Michael Moore Blasts Rudolph Giuliani

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-AzmTe2_bRY

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http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=900

Tuesday, July 31, 2007

Plea for Help from 9/11 Rescue Workers to Rudolph Giuliani Goes Unanswered

[The following letter was e-mailed to Rudolph Giuliani on May 29th, 2007 by September 11th rescue workers left to fend for themselves after suffering illnesses caused by their work at Ground Zero in the days after the attacks. They never received a response.]

May 29, 2007

Dear Mr. Giuliani,

As you know, tens of thousands of New Yorkers like ourselves came together on September 11 to help search for survivors, rescue victims, and begin to clean-up after the attacks on our great city. Many of those first responders including James Zadroga, Cesar Borja, and Debbie Reeve developed debilitating health problems after breathing the toxic dust from the collapsed World Trade Center towers. Thousands of 9/11 responders, whose heroic efforts helped our city and country get back on its feet quickly, have attempted to get much-needed medical attention to help recover from their illnesses. For six years, we have pleaded with the Federal government for help, but have received nothing, but even worse, we haven't received straight answers from our own government.

Mr. Giuliani, in your speech at a Hoover Institution meeting in Washington, D.C. on February 26, 2007, you stated that you have never heard anyone tell you that they want to leave the country to get care because the U.S. has the "best healthcare system in the world." The two of us, along with our friend and 9/11 responder, John Graham, actually did leave the country to receive free healthcare that we couldn't get here in the United States.

For the last several weeks, we have been publicly attacked by your Republican party for traveling with filmmaker Michael Moore to Cuba, where we received free healthcare from doctors. Michael Moore, who took us to Cuba for his new documentary on the U.S. healthcare system called “SiCKO,” is now being investigated by the Bush Administration for taking us to Cuba, a trip we decided to take only after the U.S. government and healthcare system failed for the last six years to provide the support for medical treatment we needed. Our health needs have been ignored and forgotten by the very government that celebrated our sacrifice in the days after that tragedy. And now, the Bush Administration and other conservatives seem more interested in investigating our trip to Cuba than in helping us get the health care we deserve.

Mr. Giuliani, the key message you continue to convey to the American people in your run for the Republican nomination for President is your leadership on September 11. You talk about what it was like to be making critical decisions on September 11. There is no doubt that you were on the ground and witnessed the heroic work of the first responders that day. If there is anyone who should know and understand what the 9/11 responders are going through, it is you. Given the fact that you are running for President, we would like to meet with you to discuss what your plans are for helping the health care needs of 9/11 responders if you become President. We want to share our experiences with you so that if elected, you will understand why many Americans are leaving the country to get healthcare elsewhere because they cannot get it here.

Just last week, the city of New York agreed to include on the official list of September 11 victims a woman who died as a result of dust from the twin towers' collapse. We have watched our friends suffer and die from medical conditions as a direct result of working on Ground Zero. We have health conditions that have cost us employment and put us in very difficult financial situations. Our lives have been changed forever. Our government likes to talk about the fact that we are heroes, yet we continue to be ignored. We deserve the opportunity to sit down with you, someone who watched thousands of first responders in action after September 11, to discuss the issues thousands of us are facing today. Show us that our voices will not be ignored if you are elected President.

Sincerely,
Reggie Cervantes
Bill Maher

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http://www.huffingtonpost.com/reggie-cervantes/open-letter-from-911-res_b_58633.html

Open Letter from 9/11 Rescue Worker to Rudy Giuliani
Posted July 31, 2007 | 06:40 PM (EST)

Presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani thinks his "plan for up to $15,000 in tax breaks to help families pay for coverage outside employer-based plans is the antidote."

I totally disagree.

How is a single mother of two with a monthly income of $1,500 or a family of four with an income of $3,100 supposed to live, buy insurance, pay deductibles, pay copays, afford medications and be able to eat and clothe their children?

Giuliani is so far removed from reality it's sad.

He's completely out of touch with why the average American is interested in improving our country's healthcare system by creating a single-payer system that would remove profit when it comes to caring for the sick and dying. As a country we have historically thrived by taking good ideas, making them better, and putting them to work for our country. The health care crisis should be no different.

A single-payer system would insure that all veterans who are currently being denied services are covered. It appears that Rudy is content with turning a blind eye on the returning injured vets who desperately need care. It seems that under Rudy's plan, vets will continue to be stuck with substandard Walter Reed-level care.

Giuliani neglects the underpaid worker, the unemployed worker, the low income family and all their children. After all, these people are not his base, so why should he care?

Giuliani doesn't care about the fact that Tracy Pierce, featured in the movie SiCKO, was insured and died because his insurance company's motivation was profit-driven. Why should he consider that when health insurance companies are key contributors to his campaign?

When I truly wanted to discuss the issue and asked Giuliani's staff for help on April 19th while attending the Oklahoma City Bombing Anniversary, his staff took my information, rebuffed me and he then left to go have a photo opportunity with two children who survived the bombing. Does he even remember their names today? Has he helped them with their mounting bills? Oh, I know, it was just a photo op!

Later, in May of this year, two other 9/11 rescue workers and I sent a letter to Giuliani. We were to discuss with him the state of healthcare in our country. We received no response.

Mr. Giuliani, I wanted to ask you why the terrorists who caused 9/11 receive free healthcare ­ yet those of us who cleaned up at Ground Zero do not? Why do you continue to ignore us?

In your recent speech you asked if anybody in the room would like to go to Cuba for medical treatment. Well, Mr. Giuliani, I did because I had no other choice and it upsets me that you can't understand my position.

I am not a politician, just an American woman who voted for you for mayor and asked for your help. After helping my fellow citizens on 9/11 and the weeks following, I now suffer from lung disease. It pains me to watch you campaign on the back of my service on 9/11 while it seems that only your cronies get Workers Compensation while the rest of us are left to die.

The pulmonary fibrosis that I suffer from is no picnic and obtaining health insurance is going to be an obstacle I will face for life unless our system changes. So, once again, I am calling on you, Mr. Giuliani, to please explain to me what you will do as president to ensure that I get the care I need after suffering serious health problems as a result of working at Ground Zero on 9/11.

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http://www.joinrudy2008.com/contact.html

Tell Giuliani to meet with Reggie, Billy and John

Please direct any questions or comments to:

Rudy Giuliani Presidential Committee, Inc.
295 Greenwich St, #371
New York, NY 10007

212-835-9449

For Media Inquiries Please Call:
646-943-7890

Email: webteam@joinrudy2008.com

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How to help the September 11th Rescue Workers:

http://www.michaelmoore.com/sicko/what-can-i-do/rescue-workers/