On July 4, 2009, I responded by launching Doctors on Strike for Freedom in Medicine to take on the mission of preserving, protecting, and promoting individual rights and freedom in health care.

Our immediate goal for 2009 is the defeat of the statist health care reform proposals presently circulating through Washington. What sets us apart from organizations with the same goal is that we are calling on doctors to prepare themselves to go on strike against any more government-run health care programs. Specifically, we are calling on doctors to let the country know–now–that they would NOT participate in any new government health care plans, and, if such a plan is established, they would also STOP participating in all other government health care programs, including, but not limited to Medicare, Medicaid, TRICARE, and SCHIP.

What also sets Doctors on Strike apart is that we are a partisan-activist organization that can “take the gloves off” to take on public officials without worrying about our tax-exempt status being revoked. This allows us the freedom to target elected officials for defeat and to publish pointedly partisan pieces here that can’t found elsewhere, including edgy satire and irreverent humor.

Our long-term objective is to supply doctors, patients, and business owners with the intellectual ammunition required to win the “philosophical war” against statism in medicine. We provide a principled, vigorous defense of freedom in medicine based a philosophy of rational self-interest, individualism, and laissez-faire capitalism.

As a small operation on a shoestring budget, we must be doing something right. Since Independence Day, our website (http://www.doctorsonstrike.com) has been visited 3835 times by 3112 visitors living in 1385 cites in 49 countries. Of these visits, about 3500 are from all 50 of our United States.

I invite you to visit our website where you will find pages devoted to “Intellectual Ammunition,” “Political Ammunition,” “Health Care Humor,” and a very active blog, called (what else?) “Doctors on Strike.”

Before you leave our site, I ask that you sign our Petition to Protect Doctor and Patient Rights at http://www.doctorsonstrike.com/petitiontoprotectdoctor-patientrights.html.

We are at war–one we cannot afford to lose. We provide some useful ammo. Grab some, share some with your family and friends, and fire away this message to preserve freedom in health care: “Health care is not a right, doctors are not your slaves, businesses are not your banks, the wealthy are not your wet nurses, and patients are not your pawns.”

I invite any constructive suggestions for improving our website and spreading our message to opinion leaders, the media, and Congress. Who else should we contact to help us spread the message?

Thanks,

Dr. Gregory L. Garamoni
Founder, Doctors on Strike for Freedom in Medicine
2304 Sawgrass Village Drive
Ponte Vedra Beach, Florida
904-631-3939
http://www.doctorsonstrike.com
garamoni@gmail.com

From the Obama Camp:

Organizing for America
(Addressee’s name left out intentially)

All throughout August, our members of Congress are back in town. Insurance companies and partisan attack groups are stirring up fear with false rumors about the President’s plan, and it’s extremely important that folks like you speak up now.

So we’ve cooked up an easy, powerful way for you to make a big impression: Office Visits for Health Reform.

All this week, OFA members like you will be stopping by local congressional offices to show our support for insurance reform. You can have a quick conversation with the local staff, tell your personal story, or even just drop off a customized flyer and say that reform matters to you.

We’ll provide everything you need: the address, phone number, and open hours for the office, information about how the health care crisis affects your state for you to drop off (with the option of adding your personal story), and a step-by-step guide for your visit.

According to our records, you live near Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office in San Diego, CA.

Sign up now to visit Sen. Dianne Feinstein’s office in San Diego this week.

(Not your representative, or think there might be another office that’s easier for you to get to? Click here to find a different office.)

As you’ve probably seen in the news, special interest attack groups are stirring up partisan mobs with lies about health reform, and it’s getting ugly. Across the country, members of Congress who support reform are being shouted down, physically assaulted, hung in effigy, and receiving death threats. We can’t let extremists hijack this debate, or confuse Congress about where the people stand.

Office Visits for Health Reform are our chance to show that the vast majority of American voters know that the cost of inaction is too high to bear, and strongly support passing health reform in 2009.

Don’t worry if you’ve never done anything like this before. The congressional staff is there to listen, and your opinion as a constituent matters a lot. And if you bring a friend, you’ll have more fun and make an even greater impact.

Click below to sign up for an Office Visit for Health Reform:

http://my.barackobama.com/OfficeVisit

Wherever you live, these visits matter: Many representatives are pushing hard toward reform, and they are taking a lot of heat from special interests. They deserve our thanks and need our support to continue the fight. But those who are still putting insurance companies and partisan point-scoring ahead of their constituents must know that voters are watching — and that we expect better.

Earlier this week, the President wrote that “this is the moment our movement was built for” and asked us all to commit to join at least one event this month. This is the way to answer that call, and rise to the challenge of this moment together.

Thank you for going the extra mile when it matters the most,

Mitch

Mitch Stewart
Director
Organizing for America