Progressive Democrat Newsletter Issue 264

Still using some shortcuts to get the newsletter out...but I think there is still plenty of good info I am getting out to my readers. I should note that as I have neglected the newsletter, readership has gone down a bit. Hopefully it will pick up.

Let me begin by showing some hard numbers on why we really should be glad Obama is our president and why there is reason to hope for economic recovery. This is a graph of private sector job loss/creation from January 2007 to June 2009. It shows the abysmal job creation under Bush, and the gradual improvement under Obama: (see also this Daily Kos diary)



If the trend continues, we will do okay. Of course it would be interesting to extend this from Bush I years through Clinton years, through Bush II and up to today. From everything I have seen it would be a clear mediocre to poor job creation under the Bush terms and improvement to prosperity under Clinton and Obama. But we still have a long way to go to make up all that lost ground under Bush.

And here is something from Current TV's Vanguard series. This is part of a show they did on an American Jihadist. It is the kind of journalism I have come to expect from Current TV that you don't get elsewhere. This is just a sample from an hour long show: (note: has a commercial before the real thing begins)



And another important story they covered, one that hit Daily Kos earlier, but has otherwise not been covered much: Inside Vanguard's Rape on the Reservation: Mariana van Zeller Reflects



And speaking of Current TV, this was from their website: Policing Free Speech / Political Spying: ACLU Review

Here is this week's newsletter:

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Bill Clinton on Barack Obama

BP Fined for Lying...and more suggestions on where to gas up

Certainty vs. Uncertainty: Understanding Scientific Terms about Climate Change

Upset Win for Sean Coffey (Attorney General candidate) for Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats Endorsement

NYC Focus: Joel Klein is Goddamned Liar

Brooklyn, NY Focus

Manhattan, NY Focus

Queens, NY Focus

Bronx Focus: June 29 Democracy for New York Fundraiser/Meet and Greet for Charlie Ramos, jr. for State Senate:



Bronx Focus: Desiree Pilgrim-Hunter for State Senate...perhaps NY State's most important primary election this year.

Bronx, NY Focus

Suffolk County, NY Focus

Rochester, NY Focus

New York 19th District Focus: Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, Rockland, and Westchester Counties

NEW YORK STATE FOCUS

California Focus: Want to know if your vote was counted? Check website

California Nurses Push Back at Whitman

CA-Sen: Carly Fiorina In the mold of Sarah Palin

Orange County, CA Focus

San Diego, CA Focus

Silicon Valley Area, CA Focus

California 11th District Focus: San Joaquin, Alameda and Santa Clara Counties

CALIFORNIA FOCUS

A stark comparison between Democrats and Repubs in Texas: Texas GOP and Democratic Platform Comparison

Austin/Travis County, TX Focus

Dallas County, TX Focus

Houston/Harris County, TX Focus

Texas 10th District Focus: Turn TX-10 Blue

Texas 21st District Focus: Turn TX-21 Blue

TEXAS FOCUS

VA-4: A Progressive Democrat for Southside Virginia:



Virginia Focus: Republican Cuccinelli pocketing money meant for wounded veterans

Virginia Focus: Republican Eric Cantor opposes support for small businesses

Charlottesville/Albemarle County, VA Foucus

Fredericksburg/Spotsylvania County, VA Focus

Hanover County, VA Focus

VIRGINIA FOCUS

Minnesota Focus: Ham Lake Mayor Paul Meunier announces State Senate candidacy:



Minneapolis Mayor RT Rybak Endorses Staunton for District 41A:



The Most Winnable Seat in Minnesota

Progressive Candidates in Minnesota

MINNESOTA FOCUS

Republican Mark Kirk: "Liar" - It's OK to use the word

Here's something that we need: The Good Jobs Chicago Coalition...and here is video of the Good Jobs Chicago Coalition taking on Wal-Mart:



ILLINOIS FOCUS

Washington Education Association the American Federation of Teachers Endorse Dean Willard for Washington State Representative

Lillian Kaufer endorsed by Democracy for Snohomish County for State Senate (D) 44th District

Progressive Candidates in Washington State

WASHINGTON STATE FOCUS

Republican Congressman Gerlach sides with Wall Street against hard-working Pennsylvanians

Republican Pat Toomey Stubbornly Reaffirms Support for Drilling in Great Lakes...how many oil disasters will it take for the Greedy Oil Party to end its addiction to the oil industry. More here:



Progressive Candidates in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania Focus: Lois Herr for Congress

Lancaster Co. PA Focus

PENNSYLVANIA FOCUS

New Jersey Chemical Plant Puts 12 Million at Risk, Threatens Most Lives in New York City

Sussex County, NJ Focus

Passaic County, NJ Focus

Warren County, NJ Focus

NEW JERSEY FOCUS

Crisanta Duran, Democrat for State Representative in House District 5 in Denver, Colorado:



An important new blog in Colorado: CO-Sen: New Website to Hold Republican Candidates Accountable for their Extreme Views

Progressive Candidates in Colorado

Recent Economic Data Show Progress in Colorado

Boulder County, CO Focus

Larimer County, CO Focus

Douglas County, CO Focus

COLORADO FOCUS

Wisconsin DOT: see no global warming, speak no global warming, mitigate no global warming...it is WAY past time for global warming denial and delays. It is time to act.

Crisis equals opportunity: raise the standards for high school graduation.

WISCONSIN FOCUS

Michigan Focus: ACLU Sues Wal-Mart for Firing Employee for Medical Marijuana Use...if this person needed insulin, or Prozac, or any other medicine, would Wal-Mart fire him? Yet another reason I boycott Wal-Mart.

MI Republican Sec. of State candidate lists hate group leader's endorsement...yet another example of the close relationship between Republicans and racism.

Progressive Candidates in Michigan

MICHIGAN FOCUS

Joe Garcia and hope for Florida Democrats

Broward County, FL Focus

Orange County, FL Focus

Pinellas County, FL Focus

FLORIDA FOCUS

AZ Sheriff Arpaio's "Sweeps" Don't Work

Progressive Candidates in Arizona

ARIZONA FOCUS

North Carolina Focus: NC-5 District Focus (Stokes County, Statesville, Surrey County, Iredell County, Watauga County, Yadkin County)

NORTH CAROLINA FOCUS

Atlanta, GA Focus

Fayette County, GA Focus

Coweta County, GA Focus

GEORGIA FOCUS

KANSAS FOCUS

US Marine Fights Tea Party Theocracy in TN

Report: Coal Industry Harms TN and WV More Than It Helps

TENNESSEE FOCUS

IOWA FOCUS

Elliot Anderson for Nevada Assembly

NEVADA FOCUS