District 10 Democrats

* Upcoming Events – Get Your Calendars Out!!!

            * Tues., June 16 – 6:30 p.m. D 10 Social Plus Vets Outreach Com. Mtg,  Don Pedro’s Cantina, NE Corner of 28^th Dr and Cactus Rd., come one/come all to eat, drink and talk with other friendly Dems. RSVP 623-931-6519 or just show up!!!

            * Wed, June 17 - Nucleus Club Lunch. 11:30 am-1pm., Wyndham Hotel, 50 E. Adams, Guest speaker: William Harris, president and CEO of Science Foundation Arizona. RSVP before noon on Tues, June 16 at 602-234-6545. Cost for guests: $40. http://ww2.nucleusclub.org

            * Fri., June 19 - Arizona Democratic Party’s Annual Heritage Dinner.
7pm Cocktail Reception; 8pm Dinner. Featured speaker: Ellen Malcolm, president and founder of Emily’s List. For details, visit www.azdem.org.

            * Sat., June 20 – 7:30 a.m.  NW Democratic Breakfast Club, Hometown Buffet, 1502 W. Bethany Home Road, Guest Speaker:  Sam Wercinski, Candidate for Sec. of State, former County Chair.    Contact Kathleen O’Brian to 602-862-0078 or obelucky1@cox.net for more info.

            * Saturday, June 27 – “The New Deal: A Democratic Shindig” – 11 a.m., IBEW Local Union 640 Hall, 5808 N. 7^th Street, RSVP at info@maricopademocrat.com  PC rate $25. Non-PC rate $30.

            * Sat., June 27 -  PC Plus Training, 1 p.m.  County Demo Offices, 2915 N. Central Ave., NW corner of Thomas and Central.

            * Tues, June 30 – Mega Heath Care Forum - Wyndham Hotel Phoenix details to follow or contact R. Knox bvaandrk@earthlink.net. 

            * Thurs., July 2 – Nucleus at Night.  ‘about’ 6 p.m. at the bar in the Wyndham, 50 E. Adams, free with a ‘no host bar’ and a chance to meet other friendly Dems plus candidates!! 

            * Tuesday, July 14 – Regular monthly District 10 meeting, 7 p.m. West Valley Office –  Speaker: Petty Kotterman, candidate for State Superintendent of Public Instruction,

            * Tues., July 21,  D 10 Social Plus Vets Outreach Com. Mtg,, 6:30 p.m. -  Don Pedro’s Cantina, NE Corner of 28^th Dr and Cactus Rd., come one/come all to eat, drink and talk with other friendly Dems. . RSVP 623-931-6519 or just show up!!!

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DON’T JUST SIT THERE AND COMPLAIN —-  CALL, CALL, CALL, CALL, CALL

The Governor at 602/ 542-4331

And tell her to negotiate with the Democrats and moderate R’s to develop a budget that protects AZ’s future!!!

You can also call or contact your D 10 Legislators about any and all issues and bills at:   

Senator Linda Grey – 602/926-3376 lgrey@azleg.gov; Rep. Jim Weiers, 602/926-4173 jweiers@azleg.gov; and Rep. Doug Quelland, 602/926-3024  dquelland@azleg.gov.

 

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Progressive Radio is “kinda” Back.   Please tune into 1010 AM from  11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. daily to hear Jeff Farias!!

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Rep. Kysten Sinema selected for President Obamas Health Care Reform group

Assistant House Democratic Leader Krysten Sinema has been selected as one of 32 state legislators nationwide to help President Obama reform health care.  Valerie Jarrett, Senior Advisor to the Pres, told Sinema (the only state lawmaker chosen from Arizona) real health care reform will come from Dems & R’s from across the country.  As a former state legislator himself, the President of the United States appreciates legislators’ unique perspectives on this issue, Jarrett said.  Sinema will work with other state legislators in the President’s health care reform group to share best practices & lessons learned from their respective states to help shape national health care reform… & work to create a dialogue between state leaders & Congressional delegations, & will have weekly conference calls with the White House. “I’m so grateful & honored..,” Sinema said. “Our health care system is broken & families & businesses are being crushed by high health care costs. The American people, including right here in Arizona, deserve better.” Obama‘ plan does three things: reduces costs to make health care affordable, protects a patient’s choice of doctors, hospitals and insurance plans and assures quality affordable health care for all Americans. For more information, please visit www.healthreform.gov.

 

FACTOID.     Maricopa Co is one of the largest counties in the nation, and the one with the most registered Democrats in the state of Arizona.  Yet Pima County out-fundraises us and has more PCs per precinct.  So, what an opportunity for us D’s in Maricopa County!!

 

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Highlights of the June 6, 2009 Maricopa County Democratic Party Meeting

            Thanks to Virginia Ginter and Michael Payne for helping out at the registration table!! Terry Goddard, AZ AG, roused the crowd by talking about his passion for AZ and justice & that the current Leg’s policies will do irreparable harm to AZ, with their & the Govs budgets being ‘manifestos for disaster.’  …time to mobilize for 2020 is NOW & we must not fall into the trap of becoming “Republicans ‘light’”!  Reps David Lujan (Minority Leader) & Chad Campbell (Minority Whip) pointed out that we ‘can’t CUT our way out of this crises;’ we were 50^th in ed funding BEFORE the current 1.3 billion cuts!; the R’s propose to privatize prisons including death row!!; &  the Gov’s budget includes massive tax breaks for special interests, a limit to future govt growth (known as ‘TABOR’ — misnamed the ‘taxpayers bill of rights’) & that homebuilders were given a moratorium on impact fees as a way to increase home sales (as if that is making the housing market tank) thus passing the costs on to existing homeowners!!    My own view:  We need lots more Chad Campbells in the Legislature!!

            Donna Greathouse was elected the new county 2^nd vice chair via an instant run off method!!!  Donna was an LD vice chair 2006-08, an Obama DNC Delegate in 2008, a US Navy Vet, Emerge AZ Graduate, GemDems  & Union Member.

            Doug Mings, Co. Ex. Dir., (and recent D 10 speaker) described the County’s new Strategic Plan, which focuses on building strong Demo district organizations & clubs; uses a neighborhood & team model; raising money (www.maricopademocrat.com to sign up) & getting candidates for school bds, city, town, county & similar races as stepping stones to the Leg. & other statewide offices. As an example, he said one school district that is over 60% Demo in registration has R’s holding over 60% of the school board positions!!  Ken Chapman, the PC Plus guy just hired by Organizing for America (OFA), spoke about PC+ saying he hoped every PC would attend;  each district should have no more  than seven teams, to support each other.  

            Thanks to District 10’s own Judy Kennedy, chair of the Co. By-Laws Committee, two by-law changes were passed, i.e., to form a County Vets Outreach Committee & clarify the timing of District elections.  

            Ann Wallack, County Chair (and recent D 10 speaker) focused on the need to increase turnout in 2010 using PEV, pointing out that 121,231 registered Ds didn’t vote in 08!!!   82.6% of R’s voted while only 78.1% of D’s voted, i.e., the difference between victory & defeat!!     Catherine Miller, co. treasurer, said the county budgeted $335,000 for this year (copies of the budget were distributed), there was $28,491 in the bank, & teams were meeting at the County office every Mon. from 5-8 p.m. to ‘call for $’s’ with everyone welcome!!

 

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Countering Health Care Reform Myths:  Be Informed

            * The extended summary of the Patients’ Choice Act (Republican plan re health care reform) argues, “Patients should be able to choose from a variety of private insurance plans. The Federal government would run a health care system — or a public plan option — with the compassion of the IRS, the efficiency of the post office, and the incompetence of Katrina.”  (who was responsible for Katrina??) and when folks talk about govt. rationing health care and bureaucrats in control, doesn’t our present private system ‘ration care’ and employ lots of bureaucrats whose job it is to refuse medical care or reduce payments to make sure the company makes a profit!!! That’s what a ‘for profit’ company is supposed to do!!!  Finally a goodly portion of health care is already govt run if you add up Medicare, Medicaid (AHCCCS), VA and prisons!!  

 

Swiftboating Health Care Reform  A few weeks ago, following NBC’s Meet the Press, the right-wing group Conservatives for Patients’ Rights (CPR) aired a 30-minute paid advertisement ”The End of Patients’ Rights: The Human Consequences of Government Run Health Care.”…the program featured “horror stories” … to chip away public support for reforming the U.S. health care system…”the infomercial, despite a ‘paid programming’ label in the upper-left hand corner of the screen, had the appearance of a ‘60 Minutes’ special” –without the credibility!!. The disgraced former CEO of Columbia/HCA Healthcare & now chair of CPR, Rick Scott, appeared multiple times warning that health care reform would result in the rationing of care, long waiting lists, & diminished quality. CPR’s ad was premised on the false notion that “certain nefarious Democrats want to import British and Canadian health care into the United States.”… as Wonk Room health care blogger Igor Volsky …, “CPR conflates deficiencies of the foreign health care systems with American reform efforts, but fails to cite a single Democrat who would want to copy-and-paste the British or Canadian examples.” CPR’s infomercial “…spends time warning Americans about the so-called “horror stories” of foreign health care system on which they will never have to rely….Scott is “credited with transforming the American health care system into the profit above-all-else culture currently plaguing America.” …. to turn his former company Columbia/HCA into the “McDonald’s” of the health care industry, Scott’s company “increased Medicare billings by exaggerating the seriousness of the illnesses they were treating,” “granted doctors partnerships in company hospitals as a kickback for the doctors referring patients to HCA,” and “gave doctors ‘loans’ that were never expected to be paid back, free rent, free office furniture, and free drugs from hospital pharmacies.” The government pursued Scott’s company in a seven-year fraud investigation that resulted in Columbia/HCA being fined $1.7 billion…the real horror stories came out of the abusive & negligent ways in which Columbia/HCA hospitals treated patients…nursing staff was reduced…to save costs… newborns being “attended as infrequently as every three hours.”…. Scott’s tenure as head of Columbia/HCA is a prime example of what Americans can expect from their health care system in the future of so-called “free market” health care advocates win out… CPR hired CRC Public Relations, the group “that masterminded the ‘Swift Boat‘ attacks against John Kerry.” CRC … using as a model the “‘Harry and Louise’ ads that helped torpedo health-care reform during the Clinton administration.” In March & April, the group spent $1.2 million on ads, with another $1 million spent in May alone….seeded with millions from Scott’s personal fortune… their campaign is rife with warnings that health care reformers are determined to emulate the health care systems of Great Britain and Canada for use in the U.S….fear mongering about single-payer health care systems is dishonest.. Jonathan Cohn… in his book Sick, “…stories about Canada are wildly exaggerated…pinched access to services in Britain…isn’t a product of universal health care…a product of universal health care on the cheap.” “The British spend just 7% of their national wealth on health care, less than half of what Americans spend. It’s possible to spend more than that–and get more–while still spending less than the United States does. A perfect example is Japan. Relative to the United States, Japan spends about 60 & as much of its wealth on health care. But the Japanese don’t wait for medical services. … Japan leads the world in the availability of technology such as CT scanners & MRI machines,”  Washington Post blogger Ezra Klein notes, despite wait times for non-essential care in Britain, the outcomes for care do not appear to be worse. (Progress Report)

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You’re Never Too Old to Learn so…..

Did you think you were literate but yet find yourself confused when you see some new terms?  Well, as progressives we need to be able to adapt and learn new things.

            * GOVT = get out the vote!!!

            * OFA = Organizing for America (a kinda continuation of the Obama campaign) now getting organized in AZ, providing training & almost completed with a statewide listening tour.  ofazriona@dnc.org 

            * PEV = Permanent Early Voting.  The focus of D 10, the county/state is getting as many D’s as possible registered on the PEV list so they will mail-in ballots thus not miss elections due to illness, last minute trips or other emergencies

            * PC = precinct committeeperson; the fact of the Democratic Party in your neighborhood; you get to vote in county meetings, get discounts to county events; help register voters and GOVT (see above).  Openings all over D 10; contact 602/942-6436 or bvaandrk@earthlink.net if interested.  No pay but the benefit of helping shape the future of AZ and this nation!!

            * PC+ = a new training program that focuses on team and neighborhood development, blends strategy and activism, builds community via respect, empowerment and inclusion.  

            * VAN = voter activation network; a system developed by the Party that allows pre

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Speaking Truth to Power!!

            Please send me copies of letters you write to elected officials and local newspapers,        especially if they don’t get printed!!  This e-letter will print them!!!

 

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Want Some “Democratic News??”

Then please subscribe to a new newspaper “The Arizona Democrat” to get local, national news, state and federal issues, individual voting records and positions taken by our state legislators, as well as opinions from State, County and District leaders statewide.  12 issues for $19.95    www.thearizonademocrat.com or contact 602/993-0466

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GETTING TO KNOW D 10 ACTIVISTS– Please volunteer & submit your bio to R. Knox at bvaandrk@earthlink.net!!!!

 

Web Sites.   Please don’t forget to periodically check the web sites for D 10, AZ Democratic Party and the West Dems office, respectively at www.district10dems.com, www.azdem.org, www.maricopademocrat.com and www.westdems.com.   AND please note that due to D 10’s volunteer photographer, Chuck Howey, our site now has pictures of past events!!!

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Make This YOUR E-letter.  Please send your suggestions, whether serious, funny, controversial or ?? to bvaandrk@earthlink.net