Honoring Andy

[Horse with no Name]

While verified voting was Andy's passion, one of the things that was most detrimental to him was the lack of healthcare without proper funding.
I would like to suggest that part of the activist committee, that we take a two-prong approach to honor him.
First in verified voting. Second in lobbying for accessible healthcare for all.
I can't say for sure that if he had the surgery when he was first diagnosed if it would have made a difference--I don't have that insight, however, I believe it would have reduced the complications that he ultimately faced.
How about it? Does anyone agree with this?

[helderheid]

1. yes - perfect - actually here's a thought

Why not write letters to the editor about Andy and his fight, both for VVPB and his need for healthcare?

[insane_cratic_gal]

2. I agree

Where do we start?

There is an activist form on DU for verified voting yes?

Not sure about health care.

[mom cat]

8. I looked for such a forum but could not find it.

[Rhiannon12866]

3. I do.

Proper diagnosis and speedy intervention can make a real difference with this kind of illness. I don't know if it would have changed the ultimate outcome for Andy, either, but it sure could make a difference for so many people who have few resources and nowhere to turn.;(

[Laura PourMeADrink]

4. Would you be so kind as to give those of us who didn't know

Andy a little bio. I have only been here since Nov, and I have heard his name mentioned millions of times but have never known who he was.

Thank you!

[helderheid]

6. here

http://www.andystephenson.com/?q=node/view/10

About Andy
Andy Stephenson grew up in El Paso, Texas. He lost his father at age 13, and he was raised by a single mother through his teenage years. He studied business administration at the University of Texas, working
his way through school. He moved from Texas to Seattle in 1991, where he has lived ever since. For seven years, he worked at the phone company, and he was a member of the Communication Workers of America, Local 7800. He wrote the training program for his department, and he served as the interim field support manager for six months. Until recently, he owned a restaurant franchise, but he sold it to campaign full-time. He is fluent in English, German and Spanish.

Andy Stephenson has served as a PCO, registered numerous voters and volunteered on Al Gore's presidential campaign, but he is not a practiced politician. He is a small-business owner turned activist.
He has volunteered with Lambert House (a center for GBLT youth) and participated in every peace march against the Iraq War. He grew interested in voting problems in 2002, after suspicious results in a county near where he grew up; three different Republican candidates each won by exactly 18,181 votes in Comal County, Texas. Over the last 18 months, he has also worked hand-in-hand with national voting
rights activist Bev Harris; together, they have exposed numerous problems with electronic voting machines.

This winter, Andy Stephenson worked with state House and Senate members to get voting legislation sponsored, only to have it killed in committee. His bill mandated paper ballots and robust auditing in
time for the important elections this fall. The alternate bill, proposed by Sam Reed (Stephenson's Republican rival and the incumbent) and championed by Laura Ruderman (Stephenson's Democratic rival),
protected corporate rights over voter rights and made no changes prior to November. Stephenson worked to kill this harmful bill and to resurrect his bill. Neither bill passed before the legislature ended
its session this spring. Stephenson is currently suing Washington State, because four counties use voting software that was illegally certified by the incumbent; he wants to ensure that the votes cast for
Secretary of State and all the other races this fall are counted correctly.

Andy Stephenson is a voting rights activist, not a corporate rights activist. The right to vote is the one thing that separates a democracy from a dictatorship. Andy Stephenson has worked hard to expose the voting machine industry's conflicts of interest. The Secretary of State's primary responsibility is administering
elections, though they also oversee public records (which Stephenson wants to digitize and put on the internet) and corporate charters (a bureaucracy Stephenson dealt with as a small business owner). Stephenson has scrutinized the election laws of Washington and is acutely aware of the problems we face here. Having studied elections anomalies nation-wide, Andy Stephenson can ensure that they never
occur in his state, and he can make Washington State a national model for clean, fair, verifiable elections.

[acmejack]

12. How totally appropriate!

In Andy's memory, perhaps we might be something like Andy's Activists or a similar title for our little group of activists.

A lot of good ideas here, through our advocacy he will live on.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

14. Thank you so much ! A great loss to our cause !

[mom cat]

5. What about an Andy Stephenson Voting Rights Forum and an Andy

Stephenson Accessible Health Care Forum. These could serve as ongoing living memorials to Andy.

[More Than A Feeling]

10. I would like to see that as well

That way everyone who came to this site would see his name, and maybe learn who he was and why he is and will continue to be such an inspiration.

[all.of.me]

15. i love this idea!

[Desertrose]

7. I agree...

great idea.

We have the people...we have the DU activists and we are a force to be reckoned with!!!

DR

[stellanoir]

9. also discussed on this thread

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4047740

Calling attention to and honoring Andy's primary life purpose on a national level would be a huge start. I'm aware that it's a long shot though.

I agree with your two pronged approach because each issue is hugely important. But we'll never get improvements in health care system as long as the pharmaceutical companies are so blatantly manipulating our legislators.

So V V P B is really primary. Without them, we do not have a representative legislature and our democracy is nothing more than an illusion.

Oh Joy.

[flyarm]

11. thank you horse...n/t

[prairierose]

13. Yes, I would like to see those 2 issues...

prioritized.

Without voter verified paper ballots, nothing else matters. It will do no good to work for candidates or issues if the vote is rigged.

Health care should be a human right not just for the privileged who have money.

If Andy had been diagnosed earlier, he might be with us still. My brother is fighting a similar fight . If he had had access to health care, his cancer would have been diagnosed years earlier and he would have had less damage & a better chance of survival.

[hiley]

16. Horse with no Name thank you so...

and all DU for being so loving and kind.
hiley

[PittLib]

17. I don't mean to be silly, but ....

I love the Andy sig line and was wondering if we could perhaps come up with an Andy avatar image as a constant gentle reminder of these goals? I agree with your approach as well, HwnN.

[mom cat]

18. I don't think that is silly at all. Do you have some ideas for a design?

[PittLib]

20. Oooh. I'm not a tech person at all ...

or particularly creative for that matter, but I'll think about it. I'd like it to include a picture ... but people should understand the significance at a glance, meaning I don't want it to seem like an inside thing (if that makes sense) that people have to research to understand. I've seen several flashing avatars, so maybe we could use that ... a slow flash that alternates from Andy, to health care to voting issues. I don't know. Would that work?

[mom cat]

23. I like that...Maybe with links to voting and health care forums in his

name.

[PittLib]

27. Sounds good to me!

We just need to enlist someone who knows how to do it ... for now I have my Andy avatar, but I'll see if I can find someone to do it.

[Sapphire Blue]

19. Here's one...

Save it, resize it & upload it.

[PittLib]

21. awesome ... thank you

That is so cool. :yourock:

Um ... have I mentioned that I am technologically challenged? I think I get how to upload, but how do I save and/or resize it?

[Sapphire Blue]

24. Right-click on the image & 'Save picture as'

Then open the file where you've saved the image, open the image, click on 'Image', 'Resize/Resample' & change the dimensions to 80 x 83 & save your changes.

Upload it to DU... Click on 'Options', 'Edit your Profile', go to 'Avatar images' & click on 'Upload' your own, (Step 1) click on 'Browse' to find the image that you've saved on you PC, then double-click on it... next, (Step 2) choose 'JPEG image', then update your profile changes... voila - you will have an 'Andy' avatar.

(Edited for clarity - hopefully)

[PittLib]

26. Great instruction ...

it worked! Thanks again. :hug:

[Sapphire Blue]

28. You're welcome... glad it worked

:hug:

If you had read any of my posts while I was in the midst of changing my avatar image in the past, and seen some of my changed avatar images, trying to get the size to fit during the process, you would have had a good laugh... I'm also technologically challenged, and proceed by trial & error... lots of errors! :hi:

[Sapphire Blue]

30. Here's another one...

from SoCalDem... http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4052049&mesg_id=4052515

You can just save it (don't need to resize it) & follow the previous instructions for uploading it as your DU avatar.

(Note: avatars are supposed to be under 50 high, as SoCalDem informed me... another error on my part... nice to have a helping hand when you make a mistake!)

[Sapphire Blue]

22. Agreed... "Voter Verified Paper Ballots and Health Care for all."

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=3627577 ... Good night, friend... we will remember.

Please consider posting this in the DU Activist Headquarters: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=106

[mzmolly]

25. I'm in. Who do we boycott man.

Should we boycott drug companies? Insurance companies? Diebold products?

It seems MONEY is the only thing that talks anymore ....

I dunno where do we begin on this?

Maybe a March on Washington? "Million Un-Insured March?"

[mzmolly]

29. Gosh didn't mean to kill the thread with my lunacy.

:P

[skids]

31. More specifically, activists need a safety net.

Being very careful to say first that everyone who helped Andy are great in my book, this isn't a criticism.

I'd just point out that from time to time we have activists that get in a pinch, and need a quick bail-out (not always medical, sometimes just a plane ticket or sometimes, quite literally, bail) from the community. Though activists should learn to carefully choose to fight from solid footing, sometimes that just doesn't work out.

And, as we saw in Andy's case, emergency fundraising may be interfered with by bastards online. I agree working on the larger issues is something Andy would have wanted. But it would be nice to develop a system whereby emergency fundraising situations can be quickly vetted and handled without interference or delay. Our enemy is ruthless -- we have to be prepared and organized to deal with that.

Also, if it hasn't been suggested already, I think Andy deserves his bio to be compiled from the various materials, approved by his family, and posted on Wikipedia (plus cross linked to relevant articles.) If minor sports figures can have pages there, so can he, says I.

Just two more ways to honor him.

[Horse with no Name]

32. kick.

:kick:

[tosca_veritas]

33. excellent proposal!

they go hand in hand! If we had true , honest and fair elections, people would definetely vote for candidates who would stand for universal health care for ALL.

count me in!

toscs

[kaygore]

34. We need to take up Andy's fight with a passion

You are so right in making your suggestions. Andy fought for all of us and now we must take over and continue the fight.