The Paul Wellstone Way

My friend and blogging buddy, Chris Borland, and I have been exchanging e-mails about how to successfully convey the liberal message to the public.

Again and again, I share my experience of going to Camp Wellstone (link to my June 6th, 2007 post). Chris, I, and others don’t have to reinvent the liberal message wheel. It’s already available, thanks to Wellstone Action!.

Wellstone Action! was started by the David and Mark Wellstone, shortly after the tragic death in 2002 of their parents, Paul and Sheila Wellstone, and their sister, Marcia.

Recently I’ve been seeing references to Paul Wellstone’s message, including in Ralph Nader’s "Meet the Press" interview last Sunday and Washington Post columnist E.J. Dionne’s February 22nd op-ed, "A Page from Paul Wellstone," which opens with, “If you want to talk about candidates borrowing from each other, consider how much Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama are taking on loan from the late Sen. Paul Wellstone, the affable populist killed in a plane crash shortly before the 2002 election.”

If you’re willing to take six minutes to self-administer a dose of hope, watch this video:

If you want to know more about all this exciting stuff, check out Wellstone Action! The Executive Director is Jeff Blodgett, who was Wellstone’s campaign manager from 1989 to 2002. His recent article, "Populism, Organization and Conviction: How Paul Wellstone Won Elections" is well worth reading. Then wander on over to the Advisory Committee. You’ll be amazed at who’s on this committee. The Organizing Corner offers tools and resources for building a volunteer infrastructure based on the radical notion that, as Paul Wellstone said, "people get organized because they, too, have a vision."

I also highly recommend reading Paul Wellstone’s The Conscience of a Liberal - Reclaiming the Compassionate Agenda (2001). The first chapter, “This Time, Vote for What You Believe In,” is timely.

(the bus Paul Wellstone used in his campaigns: Wikimedia.org)

The Democratic Activist Takes Over

I’m out of steam. I hope you’ll go to my friend Chris Borland’s blog, The Democratic Activist and check "This could be it ! Conyers can be moved...."

Impeachment isn’t really off the table if we citizens stand up and demand it. Chris gives us some background and easy directions on how to take action.

If you still aren’t convinced that impeachment is imperative, I urge you to read Scott Horton’s February 3rd post, "The Case for Impeachment."

(banner: True American Patriots)

My fax to Senator Feinstein urging her to change her mind about the FISA bill

It’s now or never, folks. Below is my letter that I just faxed to Sen. Feinstein: 202.228.3954 and 415.393.0710. Go to The Democratic Activist for great suggestions on what you can do.


Gail Jonas
State Bar #74601
P.O. Box 973
Healdsburg, CA 95448
(707) 433-6845
fax: (707) 433-8314
e-mail: Gail@GailJonas.com
http://www.gailjonas.com/

By fax only

To: Senator Dianne Feinstein

Re: Extending the Protect America Act

Dear Senator Feinstein:

I realize that you have been adamant that the Protect America Act needs to be extended.

I have before me your letter dated December 14, 2007, in which you justified your support of the nomination of Judge Mukasey to lead the Department of Justice. Yet Attorney General Mukasey will not say that waterboarding, long recognized as torture, is torture.

I assume you are now concerned about having the top law enforcement official who is not willing to take a position on an issue as crucial as whether or not this country condones torture.

Before you vote to extend the Protect America Act, I urge to consider the irreparable harm you could do to our democracy if this act passes. A video, “Trust Us,” is circulating widely. In it, your colleague, Senator Russ Feingold, clearly lays out the risks of trusting the government regarding our private communications.

I have faith that most of our elected officials are open to new information. I hope you are one of those in whom I can have faith.

Respectfully,

Gail Jonas

Action Alert: The Senate switchboard need to be swamped with calls from constituents who oppose warrantless eavesdropping and telecom immunity

It appears that the Senate will vote this Monday, February 4th, on extending the "Protect America Act," which will give the government carte blanche to listen to our phone calls and read our e-mails. The bill will also grant the telecoms immunity from prosecution for illegally turning our records over to the Bush Administration.

Any immunity offered to telecoms is binding, whether or not the “Protect America Act” is ever revoked by a future Congress and president.

What you can do: Go to The Democratic Activist.

1. Watch Senator Russ Feingold’s 30 minute video clip, “Trust Us.”

2. Follow the simple instructions on how to contact your senators.

3. Send the link to The Democratic Activist to at least 10 friends.

(photo: Banderas News)

Senator Russ Feingold on warrantless wiretapping

The Protect America Act, which would give the telecoms immunity for illegally providing our private communications to the government and would allow continued warrantless wiretapping, will be voted by the Senate sometime within the next fifteen days. The House has voted to extend the vote for 15 days, and it appears that the Senate and Bush are in agreement with the extension.

Please watch this 30 second video clip:

If you found Feingold's comments as compelling as I did, go to The Democratic Activist to learn what you can do to stop the surveillance of our phone calls and e-mails without a warrant.

Tomorrow is the big day - telecom amnesty and warrantless eavesdropping will be voted on by the Senate

The Senate is voting tomorrow on the controversial Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA). On January 26th, Glenn Greenwald, who blogs for Salon.com, posted about the upcoming vote, "More disruptions to the Cheney/Rockefeller plan" (an ad will pop up, wait a few seconds, then go the link at the right top of the ad, “Enter Salon.” to read Greenwald’s post).

Today I worked with my friend, Chris Borland, who blogs at The Democratic Activist, to alert citizens to tell their senators to vote NO to telecom amnesty and warrantless eavesdropping.

Chris I are also concerned about Net Neutrality, so Chris’s action alert also includes how to take action to protect our access to the Net.

I included the following information in my e-mail:

1. Tell the Senate: NO IMMUNITY for Bush and His Telecom Buddies

2. Net Neutrality Ninjas Needed NOW!

I believe that our ability to communicate with one another via the Internet (e-mails, blogs, alerts from organizations like Democrats.com will be severely compromised if:

1. Congress gives the telecom giants immunity for illegally providing our private communications to the Bush Administration (how free will we feel to take positions in opposition to what your government is doing?); and

2. The Internet becomes privatized, with those who can pay given preferential treatment over those of us who have limited incomes and rely on a free Internet. Citizens’ interests will be sacrificed to corporate interests, which already control the mainstream media.

As you know, I count on the Net to be involved in election integrity, impeachment, saving state parks, you name it. I feel so strongly about being able to continue doing this that I’m asking for your help.

Please go to Tell the Senate: NO IMMUNITY for Bush and His Telecom Buddies and Net Neutrality Ninjas Needed NOW!, get up to speed on what’s going on, and take action now. The Senate is voting on telecom immunity this Monday, the 26th. The deadline to file comments with the FCC regarding Net Neutrality is February 13th.

(Cartoon: Scranton Times)

Today's must read: Juan Cole on 935 false statements that led a nation to war

Please take time to read "935 False Statements that Led a Nation to War," posted this morning by Juan Cole at his blog, Informed Comment.

Then ask yourself why Congress and even the public don’t think lies that take this nation to war are impeachable offenses. If you do, go to The Democratic Activist and scroll halfway down the page to the action items.

So far, according to AlterNet, we're one step closer to impeaching Cheney because nine out of 23 Democratic members of the House Judiciary Committee favor starting impeachment hearings against Vice President Dick Cheney.

That doesn’t feel close enough to me.

Wexler addresses the House: What you can do to support impeaching Cheney

Last night I watched Representative Robert Wexler (19th Dist., Florida) address the House about his efforts to get the House Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on impeaching Vice President Cheney. It was a great speech (5 minutes) available here.

Today Wexler is presenting the petition signed by 189,000 people to the House Judiciary Committee along with a letter to Rep. John Conyers. Wexler is gathering colleagues’ signatures on this letter urging Conyers to begin investigating what Wexler described in his speech as Cheney’s “incredible abuse of power.”

Last night, Wexler said that all together, there are over one million signatures on various petitions asking the House Judiciary Committee to hold hearings on H.Res. 799, the impeach Cheney resolution submitted by Rep. Dennis Kucinich.

It’s not too late to contact Congress. In fact, it won’t be too late tomorrow, the next day, or next week. Go to Chris Borland’s post. Scroll down to “Here's what you can do, specifically, to join the effort” and “Other ideas.”

(photo of Rep. Wexler: Wikimedia)

Election Watch 2008 Update

Yesterday I posted links to the three sources I plan to rely on to stay informed about the 2008 election.

Here are three more:

1. Congressional Quarterly Politics. This is a comprehensive site which includes an interactive election map that allows the viewer to check congressional districts as well as the larger races. It also has a “balance of power scorecard” for each race.

2. Yahoo! News Election 08 Political Dashboard, recommended by my blogging buddy, Chris Borland, who posts at The Democratic Activist. The interactive map takes the viewer to each state’s presidential primary, polling results for the presidential candidates, and voter breakdown by party.

3. Project Vote Smart, recommended by an old friend, “Weedburner,” who blogs at Weed Garden. The PVS site invites the reader to browse through more than who’s running and projections of who is likely to win. The Voter’s Self-Defense System project caught my attention. Check it out.

I’ll continue to check sources of election information and post about them. My goal is to spend a limited amount of time finding out what is going on and a lot of active time as the 2008 election approaches. Also, I haven’t yet given up on impeaching Cheney, who is increasingly vulnerable. See Washington Post blogger Dan Froomkin’s Will Justice Go After Cheney?

(visual: WordPress.com)

A break from blogging - recommended reading

I suspect I’m going to miss posting every day until after the holidays. My law and mediation practice is keeping me busier than usual, I’m spending 2+ days a week with my youngest grandchildren, and I like to remember my family and friends during the holidays with cards, gifts, and homemade pumpkin bread. I’m wondering if I can make time to help two of my grandchildren make a gingerbread house again this year. If you have a "blog quota" you like to fill, I recommend the following:

1. The Democratic Activist: Chris Borland is doing a wonderful job keeping people informed and inspired regarding impeachment. Go there if you are committed to supporting House Resolution 799, the impeach Cheney resolution, currently before the House Judiciary Committee.

2. Scott Horton’s No Comment. Horton is the most prolific blogger I’ve come across, and he’s amazingly eclectic. For instance, today he posted Rumi's 'The Snake-Catcher's Tale' and about the scapegoating going on in the CIA tape destruction debacle on December 8th.

3. If you, like I, need someone who blogs every single day on important issues, go to Juan Cole's Informed Comment. I describe Juan as "my Middle Eastern expert," but I'm happy to share him.

If you only have time for an article or two a week, I recommend signing up for e-mail alerts at TomDispatch.com. If I had to give up all but once source of commentary on the news, this is the one I'd keep.

Looking for a book to read during those stolen moments from holiday preparations? I highly recommend Tim Weiner’s National Book Award winner, Legacy of Ashes - The History of the CIA, which I posted about here, here, and here. If you read this book, you’ll no longer be surprised by anything the CIA does, such as destroying hundreds of hours of videotaped interrogations of two Al Qaeda operatives. Or buy it for someone as a holiday gift, then borrow it.

(photo – 2006 gingerbread house baking crew: Grandma Gail and two grandchildren)

Impeaching Vice President Cheney may end up on the table after all! It depends on you.

For those of us who are trying to hard to convince Congress to put impeachment back on the table, blogger Chris Borland's November 29th post, Only a few House Judiciary Committee Democrats blocking impeachment, raises our hopes considerably that Cheney, for starters, will indeed face impeachment.

Bottom line: Those calls we’ve been making to the House Judiciary Committee Democrats who just wanted Rep. Kucinich’s impeachment of Cheney resolution to go away are making a difference.

Check out Chris’s post and by following his suggestions, you’ll be moving from hope to action.

The Democratic Activist highlights John Nichols's talk at the San Francisco Green Festival

Fellow blogger and friend, Chris Borland, blogging at The Democratic Activist, has posted John Nichols rocks the house at the SF Green Festival.

We’re collaborating. Chris borrowed my camcorder and filmed the event, including the exclusive interview of Nichols before he gave his talk to the public. I uploaded a short clip of the interview to YouTube for Chris’s* post.

It’s a great relief to have a blogging buddy. Sometimes I’m blogged out, especially days like today when I am helping take care of my 9 month-old twin grandchildren.

*The first rule in Strunk and White’s The Elements of Style, 4th edition, is “Form the possessive singular of nouns by adding ‘s. Follow this rule whatever the final consonant.” This book, first published in 1935, is a classic, and I use it as my writing guide.

(photo of John from the SF Green Festival)

If not now, when? Take 30 minutes or less to show your support for impeaching Cheney

1. Want to know what to do? Go to Action Plan: Cheney Impeachment Resolution.

2. Do you need to know that what you will do will make a difference? Go to Janie on impeachment, a three-minute radio interview of Janie Sheppard, which aired last night on KZYX, 91.5 FM in Ukiah, California.

3. Are you ready to take action?

A. Call the Capitol Switchboard number (202-225- 3121) and ask to be put through to the offices of John Conyers, Chairman, and the nine Democratic representatives on the House Judiciary Committee who are opposed to allowing a vote on the resolution to impeach Cheney: Howard Berman, Frederick Boucher, Artur Davis, William Delahunt, Zoe Lofgren, Jerrold Nadler, Linda Sanchez, Debbie Wasserman Schultz and Adam B. Schiff.

B. Go here if you want to fax or mail a letter.

4. The message: Express your support for Cheney impeachment resolution H. Res. 799 and urge the House Judiciary Committee to make passing this resolution its top priority, hold a hearing on the resolution as quickly as possible, and work hard to swiftly move the resolution out of committee and on to full debate and consideration by the entire House.

If you're uncertain whether or not Cheney deserves to be impeached, find a comfortable chair, put your feet up, and read Angler: The Cheney Vice Presidency. This may take longer than 30 minutes, but this four-part description of Cheney's use and abuse of power, published in the Washington Post last June, is worth every minute.

(picture of Cheney: Worth1000.com)

A new blog, The Democratic Activist, has a terrific action plan for impeaching Cheney + John Nichols speaking on impeachment in SF this Sunday

I'm closing in on 300 posts, which I expect to hit next week. I started last January after I organized and moderated an impeachment forum in my town, Healdsburg. It was well attended, and there’s been a lot of local impeachment actions, including Janie Sheppard’s* effort to get the Mendocino County Board of Supervisors to pass a resolution in support of impeaching Cheney.

Despite the efforts of many people to hold our leaders accountable, until this past week I wasn’t optimistic. Then on Tuesday, Representative Dennis Kucinich’s resolution to impeach Cheney, H. Res. 799, was referred to the House Judiciary Committee.

Now it’s up to us, folks. And just in time**, Chris Borland created the best plan of action for impeaching Cheney that I’ve seen so far.

Here’s Chris’s introduction to his new blog:

People,

For the past two days, it's been nearly impossible to get through on the phone to the office House Judiciary (HJC) Committee Chairman John Conyers. Nothing but busy signals. He and other HJC committee members have been deluged with calls from citizens demanding their support of the Cheney impeachment resolution now before the committee.

This is it. We actually have a real chance to impeach Dick Cheney!It's likely now, or never. It's time to move. It will take work. But we can do it.

How can you make it happen? All it takes is about half an hour. Get the details here.

My recommendation: Put The Democratic Activist icon on our desktop and check it frequently.

*Janie is my friend, political ally, and frequent guest blogger. My posts by or about her are all linked here. Thanks to Janie for keeping the impeachment issue alive here in northern California.

**I’m pretty worn out. I want to pace myself to last through the 2008 election.

Update: John Nichols, the person who convinced me last November to support impeachment, is appearing in San Francisco this Sunday:

The Nation's John Nichols on Impeachment

San Francisco Green Fest

Noon Sunday, Nov. 11

Main Stage Giftcenter Pavillion Theater

888 Brannan Street

San Francisco, CA 94103

Update: Thanks to Janie Sheppard, here is the contact information for the 9 Democrats on the House Judiciary Committee who voted to table H. Res. 799 (meaning they are not willing to vote on it.) In addition to John Conyers,* Chair of the House Judiciary Committe, Chris Borland recommends we contact:

1. Howard Berman, CA-28 2

221 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Phone: (202) 225-4695

Fax: (202) 225-3196

14546 Hamlin Street, Suite 202

Van Nuys, CA 91411

Phone: (818) 994-7200

Fax: (818) 994-10502

2. Frederick Boucher, VA-92187

Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

202-225-3861

202-225-0442(fax)

1 Cloverleaf Square, Suite C-1

Big Stone Gap, Virginia 24219

276-523-54503

3. Artur Davis, AL-7

208 Cannon H.O.B.

Washington, D.C. 20515

(202) 225-2665 (phone)

(202) 226-9567 (fax)

20th Street North Suite #1130

Birmingham, AL 35203

(205) 254-1960 (phone)

(205) 254-1974 (fax)

4. William Delahunt, MA-10

2454 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

202-225-3111

Fax: 202-225-5658

146 Main Street

Hyannis, MA 02601

508-771-0666

Toll-Free: 800-870-2626

Fax: 508-790-19595

5. Zoe Lofgren, CA 16

102 Cannon House Office Building

Washington, D.C. 20515

Phone: (202) 225-3072

Fax: (202) 225-3336

635 N. First Street, Suite B San Jose, CA 95112

Phone: (408) 271-8700

Fax: (408) 271-8713

6. Jerrold Nadler, NY-8

2334 Rayburn House Office Building

Washington, DC 20515

Tel. 202-225-5635

445 Neptune Ave.

Brooklyn, NY 11224

Tel. 718-373-31987

7. Linda Sanchez, CA-39

1222 Longworth Building

Washington, DC 20515

202-225-6676

17906 Crusader Ave. Suite 100

Cerritos, CA 90703

562-860-50508

8. Debbie Wasserman Schultz - Florida, 20th

118 Cannon H.O.B

Washington, DC 20515

Phone: 202-225-7931

Fax: 202-226-2052

10100 Pines Blvd.

Pembroke Pines, FL 33026

Phone: 954-437-3936

Fax: 954-437-47769

9. Adam B. Schiff - CA, 29th

326 Cannon House Office Building

Washington D.C. 20515

Phone: (202) 225-4176

Facsimile: (202) 225-5828

87 N. Raymond Ave. #800

Pasadena, California 91103

Phone: (626) 304-2727

Facsimile: (626) 304-0572

*Rep. John Conyers:

2426 Rayburn Building

Washington, DC 20515

phone: 202.225.5126,

fax: 202.225.0072

Michigan phone numbers:

734.675.4084

313.961.5670

(photo: CultureKitchen.com)