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Healthcare Reform Margie's Uninsured Blog Nat'l Gray Panthers

Modified: March 7, 2010

 

Gray Panthers Sacto. Monthly Meetings: 2nd Tuesday of every month, Hart Senior Center

Steering Committee Meetings: 4th Tuesday of every month, Hart Senior Center

Officers
Temporary leaders: Margie Metzler, (916) 921-5008, margiemetz@hotmail.com; Arnie Godmintz, (916) 332-5980, arniegod@sbcglobal.net; Pat Naylor, (916) 391-6274, plnaylor@comcast.net
Lola Young: Treasurer
Dr. Karl Stoffers: Environment
Terrelle Terry: Disability issues
Lola Young: Aging & Disability Task Force
John Bernier, Pallo Defternos:

Peace/Nukes
Nell Ranta, Hospitality
Linda Roberts and Karen Raasch (CIDs), Housing issues
Nell Ranta, Labor/Wage/ Women issues
Karen Raasch and Marjorie Murray: CIDs and Mobile Homes
Linda Roberts: Urban Sprawl Issues
Margie Metzler: Medicare/ MediCal
Geri Esposito and Margie Metzler: Single Payer

Newsletter Editor: Betty Cooper Youngren
Writers: Joan Lee, John Bernier, Margie Metzler
Printing, Paratransit: Pat Naylor Mailing: Pat Naylor
Labels and Mailing List: Margie Metzler
Local Press Releases: John Bernier
Peter D'Anna, SS/Medicare Advisor
Cordia Wade, County Commission Rep.
Dale Kooyman, Barbara Stanton, Richard Seyman
,Transportation Issues
Margie Metzler, Computer Assistant
Margie Metzler, Medicare Part D/ Healthcare Reform Program Coordinator and Webmaster, www.gpcal.org

Links

Gray Panthers Sacramento

Newsletters

Joan B. Lee, 1927-2008

Bill Young, 1932-2009

 

GRAY PANTHERS GENERAL MEETING

March Meeting
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
1-3 pm
Hart Senior Center
28th and J Streets, Cypress Room

Preventing Gun Violence


Amanda Wilcox, the Legislative Co-Person of the California Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, will be the speaker at the March 9th meeting of the Gray Panthers of Sacramento. The mission of California Brady Campaign Chapters is the enacting of sensible and responsible gun laws at the local, state and national levels.

Everyone is Welcome!

For further information contact Margie Metzler at 916-921-5008.

Amanda Wilcox, the Legislative Co-Person of the California Brady Campaign to Prevent Gun Violence, will be the speaker at the March 9th meeting of the Gray Panthers of Sacramento. The mission of California Brady Campaign Chapters is the enacting of sensible and responsible gun laws at the local, state and national levels. The Gray Panthers meeting will be 1 PM at the Hart Senior Center, 915 - 27th St., Sacramento (between I and J Streets).

Our meetings are the second Tuesday of every month, Cypress Room at the Hart Center. Our Steering Committee meetings are on the fourth Tuesday of every month and you are welcome to either meeting. Please call 916-921-5008 if you have questions.

Everyone welcome!


Upcoming Meetings

  1. In late March the California Budget Project will have an all-day training session; several of us will go and if others in the Chapter want to attend we will reimburse (921-5008). We will devote our April 13th meeting to the CPB and their findings.
We decided to use the last 15 minutes of every meeting for updates on IHSS, the budget, and healthcare/Medicare issues.

  http://www.sacbee.com/2010/02/23/2556752_79-year-old-earns-degree-from.html

Our Own Gray Panther Alice Thomas Finishes Law School

79-year-old earns degree from McGeorge School of Law
By Blair Anthony Robertson

brobertson@sacbee.com
Published: Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010 - 12:00 am | Page 1D
Last Modified: Tuesday, Feb. 23, 2010 - 9:00 am


LEZLIE STERLING Bee file, 2008 Alice Thomas, recently graduated from McGeorge School of Law, will take the bar exam this summer.

Alice Thomas had the audacity to enroll in law school at an uncommonly old age, the perseverance to remain as her longtime companion battled and eventually succumbed to Alzheimer's disease, and the tenacity to endure setbacks that included academic probation before finally graduating from McGeorge School of Law.

Now, at age 79, she is the oldest graduate in McGeorge history and one of the oldest lawyers-to-be the nation has ever known. And she owes a ton of money she borrowed to pay for her education – money she will begin repaying after she takes the California or Nevada bar exam this summer and, with any luck, begins life as a rookie lawyer at age 80.

Yes, she's determined. Yes, she's stubborn, and yes, finally, she is done with law school.
When Tim Naccarato, the principal assistant dean at McGeorge, announces one by one the graduates at the May 15 ceremony, he has Thomas' permission to point out her staggering achievement to the crowd.

"She has been a delight since the day she got here," said Naccarato.

A traditional legal education takes three years; an older law student is usually someone in his or her 30s. After a long career doing office work in the construction industry, Thomas enrolled at McGeorge in 2002 to pursue her long-held dream. She finished her course work in late December.

Thomas held off on agreeing to a newspaper interview until she landed the job she was seeking at a Reno law firm, where she will work on legal issues involving the elderly.
"I was so nervous during my final exam because I thought, 'If I don't do well, I'm out,' " Thomas said.

There was plenty of pressure. Time was not on her side. Thomas struggled mightily at McGeorge. Her longtime companion (she asked that his name not be published) developed symptoms of Alzheimer's and eventually died. Thomas served as his caregiver, and the distraction eventually became too much. Her grades plummeted and she was placed on academic probation.

Thomas had to petition for reinstatement to continue.

During her years at McGeorge, it is a safe bet that no one prompted more double-takes upon taking a seat in class than Thomas, who was significantly older not only than her fellow students but all but one professor.

"Most of the time, the other students acted like I wasn't even alive. Some of them asked if I was really serious," she said. "I told them I could take a first-class trip around the world and not spend as much money and not have to work as hard."

Thomas was, indeed, a fixture on campus, lugging her thick law books from class to class in a suitcase on wheels. Said Naccarato with a chuckle. "I used to kid her that she looks like she's going to Las Vegas for the weekend."

Thomas often wore a pearl necklace, dressed conservatively and, to her frequent dismay, sometimes wondered about the fashion statements of her fellow students.

"I see people coming in here with bare midriffs and their fannies showing," she said, frowning.

To pay for law school, Thomas had to get low-interest student loans. Now she has to start paying them back – to the tune of $70,000.

She doesn't expect to change the world as a lawyer, but she hopes her time in the field will at least allow her to "nibble at" some injustices.

Thomas is in no mood for a life of leisure. At an age when she could be planning her next cruise, she is thinking about the months ahead, her new job and the arduous process of studying for the bar exam. She will turn 80 in July and likely won't find out if she passed until around Thanksgiving.

During her years at McGeorge, Thomas worked at the school's Elder Law Clinic, helping seniors with a variety of legal challenges. Initially, she was reluctant to be pigeonholed as someone who wanted to work only on behalf of seniors, but she says she grew to love the work and embraced the wide range of challenges.

While a student, Thomas often confronted the question of why she was putting herself through such a tough task. A legal education is notoriously difficult and stressful, full of long hours and seemingly endless reading and memorizing.

Back in 2008, Thomas told The Bee she wanted to become a lawyer so she could help people, make money doing it and continue to flourish as an active person.

"A lot of people my age think I'm out of my mind," Thomas said at the time. "But a lot of older people just sit and watch the grass grow, and they end up disintegrating.

"When you quit learning something, you might as well crawl into a coffin and pull the dirt in after you."
© Copyright The Sacramento Bee. All rights reserved.

Town Hall Meetings in our Area

As you know from radio, TV and newspapers, Congress members throughout the country recently held town hall meetings to discuss health care issues, many disrupted by loud demonstrations. Gray Panthers member Margie Metzler attended the Matsui meeting, two Lungren meetings, and one McClintock meeting and submitted the following report and the article from the Bee, October 11:
Matsui defends health care overhaul in long-awaited town hall
http://www.sacbee.com/296/story/2245539.html
By Anna Tong
atong@sacbee.com
Published: Sunday, Oct. 11, 2009 - 12:00 am | Page 1B
Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, greets Gloria Powell, 78, of Sacramento at her town hall meeting Saturday at Sutter Middle School. She asked constituents to be patient with Congress. "This is like the third quarter of a football game," she said. "We want to sign at the end of the year so we can begin reform on January 1. … We are taking the time to do it right."
Unlike noisy town-hall meetings on overhauling health care that dominated the summer in Northern California, Saturday's session in Sacramento was more pep rally than shouting match.
The meeting, hosted by Rep. Doris Matsui, D-Sacramento, drew about 700 people and only a few boos. And it drew a pledge from Matsui to stand fast by a controversial public health insurance option, expanded coverage and medical care cost-cutting -- the hallmarks of insurance overhaul demands by left-leaning Democratic Party members in Washington, D.C.
"I want to make sure no family in Sacramento risks bankruptcy just because a loved one gets sick," Matsui said to cheers. "This bill will ensure that 97 percent of Americans have access to health insurance. Right now, 100,000 people in this community are uninsured."
It was Matsui's first in-person meeting with constituents in the health care debate, and it may be her last. Matsui has been criticized for not having a meeting earlier, but she said conversations with constituents now will have greatest impact on reform.

"We are still in the middle of the process, but now we know the ideas," she said.

She asked constituents to hang tight through the politicking in Washington -- a process expected to last at least another couple of months.
"This is like the third quarter of a football game," she said. "We want to sign at the end of the year so we can begin reform on January 1. ? We are taking the time to do it right."
At Saturday's Democratic rally in Sacramento, health insurance companies were vilified.
Dan Monahan, a Sacramento surgeon, said when he began practicing 22 years ago he naively thought health insurance companies wanted the best for his patients. He said he discovered they were less interested in patients' health than saving money by denying services.
"No other country in the world has for-profit insurance companies like we do," he said.
One lone man made a fuss and was quelled by a policewoman. Bill Cooper of Sacramento wore a "Nobama" T-shirt and held a mini American flag. He said he opposes a public option because it would not increase competition among health insurers.
"You're wrong!" he shouted repeatedly, while other nearby participants rolled their eyes. "You're just freaking lying!"
Despite the friendly atmosphere, questions directed at Matsui were diverse. Some participants asked personal questions, referencing their own experiences with the health care system. Matsui's audience at Sutter Middle School was a racially diverse mix of young and old.
Some of Matsui's toughest questioning came from liberal critics, such as Claire Toomay, a McClatchy High School teacher, who pointedly asked about the influence of the health care industry in drafting overhaul legislation.
Matsui's response was uncharacteristically animated.
Insurance companies don't want a public option, she said, but she supports it. Pharmaceutical companies have been reluctant to negotiate Medicare drug prices, but she wants them to, she said.
"Health care reform may work this time because everyone is around the table," she said. "In the Clinton administration, we froze them out."
Toomay said the passion from Matsui was unexpected. Matsui's town hall was a contrast to forums hosted by her congressional colleagues this past summer when feverish debate produced standing-room-only crowds.
Saturday there were no real clashes. There were no dueling pickets outside the town hall, as there were at town halls held by Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River.
There was, however, Charles Johnson of Sacramento, who bemoaned the complexity of the nation's current health-care system. Enrolled on Medicare Advantage, he said he feels overwhelmed by the unfamiliar insurance plan choices and all the acronyms he faces.
"You have to have a lawyer to get insurance," he said.
But the one comment that elicited a prolonged standing ovation was something everybody seemed to understand.
"This debate ends up being about a moral right," said Gay Jones of Sacramento. "Everybody needs to make this moral decision-- that everybody is entitled to health care."
Matsui is on the House Energy and Commerce Committee, one of three House panels that have drafted health care overhaul bills. Matsui said her committee's plan is deficit neutral and that those who are happy with their private coverage or Medicare would continue to have the same. For the uninsured, she said, she supports a health insurance exchange marketplace.
:

Report on Lungren Town Hall Meetings

Margie Metzler

I went to two of the three Lungren Town Halls and my friend Arnie Godmintz went to the third. The first, on August 19, was in Citrus Heights. I got there about 20 minutes before the event was to begin, and was too late to get in. I stayed in the line about an hour, however, talking to people. There were people with signs and flyers all around, most objecting to the public option, and one demonstration, three black guys, held a sign showing Barack Obama with a Hitler mustache. I heard later they were with Lyndon Larouche. The demonstrations were impassioned, but not violent and I felt no danger. There were a lot of progressives there too and that was comforting.

I chatted with a guy in front of me, older and mad in general. He seemed somewhat confused and I noticed that he was pretty much just spouting the talking points from Fox. I told him I was uninsured and asked him what kind of healthcare he had, and he answered “Medicare”. I pointed out that is a government program and asked how he liked it. He loves it. “I just want the program you have,” I responded. He continued railing about “government interference,” no understanding and no irony. I asked him if he gets his news from Fox, and he said “Yes, that’s where you hear the truth.” I said mildly that they don’t in fact tell the truth and that was that.

I said to the four people behind me, “I am uninsured and I am scared.” They were not pro-reform, but were nice people, and asked me why I was not insured. I said that I had been laid off from a good job three years ago and that it is not easy for a woman in her 60’s to find a job, especially in this economy, and that I was now working three part-time jobs, including adjunct teacher in a local college, but these are all jobs that don’t provide benefits. I think people ask why I’m uninsured because they want to prove I am a bum, i.e. not a worthwhile person, and also to prove to themselves that this couldn’t happen to them. They are always quiet when I tell them my story, probably because it does indeed occur to them that bad things can happen to good people and in fact they are in danger too.

The woman with the group spoke up. “These three guys work for me, and I can barely afford their insurance. If my taxes get raised I won’t be able to afford it any more.” I sympathized but than said “Have your costs to insure them gone up every year?” and she said yes. I asked “Well, if nothing changes, won’t these increasing costs force you to cut off their insurance anyway?” She said yes, and one of the guys said I had given him something to think about.

I also went to the Town Hall on Aug. 26 in Rancho Cordova. To me, that one was much more depressing.

The group was orderly. There were people with signs, but no yelling that I saw. I was behind a man in his 80’s, who had a sign that said No government programs, Government stay out of my healthcare, keep the constitution, no more taxes, and No to socializm (sic.) I tapped him on the shoulder and noted that he had spelled socialism incorrectly, told him I was uninsured myself, at 64, and then asked what healthcare he had. He answered “Medicare and Tricare.” I said that those were the best and he was most fortunate, but did he realize that those were both “Government programs.” He seemed surprised and said “that’s different.” I added that I just want the same for myself.

Inside the building, there were two large rooms so most of us were seated. Lungren was in the other room, but there was a large screen so we could see him. There were staffers with microphones in both rooms and with the group outside as well, and they took questions from all three places.

The questions were mostly friendly and led to Lungren’s responses such as Protect Medicare and don’t let Democrats take away from seniors, which I found shocking, “Keep government from getting between seniors and their doctors, No rationing based on age, and prevent government from interfering with end-of-life care discussions; Ensure that everyone one can keep what coverage they have, and protect veterans.”

There were several questions I thought were genuine: First a woman told Mr. Lungren that she and her husband had insurance, but their 6 year old child recently was diagnosed with an eye condition which required surgery, and they had just found out that their share of the expense would be over $8000 (I would guess that they have an HSA, which appears to be Mr. Lungren’s idea of reform. He mentioned Health Savings Accounts several times but never described them.) She asked plaintively, “What is there we can do? We have to take care of our baby.” I expected Lungren to offer to meet with her, but he didn’t. He suggested she look into local “charities”, and suggested that they try the Shriner’s Hospital. I was genuinely shocked.

I was allowed to ask a question after someone railed against the “loss of liberties” healthcare reform would cause. I said that “there is always a tension in every democracy between the individual liberties of citizens and the best interests of society as a whole. I am uninsured, and shortly after I first heard of the Swine Flu, I developed flu-like symptoms and did not see a doctor. But,” I asked, “in a country where fully 20% of the citizens under 65 are uninsured and unlikely to see a doctor except when they're seriously ill, how can we expect to track or contain pandemics such as Swine Flu?” Lungren started by defending the CDC (which of course I hadn’t attacked), and then said he “questioned my statistics”, and then he stopped suddenly, paused, admitted he had completely lost his train of thought and asked for another question. (I turned to the woman nest to me, a single-payer proponent, and whispered gleefully that “My question brought the man to his knees.”)

On the way home I was agitated and depressed. I really was angry at Lungren: for being mean-spirited, unfeeling, partisan, and dishonest. It was clear that he uses his Town Halls to spread Conservative orthodoxy, but that he gets very rattled when the questions go in other directions. I was also angry at those nice, suburban people who love him and trust him. When I got to the computer I Googled some of the expressions he had used repeatedly, and was directed to the Fox News website, and from there, to the Republican National Committee website, Seniors Health Care Bill of Rights (http://www.gop.com/news/NewsRead.aspx?GUID=bc1d50c0-5ef7-4026-8db5-efd402b01677 ). I have reprinted this document below with my comments in red.

The Enemies of healthcare reform are cynically, carefully and in lock step going after seniors. Their goal is to get them to vote and act against the Obama administration… in spite of the fact that they would be voting against their own self-interests.

Note: This is clearly the fight on our hands right now. We in Gray Panthers are committed to educating legislators of both parties and at both the state and Federal level about health care issues.

Monday, August 24, 2009
Seniors’ Health Care Bill Of Rights
http://www.gop.com/news/NewsRead.aspx?GUID=bc1d50c0-5ef7-4026-8db5-efd402b01677

America’s senior citizens deserve access to quality health care and coverage that will not bankrupt them. Republicans believe that reforms to America’s health care system are necessary, but that reform should first do no harm, especially to our seniors.

That’s why Republicans are calling for a Seniors’ Health Care Bill Of Rights that will:

  • PROTECT MEDICARE AND NOT CUT IT IN THE NAME OF HEALTH CARE REFORM: President Obama and Congressional Democrats are promoting a government-run health care experiment that will cut over $500 billion from Medicare to be used to pay for their plan. Medicare should not be raided to pay for another entitlement. (Margie note: this refers to the Medicare Advantage plans. In the ghastly Medicare Part D legislation the Bill set up many so-called Medicare Advantage plans, which are private plans including Kaiser that give HMO convenience in addition to Medicare Part B, which is coverage for doctor’s office visits etc. Medicare Part A only covers hospitalization and is free to seniors; part B is optional and costs and extra $96.40 which is typically deducted from your Social Security. Part D. Signing up for these Advantage plans cost the senior an extra amount, like $100 for Kaiser, and the government kicks in multiple dollars in addition, to Kaiser or whoever. We hated this because it was a cynical giveaway to the insurance companies from the get-go, and now seniors love it… and why not, while they are screaming to keep government’s hand off their Medicare, they are being deeply subsidized. And now I can think of no way to pull back on these programs without being perceived as attacking seniors)
  • PROHIBIT GOVERNMENT FROM GETTING BETWEEN SENIORS AND THEIR DOCTORS: The Democrats’ government-run health care experiment will give patients less power to control their own medical decisions, and create government boards that would decide what treatments would or wouldn’t be funded. Republicans believe in patient-centered reforms that put the priorities of seniors before government. (The bureaucrats we must really fear are those in the insurance companies!)
  • PROHIBIT EFFORTS TO RATION HEALTH CARE BASED ON AGE: The Democrats’ government-run health care experiment would set up a “comparative effectiveness research commission” where health care treatment decisions could be limited based on a patient’s age. Republicans believe that health care decisions are best left up to seniors and their doctors. (This refers to any effort to measure the effectiveness of various treatments and considering trade-offs of outcomes and costs. Which most other countries do.)
  • PREVENT GOVERNMENT FROM INTERFERING WITH END-OF-LIFE CARE DISCUSSIONS: The Democrats’ government-run health care experiment would have seniors meet with a doctor to discuss end-of-life care that could mean limiting treatment. Republicans believe that government should not interfere with end-of-life care discussions between a patient and a doctor. (This is from language in HR3200, which allowed a physician to consult with terminally ill patients to discuss end of life options like Do not Resuscitate, wills, performing extraordinary measures, Hospice etc. Physicians have generally done this, but under Medicare rules they don’t get paid for any conversations, only for procedures. Because of the distortions, and lies that arose from these innocuous statements, I think they have been removed. So your doctor will continue to not get paid for sitting down and talking with you just when you need him the most.)
  • ENSURE SENIORS CAN KEEP THEIR CURRENT COVERAGE: As Democrats continue to propose steep cuts to Medicare in order to pay for their government-run health care experiment, these cuts threaten millions of seniors with being forced from their current Medicare Advantage plans. Republicans believe that seniors should not be targeted by a government-run health care bill and forced out of their current Medicare coverage. (See the first item above.)
  • PROTECT VETERANS BY PRESERVING TRICARE AND OTHER BENEFIT PROGRAMS FOR MILITARY FAMILIES: Democrats recently proposed raising veterans’ costs for the Tricare For Life program that many veterans rely on for treatment. Republicans oppose increasing the burden on our veterans and believe America should honor our promises to them. (Need to do research on this one. Let me know if you know more. But a guy brought this one up in the Lungren meeting too)
  1. From April Meeting, http://www.broadcastblues.tv/

  2. March Meeting: Lenny Goldberg: California’s Crisis
  3. Some common-sense solutions for our state’s uncommon problems
    http://caltaxreform.org/

  4. January 2009 Meeting: Former Sacramento Mayor Anne Rudin
  5. Nov. Meeting: Lola Young, California Senior Legislature

  6. Our own Lola Young, who is not only a Legislator in the California Senior Legislature but is the newly elected Chair of the powerful Rules Committee, told us the history of the group, what it does, and what has been accomplished. She also talked about the October session and what came from that session, and gave us a brief description of some top priority proposals.

  7. Sept. 9: Taking Back the Airwaves: Are The Media
    Serving the Public Interest?
  8. Ron Cooper, Access Sacramento (www.accesssacramento.org) and the Sacramento
    Media Group (www.commoncause.org)
  9. The answer was NO, of course!
  10. ALSO: Michael Negrete , a valued ally in the Medicare Part D. fights, spoke with us re Pharmacy issues.

Note: Please see our new page, devoted to single-payer healthcare issues!

Autumn Gray Panthers California Meeting

To be held in San Francisco on Sept. 12; location to be announced.


PowerPoint Presentation: Gray Panthers National Issues
Non-PowerPoint users click here.


Margie Metzler, Convenor of Sacramento Gray Panthers chapter, speaks out about the budget cuts:

Governor Schwarzenegger has dealt a massive blow to California’s seniors by not only signing the state’s awful budget, but by vetoing funds for additional critically needed programs.

His vetoes eliminated funding for Alzheimer’s Day Care Resource Centers, domestic home care services for people with dementia, Alzheimer’s, and on respirators or feeding tubes, and slashed Caregiver Resource Centers. He also targeted money from administration and oversight of IHSS programs. Keep in mind that the IHSS and Caregiver Resources Centers brought in millions of dollars in federal funding, which the state also lost.

This year’s budget has been a nightmare to seniors, from start to finish. Gray Panthers have been vocal at most of the rallies, hearings, and other events trying to ensure that the budget would be a reasonable combination of revue increases and cuts.

Well, we lost this one. But once we get over the shock, we need to get right back into action. There will be numerous opportunities to protest, speak up, write letters to the editor, and contact our legislators. I firmly believe that most citizens have no idea what this budget will do to them personally, and we must remind them as opportunities arise. We must pass on the true stories of what the cuts do to seniors and shine a spotlight on the real faces of those who suffer.

We are already seeing instances when citizens are taking up collections to keep pools open or mowing lawns in their parks. This sound good, but people need to be aware that these too are taxes.
We all know that nothing has changed and that until we get changes in the budget process, change the 2/3 necessary to pass taxes, and change term limits, we are in the midst of a permanent disaster.

In the meantime, we still have national and state healthcare battles to work on!

To comment on the current budget (or other issues), contact:

  • Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger: Sacramento office (916) 445-2841; San Francisco office (415) 703-2218; e-mail from the governor's Web site at gov.ca.gov.
  • Assembly Speaker Karen Bass, D-Los Angeles: Sacramento office
    (916) 319-2047; e-mail speaker.bass@assembly.ca.gov.
  • Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Oakland: Sacramento office
    (916) 651-4006; e-mail senator.steinberg@sen.ca.gov.
  • Use the new Action Network on the new and improved national Website. Go here to see the site; go here for instructions on how to use the Action Network; go here (http://graypanthers.e-actionmax.com/signup.asp) to sign up to use the Action Network; go to http://graypanthers.e-actionmax.com/ to use the Action network.
  • The Sierra Club action center sent us a great site where you are able to see a map of your personal home's geographic location and determine how "walkable" it is. As we continue to work with the Sacramento Mobility Coalition on this and other transportation issues, this is good information to have. You can find it at http://action.sierraclub.org/site.

Photo Albums of Gray Panthers at Local Events

If you have photos of any of our events you would like to share, please contact our Webmaster.

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Documents

Read our Newsletters

Each month our network puts out a newsletter, which contains original articles and commentary, as well as information about our meetings and events.

 

We would love to know what you think! Please tell us by emailing our convenor: margiemetz@hotmail.com

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Why Should You Belong to the Gray Panthers?

Joining our local group can be the first step in helping us make a difference. As a member of Gray Panthers, you can participate more effectively as part of a group, in rallies, petition drives, advocacy efforts and campaigns, or in developing informational programs and unified strategies.

Print our form, fill it out, mail it in to join!

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Gray Panthers bring about changes through testifying at hearings, getting petitions signed, and belonging to local task forces. They help with the newsletter or belong to focus committees, join advocacy efforts and provide financial support with their dues. Each member is free to choose their own level of involvement. Whatever your interests and concerns, we have a spot for you!

Call your Senator: 866-808-0065 (TOLL-FREE) or 202-225-3121 (NOT TOLL-FREE)

List of new committee heads etc. and California Congresspeople (no excuse for not contacting them!)

WHO ARE WE?

Gray Panthers is a local and national organization of individuals dedicated to social change. We welcome members of all ages who wish to work together on the tough problems which effect everyone of all generations.

Gray Panthers Networks
Info for sending postcards (what you can say, where you can send it...)

Maggie Kuhn, Gray Panthers Founder

Stand before the people you fear and speak your mind—even if your voice shakes…. Well-aimed slingshots can topple giants.”
--Maggie Kuhn

In the 1970’s Maggie Kuhn was often a guest on the late lamented Phil Donohue Show. She was scrawny and fragile in appearance, but when she opened her mouth you heard her roar (and believe me, her voice did not shake!) She was one of the most powerful and articulate women of any age, and many of us wanted to be just like her. Her newly minted organization, soon dubbed the Gray Panthers, showed extraordinary passion in the highly principled stands they took on many issues.

Maggie Kuhn was born in 1905 and spent most of her life working in socially-active jobs and social activism. She never married or had children; in her later years she acknowledged that “when I look back on my life, I see so many things I could not have done if I had been tied to a husband and children.” At age 65 she was forced to retire, and then she really got busy. She organized other retirees and formed the Gray Panthers Movement. This group believed then, as it does today, that injustice affects everyone. Members involve themselves in senior issues, but they also focus on issues including peace, clean elections, the environment, poverty and civil liberties. The organization's motto is “Age and Youth in Action”, and they welcome anyone into their ranks.

Maggie believed fervently that old age is not a simple preparation for death or adapting to increasing fragility, but that it is a time of continuing sexuality (“Love and sex until rigor mortis”). She stated that “old age is not a disease – it is strength and survivorship, triumph over all kinds of vicissitudes and disappointments, trials and illnesses.” She also remarked that “the ultimate indignity is to be given a bedpan by a stranger who calls you by your first name.”

Kuhn continued to be a fervent activist until she died at age 89.

 


Contact Information

Gray Panthers of Sacramento
P.O. Box 19438, Sacramento, CA 95819
For more information contact
Temporary leaders:
Margie Metzler, (916) 921-5998, margiemetz@hotmail.com; Arnie Godmintz, (916) 332-5980, arniegod@sbcglobal.net
Website: http://www.gpcal.org/indexsac.htm
Meetings:
Monthly Meetings: 2nd Tuesday of the month, 1-3
Steering Committee, 4th Tuesday of the month, 1-3
Hart Senior Center, 915 27th Street, Sacramento, CA 95816

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