Progressive Democrat Issue 213

I have recently joined the co-op board of my building. It was a contested election, so I was a bit surprised to have gotten elected. But it is a tough position since many shareholders in the building are unhappy with how things have been run and are expecting new board members like me to make things better. Not sure I can do much better than the past board members, but I do think it is important to try. And that means I may have to cut back somewhat on the effort put into this newsletter.

During the leadup to the election, my readership really grew massively. And there were many states that were worth covering. Since the election my readership in some states has stayed surprisingly even, including in places like Texas and Georgia. Those are generally the states I have extra sections on where I focus on particular issues or regions every week. But in other states readership has declined. I see no reason to stop posting the information I have gathered that might be of use to progressives in these states, but for those states where readership has declined I will stop doing weekly "Stories of interest" updates. If readership picks up, I will start the updates again. I suspect readership in those states will pick up when there are elections. But for now cutting back on the updates will be the main way I can save some time.

If events continue to unfold the way they are, I will be giving up on one of my local political clubs as well. For my New York readers you will probably be hearing more about that soon. Suffice it to say, sometimes you gotta look at people's actions, not words, and if those actions don't match their words, they aren't worth your time.

For all my readers who want to help a great organization elect some progressives in NYC (I know all three of the candidates and can vouch for their integrity), please see this slate of Democracy for NYC endorsed candidates. If you like the change Obama represents, helping Democracy for NYC can be a real chance to help expand that change.

Here is this week's newsletter:

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

Veterans for Energy Independence

UN Resolution on Defamation of Religions

Newsflash: Muslims Continue to be Loyal Citizens

NYC FOCUS: Pensiongate and Pay to Play Politics

Rochester, NY Focus

Brooklyn, NY Focus

Queens, NY Focus

Bronx, NY Focus

NEW YORK STATE FOCUS

Inland Empire, CA Democracy for America Training

Silicon Valley, CA Focus

Orange County, CA Focus

Sacramento, CA Focus

San Diego, CA Focus

CALIFORNIA FOCUS

Virginia Organizing Project

VIRGINIA FOCUS

Hackensack, NJ Riverkeeper River Cleanups

Newark, NJ Democracy for America Training

NEW JERSEY FOCUS

Renew Wisconsin

WISCONSIN FOCUS

Solar Energy for Georgia

GEORGIA FOCUS

Houston/Harris County, TX Focus

Austin/Travis County, TX Focus

Dallas County, TX Focus

TEXAS FOCUS

PENNSYLVANIA FOCUS

ILLINOIS FOCUS

MICHIGAN FOCUS

WASHINGTON FOCUS

ARIZONA FOCUS

COLORADO FOCUS

FLORIDA FOCUS

Charlotte, NC Democracy for America Training

NORTH CAROLINA FOCUS

IOWA FOCUS

NEVADA FOCUS