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Puget Sound Liberals Weekly Newsletter #79

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.

July 20, 2007

Table of Contents ** featured articles

Puget Sound Liberals

About Puget Sound Liberals

Commentaries from Our Members

Bill Sherman on Prosecution

Global Warning. Carlson Backs a Lost Cause

Nation’s Poor Hit by Housing Crunch

Voter-Owned Elections Deserve Wide Support

Liberals and Democrats

State Senator Rodney Tom Enters Congressional Race

Toward Creation of a Precinct Organizing Manual **

David Domke – Communication for Democrats **

Honoring Our Democratic LD Website Managers

Nation and World

Free Immigrants Arrive. Bringing Slaves Unnecessary

Aren’t All Republicans Misguided?

State and Local

Washington Is Fifth Best Place to Do Business

Links to Interesting Current News

Our Liberal Spirit

Rehearsing Our Lives **

Recommended Books

Lake Hills Liberals

Recommendations

Vote August 21^st Primary Election

· Rodney Tom for U.S. Congress, 8^th District

· Both Keith Scully and Bill Sherman for King

County Prosecutor

· Scott Noble for King County Assessor

· King County Parks Levies #1 and #2

· Alec Fisken for Seattle Port Commission

· Gael Tarleton for Seattle Port Commission

· 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

· Both Jessica Greenway and Penny Sweet for

Kirkland City Council #4

· Keri Andrews for Bellevue City Council

· Josh Schaer for Issaquah City Council

· Maureen Judge for Mercer Island City Council

· Dana Stober for Kent City Council, Position 3.

· Support Our Grocery Workers

· Save Our Renton-Snohomish Rail Line

Quote of the Week

Congratulations. You’re unique. Like Everyone Else

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

· Justice and Peace Everywhere

· International Cooperation and Leadership

Conservatives oppose all of these.

Let’s End Our National Nightmare

Calendar of Events

File for all immigrant application forms before Monday, July 30^th when fees will increase 50-100%. Get help from consultant Grove Anschell 425-941-4204

Monday, July 23 on CNN – Democratic Debate

Tuesday, July 24 at 6 PM at Mainstage Comedy and Music Club (315 1^st Avenue N, Seattle) – NARAL Pro-Choice Pop Star Karaoke contest and cocktail mixer

Wednesday, July 25 at noon at Bell Harbor Convention Center Pier 66, Seattle  - Obama For America luncheon reception with Michelle Obama RSVP

Continued on next page

Calendar of Events Continued

Thursday, July 26 at 6 PM at Spyros Pavlou’s home (9613 – 112^th Avenue NE, Kirkland) – Gael Tarleton Fundraiser. Greek food, drink & conversation. RSVP

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.

Friday, July 27 at 7 PM at King Co. Administration Building (960 Newport Way NE, Issaquah) – Friday Night at the Movies “War Made Easy”, sponsored by 5^th Legislative District Democrats

Saturday, July 28 at 3 PM at Lower Woodland Park, Shelter #1 (1000 North 50^th Street, Seattle) – King County Democratic Picnic

Saturday, August 4 at 9 AM at Seattle University (10^th and Madison) – March & Rally for Health Care Justice, sponsored by Washington CAN and a dozen of organizations. Regence Blue Shield is a target for their large increases in premiums.

Sunday, August 5 at 12 Noon at 1348 Bridle Court, SE, Olympia – Alliance for Democracy membership meeting followed by potluck and candidate’s forum. For more information

Tuesday, August 7 at 4 PM on MSNBC – Democratic Presidential Candidates Forum.

Commentaries From Our Members

From member Bill Sherman, candidate for King County Prosecutor

I believe that justice is fundamentally about protecting the most vulnerable in our community: victims of domestic violence, sexual assault, elder abuse, and identity theft.  I’m running because, as the only current courtroom prosecutor in the race, I know what it takes to keep us safe - and provide support and protection to victims and their families.  I am currently a prosecutor from the Domestic Violence Unit, so I have personal experience dealing with victims, defendants, and the laws that affect them.  I’m running because I want to focus on a few critical priorities:

• Protect Kids and Seniors: A father of two, I will fight for aggressive enforcement against child predators, including online stalkers; work to protect children present during domestic violence; and strengthen prosecution of elder abuse.
• Juvenile Justice Reform: It’s time to bring an innovative approach to helping our young people avoid crime.  I will work to reform the system to emphasize treatment and dropout prevention.

• Crack Down on Identity Theft: Too many of us suffer the devastating crime of identity theft. I will hold these criminals accountable.
• Increase Drug and Mental Health Treatment: I will expand cost-effective approaches for non-violent offenders so we break the cycle of crime.
• Go After Polluters: A former Clinton Interior Department aide and private sector attorney, I will prosecute those who threaten our health and environmental safety.

My experience is both broad and deep – I have served as a prosecutor for four years; prior to that, I was a civil litigation attorney, and also served as a federal judicial law clerk.  Prior to law school, I worked in public service for 6 years in Washington, D.C., including four years as an aide to Al Gore and Bruce Babbitt, the U.S. Secretary of the Interior during the Clinton Administration.  That experience has shown me that we also need a fresh approach in the bureaucracy of the office.  In the Clinton Administration, I led a restructuring that saved one 700-employee agency $10 million per year.  As Prosecutor, I will bring a new approach, cutting bureaucracy to focus resources on front-line prosecutors and improving diversity in the office.  And I will remain on the front lines by personally prosecuting at least one case a year. Bill Sherman

Letter Published in the Bellevue Reporter (Member Gail Fligstein is one of the authors.

Global Warning. Carlson Backs a Lost Cause

John Carlson’s column in the June 27 Bellevue Reporter argues that the threat of global warming has been exaggerated, and it questions whether human activity is responsible.

Man! Why do conservatives back so many lost causes? It’s not just the fight to deny global warming. It’s also the war in Iraq, creationism/intelligent design, opposition to national health insurance and tighter fuel mileage standards and support for George W. Bush (who actively suppressed evidence of global warming). Republicans sure know how to shoot themselves in the foot.

Sure, there are a few rogue scientists who challenge the orthodoxy on global warming (just as a small minority of scientists think that Darwinian evolution isn’t the whole story) but many of these scientists are funded by energy industry groups.

Unfortunately for Carlson and the many right-wing bloggers who deny global warming, the vast majority of scientists say that global warming is a real threat and is caused mainly by human activity. And even if natural causes contribute to global warming, the world still needs to take action to avoid disaster.

If wishes were horses, then beggars would ride. Donald A. Smith, Thomas R. Speer and Gail Fligstein

Email From Tina Shamseldon Replying to Sarajane Siegfriedt

Re: Nation’s Poor Hit By Housing Crunch

Thanks for the article!  I just got back from Washington D.C. where I attended the National Alliance to End Homelessness Conference.  It was great.  One of the speakers was Barney Frank, (inspiring and funny) who is introducing the Housing Trust Fun on the Senate side.  He noted in his keynote that government--by solely funding Section 8 vouchers without building housing--is increasing the demand on the current housing stock (thereby decreasing the affordability).

We meet with many of our Congressional staff to discuss Section 8 vouchers, funding for permanent supportive housing for disabled veterans and the creation of a national Housing Trust Fund.  We received favorable responses from Adam Smith, Jim McDermott, Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell, and Jay Inslee, (though no legislation on the creation of a national Housing Trust Fund has been introduced on the House side yet).

---

From: Sarajane Siegfriedt [mailto:Sarajane3h@comcast.net]
Sent: Friday, July 13, 2007 3:11 PM
Subject: Nation's Poor Hit by Housing Crunch

Dear Housing Advocates,

This is a helpful overview of why we need to remind our Senators and Congress people to increase HUD vouchers and HUD subsidies and to create a national Housing Trust Fund.  We are very, very far behind.

Sarajane Siegfriedt

Published in Seattle PI on July 17^th by member Marcee Stone

As a volunteer with Washington Public Campaigns, I thank Hugh Geenen for his guest column in support of publicly financed campaigns (Thursday). Voter-owned elections deserve to become part of our public conversation. Our organization is working hard to let the public know that there is a simple common-sense solution to the overbearing campaign contributions system we have now.

What I still can’t understand is why our Legislature stands in the way of permitting local jurisdictions to have their own system of publicly financed campaigns. The state is overreaching into local matters here. If a city, county or public utility district want to institute a system of publicly financed campaigns, they should be permitted to.

Perhaps our Legislature is afraid of this populist notion even getting a toehold in the public’s imagination. Every year since 1992, legislation is written and introduced, but never goes to a vote on the floor.

When 44 people show up to support Clean Elections at a single hearing in Olympia this year, but are not allowed to speak – who are our representatives working for? Once people know the common sense of how it works, how affordable it is, how popular it is in Arizona and Maine, they become passionate advocates for Clean Elections. Ask your legislators to repeal the ban on locally publicly funded campaigns. Change the status quo with public dough.

Marcee, Stone, President of the Board, Washington Public Campaigns, Seattle

Washington Public Campaigns has rapidly grown to 3000 members. Dave Thomas

Liberals and Democrats

Senator Rodney Tom Enters Congressional Race

On Tuesday, July 17^th, 48^th Legislative District Democratic State Senator Rodney Tom announced that he is running for the 8^th Congressional Seat now held by Republican Dave Reichert. He will be opposed in the primary by Darcy Burner, who almost beat Dave Reichert in 2006. For more. For more.

Darcy Burner’s message has been consistently liberal, winning her the endorsement of environmental and other groups. Having run previously, her name recognition is high. She has also raised and continues to raise significant campaign donations.

Rodney Tom is also consistently liberal. He changed from the Republican to the