DSA's National Political Committee adopted a resolution addressing the immigration issues currently being debated in Congress. The resolution specifically condemns the bill passed by the House of Representatives (sponsored by Republican James Sensenbrenner) earlier this year and calls for legalization with full political rights for immigrants. It also opposes guest worker programs. The movement for a path to citizenship emerging all over the country in the last several months is a very important political development that has DSA's wholehearted support. The complete text of the resolution is posted on DSA's web site and can be viewed at:

 

http://www.dsausa.org/LatestNews/2006/immigrant%20rights.html 

The resolution along with other material on immigration will also be printed in the next issue of Democratic Left.

ELECTORAL ACTION

Sanders House Parties Scheduled

DSA members are off to a running start in organizing house parties to support Bernie Sanders' campaign for the U.S. Senate. At the moment, three house parties: Atlanta, Boston, and Detroit are scheduled for June. July will see events in Indianapolis, Columbus, and Portland, Me. Several other events around the country including Ithaca, NY, Washington, DC, New York City and Springfield, Ma. are being finalized and will be announced in the next issue.

Other Electoral News

DSA has made two endorsements in New York State. Jonathan Tasini, former president of the National Writers Union, is mounting a primary challenge to incumbent Senator Hillary Clinton. Local DSA members are working to help Tasini petition his way onto the ballot for a September primary election. Additionally, DSA has endorsed Chris Owens, a neighborhood activist and the most progressive candidate by far in the race, for the open seat created by the retirement of DSA member Major Owens from Congress.

DSA plans to make only a few endorsements in this electoral cycle, as Sanders is our major priority and we have no wish to become an "endorsement machine." However, we do expect to make additional endorsements later in June.

At least once a month, we will highlight important facts that haven't gotten enough play in the media. We are looking for facts that demonstrate the level of injustice that we have to overcome or facts that highlight the superior performance of non-market systems in providing public services and goods. DSA members and friends can play a critical role in keeping this feature current by nominating factoids that should be publicized to the activist community. At least one member-proposed factoid will be published in each issue. To nominate your factoid, send an email to fllewellyn@dsausa.org with the word "factoid" in the subject column. We will be sure to credit the first proposer of each factoid we publish. And for this issue:

1 in 136 US residents incarcerated.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/052206R.shtml

Harvard study finds Canadians healthier than Americans.
http://www.pnhp.org/news/

Congressional Commission says Americans want universal health care.
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/06/07/universal.coverage.ap/index.html 

STAFF CHANGE

Elizabeth Rothschild resigned as DSA's Youth Organizer to fulfill a long standing commitment. We are very pleased to announce that Nichole Shippen, a YDS activist and leader for the last several years, will fill the position on an interim basis while we conduct a search for a replacement. Nichole can be reached at nichole@dsausa.org.

A formal job listing will be posted in a few days. Anyone interested in applying for the position or distributing the job listing should contact DSA's National Director (fllewellyn@dsausa.org) for the job announcement.