Progressive Democrats Sonoma County

To: Rep. Mike Thompson
From: Constituents of Congressional District 5

Re: Social Security, Tax, and Healthcare
May 15, 2013

Representative Thompson,

We are voters in your Congressional District, writing to urge you to oppose cuts to essential programs, as well as support common sense tax policies and job creation, as well as expanded, improved healthcare. Specifically, we ask you to:

Sign on to the Grayson/Takano “Line in the Sand” dear colleague letter pledging to vote against any cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits.

Cosponsor H.R. 1579: The Inclusive Prosperity Act — also known as the Financial Speculation Tax (FST) or Robin Hood Tax (RHT)—which would generate hundreds of $billions to fund job creation, jumpstart the economy, and protect essential programs. Lead sponsor: Rep. Keith Ellison.

To: Rep. Huffman
From: Constituents of Congressional District 2

Re: Social Security, Tax, and Healthcare
May 15, 2013

Representative Huffman,

We are voters in your Congressional District, writing to urge you to oppose cuts to essential programs, as well as support common sense tax policies and job creation, as well as expanded, improved healthcare. Specifically, we ask you to:

Sign on to the Grayson/Takano “Line in the Sand” dear colleague letter pledging to vote against any cuts to Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits. Your pledge to vote against ‘chained CPI’ benefit cuts is appropriate and we strongly urge you to make a similar commitment to vote against any legislation or measure which would cut Medicare or Medicaid benefits.

‘Circling the wagons’

In their eagerness to defend Congressman Jared Huffman (Marin Voice, April 28), Marin County Democratic Party chair Paul Cohen and his Sonoma County counterpart Stephen Gale didn’t seem to grasp that my book they quoted from, “The Power of Babble,” was a satire — critiquing rather than advocating.

If Cohen and Gale were around in the 18th century, they might have accused Jonathan Swift of advising rich landowners to fatten up poor children and eat them.

Such silly distortion is predictable when party officials are circling the wagons against open debate among fellow Democrats.

Several thousand of Huffman’s constituents wrote letters or signed petitions urging him to commit to voting against cuts in Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid benefits. Huffman first indignantly declared that he wouldn’t make any “pledge” — but later put out a news release that announced his pledge to vote against any cuts in Social Security benefits.

That’s a good step. Now he should make a similar commitment on Medicaid and Medicare benefits.

Norman Solomon, Inverness

——
Published in the Marin Readers’ Forum for May 5: MarinIJ.com

BILL FLETCHER JR. will speak about the future of the labor movement and his new book: They’re Bankrupting Us and 20 Other Myths About Unions

Labor and human rights activist Bill Fletcher Jr. will discuss his new book, “They’re Bankrupting Us, and 20 Other Myths about Unions,” and reflect upon the state of the American labor movement. He will be joined by young organizers who will describe current union and immigrant rights organizing campaigns in the North Bay and a dialogue will follow.

The event is free and wheelchair accessible. Coffee and dessert will be provided. Please call 707-623-7395 for more information.

Presented by The Living Wage Coalition / Jobs With Justice Organizing Committee & CoSponsored by: SEIU 1021, North Bay Labor Council, North Bay Organizing Project, Project Censored, Progressive Democrats Sonoma County, MoveOn, UNITE HERE 2850, Graton Day Labor Center, Committee on Immigrant Rights, Peace and Justice Center of Sonoma County, and California Healthy Communities Network

Bill Fletcher, Jr., is a longtime labor, racial justice and international activist. He is an Editorial Board member and columnist for BlackCommentator.com and a Senior Scholar for the Institute for Policy Studies in Washington, DC. He is the immediate past president of TransAfrica Forum and a founder of the Black Radical Congress and is an Advisory Board member of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA).

Fletcher is the co-author (with Fernando Gapasin) of Solidarity Divided, The Crisis in Organized Labor and A New Path Toward Social Justice (University of California Press). He was formerly the Vice President for International Trade Union Development Programs for the George Meany Center of the AFL-CIO. Prior the George Meany Center, Fletcher served as Education Director and later Assistant to the President of the AFL-CIO.

Fletcher got his start in the labor movement as a rank and file member of the Industrial Union of Marine and Shipbuilding Workers of America. Combining labor and community work, he was also involved in ongoing efforts to desegregate the Boston building trades. He later served in leadership and staff positions in District 65-United Auto Workers, National Postal Mail Handlers Union and Service Employees International Union (SEIU).

Fletcher is a graduate of Harvard University and has authored numerous articles and speaks widely on domestic and international topics, racial justice and labor issues.

To: Representative Huffman
From: Constituents of CD-2

Fairness and Prosperity, Not Austerity
April 17, 2013

Representative Huffman,

Many of our members are voters in your District, and supporters of Progressive Democrats of America. We’re writing to urge your support for legislation to promote economic growth and lower the deficit through fair budget policies and job creation, as well as to protect voting rights and end the War in Afghanistan.

Specifically, we call upon you to:

Sign the Grayson/Takano Letter: a “dear colleague” letter pledging to vote against any legislation or measure which would cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits. Your recent press release, pledging to vote against ‘chained CPI’ cuts to Social Security benefits, though delayed, was appreciated. We call upon you to make a similar commitment to vote against any legislation or measure which would cut Medicare or Medicaid benefits.

To: Representative Mike Thompson
From: Constituents of CD-5

Fairness and Prosperity, Not Austerity
April 17, 2013

Representative Thompson,

We are voters in your Congressional District, and supporters of Progressive Democrats of America. We’re writing to urge your support for legislation to promote economic growth and lower the deficit through fair budget policies and job creation, as well as to protect voting rights and end the War in Afghanistan.

Specifically, we call upon you to:

Sign the Grayson/Takano Letter: a “dear colleague” letter pledging to vote against any legislation or measure which would cut Social Security, Medicare or Medicaid benefits.

by Norman Solomon
Common Dreams
April 10, 2013

For progressives, there’s not a lot to be gained by venting against Obama without working to implement a plausible strategy for ousting corporate war Democrats from state power

***
The story goes that some mice became very upset about the cat in the house and convened an emergency meeting. They finally came up with the idea of tying a bell around the cat’s neck, so the dangerous feline could no longer catch victims unawares. The plan gained a lot of enthusiastic praise, until one mouse piped up with a question that preceded a long silence: “Who’s going to bell the cat?”

In recent days, the big cat in the White House has provoked denunciations from groups that have rarely crossed him. They’re upset about his decision to push for cuts in Social Security benefits. “Progressive outrage has reached a boiling point,” the online juggernaut MoveOn declared a few days ago.

Obama’s move to cut Social Security is certainly outrageous, and it’s encouraging that a wide range of progressive groups are steamed at Obama as never before. But this kind of outrage should have reached a “boiling point” a long time ago. The administration’s undermining of civil liberties, scant action on climate change, huge escalation of war in Afghanistan, expansion of drone warfare, austerity policies serving Wall Street and shafting Main Street, vast deference to corporate power. . . The list is long and chilling.

For progressives, there’s not a lot to be gained by venting against Obama without working to implement a plausible strategy for ousting corporate war Democrats from state power.

So is the evasive record of many groups that are now denouncing Obama’s plan to cut Social Security. Mostly, their leaders griped in private and made nice with the Obama White House in public.

Yet imagine if those groups had polarized with President Obama in 2009 on even a couple of key issues. ...

Read the rest here

Why isn’t Rep. Jared Huffman promising to defend Social Security and Medicare?

by Alice Chan
Bohemian.com – Open Mic
March 27, 2013

Last week, a Press Democrat editorial praised Rep. Jared Huffman for refusing to join colleagues who have promised to “vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid or Social Security benefits—including raising the retirement age or cutting the cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and need.”

What’s going on here? On Feb. 28, I joined a group of a dozen constituents meeting with Huffman’s district director, urging the congressmember to sign a letter initiated by Representatives Alan Grayson and Mark Takano. That letter includes a promise to vote against any cuts to benefits in those three vital programs.

Why did we request that our congressmember sign this letter? Republicans and some Democrats in Washington are pushing for cuts to Social Security benefits in cost of living adjustments, as well as raising the Medicare eligibility age. Those changes would directly affect the most vulnerable among us—the elderly and others with low and moderate income, who rely on these earned benefits to provide the basic necessities of life.

What was Huffman’s response? On his Facebook page a few days later, he stated: “I won’t be bullied from the left or the right into signing Norquistian vote pledges to outside groups.”

— Petition Statement —
Rep. Huffman: Please commit to protecting these vital programs from benefit cuts. Sign the Grayson-Takano letter now.
— CLICK HERE to sign the petition.

Come see …

THE HEALTHCARE MOVIE
Narrated by Keifer Sutherland

This unique 65-minute documentary tells the real story of how the health care system in Canada turned out to be so completely different from that in the United States, given that at one point they were essentially the same:
• How it originated
• How it works for ordinary Canadians
• How it is paid for
• How it compares to its American counterpart

Movie will be followed by discussion to explore questions about healthcare in California:
• What does the new national Affordable Care Act (ACA) mean for health care reform in California?
• How can California make healthcare accessible and affordable for everyone?

Thursday, April 25, 2013
7:00 – 9:00 pm

Rialto Theater
6868 McKinley Street
Sebastopol, California

All tickets are $7.00

Purchasing tickets in advance is advised Tickets available at the Rialto Theater box office, or on-line after April 1st at www.rialtocinemas.com (with on-line processing fee of $1.00), or by sending a check payable to Rialto Theater, to: Stan Gold at 615 King Road, Petaluma, CA 94952-1009 (please include your phone number).

If you are unable to pay for the price of admission, please send confidential e-mail to: Stan Gold: sngold AT juno.com for a complimentary ticket.

All proceeds will be used for education purposes by Physicians for a National Health Program.

Introduction:7:00 p.m.
Screening: 7:05 p.m.
Discussion, Q&A: 8:10 p.m.

Co-Sponsors: Physicians for a National Health Program (PNHP), California Nurses Association (CNA), League of Women Voters of Sonoma County (LWV), Healthcare for All – Sonoma County Chapter (HCA-CA), Progressive Democrats Sonoma County (PDA Chapter) —Partial List.

Please share the attached flyer with your friends and contact organizations: social, business, religious, political, and professional. And of course, please share the info about this movie via e-mail, facebook, twitter, etc. Thank you!

March 12, 2013

An e-mail sent out by Coalition for Grassroots Progress, today …

Thousands of constituents have put their names on petitions urging new Congressman Jared Huffman to sign a letter making a crucial commitment: “We will vote against any and every cut to Medicare, Medicaid, or Social Security benefits — including raising the retirement age or cutting the cost of living adjustments that our constituents earned and need.”

But Huffman is saying he has no intention of signing that congressional letter — or making that firm commitment.

Read the Rest Here

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Balance for Our Families and Our Economy
February 20, 2013

Dear Representative Huffman,

We are writing in support of legislation to promote economic growth, protect voting rights, end the war, and lower the deficit.

The Balancing Act (H.R. 505) proposed by the Congressional Progressive Caucus would provide relief to American families, and reduce the long-term Federal deficit in a fair and balanced way by balancing budget cuts and revenues—closing loopholes and making sure the Pentagon and the nation’s biggest corporations do their part—and by putting $800 in the pockets of every family this year. It would create more than 1 million jobs by investing in infrastructure, and by keeping 280,000 teachers in our classrooms.

Healthcare NOT Warfare! Members of Progressive Democrats Sonoma County out on the sidewalk with the Nurses, January 17, 2013.
___
CLICK HERE to view more pictures from the event.

This article originally appeared in the November 26, 2012 edition of The Nation magazine.

by NORMAN SOLOMON

Millions of Americans are eager, even desperate, for a political movement that truly challenges the power of Wall Street and the Pentagon. But accommodation has been habit-forming for many left-leaning organizations, which are increasingly taking their cues from the party establishment: deferring to top Democrats in Washington, staying away from robust progressive populism, and making excuses for the Democratic embrace of corporate power and perpetual war.

It’s true that many left-of-center groups are becoming more sophisticated in their use of digital platforms for messaging, fundraising and other work. But it’s also true that President Obama’s transactional approach has had demoralizing effects on his base. Even the best resources—mobilized by unions, environmental groups, feminist organizations and the like—can do only so much when many voters and former volunteers are inclined to stay home. A month before the 2010 election, Obama strategist David Axelrod noted that “almost the entire Republican margin is based on the enthusiasm gap.” A similar gap made retaking the House a long shot this year.

SONOMA COUNTY GAZETTE
November 7, 2012

By Julie Barlow, Flight Nurse
RN, MS, CEN, CCRN, CFRN, ACNP-BC

SRMH NURSES ARE STRIKING FOR PATIENT SAFETY

The Santa Rosa Memorial nurses are striking again today. Do not be fooled into thinking that these strikes are about salary increases. The strike is about the health and safety of this community.

The truth is that we have worked short staffed for years. We don’t get breaks. Working 12-hour shifts in the third busiest trauma center in the state is exhausting: mentally, physically, and emotionally. Working short staffed, without breaks, and above state mandated staffing ratios is dangerous and leads to medical errors. This has led to serious safety issues for patients. Over the last two years, the hospital has been investigated for many safety violations. We are asking for safe staffing, safe ratios, and safe breaks.

Read the Rest Here

October 2, 2012

Nurses at Santa Rosa Memorial Hospital voted on Monday by a huge, overwhelming margin to reject the Hospital’s proposals to date, and to strike as of 5 am October 2nd until 5 am on Thursday October 4th. Picket hours are from 5 am to 9 pm on Oct. 2nd. Picket hours on Oct. 3 are 6 am to 9 pm. See you on the picket line. SOLIDARITY!
MAP

Originally published by the Press Democrat
by Norman Solomon

On a recent day in Petaluma, two very different events spotlighted grim results of upside-down priorities from the federal government.

Upwards of 600 people gathered for an early breakfast at the Veterans Memorial Hall to raise money for the Committee on the Shelterless (COTS), a nonprofit organization that last year sheltered nearly 2,000 individuals, served more than 127,000 hearty meals and distributed 800,000 pounds of food to the needy.

We heard moving stories about — and from — people whose lives have been transformed by active compassion, generosity and their own hard work. But, as speakers lamented, COTS must turn away many who need help.

Read the Full Story Here

Dear Friends,

The United Farm Workers are now in their 8th day of their 187-mile journey from Madera to Sacramento. This march is intended to put pressure on Governor Brown to pass new legislation to protect farm workers. Since Governor Brown vetoed the Farm Worker Protection Act just two months ago, THREE farm workers have died in the fields. Sadly, this kind of information rarely makes the news cycle.

We have a wonderful opportunity to show solidarity with our farm worker brothers and sisters in Sacramento as they complete their historic march. There will be a UFW bus caravan leaving from Santa Rosa this Sunday, September 4, and arriving at Southside Park in Sacramento where we will greet the marchers. We will all take the final steps to the Capitol together and join a huge rally in support of Farm Worker Protection. After the rally, the buses return to Santa Rosa. Here are the details:

By Donna Smith, National Co-chair, Healthcare Not Warfare

In more than 60 locations from Maine to California, the 170,000 registered nurse members of National Nurses United will be hosting events aimed at healing the damage done on Main Streets all over America by Wall Street’s special interests.

Read the Full Story & Find Locations Here