A progressive position on Choice

The Conservative Movement started out by believing in specific things, like ending Communism, shrinking the size of government, etc. They gained strength by standing up for those positions. In the 70's and 80's, that changed to being against whatever the Liberals were for. They have been able to maintain their strength, but they're not making any more gains.

The Progressive Movement can't start out by simply being for whatever the Conservatives are against. We need to find a way to connect with the people who are anti-abortion, and get them to agree to help us move forward beyond the illusion that this issue is black and white. The Democratic Party has room for people on both sides of the argument, we just need to frame our position to get their support instead of their ire. Like Howard Dean says below, while we should not change our principles, we can change our vocabulary.

I don't like abortion. I wish it didn't have to happen. But that's not the same as outlawing it altogether. I see the position of Choice as the middle ground between two extremes, not an extreme by itself. The extremes I see are 1) no one may and 2) everyone must. The Christian right wing wants to create a world where no one may have an abortion and end a life before it has a chance to begin. China has created a world where abortions are mandated after the first child. I don't want to live in either one of these worlds, and I don't want to legislate it either way. I want us to create a environment where abortions are unnecessary, rather than illegal or mandated. So if the Christian right wing wants to reduce the number of abortions by promoting abstience as well as contraception, I can support and help with that. But if they want to push the abortions that do occur out of a sanitized medical facility and into the street, I will fight against it. That is what occured before Roe v. Wade, and I'm not interested in going backward.

I believe that this position is shared by Planned Parenthood, although we should contact their Public Relations office for the language that they use if we want to continue talking about them. I have heard that 2004 was one of the best years that Planned Parenthood Western Washington has had, both financially and by a few other measures. One of those measures was the number of abortion procedures performed. In 2004, that number went down for the first time in several years. Let's keep the number going down, safely.

DFA Veterans Phone Card Speech

This is a statement I prepared for the DFA Phone Card presentation on December 29th, 2004.

My name is Chad Lupkes, and I was born here in Seattle. I was in the US Navy from 1988 to 1994. I would like to speak about what being an American means to me. To do that, I want to review the colors on our flag. Those colors are red, white and blue.

Blue represents opportunity. The blue sky on the horizon, a horizon that we constantly strive to reach. We may be distracted by the treasures and comfort that we find, but we must continue to strive to achieve, to learn new things, and find new paths.

White represents fairness. The white paper that we use to vote, the paper that we use to write our laws. With the rainbow of ideas, ideology, race and culture, the law must be written to be fair to everyone. This helps to ensure that we leave nobody behind as we strive toward that horizon.

Red represents sacrifice. The red blood that is spilled on the battlefield, the tears that we shed in memory of those who have sacrificed everything. The sweat that comes from our efforts to regain what was lost. We must never forget those that we have lost, and we must be there to help the ones who have sacrificed for us.

This is why we are here today, to acknowledge and honor our veterans and active military. To provide them with the opportunity to reach out and reconnect to family and friends, and rejoin our community as we continue to strive toward that blue horizon, writing our laws to leave no one behind.

We've lost our Alibi

http://www.counterpunch.org/barghouti09252004.html

Well said.

speaking of transformative experiences

As soon as the Space Tourism becomes viable, I think all elected officials on a Federal Level should be required to see the curvature of the Earth. If they could understand that the political boundaries don't really exist and that the world is actually a very small place might be a positive step in government.

Chad Lupkes
chadlupkes@earthlink.net
http://www.DemocracyforWashington.com/
PCO - SEA-46-2324
Seattle, WA

We are the ones that we have been waiting for.

the reason why

Hi Ross,

You asked the first caller why we should care about going out into space because of all the problems here at home. The reason why, in my opinion, is because the amount of resources beyond earth are just waiting for us, and all we have to do is get to them. Imagine infinite free energy would free mankind from fighting over energy sources, building materials enough to build several thousand Earths to give everyone enough space to explore and explore the universe, and even our next stage of evolution. I would say that the investments and sacrifices are worth it.

Chad Lupkes
chadlupkes@earthlink.net
http://www.DemocracyforWashington.com/
PCO - SEA-46-2324
Seattle, WA

We are the ones that we have been waiting for.

Boy's diary, Sunday 6/20

Father's Day

Harry Potter Rocks on the IMAX! We got up early enough to get downtown by 11, and stood in line from 12:30 to 1:30. The boys were familiar enough with movie lines and Daniel found a friend to talk to. We had heard a lot of people say that the content of the movie might not be appropriate for Shea because of his age. He understood the movie almost as well as Daniel did, and they both knew that it was make-believe. Great movie!

We met Dad at the fountain, and had lunch in the Center House. Daniel found some juggling balls that he's practicing with, and then we went to a park to shoot some more archery. Sand Point is better than Gas Works for kites, so we'll be going back.

Boy's Diary, Saturday 6/19

A Day at Grandma's

Not to bad a day! We found my old bow and arrow set, and my mom brought down a smaller set for Daniel. He loves it, so we brought it home.

Mom did pretty well, except that everyone decided to go to Shrek 2 in the morning, but then later in the day decided that they couldn't do it for two reasons. First, because they couldn't afford it. Second, because they wanted Lowell to be able to spend time with the boys when he got home. The first reason I can understand, but that put the responsibility on me to fulfill the promise. The second reason I also understood, except that when Lowell got home all he did was eat dinner and lay on the couch. No energy after a full day of work, and I didn't really expect him to have much.

We'll see Shrek 2 sometime next week.

Boy's Diary, Thursday 6/17

What the heck is on Daniel's mind?! He likes games, obviously. Especially on the computer he likes Pinball. So, he asked Debi if he could play Pinball on her computer. He played for about 10 minutes, then realized he would not be able to beat her scores on the scoreboard. I don't think anyone could, she's at 7,500,000. So, what does he do? He clears the scores.

Debi exploded. She had been working on those scores for years! When we asked him why he would do such a thing, he said that he wanted to see his name on the scoreboard, and he wasn't able to beat her scores so he changed the rules so he could see his name. In other words, he cheated. He is now banned from Debi's computer until she can get those scores back to where they were.

When I spoke to him this morning about it, I discovered that he does this at home all the time. Instead of always trying to get better at the game, he would clear the scores so he didn't have to work so hard.

There are several concerns I have about this episode. First, that he would think about doing this kind of cheating at all. He's 8, and 8 year olds do things like this. But only if they are either shown that it is ok, and/or if they are not corrected when they do it. Or if they are not caught doing it. Daniel and Shea are the only players of the game on their home computers, and Shea doesn't care. So I can't say that I blame Sarah or Eric for not noticing what he was doing and correct it. Second, the fact that he was willing to erase the scores to make it easier on himself shows that he is not pushing himself to be better, and he's not being pushed as much as he could have by others.

Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan Captain Kirk was talking about the Kobiashi Maru, and saying that he changed the rules so that there was a way out of an impossible situation. In the real world, he would have been kicked out of the Academy. Gene Roddenbury decided to use this as a positive aspect of the character. And it's now influencing our culture. Cheating is not acceptable in the real world, unless we allow it to be ok. Sure, we can set priorities and not care as much about the unimportant things, but we should always be teaching our children not to cheat.

Keep pushing for higher scores instead of starting at zero. Keep working on improving your skills in sports instead of changing the rules to make the sport easier. Keep learning and reading new books instead of books you have already read. Strive for higher standards, and keep reaching for the stars. Otherwise we'll never get there.

Another Lesson Learned: Don't try to drive to Greenlake Park. We could not find a parking spot, so we went to Roosevelt Park instead. It's close, familiar and there's actually parking!

Re: The Conversation "9-11 Commission Hearings"

Hi Heather,

 

These hearings are fascinating.  I believe that 9-11 was allowed to happen because of the assumptions that our government and military had regarding threats.  There was no possible way to prepare for what occurred, and the next attack will come in ways that are just as unpredictable.

 

These people hate America.  The only way to stop these attacks is to prevent them from occurring.  The only way to prevent them from occurring is to prevent people from wanting to do them in the first place.  My question to our government and all candidates for federal office is not how they are preparing for the next attack, but how they are working to prevent them.  What are we doing now and what will we do in the future to make people around the world STOP HATING AMERICA.

 

Chad Lupkes

chadlupkes@earthlink.net

http://www.DemocracyforWashington.com/

PCO - SEA-46-2324

Seattle, WA

 

We are the ones that we have been waiting for.

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Heather Dahl [mailto:hdahl@kuow.org]
Sent: Thursday, June 17, 2004 10:35
Subject: The Conversation "9-11 Commission Hearings"

 

9-11 Commission Hearings

 

Thursday, June 17, 2004

 

The Conversation with Ross Reynolds.

1 pm Pacific KUOW 94.9 fm Listen to past shows in The Conversation archive - http://www.kuow.org/TheConversation.asp   Call-in numbers 206 543 5869, toll free long distance 1-800-289-5869

 

The 9-11 Commission hearings which ended today let us know that Seattle was originally on the list of targets for a total of 10 hijacked airliners. There were intense internal struggles within the 9-11 terrorist cell that delayed and downsized the plot. The commission reported yesterday that there was 'no credible evidence' that Saddam Hussein helped al-Qaeda target the United States. President Bush today continued to reassert an al-Qaeda - Iraq link. Military and civilian aviation officials were not prepared for terrorists turning jet airliners into armed missiles. American Airlines flight 77, the flight that eventually hit the Pentagon, was lost by air traffic controllers for 36 minutes. In this hour we'll review the information uncovered by the Commission and try to sort out what it means. What did we learn about what happened and how to prevent it in the future? Call 206 543 5869 KUOW, long distance 1 800 289, 5869 KUOW, or write to us - conversation at KUOW.org.

 

RESOURCES: (Note: We do not review or control the content at the following Web sites, nor do we endorse any of the content.)

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States (also known as the 9-11 Commission), http://www.9-11commission.gov/

Overview of the Enemy, 9-11 Commission http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/shoulders/CommissionStatement15.pdf

Outline of the 9-11 Plot, 9-11 Commission http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/nation/shoulders/CommissionStatement15.pdf

Air Defenses Faltered on 9-11, Panel Finds,  Washington Post  http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48471-2004Jun17.html

Bush reasserts Iraq Al Qaeda link, Washington Post http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A48970-2004Jun17.html

 

 

Boy's Diary, Wednesday 6/16

We took a day off from trips today. They liked spicy sausage, but it filled them up quick (probably the amount of juice and milk), and wow you should have seen the looks.

Shea put together his Power Ranger. He really showed off his intelligence and can read directions really well for a 6 year old. I'm looking forward to hearing about his design for the new moonbase.

Daniel played the 2nd Grade Reader Rabbit that we have. I think we need new games, maybe something for XP. I'll have to see what is available. He wanted to play Scrabble, but the kid version we have was a little too limiting, and then brought down the Monopoly game we have based on the National Parks. It was his "favorite game", just like all of his other favorites. This means he has always wanted to play it, but doesn't quite know how. We got distracted by the descriptions of the parks.

Boy's Diary, Tuesday 6/15

Daniel had mentioned that he doesn't get to a library very often. I don't know much about the truth of that, but we figured that the Seattle Central Library would be a neat choice for Tuesday. They loved it. Except..

Shea found some big blocks and toys, and Daniel found the computer games. I think they were rather overwhelmed with the books, so they found things they were familiar with. No big loss. Although it was interesting that Shea grabbed a Spanish children's book to check out. And could read the cover. Hmm. I think I need to pick him up some Spanish Language computer games.

Note to self: Don't take the 16 bus from downtown to Northgate. It's too long, and really boring after the first 15 minutes. And it's an hour and 15 minute trip. Lessons learned.

Boy's Diary

Their first day at school was great! And they really needed shoes, so we went to JC Penny. This was JC Penny at Northgate, and they've moved the childrens clothing and shoes section. They also have three or four cashier blocks per floor, with one person manning each one. Where are the other salespeople? Good question, since we couldn't find one. So, we went to Nordstrom.

What a difference! And with the Women's & Kids Half Yearly sale, and my 20% employee discount, we found a pair of velcro shoes for Shea that he can handle himself, and a new pair of shoes for Daniel that he loves! Why? Because they're Bionocle from Lego, and they look like golden robot boots! Here's hoping they last long enough. Sarah may think I'm spoiling them, but that wasn't the reason we bought shoes. They needed new ones, and Daniel actually tossed one pair of his old shoes in the trash when we got home.

The boys' first day

It was supposed to be yesterday, but Eric had the wrong date on his watch. He also had a migrane headache, and missed the day. Or something. Whatever.

Daniel is a little taller. After 2 years I expected that, but his mannerisms have not changed one bit. Neither has Shea, and while he is wearing a size 6 now instead of a size 4 like two years ago, he doesn't seem to have changed much. We went and explored a new park after lunch, came home and had some pizza, then went out to Roosevelt Park. There were some kids there with various balls and toys, and I discovered that Daniel had changed. He now knows how to play every sports game played, as well as several that have not been invented yet. Soccer is his favorite, and he's very good at it. He's very good at catch, although the ballfields were already being used. There were some people playing volleyball, and Daniel ran after their ball once, and tapped it back to them using perfect form. For Volleyball.

They had a rough day, so it was difficult to tell what his actual energy level is, but I have a feeling that while their schedule is solid and they get enough food, they'll both be able to run and play for hours at a time. Me, I start to sweat and breathe heavy after 10 minutes. But I'm having fun.

A note on Ronald Reagan's passing

On Saturday at the DFA/DFW information table at the Democratic State
Convention in Tacoma, Washington, Delegate Joseph Ruth received a
phone call from his brother saying that President Ronald Reagan had
died, and that it was all over the news. That announcement spread
like wildfire, with various reactions throughout the convention. Many
were saddened by the news, some were elated. I have had a similar
assortment and diversity of opinion on the email lists. I would like
to present my own thoughts to the group.

There have been a lot of books about Ronald Reagan, and I have not
read even one of them yet. I was 11 years old when Ronald Reagan won
the presidential election of 1980. I grew up watching his
administration change the face of the country in many ways, some
positive and immediate, some not so positive and long term. But I was
proud to be an American during those years, a position shared by most
people in the country at that time. I didn't know enough about
politics or the long term impacts of what was happening to be able to
decide how to react.

Ronald Reagan was a great leader for our country. Part of what made
him a great leader was that he energized everyone in the country to
work harder to get involved. He was a patriot, he loved the flag, and
he had an eternal optimism about our country and our future. People
from all sides should recognize that we owe a lot to Ronald Reagan.
The fall of the Soviet Union was as much due to the policies of the
Reagan administration as their own failing economic system. But what
I would like to focus on was not the President or his administration,
but the man. Here is a quote from his speech opening the Ronald
Reagan library in California:

"In my eighty years, I prefer to call that the forty-first anniversary
of my thirty ninth birthday, I've seen what men can do for each other
and do to each other, I've seen war and peace, feast and famine,
depression and prosperity, sickness and health. I've seen the depth of
suffering and the peaks of triumph and I know in my heart that man is
good, that what is right will always eventually triumph and that there
is purpose and worth to each and every life."

He was right. Mankind can be 'good', and we should remember how
Ronald Reagan won the election. "A new day has dawned". It dawned in
1980, and his passing marks the end of an era.

What that means is that this is the beginning of a new era!

President Reagan asked a question during his 1980 campaign; "Are you
better off now than you were 4 years ago." Congressman Jim McDermott
mentioned this phrase at a town meeting that he held in April.
According to McDermott, and I wholeheartedly agree with him, this
phrasing of the question empowered the American People to reverse the
course launched by John F. Kennedy in 1960. I have a different
question to ask, one asked by Howard Dean and many others during the
last year and a half.

Are WE better off now than we were 4 years ago?

This is the one of the questions the Democratic Party needs to ask the
people as they decide to support John Kerry for President in the
upcoming election. Are our children learning more now in school, and
are they better prepared to be workers in the evolving world economy?
Is health coverage available to more people, giving us the foundation
of life that lets them pursue liberty and happiness? Is our
relationship with our allies in the world community stronger now than
it was 4 years ago?

The ends do not justify the means. The means lead us to the result.
This is the underlying ideology that we should push forward into the
debate. But we have to stand on the foundations built by all of our
history, and Ronald Reagan was a vital piece of that foundation. He
helped to build the ship, and even though I am still coming to an
understanding of how much work we have to do to turn this ship of
state around to avoid the rocks, I have to thank Ronald Reagan for
helping to build the ship. There is only one more thing to say:

ALL HANDS ON DECK!

Rob Brezsny's Astrology Newsletter, June 2, 2004

GEMINI (May 21-June 20): At this point in your journey, Gemini, your free will is a more important factor in determining your fate than the constraints of karma or the whims of the gods. I won't waste your time, then, predicting what may or may not lie ahead. Instead, I'll invite you to formulate self-fulfilling prophecies about the beautiful future you want to create. To help tease out your brainstorms, I offer you a few of the laws of life articulated by Hawaiian shaman Serge Kahili King:

1. The world is what you think it is.
2. There are no limits; everything is possible.
3. Energy flows where attention goes.
4. Now is the moment of power.
5. To love is to be happy.
6. All power comes from within.

at least I have a job

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2001941116_globalwarming28m.html

"We're trying to let people know — in a tongue-in-cheek way — that what the environmental left is pursuing is very dangerous from a job and economics perspective," said Karen Kerrigan, co-chair of the United for Jobs Coalition. The group is running a newspaper ad called "The Day After Kyoto" that parodies the movie with a picture of an unemployment line and a litany of economic losses that pollution controls could trigger.

You know, maybe she’s right. I know that caps on carbon-dioxide are necessary to really stem the tide of global warming, but I have to get to work. I know that what we are doing is causing more and more people around the world to hate America, but we have to have our oil for at least the next few decades. I’ll be retired before we run out of oil, and I have to get to work, so I guess that’s worth it. I know that our national debt is the worst it has ever been, but my job pays my bills so I’m not too worried about that. I know that a lot of people are losing their jobs, losing their homes and having to live on the street, but I don’t see them in my neighborhood so it doesn’t really affect me. I know that the Pentagon is thinking of restarting the draft again, but my children are 6 and 8, so this war will be over by the time they are eligible.

Of course, it does really matter. It takes more than a day to make the changes that are in the movie “The Day After Tomorrow”, but they are happening. Carbon Dioxide is on the rise. More people are hating America. The world my children will inherit is at least as important as the world that I live in, and they will be the ones to pay off the national debt if we don’t take care of it first. I do see the homeless every day going to and from work, and their numbers are growing. And the draft affects everyone, because our best and brightest future prospects are being taught to shoot guns instead of help our world grow.

When will we grow up?

Quote of the Day

In the Dark Places of Wisdom

by Peter Kingsley

 

If you're lucky, at some point in your life you'll come to a complete dead end.

 

Or to put it another way: if you're lucky you'll come to a crossroads and see that the path to the left leads to hell, that the path to the right leads to hell, that the road straight ahead leads to hell and that if you try to turn around you'll end up in complete and utter hell.

 

Every way leads to hell and there's no way out, nothing left for you to do.  Nothing can possibly satisfy you any more.  Then, if you're ready, you'll start to discover inside yourself what you always longed for but were never able to find.

 

And if you're not lucky?

 

If you're not lucky you'll only come to this point when you die.  And that won't be a pretty sight because you'll still be wanting what you're no longer able to have.  We are human beings, endowed with an incredible dignity; but there's nothing more undignified than forgetting our greatness and clutching at straws.

 

Tough Questions!

Question:

It is time to elect a new world leader, and only your vote counts.
Here are the facts about the three leading candidates.

Candidate A -

Associates with crooked politicians, and  consults with astrologists.
He's had two Mistresses. He also chain smokes and drinks 8 to 10
martinis a day.

Candidate B -

He was kicked out of office twice, sleeps  until noon,  used opium in
college and drinks a quart of whiskey every evening.

Candidate C -

He is a decorated war hero. He's a vegetarian,  doesn't smoke, drinks
an occasional beer and never cheated on his  wife.

Which of these candidates would be your  Choice?

Decide first, no peeking, then scroll down for  the answer.

----------------------------------------------
Candidate A: is Franklin D. Roosevelt.
Candidate  B: is Winston  Churchill.
Candidate C: is Adolph Hitler.


Pretty interesting isn't it? Makes a person think before judging someone.

Never be afraid to try something new.

Remember:

Amateurs built the Ark

Professionals built the Titanic


and in case you never saw this one..!!!...

Can you imagine working for a company that has  a little more than
500 employees and has the following statistics:

* 29 have been accused of spousal  abuse
* 7 have been arrested  for fraud
* 19 have been  accused of writing bad checks
*  117 have directly or indirectly bankrupted at least 2 businesses
* 3 have done time for assault
* 71 cannot get a credit card due to bad  credit
* 14 have been arrested  on drug-related charges
* 8  have been arrested for shoplifting
* 21 are currently defendants in lawsuits
* 84 have been arrested for drunk driving in the last year

Can you guess which organization this  is?




Give up yet?





It's the 535 members of the United States Congress. The same
group of idiots that crank out hundreds of new laws each year
designed to keep the rest of us in line.

Re: Disney's refusal to release Fehrinheit 911

Message passed to the Disney board of directors:

Please pass on to the Board of Directors my disappointment in their unwillingness to cash in on the potential success of Michael Moore's 'Fehrinheit 911' movie. This was potentially the highest grossing movie of the summer, and Disney's refusal to release it will mean that another company will gain the benefits of those ticket sales.

As a shareholder, I am very disappointed by this decision.

Chad Lupkes
chadlupkes@earthlink.net
Shareholder through Sharebuilder.com

P.S. Who's brilliant idea was it to require a 'URL that we are having problems with' when we simply have a message for the BOD.

Video Seems to Show Beheading of American--yahoo news

So, al-Qaida is now carrying out revenge for our treatment of Iraqi citizens. As much as Saddam Hussein’s government and Osama Bin Laden’s al-Qaida organization hated each other before 911, our entering Iraq in the manner that we did, as well as our actions after May of 2003, has created a very strong collaboration between the two. The Bush administration has responded to criminal actions, and CREATED a war on terrorism.

Congratulations, Mr. President. You just created Hell on Earth. If Jesus does make an appearance, it will be to FIX YOUR MISTAKES!

Please work to defeat Senator James M. Inhofe from Oklahoma

I am listening to the Senate Armed Services Committee hearings. I am disgusted by the attitude of Senator Inhofe. He provides examples of torture performed under Saddam Hussein, and seems to be trying to JUSTIFY the abuses of prisoners in Iraq, or at least draw a parallel and that the actions of our own troops fall short of the level that existed under the dictator. I believe that it is imperative that the US Military establish a zero tolerance policy for these kinds of abuses. Anything less is condoning the actions in the past and allowing them to exist in the future.

We must also purge the Senate of attitudes like Senator Inhofe. Please do everything you can to support the Oklahoma Democrats to drive these attitudes from our Senate and our government.

Kerry must choose his cabinet NOW!

Dear Senator Kerry,

The response to your petition demanding Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation shows that America is starving for alternative voices of reason. You are one of those voices, but only one. I am one of many who believe that you must begin naming the people who will take the place of Rumsfeld, Thompson, Rice and all of the other cabinet positions. Then these people should start to show the American People why they should vote for you in November, because not only will they have an opportunity to get rid of George Bush, but hey will be much more comfortable with the group of people that will be taking over.

Following this plan will also help to avoid one of the main problems that haunted the beginning of the Bush Administration. It took him 7 months to finally get all of his cabinet and staff in place, effectively ignoring the thread of terrorism while this was happening. You must show the world that your administration will be ready to completely take over operations on January 21st without skipping a beat.

I know that you are working through the process of choosing your Vice President, and that the process is being compressed as much as possible. Please consider bringing the rest of your cabinet together at the same time. I think this is the best possible solution for your campaign and the country.

New Blog

Hi everyone,

I'm testing the latest update at Blogger.com to see if it will work for my soapbox. If this works well, I'll start posting more often.

Chad

A Progressive Declaration

Written on February 20th, 2004, just after Howard Dean dropped out of the Democratic Primary race.

When in the course of political events, it becomes necessary to rise up against agendas that will cause more long-term harm than good, and to assume among the powers granted to us by our Constitution, a deeper understanding of the needs of humankind requires that we should declare the causes which impel us to the uprising.

We still hold these truths to be self-evident, that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. We additionally recognize that the rights defined by the original Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies have been reinterpreted as time has passed, and that rights that were not obvious in 1776 exist and need to be addressed. These rights include the right to educational opportunities, the right to health care, and the right to be treated the same regardless of economic standing. We additionally recognize that the United States of America is only one country in a large world, and that the citizens of the rest of the world have the right to demand these as human rights. The responsibility to secure these rights for us belongs to our government, and we have the right to make demands that our needs be addressed. As it was the right of our Founding Fathers to abolish the Form of Government that became destructive to their rights and their needs, so it is still the right of the people to choose new leadership that will listen to our needs and protect our rights.

We have stood by and watched with shock and awe as the Current Administration has attempted to spread the freedoms that we enjoy to other countries. We have also been appalled by the lack of competence that has been shown by our Government to protect us from external harm, and when the light of truth has shined upon the source of the ill-feeling that predominates much of the world outside of our borders, the source of the troubles turns out to be our own Administration's History and Current Efforts. The history of the present President of the United States [George W. Bush] is a history of repeated injuries and usurpations, all having in direct object the establishment of a virtual Tyranny over these States and the rest of the world. To prove this, let Facts be submitted to a candid voting public.

He has refused his Assent to International Law, while the lawyers may argue about that until the cows come home. The spirit of International Law is to reduce the use of arms in the world, and he has increased their use. The spirit of International Cooperation is to make the world a better place for all of our children, and he has refused to follow the lead of the Administration that he replaced.

He has misused and manipulated facts and guesswork to support his own agenda, causing the loss of thousands of lives and livelihoods on all sides of the various conflicts that he has involved us in.

His Party leadership in the House of Representatives (Tom DeLay) has purposefully guided a redistricting of his own home state (Texas) for the sole and stated purpose of maintaining his grip of power in that government body, regardless of the true wishes of the voting public. This is nothing but tyranny.

He has denied the Free Press and the US Congress access to information that should be in the Public Record, including information about the greatest tragedy ever to occur on US soil (911).

He has (twice now) made recess appointments to Federal Judicial offices that would have no chance of passing the normal procedures in the US Senate, thereby pushing his own agenda above and beyond the set limitations in the Constitution that he swore to defend.

He has stated support for an Amendment to that document that would increase the discrimination felt by the citizens of this country, in direct violation of his oath.

He has pushed bad policies and poorly designed measures for economic growth in our country, causing the loss of 2.6 million jobs, and has specifically stated through his henchmen that this loss of jobs is good for the long term well being of our nation.

Let others fill in additional charges, for there are many others.

In every stage of these Oppressions We have Petitioned for Redress in the most humble terms: Our repeated Petitions have been answered only by repeated injury. A President whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a Tyrant, is unfit to be the leader of a free people, nor are his followers in their Party.

We, therefore, the citizens of the United States of America inspired by Governor Howard Dean, Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Senator Paul Wellstone, in General agreement, Assembled in many places, appealing to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions, do, in the Name, and by the Authority of the good People of this Party, solemnly publish and declare, That the Democratic Party is, and of Right ought to be, Free and Independent of Special Interests beyond those of the citizens themselves; that we are Absolved from all Allegiance to the Corporations, and that all financial connections between us and the lobbyists in the District of Columbia and beyond, is and ought to be totally dissolved; and that as a Free and Democratic Party, we have full Power to voice our opinions, plan strategy, contract Alliances with like minded groups, and to do all other Acts and Things which Political Parties may of right do. And for the support of this Declaration, with a firm reliance on the protection of divine Providence and the people we represent, we mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.

We are from the Progressive wing of the Democratic Party. We've gotten a taste of making a difference in our Party and our Country. We're not going to quit, and we're not going to give up or get scared off. We're here to stay.

the tide

“I come to you now, at the turning of the tide.” – Gandalf the White

Like a tide, darkness has swept across our land. Our economy struggles, our security is in question, our children are not reaching their potential, and the health and well being of our people are in jeopardy.

Think about the American Dream. Can it still catch the attention of people in far off lands, and draw them to our land of opportunity? Does the United States still hold up the beacon of hope to the world in a dark age, or are we drawing closed the lantern? Think about our planet, the glorious blue marble that shines in the sky. How long can this world support her people if the people do not work tirelessly to support the world and everything on it?

The tide must turn. A tide of thought, care and humanity must sweep the darkness back again. This is a tide of people who want their voices heard, their children protected, and their world saved. You are one of those people.

On February 7th, the Washington State Democratic Party will be holding their Precinct Caucuses to determine who the chosen candidate of the Democratic Party will be in the 2004 election. This is our first chance to bring our voices into a choir heard across the nation. We can turn this country around. We can light the beacon of hope.

Look, learn, listen, read, think, act, vote. This is the legacy that we have been given by the founders of our country. This is the duty that we accept as citizens of the greatest nation on Earth. This is the responsibility of everyone who wishes the tide to turn. Please, find out where your precinct caucus will be held, and attend.

We come to you now, because only you can turn the tide.