Democracy for New Mexico

Guest Blog: How to Get Health Security for Everybody

This is a guest blog by Terry Riley of Albuquerque:
New Mexico is working on health care coverage reform. The movie "Sicko" will convince you of the critical need for such reform if you are not already convinced. I urge everybody to take everybody that you know to the movie. I cannot imagine anybody coming out of the movie without understanding that our system of health care reimbursement is broken and that there are plenty of systems that we could adopt that work well.

I have been working on a plan here in New Mexico that will work well and will reduce what New Mexico pays for health care plus it will cover everybody in the state. The Governor and the Legislature put together a committee to study the problem and to make a proposal in time for the 2008 legislative session. As part of the work that they have done they hired a consulting firm to calculate how much each of the three systems that the committee had narrowed to would cost. The Health Security Plan would cost less than we spend as a state now where the other two plans would cost more.

Cost should never be the only reason to rely on when making such an important decision. What and who will be covered should be of equal importance. The Health Security Plan won again. It is the only plan where everybody in the state will be covered. The other two plans have some small gaps, which I fear will become wide gaps after implementation. One example of a group of people who would not be covered in the two more expensive plans, is people who are homeless due to domestic abuse.  Personally, I don't need to look for any more examples of who would not be covered. These people desperately need coverage and they are not. I see that everybody is covered under the Health Security Plan.  I don’t understand why the other two plans are still being considered. They cost more and they don't cover everybody.

The hearings that were held on Thursday and Friday, June 21 and 22 also reported on the impact on gross receipts taxes, job losses vs. job gains, legal ramifications relating to federal government medical assistance programs, etc. The study by Mathematica was extremely detailed. I believe, from having attended the reports from Mathematica, and from having read as much of the 218 page report that I have completed so far, that the Health Security Plan is the least expensive, the least difficult to implement, and everybody is covered. 

Thursday afternoon the committee received a communication from Governor Richardson. Michele Welby who is on the Governor's staff and is a member of the committee relayed the communication. What I feel is the most significant and most disturbing point in his communication is that he will not support any plan that does not include the health insurance corporations. This is the largest and most unnecessary cost in our entire health care delivery system.

The argument that the Health Security Plan is a single payer system - AND - unworkable because it would be run by the "Government", is stupid. The Health Security Plan is a Co-Op, which is a distinct type of single payer system that has a long history of success in the development of our country. The argument that we cannot trust the "Government" to run anything seems very unrealistic to me.  Aren't our fire departments, police and sheriff's departments run by the government?  Aren't Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid run by the government?  Aren't our streets and highways maintained by our government?  What about the obvious failure of the privatization of services to our armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan?  The same failure due to the privatization of aid to the victims of Katrina?  A government system that is constructed by people who have a financial interest in that system's failure will likely fail.  A government system that is constructed by people who have a personal interest in the success of that system have a high probability of success.

I want success. I want lower cost. I want everybody covered. We will only achieve these goals if we get organized and convince our elected representatives that we will accept nothing less. Please join me as I develop the necessary organization for New Mexico to bring health security to everybody.

The web site for the Health Security Plan is not working; for information on the Health Security Plan and to join in supporting the Health Security Plan please go to:  www.whatifyouknew-nm.com. The Health Security supporters do not have the funding of our private health coverage corporations and therefore cannot afford the fancy literature, TV ads, radio ads, and expensive retreats and luncheons for our legislators and for our Governor. We are citizens who are trying to put together a plan that will improve life for all of our neighbors.  The plan that we are proposing has now been analyzed by a company with extremely good credentials and has passed the test. It is time for us to come together and to explain to our representatives what we want done in our name.  In New Mexico we want the Health Security Plan.

Editor's Note: This is a guest blog by Albuquerque citizen-activist Terry Riley. Guest blogs provide our readers with an opportunity to express their opinions on political issues, and they may or may not represent our views. If you'd like to submit a post for consideration as a guest blog, contact me by clicking on the Email Me link at the upper right-hand corner of our main page.

SICK O' The System Press Conference & Rally Set for Friday Morning in ABQ

From Charlotte Roybal, Health Action New Mexico:
SICK O' The System Press Conference and Rally
JOIN US: Friday, June 29, 2007
10:00 AM - before the SICKO first showing in ABQ at 11 AM
Century 14 Movie Theatre (SW Corner of 1st and Central)
Filmaker Michael Moore's long awaited documentary "SICKO" will be released in ABQ. Sponsored By:

• Native Health Care Council
• Community Coalition for Health Care Access,
• Health Action NM
• NM Conference of Churches
• American Medical Students Association-NM Chapter

See attached flyers to distribute:

• Download sickow.doc (Word doc)
• Download sicko-2.pub (Publisher)
• Download sickopc.pub (Publisher)

Editor's Note: The Progress Report backs up "Sicko's" destruction of four major myths about American health care with the facts. This past Saturday, "Sicko" sold out every single sneak preview held in cities around the nation, including here in Albuquerque. Also check out David Sirota's report on his attendance at a sneak preview of the film in Denver and a rally with Michael Moore at the Colorado state capitol, including this video clip:

Early ABQ Sneak Preview of "Sicko" Set for This Saturday

See later post for more info on general opening of this film on June 29th.
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Due to high demand based on terrific reviews from special screenings, Michael Moore's new film about our broken health care system, "Sicko," will now be shown early at sneak previews around the nation. The movie will now be screened at special premiers at many theaters, including the Century Rio 24 in Albuquerque, at 7:30 PM on Saturday, June 23rd. You can buy advance tickets here. The movie will start its regular run at Albuquerque's Century Rio 24 and Century 12, as well as theaters all over the country on June 29th.

Check out our previous post about the movie and the health care activism it's inspiring. Also see MichaelMoore.com:

Free Screening of 'War Made Easy' Set for July at CNM

Stop the War Machine will hold a premier showing of Norman Solomon's new film WAR MADE EASY: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death, narrated by Sean Penn and based on Solomon's best selling book by the same name. The new film was featured on Democracy Now (read or stream the DN interview on May 29, 2007).

The film will be shown Monday, July 9, 2007 at 7:00 PM at Smith-Brasher Hall on the campus of Central New Mexico Community College. Parking is in the  large lot to the southwest of the intersection of University and Coal SE in Albuquerque. Admission is free.

Organizations wishing to put up information tables should contact stopthewarmachine@comcast.net.

According to the film's website:

War Made Easy brings to the screen Norman Solomon's insightful analysis of the strategies used by administrations, both Democratic and Republican, to promote their agendas for war from Vietnam to Iraq. By familiarizing viewers with the techniques of war propaganda, War Made Easy encourages us to think critically about the messages put out by today's spin doctors - messages which are designed to promote and prolong a policy of militarism under the guise of the "war on terror."

Congress and the Bush Administration are currently debating the next steps in the war in Iraq, and the country is poised for a war with Iran. Now is the time for citizens to engage with one another around issues of military spending, U.S. occupation of foreign countries, war propaganda, and more. The documentary film War Made Easy educates viewers about how administrations lead us into war and inspires necessary debate and discussion about the role that citizens can play in preventing the next war.

Calling All Nurses, Healthcare Professionals (and Everybody Else)

Must read post on the California Nurses Association - National Nurses Organizing Committee blog about the attendance of 1,000 of their members at a special debut screening of Michael Moore's Sicko (trailer above) in Los Angeles. The nurses gave the film AN EIGHT MINUTE STANDING OVATION when it ended. Now they're calling for nurses and other healthcare professionals all over the nation to see the movie when it opens in other cities (including Albuqueque) on June 29th, distribute information at the screenings about reforming the system (which they will supply) and come up with other actions to draw attention to issue.

... calling all nurses, doctors, and other healthcare professionals.  We need you to join the “Scrubs for SiCKO” campaign.  Sign up with us, we’ll send you literature to hand out opening night June 29th. Bring a buddy, and help solve this healthcare crisis by advocating for guaranteed healthcare on the single-payer model.

As the Scrubs for Sicko site says:

Michael Moore’s latest film, “Sicko” brings to cinematic life and details in unsparing and vivid imagery the everyday experience of all nurses as they care and advocate for their patients in the confines of a health care industry that long ago abandoned its caring mission in favor of the pursuit of profit at any cost.

Nurses experience first hand the pain and terror of every patient and their families as they are forced to confront a callous and uncaring health care industry when at their most frail and vulnerable, and the inevitable personal tragedies when they can't receive needed care due to escalating costs and the ‘care containment’ damage endemic to the industry’s medicine-by-spreadsheet credo. 

It is nurses, of course, who are there to bear witness to these horrendous moments every day of every shift in every hospital across the U.S., and who are often the last and best hope for these patients and families.

Get Involved With Healthcare Reform in NM
Of course, the timing for such an effort couldn't be more right in New Mexico, where Governor Richardson's health care task force and legislators are currently mulling the results of Mathematica's study of three options for improving healthcare coverage in the state. Only one of them -- which Mathematica has said would actually SAVE the state money -- would offer genuine universal, single-payer coverage. That plan is the Health Security Act.

For more information on actions you can take to urge real reform in New Mexico, check out these websites:

• Health Action New Mexico
• What If You Knew

Health Action New Mexico will be holding town hall meetings around New Mexico this summer to explain Mathematica's findings and build support for changing our healthcare system so that it serves ALL our citizens. New Mexico's Legislative Health and Human Services Committee will also be holding meetings this summer to develop legislation on healthcare based on the Mathematic report. If you care about healthcare, please consider attending.

Be sure to read Health Action New Mexico's lastest newsletter (pdf) for more info on what's going on this summer, including critical meetings scheduled for later this month.

Committing Poetry in Times of War: June 16 at Kimo

The Poetic Justice Institute presents Committing Poetry in Times of War, a documentary film of one tumultuous week in March 2003 in New Mexico and its aftermath, on Saturday June 16th at 6:30 PM at the Kimo Theater in Albuquerque. There will also be an after party. Admission is FREE and the event is sponsored by the City of Albuquerque Office of Cultural Affairs.

On April 20, 2007 the Telluride Talking Gourds Writers Guild awarded Committing Poetry the first ever Tellus Award for “Poetry Film of the Year.” Click for a detailed description of the film, organized around the free speech actions of poet and former Rio Rancho High School teacher, Bill Nevins (photo) and others, and what they ignited. Excerpt:

As bombs fell on Iraq in March 2003 and the President called for natiional unity, an outspoken  high school student slam poetry team was disbanded and silenced in Rio Rancho, New Mexico. Rio Rancho High's Principal and its Military Liaison then presided at a flag-raising ceremony on the public school's grounds where a soldier's poem was read out, telling war protestors to "shut your faces." The team's coach, teacher Bill Nevins,was one of seven Albuquerque area educators removed from their classrooms for encouraging free speech.

That same week in March 2003, hundreds of peaceful antiwar protestors were gassed, coralled and assaulted by police in the Albuquerque streets near the University of New Mexico. The fabric of American Constitutional free speech and free assembly protections seemed to be unravelling in New Mexico. In response, an ad hoc coalition of poets, musicians, educators and outraged cititzens organized "Poetic Justice": a series of celebratory "speak-out" concert  gatherings in New Mexico and across the USA  to honor the Rio Rancho student poets, to support Coach Nevins in his ultimately-successful legal battle and to demand respect for the First Amendment.   

Committing Poetry documents many of those dynamic poetry and musical performances. The film includes highlights of the Albuquerque and New York City Poetic Justice concerts. On screen performances by Adan Baca, Socorro Romo, Demetria Martinez, two-time Albuquerque Slam City Champion Tony Santiago, Erin Ambrose, Jazz, The Ruffians, Carlos Contreras, Priscilla Baca y Candelaria, Manuel Gonzales, Danny Solis, Kenn Rodriguez and members of the disbanded Rio Rancho Ram Slam Poetry Team offer an inspiring account of how America's artistic community has responded to war time threats against our cherished civil liberties.

Impeach Gonzales Part 2

A second short video from Brave New Films and Democracy for America. Psst ... do something. If you haven't yet signed the petition, now's the time. Visit ImpeachGonzales.com. Here's a link to an ad (pdf) that Democracy for America is running in select newspapers, including today's edition of The Hill and this week's New York Observer, and ads later this week in the Detroit Metro Times and Los Angeles Daily News. Click to donate to DFA to help them pay for their ad campaign. Pass it on.

The second phase of the Impeach Gonzales Campaign comes at time when the movement against Gonzales is building from the grassroots and as former allies like the League of United Latin American Citizens and La Raza distance themselves from him.

"Americans around the country are standing up to voice opposition to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and his politicization of the Department of Justice," said Democracy for America Chair Jim Dean. "Our message is clear: Impeach Gonzales."

"President Bush will not fire the Attorney General, but the American people can call for his Impeachment," said Filmmaker Robert Greenwald who directed the Impeach Gonzalez video. "The video shows Gonzales has no respect for the truth, for the rules of Congress and for the people of this country. How can he lead our U.S. Justice Department?"

The petition on the website will be sent to all members of the House Judiciary committee, who can begin the impeachment process as outlined in Article II of the U.S. Constitution. This massive impeachment call comes at a time when leaders in both houses are calling for No Confidence Votes against the Attorney General.

Founded by Governor Howard Dean in 2004, Democracy for America is a political action committee dedicated to campaign training, grassroots activism and supporting progressive candidates with a backbone at all levels of government - from the School Board to the Presidency. Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films uses film and viral video to create social change.

Mission (Not) Accomplished: 4 Years Ago and Counting

From Robert Greenwald and the Brave New Foundation:
It's almost May 1st. Who can forget the so-called "Mission Accomplished" from four years ago? Who can forget the pomp and circumstance, the primping and posturing in a staged photo-op built on the backs of those destroyed by the war. The mission has not been accomplished. In honor of all those who have been killed, whose lives have been destroyed in this terrible war of choice, we have been working hard on a short film that will not let that horrific day go unnoticed.  Watch the film and spread it far and wide: see above or visit Tell Us The Mission.

We've also got a contest looking for what SHOULD have been on the "mission accomplished" banner. Submit your banner and the winning one will be on car bumpers all over the country! (You'll get some cool stuff too) For more details, and to enter:

https://tellusthemission.org/home/win

The spoken word performance in the video was done by a wonderfully talented young man, Steven Connell, who's been in feature films on HBO, Showtime and MTV. He is a strong, creative, and articulate voice in reaching a young and diverse audience. We are grateful for his time and effort, and to Norman Lear who first found and called Steven to the attention of a wider audience.

Just days before this video and website was to go online, an American soldier serving in Afghanistan wrote an op-ed which has since stirred up a national debate. The soldier questioned why we do not lower the flag to half-staff when a soldier dies at war. We at Brave New Foundation were so inspired by his question that we decided to begin a petition to amend the US Flag Code.

Sign the petition to have flags lowered for a day each time an American service member dies at war:

https://tellusthemission.org/

Please forward this on far and wide -- to your friends, schools, churches, to any local television or radio. We must not let this day go unnoticed. We must make our voices and passions heard.

Robert Greenwald and the Brave New Foundation team
https://www.robertgreenwald.org/

Online Videos by Veoh.com
Tom Haden: Stop the Iraq War

Hold an America's Dialogue Discussion

From America's Dialogue:
I’m writing from Eugene, Oregon, to let you know about an unprecedented week of national grassroots discussions taking place April 14-22, 2007; and to invite your participation and your help in getting the word out to friends and acquaintances all across the country. The project is AMERICA’S DIALOGUE. You can get more information at AmericasDialogue.org. During this week, people will be gathering in small groups all across the country to discuss the future of America.

What kind of America, and what kind of world, do we want to see? What are our priorities as a nation and a people? These discussions will be centering around a new 42-minute video about Hiroshima, nuclear weapons, nuclear waste, and the human cost of militarism and war. The video will serve both as an educational experience for millions of Americans, young and old, and as the catalyst for our discussions about America.

The video - AMERICA’S DIALOGUE - is available on DVD; but people can also form discussion groups and view the video on their computer on our website. The following page connects you to the video on our
site and to the video on Google Video:

.

If you would like a DVD to show at a meeting, just let me know the exact address and I’ll be glad to send a copy. You’re free to copy the DVD and share it with others. You can also use the video as part of a fundraiser or membership drive for your own group if you like.

We’d love to hear from you - any ideas and suggestions and plans to view the video and participate in America’s Dialogue. We would also appreciate your letting anyone and everyone you know, both locally
and across this country, find out about AMERICA’S DIALOGUE. We’ll be networking with many individuals, groups and organizations all across the country to initiate an unprecedented dialogue about the future of our country.

America’s Dialogue
P.O. Box 12144
Eugene, OR 97440
Tele: 1-800-898-9441
Email: thetributeseries@comcast.net
Web: https://www.americasdialogue.org

Video Available of Iraqi Voices Project

From Dal LaMagna, Iraqi Voices Project, Progressive Government Institute: Teamwork between visionaries, technologists, and Iraqi and American politicians may just give us the solutions we need to end the killing that is continuing in Iraq. A live video-conference with members of the Iraq Parliament and the U.S. House of Representatives was convened by Representative Jim McDermott with the help of Dal LaMagna and Raed Jarrar, both of the Progressive Government Institute.

The exchange between the members of Parliament and the Congressmen demonstrates the importance of thinking outside the box and listening to varied perspectives. Over the course of the conference, it became very apparent that there are solutions - concrete solutions that are likely acceptable to all sides - to ending the killing in Iraq. A half hour edit of the two hours of video is available online at the Progressive Government. A transcript of this edited video is also available from that same page or directly by clicking here.