Action Alerts

Support Kriss Worthington for State Assembly

Last January, PD–East Bay endorsed Kriss Worthington for the State Assembly, 9th District.

Kriss is an 11-year veteran of the Berkeley City Council. He has consistently supported progressive values and transformed them into effective action. Kriss has led on environmental, labor, peace and social justice, and civil rights issues, garnering the endorsement of folks like Dolores Huerta.

Kriss has well financed opposition and he needs your help. Let's put a progressive voice in the State Assembly.

We are looking for volunteers to work with us in supporting Kriss. We will be precinct walking on Saturdays in May. Phone banking can be during the week or on weekends.

If you can help with precinct walking or phone banking, contact Bill Lawler: (510) 524-4244, wjlawler@hotmail.com.

To donate or put up a yard sign, contact the Kriss Worthington Campaign.

Healthcare NOT Warfare

February 29, 2008

As Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) board member Norman Solomon pointed out in this article, “nearly one in six Americans has no health insurance, and tens of millions of others are woefully under-insured–while the war in Iraq continues to further skew the U.S. government's budget priorities.”

We say “Healthcare NOT Warfare” and ask you to join the campaign.

The time has come to redirect unnecessary and wasteful military spending to meeting human needs.

Among those needs is the healthcare crisis and we're focusing our attention on the Democratic Party by gathering signatures on a petition to prioritize “Healthcare NOT Warfare.” The signed petition will be distributed to Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Democratic Committee Chairman Howard Dean, and your member of Congress.

In addition, we hope to pass resolutions to support “Healthcare NOT Warfare” at the upcoming local, state, and national Democratic conventions, and in cities, counties, and states across the country.

Please, sign the petition, and join us in this effort by taking action on one or more of the following items:

• Host a House Party–get your “Healthcare NOT Warfare” materials and house party kits, here.
• Download the flyer to distribute at meetings and events. Use it to bird-dog congressional candidates!
• Download the sample resolution, change it to meet your needs, and pass it at your local and state Democratic Parties, cities, and counties.
• Click here for additional resources and action items.

Deliver the Message to Pelosi:
"Put Impeachment on the Table"

Send Pelosi a Personal Letter With a Clear Message

Join thousands of ordinary citizens who want to hold the Bush administration accountable for their illegal and unconstitutional actions. Send a hand-written letter to Nancy Pelosi with a clear message: Put Impeachment on the Table

It has been said that if Pelosi receives 10,000 hand-written letters, she will put impeachment on the table. Enlist family and friends to send letters. We need thousands of letters to appear at Pelosi's steps.

Do not send form letters. Let her know in your words that you want impeachment on the table. This is much more effective than email, faxes, or postcards.

We suggest short, hand-written letters that clearly make the point. Here is an example letter.

Here are some possible talking points. Please include what you think is relevant for your letter.

• Defend the Constitution from those that abuse it.
• The Bush administration led this country into an illegal war based on lies and deception about WMD
• The security of this country is increasingly at risk because of an illegal war
• Illegal surveillance of the American people by the executive branch curtails the freedoms for which this country stands
• It is the role of the Legislative branch to check the power of the Executive branch. Don't let unlawful exercise of Executive power go unchecked.
• The people want the Bush administration held accountable. Please respond to the wishes of the people
• Too many innocent people have died in an illegal war. Hold the Bush administration accountable for this senseless loss of life.

Mail your letter to Pelosi:

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
450 Golden Gate Ave. – 14th Floor
San Francisco, CA 94102

The Honorable Nancy Pelosi
235 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, DC 20515-0508

Watch this space for letter-writing parties to encourage you, your friends, and associates to personally demand that Pelosi represent the will of the people.

Progressive Democrats of America
Healthcare Not Warfare

Something big is happening in the grassroots. You can feel the energy that is committed to changing the course of the country. Feel disconnected? You can be a big part of the change.

Join Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) in a fund raiser for the "Healthcare Not Warfare" campaign.

Monday, April 28, 6:00 - 9:00 pm
83 First Street (between Market and Mission) in San Francisco
$50.00 per ticket*

Sponsored by Progressive Democrats of San Francisco and
PD–East Bay

Map and Directions

*Questions/students/seniors/group discounts: Contact vin@pdamerica.org or call (732) 299-5625

Featuring Norman Solomon, syndicated columnist and Producer of War Made Easy.

Also featuring Special Guests:

• San Francisco Supervisor Gerardo Sandoval (District 11)
• San Francisco Supervisor Chris Daly (District 6)
• Surrogate from U.S. Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey's office, also a PDA Board member

As Norman Solomon pointed out in this article, “nearly one in six Americans has no health insurance, and tens of millions of others are woefully under-insured–while the war in Iraq continues to further skew the U.S. government's budget priorities.”

Progressive Democrats of America is both local and national, inside (the Democratic Party) and outside (not a chapter of the Party). It is having more and more impact as it endorses progressive candidates in primaries to defeat the moderates and pro-war candidates picked by the Democratic Party. Attend a State Convention and their impact is palpable. Even Medea Benjamin is pondering leaving the Green Party to become more active!

Check out the PDA website for a list of its impressive Board of Directors.

But most of all, show up and learn how you can contribute to this historic movement for change.

PDA Turns Out for the Mass March & Rally to End the War

Local chapters of Progressive Democrats of America (PDA) came out in numbers for Saturday's National Mobilization to End the War in Iraq.

Photo by Vince Genovese

Progressive Democrats of the East Bay joined our sister Northern California PDA chapters, and 30,000 others for the San Francisco March and Rally.

Save the Date – PD–East Bay Annual Picnic (Sun, July 22)

We will be holding our annual Picnic & Politics Barbecue on Sunday, July 22, Noon to 4:00pm at our usual spot in Codornices Park, Berkeley.

Details on this event will be available shortly.

Progressive Democrats of the East Bay Scorecard

The Progressive Democrats of the East Bay endorsed the following candidates and positions for the November election. Here is an update of the endorsements, indicating the results.

Barbara Lee's Letter to Rice Regarding Gaza Violence

On December 10, a small delegation from Progressive Democrats of the East Bay, Middle East Policy Advisory Committee (MEPAC), and the Middle East Peace Congress (MEPC) visited Congresswoman Barbara Lee in her Oakland office to petition her for a statement on the siege of Gaza.

Here is the letter that Congresswoman Lee sent to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

If you wish to thank Representative Lee for bringing this issue before Secretary Rice, here is Barbara Lee's contact info:

Official Website	www.lee.house.gov
email	barbara.lee@mail.house.gov
Oakland Office	510-763-0370
Washington Office	202-225-2661

The following members of Congress sent Secretary Rice a similar letter, dated January 23, 2008:

Neil Abercrombie

Eddie Bernice Johnson

Raul Grijalva

Maurice Hinchey

Betty McCollum

James L. Oberstar

Danny K. Davis

Eleanor Holmes Norton

John Conyers, Jr.

Sam Farr

Dennis Kucinich

PD–EB Endorses Operation Opt Out: Resist NCLB

Progressive Democrats of the East Bay is pleased to announce its endorsement of and support for a progressive initiative in education called Operation Opt Out. Progressive Democrats of America's position statement calls Bush’s No Child Left Behind (NCLB) “unworkable and punitive.” Operation Opt Out takes our position to the next level: action.

NCLB is eroding quality education in this country. It is pushing seasoned teachers out of our schools. Half of our new young teachers quit in three years. The latest figures on dropouts in a new study of Texas (which was the prototype for NCLB) are that only 33% of poor children and children of color graduate from high school within five years. Profits for test publishers, test scoring companies, and test prep and tutoring companies are at record highs. The hidden purpose of NCLB–the corporatization and privatization of our public schools–has become clear.

NCLB has corrupted the curriculum into little more than test prep, especially for our poorest children. It has imposed scripted reading and math programs on teachers and students. It has insisted on a one-size-fits-all approach to teaching and learning which denies the uniqueness, imagination, and background knowledge of both children and teachers. And most importantly, like Bush’s “war on terror,” it has stifled critical thinking–without which democracy cannot survive–and instead, has filled our schools with fear.

CalCARE (California Coalition for Authentic Reform in Education) has lobbied administrators and politicians for years, to no avail. It’s time for action. CalCARE is calling for the equivalent of a strike. It’s legal in California for parents to opt their children out of the spring STAR tests. PD–EB joins CalCARE in calling on all parents in the state to submit this simple form to your child’s principal. The principal must–by law–honor your request. Please return sanity and democracy to our schools by signing this form and spreading the word.

Download NCLB Opt Out Form

For more information, go to www.calcare.org.

Sign the Middle East Peace Congress Petition for Peace

The Middle East Peace Congress (MEPC), a diverse group of faith-based, peace and justice organizations, has drafted a Petition to the Congress of the United States to bring a just and peaceful resolution to the 59 year old conflict between Israel and Palestine.

Sign the Petition Online
Download the Petition

For more information, contact Gene Herman:
phone (510) 548-9840
email: mepeacepetition@earthlink.net

The MEPC was co-sponsored by Progressive Democrats of the East Bay and the Social Justice Committee of the Berkeley Fellowship of Unitarian Universalists (BFUU). It was attended by representatives from 30 organizations.

The petition calls on the Congress of the United States to direct the Executive branch of the government to:

“Take immediate and effective action to convene an international Middle East peace conference including all affected parties* to address, negotiate, and resolve the issues of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict in accordance with international law.”
. . .
“Recognize the dignity and rights of all peoples of the region, enabling them to have self-determination, security, and the opportunity for meaningful economic development...”

*To assure a lasting and just peace, all affected parties includes Hamas, Hezbollah, Syria, and Lebanon.

The petition is available for online signatures at www.PetitionOnline.com. You can also download the petition to copy and distribute for signatures.

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