Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 02.18.06

[David Shove (shove001]

             P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R     02.18.06

1. Haiti justice    2.18 9am
2. Sami/Iraq        2.18 9:30am
3. Instant runoff   2.18 10am
4. Nicaragua        2.18 10am
5. Anti-war play    2.18 10am
6. GreenParty/story 2.18 10:30am
7. Anti-war protest 2.18 12noon
8. Torture/AM950    2.18 12noon
9. GrayPan/health   2.18 12noon
10. Northtown vigil 2.18 1pm
11. Caucus training 2.18 2pm
12. YAWR benefit    2.18 4pm
13. WB ReUnion pot  2.18 6pm
14. Goebbels/film   2.18 7:15pm

15. Circles/change  2.19 11am
16. Sensible vigil  2.19 12noon
17. Vets4peace      2.19 12noon
18. EmpireChristian 2.19 12:30pm
19. GreenParty/what 2.19 2pm Northfield MN
20. AI              2.19 3pm
21. US war industry 2.19 3pm
22. Indian uprising 2.19 4pm
23. Black poetry    2.19 11pm

24. Drutman/Cray  - Controlling corporations and restoring democracy
25. Steven Hill   - IRV in SF: $3 million saved, turnout nearly tripled
26. Wayne Pacelle - Cheney's canned kill
27. ed            - kill kill kill kill kill (recycled poem)

--------1 of 27--------

From: Rebecca Cramer <biego001 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Haiti justice 2.18 9am

The Haiti Justice Committee meets monthly, at 9am on the third Saturday,
at the Resource Center of the Americas (27th Ave. S. and E. Lake St.), in
the Victor Jara room. Please join us this Sat. to discuss the current
political crisis in Haiti. Join our committee, learn the facts and be a
part of the growing international outrage against the murderous political
repression occurring in Haiti since the ouster, in Feb. 2004, of the
democratically-elected President of Haiti, Jean-Bertrand Aristide.  


--------2 of 27--------

From: wamm <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: Sami/Iraq 2.18 9:30am

Saturday, February 18, 9:30am (Refreshments) 10am (Presentation)
Holy Trinity Lutheran Church, 2730 East 31st Street (Corner of 27th Avenue
and 31st Street), Minneapolis. See description above. Sponsored by: Middle
East Peace Now (MEPN). FFI: Call 651-696-1642 or 952-927-8391.


--------3 of 27--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Instant runoff 2.18 10am

Training for volunteers wanting to help out with bringing Instant Runoff
Voting to Minneapolis

The Better Ballot Campaign has been gathering a healthy head of stream in
Minneapolis. The Green Party is playing an important role in this effort
at all levels of organizing, coalition building, and gathering petitions.
We will be providing two opportunities for those interested in
volunteering to get up to speed and find out how they can help. This
includes those willing to help with gathering signatures, holding house
parties, organizing, or just whatever is needed.

During the first training session we will also be working on something for
caucus night to increase interest and recruitment. The second opportunity
will also provide those volunteers picked up at the caucuses the chance to
get plugged in.

Saturday, February 18
10-12am
North Commons Recreation Center
1801 James Ave N
Minneapolis, MN 55411
Rec Center Phone: 612-370-4921

Caucus Night: March 7th
Time: 7PM
Location: http://www.mngreens.org/ to find out


--------4 of 27--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Nicaragua 2.18 10am

Saturday, 2/18, 10 to 11:30 am, Resource Center of the Americas coffeehour,
Doris Braley speaks on "Solidarity and Aid in Nicaragua," 3019 Minnehaha,
Mpls.  www.americas.org


--------5 of 27--------

From: Diane J. Peterson <birch7 [at] comcast.net>
Subject: Anti-war play 2.18 10am

You are invited to a free performance of an anti-war play on Saturday,
Feb. 18.  The local director is putting on this free performance to
encourage the generation of leads for further venues to reach young people
with her play. Those who work with youth (coaches, teachers, Big
Brothers/Big Sisters, community youth services directors, recreation
leaders, ministers) are encouraged to attend to check out this play's
suitability for youth audiences in your community.  Everyone welcome.

Saturday, February 18
The War Plays Project:  Letters To, Letters From, Letters Never Written
FREE  Performance
10am-12noon
Hamline University, Sundin Hall
1531 Hewitt Avenue
St. Paul, MN
Contact:  play director Frances Ford  651-793-6437


--------6 of 27--------

From: Stephen Eisenmenger <stephen [at] mngreens.org>
Subject: GreenParty/story 2.18 10:30am

Getting to know the Green Party
Saturday, February 18
10:30am-12:30pm
LOCATION: Green Party of MN office, 621 West Lake Street #205 (Corner of
Lyndale and Lake.) Buses: #4 or #21, parking in the back of the building
(612) 871-4585

AGENDA:
--History and structure of the Green Party
--Activities and needs of the party.
--General discussion.
Snacks will be provided


--------7 of 27---------

From: PRO826 [at] aol.com
Subject: Anti-war protest 2.18 12noon

on the third anniversary of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, join millions
worldwide

ANTI-WAR PROTEST BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW! Saturday, MARCH 18

12noon Join the "Youth Bloc"  called by YAWR
Protest the Military Recruitment station at Lake  and Lyndale, Mpls
Followed by a youth march to join the main rally  at...

1pm MAIN RALLY and  MARCH
Gather at Library Plaza near Hennepin and Lagoon, Mpls followed by a march
to the Basilica by Loring Park for an end rally.

...after the end rally, don't miss  the...
3:30pm YOUTH MEETING to plan the student walkout on April 28.
Loring Park Community Arts Center - 1382 Willow St. on east side of park
between 14th St. & Grant
_http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=88&parkid=198_
(http://www.minneapolisparks.org/default.asp?PageID=88&parkid=198)

ORGANIZERS
YOUTH AGAINST WAR AND RACISM is organizing the "Youth Bloc" at 12noon,
which will march at 12:30 to join the main rally at 1pm, which is
organized by a broad "March 18th Coalition" that brings together numerous
area antiwar groups. Contact YAWR: _www.yawr.org_ (http://www.yawr.org/)
/ _against.war [at] gmail.com_ (mailto:against.war [at] gmail.com)  / 612.760.1980


--------8 of 27--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Torture/AM950 2.18 12noon

This coming Sat at noon on AirAmerica 950 am there'll be someone from the
Center for Victims of Torture speaking about torture as always wrong.
That's Ember Reichgott-Junge's "Women on the Move" show, one hour long.


---------9 of 27--------

From: Sally Brown <SAB [at] wilder.org>
Subject: Gray Panthers/health 2.18 12noon

We will be continuing work started at the last UHCAN-MN meeting on
planning for a community forum on The Crisis in Health Care and the
flawed, privatization approaches, including the disastrous Medicare Part
D prescription drug fiasco.  Please join us.

Gray Panthers Meeting
February 18th
12-2 pm
66 Barton Avenue SE
Mpls. 55414

It's in Prospect Park.  Call Jane if you need directions (612-378-2713)


--------10 of 27--------

From: Lennie <major18 [at] comcast.net>
Subject: Northtown vigil 2.18 1pm

We will now be peace vigiling EVERY SATURDAY from 1-2pm at the at the
southeast corner of the intersection of Co. Hwy 10 and University Ave NE
in Blaine, which is the northwest most corner of the Northtown Mall area.
This is a MUCH better location.

We'll have extra signs.  Communities situated near the Northtown Mall
include: Blaine, Mounds View, New Brighton, Roseville, Shoreview, Arden
Hills, Spring Lake Park, Fridley, and Coon Rapids.

For further information, email major18 [at] comcast.net or call Lennie at
763-717-9168


--------11 of 27--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Caucus training 2.18 2pm

Saturday 2/18, 2-4pm, Peace First! strategy preparation and training prior
to March 7th precinct caucuses, St. Joan of Arc Church, 4457 - 3rd Ave S,
Mpls.  www.peaceintheprecincts.org


--------12 of 27--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: YAWR benefit 2.18 4pm

Saturday, 2/18, 4pm, benefit show with Merge Left, the Obnoxious, Black
Plague, etc, for Youth Against War and Racism (counter-recruitment group),
Walker Community Church, 3104 - 16th Ave S, Mpls.  $5 at the door.
against.war [at] gmail.com


--------13 of 27--------

From: Jenny Heiser <jennyh [at] mn.rr.com>
Subject: WB ReUnion potluck 2.18 6pm

WEST BANK REUNION POTLUCK
Saturday, February 18, 6pm
DEAN ZIMMERMANN & Jenny Heiser's home
2200Clinton Avenue So., Mpls. 612-724-3888

You're invited to a West Bank Reunion! Folks at the Bedlam Theater, in
partnership with the Mixed Blood Theater, will do a reading from their
upcoming musical based on history of the West Bank in the late 60's/early
70's.  If you were involved in the anti-war movement or the co-op movement
or neighborhood activism of some sort or you're someone who has interest
or knowledge of the neighborhood or the era please come and bring a guest,
along with a dish or beverage to share.

ps..IF YOU CAN'T MAKE THE POTLUCK BUT ARE INTERESTED IN TALKING TO US
ABOUT THE PROJECT OR YOUR WEST BANK EXPERIENCE, PLEASE GIVE A CALL TO
Maren or John AT: 612-341-1038 OR EMAIL info [at] bedlamtheatre.org thanks!


--------14 of 27--------

From: Stephen Feinstein <feins001 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Goebbels/film 2.18 7:15pm

To be shown at the Bell Auditorium, Sat. 2/18 to Thursday 2/23, 7:15 and
9:15pm nightly with 5:15pm matinees Sats. & Suns.
http://www.mnfilmarts.org/bell/calendar.php

T H E   G O E B B E L S   E X P E R I M E N T
Not rated by the MPAA
Documentary, 107mins.
Dir: Lutz Hachmeister
Cast: Kenneth Branagh; Udo Samel

Joseph Goebbels (1897-1945) has survived the Nazi regime as a trademark.
Nowadays, the name Goebbels stands for unbridled, cynical and at least
partially successful propaganda. Comparisons with Goebbels are made at
regular intervals as a means of branding certain politicians as evil
rabble-rousers and Polemicists.

However, Joseph Goebbels life was more enigmatic and unsettling than his
current classification as propaganda genius or inveterate liar of the
Third Reich would suggest. Lutz Hachmeister and Michael Kloft's film shows
how Goebbels was constantly stage-managing his life and reinventing
himself, from his beginnings as a National Socialist, to his suicide with
his wife and children. Suggesting to audiences that Goebbels career was
not unlike that of a modern politician in the eye of the media; this
documentary is unusual in that it abstains from the use of commentary.
Goebbels' own diaries (that he kept continually from 1924 to 1945 and in
which he wrote excessively) being the only voice in the film. In this way,
a psychological portrait emerges of a man, who lived at fever pitch,
vacillating between Weltschmerz, whininess, destructive anger and
political ecstasy. This was an experiment in stylization and manipulation
that he not only conducted with the public, but also with himself.

In this way, this perpetrator was his own first victim. Goebbels
was a cinematic and theatrical character unlike almost any politician or
agitator before him. In particular, the film succeeds in conveying the
gestures and facial expressions of this manic-depressive man, creating the
picture of a modern media manager who devoted his workaholicism to the whole
spectrum of communications ­ only to fail so completely on political and
moral terms.

Admission is $8.00 general, $6.50 seniors, and $5.00 for Minnesota Film Arts
Members. Parking is available in area lots.


--------15 of 27--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Circles/change 2.19 11am

Sunday, 2/19, 11am to 1:30pm, initial session of 11 free weekly Circles
for Change, which teaches activist tools including applied meditation,
appreciative inquiry, the work that reconnects and popular education, St.
Paul Yoga Center, 1160 Selby Ave, St. Paul.  Mary 612-789-0526 or
www.instituteforchange.org


--------16 of 27---------

From: skarx001 <skarx001 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Sensible vigil 2.19 12noon

The sensible people for peace hold weekly peace vigils at the intersection
of Snelling and Summit in StPaul, Sunday between noon and 1pm. (This is
across from the Mac campus.) We provide signs protesting current gov.
foreign and domestic policy. We would appreciate others joining our
vigil/protest.


--------17 of 27--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Vets4peace 2.19 12noon

Sunday, 2/19, noon to 2 pm, Vets4Peace meeting at the Veterans for Peace
office, 2123 Clinton Ave S, Mpls.  Open to all Iraq-Afghanistan era vets.
612-821-9141.


--------18 of 27--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: Empire/Christian 2.19 12:30pm

Sunday, 2/19, 12:30 pm, Luther Seminary theology prof Dr. Gary Simpson
speaks on "Empire and a Christian Vocation of Repentant Patriotism," Central
Lutheran Church, 3rd Ave & 12th St, Mpls.  Dick Hilden at 612-825-1581


--------19 of 27--------

From: Stephen Eisenmenger <stephen [at] mngreens.org>
Subject: Green Party/story 2.19 2pm Northfield MN

NORTHFIELD -- Whatıs up with the Green Party of MN?
Sunday, February 19
2-4pm
Northfield Public Library, 210 Washington Street
(507) 645-6606

AGENDA:
--Overview of the partyıs status and activities
--How to do general organizing
--What it means to be a candidate; are you ready?

Snacks will be provided.


--------20 of 27--------

From: Gabe Ormsby <gabeo [at] bitstream.net>
Subject: AI 2.19 3pm

Join Group 37 for our regular meeting on Sunday, February 19th, from 3:00
to 5:00 p.m.

Our speaker this month will be Chong Kim, a Korean-American survivor of
human trafficking/child sex exploitation.  Originally from Dallas, Texas,
Chong found refuge in Minnesota in the fall of 2000 after escaping the
trafficking industry.  Since 2001, Chong has been volunteering her time as
a legal advocate in Minnesota, as well as promoting human and civil
rights. She uses her personal story to reach out to the NGOs and political
officials to strengthen the advocacy system in reaching out to victims of
Human Trafficking.

Her current endeavor is the creation of a nonprofit organization called
MASIE (Minorities & Survivors Improving Empowerment), which was envisioned
three and one half years ago. The MASIE web address is:
http://www.endslavery.org.

Her presentation will begin at 3:00.

At 4:00, we will hear updates from our sub-groups about specific human
rights cases and projects, share actions alerts, and build the worldwide
human rights movement.

All are welcome at the meeting, and refreshments will be provided.

Location: Center for Victims of Torture, 717 E.  River Rd. SE, Minneapolis
(corner of E. River Rd.  and Oak St.). Park on street or in the small lot
behind the center (the center is a house set back on a large lawn).


--------21 of 27---------

From: humanrts [at] umn.edu
Subject: US war industry 2.19 3pm

February 19 - War: Corporate America's Number One Industry. 3-5pm

Ed Felien, Publisher of the Pulse of the Twin Cities, and Erik Esse,
Researcher and Community Organizer, discuss War: Corporate America s
Number One Industry.

FFI Eric Angell 651-644-1173 or eric-angell [at] riseup.net.
Location: Mayday Bookstore, 301 Cedar Ave West Bank UofM


--------22 of 27--------

From: Chris Spotted Eagle <chris [at] spottedeagle.org>
Subject: Indian uprising 2.19 4pm

KFAI's Indian Uprising for Feb. 19th, 2006

INDIGENOUS PEOPLES VOICE URGENCY ON GLOBAL WARMING by Brenda Norrell,
Indian Country Today, posted January 5, 2006.  Approximately 40,000
indigenous from around the world took part in the Dec. 3 International
March for Climate in Montreal as part of the U.N. Climate Summit held
there. Aboriginal peoples, including Canadian First Nations and members of
the Haudenosaunee (Iroquois) Confederacy, stood in solidarity with other
indigenous peoples whose ways of life are threatened by global warming.

Tom Goldtooth, director of the Indigenous Environmental Network, said
climate change is not just a scientific term to those who live close to
the earth.  ''We are here to put a human face to this issue. Climate
change is a human rights issue when it concerns the devastating effects of
climate change and global warming on indigenous communities in the U.S. as
well as throughout the world,'' Goldtooth said.  IEN partnered with the
Environmental Justice Climate Change initiative to bring 15 American
Indian and Alaska Native people, including youth, to the global meeting.
http://www.Indiancountry.com/content.cfm?id=1096412233.  See Attached.

MORE BULBS FOR LESS.  If every household in the U.S. replaced one light
bulb with an energy-efficient compact fluorescent, it would prevent enough
pollution to equal removing one million cars from the road (Source: EPA).
Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLıs) are todayıs energy-efficient alternative
to the standard incandescent light bulbs seen in most fixtures. Not to be
confused with older styles of fluorescent lighting common in schools and
offices (remember the buzz and flicker?), recent technological advances
are now turning out a newer generation of bulbs in a variety of styles,
shapes and sizes to fit into almost every lighting application. Using
roughly 75 percent less energy than standard incandescent bulbs, CFLıs
last 10 times as long.  www.xcelenergy.com/homelighting.

UN FORUM TO CONSIDER IMPACT ON INDIGENOUS PEOPLES OF MILLENNIUM
DEVELOPMENT GOAL IMPLEMENTATION, 16 - 27 MAY.  Research on results of
indigenous and minority education shows that the length of education in
the mother tongue is more important than any other factor -- including
socio-economic status -- in predicting the educational success of
bilingual students.  The worst results are with students in programs where
the student's mother tongues are not supported at all.  Education in the
dominant language curtails the development of capabilities in indigenous
children and perpetuates poverty. The report presents recommendations to
address these problems. http://i-newswire.com/pr20360.html.  See Attached.

* * * *
Indian Uprising is a one-half hour Public & Cultural Affairs radio program
for, by, and about Indigenous people & all their relations, broadcast each
Sunday at 4:00 p.m. over KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis and 106.7 FM St. Paul.
Current programs are archived online after broadcast at www.kfai.org, for
two weeks.  Click Program Archives and scroll to Indian Uprising.


--------23 of 27--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Black poetry 2.19 11pm

Sun Feb 19, 11pm Black poetry/KFAI Radio

Tune in Sunday, Feb 19, 11pm to KFAI's spoken word show TEGUTI for a Black
History MOnth special edition, guest-hosted by Lydia Howell.

Hear an interview w/ALCHEMY THEATER director DAWN RENEE JONES about the
new produciton of Lorraine Hansberry's groundbreaking play RAISIN IN THE
SUN (@ Northh High, 1500 James Av N.entrance door 18,north Mplsthru
SUN Feb 26, Thur-Sat, 7:30pm, Sun 29) with the play's lead actor KEVIN D
WEST doing excerpts form the play.

Hear Langston Hughes (who's "Dream Defered" poem inspired the play's
title) tell some great autobiographical stories.

Poets from JUNE JORDAN to ALICE WALJER, ETHERIDGE KNIGHT to THE LAST
POETS...and commentary by Pennsylvaina Death Row dissident JOurnalist
MUMIA ABU-JAMAL on the internaitonal impact of HIP-HOP. Sun.Feb.19,11pm,
KFAI, 90.3fm Mpls 10.7fm St Paul archived for 2 weeks after broadcast
www.kfai.org


--------24 of 27--------

In These Times, Feb. 18, 2005
THE PEOPLE'S BUSINESS
Controlling corporations and restoring democracy
By Lee Drutman and Charlie Cray

[DHN introduction: This essay is adapted from The People's Business
(ISBN 1576753093) by Lee Drutman (Citizen Works) and Charlie Cray
(Center for Corporate Policy).]

One does not have to look far in Washington these days to find evidence
that government policy is being crafted with America's biggest
corporations in mind.

For example, the Bush administration's 2006 budget cuts the enforcement
budgets of almost all the major regulatory agencies. If the gutting of the
ergonomics rule, power plant emissions standards and drug safety programs
was not already enough evidence that OSHA, EPA and FDA are deeply
compromised, the slashing of their enforcement budgets presents the
possibility -- indeed, probability -- that these public agencies will
become captives of the private corporations they are supposed to regulate.

This should come as no surprise to anybody familiar with the streams of
corporate money that flowed into Bush campaign coffers (as well as the
Kerry campaign and all races for the House and Senate) in the 2004
election. The old "follow the money" adage leads us to a democracy in
thrall to giant corporations -- a democracy that is a far cry from the
government "of the people, by the people, and for the people" that Lincoln
hailed at Gettysburg.

At a time when our democracy appears to be so thoroughly under the sway of
large corporations, it is tempting to give up on politics. We must resist
this temptation. Democracy offers the best solution to challenging
corporate power. We must engage as citizens, not just as consumers or
investors angling for a share of President Bush's "ownership society."

                  The problem of corporate power

Unfortunately, the destructive power of large corporations today is not
limited to the political sphere. The increasing domination of corporations
over virtually every dimension of our lives -- economic, political,
cultural, even spiritual -- poses a fundamental threat to the well-being
of our society.

Corporations have fostered a polarization of wealth that has undermined
our faith in a shared sense of prosperity. A corporate-driven consumer
culture has led millions of Americans into personal debt, and alienated
millions more by convincing them that the only path to happiness is
through the purchase and consumption of ever-increasing quantities of
material goods. The damage to the earth's life-supporting systems caused
by the accelerating extraction of natural resources and the continued
production, use, and disposal of life-threatening chemicals and greenhouse
gases is huge and, in some respects, irreversible.

Today's giant corporations spend billions of dollars a year to project a
positive, friendly and caring image, promoting themselves as "responsible
citizens" and "good neighbors." They have large marketing budgets and
public relations experts skilled at neutralizing their critics and
diverting attention from any controversy. By 2004, corporate advertising
expenditures were expected to top $250 billion, enough to bring the
average American more than 2,000 commercial messages a day.

The problem of the corporation is at root one of design. Corporations are
not structured to be benevolent institutions; they are structured to make
money. In the pursuit of this one goal, they will freely cast aside
concerns about the societies and ecological systems in which they operate.

When corporations reach the size that they have reached today, they begin
to overwhelm the political institutions that can keep them in check,
eroding key limitations on their destructive capacities. Internationally,
of the 100 largest economies in the world, 51 are corporations and 49 are
nations.

                 How Big Business got to be so big

Corporations in the United States began as quasi-government institutions,
business organizations created by deliberate acts of state governments for
distinct public purposes such as building canals or turnpikes. These
corporations were limited in size and had only those rights and privileges
directly written into their charters. As corporations grew bigger and more
independent, their legal status changed them from creatures of the state
to independent entities, from mere business organizations to "persons"
with constitutional rights.

The last three decades have represented the most sustained pro-business
period in U.S. history.

The corporate sector's game plan for fortifying its power in America was
outlined in a memo written in August 1971 by soon-to-be Supreme Court
Justice Lewis F. Powell Jr. at the behest of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.
The "Powell Memorandum," drafted in response to rising popular skepticism
about the role of big business and the unprecedented growth of consumer
and environmental protection laws, was intended as a catalytic plan to
spur big business into action. Powell argued that corporate leaders should
single out the campuses, the courts and the media as key battlegrounds.

One of the most significant developments that followed Powell's memo was
the formation of the Business Roundtable in 1972 by Frederick Borch of
General Electric and John Harper of Alcoa. As author Ted Nace has
explained, "The Business Roundtable... functioned as a sort of senate for
the corporate elite, allowing big business as a whole to set priorities
and deploy its resources in a more effective way than ever before.... The
'70s saw the creation of institutions to support the corporate agenda,
including foundations, think tanks, litigation centers, publications, and
increasingly sophisticated public relations and lobbying agencies."

For example, beer magnate Joseph Coors, moved by Powell's memo, donated a
quarter of a million dollars to the Analysis and Research Association, the
forerunner of the massive font of pro-business and conservative propaganda
known today as the Heritage Foundation. Meanwhile, existing but tiny
conservative think tanks, like the Hoover Institute and the American
Enterprise Institute for Public Policy Research, grew dramatically in the
'70s. Today, they are key players in the pro-business policy apparatus
that dominates state and federal policymaking.

According to a 2004 study by the National Committee for Responsive
Philanthropy, between 1999 and 2001, 79 conservative foundations made more
than $252 million in grants to 350 "archconservative policy nonprofit
organizations." By contrast, the few timid foundations that have funded
liberal causes often seem to act as a "drag anchor" on the progressive
movement, moving from issue to issue like trust fund children with a
serious case of attention-deficit disorder.

                      From analysis to action

The vast majority of people, when asked, believe that corporations have
too much power and are too focused on making a profit. "Business has
gained too much power over too many aspects of American life," agreed 82
percent of respondents in a June 2000 Business Week poll, a year and a
half before Enron's collapse. A 2004 Harris poll found that three-quarters
of respondents said that the image of large corporations was either "not
good" or "terrible."

Corporations have achieved their dominant role in society through a
complex power grab that spans the economic, political, legal and cultural
spheres. Any attempt to challenge their power must take all these areas
into account.

There is a great need to develop a domestic strategy for challenging
corporate power in the United States, where 185 of the world's 500 largest
corporations are headquartered. Although any efforts to challenge
corporations are inevitably bound up in the global justice movement, there
is much to do here in the United States that can have a profoundly
important effect on the global situation.

By understanding the origin of the corporation as a creature of the state,
we can better understand how we, as citizens with sovereignty over our
government, ultimately can and must assert our right to hold corporations
accountable. The task is to understand how we can begin to reestablish
true citizen sovereignty in a country where corporations currently have
almost all the power.

                       Developing the movement

To free our economy, culture and politics from the grip of giant
corporations, we will have to develop a large, diverse and well-organized
movement. But at what level should we focus our efforts: local, state,
national or global? The answer, we believe, is a balance of all four.

Across the country, many local communities continue to organize in
resistance to giant chain stores like Wal-Mart, predatory lenders, factory
farms, private prisons, incinerators and landfills, the planting of
genetically modified organisms, and nuclear power plants. Local
communities are continuously organizing to strengthen local businesses,
raise the living wage, resist predatory marketing in schools, cut off
corporate welfare and protect essential services such as water from
privatization. Local struggles are crucial for recruiting citizens to the
broader struggle against corporate rule.

Unfortunately, examples of grassroots movements that have succeeded in
placing structural restraints on corporations are not as common as they
should be. One of the ways we can accelerate the process is by organizing
a large-scale national network of state and local lawmakers who are
interested in enacting policies that address specific issues or place
broader restraints on corporate power.

Just as the corporations have the powerful American Legislative Exchange
Council (ALEC) to distribute and support model legislation in the states,
so we need our own networks to experiment with and advance different
policies that can curb and limit corporate power. The National Caucus of
Environmental Legislators -- a low-budget coalition of state lawmakers
established in 1996 in response to the Republican takeover of Congress and
several state legislatures -- is a model that could be used to introduce
and advance innovative legislative ideas at the state level. The New Rules
Project has also begun to analyze and compile information on these kinds
of laws. Additionally, the U.S. PIRG network of state public interest
research groups and the Center for Policy Alternatives have worked to
promote model progressive legislation, as has the newly founded American
Legislative Issue Campaign Exchange (ALICE).

                        Moving the movement

Despite their many strengths, many major movements of the past few decades
(labor, environmental, consumer) have all suffered from internal fractures
and a lack of connection to the broader society. The result is that they
have been increasingly boxed into "special interest" roles, despite the
fact that the policies they advocate generally benefit the vast majority
of people.

Cognitive linguist George Lakoff puts it this way: "Coalitions with
different interest-based messages for different voting blocks [are]
without a general moral vision. Movements, on the other hand, are based on
shared values, values that define who we are. They have a better chance of
being broad-based and lasting. In short, progressives need to be thinking
in terms of a broad-based progressive-values movement, not in terms of
issue coalitions."

If there is one group at the center of the struggle to challenge corporate
power, it is organized labor. As a Century Foundation Task Force Report on
the Future of Unions concluded, "Labor unions have been the single most
important agent for social justice in the United States."

Labor is at the forefront of efforts to challenge excessive CEO pay,
corporate attempts to move their headquarters offshore to avoid paying
their fair share of taxes, and the outsourcing of jobs. Labor also has
played a leading role in opposing the war in Iraq and exposing war
profiteers benefiting from Iraq reconstruction contracts.

As AFL-CIO President John Sweeney has written, unions need to start
"building social movements that reach beyond the workplace into the entire
community and offer working people beyond our ranks the opportunity to
improve their lives and livelihood." This is beginning to occur more
frequently. Union locals and national labor support groups like Jobs With
Justice have been a key force in building cross-town alliances around
economic justice battles such as living wage campaigns and the new Fair
Taxes for All campaign.

These union-led, cross-community alliances have in turn supported some of
the strongest union organizing campaigns, including the nearly two-
decades-old Justice for Janitors campaign that the Service Employees
International Union (SEIU) and its allies successfully organized in Los
Angeles and other cities across the country.

Clearly, labor unions, along with community-based organizations and
churches, will be central to the construction of lasting local coalitions
that can serve as organizing clearinghouses to challenge corporate rule.

                   Constructing a new politics

To challenge corporate power we must also value and rebuild the public
sphere, and draw clear lines of resistance against the expansion of
corporate power, such as the current push by Bush to convert Social
Security into individual investment accounts that will allow Wall Street
to rake off billions of dollars in annual brokerage fees. Most
importantly, we must work to change the rules instead of agreeing to play
with a stacked deck.

In our hyper-commercialized culture, we spend far more time and energy
thinking about what products we want to buy next instead of thinking about
how we can change our local communities for the better, or affect the
latest debates in Washington, D.C. or the state capitol. And when so much
energy is spent on commercial and material pursuits instead of on
collective and political pursuits, we begin to think of ourselves as
consumers, not citizens, with little understanding of how or why we are so
disempowered.

The restoration of democracy requires us to address the backstory behind
this process of psychological colonization. It requires us to address the
public policies and judicial doctrines that treat advertising as a public
good -- a tax-deductible business expense and a form of speech protected
by the First Amendment. It's been so long since we have seriously
addressed such fundamental questions that, as a result, the average
American is now exposed to more than 100 commercial messages per waking
hour. As of October 2003, there were 46,438 shopping malls in the United
States, covering 5.8 billion square feet of space, or about 20.2 square
feet for every man, woman and child in the United States. As economist
Juliet Schor reports, "Americans spend three to four times as many hours a
year shopping as their counterparts in Western European countries. Once a
purely utilitarian chore, shopping has been elevated to the status of a
national passion."

A consequence of the hyper-commercialization of our culture is that
instead of organizing collectively, we often buy into the market-based
ideology of individual choice and responsibility and assume that we can
change the world by changing our personal habits of consumption. The
politics of recycling offers a minor but telling example of how
corporations manage to escape blame by utilizing the politics of personal
responsibility. Although recycling is a decent habit, the message conveyed
is that the onus for environmental sustainability largely rests upon the
individual, and that the solutions to pollution are not to be found
further upstream in the industrial system.

The personal choices we make are important. But we shouldn't assume that's
the best we can do. We need to understand that it can't truly be a matter
of choice until we get some more say in what our choices are. True power
still resides in the ability to write, enforce and judge the laws of the
land, no matter what the corporations and their personal-choice,
market-centered view of the world instruct us to believe.

                    Rebuilding the public sphere

With increased corporate encroachment upon our schools and universities,
our arts institutions, our houses of worship and even our elections, we
are losing the independent institutions that once nurtured and developed
the values and beliefs necessary to challenge the corporate worldview.
These and other institutions and public assets should be considered
valuable parts of a public "commons" of our collective heritage and
therefore off limits to for-profit corporations.

"The idea of the commons helps us identify and describe the common values
that lie beyond the marketplace," writes author David Bollier. "We can
begin to develop a more textured appreciation for the importance of civic
commitment, democratic norms, social equity, cultural and aesthetic
concerns, and ecological needs.... A language of the commons also serves
to restore humanistic, democratic concerns to their proper place in public
policy-making. It insists that citizenship trumps ownership, that the
democratic tradition be given an equal or superior footing vis-a-vis the
economic categories of the market."

                         Changing the rules

Much citizen organizing today focuses on influencing administrative,
legislative and judicial processes that are set up to favor large
corporations from the very start. Put simply, many of the rules are not
fair, and until we can begin to collectively challenge this fundamental
unfairness, we will continue to fight with one hand tied behind our backs.
Instead of providing opportunities for people to organize collectively to
demand real political solutions and start asking tough questions about how
harmful policies become law in the first place, many community-based
organizations seem content to merely clean up the mess left behind by
failed economic policies and declining social services.

The most successful organizing happens when it is focused on specific
demands. Two crucial reforms have great potential to aid the movement's
ability to grow: fundamental campaign finance reform and media reform.
Together, these could serve as a compelling foundation for a mass movement
that challenges corporate power more broadly.

The movement for citizen-controlled elections, organized at the local
level with support from national groups such as the Center for Voting and
Democracy and Public Campaign, provides a useful framework for action for
the broad spectrum of people who currently feel shut out of politics.

Media reform is also essential. With growing government secrecy and a
corporate-dominated two-party political system, the role of independent
media is more critical than ever. As Bill Moyers suggested in his keynote
address at the National Conference on Media Reform in 2003, "If free and
independent journalism committed to telling the truth without fear or
favor is suffocated, the oxygen goes out of democracy."

The media have always been and will continue to be the most important tool
for communicating ideas and educating the public about ongoing problems.
Thomas Paine wrote more than 200 years ago:

"There is nothing that obtains so general an influence over the manners
and morals of a people as the press; from that as from a fountain the
streams of vice or virtue are poured forth over a nation."

History is replete with examples that show how critical the media's role
has been in addressing the injustices of our society. For instance, many
Progressive Era reforms came only in response to the investigative exposes
of corporate abuses by muckraking journalists like Upton Sinclair and Ida
Tarbell. Writing in popular magazines like Collier's and McClure's, these
writers provided a powerful public challenge to the corruption of the
Gilded Age.

Because of increased corporate consolidation of the media, coverage of all
levels of government has been greatly reduced. When people are kept
ignorant of what is happening in their communities, in their states, in
Washington, D.C. and in the world, it becomes much easier for large
corporations to overwhelm the political process and control the economy
without citizens understanding what is happening. Though media reform is a
complex subject, one approach bears mentioning -- establishing and
strengthening nonprofit media outlets.

                         The long-term vision

Though campaign finance reform and media reform offer useful starting
points, ultimately, there is much more to be done. We need to get tough on
corporate crime. We need to make sure markets are properly competitive by
breaking up the giant corporate monopolies and oligarchies. We need to
make corporations more accountable to all stakeholders and less focused on
maximizing shareholder profit above all. We need to stop allowing
corporations to claim Bill of Rights protections to undermine
citizen-enacted laws.

Ultimately, we need to restore the understanding that in a democracy the
rights of citizens to govern themselves are more important than the rights
of corporations to make money. Since their charters and licenses are
granted by citizen governments, it should be up to the people to decide
how corporations can serve the public good and what should be done when
they don't. As Justices Byron White, William Brennan and Thurgood Marshall
noted in 1978: "Corporations are artificial entities created by law for
the purpose of furthering certain economic goals... . The State need not
permit its own creation to consume it."

                        The people's business

The many constituencies concerned with the consequences of corporate power
are indeed a diverse group, and although this diversity can be a source of
strength, it also makes it difficult to clearly articulate a vision for
the struggle. What principles, then, can unite us?

One abiding faith that almost all of us share is that of citizen
democracy: that citizens should be able to decide how they wish to live
through democratic processes and that big corporations should not be able
to tell citizens how to live their lives and run their communities. The
most effective way to control corporations will be to restore citizen
democracy and to reclaim the once widely accepted principle that
corporations are but creatures of the state, chartered under the premise
that they will serve the public good, and entitled to only those rights
and privileges granted by citizen-controlled governments. Only by doing so
will we be able to create the just and sustainable economy that we seek,
an economy driven by the values of human life and community and democracy
instead of the current suicide economy driven only by the relentless
pursuit of financial profit at any cost.

Therefore, we must work assiduously to challenge the dominant role of the
corporation in our lives and in our politics. We must reestablish citizen
sovereignty, and we must restore the corporations to their proper role as
the servants of the people, not our masters. This is the people's
business.


--------25 of 27--------

[This shows that IRV is so good, 1) we need it right away, 2) we need to
get these facts and figures out, 3) the powers that be will be scared
bushless (huzzah!) - ed]

Date: Fri, 17 Feb 2006 16:16:37 -0800
From: Steven Hill <hill [at] newamerica.net>
Subject: Ranked choice voting in SF: $3 Million Saved, Turnout Nearly Tripled
From:  Steven Hill, New America Foundation

I thought you might be interested in this recent op-ed which gives the
results of several new studies of instant runoff voting (known as ranked
choice voting or RCV in San Francisco).  The details of the new study are
posted on the web site www.sfrcv.com. In a nutshell, as this op-ed says,
the study concludes that the shift from December runoffs to IRV resulted
in nearly a tripling in voter turnout all across the city in the 2005
election, with the largest increases occurring in the most minority
neighborhoods. In addition, San Francisco saved millions of taxpayer
dollars by not holding a second election, and candidates did not have to
raise money for a second election (which tends to exaggerate campaign
finance inequities).  Finally, the voters themselves, when polled,
overwhelmingly preferred IRV/RCV to the old December runoff system.

These studies are particularly instructive for those who have been
concerned that IRV and ranked ballots may be too "complicated" for
minority communities.  While I have always thought that opinion is rather
insulting to minority voters, this is just one example of the hard data
that is being collected to show what the real impacts are.  At this point
we have three exit polls from two different IRV elections in San
Francisco, plus two statistical analyses of precinct data.  And there's
absolutely no evidence to support the thesis that minorities are somehow
disadvantaged by RCV/IRV in San Francisco.  In fact, quite the opposite.

Here's the oped. Please forward this to your own email lists, and feel
free to republish this in your own newsletters and publications. Apologies
in advance if you receive this more than once.

Steven Hill

******

Ranked Choice Voting in SF: $3 Million Saved, Turnout Nearly Tripled
by Richard DeLeon, Chris Jerdonek and Steven Hill
February 6, 2006
San Francisco Examiner
http://sfexaminer.com/articles/2006/02/06/opinion/20060206_op03_view.txt
BeyondChron.com
Feb. 13, 2006
http://beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=2935#more

Recent studies of local election results in 2004 and 2005 (posted at
www.sfrcv.com) show that the introduction of ranked choice voting in San
Francisco is off to a good start. The shift from December runoffs to RCV
has saved millions of taxpayer dollars, and voter participation was much
higher and more inclusive than would be expected using the old runoff
system. The voters themselves, when polled, overwhelmingly preferred RCV
to the old December runoff system.

In RCV, voters rank up to three candidates. If no candidate wins a
majority of first rankings, the candidate with the fewest first rankings
is eliminated. Voters who ranked this candidate now have their vote
counted for their second choice, and all ballots are recounted in an
"instant runoff." If a candidate reaches a majority, she or he wins. If
not, the process repeats until a candidate wins a majority of votes. By
using RCV, we elect majority winners in a single election.

We can understand the impact of RCV by making a before-and-after
comparison of two recent elections:

In December 2001, San Francisco paid approximately $3 million to hold a
runoff election in which 70,000 voters, only 17 percent of those
registered, turned out to elect the city attorney. Turnout plunged all
over the city, especially in minority precincts.

In November 2005, approximately 200,000 registered voters turned out to
vote for city attorney, treasurer, assessor-recorder and various ballot
propositions. Thanks to RCV, there was no need to hold a December runoff
for assessor-recorder, the only race that did not produce a majority
winner in November.

Instead, the "instant runoff" system was activated, resulting in Phil Ting
being elected as the majority winner in a single election. Two hundred
thousand voters cast a first-choice ballot, and a full 190,000 of them [95
percent] saw their ballots count in the decisive instant runoff round.
That means 120,000 more voters decided the contest between Ting and
second-place candidate Gerardo Sandoval than likely would have turned out
in a December runoff. The reason is simple. Returning to vote in a second
election requires much more time and effort than voting once and ranking
your favorite candidates in a single RCV election. Using RCV resulted in
nearly a tripling in voter turnout in the decisive contest, and taxpayers
saved $3 million by not paying for a second election.

Let's look more closely at the assessor-recorder's race. Leading candidate
Ting won 47 percent of the first rankings, missing the required majority.
Without ranked choice voting, Ting and second-place finisher Gerardo
Sandoval would have faced off in a second, December runoff, costing
millions of dollars to pay for the second election even as voter turnout
plummeted.

Instead, with RCV last-place candidate Ron Chun was eliminated, and his
supporters had their ballots count towards their next ranking as their
runoff choice. Statistical analysis of anonymous records of voters'
rankings (available from the Department of Elections) show that over 70
percent of Chun's supporters ranked a second choice. Chun's supporters
preferred Ting over Sandoval by a 2-to-1 margin. Overall, Ting won 58
percent of the ballots in the final "instant runoff," giving him a solid
win (in fact, Ting won a 55% majority of all voters as indicated by the
first-round total).

A strong coalition of Asian voters clearly was decisive in electing the
winner. Even though major Asian organizations split on their endorsements
(Chun was backed by the Chinese American Democratic Club, Ting by the
Westside Chinese Democratic Club), the Asian vote did not split, thanks to
ranked choice voting. Asian voters used their ranked ballots to form their
own informal Asian voter coalition.

In addition, while all San Francisco neighborhoods benefited from this
boost in voter turnout, the six neighborhoods benefiting most had the
highest concentrations of racial minorities. In order, the top six
neighborhoods were Visitation Valley (307% increase, more than quadrupling
voter participation), Bayview/Hunter's Point, Mission, Ingleside,
Excelsior/Outer Mission, and Western Addition (210% increase). Together
these six neighborhoods alone had more than 35,000 additional voters
casting a vote in the decisive runoff round, showing how RCV can empower
minority voters and produce a more racially diverse electorate.

In addition, the Public Research Institute at San Francisco State
University conducted an exit poll survey of precinct and absentee voters
in the 2004 RCV elections. The results are encouraging. The vast majority
of voters -- 86 percent -- reported that they understood ranked choice
voting. Many more voters (46% vs. 3%) felt they were more likely to vote
sincerely (i.e. for their favorite candidate instead of the "lesser of two
evils") using RCV than the old December runoff system. And after using it,
61 percent said they prefer RCV to the former runoff system, with only 13
percent preferring the old runoff system.

Important differences were observed across racial groups. Asians, whites,
Chinese speakers, and English speakers all said they understood RCV and
preferred it to the old December runoff at the same high rates. Latinos,
blacks and Spanish-speakers were somewhat less enthusiastic but still
preferred RCV to the old December runoff.

What all these numbers reveal is that San Francisco has made the
transition to ranked choice voting with a remarkable degree of success.
Still, public education should continue, with a focus on those communities
who have adapted more slowly. With the City saving millions of dollars
each year by not holding a December election, it would be good public
policy to commit some of the savings to RCV education to ensure that all
communities are using RCV as effectively as possible.

Rich DeLeon is professor emeritus of political science at San Francisco
State University, Chris Jerdonek is a representative of FairVote in
California, and Steven Hill is director of New America Foundation's
political reform program. To view the studies cited in this article, visit
www.sfrcv.com


--------26 of 27---------

Cheney's Canned Kill, and Other Hunting Excesses of the Bush
Administration
By Wayne Pacelle

Vice President Dick Cheney went pheasant shooting in Pennsylvania in
December 2003, but unlike most of his fellow hunters across America, he
didn't have to spend hours or even days tramping the fields and hedgerows
in hopes of bagging a brace of birds for the dinner table.

Upon his arrival at the exclusive Rolling Rock Club in Ligonier Township,
gamekeepers released 500 pen-raised pheasants from nets for the benefit of
him and his party. In a blaze of gunfire, the group - which included
legendary Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach and U.S. Senator John
Cornyn (R-TX), along with major fundraisers for Republican candidates -
killed at least 417 of the birds. According to one gamekeeper who spoke to
the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Cheney was credited with shooting more than
70 of the pen-reared fowl.

After lunch, the group shot flocks of mallard ducks, also reared in pens
and shot like so many live skeet. There's been no report on the number of
mallards the hunting party killed, but it's likely that hundreds fell.

Rolling Rock is an exclusive private club for the wealthy with a
world-class golf course and a closed membership list. It is also a "canned
hunting" operation - a place where fee-paying hunters blast away at
released animals, whether birds or mammals, who often have no reasonable
chance to escape. Most are "no kill, no pay" operations where patrons only
shells out funds for the animals they kill.

Bird-shooting operations offer pheasants, quail, partridges, and mallard
ducks, often dizzying the birds and planting them in front of hunters or
tossing them from towers toward waiting shotguns. There are, perhaps, more
than 3,000 such operations in the United States, according to outdoor
writer Ted Williams.

For canned hunts involving mammals, hunters can shoot animals native to
given continents - everything from Addax to Zebra - within the confines of
a fenced area, assuring the animals have no opportunity to escape. Time
magazine estimates that 2,000 facilities offer native or exotic mammals
for shooting within fenced enclosures.

The HSUS worked hard to expose Cheney's shooting spree, and we were
fortunate in persuading The New York Times, The Washington Post, the
Dallas Morning News, and other media outlets to cover the events of that
day and our subsequent criticism.

Our criticism is simple to understand: Farm-raised pheasants are about as
wary as urban pigeons and shooting them is nothing more than live target
practice, especially when they are released from a hill in front of 10
gunners hidden below in blinds - as Cheney and his party were. Such
hunting makes a mockery of basic principles of fair play and humane
treatment, and the vice president should not associate himself with such
conduct.

The private excesses of Cheney are bad enough, and worthy of The HSUS's
rebuke. But it's the public policy excesses that are of even greater
concern to me. Cheney's hunting trip strikes me as emblematic of the Bush
Administration's callousness towards the earth's animals.

The administration's most outrageous proposal is its plan to allow trophy
hunters to shoot endangered species in other countries and import the
trophies and hides into the United States. The administration first
floated the proposal a few months ago, with formal proposals subsequently
published in the Federal Register, and President Bush is expected to make
a final decision soon on the plan, which originated with his U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service.

For 30 years, the Endangered Species Act has provided critical protections
for species near extinction in the United States. The act also protects
species in foreign nations, by barring pet traders, circuses, trophy
hunters, and others from importing live or dead endangered species. While
we can't prevent the shooting or capture of endangered species overseas,
we can prevent imports - thus eliminating the incentive for American
hunters and others to shoot or trap the animals in the first place.

But with this plan the administration is seeking to punch gaping holes in
the prohibitions, under the assumption that generating revenue through the
sale of hunting licenses will aid on-the-ground conservation in foreign
lands.

The plan is transparent on its face. It's not aimed to help species, but
to aid special interests who want to profit from the exploitation of
wildlife. No group is more centrally involved in this miserable plan than
Safari Club International, the world's leading trophy hunting organization
and an entity with close ties to the Bush Administration.

The 40,000 member organization of rich trophy collectors has doled out
close to $600,000 in campaign contributions among GOP candidates in the
past six years. President Bush appointed a former top lobbyist of the
Safari Club to be the deputy director of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife
Service - again, the very agency promoting the plan to allow the selling
off of endangered species to private interests.

The HSUS is not a pro-hunting organization. That said, we view certain
types of hunting as worse than others. It crosses any reasonable line to
support the shooting of some of the rarest and most endangered animals in
the world. And it is beyond the pale to advocate for or participate in the
shooting of animals in canned hunts - for birds or mammals.

President Bush met with leaders of 19 hunting organizations on December
12. While we expect him to endorse certain forms of hunting, he should in
no way countenance the shooting of endangered species or the hunting of
captive or pen-reared animals. If that's where these hunting groups want
to lead him, he needs to resist their entreaties. He needs to stand up to
these special interest groups and draw a bright line between certain types
of hunting conduct.

Americans don't support this nonsense, and the president shouldn't either.


---------27 of 27--------

 kill kill kill kill kill
 kill kill kill kill kill kill kill
 kill kill kill kill kill


          --ruling class haiku daily pledge

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