YDS' national conference, "WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE: Youth Organizing Against Right-Wing & Corporate Power," is just a week away!  This is the final email blast that will advertise the conference.  You can find out more, register on-line and download and distribute new flyers here: http://www.ydsusa.org/confs/nyc_0305.html Please contact YDS if you have any questions or need any help getting to New York City.  Our contact information is at the bottom of every email blast.  Where will you be the weekend March 11-13?  New York City, we hope!


                        1) TIPS FOR CAMPUS FUNDRAISING
                        2) URUGUAY/LATIN AMERICA SHIFTS LEFT
                        3) NEW "WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE" CONF. HIGHLIGHTS
                        4) STUDENTS KICK MILITARY RECRUITERS OFF CAMPUS
                        5) WINTER ISSUE OF LOGOS ON-LINE
                        6) NTL. PRIORITIES PROJECT: RESOURCE FOR ACTIVISTS

1) TIPS FOR CAMPUS FUNDRAISING: GET YOUR BUTT TO THE YDS CONFERENCE!
"I want to come to the YDS conference... HOW CAN I GET THERE?"
First off, if you are within driving distance of New York City, but don't have a ride... get in touch with us and we can see who is coming from your area that might be able to offer you one.  There are also great last minute tips at the website below on travel planning, economizing and fundraising, from getting cheap plane tickets, hosting events to raise money, to hitting up your student government for funds.  Remember that YDS is providing a limited number of travel scholarships for folks to attend our conference, so contact us and we might be able to help out.  You can also pay your way to "When Bush Comes to Shove" and help re-coop the funds after the conference.  It's not too late to book your travel! Hope to see you in New York City from March 11-13!  Keep this list of fundraising tips handy.  It can come in use in the future:
http://www.phrusa.org/students/conference_2005/funding.php


2) URUGUAY/LATIN AMERICA SHIFTS LEFT
On Tuesday, Uruguay inaugurated its first left-wing government in the county's 150 year history.
With Uruguay's historic shift, approximately three-quarters of South America's 355 million people are now governed by left-leaning leaders and political parties.  While there are some very encouraging signs coming out of the region, neoliberal economic policies continue to limit the prospects of promoting social justice along with needed land and wealth redistribution.  Brazil's Lula, Argentina's Kirchner, Venezuela's Chavez, Chile's Lagos, Ecuador's Gutiérrez and now Uruguay's Vázquez are a mixed bag.  Still, we salute our comrades in Uruguay for their recent victory and hope that the left parties, grassroots movements and progressive activists will be able to forge a more humane and egalitarian future for the people of South America.

YDS is pleased to announce that Leticia Benedet will be joining us at the upcoming YDS conference from March 11-13 in New York City.  Leticia is the Gender Equality Secretary of the Young Socialists of Uruguay - YDS' sister organization in the country.  Leticia also serves as the Feminist Coordinator of the Americas for the International Union of Socialist Youth and is attending the Beijing+10 women's rights conference at the United Nations this week.  Leticia will be addressing the "When Bush Comes to Shove" conference to speak about the left in Latin America, the recent victory in Uruguay and how democratic socialism, while not a major political force in the United States, is relevant and influential elsewhere.


3) NEW "WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE" CONFERENCE HIGHLIGHTS
Below are some of the workshop and training highlights from the upcoming YDS conference from March 11-13 in New York City.  There is also the "Resisting the Right-Wing" opening plenary with Frances Fox Piven (distinguished sociologist, author of "The War at Home: The Domestic Costs of Bush's Militarism" and Honorary Chair of the Democratic Socialists of America), Ian Williams (U.N. correspondent for The Nation magazine, author of "Deserter: George Bush's War on Military Families, Veterans, and His Past" and "The U.N. for Beginners") and Hany Khalil - Organizing Coordinator, United for Peace and Justice.  Also, don't forget the performance of "Marx in Soho" along with a spoken word performance. 
Check out the YDS website for more info: www.ydsusa.org

Democratic Socialism: History, Theory & Practice
with: Joseph  Schwartz- Chair, Dept. of Political Science, Temple University and Chair, Steering Committee of the Democratic Socialists of America; Leticia Benedet- Gender Equality Secretary, Young Socialists of Uruguay; Feminist Coordinator of the Americas, International Union of Socialist Youth

Iraq, U.S. Foreign Policy & the Peace Movement
with: Joanne Landy- New Politics, Co-Director of the Campaign for Peace and Democracy; John Mason- Professor of Politics at William Paterson University

Understanding Capitalism
with: Paddy Quick and Frank Roosevelt of the Union for Radical Political Economics

Left-Wing Media: A Panel Discussion
with: Maxine Phillips- editor of Dissent; Ken Worcester- editor of New Politics; and Tracie McMillan- managing editor of City Limits

Inter-generational Activist Dialogue
with: Steve Max- former leader in Students for a Democratic Society (SDS) and Director of Organizing and Training, Midwest Academy, in addition to others activists.

Counter-Military Recruitment: A Training for Youth Activists
with: Steve Teberge and Molly Birnbaum of the War Resisters League's Youth & Counter-Militarism Program

International Solidarity & the Global Justice Movement
with: Mark Engler- Commentator for Foreign Policy in Focus, journalist for www.democracyuprising.com; Jessica Shearer- A.F.L-C.I.O and Feminist Working Group Coordinator, International Union of Socialist Youth


4) STUDENTS KICK MILITARY RECRUITERS OFF CAMPUS
Students at Seattle Central Community College expelled military recruiters from their campus on January 20th in a defiant counter-inauguration protest!  This is just one of the more visible displays of a wave of youth-led counter-recruitment activism that is sweeping the country.  For a description and analysis of the action, visit:
http://montages.blogspot.com/2005/01/seattle-central-community-college.html

YDS encourages its members to play a role in these efforts to inform other young people about the realities of military service, about the costs of war and militarism, and to demand "books not bombs."
There will be a counter-military recruitment training at the upcoming YDS conference.  See below for more details.


5) WINTER ISSUE OF LOGOS ON-LINE
The new edition of the on-line journal, Logos, is now on-line.  It contains many essays, articles and book reviews written by democratic socialists, including Geoff Kurtz, Ian Williams and Frances Fox Piven, all of whom will be presenting at the upcoming YDS conference.
www.logosjournal.com


6) NATIONAL PRIORITIES PROJECT: RESOURCE FOR ACTIVISTS
The National Priorities Project has just expanded the NPP Database to include a wide selection of data and statistics for every county in the nation.  For example, did you know:

--East Carroll Parish has the highest unemployment rate in Louisiana at nearly 20%, up from 13% in 1999. 
--Families in Lake County, Michigan received about one-third less in Section 8 money for affordable
housing in 2003 than they did in 2000, after adjusting for inflation.  Lake County has the highest child
poverty rate in Michigan.
--Median household income ranges in Alabama from $18,455 in Wilcox County to $61,393 in Shelby County.  Statewide, the median is $37,419.
--Blacks in Alleghany County, Pennsylvania, have a poverty rate of 23% while whites have a poverty rate of less than 7%.
--Los Angeles County, California, received $10.4 billion in defense contracts in 2003, the most of any
county in the state.

To see information for your county and much more, go to: http://database.nationalpriorities.org

With the NPP Database, you can view an enormous range of data and statistics at county, state and national levels going back to 1983.  Many different issue areas are covered: income and poverty, housing, hunger, health, energy, military, education, labor and basic demographic information.  You can create graphs, adjust for inflation, and make printer-friendly reports.  You can also save your searches and come back to view them at a later date.  This is great resource for making YDS informational flyers, to use for teach-ins or to help with your social justice campaign work.

REGISTER ON-LINE TODAY:       http://www.ydsusa.org/confs/nyc_0305.html
WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE:
Youth Organizing Against Right-Wing and Corporate Power
March 11-13            New York City


 
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