9 Health Care Reform Activists Arrested in Sen. Lieberman's Office Today

How can you write this and (2.50 / 2)

not acknowledge the fact that they are single payer activists?

"Health Care reform activists"?

8 people are sitting-in the office of Sen. Lieberman!

8 people are sitting-in the office of Sen. Joseph Lieberman demanding that he stop taking money from the insurance industry. The massive campaign donations and lobbying spending of the insurance industry is blocking real reform that would provide everyone in America with access to health care. When 45,000 people are dying annually due to lack of health care it is a moral imperative that America act now to provide health care to all. We are able to do this for senior citizens, why not for all Americans?

Please take the following steps:

1. Call Lieberman and tell him to stop taking insurance money. His numbers are: (202) 224-4041and (860) 549-8463.

2. Sign the petition urging Lieberman to stop taking insurance money. Click here to sign the petition now. Urge everyone you know to sign the petition.

3. Make a donation to support the Mobilization. Donate for bail money for those sitting in Lieberman's office.

Since beginning just over one month ago thousands have signed up to participate in "Patients before Profits" sit-ins and over 920 have signed up willing to risk arrest. By the end of this week the Mobilization will have held 32 sit-ins in 28 different cities with more than 150 arrests and over 220 risking arrest. We started out wanting 100 people to risk arrest at "patients before profits" sit-ins and now more than 920 have done so. The Mobilization needs to continue to grow in order to achieve health care for all.

There is anger growing in the country at the failure of Congress to put forward a national health care plan that provides health care to everyone in the United States. It is important that people speak out now to push Congress and the president to achieve this urgent moral imperative. When President Obama ran for office he raised hopes in Americans that health policy would be reformed so that no one would go without health care. When the reform process began he talked about universal coverage now millions will go without health care access ten years from after the reform bill is passed. That is unacceptable. We need to demand that health care reform achieve the basic goal - that no one go without health care in a country as wealthy as America. We can achieve that goal if we speak up now and demand action. The United States has been effectively providing health care to senior citizens for 40 years through Medicare, we can do the same for everyone.

Thank you for your support. Please take action now.

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by: Connecticut Man1 @ Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 11:32:15 AM CST

Because... (3.00 / 3)

I know some of them personally. And while all of them favor reform that includes a public option, not all of them support a single payer plan.

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by: dhaseltine @ Thu Nov 05, 2009 at 18:45:53 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Have you even looked at the website? (0.00 / 1)

Did you notice the entire theme of the place?

On September 27th, the Mobilization for Health Care for All launched a national campaign of "Patients Not Profit" sit-ins at insurance company offices to demand an end to a system that profits by denying people care. We want the real "public option": Medicare for All, a single payer plan that cuts out the profit and puts patients first.

Together, through this campaign, we can turn the tide and win the fight for health care for all. To succeed, we need to organize sit-ins in as many cities as possible in the month of October. The campaign began with the local leadership of Private Health Insurance Must Go (PHIMG) in New York City on September 29th and continued in Chicago on October 8th and in 9 cities across the country on October 15th. The next wave starts on October 28th and we will continue to organize actions in as many cities as possible until we win health care reform that ensures that the insurance companies no longer stand between the American people and the health care that we need. It's time to cut out the profit and put patients first with Medicare for All.

Insurance companies are the real death panels in America.

They are single payer activists.

Their most recent headline?

Four Arrested in Lieberman Office Plan to Stay in Jail Until Demands are Met! Historic First Ever Vote on Single Payer Tomorrow!

The demand made by those sitting-in was that Lieberman stop taking insurance company money so the United States can have health care for all. Four of the nine arrested are refusing to cooperate with the police and intend to stay in jail until he meets this demand.

We need your support to continue the Mobilization, keep the pressure on and provide support to those incarcerated. Please click here to donate now.

In reaction to the sit-in in Speaker Nancy Pelosi's office, the Weiner Amendment for single payer health care, is back on the agenda. It is likely that we will have the historic first-ever vote for single payer health care on the House Floor tomorrow. The Democratic leadership had promised this vote on a single payer national health system, but broke that promise until the sit-in this week. One of the two demands of the sit-in at the Speaker's San Francisco office was to allow a vote on the Weiner Amendment. Please write your representatives and urge them to vote for the amendment when it comes to the Floor. The second demand of the sit-in, including the Kucinich Amendment in the bill, has not yet been met. Click here to write your representative now to urge their support of the Weiner Amendment and the Kucinich Amendment.

Thank you again for your support. We are making progress but it is going to take continued concerted effort to accomplish our objectives.

I know the public option supporters would like to claim them as their own... But I don't think that is a reasonable assessment of who and what "Mobilization for Health Care for All" is. Nor would anyone else that knows what they are about.


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by: Connecticut Man1 @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 08:41:19 AM CST

[ Parent ]

You're talking about the organization as a whole (1.00 / 1)

While I'm talking about the individuals who were actually there.  

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by: dhaseltine @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 13:15:07 PM CST

[ Parent ]

The title distorts reality. (0.00 / 1)

Not acknowledging the fact that they are single payer activists is not reality based.


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by: Connecticut Man1 @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 15:05:16 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Amend your diary to reflect the facts. (0.00 / 1)

Please be reality based.

Two advocates remain in jail refusing to cooperate by not providing identification. Kai Newkirk, national coordinator of the Mobilization, is fasting and is in the DC jail, along with John Morhbacher of Connecticut.

Their demand is clear - publicly pledge to stop taking money from the insurance industry. Join their demand by clicking here to sign a petition to Sen. Lieberman.

When Kevin Zeese, Esq. director of ProsperityAgenda.US met with our colleagues in the cell block, Morhbacker, a member of the Army Reserve in Connecticut, described his senator "as an example of the obstructionists who prevent consideration of Medicare for All.".

Are you that obstructionist too?


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by: Connecticut Man1 @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 15:10:27 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Amend it to reflect the facts (0.00 / 1)

about the people that were actually there:

Nine advocates for Medicare for All were arrested in a patients not profits sit-in in Senator Joseph Lieberman's office.

Not to reflect the people you wish were there.


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by: Connecticut Man1 @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 15:53:59 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Please re-read the information in the first piece from their site: (0.00 / 1)

"There is anger growing in the country at the failure of Congress to put forward a national health care plan that provides health care to everyone in the United States."


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by: Connecticut Man1 @ Fri Nov 06, 2009 at 08:46:06 AM CST

[ Parent ]

You want to play a game of downrating facts? (0.00 / 1)

Fix your diary. It is a lie.


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by: Connecticut Man1 @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 15:15:59 PM CST

[ Parent ]

Fix your attitude (0.00 / 1)

It's lousy.

I'm not changing anything. My friends who were there are not single payer advocates all. They are all advocates for health care reform. I suggest that you drop this nitpicking, wholly unproductive complaining.

Or better yet, make a diary all about my hideous lies and distortion.

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by: dhaseltine @ Tue Nov 10, 2009 at 06:40:04 AM CST

[ Parent ]

You have the attitude problem. (0.00 / 1)

Considering the people at the protest responded that YOU were misrepresenting their views.

And quit troll rating me for pointing out the facts. You don't like it? Fix YOUR mistake.


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by: Connecticut Man1 @ Tue Nov 10, 2009 at 07:53:31 AM CST

[ Parent ]

In my email: (0.00 / 1)

You are misrepresenting them and they know it:

I was one of the nine arrested at the action in Senator Lieberman's Office and I hope to bring some clarity to those of you concerned about certain sources misrepresenting the Sit In. Mobilization for health care for all is for a single payer system and almost all of the protesters were for a single payer system as well.  During the action we purposefully did not mention either the public option or single payer to keep our message simple and clear for the general public that "universal health care for all is a human right."  Our demands of Lieberman were not about legislation but instead outraged at the extreme amount of money he has accepted from insurance companies.

I understand the frustration about this action being misrepresented as for the public option but we can't focus our energy on sources that have already published that information.  We can however, focus our energy on the fact that Jon Mohrbacher, UConn alum, and three others from this action are still in jail. They have chosen to remain in jail until their demands are met, some of them are fasting.  They will probably be released Tuesday but we need to make sure their story continues to be heard in the media accurately!  We all need to help Jon Mohrbacher set-up interviews with media when he returns this week.

Also, there will be more solidarity actions happening this week targeting Lieberman! If you are interested in participating or want more information please call me!

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by: Connecticut Man1 @ Sat Nov 07, 2009 at 16:19:22 PM CST