Progressive Democrat Issue 59: THOUGHTS

Last week I wrote about how 2005 was a turning point in the Republican take over of the nation. Well, 2006 is already showing signs of bringing even more woes to the attempts by unAmerican Republicans to turn this nation into a one-party dictatorship. The scandals I have been covering for months now are starting to really bite the Republicans in their behinds.

Hurricane Abramoff has hit Washington, DC and the Republicans are trying desperately to spin it their way. But what is becoming clear to all but the most blind American is that the claim that the Republicans are somehow the "moral party" is one of the biggest lies in American History. Calvin Coolidge, Teddy Roosevelt and Dwight Eisenhaur are spinning in their graves seeing what a nasty, scandal-ridden bunch of Chickenhawks their party has become.

This issue is dedicated to covering Republican scandals. Make sure you write plenty of letters to the editor expressing your disgust at the corruption of Bush and his Halliburton Republicans.

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: CORRUPTION: HURRICANE ABRAMOFF

Lobbyist Jack Abramoff, who is at the center of a whirlwind of Republican corruption, has reached a plea agreement wherein he will plead guilty in exchange for his testimony against his former business and political colleagues. This could blow up big time for the Republican party. This could be the final curtain pulled back, revealing the true sleaze of Bush's modern day, Halliburton-Republicans. From Tom DeLay (R-TX) to Conrad Burns (R-MO) the Republican party leadership can't escape this one unless the media really helps them spin it into obscurity. We are the ones who have to prevent that.

Here is a good summary of the Abramhoff/Republican scandal. Read up on it if you like.

And here is a good summary from Daily Kos.

One way the Republicans are already trying to spin it is the "Democrats Did it Too" defense. First of all, this is the lamest excuse in the book and shows just how desperate they are. Who cares if the Democrats did it too? We want corruption rooted out and right now the deepest roots of corruption seem to be in the Republican Party, but ALL corruption should be rooted out. The Republicans seem to be soft on corruption and it is time to call them on it. But there is another problem with the whining "Democrats Did it Too" defense. It isn't true in this case. THe claim going around the right wing media is that Abramhoff donated to both parties. Truth is, not one Democrat received money directly from Abramhoff. This is a REPUBLICAN scandal. Media Matters has good coverage of the Republican lie that Abramhoff gave to both parties.

In 2005 the increasing Iraq quagmire and the revalation, due to hurricane Katrina, of the callous disregard the Republicans have for American lives were major turning points against the Republicans. Regular readers of this blog know that scandals have been percolating around as well, tarnishing the "Republicans as the 'moral' party" myth. But the Abramhoff plea deal may represent yet another turning point against the Republicans. They are losing the war on terrorism, they are failing to protect American lives...and now it is becoming clear that they are failing to uphold even the most basic of moral principles. The Republican failures are piling up and America is taking notice.

Keep the momentum going. Write to Congress and demand an independent investigation into the Abramhoff scandal. And more importantly, write the media, both national and local, demanding that the Republican party clean house. Demand the resignation of Tom DeLay, Conrad Burns and all other Republicans who directly received money through Abramhoff. Make sure you express your disgust at the corruption of the Republican party.

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: CORRUPTION: A COMPARISON

I have been hearing an increasing claim on the part of the Republicans that their own corruption is okay because Democrats do it too. Well, first of all, that is so cynical and amoral it is disgusting. I condemn Democratic corruption as well as Republican. The Republicans SHOULD be trying to weed out the corrupt Republicans, but instead they stand behind them NO MATTER WHAT! There is also a claim that the Abramhoff scandal in particular taints both parties. Well, that is not really true! This is from Truthout:

US President George W. Bush calls indicted lobbyist Jack Abramoff "an equal money dispenser" who helped politicians of both parties. Campaign donation records show Republicans were a lot more equal than Democrats. Between 2001 and 2004, Abramoff gave more than $127,000 to Republican candidates and committees and nothing to Democrats, federal records show. At the same time, his Indian clients were the only ones among the top 10 tribal donors in the US to donate more money to Republicans than Democrats...

Scanlon, Abramoff's former partner, has pleaded guilty to attempted fraud and corruption of public officials and is cooperating with the Justice Department's investigation. His plea agreement refers to efforts to corrupt US lawmakers, including a "Representative No. 1," identified by lawyers in the case as Ohio Republican Robert Ney.

The other names most frequently mentioned in connection with Abramoff are both Republicans: DeLay, a one-time friend who has cut off contact with the lobbyist, and Senator Conrad Burns of Montana. Burns, who is facing criticism in his home state for being the top recipient of Abramoff-related donations, said on Dec. 16 he planned to give back to the tribes about $150,000 in contributions from Abramoff, his associates and tribal clients.

So the Abramhoff scandal is SOLIDLY a REPUBLICAN scandal. Any claims to the contrary are quite simply wrong.

But Democrats CAN be corrupt. As I have written on this blog, my local Brooklyn Democratic Party machine is a prime example of corruption. But there is a difference, and I am not just making excuses. The Republicans seem to wallow in their corruption and cirlce the wagons around even their most corrupt members (e.g. DeLay, Ney, the Blunts...). In Brooklyn, the former corrupt head of the corrupt county committee was actually brought down by the DA (a fellow Democrat) and a judge (also a fellow Democrat). DEMOCRATS brought down the corrupt head of the DEMOCRATIC party in Brooklyn. Repubolicans don't do that! There is also a reform movement from within the party fighting the corrupt party bosses. I haven't seen that happening in the Republican party to the same degree. They seem much softer on corruption than Democrats. The simple fact of the matter is that BOTH parties can breed corruption, but Democrats are far less tolerant of corruption within their own party while Republicans actually DEFEND their most corrupt members as if they are PROUD of them. Republicans are more tolerant of corruption than Democrats are. That is the bottom line. So when Republicans claim that both parties are corrupt, make sure you point out how weak of a defense that is. That in NO WAY excuses Republican corruption, nor is it really true. Republican corruption is currently the norm, with the military complex and the Republican party engaged in a disgusting dance of corruption that is raping our nation as well as other nations. Democratic corruption is something that the Democratic party actively fights against. I only wish that Republicans were as anti-corruption as my fellow Democrats are.

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: CORRUPTION: Beyond Abramoff

It isn't just the Abramoff scandal. The corruption of the Republican Party goes much deeper. Here is a sumamry of some of what I have been covering on my other blog:

1. TEXAS: Texas Rep. Joe Barton was selected as chairman of the House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee and is using this position to attack climate scientists. But he also received more than $ 200,000 in campaign donations from the oil/gas industry as well as from the electric utility industry, his two top sources of funding. This is a blatant bribe--Barton is a bought-and-sold Republican doing the dirty work of the oil executives in exchange for campaign contributions.

Barton's corruption and attacks on climate scientists are covered in this article from the American Prospect.

2. KENTUCKY: Kentucky’s Republican Governor Ernie Fletcher is under investigation for corruption. AND he is the 5th least popular governor in the nation! What do you know? Americans don’t like corruption! That is why I am focusing so strongly on exposing corrupt Republicans. Corruption in the Repub party is so widespread and so disgusting, it makes America look like a Banana Republic. It is embarrassing to all of us!


Fletcher's administration is suspected of violating the state's merit system laws and using politics as the basis for hiring or firing government employees. In essence, they are going back to the time of the so-called “spoils system” where government firing and hiring was a rewards system for political allies. This was considered unacceptable more than 100 years ago and was ended on the Federal level by the Civil Service Act of 1883 which made it illegal to fill various federal offices by the spoils system. Kentucky also has a “Merit Law” that outlaws the corrupt spoils system. Yet Repub Gov. Fletcher wants to go back to and older time, where corruption was accepted as normal.

3. OHIO: The Republican party of Ohio continues to be the most amazingly corrupt state party I have personally ever heard of. And I mean EVER! I have previously covered the corruption of Ohio Republicans, from Congressman Mike Oxley to Governor Taft to other smaller fish elsewhere on this blog. But things have progressed further. The Governor now faces criminal charges and the Attorney General is in trouble.

Here is a Daily Kos diary on the problems of Governor Taft, drawing from the Columbus Dispatch

4. MISSOURI: Roy Blunt (MO-7) and his son Matt Blunt (Governor of MO) are among the most corrupt politicians in America today. Here are some excerpts from Blunt Facts regarding the corruption of the Blunt family in Missouri politics:

Rep. Roy Blunt (MO-7) tried to help Philip Morris (one of his big donors and employer of his son, Andrew, and his then girlfriend, Abigail Perlman) by inserting a tobacco industry backed provision attacking internet cigarette sales into the, get this, Homeland Security Bill. Matt Blunt, Gov. of Missouri, used taxpayer's money, including Federal money, to urge people to vote. Problem was, he plastered his own name and face all over the ads even though he was a candidate. He used OUR money to plug himself. Out-of-state donors who needed support from Roy Blunt in Congress donated large amounts of money to his son, Matt Blunt's, campaign. Finally, Governor Matt Blunt has tried to prevent the U.S. Attorney's office from investigating his family's scandals by putting the wife of U.S. Attorney Todd Graves (U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Missouri) on the Blunt Family payroll to the tune of a cool half million dollars a year, and he used taxpayer dollars to do it.

5. CALIFORNIA: And let us not forget Rep. Randy Cunningham of California who resigned in disgrace and pleaded guilty to bribary. We all thought this scandal ended with Cunningham's guilty plea. But rumor has it that there is more coming that will be another major blow to the Republican Party. Rumor has it, Cunningham is turning state's evidence and may have worn a wire. We are all wondering who Abramoff will finger. Now we can also speculate on who Cunningham will finger. Hurricane Abramoff may be followed by Hurricane Cunningham.

6. Nationwide Cronyism: And then there was FEMA's Mike Brown, who was appointed to head FEMA as a favor to Bush campaign manager Joe Allbaugh, who, in turn, had been Bush's chief of staff in Texas. The bottom line is Michael Brown had no experience and lied on his biographical report to the Senate when he was nominated. The Senate approved him almost without question. The result: when disaster hit Louisiana and Mississippi, Brown fumbled it so badly that, almost uniquely in the Bush administration of failure, Brown was forced to resign. Had the Senate looked at Brown more carefully, they might have realized he was appointed as a reward to Allbaugh, a political appointment unrelated to merit. As with the scandals in Kentucky, Brown’s appointment was a return to the Spoils System of American government that had been disgraced so long ago. And hundreds, maybe thousands, died because of his incompetence. Corruption kills in Bush America!

This is just a sampling of the disgusting, corrupt politics of the modern Republican party. And none of this Abramoff connected. These are SEPARATE Republican scandals and don't even include Tom DeLay (R-TX), Bob Ney (R-OH) and Conrad Burns (R-MT) who are all looking like they may be brought down by the Abramoff scandal.

So anytime someone tries to say that Democrats are as bad as Republican, remind them of these other scandals.

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: CORRUPTION: CRONY CAPITALISM

Awhile back, the NY Times covered a Pentagon investigation of favoritism in awarding Dick Cheney's favorite company, Halliburton, a multibillion dollar contract for oil field repairs in Iraq. Remember, Halliburton has been given NUMEROUS no-bid contracts in Iraq as well as in New Orleans despite the fact that they had already been fined for overcharging the Federal government for a former contract in Iraq. This is another clear case of favoritism and cronyism in the Bush administration.

Excerpts from the NY Times article via Truthout:

Pentagon investigators have referred allegations of abuse in how the Halliburton Company was awarded a contract for work in Iraq to the Justice Department for possible criminal investigation, a Democratic senator who has been holding unofficial hearings on contract abuses in Iraq said yesterday in Washington.

The allegations mainly involve the Army's secret, noncompetitive awarding in 2003 of a multibillion dollar contract for oil field repairs in Iraq to Halliburton, a Texas-based company. The objections were raised publicly last year by Bunnatine H. Greenhouse, then the chief contracts monitor at the Army Corps of Engineers, the government agency that handled the contract and several others in Iraq.

In a letter received and released yesterday by Senator Byron L. Dorgan, Democrat of North Dakota, the assistant Pentagon inspector general, John R. Crane, said that the criminal investigation service of the Defense Department had examined Ms. Greenhouse's allegations "and has shared its findings with the Department of Justice." Senator Dorgan is the chairman of the Democratic Policy Committee, a Congressional group that has repeatedly used unofficial hearings to question the administration's record of awarding contracts in Iraq...

Ms. Greenhouse, a 20-year veteran of military procurement work, says her objections before the contract was signed were ignored. After internal clashes with officials at the agency and threats of demotion, she went public with her charges in the fall of 2004.

This year, she was demoted in August from the elite Senior Executive Service, on charges of poor performance, and given a lower-ranking job as a project manager. She has filed appeals, but for now "she has no projects to manage and she just sits in the corner," her attorney, Michael Kohn, said yesterday in a telephone interview from Washington. The inspector general's office at the Defense Department had already begun its own investigation of her charges regarding the contracting. Exactly which issues are of most interest to investigators in the Justice Department is unclear. Mr. Crane wrote that he could not provide more details "as this is an ongoing criminal investigation."

But there is more regarding Dick Cheney's favorite crony company. Remember how the Bush administration dragged its feet when hurricane Katrina hit, leaving thousands of poor Americans to die? Well, when they finally got off their asses and DID something, one of their first actions was to award Halliburton YET ANOTHER no-bid contract. This time to clean up in New Orleans. Halliburton and its subcontractors then hired hundreds of undocumented Latino workers to clean up after Katrina, then mistreated them and kicked them out onto the streets without pay. In essence, Halliburton used slave labor in Louisiana.

Here are excerpts from Salon.com's article on this scandal:

Arnulfo Martinez recalls seeing lots of hombres del ejercito standing at attention. Though he was living on the Belle Chasse Naval Base near New Orleans when President Bush spoke there on Oct. 11, he didn't understand anything the ruddy man in the rolled-up sleeves was saying to the troops.

Martinez, 16, speaks no English; his mother tongue is Zapotec. He had left the cornfields of Oaxaca, Mexico, four weeks earlier for the promise that he would make $8 an hour, plus room and board, while working for a subcontractor of KBR, a wholly owned subsidiary of Halliburton that was awarded a major contract by the Bush administration for disaster relief work. The job was helping to clean up a Gulf Coast naval base in the region devastated by Hurricane Katrina. "I was cleaning up the base, picking up branches and doing other work," Martinez said, speaking to me in broken Spanish.

Even if the Oaxacan teenager had understood Bush when he urged Americans that day to "help somebody find shelter or help somebody find food," he couldn't have known that he'd soon need similar help himself. But three weeks after arriving at the naval base from Texas, Martinez's boss, Karen Tovar, a job broker from North Carolina who hired workers for a KBR subcontractor called United Disaster Relief, booted him from the base and left him homeless, hungry and without money.

"They gave us two meals a day and sometimes only one," Martinez said.

He says that Tovar "kicked us off the base," forcing him and other cleanup workers - many of them Mexican and undocumented - to sleep on the streets of New Orleans. According to Martinez, they were not paid for three weeks of work. An immigrant rights group recently filed complaints with the Department of Labor on behalf of Martinez and 73 other workers allegedly owed more than $56,000 by Tovar. Tovar claims that she let the workers go because she was not paid by her own bosses at United Disaster Relief. In turn, UDR manager Zachary Johnson, who declined to be interviewed for this story, told the Washington Post on Nov. 4 that his company had not been paid by KBR for two months...

Right after Katrina barreled through the Gulf Coast, the Bush administration relaxed labor standards, creating conditions for rampant abuse, according to union leaders and civil rights advocates. Bush suspended the Davis-Bacon Act, which requires employers to pay "prevailing wages" for labor used to fulfill government contracts. The administration also waived the requirement for contractors rebuilding the Gulf Coast to provide valid I-9 employment eligibility forms completed by their workers. These moves allowed Halliburton/KBR and its subcontractors to hire undocumented workers and pay them meager wages (regardless of what wages the workers may have otherwise been promised). The two policies have recently been reversed in the face of sharp political pressure: Bush reinstated the Davis-Bacon Act on Nov. 3, while the Department of Homeland Security reinstated the I-9 requirements in late October, noting that it would once again "exercise prosecutorial discretion" of employers in violation "on a case-by-case basis." But critics say Bush's policies have already allowed extensive profiteering beneath layers of legal and political cover.

Halliburton/KBR, which enjoys an array of federal contracts in the United States, Iraq and Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, has long drawn criticism for its proximity to Vice President Dick Cheney, formerly Halliburton's CEO.

Why is this company, which overcharges the Federal government, mistreats workers and is not very effective in what it is hired to do, favored so highly by the Bush administration? CORRUPTION! Dick Cheney was on the board of this company and still makes money from his past connections. This is a clear case of the corruption of the military-industrial complex that President Eisenhauer warned us against.

Please write a letter to the editor complaining about this corruption and Dick Cheney's role in favoring Halliburton.

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: NYC/State VOTING ISSUES

I am continuing this campaign because this is the MAIN FOCUS of the progressive movement in NY State right now. Why? Because this issue is CRITICAL for fair and open elections in NY State.

From Democracy for NYC:

New York is About to Purchase Voting Machines -Take Action Today!

"PB/OS" (paper ballots with precinct-based optical scanners) is the safest, most reliable and most cost-effective choice for a voting system in NY State. And yet, the state Board of Elections has recently taken two outrageous steps against this system:

- Allowing the vendors NOT to submit optical scanners, effectively taking away the PB/OS option, and

- Jump-starting certification testing on an incomplete DRE machine (no paper ballot)


TAKE ACTION TODAY -WRITE TO THE STATE BOARD OF ELECTIONS!

Mail or fax a letter to the State Board of Elections demanding that they (1) require vendors to submit NYS full face ballot compatible optical scanners for certification and (2) stop planned testing of the incomplete and illegal Liberty DRE machine. Remind the Board that they work for us, not the voting machine vendors.

Don't let the voting machine vendors decide what machines we vote on. Please write the State Board of Elections today.

By mail: NYS Board of Elections, 40 Steuben Street, Albany, NY 12207-2108

By fax: 518-486-4068

By e-mail: ldaghlian@elections.state.ny.us

Please address your letter to:

Peter Kosinski, Co-Executive Director
Stanley Zalen, Co-Executive Director
Neil W. Kelleher, Chair
Evelyn J. Aquila, Commissioner
Helena Moses Donohue, Commissioner


Important Update in NYC

The Board of Election held a hearing on the certification of voting machines in NYC on December 20. Only the machines certified by the Board of Elections can be purchased for use in New York elections. At the hearing, Council Member Bill Perkins advised that the next day he would be joined by Charles Barron, Robert Jackson and Hiram Monserrate to introduce a resolution urging the New York State Board of Elections to promptly certify paper ballots with precinct based/optical scan voting systems for procurement by the local Board of Elections. The resolution also calls for the New York City Board of Elections to select a PB/OS as the next generation voting technology for the city.

Read Bill Perkins' testimony.

Since the 2005 session has ended, the resolution needs to be re-introduced. If this resolution passes it could effectively make PB/OS the choice for New York by capitalizing on NYC's buying power, but the first step is to get in reintroduced. Since Bill Perkins was term-limited, Charles Barron would be the new lead sponsor for this resolution.

Democracy for NYC supports this resolution. We will keep you updated in the coming weeks on how you can help in our efforts to make PB/OS the choice for NYC.


Go HERE for a sample letter and more info.

As a side note, I want to point out that DFNYC's position has been misrepresented online. I found this from News Copy New York:

The Daily Gotham pointed out that New York City groups like Democracy for NYC don't want "unreliable and expensive" voting machines.

No. They want those good ol' mechanical voting machines that have "fixed" more elections than Americans will never know -- and that require expensive maintenance.

This is, as you can see from the DFNYC message above, a complete misrepresentation. DFNYC has NOT called of the mechanical voting machines to be retained. They are calling for the PB/OS machines. A note to News Copy New York: Get your facts straight.

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: NEW YORK AGAINST ALITO

In the Groups and Events section I tell you how to join the phone banking efforts against Alito. This is VERY important. But it is also very important to lobby Chuck Schumer directly since he is one of the key Senators on the Judicial Committee who will be holding the hearings on Alito. Schumer, unfortunately, has not proved to be that strong of a leader often enough. We need to encourage him to be a leader against Alito.

You can write him through Planned Parenthood or write him directly using your own words. You can use this fact sheet when you write your letter.

We have to stop this right wing extremist from being on the Supreme Court.

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: BROOKLYN/QUEENS GROUPS AND EVENTS

ALL NYC:

PHONE BANKING AGAINST ALITO:

Phone banking: PFAW and ACT NY are both hosting phone banks on Thursdays and Sundays.
STOP ALITO! PHONE BANKS

Tuesday thru Thurs, 10am-4pm every week until the Senate vote
Contact: Tony Simone – tsimone@pfaw.org


1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East March for Dignity & Justice: Mon, 01/16/2006 - 10:00am, Join Dennis Rivera and 1199 SEIU in a March for Dignity & Justice in support of New York's home health aides, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther Kings, Jr.'s birthday on January 16th.

The march will begin at 10 am on 110th Street and Malcome X Blvd. (Lenox Ave.) and culminate at the New York State Office Building on 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. for a rally.

Please call Laura Santucci at 212-603-37062, or email Laura.Santucci-at-1199.org to confirm your participation (replace -at- with @).


CRITCAL MASS BICYCLE MOVEMENT! Critical Mass is a bicyclist movement (NOT an organized group!) that holds weekly protests all over the world to protest pollution. Rides are the last Friday of every month starting in Union Sq. Park North, 7PM! At a DFNYC meeting attended by Norm Seigel, Norm used Critical Mass as an example of the kind of activism that NYC needs most and the way Bloomberg is trying to squelch our rights and our voices. Critical Mass deserves our help. According to Bloomberg, my inclusion of this in my newsletter is probably illegal. Well, I refuse to let Bloomberg tell me what I can and cannot write in my Newsletter.

http://www.times-up.org/cm.php


And see their NYC calendar for Bike Workshops and other rides (including ones outside Manhattan). http://www.times-up.org/calendar/calendar.php


There is more you can do to support Critical Mass. This comes from a reader in Manhattan:

To help keep people involved in Critical Mass, people who might be sacred off because of renewed aggressiveness by the police, I have started a pledge drive that sponsors arrestees. This is a great way for people to stay involved in Critical Mass, stay on top of the issue, and use the NYPD and Bloomberg's tactics to work for us not against us. I am pledging $2 per arrestee, and the money will go to the Legal Aid Society. Pledges are made on the honor system. The more bicyclists the cops arrest the more money for defending civil rights is raised.


BROOKLYN EVENTS:

Democracy for America Meetings: CLICK HERE!

MARJORIE'S OZZIE’S MEETUP: I also recommend joining Marjorie's meetups and getting Marjorie’s very informative newsletter which you can get by contacting her at: johnkerry57@covad.net

Independent Neighborhood Democrats: Contact me or Devin Cohen: devincohen@msn.com if you are interested. http://www.indbrooklyn.org/

Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID) (mostly covers Park Slope, Windsor Terrace, and Kensington. http://www.cbidems.org/


Lambda Independent Democrats (Brooklyn’s gay and lesbian organization) for meeting info contact LID@LIDBrooklyn.org.

DRINKING LIBERALLY: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Here are our local Brooklyn groups:

Park Slope: First Wednesday of each month, 7:00 pm onward, Commonwealth, 497 5th Ave (at 12th Street). Hosted by Emily Farris and Peter Wohlsen, parkslope (at) drinkingliberally.org

Williamsburg: Every Tuesday, 8:00 pm onward the Levee, 212 Berry St. (corner of N. 3rd). Hosted by Elana Levin and Michael Freedman-Schnapp, williamsburg (at) drinkingliberally.org

To find your nearest Brooklyn Democratic club, please CLICK HERE.

QUEENS:

Democracy for America Meetings: CLICK HERE!

Queens Jefferson Democratic Club: Our meetings are normally held the first Thursday of every month, @ 8:00 p.m. (the doors open @ 7:30 P.M.) except for July, August, and months in which a holiday falls on the First Thursday. Meetings are held at the Auburndale American Legion Hall, 198-09 33rd Ave Flushing, New York 11358 (just off Francis Lewis Blvd. near 33rd Avenue).

Queens County Young Democrats: for information CLICK HERE.

DRINKING LIBERALLY: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Here are our local Queens groups:

ASTORIA: Third Wednesday of each month, 7:30 pm onward. Cassidy's, 34-16 Broadway (at 35th Street). Hosted by Bob Chamerda, astoria (at) drinkingliberally.org

To find your nearest Queens Democratic club, please CLICK HERE.

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: MANHATTAN GROUPS AND EVENTS

PHONE BANKING AGAINST ALITO:

Phone banking: PFAW and ACT NY are both hosting phone banks on Thursdays and Sundays.
STOP ALITO! PHONE BANKS

Tuesday thru Thurs, 10am-4pm every week until the Senate vote
Contact: Tony Simone – tsimone@pfaw.org


CRITCAL MASS BICYCLE MOVEMENT! Critical Mass is a bicyclist movement (NOT an organized group!) that holds weekly protests all over the world to protest pollution. Rides are the last Friday of every month starting in Union Sq. Park North, 7PM! At a DFNYC meeting attended by Norm Seigel, Norm used Critical Mass as an example of the kind of activism that NYC needs most and the way Bloomberg is trying to squelch our rights and our voices. Critical Mass deserves our help. According to Bloomberg, my inclusion of this in my newsletter is probably illegal. Well, I refuse to let Bloomberg tell me what I can and cannot write in my Newsletter.

http://www.times-up.org/cm.php


And see their NYC calendar for Bike Workshops and other rides (including ones outside Manhattan). http://www.times-up.org/calendar/calendar.php


There is more you can do to support Critical Mass. This comes from a reader in Manhattan:

To help keep people involved in Critical Mass, people who might be sacred off because of renewed aggressiveness by the police, I have started a pledge drive that sponsors arrestees. This is a great way for people to stay involved in Critical Mass, stay on top of the issue, and use the NYPD and Bloomberg's tactics to work for us not against us. I am pledging $2 per arrestee, and the money will go to the Legal Aid Society. Pledges are made on the honor system. The more bicyclists the cops arrest the more money for defending civil rights is raised.


Democracy for America Meetings: CLICK HERE!


1199 SEIU United Healthcare Workers East March for Dignity & Justice: Mon, 01/16/2006 - 10:00am, Join Dennis Rivera and 1199 SEIU in a March for Dignity & Justice in support of New York's home health aides, in honor of Dr. Martin Luther Kings, Jr.'s birthday on January 16th.

The march will begin at 10 am on 110th Street and Malcome X Blvd. (Lenox Ave.) and culminate at the New York State Office Building on 125th Street and Adam Clayton Powell, Jr. Blvd. for a rally.

Please call Laura Santucci at 212-603-37062, or email Laura.Santucci-at-1199.org to confirm your participation (replace -at- with @).



DRINKING LIBERALLY: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Here are our local Manhattan groups:

Upper East Side Last Tuesday of each month, 6:30 pm onward, Doc Watson's, 1490 2nd Avenue (at 77th). In the backyard, weather permitting. Hosted by Matthew Bachiochi, ues (at) drinkingliberally.org

In Manhattan: Thursday, 7:30 pm onward, Rudy's, 627 9th Avenue (between 44th & 45th Streets). Hosted by Justin Krebs and Matthew O'Neill, nyc (at) drinkingliberally.org

Bar Hopping Manhattan: Second Tuesday of each month, 6:00-9:00 pm
A monthly Democratic drinking club at different gay bars around Manhattan. Join the mailing list to receive updates of future venues. Hosted by Dirk McCall, outnyc (at) drinkingliberally.org

East Village: Last Wednesday of each month, 8:00 pm onward, Grassroots Tavern, 20 Saint Mark's Place (between 2nd and 3rd). Hosted by Quinn Raymond, Elena Morin and Abby Cook-Mack, eastvillage (at) drinkingliberally.org

For those who prefer running to biking, you can join RUNNING FOR CHANGE: Building a progressive America through organized runs and other grassroots activities.

To find your nearest Manhattan Democratic club, please CLICK HERE.

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: NEW JERSEY AGAINST CORRUPTION

I want to reiterate how important it is to fight the corruption in Congress. And it SHOULDN'T BE a partisan issue. I have been emphasizing that the Abramoff scandal is predominantly a Republican scandal, but Republicans should be just as angry as Democrats. Scandal and corruption makes the entire nation look bad and Senators and Representatives FROM BOTH PARTIES should be calling for an investigation and for the resignation of those most implicated in the scandal.

Please write your Senators and Representatives demanding a FULL investigation into the Abramoff scandal and demanding the resignation of all who are implicated in the Abramoff scandal, starting with Tom DeLay, Bob Ney, and Conrad Burns.

Progressive Democrat Issue 60: NEW JERSEY GROUPS AND EVENTS

Democracy for America Meetups: DFA is one of the best hopes we have of retaking America. I strongly urge you to get involved with your local group. New Jersey for Democracy Meetups take place on the first Wednesday of every month @ 7pm. There are many meetups around the state: North, Central and South Jersey.

Indigo Girls Concert Fundraiser on February 8, 2006
On February 8th the Blue 7th PAC will hold a cocktail party in Princeton, NJ at 6 p.m., and then go to see the Indigo Girls at the McCarter Theater at 8 p.m. The Indigo Girls are an excellent, Grammy winning folk-rock band, and this show has been sold out since September. It's a hot ticket, folks!

Tickets are just $100 a head for the concert, and $150 for the cocktail party and concert. There's only 100 tickets available!

Sponsorships are available, as well. $500 for the Host Committee (2 tickets to Party & Concert), $1000 for Patrons (4 tickets to Party & Concert), $2500 for Sponsors (6 tickets to Party & Concert) and $5000 for Honored Guests (10 tickets to Party & Concert).

All funds raised will go towards building a Democratic majority in the Congress by working locally to build grassroots support and expose Republican hypocrisy.


Common Cause: Common Cause is a major force in Progressive Politics. It was founded in 1970 (by a Republican, mind you!) to counter the influence of special interests in Washington. Today they work on many of the same issues I am trying to highlight. Check out the NJ Common Cause website.

Here is how you can find your local Dem clubs. Go to HERE and click on your county.

Drinking Liberally: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Find your local drinking liberally group or start your own with a few buddies:

New Brunswick, 2nd and 4th Wednesdays of every month, 7:00 PM @ Doll's Place, 101 Paterson St. New Brunswick, NJ

Hoboken, New Jersey, Second Tuesday of each month, 7:30 pm onward, Mulligan's, 159 1st Street (between Bloomfield and Garden), Hosted by David Alpert and Ali Savino, hoboken (at) drinkingliberally.org

Princeton, Every Thursday, 7:00 pm, Annex Restaurant at 128 Nassau St., Princeton. princeton@drinkingliberally.org

RUNNING FOR CHANGE: For those who prefer running to biking, you can join RUNNING FOR CHANGE: Building a progressive America through organized runs and other grassroots activities.

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: VIRGINIA FOCUS

I want to reiterate how important it is to fight the corruption in Congress. As a state rapidly becoming a swing state, Virginia can play a strong role in cleaning up Congress. In some ways the voice of Virginia calling for reform may be one of the most important steps to ending Congressional corruption. And it SHOULDN'T BE a partisan issue. I have been emphasizing that the Abramoff scandal is predominantly a Republican scandal, but Republicans should be just as angry as Democrats. Scandal and corruption makes the entire nation look bad and Senators and Representatives FROM BOTH PARTIES should be calling for an investigation and for the resignation of those most implicated in the scandal.

Virginians! Write your Senators and Representatives demanding a FULL investigation into the Abramoff scandal and demanding the resignation of all who are implicated in the Abramoff scandal, starting with Tom DeLay, Bob Ney, and Conrad Burns. If Virginia stands up against Congressional corruption, it would be a major step towards really cleaning up Congress.

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: VIRGINIA GROUPS AND EVENTS

Democracy for America: One of the best ways to get active! FIND YOUR LOCAL DFA MEETUP AND GET INVOLVED!

Sunday, January 8th, Political Action Book Club. Our book selection for January is Shawn O'Donnells' Rebuilding the Democratic Party from the Grassroots. We are hoping the author will attend our meeting. His book is described as the ultimate guidebook for reinventing and reinvigorating the Democratic Party. The Pot Luck will start at 6 on December 11th, the book discussion at 7. Bring a friend and be ready to share any ideas and actions you have. Held at 7326 Tower St, Falls Church, VA, 22046 Contact Judith at Jdon3482@aol.com with any questions.

Sunday, January 8th , 5:45 - 8 PM Sunday Supper Club, at 7180 Baldwin Ridge Road, Warrenton, VA. This month our guest speakers will be Laura Kitchen of the Virginia League of Conservation Voters, David Gaines of the Green Party, and David Swanson of afterdowningstreet.org and Progressive Democrats of America. Our meetings are pot luck suppers followed by a speaker, movie, or discussion. Please bring a dish to share if you can.
For information about the SSC, call 540-349-7862 or email linda@baldwinridge.com

January 14th – 16th, Washington, D.C. Politics and Spirituality: Seeking a Public Integrity at the Hyatt Capitol Hill, FEATURING: Anne Lamott, Richard Rohr, and Jim Wallis. The Politics and Spirituality conference is sponsored by Sojourners and the Center for Action and Contemplation. Registration: http://www.cacradicalgrace.org/conferences/politics/politics_overview.html Contact: register@cacradicalgrace.org

Town Halls with 11th District Congressman Tom Davis –
Thursday, January 26th, Lorton 7:30 pm - 9:00 pm, Lorton Station Elementary School, 9298 Lewis Chapel Road

Saturday, January 28
Falls Church, 9:00 am - 10:30 am, Belvedere Elementary School, 6540 Columbia Pike
Fairfax City, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm, Fairfax City Hall, Room 305, 10455 Armstrong Street
Bristow, 1:30 pm - 3:00 pm, Marstellar Middle School, 14000 Sudley Manor Drive

Saturday, February 4
Vienna, 9:00 am - 10:30 am, Vienna Town Hall, 127 Center Street South

Fairfax Station
11:00 am - 12:30 pm
Fairview Elementary School
5815 Ox Road
Fairfax Station

Prince William
1:30 pm - 3:00 pm
Prince William County McCourt Building
1 County Complex Court

The Democratic Party: Here are links to some of your local Dem clubs. This is another very important way to be active.

Albemarle County Democratic Committee, Albemarle County, VA

Arlington County Democrats, Arlington VA. Contact Name: Elizabeth Weitzman mewsician1@msn.com (703) 528-8588

Arlington Young Democrats, Arlington VA. Contact Name: Jaime Mulligan publicity@arlingtonyoungdems.org 571-334-7626

Democratic Party of Fluvanna County, Virginia, Bremo Bluff, Virginia VA

Hanover Democrats, Ashland VA

Loudoun County Democratic Committee, Leesburg, VA. Contact Name: Steve Deak chairman@lcdems.com

Norfolk Democratic Party Meetup, Norfolk VA. Contact Name: Alma D. Kesling akesling@yahoo.com 757 333-8694

Rappahannock County Democrats, Rappahannock VA.

Stafford County Democrats, Fredericksburg VA:

Virginia Beach Democrats, VA

Virginia Young Democrats, Richmond, VA. Contact Name: Justin Wilson justin@justin.net


Drinking Liberally: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Find your local drinking liberally group or start your own with a few buddies. Currently there are only two Drinking Liberally groups in all of VA (see below). But it is easy to start your own!

Charlottesville, Virginia Drinking Liberally: Every Tuesday, 7:30 pm, Mellow Mushroom, 1320 West Main Street, Hosted by Jared Jenkins, charlottesville (at) drinkingliberally.org

Richmond, Virginia Drinking Liberally: Every Thursday, 7:30 pm onward Commercial Taphouse, 111 N Robinson St. Hosted by Scott Goode, richmond (at) drinkingliberally.org


RUNNING FOR CHANGE: And if you want a healthier alternative to Drinking Liberally (or want to do some running after your drinking), you can RUN for progressive causes. Building a progressive America through organized runs and other grassroots activities. To find your local Running for Change events, CLICK HERE.

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: NATIONAL ACTION AGAINST ALITO

This is from MoveOn.org:

As we begin the new year, Washington is turning its attention toward Samuel Alito, the far-right judge President Bush nominated to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the Supreme Court. The Senate hearings are only a few days away, and we've reached a critical time to act.

When applying for a top job in the Reagan administration, Alito proudly touted his membership in the "Concerned Alumni of Princeton,"1 a far right group that sought to restrict the admission of women and minorities. The group was so extreme that even fellow alumni Bill Frist called their views "distorted, narrow and hostile."2 Now, Alito claims he "cannot recall" ever being a member.3

Unfortunately, this is just one example of Alito's many decpetive attempts to hide his extreme right wing views on issues like civil rights, worker's rights and privacy. That's why we're aiming to deliver 50,000 letters to the Senate this week opposing Samuel Alito and demanding a Supreme Court nominee we can trust to protect our constitutional rights.

You can write and send your letter online.


Writing a letter to your Senators just takes a minute, and you don't have to be an expert—just tell your Senators why opposing this nomination is important to you. You can get ideas below.

There are many reasons to oppose Alito, and the leading national advocates on civil rights, privacy, worker's rights, women's rights, the environment, gay and lesbian rights, and religious liberty have all opposed Alito. To help you write your letter, we've included some of their reasons for opposing Alito below.

Alito has shown a disturbing record of being willing to say anything to get a job—citing his extreme views in some cases, and hiding them in others. Here are two more examples of this kind of deception:

Constitutional views: When applying for a job in the Regan administration, Alito wrote of his strong strong belief that the Constitution does not legally protect a woman's right to choose.4 Last month, he claimed that he only said it to get a job.5 If he would deceive about something so important for that job, what would he say to get on the Supreme Court?

Judicial ethics: During the nomination process for his current post as a federal judge, Alito promised the Senate, in writing, that he would not rule on cases that he had a personal financial stake in.6 He broke that promise, repeatedly.7

All Americans can agree that we must be able to trust the Supreme Court to protect our core rights and freedoms and act with integrity. Alito's extreme views and record of deception make him the wrong choice for our country.

As the far-right barrages the Senate with millions of dollars of advertising and swarms of lobbyists, it's critical that your senators hear from directly from you. Please take a minute to write your Senators and help us deliver 50,000 personal letters opposing Alito's nomination to the Senate in the next week.

Standing up to President Bush and stopping this nomination will require extraordinary courage from our representatives in Washington. But pushing our leaders to actually lead is what you do best, and this is a fight we can win.

Thanks for all that you do,

–Ben

P.S. In the past two months, dozens of organizations across the political spectrum, representing millions of Americans, have publicly opposed Alito's nomination. Here's just a few, and what they had to say:

AFL-CIO

"We are compelled to oppose [Alito's] nomination to be an Associate Justice on the United States Supreme Court. ...Judge Alito's decisions and dissents show a disturbing tendency to take an extremely narrow and restrictive view of laws passed by Congress to protect workers' rights, resulting in workers being deprived of wage and hour, health and safety, anti-discrimination, pension and other important protections."8

NAACP

"We have undertaken an extensive review of Judge Alito's civil rights record spanning his career as a lawyer and a judge...As a result we have concluded that Judge Alito's confirmation would cause a substantial shift in the Supreme Court's jurisprudence on civil rights and that his confirmation would be to the detriment of the nation. Thus, we are compelled to oppose his nomination."9

Sierra Club

In the first such move since the Bork nomination of 1987, on December 20 the Sierra Club joined with other national environmental groups to urge Senators to oppose the confirmation of Samuel Alito to the U.S. Supreme Court. Americans deserve mainstream, independent Justices, with unassailable integrity, who will protect individual rights and freedoms. Unfortunately, Judge Alito's opinions and other statements, combined with a disturbing lack of candor since being nominated, show that Judge Alito cannot be trusted to protect those rights and freedoms.10

NARAL Pro-Choice America

Samuel Alito, Jr. of the Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit is an anti-choice jurist. As a member of the three-judge panel that heard Planned Parenthood of Southeastern Pennsylvania v. Casey before the case went to the Supreme Court, Alito wrote a dissent in which he argued to uphold even more abortion restrictions than the Supreme Court eventually upheld in its now-famous decision. Alito, who has been called "a favorite son of the political right," would likely vote to eviscerate or eliminate the protections of Roe as a member of the Supreme Court.11

Americans United for Separation of Church and State

According to Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr., the First Amendment puts
few limitations on politically powerful majorities' ability to use the
machinery of government to advance their religious views, even at
the expense of the religious freedom of minorities. Replacing Justice
Sandra Day O'Connor with Judge Alito would fundamentally alter
First Amendment law and immediately put at risk many of the crucial
protections for religious minorities that the Supreme Court has
recognized and consistently enforced over the past sixty years.12


The Human Rights Campaign

As a Judge, Samuel Alito struck down a school policy that protected gay students from harassment. He is far to the right of Justice O'Connor on due process and reproductive rights. Judge Alito's narrow view of Congress would dangerously threaten Congress' power to enact non-discrimination legislation protecting citizens and has failed to distance himself from a group that advocated discrimination of which he was a member. In short, Judge Alito is the wrong choice for the Supreme Court.13


People for the American Way

Samuel Alito has been a judge on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit since his appointment by the first President Bush in 1990. In that time, Alito has compiled an extensive, extreme right-wing judicial record on numerous matters of importance to the protection of the rights and interests of ordinary Americans—a record that has earned him the nickname "Scalito" for his ideological resemblance to Justice Antonin Scalia. Alito's judicial opinions demonstrate that he is an out of the mainstream opponent of fundamental legal rights and protections for all Americans and must not be confirmed to the Supreme Court.14

Progressive Democrat Issue 59: GETTING LOCAL AROUND THE NATION

This is how our coalition will be built: through out local action. Our success depends on you and your activism. There are many ways you can get active. Below I try to provide a good variety of options and urge you all to find a couple that suit you. These groups below are the way we can get our country back. If we don’t get involved we won’t win in 2006 and beyond. Joy and I are currently involved in a few groups plus our own organizing efforts bringing different groups together and we are finding it a good boost to our social life. We are meeting cool people and it makes us get out a couple of times a month more than we would otherwise.

Finding your local groups:

Democracy for America: Founded by Howard Dean, now run by his brother Jim Dean, this group is very effective at the local grass roots. Many think this is the future of the Democratic Party. I think this is partly true, though the neighborhood Dem party clubs will continue to be vital to our efforts as well. This is a group that you really should be active in either by joining a local meetup or starting one of your own.


Drinking Liberally: An informal, inclusive weekly Democratic drinking club. Raise your spirits while you raise your glass, and share ideas while you share a pitcher. Drinking Liberally gives like-minded, left-leaning individuals a place to talk politics. You don't need to be a policy expert and this isn't a book club - just come and learn from peers, trade jokes, vent frustration and hang out in an environment where it's not taboo to talk politics. Find your local drinking liberally group or start your own with a few buddies.


The Democratic Party: Now that Howard Dean is in the driver’s seat I am hoping the Democrats will become more effective on the local level. One of the main complaints against the DNC in the past couple of elections is that they didn’t help the local parties in most parts of the nation. If you go to the DNC website and find the “Get Local” pull down menu on the left, you can find your local Dem groups. I strongly urge you to get involved with your local Dem club since it is often these groups that actually do much of the footwork to win each district.

Critical Mass: Critical Mass is a bicyclist movement (NOT an organized group!) that holds weekly protests all over the world to protest pollution. Go here to find the closest Critical Mass action in your area (site covers ALL of North America).


Wellstone Action: Paul Wellstone started something in Minnesota and his death hasn’t stopped it. Wellstone’s family is continuing his work and expanding it throughout the nation. Wellstone Action trains activists and grassroots candidates and they did very well in the last election. I urge you to look into any nearby Wellstone Action events.


Common Cause: Common Cause is a major force in Progressive Politics. It was founded in 1970 (by a Republican, mind you!) to counter the influence of special interests in Washington. Today they work on many of the same issues I am trying to highlight. Look for your state’s Common Cause organization.

To find the League of Conservation Voters branch in your state, CLICK HERE. This is the group you should be involved with if the environment is your thing.

To find the NARAL branch in your state, CLICK HERE. This is the group you should be involved with if choice is your thing.

Finally I suggest Americans for Democratic Action. ADA is a progressive branch of the Democratic Party. Email: adaction@ix.netcom.com for info on local groups.