AfroCentric Black History News Portal writes.....
I find it very easy for some of us in the Black community, to forget precious dates and events. It really aches my soul when great men like Martin especially, around his assassination...hardly a whispered. We really need to get a stronger hold on self and keep in rememberance our own people that have sacrificed their lives, so that We All could reap the benefits of their labor.
Every April 4th, should always be reverened by our community. Even more important than July 4th, or any other holiday.
Let's try to do better than we have.
Thank you Martin for your sacrifice.
----------
THE MARTIN LUTHER KING, JR., ASSASSINATION
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., leader of the American Civil Rights Movement, was assassinated on 4 April 1968 in Memphis, Tennessee while lending support to a sanitation workers' strike. He was shot by James Earl Ray at approximately 7:05 P.M. Ray's bullet struck King as he was standing on his balcony at the Lorraine Motel; King died approximately one hour later. Although no television cameras were in the vicinity at the time of the assassination, television coverage of the event quickly followed.
News reports of King's wounding appeared first, but reporters remained consistent with the traditional news format, making early reports of the shooting seem both impersonal and inaccurate. The assassination took place at the same time as the evening news, and several anchormen received the information during their live broadcasts and because details of the shooting were not yet clear, inaccurate information was offered in several cases. Julian Barber of WTTG in Washington, D.C., for example, mistakenly reported that King had been shot while in his car. Following this presentation of incorrect details, Barber then proceeded to introduce the station's weatherman. The rest of the newscast followed a standard format with only minor interruptions providing information about King's condition.
Similarly, Kondrashov recalls that Walter Cronkite had almost finished delivering his report on The CBS Evening News when he received word of King's wounding. Visibly shaken, he announced the shooting. Moments after the announcement, however, the news program faded into commercial advertising. With little information available, the networks continued with their regularly scheduled programming and only later interrupted the programs with their station logos. At that point an anonymous voice announced that King was dead.
Having received word of King's death, all three networks interrupted programming with news programs. Awaiting President Lyndon Johnson's statement, all three featured anchormen discussing King's life and his contributions to the Civil Rights Movement. The networks then broadcast President Johnson's statement in which he called for Americans to "reject the blind violence" which had killed the "apostle of nonviolence." In addition, the networks also covered Hubert Humphries' response, and presented footage of King's prophetic speech from 3 April in which he acknowledged the precarious stage of his life. Although the networks had reporters positioned in Memphis, there were no television reporters on the scene because an official curfew had been imposed on the city in an attempt to prevent violence.
According to McKnight, the immediacy of the television coverage prompted riots in over 60 American cities including Chicago, Denver, and Baltimore. Television coverage of King's death and the riots which it sparked continued for the next five days. King's life was featured on morning shows (e.g., NBC's The Today Show), evening news programs, and special programs. The riots themselves commanded extensive television coverage (e.g., CBS' News Nite special on the Riots). Carter suggests that the riots following King's assassination represent a significant shift from previous riotous activities, from responses dealing primarily with local issues to the national focus emerging in the wake of the King riots. National television coverage of the circumstances surrounding the King assassination may have contributed to this shift.
The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is a significant moment in the history of the Civil Rights Movement as well as in the history of the United States. In death, as in life, Dr. King influenced millions of Americans. From the first reports of his shooting to the coverage of his funeral services on 9 April at the Ebenezer Church on the Morehouse College Campus, television closely followed his struggle. Even after his death, news coverage of King's legacy continued when, on 11 April President Johnson signed the Civil Rights Bill.
-Vidula Bal
FURTHER READING
Carter, G.L. "In the Narrows of the 1960's U.S. Black Rioting." Journal of Conflict Resolution (Ann Arbor, Michigan), 1986.
Kondrashov, S. and translated by Keith Hammond. The Life and Death of Martin Luther King. Moscow: Progress Publishers, 1981.
Lewis, D.L. King: A Biography . Urbana, Illinois: University of Illinois Press, 1970; 2nd edition 1978.
McKnight, G.D. "The 1968 Memphis Sanitation Strike and the FBI: A Case Study in Urban Surveillance." South Atlantic Quarterly (Durham, North Carolina), 1984.
AFROCENTRIC NEWS PORTAL
Until the Lion tells His Own story, the tale of the Hunt will Always Glorify the Hunter.
Thursday, April 16, 2009
Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Somalia piracy connected to toxic dumping, illegal fishing
While CNN, FOX, Times and other corporate media sources have fixated on one-dimensional reporting of the "Somalia Piracy" story, some diligent reporters and outlets have reported the broader picture. The following article and attached video offers that broader picture.
In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, Somali pirates holding the merchant vessel, MV Faina, stand on the deck of the ship after the U.S. Navy's request to check on the health and welfare of the ships crew on October 19, at sea in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Hoybyo, Somalia. Photo: Jason Zalasky/U.S. Navy via Getty Images UNITED NATIONS - The head of the UN's body charged with combating piracy has advocated establishing a UN force to fight the piracy problem off Somalia's coast—but the problem may be more complex than simple banditry on the high seas.
According to the UN secretary-general's spokesman's office, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Bureau Efthimios Mitropoulos said the Gulf of Aden, the gateway to the vital Suez Canal, and the eastern coast of Somalia rank as the world's top piracy hot spots. The Gulf of Aden accounted for a third of all attacks on ships in the first nine months of 2008, said Mr. Mitropoulos. Thousands of cargo ships and tankers pass through on their way to Mombasa port in Kenya or destinations in southern Africa.
While the hijackings have been described as the work of criminals, officials admit the problem of waste dumped off the coast of Somalia may be a reason why ships have been commandeered.
In September, a Ukrainian freighter with Russian tanks on board, anti-aircraft guns and heavy weaponry was seized by Somali pirates and ransom negotiations are ongoing.
A spokesman for the pirates, who reportedly use the autonomous region of Puntland as their base, told Al Jazeera some of the ransom money will be used to help clean up waters off the Somali coast ravaged by years of toxic waste dumping. The ransom demand is a means of “reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years,” the spokesman said.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN special envoy for Somalia, said the world body had “reliable information” that European and Asian companies are responsible for the dumping. The United Nations has also been told that some Somali pirates claim to act as “coast guards,” protecting their country's waters, he added.
“This is not something new, the accusation that toxic dumping is happening off the shores of Somalia, it is amazing though that it is now coming out,” said Sadia Aden, president of the Somalia Diaspora Network. “Opinions are mixed on the pirates. Some of the people are saying the pirates are defending our territory,” Ms. Aden told The Final Call .
A political solution in Somalia would solve the piracy problem, said Ms. Aden. “We need elections. We need a central government,” she argued.
Somalia has not had a central government since 1991 when late President Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted.
Analysts said the chaotic state of the Transitional Federal Government has meant no binding trade measures are in affect and Somalia has not signed the Basel Convention or the Bamako Convention, which ban the import of hazardous waste to African nations.
“While I know the subject of this interview is waste dumping in Somalia, I must say that toxic dumping is an issue all over West and East Africa,” said Nii Akuetteh, executive director of Africa Action, a member of the Scholars' Council at Trans Africa Forum and founder of the Democracy and Conflict Research Institute in Accra, Ghana.
“The Somali toxic waste dumping issue is of great concern to me because it spills over to other African nations,” Mr. Akuetteh said. “Did you know that when the Islamic Courts Union was in charge of Somalia, piracy had come to a virtual halt? But thanks to the Bush administration and Ethiopia after the ouster of the ICU in 2006, the phenomenon returned,” said Mr. Akuetteh.
In early October, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1838 (2008) which determined “that the incidents of piracy and armed robbery against vessels in the territorial waters of Somalia and the high seas off the coast of Somalia exacerbate the situation in Somalia which continues to constitute a threat against international peace and security.”
“The UN must monitor more closely the toxic waste issue; and there doesn't seem to be any mention of that in Resolution 1838,” observed Professor Abdi Ismail Samatar, of the geography and global studies department at the University of Minnesota, in a Final Call interview.
While the media is covering piracy, there needs to be coverage of the plundering of Somali resources by rich companies and rich governments, said Prof. Samatar. “They are destroying the coral reefs—breeding grounds for the fisheries—destroying the livelihoods of Somalis, taking the food out of the mouths of the poor.”
According to Ms. Aden there are 3.5 million Somalis facing starvation. East African waters, particularly off Somalia, have huge numbers of commercial fish, including the prized yellow-fin tuna. Observers say the Somali coastline once sustained hundreds of thousands of people as a source of food and livelihoods.
Related links:
Somalia: a clear case of ‘blood oil’ in Africa (FCN, 02-05-2007)
Reconnecting the international struggles of Black people (FCN, 07-26-2006)
The Oil Factor In Somalia (LA Times, 01-18-1993)
Somalia piracy and the untold story
Report spurs new call to investigate Bush
In this image provided by the U.S. Navy, Somali pirates holding the merchant vessel, MV Faina, stand on the deck of the ship after the U.S. Navy's request to check on the health and welfare of the ships crew on October 19, at sea in the Gulf of Aden off the coast of Hoybyo, Somalia. Photo: Jason Zalasky/U.S. Navy via Getty Images UNITED NATIONS - The head of the UN's body charged with combating piracy has advocated establishing a UN force to fight the piracy problem off Somalia's coast—but the problem may be more complex than simple banditry on the high seas.
According to the UN secretary-general's spokesman's office, Secretary-General of the International Maritime Bureau Efthimios Mitropoulos said the Gulf of Aden, the gateway to the vital Suez Canal, and the eastern coast of Somalia rank as the world's top piracy hot spots. The Gulf of Aden accounted for a third of all attacks on ships in the first nine months of 2008, said Mr. Mitropoulos. Thousands of cargo ships and tankers pass through on their way to Mombasa port in Kenya or destinations in southern Africa.
While the hijackings have been described as the work of criminals, officials admit the problem of waste dumped off the coast of Somalia may be a reason why ships have been commandeered.
In September, a Ukrainian freighter with Russian tanks on board, anti-aircraft guns and heavy weaponry was seized by Somali pirates and ransom negotiations are ongoing.
A spokesman for the pirates, who reportedly use the autonomous region of Puntland as their base, told Al Jazeera some of the ransom money will be used to help clean up waters off the Somali coast ravaged by years of toxic waste dumping. The ransom demand is a means of “reacting to the toxic waste that has been continually dumped on the shores of our country for nearly 20 years,” the spokesman said.
Ahmedou Ould-Abdallah, the UN special envoy for Somalia, said the world body had “reliable information” that European and Asian companies are responsible for the dumping. The United Nations has also been told that some Somali pirates claim to act as “coast guards,” protecting their country's waters, he added.
“This is not something new, the accusation that toxic dumping is happening off the shores of Somalia, it is amazing though that it is now coming out,” said Sadia Aden, president of the Somalia Diaspora Network. “Opinions are mixed on the pirates. Some of the people are saying the pirates are defending our territory,” Ms. Aden told The Final Call .
A political solution in Somalia would solve the piracy problem, said Ms. Aden. “We need elections. We need a central government,” she argued.
Somalia has not had a central government since 1991 when late President Mohamed Siad Barre was ousted.
Analysts said the chaotic state of the Transitional Federal Government has meant no binding trade measures are in affect and Somalia has not signed the Basel Convention or the Bamako Convention, which ban the import of hazardous waste to African nations.
“While I know the subject of this interview is waste dumping in Somalia, I must say that toxic dumping is an issue all over West and East Africa,” said Nii Akuetteh, executive director of Africa Action, a member of the Scholars' Council at Trans Africa Forum and founder of the Democracy and Conflict Research Institute in Accra, Ghana.
“The Somali toxic waste dumping issue is of great concern to me because it spills over to other African nations,” Mr. Akuetteh said. “Did you know that when the Islamic Courts Union was in charge of Somalia, piracy had come to a virtual halt? But thanks to the Bush administration and Ethiopia after the ouster of the ICU in 2006, the phenomenon returned,” said Mr. Akuetteh.
In early October, the UN Security Council unanimously passed Resolution 1838 (2008) which determined “that the incidents of piracy and armed robbery against vessels in the territorial waters of Somalia and the high seas off the coast of Somalia exacerbate the situation in Somalia which continues to constitute a threat against international peace and security.”
“The UN must monitor more closely the toxic waste issue; and there doesn't seem to be any mention of that in Resolution 1838,” observed Professor Abdi Ismail Samatar, of the geography and global studies department at the University of Minnesota, in a Final Call interview.
While the media is covering piracy, there needs to be coverage of the plundering of Somali resources by rich companies and rich governments, said Prof. Samatar. “They are destroying the coral reefs—breeding grounds for the fisheries—destroying the livelihoods of Somalis, taking the food out of the mouths of the poor.”
According to Ms. Aden there are 3.5 million Somalis facing starvation. East African waters, particularly off Somalia, have huge numbers of commercial fish, including the prized yellow-fin tuna. Observers say the Somali coastline once sustained hundreds of thousands of people as a source of food and livelihoods.
Related links:
Somalia: a clear case of ‘blood oil’ in Africa (FCN, 02-05-2007)
Reconnecting the international struggles of Black people (FCN, 07-26-2006)
The Oil Factor In Somalia (LA Times, 01-18-1993)
Somalia piracy and the untold story
Report spurs new call to investigate Bush
Friday, April 10, 2009
Black Panther Robert H. King Tell's His Story.
King, 66, will speak Friday at The Sanctuary for Independent Media in Troy in support of his book, "From the Bottom of the Heap: The Autobiography of Black Panther Robert Hillary King" (PM Press, 224 pages, $24.95).
Robert Hillary King spent nearly three decades in solitary confinement at the notorious Angola state prison in Louisiana. As a member of the Black Panther Party, he and two party members became nationally known as the Angola 3 political prisoners who spent decades in solitary confinement for, they contend, organizing prisoners to improve conditions.
After becoming a Black Panther in prison and organizing inmates, according to the book's dust jacket, "prison authorities beat him, starved him and gave him life without parole after framing him for a second crime. He was thrown into solitary confinement, where he remained in a 6-by-9-foot cell for 29 years as one of the Angola 3. In 2001, the state grudgingly acknowledged his innocence and set him free."
Born poor in Louisiana and abandoned by both parents, King was stealing and fighting on the street by the time he was 11 and serving time in reform school at 15. In and out of local and state prison, he ended up at Angola in 1971 for a robbery he claims he did not commit. There, he says, he was framed for the stabbing death of another inmate.
"Solitary confinement is terrifying, especially if you are innocent of the charges that put you there," King writes. "My soul still cries from all that I witnessed and endured. ... So let's call prisons exactly what they are: an extension of slavery."
King recently spoke to the Times Union by phone from his home in Austin.
Q: You write that while in solitary you were allowed out of your cell one hour per day to shower and, sometimes, to go outside into the yard. How did you maintain your sanity?
A: When people ask me that, I tell them, laughing: 'I didn't tell you I wasn't crazy.' It's kind of hard to get dipped in waste and not come up stinking.
But I go on to say that I was in prison; prison wasn't in me. I kind of insulated myself against prison. My political awareness shielded me. Becoming politically aware in the early '70s, I saw America as being one big prison. All they'd done was take me from minimum custody and put me in maximum security.
But there is some luxury to going insane. I can understand that. Very few things I'm afraid of, but I was scared to go crazy, because I was scared of what they would do to me. I saw them do horrible things to people who, quote, lose their mind or regress into insanity. They were given medications, hosed down with 40-pound, 50-pound pressure hoses. ... And it wasn't just the administration. Inmates took part in the victimization of their own fellow prisoners. You see a lot of things. I couldn't describe all the things.
Q: Who are the Angola 3?
A: Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox and myself became collectively known as the Angola 3 after spending decades in solitary confinement. Herman and Albert, both members of the Black Panther Party, were placed there for a crime they allegedly committed, participating in the death of a correction officer back in 1972. It's since come out that Herman and Albert were framed.
When our story got out in the public, I was subsequently released in 2001 when the courts overturned my conviction of participating in the death of an inmate. Herman and Albert are still in prison. (After 36 years in solitary, reportedly the longest of any inmates ever in the U.S., they were transferred last year to maximum security. When the correction officer was killed, Wallace and Woodfox were serving 50-year sentences, Wallace for bank robbery, Woodfox for armed robbery.) We have a strong legal case, but the state seems to be hanging on for dear life. Albert's case is in the federal courts, and Herman's is in the state Supreme Court. We have a civil suit as well.
Q: Are you consumed by anger and bitterness?
A: I don't know how anybody can go through what I went through and not be bitter, angry and a little crazy. But I can compartmentalize these things that took place in my life. I can dissect them and make an assessment of them.
Prison gave me a focus. The focus is to do my best to make sure that nobody else undergoes the type of thing that I underwent.
Q: What are you doing these days? How are you making a living?
A: When I got released from Angola, I got $10 from the state. That's all. I went on a few speaking engagements. I was putting out the word for the Angola 3. In some cases, people gave me a little money for doing it. I couldn't get a job, because when I got out, I was nearly 60 years old. And I had a record.
I got into making candy, something I learned in prison King's Freelines, my twist on "pralines". That's how I'm able to sustain myself. And I have the book. I have spoken at colleges. Sometimes I've received compensation for that. But it's never much. By no stretch of the imagination am I rich. But I'm not homeless.
Q: What's the message you'd like readers to take from your book?
A: In the final analysis, America may be heaven for some. But in heaven, there's some people catching hell. I just happened to be of that segment that caught hell. There's still people catching hell.
But I guess the main message is one of benevolence. I think we have much more in common than we have differences. I guess that's the final message.
-------------
Pt 1/15 Dr.Clarke vs. Mary Lefkowitz-The Black Athena Debate
THE MIS-EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO
The education of any people should begin with the people themselves....
The Honorable Robert F. Williams: "
A History of The Republic of New Afrika
42 LAWS OF MA'AT!
Afrikan- Centered Cultural Development and Education
FORMAL METHODS, FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
Front for the Liberation of the New Afrikan Nation
Afrikan centered Mythology, Religion / Spirituality and Neuromelanin in Education
Imhotep Virtual Medical School and It's Physician Tutors' Profile: In Pursuit of Academic Excellence
The Great Debate 4 (Is Hip Hop Good for Black folks) From the Pin of TRUTH Minister Paul Scott
The Spook Who Sat by the Door and A RBG Street Scholar Break Down
History of the The Black Power Movement, f. RBGz New
Who Is Dr. Mutulu Shakur?: A Lifelong Activist in the New Afrikan (Black) Independence Movement
Why Black History Month 24 / 7/ 365? To Combat Negroization:
Carter G. Woodson
Robert Hillary King spent nearly three decades in solitary confinement at the notorious Angola state prison in Louisiana. As a member of the Black Panther Party, he and two party members became nationally known as the Angola 3 political prisoners who spent decades in solitary confinement for, they contend, organizing prisoners to improve conditions.
After becoming a Black Panther in prison and organizing inmates, according to the book's dust jacket, "prison authorities beat him, starved him and gave him life without parole after framing him for a second crime. He was thrown into solitary confinement, where he remained in a 6-by-9-foot cell for 29 years as one of the Angola 3. In 2001, the state grudgingly acknowledged his innocence and set him free."
Born poor in Louisiana and abandoned by both parents, King was stealing and fighting on the street by the time he was 11 and serving time in reform school at 15. In and out of local and state prison, he ended up at Angola in 1971 for a robbery he claims he did not commit. There, he says, he was framed for the stabbing death of another inmate.
"Solitary confinement is terrifying, especially if you are innocent of the charges that put you there," King writes. "My soul still cries from all that I witnessed and endured. ... So let's call prisons exactly what they are: an extension of slavery."
King recently spoke to the Times Union by phone from his home in Austin.
Q: You write that while in solitary you were allowed out of your cell one hour per day to shower and, sometimes, to go outside into the yard. How did you maintain your sanity?
A: When people ask me that, I tell them, laughing: 'I didn't tell you I wasn't crazy.' It's kind of hard to get dipped in waste and not come up stinking.
But I go on to say that I was in prison; prison wasn't in me. I kind of insulated myself against prison. My political awareness shielded me. Becoming politically aware in the early '70s, I saw America as being one big prison. All they'd done was take me from minimum custody and put me in maximum security.
But there is some luxury to going insane. I can understand that. Very few things I'm afraid of, but I was scared to go crazy, because I was scared of what they would do to me. I saw them do horrible things to people who, quote, lose their mind or regress into insanity. They were given medications, hosed down with 40-pound, 50-pound pressure hoses. ... And it wasn't just the administration. Inmates took part in the victimization of their own fellow prisoners. You see a lot of things. I couldn't describe all the things.
Q: Who are the Angola 3?
A: Herman Wallace, Albert Woodfox and myself became collectively known as the Angola 3 after spending decades in solitary confinement. Herman and Albert, both members of the Black Panther Party, were placed there for a crime they allegedly committed, participating in the death of a correction officer back in 1972. It's since come out that Herman and Albert were framed.
When our story got out in the public, I was subsequently released in 2001 when the courts overturned my conviction of participating in the death of an inmate. Herman and Albert are still in prison. (After 36 years in solitary, reportedly the longest of any inmates ever in the U.S., they were transferred last year to maximum security. When the correction officer was killed, Wallace and Woodfox were serving 50-year sentences, Wallace for bank robbery, Woodfox for armed robbery.) We have a strong legal case, but the state seems to be hanging on for dear life. Albert's case is in the federal courts, and Herman's is in the state Supreme Court. We have a civil suit as well.
Q: Are you consumed by anger and bitterness?
A: I don't know how anybody can go through what I went through and not be bitter, angry and a little crazy. But I can compartmentalize these things that took place in my life. I can dissect them and make an assessment of them.
Prison gave me a focus. The focus is to do my best to make sure that nobody else undergoes the type of thing that I underwent.
Q: What are you doing these days? How are you making a living?
A: When I got released from Angola, I got $10 from the state. That's all. I went on a few speaking engagements. I was putting out the word for the Angola 3. In some cases, people gave me a little money for doing it. I couldn't get a job, because when I got out, I was nearly 60 years old. And I had a record.
I got into making candy, something I learned in prison King's Freelines, my twist on "pralines". That's how I'm able to sustain myself. And I have the book. I have spoken at colleges. Sometimes I've received compensation for that. But it's never much. By no stretch of the imagination am I rich. But I'm not homeless.
Q: What's the message you'd like readers to take from your book?
A: In the final analysis, America may be heaven for some. But in heaven, there's some people catching hell. I just happened to be of that segment that caught hell. There's still people catching hell.
But I guess the main message is one of benevolence. I think we have much more in common than we have differences. I guess that's the final message.
-------------
Pt 1/15 Dr.Clarke vs. Mary Lefkowitz-The Black Athena Debate
THE MIS-EDUCATION OF THE NEGRO
The education of any people should begin with the people themselves....
The Honorable Robert F. Williams: "
A History of The Republic of New Afrika
42 LAWS OF MA'AT!
Afrikan- Centered Cultural Development and Education
FORMAL METHODS, FORMATIVE AND SUMMATIVE ASSESSMENTS
Front for the Liberation of the New Afrikan Nation
Afrikan centered Mythology, Religion / Spirituality and Neuromelanin in Education
Imhotep Virtual Medical School and It's Physician Tutors' Profile: In Pursuit of Academic Excellence
The Great Debate 4 (Is Hip Hop Good for Black folks) From the Pin of TRUTH Minister Paul Scott
The Spook Who Sat by the Door and A RBG Street Scholar Break Down
History of the The Black Power Movement, f. RBGz New
Who Is Dr. Mutulu Shakur?: A Lifelong Activist in the New Afrikan (Black) Independence Movement
Why Black History Month 24 / 7/ 365? To Combat Negroization:
Carter G. Woodson
Thursday, April 9, 2009
Health Reform is Crucial- write a letter while congress is in recess.
Spirit of Sankofa writes.........
Health care reform is one of the important issues on the table. Congress is on break, and "We The People" should use this opportunity to make our voices heard. It is far time for us as a whole not continue to rely on congress and lobbiest to speak for the people. Let us join by writing the editors of your local news papers, in order to let them know we need a resolution and we need it quick.
Let's do what we can..
---------------
Congress is at home for a two-week break. When they get back to DC, health care will be on top of the agenda.
Write a letter to the editor of your paper today.
As you read this, Congress is at home for two weeks of recess. And what your member of Congress hears from you is crucial to the direction of the health reform debate on Capitol Hill.
Make sure Representative Towns hears from you during the congressional recess.
Take a few minutes today to write a letter to the editor of your local paper. To help you get started, I've included a few tips and talking points.
In March, five Republican senators reached out to President Obama and pledged to work with him to pursue bipartisan reform. It's an encouraging sign that we can finally end the partisan fighting and pass meaningful health care reform this year.
But the mood in Washington can turn on a dime. It's crucial that Congress knows that health care reform is not just the Obama administration's priority -- it's the American people's priority.
While members of Congress are at home for the April recess, they need to see and hear "health reform" everywhere they go -- from the supermarket to their morning breakfast table. And if there's one thing we know your lawmaker has on the breakfast table, it's the local morning paper.
The truth is what Representative Towns hears from constituents is far more powerful than anything a talking head or interest group could ever say or do. In just the few minutes it takes to write a letter, you can be more influential than the most connected D.C. lobbyists.
Writing a letter to the editor is simple --
start your letter now -- and make sure Representative Towns hears from you during April recess.
Thank you for being a part of this crucial effort to bring access to affordable, quality care to all Americans. We couldn't do this without you.
Health care reform is one of the important issues on the table. Congress is on break, and "We The People" should use this opportunity to make our voices heard. It is far time for us as a whole not continue to rely on congress and lobbiest to speak for the people. Let us join by writing the editors of your local news papers, in order to let them know we need a resolution and we need it quick.
Let's do what we can..
---------------
Congress is at home for a two-week break. When they get back to DC, health care will be on top of the agenda.
Write a letter to the editor of your paper today.
As you read this, Congress is at home for two weeks of recess. And what your member of Congress hears from you is crucial to the direction of the health reform debate on Capitol Hill.
Make sure Representative Towns hears from you during the congressional recess.
Take a few minutes today to write a letter to the editor of your local paper. To help you get started, I've included a few tips and talking points.
In March, five Republican senators reached out to President Obama and pledged to work with him to pursue bipartisan reform. It's an encouraging sign that we can finally end the partisan fighting and pass meaningful health care reform this year.
But the mood in Washington can turn on a dime. It's crucial that Congress knows that health care reform is not just the Obama administration's priority -- it's the American people's priority.
While members of Congress are at home for the April recess, they need to see and hear "health reform" everywhere they go -- from the supermarket to their morning breakfast table. And if there's one thing we know your lawmaker has on the breakfast table, it's the local morning paper.
The truth is what Representative Towns hears from constituents is far more powerful than anything a talking head or interest group could ever say or do. In just the few minutes it takes to write a letter, you can be more influential than the most connected D.C. lobbyists.
Writing a letter to the editor is simple --
start your letter now -- and make sure Representative Towns hears from you during April recess.
Thank you for being a part of this crucial effort to bring access to affordable, quality care to all Americans. We couldn't do this without you.
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