Afternoon News
From Arizona Central:
A bus sporting the familiar red, white and blue logo of President Barack Obama's campaign debuted in central Phoenix on Wednesday evening on the vanguard of a Democratic counteroffensive in support of health-care reform.
Hundreds of supporters rallied at one of the earliest stops on the Democratic National Committee's "Health Insurance Reform Now: Let's Get it Done!" bus tour that is part of a campaign that the Democrats promise will include more than a thousand pro-reform events across the country before Congress returns to session in September.
Pat Flickner, a Phoenix Democrat, said she was willing to demonstrate on a hot August night because her daughter, a dog groomer, "works her tail off" but still can't afford health insurance.
From the Huffington Post:
It was 2008 all over again Wednesday night as Organizing for America (OFA), formerly Obama for America, launched their cross-country "Reform Health Care Now: Let's Get It Done Tour" from Arizona, a state that has becoming a focus of the Democratic Party.
The event had all of the trappings of a political campaign rally. Songs from Obama's 2008 presidential campaign blared from a PA system as more than a thousand Obama supporters filed in. Dozens of volunteers roved the crowd signing up new volunteers to phone bank, knock on doors, and do visibility in the street. The Obama logo and health care reform slogans were everywhere -- on the bus, on rally signs, on tee shirts, even on a dog sweater...
The opening speaker told her own personal health care story. She was injured the same day as a professional athlete. She followed his progress in the news over the next couple of months as he received treatment, had surgery, and recovered. Although she had the same injury, she says she was forced to go without treatment for a few months because her health insurance company denied her claim. Just as paralysis was beginning to set in, a relative who works for a law firm that practices medical malpractice intervened, and she was able to have the surgery and treatment she needed.
Several local public officials also spoke, and the National Director Buy cheap Accutane Online of OFA, Mitch Stewart also addressed the crowd. Democratic Arizona Representative Kyrsten Sinema, who is a member of Obama's Special Task Force on Health Reform, told the crowd that most Americans want health reform but that many have been frightened by misinformation circulating around the issue.
"We need your voice!" Sinema told the crowd, "The people with the misinformation and the lies are the ones in front of the microphone, and they're making people afraid of what they want, what we all need."
From the Washington Post:
The federal government's month-long "Cash for Clunkers" program ended after having spent almost the entire $3 billion allotted and putting 690,114 new, more fuel-efficient cars on the road, the Transportation Department said Wednesday...
One auto analyst called the program a success, if only because his research showed that it was responsible for saving 39,000 jobs that otherwise would have been eliminated.
"It's really more substantial than we had thought in terms of stimulus," said David Cole, chairman of the Center for Automotive Research. "This is companies putting people back to work."
General Motors announced last week that it will reinstate 1,350 workers and add overtime for about 10,000 at three plants, as the automaker replenishes inventory sold during the government program...
"Moribund showrooms were brought back to life and consumers bought fuel-efficient cars that will save them money and improve the environment," Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement Wednesday.