FEATURED ARTICLES
- Progressive Democrats of America Actions & Resources, by Mimi Kennedy
- Letter to Congressman Brad Sherman (D-CA),, from Mimi Kennedy
- RHINO'S BOTTOM LINE:
- MoveOn.org: Making Peace With the War in Iraq
, by Norman Solomon, CommonDreams.org, March 10, 2005
SPECIAL ACTION ALERT:
This week, the House and Senate budget committees split over whether or not to include proposals to allow drilling in America's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to be included in the federal budget. The Senate is poised to vote next week on whether or not to allow the drilling provision to stay in the budget.
1) CALL YOUR SENATOR'S OFFICE TODAY!
You can use the Arctic Hotline for capitol hill: 1-888-894-5325 or GO TO:
http://capwiz.com/awc/dbq/officials
and click on your state to get the direct number for your Senator. Ask your Senator to vote 'YES' on the Cantwell amendment to keep drilling in the Arctic Refuge out of the budget.
2) SEND AN ACTION EMAIL AT:
http://capwiz.com/awc/issues/alert/?alertid=7192016
QUOTE OF THE DAY:
"To those who have called me a coward I say that they are wrong and that without knowing it, they are also right. They are wrong when they think that I left the war for fear of being killed. I admit that fear was there, but there was also the fear of killing innocent people, the fear of putting myself in a position where to survive means to kill, there was the fear of losing my soul in the process of saving my body, the fear of losing myself to my daughter, to the people who love me, to the man I used to be, the man I wanted to be. I was afraid of waking up one morning to realize my humanity had abandoned me."
- - Sgt.
Camilo Mejia (who served a year in prison for refusing to return to
fight in Iraq. He was released from prison Feb. 15, 2005.)
KNOW YOUR HISTORY:
March 14th
1907 -- US Stock market crash, New York City.
1949 -- To protest military build-up 41 US Taxpayers publicly refuse to pay income tax.
1990 -- Sixteen disabled rights activists arrested at the US Capitol demanding passage of what becomes the Americans
With Disabilities Act.
2003 -- Millions of Europeans participate in a 15-minute
work stoppage to protest the shrub gang's relentless war drive against Iraq.
RHINO SEZ:
This Tuesday, the House will vote on shrub's proposal for $82 BILLION more for
the war. A few days later, on March 18th thru the 20th, protest activities
in at least 300 cities around the country, and scores of other places around
the world will mark the anniversary of the beginning of that war. (Visit http://www.unitedforpeace.org
to find an action near you, or to list your event.) Now is the time to tell
your Congressional reps how you feel about the waste of US taxpayer dollars
for this criminal war. Besides attending a protest, here are some things each
of us can do.
> CALL YOUR HOUSE MEMBER NOW, by Tuesday when the House votes on the $82 Billion supplemental request. Tell them to vote NO. It's a straightforward message: Not one more dime for this war! Visit http://www.congress.org for contact info.
> THEN PLAN TO PRESSURE YOUR SENATOR LATER THIS MONTH. Congress is in recess between March 21 & April 1. During that time many members are in their home states. The $82 billion request will be taken up by the Senate after that recess, so this 2 week period is a perfect opportunity to bring your message to your senators.
Last week I joined a delegation from Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) in a visit to US
Congressman Brad Sherman's office in the San Fernando Valley. Led by National PDA Board member Mimi
Kennedy, our group met with the Congressman's local & DC (by conference call) chiefs of staff. In no uncertain terms, we impressed upon them that as representatives of a large number of constituents, we were steadfastly against the continued funding of the war in Iraq. We urged the Congressman to vote NO on the upcoming 80 BILLION DOLLAR war appropriation bill. Amazingly, the staff members said they were glad to hear from us & that they had not been hearing much from the anti-war movement lately. WAKE UP CALL MY FRIENDS!!!!
The Rhino hereby urges you to call your national representatives, at their home offices, or email or write them & tell them what you think. They are listening. I also urge you to join your local chapter of PDA (or start one if there isn't one) & go visit your Congressman's office. In fact, do it regularly. The way to get the Democratic politicians to generate some tenacity is to have some yourself & take it right into their offices.
Speaking of a lack of tenacity, check out today's RHINO'S
BOTTOM LINE by Norm Soloman about MoveOn.com's recent refusals to speak out or take positions firmly on ending the war in Iraq. He also spotlight's PDA as an effective alternative to MoveOn. I'm also posting herewith a letter written by Mimi Kennedy which we left for Congressman Sherman, & some other information about the resources PDA offers you for your activism.
(o/)(o/)(o/)
Progressive Democrats of America Actions & Resources
by Mimi Kennedy, 3/12/05
In January at the PDA National Conference in Washington, DC, and at the February
Western Conference in Phoenix, AZ, participants reached consensus that ending
the war in Iraq is our primary issue right now. Ending election fraud and
promoting clean, honest elections has also been our focus because without
that, progressive change will be stymied by stealth.
PDA is organizing around the country in a process described on its website at
http://www.pdamerica.org. On the Main Page, click "PDA Structure", "Chapters/Caucuses" and "Be
a Chapter" to get the guidelines. Deputy Field Director Sherry Bohlen, Phoenix,
AZ, is also available for guiding new members on state progressive caucuses
(whether you need one or one already exists) and on chapter organizing. Different
states prefer different organizing boundaries. Utah, for instance, organized
county chapters, because the congressional districts are too large for members
to meet each other easily. PDA works face-to-face, nationally (with conferences)
and locally as well as networking on the internet. California is organizing
by Congressional District (CD) wherever possible to maximize PDA members' lobbying
leverage.
When a legislator hears from progressives who are all his constituents, denial
fades away. It is easy for some to dismiss the national progressive organizations
as "outside agitation" of their otherwise satisfied voters. That is why PDA
is emphasizing the organize-by-CD strategy wherever possible. PDA helps us, with
Action Tools on its home page. Click on Action Tools. There you can enter your
zip code and your federal legislators will appear. For your Congressional Rep,
you may have to enter your address, as many CA zip codes are split into different
CD's. And now, the icing on the cake: in the box suggesting you "compose your
own letter to federal or state officials" click on state. You may have to enter
your address again, because of zip code splits. Then you will see your listed
state legislators and districts.
PDLA (Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles, our local PDA Chapter) is encouraging members to create an e-mail signature that identifies them by their representatives. This way, when we e-mail, we see our fellow constituents. The reps identify us this way - why don't we, to each other? Mine is:
Mimi Kennedy
CA-27th Congressional District (Brad Sherman)
CA-40th Assembly District (Lloyd Levine)
CA- 21st State Senate District (Jack Scott)
The Iraqis had to risk their lives to vote publicly. We ought to be that brave in identifying ourselves as constituents of certain districts in our daily lives. Without embracing our own democracy, we'll lose it. The corporate "Persons" are de-facto organized as groups who pressure legislators, and they would love to damp our voices. This signature is a simple way to fight back!
We're encouraging constituents to form citizen delegations to go to their reps'
local offices and express opposition to the war. Yes, they want to support the
troops. But supporting them is not keeping them there for the oil flow, for years.
Yes, Iraq is now experiencing democracy. And the wish the Iraqi voters expressed,
at the risk of their lives, was reflected in their election of the slate that
promised an end to the US occupation. We suggest it's time to call for negotiations
in Iraq to settle the regional and national issues now being expressed in violent
insurgency that harms Iraqis and Americans.
(o/)(o/)(o/)
Brad Sherman March 10, 2005
5000 Van Nuys Blvd.
Van Nuys, CA.
Dear Rep. Sherman,
Thank you for receiving our constituent delegation. We‚re members of Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles (PDLA). It‚s a chapter of Progressive Democrats of America (pdamerica.org) organized within Democratic Clubs and on e-mail networks of friends. We want you to oppose the unquestioned $80 billion appropriation for the war in Iraq. It is off-budget, as is the $151 billion already spent for the war. The previous billions are not all spent and those spent are not all accounted for. The Bush budget is already in deep deficit, and taxpayers will pay the bill. All this red ˆ the ink and the bloodshed --must be questioned. You did not declare war, in Congress. You voted to trust the Administration as a matter of policy. The Administration lied to you. A majority of Americans know that. A majority want the troops home now. We know our consent, given because of fear of Iraqi nuclear weapons, was based on a lie. Many of us are aware that the Bush ! Administration‚s friends, through Project for the New American Century, planned this war in Iraq long before 9/11. Rumsfeld promised it would take „weeks, not months.‰ It has been two years. Many of us suspect „getting the job done‰ is not to establish Iraqi democracy as much as to secure the flow of oil for our economy. Yet the same Republicans who insist on sacrificing lives and limbs of our soldiers refuse to impose mileage standards for American cars to conserve this high-priced resource.
The Iraqi people recently elected, at risk of their lives, the slate of candidates
that promised to negotiate a US withdrawal and end the occupation. The spectacle
of American legislators passing $80 billion more without bringing up that democratically-expressed
wish of the Iraqi people is shameful and a mark of hypocrisy. Progressives in
your district are tired of violence as foreign policy; of media and politicians
who don‚t count Iraqi dead; of the silence from Democrats about Abu Ghraib,
which has blackened our soul in the eyes of the world. We are tired of Democrats
who comply, by silence, with election officials like Conny McCormack, who would
impose paperless voting machines on LA, to manage democracy without audit. The
troops need our support. We would prefer a vote for an amount earmarked for
their safety while a withdrawal is negotiated. It is time to call for such negotiation.
It is time for questions from our politicians: How is this $80 billion earmarked?
How much more will be required? What about the Iraqis‚ wish for an end to the
occupation? Many people from the military support an end to this war. Our veterans
are in need and our citizens are in need. We want government support, on-budget,
for health care, schools, jobs, and our dirty environment. We want you to end
this war.
Sincerely,
Mimi Kennedy
National Board Member - Progressive Democrats of America
(o/)(o/)(o/)
12:17:53 PM 
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