February 1999

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A February Valentine
As we grow older, we must consider how to create a 

cushion to ease the effects of aging on our living 

conditions. Our February meeting will feature 
representatives from On Lok and In-Home Supportive Services to explain 
resources available to assist in retaining independence, at 
home, living as long as possible. 
Though many of us would probably prefer not to discuss 
the topic of aging, it is always valuable to know where and how 
to seek help when we need it. 
To complete the panel discussion, a spokesperson from 
Laguna Honda Hospital will speak to the importance of 
supporting the hospital. Laguna Honda is the only place in which  many 
of San Francisco's frail elderly and disabled can receive the 
comprehensive care they need. Volunteers and hospital staff 
are exerting every effort to keep the tradition of a home-like 
atmosphere and a sense of community alive during this 
transitional period. They urge everyone to support the bond measure 
that will insure the future of the hospital.




     CALENDAR OF EVENTS  
February is Black History Month
Thurs., Feb. 4     1:003:00 p.m.
     Board Meeting at the office. All welcome!
     Please note the change of 
day/date.
Sat., Feb. 6     9:30 a.m.3:30 p.m.
     "OneStop" Women's Clinic with focus on
     women over 50. Call 415/782-8901 for loca-
     tion and to register. There will be legal help,
     health checkups, education and job informa-
     tion plus lunch and bus tokens provided.
Thurs., Feb. 11     10:00 a.m.
     Senior Action Network (SAN), St. Mary's
     Cathedral, 1111 Gough at Geary.
Sat., Feb. 13     GPs Regional Meeting in Oakland.
     Call the office for more info.
Tues., Feb. 16     12:30-3:00 p.m.
     Monthly meeting: Activists Facing Old Age;
     Options for Independent Living. First
     Unitarian Church, Franklin and Geary.
Wed., Feb. 17Wed., March 10, noon1:00 p.m., daily, City Hall
     Join the Religious Witness With Homeless
     People's fast and rallies with  682 witnesses
     representing those who have died on SF
     streets in the past 5 years. Info 415/863-3611.
Thurs., Feb. 25     6:307:30 p.m.
     Forgotten California: The Central Valley. 
     Actors read from Joan Didion's 
River Run.
     Koret Auditorium, Main Library. Free.
Sat., Feb. 27     10:30 a.m.12:30 p.m.
     Older Women's League (OWL): Eleanor
     Roosevelt: a Woman of Many Transitions.
     Info: 415/989-4422.







Granny D's Crusade
Soft Money "must be cut out! It has affected our moral fiber, 
stolen our free elections, and like a hidden octopus, its 

tentacles have reached into our wallets. I say that we the 
people do care how much money is spent to become a political 
candidate in these United States."

Granny D is walking across America from Los Angeles 
to Washington D.C., traveling as a Pilgrim, seeking not your 
money, but food, shelter and signatures on her petition. The 
petition says: We the people of the United States of America request our c
Congress to enact with all due 
speed Meaningful Campaign Reform.
Follow her progress on her web site, 
<www.grannyd.com>. Meet with her, walk with her, support her quest!
























Social Security
Our Social Security work is in partnership with some ten 
other groups in the Coalition on Social Security. We 

have been working for two years to counteract the 
privatization propaganda. Have we accomplished anything? Yes, along 
with hundreds of other such groups throughout the country. 
When the gloom-and-doom crisis report was first swallowed whole 
by the media with cries for immediate privatization, it looked like 
a done dealand our side was caught by surprise. But 
the groundswell of public opinion all over the country, in spite of 
the media barrage, slowed the momentum and prevented 
the privatization action. To their disappointment, CATO (a 
conservative think tank)  and its allies couldn't capitalize on their 
initial advantage. This was due more to the innate good sense of 
the American people than our organized opposition.

In the interim relatively quiet two years, however, the "it 
ain't broke, don't fix it" forces have mobilized. Now things are 
beginning to heat up again. So what our role in this?
Our aim is to reach as many people as possible with 
our antiprivatization, preserve-Social-Security message, and to 
get them to bombard Washington with no-privatization, 
preserve- social-security demands. Currently we have pending two 
invitations, Church Women United at the end of January and SAN 
in March. We are happy to speak to anybody, but neither of 
these groups is our audience of choice. We would prefer to talk to 
30 to 50 year olds, and we have found it very difficult to  reach them.
So that is one thing for us to work ongetting an 
appropriate audience. If we do get that audience, we can always use 
more people to speak to them. We have lots of background 
material, loads of documentation, at least three example speeches. To 
date, Mitzi and Inger are prepared to speak and will welcome 
anyone willing to join them. Beyond that, we can all do tabling 
and leafletting. We have an excellent leaflet for distribution. We 
urge all of you to write, e-mail, pick up the phone again and again 
and tell the White House and Congress, "preserve and 
enhance, don't privatize and weaken Social Security!"      
Mitzi 

          



January MeetingThe Path Ahead
Karen Talbot opened the meeting with a report on a 
conference  she attended recently in Cuba called a Uni-
versal Declaration of Human Rights. Global corporations are 
still taking advantage of workers who need jobs by paying 
them minimum wages with poor working conditions.

The World Bank and the IMF are demanding that 
countries in financial crisis cut back on social programs to pay the 
interest on their loans. This is especially true of Honduras where it 
will take years to recover from the effects of Hurricane Mitch. 
We need such  organizations concerned with world-wide 
human rights  that publicize abuses when they occur. 

The purpose of the first meeting of the year was to focus 
on three isues the Gray Panthers are dedicated to saving and 
promotingSocial Security, Medicare and a Living Wage 
Law. Only time will tell how successful we have been.
Counteracting the privatization propaganda of Social 
Security was the theme of Inger Conrad's presentation by speaking 
to groups about the pitfalls of investing in the stock market and 
the benefits of a strong Social security system.
In his State of the Union address (1/19/99) President 
Clinton asked that a budget surplus be set aside over the next 15 years 
to keep Social Security solvent through the year 2055. 
Unfortunately he also proposed that some Social Security money 
be invested in private  markets, an action that even 
economists disapprove of. 
Medicare is America's health care success story, but 
Congress cannot let well-enough alone a good program that 
works. By March 1999, a commission to overhaul Medicare will 
make their recommendations, which have been printed in a 
bulletin, available for consideration. The options proposed by the 
commission will fragment the program, offering four different 
confusing and costly choices.
Medicare for All has organized a national campaign to 
protect and improve Medicare. The ultimate aim of the 
organization is to expand the patient base of Medicare and move it 
towards universal  coverage. America  cannot  save  its ever  worsening 






















health care crisis without a universal health insurance plan.
Aroza championed the "Living Wage Law." More and 
more cities throughout the U.S. are enacting Living Wage laws. In 
San Francisco several labor organizations are campaigning for 
a living wage law. Supervisor Tom Ammiano is leading the 
Board of Supervisors effort, and Mayor Willie Brown has said 
he would support the law.
It is estimated that a single parent with one child living in 
San Francisco needs to earn $14.50 per hour to maintain a 
basic standard of living. A Living Wage Law is beneficial to 
the worker and the community.
The meeting ended with a presentation by two members 
of the Health Care Workers Union, local 250 SEIU, of a 
position paper on the need to rebuild Laguna Honda Hospital and 
asking for our participation in the project.


When 20 people call the White House comment line
(202) 456-1111
on the same day about the same issue, the President
receives a written report on his desk. Tuesday is OUR day 
to call. Call now to protect and expand Medicare!
If you call before 8:00 a.m. (Pacific time) a two-minute call
 will cost you 32 cents.


SFGPs Officers for 1999
The Gray Panthers Board of Directors met Wednesday, Jan. 
6 and selected the following officers for the coming year:
ConvenerAroza Simpson
Co-convenerKaren Talbot
SecretaryRebecca Hirshleifer
TreasurerMary Frances Smith
MembershipAugusta Szego
Newsletter  PublisherAstrid Spector
The Board decided that meetings will be held the first 
Thursday of the month at 1:00 p.m. at the GPs office.

The Newsletter of the San Francisco Gray Panthers is published each month, and distributed free of charge to members and friends of this nonprofit organization.

Editorial Board: Rebecca Hirshleifer, Mitzi Raas; Publisher, Astrid M. Spector; Art Director, Fannie Biderman; Proof, Lurilla Harris; Circulation: Harold Greenblatt and Mary Francis Smith. Printed by Graffik Natwicks; Webpage design: Barry Simpkins



			A February Valentine As we grow older, we must consider how to create a cushion to ease the effects of aging on our living conditions. Our February meeting will feature representatives from On Lok and In-Home Supportive Services to explain resources available to assist in retaining independence, at home, living as long as possible. Though many of us would probably prefer not to discuss the topic of aging, it is always valuable to know where and how to seek help when we need it. To complete the panel discussion, a spokesperson from Laguna Honda Hospital will speak to the importance of supporting the hospital. Laguna Honda is the only place in which many of San Francisco's frail elderly and disabled can receive the comprehensive care they need. Volunteers and hospital staff are exerting every effort to keep the tradition of a home-like atmosphere and a sense of community alive during this transitional period. They urge everyone to support the bond measure that will insure the future of the hospital.
	CALENDAR OF EVENTS *February is Black History Month* Thurs., Feb. 4 1:003:00 p.m. Board Meeting at the office. All welcome! Please note the change of day/date. Sat., Feb. 6 9:30 a.m.3:30 p.m. "OneStop" Women's Clinic with focus on women over 50. Call 415/782-8901 for loca- tion and to register. There will be legal help, health checkups, education and job informa- tion plus lunch and bus tokens provided. Thurs., Feb. 11 10:00 a.m. Senior Action Network (SAN), St. Mary's Cathedral, 1111 Gough at Geary. Sat., Feb. 13 GPs Regional Meeting in Oakland. Call the office for more info. Tues., Feb. 16 12:30-3:00 p.m. Monthly meeting: Activists Facing Old Age; Options for Independent Living. First Unitarian Church, Franklin and Geary. Wed., Feb. 17Wed., March 10, noon1:00 p.m., daily, City Hall Join the Religious Witness With Homeless People's fast and rallies with 682 witnesses representing those who have died on SF streets in the past 5 years. Info 415/863-3611. Thurs., Feb. 25 6:307:30 p.m. Forgotten California: The Central Valley. Actors read from Joan Didion's River Run. Koret Auditorium, Main Library. Free. Sat., Feb. 27 10:30 a.m.12:30 p.m. Older Women's League (OWL): Eleanor Roosevelt: a Woman of Many Transitions. Info: 415/989-4422.

			Granny D's Crusade Soft Money "must be cut out! It has affected our moral fiber, stolen our free elections, and like a hidden octopus, its tentacles have reached into our wallets. I say that we the people do care how much money is spent to become a political candidate in these United States." Granny D is walking across America from Los Angeles to Washington D.C., traveling as a Pilgrim, seeking not your money, but food, shelter and signatures on her petition. The petition says: We the people of the United States of America request our c Congress to enact with all due speed Meaningful Campaign Reform. Follow her progress on her web site, <www.grannyd.com>. Meet with her, walk with her, support her quest!



	Social Security Our Social Security work is in partnership with some ten other groups in the Coalition on Social Security. We have been working for two years to counteract the privatization propaganda. Have we accomplished anything? Yes, along with hundreds of other such groups throughout the country. When the gloom-and-doom crisis report was first swallowed whole by the media with cries for immediate privatization, it looked like a done dealand our side was caught by surprise. But the groundswell of public opinion all over the country, in spite of the media barrage, slowed the momentum and prevented the privatization action. To their disappointment, CATO (a conservative think tank) and its allies couldn't capitalize on their initial advantage. This was due more to the innate good sense of the American people than our organized opposition. In the interim relatively quiet two years, however, the "it ain't broke, don't fix it" forces have mobilized. Now things are beginning to heat up again. So what our role in this? Our aim is to reach as many people as possible with our antiprivatization, preserve-Social-Security message, and to get them to bombard Washington with no-privatization, preserve- social-security demands. Currently we have pending two invitations, Church Women United at the end of January and SAN in March. We are happy to speak to anybody, but neither of these groups is our audience of choice. We would prefer to talk to 30 to 50 year olds, and we have found it very difficult to reach them. So that is one thing for us to work ongetting an appropriate audience. If we do get that audience, we can always use more people to speak to them. We have lots of background material, loads of documentation, at least three example speeches. To date, Mitzi and Inger are prepared to speak and will welcome anyone willing to join them. Beyond that, we can all do tabling and leafletting. We have an excellent leaflet for distribution. We urge all of you to write, e-mail, pick up the phone again and again and tell the White House and Congress, "preserve and enhance, don't privatize and weaken Social Security!" Mitzi		January MeetingThe Path Ahead Karen Talbot opened the meeting with a report on a conference she attended recently in Cuba called a Uni- versal Declaration of Human Rights. Global corporations are still taking advantage of workers who need jobs by paying them minimum wages with poor working conditions. The World Bank and the IMF are demanding that countries in financial crisis cut back on social programs to pay the interest on their loans. This is especially true of Honduras where it will take years to recover from the effects of Hurricane Mitch. We need such organizations concerned with world-wide human rights that publicize abuses when they occur. The purpose of the first meeting of the year was to focus on three isues the Gray Panthers are dedicated to saving and promotingSocial Security, Medicare and a Living Wage Law. Only time will tell how successful we have been. Counteracting the privatization propaganda of Social Security was the theme of Inger Conrad's presentation by speaking to groups about the pitfalls of investing in the stock market and the benefits of a strong Social security system. In his State of the Union address (1/19/99) President Clinton asked that a budget surplus be set aside over the next 15 years to keep Social Security solvent through the year 2055. Unfortunately he also proposed that some Social Security money be invested in private markets, an action that even economists disapprove of. Medicare is America's health care success story, but Congress cannot let well-enough alone a good program that works. By March 1999, a commission to overhaul Medicare will make their recommendations, which have been printed in a bulletin, available for consideration. The options proposed by the commission will fragment the program, offering four different confusing and costly choices. Medicare for All has organized a national campaign to protect and improve Medicare. The ultimate aim of the organization is to expand the patient base of Medicare and move it towards universal coverage. America cannot save its ever worsening



	health care crisis without a universal health insurance plan. Aroza championed the "Living Wage Law." More and more cities throughout the U.S. are enacting Living Wage laws. In San Francisco several labor organizations are campaigning for a living wage law. Supervisor Tom Ammiano is leading the Board of Supervisors effort, and Mayor Willie Brown has said he would support the law. It is estimated that a single parent with one child living in San Francisco needs to earn $14.50 per hour to maintain a basic standard of living. A Living Wage Law is beneficial to the worker and the community. The meeting ended with a presentation by two members of the Health Care Workers Union, local 250 SEIU, of a position paper on the need to rebuild Laguna Honda Hospital and asking for our participation in the project. When 20 people call the White House comment line (202) 456-1111 on the same day about the same issue, the President receives a written report on his desk. Tuesday is OUR day to call. Call now to protect and expand Medicare! If you call before 8:00 a.m. (Pacific time) a two-minute call will cost you 32 cents. SFGPs Officers for 1999 The Gray Panthers Board of Directors met Wednesday, Jan. 6 and selected the following officers for the coming year: ConvenerAroza Simpson Co-convenerKaren Talbot SecretaryRebecca Hirshleifer TreasurerMary Frances Smith MembershipAugusta Szego Newsletter PublisherAstrid Spector The Board decided that meetings will be held the first Thursday of the month at 1:00 p.m. at the GPs office.