Progressive Democrat Issue 196

After a brief break, the Progressive Democrat is back. LOTS going on, of course, more than I can comment on. The Gaza war, where I have strong sympathies with both sides. The impeachment of a certain disgustingly corrupt Governor of Illinois...impeached, I should add, with the help of his own Democratic Party. THAT is the difference between Dems and Repubs. Democrats WILL impeach one of their own if he is found to be corrupt. Repubs just make excuses for their own corruption and blame the media. Speaking of which, Sarah Palin spent the week whining about how the media was to blame for her losing. Yeah, right. Like her having no clue about much of anything didn't have something to do with it.

Obama's Cabinet is shaping up. I may not like each and every pick of his, but overall it looks good. Really good. After 8 years of incompetance, it looks like we will have an administration that can actually govern. And boy we will need it!

The economy continues to collapse. Environmental degradation continues apace, with massive coal waste spills illustrating for us just why coal, the technology of 150 years ago, just isn't right for the 21st Century. There was a coup in Guinea with no real action from Bush. Somalia continues to slide into chaos with no real outside help to try and stabilize it. Together these two events threaten the tenuous stability of both West and East Africa. Bangladesh had a very interesting election pitting two bitter rivals who have dominated Bangladeshi politics for years. BOTH rivals lead parties well known for corruption. But what is most interesting is that both rivals who have dominated politics in this Muslim nation are women. I have always said that Bangladesh should be a major focus of America's interaction with Islamic nations because it is a.) in desperate need of help to combat the intertwined issues of poverty, environmental degradation and corruption, b.) a very real, viable democracy despite these problems, and c.) mostly has avoided any and all tendency towards terrorism and extremism (though Bush almost blew THAT one too).

This week I discuss Sierra Leone, America's Indian Country, and the Taliban as well as continuing my local focus in 16 states where I have solid readership.

Here is this week's newsletter:

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

BOOK REVIEW: A Long Way Gone

Rape, Women and Poverty in Indian Country

The Taliban Declare Jihad on Little Girls

NYC FOCUS: 2009 Elections

NEW YORK STATE

CALIFORNIA

FLORIDA

WASHINGTON STATE

VIRGINIA

NEW JERSEY

TEXAS

GEORGIA

IOWA

WISCONSIN

COLORADO

NEVADA

ILLINOIS

ARIZONA

PENNSYLVANIA

NORTH CAROLINA

Book Review: A Long Way Gone; Memoirs of a Boy Soldier

My high school friends have begun to suspect I haven't told them the full story of my life.

"Why did you leave Sierra Leone?"

"Because of the war."

"Did you witness some fighting?"

Everyone in the country did.

"You mean you saw people running around with guns and shooting each other?"

"Yes, all the time."

"COOL."

I smile a little.

"You should tell us about it sometime."

"Yes, sometime.

A Long Way Gone is an autobiographical book written by Ishmael Beah who spent several years caught in the middle of the civil war in Sierra Leone. It spans pretty much exactly the period of his exposure to the war, starting with the day before the fighting first impacted his life in 1993 and ending with his eventual escape from Sierra Leone into neighboring Guinea in 1997. Only glimpses of his life both before and after this appear as flashbacks or flash forwards in the story.

As Zimbabwe rapidly slips into chaos, we do well to remember what is sadly common in modern African history: well-armed and ill disciplined gangs, often mostly children who should be in Middle School or High School, led by violent strongmen locked in brutal and prolonged wars over who gets to loot a given country. Sometimes there are religious overtones. Sometimes racial/ethnic/tribal overtones. Often economic conflicts are also involved. But generally no one benefits from these conflicts except a handful of top men who squirrel away as much wealth as they can for their own benefit.

Sierra Leone was one of the main sources of slaves feeding America's Southern states and its history, in many ways, is inseparable from this. Native cultures in Africa were devastated by the slave trade, with entire tribal groups either enslaved or turned into slavers to feed American greed. In 1787, British abolitionists, perhaps also inspired by the recently ended little war between Britain and the American insurgents, helped 400 freed slaves from America return to Africa to settle what became Freetown, the capital of Sierra Leone. In many ways these freed slaves formed a new ethnic group within Sierra Leone that did not integrate well with the native cultures. A similar history is evident for neighboring Liberia, which was founded as a nation by resettled American slaves by the American Colonization Society starting in 1821. The histories of Liberia and Sierra Leone were very much intertwined. And it is this background that sets the stage for Ishmael Beah's life. Liberia gained independence in 1847, and held onto its independence since then while the rest of Africa was carved up by European powers.

Sierra Leone gained independence from Britain in 1961. By 1967 instability was already setting in with power conflicts among two main political parties and various military factions, leading to many coups, attempted coups and counter-coups. This led in 1978 to the establishment of a corrupt, one-party state. In 1991, a small revolutionary group began to oppose the corrupt, single-party government. That small revolutionary group, the RUF, became, under the influence of Liberian strongman Charles Taylor, one of the most brutal, disgustingly blood-thirsty band of thugs in history. Ishmael remembers his father's explanation in one flashback in the book right after seeing a woman carrying her dead little girl after a rebel attack:

Siaka Stevens returned to power in 1968, and several years later declared a one-party state, the APC being the sole legal party. It was the beginning of "rotten politics," as my father would put it. I wondered what he would say about the war that I was now running from. I had heard from adults that this was a revolutionary war, a liberation of the people from corrupt government. But what kind of liberation movement shoots innocent civilians, children, that little girl?

That was the Sierra Leone background to the conflict: "rotten politics" opposed by the RUF. The RUF was founded by Foday Sankoh. From Wikipedia:

A former corporal in the Sierra Leonean army, wedding photographer, and television cameraman, Sankoh became a student activist in the 1970s. After his activism earned him a short prison term, Sankoh joined a Cold War guerilla camp in Libya sponsored by Muammar al-Gaddafi, where Muammar al-Qaddafi was preaching revolutionary ideas to West African dissidents. It is here that he met Charles Taylor, future president of Liberia and Sankoh's financial benefactor and ally throughout the civil war. With his encouragement, Sankoh and two allies, Abu Kanu and Rashid Mansaray, returned from Libya to form the Revolutionary United Front (RUF).

From wedding photographer to brutal rebel leader. Think about that next time you're at a wedding and that photographer is in your face.

In some ways Sankoh starts as a sympathetic figure, an idealistic opponent to a corrupt regime. Similarly, Charles Taylor of Liberia also starts as a sympathetic figure. From the Liberia Wiki entry:

In late 1989, a civil war began. The harsh dictatorial atmosphere that gripped the country was due in large part to Sergeant Samuel Doe's rule. An Americo-Liberian named Charles Taylor with the backing of neighbouring countries such as Burkina Faso and Cote d'Ivoire entered Nimba County with around 100 men.[9] These fighters gained high levels of support with the local population who were disillusioned with their present government. A large section of the country came under the invaders' control as a result.

Again, a seemingly idealistic rebel against a harsh dictator. By 1997, Taylor had won the civil war and become the elected president of Liberia. Taylor's regime rapidly became even more brutally dictatorial than Doe's had been. Foday Sankoh led a parallel, allied, and equally brutal rebellion in Sierra Leone. It wasn't until 2002 for Sierra Leone and 2003 for Liberia that these civil wars finally ended and stability restored to this region. Interestingly, in Virginia Democrats just elected Tom Perriello to Congress. Congressman Perriello has worked with child soldiers and local pro-democracy groups, and played a significant role in the peace and reconciliation process that ended the Sierra Leone civil war. He also became Special Advisor and spokesperson for the International Prosecutor that forced Liberian dictator Charles Taylor to surrender power without firing a shot. I, for one, strongly believe that America needs this kind of diplomatic experience in Washington after 8 years of Bush incompetence. As I read the later parts of Ishmael Beah's book I wondered whether Tom and Ishmael ever crossed paths.

A Long Way Gone begins with Ishmael and some of his friends starting off from their home village, Mogbwemo, for a neighboring village for a talent show. Ishmael was 12 years old. While in that neighboring village, some other friends came home early from school because their school was closed down because of a nearby rebel attack. The rebel attack had occurred in Mogbwemo where Ishmael's family were. This was the first moment where Ishmael realized that the civil war within his nation could impact his life. He never saw his parents again.

Immediately Ishmael and his friends from Mogbwemo head back home to find their family. This already is a horrible choice to have to make: flee to safety and abandon your family, or head right into a war zone to try and find your family. Ishmael, a child of only 12, chose to head into the war zone to find his family. Very soon they saw what they were getting themselves into.

"Do you guys think it is a good idea to go back to Mogbwemo?" Junior asked. But before either of us had a chance to answer, a Volkswagen roared in the distance and all the people walking on the road ran into the nearby bushes...The vehicle stopped in front of my grandmother's house...we saw a man run from the driver's seat to the sidewalk, where he vomited blood. His arm was bleeding. When he stopped vomiting, he began to cry. It was the first time I had seen a grown man cry like a child, and I felt a sting in my heart. A woman put her arms around the man and begged him to stand up. He got to his feet and walked toward the van. When he opened the door opposite the driver's, a woman who was leaning against it fell to the ground. Blood was coming out of her ears.

They turned back, never making it back to Mogbwemo. What does a 12 year old do when his home and family are suddenly taken from him? Ishmael stayed where he was hoping everything would be okay. It was weeks later that Ishmael got his first glimpse of the rebels themselves. Unexpectedly, gunshots erupted around them in the village they had taken refuge. The Sierra Leone soldiers who had been stationed in the village had run away once they realized they were outnumbered. The civilians were left to themselves. Many simply ran. Some drowned in the river as they fled. Others were shot in the back. Ishmael and his friends escaped, beginning a period of aimless wandering, hunger and fear. Their world became one where they could trust no one and no one trusted them. Both sides, particularly the rebels, used child soldiers, so a band of 6 children wandering the countryside terrified civilians.

Being a group of six boys was not to our advantage. But we needed to stay together because we had a better chance of escaping the day-to-day troubles we faced. People were terrified of boys our age. Some had heard rumors about young boys being forced by the rebels to kill their families and burn their villages. These children now patrolled in special units, killing and maiming civilians...So whenever people saw us, we reminded them of the massacres...some people tried to hurt us to protect themselves, their families and communities.

Ishmael and his friends were even captured by the rebels and saw first hand their senseless brutality, even being lined up for execution. A sudden nearby gunfight, presumably soldiers attacking the rebels, gave him and his friends a chance to escape. Finally they settle in a village where, in exchange for doing guard duty (yes, even civilians used children as soldiers) and helping farm, they were given food and shelter. After several months, this village was also attacked by the rebels. In fleeing from this attack, Ishmael became separated from everyone and spent a strange month in the jungle alone before he finally met up with another group of boys, some of whom he had known at school.

Once again I was with a group of boys. This time there were seven of us. I knew this was going to be a problem, but I didn't want to be by myself anymore. Our innocence had been replaced by fear and we had become monsters. There was nothing we could do about it.

Lord of the Flies for real.
At one point they received word that their families might have taken refuge in a nearby village. By the time they reach that village the rebels had just attacked, killing everyone.

More than twenty people lay facedown in the earth. They were all lined up, and blood still poured out of their wounds. A stream of it had begun running along the ground, making its way under each body, as if joining them together.

Ishmael is left only with the rumor that his family had been staying in a hut that had been burned to the ground with everyone in it. Never any confirmation of his family's fate.

My entire body went into shock. Only my eyes moved, slowly opening and closing. I tried to shake my legs to get my blood flowing, but I fell to the ground, holding my face. On the ground I felt as if my eyes were growing too big for their sockets. I could feel them exploding, and the pain released my body from the shock. I ran toward the house. Without any fear I went inside and looked around the smoke-filled rooms. The floors were filled with heaps of ashes; no solid form of a body was inside. I screamed at the top of my lungs and began to cry as loudly as I could, punching and kicking with all my might into the weak walls that continued to burn.

The rebels chased the boys and the one surviving adult from the village, shooting at them as they ran. Once they reached safety, they realized the adult had been shot while they fled and he died in their arms.

This was life in Sierra Leone if you were on your own. Running, starving, finding refuge until the rebels hit again, then running again. Seeing everyone die, often brutally and senselessly.

Finally they were captured by soldiers of the Sierra Leone army and taken to a village they had made their base. At this point the army seems to behave differently than the rebels, because they didn't threaten, kill or torture unless they captured an actual armed rebel. And no one was forced, initially, to fight for the army. What is not clear is whether this changed, or if the army always was sometimes as bad as the rebels, sometimes better. But later Ishmael himself participated in actions that, to my mind, were scarcely different from what he had seen the rebels do. Both sides justified it in the name of revenge.

Think of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Think of America's involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq. Think of the Balkan wars, Rwanda, Burundi...As killing continues, and the more techniques like terror, torture and killing of civilians are used in a war, the more vendettas pile up and the harder it is to find resolution. To me one of the worst decisions Bush ever made (among many) was to employ torture. By doing so all he did was give the people of Afghanistan and Iraq fiercer and fiercer vendettas. Brutality begets brutality in a cycle that is hard to break. In some cases it lasts for centuries. Bush fell into the trap of returning brutality with brutality, justifying it in the name of "national security," and all it has done is make our situation worse. Reading about Ishmael's life shows how a group of children first witnessed brutality then sank into that same brutality themselves.

At first the army protected the village, but as the children go about an almost normal life, they see the army slowly losing the fight and the rebels closing in. Finally, the rebels are right outside the village and the soldiers on the verge of defeat. So the army commander gives everyone in the village a choice: become part of the army or leave the village. The first two to try and leave are shot by the rebels. There is no choice. Everyone joins the army, memories of their brutally killed families inspiring them to WANT to join the army.

Training is brief and designed to inspire brutality. Imagine any rebel is the one that killed your family, then drive in the bayonet. Feel that each time you shoot a rebel, you are killing the very ones who killed your family. Take revenge. Very shortly the children, some as young as 9, are sent into battle along with the remnants of the soldiers. Before they go they are given drugs (initially they sound like simply amphetamines). They win, driving off the rebels.

The next years are a blur of drugs (including pot, amphetamines and "brown brown," a mixture of gunpowder and cocaine), fighting, slaughter and brutality. Children become officers leading their own squads into villages that they destroy completely, leaving no survivors. At some point it is clear that the army and rebels are scarcely different:

But what kind of liberation movement shoots innocent civilians, children, that little girl?

Lord of the Flies for real. But Lord of the Flies with heavy weapons and drugs.

Before we got to a rebel camp, we would deviate from the path and walk inside the forest. Once the camp was in sight, we would surround it and wait for the lieutenant's command...Whenever I looked at rebels during raids, I got angrier, because they looked like the rebels who played cards in the ruins of the village where I had lost my family. So when the lieutenant gave the orders, I shot as many as I could, but I didn't feel better. After every gunfight we would enter the rebel camp, killing those we had wounded.

The army generally pressed the civilians into helping them, rather than rape and kill them like the rebels. But it is clear that despite this, often the army would shoot at anything that moved, to the point where there would be no one left to carry any supplies they captured.

What struck me the most about the descriptions of the war is that although both sides at times showed a good grasp of tactics, there was no sense of strategy at all. It was all about killing, capturing weapons, fuel, food and drugs, and keeping others away from weapons, fuel, food and drugs. In some cases it seemed as if Ishmael's unit didn't even look carefully enough to see if a camp was rebel or army before going in to capture what they could. It was barely controlled looting and revenge killings with little sense of strategy. I think this is why civil wars of this nature never progress to any completion until a foreign force (sometimes UN, sometimes mercenaries, sometimes regional nations like Nigeria) intervenes. Such intervention imposes a strategy above and beyond simple vendetta and short-term need for supplies.

One day in 1996 Ishmael is in a camp when UNICEF representatives come through. He and a group of other child soldiers are told to put down their arms and go with the UNICEF reps. These children, now disarmed and soon to enter massive drug withdrawals, are driven to Freetown, the capital that saw the first return of freed slaves from America to Africa some 200 years before.

What followed was almost a farce, but in the end it worked. The rehabilitation of the child soldiers was clearly handled with more idealism that thought at first, but those who were doing it learned from their mistakes and succeeded in rehabilitating these children back into society. Among the initial mistakes were seemingly not realizing how severe the drug withdrawal symptoms would be after years of nearly constant drug use. They also put rebel and army kids together, leading to a brawl where the children grabbed guns from the guards and opened fire on each other. After that rebel and army kids were kept separate through rehab. I wonder why have armed guards at all! It is clear the guards had no intention of using their guns on the children, so all it was was a source of weapons for children who still considered themselves soldiers. Most of the children were plagued by nightmares and delusions, suffering full blown post-traumatic stress syndrome that kicked in as drug withdrawal faded. The children often beat up the rehab staff and each other, only slowly losing their brutality. But patience and routine slowly won out and the children began to become children again.

The rehab workers were amazing, even in the face of violence and sullen teen angst beyond anything you see in an American middle school. It was here I was thinking of Tom Perriello, now Congressman from Virginia's 5th district. He was one of these wonderful people in some capacity and his work along these lines was one of the reasons I saw him as someone whose views and expertise could be of considerable use among the sea of wealthy lawyers in Congress.

Ishmael initially was typical of the violent, sullen, nightmare-plagued lost children of the war, but as he recovered, he became one of the best spokesmen for the child soldiers, speaking to representatives from all over the world about his experiences and the importance of rehabilitation. Finally he was released from rehabilitation into the care of an uncle he had never previously met until most of the way through rehab. His life with his uncle was the first moment of normality since he said goodbye to his family and left Mogbwemo in 1993.

Ishmael gets selected to go to a conference in NYC on child soldiers. He leaves Sierra Leone wearing his summer clothes, to arrive in NYC during a snowy winter.

I knew the word "winter" from Shakespeare's texts and I thought I should look it up its meaning again.

It isn't until later in his stay in NYC that he is given a winter coat by a woman who later became his sponsor and adoptive mother. His initial impression of NYC in some ways matched my own:

There were so many cars on the street, and they impatiently honked, even when the light was red.

Reminding me of when a friend of mine first visited me in NYC and his first comment to me (even before "hello") was "What's with people here. Are their hands permanently fused to their horn?"

At the conference Ishmael gives a speech that beautifully sums up his experiences and the problems around the world, and shows a greater understanding of the dynamics of civil war than many Republicans have:

I am from Sierra Leone, and the problem that is affecting us children is the war that forces us to run away from our homes, lose our families, and aimlessly roam the forests. As a result, we get involved in the conflict as soldiers, carriers of loads, and in many other difficult tasks. All this is because of starvation, the loss of our families, and the need to feel safe and be part of something when all else has been broken down. I joined the army really because of the loss of my family and starvation. I wanted to avenge the deaths of my family. I also had to get some food to survive, and the only way to do that was to be part of the army. It was not easy being a soldier, but we just had to do it. I have been rehabilitated now, so don't be afraid of me. I am not a soldier anymore; I am a child. We are all brothers and sisters. What I have learned from my experiences is that revenge is not good. I joined the army to avenge the deaths of my family and to survive, but I've come to learn that if I am going to take revenge, in that process I will kill another person whose family will want revenge: then revenge and revenge and revenge will never come to an end...

This would have been a wonderful end to the book. But sadly life does not make for wonderful endings. When Ishmael returned to Sierra Leone, the civil war soon came to Freetown. On May 25, 1997, Ishmael woke to gunshots. By then one of his friends who had also been a child soldier had joined him in living with his uncle. When they heard the gunshots, they looked at each other: "Not again."

What had happened was a military coup. The coup leaders joined with the RUF and the same lawlessness that had haunted the countryside came to Freetown. It is almost heartbreaking to read how a child who had escaped the life of a child soldier found this kind of madness following him into his new life. At first violence controlled the streets, and most civilians stayed home hoping to be left alone. Food was hard to come by and soldiers shot at any protestors against the coup. Slowly, chaos became normality, and people began to find a new, surreal routine.

People began going about their daily business of searching for food, even though the stray bullets were likely to kill them. Children played guessing games, telling each other whether the gun fired was an AK-47, a G3, an RPG, or a machine gun. I mostly sat outside on the flat rock with Mohamed and we were both quiet. I was thinking about the fact that we had run so far away from the war, only to be caught back in it. There was nowhere to go from here.

This reminds me of a scene from Grief of My Heart, the memoirs of a Chechen doctor who survived both Chechen wars. There the author witnessed a similar surreal childhood game in the midst of an urban battlefield:

"You're dead!" shouted a small boy to his friend who crouched behind a burned-out car on the street.

"No! I killed you first. Fall down!"

I stopped in my tracks. I counted fifteen kids of all ages, including girls, playing "war,"� oblivious to the danger all around them...

In the background you could hear the firing of real guns. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. They had lived with war so long, that was all they knew...

I couldn't get those kids out of my mind. If someone didn't get them off the streets, they could grow into little animals with no knowledge of right or wrong; no traditions to guide them. Bang! Bang! You're dead! That is all they would know.

This is another reason why these kinds of conflicts can simmer so long. The next generation doesn't learn anything but war. Violence and war become normality, making peace that much harder for the next generation to achieve.

The new chaos in Sierra Leone was ended only by Nigerian intervention in 1998, restoring civilian government. Even then, the RUF kept fighting and it wasn't until 2002, with Nigerian and UN help, that the civil war officially ended in Sierra Leone. But Ishmael could not wait that long. He was faced with almost certain death or rejoining the army. Mere days after the death of his uncle, he chose to escape through Guinea and back, eventually, to NYC where he was adopted by a woman he had met on his first trip to NYC. The book ends with him entering Guinea, with the fate of Sierra Leone left unresolved.

Ishmael now rides the same subways I do in NYC and has finished his education, graduating from Oberlin and working for the rights of children worldwide. Like Sierra Leone, Ishmael seems to have achieved stability. His book has been accused by an Australian newspaper of inacuracies, though to me, given the drug use described by Ishmael, perfect acuracy would seem impossible. The writing style is up front and uncontrived. I found the gist of the book very convincing. I did feel there were certain descriptions that struck me as odd, but as the memories of a child under the influence of drugs in a war zone, what would you expect?

Meanwhile Charles Taylor is in custody and on trial on 11 counts of war crimes and crimes against humanity. Among Taylor's American supporters is Pat Robertson. From Wikipedia:

According to a 2 June 1999, article in The Virginian-Pilot,[31] Taylor had extensive business dealings with televangelist Pat Robertson. According to the article, Taylor gave Robertson (who also had business dealings with dictator Mobutu Sese Seko of Zaire) the rights to mine for diamonds in Liberia's mineral-rich countryside. According to two Operation Blessing pilots who reported this incident to the state of Virginia for investigation in 1994, Robertson used his Operation Blessing planes to haul diamond-mining equipment to Robertson's mines in Liberia, despite the fact that Robertson was telling his 700 Club viewers that the planes were sending relief supplies to the victims of the genocide in Rwanda. The subsequent investigation by the state of Virginia concluded that Robertson diverted his ministry's donations to the Liberian diamond-mining operation, but Attorney General of Virginia Mark Earley blocked any potential prosecution against Robertson.

I should note, Mark Earley is a Republican. Yet another example of corrupt Republican greed and disrespect for the law. Earley ran for Governor of Virginia, but thankfully this man who was willing to shelter possible war crimes, lost to Democrat Mark Warner.

Liberia went on, in 2005, to become the first African nation to elect a woman president, the amazing Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf.

Meanwhile, Charles Taylor's son, "Chuckie Taylor," a US citizen, has been convicted of participating in torture in Liberia. Legally, U.S. citizens can be tried for committing torture in other countries, perhaps something many Blackwater mercenaries should take note of.

Foday Sankoh died of a stroke while awaiting trial in 2003. The current president of Sierra Leone is Ernest Bai Koroma, a member of the APC, the political party of the "rotten politics" days, now supposedly reformed. From what little I can gather, Koroma spent all the years of civil war working for insurance companies.

For my part, Sierra Leone is one nation in which I have been making loans to small businesses through Kiva.org. I hope my small efforts through Kiva will help stabilize this long-suffering nation.

Rape, Women and Poverty in Indian Country

Last year the progressive blogsphere did a wonderful thing. We saved a woman's shelter on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation. Amnesty International published a report that became the focus of a series of Daily Kos diaries. The jist of the Amnesty International report is that, one in three Native American women are victims of rape...and most of those rapes are committed by outsiders, not fellow Native Americans. This Daily Kos article covers some pretty nasty aspects of American law covering Native Americans that allow this kind of crime to thrive with almost no consequences. Many laws relating to American/Native relations were written in the 19th century during a period of extreme abuse by the dominant American culture against Native cultures...and many of those laws are still in force.

Related to this was the fate of a woman's shelter called Pretty Bird Woman House. This shelter, one of the few facilities set up to help those one out of three Native American women who are raped, mostly by outsiders, was about to close due to lack of funds. Daily Kos, for all its faults, can do wonders. In no time a site was set up to collect funds for the Pretty Bird Women shelter, and within days thousands of dollars were raised, saving it from immanent closing. But then vandalism nearly closed the house again due to a lack of security. Ultimately, Daily Kos and the rest of the progressive blogsphere raised enough money to help purchase a house and home security system for the shelter.

Even now the progressive blogshere is working to keep this shelter supplied and to buy them a new heating system. As long as rape remains a major problem, women's shelters will need out help. From Daily Kos:

Many of you know the story of Kossacks' involvement with saving the Pretty Bird Woman House, which is a women's shelter on the South Dakota side of the Standing Rock Reservation. Last fall we conducted a fundraiser thatraised enough money to buy the shelter an entire new house. Since this week is the beginning of the holiday giving season, I want to give you an update on the shelter and some ideas for donating if you are so inclined...

First, for everyone who donated to the furnace fund drive that we didin memory of Joe Biden's mother-in-law, Bonny Jean Jacobs...We had enough money for the new furnace by the third week in October.I had promised to send the letter before the end of the campaign, and I just squeaked in with it on November 3. Unfortunately, my own mother died of pancreatic cancer just as the fundraiser was ending, so that was the best I could do. The new furnace was installed on November 12th. YAY everybody. Now the women will be warm this winter. They were all SO psyched to get it. A few people have been wondering what they can do for the shelter around the holidays.

Here are a few ideas.

1. Contribute to the general fund The shelter always needs money for expenses that aren't covered by grants (everything is tax deductible).

2. Contribute to the gift card fund for the shelter staff. Women's shelters are always underfunded and the staff underpaid. There is no money for bonuses ever, so if you'd like to see the staff get a few extra prezzies this year, contribute here. I will go buy Visa gift cards from the local bank, so they can use them anywhere they please.

3. Buy some towels. Right now the shelter is having a towel and wash cloth shortage because it lets women coming and going take their towels with them. Anna's Linen online seems to have really good prices. Other general items that are always needed are:

Twin and queen size sheets and blankets, toothbrushes andtoothpaste, shampoo and conditioner, women's hygiene items, diapers of all sizes, baby wipes, first aid kit items, and analgesics such as ibuprofen and aspirin.

Address to send items and checks:

Pretty Bird Woman House
211 First Ave W.
McLaughlin, SD 57642

4. FREE things you can do. The economy sucks, I know,and I for one am one of the Kossacks out of work (don't feel sorry for me, I just handed in a dissertation, so I'm hopeful for the future).There are 2 things you can do that I would call passive giving.

Sign up for: iGive If you do this, whenever you shop at what seems to now be most online stores, the store will donate a percentage of your purchase to the shelter. Everybody has to shop for the holidays, so if you shop online, this is the way to go. Since last year we've raised over $300 in this kind of passive giving, just with 60 people on the list. Imagine of we had 300 people on it?

If you download this GoodSearch bar and use it when you do a search,they will donate 2 cents for each search. That adds up, especially if there are a lot of people doing the searches. Since last year, we've raised $118 on GoodSearch. Passive giving, I like it!

5. Buy Christmas presents for women and children who will be at the shelter. I've been talking to the shelter director about this, but one of the staff just quit so right now she's having a hard time keeping her head above water. Here are some good ideas from another shelter director.

Don't forget socks, underwear and sweats! As a shelter director, I can tell you this - the women & kids who arethere right now, will probably not be there by Christmas I always tell generous donors to send gifts that you and your family members would like to receive for a Christmas present. So, if you are an adult woman, you might want a nice robe or pajamas,slippers or perfume or a long distance calling card or a beautiful warm neck scarf with matching hat & gloves for the winter, a watch, or a clock radio or a nice new hair dryer or straightener or culring iron, diaries, journals, wallets, backpacks, picture frames, photo albums. The majority of children in shelter are between the ages of 2 and 12 with all ages sprinkled in, so legos and action figures are good for boys, coloring books, word puzzles books, games, decks of cards,dolls/barbies of all cultures, leapster learning toys, anything Disney, Bratz, Dora & Diego, Sponge Bob. Don't forget about the batteries if you purchase a gift that requires batteries, please send them with the gift! For the tweens & teens, hand held games, travel games, music by Jonas Brothers, Hannah Montana, Cheetah Girls, sleeping bags, blankets, backpacks, belts, hand bags, cosmetics, hair accessories, small suitcases on wheels, disposable cameras are so cheap these days! Gift cards are always great for all - food, clothing, gas cards, phonecards, shoes. Keep the candles for yourself - it is not usually safe to burn candlesin a shelter home but the temptation is so great if you have one! When thinking shelter, remember storage is at a premium so think smaller, more portable gifts.

The Pretty Bird Woman House operates at capacity nearly all the time. One of their staff just quit (too much stress), and they are quite over their heads right now with the work load. Thanks to YOU this shelter exists. Without you, the women on the Standing Rock Reservation wouldn't have any place to go if they are victims of domestic violence. You are amazing.

PS. We'll need to keep this diary going to raise holiday funds. Feel free to take any of this material as your own to keep it posted.

I still donate from time to time to Pretty Bird Woman House. But the need is far bigger than just one shelter and I do feel like the strong support for just one shelter is missing the big picture. I came across another program and shelter that I make it a point to support whenever I donate to Pretty Bird Woman Shelter, and I hope others will help out this program as well.

I would like to highlight another Women's shelter and health center in the Sioux Nation that could use help. The Native American Women's Health Education Resource Center was set up on the Yankton Sioux Reservation in 1988 and added a women's shelter in 1991. Here's a bit about what they do:

The Resource Center has expanded to include many programs benefitting people locally, nationally, and internationally. Some examples are the Domestic Violence Program, AIDS Prevention Program, Youth Services which include the Child Development Program and the Youth Wellness Program, Adult Learning Program, Environmental Awareness and Action Project, Cancer Prevention, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome Awareness Program, Clearinghouse of Educational Materials, Food Pantry, Wicozanni Wowapi Newsletter, Diabetic Nutrition Program, Scholarships for Native American Women, Reproductive Health and Rights, "Green Thumb" Project, and Community Health Fairs.

This is another center that needs support in another part of the Sioux Nation. They support themselves by selling items to support the center. Purchases made through this site will support their efforts.

I also feel that poverty is one of the main reasons for many of the social problems on Indian Reservations. So I introduce ways for people to help Native Americans economically. Economically, too often Native Americans face rampant unemployment, or work catering to a tourist industry either through casinos or trinket stores. I have two suggestions to build Native Americans' economic strength. First there is Native American Bank. Obviously if you are looking for a neighborhood bank this probably won't help you. But for a Certificate of Deposit, online banking, or some loans, where you don't need a nearby branch, you can do your banking while helping build an economically strong Indian Country. Here is the Dream this bank is built on:

In 2001, twenty Tribal Nations and Alaskan Native Corporations set out with a dream “ to create a national bank to serve all Native people, communities, governments and enterprises across the country� and established Native American Bank, N.A. (NAB).

NAB recognizes that among the many issues facing Native Americans, the absence of access to financial capital and services has been a significant impediment towards the realization of self-sufficiency and financial freedom across Indian Country.

Here are their locations, and here are some of their services. If you are looking for a bank, particularly for online banking, please consider patronizing the Native American Bank.

My second economic suggestion goes along with my continuing focus on Global Warming solutions. Native Energy is a group that seeks to build alternative, green energy production on Native American land (and on American farms), providing jobs, energy and an economy for Native Americans WHILE also weaning America from its oil addiction. Here are their current and past projects. Al Gore and his family offset their entire carbon footprint through Native Energy. So do I (at least in part...I also use other carbon offset programs focused in Israel, Africa, and Central America). You can too. For an average of $12/month (those of us in NYC average only $4/month!) you can offset your personal carbon footprint by investing in alternative energy projects through Native Energy. This could be one of the most significant things you can do to mitigate global warming, and you will be creating a real, solid economy for Native Americans in the process.

I hope this helps to link Immigrant America with Native America and to help build a stronger Indian Country. Such a strengthening would help reduce the abuse that Amnesty International recently revealed.

The Taliban Declare War on...Little Girls

Last week I was reading BBC News, and that is always a fertile ground for blog articles. So, having just made fun of Italian fascists for being terrified of Christmas ornaments, I come across an even more disgusting phobia. Seems the Taliban, who despite Bush's "best" efforts are still quite active in Pakistan and Afghanistan, have declared war on school girls. They are so frightened of little girls learning to read, they want to kill them.

And I am also suggesting some actions we can take to counteract the pressure of the pedophobic Taliban trying to stop kids from getting an education.

What religious leaders in this day and age advocate killing children? Well, the Taliban do. And thanks to Bush's inept foreign policy, the Taliban are still strong enough to carry out their disgusting threats. The Taliban are so terrified of school girls that they are declaring jihad against them:

Taleban militants in the Swat valley in north-west Pakistan have threatened to kill girls who attend school.

A local Taleban commander ordered parents to stop sending their daughters to school by 15 January.

In comments broadcast on an illegal radio station, he threatened to blow up schools which enrolled female students.

This year alone, Taleban militants have destroyed more than 130 schools in the Swat valley. They want to bring in Islamic sharia law in the region.

Militant attacks on schools in the region have deprived more than 17,000 students of education.

What fucking dickheads! There is something deeply pathological about people who are terrified of school girls. It would be outright pathetic if it wasn't for the fact that they actually carry out violent attacks on children for simply wanting an education.

This is why I have supported our involvement in Afghanistan and Pakistan even though I bitterly opposed our invasion of Iraq. Genuine enemies, not just of America, but of humanity in general, have been hiding like cowardly dogs in the hills of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

I was pretty amused by the Iraqi who threw a shoe at Bush and called him a dog. Well, if I could I'd throw every shoe I had at the pedophobic Taliban dickheads and call them less than dogs. They are less that the fleas on a dog's ass.

So, in honor of the Taliban and their pathological pedophobia, I recommend a donation to the Global Fund for Women. Or donate to the Afghan Children's Fund (originally the Afghan Girls Fund) through National Geographic. Make it your personal shoe thrown at the dogs that are the Taliban.

NYC FOCUS: Defeating Bloomberg and the Bloomberg 29

This is repeated from November. Now that 2009 has begun, it is time to focus on this year's elections with some considerable attention.

Those who have followed the Bloomberg Putsch, wherein Bloomberg and 29 members of the City Council, chose to overturn the vote of the people on term limits (which remain popular), know there is considerable anger at their actions. It isn't even about term limits (which I used to oppose, though now am leaning the other way since the Bloomberg Putsch), it is about an arrogant power grab by politicians against the will of the people.

Why do these people think they are our saviors during this economic collapse? They are so convinced of their powers to save us that they decided to sweep away the VOTER'S choice to impose term limits upon them and they voted themselves third terms. They are willing to say "screw you" to the very voters who elected them just to hold onto power. And their excuse is that no one, NO ONE in the entire city can save us from the economic collapse but them.

What unmitigated crap! What egotistical nonsense. This is the kind of dictatorial, anti-democratic bullshit I expect from Bush/McCain Republicans.

These people were IN OFFICE when the collapse came. They didn't do anything to prepare for it. They didn't do anything to warn us about it. They haven't done anything to help us.

In fact, Bloomberg supported the very national Republicans who got us into this mess with his donations (e.g. largest donor to Tom DeLay's PAC).

And yet these people think they, AND ONLY THEY, can save us.

I was opposed to term limits (though these actions by the Surrender Monkeys is convincing me otherwise!). But I AM for our elected politicians respecting us as voters and that is precisely what Bloomberg, Quinn, Yassky, Recchia and the others failed to do. We elect them and our taxes pay them, yet they treat us like dirt. And they expect us to see them as our saviors.

This election was about CHANGE, folks. Not keeping the same politicians who got us into this mess in power beyond their allotted terms. This election was all about the will of the people, not the dictatorial demands of politicians.

Recently, I came across a Facebook site dedicated to defeating Tsar Bloomberg and the Bloomberg 29 (his trained surrender monkeys). So far it is just a sattement of purpose and a list of possible challengers to the 29 City Council members who voted to overturn the will of the people on term limits.

Here is their statement of purpose:

On October 23, 2008 the New York City Council passed Mayor Bloomberg's proposal that extended term limits from 2 terms to 3 terms for the Mayor, City Council, and other city officials without a voter referendum even though New Yorkers voted in 1993 and 1996 to keep term limits at 2 terms. The final vote was 29 YES and 22 NO.

According to a Quinnipiac poll, 89% of New Yorkers believe that the issue of term limits should be decided by voters in a referendum, not by an act by the City Council.

This was not an issue about whether you supported term limits or not. This was not an issue about whether you believed Mayor Bloomberg was a good mayor or not. This was an issue about whether the New York City Council had the right to overturn the will of the people.

Mayor Bloomberg deserves blame for bringing about this undemocratic proposal, but the City Council Speaker Christine Quinn along with the 28 City Council members are to blame for advocating and enabling this undemocratic proposal. Mayor Bloomberg, City Council Speaker Christine Quinn, and every City Council member who voted YES to the Mayor's proposal are unfit to continue serving the people of New York for overturning the will of the people.

This group will be used as a tool to identify and campaign for primary opponents of all 29 City Council members who voted YES to the Mayor's undemocratic term limits proposal. There will be a heavy focus on unseating City Council Speaker Christine Quinn.

The site has a list of known and suspected primary challengers to these city council members. So far, the most likely challenger to Tsar Bloomberg himself is Anthony Weiner. My prediction is Weiner will team up with the Working Families Party and put on an excellent challenger to Tsar Bloomberg, but that remains to be seen.

I also want to mention there are two other races that I, at least, want to see a good push on. The defeat of Angry Clown Marty Markowitz (developer lackey and one of the four main people pretty much openly bribed by Bloomberg), and Norman Siegel for Public Advocate, since Siegel has been effectively our public advocate for 30 years (since the Civil Rights era).

As to the city council challenges, here is a video of some of them giving a statement on term limits (I got this from Maria Passannate Derr's website):



I want to highlight a few of the potential races for the 2009 primary (PARTAIL list from the Facebook site):

Lead Surrender Monkey Christine Quinn (Manhattan) Council District 3
PRIMARY OPPONENT(s):
Maria Passannante Derr http://www.mariaforcouncil09.com/
Yetta Kurland http://yettakurland.com/

Simcha Felder (Brooklyn) Council District 44
Fleder was one of the four main people pretty much openly bribed by Bloomberg in the OTHER Slushgate scandal.
PRIMARY OPPONENT(s):
Joe Lazar http://friendsofjoelazar.com/
David Greenfield(?)

Alan Gerson (Manhattan) Council District 1
PRIMARY OPPONENT(s):
Margaret Chin http://www.margaretchin.com/
[EDITOR'S NOTE: may be complicated if Rocky Chin also runs. Rocky is better than Margaret (and would be my choice), but Gerson will benefit from a double Chin on the ballot...]

Domenic M. Recchia, Jr. (Brooklyn) Council District 47
I want to note that Recchia is among the worst City Council members. He is being investigated for some of the Slushgate earmarks he made. He supported an unqualified, homophobic man who had never practiced law in his life for a judgeship as part of a backroom political deal. He was also was another one of the four main people pretty much openly bribed by Bloomberg in the OTHER Slushgate scandal. And that is just a sampling of the antics of this Vito Lopez lackey.
PRIMARY OPPONENT(s):
Todd Dobrin http://dobrin2009.com/ (website expired? A sign he isn't running?)
John Lisyanskiy http://www.johnforcouncil.com/
[Note, Gotlieb is unlikely to be running since he was Recchia's personally picked successor. But I have heard another name thrown about for this race: Mark Treyger. But I have no confirmation of his running]

James Sanders (Queens) Council District 31
PRIMARY OPPONENT(s):
Marquez Claxton http://marquezclaxton.com/
[NOTE: This seems to be the real site: http://vote4claxton.wordpress.com ]
Jacques M Leandre http://www.votejacques.com/
Frederick A. Lewis II http://lewisforcouncil2009.com/
Michael Duncan (?)
Jerwaine Gorman (?)

Helen Sears (Queens) Council District 25
[Among the most vulnerable of the Surrender Monkeys?]
PRIMARY OPPONENT(s):
Daniel Dromm http://danieldromm.com/
Mujib Rahman http://votemujibrahman.com/
Alfonso Quiroz
Stanley Kalathara (?)

Peter Vallone Jr. (Queens) Council District 22
Vallone is was yet another one of the four main people pretty much openly bribed by Bloomberg in the OTHER Slushgate scandal.
PRIMARY OPPONENT(s):
Costa Constantinides (trying to track down a website)
[Note: I have met Costa. He's a good guy who has been doing good work on the steering committee of the Democratic Lawyers Council working on voting rights]

Albert Vann (Brooklyn) Council District 36
[More about Vann here]
PRIMARY OPPONENT(s):
Mark Winston Griffith http://mwgriffith.com/
David Grinage http://friendsofdavidgrinage.com/
Saquan Jones http://www.saquanjones.com/
Robert Cornegy Jr. (?)
Robert Waterman (?)

David Yassky (Brooklyn) Council District 33
PRIMARY OPPONENT(s):
Ken Baer http://kenbaerforthecommunities.com/
Jo Anne Simon http://www.joanneforcouncil.com [Probable frontrunner]
Ken Diamondstone http://www.KenDiamondstone.com

I would also like to call attention to Darlene Mealy (Brooklyn) Council District 41. From what I have heard, she was so bullied by the Bloomberg/Quinn thugs that she actually threw up twice before the vote. Given the number of fights we are facing in 2009, I am willing to give her a break.

NEW YORK STATE FOCUS: Blogs, Darwin Day, 2009 Candidates, Groups and Events

DARWIN DAY 2009 EVENTS: Feb. 12, 2009 (not all events on the same day)

Darwin's 200th birthday, to be celebrated by the GLOBAL community as a toast to the common good of all humanity. We will all want to develop events to Celebrate Darwin, Science and Humanity and come together as one human family in appreciation of verifiable knowledge that has been acquired solely through human curiosity and ingenuity. Scientific knowledge has been of great value to all of us.

150 Years Since Darwin: What Next?
Date and Time: 2009-11-05 15:00:00
Address:
Stony Brook University
Stony Brook/NY 11776, UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://life.bio.sunysb.edu/ee/

Activities:
One day of outreach at the American Museum of Natural History, three days of technical talks and discussion at Stony Brook University.

Sponsor: Department of Ecology & Evolution, SBU

Contact: Massimo Pigliucci
Email: massimo.pigliucci_at_gmail.com
Phone: 631-632-1097

Darwin Day at Stony Brook University

Date and Time: 2009-02-13 10:00:00
Address:
Students Activities Center
Stony Brook University West Campus
Stony Brook/NY 11794, UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://www.darwinsbu.org/

Activities:
Exhibits, videos, discussions and a keynote address by Yale University's Steve Stearns.

Sponsor: Department of Ecology & Evolution

Contact: Massimo Pigliucci
Email: massimo.pigliucci@stonybrook.edu
Phone: 631-632-1097

Darwin's Reach: Celebrating Darwin's Legacy Across Disciplines
Date and Time: 2009-03-12 20:30:00
Address:
Hofstra University
Hempstead/NY , UNITED STATES

Activities:
Interdisciplinary conference on the life and legacy of Chas. Darwin. Topics to include: Darwin as a Scientist; Reception of Darwinian Evolution in the 19th Century; Darwinian Evolution in the 21st Century; Evolution in the Courts; Evolution and Religion; Evolution and Morality; Evolution and Sex/Gender; Evolution and Medicine; Evolution and Language; Evolution and Global Climate Change
Also special sessions on evolution education (for K-12 teachers), cultural events (music, theater), keynote speakers.

Sponsor: Hofstra University

Contact: Daniel Rubey
Email: Daniel.R.Rubey_at_hofstra.edu

Darwin Day Family Festival NY Metro Area Ethical Culture Societies
Date and Time: 2009-02-07 14:00:00
Address:
New York Metro Area Ethical Culture Societies
2 West 64th Street

Event Website: http://aeu.org

Activities:
speakers, intergenerational activities and FOOD!!

Sponsor: New York Metro Area Ethical Culture Societies

Contact: Sharon Stanley
Email: lihumanist_at_gmail.com
New York/NY, UNITED STATES

Darwin's Birthday Celebration
Date and Time: 2009-01-25 11:00:00
Address:
38 Old Country Road
Garden City/NY 11530, UNITED STATES

Activities:
The Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island is hosting an intergenerational event in honor of Darwin's 200th birthday. There will be refreshments and activities for adults and children of all ages.

Sponsor: The Ethical Humanist Society of Long Island

Contact: Sharon Stanley
Email: lihumanist_at_gmail.com
Phone: 516-741-7304

A Day for Darwin
Date and Time: 2009-02-13 09:00:00
Address:
Lefrak Concert Hall
65-30 Kissena Blvd.
Flushing /NY 11367, UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://dennehylab.bio.qc.cuny.edu/dd.html

Activities:
Celebrating the 150th Anniversary of the Origin of Species and the 200th Birthday of the Man with a Dangerous Idea

Symposium and Panel Discussion
at the Lefrak Concert Hall
Queens College

Confirmed Speakers
Susan Foster (Clark University)
Jeffrey Schwartz (University of Pittsburgh)
Paul Turner (Yale University)
Patricia Wittkopp (University of Michigan)

Dedication of Colgate's "Darwin Thinking Path"
Date and Time: 2009-02-12 16:00:00
Address:
Colgate University
13 Oak Drive
Hamilton/NY 13346, UNITED STATES

Activities:
Colgate University in Hamilton, NY, will be dedicating one of its cross-country running & ski trails as a "Darwin Thinking Path" - similar to the sand-walk Darwin strolled daily - so that students, faculty, and the general public can contemplate many exciting or imponderable problems.

Sponsor: Department of Geology

Contact: Dr. Constance M. Soja
Email: csoja_at_mail.colgate.edu
Phone: 315.228.7200

State University of New York at New Paltz Darwin Week
Date and Time: 2009-02-09 17:30:00
Address:
State University of New York at New Paltz
CSB Auditorium

Event Website: http://www.newpaltz.edu/evos

Activities:
Public lecture by Gordon Gallup (University of Albany)

"The Science of Sex Appeal: An Evolutionary Perspective"

Sponsor: Evolutionary Studies Program

Contact: Glenn Geher
Email: geherg_at_newpaltz.edu
New Paltz/NY 12561, UNITED STATES


Here are some articles worth reading:

"45 x 2015" - NY State's Renewables Push

Brennan Center to Senate: This is Your First Test

Racism in Staten Island

The Latest Poll Results On The Term Limits Extension Issue Is Now Available

Atlantic Yarts "on last legs," as per James? Well, Crain's editorial director says "nothing's for certain," points to March decision date...and on a related note: Gehry’s $1 Billion Work of Art to Be Turned Into $400M Crap Box

Police Relent, Bloggers Get Press Credentials

Educators Running for City Council and NYC City Council Candidates from Law Enforcement

City Island fire prompts protest of planned FDNY ladder closing: Why does Bloomberg hate New York firefighters?...and on a related issue: Norm Siegel Opposes Closing of Firehouses at Staten Island Rally

Senate Majority Leader Smith Meets With Buffalo-Area Leaders

Lying About Obama's Healthcare Plan: The Latest Insurance Company Robocall Scam?

From True News from ChangeNYC: Preview of Three Special Elections:

Borough Voters SI - District 49 (McMahon elected to the U. S. Congress) North Shore City Council Race Special Update

City Hall News - District 21 (Monserrate elected to the State Senate) Two Young Latino Activists Already Trading Barbs

Queens Chronicle - 32 District (Addabbo elected to the State Senate) Three Local Leaders Prepare for Coming Special Election

Surprise! The Empire Zone Is A Scam We Can No Longer Afford

Beware Home Energy Scams! Sign up for Green Energy Instead


NEW YORK BLOGGING:

The Albany Project gives excellent coverage of New York State politics.

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.

True News from ChangeNYC.Org: ChangeNYC.Org is an organization unifying our City’s Democratic Party by welcoming all New Yorkers back into the political process. We are a coalition of real, everyday New Yorkers – young voters, progressives, neighborhood leaders, community bloggers, good government groups, and even conservatives – who believe that in cooperation we can bring the change to our City that together we have begun to bring to our nation.


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 link to Norm Siegel on NY1.

And here is Youtube footage of Norm Siegel and the NYC Coalition To Preserve Term Limits Press Conference:




Josh Skaller for City Council. Josh is a good friend of ours, a solid progressive, and about as honest as you can get. Here is Josh's statement on his campaign website:

I love Brooklyn—our neighborhoods and our people, the incredible warmth I feel walking around our vibrant and diverse communities. Like you, I know that Brooklyn is a terrific place to live and raise our families. But everywhere we look these days, the things that make our borough great are under assault. Developers and out of touch politicians seem determined to transform our community into an endless series of high-rise condos and strip malls. I believe that unchecked development threatens the beauty and integrity of our neighborhoods, overtaxes public services, and places an incalculable burden on our fragile ecology. I’m willing to stand up to the developers, and I hope you’ll stand with me.

As President of Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats (CBID) for the past two years, and as an executive member of Democracy for New York City, I've had the honor and pleasure of working with fellow concerned citizens to help change Brooklyn for the better: Local government that doesn't fear its constituents, but embraces them. A political ecosystem that nourishes and amplifies our core values rather than suppresses them. Transparency, honesty, community empowerment, and more than just lip service for the progressive values our neighborhoods share. I will continue to work on behalf of schools and teachers for our children, an environmental policy brave enough to protect the planet for future generations, and I will stand strong and defend our neighborhoods from the out of control, out of context development that seems to be everywhere, and advocate for smart growth and community based planning.

I look forward to bringing the enthusiasm I've shared with so many of you to city council.

Marquez Claxton for City Council: A former NYC Police Officer and co-founder of 100 Blacks in Law Enforcement Who Care, Marq Claxton is running for the City Council District 31 seat in Queens. He is currently the chair of the Public Safety Committee for Community Board 13. He has been endorsed by Eric Adams (who I know and respect) and is being considered by the Working Families Party as a candidate. Here is Eric Adam's endorsement statement:



Here is Marq Claxton opposing Bloomberg's term limits coup:




Daniel Dromm for City Council: a public school teacher running for the City Council District 25 seat in Queens. He was a founder of the Lesbian and Gay Democratic Club of Queens and chapter leader of United Federation of Teachers, PS 199Q. He has been endorsed by the United Federation of Teachers, Mark Green, and others. WFP seem to be considering him as well. Dromm received the "Community Service Impact Award" from the Times Ledger Newspapers (2006), the "Outstanding Teacher of the Year" PS 199Q Principal's Award (2006), and the "Citation of Honor" from the Queens Borough President (1995). Seems like exactly the experience we need on the City Council.


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. I am particularly watching the following people to see if they are running for City Council. If they run, I am likely to support them:

David Galarza, Council District 38 (I hear he IS indeed running!)

Rocky Chin, Council District 1
Rodrick Daley, Council District 45


Here are a handful of Organizations worth checking out:

The Environmental Business Association is the not-for-profit trade association dedicated to supporting the growth of the environmental industry in New York State. Specifically, we help to promote and serve serving the industry sectors of Climate Change, Greening Communities, Energy and WALCE (Water-Agriculture-Land Use-Conservation-Environmental). News here. Events list here (not recently updated).

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.

Drop the Rock: Enacted in 1973, the Rockefeller Drug Laws require lengthy prison terms for the possession or sale of a relatively small amount of drugs. There are over 13,000 people in New York’s prisons incarcerated under the drug laws, most of them minor offenders with no history of violent behavior. It costs New York $500 million a year to imprison drug offenders. 90% of the people locked up in New York for drug offenses are African American or Latino, despite research showing that the majority of people who use and sell drugs are white. Research shows that drug treatment is less expensive than imprisonment and more successful in reducing drug-related crime. Repealing the Rockefeller Drug Laws would save the fiscally strapped state over $220 million per year. Get involved here.


DEMOCRACY FOR AMERICA MEETINGS IN NY STATE:

Capital District of NY/GenDFA

Democracy for the Hudson-Mohawk Region

Democracy for the Hudson Valley

Mid-Hudson Progressive Alliance

dfaROCHESTER

Democracy For Westchester

Democracy for Long Island

Democracy For The Greater Glens Falls Area

North Country Democracy for America

Central New York DFA

Eastern Long Island Democracy for America

Democracy For Saratoga Springs

Kingston Democracy for America

Democracy For The Southern Adirondack/Tricounty Area

Democracy for Otsego and Delaware Counties

Philipstown for Democracy

DFA: Greene County

Livingston County for Democracy


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, Darwin Day, Alternative Energy, Groups and Events

DARWIN DAY 2009 EVENTS: Feb. 12, 2009 (not all events on the same day)

Darwin's 200th birthday, to be celebrated by the GLOBAL community as a toast to the common good of all humanity. We will all want to develop events to Celebrate Darwin, Science and Humanity and come together as one human family in appreciation of verifiable knowledge that has been acquired solely through human curiosity and ingenuity. Scientific knowledge has been of great value to all of us.

Colloquium "In the Light of Evolution: Two Centuries of Darwin"
Date and Time: 2009-01-16 08:00:00
Address:
Beckman Center
100 Academy Way (University Research Park)
Irvine/CA 92617, UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://www.nasonline.org/Sackler_Darwin

Activities:
Sackler Colloquium is organized by John Avise and Francisco J. Ayala, University of California, Irvine. Two-day meeting of leading researchers, open to public, registration fee.

Address:
Beckman Center
100 Academy Way (University Research Park)
Irvine/CA 92617 UNITED STATES

Sponsor: National Academy of Sciences

Contact: Susan Marty
Email: smarty_at_nas.edu
Phone: 949-721-2213

150 Years of Evolution - Darwin's Impact on the Humanities
Date and Time: 2009-11-22 19:30:00
Address:
San Diego State University, Department of Philosophy
San Diego/California 92, UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://cal.sdsu.edu/darwin/callpapers.htm

Activities: An academic symposium

Contact: Mark Wheeler
Email: mark.wheeler_at_sdsu.edu
Phone: (619) 594-6706

Celebrating science and Darwin bicentenary
Date and Time: 2009-02-15 14:00:00
Address:
San Diego Public Library (probably)
San Diego/California 92101, UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://www.HFSD.info

Activities:
Education and entertainment will be harmonized in a D-200 event to be organized by the Humanist Fellowship of San Diego. We will seek the participation of local scientific departments and freethought organizations. Details will be posted here and on our website www.HFSD.info as they develop.

Sponsor: The Humanist Fellowship of San Diego

Contact: Susi Reed
Email: Humanists_at_gmail.com
Phone: 619-670-4159

Darwin Birthday Concert at UCSD School of Medicine
Date and Time: 2009-02-07 19:30:00
Address:
UCSD School of Medicine, Basic Science Bldg., Liebow Auditorium
Gilman Drive off La Jolla Village Drive
La Jolla/CA 92067, UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://www.scientificgospel.com

Activities:
Galapagos Mountain Boys in concert, performing evolutionary songs dedicated to the 200th anniversary of Charles Darwin's birth. Songs are from their newest CD.

Sponsor: UCSD Faculty Club and Scientific Gospel Productions, LLC.

Contact: Carol Baird
Email: carol_at_scientificgospel.com
Phone: 858-481-0765

Darwin's 200th Birthday Celebration at UCSD Faculty Club
Date and Time: 2009-02-12 19:30:00
Address:
UC San Diego Faculty Club
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla/CA 92093, UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://www.scientificgospel.com

Activities:
Gourmet Darwin dinner with Evolution wine, primordial ooze soup, finch with Barbara McClintock's jumping gene corn stuffing, Mendel's peas and lava pie for dessert. Concert following dinner by The Galapagos Mountain Boys, performing evolutionary songs from their newest CD in tribute to this night:

Sponsor: UCSD Faculty Club and Dept. of Biology

Contact: Thomas Mignano
Email: tmignano_at_ucsd.edu
Phone: 858-534-5719

2009 Dean's Symposium: Evolutionary Biology: Molecules to Man
Date and Time: 2009-04-03 20:00:00
Address:
UC San Diego
9500 Gilman Drive
La Jolla/CA , UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://2009deansymposium.ucsd.edu

Activities:
April 2, 2009: undergraduate student competition on the expression of evolution through essay, dance, music, etc.
April 2, 2009: Dr. Michael Shermer on Darwin and Evolution: 7 pm.
April 3: Dean's Symposium on Evolutionary Biology

Sponsor: UC San Diego

Contact: Patricia Walsh
Email: pwalsh_at_ucsd.edu
Phone: 858-534-3112

Evolution, Science and Religion: Humanist Fellowship San Diego
Date and Time: 2009-02-15 14:00:00
Address:
820 E St
San Diego/CA 92101, UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://www.hfsd.info

Activities:
Phillip De Barros will present "Evolution, Science and Religion" based on his television series by that name. Cornell Jaray will present a powerpoint show on the life and work of Charles Darwin.

Address:
820 E St
San Diego/CA 92101 UNITED STATES

Sponsor: The Humanist Fellowship of San Diego

Contact: Susi Reed
Email: Humanists_at_gmail.com
Phone: 619-670-4159


Darwin Comes to Santa Barbara
Date and Time: 2009-02-08 19:30:00
Address:
Santa Barbara Musem of Natural History
Santa Barbara/CA , UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://www.santabarbarahumanists.org/Calendar/Darwin09.htm

Activities:
Speeches, panels, impersonations, etc. See web site for more details.

Sponsor: Humanist Society of Santa Barbara and Museum of Natural History

Contact: Roger Schlueter
Email: President_at_SantaBarbaraHumanists.org
Phone: 805/962-6316

Evolve 2009 Launch at NightLife
Date and Time: 2009-02-12 18:00:00
Address:
55 Music Conourse Drive
Golden Gate Park
San Francisco/CA 94118, UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://www.calacademy.org

Activities:
Music, drinks and science in the spectacular new California Academy of Sciences with an informal talk @ 7 pm by Professor Emeritus Keith Thomson, "Who Was Charles Darwin?" TICKETED EVENT--$10

Sponsor: California Academy of Sciences

Contact: Jean Farrington
Email: jfarrington@calacademy.org

Evolutionpalooza! Darwin Day 2009
Date and Time: 2009-02-08 14:30:00
Address:
San Francisco Main Branch Public Library
100 Larkin Street
San Francisco/CA 94102-4733, UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://www.sfatheists.com/darwinday2009.htm

Activities:
Free Admission! Speakers! The annual Darwin Scholarship ceremony!

Sponsor: San Francisco Atheists

Contact: Dave Fitzgerald
Email: fitz_at_sfatheists.com

Sacramento's 12th annual Darwin Day
Date and Time: 2009-02-08 14:30:00
Address:
John Smith Hall, La Sierra Community Center
5325 Engle Road
Carmichael/CA 95608, UNITED STATES

Activities:
A festive community celebration complete with birthday cake, featuring an educational program, entertainment, literature and merchandise tables. This year's major presentation is by MICHAEL SHERMER, author of numerous books, founder of the Skeptics Society and columnist for Scientific American. [ Please note: Doors open at 2 PM. Program itself begins at 2:30 PM ]

Sponsor: Cooperating Community Organizations including College Depts

Contact: Mynga Futrell
Email: ckprofessional_at_aol.com
Phone: 916-737-5158

Darwin's Birthday Party
Date and Time: 2009-02-12 10:00:00
Address:
Bell Memorial Union, CSU Chico
400 West 1st St.
Chico/CA 95929, UNITED STATES

Event Website: http://myweb.csuchico.edu/~ctivey/dday.html

Activities:
K12 kids & families welcome. Games, educational displays, prizes, birthday cake, fossils, & information will be available.

Sponsor: Darwin Day group

Contact: Chris Ivey
Email: ctivey_at_csuchico.edu


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.

The Liberal OC covers politics in Orange County.

LeftyBlogs California is the place to find out what's happening in the progressive blogosphere across California.


Some articles of note:

Sempra solar energy project makes advances in costs

BART and the Need For Civilian Oversight...and on a related note: Senator Yee and Assemblyman Ammiano Announce Legislation to Provide Better Accountability and Oversight of BART Police

Find H8Ters In Your Neighborhood! Your tool to boycott Prop. 8 supporters

It's YOUR High Speed Rail Project

CA-32: Romero Drops Out and Endorses Cedillo

Biodiesel from Coffee Grounds!

CA-32: Romero and Chu Eye Solis' U.S. House Seat

From Daily Kos comes this rundown of 2010 races in California:

Senator Barbara Boxer is up for reelection, and she ought to win, unless she happens to face an exceptionally strong candidate like, say, term-limited Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

I feel that Boxer would beat the Governator (who has also been mentioned as a possible candidate for a Cabinet position) in a head-to-head race, but it would be quite a lot of fun to watch.

Perhaps not as much fun, however, as the Democratic primary for Governor is expected to be.

Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi is already running. Other possible or expected candidates include:

• Attorney General, former Governor, former Presidential candidate and former Mayor of Oakland Jerry Brown.
• U.S. Senator and former San Francisco Mayor Dianne Feinstein.
• San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom
• Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa
• U.S. Rep. Loretta Sanchez
• U.S. Rep. Hilda Solis

And those are just the Democrats. On the GOP side, Insurance Commissioner Steve Poizner is expected to run, and we can only hope that Conservative Icon Tom McClintock might get into the race, whether or not he wins in the House.

Speaking of the House, there probably won't be too many top-tier races to begin with, but as we saw this year, there are a number of California districts where upsets are plausible. Among them:

CA-03, where Republican Dan "the Sacramento '49er" Lungren received under 50% of the vote in 2008.
CA-04, where we still don't know who the next Representative will be (though it's not looking good for Democrat Charlie Brown).
CA-26, where incumbent Republican David Drier pulled just 53% in 2008
CA-44, where Democrat Bill Hedrick nearly shocked the world by pulling off a stunning upset of Republican Ken Calvert, in a race no one saw coming.
CA-45, a moderately Republican district and home of Democrat Mary Bono Mack.
CA-46, where Republican Dana Rohrabacher got just 53% against Democrat Debbie Cook this year.

Meanwhile, it's likely Republicans will take another crack at Jerry McNerney in CA-11. It's likely neither party will gain any House seats in California in 2010, but you never know.

CA-Attorney General: Ted Lieu files for Attorney General

There's more than one crisis: Water situation grows ominous

The Prop. 8 Case: You Might Not Be Gay, But You Might Be Next: The ACLU takes on California's Hate Amendment


STONEWALL DEMOCRATS and related organizations in California:

Stonewall Democrats of Los Angeles

Central Valley Stonewall Democratic Club
Stockton, CA

Desert Stonewall Democrats
Cathedral City, CA

Eleanor Roosevelt Stonewall Democrats of Orange County
Santa Anna, CA

Fresno Stonewall Democrats
Fresno, CA

Sacramento Stonewall Democrats
Sacramento, CA

San Diego Democratic Club
San Diego, CA

Stonewall Democratic Club of Greater Sacramento
Sacramento, CA

Stonewall Democrats of Ventura County
Ventura, CA

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.


Alternative Energy in California:

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 (and, according to a reader, they also offer E85 ethanol blend): (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:

Alternative Energy Resources in California: a short summary of alternative energy resources for California. For more information on each technology, visit the State Energy Alternatives Technology Options page.

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)

DFA Marin

Dean Democratic Club of Silicon Valley

Democratic Club of Coarsegold

DFA - Central Coast

DFA-CFD of Fresno & Madera Counties

DFA-CFD of Mariposa and Tuolumne Counties

Democracy for Monterey County

DFA-Orange County

East Bay for Democracy

Sacramento for Democracy

San Diego for Democracy

(San Fernando) Valley Grassroots for Democracy

San Francisco for Democracy

San Mateo County Democracy for America

Santa Barbara Progressive Coalition

Sonoma County DFA


Here are some local political meetings in California:

San Fernando Valley Young Democrats: San Fernando Valley Young Democrats shall endeavor to stimulate in young people an active interest in governmental affairs, increase the efficiency of our government, maintain the viability of our free institutions, and contribute to the growth and influence of the ideals and philosophy of the Democratic Party. Check their calendar of events here.

Pasadena Young Democrats:
PYD welcomes students and young adults from throughout the region to join us. The mission of PYD is to encourage young people to participate in the political process, support progressive ideals and Democratic candidates and have a lot fun in the process!

If you are actively looking to find out about the local scene, get involved with a campaign, or even if you are just looking for some fun progressive people aged 14-35 to hang out with, we encourage you to join PYD and attend one of our meetings or events. Check out their calendar here.

Orange County Young Democrats: We are young workers, young families, college and high school students--ages 14-35--who are commited to the Democratic values that make America strong and provide opportunity for all. As the official voice for young people in the Democratic Party of Orange County, OCYD is a network of Young Democrat activists around the county that are helping to provide a Democratic presence around Orange County and around college and high school campuses. Check out their calendar here.

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