Washington State Democratic Caucus- April 15

The Washington State Democrats will be holding their caucus on April 15th at 1PM.  What is the Democratic Caucus? 

The 2012 Caucuses and Conventions are your way of becoming a delegate to the 2012 Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, choosing a nominee for President, shaping our Party platform, and getting involved with the Party for 2012.

   If you never have been to a caucus, I haven't either, it's pretty easy and sounds like fun.  Not registered to vote yet?  Not a problem, you can register to vote at the caucus and also participate.  The Washington State Democrats have a nice FAQ and a caucus finder here.  

Watch an informative 9 minute video of mysterious caucus events

Come to the Washington State Democrats Precinct Caucuses on April 15th and help President Obama get re-elected.  

Free Barack Obama Bumper Sticker

You too can proudly display your support for Obama-Biden 2012 with a free bumper sticker.  Mines in the mail.

Get your free Obama-Biden bumper sticker here

Governor John Kasich Should Resign

Image via Wikipedia

Resign now John Kasich!

Governor John Kasich of Ohio, who campaigned on a jobs platform was just slapped silly with a 26 point loss delivered by his constituents.  Instead of working on jobs, the ex-Fox talking head crafted a bill that destroyed the collective bargaining abilities of unions.  The ex-Fox anchor had not run on a platform of attacking unions, but that was his first priority as a new governor.  Ohioans were outraged at the bills passage and quickly gathered a million and a half signatures to get SB 5 on the ballot.   Now his signature bill is flamed by irate Ohioans, what an embarrassment for the governor.  The second least popular governor in America, Kasich is polling about 30%.  If he had to run against his Democratic challenger again, polls show he would lose by 18 points.  With the governors 26 point loss today, those polls should be suspect.  Today, was a great day, for progressives, liberals, union workers and democrats.  United they worked hard to deliver a stinging defeat to a governor who wanted to rule the people, instead of serve the people.  Three cheers for Ohio!

I get progressive mail from Kirsten Gillibrand

Here is a Senator; Kirsten Gillibrand,(D-NY) that effectively vocalizes important values that are worth fighting for.  Yeah, its a fund raising letter, but I'll fund this kind of progressive candidate and I hope you can too.

Dear Stephen,

Cut Medicare. Destroy Social Security, as we know it. Increase the burden for the middle class.

When it comes to solving the serious economic problems our country is facing, the GOP keeps coming back to the same solutions. They expect students, the elderly and hardworking families to pay more, but refuse to require anything of the wealthy and corporate America.

It isn’t right, and it isn’t fair.

I know you’re counting on me to stand up for what we believe in and not allow the Republicans in Congress to ignore the plight of ordinary Americans as they look out for special interests. But I need your help so I can stay in the Senate and keep on working for what’s right.

Click here to contribute today and help me raise $25,000 by July 31. With your support, I can keep on defending programs like Medicare and Social Security and keep on fighting for the middle class.
We’re all concerned about the fate of the Senate next year because we know how important our Senate majority has been to keeping the Republicans’ radical agenda at bay. The fact is, they need just four seats to take control, and my seat is one of those up for grabs.

Take my word: I will not be one of those four seats. So I’m going to fight to stay put and keep standing up to the GOP’s extremist proposals.

As you know, I’ve been in this position before. I’ve already had to protect my seat from the Republicans and I know how hard it is to weather their attacks. That’s why I’ve always come to you for help—and you’ve always been there to support me. I hope you’ll be able to do that once again.

Click here to make a donation to my campaign and help me raise $25,000 by July 31. I really need your help to ensure I keep my seat—and the Democrats keep our majority.

The GOP is certainly persistent in their efforts to slash our social safety net. But I’m even more persistent in protecting it.

Related articles

• I get mail from Bernie Sanders: update on debt ceiling talks (ablazeofbrightblue.blogspot.com)
• Another emergency petition from the "professional left" (ablazeofbrightblue.blogspot.com)
• National Journal poll: Tax us, don't take away Social Security, Medicare (dailykos.com)
• Some politicians are trying to default on the American Dream (ablazeofbrightblue.blogspot.com)
• The Gang of Six and Their War on Main Street (jonathanturley.org)

Clarity from the press on the republican created debt crisis?

With every passing day, America is closer to defaulting on the nation's debts — with unknown consequences but you can expect the worst— due to Republicans' refusal to negotiate in good faith with President Obama and Congressional Democrats.  Republicans spent the money, now they don't want to pay the bill unless the entire country changes its values and does everything the narrow Republican way.  The Republicans have taken our economy hostage.  That is  blackmail.  I thought we didn't bargain with hostage takers? It's time to stick to our principles, no more inane bargaining with the republicans.  If they want to vote for a clean debt ceiling bill fine, otherwise we're not interested in their phony values and their miserly view of America.  It's on their head.  One great thing about a default is that finally we'll have some shared sacrifice. 

 Great article at the nation by Jamelle Bouie
 When will the press wake up and blame Republicans?

 Likewise, headlines at MSNBC, CNN and the Washington Post – “Boehner, Reid Appear to Give Ground” – imply a parity of intransigence, as if both Republicans and Democrats refused to compromise on their priorities.

Of course, the literal opposite is true. It’s the Republican Party that broke from decades of precedent in order to use the debt ceiling as leverage for right-wing policies, and it’s Republican leaders who pledged – from the beginning – to take this to the brink unless Democrats capitulated to their demands. Here, for example, is what House Speaker John Boehner said several months ago in an address to the Economic Club of New York:
“Without significant spending cuts and changes to the way we spend the American people’s money, there will be no debt limit increase,” Mr. Boehner told members of New York’s business and finance community. “And cuts should be greater than the accompanying increase in debt authority the president is given.” Mr. Boehner said those cuts should be in the trillions of dollars, not billions.

After a month where Democrats have repeatedly given into Republican demands – even going as far as to raise the Medicare eligibility age as part of a deal – is it too much for the press to say that this is a crisis of GOP’s making?

 Apparently, it is asking way too much. 

Related articles

• GOP lawmaker: Boehner's debt bill lacks support (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• After Aiding Republicans, Business Groups Press Them on Debt Ceiling (nytimes.com)

Stop the Republican War on Women in Wisconsin

Democratic Candidates in Wisconsin Left To Right: Jessica King,  Shelley Moore, Nancy Nusbaum, Sandy Pasch, Jennifer Shilling  and Dave Clark (no photo).

Thursday, July 14 was a wonderful day for Democrats in Wisconsin.  The Wisconsin republicans put up 6 fake democrats to run in a primary against the real democratic challengers.  All the real democrats won with excellent margins.  Voter turnout was high which bodes well for the August 9 election when the Democratic challengers take it to the recalled republican senators.  Wisconsin voters have the opportunity to send a message to republicans all across the country by recalling 6 republicans and replacing them with 6 democratic senators.  Five of those candidates are pro-choice women who can put a stop to the Republican War on Women in Wisconsin in addition to giving the Wisconsin Senate a Democratic majority.  

Donate to the Wisconsin Democratic Pro-Choice women through Emily's List

Sign Emily's List Petition: I am saying NO to the War on Women and YES to putting five strong, progressive women into the Wisconsin state senate. 

People For the American Way Recall the Right Campaign in Wisconsin Campaign Donation Link

Contribute to the Progressive Change Campaign Committee's official Wisconsin Recall Campaign

Democracy for America has knocked on 13,000 doors in state senate districts 10 and 32 contribute here

Related articles

• Republicans war against the middle class win another battle (ablazeofbrightblue.blogspot.com)
• Stephanie Schriock: Women Leading: How Wisconsin Is Showing us the Future (huffingtonpost.com)

Amy Kobuchar goes to the dark side; introduces sb 978

full text of the bill
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This is a BAD bill.  It severely limits free speech in this country.  It is so poorly and loosley written that any blogger that say upsets a republican state attorney general could find themselves prosecuted and jailed for 5 years; simply for posting a u-tube video!!  It could be a video the district attorneys post themselves!   They claim it's not directed towards individuals, there is nothing in the bill that specifies that.  The word "performance" is not defined, they could easily come up with a price of 250 dollars for each playing of the video, then 10 people that clicked on that video, 2500 dollars total,  and you have just committed a felony. 

from Ethan Siegal@ Startswithabang.com:
And now, thanks to new legislation in the U.S. Senate -- introduced by Minnesota Democrat Amy Klobuchar -- I am likely to soon become a criminal for it. Not a misdemeanor offender, either, but a full-blown felon. The kind where I can go to prison for a long time, lose my right to vote, etc. 
My great offense? Embedding a copyrighted work. For a youtube video, do it ten times in six months, and you can be a felon under U.S. Law, too.
What does it take to make me a felon? Well, did you click on the video above? If you -- and ten others like you -- click on it, and that video gets taken down later, at some point, due to a copyright infringement, I am responsible, and that's going to be a felony offense under U.S. Law. 
Sound insane? Stupid? Evil? That doesn't mean this bipartisan bill isn't well on its way to becoming a law. But don't take my word for it. Read the awful piece of legislation, U.S. Senate Bill 978, yourself. You'll see very clearly that the punishment for this offense is a hefty fine and up to five years in prison. For embedding a youtube video, among other things.
What's really awful about this is that it could happen even if Rebecca Loebe is very happy to have her video appear on this site. It could happen even if NBC is very happy to have the advertising for their show, "The Voice," on this site. It could happen because a company like Comcast doesn't like it, or because the RIAA doesn't like it, or because any one of a number of music or media companies doesn't like it. As long as it can be legally construed as a "public performance of a copyrighted work," you could go to prison for it. 

Senator Amy Klobuchar contact information:

D.C. office phone: 202-224-3244
D.C. office fax: 202-228-2186
Email senator Klobuchar
Please write your own senators

Related articles

• Weekend Diversion: And now, they're coming for me. Yeah, me. Because I write for you. (scienceblogs.com)
• Senators Unconcerned About Massive Unintended Consequences Of Criminalizing People For Embedding YouTube Videos (techdirt.com)
• Senate committee agrees illegal streaming is a felony (news.cnet.com)
• Sunk by Lip-Synching?Bill May Lead to Jail Time (foxnews.com)
• Senate group backs prison time for illegal streaming (news.cnet.com)
• Senate Committee Votes to Make Illegal Streaming a Felony (pcworld.com)
• YouTube Copyright Infringement? (politics.ie)

Nick Romney meet DNC chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz

Nick Romney announced his presidential run and then by his comments disqualified himself as a valid candidate.   Nick Romney called Barak Obama a "failed president."   When President Barak Obama was sworn in the economy was shedding 3/4 of a million jobs a month.  Thanks to President Obama we didn't have a third depression.   John Boehner who cried when urging his colleagues to give 700 billion dollars for a wall street bailout, won't share a sniffel for the nations blue collar unemployed.  We need a job bills not spending cuts, but try getting anything through the republican "we don't do math" legislature.   The DNC chairwoman does a great job on Nick Romney.