Remembering Molly Ivins

"So keep fightin' for freedom and justice, beloveds, but don't you forget to have fun doin' it. Lord, let your laughter ring forth. Be outrageous, ridicule the fraidy-cats, rejoice in all the oddities that freedom can produce. And when you get through kickin' ass and celebratin' the sheer joy of a good fight, be sure to tell those who come after how much fun it was."

Thank you, Molly. It's been fun.

San Diego Anti-Surge Rally

Most of the pictures in the video are the same as the one's in the link below, but someone set them to music and put it on You Tube. I love the internets.

Yes, I know this has nothing to do with my usual topics....

...but where else can I show off my scarf that I finished tonight?

CodePink in DC

CodePink has some great photos on their website from this past weekend in DC. Personally, I love seeing the sea of pink in a crowd.

a busy week in San Diego

Hi there. It's been a busy week!

Last Saturday (1/20) was the People's Ball. The fifth annual, I believe. Activist San Diego puts it on as an awards ceremony for local activists, plus there's food and dancing and always an interesting guest speaker. This year the speaker was Medea Benjamin of Global Exchange and CodePink. I tabled at the party and sold lots of Pink swag and books for Medea's book signing. I had a fun, and Medea was great. She's very open and down-to-earth, and after we were done with the book signing we danced the night away. I think she was just about the last one off the dance floor! And of course, her speech was excellent. She's a very dynamic, inspiring speaker. Some people have the knack, and she's one of them. Much of her talk was about her trip to Guantanamo where she protested outside the gates of the prison.

All anyone is asking for is those held prisoner to be charged and given a fair trial. That's not to much to ask of a country that's supposedly a beacon of democracy, is it?

The next day about a dozen of us, including Medea, met for dinner at Cilantro Live! in Lemon Grove. We chatted, and talked about what we can do to promote peace here in the SD area. Plus the food was yummy. Cilantro Live! is a raw, organic, vegan restaurant that has a couple locations in the county. (I had a salad with mixed greens, avocado, sprouted wild rice, cranberries and a grapefruit viniagrette, and it was most excellent.)

Over the course of the weekend I met lots of great people who want to work for peace here in San Diego, and had much fun, to boot!

THEN....yesterday we had a peace rally and march in downtown in conjunction with the marchers in Washington DC (and other locations like Los Angeles and San Francisco).

Here are a couple photostreams from Flickr of the San Diego protest.

These were taken by my friend Michael

and

I don't know the person who took these, but the link was sent to me in an email this morning and there are lots of good photos.

So I feel that I had a very productive week, activist-wise.

Today, I'm staying home!

Just because the election is over....

...doesn't mean we can rest on our laurels! As they have in the past, Democracy for America is holding training academies in the coming months, and I highly recommend them! Take a look at Arshad's post at Daily Kos which gives when and where type details.

The Republican party has completely outrun everyone else in terms of training grassroots activists, but DFA has done their part to bring the Dems up to speed. We have to invest in our own infrastructure....not just money, but time and energy.

So please check out their training schedule to see if there's a training academy near you. They're fun and informative and you get to meet other's who are passionate about progress!

Manchester, NH January 27-28
Las Vegas, NV February 10-11
Houston, TX March 3-4
Columbia, SC March 17-18
Cedar Rapids, IA March 24-25
Jackson, MS March 30 – April 1
Columbia, MO April 14-15
Austin, TX April 21-22
Knoxville, TN April 28-29
Bloomington, IN May 12-13
Baton Rouge, LA June 2-3
Salt Lake City, UT June 16-17
Albany, NY June 23-24
Tampa, FL June 30 – July 1
Frankfort, KY July 7 -8
Sacramento, CA July 14-15
Orange County, CA July 21-22

Not one more death. Not one more dollar.

CodePink San Diego will be joining the march in San Diego on Saturday, January 27. We'll meet at 1:15 at the corner of Park and Presidents Way in Balboa Park, and will march to Horton Plaza to join the larger demonstration. Hope to see you there!

from the SDCPJ

Not one more death, not one more dollar, not one more day
End the War on Iraq!

Bring the Troops Home Now!
Demonstration at Horton Plaza

4th and Broadway, Downtown San Diego
Saturday, January 27, 2007 at 2pm

The US occupation of Iraq is the greatest source of violence in Iraq today. Only the immediate and complete withdrawal of US and other occupation troops will clear the path for Iraqis to determine their own future and relieve the suffering of the Iraqi people. We need to bring our sons and daughters home now.

Join with Pentagon Papers’ Daniel Ellsberg (www.ellsberg.net), the San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice, and other endorsers, at Horton Plaza (4th and Broadway, downtown San Diego) at 2pm on Saturday, January 27th in coordination with demonstrations in Washington DC, San Francisco, and elsewhere in the US. Bring your signs, flags, and banners. Make and distribute your own leaflets and flyers. Bring your friends, your co-workers, and your fellow students. Circulate this call as widely as possible.

Endorsed by: San Diego Coalition for Peace and Justice, International Socialist Organization, Green Party of San Diego, Activist San Diego, Peace Resource Center of San Diego, Ocean Beach Grassroots Organization, Code Pink, International Action Center, F.I.S.T., Pride at Work, Veterans for Peace San Diego, Rogue Forum, New Aeon Socialist Movement, Guerrero Azteca Peace Project, Middle East Cultural and Information Center, San Diego Democratic Socialists of America, Progressive Democrats of America, San Diego

5th Annual People's Ball

Activist San Diego's fifth annual People's Ball is coming up soon. January 20, to be precise. I went last year, and had a good time. Medea Benjamin is this year's special guest. Last year Cindy Sheehan and Anne Wright were there. And of course, all the local political and social justice activists. Good food, good music, good cause.

Medea will be signing her book, Stop the Next War Now, which I highly recommend (and have conveniently moved to the number one position on my Powells bookshelf in the above link). It's a volume of essays on creating a culture of peace.

Anyway....the party will be on Jan 20 at the Balboa Park Club Ballroom in Balboa Park (naturally) which is on President's Way. 7-10 pm. Tickets are $25 in advance or $30 at the door.

RSVP by January 10th – For more info: ASDoffice@ActivistSanDieog.org -
or call 619-528-8383

Tickets may be purchased at www.activistsandiego.org/peoplesball.html

Activist San Diego 4246 Wightman St, San Diego 92105

Conscientious Rejector?

I just ran across this interview on Kevin's Sites Hot Zone blog. It's with Lt. Ehren Watada, who is the first officer to publicly refuse his deployment to Iraq.

Wadata has refused on the basis of his belief that the conflict in Iraq is an illegal war, and therefore in following orders to deploy he would be committing an illegal act.

Bowen plans full review of voting machines

Excellent!

The Ventura County Star has article about Debra Bowen's view on electronic voting machines.

"We are going to do a top to bottom review of every voting system in use anywhere in California," Bowen said in an interview. "Yes, I would consider decertifying machines that my predecessor approved. Unfortunately, we've spent a lot of money on equipment that's not ready for prime time. Any Fortune 500 company would have sent those machines back with a letter saying they just don't do what they're supposed to."

And she comments on the Busby/Bilbray race and the whole "sleepovers" issue too.

Then there are the notorious "sleepovers," where precinct officials in some parts of California picked up voting machines as much as three weeks before the election and kept them in garages, closets or wherever they pleased until the vote began. These machine sojourns became a cause célebrè in June, when some activists questioned whether machines could have been hacked just enough to give a special congressional election in the San Diego suburbs to Republican Brian Bilbray over Democrat Francine Busby.

"I believe the sleepovers are illegal," said Bowen, an attorney. "If a system is designed so it can't be used without sitting in someone's garage for two weeks, we should not be using that system. We could fix this by using a bonded delivery service like Brinks to deliver machines to polling places at a set time."

That's why I supported Bowen in the November election.

Molly Ivins: Stop This War, Now!

Welcome back, Molly.