1) UPDATE ON "WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE" CONFERENCE
                 2) ELECTIONS, THE DEMOCRATS & LEFT STRATEGY
                 3) RESOURCES TO FIGHT SOCIAL SECURITY PRIVATIZATION
                 4) BUSH' BUDGET: KILLER CUT-BACKS  
                 5) REFLECTING ON ANARCHISM & YOUTH ACTIVISM
             
1) UPDATE ON "WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE" CONFERENCE
Mark your calendars!  Start planning your trip today!
We're already getting emails and phone calls from young folk around the country who are coming to the upcoming YDS conference.  Some campus activists are already putting in requests with their Student Governments Associations to fund their transportation and other conference related costs.  We strongly recommend you try doing this soon if the option is available to you.  If you need help with fundraising efforts, please contact us ASAP.

Help spread the word!  Send the conference info below to all your friends, progressive listservs and fellow activists.  You can also download and print out flyers to put up around your campus or community.  You might want to write your local contact info on the flyer so that other interested people can coordinate their trip to NYC with you.
Flyers: http://www.ydsusa.org/confs/when_bush_comes_to_shove.pdf

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WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE:
Youth Organizing Against Right-Wing and Corporate Power
March 11-13            New York City
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YDS is hosting a national conference in New York City from March 11-13. entitled "When Bush Comes to Shove: Youth Organizing Against Right-Wing and Corporate Power." It will bring together activists from across the country for workshops, trainings, great speakers, partying and more. This is a unique opportunity to meet YDS members and friends to discuss how best to challenge the Bush agenda and build a long-term movement for social justice.

WORKSHOPS & TRAININGS
Conference sessions will cover critical topics ranging from the theory and practice of democratic socialism, feminist politics, challenging right-wing rhetoric, Iraq and U.S. foreign policy, student-labor solidarity, anti-racist organizing, counter-military recruitment, capitalism and the economy, left-wing media, inter-generational activist dialogue, the nuts and bolts of grassroots organizing, chapter building, the future of the left, and more.  Workshops and panels will feature activists and trainers working in trade-unions, in the peace movement, in social justice student organizations, as noted progressive scholars, and other voices from the democratic left. 

Those who attend "When Bush Comes to Shove" will come away with valuable skills and concrete resources for campus and community organizing, a deeper understanding of systems of oppression and exploitation, a vision of the better world we are struggling to create everyday, and strategies for beating the Bush agenda of corporate greed, endless war, intolerance and cutbacks in needed public programs.

SCHEDULE 
Tentatively, the conference opens with a plenary discussion on Friday evening (March 11th), followed by a reception.  Saturday will begin at 10:00am and go until an evening panel.  There will be a free party open to all conference-goers Saturday night.  On Sunday, there will be interactive skills trainings and a closing session in mid-afternoon.

TRAVEL & HOUSING
We're committed to ensuring that everyone who wants to come is able to attend. We'll be offering limited travel scholarships and housing assistance for those coming from out of town. Please consider fundraising or requesting funds from your Student Government Association to help cover costs. If you are coming from out of town and are in need of a ride, let us know and we can check to see if others planning to attend in your area can offer you one.  If you live in New York City, or have friends/family that can house additional conference attendees from out of town, please notify us.  If you are planning to attend or have any questions send us an email at: yds@dsausa.org.

COST
A special conference pre-registration discount cost of $20 is available to all those who register before midnight, Friday, March 4th.  For those who register after March 4th, the conference is $30.  Registration costs include free breakfast and lunch on Saturday and Sunday, in addition to extensive resource materials provided to all conference participants.  Please contact us if you have special financial circumstances. 

LOCATION
The Friday opening plenary and registration will be located at American Federation of Musicians - Local 802, 322 West 48th Street (between 8th & 9th Aves).  Saturday and Sunday activities will be located at the Bayard Rustin High School for the Humanities located at 351 West 18th Street (between 8th & 9th Aves).

SPRING BREAK?
For many of you in school, March 11 marks the beginning of your spring semester vacation.  Please keep this in mind when planning your trip to New York, as you will probably not need to rush back to campus once the YDS conference is over.  The timing is perfect.  "When Bush Comes To Shove" can be part of your alternative, socialist spring break!  For those planning to stay in New York City beyond March 13th, we can let you know of other cultural and political events and sites of interest to young leftists around the city. 

See you in NYC from March 11-13!

Check www.ydsusa.org for more upcoming details. Online registration will be up and running by mid-February.

Our "Life After Bush" conference last year brought over 300 people to NYC for a number of workshops, trainings and great speakers like Cornel West, Leslie Cagan, Doug Henwood, Francis Fox Piven and more.  See the report from last year's national conference: http://www.ydsusa.org/confs/nyc_0204_report.html
 

2) ELECTIONS, THE DEMOCRATS & LEFT STRATEGY
What approach should progressive activists take toward electoral politics, the Democratic Party and movement building in the wake of Bush's "re-election"?  Below are two articles from noted democratic socialists on these pressing strategic questions.  What do you think?  Will Howard Dean's likely appointment to chair the Democratic National Committee help wean the Democrats from their reliance on corporate cash?  Or can we expect more of the same?  Write us and share your thoughts.

When Voting is Not Enough
Frances Fox Piven (DSA Honorary Chair - she will be speaking at the upcoming YDS conference)
http://www.redpepper.org.uk/Jan2005/x-Jan2005-FoxPiven.htm

Visualizing a Neo-Rainbow
by Danny Glover and Bill Fletcher Jr. (Fletcher is a DSA member and President of TransAfrica Forum)
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0127-24.htm


3) RESOURCES TO FIGHT SOCIAL SECURITY PRIVATIZATION
It's a startling fact that a majority of young people polled seem to have fallen for Bush's dishonest rhetoric on Social Security and his plan for partial privatization.  This is especially troubling considering our generation stands to suffer the most from the undermining of this popular and highly efficient social insurance program.  In order to turn the tide against the Bush administration's retrograde plans, and to educate and mobilize our fellow youth and student peers, YDS will continue to highlight the issue of Social Security in the context of Bush' other assaults on our rights.  This is a fight that we can win.

What the F**k is up with Social Security? A new talking points pamphlet from YDS.
http://www.ydsusa.org/statements/social_security.html

Assault on Social Security
Knowing that no one cares about ideology, Bush is going after Social Security the only way he can: crisis-mongering.
by Harold Meyerson (DSA Vice Chair, writer for L.A Weekly, Washington Post & American Prospect)
http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=9141


4) BUSH'S BUDGET: KILLER CUT-BACKS  
Impact of President's Budget Proposal on States : A National Priorities Project Bulletin
On Monday, February 7, 2005, the Bush Administration sent to Congress its budget request for Fiscal Year 2006. In total, discretionary federal grants to state and local governments would be cut by almost 9 percent after taking inflation into account, including cuts to: vocational and adult education, community development programs, environmental protection agency grants, low-income home energy assistance, disease control, substance abuse, OSHA and public safety.  At the same time, the President's budget proposes a 3 percent or $19 billion increase in Pentagon spending, not including funding for the wars in Iraq or Afghanistan.
More here: www.nationalpriorities.org/budget

Bush Budget Would Inflate Corporate Welfare, Slash Social Programs
In order to pay for its exorbitant spending on military matters and to cover up for massive past and future tax cuts, the White House set forth a bold agenda of weakening or gutting services on which poor people depend.
http://newstandardnews.net/content/index.cfm/items/1451


5) REFLECTING ON ANARCHISM & YOUTH ACTIVISM
What follows was written by YDS National Organizer, Lucas Shapiro:

This past weekend several YDSers travelled to Washington, D.C. for the National Conference on Organized Resistance.  Year after year, this annual conference draws an impressively large and spirited crowd, one that largely fits the punk-anarchist mold of predominantly young activists positioned outside the mainstream of political and cultural life.  The conference buzzed with activity, from the 5 rooms packed full with pamphlet and book peddlers and groups from various organizations, causes and ideological currents to the diverse array of workshops including "Anti-Racism for Global Justice," "DIY Porn," and "Zapatismo in Your Community" and many others. 

I presented my own hastily prepared workshop entitled, "Comparing Radical Traditions: A Democratic Socialist - Anarchist Dialogue."  We weren't expecting more than 30 to show up.  Around 200 came. The workshop hoped to address the commonalities that democratic socialists and anarchists share (opposition to capitalism, respect for individual liberty, commitment to grassroots organizing, etc.) and what sets us apart (views on government, strategy, willingness to enter the formal political arena, etc.). 

The conversation, as awkwardly formatted as it was, quickly centered on the question of "the state" filtered through the problematic dichotomies of reform vs. revolution and real world vs. utopia.  I attempted to argue that democratic governments are capable of dramatically improving the quality of life for their citizens and that fighting for better public policies is an essential tool in the struggle against corporate domination.   

There is no denying that Social Security, for instance, a highly successful government administered program, has helped reduce the percentage of the elderly living in poverty (from 50% in the early 60's to 10% today).  The same goes for environmental protections, workplace safety laws, public education and a whole host of others areas where popular struggles have forced changes that, while not going far enough and under constant threat of roll-back, are worthy of support.  Campaigns for universal health care, living wages, affordable housing and increased funding for education, are essential in addition to the ways in which we challenge sexism, racism, homophobia and corporate greed in our everyday lives without relying on government.  The two approaches to political organizing are not mutually exclusive.

These and other the related arguments received a decidedly mixed response from the vocal members of the audience who overwhelmingly identified as anarchists.  Despite our differences, we're all motivated by a palpable outrage at the injustices of the world and a dedication to exploring and attempting to implement democratic alternatives to the status quo.  The issues brought up in the workshop need to be discussed at greater length in a more comradely atmosphere.

This past Sunday, Maria Svart (union organizer and YDS Co-chair) and I also conducted two back-to-back grassroots organizing trainings at a conference of students from across the country campaigning against genocide in the Sudan.  This was a very different crowd.  The vocabulary, style, level of analysis and organizing experience varied significantly from the previous audience.  These two conferences serve as a reminder that youth activism encompasses a range of communities that often don't run in the same circles or even speak in terms that others readily understand.  Gathering strength from different progressive currents in the movement for human rights, environmental and economic justice is a challenging task, but one that I hope others will take seriously.

For those interested in the debates between anarchism and democratic socialism, I've prepared a list of article links to further the discussion.  Email us and we'll forward them to you.  If you want offer your thoughts on these issues, feel free to email them to us.  You can also read "A Democratic Socialist Appeal to Anarchists," written by former YDS Organizer, Daraka Larimore-Hall, at the following website: http://www.onwardnewspaper.org/archives/2-2002/appeal.html



 
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