March & Rally for Single Payer Healthcare in North Miami June 27th

[Joanne98]

By Andrew Markoff

Organizing for America asked Americans to gather together on June 6th to discuss health care reform.

Progressive Democrats of North Miami Dade had a productive meeting that evening in North Miami Beach, which included attendees from Broward because there is not yet a PDA chapter here.

A march and rally supporting single payer health care was planned for a couple of weeks from now. Here is the summary of the meeting and that plan:

We had a great meeting with a lot of personal stories about the inequities, absurdities and tragedies of the U.S. for-profit medical industry, and some good analysis of the underlying political and economic culture of exploitation, corruption and inhumanity that has produced this terrible mess.

More importantly, we developed a plan of action to build support in our local community for a national, not-for profit, publicly-funded healthcare system.

Our work will climax in a March and Rally for Single Payer Healthcare on Saturday June 27th in North Miami. Here is the tentative plan. Please let me know asap if you have suggestions for changes to this plan:

- We will gather in Griffing Park in North Miami at 5 p.m. (West Dixie and NE 122nd Street).
- We will march up West Dixie Highway to NE 125th Street, and then along NE 125th Street to MOCA Plaza (before NE 8th Avenue).
- At the major intersection at NE 6th Avenue, we can pause for a honk-and-wave and to distribute flyers.
- We will hold a rally in MOCA Plaza at=2 06 p.m. with several speakers.

Between now and then:

* We will each write to and call our elected representatives in Congress to tell them that we support HR676 and S703. We will ask Representative Meek, who has co-sponsored HR676, to take a real leadership role on this issue. We will ask Representative Wasserman Schultz and Senator Nelson to reject plans to expand the corporate for-profit medical industry and instead sign on to HR676 and S703.

* We will each spread the word through our own contact networks, by phone, e-mail and text-messaging. Our goal is to activate others to join the single payer movement and do all the things20that we are doing. We recognize that this is a “viral” movement that is taking over the country via word-of-mouth and the internet, so we will maximize these strategies.

* And we will stay in touch with each other to organize door-to-door canvassing, leafleting in public places20and other activities. If you want to do some canvassing or leafletting at a particular place and time, let the rest of us know and hopefully you won’t be out there alone - this sort of work is easier and more fun that way. We will work as a democratic group and share initiatives and ideas with each other.

Here are some online resources that should be helpful:

PDA web site: www.pdamerica.org

To order FREE Healthcare not Warfare flyers (you only pay for the postage):
www.pdamerica.org/pdastore/index.php?act=viewProd&product Id=139

Physicians for a National Health Program web site (lots of good resources and info): www.pnhp.org

The Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Healthcare (National Nurses Organizing Committee and California Nurses Association): www.guaranteedhealthcare.org

PDA board member David Swanson sends out concise and informative action alerts on healthcare and warfare issues. You can sign up at: www.afterdowningstreet.org

David’s web site currently has a link to the House Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions Subcommittee hearing on Single Payer Healthcare at 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, hopefully with a video feed when the time comes.

For further information about the Progressive Democrats of America North Miami-Dade Chapter and the July 27th March & Rally, contact:

Sandy Davies
Progressive Democrats of North Miami Dade
[e-mail]

http://www.bluebroward.org/blog/2009/06/09/march-rally-for-single-payer-healthcare-in-north-miami-june-27th/