Stay Tuned for Program Details!
PDSonoma meets the 2nd Wednesday of every month except December.
New Members and Guests Always Welcome!
Truthtellers
Mourn Granny D.; Then Organize for Clean Politics
John Nichols
March 11, 2010
Join PDA’s Clean, Fair, Transparent Elections Issue Organizing Team (IOT); learn more here .
Local Focus: Join the IOT above & then Help get the CA Fair Elections Act passed in June election!; learn more here
Published by The Nation.
Doris “Granny D” Haddock, whose 3,200-mile walk across the United States at the age of 90 drew thousands of activists into the movement for political reform, has died Tuesday evening at the age of 100.
The Dublin, New Hampshire, grandmother’s death came ten years and ten days after she finished the remarkable two-year walk, which she undertook to promote the passage of campaign finance reform legislation (in particular the McCain-Feingold Campaign Finance Reform law).
The Agitator: Voices of PDA Episode 3
In the third installment of the Agitator Voices of PDA, Tim Carpenter interviews two PDA Advisory board members. Get the lowdown from the always witty and cheeky Jim Hightower. Following Jim, hear Rep. Donna Edwards inside-the-beltway perspective on Healthcare NOT Warfare.
War Politics: Numb and Number
Norman Solomon
February 25, 2010
Take Action: Tell Congress Stop funding war
Playwright Lillian Hellman said: “I cannot and will not cut my conscience to fit this year’s fashions.”
The statement was in a letter to the House Un-American Activities Committee. The year was 1952. We tell ourselves that the McCarthy era was vastly different than our own—but what about the political fashions of 2010?
This year’s fashions cut mean figures on Washington’s runways. Conformities lie, and people die.
A Mother's Personal Mission: Healthcare Not Warfare
Donna Smith
February 17, 2010
Join PDA’s Healthcare for All Issue Organizing Team (IOT); learn more here
This week, the Healthcare Not Warfare campaign I help co-chair for Progressive Democrats of America becomes even more deeply personal for me. My son leaves for his volunteer tour of duty in Afghanistan. And I won’t be there to say goodbye. Because I advocate a position of peace, my son believes my priorities are off kilter, and for some time now he has believed that he goes to war so whiners at home can keep griping about less critical concerns—like healthcare or economic justice.
As is sadly the case with many parents and grown children, my son and I do not see eye-to-eye and that causes a distance of the heart that hurts everyone involved. Though separated, we are both on a mission.
FOCUS ON THE FAMILY - Non Super Bowl Ad
Ned Buratovich
February 6, 2010
There is plenty of controversy over the Focus on the Family “Celebrate Family, Celebrate Life” ad that will be broadcast during the Super Bowl tomorrow. I don’t know if Superbowl-Ads.com is an official site, but they have an article there echoing some very nice sentiments by Focus on the Family about “sharing respect for life and passion for helping families thrive.”
It seems to me that Focus on the Family has an overly narrow idea of which lives to respect and which families should thrive. This FotF exclusionary narrow mindedness has been discussed to death by pundits far more articulate than I. I just want to make sure that all the lives and families that upstanding, moral citizens have conveniently ignored don’t get forgotten this Super Bowl Sunday. So, rather than drone on and on with more verbal commentary, I created my own Hey, let’s not forget what’s happening over here! competing Super Bowl Ad
CLICK HERE TO VIEW THE AD and read the full story . Includes ideas and instructions for distributing this alternative ‘ad’.
Progressives and the Democratic Party
Real News Network
February 6, 2010
Former PDA Advisory Board member Jeff Cohen is the founding director of the Park Center for Independent Media and endowed chair/associate professor of journalism at Ithaca College. In this interview, Cohen discusses progressives and the Democratic Party in light of the current politcal landscape.
PART ONE:
Don’t Call It a 'Defense' Budget
Norman Solomon
February 2, 2010
Take Action: Eat lunch for peace—become a brown-bagger
This isn’t “defense.”
The new budget from the White House will push U.S. military spending well above $2 billion a day.
Foreclosing the future of our country should not be confused with defending it.
“Unless miraculous growth, or miraculous political compromises, creates some unforeseen change over the next decade, there is virtually no room for new domestic initiatives for Mr. Obama or his successors,” the New York Times reports this morning (February 2)
Congressman Payne: I Won't Oppose War Money Because Obama's President
David Swanson
January 31, 2010, New Brunswick, NJ
Take Action: Tell Congress Stop funding war
My encounter with Congressman Payne at the PDA-NJ Statewide Conference
Congressman Donald Payne (D., N.J.) has voted against war funding bills for years. Last summer he was one of 32 heroes to vote No under intense pressure from the White House to vote Yes. When I asked him a couple of years ago to sign onto impeaching Bush he immediately said “Sure!” and he did it.
Today I asked him if he would commit to voting No on the next $33 billion for war. I asked him privately, just after he’d given a long speech to a Progressive Democrats of America conference in New Jersey, a speech about how much he opposes the wars.
In Marin, some see Obama speech as political switcheroo -- Marin IJ
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.
Karen Bernal interviewed on BBC radio!
BBC World Service
http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/p005td2n
The Program is 53 mins long, and Karen’s segment is from 27:05 – 31.35 .
Karen is the PDA Northern CA Co-Coordinator and is Chair of the CDP Progressive Caucus.
Democrats Boosting Right-Wing Populism
Norman Solomon
January 20, 2010
In his triumphant speech on election night, the next senator from Massachusetts should have thanked top Democrats in Washington for all they did to make his victory possible.
For a year now, leading Democrats have steadily embraced more corporate formulas for “healthcare reform.” In the name of political realism, they have demobilized and demoralized the Democratic base. In the process, they’ve fueled right-wing populism.
The Democratic leadership on healthcare and so much else—including bank bailouts, financial services, foreclosures and foreign policy—has been so corporate that Republicans have found it easy to play populist.
PDA Replies to Lynn Woolsey
January 15, 2010
The following is the PDA reply to Lynn Woolsey’s response to the January 13 open letter concerning Woolsey’s scheduled appearance at a fundraising event for Jane Harman:
Dear Lynn,
Thank you for your letter, which we’re sending to PDA members and other progressives along with this response.
No effort to sugarcoat Jane Harman’s political record can change the realities that are overwhelmingly in sync with a salient pair of facts: In Congress, she is not a member of the Progressive Caucus. She is a member of the Blue Dog Coalition.
Audio: David Swanson in Santa Rosa, CA
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PDA Board member David Swanson speaking about his new book DAYBREAk: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union on Jan. 13 as part of a nationwide book tour.
More info about the book can be found here: http://davidswanson.org/book
David Swanson on the Imperial Presidency and Your Activism
published at CommonSense2.com
“The people who brought women the right to vote never saw women vote. The people who sought an end to slavery never saw slavery end. The people most responsible for every huge social justice cause in this country or any other simply did their moral duty with their colleagues and enjoyed it till the day they died. It’s not that they didn’t want to succeed, but they didn’t have to know that they were about to succeed in order to do it. ...... Let’s save our pessimism for better times. There’s no excuse for it.”
CommonSense2 Editor — Activist David Swanson recently appeared at Kutztown University in an event hosted by the Kutztown Democratic Club as part of a book tour to promote his new book, Daybreak: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union. I found David’s commentary to be compelling in many areas, but liked especially the part on why you should continue your activism. I hope you find reading his lecture as intriguing as I did hearing it. ....
David on the Constitution
David: What is Article one of the United States Constitution about?
Someone in the crowd shouts: Congress!
David: Congress! Smart crowd. Yes. I’ve heard the president. I’ve heard the military. Free speech, etc. But it’s about Congress. It’s the first 60% of a very short document. It is the first branch of our government. It is the branch to which goes every power they could dream up. Very limited power goes to the Executive in Article II, and limited power to the Judicial branch in Article III. Congress was overwhelmingly the seat of power in our government. And above all the House of Representatives. The Legislature is the branch that had to be divided into two chambers, and the House of Representatives was to be the part of our government closest to us. The most representative of us and therefore the part of our government that should initiate any bills. They should have the power of impeachment over the other branches. The seat of our government’s power.
Daybreak Book Tour Comes to Sonoma County, JAN 13 -- Meet and Hear David Swanson in Person!
PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS SONOMA COUNTY PRESENTS
DAVID SWANSON, author of
DAYBREAK: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 – 7:00 PM
The Glaser Center
547 Mendocino Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA
Donations accepted at the door, sliding scale $5-$20; no one turned away ** Doors Open – 6:30 p.m. ** Light refreshments available
We are very pleased to present author and activist David Swanson at this talk and book-signing event in Santa Rosa.
HOW THE BUSH YEARS FUNDAMENTALLY CHANGED US GOVERNMENT AND WHAT AMERICA MUST DO TO RECONSTITUTE DEMOCRACY
Resolutions, Not Hopes
David Swanson
January 1, 2010
Published by AfterDowningStreet.org .
I resolve to do everything in my ability, while preserving my power to continue in future years, to reverse the destruction of the environment, the proliferation of weapons and wars, and the concentration of wealth.
I resolve neither to panic nor to behave as if we have a moment to lose.
I resolve neither to be gratuitously rude nor to value politeness above life-saving actions.
I resolve not to discriminate for or against elected officials or candidates on the basis of political party.
I resolve not to support or participate in any activist organization that is not internally democratic or which takes its agenda from public servants rather than from the public.
Missed Opportunity, big time.
By Stan Gold
December 18, 2009
In response to Howard Dean’s Washington Post article condemning the Senate healthcare bill
Alas, Howard Dean’s observations, analysis, and righteous indignation come too late. Dean, himself, must shoulder some of the responsibility for the dreadful fiasco that is being played out by Democrats in the U.S. Senate. About a year ago Howard Dean turned his back on an opportunity to voice support for Congressman John Conyers’ bill, HR-676, single payer healthcare. Standing with Dean in opposition to HR-676 were MoveOn.org, Democracy for America, other “progressive” organizations, and President Barack Obama.
Never mind that HR-676 already had close to 90 co-sponsors in the House. Never mind that all polls showed that Americans were overwhelmingly ready to support a government health program. Never mind that every major labor union (AFL-CIO, Steelworkers, etc), Progressive Democrats of America, Physicians for a National Health Plan, the California Nurses Association, and thousands of faith based and community groups supported HR-676. These people were Obama’s “core”!
Flares in the Political Dark
Norman Solomon
December 22, 2009
The winter solstice of 2009 arrived as a grim metaphor for the current politics of healthcare, war and a lot more. “In a dark time,” wrote the poet Theodore Roethke, “the eye begins to see.”
After a year of escalation in Afghanistan, solicitude toward Wall Street and the incredible shrinking healthcare reform, we ought to be able to see that the biggest problem among progressives has been undue deference to the Obama administration.
In recent months, the responses from the progressive base to the Obama presidency have often resembled stages of grief—with rotations of denial, bargaining, anger, depression and acceptance.
Mobilization of progressive movements to pressurize Obama in the White House and Democrats on Capitol Hill has always been essential. It hasn’t happened. Instead, among Democratic loyalists, reflexive support for the latest line from the administration has made it easier for Obama to move rightward.
David Swanson in Santa Rosa on Jan. 13!
You are invited to join us for a very special evening with
David Swanson, author of
DAYBREAK: Undoing the Imperial Presidency and Forming a More Perfect Union
Wednesday, January 13, 2010 – 7:00 PM
The Glaser Center
547 Mendocino Ave.
Santa Rosa, CA
PDSonoma County is very pleased to present author and activist David Swanson at this talk and book-signing event in Santa Rosa.
Donations accepted at the door, sliding scale $5-$20; no one turned away. Doors Open – 6:30 p.m.
Light refreshments available
| Attachment | Size |
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| Swanson_event.pdf | 116.43 KB |
Unemployment Insurance in a War Bill
David Swanson
December 12, 2009
Join PDA’s End War and Occupations, Redirect Funding Issue Organizing Team (IOT); learn more here.
Published by AfterDowningStreet.
Sometimes it’s relief for victims of Hurricane Katrina, sometimes it’s hate crimes legislation, sometimes it’s education funding for veterans. One day soon it will be free kittens for children with cancer. It’s always something. It’s always something that could pass just fine on its own. But it’s included as lipstick on the recurring and ever-fattening pigs of U.S. politics: war funding bills.
Next week, the warfunding bill that was passed in June will come up for a final vote, as part of a larger military bill that is part of a still larger spending package. How would any member of Congress dare to vote against such a thing? Well, just in case any of them might begin to consider it, our congressional “leaders” will include in the war funding bill a special treat: funding for unemployment insurance (plus possibly COBRA health and food stamp benefits, tax breaks for small businesses, and funding for state and local governments). How’s that for alluring lipstick?
Rep. Kucinich Rebukes Obama: "Once We Believe In The Inevitability Of War, War Becomes A Self-Fulfilling Prophecy."
Following a speech on the floor of the House of Representatives, Congressman Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) today released the following statement:
“Yesterday, our president mused about the inevitability of war, war’s instrumentality in the pursuit of peace and just wars. It is important for us to reflect on his words, because once we believe in the inevitability of war, war becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy. Once we are committed to war’s instrumentality in pursuit of peace, we begin the Orwellian journey to the semantic netherworld where War IS Peace, where the momentum of war overwhelms hopes for peace. And once we wrap doctrines perpetuating war in the arms of justice, we can easily legitimate the wholesale slaughter of innocents. The war against Iraq was based on lies. Wars in Afghanistan and Pakistan are based on flawed doctrines of counter-insurgency. War is often not just; sometimes it is just war. And our ability to rethink the terms of our existence, to explore the possibility of peace without war, may well determine whether we end war, or war ends us.”
