Update from the Young Democratic Socialists
www.ydsusa.org
post far and wide

--November 4th, 2005--

In this update you will find:
                        1) FLIPPING THE SCRIPT ON WAL-MART
                        2) STUDENTS GETTING SCREWED BY PRIVATIZATION
                        3) REMEMBERING A CIVIL RIGHTS HERO
                        4) ARE BUSH/CHENEY BAD CAPITALISTS?
                        5) NOV. 17TH: NATIONAL COUNTER RECRUITMENT DAY
                        6) STOPPING THE SAVAGE GOP BUDGET CUTS
                        7) SUPREME PREDICTION: THE WORST CASE SCENARIO
                        8) DEC. 3RD: STOP GLOBAL WARMING!


_________________________________________________________________


SPECIAL APPEAL: CONTINUE TURNING THE TIDE AGAINST BUSH
Without a doubt, George W. Bush, Dick Cheney, Karl Rove and rest of the crew in the White House would love to leave last week in the past.  Bush's opinion ratings are in the toilet... with the latest polls showing a mere 35% in approval. The following string of events have only accelerated the decline of an administration already plagued by corruption, lies, incompetence and distorted priorities:


While the withdrawal of Harriet Miers (Bush's crony appointment to the Supreme Court) may have been hastened by the far-right, her demise speaks to the stumbling hubris of the Bush administration.

While unlikely to cut into Dubya's domestic approval rating, the anti-Bush and anti-capitalist protests currently rocking the streets of Argentina illustrate the widespread global opposition to U.S. hegemony and the Right's pro-corporate agenda.

At home, pressure from unions, community groups, and other activists forced the Bush admin. to drop plans to suspend the Davis-Bacon laws that ensure workers get paid decent wages in the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast.  This is a small but important victory for our side.

The Democrats recently forced the Senate into secret session to address the lies and intelligence manipulations that paved the way for the Iraq invasion.  The Democrats are beginning to act more like a genuine opposition party, notwithstanding the cowardice and capitulation that has characterized many of the party's leaders.

Despite the set-backs facing the Bush administration and its steady decline in popularity, the Republicans are relentlessly pushing forward their agenda - recently approving oil drilling in Alaska. slashing tens of billions from essential services, and putting forward the extremist, judge Samuel Alito, for the Supreme Court.  With that said, the Bush administration may now be more vulnerable than ever before.

Our task as democratic socialists is to now push even harder, to take full advantage of this extraordinary political opening. 

YDS urges all its members and chapters to step up and use this moment to draw attention to the Bush administration's reckless and destructive policies.  We must take this opportunity to speak up for a dramatic change in direction.  Here are some suggestions for what you can do:

1) Nov. 8th is an election day.  From Maine, to New York, to Ohio and California there are (mostly local) candidates to be supported/defeated and critical ballot initiatives to be voted down/approved.  Volunteer some time to phone bank, door knock, and get out the vote on Tuesday!

2) Organize teach-ins, debates, film screenings, parties, and other events that allow us to spread our message of social and economic justice and encourage maximum cooperation between progressive activists.  Contact YDS for more ideas.

3) Participate in upcoming days of action and protests.  Check out the November activist calendar posted in our last email blast: www.dsausa.org/ydsupdate/index.html.  More information below.

4) As always, keep us posted!  Send us updates on your events and how we can help support them (with speakers, materials, trainings, etc.)


1) FLIPPING THE SCRIPT ON WAL-MART: NOV. 13-19 WEEK OF ACTION
Last week the New York Times broke the story of a secret Wal-Mart Board of Directors memo obtained by Wal-Mart Watch.  Millions of people around the world are discovering the true ruthlessness of Wal-Mart's business practices. Wal-Mart tries hard and spends an unbelievable amount of money to make us believe that they treat their workers like family. We've all seen the television commercials and will see many more in the days and weeks ahead. But we've shattered this myth once and for all.

The secret memo reveals the complete disregard - if not outright hostility - with which Wal-Mart's executives view their more than 1.3 million employees in the U.S. It confirms facts that Wal-Mart has long denied, including that 46% of the children of Wal-Mart's U.S. employees are uninsured or on Medicaid. To remedy Wal-Mart's healthcare crisis, the memo lays out plans to:

Partnering with over 400 national and local organizations, we're preparing to give Wal-Mart many more headaches in the days ahead. Thousands of real people - like you and me - are joining local efforts to hold Wal-Mart accountable for its negative impacts on our communities.

Several THOUSAND events are planned in over 40 states for "Higher Expectations Week", November 13-19, including a film screening at the DSA National Convention in L.A. next weekend.

Click here to find activist tools, an event in your area, or plan a house party to screen Robert Greenwald's new film, The High Cost of Low Prices: http://walmartwatch.com

PRINT OUT DSA'S "WAL-MART REVOLUTION" FLYER: www.dsausa.org/walmartrevolution.pdf


2) STUDENTS GETTING SCREWED BY UNIVERSITY PRIVATIZATION
The Increasingly Private Public School
by Nicholas von Hoffman
www.thenation.com/doc/20051107/vonhoffman


3) REMEMBERING A CIVIL RIGHTS HERO
The Real Rosa Parks
Paul R. Loeb (DSA member and author of The Impossible Will Take a Little While)
www.commondreams.org/views05/1031-32.htm


4) ARE BUSH/CHENEY BAD CAPITALISTS?
Bush's Bad Business Empire: Making the World Unsafe for Microsoft and Mickey Mouse
by Mark Engler (friend to YDS and whose articles can be found at www.democracyuprising.com)
www.tomdispatch.com/index.mhtml?pid=33201


5) NOV. 17TH: NATIONAL COUNTER RECRUITMENT DAY OF ACTION
The National Youth and Student Peace Coalition (of which YDS is a member org) is calling on you!  Our National Counter Recruitment Day of Action (led by youth and students) is less than 2 short weeks away!  Are you ready?  Have you checked out the coalition's website lately?  If you haven't prepared and/or are still not sure what to do, we've got a few action items for you to do today!  This also serves as a checklist for things to do.


If you are unsure what to do and/or have never done any counter recruitment work before, don't worry, here's a fairly easy idea: Print some of the flyers from our website or from other counter recruitment websites, and hand them out at local high schools before and after school on November 17th.   Also, look at the other events listed on the website to see what other folks are doing.  If you have specific questions, feel free to email us!
MORE INFO AND ACTIVIST MATERIALS: www.nyspc.net

Military Recruitment Data: The National Priorities Project recently released a major expansion of its database of statistics for activists.  With the addition of military recruitment data, we're once again highlighting the cost of war and militarism on local communities.  From anywhere in the country, you can find out the number of military recruits in 2004 who came from your high school, zip code, county or your state, along with breakdowns by race, ethnicity, gender and income levels.  Get your local numbers at: www.nationalpriorities.org/database.


6) MOBILIZE TO STOP THE SAVAGE BUDGET CUTS!
In the last YDS email blast we called on everyone to take a stand against the cruel GOP-led cuts to food stamps, health care, education funding and other critical services.  The good news is that the hundreds of thousands of fellow activists who called and wrote letters to Congress succeeded in forcing top Republicans to call off the vote-citing a sudden drop in support even among their own party.  The bad news is that this disastrous "Budget Reconciliation" just passed the Senate in a close 52-47 vote.

However, it's not over yet! We still have the House of Representatives vote! We knew all along that the true battle was going to be in the House, so now it's time to make our voices heard!!! We are so close...
Contact YDS for action ideas, or check out: www.moveon.org or the United States Student Association at: www.usstudents.org


7) SUPREME PREDICTION: ALITO & THE THE WORST CASE SCENARIO
The following post about the Supreme Court nominations was featured on YDS member Matt May's blog recently.  Are his dire predictions playing out in reality? 

"Let's pretend for a minute that everything is just this simple:
Prediction: Harriet Miers is gone. Bush nominates a more explicitly conservative justice (strict constructionist, anti-gay marriage, anti-choice). If things go as planned, the Dems end up attempting a filibuster. Republicans go for nuclear option. Republicans able to articulate a coherent with us/against us program to pollable America. No popular support for "obstructionist" minority Democrats. Republicans consolidate power. No longer need 60+ votes to appoint justice to Supreme Court for life. Dems fucked. Do I have this right? Or am I being paranoid?"
TAKE ACTION: Stop Alito - www.SaveTheCourt.org


8) DEC.3: INTERNATIONAL DAY OF ACTION TO STOP GLOBAL WARMING
From November 28 to December 9, representatives from over 150 countries will be meeting at a major United Nations Climate Conference in Montreal, Canada. They will be discussing the deepening global warming crisis and what should be done about it.
For months activists around the world have been mobilizing toward December 3rd, an International Day of Action to Stop Global Warming. There is a rapidly growing understanding that this is a critical issue of overarching importance. As of today, events are being organized in 26 countries.  There will be a major demonstration on December 3rd in Montreal, Quebec. A broad Canadian coalition is expecting many thousands of people, and we urge those who can to go to Montreal on the 3rd. You can find more information at http://www.3dec2005.org.

There will also be local actions around the United States. We encourage you, if you haven't done so already, to consider organizing one in your area.  Check the Climate Crisis Coalition website for updates on what is being organized (http://www.climatecrisis.us).
We also recommend that you circulate widely the People's Ratification of the Kyoto Global Warming Treaty petition (http://www.kyotoandbeyond.org). The Climate Crisis Coalition is taking it to Montreal to publicly present to U.S. government representatives.

There is a clear connection between the climate crisis and the war in Iraq. The United States, with 5% of the world's population, is responsible for 25% of the greenhouse gas emissions that are caused by the burning of oil, coal and natural gas. There is no question but that control of Iraqi and Middle East oil is at the heart of why Iraq was invaded.

It is time for the U.S. and the world to move rapidly beyond the burning of dirty energy fuels and onto the path of greater conservation, efficiency, and the development of clean, renewable energy sources like the sun, the wind, tides and geothermal. Taking this clean energy path will create millions of new jobs; it is also an essential aspect of ending and preventing energy wars and moving towards a world at peace.

The international conference in Montreal should generate extensive press coverage. It is the first such international gathering since the Kyoto Protocol went into effect last February. It is the first major U.N. climate conference in North America for over a decade. And it is happening soon after Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Wilma have opened many peoples' minds to the dangerous effects of a changing climate.  It is important that we demonstrate by our actions at this time that the people of the United States support strong action to address the global warming crisis.

Attractive "Stop Global Warming" buttons, stickers and posters are available to help you organize for December 3rd. Please contact Ted Glick, the coordinator of the Climate Crisis, USA Join the World! campaign, at usajointheworld@igc.org or 973-338-5398 to order any of these items or for information on December 3rd.



 Young Democratic Socialists
c/o DSA 198 Broadway, Suite 700
New York, NY, 10038
office: (212) 727-8610
cell: (917) 662-0276
fax: (212) 608-6955
yds@dsausa.org
www.ydsusa.org


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