{news} Fw: Obama asks for better approach to health care reform, docs arrested for replying (SinglePayerAction.org)

[Justine McCabe]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Scott McLarty" <scottmclarty at yahoo.com>
To: <usgp-media at gp-us.org>; <dcsgp at yahoogroups.com>
Sent: Sunday, January 31, 2010 2:09 PM
Subject: Obama asks for better approach to health care reform, docs arrested 
for replying (SinglePayerAction.org)


Doctors Arrested Outside Baltimore Hotel

Single Payer Action, January 29, 2010
Filed under: News — russell @ 3:36 pm
http://www.singlepayeraction.org/blog/?p=2064


Two single payer doctors were arrested this morning outside the Renaissance 
Baltimore Harborplace Hotel where President Obama was scheduled to speak to 
a retreat of House Republicans.

Dr. Margaret Flowers and Dr. Carol Paris were carrying a sign that said: 
Just Letting You Know: Medicare for All.

“We were on the hotel property holding our sign,” Dr. Flowers said. “The 
Secret Service said we had to go across the street. We said we would go 
across the street if our letter was delivered to the President. The Secret 
Service said that wasn’t possible. They said if we didn’t go across the 
street we would be arrested. We refused to leave because we didn’t want to 
continue to be excluded, marginalized and ignored. And they arrested us.”

Flowers and Paris were taken to the Central Police headquarters.

They were separately questioned by the Secret Service.

The Baltimore Police charged them with trespass and they were released.

“Every time they said — if you just go across the street, everything will be 
fine,” Dr. Paris said. “And we would respond — that is the problem. We are 
always asked to go across the street. And nothing changes. This is putting 
into practice what Howard Zinn taught us. Go where you are not supposed to 
be. And say what you are not supposed to say. And that’s what we were 
 doing.”

(See Bill Hughes video here.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53RbYauyv_8

Dr. Flowers went to the White House yesterday to deliver a letter to Obama 
asking him to consider a single payer, Medicare for all health care system.

She was turned away at the gate and told that for security reasons, the 
White House doesn’t accept hand delivered letters.

During his State of the Union speech on Wednesday, Obama said he wanted to 
hear from people on a better approach to health care reform that will “bring 
down premiums, bring down the deficit, cover the uninsured, strengthen 
Medicare for seniors and stop insurance company abuses.”

“Let me know, let me know, let me know. I’m eager to see it,” Obama said.

Flowers, Paris and the majority of doctors and nurses in America believe 
that approach is a single payer national health insurance system.

Obama himself, when he was a state Senator in Illinois in 2003, said single 
payer was the way to go.

But last year, he cut deals with the pharmaceutical and health insurance 
industries in a now failed attempt to get through tinkering reforms.