DFA Radio  

"We thought it was very important to create this interactive forum for DFA members," says Lewis. "Since nobody else seemed to be doing it, we decided to take the first step and put a show together. There were a few glitches in the first show, but overall, I think it worked out pretty well and we're looking forward to the next one."

The topic for Tuesday night's show was "Health Care in America". Sandra Verthein of Northside DFA was the featured guest for the night, and talked about the Health Care Forum she organized in Chicago on the night before the Yearly KOS convention. Sandra mentioned that DFA helped with organizing the forum, and in addition, "what was so great is that DFA has been collecting these [Health Care horror] stories online, and they actually had 700 stories from Illinois." Those stories were presented by members of Democracy for Illinois during visits to the offices of Senators Durbin and Obama, and the staff members "stressed repeatedly" how crucial those stories were. DFA members who would like help in organizing a local Health Care for America forum and follow-up congressional visit are encouraged to contact Ilya Sheyman, DFA's community organizer. At your request, DFA will attempt to contact an individual with a personal health care story and find out if he or she is available for your congressional meeting. One more piece of advice from Sandra: Ask your legislators to see Michael Moore's SiCKO documentary.

In the follow-up segment, host Robin Kinlin talked about planning grassroots events and several listeners called in.

Calls into the live program included:

• Jessica Falker, an organizer with DemocracyFest, who reminded listeners about the DemocracyFest Vermont House Party coming up this weekend (August 18th).
• George Hunt from Progressive Democracy South Jersey, who spoke about a Health Care Forum being held on September 10 at Rutgers University in New Jersey.
• Terry, who mentioned nationalnurse.org as an important group that organizers may want to include in their coalitions.

Visit DFA-Link for a list of scheduled Health Care for America forums and congressional meetings. Events are currently scheduled in August and September.

Links from August 14th show:

• Chicago DFA Health Care Forum: 700 Stories by Sandra Verthein
• Submit your personal Health Care Horror Stories to DFA
• YouTube SiCKO page: A collection of video horror stories
• DemocracyFest Vermont House Party on Saturday, August 18th
• Health Care for America forums and congressional meetings on DFA-Link
• Schedule your own Health Care Forum and get Health Care Horror Stories submitted to DFA

DFA Radio
Every Tuesday @ 9-10pm Eastern, 6-7pm Pacific
Listen to live or recorded programs at: democracyforamerica.com/radio
Call-in number during live shows: (646) 716-8150

Disclaimer: DFA Radio is a people-powered program, and is not sponsored by or affiliated with Democracy for America, Burlington, VT.