We are about to embark on some dramatic changes across the board in America.  Change is inevitable, but the direction of that change remains to be seen.  

    We wrote last time that in a democracy, silence equals agreement.  It's time to put ourselves to the test.  We're promoting two important Actions. The second Action will come after the New Year, and will be directed specifically to the FDA on a specific, urgent topic.  This second Action will test our effectiveness. But first, we need to test the strength of our voice.  We need to work like we haven't worked since 1994 when DSHEA was passed.

Step One:  Letter to the White House Office of Health Reform

    The new administration in Washington D.C. is moving fast.  We're seeing strategies never used before on a national level.  This presents a huge challenge and an equally big opportunity.  We need to get our message about natural health in front of everyone we can possibly reach.  So our first Action is for all Citizens For Health to send a letter to Washington, D.C.

Who?

    Senator Tom Daschle isn't just the nominee for Secretary of Health and Human Services.  He will also become the Director of the newly formed White House Office of Health Reform.  His Deputy Director will be Jeanne Lambrew, with whom Daschle co-authored the book Critical, published earlier this year.  Both Daschle and Ms. Lambrew are part of The Center for American Progress (CAP), whose Founder and Executive Director is John Podesta - the head of Obama's transition team.  We look to reach Sen. Daschle and Ms. Lambrew directly at CAP.

Why?

We've identified 2009 as the Year of Change and Challenge.  We've made a case for why natural health needs to be at the fundamental core of health care reform.  We'll add one more piece to the puzzle here. 

The Obama Administration's identification of challenges and possible solutions is void of natural health principles. Their effort is admirable, but their strategy incomplete. For instance, the Administration's examples of prevention are flu shots and cancer screenings. We must complete the picture for them, and we must do so now!

How?

    We're calling for a direct mail, rather than an email.  Notwithstanding the ease of sending an email, most social activists agree that a direct mailing has more impact.  To be sure, it won't hurt to email the Obama Transition Team. If you do, make sure to use the words "natural" and "natural health" frequently and positively in your email.  The Transition Team is using computers to track the frequency of words & topics within the emails they receive.

    But don't stop there!!

• Print off the letter found here, sign it and mail it.
• Forward this Newsletter to as many people as possible, and ask them to do the same.  Please - this is no time to be shy.
• Copy this Newsletter and the Letter to the Office of Health Reform.  Take copies to your local health food retailers, to your community organizations, to your churches. Ask them to support our effort by making this letter available to all  natural health consumers, so that their voice can be heard on this important subject.

We'll stay on this with you over the next two weeks, as we prepare for Step Two after the first of the year.  In the meantime, Happy Holidays.  And as always, thanks for your support.   Donate here.

To view our privacy policy, click here.

You are receiving this alert because you are subscribed to the Citizens for Health list to receive occasional updates of importance to the natural health community. If you wish to be removed from this list, click here and enter the email address you wish to have removed.

info@citizens.org