We had the full complement of group leaders on the call today -- Lois from Baltimore, Tom from Des Moines, Paul from Minneapolis, Douglas, our beloved regional coordinator from St. Petersburg, and me.
We didn't talk about legislative news, but caught up on news from the four groups. Everyone is excited about Nancy joining our group. She will be on the conference call this Saturday. Tom is the only group leader on this call who wasn't in DC, so after last year not going, I had a sense for how left out he must have felt with all the talk about the conference.
Ours is the largest and seemingly most active group, so you can be proud of that. And I sent all my follow-up emails today after the lobbying meetings. So I can cross that off my list.
No news yet on Congress resolving the income minimum for the Child Tax Credit. TheHouse has it at $8500; the Senate at $10000. And no news yet on the Healthcare Disparities Bill that would seek to equalize healthcare access across racial and ethnic lines.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
July 23
I talked to Allison, our global Regional Coordinator, on Tuesday rather than Wednesday this week because there was a possibility of a conflict with a Diversity Task Force call on Wednesday. As it turned out, the Diversity Task Force conflict is going to be next Wednesday, when I also have a conflict with an Inter-Religious Council meeting on Flood Recovery. I think, since I update the Churches United Flood Recovery web site, that I am going to miss the IRC meeting and be on the DTF call.
PEPFAR Bill:
The Lantos-Hyde HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Reauthorization Act passed the Senate 80-16 with one amendment: rather than $50B, $2B will be directed toward clean water and healthcare for Native American Reservations. Allison thought that money could have been done through a different bill. For me, I'm just glad we have a bill coming out of the Senate! And $2B for health on reservations is a worthy cause. The House is expected to pass the Senate bill and then it will go to the President for his signature. This is a huge increase, and one we should celebrate.
August Congressional Recess:
We need to stay in touch with aides during this time as they will be in contact with our members of Congress during the recess.
Jeff Sachs on Global Conference Call August 9:
Jeff Sachs is an economist who has been at Harvard and is currently with the Columbia Earth Institute. He is an expert in the economics of poverty. This call should be exciting! I have reserved the Library at Christ Church for the domestic and global calls both.
PEPFAR Bill:
The Lantos-Hyde HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria Reauthorization Act passed the Senate 80-16 with one amendment: rather than $50B, $2B will be directed toward clean water and healthcare for Native American Reservations. Allison thought that money could have been done through a different bill. For me, I'm just glad we have a bill coming out of the Senate! And $2B for health on reservations is a worthy cause. The House is expected to pass the Senate bill and then it will go to the President for his signature. This is a huge increase, and one we should celebrate.
August Congressional Recess:
We need to stay in touch with aides during this time as they will be in contact with our members of Congress during the recess.
Jeff Sachs on Global Conference Call August 9:
Jeff Sachs is an economist who has been at Harvard and is currently with the Columbia Earth Institute. He is an expert in the economics of poverty. This call should be exciting! I have reserved the Library at Christ Church for the domestic and global calls both.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
July 15
Today was Day One of Lobby Day. Jos and I had four appointments and were called in to help on a fifth.
The day started with a breakfast in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. It was a hot breakfast buffet and the Senator from Wyoming -- I don't remember his name -- spoke. It was inspiring. He told stories that were straight from the RESULTS teachings on using stories effectively.
The it was into a cab and off to the House Offices side of the Hill. Our first appointment was at 11, in Congressman Loebsack's office. He had been called out to a meeting, so we met with his Legislative Aide, Megan Linn. I started out the meeting by asking her to thank the Congressman for coming to Cedar Rapids during the flood and for serving meals for the Red Cross over the 4th of July. She seemed genuinely grateful for the acknowledgement. I talked about the need to reform the way the US delivers foreign aid -- purchasing food in the US and shipping it on US vessels. It costs twice as much to purchase the food here versus purchasing food overseas. House Resolution 1268 would change the rules for USAID. She seemed interested and took the fact sheet on it. I will follow up with Kara Marchione (who we had requested be in the meeting but wasn't) as she is the foreign aid aide. Jos talked about the possibility of the Congressman being a leader on health care reform. That's one of the first things he had done when coming to Washington was sign on to cosponser HR 676, a Medicare for All bill. Jos is going to follow up on that issue.
Then it was off to the Rayburn building for lunch and strategizing with other RESULTS members.
Our second meeting was with Jos' Congressman, Leonard Boswell at 1. He had just had surgery and wasn't back in the office yet so we met with his aide. I said I had heard the Congressman had a successful surgery and she perked up, telling us he was sick of being in bed and wanting to get back to work. I did the same ask on House Resolution 1268 and Jos did healthcare reform and the child tax credit. It was a good meeting.
Then back to the Rayburn Building for a 1:45 with the Des Moines group leader's Congressman, a conservative Republican, Tom Latham. When I said I was concerned that US aid dollars weren't going far enough, he perked up. But he wasn't interested in HR 1268. Said the trade unions and ag interests would argue against it. But he was kind about the way he said it. He turned Jos down on every domestic thing he brought up. We just couldn't find any common ground with Latham. But the meeting was cordial nonetheless.
Then back into a cab and over to the Hart Senate Office Building. The Senate was voting on PEPFAR amendments this afternoon and we got to watch part of the debate on the TV in Grassley's office. At three we were ushered into his office and told he had been called to a meeting in Finance but we had three of his top aides in the room. I asked the aides to thank Grassley for coming to Cedar Rapids during the flood, and they were so kind, wanting to know if I had been affected. I had permission to tell my niece's story, so I did. They were concerned about FEMA getting to Cedar Rapids quickly and told me a delegation from Cedar Rapids had been there earlier in the afternoon to talk about tax credits. I told them we needed federal dollars for a buy-out in the 100-year flood plain. And then we got down to business.
Jos talked about healthcare reform, and Grassley's health aide explained his position, which is a "let the private sector fix it" solution. They were interested in the child tax credit minimum being set at $8500, as in the House. Grassley being the watchdog that he is, Jos and I thought asking him to see that USAID funds for microcredit be spent according to the 2004 mandate, which is 50 percent of the funds going to the very poor. I told the story of Muhammed Yunus being asked what the first thing a woman does with the proceeds from a microcredit loan. You might think it would be to put her children in school or feed her family better. No, the first thing a woman does is to bring her children home. The very poor who can't afford to feed their children will sell them into child labor for a handful of rice. So when she has money, the first thing she does is to buy her children back. And Congress has the right to oversee how USAID spends microfinance dollars, and can enforce the 2004 mandate that 50 percent go to the very poor.
Then it was time to come back and fill out paperwork. Since we did both global and domestic lobbying we had to fill out paperwork on both sets of issues. Jos was smart enough to have the forms with him and fill them out during the day. I had that job once I got back.
I called my mother tonight when I got back and told her I understood the value of coming to Washington. It's one thing to see a member of Congress in their home office, but when you come to their turf to lobby, it's the next step up in building that relationship. So I'm coming back next year, God willing.
Going to do a couple of things differently next year, though.
The day started with a breakfast in the Dirksen Senate Office Building. It was a hot breakfast buffet and the Senator from Wyoming -- I don't remember his name -- spoke. It was inspiring. He told stories that were straight from the RESULTS teachings on using stories effectively.
The it was into a cab and off to the House Offices side of the Hill. Our first appointment was at 11, in Congressman Loebsack's office. He had been called out to a meeting, so we met with his Legislative Aide, Megan Linn. I started out the meeting by asking her to thank the Congressman for coming to Cedar Rapids during the flood and for serving meals for the Red Cross over the 4th of July. She seemed genuinely grateful for the acknowledgement. I talked about the need to reform the way the US delivers foreign aid -- purchasing food in the US and shipping it on US vessels. It costs twice as much to purchase the food here versus purchasing food overseas. House Resolution 1268 would change the rules for USAID. She seemed interested and took the fact sheet on it. I will follow up with Kara Marchione (who we had requested be in the meeting but wasn't) as she is the foreign aid aide. Jos talked about the possibility of the Congressman being a leader on health care reform. That's one of the first things he had done when coming to Washington was sign on to cosponser HR 676, a Medicare for All bill. Jos is going to follow up on that issue.
Then it was off to the Rayburn building for lunch and strategizing with other RESULTS members.
Our second meeting was with Jos' Congressman, Leonard Boswell at 1. He had just had surgery and wasn't back in the office yet so we met with his aide. I said I had heard the Congressman had a successful surgery and she perked up, telling us he was sick of being in bed and wanting to get back to work. I did the same ask on House Resolution 1268 and Jos did healthcare reform and the child tax credit. It was a good meeting.
Then back to the Rayburn Building for a 1:45 with the Des Moines group leader's Congressman, a conservative Republican, Tom Latham. When I said I was concerned that US aid dollars weren't going far enough, he perked up. But he wasn't interested in HR 1268. Said the trade unions and ag interests would argue against it. But he was kind about the way he said it. He turned Jos down on every domestic thing he brought up. We just couldn't find any common ground with Latham. But the meeting was cordial nonetheless.
Then back into a cab and over to the Hart Senate Office Building. The Senate was voting on PEPFAR amendments this afternoon and we got to watch part of the debate on the TV in Grassley's office. At three we were ushered into his office and told he had been called to a meeting in Finance but we had three of his top aides in the room. I asked the aides to thank Grassley for coming to Cedar Rapids during the flood, and they were so kind, wanting to know if I had been affected. I had permission to tell my niece's story, so I did. They were concerned about FEMA getting to Cedar Rapids quickly and told me a delegation from Cedar Rapids had been there earlier in the afternoon to talk about tax credits. I told them we needed federal dollars for a buy-out in the 100-year flood plain. And then we got down to business.
Jos talked about healthcare reform, and Grassley's health aide explained his position, which is a "let the private sector fix it" solution. They were interested in the child tax credit minimum being set at $8500, as in the House. Grassley being the watchdog that he is, Jos and I thought asking him to see that USAID funds for microcredit be spent according to the 2004 mandate, which is 50 percent of the funds going to the very poor. I told the story of Muhammed Yunus being asked what the first thing a woman does with the proceeds from a microcredit loan. You might think it would be to put her children in school or feed her family better. No, the first thing a woman does is to bring her children home. The very poor who can't afford to feed their children will sell them into child labor for a handful of rice. So when she has money, the first thing she does is to buy her children back. And Congress has the right to oversee how USAID spends microfinance dollars, and can enforce the 2004 mandate that 50 percent go to the very poor.
Then it was time to come back and fill out paperwork. Since we did both global and domestic lobbying we had to fill out paperwork on both sets of issues. Jos was smart enough to have the forms with him and fill them out during the day. I had that job once I got back.
I called my mother tonight when I got back and told her I understood the value of coming to Washington. It's one thing to see a member of Congress in their home office, but when you come to their turf to lobby, it's the next step up in building that relationship. So I'm coming back next year, God willing.
Going to do a couple of things differently next year, though.
Monday, July 14, 2008
July 14
What a day! The morning started with the domestic plenary: perspectives on healthcare reform. Julie Barnew, Deputy Director of the Health Policy Program at New America Foundation spoke about bills pending which would create a single payer system in the US. This is colloquially known as Medicare for All, since there would be one payor, the government, but private providers (doctors and hospitals). Their web site is www.newamerica.net
At 10:30 was the campaign review and lobby requests sessions. I was already set with the global lobbying I was going to do, and the atmosphere in the domestic room was much gentler than in the global room so I sat in.
I had a candy bar for lunch because I set up the table for the NGO display for the RESULTS Diversity Task Force. I worked the table from 1 to 2 with Monica Jolles from Durham, NC. I had some great conversations with people about adding people of color and people of low income to our groups in order that they can tell their stories to members of Congress personally.
At 3 p.m. I sat in on a session about going deep with your member of Congress led by Sam Daley-Harris, founder of RESULTS. It had to do with finding compelling stories and telling them effectively in order to develop more than a superficial relationship with your MoC.
At 4 was a fundraising workshop with Gwen Garcelon and Sam, Growing Your Inviting Power. I did a share about my experience with inviting Nancy to join our group, the first of six invitations I'm going to issue on our behalf in the communities of color in Cedar Rapids. It was standing at the podium right next to Sam. I think he noticed me because he was listening to the story I was telling. I found out during the workshop that I'm basically not afraid of asking anybody for anything.
Then it was time for supper, which I had while working on my lobbying presentations for tomorrow. At 7 Jos came down to the Hill Room and we went over strategy for an hour in preparation for our meetings. I'm not nervous. It's not that I don't care; it's just that these members of Congress don't scare me. They're human beings who wanted to come to Washington to make a difference in people's lives. I'm there to help them fulfill their mission by asking for legislation that will make a difference in the lives of people living in poverty and hunger. I hope that's not arrogant, because I don't mean it to be. It all seems quite simple to me.
I miss you all terribly. I wish Iowa were closer to Washington so it was easier for us to get here. I am going to thank Loebsack, Grassley and Harkin for coming to Cedar Rapids during the flooding. I want them to know it meant a lot to us that they would make that trip to let us know they were watching out for us all.
At 10:30 was the campaign review and lobby requests sessions. I was already set with the global lobbying I was going to do, and the atmosphere in the domestic room was much gentler than in the global room so I sat in.
I had a candy bar for lunch because I set up the table for the NGO display for the RESULTS Diversity Task Force. I worked the table from 1 to 2 with Monica Jolles from Durham, NC. I had some great conversations with people about adding people of color and people of low income to our groups in order that they can tell their stories to members of Congress personally.
At 3 p.m. I sat in on a session about going deep with your member of Congress led by Sam Daley-Harris, founder of RESULTS. It had to do with finding compelling stories and telling them effectively in order to develop more than a superficial relationship with your MoC.
At 4 was a fundraising workshop with Gwen Garcelon and Sam, Growing Your Inviting Power. I did a share about my experience with inviting Nancy to join our group, the first of six invitations I'm going to issue on our behalf in the communities of color in Cedar Rapids. It was standing at the podium right next to Sam. I think he noticed me because he was listening to the story I was telling. I found out during the workshop that I'm basically not afraid of asking anybody for anything.
Then it was time for supper, which I had while working on my lobbying presentations for tomorrow. At 7 Jos came down to the Hill Room and we went over strategy for an hour in preparation for our meetings. I'm not nervous. It's not that I don't care; it's just that these members of Congress don't scare me. They're human beings who wanted to come to Washington to make a difference in people's lives. I'm there to help them fulfill their mission by asking for legislation that will make a difference in the lives of people living in poverty and hunger. I hope that's not arrogant, because I don't mean it to be. It all seems quite simple to me.
I miss you all terribly. I wish Iowa were closer to Washington so it was easier for us to get here. I am going to thank Loebsack, Grassley and Harkin for coming to Cedar Rapids during the flooding. I want them to know it meant a lot to us that they would make that trip to let us know they were watching out for us all.
Sunday, July 13, 2008
July 13
The highlight of the morning was the presentation by Michel Kazatchkine, Executive Director of the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. Before heading up the Global Fund, which is a fund countries like the US contribute to in order that the GF might make grants to developing countries to fight these diseases of poverty, Michel was a physician, researcher and diplomat around AIDS.
Ninety percent of the burden of diseases is concentrated in developing countries. Yet developing countries account for 20 percent of global health dollars and 12 percent of medical expenditures. Therefore, health is now a prerequisite for development. health is an investment for the mid- and the long-term.
What people thought was impossible is now becoming possible. Action is necessary for change.
There is now evidence for the feasibility and effectiveness of AIDS drug treatment.
2002 was the initiation of the GF. It has to date disbursed $6B in 584 grants to 134 countries. Responding to demand, 60 percent of the grants have been to fight AIDS; 14 percent to fight TB; and 25 percent to fight malaria. Ninety-three percent of the funding is to low-income countries. In the years since the GF started, 1.7 million people have been treated with intivirals and 60 million bed nets have been distributed. There have been decreases by 40-90 percent of malaria deaths in two years.
The risk today is conplacency.
The afternoon started with a panel featuring David Lane, executive director of the ONE Campaign and Michael Petit, founder and president of Every Child Matters Education Fund. Jos works with the Every Child Matters group in Des Moines. I am going to talk to him to see about us doing some partnering with them. They will Thursday release Homeland Insecurity II, a report on the sad state of affairs for the children in this country.
The skills workshop I attended was the one put together by the Diversity Task Force. It was rather sad. The African-American woman on the panel let it be known in no uncertain terms that unless you were black, she had nothing in common with you and didn't want to hear what you had to say. I was saddened by that attitude. How limiting it is. And how limited is the growth potential.
At 5:30 was the Grassroots Awards Celebration. Douglas, our domestic regional coordinator encouraged me to attend. Now I know why. He and Allison, our global regional coordinator, took the stage and began talking about the Cedar Rapids group -- how much we have achieved in just a year and a half. Next thing I know I'm called on stage to receive the Energizer Bunny group leader award.
Tonight it rained, but Douglas wanted to take me to the Dubliner, a place he frequents when in DC and about three blocks from the hotel. We had a lovely dinner serenaded by live musicians. I had the shepherd's pie. It was scruptious. We dined for 90 minutes and then I came back to blog. Now I'm headed down to the Karaoke Party at which Jos does his Elvis channeling.
Ninety percent of the burden of diseases is concentrated in developing countries. Yet developing countries account for 20 percent of global health dollars and 12 percent of medical expenditures. Therefore, health is now a prerequisite for development. health is an investment for the mid- and the long-term.
What people thought was impossible is now becoming possible. Action is necessary for change.
There is now evidence for the feasibility and effectiveness of AIDS drug treatment.
2002 was the initiation of the GF. It has to date disbursed $6B in 584 grants to 134 countries. Responding to demand, 60 percent of the grants have been to fight AIDS; 14 percent to fight TB; and 25 percent to fight malaria. Ninety-three percent of the funding is to low-income countries. In the years since the GF started, 1.7 million people have been treated with intivirals and 60 million bed nets have been distributed. There have been decreases by 40-90 percent of malaria deaths in two years.
The risk today is conplacency.
The afternoon started with a panel featuring David Lane, executive director of the ONE Campaign and Michael Petit, founder and president of Every Child Matters Education Fund. Jos works with the Every Child Matters group in Des Moines. I am going to talk to him to see about us doing some partnering with them. They will Thursday release Homeland Insecurity II, a report on the sad state of affairs for the children in this country.
The skills workshop I attended was the one put together by the Diversity Task Force. It was rather sad. The African-American woman on the panel let it be known in no uncertain terms that unless you were black, she had nothing in common with you and didn't want to hear what you had to say. I was saddened by that attitude. How limiting it is. And how limited is the growth potential.
At 5:30 was the Grassroots Awards Celebration. Douglas, our domestic regional coordinator encouraged me to attend. Now I know why. He and Allison, our global regional coordinator, took the stage and began talking about the Cedar Rapids group -- how much we have achieved in just a year and a half. Next thing I know I'm called on stage to receive the Energizer Bunny group leader award.
Tonight it rained, but Douglas wanted to take me to the Dubliner, a place he frequents when in DC and about three blocks from the hotel. We had a lovely dinner serenaded by live musicians. I had the shepherd's pie. It was scruptious. We dined for 90 minutes and then I came back to blog. Now I'm headed down to the Karaoke Party at which Jos does his Elvis channeling.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
July 12
The conference began for me today with Leadership Day. And we weren't 15 minutes into Leadership Day when Ken Patterson asked me to do a share on how I came to RESULTS. I explained about hearing Jos Linn speak at the Zero Poverty Symposium and that it touched me at such an emotional level that I started to cry. I'll put the text of the share on the RESULTS page on the Christ Church web site yet tonight so you can see it.
Important point here -- don't ride 28 hours on a train by yourself and expect to be emotionally strong. I got to the part in the share where it said, "I started to cry." and I started to cry. Must have been okay, though, because I got a rousing ovation when it was over and five or six people came up to me to thank me for sharing.
I also told the story of why I call Jos "Grandfather." I'll put the share on the website tonight. You can find it at www.christepiscopal.org and look for the RESULTS page on the left side of the screen.
I had supper with Jos and that was a delight. I had a caesar salad. Had missed breakfast and lunch, so getting some fiber sounded like a good idea.
Tomorrow Gwen Garcelon, fundraiser expert for RESULTS, is going to do a share about our ice cream social.
Important point here -- don't ride 28 hours on a train by yourself and expect to be emotionally strong. I got to the part in the share where it said, "I started to cry." and I started to cry. Must have been okay, though, because I got a rousing ovation when it was over and five or six people came up to me to thank me for sharing.
I also told the story of why I call Jos "Grandfather." I'll put the share on the website tonight. You can find it at www.christepiscopal.org and look for the RESULTS page on the left side of the screen.
I had supper with Jos and that was a delight. I had a caesar salad. Had missed breakfast and lunch, so getting some fiber sounded like a good idea.
Tomorrow Gwen Garcelon, fundraiser expert for RESULTS, is going to do a share about our ice cream social.
July 10-12
Well, my friends, I'm finally in Washington. The 28-hour train ride was exhausting. My sight-seeing afternoon was spent on a slow train from Chicago. I did get to sit next to a very kind and delightful man from Newport New, VA, who was kind enough to leave me alone for the most part, as I was busy thinking about my presentations.
I feel like this conference is going to be the Diane Show! I make a presentation this afternoon (Saturday) telling the story of how Jos Linn came to the Zero Poverty Conference to make a RESULTS presentation that hit me at such a deep emotional level that I ended up in tears and barely able to tell him I wanted to be part of RESULTS. I'm going to add to that story the reason I call Jos "Grandfather." Given that I'm part -- a very small part, but a part nonetheless -- Mohawk I feel okay about adopting that Native American tradition which gives the term of respect Grandfather to our elders. Jos started this group and kept us going and has always been there for us, and he is our RESULTS Grandfather. He laughs when I call him that.
Then Monday afternoon I give a presentation on our Pilot City program in Cedar Rapids for the RESULTS Diversity Task Force and report on our first meeting with a contact in a target population, and how Nancy wants to join our group. BTW, Nancy is an educator at Mt. Mercy. She has a degree in math and a degree in physics -- two subjects I've always avoided because they are so confusing for me.
And sometime during the three days Gwen Garcelon, the Fundraising Guru for RESULTS is going to talk about our ice cream social. I'm glad she does this presentation and not me. Otherwise, it would truly be the Diane Show!
I went to the Washington National Cathedral this morning and it's breathtaking. In its shadow, waiting for the doors to be open to the public, I wrote my presentations. And I've met the most fascinating cab drivers here. Kate, it was easy to get a cab from the train station to the hotel. The driver showed me a picture of his seven-month-old son Mohammed. And this morning coming back from the cathedral my cab driver was originally from Ethiopia. He takes his nine-year-old son to the library every two weeks and lets his son check out a book. Then, in order to get his allowance, his son delivers an oral book report on what he's read. So nice to see parents so involved with their children's education.
I'm beginning now to memorize what I'm going to say during our lobbying meetings. I have about an hour before I have to check out and the conference starts. After this afternoon's session, I check back in with my two roommates. I need to revise things a little for the Congressmen. And I saw on the news that Boswell just got out of surgery and "expects to be back to work soon." I don't know if he's going to be back by Tuesday. I hope so. Did you see Senator Kennedy came back for a vote?
I feel like this conference is going to be the Diane Show! I make a presentation this afternoon (Saturday) telling the story of how Jos Linn came to the Zero Poverty Conference to make a RESULTS presentation that hit me at such a deep emotional level that I ended up in tears and barely able to tell him I wanted to be part of RESULTS. I'm going to add to that story the reason I call Jos "Grandfather." Given that I'm part -- a very small part, but a part nonetheless -- Mohawk I feel okay about adopting that Native American tradition which gives the term of respect Grandfather to our elders. Jos started this group and kept us going and has always been there for us, and he is our RESULTS Grandfather. He laughs when I call him that.
Then Monday afternoon I give a presentation on our Pilot City program in Cedar Rapids for the RESULTS Diversity Task Force and report on our first meeting with a contact in a target population, and how Nancy wants to join our group. BTW, Nancy is an educator at Mt. Mercy. She has a degree in math and a degree in physics -- two subjects I've always avoided because they are so confusing for me.
And sometime during the three days Gwen Garcelon, the Fundraising Guru for RESULTS is going to talk about our ice cream social. I'm glad she does this presentation and not me. Otherwise, it would truly be the Diane Show!
I went to the Washington National Cathedral this morning and it's breathtaking. In its shadow, waiting for the doors to be open to the public, I wrote my presentations. And I've met the most fascinating cab drivers here. Kate, it was easy to get a cab from the train station to the hotel. The driver showed me a picture of his seven-month-old son Mohammed. And this morning coming back from the cathedral my cab driver was originally from Ethiopia. He takes his nine-year-old son to the library every two weeks and lets his son check out a book. Then, in order to get his allowance, his son delivers an oral book report on what he's read. So nice to see parents so involved with their children's education.
I'm beginning now to memorize what I'm going to say during our lobbying meetings. I have about an hour before I have to check out and the conference starts. After this afternoon's session, I check back in with my two roommates. I need to revise things a little for the Congressmen. And I saw on the news that Boswell just got out of surgery and "expects to be back to work soon." I don't know if he's going to be back by Tuesday. I hope so. Did you see Senator Kennedy came back for a vote?
Thursday, July 3, 2008
July 3 update
Because of the holiday weekend we didn't have a global call last night.
On the domestic call today I learned that the results of the healthcare survey showed a majority of RESULTS volunteers who took the survey showed interest in a single-payer plan, but there was some trepidation as to whether RESULTS should back single-payer now or wait. Douglas says that, depending on the outcome of the Board meeting (he is a member of the RESULTS Board), RESULTS will probably back single-payer first. There is a summary of the survey coming soon.
Expanding Child Tax Credits passed the House in May and is currently active in the Senate. If it is still active at our July meeting, contacting Grassley and Harkin will be one of our options for action.
A mom was preparing pancakes for her two sons, Ryan, 5, and Spencer, 3. While she was prepping the breakfast, she overheard the boys arguing about who was going to get the first pancake. She decided to teach them a moral lesson. She went to the table and told them, "If Jesus were here, he would say, 'My brother, I want you to have the first pancake.'" Ryan then said to Spencer, "My brother, I'll give you the first chance to be Jesus."
On the domestic call today I learned that the results of the healthcare survey showed a majority of RESULTS volunteers who took the survey showed interest in a single-payer plan, but there was some trepidation as to whether RESULTS should back single-payer now or wait. Douglas says that, depending on the outcome of the Board meeting (he is a member of the RESULTS Board), RESULTS will probably back single-payer first. There is a summary of the survey coming soon.
Expanding Child Tax Credits passed the House in May and is currently active in the Senate. If it is still active at our July meeting, contacting Grassley and Harkin will be one of our options for action.
A mom was preparing pancakes for her two sons, Ryan, 5, and Spencer, 3. While she was prepping the breakfast, she overheard the boys arguing about who was going to get the first pancake. She decided to teach them a moral lesson. She went to the table and told them, "If Jesus were here, he would say, 'My brother, I want you to have the first pancake.'" Ryan then said to Spencer, "My brother, I'll give you the first chance to be Jesus."
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