Allen County Democratic Party

If Health Care reform is so bad, why does the GOP have to LIE about it?

So Congressman Mike Pence has been spouting a lot of lies about the new Health Care proposal- here is one worth reading.

Not to be outdone- in today's JG Congressman Mark Souder claims that the health care bill includes assisted suicide.  NOT TRUE.

Why does the GOP feel they have to lie about what is in the bill?

Gubernatorial primary....already?

It's never too early to plan ahead and several Hoosier leaders are considering running for Governor in 2012.  If you are interested in getting a leg up on the 2012 primary, the 2nd District Democratic Committee and the St. Joseph County Young Democrats are sponsoring a Gubernatorial Candidates Roundtable Discussion on August 9, 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. at the UAW Local 5 Union Hall, 1426 South Main Street IN SOUTH BEND.

Participating will be Mayor Tom McDermott (Hammond), Mayor Jonathan Weinzapfel (Evansville), Congressman Baron Hill (9th District, southern Indiana) and Sheriff Roy Dominguez (Lake County).

Should be an interesting discussion - be a part of it!

 

Indiana Democratic Party forming a Latino caucus

From the Indiana Democratic Party:

 

The Indiana Democratic Party is dedicated to the participation of all Hoosiers in the democratic process.  It is in this spirit, that the Party is encouraging the formation of a Latino caucus to help strengthen the participation of Latino Hoosiers. 

 

You are invited to the organizational meeting of the Indiana Democratic Latino Caucus on SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, at 10:00 AM, at the French Lick Resort Casino in southern Indiana.  The inaugural Latino caucus meeting is one of the events at the 129th IDEA Convention, from Thursday, August 27 through Saturday, August 29. 

 

The Latino caucus’ organizational meeting and caucus membership are open to all Indiana Democrats. This exciting annual tradition—the IDEA Convention—will provide a great opportunity for Democrats around the state to join together and celebrate last year's victories and discuss the hard work still to be done.  At the Latino Caucus meeting, participants will finalize the group’s by-laws and governing structure.  Attendees also will select members of the Caucus’ steering committee.  Once the group is formed, its leadership will petition the Indiana Democratic Party Central Committee for formal recognition and for a voting seat on the committee. 

 

If you are interested in attending the caucus’ August 29th organizational meeting and the IDEA Convention, logistical information about the convention at French Lick is posted on the Indiana Democratic Party web site.

Putting an end to the "Birthers"

These people are more than a little nuts.  I found this article very interesting:

One widely circulated YouTube clip of a town hall meeting showed a Republican congressman getting booed for saying Obama is a citizen. Talk show host Rush Limbaugh and CNN's Lou Dobbs have also raised the issue, and 10 Republican members of Congress co-sponsored a bill that would require future presidential candidates to provide a copy of their original birth certificate.

However, it appears Congress has moved on and has accepted Obama's island birthplace. The U.S. House on Monday unanimously approved a resolution recognizing and celebrating the 50th anniversary of Hawaii becoming the 50th state. A clause was included that reads: "Whereas the 44th President of the United States, Barack Obama, was born in Hawaii on August 4, 1961."

State law bars the release of a certified birth certificate to anyone who does not have a tangible interest.

However, Obama's birth certificate along with birth notices from the two Honolulu newspapers were brought forward even before he took office. But that's done nothing to shake the belief by many Obama critics that the president was born abroad.

This is interesting as well.

Hope he didn't mean INDIANA

Those F-22's sure will come in handy...

Rally for Healthcare/Happy Birthday Medicare!

News Release From Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan:

Fort Wayne residents plan to rally support for healthcare reform on Saturday, Aug. 8. The rally will be held on the Allen County Courthouse green, beginning at 10 a.m.

“We want to give everyone the chance to express the depth of support for meaningful change in our healthcare system,” said Mary Gomes, one of the volunteers working on the event. “This is a complicated issue that requires us as citizens to do our homework. The rally will be a fun way to get that done. We also expect to hear doctors and nurses and patients, who feel battered by our system express their outrage at the status quo.”

Speakers, entertainers, musicians, information, participatory art and information on measures making their way through Congress are planned for all ages. There will be petitions to local and national legislators available to sign until noon. Attendees will also have the opportunity to declare support for President Obama’s three principles.

We will also celebrate Medicare’s 44th birthday with cake and ice cream. Free parking is available across the street in the City County Building Parking Garage. Please bring a lawn chair or blanket for seating and a food item for local food pantries.

The rally is co-sponsored by Hoosiers for a Commonsense Health Plan and Organizing for America. There is more information available at those websites.

The real healthcare issue, nicely summarized

From the Washington Post, via this morning's Journal Gazette:

Among the range of options for health-care reform, there's one that is sure to raise your taxes, increase your out-of-pocket medical expenses, swell the federal deficit, leave more Americans without insurance and guarantee that wages will remain stagnant.

That's the option of doing nothing, letting things continue to drift as they have for the past two decades as we continue to search in vain for the perfect plan that would let everyone have everything they want and preserve everything they already have while getting someone else to pay for it.

Thank you, Mr. Pearlstein.  Well said.

Looking ahead to post-2010

What happens every ten years?  The Census.  And then what happens after that?  Redistricting, which sets up who is most likely to control the House of Representatives and state legislatures for the next decade.

h/t to Indy Democrat, via a friend of the blog

Dear Mr. President: an open letter about the sanctity of our health insurance relationships

Great letter!  Thanks to Doug Masson, John Good and Facebook.

The First Six Months

Thanks to Sofia Rodriguez for this:

I get asked almost every day by friends and those opposed to my views how I feel about President Obama now. I always say, he is doing everything he said he would do. He may not be doing it perfectly or as swiftly as some people would like, but I am proud of the job he is doing because A) I wouldn't want that job and B) I can't think of a single person that would be better in his position. Whatever your passion, I think you will find several things below to make you smile at his accomplishments for the American people. Dust off your Obama shirts and buttons and put them on now. He needs the community to see that he has support today and everyday. I have one of my O shirts on as I type this.

 

• Signed executive orders to close the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, within a year, ban torture and end the CIA’s secret overseas prisons and define treatment of Detainees.
• Reversed restrictions on stem cell research.
• Signed the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act reducing discrimination based on gender, age, religion, or race.
• Creates the White House Council on Women and Girls "to provide a coordinated federal response to the challenges confronted by women and girls and to ensure that all Cabinet and Cabinet-level agencies consider how their policies and programs impact women and families."
• Signed a Presidential Memorandum extending federal benefits to same-sex partners of federal workers and announced support for the Domestic Partners Benefits and Obligations Act of 2009.
• Reverses U.S. position on LGBT Issues at the UN: At the "Durban Review Conference," U.S. supports language condemning “all forms of discrimination and all other human rights violations based on sexual orientation.”
• Signed executive order requiring federal contractors to offer jobs to current workers when contracts change.
• Reversed a Bush order requiring federal contractors to post notice that workers can limit financial support of unions serving as their exclusive bargaining representatives.
• Signed executive order preventing federal contractors from being reimbursed for expenses meant to influence workers deciding whether to form a union and engage in collective bargaining.
• Created a foreclosure prevention fund for homeowners.