2) SOCIALIST GIFTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS
                               3) KILLER BUDGET CUTS: WE CAN STILL DEFEAT THEM       
                               4) DEC. 10: WORKER'S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS!
                               5) THE SOCIALIST 'SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW'
                               6) ON POWER & BEING "PROGRESSIVE"
                               7) JUST FOR FUN: IMMATURE ANTI-BUSH ANIMATIONS
                               8) IUSY WORLD CONGRESS: DENMARK, JAN. 13-15



1) ENDING THE IRAQ WAR: CONGRESS & RECRUITMENT ON DEC. 6th
December 6th is an important way of action for the anti-war movement for 2 reasons:
[1] Military Recruitment, the Solomon Amendment and Queer Rights
YDS in conjunction with our allies in the National Youth & Student Peace Coalition is calling for a day of awareness and education about the Solomon Amendment which mandates that colleges will LOSE their funding if military recruiters are not allowed full access to recruit on campuses.  An institution that discriminates on the basis of sexual orientation (the military) should NOT be allowed on our college campuses and violates many universities' anti-discrimination policies.  
 
Student activists are challenging the Solomon Amendment at the Supreme Court and their message is clear: students should have the right to kick the military off campuses because it openly discriminates against LGBTQQI people and is NOT an "equal opportunity employer".  On December 6th, as the Supreme Court considers this historic case, we urge students across the country to bring light to the military's discrimination policies and presence on your campus.  With less than one week left before December 6, we must move fast.  Here are some ideas for education and  action: 

• Distribute flyers available on the NYSPC website to students and administrators on your campus: www.nyspc.net
• Reach out to LGBTQQI, students rights, feminist and other anti-discrimination groups on campus to build a broader network/coalition working against military recruitment.  
• Have a queer kiss-in at your campuses' military recruiting or ROTC office!  
• Meet with school administrators to talk about your concerns (and demand an explanation/end to) allowing discriminatory institutions (such as the military) on your campus.  
• Call your Members of Congress to voice your opposition to the Solomon Amendment and the War in Iraq!  Call the Capitol Switchboard to get connected to your representatives' offices  202-224-3121  or find their local contact info at www.congress.org.    

For more info on the court case see: www.solomonresponse.org

[2] National Call-In Day on Iraq War
On Tuesday, December 6, Congress will reconvene in Washington, D.C.  -- and United for Peace and Justice, in conjunction with Win Without War, is calling for a massive national grassroots call-in day against the war.

We have an extraordinary window of opportunity to press our position. The Bush Administration is on the political defensive as never before -- witness Bush's very weak speech a few days ago -- and every day calls for immediate withdrawal from Iraq are becoming more widespread.

• We need to flood every single Congressional office with phone calls, faxes and email messages urging an immediate end to the war!
• Download the leaflet from the UFPJ website promoting the call-in day, and distribute it widely between now and Tuesday. http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3151
• Plan to send a press release to your local media outlets on Monday, December 5, regarding the call-in day. (check the UFPJ website for sample letters)  It is important that the media know about our grassroots efforts.
• Organize a phone bank for Monday, December 5, to remind other in your YDS chapter or fellow and other fellow activists to call their Representatives and Senators the next day.

2) SOCIALIST GIFTS FOR THE HOLIDAYS
Gift Membership to YDS!
YDS relies on your support to carry on our important work for social and economic justice.  It should come as no surprise that we Socialists don't receive any corporate funding to continue doing what we do best.  We rely entirely on the dues and financial contributions of our members and people like you.  
Joining YDS (or renewing your membership) is EASY, and it's CHEAP! (the student/low-income rate is only $20 a year).
To join, to make a holiday tax-free donation or to give a gift membership to a friend or family member, click on the link below (as YDS is the youth section of the Democratic Socialists of America, YDSers join by becoming DSA members).
GIFT MEMBERSHIP / JOIN HERE: www.dsausa.org/join/index.html

The "Best Socialist Country Hip-Hop Ever!"
Our friends at B-STAR have a new CD out.  What We Do is available online: www.b-star.net

Telling the Truth: Socialist Register 2006
Since 1964, the Socialist Register has brought together leading writers on the left to investigate aspects of a common theme. Telling the Truth: Socialist Register 2006 examines how contemporary social and political debate is structured, how ideas and ideologies come to inform policy making, research, education, and our conceptions of truth more generally.  Contributors include DSA members like Barbara Ehrenreich, Frances Fox Piven and other leading thinkers on the left.  
To buy this book or others written by democratic socialists, click here for DSA's on-line bookshop: www.dsausa.org/books/books.html


3) KILLER BUDGET CUTS: WE CAN STILL DEFEAT THEM!
Although the House of Representatives and Senate have passed initial versions of Budget Reconciliation, our fight continues. The differences between the House and Senate versions are enormous, including a House bill that cuts $5.3 billion more in student loans! As they work out the differences, many Members will be hesitant to vote for a bill so different than the one they initially passed. Use this hesitation to tell them to vote NO on Budget Reconciliation!!!

The student voice has been so strong in opposition to Budge Reconciliation that it is no surprise they pushed back the vote into our finals weeks!
Go here for 3 quick things you can do while studying to make a difference: www.usstudents.org

Burying College Grads in Debt
The average student now graduates with three and a half times more debt than ten years ago, but still Washington wants to cut even more student aid.
by Elana Berkowitz and John Burton (Campus Progress)
www.alternet.org/wiretap/28641


4) DEC. 10: WORKER'S RIGHTS ARE HUMAN RIGHTS!
YDS strongly encouraged all its chapters and members to be a part of an organized event during International Human Rights Day, December 10th.  Please contact us if you need help organizing an event or simply to let us know about your plans!

In addition to the union website links below, we suggest checking out United Students Against Sweatshops for additional materials and action ideas: www.studentsagainstsweatshops.org

Hot New Materials Online
Planning for Dec. 10: International Human Rights Day is under way all across the country and newly updated materials are available at the AFL-CIO website about the need to restore workers' freedom to form unions and bargain collectively.

The Silent War: The Assault on Workers' Freedom to Choose a Union and Bargain Collectively in the United States
www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/how/upload/vatw_issuebrief.pdf
This newly updated Voice@Work issue brief has all the facts on employer opposition to unionization and the NLRB election deathtrap.

The Employer War: The Union Difference www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/why/uniondifference/upload/this_is_america.pdf
Originally published in America@work magazine, this 2005 update includes new worker stories.

Dec. 10 Toolkit
www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/voiceatwork/upload/toolkit_d10_2005.pdf

Dec. 10 Teach-In Toolkit: Handbook for Students Who Support Workers' Rights
www.aflcio.org/joinaunion/upload/teachin_toolkit.pdf
Everything students and faculty need to set up workers' rights teach-ins in advance of Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day. Includes fact sheets on the Employee Free Choice Act, employer opposition and the union difference.

All of these materials and more also are available on the AFL-CIO website at: www.aflcio.org.

Global Survey Slams U.S. Worker Intimidation
U.S. employers regularly harass and intimidate workers seeking a union voice at work, according to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions' Annual Study of Trade Union Rights Violations. The global survey found 92 percent of U.S. employers force workers to attend anti-union meetings by threatening them with discipline or dismissal if they refuse and 75 percent hire anti-worker firms to subdue workers and fight organizing. But U.S. employers that violate workers' rights  including firing workers seeking to form unions  face weak and poorly enforced legal sanctions. For more information, visit www.icftu.org . Then get ready to change things the week of Dec. 10, International Human Rights Day!

YDS LIT: "Why Unions Matter"
This is an excellent literature piece for anyone who wants to learn about the labor movement from a democratic socialist perspective.
Print & hand out: www.ydsusa.org/statements/why_unions_matter.pdf


5) YIP HARBURG: THE SOCIALIST 'SOMEWHERE OVER THE RAINBOW'
His name might not be familiar to many, but his songs are sung by millions around the world.  This Democracy Now! segment takes a journey through the life and work of Yip Harburg, the Broadway lyricist who wrote such hits as "Brother Can You Spare a Dime" and who put the music into the Wizard of Oz. Born into poverty on the Lower East Side of Manhattan, Yip always included a strong social and political component to his work, fighting racism and poverty. A lifelong socialist, Yip was blacklisted and hounded throughout much of his life.
Listen/Watch/Read: www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/11/25/1251211


6) ON POWER & BEING "PROGRESSIVE"
Looking at Power From the Outside
"It's often struck me that if we were European, half my friends would be in government some day. We're American, and so the people I'm thinking of will make their careers mainly as staffers for unions or left NGOs instead. (Didn't someone famous say that [DSA founder] Mike Harrington would've been a Prime Minister if he'd been a European? Maybe that's where I got the idea.)"

Why I'm Not a Progressive
"People who once might have called themselves liberals or social democrats or democratic socialists (not to suggest that those are all the same people!) now often call themselves "progressives." I sometimes use that word generally by accident, since I've heard it so often that it slips out of my mouth when I'm not speaking deliberately but when I'm choosing my words carefully, I avoid it. I don't think it's a good name for my part of the left. Here's why."
Read these and other posts on teaching, internationalism, and more at YDS member Geoff Kurtz' website: www.lookingatthecity.blogspot.com/


7) JUST FOR FUN: IMMATURE ANTI-BUSH ANIMATIONS
GOP=A$$HOLE SING-ALONG: http://filmstripinternational.com/
BUSH FREE-FALL GAME: www.yeeguy.com/freefall/


8) IUSY WORLD CONGRESS: DENMARK, JAN. 13-15
The International Union of Socialist Youth (the world's largest youth political coalition, of which YDS is the U.S. member organization) is holding its annual World Congress in Esbjerg, Denmark from January 13-15, 2006.  The special focus this year is on sustainable development.  If you are interested in being a YDS delegate to the Congress, please email our International Secretary at: yds-international@dsausa.org .  The deadline for delegate registration is Dec. 9th, so please contact us ASAP if you have any questions.  You can view Congress related-materials at the IUISY homepage: www.iusy.org





GET UPDATE FROM YOUNG DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS BY EMAIL
Send a request to yds@dsausa.org and you will be added to the list.

SPAM/JUNK MAIL REMINDER:
To make sure that our updates are not erroneously transferred into a  junk mail folder by your anti-spam program, you should add the following email to your address book or approved contact list: yds@dsausa.org

GOT NEW CONTACT INFO?
Using a new email account?  Got a new mailing address?  Have a new phone number?  Send us your latest contact info. and we'll keep you in the loop.

WANT TO JOIN THE YDS DISCUSSION LISTSERV?
Debate, strategize, and get your learn on with young democratic socialists around the country.  Click here for instructions: http://lists.topica.com/lists/yds-discuss/

KNOW OTHERS WHO WOULD LIKE TO GET OUR EMAIL UPDATES?
Send in the email addresses of YDSers and sympathetic contacts on your campus or in your community and we'll add them to our weekly blast list.