Wassup 2008

This wicked funny video really spells out the choice we have on November 4th:

Opie & The Fonz for Obama?!?

From Director Ron Howard:

See more Ron Howard videos at Funny or Die

Bye Bye Bush Comedy Shows!

Yes folks no matter which candidate wins the November 4th election we are sure to be rid of George W. Bush, the "Worst President Ever". Come January 20, 2009 a new president, one who is guaranteed to be able to form entire sentences, will take up residence in the White House. Glory be and praise the goddess, LET'S CELEBRATE:

My friend, comedian Lisa Geduldig, is producing four comedy shows in the San Francisco Bay Area. I'll be checking out the one tomorrow night at Julia Morgan Theater in Berkeley.


SAN FRANCISCO - Wednesday, October 22nd
8pm, Brava Theater, 2781 24th St. SAN FRANCISCO

BERKELEY - Thursday, October 23rd
8pm, Julia Morgan Center for the Arts, 2640 College Ave, BERKELEY

SAN RAFAEL - Friday, October 24th
8pm, Marin Center Showcase Theater, 10 Avenue of the Flags, SAN RAFAEL

SANTA CRUZ - Saturday, October 25th
7pm -- Kuumbwa Jazz Center, 320-2 Cedar St, SANTA CRUZ


Ticket and other information is HERE!

No on CA Prop 4 - Abortion Restrictions

From the Courage Campaign.

Republican VP Candidate Sarah Palin recently tippy-toed into California. Watch this video about her rally in Carson, CA regarding Prop 4 (Abortion Restrictions):



Protect the right to choose:

The Actual Truth About ACORN

From Robert Greenwald's Brave New Films:

Colin Powell Endorses Obama!

This is huge, and most welcome:



Details on this important (turning point) endorsement are HERE.

The Choice We Face

Here is Republican Representative Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) yesterday appearing on Hardball:



And here is the Nation’s (magazine) Katrina Vanden Heuvel responding (and rightly so):

McCain Confesses, "90%"

California Progressive Voter Guide

This is from the hard-working folks at Courage Campaign. Please share it with all your fellow Californians. (Go HERE to print out their entire guide.)
























PROP 1A: High Speed Rail
Vote Yes
Authorizes $10 billion in bonds to begin construction of a 220 MPH train to connect San Francisco to Los Angeles via San Jose and Fresno. Trains will be powered by renewable electricity and create 160,000 jobs over the next 10 years.
SUPPORTING: Sierra Club, CA Democratic Party, CA League of Conservation Voters, CA Labor Federation, Calitics

PROP 2: Stop Animal Cruelty
Vote Yes
Mandates that farm animals such as chickens and pigs are given enough room in their cages to spread their wings, turn and move around, stand up or sit down.
SUPPORTING: Sierra Club, CA Democratic Party, CA League of Conservation Voters, Calitics

PROP 3: Children's Hospital Bonds
Vote Yes
Provides over $900 million in bond funding to renovate and expand children's hospital facilities around the state.
SUPPORTING: CA Democratic Party, Los Angeles Times, Calitics

PROP 4: Undermines Teen Safety and Abortion Rights
Vote No
Californians have rejected this proposal twice since 2005, which would undermine a woman's right to choose. It places young women in serious jeopardy of abuse (or worse) and is part of a strategy to roll back abortion rights for all Californians.
OPPOSING: Planned Parenthood, CA Nurses Association, CA Association of School Counselors, SEIU CA, CA Medical Association, CA Democratic Party


PROP 5: Nonviolent Offender Rehabilitation
Vote Yes
Saves the state over $1 billion a year by providing treatment rather than prison time for those suffering from a drug addiction.
SUPPORTING: CA Democratic Party, Cal Labor Fed, League of Women Voters, CA Nurses Association, SEIU CA, Color of Change.org, NAACP


PROP 6: Massive prison expansion
Vote No
Forces thousands of juvenile offenders into adult courts, mandates longer prison sentences, and takes billions from the state budget for more prison spending at a time of historic budget deficits.
OPPOSING: CA Democratic Party, Cal Labor Fed, Ella Baker Center, ACLU, League of Women Voters, CA Nurses Association, SEIU CA

PROP 7: Renewable Power Standard
No Recommendation
Prop 7 has been a contentious issue. Proponents believe it is a bold and necessary step toward more solar and wind projects by mandating we get 50% of our power from renewable sources by 2025. Opponents believe the measure is poorly written and may cause more harm than good. We are not convinced by either side and invite voters to make their own assessment.

PROP 8: Eliminates marriage rights
Vote No
Would revoke marriage rights for same-sex couples and enshrine discrimination in the state constitution, the first time in history that a constitutional amendment would rescind human rights.
OPPOSING: Equality California, ACLU, Cal Labor Fed, CA Democratic Party, Anti-Defamation League, California NAACP, CNA, SEIU CA


PROP 9: More prison expansion
Vote No
Like Prop 6, this would mandate huge increases in prison spending, by using "victims' rights" as a cover. California legislation on victims' rights is already among the nation's strongest making this proposition unnecessary.
OPPOSING: CA Democratic Party, Cal Labor Fed, Ella Baker Center, ACLU, League of Women Voters, SEIU CA, CA Nurses Association

PROP 10: T. Boone Bailout
Vote No
Oklahoma oil billionaire and funder of the 2004 Swift Boat ads against John Kerry, T. Boone Pickens, wants to take $5 billion from our stressed budget for his natural gas companies.
OPPOSING: Sierra Club, CA League of Conservation Voters, Cal Labor Fed, Union of Concerned Scientists, SEIU CA, CA Nurses Association

PROP 11: Biased Redistricting
Vote No
A deeply flawed effort to change how legislative districts are drawn. Though we desperately need redistricting reform, this is not it. Actually favors Republicans (who have 32% of registered voters) over Democrats (with 43%) and Independents (with 19.5%). Undermines voting rights for Californians of color.
OPPOSING: CA League of Conservation Voters, Cal Labor Fed, CA Democratic Party, Mobilize the Immigrant Vote, Legislative Black Caucus and Legislative Latino Caucus, La Opinión

PROP 12: Veterans' Homes Bond
Vote Yes
Renews a home loan program for veterans that dates back to 1922. The bond must be periodically renewed - this would be the 12th renewal. Enables veterans of current wars to get affordable loans. Bond is repaid by veterans themselves.
SUPPORTING: CA Democratic Party, Los Angeles Times, Cal Labor Fed, Calitics

Young Voters Will Save America - Help Them Do It!

Additionally one of my Facebook friends, Daniel Schultz wrote the following yesterday:

"For decades, Americans have been told to be afraid of one thing after another.

We were told to be afraid of Communists.

We were told to be afraid of racial desegregation.

We were told to be afraid of angry black men.

We were told to be afraid of North Vietnam.

We were told to be afraid of hippies.

We were told to be afraid of feminists.

We were told to be afraid of Communists again.

We were told to be afraid of the Sandinistas.

We were told to be afraid of Saddam Hussein.

We were told to be afraid of a national healthcare plan.

We were told to be afraid of gays and lesbians in the military.

We were told to be afraid of a philandering president.

After all that fear, you might think we would be done. Instead, that was only the warm-up for eight years of the rule of fear.

We were told to be afraid of the Kyoto Accord.

We were told to be afraid of the imminent collapse of Social Security.

We were told to be afraid of global Islamic terrorism.

We were told to be afraid of terrorists among us.

We were told to be afraid of anthrax.

We were told to be afraid of Saddam Hussein. Again.

We were told to be afraid of North Korea.

We were told to be afraid of Iran. Again.

We were told to be afraid of anyone who stood in the way of American Security.

We were told to be afraid of John Kerry.

We were told to be afraid of looters and displaced persons.

We were told to be afraid of immigrants, documented and undocumented.

We were told to be afraid of committed couples marrying.

We were told to be afraid of an angry black man. Again.

We are told presently to be afraid of Barack Obama.

We are told to be afraid of the collapse of the global economic system.

Have I missed anything? For decades, we have been taught to cower before the shadow of every tin-pot dictator and every sliver of cultural difference. All up and down the social, economic, and political order we have been told: Be Afraid.

I think it's time for that to come to an end, don't you?

The Bible tells us over and over again: Fear Not. Over and over again, scripture instructs us not to fear war, disease, death, oppression, you name it. Just to cite the most famous example, Psalm 23 tells us: "Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil."

It is time to put away fear and the abuses it enables. It is time to actively resist fear.

It is time to stand up in our churches, synagogues, mosques; in our social groups, in our political meetings, in the coffeehouses, schools, and sidewalks; in the barbershops and grocery stores; in the highways and the byways to say: I will not be afraid.

I will not be afraid of military threats to this, the strongest nation on earth.

I will not be afraid of economic threats to this, the richest nation on earth.

I will not be afraid of people who look, talk, think, worship, or make love differently than I do in this bastion of liberty.

I will not be afraid of black people.

I will not be afraid of my neighbor.

I will not be afraid, and I will not allow my life to be governed by fear.

I will not allow my nation to be sucked into useless war based on lies.

I will not allow my nation to be stampeded into economic policies that benefit only the rich.

I will not allow my nation to surrender its liberties in order to protect freedom.

I will not allow my nation to slide back into racism, hatred, and intolerance.

I will not turn off my porch light, lock my door, and hide myself away in fear of Those People or That Thing.

I will deal with all problems responsibly, soberly, and confidently in the sure knowledge that "There is nothing wrong with America that cannot be cured by what is right with America," and that "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear."

I will not be afraid. What about you?"

To that list I would like to add,

I will not be afraid of CHANGE because I know it is the lifeblood of human maturity.

11th Hour: The Elephant in the Room

Democratic Spine ©2008 Emily Duffy Photo by Sibila Savage

"It's the Eleventh Hour....these are the last days before the historic presidential election, and there's no better way to inspire yourself to vote than viewing some great political art.

Our featured artist, Emily Duffy, has spent the last year creating this show. It is part of a nation-wide exhibit of political art sponsored by Art of Democracy (artofdemocracy.org) and we are proud to be showing it here in Joshua Tree. You can preview the work at emilyduffyart.blogspot.com.

So please join us for a Gallery Crawl with Red Arrow Gallery on Saturday, Oct. 11, 7-10 pm. We'll have a bunch of art cars outside the True World, and food and drink inside. And don't forget to vote!"

Bonnie Kopp
True World Gallery
61740 29 Palms Highway
Joshua Tree, CA 92252
(760) 366-2300
http://www.trueworldgallery.com/

Watch This & Send

Palin 2008 = Bush 2000

From Keith Olbermann on Countdown:

Is Someone You Know Afraid to Vote for a Black Man?

If so, make sure they watch this video. It's AFL-CIO's Richard Trumka talking about racism and voting for Obama.

Transcript of the speech is HERE!