Someone Please Explain This to Mark Oxner.

In 2010, my opponent Dan Fanelli ran a TV ad arguing that white people should not be “pulled out of line at the airport,” because it’s an “invasion of our privacy,” and it’s “time to stop political correctness.”

Apparently, Fanelli had never heard of white terrorists Timothy McVeigh or Ted Kaczynski. But he may have heard later about Jared Loughner, who killed six people in his attempted assassination of Rep. Gabby Giffords, and Anders Breivik, who killed 93 people in Norway.

Well, the Silly Season is upon us again. My opponent Mark Oxner has topped Dan Fanelli.

Oxner is running an ad depicting Barack Obama, our first African-American President, as the captain of a slave ship. Populated by white children in chains.

The ad does feature some utterly incoherent, random references to “corporate subsidies,” “free healthcare,” bank bailouts, “the 99 percent,” Guy Fawkes, Cialis and “my husband’s solar company.” Much like a fevered, quick-cut dream of a junkie, strung out on meth. Or Glenn Beck. One or the other.

But the centerpiece of the ad is a maniacal photoshopped image of President Barack Obama, shouting “uh, no questions on this ship.” Plus a tight close-up of two 10-year-old white girls, in chains, rowing furiously. And in case you missed that oh-so-subtle point, there are balloons with the President’s campaign logo gently floating up and down, and the ship is called the “U.S.S. Obamaboat.”

In other words, prejudiced, demented garbage.

And I’m in the ad; my head is photoshopped onto the body of a parrot. Because, as everyone knows, I never have any thoughts of my own.

When Oxner posted this ad on YouTube, he understandably disabled the “like/dislike” ratings function, perhaps knowing that in Fanelli’s case, “dislike” beat out “like” by 10-to-1. Oxner also has assiduously deleted the cascade of criticism that was posted.

But he can’t censor the entire Internet. What did people say about Oxner’s ad? Well, I’ll give you a hint. If you google “Oxner racist,” you get 26,000 hits. Alternet called it “overt racism.” The Huffington Post called it “bizarre.” Facebook, without even bothering to comment on it, simply banned it.

Why is Mark Oxner running for Congress? Because KKK Grand Wizard David Duke isn’t a Florida resident?

I try really hard to give people good reasons to vote for me. Things I stand for. Things I care about. Things I’ve done. Things I’m going to do. But Mark Oxner has provided one of the best reasons I can think of: if I’m elected to Congress in November, then Mark Oxner won’t be.

We have set up a special ActBlue page, in honor of Mark Oxner, called “Beat the Bigot.” Because in every election, even if there isn’t always someone to vote for, there’s always someone to vote against. If you are just as disgusted with racist cranks like Mark Oxner as I am, then click here, and do something about it.

Courage,

Alan Grayson

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Massachusetts – Blue Cross Blue Shield – Pre-existing conditions and Mandates -exposed?

04/02/2012 Nativegrl77

Jason takes on an insurance company to help save his dad

“My dad, Henry, had a terrible heart attack last fall that left him with severely impaired cognitive and motor skills. His doctors said that rehab would help him get better, but his insurance provider — Blue Cross Blue Shield Massachusetts — refused to pay.

I started a petition on Change.org and almost 200,000 people signed it. Now Blue Cross has agreed to pay for my dad’s care.” -Jason Warren

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Jason Rosenbaum, BoldProgressives.org

04/02/2012 Nativegrl77

On Thursday, the Republican-controlled Congress voted for the second year in a row to end Medicare.

That’s what Republicans do when they are in control — vote to end Medicare, wage war on women, and give more tax cuts to the rich. What would a Congress controlled by progressives look like?

Progressive candidates around the country — including Darcy Burner in Washington’s 1st congressional district — answered that question this week. They took the fight directly to their Republican opponents.

Watch the video of Darcy and others in action around the county — and sign their petition holding Republicans accountable for wanting to end Medicare.

Darcy started a petition to her Republican opponent, John Koster, to hold him accountable and to show Republicans in Congress that there is a political price to be paid on the campaign trail.

Darcy collected signatures, and then she worked with Rob Zerban — who is running against Paul Ryan, the author of the plan to end Medicare — to deliver her signatures, along with thousands of others from candidates around the country, to Ryan’s office in Wisconsin!

This is what a progressive Congress in action would look like — activists and organizers like Darcy standing and fighting for the things America believes in, like Medicare and Social Security.

Click here to watch the video of Darcy (and other candidates) in action, and then sign on to their petition — more deliveries are being planned.

Thanks for being a bold progressive.

— Jason Rosenbaum, Adam Green, Stephanie Taylor, and the PCCC team

~ politics petitions pollution and pop culture

Health Care for America Now … Supports Patient Protection & Affordable Care Act

04/01/2012 Nativegrl77

Health Care for America Now was able to bring people from across the country to the steps of the U.S. Supreme Court this week to tell their stories about how Obamacare is already helping them and millions of Americans.

Click here to see a photo gallery of activity on the Supreme Court steps.

Stacie Ritter’s twin girls, childhood cancer survivors who can not be denied care due to pre-existing conditions.

For three days the justices heard oral arguments on the constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act. Outside, thousands of people gathered to fight the Republican attack on this law and health care programs like Medicaid and Medicare.

HCAN and our allies were out in force and made a big splash in the media. Here are just a few of the people who were able to tell the national press their stories:

Theodore Method is a military veteran and retired postal worker from Virginia whose wife has Alzheimer’s disease, high blood pressure, diabetes and congestive heart failure and is now living in a nursing home where Theodore goes to feed her lunch every day. If his wife’s Medicaid benefits were cut, Theodore would have to exhaust his own retirement funds to maintain his wife’s standard of care and would quickly run out of resources for both of them.
Spike Dolomite Ward was uninsured when she was diagnosed last year with Stage 3 breast cancer. Now she is covered and receiving chemotherapy thanks to Obamacare’s Pre-Existing Condition Insurance Plan.
Stacie Ritter is a Pennsylvania mom to twin daughters who survived leukemia after the family battled with the insurance company and filed for bankruptcy. Thanks to the Affordable Care Act, her daughters can never again be excluded from coverage because of pre-existing conditions. We know these stories had an impact on those who heard them this week.

We know these stories had an impact this week. Please watch the videos showing how important the health care law is here and here.

We will continue to fight the tea party and extremist Republicans to protect this law and put people before profits. Thank you for your continued support and commitment to providing affordable, quality health care for all.

Thanks,

Will O’Neill Health Care for America Now