Puget Sound Liberals Weekly Newsletter #76

Enhancing Freedom, Opportunity and Cooperation in Puget Sound and Beyond

Through informing and networking Liberals and Liberal Organizations.

Our vision is hundreds of thousands of well-informed Puget Sound Liberals working together.

June 29, 2007

Recommendations

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

· Keith Scully for King County Prosecutor

· King County Parks Levies #1 and #2

· Alec Fisken for Seattle Port Commission

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

Commission against their incumbent opponent

· Write in Brad Larssen for King County Council #6

· Holly Plackett for Redmond Mayor

· Brian Conlin for Redmond City Council #3

· Richard Cole for Redmond City Council #5

· Jessica Greenway for Kirkland City Council #4

· Keri Andrews for Bellevue City Council

· Josh Schaer for Issaquah City Council

· Dana Stober for Kent City Council, Position 3.

· Support Our Grocery Workers

· Save Our Renton-Snohomish Rail Line

Table of Contents *** featured articles

Puget Sound Liberals

About Puget Sound Liberals

Liberals and Democrats

Improving Our Websites and Newsletters ***

Comparing Values

Our Lake Hills Liberal Salon

Young People Are More Liberal Seattle

Nation and World

What Will Happen After We’re Gone? ***

Bush Backs Wrong Factions

Should Democrats Back Democracy Abroad

State and Local

Support Our Recommended Candidates ***

Links to Interesting Current News

Our Liberal Spirit

So Far. So Good.

Recommended Books

Naftali Bendavid, 2007, The Thumpin’

Ted Rall, 2004, Wake Up, You’re Liberal

Lake Hills Liberals

Vigiling to Bring Our Troops Home Alive

Quote of the Week

There is more to life than increasing its speed. Mahatma Gandhi

Calendar of Events

Friday, July 27 at 6:30 PM at Ann Rolio’s home (16109 SE 5^th Street) – Lake Hills Liberals Salon, including a Cajun buffet and presentation about impeaching Bush and Cheney and discussion led by 45^th LD Senator Eric Oemig. RSVP to davthom@att.net.

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.

Liberals and Democrats

31^st and 46^th Legislative District Websites and Newsletter Archives

In our last newsletter, I praised the excellence of the Democratic 45^th legislative district website, but displayed my ignorance, by not realizing that a number of other excellent LD and County websites exist and noting that it was hard to assess LD newsletters because they are not archived. Thankfully, M. J. McGalliard has alerted me that the 31^st legislative district website includes an archive of their monthly newsletters. I quickly found other websites to admire and others which archive their newsletters.

I particularly like the 31^st LD website’s link to Chad Lupkes’ PCO handbook website, especially the sections on ‘What does the PCO do?’ and ‘How to organize your precinct’. It also has other interesting web pages (interesting links, book reviews, recommended local candidates) that I haven’t seen elsewhere. I am also impressed that the 31^st LD maintains a separate campaign contributions fund for money to assist their recommended campaigns.

I also found an excellent 46^th LD website with many useful links. The 46^th LD has also organized its precincts into 14 precinct clusters, which they call areas. I recommend that all Democratic legislative districts examine all three of these websites for improving their own. I recommend examining the 31^st and 46^th LD newsletter archives for ideas for improving newsletters. Our King County Democrats website also has an archive of their newsletters.

Knowing that the data exists, I now intend to produce a matrix, with a row for each LD and County Democratic organization, and columns to check the features in their websites. Columns might include: district, precinct and precinct cluster maps; bylaws; officers and committees; PCOs and PCO guides; volunteer and donation information, newsletter archive; calendar; election returns; political resolutions, endorsements; member commentaries; political guides (such as writing letters to officials and media); links to national, state, and local government agencies, Democratic and other liberal organizations, media and blogs; book reviews; and more.

It might be helpful if the Washington State or King County Democrats would create a temporary or permanent task group (including webmasters for these three LDs and others with good ideas) to produce a demonstration website with the best features of each. As liberals who believe in extending freedoms and opportunities to all, we understand that excellence is important, and that excellence occurs through experimentation and diffusion which can be stimulated by experimental demonstration projects.

Comparing Values

The 46^th LD website shows what they are dedicated to. There is a striking similarity to our priorities which were created, based on a Howard Dean list and suggestions from one of our 48^th LD legislators. (I rearranged the order of the 46^th LD list to enhance the comparison.) I think that if other Liberal and Democratic groups listed their priorities, they would be similar.

46^th Legislative District Democrats are Dedicated to:

 Integrity, openness and accountability in government

 Fiscal responsibility in government

 Health care for all

 Quality public education

 Living wage jobs and fair taxes

 Fighting poverty and providing a safety net for those in need

 Protecting the environment

 Protecting human rights and freedoms

 Working for peace at home and abroad

Puget Sound Liberals 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.