In Memory of Our Fallen Heroes

On this day we salute those honored men and women that have given their lives in the service of our nation and those who continue to put their lives on the line around the world. As we remember these heroes we must also make sure those still serving are properly taken care of.

In Iraq this memorial day is marked by continued bloodshed in this very questionable war. The time has come for our troops to leave Iraq, we must not leave them stranded in this quagmire.

Goodbye Ortloff!

Apparently the 20-year Republican incumbent in the 114th New York assembly district has dropped his bid for re-election.

Let's give Ortloff a proper send-off, give a contribution to Andy Brockway's campaign for Assembly. Obviously, the best way to show Ortloff how much we "appreciate" his service would be to help elect a real Democrat that will work to reverse all the damage he has done in misrepresenting the North Country.

In other Assembly race news I have learned one reason Andy's Democratic primary opponent Kevin Nichols is not very popular in Clinton County. Kevin was involved in a lawsuit against Town of Plattsburgh that ended up costing Plattsburgh taxpayers $30,000!

Let's not bring more of the same Republican misleadership back to Albany in November, and lets also not put someone there who doesn't have the best interests of ALL North Country folks at heart. I recommend all my friends in the North Country support the only candidate in the 114 Assembly race that will bring common sense solutions and a true spirit of reform to Albany in November, Andrew Brockway!

I Only Drink Liberally

Well, it will soon be Tuesday again, time for another episode of Drinking Liberally. You never know what is going to happen at DL, last time we had a suprise visit from a candidate for State Assembly. In these days of war and ridiculous Government over reach isn't it nice to know you can enjoy some time with like-minded folks in an informal social atmosphere?

Stop by and tip back a few with the Drinking Liberally crew 7PM Tuesday night at Southgate bar in Plattsburgh and hear from your neighbors and friends on what is going down in the North Country.

Also stop by and check out the Plattsburgh Drinking Liberally Blog, I'll be showcasing some interesting commentary from around the internet. This week I posted a new commentary on giveaways for corporations and the Supreme Court by David Sirota, author of the new book, Hostile Takeover. Tune in your browser to http://plattsburgh.drinkingliberally.org/ to check it out and sign-up for Drinking Liberally email.

I'm thinking about trying a new location for the Drinking Liberally weekly meeting, Southgate is a fine bar, but there are many to choose from in the area. If any of you know a bar we might want to try for a future Drinking Liberally please bring it up at the Tuesday night DL this week or email me.

Thanks, and I hope to see you all at Southgate Tuesday night, 7PM.

“Always question authority, and demand the truth.” - Bill Hicks

Happy Mother's Day!

I want to take this opportunity to thank all mothers, and my Mom in particular, for everything that they do.

A certian group of mothers also come to mind to me on this day, those mother's who have lost and fear for the loss of their children in Iraq. For my Aunt, her son is a U.S. Marine serving in Iraq, and for the mother crying over the body of her child killed by a car bomb in a Baghdad park, we must end this war in Iraq.

Our continued presence in Iraq can only enflame the spiraling violence. We should redeploy our troops to friendly area nations, and the National Guard should come home.

Cindy Sheehan sent this message out today though Progressive Democrats of America:

Create a Peace Movement That Ends the Iraq Occupation and Prevents Future Wars of Aggression

Julia Ward Howe, the author of the Battle Hymn of the Republic, became so horrified with the carnage of the Civil War that she began advocating for a Mother's Day of Peace She published the Mother's Day Peace Proclamation in 1870. By 1873, 18 cities celebrated Mother's Day of Peace celebrations - some of these celebrations continued for 30 years. Still today, we have the enduring legacy of Mother's Day.

Now we are faced with the modern carnage of the occupation of Iraq, and still there are threats of another war of aggression in Iran. The Iraq policy is fatally flawed, especially for the nearly 2500 US deaths and for every one of these there has been 100 dead Iraqi civilians. We have to do something to build a peace movement that can stop blood-bathed foreign policy. We've demonstrated, written letters, sung songs, engaged in civil disobedience and traveled far and wide engaging our fellow Americans to demand that the troops come home.

Hundreds of thousands of us marched in the streets of New York City for Peace, Justice and Democracy on April 29th.

What's next? What can we do now? What tools do we have left in this democracy of ours?

Now is the time for the peace movement to get electoral. Americans opposed to preemptive war need to vote for what they believe in, and not vote for candidates that support war. Let's turn the majority of Americans into an electoral majority that can redirect the United States.

The November elections are rapidly approaching, and the primary races come even sooner. Many are close elections where every vote is important. Candidates are jockeying for your support. We must tell them - 'you don't get my vote unless you oppose the occupation of Iraq and will work to prevent future wars of aggression.'

Peace voters are now a solid majority and we must send a clear message to all candidates that no longer will we tolerate avoiding the issue of war - when it is spilling the blood of tens of thousands for oil, bankrupting our nation, and cravenly blocking real solutions to our energy crisis.

We must vote peace in the primaries. And, we must vote peace in the general elections. If there are no peace candidates for federal office in your area, send your contribution, or donate your volunteer time in some other area that does have a peace candidate in the race.

All we need is for a FEW peace candidates to win for the hawkish powers-that-be will stand up and take notice.

There is another important way to register your support for peace candidates.

This May 14th on Mother's Day, I am going to sign a Voters Pledge committing myself to against voting for any candidate who does not publicly vow to bring a rapid end to the Iraq occupation and to preventing future wars, like Iran.

http://www.votersforpeace.us

In peace,

Cindy Sheehan
PDA Board Member

Primary School

Class, please take your seats, and open your textbooks to Chapter 2006.

What I want know is why in the world Chris Ortloff and Janet Duprey are trying to get on the Working Families Party line?

The members will certainly be very interested to see the political back flips they will do to get around their consistent anti-Working Families stance on the issues, but they obviously must be desperate to think the members will be fooled.

What I want to know is why is Kevin Nichols wasting his limited political capital in a futile Primary challenge to Andy Brockway?

He has no real reason that I can see. Andy obviously has a bedrock solid base of support in Clinton County, there were over 100 of the Clinton County Democratic Party committee members at the endorsement meeting, not a single one of them had any interest in Nichols. Andy is also has a significant base of support in Franklin County. Even with reportedly 11-12 hand picked proxies on hand Mr. Nichols managed only a 9 vote margin in his home County.

I was happy to talk to Mr. Nichols at Drinking Liberally on Tuesday, maybe in a couple years you can build up a base of support in Clinton County to run for some office. It still wouldn't be the Assembly since Andy will be seeking his second term in 2008.

What I want to know is how Mr. Nichols intends to build any base of support in Clinton County by insulting the party committee members?

In an email faux pas reminiscent of Ortloff sending out an email encouraging his supporters to cheat in an online poll, Nichols equated Clinton County with the Soviet Union in a testy email to a Brockway supporter!

What I want to know is why doesn't Tom Suozzi save himself a lost of wasted effort and step aside for the next Governor of New York, Elliot Spitzer?

While any candidate has the right to make a primary challenge that doesn't mean it is a good idea. Much like Nichols quixotic challenge to Andy Brockway, Suozzi's dubious chances and lack of a valid criticism of the favored candidate put him on a dirt road to nowhere. Fortunately Suozzi's futile challenge will likely only damage his own political future. Unfortunately in Nichols case he will likely erase all chance of getting the substantial funds from the NY Democratic Party that helped the Bernie Bassett campaign in 2004. The NY Democratic Party seems likely to be a huge help to local campaigns this year due to the 50-State Strategy of DNC Chairman Howard Dean, but Nichols and Suozzi seem intent on unnecessarily expending the Party's efforts.

What I want to know is why in the world DSCC Chairman Chuck Schumer and DCCC Chairman Rahm Emanuel are trying to undermine Democratic Party Chairman Howard Dean?

Howard's 50-State Strategy is building the Democratic Party from the ground up. Despite Schumer and Emanuel's childish critiquing of Howard's plan the 50-State Strategy will not ONLY get us a huge victory in 2006 but is also setting up a Democratic win in 2008 and beyond. Chuck Schumer is especially bad and has shown a remarkable disdain for the local party structure. He persuaded Paul Hackett to run for Senate in Ohio then forced him out of the race! Schumer is also supporting Suozzi for Governor of NY over the clear choice of most New Yorkers, Elliot Spitzer.

The stench of the Republican Culture of Corruption only continues to grow in Washington. Alphonso Jackson, the Republican Secretary of Housing and Urban Development has admitted to awarding contracts based on political affiliation.

The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans. Democracy for America has set out a petition to call on Congress to investigate, and the Senate will soon be hearing the nomination of General Michael Hayden, who headed the NSA for six years and is now Bush's nominee to be CIA director.

With the strong Democratic party being built up by Chairman Dean we will capitalize the Republican's mistakes and bring common sense effective solutions to the American people.

"My political career is about change, and this campaign is about change. And what we're going to do here is we're first going to change this party, because this party needs to look in the mirror and ask itself, is this party about the next election or is it about changing America, about changing America?

This party needs to be about changing America, because only by changing America will we win back the White House.

I want a party that stands unashamedly for equal rights for all Americans.

I want a party that stands unashamedly for health care for every single American.

I want a party that stands unashamedly for balanced budgets and taking care of poor kids and voting together and healing the divides instead of expressing the divides and exploiting them the way the Republican party has so shamelessly done since 1968."
- Remarks By Gov. Howard Dean - Democratic National Committee Winter Meeting - Washington, DC - February 21, 2003

Some in the Democratic Party need a remedial session in primary school, and learn to follow the lead of great Democrats like Howard Dean, Elliot Spitzer, Dr. Bob Johnson, Dr. Tim Merrick, and Andrew Brockway.

If we can work together as Democrats, Working Families, Independents, and others for the best candidates we can take this country back from the one-party rule of the Republican Culture of Corruption.

Together, America can do better.

McHugh Caught Red Handed

According to MoveOn.org soon after the Republican's Part D Disaster medicare drug bill passed with John McHugh's vote, McHugh got an $8800 check from the drug companies. We are going to issue a new big check to Rep. McHugh, in public, so everyone will know about the $8800 the McHUGH DRUG DEAL. Jim King and some other members of North Country DFA are working in concert with MoveOn.org on this project.

Caught Redhanded Check Delivery
Federal Building front lawn Brinkerhoff & Margaret Streets
Thursday, 11 May 2006, 12:00 PM

To sign up for this event, click here:
http://political.moveon.org/event/medicare/8525

North Country News

On Thursday we had a productive North Country Democracy for America meeting. We formed a canvassing subcommittee and went over what is involved in canvassing. The Canvassing subcommittee will meet soon to organize our first local canvass in May.

We discussed the organization of or new weekly Peace Vigil, which had 25 attendees on April 29. We discussed methods to increase attendance and reach out to the local community.

We also heard a presentation from one of our members, Dr. Tim Merrick, about his proposed bid for NY State Senate District 45. The group then voted to endorse him and support his efforts to get elected.


Pete Conroy has offered to donate office space for us to use during the campaign season for our election efforts on behalf of our endorsed candidates, Dr. Bob Johnson for Congress, Dr. Tim Merrick for New York State Senate, and Andy Brockway for New York State Assembly.

Today North Country Democracy for America held another Peace Vigil in Trinity Park at 11AM, there were about 25 participants. Everyone in the community interested promoting the cause of peace and ending the war in Iraq is encouraged to join us next Saturday.

Je Me Souviens - Si Se Puede!

Back in the early 1800's the Aubin family came to America from Quebec. I do not know exactly why they came, perhaps in search of work, or perhaps fleeing the aftermath of Les rébellions de 1837-38. I have not forgotten that long ago my family came to this nation in search of a better life. I stand in support of the millions of immigrants that risk their lives to reach this country during their demonstrations and boycotts today.

I personally feel that we should grant amnesty to those already here, and drop all nation based quotas. A simple background check should be the only thing that is required. We should also increase physical border security to protect our nation from the threat of terrorism. If we make these people American citizens they will then have no more reason to hide. They could stand up, join unions, and get decent wages and worker protections. No longer would they be depressing the wage levels of America, and they still could live the American dream and support their families.

I was born in America, and I am proud to be American, but I do not think it is right to restrict human migration. The human race has been migrating to adjust to changing conditions since we have been in existence. It is ridiculous to try to stop that now.

If you go far back enough just about everyone in this nation is decended from immigrants, we must stand together while respecting our differences. Together, America can do better.