Tricounty DFA Update: Vigil Reminder, Muller Endorsement, Dean To Stay At DNC!
Hello Everyone;

In this update for June 6th 2008:

1. Vigil Saturday Downtown Glens Falls, 11am
2. Meeting Endorses Bob Muller For Supreme Court
3. Obama Endorsed
4. Clinton To Endorse Obama
5. Obama Asks Dean To Stay At DNC: Victory For $100 Revolution & 50 State Strategy
6. End Of Globalization?


1. Vigil Saturday Downtown Glens Falls, 11am

Tomorrow, Saturday, June 7th we will have another vigil for peace and to bring our troops home at 11am downtown at the corner of Glen, Bay and South Streets, in front of the Civil War monument. Come and bring a friend and a sign, although we have a few signs. The vigil will last one hour, as usual.

2. Meeting Endorses Bob Muller For Supreme Court

At our meeting we listened to a presentation and then had a lengthly Q&A with attorney Bob Muller, Democratic candidate for State Supreme Court, 4th Judicial District. It was an impressive presentation, especially on the importance of these judicial races, which are often overlooked.

Bob noted:
*the need for judges who are politically independent and review cases on their merits,
*are not creatures of political machines
*his 30 years of local experience as an attorney
*his experience as a trial lawyer and former prosecutor

In support, Dick Dudley also spoke at length from his experience in office of how we often do not have politically independent judges, and the dangers that represents.

Bob also noted the 4th District, which sweeps north from southern Washington, Saratoga, Schenectady and Montgomery Counties all the way to Canada, is the biggest in New York State in area and holds about a million people.

He also noted that Supreme Court terms are 14 years long, and that he can and is committed to serving out his full 14 year term: other candidates presently running are much older and probably will not be able to complete their terms.

There are three open seats, with four candidates, but only one Democrat, Bob Muller. If every Democrat in the district (and there are many of them) voted for Muller alone, without diluting their votes by also voting for one of the Republicans, he would probably get the votes needed for election. (This is known as bullet voting.)

At the end the group unanimously endorsed Muller. Seven of the Democratic Committees in the 4th District have endorsed Muller for this office. Democracy For The Greater Glens Falls Area is the first DFA Network group to do so.

Anyone wishing to learn more about Bob Muller and his race can go to his website for more information: http://www.bobmuller2008.com/index.html


3. Obama Endorsed

After Muller's presentation, the group also discussed the completion of the presidential primary season, and then formally endorsed Barack Obama for President, which it had not done before.


4. Clinton To Endorse Obama

News comes tonight that Hillary Clinton will formally concede victory to Barack Obama tomorrow at a rally in Washington, D.C. and endorse him as well. Her speech will be carried live on the web for those wishing to see if, and if it is not on cable or S-Span: website tomorrow


5. Obama Asks Dean To Stay At DNC: Victory For $100 Revolution & 50 State Strategy

There were a pair of news stories out of Washington this week that in long term importance are as important as Obama cinching the nomination.

Dick sent this along from TPM:

Breaking: Howard Dean To Stay As Chair Of The DNC

"Senator Obama appreciates the hard work that Chairman Dean has done to grow our party at the grassroots level and looks forward to working with him as the chairman of the Democratic Party as we go forward."

"Historically, a DNC chair's tenure is uncertain once a nominee is chosen, since said nominee might want to install his own guy there, but as Ben Smith notes, Dean has a power base built up among state party chairs across the country who love his 50-state strategy of investing in them."

"The DNC earlier today confirmed that Obama had installed his man Paul Tewes to serve as his eyes and ears at the organization, a sign that Obama is moving quickly to re-shape the party in his own image. Obama's party, it turns out, will include Dean at the top of the DNC."

Then Governor Dean himself sent this out:

"As we move toward the general election, the Democratic Party has to be the Party of ordinary Americans, not Washington lobbyists and special interests. So, as of this morning, if you're a federal lobbyist, or if you control political action committee donations, we won't be accepting your contribution.

"This is an unprecedented move for a political party to make -- one that has sent shockwaves through Washington and has turned the debate on clean campaigns upside down. We've unilaterally agreed to shut lobbyists out of the process, and are we're relying on people just like you."

http://www.democrats.org/nonlobbyists "


Yes, Obama did win, but Howard Dean won, too: his 50 state strategy and the $100 Revolution he started five years ago are now the established policy of the Democratic Party, and are restoring our democracy. Together they constitute a revolution in political affairs: by getting big money out of politics, and continuing his grassroots efforts, the Great American Restoration Dean talked about four and five years ago will come to pass, transforming and ending a long, benighted period in our country's history.

Certainly, Barack Obama seems well suited to carry on, as his reappointment of Dean to remain DNC chair shows.

What the Dean movement started five years ago has now come to pass. It is a very historic moment, indeed, and one to savor!


6. End Of Globalization?

There's another story that's worth checking out too: it seems high energy prices means the end of the era of Globalization.
http://www.salon.com/tech/htww/2008/06/06/reverse_globalization/index.html

The idea of outsouring manufacturing from country to country, was premised on the idea of very cheap energy to move goods around the world. That was another one of the terrible ideas that came out of the 1980s and 1990s, along with the idea it made sense to drive a Hummer to the grocery for a quart of milk or building a 10,000 square foot "McMansion" miles from anywhere.

If it is now going to be too expensive to move things from China, we should see a revival of domestic manufacturing, and the jobs that went with it.

Thanks everyone! See you at the vigil (hopefully).

Larry

Labels: 4th Judicial District, Democracy For America, Democracy For The Greater Glens Falls Area, DFA, Globalization, Iraq War, New York Supreme Court, Robert Muller, Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe, vigil

- posted by Larry Dudley @ 11:14 PM 0 comments

 
Tricounty DFA Meetup Report & Reminder: SiCKO Showing Wednesday With Conference Call
Hello Everyone!

In This Update:


1. SiCKO Showing At The UU Reminder
2. GGF-DFA Meeting Report
3. Election Analysis
4. Former Congressman DWI
5. Paul Krugman To Be At Northshire
6. Torturous...
7. Friday Night FIlm Fest


1. SiCKO Showing At The UU Reminder

I would like to remind everyone that they are cordially invited to attend a screening of Michael Moore's acclaimed new film, SiCKO, at a House Party/Screening on Wednesday, November 14, 2007 at 7:15 PM! SiCKO will be followed by a live nationwide conference call with filmmaker Michael Moore himself and DFA Chairman Jim Dean.

SiCKO, which premiered in area theaters earlier this year, is a meditation on the state of healthcare in America, an expose of the failures of the American healthcare system and the brutalities it often inflicts on patients and families, a revelation on how other nations provide better quality care for their sick and injured both more humanely and at lower cost, and a challenge to a political and economic system whose goal is to keep people fearful, insecure and timid. It is also surprisingly warm, humane, and very funny, while clear in its anger at what America has come to tolerate.

There will be refreshments: Anyone who wants to help can please bring some cookies or other treats! There will be coffee courtesy of the UU and Host Harvey Noordsey.

Please RSVP now at: http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=24891

What: SiCKO House Parties
When: Wednesday, November 14, 2007, 7:15 PM
Where: UU Congregation of Glens Falls, 21 Weeks Road Queensbury NY 12804
Admission: Free!

SiCKO is not to be missed! So please attend and RSVP right away at: http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=24891


2. Meeting Report

We had a productive November meeting at the Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe last week. There were three main pieces of business we agreed on:

1. We agreed to put off any endorsement of a Presidential candidate by our local group until January.

2. We agreed to investigate becoming a nexus for environmental concerns in the local area, especially land use in Queensbury and around Lake George. This would involved information coordination and sharing, where we would bring other groups together on a coalition basis, connecting them up to become a more effective whole. Pat and Drew will be reporting back to us on this at our December meeting on the 5th.

3. We also agreed to discuss in December a training program of our own centered on the DNC's new Precinct Leader System (what we called the Neighborhood Network last year) and the spectacular Voter Activation Network of the DNC, where local precinct leaders can access the DNC's national voter file, use it, and update it.
We cannot and should not try replace the committees, but we can train others-- we have the experienced people who can perform that service, which would best leverage our human resources most effectively, rather than trying to fill holes ourselves.

I have already downloaded a video of Governor Dean where he talks about the Precinct Leader System and we will be watching it next month!

3. Election Analysis

On the whole, now that we have all had a bit to think about it, last week's election day was a mixed bag. The worse defeat was Val Keehn in Saratoga Springs, but Democrats took other bitter defeats in Stillwater and elsewhere. But Democrats won in South Glens Falls and Fort Edward and Ballston Spa. Ron Vanselow, who our group knows from the previous election when we endorsed him, won in Johnsburg.

Boor and Sanford lost on the Democratic line in Queensbury, after losing the Republican Primary. I think there is an inescapable message there that if you want to be a reformer, you have to be a Democrat. You cannot do local reform from inside the Republican Party. No one is going to try that again, after what was done to Boor and Sanford. That will clarify things in the future because people who want to clean things up will naturally gravitate to the Democratic Party.

Secondly, there is another lesson-- the people who won were the people who ran modern, 21st century voter contact programs. John Strough told me a few days before the election that he had knocked over 1,500 doors in his ward. That is amazing, but voter contact, either by the candidate or the team, is how you win now. The old 20th century idea of treating politics as a form of marketing is done for. The Republicans spent thousands of dollars to beat Strough and got nowhere.

This was a shake out year. In Saratoga Springs, DPW Commission Tommy McTygue was also defeated. From that defeat a new, reformed Democratic City Committee is already beginning to emerge. That will clean up the picture. I think we will see more effective parties in the future. And that will bring the real changes.

In many local areas Democrats are slowly building to a tipping point. I think that happened in Vermont years ago, too. People made slow gains, like we are here, but the base was building, then one day... boom. And everyone will say, where the heck did that come from? But we will know. The first areas that may change are Saratoga Springs, where the Republicans may have had their last hurrah, and Queensbury, where pent up frustration is still slowly building.

I would also agree Colin Neal, of Upstate Blue also cites Washington County as one of our brighter spots, where, as we know, Sheila Comar is doing a fantastic job. Colin has interesting numbers that are really worth reviewing: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/11/9/20425/4890


4. Former Congressman DWI

After the last election I swore in this posting that I would never mention John Sweeney again, but news too good to resist comes that not only was former Rep. John Sweeney caught driving drunk on the Northway, but that he had a 23 year old on his lap. Where will frat boy do his community service? Inquiring minds want to know... http://timesunion.com/AspStories/story.asp?storyID=638536&category=REGION&newsdate=11/13/2007


5. Paul Krugman To Be At Northshire

Legendary New York Times columnist Paul Krugman will appear at Northshire Bookstore, Saturday, December 1 at 7 pm, to discuss his new book, Conscience Of A Liberal. In his book, Krugman challenges America to reclaim the values that made it great. Admission is free.

Krugman is a national treasure, and his columns can now be viewed online, for free, including his blog, at: http://topics.nytimes.com/top/opinion/editorialsandoped/oped/columnists/paulkrugman/index.html

The Northshire Bookstore is at 4869 Main Street, Manchester Center, VT 05255 For more go to:
www.northshire.com


6. Torturous...

Last week brought what is indisputably the lowest point for the Democratic Party since Fugitive Slave Act, which helped bring on the Civil War. Democrats in the Senate, first of all Chuck Schumer, who voted for him, allowed the confirmation of Michael Mukasey as Attorney General after he refused under oath to repudiate the use of waterboarding. That act put both Senate Democrats and the Senate's stamp of approval on a form of torture the U.S. and its allies prosecuted 60 years ago as a major Axis war crime. George Bush would have gotten no less from a Republican Senate. The Times Editorial Sunday would have to be the
"must read" of the week, the title alone says it all: Abdicate and Capitulate. http://www.nytimes.com/2007/11/11/opinion/11sun1.html?_r=1&ref=opinion&oref=slogin

That said, Drew sends along this great link to Naomi Klein, author of Shock Therapy, which explains how neoliberal economics has ruined this country's economy and much of the world. It's a bit long, but well worth it: http://www.commondreams.org/archive/2007/11/10/5138/

7. Friday Night FIlm Fest


The Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe's Friday Night Progressive Film Fest continues at 7:30pm with:

Friday Nov 16 7:30 pm
LENNY BRUCE: Without Tears (1992) Fred Baker 75 min.
The outrageous, groundbreaking comic whose iconoclastic material in a conservative era got him into tragic trouble is here profiled by a close friend who prefers to remember the laughs Lenny Bruce's memory evokes instead of the tears. Appearances by: Lenny Bruce, Steve Allen, Paul Krassner, Mort

Thanks everyone! See you Wednesday night at the UU for SiCKO! Remember to please RVP: http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=24891


Larry Dudley

Labels: Democracy For America, Democracy For New York, Democracy For The Greater Glens Falls Area, DFNY, Glens Falls, Globalization, Iraq Timeline, Jim Dean, Keehn, Larry Dudley, Michael Moore, SiCKO

- posted by Larry Dudley @ 9:33 AM 0 comments

 
Tricounty DFA Update: May Meeting, More
Hello Everyone!

In This Update:

1. DFA-Link/Meetup Next Week: New "Letters To Iowa" Campaign
2. A Keehn Announcement
3. Join The DFA Rapid Response List
4. DFNY Conference May 5th
5. Must See: Bill Moyers Returns: Scalds Media On War
6. Must Read: Globalization, France,The Death of Democracy
7. Friday Night Film Fest

1. DFA-Link/Meetup Next Week: New "Letters To Iowa" Campaign

Next week, Wednesday, May 2nd, we'll be holding our monthly DFA Linkup or Meetup at the Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe in downtown Glens Falls at 7pm. There'll be a lot on the agenda (more in a few days) but we'll see a return of something those of us who began with Dean For America will remember fondly: a new "Letters To Iowa" campaign.

Only we won't be writing to Iowa, but rather the winners of the current DFA All Stars Poll ( If you haven't voted, or know what this is about, go to: http://www.democracyforamerica.com/allstars ). This is a vote to select a few early Congressional races Democrats are looking to take from the Republicans in 2008. The winners will be known later this week, and, just the way we wrote to people in Iowa asking them to support Governor Dean, we will write to Democrats in those districts asking them to support the winners of the DFA All Stars Poll. It will be fun.

2. A Keehn Announcement

A special invitation in tonight:

"Please join the Mayor of the City of Saratoga Springs, The Honorable Valerie Keehn on Wednesday, April 25th at 4:30 PM at the Spirit of Life monument in Congress Park for some important announcements!"

"In case of rain, we will meet at the Farmers' Market on High Rock Ave."

3. Join The DFA Rapid Response List

DFA in Burlington has a new initiative we'll be talking about at the next meeting: a alert list. Our DFA leaders in Burlington sometimes make blog postings with interesting information or calls to action. If you want to be alerted to when these are going up, so you don't miss them, and so you also can join in the comments, send a message to field@democracyforamerica.com . (It's helpful if you also register with blogs like http://www.dailykos.com/ or http://www.mydd.com/ so you can participate, too.) The comment lines also give you a change to interact with our DFA staff in Burlington, which is always fun.

4. DFNY Conference May 5th

Democracy For New York had a great annual conference at the SEIU hall in Albany last year. This year's looks to be even better, so put May 5th and 6th on your calendar for this year's event.

Included on the speaker list are Jim Dean, Chair of DFA, Eric Massa, Democratic Candidate for the NY-29th CD, Amy Little, Campaign Manager of the successful John Hall for Congress campaign and Brian Keeler, NYBri, candidate for the New York State Senate and founder of The Albany Project blog, and Bo Lipari, Director and Founder of New Yorkers for Verified Voting. Saturday evening will featuring a showing of the film "Taking the Hill" a documentary about five veterans who ran for Congress in 2006.

If you are interested, RSVP, or get more details at: http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=17019

I will have more details this weekend and at next week's meeting.

5. Must See: Bill Moyers Returns: Scalds Media On War

Lisa sends this along, and I think this is going to be the television event of the year.

"Bill Moyers has put together an amazing 90-minute video documenting the lies that the Bush administration told to sell the Iraq war to the American public, with a special focus on how the media led the charge... Watch PBS from 9:00 to 10:30 PM on Wednesday, April 25. Spending that 90 minutes will actually save you time because you'll never watch television news again--" and

"The Washington Post editorialized in favor of the war 27 times, and published in 2002 about 1,000 articles and columns on the war. But the Post gave a huge anti-war march a total of 36 words. "What got even less ink," Moyers says, "was the release of the National Intelligence Estimate." http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/041207D.shtml

6. Must Read: France, Globalization, The Rise of Fascism?

There has been an extraordinary amount of news in the lat 72 hours or so, but the most under reported story of the week was clearly the presidential elections in France.

The French election will have enormous impact on people all around the world because the root issue is how a modern democracy is to respond to the exploding crisis of Globalization. Multinational corporations are playing nations off against one another, destroying worker rights, living standards, the rule of law, representative government and the environment. But more and more voices are being raised against the neoliberal "Washington Consensus" and shadowy anti-worker, anti-progressive groups like the Hamilton Project.

This extraordinary article in the Nation-- the most important article I have seen in some time on almost any subject-- covers a new theory proving what people all over the world have seen for some time, that the theory underlying Globalization is based on inherent contradictions and is doomed to disaster: http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/042407LA.shtml

This other piece in the Nation documents how a right wing victory in France will be used to rationalize the destruction of worker rights and standards of living even in communities like our own: http://www.thenation.com/doc/20070430/stancil

If anyone doubts this, check out this account of the last Davos conference, a forum so favored by our corporate elite-- 40 million American jobs to be exported: http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/opinion/2003668844_harrop17.html

This piece by Jerome on dKos shows what a real healthcare systems looks like, what the French have to lose, and we to gain: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2007/4/20/1179/27363

And what comes out at the end? The historical record is that when economies are destroyed, and democracy undermined, what you get is something like the Weimar Republic in Germany, and fascism.

I saw this remarkable article by Naomi Wolf, "Fascist America In Ten Easy Step" earlier in the day, but Phil sent it to me, too, and it is the coda to all of the above. If you consciously set out to destroy American Democracy, you would do exactly what Bush has been doing. And the globalizers have been playing a role, too: http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,2064157,00.html

7. Friday Night Film Fest

The Rockhill Bakehouse Cafe Friday Night Progressive Film Fest continues at 7:30 with a video that could not possibly more appropriate to the article on fascism in ten easy steps above:

Apr 27 THE ROAD TO GUANTANAMO (2006) Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross 95 min.
The post-9/11 climate found the U.S. government resorting to many unorthodox methods to quash the perceived threat from further terrorist attacks. None was more controversial or more headline-grabbing than the detainment camp set up in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, which was constructed to imprison and interrogate Taliban and Al-Qaeda operatives captured by U.S. soldiers. Prolific British filmmaker Michael Winterbottom (9 SONGS) turns his cameras on the camp with this true story of three innocent British 20-something Muslims who were captured and held at Guantanamo for two years. Winterbottom cleverly marries extensive interview footage with the three men--Asif Iqbal, Ruhel Ahmed, and Shafiq Rasifknown, collectively known as the Tipton Three--with nerve-jarring reconstructive footage of what happened to them.

Labels: DFA, DFNY, DFNY Conference, Glens Falls, Globalization, Keehn, Larry Dudley

- posted by Larry Dudley @ 11:48 PM 0 comments