Tuesday, February 27, 2007

POTS AND PANS : FEBRUARY 27, 2007,

POTS AND PANS
“We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, 'Stop it, now!' " Molly Ivins, final column  

SONORA PROGRESSIVES NEWSLETTER:  FEBRUARY 27, 2007,  I:4
Join at www.sonoraprogressives.org
SP blog: http://sonoraprogressives.blogspot.com/

SP Newsletter items – please send to me at gerrypaxis@mindspring.com with “newsletter” in the subject line
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Please consider becoming a sustaining member of our parent organization, Progressive Democrats of America. $10 Per month they can budget with is better than a single contribution, although more per month if you can afford it, would be better support. www.pdamerica.org.
While you are on the site, please sign up for national newsletters.
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Salette Latas has a site up for her run from Oro Valley City Council. Way to go Salette! “I have spent the past few months talking to people in Oro Valley and listening to their concerns. Their encouragement for me to run for the Oro Valley Town Council was overwhelming...
http://www.votelatas.com/
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Gerry is writing brief daily King and Gandhi quotes and reflections for the Gandhi/King Season for NonViolence, now in day 23 of 64. (until April 6) Sign up at
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RECRUITING: S. AZ progressives to go to Washington DC for the March 23-25 PDA leadership conference.
Also, recruiting either cash of miles to support the person(s) representing us travel to and from DC. It should not be that only persons of “means”: can participate in national conferences. It is really important that we send someone, both for the sake of representation and for the sake of networking and being up to speed with the priorities nationally of our organization.
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From PDA National
Urge Giffords/Grijalva to amend Holt’s HR 811
Join our Clean, Fair and Transparent organizing team – contact Diane@pdamerica.org. Read PDA article by John Bonifaz, constitutional lawyer and PDA advisory board member. http://www.pdamerica.org/articles/news/2007-02-22-13-11-02-news.php and one on needed amendments to Holt Bill here: http://www.pdamerica.org/articles/news/2007-02-27-08-16-39-news.php
Election Integrity Holt Bill Alert: FULL STORY, THE THREE FALSE DICHOTOMIES:
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4163 Dems currently unable or unwilling to show the necessary courage to insist upon the banning of disenfranchising, failed DRE/touch-screen voting system technology from all American elections.
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Great  Grijalva news (but no Tucson stop) : http://www.hiphopcaucus.org/
Race, Class, and Out of Iraq Coordinating Committee
 Please join Rev. Yearwood and the Hip Hop Caucus :strategy meeting to launch the
 "Make Hip Hop Not War" National Tour
Cosponsored by: Congressman Raul Grijalva and Congresswoman Barbara Lee
 Thursday, March 1, 2007  3:30 pm - 5:30 pm On Capitol Hill
National Tour lights on 4/9/2007 – in Phoenix, Arizona (University of Phoenix)
“It is time for African-American and Latino leaders in this country to establish a stronger, more unified voice in the movement to end the war in Iraq. The disproportionate impact of war and war spending on communities of color needs to be a central discussion within the peace movement and among our legislators.”
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CALENDAR:
Sonora Progressives: Regular Meeting Feb 28, Election of Officers, 6:30 pm socializing, 7pm meeting, Dem HQ
The nominating committee met and has found persons who will accept nominations as your officers as follows:

Jeff Latas is running for Chair
Gerry Straatemeier is running for First Vice Chair
Virginia Capeller is running for Membership Chair
Steve McClure is running for Public Policy Committee Chair
We have a maybe from Vince Powlowski for Communications and Media Chair
Kristie Foss is running for Treasurer
Tom Cultice is running for Secretary
Salette Latas will remain our Webmaster
Steve McClure will remain our CD 8 PDA rep
We need a CD 7 PDA Rep/lobbyist to represent our group to Rep. Grijalva. If you want to serve, please let Jeff or Gerry know. This is not an elected post, and you will work with Jeffrey Rich in Maricopa County, already named by PDA national.

Sonora Progressives: Citizen Participation in Public Policy Team meets Wednesday, March 14, 7pm Dem HQ with Dr Ted Downing

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Tickets now available on line for the James Twyman Concert in Tucson on Monday, March 19 at Catalina UMC Methodist Church, 2700 E. Speedway http://www.gandhi-king-season-nonviolence-tucson.org/page2.html. Seating limited to 150. For more about James Twyman, please visit www.jamestwyman.com
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On Thursday, March 1, 2007 from 6:00 PM - 7:00 PM, the World Harmony: Can It Happen? TV program will present - HUMAN RIGHTS WORK IN A FORMER SOVIET UNION COUNTRY Our featured guest will be Nancy Lee Hendricks, former Human Rights Worker in a former Soviet Union Country, Tajikstan. Cox Cable Channel 97; Comcast Channel 72
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Saturday, March 3, 2007 Community Potluck: Coalición de Derechos Humanos with Middle East Justice Now present: Wall-to-Wall Solidarity Event! Palestinian Delegation visits Tucson on their 2007 USA Speaking Tour
 5:30 pm St. Cyril's Catholic Church 4725 East Pima (Pima & Swan) Tucson, Arizona, USA
 Join us as we welcome two Palestinian activists from the West Bank, FeryalAbu Haikal and Mohammed Khatib, now on a national speaking tour with the International Solidarity Movement for an evening of solidarity-building between communities challenging militarization.  While we engage in organizing to change and demand human rights at the borders, "national security" and military occupations continue disregarding the communities most directly impacted.  Through community-to-community solidarity we strengthen our vision, raising voices to demand justice, demilitarization and the dismantling of all walls between peoples. $5 suggested donation, no one turned away for lack of funds Please bring a dish to share.
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Sunday, March 4-12:15 to 2 p.m.-(Part 1) The Impact of NAFTA and Globalization on US Immigration (Slide show)
Sunday, March 11-12:15 to 2 p.m.-(Part 2) "Crossing Arizona": Minutemen, Militarization and Deaths on the Migrant Trail
In the Awareness Room of the Unitarian Universalist Church of Tucson, 4831 E. 22nd St., Tucson
SPACE IS LIMITED, so please register (no charge) by contacting Leila at lpine@tds.net or 299-6281, giving name and e-mail address.
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Thursday, March 8, 7pm, Network of Spiritual Progressives, 2nd Thursday 7 pm First United Methodist Park 4th
http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/index.php?topic=guidingideas
Sign Iraq peace Ad - http://www.spiritualprogressives.org/article.php?story=iraqpeacead
What makes this ad different from the message of the best progressive Democrats' resolutions is this: they all focus only on the need for immediate process of withdrawing troops (with which we fully agree), but they do not present a clear view of what will happen next, and more importantly, they don't use the Iraq war to provoke a rethinking of the fundamental assumptions that led us into that war and could lead us into other wars (even with a Democratic President) in order to show that the President was "tough" and "standing up to the threat of global terror." Our ad insists on a whole new world view: that safety and security comes not from toughness but from generosity and caring for others, and that when we've done something wrong, we need to acknowledge it as a society (in a way that we never did with Vietnam, which made it alot easier to then get involved in another mess, this time in Iraq. It is this new way of thinking that we highlight in the ad.
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Corporate Accountability Speaker - Thursday, March 8th, 7 pm - "The Environment and Confronting Corporate Power" - Dick Worthen, a representative of the national Sierra Club‚s Corporate Accountability Committee (CAC) presents an invigorating look at this issue. The CAC was formed just a few years ago and has now grown into a fullfledged national committee with three task forces under its umbrella: Water Privatization, Shareholder Action, and Confronting Corporate Power. Come hear what Dick has to say on this burgeoning issue and join the conversation.
Tucson Botanical Gardens - 2150 N. Alvernon
Ample, free, on-site parking. Refreshments served.

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March 17 - communitywide protest 4th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Iraq - Demand that Bush bring the troops
home NOW!  Demand that we spend the money instead on education, health care, housing and social needs.  Demand - No war on Iran!  Tentative plan is to march from Freedom Park to DM Air force Base where we will picket.  We will hold a rally at one end or another.  The annual Air Force "air show" Is taking place that weekend. Shall we co-sponsor this march? Put on agenda for the 28th.
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DFA (Free) Night School is back! By Nationwide Conference Call.
We're kicking it off Tuesday, March 6 with our guest expert Tom Swan, Director of Connecticut Citizen Action and former campaign manager for DFA-List candidate Ned Lamont. You'll learn the skills for citizen lobbying and the tactics to make sure you're effective.

Holding Elected Leaders Accountable, Tom Swan
Tuesday, March 6th – 8:30pm Eastern
RSVP: http://www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=18353

Building Progressive Coalitions
Tuesday, March 13th – 8:30pm Eastern
RSVP: www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=18354

Anyone Can Run
Tuesday, March 20th – 8:30pm Eastern
RSVP: www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=18356

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NEWS AND VIEWS
Here is a not-to-be-missed Keith Olbermann on Condi http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/022707A.shtml
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Cox vs Cable Access http://accesstucson.org/mailform/ SB1543
On February 26th, the Arizona House of Representatives was persuaded to narrowly pass the Cox-sponsored bill that cripples the City of Tucson‚s effort to negotiate a fair cable renewal which meets the identified needs and interests of our community. The cable legislation now moves to the Senate and if passed there will go to the Governor for enactment or veto.

Please contact the members of the AZ Senate and urge them to VOTE NO on SB1543, and contact the governor and ask her to veto it if it comes to her. This was a strike everything deal, so the number is confusing. Here it is as adopted by the senate committee on finance. http://www.azleg.gov/legtext/48leg/1r/adopted/s.1543fin.doc.htm This might be a good place to practice our new skills of testifying on a bill. (See last issue, Pots and Pans)
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Environment
Help Al Gore send a message to Congress: Now is the time to act on global warming. http://www.algore.com/cards.html
Join the Western governors and take action on global warming. On March 21, Al Gore will hand-deliver our messages, on TV, when he testifies before Congress. Your message can be personalized to your rep.
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Discrimination -
VIDEO: The Shame Of The Nation, Apartheid Schooling in America... From Bladblog
Author Jonathan Kozol answers a few questions for C-span about, The Shame of the Nation, his 2005 follow-up to the heart-wrenching Savage Inequalities ...
ARTICLE, VIDEO: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4140
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Iraq -
The Logic of Disengagement “The vast majority of Iraqis... naturally believe their religious leaders. The alternative would be to believe what for them is entirely incomprehensible: that foreigners have been unselfishly expending their own blood and treasure to help them. As opinion polls and countless incidents demonstrate, Americans and their allies are widely hated as the worst of invaders, out to rob Muslim Iraqis not only of their territory and oil, but also of their religion (crusaders) and family honor (feminism). Hell, I've never seen them do an unselfish thing even for Americans!” EN Luttwak Iraq: The Logic of Disengagement http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20050101faessay84103/edward-n-luttwak/iraq-the-logic-of-disengagement.html

Question (Gerry) – why do we say we have 128,000 troops in Iraq And ignore the 100,000 extra mercenaries we are paying for as well? From now on, let’s always include them in our sentence about American lives on the line.

From UFPJ legislative conversation: "Unfortunately" most peace people are more comfortable walking the streets than in the halls of Congress. Walking in the street is good and necessary, but that in itself doesn't accomplish our goals. We can demonstrate the wide and broad support for ending the Iraq war and occupation, but until something effective passes Congress, the war and occupation goes on. Only careful and strategic planning to get effective legislation passed in one way or another will accomplish what we want.
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Immigration
http://news.newamericamedia.org/news/view_article.html?article_id=7ecbebe51c9ccebed709b61141dcde56
‘Immigrants Bring Crime’ Is a Myth Commentary, Walter Ewing, Posted: Feb 22, 2007
Editor’s Note: Government and academic studies prove decisively that the common belief that immigrants, especially undocumented ones, bring criminality is based on a big lie. Walter Ewing is a Research Associate at the Immigration Policy Center. IMMIGRATION MATTERS regularly features the views of the nation's leading immigrant rights advocates.

Among the many troubling aspects of the public debate over immigration is the power of myths over facts. One of the most enduring myths about immigration, despite literally decades of evidence to the contrary, is the belief that immigrants are more likely to commit crime than the native-born. This myth is so widespread and unquestioned that it has been the catalyst for scores of local governments to consider anti-immigrant ordinances over the past year. These calls to crack down on undocumented immigrants, the employers who hire them and the landlords who rent to them, are framed in part as “anti-crime” ordinances. More.....
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Department of Peace legislation –
Give Dept of Peace a Chance (HR 808)- Op-Ed, Rep Jim McDermott
http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=mcdermott26&date=20070226&query=McDermott
In a world torn by conflict, I can't think of a better time, or a greater need, for America to act as a force for good at home and around the world... The legislation, which I am co-sponsoring, would fund, support and coordinate programs already in existence — in schools, prisons, police departments, educational institutions, charitable organizations and elsewhere — that are proven to reduce domestic and international violence and enhance the security and health of all Americans... Internationally, a Department of Peace will advise the president and Congress on the most innovative techniques to establish and promote peace among nations, and will research and analyze the root causes of war to help prevent conflicts from escalating to the point of violence. It will create a Peace Academy, on par with the Military Service Academies, to train civilian peacekeepers and the military in the latest nonviolent conflict-resolution strategies and approaches. And it will provide a direct voice at the president's table to offer peaceful solutions to conflicts before they disintegrate into violence. more...
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Mining Law Comment Period
Representative Grijalva from Arizona CD 7 held his first Congressional Field Hearing, "Our National Forests at Risk: The 1872 Mining Law and its Impact on Arizona's Santa Rita Mountains" on February 24, 2007.  Grijalva is the new Chairperson for the U.S. House of Representative’s Subcommittee on National Parks, Forests, and Public Lands of the House Natural Resources Committee.

This hearing was the first official opportunity to present opinions about the proposed mining operation in the Santa Rita Mountains, south of Tucson, and to present ideas about changing the 135 year old mining law that still governs mining on our public lands throughout the U.S.  Representative Giffords from CD 8 also participated in the discussion with Grijalva and the public.
www.house.gov/grijalva

The public comment period for this particular Field Hearing continues until March 9th.  Please submit comments to: holly.wagenet@mail.house.gov    Holly Wagenet, Clerk, Subcommittee on Energy and Mineral Resources
Include:
Name
Address
Phone number
Email address

It is also important to write letters (150 words is all it takes) to the Editors of Newspapers, online news sources, and to state and national representatives. Pls forward this email to your friends and to other email lists. Thanks!

Summary of Talking points:
Miners can find other jobs, in particular, in the area of environmental consulting, monitoring, and field technical work involving the mitigation of groundwater issues of current and abandoned mining operations.
The Augusta proposal to mine in the Santa Rita Mountains is the wrong mine in the wrong place at the wrong time. 
The Augusta proposal is a lose-lose proposition.
We have a clear choice between truly sustainable use of the Santa Ritas for recreation and ecosystem services or a large open pit copper mine.  The two are not compatible.
The Augusta proposal is not compatible with the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.
The Rosemont proposal puts the Santa Rita Mountains at ground zero in the new push to reform the 1872 Mining Law

True reform of the 1872 Mining Law requires:
Special places such as the Santa Rita Mountains should be permanents off-limits to mining.
Federal land management agencies need the clear ability to say no to an irresponsible mining proposal.
Mines must pay a fair royalty for minerals taken from public lands.  (The oil and gas industry pays 12% royalties for drilling on public lands while the mining industry pays nothing.)
Clear and definable environmental standards for mines.
Mines must put up a cash bond before mining begins to cover all the costs of reclamation and environmental degradation.

Further Background:
The antiquated 1872 Mining Law is one of the last remaining American dinosaurs of the old public resource giveaways.  This 135-year-old law allows private companies to take valuable minerals like gold, copper and silver from public lands without regard for other potential values or uses of the land, without operating standards to protect the environment, without paying a royalty to the taxpayer and without regard for mining’s impact to special places. Because the 1872 Mining Law does not protect special places or the environment from the destructive impacts of mining, many treasured places in the West are currently threatened by mining interests. Mining has also polluted 40 percent of the headwaters of Western watersheds, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. 

In the mid-90’s a strong coalition of citizen’s groups fought and won a campaign to stop a proposal by now-bankrupt ASARCO mining company to exchange land and build a large open pit copper mine in the Santa Rita Mountains.  Unfortunately, a Canadian junior mining company has revived the project.  The company, Augusta Resource Corporation (Augusta), has never owned or operated a mine of any sort.

The Santa Rita Mountains have long been a source of recreation and respite for Tucsonans.  As the economy of southern Arizona has shifted from one based on extraction of natural resources to one based on an outdoor lifestyle, the mining industry’s influence over the economy and power structure of the region has diminished considerably.  The current mining proposal from Augusta has been met with fierce opposition from local residents, businesses, user groups, and government. 

Since January 1, resolutions, memorials, or letters opposing the project have come from Pima County, Santa Cruz County, the town of Sahuarita, city of Green Valley, and the City of Tucson, with more in the works.  In addition, Congressswoman Giffords and Congressman Grijalva are seriously contemplating introducing legislation to withdraw the Santa Rita’s from mineral entry. 

On February 24th, the Natural Resources Committee of the US House of Representatives will hold a field hearing investigating the 1872 Mining Law and its impact on the Santa Rita Mountains.  This hearing puts the Santa Rita Mountains at ground zero in the new push to reform the 1872 Mining Law.

Talking points:
The Augusta proposal to mine in the Santa Rita Mountains is the wrong mine in the wrong place at the wrong time. 
The Augusta proposal is a lose-lose proposition.
We have a clear choice between truly sustainable use of the Santa Ritas for recreation and ecosystem services or a large open pit copper mine.  The two are not compatible.
The Augusta proposal is not compatible with the Sonoran Desert Conservation Plan.
The Rosemont proposal puts the Santa Rita Mountains at ground zero in the new push to reform the 1872 Mining Law.

True reform of the 1872 Mining Law requires:
Special places such as the Santa Rita Mountains should be permanents off-limits to mining.
Federal land management agencies need the clear ability to say no to an irresponsible mining proposal.
Mines must pay a fair royalty for minerals taken from public lands.  (The oil and gas industry pays 12% royalties for drilling on public lands while the mining industry pays nothing.)
Clear and definable environmental standards for mines.
Mines must put up a cash bond before mining begins to cover all the costs of reclamation and environmental degradation.

For more information about the 1872 Mining Law or the proposed Augusta Resources Mine, please contact Roger Featherstone of EARTHWORKS at 520-884-5415 or rfeatherstone@earthworksaction.org

Roger Featherstone
Southwest Circuit Rider
EARTHWORKS
PO Box 43565
Tucson, AZ 85733-3565
(520) 884-5415
rfeatherstone@earthworksaction.org
www.earthworksaction.org

Saturday, February 24, 2007

The Road to Guantanamo - film

There are a ton of events as our peace and justice community is really heating up. I get announcements at odd times, so keep checking back to see if there is anyting new. If you have an announcement, please let me know.

MUST-SEE MOVIE! Based on the words of the prisoners themselves, this film tells the incredible story of how three British citizens ended up in jail at Guantanamo. Viewing is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED to gain an understanding of US policies of imprisonment and torture.

Monday, February 26, at 7 pm
Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering Auditorium
Northeast corner of Speedway and Mountain
Free, and open to the public: Free parking east of building.
The Road to Guantanamo

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

POTS AND PANS NEWSLETTER FEBRUARY 20, 2007

POTS AND PANS
“We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, 'Stop it, now!' " Molly Ivins, final column  

SONORA PROGRESSIVES NEWSLETTER:  FEBRUARY 20, 2007,  I:3
sign up at www.sonoraprogressives.org
SP blog: http://sonoraprogressives.blogspot.com/

New SP Discussion YahooGroup – sonoraprogressivediscussion@yahoogroups.com - I have set up a new yahoo discussion group if any are frustrated at one very long newsletter each week and missing action bulletins or breaking news between times, and to discuss with each other things of mutual import. Let’s talk!

SP Newsletter items – please send to me at gerrypaxis@mindspring.com
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Please consider becoming a sustaining member of our parent organization, Progressive Democrats of America. $5 Per month they can budget with is better than a single contribution, although more per month if you can afford it, would be better support. www.pdamerica.org.
While you are on the site, please sign up for national newsletters.

From Tim Carpenter: “Progressive Democrats of America is more confident than ever that the key to changing our country is to transform the Democratic Party.  We need real “bring-‘em-home” legislation, not just non-binding resolutions. Hundreds of us took to the halls of Congress three weeks ago, and it truly felt like “Our House” -- as we met with progressive Congress members (now chairing key committees and subcommittees) who are holding hearings and strategizing to end the Iraq war, and redirect funds toward social needs.“
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Lobbying Giffords and Thanking Grijalva
We need to establish Sonora Progressive policy positions ASAP with which to formally lobby Gabby and thank Raul. Before we go, please give your input here and indicate if you want to be part of this effort: sonoraprogressivediscussion@yahoogroups.com Otherwise, just a few of us will decide what to do.

PDA is calling for national lobbying to support HR 508, this week. Others in our local group feel it is premature to ask Gabby to support specific legislation, suggesting we go instead to tell her we expect her to keep her campaign promise to bring the troops home by the end of 2007.

The national group, “Voices for Creative NonViolence” is sponsoring occupations of congressional offices http://vcnv.org/project/the-occupation-project in cooperation with Arizona Code Pink. There is a Tucson occupation action listed there, if you are interested. I don’t think we should involve ourselves in this action organizationally although individuals may do as they wish, but I am not Sonora Progressives. give your input here sonoraprogressivediscussion@yahoogroups.com

I also want to propose finding Raul and publicly giving him roses from our group for his strong support for ending the occupation. He will be holding a Congressional Field Hearing on Saturday, Feb 24. The hearing will begin at 10:00 AM in the Pima County Board of Supervisors hearing room, 130 W. Congress."Our National Forests at Risk: The 1872 Mining Law and its Impact on Arizona's Santa Rita Mountains" I need a yea or nay from the group. sonoraprogressivediscussion@yahoogroups.com

The following is the suggested language from PDA to Speaker Pelosi:

“The carnage in Iraq must stop. Our presence there has helped inflame the situation, and has contributed to civil war. Most Iraqis – including both Sunnis and Shi’a -- say that attacks on U.S. troops are justified. Voters told Congress in the last election that we want our brave men and women in Iraq to come home. The Congressional Progressive Caucus and the Out of Iraq Caucus chairwomen have offered a viable plan to bring our troops home while attempting to calm and rebuild Iraq -- H.R. 508, The Bring the Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Restoration Act, which has sixteen co-sponsors.

We cannot “win” this war. It is time to face facts and withdraw from this debacle before any more Americans die or get maimed. It is time to stop throwing good money after bad, and for Congress to address pressing domestic issues.

Rep. Giffords, we are counting on you to do the right thing by our troops and for our country – get us out of Iraq!”

Leaving Iraq: Apocalypse Not
By Robert Dreyfuss, Washington Monthly. Posted February 19, 2007.
Much of Washington assumes that withdrawing from Iraq will lead to a bigger bloodbath. We need to question that assumption. http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/48186/ Excellent must-read article, full of talking points.

CALENDAR:
Sonora Progressives: Regular Meeting Feb 28, Election of Officers, 7pm Dem HQ
Sonora Progressives: Citizen Participation in Public Policy Team meets Wednesday, march 14, 7pm Dem HQ
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Lecture - Discussion - Book Signing Friday, February 23 6:30-9pm
Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Hall 2475 E. Water Street
“Project Censored” Award Winning Author Steven Freeman
“Was the 2004 presidential election stolen? Exit polls, election fraud and the official count”
And Attorney Paul Lehto Litigant of 3 Landmark Election Count Cases
Co-Hosts : Pima County Democratic Party and Antigone Books
Suggested Contribution $10 Benefits Pima County Democratic Party Election Integrity Committee
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25th Annual - wow! quarter century PEACE FAIR AND MUSIC FESTIVAL Saturday, February 24
11 AM - 5 pm at the Reid Park Bandshell
Live music all day childrens activities, food, dancing! Come help at Season for NonViolence, paint community peace mural.
Southern Arizona's largest gathering of peace, social justice, and environmental groups.
Need volunteers to table for Sonora Progressives. We are sharing a table with Eastside Saguaro.
Respond here: sonoraprogressivediscussion@yahoogroups.com
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NEWS AND VIEWS
Discrimination - VIDEO: The Shame Of The Nation, Apartheid Schooling in America... From Bladblog
Author Jonathan Kozol answers a few questions for C-span about, The Shame of the Nation, his 2005 follow-up to the heart-wrenching Savage Inequalities ...
ARTICLE, VIDEO: http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4140
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Iraq - The Logic of Disengagement “The vast majority of Iraqis... naturally believe their religious leaders. The alternative would be to believe what for them is entirely incomprehensible: that foreigners have been unselfishly expending their own blood and treasure to help them. As opinion polls and countless incidents demonstrate, Americans and their allies are widely hated as the worst of invaders, out to rob Muslim Iraqis not only of their territory and oil, but also of their religion (crusaders) and family honor (feminism). Hell, I've never seen them do an unselfish thing even for Americans!” EN Luttwak Iraq: The Logic of Disengagement http://www.foreignaffairs.org/20050101faessay84103/edward-n-luttwak/iraq-the-logic-of-disengagement.html

Question (Gerry) – why do we say we have 128,000 troops in Iraq And ignore the 100,000 extra mercenaries we are paying for as well? From now on, let’s always include them in our sentence about American lives on the line.

From UFPJ legislative conversation: "Unfortunately" most peace people are more comfortable walking the streets than in the halls of Congress. Walking in the street is good and necessary, but that in itself doesn't accomplish our goals. We can demonstrate the wide and broad support for ending the Iraq war and occupation, but until something effective passes Congress, the war and occupation goes on. Only careful and strategic planning to get effective legislation passed in one way or another will accomplish what we want.

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Environment -FROM DAVE EWOLDT: Albert Einstein said "If the bee disappeared off the surface of the globe, then man would only have four years left to live." The Bee wants to be heard. http://www.unknowncountry.com/news/

Now we hear that "a mysterious ailment called Colony Collapse Disorder is causing agricultural honeybees nationwide to abandon their hives and disappear. It's a kind of mass suicide in the bee world." There is a very strong possibility that what is happening to the bee (and who knows how many other lifeforms) is caused by genetically engineered crops, and that the honey being produced by the bees from these crops and the effects of pesticides is causing the honey produced by the bees to be toxic to them (and perhaps to all who eat honey)?

Write to Dave for more links and information: Dave Ewoldt
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Election Integrity Holt Bill Alert: FULL STORY, THE THREE FALSE DICHOTOMIES:
http://www.bradblog.com/?p=4163 Dems currently unable or unwilling to show the necessary courage to insist upon the banning of disenfranchising, failed DRE/touch-screen voting system technology from all American elections.

Friday, February 16, 2007

POTS AND PANS: Sonora Newsletter 2/16/07

WHY POTS AND PANS? "We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. ... We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, 'Stop it, now!' " Moly Ivins, final column
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New SP Discussion YahooGroup – sonoraprogressivediscussion@yahoogroups.com - I have set up a new yahoo discussion group to receive more frequent news and views for those who are frustrated at one very long newsletter each week and missing action bulletins or breaking news between times, and to discuss with each other things of mutual import. Let’s talk! Members can post.

SP Newsletter items – please send to me at gerrypaxis@mindspring.com

Sonora Progressives Business
Regular Meeting Feb 28, Election of Officers, 7pm Dem HQ
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Citizen Participation Teams Heard a great presentation last night from former AZ state legislator Dr. Ted Downing. Will meet again with Ted Downing on Wed, March 14, 7pm Dem HQ. We were not shocked but unhappy to learn that all of our e-activism and email flooding really does very little good in its current form, except that legislators are interested in pleasing organized groups, so as to win re-election – but organized groups with lobbyists and funding of course wield more influence. Actually, with R’s in charge of the legislature, there is very little possibility that ANY Dem legislation would even get a hearing – and Ted tells us that people vote for the bill or not not on the merits of the bill, but on party caucus directives and who owes who or who has angered leadership of one party or another. Ted described how things really work in the legislature (and congress) and it is clear that points of influence have to do with the BUDGET (who pays, who gets), and citizen testimony during hearings.

TO DO: Before next month’s CPT meeting, call Jo Grant at the legislative offices in Tucson 398-6000, and sign up to testify in hearings from your home computer. Since very few citizens do this, and your (very brief) email shows up directly on the computers of the legislators in session, this is a powerful entrée. We are each to prepare ourselves as follows, experiment with the system, and then we will brainstorm further.

Then go to http://www.azleg.gov/ and look for HOUSE committee agendas. WE have already opened communication with house Dem leadership, so let’s start there. Find a bill that is to be heard, and check it out at bill info. http://www.azleg.gov/Bills.asp Sign in then, middle of the page AZlLEG “request to speak,” and activate your voice!!!!

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Lobbying meetings over the congressional break - H.R. 508 - The Bring Our Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Restoration Act."
Who will help with this? Please contact me (Gerry) ASAP - PDA National Issue Organizing Team to End the U.S. Occupation of Iraq and Redirect Funding to Human Needs! Diane@pdamerica.org, PDA, in cooperation with Military Families Speak Out, Code Pink and other groups, are setting up creative lobbying meetings with Congressional Reps next week. In S. AZ, we need to set up a thank you meeting with Rep. Grijalva. (Let’s buy him pink roses from our friends at Roses and More) and a meeting with Rep. Giffords urging her support for bills putting an end to the occupation. There is a conference call on March 21 to report our results. Please review the letters faxed by Military Families Speak Out (MFSO) to 535 Senators and Members of Congress today saying: Support our Troops and De-Fund the War! It was signed by over 200 MFSO members with loved ones currently serving in Iraq or about to deploy/re-deploy. Military Families Speak Out letter campaign links: http://www.mfso.org/downloads/OpenLetter.pdf It is suggested we bring those letters with us or write our own.

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Tucson Peace Fair, Feb 24, Reid Park, 10-4 – see you there!

News and Views
Iraq
Check the PDA front page often for news: http://www.pdamerica.org/
While you are there, please press red button, and sign on as a Sustaining Member (monthly contribution of $10 or more, so they can budget)

Film Showing Sunday - I (Gerry) am showing the DFA-distributed film, “the war tapes” on Sunday at 5pm at my home in Catalina, and you are invited. This was filmed by three soldiers, providing a glimpse of their lives, and their family’s lives, in the midst of war. 4721 E. Wagon Train – Oracle Rd – E. on Golder Ranch, No. on Lago del Oro, West on Rail N. which turns into Wagon Train. Corner of Windmill.
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Read Tucson Code Pink’s Nancy Hill’s Build Peace blog, http://www.buildpeace.blogspot.com/ on her fascinating month in DC. Hats off to Nancy for her actions and for her wonderful reporting of them. Please do check it out! Power to the Peaceful.
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PDA Board member and S.AZ Rep. Raúl Grijalva spoke on the House floor concerning H.Con.Res 63, Watch the floor speech "The lack of leadership by this administration requires - no, demands - that this Congress assert its Constitutional duty, to check and balance this Administration and to respond to the crisis in Iraq with purpose and resolve.” He urges my support for H Res 63 (the resolution being debated), and also to support H.R. 508 - The Bring Our Troops Home and Iraq Sovereignty Restoration Act."

Raul will be speaking with Nancy Pelosi, Harry Mitchell and Ed Pastor at the Arizona State University Memorial Union Arizona Room at Monday, 2/19, at 2 PM. They will be speaking about College Loans. Raul will also be holding a sub committee meeting in Tucson on Saturday the 24th. (good time to bring him flowers) Pelosi has said Bush cannot invade Iran without prior authorization and will act to make that very clear (http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/nationworld/42131)

Related - http://www.c-span.org/resources/house_feb2007.asp Go here to watch cspan clips of congressional speeches this week on the resolution opposing the escalation. I invite you to focus a moment on the speech given by Rep Tom Lantos of California, a primary co-sponsor of the resolution, the only Holocaust survivor in Congress, and co-chair of the bipartisan Congressional Human Rights Caucus, which also includes our own Rep. Raul Grijalva, and Rep. Ed Pastor from Maricopa County, as well as AZ Republicans Trent Franks and Jeff Flake, and AZ Senator Jon Kyle. Lantos’ moving personal story is here. http://lantos.house.gov/HoR/CA12/About+Tom/A+Holocaust+Survivor/A+Holocaust+Survivor.htm

It is worth the time to listen to what Nancy Pelosi said, as House speaker. I also enjoyed listening to Maxine Waters, Chair of the House Out of Iraq caucus. No one has born the burden of the president’s failed Iraq policies more than our troops and their families. We will win Engage and unite rather than attempting to overpower and conquer. Who are we fighting? I don’t think our soldiers know, nor does this president. She speaks of de-funding...the war giant whose appetite cannot be satisfied.

Nothing in these speeches will bring our troops home any time soon, but it is a start, and it does put each of our representatives in the public record with a telling speech and vote yea or nay.
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Must - see :Web of Deceit: Made for European television film never broadcast in North America.
The well put-together documentary truth of the extent to which we in the west have been complicit in Saddam Hussein’s brutality. Check out Lando's new book "Web of Deceit" and his blog at http://barrylando.com/ Here is the basic link to the series. http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article17053.htm You can watch each segment within this page. If you go to youtube, it is much harder to follow.
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Free war & corporations film series, 3rd & 4th Mondays Feb -May - 6:30pm
4639 e. 1st st. (democratic party hq); rsvp. schedule subject to change
2/19, ''iraq for sale''
2/26: ''orwell rolls in his grave,''
series cosponsored by democracy organizing group and pima county democratic party
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Election Integrity:
Auditor John R Brakey ask for his updates if this issue interests you.
Or contact Sandra Spangler Sandra Spangler to be included in the Pima County Election Integrity Committee Bulletin mailing

Great article on John Brakey and his/our EIC work in this week’s Tucson Weekly: Watchdogs worry that someone's been sneaking a peek at early-ballot results before Election Day
Peep Show http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=92557
PUBLISHED ON FEBRUARY 15, 2007: Election watchdog John Brakey says the county needs better safeguards to prevent the leak of early election results. The Pima County Democratic Party is suing the Pima County Board of Supervisors and Treasurer Beth Ford, seeking access to records that have been sealed away in the county's vault with ballots from the 2006 elections http://www.tucsonweekly.com/gbase/Currents/Content?oid=92557
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Mark your calendar, and please do try to be there:
Steve Freeman “was the 2004 presidential election stolen? Exit polls, election fraud and the official Count”
Lecture & Book Signing on Friday, February 23,
Plumbers and Steamfitters Union Hall
2475 East Water Street
6:30-9pm
Suggested Contribution: $10 to benefit Pima County Democratic Party Election Integrity Committee
Sponsored by the Pima County Democratic party.
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Environment:
Sign up for Sustainable Tucson discussion yahoo group and meetings:
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Sierra Club AZ legislative recommendations:
All the energy stored in the earth's reserves of coal, oil, and natural gas is equal to the energy from only 20 days of sunshine.

HB2275 local energy conservation codes (Sinema, Gallardo: Ch Campbell, et al.) requires municipalities to adopt the International Energy Conservation Code for residential and commercial construction. SUPPORT.

HB2491 solar energy tax credit; application (Mason, Boone: Anderson, et al.) is merely a technical correction bill to clarify the
commercial solar energy tax credit program established last year and make it clear that the credit can be claimed by a third party. SUPPORT.

HB2493 energy production; tax credit (Mason, Burton Cahill, Flake, et al.) provides a new individual and corporate income tax
credit through December 31, 2011, for a taxpayer who produces and sells electricity from Combined Heat and Power (CHP). The credit is equal to one and a half cents multiplied by the total kilowatt hours of electricity or one and one tenths cents multiplied by the total horsepower hours of power. It includes an overall cap of $2 million dollars and a limit of $100,000 on the maximum tax incentive for any single installation. The tax credit for a 1 megawatt (MW) project would amount to about $100,000, and it is likely that most projects in Arizona would be less than 1 MW and would include facilities like hospitals, hotels, schools, and industrial users. SUPPORT.

HB2494 energy; water; savings loan fund (Mason, Aboud, O’Halleran, et al.) develops a revolving loan fund of $25 million to assist existing state facilities and schools in implementing energy and water saving projects and in meeting the energy saving goals and standards contained in HB2497. State facilities and schools would repay the loans using their energy and water cost savings, and the funding would then be made available for another project. SUPPORT.

HB2495 schools; energy performance standards (Mason, Aboud, Bee, et al.) implements energy and water performance standards which are approved by the School Facilities Board. All new school projects approved after June 30, 2007, must meet these new standards. It requires the School Facilities Board to consider Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standards for new schools. The LEED standard was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council and offers four levels of certification – certified, silver, gold, or platinum. Six categories are evaluated under the LEED standard. They include: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, and Indoor Environmental Quality. LEED has been adopted nationwide by federal agencies, state and local governments, and private companies. SUPPORT

Saturday, February 10, 2007

House Armed Services and iran

I have subscribed to the House Armed Services Committee releases, so as to understand where Gabby's Committee Chair stands on issues we care about. Today I have a post on Iran. Ike Skelton (chair) is no progressive, yet excerpts below at least make clear he favors engagement with Iran, that he distrusts publicized Bush intelligence estimates. Our strategy I think must be to get him (and Gabby as our rep on that committee) to act to pre-empt Bush invaion by expressly prohibiting him from proceeding without congressional approval. Bush is trying to provoke an incident so that he can attack while bypassing congressional war powers.


"Suggestions of Iranian involvement in providing weapons that kill or maim American troops are extremely serious and require careful Congressional scrutiny. We must do everything we can to ensure the safety of our forces serving in Iraq... Iran could instead play a much more productive role in Iraq by encouraging the political compromises necessary to achieve national reconciliation among the various ethnic and religious parties in Iraq...The reported capture and detention of hundreds of Al Qaeda operatives in Iran is also a significant development... Today's articles in the New York Times and the Washington Post demonstrate just how urgent it is that the United States adopts a strategy that extensively engages Iran on these and other issues, while making clear that any contributions to attacks on American forces is unacceptable.. Briefings delivered to the committee to date have not made clear the specificity or extent of the information that intelligence agencies have gathered... We will carefully review the material presented at the briefing I understand will be provided by the command of Multi-National Forces-Iraq in the near future. Congress will insist on looking at all of the evidence, as well as at what the administration has planned and what kinds of measures are required to address the situation."

Tuesday, February 6, 2007

POTS AND PANS NEWSLETTER 2/6/07

POTS AND PANS
SONORA PROGRESSIVES NEWSLETTER: FEBRUARY 6, 2007, I:1

Hi everyone,
Well, here is information I hope you find useful, in one package, rather than daily alerts and bulletins. My intention is to compile a weekly newsletter. If you have something to say to the group, please email me put “newsletter” in subject so I won’t miss it. Or, come blog with me at http://sonoraprogressives.blogspot.com/ recent headlines... • Elected Officials Contactsfor citizen involvement • Cornell Sun Interview with Gabby on Blog for AZ • New Latas campaign announced on Blog for Arizona

Also, if you are interested, I am sending out daily reflections based on the work/words of Mahatma Gandhi and Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr, for the 64 day Gandhi/King Season for NonViolence which started January 30 and goes through April 4. Email me or go to yahoogroups.com, find SNVTucson64Days, and sign up.

If you are not yet a member of Sonora progressives, please sign up at www.sonoraprogressives.org

In peace,
Gerry

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/41009 “Son wanted 'to get the hell out of Iraq'” a story today on the latest Tucson casualty in Iraq. My thanks to everyone who helped or visited the Eyes Wide Open Exhibit last weekend - Spc. Alan E. McPeek, 20, died while we were there, and he was supposed to be on his way home, but was held over in the surge.

Check out the PDA home page www.pdamerica.org Make Bush Pay For The War With Higher Taxes on Wealthy If we can’t stop the funding for Iraq, at least let him pay for it: “There are a lot of ways to force a "pay-go" provision. My own favorite: when the appropriation reaches the Ways and Means Committee, Charlie Rangel, the chair of the committee (who has also pushed legislation to re-institute a military draft), could attach an amendment stating that every dollar has to be paid for by hiking the taxes of the top one percent of the country, effectively rolling back the Bush tax cuts for the very rich. As I've pointed out before, the top 1 percent--those who pull in at least $1.3 million a year--will pocket more than $347 billion in the next four years if Congress does not roll-back the tax cuts. According to data from Citizens for Tax Justice, if Congress just rolled back the tax cuts on that top 1 percent for just 2007 and 2008, it would reap $136 billion--probably enough to cover the costs of the emergency supplemental request for this year (a stunning number on its own). In fact, the White House's new budget proposal seeks to--surprise!!!--preserve the tax cuts for the rich.”

Also, new petition to support new McGovern bill HR746- http://pdamerica.org/petition/mcgovern-petition.php

Next Sonora Progressives meeting: February 28, 7pm Dem HQ – Election of Officers.
You have to already be a paid up member now (by the meeting prior to the election) to vote on any official business, including the election of officers, or to run for office. Elections will be by ballot. Terms of officers are two years.
Positions are: Chair; the Vice Chair (Political Action Chair); the Second Vice Chair (Membership Chair); the Third Vice Chair (Outreach Chair); the Fourth Vice Chair (Policy Chair); Treasurer/Fundraising Chair, and Secretary.

Barbara Tellman reports a meeting with former state rep Dr Ted Downing for those interested in citizen activism. Ted has a lot of interesting and provocative ideas that I think you will find very stimulating in addition to some nuts and bolts information. It looks like we will have do have the meeting next week on Thursday. For those of you who want to do something now, I hope you have gone to the legislature's web site and explored what is there and looked at some of the bills that interest you, etc.


AZ News and Chatter

Solar Energy Infrastructure - There is a groundswell of interest amongst engineers, environmental activists and other solar proponents, being facilitated by SP Member Barry DiSimone, in proposing legislation in the AZ legislature to support real investment in clean energy. I have long believed that AZ can easily be a net EXPORTER of energy, and at the very least energy self-suffiecient, and the movement is developing legs. This is part of what our fearless chair, Jeff LATAS, campaigned on. There is also a great, though technical, discussion occurring on the Sustainable Tucson e-list – which you can sign up for at www.yahoogroups.com, Look for Sustainable Tucson and click for a daily digest of postings. SustainableTucson@yahoogroups.com See also this article  TEP part of utilities group eyeing major solar plant http://www.azstarnet.com/altsn/default/newsletterclickthru/167521  

 Renewables Can Turn the Tide on Global Warming The ASES report, titled "Tackling Climate Change in the US - Potential Carbon Emissions Reductions From Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by 2030," makes this extraordinary claim: "Energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies have the potential to provide most, if not all, of the US carbon emissions reductions that will be needed to help limit the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide to 450 to 500 ppm." more... http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/020207R.shtml

Tucson Arts and Activism ( sustainable) community center a group of us are actively pursuing buying property as a nonprofit corp to create a center that would serve the entire arts and activism community, a “one stop shop” for those wanting to be involved with Tucson's progressive groups, and for those seeking information. I met with Karin Uhlich already on this idea, and she is an enthusiastic “thumbs up.” It would allow groups to share resources, schedule and host joint events, make it much easier for groups to cooperate. The vision includes 1) A pub and café 2) Meeting, performance, and events space 3) Office space 4) Retail shops and work space 5) A gallery 6) A library and information resource center 7) A bookstore 8) A printer/copy shop email Jack Strasburg jocx@juno.com for more info.

Election Integrity Suit by PC Dems last Thursday in Pima County Pima County Democrats filed a public records lawsuit Thursday against the Pima County Board of Supervisors and the Pima County Treasurer, , seeking to examine printouts of early ballot totals. Party leaders worry the ballots were improperly counted prior to last November's election. http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/40636.php Supervisor Richard Elias (D) and Ray Carroll ® are working with the EIC Committee. The rest must be lobbied.

Come meet election integrity citizen journalist and activist Brad Friedman Wed 2/7, 6:30 PM, Dem HQ, 4639 E. 1st St. Potluck and discussion.

National PDA Conference call Feb 20 - Voter Protection/Clean, Fair, Transparent Elections working Group: Paper Ballots and the Holt bill 9:00 pm EST. write sherry@pdamerica.org for call in information.

Progressives of Verde Valley post a piece on DC lobbying to new Dems: http://www.progressivesedona.org/VV/news.php Progressives of Verde Valley have a piece on DC lobbying from the LA Times that will surprise no one: Surprising as it might seem in view of the Democrats' public rhetoric, business groups are getting their telephone calls returned. And they're getting plenty of face time with the new House and Senate leaders. The report is detailed and very interesting.

WOW! amazing must-see video posted on Blog for Arizona about the way/manner/process/, well- you’ll see, how the web works to change everything/us. http://arizona.typepad.com/blog/ Keep reading for Brzezinski's Warning to the Senate, then Arizona’s economic health report card Note, we get a “C” for overall performance. See solar energy infrastructure above – this group is going to change everything. Can you imagine, Arizona is #18 in use of alternative energy – with 300 days of sunshine a year) We get an “F” (that’s bottom of the barrel in % of non-elderly residents covered by health insurance, % of workforce classified as “working poor,” an involuntary part-time employment.

Tucson mayors race chatter - Art Jacobson, on dataport, http://thedataport.blogspot.com/ , is plugging, as the basis of the mayoral race, the vision of Symphony Director George Hansen, for a world class a performing arts, education and technology center, celebrating our Native American, Hispanic and European heritages. Since we have Rio Nuevo in stall mode, looks good to me! http://thedataport.blogspot.com/2007/02/tucson-mayoral-racewhat-are-issues.html


National News and Chatter:
Follow AZ Delegation congressional votes To follow the voting in Congress, sign up for MegaVote weekly updates from www.congress.org – you will see votes taken this week and important votes coming up. It does not include committee work, unfortunately, but is still helpful. And/or, go to http://www.azcongresswatch.com/ for news and opinion of interest

This from our friend Brian Hill, who asked us to help with the Appeal for Redress: This is why my brothers and sisters need to come home: Soldiers in Iraq view troop surge as a lost cause - McClatchy - 03FEB07

Ripoff Privatizations-- And Why They Keep Happening http://www.progressivestates.org/content/551/ripoff-privatizations-and-why-they-keep-happening

Freedom’s Phoenix, headline news published daily by AZ Libertarian Ernest Hancock, is well worth subscribing to, for a quick summary of what you don’t typically see on CNN. http://www.freedomsphoenix.com Also plenty of AZ news.
From AZ - At the recent meeting of the Arizona State Republican party, it was the party elite marching in lock step with their orders from John McCain falling in behind Lisa James, verses the traditional Republican grassroots falling in line behind their leader Randy Pullen. To those with allegiances to the party elite, John McCain is the President who'll save America against a Hillary Presidency. To those of the party of Barry Goldwater, John McCain is nothing more than a worn out version of the worst that Hillary represents. In fact, both Hillary and McCain will continue to escalate the War on Terror.

Why they Hate Us: Three YouTubeVideos : #1 - US Hummers muscling their way through traffic bumping the cars in front of them, who can’t get out of the way fast enough...crossing the meridian, driving on the wrong side of the street... #2 US soldiers conduct “kid races” where they use precious clean drinking water in the same way they use the fake rabbit at the greyhound races, dumping it in the street while Iraqi kids race behind...#3 US Army tanker crushes, literally runs over, Iraqi taxi carrying looted firewood, soldiers laughing.

U. S. Department of Peace - The Peace Alliance announces that On February 5th, 2007, legislation to establish a U. S. Department of Peace was re-introduced into the U.S. House of Representatives. The new bill number is HR 808. This landmark measure will augment our current problem-solving options, providing practical, nonviolent solutions to the problems of domestic and international conflict. Learn more at The Peace Alliance website: http://www.ThePeaceAlliance.org or write to Congress at http://www.thepeacealliance.org/action PDA's End the War, Refirect Funding Issue Organizing Team is forming a group to focus on creating a Department of Peace. To join the PDA National Department of Peace Organizing Team, please email Diane Shamis at diane@pdamerica.org.

On pots and pans, in memory of Mloly Ivins, Susan Foster writes me that in Spain I was told that even before the Madrid bombings, there was a movement started in Barcelona.?. Every night at 10 pm women beat pots and pans from their balconies -in opposition to Spains participation in Iraq. Hmmmmm.

UFPJ legislative Iraq conference call report: The best news out of the call was the Out of Iraq members of Congress are getting angry and are ready to disrupt the Democratic Caucus meeting today. Members report that the Democratic Caucus leadership has muzzled debate on Iraq and the new members don’t know what to do. Also, it is clear that activists in many states are doing far more to lobby members than we are doing in Arizona. There is a recess scheduled Feb 19-23.

From a great post on the UFPJ legislative elist – Build the beloved Community to make possible world peace:
We can only be stopped by our own lack of imagination, our own failure to live up to our dreams.

One way we limit ourselves is by talking and thinking in negatives. "End the War" is a very weak request, merely a reaction to the military-industrial complex. We should make sure we keep saying, over and over, what we really want: an end to all the wars America now supports. A world of peace. A foreign policy based on respect for human rights and a commitment to diplomacy. Trade policies that are fair and that nurture stability and security.

There are many, many specific ways to end this war, and the various other wars the US is involved in. The supplemental and the budget are very important, but they are far from our only chance.

When we build up enough public pressure, when enough people commit themselves seriously to ending the war, our politicians, who are very good at figuring out what large, organized groups of citizens want, will find a way (or a dozen ways) to end it.

The most important thing for us to do is to build the "beloved community", to increase the number of people who are working together to replace American militarism with policies of justice, fairness and reponsibility. Instead of saying "Everyone must write to Congress about the Supplemental!" or about impeachment, or whatever, we should be more concerned about steps we can take which will double the number of people writing to Congress to express their desires, and then double that number again and again, in a way which is not likely to collapse when our attention is drawn elsewhere. Fred Miller

Note from ed: Please consider joining a Sonora Progressives legislative action team to begin to build the INFRASTRUCTURE for the kind of action Fred Miller is talking about above.

ACTION ALERTS:

Tucson's KGUN-9 Gunning For Gays - Thursday evening, our local ABC affiliate aired a lurid segment as part of its "KGUN-9 On Your Side" series, in which reporter Jennifer Waddell portrayed gay men as being on the prowl for sex in our parks. (You can see the video here .) In this report, Waddell and KGUN pull out all of the dangerous stereotypes of gay men in order to create fear and panic in the community — as well as to increase advertising rates for their shareholders. Jim Burroway's diary OR . Please read it and express your outrage to the station managers.

Tucson’s Network of Spiritual Progressives are working on lobbying meetings with both Reps Grijalva and Giffords, not only calling the troops home but advocating a ‘generosity and care’ paradigm to all levels of our society as proposed by Rabbi Lerne, a global Marshall Plan with the thought that if we spent far less on aid than we now spend on military might, the world would be a much safer place. We would have to give up the “warring” paradigm, and instead adopt a “building peace and plenty” paradigm. Next meeting is this Thursday Feb. 8th, at 7:00pm (note time) at the First United Methodist Church. I can’t attend, have actually already two conflicting meetings, but would appreciate someone going in my place and reporting back to me! I would like to be part of that lobbying team. SP Member Vince Pawloski is the guy to see.


Building the Beloved Community: EVENTS:

Election Integrity Potluck and Discussion Wed. 2/7, 6:30 PM, Dem HQ, 4639 E. 1st St.

Brad Friedman, Citizen Investigative Blogger "We Need a Paper Ballot for
Every Vote Cast!"and Arizona Democratic Party Vice-Chair, Donna Branch-Gilby, just back from EIC work at the winter DNC meeting.

Brad's investigative work (www.bradblog.com ) illuminates why we must insist on paper ballots. Brad has spoken on election integrity issues on major news shows, including CNN, MSNBC, and a multitude of other radio and TV shows. He will talk about the impressive election integrity accomplishments achieved by the Velvet Revolution throughout the United States in 2006.

Suggested donation $10, will benefit the Pima County Democratic Party Election Integrity Committee.
Bring some food or drink to share and participate in the drive to improve election integrity!

Jewish Voice for Peace slide show: Saturday February 10 6pm Potluck (please bring something to share) 7pm Presentation Health and Human Rights in the West Bank and East Jerusalem: a slide show and talk by Rula Khalidi, Palestinian/ American nurse, who traveled with Jewish Voice for Peace in the fall. Presentation will focus on the impact of the occupation on access to health care, and on the social, economic and political conditions in the Old City and East Jerusalem. Rula's recent op-ed in the AZ Daily Star provides a bit of a preview of the event: http://www.azstarnet.com/opinion/164364 at Sonora Cohousing common house 501 E. Roger Rd.

Charlie King Concert: Feb. 17th Charlie King/Karen Brandow meal and concert at Tucson’s Unitarian Universalist Church, E. 22nd St.;

Fourth Annual Corazón de Justicia Awards Dinner 6:30pm Dunbar Cultural Center 325 W. 2nd Street $35.00 Please RSVP to: 520.770.1373

Tucson Peace Fair, Feb 24, Reid Park. Find Season for NonViolence art mural and help paint!

Learn Water Harvesting Earthworks and Cistern Intallation FOR FREE! Watershed Management Group is currently seeking volunteers to participate in the design and implementation of public demonstration sites on water harvesting. Contact Elena Rotondi at elenarose@gmail.com, to participate.

Thursday, February 1, 2007

Elected Officials Contactsfor citizen involvement

Contacts for Elected Officials (Thanks Karl W.) (AND THEN THANKS PAT B.) (SAVE!!)

If you are interested in working on a citizen participation team, please let me know, especially if you missed our last meeting, 1/24.
The initial teams are loosely matching AZ legislative teams, such as health care, but John Brakey may be putting together a Sonora EIC team, and Karin Uhlich is working with a Tucson team, and Kirk is interested in a national policy team, so just let me know what you want, and we will feed the info to Barb Tellman, who is heading this piece up. The bottom line is that we track legislation and lobby at the right times and in the right places to make a difference, and that is easier to do with a group of likeminded people than by ourselves..


Contacts for Government Officials-National-State & local


White House
comments@whitehouse.gov

Vice President Richard Cheney
vice_president@whitehouse.gov

Homeland Security (also uses the White House email):
comments@whitehouse.gov

Toll free for members of U.S. Congress Representatives & Senators
1-800-828-0498
1-800-459-1887
1-800-614-2803
1-866-340-9281
1-866-220-0044

Nancy Pelosi - House Speaker
AmericanVoices@mail.house.gov

US House of Representatives:
http://www.house.gov/house/MemberWWW_by_State.shtml#az

Raul Grijalva, CD 7
Onine contact form:
http://www.house.gov/writerep/

D.C. Phone: (202) 225-2435
Tucson: ph (520)622-6788
fax (520)622-0198

Gabrielle Giffords, CD 8
Online email form:
http://giffords.house.gov/IMA/issue_subscribe.htm
D.C. Phone:(202) 225-2542
Fax: (202) 225-0378

Tucson Phone:(520) 881-3588
Fax: (520) 322-9490

Sierra Vista Phone:(520) 459-3115
Fax: (520) 459-5419


US Senators
Jon Kyl
http://kyl.senate.gov/contact.cfm

Phone Fax
Phoenix (602) 840-1891 (602) 840-4848
Tucson (520) 575-8633 (520) 797-3232

John McCain
http://mccain.senate.gov//contact/index.cfm?ID=64

Mc Cain Washington, DC
Phone: (202) 224-2235
Fax: (202) 228-2862
Tucson
Phone: (520) 670-6334
Fax: (520) 670-6637

Arizona State Senate contacts:
http://azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=S

Arizona State House of Representatives:
http://azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=H&SortBy=1

Pima County Board of Supervisors

Richard Elías, Chairman, District 5
(520) 740-8126
District5@pima.gov

Ray Carroll, District 4
(520) 740-8094
district4@pima.gov

Sharon Bronson, District 3
(520) 740-8051
district3@pima.gov

Ramón Valadez, District 2
(520) 740-8126
online form at:
http://www.pima.gov/bos/dist2/questions2.html

Ann Day, District 1
(520) 740-2738
Ann.Day@pima.gov



City of Tucson
Online contact form:
http://www.tucsonaz.gov/contact.html

Mayor and Council Citizen Comment Line: (520) 791-4700

Mayor Bob Walkup
City Hall
255 West Alameda Street
Tucson, Arizona 85701
Phone: (520) 791-4201
FAX: (520) 791-5348
email_mayor@tucsonaz.gov

City Manager Mike Hein
City Hall
255 West Alameda Street
Tucson, Arizona 85701
Phone: (520) 791-4204
FAX: (520) 791-5198
mike.hein@tucsonaz.gov

Tucson City Council Members

Council Member José Ibarra
Westside Ward 1
940 W. Alameda Street
Tucson, Arizona 85745
Phone: (520) 791-4040
FAX: (520) 791-5393
jose.ibarra@tucsonaz.gov

Vice Mayor Carol West
Northeast Ward 2
7575 E. Speedway
Tucson, Arizona 85710
Phone: (520) 791-4687
FAX: (520) 791-5380
ward2@tucsonaz.gov

Council Member Karin Uhlich
Northside Council Office Ward 3
1510 East Grant Road
Tucson, Arizona 85719
Phone: (520) 791-4711
FAX: (520) 791-5391
Ward3@tucsonaz.gov

Council Member Shirley Scott
Southeast Ward 4
8123 E. Poinciana
Tucson, Arizona 85730
Phone: (520) 791-3199
FAX: (520) 791-4717
ward4@tucsonaz.gov

Council Member Steve Leal
Southside Ward 5
4300 South Park Avenue
Tucson, Arizona 85714
Phone: (520) 791-4231
FAX: (520) 791-3188
steve.leal@tucsonaz.gov

Council Member Nina Trasoff
Midtown Ward 6
3202 East 1st Street
Tucson, Arizona 85716
Phone: (520) 791-4601
Fax: (520) 791-3211
ward6@tucsonaz.gov

US Forest Service National office contact form: (For opposing proposed Santa Rita mine)
http://www.fs.fed.us/contactus/#email

USF SouthWest Regional office:
333 Broadway SE
Albuquerque, NM 87102
(505) 842-3292
TTY: (505) 842-3198

SW Regional office contact form:
http://www.fs.fed.us/r3/contact/index.shtml

SW office email:
r3_webmaster@fs.fed.us

Coronado National Forest Supervisor's Office
300 W. Congress St. Tucson, AZ 85701
(520) 388-8300
(520) 388-8305 FAX

Nogales Ranger District
303 Old Tucson Rd. Nogales, AZ 85621
(520) 281-2296
(520) 281-2396 FAX

Coronado NF email:
mailroom_r3_coronado@fs.fed.us

Cornell Sun Interview with Gabby on Blog for AZ

Also on Blog for Arizona, an interesting and fairly brief interview with Gabby's Alma Mater The Cornell Daily Sun you probably wouldn't otherwise come across... http://arizona.typepad.com/blog/

Health care, eduction, immigration, energy and transportation - One vital fact I didn't know:

The Committee on Science and Technology, on which she sits, reviews Voting machines.

Gabby: " It’s critical for our nation and for democracy for people to know that every single vote is counted correctly. And that we have a verifiable paper trail that is sure and will prove in a recount that we know how people voted."

New Latas campaign announced on Blog for Arizona

http://arizona.typepad.com/blog

Salette Latas Begins A New Campaign
Salette Latas, the redoubtable wife of Jeff Latas (the head of the Sonora Progressive Democrats) is mounting a campaign for Oro Valley town council. Seems that Salette was rubbed the wrong way by the mall development tax rebate deal that passed by initiative on the OV ballot last year. In the deal, the mall developer will get a huge hunk of the sales tax revenue from the property. much more, a great discussion of the new Walmart and other issues, and a DROP DEAD BEAUTIFUL photo of Salette!

Check it out!!