June 25th is National Sick-Out Day for Single-Payer

[clear eye]

This is a one-day general strike. Will only work if it goes viral, so pass it on.

[Cleita]

1. Did you post this in GD too? It will get more eyes.

I think you need to put some more information up though like sponsors and other particulars.

[clear eye]

2. It's a bit confusing

because at least one single payer group, 1payer.net, has signed on, but I just found out that some "public option" groups have joined in (co-opted?) it as well. At any rate, by featuring fact-poor, anti-single payer journal entries by MadFloridian and Time for Change on the Front Page, and keeping them there for multiple days, the admins are showing where they stand. I don't want to increase the co-option of the event by drawing it to the attention of these privileged authors, who might decide to spin it.

[John Q. Citizen]

3. By coincidence it turns out I'm going to be in DC on the 25th as a tourist and

I registered with 1payer net a month ago and haven't heard a thing back. i offered to help organize in MT but nothing, and they still have no organizer listed for MT so who knows?

I wouldn't get paranoid about the admins. It's a waste of good time. It's all speculation anyway.

My guess is they, like most people, would prefer a single payer system. I mean what''s not to like?

While the people who were silent as single payer was shut out are feeling guilty and trying to assign blame for why a large chunk of the public isn't too happy to be led to the public option joke, i say who cares?

most aren't my enemy, even if they haven't shown themselves to be my friend. They know what happened and why it happened.

My advice is just keep plugging away. That's how things get done, ultimately.

When I'm in DC, I'll just go lobby my Reps on single payer. I was planning to anyway. :)

[clear eye]

4. 1payer.net is one lawyer in Utah

He's managed to get a passable website up, gotten the ads produced in part w/ donations of services, and partly w/ his own money. He also runs regular free faxes. These all are a real help to the cause. I spoke w/ him on the phone, and like most lawyers is a little too agressive of a personality to be a good people person. Between that and being way too busy, he hasn't created a real organization. So it's not surprising no one got back to you. A couple of months ago I offered to copyread the material for his website--I'd found many small errors in it--and he didn't get back to me, either. Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses.

So it's wonderful you've decided to go ahead on your own. If you contact Healthcare-Now! they can give you pointers. The phone # of their hdqtrs. in NYC is 212-475-8350. The DC contact is John Walsh and his email is jwalsh2222yahoo.com and the MT contact is Phil Campbell MTSailorbresnan.net

Tell us all about it when you get back.

[clear eye]

5. Corrections (too late to edit)

The Healthcare-NOW! website had the "at" in the email addresses in brackets, and the DU site uses brackets for html, so that part ended up missing from my post. Sorry that I didn't realize it sooner. The corrected addresses are: John Walsh from DC--jwalsh2222<at>yahoo.com and Phil Campbell from MT--MTSailor<at>bresnan.net

[Cleita]

6. I'm thinking of going too if I can, but I'm not making any promises.

I have to get kitty care and some time off of work to do so. I might try to talk my employer, a doctor, in coming with me. That way we can close shop by not scheduling any patients. He's also a single payer advocate. I would like to see enough people there to jam the halls of Congress, K street and anywhere else we can make our presence known.