Secret Wiretapping—Wow—what hubris! Our President has convinced himself not that he is above the law, but rather that he is the law. He feels that checks and balances may have been fine before 9/11, but are now archaic. We have learned of the US condoning and conducting torture, establishing secret prisons overseas, transferring prisoners to countries which specialize in torture. How is this possible? By the President considering himself to be our benevolent dictator!
Please contact your senators and congresspersons, and write to your newspapers. Demand that this President be subject to the same checks and balances as every US President since George Washington. Demand that US citizens receive the same due process that Bush claims our soldiers are fighting for in Iraq.
*** PLEASE DO THIS NOW! ***
Supreme Court –We have known clearly that Supreme Court nominations are extremely important. In addition to critical issues such as the constitutional support for reproductive freedom, the proper balance of corporations’ power (labor laws, environmental laws, anti-discrimination statutes, …), states’ rights (the right of Florida to miscount votes resulting in the installation of George W Bush as the current President), and several other top issues, we now see clearly that the US requires that Supreme Court justice nominees demand that the three branches of federal government are fully able to balance each other. Let us urge our Senators to add this to the list of questions for Samuel Alito. Also, let your Senator know that you expect (demand) their participation in a filibuster should it be necessary to block the nomination of a justice that will turn the clock back fifty years on citizen’s rights.
Almost There—In two weeks, 2006 will begin, and with it many important elections. Democracy is not a spectator sport. It requires your time, talents, and treasure. There are wonderful candidates, and rotten ones. Find out which is which, and help the good ones spread their word, and win in November. This email/blog will strive to keep you informed as to opportunities to help with progressives, and most often Democrats, in 2006.
Progressive Democrats of Delaware—Go to www.progressivedemsdel.org for more information on this group that is dedicated to helping progressive candidates advance within the Delaware Democratic Party. One such potential candidate is Dennis Spivak, who is contemplating a run for Republican Mike Castle’s Congressional seat.
Framing—I continue to monitor Jeff Feldman’s site www.frameshopisopen.com . I typically post under PaulB. The articles continue to be quite interesting, and Jeff has been adding more content lately.
Citizen Training—My church, the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Newark (UUFN), is hosting a monthly ‘citizen training’, at which we will jointly explore how to better learn about current events, and how to share our views with the media, and with elected and appointed officials. We are planning a Meet Your Representatives forum on Wednesday night 1/11/2006 from 7-9pm with representatives of state government (senators, representatives, and state-wide elected officials). We’ll let you know when the full slate is set. We are also exploring a bill in Dover on ‘open air redistricting’.
Progressive Line—Ernie Lehman maintains a great clearinghouse of local progressive news. Go to www.theprogressiveline.com for more information.
AfterShock Movie—There is a free screening of documentary AfterShock which covers the protests that accompanied Bush’s second inauguration earlier this year. It will likely be held at the Newark Unitarian church (www.uufn.org) on (SuperBowl) Sunday 2/5/2006 at noon. Go to http://www.aftershockthemovie.com/ for more information.
Stem Cell Research—Delaware Senate Bill 80 bans human cloning but promotes the ethical research that utilizes human embryonic stem cells. This type of bill has been defeated in the past in Delaware due to extensive lobbying by representatives of the Catholic Church. The only way to get this bill turned into law is to contact your representatives and newspapers by the January 12th hearing date. Let me know if you would like to testify before the Delaware Senate on the 12th. It won’t take much effort to be heard on this topic, and your voice can truly tip the balance!
Blog—All of my postings are at http://paulprogressive.blogspot.com/. I will get this posted sometime this week.
Paul Baumbach
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