general fund over the next two years, the Oregon Health Plan could fall victim, with benefits slashed, which could lead to lower reimbursements to hospitals, along with physicians and other providers. Read More
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Memo intended to offer a message framing strategy to defeat President Obama’s plan to provide health care for all is leaked - You've got to read this!
Conservative pollster Frank Luntz recently provided right wingers on Capitol Hill a secret 28-page memo entitled The Language of Healthcare 2009—which has leaked! The memo was intended to offer a message framing strategy to defeat President Obama’s plan to provide health care for all. But the document is more useful to progressives than conservatives. Read the details, read the memo http://www.jackson.oregondemocrats.org/node/668 |
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We Need Volunteers - About the JCDP
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Of Continuing Importance Health Care Action on Two Fronts - JOIN ONE OF THE ACTION RESPONSE TEAMS to write letters to editor, call your Senator "Let there be no doubt: Health care reform cannot wait, it must not wait, and it will not wait another year."
… President Barack Obama
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VOLUNTEERS ALWAYS NEEDED & APPRECIATED FOR OUR STANDING COMMITTEES |
THE JCDP
The JCDP is an entirely Volunteer Organization. We have many interesting committees and activities that you can be a part of. Please contact us to be part of Unity and Real Change in Jackson County.JCDP HQ at 541-858-1050 or email mail@jcdemocrats.org 40 S. Central Ave, Medford, OR Google Map
About our JCDP Email Newsletter and Web Site
The JCDP web site is full of exciting information – Come see how we are involved with Jackson County and our greater community at http://www.jcdemocrats.org If you have questions, please contact our Webmaster Linda Sturgeon