Our spur of the moment decision to spend the morning at the Miles City farmer's market ended up giving us a great opportunity to talk to lots of people as they shopped for locally made jams, pies and jewelry.

One of the stories we heard came from the gal who was manning the a bake sale booth for the upcoming Relay for Life (Aug. 14-15 in Miles City), Marilyn Thaden. Marilyn is a small business owner who has lymphoma and has a son with seizure disorder. Both have pre-existing conditions, but only Marilyn is fortunate enough to have the coverage she need to seek regular care. Her son, however, is a different story.

Iowa's members of Congress have just started week one of a five week vacation from Washington, DC. As you know, they have yet to pass comprehensive health care reform.

We've decided we cannot wait. Click here to write a letter to the editor and urge them to support health care reform now:

http://action.seiu.org/page/speakout/iowasaysnow

The good news is the House of Representatives has finished writing a meaningful bill that will finally tackle our broken health care system. This bill will provide Americans with a great number of improved health care choices by creating a public health insurance option. It will also assure that Americans from all income levels can afford quality coverage.

Click here to write your letter now.

This bill is called House Resolution 3200, and we must urge Congress to vote "Yes" on health care when they return to Washington. Click the "Participate" button to write a letter to the editor. Tell your elected leaders not to settle for the status quo, Iowans simply cannot afford it.

Click here to support health care reform for Iowa this year.

Our Senators and Representatives listen to what you have to say. As the fight for health care reform comes down to the wire, your words can make a difference. Help us stop the health care reform crisis before it goes any further. Write your letter now.

Iowa's members of Congress have just started week one of a five week vacation from Washington, DC. As you know, they have yet to pass comprehensive health care reform.

We've decided we cannot wait. Click here to write a letter to the editor and urge them to support health care reform now:

http://action.seiu.org/page/speakout/iowasaysnow

The good news is the House of Representatives has finished writing a meaningful bill that will finally tackle our broken health care system. This bill will provide Americans with a great number of improved health care choices by creating a public health insurance option. It will also assure that Americans from all income levels can afford quality coverage.

Click here to write your letter now.

This bill is called House Resolution 3200, and we must urge Congress to vote "Yes" on health care when they return to Washington. Click the "Participate" button to write a letter to the editor. Tell your elected leaders not to settle for the status quo, Iowans simply cannot afford it.

Click here to support health care reform for Iowa this year.

Our Senators and Representatives listen to what you have to say. As the fight for health care reform comes down to the wire, your words can make a difference. Help us stop the health care reform crisis before it goes any further. Write your letter now.

As part of the "Healthcare 09' - We Can't Wait" rally in Washington, DC, nearly 250 activists gathered yesterday at the Republican Party's temple to Ronald Reagan - home of the National Republican Senatorial Committee - to demand quality, affordable health care for all.

Led by health care providers from Pennsylvania, Washington State, New York and elsewhere, the crowd chanted "What do we want? Health care! When do we want it? Now!" and "We want health care! We want health care!"

We succeeded in causing quite a stir outside the headquarters, but Republican staffers chose to remain inside. The crowd moved and re-gathered at Union Station to hear Maine singer and Change that Works volunteer Peter Alexander sing "Beggin' for Change," a song Pete wrote to help out his friend Doug, a man burdened by crushing medical debt of an accident.

Find more about Peter Alexander's music at www.peteralexander.us.

Watch the video above to see the scene yesterday at Republican headquarters and Union Station.

When the U.S. Chamber of Commerce opposed early versions of the healthcare bill Tuesday, we weren't surprised. This is, after all, the same group that colorfully told the Associated Press it was "time to unload the powder and fill the musket" in their fight against health care reform. Call us cynical, but we didn't think they were planning on using that $100 million "campaign to defend the free market" on tea parties and Civil War reenactments.

The fact is, America's healthcare system is broken and all the right-wing continues to do is champion the status quo and purposely distort the reality of what fixing healthcare will mean to millions of American families. The Chamber's assault on the current bill is simply the latest in a string of attacks on common-sense healthcare reforms during the course of their existence. Here's our "Top 10."

Top 10 Historical Chamber Quotes Against Healthcare

10. U.S. Chamber of Commerce Denounced Patients' Bill of Rights As Special Interest Giveaway To Trial Lawyers. Bruce Josten, executive vice president of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said that 2001 of the Patients' Bill of Rights "should be called the Trial Lawyers' Right to Bill...adding new mandates and expanding liability will only serve to increase insurance costs and undermine employers' ability to offer this valuable benefit." [U.S. Chamber of Commerce Press Release, 6/12/01 ]

9. U.S. Chamber Spokesman Said OSHA Is a "Blatant Denial of Fundamental Fairness." When describing the structure of the Labor Department within the Executive Branch rather than the Judicial Branch of the government, Richard Berman, director of labor law for the United States Chamber of Commerce, said "This has a chilling effect on an employer's exercise of his right to appeal and is thus a blatant denial of fundamental fairness." [U.S. News & World Report, 11/24/75]

• The U.S. Chamber of Commerce Vigorously Opposed Occupational Safety Regulations and "led the fight to defeat the 1968 bill." In an article written between the initial bill supported by President Johnson and the second bill, that passed, supported by President Nixon, the New York Times reported: "The first legislation providing for a comprehensive nationwide system of health and safety standards was proposed last year by President Johnson. Strongly supported by labor, the bill ran into immediate and vigorous opposition from industry, led by the Chamber of Commerce of the United States." [New York Times, 12/10/69; New York Times, 3/19/70]

8. U.S. Chamber President Called OSHA "An Abysmal Failure." In 1980, Richard L. Lesher, President of the U.S. Chamber of Congress, charged, "OSHA at best has been a major disappointment, at worst an abysmal failure." "To date, there has been no solid documentation that OSHA has yielded any gains in safety or health," said Lesher. [AP, 4/1/80]

7. U.S. Chamber Spokesman Compared Employer Mandates to Jumping on a "Runaway Train." In 1989, U.S. Chamber Spokesman Frederick J. Krebs was asked by the Washington Post about employer mandated coverage and said, "Health-care costs are out of control -- so being forced to provide these benefits is like being told to jump on a runaway train." [The Washington Post, 4/13/89]

6. Referring to Mental Health Parity Legislation, Chamber Officials Said Personal Tragedy is a "Poor Way to Make Legislation." Complaining that opposing Republicans on mental health parity legislation put them in an awkward position, Neil Trautwein, manager of health care policy for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce said, "It's tremendous to have someone with the stature of Pete Domenici or Alan Simpson get up and describe these personal tragedies, but it's often a poor way to make legislation," says Trautwein. "An emotional argument late in the night is not the way to make policy." [The Washington Post, 6/19/96]

We thought we'd save the best for last, so: be sure to read the "top 5" quotes, after the break.