"Religious traditions and communities of faith have gained a new, hitherto unexpected political importance since the epoch making change of 1989–90. Needless to say, what initially spring to mind are the variants of religious fundamentalism that we face not only in the Middle East, but also in Africa, Southeast Asia, and in the Indian subcontinent. They often lock into national and ethnic conflicts, and today also form the seedbed for the decentralized form of terrorism that operates globally and is directed against the perceived insults and injuries caused by a superior Western civilization. There are other symptoms, too.
"For example, in Iran the protest against a corrupt regime set in place and supported by the West has given rise to a veritable rule of priests that serves other movements as a model to follow. In several Muslim countries, and in Israel as well, religious family law is either an alternative or a substitute for secular civil law. And in Afghanistan (and soon in Iraq), the application of a more or less liberal constitution must be limited by its compatibility with the Sharia. Likewise, religious conflicts are squeezing their way into the international arena. The hopes associated with the political agenda of multiple modernities are fueled by the cultural self-confidence of those world religions that to this very day unmistakably shape the physiognomy of the major civilizations. And on the Western side of the fence, the perception of international relations has changed in light of the fears of a ‘clash of civilizations’—‘the axis of evil’ is merely one prominent example of this. Even Western intellectuals, to date self-critical in this regard, are starting to go on the offensive in their response to the image of Occidentalism that the others have of the West....
"Rawls’s concept of public reason has met with resolute critics. The objections were leveled not at his liberal premises per se, but against an overly narrow, supposedly secularist definition of the political role of religion in the liberal frame. This is not to play down the fact that eventually the dissent also touches the real substance of the liberal state. What interests me (here) is what line gets drawn to claims that reach beyond a liberal constitution. Arguments for a more generously dimensioned political role for religion that are incompatible with the secular nature of the state should not be confused with justifiable objections to a secularist understanding of democracy and the rule of law.
"The principle of separation of church and state demands that the institution of the state operate with strict impartiality vis-a-vis religious communities; parliaments, courts, and the administration must not violate the prescription not to privilege one side at the cost of another. But this principle is to be distinguished from the laicist demand that the state should defer from adopting any political stance which would support or constrain religion per se, even if this affects all religious communities equally. That would amount to an overly narrow interpretation of the separation of state and church.20 At the same time, the rejection of secularism must not succumb to leaving the door wide open for revisions that would undermine the principle itself. The toleration of religious justifications within the legislative process is, as we shall see, a case in point. That said, Rawls’s liberal position has tended to direct his critics’ attention less to the impartiality of state institutions than to the ethics of citizenship."
Download the entire essay (pdf): <http://www.law.nyu.edu/>
The Props: Election 2006 Blog and Hot Topics
"This website features information about the measures on the ballot in the November 2006 election in California...regularly updated through the remainder of the election cycle, and afterward, with to-the-minute details about polls, endorsements, campaign finance data, and news about each proposition....
"These pages are maintained by the Institute of Governmental Studies Library. The Institute of Governmental Studies is an interdisciplinary organized research unit (ORU) at the University of California at Berkeley that promotes research, training, educational activities, and public service in the areas of American and California politics and public policy.
"The Institute of Governmental Studies Library is one of 11 affiliated libraries on campus. The IGS Library is one the nation’s premier libraries of non-trade and ephemeral materials on
American public affairs and policy. The core of the collection is comprised of pamphlets and unbound reports from a broad spectrum of public interest organizations, research institutes and government agencies...a strong reference collection of monographs and journals on American political science and public administration...has served the research and public service mission of the Institute of Governmental Studies for over 70 years...and has evolved into a large specialized library serving not only Institute scholars but the University community and the general public." -- from the website. <http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006/>
"These pages are maintained by the Institute of Governmental Studies Library. The Institute of Governmental Studies is an interdisciplinary organized research unit (ORU) at the University of California at Berkeley that promotes research, training, educational activities, and public service in the areas of American and California politics and public policy.
"The Institute of Governmental Studies Library is one of 11 affiliated libraries on campus. The IGS Library is one the nation’s premier libraries of non-trade and ephemeral materials on
American public affairs and policy. The core of the collection is comprised of pamphlets and unbound reports from a broad spectrum of public interest organizations, research institutes and government agencies...a strong reference collection of monographs and journals on American political science and public administration...has served the research and public service mission of the Institute of Governmental Studies for over 70 years...and has evolved into a large specialized library serving not only Institute scholars but the University community and the general public." -- from the website. <http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/election2006/>
Municipal Wireless: State of the Market
The MuniWireless State-of-the-Market Report predicts that $3 billion will be spent in the United States from 2006 to 2010 by cities and counties installing wi-fi. This year alone, $235 million will be spent, an increase over the previous forecast of $177 million. Many communities — especially those installing county-wide services — will use it for economic development, digital inclusion and public safety communication.
When you vote...: The GOP's failure to protect the environment.
When you vote, please keep in mind that the Natural Resources Defense Council tallied "more than 300 Crimes against Nature" by the Bush administration and its allies in Congress, 
during just the first five years!; that the Wilderness Society denounced the Bush Administration record on public lands as "irresponsible"; that, as Mother Jones has demonstrated, "no president has gone after the nation's environmental laws with the same fury as George W. Bush -- and none has been so adept at staying under the radar."
For an ongoing update on the Republican majority's environmental misdeeds, add BushGreenwatch <http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/> to your daily bookmarks.
during just the first five years!; that the Wilderness Society denounced the Bush Administration record on public lands as "irresponsible"; that, as Mother Jones has demonstrated, "no president has gone after the nation's environmental laws with the same fury as George W. Bush -- and none has been so adept at staying under the radar." For an ongoing update on the Republican majority's environmental misdeeds, add BushGreenwatch <http://www.bushgreenwatch.org/> to your daily bookmarks.
Print: The L.A.Times stumbles into the future
"The Manhattan Project," LA Observed's Kevin Roderick comments, is not da bomb. The Los Angeles Times' soul-searching won't do much to change the fishwrap's grim prospects. Roderick argues the current staff is ill-equipped to pilot the hulking old-media ship down 
new-media channels; editor Dean Baquet is out of touch -- he came up at the NYTimes and isn't trained for the kind of street-level journo we need in L.A.; besides, he should already know what his readers want -- that's his yob!, for pete's sake; mission-hunting by committee is useless; publicly announcing the group therapy sessions was dumb -- articles in the press make it sound like the project was dreamed up by The Onion; and naming it after the 60-year-old effort to build Little Boy makes the paper look even more ridiculous than usual.
Kevin Roderick: LA Observed (several stories, scroll around).
Mack Reed's advice to the LAT: LAVoice.Org.
new-media channels; editor Dean Baquet is out of touch -- he came up at the NYTimes and isn't trained for the kind of street-level journo we need in L.A.; besides, he should already know what his readers want -- that's his yob!, for pete's sake; mission-hunting by committee is useless; publicly announcing the group therapy sessions was dumb -- articles in the press make it sound like the project was dreamed up by The Onion; and naming it after the 60-year-old effort to build Little Boy makes the paper look even more ridiculous than usual.Kevin Roderick: LA Observed (several stories, scroll around).
Mack Reed's advice to the LAT: LAVoice.Org.
Political Philosophy: "Federalism" and "Citizenship" considered anew in the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy
The new entry on Federalism in the always informative Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy is an excellent backgrounder for the intensifying debates about both our own dysfunctional democracy and the prospects for a stable Shia-Sunni-Kurd state in Iraq. Also, useful -- in light of efforts by the Right to exploit concerns about immigration -- is the chapter on Citizenship.
Margin of Victory: Races in the balance
Here's the action arm of True Majority's take on the races where your contribution of time or money might make a difference:
Patty Wetterling vs. Mark Kennedy, MN-6, eastern and southern Twin Cities suburbs
Child advocate Patty Wetterling is taking her concern for families, education and healthcare to a new level, by vying to replace departing Republican incumbent Mark Kennedy. In a state that is also energized by exciting Governor and Senate races, this house race is a leader on lists to switch parties. The Republican nominee, State Senator Michelle Bachmann, is far more conservative than this suburban Twin Cities district and Wetterling enjoys name recognition in over 90% of the district.
Missouri: Claire McCaskill vs. Jim Talent
State Auditor Claire McCaskill is taking on freshman Senator Jim Talent in a state that has lost its patience with the direction of the country and the unending nature of the Iraq war. Both candidates have been elected statewide, but one is attached to an unpopular president and nitty gritty issues for Missourians like social security privatization and medicare cuts. McCaskill's job will be to hang those policies about Talent's neck, along with a few unpopular votes he has taken as well. Statewide issues will play into the race as well, like the popular stem cell research referendum which is splitting Republicans apart in Missouri.
Montana: Jon Tester vs. Conrad Burns
Populist ... Organic Farmer ... State Senate President who knows Montanans ... Jon Tester is the candidate to beat in the race for US Senator. Incumbent Conrad Burns is making a misstatement a week and still can't really explain where all that Jack Abramoff money went. With the strong wind of a blow out primary at his back, Tester is ready to put this Senate seat in the Democratic column.
Ohio: Sherrod Brown vs. Mike DeWine
Ohio Republicans have taken a beating in the last two years, with a wildly unpopular Governor, a pension scandal and a number of leadership Republicans, including Bob Ney, being associated nationally with scandal. Therefore, a challenge to normally safe incumbent Mike DeWine is a lot closer than usual. U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, a star progressive who has carried TrueMajority causes in the House of Representatives for 14 years, is challenging DeWine and the party he belongs to. Brown has recently seen some very encouraging polls. Now all that is required is a consistent, well-funded campaign.
Pennsylvania: Bob Casey, Jr. vs. Rick Santorum
Sen. Rick Santorum is being challenged by a statewide-elected candidate whose name has huge curb appeal, State Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr. Casey has consistently had a lead in all polls, and usually by wide margins. The administration lost this state in the last election and has built up no good will since. However, Santorum may be the most vulnerable Senate incumbent in the country, but he is a resourceful politician and has a fundraising advantage, so the race could be tight on election night.
Rhode Island: Sheldon Whitehouse vs. Republican nominee
Former Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse is the Democratic candidate and will come out swinging for the election. This state has only elected two Republicans to the Senate in the modern era and they are Lincoln Chafee and his father, so the general discontent with the Republican party this year does not bode well for Chafee.
Tennessee: Harold Ford vs. Bob Corker
When Sen. Bill Frist announced he was stepping down after two terms, beltway folks were surprised to hear Rep. Harold Ford declare his intentions to run. But since then, he has done a masterful job of clearing the Democratic field, leaving all the airtime in the primary for Republican candidates to beat up on each other. Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker easily beat his opponents in the primary, but the stinging attacks still ring in voters ears. Corker would be favored, but Ford is putting together a good campaign and uniting the Democratic Party behind him. The numbers still have with one in the high potential for change category.
Gabrielle Giffords vs. Republican candidate, AZ-08, Tucson
Former state legislator Gabrielle Giffords will be facing an extremely conservative opponent in the race to take back the seat emptied by retiring internationalist Jim Kolbe. The seat, which runs along the Arizona/Mexico border, will be one of the hottest challenges in the country. Giffords legislative career has a long record of supporting women's rights, healthcare access and affordability and protection of the environment and open spaces. Her opponent is a poster boy for the Minuteman movement on the Arizona border and will run a campaign of fear-mongering and racist divisiveness. Moving this seat back to the Democratic column will be a victory for us all.
Ed Perlmutter, CO-7, northern Denver suburbs
Ed Perlmutter, education and alternative energy supporter, has come out of the Democratic primary as the nominee for this open seat. A lifelong resident of the Denver-suburbs district, Perlmutter represents the best chance to take this seat back. The retiring Congressman won the seat four years ago by 102 votes. Now it is time for a Democrat to represent the district which went for Kerry two years ago.
Joe Courtney vs. Rob Simmons, CT-2, New London
In one of the most Democratic seats in the country represented by a Republican, the voters of eastern Connecticut are ready for a change. Joe Courtney, a former state senator, is taking the challenge. The incumbent's votes for drilling in the Artic Refuge and support of the war in Iraq certainly give voters pause, as well as continued questions about campaign money from Tom DeLay and Duke Cunningham. Connecticut is a hot-bed of change this year, and this seat should lead the way.
Diane Farrell vs. Christopher Shays, CT-4, Stamford, Bridgeport
Diane Farrell, Wesport Selectwoman, is taking on Chris Shays, one of the most wishy-washy members of Congress. Farrell's strong desire to get us out of Iraq and her concern for the social safety net that means so much to all Americans makes her a great match for this Democratic leaning district. Voters in this New York suburban district are tired of representation that votes for the leadership of the party that is undercutting all they believe in and they will have a great alternative in Diane Farrell this November.
John Cranley vs. Steve Chabot, OH-1, Western Cincinnati and suburbs
John Cranley is taking on incumbent Republican Steve Chabot, who seems to have spent more time globe-trotting on lobbyists' dimes than representing his constituents while they dealt with the real problems at home of health care, jobs and gas prices. Cranley's efforts locally in alternative energy sources, affordable public transportation and clean air are the kinds of ideas voters are ready for in Washington and this western Cincinnati seat looks like one of the most likely to flip.
Zack Space vs. TBA, OH-18, east and south central, Zanesville
Zack Space won the nomination to take on the scandal-ridden Bob Ney, but now Ney has stepped down and the opponent remains unclear. Space, however, remains an excellent candidate. His deep roots in the community and sense of service stem from his grandfather's service in World War I after emigrating from Greece make his a great candidate to represent the wide-ranging district that runs through the eastern center of Ohio. Space actively campaigned for support of election reform while a primary candidate and will take that message all the way to Washington DC, with voters' support.
Mary Jo Kilroy vs. Deborah Pryce, OH-15, Central: western Columbus and suburbs
Mary Jo Kilroy has been representing parts of this western Columbus district in various capacities for many years, bringing her progressive vision to issues like alternative energy local transportation and electoral reform. Now she is taking on Congresswoman Deborah Pryce, who likes to refer to herself as a moderate while voting for big oil and gas, tax cuts for millionaires and supports George Bush's \"stay the course\" vision for Iraq. When will voters have enough of this type of two-faced representation? In November, when they send Mary Jo Kilroy's new passion and new ideas to the House of Representatives.
Lois Murphy vs. Jim Gerlach, PA-6, parts of Montgomery, Berks and Chester counties
If you are looking for one of the top seats to change parties in 2006, this one is it. Pennsylvania is pretty darn tired of the Bush administration and the direction of the country, as made clear by the polling numbers in the US Senate race. Lois Murphy, attorney and mother of two, is taking on the sophomore Congressman Jim Gerlach, who is running like crazy away from the current leadership of his party. He can run, but he can't hide from all those votes supporting the war in Iraq, tax cuts for the wealthy, funding of nuclear weapons. Muphy is pressing hard and voters will give the Bush administration a vote on its performance on November, the outcome is looking bleak.
Joe Sestak vs. Curt Weldon, PA-7, Philadelphia's Delaware suburbs
Joe Sestak, recently retired from a 31 year career in the Navy, is taking on Curt Weldon, a strong supporter of the war and an advocate of ballistic missile defense, an untested, ineffective weapon system that costs us $10 billion a year! Vice Admiral Sestak, a Harvard PhD, will bring a breadth of leadership and educational experience to Congress that will help us take our foreign policy in a new direction. He opposes the Iraq War, calling it \"unnecessary\" and a \"tragic misadventure.\" In this district which gave Kerry a win in the last election, there are winds of change blowing and Joe Sestak and our nation's foreign policy will be the beneficiaries.
Patrick Murphy vs. Mike Fitzpatrick, PA-8, northern Philadelphia suburbs
Patrick Murphy's knowledge of the situation in Iraq comes from his own tour of duty there. As a JAG officer, he was able to experience both the reactions of Iraqis to our occupation there and the demands being put on our soldiers. Murphy's plan for Iraq includes bringing home the National Guard ASAP and a new plan for Iraq. His opponent, freshman member Mike Fitzpatrick, has been receiving funds hand over fist from Republican leadership PACs and will be flooding the airwaves in this northern Philadelphia suburban district with the administration's messages. Murphy's mission will be to make that connection between the administration, which lost the last election in this district, with the member who now serves them in Congress, and help voters make a change.
Tammy Duckworth vs. Peter Roskam, IL-6, Chicago north and west sides
In the Chicago suburbs open seat vacated by Henry Hyde, the Democratic candidate, Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq vet who lost three limbs during her tour of duty there. As the seat trends more Democratic, voters are hungry for someone who is ready to grapple with the larger issues of the day. Duckworth brings integrity and intelligence to the important issues our country is facing in foreign policy. Her strong internationalist influence and unwavering support of veterans' issues are the messages that war-weary voters are ready to hear. Her opponent, a one-time Tom DeLay staffer, has an awful lot to run from, Duckworth stands on her experience and stamina.
Brad Ellsworth vs. John Hostettler, IN-08, Evansville, Terre Haute
Brad Ellsworth, the telegenic sheriff in the Evansville and Terre Haute district, is running against John Hostettler, the Congressman who was stopped at his regional airport because he had a loaded gun in his carry-on. His excuse, "I forgot it was in there." Ellworth, by contrast has been well aware of the laws of the land, having served as police officer for over 25 years. He is running to bring better paying jobs and job security, better trade agreements and stronger education for the workforce we will rely on in the next generation.
Baron Hill vs. Mark Sodrel, IN-09, New Albany, Bloomington
Baron Hill, long owner of this southern Indiana seat, is up for a rematch against trucking company owner, Congressman Mike Sodrel, who beat him in the last election. However, tolerance for the direction of the country has declined markedly in the district and Hill's rematch is considered one of the best pick-ups in the country.
Bruce Braley vs. Mike Whalen, IA-1, Dubuque, Davenport
In an open seat freed up by Congressman Jim Nussle running for Governor, Democratic nominee Bruce Braley is ready to put this seat in the Democratic column. His strong connection to the community and strong support for TrueMajority values, including support of the Common Sense Budget Act, make this race a top priority for TrueMajority ACTION PAC. Our support of Braley in the primary helped him across the line and we will be there with him on election night to ring in victory.
John Yarmouth vs. Anne Northup, KY-3, Louisville
John Yarmouth is taking on an incumbent considered one of the most vulnerable year after year. In this Louisville-based Democratic district, Yarmouth's profile as an anti-war activist and journalist will inspire Democrats to come out to the polls in November and bring representation to the district that it deserves.
Ken Lucas vs. Geoff Davis, KY-4, Northeast, Cincinnati suburbs
Former Congressman Ken Lucas thought retirement would be easy in 2004. But when he saw the direction of the country and the direction of his replacement, freshman Republican Geoff Davis, Lucas realized he would have to get back in the ring. His long dedication to the district propelled him quickly into a strong challenger position and a strong campaign will bring him back to the House of Representatives as part of the majority party.
Linda Stender vs. Mike Ferguson, NJ-7, North Central, parts of Woodbridge and Union
State Assemblywoman and ex-Fanwood Mayor Linda Stender is taking on six-year incumbent Mike Ferguson. Stender's strong progressive credentials make her a great partner for TrueMajority once in Congress. She will strongly advocate for an exit strategy from Iraq and puts children and seniors ahead of tax cuts for the wealthy. Her opponent ran strongly on his attachment to President Bush two years ago. Wonder what his platform will be this time?
Jill Derby vs. Jim Gibbons, NV-2
Jill Derby has made the red to blue list and has posted some good fundraising numbers. With Gibbons running for governor, a number of Republicans have signed up for the race (including his wife), but Derby is alone on the Democratic side. She is third generation Nevadan and landmarks in the district bear the Derby name.
Patricia Madrid vs. Heather Wilson, NM-1
Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid, Attorney General, is running a strong race against one of the most hawkish Republicans in Congress. Madrid is taking her on over the airwaves, bad planning for the war in Iraq, bad follow-up for the injured vets coming home. Emphasizing the issues that always play well in this Albuquerque-based district, social security, job security, Madrid has put the incumbent in the position of needing to a lot of explaining. Now she just needs to get those Democratic voters to the polls.
Mike Arcuri vs. Ray Meier, NY-24, Utica
The retirement of moderate Republican Sherwood Boehlert opens up a strong pick-up opportunity for Democrats in the Utica area. Oneida County Attorney Mike Arcuri has won four elections in the District since 1993, so has long been identified as an public servant and strong Democratic candidate. His opponent, a state legislator, it far more conservative than the middle of the road Congressman Boehlert. Arcuri has quickly garnered support from unions and grassroots activists who are excited to see this seat change hands.
Heath Shuler vs. Charles Taylor, NC-11, Asheville
Heath Shuler, former NFL quarterback, is taking on ethics-challenged Republican incumbent Charles Taylor in this Asheville-based district. Reports of savings and loan impropriety, campaign fund discrepancies and even vote-changing have long plagued Taylor, but he has always had enough money to buy his way back. However, it seems that this year. With unions, education advocates and environmentalists on Shuler's side, this can be the year for change, as some polls here have indicated.
Nick Lampson vs. write-in candidate, TX-22, southeast Houston and suburbs
Now that Tom DeLay has been permanently removed from this race, the election has ended up with a ballot including Democratic ex-Congressman Nick Lampson, an Independent candidate, and a write-in line for the Republican candidate. DeLay long ago gave away Republican voters from this district because he had such a lock on it. Now a new measurement will be taken and Nick Lampson, who previously represented up to one third of the voters now in the district, with be taking the lead in winning back seats for Democrats. Even with the complications of a concurrent special election to fill the remaining time in DeLay's term, this seat is considered the most likely to change hands in November.
Darcy Burner vs. Dave Reichert, WA-8, Seattle's King county
Darcy Burner, Microsoft executive, computer programmer and community activist, has signed up to take on freshman Dave Reichert. He ran on a law and order platform in the election using his sheriff credentials, but the district's reaction to the Iraq War has undermined their tolerance for his leadership. Kerry won this district by 3 points. Now it is Burner's job to get those voters to the polls in November to make real change.
Ron Klein vs. Clay Shaw, FL-22
In the race of the big dollars, attorney Ron Klein is doing all he can to bring to light the weak representation constituents have been receiving from Republican Clay Shaw for the last 26 years. But in this east coast Florida district that includes parts of West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale, Shaw has a $4.2 million war chest he is using to convince voters that they need to keep him in office because of his seniority. Of course, that argument will be hollow when his party no longer controls the Capitol. Klein's message on the importance of social security and adequate healthcare are what voters really want to hear and will send them to the polls in November to ensure Clay Shaw's retirement plan.
Patricia Madrid vs. Heather Wilson, NM-1
Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid, Attorney General, is running a strong race against one of the most hawkish Republicans in Congress. Madrid is taking her on over the airwaves, bad planning for the war in Iraq, bad follow-up for the injured vets coming home. Emphasizing the issues that always play well in this Albuquerque-based district, social security, job security, Madrid has put the incumbent in the position of needing to a lot of explaining. Now she just needs to get those Democratic voters to the polls.
Here's the link to True Majority Action's 2006 wish list.
Patty Wetterling vs. Mark Kennedy, MN-6, eastern and southern Twin Cities suburbsChild advocate Patty Wetterling is taking her concern for families, education and healthcare to a new level, by vying to replace departing Republican incumbent Mark Kennedy. In a state that is also energized by exciting Governor and Senate races, this house race is a leader on lists to switch parties. The Republican nominee, State Senator Michelle Bachmann, is far more conservative than this suburban Twin Cities district and Wetterling enjoys name recognition in over 90% of the district.
Missouri: Claire McCaskill vs. Jim TalentState Auditor Claire McCaskill is taking on freshman Senator Jim Talent in a state that has lost its patience with the direction of the country and the unending nature of the Iraq war. Both candidates have been elected statewide, but one is attached to an unpopular president and nitty gritty issues for Missourians like social security privatization and medicare cuts. McCaskill's job will be to hang those policies about Talent's neck, along with a few unpopular votes he has taken as well. Statewide issues will play into the race as well, like the popular stem cell research referendum which is splitting Republicans apart in Missouri.
Montana: Jon Tester vs. Conrad BurnsPopulist ... Organic Farmer ... State Senate President who knows Montanans ... Jon Tester is the candidate to beat in the race for US Senator. Incumbent Conrad Burns is making a misstatement a week and still can't really explain where all that Jack Abramoff money went. With the strong wind of a blow out primary at his back, Tester is ready to put this Senate seat in the Democratic column.
Ohio: Sherrod Brown vs. Mike DeWineOhio Republicans have taken a beating in the last two years, with a wildly unpopular Governor, a pension scandal and a number of leadership Republicans, including Bob Ney, being associated nationally with scandal. Therefore, a challenge to normally safe incumbent Mike DeWine is a lot closer than usual. U.S. Rep. Sherrod Brown, a star progressive who has carried TrueMajority causes in the House of Representatives for 14 years, is challenging DeWine and the party he belongs to. Brown has recently seen some very encouraging polls. Now all that is required is a consistent, well-funded campaign.
Pennsylvania: Bob Casey, Jr. vs. Rick Santorum Sen. Rick Santorum is being challenged by a statewide-elected candidate whose name has huge curb appeal, State Treasurer Bob Casey, Jr. Casey has consistently had a lead in all polls, and usually by wide margins. The administration lost this state in the last election and has built up no good will since. However, Santorum may be the most vulnerable Senate incumbent in the country, but he is a resourceful politician and has a fundraising advantage, so the race could be tight on election night.
Rhode Island: Sheldon Whitehouse vs. Republican nominee Former Attorney General Sheldon Whitehouse is the Democratic candidate and will come out swinging for the election. This state has only elected two Republicans to the Senate in the modern era and they are Lincoln Chafee and his father, so the general discontent with the Republican party this year does not bode well for Chafee.
Tennessee: Harold Ford vs. Bob CorkerWhen Sen. Bill Frist announced he was stepping down after two terms, beltway folks were surprised to hear Rep. Harold Ford declare his intentions to run. But since then, he has done a masterful job of clearing the Democratic field, leaving all the airtime in the primary for Republican candidates to beat up on each other. Chattanooga Mayor Bob Corker easily beat his opponents in the primary, but the stinging attacks still ring in voters ears. Corker would be favored, but Ford is putting together a good campaign and uniting the Democratic Party behind him. The numbers still have with one in the high potential for change category.
Gabrielle Giffords vs. Republican candidate, AZ-08, Tucson Former state legislator Gabrielle Giffords will be facing an extremely conservative opponent in the race to take back the seat emptied by retiring internationalist Jim Kolbe. The seat, which runs along the Arizona/Mexico border, will be one of the hottest challenges in the country. Giffords legislative career has a long record of supporting women's rights, healthcare access and affordability and protection of the environment and open spaces. Her opponent is a poster boy for the Minuteman movement on the Arizona border and will run a campaign of fear-mongering and racist divisiveness. Moving this seat back to the Democratic column will be a victory for us all.
Ed Perlmutter, CO-7, northern Denver suburbs Ed Perlmutter, education and alternative energy supporter, has come out of the Democratic primary as the nominee for this open seat. A lifelong resident of the Denver-suburbs district, Perlmutter represents the best chance to take this seat back. The retiring Congressman won the seat four years ago by 102 votes. Now it is time for a Democrat to represent the district which went for Kerry two years ago.
Joe Courtney vs. Rob Simmons, CT-2, New LondonIn one of the most Democratic seats in the country represented by a Republican, the voters of eastern Connecticut are ready for a change. Joe Courtney, a former state senator, is taking the challenge. The incumbent's votes for drilling in the Artic Refuge and support of the war in Iraq certainly give voters pause, as well as continued questions about campaign money from Tom DeLay and Duke Cunningham. Connecticut is a hot-bed of change this year, and this seat should lead the way.
Diane Farrell vs. Christopher Shays, CT-4, Stamford, BridgeportDiane Farrell, Wesport Selectwoman, is taking on Chris Shays, one of the most wishy-washy members of Congress. Farrell's strong desire to get us out of Iraq and her concern for the social safety net that means so much to all Americans makes her a great match for this Democratic leaning district. Voters in this New York suburban district are tired of representation that votes for the leadership of the party that is undercutting all they believe in and they will have a great alternative in Diane Farrell this November.
John Cranley vs. Steve Chabot, OH-1, Western Cincinnati and suburbsJohn Cranley is taking on incumbent Republican Steve Chabot, who seems to have spent more time globe-trotting on lobbyists' dimes than representing his constituents while they dealt with the real problems at home of health care, jobs and gas prices. Cranley's efforts locally in alternative energy sources, affordable public transportation and clean air are the kinds of ideas voters are ready for in Washington and this western Cincinnati seat looks like one of the most likely to flip.
Zack Space vs. TBA, OH-18, east and south central, Zanesville Zack Space won the nomination to take on the scandal-ridden Bob Ney, but now Ney has stepped down and the opponent remains unclear. Space, however, remains an excellent candidate. His deep roots in the community and sense of service stem from his grandfather's service in World War I after emigrating from Greece make his a great candidate to represent the wide-ranging district that runs through the eastern center of Ohio. Space actively campaigned for support of election reform while a primary candidate and will take that message all the way to Washington DC, with voters' support.
Mary Jo Kilroy vs. Deborah Pryce, OH-15, Central: western Columbus and suburbs Mary Jo Kilroy has been representing parts of this western Columbus district in various capacities for many years, bringing her progressive vision to issues like alternative energy local transportation and electoral reform. Now she is taking on Congresswoman Deborah Pryce, who likes to refer to herself as a moderate while voting for big oil and gas, tax cuts for millionaires and supports George Bush's \"stay the course\" vision for Iraq. When will voters have enough of this type of two-faced representation? In November, when they send Mary Jo Kilroy's new passion and new ideas to the House of Representatives.
Lois Murphy vs. Jim Gerlach, PA-6, parts of Montgomery, Berks and Chester countiesIf you are looking for one of the top seats to change parties in 2006, this one is it. Pennsylvania is pretty darn tired of the Bush administration and the direction of the country, as made clear by the polling numbers in the US Senate race. Lois Murphy, attorney and mother of two, is taking on the sophomore Congressman Jim Gerlach, who is running like crazy away from the current leadership of his party. He can run, but he can't hide from all those votes supporting the war in Iraq, tax cuts for the wealthy, funding of nuclear weapons. Muphy is pressing hard and voters will give the Bush administration a vote on its performance on November, the outcome is looking bleak.
Joe Sestak vs. Curt Weldon, PA-7, Philadelphia's Delaware suburbs Joe Sestak, recently retired from a 31 year career in the Navy, is taking on Curt Weldon, a strong supporter of the war and an advocate of ballistic missile defense, an untested, ineffective weapon system that costs us $10 billion a year! Vice Admiral Sestak, a Harvard PhD, will bring a breadth of leadership and educational experience to Congress that will help us take our foreign policy in a new direction. He opposes the Iraq War, calling it \"unnecessary\" and a \"tragic misadventure.\" In this district which gave Kerry a win in the last election, there are winds of change blowing and Joe Sestak and our nation's foreign policy will be the beneficiaries.
Patrick Murphy vs. Mike Fitzpatrick, PA-8, northern Philadelphia suburbsPatrick Murphy's knowledge of the situation in Iraq comes from his own tour of duty there. As a JAG officer, he was able to experience both the reactions of Iraqis to our occupation there and the demands being put on our soldiers. Murphy's plan for Iraq includes bringing home the National Guard ASAP and a new plan for Iraq. His opponent, freshman member Mike Fitzpatrick, has been receiving funds hand over fist from Republican leadership PACs and will be flooding the airwaves in this northern Philadelphia suburban district with the administration's messages. Murphy's mission will be to make that connection between the administration, which lost the last election in this district, with the member who now serves them in Congress, and help voters make a change.
Tammy Duckworth vs. Peter Roskam, IL-6, Chicago north and west sidesIn the Chicago suburbs open seat vacated by Henry Hyde, the Democratic candidate, Tammy Duckworth is an Iraq vet who lost three limbs during her tour of duty there. As the seat trends more Democratic, voters are hungry for someone who is ready to grapple with the larger issues of the day. Duckworth brings integrity and intelligence to the important issues our country is facing in foreign policy. Her strong internationalist influence and unwavering support of veterans' issues are the messages that war-weary voters are ready to hear. Her opponent, a one-time Tom DeLay staffer, has an awful lot to run from, Duckworth stands on her experience and stamina.
Brad Ellsworth vs. John Hostettler, IN-08, Evansville, Terre HauteBrad Ellsworth, the telegenic sheriff in the Evansville and Terre Haute district, is running against John Hostettler, the Congressman who was stopped at his regional airport because he had a loaded gun in his carry-on. His excuse, "I forgot it was in there." Ellworth, by contrast has been well aware of the laws of the land, having served as police officer for over 25 years. He is running to bring better paying jobs and job security, better trade agreements and stronger education for the workforce we will rely on in the next generation.
Baron Hill vs. Mark Sodrel, IN-09, New Albany, BloomingtonBaron Hill, long owner of this southern Indiana seat, is up for a rematch against trucking company owner, Congressman Mike Sodrel, who beat him in the last election. However, tolerance for the direction of the country has declined markedly in the district and Hill's rematch is considered one of the best pick-ups in the country.
Bruce Braley vs. Mike Whalen, IA-1, Dubuque, DavenportIn an open seat freed up by Congressman Jim Nussle running for Governor, Democratic nominee Bruce Braley is ready to put this seat in the Democratic column. His strong connection to the community and strong support for TrueMajority values, including support of the Common Sense Budget Act, make this race a top priority for TrueMajority ACTION PAC. Our support of Braley in the primary helped him across the line and we will be there with him on election night to ring in victory.
John Yarmouth vs. Anne Northup, KY-3, LouisvilleJohn Yarmouth is taking on an incumbent considered one of the most vulnerable year after year. In this Louisville-based Democratic district, Yarmouth's profile as an anti-war activist and journalist will inspire Democrats to come out to the polls in November and bring representation to the district that it deserves.
Ken Lucas vs. Geoff Davis, KY-4, Northeast, Cincinnati suburbsFormer Congressman Ken Lucas thought retirement would be easy in 2004. But when he saw the direction of the country and the direction of his replacement, freshman Republican Geoff Davis, Lucas realized he would have to get back in the ring. His long dedication to the district propelled him quickly into a strong challenger position and a strong campaign will bring him back to the House of Representatives as part of the majority party.
Linda Stender vs. Mike Ferguson, NJ-7, North Central, parts of Woodbridge and UnionState Assemblywoman and ex-Fanwood Mayor Linda Stender is taking on six-year incumbent Mike Ferguson. Stender's strong progressive credentials make her a great partner for TrueMajority once in Congress. She will strongly advocate for an exit strategy from Iraq and puts children and seniors ahead of tax cuts for the wealthy. Her opponent ran strongly on his attachment to President Bush two years ago. Wonder what his platform will be this time?
Jill Derby vs. Jim Gibbons, NV-2Jill Derby has made the red to blue list and has posted some good fundraising numbers. With Gibbons running for governor, a number of Republicans have signed up for the race (including his wife), but Derby is alone on the Democratic side. She is third generation Nevadan and landmarks in the district bear the Derby name.
Patricia Madrid vs. Heather Wilson, NM-1Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid, Attorney General, is running a strong race against one of the most hawkish Republicans in Congress. Madrid is taking her on over the airwaves, bad planning for the war in Iraq, bad follow-up for the injured vets coming home. Emphasizing the issues that always play well in this Albuquerque-based district, social security, job security, Madrid has put the incumbent in the position of needing to a lot of explaining. Now she just needs to get those Democratic voters to the polls.
Mike Arcuri vs. Ray Meier, NY-24, UticaThe retirement of moderate Republican Sherwood Boehlert opens up a strong pick-up opportunity for Democrats in the Utica area. Oneida County Attorney Mike Arcuri has won four elections in the District since 1993, so has long been identified as an public servant and strong Democratic candidate. His opponent, a state legislator, it far more conservative than the middle of the road Congressman Boehlert. Arcuri has quickly garnered support from unions and grassroots activists who are excited to see this seat change hands.
Heath Shuler vs. Charles Taylor, NC-11, AshevilleHeath Shuler, former NFL quarterback, is taking on ethics-challenged Republican incumbent Charles Taylor in this Asheville-based district. Reports of savings and loan impropriety, campaign fund discrepancies and even vote-changing have long plagued Taylor, but he has always had enough money to buy his way back. However, it seems that this year. With unions, education advocates and environmentalists on Shuler's side, this can be the year for change, as some polls here have indicated.
Nick Lampson vs. write-in candidate, TX-22, southeast Houston and suburbsNow that Tom DeLay has been permanently removed from this race, the election has ended up with a ballot including Democratic ex-Congressman Nick Lampson, an Independent candidate, and a write-in line for the Republican candidate. DeLay long ago gave away Republican voters from this district because he had such a lock on it. Now a new measurement will be taken and Nick Lampson, who previously represented up to one third of the voters now in the district, with be taking the lead in winning back seats for Democrats. Even with the complications of a concurrent special election to fill the remaining time in DeLay's term, this seat is considered the most likely to change hands in November.
Darcy Burner vs. Dave Reichert, WA-8, Seattle's King countyDarcy Burner, Microsoft executive, computer programmer and community activist, has signed up to take on freshman Dave Reichert. He ran on a law and order platform in the election using his sheriff credentials, but the district's reaction to the Iraq War has undermined their tolerance for his leadership. Kerry won this district by 3 points. Now it is Burner's job to get those voters to the polls in November to make real change.
Ron Klein vs. Clay Shaw, FL-22In the race of the big dollars, attorney Ron Klein is doing all he can to bring to light the weak representation constituents have been receiving from Republican Clay Shaw for the last 26 years. But in this east coast Florida district that includes parts of West Palm Beach and Ft. Lauderdale, Shaw has a $4.2 million war chest he is using to convince voters that they need to keep him in office because of his seniority. Of course, that argument will be hollow when his party no longer controls the Capitol. Klein's message on the importance of social security and adequate healthcare are what voters really want to hear and will send them to the polls in November to ensure Clay Shaw's retirement plan.
Patricia Madrid vs. Heather Wilson, NM-1Democratic challenger Patricia Madrid, Attorney General, is running a strong race against one of the most hawkish Republicans in Congress. Madrid is taking her on over the airwaves, bad planning for the war in Iraq, bad follow-up for the injured vets coming home. Emphasizing the issues that always play well in this Albuquerque-based district, social security, job security, Madrid has put the incumbent in the position of needing to a lot of explaining. Now she just needs to get those Democratic voters to the polls.
Here's the link to True Majority Action's 2006 wish list.
When you vote...: Habeas Corpus - not!
When you vote, keep in mind that the current Republican congressional majority passed legislation, almost certainly unconstitutional, that permits prosecutors to withhold evidence from some suspects and that strips the federal courts of jurisdiction to hear petitions from noncitizens for writs of habeas corpus, effectively preventing detainees from going to court to challenge their confinement. “Congress had no justification for suspending the writ of habeas corpus, a core value in American law, in order to avoid judicial review that prevents government abuse,” Senator Patrick J. Leahy of Vermont, the senior Democrat on the Senate Judiciary Committee, told the New York Times.The bill was prompted by a Supreme Court ruling, Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, that invalidated the system of military commissions Mr. Bush had set up for trying terrorism suspects, saying they required Congressional authorization. The court also required suspects to be treated in accordance with a provision of the Geneva Conventions, Common Article 3, which prohibits cruel and inhumane treatment, including “outrages upon personal dignity.”
OpEd: Our Broken Constitution
Sandford Levinson published an op-ed about our broken constitution in Monday's Los Angeles Times.
"To believe that our Constitution is perfect," the Texas law professor wrote, "-- or even truly adequate to the world we live in — is equivalent to believing that it is safe to continue driving a car with bad brakes and dangerously worn tires. Even if we have been able to make trips safely in the past, we are criminally negligent in believing that we can continue to do so.
"... it is extraordinarily difficult to amend the U.S. Constitution. A mere 13 legislative houses in separate states can block an amendment supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans....This does not free us, though, from the duty to reflect on the adequacy of the Constitution and to take measures to lessen the unacceptable risks that it poses to 'government of the people, by the people, and for the people'."
The Framers left a lot unfinished, not all of it completed by the conclusion of the bloodiest civil war in history. Even if reform does not always succeed, having serious debates -- on, say, clarifying the Second Amendment's muddy language on gun possession or about ridding the document of such ridiculously antiquated and undemocratic institutions as the Electoral College and the U.S. Senate -- would go a long way toward making our practical democracy more functional.
Our Broken Constitution by Prof. Sanford Levinson in the L.A. Times.
"To believe that our Constitution is perfect," the Texas law professor wrote, "-- or even truly adequate to the world we live in — is equivalent to believing that it is safe to continue driving a car with bad brakes and dangerously worn tires. Even if we have been able to make trips safely in the past, we are criminally negligent in believing that we can continue to do so.
"... it is extraordinarily difficult to amend the U.S. Constitution. A mere 13 legislative houses in separate states can block an amendment supported by the overwhelming majority of Americans....This does not free us, though, from the duty to reflect on the adequacy of the Constitution and to take measures to lessen the unacceptable risks that it poses to 'government of the people, by the people, and for the people'."
The Framers left a lot unfinished, not all of it completed by the conclusion of the bloodiest civil war in history. Even if reform does not always succeed, having serious debates -- on, say, clarifying the Second Amendment's muddy language on gun possession or about ridding the document of such ridiculously antiquated and undemocratic institutions as the Electoral College and the U.S. Senate -- would go a long way toward making our practical democracy more functional.
Our Broken Constitution by Prof. Sanford Levinson in the L.A. Times.
When you vote...: Iraqi Dead May Total 600,000+
When you vote, keep in mind that a team of American and Iraqi public health researchers has estimated that more than 600,000 civilians have died in violence across Iraq since the 2003 American invasion, although the number is an estimate, not a precise count, and researchers acknowledge a margin of error that ranges from 426,369 to 793,663 deaths. (NYTimes). Or the civilian body count may be as "low" as 49,000. (Iraqi Body Count). 600,000 or 50,000 (and counting), either is a measure of the tragic human toll of the Republican Party adventure in Iraq. The gap between the estimates is itself evidence of the chaos Bush and his congressional allies have created in the Middle East.
For an analysis of the reasons behind the discrepancy between the two estimates, read Michael Thieren's Deaths in Iraq: how many, and why it matters at openDemocracy.
For an analysis of the reasons behind the discrepancy between the two estimates, read Michael Thieren's Deaths in Iraq: how many, and why it matters at openDemocracy.
When You Vote...: Stems cells 'slow nerve disease'
When you vote, keep in mind that stem cells show potential for treating the debilitating nerve condition, motor neurone disease. A US team found injecting rats with stem cells delayed the onset of MND, the illness that is slowly killing Stephen Hawking. The rest of the story: BBC News.
Resource: Good Jobs First
"Good Jobs First is a national policy resource center for grassroots groups and public officials, promoting corporate and government accountability in economic development and smart growth for working families. We provide timely, accurate information on best practices in state and local job subsidies, and on the many ties between smart growth and good jobs. Good Jobs First works with a very broad spectrum of organizations, providing research, training, communications and consulting assistance.
"The Corporate Research Project, an affiliate of Good Jobs First, assists community, environmental and labor organizations in researching and analyzing companies and industries. The Project is designed to be a resource to aid activism. Consequently, our focus is on strategic research, i.e., identifying the information activists can use as leverage to get business to behave in a socially responsible manner.
"Good Jobs First-Illinois, our partnership project with the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, was created in 2001 in response to the state's long history of subsidy abuse and its rich history of subsidy reform efforts. Its work contributed to the Prairie State's adoption of a pathbreaking disclosure and accountability law in 2003.
"Good Jobs New York, our partnership project with the Fiscal Policy Institute, promotes policies that hold government officials and corporations accountable to taxpayers, particularly when economic development agencies give expensive subsidies to large corporations that threaten to leave New York City. Since the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, GJNY has also tracked rebuilding dollars, documenting that most federal resources have benefited big businesses, not community priorities such as job creation or affordable housing." -- from the website. <http://www.goodjobsfirst.org>
"The Corporate Research Project, an affiliate of Good Jobs First, assists community, environmental and labor organizations in researching and analyzing companies and industries. The Project is designed to be a resource to aid activism. Consequently, our focus is on strategic research, i.e., identifying the information activists can use as leverage to get business to behave in a socially responsible manner.
"Good Jobs First-Illinois, our partnership project with the Center for Tax and Budget Accountability, was created in 2001 in response to the state's long history of subsidy abuse and its rich history of subsidy reform efforts. Its work contributed to the Prairie State's adoption of a pathbreaking disclosure and accountability law in 2003.
"Good Jobs New York, our partnership project with the Fiscal Policy Institute, promotes policies that hold government officials and corporations accountable to taxpayers, particularly when economic development agencies give expensive subsidies to large corporations that threaten to leave New York City. Since the attacks on the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001, GJNY has also tracked rebuilding dollars, documenting that most federal resources have benefited big businesses, not community priorities such as job creation or affordable housing." -- from the website. <http://www.goodjobsfirst.org>
New World Order: ReallyReady.org
ReallyReady.org, a comprehensive emergency preparedness website that addresses the inaccuracies and incomplete information on Ready.gov., the Department of Homeland Security’s readiness site. ReallyReady was developed in two months by Federation of American Scientists intern Emily Hesaltine for , as they put it, the price of a domain name. In comparison, it took millions of dollars and over five months to create Ready.gov. A thorough analysis of Ready.gov on the FAS site critiques the inaccurate information, generic advice, unnecessarily lengthy descriptions, and repetitive data found on the Homeland Security site.
Ready.gov: <http://www.ready.gov/>
ReallyReady: <http://www.reallyready.org/>
Ready.gov: <http://www.ready.gov/>
ReallyReady: <http://www.reallyready.org/>
Re: True Majority's petition vs "ABC's Upcoming 9/11 Propaganda Film"
Not a few of us on the Left, it appears, have decided to pursue the same kind of prior censorship based on rumor and innuendo that is routinely engaged in by the Right. Perhaps I'd be more offended by ABC's alleged dishonesty and partisanship in its fictional account (if fictional it is: I have no idea, having seen it no more than anyone else accusing it of bias) of the run-up to 9-11, if it was a surprise -- ABC? making up stuff to discredit Clinton and the Democrats? imagine that -- but I do expect more of progressives. So don't count this as a vote in favor of trying to shut down ABC's propaganda machine; it's a free country, still, despite the best efforts of the ABCs, Murdochs, and their sorry political cohort to make it otherwise (plus, it's worth keeping in mind, to brighten the darkest hours of our paranoia, that the Right thinks the networks, including ABC, are in league with Al Franken, Hugo Chavez, and Satan). If the series is as biased as it is said to be, it's ABC's credibility that will suffer. The American people are willing to put up with a lot of crap from the media barons, but using an iconic national tragedy for partisan advantage, the network may come to find, is probably not included in the pass. In any event, it is never the Left that benefits from a narrowing of the field of debate.
Keeping Up: Daily California Political News
Frank Russo's California Progress Report -- "The Daily Briefing for Politics, Policy and Progressive Action" -- intends to be the "water cooler around which California progressives and other thoughtful Californians can gather -- to check in with each other and share information and points of view or to follow the news and the pulse of state politics and policy in more detail." You'll get more news in the headline on today's issue, "California Senate Passes Universal Single Payer Health Bill, Assembly Passes Minimum Wage Increase and Send Them to Governor; Flood Bill is Alive and Will Be Voted on; Prison Bills to Be Voted on Last in Assembly—Intense Labor Opposition," than you sometimes find in a whole issue of the L.A. Times.
California Progress Report: http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/
California Progress Report: http://www.californiaprogressreport.com/
Political Activism: Here's one plan aimed at November
This is from the People's Email Network:
Who's got a plan for winning in November?
Here's the plan. We are setting up virtual phone banks all over the country to call our neighbors and friends to let them know there are candidates out there fighting for them on the issues they care about now. And all we're asking our participants to do is make 10 calls a week, just 10 calls a week in your spare time.
And if we just do that, each of us, in the next 4 months we can build the most ferocious ground game ever witnessed in the history of American politics.
Each of our candidates is featuring a progressive issue we believe will resonate with their constituents, with an action page on their on web site as evidence that they taking a stand on this issue now. Just pick a phone bank for an issue you care about, log in, and you can start making calls immediately.
You will need a Blades of Grass password to participate. If you don't already have one first go to: http://www.usalone.com/bladesofgrass.htm
and your password will be good at all the Virtual Phone Banks so you can help out anywhere you are needed. Here are the first two virtual phone banks in business now.
Jeff Latas (AZ-08):
Action: Support the Murtha Plan to bring our troops home from Iraq.
Virtual Phone Bank: http://www.jefflatas.com/
Veronica Hambacker (MO-08):
Action: Revisit NAFTA/CAFTA and amend them to be FAIR, not FREE, trade agreements.
Virtual Phone Bank: http://www.hambackerforuscongress.com/
Once you log in to the virtual phone bank of your choice, you will find a simple script for you ready to use, easy instructions, thumbnail snapshots of the candidate's positions on other issues, there is even a live chat function where you can get INSTANT live help and coaching while you are making the calls.
We get many emails from people saying they wish they could do something, but they don't know how they can really help. This is it folks. This is our big move. It's up to us now. We have four months to build unstoppable momentum. But only if each of us does something between now and November 7th to Get out there and mobilize!!
If you need any help at all, logging in, password help, email us. We are on duty all waking hours. We are here to help you and make you a success. Accept that help and we will win.
Please take action now, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours.
To signup for alerts like this go to http://www.usalone.com/in.htm
For no more or to change, go to http://www.usalone.com/out.htm
Who's got a plan for winning in November?
Here's the plan. We are setting up virtual phone banks all over the country to call our neighbors and friends to let them know there are candidates out there fighting for them on the issues they care about now. And all we're asking our participants to do is make 10 calls a week, just 10 calls a week in your spare time.
And if we just do that, each of us, in the next 4 months we can build the most ferocious ground game ever witnessed in the history of American politics.
Each of our candidates is featuring a progressive issue we believe will resonate with their constituents, with an action page on their on web site as evidence that they taking a stand on this issue now. Just pick a phone bank for an issue you care about, log in, and you can start making calls immediately.
You will need a Blades of Grass password to participate. If you don't already have one first go to: http://www.usalone.com/bladesofgrass.htm
and your password will be good at all the Virtual Phone Banks so you can help out anywhere you are needed. Here are the first two virtual phone banks in business now.
Jeff Latas (AZ-08):
Action: Support the Murtha Plan to bring our troops home from Iraq.
Virtual Phone Bank: http://www.jefflatas.com/
Veronica Hambacker (MO-08):
Action: Revisit NAFTA/CAFTA and amend them to be FAIR, not FREE, trade agreements.
Virtual Phone Bank: http://www.hambackerforuscongress.com/
Once you log in to the virtual phone bank of your choice, you will find a simple script for you ready to use, easy instructions, thumbnail snapshots of the candidate's positions on other issues, there is even a live chat function where you can get INSTANT live help and coaching while you are making the calls.
We get many emails from people saying they wish they could do something, but they don't know how they can really help. This is it folks. This is our big move. It's up to us now. We have four months to build unstoppable momentum. But only if each of us does something between now and November 7th to Get out there and mobilize!!
If you need any help at all, logging in, password help, email us. We are on duty all waking hours. We are here to help you and make you a success. Accept that help and we will win.
Please take action now, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours.
To signup for alerts like this go to http://www.usalone.com/in.htm
For no more or to change, go to http://www.usalone.com/out.htm
Community: Santa Monica Resident Portal
"This is your one-stop 'portal' for access to other Santa Monica residents. Together we are working to identify the concerns of residents and to work with our neighbors and our City Council to resolve our concerns with resident-friendly solutions. Why? Because we live here." -- from the website. <http://sm4residents.net/>
The War in Iraq: "I was wrong" -- John Edwards
Former senator and veep-candidate John Edwards said Thursday he made a mistake in 2002 when he voted to back President Bush's attack of Iraq. "I voted for this war. I was wrong," Edwards told a crowd of about 300 people gathered outside the Yale University School of Medicine. "I should not have voted for this war and I take responsibility for that."
Hilary? John? Joe?
Hilary? John? Joe?
Education: School reform in L.A.
Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, who has been leading an effort to reform the area's public schools, has lanched a website, Excellence in LA Schools, where you can learn more about the current problems facing the LAUSD and get involved with the grassroots campaign to improve L.A.'s schools. For a copy of the mayor's plan for the schools, get this pdf file.
<http://www.excellenceinlaschools.com/>
<http://www.excellenceinlaschools.com/>
Environment: Changing Climate Threatens to Disrupt Agriculture
Melting ice caps, dead coral and flooded coastal cities may get the press, but global warming will also cause spectacular dislocations in agriculture, although according to a study by the AEI-Brookings Joint Center for Regulatory Studies the overall effect nationally could be an increase in productivity worth $1.1 billion a year. If their analysis is correct, however, the economies of some states will take major hits, with the biggest losers being Colorado (a debit in the agricultural sector of $610 million a year), Oklahoma ($-580 million), and California, which stands to lose a staggering $2.4 billion dollars in annual revenue from agriculture.
If you get a chance to buy stock in Soylent Green, do it now.
In fact, this might be the right time to introduce Soylent Green as a product, so the marketplace will be ready for it when the time comes. Frank Perdue or his ilk could probably come up with something from the seeds and stems left behind by that industry's production methods. Like anything else, it's all in the marketing: "Made from chicken. Tastes like people."
The Economic Impacts of Climate Change: Evidence from Agricultural Output and Random Fluctuations in Weather(pdf).
If you get a chance to buy stock in Soylent Green, do it now.
In fact, this might be the right time to introduce Soylent Green as a product, so the marketplace will be ready for it when the time comes. Frank Perdue or his ilk could probably come up with something from the seeds and stems left behind by that industry's production methods. Like anything else, it's all in the marketing: "Made from chicken. Tastes like people."
The Economic Impacts of Climate Change: Evidence from Agricultural Output and Random Fluctuations in Weather(pdf).
Transportation: 3rd St. and Ocean Park Blvd.Threat or Menace?
You could go down to the intersection of Third Street and Ocean Park Boulevard to have a good laugh, but you'd be taking your life in your hands. Although there are lights at Sixth Street and Main Street, in between there are no other impediments to drivers who rocket through an area packed with strollers, dog walkers, beachgoers and bicyclists. Added to the danger from excessive speed are the design flaws that make both sides of the intersection unnecessarily dangerous.
On the north side of the street, the prohibition against left turns on to Ocean Park is routinely ignored by drivers who use the cross walk to get around a barrier intended to channel them into right turns only. In addition, the drivers shooting out of the Fourth Street underpass often don't see the cars merging from the Third Street/Fourth Street ramp until they're on top of them. Add the drivers who cross westbound traffic from the access road to a left hand turn onto Second; the cross traffic and left hand turns off of Second; the pedestrians, the beachgoers who have parked in the neighborhood (outsiders unfamiliar with local hazards), the joggers and the bicyclists coming out of the tunnel, and you have a recipe for disaster that would be impressive if it weren't overshadowed by the stew of problems on the south side of the intersection.
Here the difficulty is less the speed of the cars accelerating up from the light at Main Street, although this is certainly excessive, than confusion generated by too many choices presented in too little time. Ocean Park Boulevard is intersected or obstructed by right and left hand turns from Third Street, by the turn onto the access ramp to Fourth Street, by the bike path and by a crosswalk.
Coming north on Third, some drivers, at least those not from the neighborhood, get confused by the three right turns offered at the intersection. Many, making the wide turn onto the ramp or turning onto Ocean Park, are startled to see a vehicle hurtling at them from the direction of the beach. Travelers going east seem equally non-plussed to find another street -- predictably blocked by a confused outsider, inhibiting access to the exit to Fourth. Meanwhile, the bike path shifts radically at the intersection to accommodate the narrower roadbed under the bridge, leaving the eastbound Dale Earnhardts and the bike riders both dangerously uncertain about where the bikes should be. And Ocean Park Boulevard is fairly wide here, with no stop signs, so pedestrians take their chances when trying to cross.
Solutions: Stop signs on Ocean Park Boulevard in both directions.
While the westbound traffic and the ramp traffic will still have to merge, at least the drivers speeding out of the underpass will not be focused on making the light at Main.
On the north side of the intersection, beef up the barrier and extend it across the sidewalk so that vehicles can only make a right turn.
On the south side, prohibit turns from Third Street onto Ocean Park. Extend the Ocean Park bike lane through the intersection, so it is clear to both drivers and riders where the bicycles ought to be. The slowed down eastbound Ocean Park Boulevard traffic that makes the turn on to Third Street or heads up the ramp toward Fourth will now have only the cars merging onto the ramp from Third Street to contend with.
With traffic stopped by stop signs, pedestrians will be better able to cross the street without risk.
On the north side of the street, the prohibition against left turns on to Ocean Park is routinely ignored by drivers who use the cross walk to get around a barrier intended to channel them into right turns only. In addition, the drivers shooting out of the Fourth Street underpass often don't see the cars merging from the Third Street/Fourth Street ramp until they're on top of them. Add the drivers who cross westbound traffic from the access road to a left hand turn onto Second; the cross traffic and left hand turns off of Second; the pedestrians, the beachgoers who have parked in the neighborhood (outsiders unfamiliar with local hazards), the joggers and the bicyclists coming out of the tunnel, and you have a recipe for disaster that would be impressive if it weren't overshadowed by the stew of problems on the south side of the intersection.
Here the difficulty is less the speed of the cars accelerating up from the light at Main Street, although this is certainly excessive, than confusion generated by too many choices presented in too little time. Ocean Park Boulevard is intersected or obstructed by right and left hand turns from Third Street, by the turn onto the access ramp to Fourth Street, by the bike path and by a crosswalk.
Coming north on Third, some drivers, at least those not from the neighborhood, get confused by the three right turns offered at the intersection. Many, making the wide turn onto the ramp or turning onto Ocean Park, are startled to see a vehicle hurtling at them from the direction of the beach. Travelers going east seem equally non-plussed to find another street -- predictably blocked by a confused outsider, inhibiting access to the exit to Fourth. Meanwhile, the bike path shifts radically at the intersection to accommodate the narrower roadbed under the bridge, leaving the eastbound Dale Earnhardts and the bike riders both dangerously uncertain about where the bikes should be. And Ocean Park Boulevard is fairly wide here, with no stop signs, so pedestrians take their chances when trying to cross.
Solutions: Stop signs on Ocean Park Boulevard in both directions.
While the westbound traffic and the ramp traffic will still have to merge, at least the drivers speeding out of the underpass will not be focused on making the light at Main.
On the north side of the intersection, beef up the barrier and extend it across the sidewalk so that vehicles can only make a right turn.
On the south side, prohibit turns from Third Street onto Ocean Park. Extend the Ocean Park bike lane through the intersection, so it is clear to both drivers and riders where the bicycles ought to be. The slowed down eastbound Ocean Park Boulevard traffic that makes the turn on to Third Street or heads up the ramp toward Fourth will now have only the cars merging onto the ramp from Third Street to contend with.
With traffic stopped by stop signs, pedestrians will be better able to cross the street without risk.
PedalPower: Tricycles for Parking Meter Readers
Imagine the benefits that would eventualize, to use a City Hall kind of word, if parking meter readers used tricycles to get around town, instead of their current pollution-generating CNG-, electric-, propane- or whatever-driven microvans. The city would set an example to its citizens, most of whom now routinely jump in the car to make short trips to the bank, to get a loaf of bread or to take a shirt to the cleaners; demonstrate a support for human-powered transportation that has been heretofore honored mostly by its absence; and reap health benefits in the form of cleaner air from zero-emissions and lowered health care claims from fitter employees.
On the City's website, aptly titled "Factoids," is the following:
"ELECTRICAL VEHICLES EMIT NO TOXIC EMISSIONS. Have you ever noticed that electric vehicles have no exhaust pipe? Think about it. No exhaust, no need for an exhaust pipe! And keep in mind that electricity is relatively inexpensive in comparison to Unleaded or Diesel fuel. We are evaluating the electric vehicles in different capacities -- you can see some of them at work at the beach and at the promenade. We have received funding for our leased electric vehicle program and are working on getting more."
While it is true, discounting for the moment the damming of free flowing rivers by hydroelectric plants and the slaughtering eagles by windmills, that it's nice that there are no emissions actually emanating from electric motors themselves, still, given the fouling of the air by burning fossil fuels and vegetable waste in the generation of electric power, it's hard to argue that electricity is emissions-free. Still, you have to admire the canniness of transferring the pollution to some other political bailiwick and managing to lay claim to all that "funding" in the process.
On the City's website, aptly titled "Factoids," is the following:
"ELECTRICAL VEHICLES EMIT NO TOXIC EMISSIONS. Have you ever noticed that electric vehicles have no exhaust pipe? Think about it. No exhaust, no need for an exhaust pipe! And keep in mind that electricity is relatively inexpensive in comparison to Unleaded or Diesel fuel. We are evaluating the electric vehicles in different capacities -- you can see some of them at work at the beach and at the promenade. We have received funding for our leased electric vehicle program and are working on getting more."
While it is true, discounting for the moment the damming of free flowing rivers by hydroelectric plants and the slaughtering eagles by windmills, that it's nice that there are no emissions actually emanating from electric motors themselves, still, given the fouling of the air by burning fossil fuels and vegetable waste in the generation of electric power, it's hard to argue that electricity is emissions-free. Still, you have to admire the canniness of transferring the pollution to some other political bailiwick and managing to lay claim to all that "funding" in the process.
Resource: The Magna Carta and Its American Legacy
"'...here is a law which is above the King and which even he must not break. This reaffirmation of a supreme law and its expression in a general charter is the great work of Magna Carta; and this alone justifies the respect in which men have held it.' -- Winston Churchill, 1956" - from the website. <http://www.archives.gov/>
Gridlock: Worst US Traffic BottlenecksWe're #1!
Of the 10 most congested traffic interchanges in the country, four are in Los Angeles County:
1. U.S. 101 at the I-405 Interchange (Los Angeles)
2. I-610 at I-10 Interchange (Houston)
3. I-90/94 at I-290 Interchange (Chicago)
4. I-10 at SR 51/SR 202 Interchange (Phoenix)
5. I-405 at I-19 Interchange (Los Angeles)
6. I-85 south of I-85 Interchange (Atlanta)
7. I-496 at I-270 Interchange (DC-Maryland-Virginia)
8. I-10 at I-5 Interchange (Los Angeles)
9. I-405 at I-605 Interchange (Los Angeles)
10.I-285 at I-85 Interchange (Atlanta)
"An Initial Assessment of Freight Bottlenecks on Highways," Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
1. U.S. 101 at the I-405 Interchange (Los Angeles)
2. I-610 at I-10 Interchange (Houston)
3. I-90/94 at I-290 Interchange (Chicago)
4. I-10 at SR 51/SR 202 Interchange (Phoenix)
5. I-405 at I-19 Interchange (Los Angeles)
6. I-85 south of I-85 Interchange (Atlanta)
7. I-496 at I-270 Interchange (DC-Maryland-Virginia)
8. I-10 at I-5 Interchange (Los Angeles)
9. I-405 at I-605 Interchange (Los Angeles)
10.I-285 at I-85 Interchange (Atlanta)
"An Initial Assessment of Freight Bottlenecks on Highways," Cambridge Systematics, Inc.
The LAPD's Interactive Crime Statistics Map
Enter your address and a date range to bring up crime stats in your area:
<http://www.lapdonline.org/crimemap/>
<http://www.lapdonline.org/crimemap/>
Art at War: Web Comix Set in Future Echoes Reality
The year 2011: President John McCain has plummeted (we're talking about a work of speculative fiction: the real though equally unpopular president 
is more likely to be Lindsay Graham); the war in Iraq rages on -- don't laugh, how many years did it take to get from Tet to the roof of the US embassy in Saigon?; gasoline is $10 a gallon; and Tom Cruise and Mary-Kate Olsen have just called it quits (mainly, because it turns out it's Brad's baby -- okay, I added that). When videoblogger Jimmy Burns captures a suicide bomb blast that rocks a Brooklyn Starbucks and destroys his apartment upstairs, he's hired by maverick network Global News and sent off to Iraq. "Shooting War" is Jimmy Burns' story, an engaging web comic by author Anthony Lapp and artist Dan Goldman. Though only a half-dozen chapters of "Shooting War" have been published by SMITH magazine so far, the series has already made salient comments on such topics as the future of Iraq's warring factions, globalization, and the struggle of citizen journalism against mainstream media, and promises to be a useful tool for raising consciousness about the Iraq War among certain segments of the population.
<http://smithmag.us/shootingwar/>
is more likely to be Lindsay Graham); the war in Iraq rages on -- don't laugh, how many years did it take to get from Tet to the roof of the US embassy in Saigon?; gasoline is $10 a gallon; and Tom Cruise and Mary-Kate Olsen have just called it quits (mainly, because it turns out it's Brad's baby -- okay, I added that). When videoblogger Jimmy Burns captures a suicide bomb blast that rocks a Brooklyn Starbucks and destroys his apartment upstairs, he's hired by maverick network Global News and sent off to Iraq. "Shooting War" is Jimmy Burns' story, an engaging web comic by author Anthony Lapp and artist Dan Goldman. Though only a half-dozen chapters of "Shooting War" have been published by SMITH magazine so far, the series has already made salient comments on such topics as the future of Iraq's warring factions, globalization, and the struggle of citizen journalism against mainstream media, and promises to be a useful tool for raising consciousness about the Iraq War among certain segments of the population.<http://smithmag.us/shootingwar/>
California: A History and Guide to CA Flags (pdf)
Flags Over California is a history and illustrated 
guide from the California National Guard to the flags that have flown over the Golden State, such as the flag of the Spanish Empire, the Russian-American Company pennant, the standard of the Mexican Republic, the Fremont flag, and various versions of the bear spangled banner. The site also provides the text of laws related to the look and correct procedures for displaying the California state flag.
<http://www.calguard.ca.gov/>
guide from the California National Guard to the flags that have flown over the Golden State, such as the flag of the Spanish Empire, the Russian-American Company pennant, the standard of the Mexican Republic, the Fremont flag, and various versions of the bear spangled banner. The site also provides the text of laws related to the look and correct procedures for displaying the California state flag. <http://www.calguard.ca.gov/>
New World Order: The Biometric Consortium
The Biometric Consortium, a group that provides the U.S. government with "research, development, test, evaluation, and application of biometric-based personal identification/authentication technology," aggregates information on "automated methods of recognizing a person based on a physiological or behavioral characteristics...face, fingerprints, hand geometry, handwriting, iris, retinal, vein, and voice," including publications, research, and links to other resources on the subject. <http://www.biometrics.org/>
Infrastructure: California Bay-Delta Authority Levee System Integrity
The California Bay-Delta Authority's backgrounder on the "1,600 miles of aging levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin
River Delta and its watershed," providing drinking water for much of the state, irrigation for Central Valley agriculture, and a habitat for many plant and animal species, discusses the state of the levees, currently so fragile that an earthquake or a heavy rain could breech them, with Katrina-like economic consequences, and describes the state government's plans to fund repair of eroding structures. <http://calwater.ca.gov/>
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<< See You Later, Alligator: Johnny Grande, piano player on Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock," dead at 76. >>>
River Delta and its watershed," providing drinking water for much of the state, irrigation for Central Valley agriculture, and a habitat for many plant and animal species, discusses the state of the levees, currently so fragile that an earthquake or a heavy rain could breech them, with Katrina-like economic consequences, and describes the state government's plans to fund repair of eroding structures. <http://calwater.ca.gov/>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
<<< See You Later, Alligator: Johnny Grande, piano player on Bill Haley's "Rock Around the Clock," dead at 76. >>>
Presidential Politics: Edwards has early lead in Iowa
Well, well, well.
The Des Moines Register recently released the results of a poll of likely participants in the 2008 Democratic caucuses, and guess what? John Edwards -- not Hillary Clinton -- is the current front-runner in Iowa. Edwards took 30% to Clinton's 26% (John Kerry showed at 12% and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack was just out of the money at 10% -- and the big loser of the day for coming in fourth on his home turf; former VA governor Mark R. Warner and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh were in single-digits). Sen. Clinton's attempt to position herself with Kerry-like inevitability for 2008 may already be showing cracks.
The rest of the story: The Des Moines Register
The Des Moines Register recently released the results of a poll of likely participants in the 2008 Democratic caucuses, and guess what? John Edwards -- not Hillary Clinton -- is the current front-runner in Iowa. Edwards took 30% to Clinton's 26% (John Kerry showed at 12% and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack was just out of the money at 10% -- and the big loser of the day for coming in fourth on his home turf; former VA governor Mark R. Warner and Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh were in single-digits). Sen. Clinton's attempt to position herself with Kerry-like inevitability for 2008 may already be showing cracks.
The rest of the story: The Des Moines Register
Immigration: Round-Up
America's Immigration Quandary: No Consensus on Immigration Problem or Proposed Fixes delivers the results of a 2006 survey that unsurprisingly found that "the public remains largely divided in its views of the overall effect of immigration." The report, prepared by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, analyzes data from a national survey of 2,000 adults and from separate surveys of an additional 800 adults in five metropolitan areas. Topics surveyed include jobs and immigration, temporary worker programs, illegal immigration, et cetera....U. of Md. prof Ron Walters calls for "a respectful Black-Latino coalition" on immigration, citing "the necessity to consider rationally the content of an agenda that will unite the potential power of both...." An Arizona congressional race is providing a test of the Republican contention that exploiting xenophobia is the way to win elections. An article in the Post, Six-Term GOP Congressman Faces a Challenge in a State Seen as Moving to the Center, says Rep. J.P.Hayworth, an immigration hawk who wrote a book on locking down the border titled Whatever It Takes, may lose to Democratic nonentity Harry Mitchell (well, he was mayor of Tempe), a candidate so low-key his advisers have to make a point of reminding voters that he really is energetic. If you feel so moved, send Harry a donation....In the spirit of know-thine-enemy, I offer you the site for the right wing Federation for American Immigration Reform, a nonprofit that "seeks to improve border security, to stop illegal immigration, and to promote immigration levels consistent with the national interest -- more traditional rates of about 300,000 a year," addressing immigration issues (including national security and its support of a plan to curtail immigration) and annotating current immigration reform legislation....The National Immigration Law Center, "dedicated to protecting and promoting the rights of low income immigrants and their family members," has issue briefs, articles, and other material about "immigration, public benefits, and employment laws affecting immigrants and refugees," analysis of pending immigration reform legislation affecting such areas as guest workers, driver's licenses, and border controls; plus links to related federal and California sites....The U.S. Department of Homeland Security's Office of Immigration Statistics, "responsible for developing, analyzing, and disseminating statistical information needed to assess the effects of immigration in the United States," prepares the Yearbook of Immigration Statistics, demographic profiles on legal permanent residents and naturalized citizens, population estimates, maps, and working papers and special reports....Public opinion polls and arguments for and against different aspects of U.S. immigration policy; discussions of three perspectives on immigration -- honoring commitment to newcomers or cutting back because of either security or economics; government immigration statistics; a "behind the headlines" feature; descriptions of agencies and organizations concerned with immigration; and similar resources are provided by Public Agenda, "a nonpartisan opinion research and civic engagement organization...." Finally, for teachers, The Immigration Debate in the Classroom 2006 from the SCORE (Schools of California Online Resources for Education) History/Social Science project of the San Bernardino County Superintendent of Schools is useful for its annotated links to classroom materials about "the highly charged national debate on the issues of immigration reform and border security," background documents, lesson plans, ideas for teaching controversial topics, and such classroom activities as debates and letter-writing.
Editorial: Wi-Fi and the Cities (New York Times 06-06-06)
No fewer than 300 cities and towns around the nation have taken wireless Internet access, or Wi-Fi, to the people. San Francisco's aim is to make the entire city a hot spot, Chicago plans to blanket the city with access, and large parts of Philadelphia are to go wireless soon. But New York, which should be leading the way, is dragging. A plan to offer free Wi-Fi access in city parks has been moving slowly, and a larger vision has yet to take shape.
Wide dissemination of Wi-Fi is not the future. It is now, needed by businesses, educators and 
especially the underserved populations on the wrong side of the digital divide. Rural communities have known for a while that going wireless is cheaper, more reliable and allows even the most remote areas to log in. It spares the expense of laying down extensive networks of cables, not to mention the work and time involved.
Local governments are filling a leadership void at the federal and state levels, and they are going directly to providers to negotiate Wi-Fi deals. San Francisco's mayor has turned to Earthlink and Google. Earthlink, based in Atlanta, is also helping Philadelphia. In some of these deals, lower-speed connections are free, with higher speeds available at a price. The providers also hope to make money off advertising.
Surfing the net in the parks is a modest goal for New York, where some smaller parks have already been hooked up by agreement between independent groups managing those parks and NYC Wireless, a nonprofit organization. The city needs to get moving to get the larger parks online, but it also has to get serious about wider access. The minimal goal — pressed with energy in the City Council by Gale Brewer of Manhattan — should be free or low-cost access in its densely populated, poor neighborhoods in all the boroughs. That is where cable and phone line options are out of financial reach, and where education especially suffers as a result.
New York Times Editorial
Democracy: World-Wide Elections Tracker
The Angus Reid Global Scan -- Angus Reid Consultants is a polling firm -- "monitors democratic conditions around the world, by reviewing background information, assessing the latest campaign news and events, describing trends in voting intention, and reporting on the outcome of a particular ballot." <http://www.angus-reid.com/tracker/>
The Beach: Safety for novice riders and skaters
A simple solution to the problem of where at the Santa Monica beach to learn to ride a bike or to rollerblade: The city should set aside the long, wide and unused roadway that extends alongside Barnard Way between the beach parking lots just north and just south of Ocean Park Boulevard. The area has short-term and all-day parking, and is close to two bike and skate rental stands. The designation of this area -- with signage there and elsewhere in the parking lots and along the beach walkway and the bike path -- would be especially appreciated by parents who are now forced to put their children at risk on the bike path or in the parking lots. Conveniently, it's located right next to the playground and to the snack stand, for those who have kids at different skill levels.
Politics: "Please Go Home and Tell Mr. Bush Not to Bomb Us" (reading)
Kelly Hayes-Raitt is in second place in her race for the Assembly. Staged readings of columns she wrote while in Iraq will will be presented in Pacific Palisades on Sunday. It's a great chance to evaluate the candidate first hand.
"Please Go Home and Tell Mr. Bush Not to Bomb Us"
A staged reading of Kelly Hayes-Raitt's dramatic accounts of her two trips to Iraq, will occur Sunday, May 21 at 7:30 pm at the Pacific Palisades Women's Club, 901 Haverford Avenue, Pacific Palisades.
As a member of the Santa Monica Women's Commission, Kelly Hayes-Raitt traveled to Iraq five weeks before the U.S. Pres. Bartlett endorses Kelly,
too!bombings and invasion and returned in July, 2003, just weeks after "mission accomplished." She interviewed dozens of women, children and men about their lives during the first Gulf War, the regime, the economic sanctions and the horrifying "shock and awe" of this current war. Her poignant columns appeared in the Santa Monica Daily Press and are posted with her stirring photos at KellyForAssembly.com.
Kelly's columns were adapted for the stage by Emmy Award-winner and Santa Monica resident Robert Illes ("The Carol Burnett Show") and the show will be directed by Woodland Hills resident Riley Steiner (Page Bowen on "General Hospital"), who recently assisted in the directing of the critically acclaimed "What I Heard About Iraq."
Participating in the reading will be:
Julie Sanford ("Something's Gotta Give," "In Justice," "Scrubs," "Dragnet"); Susan Savage ("Boston Public," "Baywatch," "Cold Case," "Judging Amy"); *Sarah Ripard (originated the role of Kitty DeSouza in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway production of "Bombay Dreams"); Jennifer Capps ("The Lounge" Theatre in Hollywood); Hallie Cooper (from Calabasas High School and a founding member of Staged Souls, a theatre company of high school and college students).
Got Room?
Want to contribute to the campaign but are tight on time and money? Donate your hospitality! They need spare rooms to house volunteers coming to LA to help Kelly during the last 2 weeks of the campaign! Think you can help? Please call Jennifer Boschma at (310) 392-8715 for more information.
Come to a Phone Bank!
Calling for volunteers! Bring your friends and family to one of Kelly's friendly phone banks! The election is June 6, so call Heather at (310) 392-8715 to sign up today!
Santa Monica
Campaign Headquarters
2617 7th St.
Sunday 1:00pm - 8:00 pm
Monday 6:00pm - 8:00 pm
Wednesday 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Malibu
24955 PCH, Suite C-301
Wednesday 6:00pm - 8:00 pm
Oxnard
162 S. A Street
Tuesday 6:00pm - 8:00 pm
Wednesday 6:00pm - 8:00 pm
Thursday 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Kelly for Assembly: <http://kellyforassembly.com/>
"Please Go Home and Tell Mr. Bush Not to Bomb Us"
A staged reading of Kelly Hayes-Raitt's dramatic accounts of her two trips to Iraq, will occur Sunday, May 21 at 7:30 pm at the Pacific Palisades Women's Club, 901 Haverford Avenue, Pacific Palisades.
As a member of the Santa Monica Women's Commission, Kelly Hayes-Raitt traveled to Iraq five weeks before the U.S. Pres. Bartlett endorses Kelly,
too!bombings and invasion and returned in July, 2003, just weeks after "mission accomplished." She interviewed dozens of women, children and men about their lives during the first Gulf War, the regime, the economic sanctions and the horrifying "shock and awe" of this current war. Her poignant columns appeared in the Santa Monica Daily Press and are posted with her stirring photos at KellyForAssembly.com.Kelly's columns were adapted for the stage by Emmy Award-winner and Santa Monica resident Robert Illes ("The Carol Burnett Show") and the show will be directed by Woodland Hills resident Riley Steiner (Page Bowen on "General Hospital"), who recently assisted in the directing of the critically acclaimed "What I Heard About Iraq."
Participating in the reading will be:
Julie Sanford ("Something's Gotta Give," "In Justice," "Scrubs," "Dragnet"); Susan Savage ("Boston Public," "Baywatch," "Cold Case," "Judging Amy"); *Sarah Ripard (originated the role of Kitty DeSouza in Andrew Lloyd Webber's Broadway production of "Bombay Dreams"); Jennifer Capps ("The Lounge" Theatre in Hollywood); Hallie Cooper (from Calabasas High School and a founding member of Staged Souls, a theatre company of high school and college students).
Got Room?
Want to contribute to the campaign but are tight on time and money? Donate your hospitality! They need spare rooms to house volunteers coming to LA to help Kelly during the last 2 weeks of the campaign! Think you can help? Please call Jennifer Boschma at (310) 392-8715 for more information.
Come to a Phone Bank!
Calling for volunteers! Bring your friends and family to one of Kelly's friendly phone banks! The election is June 6, so call Heather at (310) 392-8715 to sign up today!
Santa Monica
Campaign Headquarters
2617 7th St.
Sunday 1:00pm - 8:00 pm
Monday 6:00pm - 8:00 pm
Wednesday 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Malibu
24955 PCH, Suite C-301
Wednesday 6:00pm - 8:00 pm
Oxnard
162 S. A Street
Tuesday 6:00pm - 8:00 pm
Wednesday 6:00pm - 8:00 pm
Thursday 6:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Kelly for Assembly: <http://kellyforassembly.com/>
Politics: "What is a Progressive?" Contest
With the radical conservative movement finally tanking, everybody and his uncle wants to be called a progressive. So the Campaign for America's Future has decided that it's time to define the term. If you had 30 seconds (roughly 100 words) to answer the question, "What is a Progressive?," what would you say? Come up with the winning essay, and you could win a trip for two to Washingto for Take Back America 2006 (June 12-14th), the year's largest gathering of, um, progressives.
Campaign for America's Future:
<http://www.ourfuture.org/>
Take Back America 2006:
<https://secure.ourfuture.org/tba06/>
Contest:
<http://www.ourfuture.org/WhatIsAProgressive/>
Campaign for America's Future:
<http://www.ourfuture.org/>
Take Back America 2006:
<https://secure.ourfuture.org/tba06/>
Contest:
<http://www.ourfuture.org/WhatIsAProgressive/>
Access (cont.): Long promised, broadband over power lines becoming a reality
The Marketplace Morning Report on NPR this morning reported that electric companies are getting into the high-speed internet business by employing what's being called Broadband over Power Lines, or BPL: "By purchasing the right equipment power companies can quickly offer internet service to millions of new customers. There are several pilot projects being launched in the US...." Market Place Morning Report:
<http://marketplace.publicradio.org/>
<http://marketplace.publicradio.org/>
Is it Democrats vs Republicans
or Liberals vs Conservatives?
The sham ethics "reform" bill passed the House 217-213, with the cowardly votes of eight Blue Dog Democrats -- Barrow, Boren, Boswell, Cuellar, Marshall, Matheson, Melancon, and Taylor(MS) -- more than making the difference. Of this particular pod of Dems-We-Can-Do-Without, two, Henry Cuellar and Jim Matheson, also voted in favor the 
bankruptcy bill, CAFTA and the GOP energy bill. Texas hack Cuellar, "so snugly in bed with the right wing," according to the Irregular Times, "that he is the only Democrat ever to receive the endorsement of the [infamous] Club for Growth," at least got a primary challenge for his trouble, but he is now a Democratic paladin because he may survive in a district gerrymandered by Tom DeLay to favor Republican candidates (his loss would be poetic justice, though, since he won his current seat two years ago, in the first election held after the redistricting, when, in an act of betrayal, he challenged and defeated the incumbent and much more progressive Democrat, Ciro Rodriguez). If Cuellar does lose, although it may lessen the chances of a Democratic takeover of the House, his replacement by a Republican will do nothing to affect the conservative congressional majority. And that's the real target. Isn't it?
bankruptcy bill, CAFTA and the GOP energy bill. Texas hack Cuellar, "so snugly in bed with the right wing," according to the Irregular Times, "that he is the only Democrat ever to receive the endorsement of the [infamous] Club for Growth," at least got a primary challenge for his trouble, but he is now a Democratic paladin because he may survive in a district gerrymandered by Tom DeLay to favor Republican candidates (his loss would be poetic justice, though, since he won his current seat two years ago, in the first election held after the redistricting, when, in an act of betrayal, he challenged and defeated the incumbent and much more progressive Democrat, Ciro Rodriguez). If Cuellar does lose, although it may lessen the chances of a Democratic takeover of the House, his replacement by a Republican will do nothing to affect the conservative congressional majority. And that's the real target. Isn't it?
Bikes: 12th Annual California Bike Commute Week May 15-19, 2006
California Bike Commute is a project of the California Bicycle Coalition, a non profit organization that advocates increased bicycle use, access, safety and education by promoting the bicycle as an everyday means of transportation and recreation.
Various special activities have been organized locally
by ride share agencies, cities, counties, employers, bicycle advocacy groups, bike shops and others who support bicycle transportation in California's communities.
Events may be planned in your area (see below), including bike tune-up clinics, morning "buddy rides," pit stops, energizing stations and noon-time rallies.
Visit the Smart Traveler website for further tips on commuting; a great source of transportation systems and related links in California sponsored by Cal Trans. A check list to help prepare for the commute is at the bottom of the Cal Bike Commute home page.
Click below for information about events in your area:
Bay Area Bike to Work Day
Los Angeles County Bike to Work Day
Modesto Bike to Work Day
Sacramento Bike Week
San Diego Regional Bike to Work Day
San Francisco Bike to Work Day
Santa Barbara County Bike Week
Santa Clarita Event info
Santa Cruz Bike to Work Day
Orange County Bike to Work Day
Ventura County Bike to Work Day
California Bicycle Coalition: http://www.calbike.org/>
California Bike Commute: <http://www.californiabikecommute.com/>
Various special activities have been organized locally
by ride share agencies, cities, counties, employers, bicycle advocacy groups, bike shops and others who support bicycle transportation in California's communities.Events may be planned in your area (see below), including bike tune-up clinics, morning "buddy rides," pit stops, energizing stations and noon-time rallies.
Visit the Smart Traveler website for further tips on commuting; a great source of transportation systems and related links in California sponsored by Cal Trans. A check list to help prepare for the commute is at the bottom of the Cal Bike Commute home page.
Click below for information about events in your area:
Bay Area Bike to Work Day
Los Angeles County Bike to Work Day
Modesto Bike to Work Day
Sacramento Bike Week
San Diego Regional Bike to Work Day
San Francisco Bike to Work Day
Santa Barbara County Bike Week
Santa Clarita Event info
Santa Cruz Bike to Work Day
Orange County Bike to Work Day
Ventura County Bike to Work Day
California Bicycle Coalition: http://www.calbike.org/>
California Bike Commute: <http://www.californiabikecommute.com/>
California Policy Inbox
California Policy Inbox, from the Institute of Governmental Studies Center on Politics and the Institute of Governmental Studies Library at UCBerkeley, offers "[a] quick and easy update on what's new in California public policy research," with links to reports on finance, health care, education, business, children and families, and other topics, plus connections to California public policy organizations.
Btw, as I predicted, Steve Westly is starting to pull ahead in the race for governor. And here's a note to Steve (or Phil, if he should pull it out): a new poll from the institute shows that most people think the state should spend a lot more on public education, and they know from whence the dough should come: a hike in the top bracket of the state income tax. Parenthetically, the governator’s approval rating is at 38 percent: hasta la vista, baby.
<http://inbox.berkeley.edu>
Btw, as I predicted, Steve Westly is starting to pull ahead in the race for governor. And here's a note to Steve (or Phil, if he should pull it out): a new poll from the institute shows that most people think the state should spend a lot more on public education, and they know from whence the dough should come: a hike in the top bracket of the state income tax. Parenthetically, the governator’s approval rating is at 38 percent: hasta la vista, baby.
<http://inbox.berkeley.edu>
Politics: New California Online Voter Guide
From the California Voter Foundation: "The California Online Voter Guide is an award-winning clearinghouse of 
election information and web site links produced by the California Voter Foundation for every statewide election since 1994. Now in its 13th edition, the 2006 guide serves up nonpartisan information on the statewide propositions and all of the congressional, legislative, and statewide constitutional office candidates in this election. This voter guide will be updated throughout the election season." -- from the website. <http://calvoter.org/>
election information and web site links produced by the California Voter Foundation for every statewide election since 1994. Now in its 13th edition, the 2006 guide serves up nonpartisan information on the statewide propositions and all of the congressional, legislative, and statewide constitutional office candidates in this election. This voter guide will be updated throughout the election season." -- from the website. <http://calvoter.org/>
Bikes: Critical Mass' Monthly Ride
This month's ride falls on Cinco de Mayo. Critical Mass thinks it would be a good thing if we converted our polluted, congested roads into bike-friendly thoroughfares. The 
monthly ride through Venice and Santa Monica is conducted as a call for better cycling facilities and a protest against the car culture. Although you may have read that Critical Mass' actions have inspired police harassment in New York, here the event has been the occasion for a kind of rolling party where a good time is had by all. To join in, show up, with your bike, of course, either at 5:30 at UCLA (corner of Westwood Blvd. & Le Conte), at 6:00 p.m. at the Venice Circle (Main St. & Windward Ave.), or 6:30 at the Santa Monica Pier (Ocean Ave @ Colorado Ave.). The three groups coalesce into one critical mass at the Pier. <http://www.SantaMonicaCriticalMass.org/>
monthly ride through Venice and Santa Monica is conducted as a call for better cycling facilities and a protest against the car culture. Although you may have read that Critical Mass' actions have inspired police harassment in New York, here the event has been the occasion for a kind of rolling party where a good time is had by all. To join in, show up, with your bike, of course, either at 5:30 at UCLA (corner of Westwood Blvd. & Le Conte), at 6:00 p.m. at the Venice Circle (Main St. & Windward Ave.), or 6:30 at the Santa Monica Pier (Ocean Ave @ Colorado Ave.). The three groups coalesce into one critical mass at the Pier. <http://www.SantaMonicaCriticalMass.org/>
Suffolk County Plans to Offer Free Wireless Internet Access
Suffolk County is planning a wireless system to provide free access to the Internet to the 1.5 million residents who live throughout its 900 square miles. It would be one of the largest government-sponsored wireless networks in the nation.
The system would allow anyone to use computers and P.D.A. devices with wireless capabilities anywhere in the county, and would also be available to visitors, businesses, government agencies, institutions and groups. County officials hope to start installation next year. (New York Times, April 28, 2006)
The rest of the story: The New York Times
The system would allow anyone to use computers and P.D.A. devices with wireless capabilities anywhere in the county, and would also be available to visitors, businesses, government agencies, institutions and groups. County officials hope to start installation next year. (New York Times, April 28, 2006)
The rest of the story: The New York Times
Community: The Carpe Diem Santa Monica Classic -- Sunday
Run a spectacular course, from the beach on through Main Street, to a picture-perfect finish at the Santa Monica pier. While you’re running, check out the bay – you’re helping to keep it clean for future generations. Cap the day with a massage at the Expo out on the pier, let the music from the after-party blow over you, and ponder this question: "How can they name the first year of a race a classic"?
All proceeds from the event go to Heal The Bay: <http://www.healthebay.org/>
Sunday, April 30, 2006, 7:00 – 9:30 a.m.
From 2600 Barnard Way (at Ocean Park Blvd.)
Pre-event registration: <http//www.active.com/>
Day of event registration: 6:30 -7:45 a.m.
<http://www.carpediemsmclassic.com/>
All proceeds from the event go to Heal The Bay: <http://www.healthebay.org/>
Sunday, April 30, 2006, 7:00 – 9:30 a.m.
From 2600 Barnard Way (at Ocean Park Blvd.)
Pre-event registration: <http//www.active.com/>
Day of event registration: 6:30 -7:45 a.m.
<http://www.carpediemsmclassic.com/>
The Project on Extrajudicial Executions (NYU Law's Center for Human Rights and Global Justice)
"The Project on Extrajudicial Executions was established to provide rigorous analysis of international law protecting the right to life and to support the work of the UN Special Rapporteur on Extrajudicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions, Philip Alston, in carrying out his mandate. The Project is directed by William Abresch. Current areas of research include:
"-> The use and abuse of commissions of inquiry in investigating unlawful killings. Many states routinely establish commissions of inquiry when people are killed due to the acts or omissions of government agents. Sometimes these commissions lead to accountability and change, but too often they perpetuate impunity and delay institutional reform. The Project is conducting research on the proper role of commissions of inquiry in protecting the right to life.
"-> The legal limits to capital punishment. At least 154 states have adopted as a binding legal standard that the “sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes.” (Article 6(1) of the ICCPR). The Project is engaged in clarifying this standard.
"-> Transparency regarding the use of capital punishment. In a considerable number of countries information regarding the death penalty is cloaked in secrecy. This both undermines human rights safeguards and prevents any informed public debate about capital punishment within the society. The Project has supported the Special Rapporteur’s efforts to have every country that uses capital punishment undertake full and accurate reporting of all instances thereof on at least an annual basis.
"-> Regulating lethal force in armed conflicts and counter-terrorism. There are a number of legal instruments regulating the use of lethal force during armed conflicts. These include, for example, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Geneva Conventions. The range of applicable rules has sometimes led to confusion as well as to cynically legalistic attempts to place killings outside of any legal framework. The Project is analyzing how these legal regimes apply to the concrete situations in which the right to life is at risk." -- from the website. <http://www.extrajudicialexecutions.org/>
"-> The use and abuse of commissions of inquiry in investigating unlawful killings. Many states routinely establish commissions of inquiry when people are killed due to the acts or omissions of government agents. Sometimes these commissions lead to accountability and change, but too often they perpetuate impunity and delay institutional reform. The Project is conducting research on the proper role of commissions of inquiry in protecting the right to life.
"-> The legal limits to capital punishment. At least 154 states have adopted as a binding legal standard that the “sentence of death may be imposed only for the most serious crimes.” (Article 6(1) of the ICCPR). The Project is engaged in clarifying this standard.
"-> Transparency regarding the use of capital punishment. In a considerable number of countries information regarding the death penalty is cloaked in secrecy. This both undermines human rights safeguards and prevents any informed public debate about capital punishment within the society. The Project has supported the Special Rapporteur’s efforts to have every country that uses capital punishment undertake full and accurate reporting of all instances thereof on at least an annual basis.
"-> Regulating lethal force in armed conflicts and counter-terrorism. There are a number of legal instruments regulating the use of lethal force during armed conflicts. These include, for example, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) and the Geneva Conventions. The range of applicable rules has sometimes led to confusion as well as to cynically legalistic attempts to place killings outside of any legal framework. The Project is analyzing how these legal regimes apply to the concrete situations in which the right to life is at risk." -- from the website. <http://www.extrajudicialexecutions.org/>
Preventive War and Its Alternatives: The Lessons of History (Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College)
"The 2002 National Security Strategy suggested preventive attacks, diplomacy, deterrence, and other policies as means of curtailing threats presented by the spread of nuclear, biological, and chemical (NBC) weapons to terrorists and rogue states. The author analyzes which mix of these policies might best and most cost effectively address the NBC threat, with special focus on preventive attacks. The past performances of preventive attacks, diplomacy, deterrence, and other policies as means of curtailing the NBC threat are analyzed. The central findings are that preventive attacks are generally unsuccessful at delaying the spread of NBC weapons; that deterrence, especially nuclear deterrence, is highly successful at preventing the use of NBC weapons by states; and that diplomacy has had moderate and perhaps unappreciated success at curtailing the spread of NBC weapons. The author also discusses how funds spent on preventive wars, which are much more expensive than diplomacy or deterrence, might be better spent to combat threats from terrorism and proliferation, on initiatives such as fissile material recovery, ballistic missile defense, and port security." -- from the website. Strategic Studies Institute, U.S. Army War College: <http://www.strategicstudiesinstitute.army.mil/>
Download the full study.
Download the full study.
American Left Ephemera Collection
"The collection of American Left ephemera on this website reflects the personal collection of Richard J. Oestreicher, 
Associate Professor within the History department at the University of Pittsburgh. The material primarily documents three of the largest and most influential left-wing organizations in the twentieth century in the U.S.: Socialist Party of America (SPUSA), Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA), and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Digitized items include flyers, leaflets, pamphlets, posters, postcards, illustrations, photographs, pins, ribbons, and miscellaneous objects." -- from the website. <http://tinyurl.com/zrd4k>
Associate Professor within the History department at the University of Pittsburgh. The material primarily documents three of the largest and most influential left-wing organizations in the twentieth century in the U.S.: Socialist Party of America (SPUSA), Communist Party of the USA (CPUSA), and Students for a Democratic Society (SDS). Digitized items include flyers, leaflets, pamphlets, posters, postcards, illustrations, photographs, pins, ribbons, and miscellaneous objects." -- from the website. <http://tinyurl.com/zrd4k>
Third Party, Anyone?
Even after Republican Senator Chuck Hagel, more than a half-dozen retired generals, junior officers from Kirkut to Kalamzoo, various prominent neoconservatives, and the entire Democratic congressional delegation from his home state call for Donald Rumsfeld's ouster, Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman, who the news media remind us is a "leading" Democrat, still finds the Secretary's record "mixed," adding that whether he stays on at the Defense Department "is up to him and the president at whose pleasure he serves." Read the story in The Hartford Courant.
Outside the Box: William H. Hinkle for President
[One of the problems with our system of choosing our chief executive officer is that by the time the election rolls around the pool of choices has evaporated down to a puddle of state governors and U.S.Senators, mostly frogs, who orchestrate "drafts" to camouflage their ambitions for power. "Outside the Box" is an on-going meditation on the qualifications of leaders in the form of "nominations" of specific individuals -- business and academic leaders, artists and intellectuals, non-conformists of various sorts, celebrities and "ordinary" people -- for President of the United States.]
After William H. Hinkle sold his wholesale electronic bond trading company, he spent his newfound leisure time reading voraciously about global warming (on his website, he recounts My Conversion to Green). But if, like a lot of us, he is worried about flooded cities, monster storms, and methane burps, he is different in one way: he can afford to do something about it.
Last winter, according to the New York Times, Hinkle put together a list of 500 well-heeled friends and colleagues and set out to make them carbon conscious.
"He wrote a series of six e-mail messages, each a brief presentation of what he believes is the grim reality of global climate change, and how the rich and powerful make things worse with their limousines, jet flights and big homes. He challenged each recipient to read all the messages and send them to others. He then promised to buy a $100 pass from one of three carbon-offset programs in the name of the first 1,000 people who complied."
"I could have just sent $100,000 directly to the groups, but that would not create leverage," Hinkle told the Times. "My goal is really to get people to look at these three options."
The Hinkle Charitable Foundation website <http://www.thehcf.org/> lists three carbon-offset organizations to which he sends the $100 proxy contributions: Carbonfund.Org <http://www.carbonfund.org/>, which supports renewable energy, efficiency and reforestation projects; the Solar Electric Light Fund <http://www.self.org/>, which brings solar power and modern communications to rural villages in the developing world -- for enhancements in health, education, and economic well-being through projects shaped by local people, particularly women -- and encourages economic and ecological sustainability; and the Lomakatsi Restoration Project <http://www.lomakatsi.org/>, which organizes community based ecological restoration projects through education, vocational training, specialized workforce development and the utilization of restoration by-products.
In the two months since Hinkle sent the first e-mails, he has received several hundred replies from people who were not on his original list. So far, he has paid about $60,000. "When you've been lucky like me, that's nothing," he said.
Hinkle has thrown down a second carbon-reducing challenge. Like everyone who drives a Toyota Prius hybrid, he thinks everyone should, so he is offering $500 rebates to 20 American families with annual incomes of less than $80,000 who buy a new Prius before July 31.
He may sound like a Ralph Nader-ish idealist, but the former executive is still the hard-nosed pragmatist he was during a two-decade long career on Wall Street. "I don't expect all this to make a big difference," he said. "But I'd like to be wrong."
Putting aside for another discussion the pros and cons of allowing rich individuals -- and rich companies and countries -- to buy the right to pollute, Hinkle's attempt to contribute to mitigating the effects of global warming is in marked contrast to the current administration's denial that the problem exists. Therefore Outside the Box nominates William H. Hinkle -- successful business executive, budding environmental activist -- to be President of the United States.
Past nominees:
John Edwards
John Cusack
After William H. Hinkle sold his wholesale electronic bond trading company, he spent his newfound leisure time reading voraciously about global warming (on his website, he recounts My Conversion to Green). But if, like a lot of us, he is worried about flooded cities, monster storms, and methane burps, he is different in one way: he can afford to do something about it.
Last winter, according to the New York Times, Hinkle put together a list of 500 well-heeled friends and colleagues and set out to make them carbon conscious.
"He wrote a series of six e-mail messages, each a brief presentation of what he believes is the grim reality of global climate change, and how the rich and powerful make things worse with their limousines, jet flights and big homes. He challenged each recipient to read all the messages and send them to others. He then promised to buy a $100 pass from one of three carbon-offset programs in the name of the first 1,000 people who complied."
"I could have just sent $100,000 directly to the groups, but that would not create leverage," Hinkle told the Times. "My goal is really to get people to look at these three options."
The Hinkle Charitable Foundation website <http://www.thehcf.org/> lists three carbon-offset organizations to which he sends the $100 proxy contributions: Carbonfund.Org <http://www.carbonfund.org/>, which supports renewable energy, efficiency and reforestation projects; the Solar Electric Light Fund <http://www.self.org/>, which brings solar power and modern communications to rural villages in the developing world -- for enhancements in health, education, and economic well-being through projects shaped by local people, particularly women -- and encourages economic and ecological sustainability; and the Lomakatsi Restoration Project <http://www.lomakatsi.org/>, which organizes community based ecological restoration projects through education, vocational training, specialized workforce development and the utilization of restoration by-products.
In the two months since Hinkle sent the first e-mails, he has received several hundred replies from people who were not on his original list. So far, he has paid about $60,000. "When you've been lucky like me, that's nothing," he said.
Hinkle has thrown down a second carbon-reducing challenge. Like everyone who drives a Toyota Prius hybrid, he thinks everyone should, so he is offering $500 rebates to 20 American families with annual incomes of less than $80,000 who buy a new Prius before July 31.
He may sound like a Ralph Nader-ish idealist, but the former executive is still the hard-nosed pragmatist he was during a two-decade long career on Wall Street. "I don't expect all this to make a big difference," he said. "But I'd like to be wrong."
Putting aside for another discussion the pros and cons of allowing rich individuals -- and rich companies and countries -- to buy the right to pollute, Hinkle's attempt to contribute to mitigating the effects of global warming is in marked contrast to the current administration's denial that the problem exists. Therefore Outside the Box nominates William H. Hinkle -- successful business executive, budding environmental activist -- to be President of the United States.
Past nominees:
John Edwards
John Cusack
The War: Winning Strategies for a New Peace Movement
Presentation in Venice, April 30
U.S. Tour of Duty's Real Intelligence Project presents The Art of War for the Anti-War: Winning Strategies for a New Peace Movement, Sunday, April 30, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Venice United Methodist Church, 1020 Victoria Avenue, Venice (one block north of Venice Blvd. at Lincoln). A suggested donation of $10 gains you admission to the event, which includes a keynote address by former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter, a presentation by Yvonne Latty, author of "In Conflict: Iraq Veterans Speak Out About Duty, Loss and the Fight to Stay Alive," and a vegetarian dinner by Food Not Bombs.
"The anti-war movement," according to Ritter, "first and foremost, needs to develop a laser-like focus on being nothing more or less than anti-war....It needs to start thinking like a warrior would, in full recognition that we as a nation are engaged in a life-or-death struggle of competing ideologies with those who promote war as an American value and virtue."
"In Conflict" (http://www.p3books.com/) and the "Neo-CONNED!" set (http://www.neoconned.info/) will be on sale at the event, and Yvonne Latty and Scott Ritter will be available to sign copies of these books.
The event is co-sponsored by PoliPointPress, Light in the Darkness Publications, Venice United Methodist Church and Food Not Bombs. For more information, call 310.842.8794 or visit http://www.ustourofduty.org/.
U.S. Tour of Duty's Real Intelligence Project presents The Art of War for the Anti-War: Winning Strategies for a New Peace Movement, Sunday, April 30, 5:00 to 8:00 p.m. at Venice United Methodist Church, 1020 Victoria Avenue, Venice (one block north of Venice Blvd. at Lincoln). A suggested donation of $10 gains you admission to the event, which includes a keynote address by former UN Weapons Inspector Scott Ritter, a presentation by Yvonne Latty, author of "In Conflict: Iraq Veterans Speak Out About Duty, Loss and the Fight to Stay Alive," and a vegetarian dinner by Food Not Bombs.
"The anti-war movement," according to Ritter, "first and foremost, needs to develop a laser-like focus on being nothing more or less than anti-war....It needs to start thinking like a warrior would, in full recognition that we as a nation are engaged in a life-or-death struggle of competing ideologies with those who promote war as an American value and virtue."
"In Conflict" (http://www.p3books.com/) and the "Neo-CONNED!" set (http://www.neoconned.info/) will be on sale at the event, and Yvonne Latty and Scott Ritter will be available to sign copies of these books.
The event is co-sponsored by PoliPointPress, Light in the Darkness Publications, Venice United Methodist Church and Food Not Bombs. For more information, call 310.842.8794 or visit http://www.ustourofduty.org/.
City settles with group seeking Santa Monica Place documents
Last week, the city settled with the citizens' organization, the Santa Monica Coalition for a Livable City, releasing documents related to meetings between city officials and the Macerich Corporation about the proposed redevelopment of Santa Monica Place, the struggling indoor mall between Third Street and the civic center (The Lookout/SurfSantaMonica.com). Also, check out page 4 of the April 20 edition of the Santa Monica Daily Press (PDF, page 4), the article entitled "It's cheers and jeers for City Hall," for a really good description of the problems faced by residents trying to force the city to release key Macerich mall documents and the pro-developer bias they encountered from the city as it refused to make public documents public.
Jack In: Wiring for Wireless in S.M. and L.A.
"It's getting easier to get online around greater L.A. without being tied to your office. This is either a good thing - you can work outdoors or over a cup of coffee for free - or a bad thing: you're never far from the obligations and distractions of your online life..." -- from LAVoice.org.
The rest of the story: <http://lavoice.org/article1720.html>
The rest of the story: <http://lavoice.org/article1720.html>
Politics: Cartoon Short
Here's an amusing and profound video short by Tommy Douglas, narrated by Kiefer Sutherland, about Mouseland, a place where the downtrodden rodents keep electing cats to be their leaders:
<http://www.workingtv.com/media15/mouseland.mov>
The New Democrats: <http://www.ndn.org/>
<http://www.workingtv.com/media15/mouseland.mov>
The New Democrats: <http://www.ndn.org/>
Free HotSpots in Santa Monica
CremaLita - 332B Santa Monica Blvd.
Santa Monica Library - 6th St. and Santa Monica Blvd., 310-458-8600
Infuzion Cafe - 1149 3rd St. #100, 310-721-1754
Velocity Cafe - 2127 Lincoln Blvd, 310-314-3368
Apple Store - 3rd St. Promenade
Bolivar - cafe & gallery - 1741 Ocean Park Blvd, 310-581-2344
Barney's Beanery - 1351 3rd St. Promenade, 310-656-5777
Earth, Wind and Flour - 2222 Wilshire Blvd, 310-829-7829
Unurban Coffeehouse - 3301 Pico Blvd, 310-315-0056
Santa Monica Library, Montana Avenue Branch, 1704 Montana Avenue - 310-829-7081
Santa Monica Library, Ocean Park Branch, Main St. and Ocean Park Blvd.
Hotel Carmel - lobby area and some rooms, 201 Broadway - 800-445-8695
Travelodge - guest rooms - 3102 Pico Blvd, 310-450-5766
Radisson Hotel, rooms and public areas, Santa Monica Airport
Diedrich Coffeehouse, 732 Montana Ave, 310-656-7838
Panera Bread, 501 Wilshire Blvd, 310-566-3080 (all Panera outlets offer free wireless)
The Cut Salon, 1620 Ocean Park Blvd., 310-396-2887
Whole Foods Market, 2201 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica Pico Boulevard Travelodge, 3102 Pico Blvd.
Sea Shore Motel (site of Amelia's Italian deli), 2637 Main Street, 310-392-2787
-- from the Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory, with additions
Also see: Free Wireless Internet Access Points in Los Angeles
Santa Monica Library - 6th St. and Santa Monica Blvd., 310-458-8600
Infuzion Cafe - 1149 3rd St. #100, 310-721-1754
Velocity Cafe - 2127 Lincoln Blvd, 310-314-3368
Apple Store - 3rd St. Promenade
Bolivar - cafe & gallery - 1741 Ocean Park Blvd, 310-581-2344
Barney's Beanery - 1351 3rd St. Promenade, 310-656-5777
Earth, Wind and Flour - 2222 Wilshire Blvd, 310-829-7829
Unurban Coffeehouse - 3301 Pico Blvd, 310-315-0056
Santa Monica Library, Montana Avenue Branch, 1704 Montana Avenue - 310-829-7081
Santa Monica Library, Ocean Park Branch, Main St. and Ocean Park Blvd.
Hotel Carmel - lobby area and some rooms, 201 Broadway - 800-445-8695
Travelodge - guest rooms - 3102 Pico Blvd, 310-450-5766
Radisson Hotel, rooms and public areas, Santa Monica Airport
Diedrich Coffeehouse, 732 Montana Ave, 310-656-7838
Panera Bread, 501 Wilshire Blvd, 310-566-3080 (all Panera outlets offer free wireless)
The Cut Salon, 1620 Ocean Park Blvd., 310-396-2887
Whole Foods Market, 2201 Wilshire Blvd.
Santa Monica Pico Boulevard Travelodge, 3102 Pico Blvd.
Sea Shore Motel (site of Amelia's Italian deli), 2637 Main Street, 310-392-2787
-- from the Wi-Fi-FreeSpot Directory, with additions
Also see: Free Wireless Internet Access Points in Los Angeles
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