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Great Mind Series #21
Meet Former L A Prosecutor Vincent Bugliosi
Author of The Prosecution of George Bush for Murder
 
Please join ...
 
 Hosts Marcy Winograd & Lila Garrett & Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles, along with Progressive Democrats of the Santa Monica Mountains, Westside Progressives, Santa Monica Democratic Club, West LA Democratic Club, Westchester Democratic Club, LA Impeachment Center, Code Pink, Addicted to War, & LAprogressive.com       Event produced by Ilene PRoctor
 
When
Wed., June 25, 7:00 pm
 Bugliosi will issue a call to attorney generals, prosecutors,
and law enforcement officers in every state with fallen soldiers to arrest Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz, etc.
for war crimes stemming from the US invasion and occupation of Iraq.  Know a prosecutor, a district attorney, or city attorney?  Bring them along to listen as Bugliosi makes his case.
 
Where
Venice United Methodist Church/Behind the Church at the Venice Center for Peace & Justice in the Arts
2210 Lincoln Blvd (cross street/Victoria)
Free Parking in the church lot and across the street
$27 buys entrance & Bugliosi's book
RSVP - pdlavote@aol.com
 

                       **Next PDLA Meetings -  Sat., July 19, Sat., August 16

                                                10:00 - 1 PM

                           Westside Pavillion (Overland & Pico)

             Community Room/Third Floor/Behind the Food Court

                          Email PDLAvote@aol.com for agendas.  

 

Want to Get Involved?

Point People for Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles

 

Iraq Occupation

Tom English - atomenglish@ca.rr.com

Michael Jay - michaeljay@earthlink.net

 

Impeachment

Matt Gerasi - matt@cotam.org

Ricco Ross - Riccoross@aol.com

 

Election Protection

Michael Jay - Michaeljay@earthlink.net

Judy Alter - judyalter@ca.rr.com

 

Health Care

Maureen Cruise - mcruised@aol.com

 

Media - Net Neutrality

Brad Parker - riozen@riozen.com

 

Prison Reform

Charles Coleman - work4u5302@aol.com

Gene Rothman - gene.hr@gte.net

 

Environment

Linda Sutton - Lindasutton.ca@gmail.com

 

Labor & Economic Justice

Ahjamu Makalani - amakalan2002@yahoo.com

Linda Sutton - lindasutton.ca.@gmail.com

 

State Leadership

Dorothy Reik - dorothyreik@pdsmm.org

Marcy Winograd - http://winogradcoach@aol.com

Barbara Levin http://barblevin@msn.com

 

Endorsements

Mervis Ressig - merv4peace@gmail.com

 

Fundraising

Dorothy Reik - dorothyreik@pdsmm.org

 

 

 

 

 

          

Volunteer at the LA National Impeachment Center

Saturdays, 2 - 6 PM

Peace Center, 8124 West Third Street, LA

(between LaJolla & Crescent Heights)

Write letters, make phone calls, decorate banners, set up tables, perform street theater.

Impeach Bush & Cheney Now!

For more info, visit www.bcimpeach.com

Urge the House Judiciary Committee to introduce Articles of Impeachment

http://judiciary.house.gov/CommitteeMembership.aspx

          

Another Historic Step on Impeachment

April 30, 2007, San Diego, CA

Sparked by an insurgency among delegates, the California Democratic Party has taken an historic step forward on the issue of impeachment. In a resolution affirmed by the full state party convention Sunday, the Democrats called on the U.S. Congress to use its subpoena power to investigate misdeeds of President Bush and Vice President Cheney – and to hold the Administration accountable “with appropriate remedies and punishment, including impeachment.” The delegate insurgency was coordinated by Progressive Democrats of America and its allies.

While Speaker Pelosi had declared impeachment “off the table,” the Democratic Party rank-and-file has demonstrated its commitment to putting the issue “on” the table. And it’s no longer just the rank-and-file: Even among the members of the convention’s Resolutions Committee (appointed by the California Party chair), the impeachment resolution was the top vote-getter (tied with one other resolution).

Coming on the heels of mass actions and resolutions across the country in support of impeachment, and Congressman Dennis Kucinich’s introduction of Articles of Impeachment against Cheney, this action by the powerful California Democratic Party builds on the pro-impeachment momentum.

The resolution refers to Bush and Cheney having acted in a manner “subversive of the Constitution” by. . .

1.       using false information to justify the invasion of Iraq

2.       authorizing “the torture of prisoners of war”

3.       “authorizing wiretaps on U.S. citizens without obtaining a warrant”

4.       “disclosing the name of an undercover CIA operative”

5.       suspending “the historic Writ of Habeas Corpus by ordering the indefinite detention of so-called enemy combatants”

6.       “signing statements used to ignore or circumvent portions of over 750 Congressional statutes”


The resolution ends by calling for “vigorous investigation” and “appropriate remedies and punishment, including impeachment.”

This action represents the successful culmination of PDA’s one-month, eleven-city barnstorming tour across California – aimed at putting impeachment and ending the occupation of Iraq at the top of the Party’s agenda.

 

 

 

 

Resolution to Oppose Attack on Iran

Endorsed by LA County Democratic Party Central Committee

3-13-07

 

WHEREAS: The Bush Administration, in a move reminiscent to the run-up to the Iraq invasion, now claims Iran is an imminent nuclear and terrorist threat to our country, despite the fact that intelligence experts and military analysts strongly question the veracity of these claims; and 

WHEREAS: The Bush Administration in provocative and confrontational moves that put all Americans at risk has refused overtures to meet directly with representatives of the Iranian government, choosing instead to kidnap and detain Iranian diplomats in Iraq, while deploying more aircraft carrier groups and Patriot missiles to the Persian Gulf region near Iran; and

WHEREAS: Diplomacy and direct talks, not war, is the best approach to resolving tensions in the Middle East;

THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED:  We, the Los Angeles County Democratic Party Central Committee, encourage members of the California Democratic Party to endorse only those candidates who support direct talks with Iran and who categorically oppose a pre-emptive military action, be it an expeditionary force, a Bunker Buster nuclear bombing, or a conventional attack on the sovereign nation of Iran and its 70-million inhabitants.

THEREFORE BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED:  That should the Bush administration invade or attack Iran, we demand Congress immediately invoke the War Powers Act to remove US armed forces from hostilities if Congress has not declared war or passed a resolution authorizing the use of force within 90 days.

 

Introduced by Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles & Elected Delegates of the 41st Assembly District

 

 

 

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Click here to contact
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Join Progressive Democrats of Los Angeles

The 2nd Saturday Morning of Each Month

10:00-12:30

Rotating Locations

Contact pdlavote@aol.com for directions

Los Angeles, CA

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CALIFORNIA BURNING:
The Struggle for Political Power in the California Democratic Party
by Brad Parker

The flurry of interest, activity and excitement surrounding the January
2007 Assembly District elections in California was no accident. This
once obscure intraparty election was hotly contested as a result of the
long term organizing efforts of the Progressive Caucus of the CDP, laid
out in their Progressive Plan , and by the Progressive Movement, inside
and outside of the Party, in its many local, statewide and national
manifestations. The Progressive Caucus itself though is the result of a
long simmering debate in the nation and the Democratic Party that has
become a struggle for political power within the Party.

In order to better understand the game – as in game theory not idle
entertainment – we need to know who the players are. However, there is
no absolute dividing line between the opposing sides. In fact we find
some politicos playing both sides of the debate as it suits their
personal ambitions. In the main though there are two opposing sides,
which can be defined by the ideas, issues and candidates, they support.

For most activists and hacks the two factions vying for power are the
Progressives and the DLC (Democratic Leadership Council). There are
many identifying characteristics of both groups, which as we proposed,
can be defined by the ideas and candidates they both embrace.
Progressives by in large represent the left or Liberal wing of the
Party and DLC members represent the right or Conservative wing of the
Party. Bill & Hillary Clinton, Rahm Emanuel, Chuck Schumer, Joe
Lieberman, Paul Begala, Terry MacCaulife and James Carville lead the
DLC. Progressives, on the other hand, are led by their broad based
self-identified “swarm” of citizen/activist members. Following swarm
theory models - studied in science to explain the behavior of colonies
of ants, flocks of birds or a school of fish - modern organizers,
Progressives, tend toward membership consensus rather than top-down
leadership edicts. This consensus is facilitated by person-to-person
connections over the Internet and meet-ups on the ground. Just as the
Internet is reorganizing every aspect of social and group interaction
it has radically altered political dynamics. So, there is no leader of
the Progressive Movement, inside or outside of the Democratic Party but
rather a visible, self aware and efficient, albeit chaotic – We The
People.

Generally speaking the DLC views itself as a pragmatic, winning is the
only thing that counts, candidates are more important than ideas,
traditional style political movement. Progressives view themselves as a
principles first, people before profit, membership before leadership,
modern, citizen-led political movement. Let’s break it down even
further:

•    The DLC voted for the War in Iraq
•    Progressives organized against the War in Iraq
•    The DLC can’t decide how to end the War
•    Progressives say start leaving Iraq now
•    The DLC supports better healthcare
•    Progressives support single-payer universal healthcare
•    The DLC believes incumbency is a right conferred
•    Progressives believe that incumbency is a privilege earned
•    The DLC believes in big money private donor election financing
•    Progressives believe in public clean money election financing

These are a few among the many differences. In the area of civil rights
the DLC believes that the separation of church and state can be taken
down and that narrow religious doctrine can be a guide to legislation.
Progressives believe that our unalienable civil rights are not subject
to the dogma of any religion, that no woman can be denied dominion over
her own person and her reproductive rights and that every consenting
adult may marry or join in a civil union with any other consenting
adult.

These and other deep ideological differences culminate in the decisions
made by the Party, at every level, on which candidates to support.
Given that the DLC adherents have largely controlled the Party since
1988, it is no surprise that most candidates currently come from their
ranks. But that is changing.

Belying their doctrine of winning is everything; the DLC eventually
lost every body of the federal government, most statehouses and
legislatures to the Republicans during the Clinton ascendancy. During
the years of Republican dominance the DLC found it pragmatic to
capitulate to Republican cut and gut governance – NAFTA, the
Telecommunications Act of 1996, the War in Iraq etc. - and thus arose
the awakened citizen/activists. A dearth of ideas and the seduction of
big money had hollowed out the DLC philosophy and effectiveness along
with the Democratic Party. It was at this very point where California,
like other states, caught on fire, the Progressive Movement fire. Now,
California’s fire is burning down the house of the old Democratic Party
and it is spreading.

Let’s examine the November 2006 elections.

Defining the fault line between the DLC and Progressives was the race
for the senate in Connecticut. Ned Lamont soundly defeated Joe
Lieberman in the Democratic primary. Jiltin’ Joe decided to go with the
Republicans, ran as a faux independent and beat Lamont in the general
election. Republicans were not alone in supporting Joe. The silence of
his DLC comrades in the house and senate confirmed their support as
well. Joe was rewarded with important chairmanships of committees in
the new Democratic senate just to show how grateful the Party was that
he had defeated the Progressive Democrat.

What about the new and bluer congress that was miraculously born as a
result of the 2006 elections? Rahm Emanuel claims that the DLC
handpicked candidates in the house led the way to the new majority. In
fact the truth is quite the opposite. Most of the new Democrats in the
house are from the Progressive ranks.

In California and across the nation the DCCC and the DSCC had searched
for DLC candidates to run against Progressives in the primaries. They
were more worried about the fire in the Party than the Republican
opposition. They publicly attempted to orchestrate a victory that would
give them more DLC and less Progressive members in the new congress. In
the end, they failed. The result in the house was more Progressives
elected and joining the Progressive caucus to make it the largest
caucus in the house. The Establishment DLC Democrats did succeed to
some degree in the senate. However, even the senate was won by the
expansive Progressive Liberal Democratic turnout and the Republican
self-immolation.

The DLC and its leadership, led by the Clintons, Emanuel and Schumer,
have proven to be no friend to the Progressive Democrats or Democrats
in general. In fact the DLC and its establishment cohorts in California
are busily attempting to prevent the inevitable Progressive redesign of
the Party.

First, all incumbent Democrats in the house, Progressive and DLC,
secretly agreed that no incumbent Democrat would endorse any challenger
in the 2006 primary. So, in a surreal twist, Blue Dog Democrats (a DLC
caucus in the house), including California Reps. Ellen Tauscher and
Jane Harman, found themselves endorsed by Progressive members of the
house. This non-democratic and awkward agreement was crafted by the DLC
leadership of the DCCC to thwart Progressive challengers.

Next, the establishment Democrats manipulated the tension between
different unions – as well as their rank and file and leadership - to
scuttle the Clean Money Proposition 87 at meetings of the CDP and
during the general election in 2006. A palpable fear of true publicly
financed campaigns grips the major donors of both parties and the
consultants. For good measure, the CDP and some county central
committees blithely failed to support Progressive candidates in many
races for unstated reasons. Incumbency, endorsement and big money are
arrogantly tightening their grip on power in a vain attempt to hold
back the changing of the guard. However, all during the primaries and
the general election the Progressive Caucus of the California
Democratic Party was organizing for another election.

Part two of the Progressive Plan, put forward by the caucus in the
summer of 2006, called upon all Progressives inside and outside of the
Party to join together and get elected to more of the voting seats
inside the Party. Together with PDA and DFA, the CDP Progressive Caucus
used its micro-media network – email, e-newsletters and e-action alerts
– to great effect and the Progressive swarm showed its rising strength
in this January’s AD Elections. Progressives won a majority of the 960
delegate seats to the DSCC – Democratic State Central Committee - and
an increasing number of the 80 delegate seats to the Executive Board.
This will surely change the nature of the votes taken by these two
bodies in the next two years. That in turn will challenge the DLC
dominance of the Party.

Next on the horizon is the CDP 2007 Convention in San Diego. There the
debate will once again be joined with important votes on Party
procedures for posting the names of all voting members of the DSCC and
its Executive Board on the CDP website and moving the election of the
DNC members from the 300 person Executive Board to the 3000 member
DSCC.

The rise of the Progressive Movement inside the Democratic Party was
inevitable. Technology does not take a vote on its effects, they just
happen. The Internet is turning the Pyramid of Power upside down
throughout every aspect of society across the globe. Those who survive
and thrive will adapt to its architecture, which is creating a new
horizontal power structure. Those who attempt to control its effects
will be swept away along with the antiquated top-down structures that
have dominated human social evolution. Local, sustainable, renewable
and humane systems are on the verge of sweeping the planet thanks to
the Internet and the ever-widening Age of Information. The struggle for
power in the California Democratic Party is only one of the myriad
examples of the impact of this new technology and its embrace by
citizens far and wide.

In fairness we must assert that all of the participants in this epic
struggle for power in the Democratic Party are citizens who believe
that their strategies and tactics for claiming and holding political
power are in the best interests of the nation. And it must be said that
even when the ideological divide between the two main factions of the
Party has become rancorous and divisive, this power struggle is more a
debate than a war. This debate has produced great enmity from time to
time on both sides. Enmity has escalated to nasty political tactics and
various low-end shenanigans in some cases. But the contentious dialogue
and electoral wrangling has produced more light than heat and will in
the end create a truly Progressive Liberal Democratic Party. Ignited by
the fire of the Progressive movement, the California Democratic Party
is burning, down to ashes. Then like the proverbial phoenix, a new
Party will arise. The same will be true of the national Democratic
Party.

California is burning and sparks are gonna fly from this Wild West
brush fire, so be prepared. Oh, and will the last person to leave the
DLC please turn out the lights.

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More information about when and where the AD election meetings will occur will be available on the CDP website:
www.ca-dem.org beginning around December 15, 2006.