No Meeting in December

We are still trying to work out a stable, convenient location for our regular monthly meetings.. if you have a location in mind, don't hesitate to suggest it to chairman Jon Graham. Because of the holidays there will be no December meeting.

Note that Gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick, will be in Plymouth on January 4th, to speak with local residents about his candidacy. If you'd like to meet with, and ask questions of Mr. Patrick, the meeting will take place at the Radisson, beginning at 6 p.m.

Pillar Fight

Georgie is at it again: I suppose we should be happy that at least he's come out of his hole, even if its only so that he could tell us how hard he's been working.

And what has he been working on - why Victory in Iraq, don't you know: a detailed (as far as he will go at least), three-pronged strategy for defeating the terrorists, re-building the country, and spreading democracy. Kind of like a series of fertilizer treatments, to kill the crab grass, encourage the good grass to grow, and make the lawn nice and green so it fits in with the neighbor's lawns.

The 38 page report that they distributed today, concludes with several pages of what they call "The Strategic Pillars":

The first pillar is "Defeat the Terrorists and Neutralize the Insurgency", which even I think is an improvement on their previous strategy of attracting terrorists and ignoring the insurgency. Of course they just kind of ignore their past mistakes, and hope no one notices. "Heck," their spokesmen say, "this has been the plan all along. Honest!".

The second pillar is "Transition Iraq to Security Self-Reliance", which is a hoot: kind of like saying, 'transition the junkie to a drug-free mobile home park'. Easier said than done. And what happened to those hordes of well wishers that were going to greet our troops like Jesus on his way into Jerusalem? And you know how that turned out.

The third pillar is "Help Iraqis Form a National Compact for Democratic Government", which is awkwardly put, but I think means that we are going to lead the horse to water, and then make him drink, as soon that is, as we get the water running again, and the oil, and electricity. Once the lights stay on, Democracy is a cinch.

Pillar Five is "Help Iraq Strengthen its Economy", which is something I think we should have thought of before we bombed the crap out of every major city in Iraq. But hey, its kind of what the new owners of a sports franchise would do after paying the big bucks for the team: raise ticket prices, knock down the old stadium, and build a new one with taxpayers money, being sure to add plenty of sky boxes for rich sponsors. Right now they're negotiating with a major corporation for naming rights: not for a stadium, for the whole country. They were all set to go with Enronia, but that pillar of society had its own problems.

Pillar Six is "Help Iraq Strengthen the Rule of Law and Promote Civil Rights" and after they're sure that this pillar is up, they're going to try and do the same here in America. It's going to be difficult though, what with the way George has been dissing the Geneva Convention, arguing for the right to torture prisoners, laughing at the world court, hiding prisoners all around the world and letting the local Taliban screw with everybody.

And then on the same day that they offer up Pillar Seven -"Increase International Support for Iraq", it's revealed they've been paying millions to a contractor who pays Iraqi journalists to slip in propaganda pieces into Iraqi newspapers. Oh well, at least they're trying. And anyway, after Abu Ghraib and the discovery of the secret torture prisons run by our favorite Iraqis, I don't think they are really serious, or care, about their reputations.

And this was always, the report insists, part of their master plan all along. Even that 'Mission Accomplished" banner and George posing in San Diego harbor, were part of their brilliant plan for victory in Iraq.

"You see I was pretendin," George seems to be saying, winking and grinnin, and squinting at the teleprompter. "I was pretendin we had already won, to fool the terrorists in to thinkin they had already lost, to lull them into a false sense of security, so we could sneak up on em and hit them with this big plan here, and these pillars.."

"And lord knows in a pillar fight -at least the kind like me and Condi have down in Crawford after the misses is asleep, the guy with the biggest pillar wins every time.

Murtha's Momentum

I couldn't be more happy with Pennsylvania Congressman Murtha's recent comments, suggesting that the Iraq war is a 'failure wrapped in illusions', and recommending that we immediately begin to pull our troops out.

Lost in the cacophony of the Bush administration's panicked reaction though, were Murtha's suggestions that what really needs to happen now, is for the Iraqi's to take responsibility for their own revolution.

Think about our own revolution, and imagine if American patriots had been unwilling to act on their own, but had been 'rescued' by a pre-emptive attack by the French.

Imagine that the French had taken every major city in colonial America, had captured every British-appointed governor, and had an equivalent amount of troops stationed for five years after the fall of, perhaps, Boston.

Do you think Americans would have seized the opportunity and established the democracy we now know?

The Iraqis will not take seriously what they need to do, until and unless they are facing that situation.
It is of course questionable, whether the Iraqis have a strong enough desire for democracy to seize the opportunity that we have given them. But that is all the more reason why we need to pull out as soon as possible.

Would it better to stay five years more, lose another 2000 American soldiers, and then watch the Iraqis give back their country to the Bathists?

Is there anyone who really questions that in ten years, we will be looking at three, perhaps even four countries, where there was once the single Iraq?

Is there anyone unaware of the fact that the Iraq we know today, was the colonial creation of the British?

The Iraq War will go down in history as one of the greatest blunders of American foreign policy ever. The only thing worse would be to increase our losses by stubbornly refusing to acknowledge these facts.

PDTC Meeting November 30

The Plymouth Democratic Town Committee will meet on Wednesday, November 30th, in the upstairs conference room of the Main Library on South Street, beginning at 7:30. Among the items on the agenda will be the selection of a permanent meeting site.

If you have a suggestion for a meeting site, email PDTC chairman Jon Graham at jongrahamesq@aol.com

The PDTC now meets every fourth Wednesday of the month,at 7:30

Meeting Sites, Location Update

according to PDTC Communications Officer Alfieri...

The grassroots strategy meeting will be held at the law office of Lee Alfieri at 7 South Park Avenue at 7:30 PM on Thursday, Sept. 15th.

Movie night will be on Wed. Sept. 14th at the Plymouth Public Library at 7 PM. This month's movie is "Hijacking Catastrophe." It has been described as a Fahrenheit 911 for grown-ups.

Plymouth Peace Vigil

Members of an assortment of grassroots organizations along with unaffiliated local residents are taking part in a recurring Peace Vigil, every Wednesday evening in downtown Plymouth. The vigil begins at 6:30 p.m., at the UCC church on Leyden, and participants then walk slowly and silently down Court Street and back. It's an open invitation, and there is no need to RSVP: just show up and quietly voice your preference for peace.

Meeting Dates, Location Changes

The PDTC has lost its long-standing meeting location at Cordage Commerce Park: congratulations to the owners for their success in revitalizing this important Plymouth Landmark!

As we look for a new permanent location for our monthly meetings, note also that we have changed the regular monthly meeting date: it is now every fourth THURSDAY, which means this month's meeting is the 22nd (stay tuned for where we will be meeting)

There will also be a Grassroots Organization Meeting on the 15th of September, but again the location is still 'up in the air'.

Please try to utilize this blog for current events and activities: you can either enter a comment to a blog posting anonymously, or provide us with your email and we will send you an invitation that formally allows you to post to the site.

Advice and Consent

It is instructive to consider that Sandra Day O'Connor is considered by many in the religious right a traitor to the conservative cause. Allegedly, she had the 'right' perspective when she was first appointed to the court 25 years ago, but has since moved toward the middle.

My sense is that the middle has moved (or been dragged, kicking and screaming), not Ms. Day-O'Connor.

If the Conservative movement in American politics is most accurately represented by those with a far right ideology, is it accurate to call it 'conservative'? I think they should own up to their ideology - and adopt a term that the public understands: fundamentalist.

Sore Throat

The scrupulously objective national press are going to great lengths to present both sides of the story of, what I will call, the 'Felt Tipper' (otherwise known as Deep Throat).

You are forgiven if you have difficulty in perceiving another side to this story: afterall, time has given us more than ample evidence of the psychological flaws, and criminal intent, of former President Richard M. Nixon.

But in this era journalistic objectivity often has little to do with the facts, and everything to do with presenting two political perspectives.

So most of the news programs covered the revelation that former FBI assistant director Mark Felt was the famous anonymous source Deep Throat by asking for a discussion of whether Felt was a hero, or something else.

On one side are -for the most part, those who saw Watergate unfold from outside the White House, and who believe that without sources like Felt and others, no real investigation would have taken place. The President was at the heart of the conspiracy to cover-up and obstruct investigations, and at his command were the Attorney General, the White House Chief of Staff, the head of the FBI and many other people in power who were willing and able to lie to the American people. Felt had no choice but to go outside the normal chain of command.

One the other other side are the White House insiders - many of whom are now convicted felons, who are calling Felt everything from a traitor to a snake, and suggesting that he should have either resigned, 'gone through channels', or just kept his mouth shut.

Former Congressman Robert Dorn (one of the few condemning Felt who was not a former Nixon staffer) went so far as to blame Felt for the loss of the Vietnam War.

There is no arguing that the fall of Nixon was a momentous event in the history of the United States. There are those who would argue, however, that America would have been better off had the conspiracy never been revealed. Somehow loyalty, even loyalty to corrupt individuals or destructive ideology, is the virtue of virtues.

I simply believe that nothing founded on lies will stand the test of time.

A little respect?

The Great Compromise of '05 has been reached, but there are many questions, and many concerns remaining, at least on my part.

What exactly is the wording of the compromise, and what does it guarantee? It seems that the only guarantees are those that have been given to the Republicans: namely that they will have 'up or down' votes on five of their more controversial nominees, including Owens, Brown, and Pryor.
As I understand this compromise, the Democrats were not promised that the 'Nuclear Option' was off the table. The Republicans were not promised that the minority party would not invoke the filibuster at a future date, though I have heard it said that the filibuster will now only be used in extreme cases.

But if Owens, Brown, and Pryor are not extreme cases, I am at a loss to understand just who might be.

Underlying everything was a continued lack of respect -on the part of the Democratic leadership, for the important role that progressive activists have played in this and other debates. Democratic leaders have yet to understand that we do not represent a far-left, radical perspective. We represent a wide spectrum of political beliefs, but we are united against the far right, the religious right, and the corporate right.

I truly believe that without our efforts this so-called compromise would have never taken place. But to be honest, I feel that this compromise represents a defeat for progressives.

The real question is, who is responsible for this defeat: the right-wing, or the so-called moderates?

Note from the Democratic State Convention

-I have just returned from the Democratic State Convention in Lowell, and so offer the following observations.

First, it seemed Deval Patrick's day. Patrick is a candidate for Governor - a relative newcomer to politics, but someone who it seems has hit the ground running. He was one of three declared candidates who was given five minutes to address the delegates, and he made the most of his opportunity, delivering an exciting, well paced stump speech using the catch-phrase 'Yes We Can!'.

Patrick was sandwiched between the other two gubernatorial candidate: Secretary of State Bill Galvin spoke first, and finally, Attorney General Tom Reilly delivered his address. Neither aroused much of an audience response and Reilly - who though he only officially declared on Friday (May 13) was very disappointing.

Reilly clearly has money, and organization, and strong backing from the party regulars but... Patrick seems to excite the average delegate (at least those at this convention) and, perhaps, offers an alternative to democrats and progressives who don't seemed to have been willing to back the nominee over the last 15 years.

The convention was also notable for a few other passionate speeches, most notably that of Senator Ted Kennedy - who ended his rousing speech with an impromptu dance to the classic rock song, 'Still the One', and a long speech by new Democratic National Committee chair Howard Dean.

The 2005 Mass Democratic Platform

PREAMBLE

WE the Democrats of Massachusetts, in order to best assure our state success in this new century, hereby pledge to work for and support an agenda that creates opportunity, recognizes responsibility, and builds community.
WE embrace the Democratic traditions of our forebears, reaffirming our commitments to the tenets of Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness.

WE recognize that a life which “insures domestic Tranquility” must provide good jobs, a good education, and quality health care.

WE recognize that to “secure the blessings of Liberty” we must honor families, invest in our communities, and safeguard the political rights of all our citizens.

WE recognize that to “promote the general Welfare” we must honor families, invest in our communities, and safeguard the political rights of all our citizens.

We believe in democratic government and in the power of good governance. As we begin this new century, we acknowledge the wisdom of our Founders, who crafted a Democracy that endures. Looking ahead, we dedicate ourselves to the proposition that the ideals of our past must become a workable force for the future. Cognizant of the challenges of our diversity, we guarantee a place at the table for every citizen and reaffirm our dedication to an all-inclusive Democratic Party. From Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s New Deal, through John F. Kennedy’s New Frontier, and Lyndon B. Johnson’s Great Society, the Democratic Party has always stood strong in support of pro-active solutions. We respect the individual positions members of our Party may take, and welcome all people to participate at every level of our Party. Steadfast in our resolve, we pledge ourselves to making this great experiment called democracy viable for generations to come.

To that end, on behalf of the Massachusetts Democratic Party, we hereby adopt the following platform:


Click Here to Read the Entire Platform

24_Hour Filibuster Protesting 'Nuclear Option'

Have you got sixty seconds to spare?

Of course you do.

So do me a favor: seriously consider how you will react when the Republican-dominated Congress uses the 'Nuclear Option' to approve judges to the highest courts in this country, judges who have been nominated simply because they will advance a right-wing, conservative Christian agenda.

Think about it.

Then go to the People's Filibuster and register to be a reader (or just lend support) during our 24 hour filibuster on at the Joseph Moakley Court House in Boston.

If everyone spoke for just sixty seconds I would need 8640 voices to cover that 24 our period. If you just want to express your frustration or -in addition to signing up for the event, place your sixty second speech on the 24-hour filibuster blog at: http://www.24HourFilibuster.blogspot.com

Then ask a friend to do the same.

-Frank Mand, Plymouth, Massachusetts

Delahunt Hosting Forum in Barnstable on Social Security

Rep. Bill Delahunt will host public forums this month for South Shore and Cape & Island residents, focusing on the future of Social Security.

The forums, which will feature Social Security Administration officials and other national experts, are scheduled for Monday, April 25 in Barnstable and Quincy:

Time: 9:30 - 11 am
Place: Cape Cod Community College
2244 Iyanough Road
West Barnstable

According to a release from Delahunt: "the April 25 forums are intended to clarify the nature and scope of the system’s problems and to outline various proposals to address them. Presentations will attempt to place the current debate in a historical context and to “connect the dots” to other developments – including the just-announced spike in Medicare premiums, which impact beneficiaries just as directly as any changes in Social Security policy."

Delahunt says he wants to hear "first-hand" the view of area residents – both current and future beneficiaries, and that, to date, the discussion has been "cheapened by demagoguery on all sides” .

I personally think it would be important for progressives from every local group to attend this meeting and to insist that any changes to the Social Security system meet three basic principles:
1. No reduction in benefits
2. National 401K Plan in addition to Social Security
3. New Revenue from combination of repeal of tax cuts for wealthiest 2% (including re-instatement of modified Estate Tax) and raising the point at which SS taxes end.

We are well into this 'fight', and although I know it is important for elected officials to listen to their constituents, members of Congress are elected as 'leaders'. I hope to hear Congressman Delahunt tell us what he thinks we should do to reform Social Security.

Email address for Delahunt: william.delahunt@mail.house.gov

Tell Delahunt to Vote Against the Repeal of the Estate Tax

The Bush administration's tax cuts over the last four years have led to big cuts in vital health and other services to working families, while exploding the national debt. Those tax cuts for millionaires, and the resulting budget deficits, are also a wasteful use of resources that could be used to shore up Social Security and Medicare.
This week, in what can only be described as a dramatic display of contempt for American families, Congress will try to permanently repeal the estate tax (helping the super-rich) and pass bankruptcy reform (hurting the middle class) at the same time.
This first vote will likely come today! Please call your representative right now and let them know you oppose both the repeal of the estate tax and the bankruptcy law changes.
Call:
Congressman William Delahunt
Local phone: 617-770-3700
DC Phone: 202-225-3111
(Toll Free: 800-794-9911)

Tell the staffer who answers that you are a constituent and that you would like Rep. Delahunt to vote against the repeal of the estate tax and against the bankruptcy bill because both reforms side with the super-rich and corporations over middle class families. Ask the staffer to send you a letter explaining the representative's position.

Email address for Delahunt: william.delahunt@mail.house.gov

Plymouth Democratic Town Committee

Plymouth Democratic Town Committee

This blog site is presently open for commenting by any and all visitors. In the future however, it will likely be modified to allow commentary by PDTC members -and Democratic officials, only.

Apart from restricting your postings and comments to issues relevant to the work of the committee, feel free to say what you want.