Puget Sound Liberals Weekly Newsletter #114

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.

 

   2300 members                                                                March 21, 2008                                                                                                                                      

 

 

 

 

                                                     

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                        Table of Contents   * Featured Articles

 

Puget Sound Liberals

About Puget Sound Liberals

Opportunities, Petitions and Feedback

 

Commentaries from Our Members

Ray McBain: Some Union History

Roger Goodman on Controlling Drunk Drivers*

Sarajane Siegfriedt on Immigration Reform*

Dwight Pelz on Peter Goldmark for Public Lands

 

Liberals and Democrats Links to the Beef

Our Democratic Presidential Competition*

A Coalition to Register Voters & Elect Liberals in 2008*

State and Local  Links to the Beef

2008 Washington State Legislative Session

Gregoire Signs Climate Action and Green Jobs Bill

Public Campaign Financing is Now a Local Option*

Zillionaires Seek Last Minute Basketball Subsidies

Sound Transit Pushes Expensive Eastside Light Rail

 

Nation and World  Links to the Beef

More on Stagflation

Our Federal Reserve Bails Out Fraudulent Banks. *

Buddhist Tibet Was Exploitative

 

Our Liberal Spirit

Intimacy, Trust and Liberal Values

 

Recommended Books

 

Our Political Priorities

 

·       Fair Clean 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

 

         Let’s Restore Our American Dream

 

 

More on Conservative opposition to our American Dream

 

See Nancy Pelosi’s political priorities

 

 

 

Quote of the Week

For it is mutual trust, even more than mutual interest that holds human associations together. Our friends seldom profit us but they make us feel safe... Marriage is a scheme to accomplish exactly that same end.  H. L. Mencken (1880 - 1956)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Calendar of Events

 

King County Democrats - LD Meetings           Some 2008 Legislature Lobby Days

 

Thurston County Progressive Net                 Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation

 

Alliance for Democracy                               Democratic Underground.Com                          

 

Town Hall Seattle Calendar                           Sierra Club Cascade Chapter Calendar          

       

Washington Public Campaigns Calendar         Conversation Cafe

 

Whatcom County Peace and Justice Calendar  Drinking Liberally                                        

 

Wallingford Neighbors for Peace and Justice – Friday Night Movies      Liberal films on PBS

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Calendar of Events

 

Saturday, March 22 at 10 AM at Bellevue City Hall (450 110th Avenue NE, Bellevue) – 48th District Legislators town meeting

 

Monday, March 24 at 7 PM at REI–Seattle (222 Yale Avenue North, Seattle) - Sierra Club Forum: Transportation & Climate Change: What’s tolling got to do with it?  RSVP.

 

Wednesday, March 26 at 6 PM at Pacific Place Theaters 11 (600 Pine Street, Suite 400, Seattle). “Everything You’ve Always Wanted to Know about Separation of Church and State … but were afraid to ask.”  For more.

 

Thursday, March 27 at 7 PM at the Sammamish Public Library (825  228th Ave. NE). The Democrats of Inglewood Neighborhood and 5th District Democrats will be hosting Michael Johnson and Linda Boyd from Washington for Impeachment” at their “Issues in American Democracy” discussion group. Johnson and Boyd will discuss the history of the impeachment process, the case for impeaching George Bush and Dick Cheney, and how this movement is proceeding at the national and state level.

 

Friday, March 28-30 at the Vancouver Hilton (301 West 6th Street, Vancouver) – Washington State Young Democrats Convention.  For more and to register.

 

Friday, March 28 at 6:30 PM at Rick Hegdahl’s home (104 - 165th Avenue NE) – Lake Hills Liberals Salon, including Light Buffet and movie ‘Sicko? and discussion.  Bring beverage, fruit, cheese, crackers, etc.

 

Friday, March 28 at 7 PM at King County Library Administration Building (960 Newport Way NW, Issaquah) – movie: Can Mr. Smith Get to Washington Anymore? preceded by Senator Eric Oemig discussing Public Campaign Financing.

 

Saturday, March 29 at 9 AM – 4 PM at Bellevue City Hall (450 – 110th Avenue NE, Bellevue) – Political Leadership Training, sponsored by Progressive Majority and other organizations. $15 includes breakfast, lunch and materials.  For more information and to register.

 

Saturday, March 29 at 6:30 PM at Dave and Shamah Gamrath’s home (4310 SW Atlantic, Seattle) – Potluck Social and Discussion.  For more.

 

Thursday, April 3 at 7 PM at University Temple United Methodist Church (1415 NE 43rd Street, Seattle) – A Peace Plan for Iraq by Hans von Sponeck, sponsored by United Nations Association of Seattle, Interfaith Network of Concern for the People of Iraq, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Western Washington Fellowship of Reconciliation, Church Council of Greater Seattle, and Northwest International Health Action Coalition.

 

Friday, April 4 at 7 PM at Rainier UU Center (835 Yesler Way, Seattle) – 2 Cartoon Documentaries: The Story of Stuff and Money as Debt preceded by coffee and dessert and followed by discussion.

 

Saturday, April 5 at 10 AM – Legislative District Caucuses.  For more information about King County Districts.

 

Wednesday, April 9 at 7 PM at Wallingford United Methodist Church (2115 North 42nd Street, Seattle) – Father Roy (founder of School of Americas Watch) reports on the struggle for peace in Latin America.

 

Friday, April 11 at 6 PM through Sunday, April 12 at 4 PM at Red Lion Hotel on the Columbia River, Vancouver – NW Regional Conference, Campaign for U.S. Department of Peace.  $50 and up, depending on income.  For more and to register.

 

Saturday, April 12 at 10 PM and Sunday at 11 PM at Washington State Convention and Trade Center (800 Convention Place, Level 4, Seattle) – greenfestival08.

 

Sunday, April 13 at 2 PM at West Seattle High School Gymnasium (3000 California Ave. SW, Seattle) – King County Convention.  For more.

 

Saturday, April 26 at 1:30 PM at the New Everett Theatre (2911 Colby Avenue, Everett) – Forum: Universal Health Care – What Should It Be and How Do We Get It?  League of Women Voters, Health Care for All – Washington, Washington State Council of County and City Employees, Communities of Color Coalition and AAUW, Everett Branch.

 

 

Opportunities, Petitions and Feedback

 

Opportunities

 

See Opportunities for Liberals

Use Senator Barbara Boxers web tools.

 

Order Earth, the Sequel

 


 


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Barbara Rader of Black Widow Web Development created our Puget Sound Liberals Website, to which I can easily add, modify and remove files.  Dave Thomas


 


Petitions and Donations

 

Ask Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama to attack John McCain, not each other.

 

As our U.S. Parks Director to stop slaughter of Yellowstone buffalo.

 

Spending on children is down 20%.  Ask your congress persons to increase spending.

 

Sign a petition to support the Armed Forces Suicide Prevention Act.

 

Join Oxfam to ask your senators to oppose U.S. military aid to countries which use child soldiers.

 

Tell you congressperson to not support any Columbia trade pact, until union rights are protected.

 

Feedback

 

Are any of you using our petitions’ list to easily send petitions?

 

Commentaries From Our Members

 

Email from Ray McBain

 

In the early and middle 1900's, unions advocated closed shops. A closed shop would establish a union membership as a requirement for hiring and would often exclude non-whites. This combination of class exploitation and racism created a volatile situation as people of color from outside the community were brought in to break strikes.  The American Communist Party, seeing how a racially divided workforce was weakening the workers' movement, became involved in desegregating unions.

 

Of course, this is important to you only if you are aware of the importance of attaining civil rights for everyone. If you harbor a strong antagonism toward the members of any racial group, such as Blacks, Vietnamese, Filipinos, Jews, Arabs or any other, you are unaware of the influence such antagonism will have on the curtailment of your own rights and freedoms. The Nazis in Germany and the fascists in Italy and Spain were able to jail and murder many individuals who were not communists simply because most people were too afraid to protest.

 

In America, the Red Scare of the 1950's was a deliberate scare campaign by congress (whose members typically were and are still millionaires), newspapers (which are published for profit), and the companies and others who were afraid of the influence of communists, socialists, and most emphatically, the unions. They spread lies about the dangers posed by communists. The major purpose of these lies was to control unions and union leadership, because in those days the unions were militant and were strongly in favor of action to promote better pay, better working conditions, and legislative actions to ensure the continuance of the worker's rights to join unions.

 

The 40 hour workweek that most Americans enjoy today (except those forced to work more than one job to survive) is a result of the union battles of the 1900's. The health care coverage that some employers provide came about only through bitter struggle by unions.  The blacklist that many companies employ to prevent effective collective bargaining is very real and still alive today. That list

excludes anyone who is effective at leading unions to improve job conditions and pay. Which tells everyone who the companies really fear.  Ray McBain

 

Roger Goodman on Controlling Drunk Drivers

 

Life-saving DUI legislation wins House approval

 

On March 11th, legislators gave final approval to drunken driving reform designed to get results, possibly saving more than 80 lives a year.

 

Rep. Roger Goodman, D-Kirkland, took inspiration for his bill from New Mexico, which passed a similar law three years ago and has seen alcohol-related road fatalities decline by over 30 percent.  “In my mind, drunken driving is the greatest public safety threat facing our communities,” Goodman said.  “To address this chronic problem we’re now choosing to focus on an innovative way of holding drunken drivers accountable, a new strategy that we know will save lives.”

 

Goodman’s ignition interlock device proposal, House Bill 3254