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Welcome to the April 5, 2011 edition of the Progressive Post. While we hope you find this information useful, you can unsubscribe at any time by replying to this email with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject line.

The California GOP's Assault on Democracy Many states are experiencing a tsunami of GOP extremism. Newly elected GOP administrations in Wisconsin and Ohio are doing everything they can do destroy public employee unions and cut basic social programs. In California, however, the situation is somewhat different. In the last election California experienced a blue riptide. But damn it! The dying GOP minority in CA has a stranglehold on our budget. What is Jerry Brown to do? Read More

Event Reminders: Dynamic speaker against San Onofre nuclear plant Thursday, 04/07/2011 Rochelle Becker, the head of the Alliance for Nuclear Responsibility, will speak on the inherent dangers of nuclear power plants, and of San Onofre especially. All of North County cities are with 25 miles of this power plant. Oceanside Public Library downtown on Thurs. April 7. Ray McGovern coming to SD on April 14 Thursday, 04/14/2011 A major program on the effects of torture, Wikileaks, & Bradley Manning will be presented by Ray McGovern at San Diego City College on Thursday, April 14. The program will address the effect of torture and why the American government has targeted WikiLeaks, Julian Assange and Bradley Manning. Vets for Peace & Friends - Meeting Tuesday, 04/05/2011 The next monthly meeting of the San Diego Veterans for peace will be Tuesday, April 5 at 7:00PM. Ann Wright comes to San Diego Thursday, 04/07/2011 April 7 at 7:00PM. Church of the Brethren. Ann Wright is an American peace activist who spent thirteen years in the U.S. Army and sixteen additional years in the Army Reserves, retiring as a Colonel. On March 19, 2003, the eve of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, Ann Wright cabled a letter of resignation to Secretary of State Colin Powell, stating that without the authorization of the UN Security Council, the invasion and occupation of a Muslim, Arab, oil-rich country would be a violation of international law. List of Democratic events in San Diego County Friday, 04/08/2011 This is a list of Democratic and progressive events in San Diego County: CLICK HERE To read the best progressive newsletter west of the Mississippi, click on Jellison's EZINE here Tanya Winter's 'Farewell Picnic' Sunday, 04/10/2011 Our dear long time friend and valiant warrior for Peace, Justice, Equality and simple sanity, Tanya Winter is departing San Diego. There will be a potluck farewell picnic at her home in La Jolla on Sunday, April 10. NC Film Club Screens Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky Sunday, 04/10/2011 The Winter-Spring Season 2011 continues with Coco Chanel & Igor Stravinsky, presented in French, Russian and English. Seven years after she was inspired by the bold debut of Igor Stravinsky's "The Rite of Spring," famed fashion designer Coco Chanel (Anna Mouglalis) -- reeling from the death of her beau, Boy Capel (Anatole Taubmann) -- meets and falls for the Russian composer (Mads Mikkelsen) in 1920s Paris. A forbidden romance ensues in Jan Kounen's sumptuous period drama, the closing film of the 2009 Cannes Film Festival. Exceptional Poetry Read in Fallbrook Wednesday, 04/13/2011 April is National Poetry Month, and Fallbrook’s Writers Read celebrate with an exceptional Poetry Romp At the Café des Artistes in Fallbrook on April 13. Brandon Cesmat, a writing and film studies professor at Cal State San Marcos and an award-winning poet and fiction author, has organized the Poetry Stomp. Three courageous activists to speak in San Diego Thursday, 04/14/2011 Three bold leaders for justice and peace will give a bold message in San Diego on April 14: RAY McGOVERN -- SUSAN ROSENBERG -- MICHAEL NEEDHAM. McGovern was brutally assaulted and arrested just 15 yard in front of Hillary Clinton in February, because he stood silently with his back turned on her. Astonishing story from Susan Rosenberg. Star Dem. Gov of Colorado to be featured speaker Saturday, 04/16/2011 Democratic Gov. John Hickenlooper will deliver the keynote address at the 31st Annual Roosevelt Dinner on Saturday, April 16. A geologist-turned-businessman who had never sought political office before running for Mayor of Denver in 2003, Hickenlooper won early acclaim and in 2005 was named one of the country's top five "big city" mayors by TIME Magazine. He and Gov. Jerry Brown are two of the leading Democratic state leaders in the entire nation. Calavera Wildflower hike Saturday, 04/16/2011 Calavera Wildflower hike with James Dillane. More details, time and location will be provided as they become available. Art, Wine & Wildlife Event Saturday, 04/16/2011 Art, Wine and Wildlife (golden eagles) will all be at the Second Annual Wildlife Research Institute Fund Raiser at Highland Valley Studios. The event will include art exhibits, wine tasting, beer, live music, wonderful food (last year they served fantastic paella and Julian apple pie) and a huge silent auction. Dems SD Roosevelt Dinner awards announced Saturday, 04/16/2011 Some of San Diego's most dynamic Democratic volunteers and community leaders will be honored on Saturday, April 16, at the 31st Annual Eleanor and Franklin D. Roosevelt Dinner. The Democratic Club of Carlsbad-Oceanside, has been named Club of the Year. List of Democratic events in San Diego County Monday, 04/18/2011 This is a list of Democratic and progressive events in San Diego County: CLICK HERE To read the best progressive newsletter west of the Mississippi, click on Jellison's EZINE here Free Monthly E-Waste Collection in Encinitas Saturday, 04/23/2011 Make room for your new electronic gadgets and toys! Bring your discards to The Solana Center for Environmental Innovation. The Solana Center is holding monthly electronic waste drop offs at their site at 137 N. El Camino Real. These events are co-sponsored by the city of Encinitas and Recycle San Diego. NC Film Club Presents Whatever Works Sunday, 05/01/2011 The Winter-Spring Season 2011 continues with Whatever Works, an indie romantic comedy. While falling for a young Southern belle (Evan Rachel Wood), an aging New York City eccentric (Larry David) finds himself caught in a series of bizarre situations involving the girl's parents and his own Greenwich Village group of pals. Written and directed by legendary filmmaker Woody Allen, this romantic comedy also stars Patricia Clarkson, Ed Begley Jr. Michael McKean and Henry Cavill. 10th Anniv celebration Gay Veterans' Memorial Thursday, 05/12/2011 A day of events on May 7, 2011 will celebrate the 10th Anniversary of the only Gay Veterans Memorial in the United States. Memorial service at the cemetery in Cathedral City, and a luncheon afterwards in Palm Springs. NC Film Club Shows Winter's Bone Sunday, 05/15/2011 The Winter-Spring Season 2011 rolls on with Winter's Bone. In this noir drama set deep in Ozark territory, resilient teenager Ree Dolly (Jennifer Lawrence) goes on the trail of her missing drug-dealing father when his absence jeopardizes the safety of their family. The deadbeat dad has a critical court date pending, and Ree is determined that he make it -- despite the objections of the insular Dolly clan. Director Debra Granik's unflinching drama won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance. This 'N That If you are neutral in situations of injustice, you have chosen the side of the oppressor. If an elephant has its foot on the tail of a mouse and you say that you are neutral, the mouse will not appreciate your neutrality. - Bishop Desmond Tutu Violence just hurts those who are already hurt...Instead of exposing the brutality of the oppressor, it justifies it. - Cesar Chavez But the wisdom from above is pure, first of all; it is also peaceful, gentle and friendly; it is full of compassion and produces a harvest of good deals,; it is free from prejudice and hypocrisy. - James 3:17 Peace we want because there is another war to fight against poverty, disease and ignorance. - Indira Gandhi, 1966 People who are willing to give up freedom for the sake of short term security, deserve neither freedom nor security. - Benjamin Franklin In order to find the edge, you must risk going over the edge. - Dennis Dugan I expect to pass through this world but once, therefore any good that I can do, or any kindness that I can show to any fellow creature, let me do it now; let me not defer it or neglect it, for I shall not come this way again. - Stephen Grellett 1773-1855 Hitler and Mussolini were only the primary spokesmen for the attitude of domination and craving for power that are in the heart of almost everyone. Until the source is cleared, there will always be confusion and hate, wars and class antagonisms. - J. Krishnamurti People have power when other people think they have power. - Wyche Fowler I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word in reality. That is why right, temporarily defeated, is stronger than evil triumphant. - Martin Luther King, Jr. Peace is not the product of a victory or a command. It has no finishing line, no final deadline, no fixed definition of achievement. Peace is a never-ending process, the work of many decisions. - Oscar Arias While you are proclaiming peace with your lips, be careful to have it even more fully in your heart. - St. Francis of Assisi America will never be destroyed from the outside. If we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves. - Abraham Lincoln The law of violence is not a law, but a simple fact which can only be a law when it does not meet with protest and opposition. It is like the cold, darkness and weight, which people had to put up with until recently when warmth, illumination and leverage were discovered.... - Leo Tolstoy Immorality: the morality of those who are having a better time. - H.L. Mencken If I can't dance I don't want to be part of your revolution. - Emma Goldman We cannot change the past, but we can change our attitude toward it. Uproot guilt and plant forgiveness. Tear out arrogance and seed humility. Exchange love for hate --- thereby, making the present comfortable and the future promising. - Maya Angelou No one is so foolish as to prefer to peace, war, in which, instead of sons burying their fathers, fathers bury their sons. - Croesus, King of Lydia, in Herodotus' The Persian Wars What good is it to me that Mary gave birth to the son of God fourteen hundred years ago, and I do not also give birth to the Son of God in my time and in my culture? We are all meant to be mothers of God. God is always needing to be born. - Meister Eckhart The only thing that's been a worse flop than the organization of nonviolence has been the organization of violence. - Joan Baez The point of nonviolence is to build a floor, a strong new floor, beneath which we can no longer sink. A platform which stands a few feet above napalm, torture, exploitation, poison gas, A and H bombs, the works. Give man a decent place to stand. - Joan Baez Peace is the work of justice indirectly, in so far as justice removes the obstacles to peace; but it is the work of charity (love) directly, since charity, according to its very notion, causes peace. - Thomas Aquinas The good life is one inspired by love and guided by knowledge. - Bertrand Russell Until lions have their historians, tales of the hunt shall always glorify the hunters. - African Proverb If you want to make peace with your enemy, you have to work with your enemy. Then he becomes your partner. - Nelson Mandela Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. - Matthew 5:3 By doing service, heart and mind are purified -- be convinced of this! To engage in service is a very powerful sadhana (spiritual discipline); do not become impatient. Rather serve your people with the utmost calm and have a kind word for everyone. - Sri Anandamayee Ma If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich. - John F. Kennedy When you're finally up on the moon, looking back at the earth, all these differences and nationalistic traits are pretty well going to blend and you're going to get a concept that maybe this is really one world and why the hell can't we learn to live together like decent people? - Frank Borman Everyone takes the limits of his own vision for the limits of the world. - Arthur Schopenhauer I plan to stand by nonviolence, because I have found it to be a philosophy of life that regulates not only my dealings in the struggle for racial justice, but also my dealings with people, and with my own self. - Martin Luther King Jr. To resort to power one need not be violent, and to speak to conscience one need not be meek. The most effective action both resorts to power and engages conscience. Nonviolent actions does not have to get others to be nice. It can in effect force them to consult their consciences. Nor does it have to petition those in power to do something about a situation. It can face the authorities with a new fact and say: Accept this new situation which we have created. - Barbara Deming Men are so accustomed to maintaining external order by violence that they cannot conceive of life being possible without violence. - Leo Tolstoy When we yield to discouragement it is usually because we give too much thought to the past and to the future. - St. Therese of Lisieux I stand at the altar of murdered men, and, while I live, I fight their cause. - Florence Nightingale, 1856 That's all nonviolence is - organized love. - Joan Baez If you want to make peace, you don't talk to your friends. You talk to your enemies. - Moshe Dayan Nonviolence doesn't always work -- but violence never does. - Madge Michaels-Cyrus It is reasonable that every one who asks justice should do justice. - Thomas Jefferson Very few people chose war. They chose selfishness and the result was war. Each of us, individually and nationally, must choose: total love or total war. - Dave Dellinger The non-violent technique does not depend for its success on the goodwill of the oppressor, but rather on the unfailing assistance of God. - Cesar Chavez If it's natural to kill, how come men have to go into training to learn how? - Joan Baez Five enemies of peace inhabit with us--avarice, ambition, envy, anger, and pride; if these were to be banished, we should infallibly enjoy perpetual peace. - Petrarch There never was a war that was not inward; I must fight till I have conquered in myself what causes war. - Marianne Moore

Articles & News: Manning subjected to extreme maltreatment Article Army Pfc. Bradley Manning, who is facing court-martial for leaking military reports and diplomatic cables to WikiLeaks, is being held in solitary confinement in Quantico brig in Virginia. Each night, he is forced to strip naked and sleep in a gown made of coarse material. He has been made to stand naked in the morning as other inmates walked by and looked. As journalist Lance Tapley documents in his book, The United States and Torture, solitary confinement can lead to hallucinations and suicide; it is considered to be torture. By Marjorie Cohn The Bomb in Our Backyard Article Now more than ever, I am anxiously aware of the nuclear bomb in my backyard. Its name is San Onofre Nuclear Power Plant. I am beyond livid that Obama is not backing down on his nuclear stance, so I wrote him this letter as part of an anti-nuclear petition drive. -An Editorial. The Collapse of Globalization Article "The last people who should be in charge of our food supply or our social and political life, not to mention the welfare of sick children, are corporate capitalists and Wall Street speculators. But none of this is going to change until we turn our backs on the Democratic Party, denounce the orthodoxies peddled in our universities and in the press by corporate apologists and construct our opposition to the corporate state from the ground up." By Chris Hedges Jail for peaceful protesters in San Diego?? News Nine residents of San Diego are facing charges including up to 90 days of jail time if convicted, simply for sitting in at the County Clerk's Office on August 19, 2010, to demand marriage licenses for themselves and their friends as same-gender couples. Those nine people need you to sign this letter to the City Attorney asking him NOT to file charges against the Equality 9. We expect this in Syria or Libya -- but San Diego? Celebrating Harvey Milk Day in North County News Harvey Milk Day celebration on May 20 begins with a gala event at the Oceanside Museum of Art to raise funds for a North County LGBT Community Center. Food, entertainment, silent auction. Lots of fun people. ISSA EXPOSED - Info websites on Darrell Issa News These websites shines light and puts the heat on Darrell Issa, the Grand-Inquisitor congressman from the CA 49th District. It posts the history, corruption, hypocrisy and bad politics of Issa, and gives a wealth of material for writing letters to the editor. Stakes for workers very high in Michigan Article They are just as high as in Wisconsin. The new Michigan Republican governor's savage assault on working people--and the state of the struggle to stop him. Gov. Rick Snyder proposed and rammed through a policy so un-democratic that it puts Walker's attacks on collective bargaining rights to shame. A New Pledge of Allegiance - with real meaning Article Often people speak the Pledge of Allegiance without deep thought. Here are two new pledges, one with total dedication to PEACE, and another with he cadence of the official pledge, but with higher dedication. Toxic TEA being sold in California Article Congress is debating a budget plan that would be devastating to California. This is the toxic TEA which the Republican TEA party is peddling. Issa benefitted from earmarks he secured News Rep. Darrell Issa (R-CA) has a history of blending his personal business interests with his work as a member of Congress. One of Issa’s most valuable properties, a medical office building at 2067 West Vista Way in Vista, California, is called the Vista Medical Center adjacent to Tri-City Hospital. Issa's earmarks paid for road development adjacent to his property, enlarging the value of his real estate development. Quarry a bad deal for both sides of county line News Granite Construction is driving hard to blast a rock mountain top quarry on the SD-Riverside County line next to I-15 Fwy. Effects: quarry blasting; carcinogens from the aggregate-crushing, asphalt, concrete batch and recycle plants; and double-bottom aggregate trucks making 800 trips up and down the mountain 20 hours a day, six days a week. Riverside already has more quarries than any other county in California. By Laurenn Barker of Fallbrook. Report your school if it blocks good Gay web sites News ACLU: Students, Check Your School's Web Filter! Did you know that it's illegal for public schools to use their web filtering software to deny students access to positive, affirming information about lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender issues while allowing access to anti-gay websites? Some school administrations block these, but enable anti-gay websites. REPORT THEM to the ACLU. Anti-war, Free Bradley Manning protest in SD A very short video showing the anti-war protest in San Diego's Balboa Park on the 8th anniversary of the Bush "Shock-and-awe" attack on Iraq on March 19, 2003. Protests were held across the nation to remind America of the terrible and unpredictable consequences of war. There were many protesters demanding the end of the cruel imprisonment of Bradley Manning. Justice Dept seeks jail time for LGBT protesters The Obama Justice Department wants to send 13 LGBT demonstrators to jail for demonstrating peacefully in front of the White House on Nov. 15, 2010. Among the 13 is Evelyn Thomas, veteran, of Oceanside, CA. READ STORY HERE. Scott Walker fires atty defending Gay Union Law Article Republican Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker has fired the attorney defending the state's law that recognizes gay and lesbian unions with domestic partnerships, the Capital Times reported. He feels the law supports marriage equality (??) Minister tells why he stopped condemning gays Article I preached against homosexuality, but I was wrong. As a Presbyterian minister, I believed it was a sin. Then I met people who really understood the stakes: Gay men. By Rev. Murray Richmond More than 6,500 dolphins may have died this year Article Gulf of Mexico - more than 6,500 dolphins may have died, and, according to the report, for some species of mammals, the rate is 250 times higher. The dolphin communities that have made their homes in the Gulf's bays, sounds, and estuaries are small and semi-isolated, and the death of even a few babies can have outsized effects on the group. Foreign alien spouses of gays get reprieve News An announcement from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that the agency will allow Americans with spouses from abroad to apply for green cards while courts weigh constitutional challenges to the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA). "USCIS has issued guidance to the field," agency spokesman Christopher Bentley said, "asking that related cases be held in abeyance while awaiting final guidance related to distinct legal issues." GOP Gov. of Maine seeks to erase labor history News Maine Governor Paul LePage has ordered state workers to remove from the state labor department a 36-foot mural depicting the state's labor history. Among other things the mural illustrates the 1937 shoe mill strike in Auburn and Lewiston. It also features the iconic "Rosie the Riveter," who in real life worked at the Bath Iron Works. One panel shows my predecessor at the U.S. Department of Labor, Frances Perkins, who was buried in Newcastle, Maine. WHY? He says it is business bashing. 113 peace protesters arrested outside White House Daniel Ellsberg, who helped put an end to the Vietnam war by releasing the Pentagon Papers, speaks at the White House in Washington DC on March 19th, 2011 at a protest to support Bradley Manning. Robt Reich: A double-dip recession coming Article "Why aren't Americans being told the truth about the economy? We're heading in the direction of a double dip -- but you'd never know it if you listened to the upbeat messages coming out of Wall Street and Washington. Consumers are 70 percent of the American economy, and consumer confidence is plummeting. It's weaker today on average than at the lowest point of the Great Recession. Recall petitions filed against 2 GOP Wisc Senators News The first Wisconsin recall petition has been filed against GOP State Sen. Dan Kapanake, and a 2nd against state Senator Randy Hopper has enough signatures for filing. Both GOP senators poll negatively in the recall. If four GOP senators are recalled, progressives can take control of the state senate. Wisconsin Union Law Could Be on Hold for Months News Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's contentious union-rights law will likely be on hold for two more months under a timeline spelled out by a Dane County Circuit Court Judge on Friday—unless the state Supreme Court intervenes. Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne has alleged that when Republican legislators passed the bill on March 9 they broke the state's public meetings laws. Mr. Walker signed it into law two days later. Young Marine needs caretaker for his dogs News Young Pendleton Marine needs someone to care for his two dogs for a short period of time, until he can procure off-base living quarters. (Message from Evelyn Thomas, his former teacher in Oceanside.) Rachel Maddow about to outdraw Glenn Beck News Glenn Beck's star has been fading for most of the last year. He has lost about half of his television audience. Rachel Maddow is now on the cusp of outdrawing Beck. Cartoons of the Week News Tax Avoidance Form for IRS Tsunami drowned out by petty policicians Taxpayer bailout of nuclear industry Gaddafi and Collective Bargaining A bin full of stinkers Shutting down the government Donald Trump needs birth certificate Gov. Walker wants the whole cow! Japan aftershocks dramatically rattle USA Who will be he GOP candidate? Unions & the Middle Class Obama plays poker with GOP Nate Phelps says his father Fred is a 'sociopath' Article Nate Phelps, the son of Rev. Fred Phelps who helms the anti-gay Westboro Baptist Church, has called his father a "sociopath." According to St. Louis-based gay weekly The Vital Voice, Nate spoke to a 500-person crowd on Thursday at Clayton High School. "I think that he fits that based on his inability to empathize with others, his calculated cruelty, and by laughing at the harm he causes. I've seen that growing up with him." Hillary doesn't even blink at abuse of protester Watch as Army and CIA veteran Ray McGovern is hauled out and bloodied by unidentified security during Hillary Clinton speech, merely because he stood silently, and turned his back to her. He was wearing his Veteran for Peace T-shirt. Ironically Hillary was speaking about how great freedom is for other countries. Very short clip. Many viewer COMMENTS HERE Is the heterosexual lifestyle uhealthy or immoral? "The Gay Moralist" Dr. John Corvino destroys almost every anti-Gay argument in under 8 Minutes, by taking back the language in a humorous way. Dr. Corvino, the self proclaimed "gay moralist" lectures at various venues and Universities across the country presenting his lecture "Is Homosexuality Immoral?" Corvino creates an effective argument. The Most Powerful Speech You Will Want To Hear Timeless and Classic speech spoken just before the holocaust. A new holocaust always awaits the present generation. We must live by each others happiness, not by each others misery. Manning Video:American troops slaughter civilians Army intel analyst Bradley Manning faces decades in prison for allegedly leaking this video of a U.S. helicopter attack killing 11 civilians and wounding two children in Baghdad, Iraq. The Army covered up the evidence and declared the war crime "justified". Now they say that exposing the massacre is criminal. INFO CLICK HERE: Late-breaking news: This just in ... News News that did not make our deadline: Ted Olson Interview With Fox News Chris Wallace Wallace, insinuating that Gay Marriage is judicial activism, asks where is it in the Constitution that permits gay mariage. "Where is the right to interracial marriage in the Constitution" asked Ted Olsen of Wallace. Brilliant arguments by Olson. When Wallace insists the voters have the right to outlaw gay marriage, Olson asks if it would be constitutional for the voters to force blacks to drink at separate water fountains. Arlington West - Memorial to our dead soldiers Memorial Day, May 30. View this short film. Remember our dead from the two present wars. Please honor the living vets. Invite one out to dinner. At least thank one for their service. May there be no more wars.

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