Today, May 14th, is the 119th anniversary of the passing away of Mary Seacole, the Mother of Social Justice nursing.

RNs now celebrate Mary Seacole Day as part of National Nurses Week-and as the day we honor the social justice aspect of the work of nurses.   Mary Seacole remains an important inspiration for the national nurses movement being built by CNA/NNOC (California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee), which focuses on improving patient care and safety in hospitals and on bringing this country the guaranteed, single-payer health care that our patients deserve.  

Mary Seacole’s  vision of caring equally for patients regardless of their ethnicity, nationality, or social class established the ideals  social justice nursing, and her belief that bureaucracy should not interfere with patient care is as relevant today as it was during her lifetime.  Moreover, her career laid an important foundation for nursing practice theory, and many procedures she helped develop continue today.

Mother Mary, as she was sometimes known, lived an extraordinary life that touched many patients.   She was born in  1805 in Jamaica of mixed-race descent, and overcame both racism and sexism in a career dedicated to advocating and caring for patients in dire circumstances.  Her own mother was a Creole healer, who passed her skills on to Mary.  After spending many years establishing hospitals in the Americas and dealing with a cholera epidemic in Jamaica, she was blocked from joining the nursing efforts of Florence Nightingale in the Crimean War, due to racial discrimination.  As Mother Mary wrote:

Doubts and suspicion rose in my heart for the first and last time, thank Heaven. Was it possible that American prejudices against colour had some root here? Did these ladies (at Florence Nightingale’s hospital) shrink from accepting my aid because my blood flowed beneath a somewhat duskier skin than theirs?

But nurses are nothing if not resourceful, and, rather than give up, Mother Mary travelled on her own to the war, and practiced nursing under incredible conditions-in the heat of battle, on the battlefields, rather than miles away, where the British hospitals were.  She founded her own nursing corps and her own hospital to deal with the needs of her patients.

Although Mother Seacole was forgotten for many years, this kind of heroism could not be repressed forever, and she was recently voted the Greatest Black Briton. in addition, the headquarters of the Jamaican Nurses Association is named after her.  Today, May 14, on Mother Seacole Day, part of Nurses Week, RNs across the world celebrate her values and her achievements.  

Happy Mary Seacole Day!

Today, for 3.2 million college students, California’s budget problems just got personal.  Gov. Schwarzenegger and the Republicans in the legislature have demanded across-the-board 10% cuts from every state program.  That’s about $1.1 billion that will be taken from higher education. So how will the schools make up for the loss of $1.1 billion? Easy. Raise student fees. And that’s exactly what they’re doing today.

Democrats have tried to stop the carnage. At today’s meeting of the CSU Board of Trustees, Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, noting that CSU student fees have risen 94% over the last five years, submitted a resolution to stop the fee hikes being proposed. But the Board ultimately voted to oppose Garamendi’s proposal, which would have capped student fees at 2007-08 levels and limited future fee increases to the rate of inflation. Instead, they voted to raise fees by 10%.

This afternoon the Lt. Gov. will make the same proposal at a meeting of the UC Board of Regents. Garamendi is a member of both boards by virtue of his office. The Regents will be considering a 7.4% fee hike.  UC fees have risen 84% since 2002. Students at California universities will now confront an estimated cost (including room, board, books, tuition and fees) of up to $24,000 per year at UC and $20,000 at CSU.

John Garamendi has made the cuts against higher education into a personal cause, working with the Students for California’s Future (a coalition including the Student Senate for California Community Colleges, the California State Student Association, and the University of California Student Association) to fight back against the budget cuts and proposed fee hikes. Here’s how John Garamendi framed the battle today:

“Twenty years from now, the social and economic landscape of California will look very different than it is today. There is virtually no question that our population will be bigger, more diverse, the elderly will make up a greater proportion of the population, and we will be likely grappling with the effects of climate change. To meet these challenges, we will undoubtedly need more teachers, more scientists, more engineers, and more workers trained in health care and advanced technology fields.

“Hiking taxes on our young people takes us in the opposite direction. Rather than making college available to more young people, fee hikes take California a step backward. The question before us, then, is whether we will continue to offer the California dream – to all our people — good jobs, good opportunities – or whether we will become increasingly stratified economically.

“Yes, our state is in a budget mess. But I believe that if our state can protect yacht owners and oil companies from tax hikes, we can certainly find a way to protect our young people from tax hikes. If we fail, who among us will tell a young person, who may be the first in their family to go to college, that they must be taxed more because yacht owners don’t want to pay more? Who will tell a family — struggling to put their child through college, while gas prices and food prices are out of sight — that they should be taxed more because the oil companies won’t pay more?”

The California Democratic Party has initiated the Summer of Change video contest to give Californians a chance to stand up and speak out for their interests in the budget discussions.  I’m attaching one of the video entries in our contest that was filmed at a recent rally that students organized in Sacramento. Check out the Students for California’s Future website — they have another day of action planned for this Monday, May 19.

Penny

Online Organizing Director

California Democratic Party

Senate District 19 is the KEY State Senate race this year.  This is the district that is most likely to flip from Republican to Democratic, delivering a majority large enough to actually pass budgets over Republican obstructionism.  Hannah-Beth Jackson is the Democratic candidate for State Senate District 19.

Hannah-Beth Jackson served six years in the California State Assembly, representing the 35th District, which encompasses portions of Ventura and Santa Barbara Counties. She is a tireless advocate for change, having authored more than 60 bills that were signed into law on issues including education, health care, environmental protection, financial privacy, crime victims, reproductive rights, domestic violence, childcare and protecting the rights of consumers. Jackson is an attorney and former prosecutor, who is a co-founder of a non-profit organization.

In the State Assembly, she served as Chair of the Committee on Natural Resources, Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Coastal Protection and Co-Chair of the Assembly Select Committee on Title IX. Other leadership positions included serving as chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus and chair of the Environmental Safety and Toxic Materials Committee.

Hannah-Beth was named Legislator of the Year by the Consumer Federation of California, the Congress of California Seniors and the California League of Conservation Voters, the National Organization for Women. Other awards include the “Guardian of the Coast Award” from Vote the Coast, the “Wetlands Recovery Award” and “Friend of the Coast Award” from the Wetlands Recovery Project.

Hannah-Beth is a leader in bringing a progressive message to California.  Few people know that after leaving the State Assembly she founded Speak Out California to give a statewide voice to progressive values and advocate for progressive policies.

CALIFORNIA LIST is proud to include Hannah-Beth Jackson as one of our endorsed candidates for the June 3rd California primary. I urge you to visit the CALIFORNIA LIST website and please donate to her campaign or one of the other candidates highlighted on our candidate page.

Bettina Duval is the founder of the CALIFORNIA LIST, a political fundraising network that helps elect Democratic women to all branches of California state government.

“To the former Speakers who joined me today as my escorts – you honor us with your presence the way your service honored this house and this state. Thank you for taking the time to be here today. Since I have been in the legislature I have sought each of you for your guidance, critique and solidarity. And I thank you for that – and assume you’ll be available for many more phone calls.

Members….honored guests…dear friends and family….since my election on February 28th to be the 67th Speaker of the Assembly, I have had the opportunity and experience to be part of an incredible transition –  part of a complex and comprehensive process of receiving the torch from the 66th Speaker of the Assembly, Fabian Núñez.

I know the job ahead of me as Speaker will be both easier and harder because of the example set by Speaker Núñez.

Easier because of the outstanding processes he has put in place for this house. Harder because of the high threshold he has set for results.

Mr. Speaker, thank you so much for your leadership, your friendship, and, especially, for the enormous generosity of spirit you have shown me during this seamless transition.

Members, as Mr. Speaker mentioned, I do feel the weight of history on my shoulders today – as the first African American woman in U.S. history elected to head a state legislative body.

Consistent with the African side of African-American tradition, I begin today by acknowledging and honoring those people who have shaped my life but are no longer here to share my life.

My mother who taught all of us that the most important words in our vocabulary must be dignity, integrity and honor.

My last image of her was watching her walking down the hospital corridor – she held her head high – yet I knew she knew her life was about to end.

My father who never wanted me to run for office – because he was afraid I’d be hurt.

But yet he was the one who introduced me to politics, watching the civil rights movement on the nightly news and trying to help me understand the concept of legal segregation in the South where he was from–he instilled in me the passion to fight for justice and equality.

They are not here, but their presence is constantly felt and is represented today by my three brothers – Kenneth, Keith and Kevin Bass.

Will my brothers please stand.

My beloved daughter and son-in-law – who I miss every single day.

I look out on the floor – I sat where Assemblymember Eng sits and the memory is seared in my mind – of my daughter Emilia, who sat next to me during my first swearing in and giggled at the formality.

Her then boyfriend – Mike – who would soon become my son-in law, sat in the gallery with eyes as big as saucers at the enormity of it all.

Emilia and Mike are not here, but their presence is constantly felt and she is represented today by her siblings – my step children – who have been in my life since the day you were born—Scythia, Omar and Yvette Lechuga – please stand.

And Emilia’s best friends – my other daughters – who are very much a part of my life – Denise-Julia, Rolanda, Sterling, Ebony and Tiffany – will you please stand.

Members, throughout the past 18 months I have experienced the best of your hearts – and I’m not sure I can fully express how much that has meant to me.

So many of us have faced personal tragedies and losses – we have stood with each other – we have embraced each other – and helped each other though the bad times.

And we’ve embraced each other through new children – Lori Krekorian – and grandchildren – life’s blessings as well.

If we could only harness the power of our common humanity, I don’t think there’s anything we couldn’t do for the people of this state.

And members, they truly do need us now.

People are losing their homes. People are losing their jobs. People are scared about the future in a state that should be all about hope for the future.

Think about it. We represent California – the 8th largest economy on the planet. If California was our own nation, we would be better off than Russia or India or Spain.

We have it all.

The movie studios I represent in the 47th Assembly District use software created in Ms. Lieber’s district.

Professors at Ms. Wolk’s UC Davis help Mr. Berryhill’s farmers improve their crops.

And who wouldn’t enjoy a glass of Ms. Evans Napa Valley chardonnay watching the sun set over Mr. Plescia’s La Jolla coast?

More than 50,000 companies in our districts export products around the globe.

20% of all U.S. trade – about a half a trillion dollars – passes in some way through California. Workers at our ports handle more than 40% of the nation’s container cargo.

Almost one-third of all U.S. biotech firms are located in California, and we have more biotech jobs here than all the other states put together.

And it’s no coincidence the biotech industry was founded here when more than 50 Nobel Prize winners have been associated with the University of California.

We are a $94 billion tourism industry and the nation’s top travel destination. Millions of visitors come here every year to enjoy 1100 miles of coast and 300-foot redwood trees.

The laptops on our desk should remind all of us that the California visionaries who founded Silicon Valley in a garage, have changed the way the world lives, learns and leads.

Thanks to California you can find anything you could possibly want on Google…and then when you get tired of it you can turn around and sell it on E-bay.

Our 80,000 farms and ranches produce more than $30 billion worth of goods.  And we export more than $10 billion of those goods – 350 commodities in all – everything from almonds and artichokes to turkeys and tangerines.

Among us we represent Koreatown, Little Saigon, Little Ethiopia, Little India and Little Armenia- little pieces of a lot of places.

California is a giant of a state – but we are a giant in crisis.

Over the last two months I have visited with business leaders in the Silicon Valley who are relocating overseas….I’ve met with farmers in the Central Valley who can not afford to plant crops-resulting in the abandonment of the workforce in nearby small towns. I have visited schools and met with teachers and school board members in San Diego and Norwalk where teachers received layoff notices.

I have met with students who are saddled with debt when they finish college – we should be able to provide more opportunity than that for the next generation.

California is a giant in crisis – and now it is up to us to solve that crisis.

It is up to us to take the fear out of California’s future.

Tomorrow, the governor will unveil his May budget revision.

By all accounts it will not be good news. We have to decide how we will address that news. We have to decide how we will come together to mobilize the incredible assets and resources at this state’s command to solve the budget crisis.

If we can mobilize our resources to respond to major disasters like Northridge and Whittier and Loma Prieta – we must be able to respond to the budget crisis.

The wildfires in Sierra Madre in April reminded us all too well of the infernos we faced in 2007.

The combination of economic recession, the mortgage meltdown and skyrocketing prices for food and fuel are having the same destructive force as an earthquake or fire.

When you lose your home, can’t feed your family, or can’t afford health care for your kids, it’s an earthquake.

When there is a disaster like that, an earthquake or a fire or a flood, leaders put their ideologies aside and step up and say “people are suffering – what do we do to alleviate the pain?”

Members, we have to respond to the current economic crisis the same way we would a natural disaster.

We have to toss aside the boxes we put ourselves in and the labels we place on others and come together to get the job done.

I believe part of that job has got to involve looking at the big picture and really examining California’s overall economic structure.

Most importantly, we have to ask the question of whether a tax structure that was established in the 1930s is sufficient to meet the needs of Californians in 2008.

And, frankly, members I think we need an answer to that question that is developed outside the day-to-day give-and-take here in the legislature.

To answer this question I have asked for help. I have asked 2 former Governor’s – Governor Pete Wilson and Governor Grey Davis to assist the legislature in identifying the leadership and membership of an independent Commission to examine California’s tax structure.

This will be a bipartisan group of California’s brightest to work together for one year to develop recommendations on how we can identify more consistent sources of revenue – the way 12 other States have already accomplished.

As we work to resolve the immediate challenge before us, the efforts of this commission can help us find ways to prevent California from cycling through crisis after crisis after crisis.

Mr. Villines, I am just as committed to working with you and your team. I want to continue and maintain the high level of civility that has been a hallmark of Speaker Núñez tenure.

I want to urgency of our cause to be marched by the unity in our commitment.

The weight of history is not just on my shoulders.

As we all move forward, it should be with the understanding that a society will be judged on the way it cares for its people.

As Speaker, I want you to judge me on how I am able to bring together the best of your talents, your experience, and, yes – the best of your hearts – to help build the kind of society that California deserves.

Thank you members. Let’s get to work.”

I’m super-duper proud to announce that Calitics will be the official state blog for California at the DNC Convention in Denver this August!  We’ll be covering all of the action from the floor of the convention, actually seated within the California delegation. We actually only have one press pass to share amongst the Calitics Crew that will be attending, but we’ll work to maximize the efficacy of said press pass. (Also, shout out to DNC folks. California has 10% of the delegates, why only slightly greater than 1% of the state blogger passes?)

We’ll be giving out some more details as we get closer to the convention (the end of August).  These things are always more about the presentation than any actual stuff that happens there. While this year isn’t all that likely to be different, there does exist a remote possibility of some drama.  Either way, it should be an interesting experience for those of us that will be attending.

Pretty fancy video, huh? Howard Dean went all out for our (state or territory).

I posted a couple of weeks ago about how open House seats in special elections had been going to Democrats in the reddest of red areas.

In March we had Hastert’s Illinois seat going to Democrat Bill Foster. In April Democrat Travis Childers forced a Republican into a runoff in Mississippi, and earlier this month Democrat Don Cazayoux took a deep red seat in Louisiana.

Last night Travis Childers won his Mississippi runoff.

This is huge. My Democratic friends in Idaho sometimes call their state “the Mississippi of the north,” but Mississippi is, well, the Mississippi of the south. I’ve been there, and it’s a beautiful place with friendly folks and tremendous charm, but liberal it ain’t.

This is an R+10 district. The seat was vacated when the Republican governor appointed the previous tenant to the Senate, and Haley Barbour wouldn’t have allowed the seat into play if he believed it was, you know, like … in play.

Childers won by 8 points. I’m telling you: this is huge.

As Crooks and Liars says, “It’s like a Democrat losing Brooklyn.” Let’s bring it a little closer: it’s like a Democrat losing San Francisco.

Something is happening. Let me share a couple of personal stories:

I was with Ron Shepston last night and he said he’s starting to see Gary Miller signs in his district. Those who don’t live in Orange County probably have no idea why that’s remarkable, but I asked the folks from the district if they had ever seen Miller campaign in this “safe” district in the past. They were almost speechless, but I did manage to get a “No!” out of them. (Miller is unopposed in the primary.)

In the last week I’ve had complete strangers come up to me twice and ask whether I support Obama or Clinton. Complete strangers, I’m telling you, and not when I was at some sort of Democratic Party function. Once was at a movie theater and once was outside a restaurant. Middle aged “white folks.” In Orange County. The Mississippi of California. Complete strangers.

I don’t know whether I’ve mentioned it or not, but This. Is. Huge.

(promoting a California race. – promoted by shayera)

Cross Posted from Daily Kos

Yes, it’s a lot of money.  But if just 1,000 readers here gave five dollars that would help me reach my personal goal of raising $5,000 for my husbands State Senate campaign.  He’s running because of me, I have to support the deadbeat.

Yes, that’s humor.  He’s a good guy and we are working on many other means to raise money.  The official campaign stationary is on the way, unfortunately the wrong paper was delivered, we are insisting on recycled paper and are using a local union printer.  All important choices on our part.

So, what can I share about Gary?  Well, he got the Democracy for America (Orange County Chapter) endorsement last week and that meant the world to both of us.  I will include his questionnaire behind the cut so you can learn more about what he believes.

I’m a 37 year old California native who was born in the Central Valley town of Bakersfield and raised near the southern entrance of Yosemite National Park.

I now live in Aliso Viejo with Heather my supportive spouse of 10 years; Charlotte our exuberant five year old daughter; and Sophie our

family’s high-strung weimaraner.

I am a dedicated educator in the public school system. I completed college in Southern California where I attended Chapman University, the Claremont Graduate School, UCLA, and UCI. I hold a Ph.D. in the Social Sciences and am a tenured professor in the Fine Arts and Communication Division of Cerritos College where I have taught since 1999. In the summer, I am also a lecturer at UCI.

As a tested leader in the California Community College system, I have served as a department chair, sat on curriculum and program review committees, co-authored grants for the National Endowment of the Humanities and federal vocational education programs. I have chaired tenure committees, reviewed textbooks, authored new curriculum including distance education courses, and have participated in a variety of local and national conferences and symposia.

* Why are you running? What are your goals in office?:

My first reason for running was to just get a “D” on the ballot, but then I decided that if I was going to run, I was going to do my best.  The only way to make progress in red areas in the Country is to run.  Democrats can’t win if they don’t run and every contest contributes to Governor Dean’s vision of the fifty state strategy.

* How are you socially progressive and fiscally responsible?:

I support civil unions for same sex couples as well as adoption rights and protection from discrimination.  I would include transgender and transsexuals in equal protection laws as well.  I support a woman’s right to choose.

Most importantly I believe in the idea of the common good, that we are all in this together and that Government should provide a safety net for when we fall on hard times.   This would include universal health care in the form of a single payer system (universal health insurance really) as one of the most important socially progressive issues of our time.

I would demand Fiscal Responsibility that would allow a surplus so that in the boom times we sock away money for the lean times, such as now, and the state would not have to sacrifice such things as funding for education.  

As Democrats, we have a responsibility to redefine how Americans perceive taxes.  They serve a purpose and they provide for many of the things that we need as citizens.  It’s time to stop demonizing them and to also emphasize that spending should also be prudent and balanced.  It should also be transparent, taxpayers should have the ability to easily find out where their money is going through the local, State and Federal level.

And most importantly is the need to change the perception of Government by redefining it as something that works for the people again and not special interests and corporations.

1. What are the top three issues that you are running on? Please explain your stances and provide any personal background and experience that you consider important for implementing, if elected.

If I were to win, I would forward the very important goals of Universal Single Payer Health Care in the state of California.   Everyone should have health care access where people are put before corporate profits.  People are starting to understand the importance of single payer as well as eliminating such issues as pre-existing conditions as a means to exclude people from coverage.  It would also eliminate the connection of employment to health care meaning people would not have to worry about losing their health care when they lose a job or change their profession, it would also take the burden of health care costs away from employers.

Another goal would be promoting green jobs, protecting our water supply and promoting different ways for our communities to lower their consumption of water and other limited natural resources (gas).  It would also include attempting again to reclassify hemp as a legal sustainable crop, more incentives for electric cars, solar power on individual homes and other areas and more uniform and consistent recycling programs throughout the state.

Education is the largest part of our State’s budget, as it should be. It is what allows California to lead the way in technology, keep business thriving and maintain our high quality of life. Education is a lifetime process from K-12 to our State’s public Colleges and Universities. Parents should be able to expect a quality public education for their children and for themselves, learning is a lifetime pursuit.

More money per student does not mean better teaching but funds for the classroom, teacher pay and school improvements are important for a quality public education. Bureaucracy and endless paperwork takes time away from the classroom and we have to not only fully fund our schools but make it possible for teachers to spend more time doing what they are there to do, teach!

2. What is your strategy for a viable plan to win this race? Please include considerations of grassroots organizing and support, obtaining finances needed and how DFA’s support will help in your race.

We plan on raising money through reaching out to our community with house parties and fund raisers at local gathering spots (We plan on having a fund raiser at Steamers Café in Fullerton).  I am seeking the endorsement of as many unions as possible and hope to garner their support as a union member myself.  

Grass roots organization by getting people registered as Democrats and speaking to as many independents and Republicans as possible.  We plan on using any money we raise to hire one person for the summer so that he can learn how to run a campaign (A politics student who interns with DPOC) and have a chance to work towards the goal of turning Orange County blue.  Our goal is also to raise enough for four pieces for mailers and walk pieces to hand out during canvassing.  We would also like to have enough to get a statement on the ballot.  All of this is realistic and important to building on a future run for other Democrats in the County.

3. To the extent that you have not covered the issues below in your answers to question I, please address your stances/proposed solutions for each. The particular order in which you address these categories is up to you. There is an overarching theme that runs through these categories, i.e., how to ameliorate the disproportionate control by corporate big money interests in all aspects of the functioning of our government. Please address that theme, where you can, in each category.

a. Restoring the Constitution, the rule of law, Civil Liberties/Rights,

Congressional checks and balances and meaningful oversight functions.

All signing statements and activities leading up to the war in Iraq should be reviewed by the incoming President.  All torture and war crime activities should be investigated as well as the immediate closure of Guantanamo Bay.  There should also be the restoration of Habeas Corpus and no immunity to the telecommunications companies for their involvement with the illegal wire tapping of American citizens.

On the local level, California needs to force for the funding of the 9/11 Commission recommendations from our airports to our ports.  

b. Economic Justice

America has experienced the largest redistribution of wealth in its history in the last eight years.  The rich have literally gotten richer under the current tax structure and many more people have become poorer.  The top one half of one percent has amassed the same amount of wealth as the bottom 40 percent which has driven down the quality of life for so many in our Country.

Things must change from raising the capital gains tax to closing unfair loopholes that only benefit the wealthy (such as the yacht tax loophole in California).  But our tax code should be fair.

Economic justice also includes access to loans based on credit score not zip code.  Many minorities are subject to higher interest rates and unfair practices by predatory lenders.  Payday loan shops should be closed and access to banking accounts, savings and checking accounts should be more readily available.

There should also be a living wage in California and our minimum wage should increase with the rate of inflation.  California also needs to deal with the pay inequity that still exists between men and women.

c. Health Care

Universal single payer is the only way to go when it comes to health care.  Health Care coverage should not be connected to employment and should cover every single person.  We need to eradicate the term “pre-existing condition” as no one should be denied coverage.

The biggest challenge to UHC is changing the talking points from “socialized medicine” to single payer insurance.  People need to understand how much time doctors spend in paperwork and bureaucracy rather than in treating patients and by having single payer it will in no way affect our quality of care.

d. Environmental Issues (global warming; environmental protection and conservation)



California needs to invest in green technology (Solar and wind, no nuclear) and green collar jobs.  Our infrastructure is sorely in need of repair and improvement and it offers us the opportunity to change things for a more green option.

There should also be the encouragement and incentives on the local level for homeowners and businesses to move to green alternatives.  All residents should be encouraged to do away with their lawns for more water saving alternatives.  We should also encourage the purchasing of local produce.

California cannot wait for the Federal Government to cap green house gas emissions, we need to institute our own standards and enforce them by incentives rather than punitive means.  We also need to raise gas mileage standards so that other states can follow.  

Hemp should be legalized as an industrial crop to serve as a sustainable option for paper products and other things commonly made from trees and cotton.  Hemp is also environmentally friendly because it requires no pesticides.  Currently hemp is imported for use in products and it could easily become a crop in areas where other things are not viable.

The US must sign the Kyoto accord.

e. The war/occupation of Iraq, the Middle East, and care of military personnel

Our government has a responsibility to provide life time health care for our veterans and a guaranteed free education as well (The first GI Bill following WWII is credited with creating the middle class).  The tour of duties by our active soldiers should be returned to sane lengths and those who do serve should be protected from losing their jobs, their homes and their families due to their long absence.

There also has to be something done about our 200,000 plus homeless veterans with accessible mental health care and low cost housing.  They should also have access to job training and employment opportunities by encouraging small and large businesses to hire and invest time and money in our veterans.

And although I am running for a State position, I feel that is the responsibility for all elected officials to put pressure on their federally elected representatives to begin the immediate and safe withdrawal of troops from Iraq.  The US has to restore its moral authority in the world by complying with international law.  We must demand that the Iraqi Government take over in its own rule and protection and ask the surrounding nations who have a more vested interest in a stable middle east to participate in rebuilding Iraq.  We also should implore other industrialized nations to help rebuild Iraq’s infrastructure.  All contracted military personnel should also be removed from Iraq, such as Blackwater and the Government must stop employing them.

f. Election Integrity (public financing; election protection; voter intimidation)

A large part of election integrity is linked to the consolidation of our media and the lack of real information regarding many important issues facing our Country and the world.  Any election reform must be accompanied by the restoration of the Fairness Doctrine.

There also must be a paper trail to any election so that in the need of a recount there is a means to verify the actual vote.  Everyone should have safe access to voting as well as time off in order to do so.  There also needs to be more uniform election law in national contests, such as a Presidential Election.

All candidates should have access to the airwaves as well as publically funded campaigns.  The influence of lobbyists and corporations on our elections have skewed the agenda in the wrong direction for far too long.

There is also a huge need to outlaw the thirty second campaign ad and the use of robo calls to unfairly influence voters (They should at least say who is funding and supporting the call).

g. Media Reform

Restore the Fairness Doctrine to allow real fair and balanced coverage on radio, TV, print and internet news by ensuring the change from corporate media that is concentrated to a small number of owners to a more unconsolidated media system.  We should find a means to encourage all media to return news to being non-profit driven and ratings driven entities that have a responsibility to cover events rather than sensationalizing them.

So here is my meter and I’m asking that you help me raise $5,000 for Gary Pritchard, he’s on the ballot because of me.  And he’s on the ballot because no other Democrat would run in this district.  When good people step up to get a “D” on the ballot, they need your help.  Our main goal is to hire someone to help us, someone we could employ through November.  Imagine being able to pay someone’s salary, I think it’s the best thing we can do with our campaign money.