John Kerry Launches the “Give Voice to Our Values” Project

[kerrygoddess]

DU'ers ... if you have not signed this yet... PLEASE DO! And please send letters to your Senators supporting this (see the link below for links on the LUTD Blog to send letters to Senators)!

IT'S ABOUT KIDS NOT KERRY!


John Kerry Launches the “Give Voice to Our Values” Project
1 February 2005

John Kerry told us last week when he introduced the “Kids Come First Act” that he was going be relentless in pushing this issue, and he is. In an email just starting to make its way out to his email list of nearly 3 million subscribers, Kerry introduces his new “Give Voice to Our Values” project.

In his email, John Kerry says:

In less than 36 hours, President Bush will use his State of the Union speech to stampede the country into a false sense of crisis on Social Security, while ignoring the real and immediate crisis of 11 million American children waking up this morning without health insurance.

But, we won't accept the President's refusal to act as the final word on meeting the needs of our children. Not a chance. Last week, our Senate introduction of the Kids First Act of 2005 added even more energy to our drive for citizen co-sponsors for this vital legislation. Nearly 500,000 people have now signed on to our efforts.

Here's what's next:

This week, I'm calling on the johnkerry.com community to "Give Voice to Our Values" by providing vocal support for our effort to provide every child in America with health care coverage. I need you to be a part of this effort.

Make Your Personal Call Right Now.

Call our "Give Voice to Your Values" project at 1-866-876-4490. At this toll-free number, you can record a message describing, in your own words, why it is so critical for America to Put Kids First.

If you have a personal story about a child living without health insurance, I hope you'll see it in your heart to share it. But, whatever your individual circumstance, it is essential that Americans from all walks of life give vocal support to our Put Kids First initiative.

The “Give Voice to Our Values” Project will be “compiling recorded messages from across America.” Now is your chance to add your voice to this very important project, as I just did.

This is a very personal issue for me because I’m a self-employed single mother. I cannot even begin express how important this is to families like my own all across this country. My kid is one of those “11 million children” with out healthcare insurance. I worry about this every day.

It’s hard enough for families with two incomes to pay for healthcare insurance through their employers, but when you are self-employed with one income, it’s simply a pipe dream. Budget cuts have taken borderline income families off their State medical programs leaving even more children without healthcare than ever.

It’s time to stand up for our values. It’s time to put partisan politics aside and do what is right for the children in this country. Too many parents lie awake at night with the same worries that I do. That is why I Have John Kerry’s Back on this issue and I am asking you all to join us here at LightUpTheDarkness.org in supporting the “Kids Come First Act.”

John Kerry ended his email saying, “If we want to give full expression to the strong grassroots support for putting Kids First, we've got to create new tools for making our voices heard.” LightUpTheDarkness.org launched the “We’ve Got Your Back” campaign on January 27th to do just that.

Please join our effort by sending letters to your local Senators urging them to Co-Sponsor “Kids Come First” and if you have a website or blog please save our “We’ve Got Your Back” graphic to your server and upload it on to your website to show your support of this very important issue. As grassroots activists, we have all learned that our actions can make a difference, so let’s make a difference for the kids of America.

LINKS - http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=309

[Liberty Belle]

1. Kick! I called and left my message saying

my daughter needed a $25,000 heart surgery when she was 5. Thank God we had insurance. How many kids today would die because their parents can't afford such expensive treatment?

FYI, a new Harvard study just out shows that 50% of all bankruptcies in the US are due to medical expenses.

[kerrygoddess]

3. Thank you LB!

Hope your daughter is doing well.

It's rough not having healthcare insurance. Been a year now for me and my daughter.

[Liberty Belle]

14. Healthcare should be a right, not a privilege for the rich.

We have insurance, but the deductibles are so high that we often go without care, plus they won't cover my prescription meds. The insurance co says I should take the generic, never mind that I'm allergic to it.

[MISSDem]

21. That study found that most of the bankruptcies

were among people who did have health insurance.

[LittleClarkie]

2. We rank 29th in infant mortality

read this article from the USA today. After years of progress, we've stalled in the areas of infant mortality and obesity.

That is a travasty for an afluent country like ours.

[LittleClarkie]

4. Okay, I felt like a dork, but it's done

I just simply said just what I said below, which was that in a great country such as ours, it's a travasty that we are ranked 29th in infant mortality, and that we can do better. Then I thanked them for the opportunity.

So awkward. I'm sure I sounded like a dork.

[Kool Kitty]

5. I'll bet you sounded just fine.

And it is a travesty and a tragedy.

[kerrygoddess]

6. Well I ...

got all tongue tied and choked up when I called. Talk about feeling like a fool. I write better than I speak!

:bounce:

[LittleClarkie]

7. I write MUCH better than I speak

It's hard to copyedit your mouth. There's no delete button, and you can't read it over first before your brain hits "send."

[eridani]

8. Here's what I said

John, I was a healthy little rug rat who was raised by parents with serious health problems. They couldn't get insurance at any price due to 'pre-existing conditions' (an expression which is utterly without meaning in the rest of the industrialized world), so our household budget went from comfortable for small town 50s America to below welfare allotment levels very frequently. There is a reason why flight attendants tell you to put your own oxygen mask on before you help your kids.

Kids aged 2-18 are our healthiest demographic. Why not go big and ask for real universal health care for everyone, and have your Put Kids First plan as a backup consolation prize? (If we can't get universal health care, anything we can get will help.) John, I want a pony, but I'll take a kitten if I can't get the pony.

[LittleClarkie]

9. You're asked to give your opinion of why it's important to put kids first

If you don't consider it important to put kids first, why would you call the number. They didn't set it up so you could call with your own agenda. That's what his senate office phone number is for. Call them.

It just doesn't make sense to me to bogart their dime for your own purposes. Seems kind of rude to me.

[eridani]

10. Enabling their parents to support them IS putting kids first!

Adults are far more likely to have expensive trauma or chronic illness than kids, and they are the ones supporting the kids.

[kerrygoddess]

12. Some Statistics for You

FYI, WHEN KIDS GET SICK, PARENTS MISS WORK!

1 in 3 had no health insurance during 2002 and 2003.
1/4 of children are not fully up to date on their basic immunizations.
1/2 of uninsured children have not had a well child visit in the past year.
1 in 6 has delayed or unmet medical needs.
1 in 5 has trouble accessing health care.
1 in 4 does not see a dentist annually.
1/3 with chronic asthma do not get a prescription for medications they need.

[eridani]

46. They miss work with sick kids even if the kids are insured.

Taking care of these things would be all to the good, but that does not address the fact that their parents' illness is far more likely to destroy the family's income source. That's why I'd like to see the Kerry plan as a consolation prize.

[kerrygoddess]

51. Actually

Kids tend to get sicker more often than parents and bring home things like colds and the flu from school. With healthcare insurance for kids some of this can be prevented.

As a parent with no healthcare for myself or my kid, I think this is a great start.

[eridani]

58. Insurance is irrelevant to colds and flu

I don't know anybody who goes to a doctor for these things, insured or not. I'm talking serious disability here.

[REP]

11. Excellent Message!

Thank you so much for getting it!

What good is healthcare for Johnny and Sissy if Mom and Dad are too disabled by illness to work?

[kerrygoddess]

13. Evidently some of you with the snide comments

DON'T HAVE KIDS! If you did you would get this.

So here's a little story about a kid who's parents can't afford health insurance...

The boy was diagnosed in May 2003 with a grapefruit-sized malignant tumor called a rhabdomyosarcoma. Because of the tumor's size and its location in the brain -- most are in the limbs -- doctors were not able to remove it, Dingman-Grover said. But several chemotherapy treatments shrank it to the size of a peach pit.

Now, David needs a highly specialized biopsy to determine whether the tumor is still cancerous or if it has been reduced to scar tissue, his mother and doctor said.

David's biopsy is scheduled for Feb. 2. The family still has to help pay for the anesthesiologist and other hospital fees, but the $40,000 in private donations they have received since the case caught the public's attention earlier this month will more than adequately cover them, Dingman-Grover said.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6896876/

[eridani]

47. I had parents that were too sick to earn money, though

David would be in serious trouble if one of his parents had cancer as well.

[kerrygoddess]

50. I'm sorry...

If they were too sick to earn money, then they must have had government disability, medicaid etc and so you were covered too as a kid?

As it stands right now from budget cuts a lot of familes that used to qualify for State medical benefits do not any longer.

If you had kids of your own you might feel differently about this and what your parents went through.

[REP]

53. I'm Sorry Too

I hope all the adults with chronic, disabling illnesses live long enough to qualify for Medicaid - two years after they qualify for SSD, and that can two years to an SSD claim approved. I hope their children don't go without anything while their parents are struggling with devastating illnesses.

Why does it have to one or the other?

[eridani]

59. Um, this was the ***50s***

No such thing as Medicaid or Medicare. My mom could work some of the time even with severe arthritis, and this didn't qualify for SSI. My father had 4 heart attacks, but could work when not recovering, so was not considered disabled. Seven house refinancings were necessary to pay off accumulated debt over his lifetime.

[kerrygoddess]

60. Again sorry

You are so bitter and do not understand how this can help people who are in need.

[eridani]

62. I understand it fine--I just think we should ask for more.

I sure hope you aren't a professional negotiator. I wouldn't want someone working for me who would take my bottom line minimum acceptable offer and put it on the table as the first offer. This is just stupid. Ask for what we need, dammit! We are already paying for universal health care, we just aren't getting it!

Of course the Rethugs won't accept it. They won't accept Kerry's more limited plan either, so why take the cowardly approach as a starting point? If you ask for the pony, you stand a better chance of getting the kitten.

[kerrygoddess]

63. We all know we all need healthcare

We all all know they will not give it to us. However, by asking for healthcare only for kids then Kerry sets them up to show their true family values. They have none. Turning this down will them look bad to every parent in this country!

He's backing them up against a wall and either they do this and save face or they don't and lose voters.

[eridani]

64. He could do the same thing with universal health care

and then, when they turn him down, he raises a huge public stink about it and sez, well, if you are going to be hardassed about it, what about just kids? They turn him down again, and he gets a second chance to ream them a few new ones. See?

[kerrygoddess]

66. It would not have the same impact

The repubs are supposed to be about family values, so that would not have the same impact.

I understand your feelings about healthcare for all... and I agree it is something that we all should have.

John Kerry is very intelligent man who researchs things very carefully and I trust he knows what he is doing on this.

[eridani]

73. Kids are not the only members of a family

And they certainly don't provide its financial support. If Kerry expects wild enthusiasm from people who have to deal with the broken system (the vast majority of whose victims aren't kids), he isn't going to get it. Support, yes, but the only thing that is going to propel me into the phone bank and the canvassing project is universal health care, period.

[REP]

55. Why So Hateful?

Here's a little story about adults who are losing their coverage so children can keep theirs (TennCare):

"News of Gov. Phil Bredesen's plan to remove 323,000 Tennesseans from the state-run health-care program for the poor and uninsurable was not taken well by those who will soon find themselves without coverage if the federal government approves the change.

''I can't believe he did this to us. I voted for him because I thought he was the man to help us out of the mess,'' said Kelly Swan, 35, of Murfreesboro, an insulin-dependent diabetic who also has kidney problems.

''I haven't cried yet, but I'm going to when my husband gets home. I am so disappointed. What do I do now? That's what I want to know. I have two major surgeries scheduled soon. Am I still going to be able to be covered?''

For Lisa Cowell, a 44-year-old mother of two who has asthma, complicated by gastrointestinal and pulmonary disease, the loss of her TennCare coverage is sure to have an adverse effect on her family's finances.

''One serious incident with my asthma and I'll be in the hospital at $2,000 to $3,000 a pop. It may not be a lot of money to Governor Bredesen, but it's a lot of money to me. We wouldn't be able to last long like that."

http://tennessean.com/government/tenncare/archives/05/01/63959631.shtml?Element_ID=63959631

[kerrygoddess]

56. I heard about that...

It's a big mess we are in here! A big mess!

[LittleClarkie]

57. How does this mean that adults are losing coverage so kids can keep theirs

I'm confused by how you phrased that, almost as if you resented them for it? You didn't mean it that way, did you?

I agree with the person who said we shouldn't have to pick. It's like having to decide between food and rent. Both are needful.

[TayTay]

15. Because you are not going to get it

You are not going to get any health care reform with the Rethugs in power. At all. They are opposed to this and, in fact want to cut people from the roles.

So, why do I support this? Because it is the first piece in the puzzle. The Kids Come First act is a good first start. It will put Rethugs in the position of being on the record as being against health care for kids. This can go on their records and be used by their opponents in upcoming elections against them. We will get nothing until we change the Congressional makeup and in order to do that we need some issues to pin them to the wall with. This is one such issue.

I want universal coverage as well. Ain't gonna happen until we change the makeup of Congress. This just might help to do that.

[kerrygoddess]

16. Exactly!

Why people don't get this is beyond me!

[LittleClarkie]

17. Yes, step one: make the Repubs in Congress look like the ogres they are

Step two: use that against them

Step three: get them outta there.

Step four: go for what we know people need.

But as aggressively as Kerry is going at this so far, don't count him out on getting it through. I'm not sure he'll be satisfied with making them look like ogres. He want this thing to pass.

I swear, getting people to do positive things around here sometimes... Hey, it may not be exactly what you are looking for, but it's a positive step. Won't you support that positive step. Or will you just kibutz that it could be better?

[kerrygoddess]

18. Maybe people don't get : IT'S ABOUT KIDS NOT KERRY!

[LittleClarkie]

19. We could call them "Kerry's Kids"

but then it would sound like they'v got MD or something.

[kerrygoddess]

20. LOL!

[eridani]

48. Why not get them on record as being against universal health care as well?

What I really don't get is that we know damned well that we are going to have to compromise with Rethugs in power, and they aren't going to give us a damned thing anyway, so why not go as big as we possibly can in our demands? Demand universal health care and have them go on record against that. Then try "OK, the assholes won't go for univeral, now let's demand that at least kids be covered." And so on.

That we refuse to make the straongest demand just makes us look wussy and weak, especially since 89% of Dem voters and 51% of Repub voters are in favor of universal health care. A bunch of Bush voters in Florida just passed a minimum wage increase by huge margins, so why think small?

[robbedvoter]

22. Great! More "I lost, let's talk values" BS!

Am I supposed to jump up and down here?

[LittleClarkie]

24. It's not talk, it's action

What's wrong with that? What, you don't like kids or something?

He's trying to push through this legislation, and the more stories and signatures he has to use as ammo the better. The more gut wrenching stories he can relate before the Repubs vote the thing down will just make them look more and more like the bastards they are.

Jumping up and down isn't exactly the action I was looking for, no. Do you ever stop being negative long enough to do or say ANYTHING positive? Ever?

This is legislative chicken soup. It can't hurt, and it might help.

What's the problem? What's the damn problem? Why is the Robbed Voter not happy now?

[robbedvoter]

26. "Are you agaist kids?" - South Park retort to those objecting the use

of kids to sell stuff...
I actually do like kids , and their education too. The school my kid goes to loses teachers, programs because of the NLCB your kid-loving Kerry voted for. Sorry pal, I was exposed to 26 years of pure propaganda, I am imune to BS.

[LittleClarkie]

28. He voted for the NCLB that should of been

not the one the Bush Co managed to fuck up by not funding it.

So you like kids, and their education, but not their health care?

Actually, the "what, you don't like kids" thing was semi-facetious. I'm trying it out as my meme against Republicans. I figure if they can accuse us of being haters and hating America, then when they oppose this bill, I can ask them why THEY'RE haters and why THEY hate children. Eh? Eh?

Needs some work, doesn't it.

[robbedvoter]

29. NLCB, funded or not is destroying public education. healthcare-

I would have appreciated if the guy you are doing PR for had voted against the medicare scam.

[kerrygoddess]

34. He Did!

[LittleClarkie]

43. Technically speaking

He fought against the damn thing, but once he determined his vote wouldn't make a difference in stopping it, he went back on the campaign trail. So he fought it until the vote itself, but didn't vote either way. I looked it up on CNN, but couldn't find the vote on the Congressional Record site.

[robbedvoter]

72. He told voters he did - but he left the senate for the final vote.

He told people at the Florida convention that he did - but he lied.
All them technicalities give me a headfache. Check the voting record for the bill: kerry and edwards absent, passed by 2 votes.

[kerrygoddess]

74. You are wrong about how this went down

Kennedy set up a filibuster of this bill, and Kerry, Edwards & Lieberman all participated although they were campaigning.

The actual vote was on November 25th and it passed 54 (yeas) to 44 (nays), two not voting (Kerry & Lieberman)(http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00459)

From the text of the Roll Call Vote on that day:
The legislative clerk called the roll.

Mr. REID. I announce that the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. KERRY) and the Senator from Connecticut (Mr. LIEBERMAN) are necessarily absent.

I further announce that, if present and voting, the Senator from Massachusetts (Mr. KERRY) would vote ``nay.'' - http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/F?r108:1:./temp/~r108IClfyY:e291651:

The critical vote on this was the votes for the Filibuster (cloture), which Kerry, Edwards & Lieberman all participated in. (http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00457 , http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=108&session=1&vote=00458

I went digging for this because I know that there was some discussion about this in the past. However, for all intents and purposes Kerry participating in trying to block this bill, which was the critical vote. When it was clear that they could not block the bill, he went on with his schedule for the campaign and his vote was noted in absentia in the roll call. This bill did not narrowly pass by 2 votes as you noted it passed by 10. Kerry's vote would not have mattered as it only needed a 50% vote to clear.

Find fault with the 11 Dems who did vote to approve this. Kennedy, Kerry, et al tried very hard to block this.

The technicalities are confusing, but the fact remians that Kerry did vote against this.

[LittleClarkie]

75. Nevermind dear

We know, other know, some you will never, never convince.

Best off using your energy for positive action.

Robbie baby ain't never gonna give no one the benefit of the doubt. Like ye ol Testy, it just ain't in the cards.

Some folks would rather paint with the broad brush than find out what actually went down, and in what context.

To them I say, life is not a tv show. Things don't resolved themselves by the end of the hour.

Me, I'm waiting and seeing. So far, I like what I see. Others disagree. That's fine -- they can be wrong if they like.

We know better ;-)

(For some reason, I always think of Henry Rollins when I say that. He did a psa for MTV about gun control. At the end he said, "You can disagree. You're wrong." There was something about how he said it that stayed with me.)

[kerrygoddess]

76. I hear you

I often wonder why people need to go on and on about old news and then not even have their facts straight to boot!

Kerry's doing right by us... you know it... I know it... others know it!

[kerrygoddess]

35. Do you think that you are the only Dem with kids in Public School?

Because you are not! My kid is in a LAUSD High School. Would you like to have a serious talk about underfunding of NCLB and other school programs? Would you like to have a conversation with a parent who can not afford healthcare?

Get a friggin grip... NCLB is NOT Kerry's fault. Yours is the propaganda!

I absolutely love it when people start spouting Rovian talking points around here. A lot of help that is to making some changes to make things better for our kids.

[MISSDem]

23. IMHO, we should "Put Kids First" by teaching healthy habits

to kids. This is the real "health care" as in preventive care. Medical attention should be needed after we have done all that we can to help kids be healthy by eating right, getting proper exercise and keeping emotional balance. I know very few families who do any of this. Folks feed their kids McDonalds, etc., let the children sit in front of the TV or video games or the computer and let's don't even talk about the psychology of many children's lives. If we lived healthy there would not be the tremendous strain that there is on the "health care system" and then everyone could have coverage for needed health care because it wouldn't cost so much. Go on and call me naive but you know I'm right.

[LittleClarkie]

25. True, but what about something catastrophic or unforseen

for everyday care, your suggestion is a good one. But health coverage is at its most vital when something catastrophic happens.

Also, part of having coverage IS the preventative aspect. Being able to take your kid in for yearly checkups, where the parents can get information on proper care and such. If they never take the kid in to see a doctor, then they don't get that face to face contact.

[MISSDem]

31. They certainly won't get guidance on healthy living from their M.D.

That would be the last place to look. They don't even teach nutrition in medical school. If they do, I think it must be an elective. In my experience, M.D.s know how to write prescriptions and that is about it. Unless you have suffered trauma and need surgery or need a bone set they are pretty much useless. And as for major health issues, if everyone followed healthy living practices, we wouldn't need this expensive, over burdened "health care" system that is costing us a fortune. As to how to teach people what is healthy and what is not, maybe we could use some of this money we spend on "health care" and have some sort of simple classes to tell people things like Cokes - bad; water - good and Taco Bell - bad; broccoli - good. You know, common sense stuff.

[LittleClarkie]

32. Mine sent me to a nutritionist

Depends on the internist, I suspect. Mine was very thorough, and for my weight problem sent me to a nutritionist first. So they do have them on staff. Depends on who you go to, I guess.

I also have a parish nurse who advocates wellness, but that's a different story.

[sandnsea]

27. Good pediatric care leads to that

When wellness becomes a norm, then the things you mentioned become more of a norm. When segments of society miss the routine doctor's visits where they get all of that information, they are less likely to practice good health habits. It all goes together.

[MISSDem]

33. I have neices who have allergies and they

go to M.D.s Never have the parents been told the #1 thing to do with allergies, loose the dairy. Medical doctors do not know many, many of the things that help one to be healthier. I repeat, doctors know how to prescribe drugs, period. Futhermore, I have never talked to anyone who said that their doctor advised them on healthful eating habits. You won't learn healthy living habits at the M.D.'s office.

[kerrygoddess]

36. I think this is debatable

There are plenty of good Drs out there that do stress healthy living. People need to be smart enough to seek out good Drs and ask them questions.

I have a Dr who advocates good diet and excercise habits, who has never failed to remind me and my daughter when we have sinus infections that dairy will make it worse.

Not all allergies are caused by dairy, FYI. Dust, mold, pollens all play a factor.

[sandnsea]

37. My niece, with excellent health insurance

was given allergy tests and specifically told what not to eat, including dairy. The doctors in my town talk about healthy eating all the time. Maybe you and your nieces need new doctors.

The point is, healthy living is a state of mind. A person has to believe that a healthy life is attainable and part of that is being able to see a doctor. It's about how you see yourself. If you know you're never going to see a doctor unless you're near death, you put health out of your mind. It's just human nature. Cultivating a healthy living frame of mind would be alot easier if children saw doctors routinely.

As far as Kerry's plans, preventative care has always been a major focus. That was a key part of the trade-off in the business health care package, implementing a wellness program. He is trying to move this country away from crisis oriented health care, while Bush's MSA's are herding us right into that foolish and expensive trap.

[DARE to HOPE]

39. I agree with you, MISSDem...

Especially the part about "you won't learn healthy living habits at the MD's office."

In fact, those who actually read the SCIENCE are NOT those who are writing the prescriptions!

Look into the new information about fats. 180 degrees DIFFERENT than we have been taught for 50 years, and what most doctors are still teaching!

Think obesity and heart disease (and depression!) are all your fault? Hardly. Look around--we Americans have been a group of rats for them to experiment on. In the 1940's! THEY KNEW that corn and soy oil would slow down the thyroid, and cause all of the above!

Fish oil, best source of omega-3's, is required for the health of just about every part of us, especially the brain. It turns out that saturated fat is BETTER for us (grassfed butter, grassfed beef, and virgin coconut oil) than the unstable polyunsaturated oils. We are awash in omega-6 fatty acids from all the fried food and baked goods, which is SUPPOSED to be IN BALANCE with the omega-3's. And it turns out that coconut oil HEALS the thyroid, which is a master gland for a lot of other processes.

Walking is good, yes. Fruits and vegetables and whole grains are good, of course. But CLEAN UP the food and water and air! We are awash in allergies due to all the chemicals around us--like a big water barrell, after so many insults, including the penicillin and BGH in the milk, as well as what the family dog brings in, OF COURSE our kids are scratching like crazy. And if they don't have omega-3's and the B vitamins missing from our refined diet, they're also likely to have ADD!

Gosh, I wish Theresa and Elizabeth were in that White House now.

[kerrygoddess]

40. I'll repeat myself

This is all debatable. As scientists and medical profeesionals continue to learn and improve things, they find new and different ways of treating things. Many studies conflict each other.

There are many vegetable oils that are high in Omega-3's including Flaxseed, Walnut and Rice Bran. Eating fish is not recommended due to mercury levels.

Also take in to consideration that every person has different health needs and while some may worry about thyroid, diabetes etc, others do not.

Regardless of all of this, 11 millions kids in this country with out healthcare is a travesty. Kids Come First is start towards fixing our broken healthcare system.

[DARE to HOPE]

41. Debatable, huh...

...just spend some time reading the NiH files about medium chain fatty acids et al.

We need to rethink our whole idea of "health" or we will continue to bankrupt our GNP, no matter who is President.

BTW--I signed Kerry's pledge when he first sent it out--it is not only a good idea, but a good political vehicle, too.

[kerrygoddess]

44. Involved in alternative health industry

I've been involved in the alternative health industry for 9 years so I'm pretty up on all of this.

Preventive care is very important for a lot of people, but not everyone cares to take part in that. As much as some Drs are not helpful, a lot of people simply do not take of themselves.

The info is out there for everyone through the internet.

[MISSDem]

67. Why should we worry about health care for

people who don't care enough to take care of themselves. That is ridiculous.

[kerrygoddess]

68. Nice attitude!

You call yourself a Dem? We're the compassionate ones... not everyone gets that good health means taking care of yourself.

[LittleClarkie]

69. Health care is more than taking care of one's self

There are things that happen to folks through no fault of their own.

What a strange miopic attitude to have... esp. for a Dem.

Reminds me of my Republican grandfather who figured if he didn't have kids in school he shouldn't have to pay school tax.

But these are the people who will be looking after you in your old age. Or not, if they take the attitude that it's not their problem if you didn't take care of yourself.

I think we want our future leaders to be both informed and healthy.

[kerrygoddess]

70. I must agree...

Very myopic attitude. If you break your leg in an accident and you were not careful, should you not have health insurance cover it?

[marcologico]

71. Do you really want to catch chicken pox or polio or malaria from a burger

flipper whose parents couldn't afford immunizations? Or from the dishwasher in a restaurant?

[rainbow4321]

30. Starting w/ the schools....

Our middle and high schools all have soda machines, junk food machines, AND ice cream machines on campus. My high schooler said that the junk food machine had a few healthy choices <trail mix> but then they took the junk food machine away so even the few healthy selections were no longer an option--but they kept the other machines! Remember a few weeks ago a TX lawmaker mentioned wanting to put body fat index scores on kids' report cards?? Notice she did NOT tell the TX schools to DROP their hefty contracts with the companies who put the UNhealthy items on the TX school campuses! Much easier to attack kids' self esteem with the body fat number than it is to piss off the lobbyists/companies down here.

[marcologico]

65. Forget healthy habits, we're talking immunizations. This is serious. n/t

[ginnyinWI]

38. kick

[ArkDem]

42. We must do it for the children.

[kerrygoddess]

61. Yes we must

:bounce:

[kerrygoddess]

45. Email Text is now on JohnKerry.com

http://www.johnkerry.com/email/0201.html

:kick:

[TheDonkey]

49. It's a very good idea, I like how democrats are using technology

in creative ways.

[LittleClarkie]

52. Strange though how they have Kerry commenting after each step

I've never done anything quite like that. Alittle strange. I'm sure it showed in my voice. That and the fact that I did it late last night. I just hope he's getting enough responses.

I can't wait until they update the website and we see how many names there actually are who responded to this. It would be nice to see if this is going to be a viable strategy to use in the future. The recording said they should be updating soon.

[kerrygoddess]

54. FYI - JohnKerry.com Press Room is active again!

The Press Room at JohnKerry.com is active again!

It appears that JohnKerry.com has fired up the Press Room once again, just in time for Kerry's rebuttal to the tonight's State of the Union speech:

Washington, DC - "President Bush said tonight that the state of our union is strong and confident, but millions of Americans know it can and must be stronger. The best way we can instill real confidence in their future is if we follow the true mandate of the last election -- a mandate for unity and true bipartisanship. The political campaigns are over and now we must get down to work. For the 11 million children in this country without health care, we must make our union stronger. For our brave soldiers in Iraq and their families, we must act now in the wake of the Iraqi elections to give them reasons to be as confident about their future as they are courageous under fire.

http://www.lightupthedarkness.org/blog/default.asp?view=plink&id=314