Green Dog Democrat

We are all Veterans - A Personal Perspective

2011-11-11T13:27:00.000-08:00

Now this might offend some people. As we honor the men and women who put on a uniform to serve their country in foreign wars, let’s reflect on those who resist, who stand up for their principles of non-violence and take another path. My husband is such a man. In the Vietnam War, he resisted being drafted, refusing more than once to take his physical when called to his small local draft board in Illinois.

He stated his beliefs as conscientious objector, and was punished by having his status rejected by the Board. He joined forces with the Quakers, who took up his case and filed suit against the United States Government. There was a man with principles.

He won that case and went on to accept alternative service in the Chicago ghetto, working as a trained carpenter, teaching others skills that could help them get jobs and find their way out of a life of violence, drugs and despair.

Violence found him, though, as bullets came flying through the window of the training center, a not uncommon occurrence, he was told by those who ran it. Violence was all around then, as it is now.

In the time of Vietnam, I served with the New England Resistance, an organization who spoke out against the War and the draft, who counseled youth and who worked with enlisted men to open a dialogue on what the War meant to us, to them, to the small nation they were sent to ravage.

We helped those who took a public stand against the war machine, men who left the Military because they realized the war was wrong and they could no longer serve its cause. These men took Sanctuary in local churches and did not resist when U.S Marshals in all their finery swept in to carry their limp bodies off to Federal prison.

We marched and protested; we chanted and we talked. We wrote articles and we counseled. We spoke at churches, schools and rallies.

One thing we did not do, as much as this urban myth persists today. We never, ever spit on returning veterans. We never treated those who served overseas with anything but the respect they deserved. It was not the veterans who started the war; but it was they who suffered, who died and who were maimed, physically and mentally. Who still to this day stand on street corners with signs around their necks asking for a little help, a little understanding.

Now they are joined by veterans of newer wars, Iraq I and II, Afghanistan. The war on drugs, the class war the Republicans wage against poor people, sending jobs overseas and giving the fat cats fat payouts.

We are all veterans, today and everyday. Veterans of a cynical America fighting wars foreign and domestic.

Scott Olsen, the Iraq War vet, who was struck on the head, suffering serious injuries from a flying police canister at the Occupy Oakland rally last week, took one for all of us.

6 Steps on Enduring a Loss

2011-11-10T16:00:00.000-08:00

Article from Elect Women Magazine on "Oh, no I didn't win my election! Now what!" by Matt Lewis, originally published in Campaigns and Elections

Falling Forward in Politics

Today, the stakes in political campaigns are high. It’s no surprise that in some cases, Election Day defeat can lead to depression and a loss of self-esteem.

Serious political candidates make major sacrifices involving family time and financial income just to take a chance of being a public servant. It’s easy to see how devastating a loss can be for anyone willing to be, as Theodore Roosevelt said, “the man in the arena.”

But candidates aren’t the only ones who sacrifice. The candidate’s spouse, children, and staffers also must endure the ups and downs of victory and defeat. Young campaign managers invest two years of their lives in a gamble that ends on Election Day. Even the winners have trouble adjusting to the normal pace of post-campaign life. And the losers feel as though they’ve lost a member of the family.

Few campaigners are prepared for this roller coaster ride. That’s why I’ve created this list…to help prepare you for the realities of political life…before you run.

What your campaign seminar didn’t teach you about winning and losing:

1. People in politics fear failure is a stigma – IT’S NOT.

James Baker ran for Attorney General of Texas in 1978…and lost. He managed George H.W. Bush’s Presidential campaign in 1980…and lost. But instead of giving up, he went on to become what many consider to be a top-notch Chief of Staff for Reagan – and even Secretary of State under George H.W. Bush. Here’s another revelation: Howard Dean wouldn’t have been DNC Chairman if it weren’t for his failed presidential campaign. As the late Senator Sam Ervin, Jr. once said, “Defeat may serve as well as victory to shake the soul and let the glory out.”

2. Take comfort that you are in the arena.

By getting involved in campaign politics, you have already proven to be an exceptional person. Average people rarely take chances, and thus have few failures and few successes. The fact that you failed at something means you were being aggressive. To use a sports analogy, the best hitters in baseball still get out seven-out-of-ten times. Sure, sometimes you win, and sometimes you lose, but you’re still better than (as Theodore Roosevelt described them), “those cold and timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”

3. Realize everybody loses.

In their book Buck Up, Suck Up…And Come Back When You Foul Up, James Carville and Paul Begala write, “Perseverance. Toughness. Tenacity. Those are the qualities that make the difference. Real winners know they’ve got to lose a lot.” Carville and Begala ought to know. They lost a lot of races in the old days, including suffering the worst defeat a Democrat had received in Texas history. Ironically, their careers were resurrected by Bob Casey, a man who was then thought of as one of the greatest failures in Pennsylvania political history. In truth, every single successful person is someone who failed, but never considered themselves a failure. Van Gogh sold only one painting in his lifetime. Einstein was told by a teacher he would never amount to much. You should view this setback as a stepping stone on your way to the next victory.

4. Your campaign inspired future leaders.

Conservative icon Morton Blackwell says, “Don’t fully trust anyone until he has stuck with a good cause which he saw was losing.” That’s because sticking with a good cause that is losing says something about your character. Many of today’s best political leaders got their start working for losing campaigns. Baltimore Mayor Martin O’Malley started out working for Gary Hart (who was the manager for George McGovern’s failed Presidential bid). So that seventeen year-old kid who volunteered for your campaign could be governor some day. Think of it this way: would Ronald Reagan have been elected president if Barry Goldwater hadn’t run in 1964? Or consider Pat Robertson’s failed Presidential bid in 1988. Although he lost that election, his supporters (who were calling themselves the Christian Coalition by 1994) helped bring about the Republican Revolution. Not bad for a failed campaign. That’s what I call “failing forward!”

5. Your campaign brought issues to the forefront.

In 2000, John McCain lost the Republican Presidential Primary to George W. Bush. But, during the first Congressional legislative session to follow the election, campaign finance reform passed. Had McCain not run for office and made it his signature issue, it is doubtful campaign finance reform would have been passed – and signed – by President Bush.

6. You learned lessons that will help you win next time.

Ronald Reagan, Winston Churchill, and Abraham Lincoln all lost political campaigns before achieving their destiny. Reagan lost in 1976, but won in 1980. Churchill (who was turned out as Prime Minister after defeating the Nazis) persevered and became Prime Minister again. And every schoolchild knows the story of all the losses and hardships endured by Abraham Lincoln. These men became great because they had to endure what Churchill vividly referred to as his, “wilderness years.” On a lighter note, NBA coach Rick Pitino puts it this way: “Everything I’ve learned about coaching I’ve learned from making mistakes.” By understanding these six principles, you will be on your way to realizing that failure is temporary. What makes the person isn’t whether or not you fail, but rather, how you handle adversity, and what you learn from it, that counts.

GreenDog Camapaigns Looking for 2012 Pro-Bono Campaign

2011-10-21T10:27:00.000-07:00

GreenDog Campaigns is actively looking for our one pro-bono campaign a year for 2012. This should be a cause campaign, with an environmental or community group, either non-profit or unincorporated community association.

Send your ideas to del@greendogcampaigns.com. Or simply communicate it on this blog. We will respond to all serious proposals in California.

See our website for information on what GreenDog Campaigns can do for you and your cause.

Bikers vs. Hikers ramps up in Marin County

2011-10-19T12:52:00.001-07:00

My satirical blog post on San Rafael Patch, including all the comments. Sign in to post your own! http://sanrafael.patch.com/blog_posts/mountain-bikers-co-opt-marin-bicycle-coalition

(But seriously, we need to stop greater incursions of vehicles in the open space lands, doncha think?)

Theyyyy’rrre baaaack! The quest for more single track trails by thrill-seeking bicyclists is on anew. And now the Marin Bicycle Coalition has joined the clamor for more single track trails to be opened for mountain bike use. I guess it’s not rewarding enough to help open bike paths along our roadways, or help kids with Safe Routes to School. No, now they’ve decided to use their considerable clout to hire a lobbyist because there just aren’t enough trails for bikers in the open space.

As someone who has represented hikers and equestrians on more than one occasion in the ongoing battle to keep our open spaces places of tranquility, not multi-use speedways, I have developed some simple rules for defusing the biker-hiker-equestrian conflicts on the mountain once and for all:

1. Don’t call them mountain bikes, call them fire-road bikes

This would be the easiest solution. It keeps them where they belong. No conflicts with wildlife, equestrians and hikers occur and no expectations unrealistically raised. Erosion and scofflaw illegal trailblazing will be eradicated. And all able-bodied bike jockeys who truly do want to experience the joys of winding mountain trails, can leave their bikes at home and walk.

2. License them

This is really a no-brainer. When I was a child, all bikes had to be issued licenses. This way, renegade bikers can be tracked down and cited appropriately. Assuming they don’t emulate TV criminals and obscure their license numbers, steal licenses from other bikes, or just steal the whole bikes and dump them in ravines when through with the thrill ride.

3. Make them go to pre-bike ownership counseling with at least one hiker and one equestrian in the room

In a mutually respectful setting, a neutral facilitator encourages all parties to let out their feelings. Then they can have a session of telling each other “How they really feel,” so long as only pillows and sofa cushions sustain damage from any unrestrained outbursts. Horses and small children should be kept outside.

4. Outlaw spandex

I know, this would impact the yoga, soccer mom and after hour club crowds too. But in light of the greater good that would result from making bikers wear ordinary clothes like ratty sweat soaked tee shirts and chain-catching blue jeans, that would be a small price to pay for renewed tranquility on the mountain.

5. (My personal favorite) Open a mountain bike theme park

This can have man-made mountains, narrow trails, fake snakes and other wildlife to squash under wheels. Chills and spills rides. Underbrush courses, for the really daring riders. Maybe adventure seeking volunteers can pretend to be hikers so the bikers can still enjoy shouting “on your left” as they pass perilously close.

Let the comments begin.

Comments (54)

Don

12:09pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

Come on, share the trails. Horses, walkers,runners, Yes, Yes even people on bikes! Share and share alike. Come on!

Alejandro Moreno S.

12:14pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

Was this supposed to be funny, or was this an actual attempt at serious writing?
I thought professional mediators were supposed to bring differing groups together. This article does the opposite.

Jeffrey Gimzek

12:25pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

What about licensing and testing equestrians to ensure they can appropriately control their huge animals before allowing them out in public? And then require the riders to dismount and clean the horse crap off the trail the way dog owners are required to. Why should I have to ride through or step in your pet's crap?
The demographics are changing, and the large swath of the middle class that are mountain bike owners often purposely moved to Marin to be near trails, and are finally getting to the point where they realize that their taxes are being spent to prevent them from accessing the trails they pay to purchase the land for and maintain.
The equestrian elite is upset that their exclusive use of public property is threatened, as their well-funded lobby has been able to dominate the discussion for decades.
Hikers do have a legitimate beef with the small segment of the mountain bike community that has poor trail etiquette, but that is an education issue, and expanded access to a greater amount of legal trails would only serve to mitigate that issue as bikers are dispersed over larger areas instead of confined to just a few (count 'em: 3) park areas. Bikes should yield. Period. Anyone who doesn't is an asshole, so feel free to call them out.
However, the above 'satire' is juvenile, unhelpful, and generally just a load of horse manure.

TimRancor

2:16pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

I think it's for comedic purposes, Alejandro.

Edwin Drake

3:33pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

Fire Road Bikes, nee mountain bikes bikes should be restricted to fire roads only. they should be forced to license and register them. Bikers want everything, yet they're unwilling to pay for anything. Let them pay bikes taxes and permit fees and trail fees. As it is they are (mostly) arrogant hot-doggers with little regard for other people. As to the person who said "share": sometimes "sharing" means doing without if your activity destroys anthers enjoyment.

Life in the Bubble

10:03pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

Cyclists pay taxes just like everyone else. In every discussion of cycling, a bike hater always has some wacky notion that cyclists don't pay taxes. Believe it or not, bicyclists also drive cars, own homes, have jobs, and pay taxes. In fact, cyclists as a demographic have a higher education and income demographic than the general population.

As someone who rides a mountain bike, trail runs, AND hikes I see all sides of the equation. In 20+ years of hiking, running, and riding in Marin, I can probably count on one hand the number of bad experiences I've had with mountain bikers. I'd counter that if sharing a trail with a mountain bike destroys your enjoyment, there are much larger problems for you to address.

John Ferguson

4:39pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

If mountain bikers are so unwilling to pay for anything or to maintain the trails that they ride, how do you explain Tamarancho? It's pretty sad that anyone buys the argument that equestrian use of trails is 'natural' and that bicycle use of those same trails is destructive. Any arguments that a thousand pound animal with sharp hoofs causes less trail damage than a 30 lb bicycle will be laughed out of the court of public opinion. Hikers certainly have a point about being surprised by cyclists, but this could be mitigated by a fair use policy. Sharing would be best, but in the super entitled world of the landed gentry equestrian or the Sierra club hikers, this doesn't seem likely. Yes, we ride bikes on trails. No, we're not going away and we won't be denied access to the trails that we all own collectively for frivolous and passe reasons.

Jeffrey Gimzek

5:03pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

I would argue that there are far more mountain bikers living in and paying taxes to maintain the trails in Marin than there are horse owners. By that logic alone bikers should have more access. Bikers DO pay trail fees.
Also, this article caused me to re-up to MCBC, and I specifically mentioned it was because of their new Trail Access prioritizing. We are not 'co-opting' MCBC: We ARE MCBC.

Stampfli

5:32pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

People who ride bikes have the same access to trails as those who ride horses or hike. They are welcome, just not their bikes. It's really simple. So the nonsense statement about their demographic outrage is ridiculous. They are not deprived, they would only have you think so. This a public safety and environmental quality argument and should stay in that arena. Also, bikes are horrific at causing serious erosion problems. The trail surface is destroyed when they run the steep single tracks, and they certainly erode the tranquility and peace of mind of other trail users. Horses are not allowed on sensitive trails either, but you rarely see equestrians act as scofflaws. Bikes should be registered to help with the enormous scofflaw problem, make bike riders accountable and liable for problems that injure other trail users or cause damage to our public lands.

Kelly Dunleavy

5:41pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

I dunno - I get that this was supposed to be humorous, but it didn't really sit well with me. We've come to accept really mean things and jokes said about bikers, but if you said something like "equestrians should stop wearing those silly pants, that would make everything better" that would be pretty ridiculous. And, I've only been mountain biking one time, but I run on the trails multiple times a week and I've never really had a problem with the mountain bikers. Sometimes it can be annoying when there's so many of them at China Camp, but no more annoying than when there's so many hikers that won't move over and walk three abreast. But, it's just life - you share, you get over it.

Thomas

6:26pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

This is an insulting little editorial by an author whom obviously is biased and agenda driven against mountain bikers, while trying to ploy a comedic openness.

Don

6:32pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

Share, yes you walk the trail on monday, they bike the trail on tuesday, you walk on wednesday, and so on! No body has to do with out. There are plenty of trails to use and alternate with. Dont be selfish share the enjojment of the hills. This is done all over the country on thousands of trails. Also just like the Highway if someone is caught speeding, they get a ticket! Come on lets let EVERYBODY enjoy the trails.

Gina Farr

7:45pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

Boundaries for bikers are essential to help ensure quiet enjoyment of our commons. Bikes on single track trails introduce significant noise and nervousness into wilderness areas, and are disturbing for both hiker and wildlife. Saying "Hey, c'mon, let's share!" is veiling the truth - you want it all just because you want it all.

Life in the Bubble

9:46pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

Driving your car to the trail also introduces significant noise and nervousness. In fact, any human activity in the "wilderness" has an impact. Recreation areas need to reflect the demographics of their users- period. Mountain bikes are non-polluting, human-powered, vastly less noisy than any car, carbon neutral, and healthy. Discriminating against a large segment of trail users is just that- discrimination.

And no, mountain bikers don't want it all "just because." They want equity in access to the outdoors. They want trails to be individually assessed for potential usage rather than banned as a blanket policy. Mountain bikers don't want to be excluded from their outdoors by a minority.

Ralph

9:28pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

The truth is often spoken in jest. And it's easy to detect the writers truths. They say mediators are to be neutral. I'm embarrassed for this writer. I've always been a proponent of even/odd days or alternating days for bikes and hikers on MMWD watershed trails. Maybe some day. And horse hoofs have caused the most egregious trail damage I've seen. It comes with territory with 1000 lb. animals.

Life in the Bubble

9:29pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

This article is offensive and ignorant on many fronts. It is not humorous in the slightest. I'm not even sure where to begin.

Categorizing people who ride mountain bikes as "thrill-seeking" adrenaline junkies is absurd. People who ride mountain bikes are just people who like to get outside like anyone else. This is a human-powered, non-polluting, not very noisy, carbon-neutral, healthy activity. While the author wants to portray mountain bikers as some sort of Mountain Dew fueled eco-terrorist on par with a two stroke motorcycle, mountain bikers come from all walks of life, all ages, and all socioeconomic backgrounds. It may be hard to imagine, but many (if not most) mountain bikers also walk, hike, run, drive, and pay their taxes too.

In other areas of the country, 90% of singletrack trails are multi-use without major conflicts (think Tahoe, or Colorado, or Utah).

Legal mountain bike trails are increasing because mountain biking is increasing. Mountain bikes make up an increasingly large demographic of outdoor trail use, and need to be incorporated into recreation areas (including singletrack). Banning mountain bikes from 90% of singletrack just results in illegal trails being built and people riding singletrack ilegally. (Lessons that can all be learned from prohibition). More trails and access for mountain bikes are needed, because our recreation areas need to reflect real usage demographics- for human-powered non-polluting activities.

Gina Farr

9:46am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Bikers are extremely noisy. We can hear them yelling to each other over large distances. And I've been hit on a single track trail by a biker -- it's nerve-wracking to think a bike could race around a turn and...pow! There are so many fire roads and other access areas now open so that you can get outside - why do you need to extend this fast and wild activity to peaceful, wilderness areas?

Pollution doesn't just come in the form of cars - it is also about preserving a natural soundscape, not tearing up the trail, and not jarring the nerves of quiet hikers and wildlife. That you admit mountain bikers build their own illegal trails and destroy wilderness areas simply disproves your point about mountain bikers being responsible. The thrill-seeking part of your demographic will not be satisfied with terrorizing hikers on legal single track trails, that is a straw man arguement; opening narrow hiking trails to bikers will open more wilderness to mountain bike domination AND the illegal trail building will continue.

That you don't fully appreciate the impact of your activity on those who don't share it is at the center of this arguement.

Sierra Salin

10:22am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Gina (and other folks,) let the folks who want some bike trails have some, eh? We are all hypocrites really, in all that we do and consume, and drive, and travel, etc, we ARE tearing up this earth pretty badly. We may not see the strip mining, tar sands, dead animals, marine life, etc, which go into all we do, and it is happening.

If the folks who ride want some trails, and hopefully maintain them, etc, why not let them have some? The fact is that it is apretty different experience riding a trail, from that of riding a road, and some triails for just bikes could work. There are trails, roads, airports, malls, and set ups for nearly every other thing humans do.
There will always be some real jerks, be they on a bike, horse, in a car, plane, or keybored, etc, and not everyone is one. Most folks are just passing through life in various stages of ignorance or awareness, and we are all pieces of work in progress.

Jeffrey Gimzek

10:05pm on Monday, October 10, 2011

Join IMBA and MCBC: tell them Dotty LeMeiux sent you.
The tide is turning here: we might not want 'it all', but we are sure as hell sick and tired of having TWO LEGAL TRAILS (one of which is private and pay per use) in a county that has literally hundreds of miles of single track.

Sierra Salin

9:27am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Man, I wish that both sides of this messy sprawl would put as much energy into the rest of the world. This post has gotten more energy and attention than things such as, ending wars, funding education and healthcare, or changing our overly entitled and wastefully consumptive lifestyles. We are ALL fool of hot air and righteous certaintude and so what, can we get along or create a livable future? Not likely, the way things look, and time will tell. Black and white just turns to mud after a while, and what is important anyway? Horse crap and bike crap, it is all just compost eventually?

Gina Farr

10:36am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Sierra, your argument is that everything is turning to crap, so let's just turn a little more into crap? What's the difference? Wildlife and wilderness are values that I care deeply about, and I believe each of us has a duty to protect what's left. If we churn everything that is wild into degraded human use, because we can, because we want to, what will be left? That is at the heart of a consumptive attitude.

We live in extended community with each other and with wildlife. Single track trails are a part of Marin wilderness, a gentle access to the wilds, and should stay that way.

Sierra Salin

11:37am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Weeeel Gina, yes, and no. It is all messed up. I care, think about, and feel more about nature and natural systems than most modern hungry ghosts, and things do not look too great, overall. How do we have or create reasonable rules and regulations for anything? Our systems rules and laws have little to do with nature, natural systems, or any sustainable reality. They are pretty much about individual empire and profits. No, I don't think that a few bike trails here and there are going to make a huge difference, and there is plenty of erosion from horses, foot traffic, cars, planes, and all of our travels around the globe for our ever important events and vacations. One plane trip is huge, as is all of our driving around spewing.
We all have a pretty big footprint, and overall, we are absolutely terrible stewards for a sane or healthy future.
Within the madness we are swimming in, no, I don't believe a few bike trails are a huge negative, and done well, or right, do not have to be a huge negative impact. I do think that bikes overall are seen as less entitled than horses, or cars, and bikes overall are much more appropriate transportation than cars.

John Ferguson

10:52am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Gina - no one is advocating that mountain bikes be allowed on all of the single track trails in Marin. As a hiker, you probably know that there are hundreds of miles of single track trails in Marin and that about 70% of them are truly unsuitable for biking. No one in their right mind would advocate opening the Cataracts trail to bikes, for instance. It's about sharing some..

The reason that China Camp has so much bike traffic is because it's literally the only system in Marin containing single track that is freely available to bikes. I won't go into the many reasons why cyclists enjoy riding singletrack - just imagine if there were elves in the forest and they demanded that we humans could only hike on the fire roads, so as to preserve the elves' access to their natural habitat. How would that make you feel? I bet you'd justify your decision to hike those singletrack trails as well. There's no use in wishing the problem away - mountain biking and mountain bikers are overwhelmingly law abiding and respectful, but you can deny our basic rights to our use of the commons for only so long..

The places where you like to hike in Marin are *not* wilderness. They are shared recreational areas. Wilderness exists in places where there are no trails and no hikers, equestrians or cyclists and I support the expansion of those places as well, but for our RECREATIONAL lands we all have to share..

Michelle Lawrence

11:09am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

This was mean spirited. The "come on, can't you take a joke?" doesn't work here because it's not a joke. I mountain bike, I slow down whenever I see people, stop when I see a horse and generally try to be respectful. I think most people are like me. Then there's the occasional jerk, often times a young person who hasn't honed his/her manners quite yet, who flies by without a warning or apology. Don't lump us all together. Just because you got there first doesn't mean you are entitled to sole ownership forever.

Gina Farr

11:10am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Declaring that Marin wild lands are all about human recreational use and how to divide up the spoils is frustrating. The plants and animals of whole ecosystems live here and the soundscapes that support them. Life here is on another, slower speed, and should be protected.

David Edmondson

11:25am on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Pushing for more mountain bike trails rather than urban bike connectivity is, to me, a step in the wrong direction, but a half-jesting rant about it won't do. It never does.

Scott Warner

1:49pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Basic tennent: any user of any trail, paved or unpaved, urban or rural, single track or fire road, needs to respect the trail and the other potential users of that trail. If someone rides, hikes, or horseback rides unsafely and puts others at risk of injury, there should be a punishment so as to avoid future problems. Regarding noise...well, I believe in keeping things peaceful and even hikers (as I tell my own family on the trail) should respect noise levels as well. I could easily say that the extreme noise from cars on the street really inteferes with my "peace" as I am bike commuting...but I won't say that (darn..too late, I already did). :)

Edwin Drake

4:33pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

I would LOVE to carry a sleeping dart and pop the aggressive, loud, obnoxious riders as they scream by, both physically and orally, Nothing would please me more than enforcement, to see them keel over and plop into a gentle slumber. But who's going to do enforcement? should I start carrying my tipped darts?

Kelly Dunleavy

5:03pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Edwin - you're advocating violence against a group of people. That's not really acceptable on the site - we don't allow personal attacks and we certainly don't allow the advocating of violence. Please be considerate.

Scott Warner

5:58pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

This is completely unacceptible to make such comments advocating violence. We as a community can never condone these types of thoughts - whether in jest or not. We can have a real discussion without such unncessisary bluster. We all owe respect to the world and to each other we need to be respectful - those that do not, we have to educate or we have to have an appropriate response. Yours does not fall into either category - we don't need that type of bullying language

Jeffrey Gimzek

4:37pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

I love the 'debate' on here, summarized below:
Mountain Bikers: Can't we all just share the trails and appreciate the outdoors together.
Hikers, et. al : Can't we just kill or maim Bikers to protect my completely made up right to silence in the woods?

Gina Farr

4:46pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Actually, Jeffery, this is a debate about environmental health and public safety. Care to join the discussion?

Edwin Drake

4:49pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

I'm an occasional hiker with three children - teenage and down - and can't tell you how many times we've heard "ON YOUR LEFT" as someone tears down the hill, moving at a speed completely incommensurate with the speed we're moving. Given that a little kid barely knows left from right, likewise myself, you'd think a slow-down and gentle ride-by would be appropriate, BUT NO!!!! Half the time we just jump in some direction or other, but I guess that's a laugh for bikers and Darwinism at work in the world you inhabit. This happens over and over. And I won't even mention the walks near the house with riders running stop signs. How do I teach my children to follow the law ans be safe on a bike at a stop when they continually see adults blow through stop signs. The bikers attitude is that we are a law unto ourselves, and screw the rest of you. Witness the comment by "Life in the Bubble," above," who basically says, "there's lots of us and more coming all the time, so get used to it!" Yeah, that's a friendly, let's work together attitude. Even in words, most of the biker comments here are arrogant and dismissive. Must be something in the DNA seeking adrenaline, but it doesn't work in a public forum or in a public recreational space.

Life in the Bubble

12:48pm on Friday, October 14, 2011

Well, since you've called me out personally...

I advocate mountain bikes being part of the process and included in multi-use trails. I advocate making public recreation areas reflect the demographics of their users. I advocate evaluating trail access individually rather than blanket policies. I advocate proper trail design and construction as a way to mitigate user conflicts and erosion. I advocate courtesy by all trail users.

I hike, stroll, trail run, and even mountain bike too. On the mountain bike, I yield to all other trail users, never skid, and always ride in control.

You, well, you advocate violence (and seemingly blind hatred against another user group).

Sierra Salin

5:32pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Most any group of 2 or more folks IS noisy folks, or even a group of one on a damn cell phone. Personally I don't like listening to bikers, hikers, extra terrestrials (well perhaps that would be interesting) or any group jabbering, and generally pretty loudly, about their relationships, investments, cars, or whatevers, and whatchysa gonna do, most folks are totally oblivious to the fact that anyone within 1/8 mile can hear every word......
This column of words is about whatever folks assume it is about. It's a wonder people can understand or communicate at all, as we are all clouded by our beliefs, ear wax, misunderstandings, and various intents.

As for rolling stop signs on a bike, there are rules and laws, and there are rules and laws, and regardless of the "laws" people should go when it is their turn and/or with the flow, regardless of bureaucracy. In other words, it comes down to beliefs, ethics, and morals, and trying to work it out with others who believe differently.

Humans tend to start shooting at each other before being willing to compromise, share, or accept other folks with the misfortune to have arrived somewhere at a later date.... Think about that one......
Not all bikers, hikers, or horsers, are jerks, and there are certainly some in all groups.
Can we accept, understand, educate, and value each others viewpoints and work something out, or not?

So far, humans have done a piss poor job of getting along or agreeing on much of anything.
We shall see, eh?

Tandy Malden

11:03pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1bQF1L1Ju7M

Leonard Ginsburg

11:46pm on Tuesday, October 11, 2011

You succeeded. See all the comments? Now that is communication.

Jack Naqvi

11:39pm on Wednesday, October 12, 2011

I found the article openly hostile, not very funny, and encouraging an us vs. them attitude that will make things worse, not better. Dotty LeMieux would do better to apply some of those mediator skills here (assuming she has them) instead of fanning the flames with this thinly-disguised "humor" piece.

naitiveplantgal

8:33am on Thursday, October 13, 2011

This is a very emotional issue with every user group wanting access to trails. I am sure even dirt bikers would love to ride all over Marin County trails, something most people can agree is not appropriate. But lets look at some facts:

1. Mtn. bikers never sought permission to ride Mt. Tam and Marin Co. trails years ago. They just started doing it. Results have been dismal, with many user conflicts, resource damage, illegal riding and illegal trails made costing the county tens of thousands to repair.
Even key Marin bike advocates have been caught and fined for building illegal trails

2. Marin Bike Council sued Dept. of Interior to fed. court in 1996 for equal access to trails (Babbit vs. Marin) and lost, also lost in fed. court of appeals. Ruling is that land managers have right to determine who uses trails based on user conflicts, safety and resource protection

3. Compatable use. Hikers and horseback riders are a much slower user group, generally 3-10 MPH. Mtn bikers typically go much faster, many with goals to zip downhill fast, break speed records and have a rip roaring ride. This places other user groups in danger...example of elderly woman hit and killed in Washington State last year. Safety comes first. Like dirt bikes, modern Mtn bikes are engineered to go fast over rough terrain, not a suitable mix in narrow singletrack trails with hikers and horses.

4. Tahoe as an example? Google illegal bike trail building...a huge problem

naitiveplantgal

8:44am on Thursday, October 13, 2011

It's typical for Mountain bikers to justify their illegal trail building by claiming they -have- to do this becuase there are not enough trails....this is akin to me claiming I have to rob a bank becuase I don't have enough money. Fre more thoughts and facts:

China camp is again, a dismal example of failure of multi use areas...becuase the Mtn Bikers have so taken over the park they have driven out the hikers and equestrians due to the safety issues....and lets not forget illegal trails and damage there.

"recreational" areas often cannot be suitable for every user. Simple fact.

Bolinas Ridge trail is a great place for multi-use. Wide tracks, open space with good visibility and no steep dropoffs. A hiker or horseback rider can see bikers coming as a distance and get off the trail if they wish.

Single track is NOT SAFE! the speed of the bikers is the issue. This is why most singletrack at Pt. Reyes is no bikes.

San Mateo county does not allow bikes on hiking and riding trails. They put SAFETY at the forefront, with many workshops and studies to support this. Other San Mateo county non-county administered parks do allow mountain bikes, with the ensuing problems such as illegal night riding, speeding and illegal trails (Corte Madera)

Sorry folks, this has not been a responsible nor accountable user group with entitlement attitude and an apparent pact to refuse to admit their group every causes stress, danger or risk to other users.

naitiveplantgal

8:44am on Thursday, October 13, 2011

"recreational" areas often cannot be suitable for every user. Simple fact.

Single track is NOT SAFE! the speed of the bikers is the issue. This is why most singletrack at Pt. Reyes is no bikes.

Life in the Bubble

12:22pm on Friday, October 14, 2011

How then would you explain say, the Tahoe Basin which ha hundreds of miles of legal multi-use singletrack (and building dozens of miles of new multi-use singletrack all over the lake). Or Park City, Utah which has 300 miles of multi-use singletrack, or Aspen, Vail, Telluride, Sun Valley, etc. etc. etc. There are dozens of examples of areas where multi-use singletrack has minimal user conflict.

naitiveplantgal

8:53pm on Friday, October 14, 2011

You might want to google some of the illegal trails and problems in the Boulder area...many citizen groups are forming to try to protect the open space......

As far as Tahoe Basin, "Bikers Blaze Illegal Trails"
http://www.lvrj.com/news/53397297.html

I have not heard anyone advocating blanket bans of bikes...but certainly safe trail criteria need to apply. I have not been able to find any safe multi-use trail criteria from IMBA that have any specifics. You might take a look at CET&LC (California Equestrian Trails and Lands Coalition). While supporting multi-use trails, they also have some very good criteria and guidelines that trails need to comply to be safe for multi-use, i.e. adding the faster user, the mountain biker.

FYI, I am a huge supporter of closing wet and muddy trails to horses, and would never advocate that horses belong on all trails. Both horses and hikers need to avoid trails after rains and stick to fireroads, which can be maintained easier. But horses and hikers are a far more compatable mix that fast bikes.

And one more thought to chew on....aren't bikes recognized as vehicles under California Vehicle code? Do you notice that most cities do not allow bikes on 4 ft. wide sidewalks due to the risk to pedestrians? If THAT is not safe, how does riding bikes on a 12" trail (with limited visibility, dropoff's, blind corners make any kind of logical sense?

Life in the Bubble

11:01pm on Friday, October 14, 2011

This is a great example of cherry picking references only to suit an anti-bicycle agenda. Give me 60 seconds with google and I'll come up with some information about lousy behavior by hikers to present as fact, but that would be ridiculous.

Here is an example of cooperation from just one of the hundreds of organizations nationwide seeking to expand recreation opportunities for ALL trail users.

http://www.pimatrails.org

A few lines from their mission statement on their website:

PTA Goals
1. Establish an integrated multi-use public trails system.
2. Assure permanent access to trails on public lands.
3. Promote cooperation with land owners and developers to preserve access to traditional-use trails on private lands.
4. Foster cooperation and communication among all trail user-groups.
5. Communicate and cooperate with government agencies on trail matters.
6. Keep the community informed about trail issues and opportunities.

It may be difficult to imagine in self-righteous Marin, but in other areas of the country, hikers, equestrians, and cyclists actually work together to mitigate conflicts. The vast majority of all trail users are considerate, outdoors people. There are always jerks though, in all aspects of life. Remember that just because you can't imagine riding a bicycle, doesn't mean that it's not a legitimate experience for many people. (Just as I can't fathom the appeal of hunting- nevertheless I support hunters rights too).

naitiveplantgal

8:57am on Saturday, October 15, 2011

This is not cherry picking at all, there are horror stories from all over the country from huge damages and illegal trails and user conflicts. You Pima Website is encouraging; it is likely they have different types of trails, possibly more visibility, and it works better.

Marin County has had what, a 30 year of a history of failure...the Mbikers have refused to admit they cause any danger to other users or even encourage illegal trail building. What does it say when one of your most vocal bike advocates is caught TWICE building illegal trails? You have conveniently failed to respond to that fact.

Marin is not self-righteous, the hikers and horseback riders are struggling to keep historic hiker and horse trail open for safe riding. Look and see what Marin Conservation league has to say about the issue.

The absurdity of mbikers demanding access is showcased by their attempts to gain access to Bill's Trail, a shady, switchbacked narrow trail with about 0 visibility, no room to pass, and an overall steep descent, which is a prime example of NOT suitable for multi-use. And where does Bill's trail lead? Right down into a horse camp!

Talk about blanket assumptions that anyone protesting does ont ride a bike; our family has about 30 or so bikes; the whole family bikes and has been doing so for 40 some odd years. We chose bikes for both recreational and transportation uses. We do not force our presence on narrow trails where we would endanger other users.

jay kay

7:39am on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Open space should be left open to wilderness. No human activity, no trails, no hiking poles, no full-suspension. I advocate human-free open space. Breathing room for the other inhabitants of Marin.

Life in the Bubble

8:34am on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Awesome! I support that. It's much better for humans to experience the outdoors through their televisions, anyway. Who needs open space or exercise when we have Dicsovery channel and a couch.

Gina Farr

9:18am on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

"Life in the Bubble" ... if you don't appreciate or respect the values that Marin is built on, why don't you find a place to live that is more to your liking? We have a unique situation here in Marin, a respect for ecosystems, extended community health, and room for wildlife to be free of human interference. This didn't come about by accident. We created this multi-species utopia by respecting the systems within which we can ALL thrive. If you try to remake this place into your beliefs, transform it into your human amusement park, your will find a mountain of resistance. Read a little about Marin history, the development and selfishness that we fought against in the 60's, 70's and still today to keep our community healthy and beautiful for all inhabitants. For this to be possible, we as a community must embrace some self-sacrifice, for the good of all who live here.

I'm being honest and not sarcastic when I suggest that you find another community that matches your ideas and values, and one that you can refer to with caring and respect.

naitiveplantgal

9:05am on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

I agree with Jay Kay in that there needs to be open space left for wildlife; especially areas with endangered species and fragile habitat......huge value in this and nice to know humans don't have to tromp and stomp everywhere...Life in the bubble again proves that he/she lives in a bubble of their own selfish interests....as long as "I" can do whatever I want, that is all that counts, type of attitude, which is entitlement. This is evidenced also by the fact they have never responded to my facts about key Marin Bike adovocates caught and fined for building illegal bike trails, which is a huge, expensive problem in Marin County. You know, not everyone wants open space to be treated as one big amusement park......

Kelly Dunleavy

9:24am on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

So, I went for my second-ever mountain bike ride this weekend and while I was riding I was thinking about this whole debate and how there were probably people that hated me right now for no reason just cause I was on a bike. And this was my thought: no one is ever going to be able to ban people from biking or hiking or riding horses on all the trails or even many of the trails, because there simply isn't the enforcement mechanisms in place to do so -- parks are closing and understaffed. The only way you can get people not to bike in certain places or ride horses in certain places or even ban people all together from certain places is through their own buy-in and consent. There has to be an agreement. And that's never going to happen when there's name-calling. So.

Sierra Salin

7:06pm on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

I fully support whole alive unimproved nature, and I also believe that with all of our modern insanity, and most of us driving our cars all over, or flying here n there, now and again, letting mountain bikers have a trail here n there for their use, is not such a stretch. If they want a place to ride, why not let them have one? We are not exactly being great stewards with the rest of the planet, ulp, I gotta drive up to costco and go shopping, etc. I personally don't really want to share a trail with a bike, and suggest we let them maintain and care for a few dedicated ones. At least they are out on a bike, and not glued to a gps, laptop, television, or cell phone.

naitiveplantgal

8:04pm on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Life in a Bubble says :I advocate mountain bikes being part of the process and included in multi-use trails. I advocate making public recreation areas reflect the demographics of their users."

Lets look at this with some logic. Marin County probably has an enormous population of dog owners who would love to walk their dogs and even turn them loose on open space. Many areas are off limits to dogs, even on leash. I bet there are more dog owners than mountain bikers.

Does this mean we turn over trails to dog walkers? Dogs present some of the same problems as mountain bike users; i.e. disturbance of wildlife, and risk to other users.
But you don't see this user group causing the problem that the Mountain bikers continue to do...for the most part the dog owners respect the law and don't go where it is illegal.

The law, park rules, unsafe and illegal is just that, regardless of demographics. Why do the Marin BOS keep knuckling under to this user group (mountain bikers) of entitlement bullies?

Life in the Bubble

11:28pm on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

This will be my last comment on this topic. Here's what I've learned:

- Some people think that bicycles on dirt are the embodiment of evil. (Their arguments usually include the phrase "I'm a bicyclist too, but..."). Nothing will change their opinion, ever.
- Some people view mountain bikes the same as unregulated motorcycles, or jeeps. (The fact that they are human-powered, quiet, and non-polluting is merely a technicality). Some people also view mountain bike riders as a wildlife destroying eco-terrorist cross between Evil Kneivel, and Attila the Hun.
- Some people can not imagine that someone on a bicycle could have the same natural experiences as someone on foot. Covering many miles and reveling in the joy of winding through forests and ridges is not a valid experience if it's on a bicycle. Traveling quietly with only the sound of breathing and tires quietly crunching on leaves is simply not possible on a bicycle. Riding in control on a bicycle is simply not possible.
- Some people are simply afraid of change.

Life in the Bubble

11:59pm on Tuesday, October 18, 2011

(Continued)

I've re-read each of my posts on this 50+ comment thread. Each of my posts has been about inclusion, respect for multiple trail users, courtesy, and proper trail design. Each of my posts have pointed out that mountain biking is an important form of outdoor recreation, exercise and transportation. I've tried to point out success stories and examples of cooperation by cyclists and hikers.

I don't feel compelled to answer for illegal trail building (it happens, and represents the vast minority of mountain bikers). I wouldn't ask a mountain bike hater to answer for the trash and vandalism endemic to hiking trails (which I see almost every time I hike or run), or why people can't seem to park safely at trailheads (e.g. Cataract trail on any spring weekend). I wouldn't ask car driver to answer for speeders or tailgaters. For the record, I've never advocated that mountain bikes belong on every trail, or don't need regulation.

In return, I've seen advocating violence against trail users, been told to leave Marin, and been called a bully for advocating inclusion.

The ironic part of this discussion is that I probably log more miles as a hiker/runner than most of the bike haters combined (20-30+ miles/wk on foot on Tam, MMWD, and MCOSD). See you on the trail. I'll be happy to see you out there whether you are on bike, foot or horseback.

What are the Repubs smoking?

2011-09-19T15:33:00.000-07:00

Watching debates, hearing the spin, seeing the Repub Presidential candidates' heads go whirling madly on their necks like latter day Exorcist (the movie) stars, I have to say President Obama is looking better and better. His jobs program, not enough, no, but better. His health care plan, not enough but way better; his few testy moments, when he snarks back at the loonies to his right, really good

Keep it up. Keep them spinning. Get bold and bolder. We want you to succeed. We want to love you. We want to want to walk our asses off for you.

So Go, Obama, Go. Run, Obama, Run. Slam those Repubs. in the wallet, in the gut, in they tiny little brains. Make 'em weep. make the American people proud. Don't give in to fear. cuz that just leads to, you know, more fear, and then all that fear adds up to some powerful bad mojo.

Keep Hope alive. Corny as it is. Even if you lose on all fronts, keeping Hope alive, will keep us all on our feet and fighting another day.

Redistricting Madness

2011-06-04T11:50:00.001-07:00

Is the new non-partisan, non-denominational "citizens" redistricting process in California, where 14 ordinary folks decide where you vote, who you vote for, who your new fellow voters are, any better than the old "gerrymandering" process of days now gone by?

So far, the maps don't show the benefit. Admittedly it's a tough process, absorbing all the information, from census data, to Federal law, such as the Voting Rights Act, to deciding what constitutes a "Community of interest." Is the fact that the Napa Valley grape growers want to have more influence in congress a good reason to carve out a district for them?

And does that then push the dominoes in a direction that squeezes other districts like icing in a tube, so that the 6th district now snakes along the Coast all the way to the Oregon border? Well, yes, say the maps.

Are the interests of Northern prison town Crescent City the same as those of Bay Area coastal Stinson Beach? And what of the Assembly, the State Senate? Will Marin, with coastal and rural and suburban communities be lumped with the more central and sprawling Solano County to the east?

Does this make it fairer, allowing more diversity perhaps, more chance for others to take a crack at the legislative prizes? Who knows? The Shadow? I don't know, can't say, the new maps are "visualizations" only, a dreamscape of possibilities, suggested by whoever shows up and expresses an opinion, within the legal parameters.

I don't envy the commissioners. I don't envy the public of which I am one. We strive to understand. We hope for the best. More to come.

Candidate Training for the Marin Women's PAC

2011-06-01T13:53:00.000-07:00

On May 7th, my partner in all things campaign, Lise Stampfli, and I were part of a presentation for the new Marin Women's Political Action Committee. This group was formed to take the place of the National Women's Political Caucus, Marin Chapter, which had been threatening for months, to throw us out because we refused to tow the line over their complete prohibition on the endorsement or recommendation or even rating, of male candidates.

Our policy in Marin had been from time immemorial, at least as far back as anyone could remember, which means the 70's as that is when the group started, we had been "recommending" men in those races with no viable woman running. Viable means mostly pro-choice and with a grasp of the issues, and willing to help other women who came along afterward with their campaigns.

We thought this was a perfectly logical position, as half the population is male, and we need that half to work with us to get important legislation passed. The goal of NWPC is 50/50 by 2020, which means what it sounds like - by the year 2020, we will have an equal number of women in elected office as we do men.

Our goals are the same, we too want 50/50 by 2020. We too want to see more women in office, and are dedicated to helping them get elected. But we recognize we need the pro-choice men, and so when no viable woman is running, we feel free to :recommend" a pro-choice man.

The new leadership of NWPC took offense, serious offense and with their threats came our resolve to become independent and thrive.

And so we have. Dues do not have to be split with National and we are free to make our own policy and keep all the proceeds from our programs to fund our candidates. One of our main programs is the training of candidates. We usually do this twice a year, once in the months before filing opens and once in the fall, after filing has closed.

This was the before training. Now it is on You Tube and here for all to see. Hope you like it and learn something.

The Right and the Right to Bear Arms: Follow up to Shooting Rampage in Colorado

2011-01-26T16:34:00.000-08:00

This was posted as an Opinion Piece in the Marin IJ, and on my Facebook page. It started quite a long back and forth. Very interesting. Comments welcome:

Whether they listen to Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck or other right wing spewers of vitriol or just pick up the vibes through their fillings or beamed to them by aliens via a tin foil hat, it’s hard to believe “lone nuts” like Jared Loughner have not been at least somewhat influenced by the anti-government rantings of professional hate mongers.

When Sarah Palin puts cross hairs over her opponents districts on a map and talks about reloading, and Glenn Beck calls for “shooting them in the head” about media pundits he claims are calling for revolution and Rush Limbaugh and his compatriots continue to denigrate the president, by calling him a Kenyan born Muslim, not a real American, that rhetoric leads to toxic stew that’s in the very air we breathe. Just like second hand smoke can damage and kill, so can words tossed out into the atmosphere incite and inflame minds already on the bring of madness.

Saying that these toxic messages contribute to the actions of someone like Jared Loughner who made a assassination attempt on the life of Democratic Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson is not the same as “blaming free speech” as a January 13 Marin Voice piece by Sally Zelikovsky states.
It’s a statistical fact that gun violence is more common in red states that blue. A recent study published in the Atlantic shows that “Firearm-related deaths were positively associated with states that voted for McCain (.66) and negatively associated with states that voted for Obama (-.66).” (The Geography of Gun Deaths, Atlantic Monthly, January 13, 2011)
That Jared Loughner was anti-government, paranoid and prone to outbursts are all true statements. When pundits on the right, on Fox news and even in the Congress, are telling you the government is out to get you, to kill your granny and to take your job, that cannot be ignored as a factor in the kind of violence at the Tucson Safeway.

It’s a common ploy of the right to try to equate contentious speech on the left with inflammatory rhetoric on the right. “They all do it, don’t blame us” is a common refrain. Zelikovsky does it in her editorial, equating groups such as New Black Panthers, SDS, La Raza and the Ku Klux Klan.

While the New Black Panther Party may spout extreme rhetoric, they have been denounced by other black leaders and never been accused of killing anyone.

SDS thrived in the 60’s to organize students against the Vietnam War and for recognition of civil rights. It never spouted violent rhetoric. A splinter group, the weather Underground, was soundly denounced for their acts of violence, by other left wing activist groups.

La Raza is dedicated to improving civil rights and improve opportunities for Latinos through lobbying and education. It can hardly be equated with either the New Black Panthers or the Ku Klux Klan, who left a trail and of carnage and death in its wake across the south for decades.

Gabrielle Giffords became the symbol and the target of a deranged young man who feared the government. That the right now claims the left, and the so called “liberal media” is exploiting the tragedies of that day, while themselves pointing fingers and taking no responsibility for their part in creating a climate that can only encourage the paranoid and delusional to act, is shameful.

Dotty LeMieux is a political consultant and attorney. She is also vice chair of the Marin Democratic Party. These are her own opinions.

2010-12-03T12:34:00.000-08:00

The meme practiced and honed to a fine pitch coming from all Republicans everywhere, loudest from those in Congress, is tax cuts for the wealthy means more jobs for everyone else.

Wait a cotton pickin' minute here. Who says this is true? Other than John Orange Man Boehner and his pack of merry prankster Republican sycophants. Let's take a look at the whole story. Rich person Warren Buffet has this to say in an interview with ABC News' Christiane Amanpour: "But that [trickle down economic theory - or give it all to the rich and some will dribble back down onto the poor] has not worked the last 10 years, and I hope the American public is catching on." A 2006 report by United for a Fair Economy found that: "The president's tax-cutting policy is a failure in regard to job creation, and we need to recognize it as such...While there is no evidence that massive tax cuts create jobs, there is considerable evidence that they contribute to economy-choking deficits."

And top economist Alan Blinder said in the Wall Street Journal in July: "We could get some substantial job creation by simply reprogramming the $75 billion that would be saved over the next two years by not extending the upper-bracket Bush tax cuts and spending it instead on unemployment benefits, food stamps, and the like."

Don't Republicans read the reports? Don't they read the Wall Street Journal? Don't they listen to anything but the buzz and buzzwords echoing in their own fevered brains?

Job creation comes about by creating the jobs. Not giving the money away to those who least need it; those who will not use it to create jobs, but stick in an offshore account somewhere. Or if they do create jobs, they are jobs in some other country, some poor island colony of the corporations, where peasants slave away in dismal conditions for pennies a day.

Here's an imaginary conversation between a rich, but well intentioned, CEO and his money manager:

CEO: "I'm taking my tax cut and creating more jobs with it, Bill."

MM:" Sir, you can't do that. That would result in no net benefit to you or the stock holders."

CEO: "But, Bill, I'm sitting on a piles of cash, and think of those poor Americans out of work. We must do something."

MM: "But sir, if you create jobs here in the United States, those people will expect to be paid real American dollars. Your dollars sir. The dollars that the hard working Republican Congress has fought for. It would be a betrayal of that trust."

CEO: "But I thought they wanted me to create jobs. Isn't that what they are always saying? Tax cuts for the wealthy equals jobs."

MM: "Well, sir, there is a way."

CEO: Tell me!"

MM: "Your company doesn't really make anything, just shuffles the money around, so jobs here in the U.S. wouldn't be of mch use anyway."

CEO: "But we could make things. Didn't my great great granddaddy used to make things? Steam pipes or something?"

MM: "Pipefittings for gadgets to bring the outdoor plumbing in the house. Very profitable in 1910."

CEO: "Well?"

MM: "Sir, those are all made in China now. The company is long gone, but the money lives on. That's the beauty of money, it multiplies like bunnies. Only you have to manage it wisely."

CEO: "Hmmm. Do I want to make pipe thingies in China?"

MM: "No need, Sir. All taken care of. But if you are interested in creating jobs, you may need a money counter and a vault overseer for your offshore accounts."

CEO: "Yes, yes, let's put an ad in the New York Times right now."

MM: "No, sir, you don't have to do that. We can get those people right off the streets in that little island, where the money lives."

CEO: Oh, I see. I will be creating jobs where the money is, not here in the U.S."

MM: "That's right. Now you get it."

CEO: "Good plan, Bill. You are a smart man. How much do I pay you?"

MM: "Well sir, I do receive a nice stipend from the profits on those accounts..."

CEO: "Bill, I hate to do this to you; you've been a loyal employee, but I see I can save money if I hire my money manager right there on the island. Thanks for the great advice. And pick up your severance pay on the way out. Wait, you'll have to get it from the offshore account. And Bill, I'm sorry, but it's going to have to be in local currency."

2009-04-28T09:18:00.000-07:00

California State Convention news and pics

Posted 4/27/2009 9:38 AM PDT

Yes, we did have a Clean Sweep with our progressive women takng over three powerful positions: Chair of the Progressive Caucus (which itself has led to many changes in our Party in the last four years); Chair of the Women's Caucus (Whole Progressive slate); and most impressive, Controller of the State Party. I was thrilled to be elected Secretary of the Progressive Caucus by acclimation. Marin's own Ralph Miller took the Treasurer slot also by acclimation and our wonderful Mayme Hubert, who is the inspiration behind much of what gets done, is an Office at Large, with J. Brian Washman and Dr. Bill Honigman. A good group. See the pics up top for the "rest of the story" - First pic: I meet Howard Dean, with Wendy Baker, that's me on the right (Howard's left); next pic: Our three great winners: Karen Weinstein, Women's Caucus chair; Karen Bernal, Progressive Caucus chair and Hilary Crosby, our new State Party Controller.

Women rock!

This was an amazing celebration of a very successful year. Next year will continue the work. We are aiming at adding Democrats to the legislature. More later. Back to work with the new improved GreenDog Campaign team.

Rush Limbaugh in the Ring

2009-03-05T08:46:00.000-08:00

Rush Limbaugh to Star in Remake of the Wrestler
Posted 3/3/2009 9:55 AM PST

Why wait ten years to remake a Hollywood favorite? The Republicans, sensing their base slipping away, today announced that they will finance the remake of last year's surprise hit, The Wrestler.

Starring in the comeback role of the once washed up combatant, is Republican apologist and bombastic talk show host, Rush Limbaugh.

"Rush is perfect for the part," effused his one time rival, Michael Steele, head of the RNC, now chief producer of the Wrestler remake, to be called The Rustler, signifying the rustling up of the base who hunger for real blood and guts, long staples of Republican diets. "I know Rush and I sparred a bit, but I have apologized to him, as we have all agreed this project goes beyond petty internecine bickering.

"Our true enemies are the pinko-commie, socialist, abortion promoting, homosexual loving Democrats. Rush's comeback from his own foray into the dark world of illegal drug use and dropping ratings, not to mention his cholesterol laden gut, make him just right for the part of a down on his luck Republican operative, making one last gasp at bringing home the Party loyalists."

Critics were scratching their heads as they opined on the nightly news about the wisdom of the "last gasp" strategy.

"I don't know," said Ben Mankiewics of ABC's At the Movies "if this is really the image they want to broadcast to the public. In the original movie, the Mickey Rourke character appeared to be suffering a fatal heart attack as he flung himself from the ropes onto his opponent in the ring. I'm not getting the symbolism here."

However, Fox's Bill O'Reilly lauded the project as a sure box office hit, "and in politics, fundraising is everything. So what if Limbaugh expires in the movie; his ratings will soar and the coffers of the Republican Party will swell.

"I think it's a brilliant move. Liberals watch out"

Dick Cheney Father of Octuplets

2009-02-17T17:02:00.000-08:00

In a surprising revelation today, former VP, Dick "the terrorists are coming" Cheney told shocked news reporters that he is the father of Nadya Suleman's octuplets.

"How else do you think she got eight babies when only six were implanted," growled the proud Papa. "and you thought Dick Cheney was through."

He continued, "We need all the resources we can muster in the country to fight the terrorists, coming to murder us in our beds. Obama won't do it, in fact he's out there passing around condemns to the poor, so I have decided to grow my own domestic army, starting with these little sweeties. I call them my "Battling Babies."

"Of course, most American women are too busy getting manicures and having their feet waxed to breed for America, but I'm pleased to report that another seven are on their way. The mom is in a secure, undisclosed location as we speak."

While reporters struggle to find the words for the many questions swirling through their scrambled brains, Cheney muttered something under his breath, and, in a puff of sulfurous smoke, disappeared.

Veteran White House correspondent Helen Thomas was heard to exclaim, "Damn, I was afraid of something like that," as she joined the throng out the door of the now smoldering press tent.

Published at sfgate.com

2008 in Review

2009-01-19T15:31:00.000-08:00

Yes, we did!

Yes, we did. Tomorrow is Inauguration Day. I'll be dressed in my finest in San Rafael dancing to oldies and watching Obama boogie on the big screen.

This year Green Dog Campaigns had a most interesting race in Sonoma County. Shirlee Zane, newcomer to electoral politics, faced off against Sharon Wright, veteran campaigner. Shirlee was backed by labor and environmentalists and social service types. Sharon had big business and developers.

Guess who had the most money and endorsements?

Guess who ran the best campaign and won?

Yes, we did! Shirlee proved to be an ace campaigner. She came in first in the primary, with three others. Sharon was next. Into a hotly contested general, complete with nasty campaign attacks from Sharon and her developer cronies. They spent a wad trying to defeat Shirlee's fast moving train.

Heavy use of i.e.'s in a local campaign

Labor put money behind Shirlee in numerous independent expenditure (ie) pieces, both positive and negative. More than I've ever seen in a local race. These guys are playing on a whole new ballfield.

Sharon' developer funded negative hits came fast furious the last week, including a TV ad. But this time, dirty campaigning failed. The unions were always tasteful and truthful in their negative pieces against Sharon. The developers were not, calling Shirlee a puppet of the unions.

Shirlee used up a lot of shoe leather, walking and knocking on door throughout the large district. Her volunteers were all troopers. On Election Night, she was the victor by 11%! A stunning win.

New strategic partners and an award nomination for Green Dogs

Green Dogs put our all into this race, with lots of targeted mailing; the graphic talents of Lise Stampfli outshone the competition. We even did polling, adding Target Research as a strategic partner. And the dulcet tones of Peter B. Collins on our radio ad didn't hurt either.

That ad, written and produced by Peter, is up for a Reed Award. we are so proud, of Shirlee, of our new strategic partners and of this time in America.

Green Dogs looks forward to a new era, a great 2009 and some fun campaigns in the years ahead. Check our site http://www.greendogcampaigns.com/ for more examples of winning campaigns.

2008-10-16T15:06:00.000-07:00

I was debate watching last night with the rest of the Country and was heartened by Obama’s steadfastness, his humor and his unflinching responses to McCain’s outrageous and repeated accusations.

I watched the debate at the studios of Green 960, progressive talk radio in San Francisco, invited as a listener guest. After the debate, two of us went into the studio with veteran host Angie Coiro for an on-air discussion of the debate with callers. Joining us were California Democratic Party Chair Art Torres, and San Mateo Republican Party vice chair Deborah Wilder. It made for an interesting discussion, you can imagine.

Small plug here:

If you don’t already listen to Green 960, you are missing a great radio experience. Tune into 960 on the AM dial. Angie Coiro is “live and local” at 3 pm every day and I never miss her show. Check the website for other shows and news of the progressive community in the Bay Area. www.green960.com If you are outside the Bay Area, there are live podcasts and archives of most shows. Check it out!

Who won?

All the major networks except Fox found Obama to be the winner. McGrumpy made some points with his newfound aggressive style, but most agreed it was too little too late. Actually too much is more like it. My co listener guest Kim called it “Kitchen sink politics.” Obama never ducked the flying objects McCain kept tossing at him. He didn’t need to. McCain wore himself out to the point he was having trouble articulating, calling his running mate “a breash of freth air” at one point, but that might just be because he gets all hot and bothered thinking about her. (Did you catch the way his gaze kept sinking to her bottom when he first introduced her as his Veep pick? But maybe he was just falling asleep.)

It’s all about the Supreme Court:

For me the watershed moment was McCain’s declaration of a Culture War. No he didn’t say those words, but he did say we need a change of culture, and he was referring to the issue of choice. Saying Obama was allied with “pro-abortion extremists” because he would make an exception for the health of the woman in opposing late term abortions. (Yes, I was disappointed he opposed them, because they are always either for the health of the woman or because the fetus is so badly deformed it couldn’t survive in any meaningful way outside the womb. Hey, these are women who want to have babies. This is not a last minute change of heart or whimsy on their part, as the anti-choice crowd would have you think.)

McCain was flippant, insulting and grossly ignorant or worse, in his cavalierly dismissing the health of the woman as a consideration.

And Choice:

Make no mistake, under a McCain presidency the cause of choice would be set back if not downright overturned altogether if he gets to pick who sits on the Supreme Court. He says he would not make Roe v. Wade a litmus test, but it is clear he would. It ain’t over yet folks. Stay tuned. And if we win, the Reps are already planning a challenge based on “voter fraud,” about which they know plenty.

Dear Friend, Goodbye. A Satire

2008-10-13T15:00:00.001-07:00

Dear Friend,

I won’t embarrass you by using your name, or myself by knowing it, so let me just call you “that one.”

I must say good bye and end our long friendship, that is acquaintance, since I have had my investigators look into your past and have found some pretty troubling information.

Like that time in kindergarten you whacked Suzy Shepard over the head and threatened to “kill you,” if she didn’t give back your favorite dolly she was pulling all the hair out of. Such violence cannot be tolerated.

Or that time in high school when you and your hooligan gang threw toilet paper all over the vice principal’s house on Halloween. Such a blatant lack of respect for authority is beyond the pale in these times of fear and terror.

Worst of all may be the well founded rumor which circulated in the sixties that your anti-Vietnam War sympathizing had actually turned into radical terrorism as you kicked the nice policeman in the shin, while he tightened the handcuffs around your wrists and lifted you oh so gently off the ground to toss you into the paddy wagon with the rest of your terrorist protesting buddies. Non-violent disobedience my tuckas!

And just being an anti-war sympathizer in this time when our brave troops are fighting the terrorists over there so we don’t have to fight them here is something I can no longer overlook.

So I must tender my resignation to the Board of our Homeowners’ Association, although it pains me to do so, since we are so close to working out the landscaping for phase three, and I was so looking forward to overseeing the planting of my beloved semi-double laciniated pompom mums in the common area. But to keep an association with you at this time is to put into jeopardy my future political career as a Republican candidate for Sanitary Commissioner.

I am copying all my fellow Board members as well as the press, as it is my civic duty to let them know what kind of individual they have placed their trust in.

I am sorry I will not be able to attend the ill-advised wedding of our two daughters, as we had planned. Jessica is no longer speaking to me, her own mother, so you can see how far the seeds of your radical past have been sown.

Next time you want to serve on a board of directors, be sure not to omit the pertinent facts outlined in this letter from your resume, so that all may be forewarned and not learn the hard way, as I have,

Your former friend,

Upstanding Citizen and phase two condo neighbor

Angry "Older" White Women

2008-06-11T13:36:00.000-07:00

I have been an angry white woman a good part of my life. Now as a boomer reaching 60, some might classify me as an "older angry white woman."

I’m angry over the fact that we still don’t have an Equal Rights Amendment. That women still make 77 cents to every dollar earned by a man; that we are losing women in our legislature, that some younger women don’t seem to appreciate all the sacrifices their mothers’ and grandmothers’ generation made to get where they are today. (taking for granted that they too can take their place at the corporate trough), angry that we still have a corporate culture, not the cooperative society we all believed in the 60’s.

One of the things I am NOT angry about is Hillary Clinton. Sure, I’d love to see a woman president and I’m glad to see a viable woman candidate, who was able to rally millions to her cause go as far as she did (even though Hillary herself is a little corporate for my tastes.) A major step in the right direction.

But when I hear the media says Obama will have to work hard to win over older white women, that some of them (us) might actually vote for McCain out of spite, I just don’t believe it. Would I, as a feminist, really want to throw away all I’ve worked for on a bland white Republican, because my candidate didn’t win? Would I want to sell the legacy of future generations to endless war and a Supreme Court stacked against all I hold dear? Would I do this out of anger, bitterness or a sense of if I can’t have it neither can you as the corporate media would have you believe? Not likely.

So who are these angry older white women who might vote for McCain? The Democratic equivalent of the Guns, God and Gays voter?

I don’t think they exist. I think they are a figment of the media imagination. All the older white women I know who were rooting for Hillary have swallowed their disappointment and moved on. To work on uniting the Party, to defeat the right, to defeat the tired old George Bush neo-con agenda, and work for change.

Hillary would have been change. Obama is going to be change. Change for the better. If you were for Hillary, you’re not going to be for McCain. The Peace, Environment and Choice voter is just too smart to vote against her own (and her children’s) self interest, no matter what the Gays, Guns and God voters do (if they even exist either).

Don’t let the talking heads convince you otherwise.

Obama and Language or Much ado about....

2008-02-20T14:23:00.000-08:00

Oh, wait, that’s been said before; I mean, there’s a tempest in a teapot brewing… No, that’s off limits too. But in all this rush to accusation over Obama’s use of some well worn phrases to express sentiments that rouse the public, where’s the beef? (Sorry little old lady peddling burgers)

If politicians went out of their way to pen speeches with nary a reference to any concept ever before expressed, and all new speeches, who’d know what the bleep they were talking about?)? In all this bloviating about Obama’s use of words that may have been uttered by others, no one is mentioning it’s the use of the familiar that drives campaigns.

Get a grip (full disclosure, not my line) pundits. We’re not talking about turning in someone else’s homework here.

All this media buzz (not my words either, I stole them from 6 or 7 different news papers and blogs, so sue me) over Obama’s rhetoric expressing in some of the very same words, some of the very same sentiments of other candidates or officials has left my head reeling (commercial for something? TV?)

So now he has the audacity to sound like John Edwards, after months of people begging him to pick up some of Edwards ideas and run with them (football term). I know this from the horse’s mouth (Joyce Cary, title of a novel, that I know darn well he didn’t make up. Did anyone sue him for plagiarism?) I was on a conference call with Obama and former Edwards staffers not two weeks ago who were urging him to do just that.

So is Obama just supposed to express these sentiments in different ways? Like, instead of saying, let’s talk unions, would you rather he say, let’s talk about those guys and gals who you know organize other guys and gals into groups of guys and gals to try to get better working conditions? (Oh, yeah, Guys and Gals, maybe too close to Guys and Dolls? Musical based on book by Damon Runyan.)

Is he supposed to ignore the mass culture of drug companies trying to dupe us into thinking we’ll be happier if we’re doped to the gills (whoops, heard that somewhere before too, stop me before I plagiarize again), by using the same imagery Edwards did of happy people cavorting in a field after ingesting some kind of pharmaceutical or other? Good image that. Why not use it? Better than take this pill and you’ll be able to fit through a keyhole, enter the land of Wonderland. (as in Alice in, novel by Lewis Carroll.)

And now they’re going after him for his “Yes we can” slogan. The Washington Post’s Dana Milbank needs a history lesson. His article in today’s (Feb. 20) Chronicle attributes the “Yes we can” saying to a kiddie show cartoon character called Builder Bob. (The online version of the original article at least gives a nod to its use by Caesar Chavez) That saying, “si se puede” in Spanish, was first coined as a rallying cry by Dolores Huerta of the United Farmworkers Union in 1972. Its use by a kiddie TV character shows just how far language reaches into popular culture.

In the immortal words of Lewis Carroll:

'Twas brillig, and the slithy toves
Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:
All mimsy were the borogoves,
And the mome raths outgrabe.

"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch "

from The Jaberwocky

Cutting and running for now (George W. stolen from old nautical term, no attribution or apologies ever offered),

your faithful correspondent Dotty the Green Dog Democrat.

WHEN COMMUNITY LEADERS RUN FOR OFFICE

2007-05-03T15:07:00.000-07:00

(A version of this article first appeared in the Sierra Club Bay Chapter Yodeler in May 2007)

If you’ve worked as a volunteer on practically any conservation concern, you’ve probably had occasion to contact public officials and even to put your volunteer spirit to work helping get environmental candidates elected to office. It’s just a hop, skip, and short hike on Mount Tam to go from volunteering for a candidate to becoming one yourself. I spoke with several local Sierrans who’ve taken that hike to the top of the mountain and discovered several common themes.Sierra Club issues made them into candidates

Volunteer Power

Some people run for office because they want power. Others are frustrated over the lack of response from their elected representatives on an issue of importance to them and decide they can do better. For this article, I talked to Sierra Club leaders whose interest in running for office began with activism on particular issues. But if you are active in any local organization, your child’s school or ad hoc neighborhood committee, the same principles apply.

Take Helen Burke, the first Bay Chapter leader to get elected to public office, who after years of advocating on behalf of the Sierra Club, was urged by her fellow Club leaders and other environmental activists to run for the Board of the East Bay Municipal Utility District. Volunteering 40 - 60 hours a week on the Conservation Committee wasn’t enough for Helen, so she took her friends up on their offer to help her win the seat from the newly created Fourth Ward. She ran on a platform of water conservation and reform and won in a landslide, becoming the first woman and first environmentalist to serve on the EBMUD.

Helen went on to mentor other activists whom she encouraged to take their volunteerism to new levels. Andy Katz, a member of the Northern Alameda Group Executive Committee and newly elected to the EBMUD seat that Helen used to hold, credits her with inspiring him to jump in the race. Andy finds that “Serving in public office is an opportunity to put environmental goals into action.”For some, a single issue sparks the decision to run. A long-time activist on Hayward planning issues as well as chair of Sierra Club California in 1991 - 92, Sherman Lewis was inspired to run for the BART Board to stop a parking structure proposed for the Hayward BART station.

In Marin County, long-time Political Committee member Alex Forman was motivated by his concern about a proposed pipeline to bring water from Sonoma to Marin. This pipeline would have had a devastating effect on the flows of the Russian and Eel Rivers and on their salmon fisheries. This issue came to a head during the campaign, when his much better-funded opponent took the opposite position.

In looking for the right office, don’t think only of obviously environmental positions. You can put your environmental principles to work in a number of local offices. John Rizzo had long dreamed of developing a program in green technologies and environmental sciences at the community-college level. As a Club activist and chair (2005 - 06) of the Bay Chapter, John Rizzo decided to run for the Board of San Francisco City College. A strong environmental message and the help of active Sierrans, helped put him in a position to make those dreams a reality.

Building coalitions—the key to winning public office

An important building block of any campaign is bringing together people from various backgrounds and interest groups. In running for MMWD Alex Forman realized that not only environmentalists were lining up behind him for his stand against the pipeline, but also a host of tax-reform advocates, because the pipeline would cost the ratepayers more than Alex’ alternative of expanding conservation measures. This coalition of “unlikely allies” won Alex unexpected support from more conservative voters for sailing to an easy victory. Alex still serves on both the MMWD Board and the Marin Group, where he is the political co-chair. He also continues his work on the Political Committee of the Bay Chapter.

Veteran Berkeley Councilmember Kriss Worthington has become a champion coalition builder over his years in office. Even before his involvement as a Sierra Club activist and Bay Chapter ExComm member, Kriss had worked for years with the student community. Building a labor/environmental coalition worked well for Andy Katz as well. Having coalition partners on board with your campaign can help with other endorsements and donations, which can make the difference in getting your environmental message out to the voters.

John Rizzo’s win shows how a strong progressive message can transcend party lines. Although he is a proud Green Party member, John earned the support of influential Democratic Clubs in his San Francisco City College bid, including the liberal Harvey Milk Club.

And of course, that all-important Sierra Club endorsement can not be over-emphasized.

Getting Your Issues on the Table as a Newly Elected Official

Transitioning from Club volunteer to elected official is not always easy. It helps if the environmental activists who helped you to get into office stick around for the heavy lifting. Keep those volunteers involved, advises EBMUD’s Andy Katz. Their voice at meetings and on advisory committees can be invaluable in helping the office-holder keep the environmental issues on the table and “provide an elected environmental advocate the ability to translate that perspective into real policy.” It also can boost the morale of an outvoted environmental office-holder to be surrounded by supporters, who will keep them energized and focused on the task at hand.

When you work strictly as a volunteer, you have the luxury of taking firm positions and stating them unwaveringly. As an elected official, you must work with others to accomplish your goals. Helen Burke calls this “boring from within”.Starting out as a lone voice for the environment, Helen started making a difference right away, finding support for her ideas of instituting tiered water rates. Her lively campaign and new ideas transformed EBMUD meetings from dull to delightful and attracted local press as well to see what this energetic woman could do.

Some tasks take longer than others. One of Helen’s proudest achievements was an end to the practice of subsidizing developers for the cost of the water infrastructure for their projects. “It took 12 years and getting a second vote on the Board, but eventually that subsidy was eliminated!” says Helen. Dennis Waespi, first elected in 1999, today serves as president of the Board of the Castro Valley Sanitary District. He is proud of the innovative environmental programs his Board has instituted, including making Castro Valley a leader in recycling and recently instituting a pilot program in the schools to collect and compost food waste. Castro Valley was the first town in Alameda County to successfully integrate food-waste collection into its green-waste recycling. Waespi urges other Club members and activists to run, saying “We need more environmentalists involved in the political process. And the time is now.”

Are you next?

Running for office isn’t for everybody. But it is one way to extend your environmental volunteerism. One intermediate step is to get appointed to an advisory board or commission. And we all can volunteer to help the environmental leaders who do run.

Dotty Le Mieux

Dotty LeMieux first ran for office when her never-to-be-named coastal Marin town was threatened with overdevelopment. The only local body that dealt with issues related to growth was the Public Utilities District, which had for years maintained a moratorium on water hookups due to shortage of storage capacity.

She ran for that seat and won in 1981; later she was encouraged to run for county supervisor, receiving Club support against an incumbent whose environmental rating had slipped over his years in office. Although she didn’t win that one, her campaign brought environmental and social issues to the forefront, prompting the incumbent not to seek another term.

Dotty went on to serve on the Sierra Club Marin Group Executive Committee, serving as chair for four years.

Today she runs a campaign-consulting firm in Marin, Green Dog Campaigns and Communications. Alex Forman was her first successful client. She has since helped many Club-supported candidates win tough races, including Marin County Supervisor Susan Adams and Fairfax Councilmember Mary Ann Maggiore. Her most recent victory was the election of Lake County Supervisor Denise Rushing, who, with the Club’s support, was able to defeat a long time incumbent.

For more information, contact Dotty at:del@greendogcampaigns.com or check her web site:www.greendogcampaigns.com

New Blog Check it out!

2007-02-22T08:19:00.000-08:00

For some months, the Green Dog has been posting at the new Community Blogs section of www.sfgate.com, the San Francisco Chronicle's Blog central.

My Blog is called Boomer Bytes and still contains satire, unapologetic progressive politics, as well as Boomer related tales. (My youth as an anti-war activist during Vietnam, mostly.) I'm posting there more than here, so won't you check it out today and leave me a comment on the new site?

url is http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/contribute/sn/persona?plckPersonaPage=PersonaBlog&User=greendogdemo

Come on over!

Dotty the Green Dog Democrat

Demos in; Rumsfeld out!

2006-11-08T15:51:00.000-08:00

ODDS AND ENDS FROM THE (PROGRESSIVE) CAMPAIGN TRAIL

What a night! Democrats rocked the House and maybe have even taken the Senate. We are keeping our fingers crossed over Virginia. Yes, some of these Dems are from the Republican wing of the Party, but at least there's a shift.

And what better way to acknowledge it than to dump Rumsfeld? George had to admit he took a thumpin' from the Dems. But watch out. He and Cheney are not gone yet. And if the Senate splits, then Cheney gets to cast all those deciding votes. The Dark Side is plotting, you can be sure.

On the local front, one of the best progressives we have in Marin, Frank Egger, lost his bid for a seat on the MMWD to a newcomer, a "water manager" for San Francisco. Could there be a conflict brewing?

We shall see as the saga unfolds. The voters seem to have a thing for so called "experts" when they vote for boards that cover specialty areas, such as Health Care District (progressives lost here, too, as the voters put two more doctors on the board, and one of those had been recalled from the very same board years ago!) and water board.

Two years ago Richard Rubin, another well qualified, well known contender was trounced by a nobody with "water engineer" after his name.

Go figure. At least Jennifer Rienks was elected as the third Health Care District board member, probably because she had "health policy analyst" after her name, not because she's a progressive community activist.

The Progressive Caucus of our own California Democratic Party is hoping to make some gains in Party leadership this year. Watch this space for news of of our Progressive Plan, the progressive 58 County Program for California.

IT'S STILL THE WAR STUPID!

2006-10-31T08:35:00.000-08:00

What I would like the Democrats to be saying about now is that we have lost more American lives in Bush's uncalled for, unneeded, disastrous War in Iraq, than were lost in the World Trade Center attack on 9/11. In fact, this has been the case for months. World Trade Center deaths 2819 or 2823, depending on whose account is more accurate, the Americans' or the British.

Iraq War deaths as of October 30, 2006 - 2834. So, say what you will how the World Trade Center happened, we know George Bush is responsible for the Iraq War deaths, and for no reason that has become discernible over the years.

Not to mention at least 21,000 wounded Americans and countless non-combatant Iraqi deaths.

Hammer this point home Democrats. Cheney is out scaring people with Halloween talk of how a Democratic victory in Congress means the terrorists win.

Bush and Cheney are the terrorists. It's them or us. It's all war all the time, or it's fight back now.

Got it? Now, let's put those sneering Republican death's heads back in the closet until next Halloween.

STAY THE COURSE?

2006-10-19T08:46:00.000-07:00

I don’t usually resort to cancelling my subscription to publications over their editorial stances or election picks, especially ones that purport to be news outlets (and ones with such enlightened columnists as Mark Morford and Jon Carroll). But the Chron’s editorial endorsing Schwarzengger for 4 more years made me gag up my breakfast oatmeal and had me all but reaching for the phone to so I could say “Stop the presses, cancel my subscription and go F*** yourselves!”

It wasn’t the endorsement so much as the headline accompanying it. Arnold to “Stay and the Course.”

"Stay the Course?” Has that insidious Bushism about the continuing the disastrous Iraq policy made its way so deeply into the lexicon of American press that they use it almost cavalierly to tout endorsements? Or is there something more venal at work?

In this week’s New Yorker there’s a telling article about conspiracy theories, how they start and why they find such currency among true believers. I’ve always tried to stay away from them, but this is too much. Is “Stay the Course” dropped into a headline supporting the popular body building champ turned politician a not so subtle signal that the Chronicle supports the present administration and its Iraq War?

Sure Angelides has been a big disappointment. No, his handlers have; they represent everything that is old and tired and wrong about the Democratic Party (Hey, I’m old and tired, but I like to think mostly right about political strategy.)

Like the Reps, the Dems “stay the course” in their lackluster campaigns. Kerry did it, ignoring his progressive base and the “practical aspirations of the American people” to borrow a phrase from Dennis Kucinich, one of the few Presidential hopefuls who chose a different course in his campaign – taking the message to the people and eschewing the hackneyed play-to-the-middle strategy of his peers. You say he didn’t get very far, but that’s because all the course-stayers and their moneyed friends hogged the resources and scared the public the same way the Bushies did over who can keep you safer.

Kerry bristled at being called “Bush lite” by some of his progressive supporters. But after the campaign, it was that accusation that stuck.

Why can’t the Democrats be more like Democrats? This year they have the chance and still, amidst all the anger and frustration and grief over the failed Bush Iraq war, scandals in Congress and policies that threaten our very existence on the planet, “Stay the Course” is the phrase of the hour.

Could it really be that Stay the Course means nothing more than “Take the path of least resistance?”

I will continue to read the Chronicle; because the path of least resistance is to cancel my subscription, throw my hands in the air and give up. They’re not going to get me to do that, just yet.

Eminent Domain in Reverse

2006-08-30T17:38:00.000-07:00

There's a Proposition on the November ballot in California deceptively called "Protect our Homes." Proposition 90 is supposed to be about eminent domain reform, prohibting the government from taking private property for other private use, in the name of economic benefit. That would be a good thing, as far as it goes. But Proposition 90 goes much farther. It contains a provision that would require compensation for any government regulation of land use, including such useful tools to protect the environment and protect neighboring homeowners as height limitations, zoning changes and even regulations on mining and other destructive activities.

Proposition 90 goes too far in the wrong direction. What we really need for the protection of our communities is Eminent Domain in Reverse. Now, local governments can take your property, the small business you earn a meager but satisfying living from or the bungalow that your grandfather worked and slaved at the factory to buy, and give it to big business for a new industrial mall or shopping center.

They say this is for the public good because it will create jobs and bring economic benefit into the area. Your neighborhood, which has now been declared blighted, like some slum full of rats and boarded up windows.

You are mad and rightly so. Your neighborhood isn't blighted. It's just lived in. Well, how about this? We start a movement in this country for Reverse Eminent Domain. We need courageous legislators to do this and a population "mad as hell" and not willing to take it any more.

Then we get the legislators to enact a law that allows us, We the People, to take the property of big busines and corporations and the McMansions their CEOs live in and give them to the working people and those who would be working if they could really get a job at that factory, which is all automated now, with customer service outsourced to Pakistan.

Reverse Eminent Domain would be about real public benefit to the real public. Not some nameless faceless corporate stooges.

But, wait, it sounds good, it sounds American, people standing up for what is rightfully theirs. People standing up to Government abuses.

But it sounds like something Homeland Security might find suspicious. It would be declared a terrorist plot, and denounced from pulpits and Fox news shows. Honest hard working Americans would be put into detention centers and called traitors and liberals.

They'd say the next thing we'd want would be socialized medicine and free lunches. And you know what? They might be right. Because once people are free of powerful corporate greed and corrupt governments, they can start making decisons for themselves and the good of their communities. What a concept!

So, think about it, Reverse Eminent Domain. It might be the wave of the progressive future.

Leave Your Liquids at the Gate!

2006-08-10T13:56:00.000-07:00

Talk about knee-jerk reactions. First it was terrorists on airliners with boxcutters, so we had to relinquish our sharp objects, nail scissors and files, letter openers and those cute Swiss Army knives every one kept tucked in their purse. Airport security checks were filled with little old ladies in wheelchairs being searched for contraband.

After a while, the ban on nail clippers was lifted. And did you notice they took away the metal knives from the airline meal, but left you a metal fork with all those sharp tongs intact?

Then it was some wacko trying to light his shoes on fire, so we all have to put our footwear in plastic bins before we go through the metal detector.

Now it's liquid. Not that they haven't known for years that explosives can be made from liquid. Liquid fertilizer, liquid nitroglycerin, not to mention all the easily obtainable flammables: gasoline, kerosene, propane. How interesting that the day after Lieberman's defeat in the Democratic Primary in Connecticut, a terrorist plot to blow up planes from London to the US was uncovered. A plot using liquid explosives.

So now, it's hand over your baby bottles, contact lens solution, toothpaste and Evian.

I predict it won't be long before they've outlawed chewing gum (plastique) and eyeglasses (can be used by junior Al Quaeda scouts for starting fires).

Oh, yeah, what about Snakes on a Plane? That would surely cause a commotion. Better leave your boa constrictor home.

Seriously, the point is, anyone can use anything as an agent of terror or disruption. So what's the point of waiting until someone tries something new, and then confiscating whatever object they used from everybody else?

And seriously (and cynically) again, did you hear Bush using this opportunity to trot out his trusty war rhetoric? "This just shows that we're still at war with the Islamo Fascists" said our fearless leader, never missing a chance to push his all war all the time agenda.

Or as Randy Rhodes, of Air America puts it, "Perpetual war for pertpetual profits."

PRACTICAL POLITICS CLASS NEARS

2006-08-02T15:18:00.000-07:00

Yes, it's that time of year again for the Practical Politics class at the College of Marin. The next session is Saturday September 16, 2006, from 10-4 PM. Anyone running for office, thinking of running for office or working with a campaign are especially invited to join us.

We will, as always, go over some basics for activists, that can be used in campaigns or in your neighborhood battles.

Email me with any questions: del@greendogcampaigns.com

PRACTICAL POLITICS

How YOU can be an Activist for Your Community

"All politics is local" -Tip O'Neill

Dotty LeMieux’s community activist training class will be held at the College of Marin, Saturday September 16, from 10 AM to 4 PM. Learn how to be a more effective activist for your cause.

Environmental: Are you reviewing an EIR for a project in your neighborhood, fighting big box retail or struggling to preserve wetlands?

Social: Would you like your local government to be more responsive to community needs in the areas of affordable housing, transit or other pressing neighborhood issues?

Political: Have you thought about running for office yourself or working for a candidate or ballot measure to make changes in your community?
This training may be just what you’re looking for. Meet like minded people and hear their stories. Gain new allies and learn new techniques in working for your cause or candidate Topics include:

• Telling our stories, campaigns won and lost, what you are doing now in your community!
• Frame that issue: How to get your message just right
• Tracking the elusive volunteers
• Getting the Press to pay attention
• Creating effective materials to carry your message to the streets, City Hall or Washington
• Finding likely and unlikely allies. Learn why "The enemy of my enemy is my Friend."
• Yes, you CAN raise money! Tips to help you get over your fear.
• Planning your next steps; An activist's work is never done!

Successful students of past classes have won elected office offices, led citizen petition drives and become effective at getting their message across in public hearings and in the press.

It would be helpful, but not required, if students read George Lakoff’s Don’t think of an Elephant before the class. Binders with class material provided to each student.

Yes, you CAN make a difference!

Go to http://marincommunityed.org/regist/resources/index.htm

to register

Democrats Get Spine - Will they now dump the DLC?

2006-07-14T16:40:00.000-07:00

What happened to those Democratic internet ads showing flag draped coffins, among other images of years of failed Republican policies that have drawn criticism from the right?

Did the Reps get them removed? Or was it the DLC, those Reps in donkey's clothing? Crying foul, Republicans pretend to be shocked that the Democrats would "politicize" the war dead. Really, it takes some nerve to be outraged that someone tells the truth about the outrages that you commit.

No wonder they want the dead to come home from Iraq in secret and the wounded to quietly languish away from publicity. An administration that believes it is above the law, any law, even when the Supreme Court says otherwise, is living in their own fool's paradise.

Unfortunately, we're living in it with them. It's about time the Democrats got some spine and told it like it is. While they're at it, they ought to point out we're not in a war, we're an occupying army following an invasion on a soveriegn nation. And the dead in those coffins died in vain. I hope those ads are shown again and often on TV.

Meanwhile the DLC is up to their old tricks, of pretending to run to the "middle." Folks, wise up! The DLC is NOT the Democratic Party. And the middle is not even the middle any more; it's way off in right field. To get to the middle you have to turn left.

That's not a lesson the DLC is ever going to get. They don't want to. They represent the right wing of the Democratic Party and it's time people started saying so, and calling out the Democrats who continue to hew the DLC line.

It's interesting that we have the DLC and there is no like organization in the Republican Party, no RLC that leans to the left. The DLC is what is dividing the Democratic Party, not the progressives. Let's start exposing them for the closet Republicans they are. And purge the Party of the dividers.

Until we do, we will not have a united left, or even a middle worthy of the name.

A Sad Day in California

2006-06-28T15:40:00.000-07:00

It's time to update you all on yesterday's Senate Judiciary Hearing on the California Compassionate Choices Act, a bill supported by an overwhelming number of Californians, a Bill which would have brought the right to end-of-life choices to terminally ill patients suffering intolerable pain. A Bill which has enjoyed 8 successful years, with no reports of abuse, in the State of Oregon.

A Bill which was derailed by an otherwise Progressive Democrat. This fact alone saddens me most. Here is the message I sent to my team of supporters this morning:

Yesterday was a sad day for the rights of terminally ill patients, their friends and families and for all Californians who believe in the civil right to choose the manner of our death at a time of inescapable suffering at the end of life.

Yesterday's Senate Judicial Committee hearing brought to an abrupt and unexpected halt a year long positive campaign to bring death with dignity to California. Senator Joe Dunn, who I am ashamed to say is a Democrat, cast the deciding vote, joining the Committee's two Republicans. His rationale was tortured and painful to listen to as he explained his fears that a future legislature, influenced by "big money" might expand this right to people suffering but not terminal, or terminal but not suffering. Although claiming to reject the "slippery slope" argument of the opponents, Dunn's comments used their contorted logic, which flies in the face of eight years of empirical evidence to the contrary in Oregon.

Some people commented later it appeared as though Dunn essentially caved in to "big money's" opposition, which came primarily in the form of the California Medical Association and the Catholic Church hierarchy, two vocal and well financed opponents whose lobbyists spoke against the Bill in the hearing.

A legislator of Joe Dunn's stature claiming not to trust the legislative process, is the height of cynicism, at least to this observer.

Our two years of advocacy for this Bill are over, but a new push will soon begin. The form is not certain but the cause is: the right of all to make our own medical decisions, with the counsel of family and physician.

I will update you as things progress in the weeks ahead. Thanks to everyone for all your support for this measure.

Dotty

Quick and Dirty Election Summary

2006-06-09T14:02:00.000-07:00

Hi all,

Here's my Quick and Dirty election summary. I take that back, Quick, but not Dirty, we've all had enough of that.

6th ASSEMBLY DISTRICT RACE

In the 6th Assembly race the keyword was Message. I know conventional wisdom has it that the keyword was Mail and too much of it. And yes, there were a lot of wasted trees. Mostly from PACS carrying both positive and negative messages.

But the messages got through. For the top three vote-getters, here are the messages I think the voters got in their mail:

Jared Huffman - It's the environment Stupid!

Pamela Torliatt - I'm the hometown Progressive

Cynthia Murray - Yes, I am in the pocket of developers.

Murray's two biggest mistakes, I think, were her eschewing the cap on spending, thereby giving at least the perception to the voters that she was for sale, and her last minute attack on Jared. One trick pony? Yeah, that both highlighted his environmentalism and showed her to be out of touch.

Coupled with the many mailers from Unions and consumer attorneys pointing out her developer "buyers," what looked to many at the outset as an easy victory turned into certain defeat.

Both Pam and Jared stayed positive and on message. giving them both resounding victories in their home counties. Pam's campaign could easily have been an outright win, in my opinion, if her strategy to play to Sonoma had been supplemented by a stronger push in Marin. She got off on the wrong foot at the College of Marin debate when she took someone's bad advice and failed to express opinions on many of the crucial issues.

That undercut her ability to find strong backing from Marin progressives.

Jared stayed on message from day one.

DEMO GOVERNOR SLUG FEST

The 6th Assembly race was positively pristine comared with the Democratic governor's race. Steve "self made millionaire" Westly was down and dirty from the get go, prompting Phil "proud to be the son of immigrants" Angelides to strike back. In this race, the he's paid for by develop message didn't work. Why? because Westly got caught in multiple exaggerations of the truth, if not outright lies.

Phil stayed on track with his Anti-Arnold message as well as his tax the rich to pay for education theme. And it seems to have paid off. (Also that scary drawing of Steve Westly in his last mailer may have done more harm than good; he looked like a demented boy scout.)

Now phil has to stay on message and not run to the right to try to capture the moderate vote. He must be Anti-Arnold. I want to see him in a cape! Don't forget us Progressives, Phil. And if anyone doubts Phil is a progressive, iI have a photo of him signing up at our very first meeting of the California Democratic Party's Progressive Caucus in April 2005. Check the blog for April 17, 2005.

We should all be prepared to remind him of that, if he strays.

More later!

Dotty

George Bush Spies on Himself

2006-05-25T16:16:00.000-07:00

In a bold move for the Unitary Presidency, George Bush announced today that he was opening a dossier on himself.

"No one is immune from the law, even if it's not the law," said Bush, as he tentatively inserted an electric probe in one ear.

"we are in a War," he continued, scowling slightly as the wire probed deeper. "Now, you see, if I want to spy on Congress because they are a bunch of terror lovers, I git to do that. And if I want to spy on myself, 'cause I'm not to be trusted, well, then, I cin do that too."

He squinted and twisted his head from side to side, slightly as the probe went ever deeper into the ear canal.

"Ouch, that hurts," he said, "But it's fer the good of the country. There might be some terr'ists in there. Got to clean them out." He kept on grimacing as the probe went ever deeper into the President's head, until it popped out the other side.

"That's better!" he exclaimed, beaming, "Now I cin hear outa both ears. Things are gonna be a lot better around here from now on. No one can sneak up on me and sleep in my brain. Sleeper cells you know, sneak into your body parts and take over the molecules."

With that, Dick Cheney approached with a flashlight and began examining the space between the President's now open ears, then mumbled, "all clear" and made a big check mark in the ledger that he carried.

President Bush kept right on smiling for the cameras.

EMPEROR'S NEW NUKE

2006-04-19T08:55:00.000-07:00

Now I can see why it took a small child to state the obvious in the famous story: "The Emperor is naked as a Perdue chicken!" No one, not even said Emperor himself wanted to acknowledge that lack of body covering, as he strutted down the avenue before the admiring crowds.

Were there no Democrats in the crowd that day? you may ask? Only sycophantic members of the Emperor's own party?

No, I don't think that's it. There were Democrats. I have it on good authority; they stood to the rear, silently staring, maybe with a wink and a nod to each other, but no loud outcries, no exclamations of Emperorial nudity to shock their constituents.

They were biding their time, for what, the History books do not say.

The small child, taken on an outing to see the majesty of Democracy in action, didn't know about timing, or political correctness or incorrectness. He couldn't even spell the words. He just saw this silly little naked guy parading down the street in the altogether.

He wasn't particularly outraged by moral considerations, or trying to score points with the opposition; he was no revolutionary.

Just a small child, who, like many small children, pointing out embarrassing family secrets to their friends about their mothers' mustache or their fathers' taking up residence with the family dog (embarrassing to the adults in question, of course, not their truth-telling offspring), was merely stating a fact as the fact paraded past him.

Democrats coughed into their hands, while members of the Emperor's party clucked and shuffled their feet.

Politics is a game played by grown ups, and often played long after the winning die is cast.

So it takes a child insisting that his truth is THE truth, to fianlly get the ear of the press and all flashbulbs break loose.

Do we have to wait for the children of the land to call out, "look Ma; the President's got a Nuke; shouldn't we duck and cover or something?"

OK, so this parable is just a round-about way of saying, Democrats, be like the little children (if you're religously inclined, remember Christ said "A little child shall lead them," or so I recall from my early Bible toting days) and shout out the obvious.

This President is stark naked and stark raving mad on top of it, and he's holding a giant Nuke over Iran.

If kids can see what's not there, we in the Democratic Party should be able to see what IS right in front of our noses. This Emperor has got to go. Let's not wait for the bomb to fall; for the Republicans to be the first to open their eyes, although God love 'em when they do!

You want to win the Congress back this year? Speak out. Naked Emperors carrying nukes are bad for children and all living things.

Shout it out. Shout it loud. Remember regime change begins at home.

PRACTICAL POLITICS

2006-02-20T11:19:00.000-08:00

It's that time again. The Practical Politics seminar at the College of Marin is Saturday, April 1, 2006. Below is the course outline. For information on registration go to:

http://www.marincommunityed.org/regist/resources/reg.htm

Practical Politics: Grassroots Campaigning
for the Local Candidate or Activist

"All politics is local." Tip O'Neill

Learn effective political techniques whether you are running for office, lobbying elected officials or raising awareness (or money) for your cause. Topics include:

* Running for office: How to decide if the job and timing are right

* Frame that issue: Sound bites and more

* Recruiting and training volunteers

* Getting the Press you deserve

* Creating effective campaign materials

* Identifying natural and unlikely allies

* Know your opposition: Research, Research, Research

* Dialing for dollars: Learn to enjoy the job everyone hates!

* Planning your next steps; An activist's work is never done!

Handouts and a bibliography will be available. Read George Lakoff's Don't Think of An Elephant before class if possible. Widely available in paperback. Handouts and bibliography will be provided. Please bring a bag lunch.

Dotty E. LeMieux has more than 20 years of grassroots activism under her belt, and currently runs progressive political campaigns and trains grassroots activists throughout Northern California. She served as California Political Director for Dennis Kucinich's Presidential Campaign.

Saturday, 10am-4pm
Apr. 1
Kentfield Campus
Physical Education 22
Fee $37 (Includes $7 materials fee)
Course #8440 EC

COMPASSIONATE CHOICE ACT

2006-02-14T12:47:00.000-08:00

Life and Death with Dignity for All:

Hi All you Green Dogs. Here is a very important Valentine's message for you all. It speaks to our hearts and our progressive political beliefs, family values, and human dignity.

It's the California Compassionate Choice Act, AB 651, now in the Assembly, also known as Death with Dignity. This Act, introduced by Assembly members Patty Berg of Sonoma and Lloyd Levine of Southern California, will allow terminally ill patients the means to make end of life choices. It is similar to the law passed in Oregon in 1997 and recently upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court.

The entire Bill can be read at http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/Bills/AB_651
California stands poised to become a leader in the movement to allow freedom for all people to have control over their life and their death. This Bill provides safeguards for those with disabilities or elderly people to prevent any abuses. Only those diagnosed with six months or less to live, having requested a lethal prescription orally and in writing from their physician, found to be mentally competent and capable of taking the final measure themselves, qualify.

My Life, My Death, My Choice:

This Bill is about choices in medical decisions free of governmental interference. That is why leading physicians, nurses, clergy and other caring professionals have endorsed it. Organizations such as NOW, ACLU, Senior and Hospice groups are listed as supporters.

Major newspapers, such as the San Francisco Chronicle, the LA Times, San Jose Mercury and Sacramento Bee have editorialized for the measure.

Both Democratic candidates for Governor are in support. They all know that when it comes to end of life decisions, just as when it comes to a woman's right to choose, only a patient and his/her doctor are in the position to determine what is best.

This bill will end needless end of life suffering for countless Californians, while respecting the rights of those who wish to prolong life. It is Your Life, Your Death, Your Choice.

Your Help:

Although right now, things look good for passage out of the Assembly, there is a long way to go and we expect a backlash from the Right. That's why this campaign is so urgent for us all to support with our time, energy and dollars. The lead organization, Compassion and Choices, is a non-profit out of Portland Oregon, helping people with end of life decisions, and advocating for legislative changes all over the country.

They are focused now in California, putting their staff and Board energy into getting this Bill passed. That means raising hundreds of thousands of dollars in a few months to pay for outreach materials, educational and lobbying drives and positive advertising to promote the legislation.

You can read about the organization and the campaign at www.compassionandchoices.org.

If any of you want to help in any way, let me know at coastlaw@earthlink.net. I will be calling some of you to discuss this in more detail soon.

And please, pass this on to your lists and write or call your Assembly member to ask for their support. Thanks!

Dotty

Union of the State

2006-02-01T08:52:00.000-08:00

Is it a Police State yet?

Last night's State of Union Address, despite its modulated tone and small sops to Democratic issues (health care, education, alternative energy) sounded the same old themes:

War, war and more war.

Wiretaps will protect us from the Enemy.

Terr'ists are comin' to getcha.

Seriously, the Dems were suckered on this one. There were three times when the appropriate Democratic response was to rise from their seats: at the beginning when Bush noted the passing of Coretta Scott King, when the fallen soldier was honored and when he noted the end of Sandra Day O'Connor's tenure on the Supreme Court.

They should have done so silently with heads bowed on all occasions.

Health Care Savings Accounts

Instead, they let Bush sucker them into rising when he mentioned the demise of his Social Security plans of last year; then went on to detail his new plans for bankrupting the American workers: the use of so-called Health Savings Accounts.

These are nothing more than ways for employers to shirk their duty to provide health care coverage to their workers, for insurance companies to jack up their premiums and deductibles, and to leave even more working Americans un or underinsured.

As David Lazarus said in today's Chronicle: "[H]ealth savings accounts can be a nifty financial tool as long as you're rich or don't get sick."

At one point Bush stated that "our generation" would be fighting "a determined enemy" for a long time. That future Presidents of both parties would be in the battle. I think he meant the "war on terr'ism" but I dunno, maybe he meant the war on wrinkles or midriff bulge. Maybe that's why Hillary Clinton rose and applauded, even as those around her stayed seated. Somehow I don't think so, and joining Bush's "wars" is not a auspicious beginning for a Democratic Presidential campaign.

"Intelligence" Gathering

Bush's defense of his warrentless wiretaps, saying we all want to know if Al Quada is calling, and suggesting that if we had had wiretaps in place before 9/11, we could have foiled the attack on the world Trade Center, did not pass the Straight Face test.

He did not mention the August 2001 memo suggesting just such a scenario, entitled "Bin Laden Determined to Strike Inside the United States." He did not listen to those who warned that some of the later-identified 9/11 hijackers were taking lessons in flying but not landing airplanes, and he ignored warnings of his own advisors on increased "chatter" between known terror suspects.

They were listening then. They had the tools to do something about it and they failed. Spy on yourself George.

Don't even get me started on what he had to say on Iraq, where the sun is always shining and great strides are being made. Oh, and pigs fly.

What about Them Dems?

And what about those Dems? Couldn't they find anyone more alive than the pasty faced Patrician Governor of Virginia to give their (our) response? I mean, come on. Where was the Democratic wing of the Democratic Party last night? Howard Dean would have done. Charles Wrangel. Even Nancy Pelosi.

No wonder we lose elections. Come on Dems, this is your wake up call. Russ Feingold for President anyone?

THE GREEN DOG'S YEAR

2006-01-30T11:02:00.000-08:00

Year of the Dog

2006 is the Year of the Dog. This Green Dog takes that to mean it's a good year for Progressives. Come November, will we take back the House? It's up to all good Green (and Yellow) Dogs to make it happen.

But first a look at this Green Dog's 2005:

CAMPAIGNS:

Most of you know about my business, Green Dog Campaigns, which specializes in Democratic and progressive non-Partisan candidates and issues. This year, we helped with Fairfax's Measure F, a parcel tax to fund public safety, infrastructure and after school programs. The measure, led by Fairfax's long term Councilmember Frank Egger and a dedicated volunteer group, passed easily in a July special election.

We also helped with two campaigns in the November election. We partnered with Kathleen Russell Consulting to help elect Derek Knell to the Novato School Board. Derek's come from behind victory diwas not final until two weeks after election Day, when late absentee votes were counted. This shows the strength of the permanent absentee voter in Marin County, and the importance of reaching out with mail and phone calls the last crucial week.

Mary Ann Maggiore won a seat on the Fairfax Town Council, garnering a broad base of support. Mary Ann will be a bright addition to the Council, bringing her negotiating skills and experience on the Planning Commission to bear. Her Victory Celebration and Retire the Debt Party is this Friday, February 10, 5:30-8 PM at the Green Fusion Design Studio, 14 Greenhill Avenue, San Anselmo, at the Hub. $25 for food, fun, and friends!

ACTIVISM TRAINING

In April and again in September, I gave a day long workshop at the College of Marin for community activists and people considering a run for office. Four of my students went on to win races in the fall: Two mentioned above: Derek Knell and Mary Ann Maggiore, as well as Greg Brockbank (winning his re-election to the College of Marin Board of Trustees) and Jeanne Thompson elected to the Ross Valley School Board.

The next class is scheduled for April 1. More on that later.

I also joined with the Mendocino Democratic Party to train activists in that County. Thanks to Susan Savage for inviting me to help out.

I made presentations on grass roots activism to two groups fighting powerful forces in their bids to protect the environment. In McCloud, near Mt. Shasta, a citizen's group is battling the giant Nestle Corporation which threatens to undermine the local ground water system with a new bottling plant. Closer to home, the No Wetland Landfill Expansion group, a coalition of Marin and Sonoma County citizens, is challenging the expansion of the Redwood Landfill In Novato. Plans for the Landfill will incrase traffic and threaten the Petaluma River and Marsh with runoff from an expanded use.

And finally, I joined the Marin National Women's Political Caucus on its mentoring and training night. Several seasoned campaigners and elected officials offered advice to local candidates on topics as varied as what to wear to the debate and how to pick up the phone and "dial for dollars."

CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS

The high point of the year for this Green Dog was surely the ratification of the California Democratic Progressive Caucus by our State Party. Our first official meeting as a Caucus in April drew a membership of nearly four hundred Democrats. By October, our ranks had swelled to more than 600. We were instrumental in passing a resolution calling for the withdrawal of troops in Iraq at the State Convention, and this past weekend at the State Democratic Executive Committee meeting, we presented a panel on how to do just that, featuring former weapons Inspector Scott Ritter.

A self styled "conservative Republican," Ritter's advice is for Democrats to take back the house this year. It truly is going to be the Year of the (Green) Dog!

NEW OFFICE

Last year I moved my office from Mill Valley to San Rafael. My new office is conveniently located opposite two of my favorite eateries, the Panama Hotel and Muffin Mania. If you need to meet a friend or colleague for lunch or dinner, check them out.

The new address is 496 B St. Suite D. It's up the stairs and past the dental lab. I hope to see you all when the rains stop for a Welcome to Spring Open House.

2006

This year I finally put up a website. It's still in process, but you can view it here (and make suggestions please. But note, for some reason I cannot format this so you can click on it; you have to copy and paste the url.):

http://www.greendogcampaigns.com

On the site are some of my sample campaign materials and articles I've written for Campaigns and Elections Magazine.

I attended my first Progressive Caucus meeting as a member of the Executive Board. My title is Member at Large. We have a great group and I'm so proud of us for putting on a sensational Iraq forum after Democratic Party events were over. Besides Scott Ritter, we had an excellent panel, including our own Harlan Hopgood, who has drafted a workable blueprint for getting out of Iraq soon.

The Caucus adopted a four point program for the year: Clean Money (passed by our California Assembly this week! Now on to the Senate) Living Wage, Out of Iraq and Single Payer Universal Health care.

In February I'm off to Fresno to join a campaign forum for the NWPC there. And April 1, I'm back at the College of Marin. I'll post the class agenda here soon. I hope some of you can join the class.

Since the year is young, I look forward to many campaigns and columns. The first is under way: I have joined the team helping to pass Compassionate Choices legislation in the State Legislature. This legislation introduced by the North Coast's Patty Berg and Southern California's Lloyd Levine, is similar to legislation passed in Oregon and recently upheld by the United States Supreme Court, allowing terminal patients the means to end their life, with physician's assistance and under stringent guidelines. You can read the full legislation here:

http://www.aroundthecapitol.com/billtrack/billview.html?bill=AB_654

I look forward to talking with many of you about this legislation in the weeks and months ahead.

Your input on this and other Green Dog matters is always welcome.

Warrants; We ain't got no Warrants; We don't got to show you no stinkin' Warrants!"

2006-01-23T15:31:00.000-08:00

George Bush came out fighting in his campaign to spy on the American people. "The polls are even" say the pundits, "half of all Americans say 'Spy on me, Mr. President. I've got nothing to hide.'"

And if you do have something to hide, better hide it well. Someone is watching you. This only works if people buy into the Administration's version of things.

For instance War. The Bushies say we're at War. War with Terrorists. Wrong. They are at war. War with the American people. War with the truth. War with the Constitution.

The Terrorists are not a tribe. They are not a Nation. They are not even a "they." Terrorism is a tactic, and we can all agree we don't like it one bit. It is not something you can declare war on. Or something that can declare war on us. The "Terrorists" did not attack us on September 11, 2001. A group of fundamentalist fanatics attacked the World Trade Center. Somehow that act, as horrible as it was, has been used to justify our governments declaring war on us and our way of life.

Think about it. George Bush says the terrorists hate us because they hate our way of life, and want to destroy it. If you substitute the word I for "the terrorists" you will see what is really happening here.

George Bush: "I hate the American way of life and I want to destroy it."

"I hate civil liberties and I want to destroy them."

"I hate free speech and I want to destroy it."

See the pattern.

It's like a Mad magazine fold-in cover. Fold in the edges of the page and you will see the real message.

"I hate Democracy and I want to destroy it."

So why, then, do we let our government use it against us?

Spying on you without a warrant is terrorism. I know, you have nothing to fear because you don't get calls from Al Quaeda. But what if you occasionally glance at an x rated site on the computer? They want to know that too. What if you go to a peace march, a pro-choice rally or a non-fundamentalist church?

Guess what, you might be fair game for George's peepers. And if you are Arabic, Muslim, or look like you might be, you, my friend, are a target. No, you do not have to be a terrorist to be treated like one.

And that is the insidious thing about terrorism. It gets inside your head and makes you fear. And fear is the best thing for those who want to terrorize. Especially if they can get you to fear someone or some thing else. That way they get to look like the guys in the white hats. Spy on me, Mr. President. I'm afraid of the terrorists. I'm afraid I might be a terrorist.

Save me from myself.

"I am George Bush and I hate you and want to destroy you."

IT CAN HAPPEN HERE

2006-01-06T15:51:00.000-08:00

A Man Ahead of His Time

“Those who fail to learn from history are destined…”

“I want to stand up on my hind legs and not just admit but frankly holler right out that we’ve got to change out system a lot, maybe even change the whole Constitution (but change it legally, and not by violence) to bring it up from the horseback-and-corduroy road epoch to the automobile-and-cement-highway period of today. The Executive has got to have a freer hand and be able to move quick in an emergency, and not be tied down by a lot of dumb shyster-lawyer congressmen taking months to shoot off their mouths in debates. BUT – and it’s a But as big as Deacon Checkerboard’s hay-barn back home – these new economic changes are only a means to an End, and that End is and must be, fundamentally, the same principles of Liberty, Equality, and Justice that were advocated by the Founding Fathers of this great land back in 1776!”

Quick, who said that? And when? No it wasn’t George W. Bush announcing how tapping our phones and emails will make us safe from terrorists. It was fictional Presidential candidate Senator Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip in It Can’t Happen Here, by Sinclair Lewis, author of such American classics as Main Street, Babbit and Elmer Gantry. And it was written in 1935.

Nothing really ever changes. In the First World War, they called Sauerkraut Liberty Kraut and for a while, so goes the tale, even entertained the notion of renaming German Measles Liberty measles

So in 1935, with the rise of Hitler and Mussolini in Europe, Sinclair Lewis penned a cautionary tale of what could happen in our own country to a populace easily persuaded by a silver tongued orator disguised in humble garb, spouting rhetoric of what was in its own interest.

Senator Berzelius “Buzz” Windrip is a blowhard Senator, anti-Semetic, anti- Negro, anti-woman rights, who wraps his lust for power in charming appeals to the working classes’ desire for a better life. He promises to rid the country of the yoke of (Jewish) bankers’ tyranny as well as the corruption of those presently in government. He’s the anti-government candidate for President, thinly based on real life Huey Long, whose Share the Wealth movement parallels Windrip’s League of Forgotten Men, both cynical ploys for votes calculated to thrust them into power.

Once elected, Windrip and his advisers, a Karl Rove double called Lee Sarasson, who seems to be the brains behind the maneuvering, and charismatic radio preacher Peter Paul Prang (based on Charles Coughlin, a fire-and-brimstone right wing evangalist, whose base included Pat Buchanan’s father), ditched the League of Forgotten Men for the American Corporate State and Patriotic Party and its henchmen, an untrained unpaid band of vigilantes known as the Minute Men. In a prescient moment, Lewis puts these words in Windrip’s mouth: “There are two parties, the Corporate and those who don’t belong to any party at all, and so, to use a common phrase, are just out of luck!”

The Windrip Corporate platform besides being anti-Semitic, was boldly racist and anti-woman. As for men, those unlucky enough to be out of work were sent to labor farms, where for a dollar a day they could hire out to the corporate bosses, who were only too happy for the chance to ditch their Union member workers for these low paid laborers, thus swelling the ranks of the unemployed even further.

Sold as an answer to the ravages of Depression, the new Corporate State led to rampant inflation and wholesale migrations to Canada until the Minute Men closed the border. Dismantling Democracy in the name of saving it came easy. Those in the other branches of government who disagreed either left their posts (several Supreme Court justices were quickly replaced with “surprisingly unknown lawyers who called [Windrip] by his first name’),’ or were put into protective custody (opposition members of Congress). One of the first bulwarks of Democracy to go was the press. Our hero, Doremus Jessup, an Everyman Vermont newspaper editor, is sent to a camp, then escapes to Canada to ponder how this happened and why even he, who saw it coming and warned his fellows that it can happen here, missed the seriousness of the takeover.

Early on in the book, Lewis elucidates Jessup’s observations: “Doremus Jessup, so inconspicuous an observer, watching Senator Windrip from so humble a Boeotia, could not explain his power of bewitching large audiences. The Senator was vulgar, almost illiterate, a public liar easily detected, and in his ‘ideas’ almost idiotic, while his celebrated piety was that of a traveling salesman for church furniture, and his yet more celebrated humor the sly cynicism of a country store.”

Reading these words in 2006 is downright eerie. Whether it’s George Bush and his folksy smirk alternating with his sneering admonitions that “if you’re not with us you’re with the terrorists,” or Arnold Schwarzenegger, reinventing himself as the friend to the working man and woman, education and health care, two months after waging war on all of it with his November propositions, the warning is clear: Those who want absolute power will stop at nothing, will use any tactics, measures and lies to convince a gullible public they are on “your” side.

Thinking people would do well to be heed the lessons of the past, even fictional ones. Novels like It Can’t Happen Here are worth reading, especially now. This book was recently reissued, although I found my copy in ancient paperback form in a used bookstore. The Boston Globe reviewed it only last month:

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/12/18/public_enemy/?page=full

And bloggers like me are joining in. Read it and be afraid. Be very afraid.

Dotty

More Fun with Dick and George – Me and my Wiretap – A Christmas Parable

2005-12-21T09:26:00.000-08:00

OK, I admit it, I’m a little paranoid, but it has just occurred to me that I am a prime suspect for a warrentless George Bush NSA wiretap. Right this minute, I wouldn’t be a bit surprised to learn that he’s lurking on my computer, ready to pounce on and record my emails.

These wiretaps against US citizens are ok, says the President, because they only involve correspondence between Americans and foreigners. At first I breathed a sigh of relief, thinking this is no Cointelpro operation. I may rail a little bit against the current administration’s activities in Iraq and elsewhere, but I do it all on American soil, with fellow Countrymen. But then I realized I might be on the list after all.

Why? For one thing I get regular correspondence from an organization called Lawyers Against the War. This makes wiretapping ok, even necessary in our fearless leader’s opinion, to protect Americans from terrorists and evildoers.

You see Lawyers Against the War is a Canadian based outfit currently suing the Bushies over allegations of torture in Iraq. Unfortunately, the Canadian Court hearing the case has claimed “diplomatic immunity” for Bush because of his chumminess with the Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin.

Lawyers Against the War is undaunted, however, and plans to continue to press their suit, even if they have to wait until King George is impeached … er … out of office, however that occurs.

This brings me to another conjecture about potential surveillance candidates: elderly Americans who regularly buy their prescription drugs in Canada. These subversive seniors are undercutting American drug companies’ profits by making midnight runs across the border, or sending their orders over the internet or through the US mails.

Prime targets for wiretapping. How more un-American can you be than taking your business out of the country?

And wait. What about all those techies in India I chat with when Earthlink goes on the blink? Clearly cause for surveillance. How close to the Pakistan border are these facilities? And now that I think of it, why is Earthlink going down so often these days? Are they being targeted too? Or is it just my computer, infected as it is with foreign communications?

And that buzzing sound on my home phone I attributed to the weather … the clicks and whistles on my cell … George, Dick, are you listening?

Here's the Christmas part? I do wish you both a merry one … If you can take time out from reading all those letters sent from American children to Santa, that foreign born elf from the North Pole.

Ho Ho Ho!

MURTHA MOTHRA

2005-12-07T11:39:00.000-08:00

George Bush and Dick Cheney spent the weekend watching old Japanese horror flicks in the presidential screening room. Notably, they viewed a series featuring the creatures Mothra and Godzilla. Mothra, as film buffs and former teenagers will recall, is a giant moth like creature who fights to protect her eggs, then takes on the giant Godzilla lizard in a series of battles of the beasts. She is often killed to be reborn of the pupa she leaves behind.

Cheney and Bush were arguing over who in current affairs was Mothra and who was Godzilla. "Well, Dick," said Bush, between bites of hot buttered popcorn, "I don't see how you can even ask that question. There's a guy named Mothra trying to undo all our hard work in the Iraq right now. A Democratic traitor who wants us to cut and run. Mothra the guy's name is. Risen from the dead, just like those nasty caterpillars do, popping out of his cocoon to drip slime all over the good American name. Let’s waste 'im!"

After rolling his eyes, and casting a sideways glance at the Secret Service detail hunkered down in the back of the screening room, Cheney whispered to Bush, "But that makes us Godzilla; do you want to be known as the giant lizard that ate Iraq? And besides, the guy’s name is Murtha, not Mothra."

"Murtha, Mothra, what’s the difference? You're always so hung up hung up on appearances," complained Bush. "Oh, wait, here’s the good part, where the Giant lizard makes omelettes out of the Moth's eggs." He starts thumbing the remote to increase the volume of the roars and screeches coming from the screen."

With that, Cheney whacked Bush upside the head, "You idiot," he growled, grabbing at the remote. "Mothra’s protected by little angel fairies, and she's gonna whale on the lizard. He’s the bad guy you moron. Now watch him stamp out Tokyo with a single webbed foot! Is that how you want this Administration to be remembered?"

"Hey, all those broken down buildings kinda remind me of Fallujah. Do you think he has any of those cool flame throwing things?" As Cheny tosses the remote behind the couch, Bush turns to him, annoyed, "Dick, are you telling me this Murtha Mothra guy is gonna whup our asses?"

"It's those damn little angel fairies. They're everywhere, spreading lies and deceit and insubordination in the ranks. And George, it doesn’t help if you go around telling people we’re Godzilla."

"Little angel fairies? Damn gays in the military! That's the whole problem. Once we establish democracy and Christianity over there, we’ll be back on track. Now, give me back the remote! There is no way Godzilla gets whupped by a moth and little angel fairies. Not on my watch."

With that, George Bush sank lower into his cushions and dug into the popcorn with both hands.

Congresswoman Woolsey's Progressive Leadership

2005-12-02T11:30:00.000-08:00

This Oped first appeared in the Marin Independent Journal on Nov. 28, 2005. Lynn Woolsey represents the California 6th Congressional District, and I'm proud to have her as my representative in Congress.

Dotty E. LeMieux

ONCE AGAIN, I must take exception to something my good friend Dick Spotswood says in his column.

In his Nov. 19 piece, he states that "Lynn Woolsey symbolizes why the Democratic party is in deep trouble." I have to disagree.

The reality might be precisely the opposite. The Democratic Party has been in deep trouble for so long because it has not had more Congresswoman Lynn Woolseys in positions of power.

What Lynn and the handful of progressive Democrats in Congress symbolize is the growing realization that the administration is using every trick in the book to support an illegal, immoral war in Iraq and an increasingly hostile war on dissent at home.

Spotswood criticizes Woolsey for voting against House Resolution 427, which sympathized with the victims of
the 9/11 attacks. If that was all the resolution did, it would indeed be strange for her not to approve it. But this resolution went much further. Specifically it called for Congress to renew a "commitment to the Global War on Terrorism and to providing the United States Armed Forces with the resources and support to wage it effectively and safely" and to "continue to take whatever actions necessary to identify, intercept, and disrupt terrorists and their activities."

Lynn Woolsey said she could not vote for this language because it left the door open for an expansion of preemptive wars and the erosion of civil rights through the Patriot Act.

She was right. And she was not the only one to voice those concerns.

In the words of another dissenter (there were six altogether), East Bay Congressman Pete Stark:

"I cannot vote for a resolution supporting a "global war on terrorism" because there is no such thing. The only war the United States is engaged in is the misguided Iraq War. To support a resolution simply so President Bush can continue to carry out actions in the name of this false global war of terrorism only encourages this administration to lead this country into additional unnecessary military actions."

The Republicans have hijacked and continue to misuse and misrepresent the terrible events of 9/11 and its aftermath. They have squandered the world's goodwill and created chaos, destruction and instability in Iraq.

Stark is absolutely correct in saying there is no such thing as a global war on terrorism. If there were, they'd still be looking for Osama bin Laden.

They'd be busy attacking the root causes of terrorism, not glibly tossing off platitudes and using fear tactics to push their agenda. And that agenda is not spreading democracy around the world.

Rather than continuing to run to the middle, as Sen. John Kerry so ingloriously did in 2004, the Democrats need to listen to the words of progressives like Pete Stark and Lynn Woolsey.

Progressive isn't just another word for liberal. It's a philosophy based on going forward and making progress, not going backward or running on fear and hatred.

The Democratic Party is the party of hope. At least it used to be. And it can be again, by standing firm on issues that truly do advance democratic ideals, which means not imposing puppet governments and justice at the end of a gun barrel or bomb. Not lying to the American people and the world.

The words "any actions necessary" used by George Bush and company along with other such catch phrases as "fighting them there so we don't have to fight them here" and "if you're not with us, you're with the terrorists," are not about fighting terror; they are about giving this administration a blank check to do whatever it pleases. They are all about the Patriot Act and the war in Iraq and cowing the American public into going along with their actions.

These are the actions this administration has deemed necessary to carry out its policies, including torture, denial of due process for prisoners and no-bid contracts to crony capitalists.

Progressives Dems v. Greens continued

2005-11-23T11:29:00.000-08:00

After my guest editorial in the Beyond Chron publication, www.beyondchron.org/ a Green saw fit to respond. So I got another crack at the discussion and then another Green weighed in. Below is the exchange, which follows the first editorial, posted below all of these.

Your comments, my fellow Green Dogs?

Dotty

Guest Editorial: Progressives Should be Green

Kim Knox 21.NOV.05
Recently, Beyond Chron ran a guest editorial beseeching progressives to not leave the Democratic party. I can't speak for the San Francisco Greens. But as a Green party member, I disagree with the author's premise that Democratic Party is now the home for true progressives.

In light of Friday's Congressional vote of 403-3 against a nonbinding resolution calling for the immediate withdrawal of troops in Iraq, I wonder why progressives would stay in a party that refuses to vote its conscience. According to the San Francisco Chronicle, House Majority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco "sent word to the rank-and-file Democrats to vote with the Republicans against immediate withdrawl of U.S. troops."

At last year's election, I didn't vote for Pelosi. I wrote in the name of Terry Baum, SF Green Party's endorsed Congressional candidate and peace activist. I also gave a check to Green Party activist Marla Ruzicka's CIVIC Organization. Marla gave her life this spring helping Iraqi civilians in Iraq.

I belong to the party who lead the campaign for the City's Minimum Wage Initiative onto the ballot and into the City Charter. I belong to the party who lead the drive to institute Instant Runoff Voting and worked with other progressives to create and pass the City's Sunshine Ordinance.

I am angry that the majority of Democratic Congressional members voted for the Patriot Act. I am dismayed at the Democrats' support of Bush's "No Child Left Behind" programs. I am also shocked at the speed that the Democratic leadership have separated themselves from the issue of gay marriage.

But I've been amazed at the depth of knowledge and talent that the Greens have brought to our City. As an author of several books on science-related education as well as mentor of 82 students over seven years, I was honored to work on the School Board campaigns of outstanding education activists (and Greens) Mark Sanchez, Sarah Lipson and Whitney Leigh, an attorney who formerly worked in the Juvenile Section for the Public Defender's Office.

School Board Members Sarah Lipson and Mark Sanchez are examples of why the Green Party is successful. Sarah is a successful advocate of univeral pre-K and quality early childhood education. Her leadership at the last BOE meeting prior to the scheduled strike by Local 790 against SFUSD helped to create time that resulted in the 11th hour agreement and an averted strike.

Mark is a key advocate on the School Board for the students in the county schools (those who drop out or are expelled), open government within the District and the Small Schools Initiative. As the only gay BOE member who has been vocal in his opposition to the military's "Don't Ask, Don't Tell" policy, Mark has been active in creating legislation against miltary recruitment efforts in San Francisco's schools.

Over the last several years, other progressives have worked on the campaigns of other Green outstanding candidates such as Ross Mirkarimi, Renee Saucedo, Terry Baum, Lisa Feldstein, Susan King, Barry Hermanson and Jane Kim.

In the past, progressives may have had a voice within the Democrat party. But those days appear to be gone. That's why I am a member of the Green Party.

Kim Knox, is an education and environmental activist and a Green Party member.

And me again:

Guest Editorial: Green Dog Democrat Responds

Dotty LeMieux
Dotty LeMieux 22.NOV.05
In response to your recent guest editorial responding to my recent Guest editorial on progressive Democrats, it appears the writer got hung up on the headline (Which was not my own, by the way). The point of my article was not that progressives need to be Democrats or even that the Democratic iParty s necessarily progressive. But that we need to work together, Greens and progressive Democrats alike (not to mention progressive independents sick of all political labels) to ensure that progressives are elected.

I applaud the Green Party for doing just that in electing local school board members, city council members (I live in a town with two Greens on the Council), Supervisors and the like.

Also I applaud those Greens who are supporting the candidacy of Ron Dellums for Oakland mayor. Look to the politics, the principles and the person, not the Party.

Yes, as a life long Democrat, I'd love to pull my own Party in a more progressive direction. That's why we formed the California Democratic Progressive Caucus. We are still living in an essentially two party system. If we want to take back the Congress, we have to look to the Democratic Party to do it. For now, anyway.

I believe in pluralism, and will support a Green when she is the most progressive (and viable) candidate for local office. If Greens can get elected to Congress, so much the better for our Democratic system I say. But that time is not yet.

As for Republican Trojan Horse "pull out now" resolution introduced Friday, its sole purpose was to unleash a backlash and fury on the right. My first reaction was like yours, call their bluff! (only three Dems did vote against it, notably neither Barbara Lee nor Lynn Woolsey, who saw it for what it was, a way to squelch debate and make Democratic lawmakers look unpatriotic.)

Unfortunately, in a Congress with arcane procedures like allowing unrelated matters to be added to bills, I wouldn't be surprised to see the Repubs tack on drilling in downtown San Francisco to any realistic out of Iraq bill the Dems come up with at this time. No reason they shouldn't try however. I hope the Dems are using this Thanksgiving break to craft a message on the War that supports the troops, calls for UN intervention and sets a short timetable, for withdrawal just as John Murtha called for. What they should not do, and I think the author of the Guest Editorial can agree, is cede the moral high ground.

Our best hope is the upcoming 2006 elections. Greens and progressive Democrats together can make the difference. Running to the middle doesn't work. We must stand FOR something.

Help us change the course of these disastrous times.

And the last Green. Any Progressive Dems want to join this deiscussion: send to

Randy@thclinic.org

Guest Editorial: Progressives Should be Green

Matt Magaña 23.NOV.05
I've been a registered democrat for nearly 28 years. Never have I been so disgusted with the party as I have been these past eight years. Perhaps, had I been more politically involved, I would have seen it sooner who's to say. Since Al Gore bent over the barrel in 2000, I have been voting my conscience. Which basically means that I have voted Green in all elections since then. I will continue to do so.

My choice as a figure head for the democratic party would not have been Howard Dean. Instead, how about Congressman Conyers? Barbara Lee? She would have surely shaken things up. Dennis Kucinich? Nevermind. I suppose, with the prolific racism that resides just below the surface in this country, it's probably too much to expect that anyone from the Democratic Black Caucus will be voted into the executive office. Congressman Kucinich supports worker rights. That alone puts him out of the running.

Wait a minute! How about Barbara Boxer. Isn't she one of those "democrats" who from 2000-2004, not only voted for this war, but was pretty much quiet about all the lies and deceit for the entire time. Let's give her an instant pass to go to the front of the line because she spoke up about the irregularities of the 2004 election. I'm sorry, the calls for her within the democratic party to have her run for president were, quite frankly, embarrassing. Anyone of the above I mentioned who have been consistently fighting to tell the truth should be seriously considered for an executive position, if not the presidency, in the next election. Only then, will the party get back it's spine.

I don't hold much faith in the two party system anymore. Not so much because I previously did, but because I'm simply more aware.

For example, this past presidential election. John Kerry, as expected, didn't put forth much of a fight to contest the election. Instead, basically, pretended the election wasn't stolen, and told everyone that we should ignore the lies spewing forth from the war criminals in the White House. That we should all pretend nothing is wrong and we should hold hands and play well together. at the same time, pocketing the + $50 million dollars collected for his campaign. What a bunch of HOOEY! I'd us much harsher language, but it probably wouldn't be printed.

Several friends told me that we all have to band together and vote for John Kerry. In spite of voting my conscience, the democratic ticket wins yet, another term in office. I now have very small hopes that they will change things, and I'm not surprised or disappointed when they don't. At least they're consistent.

To those of you who believe that simply continuing to vote these same democrats into office is going to solve the problems, just look at one of the most visible, Senator Feinsten. She consistently votes along the conservative line. Didn't she also vote in favor of Condi Rice as Secretary of State? She should be kicked out of the party, in my opinion. Pelosi is another one. Immediately after Congressman Murtha was quoted as calling for a pull-out of U.S. forces in Iraq, there was Congresswoman Pelosi, saying "Well, Congressman Murtha doesn't really speak for the democratic party" (paraphrased).

Need I say more. And don't kid yourself. Iraq is in Civil War right now. The question is, if we pull out, no more of our soldiers have to die, and less Iraquis will die. If we stay, there will continue to be more casualties*on both sides. Follow the trail. Bush's push for war was premeditated. They want control of the oil, and are even willing to sacrifice U.S. lives on our soil to do it * to gain support for their agenda * let alone countless lives abroad. Everything else is a smokescreen.

Basically, there is a saying in 12 step programs. "The definition of insanity is repeating the same behavior and expecting different results." People who vote from a place of fear (voting for the "lesser of 2 evils" mentality), are going to be constantly disappointed.

When my friends complain about the state of things, I have to remind them that they were the ones who encouraged me to vote democrat. It's becoming more clear to them. I'm encouraging them to vote their conscience.

This comes back to a recent article you had about Instant Runoff Voting. This is a democracy*at least on paper. When we go to electronic voting, it will cease to be. IRV is the only way that we can have a choice. Period.

Matt Magaña is an artist, photographer, Green Party Activist, and a member of D5 Dog, and the Alamo Square Neighborhood Assocoation.

Democratic Party Best Place for Progressives

2005-11-02T12:24:00.000-08:00

First published as a Guest Editorial in today's Beyond Chron

Dotty LeMieux 02.NOV.05

At the October 2005 Executive Board meeting of the California Democratic Party, a quiet but important event occurred. The Progressive Caucus received official recognition of its bylaws and newly elected Executive Committee. This Caucus had been a long time coming and proved to be a hard sell for the half dozen Democratic activists who started it last year. As one of those activists, I am especially gratified to have been a part of this momentous achievement. Why was it so difficult to persuade Democrats that a Progressive Caucus was not only viable but necessary to Party growth?

Some viewed us as divisive, at a time when Democrats were courting moderates in an attempt to capitalize on the many scandals and foibles of the Bush and Schwarzenegger Administrations. When the Kerry campaign faltered, many of us were left saying, “I told you so,” having begged the campaign to appeal to the progressives in swing states, not move toward the middle in order to appease phantom moderate voters.

As we saw, people would rather vote for someone they perceive as standing for something than someone whose principles are difficult to detect. Even in the face of the upset Dean election as Chair of the DNC, our road to official recognition was a rocky one.

We persevered and ultimately won through force of numbers. We were the Caucus with more than 400 people in attendance at the State Convention in April. We are growing by leaps and bounds, as we take on issues like single payer health care and clean money election reform. We were instrumental in passing a resolution to end the Iraq War, which received only token opposition on the Convention floor. Without progressives bringing big ideas forward, it’s questionable when or whether our Party would get around to it.

So progressives have shown we are a catalyst for growth within the Party. I hope we can also be a catalyst for coalition building with other like-minded individuals and groups. As a campaign consultant and activist trainer in the Bay Area, I urge those I work with to reach out beyond their base for allies in their cause.

It’s just as important to recognize who your base is. Sometimes, it’s not just those of the same Party affiliation, but those who care deeply about the same values and issues. So it was especially exciting to read about Green Party activists joining with Ron Dellums. The Democratic platform, especially in California, is filled with lofty ambitions and high-sounding principles. We share many if not most of them with those of the Green Party.

Isn’t it only natural for us to join forces when a progressive candidate of either Party (or oh horrors, an independent like Vermont’s Bernie Sanders) steps forward with a real chance of moving our shared values forward? We need to do more than denounce the Bush Administration, which we can never do enough in my opinion. We need to offer a clear, well-defined alternative. Not just “don’t dismantle Social Security.” And not just our own version of “fixing it” either. But a clear unapologetic vision for where we want this Country, this State, and our localities to go.

Randy Shaw in his Oct. 12 comments in Beyond Chron poses the question: “Does the backing of Democrat Dellums signal a strategic shift by Greens?” And answers it this way: “That depends on whether progressives join the Greens because they believe Democrats are the greatest evil (the Camejo view) or as a signal to Democrats that they risk losing votes unless they promote a progressive agenda.” I like to think it’s the latter, and that people join the Democratic progressive Caucus for the same reason.

We can transform our Party into the Party of its potential, not the Party of its mistakes. I believe a part of this potential is the very real and necessary task of building coalitions with other progressives, whether Greens or like-minded Independents, those ‘decline-to-state’ voters, who trust no political Party to represent them. Progressive politics is popping up all over; I must get two invitations to join new groups every couple of days. Progressive weblogs are sprouting like mushrooms. Clearly we’re on to something.

Progressives need to avoid burnout just like any other activists. Working together, rather than splintering into a thousand different directions will be key to making this a movement for real lasting change in our State and our Country.

Dotty E. LeMieux Dotty E. LeMieux runs political campaigns for progressive candidates and causes in Northern California and is an officer-at-large in the California Democratic Progressive Caucus. Her Blog is www.greendogdemocrat.blogspot.com.

SUPREMEST COURT OF ALL

2005-11-01T10:29:00.000-08:00

Or "George Bush Learns a Tough Lesson"

George Bush announced today that he was dispensing with that pesky institution, the Supreme Court, altogether.

"I have so damned much trouble getting my nominees through, even though they're all good God fearing strict constructionist judges," he complained to a rapt audience of worshippers at this morning's Texas Businessmen's Greed and Gospel Society prayer breakfast, that I am turning this whole thing over to a higher power. See I learned something in AA."

He continued, "from now on, we're going to be getting our Constitutional interpretation from the Supreme Being, not the Supreme Court."

Gasps could be heard throughout the crowd, as well as murmers, ranging from "he's really lost his marbles this time" to "should I sell that strip mining company before this happens do you think?"

Some in the crowd urged caution. In the words of one pork belly trader, "George, do you really want to go that far? I mean, the Supreme Court justices have to answer to you after all, and their stock portfolios of course, but God doesn't have those sort of allegiences."

The President looked miffed, saying, "Isn't this what we've always wanted, no more separation of Church and State? Everything according to the Gospels?"

"Well, yeah, but we're in the Gospel and Greed business, George," protested an oil man sporting a ten gallon hat with flashing neon oil wells in the band. "It's just good for business, and what's good for business is good for America. Putting the big guy actually in charge could wreak havoc with our corporate culture."

"Pish tush" barked George, "I talk to God all the time. He likes me. He likes business. He likes war and famine and flood and all that good stuff. Who do you think directed me to Iraq in the first place and then chose Halliburton to clean up that mess? Now you boys just sit back and let me take care of everything."

While the few reporters who had snuck into the breakfast disguised in gray suits and power ties scrambled for their cell phones, a mighty wind was heard blowing outside the Convention Center. It grew louder and louder until the windows were shaking and the building itself was rocking on its foundations.

The surprised business tycoons were busy ducking soaring glasses of juice and dodging flying vats of scrambled eggs, as they sought shelter from the storm in rapidly cracking doorways and under collapsing tables.

"Hey!" shouted Bush, tumbling across the tilted stage grabbing the velvet curtains to slow his slide. "What is going on here? Is that a hurricane? Someone call FEMA. I thought this place was rated to withstand a category 5."

"Sorry, Sir," said a Halliburton executive who was trying to stop the President from disappearing into a hole that had opened up in the floor of the stage. "We had to keep up the profits, so this little old project got a discount on materials. It's a government building after all. That's just standard operating procedure."

"What is this hole I'm falling into, for Chris' sake. Get me outa here!" wailed the rapidly disappearing President.

As he slipped out of the grip of the Halliburton exec, his voice wafted through the now silent hall, "Who the hell authorized a no-bid contract for a place I was speaking in?!"

"Don't worry, George, we'll sue," shouted Dick Cheney, peering into the hole. "Someone will pay.... Urk!" Cheney was soon sucked into the vortex himself. Meanwhile, Donald Rumsfeld, Condi Rice, and Karl Rove were fighting over a limo out in front of the building as the storm waters rose around them.

As George Bush slid down below the sub-basement, he mused, "Fat lotta good that'll do without the Supreme Court to rule in my favor. I shoulda stuck with Texas baseball and cocaine. Hey, which Supreme Being have I been talking to all these years anyway.....?"

Dick Cheney, flopping end over end like a fortune telling fish, yelped, "Watch out for the brimstone, George. It's hot!"

Moon Really Made of Blue Cheese

2005-09-23T10:02:00.000-07:00

Channeling the spirit of my friend Stan "The Man" Sinberg, who writes clever bits for the tabloids, I was inspired to pen the following tabloidesque piece of my own:

Flash! Scientists discover the moon is really made of blue, not green, cheese. This revelation is heralded by Corporate America, always on the lookout for new avenues of outsourcing to exploit.

"This amazing discovery," said one industry spokesperson, "will put to shame the famous blue cheese caves of Wisconsin. Think of the possibilities for profit! Endless blue cheese ripening on the moon, just waiting to be mined."

Another industry wag put it this way, "The race is on. Whoever gets to the moon first is going to make bundles, that's for sure. I'm glad that space exploration is finally going private and I know the Bush Administration concurs."

Bush spokesman Scott McClellan offered, "We have always encouraged entrepreneurship and this one is a doozy. Our Administration wholeheartedly endorses these fine Americans doing what Americans do best, cutting the throats of their competition."

Some scientists are saying that the effect of mining blue cheese from the moon could have a devastating effect on the tidal levels here on earth leading to even greater catastrophes than those caused by Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, but their claims have been dismissed as alarmist liberal balderdash by the Bush Administration.

Small blue cheese manufacturers have issued their own protest. One went so far as to brand the idea "lunatic."

Big cheeses in the cheese world ignore such criticism as "sour grapes," noting this metaphor may not be as mixed as it seems, since "wine and cheese go together so well, don't be surprised to learn of vineyard opportunities on Mars in the near future."

From John Conyers

2005-09-20T13:40:00.000-07:00

When I saw the news that Jimmy Carter was part of the group proposing a national voter ID card, I was surprised. Now I'm shocked, after reading the same concern from John Conyers, and it's worse than I thought!

Those of you who are faithful readers of the "Green Dog" know I hardly ever publish stuff from other people, especially national figures and politicians. I figure we all get it several times in our Inbox. However, this one got to me, and I want it to get out far and wide. So read on:

"A privately funded, unaccountable Commission organized by former Bush-Cheney campaign lawyer James Baker, III, and former President Jimmy Carter issued a report today that includes policy proposals that will disenfranchise over ten percent of eligible voters –– a national ID requirement to vote. This national voter ID proposal is essentially a poll tax that will disenfranchise Americans of all backgrounds, but the poor, the disabled, the elderly, students, and people of color would bear the greatest burden. The Katrina victims – those without the means to escape the storm – typify the population that the Commission's ID proposal will most likely leave out of our democracy."

John Conyers is on the ball and doing something about it. What I cannot understand is how Jimmy Carter got hoodwinked into signing on with these guys? Any thoughts? We should all write to him and sing this petition asap.

Thanks.

Read more:

From Rep. John Conyers (http://johnconyers.com The Petitiocn is at
http://johnconyers.com/petition):

Join With Me in Fighting Against This New Poll Tax Proposal

The simple fact is that many minority and poor voters do not have the time, money or need to purchase a drivers license. In fact, over ten percent of eligible voters in the last election did not have a photo ID. They vote by presenting other means of identification (a voter registration card, utility bill, or affidavit). This Commission is now asking Congress to deny the franchise to those voters unless they obtain a national ID card.

The implausible claim is made that Congress will pay for ID cards for those who cannot afford to buy them. Yet, given the shortfalls in funding and implementation of the Help America Vote Act, combined with the multibillion-dollar costs for restoration of the Gulf Coast and the ongoing war in Iraq, we know this is not going to happen.

Join With Me in Fighting Against This New Poll Tax Proposal
http://johnconyers.com

Even those who would not be directly affected by this provision have expressed concern about its potential threat to personal privacy. The institution of a National ID card has throughout world history been a tool of repression. This recommendation, coupled with the Commission's recommendation of interoperable databases of voters, would mark the first step toward the creation of national registries of American citizens.

Make no mistake about it, this national ID voting card will result in the disenfranchisement of poor and minority voters and make us susceptible to the same old Ken Blackwell-style Republican electoral dirty tricks that cost Senator Kerry the election in Ohio. Remember the lack of voting machines in Ohio for Democratic voters? Remember the machines that broke down or registered strange numbers of votes for George Bush or unknown third party candidates? Remember Ken Blackwell's paper weight requirements for voter registration cards?

Imagine if the Republican party can, in one fell swoop, apply new legal obstacles to more than ten percent of voters, most of them poor, minority and elderly voters, most of them Democratic voters, from being able to vote.

I am challenging you to get involved and fight this poll tax. Visit my website, http://johnconyers.com, to sign my petition to House Leadership and write a letter to the editor demanding that this proposal not be enacted. I have converted this website into a voting rights action center to address this issue. It will be constantly updated with up-to-the-minute news on this issue and actions you can take to help.

Thank you for your help and your continued stand for a better democracy.

Sincerely,

John Conyers, Jr.

The View From a Black New Orleanian

2005-09-07T16:09:00.000-07:00

This just in from a New Orleans native. I'm publishing it as is. Other publications may reprint with credit to Fatima. If you want to reach her, comment at this Blog and I'll see she gets it.:

The View From a Black New Orleanian

I am a Catholic, black, native of New Orleans 7th ward. I am an integrated American with a very diverse background ethnically, hence the name..
I am a former reporter for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, and local and national newspapers and magazines. I worked 10 years for McGraw-Hill. I have written four books about New Orleans, three for children. I teach at a Jesuit college. Following is an editorial I would like to place in your newspaper: The View from a Black New Orleanian

I advised my 85-year-old Dad on Saturday night not to leave when Katrina was coming. The trip out of town might kill him. His house is in the center of New Orleans and is two stories high. It was built at sea level with 12 inch square posts in the 1860s. It has withstood storm and flood many times.

In fact, during Hurricane Betsy the water leveled off about three blocks from his house. Later we heard that the 9th ward was flooded. People were taken off their roofs by others in boats. A high school girl I knew had to swim to higher ground while pulling her grandmother. Snakes were found in peoples’ living rooms.

But since then, the city built levees, and the whole town would be under if he had to go. Sit tight, and we’ll see, I said. But at 5 a.m., while I slept, his tenant, a cousin and friend packed him into the car. My cousin and tenant drove out of New Orleans as fast as they could. My friend stayed behind with his parents in their 80s, too many people to carry too far.

All of us are black and natives of the city, so there was not question about whether he’d go to the Superdome. The shelter of last resort translates to the shelter of no resort. We know how poor, black people are treated in New Orleans and the rest of America.

In the neighborhood where my dad still lives and I grew up, there are 31% of the people who earn less than $10,000. More than 57% earn less than $25,000. Our church parish, our schools, our leaders ask for money to help sickness and depression, joblessness, drug addiction – for families of the people who clean up the hotels, cook in the restaurants and entertain the gold plated tourists. You know the answer we get. I don’t have to say.

That too went into the decision of whether my father should go or stay. No don’t go to the Superdome, or anywhere else there was an army of poverty. Everybody in New Orleans knows that poverty translates to black translates to helpless, in its most literal sense. Now, finally, so do the white people in our nation.

I will tell you one more truth. I’ve been studying the history of my community for the past 200 years through archival research and primary documents. There is little changed in New Orleans since slavery. Many families live in their same neighborhoods. The social conditions are similar – whites on top, blacks on the bottom, mixed people somewhere in between. People had to escape. Escape, is the accurate term for leaving these conditions to go somewhere better. My dad got a Ph.D., intellectual escape. My church calls its members to go the spiritual high road. I got out of town before my anger at unfairness and an unchanged life would kill me. Or like some people at home, Id kill somebody else.

So why did I tell him to stay? Because he knew his own mind, and I have always deferred to him on matters of his own survival. No to the Superdome. Yes. to his house, his neighborhood, his community. If they would go down, so would he.

But Category 5 was too much for a moral stance, even for him. Still, it was not enough for the parents of my friend.

When I was 12, after Hurricane Betsy, the water began to rise. But the next day, the water stopped about three blocks from my house and I went on that hot day for a swim. I waded out into the muddy water on St. Bernard Ave., feeling a bit heady that I was experiencing something that no one ever had, or ever would. Then it got so deep that the ground slipped from under my feet and I drifted, not far, but I was being taken away by something I could not control.

I learned that day that one mistake could be deadly. My dad knew that a risky stand could be his last one. We all knew where we stood with regard to this situation. Too bad so many people trusted that their government thought about them.

Fatima, writing from a Jesuit College

New American Reality Show

2005-09-07T11:29:00.000-07:00

Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath in New Orleans have given us a prime time glimpse into the heart of what's rotten in America. And I don't mean the bloated corpses or fetid water. This could be a new kind of reality TV: "What's Rotten in America?"

Contestants will vote for the government official (or their immediate family members) who make the most callous, self-serving, conscienceless, greedy, racist, or just plain ignorant comments on real life tragedies. Our so-called leaders could start things off with their comments on Hurricane Katrina and their lack of meaningful response.

Examples of the types of comments highlighted in the new show include:

President Bush struts his ignorance and arrogance against a backdrop of elderly, black, poor people; babies without milk and sick people without homes as he excuses his inaction by saying: "No one could have anticipated the break in the levees."

And his esteemed mother, the former first lady Barbara Bush, notes with pride that the Astrodome is now home to thousands of displaced poor people: "And so many people in the Arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."

For those of a religious persuasion, you may take comfort from these words of Secretary of State Condaleezza Rice: "The Lord Jesus Christ is going to come on time."

The above are all real quotes. You can choose from these and so many more as you compete for valuable prizes. Contestants should all be felons or unindicted co-conspirators from past administrations. Your prizes will be high paying government jobs and the opportunity to appear in your very own Reality Show. As a bonus question this week, a prize will go to the contestant who correctly identifies the first high government official to utter these words:

"Let them eat Beneigts!"

BUSH THANKS NEW ORLEANS

2005-09-01T09:18:00.000-07:00

President Bush, in his return to a Washington prayer breakfast and halleluja chorus, gave thanks to the "good pe'ple of New Orle'ns" for their sacrifice to "get the job done in Iraq."

"Good Pe'ple of New Orle'ns," said the President, wiping pop tart juice off his face, "I thank you for giving up that Federal funding to fix your levees so we could win the hearts and minds of the Iraqi pe'ple. You are generous, giving up your National Guard troops to help us in the war against terr'ism over there so we don't have to fight it over here.

"I know y'all have had a little flood down there, and some of ya'll lost a few things, but what are things in comparison to Democracy in the Middle East? OK, so I know some of the things ya'll lost are your family; but heck, they coulda been fightin' in Iraq....Jest a little joke, friends...

"But seriously, we are winnin' the fight against terr'ism; make no mistake. It might be hard for ya'll down there in the flood waters and what not, but you are Amer'cuns! Y'er true Patriots. That's what you are. And I think I'll give y'all a medal. In the meantime, keep a stiff upper lip and.. What the?"

Here he was interrupted by an unseen hand tugging at his right shoulder. Then he slipped from sight as the camera panned the room of confused looking worshippers.

The words "Goddamit Guv'ner! Who invited you...?" could be heard before the screen went black.

Grieving Parents

2005-08-26T08:05:00.000-07:00

I would never deny the right of anyone to grieve the loss of their child; but I have to question the thought processes behind those who honor their fallen soldier children by NOT speaking out against a war they themselves find wrong.

Such are the cases of several parents in the San Francisco Chronicle this morning.

The Chronicle interviewed parents and other family members who'd lost children to the war in Iraq. Many had gone to protest in Crawford with Cindy Sheehan. Some were pro war. And then there were the ones who said they themselves were opposed to the war but could not protest it out of respect for their fallen soldier children. Loretta Bridges is one such mom:

"My son believed in what he was doing," Bridges said. "I would never go protest against what he believed in and died for."

Another parent, Mark Crowley, also did not support the war:

"His belief was, this was about our freedom," he said. "He did it for country, family and friends."

As for protesting the war, Crowley said, "it's not about what I want, it's about what he wanted."

I'm sorry, I know it's hard to think your children died in vain; but how is this different from grieving parents of Jonestown Massacre victims, saying, "It was what my son wanted. He drank the Kool Aid because he believed in it," and thereby sanctioning the lunatic cult of Jim Jones?

Or the parents of the Heaven's Gate cult, who believed the Hale Bopp comet was accompanied by a space ship and that by "shedding their containers" (read bodies) on earth, they'd be beamed up the Mother Ship? Would they support space alien worship, because it's what their kids wanted?

I think not.

If the war was wrong before your child was killed, isn't it all the more wrong now that he's given the "ultimate sacrifice" for the cult of George Bush? Wouldn't you honor their deaths more by denouncing the war machine that sent them into a meaningless battle without proper equipment, without adequate rationale, without any plan to get them out of there?

What we are doing in Iraq isn't any different from asking people to drink the Kool Aid. Only worse, because thousands of innocent non-believers (we call them Iraqi citizens) are forced to drink right along with the believers.

Honor your fallen soldiers by grieving their death, respecting their memory and mourning their gullibility. Your anger could help other parents not have to go through what you have.

STUPID DESIGN

2005-08-12T14:49:00.000-07:00

I hear there's something called "Intelligent Design" to explain all the strange and unknowable things about our world.

Like how come there are black widow spiders? And why do penguins go marching?

I'd like to know how come there are so many people doing so many really dumb things like those bank robbers you read about writing their demand note on their deposit slip.

And how about the lady who ate 24 pizzas and then exploded? Is that intelligent I ask you?

No, and that's just the tip of the unseen iceberg. Which brings up another thing. Why are the icebergs melting? OK, you can talk about global warming, but I think it's Stupid Design.

Stupid Design to have so many different types of life forms that have to go around eating each other. And that's not counting stupid people, or shall we say intelligence challenged?

If the designer of this planet was so intelligent, that intelligence ought to have considered things like global warming in the first place. If you were writing your company's business plan you'd have something in there for contingencies, wouldn't you?

I'd say global warming is a honking big contingency.

I'm inclined toward believing the designer of our earth was some big dumb alien. I know people like to think a Supreme Being did all this, but what kind of Supreme Being puts George Bush in charge? Unless this planet is just a dumping ground for nature's mistakes. But if you believe in Intelligent Design by a Supreme Being, there wouldn't be any mistakes right? What good is a Supreme Being who makes mistakes?

So that brings us back to Stupid Design and a dumb alien doing the designing. Maybe we're a Junior High School experiment. I could see that. Junior High School students I've known are totally capable of coming up with the concept of creatures that devour their mate just for the grossness factor.

Maybe not Stupid Design then, but just thoughtless, adolescent design. Maybe someday, the alien mom and dad will step in and clean up the kid's mess. But somehow I doubt it. I think we're on our own, along with the marching penguins and melting ice. If the mother ship does return someday, I may ask to go along on the ride home.

PRACTICAL POLITICS CLASS FOR YOU

2005-08-10T08:34:00.000-07:00

All you would be politicians and s*** disturbers, listen up! (Yes, this is a family Blog - so we keep it civilized)

Any of you in the San Francisco Bay Area can sign up for my Practical Politics seminar at the College of Marin on September 17th.

Details below.

If you're not in the Bay Area, or can't make it, I do activist trainings throughout Northern California and am happy to travel to you. The classes are fun and I learn just as much from you as you (hopefully) do from me.

There's lots of work to do and we can do it better together!

Read on.

Dotty

Practical Politics

The Nuts and Bolts of Grassroots Activism

"Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it's the only thing that ever does" -Margaret Mead

Learn effective political techniques whether you are running for office, lobbying elected officials or creating a "buzz" for your cause. Topics include:

Developing a grassroots strategy
Frame that issue! (or what we can learn from Karl Rove)
Recruiting and training volunteers
Getting the Press you deserve
Creating effective campaign materials
Identifying natural and unlikely allies
Know your opposition
Dialing for dollars
New Section: Running for Office: How to decide what's right for you!

Handouts and a bibliography will be available.

Read George Lakoff's Don't Think of An Elephant before class if possible. Widely available in paperback. Handouts and bibliography will be provided. Please bring a bag lunch.

Dotty E. LeMieux has more than 20 years of grassroots activism under her belt, and currently runs progressive political campaigns and trains grassroots activists throughout Northern California. She served as California Political Director for Dennis Kucinich's Presidential Campaign.

Saturday, 10am-4pm
Sept. 17
Kentfield Campus, Harlan Center 171
Fee $37 (Includes $7 materials fee)
Course #8431 EC

Call (415) 485-9305 to register or register online at:

Dotty E. LeMieux
Green Dog Campaigns
(415) 383-3715
del@greendogcampaigns.com

OUR PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS IS OFFICIAL!

2005-08-01T15:36:00.000-07:00

Wow! After all this time, the CDP has officially recognized our Progressive Caucus at this weekend's E-Board meeting in Sacramento. It's been a long haul and we are grateful that the Rules Committee saw fit to realize that we represent a large and growing group of Democrats who want to see our Party flourish while moving in a more progressive direction.

Go to this site for more info:

http://www.progressivecaucusCDP.org

Dotty

CONDALEEZZA RICE EXORCISES THE NEWS HOUR

2005-07-29T13:24:00.000-07:00

On Jim Lehrer last night Condaleezza Rice got a chance to weave her spell. Got to hand it to the lady. She looks him right in the eye and doesn't twitch or blink excessively when she accuses people of "making excuses" for terrorism.

Here's an exact transcript of the segment followed by how I wish the rest of the interview had gone:

TRANSCRIPT:

JIM LEHRER: What about the additional element here that, increasingly, terrorism experts and Muslim experts are saying that the combination of Iraq and other foreign policy decisions by the United States are actually creating more terrorists every day than they are eliminating them.

CONDOLEEZZA RICE: When we are going to stop making excuses for the terrorists? The terrorists on Sept. 11 attacked the United States. We weren't in Iraq. We weren't even in Afghanistan on Sept. 11.

They have attacked in places that had no forces in either place. They've attacked all over the world. They've attacked in Morocco and in Bali and in Egypt and in London and in Madrid.

When are we going to stop making excuses for the terrorists and saying that somebody is making them do it? No, these are simply evil people who want to kill. And they want to kill in the name of a perverted ideology that really is not Islam, but they somehow want to claim that mantle to say that this is about some kind of grievance. This isn't about some kind of grievance. This is an effort to destroy, rather than to build.

And until everybody in the world calls it by name -- the evil that it is -- stops making excuses for them, then I think we're going to have a problem. And I hope that after the bombings of innocent people in London, innocent people at Sharm el-Sheikh, innocent children in Iraq, that people will call this by name and stop making excuses for these people.

No one is making them do it. They're doing it because they want to create chaos and to undermine our way to life.

END REAL TRANSCRIPT, START FANTASY TRANSCRIPT:

Lehrer: Wow, you said it four times in one monologue. People are making excuses for the terrorists. Care to elaborate?

Condi: I said what I said. People make excuses. It's the liberal media, wanting to give them therapy and understanding. They don't need therapy; they need exorcism.

Lehrer: That's a tall order. Exorcism. Does that mean you think they have the Devil inside?

Condi: They're terrorists. Nobody made them do it. They're evil.

Lehrer: Wait a minute, if they're evil and need exorcism, didn't the Devil make them do it; isn't that what you're saying?

Condi: Stop twisting my words. They're evil and they like to kill. Stop making excuses.

Lehrer: Who's making excuses. Did the Devil make them do it or not?

Condi: That's not for me to say.

Lehrer: But how do they get to be evil? Are they born that way, or is it a lifestyle choice?

Condi: It's a choice, it's the way they are; it's not for me to say. Stop putting words in my mouth!

Lehrer: Is it like being gay?

Condi: That's a lifestyle choice and I'm here to talk about evil, and people who want to kill Americans and undermine our way of life.

Lehrer: Because they're evil?

Condi: And they want to create chaos. It's just how they are. They hate Americans and our way of life, and I wish people would stop trying to make excuses.

Lehrer: But why do they hate our way of life?

Condi: I keep telling you, they're evil; they're perverted and evil and they hate us and they like to kill. Got it? Hate us. Like to kill.

Lehrer: And we hate them and looks like we like to kill them too. Or torture them; what about Abu Graib?

Condi: What about it? Those people are evil.

Lehere: The detainees or the ones torturing them?

Condi: We don't torture people. And anyway, I told you, they're evil. Kill the evil. Kill the Devil. Anyway, it's exorcism. Cleansing. You liberals ought to like that.

Lehrer: So is this a Christian thing? A Catholic thing?

Condi: Let me be perfectly clear. We are not advocating one religion over the other. Most Muslims are good people. It’s the perverted ones, the evil ones, don’t you get it?

Lehrer: I guess not. So do you think our killing them is helping? I mean, are we getting rid of the Devil if we kill them?

Condi: Exorcising them. Exorcising the Devil. Stop making excuses.

Lehrer: OK, let’s move on. About John Bolton

Condi: Man of peace. Whip that evil UN into line. I mean exorcise it. Look at all the evil countries on the Security Council. There's a lot of work to do there, let me tell you.

NEW CLASS IN PRACTICAL POLITICS SEPTEMBER 17

2005-07-24T14:04:00.000-07:00

Another Activist Training Class in PRACTICAL POLITICS is coming up September 17, at the College of Marin.

Here's an example of some of the things we will be discussing this time.

Save the date. More to come.

Any questions, email me at del@greendogcampaigns.com

Our last class filled up, so register early!

Dotty

Pay for NO Services

2005-07-22T11:18:00.000-07:00

I see in today's San Francisco Chronicle that Wells Fargo Bank is willing to let you not have your identify stolen if you pay them $12.99 a month.

In the same edition, an outfit called Direct Marketing Association will put your name on the Do Not Call list for a mere $1. There's only one catch. You have to be dead.

Otherwise, your family will be bombarded with telemarketers trying to sell their deceased loved ones goods and services, cemetery plots and wreaths I presume.

We already learned that magazines are the gift that keeps on giving unless you take affirmative steps to cancel instead of using that old fashioned method of letting the subscription lapse.

What's next? Will the IRS stop sending you tax bills after you lose your job for a mere $5.00 per month?

Will magazine and newspapers subscriptions returned marked "deceased" on them, be discontinued only if accompanied by a $20 bill?

Will your credit card company promise not to broadcast your secret pin number on the internet if you cough up $5.99 with each purchase.

It's enough to make you want to join the economic underground. In my youth, cash was king and most of my friends kept their "savings" in a jewelry box or cookie jar, but that was only because as starving students, our savings amounted to a few dollars, and lasted only a few days.

We didn't need banks or credit cards, and we didn't have the internet to purchase items on, so identity theft was kept to a minimum: younger siblings "borrowing" our driver's license for a night on the town; pizzas being ordered by rival fraternity houses.

Property theft was kept in check too. Not too many burglars coveted the ancient black and white TV inherited from parents, or the 8 track tape player. Mortgages were unheard of.

This new fervor for charging you NOT to be ripped off is really nothing new. Anyone familiar with gangster movies, most of them starring Robert Di Niro, knows the ploy. Pay up or get your kneecaps whacked.

Who'd a thunk the Mob would take over all the financial institutions of this country? But then, who'd a thunk Alfred E. Newman would be in the White House?

Kudos for Lynn Woolsey

2005-06-30T08:15:00.000-07:00

Here are some comments by that erudite scholar, Thomas Gangale, author of the innovative approach to Presidential primary campaigns originally known as the "California Plan."

Tom will comment more on this after this post, so go to the comment section and check in.

Let the Green Dog know what you think.

Dotty

Here's Tom's post on our very own Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey:

Woolsey's Sound Bites for Peace

Copyright 2005 by Thomas Gangale

In reading Chris Coursey's "Opposing War in Five-Minute Increments," which
appeared in the "Santa Rosa Press Democrat" on March 28, 2005, I gained an
increased admiration for Rep. Lynn Woolsey. Her lonely evening vigil in the
nearly-deserted House chamber, where she bears witness to the folly and
evil of war, may seem quixotic on the surface. On the contrary, her
campaign against the Iraq War is exactly the sort that one should wage
against an opponent of superior force: small, incremental victories that
wear down that opponent over time. It is the strategy of Fabius over
Hannibal, Washington over Cornwallis, Giap over Abrams.

Nearly 2200 years ago, Marcus Porcius Cato the Censor invented the sound
bite by ending every speech in the Roman Senate, regardless of its subject,
with the words "Ceterum censeo Carthaginem esse delendam" -- "In
conclusion, I believe that Carthage must be destroyed." One can imagine
that Cato's colleagues thought him quixotic, and some may have laughed at
him in secret when he brandished a branch of figs, allegedly of
Carthaginian origin, as "proof" of Carthage's resurgence as a Mediterranean
power and a mortal threat to Rome. Yet armed with this flimsy evidence,
much as Colin Powell played tape recordings to the UN Security Council two
years ago, Cato eventually won the day. Carthage was destroyed.

But Cato could not have foreseen the consequences of victory. Whereas many
of his contemporaries were only too glad to believe that Rome's pre-emptive
war against Carthage was an act of self-defense, history has judged
otherwise. Rome paid dearly for its hubris; in the course of the next
century its republic was battered down by its own imperialism. Rome was
destroyed.

Quo vadis, America?

It is a historical fact that the persistent drumbeat of oratory can drive a
great nation down the road to war. Perhaps our generation can answer this
question: can the patient vigil of one person of conscience move a great
nation down the road to peace?

In conclusion, I believe that Lynn Woolsey must be reelected.

-----

Thomas Gangale is an aerospace engineer and a former Air Force officer. He
is currently the executive director at OPS-Alaska, a think tank based in
Petaluma, California, and an international relations scholar at San
Francisco State University. He is the author of the California Plan to
reform the presidential nomination process.

PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS WEBSITE AND NEWSLETTER

2005-06-22T13:58:00.000-07:00

We must be official! We now have a website and newsletter for the California Democratic Progressive Caucus. This is YOUR home if you are a progressive Democrat and want to meet like minded individuals and help advance progressive values.

The website is http://progressivecaucuscdp.org Go there and sign up for the newsletter or to work on a committee or support progressive legislation.

Here are some excerpts from the first newsletter:

IMPEACHMENT RESOLUTION SUBMITTED BY PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS!

Submitted to the Resolutions Committee of the CDP this past week, the impeachment resolution is the talk of the town!

special thanks to Joye Swan for the crafting of this critical resolution!

"WHEREAS, the Downing Street Meeting Minutes show that President George W. Bush, Vice President Richard Cheney and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld began planning and executing the illegal war against and occupation of Iraq before seeking Congressional and UN approval;

WHEREAS, UN weapons inspectors showed prior to the invasion that there were no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq; and

WHEREAS, there is further mounting evidence that the Administration lied to or misled the American people and the world about IraqÂs weapons capacity and plotted to commence war proceedings prior to seeking UN or Congressional approval as revealed by the following statements contained in the 2002 Downing Street Meeting Minutes, "Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action! , justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy."

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Progressive Caucus asks Congress to immediately begin impeachment proceedings against President Bush, Vice President Cheney and Defense Secretary Rumsfeld.

You are encouraged to take these resolutions and get them passed, or endorsed by any other clubs or groups you are additionally affiliated with, and contact the Progressive Caucus about sponsorship;

progressivecaucusCDPinfo@hotmail.com

Now is the time.

This is the place.

Progressives unite.

Green Dog Democrats Bite the Right!

FIFTY OVER FIFTY

2005-06-20T10:10:00.000-07:00

The first few nominations are coming in for Fifty Over Fifty. We Boomers and older folk need to celebrate our acheivements. I can think of several. But I want to hear from you. Who has done something wonderful, artistic, innovative, amazing, etc. after the age of fity?

Here are two to get the ball rolling!

I nominate Lynne Twist..

A global activist, author, and fundraiser who has raised more than $150 million in individual contributions for charitable causes, has dedicated years of her life to the eradication of hunger on the planet and plays an active role in The Pachamama Alliance support indigenous people She demonstrates the human qualities of deep compassion for humanity, vision for a workable future, understanding of complex global problems and a desire to make a difference one person at a time! Thanks Judy

Wendi Kallins

In 1999, Wendi Kallins, then 47, began research into a program that would
encourage children to explore transportation alternatives, while using the
"Walkability Audit", a citizen's process for creating more walkable
communities, specifically for schools. She found the Safe Routes to Schools
program in England and Canada, which was exactly this combination.

Working with friend, Deb Hubsmith, they put together a number of grants, including being designated a "national model" program by the National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration. With cash in hand she launched the Marin County Safe
Routes to Schools program. In two years they had succeeded in increasing
the number of kids walking and biking in their pilot schools from 21% to
38%. The County of Marin Congestion Management Agency adopted the program
and it soon grew to over 40 schools.

Last year they were able to reduce traffic congestion by 13% in participating schools. the program promotes a healthy lifestyle, reduced congestion and pollution and helps to create more livable communities. Now, at age 53, Wendi is recognized as one of the national leaders in the Safe Routes to Schools movement and travels the country speaking at conferences, conducting trainings and consulting with
other SR2S programs. Marin County passed a 1/2 cent sales tax which includes 11% funding for Safe Routes to Schools including money for the program, crossing guards and infrastructure.
Wendi

Wendi Kallins
Program Director
Safe Routes to Schools

More to come. Send in your own now. Don't be shy. Nominate yourself!

And more have come in:

Interesting to note, so far they are all women!

Cool. Here they are:

Hi Dotty,

I'd like to nominate Barbara George from Women's Energy Matters who
works away defending us from Utility corruption and 'impostors' like
CPUC commissioner Susan Kennedy, with humor and flare at the CPUC -
all basically under the radar. Her website is
www.womensenergymatters.org. She has been living in Fairfax for the
last 6 months.

Thanks ,
Rebekah Collins

I would like to nominate Joyce Seigel. Joyce has been a tireless worker for Gun Control in Marin County. She is responsible for an ordinance which banned in-home gun dealers in San Rafael, she worked to rid the county of Saturday Night specials, and she was instumental in getting the ordinance passed that banned firarms and ammunition on County property. (Because of this ordinance, Marin no longer hosts a gun show on Thanksgivig weekend.) She volunteers weekly for Legal Community Against Violence, LCAV. Joyce is a housewife and is little bit over 50, but is dedicated to making the county safer.

Barbara Matas

Dotty, Katherine Graham popped in my mind first thing. Here is what is said about her on the web site (which I found by googling). It was obviously written before her death. She became president of the Washington Post Company at 46 and publisher at 52. Does that qualify? From http://www.sacbee.com/static/archive/news/projects/people_of_century/sci_biz/graham.html:

Mike

From attending movies with Henry Kissinger to helping expose the Watergate scandal, Katherine Graham has been always been in the spotlight.

Her remarkable ability to assume the publishership of a major national newspaper, The Washington Post, and control of a Fortune 500 company, the Washington Post Co., was an incredible accomplishment for anyone, particularly a woman in the 1960s.

In her Pulitzer Prize-winning memoirs, "Personal History," Graham shared the story of her rise to success. Hers is a tale filled with characters such as Warren Buffet, Robert McNamara and George Schultz.

Graham's father was a multimillionaire who in 1933 decided to leave private business and restore the down-and-out Washington Post.

After much success, he died in 1946. He left the newspaper to Graham's husband.

"My father said to me, and I certainly went along with it, that 'No man should work for his wife,'" she recounted in her memoir.

Her husband, who suffered from manic depression, committed suicide in 1963. Graham became president of the company following his death.

"I had very little idea of what I was supposed to be doing, so I set out to learn," she said. "What I essentially did was to put one foot in front of the other, shut my eyes, and step off the edge."

In 1969, Graham was named publisher of The Washington Post, a title she held for a decade. In addition, she's served as the Washington Post Co.'s chief executive officer and chairman of the board.

Dotty

Democrats Behaving Stupidly

2005-06-01T13:12:00.000-07:00

I know I'll get flack for this because we are supposed to be pulling together for the good of the Party. But I'm here to tell you, from all outward appearances, there's no one minding the store.

Feeling in a feisty mood, I turned my TV to Hardball last night. Who would be skewered tonight? Oh goodie, I thought, he's got a Democratic and Republican strategist squaring off against each other on the Bolton and upcoming Court nominations. I settled in for a good debate.

The Republican was a chipmunk faced fellow with pasted on plastic hair. The Democratic side was represented by a perky 30 something. Her hair was tastefully frosted. She looked spirited.

What happened next was pathetic. Ok, I know Chris Matthews' job is to lob zingers across the plate so fast you can't catch your breath, but don't they prepare people for this show?

Mr. Plastic Hair was cool calm and collected. The Reps, besides providing a pre-program intensive with Carl Rove or the like, probably have the foresight to slip their guy some valium.

Besides snorting in derision and making faces at Mr. Plastic Hair's comments, "our" girl (and I say that in all deliberateness) took spirited to new heights, twitching and bouncing in her seat as she managed to completely blow questions on the line of "when did you stop beating your wife?"

Here's a virtual transcript of the exchange. Chris Matthews: "Are the Democrats opposed to John Bolton?"

Dem. Strategist: "Well, Yah!" Snort, twitch.

CM: "Oh, so this request for more information really IS a stalling tactic!"

Ms. DS: "Is not!"

Mr. PH: "Well, Chris, as the Republicans have pointed out time and again, if it wasn't a stalling tactic, the Dems would go for the up or down vote."

Ms. DS: "Well, of course, they don't listen to MY advice!"

CM: "Oh, you would advise them to go for the up or down vote?"

Ms. DS: "No."

Mr. PH: "I rest my case."

Ms. DS: Sputter, twitch, snort.

CM: "OK, how about the Supreme Court nominations. What if Bush nominated Antonin Scalia for Chief Justice. Would the Dems filibuster that?"

Ms. DS: "They can if they want to, so there!"

OK, I exaggerate a little. But not much. (Go to http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8058417/ for the actual transcript.) A 14 year old debate team member could have done a better job. A middle school teacher wouldn't let her charges loose without some advance knowledge of the format.

Or is this the best the Dems can do?

I KNOW we have progressive minds who can keep their heads even in these trying situations. Or is it a Republican plot? Was this kid a ringer masquerading as a Democratic strategist?

Who's in charge here anyway? First the Dems go all Republican lite; then they send in the Valley Girls. If we want to be taken seriously, we have to act serious, even when faced with the ludicrous. Not to say we should go all dull and pedantic. But if this girl was a Democratic Strategist, I'm James Carville.

Speaking of which, where IS the Ragin' Cajun these days? Ragin' is one thing. Twitching and blathering quite something else.

I hope someone is noticing the difference. Dr. Dean, are you paying attention?

Activist Training successes

2005-05-25T12:01:00.001-07:00

Green Dogs and Friends,

I have been pleased to have participated in some activist trainings lately, most recently my class at the College of Marin, with 36 active and eager students, ready to jump into the political fray.

Last weekend I went to beautiful Mendocino for a training of local Democrats on the art of running for office.

The photo below shows Rachel Binah, Democratic activist and member of the DNC, giving her "Rachel's Rules" for fundraising.

We had past and present members of the Board of Supervisors, City Council members, potential candidates for judge, Council and Supervisor. All in all, a successful day!

I look forward to many more, as we go forward toward 2006. Will YOU be a candidate?

Dotty the Green Dog Democrat

2005-05-25T12:00:00.000-07:00

Mendocino Democratic Training

NEWSWEEK OR NEWSPEAK?

2005-05-18T13:24:00.000-07:00

Everyone in the Administration is all atwitter over Newsweek Magazine's printing of an uncorroborated story of a Quoran being flushed down the toilet at Guantanamo Bay Detention Center.

It really isn't the content of the story that has them concerned; these stories have existed for awhile; But now says White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, "The image of the United States abroad has been damaged" by such an action that has the righteous Righties up in arms.

The damage done to the "image" of the United States? The image they are trying to portray as spreading democracy and freedom around the world by invading countries and occupying them and killing thousands of civilians into the process?

The good image of America rooting out terrorism by detaining uncharged Muslims and holding them for months or sending them to countries where they can be tortured or worse? Or maybe it's our unblemished image as a caretaker of prisoners at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq?

Which image of America has been so tarnished? Oh, it must be the one of America as installers of puppet regimes in Afghanistan or maybe stealers of oil or desecration of Mosques or shooting of Italian journalists, or....

America specializes in symbolic desecration of the Quoran every day. That's probably one reason it was not surprising to hear about an actual physical desecration.

Who should be apologizing to the Muslim world, to the whole world, for conduct unbecoming a Democratic Superpower?

CULTURE OF DEATH

2005-05-12T11:48:00.000-07:00

THE CULTURE OF DEATH:
WHO OWNS IT?

The Culture of Death does not belong to Islamic fundamentalists. Who worships a dead guy on a cross? Who sends its young into warfare ill equipped and unprepared? Who rains down bombs on people who have done them no harm?

While Islamic fundamentalists with nothing to lose may look forward to an afterlife with plentiful nooky, Christian fundamentalists are trying to bring about Armageddon, that time when death and destruction will overwhelm the earth and the "saved" will ascend to Heaven to sit on the right hand of God. Sounds boring compared to 72 virgins, but it's a Culture of Death nonetheless.

When I heard Air America's Randi Rhodes talking about the "culture of Death" as being practiced by the Muslim terrorists (in a somewhat twisted explanation on how we can’t hope to win in Iraq, because those who are resisting us practice a culture of death, meaning they never give up, same as the Japanese in WWII, that's why we had to bomb them into smithereens), I figured the term had originated with some right wing-nut to describe Moslem extremism.

Thomas Friedman says it’s taught in Saudi Schools. Right wingers says Muslims hate life and revere death; so what do you expect? They hate us because we want to be alive, and they just want to hurry up and die already. Couldn't it be that they want to live their lives too, and if we let them do so without US troops and bases, and sanctions and bombs, they’d do it.

So I Googled Culture of Death. And I found that this is a catch phrase used to describe all manner of people-who-don't-think-like-we-do. Abortion is a Culture of Death, Assisted Suicide in Oregon is a Culture of Death, Marxism is a Culture of Death, of course, the Holocaust may have been the best known example of the Culture of Death, then there's Columbine, and the War in Iraq represents the Bush Administration’s Culture of Death.

Look it up yourself, Google Culture of Death, you'll be amazed.

So I got to thinking it over, and whoa Nelly, the Muslims have nothing on the Christians in the Culture of Death Department. What do the Christians worship? A dead guy on a cross and bunch of martyred saints.

Also, the fundamentalists have this thing about "rapture" which seems to involve the death of the whole world. Armageddon will destroy the earth, and let the "saved" ascend into Heaven, where they get to sit at the right hand of the Lord. I envision quite bit of jockeying for position, unless God multiplies his right hand so there’s one for everyone. Or maybe one or two will actually get the go.

The rest of us will damned to eternal hellfire, or worse, aeons of pestilence, plague, boils, locust and all manner of environmental destruction. These guys are so serious about this that they are actively trying to hurry it up through promoting turmoil in the Middle East.

James Watt, remember him? former Secretary of the Interior, said "When the last tree falls, the rapture will come" or words to that effect.

Death of the earth, death of the soldiers, the Iraqis, the poor people and ascension to the right hand of God for the "good" people.

Who has a Culture of Death?

FIFTY OVER FIFTY

2005-04-27T13:57:00.000-07:00

We've all seen them, those cute stories entitled "Forty under Forty" or even "Thirty under Thirty" about young people accomplishing big things.

Well, it's time for us oldsters to have our day, us late blooming boomers. I want to write a story called "Fifty over Fifty" about fifty remarkable men and women who have come into prominence later in life.

Maybe they were homemakers, schoolteacher or insurance salespeople who launched a new career. Maybe they struggled their whole life at writing or painting or philosophizing and are finally getting the recognition they deserve.

Maybe they just came up with some brilliant idea or program that has made a difference in their community.

Whatever, as the kids say, if you know someone who could fit this description, send in their story to del@greendogcampaigns.com and I'll post the fifty winners here on the Blog. (Heck, I'll post them all, and YOU vote on the winners!)

Go ahead and nominate yourself.

Tell your friends and colleagues. This could be fun.

Dotty the Green Dog "over fifty" Democrat

California's Progressive Caucus

2005-04-18T11:10:00.000-07:00

Convention news. Our new California Progressive Caucus is off and running! We exceeded our expectations on Friday, April 15th with a standing room only and not enough of that at our first meeting of the California Progressive Caucus, still called Progressive Issues coalition by the powers-that-be. More than 350 people showed up, signed in and joined the Caucus. We elected officers and passed a set of by-laws.

The officers, interim until the next meeting, when we hopefully will be ratified by the State Party, will be listed here when I get all the correct names and spellings.

It was a lively and energetic crowd, ready for an opportunity to put our progressive values to work. It was a gratifying experience for those of us who have worked these many months to bring this vision to fruition. We were visited by a host of elected officials and candidates, all amazed at our numbers, all realizing that the "Democratic wing of the Democratic Party" is alive and well! Our own State Treasurer and gubernatorial Candidate Phil Angelides joined our Caucus on the spot! Go Phil! Watch out Ahnold!

Yay for us!

And we know we are needed when a resolution supporting single payer universal health care failed to pass on the Convention floor on Sunday morning. Despite widespread support.

We are proud that several other resolutions authored by some of our members did pass, one opposing the war in Iraq and another commending our great Senator Barbara Boxer for her courageous stands on voting rights, against Condaleezza Rice's appointment as Secretary of State and many other progressive stands. Go Barbara!

Now we send our materials on to the Rules Committee, where decisions are made. We have the numbers; we have the determination; we will work to see our Caucus recognized.

Photos from our great caucus are posted in the Blog.

Dotty the Green Dog Democrat

2005-04-18T11:09:00.000-07:00

State Treasurer Phil Angelides joins the new Progressive Caucus!

2005-04-18T11:08:00.000-07:00

Congresswoman Barbara Lee mets with Members of the new Prorogressive Caucus

2005-04-18T11:07:00.000-07:00

Look How Crowded our Caucus is!

OFF TO THE CONVENTION!

2005-04-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

Well, the time has come. The California State Democratic Convention starts tomorrow.

Our Progressive Caucus is on the agenda. Well, they're calling it the Progressive Issues coalition, but hey, that's a start! We will meet at 5 PM and elect interim officers and approve Bylaws.

We will be visited by the usual candidates and elected officials. We will be semi-official.

I will update this post with breaking news, if accessing my Blog from the convention is possible.

Question: Why don't hotels come equipped with computers for their guests? Shlepping a laptop is a pain. And I can never get mine to work from another location.

Call me techno dummy, but wouldn't that make good financial and pr sense?

Dotty

April No Fooling Day

2005-04-01T09:16:00.000-08:00

MORE FROM MYSTERY BUSINESS WOMAN TRAVELING IN THE FAR EAST

March 30th The Air

I want to punch a hole through the sky in China so the people can breath. The air is thick with muck. We visit the safety supervisor of one of the many new power plants. He says it’s cheaper to pay fines for excessive sulfur release than invest in technology to reduce it.

China cannot keep up with the demands for power as industry surges and the west rushes to expand manufacturing there. But the people are living in darkness and without heat. Drive through residential areas at night, you’ll see. In the cities too, the apartments are black, save for the cool flicker of the occasional TV.

Singapore, by contrast, has a sizable middle class housed in neat, well-appointed candy-colored apartments. Designed to promote a clean, wholesome society, strict prohibitions enforced by significant fines govern all aspects of life. But Singapore cannot evade the fires raging around it. The smoky air burns the lungs and scalds the eyes. “There’s an air quality alert,” warns my taxi driver as we drive along the tiny city-state’s beautifully landscaped roads. Westerners walk and jog, chests high, arms pumping. Locals know better. The pit fires burn in neighboring Malaysia, snaking underground, uncontrollable, unpredictable, and impervious to fines.

A SERIOUS TRUE STORY AND A SMALL BIT OF POLITICAL SATIRE

2005-03-25T11:26:00.000-08:00

Serious True Story -

Amid all this talk of Terri Schiavo and “culture of life” I remember the time, in 1979, my friend Diana and I blundered into the midst of a young woman’s decision whether to “pull the plug” on her dying father. We were all trying to be writers in a small town on the coast of California and we had agreed on this afternoon of wine and literature weeks earlier.

Her father, a well known artist, had been ill for some time. Of course, we had no idea of the seriousness of the situation before we knocked on her modest cabin door.

While we were trying to decide whether it was ruder to stay or abruptly leave her alone with her decision, being discussed over the long distance telephone to the hospital in another state, she motioned us to sit down, while keeping the phone glued to her ear, punctuated by “uh huhs” and “oks” to the person at the other end.

It was her younger brother, the one who would actually say yay or nay to the doctors in charge on the other end of the phone.

We stayed the afternoon; we had come to talk poetry; we talked about end of life decisions, the cruelty of fatal diseases, the kindness of hospice, the frustrations of long distance.

We drank cheap white wine and ate stale chips. We hugged, and laughed and by the time we left, the sun was setting, the decision had been made, we were all exhausted, and we hoped we had helped a little bit.

When my own mother died twenty years later, she had the graciousness to do it all at once, sparing my sister and me such hard decisions.

Small Bit of Satire –

Headlines we’d like to see: “Bush to Clone Terry Schiavo.” “’Done with Death on My Watch,’ Says Bush.” “Bush Considers Unearthing Christian Corpses for Cloning.”

Explaining his new stance in favor of cloning certain individuals, Bush explained, “I know I used to be against it, but now I think we need to use all measures in our culture of life. If we let sick people die; if we let dead people stay dead, we have failed.”

“Except for murderers and adulterers, of course,” he quickly amended. “And Democrats” one reporter thought he heard him mumble under his breath as he left the podium.

GUEST BLOGGER - MYSTERY BUSINESS WOMAN GIVES GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE

2005-03-25T11:22:00.000-08:00

This just in from my old friend, known as Mystery Business Woman. She travels to the far East quite often and shares her experiences seen through the lens of global geopolitcs:

THE DREAM IS OVER

March 20, 2005

This morning as I pack my bags to leave Shanghai, CNN reports that “stars” including Paul McCartney’s wife and the lead singer of Yes, are protesting the Chinese slaughter of dogs to make fur coats. CNN shows scenes from a film made surreptitiously. I glance up from my packing to see a grainy shot of the strained hind legs of a black dog. “The images are too gruesome to show on television,” the announcer says. Voiceover discussion ensues with the filmmaker: “The dogs are skinned alive. The sound of their cries is unimaginable.” Here dogs are a delicacy.

On my flight, I read the Shanghai Times. Over objections from the U.S., the EU has agreed to ship weapons to China. Germany and France are spearheading the initiative, stating that the reasons for the arms embargo, dating back to Tiananmen (SP.) Square are no longer valid. Sale of “high tech” weapons will be avoided, they claim. The article explains that the Europeans hope their newfound flexibility will lead to the sale of European cars and other goods to the People’s Republic. Bend over.

At the airport in Hong Kong, the idea for this blog takes shape as I read Azar Nafisi’s Reading Lolita in Tehran. Explaining The Great Gatsby to her students, she writes, “We in ancient countries have our past – we obsess over the past. They, the Americans, have a dream: they feel nostalgia about the promise of the future.” I suddenly realize that I am witnessing the demise of that promise. China is the future. For Americans, though they may not realize it, the dream is dead.

Spreading Democracy and War

2005-03-10T17:12:00.000-08:00

I used to scoff when I heard George W. say he was spreading Democracy around the world. But now I know he's sincere.

He wants to bring American style democracy, as practiced by the Bush administration, to struggling third world countries everywhere.

What does this look like?

Well, a place where voting rights don't matter, and judges determine the outcome of elections.

Where the wealthiest 1% get a tax break that the rest of the country pays for.

Where children can't get basic needs like pencils and school books at school, and old people can't pay for their prescriptions.

Where crony capitalism flourishes.

Where clean air and clean water are code words for pollution.

Where government spies can find out what library books you're reading and put you on watch lists if they don't like the titles.

Where the media is in a few corporate hands.

Yeah, baby, spread the word. Democracy is coming to the world.

All hail George W.

-----

THIS JUST IN MOVE ON SEEMS TO BE "MOVING ON" SADLY

Pass it on --

Published on Thursday, March 10, 2005 by CommonDreams.org
MoveOn.org: Making Peace With the War in Iraq
by Norman Solomon

Sadly, it has come to this. Two years after the invasion of Iraq, the online powerhouse MoveOn.org -- which built most of its member base with a strong antiwar message -- is not pushing for withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.

With a network of more than 3 million "online activists," the MoveOn leadership has decided against opposing the American occupation of Iraq. During the recent bloody months, none of MoveOn's action alerts have addressed what Americans can do to help get the U.S. military out of that country. Likewise, the MoveOn.org website has continued to bypass the issue -- even after Rep. Lynn Woolsey and two dozen cosponsors in the House of Representatives introduced a resolution in late January calling for swift removal of all U.S. troops from Iraq. That resolution would seem to be a natural peg for the kind of kinetic activism that established MoveOn's reputation.

A movement serious about ending U.S. military activities in Iraq could use the resolution as a way to cut through political tap dances and pressure members of Congress to take a stand. Down the road, generating grassroots support for a get-out-of-Iraq resolution has potential to clear a congressional pathway for measures cutting off funds for the war. But, tragically, MoveOn's leadership is having none of it. Over a period of recent weeks, the word "Iraq" appeared on the MoveOn.org home page only in a plug for a documentary released last year. Inches away, a blurb has been telling the website's visitors: "Support Our Troops: Contribute your frequent-flyer miles so that American troops can get home." (But not stay home.)

Many soldiers are returning to the killing grounds of Iraq, while a growing number are vocally opposed to this war. Why won't MoveOn "support our troops" by supporting a pullout of our troops from Iraq? "We believe that there are no good options in Iraq," MoveOn.org's executive director, Eli Pariser, told me. "We're seeing a broad difference of opinion among our members on how quickly the U.S. should get out of Iraq. As a grassroots-directed organization, we won't be taking any position which a large portion of our members disagree with."

In sharp contrast, early in the 2004 primary campaign, MoveOn committed itself to endorsing any Democratic presidential candidate receiving more than 50 percent of the Internet ballots cast by its activists. (Howard Dean fell shy of a majority, so there was no MoveOn endorsement.) But now, evidently, a majority of MoveOn members in favor of swift withdrawal from Iraq would be insufficient if a "large portion" disagreed. When I asked Eli for clarification, he replied: "We've been talking with our members continuously on this issue. We've surveyed slices of our membership in January and in December, and surveyed our whole membership last spring. That's how we know there's a breadth of opinion out there."

But last spring was a year ago. And any surveying of "slices of our membership in January and in December" came before the Woolsey resolution offered an opportunity to find out how the MoveOn base views the measure. In any event, there will always be "a breadth of opinion" about this war -- a fact that does not trump the crucial need for clarity of purpose.

If MoveOn leaders were willing to submit the House get-out-of-Iraq resolution to MoveOn's rank-and-file in an up-or-down vote, the chances of a substantial majority would be excellent. Too bad the leadership of MoveOn.org is currently unwilling to find out. The 29 members of the House now sponsoring the resolution are hardly radicals. They recognize the kind of grisly consequences of equivocation that occurred during the Vietnam War: Refusal to speak forthrightly about the urgent need to end military involvement only fuels the war's deadly momentum.

It's all well and good for MoveOn.org to do superb work in the current battle over the future of Social Security. And it's very helpful to excoriate President Bush for his many big lies in the lead-up to the invasion of Iraq. But such activities don't make up for going along with the basics of the present-day Iraq war.

When a large progressive organization takes the easy way and makes peace with war, the abdication of responsibility creates a vacuum. Ironically, a group that became an Internet phenom by recognizing and filling a void is now creating one. And other groups are bound to emerge to fill it. Among the emerging organizations is Progressive Democrats of America (www.pdamerica.org ), a fledgling national group with an activist focus on the Iraq war that is laudably straightforward. "We're organizing a new campaign in every Congressional District we can to call for the end of funding for war and occupation, and for the transfer of reconstruction assistance to Iraqis themselves," says Tim Carpenter of PDA.

He contends that "public pressure can awaken Congress to an opposition role." War in Iraq requires continual funding, of course, so President Bush's new supplemental boost of $80 billion in war appropriations has been moving through Congress in recent days. Tacitly accepting the war's continuation, MoveOn declined to take a stand against the essence of congressional backing for the war -- the money that keeps paying for it. Meanwhile, PDA launched an effort against the $80 billion; the organizing included a National Call-In Day aimed at members of Congress on March 10. MoveOn.org pioneered the use of email and web technologies as creative tools to further its political agenda. Now that the MoveOn agenda on the Iraq war has tumbled into the shallow depths of the Potomac, some similar online activism will be needed if MoveOn's dive is going to be merely temporary.

So, to help get the cyber-ball rolling, please forward this article around the Internet and post it where appropriate. Friends don't let friends drive drunk, and peace advocates do a lot more than shrug when a previously great antiwar organization starts to get lost. If MoveOn continues to abandon its antiwar base, that base will get the picture -- and move on.

Norman Solomon's latest book, "War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death ," will be published in early summer. His columns and other writings can be found at: www.normansolomon.com ###

THE LEFT NEEDS A SUPERSTAR

2005-03-01T12:43:00.000-08:00

My 2 cents today is that we need a superstar on the left to counteract the Ahnolds on the Right as well as the office of the Presidency. OK, the NYT and Washington Post sometimes do a good job of countering the Right's lies, but ho hum, who reads that stuff?

Yeah, yeah, Molly Ivans and Jim Hightower are clever AND smart. Arianna adds perky to the mix. But their reach is limited. Corporate ownership of the media, Repubs in charge of Washington claim the spotlight. Fear mongering and saber rattling drown out the voices of reason.

Alternet (http://www.alternet.org/) on Feb. 14, offered it's own suggestions for talking to conservatives complete with facts from the pages of the venerated pages of the aforementioned news outlets and think tank wonks. (And Man, I gotta stop using words like aforementioned!) But facts are almost irrelevant, if they don't come with sex appeal. Sorry but it's true. Framing, ala George Lakoff, is one part of the equation. The messenger who carries the massage, the medium through which it is delivered, all that is just as necessary in today's world. And the Center for American Progress (yawn) isn't going to cut it, much as thee and me eat it with a spoon, we can't just keep talking to ourselves.

We need a Star. Maybe even a Nova. Someone with charisma who can talk in sound bites and not sound defensive.

Can Howard Dean do it? He needs to keep in the limelight and keep jazzed up. Don't become the "Mouse that Roared" Dr. Dean. Don't silence that scream.

if we want to turn the red states blue while re-energizing the base, we need Star power to do it.

Rock on!

Green Dog Democrats bite the Right!

Dotty the Green Dog Democrat

ELDER BASHING - THE NEW CLASS WARFARE

2005-02-22T12:26:00.000-08:00

ELDER BASHING REPUBLICAN STYLE

Elder abuse is a crime in this country, punishable by heavy jail time. People who take advantage of older Americans by trying to sell them phony stocks, or aluminum siding they don’t need, are dealt with harshly as well.

Trying to bilk grandma out of the family home by getting her to sign everything over to you while she’s non copus mentus is also a big no no.

Why then is it OK for the Republican Party and this Administration to pit generation against generation in its drive toward dismantling the last bastion of economic freedom for the elderly, Social Security?

I see in the email I hardly have time to even skim any more that right wing propagandists have hired advertising wizes from the anti-Kerry Swift Vote Veteran ads to bash AARP, the organization dedicated to representing the needs of older Americans.

The Center for American Progress, in its on line publication Progress Report quotes the New York Times as reporting that “the right-wing lobbying group USA Next is planning to sink $10 million in commercials and other back-room tactics to hit the AARP. ("They are the boulder in the middle of the highway to personal savings accounts," said Charlie Jarvis, the group's president. "We will be the dynamite that removes them.")”

Aside: I’m over 50, and so eligible for membership in AARP. Anyone over fifty is. If you think you might live that long, and chances are you will and a lot longer, consider joining. It isn’t always right (think prescription drug benefits; AARP caved to the Drug companies lobbying for monopoly control over drug prices for seniors with AARP’s blessings. Ah, the power of advertising!), but with a burgeoning membership of Boomers, it could start being a real power for change in this Country.

Anyway, conservative columnist David Brooks, in a recent New York Times editorial, continues the war against seniors. They’re taking the food right out of the mouths of their children, he says. Actually he says “The living and well-organized are taking money from the weak and the unborn.” Blaming the AARP for a gigantic transfer of wealth to old people.

Well, get a grip, Mr. Brooks. Unless you plan on popping off young and leaving a beautiful corpse like rock stars are prone to do (and I suspect it’s too late for that), you too will someday be one of the vampire class you decry.

He goes on to note that between 1990 and 2015, the percent of federal spending on those over 65 will burgeon from 29 to more than half. Duh, read your statistics. We live in an aging time. More government spending merely reflects the aging demographic. And more tax give-aways to the rich will only add to the poverty level of America’s new Senior Class.

And what does he say is driving this give away of funds? Not Social Security, but prescription drug benefits. Costing the federal government more than $700 billion over some unspecified period of time. (See the above paragraph about the government giving up the power to shop around for lower medicine costs.) Can you say Drug Lobby children?

David Brooks either can’t or won’t. Instead, he’d prefer to blame old people.

We spend a lot of printer’s ink talking about “class warfare” in this country, pitting the rich against the poor. What about generational war? Or are they the same thing?

Wealthy billionaires whose golden years are spent on the golf links in some trendy retirement community while their social security checks are sweated off the brows of struggling youth, account for the tiniest fraction of the over 65 population. For most seniors, social security is the only thing between them and cat food.

Allowing the federal government to negotiate drug prices, allowing seniors to buy drugs from cheaper places like Canada and stopping all these scary ads that push pills like diet soda on older Americans to convince them asking their doctor about the next breakthrough in arthritis medication will slow down the aging process and make them sexy and rich (and getting back out on those well tended golf links, no doubt) would go a long way toward stopping this kind of generational warfare.

In his article, David Brooks predicts a new Ross Perot will rise up to challenge the status quo, rail against interest groups, like old people, and lead a moral youth crusade for truth justice and the American way of wealth.

But he won’t be Ross Perot this time, he’ll be a young stallion, healthy, wealthy and well connected. I doubt anyone over 50 would ever pick up that gauntlet. Those with the means to set up their own private accounts already have them. Those who benefit from tax give-aways don’t need prescription drug benefits.

The rest of us, old or young, urban or rural, working or unemployed, retired or hoping to be able to retire some day, most likely will. At the very least, unlike with the issue of gays, disabled or other so called “interest groups,” most of us have parents, grandparents, aunts and uncles who we’re not quite ready to turn into the enemy. Who will remind us by their very presence in our lives, that we too will one day be thankful for a government that serves the people, not the drug companies, the ultra rich and conservative pundits.

Bush Outlaws Old People

2005-02-11T09:23:00.000-08:00

Today President Bush announced he was outlawing old people. "Why should we spend billions fixing up these old age programs like Soc' Security and Medicare, when I won't, my generation, that is us who believe (heh heh) won't be around long enough to get 'em?" asked a boyish Bush rhetorically to a stunned crowd of guests in Hog Wallow Kentucky yesterday.

"I mean, what with the Rapture coming sooner than later and all, I guess we can just let these pesky things slide for now," he continued to the audience of mostly senior citizens gathered at the Hog Wallow Community Center. "So I'm outlawing old people. Not you good folks of course," the President hastened to add.

"No, those 55 or older (I'm 58 myself, heh heh) will be able to enjoy the fruits of old age just as long as, as long as uh, I do," he finished with a characteristic wink.

Aides hurried the President off stage, and assured the now restless crowd that their futures were secure, and since they were all good Christian men and women they didn't have anything to worry about anyway.

Queried about his remarks on the Rapture as he prepared to board Air Force One, President Bush snapped back, "Oh yeah, well the Press is a bunch of Heathens anyway," mumbling something about where his good friend from Talon News Service had gone.

Aides told the reporters present to check the Rapture Index for hourly updates, as they shut the plane's door definitively behind the President.

Beware Attempts at co-optation! (NOTE: ATTEMPTS is the operative word.)

2005-02-08T08:24:00.000-08:00

Today's Blog edited: Please read the edits. Vigilance is the price of freeom, don't forget!

Thanks to my commenters.

Dotty

Doctor Dean is in, the last man standing, says the SF Chronicle this morning. The new Chair Apparent of the DNC.

Now the fight begins.

And the questions. Why did all the other candidates fall like little dominoes in a row to support the Governor? What went on behind closed doors? Am I being paranoid? Were there deals, arm twisting, vows to run to the middle? (Note, not necessarily by Governor Dean himself, but those who want to retain control.)

Yes, an army of Dean supporters and reformers made this happen. Kudos to us all! But it would be naive to think the "old" "new" Democrats are fading away or will not be putting lots of pressure on the Party to move to the right. It's happening. We need to keep our own pressure up, and keep the movement going. The grassroots are strong and need to keep energized.

Old line non-progressive Dems are calling for Dean to be a "uniter" bring the Party together, lose the liberal loonies and become a "different" Howard Dean.

But remember, the liberal base and an army of new progressives made Dean what he is. He's not a raging liberal or progressive to begin with. He's always been a centrist. It was the army of the faithful who led him to be a powerhouse at the head of the Democratic Party.

To alienate them at this time would be, in my never humble opinion, a big mistake.

The problem with the Dems in the last election is they shed their Democratic mantle, pulled up their roots and tried to be all things to all people. Kerry coulda stood for something. He almost did, but he couldn't say just what it was.

It's the progressive core who buoyed up Howard Dean in the first place, and who will buoy up the Party now.

Hold the DNC's feet to the fire, including the good doctor's. Don't let him forget who put him there in the first place.

He may never have screamed in Iowa, but the right wing of the Party is still hounding him with the scream that never was.

Maybe it's time to scream, to howl, like good Green Dog Democrats that we are, and don't let the Repubs (or the DLC) forget that we are not afraid to Bite the Right!
........

Read Alter Net's A Progressive 12-step Program
By Bob Burnett, AlterNet Posted on February 5, 2005, Printed on February 7, 2005http://www.alternet.org/story/21181

A good analogy for where we are today.

Keep the faith!

Dotty the Green Dog Dem

NO! to Torture. NO! To Gonzales

2005-01-27T15:05:00.000-08:00

Our own Marin County patriot, Senator Barbara Boxer, led the way in the Senate with her strong questioning and loud no vote against Condoleezza Rice as Secretary of State.

Now her courage is inspiring more Democratic senators to stand up and say NO! loud and clear torture. NO to Alberto Gonzales.

Thanks Barbara. Thanks Dems. Someday you will all be hailed as patriots, heroes and fighters for justice.

Progressive values are American values; human values. Americans do not stand for torture, but for justice; not for invasion and oppression but for human rights.

An attorney general oppposed to those principles is unworthy of our country.

Oh, did I mention telling the truth?

Liar Liar pants on fire. Oh you're wearing an asbestos suit? Surprise.

Just a few words from a weary progressive Green Dog Demcorat.

PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATIC CAUCUS Revisited

2005-01-24T14:55:00.001-08:00

For all of you interested in the Progressive Caucus and the response we have been getting, here is an earlier post, plus all the comments I have received on the Blog. Other comments coming in via email. Please review and post your own. Click on green "comment" at the end, then click on "post a comment" when that pops up. You can also sign on a supporter.

It's easy.

Dotty

Hey Green Dogs,Progressive Caucus Update:

While talking with Green Dog Dems throughout the State, and meeting with my old buds from the Kucinich and Dean campaigns, we got to thinking we need to be more than an "interest group" or label within the Party, but a real force for change within and without the Party.

That is, we need to be an Action committee, to promote and even initiate progressive legislation, education and communication. We need to come up with practical initiatives that can be realized for the good of the people of the State of California and the Nation.Neither center nor left (obviously not right!), but forward we go alongside our Democratic brothers and sisters.So we are now looking to become a vehicle for progressive action.

Name that Caucus!

As we go forward, we are seeking a name for our new caucus. Should it remain the Progressive Caucus? The Progressive Action Caucus? Agenda for Progressive Action. How about ProACTIVE: Progressive Action Caucus for Initiative, Voices and Education?

OK, I like acronyms. What do you all like?As for initiatives, how about promoting universal health care, working with our colleagues in the Assembly and State Senate for starters?Join the Caucus, submit a name, suggest an initiative, win a prize!Here's the Original Caucus Resolution Language, to remind you of where we are now:

Monday, November 29, 2004

RESOLUTION ESTABLISHING A PROGRESSIVE CAUCUS WITHIN THE CALIFORNIA DEMOCRATIC PARTY (for consideration)

WHEREAS Democratic progressives stand for the progressive visions of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, Robert F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King and other great Democratic leaders whose dreams for the Democratic Party and America should not be forgotten, and

WHEREAS Democratic progressives who wish to have a voice within the Party on issues of concern to progressives and a place where they can air these concerns without compromise, often feel left behind by members of the Democratic leadership who (often with good reason) work to get Republican support by supporting Republican agendas as opposed to Democratic agendas, and

WHEREAS Democratic progressives want to continue to work within the Democratic Party, to continue supporting the Democratic Party and to continue encouraging others to join the Democratic Party,

THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the undersigned call for the creation of a progressive caucus within the California Democratic Party and the Democratic National Committee and for that caucus to have a voice in official California Democratic Party and national Democratic Party policy.Comment no. 1:Dotty!PROACTIVE is one of the best acronyms I have ever seen. No contest. I'd join any group with that name. LynnClick on "Comments" below for more of the same!

posted by Dotty the Green Dog Democrat @ 8:14 AM

9 Comments:
At 12:32 PM, Dotty the Green Dog Democrat said...
Comments so far:1. Great Piece, Dotty! If you don't have me signed onto your progressive caucus list, put me on, of course. And since I don't always get to going to my favorite sites, please add me to your email tree for your blog. Thanks. Am forwarding on your email to my lists.JudyPS and I like ProACTIVE but with V for Voting or even no acronym needed (but I like your creativity). I don't suppose ProACTIVE is a viagra like drug by any chance????2. Thanks, Dotty. I like PROActive. I like the aggressive tone to this. Initiatives? How about one which levels the playing field a bit with insurance companies? Given that they make the rules and are answerable to no one, wouldn't it be nice to force them to play defense for a while? Rights of injured persons? Let's face it, the insurance industry is, in California, and particularly with respect to automobile policies, essentially a legally-sanctioned extortion racket. My take on issues is to locate those areas where the vast majority would agree with us if it only knew what we know. Health care is a good area, of course, but you know how the industry responds -- we're going to run business out of the state, that sort of thing. But they can be beaten.Raz 3. Bravo on this. Your proposed trajectory sounds right on to me Mark4. At CalTrans, they gave me 4 pages of acronyms when I was a new employee...I don't like them. Bev5. Dotty:On my show last night I interviewed Dan Cantor, who heads the Working Families Party in New York State. These people seem to have clear political eyes, and in just six years they have become a political force to be reckoned with. The key, Cantor says, is fusion voting. Without it, Third Parties are doomed to defeat and self-defeat, as my friend Ralph has illustrated in such sad fashion. Maybe that should be a top priority.Jonathan
At 2:28 PM, CalifSherry said...
I'm pretty certain I'm signed onto this progressive caucus idea. I remember having som difficulty with your email link, so if I'm not already there, please sign me up.Acronyms have their advantages and I like ProACTIVE. I'm not coming up with anything better than Initiative, Voices/Votes and Education and especially want something for the T, but someone else likely will if we keep the conversation going.What do you have in mind so far as local (county or AD) oganizing of a progressive caucus goes. Could it (we) bring people together for local discussion and action?
At 4:28 PM, Anonymous said...
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
At 10:12 AM, Dotty the Green Dog Democrat said...
More Comments emailed to me:I like ProACTIVE. That's what we have to be. I have been to a couple of Demo Club meetings and ProACTIVE they are not. I am joining one called Valley Dems United in case I decide to run for delegate through my AD which is the 39th. I also like the updated Progressive Caucus Resolution. More later.Ken Dotty:Great site! Nice and clean! I get distracted by dark color backgrounds.The resolution looks much better. Lucy
At 11:57 AM, Anonymous said...
hi Dotty,I just was reading your site. Had to let you know that I am LOVING yourProACTIVE title for the caucus. My "day job" is as a marketing creativedirector, so I can appreciate the value of a good name.Don't even think you need it as an acronym. It has Progressive Action builtright in.best,--candace kuss
At 9:38 AM, Dotty the Green Dog Democrat said...
Two more comments on this post:Thanks…what good new!Tim Carpenter, PDAI think we need to start a new party called "Progressive" and invite all the disillusioned Democrats, Greens and Republicans. I think we'd have a majority party! There were many Republicans who switched this year. There once was a Progressive party, but I don't think it exists, as such, now. --Lucille
At 12:47 PM, BRYAN said...
If you need any help Arizona is here! Glad to hear you mention Tim Carpenter as well! PDA And AzDPC have always worked quite well together. www.azprogressive.usBryan BuchanPhoenix Regional DirectorAzDPC
At 2:12 PM, Mark Hull-RIchter said...
I like the whole idea - please keep me in the loop.mhr
At 12:30 PM, Jo Olson said...
I love the idea of a Progressive Caucus, and PROactive is great, but it is also the name of the over the counter acne system. Please keep me in the loop, I'm a new delegate to the State Central Committee in AD 42.

Progressive Agenda

2005-01-20T11:03:00.000-08:00

Happy Inaugural Day All.

George Bush is promising us freedom and liberty at home and abroad. Hallelujah to that!

I'm not engaging in no spending day. I'm spending my lunch money at the local bistro. I'm supporting Mom and Pop stores and I'm giving to my favorite progressive causes.

Not one Dime for Corporate America.

I'd like to get started on a progressive agenda. A populist agenda. A Forefront Agenda.

I have two suggestions for our first programs:

1. Let's talk health care. How about the progressive Caucus or PROActive or whatever we are calling ourselves takes on the support of Sheila Kuehl's single payer Health Care proposal in California? She introduced this before and she's baaack. And so should we be. Read about it in the LA Times: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-health20jan20,1,5731510.story?coll=la-headlines-california&ctrack=1&cset=true

2. How about seeking legislative support for what I'm calling "No Vote Left Behind," a modest proposal to make California keep pace with 21 other states that have a mandatory recount in races where the difference is less than a certain percentage, most often .5%.

In those states with such a provision, the State, County or local municipality pays the freight for the recount. In other states, you can have a recount, but you pay. If you end up winning, they pay you back, but still, the cost is prohibitive for most candidates.

It happened here in Marin County in the Marin Health Care District race this November. The anti-Sutter (corporate) candidate was .31% behind at the end of the day. He would have had to pay between $30,000 - $180,000 by County estimates for a hand recount. We balked. We sued. We lost.

We need legislative action. What if Christine Gregoire wasn't able to raise the $750,000 for the recount in the Washington Governor's race?

Comments on these proposals?

I have secured sample Bylaws to use for our California Democratic Progressive Caucus. These will outline the nuts and bolts of operations, and must conform to the California State Democratic Party rules, so they are pretty standard. The real work is going into a mission statement. I have some thoughts I'll be sharing soon. Let me know what you'd like to see in such a document, positions taken, issues championed, etc.

Thanks. To the Forefront!

Peace,

Dotty

2005-01-13T12:41:00.000-08:00

Dotty Enjoying Your Posts

ELECTORAL COLLEGE REFORM

2005-01-12T10:37:00.000-08:00

Tom Gangale has an interesting spin on the Electoral College reform debate. Might we be able to change it dramatically without a Constitutional Amendment? Read on and comment!

Dotty

Electoral College Reform

by Thomas Gangale

After almost every presidential election the idea of reforming the Electoral College--or outright abolishing it--gets kicked around. These ideas go nowhere fast for the simple reason that there are more small states that are advantaged by the current system than there are large states that are disadvantaged by it. Thus, a constitutional amendment will never pass the US Senate by a two-thirds majority, and even if it did, it would never be ratified by three-fourths of the state legislatures (see my op-ed in the Dec. 29, 2004 Santa Rosa Press Democrat at <http://www1.pressdemocrat.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20041229/NEWS/412290339/1050/OPINION03>).

Another avenue of reform that is often discussed is changing the allocation of individual states' electors by state legislation, but this presents a massive collection problem that is equally hopeless, and it still doesn't address the problem of the small states having disproportional electoral power.

The path of least resistance would be enacting reform by federal statute, which only requires a simple majority in the House and the Senate. But would such a statute be constitutional? Either I have found a loophole in the Constitution that would permit a reformulation of the Electoral College in order to bring it much closer to the principle of "one person, one vote" (see <http://www.ops-alaska.com/ps2/Electoral_College_Math_201.htm>) or my argument is based on a specious word game.

By definition, all of us on this blog are political junkies. (My name is Tom, and I'm a political junkie!) However, are there any other political scientists or some constitutional lawyers in the audience who could give this issue an authoritative critique?

Barbara Boxer - Standing Tall

2005-01-07T10:35:00.000-08:00

I have a Barbara Boxer coffee mug, Barbara Boxer Sleep shirt and a pair of the infamous Boxer Shorts. I even have a photo of my dog wearing them, with me proudly showing our support.

(Which I would post here, if I could only figure out how to do it)

Barbara Boxer is our home town girl, home County actually, rising from the School Board, to the Board of Supervisors, then on to Congress and Senate. She rose in the ranks the classic way. She earned her Senate seat the old fashioned way, by paying dues for years, getting to know her constituents, and most important sticking to her principles, for the most part anyway.

A historic photo shows then Representative Barbara Boxer leading a charge of women up the steps of the Capitol to protest and condemn the nomination of Clarence Thomas.

We don't always agree on policy. Barbara voted for the death penalty for drug "kingpins" a shady bill that could be used against any one in the drug trafficking cycle, not necessarily the big bad guys heading up the cartels.

Yesterday, Barbara fulfilled her liberal legacy, her belief in the core values of not just the Democratic Party, but of our most basic premise of our Declaration of Independence that all people are free to seek life liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

If they are not free to vote, and to have that vote counted, how can any of the rest of it follow?

Barbara was the sole Senator to stand with Ohio Representative Stephanie Tubbs-Jones in objecting to the certifiable of the Ohio electoral vote because of evidence of massive voter fraud, mismanagement, and improprieties of all sorts, rendering thousands of votes meaningless.

She was the sole Senator after an hours' long hearing on the matter to stick to her principles and vote not to certify, in the face of calumny, name calling, sneering and snickering from the Republicans and abdication of their historic role as champion of civil and human rights of the common man on the part of many of her Democratic Colleagues.

This is why we NEED a Democratic Progressive Action caucus in our Party; we need a group of people ready to take action, champion these causes, bring them to the forefront and get in the face of timid Democrats when the need arises.

Our Party can be great. It is founded on great principles. It mouths key phrases like "every vote must count" while going on vacation when the time comes to count the votes; it agrees irregularities occurred that must never occur again, but it votes to certify a terribly flawed election.

The outcome is that we will never know whether George Bush won the election or not. We progressives have solid evidence that he did not, that not only in Ohio, but in Florida, New Mexico and other States, strange doings played havoc with the votes cast. (and the Repubs accuse the Democrats of practicing "X-files" politics!)

Barbara, you are a true American hero. Someone said it was ironic that the only one with cojones was a woman. It's not ironic, and it's not testosterone that makes someone do the right thing. It's principle that cannot be denied. Testosterone is often too busy swaggering and puffing cigars with Ahnold in the smoking tent.

Principle stands tall even when it comes in a diminutive package like one courageous Senator from California.

Thank you Barbara!

NEW YEAR'S RESOLUTIONS

2004-12-31T13:20:00.000-08:00

The Green Dog has some New Year's Resolutions to share, not all her own personal ones, but as a citizen of this country, I'm making some for the nation too:

1. Get out of Iraq sooner rather than later. To that end, a committed group of California Progressive Democrats has been formulating a resolution to send to the State and National Parties with the ultimate goal to be that Congress acts to end the War. A new (but probably not final) iteration of that resolution is as follows:

WHEREAS,
The occupation of Iraq has resulted in loss of life for more than 1300 American troops and the maiming and injuring or more than 10,000 more, is draining American resources, and saddling the nation with an enormous debt that will only victimize our children and grandchildren; and

WHEREAS,
The occupation of Iraq by American forces rather than making us safer, is jeopardizing the security of the United States by creating even more insurgents while stripping us of the moral high ground which further undermines our ability to defend ourselves in time of attack; and

WHEREAS,
The occupation of Iraq has resulted in untold loss of life for Iraqi civilians, destruction of infrastructure, while turning former allies against us, effectively isolating us from the protective sympathies of the rest of humankind;

Therefore, be it resolved that the (insert appropriate AD Committee or name of Club or Central Committee) _____ calls for an end to the US administered occupation of Iraq, coupled with the creation of an international body that assists the Iraqi people in freely and peacefully determining their own future.

Be it further resolved that the California Democratic Party call upon the United States Congress, which has the ultimate power to declare and end war, to immediately implement the same.

Your comments please! Change for your state!

2. Inaugurate President Kerry.

3. Exercise more and eat Blue.

4. Keep Hope alive!

5. Win back Red California

6. Get a Progressive Action Caucus going

7. Get a California Green PAC going to win initiatives for the environment and all living things.

8. Get organized (You should see my desk!)

9. Have fun with friends and family

10. Get ready for 2006. Win back the Congress!

Doin's in the Dem Party - Think Locally Act Globally (and vice versa)

2004-12-23T10:08:00.000-08:00

Hey Green Dogs,

There's doin's since some of you suggested an anti-Iraq War/Bring our Troops Home resolution for the California State Party.

So far, East Bay, Marin, San Francisco, and North Bay have all expressed interest.

Many of us will be discussing this at the Assembly District reorganization meetings on January 8th and 9th (depending on where you live. If you don't know which one you're in go here and find out: http://www.assembly.ca.gov/acs/defaulttext.asp). There's a lot more interest in becoming a State delegate than in any past years since I've been involved.

Here is draft resolution submitted by Mal Burnstein of Berkeley (AD 14). Tell us what you think, and consider carrying it to your Clubs, Central Committees and ADs:

Whereas the Bush Administration misled the country into an illegal, unnecessary and unwise war, against the advice of most of the world and without United Nations support, against a country that had not attacked or threatened the United States; and

Whereas that war has caused and continues to cause, in a seemingly never-ending cycle, the loss of countless American, Iraqi and other lives and maimed and injured many more, including numerous innocent civilians; and

WHEREAS the war has alienated us from most of the world, continues to deplete our economy at an alarming rate to the detriment of the American People and has destroyed Iraqi civil society and seems to be creating a civil war among Iraqi factions and religions;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that the 14th Assembly District Democratic Committee declares that it supports as immediate a withdrawal of United States Armed Forces from Iraq as they can be replaced by United Nations Peacekeeping forces; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the 14th Assembly District Assembly Committee calls upon the California State Democratic Party to pass a similar resolution and urge the United States Congress, which has the ultimate power to declare and end war, to immediately implement the same.
......

As promised, here is the full message from Thomas Gangale on reforming the primary process:

Hi Dotty,As you know, for some time now I've been beating the drum for reforming the presidential nomination process. The opportunity has now presented itself within the Democratic Party. Terry McAuliffe empaneled a Presidential Primary Commission a week ago (see <http://www.democrats.org/news/200412140004.html>), something I suggested to him in June 2003. So, the game is afoot!Art Torres announced a few days ago that he will serve on the commission. Naturally, I'm sending him info on the California Plan.Eighteen months ago I predicted that John Kerry would be the Democratic nominee, and that Bush would win reelection. Counterintuitively, Kerry's early victory over Dean was his ultimate undoing. By the end of February, he was already the presumptive Democratic nominee. That was big news at the time, but it had no staying power. Was anything he did between then and the Democratic Convention at the end of July big news? He couldn't buy a headline! Meanwhile, his Republican opponent could fart in the Oval Office or the Rose Garden and make news. Prior to the first presidential debate in October, political pundits said that this was the first opportunity for Kerry to show the American people who he really was. This shouldn't have been his first opportunity! The people should have known Kerry well before this! And, they would have, if the Democratic nomination process had been more contentious. History shows that in the case of a largely uncontested nomination in one party, it is that nominee who wins: Nixon 1972, Reagan 1984, Clinton 1996. Since Bush was uncontested in 2004, it is unsurprising that he won. However, when the nominations in both parties were contested, it was the more contentious nomination struggle that produced the eventual winner: Carter 1976, Reagan 1980, Clinton 1992, Bush 2000. (In 1988, the nomination fights in both parties were equally contentious.) This is an unbroken rule in American politics over the past 40 years.Now, an uncontested nomination is statistically less likely than a contested one, since it presupposes a popular incumbent (at least within his own party). In 2008, however, the nominations in both parties will be open, and the Democratic Party should structure its primaries accordingly. According to my theory, the winner of the more contentious nomination process will win the White House. The problem is that the front-loaded scheduling that has been increasingly in vogue since 1998 truncates competition. If you don't win the first couple of contests (Iowa and New Hampshire), you're basically screwed. You don't live to fight another day, because the first game is "sudden death."In my view, the path to Democratic victory in 2008 is clear. The present DNC chair, Terry McAuliffe, who engineered the most front-loaded primary schedule in history in 2004, has been proven wrong. The early determination of the nominee is not advantageous to the party. We need a more, not less, competitive nomination process. The RNC's Brock Commission came to the same conclusion in 2000 at the philosophical level, although the reform plan that it recommended (the Delaware Plan) was flawed and was ultimately shot down by the Bush campaign. Now, the Democratic Party has the opportunity to seize the initiative. I believe that a protracted nomination fight in 2008 will train the Democratic nominee into fighting trim for the main event in November. A competitive primary process will vet the party's message to a finely-honed edge. If one believes in the democratic process, and in the virtues of competition, this only make sense.As much as I have been interested in politics over the years, and I'm now studying political science at SFSU in both the national and international milieux, I'm a neophyte when it comes to hands-on politics. Right now, I'm just a guy who thinks he has a pretty good idea. The California Plan has received some very favorable comments came up on a couple of blog sites. One is by Garry Young, a Poli Sci faculty member at GWU, at <http://nopanaceas.blogspot.com/2004_03_07_nopanaceas_archive.html#107894018283459882>. Another is by Chris Bowers, a Democratic Party activist in Philadelphia, at <http://www.mydd.com/story/2004/8/4/144733/9372>. And, of course, Lynn Woolsey wrote to Terry McAuliffe in support of the California Plan last year. But now it's time to pick up the pace. I need to get the word out, get more endorsements, and ultimately I need to get myself invited to present my ideas before the commission. If you have any ideas on who I should hook up with, I'd appreciate it.Best regards,Tom Gangale

Thoughts for the Solstice

2004-12-22T08:38:00.000-08:00

Now that the longest night has passed, we can look forward to spring. Literally, and hopefully, metaphorically as well.

We must look forward, even as the country seems to be lurching backward in a Republican frenzy to unravel progressive initiatives like the Social Security, protecting the environment, human rights, free speech, and other minor advancements we've managed to craft over the last two hundred years.

....

Mark Leno, Assembly member from San Francisco is still pushing his Gay Marriage initiative in the State Legislature, but calling it something like religious freedom and non-discrimination in marriage act. Is the first page from the playbook of Karl Rove the Democrats are taking?

If so, hoorah. We have to couch things in language that will strike a chord with people, not frighten them off. Go Mark!

.....

A correspondent writes that the nomination process for the Democratic primary needs serious overhaul. The front loaded process by which Kerry was annointed as soon as he took Iowa denies us a choice, and doesn't allow for vigorous airing of the issues. He's proposing a plan whereby primaries are truly contested, predicting the more contested, the better the ultimate candidate and more chance he (or she) has of winning. I will try to post the whole story here soon.

Dotty