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Happy Thanksgiving from Missaukee County (Michigan) :)

Written by: Richard Renner on Nov 26, 2008 7:30 PM EST

To all my friends at Democracy for America,

May your Thanksgiving be filled with Love, Faith and Laughter.

Best wishes,

Richard Renner

Missaukee County Commissioner-elect

Membership Chair, Missaukee County Democratic Party

“Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others...for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.”

- Albert Einstein

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"...let's not forget all the hard-working, progressive Democrats who are running for local offices..." - Democrats.com

Written by: Richard Renner on Nov 17, 2008 9:41 PM EST

"...let's not forget all the hard-working, progressive Democrats who are running for local offices...Local and state offices have an enormous impact on our lives, and also produce our future national leaders..." - Democrats.com

CHALLENGE: ONLY 3 DAYS LEFT to raise $380! Help the only Democratic County Commissioner in Missaukee County (Michigan).

On Tuesday, November 4th, history was made in Missaukee County. I was fortunate enough to defeat a Republican incumbent for County Commissioner in the second most Republican county in the state of Michigan. However, as with many campaigns, I have debt to pay off, and several final expenses to pay. I need to raise $380 in 3 days. Can I count on you? Making a contribution is easier than ever. Just click on the link below, and make a secure, online contribution using PayPal...

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=rrenner%40core%2ecom&item_name=Friends%20of%20Richard%20Renner&no_shipping=0&no_note=1&tax=0¤cy_code=USD&lc=US&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF&charset=UTF%2d8

OFFICIALLY ENDORSED BY MID-MICHIGAN DEMOCRACY FOR AMERICA (MMDfA)!
“Richard REALLY knows his stuff and has specific plans for improving his county.”

As I was quoted in our local daily, the Cadillac News, following my victory...

"The voters...have made a determination that the status quo is no longer acceptable, that we expect more accountability, greater openness, and transparency in county government."

Please, help me pay off my debt by raising $380 in 3 days. Just click on the link below, and make a secure, online contribution using PayPal...

https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr?cmd=_donations&business=rrenner%40core%2ecom&item_name=Friends%20of%20Richard%20Renner&no_shipping=0&no_note=1&tax=0¤cy_code=USD&lc=US&bn=PP%2dDonationsBF&charset=UTF%2d8

Victory '10,

Richard Renner

Missaukee County Commissioner-elect

"...public service must be more than doing a job efficiently and honestly. It must be a complete dedication to the people...with full recognition that every human being is entitled to courtesy and consideration."

- Margaret Chase Smith, U.S. Senator from Maine, 1949-1973

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When empathy and judgment trump ideology -

Written by: Herbert Molano on Oct 30, 2008 12:00 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Glendale DFA

Linked to campaigns: Obama for America

It is very likely that if it were not for the severe economic downturn our country is experiencing today, the presidential polling would show a race a lot closer between John McCain and Barack Obama. But this presidential contest is rich with irony for all of us.

This past week companies that have been the backbone of the economy have laid-off nearly ten percent of their employees and others plan for larger layoffs with white and blue-collar employees soon filing for unemployment. In the mean time, hundreds of thousands of people already unemployed, are now reaching the end of their unemployment benefits. What will be their predicament?

If that were not severe enough, foreclosures continue to devastate the value of homes across the nation and further belt tightening by consumers will mean fewer good and services sought by families with shrinking income.

In the middle of this economic calamity, steps up an African-American man, with a calm, steady demeanor daring us to lean against him as he offers to provide a confident hand at the helm of this country. The irony for America could not be greater, and the hope for his success could not be more essential to our future. Let me explain why.

For too many years, our policies, local and national, have been directed by ideology. We carry the label of Democrat or Republican as if inoculated from information that might negate our pre-conceived notions. The concept that a Republican administration means a smaller, more efficient and less intrusive government has been terribly debunked in the last eight years. The notion that experience trumps all, has also had terrible consequences.

The current administration arrived in the White House with men whose decades of experience in government was a virtual who’s who in presidential affairs, defense, and finance. Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, and Alan Greenspan respectively gave President Bush a wealth of unparalleled experience. The reason for their downfall is now clear: An overconfident reliance on their ideology.

If experience alone does not hold the answer, then what does? – Judgment. We all watched as the Democratic machine of Bill and Hillary Clinton faltered amid a chaos of disorganization and poor planning. We watched as McCain’s original campaign team squandered millions of dollars until they nearly approached bankruptcy themselves. Both Clinton and McCain shed their campaign managers and faltered again with their new campaign teams.

In the mean time, a well-planned, intelligently staffed and well-led campaign of Barack Obama executed a strategy based on sound principles. They worked in exceptional concert as they adopted with agility to surprises not unexpected in a long campaign.

That kind of judgment could serve us well in these trying times. The severe economic recession has already reminded us all that we are in this ship together – rich and poor, homeowner or tenant, employed or unemployed. These are the times that remind us of the commonalities we share as Americans irrespective of our ethnic preferences or religious convictions.

Maybe it’s due time for empathy to trump ideology. We have an opportunity to choose national leadership that reflects our continual transition to a more just society. We need leadership that will bring us together as we overcome the hurdles to achieve the country envisioned by our founding fathers.

That the hope for our future may lie in the hands of an African-American is sobering irony. In order to establish a more perfect union, we must now look toward a man whose empathy, dignity and intelligence transcends our fears. We’ve come a long way to finally accept that “We the People” has a more inclusive ring to it. It's unfortunate that it took economic hardship to show us the way.

Herbert Molano

Tujunga

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DFA National Endorses - Russ Warner - CA 26th Congressional District!

Written by: Patrick Briggs on Oct 23, 2008 3:31 AM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA Pasadena, Glendale DFA

I just got word today that DFA in National has endorsed Russ Warner here in the CA 26th Congressional District!! You should be very proud because DFA only endorses candidates that it thinks reflect the values which we were founded upon - fiscally conservative, socially progressive, and all about grassroots organizing to elect candidates at all levels of government.

Pasadena DFA workin' on the weekends for Russ.

Written by: Patrick Briggs on Sep 23, 2008 11:42 PM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA Pasadena, Glendale DFA

I wanted to share a few pictures and words of thanks to some great volunteers from Pasadena DFA.

This past weekend a few of us walked precincts in Walnut, CA. Red territory in the San Gabriel Valley. Here are a couple of us at our starting point in Claremont, CA - Claremont Democratic Club.

Thanks to Ann Bailey, Judy Hochenhauer, Ahmed Kassem, Linda Fidel, Mickey Weinberg, and Maddie Gavel!

We need the rest of you in Pasadena DFA to pitch in. It's great that the folks from the steering committee are showing up, but as members of our group, we need you to show your support too!

This is what Pasadena is all about through election day, November 4th!

Oil Crisis: Oil Industry's method of raising prices and cutting their own taxes

Written by: James Dunn on Jul 8, 2008 11:15 AM EDT

Regarding opening environmentally protected areas for mining and pumping oil:

There is over 200 years of oil in the 48 contiguous States that are capped up by oil companies to monopolize world energy. There is no need to violate our environmentally protected areas, just to allow oil companies to further monopolize their strangle hold over our lives.

They are creating a media frenzy just to increase the price of oil; very successfully I might add. However, there is no immediate threat for an oil shortage !!! The oil companies have ONLY created the perception that there is a shortage !!!!

I personally believe that ALL mineral rights belong to the American People, NOT souless corporations!!!

I applaud Venezuela for nationalizing the oil assets in their country!!!!

We should be doing the same thing here in the United States !!!!

Ethically Eliminate ALL Political Corruption

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/jamesbdunn?p=57

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The Framers Knew How We Could Protect Ourselves . . .

Written by: Austin Mircheff on Oct 4, 2006 12:42 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Glendale DFA

The Framers Knew How We Could Protect Ourselves . . .
. . . and Our Privacy

Nothing to Hide?

The Government is spying on us. National Security Agency personnel are eavesdropping on phone conversations between U.S. and overseas locations. They are monitoring our domes-tic phone calls, our Internet communications, and our financial transactions. The president's administration and his supporters attack those who expose and criticize these illegal programs as serving the interests of enemies who would harm us. They tell us warrantless unapproved spying is necessary, that we have to abandon our old notions of privacy if we are to be pro-tected from terrorism.

For many of us, sacrificing privacy to gain security seems an easy trade. Again and again, people claim, "I have nothing to hide." They feel that their lives can be open books, and the only thing anyone would want to keep private must be some dark and shameful secret, or some nefarious plot.

But What Have We Got to Lose?

The Government's presumption in invading our privacy is that everyone, excluding, of course, the people who work in Government, is potentially a terrorist and therefore everyone needs to be watched.

Far-fetched? A creation of George Orwell's (see Box) fertile imagination?

No. It's been tried by individuals throughout history. From Caesar in Rome to Hitler in Germany and Mussolini in Italy, the justification always has been that the state has to the re-sponsibility to protect itself and its citizens from their enemies.
___________________________________________________
George Orwell's famous novel Nineteen Eighty-four, written in 1948 describes life under a totalitarian, one-party government. The government is personified as "Big Brother." Every night, Big Brother appears on the telescreen. He keeps the country in a continuous, ever-shifting stalemate war. He controls all media - including the history books, which are continu-ally rewritten to conform to the Party's version of reality - and he uses the media to promote fear, hatred of the "enemy," and loyalty to the party.

The telescreen is not just a television; it also is a listening device through which the Thought Police spy on all citizens. The Thought Police stay busy suppressing personal relation-ships, because they conflict with loyalty to the party. They suppress all private thought and any questioning of the Party's version of reality.
____________________________________________________

Private Information

Let's start with the notion that privacy is our ability to control information about ourselves.

The idea of information seems very abstract. Does information have value? One of the simplest ways to see that it does is to look at simple items of personal data. Everyone knows that when thieves learn our social security number, birth date and driver's license data, they have gained control of our identities, and it does not take a great effort for them to get hold of our money and our reputations. Most of us are willing to provide this information to be able to open bank accounts and get credit cards. And when we do, we expect it to be kept private for-ever.

Other kinds of private information have significant value. Think of the information people routinely keep in their computers. Information that we transmit to others whom we trust. Sometimes this is information that we have to share to move creative endeavors forward and to build businesses. The writers of movie scripts, artists, scientist and engineers all need the pro-tection of privacy to keep others from stealing their works in progress, and their livelihoods. The businesswoman needs the protection of privacy to keep competitors from learning her stra-tegic plans.

Another kind of information is valuable because we can be deeply harmed when it is mis-used. Consider your medical information and mental health history. There are "facts" about each of us that, objectively, say nothing about our fitness to hold jobs or participate in society, but if disclosed, could bring us professional discrimination, or social ostracism. This is private information that puts us at risk of coercion at the hands of blackmailers, and at risk of retribu-tion by someone with a grudge against us.

Finally, there is the kind information that reflects the integrity of each of our consciences. Every one of us holds ethical, religious, or scientific beliefs that someone in another belief sys-tem would find offensive, or even blasphemous - and deserving of the most severe retribution.

Hysterical Exaggeration? Extreme Overreaction?

Each of the different kinds of information we routinely expect to control either already is known or can be learned by people who work in our government, the people who listen to our phone conversations and read our emails.

Can we trust them to not abuse our private information? Can we trust them to keep it private? The recent news is not encouraging. Government workers and contractors with no malicious motives have acted incompetently or irresponsibly, with the result that the "identity" data of millions of veterans and current service members have been exposed. And there are notorious cases of vindictive malice. Officials at the highest level of our government "leaked" information (see the GDFA Essay, "A Broken Trust") with the sole intention of punishing individuals who challenged fabrications justifying the Iraq invasion.

But aren't Things Different this Time?

Yes, the threats we face from terrorists are of a magnitude that we've never had to face before. No one can doubt that there are people in the world who fervently believe that we are evildoers living in an evil society. And who believe that their God will reward them eternally for destroying us.

The Surprising, Simple Wisdom We Forgot

How can we balance our need to be kept safe from terrorists against our need to be kept safe from malicious people within our own government? The men who framed our Constitution knew the answer. It was surprisingly simple:

Our privacy is protected by openness and accountability.

Our constitutional guarantee against unreasonable search and seizure requires that any government employee or agent who wants access to our private information has to explain his reasons to a third party, a judge. The judge's ultimate responsibility in issuing a warrant for obtaining that information is to assure that the agent's reasons for wanting it are . . . well, reasonable. The element of accountability in applying for a warrant is a powerful restraint on the agent's ability to act capriciously or maliciously with our private information.

This is a lot like a mantra often heard two decades ago, when the US and the former Soviet Union agreed to draw down their nuclear arsenals: "Trust, but verify."

We have to trust judges to be neutral and objective. We have to trust government agents to give judges honest information, then to use that information with integrity. Our privacy is safer when there is a judge who knows who's got our information. It's that simple.

The Glendale Democracy for America Issues Advocacy Group
October, 2006

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Jim Wallis speaks in Pasadena

Written by: Tom Smith on Aug 4, 2006 1:41 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Glendale DFA

Jim Wallis, founder of Sojourners and author of GOD'S POLITICS: WHY THE RIGHT GETS IT WRONG AND THE LEFT DOESN'T GET IT will be speaking and signing books in the Sanctuary at Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church on Wednesday, September 6 at 7:00 p.m. This is a FREE event! The church is located at 301 N. Orange Grove Blvd. Pasadena CA 91103 * 626-449-3470

Conflicts with the next general meeting on 9/6.

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Attend Community Forum on the Iraq War on August 16!

Written by: Renee Leask on Jul 20, 2006 11:24 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Glendale DFA

Dear Member,

Please attend Community Forum on the Iraq War on Wednesday, August 16, 2006 at 7:00 PM. You can RSVP at:

www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=106...

What: Community Forum on the Iraq War
When: Wednesday, August 16, 2006, 7:00 PM
Where: Glendale Central Library
222 E. Harvard St.
Glendale CA 91205

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Glendale City Council June

Written by: Renee Leask on Jul 20, 2006 11:18 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Glendale DFA

GLENDALE CITY COUNCIL
June 2006

June 6
1) Affordable Housing, the Redevelopment Agency approves preliminary designs for a 44-unit affordable rental project for 328 Mira Loma Ave. The $16.4M project, proposed by Metro Loma L.P., would be rented to local residents making 60% or less of the area's median income. The project would be funded through approximately $4.38 million in city affordable housing funds, with the rest coming from developer equity, tax credits and county and state funds. It still has to go through a third design review state before getting final approval. Councilmen Rafi Manoukian and Frank Quintero were absent and did not vote on the project. 3-0
2) Parking Citations, approves a five-year agreement with Phoenix Group Information Systems for parking-citation processing, delinquent collections and parking-permit management for the city. An evaluation committee composed of police, traffic and public works personnel gave Phoenix the highest score among three bidders based on cost, the qualifications of each firm's management and their proposals' compliance with the city's needs. The contract will cost the city $236,900 per every 100,000 citations and permits processed -- or about $2.37 per citation or permit. The roughly $3.5M in revenue Glendale gets from the 90,000 parking tickets it issues every year is used to pay for parking-fund operations, general-fund operations and L.A. County Superior Court construction funds. 3-0
3) Fingerprints, Passports, votes to expand the city's fingerprinting service and establish Glendale as a passport-acceptance facility. The city currently processes fingerprints for city, school district, auto dealers and the general public. Staffers recommended expanding the program to handle more than the 10 to 12 applicants being processed daily. With the council's decision, the city will provide passport-assistance services to the public. Other cities in the state currently work with the federal government in helping citizens fill out the necessary documents needed for renewal or issuance of passports, getting $30 for each passport the city processes. The expanded fingerprinting services and the new passport services will bring in an estimated $400K per year to the city. Staffers said that, with the government requiring passports to travel to Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean starting in 2007, the demand for passports could skyrocket, providing an extra financial benefit to the city. Expanded fingerprint services should commence within 60 to 90 days. The city has not set a date to begin processing passport applications. 3-0

June 13
1) Redistricting, postpones a vote on historic districting for the second time in as many months, failing to muster the necessary four-fifths vote needed to pass the ordinance. The council approved new guidelines delineating rules for historic districts at its May 9 meeting. But council members could not agree on the changes to the city's zoning and historic preservation laws needed to put historic districting on the books. Individual property owners can already apply to have their properties listed on the city's Register of Historic Resources. But the changes being proposed would allow residents to have their entire neighborhoods designated as historic districts as long as 50% of residents approve the application and a survey determines that a majority of homes in the district have historic value. At the May 9 meeting, council members felt that the details of the new ordinance needed to be further hashed out. Councilman Bob Yousefian suggested that exterior renovations to homes in future historic districts should be reviewed by the Historic Preservation Commission, as opposed to the city's Design Review boards. And some felt that the cost of historic district surveys should be borne by the applicants and not the city. But John Locascio, a landscape architect who was a member of the 19-member advisory group that came up with the historic-district guidelines, said having the residents pay for the surveys would discourage historic-district applications. He estimated that half a million dollars would be needed to cover historic-district surveys over the next 10 years. "That is small change compared to the millions of dollars the city has spent preserving open space in the foothills," Locascio said. "Preservation of our built environment is just as important as preserving our natural environment. And considerably cheaper." Northwest Glendale resident Bob Goetz urged the council to approve the new ordinance without changes, saying that having the Historic Preservation Commission handle design review for historic district properties would be a bad idea. "One of the problems we face in the city is the inconsistencies between the decisions of the two [Design Review] boards," Goetz said. "I think the council should do everything they can to resolve the problem of inconsistency, and we've really got to take a look at how the Historic Preservation Commission or a third Design Review Board will help this situation. I think it will make it worse." But Yousefian argued that the Design Review boards already are overburdened with 164 cases pending, and that adding to the workload with historic-district reviews would be a problem. "We need more details on this," Yousefian said, noting that his suggestion at the May 9 meeting that a study session be held on historic districting went unheeded. "I want study sessions done on this so I can understand it, because I think there are ambiguities here." Councilman Rafi Manoukian agreed that there are several portions of the proposed ordinance that need clarification. "I am surprised a study session was not called for," he said. "This is a very serious ordinance, and I think Mr. Yousefian has raised some important issues." But Mayor Dave Weaver said that a committee of experts had already hashed out the details of the ordinance and the Planning and Historic Preservation commissions had approved it. "I don't want to sit up here, pick something apart and find every possible weakness with this ordinance," he said. I don't think there is any law created by man that addresses every possible situation." But with Yousefian and Manoukian expressing their opposition to the new ordinance as proposed, the council had to postpone a vote because it lacked the four-fifths requirement to make changes to city law. A study session on the matter was scheduled for 9 a.m. July 5 at City Hall Council Chambers. Glendale is one of a few California cities, including Bakersfield, Stockton and Modesto, without a historic-districting ordinance. Nearby Pasadena and Los Angeles have used their own historic-districting laws to officially recognize historic neighborhoods such as Bungalow Heaven and Angeleno Heights.
2) Election Mailer, asks California Atty. Gen. Bill Lockyer to investigate the source of a mailer that linked the Armenian National Committee and 43rd Assembly District Democratic nominee Paul Krekorian to a suspected terrorist. Krekorian, a Burbank Unified School District Board member, defeated Glendale City Councilman Frank Quintero in the fight for the nomination to replace outgoing Assembly Majority Leader Dario Frommer in the heavily Democratic district that includes Glendale and Burbank. The mailer was apparently sent out by the California Latino Leadership Fund of Oakland. While the group spent more than $30,000 on campaign material in support of Quintero, he denied involvement with the Latino Leadership Fund, and said he has sent letters to the attorney general and secretary of state seeking an investigation into the matter. Mayor Dave Weaver said that the council will consider the matter in two weeks, when a letter to the attorney general requesting an investigation will be brought before him for his signature. "We want to know who did this," Weaver said. "I don't know anybody who does not want to get to the bottom of this. We need the facts before we start accusing people."
3) Salary Hikes, introduces ordinances that will increase salaries for city employees, managers, police officers and executives by 3%, effective July 1. The raises, as well as an increase in city payments for employee benefits also introduced by ordinance Tuesday, will cost the city nearly $4 million the next fiscal year, Finance Direc

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Democracy for America group blog for Glendale DFA

Happy Thanksgiving from Missaukee County (Michigan) :)

"...let's not forget all the hard-working, progressive Democrats who are running for local offices..." - Democrats.com

When empathy and judgment trump ideology -

DFA National Endorses - Russ Warner - CA 26th Congressional District!

Read more

Pasadena DFA workin' on the weekends for Russ.

Read more

Oil Crisis: Oil Industry's method of raising prices and cutting their own taxes

The Framers Knew How We Could Protect Ourselves . . .

Jim Wallis speaks in Pasadena

Attend Community Forum on the Iraq War on August 16!

Glendale City Council June