Activism

My Conference Call with Cindy Sheehan- Last week I had the honor, along with other progressive bloggers from around the country, to speak with Cindy Sheehan. Cindy's son Casey, died in Iraq and, as she said to us the people on the blog call, it was not until after the death of son that she became so politically active. I can completely understand. As a mother, it's my kids' welfare and future that fuels my political activism. Childbirth radicalized me. It was Cindy Sheehan's death that move her to action. Ms. Sheehan is starting her second week of camping out in Carwford , Texas, waiting to meet the President to ask him why her son died and if it was for a noble cause. Here are my notes on the call. They were first published at c u l t u r e k i t c h e n: Conference Call with Cindy Sheehan http://www.culturekitchen.com/archives/003269.html
MoveOn.org Political Action : Vigil for Cindy Sheehan-
[via MoveOn.org Political Action]:
Cindy Sheehan, mother of Army Specialist Casey Sheehan who was killed in Iraq, continues her vigil outside President Bushâ€™s ranch in Crawford, Texas. She was recently joined by more moms who lost a child in Iraq and other military families. Meanwhile President Bush continues his five-week vacation and pledged Thursday to keep U.S. troops in Iraqâ€”meaning more moms will lose a child. Cindy has asked supporters to start candlelight vigils in their communities to support her and call for an end to the war. So, MoveOn is teaming up with True Majority and Democracy for America to host Vigils for Cindy Sheehan on Wednesday, August 17th, to show our solidarity with Cindy. Our vigils will be simple and dignified. Together, we'll acknowledge the sacrifices made by Cindy Sheehan, her son, Casey and the more than 1,800 brave American men and women who have given their lives in Iraqâ€”and their moms and families. Hosts are urgently needed to help organize the Vigils for Cindy Sheehan. If you can host a vigil on your own, you will be making an enormous contribution to this nationwide event. Thank you. Host your own Vigil for Cindy Sheehan or sign up for an event near you.
There will be a vigil here in Stuyvesant Town but I won't be here! I will participating in the OpenCity 2005 Festival in Winnipeg. I am gone until the 20th.
Be the activist on your BLOCK- I am plugging something being organized by the People's Email Network. This sounds like a particularly good idea to get more people at least minimally involved: GETTING OUR NEIGHBORS TO SPEAK OUT WITH LOCAL OUTREACH Today we open up a new front for the new peoples' activist movement! You hear so many people ask, "What can we do?" Each of us has only one voice to speak out, but if we engage our CLOSEST neighbors to do the same we can dramatically increase our numbers and our impact. What we're talking about here is taking responsibility for a part of our own street or apartment building and making sure that every one of our neighbors knows what's going on and how easy it can be to speak out on the issues http://www.usalone.com/bladesofgrass.htm The link above is for our amazing new Blades of Grass contact manager you can use to mobilize and coordinate your entire neighborhood in the most effective possible way. Everything you need to amplify your activism is there, door handout flyers you can print on your own printer, sample approaches, integrated alert tools, everything. All you have to do is select a password and you'll be instantly set up with your own micro-local canvassing operation that will practically run itself in a spare hour or so. WHAT KIND OF SUPREME COURT SHOULD WE HAVE We are going to have a national debate about this. Whoever is now appointed to the Supreme Court will affect every aspect of our lives for decades to come. Do we want a stealth reactionary like Roberts who can't even be candid about his membership in the Federalist society where we now know he was one of the movers and shakers on their steering committee? Will we allow a more unpopular than ever president ride roughshod over the American people yet again? Not if we all speak out.
New Democratic Majority Joins Growing List of Progressives Opposing Roberts Nomination-
New York City-based Progressive Organization calls for Opposition and Questioning of Candidate for Supreme Court
NEW YORK, N.Y., Aug. 24 -- New Democratic Majority (NDM) joins People for the American Way (PFAW) and other progressive organizations across the country in opposing the nomination of John Roberts to the Supreme Court of the United States. â€œTo give George Bush a free pass on the nomination of Judge Roberts to the Supreme Court would fly in the face of Americaâ€™s sentiment towards the president,
Ozzie's Meetup in Brooklyn: Gifford Miller guest- Marjorie Gersten led the Brooklyn Kerry meetups during the election, and after the election people kept showing up. From that, the Ozzie's meetup was born. Now Marjorie focuses on introducind candidates to activists, protecting our votes, Code Pink, Norm Siegel and Chris Owens. She was also a major force helping Paul Wooten, the candidate with real integrity for Brooklyn DA. Her meetups are excellent and people really grill guest speakers. Please join us THURSDAY for MEETUP with Gifford Miller. As Speaker and mayoral candidate, there are plenty of questions to be asked and answered. Also, an encouraging Siegel campaign update and outreach for Brooklyn, plus election reform strategizing. 249 Fifth Avenue at Garfield, 7:00 pm, Park Slope. Best subway is R to Union, east one block, and down three blocks.
ALERT: NYPD arrests Camp Casey NYC organizer- ALERT: NYPD arrests Camp Casey NYC Organizer On Monday night, the NYPD arrested Paul Zulkowitz at Camp Casey NYC in Union Square, despite the fact that organizers had a valid permit. Zulkowitz, a member of the Green Party's Peace Action Committee, has been one of the leading organizers of the effort to maintain a continuous presence at Camp Casey NYC in solidarity with Cindy Sheehan for the past two weeks. This attack on First Amendment rights to Freedom of Speech and Freedom of Assembly comes as President Bush continues to claim that he is waging war in order to spread democracy and freedom. On the very day that Bush is attempting to force a Constitution on the people of Iraq at gunpoint, he and Mayor Bloomberg are working to silence dissent in the U.S. Ironically, this arrest comes almost one year to the day after the mass protests and illegal detnetion of RNC pretesters. Organizers of Camp Casey are asking everyone who possibly can to stop by at Union Square, even if its only for a few minutes, to demonstrate your support and take a stand for our Constitutional rights. How you can help: **Call Mayor Bloomberg Tell him to stop the NYPD assault on freedom of speech: 212-772-1081 Join us at Camp Casey in Union Sq. Please join, support & visit with activists and organizers there now. Show Mayor Bloomberg and the NYPD that we will not be silenced. South side of Union Square Park, near 14th St. and University Place.
Tough times call for a night of levity : Liveblogging The Tank's Mayoroke- Liveblogging from The Tank's Mayoroke. This is so wrong, with all that is happening in the country, the horrid climate around September 13th and the million things I need to do, but I came anywhere.
Cindy Sheehan Comes to Brooklyn on Sunday- Who: Cindy Sheehan, mother of Casey, killed in Iraq. Where: Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, 85 South Oxford St., Brooklyn When: Sunday, September 18, 8:00 p.m. Bring Them Home Now Tour arrives in Brooklyn this Sunday evening Contact: Rev. David Dyson - 718 625 7515; Gloria Mattera - 917 886 1419 Cindy Sheehan's son Casey was killed in Iraq. In August she camped outside President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas, attracting international attention for her protest against the war and the senseless death of her son. On Sunday, September 18, Sheehan will bring her story to Brooklyn. She will be joined by members of the Bring Them Home Now tour. Members of the Tour are speaking in cities across the United States as they travel by bus from Camp Casey in Crawford, Texas to Washington, D.C. for the Sept. 24 United for Peace and Justice March and Rally to End the War on Iraq. Show your opposition to the war. Be there for Cindy, Casey and all those civilians and soldiers needlessly killed in Iraq. http://www.bringthemhomenowtour.org Peace and solidarity Gloria Mattera (Green Party candidate for Brooklyn Borough President, www.electgloria.org)
CINDY SHEEHAN and Bring Them Home Now Tour in Brooklyn- ***CINDY SHEEHAN and Bring Them Home Now Tour in Brooklyn: Sunday September 18, 8:00 pm, Lafayette Avenue Presbyterian Church, 85 South Oxford St, and parallel to Portland St, Fort Greene. Best subway stop is Atlantic Avenue and BAM In Brooklyn, Cindy will be joined by members of the Bring Them Home Now tour. Members of the Tour are speaking in cities across the United States as they travel by bus from Camp Casey in Crawford, Texas to Washington, D.C. for the Sept. 24 United for Peace and Justice March and Rally to End the War on Iraq.
MARJORIE'S OZZIEâ€™S MEETUP: Protect your Vote!- MARJORIE'S OZZIEâ€™S MEETUP: ***Election reform meet-up at Ozzie's Sept. 22 election reform meet-up at Ozzie's to strategize and further discuss the issues. 249 5th Ave at Garfield, Park Slope, best subway is R to Union, east one block, and down three blocks. I also recommend getting Marjorieâ€™s very informative newsletter which you can get by contacting her at: johnkerry57@covad.net
Organize NYC: Progressive Political Strategy Meeting- I hold monthly meetings in Park Slope Brooklyn that brings together political organizers from around NYC (including DFNYC folks) to talk, compare notes, collaborate, etc. The agenda varies depending on who shows and what people are working on. At a minimum these meetings are a way of kicking around ideas among progressive organizers. At best these meetings forge genuine alliances and generate real action. Our next meeting is Oct. 8. 3 PM in Brooklyn. Contact me for further info: mole333@hotmail.com Possible topics for discussion (depedning on who shows) are: 1. mayoral election: getting Freddy Ferrer in and Bloomberg out 2. The Livable NYC Initiative: forming a community-based plan for development in NYC 3. a discussion of the challenges and opportunities facing prgressives in NYC
Special Screening of "The Education of Shelby Knox" with Knox/Filmmaker Q+A- A special screening of the award-winning documentary The Education Of Shelby Knox will take place at 8pm in 304 Barnard Hall, at 117th St and Broadway, on Thursday, October 20th, followed by a Q & A session with Shelby Knox and director Rose Rosenblatt at approximately 9:30 pm. The screening is sponsored by student groups Students for Choice, Columbia University College Democrats and Q. The Education of Shelby Knox is a coming-of-age story about Knoxâ€™s campaign for comprehensive sex education in the high schools of her Lubbock, Texas. As Shelby is swept into the fight, she begins to question her deeply conservative Southern Baptist upbringing; when the campaign broadens to include a fight for a gay-straight alliance, Shelby confronts her family and her pastor, in the end declaring herself a feminist and a liberal Christian. The Education of Shelby Knox has won awards at the Sundance, South By Southwest and Miami Gay and Lesbian film festivals, and has been called â€œWell-made and extremely funny" by Film Threat and â€œBrilliant
Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn's Walkathon- A Walkathon Fundraiser for Developâ€”Don't Destroy Brooklyn and the Community's fight against Ratner's Skyscraper/Arena Project. November 13, 2005 -- Walk for our Neighborhoods in support of the DDDb Legal Fund. The WALKATHON is an opportunity to put your feet in motion to help fund the DDDb legal campaign against Bruce Ratner's megadevelopment proposal and eminent domain abuse. Help DDDb reach its monetary goals and raise awareness to unite our communities instead of dividing and destroying them. Join us in walking a path within our historic community and tracing the proposed project site. I have set up a team (the Progressive Cabal) to participate in this event. To sign up to walk or to sponsor one of my team members (or the team in general, like I did) please visit my Team Page.
Protest Bloomberg's Brooklyn waterfront luxury condo plan- Protest against Mike Bloomberg's Brooklyn waterfront luxury condo plan largely blocking the view of lower Manhattan for current residents: today, Wednesday October 26th at Noon Plymouth/Main St. in Brooklyn Heights. This event was organized by the office of Senator Montgomery. Apologies for the late notice, but got final details recently.
The Daily Gotham HEARTS Rush and Molloy!- [via New York Daily News - Daily Dish & Gossip - Rush & Molloy: Did Porsche come to shove for Omar?]:
A mention of unmentionables Who says mayoral candidate Freddy Ferrer doesn't have any sizzle? One ardent supporter is doing her best to sex up his campaign by designing a ladies thong emblazoned with the slogan "Vote Por Fernando." "He's Latino and he's a Latin lover," designer Liza Sabater tells us. "Why not have him on your panties, if not in them?" Ferrer's wife, Aramina, would probably prefer the former. Sabater, whose Ferrer lingerie is available at cafepress.com, says no one has actually bought a pair yet. The Ferrer campaign declined to comment on the undergarments for their underdog. Freddy's reps are more vocal about Mayor Bloomberg's paying 17-year-old campaign workers more than a police recruit makes. The New York Observer's Politicker blog reports that Bloomberg canvassers make $15 an hour %u2014 which works out to $31,200 a year. Compare that with the NYPD starting salary of $25,100. "Knocking on doors for the billionaire mayor nets you a fatter paycheck than a new cop," groused Ferrer spokeswoman Christy Setzer.
Memo to NY Democrats and Liberals everywhere : Don't run away from the obvious- There are many things I've learned through this whole local blogging process. I have to tell you upfront that covering local politics, especially New York City politics, is a whole different animal than covering national politics. This is a city that still relies on good all face-to-face meetings, secret handshakes and political club hopping. All what most bloggers covering national politics need to do is scan other blogs and the media. They really do not have to do anything beyond spending their employer's time tapping into their Blogspot accounts or Scoop sites. At the local level? In New York City? Nuh-uh. You gotta get off your ass and hit the pavement. Big time. Which is why I have to say, blog bless anybody who wants to run for office in New York City and is not Michael Bloomberg. I honestly do not know how any of the Democrats running for the mayoral primaries could do it. And then Ferrer had to marathon-it to the elections? In New York City you need a batallion of people to play the old school politics that only billionaires can afford. Which is why liberals, not just Democrats, but hard-working liberals and progressives in this city have to counter billionaire politics with a real grassroots. Hence, my Letter to the Editor at Newsday: [via Newsday.com: LETTERS]:
Liberals, unite Volunteer political activism in New York City is hard work thanks to the huge scale of the city. Everybody I know who has volunteered on a campaign or is doing citizen journalism through their blogs says the same thing: It's exhausting. That's why Mayor Mike Bloomberg spent more than $75 million on a re-election campaign. He knew that the vast majority of New Yorkers do not have disposable income to make contributions, nor can they afford to lose paid work to do volunteer work. The loss of City Hall should be a wake-up call to the Democratic Party. This is not the liberal city we used to know, with voting blocks of democratic constituencies. VotingResearch.org recently published a survey of the 25 most liberal cities in the United States. Ours ranks No. 21. This year's election may well knock the city off the list. We on the left need to work hard to create support systems not just for the poor but also for the working stiffs of the middle class. The Democratic Party will not win 2006 or 2008 if it keeps running away from the obvious: To fight big money you have to grow a strong grassroots. Liza Sabater Manhattan Editor's note: The writer is a political activist and editor of the blog The Daily Gotham.
First, even though I'm not that hot about the title they gave the letter, here's a shout-out to Newsday for publishing it in it's entirety. Let's hope next time my writing hits the Op-Ed section. Heh. Second, this letter is another one of those big post-election lessons I learned : keep a stack of letters to the editor at the ready to send to each and every local newspaper. Actually, let's back-track it a bit. First and foremost, get the local media to know you exist. On the one hand, we need to read the local media to follow what's happening. On the other hand, given we here at The Daily Gotham are committed to be activists first and bloggers second, we need to keep the local mass media aware of what we are doing. Big media and blogs --they are a symbiotic relationship. Hopefully, we'll get more writers from the blog publishing their articles and letters and broadcsting their opinions all over New York City media landscape. End of journalism? Is that going to happen? Nah. I have gone on record as saying that journalism as we know it has gone out the window and I stand by that belief. Blogs in the hands of 'We The People" can be very powerful. For now though, many of us do not have the resources to kick it to the next level vertically. Which is why growing horizontally is imperative for the local liberal blogosphere. The Daily Gotham is a truly bootstrapped labor of love with a budget of $0,000,000.00. We could never ever have the reach that regular newspapers or news shows have. But you know what? We could never have the reach we have just by blogging. The Daily Gotham has grown in visibility and influence because the people who are here blogging like Mole333, Our Gal in Brooklyn, Bouldin, TakeBackThe City, Atomic Bird Song and others are hitting the pavement, working for their neighborhood political clubs, attending council meetings. We are living and breathing New York City politics, not just writing about it.
Are you talking to me?- Are you f*&^ing talking to me? An influential voice is developed in this city by hitting the pavement not just by blogging. You've got to go out there, meet people, go to events, visit neighborhoods, knock on doors and shake hands. We The People who blog here work our asses off in our neighborhoods and in our communities as activists. We don't just sit all day chipping our fingernails from blogging and you know what, that's how I as publisher of this blog want it to be. We actually do not fall into the demographics of national political bloggers --we are older, sometimes much older than most. We not only have day jobs but have families. And we still find the time to be politically active. And I am going to one-up you with a very Republican-like FU because, you know what, I happen to homeschool my kids. A liberal, atheist, soccer homeschooling mom of two who works as a web consultant and blogs. Oh yeah ... and is a political activist. There are blogs out there, huge ones, where people go because they are more like electronic water coolers. Ask people to do something, and that is a whole different story. Here, we walk the walk. So you know what, Mr. Elephant? I got your vaccum right here. Now come clean my apartment.
A few examples of how in New York we legislate against EQUALITY, AUTONOMY AND FREEDOM- Thanks to NARAL-Pro Choice for keeping track of this information at prochoiceamerica.org : New York Legislation. I have made myself a promise : EQUALITY, AUTONOMY AND FREEDOM are going to be my issues to jour in the coming elections. I believe many legislative and political decisions made in this country in the last 20 years have been towards curtailing these three precepts of our culture. We've lost ground on equal rights under the law, not just on reproductive issues, but in the broader idea of social justice. So you have environmental, educational or even national & state security policies that disregard the precepts of equal protection under the law. We have lost ground also on law regarding autonomy : Reproductive autonomy and hence the individual autonomy of women --especially teenagers. Personal autonomy is, of course, springs from the more general idea of freedom. Autonomy though, when it involves a child and their learning path --a path that may take them against schooling--; is not only negated but attacked in many education regulations and laws in this state; making it one of the least progressive states in the country when it comes to education legislation. As to freedom; there is nothing more patently against freedom than the Patriot Act. Less 'in your face' but more of a nightmare are the digital restrictions management laws which have been successfully been used not only to curtail the free movement of ideas in this country but even of people (aka, workers carrying 'intellectual property' owned by their employers). In the following list of bills you can see a pattern of mandated co-ersion. Women under the law have become nothing more than incubators in a political game of human harvesting.
ABORTION BANS AFTER 12 WEEKS Bill Number: NY A 6433 Summary: Bans safe, medically appropriate abortions as early as 12 weeks of pregnancy without exception to protect women's health. Sponsor: Manning (R) Introduced: 03/11/2005 Last Action: Introduced Bill Number: NY S 1868 Summary: Bans safe, medically appropriate abortions as early as 12 weeks of pregnancy without exception to protect women's health. Sponsor: Maltese (R) Introduced: 02/04/2005 Last Action: Introduced ABSTINENCE-ONLY Bill Number: NY A 554 Summary: Appropriates funds for abstinence education. Sponsor: Office of the Governor Introduced: 01/18/2005 Last Action: Enacted with Governor's Signature Last Action Date: 04/12/2005 ANTI-CHOICE CLINICS Bill Number: NY A 555 Summary: Relates to providing funds for anti-choice clinics that are barred from providing women with access to the full range of reproductive health options. Sponsor: Office of the Governor Introduced: 01/18/2005 Last Action: Enacted with Governor's Signature Last Action Date: 04/12/2005 BIASED COUNSELING AND MANDATORY DELAY Bill Number: NY A 4753 Summary: Mandates parental consent prior to a young woman obtaining an abortion without an exception to protect young women's health. Requires women receive state-mandated lecture prior to obtaining abortion services; prohibits abortion unless women wait an additional 24 hours after receiving lecture. Sponsor: Barra (R) Introduced: 02/14/2005 Last Action: Introduced Bill Number: NY A 5696 Summary: Requires women receive state-mandated lecture prior to obtaining abortion services; prohibits abortion unless women wait an additional 24 hours after receiving lecture. Sponsor: Young (R) Introduced: 02/25/2005 Last Action: Introduced Bill Number: NY S 1869 Summary: Requires women receive state-mandated lecture which may include medically inaccurate information prior to obtaining abortion services; prohibits abortion unless women wait an additional 24 hours after receiving lecture. Sponsor: Maltese (R) Introduced: 02/04/2005 Last Action: Introduced REFUSAL TO PROVIDE MEDICAL SERVICES Bill Number: NY S 1873 Summary: Allows certain individuals or entities to refuse to perform abortion services and to refuse to dispense or provide contraceptives in all or most circumstances. Sponsor: Maltese (R) Introduced: 02/04/2005 Last Action: Introduced RESTRICTIONS ON LOW-INCOME WOMEN'S ACCESS TO ABORTION Bill Number: NY A 4910 Summary: Restricts low-income women's access to abortion except in cases of life endangerment. Sponsor: Barraga (R) Introduced: 02/15/2005 Last Action: Introduced Bill Number: NY A 6119 Summary: Restricts low-income women's access to abortion. Sponsor: Kirwan (R) Introduced: 03/04/2005 Last Action: Introduced Bill Number: NY S 5623 Summary: Restricts low-income women's access to abortion except in cases of life endangerment, rape, or incest. Sponsor: Rules Cmt Introduced: 06/08/2005 Last Action: Passed Senate Last Action Date: 06/15/2005 RESTRICTIONS ON YOUNG WOMEN'S ACCESS TO ABORTION Bill Number: NY A 4753 Summary: Mandates parental consent prior to a young woman obtaining an abortion without an exception to protect young women's health. Requires women receive state-mandated lecture prior to obtaining abortion services; prohibits abortion unless women wait an additional 24 hours after receiving lecture. Sponsor: Barra (R) Introduced: 02/14/2005 Last Action: Introduced Bill Number: NY A 6439 Summary: Mandates parental notice prior to a young woman obtaining an abortion without adequate health exception. Sponsor: Reilich (R) Introduced: 03/11/2005 Last Action: Introduced Bill Number: NY S 2139 Summary: Mandates parental consent prior to a young woman obtaining an abortion without an exception to protect young women's health. Requires women receive state-mandated lecture prior to obtaining abortion services; prohibits abortion unless women wait an additional 24 hours after receiving lecture. Sponsor: Padavan (R) Introduced: 02/09/2005 Last Action: Introduced RESTRICTIONS ON YOUNG WOMEN'S ACCESS TO FAMILY PLANNING Bill Number: NY A 8075 Summary: Pharmacy access to emergency contraception (EC). Allows pharmacists to dispense EC directly to women without a prescription. Restricts young people's access to contraception by requiring parental notice. Sponsor: Manning (R) Introduced: 05/03/2005 Last Action: Introduced SEPARATE LEGAL STATUS FOR EMBRYOS AND FETUSES Bill Number: NY A 4544 Summary: Amends definition of "person" in portions of criminal code to include "an unborn child at any stage of gestation." Sponsor: Seddio (D) Introduced: 02/10/2005 Last Action: Introduced Bill Number: NY S 1867 Summary: Amends definition of "decedent" in section of civil law to include fetus. Sponsor: Maltese (R) Introduced: 02/04/2005 Last Action: Introduced Bill Number: NY S 2515 Summary: Amends definition of person in portions of criminal code to include "unborn child at any stage of gestation." Amends homicide laws to allow an "unborn child" to be a victim of crime separate and apart from the pregnant woman at any stage of pregnancy. Sponsor: Maltese (R) Introduced: 02/18/2005 Last Action: Introduced
I will be coming back to these legislations because I am particularly interested in knowing more about the sponsors, whether they are running on 2006, and if so, what are their fundraising machines. As you can see they are all republicans.
Your chance to protect the Supreme Court- This is from New Democratic Majority:
Historically, only one in five Supreme Court nominees has been defeated, but the odds are looking increasingly good with this one. Samuel Alito is now broadly viewed as out of the mainstream, due to his track record. This is supremely important, because whichever side wins the battle for public opinion is likely to prevail in the Senate. Two facts are critical at this stage in the fight: one, the overall weakness of the right wing, which takes pressure of Democratic Senators from red states, and two, that public opinion on Alito seems to be solidifying where we want it to. The main right-wing argument for Alito is that Bush is entitled to deference; that would be the same Bush whose approval ratings are heading for 30%. Our argument is that Alito has reprehensible views on, well, everything. If we manage to set up the battlefield with those two lines, we will win. Factual background Alito's job application to the Reagan administration, in which he goes into his personal ideology and opposition to abortion with a candor noticeably lacking today, can be downloaded from our web site, here. The Washington Post has a disturbing front-page article today, which reveals that Alito believes that non-resident foreigners have no rights under the constitution. That view last came up for discussion under the Alien and Sedition Act of 1798, and is particularly troubling given the torture and habeas corpus policies currently en vogue at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. Take Action Viral activism: Please forward the link to the WaPo article above to your email circle. You can do this either directly with a link cut and paste or by going here. Sign the petitions: Both PFAW and NARAL have online petitions opposing Alito. You can sign them here...and here. Phone banking: PFAW and ACT NY are both hosting phone banks, the former on Thursdays, the latter on Sundays. Thursday, 6-9 PM, 149 Fifth Avenue, 7th Floor. Call or email Tony Simone at 212-420-0440 x13 or tsimone@pfaw.org to volunteer. Sunday, time and location TBA, with ACT NY. To learn more, please email actnewyork@gmail.com.
Rev Billy Shopocalypse Tour Accident- Around 1 am last night on Route 80 en route to Indiana, a semi-truck rear-ended the tour bus of anti-consumerism activists Reverend Billy and the Church of Stop Shopping. The rear of the vegetable oil-powered tour bus was up-ended, sending equipment, furniture and Church members tumbling toward the front until the bus came to rest. A team of 15 emergency vehicles, plus 1 helicopter, shut down that segment of Highway 80 for some time. While there were no fatalities, tour movie director Rob VanAlkemade was seriously injured with a lacerated liver. He was flown out to a major hospital in the region. Other tour members were hospitalized locally, including Julie Talen, who has been keeping an online tour diary at RevBilly.com. Blogging as "Sister Julie," she suffered 3 cracked ribs but was able to post to the Church web site: "We really thank everyone in the area who worked so hard for us in this bitter cold night and John Quilty for grabbing the camera and shooting. Explaining who we are...and why we have a problem with Wal-Mart to doctors, nurses and ER people while we awaited X-rays, (that) was our action for Ohio." The tour group, including the Stop Shopping Gospel Choir, band members, documentary film crew, and technical and support volunteers, had just finished a successful visit to Oberlin, Ohio, where the Mayor of Oberlin granted Reverend Billy the Key to the City. That day Reverend Billy and the Choir staged a standing-room-only performance for Oberlin students and other members of the community, before attempting to exorcise a Wal-Mart construction zone. After a delay of several hours for bus repairs, the Shopocalypse Tour headed off into the night toward Chicago, their next scheduled stop. On December 5th, the Church of Stop Shopping launched a 5000-mile, coast-to-coast, Shopocalypse Tour to get America to stop their shopping this Holiday season. They have been traversing this great country, saving the souls of consumptive consumers, preaching the end of America's deepest vice and wickedness: love of buying and accumulating unnecessary and over-processed goods. "Consumerism is killing us!" Shouted Reverend Billy to throngs gathered in Time's Square, the terminus of the November 25th Buy Nothing Day parade. "With our SUV traffic jams in the parking lots of our big-box stores, to get our plastic packagesâ€”shopping is a petroleum-based activity; we've got to get radically local to save ourselves. We've got to bring this message out of the cities and into our small towns, our countryside. We've got to bring it into our hearts." The tour will be delayed at least one day while the Church and crew estimate the toll of this accident. According to Sister Julie â€œNo one in the choir that I heard wants to stop.
Voting Machines Come to NY State: we need to protect our right to clean elections- Democracy for NYC has an action alert that is really critical for all New Yorkers. Our voting rights are up for sale and several companies are bidding to provide the machines that we will vote on. This is not a partisan issue. This is an issue of what machines are reliabe, verifiable and cost-effective. Some vendors are pushing heavily for expensive and unrelaibe machines with no voter-verifiable paper trail. We have to be certain that there is a paper trail because without one our elections will never be verifiable. Whether or not you believe election fraud has played a role in American politics, I am sure we ALL want to make sure that fraud is detectable if it does happen. Hence the need for a paper trail that a voter can check. Right now we have to push our election officials to reject machines that are more expensive and less reliable and urge them to favor machines that are verifiable. Currently these officials mainly hear from the vendors who are trying to sell their machines. We need to be the voice of the people standing up for fair elections. From the DFNYC website:
Draft voting machine regulations reflecting changes in State law to comply with the Help America Vote Act (HAVA), were recently posted on the Board of Election's web site. These regulations will dictate the certification of voting systems for purchase in New York state. The Board will hold three public hearings on this issue including one in NYC on December 20... "PB/OS" (paper ballots with precinct-based optical scanners) is the safest, most reliable and most cost-effective choice for a voting system in NY State. And yet, the state Board of Elections has recently taken two outrageous steps against this system... (1) Allowing the vendors NOT to submit optical scanners, effectively taking away the PB/OS option First, representatives of the Board recently claimed they cannot force the voting machines vendors to provide the PB/OS option to the counties of NY (by having vendors submit optical scanners for certification.) This is an outrageous position, given that so many citizens, civic groups, and newspapers all over NY State are calling for the PB/OS system, rather than the expensive, insecure, error prone DREs that the vendors would prefer to sell us. In a huge state such as New York, it is absurd for the Board of Elections to claim that they have no power to require vendors to submit optical scanning machines. New York is simply far too large of a market for the vendors to ignore. Voting machine vendors will provide anything that New York State requires of them. (As explained by New Yorkers for Verified Voting, NYVV.org) (2) Jumpstarting certification testing on an incomplete DRE machine (no paper ballot) Secondly, the Board of Elections has also made the outrageous decision to begin preliminary certification testing of the Liberty DRE computerized voting machine. Testing voting machines for certification was not to begin until after the issuing of draft regulations and a comment period. And most importantly, the Liberty DRE machine still has no voter verified paper ballot or full accessibility features as required by law. Doing certification testing on this machine is completely pointless. Testing an incomplete system is dangerous and bodes poorly for the need for a robust, thorough and transparent set of machine certification tests. (Also from NYVV.org) TAKE ACTION TODAY! Mail or fax a letter to the State Board of Elections demanding that they (1) require vendors to submit NYS full face ballot compatible optical scanners for certification and (2) stop planned testing of the incomplete and illegal Liberty DRE machine. Remind the Board that they work for us, not the voting machine vendors. Don't let the voting machine vendors decide what machines we vote on. Please write the State Board of Elections today. By mail: NYS Board of Elections, 40 Steuben Street, Albany, NY 12207-2108 By fax: 518-486-4068 By e-mail: ldaghlian -at- elections.state.ny.us (replace -at- with @) Please address your letter to: Peter Kosinski, Co-Executive Director Stanley Zalen, Co-Executive Director Neil W. Kelleher, Chair Evelyn J. Aquila, Commissioner Helena Moses Donohue, Commissioner
I really want to make clear that the eVote DRE machines are a real threat to our democracy. They are unrelaible--can be hacked, do not have a paper ballot and have computer code that is propriatary so we, the voters, are blocked from knowing how the machine functions. In districts where DRE machines have been used hacking has been reported as have numerous computer bugs that changed votes. Not having a paper ballot severely limits the voters' ability to verify that their vote was accurate recorded and makes recounts difficult. Having the machines use code that is not reviewable by the public means we do not know whether the machines are fair and accurate. Furthermore, the DRE machines are far more expensive than the PBOS machines, need to be replaced more often and are more expensive to use. PBOS machines are the ONLY acceptable choice on the market today. DRE machines are not acceptable and that is the message we have to send to our election officials.
Williamsburg against Generica- McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway...- McDonalds is said to have bought the Salvation Army building on N7 and Bedford. Starbucks is supposedly hoping to open on the South Side at broadway and Subway Sandwiches has a banner on Bedford larger than the towers that are headed our way. MsDonalds is bad because it serves factory farmed crap, tears up the envorinment and wreaks of the unoriginalty of cold cookie cutter consumer culture that the N side has been able to escape with its warm little businesses and community feel. Starbucks poses the same threat plus it signifies to longstanding minority residents and artists of the South Side that prices are continuing to go up and to make way for homogeny (ie- find a new home) Subway, well, check the Subway section of the Williamsburg Warrior website, it was the first to arrive...and it probably should have been fought. There are towns out west that have achieved variances to keep chains out but apparently in our town these big box birthers have some sort of "as of right" right to move in. Aren't we supposed to be one of the most progressive spots on the east coast? Dont we have some sort of responsibility to our fellow countrywomen to block this take over? If we want them to go then we are going to have to let them know that they arent going to make any money here- and well, we're gonna have to have a lot of people telling them NO! So what shall we do Warriors? A petition to the owners of these outlandish operations? A march to their corperate headquarters? An egg toss competition near their windows? www.williamsburgwarriors.org www.williamsburgwarriorblog.blogspot.com
The State Board of Elections public hearing in NYC- DEC.20/ The State Board of Elections will hold a public hearing in NYC at 250 Broadway (across from City Hall), Senate Hearing Room, Room 1920, 19th Floor. Please attend and demand that PB/OS machines be submitted for certification. The Latest on Voting Machine Certification in New York "PB/OS" (paper ballots with precinct-based optical scanners) is the safest, most reliable and most cost-effective choice for a voting system in NY State.
Thank you, thank you, thank you- We are taking a break from the tech work we've been immersed in to wish you salud, amor y pesetas : health, love and wealth, in the New Year.
Critical Action: CONTACT COUNTY PARTY CHAIRS ABOUT VOTING MACHINES- Just a reminder to all: January seems to be a KEY month for protecting our voting rights in New York State. PLEASE take action now. This is from the DFNYC website:
CONTACT COUNTY PARTY CHAIRS ABOUT VOTING MACHINES - Call the 2 chairs in your borough, see below for numbers - Tuesday Nov. 8 may have been the last election in which we voted on our lever machines, and what comes next is fraught with danger. The Democratic and Republican County Chairs - through their election commissioners in each of New Yorkâ€™s 5 boroughs - will decide whether we use familiar paper ballots with reliable precinct based optical scanners to record and count our votes, or whether we turn the machinery of vote counting and recording over to the secret software of corporate America and its DRE (direct recording electronic) or electronic voting machines. Please call your countyâ€™s Democratic and Republican County Chairs to tell them that we want to use the PB/OS system - trustworthy paper ballots with the technologically mature optical scanners allowed by the State Legislature; and not the unproven, untrustworthy, unreliable and expensive DRE "electronic touch screen" machines that are opposed by most voters but being pushed by corporate lobbyists to maximize their profits at the publicâ€™s expense. If you are calling the Democratic Chair in Manhattan or Staten Island, please thank them for supporting paper ballots and optical scanners. Manhattan Herman ("Denny") Farrell, Jr. (D) 212-725-8825 James Ortenzio (R) 212-517-8444 Bronx Jose Rivera (D) 718-931-5200 Jay Savino (R) 718-792-5800 Brooklyn Vito Lopex (D) 718-875-5870 Hy Singer (R) 718-582-9454 Queens Tom Manton (D) 718-268-5100 Stephen Maltese (R)) 718-628-9652 Staten Island John W. Lavelle (D) 718-983-5009 Robert Helbock (R) 718-667-4600
Howard Dean Says: Kick Them While They're Down!- Howard Dean is telling us to kick them while they're down...and I, for one, am willing to join in. The Republicans are certainly not down for the count yet. But they are down. They are on the floor whining about how unfair the Democrats are because we are trying to hold them accountable for their failure against terrorism, the failure of their Iraq policies, the failure of their response to Katrina, and their shameful corruption. They are down on the ground hoping we will give them a chance to recover so they can counter attack. Meanwhile, the DNC, under Dean's leadership and with our help, has raised a record amount of money in 2005. Howard Dean wants us to do even more. I am with Howard Dean: kick them while they're down! Don't let them counter attack. Don't let them off the hook. And let's not be satisfied even with the record fundraising in 2005. Let's kick ass (sorry if I offend the delicate ears of some Red Bloggers out there, but this is NYC, after all) starting now and going all the way through November 2006 and beyond. Here is Howard Dean's message:
As 2006 begins, I am reaching out to you and every other Democratic Party supporter I can find. I'm urging you to immediately contribute to the Democratic National Committee. We cannot let Republicans off the hook - in 2006 Democrats will not back down. Help make January the biggest month ever with Democrats making more donations than in any previous month in history. This is the year when the corruption, cronyism, and incompetence of the Republican Party collides with a powerful grassroots Democratic campaign. They won't know what hit them. If we can count on the 2006 support of loyal friends like you, we'll take the power out of their hands. And we'll move America forward. Here is why your donation means so much. With your support, we can recruit strong Democratic candidates to challenge the increasing number of vulnerable Republican incumbents. With your support, we can stand behind Democratic candidates who are taking strong stands on the issues and giving powerful voice to our values. I'm talking about Democrats who understand, like you and I do, the one principle that should guide everything we do in 2006:
We cannot let Republicans off the hook - in 2006 Democrats will not back down... Are you ready to take it to the Republicans every day in 2006? Are you ready to continue our work building a year-round, 50-state grassroots Democratic Party capable of carrying our candidates to victory? Then now is the time to act. Be part of the biggest single month of Democratic membership support in history... This is the month when - in a collective act of political will - we're going to propel our 2006 campaign forward all across America. And, from this point on, we're never looking back, never stopping until we win. We've got the Republicans on the ropes. Let's go for it. On to victory, Governor Howard Dean, M.D.
Right on Howard! The bastards have been looting our nation and pissing all over our Constitution for years now. The poor babies are starting to stumble and get caught in their own messes. Now is the time to take them down! I urge everyone to answer Howard Dean's call. Do it by contributing as Dean asks above. Better yet, show Dean your support by buying a Democracy Bond to help set up the 50-state strategy. For those who aren't as keen on Dean as I am, there is another 50-state, grassroots strategy you can participate in to kick the Republicans while their sorry asses are on the ground. Act Blue has their own 50-state strategy aimed at activating the grassroots nationwide with $10,000 per state seed money. Their approach is distinct from Howard Dean's efforts but is just as important and even MORE supportive of the grassroots. More specifically, let's ACTIVATE the New York State grassroots through Act Blue. Last year Virginia raised $10,000 to get it's grassroots going and boy did the left kick ass there. Let's do the same in New York State. It may be the best way to get our State Senate out of the hands of Bush's corrupt and anti-Constitution party. I would also suggest three other Act Blue campaigns that might interest you and can help make 2006 our best year yet, starting this month. You can donate to take down the ten weakest Republicans in the House, or to defend the most targeted Democrats in the House, or donate to my campaign to defeat the Katrina 11, the 11 Republicans who are willing to give Halliburton no-bid contracts but not to help the victims of hurricane Katrina. However you feel about Dean, making January a record month for fundraising and watching the corrupt Halliburton Republicans panic is bound to start your year off right. You can also get active locally as a volunteer within your local Democratic Party organization, or your local Democracy for America group. We are always asking "where are the Democrats." Well, WE are the Democrats, too. So where are we? Hopefully we are giving our time and money right here and now to defeat the un-American Halliburton Republicans and to retake our nation for the American people.
Good News! Voting Machine Vendor offers PB/OS system to New York State- This is from the DFNYC newsletter:
Good news on the verified voting issue! Last week, Bo Lipari of New Yorkers for Verified Voting sent out this email:
An important milestone has been achieved by New York advocates of paper ballot based voting systems. On January 5, ES&S and Automark introduced an optical scanner and ballot marker compatible with New York and Connecticut's full face ballot requirement. Up until now, no precinct based scanner or ballot marker supported NY's full face ballot, which displays all races and candidates on a single page in a grid format. The growing calls for adoption of paper ballot/optical scanner from citizens all over NY has convinced at least one vendor that Scanners and Ballot Markers compatible with New York's ballot requirements must be made available. We've achieved a crucial goal. Now there is a HAVA compliant paper ballot based system available to NY. Certification and adoption still lie ahead. We still have a hell of a lot of work to do, but look how far we've come! -Bo Lipari
And here is a reminder (also from DFNYC): Please call your countyâ€™s Democratic and Republican County Chairs to tell them that we want to use the PB/OS system - trustworthy paper ballots with the technologically mature optical scanners allowed by the State Legislature; and not the unproven, untrustworthy, unreliable and expensive DRE "electronic touch screen" machines that are opposed by most voters but being pushed by corporate lobbyists to maximize their profits at the publicâ€™s expense. If you are calling the Democratic Chair in Manhattan or Staten Island, please thank them for supporting paper ballots and optical scanners. Manhattan Herman ("Denny") Farrell, Jr. (D) 212-725-8825 James Ortenzio (R) 212-517-8444 Bronx Jose Rivera (D) 718-931-5200 Jay Savino (R) 718-792-5800 Brooklyn Vito Lopex (D) 718-875-5870 Hy Singer (R) 718-582-9454 Queens Tom Manton (D) 718-268-5100 Stephen Maltese (R)) 718-628-9652 Staten Island John W. Lavelle (D) 718-983-5009 Robert Helbock (R) 718-667-4600 And once again, let me once again correct something on News Copy New York where they falsely claim that DFNYC wants to keep the old fashioned lever machines. No, they want PB/OS. I wish they would correct their website.
Democracy, Corruption and Chaos in Brooklyn Politics- Brooklyn politics is a complicated mess. As one of the most populous and racially diverse communities in the nation, Brooklyn is bound to be politically complicated. I am not sure it has to be a mess, though. The Brooklyn Democrats are split amoung various factions. The dominant faction is the corrupt Democratic Party Machine whose head, Clarence Norman, has been lopped off by his recent corruption convictions. His successor in corruption is Vito Lopez, the man who adopted a Hispanic last name to run in a Hispanic district even though he has no Hispanic ancestry and speaks no Spanish. Vito Lopez may be next in line for indictments if the Brooklyn D.A. does his job since Vito Lopez has participated in the same kinds of corruption as Clarence Norman. My wife and I have watched the then Clarence Norman machine at work at the last Democratic County Committee meeting in Kings County (in 2004). We were naive enough to be excited to be attending our first County Committee meeting and were proud to serve the community by participating. What we participated in, though, was one of the biggest farces I have ever witnessed. First off, less than 10% of the County Committee members actually bothered to attend. The only way we had a quorum was because of the huge stack of proxy votes Clarence Normanâ€™s people had on hand. When a motion was made to count the proxies to confirm a quorum, the motion was voted down, so in reality it was unclear whether a quorum actually existed. But the machine was in control and didnâ€™t want poor attendance to get in their way. What followed was a scripted farce. When I say scripted I mean it literally. Individuals were called on based on a script and those individuals read off their copy of the script to make motions, which were then voted on by a voice vote. No motion made that was not on the script was allowed. The script was followed to carry out the necessary business, to confirm the already decided upon executive committee, and then to adjourn the meeting so that the executive committee, which consisted exclusively of Clarence Normanâ€™s followers, could meet and decide on party business in seclusion, away from all of us extraneous, non-machine Democrats. It was only then that I realized that I was a Brooklyn reform Democrat and what the corrupt machine was really about. The machine had no interest in the vast majority of County Committee members. Its sole purpose seemed to me to be to hold power within the party. A political machine can be a good thing, even though they tend almost unavoidably towards corruption. A good political machine delivers votes and serves the community. And one thing that impressed me very much about the Clarence Norman (now Vito â€œLopez
Race in America and the need to be politically relevant- This is a little essay that has been brewing in my mind since hurricane Katrina, and which I put together in honor of Martin Luther King, jr.'s birthday, though it applies to all of us. This last week was Martin Luther King jr.â€™s birthday. I happened to watch some old All in the Family episodes that day. For those who are too young to remember, this was the Sit Com that broke all the rules so that all modern Sit Coms could do what they do. In fact it broke so many rules it probably would be unacceptable today now that reactionaries have taken away so much. It directly faced such previously forbidden topics as racism, sexism, rape, addiction, etc. All in the Family was one of the most pivotal TV shows in the history of the medium. One episode I watched on Martin Luther King, jr.'s birthday struck me. Archie Bunkerâ€™s niece went out on a date with Lionel. Again, for those who donâ€™t remember, Archie was a racist (though a well-meaning one!) and Lionel was one of the first serious black characters in TV history. Young, proud and intelligent, Lionel was the opposite of the racial stereotypes that dominated television. The very concept of a mixed race couple was practically unacceptable on TV at the time and it took a show like All in the Family to confront America with itâ€™s racism. The episode focused on both Archie Bunker and Lionel's uncle taking the young couple to task for betraying their race. The old generation, black and white, could not take the idea of a mixed race couple. The younger generation in essence told the older generation to mind their own business. I have been so used to seeing mixed race couples, both in NYC and Los Angeles, for at least 20 years. Without realizing it at the time, I witnessed the transition from mixed race couples being almost too unacceptable to comprehend to being accepted at least in big cities. That is progress. And, as I observed a year ago in a similar essay, I think there is no question that Barak Obamaâ€™s easy Senate win also shows how far we have come since the death of MLK. But there is no question that equality has not yet been achieved in reality even if there is nominally legal equality. Mixed race couples are acceptable in the circles I have been used to for 20 years, but some places even in NYC would still be hostile to the sight. And I still hear fools ask the question, â€œIs America ready for a black President?
Geraldine Ferraro and Rep. Carolyn Maloney Join Students for a New American Politics PAC In New York- Geraldine Ferraro & Rep. Carolyn Maloney Join Students for a New American Politics PAC in New York Tomorrow NEW YORK â€“ Former Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Geraldine Ferraro & Rep. Carolyn Maloney will join other progressives tomorrow, Thursday, January 26th for a New York City fundraiser for Students for a New American Politics PAC (SNAP PAC). The event will support SNAP PACâ€™s efforts to send students to work on key progressive congressional campaigns across the country this summer. "I congratulate SNAP for its drive to make a difference in the upcoming Congressional elections,
Saving American Science- I have been writing about right-wing attacks on science recently. What I haven't covered much is how Bush has been cutting back on science funding to the point where American scientists are hurting big time. Well there is now a BIPARTISAN bill called PACE (Preserving America's Competitive Advantage), which call for 10% annual increases in both the NSF and NASA basic science research budgets through 2013. The initiative also aims to encourage private sector research and boost science education, etc. Now I notice NIH is left out of that and that is the agency that matters most to me. But, NIH has been hit less by Bush's cuts than NSF and NASA. NASA in particular, because of the fact that THEY are the main source of data supporting global warming studies, has been cut. NIH has more people pushing for it as well. So I guess I have to accept that NSF and NASA need it more right now. Here's the info (action at the bottom): (I got this from some NASA/Columbia scientists) *January 25th, 2006* - Washington, D.C. â€“ Senators Pete Domenici, R-NM, Jeff Bingaman, D-NM, Lamar Alexander, R-TN, and Barbara Mikulski, D-MD, along with retired Lockheed Martin CEO Norm Augustine, today introduced a package of three bills aimed at helping America maintain its leading edge in science and technology. The bills are collectively titled the Protecting Americaâ€™s Competitive Edge (PACE) Act. The PACE Act implements 20 recommendations contained in a recent report by the National Academy of Science titled â€œRising Above the Gathering Storm.
State of the Union Watch: State of Emergency- State of the Union Watch is a State of Emergency. Converge on Times Square at 8:00 with noisemakers, musical instruments and friends to Drown Out Bush with noise at 9:00. Weâ€™ll create our own activist theater on Broadway.
Famine Leads to Overcrowding of Kenyan Schools- An odd consequence of the famine in East Africa is that now schools have a record attendance. Normally kids going to schools is a GOOD thing. But this is tragic. From BBC.
...the local Oxfam team took me to a school where I met Mohammed, its eloquent headmaster. He said that around a month ago, half of the primary school children had stopped attending classes. He explained that the drought was so severe that families had to take their cattle many miles away in search of pasture, making attending school impossible. Now however, school attendance is higher than it ever has been and the classrooms I saw were packed full of kids. My relief on at last hearing some good news was cut short when he explained that the only reason they have come back to school is because they no longer have any livestock to look after, and attending school is the only way they can get food. The situation is so bad that even people in their late teens are trying to enrol in primary school.
No more livestock means no more economy for many. This will be a bad, long term problem. But it is also a major crisis right now. From elsewhere in the same article:
They told me that the malnutrition rates are already triple their normal levels and that the huge numbers of kids currently classed as 'moderately' malnourished could, within weeks, move to being severely malnourished. It would be at this stage that the mortality rates would soar. The local hospital here is already full of severely malnourished children. In Wajir clinic alone, one child a week is already dying and that figure is increasing all the time. The scenes on the ward are those that we all hoped Africa had left behind in the 1980s - distended bellies, children teetering on the brink of death and mothers waving flies away from their children's eyes.
We've been through this before. It is time for Africa and the world to do a better job. The traditional "development" programs that lead to debt, low paying jobs and environmental destruction have failed as they failed in the 90's and in the 80's. It isn't working. I have been proposing an alternative. And I am going to propose it again, because it really can work, but only if many people pull together to help. My proposal is this: a coordinated effort by the progressive blogsphere (that's you and me, my friend, not someone else) that will focus on several interconnected issues with a view towards REGIONAL and COMMUNITY based development. I have been proposing the target area of Uganda/Kenya/Tanzania (roughly the Rift Valley/Lakes region of East Africa) as a trial run for this idea because of the critical environmental issues, the presence of excellent groups like Kiva, and the fact that these nations are just stable enough have a chance for becoming actually prosperous if the immediate crises can be survived. Here I cover ways we can help deal with the famine, environmental issues (including population control), women's rights, education and economic development (focusing on small businesses, the bedrock of any healthy economy). Pick your favorite issue and PLEASE act upon it in a big way. An outline of my proposal: I. Dealing with the immediate famine: East Africa needs food. Now. That cannot be ignored. The scale of the famine is huge and so far is not being addressed by the international community anywhere near adequately. The only way they will get it is if human beings from all over the world, including us, help them out. You and I can start by helping to get East Africa food aid. A donation to Oxfam is probably the best thing you can do to help East Africa in its most immediate crisis. II. Dealing with the environmental root causes of drought and famine: What are the root causes of this famine? People can point to several. But fundamentally there are some fundamental problems that quite simply trump all other root causes. Currently Africa is facing, simultaneously, a rapid decline of its fresh water lakes, a rapid decline in its forests, and a rapid increase in population. The combination creates an environmental situation that inevitably will lead to more and more droughts and hence to more and more famines. These environmental issues are on all levels the most important long-term issues that need to be addressed. No economic development plan, no food aid, no political changes from within can end African instability if these environmental crises are not addressed. These African environmental issues are also part of a global trend. The entire WORLD is facing a decline in fresh water sources, decline in forests and increased population and these trends are leading to wars, famines, and global warming. Across the globe, one of the most destabilizing factors in any society's history, be it Japan or Haiti or Kenya, is deforestation. Sane forest management, after economic problems caused by deforestation, is one of the secrets of Japan's success. Bangladesh, on the other hand, faces an annual cycle of devastating floods followed by devastating droughts because of deforestation in the Himalayas. The theme of the devastating effects of deforestation and the benefits of forest management and reforestation recurs often in Jared Diamond's book Collapse though it is also obvious to anyone familiar with the problems of a nation like Bangladesh. Diamond simply argues it more formally and globally than I have heard before. And, of course, deforestation is also one of the factors contributing to global warming. One of the most important thing that any human being can do to help Africa as well as the world is to contribute to forest management and/or reforestation. The NY Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has three programs trying to preserve the forests, lakes and wildlife of East Africa. Their focus is on BOTH the environment and the human populations in the area, integrating the economic and social needs of communities with the needs of the environment. One program focuses on preserving the entire regional environment in Albertine Rift region of Africa, mostly centered on Uganda, Rwanda and the Congo. This is one of the most critically threatened regions of Africa's environment. Preservation of this region is critical for the economy and freshwater supply of the region, the ecotourism industry of the region, and for preservation of the world's forests as a buffer for global warming. I strongly urge a donation to the WCS Albertine Rift Program. A second program focues on the preserving the Uganda environment in particular. The third program focuses on preserving the entire habitat of the mountain gorilla, an effort that includes some of the East African environment that provides the watershed for the nations we are focusing on. I include this program partly because it covers some of the same environmental regions as the other two programs, but also because the preservation of the Mountain Gorilla is another of my pet projects. So this is an opportunity to urge people to help two of my pet projects: helping East Africa and saving the Mountain Gorilla. Overpopulation is also a global problem, as many pointed out in the diary on Daily Kos discussing the politics of African famines. We are all familiar with Planned Parenthood, which addresses BOTH population issues and issues of women's reproductive rights and health. To those who view Africa's and the world's problems as primarily a population issue, Planned Parenthood's International organization will be of considerable interest to you. But this concatenation of population and women's issues leads to my next section. III. Women's Rights: One of the most important measures of development is the place of women in society. As a first approximation, women's rights go along with development. A more equal role of women in society seems to correlate well with improvements in health, education and prosperity. The equation is not simple, but women's rights are, in my view, an integral part of stable, sustainable development. Furthermore, in addition to access to family planning services (see above for International Planned Parenthood Federation for this), the best means for controlling population increase is through women's literacy and economic empowerment. So, I want to highlight some groups in East Africa that are addressing women's rights. The Uganda Women's Network (UWONET) is an advocacy and lobbying coalition of National Women's NGOs, institutions and individuals in Uganda, founded in 1993. UWONET was born out of the East African Women's Conference held in Kampala in 1993. Their aim to "engender policies, laws and programmes, structures and processes in order to address the needs of both women and men leading to the achievement of gender equity and equality." In Tanzania, Kivulini Women's Rights Organization is a registered Non-Governmental Organization based in Mwanza, Tanzania. In Kiswahili, Kivulini means "in the shade." The word implies a place under the tree where people discuss and support each other. IV. Education: Education is one of the most important aspect of any individual person's or any society's formula for success. In East Africa, education is not free. School fees prevent many individuals from getting even a basic education. Girls, in particular, are poorly served by education in Africa. You can help sponsor the secondary school education for a child in Kenya or Tanzania, though in this case you have to send a check to the Canadian Harambee Education Society. Find out more on their website. V. Economic Development (small businesses): One of the most important aspect of any local economy are small businesses. And the development of small businesses in East Africa is the focus of two excellent organizations Village Enterprise Fund (VEF) and Kiva. In many ways these two organizations work in tandem to help small business owners in Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania to get started and to expand. In general, VEF helps get people started running a business but giving them a microgrant (generally around $100) and some training in effective business practices. This alone will make a huge difference to many people in East Africa seeking to better their economic life and in some ways VEF may be one of the best organizations you can give to if you want to help improve the local economy in East Africa. These small businesses are not part of an export economy, but are mostly simply small stores, tailors, fish mongers, goat herders, brick makers, restaurants, bike shops, etc. that will improve the local economy. Once a business has shown some success after being sponsored by a group like VEF, they can then be considered by Kiva as a recipient of a microloan to help expand. Kiva.directly connects you and a small business owner in East Africa so that you can help that business owner with a small loan. For those new to this idea, Kiva connects small lenders (you and me) who can lend as little as $25, with small businesses in East Africa who need small loans. All small scale! You get your money back within 6-12 months, though without interest. This method of helping can make a large difference for a small business, and it is a great source of pride for a business owner to receive a loan, improve their business, then repay the loan. The recipients of Kiva loans do very well and are very proud of the partnership with lenders. Please find at least ONE thing you can do and please spread the word. This effort depends on a broad, grassroots outpouring of help. You'll feel good about it and in the long run it does help America as well.
Victory for our Health- A major and rising threat to our health is the increase of antibiotic resistant bacteria. This is often caused by misuse of antibiotics. Examples of this are when you are given a prescription for antibiotics and don't complete the course, when someone self-medicates with antibiotics, often at the wrong dose and timing, or when the meat industry uses antibiotics in animal feed. Bacteria that are constantly exposed to antibiotics develop resistance to these drugs. Furthermore, the antibiotic resistance genes, because of a quirk in bacterial genetics, can sometimes jump from one bacterial species to another. When humans get sick from resistant bacteria, the antibiotics prescribed will no longer work. Already, medical research is barely keeping up with the loss of effective antibiotics. For example, the vaunted Cipro, made famous during the Anthrax scare, is now losing its effectiveness due to the rise of antibiotic resistant bacteria. From the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS):
Antibiotic-resistant bacteria are on the rise. Patients once effectively treated for pneumonia, tuberculosis, or ear infections may now have to try three or more antibiotics before they find one that works. And as more bacterial strains develop resistance, more people will die because effective antibiotics are not identified quickly enough or because the bacteria causing the disease are resistant to all available antibiotics. Why have bacterial strains become resistant? The short answer is overuse of antibiotics. Physicians and hospitals have overprescribed the drugs, and patients have demanded themâ€”even for illnesses not caused by bacteria. Veterinarians, too, overprescribe drugs to treat sick animals. It is livestock producers, however, who use the vast majority of antibiotics produced in the United States. An estimated 70 percent of antibiotics and related drugs produced in this country are used for nontherapeutic purposes such as accelerating animal growth and compensating for overcrowded and unsanitary conditions on large-scale confinement facilities known as "factory farms." This translates to about 25 million pounds of antibiotics and related drugs fed every year to livestock for nontherapeutic purposesâ€”almost eight times the amount given to humans to treat disease.
Through lobbying efforts of groups like UCS and some environmental groups, some companies like McDonalds and Chipotle (owned by McDonalds) have already started implementing programs to preferentially buy chicken raised without antibiotics in their chicken feed. Since McDonalds is one of the biggest purchasers of chicken in the nation, his already puts pressure on chicken ranchers to phase out antibiotic use. This pressure may be paying off. This week, according to USA Today, some of the nationâ€™s largest poultry corporations--Tyson Foods, Gold Kist, Perdue Farms, and Foster Farm--have sharply cut back on their use of antibiotics in the feed of chickens that are not sick. Tyson officials said this reduction in â€œnontherapeutic
Should we call them Republicrats?- Barack Obama was quoted earlier today lamenting the fact Democrats did not have enough votes for a filibuster and reflecting on what he believes needs to be done :
"There's one way to guarantee that the judges who are appointed to the Supreme Court are judges that reflect our values. And that's to win elections," Obama said.
Does this mean he is willing to work with the grassroots to rid the Democratic Party of these Republicrats?
1. Akaka (Hawaii)
2. Baucus (Montana)
3. Bingaman (New Mexico)
4. Byrd (West Virginia)
5. Cantwell (Washington)
6. Carper (Delaware)
7. Conrad (North Dakota)
8. Dorgan (North Dakota)
9. Inouye (Hawaii)
10. Johnson (South Dakota)
11. Kohl (Wisconsin)
12. Landrieu (Louisiana)
13. Lieberman (Connecticut
14. Lincoln (Arkansas)
15. Nelson (Florida)
16. Nelson (Nebraska)
17. Pryor (Arkansas)
18. Rockefeller (West Virginia)
19. Salazar (Colorado)
20. Harkin (Iowa) abstained from voting.
Considering Schumer and Clinton seemed to reluctantly get on board the filibuster effort, I wonder if the issue is not to elect more Democrats but more progressives of any kind. It's a question that needs to be examined closely, especially given how herculean is the task of running for office in a place like New York City. At least from what I have observed, in New York City electability has nothing to do with personal values, political strategic thinking or even popularity. Getting elected in New York City is a game of ring-around-the-money : If you do are not sexy in a fundraising way, you better say goodbye to your political aspirations. Notice though I have not said this is a malaise pertaining to Democrats. Actually, it is even more apparent in the NYGOP; with the state honchos dangling Jeaneane Pirro as Clinton-bait in an unwinnable race. It was so obvious how the just wanted to milk PAC'ed tits a little harder and all the way to 2008. It's not working though. They have plenty of politicos that would stand up to Clinton. The problem is that none of them will make them any money. So what eexactly is it that we need? Fundable candidates? More Democrats? Or progressive politicians with cojones?
Electronic Voting: What's Wrong with the System and How to Make Them Accountable- A discussion on Electronic Voting with Douglas Kellner, a noted elections lawyer and critic of potentially fraudulent voting equipment. He has been one of the ten commissioners on the NY City Board of Elections for over a decade and has recently been appointed co-chair of the NY State Board of Elections. 6 PM, 275 7th Ave. between 25th and 26th Streets, use real elevator to access the 23rd floor. Refreshments will be served.
Saving American Science Part II- In the past I have written about the right wing's attack on science, including the Intelligent Deception Lobby and Lobby of Denial. Well, here is further evidence of a right wing attack on science...and a top scientist who is sick of it. From the Union of Concerned Scientists:
Dr. James Hansen, a leading expert on climate change, alleged in Sundayâ€™s New York Times that political appointees tried to stop him from speaking out on global warming issues. Unfortunately, the media has generally failed to make the connection between Dr. Hansenâ€™s experience and the greater pattern of the censorship of scientists and manipulation and distortion of science throughout the federal government. Today, please write a letter to the editor (LTE) of the newspaper of your choice. As the Times article has been picked up by many media outlets, this is an excellent time for scientists to connect the dots between this example and the greater problem of the suppression of science. In addition to informing the public about this issue, a well-crafted LTE will also be read by the staff of the regionâ€™s congressional offices. You can find a partial listing of papers that have picked up this story below. Background Dr. Hansen is the director of the Goddard Institute for Space Studies at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and holds appointments at Columbia University. Sundayâ€™s New York Times provided a disturbing account of politically motivated efforts at NASA to restrict Dr. Hansenâ€™s public comments. According to the Times, administration officials have ordered NASAâ€™s public affairs staff to â€œreview his coming lectures, papers, postings on the Goddard Web site and requests for interviews from journalists.
The Leftist Thirst for Blood: Seeing the "Vichy 10" in Perspective- The thirst for blood from the left against the so-called "Vichy 10" is sweeping several blogs and I have to say I find it kind of repulsive. It is the kind of knee jerk reaction, poorly thought out and poorly expressed, that I expect from Bush supporters talking about Clinton's blowjobs. And some of my fellow leftists sure don't like me saying this. Got scolded considerably at My Left Wing for advocating a touch of restraint. I understand people's frustration. But JESUS CHRIST PEOPLE! HAVE SOME PERSPECTIVE! Some of the people you want to target have among the best voting records in Congress on environment, labor and choice. Do we REALLY want to start by targeting those people??? The so-called â€œVichy 10
Political Relevance: Grassroots politicians need to prove their worth- At this monthâ€™s
Memo to all 2006 candidates : Real Democrats do not support forced pregnacies- I published this over at culturekitchen | Dear Vichy Democrats and Republicrats : You leave me no choice but to kick your sorry pregnacist asses out of my government. I think it's worth repeating here given I mention Eric Massa.
This morning I sent a bunch of emails to several feminist and pro-choice bloggers on the matter of Matt Brown. Right after the Alito confirmation I sent an email to Matt Burguess, Matt Brown's communications director. I've been receiving their press releases probably like everybody maybe many other political bloggers all around the country. I am fed up with what I think is a lack of vulvas, not cojones, effecting the political discourse around choice. We need more feminists raising money, evaluating and promoting candidates, getting on the TV and radio and newspapers and the net and blasting over and over and over again that forced pregnancies are anti-American, that forced pregnancies are a new kind of slavery, that forced pregnancies are a fundamental crime against humanity. We need to have more women speak like this publicly to all candidates, Democrats and Republicans. I was introduced here in New York City to Eric Massa, an upstate New York candidate running for Congress. I was very happyt to know he's running against Randi Kuhn, a Republican who has been taking tons of money and support from the extreme right with organizations like Focus on the Family and the Homeschool Legal Defence Association. But then, he lost me. When I asked Mr. Massa how we stood on abortion he flubbed, he fumbled, he totally ho-hummed.
Dinking Liberally New York's Valentine's Day Party- Come to Drinking Liberally New York's Valentine's Day Party ------------------------ Tuesday, February 14th 7.30p - 11.30p ------------------------ Drinking Liberally is your neighborhood's informal, inclusive drinking club of left-leaners and Bush-bashers. Come join us on Valentine's day to drink beer, hang-out, meet cute neighbors, exchange Mr. T and My Little Pony Valentine Cards*, and talk about the Abramoff scandal. *(Valentine Cards not necessary) ----------------------- ***The Levee*** 212 Berry Street @ North 3rd Street Williamsburg, Brooklyn **Directions*** Take L train to Bedford Ave. Walk 4 blocks south on Bedford Make a right on N. 3rd Street *or* Take B61 to North 3rd Street The Levee is on the corner of Berry & N. 3rd Street ---------------- A printable flyer for the event is available here.
Netroots and the city- I still have to pack, but I could not go to Amsterdam without posting about this event. I attended this past Saturday a New York City bloggers caucus organized by Chris Anderson of NYC.Indymedia and held during the NYC Grassroots Media Conference at The New School for Social Research. I found two familiar faces in the gathering, Dan Jacoby, of New Democratic Majority as well as Noel Hidalgo, a fellow Drupal/CivicSpace developer. But there were people like Will James of On NY Turf who I barely got to speak with as well as others either working on activist projects or looking for information on how to start a blog. It was a quick meeting and one in which, grok, I would have loooved to talk more about the business, networking and creative issues involving blogging. We need a whole day for that. Which is why I hope to continue nagging the people of Community Services Society and Drum Major Institute into funding a NYC blogger's conference as well as workshops for people who want to learn how to do it. Hey, I may even be able to get the good people of Eyebeam and The Guggenheim Museum to lend their labs and conference rooms for the events. So people, show me the money, the resources and the places and I'll show you a kick ass series of conferences here in NYC meant to bridge that frigging digital and netroots divide. OKAY? Heh.
Constitution Vigils: Witness to Lawbreaking- The president is breaking the law. Momentum is already mounting in Congress for a real, independent investigation into the president's illegal wiretapping program. But unless Congress knows that citizens are concerned, they'll shrink from their responsibility to act as a check on the president's power. To turn up the pressure on Congress, weï¿½re organizing nationwide â€œConstitution Vigils
Brooklyn vs. Bush Comedy Show Takes on the Ratner Corruption- I have written a few pieces on the Ratner corruption in NYC. Most recently I have written about how Ratnerâ€™s own lawyer was hired by the state agency whose job it was to judge Ratnerâ€™s Atlantic Yards Project. In the past I covered how Bloomberg was willing to use (make that MISuse) eminent domain to transfer private property to Ratner for development and how Pataki and Bloomberg had secretly agreed to give Ratner MORE property around the Atlantic Yards project without review. These kinds of backroom deals are sleazy corruption, plain and simple. Bloomberg and Pataki may be alright with it, but many in Brooklyn are not happy. Below is from a press release from the BCAT TV comedy show of Brooklyn vs. Bush:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Brooklyn vs. Bush Comedy Show reluctantly backs the Brooklyn Beer Boycott, and Says So on T.V. Monday Night in a debut, 2 part special, of local artist Donald Oâ€™Finnâ€™s Art Show. Brooklyn public affairs television producer Steve de SÃ¨ve announced today that his show, which airs Monday night at 11:30 p.m. on BCAT 3, (BCAT ch. 3, Time Warner ch. 56, CVision ch 69, or if you have no box: ch.10) will be taking sides on the controversy started by Brooklyn Beer owner Steve Hindy when he announced his support for the oversized Ratner complex at the Atlantic Yards. Brooklyn vs. Bush Comedy Show, which airs at 11:30 p.m this Monday night, is part 1 of a 2 part series that features the current art show of Donald Oâ€™Finn, the Freddyâ€™s bartender who will be out of work if the plan Steve Hindy of Brooklyn Breweries supports goes through. Oâ€™Finn is a painter and video artist who has cultivated a unique community of writers, musicians and visual artists over the last 10 years. This community has made Freddyâ€™s their home because of Oâ€™Finn. Many interviews on the 2 part series on Oâ€™Finnâ€™s art show had strong opinions about the pending destruction of their community center. And two sketches, an ad for Brooklyn Beer â€œthe beer that wants to throw you out on the streets and into the sewers,
Come see my friend Chris "Afronetizen" Rabb talk about blogs- Of course, there are two glaring omissions on this line-up given LatinoPundit and I live here in the city. Never ceases to amaze me... ----------------------------- Thurs, March 2, 2006 | 6:00-8:00pm The Republic of Blogs: New Media and Democracy Join Demos, Center for Social Media, Center for Media, Culture and History, People for the American Way and Air America for an event on blogging, media and democracy. Panelists: Lakshmi Chaudhry Senior Editor, In These Times Co-Author, Start Making Sense: Turning the Lessons of Election 2004 into Winning Progressive Politics Rebecca MacKinnon Fellow, Berkman Center for Internet and Society, Harvard Law School Co-Founder, Global Voices Online Drazen Pantic Founder, OpenNet Co-Director, Location One Christopher Rabb Founder and Chief Evangelist, Afro-Netizen Moderator: Rich Benjamin Senior Fellow, Demos Andrew Heiskell Center for Democracy 149 5th Avenue, 7th Floor Register online http://www.demos.org/page179.cfm or call (212) 633-1405 x533
KIVA Microlending Update I: The Success of KIVA and the Blogs- It has been one of my little projects to develop within the blogsphere what I call an integrated approach to helping East Africa as a new vision for international development that can be applied anywhere the blogsphere wants to focus on. This approach was inspired by the wonderful efforts of KIVA, a microlending agency that connects small businesses with small investors like you and me. My intention has been to build on the idea of KIVA, creating an integrated context in which KIVA's efforts will be all the more effective. I will reiterate that contextual approach. But first, I think it is good to show just how successful our efforts can really be. First off, KIVA has received a great deal of attention across the blogsphere. The result is that they have had the enviable problem of too much success. In the past month or so, they have three times had a batch of loans filled within 24 hours of posting them. I haven't plugged them for a while simply because they didn't seem to need my help. They have expanded the partners they work with (from one to five) and the number of countries they work in (more on that in a later diary) and yet they still cannot keep up with the willingness of people like you and me to help small businesses in developing nations.
For those who aren't familiar with how KIVA works, here's the deal:
Kiva's microlending directly connects small lenders (you and me) who can lend as little as $25, with small businesses who need small loans. Up until recently KIVA only worked in three nations in East Africa--Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. Recently they have expanded to several other nations, but that will have to wait for a future diary. You get your money back within 6-18 months, though without interest. The business that KIVA works with have already gotten a boost from a partner agency and have shown some track record of success. For example, Kiva's first partner site, the Village Enterprise Fund, gives training and a small seed grant (usually about $100) to get a small business owner in East Africa started. Once a business that VEF has helped has shown promise, KIVA then helps that business get a loan (often around $500 worth, sometimes more, sometimes less) compiled from people like us to help that business expand. One way to help KIVA find more promising businesses to meet lender eagerness is to donate to Village Enterprise Fund so that they can help business at an earlier stage.
I have lent money to several KIVA businesses. The success of these businesses, helped by the loans I have participated in, is quite gratifying and shows how successful this approach can be. Let me give you three examples that I am proud to have been a part of.
1. Lakev Groceries is a small shop in Eregi, Kenya owned by Petronilla Shivachi, nicknamed "Betty" by her customers. She and her twin sister lost their father's land to neighbors because in Kenya girls cannot inherit land. They, due to lack of school fees, did not go to college, but rather married early. Petronilla was deserted by her husband and now is a single mother bringing up two children without any child support.
She started her business with assistance from VEF. After first establishing her small store, she received a $500 loan through KIVA. Petronilla used this loan to introduce new products to her store for which there is a demand but there had previously been little supply. Primarily she introduced new Mobile phone air cards. This new product brought in 70 new customers in 4 days! Her business has exploded thanks to the loan, bringing what appears to be a much-desired commodity to her town.
2. Fur Ber Fish is a fishmongering business in Tororo, Uganda owned by Penina Oburu. She received a grant in 2001 from VEF to start her small business and has gotten this business off the ground in a small, but successful way. She then received a $300 loan through KIVA, to hire a truck to go directly to Lake Victoria and buy fish for herself rather than having to go through a middleman. Eliminating this middleman will allow her to sell her fish at a lower price.
With the KIVA loan Peninah Obure, has expanded her purchases of fish from 1-3 baskets to 10 - 18 baskets per day. This economy of scale allows her to sell more fish cheaper, at a profit of 45% as opposed to her previous 15%. She is also able to bring the fish closer to her customers, making their walk to get fish shorter. She uses her profits to support her family and to pay school fees (public education is NOT free in East Africa) and medical bills, and to buy clothes and bedding for her children.
3. Kuro Chiki Hotel is a restaurant (hotel means restaurant in Uganda), also in Tororo, Uganda, owned by Lovisa Asinde, a widow with five children. She started a small business baking pancakes, chapatti and mandazi with a donation of 100 dollars from Village Enterprise Fund in 2000. After receiving training in business skills from VEF, she decided to open a eating house in the local trading center. She received a $500 loan through KIVA to expand this eatery.
With that loan she bought a large amount of new kitchen equipment, hired new staff, and expanded her menu, allowing greater choice to her customers. She now serves around100 customers a day and makes about 80% profit. This allows her to buy new clothes for her children and to pay to send them to school.
You can imagine how gratifying it is to be a part of these women's successes. This is how an economy can be built in developing areas--through small businesses that slowly grow while serving their community. By loaning through KIVA or donating to KIVA or VEF, you can be a part of this process and help not only these small business owners, but their children as well.
KIVA and VEF (and KIVA's other partners) are doing wonderful work. But this cannot alone solve the problems of East Africa or any other part of the world. In my next diary on this topic I will once again discuss the education, environmental and economic context in which KIVA's efforts must exist and how we can help that context.
KEEP ELECTRONIC VOTING OUT OF NYC.- URGENT ACTION TO PRESERVE OUR VOTING RIGHTS Help PASS City Council Resolution 131, urging selection of PBOS. Just contact four Council members with the information below. Thatâ€™s all we're asking. Message from Wheresthepaper's Teresa: PBOS voting systems have been used for 20 years - they are time-tested, reliable, cost less, and retain local public bipartisan control of elections. DREs have a history of failures during elections, cost overruns as high as 1000%, loss of votes cast in minority languages, and reporting more ballots than voters. DREs require privatization of elections because DREs use secret software -- our Board of Elections would have to turn over our elections to vendors because vendors are the only ones who know how to service and program their own equipment. Who to call, fax, email, and send letters: Sample letters you can cut and paste: http://www.wheresthepaper.org/ny.html#whattodoNYC 1./ Speaker of the City Council Christine Quinn: Please co-sponsor Resolution 131, and use the power of the Speaker's office to pass it ASAP. Speaker Christine Quinn, The Speaker's Office, City Hall, New York, NY 10007 Office (212) 788-7210, Fax (212) 788-7207, quinn@council.nyc.ny.us 2./ Chair of the Governmental Operations Committee, Simcha Felder: Please co-sponsor Resolution 131, and to use the power of your committee to pass it ASAP. Council Member Simcha Felder, 4424 16th Ave., Brooklyn NY 11204 Office (718) 853-2704, Fax (718) 853-3858, felder@council.nyc.ny.us 3. Lead Sponsor of Resolution 131 Charles Barron: Thank you for introducing Resolution 131. Please act to get it passed ASAP. Council Member Charles Barron, City Hall, New York NY 10007 Office (718) 649-9495, Fax (718) 649-3111, barron@council.nyc.ny.us 4. Your Own Council Member: Please co-sponsor Resolution 131, and do everything in your power to get it passed ASAP. Find your Council Member: www.lwvnyc.org/TRY_find.html Always include your name, address and phone number. Want us to send your letters for you? Please send your name, address and phone to- admin@wheresthepaper.org If the link doesnâ€™t work, you may have to cut-and-paste this email address. Your info will be used only to send letters on your behalf. More info: Where's the Paper New York Verified Voting THE SITUATION DRE technology has been notoriously unreliable. It also is not transparent so that, ultimately, there is no public way to check the accuracy of an election. Finally, they are vastly more expensive thab PBOS The Democratic Party leadership has been strangely neutral and mute. WHY??? We have to wake them up before we find our elections privatized and our rights controlled by a company whose CEO is a biased Republican. Suggestions to better safeguard and amend our regulations have twice been ignored. Trying a third time, with no sign that the State Board of Elections is serious about testing equipment. Reading through, the law seems more about limiting vendor liability than about accurate and verifiable elections. If our elections are not accurate and verifiable, we are NOT a democracy. PBOS is a far better solution for counting the votes electronically, with less cost and less risk. It is established technology, transparent and ultimately verifiable. However, all electronics need safeguards. In other states, partisan election boards have blocked verification of PBOS elections. However, those elections are STILL ultimately verifiable if the political will was there. DRE elections are NOT ultimately verifiable because the software is proprietary and the elections run by company employees, not by the public. Many recent articles have been written about Albany dysfunction and the Department of Justice fines over the stateâ€™s non-compliance with HAVA. However, many states are finding HAVA an underfunded mandate. HAVE funding WILL NOT COVER THE COST OF DRE MACHINES.
Faith and Fairness: Finding Strength and Tools for Advocacy in Your Faith Tradition- The Human Rights Campaign, the nation's largest gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights organization, the Empire State Pride Agenda and fifty-two local cosponsors invite you to our roundtable discussion focused on promoting understanding, empowering fair-minded people of faith into action, and combating misleading information from the religious right about GLBT people. Date:Wednesday, March 15, 2006 Time:7:00 p.m. Place:Union Theological Seminary James Chapel Address: 3041 Broadway New York, NY Keynote Speaker: Rt. Rev. Gene Robinson Diocese of New Hampshire Episcopal Church Panelists: Â» Rabbi Sharon Kleinbaum Congregation Beth Simchat Torah Â» Rev. Dr. Traci West Associate Professor of Ethics and African American Studies Drew University Theological School Moderator: Harry Knox Director, Religion and Faith Program Human Rights Campaign For a full list of sponsoring groups, synagogues and churches, go HERE
Take Action to Level the Playing Field in NYS Elections- Reform of NY State politics is critical. Here is a step in the right direction. From Common Cause:
On Monday, March 6th, Common Cause/NY released a comprehensive new study on the cost of elections in New York State entitled, The $2,100 Club: What New York State Campaigns Cost, How Much Those Costs are Rising and Who's Footing the Bill. You can download the full report here. Our report highlighted some disturbing facts: Campaigns in New York are expensive and getting more so every year. The cost of a winning gubernatorial campaign has almost quadrupled since 1986, and has actually increased eight-fold since 1990. And it's not average New Yorkers who are funding these campaigns. In fact, less than 1% of New Yorkers made a direct campaign contribution in the 2004 legislative election cycle. Even more astonishing is that over 55% of the campaign contributions made by individuals in New York would have been illegal on the federal level because they came in for amounts exceeding the federal individual contribution limit of $2,100. The rising cost of campaigns is driven mostly by the usual suspects - in 2002 the two greatest categories of expenses in the gubernatorial race were TV and radio ads - but our report also highlighted some unusual suspects. In the 2004 legislative elections, payments in the nebulous "other" category represented the single greatest expense for candidates. This fact points to the pervasive practice of state-level candidates using their campaign funds for things that stretch the definition of "campaign expense" beyond any plausible limit. For example, we found that Senator Marty Connor spent over $70,000 of his campaign funds on purchases related to a car that he also bought with campaign funds. The fact that campaigns in our state are being financed by a combination of special interests and an elite group of individuals who are able to give in amounts that far exceed the ability of most New Yorkers should give pause to any New Yorker who cares about democracy in our state. Furthermore, the fact that candidates are able to exploit our weak laws and spend campaign funds on personal uses allows special interests to make an end-run around our gift restrictions and support the lifestyles of candidates. It's time to take action. Please email Senator Majority Leader Joseph Bruno at bruno@senate.state.ny.us and Assembly Speaker Silver at speaker@assembly.state.ny.us to let them know that a total overhaul of our campaign finance laws must be a priority for our state this year. Reforms that lawmakers should embrace include, among other things, a ban on soft money, a reduction in New York's sky-high contribution limits, a ban on candidates putting campaign contributions to personal use and public financing of elections. Please review our report and take action by emailing the legislative leaders today! Thank you for all you do for Common Cause in New York!
Help Restore Funding for NIH- Bush has been slashing funding for scientific research to the bone. He slashed the NASA budget. He slashed NSF budget. And most recently he began to slash the NIH budget. The result? Well I know first hand the results of declining NIH funding. Last year the NIH was only able to fund 20% of grants that it considered worthy of funding. This year they expect to only be able to fund 10%. Furthermore, grants are no longer being fully funded. Even top researchers are seeing their funding cut unexpectedly. These cuts were directly responsible for my being laid off from my last job. My currrent job is also tenuous because of funding. So times are tough for science in America! But there is hope. There has been BIPARTISAN efforts to restore funding to scientific research. The latest is an effort to restore funding to NIH. This comes from FASEB:
Dear Colleague, The NIH budget is in serious trouble if the Senate does not add additional money for discretionary spending programs during this weekâ€™s debate on the FY2007 Budget Resolution. Senators Arlen Specter (R-PA) and Tom Harkin (D-IA) plan to offer an amendment that would add an additional $7 billion for vital health and education programs, including NIH, CDC, K-12 education, higher education and others. You can make a difference: If you agree that additional funds should be provided for NIH, tell your Senators to support the Specter/Harkin budget amendment to add money for important health and education programs. To contact your Senators, please click here and click on Urge Your Senator to Support the Budget Amendment to Increase Funding for NIH. I encourage you to share this message with your colleagues and neighbors and consider signing up for our electronic legislative action alerts. Sincerely, Bruce Bistrian, M.D., Ph.D. President FASEB
COMMUNITY FORUM ON "ATLANTIC YARDS"- COMMUNITY FORUM ON "ATLANTIC YARDS" THURSDAY, MARCH 23, 6:30 P.M. On Thursday, March 23, at 6:30 p.m., Develop Don't Destroy Brooklyn invites you to a community forum on the Forest City Ratner's Atlantic Yards Nets Arena proposal. The evening's agenda will feature: - Latest Updates - South Brooklyn Legal Services Â Ratner's proposal's Impact on Low-Income People - Special Guest Speaker Francis Morrone: â€œAbout New York
Ethical Culture Society Hosts a DDDB Fundraiser- The Ethical Culture Society will host a benefit for Develop, Don't Destroy Brooklyn, the organization that is defending Brooklyn from Ratner's mega-development project that would build 17 giant sky-scrapers in the heart of Brooklyn. Performers include Lisa Gutkin and Lorin Sklamberg of the world-famous Klezmatics, classical guitarist Robert Secrist, and Julia and Leela, the Jewel Odalisque Dancers. The event will also feature a raffle with terrific prizes donated by local merchants, story-telling and sing alongs, a photo exhibition, local crafts and a Baker's Row featuring some of Brooklyn's top bakers: Erica's Rugelach and Baking Co., Regina Bakery, Cheryl Kleinman Cakes, Shakoor's Sweet Tooth, Cousin John's and Viola Bakery. The Ethical Culture Society is located at 53 Prospect Park West, between 1st and 2nd Streets in Park Slope. Admission will be on a sliding scale: $5-$10-$20. Contact Scott Turner for more information: scott@fansforfairplay.com
TROOPS OUT NOW Rally & March through NYC- SATURDAY MARCH 18th : TROOPS OUT NOW Rally & March**3/18 SAT - Actions: mark 3rd anniversary of the invasion of Iraq w/protests at military recruiting stations all across the country. In NYC region, 1 pm: rally at Times Sq recruiting office (41st & B'way), followed by a march to the U.N. Sponsors: Troops Out Now Coalition, many others. Info: 212-633-6646 We'll be gathering at Freddy's (Bklyn - 6th and Dean) at noon and leave for Times Square shortly thereafter. In Times Square, White Blackula & the Missile Dick Chicks will extort blood for oil from the freaks on the street. The Missile Dick Chicks will show us the way to the next oil field by performing at the recruiting station on 41st & B'way at 1:00 pm. I called Troops Out Now and they informed me that everything is permitted, so you can bring on the doohickery and we'll be filming for posterity!
BROOKLYN vs. BUSH at the Jam for Bread CafÃ©- SUNDAY MARCH 19th: It's BROOKLYN vs. BUSH at the Jam for Bread CafÃ© Brooklyn vs. Bush at the Jam for Bread CafÃ©, 333 Henry Street (corner of Pacific), Brooklyn, NY (#2, #3, #4, #5 to Borough Hall or #F to Bergen). Steve & Peter will be filming live music & more beginning at 6:00 pm - come hear HolleyGoAnarchy sing and watch Sander Hicks record a PSA, listen to the Larch and get your groove on in an American Bandstand kinda way
KIVA microlending Update II: Integrated Internet Development Policy Revisited- In my last article on this topic, I reintroduced KIVA and showed how 1.) what they do really can help create successful small businesses in East Africa and how those businesses help the community in which they exist, and 2.) how our efforts on the blogsphere have helped KIVA become so successful that they cannot keep up with the outpouring of help. But they are also bringing on the businesses in need of loans faster than ever, so jeep checking back. Congratulations to all who are making this such a success.
In this diary I want to reiterate the context in which KIVA works and how we also have to help that context. This will partly be a reiteration of diaries I have written before, explaining why I am calling for an "integrated" approach to development that we in the blogsphere can participate in. This is my vision of how you and I can change the world from the bottom up. KIVA works to create small businesses in developing nations so that those small businesses can be the foundations of stable economies. But the areas that we are talking about are facing massive problems: considerable environmental degradation, lack of education, economic exploitation by the developed world, etc. And currently there is also massive famine. Within this negative context, I question the value of KIVA's approach. Can the small businesses they help survive long term within such a negative context?
The solution is not to give up. Nor is it to hope the UN and governments of developed nations will come to the rescue. The efforts of the UN and developed nations have mostly simply put developing nations deeper into debt and profited mainly big corporations. This is not to say that the UN and developed world have done nothing. But their approach has too often been inappropriate and ill timed resulting in debt and instability in the very nations they seek to help. I propose a grassroots approach where regular people like you and me help through small scale efforts to improve the context within which groups like KIVA operate. You and I, by pooling our efforts, can help the environment, the role of women, the education and the availability of food without having to hope that George Bush suddenly decides Africa is worth helping.
My proposal is this: a coordinated effort by the progressive blogsphere that will focus on several interconnected issues with a view towards REGIONAL and COMMUNITY based development. I have been proposing the target area of Uganda/Kenya/Tanzania (roughly the Rift Valley/Lakes region of East Africa) as a trial run for this idea because of the critical environmental issues, the presence of excellent groups like Kiva, and the fact that these nations are just stable enough have a chance for becoming actually prosperous if the immediate crises can be survived. In a later diary I will discuss, in the spirit of KIVA's expanded efforts, an expansion of my own proposal.
Here I cover ways we can help deal with the famine, environmental issues (including population control), women's rights, education and economic development (focusing on small businesses, the bedrock of any healthy economy). Pick your favorite issue and PLEASE act upon it in a big way. If we ACT, we will make a difference.
An outline of my proposal:
I. Dealing with the immediate famine: East Africa needs food. Now. That cannot be ignored. The scale of the famine is huge and so far is not being addressed by the international community anywhere near adequately. The only way they will get it is if human beings from all over the world, including us, help them out. You and I can start by helping to get East Africa food aid. A donation to Oxfam is probably the best thing you can do to help East Africa in its most immediate crisis.
II.Dealing with the environmental root causes of drought and famine: What are the root causes of this famine? People can point to several. But fundamentally there are some fundamental problems that quite simply trump all other root causes. Currently Africa is facing, simultaneously, a rapid decline of its fresh water lakes, a rapid decline in its forests, and a rapid increase in population. The combination creates an environmental situation that inevitably will lead to more and more droughts and hence to more and more famines. These environmental issues are on all levels the most important long-term issues that need to be addressed. No economic development plan, no food aid, no political changes from within can end African instability if these environmental crises are not addressed. These African environmental issues are also part of a global trend. The entire WORLD is facing a decline in fresh water sources, decline in forests and increased population and these trends are leading to wars, famines, and global warming.
Across the globe, one of the most destabilizing factors in any society's history, be it Japan or Haiti or Kenya, is deforestation. Sane forest management, after economic problems caused by deforestation, is one of the secrets of Japan's success. Bangladesh, on the other hand, faces an annual cycle of devastating floods followed by devastating droughts because of deforestation in the Himalayas. The theme of the devastating effects of deforestation and the benefits of forest management and reforestation recurs often in Jared Diamond's book Collapse though it is also obvious to anyone familiar with the problems of a nation like Bangladesh. Diamond simply argues it more formally and globally than I have heard before. And, of course, deforestation is also one of the factors contributing to global warming. One of the most important thing that any human being can do to help Africa as well as the world is to contribute to forest management and/or reforestation.
The NY Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has three programs trying to preserve the forests, lakes and wildlife of East Africa. Their focus is on BOTH the environment and the human populations in the area, integrating the economic and social needs of communities with the needs of the environment. One program focuses on preserving the entire regional environment in Albertine Rift region of Africa, mostly centered on Uganda, Rwanda and the Congo. This is one of the most critically threatened regions of Africa's environment. Preservation of this region is critical for the economy and freshwater supply of the region, the ecotourism industry of the region, and for preservation of the world's forests as a buffer for global warming. I strongly urge a donation to the WCS Albertine Rift Program. A second program focues on the preserving the Uganda environment in particular. The third program focuses on preserving the entire habitat of the mountain gorilla, an effort that includes some of the East African environment that provides the watershed for the nations we are focusing on. I include this program partly because it covers some of the same environmental regions as the other two programs, but also because the preservation of the Mountain Gorilla is another of my pet projects. So this is an opportunity to urge people to help two of

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