The recently disclosed Downing Street Memo, comprising the minutes of a meeting of Prime Minister Tony Blair and his top advisers, indicate that the United States and Great Britain agreed, by the summer of 2002, to attack Iraq, well before the invasion and before President Bush sought Congressional authority to engage in military action, and that U.S. officials were deliberately manipulating intelligence to justify the war.
Join John Conyers and over 90 of his colleagues in the House and sign a letter to President Bush demanding that he answer direct questions about the Downing Street Memo.
John Conyers home page, describing the letter, including a link to sign the letter.
The next meeting for the PD–East Bay Steering Committee is Tuesday, June 21 from 7:00–9:00 pm. The agenda for the meeting is to be announced.
If you are not on the steering committee, but would like to attend, please RSVP to Bill Lawler at wjlawler@hotmail.com. Those interested in forming action groups within our organization and those interested in helping determine the direction of PD–East Bay are welcome. You must join PD–East Bay to participate in the steering committee.
Details for the PD–East Bay steering committee meeting:
Tuesday, June 21 at 7:00 PM
1115 Fresno Avenue, Berkeley
Directions
The Media Reform Action group of PD–East Bay will begin new meetings on Saturday, June 11 at Noon. Details:
Saturday, June 11 at Noon
5855 Chabot Road, Oakland.
Directions
This location is just a few blocks from the Rockridge Bart.
This meeting will feature a short clip on Media Reform, plus reports by Tom and Vince from the National Conference on Media Reform in St. Louis, held May 12 – 15.
We will list possible media reform actions and events for our group, and also discuss local media reform groups with whom we can form alliances.
All or welcome. If you can't make it on Saturday, and are interested in Media Reform Action, send email to Vince Genovese (jovin@idiom.com). We will set up an alternate date to review what was discussed on Saturday.
The Environment Protection Action Group will meet Saturday June 11 at 11:00 am in the rear of Diesel Bookstore. Details:
Saturday, June 11 at 11:00 am
Diesel Bookstore
5433 College Ave, Oakland
Directions
The Bookstore is on the west side of College avenue, two blocks south of the Rockridge BART Station. There is sometimes parking around there, on the side and back streets especially, but if all else fails, try the BART station.
All are welcome. Bring your concerns about the environment. For more information, contact Liz Flynn (eflynn8302@sbcglobal.net).
On June 6, the FCC began hearings in Washington, D.C. regarding the broadcast license for KALW. From a San Francisco Bay Guardian article published last year:
"[T]his pioneering public radio station could be shut down by the Federal Communications Commission, which is investigating KALW's faulty public record-keeping but ignoring similar problems at stations owned by corporate behemoths like Clear Channel that broadcast prepackaged music and reactionary talk shows featuring such personalities as Rush Limbaugh and Dr. Laura."
KALW needs your support. Media Reform Action plans to coordinate a letter-writing campaign to the FCC in support of the station. If you want to be informed of the details of this campaign, please send email to Vince Genovese (jovin@idiom.com).
Laura Flanders (from Air America and KALW) is appearing at the Media Alliance Annual Membership Meeting (all are welcome)! Media Alliance members will meet to elect candidates to Media Alliance's board of directors.
Come and get to know fellow media professionals and non-profit organizers; hang out with old friends; make new ones; vote and party!
Wednesday, June 15th, 6:30 pm
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
344 40th Street, Oakland
Directions (about 6 blocks walking east from MacArthur BART station)
FREE for members/$5 non-members
The next meeting of Social Security action committee is a working meeting to organize into coalitions for outreach and tabling in Red counties.
Thursday June 16, 7:00 pm
2308 Edwards Street, Berkeley
Directions
All invited. Contact Jody Ginsberg, (510) 636-4149 for more information.
Californians across the state and right here in your neighborhood are coming together for the statewide Blue BBQ to Take Back California at: Redwood Gardens, with friends, those you know and have yet to meet, family (bring them along!) and Angelides supporters.
During the BBQ, Phil Angelides will join everyone on a statewide conference call to talk about the fight for California's future and what you can do to help us mobilize our Democratic front, right in our own neighborhood.
BBQ details:
Sunday, June 16 from 4:00PM to 6:00PM
Redwood Gardens
2951 Derby Street, Berkeley
Directions
To find out more, contact Vicki Cosgrove at 510.733.0996 or vlcandy@comcast.net or Lucy Sells at 510.841.3605 or ilucy@aol.com.
You can also RSVP online by going to www.angelides.com/ and entering your zip code. You'll find us there and you can click on the link.
Download Flyer.
Per a recent posting at the blog "Talking Points Memo", Rock the Vote is being targeted by the Bush Administration for their alliance with AARP and their fight against Social Security privatization. We met several Rock the Vote folks at the Take Back America conference in DC and they are strong allies.
You can help Rock the Vote and Social Security by visiting Rock the Vote's website and purchasing the latest in Social Security shirts, buttons and bracelets.
Rock the Vote website: www.rockthevote.com/home.php.
To read the Talking Points Memo posting, visit:
www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/week_2005_06_05.php#005788
A big thanks is due Mark Leno and Phil Angelides for the terrific Sacramento press conference they held for our Stop Arnold petition turn-in on Monday, June 6. It got coverage on Channel 7 (6 pm) and was included in an Oakland Tribune story the following day.
Both Leno and Angelides gave great speeches. Those of us talking "from the grassroots" spoke of the volunteer nature of the drive, the dangers of voting without a paper trail, the joy of talking to the public, and the hardships Arnold's initiatives would impose upon the disabled and others.
And, of course, many thanks to all of you who participated and got us to 50,000 signatures. (Two thirds were from hand circulated petitions.)
Yes, Arnold's boondoggle of an election would not only cost $70 million dollars–the most distressing fact is that voting in 2005 would take place on the outmoded paperless and non-voter verified electronic voting machines. To email the Governor (in his fortress of an office) and remind him of how unpopular his threatened election is, go to:
www.govmail.ca.gov
For more information, visit www.ContestTheVote.org.
Great Good News! SB 840 passed out of the California Senate! All Democrats voted for it. Thanks to all who wrote letters and helped with tabling.
Now it moves into the Assembly where letters need to be sent. Please write your Assemblymember in support of SB 840. The first committee stop for SB 840 is the Health Committee which is chaired by Wilma Chan of Oakland.
We will continue to table to gather support letters; please contact me if this is your issue and you want to help. Email Moria Lawlor at moriala@hotmail.com.
Update! Only 15,000 more signatures needed to reach goal of 500,000. Sign the petition now!
House Republican Majority Leader Rep. Tom DeLay has a pattern of repeated legal and ethical scandals. Yet he remains in one of the most important positions in our government–deciding what legislation Congress considers. Join over 480,000 MoveOn activists and sign their petition to urge Congress to fire Tom DeLay as Majority Leader. The goal is to top 500,000 petition signers by the end of the month and deliver these petitions to Republican members of Congress and local Republican Parties during the first week in June. More . . .
Progressive Democrats of the East Bay is a growing chapter of Progressive Democrats of America, a national organization and Political Action Committee (PAC), started by supporters of Kucinich, Dean, and various social justice groups. It is not affiliated with the Democratic party but is dedicated to restoring to the Democratic party its progressive vision by engaging local support for national and local progressive causes.
Progressive Democrats of the East Bay will support progressive candidates for elected office from the small local boards to national offices. It dialogues and networks with a broad-based coalition of likeminded groups and people in our community to create a common agenda and an agreed-upon plan by which to realize our goals.
We realize that many who support our causes and endeavors cannot attend all our meetings or are too busy with other activities to be involved in an Action Group.
Please, if you support our work, become a member. Funds make it possible for us to create flyers, literature, and banners, rent the meeting room, and mail notices about events. These are all essential activities to our functioning as a progressive voice.
Dues are on a sliding scale: $10–$100 per year or a minimum of 2 hours of volunteer work a year.
Make checks payable to PD-EB, and send to:
Sara Shumer
1610 Kains Ave.
Berkeley, CA. 94702
Please provide the following:
Name: _______________________________________
Address: _____________________________________
_____________________________________________
_____________________________________________
E-mail and phone: ______________________________
_____________________________________________
Interest and skills: ______________________________
We try to make this newsletter a handy resource for upcoming progressive events and actions in the Bay Area. If you know of friends or colleagues who would be interested in this newsletter, please forward this to them and ask them if they would like to subscribe.
If you have not yet subscribed to this newsletter, please visit the subscribe link on our website (www.pdeastbay.org/subscribe.php).
If you have items you would like listed in this newsletter or on the PD-East Bay web site at www.pdeastbay.org, submit them to pdebListAdmin@PDEastBay.org. Events, activities, and action alerts about local progressive causes will be considered for inclusion. Note: All submissions subject to editing to fit the style and content of our organization.
The next PD–East Bay newsletter will go out on or around June 19. Please submit items for inclusion as early as you can!
Check out www.pdeastbay.org regularly for updated information on progressive politics!