Cynthia Toussaint, a Democrat for California State Assembly, 42nd District 2006

Thank You for This Great Ride :)

2006-06-07T16:32:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

Congratulations to Mike Feuer for his Democratic win last night in the 42nd AD primary. Mike has been running long and hard for this seat-- and the fruits of his labor have paid off for him.

Also, such a pleasure getting to know the other candidates. I wish them all the very best in their future political endeavors.

I entered this race in January primarily to raise awareness about RSD and chronic pain-- and also to experience the political process from the inside to see if I wanted to enter a future race I could win. As for the first, I'm extremely pleased with the outcome as I landed over a dozen media pieces reaching millions of people throughout Southern California and the US.

Regarding the second, I was surprised that I enjoyed the campaign process so much. I've gained much profile within the LA Democratic Party and have been approached about running again. While that has some allure, I need to reflect upon what I've learned one must do in order to win. The enormous amount of money required forces a candidate to spend 4-5 hours each day, everyday, as a fundraiser-- a task I'm capable of accomplishing, but to me a disconnect to serving the people ethically and authentically.

I'm proud that I ran a dignified and positive campaign, free of the usual trappings that prevent candidates from speaking their mind. I thank all of you from the bottom of my heart for your support and good energies. You allowed me this extraordinary opportunity to do good work, to grow as a person-- and to plant a seed of change in a system that must be more responsive to the people it's intended to serve.

Rest assured, I'll be back...

With deepest gratitude and appreciation,

XO Cynthia

LA Times Skews 42nd AD Race Today

2006-06-06T10:49:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

A big THANK YOU to LA Times columnist Joel Stein-- I think-- for this clever take on the 42nd Assembly District race. Joel's forte is satire-- and he definitely got some chuckles out of me this morning :)

Here's a link to the article... and happy voting day to all!

"Joel Stein: Meet the Campaign Wannabes"
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-stein06jun06,0,1117935.column?coll=la-home-commentary

XO Cynthia

How to Find Your Polling Place on Election Day (June 6th, 2006)

2006-06-05T13:31:00.000-07:00

The League of Women Voters provides an excellent on-line resource to find your polling place-- and other related voter information.

Here's a link-- and happy voting :)

http://www.smartvoter.org/voter/search.html

XO Cynthia

My Position On Immigration Reform

2006-06-05T13:20:00.000-07:00

My campaign office just received a call from a voter in the 42nd district, inquiring about my position on the immigration issue. Here's my answer (please see below) to a question posed by the Hollywood Highland Democratic club for their endorsement meeting (May 2006).

A big THANK YOU to the gentleman who phoned...

"Immigration Reforms
What do you propose be done to reform immigration?

I support the Kennedy Senate proposal that would legalize most of the undocumented immigrants now here—as many have already integrated themselves as law-abiding members of our community. I support strengthening the federal government’s patrolling of the Mexican border to stem the flow of illegal immigrants."

Candidate Toussaint Campaigning in Studio City

2006-06-01T19:35:00.000-07:00

CityBeat Touts Toussaint's Rally Cry "Health Care for ALL!"

2006-06-01T11:16:00.000-07:00

Thank you to the Los Angeles City & ValleyBeats for the nice mention today about my campaign and push for a universal health care plan.

Here's a link to the article:
http://www.lacitybeat.com/article.php?id=3837&IssueNum=156

Happy Summer :)

XO Cynthia

The New York Times Covers Toussaint's Campaign & Cause

2006-05-30T11:39:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

Very pleased to announce a feature article about my campaign and chronic pain disease runs today in the New York Times-- the first-ever profile about RSD/CRPS in this "paper of record." Great awareness nationwide! Here's a link (and article text below):

New York Times-- May 30, 2006
"Doctors Struggle to Treat Mysterious and Unbearable Pain"
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/30/health/30pain.html?_r=1&oref=

************************************************************

Doctors Struggle to Treat Mysterious and Unbearable Pain

By KATHLEEN McGRORY
Published: May 30, 2006

Photo caption: Cynthia Toussaint, a former ballet dancer, campaigning for election to the California State Assembly.

It was supposed to be a typical ballet class. Cynthia Toussaint, then a senior dance major at the University of California, Irvine, engaged in her usual stretching routine: she raised her left leg to the barre and slowly bent her upper body down to her right knee.

For a moment, she delighted in the long stretch. But as she returned to an upright position, she felt a sudden pop in her hamstring. "It felt like a guitar string had been plucked and it had broken," said Ms. Toussaint, who is now 45.

An intense burning sensation followed; it felt as if her leg had been doused in gasoline and set on fire, she said. The next day, the college athletics trainer determined that she had pulled her hamstring. But even years later, the pain would not subside. It migrated to her other leg, leaving her bedridden for nearly a decade, and overtook her vocal cords, leaving her temporarily mute.

All the while, doctors puzzled over and even doubted her mysterious condition.

Ms. Toussaint now knows that she is among an estimated one million Americans living with complex regional pain syndrome, a nerve disorder formerly known as reflex sympathetic dystrophy syndrome. For patients with the disorder, a trauma as mild as a fractured wrist or a twisted ankle can cause the nerves to misfire, so much so that intense pain messages are constantly sent to the brain.

For the past 150 years, so little was known about complex regional pain syndrome that it was often diagnosed as psychosomatic. But doctors now believe that the condition complicates 1 of every 1,200 traumatic injuries. And desperate patients are turning to new, often unproven, drugs and treatments. "It is still quite a mysterious condition," said Dr. Scott M. Fishman, a pain management specialist at the University of California, Davis, and the author of "The War on Pain."

"It raises doubts in the eyes of doctors and the people that are looking for hard lab evidence or good imaging confirmation," Dr. Fishman said. "With this condition, we simply don't have that."

Baffling as it may be, the syndrome is not new to the medical literature. It was first documented by Dr. S. Weir Mitchell, a Civil War surgeon. But few physicians are familiar with it; the average patient sees 8 to 10 doctors before a diagnosis is made, according to a recent survey by American RSDHope, a support organization.

Pain is the hallmark of the condition, which outranks cancer as the most painful disease on the McGill Pain Index. For some, the sensation remains in one place, most commonly one of the extremities. For others, it spreads throughout the body, making even a light touch or minor changes in temperature agonizing.

For Ms. Toussaint, as for many other patients, the pain was life altering. When she tore her hamstring, she was on the verge of completing her bachelor's degree. She was also being considered for a part on the television series "Fame." But the injury left her in debilitating pain. She could no longer stand on her own or leave her house; riding in a car on the bumpy California roads was torture.

Ms. Toussaint dropped out of school and fell into a deep depression, she said. It took 13 1/2 years for her disorder to be diagnosed. Dozens of doctors told her it was "all in her head"; one even suggested she suffered from stage fright.

Without clear clues as to what induces the syndrome or who is particularly susceptible, doctors say that treating it is a challenge. Sympathetic nerve blocks can reduce the pain, and doctors say the relief often lasts longer than the anesthetic.

More than two dozen drugs are also being used to treat the pain. But none of the medications, which range from acetaminophen and ibuprofen to morphine and methadone, have been approved by the Food and Drug Administration for this use.

"The myth is that this condition isn't treatable, but the truth is that it responds to the same kinds of treatments that have been found effective for other neuropathic pain," said Dr. Anne Louise Oaklander, director of the nerve injury unit at Massachusetts General Hospital and an associate professor of neurology at Harvard.

Dr. Russell K. Portenoy, chairman of the department of pain medicine and palliative care at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York, added that treatment was "a trial and error" process.

Doctors tend to use the drugs that are most commonly prescribed for other conditions before the drugs that are less commonly used," he said. "But in many cases, doctors need to perform sequential trials to find out which drug or combination of drugs helps the most."

Dr. Portenoy said he is a consultant for drug companies but not on work related to the syndrome or its treatment.

Another treatment is to implant an electrical stimulator near the base of the spinal cord or the injured limb. The device sends low-level electrical signals to the spinal cord or to specific nerves and blocks pain signals from reaching the brain.

Dr. Robert J. Schwartzman of the Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia is skeptical of the electrical stimulators. Although he first began implanting them in patients in 1986, he no longer does. "Long term," he said, "stimulators don't work. From what I've seen, they wear out and then they stop working."

Dr. Schwartzman treats the condition with ketamine, an anesthetic that blocks one of the body's pain receptors. In most cases, this five-day inpatient therapy reduced the pain significantly for three to six months, he said.

Related
Evidence of Focal Small-Fiber Axonal Degeneration in Complex Regional Pain Syndrome-I (Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy) (Pain)

In addition, a 10-day outpatient procedure â€” more than 1,200 people are on a waiting list for it â€” is being tested in a controlled experiment. Although the trial has been approved by the F.D.A., it is awaiting approval by Drexel's institutional review board.

Dr. Schwartzman has also sent the most extreme cases â€” the 30 patients who were found to be intractable to all other treatments â€” to Germany for five days of prolonged ketamine anesthesia, enough to put them into a coma.

Ten patients were completely relieved of their pain, Dr. Schwartzman said, noting that the treatment has not been approved in the United States.

Some doctors have strong concerns about the ketamine treatments. Dr. Oaklander, for one, believes there is not enough research to support its effectiveness, especially in light of the risks.

Either way, said Ms. Toussaint, who has not had the therapy herself, "It says a lot about this disease that we are willing to be put in comas." New research is also helping doctors understand the pain syndrome. In early 2006, a team at Massachusetts General was the first to identify organic nerve injuries in a large group of people with the disorder. The research, published in February in the journal Pain, confirmed that the syndrome was not psychosomatic, said Dr. Oaklander, who led the study.

This progress is promising for Ms. Toussaint. Since her illness was diagnosed in 1995, medications have reduced her pain, enabling her to stand and speak again. She and her partner, John Garrett, now manage For Grace, a nonprofit organization dedicated to increasing awareness of complex regional pain syndrome. Ms. Toussaint is also running for the California State Assembly on a health-based platform.

"People see me and they recognize me as the ballerina, but they don't remember the name of my disease," she said recently, "but that's all about to change."

The Beverly Hills Courier Does the Impossible with Toussaint's Campaign

2006-05-26T12:24:00.000-07:00

Dear All,

REALLY HAPPY with the in-depth article that is running today in The Beverly Hills Courier about my campaign and personal journey with chronic pain. Unfortunately, this article entitled "Candidate Trying To Do Something Impossible Again" is not available on-line... but if you're in the Beverly Hills area, make sure to give it a read :)

Great coverage in this voter-rich part of the 42nd district-- and GREAT AWARENESS about RSD & the plight of women in pain. A double dinger!

XO Cynthia

www.cynthiatoussaint.blogspot.com

LA Times Covers 42nd District Race

2006-05-25T11:19:00.000-07:00

Received a nice mention today in the Los Angeles Times' coverage of the 42nd District race.

Please see below....

Candidates Spar for Seats of Democratic Legislators

From the Los Angeles Times
CALIFORNIA ELECTIONS

By Deborah Schoch
Times Staff Writer
May 25, 2006

A number of Los Angeles County Democrats are leaving the state Legislature this year, sparking keen interest in who will succeed them in districts stretching from Long Beach to Whittier to the San Fernando Valley.

Two veteran Assembly members hoping to succeed Sen. Debra Bowen are questioning each other's environmental credentials and campaign donors in a district that follows the coast from Wilmington to the Westside.

To succeed Assemblyman Paul Koretz, a health clinic director is sparring with a former Los Angeles city budget chairman in a wealthy district encompassing Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Sherman Oaks.

And two legislators who oversee banking and prisons are targeting each other's records as they vie to fill Sen. Martha Escutia's seat on the county's eastern front.

Some Republicans and third-party candidates are running in these heavily Democratic districts, most with nominal campaigns. Many of these candidates appear not to have raised significant campaign money. One, Republican David Lee Anstrom of Torrance, says he is homeless and lives mostly in his car.

In the June 6 primary, registered Democrats must vote for Democratic candidates, Republicans for Republicans. Those not registered with a political party can vote for a Democrat, a Republican or an American Independent candidate by requesting the party's ballot at the polling place.

*

Senate District 28

Voters in Bowen's district range from the very poor to the very rich. Half are white, 29% are Latino and 12% are Asian. The district is 47% Democratic and 29% Republican.

Democrats Jenny Oropeza and George Nakano are sparring to represent the long, mostly narrow district, which starts near the ports and refineries, and reaches north to Venice and West Los Angeles.

Both have made much of their environmental records — Nakano in fighting ocean pollution and protecting wetlands, Oropeza in working to clean the air around local ports.

Nakano, 70, of Torrance, represented the South Bay in the Assembly for three terms. A retired teacher and school administrator, he served 14 years on the Torrance City Council before heading to Sacramento.

As a councilman, Nakano helped the city bring a landmark suit against Mobil Oil that improved safety at the accident-plagued local refinery. He later wrote successful state bills to regulate wastewater and prevent cruise ships from dumping hazardous waste.

Oropeza, 48, worked as a political aide and campaigner, and served six years on the Long Beach school board and six years on the City Council before her election to the Assembly in 2000.

She said that having liver cancer led to her interest in reducing port pollution. A clean-air bill she introduced recently passed the Assembly, and she says to critics who fault her for not taking on pollution earlier, "I admittedly did not have a passion like I do now."

Oropeza criticizes Nakano for taking money from insurance companies and then failing to support insurance reforms after the 2003 wildfires. Nakano says that, unlike Oropeza, he has not accepted oil company money.

Oropeza's house is in a tiny piece of the district that juts east into Long Beach, and some critics note that she sat on the panel that approved new district lines. She acknowledges that she lobbied to have her home in the district, saying she wanted to represent its voters.

Two Republicans are running. Anstrom, 50, wants to ban dangerous pesticides, use of mercury in tooth fillings and fluoridated water. Cherryl Liddle, 49, of Redondo Beach, the former co-owner of a medical personnel agency, is highlighting the need for affordable healthcare.

*

Assembly District 42

Another tempestuous race is underway in Brentwood, Beverly Hills, West Hollywood and Sherman Oaks, as Mike Feuer and Abbe Land seek Koretz's seat in a largely white district that includes some of California's wealthiest neighborhoods.

The district is 54% Democratic and 20% Republican.

A former Los Angeles city councilman, Feuer, 48, spent eight years as executive director of Los Angeles' Bet Tzedek, providing free help to the poor and elderly.

He was elected to the council in 1995 and left in 2001 to run unsuccessfully for city attorney. He is currently an attorney at Morrison & Foerster.

Land, 50, was development director at the Los Angeles Free Clinic, which offers free medical care to the needy. She became co-executive director in 2003.

Active in the drive to create West Hollywood, she was a city councilwoman from 1986 to 1997 and returned to the council in 2003.

Both candidates vow to work for healthcare reform. Land says her clinic work makes her uniquely suited.

Feuer says that at Bet Tzedek, he helped needy people get healthcare and that on the City Council, he worked to strengthen paramedic services.

Both also tout their civic experience. Feuer said that as chairman of the City Council's Budget Committee, he oversaw a $5-billion budget that was roughly 100 times larger than the $50-million West Hollywood budget. Land countered that "size is relative" and that she has helped get city budgets passed since 1986.

Five other candidates are running, including Democrat Cynthia Toussaint, 45, of Valley Village, a healthcare activist who has a chronic pain disease called reflex sympathetic dystrophy. Campaigning from a wheelchair, she promises to work for medical reforms because "I've lived it. I know what it's like not to get healthcare."

The other Democrats are Eric M. Fine, 42, of Beverly Hills, a property manager who wants to legalize marijuana and lower taxes, and Mark Gonzaga, 44, of West Hollywood, producer of a cable television talk show who supports improved education, animal welfare and more access to healthcare.

On the Republican ballot, Clark Baker, 48, of Los Angeles, a writer and retired LAPD officer, wants stronger border protection and education money assigned to each student to attend public, charter or private schools.

Steven Mark Sion, 43, an attorney from West Hollywood, said that he would propose a bill to break up large school districts and create smaller ones and that he supports incentives to promote alternative fuels.

*

View My Campaign Commercial

2006-05-15T14:26:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

We shot my campaign commercial on Saturday-- and it will begin airing on Adelphia cable systems throughout the 42nd district beginning Wednesday, May 17th. With your generous financial contributions, we were able to buy 100+ airings for the three weeks leading up to election day (June 6th.)

A big THANK YOU to Rich Tamayo of TVP Studios for producing such a wonderful spot :)

To view the Toussaint for State Assembly commercial, please use link below, then click on my photo:
http://www.tvpstudiosburbank.com/26Vcommercials.html

Sending good thoughts to all,

XO Cynthia

This Run's For You, Mom :)

2006-05-03T12:03:00.000-07:00

I'm still chuckling over the column my brother David wrote about mom for the on-line magazine, The Edge. Among her many loving and extraordinary gifts, she provides an endless stream of unintentional hysterics for family and all to enjoy. You gotta love her for it! And everyone does... In fact, I believe in the dictionary, her picture is next to the word, "love".

I love my mom for a lot of other reasons... and with Mom's Day upon us, I'm hoping she can decombobulate her computer long enough to read at least some of my blog ;) Fingers crossed....

I grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area, the middle of five siblings, two older brothers, a younger sister and brother. My father died when I was eight, which still leaves me in awe of this fearless woman raising her brood alone. I know I was the luckiest kid who ever lived. Never deprived no matter how tough the times got. There was so much love and respect in my home-- OK, to be clear, it was a circus and zoo all wrapped up into one... Mom never needed to discipline -- we all learned from her example.

Everything happened at the Toussaint household-- and to be more specific, it all happened around the Toussaint's wooden kitchen counter (that mom made in woodshop.) Kids from the neighborhood were streaming in and out all day long-- they all wanted to live with us. And every animal you could imagine resided on our property. OK, ok, the rabbits did run up and down the street...

And I don't remember a time when mom wasn't knocking out walls, putting in sky-lights and stained-glass windows-- heck, with some help, us kids even built a new living room for the grand piano that was passed down from grandpa who played in the John Phillips Souza Band. And for my sister and me to be married in...

Mom is an artist to say the least... her paintings and ink drawings still grace her home. She dreamed of a ballerina's life, but settled due to lack of money on being a star in the glamorous synchronized swimming circuit. Then began dancing at age 42 (I learned early that I could do whatever I wanted to do...whenever I wanted to do it.) She later moved to New York City for long spells to act off-Broadway-- and be involved in environmental dance theater. Today, at 73, she lives in her wonderful East Bay abode-- and focuses on her "kids" and acting.

People to this day approach me with eyes sparkling, telling of the old cast parties at my mom's house. I forever hear "those were the days..." And, "her home is still my favorite place in the whole world." But it's not really the home-- it's her, isn't it? It's her essence and spirit.

Mom was always a fighter, and an unabashed advocate for her kids. I remember with a grin the lessons I learned while listening to her on the phone-- always to some horrible teacher or principal about how they were abusing one of us. And she stated her points CLEARLY. The reason I grin as I write this is because so often after she would hang up, she would punctuate her sentiment with a pointed yelp, "That BASTARD!!!" She's got an undeniable fire in her belly and she always fights for what is right, what is compassionate. The daughter of an abusive mother, my mom grew up reminding herself what NOT to do when it came to kids.

She even did a teaching stint at juvenile hall until a teacher was stabbed... and there were years when she threw birthday parties for EVERY kid in the neighborhood. The only issue I ever had with mom was that she gave too much-- and some people would take advantage of that generous love.

And mom is no dummy... besides being the wisest person I've ever known, she's savvy. When my father died, she wasn't left with much money. She put half of it into the stock market (per her conservative in-laws insistence), and promptly lost it all. With the other half, she did what she wanted to do-- she bought five homes-- and that's what she raised her kids on. We'd fix them up, rent 'em out for a while... and when the Toussaint cupboards went bare, mom announced, "It's time to sell Harvard Drive... or "Dawn Drive..." whichever.

We didn't just survive, we LIVED-- and we TRAVELED! Mom took the five of us, luggage in tow, on two month long journeys during the summers. We saw the mid-West, Canada, New York City, DC... It took us out of the suburbs, opened our eyes and expanded our minds to the larger world. The best education I got, next to mom's :)

Our home was forever filled with conversation... mom's joke was "you can bring anything home... except religion" (a bad after-taste from her mother's religious fanaticism). And we indeed DID! Politics was always on the front burner, with Tricky Dick and Ronald REE-gan BBQ'd regularly. In the sixth grade, I decided to campaign for George McGovern-- and sure enough on a local campaign swing, mom took me to meet him. My eyes filled with tears when this gentle man squeezed my little hand.

For the past five years or so, mom's been telling me she wants to be like me. She speaks of my tenacity and fearlessness. Recently, she told me that I would have been so proud if I had heard her on a particular phone call. She shared that she tried to be just like me-- and didn't back down as this bureaucrat stonewalled her. As wise as my mom is, she still doesn't understand where I've learned my spunk and fight.

For mother's day, I'm going to get you a mirror, mom... and this run's for you.

XO

LA Daily News Zeroes In On 42nd AD Race and Toussaint

2006-05-01T11:12:00.000-07:00

A big THANK YOU to Harrison Sheppard for covering this important race...

Crowded race in 42nd District

Health care, schools top issues in Assembly race

BY HARRISON SHEPPARD, Sacramento Bureau
LA Daily News
May 1, 2006

SACRAMENTO - It's a crowded scramble in the Assembly's 42nd District race, as five Democrats, two Republicans and a Libertarian are seeking to replace outgoing Assemblyman Paul Koretz, D-West Hollywood, in the June primary.

But the district has traditionally been considered one of the most liberal in the region, with registered Democrats outnumbering Republicans by a 54-21 margin.

And among the five Democrats, two have emerged as likely front-runners based on fundraising and endorsements: former Los Angeles City Councilman Michael Feuer and West Hollywood Councilwoman Abbe Land.

Feuer served as a councilman representing much of the same territory from 1995 to 2001, then left the council after an unsuccessful bid for city attorney. Since then he has been working in private law practice as a litigator and teaching law and public affairs at University of California, Los Angeles.

But he is eager to jump back into public service.

"For me there's nothing more important than making a big impact," Feuer said. "Life is very short and the opportunity to serve is extremely meaningful to me. I just can't sit on the sidelines."

If elected, he would first work on improving the education system, with efforts to reduce class size, increase the number of teachers and improve training for teachers and principals, including establishing principal academies around the state. He would also like to reduce tuition at community colleges.

He would like to write legislation to provide health insurance for uninsured children, and supports the state-run single-payer health care system proposed by Sen. Sheila Kuehl, D-Los Angeles.

He would help transportation in the Los Angeles region by seeking funding to provide synchronization for the city's traffic light system.

One way to help pay for some of the improvements would be through a split roll property tax, where businesses are charged higher property tax rates. He would also like the state to increase its tax collection efforts and reduce tax loopholes.

Abbe Land is a councilwoman and former mayor of West Hollywood, and co-director of the Los Angeles Free Clinic, which provides free medical and dental care and social services at three sites around the city.

Health care is her biggest interest and if elected she would work to support Kuehl's single-payer bill and other efforts to improve the state's health care system.

"Health care is an issue I've been involved with for the last eight years," Land said. "I want to go to Sacramento because so many of the critical decisions affecting health care are made there and I want to take the expertise I have to make a difference."

While she doesn't support efforts to break up the Los Angeles Unified School District or submit it to mayoral control, she does believe the board needs more members, and thinks they should serve full-time to help deal with the size of the district.

On transportation, she would support a bond measure to provide more funding for mass transit. She would also like to continue improvements to the 405-101 freeway interchange, and further synchronize the transit systems around the region.

She supports a split roll tax system, but also thinks the state needs to review the tax incentives it has authorized over the years to see if they are still needed. If not, she says, closing them could represent a chance to save some money.

Cynthia Toussaint knows she's an underdog in the race, but she doesn't mind - she's been an underdog most of her life.

At age 21, she was an aspiring ballerina when a leg injury triggered an intense pain that eventually spread throughout her body. She was finally diagnosed with reflex sympathetic dystrophy, a neurological syndrome characterized by chronic pain.

Now in a wheelchair, Toussaint still struggles with constant pain, though usually not as severe as it once was. She has dedicated herself as an activist for issues of chronic pain and health care. She founded her own nonprofit organization, For Grace, named for the daughter she and her longtime partner John Garrett could never have, to help women struggling with chronic pain.

She decided to run for Assembly after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger last year vetoed a bill that would have created a state program for RSD awareness and outreach.

"I'm always ready for, and loving, an uphill climb," Toussaint said. "When I go to meet the voters, they like me because I'm not a quote-unquote politician. I come from a place of great passion."

If elected, trying to get that bill passed would be one of her top priorities. She would also work on other issues related to chronic pain and health care. She would like to reform the health care system and supports Kuehl's single-payer plan.

On other issues, she would like to abolish the death penalty, supports abortion rights and medical marijuana and favors the right of physician-assisted suicide.

Mark Gonzaga, who makes his living in real estate, believes he has a good chance even though he hasn't raised much funding.

"Being able to make a difference is why I'm running in this race," Gonzaga said.

Gonzaga is an author from West Hollywood who makes his living buying and selling real estate, but also teaches and produces a television show on environmental issues for local cable.

Gonzaga would like to see the suspension of executions in California. He would like to expand animal rights, with additional criminal penalties for cruelty toward animals. He also supports clean money public financing of campaigns.

He would also like to amend the "three strikes, you're out" law so that it applies just to violent criminal offenses.

Eric Fine is running primarily to advocate for the legalization of marijuana and other drugs, not just for medicinal purposes but recreationally.

He said he started using marijuana recreationally in 2000, but said he now has diabetes and the drug helps him deal with nausea induced by some of his medications.

He has worked with advocacy groups to support legalization of marijuana and also supports legalization of all other recreational drugs, believing people should have the right to decide for themselves and that it would lessen drug-related crime.

"There's a lot of crime on the streets right now," Fine said. "People are going to get their drugs of choice whether it's legal or illegal. Right now it's dangerous."

Besides marijuana legalization, he would also like to work on redistricting and legalizing gambling.

Fine makes his living by owning and managing property in Beverly Hills and Palms.

Attorney Steven Sion knows that as a Republican he will have a difficult time, if he wins his party's nomination, taking on a Democrat in the general election. But he sees himself as a moderate who can show voters they have other options.

"I want to give the voters in my district a clear choice this election," Sion said. "Historically our district has been dominated by one party. This time I'm going to compete for the seat because I want to show there's an alternative."

He believes Democrats that have represented the district have failed to improve the education system and the business climate.

Sion would like to see reforms to the health care system and supports a plan put forward in the Legislature last year that would make health insurance similar to car insurance - with everyone required to have it - and a state purchasing pool for those who can't easily obtain it.

Sion also supports efforts to break up the Los Angeles Unified School District, saying there is a need for greater local control and accountability, and he would like to see more charter schools.

On transportation, he would like to see the state look at a monorail system, starting with a model program in his district.

Clark Baker is a retired Los Angeles Police Department officer and ex-Marine. He describes himself as a one-time liberal who became a Republican after joining the police force.

"I saw from the inside, the street level, what goes on in L.A. city politics. I never pursued politics before. I never wanted to be a politician, but when I found out who the other candidates were, I thought, More of the same?"

Baker would like to give parents full vouchers to send their children to private school for no cost, and he would like public school parents to have their choice of public schools.

He would also like the state to encourage the federal government to tighten border security, through additional border patrol agents, the building of a wall on the border and employing new technologies.

He would also like to see public services denied to illegal immigrants, along with driver's licenses and in-state tuition.

He would also like to toughen the prison system by establishing a series of tent encampments for prisoners in the desert to relieve overcrowded jails.

harrison.sheppard@dailynews.com

(916) 446-6723

Democrats Need to Get Their Access Act Together

2006-04-24T14:54:00.000-07:00

Last Thursday eve, I was tired after a full day of work, meetings and appointments. I had a political endorsement meeting to attend and speak at before at last calling it a day... a warm dinner, my heating blanket and The English Patient were a-waiting me at home.

So I AT LAST found a disabled parking spot (for another blog...) and I'm wheeling my way to the meeting in Hollywood. I enter a beautiful restaurant and see twenty winding steps leading up to the endorsement gathering. My heart falls as I'm told there's no elevator... Emotions flooded me; I felt rejected, frustrated, marginalized, betrayed by my "inclusive" Democratic party. I also panicked because I know two other disabled candidates, one who I was certain was attending. I didn't want them subjected to the same insult.

In short order, this Democratic club's organizer approached me with a look of terror, and absolute embarrassment (after all, she had seen me in my wheelchair at the pre-endorsement meeting.) I appreciated the sincere apologies-- and the efforts to accommodate (offers of carrying me up the staircase or bringing all the members downstairs to me... that would have been embarrassing to say the least)-- but what troubled me most was that this progressive group hadn't considered accessibility, not only for candidates, but for their members as well. It was just assumed that all would be free of physical disability and could climb those stairs.

After much discussion, I was taken outside, around the corner to a back entrance via a closed ajoining night club. I then had five men carry me, wheelchair and all, up two much shorter flights of stairs. I was frightened that I might be dropped... Upon reflection, I shouldn't have done this. It was far too risky!! When I finally arrived before the group, I did my two minutes-- which included my usual, but more animated, callout for improved accessibility for the disabled. The irony was self-apparent and I got quite a laugh from the group. And I then began my journey back...

And this certainly isn't the first obstacle I've faced in my wheelchair during this endorsement process. I can't get into most homes in the 42nd district without considerable assistance--where a lot of these meetings are held. These barriers and thoughtless attitudes make me, a disabled candidate, feel like I'm an outsider by my own party-- a party that prides itself on being the party of the people.
Well, some of us people use wheelchairs and other assistive mobility devices.

15+ years into the ADA and Chris Reeve's appearance at the Democratic Convention doesn't appear to have made a significant dent in the party's mind-set. At least they were embarrassed for the oversight-- but that's clearly not good enough. Perhaps their oversight is due to not having enough disabled folk running for and in office? But perhaps that's because there are too many barriers for disabled folk to feel welcomed enough to engage in the process...

This is something our party's leadership needs to take a good, long look at. Not only the disabled, but every minority group that the Democratic party is holding a hand out to. Are there still prejudices, slights and biases that exist that keep the door closed for some?

This is a great party, but no one should feel as if s/he was invited for cocktails, but not for dinner.

Candidate Toussaint Profiled in the Studio City & Sherman Oaks Suns

2006-04-21T10:50:00.000-07:00

THANK YOU to the Studio City and Sherman Oaks Suns for covering my campaign-- and the issues that are near and dear to my heart, including the under-recognition of chronic pain and my desire to reform health care in California.

All at the Sun have been wonderful to me-- in particular, thank you Judy Proffer for writing a heart-felt piece that moved me deeply.

To read this lead story, please link below:

http://www.studiocitysun.com/

XO Cynthia

Mass' "Universal Health Care" Scheme Good for the Fat Cats, Bad for the People

2006-04-14T13:59:00.000-07:00

GREAT commentary (please read below) by Jamie Court and Judy Dugan of FTCR about Massachusetts' wack at universal health care (a strike out in my book!). I've worked much with Jamie in the HMO reform days of the late 90's-- he's a wonderfully passionate man who forever puts the spotlight on the corporate wrong-doers.

And shame on Gov. Schwarzenegger for holding up the Bay State's "trailblazing" model as the solution for California. This is the land of HMO's and "Consumer Driven Health Care"-- and he just wants to give a big 'ol pot of gold to his wealthy supporters in the insurance industry. The Mass model is another scheme to benefit the private health care industry-- just like Medicare Part D. And we know how that's "working" for the elderly and disabled.

Hey, let's get real. The ONLY solution for this tangled health care web we have woven over the decades-- is to get the fat cats out, eliminated the layers and layers of administrators, utilization analysts and middlemen-- and have a true, single-payer Universal Health Care plan... that will provide equal, quality health care to every man, woman AND child in this great state. Anything short of that-- and make no mistake, Massachusetts' plan is way short-- is just propping up and perpetuating a critically-ill "health care" debacle in this country.

"HEALTH WITH DIGNITY-- LET'S CARE FOR PEOPLE" And that one's for you, Arnold!!!

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home / healthcare / commentary

April 8, 2006
'Hummer in every pot' healthcare
by Jamie Court and Judy Dugan - Op-Ed Commentary

Jamie Court is president of the Santa Monica-based Foundation for Taxpayer and Consumer Rights. Judy Dugan is the foundation's research director.
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What if the state of California required everyone to buy a Hummer? An expensive, wasteful and inefficient Hummer. Sound ridiculous? Well, it's not far off from a "bipartisan healthcare plan" that Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and some state legislators have suggested. It would force us all to buy the costly and ineffective machinery of the state's private health insurance industry.

Schwarzenegger and his allies may have gained ammunition this week as the Massachusetts Legislature passed a plan to require individuals in the state to buy health insurance. Leaders there are trumpeting the plan as a model for national universal health insurance. It's not, and certainly not for California.
The Massachusetts plan is more Honda than Hummer. Health insurance and medical care there are predominantly nonprofit, with nonprofit HMOs and university teaching hospitals, unlike the for-profit private market here.

Massachusetts will not allow insurers to reject individuals with health problems or charge the sick more for coverage (unlike the current system in California), and it has a far smaller proportion of uninsured people. The Bay State's plan will subsidize coverage, on a sliding scale. For example, a family of four can earn up to $60,000 a year and still qualify. Even so, critics say many people will not be able to afford individual plans, and employers who now provide good insurance are likely to be tempted to offer inferior bare-bones plans under the new system. Individuals who refuse to buy a policy face a tax lien of up to 50% of the policy cost.

The plan that has been talked about in Sacramento would require individuals who earn more than $19,600 a year and families of four with annual incomes greater than $40,000 to buy health insurance coverage at full cost. Currently, the average policy for a family in the United States costs $10,800 a year, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation. And as in most states, California has no regulation of how much insurers can charge for the coverage.

This lack of regulation means that about 25% of what policyholders pay to HMOs and insurance companies actually finances record corporate profits, high executive pay and excessive overhead. For example, Blue Cross of California parent company Wellpoint gave $250 million to its former chief executive in a recent merger, and policyholders are still paying that tab. A host of middlemen and bureaucratic operations have gotten rich on "managing" drugs, hospital care and mental health care in California. Their costs are also built into our puffed-up system.

A requirement to buy health insurance from California's private for-profit companies would look a lot like the tangled mess of the privatized federal prescription drug plan for Medicare beneficiaries, known as Part D. Seniors and the people trying to help them deal with the welter of private drug plans find they can't accurately compare the plans' prices and benefits. Health plans would be far more complicated, and comparisons all but hopeless.

Even in the Massachusetts plan, the seemingly less expensive policies may require customers to pay thousands of dollars out of their own pockets for hospital stays, doctor visits and drugs. Insurers nationwide are pushing these high-deductible plans and even excluding once standard benefits such as maternity care. They reserve the right to raise premiums once a healthy patient becomes ill and makes a claim.
Not surprisingly, the "Hummer in every pot" concept is attractive to Schwarzenegger, who claims to have invented the domestic market for Hummers by telling the maker that the oversized, big-budget transport should be a civilian car. Such bloat is not what a healthcare system should tolerate.

Schwarzenegger said he supports a mandate because "like with car insurance... we make it law that people carry insurance and that they are really insured, [because] it's unfair to so many people when you have people using the hospitals for emergency, and then creating a huge cost." In California's auto insurance market, however, insurance reform Proposition 103 has made auto insurance more affordable. No similar regulation or scrutiny of pricing and premiums exists for HMOs and health insurers. Moreover, one can safely choose not to drive, even if means taking overcrowded buses. Not so with confronting a health crisis.

If California wants genuine universal health insurance, it is going to have to do the hard work of restraining the healthcare system's waste, inefficiency and profiteering. But that would entail angering interest groups that finance politicians' elections. The uninsured and underinsured don't attend fundraisers or make political contributions. And, of course, politicians' own health coverage is paid by taxpayers. No wonder they don't understand the problem in making a working family choose between rent and insurance.

New Mobility Covers Toussaint Run for 42nd

2006-04-06T09:20:00.000-07:00

New Mobility Magazine

April 2006 Issue

People in the News: Cynthia Toussaint

Cynthia Toussaint, a wheelchair user due to reflex sympathetic dystrophy -- a chronic pain disease of the central nervous system -- is running for state assembly in California's 42nd district. Her supporters include California state senator Liz Figueroa and noted primatologist Jane Goodall.

"I'm running to give a voice to every Californian who lives with pain like I do, every Californian who is uninsured and whose healthcare benefits are shrinking, and every Californian who is oppressed because of their disability, economic position, or sexual orientation," says Toussaint, an unabashed progressive candidate who also supports assisted suicide.

Toussaint is the founder of For Grace, a nonprofit that brings increased awareness of RSD. She is perhaps best known politically for her advocacy toward state legislation that would mandate an education program on pain for the general public and healthcare professionals. Follow her campaign at cynthiatoussaint.blogspot.com.

California Needs to Catch the Same-Sex Marriage Bouquet

2006-04-05T14:31:00.000-07:00

I am a person who cares deeply about equality for all, regardless of color, ethnicity, sex, age, sexual orientation, nationality, religious beliefs, etc. Though I'm sure I have prejudices-- I feel as though the only thing I'm intolerant about is intolerance. That's why it's difficult for me to tolerate the Republican Party!!

Earlier this week, I was reading my New York City brother's wonderful column in the on-line magazine Edge. David is the author of "Gay and Lesbian Weddings: Planning the Perfect Same-Sex Ceremony"-- and wrote the first article ever in Bride's magazine about same-sex weddings. Is that cool or what??

The book is so beautiful, the bouquets on the cover and all... but despite the joy the book brings, there is an undercurrent of great sadness inside of me because so many people are not allowed to enter into this sacred bond-- and this must change.

Without a doubt, marriage is a basic human right that should be available to all consenting adults, whether they're born straight or gay. Most opponents of same-sex marriage claim it's not natural for two people of the same-sex to marry. This position comes from a place of great fear, intolerance and ignorance. And it deeply hurts so many...

I at times attend the Neighborhood Church (Unitarian Universalist) in Pasadena-- and we used to have an extraordinary minister there. He was warm, articulate, empathic, progressive-thinking, blond and gay. Several years back, I attended his and his partners televised commitment ceremony in "protest" of California's Prop 22 initiative in 2000 (which shamefully passed securing only man/woman unions as legally recognized marriages.)

This couple had been together for two decades and had adopted four or five Afro-American drug-addicted babies at that point. Their big hearts and openness earned them the wrath of hate-mongers who threatened to kidnap their children and produced death threats. Such is the plight of all those who trailblaze tolerance.... My respect for this couple is boundless.

Not being allowed to marry is a deep, personal pain for me. I met my wonderful partner, John, in 1982 when we were 19. He proposed marriage a year later-- and I told him there was plenty of time down the road for that. One year later, I developed the chronic pain disease, RSD, which changed my life forever. John was the only person who stuck by me through it all-- my sole caregiver during all the bedridden years.

John asked me to marry him again in the late 80's... actually got down on his knees and cried. This guy I'm gonna keep ;) We planned our wedding, bedridden and all. Then everything came to a halt when we found out about Social Security's marriage penalty law. If I married John, our combined resources would prevent me from keeping my quality-of-life preserving health care. So we opted for a commitment ceremony, that is so common among gay couples.

Nearly 26 years into my relationship, folk forever tell me not to worry, "You and John are MORE married than any couple." Guess what? We're not... if John gets sick and hospitalized tomorrow, I would have no legal right to visit him--as I am not family. That's one of hundreds of rights that come with the contract of marriage. AND there's the everyday psychic pain of feeling less-than, "othered"-- journalists very often still refer to John as my "boyfriend"... and it hurts every time.

So due to John and my economic discrimination, I from the straight-side of things uniquely understand the heart-ache and repression of the same-sex marriage issue. Civil union is a step forward to help secure some of the rights for these couples-- but it's NOT marriage and stops at the California border.

Our country's Declaration of Independence proclaimed life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness as inalienable rights. Marriage, by anyone's definition, is one of our core choices for happiness. To take that right away from ANYONE shames us and prevents us from becoming a truly great society. Tolerance, my friend, is what I'm crying out for-- with that, we'd all have a shot at catchin' the bouquet...

The Time Is NOW for Medicinal Marijuana--Let's Stop the Unnecessary Suffering

2006-03-29T10:28:00.000-08:00

I am a person with pain and one who has difficulty sleeping at times. For more than a decade, I have been angry and frustrated that marijuana is not easily available, as other drug therapies are, for all who suffer with pain, nausea and sleep deprivation. I have heard from hundreds of people with these symptoms who say marijuana is a god-send for them.

Recently, I was speaking with a colleague who's partner is dying from cancer. He told me about her great courage, a life of helping others through her nonprofit endeavors. And he told me about her fighting doggedly for respect and quality care in her last months. With tears in his eyes, he described his most recent visits with her-- and how the last thing he did before leaving was to roll a couple of joints for her. This medication gave her the opportunity to sleep at night without vomiting throughout. And this from a gentleman who comes from a law enforcement background... His love for this woman transcended any laws that were a barrier to her aid and comfort. This is a wonderful man who I greatly admire.

I also saw a friend last year who suffers with post-polio. We were exchanging yarns about our sleep difficulties-- and she talked about the years when she could never get a quality night's sleep. She told me that each evening now, just before hitting the sack, she takes one hit of pot... and like magic, she now sleeps like a baby every night. She spoke of ALL the countless other therapies she tried to no avail... before she at last tried marijuana. She and her husband both smiled, telling me it's like night and day.

I'm not talking about drug traffic'ers, criminals diverting pot for profit... I'm talking about people like you and me. People who are suffering from chronic pain, MS, cancer, and a whole slew of other ailments that can bring misery. Here we have a therapy that clearly displays safe and effective relief... and it's a moral shame that folk have to worry that the Feds will swoop down on them if they partake in their own healing.

Clearly, medicinal marijuana is not the answer for all of our woes--hardly. But like other medications, it helps so many... and should be available in a controlled way to assure safety and effectiveness. Why is marijuana federally outlawed, where as alcohol consumption is a socially and legally accepted indulgence? 2 + 2 equals 5 in this equation...

I am a witness to the extraordinary benefits of medicinal marijuana-- and I am outraged that people who want relief are frightened to try-- or continue this therapy-- as they're concerned they will go to jail if they do so. The people of California had the vision and compassion to legalize pot in this great state-- and now it's time for the Feds to finally jump on board this common sense approach.

We must break down those last, ignorant prejudices and stand up to those industries that economically benefit from pot's criminalization. If I make it to Sacramento, I promise to be a leading spokesperson in favor of liberalizing access to medicinal marijuana. I will advocate for the great medical school institutions in this state to commence with research studies that will once and for all prove it's great theraputic benefits-- so Congress will finally have the proof in hand to force them to at last legalize marijuana for it's great healing purposes.

When it comes to unnecessary suffering, time IS of the essence... and the time is NOW!!

The Fog of 9/11

2006-03-21T14:49:00.000-08:00

Since 9/11 (literally while I was seeing the first images on TV), I had severe reservations about the official story behind this "attack." How could our government, with all its intelligence capacity, possibly not know anything about these impending events?

I was surprised and relieved to see the article below about actor Charlie Sheen (and other prominent figures) using his celebrity to shed light about the mysteries, the inconsistencies, the questions surrounding these events that have put this country into a rigid state of terror and fear.

Sheen proposes an independent investigation of 9/11-- so we the people can get the facts once and for all. If the official story is truly "official", why is the government threatened by this open process? It would only put to rest an open sore that is growing even larger with an ever more skeptical public.

I, myself, have many questions about this "Pearl Harbor" which has been so helpful for our government to "liberate" countries and expand "democracy" globally. I have had long conversations with experts who have explained that planes and their payloads couldn't possibly bring down twin towers in a demolition-like manner. And why are there no pictures of the plane impacting the Pentagon?

This administration led us into a war the world said NO to with a lie about WMDs-- why would it be hard to imagine that they lied about all of it? The story as it stands now is illogical, inconceiveable and an arrogant, terrible charade.

The image of Bush reading to those kids that day to me clearly shows a puppet hiding an awful truth. And Sheen's point is a good one-- why did he stay, risking all of those children's lives-- unless he knew he was not a target?

When I posed these concerns to people early on, they were for the most part frightened and put off. This questioning of the official story was too scary a proposition. Now, very often when I bring up these same concerns, folk are often in agreement and angry about the deceit.

We were attacked by someone-- and people really died and were maimed. How AWFUL!! But what about all the kids being sent off to Iraq today -- and whatever market we expand into next...and the tens of thousands who are being slaughtered in foreign lands??? A horror unimaginable to me. Will it ever end if we don't start questioning now?

It's time to save the soul of this country... if it's not too late.

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Actor Charlie Sheen Questions Official 9/11 Story

Calls for truly independent investigation, joins growing ranks of prominent credible whistleblowers

Alex Jones & Paul Joseph Watson/Prison Planet.com | March 20 2006

Actor Charlie Sheen has joined a growing army of other highly credible public figures in questioning the official story of 9/11 and calling for a new independent investigation of the attack and the circumstances surrounding it.

Over the past two years, scores of highly regarded individuals have gone public to express their serious doubts about 9/11. These include former presidential advisor and CIA analyst Ray McGovern, the father of Reaganomics and former Assistant Secretary of the US Treasury Paul Craig Roberts, BYU physics Professor Steven Jones, former German defense minister Andreas von Buelow, former MI5 officer David Shayler, former Blair cabinet member Michael Meacher, former Chief Economist for the Department of Labor during President George W. Bush's first term Morgan Reynolds and many more.

Speaking to The Alex Jones Show on the GCN Radio Network, the star of current hit comedy show Two and a Half Men and dozens of movies including Platoon and Young Guns, Sheen elaborated on why he had problems believing the government's version of events.

Sheen agreed that the biggest conspiracy theory was put out by the government itself and prefaced his argument by quoting Theodore Roosevelt in stating, "That we are to stand by the President right or wrong is not only unpatriotic and servile, but is morally treasonable to the American public."

"We're not the conspiracy theorists on this particular issue," said Sheen.

"It seems to me like 19 amateurs with box cutters taking over four commercial airliners and hitting 75% of their targets, that feels like a conspiracy theory. It raises a lot of questions."

Sheen described the climate of acceptance for serious discussion about 9/11 as being far more fertile than it was a couple of years ago.

"It feels like from the people I talk to in and around my circles, it seems like the worm is turning."

Suspicious collapse of buildings

Sheen described his immediate skepticism regarding the official reason for the collapse of the twin towers and building 7 on the day of 9/11.

"I was up early and we were gonna do a pre-shoot on Spin City, the show I used to do, I was watching the news and the north tower was burning. I saw the south tower hit live, that famous wide shot where it disappears behind the building and then we see the tremendous fireball."

"There was a feeling, it just didn't look any commercial jetliner I've flown on any time in my life and then when the buildings came down later on that day I said to my brother 'call me insane, but did it sorta look like those buildings came down in a controlled demolition'?"

Sheen said that most people's gut instinct, that the buildings had been deliberately imploded, was washed away by the incessant flood of the official version of events from day one.

Sheen questioned the plausibility of a fireballs traveling 1100 feet down an elevator shaft and causing damage to the lobbies of the towers as seen in video footage, especially when contrasted with eyewitness accounts of bombs and explosions in the basement levels of the buildings.

Regarding building 7, which wasn't hit by a plane, Sheen highlighted the use of the term "pull," a demolition industry term for pulling the outer walls of the building towards the center in an implosion, as was used by Larry Silverstein in a September 2002 PBS documentary when he said that the decision to "pull" building 7 was made before its collapse. This technique ensures the building collapses in its own footprint and can clearly be seen during the collapse of building 7 with the classic 'crimp' being visible.

The highly suspicious collapse of building 7 and the twin towers has previously been put under the spotlight by physics Professor Steven Jones and Kevin Ryan of Underwriters Laboratories, the company that certified the steel components used in the construction of the World Trade Center towers.

"The term 'pull' is as common to the demolition world as 'action and 'cut' are to the movie world," said Sheen.

Sheen referenced firefighters in the buildings who were eyewitnesses to demolition style implosions and bombs.

"This is not you or I watching the videos and speculating on what we saw, these are gentlemen inside the buildings at the very point of collapse."

"If there's a problem with building 7 then there's a problem with the whole thing," said Sheen.

Bush's behavior on 9/11

Sheen then questioned President Bush's actions on 9/11 and his location at the Booker Elementary School in Florida. Once Andy Card had whispered to Bush that America was under attack why didn't the secret service immediately whisk Bush away to a secret location?

By remaining at a location where it was publicly known the President would be before 9/11, he was not only putting his own life in danger, but the lives of hundreds of schoolchildren. That is unless the government knew for sure what the targets were beforehand and that President Bush wasn't one of them.

"It seems to me that upon the revelation of that news that the secret service would grab the President as if he was on fire and remove him from that room," said Sheen.

The question of how Bush saw the first plane hit the north tower, when no live footage of that incident was carried, an assertion that Bush repeated twice, was also put under the spotlight.

"I guess one of the perks of being President is that you get access to TV channels that don't exist in the known universe," said Sheen.

"It might lead you to believe that he'd seen similar images in some type of rehearsal as it were, I don't know."

The Pentagon incident

Sheen outlined his disbelief that the official story of what happened at the Pentagon matched the physical evidence.

"Show us this incredible maneuvering, just show it to us. Just show us how this particular plane pulled off these maneuvers. 270 degree turn at 500 miles and hour descending 7,000 feet in two and a half minutes, skimming across treetops the last 500 meters."

We have not been able to confirm that a large commercial airliner hit the Pentagon because the government has seized and refused to release any footage that would show the impact.

"I understand in the interest of national security that maybe not release the Pentagon cameras but what about the Sheraton, what about the gas station, what about the Department of Transportation freeway cam? What about all these shots that had this thing perfectly documented? Instead they put out five frames that they claim not to have authorized, it's really suspicious," said Sheen.

Sheen also questioned how the plane basically disappeared into the Pentagon with next to no wreckage and no indication of what happened to the wing sections.

Concerning how the Bush administration had finalized Afghanistan war plans two days before 9/11 with the massing of 44,000 US troops and 18,000 British troops in Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, and in addition the call for "some catastrophic and catalyzing event - like a new Pearl Harbor," as outlined in the PNAC documents, Sheen stated, "you don't really put those strategies together overnight do you for a major invasion? Those are really well calculated and really well planned."

"Coincidence? We think not," said Sheen and he called the PNAC quotes "emblematic of the arrogance of this administration."

A real investigation

Sheen joined others in calling for a revised and truly independent investigation of 9/11.

Sheen said that "September 11 wasn't the Zapruder film, it was the Zapruder film festival," and that the inquiry had to be, "headed, if this is possible, by some neutral investigative committee. What if we used retired political foreign nationals? What if we used experts that don't have any ties whatsoever to this administration?"

"It is up to us to reveal the truth. It is up to us because we owe it to the families, we owe it to the victims. We owe it to everybody's life who was drastically altered, horrifically that day and forever. We owe it to them to uncover what happened."

Charlie Sheen joins the rest of his great family and notably his father Martin Sheen, who has lambasted for opposing the Iraq war before it had begun yet has now been proven right in triplicate, in using his prominent public platform to stand for truth and justice and we applaud and salute his brave efforts, remembering Mark Twain's quote.

"In the beginning of a change, the patriot is a scarce man, brave, hated, and scorned. When his cause succeeds however, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot."

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Please feel free to contact us about this story at mediaonly@infowars.com

Listen to the entire Charlie Sheen interview right now for free by clicking here.

Bombs for Universal Health Care: Los Angeles Says "YES!!!!"

2006-03-14T12:16:00.000-08:00

I attended the Los Angeles Health Care Forum on Saturday, March 4th-- an all day event, mandated by Congress, to garner opinions and solutions from the community regarding our broken health care system.

I didn't know if I wanted to attend a 10-hour Saturday event-- running a nonprofit and a campaign is enough to make one's head spin. But I ran into a gentleman at Studio City Farmers Market who said to me, "If your platform is health care, you have to attend." Hmmmm... my platform is not solely health care, and this man was quite rude, but that kind of stirred my interest.

Also, I was getting bad vibes from some organizers of this event... one woman approached me after hearing me speak at the LA County Democratic Party meeting, inviting me to attend this event in order to speak with the media. She gave me her card, assuring me she would be in touch before the 4th. When I e-mailed her just prior, telling her I would not be attending, I immediately got an e-mail back saying she had been out of town, she asked someone to follow up, that person had dropped the ball, blah, blah, blah... Then they asked me to sign a press release-- I said I would need a final draft... I was assured that, but never received it... Long story short, I was extremely unimpressed with this process and those who handled it...when I headed downtown on that early Saturday morn...

Nearly 500 folk filled the LA Convention Center room-- and I was shocked the organizers could round up so many who would give up their Saturday, with little more than a free lunch. Obviously, health care --and the fact that it doesn't work in this state and country-- is extremely important to our citizens. WOW, that impressed me-- and I liked all the people at my table. And indeed the passion that filled the room. But I quickly noticed there was something amiss here...

When they were gathering demographic information about the attendees at the start of the event, it became painfully clear that most were just like me-- white, college-educated, low-to-moderate income and politically progressive-- hardly an accurate representation of the Los Angeles population. So odd that the organizers had failed so badly in this basic planning.

But that being said, I was shocked and delighted to learn that most all of these 500 folk were in unison in their support for a universal health care plan to remedy our failing system. I remember the days when I would dare mention universal health care as the solution on a talk show, and the panel would attack me, saying among other things that I was naive and short-sighted (this generally from physicians).

The highlight of the day was when the room was asked what they were willing to give up to have a fair for-all, universal health care plan. An angry man stood up and began yelling, "Why should we have to give up anything! We're already paying for one! Why should we have to make choices like higher taxes or less access to doctors and services???" That passionate man's voice was heard--and his point blew me away... because he was right! Surely, the hundreds of BILLIONS that taxpayers already pump into health care would more than finance an efficient single-payer system. Why, indeed, should we have to give something up?? Isn't that just part of the lie that keeps us frightened and in-line??

So I told my table that I was willing to give up "liberating" people in other countries, and all the bombs and carnage that goes with it, for a universal health care plan for all people in this country. When our table's recommendation was broadcast, the room responded with thunderous applause and cheers. And that turned out to be Los Angeles' recommendation to Congress and the President.

So while I still don't understand what exactly this forum was supposed to accomplish, I did learn that quite a lot of my fellow Angelenos think just like me-- and that warmed my heart. At least for one day in one room, sanity and compassion prevailed...

Hollywood and West Hollywood Independents Cover Toussaint Campaign

2006-03-09T10:43:00.000-08:00

The Sprawling 42nd AD: Welcome to L.A.
Politics: The race to succeed Koretz is to represent an area far beyond West Hollywood.

West Hollywood Independent
March 9, 2006

By MARY FRANCES GURTON, Staff Writer

California’s 42nd Assembly District, where a contentious race to succeed incumbent Paul Koretz, who will be termed out of office, is a lot like surrounding Los Angeles itself: sprawling and affluent in parts.

It spans from Brentwood on the far west, through Bel Air, Beverly Hills, and West Hollywood and then meanders up towards Sherman Oaks and the Hollywood Hills and then into Toluca Lake.

The largely Democratic district — with a population of 423,388 that is largely made up of whites (80.1 percent), followed by Hispanics (10.4 percent) and Asians (7.2 percent) — also spans from Mandeville Canyon on the west all the way past Hancock Park towards Los Feliz in the east.

Much of the area is often considered one of the most affluent regions of California, an observation that even Koretz joked about.

“I would say I am probably one of the low income residents of the district,” said Koretz, who earns over $100,000 a year, during a phone interview. “This is what most assembly members wouldn’t be able to say.”

Eight candidates are currently vying to replace Koretz in the state assembly district that has 246,088 registered voters, made up of Democrats (54 percent) and Republicans (21 percent).

The candidate who replaces him, says Koretz, should have an intrinsic understanding of the challenges, goals and the uniqueness of the district,

“It’s a pretty liberal district, and at the same time, it’s a ‘tough on crime’ district. It is a district that makes some people pro-business and pro-development and then makes other people anti-development, which makes it very unusual,” said Koretz.

“In some ways it’s not that diverse and in some ways it is. We don’t have large minority populations the way some other districts do — not a lot of African Americans or Latino residents. But we have other groups that aren’t present in most districts, such as a very large and significant LGBT community and a large Russian community in West Hollywood and a Persian community in Beverly Hills.”

As Koretz further noted, the district has also been the home to three governors: Pete Wilson, Gray Davis and former Hollywood action star Arnold Schwarzenegger.

“I’m waiting to see when Phil Angelides will move into the district,” quipped Koretz, a reference to the gubernatorial candidate who is running against Schwarzenegger this year.

And as the countdown begins to the June 6 primary election, political observers predict that the 42nd Assembly District will be one of the most interesting races to watch.

It is a race that pits former Los Angeles City Councilman Mike Feuer, who has been endorsed by the incumbent, against West Hollywood Mayor Abbe Land for the Democratic nomination.

“It will be one of the more interesting primary races. They both have high name recognition, plenty of money in the bank and political endorsements,” said Jaime Regalado, executive director of the Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Institute of Public Affairs for Cal State LA.

Experts say that this race could serve as a political comeback for the 47-year-old Feuer, whose promising career was cut short after an humbling loss to then deputy mayor Rocky Delgadillo in the 2001 city attorney race.

For Land, the campaign marks her second attempt at a state assembly position. She was defeated in a 1994 race for the 42nd Assembly District seat, which was held then by Wally Knox.

“In a sense, both of their careers are on the line here,” says Regalado. “If Mike loses, then the notion will be that his career in public office is pretty much finished. If Abbe loses, it’s that she will never be able to win the big one. She will always be associated with small city politics.”

In addition to Feuer and Land, the campaign has attracted a number of other candidates, who are, at best, long shots at winning.

Among them is Cynthia Toussaint, 45, a former Playboy model and dancer, who suffers from the neurological disease Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy and is a longtime advocate for universal health care.

Toussaint, a Valley Village resident, is also the founder of a nonprofit for people suffering from Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy disease, which causes chronic pain.

“I am the underdog, and I want to be a voice for the underdog,” says Toussaint. “I have gone through a lot of struggles and tragedies in my life but I believe I can change tragedy into something positive in people’s lives.”

Other challengers for the assembly seat include Eric Michael Fine, 42, of Beverly Hills, who works as a coordinator for a marijuana advocacy group, and Mark Gonzaga, a producer and educator from West Hollywood.

The remaining candidates are Republicans Steven Mark Sion, 43, a labor law attorney from West Hollywood and Clark Baker, 48, a Hollywood Hills resident and former LAPD officer, as well as libertarian Colin Goldman, 37, a screenwriter from Sherman Oaks who unsuccessfully ran against state Senator Sheila Kuehl two years ago.

Photo: Cynthia Toussaint meets Mayor Villaraigosa

2006-03-09T10:28:00.000-08:00

My First Endorsement-- Thank you, Jim!

2006-03-09T09:58:00.000-08:00

I had a wonderful experience on Tuesday as a guest on KPFK's "Access Unlimited" show. A big THANK YOU, Shawn Casey O'Brien (Assembly candidate for the 41st District-- and co-host of "Access Unlimited") for inviting me to be on your wonderful forum for disability issue discussion.

I immensely enjoyed the conversation between Shawn, myself and Jim Alger (Assembly candidate for the 38th District.) These are two sharp AND passionate candidates who really know the political animal-- and I continue to learn so much from them...

And I received an endorsement from Jim... THANK YOU, Jim....

Jim Alger
Council President
Northridge West Neighborhood Council

I wish you both good luck in your respective races. Let's together continue to raise the profile of the disabled in politics and in our society-- and show all how immensely ABLE we are indeed!! Love you guys much.... And as mentioned on the show, I'll see you both on the campaign trail :)

States Cut Reproductive Funding: Back to the Dark Ages We Go...

2006-03-02T12:31:00.000-08:00

This study reveals a troubling trend in this country (please see below.) Women are second class citizens-- and cutting funds for contraceptives and medical services, creating unwanted pregnancies represses girls and women even further. Without a doubt, we're heading back to the dark ages...

The poor and the young are the politically disenfranchised-- so naturally the government takes their benefits. Our government always strips the underdog first. And OK, if we only care about money, this policy trend is short-sighted-- as $1 spent on family planning services saves $3 down the line for the abortions and unwanted babies that result.

I have always been pro-choice, ABSOLUTELY. Every woman must have the right to make choices about her own body. But I'm not pro-abortion (though that's how the pro-life people would like to label me...) No woman in her right mind would want to have an abortion-- I've never heard of a pleasant procedure leaving lasting joyful memories. So I can safely say we're all in agreement that fewer abortions is a REALLY good idea.

Rather than setting the stage for abortions by cutting funds, why don't we instead pump more money into sex education, contraceptive access and reproductive medical services-- so that girls and women can make better educated choices about their bodies?

And when I talk about sex education, I don't mean only the nuts and bolts, but also reinforcing respect for one's body and the consideration of not having a sexual relationship until one has the emotional maturity for that. I believe absolutely sex education promotes self-esteem which, in turn, decreases careless sexual activity.

It is my wish that California continues to deepen it's commitment to caring about women, poor and young -- and by doing so, help prevent them from going through the trauma of peer-pressure sex, unwanted pregancies and resulting abortions. That's enlightened thinking that avoids the road back to the dark ages...

*******************************************************

Unintended Pregnancy Linked to State Funding Cuts
First-of-Its-Kind Study Cites Impact On Teenage Girls and Poor Women

By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, March 1, 2006; A06

At a time when policymakers have made reducing unintended pregnancies a national priority, 33 states have made it more difficult or more expensive for poor women and teenagers to obtain contraceptives and related medical services, according to an analysis released yesterday by the nonpartisan Guttmacher Institute.
From 1994 to 2001, many states cut funds for family planning, enacted laws restricting access to birth control and placed tight controls on sex education, said the institute, a privately funded research group that focuses on sexual health and family issues.
The statewide trends help explain why more than half of the 6 million pregnancies in the United States each year are unintended and offer clues for tackling problems associated with teenage pregnancy and abortion, said researchers who specialize in the field.
"The most powerful and least divisive way to decrease abortion is to reduce unintended pregnancy," said Sarah Brown, director of the nonpartisan National Campaign to Prevent Teen Pregnancy. "If we can make progress reducing unintended pregnancy, we can make enormous progress reducing abortion."
The report, the first to measure the impact of state actions on reproductive health care, is based on a comprehensive census by the institute using the most recent available data. Advocates involved in the intense political debate over abortion were reluctant to comment on the findings, but experts on women's health and family planning praised Guttmacher for offering an agenda both sides could support.
"Whether you're pro-choice or pro-life, everyone ought to agree that preventing unintended pregnancies is a good thing to do," said Isabel Sawhill, a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution. Sawhill, whose research is cited by both conservative and liberal groups, said other factors contribute to unintended pregnancies, including miscommunication between partners, insufficient knowledge about contraceptives and an "it will never happen to me" attitude.
Despite some gains, the United States still lags far behind most industrialized nations in reducing abortion and teenage pregnancy. In 2002, 21 in 1,000 American women age 15 to 44 had an abortion. Although that is the lowest abortion rate since 1974, the decline has stalled, prompting fears that individuals and policymakers have lost focus on the underlying problem of unintended pregnancies, said Guttmacher President Sharon L. Camp.
"Unintended pregnancy in the United States is twice as high as in most of Western Europe," she said in an interview. "As a direct result, abortion rates are twice or three times as high as European countries. There is no reason why abortion rates need to be as high as they are."
The problem is particularly acute for the nation's estimated 17 million adolescent girls and low-income women, because a lack of education and money are often barriers to practicing abstinence or effective birth control.
In 2000, federal health officials set a goal of reducing unintended pregnancies by 40 percent within 10 years. States, through legislative and budgetary decisions, can be major players in that effort, Camp said. California and a few other states have leveraged federal Medicaid money to extend family-planning services to more poor women. For every dime the state puts in, the federal government pays 90 cents.
"This is really a smart move for states to make," Camp said. Yet for every state that has invested in reproductive health care or passed laws permitting pharmacists to dispense emergency contraception without a prescription, Guttmacher found at least another state that moved in the opposite direction.
"It's not only that at least half of the states are not doing many things they could do to reduce unintended pregnancy -- some are making contraception less easy for women and men," Camp said.
The Guttmacher rankings belie conventional political wisdom. California, New York, South Carolina and Alabama have made the greatest strides in helping low-income women receive health care and contraception, despite the fact that the two coastal states are considered "blue" states that lean to the left politically, while the two southern states are deemed "red" for their conservative tilt.
At the same time, states as different as Nebraska, Ohio and Utah were among the worst when it came to providing access to contraceptives for needy women and teenagers, as well as gynecological exams and information on preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.
States have an incentive for investing in reproductive services, Camp said. Every $1 spent on family planning saves $3 in health care costs related to a pregnancy.
The Guttmacher Institute was founded in 1968 as a "semiautonomous division of Planned Parenthood Federation of America" but now operates independently, according to its Web site. The report and state data can be read at http://www.agi-usa.org/ .
© 2006 The Washington Post Company

A Different Kind of Olympic Unifier

2006-02-24T13:30:00.000-08:00

I smiled from ear to ear when I read this inspiring story (please see below) about Vancouver's quadriplegic mayor. First of all, what a great guy to read about, a man who's overcome considerable obstacles. A proud civic leader who gets to represent his country from his wheelchair. SO very cool!

I've always enjoyed watching the Olympics, especially the ice skating. I was so upset last night when Sasha Cohen fell :( But so be the games... and the best skater of the night wears the gold. I love watching the best athletes in the world in one place-- and I feel the games bring our world communities together. It's something everyone's talking about, a common experience that is positive and a joy for me.

So about 18 years ago when one of my brothers said he was against the Olympics, because it was horrible to make countries compete, bringing further division to our already divided world. I had to really think about that... He did have a point,and I can see the negative aspect of the Olympics. I feel frustrated whenever someone mentions how many medals each country has one--like they're missing the point of bringing the world together to celebrate athletic grace and accomplishment.

For me, the Olympics provide an opportunity to get to know a foreign city, a far-away culture-- and to see up-close and personal stories about people who are worlds away. It makes me feel closer to my figurative brothers and sisters-- and definitely sparks my love for travel. I have to check off the big POSITIVE box when it comes to the Olympics.

And Mayor Sullivan further unifies as he not only represents another country, but another expression of the physical self. The disabled are still feared and misunderstood because the temporarily-able bodied world so rarely gets to see us. I give a "sitting O" to this wonderful gentleman. His spirit and courage shine as bright, if not brighter, as that Olympic torch.

*************************************************************

Vancouver's quadriplegic mayor plans on waving flag

Feb. 23, 2006
CBS SportsLine.com wire reports

TURIN, Italy -- A new star emerged Thursday at the Olympics: the quadriplegic mayor of the city that will host the 2010 Winter Games.
Vancouver Mayor Sam Sullivan has used a wheelchair since he broke his neck in a skiing accident when he was 19.
"Some have questioned the wisdom of Vancouver sending its worst skier to Torino," he said at a news conference where, with wit and charisma, he demonstrated how -- despite minimal use of his hands -- he will be on the receiving end of the traditional Olympic flag handover at Sunday's closing ceremonies.
Addressing reporters in a large auditorium, Sullivan drove his motorized wheelchair from behind the speakers' table to the front of the stage to exhibit a custom-designed attachment with a metal cylinder into which International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge will insert the flag.
Other mayors in the same role at past ceremonies have at that point proudly waved the giant flag; Sullivan plans to maneuver his wheelchair briskly enough so that the motion makes the flag flutter.
"The worst case scenario -- the flag blows in my face and I fall off the edge of the stage," he said.
But such a mishap seems unlikely. Sullivan confided the "top secret" information that he has spent many hours practicing his routine in various Vancouver parking lots, often at odd hours and sometimes arousing the suspicions of neighbors.
After a quick spin in his chair, with a practice flag pole attached, he advised reporters, "Don't try this at home."
Sullivan was elected mayor in November after 12 years as a city councilor. His term expires in 2009, but he could seek another term that would enable him to preside during the 2010 Games.
Jokes aside, Sullivan made clear this was a momentous personal occasion, as well as a milestone for his city.
"Twenty-seven years ago I was lying paralyzed in a hospital bed. For many years I was on welfare and in social housing," he said. "I never, ever imagined I'd be able to represent my country, my province and my city in this wonderful event."
AP NEWS
The Associated Press News Service

Copyright 2005-2006, The Associated Press, All Rights Reserved

Pain, Cruel and Unusual. Death, A-OK. Madness Reigns...

2006-02-22T15:50:00.000-08:00

Fascinating... the death penalty in this state gets curioser and curioser as each day unfolds...

I can't believe this (please see story below). After California over the decades has put hundreds to death, we're suddenly worried about the death row inmates pain level as s/he is dying. To me, this is beyond any sensibility...

I appreciate SO MUCH that the state is at least concerned about pain. I’m close to the head of the line when it comes to a proper perspective on pain. And have indeed dedicated my life to helping all those who suffer pain needlessly.

But WHY on earth do our state leaders who are comfy putting people to death for their crimes (some guilty, some innocent) not so comfy having them in pain while being killed? Suddenly we care about their comfort??? There’s nothing comfortable about being put to death. It’s ugly, it’s barbaric. And it spreads tremendous psychic pain throughout our society.

To be concerned about someone’s pain is true compassion. To put someone to death is null and void of compassion. I invite any California prison official to e-mail me an explanation regarding this chasm of humanity.

************************************************************

California Execution Postponed Indefinitely
No End in Sight Over Lethal Injection Debate
By SYLVIE ROTTMAN

Feb. 22, 2006 — - The state of California last night indefinitely postponed the execution of Michael Morales, who was sentenced to death for the 1981 rape and murder of 17-year-old Terri Winchell, after ongoing questions about the ethics of lethal injection.
The postponement was the second in one day. On Monday night, anesthesiologists withdrew from the execution because of their concerns over the method. An hour before Morales was to be strapped to a gurney in the death chamber at San Quentin State Prison on Tuesday night, officials called off the execution, saying they could not comply with a judge's order to have a medical provider administer the fatal dose of barbiturate.
The execution was expected to take place at San Quentin at 7:30 p.m. PT after a week of legal wrangling over the method -- and after Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger had denied him clemency.

Cruel and Unusual?
In what death penalty experts said was an unprecedented move, U.S. District Court Judge Jeremy Fogel last week ordered the state to modify California's execution procedures to ensure Morales, 46, did not suffer the extreme pain that some of the drugs could cause if he were still conscious.
Choosing among two options the judge had outlined, the state had initially planned to have two anesthesiologists present at the prison. But the physicians withdrew after an appeals court decision this week implied they might have "to personally intervene in the execution of Mr. Morales if any evidence of either pain or a return to consciousness arose." In their statement Monday, which was read by a prison spokesman, they said this "would clearly be medically unethical."
Fogel then ruled that the state could still proceed with the execution, but that it had to use barbiturates alone to put Morales to sleep -- and that the drugs had to be injected intravenously by a licensed state professional. But Vernon Crittendon, a spokesman for the prison, said the state could not find a medical professional to administer the injection.
"We were not able to find a licensed professional that was willing to inject medication intravenously, ending the life of a human being," Crittendon said Tuesday.
According to George Kendall, a lawyer at Holland & Knight who is uninvolved in this case but has represented death row inmates, "the wise course of action was to not do this tonight. It's smart for everybody. To execute somebody you ought to know exactly what you're doing."

Cocktail of Death

Of the 38 states that have the death penalty, 37 states use lethal injection.
The first state to adopt it was Oklahoma in 1977 -- but the notion that it is painless has recently been questioned. In 2005, The Lancet medical journal published the results of a study indicating that in 43 percent of executions studied in four U.S. states (not including California), blood levels of sleep-inducing drugs were "consistent with awareness" and inmates "may have been awake" during the process.
Dr. David Lubarsky, professor and chair of the Department of Anesthesiology at the University of Miami and one of the study's co-authors, says that one of the drugs commonly used in lethal injections "by itself is extremely painful. It causes a burning, a severe burning sensation."
"If the protocols that we use today to execute human beings were offered as an option to euthanize animals, you frankly wouldn't be able to put your dog to sleep," Lubarsky said.
As in most states, California uses a cocktail of three drugs for lethal injections. The first one is a powerful narcotic, a barbiturate that renders the condemned unconscious and insensible to pain. The second one paralyzes the muscles, and the third one causes cardiac arrest.
Although Morales has accepted responsibility for the crime, his lawyers have argued in federal court that the California execution protocol does not work as intended, and poses the risk of inflicting extreme pain and a "cruel and unusual punishment," violating the Eighth Amendment of the Constitution.
Fogel said an anesthesiologist had to be present or the lethal cocktail had to be changed because in several recent executions, including that of former gang member Stanley "Tookie" Williams, the inmates were breathing up to several minutes longer than they should have after the first drug was administered.

Victim's Family Outraged

The judge recognized this didn't prove the condemned were conscious during this time. But he noted the first drug administered "should both stop breathing and cause unconsciousness within a minute" and concluded that the evidence from the state's execution logs "raises at least some doubt as to whether the protocol actually is functioning as intended."
Winchell's brother was unsympathetic.
"It's a joke. This is a way we can only hope that we go out this easily," Brian Chalk told ABC's Sacramento affiliate KXTV on Tuesday. "We can only hope to be put to sleep in a nice, controlled environment. He's got it made."
Litigation is pending in at least a dozen states on issues surrounding lethal injections, and this spring the Supreme Court will hear the case of a Florida inmate, Clarence Hill, on a technical question of access to federal courts. But proponents of the death penalty are skeptical about claims that lethal injection may be "cruel and unusual punishment."
Robert Blecker, a professor at the New York Law School, sees this litigation as nothing more than an attack on the death penalty itself.
"Abolitionists are morally opposed to the death penalty. They see it as the equivalent of murder and, seeing it that way, they feel morally obliged to do what they can to block it," he said. "This is just one more attempt."

Copyright © 2006 ABC News Internet Ventures

Make a Contribution to Toussaint for State Assembly

2006-02-22T14:45:00.000-08:00

Thank you for making a contribution to my campaign.

Please make your check payable to "Toussaint for State Assembly" and mail to:

Toussaint for State Assembly
11531 Riverside Drive, Ste. 107
Valley Village, CA 91602

If you make a contribution of $100 or more, please e-mail me your occupation and employer (the state requires disclosure of this information.)

Candidate Committee ID# is 1283524
Again, many, many thanks.

Peace, Cynthia

Politics-- "A Bloodless War"

2006-02-20T12:44:00.000-08:00

For so many years now, people have said to me, "Cynthia, you just HAVE to run for political office." And I've always responded by saying, "Can't sell my soul, thanks..." But I work so much with politicians with my full-time volunteer job as a leader and spokesperson helping all women with chronic pain --and when I watch a lot of these folk in action, I think, "Hmmmm, I would be good at that."

So when Gov. Schwarzenegger vetoed my California RSD Education Bill last October, a bill that if signed would have saved hundreds of thousands from a life of excruciating pain, depression and disability-- I knew it was time for me to run.

Through my work, I've learned so much about the healthcare system in this country-- and specifically, the gaps that prevent access for those who need healthcare the most. And I'm forever frustrated that the government doesn't step in to help. So I decided I would run a campaign where I wouldn't sell my soul whatever the outcome. I've learned a lot so far... and it isn't pretty....

In politics, you can't trust ANYONE. Everyone betrays everyone-- and the winners are those who raise the most money. It's just that simple, the Golden Rule--"He with the most Gold, Rules...." This is quite disturbing to me as I realize most no professional politician truly cares for his/her constituents-- but is instead, carrying out the favors for the special interests who put them in office. And making deals for their next gig. Just look where this has brought our country... It's very hard for me to say I'm proud to be an American...

I was speaking with a journalist recently about these issues-- the betrayals, the money grubbing, ANYTHING to win office... and she called politics a "bloodless war." WOW-- that hit hard because she hit the target. I've already dealt with some of these slings and arrows-- and I simply refuse to play the game. To me, this is everything that's wrong with politics.

So I run my campaign cleanly. I do not take money for favors, and I do not bad-mouth or betray my opponents. I am a citizen who cares deeply about the health of the people in the 42nd District -- and every human being. So interesting how that authenticity is such a threat and so foreign to our familiar political system-- and how sad.

I last week spoke with another truly genuine candidate in a different district. This remarkable man blew my socks off... because he actually CARES. But his reality is that he can't even get endorsements from the same organizations he represents-- one even invited him to sit on their Board. But they ALWAYS endorse the ones with the money. Even though they like this gentleman much better... this is dirty politics, folks.

Over the years and decades, I've always asked my partner, John, "Why is it that nice people never run for politics?" And now I have the answer. Nice people do run for politics-- they just get frozen out as they cannot get endorsements because they will not make promises for money. T'would be me....

Yesterday, I sat in my wheelchair at the Studio City Farmer's Market to talk with the fine folk of the 42nd Assembly District. I was amazed at how much support I got from them. They loved my platform-- many of them shared their botched-healthcare stories... they truly appreciated my putting so much energy into a campaign intentionally short on cash, but genuinely long on heart.

But isn't that what politics is supposed to be about-- SERVING THE PEOPLE???? Where did we lose that notion?? And why are politicians paid so much?? If I were to win the State Assembly seat I'm running for, I would make $110,000 to serve. To me, that's obscene and corrupt. Wouldn't a lot of this money be better spent if the winners chose to give a good deal of it to a needy social program or charity?

So I guess I'm a different breed of politician. I subscribe to Paul Wellstone's notion that politics should exist for the soul reason to better peoples lives. And I know that most people deep down believe the same... but somewhere along the line this train has left its tracks... I ask that people fight the norm, believe in their gut instincts, be fearless-- support and vote for politicians who care about them, who lack the dollar signs and "name recognition." Because the names you continue to see on a thousand signs, billboards, commercials-- must belong to the special interests that procured them.

Try to dig deeper-- and learn about those other less-familiar names on your sample ballot. That's where Democracy still lives...

And as for this "bloodless war", I say, "no thank you"-- there are already too many wars waging.

Peace.

Cheney's Shotgun Hits the Target

2006-02-16T12:51:00.000-08:00

Guns kill people-- and I'm deeply disturbed when gun-advocates say otherwise. The US leads the world in deaths related to guns. And we continue our love affair with our weapons at any price.

Michael Moore's "Bowling For Columbine" was one of the most insightful and disturbing films I've ever viewed. It was a testement to our consumption of fear-- we own guns because that's the only way we can feel big and powerful. Consumed by corporate media and our constant state of terror, we've made guns-- and who we point them at-- the solution.

One of the pro-gun arguments that makes me most angry is when someone tells me that guns are just for hunting. People NEVER get hurt... I remember recently hearing this argument from an avid hunter -- and this man when hearing my views continued to insist that I get at least one gun for protection. He continued to overtalk me, my ridiculous notions that these "hunting guns" are often used to shoot people in fits of anger and by mistake. He pooh-pooh'd my opinion-- as I was just "a naive woman" anyway.

Well, the Vice-President, who's ticket this man proudly punched, just dis-proved my naivete! Cheney's accidental shooting of a human being while hunting was no surprise to me-- as these accidents happen hundreds of times each day in this country-- and that's because there are millions of guns in our households and on the streets. Easy access for criminals, hunters, sociopaths and... children.

Yes, of course, people kill people.... but they wouldn't do it nearly as often and as easily if there weren't guns and the violence they glorify in every aspect of our culture. Just pick up any 'ol Schwarzenegger or Eastwood movie. "Go ahead, make my day..." -- the fame we attach to this line is obscene...

Shooting for quail leads to the local liquor store getting knocked off to our kids rampaging their high school... and it all points to guns.

Schwarzenegger Turning the Screws on People With Pain

2006-02-13T13:22:00.000-08:00

Well, this report (detailed below) does not come as a surprise... as I hear almost daily from injured workers with pain about what a NIGHTMARE the workers comp system in this state is to fight. Now, with Schwarzenegger's "tweaking" (pain is no longer considered for benefit evaluation), it's gone from the horrible to the tragically absurd.

I know first hand that the Governor is no friend to people with pain-- as he vetoed my 2005 Califonia RSD Education Bill. That bill would have educated the state about the chronic pain disease, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy (also known as "The Suicide Disease") which would have promoted early diagnosis and medical intervention-- and in turn, saved countless lives from a world of pain that feels as though the sufferer has been doused with gasoline and lit on fire. It also would have prevented many suicides.

That's on the human cost front... on the economic front, if this bill had been signed, millions would not develop a disease and disability that will ultimately cost the state hundreds of millions in public funding for Medi-Cal, SSI, and, yes, workers comp benefits (many injured workers develop RSD from that injury.)

Being a person who lives with the physical and emotional pain that RSD levels for 23 years now, I wouldn't wish this torture on another living soul. And have indeed devoted my life to helping all people with pain.

It's heart and soul-breaking that the Governor seems to be dedicating his political life to exactly the opposite mission-- to perpetuate the misery of all of us who are suffering needlessly. Keep in mind, RSD (and most all pain conditions) if caught and treated early, can be put into remission-- or at least effectively managed. In my mind, there's no reason to torture people when we have the means to save them...

The Governor is not a kind man. He lacks compassion and human empathy. It's very scary to give this person so much power to hurt.... Oh, how I long for the days when he just made bad movies, where the violence only hurt us as a society -- wasn't that painful enough?

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Disabled workers losing benefits

Tom Chprneau
Associated Press

SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s overhaul of the workers’ compensation system has saved California employers billions of dollars over the last two years, but it also has led to a significant drop in benefits paid to disabled workers, according to a new report.
The analysis from the state Commission on Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation found that the regulations adopted in 2004 have reduced the average cash award given to permanently disabled workers by 50 percent.
Critics of the governor’s reforms said the study’s findings are proof the system does not treat injured workers fairly and that changes should be made.
Administration officials, however, said the study is premature and potentially flawed, in part because it based its findings on a relatively small number of claims. They said the centerpiece of the new system is a requirement that doctors use a more restrictive method for evaluating injuries and benefit payments and that it’s too soon to tell if the system needs refining.
“The old system was based on subjective factors and was fundamentally flawed,” Susan Gard, spokeswoman for the state Division of Workers’ Compensation, said Friday. “The question of whether the benefit levels now are adequate or not _ that’s something that the governor and the Legislature need to answer.”
California’s workers’ compensation system once had the highest rates in the nation, but changes pushed through the Legislature during Schwarzenegger’s first year in office have dramatically cut costs.
A report from the state Department of Industrial Relations issued earlier this month estimated the changes have saved employers as much as $8.1 billion since the high mark for premiums in July 2003.
Democratic leaders, however, said the study shows workers are getting shortchanged.
“This report confirms what we’ve been hearing for more than a year: Injured workers got the short end of the stick when workers’ comp was ‘reformed,’” Assembly Speaker Fabian Nunez, D-Los Angeles, said in a statement.
He said he was confident the state could find a solution that will hold down rates while providing adequate benefits.
The commission study provides adequate evidence that workers are not getting fair benefits, said David Rockwell, president of the California Applicants’ Attorneys Association, whose members represent injured workers. He said his group would pursue changes in the Legislature and, if necessary, the courts.
Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata, D-Oakland, said he does not believe the system needs another overhaul but also is concerned that injured workers are not being treated fairly.
“Seriously injured workers shouldn’t find themselves being harmed all over again,” he said in a statement.
Perata and Nunez requested the study last year.
At issue is the method used by doctors throughout California to evaluate the severity of job-related injuries.
The evaluation is key because it determines how much disabled workers receive in compensation to help make up for their inability to earn a living.
In the past, doctors were allowed to rely on subjective methods for analyzing injuries, such as a worker’s pain. Under the new system, guidelines developed by the American College of Occupational and Environmental Medicine provide guidelines that are more narrowly defined.
Gard said the commission report relied on a relatively small sample size. She said the state receives about 1 million new workers’ compensation claims a year, of which about 120,000 involve permanent disabilities.
She said the study was based on only 3,400 claims from permanently disabled workers.
Her department is conducting its own study of benefits paid to the permanently disabled that will be drawn from 18 months of data. She said the commission study used cases drawn from just a nine-month period.
http://www.tracypress.com/2006-02-13-biz-one.php

Springsteen-- "Bring 'em home..."

2006-02-10T10:58:00.000-08:00

Wednesday night, I got home from an acting class, feeling great -- and John turned on the Grammys. Funny, they were held at the Staples Center, a stone's throw from our downtown office. And I was SO glad John suggested we work from home that day-- as the traffic would have been head-splitting...

NOT being a TV watcher, I talked through most of the show, even though my favorite group, U2, was winning most every major award. At one point in this 3 1/2 hour epic, I was SILENT! Bruce Springsteen enraptured me with his performance of "Devils And Dust"-- about the kids fighting over in Iraq. I'd never heard this song or about the album-- which I ordered on-line first thing the next morning.

I literally had goose-bumps experiencing the powerful, passionate lyrics and performance by this extraordinary artist-- who has through the years always called out for peace and tolerance. "When you're told to kill, you lose the things you love..." When you fight in a war and are taught to hate and kill, you lose your soul along the way-- that's quite a price to pay and I don't believe there's any way to return from that. That all things turn to "devils and dust..."

It made me think of an experience I had in an airport several years ago. A "kid" in fatigues was sitting across from me at the terminal. On his cell phone, loud enough for all to hear, he boasted incessently about all the people he'd just killed in Iraq. He went into bloody detail about what the dead bodies looked like--how good it felt to kill them --and how "awesome" it all was. At the end of my flight, the pilot announced that we had a hero on board-- this kid's name was broadcast and we were told he had just been in Iraq protecting us. The announcement was met with thunderous applause...

We taught this boy to kill-- and he learned to love it... He was a "Hero" for doing his work well... I've thought often about him. Where will he kill now-- as that's his skill and passion??? And how will he ever earn those accolades again??? I wonder where he and his soul are today... to me, he's devils and dust...

When Springsteen finished his song, he simply stated, "Bring 'em home..." which filled me with emotion. Then I saw the audience a little nervous about acknowledging his words (no thunderous applause here), then relieved and comforted to see Bono respectfully on his feet applauding this sentiment.

Indeed, bring 'em home... before they all turn to dust....

Public v Private: Will we find Grace in LA's Education System?

2006-02-08T08:59:00.000-08:00

My partner John and I have recently been considering adopting a child from a foreign country. We always wanted to have a little girl-- thus the name of my nonprofit, For Grace. And I dream of finding her in China...

The obstacles are many. Would I be a good mother from my wheelchair? I'm a workaholic-- would I be able to step back from that work that I so passionately love? I'm taking acting classes and just got new headshots for my agent-- and will be called for auditions-- can I give that up too? Also, John has been my full-time caregiver for 23 years-- he's chronicly under-slept and busy every moment. While he longs to be a father, is it realistic to think he'll have the time to be the father he wants to be? Also, because John and I cannot legally marry after a 25+ year relationship due to the fact that would jeopardize my Social Security benefits-- and most importantly, my life-sustaining healthcare-- could we ever adopt, would we be allowed?

But among the many issues of a complicated, busy life of two people with illness and disability, the problem that most nags at me regarding adoption is where we would place our child in school. Public school vs. private school. I've spoken with so many parents and kids of all ages about this issue-- and what I hear disturbs me.

I am strongly in favor of public schools-- and if it were left up to me, we wouldn't have private schools as they create a class system in our country. But I can't ignore the many kids I've spoken with who attend public school and tell me they're afraid for their lives everyday due to weapons and threats from other students. Also, I hear about the over-crowded classes, the teachers that just don't care-- and the crumbling facilities.

I have several friends with their children attending private schools in the Los Angeles area-- also my neice attends 1st grade at a local private school. I hear outstanding reports from these friends and their children and I've visited on two occasions my neice's school. WOW!! What an amazing education these kids are getting. Excellent, caring teachers, small classrooms, SO much individual attention, immaculate facilities, everything every parent would want for their child's education, including much attention to the arts. I wish I had been lucky enough to receive this quality education K-12.

But then I hear about the costs... $7,000- $12,000 (and up) for kindergarten alone. This is bizarre, this is only for the elite. And when visiting a private school, I must admit I feel awkward and out of place-- as everyone there is affluent, white, able-bodied... it's just not the real world. In a vacuum, these kids are losing the precious perspective of the beautiful cultural and racial diversity of this incredible city.

The solution I think would be for communities to work toward a quality education for every child. I acknowledge the charter and magnet concepts are an attempt to level the playing field-- but what if your child isn't "gifted"? We all pay taxes and no one should have to pay double-- let alone the figures I just mentioned--to assure their child receives the foundation to succeed.

I spoke with a friend about this recently-- he and his wife are Ph.D's. They both work in higher education and they have a one-year old. My friend said that in LAUSD, the difference between private and public is that in private, every child is expected to be a leader, and in public, every child is expected to clean toilets. Not surprisingly, my friends have recently decided to move out of state as they cannot afford a private education for their daughter.

This unfortunate reality plays out countless times each day in LA. It deeply disturbs me that we're not focusing enough resources to remedy our public school system. Why aren't we paying teachers a decent wage, enough for them to afford housing in the very communities they teach in? What more important and noble profession could there be than a public school teacher???

Allowing the further fragmentation of K-12 education is not the answer. I say we fully commit ourselves to one system, the fair and just system of public schooling. We all have a common investment in the quality of our society-- and all of us, without consideration of who can pay and who cannot-- should shoulder the burden together to assure a bright and productive future for our children.

As for Grace, this could be the deciding factor for John and me. I could not send my daughter to a school where she would daily fear for her safety -- and I simply don't believe in the concept of private schools, even if I could afford them. We have all the love in the world... and more to give a child... but it almost seems we are left without a choice...

Class Distinction Even Among the Disenfranchised

2006-02-06T12:30:00.000-08:00

Several years ago I read a fantastic article in New Mobility magazine, a periodical dedicated to those with disabilities. The article went into detail about how we as a disabled community far too often put all with disabilities into different classes, based on the individuals level of "normal" function (ie, quads lower than paras, etc.)

I was startled and ashamed at the realization that I'm a part of this mindset, specifically when the magazine mentioned people with physical disabilities tend to place themselves in a higher class than those with mental disabilities. This article brought me great self-perspective-- and made me realize that the disabled world would never have a voice as long as we continue to discriminate amongst ourselves. We must unify to overcome the great obstacles for social parity...

I'd like to think that I've grown as a human being and as a representative of the disabled community since reading that article. I'm accutely aware of discrimination within the disabled arena-- human failing, perhaps even understandable-- but none the less extremely harmful to moving the cause forward of full integration with the "temporarily able-bodied community."

Over the weekend, I ran into an aquaintance I hadn't seen for several years. I was stunned when this gentleman told me of his son's recent accident which lead to him breaking his neck, leaving him a quadraplegic and using a wheelchair. I reached my hand out to comfort and to talk for real. Being a person who's used a wheelchair for 23 years, I thought I could help with some hard-learned perspective.

As he went on about his son's rehab and remodeling of their home to make it accessible, I was taken aback by his arrogance. His tone and wording insisted that his son's positive attitude and abilty to cope was "better" than all the other quads he had re-hab'ed with. He spoke of the many gang members who were in rehab due to shooting injuries-- and how lazy and unappreciative they were. I mentioned that most gangmembers come from broken families, broken schools-- and don't expect to live to be an adult. To me, this might explain the attitude he was describing.

He rolled his eyes, and said "whatever..." and continued on about how his son was succeeding far beyond these others... But then added, "But, Cynthia, everything isn't OK..." But he still wouldn't let me in...

Upon reflection, I think this man's need to trumpet his son's progress and attitude was a way to put at arm's length this very real tragedy. In an instant, how his son's life changed forever-- and how he will now have to fight discrimination, pre-conceived notions, biases, in short, a life among the fringe. I fear this man will teach this young man to not embrace the community that can offer him so much hope, so much support. He could ultimately undermine his son's development as an empowered person with a disability....

And as for prejudice, which always comes from fear, we must be AWARE and discard it... so we can at last unite and grow together. If we cannot see ourselves as whole and equal, we do not have the right to ask the outside world to do so.

US Healthcare on Code Blue

2006-02-03T09:24:00.000-08:00

While I can never stomach Bush's State of the Union addresses-- too much lying, the smirks get to me, all the terrorism talk trying to whip this country into a frenzy of fear while barely addressing anything real-- I do hear the highlights on Bernie Ward's show. Ugh!

While I understand Bush said he would be addressing healthcare, the statement was quick and he gave no real plan. I understand he proposed Healthcare Savings Accounts (HSAs) that are just fine if your healthy, but are a disaster for those who are chronically ill. What a surprise!

These accounts allow the consumer to tuck away tax-free a chunk of money to pay the high deductible for relatively inexpensive "catastrophic" health insurance. This will work for those lucky enough to be healthy and not utilizing healthcare-- as long as they don't mind paying out of their pocket for their physicals, etc. But if you're chronically ill, your health is constantly catastrophic-- and coming up with the $2,000 or so to have the privledge to pay the deductible will most likely be impossible for you. So the Bush scheme does not work for many. Even folk with money are going to die as they will pass on a doctor's visit for "minor" things, like say a suspicious mole on their shoulder, because they won't want to pay out of pocket. If it's cancer, they lose-- our "healthcare" has turned into just a big gamble...

Consumer Driven Healthcare has a nice name-- but that's where the nice part ends... it's a scam to shift more and more costs to those who can least afford it. It's about reduction of benefits for employees, about a bigger bottom line of profit for employers (Bush's buddies) -- and an ever widening gap between the have's and have not's. The fragmentation of healthcare delivery and affordability is driving its
cost ever-skyward due to the inefficiencies it creates. Perhaps that's the goal... chaos creates new opportunities to rip off consumers and taxpayers.

Now, if we just had equal healthcare for everyone in California, as detailed in Senator Sheila Kuehl's universal plan, we would all, young and old, white or black, gay or straight, ill or healthy, rich or poor, be given the same level of healthcare. We would have equality when it comes to our health, the most important thing we have... or don't.

Death Knell for Roe v. Wade??

2006-02-02T11:25:00.000-08:00

So I was listening to one of my heroes, radio talk show host out of the Bay Area , Bernie Ward (810 AM,10pm-1am), a couple of nights back-- I always listen to him for a voice of reason when times are bad... and times are pretty bad!

Judge Alito had just been confirmed by the Senate to be the newest Supreme Court Justice, replacing retiring Sandra Day O'Conner. So it looks as though Roe v. Wade will indeed be overturned... it hurts me to write these words, even though I knew in my heart I would live to see that day when Bush was appointed as President by the Court in 2000. I guess there's some payback going on at the price of women's right to privacy.

Bernie thinks it will be about two years before decisions start getting handed down to dismantle the constitutional right to abortion... when I was a young adult in college, I distinctly remember being in my English class-- and something was said that made me realize I had actually been ALIVE during some of those archaic years when a woman didn't have the right to choose an abortion. We had come so far... the fact that my mother had five babies without the right to choice was astounding to me-- and I remember talking to her about that. She said, "I was a baby machine-- choice was something I never thought about." That has always stayed with me...

So now we go back into the dark ages... I think of the coat hangers, the babies abandoned in garbage cans, ALL the dying of women due to botched back-alley abortions.... and it's of no relevance that the majority of people of US citizens support a woman's right to choose. We have no say, just as with the "war" in Iraq. Doesn't sound like a Democracy to me-- sounds like a bunch of rich, white guys who are oppressing and lining their pockets at the price of the choices and even lives of real people like you and me... dark times indeed....

And tragically, a woman's right to choose has been slowly slipping away, even with Roe v Wade. A couple of years back, I was speaking to a colleague who at that time worked for Planned Parenthood. She always kept a picture on her desk of an un-named woman lying dead in her own blood after an illegal abortion. She apprised me that most women in the US do not have access to safe abortion-- as some 85% of counties (most of them rural) don't have an operating clinic. I was stunned... we have the morning-after pill now and RU486... why aren't moving forward to prevent unwanted pregnancies??? I just don't get it....

And I am saddened for every little girl who is born in this country at this time.

Toussaint for State Assembly Contact Information

2006-02-01T15:59:00.000-08:00

Website: www.cynthiatoussaint.blogspot.com

E-mail: toussaint4assembly06@yahoo.com

Phone: 818.667.7428

Candidate ID# 1281912

Thank you,

Cynthia

Photos from January

2006-02-01T09:47:00.000-08:00

Photo: Cynthia Toussaint

2006-01-31T09:56:00.000-08:00

60 Minutes Spotlights Pain, the Disease-- THANK YOU!!

2006-01-30T14:58:00.000-08:00

60 Minutes
January 29th, 2006
"Prisoner of Pain"

I speak publicly and to the media so often about the pain opioid controversy-- the chilling effect of the DEA cracking down on innocent pain doctors and their patients... because they lost their wider war on drugs.

I was so proud of Richard Paey (please use link above) for telling his phenomenal story to get the pain relief he needed to not commit suicide to 60 Minutes last night. This man, like so many of us with severe, chronic pain, cannot survive without adequate pain management. His effective therapy is pain killers ... he like so many dependent on these meds to function, to maintain a life... was always fearful he would lose access to these life-preserving medications.

Then the state of Florida stepped in in their over-zealous attempt to stem the tide of recreational use of opioids-- this man was sentenced to 25 years in jail because he would not accept a plea bargain and admit he was guilty to a crime he did not commit (he was accused of being a drug traffic'er-- though the state had NO EVIDENCE that he ever sold a single pill.) Blessings to Dr. Russell Portenoy, pain management expert, so eloquently stating the amount of meds that Mr. Paey was taking was not unusual for his level of prolonged pain.

Richard Paey has neuropathic pain-- what I have suffered with for 23 years. Without adequate pain control, this is not a survivable condition. I didn't get effective treatment for the first 13 years of my illness-- leaving me bedridden, writhing and screaming in excruciating pain. This is something, not only would I NEVER wish on another human being (or any other living creature...), but have devoted my life to ending. I work to educate this country about pain, the disease. Not acute pain (a symptom of an underlying problem-- fix the problem, the pain goes away), but chronic pain (pain that has in fact become the disease by literally rewiring the entire nervous system.)

My heart goes out to Richard.... may his appeal bring him safely back to his wife and family. And what irony that in prison, Paey has a morphine pump delivering much more powerful opioids directly into his spinal cord-- than what he was accused of traffic'ing on the outside.

A big CONGRATS to 60 Minutes for shedding light on this crucial issue. I believe this segment will enlighten many to pain, the hidden health crisis in this country--and, in turn, save so many lives. Remember, suicide IS the ultimate pain killer...

Photo: Cynthia Toussaint and John Garrett

2006-01-29T13:28:00.000-08:00

More Medicare Disaster Comin' Ashore

2006-01-27T13:11:00.000-08:00

More disaster on the Medicare Drug Plan front (please see Washington Post article below). While the Feds and Drug companies are pointing fingers, people with life-threatening diseases like AIDS are not getting their meds.

As for me, I never did get that promised call from Medicare-- and so I am responsible for paying a monthly premium that is an acknowledged mistake by both Medicare and the drug plan, Cigna. I feel like I'm looking through Alice's looking glass... and 2 + 2 definitely equals 5....

I saw my wonderful doctor yesterday for my monthly acupuncture treatment-- and he advised me, Medicare has slashed his re-imbursements by 30%. The treatments that are extremely beneficial to me are no longer covered. As the Republicans burn down Medicare and Medicaid to finance their war, we who are sick and vulnerable here in the US hang on for dear life.

*******************************************************************************

Drugmakers to Cut Off Some Free Prescriptions
Seniors, Disabled Face Big Financial Crunch

By Ceci Connolly
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, January 27, 2006; A02

Several of the nation's largest drug manufacturers say they will no longer provide free or discounted medications to low-income elderly and disabled patients because they should be covered by the new Medicare drug benefit.

But for about 1 million Americans with serious illnesses such as AIDS and cancer -- patients who last year relied on the pharmaceutical industry's giveaways -- that means Medicare coverage could cost them more than $3,600 this year.

Hardest hit will be patients such as James Hayes. Suffering from AIDS, the 45-year-old North Carolina man takes an average of 10 drugs each month at a cost of $3,700. In recent years, he has relied on several drug company patient assistance programs for his lifesaving medications. Because he is on disability, receiving $1,900 a month, Hayes qualifies for the new Medicare drug benefit.

But in the past few weeks, drugmakers such as GlaxoSmithKline have sent Hayes and others letters saying that as of Jan. 1, anyone eligible for Medicare would be dropped from its program. The cheapest Medicare drug plan he can find is expected to cost him $6,000 out of pocket.

"I can't afford that. I am struggling to make ends meet right now without going into bankruptcy," he said yesterday. "I'm scared I'm going to have to go off of my drugs."

Less than four weeks after the drug benefit went into effect, some of the neediest seniors have found themselves worse off. Although the new program, projected to cost $700 billion in the first 10 years, was intended to shield retirees from burdensome drug costs, several quirks in the law have had the opposite effect for some.

"These are individuals who did have something before; they had patient assistance programs," said John Coburn, senior policy analyst for the Chicago-based Health & Disability Advocates. "We are seeing the unintended consequences of this law."

Drugmakers blamed the Bush administration for issuing a legal opinion that suggests companies could run afoul of anti-kickback laws if they provide free drugs to Medicare beneficiaries. That guidance, from the Health and Human Services Inspector General's office, warned that providing free medicine to someone enrolled in a Medicare plan could be viewed as an effort to keep the patient on that particular product, rather than a generic or cheaper version sold by a competitor.

Administration officials, already racing to fix other glitches in the new drug program, yesterday pointed the finger back at drugmakers, saying there are a variety of legal ways to assist low-income patients. If a drug company's patient assistance program ends, "that's the manufacturer's decision," said Mark McClellan, administrator of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. He said drugmakers could continue their patient assistance programs as long as they remain separate from Medicare or contribute money to charities that help poor patients.

However, that would mean those free medications would not count toward a patient's spending total. The total is especially important for an individual taking numerous expensive medications because once that person has used $5,100 worth of drugs (or about $3,200 out of pocket) the Medicare plan's catastrophic coverage kicks in, paying all but 10 percent of the remaining drug costs.

"That much money could well be a quarter of someone's income," said Robert Hayes, president of the nonprofit Medicare Rights Center, which assists seniors. Even after the person reaches that threshold, the 10 percent co-payments could be unaffordable, he added.

For decades, drugmakers have offered discounted or free medications to uninsured Americans or people who could not afford critical therapies. In 2004, the 37 companies in the industry donated 22 million prescriptions worth $4.1 billion, said Ken Johnson, senior vice president for the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America.

"The current manufacturer's patient assistance programs work very well," he said. "They are already helping patients without any middlemen or additional overhead. It seems a lot more efficient to allow these programs to continue to help Medicare beneficiaries."

Only one company, Merck, said it will continue its program, stressing that the company will evaluate applications from Medicare beneficiaries on a case-by-case basis. "Like anyone with insurance, they can come to Merck at any time," said Ian Spatz, Merck's vice president for public policy.

Administration officials said this week that the early glitches in the drug benefit are being resolved, but states continued to report difficulties.

More than two dozen governors, noting that former Medicaid clients have been incorrectly denied coverage or overcharged at the pharmacy, have declared public health emergencies and announced they would cover the cost for any senior caught in the mix-ups.

Yesterday, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) joined that list, while California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) extended his state's program. So far, California has spent $9.2 million filling 110,000 prescriptions that should have been covered by Medicare plans, officials said.

© 2006 The Washington Post Company

Press Release Announcing Campaign Blog Launch

2006-01-27T13:07:00.000-08:00

CANDIDATE INFORMATION
Candidate Cynthia Toussaint
Contact: toussaint4assembly06@yahoo.com

For Immediate Release
January 26, 2006

42ND DISTRICT CANDIDATE CYNTHIA TOUSSAINT
LAUNCHES BLOG, PLEDGES TO MAKE CHRONIC PAIN SUPPORT A
MAJOR PLATFORM ISSUE

Cynthia Toussaint, a Democratic candidate for the
42nd Assembly race, announced the launch of her campaign
blog http://cynthiatoussaint.blogspot.com/ today - a web site dedicated
to presenting Toussaint's platform as well as presenting
critical information on healthcare and other social causes
important to the candidate.

Toussaint, known for her advocacy work on behalf of
women in pain, is leading a grassroots campaign to
secure passage of legislation that would improve the
lives of Californians whose lives are impacted daily
by pain. Other issues important to Toussaint are
insuring the uninsured, consumer driven healthcare,
HMO reform, access to medicinal marijuana, and gay
marriage. She is pro-choice, anti-death penalty, pro
union, pro assisted suicide, and against the war in
Iraq. Her supporters have included California Senator
Liz Figueroa, L.A. City Councilmember Wendy Greuel,
and renowned animal researcher Jane Goodall.

"I am here to give a voice to every Californian who
suffers in pain like I do, every Californian who is
uninsured and whose healthcare benefits are shrinking,
and every Californian who is oppressed because of
their disability, economic position, or sexual
orientation," says Toussaint.

Toussaint, who uses a wheelchair, knows firsthand
about pain. She suffers from Reflex Sympathetic
Dystrophy (RSD), a chronic pain disease of the central
nervous system that affects up to 6 million Americans.
She suffered in pain for over a decade and was told her
pain was "all in her head" before she was properly
diagnosed and began receiving high quality medical
care. While still in pain today, her condition has
stabilized.

Since 1997, Toussaint has been a leading advocate for
RSD and for all who suffer in pain. Through local
and national media and public speaking, Toussaint has
raised awareness of RSD along with the under treatment and
discrimination toward women in pain. She has championed
two California Senate Informational hearings and has
testified several times before California Assembly
and Senate committees about these issues. She was the
first RSD sufferer to be featured in the Los Angeles
Times and New York Times, and on Public Broadcasting
System and National Public Radio. She was also
recently featured in a Discovery Health Channel
program.

Toussaint was raised in Pleasant Hill, California.
Before becoming ill, she was an accomplished ballerina
and worked professionally as a dancer, actor and singer.
In 2002, she founded For Grace (http://www.forgrace.org), a
nonprofit organization dedicated to ensuring the ethical
and equal treatment of all women in pain.

Toussaint announced her candidacy for the 42nd
Assembly District in December before 100+ Los Angeles
nonprofit, civic and business leaders at a Community
Partners' holiday event at Dodger Stadium. For Grace
is a project of Community Partners, an organization
that provides resources and offers strategic
assistance to emerging nonprofits that promote ideas
into action for the public good.

Toussaint's first substantial posts to her blog deal
with assisted suicide and the new Medicare drug
program debacle. Every day the blog posts interesting
news articles and will provide a running commentary on
campaign highlights and milestones.

The 42nd Assembly District is located in Los Angeles County
and encompasses the cities of West Hollywood, Beverly Hills,
Studio City and parts of West Los Angeles, Encino, Westwood
and Sherman Oaks.

"Brokeback" Provokes Heartbroke Response

2006-01-26T14:38:00.000-08:00

Though I'm a certified movie buff, I rarely go to see a film in a theater-- as the theater air conditioning doesn't agree with me. Burrrrr! But I couldn't wait to see "Brokeback Mountain"... so I packed some blankets on Sunday and saddled up!

Warning: If you don't want the movie plot given away, read no further-- or read one of my other blog posts :)

I knew this "best picture" shoe-in was a love story between two gay men. I had heard the movie was great, OK and really bad. Being curious about all of the extreme reactions, and a filmmaker's courage to do this story, I couldn't wait to take it all in.

WOW! I was a captured, would-not-move audience member from frame one. This is one of the best films I've ever seen-- the acting, the directing, the staggering beauty of the scenery... and then there was the extraordinary love story. A perfect film in my opinion.

Within this glory, I was deeply disturbed by the large audience reaction. They continued to laugh through the most poignant love moments. The love story portrayed is tragic-- and I found myself several times moved to the point of tears and dropping my head into my hands. At first, I thought I was missing something because of all the laughter around me. But I soon realized this audience's odd reaction was due to its discomfort about two men who are deeply in love with each other--and depicting all outwardly signs of this affection.

So disappointing in an urban area, we still as a society are not sophisticated enough to give dignity to a great piece of art because we are uncomfortable with the idea of gay love.

Last year, I protested "Million Dollar Baby" on Oscar day-- because to me, this movie validated the notion that it's better to be dead than disabled. But the masses and Hollywood celebrated this message by giving it many major awards. This year, I applaud the Academy in advance for giving it's kudos to "Brokeback Mountain"-- this time supporting a positive, inclusive, let's-respect-people's-differences portrayal. We as a society need to catch up with that humanity...

Support Our Troops By Bringing Them Home

2006-01-24T09:37:00.000-08:00

I second the compassionate and humane emotion of Joel Stein's column below. Everytime I see a yellow ribbon or sticker saying, "Support Our Troops", it saddens me that folk are so blinded by their own fear and guilt.

The world said "NO" to this "war" (I marched in my wheelchair at every peace rally in LA)-- but once the horse is out of the barn, so many people just fall into line. Each of us who supports Bush's war is as responsible as he...

Now we have 2000+ dead from the US alone-- and untold thousands of Iraqis-- and I fear this is just the beginning...

And what about those who are among the injured... we'll never have the numbers of amputees, people with life-long chronic pain, mental illness. Evidently their lives don't matter enough to even be a number. I know the physical and emotional suffering of 23 years with chronic pain and disability-- it's unspeakable. And the corporate media just marches on to ease us...

Stop the war today, pull the troops out (those that are still alive)-- and leave innocent people in foreign lands alone... Why must we always destroy?????

************************************************

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-stein24jan24,0,4137172.column?coll=la-news-comment-opinions

From the Los Angeles Times
JOEL STEIN
Warriors and wusses
Joel Stein

January 24, 2006

I DON'T SUPPORT our troops. This is a particularly difficult opinion to have, especially if you are the kind of person who likes to put bumper stickers on his car. Supporting the troops is a position that even Calvin is unwilling to urinate on.

I'm sure I'd like the troops. They seem gutsy, young and up for anything. If you're wandering into a recruiter's office and signing up for eight years of unknown danger, I want to hang with you in Vegas.

And I've got no problem with other people — the ones who were for the Iraq war — supporting the troops. If you think invading Iraq was a good idea, then by all means, support away. Load up on those patriotic magnets and bracelets and other trinkets the Chinese are making money off of.

But I'm not for the war. And being against the war and saying you support the troops is one of the wussiest positions the pacifists have ever taken — and they're wussy by definition. It's as if the one lesson they took away from Vietnam wasn't to avoid foreign conflicts with no pressing national interest but to remember to throw a parade afterward.

Blindly lending support to our soldiers, I fear, will keep them overseas longer by giving soft acquiescence to the hawks who sent them there — and who might one day want to send them somewhere else. Trust me, a guy who thought 50.7% was a mandate isn't going to pick up on the subtleties of a parade for just service in an unjust war. He's going to be looking for funnel cake.

Besides, those little yellow ribbons aren't really for the troops. They need body armor, shorter stays and a USO show by the cast of "Laguna Beach."

The real purpose of those ribbons is to ease some of the guilt we feel for voting to send them to war and then making absolutely no sacrifices other than enduring two Wolf Blitzer shows a day. Though there should be a ribbon for that.

I understand the guilt. We know we're sending recruits to do our dirty work, and we want to seem grateful.

After we've decided that we made a mistake, we don't want to blame the soldiers who were ordered to fight. Or even our representatives, who were deceived by false intelligence. And certainly not ourselves, who failed to object to a war we barely understood.

But blaming the president is a little too easy. The truth is that people who pull triggers are ultimately responsible, whether they're following orders or not. An army of people making individual moral choices may be inefficient, but an army of people ignoring their morality is horrifying. An army of people ignoring their morality, by the way, is also Jack Abramoff's pet name for the House of Representatives.

I do sympathize with people who joined up to protect our country, especially after 9/11, and were tricked into fighting in Iraq. I get mad when I'm tricked into clicking on a pop-up ad, so I can only imagine how they feel.

But when you volunteer for the U.S. military, you pretty much know you're not going to be fending off invasions from Mexico and Canada. So you're willingly signing up to be a fighting tool of American imperialism, for better or worse. Sometimes you get lucky and get to fight ethnic genocide in Kosovo, but other times it's Vietnam.

And sometimes, for reasons I don't understand, you get to just hang out in Germany.

I know this is all easy to say for a guy who grew up with money, did well in school and hasn't so much as served on jury duty for his country. But it's really not that easy to say because anyone remotely affiliated with the military could easily beat me up, and I'm listed in the phone book.

I'm not advocating that we spit on returning veterans like they did after the Vietnam War, but we shouldn't be celebrating people for doing something we don't think was a good idea. All I'm asking is that we give our returning soldiers what they need: hospitals, pensions, mental health and a safe, immediate return. But, please, no parades.

Seriously, the traffic is insufferable.

Photo: Cynthia Testifies Before the Assembly Health Committee, 2005

2006-01-24T09:25:00.000-08:00

I'm in the Middle of Medicare's Drug Debacle-- Are You?

2006-01-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

Well, Michael Hiltzik's recent LA Times column (please see below) about the new Medicare Prescription Drug debacle certainly puts the Bush Administration's scam in precise focus. I've been too angry -- and frankly, so deeply concerned-- for my own health and well-being, I haven't blogged about it until today.

I am a person who is not bedridden in excruciating pain as a result of the daily medications I take. I am so frightened that I will not be able to get my life-preserving medications.

As of January 1st, I was forced as a "dual-eligible" into the Medicare drug program--BELIEVE ME, it was not my choice. I have yet to receive my first presciption refill-- and here are the problems to date...

The first drug plan I was assigned to did not cover my Klonopin. I then, with the help of my partner/caregiver, did reserach to find a plan that did. I signed up with Cigna. Just days before the plan was to go into effect, I received a letter from the state informing me that Klonopin is one of the Medicare, non-covered drugs-and that the state would continue to cover it. Why was I not informed of this earlier? I now have to go through two systems to get my meds.

As a dual-eligible, I was informed by Medicare and Cigna that I would not have to pay a monthly premium. I then received a letter from Cigna early January informing me I must pay a monthly premium of $12.66. My caregiver called Cigna and I was instructed to take care of the mistake myself. It is now MY responsiblity to prove my dual-eligibility to Cigna-- the Cigna rep advised that I request Medi-Cal to fax a letter proving I am dual-eligible. RIGHT-- like Medi-Cal would be HAPPY to do something like this!!! WHY DIDN'T MEDICARE TAKE CARE OF THIS WHEN APPROVING MY ENROLLMENT??????

I have filed a complaint with Medicare and was advised that I will receive a call from them within five business days. I filed this complaint on Friday-- and no call to date. Of course, I know I will not receive this phone call... even my pharmacist is confused about my coverage.

This is turning into a gigantic nightmare for me-- and just multiply that by millions across this country. And many of us don't have caregivers to help. I know mine is burnt-out... so horribly sad that as a result of the Bush administration's rush to line the pockets of the insurance companies, many innocent Americans and Californians will suffer-- and possibly die-- due to this greed and disregard for human beings.

Shame on this administration... and for all of those suffering like me, I can only wish you the very best of luck. You're going to need it-- but I suspect you've already figured that out.

If California has any way to opt-out of this cruel system, I implore we take every action to do just that!

*******************************************************************

Golden State: Medicare Drug Plan Looks Like Big Scam

Michael Hiltzik
Los Angeles Times
January 18, 2006

One recent afternoon in Los Alamitos, I watched Marcy Zwelling-Aamot, M.D., pick her way through a government website designed to help elderly patients select the right Medicare drug plan, based on their prescription needs and hometown.

The website, created for the launch of Medicare's new prescription drug benefit, identified 48 individual plans available for Southern California residents. All were sponsored by private health insurance companies administering the government drug benefit for a profit. The plans' monthly premiums ranged from $5.41 to $66.08; their lists of covered drugs differed from one another, sometimes significantly; and all imposed different annual out-of-pocket costs on enrollees - a critical consideration for patients on fixed incomes.

Zwelling-Aamot is a private internist who accepts a limited number of patients but places herself at their beck and call. She and her staff have spent months helping her patients navigate the new benefit, a process that requires at least an hour and a half of research per patient (time for which she's not compensated by Medicare). Like many other health professionals who have become familiar with this program, she has come to see it not as a boon for elderly consumers, but as a scandal.

"As a patient, you are totally hoodwinked by this system," she told me. "It's not just an economic tragedy; it's a moral tragedy."

The Medicare drug benefit is shaping up as the single most cynical scam perpetrated by the Bush Administration on American consumers. Designed to maximize profits for drugmakers and health insurers, the program was launched so ineptly Jan. 1 that hundreds of thousands of patients have been prevented by computer glitches from filling their prescriptions. California and 25 other states have had to step in temporarily to pay for improperly rejected prescription claims.

Thus far, the most seriously affected patients are those enrolled in both Medicare, which covers the disabled and people over 65, and Medicaid, which covers the poor (known in California as Medi-Cal). Unlike Medicare-only members, for whom the new benefit is voluntary, these patients were automatically enrolled in the new system as of January 1.

But their difficulties are the tip of the iceberg. Some Medicare patients will find that their prescription costs under the new program will actually be higher than before, in some cases rising beyond their ability to pay. Others will be so confused by its unnecessary complexity that they may avoid enrolling at all.

The program is ostensibly tailored to serve up to 43 million elderly Americans, most of them subject to an enrollment deadline of May 15 and a stiff financial penalty for late enrollment. Yet, most seniors seem to be biding their time; Medicare says that only 3.6 million persons people, out of an estimated 18.3 million who are eligible for the stand-alone benefit, have signed up thus far.

Why are people holding off?

Even the government acknowledges that selecting a plan is dauntingly confusing for those without access to its Internet help site. That's a big hurdle, because an estimated 70% of Americans over 65 have never been online.

The toll-free information lines set up by Medicare and various health plans have been overwhelmed for weeks. Medicare regulations discourage physicians, pharmacists and healthcare advocates from helping patients select a specific plan. Yet many professionals say they themselves are so confounded by the program's intricacies that their patients will be hard pressed to make the right choices on their own.

The health plans have filled the vacuum with glossy marketing brochures, some of which are flagrantly misleading. "You're pitting big corporations against the most vulnerable people in society, and you're telling them that they can't turn to the people they trust for advice," observes Thomas R. Clark, director of policy and advocacy for the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, an organization of pharmacists specializing in geriatric and long-term care.

It's worth remembering that the prescription drug program was born in an act of fraud. The Bush Administration sold it to Congress in 2003 by estimating its cost at less than $400 billion over 10 years. Scarcely a month after its enactment, the White House issued a new estimate: $535 billion. That figure might well have killed the bill, which had passed the House by a razor-thin margin even with the lower price tag.

It soon came to light that Richard Foster, Medicare's chief actuary, had known of the higher estimate - but had been told he'd be fired if he warned Congress before the vote. (The current estimate is $700 billion.)

As written, the legislation complied with a drug industry demand that Medicare be prohibited from negotiating with manufacturers for lower drug prices. Among those helping the industry make its stand was Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-Louisiana), whose committee on energy and commerce oversaw Medicare. In an odoriferous development, Tauzin soon quit Congress to become president of the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America - Big Pharma's Washington lobbying group.

The program's implementation, meanwhile, was handed over to commercial health insurance companies, subject to indifferent oversight. That explains the perverse variations in monthly premiums, drug prices, even approved drugs, which will make it all but impossible for consumers to be sure they've selected the right plan.

We are just beginning to reap the harvest of this cavalier mismanagement of an important government program. Things are sure to get worse. My next column, on Monday, will describe how the system's complexity places millions of Medicare clients at its mercy.

January 18, 2006 in Current Affairs | Permalink

More Perspective on Assisted Suicide

2006-01-18T16:08:00.000-08:00

Interesting article in the Chicago Tribune (please see below) about the Assisted Suicide issue. I'm so happy to see that it has proven to be the impetus for improving end-of-life care, including effective pain management.

No one wants to die, but we all want to live well without pain, depression, hopelessness and the fear and guilt of being a burden. I think this is a great step in the right direction....

And California is considering an assisted suicide bill in the spring-- let's hope this stimulates better end-of-life care in the Golden State. Great news!

***************************************************************

ASSISTED-SUICIDE DEBATE

More vital issue is care of the dying, doctors say

By Judith Graham and Vincent J. Schodolski, Tribune staff reporters. Tribune staff reporters Mark Silva, Andrew Zajac and Christi Parsons contributed to this report

January 18, 2006

Physician-assisted suicide was a red-hot issue in bioethics the mid-1990s, when Oregon became the first state in the nation to legalize the controversial practice.

Today it doesn't command the same attention. Though opinions on the topic remain deeply divided, the debate has gradually shifted to a larger concern: the way America cares for people who are dying.

"The central issue, we all realize, is end-of-life care," said Dr. Ezekial Emanuel, chairman of the department of clinical bioethics at the National Institutes of Health. "Assisted suicide is really a sideshow."

For the vast majority of people who are terminally ill, the question is not whether they will ask a doctor to help them end their life; it's whether anyone can relieve their depression and manage their pain, Emanuel said.

"The debate over assisted suicide simply isn't relevant for 99 percent of deaths," Emanuel said. Even in the Netherlands, the country where the practice is most deeply entrenched, only a tiny percentage of terminally ill patients ask physicians to help them end their lives, he said.

In Oregon, 208 terminally ill patients committed suicide with doctors' help between 1997, when the law went into effect, and 2004. Physicians had been quietly helping patients end their lives even before the law was passed, and there's no indication that assisted suicides increased after they were legalized, said Dr. Susan Tolle, director of the Center for Ethics in Health Care at Oregon Health & Science University.

The biggest change, Tolle and others report, is the attention Oregon has devoted to improving end-of-life care--especially palliative care and hospice care--since its groundbreaking legislation was passed.

"Now we can get over the distraction of this debate and get on with the real business at hand: delivering the best possible care to dying patients," said Dr. Peter Rasmussen, a Salem, Ore., oncologist who said he had assisted in suicides of "more than a dozen" patients.

Critics see a much darker side to the issue. "Assisted suicide will discriminate against the old, the ill and the disabled," said Diane Coleman, president of Not Dead Yet, a Chicago-based disability rights group that filed an amicus brief supporting the government's effort to overturn Oregon's law. Vulnerable, expensive-to-treat patients will get medications to help them die because their lives won't be seen as worth living, she contends.

Depression, hopelessness and fear of becoming a burden are primary reasons critically ill patients consider suicide, experts confirmed. Surprisingly, pain is a less important factor.

Physicians' organizations such as the American Medical Association remain adamantly opposed to the concept of physician-assisted suicide.

"As a physician, I don't think helping patients end their lives is a proper thing to do," said Dr. Kenneth Stevens, an oncologist and vice president of Physicians for Compassionate Care, a group that opposes the Oregon law.

One important issue in the Oregon case, physicians said, was their ability to treat dying patients without interference from the government. The Bush administration had argued that doctors who help patients end their lives could be prosecuted under federal drug laws.

"Doctors are already afraid to prescribe narcotics appropriately." If the U.S. attorney general's office "had beaten Oregon, it would have put the fear of the FDA into every doctor trying to provide palliative and hospice care in America today," said John Lantos, associate director of the University of Chicago's MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics.

"The biggest impact will be on doctors prescribing medicine for terminally ill patients," agreed Dr. Timothy Quill, a palliative care expert and professor at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry in New York.

On the political front, the question now becomes whether statehouses or Congress will take up the issue.

Some experts suggest other states may now follow in Oregon's footsteps; others believe that's unlikely. Connecticut, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan and Washington have rejected assisted suicide bills; California and Vermont are scheduled to consider proposed bills in the spring.

"I think several states will now look at this," said Myra Christopher, president of the Center for Practical Bioethics in Kansas City, Mo. "Even though this matter has been resolved from a legal perspective in Oregon, significant moral and ethical issues remain and deserve rigorous discussion."

Illinois law doesn't allow assisted suicide, and a couple of mild attempts over the years to change that have withered with little discussion.

At the federal level, legal experts say the Supreme Court's relatively narrow ruling left the door open for Congress to act.

In writing the court's majority opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy noted that "the federal government can set uniform standards for regulating health and safety."

"At this point, the recourse is congressional," said Marc Spindelman, a bioethics expert and law professor at Ohio State University. "It would be surprising if the Republican-controlled White House and Republican-controlled Congress didn't see some grist for their conservative base."

Photo: Cynthia & John with Wendy Greuel, Janice Hahn and Liz Figueroa

2006-01-17T22:16:00.000-08:00

Just Because It's State Sanctioned, Doesn't Mean It's Not Murder

2006-01-17T15:38:00.000-08:00

Every time I hear California has put yet another human being to death (see LA Times article below), I have panic for a moment, followed by tears and sickness in my stomach. The complete inhumanity and immorality of state sanctioned murder chills me to the marrow. And what if this person is innocent of the crime s/he has been found guilty of? This happens so often-- and after the executor has done his job, it's a bit too late for apologies.

I also find myself disturbed that so many Californians seem to gain pleasure and/or satisfaction with each death. I remember talking once to a woman who was describing her desire to kill Ted Bundy herself while he waited on death row-- her eyes lit up as she spoke of the method of torture she longed to use on him. Tearing each limb from his body, one at a time, prolonging his torture as long as humanly possible. And all those picketers signs, "Tuesday is fry-day"... Violence begats violence-- and our love of the death penalty perpetuates this vicious cycle.

While murderers and rapists must be imprisoned for life, no person or entity should have the right to take the life of another.

Because of this hunger for violence, I advocate for the televising of every execution we sanction. We support this practice, we voted for it... why shouldn't the people have the option to view it? Why are we hiding our dirty deeds??? Perhaps to sanitize our senses to the REALITY of snuffing out a human life.

With the viewing of these deaths, I would hope people would see the obscenity of this moral crime and develop a collective conscience to drive it's abolition. "An eye for an eye, and soon the world will be blind." Let's take California's blinders off once and for all.

Last night, I was sickened and ashamed to be a Californian...once again...

********************************************************************************

From the Los Angeles Times

California Executes Death Row Inmate, 76
By Hector Becerra
Times Staff Writer

7:40 AM PST, January 17, 2006

Just after midnight today, the oldest inmate on California's death row was brought to San Quentin's octagonal, green death chamber.

With difficulty, Clarence Ray Allen, 76, walked the last several steps to the gurney, assisted by prison guards who gently held him by his shoulders and elbows.

Then Allen, wearing a yellow, green and red beaded headband and a large Native American necklace with an amulet and gray and white feathers, lay quietly as prison attendants inserted a needle into his vein and began the flow of lethal chemicals.

At 12:38 a.m., nearly 20 minutes after lethal chemicals began flowing into his body, Allen was pronounced dead.

In a briefing after the execution, prison warden Steven Ornoski read Allen's final statement. "My last words will be 'Hoka Hey it's a good day to die,'" the statement read in part. "Thank you very much I love you all. Good-bye."

Allen was sentenced to death in 1982, after his conviction for arranging a triple murder. He orchestrated the 1980 murders from Folsom State Prison, where he was serving a life sentence for the 1974 slaying of his son's girlfriend, Mary Sue Kitts. He murdered Kitts to prevent her from testifying in a burglary case against him.

While serving time for that crime, he offered another inmate, Billy Ray Hamilton, $25,000 to kill eight people who had testified against him in the Kitts case. After getting out of prison, Hamilton killed one of the witnesses, Bryon Schletewitz, 27, whose father owned a store Allen had burglarized, and two market employees, Josephine Rocha, 17, and 18-year-old Douglas White. Hamilton shot Rocha as she begged him not to.

"She had the whole world ahead of her, and of course I imagine her begging and crying for her life," said Rocha's sister Cecelia Broughton several days before the execution. "When I juxtapose that image with one of him begging for his life, it doesn't compare."

Patricia Pendergrass, 55, of Galt, sister of Schletewitz, attended the execution. "I can watch Clarence Allen die," she said several days earlier. "It's going to be a peaceful death for him."

The execution was also witnessed by Jack Abbott, who was wounded when he arrived at the store where Hamilton killed Schletewitz and the others. Days before the execution, Abbott, now 74, of Fresno, said he thought justice was being served.

"You have to pay a penalty for doing something so gross and terrible as this," Abbott had said. "Don't you suppose the majority of people voted for this death penalty because they felt this was a just thing, an eye for an eye?"

At one point as Allen lay on the gurney, witnesses said, Abbott locked eyes with the condemned man and raised his hand.

Allen's execution came a month after that of Stanley "Tookie" Williams. The charismatic founder of the Crips street gang was supported by people who said he had been redeemed during his many years in prison. Allen's unsuccessful appeals, by contrast, focused on his age and poor health.

In the hours leading up to his death, Allen seemed to be enjoying the attention that he was getting, prison officials said. Monday was Allen's birthday, and he had a steady stream of visitors during the day.

At about 6:30 p.m. he ate his last meal, which included a Buffalo steak, Indian fried bread, Kentucky Fried Chicken and black walnut ice cream, which he mixed with whole milk to make a shake.

"He didn't eat too much, but he enjoyed all of it," said prison spokesman Sgt. Eric Messick. Allen's final statement confirmed that: "First of all, I'd like to say how good the last meal was, how much I enjoyed it and how much I love my family and friends who have stood by me all these years," he wrote.

A spiritual adviser kept Allen company for most of his final hours.

After he was strapped onto the gurney, he showed little emotion.

A female prison guard brought in a container with gauze, swabs, needles and tape. Attendants slipped on white gloves, and began to insert catheters into his arms. By about 12:16 a.m. all of the needles were in place and Allen turned to face the seven people he had chosen to be present, including family, friends and two spiritual advisors.

Occasionally, Allen raised his head or turned to the crowd outside. He mouthed, "I love you" in the direction of loved ones, including Kathy Allen, the ex-wife of Allen's son, Kenneth, who is serving a life sentence in prison.

At several points, a woman who has long aided in Allen's defense sat down on one of the risers and was apparently comforted by prison staff.

At about 12:19 a.m. Allen's death warrant was read out loud, announcing that he would "suffer the death penalty within the walls of San Quentin." "The execution," a prison guard said, "will now proceed."

During the minutes before he was declared dead, witnesses, including family members of Allen's victims, remained silent. Allen's chest barely moved, and at some point, it ceased moving altogether.

At 12:35 a.m., an extra dose of potassium chloride — which stops the heart — was administered. At about 12:40 a.m. a white scroll was passed through a slot in the locked door to a guard, who announced that at 00:38 hours an attending physician had pronounced Allen dead.

A minute later a guard closed the curtain and the witnesses walked out of the room, passing between two rows of prison guards.

In the wake of the execution, Ward Campbell, a deputy attorney general who had worked on Allen's case for a quarter century and who finally saw him put to death for his crimes, said he finally had a sense that "I fulfilled the commitment I made."

California Should Follow Oregon's Assisted Suicide Law

2006-01-17T13:44:00.000-08:00

This is excellent news about the Supreme Court upholding Oregon's Assisted Suicide law. Please read AP article below....

I have very strong feelings about this issue, in a large part due to my 23 year illness-- and as a result of my nonprofit work, knowing SO MANY people who suffer terribly while waiting to die.

I commend the state of Oregon and its people to have the compassion to give terminal patients the right to choose how and when they will die. One of the greatest fears in this country is not dying, but to die in pain and with suffering. Also, I know all too well that when one becomes ill, people run for the hills-- which leaves so many a death that is with great pain, suffering AND isolation.

We should allow people this same option for end-of-life dignity in California-- and in every state. We are talking about people who are terminal with less than six months to live. People who's minds are still in tact, but who's bodies are progressively failing them-- causing basic, normal function to be greatly compromised, if present at all. And this scenario places a great emotional and physical burden on the caregiver. It must be one's own determination as to whether this is dying with dignity...

The individual must have the choice to die early or wait for the natural course to unfold. It's this choice that ultimately gives that person dignity.

I applaud the Supreme Court's decision to tell the Bush administration to stay out of Oregon's business. But greatly concerned that Justice Roberts dissented, signaling his belief in Federal over-reach. How obscene these far right-wing conservatives continue to put people to death with their support of capital punishment, but then stand on moral high ground to justify invasion into people's private choice to conduct their living... and dying. The hypocracy is staggering...

**********************************************************************

January 17, 2006

Supreme Court Upholds Oregon Assisted Suicide Law
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 12:03 p.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court upheld Oregon's one-of-a-kind
physician-assisted suicide law Tuesday, rejecting a Bush administration
attempt to punish doctors who help terminally ill patients die.

Justices, on a 6-3 vote, said that federal authority to regulate
doctors does not override the 1997 Oregon law used to end the lives of more
than 200 seriously ill people. New Chief Justice John Roberts backed the
Bush administration, dissenting for the first time.

The administration improperly tried to use a drug law to prosecute
Oregon doctors who prescribe overdoses, the court majority said.

''Congress did not have this far-reaching intent to alter the
federal-state balance,'' Justice Anthony M. Kennedy wrote for himself, retiring
Justice Sandra Day O'Connor and Justices John Paul Stevens, David
Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Stephen Breyer.

Kennedy is expected to become a more influential swing voter after
O'Connor's departure. He is a moderate conservative who sometimes joins the
liberal wing of the court in cases involving such things as gay rights
and capital punishment.

The ruling was a reprimand to former Attorney General John Ashcroft,
who in 2001 said that doctor-assisted suicide is not a ''legitimate
medical purpose'' and that Oregon physicians would be punished for helping
people die under the law.

Kennedy said the ''authority claimed by the attorney general is both
beyond his expertise and incongruous with the statutory purposes and
design.''

Justice Antonin Scalia, writing for himself, Roberts and Justice
Clarence Thomas, said that federal officials have the power to regulate the
doling out of medicine.

''If the term `legitimate medical purpose' has any meaning, it surely
excludes the prescription of drugs to produce death,'' he wrote.

Scalia said the court's ruling ''is perhaps driven by a feeling that
the subject of assisted suicide is none of the federal government's
business. It is easy to sympathize with that position.''

Oregon's law covers only extremely sick people -- those with incurable
diseases, whom at least two doctors agree have six months or less to
live and are of sound mind.

The ruling backed a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals,
which said Ashcroft's ''unilateral attempt to regulate general medical
practices historically entrusted to state lawmakers interferes with the
democratic debate about physician-assisted suicide.''

Ashcroft had brought the case to the Supreme Court on the day his
resignation was announced by the White House in 2004. The Justice Department
has continued the case, under the leadership of his successor, Attorney
General Alberto Gonzales.

Thomas wrote his own dissent as well, to complain that the court's
reasoning was puzzling. Roberts did not write separately.

Justices have dealt with end-of-life cases before. In 1990, the Supreme
Court ruled that terminally ill people may refuse treatment that would
otherwise keep them alive. Then, justices in 1997 unanimously ruled
that people have no constitutional right to die, upholding state bans on
physician-assisted suicide. That opinion, by then-Chief Justice William
H. Rehnquist, said individual states could decide to allow the
practice.

Roberts strongly hinted in October when the case was argued that he
would back the administration. O'Connor had seemed ready to support
Oregon's law, but her vote would not have counted if the ruling was handed
down after she left the court.

The case is Gonzales v. Oregon, 04-623.

------

On the Net:

Supreme Court: http://www.supremecourtus.gov/

Remembering Terry on MLK Day :)

2006-01-16T11:30:00.000-08:00

Martin Luther King Day has always been one of my favorite holidays... I always think about the day he died, how my mother had the TV on, her head hanging low. I was told that a great man had been assassinated. I wanted to know more as I felt such an enormous loss-- and curiosity about this man whose death my mother was grieving.

King was one of our great leaders-- so passionate and charismatic. Such an eloquent and dynamic speaker. His power to sway so many to follow-- led others to feel a deep threat. King had a dream that all people would be truly treated as equal. His dream was so logical-- it never made sense to me as a child that we needed to be led to this place. We're not born with hate and prejudice...

Each summer in the late 60's, I had a wonderful, extra brother, Terry, who would stay at our home till the school year started again. Like my other three brothers, I loved Terry. We had our fights-- shoot, he made me mad when he ate my share... went to summer camp with him, he was adored, not only by me, but by every child there. And when we gave our singing performance at the end of summer camp, all the parents would double over with laughter because Terry was such a natural performer and comedian.

What I couldn't understand was why no adults liked Terry-- until they got to know him. The cruel looks, the refusal to speak to him, not wanting their children to be near him. I remember folk being particularly cruel when we attended one of our regular summer swim meets one weekend. My mother was angry pointing out the hate these people had toward Terry-- and also for us for bringing him along.

That was the day I learned that some people didn't like other people simply because of the color of skin. Terry was just like us-- I never really noticed he was darker than we were. I noticed that he was very overweight, which troubled me. I noticed he loved life, he was fun, he knew every lyric to every commercial, he was real good on the creek rope swing-- I loved Terry just like a brother. And it just broke my heart when I learned he would live his life with horrible prejudice and oppression.

My mother later told me about his older brother, Jerome, who sold drugs and had no future... how his father had left them. His mother, Lovey, was a cleaning lady with no education.

I don't know what happened to Terry. After my father's early death, and money being so tight, we could no longer afford the luxury of Terry's comfort and love. And we lost touch...

I think of Terry every year on this day-- the gifts he gave, the hard realities learned... I wonder if he's still alive... I miss him. And I have a dream to see him again, but the reality is my mother never moved-- and I believe if he were alright, he would have found us again long ago.

My greatest sadness is that I don't believe attitudes toward African-Americans have changed since my summers with Terry-- or King's death. If anything, I see greater prejudice from the right side of the political spectrum. The vailed hate that is spewed on Fox News is particularly disturbing. And the rhetoric from the "ditto-heads" saddens my soul.

I will never understand why the masses ridiculed Rodney King for his question, "Why can't we all just get along?" I guess that's been my question since I was a little girl learning about a great man who had just been murdered for having the "wrong" color of skin.

My heart is with you today-- and everyday, Terry. I love you so very much...

Photo: Cynthia Toussaint receiving award from the Southern California Cancer Pain Iinitiative

2006-01-13T10:54:00.000-08:00

Photo: Cynthia Toussaint & John Garrett talk with Jane Goodall

2006-01-13T10:36:00.000-08:00

Photo: Cynthia Toussaint with Wendy Greuel and Civil Rights Legend Delores Huerta

2006-01-13T10:31:00.000-08:00

Gov Schwarzenegger Does the Right Thing!

2006-01-13T10:10:00.000-08:00

Thank you, Governor Schwarzenegger, for stepping in quickly and committing California resources to temporarily avert this growing crisis (please see Associated Press article below)

The elderly and disabled can now exhale for the next two weeks-- but what lies beyond that we have yet to see. I urge the Governor to remain diligent about making sure all Medicare beneficiaries continue to receive their "lifesaving" medications.

**************************************************************

States Take Action As Medicare Falters
By ANDREW DeMILLO
Associated Press Writer

6:13 PM PST, January 12, 2006

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — California, Arkansas and Illinois have joined about half a dozen other states taking emergency measures to help residents struggling to get prescriptions filled under the new Medicare drug program.

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger ordered an emergency plan Thursday allowing the state to pay for the drugs for the next two weeks.

The state will temporarily supply seniors and the disabled with "lifesaving medications they are in danger of losing because of significant problems with the new federal Medicare prescription drug program," Schwarzenegger said in a statement.

Gov. Mike Huckabee declared a public health emergency in Arkansas on Wednesday and announced the state would provide short-term aid to pharmacies to help get medicines filled.

"It's become apparent that there are a number of people in our state, particularly the elderly and the most frail, who are in a life-or-death risk over getting medication," Huckabee said.

Illinois officials sent notices to pharmacies Wednesday detailing where to call if Medicare patients can't get medicine. If the problem can't be resolved by phone, pharmacists will be allowed to bill the state for the cost of the drugs, officials said.

Rhode Island officials have said they plan to launch an emergency program.

Huckabee, chairman of the National Governors Association, said he spoke with Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt earlier this week, and that Leavitt assured him a solution was in the works for Medicare program that started Jan. 1.

"When he didn't have it all fixed, we started realizing that we had to keep scrambling," Huckabee said.

The governor estimated Arkansas would spend between $2 million and $6 million to help pharmacies fill prescriptions that the new federal program is rejecting. He said he hoped the federal government would reimburse the state's expenses.

In some case, people who enrolled in plans have discovered they aren't listed as participating when pharmacies check their computers. Other beneficiaries found they were listed as owing a $250 deductible when they should have been paying only a few dollars per prescription.

Earlier this week, New Hampshire authorized up to $500,000 for payments to pharmacists who give a 10-day supply of drugs to people having trouble getting their medicines. South Dakota started allowing people who qualify for both Medicare and Medicaid to get a 30-day supply of medicine.

Vermont, Connecticut, Massachusetts and North Dakota had already announced plans to help low-income residents get their medicine if pharmacists were having trouble confirming coverage through the new Medicare benefit.

Photo: Cynthia Toussaint & John Garrett

2006-01-13T09:58:00.000-08:00

Photo: Cynthia Toussaint with Media

2006-01-13T09:37:00.000-08:00

Photo: Cynthia Toussaint Receiving Certificate from Zev Yaroslavsky, 2005

2006-01-13T07:16:00.000-08:00

Photo: Cynthia Toussaint Speaking Before the CA Senate, 2004

2006-01-13T07:12:00.000-08:00

Republicans Are Hurting the Elderly and Disabled Yet Again

2006-01-12T14:21:00.000-08:00

This LA Times editorial is dead-on (please see below) ...As a Medicare/Medi-Cal recepient who needs my medications to function, I've been DREADING this change to the new drug prescription benefit. With Medi-Cal picking up the tab for meds, every month poses a great challenge for me to get the approvals, the authorizations for my meds. It's become so draining. I generally have my caregiver, John, go through all of the red tape.

Now things are worse. It's all so confusing, and I'm a college graduate. The changing of the program-- complicated by the snafu's-- are causing mountains of stress for those who can least afford more of it. The elderly and the disabled.

YES, the state needs to step in and pick up the tab until the Feds get this act together. It's the right, humane and moral thing to do... I am forever disturbed that our government cares so little about the people it "serves"-- why this mess??? Why didn't they use a proven system that works-- before inflicting their incompetence and lack of care upon this vulnerable population?

I'm frightened for myself as I need to start refilling my prescriptions at the end of the month.... what snafu lies ahead for me? It's chilling...

I urge Governor Schwarzenegger and the California legislature to take all emergency actions recommended by the LA Times editorial to ease the suffering and upset inflicted by this ill-implemented federal program. It's your duty...

**************************************************************************

From the Los Angeles Times
EDITORIAL
The drugs they need

January 11, 2006

NO ONE REALLY EXPECTED the new Medicare prescription drug program to be "fail safe" (although federal officials actually used that phrase). But early signs, in California and other states, are that the days-old program may be failing those who need it most.

A worrisome number of seniors are having a difficult time getting vital medications under the program, which began Jan. 1. Seniors who should be covered are being forced to pay for expensive drugs out of pocket. Pharmacists are having trouble finding out which plan people are enrolled in, forcing some to leave pharmacies empty-handed. The most desperate are showing up at emergency-room doors hoping to get the medication they were promised. Meanwhile, waits on help lines set up by the government and private insurers have stretched into hours.

Mark McClellan, head of the agency that oversees the program, points out that it is filling as many as a million prescriptions a day. But it appears low-income seniors and disabled people known as "dual eligibles" — the 6 million Americans covered under both Medicare and Medicaid, the federal program for the poor — are disproportionately having problems. Unlike everyone else — who have until spring to sign up before getting penalized — those on Medicaid had to switch to the new drug plan on the first day.

The problem: Federal officials didn't process all of their applications on time, so when an untold number of the poorest and often sickest seniors went to fill their medications in recent days, they weren't in the computer. At least four states — Maine, New Hampshire, North Dakota and Vermont — have already decided to spend millions to care for those who are slipping through the cracks, even though it is unclear whether the federal government will pay them back. As of Tuesday, California officials said they were considering doing the same. The tab could exceed hundreds of millions of dollars.

What is most frustrating is that there was ample warning about potential problems, and people on both ends of the political spectrum worried that starting the plan now was overly ambitious. But the administration insisted it begin in an election year.

There will be plenty of time for finger-pointing down the road. What's important now is to solve the mess at hand. California should follow other states and fund prescriptions for those who are going without, even for a few days, and cross its fingers that the feds pay the money back. Beyond that, it is hard to see how the federal government could choose to do anything but open its wallet to fix this problem. One idea is for the government to sign up a private insurer to temporarily cover any eligible senior who is having a hard time getting medications — a solution that would take only a matter of days to implement. And in this case, speed is both politically expedient and practically necessary.

Cynthia's Platform

2006-01-10T19:30:00.000-08:00

The issues I support come from a place of deep care for the well-being and dignity of every human being. I believe all people should be treated equally, regardless of color, nationality, sexual orientation, religious beliefs, etc. Everyone must have choice over their own life decisions without undue interference from the government. In fact, I believe part of the purpose of government is to enforce these privacy rights, rather than to impede them.

I believe health-- and access to quality healthcare--are the foundation to every person's well-being. It is often said "without our health, we have nothing." No truer words could be spoken. That's why I've chosen "Health with dignity--let's care for people" as my rally cry.

Here are my three major platform issues….

Chronic pain and Other Chronic Conditions

Due to my personal experience with chronic pain and my nonprofit work, I’m aware that millions of people in California are dealing with at least one chronic health condition. These unfortunate people, especially those impacted with pain, suffer misunderstanding, disbelief from their support systems and many barriers to quality-of-life-preserving healthcare. If elected, I will make it my priority to bring awareness of this healthcare crisis to state agencies and author legislation to improve the lives of those impacted.

The Un-insured

I believe access to good healthcare for all is a right, not a privilege. Tragically, this is not the case in California- and women and children are disproportionately un-insured. A healthy community is happier and more productive—and most importantly, no one suffers needlessly. If I am elected, I will support all legislation that promotes universal healthcare in this state.

Consumer Driven Healthcare

More and more healthcare costs are being shifted to the worker—and Consumer Driven Healthcare is another unfortunate example of the further erosion of benefits from employers. This scheme promotes an ever-widening healthcare gap between the have’s and have not’s. If elected, I will support any and all legislation that keeps families healthy without unfair financial burden and economic stress.

Other Priority Issues are…

HMO reform

We must continue the fight to keep these profit-oriented healthcare systems ethical. I want the Department of Managed Health Care to be a stronger advocate for the vulnerable patient.

Worker's Compensation Re-reform

With the recent reform measure implemented, injured workers are further exposed to harassment and non-care from insurance companies. We need to move this scheme in a better direction.

Medicinal Marijuana

Many people who suffer chronic and end-of-life pain GREATLY benefit from this therapy. I know people who cannot sleep or keep a meal down without it. I will do my best to improve and promote access to medicinal marijuana.

Accessibility and Understanding of People with Disabilities

Being the user of a wheelchair, I am unable to enter many public establishments without great hardship. Access is improving, but not fast enough. I will fight for universal design and better understanding that disabled people are just that first… people.

Marriage Equality

Marriage is a sacred institution that must be open to all, regardless of sexual orientation. I understand intimately the oppression and sadness that results when two people are not allowed to be married—as I have been in this position for 25 years (please see details in the "Meet Cynthia" intro blog.) Civil union is a step in the right direction, but there's still a hard fight ahead.

My position on other hot-button issues…

Pro-Union
Every worker has the right to be protected from exploitation.

Pro-Public Education
Every person has the right to an excellent and affordable learning experience.

Pro-Choice
It's a woman's right to privacy over her own body, pure and simple.

Anti-Death Penalty
The moral outrage of killing innocent people is enough to end this abomination.

Anti-Tort Reform
The individual must have recourse to right corporate wrongs.

Anti-Iraq War
We must end this senseless slaughter for greed of oil and world dominance.

Cynthia Toussaint for CA State Assembly!

2006-01-09T17:06:00.000-08:00

Hello voters in the 42nd Assembly District!!

My joke is always that when I was born, the doctor said to my mother, “Congratulations, you have a Democrat!” I begged my mother to take me to meet George McGovern (cried when he squeezed my hand while smiling down at me) and campaigned hard for him while in the sixth grade. I knew in my gut he was a kind, caring and genuine man—and he needed to lead our country.

On Halloween that year, I dressed as a politician and made a box that said “McGovern” on one side and “Nixon” on the other. When folk dropped their candy on the Nixon side, I asked to talk with them to try to figure out why they would support such a bad man. Most replied, “He’s the lesser of two evils.” That notion has always troubled me.

Politics has always been a gigantic issue in my forever-leaning-to-the-left life though I never aspired to be a politician. My greatest passion has always been, and remains, performing. I was an accomplished ballerina, a singer and an actor, aiming for a film career when a minor ballet injury triggered the chronic pain disease, known as Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy or RSD, in my right leg when I was 21-years-old back in 1982.

Because I belonged to an HMO that refused to diagnose and care for me, I lost my chance to be cured. Instead, I spent nearly a decade of my life bedridden, literally writhing and screaming in pain while the RSD spread throughout my entire body. During those years, my doctors told me my physical problems were all in my head.

The only person who stayed by my side was my partner John. God love him ;) We were college sweethearts and despite being together for 25+ years now, we are not able to marry due to Social Security’s marriage penalty law. If John and I were to wed legally, I would lose my health care benefits which provide me the quality of life I have today.

After receiving treatment and learning of HMO misdeeds, I became heavily involved with HMO reform. When folk would recognize me from TV coverage, they could never say the name of my disease. That’s when I decided (in 2002) to start For Grace, a nonprofit organization originally dedicated to raising awareness of RSD—and now also to ensure the ethical and equal treatment of all women in pain.

At For Grace, I volunteer my time as vice-president, spokesperson, public relations and media liaison—and the day to day nuts and bolts that come with being a passionate founder. I consider For Grace “my baby”, named for little girl John and I could not have. The workdays are often 13 hours or more… When my pain is severe, I lie down and work from my wheelchair that folds out into a gurney. I must accommodate my physical limitations throughout the workday and required travel—which I LOVE—as best I can…but by day’s or journey’s end, I have always accomplished my mission.

With my work as a nonprofit leader, I’ve learned much about healthcare in this state AND where the gaps are. I’m forever frustrated that the government isn’t doing more to help. It seems to me our government spends the taxpayer’s money building bombs, going to war, “liberating” other countries—and leaving virtually nothing to take care of the health needs and alleviate the suffering of the people who live in this country.

For years, people have suggested I run for office. This year I’ve decided to do just that… this decision came shortly after Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the California RSD Education bill I worked so hard to get to his desk in its first year. I’m jumping into the fray to bring focus on the shortcomings of healthcare in this state and the lack of genuine care the government displays for human beings. If healthcare had been a major priority when I became ill, I believe I would be dancing today, rather than sitting in a wheelchair.

I start my campaign from outside the outside. I have raised very little money and am running against two well-established politicians. People have told me that it’s impossible to jump into this race in the 11th hour. But I’ve never believed in the word “impossible” and I take every “no” as a future “yes”. I believe that people don’t trust politicians anymore—I think they want someone they can relate to, someone who has suffered some of their problems… I’m a quick learner, a natural communicator and leader… I believe I’m offering the people in the 42nd Assembly district a fresh choice.

I’ve focused my introduction post on my concerns about the state of healthcare in California, but there are a full range of important issues I have great passion to support or work to change. I care deeply about gay rights—and in particular, the right to marry--, worker’s rights, access to medicinal marijuana, improving public education, privacy rights for women, abolishing the death penalty, the right to sue corporations that harm, assuring accessibility and promoting understanding of the disabled… and much, much more!

There has always been a fire in my belly—I have a great love for life… and I always know what I want to do and then go for it!! The extreme hardships in my life have made this fire burn brighter, as I have come to a place of deeper appreciation and gratitude for the gifts I possess. I love to serve the public cause, to right wrongs—to seize every effort to make the world a better, more compassionate place to spend some time…

I’m excited to be bringing the issues I’m passionate about into the spotlight. “Health with dignity—let’s care for people”

I look forward to hearing from you….

With Grace,
Cynthia

Biography of Cynthia Toussaint

2006-01-09T17:05:00.000-08:00

Cynthia Toussaint has had the chronic pain disease, Reflex Sympathetic Dystrophy, for 23 years and in 2002 from her wheelchair founded the nonprofit organization For Grace that raises awareness of RSD and the plight of women in pain.

Before becoming ill, she was an accomplished ballerina and worked professionally as a dancer, actor and singer. Since 1997, she has been a leading RSD advocate who raises awareness of the disease through local and national media as well as public speaking.

Toussaint championed and gave key testimony at two California Senate hearings. The first in May 2001 was dedicated to RSD awareness. The second in February 2004 explored the chronic under treatment of and gender bias toward women in pain. Both of these efforts were the first of their kind in the nation. Her media appearances include features in the Los Angeles Times, New York Times, Newsweek, the Orange County Register, Consumer’s Digest, the Los Angeles Daily News, La Opinion, PBS, NPR and the Discovery Health channel.

In 2005, Toussaint worked with Assembly Member Fran Pavley to introduce a California RSD Education bill. The bill got to the Governor’s desk year one largely due to Toussaint’s persuasive testimony before the Assembly and Senate Health committees. Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill—and Toussaint plans to champion this important effort again.

Toussaint has spearheaded numerous pain-related awareness months in California and Los Angeles (city and county), working with California Senator Liz Figueroa, Los Angeles City Councilperson Wendy Greuel and Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky to help bring attention to the issue of chronic pain.

In 2004, Toussaint received the Award of Excellence from the Southern California Cancer Pain Initiative in recognition of her extensive media and legislative outreach. She was the first person to receive this prestigious award for raising non-malignant pain awareness.

Also, Toussaint continues to be a leading advocate for HMO reform in California. She was instrumental through media, protests and press conferences in changing public opinion which led to sweeping HMO reform legislation that was signed by Governor Gray Davis in 1999.

I am running for California State Assembly!

2005-12-15T15:00:00.000-08:00

Yes, it's true! I announced last night at Dodger Stadium my intention to run for California State Assembly, District 42.