Progressive Democrat Newsletter 300

Adding some endorsements in many states, for 2011 and 2012. Please adopt a candidate, in your area or just someone you particularly like in another area. Donate and/or volunteer to help elect more solid progressives to local, state and Congressional offices.

Tough week. Bad jobs report and Obama backing off on environmental regulations. On the up side, the Obama administration is suing 17 top banks for misleading, predatory lending practices. Even as we get pissed at him for backing off on smog regulations, let's remember that it is long overdue, and VERY important, that he is holding banks responsible for their bad practices. All the usual suspects are in the list: Goldman Sachs, Barclays (whose fortunes were built on slavery), Bank of America (ranks rock bottom in customer ratings surveys), Deutsche Bank, Citigroup, and HSBC. These are banks I refuse to do business with anymore and urge you to divest yourselves from them as well. Bad customer service, illegal and immoral lending practices, and right wing politics. As usual I advocate alternatives. And none of those alternatives (USAA, TD bank, local credit unions, small community banks...) are on that list. You can get better customer service AND support a better company by switching. I go into some detail in two articles I have previously published which I once again call your attention to:

Break Up With Your Mega-Bank!...Green America's Community Investing Guide

Better Banking and Better Credit Cards

My advice is switch to banks that AREN'T being sued for illegal and immoral banking practices.



And as for smog and pollution, I guess once again it is individual actions that are going to make a difference more than government action in America. Sad that we live in a country that can't learn from the examples of nations like Sweden, the Netherlands, Germany, etc. But that is what America is like. So, once again I urge action as a consumer. My long-standing advice of switching to compact fluorescent bulbs while also purchasing green energy combines a slight increase in your energy rates per usage (pennies per kWH) with considerable savings (from the compact fluorescents) and overall greatly reduces your monthly bill while also greatly reducing your carbon foot print. You also create jobs in America...how much better an action can you get! If you need help finding a green energy program, let me know.



You can find out more about energy efficiency and green energy here.

For drivers who have FlexFuel cars (these are labeled on the back of the car and usually have a yellow gas cap) you can switch to E85 fuel. This is fuel that is 85% ethanol and it burns cleaner, has a somewhat lower carbon footprint, creates American jobs, AND YOU SAVE MONEY. E85 is 20-40 cents per gallon cheaper than regular gasoline at the same gas station. If you have a FlexFuel car, you can find local stations that sell E85 by clicking here.

So those are two ways you can save money overall while reducing your pollution and carbon foot print. Again, what could be better?

From Democracy for America:




Here is this week's newsletter:

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

ARTICLES:

The latest in my Musical Discoveries series: Music for the Underdog: Paul Robeson (see also musical selections section)

More important than ever: Antibiotic Resistant Bacteria on the Rise


IMPORTANT LINKS:

Three Charts To Email To Your Right-Wing Brother-In-Law

This would NEVER have happened under Bush: US 'to sue banks over mortgages'

We are doing something seriously wrong with our diets here in America: US stroke rates 'rising in young'...my advice is watch "Supersize Me" again and remember why you and your kids should skip that fast food fix. It is seriously killing us.

Murdochgate: Australian Govt. Goes To War Against Newscorp

This is disturbing: Guatemala STD study 'unethical'

So important I want to include it from last week: Cutting NOAA funding will affect future Forcasting abilities


MUSICAL SELECTIONS:

Since I am exploring Paul Robeson this week, here are some of my favorites by him:

My new favorite, where Robeson sings a tragic/comic song (in perfect Yiddish!) about the Tsar:



And another Yiddish song. This song is Zog Nit Kein'mol...commonly called "The Partisan's Song" but it literally means "Never Say," meaning "Never say this is the final road for you." Basically it means never give up...stand up and fight. It was written by a Jewish inmate in the Vilna Ghetto when he heard about the Jewish uprising in Warsaw.



And perhaps most powerful of anything I have ever heard, here is Paul Robeson speaking eloquently and singing in support of the Spanish and Basque people after the Guernica massacre in the Spanish Civil war, speaking out against fascism in Europe before most of America was willing to do so:




STATE AND LOCAL PAGES:

CALIFORNIA FOCUS

Saving Money While Fueling Up in Southern California

NEW YORK FOCUS

"I don't understand why NYC Democrats aren't willing to fight a Tea Party candidate in their back yard." (2011 endorsements)

Brooklyn Local Business: Community Bookstore, Park Slope, Brooklyn

Things to do in Brooklyn: Proteus Gowanus Art Space

MICHIGAN FOCUS

Michigan Focus: George Brown for Jackson City Council - Ward 4 (Progressive Majority Endorsement) (2011 Endorsement)

Michigan Focus: Kyle DuBuc for Royal Oak City Commissioner (Progressive Majority Endorsement, Peace Corps volunteer) (2011 endorsement)

Michigan Focus: Mamie Moore for Highland Park City Council (Progressive Majority Endorsement) (2011 endorsement)

Michigan Focus: Zack Stanton for New Baltimore City Council (Progressive Majority Endorsement) (2011 endorsement)

ILLINOIS FOCUS

Illinois Focus: Ilya Sheyman for Congress (IL-10) (Democracy for America Endorsement)...more here (2012 endorsement)

Illinois Focus: Bill Foster for Congress (IL-11) (2012 endorsement)

FLORIDA FOCUS

Florida Focus: Alan Grayson for Congress (2012 endorsement)



VIRGINIA FOCUS

Virginia Focus: David Bernard for State Senate - District 10 (Progressive Majority Endorsement, EMT) (2011 endorsement)

Virginia Focus: E. Wayne Powell for Congress (2011 endorsement)

To help elect Progressive Democrats in Virginia, here are some local Dem organizations worth checking out if you live nearby:

Hanover County Democratic Committee:
Meet Second Saturday of every month
9:00am - 10:30am
Location: Ashland Coffee and Tea
Address: PO Box 22
Ashland, VA 23005

E-mail: info@hvadems.com

Louisa County Democratic Committee
Meetings Third Wednesday of every month
6 pm at Roma's in Louisa
For more info contact: (540) 967-5302

Spotsylvania County Democratic Committee
The Spotsylvania County Democratic Committee meets the 3rd Monday of each month at 7:00 PM at the Salem Church Library, 2607 Salem Church Road, Fredericksburg, VA 22407
(540) 785-9267

Albemarle County Democratic Committee
300 Preston Avenue, Suite 308
Charlottesville, VA 22902
434.264.6872

Monthly Meeting of the Albemarle Democratic Committee is the third Monday of every month, 5:30pm – 7:00pm
Albemarle County Office Building, room 235, 401 McIntire Rd, Charlottesville

Franklin Democratic Committee
540-483-0636
Meetings are the third Tuesday of the month at 4:15 PM at the Franklin County Library (355 Franklin St, Rocky Mount VA).


COLORADO FOCUS

Colorado Focus: Alfonso Nunez for Aurora City Council - Ward 5 (Progressive Majority Endorsement, Firefighter) (2011 Endorsement)

PENNSYLVANIA FOCUS

Pennsylvania Focus: Jason Salus for Montgomery County Treasurer (Progressive Majority Endorsement) (2011 Endorsement)

NEW JERSEY FOCUS

WISCONSIN FOCUS

LET'S KEEP THE FIGHT GOING IN WISCONSIN: Below are some local Dem organizations in Wisconsin. Help them out!



Democratic Party of Milwaukee County:

Our general membership meetings are held at 7 p.m. on the fourth Monday of most months. Check our calendar for exact dates. We meet in the Hall of Fame Room of the Pettit National Ice Center at Wisconsin State Fair Park, 500 S. 84th Street. We look forward to seeing you there.

Oconomowoc Dems Breakfast
First Saturday of each month, 10am – 11am
The Depot/Maxims Restaurant, Hwy 67 and Main St., Oconomowoc



Winnebago Dems Monthly Meeting
Second Wednesday of every month, August 10, 7:00pm – 8:30pm
Delta Restaurant - 515 N Sawyer St, Oshkosh, WI

Winnebago County Democratic Party Unity Breakfast
Last Friday of Each Month, 7:00am – 8:30am
B J Clancy's Restaurant - 3341 S Oneida St - Appleton, WI 54915

Click here to find out more about the Winnebego County, Wisconsin Democratic Party

Waukesha County Democratic Party

Monthly meetings held every 3rd Thursday of the month, except in July
Waukesha Labor Temple.
Contact us at websupport@waukeshadems.org



Ozaukee County Democrats
The Ozaukee County Democrats will be holding monthly meetings on the 3rd Wednesday of every month at 7pm on the lower level of the the Cedarburg City Hall.

WASHINGTON STATE FOCUS

Washington State Focus: Green Tags for Renewable Energy

Washington State Focus: Richard Mitchell for King County Council. (Progressive Majority and Sierra Club Endorsements) (2011 endorsement)

Washington State Focus: Ryan Mello for Tacoma City Council, Pos. 8 At-large (Progressive Majority Endorsement) (2011 endorsement)

Washington State Focus: Joe McDermott for King County Council - District 8 (Progressive Majority, Washington Conservation Voters, NARAL, Teamsters and SEIU Endorsements) (2011 endorsement)

Washington State Focus: Cathy Lehman for Bellingham City Council - Ward 3 (Progressive Majority and Sierra Club Endorsements) (2011 endorsement)

Washington State Focus: Stephanie Wright for Snohomish County Council - District 3 (Progressive Majority, Deputy Sheriff's Association, Sierra Club and AFL-CIO Endorsements) (2011 endorsement)

Washington State Focus: Rob Gelder for Kitsap County Commissioner - District 1 (Progressive Majority Endorsement) (2011 endorsement)

Washington State Focus: Richard Rush for Spokane City Council - District 2 (Progressive Majority Endorsement) (2011 endorsement)



Washington State Focus: Ben Stuckart for Spokane City Council President (Progressive Majority, Spokane Regional Labor Council, NARAL, and Spokane Firefighters Local 29 Endorsements) (2011 endorsement)

Washington State Focus: David Stalheim Whatcom for County Executive (Progressive Majority, Teamsters, Planned Parenthood and Sierra Club Endorsements) (2011 endorsement)

Washington State Focus: Othman Heibe SeaTac City Council - Position 3 (Progressive Majority Endorsement) (2011 endorsement)

Washington State Focus: Joy Jones for Spokane City Council - District 3, Position 1 (Progressive Majority, Spokane Regional Labor Council, and Spokane Fire Fighters Local 29 Endorsements, CRITICAL RACE) (2011 endorsement)...this race is critical for achieving a Democratic and progressive majority in the Spokane city council

Washington State Focus: Christina Maginnis for Whatcom County Council - District 2, Position B (Progressive Majority, Sierra Club and Democracy for America Endorsements, CRITICAL RACE) (2011 endorsement)...this race is critical for pushing back against Teabagger gains in Whatcom county. A true progressive vs teabagger race!

Washington State Focus: Mia Gregerson for SeaTac City Council - Position 7 (Progressive Majority Endorsement) (2011 endorsement)

ILLINOIS FOCUS

MINNESOTA FOCUS

Minnesota Focus: Joe Tatalovich for St. Louis Park School Board (Progressive Majority Endorsement, CRITICAL RACE) (2011 endorsement)...I feel all judicial and school board races are critical but too often ignored, and we need more progressives elected to these positions.

GEORGIA FOCUS

NORTH CAROLINA FOCUS

SOUTH CAROLINA FOCUS

ARIZONA FOCUS

Arizona Focus: Jonathan Rothschild for Tuscon Mayor (Progressive Majority Endorsement) (2011 endorsement)

IOWA FOCUS

Iowa Focus: Sustainable Agriculture Events

TENNESSEE FOCUS

NEVADA FOCUS

KANSAS FOCUS