Please take action today for neutrality in El Salvador's elections

If you are concerned about U.S. intervention in other countries' elections and/or are encouraged by the tide of center-left victories in Latin America in recent years, here's a chance to do something about it. See the CISPES website for a quick call to the State Department, asking Secretary of State Clinton to immediately counter Republican scare tactics supporting El Salvador's right-wing ARENA party...

CISPES - The Committee in Solidarity with the People of El Salvador - Republicans in U.S. Congress Intervene in Salvadoran Elections--Take Action NOW!

The importance of upcoming Salvadorean elections

The March 15 presidential elections could be a major step forward for progressive politics in El Salvador, strengthening the recent wave of left-leaning governments across Latin America. Check out this video to see what is at stake and see the CISPES webpage for how you can make a quick, easy call to your member of Congress, and ask her/him to support U.S. neutrality in the elections.

No We Can't, White Folks

Now that Obama has won, here are five things white people shouldn't do ...

Click to read this from Christopher Beam & Chris Wilson on TheRoot.com.

VOTE FIRST. KEEP FIGHTING.

Let's talk about what happens AFTER election day.

On November 5, millions of Americans and millions more around the world will be rejoicing, breathing great sighs of relief, and hanging their heads in disappointment. We will experience all of these, because regardless of whether the majority chooses Obama - which would represent an important step forward - many crucial initiatives and propositions on the ballot in various states will profoundly impact people's lives, their marriages, transportation, schools, treatment programs and incarceration, and all the others you have heard about. Progressive forces will likely not all win on all of these.

Regardless of whether the majority chooses Obama, we need to keep working, because no president is ever solely responsible – or even chiefly responsible – for positive social change. The last thing we need now is a re-run of the Clinton era, when many liberals were relived that the twelve years of Reagan and Bush I were finally over, the far right gathered its strength, and we allowed the Clinton Administration to go along with – and even sponsor – reactionary legislation that targeted immigrants, scapegoated families struggling to get by on welfare, accelerated corporate media consolidation, and created NAFTA and the World Trade Organization, for example.

What is the change that Obama speaks of? We have heard some of his policy proposals, but what actually comes out of his office will be determined largely by what is made possible by the work of progressive organizations. The change that is Obama's motto and that we so intensely long for will only come with the committed effort of a society organized, of people personally involved at the workplace, on campus, in the neighborhood, for specific issues and in coalition, within the demographic groups we belong to, and also reaching across the lines that separate us.

I just came from a phone bank against Proposition 8, which would eliminate the right to marry for same-sex couples in California. I will volunteer a few hours on election day for "Get Out The Vote" activities with PUEBLO, a local organization that builds power and leadership among low-income people. Please, do what you can in the coming days. Vote, of course. But also talk courageously with friends and family about the key issues. Volunteer – work a phone bank, give someone a ride to the polls. (If you don't know how to get started, check out moveon.org. Or you must know at least one activist. Ask them.) Make another donation, even if you can't afford it.

And the day after election day, please, stay involved. The day after that, keep fighting. And the day after that, and the day after that, and all the days to come. We need you.


reprinted Nov. 3, 2008, in the UCSB Daily Nexus

No on Prop 8 phone bank Wednesday!

For folks at UCSB ... Are you doing all you can to stop Prop 8?

No on Prop 8 phone bank, Oct. 29, at UCSB
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
4:00pm - 8:00pm
UCSB Student Resource Bldg, room 1103 (conf. room)

The No on Prop 8 campaign is tracking polls that show CA is in jeopardy of Prop 8 passing. That's why we need your help right away.

"Phone banks" are a simple, effective method to sway voters. We have a list of voters in the 805 area code, and a script you can use to bring people over to our side. It doesn't matter if you have never phone-banked before, we will provide a brief training, and it's not hard to do.

There will be FREE PIZZA -- please RSVP saying what time you will arrive and what kind of pizza you want.

With two weeks to go, the time to impact this campaign is now. Please join us!

And if you use Facebook, you can invite people via
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/event.php?eid=40812577773

Paying your share.

I would like to send this to the farmer in question, but I don't know his name or address. And I would send it as a letter to the editor, but the S.B. News Press is a ruthlessly anti-union company, and a journalistic embarrassment. So I'll just post it here, instead.


At the Saturday farmers’ market, one stand was selling “McCain tomatoes” at $1.50 per pound, and Obama tomatoes for $3.00. The man behind the table seemed to enjoy riling up the liberal Santa Barbara crowd, calling out, “Spread the wealth! Buy Obama tomatoes!” The woman by his side was engaged in damage control. “They’re all the same tomatoes,” she said, “and they’re all the same price.”

At first I laughed, appreciating the man’s willingness to talk politics with a crowd that was likely to disagree, and his sense of humor.

“So does that mean you make more than $250,000 a year?” I jabbed back.

“No,” he responded, “more like $47,000.” Then he continued yelling, “Spread the wealth!”

As I walked away, my smile faded. His message really bothered me. If he supported McCain because of his stance on abortion, or the Iraq War, I could simply agree to disagree. But the tomato joke was repeating perhaps the biggest lie of this presidential campaign: that Obama wants to raise taxes for people like the farmer and his customers.

The Washington Post, not a liberal paper, tells the truth of the matter: “Obama's plan gives the biggest cuts to those who make the least, while McCain would give the largest cuts to the very wealthy.” (That’s from 6/9/08.)

More specifically, under Obama’s tax plan, the average taxes would be the same or lower in 2009 for anyone making less than $603,000 per year. Anyone making less than $112,000 per year would receive a larger tax cut under Obama’s plan, compared with McCain’s. Only people making more than $603,000 would see an increase in taxes.

Have you seen these details, Mr. Farmer? McCain is twisting the truth, terribly.

In order to pay for essential services, such as schools, Medicare, bridges and roads, we all have to pay taxes. In our tough economic times, I strongly support Obama’s plan to give the majority of us a tax break, and to tax the richest among us a bit more.
It’s called “paying your fair share.”



On second thought, I'll submit this to the Daily Sound and the UCSB Daily Nexus.