Stand Up! Take Action! Vote!
May 11, 2010
Forest conversion project threatens watershed, ecosystem
SANTA ROSA, CA – The Sonoma County Democratic Party has opposed a plan by Napa-based land development company, Premier Pacific Vineyards, LLC (d.b.a. Preservation Ranch) to convert 1,600 acres of coastal Sonoma County redwood and douglas fir forestland to vineyards and luxury estates. CalPERS, the California Public Employees’ Retirement System, is a significant investor in the project.May 11, 2010
SANTA ROSA, CA – The Sonoma County Democratic Party has passed a resolution urging the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors to deny approval of the proposed location of the Dutra asphalt plant at Haystack Landing on the Petaluma River, across from Shollenberger Park.If approved, the Dutra plant would be located in a designated scenic corridor, and the expected decrease in air quality and increase in noise and truck traffic would have a negative impact on the wetlands and sensitive wildlife habitat of Shollenberger Park.
You’re invited to an April 26th benefit for Truthout.org and Marin Peace & Justice Coalition.
Monday, April 26, 2010
7:00pm – 9:30pm
San Rafael Community Center
618 B Street
San Rafael, CA
George Lakoff, Cynthia Boaz, Rose Aguilar and Norman Solomon will be participating in a public discussion about the challenges facing progressives and the strategies which can help progressives organize for democracy.
Norman Solomon
April 21, 2010
This is a grim story about the care and feeding of a Blue Dog.
Right now, Congresswoman Jane Harman is facing a serious primary challenge from a genuine progressive, Marcy Winograd, in Southern California’s 36th congressional district.
Last Saturday afternoon (April 17), I sat on stage with both candidates and other panelists at a forum during the California Democratic Party convention in Los Angeles. The room was filled with several hundred progressive delegates.
Harman has been refusing to debate her opponent, but she couldn’t stay away from the forum that afternoon. The entire convention would be voting the next day on whether to withhold endorsement of her for re-election.
Since several people tried unsuccessfully to join this month’s call, we’re happy to compensate for faulty technology with the recording from this rich and informative conference.
Mary Nichols-Rhodes spoke first, describing the plans for the US Social Forum this June in Detroit and the National Peace Conference this July in Albany. Michael Darner, Legislative Director for Rep. John Conyers, discussed the Afghanistan legislation in play, but his most important piece of information came as a response to the question of whether Representative Conyers will commit to voting no on the supplemental budget request for $33 billion for Afghanistan. Darner said that Conyers is committed to voting against any military funding and expansion. ...
Healthcare NOT Warfare co-chair Norman Solomon spoke about how the Brown Bag Lunch Vigils are a good tool in moving our representatives to “no” votes on the supplemental. ...
Finally, Bruce Taub, coordinator for the Israel/Palestine Action Group, addressed the efforts being made to cut off funding to Israel while it continues expansion into Palestinian areas and attacks on Gaza.
Chris Hedges
April 7, 2010
Take Action: Fight corporate personhood!
Sign the motion to amend | Get involved at FreeSpeechforPeople
Published by Truthdig.
Ralph Nader’s descent from being one of the most respected and powerful men in the country to being a pariah illustrates the totality of the corporate coup. Nader’s marginalization was not accidental. It was orchestrated to thwart the legislation that Nader and his allies—who once consisted of many in the Democratic Party—enacted to prevent corporate abuse, fraud and control. He was targeted to be destroyed. And by the time he was shut out of the political process with the election of Ronald Reagan, the government was in the hands of corporations. Nader’s fate mirrors our own.
Dan Murphy
April 6, 2010
Take Action: Tell Congress – No Money for War
Published by Christian Science Monitor.
A video released on the Internet Monday by WikiLeaks, a small nonprofit dedicated to publishing classified information from the US and other governments, appears to show the killing of two Iraqi journalists with Reuters and about nine other Iraqis in a Baghdad suburb in 2007 that is sharply at odds of the official US account of the incident.
John Nichols
April 6, 2010
Published by The Nation.
The video is clear, and devastating.
It shows a U.S. military helicopter targeting, shooting and killing a Reuters photographer and driver in a July 2007 attack in Baghdad.
The U.S. pilots are heard reveling in their “kills.”
By Norman Solomon
Marin IJ
April 6, 2010
THE POLITICAL LANDSCAPE is making a lot of people mad at “elites.” Populist resentments are common these days – even in affluent Marin.
When the mood turns bitter and corrosive, appeals for civility are nice. But they won’t accomplish much unless we can address some key underlying causes of distress.
By Norman Solomon
April 3, 2010
Democracy is dangerous — for those who are eager to concentrate power in the hands of a few.
For many years, in California’s legislature, a minority of lawmakers — Republicans enjoying an inordinate proportion of corporate backing — have thwarted moves to boost state revenues with more progressive taxation. The conservative legislators have been able to send the state budget into a tailspin.
Steve Cobble
March 23, 2010
Thanks to Steve Spitz of Virginia PDA, Carol Gay of New Jersey PDA, and Mary Nichols-Rhodes and Michael Carano of Ohio PDA, our “Healthcare Not Warfare” signs were all over Lafayette Park across from the White House on Saturday, as PDAers from VA, DC, MD, NJ & OH (with no doubt others that I missed) joined a couple thousand peace protestors to call for an end to both the occupations of Iraq and Afghanistan.
PDA marchers linked up with Gene Bruskin and U.S. Labor Against the War in the front of the AFL-CIO building for some preliminary speeches, then marched over to nearby Lafayette Park from there.
PDAers also demonstrated Saturday—the 7th anniversary of the start of the Iraq War—in cities and towns around the country—in Northampton, MA, PDA signs were featured prominently on the local news.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Monday, March 15, 2010
UPDATE: Since press release, BBLV have increaed to 89!
Labor and advocacy groups organized “brown bag” lunch vigils against war funding in 22 congressional districts in January and 67 in February. Currently 82 are planned for March 17th, with more being added. Organizations participating include: Progressive Democrats of America (PDA), AfterDowningStreet, the Backbone Campaign, Democrats.com, the California Nurses Association / National Nurses Organizing Committee, Healthcare Now, CodePINK, and United for Peace and Justice.
On March 10th, 65 members of Congress voted to end the occupation of Afghanistan. Yet only 14 have publicly committed to voting No on funding the same war. A $33 billion supplemental spending bill for the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq is expected to be voted on in April or May. Brownbaggers are asking members of the House to publicly commit to voting No on any bills that fund wars, and to publicly urge their colleagues and the House leadership to make the same commitment. As lesser steps in the same direction, the Brown Bag Vigils are encouraging congress members to cosponsor HR 2454, calling for an exit strategy from Afghanistan, and HR 3699, prohibiting any increase in the number of U.S. Armed Forces in Afghanistan. Congress members’ commitments are tracked at http://defundwar.org .
Vigil participants, who support a shift in resources from warfare to healthcare, are also asking their representatives to join the growing movement calling for “Medicare for All” by demanding passage of the Kucinich amendment facilitating state-level single-payer healthcare and by offering their support to single-payer efforts moving forward in state legislatures, including in California, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Maine, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania.
Accountability and Justice Issue Organizing Team conference call, 3/10/10
Over 80 PDA members joined this special call with Guest David Cobb, attorney and Green Party activist and a founder of Move to Amend, which has as its goal amending the constitution so that human beings—not corporations—have rights. David laid out the problem by defining corporate personhood and gave background on the constitutional amendment granting corporations the same rights as people, and brought the group to the present time, with the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission, which, by confirming corporate personhood opened the door to unlimited corporate influence over elections and our government.
David answered the questions submitted in the PDA chatroom, giving generously of his time in this call that ran over its usual hour. David also participated in after-call dialog in the chatroom, which had lively activity among its participants, both developing questions for David and generating discussion within the group.
Elliott Gould warns us not to believe the myths about single payer health care. “Single payer is no more socialized medicine than the police department is socialized crime fighting,” he says. California OneCare is publicly financed, privately delivered health care, and poll after poll has shown
Senator Mark Leno, author of Senate Bill 810, says that it’s time for Californians to be innovators once again. We can become the first state to enact a publicly funded, privately delivered single payer health care system that will cover everybody and save money.
Mark Leno
February 18, 2010, San Fransisco, CA
Published by The San Fransisco Chronicle
As outraged families and small businesses react to the latest health insurance premium increases, Californians are forced to face the fact that insurance companies are not in business to provide health care to people who need it. Premium increases are just part of the concerns—pre-existing condition denials, overturned doctors’ decisions, coverage rescissions and other insurance industry abuses are sadly commonplace.
It is impossible to make a profit serving customers who are likely to cost the insurer more than the premiums they pay. This means that if any one of us gets seriously sick or injured, we become an undesirable customer to health insurers. That’s the message Anthem Blue Cross sent to millions of Californians when it increased premiums by up to 39 percent. The insurer clearly doesn’t care if it loses these customers.
Conor Boylan, National Field Director, Progressive Democrats of America speaks with host Norman Solomon about current activism on behalf of progressive political agendas in the United States.
COMMUNITY FORUM
When
Feb 03, 2010
07:00 PM to 09:00 PM
Where
Santa Rosa City Council Chambers,
100 Santa Rosa Avenue
Contact Jake Bayless
It’s clear new digital media have disrupted the traditional media landscape. It’s often less clear how new media can help local communities become informed and engaged in civic life. GoLocal and Empire Report ask you to join local media, governmental officials, and community leaders to discuss how new media can inform and engage our local communities.
By Norman Solomon
Marin IJ
February 2, 2010
WHEN A LARGE crowd gathered at the Sausalito Cruising Club to watch the inauguration of Barack Obama, euphoria was in the air.
Many of us there had worked hard to make the historic moment possible. On that bright winter morning, we were proud, excited and hopeful.
Fifty-four weeks later, the mood is very different.
By Richard Halstead
Marin IJ
January 27, 2010
Marin residents who listened to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Wednesday included a progressive Democrat, who disliked many of the president’s policy prescriptions, and two Republicans, who admire many of those same policies but doubt Obama’s sincerity.
“The speech was nice but reflected deteriorating policies,” said Norman Solomon, a West Marin author and progressive activist.
Referring to Obama’s proposal for a three-year budget freeze, Solomon said, “Now he’s not only a military hawk in Afghanistan, he’s also become a deficit hawk with the domestic budget. This is exactly the wrong direction in terms of job creation. FDR would be rolling over in his grave.”
And that was not all that rankled Solomon.
We are an affiliated chapter of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA)
MOVIE NIGHT!
The Most Dangerous Man in America: Daniel Ellsberg and the Pentagon Papers
NOTE: Early start time for Wednesday’s meeting. Agenda to include brief updates on PDA & PDSonoma campaigns, actions and announcements, followed by our featured movie!
PDSonoma meets the 2nd Wednesday of every month except December.
New Members and Guests Always Welcome!
Refreshments can be ordered and enjoyed in our meeting room. Please arrive early if you wish to order refreshments.
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