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Information
Contact Info: Tuolumne County
Democratic Club PO Box 1211 Columbia, CA 95310 (209) 536-0449 Meetings are on: The Second Tuesday of Each Month
Board Members
President Domenic Torchia Vice President Joann Rascon Secretary Sharon Shapiro Treasurer
Ken Fowkes
Welcome
Cost of Iraq War
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Since writing the questionnaire below, the situation for SRMC has grown much grimmer. The threat of losing their Medicare credentials, if compliance is not met, will prove to be disastrous for us all. (Quotes from Ryan Campbell article in the Union Democrat) "When Tuolumne General Hospital closed its doors in 2007 and the delivery of public health care became the exclusive realm of private medical providers like Sonora Regional, there was a major shift in the way the county cares for its mentally ill, according to Rita Austin of the Tuolumne County Department of Behavioral Health." “They (TGH) were a designated facility; we(SRMC) fall under a different umbrella of rules,” "The hospital has until next month to take corrective action or face losing Medicare and Medicaid reimbursements, (CMS spokesperson)" More finger pointing and butt covering going on here than there was for Watergate and Nixon. Where then does the "buck stop. So let us add mental illness experiences to our list for the 15th. The good news, the Mathiesen Memorial Health Clinic, has been opened in Jamestown. Finally, several of you have commented on this story by Ryan Campbell. I too wish to commend you Ryan on what many have called an extremely rare job of investigative journalism by the Union Democrat. Well done son, keep it up-we need this up here. ********************************************************************************************* On Wednesday, February 15th, the Tuolumne County Democratic Club will discuss our experiences with the health care system in our County. Much will be focused on SRMC and the care you received there. But all facilities are open for review. Remember, our objective is to find out what quality of medical service have you personally received in this County. If you know of someone who has a good or bad story about their care at SRMC-please relay that information as concisely as you possibly can. Finally, SRMC is now the only game in town, we do not want to lose them too. So be objective, be fair, and be clear. We will decide one of three things at the meeting, we do nothing, we invite the CEO of SRMC to our April meeting, or we go with a more formal complaint. Lately I have received some uplifting reports concerning care folks have received at SRMC-that is encouraging. See you on the 15th-Domenic QUESTIONNAIRE on Health Care Services in Tuolumne County 1. Have you ever had a negative experience while at Sonora Regional Medical Center? Briefly give details-Which department-the incident(s) 2. Have you ever had a negative experience while at a clinic? Which clinic? Briefly describe 3. What positive experience(s) have you had at SRMC? Briefly give details-Which medical professional(s)? Which department(s) 4. Have you ever been in the SRMC Emergency Room? What was you experience? 5. Are your health care experiences in Tuolumne County since the closing of Tuolumne General Hospital 1) Better 2) Worse 3) No Change Click on the link above, you will find a recent "Hospital Profile" on SRMC that was conducted by the United States Department of Health and Human Services. From your experience(s) at SRMC, how would you compare them to the results of the H&HS conclusions? If you cannot make the meeting on the 15th of February, but you have something for us to consider, please email it back to me as soon as you can. Thank You Domenic Required Reading-Especially For Those Doubters Read it all, do not leave it in the middle, this is one of the finest pieces written on why we must not only be Democrats, but why we must be strong in our beliefs, and our unity. But most importantly we must vote, and we must get others to vote. The extremists on the right want nothing more than to rope a dope us into believing we are losers. But I will let Beverly guide you back to what is both intellectually and morally correct for America. Well done Beverly. (from an OpEd piece in the Union Democrat) The Federal Government. Who needs it? This question is the dominant theme in ongoing Congressional and Republican candidate debates. Today’s Republican Party represents a kaleidoscope of ideologies and agenda, with no central identity or purpose except one: Unseat President Obama. Michelle Bachman and the tea party faction appear to be losing ground according to a study by Robert Putnam, Harvard professor of public policy, and David Campbell, Notre Dame political scientist. Their survey of 3,000 representative Americans showed tea partiers have a lower approval rating than Muslims and atheists, below 23 other entries including Democrats, Republicans and Sarah Palin. While early tea party members were described as nonpartisan political neophytes, the study defines them as ”highly partisan Republicans, overwhelmingly white, with a low regard for immigrants and blacks.” Though the tea-stained Republican Party claims fealty to the Constitution, their interpretations and loyalty are whatever they deem convenient. For Rick Perry, the Constitution forbids Social Security and mandates States Rights. To Ron Paul, it forbids a Federal Reserve and most other government entities. Some GOP members have even turned nihilist, toying with default on the nation’s debt. Whatever their target, this GOP faction is out to destroy government’s ability to govern. This attack – not on policy differences but on government itself — is new and ominous. Its modern roots are as diverse as Ronald Reagan, the Dixiecrats and the Anti-New Dealers. Republicans are well aware that not only is their party splintered, but declining demographically. The GOP does poorly among younger voters and ethnic minorities, who represent a rising share of the population. The Constitutional amendment being pushed by Republicans would require a balanced budget every year, cap federal spending at 18 percent of gross national product, bar any increase in taxes without a supermajority of two-thirds of Congress or any increase in the national debt without a supermajority of three fifths. Like the filibuster, this would enable a mere one-third of either house of Congress to block an increase in taxes. Such an amendment on spending could endanger the nation’s security, turn recessions into depressions, removing authority from elected branches altogether, leaving the Supreme Court to rule. The Republicans are trying to establish the kind of arbitrary fiscal requirements the Founder rejected. The Founders did not believe they could anticipate all the demands the government might have to meet in centuries to come. Today’s Republicans think they can make economic policy for all future generations. Why does the GOP want to put government into a strait-jacket? Expecting their fortunes to decline, they want to entrench their views in constitutional mandates while they have the power to do so, achieving through a constitutional amendment what they could otherwise not politically sustain. Crafty, eh? Current polls show a wide majority of both parties prefer tax increases on the wealthy over cutting Social Security and Medicare. This amendment would make any rollbacks of social protection virtually irreversible. President Obama has tried hard to keep his promise of change, but with the steady stream of corporate lobby payoffs, the system is more gridlocked then ever. Corporate profits are soaring, yet corporations continue to cut wages and lay off workers and ship jobs overseas. If the private sector won’t spend the money to get the economy rolling, the public sector must spend more. Otherwise, the long-term deficit will only grow worse. What is the matter with Democrats who criticize the President’s Jobs Act because it isn’t large enough? As they well know, the only reason it isn’t larger is because the only way to get it enacted is with Republican votes. The GOP is already fighting every aspect of the plan except for its concessions to business. The left-wing Obama critics say he should bully-pulpit a bigger and bolder plan he knows won’t pass in order to campaign on the Republican rejection. Why doesn’t he? Perhaps the President believes even a little change for the better is worth his best efforts rather than keeping the status quo for another year. Maybe he has too much class and inherent honesty for such shenanigans. And maybe that’s just not his way of winning elections. The Republicans are nonetheless calling the President’s Jobs Plan a Re-election Plan. While he is striving to accomplish the job he was elected to do despite all their obstacles, they don’t care if the economy is stagnant for another year or more, as long as he fails. Wake up, people. Know whos really got your back. To quote the President: “Having Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid programs – a social net for people – is a vital role for our government It’s not enough to just leave that to local charities.” To quote Politico’s Roger Simon from his recent column in our Union Democrat: “Vote Republican and line up for private soup kitchens.” The following is from an 1886 address by Mark Twain to the early union Knights of Labor When all the bricklayers, and all the machinists, and all the miners, and blacksmiths, and printers, and hod-carriers, and stevedores, and house-painters, and brakemen, and engineers, and conductors, and factory hands, and horse-car drivers, and all the shop-girls, and all the sewing-women, and all the telegraph operators; in a word all the myriads of toilers in whom is slumbering the reality of that thing which you call Power ... when these rise, call the vast spectacle by any deluding name that will please your ear, but the fact remains a Nation has risen." We Need AT LEAST eight Tuolumne County Democrats To Step Forward And Join The Tuolumne County Democratic Central Committee I would first like to thank Colleen Carr, Dorothy Flowers, and Marguerite Johnson for their years of service to the Tuolumne County Democratic Party. Without their hundreds of hours of work and their innovative input of new ideas, we would not be as successful as we are. And trust me, The TC Democratic Party is a very successful entity because of their efforts and those of others. But we need your help to get to the point where we will be successful in achieving our number one goal, that being getting Democrats elected in Tuolumne County. We need your help, we need your leadership and we need your ideas. The good news is, you will only need to commit a few hours a month-so put aside the fears that "I just do not have the time." Your only obligation is attending a meeting once a month (no meetings in December) and the meetings have never lasted more than two hours. Any more time will depend solely on how involved you want to be. Most of you already volunteer time at our Democratic Headquarters. Many of you spend some time at our booth at the Fairgrounds. Some of you write letters to the Editors or other such involvement. So as you can see, you already do most of this stuff. So why is this important? Because the other side is watching us and they are concerned that we just may get it all together and actually become a factor in local politics. Democrats already control ALL State Constitutional offices, we control nearly two-thirds of the Assembly and Senate seats, yet we cannot get enough votes to keep our schools, health care facilities, fire stations, libraries, etc. open. We cannot get enough votes to adequately staff teachers, law enforcement, school employees, fire fighters, etc. We need to protect our environment, wildlife, water resources, etc. THIS ALL CAN BE HANDLED WITH YOUR COMMITMENT. Former Speaker of the House Tip O'Neill said it best, "All politics is local." We need one new member from the 1st District; one for the 2nd District; three from the 3rd District; three from the 4th District and three from the 5th District. OK, I will not give up on this, so you all better start emailing me back. This is extremely important that we fill all these vacancies. Yes, all those who are saying that Domenic is not talking to me are dead wrong. I know of at least twenty of you who would be outstanding members of the Central Committee. Don't worry if we get too many, we have alternate slots as well. There is absolutely nothing to this that you will find intimidating. It is nothing more than standing up and being counted-so please, send me an email and tell me you will serve. You have to come to a meeting anyway to be introduced, then the next meeting you are voted upon by the Committee Members, then you just have to come to one meeting a month. Of course, the more time you put in, the better results we will have. But just look at it as your share, your commitment, is two hours a month. Please, I guarantee you your participation will have an impact on our local politics. If several of you come to the meeting, that alone will drive the Republicans nuts. Look forward to receiving your email and seeing you on the 18th. Call a friend, ask your spouse, email another Democrat you know in TC, let's get this done and finally win some elections. Thank you-Domenic If big business is unwilling or unable to provide jobs for the American worker, then government has to do it. Franklin Roosevelt, 1934  |
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