1) ACTIVIST AGENDA: THE NEXT LEFT IN ACTION
                  2) SECRET OF SANDERS; SOCIALIST FOR SENATE
                  3) ROBERTS & BOLTON: CRUSTY REACTIONARIES
                  4) IN BUSH WORLD, CRIME PAYS!
                  5) THE SH!T LIST OF PRO-CAFTA DEMS
                  6) AUG 6-9: NO TO NUKES! YES TO DEMOCRACY!

1) ACTIVIST AGENDA: THE NEXT LEFT IN ACTION
We will be adopting a new 2005-2006 Activist Agenda at the YDS conference and retreat from August 12-14.  We would like input from you about what should be YDS' campaign and organizing priorities for the coming academic calendar year.  You can take a look at the Activist Agenda we passed last year to get a sense of ideas for the coming conference: www.ydsusa.org/aboutyds.html#do

We've already received draft proposals encouraging YDS to focus efforts on LGBTQ rights, increase our counter-military recruitment activity, a proposal to equip YDSers with the skills to effect state-wide legislation, and a suggestion that we prioritize progressive electoral initiatives. 

It's not too late to give us your ideas for the upcoming Activist Agenda... and it's not to late to register for our conference!
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BUILDING THE NEXT LEFT
Ossining, NY (close to NYC)
weekend of AUGUST 12-14
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Contact YDS as soon as possible if you want to come to our retreat.  We might be able to help you with travel, funding and other issues.
www.ydsusa.org/confs/nyc_0805.html


2) THE SECRET OF SANDERS; SOCIALIST FOR SENATE
Being Like Bernie
Even if he were not a socialist, and even if he were not an independent who eschews most of the trappings of contemporary partisan politics­including those of the Democratic Party he sees as dramatically too centrist­the enthusiasm Bernie Sanders in inspiring his Senate run would be remarkable.
John Nichols (The Nation's Washington correspondent)
www.thenation.com/doc.mhtml?i=20050815&c=3&s=nichols
 

3) ROBERTS & BOLTON:  TWO MORE CRUSTY REACTIONARIES
Speaking Truth To Roberts
Paul R. Loeb (DSA member and author of The Impossible Will Take a Little While)
www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=104&ItemID=8402

John Bolton is to Diplomacy as Jack the Ripper was to Surgery
After a five month deadlock, President Bush used his Presidential powers to appoint John Bolton as the new U.S. ambassador to the United Nations during the first business day of the Congressional recess. Opponents charged Bolton with trying to manipulate intelligence and intimidate intelligence analysts to support his hawkish views as the top State Department diplomat for arms control. The left-wing radio program Democracy Now!   spoke with Ian Williams, U.N. correspondent for The Nation and DSA member, about the future of the United Nations with Bolton at the helm of the U.S. mission.
Listen/Watch/Read: www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/08/02/1438219
 

4) IN BUSH WORLD, CRIME PAYS!
Crime and Punishment
by Barbara Ehrenreich (author of Nickeled and Dimed and DSA Honorary Chair)
www.commondreams.org/views05/0730-20.htm


5) THE SH!T LIST OF PRO-CAFTA DEMS
So, here is the roll-call of the 15 Democrats who voted to dramatically undermine environmental and labor/working standards in both the US and abroad by voting for CAFTA.  Tell them in the future they should vote for people, not for corporate profit.
 
Please call and complain if one of them is yours, and FORWARD THIS ON to everybody you know, especially if they might be or know folks in any of the states!
 
(Also, check out www.ProgressivePunch.org to see your Rep and Senators' record on a range of issues; look up who exactly your Reps are at www.house.gov/writerep/)

THE SH!T LIST:
Vic Snyder, Arkansas (2nd District): (202) 225-2506
Melissa Bean, Illinois (8th District): (202) 225-3711
William Jefferson, Louisiana (2nd District): (202) 225-6636
Ike Skelton, Missouri (4th District): (202)225-2876
Dennis Moore, Kansas (3rd District): (202) 225-2865
Gregory Meeks, New York (6th District): (202) 225-3011
Edolphus Towns, New York (10th District: (202) 225-5936
Jim Cooper, Tennessee (5th District): (202) 225-4311
John Tanner, Tennessee (8th District): (202) 225-4714
Henry Cuellar, Texas (28th District): (202) 225-1640
Ruben Hinojosa, Texas (15th District): (202) 225-2531
Solomon Ortiz, Texas (27th District): (202) 225-7742
Jim Matheson, Utah (2nd District): (202) 225-3011
Jim Moran, Virginia (8th District): (202) 225-4376
Norm Dicks, Washington (6th District): (202) 225-5916


6) AUG 6-9: NO TO NUKES! YES TO DEMOCRACY!
August 6 and 9, 2005 mark the 60th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by the United States. United for Peace and Justice urges you to join with thousands of people at four central U.S. nuclear weapons sites to call for an end to the development and production of nuclear warheads. There are also local activities planned in scores of cities around the nation.
 
In Iraq, they never found nuclear or other weapons of mass destruction, yet the daily reality of death and annihilation continues, sparked by the Bush administration's invasion and fueled by the ongoing U.S. military occupation. A majority of people in this nation now oppose the war, but the White House and most members of Congress are resisting the only solution to the crisis: bring the troops home.
 
This year, the 60th anniversaries of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki also coincide with the 40th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act on August 3, 2005. Ensuring our basic voting and civil rights is at the heart of keeping our democracy alive and healthy. A vibrant democracy with open public debate is essential to keep U.S. power in check. Given that U.S. power is directly expressed and projected through its possession and threat to use nuclear weapons, the links between democracy, power and nuclear weapons becomes clear. Click here to read a statement drafted by in February 1999 that addresses these crucial links.
 
United for Peace and Justice encourages those of you in driving distance of Atlanta, GA to participate in a demonstration organized by the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition on Saturday, August 6th. The march and rally will bring together people from all walks of life in a call for Congress to re-authorize key provisions of the 1965 Voting Rights Act that will expire in 2007. Visit the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition to learn more about the August 6th demonstration in Atlanta, Georgia.
 
And wherever you are this weekend...in Atlanta, at one of the four regional anti-nuclear protests, at a local demonstration...we hope you will use this as an opportunity to help spread the word about the Sept. 24 - 26 antiwar mobilization in Washington, DC. Momentum is building for what promises to be an historic gathering, but each time people come together we must make sure they know about the Sept. plans. Please check the UFPJ web site for leaflets and organizing materials you can download and use this weekend.


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