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oppose all of these Let’s End Our National Nightmare Let’s
Restore Our American Dream More
on Conservative opposition to our American Dream Washington
State’s 4 Major Needs ·
Federal Funding for Health and Education ·
A Progressive Income
Tax ·
Replacing
Republican Legislators Quote of the Week Today, as in the Gilded Age, we live in a world where a
morality of personal responsibility rubs shoulders with a culture of greed
and of flagrant social irresponsibility.
Charles Derber, Corporation Nation, p2
Calendar of Events
July 5, 6, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19 and 20
at
Tuesday, July 15 at 6:30 at Holy
Family Catholic Church (
Thursday, July 17 at noon at WaMu
Theater at Qwest Field (
Barbara Rader of Black Widow Web Development created our
Puget Sound Liberals Website, to which I can easily add, modify and remove
files. Learn more
about this unique company, which offers a 50% discount for organizations
that promote social justice and environmental stewardship.
Opportunities, Petitions and Feedback
Feedback
I spend as much time
finding commentaries and creating links to them as I do writing my own
commentaries. Do you use selected links,
or am I wasting my time?
Opportunities
How
Would You Spend $3 Trillion instead of Iraq?
Try
MoveOn’s new game: What’s the difference between President Bush and Senator
John McCain?
Wellstone Action provides
organizing tools online.
Take
a quiz concerning how green is your vacation.
See lots of
videos of Barack Obama’s speeches and appearances.
Dress up your
emails with smiley faces, funny animations, and more.
Petitions and
Donations
Endorse the Global Marshall Plan proposed by the Network of
Spiritual Progressives.
Tell your
congress member to oppose starting a war with Iran.
Tell
your senators and congress member to oppose drilling for oil in sensitive
areas.
Tell the president and
congress to enact the Employee Free Choice Act.
Tell the AFL-CIO your priority issues.
Tell FOX television to stop their
fear, prejudice and racism campaign.
Commentaries
From Our Members
Excerpted from commentary published by
“Overall, government data show jobs in
“Over the past year, aerospace added 6,300 new jobs, software and computers
5,500, restaurants 4,500, and health care delivery 2,600.
“Health insurance emerges as one of the biggest
concerns for people facing unemployment. A serious illness or accident can
happen at any time. Monthly premiums are costly, even when able to tap into a
company plan. A recent AARP poll of
This year the Legislature took another step, approving a study of five
proposals to make health care more affordable and extend coverage. The Healthy
Washington Coalition, representing faith communities, unions, businesses, women's
groups and others, is hosting seven forums around the state to comment on those
proposals. The first was in
EOI is keeping the American dream alive
for
·
A
strong minimum wage that keeps up with inflation, so our
workers don't fall
behind.
·
Paid
family leave, so no one has to
choose
between going to work and caring for family.
·
High-quality
early childhood education, so every child gets a strong and healthy start in
life.
Donald A. Smith Video about Bush Administration
Deception
I made this Flash animation, with guitar and voice:
http://truthsite.org/politics/Presentations/FavoriteThingsGuitar.html If anyone
has skills in singing or design, I can use the help. Dave, you might want to put it in your
newsletter. Thanks, Donald A. Smith I loved it.
Larry Shannon on Supreme Court’s Exxon decision
Published by
The appalling Supreme Court decision
leaving Exxon with a slap on the wrist is an insult to the environment and the
fishing communities whose fabric of life was shredded by the callous acts of
the company. But it is even more dangerous as a signal of big business
conservative activism by the court. This majority sent the message that the
courts now protect the rich and powerful, no matter how egregious their
actions.
I will ignore the truly insulting comments
from Exxon about how hard they have worked to help the victims. Please spare me
the corporate malarkey. But for the majority to say this was a
"profitless" venture is a shockingly inaccurate and ignorant
statement. The majority chose to step on the decision of the jury that heard
all the facts and made the decision, and to instead make up their own facts and
law.
The record shows Exxon ignored its
legal and contractual obligations to protect the fragile ecosystem they were
granted the right to exploit, based on having to live up these obligations.
Exxon wants us to think of this as a drunk captain, hitting a reef. This is not
the truth.
Exxon wants us to ignore that it saved
billions over the decade prior to 1989 mishap, by not installing or maintaining
proper radar, and had a system that had been broken and not in use for over a
year when they hit the reef. The clean up crews they were required to maintain
in the event of a spill did not exist, and the clean up equipment was only on
paper. This left the eco system totally exposed. Lives were ruined, communities
destroyed. But Exxon chose to fight this to the bitter end, and a now compliant
activist court did just that for them.
So Exxon skates into the sunset,
virtually unpunished, and now with the court tortures the law in favor of
corporate misdeeds. This court has reached into a new level of judicial
activism. These justices are also the ones who John McCain wants to emulate
with any appointments. If that happens, God save the Republic. Larry Shannon
Rabbi Michael Lerner on a New Bottom Line for
American Society
Excerpt from an email
from Rabbi Michael Lerner
“The central
unifying idea of the next president's campaign and the major focus of his
presidency should be a call for a New Bottom Line in American society. Today,
institutions and social practices are judged efficient, rational and productive
to the extent that they maximize money and power. That's the Old Bottom Line.
Now Here is the NEW BOTTOM LINE for which he should advocate: Institutions
(including corporations and governments), social practices, and even person
actions should be judged rational, efficient and productive not only to the
extent that they maximize money and power, but also to the extent that they
maximize love and caring, ethical and ecological sensitivity and behavior,
kindness and generosity, non-violence and peace, and to the extent that they
enhance our capacities to respond to other human beings in a way that honors
them as embodiments of the sacred, and enhances our capacities to respond to
the earth and the universe with awe, wonder and radical amazement at the
grandeur of creation. .
To make this kind of a focus for his/her presidency, s/he must talk at a far
deeper level than merely repeating or reframing the traditional leftist demands
for economic and political rights. While s/he should strongly advocate for a
Global Marshall Plan, s/he should also acknowledge that these political and
economic changes will only be won on a global level when the social change movements
are able to address the spiritual consequences of the triumph of corporate
globalization: a society-wide depression and repression of what we can
variously call the life-force, eros, God-energy or Spirit.” Rabbi
Michael Lerner , National Chair of The Network of Spiritual Progressives
Email from Ray McBain on Pressuring the
President
It is unthinkable to many Americans
that McCain should become the next president of the
The lead editorial in the most recent issue of "The Nation" (July 7,
2008, printed June 18) discusses exactly the latter scenario. The article, The
Audacity of Insiders, on page 3, provides chilling details of that possibility,
such as naming Jason Furman to head his economic policy team. Furman, an
acolyte of Citigroup chair Robert Rubin, has sneered at the union-led
coalition campaigning for better wages and benefits at Wal-Mart. The article goes on to state that millions of
Americans need to keep the pressure on Obama, should he become president. I
second that motion and raise it 50 billion dollars.
OK, so how - and when - do we pressure Obama? The pressure must begin now. We
need to get the message across to Obama that his choices now are setting the
stage for his presidency and that we are watching those choices. His current
policy team must represent the interests of the millions who are giving him
money; who require universal health care; who need protection
against rapacious bosses that hate unions; who need help in dealing with
prices rising unconscionably for gas, for mortgages, for utilities, for
property taxes; and who need effective solutions for the economy, including the
housing crisis.
Economic crises must not be allowed to give all power to the greedy banking and
other financial interests. Naomi Klein in her excellent book "THE SHOCK
DOCTRINE: THE RISE OF DISASTER CAPITALISM"
gives us lessons derived from history on just how those financial powerhouses
use crises to advance their aims, in conflict with our interests. How they
employ propaganda and lies to blind us to their ambitions. How they shock us
into compliance, just as Bush shocked us into a war in
If Obama, when he becomes president, can overcome his economic policy advisors
and institute reforms that resolve the economic crisis, not aggravate it, then
he should be allowed to continue on his present path. However, I - for one - do
not believe it works that way. What he
chooses now we
will be stuck with after January 20th. Therefore we must send our message now!
The whole Democratic party machine must also be pressured. The good ol' boys of
that machine, millionaires all, cannot be allowed to continue doing
"business as usual". That path spells doom for the Democrats.
Currently they are in bed with the financial interests that are ruining this
country, this country whose rightful owners are we, the people. The present
path of the Democrats will allow the Republicans to gain sway. You know them,
the ones that say "no new taxes", then go on to bankrupt the nation
with additional trillions of dollars of debt - dollars that end up in the hands
of their cronies.
And in the end, the love you make is equal to the love you take - to use a line
from the Beatles. We can get only as good as we give. Begin the pressure now,
to salvage our country. Ray McBain
Email
from
Last night I watched “Bobby” on television. Old, sorrowful feelings swept over me. First it was President Kennedy, then Reverend
King…then Robert Kennedy. The
After each tragic assassination,
Now here we are in 2008. We are witnesses to a health care crisis,
war, assaults on civil liberties, soaring energy prices, starvation of public
education, the trashing of our environment, growing homelessness, a scarcity of
jobs paying family-sustaining wages,
and other schemes that if ignored will further damage those of us who
comprise working class America.
The lives of the Kennedys and Dr. King were not about “witnessing”. Each of them led, while urging us – you and
me – to join with them to bring about harmony and kinship in our nation and
throughout the world. We had hope! That hope has been be rekindled!
This July 4th - this Independence Day -
as we celebrate the day’s meaning and spirit,
let’s remember the lives of those
three men and the countless other women and men who paid the ultimate price so
that we the people may live in peace and security. Let’s refuse to be witnesses, and instead be
the hopeful, socially-conscious, activists
that Dr. King and John Kennedy and Robert Kennedy sought to
inspire.
2008 is an exciting year. It is the year to stop witnessing and start
doing. It is the year of hope and
inspiration and action. It is the year
to do what we can so that future generations may live and love in
peace. Our time for change has
come! Barack Obama will lead. So will
Governor Chris Gregoire. So will other
compassionate souls throughout
Now it’s up to us to act! Rather than bemoaning all that is wrong, we must instead focus on all that we will
help make right. If we do, social and
economic justice…and peace will follow. No
better tribute could be paid to “Abraham,
John, Martin and Bobby”.
Email from Linda Boyd on Media Ignoring Impeachment
Friends, Please respond to the editorial by the
As long as Congress refuses to use impeachment to
enforce the constitution, corrupt officials will give them the middle finger. Why should tyrants and torturers cease their
abuses of power when congress chooses impotence over oversight? Without
the power of the subpoena and the will to conduct effective investigations,
congress has no power. Impeachment is
the tool the founders put in the constitution six times, but Congress chooses
instead to lend their hand in the destruction of our republic.
The editors at the
Joe Martin: Many Weren’t Deceived by Bush’s
War
Published by
I take issue with Tuesday's editorial
concerning the Army's recently released report on the debacle in
Perhaps many Americans were taken in by
the furtive skullduggery of the Bush cabal, but millions of us were not.
Especially in
Yes, we would "be wise to learn
the lessons history has had to teach us." Many of us had learned those
already as a result of
John Repp on
Published by
Thank you for your editorial "A
tactical failure" (Tuesday) about the new Army report calling the invasion
and occupation of
As the value of the dollar falls because
of huge federal deficits, the price of oil and other imports rises. As the
occupation continues and the Bush-Cheney administration threatens
Laura Barnes on Wesley Clark on John McCain
In response to Gen. Wesley Clark's
statements, Barack Obama has never questioned John McCain's honorable service,
indeed he has praised it, so it's unfair that McCain can question Obama's
patriotism while acting like a victim. The fact remains that
I would take McCain seriously if he was
as supportive of our service members as he implies. His experience gives him a
unique opportunity to speak out against the White House's stand on torture and
veterans benefits, but he doesn't. McCain's trips to
Liberals and Democrats
Local Barack Obama ‘Unite for Change’ Gatherings
The Barack Obama campaign organization has brought
40 or more trained staffers to work with our
I participated in two ‘United for Change’
gatherings of many which were held this week throughout our
I was also impressed that the participants were
already divided between optimists and pessimists concerning the extent to which
we can eliminate the opposition of special corporate interests to reclaiming
our American Dream. There is also a
division between those of us who want to hold out for perfection and those of
us who will accept progress. For more. We live in interesting times, about to get
even more interesting. Some lessons
we need to learn and apply.
I believe gatherings such as these are producing an
outpouring of volunteers for registering, canvassing, phoning, hosting, and
more. Much more than I have ever seen
here before. I believe that one of the
great benefits for Washington State Democrats of the Barack Obama candidacy is
that we may better appreciate grassroots organizing and learn how to do it. Our Democratic Party may be able to help our
candidates to win, instead of our candidates having to do almost all of the
grass roots organizing on their own. And
this is happening throughout our country.
As I have long emphasized (and tried to practice in
our Lake Hills neighborhood), a truly coordinated campaign of our Democratic
Party organization and all of our candidates is enormously more efficient and
effective than each candidate having to campaign alone. Hopefully this coordinated campaign will also
lead to more coordination among our officials after they are elected. I envision a future with close coordination
between our voters, our candidates and our Democratic Party.
Our great series of Democratic primaries with the
dramatic race between Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton and others really kicked
off our grassroots organizing. For
more. For all that Karl Rove did
excellent grassroots organizing in
Barack Obama on Campaign Organizing and Funding
Excerpt from fundraising email
“Together
we are setting a new standard for how presidential campaigns will be organized
and funded. For the first time in a
generation, a presidential campaign is putting staff in every single state for
the general election. Our staff and the Obama Organizing Fellows are getting to
work right now to build on grassroots energy in all 50 states.
And -- unlike John McCain -- we're going to do it without contributions from
Another
Barack Obama campaign email included:
It's been less than four
weeks since Barack became the presumptive Democratic nominee, and here's what
supporters like you have already made possible:
·
Staff and
offices in 21 states
·
134 campaign
offices open across the country
·
Nearly 1,000
field staff on the ground, supported by more than 3,500 Obama Organizing
Fellows
And
we are literally growing every day. For
more (video).
It’s Tough to Run a Schizophrenic Campaign
Poor John McCain.
He has to convince Conservatives that he’s a true believer in Bush’s
policies. He has to convince the rest of
us that he is a maverick. It’s tough to
run a schizophrenic campaign. He runs
the risk that Conservatives will think he is a maverick. While the rest of us will think he’s John
McSame running for a third Bush term.
To really cement himself with Conservatives, McCain
should choose Dick Cheney as his Vice President.
Gerrymandering Now Works against Republicans
The Republicans gerrymandered our congressional
districts to pack Democrats into a few districts, leaving Republicans to
dominate many districts by a small margin.
This has now turned against them.
With public abhorrence of President Bush and the Republicans, many of
the safe Republican seats don’t have enough cushion to protect their
incumbents. Democrats are posed to make
big gains. For
more. For more. For
more.
Here’s the Beef
Democrat
Phyllis Huster plays offense in her race to unseat 5th LD Republican
Senator Cheryl Pflug.
Barack
Obama’s campaign leader explains our campaign strategy and asks for support
(video).
See lots of
videos of Barack Obama’s speeches and appearances.
Who do want to be
vice president? Al Gore or Mitt Romney? McCain & Romney, the flip-flop team.
Polls
show Barack Obama gaining strength in many states. Lookin’ good.
AFL-CIO endorses Barack
Obama and launches website to introduce him to their members.
Arianna Hoffington
warns Barack Obama against moving to the right. For more. For more. For more.
Read
about Karl Rove’s silly criticisms of Barack Obama.
John McCain isn’t
attracting Hillary Clinton supporters.
He is losing Conservatives.
General
Wesley Clark says getting his plane shot down doesn’t qualify John McCain to be
president.
Could
John McCain lose his home state of Arizona?
If
elected, both Barack Obama and John McCain may cut spending on profitable weapons
programs.
Anti Bush,
anti Republican enthusiasm may defeat tenured Republic incumbent congress
members.
Commentaries
on various senate and house races, where Democrats may beat Republican
incumbents.
Democratic
Congressional Campaign Committee launches ads against 13 Republicans (video).
Without facts,
Republicans accuse voter registration of being election fraud.
Remember
that state legislative races are also important, particularly for redistricting
after 2010.
Learn how
bloggers and internet activists are changing our politics (book review).
Commercial
media biases cause misinterpretation of presidential race polls.
State and
Local
I receive about 100 emails a day, a third
from email lists such as AFL-CIO, Alternet, Center for American Progress,
Common Dreams, Democracy for America, Economic Opportunity Institute, King
County Labor Council, Larry Kalb’s Perspectives, MoveOn, New Republic, Sightline
Institute, Wellstone Action, various Democratic Party organizations and other
organizations. And from Liberal
politicians, including Barack Obama, Patty Murray, Maria Cantwell, Dave
Reichert,
I personally spend more than $1200 year
becoming a member or subscribing to 30 environmental, economic and political
organizations and periodicals, including the national, state, county and
legislative district Democrats, but not the congressional campaign
committees. During recent years, I
contributed another $500 to $1000 depending upon the year to various political
candidates, including our 45th and 48th LD legislative
candidates. I usually make only one
contribution of $50 per candidate. This
year, I have contributed to Governor Gregoire, Jim McIntire,
I strongly support public campaign
financing and also support small unbundled donations. Even when I have made suggestions to
candidates I have supported, I have seldom felt that any of them changed their
minds. I come to believe that even
legislators that I respect very much for their intentions and intelligence,
have blind spots, believe ridiculous thoughts, and are stubbornly resistant to
my fantastic impeccable logic backed by multitudes of evident facts. However, I support them for the many topics
on which I agree with them. I wonder if
I could change their minds by giving them more money. Maybe even bundling some. Or maybe I should a Dale Carnegie Course.
I recommend that each year, you decide how
much you will contribute to candidates and then decide where your contributions
can make a difference. On this basis, I
recommend you contribute to our 3 5th LD legislative candidates: Phyllis Huster, Jon Viebrock and David Springs. I have a passion for eliminating Republican
legislators from our Eastside and from all of
I have sympathy for those who contribute to
Liberal challengers to some of our incumbent Democratic Congressional members,
who are caught up in our old pork barrel politics, have supported reducing our
civil liberties, made it more difficult to declare bankruptcy and have
otherwise voted for Conservative legislation.
The frustration is that it is unlikely that any of these incumbents can
be beaten. But I predict that this will
be a major issue in 2010 for those who don’t support Liberal legislation during
the 2009 and 2010 congressional terms. I
also respect those who support smaller Liberal parties. Many of the best proposals passed by
Democrats was originally proposed by such parties.
I do not intend that our newsletter will be
filled with requests for political contributions. I don’t now intend to address this topic
again, although I will welcome and publish your responses to this
commentary. I only hope that you will be
intentional in your giving.
Taxing high incomes to reduce
regressive taxes and improve public services
Excerpted
from
Washington
State’s seventy year-old tax structure is built on an ever-shrinking base, and
taxes fall most heavily on those least able to afford them. This discussion
brief outlines options for a limited tax on the highest income households,
coupled with a reduction in sales or property tax. The result would
be a fairer
tax system that keeps pace with economic growth and provides the revenues for
high-priority public investments in education and infrastructure that are
necessary for shared prosperity.
Key Findings
Our state’s
existing tax system is outdated and unfair.
·
·
By failing to capture revenue from a changing economy, we
are starving our state of needed investments in education, transportation, and
health.
A tax on
high incomes will raise revenue that grows with our economy.
·
A tax on incomes over $200,000 would fall on the top 4% of
households. It would raise $2 billion per biennium at 3%, and $3.4 billion at
5%.
·
A “millionaires” tax would be paid by 0.1% of households.
It would raise $780 million per biennium at 3%, and $1.3 billion at 5%.
·
A tax on interest, dividend, and capital gains income with
middle class and senior exclusions would raise up to $1.9 billion.
New
progressive taxes paired with reductions in regressive taxes will reduce inequities
in our state’s tax structure.
·
Pairing new progressive taxes with reductions in regressive
taxes could net $400-$760 million each biennium.
·
Lowering the state portion of the sales tax from 6.5% to 6%
would cost $1.3 billion a biennium and save the typical
·
Cutting the state portion of the property tax in half would
cost $1.5 billion a biennium and save the average homeowner $330 annually.
For
the rest of this very informative report.
Here’s the Beef
See who’s filing to run for Washington state and federal offices.
What
initiatives and proposals are likely to be on our November ballots?
Senate
FISA vote delayed until July 8. Inform
Patty Murray and other NW senators of your opinion.
Brian Baird, Norm
Dicks and Adam Smith are criticized for supporting FISA.
Building
Industry Association of Washington attacks Governor Gregoire, who is fighting
back.
Union
PAC launches $500,000 ads exposing Dino Rossi’s miserable record concerning
health care.
View the ads which expose Dino Rossi
(video).
In 2005, 1100 employers
spent $37 million to lobby Washington state legislators and other officials.
How to find out
who is influencing your legislator. For more.
As
a share of our economy, our state budget has been flat over a decade.
Washington
is fortunate. Most states are
experiencing budget crises due to stagflation.
Eastside Interfaith
Social Concerns Council reports on homelessness, social needs and more.
King
County needs a new child and family justice center.
Andrew
Villeneuve informs us about rapid transit.
He strongly supports Sound Transit projects.
Seattle and
King County should learn to live with higher fuel prices.
Sightline Institute on improving your
commute and more.
Sightline
Institute on compact community, walkability with in one mile.
Immigration
officials arrest workers suspected of violating immigration laws.
Thousands
of people who can’t prove citizenship may lose medical coverage.
Democrat
Phyllis Huster plays offense in her race to unseat 5th LD Republican
Senator Cheryl Pflug.
View Tina Orwall’s campaign website,
which portrays an effective campaign.
Nation
and World
Hello Debt.
Bye Bye Credit.
Following the
second world war, our gross national product soared so fast that it greatly
outpaced our government debt, making the latter much easier to service. Returning veterans went to school People found jobs and bought suburban houses
with FHA and VA financing. We built a
national freeway system. Social security
helped our seniors escape poverty and dependency. Our civil rights movement and Great Society
programs and the Voting Rights Act helped poor people, including African
Americans.
Our total
debt (public, corporate and household) as a percentage of GNP remained
steady. A declining percentage of public
debt was offset by increasing percentages of private debt which fueled demand
and investment.
Then the oil
shocks of the 1970s. Competition from recovered
Japanese and European manufacturing.
Stagflation hit. To maintain family spending, most women became employed. We
begin borrowing big time. Using
credit cards. Obtaining second mortgage
lines of credit. Or refinancing. Still feeling pinched, we demanded tax cuts. Ronald
Reagan was elected to lower taxes. And
with the support of Reagan Democrats – White men feeling competition from women
and Blacks and feeling neglected by the Democratic Party.
Tax cuts and
increased military expenditures created large federal deficits, a federal debt
that grew faster than the economy, and Federal Reserve stimulated high interest
rates to counter inflation. Mutual
Savings were freed to make speculative loans. Facing competition to maximize returns,
bankers made government-insured risky loans to construct buildings beyond
market demand. When the resulting bubble
collapsed, our tax payers paid back the depositors ($200 billion). A pattern of private profit and socialized
risk that would be repeated in our current sub-prime housing bubble and
collapse.
Tax law
changed to favor corporate debt financing over equity financing. Junk bonds fueled corporate takeovers, with
resulting huge debts. These takeovers,
also wrecked many productive companies, stripping out their assets, employee
benefits and laying off their employees – an enormous disinvestment.
As fast as
government debt was increasing, private debt (business and household) was
increasing even faster. From 1974 to
2006, Federal debt increased 14 times from $365 to $4,885 billion. State and Local debt increased 10 times from
$208 to $2,007 billion. Household debt
increased 19 times from $680 to $12,873 billion. Corporate debt increased 26 times from $1,160
to $24,979 billion. For each dollar of
public debt, we have $1.87 of household debt and $3.62 of corporate debt. Ouch!
Financial
deregulation allowed major increases in our finance sector as new ways were
created to move money between lenders and borrowers, between savers and
investors. While our manufacturing was
shrinking from 25% to 12% of our economy (from 1970s to 2006), our financial
services increased from 12% to 20%. From
1956 to 2006, assets of banks and insurance companies declined from 78% to 30%
of all financial assets. Assets of
pension, mutual , hedge, private equity, leverage and mortgage funds increased
from 16% to 57%. Security and real
estate brokers and dealers increased from 1% to 10%.
Instead of
producing things, more of us are shifting money around. We experienced a dot.com boom and bust. And now a housing boom and bust. Inadequate regulation led to stockholders,
managers, employees, suppliers, lenders, everybody becoming less secure. More ripped-off or just victims of takeovers
and collapses. So here we are. In debt, publicly and even more privately. The value of our homes and financial
investments is falling. Inflation
continues. We have foreign debts which
may be the plug that gets pulled.
Notice that
if we disregard all the financial stuff, of who owes who what, our
· Regulate financial institutions to curb speculation which inflates
without investing.
· Replace subsidies which yield us no social benefits with subsidies
which do.
· Encourage fiscal responsibility, conservation and other measures to
reduce federal and trade deficits.
· Shift spending from consumption to investment (public physical and social
infrastructure, alternative fuels and new technologies)
· Alter our tax system, strengthen our labor unions, provide universal
access to quality health and education, and take other steps to encourage a
fair distribution of income and expenditures.
· And more, which I don’t think of now.
Can we do this. Yes, we can?
But it won’t all be easy or fun.
Physicians Support a Single Payer System
Dr. Oliver Fein is taking the reins at Physicians for a National
Health Program, a 20-year-old organization of more than 15,000 doctors who
support a single-payer plan for all, similar to Medicare for those over
65. He
Calls For Taking Profit Out Of Health Care Coverage.
Our military personnel are still dying in Iraq
Of the 4,113 U.S. troops killed in Iraq; 3,974
of them have died since Bush declared "Mission Accomplished" and
an end to major combat operations in May 2003; 3,652 have died since the
capture of Saddam; and 3,254 have died since the government was handed
over to the Iraqis. Many times this many
have been seriously wounded. And many
more Iraqis have been killed or wounded, most of them non-combatants.
President Bush, John McCain and other
proponents of continuing our occupation of
Here’s the Beef
Most Americans aren’t into
politics or social facts.
Americans pay more
for less broadband than elsewhere. A
broad coalition seeks to change this.
Internet Liberals
must also become grassroots Liberals.
The Obama campaign is showing the way.
Spreading
democracy through civic education. For more. For more.
David
Korten calls for converting our war economy to a green economy.
Bye Bye
American automobile companies.
Seeking short term profits can destroy you.
Sub-prime
loan resets may peak this summer.
Can
we replace military spending with spending for domestic priorities?
Do we have to
choose between rescuing our economy and countering global warming?
Earth Policy
Institute presents plan to cut carbon emissions 80% by 2020.
Northeasterners
face home heating oil sticker shock this winter.
Increasing
nuclear energy faces many obstacles.
Many groups supporting
call to fully restore our constitutional and human rights.
Among our heroes are
whistleblowers who risk their careers to protect our citizens from abuse. More.
Conservative
Activist Supreme Court Judges invent reason for slashing Exxon punitive
damages.
Many
sub-prime loans were fraudulent refinances.
Women have the voting
power to control our election.
Compare
how children fare in different states.
As costs
increase, more Americans are delaying obtaining needed health care.
United
States Conference of Mayors endorses HR 676 (single payer health insurance).
Ten
reasons that we should adopt a Canadian style health coverage system.
Prohibition lasted 13
years. Our ‘war on drugs’ has lasted 94 years so far. Is this long enough?
Thanks to our
conservative activist supreme court, you can have a gun without joining a
militia.
Our Liberal Spirit
Recovering from Compulsive
Shopping
Perhaps
due to omnipresent advertising, we have become a nation of compulsive
shoppers. We set our addiction with big
ticket items. Our house and car. We are spending much more on each of these
and buying much bigger ones. Once we
have a large house, we begin to load it with furniture, with appliances,
kitchen gadgets, home repair tools, yard and gardening tools and other
stuff. We buy exercise and sports
equipment. With every new interest or
hobby, we buy more equipment, often before we realize we really don’t like the
hobby. When traveling, we shop for
souvenirs and bargains.
We
become experts on what to buy. What’s
the best quality, most fashionable or biggest bargain. Like Southern California Sierra Club yuppies
I hiked with on the Pacific Crest Trail and ANWR, we know the best tent, pack,
clothing, boots, and more. And discuss
it endlessly with other yuppies.
We
read the advertisements to find things that we haven’t yet bought. We go window shopping with no agenda except
to find things to buy. We go to thrift
stores and garage sales. We buy things
we don’t need because they are such a good deal. We fill our houses with stuff. If we have more than two bedrooms, the others
become full of stuff. We fill our garage
with stuff, so we have to park in the driveway exposed to the weather. We get so much stuff, we rent extra storage
space. Once we put stuff out of sight,
we are unlikely to use it. If it
disappeared, we might not even miss it.
We
cherish the things we have, even though we wouldn’t buy many of them for the
price that we could sell them for.
Getting rid of them can be an agonizing decision. Yet once we decide to get rid of some things,
we may feel the same relief that comes when we make a major decision to buy
something, to get married or divorced.
There are now Uncluttering Consultants to help us get rid of stuff we
don’t use. When something pushes us to
get rid of stuff we have cherished, we are surprised that we don’t miss it.
Falling
house prices. High gas prices. These may force us to downsize. With less space and less money left over, we
may buy less stuff. We may become
recovering shopaholics. Like recovering
alcoholics who are grateful to the officer who arrested them for drunken
driving, we may become grateful for the high gas prices that forced us to a
less compulsive greedy lifestyle.
Painful involuntary simplicity may become enjoyable voluntary
simplicity. Unfortunately, my wife and I
have not yet become grateful recovering shopaholics, especially regarding
books.
A glut of environmental
simplicity how-to-do-it books are appearing.
Here are several.
·
Jeffrey
Hollender with Linda Catling, 1995, How
to Make the World a
·
Karen M.
Jones, 2005, The Difference a Day Makes,
365 Ways to change Your World in Just 24 Hours
·
Nick Temple
(Ed.), 2005, 500 Ways to Change the World
Recommended Books –
See our list of books for
liberals
Kevin Phillips, 2008, Bad Money, Reckless Finance, Failed Politics
and the Global Crisis of American Capitalism
Kevin Phillips book is the
basis for our main commentary in this issue.
Free Member Advertising
Hire Our Lake Hills Neighbors
·
Auto Repair, price varies depending
on job (but always fair), Jaime Speicher (AAS Auto Repair Technician)
(425-746-2353)
·
Babysitting for infants (occasional evenings
and weekends) - $5 per hour-
·
Data Entry- $10 per 12 font, double spaced page-
·
Debt Elimination
Counseling, Seminars and Workshops – price negotiable – Sherry Brandt
(206-356-8034, somerev2@comcast.net)
·
Home Repair- prices vary, depending
on job-
·
Home Repair and
Remodeling,
·
Housekeeper, price negotiable –
·
Life Support Therapies,
·
Private Piano Lessons (students must have a
piano), afternoons - Anna Khosrowian (378-7938), price negotiable
·
Psychotherapist, accepts insurance
- Sandy Mathews (462-7889, www.sandramathews.com)
About
In October, 2005, we founded our Lake Hills
Liberals as an experimental demonstration of creating neighborhoods where
liberals thrive and multiply and maximizing our vote for Liberal
candidates. In January, 2006, we began
our newsletter.
During our
first year, we focused upon Lake Hills neighborhood development, experimenting
with a variety of activities and events.
To elect Liberals, we canvassed our 12 precincts to increase the number
of identified likely Democratic voters from 33% to 90% and stimulated them to
vote, which assisted election of our 2006 Democratic candidates. We recruited
30% (500) of them. We encouraged house
parties to allow neighbors to meet each other to be able to prevent crime, to
assist each other in a disaster, and to protect and assist our children. We created our website. We began a monthly discussion group, called
the Lake Hills Liberal Salon.
During our
second year, we recruited many members from throughout our
As we
begin our third year, we continue our past activities, especially electing Liberals,
canvassing Lake Hills, promoting house parties, educating and enabling
cooperation among Liberals, and promoting Public Campaign Financing. Our new political priority is promoting a fair
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
Our weekly newsletter is currently distributed to 2300 members by email each Friday. 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.
·
African Americans –
·
Blogs –
·
Campaign Finance –
·
Democratic Party –
·
Drug Policy –
·
Education – Dennis Gerlitz, John Stokes
·
Environment –
·
Gays and Lesbians – Jack Greenlaw
·
Green Party – Trey Smith
·
Health Care – Larry Kalb, Bob Fithian
·
Hispanics – needed
·
Immigration - Grosvenor Anschell
·
Housing and Poverty –
·
Labor Unions –
·
Law and Justice –
·
State Legislation –
·
Veterans –
·
Women’s Issues –
Additional Resources
See our website at www.PugetSoundLiberals.org, with our basic training about
being Liberal, our archive of all past newsletters, resources for liberals,
tools for Democratic legislative district organizations and more.
To learn about particular issues, further your interests and meet
colleagues, visit websites of advocacy and
caring organizations. Also
see our list of helpful websites. Craig’s List Seattle
For
news about NW sustainability, visit Sightline
Daily. We recommend the Pacific NW Portal for
displaying many blogs through which Northwest Liberals exchange their knowledge
and opinions. See also Lefty Blogs. We recommend you go to Washblog to find blogs containing
information and opinions about
Learn about our State Democratic Party. About 2008 Caucuses and Elections. Contact your national and state officials. Report Card on your congress member For many Congressional Report Cards.