The Progressive Democrat Newsletter grew out of the frustration of the 2004 election. Originally intended for New York City progressives, its readership is now national. For anyone who wants to be alerted by email whenever this newsletter is updated (usually weekly), please send your email address and let me know what state you live in (so I can keep track of my readership).
The Progressive Democrat, as well as Culture Kitchen and Daily Gotham, the other blogs I write for, were featured in the left-wing Finnish magazine Kulttuurivihkot. For any Finnish readers out there, hyvä päivä.
Well, the Democrats let Lieberman off the hook. Honestly, if it was just his stand on the Iraq war I'd be irritated, but he is good on abortion, labor issues, environment, etc. But he actually went to the Republican Convention to speak for McCain! That should make him an outcast among Democrats. But it is forgive and forget among Democratic Senators, it seems. Sigh. For those who want to focus on defeating Joe Lieberman, you might be surprised to find that a good place to start is the Connecticut for Lieberman Party, which currently OPPOSES Lieberman. From their website:
The Connecticut for Lieberman Party (CFL) rejects the fraud perpetrated on the members of this party and the citizens of Connecticut by Joe Lieberman when he used the creation of this party to get on the general election ballot in 2006. The CFL is an independent, anti-war, anti-corruption, pro-fiscal responsibility, pro-democracy party, that stands for individual liberties and real problem-solving in government. The CFL wants everyone to know that in the United States of America, voters are free to join any party they wish, and participate in the democratic process according to the laws of Connecticut and the United States.
Donating to them will actually help defeat Joe Lieberman and support progressives in Connecticut.
Better news is that it turns out Alaska BARELY rejected having a convicted felon for its Senator. Yes, although early returns indicated that convicted Republican Felon Ted Stevens had won re-election in Alaska, it seems once all the votes were counted, Stevens was narrowly defeated by non-felon Democrat Begich. That adds one more Democratic Senator and saves Alaska from the shame of openly supporting Republican corruption.
And let me just add, doesn't it feel good that we will soon have a President like THIS:
Mormon Church's Pathetic Disrespect of Holocaust Survivors
This comes from a fellow Daily Gotham editor:
The Mormon "church" has been in the news quite a lot lately, due to that organization's successful attack on the civil rights of LGBTQ Americans in California. However, coverage drives more coverage, and now, there's this.
Holocaust survivors to Mormons: Stop baptisms of dead Jews
Holocaust survivors said Monday they are through trying to negotiate with the Mormon church over posthumous baptisms of Jews killed in Nazi concentration camps, saying the church has repeatedly violated a 13-year-old agreement barring the practice.
Leaders of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints say they are making changes to their massive genealogical database that will make it more difficult for names of Holocaust victims to be entered for posthumous baptism by proxy, a rite that has been a common Mormon practice for more than a century.
But Ernest Michel, honorary chairman of the American Gathering of Holocaust Survivors, said that is not enough. At a news conference in New York City on Monday, he said the church also must "implement a mechanism to undo what you have done."
"Baptism of a Jewish Holocaust victim and then merely removing that name from the database is just not acceptable," said Michel, whose parents died at Auschwitz. He spoke on the 70th anniversary of Kristallnacht, the Nazi-incited riots against Jews.
"We ask you to respect us and our Judaism just as we respect your religion," Michel said in a statement released ahead of the news conference. "We ask you to leave our six million Jews, all victims of the Holocaust, alone, they suffered enough."
Is it even possible to do anything more offensive?
This is so pathetic and so disgusting it is hard to believe. First of all, the sheer gall of converting ANYONE without their permission, let alone people slaughtered for believing in THEIR OWN religion, makes the Mormon Church one of the disgustingly rude groups I have heard of. But beyond that, it is pathetic! They are so desperate to be liked that they have to make up imaginary lists of converts to make themselves feel special! What losers!
Continued from last week because THIS is one we really need to win.
The Georgia Senate Race is STILL not decided and is will head into a runoff election. This race is not just another important pick up opportunity. It is a matter of honor both for Democrats and for Vietnam Vets. And you can help by phone banking.
This year Georgia has the opportunity not only to elect a fine Democrat, Jim Martin, to the Senate, but also to right a wrong committed by Republicans 6 years ago. Jim Martin is running against Republican Saxby Chambliss who ran a sleazy, nasty smear campaign against Vietnam War hero and disabled Veteran Max Cleland. Saxby Chambliss, in comparison to Max Cleland's war record, was given five student deferments and he received a medical deferment for a bad knees due to a football injury. So Chickenhawk Chambliss smeared a genuine war hero, Max Cleland to win a Senate seat.
Now Democrat Jim Martin, also Vietnam Veteran, is running to defeat Chickenhawk Chambliss. Here is the latest ad from Jim Martin's campaign:
In his almost six years in the U.S. Senate, Saxby Chambliss has built a reputation as a loyal defender of President Bush and his policies and as a champion of corporate interests.
The people of Georgia now have to decide whether that’s the senator they want for the next six years as well...
[Jim] Martin, a University of Georgia graduate who volunteered to serve his country in Vietnam, has pitched his campaign at his opponent’s weak spot by focusing on protecting the middle class. He advocates lower taxes on the middle class, stronger consumer protection laws and an end to corporate welfare. He has also criticized Chambliss’ vote on the Wall Street rescue package, a position that frankly smacks of political opportunism.
However, Martin has a long record of public service in the state Legislature, where he earned respect from Democrats and Republicans alike for his intelligence and willingness to buck party leaders if necessary. He was appointed by Gov. Roy Barnes, a fellow Democrat, to head the Department of Human Resources, and was asked to remain in that post when Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue took office.
He is what he seems like, a smart guy who wants to help his fellow Georgians and doesn’t care who gets the credit...
Overall...the best candidate is Martin. In what look to be six difficult years ahead, he would do well for the people of Georgia.
Jim Martin has also been endorsed by the Macon Telegraph.
Jim Martin is the best choice for Georgia. But it goes beyond this. To me, defeating Saxby Chambliss is a matter of honor as well because of how he "won" the Senate seat through smearing a good man and, quite likely, through fraud. A win for Jim Martin would not only replace a Bush Republican with someone who is more loyal to the people of Georgia than to the failed Bush policies, but also would restore the honor of Georgia.
Six years ago Republican Saxby Chambliss won the Georgia Senate race through a sleazy smear campaign against Vietnam War Hero and disabled Veteran Max Cleland. Chambliss ran one of the nastiest campaigns I have ever seen and the fact that he called the loyalty of a decorated war hero into question added to my disgust. Even fellow Republicans John McCain and Chuck Hagel were disgusted by Saxby Chambiss' sleaze campaign.
But it also appears Chambliss won at least partly due to election fraud. According to Republican cybersecurity expert Stephen Spoonamore, formerly an adviser to Sen. John McCain, investigated a computer patch that was installed PERSONALLY by Diebold CEO Bob Urosevich in just two counties, DeKalb and Fulton, both Democratic strongholds. From Raw Story:
A leading cyber-security expert and former adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says he has fresh evidence regarding election fraud on Diebold electronic voting machines during the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial and senatorial elections.
Stephen Spoonamore is the founder and until recently the CEO of Cybrinth LLC, an information technology policy and security firm that serves Fortune 100 companies. At a little noticed press conference in Columbus, Ohio Thursday, he discussed his investigation of a computer patch that was applied to Diebold Election Systems voting machines in Georgia right before that state's November 2002 election.
Let me just say here that I publicized some Democrats who called attention to this same computer patch back in 2002. No one listend back then. But maybe a major Republican IT expert can finally get some attention to this issue. More from the same article:
Spoonamore is one of the most prominent cyber-security experts in the country. He has appeared on CNN's Lou Dobbs and ABC's World News Tonight, and has security clearances from his work with the intelligence community and other government agencies, as well as the Department of Defense, and is one of the world’s leading authorities on hacking and cyber-espionage...
Spoonamore received the Diebold patch from a whistleblower close to the office of Cathy Cox, Georgia’s then-Secretary of State. In discussions with RAW STORY, the whistleblower -- who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation -- said that he became suspicious of Diebold's actions in Georgia for two reasons. The first red flag went up when the computer patch was installed in person by Diebold CEO Bob Urosevich, who flew in from Texas and applied it in just two counties, DeKalb and Fulton, both Democratic strongholds. The source states that Cox was not privy to these changes until after the election and that she became particularly concerned over the patch being installed in just those two counties.
The whistleblower said another flag went up when it became apparent that the patch installed by Urosevich had failed to fix a problem with the computer clock, which employees from Diebold and the Georgia Secretary of State’s office had been told the patch was designed specifically to address.
The article goes on to discuss probable Republican fraund in Ohio in 2004.
Saxby Chambliss: a dishonorable Bush Republican who even Republicans think cheated and lied his way into office.
Jim Martin: an honorble Veteran respected by both Democrats and Republicans. You can learn more about Jim Martin at his website. If you can spare some time to phonebank, even for just an hour, it can make a HUGE difference.
Biodiesel is one of the most intriguing of those new possibilities...crops of soybeans and rapeseed and maybe even algae, grown by present day farmers, processed into a diesel fuel substitute that works just fine in modern Volkswagons and Mack trucks and school buses--even in the oil-burning furnace down in the basement. It is potentially a truely sweet solution, offering a new market for hard-pressed local farmers even as it begins to help solve some of our most pressing environmental problems. Greg Pahl's book...manages to raise the right questions (and raise them early enough) so that we can perhaps build a structure for this developing industry that serves local farmers and processors instead of simply corporate agribusiness giants.
--Bill McKibben in the Forward to Greg Pahl's Biodiesel
Biodiesel has been getting a bad name because of the potential for competition with food production. It has always struck me that some of the loudest voices criticizing biodiesel has come from the oil, coal and nuke lobbies. But it did seem like competition with food production may be a critical problem with biodiesel.
When I had the opportunity to review a new book (really a substantially updated edition of a previously published book) called Biodiesel by Greg Pahl, published by Chelsea Green Press, I was quite interested in learning about this technology. Is it a viable alternative? What is it's potential? And what is the danger of competition with food production.
Greg Pahl's book is extremely well researched and fair. It brings up all the pros and cons about biodiesel.
The issue begins, of course, with oil. Oil currently has two major problems: 1.) it's environmental impact is increasingly devastating to our health, economy and environment, and 2.) annual demand is four times greater than the volume of new oil reserves discovered, meaning oil prices keep going up and will continue to keep going up. Since our economy is enormously dependent on oil, these ever increasing prices will become an ever increasing burden on the economy. As pointed out in Greg Pahl's book, even the new recent oil finds touted as being so huge will only add a few days' supply to the global oil market. This is why the Republican "drill, drill, drill" energy policy is so stupid. In fact, the McCain/Bush Oil Drilling Plan will only reduce the price of oil by $1 per Barrel by 2020...yep, their plan will only reduce the price of oil by less than 1% in more than 10 years. "Drill, drill, drill" will do NOTHING to alleviate our current economic crisis and the current inflation caused by increasing oil prices. This isn't new. In fact I remember way back when North Sea Oil was touted as such a major solution...well that peaked in 1999 and has been declining ever since so that the UK is now an oil importer rather than exporter again. We need new energy sources to supplement and replace oil before we can see any real progress economically and environmentally.
There is no single source of energy that will do this in the near to medium term. We need a multi-resource solution that exploits the local energy sources of each region. We need to replace our dependence on Middle East oil with multiple solutions that create local jobs and local (hence more efficient) energy production. It is in this context that biodiesel should be considered.
When considering the use of oil in our economy, cars and other forms of transportation account for nearly 30% of world energy use and 95% of global oil consumption (numbers from the Worldwatch Institute and quoted in Pahl's book). This means transportation is an area where we MOST need to address oil consumption. Some alternatives, like compressed natural gas, use domestic resources, but require extensive retrofitting of vehicles. Hydrogen power would require complete retrofitting as well and our current energy production cannot supply the necessary energy needed to produce enough hydrogen. The advantage of biodiesel is that it takes little or no retrofitting, relies on local resources, is easily produced and cleaner burning. In other words, biodiesel is an alternative we can use right now without requiring truckers to retrofit their trucks, school districts to buy a whole new fleet of buses, or homeowners to replace their boilers before they are ready to. Biodiesel is not perfect, but it is currently available at an increasingly reasonable cost.
One thing that has struck me for some time is the fact that in many ways we HAVE to make use of biodiesel because there are too many industries where diesel fuel is a mainstay and will not be able to retool any time soon. To name a few: trucking, railroads and home heating in much of NYC (and I assume much of the Northeast). In none of these areas of our economy is there the financial ability to retool away from diesel fuel in the next 10-20 years. So we need an alternative to fossil fuel diesel and that alternative is biodiesel. I think this is inevitable.
In Biodiesel, Greg Pahl begins by discussing the history of the diesel engine and of biodiesel as a fuel. Truth is, when the diesel engine was designed, it was INTENDED to use biodiesel. The technology was designed with biodiesel in mind. There is some controversy over whether modern diesel engines, which have been designed with petrodiesel in mind, would need any retrofitting at all to run on biodiesel. In general, biodiesel burns cleaner than petrodiesel and so can be better for the engine. The consensus is that any modern diesel engine or basement boiler for home heating can run on up to a 20%/80% biodiesel/petrodiesel mix (called B20) with no ill effects and no retrofitting. Above that level, some people believe that some gaskets wear out faster with pure biodiesel (B99 or B100) but those gaskets can easily be replaced with ones that won't wear out faster. Ultimately, our entire economy could replace all diesel fuel used with B20 without any consumer even noticing (price issues aside). The result would be a reduction in pollution, a reduction in greenhouse gasses and a boon to farmers and local economies. This could be a reasonable goal if done right.
One of the greatest applications of biodiesel is using used cooking oil. This won't be much of a resource in rural areas, but in an urban setting like New York City, Hong Kong or Tokyo where the restaurant industry produces a huge quantity of used cooking oil, this can be a huge resource. Right now, disposal of used cooking oil is a big problem. Instead it could be reprocessed easily into fuel which can be used to fuel buses and home heating. Where available in large quantities (urban settings), used cooking oil burns even cleaner than biodiesel produced from fresh vegetable oil. And this is a source that does not compete with any other part of the economy (like food production). This is, again, not a magic bullet, but it is a very logical and easy solution to the energy needs of urban truck and bus fleets, some urban mass transit systems and old fashioned home heating systems that are still in widespread use. Collection and local processing of used cooking oil in NYC into B20 fuel could fuel the heating needs of a good chunk of the city without any serious retrofitting. The NY City Council, led by David Yassky and Jim Gennaro, is looking into encouraging biodiesel use for home heating. If this can be tied to collection of used cooking oil and processing of it into B20 fuel, this could be one important step to a greener NYC. Similar solutions could be found in most urban centers in the world where frying in oil is a staple of the diet. According to Greg Pahl, if everyone in the northeastern US used just a B5 blend (only 5% biodiesel), it could save 50 million gallons of heating oil per year...and it would reduce pollution, particularly those goopy particulates that makes NYC so dingy looking.
Greg Pahl presents many experimental projects across the world that use biodiesl. For example, the US National Park system's "Truck in the Park Project" which fueld trucks with 100% biodiesel quite successfully. Started in Yellowstone, this project has been so successful that it has been exanded to more than 50 other parks. Trial projects like this have been successful all over the world showing the potential for biodiesel. And, of course, Europe haas led the way, yet another example where shortsightedness on the part of American politicians, particularly the Republican Party, has allowed the technological initiative to migrate elsewhere. When turning to Europe, Pahl shows very definitively that biodiesel is a good, viable alternative that helps local economies...but it only works when the government helps it along. This often takes the form of tax incentives and/or subsidies. When the political will is there, biodiesel can be extremely successful. When the political will is lacking or fades, then biodiesel becomes unworkable. I should note that this is the case with many industries, including nuclear power which is completely dependent on government subsidizing the construction of nuclear plants and on government subsidy to help dispose of the waste. Currently, the European biodiesel industry is NOT doing well due to increasing prices (well, prices are rising on EVERYTHING, it seems, affecting ALL industries), decreased political will, and bad publicity due to the possibility of competition with food production.
Pahl also describes the actual process of producing biodiesel, a simple process that I realized I could do myself if I wanted to since it really uses simple chemicals like lye (commonly used to unclog drains in homes around the world) and ethanol or methanol. Pahl doesn't give an actual recipe for making biodiesel, but he does include web and book references which do. He also discusses the MANY possible resources, or "feedstocks" which can be used to make biodiesel, and it is here where the possible competition with food production becomes an issue. Competition with food production is an issue with the use of crops like soybean for a feedstock. But there are hundreds of possible feedstocks including oil palms (the palm kernel oil is better used for food while palm oil, from a different part of the same plant, is best used for soap, candles...or biodiesel), coconuts, peanuts...even things like the widely grown jatropha plant, mustard (often a weed), hemp (more fuel, if you pardon the pun, for the vocal, if somewhat small and seemingly stoned hemp lobby), and, prehaps most promising in the long term, algae. Aside from algae, all these sources put together could reasonbly provide 10-20% of America's diesel needs. But algae could potentially produce more than all other sources put together. One pilot project by the US Department of Agriculture used waste carbon dioxide from a coal-fired power plant to grow pond algae which was then used to prodice biodiesel. Of course this isn't an ideal situation because coal-power has other problems, but at least it shows the kind of potential for greater efficiency and the alternatives we have in energy and fuel production. If America (or China...or Japan...or...) wanted to get serious about biodiesel, development of algae as a feedstock is probably a must. I should note, though, that the US Department of Energy's experimentation with algae as a feedstock for biodiesel was ended by the Republican Congress in 1998 due to budget cuts after extensive pressure from the petroleum lobby. Just think what could have been accomplished by now if we had kept that project going over the last 10 years!
Greg Pahl extensively compares biodiesl with petrodiesel in terms of energy content, emissions, effect on engines, performance in cold weather (can be a problem for some biodiesel fuels), biodegradability, toxicity, etc. Some of what he discusses wouldn't have occurred to me, like the fact that the lower toxicity and flamibility of biodiesel compared with petrodiesel, it is easier and safer to transport and store...which would, I would think, mean lower insurance costs.
In the US biodiesel is problematic right now because it is affected primarily by two industries: the petroleum industry which is doing all it can to crush biodiesel, and the soy and corn growers (who often are the same people) who want soy and corn to be used as biofuel sources (biodiesel and ethanol). This means that competition with food production is a real concern, driving up BOTH food AND biofuel prices, and it means the petroleum industry is always eager to emphasize these problems, giving biofuels a bad reputation publicized with petrodollars. But this does NOT mean biofuels can't be a viable option in the US, only that we can't leave it to the battle between these two big business interests to shape how biodiesel evolves in America.
Of course biodiesel has its problems. Depending on the feedstock used there can be problems like habitat destruction (a problem found in the coffee, meat, and other agricultural industries) and competition with food production. That is why it is so important to carefully select the feedstocks used in any given region so that these problems are minimized. So far there has not be adequate care taken largely because such care requires government involvement and there often has not been the political will to do so. The World Wildlife Fund has been highly supportive of biofuels, but with very important caveats. In effect, as discussed by Pahl, the World Wildlife Fund recommends a legally binding certification for biofuels production, perhaps similar to the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certification of lumber as being sustainably produced. (Be sure to ASK when you are purchasing lumber or other wood products to be sure that the FSC certification is there...no other certification is reliable). This kind of certification process can minimize habitat destruction and competition with food production. A similar initiative to encourage sustainably produced biofuels has been started by the Energy Center at the Swiss Federal Technical Institute in Lausanne.
Pahl also describe biodiesel initiatives in Africa (where South Africa has a long history of interest in biodiesel) and Asia. Mali, where agricultural production is highly limited, is able to grow the jatropha nut which is an excellent source of biodiesel. This could be quite an industry for a nation that has little in the way of economic potential...if siome investment income came in. The largest biodiesel programs in Africa are in Ghana based on palm and jatropha oil. Japan's Biwako Bio-Laboratories is the source of some investment money for a jatrohpa based biodiesel project in Kenya. In India a native plant, the honge tree, has great potential as a biodiesel feedstock. The Indian railroads are experimenting with biodiesel. Biodiesel has also allowed remote villages, using their local, native plants, to produce power where they didn't have it before. This is another aspect of biodiesel that is important: it can be a LOCAL solution that works where the large scale, centralized power grids don't. In China, perhaps more than anywhere else, biodiesel is booming. In China use of the guang-pi tree, a native tree that grows on marginal land so doesn't compete with food production, is being explored as a feedstock for biodiesel. Used cooking oil is also a good source of feedstock in China.
Biodiesel will not become the sole fuel used for transportation. Greg Pahl shows how, using reasonable calculations, biodiesel has the potential to replace 10-20% of our current diesel use. New technologies, like algae as a feedstock, are in the works that could substantially raise this potential, but the current potential is 10-20%. Given that it is unlikely that diesel trucks, buses, firetrucks, trains and building heating will remain in use for some decades, that 10-20% replacement is important. This is increasingly needed as oil prices skyrocket, with high gas prices even now impacting our fire departments as well as our heating bills and, because trucks transport our food, food prices. But it is NOT a magic bullet to solve all our energy needs. It is one piece of the solution.
In May 2008, biodiesel cost an average of $5.50/gallon while traditional petrodiesel cost $4.39/gallon. This means biodiesel is not yet fully competitive and government subsidy may be necessary in the short to medium term to make the switch. Even as oil prices climb, biodiesel prices have also climbed because demand outstrips supply, despite the higher price. Part of the problem is because biodiesel HAS been competing with food production, causing prices to rise for both. This does not have to happen, but it has happened because the soy and corn lobbies are strong in America, making competition almost inevitable unless there is better cooperation/planning between producers and government. Biodiesel has to be part of the solution...but it has to be done carefully and properly and only intelligent government involvement will make it work without competition with food production.
Pahl's book also provides a rundown on government regulations and initiatives in force in America, as well as organizations, companies and cooperatives involved with biodiesel. Essentially, Biodiesel really is an invaluable resource for anyone interested in practical alternative energy solutions for transportation...everyone from politicians to truckers to environmentalists. Honestly I did not read every word of the book. If anything it presents TOO many examples of successful projects and experimental programs that are showing how well biodiesel works. So after awhile I skimmed those parts once I got the basic idea. I read the book on the plane between New York and Los Angeles, reading/skimming it from cover to cover in that period. The amount of information I gained was far more than I have been able to find on the topic anywhere else and its discussion of both the pros and cons, the potentials and limitations of the technology was balanced, careful and very helpful. For anyone interested in American energy solutions, Greg Pahl's Biodiesel is a must read.
At a recent Independent Neighborhood Democrats meeting Assemblywoman Joan Millman gave us a grim outlook for next year's state budget. I hear the same issue was discussed at Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats as well. This was the same day the MTA forcasts an equally grim picture (but in their case we always have to question the numbers of an agency that keeps two sets of books depending on whether they want to show a surplus or a deficit). And from Governor Paterson we are hearing ideas like raising CUNY and SUNY fees and cutting education and health programs (our biggest outlays).
Let's face facts. The Republican Party has for nearly 8 years (more if you count the actions of the Gingrich Congress) been mismanaging our economy, running massive deficits, deregulating many industries (including lending) without regard to economic stability (witness the panicked imposition of regulation now that it is all collapsing!), shifting the tax burden onto the lowest tax brackets (thus redistributing wealth to the richest), running an expensive and ill-managed war in Iraq with no strategic importance, and making our economy more and more dependant on foreign oil. All of this put together has brought us to an economic crisis. The economy declined during Bush's first two years and has never really been good since. It has been the mirror image of the years of Clinton prosperity that I, for one, look back on with considerable nostalgia (low unemployment, low inflation, good stock markets). With Bush we had what sure seemed like Stagflation to me (unemployment and inflation) which now has imploded into what is looking like a nascent Depression (increasing unemployment and deflation).
It's a mess. What makes it more of a mess is that nearly a decade of Republican irresponsibility has left us with the largest deficit we have ever seen...after Clinton left us with a surplus that Greenspan felt was in danger of paying off our debt too soon!
NY State has a massive budget crisis. I know Joan Millman, my Assembly woman, has been warning about this for some time and now seems more concerned than ever. There is considerable debate (as there should be) over what to do. Cuts in transportation, education and healthcare are among the bad ideas. Yes, perhaps some cuts are unavoidable, but cuts in these damage our economy long term. Public transportation keeps NYC running, plain and simple. Cut this and you make everything in NYC harder and less efficient. Raising fares may be unavoidable and I have to admit the fares are lower than other public transit systems I have used (e.g. Tokyo and other places in Japan). But remember raising fares is regressive, further putting the burden of government on the lowest income people after nearly 8 years of Republicans doing the same thing year after year. I should note that the current Republican regressive policy comes after Reagan and the elected Bush ALSO effectively raised taxes on the poorest while cutting them for the richest, so we have had nearly three decades where the bulk of government policy has shifted the tax burden lower and lower on the income scale. If that isn't redistribution of wealth I don't know what is. Fare hikes continue that bad trend.
Cutting education damages America's future competitive edge. We already have more and more trouble competing in the high tech industry. Education funding improves our future economic edge and is pretty much always correlated with lower crime, lower drug use and lower poverty. Education is one of the best investments government can make long term, because education cuts future costs and improves future economic prospects. Cutting education may free up money now, but creates future problems.
Healthcare. America already has one of the most expensive healthcare systems in the world yet our outcomes are on par, I kid you not, with nations like Solvenia, Portugal, Albania and, get this, Cuba. We have an existing healthcare crisis that is forcing businesses to flee to Canada where healthcare is cheaper, better, and is less of a burden on businesses. We cannot as a nation afford to further erode our healthcare...unless we are aiming for outcomes more like Somalia.
What can we do? A number of ideas worth considering were discussed yesterday. And this is NYC centric, I admit, but includes statewide issues as well.
Taxes. People say that you can't raise taxes in bad economic times. In some ways I agree. But NY State is somewhat unique. NY State's HIGHEST tax bracket is 6.85% for any indivudual earning over $20,000. Yes, if you earn $21,000 a year you pay the SAME precent tax as Billionaire Bloomberg. From Bankrate.com:
New York collects state income taxes using a progressive, five-bracket system.
For single taxpayers: -- 4 percent on the first $8,000 of taxable income. -- 4.5 percent on taxable income between $8,001 and $11,000. -- 5.25 percent on taxable income between $11,001 and $13,000. -- 5.9 percent on taxable income between $13,001 and $20,000. -- 6.85 percent on taxable income of $20,001 and above.
For married persons filing joint returns, the rates remain the same but the income brackets are doubled.
This is a pretty regressive tax structure. Seems to me there is room for some tax cuts at that lower end and considerable room for increases at the upper end. This tax structure needs considerable overhaul. Currently it is desiged to redistribute wealth from the poorest to the wealthiest in typical Republican style. Would it be so awful if people earning over, say, $250,000 a year paid 8% or 9%? Make NY State tax more progressive.
STAR program. This is among the stupidest things I have ever seen. Raise property taxes then give it back to taxpayers so that the Governor's signature can be on a check voters get. Stupid stupid stupid. Personally I say repeal the STAR rebate. But even if you don't want to take that money in taxes, well, just don't collect it in the first place! To collect it then rebate it is about as inefficient as you can get. Reform or repeal the STAR rebate. It can be at least a small savings.
Commuter tax. I don't remember the commuter tax, but from all I hear the repeal of it was one massively bad idea. Personally I'd need to learn more about it, but I have been hearing a push for the commuter tax for some time and perhaps NYC needs this now.
Consolidation of local governments. Joan Millman discussed the fact that many places upstate have overlapping and redundant government offices and agencies that could be made more efficient by incorporation into larger units. I saw this happen in California where several tiny communities incorporated into a larger town, combining services and offices and saving money. This might not be a huge savings, but it would be a definite savings and would make local governments more efficient. I don't know what the process would be to do this, but it sounds reasonable. Redundancy of government offices has been the bane of many a government and is a drain of money.
Reservation revenue. I am not familiar with the treaties and laws governing Indian Reservations. In general these laws are made to the detrement of the Indians. But apparently gas and tobacco sold on Indian reservations, not to mention casinos, COULD be taxed by the state, but aren't. What is the reason for this? What would the impact be of collecting those taxes? It is a source of income that seems needed and it seems the fact that these taxes are not collected is unfair to the rest of the state, but again, I am not sure if this is the complete picture.
Sane Development. This state and city has a bad habit of pouring money into ill conceived development projects with little oversight. They do this largely based on promises of affordable housing. Yet there are few guarantees that these promises will ever be carried out. Bruce Ratner is merely the most obvious and egregious example, using his connections and family donations to Pataki, Bloomberg, Vito Lopez, etc. to get massive amounts of tax money from the people of NYC and NY State. Yet he is now saying he will largely back out of all promises regarding affordable housing. In the end, these development projects become more about patronage and political donations than about improving our city, and taxpayer money is wasted with little return for the community. The job creation is anaemic, the affordable housing non-existant or not affordable, and the only people to benefit are the developer and his political cronies. I am for devlopment if it is sane development, and I am for giving tax breaks to developers if they make enforceable promises and are held accountable if they don't keep them. But this habit of giving development projects to a low bidder, paying for his land purchase anyway, pouring tax money into his pockets, then getting nothing out of it is a huge waste of our time and money.
Prison reform. Among the biggest drains on our society are prisons and crime. Reducing crime rates and recidivism rates save our society money and distress. Brooklyn DA Charles Hynes, who I am not always in agreement with, particularly on local politics, has some programs that seem extremely successful in reducing recidivism and keeping people out of prison. His Alternative Sentencing for drug users program has a lower relapse rate than most programs, and a greatly reduced recidivism rate. Graduates of this program have re-arrest rates that were 33% lower; re-conviction rates that were 45% lower; and were 87% less likely to return to prison than those of a matched comparison group leading to an estimate savings for society of $45.1 million dollars. Here is a Columbia University analysis of this program (PDF). Hynes also has a program for re-introducing prisoners who have served their time back into society. It combines substance abuse treatment and work programs. The DA's office claims participants in this program were 30% less likely to be arrested and had a 90% employment rate. Harvard University has done a study of this program (PDF). Finally Hynes also has a Youth and Congregations in Partnership program which he claims "has an 18 percent recidivism rate compared with 77 percent recidivism rate for this age population (16-22 years)." All of this is a savings not only of money, but of people's lives. Wider application of these programs could save the city and state considerable money.
Voting. This is related in some ways. Our voting process is inefficient and out dated. But the current generation of voting machines are not reliable, are not secure and they work using programs that are secret so the process is not transparent. Several elections may have been faudulent because these machines CAN be used fraudulently with no way to detect the fraud. This is either a massive design flaw or a deliberate design flaw intended, as some Republicans have alleged in specific instances, to steal elections (e.g. Florida, Georgia and possibly Ohio, according to REPUBLICAN whistle blowers). NY State can save money by not making the mistake so many states have made: buying expensive voting machines on vendor promises that wind up not working and have to be replaced within a few years. This has happened all over the country and is just not reasonable. To NY State: DON'T DO IT! Insist on machines that WORK, are SECURE and where the entire process is transparent and auditable. An additional way the state can save money, and this is something I originally opposed because it was pushed by the Greens, but I now see as efficient, is instant runoff voting for elections that otherwise would have to go into a second, runoff election if no candidate gets over a certain number of votes. This has come up many times at CBID and even at IND recently when a representative from Citizens Union brought it up for use in primaries that might require a runoff. Instead of having to fund two eletions, it all can be decided in one election using instant runoff voting. That saves money.
New Deals. What we need is investment in infrastructure, particularly energy infrastructure. We need green sources of energy and that will take investment. In return it will generate jobs and prosperity. We need an FDR style new deal which will rebuild the roads, bridges and levees neglected by Republicans and retool our energy infrastructure. That takes money and Republicans have run us so deep in debt it is hard to know where that money will come from. But it can't be ignored. Let's face it, as long as the Iraq war continues, we do not have the money to do anything to pull ourselves out of this hole. Ending the Iraq war would free up money that we can use for a Green New Deal which will create jobs and improve our desperately neglected infrastructure.
Any other ideas? Any politicians want to give their opinion?
Here's an interesting rundown of the polluters in Brooklyn from the Josh Skaller for City Council website. Con Edison - Hudson Ave Station, Gowanus Generating Station, Kings Plaza Total Energy Plant, American Sugar Refining Inc, Brooklyn Navy Yard Cogeneration Plant seem the worst polluters in Brooklyn. I think the fact that our air and water are being poisoned mostly by the energy generating stations in our neighborhoods shows how important conservation on our part and alternative energy solutions are to our own health and the quality of our neighborhoods. You can help by choosing to buy YOUR energy from all wind and small hydroelectric power through Con Ed. You will get your same Con Ed bill, and it costs only 2.5 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) more, which is partly offset by an elimination of the sales tax on the delivery portion of your utility bill. Joy and I have been doing it for at least three years now and we didn't really notice the slight increase. We saved far, far more money when we switched to compact fluorescent light bulbs, so the combination made us far less polluting and saved us money.
Massa, McMahon, Maffei prevail: NY State has three new Democratic Congressmen, and NYC has no remaining Republican Congressional Reps.
The Daily Gotham covers both New York City (with a slight emphasis on Brooklyn) and New York State politics.
Reform NY is the blog of the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law
No Land Grab: News from the point of view of Brooklyn opposition to overdevelopment
On NY Turf is run by someone I know. Long overdue that I add his blog here. Contains political info, good map resources for NYC and discussions of development issues.
Let me highlight some excellent candidates running in New York in 2009:
Norm Siegel for Public Advocate For those of you who live in NYC, let me introduce you to Norman Siegel, one of America's top Civil Rights Lawyers, is running for New York Public Advocate. Here's a Youtube video of him:
And here is Youtube footage of Norm Siegel and the NYC Coalition To Preserve Term Limits Press Conference:
Josh Skaller for City Council. A progressive who is coming in second in fundraising, Josh is considered a serious contender by several pragmatic allies I have talked to and has been endorsed by State Senator Eric Adams. Josh may well become the frontrunner if he keeps it up. Josh is a good friend of ours, a solid progressive, and about as honest as you can get. Josh will be one of my top priorities in 2009!
More Races: Here is a Facebook Site highlighting some good primary challenges against those City Council members who voted themselves a pay raise then voted themselves a third term in the council over the vote and objections of the voters. In the future I will be highlighting some of these challengers, though for now electing Norm Siegel and Josh Skaller are my main efforts.
Here are a handful of Organizations worth checking out:
NY Citizens for Clean Elections: We are committed to passage of Clean Money Clean Election legislation in NYS that provides a non-partisan approach for full public funding of campaigns for all qualified candidates who refuse private money and abide by spending limits. We want to ensure that all Americans, regardless of wealth, have an equal voice in the political system and that qualified candidates are not discouraged from running because they do not have access to the money needed for a competitive campaign.
The Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats is a community-based Democratic club. CBID has fought for reform and progressive causes since 1968. As a Brooklyn-based Club, we have been instrumental in the election of many candidates for public office. Much of this success was a result of our question-and-answer forums with prospective candidates as well as our extensive on-the-street contact with our constituents.
Staunchly opposed to political corruption, we are proud of our independence and our commitment to progressive reform in city, state and national politics. We are a vehicle for citizen empowerment and making government more accountable to our neighborhoods.
We meet monthly, usually the fourth Thursday evening of the month in the basement of the Park Slope United Methodist Church, on the corner of 6th ave and 8th street, at 7:30pm. All are welcome.
New Kings Democrats (”NKD”) is a new, grassroots organization in Kings County (Brooklyn), New York whose primary mission is to recruit and prepare individuals to run for Kings County Democratic Committee. NKD hopes to achieve the goal of an inclusionary and participatory democracy by making it easy for individuals to run for local, elected office. NKD will serve as a training ground for individuals seeking higher office, and hopes to build and nurture a new group of Brooklyn Democratic leaders.
Stonewall Democrats of Western New York is the GLBT Democratic voice in WNY. Our mission is to advocate for the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender (GLBT) community within the Democratic Party and to encourage GLBT participation within the Democratic Party. Our membership includes representatives from State, County, and City government, and several Democratic committee members amongst the various County Committees in WNY.
DEMOCRACY FOR NYC MEETINGS: First Wednesday of every month
Staten Island, Muddy Cup, 388 Van Duzer Street with hosts Al Dykes and Tracey Denton at 7pm
Upper West Side, The Parlour, 250 West 86th(btwn Broadway & West End), with host Merle McEldowney,7pm
West Village, Kettle of Fish, 59 Christopher St. (near 7thAve.) with host Abhishek Mistry, 7pm
Astoria, Queens, at Sanford Diner, 30-13 Broadway, with hosts Costa Constantinides and Jeremiah Frei-Pearson. Note: this Linkup will begin at 7:30.
Sunnyside, Queens, at The Grind, 39-24 Queens Blvd. in the back room, with host Dan Jacoby. Note: this Linkup will begin at 7:30.
Bayside, Queens, The First Edition, 41-08 Bell Blvd, right near the LIRR stop, with host Steve Behar of Democrats for New Politics, 7pm
Sheepshead Bay, Brooklyn, Wycoff Bennett Homestead, 1669East 22nd Street, 7pm with host Annette Mont
DRINKING LIBERALLY MEETINGS IN NY STATE:
Clifton Park, New York * First Wednesday of each month, 7:00 pm onward * Old Dublin Inn, 130 Meyer Rd (Google maps is wrong, please contact me for directions.) * Hosted by Chris Selkirk, cliftonpark (at) drinkingliberally.org
Ithaca, New York * Every Wednesday, 6:30 pm onward * Felicia's Atomic Lounge, 508 W State St * Hosted by Joseph Cannon Murtagh, ithaca (at) drinkingliberally.org
New York City, New York:
The Original Drinking Liberally * Every Thursday, 7:30 pm onward * Rudy's, 627 9th Ave (between 44th and 45th) * In the backyard, weather permitting * Hosted by Justin Krebs, Matthew O'Neill and Katrina Baker, nyc (at) drinkingliberally.org
Drinking Liberally Steps Out * Third Tuesday of each month, 7:00-9:00 pm * XES Lounge, 157 W 24th St (@ 7th Avenue) * In conjunction with the Stonewall Democrats of New York City www.sdnyc.org. * Hosted by Matthew Carlin and Greg Rae, outnyc (at) drinkingliberally.org
Harlem * Second Wednesday of each month), 6:30 pm onward * Soundz Lounge, 3155 Broadway (between 123rd and 124th) * Hosted by Yolanda (Shoshi) Shoshana, harlem (at) drinkingliberally.org
Park Slope * Second Wednesday of each month, 7:30-10:00 pm * Commonwealth, 497 5th Ave (at 12th Street) * Hosted by Anthony Accurso, Emilie Harkin and Emily Farris, parkslope (at) drinkingliberally.org
Queens * Fourth Wednesday of each month, 7:30 pm onward * Bohemian Hall and Beer Garden, 29-19 24th Avenue, Astoria, NY 11102 (group of young liberals taking up one lane) * Hosted by Donald Graff, queens (at) drinkingliberally.org
Upper East Side * Last Tuesday of each month, 7:30 pm onward * Doc Watson's, 1490 2nd Ave (at 77th) * Hosted by Matthew Bachiochi, ues (at) drinkingliberally.org
West Bronx * First and third Friday of each month, 7:30 pm onward * An Beal Bocht, 445 W 238th St (between Waldo and Greystone) * 1 to 238th, turn left, straight on 238th, just past the top of the stairs * Hosted by Jamin Sewell and Scott Kennedy, westbronx (at) drinkingliberally.org
Rochester, New York * Every Thursday, 8:00-10:00 pm * Monty's Korner, 355 East Ave * Hosted by Tom Tucker and Tracy Logan, rochester (at) drinkingliberally.org
And then we have: Shooting Liberally Tuesday, Feb 19 From your friends at Drinking Liberally comes the debut of SHOOTING LIBERALLY...
For the First Amendment enthusiast ready to move on to the Second. A social evening at the gun range including training & weapon rental.
For more info and to reserve your spot, contact: Stanley Sherman - maskarts (at) worldnet.att.net
CALIFORNIA FOCUS: Blogs, Marriage Equality, Alternative Energy, Groups and Events
I will continue, for some time, be focusing on Marriage Equality. This is not my issue. I am not gay. I do know some gay people, but not so many that their issues tend to be mine. But the attempts in this nation to deny basic equality, to even RECOGNIZE basic equality, to some 10% of Americans, horrifies me. Prop 8 was terrible. It was passed out of irrational fear, fear that NO ONE need feel. The love between two people should NEVER be seen as a threat.
I will keep the statement by Keith Olbermann on Prop 8 on the top of my California Focus for sometime because I think it needs to be heard over and over again. It is a brilliant statement right from the heart. I don't have much to add to it except I am also a straight man from a family of straight folks who support Marriage Equality and just don't get this whole homophobic anti-gay marriage movement:
What I don't understand is how two consenting adults loving each other threatens anyone else? My marriage isn't threatened if gays can marry!
FIGHTING BACK:
Proposition 8 is among the worst results in California. It is, basically, a homophobic Hate Amendment that lets government define whether the love between two people is legitimate. There is now a backlash against those who led in the movement to pass this hateful amendment. Among the leaders of this year's movement to discriminate against gays was the Mormon Church. Once again right wing religious fanatics want to force THEIR religion on American society. This is one more example of the American Taliban trying to marginalize anyone they see as different.
For those who doubt the extremist aspects of the Mormon Church (though of course not all Mormons), read Jon Krakauer's book, Under the Banner of Heaven.
There is a backlash. It is the kind of left wing backlash that seldom gets much momentum, but when it does, it can have a powerful effect. Over at Daily Kos there is a list of businesses that endorsed Proposition 8. These are businesses that should be targeted for economic pressure. On the left suggestions like this often cause consternation. Truth is, boycotts DO WORK when enough people get pissed off enough to actually do them. The California grape boycott was a long term effort that finally worked. The anti-Apartheid boycotts were often vague and irregularly carried out...but in the end they were part of what worked. Here is the list of targets for actual economic pressure:
ACMS Ag West Distributing Co., Inc. Ronald Allison, M.D.- Allison Geriatrics Alpasina Insurance Services Pastor Marcelo Alvarado, Iglesia Misionnera HispanoAmericana American Build & Design, Inc. Automated Environments Best Tire and Automotive Rich Bott-Bott Radio Network Boy's Republic Donovan S. Browning, DDS Mary J. Buzzell, M.J.B. Floral Services Catherine Callen - Lampstand Studios, Divide CO Ron Carter- Carter Construction Company CC Layne & Sons Inc. Duncan Chamberlin-Duncan's Auto Sales Richard and Marie Clayton- Maric Services Community West Mortgage Cornerstone Custom Construction CRS, Inc. Culp Diversified Properties Curry Copy Center of Hemet Eldon Cyrus- Cyrus Tree Service Thomas B. Dafoe – Briden Wilson Farm, Arbuckle John DeCesare, President - inetMatrix Joyce Edge, Founder/President – Survivors of Assault Recovery EL VOCERO MAGAZINE Everything4Mom.com Jason & Andrea Ewell – Jason’s Glass Tint, San Clemente Fahillion Technology Consultants Fernandez and Fernandez First Experiences Preschool John Gaines, D.D.S. Mark E. Gething, Insurance - Amarillo TX GFBB Benefits and Insurance Peter Giannini, CPA John J. Gobbell, Jr., Real Estate Appraiser Richard A. & Susan J. Gregg, SueGreggCookbooks, Riverside Guy Strohmeiers Auto Center H M S Capital Hartman Construction of Home Services Dr. Jay W. Henderson, President - The Law Offices of Jay W. Henderson, Ltd. Higham, Richards & Vranes Inspired Stylus Writing and Copyediting GLen Inverso- MJ Baxter Drilling Company R. Christian Jesperson- Chiropractic Family Health Center Justin A. March Associates, Inc. Richard Kerr- Kerr Real Estate Advisors George M. Knapp, Investment Advisor: Knapp Financial James Knox, American Focus Land Resource Investments Lane Associates, Inc. Law Offices of Kimber B. Goddard Leon's Place Independent Living Lewis Appliance Repair and Installation Logos Tax Service David W. & Alice G. Magnusson: Haws, Record & Magnusson, Attorneys at Law Vlade Mamayev, CEO – Buildex Inc. Mammoth Auto Nora O. Marin - Little Angel's Daycare, Rancho Cordova Wayne M. Martin – Wayne Martin Associates, Oxnard Maximum Marketing Inc. Joseph McFarland, DDS Douglas McMullin, MD Anchi Miller – ATM International, Kirkland WA Ridley R. Molders – Molders Logistics, Santa Ana Todd Mowrey-Fit-To-Be-Tyed Fabricio Mundo- LinearB Enterprises NordalAppraisal.com Don Nordgren, Owner - Pacific Coast Auto Body, Paint & Frame, San Diego Dr. Phillip Ortiz, President/Owner - Direct to You Mobile Dentistry, Murrieta Michael A. Padgett – Law Office, Fontana Bradley L. Quick - Bradley L. Quick Insurance Agency Rick J. Radecki – Lion’s Roar Media, Victorville RCS Door Service/ Rodney Press. Peter M. Reimer - Peter Reimer Farms, Shafter Reimer's Wholesale Nursery Resources For Continuing Education, Inc. RF Sweet & Associates Real Estate Anthony Rios- First Security Home Loans Rockingham Asset Management Rod B. Johnson, CPA Denise M. Roland – Reliable Referrals LLC, La Crosse WI RPM Events, Inc. Joel Sanders – Sanders Heavy Towing, Williams Ross L. Sardo – RLS Inspections, Inc. Ventura Janice Schindler, President - Schindler & Schindler Inc. Fountain Valley Scott McDonald & Assoc. SCVHHS Sheppard & Associates Insurance Agency David Smalley, M.D. Patricia Smith – Classic Clean, Inc. Los Gatos Splash! Designworks Cynthia L. Stevens - Cynthia’s Cleaning Service Robert D. Stevenson, DDS Douglas Stevenson-Quietcool, inc. Stubblefield Family Chiropractic Scott Suchomel-Sibling Systems Superior Notary, LLC Teague Construction The Fire & Cop Shop The Law Office of H. Craig Miller The Wellness Advantage President Daniel y Susana Torres, Vision De Futuroag Tri-Valley Propac, Inc. Tropical Sands Vacations William U. Valencia, Tax Consultant: Valencia Tax Service Keith Walker, Writer-Publisher: Golden Door Press Warren Photography, Victorville Robert R. Weedon LCSW, Coherent Counseling Services West Coast Commercial Mortgage, Inc. White Diamond Jewelers Zane Schaeffer Construction
Also over at Daily Kos there is a diary listing Mormon businesses. These are not necessarily endorsers of the homophobic propositions that have been enacted in several states. But they are members of the religious organization that led to fight to marginalize approximately 10% of Americans. These businesses are good targets for establishing a dialogue regarding this proposition and urging them to condemn theHate Amendment. Some may well be right wing nut cases, like Diebold. THEY should be boycotted. Others should not but rather should be part of an effort to talk to people about why marriage equality is fair and a good thing for American society. So here is a list of companies to look into and TALK to about marriage equality.
* Affiliated Computer Services * AES Corp. * Avista Corp. * American Express * Black & Decker * Cadence Design * Corvis * Central Pacific Bank * 1-800-Contacts * Cygnus Inc. * Diebold * Dell Computer * Dionex * Downey Savings and Loan * EarthShell * Franklin Covey * Hillenbrand Industries * Headwaters, Inc. * Hollywood Entertainment * Host Marriott * Iomega * JP Realty * Key Corp. * Knight Transportation * K-Swiss, Inc. * La Quinta Properties, Inc. * Marriott International * Micrel Semiconductor * Micro General * Merit Medical Systems * Monaco Coach * Microsemi Corp. * Myriad Genetics * Novell * NPS Pharmaceuticals, Inc. * NuSkin * Oil States International * Oakley * priceline.com Inc. * Phelps Dodge Corp. * Ryder Systems * SkyWest Airlines * Swift Transportation * Cornerstone REIT * Tropical Sportswear * Williams Companies, Inc. * Zions Bancorp
If you boycott a company...TELL them you are boycotting. If you contact a company and receive a reply, even just a form letter, write back. Keep up the dialogue. Make a follow up phone call. TALK to people. It can make the difference, if not now, maybe 2, 5 or 10 years from now.
Undirected anger does nothing. Anger carefully directed can be a powerful tool in changing the world. If this list helps you focus your anger, then please make use of it.
And here is a list of STONEWALL DEMOCRATS and related organizations in California (probably NOT comprehensive):
Stonewall Alliance of Chico: The Stonewall Alliance Center offers a range of services to help connect people to their community. Volunteers staffing the Center provide information on activities and events and offer referrals for services. Our Education & Outreach give community members access to the Harlan Adams Memorial Library, Out Education classes, we deliver speaker’s panels to local colleges and presenters to area organizations and groups.
BLOGGING CALIFORNIA: Here are some blogs covering California Politics
Calitics is an open source news organization for California.
The California Progress Report is published by Frank D. Russo, a longtime observer of and participant in California politics.
LeftyBlogs California is the place to find out what's happening in the progressive blogosphere across California.
Some articles of note:
In an election of hope and unity, California sadly passed its Hate Proposition which allows government to regulate love between two consenting adults. Even in the midst of amazing progress, there is some regression.
Here are some Biodiesel Cooperatives in California. If you have a diesel truck or car, joining one of these co-ops can help you drive more green.
The Berkeley Biodiesel Collecctive Berkeley, CA email: berkeleybiodiesel_at_yahoo.com. Or check out their website.
The Biofuels Research Cooperative Sebastopol, CA email: veggieoilcoop_at_yahoo.com.
I also want to highlight Conserv Fuels in Los Angeles, which offers a selection of alternative fuels (biodiesel and ethanol included) as well as pretty cheap regular gasoline. Joy and I buy our fuel (whatever we need) when we are in Los Angeles.
And Propel Fuels have several stations around California that offer biodiesel: (I discovered them when I saw they did carbon offsets)
* Rocklin 6700 Five Star Blvd Sacramento, California 95677
* Citrus Heights 7741 Auburn Blvd Citrus Heights, California 95610
* Sacramento, Folsom Blvd. 8090 Folsom Blvd. Sacramento, California 95826
* Sacramento, Norwood Ave. 4200 Norwood Ave Sacramento, California 95838
* Sacramento, Florin Road 8062 Florin Road Sacramento, California 95828
* Elk Grove 9190 E Stockton Blvd Elk Grove, California 95624
* Roseville 999 Sunrise Ave Roseville, California 95661
* Placerville 151 Main St Placerville, California 95667
Here are other alternative energy resources for Califorina:
San Francisco Community Power pilots innovative programs that improve our neighborhoods' environmental and economic conditions. We help small businesses and low-income families lower their expenses and reduce their ecological footprint. Our work provides policy makers with demonstrative ways to solve complex resource allocation issues.
California for Democracy: Here are some local Democracy for America groups (click on the link for more info)
Here are some local political meetings in California:
Desert Stonewall Democrats Monthly Meeting Palm Springs' Desert Stonewall Democrats Democratic Club Monthly Meeting NATIONAL STONEWALL DEMOCRATS MISSION: Pride in Our Country - Pride in Our Family - - Pride in Our Party
MONTHLY MEETINGS The second SATURDAY of each month, 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM Desert Pride Center 611 South Palm Canyon Palm Springs 760-327-2313
San Ramon Valley Democrats Meetings We are a group of dedicated Democrats living in the San Ramon Valley who have come together to support and promote the progressive social and political principles that always have been fundamental to the Democratic Party. The San Ramon Valley is comprised of Alamo, Blackhawk, Diablo, Danville, San Ramon, and southern Walnut Creek, and members of our club come from each of those communities. We meet once a month for an educational program at Mudd's Restaurant in San Ramon, alternating between lunch on the second Tuesday, and appetizers (no-host bar) on the evening of the fourth Thursday (6:30 PM). We register people to vote, walk precincts to arouse voters, raise money for candidates, and enjoy the opportunity to socialize with people of common interests. Go here for more info.
Our meetings are lively and our programs are focused on issues of concern to Democrats, locally, statewide, and nationally. Our speakers are chosen for their astute insight into the problems before us as citizens and as voters. We socialize before and after the formal meetings, and enter into animated discussions about the topic of the day. In the process we become fast friends.
Mudds Restaurant $22 per person (meal included)
Democrats of North Orange County Bill Daly, President 714-990-6767 Bruce Sandercock, Vice-President 714-871-5244 P. O. Box 6597 Fullerton, CA 92834 Monthly meeting: First Thursday, Sizzler Restaurant, 1401 N. Harbor, Fullerton; 6 p.m. dinner, 7 p.m. meeting
Santa Clara County (San Jose) Democratic Party Meetup We meet at 7:30pm on the second Tuesday of each month at the Dem Party Office, 2102 Almaden Road, Suite 114, San Jose, 95125. Feel free to bring snacks to share.
Brought to you by the Santa Clara County Democratic Party (http://www.sccdp.org).... Please join us to learn ways to help elect Democrats in Santa Clara County and beyond.
~~Together, America Can Do Better!~~
On Almaden ROAD (not Expwy), between Curtner and Canoas Garden. It's OK to park in the big lot, despite posted warnings.
Internet directions usually suggest taking Almaden Expressway, which is sometimes backed up. A lower stress route is to take Bird Avenue west from 280 and follow it all the way until it dead-ends at Malone. Left on Malone, Right on Almaden Road and 2102 is on the first corner on your left.
We meet in Suite 114, first door on your left as you enter the glass doors marked Main Entrance.
Drinking Liberally:
For those who like a more social, and beer focused, environment, there's Drinking Liberally. Here are the Drinking Liberally groups in California:
San Jose * Second Thursday of each month, 6:30 and on * Trials Pub in downtown San Jose, 265 N 1st St (main cross streets: W St James and W Julian) * September is our first meeting with our new host! I'm looking for a co-host, so let me know if you are interested * Hosted by Mia White, sanjose (at) drinkingliberally.org
Downtown Los Angeles * Third Wednesday of each month, 6:00-8:00 pm * The Edison, 108 West 2nd St * We'll be in the area past the bar, known as the "Generator Lounge" (the entrance to the bar is through the alley off of 2nd street) * Hosted by Vincent Jones, Cecilia Cabello, Becca Doten, Roxi Reeves and Jim Kennedy, downtownla (at) drinkingliberally.org
Hollywood * Second Wednesday of each month, 7:00-9:00 PM * Molly Malone's Irish Pub, 575 South Fairfax Avenue, Los Angeles 90036 (near corner of 6th avenue) * http://www.mollymalonesla.com/ * Hosted by Vincent Jones, Jim Kennedy and Mary Jack, la (at) drinkingliberally.org
Pasadena * Every Tuesday, 7:30-10:00 pm * Madeleine's Wine Bistro, 1030 E Green St (between Wilson and Catalina) * We'll start out in the wine bar, then move out to the front patio. * Hosted by Asa Hopkins, pasadena (at) drinkingliberally.org
San Fernando Valley * First and third Thursday of each month, 7:00 pm onward * The White Harte Pub, 22456 Ventura Blvd, Woodland Hills (Two blocks west of Shoup Ave.) * Hosted by Andy Beaton and Jon Hytowitz, sfv (at) drinkingliberally.org
Westside * Fourth Wednesday of each month, 7:00-9:00 pm * Cock and Bull Pub, 2947 Lincoln Blvd, Santa Monica * Hosted by Vincent Jones, Mary Jack, Robert Coyner, Gisele Perez, Jeremy Bloom, Tami Reiss, Marc Saltzberg and Jim Kennedy, westsidela (at) drinkingliberally.org
Monterey, California * First Wednesday of each month, 6:30 pm onward * Ol' Factory Cafe, 1725 Contra Costa St (In Sand City, off of Del Monte Blvd) * http://www.olfactorycafe.com/ * Please note that The Ol' Factory Cafe currently only takes cash and local checks. * Hosted by Annie Ho, monterey (at) drinkingliberally.org
Santa Ana * Every Thursday, 8:30 pm onward * Memphis Bar, 201 N Broadway (Artists Village) * Hosted by Mike Lawson, orangecounty (at) drinkingliberally.org
Rancho Santa Margarita * Every Thursday, 7:00 pm onward * Canyon Fireside Grille, 22312 El Paseo * Hosted by Gary Kephart, rsm (at) drinkingliberally.org
Huntington Beach * First and third Thursday of each month, 7:00 pm onward * Oggi's Pizza & Brewing Co. - Out Back On The Patio, 19461 Main St * Next Meeting will be on Thursday November 15th * Hosted by Scott McKown and Louise Stewardson, huntingtonbeach (at) drinkingliberally.org
Sacramento, California * Second Thursday of each month, 7:00 pm onward * BJs Restaurant and Brewery, 3531 N Freeway Blvd (Natomas) * Come check out our new venue and meet some new people! * Hosted by Leslie Simmons, sacramento (at) drinkingliberally.org
San Diego, California * Every other Tuesday, 7:30 pm onward * Nunu's Cocktail Lounge, 3537 5th Ave (Between Brookes and Ivy Ln) * We will also be meeting periodically at Firehouse in Pacific Beach for special editions of Drinking Liberally. 722 Grand Avenue Pacific Beach, CA 92109 * Hosted by Jesse Rubin and Jason Miller, sandiego (at) drinkingliberally.org
San Francisco * Every Monday, 7:00-9:00 pm * Nickie's, 466 Haight Street (between Fillmore & Webster) (Look for our red, white and blue striped bottle!) * Hosted by Susan Harrison, sf (at) drinkingliberally.org
Oakland * Second and fourth Wednesday of each month, 6:00 - 9:00 PM * Luka's Taproom & Lounge, 2221 Broadway * Join us for the Eating Liberally Oakland Brunch at Luka's * Hosted by Cyril Allen and Philip Combs, oakland (at) drinkingliberally.org
Napa * First and third Monday of each month, 5:00-6:30 pm * Compadre's, 505 Lincoln Ave * Hosted by Mick Winter and Lauren Coodley, napa (at) drinkingliberally.org
San Luis Obispo, California * First and third Wednesday of each month, 7:00 pm onward * The Graduate, 990 Industrial Way * Hosted by Lorrie Toles and Sergio Monge, slo (at) drinkingliberally.org
Santa Barbara, California * Every Wednesday, 8 pm - 10 pm * Elsie's Bar, 117 W de la Guerra St (behind Paseo Nuveo Mall) * Elsie's is 21+ and cash only * Hosted by Daryl Chrisman and Bart Woolery, santabarbara (at) drinkingliberally.org
Santa Clarita, California * Second Wednesday of each month, 7:00 pm onward * Mulligans, 25848 Tournament Rd (Near Cal Arts) * Hosted by Michael Cruz, Bill Bailey and Minerva Williams, santaclarita (at) drinkingliberally.org
Santa Cruz, California * First Tuesday of each month, 8:00 pm onward * Cafe Pergolesi, 418 Cedar St (In the orange room to the right and back) * Hosted by Brandon Smith and Natalie Rojas, santacruz (at) drinkingliberally.org
Stockton, California * Third Friday of each month, 7:00 pm onward * Stockton Grand Hotel, 2323 Grand Canal Blvd (Front of Bar) * Grand Hotel tel. 209-957-9090 * Joel's Cell: 209-351-3397 * Hosted by Joel Carignan, stockton (at) drinkingliberally.org
Ventura, California * Second and fourth Wednesday of each month, 8:00 pm * JJ Brewsky's, now and forever, 2344 Ventura Blvd, Camarillo (in the heart of Old Town Camarillo) * Join us every second and fourth Wednesdays at 8:00 PM for a pint and some politics! * Heather, Marie, Mark and Brian * Hosted by Heather Schmidt, Marie Davis, Mark Eggertsen and Brian Mack, ventura (at) drinkingliberally.org
GEORGIA FOCUS: Blogs, Jim Martin, Alternative Energy, Veterans For Peace, NAACP, Groups and Events
The Georgia Senate Race is in a runoff election. This race is not just another important pick up opportunity. It is a matter of honor both for Democrats and for all Vietnam Vets.
This year Georgia has the opportunity not only to elect a fine Democrat, Jim Martin, to the Senate, but also to right a wrong committed by Republicans 6 years ago. Jim Martin is running against Republican Saxby Chambliss who ran a sleazy, nasty smear campaign against Vietnam War hero and disabled Veteran Max Cleland. Saxby Chambliss, in comparison to Max Cleland's war record, was given five student deferments and he received a medical deferment for a bad knees due to a football injury. So Chickenhawk Chambliss smeared a genuine war hero, Max Cleland to win a Senate seat.
Now Democrat Jim Martin, also Vietnam Veteran, is running to defeat Chickenhawk Chambliss. Here is the latest ad from Jim Martin's campaign:
In his almost six years in the U.S. Senate, Saxby Chambliss has built a reputation as a loyal defender of President Bush and his policies and as a champion of corporate interests.
The people of Georgia now have to decide whether that’s the senator they want for the next six years as well...
[Jim] Martin, a University of Georgia graduate who volunteered to serve his country in Vietnam, has pitched his campaign at his opponent’s weak spot by focusing on protecting the middle class. He advocates lower taxes on the middle class, stronger consumer protection laws and an end to corporate welfare. He has also criticized Chambliss’ vote on the Wall Street rescue package, a position that frankly smacks of political opportunism.
However, Martin has a long record of public service in the state Legislature, where he earned respect from Democrats and Republicans alike for his intelligence and willingness to buck party leaders if necessary. He was appointed by Gov. Roy Barnes, a fellow Democrat, to head the Department of Human Resources, and was asked to remain in that post when Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue took office.
He is what he seems like, a smart guy who wants to help his fellow Georgians and doesn’t care who gets the credit...
Overall...the best candidate is Martin. In what look to be six difficult years ahead, he would do well for the people of Georgia.
Jim Martin has also been endorsed by the Macon Telegraph.
Jim Martin is the best choice for Georgia. But it goes beyond this. To me, defeating Saxby Chambliss is a matter of honor as well because of how he "won" the Senate seat through smearing a good man and, quite likely, through fraud. A win for Jim Martin would not only replace a Bush Republican with someone who is more loyal to the people of Georgia than to the failed Bush policies, but also would restore the honor of Georgia.
Six years ago Republican Saxby Chambliss won the Georgia Senate race through a sleazy smear campaign against Vietnam War Hero and disabled Veteran Max Cleland. Chambliss ran one of the nastiest campaigns I have ever seen and the fact that he called the loyalty of a decorated war hero into question added to my disgust. Even fellow Republicans John McCain and Chuck Hagel were disgusted by Saxby Chambiss' sleaze campaign.
But it also appears Chambliss won at least partly due to election fraud. According to Republican cybersecurity expert Stephen Spoonamore, formerly an adviser to Sen. John McCain, investigated a computer patch that was installed PERSONALLY by Diebold CEO Bob Urosevich in just two counties, DeKalb and Fulton, both Democratic strongholds. From Raw Story:
A leading cyber-security expert and former adviser to Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) says he has fresh evidence regarding election fraud on Diebold electronic voting machines during the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial and senatorial elections.
Stephen Spoonamore is the founder and until recently the CEO of Cybrinth LLC, an information technology policy and security firm that serves Fortune 100 companies. At a little noticed press conference in Columbus, Ohio Thursday, he discussed his investigation of a computer patch that was applied to Diebold Election Systems voting machines in Georgia right before that state's November 2002 election.
Let me just say here that I publicized some Democrats who called attention to this same computer patch back in 2002. No one listend back then. But maybe a major Republican IT expert can finally get some attention to this issue. More from the same article:
Spoonamore is one of the most prominent cyber-security experts in the country. He has appeared on CNN's Lou Dobbs and ABC's World News Tonight, and has security clearances from his work with the intelligence community and other government agencies, as well as the Department of Defense, and is one of the world’s leading authorities on hacking and cyber-espionage...
Spoonamore received the Diebold patch from a whistleblower close to the office of Cathy Cox, Georgia’s then-Secretary of State. In discussions with RAW STORY, the whistleblower -- who wishes to remain anonymous for fear of retaliation -- said that he became suspicious of Diebold's actions in Georgia for two reasons. The first red flag went up when the computer patch was installed in person by Diebold CEO Bob Urosevich, who flew in from Texas and applied it in just two counties, DeKalb and Fulton, both Democratic strongholds. The source states that Cox was not privy to these changes until after the election and that she became particularly concerned over the patch being installed in just those two counties.
The whistleblower said another flag went up when it became apparent that the patch installed by Urosevich had failed to fix a problem with the computer clock, which employees from Diebold and the Georgia Secretary of State’s office had been told the patch was designed specifically to address.
The article goes on to discuss probable Republican fraund in Ohio in 2004.
Saxby Chambliss: a dishonorable Bush Republican who even Republicans think cheated and lied his way into office.
Jim Martin: an honorble Veteran respected by both Democrats and Republicans. You can learn more about Jim Martin at his website.
Saving the Economy and Environment with Clean Energy! Solar, Wind, Energy Efficiency, and Energy Conservation all have the power to meet our current and projected energy demand more cheaply then fossil fuels (read: Fools), all while providing more local jobs then traditional coal, nuclear, or natural gas plants! Join here for more details. Or go here: www.cleanpower4georgians.com
Atlanta Beyond Oil We are interested in peak oil, global warming, relocalization, sustainable communities, alternative energy, permaculture, and more. We are beginning to network with other Metro Atlanta groups and to have events that educate people about our concerns. We offer support, information, and opportunities to contribute to the solution. We'd love to have you join us! Go here for more details.
The Atlanta Green Living Meetup Group We will meet to share ideas, listen to speakers, review new products, and organize in the community to promote the preservation of Atlanta's natural environment. The group focuses on easy, accessible options that everyone can take to reduce their footprint. Join here for more info.
2009 BIO International Convention May 18, 2009 - May 21, 2009
Atlanta, Georgia - The BIO International Convention is the largest biotechnology event in the world. The Convention helps BIO fulfill its mission to help grow the global biotech industry. The BIO International Convention features keynotes and sessions from key policymakers, scientists, CEOs, and celebrities. Past speakers include President George W. Bush, President Bill Clinton, Michael J. Fox, Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, among many others. The convention also includes hundreds of sessions covering biotech trends, policy issues and technological innovations, and the world's largest biotechnology exhibition - the BIO Exhibition. Go here for more information and registration.
Veterans for Peace, Atlanta has several vigils and rallies around Atlanta. Here is their weekly schedule. I urge you to join them if you can to show your support:
Tuesdays 12:45-1 pm Weekly "Stand for Peace" vigil at Emory University , in front of Woodruff Library. For more information e-mail: thee.smith@emory. edu.
Thursdays 5:00-6:00pm Weekly "Stand for Peace" vigil at CNN, Marietta and Centennial Olympic Park. For more information e-mail John.Zientowski@ turner.com
Fridays 12:00-1:00 pm Weekly "Stand for Peace" vigil at Colony Square , corner of Peachtree and 14th Street . For more information, e-mail bobbiepaul@rp.cbeyond.com
Weekly "Stand for Peace" vigil at Marietta Square ( Cobb Court House). For more information e-mail cobbpeace@comcast.net
Saturdays 12:00-1:00 Weekly "Stand for Peace" vigil at Dekalb Farmers Market At 3000 Ponce de Leon Avenue , Decatur For more information, Fro more information e-mail John.Zientowski@ turner.com
Sundays 12:15-1:00 pm Weekly "Stand for Peace" vigil at the corner of MLK Drive and Washington Street (across from the state capitol). For more information, e-mail elogan@gsu.edu or peggyhendrix2000@yahoo.com.
12:00-12:30 pm Weekly "Stand for Peace" vigil at 910 Ponce De Leon Ave NE ,Open Door Community. For more information contact Lauren Cogswell at lauren_cogswell@yahoo.com, 404-874-9652
Next let me highlight some NAACP groups:
The Cobb County NAACP monthly meetings are the first Monday of the month at the branch office at 6:30 p.m.
General membership meets the fourth Tuesday of the month, mostly at the office location but varies based on programs. Members are encouraged to attend these meetings. Join a committee today. Elections of officers are held in even years.
For more info contact the branch office: 605 B. Roswell St Marietta, GA 30061 770.425.5757 info_at_cobbnaacp.org
The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, or NAACP, is the oldest, largest and strongest civil rights organization in the United States. The principal objective of the NAACP is to ensure the political, educational, social and economic equality of minority group citizens of the United States.
The NAACP is committed to achievement through non-violence and relies upon the press, the petition, the ballot and the courts, and is persistent in the use of legal and moral persuasion even in the face of overt and violent racial hostility.
Fayette County NAACP Branch General Membership Meeting: 2nd Saturday Each Month - 4:00 PM, Flat Rock AME Church
And if you want contact info for other NAACP branches in Georgia (mainly addresses), please go here.
Here are a couple of Democracy for America meetings in Georgia:
Decatur Meeting: First Wed. of every month, 07:00 PM - 09:00 PM, Location: ChocoLate Coffee, 2094 North Decatur Rd, Decatur, GA, 30033 US Contact: Susan Keith susan_at_georgiafordemocracy.org
The North Fulton/East Cobb Democracy for America: Second Tuesday of every month, 7:00 PM, sign up here to find out where and more details.
Georgia Equality is the political advocacy voice of Georgia's lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender citizens and their allies. Founded in Atlanta in 1995, it has grown into a true statewide organization and is known nationally as one of the leaders among state and local LGBT groups.
Here are more groups and events in Georgia:
Atlanta Area Democrats Meetup Group: Grassroots Democrats upset with the direction the Republicans are taking our country and our state - we're taking action! Sign up for more information.
Cobb County Young Democrats Monthly Happy Hours on the first Fridays of every month and monthly Business Meetings on the third Tuesdays of every month. Both are great opportunities to meet fellow Cobb County Young Democrats and learn about the 2008 heated races taking place in Cobb County.
Happy Hours: BLACKBIRD, 114 W Hancock St, Milledgeville, GA, 31061 US Contact: Christin Ivey, Christin_ivey@ecats.gcsu.edu,
Business Mettings: Little Azio Pizza and Pasta 1675 Cumberland Pkwy, Ivywalk Unit #415, Smyrna, GA, 30080 US Contact: Alexandra O'Callaghan, alli@georgiayds.org,
Cherokee County Democratic Party Meeting Third Monday of Every Month, 7 PM Hot Springs Community Center 100 Hickory Circle Holly Springs, GA More info here.
Atlanta Amnesty International Chapter 75: Meet others in your local area interested in Amnesty International USA, a worldwide movement of people who campaign for internationally recognized human rights. Sign up to find out when and where.
Drinking Liberally is a grassroots social organizations for people who like to meet fellow liberals over a good beer. Here are the Drinking Liberally chapters in Georgia:
Atlanta, Georgia * Every Thursday, 8:00 pm onward * Thinking Man's Tavern, 537 W Howard Ave, Decatur * Hosted by Erin Abrahams, atlanta (at) drinkingliberally.org
Dunwoody * First and third Wednesday of each month (next meeting January 2), 7:00 pm onward * Ye Olde Dunwoody Tavern, 5488 Chamblee Dunwoody Rd (map) * Hosted by Hillary Meister, dunwoody (at) drinkingliberally.org
Augusta, Georgia * Second and fourth Thursday of each month, 7:00 pm onward * Helga's Lounge, 2015 Central Ave * Hosted by Margie Hobbins, augusta (at) drinkingliberally.org
Savannah, Georgia * First and third Thursday of each month, 7:30 pm onward * Crystal Beer Parlor, 301 W Jones St (corner of west jones and jefferson) * lots of parking * Hosted by John Mattingly, Victor Fishman and McKay Schwalbach, savannah (at) drinkingliberally.org
