Cascadia Liberals Weekly Newsletter #99

Our Political Priorities

· Fair Elections and Open Government

· Fair Taxes and Competent Spending

· Investment for Productivity

· Quality Health, Education, Jobs, Income and Retirement

· Environmental Protection and Energy Independence

· Personal Security and Equal Rights

· International Cooperation and Leadership

Conservatives oppose all of these.

Recommendations

·       Darcy Burner for U.S. Congress, 8^th District

·       Alec Fisken for Seattle Port Commission

·       Both Gael Tarleton and Jack Block, Jr. for Port

   Commission against their incumbent opponent

·       Dana Stober for Kent City Council, Position 3.

·       Keri Andrews for Bellevue City Council

·       Brian Conlin for Redmond City Council

·       Support Our Grocery Workers

Correction of Error in last week’s newsletter: Our Defense Secretary is Robert (not Bill) Gates. Thanks to Karen Willard for noticing.

Creating Priorities for Precinct Canvassing

Using 2004 and 2006 election precinct votes data, I want to create get-out-the-vote quotas for each precinct in the 48^th legislative district, compare them with the number of identified likely Democratic voters (A’s and B’s on the Democratic Party walking lists) and establish canvassing priorities among precincts. Hopefully these will help cooperative Democratic PCO and candidate canvassing efforts in the 48^th LD and create a model to be replicated in other LD’s. Please join with me to analyze the data and make decisions, particularly if you have experience with MS Excel or MS Access. Dave Thomas

Advocacy Groups and Candidates

Sample Organization or Candidate Notice

Available free to any organization or candidate who stimulate many of their members to become politically informed through joining our Puget Sound Liberals. Published each week until updated. For example:

Do Good Organization or Candidate: Our vision is doing good. To realize our vision, our mission is helping all. Our major programs are increasing awareness, organizing and acting. Present activities include protesting evil, proclaiming good and helping people. We invite you to the following events: Leader Dunking Fundraiser, Planning session. Picketing. For more information and to join us, visit our website: www.DoMuchGood.org.

Liberals and Democrats

Howard Dean’s 50 State Strategy

I strongly support Howard Dean’s permanent 50-state strategy. Unfortunately only an abstract of Elaine C. Kamarck’s research paper, Assessing Howard Dean’s Fifty State Strategy and the 2006 Midterm Elections is available online. Its summary states:

It is not surprising to find out that organizing matters and so does money. But to place this debate in the context of modern political history it is useful to note that for many years now, the national Democratic Party has lagged behind the national Republican Party when it came to the technology of elections. A large part of Governor Howard Dean’s attractiveness to the state and local party people who elected him was the hope that he would revitalize parties. As Chairman he has had to pick his battles inside the Beltway with care, knowing that he was in hostile

territory from the beginning. But the strong increase in Democratic performance in Dean’s targeted districts should settle the debate for the time being. Senator Harry Reid, the new majority leader had to admit “I didn’t support his running for chair of the DNC… I was wrong. He was right. I support his grassroots Democratic Party-building.”6

See what Howard Dean and his supporters say: One, Two, Three, Four and Five. See what his opponents say: One and Two.

In Washington, I support a 49 legislative district strategy conducted every day of every year. We need to identify our voters, recruit and train them as volunteers, and recruit and train our candidates. We need to do all these in cooperation among our state and legislative district organizations and our political campaigns for federal and state offices. An 8^th Congressional District organization just being formed may assist the coordination of these activities there. Dave Thomas

They Don’t Know How to Mobilize Grassroots

Our Lake Hills Liberals was initially established by a local MoveOn Operation Democracy team with seven members, six of whom are still with us. But MoveOn has totally ignored our efforts and achievements in spite of my efforts to inform them. Democracy for America, our Democratic Central Committee (headed by Howard Dean) and at least several Democratic candidate campaigns have also established local grassroots groups. See the Democrats’ Party Builder and John Edwards’ One Corps. But these local groups are floundering, with no clearly defined vision and mission, little cohesion and cooperative action among their members and little impact. None of these national organizations know how to mobilize grassroots groups.

I have attempted to communicate some suggestions concerning grass roots mobilization with their regional coordinators, but get no responses. Their top-down communication makes it difficult to communicate upward and indicates that they don’t care about what suggestions local people might make. Several local groups have contacted me to suggest coordinating the efforts of our Puget Sound Liberals with their efforts. When I ask what efforts of theirs they want me to coordinate with and how, there are no answers.

To mobilize our grassroots, a national organization or campaign must do the following:

· Establish a vision and mission for their local grassroots groups, including examples of activities to further their mission

· Identify their members in various local areas (small enough that members can meet and work together)

· Invite their members to create and join local groups

· Provide ways for those who join to communicate, meet, plan activities and cooperate

· Provide newsletters to grassroots groups or groups of groups to educate and inform their members

· Allow questions and feedback from local grassroots groups upward to the national organization

I am unaware of any organizations in our Puget Sound region that are doing these necessary things. Until they do, enormous energy is being wasted. If any of them do begin to this, our Puget Sound Liberals will cooperate fully with them, helping to educate and inform their members, providing them space in our newsletter to advertise their activities and more.

Community Organizers Take Different Approach than Political Campaigners

Most of the political activists I meet assume that a major objective is to obtain maximum publicity concerning intentions and capabilities. My background is not politics. It is community organizing which makes a very different assumption. We seek to quietly create an infrastructure, which enables us to perform. Without advance publicity, when we perform something that no one believed could happen, it appears as a miracle which surprises them and catches their attention. We avoid raising expectations and creating vaporware. Our credibility may come more slowly, but if it comes it is much more deeply rooted in a product rather than a dream. Miracles entice people to become involved.

Among our Democratic presidential candidates, Barack Obama (who was a community organizer before becoming involved in politics) is clearly far better than his competitors at grass roots mobilization. With lesser poll ratings than Clinton, he is getting massive turnouts at his appearances and surprised everyone with his fundraising and the breadth of his donor base. I am guessing that these miracles are based upon unpublicized organizing. Being unanticipated, they have created a huge impression. Go to Barack Obama’s, John Edwards’ and the Democratic Central Committee’s websites to see their alternative approaches to establishing and empowering local grassroots groups

If Barack Obama’s local groups can canvass and get out the vote in next winter’s primaries the way they have gotten people out for his appearances and raised funds, we may see another miracle: vote totals far exceeding those predicted by the polls. For us strategy enthusiasts, we want to know the respective values of local organizing, electronic politicking and media campaigning. What is the ideal mix for various political situations?

Barack Obama’s Foreign Policy?

Barack Obama rightly opposed our occupation of Iraq from the beginning. His strategy for getting out of Iraq is less clear than that of other Democratic presidential candidates. He has supported Israel’s foreign policy, including the destruction it wrecked upon Lebanon and its treatment of the Palestinians. He is a hawk on Iran, citing it as a threat to Israel and the U.S. Is he just going along with conventional anti-liberal inside Washington wisdom? For more.

Nation and World

The Global Class War

Class, Globalization and Personal Risk

Our jobs, income, retirement and families are more at risk due to new technologies, privatization and globalization. See especially Jacob S. Hacker, 2006, The Great Risk Shift, Lester Thurow, 2003, Fortune Favors the Bold and others on our reading list. In his easily read 2006 book, The Global Class War, Jeff Faux demonstrates that these new technologies, privatization and globalization are all controlled and driven by a economically and politically powerful global corporate elite class of people connected with our large corporations as managers, investors and supporters.

Our Global Elite Corporate Elite

Members of this class typically grew up in similarly wealthy and powerful families, went to elite universities, work in the same business environments (punctuated by academic and government employment), and associate with others of their kind. They share an outlook which focuses upon producing what is good for corporations, even if this is damaging to our country and most members of our broader public. Members of our global elite class appear most prominently at the various conferences in Davos and of the Bilderberg Group, the Trilateral Commission, the Council on Foreign relations, The Ditchley Foundation and the Fortune magazine sponsored meetings of the CEOs of the 500 largest corporations.

NAFTA and Its Results

Faux describes the successful bipartisan effort by our global elite class to pass the 1993 NAFTA treaty between our U.S., Canada and Mexico without labor, consumer or environmental protection. Contrary to deceptive claims that all would benefit, the result was huge gains for the wealthy in all three countries the bankrupting of smaller businesses and farmers and reduced jobs and wages for workers. The most obvious result was not the giant sucking sound of manufacturing jobs going to Mexico (They are actually going to China). It was the giant sucking sound of bankrupted Mexican farmers, small business owners and workers immigrating to our United States.

International Organizations Serve Our Global Elite

In early 1995, our global elite class arranged the bailout of their threatened investments when Mexico became unable to pay it debts. Using the U.S. government, the U.S. controlled International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, our elite class was able to impose conditions favorable to themselves on investor exposed countries around the world, at the expense of public investment, social services and the jobs and incomes of their citizens. South American and Southeast Asian countries suffered economic stagnation and worse.

Controlled by our global elite, the totally non-democratic World Trade Organization (WTO) has become the main protector of our global elite’s power against governments, allowing corporations to violate countries’ laws and even sue them for damages. Our elite strongly opposes the democratizing and strengthening of the United Nations, the World Bank, IMF, WTO and other international bodies.

A Democratic North America

To protect the public interest, Jeff Faux suggests we need a movement for a democratic North America, with a platform which includes:

· An economic bill of rights

· “Cohesion” investment funds for Mexico as the European Union has provided for its less developed members

· A common competitiveness agenda to compete with the rest of the world

· A citizens’ North American congress to promote the public interest in contrast to the private interests of our global elite

Reading The Global Class War and the other books mentioned above is crucial to understand major trends shaping our lives and possible strategies for influencing these trends.

Another America’s Trade Deal. Good or Bad?

Bush and the Democrats have quietly reached an agreement concerning a package of trade deals with various South American countries. For more.

The Decline of American Influence Abroad

Our American cultural, economic, political and military dominance during the last 60 years and especially since the collapse of the Soviet Union 15 years ago could not last. But who could have imagined our dominance would decline so rapidly? Although the pattern is scarcely mentioned by our news media, the rest of the world is rapidly going in its own directions with little concern for the United States. It is spinning out of control by America.

· America cannot control immigrants or drugs arriving from Mexico

· Venezuela, Bolivia, Argentina, Brazil and other South American countries are considering creation of a regional bank controlled by them as an alternative to the U.S. controlled World Bank and IMF.

· Roadside and suicide bombs have spread from Iraq to Afghanistan to Pakistan and perhaps next to other oil producers such as Saudi Arabia and Nigeria. So much for democratizing the Mid-East

· Various Mid-East countries are seeking to coordinate their activities, independently of our United States

· Newly oil-rich Russia is increasing asserting its independence and criticism of the United States

· The European Union focuses upon its cohesion and development instead of supporting United States military action

· China is an independent power necessary to dealing with North Korea and the Sudan.

· Most East Asian nations are banding together to form their own economic free trade zone

· Other countries are increasingly maintaining their earnings in euros instead of dollars.

These trends are accelerating. We ain’t seen nothing yet. We may have to start living like the rest of the world, without the privileges of global power.

The Surge is Failing

Bush appears to want to stay in Iraq as long as possible. But the surge is failing. United States casualties are up. Iraqi casualties remain high. Roadside bombs are successfully destroying Stryker vehicles. Now enormous numbers of our military are searching for three captured soldiers. What if our enemies focus upon capturing more of our soldiers? Our troops want to come home. The Iraqi public and parliament want us to leave. Even defenders of the surge admit that pacifying Iraq may take decades.

First Iraq, Then Iran?

Our U.S. has now captured and detained 5 Iranian officials who were working in an established office in the Kurdish area of northern Iraq at the invitation of the Iraq government. For More. The Iraq government and the Kurds have protested their detention to no avail. The U.S. pays little attention to so-called Iraq sovereignty. The U.S. strongly protested Iran’s recent detention of British sailors and the lack of a more hawkish British response. If Iran had detained American personnel, our U.S. might have used it as an excuse for war on Iran. What would happen to oil prices then?

Oil Independence or Bust

Our typical new car will be driven for 16 years. If it uses only gasoline and gasoline reaches $10 or more a gallon, it will become obsolete much sooner. Our houses near jobs will become prohibitively expensive. Far out houses will lose value. We must build cars which use alternative fuels. For more. A reading List.

Who Would You Hire to Harm Our U.S.?

Suppose you wanted to harm our U.S. Suppose you want to hire someone to:

· Destroy our constitution

· Violate our constitutionally guaranteed civil rights

· Divide us culturally, politically and economically

· Increase most families’ health, job, financial and retirement risks

· Weaken our faith in our American Dream

· Withdraw from and weaken our alliances

· Turn world opinion against us

· Create a failed occupation of another country

· Cripple our military

· Inadequately maintain our homeland defense

· Reduce investment for infrastructure and increased productivity

· Place incompetent ideologues in our top government positions

· Allow massive corruption, wasting hundreds of billions of dollars

· Bankrupt our Government

· Render our economy vulnerable through excessive debt

Who would you hire? Does anyone come to mind?

Conservatism Has Failed

Think of the great experiments in liberalism, Social Security, Medicare, the Environmental Protection Agency, the five day work week, child labor laws (the list is a long one), all still going and despite conservative intervention (attempt to destroy them) over the years, all still working relatively well considering. On the other side you have experiments in conservatism, trickle down economics, perpetual war to feed the military industrial complex, the unitary executive that says the President is above the law and should be above the law in times of crisis (of their own making), all have failed and all are costing the average American time, money, security and peace of mind.

After six unfettered years of conservative rule, we work harder for less, with little or no security or opportunity to claim even a small piece of the American dream. We worry about our health because we have no healthcare, we worry about our food because it’s not properly regulated and we worry about our future because there is no security in working a job anymore. We worry about our children because a good education is harder and harder to come by and we worry about our parents because they don’t have security in retirement. This is what conservatism has wrought (rot?) and why an overwhelming majority of Americans say we are on the wrong track. Sure, the current crop of Republicans will attempt to eek out enough votes by pandering to religious fundamentalists and preying upon the fears they’ve instilled in voters of “the others” be they Mexican immigrants, Muslims or gays, but ultimately they will lose because there simply aren’t enough simple minded people that haven’t been clued into the fact that the words Republicans utter are simply words without meaning, and while words may be cheap, the actions, policies and experiments in conservatism that we have seen implemented, speak volumes. We can hear you now, we just don’t want what your sellin’ anymore. For more.

Trust

Wanting to emulate the physical scientists, most economists have difficulty dealing with cultural variables. But cultural variables are enormously important to economic efficiency. For example, trust. In Japan, one can leave a purse in a busy subway station and return an hour later to find it still there. You couldn’t do that in most public places in the rest of the world. From personal experience, I know you can have a purse stolen if you just set it beside you while talking with others in a public square. In the 1960’s, I would leave my home on the South Hill residential area unlocked for a week while I visited my cabin in Canada. Except for maybe a few small towns, I doubt that would be safe in most Washington State neighborhoods today. Think of the enormous amount we of inconvenience and money we spend locking things up, installing security systems and hiring private security guards.

We all know the difference between friends we can safely share secrets with and others who will betray our trust. We all continually make decisions concerning whom we can trust and with what information. We have all paid the price of betrayal.

Beyond trust, I recently saw a report that our Seattle area has one of the lowest rates of road rage. Think of the difference when people culturally perform random acts of kindness. When they pay it forward as in the great movie of that title. When you play well with others, you don’t just help them. You create and sustain a whole culture of playing well. Economic, political and social systems work much better when people view others, including strangers, as mostly friends who can be trusted versus when people must be on their guard, losing out if they don’t take advantage of others before others take advantage first. We choose how we do onto others. This choice has mighty effects. For more on this topic, read Francis Fukuyama, 1996, Trust, The Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity.

Local and State

More Legislative Accomplishments

The following is from Representative Shay Schual-Berke’s newsletter. It provides information that wasn’t included in our newsletter # 67 (April 27, 2007).

Legislative statistics

Just like baseball, the legislative session has some basic statistics that frame the session. This year, the House introduced 1416 bills, 25 joint memorials, 25 joint resolutions and 5 concurrent resolutions. Of the 1416 bills that were introduced, the House passed 297 over to the Senate. The Senate passed 225 Senate bills over to the House for consideration.

A total of 522 bills passed both the House and Senate and were sent to the Governor for her consideration. The Governor has already signed 344 bills, but there are still more to come, including three very important budgets.

Healthy Environment/Energy and the Environment

Energy Freedom means developing a new industry in our state that provides clean-burning and renewable energy, and good paying jobs. We took bold steps toward energy independence by:

· Promoting clean biofuels grown on our farms, and establishing ambitious goals for boosting biodiesel and ethanol use in Washington.

· Ensuring we monitor the quality of new alternative fuels.

· Streamlining the permitting process for gas stations and fuel retailers wanting to install equipment needed to sell alternative fuels.

A clean environment is a healthy environment. We have a responsibility to protect our children from toxic chemicals in the environment. This session we did this by:

· Enacting the first ban on household products containing toxic flame retardants known as PBDEs.

· Requiring all state agencies to use only “green” cleaning products.

· Cracking down on toxic waste by speeding up priority cleanup projects and preventing future hazards due to improper disposal of toxic wastes. We also provided $110 million for site clean-up activities by local governments and for local solid waste implementation.

The natural beauty of Washington is nowhere more evident than in our state and local parks. We supported the maintenance and enhancement of our parks with:

· Increased funding for maintenance needed at our state parks, by more than $4 million.

· Funding $53 million worth of capital projects in state parks, including the development of new state and regional trails.

Puget Sound is a jewel of our state, and we must protect it. We recognize that our waters are critical to attracting and retaining businesses and employees to our region, so this year we:

· Created the Puget Sound Partnership to focus on cleaning up and restoring the environmental health of Puget Sound. The Puget Sound Partnership must create an action agenda for clean-up and restoration goals.

· Invested nearly $180 million for Puget Sound projects, including cleaning up toxic pollution, improving storm water management, and restoring shorelines and habitat.

One of our state’s greatest assets is its clean, green, healthy environment. To help Washington continue to have clean air, water, land, AND a strong economy, we:

· Initiated a review of our state’s oil spill prevention and response program to find an equitable way of funding this important activity.

· Funded the removal of derelict vessels that are polluting Washington's lakes and waterways.

· Updated regulations and permitting processes to ensure more effective management of large septic systems and on-site sewer systems.

· Provided assistance for farmers to preserve water and environmental quality while maintaining a viable agriculture industry.

· Supported small forest landowners, keeping them in business and our forests intact.

· Boosted investments for the Northwest Washington Agriculture Business Center, an excellent source of assistance & research.

· Invested $60 million for salmon recovery efforts.

· Provided $250.6 million to improve the quality and quantity of water in Washington for many needs, including drinking water, storm water, reclaimed water, and water conservation.

Family Security

We know that strong communities thrive on a foundation of strong, secure families. We can strengthen that foundation by ensuring everyone has a safe, affordable home, so this session we:

· Added to last year’s investments in the Affordable Housing Trust Fund.

· Set a goal of eliminating homelessness by 2020 and invested in housing and rental assistance to help low-income and homeless people get back on their feet.

· Supported manufactured and mobile home parks so seniors and low-income home owners aren’t thrown out of their homes.

· Expanded incentives to build multi-unit housing to help meet demand for affordable housing.

We want all children and vulnerable adults to feel safe, secure and supported. In order to accomplish this, we:

· Reformed mental health services for children so parents can get needed services for their children before problems get out of hand.

· Enhanced support for kinship caregivers to help ensure children with development disabilities can remain with their family.

· Created an Office of Public Guardianship within the Administrative Office of the Courts to provide guardianship services to low-income individuals who need the services of a guardian but don’t have a family member to serve as that guardian.

Thousands of children grow up without a family to call their own or with parents who are absent from their lives. This session, we took steps to support these children and provide them opportunities to be healthy and successful as they enter adulthood by:

· Strengthening our child welfare system with new protections such as ‘Sirita’s Law’ and the ‘Raphael Gomez Act.’

· Providing new educational opportunities for foster children, encouraging them to continue their education beyond high school.

· Creating an advisory committee to analyze the causes for racial disproportionality in our state’s foster care system.

Private Campaign Corruption Leads to Justice Department Shakeup

Private campaign financing allowed Jack Abramoff and other lobbyists to corrupt various Republican and occasional Democratic legislators. U.S. attorneys investigated, tried and convicted some of these corrupted legislators. Bush’s politically oriented Justice Department fired eight U.S. attorneys apparently in part for prosecuting Republicans and not prosecuting Democrats. For more. The resulting controversy may cost Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez his job.

Could something similar happen in Washington State? No charges of corruption have been filed against Washington legislators. Is this because none are corrupt? Are all of the private campaign contributions simply being made for altruistic reasons, to benefit the general public? Do you want to buy the Brooklyn Bridge from me?

Or is it because no official or agency investigates corruption? Our state Public Disclosure Commission is only charged with enforcing filing of records concerning campaign contributions. A review of our state Legislative Ethics Board opinions reveals no concern with campaign finance corruption. Our state Attorney General lists what his office does without mentioning investigating corruption by legislators. In the unlikely event that a state legislator left a blatant paper trail providing evidence of having traded votes for campaign contributions, would any investigation and prosecution result? Or could private campaign contributors and legislators make deals without any worry of negative consequences? Is this the way it should be?

To reduce the possibility of and the appearance of corruption, we need public campaign financing. Dave Thomas

Eastside Reporter Papers are Super Conservative

From Member David James

I've been thinking about a lot of what is going on in this country and the world.... As you have mentioned, Thomas Jefferson said that if the people are properly informed, then they will make good decisions. (I've probably paraphrased Jefferson's observation, but it's true.) We need to be as well informed as possible, and to share information with others.

Which leads me to a problem in our community. We've been getting "free" copies of the Bellevue Reporter, dropped on the driveway twice a week, which pretends to be a local newspaper that has stories about what certain people are doing and about events around town. BUT the opinion page always seems to present an ultraconservative point of view, sometimes with outrageous ideas and opinions. Usually writing is John Carlson, who most people know is one of the most outspoken ultraconservatives in the Puget Sound region. The cartoonist (I don't know his name) usually has outrageous political ideas too. One cartoon in April showed the IRS as a demented hunchback, ready to put any taxpayer on a torture rack. Well, while nobody is thrilled about paying taxes, how do these ultraconservatives think how we're going to pay for the war in Iraq? I believe it's another deception - the Bush tax cuts heavily favor the millionaires.

While all of us have the right to express our opinions, in speech and in the press (last time I checked with the Constitution!), I am concerned and angry about this stealth campaign of the publisher of the Bellevue Reporter and its sister publications to spread a lot of misinformation. When I dropped mail of at the post office today, there was even a stack of these papers on the table in the lobby! Some neocon has tons of money to be doing this. This is from the same group that ran the now-defunct King County Journal, which couldn't make it at a daily because subscriptions were falling off. How do we handle this problem? Any suggestions anybody? Dave James

I agree with Dave James and had planned similar comment in this issue. Thanks. Dave Thomas

Our Progressive Spirit

Did My Past Bring Me Here?

Ancestral heritage of Welch, Pennsylvania Dutch, Swedish, Irish, African (Dutch slave) and Delaware (Lenni Lenape) Indian. Passionate intellectual disciplined parents. Father, step-father, me, brother and son have science or engineering Ph.D.s. Born with a cleft palate, I almost died from a sinus infection at age 8. Jigsaw puzzles, card games, stamp collection. A reading addict with special interest in natural and social history, humanities, social science, conservation and more. A paper boy and avid Eagle Scout. An alcoholic who drank compulsively for 43 years, then quit 10 years ago, thanks to inpatient treatment and regular AA attendance. Briefly in Marine Corps reserve until paralyzed by polio. Eleven years in college, followed by six years of teaching. Rental apartment owner. Built (without power tools) 16 X 36 foot beachside cabin on Thetis Island, British Columbia. Joined Order Ecumenical, a family religious order, which transformed my understanding of my life and purpose. A community developer in the United States, India, Indonesia, Peru, Kenya, Zimbabwe and a lot in the Philippines. Taxi driver, janitor and marketing coordinator. Long time avid incompetent elk hunter. Attempted, but failed to publish 2 books and 1 computer simulation program. Younger son climbed El Capitan twice, then died in 500 foot fall off Mount Triumph. Other son (a married mechanical engineer) and 2 grandsons in Laguna Beach, California. Excellent third marriage. Organized a cooperative of 350 related Indians to create a genealogical database of 48,000, all related by blood and marriage. Initiated Lake Hills Liberals which has become Puget Sound Liberals. I hope ‘You ain’t seen nothing yet.’

Recommended Books – See our list of books for liberals

Jeff Faux, 2006, The Global Class War. How America’s Bipartisan Elite Lost Our Future and What It Will Take to Win it Back.

Francis Fukuyama, 1996, Trust, the Social Virtues and the Creation of Prosperity

Lake Hills Liberals Newsletter

Lake Hills in Bellevue, Our City Where Neighbors Care for Each Other

Enhancing Freedom, Opportunity and Cooperation in Lake Hills and Beyond

Bring Our Troops Home

During this past 5 weeks, some of us have been vigiling for peace, including members of Lake Hills Liberals, MoveOn, Eastside Reconciliation for Peace and Eastside Liberals for John Edwards. Several times a week, 2 to 4 of us hold signs at a 4-way stoplight one mile south of the main Microsoft campus. On a stake, each 12" x 17" sign says `Bring Our Troops Home Alive'. Below signs carried by his supporters is a 4" x 12" sign which says `John Edwards'.

We stand there from 4:30 to 5:30 PM. About 500 cars pass by slowly as they wait their turn at the intersection. About one out of five indicate their approval by waving, thumbs up, flashing their lights or honking, About the same proportion are talking on cell phones. Contact Dave Thomas (davthom@att.net) or 425-746-4572) to make arrangements to join us.

Events Calendar

· Every Thursday 7-8:30 PM in Crossroads Mall near the large chess board at table with red checkerboard patterned tablecloth – Conversation Café –. Participants (mostly Lake Hills Liberals) use a discussion format with each participant addressing an issue in turn with listeners respecting what they say. A great way to learn different understandings and opinions, while presenting and modifying your own.

· Every first Wednesday at 7 PM at Redmond Community Center (16600 NE 80th Street, Redmond) – 45^th District Democrats monthly meeting

· Every third Tuesday at 7:00 at Lake Hills Clubhouse next to Lake Hills Library – Lake Hills Neighborhood Association

· Every third Wednesday at 7 PM at Stevenson Elementary School (14220 NE 8th Street in Bellevue) – 48^th District Democrats monthly meeting

· Every third Wednesday at 7 PM at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church (4228 Factoria Boulevard SE, Bellevue) - 41^st District Democrats monthly meeting

· Every third Thusday at 7 PM at Angelos Restaurant (1830 – 130^th Avenue NE, Bellevue) – Drinking Liberally

· Every fourth Friday at 6:30 PM at Ann Rolio’s home (16109 SE 5^th Street) – Lake Hills Liberals Salon, including gourmet buffet and political presentation and discussion. RSVP to davthom@att.net.

Activities and Services

Our Neighborhood Enhancement Interests and Activities include: block parties; welcoming new neighbors; cooperation among home owners and apartment tenants; environmental enhancement (recycling exchange), crime prevention, disaster response, school and youth services, military concerns, family financial security, and elder support task groups; and free advertisements for members.

Our Political Actions include: displaying yard signs and bumper stickers, letters-to-editors and government officials, campaign support for liberal candidates, canvassing to identify liberal voters and stimulate them to vote, and encouraging formation of liberal groups in other neighborhoods. Our newsletter stimulates networking of liberals throughout our Puget Sound and provides free advertisements for liberal events. Our canvassing last summer identified 1000 new likely Democratic voters and contributed to our Democratic candidates winning by 2 – 8% more than they did in the rest of our district.

Our Personal Enhancement Efforts include: educating liberals (our newsletter, commentaries and discussions; website; and reading list), healthy living (walking groups), and arts and crafts fair.

· Our Lake Hills Liberals Walks – M & F 5:15 PM and Sat at 7:30 AM at Lake Hills Library parking lot by dumpster. Slow Pokes Walk. – W 5:15 PM Bring your cane or walker to walk a short distance to Larson Lake.

· Our liberal spirit commentaries (which sometimes accompany our newsletter) address mutual respect and cooperation of religious and secular liberals. They also address changing our mindsets (such as not bringing our experiences to consciousness, insensitivities, resentments and cynicism) which restrict our ability to take advantage of our freedoms and activities. The major restrictions on our freedom and opportunity may be in our head. These can be changed.

· .In keeping with our principle of not competing with existing services, we won’t add a blog capability to our website. See www.nwprogressive.org/portal to examine many northwest liberal blogs.

Hire Our Neighbors

· Debt Elimination Counseling, Seminars and Workshops – price negotiable – Sherry Brandt (206-356-8034, somerev2@comcast.net)

· Private Piano Lessons (students must have a piano), afternoons - Anna Khosrowian (378-7938), price negotiable

· Housekeeper, price negotiable – Laura Montano (641-5038 ambar_lau@hotmail.com)

· Psychotherapist, accepts insurance - Sandy Mathews (462-7889, www.sandramathews.com)

· Babysitting for infants (occasional evenings and weekends) - $5 per hour- Christy Pacheco- johnpacheco01@yahoo.com 425-653-3565

· Data Entry- $10 per 12 font, double spaced page- Christy Pacheco (425-653-3565 johnpacheco01@yahoo.com)

· Home Repair- prices vary, depending on job- John Pacheco 425-653-3565 johnpacheco01@yahoo.com)

· Auto Repair, price varies depending on job (but always fair), Jaime Speicher (AAS Auto Repair Technician) (425-746-2353)

· Home Repair and Remodeling, Rick Hegdahl (206-227-6280 vikingnw@comcast.net)

· Life Support Therapies, Astara Burlingame RN. (MD) holistic care, acupuncture hypno therapy, biological medicines (206-370-0356)

Volunteers and Donations Wanted

· Healthy Start needs women volunteers to mentor young mothers – Karen Wilson (karenw@chs-wa.org 425-895-9813). Especially Spanish speaking women – Maria Ines Berardo (mariab@chs-wa.org) 425-895-9576)

· Head Start at Lake Hills Elementary School needs an operational computer for parents of one of their students. If you have one a few years old that you no longer intend to use, call Valery Stoury at 456-5326 The low income families in the Lake Hills Head Start program also need furniture, food, clothing, bus passes or gas vouchers, etc. Safeway and Fred Meyer gift certificates to be used for family emergencies would be greatly appreciated

· Lake Hills Elementary School is looking for volunteers to spend one hour a week with individual students in the classroom or as a lunch buddy. To volunteer, call our VIBES on-site coordinator, Mary Giesen (425-456-5300) to arrange required VIBES training. For additional information, contact Principal Judy Buckmaster, (buckmasterj@bsd405.org)

· Phantom Lake Elementary School needs volunteers who are willing to be trained as Reading Mentors or who are able to spend one hour, one day a week in the school either in classrooms, helping in the office, or being “Lunch Buddies” during our school’s lunch time. To volunteer, call our VIBES on-site coordinator, Beth Drobny (425-456-5600) to arrange required VIBES training. For additional information, contact Principal Tracy Maury (mauryt@bsd405.org

About Puget Sound Liberals

We began Lake Hills Liberals as an experimental demonstration of creating neighborhoods where liberals thrive and multiply and maximizing our vote for Democratic candidates. We hope that replication will occur in other neighborhoods. Through our newsletter, we have now become Puget Sound Liberals to create well informed liberals who easily communicate, associate and cooperate to realize our liberal values. Our weekly newsletter is now distributed to 1100 members by email each Friday.

To get our free services, including our newsletter, our ‘Proud Liberal, Time for a Change’ yard signs or ‘Proud Liberal’ bumper stickers, volunteer or make a donation, contact Dave Thomas. Please help your liberal friends to become well informed, by inviting them to receive our newsletter. Just send us their name, email address, and residence.

Submit your news to Editor Dave Thomas. We are seeking reporter-reviewer-editors with knowledge of particular political groups and issues. We have asked the following experts to help us.

Blogs – Rick Hegdahl

Campaign Finance – Sarajane Siegfriedt

Democratic Party – Karen Marchioro, Jeff Smith

Education – Dennis Gerlitz, John Stokes

Environment – Bill Austin

Gays and Lesbians – Celeste Keaton

Health Care – Lisa Plymate, Bob Fifthian

Hispanics – Joanne Cisneros

Labor Unions – Nancy Rising

State Legislation – Tina Shamseldin and Sarajane Siegfriedt

Veterans – Steve Johnston

Women’s Issues – Catherine Minch

Additional Resources

See our website www.lakehillsliberals.org, with an archive of all past newsletters, resources for liberals and more.

See Center for Progressive Action for archive of well researched daily news.

See Alternet for archived liberal commentaries. Subscribe to Liberal Opinion for many more commentaries.

We also recommend the Pacific NW Portal for displaying many blogs through which Northwest Liberals exchange their knowledge and opinions.

Learn about our State Democratic Party.

Quickly and easily contact your national and state officials.

To learn about particular issues, visit websites of advocacy and caring organizations.