On August 14th Sen Gordon Smith will be holding a conference on aging in Salem. Information here.
http://gsmith.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=WebsiteItems.Aging
It is a free event but seating is limited. So call and RSVP your self a seat. If you cant get in don't worry because we will also have a rally outside of the event. This is also the birth date of Social Security and we will mark the date at this event.
If you get into the event or want to come to the rally please let me know.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Friday, July 25, 2008
End of a big week
On Tuesday, I gave a presentation to seniors at the McMinnville Senior Center. Those that I spoke with were excited about the information and asked me to return in the future.
On Thursday we held our membership meeting and I asked our membership to start think seriously about future outreach and activities of the ORARA. Is the something that you would like to see us doing or an event you would like to see us put on? Let us know and we will develop a long term plan for activities and getting the funding to accomplish those goals.
We are also looking for volunteers to work our booth at the Labor Day Picnic. I will be there but I will be organizing and cant work the booth the entire time. Come for as long as you like and help spread the word and message of the ARA with a friendly crowd. Contact Ken Hennrich
if you are interested.
After the membership meeting we held a rally in front of the Social Security office in Portland. We had a handful of activist, enthusiastically showing their support for the long term health and protection of Social Security and or opposition to the comments made by Sen John McCain. The Department of Homeland Security got wind of our rally because it was being held in front of a Federal Building. They were actually really great and were their to make sure things went smoothly and did not bother or harass us.
It was actually a little funny. I was the first person there and they started rolling around the block in their white suburbans. It was a little unnerving. One of them approached me but he was really nice and was interested in what we were doing. I cant help but wonder if my phone and or emails are being monitored since the rally. HAHA.
Although I feel the rally was a success I feel that I learned a lot and that we can do much better in the future. So........... Save the date for August 14th. I will be planning a Social Security birthday rally. I am checking around and seeing if someone else already has something for the date planned so we can team up for the event.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
On Thursday we held our membership meeting and I asked our membership to start think seriously about future outreach and activities of the ORARA. Is the something that you would like to see us doing or an event you would like to see us put on? Let us know and we will develop a long term plan for activities and getting the funding to accomplish those goals.
We are also looking for volunteers to work our booth at the Labor Day Picnic. I will be there but I will be organizing and cant work the booth the entire time. Come for as long as you like and help spread the word and message of the ARA with a friendly crowd. Contact Ken Hennrich
if you are interested.
After the membership meeting we held a rally in front of the Social Security office in Portland. We had a handful of activist, enthusiastically showing their support for the long term health and protection of Social Security and or opposition to the comments made by Sen John McCain. The Department of Homeland Security got wind of our rally because it was being held in front of a Federal Building. They were actually really great and were their to make sure things went smoothly and did not bother or harass us.
It was actually a little funny. I was the first person there and they started rolling around the block in their white suburbans. It was a little unnerving. One of them approached me but he was really nice and was interested in what we were doing. I cant help but wonder if my phone and or emails are being monitored since the rally. HAHA.
Although I feel the rally was a success I feel that I learned a lot and that we can do much better in the future. So........... Save the date for August 14th. I will be planning a Social Security birthday rally. I am checking around and seeing if someone else already has something for the date planned so we can team up for the event.
I hope you all have a great weekend.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Big Day Tomorrow
We have our monthly membership meeting from 10-noon at the Westmoreland Union Mannor. You get out what you put in and the meetings are the best way to put in.
As long as you are up and around come to our Social Security Rally at the Social Security office in Portland 1538 SW Yanhill St from 3-5pm. We want Portland to know that Social Security is not a "disgrace" and privatization is not the cure for any ills it has. Feel free to make a homemade signs. I will have signs and shirts there for you to wear and wave.
Ill see you there.
As long as you are up and around come to our Social Security Rally at the Social Security office in Portland 1538 SW Yanhill St from 3-5pm. We want Portland to know that Social Security is not a "disgrace" and privatization is not the cure for any ills it has. Feel free to make a homemade signs. I will have signs and shirts there for you to wear and wave.
Ill see you there.
Friday, July 18, 2008
Social Security is not a "Disgrace"
Let show the public how much we care about social security. We will rally on Thursday July 24th at the Social Security office in Portland 1538 SW YAMHILL ST, from 3 - 5pm. The purpose is to bring attention to Sen McCain's comments on social security and to his plan to privatize social security.
Please pass the word around to your friends family and groups. Feel free to make a home made sign and wear your Alliance T shirt. If you need a shirt or a ride, let me know because I can get more and I will be organizing car pools.
Feel free to contact me agonzoman00@gmail.com or by phone (310) 528-7973.
Please pass the word around to your friends family and groups. Feel free to make a home made sign and wear your Alliance T shirt. If you need a shirt or a ride, let me know because I can get more and I will be organizing car pools.
Feel free to contact me agonzoman00@gmail.com or by phone (310) 528-7973.
VICTORY!
I know its a little late but I have been busy.
This week the President suffered his first Veto over ride over the issue of protecting Medicare and senior health care. The president once again sided with the insurance companies and the congress stepped up and voted to protect Medicare and Medicare recipients.
Pat yourselves on the back for all the phone calls and hard work you did in making this happen.
This week the President suffered his first Veto over ride over the issue of protecting Medicare and senior health care. The president once again sided with the insurance companies and the congress stepped up and voted to protect Medicare and Medicare recipients.
Pat yourselves on the back for all the phone calls and hard work you did in making this happen.
Monday, July 14, 2008
Social Security is officially a Campaign issue
Social security is now an official issue of the 2008 presidential campaign. There were concerns that Sen. McCain's statements about social security as a "disgrace" would go unnoticed but they are still in the news this week. See the LA Times article here:
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-mccainsocial14-2008jul14,0,3736788.story
This is about Social Security Privatization.
The problem is that there are some who are trying to make Social Security Privatization a legitimate issue. Keep up the letters to the editor and call your representatives and let everyone know that Social Security Privatization equals the end of Social Security.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-na-mccainsocial14-2008jul14,0,3736788.story
This is about Social Security Privatization.
The problem is that there are some who are trying to make Social Security Privatization a legitimate issue. Keep up the letters to the editor and call your representatives and let everyone know that Social Security Privatization equals the end of Social Security.
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Sen. McCain, Social Security, and Disgrace
As many of you may have heard, Sen. John McCain, during a town hall forum, described Social Security as a "disgrace." You can see the entirety of his comments here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCOtRAJef9Q
You can also see an analysis from Talking Points Memo on Sen. McCain's comments and his past remarks on Social Security here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3RnHR9Dxmo&NR=1
What this comment gets to the heart of is Social Security Privatization. What he called the "disgrace" of social security was the way in which it is financed. The same way it has been financed, for over 70 years, is that current workers pay for the benefits of current retirees. Sen. McCain gave us no solutions at the town hall, like the woman asked for in her question, but talks about sitting at a table together with Democrats to fix it, like President Ronald Regan and Tip O'Neill did.
What is left is what Sen. McCain has advocated for in the past, voluntary private investment accounts much like President bush has proposed. All this does is steal money away from Social Security and puts it into the hand of Wall Street brokers. If anyone has been watching, investing money in the stock market recently has not been a smart financial decision. If that plan had gone into effect back in 2000, retirees would see less in their accounts today than what they put in.
The true disgrace is that for the last 7 years the president and the congress have been borrowing from the Social Security Trust Fund and the Lock Box to pay for war, tax cuts for the rich, and Medicare Advantage insurance companies. All they have managed to stick into the Trust Fund Lock Box is a stack of IOU's.
See Rep. DeFazio give a speech back in 2001 on the issues here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-ErdU8Ck8g
We can continue to finance Social Security in the same way its always been done, for an eternity, if we stop stealing from Social Security (money meant to keep seniors out of poverty) to pay for tax cuts for the rich, corporate give aways and war.
We are apparently not doing a good enough job in letting the government know just how important Social Security is to us. Please write letters to the editor, call into radio talk shows, write the candidates, and tell your friends about this important issue.
Be prepared for some action in the next week or so on this issue.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NCOtRAJef9Q
You can also see an analysis from Talking Points Memo on Sen. McCain's comments and his past remarks on Social Security here.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R3RnHR9Dxmo&NR=1
What this comment gets to the heart of is Social Security Privatization. What he called the "disgrace" of social security was the way in which it is financed. The same way it has been financed, for over 70 years, is that current workers pay for the benefits of current retirees. Sen. McCain gave us no solutions at the town hall, like the woman asked for in her question, but talks about sitting at a table together with Democrats to fix it, like President Ronald Regan and Tip O'Neill did.
What is left is what Sen. McCain has advocated for in the past, voluntary private investment accounts much like President bush has proposed. All this does is steal money away from Social Security and puts it into the hand of Wall Street brokers. If anyone has been watching, investing money in the stock market recently has not been a smart financial decision. If that plan had gone into effect back in 2000, retirees would see less in their accounts today than what they put in.
The true disgrace is that for the last 7 years the president and the congress have been borrowing from the Social Security Trust Fund and the Lock Box to pay for war, tax cuts for the rich, and Medicare Advantage insurance companies. All they have managed to stick into the Trust Fund Lock Box is a stack of IOU's.
See Rep. DeFazio give a speech back in 2001 on the issues here
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-ErdU8Ck8g
We can continue to finance Social Security in the same way its always been done, for an eternity, if we stop stealing from Social Security (money meant to keep seniors out of poverty) to pay for tax cuts for the rich, corporate give aways and war.
We are apparently not doing a good enough job in letting the government know just how important Social Security is to us. Please write letters to the editor, call into radio talk shows, write the candidates, and tell your friends about this important issue.
Be prepared for some action in the next week or so on this issue.
Medicare Bill Moves on to the President
After a long fight HR 6331 came to a vote yesterday and passed the senate with a vote of 69 - 30. Senator Kennedy Triumphantly returned to the senate casting a yea vote along with 18 Republicans. That is Nine more than had previously supported the bill. The only absent vote again was Senator McCain who was out on the campaign trail calling Social Security a "Disgrace" More on that later.
You can see the complete roll call vote here:
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00169
In the past the President has promised a Veto. Its hard to tell whether or not the president will follow through with enough votes to override the veto.
Still Senator McCain does not see it fit to show up and vote on senior health. We must do more to encourage Sen. McCain to support senior health and senior issues. I encourage you to go to his web sight and let your opinions be heard.
You can see the complete roll call vote here:
http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=110&session=2&vote=00169
In the past the President has promised a Veto. Its hard to tell whether or not the president will follow through with enough votes to override the veto.
Still Senator McCain does not see it fit to show up and vote on senior health. We must do more to encourage Sen. McCain to support senior health and senior issues. I encourage you to go to his web sight and let your opinions be heard.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Medicare Bill Update
When it looked like all was lost following the defeat of HR 6331 last week the bill has new hope. It looks like the key vote here will be Republican Sen Arlan Spector. He had supported S. 3101 but after some last minute lobbying by the white house changed his vote on HR. 6331. Well since his vote he has been trying to explain himself to the powerful doctors lobby who have supported him and Republicans in the past. This news has prompted Sen Majority Leader Harry Reid to call for another vote when the senate return from the July 4th break.
Keep your fingers crossed on this one. Its gonna be a squeaker.
Keep your fingers crossed on this one. Its gonna be a squeaker.
Activist Training Day
I have been talking about an activist training day for a while now but now I have a venue.
The Activist training will be held on Monday August 18th from 9am - 4pm and SEIU Portland 6401 SE Foster. Coffee and dough nuts for breakfast and a Lunch will be served for free.
The focus for the training is train volunteers to go out into their local community, clubs, organizations, town halls and city council's to spread the message of the ORARA and to help grow the organization. No one knows your neighborhood better than you, so who better to go out and organize.
If you want more information or to RSVP for a seat you can email me at agonzoman00@gmail.com or call (310) 528-7973.
I hope to see you all there.
The Activist training will be held on Monday August 18th from 9am - 4pm and SEIU Portland 6401 SE Foster. Coffee and dough nuts for breakfast and a Lunch will be served for free.
The focus for the training is train volunteers to go out into their local community, clubs, organizations, town halls and city council's to spread the message of the ORARA and to help grow the organization. No one knows your neighborhood better than you, so who better to go out and organize.
If you want more information or to RSVP for a seat you can email me at agonzoman00@gmail.com or call (310) 528-7973.
I hope to see you all there.
Membership takes action of Initiatives
At last Thursdays ORARA Membership Meeting at the Westmoreland Union Manner, the membership took action on a few of the ballot initiatives that are likely for the November election.
The membership voted to oppose IRR# 3, 25, 40, 51, & 53.
The membership voted to support IRR# 407 & 408
More information on these initiatives can be found on my June 23rd blog entry.
The membership meetings are held every 4th Thursday of the month at the Westmoreland Union Manner unless otherwise stated.
The membership voted to oppose IRR# 3, 25, 40, 51, & 53.
The membership voted to support IRR# 407 & 408
More information on these initiatives can be found on my June 23rd blog entry.
The membership meetings are held every 4th Thursday of the month at the Westmoreland Union Manner unless otherwise stated.
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