STUPID DESIGN

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

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!

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

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

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

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

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

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 IraqÂ’s 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

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

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

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

Mendocino Democratic Training 

NEWSWEEK OR NEWSPEAK?

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

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

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

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

State Treasurer Phil Angelides joins the new Progressive Caucus! 

Congresswoman Barbara Lee mets with Members of the new Prorogressive Caucus 

Look How Crowded our Caucus is! 

OFF TO THE CONVENTION!

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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.)

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

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

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

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

Dotty Enjoying Your Posts 

ELECTORAL COLLEGE REFORM

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

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

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)

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

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

NEW!! Updated Progressive Caucus News

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. Lynn

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