1) INTRODUCING NEW YDS ORGANIZER ELIZABETH ROTHSCHILD

2) THE LEFT RESPONDS TO KATRINA & ITS AFTERMATH

3) DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS SET UP KATRINA RELIEF FUND

4) BAIT & SWITCH: NEW BOOK BY BARBARA ENHRENREICH

5) BERNIE SANDERS: CAN SOCIALISTS WIN ELECTIONS?

6) CINDY SHEEHAN: COME TO D.C. ON SEPT. 24-26!

7) JOIN YDSers IN D.C. FOR ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATIONS

8) EDUCATION IS A RIGHT!  STOP THE BUDGET CUTS!

1) INTRODUCING NEW YDS ORGANIZER ELIZABETH ROTHSCHILD
Hey YDSers!  I'm the new National Organizer!  I just settled into NYC from the Northern Virginia/DC area in June.  I'm a little bit of an artist and a hip hop dancer and I love all kinds of music.  I'm a tad bit silly and extremely passionate and I can't wait to begin working with all of you -- now let me tell you a little bit about my background in politics:

The last two summers I have spent teaching in a program called Freedom Schools in NYC, which is run by the Children's Defense Fund and modeled after the Freedom Schools from the Civil Rights Movement Freedom Summer of 1964.  The program integrates reading, conflict resolution and social action in an activity-based curriculum that promotes social, cultural, and historical awareness.  Working with the Freedom Schools has helped me develop ways to connect large macro-level ideologies informed by my socialist vision, to a micro-level (classroom) experience.  But the Freedom Schools were more than a classroom experience, they were about building a movement – linking schools across the nation together, creating an alternative educational institution, and engaging in political struggles for progressive change (we participated in voter registration in the community last year, protested at City Hall against Bush's tax cuts, and worked with an ex-felon rehabilitation program learning about the cradle-to-prison pipeline).

I have also worked with the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, and did extensive Affirmative Action organizing around the Michigan case several years ago.  I recently graduated from the University of Virginia where I majored in African American Studies and Sociology with a minor in Politics and was involved in anti-racist organizing through both leadership in groups such as the NAACP and Sustained Dialogue.  I worked as a liaison between many different groups and coalitions on campus as we tried to bring structural changes to the rather minority-unfriendly university.  

I believe deeply in the importance of political education, self-criticism and constant re-evaluation to the movement for social justice.  There is a lot of work to be done to build a stronger Left in this country, especially towards connecting anti-racist, feminist, labor, queer rights, environmental, community and electoral activism in a much more meaningful and effective way.  I'm definitely looking forward to working with many of you, traveling to campuses and communities around the country, and working to strengthen YDS and the democratic socialist movement.  Onward! 
Elizabeth Rothschild, the new YDS National Organizer, can be reached at: elizabeth@dsausa.org or at 212-727-8610 ext. 24
Elizabeth will be working with YDS' outgoing organizer, Lucas Shapiro, through the fall.  Contact either of them to arrange visits to your area, for help building YDS chapters, or for other ways to get involved.
For more on YDS' Fall Organizing Drive, click here: www.ydsusa.org


2) THE LEFT RESPONDS TO KATRINA & ITS AFTERMATH
YDS calls on its members to raise funds for the hurricane relief efforts (see below).  We also encourage chapters to organize forums, speak-outs, tabling with literature, etc. to get the word out about the Bush administration's criminal neglect of Katrina's victims.  This means highlighting the role that racism, right-wing economic policies, the war in Iraq, and other key factors have played in greatly exacerbating the ongoing suffering of the people of the Gulf states.  Please contact YDS if you would like additional help in mobilizing an effective response on your campus or in your community.  The following are a collection of articles by democratic socialists that provide a much needed political context to this immense tragedy. 

Exiles From a City and From a Nation
by Cornel West (author, professor and DSA Honorary Chair)
www.commondreams.org/views05/0911-32.htm

The Titanic of Our Era
by Bill Fletcher, Jr. (DSA member and president of TransAfrica Forum)
www.truthout.org/docs_2005/091005G.shtml

So, What Was So Controversial About Kanye West’s Remarks?
by Bill Fletcher, Jr.
www.commondreams.org/views05/0909-31.htm

911 in New Orelans: This time, will we draw the right lessons from a tragic disaster?
by Paul R. Loeb (DSA member and author of The Impossible Will Take a Little While)
www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2005/09/911_in_new_orleans.html

Paul Allen's Other Yacht: You can tell a nation's soul from the state of its budgets. So are we really going to abolish the estate tax?
by Paul R. Loeb
www.motherjones.com/commentary/columns/2005/09/paul_allens_other_yacht.html

The "Stuff Happens" Presidency: New Orleans shows what happens when government abandons its responsibilities.
by Harold Meyerson (DSA Vice Chair, writer for Washington Post & American Prospect)
www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=10230


3) DEMOCRATIC SOCIALISTS SET UP KATRINA RELIEF FUND
In response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Katrina, the DSA Fund has established a special fund to accept tax-deductible donations from DSA members and friends. This fund will be used primarily to provide help to community-based and other social change organizations in the affected area recover from the storm and its aftermath. It will bring palpable aid to those who continue to defend the interests of poor and working people in the devastated states along the Gulf Coast.

We are currently attempting to assess whether the DSA members residing in the affected area have unmet needs resulting from the storm; this fund will also be used to provide humanitarian aid to such individuals. So far we have only been able to contact a few of our members that have been dislocated by the storm.

This fund will provide a vehicle for people who do not wish to give to established charities or who want to be sure that the gift will reach grassroots organizers and organizations in need of support--precisely those often ignored by mainstream foundations and charities.

The DSA Fund has already designated an initial beneficiary of this fund: ACORN--the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now--saw its national headquarters in New Orleans destroyed. ACORN has a long history of defending the interest of the poor and working people of New Orleans. The group is attempting to re-establish its headquarters in Baton Rouge so that it will be able to continue to address the needs of the displaced population of the region. Other organizations will be added to the list as they are identified and approved by the Fund. A report on this campaign will be made available to donors and posted on the website.

Tax-deductible donations to the fund can be made on-line with a Master Card or Visa through the DSA website. Paste the following link into your browser to be taken to the relief fund page on the website: www.dsausa.org/katrina

Checks should be payable to: DSA FUND and indicate that they are for the Katrina Relief Fund. Checks should be mailed to: DSA Fund, 198 Broadway, Suite 700 New York, NY 10038. All contributions are tax-deductible.


4) BAIT & SWITCH: NEW BOOK BY BARBARA ENHRENREICH
DSA Honorary Chair Barbara Ehrenreich has a new book, Bait and Switch: The (Futile) Pursuit of the American Dream, about finding white collar employment after being "downsized". Consider it a sequel to her best selling Nickel and Dimed.

For more information, go to: www.barbaraehrenreich.com
For a review, "No Help Wanted" by Bob Thompson in the Washington Post, go to:
www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/06/AR2005090601923.html
For an interview in NPR's "All Things Considered":
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4837944

To buy Bait and Switch and other books by democratic socialists, click here for DSA's on-line bookshop: www.dsausa.org/books/books.html


5) BERNIE SANDERS: CAN SOCIALISTS WIN ELECTIONS?
(I-VT)
Former YDS National Organizer Daraka Larimore-Hall on Bernie Sanders-the democratic socialist running for Senate-the Democratic Party and left electoral strategy.
http://hoverbike.blogspot.com/2005/09/i-vt.html


6) CINDY SHEEHAN: COME TO D.C. ON SEPT. 24-26!
Letter from Cindy Sheehan
www.unitedforpeace.org/septmobe

Dear Friends and Supporters of Peace,
On August 31st, we closed down Camp Casey on the outskirts of President Bush's ranch in Crawford, Texas. In the three and a half weeks that we were in Crawford, thousands of people passed through - some for just a few hours and some for days or weeks. Throughout the country, hundreds of thousands of people responded to my vigil, calling on the President to meet with me and, just as importantly, adding their voices to the growing cry for an end to the war in Iraq.

The horrific events that have unfolded in New Orleans and other parts of Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, in the wake of the deadly hurricane Katrina are stark reminders of just how lop-sided our nation's priorities are. Resources that could have been used to save lives are instead tied up in a war that continues to kill Iraqis and U.S. servicepeople. Our nation is at a crossroads: will we continue to squander resources and take lives in a war that never should have happened, or will we commit ourselves to the re-building of the Gulf Coast and the lives torn asunder by Katrina? It is clear that both cannot happen at the same time, and in this context our urgent call to end the war in Iraq must be as clear and strong as ever.

The same day Camp Casey closed two important initiatives were launched. Gold Star Families for Peace kicked off a campaign to hold Congress accountable for taking us into war, and also for ending this war. I sent a letter to every member of Congress - all 435 representatives and 100 senators - asking the same questions I've been asking President Bush. At the same time, three buses left Camp Casey to head North, East and South carrying members of Gold Star Families for Peace, Military Families Speak Out, Iraq Veterans Against the War and Veterans for Peace to dozens of cities. The buses will converge on Washington, DC September 21, just days before the national anti-war protest being organized for the weekend of September 24-26. In addition to community forums and other events, on the road we will visit members of Congress asking for a meeting and answers to my questions. You can join this campaign as the buses pass through your community, or become a part of a delegation being organized in your Congressional district.

In case you have not already made plans to be there, I want to encourage you to join me in Washington, DC that weekend. I'll be marching on Saturday, September 24 with United for Peace and Justice, and later that same day will be speaking at the "Operation Ceasefire" free concert at the Washington Monument.

You know as well as I do that the majority of the people of this country oppose the war. As we talk to people from every part of the country, it is clear that the time is right for this demonstration in the nation's capital. You do not want to miss this crucial event - it's looking like the September 24-26 weekend will be the largest gathering so far of the movement to end the war in Iraq. It will also be the first opportunity since Katrina hit our shores to raise our voices in a call for new priorities.

Most importantly, I urge you to come to Washington on September 24, to tell President Bush and Congress in the strongest possible way that it's time to bring the troops home. But don't come alone - bring your friends and family, bring your co-workers, your classmates, your neighbors. Visit the United for Peace and Justice website for details about the day's events, and for information about the interfaith service, grassroots lobby day, and nonviolent civil disobedience action at the White House being planned for September 25 and 26.

I want to thank all of you who gave so much to support my efforts while I was in Texas. Now, as we all move into the next phase of our efforts to end the war in Iraq, I look forward to seeing you in Washington, DC on September 24.
         - Your friend, Cindy Sheehan


7) JOIN YDSers IN D.C. FOR ANTI-WAR DEMONSTRATIONS
Are you planning to go to D.C. for the protests and related anti-war actions? If so, let us know!  There's will be other YDSers in town that you can meet up with.  If you need housing or transportation assistance, contact the YDS national office (see bottom of email for details) and we'll see what we can do.


8) EDUCATION IS A RIGHT!  STOP THE BUDGET CUTS!
Join the United States Student Association in our fight to save Higher Education today! YDS enthusiastically supports the following USSA campaign:

Students and community members from across the country are waging campaigns on behalf of all student to defend and expand access to higher education in the United States. They are running these campaigns because higher education is on the chopping block at the federal level. This fall, as early as September, Congress will consider two bills that will dramatically decrease access to higher education.

1. Reauthorization of the Higher Education Act. The Higher Education Act (HEA) is the single piece of legislation that controls almost all federal higher education programs. The House will vote on a bill (H.R. 609) that represents the single largest cut in the history of student aid programs by: eliminating in-school loan consolidation, making fixed rate loan consolidation more expensive for students, creating a mandatory 1% fee for each student loan, taking away on-time repayment benefits, among many more changes.

2. Budget Reconciliation. Congress approved a budget resolution that will severely slash the student loan programs. Almost $9 billion will be cut from our programs. These cuts represent the elimination of many student borrower benefits, and will increase student debt by thousands of dollars. The budget reconciliation bill will finalize these cuts and must be voted on in the early fall.

CLICK HERE FOR USSA'S ORGANIZING PACKET ON HOW TO DO THE 6 THINGS THAT WILL TELL CONGRESS TO STOP THE RAID ON STUDENT AID!

1. Participate in the Sept. 20th Call-in Day!
September 20th is a coordinated Call-in Day for tons of national organizations working against H.R. 609 and Budget Reconciliation. Join thousands of others who care about higher education by calling your Members of Congress!!!

2. Sign the petition!
Go to www.unionvoice.com/campaign/ussa or scroll below to sign the petition that tells Congress you oppose these detrimental pieces of legislation! Don’t forget to also send it to your friends and family!

3. Pass a student government resolution and/or sign-on against the legislation!
With school beginning, we are asking student governments to pass resolutions against the bills. When the resolution is passed, send it to your school newspaper, your Members of Congress and USSA.

4. Do a lobby visit!
A lobby visit is the best way to make sure your representatives know they should vote against the bill. In Congress, every vote counts, so make sure your representative is present and voting in the best interest of students.

5. Submit a letter to the editor or opinion editorial!
One of our goals in this campaign is the spread the word so everyone knows about the vital votes that are happening in Congress. Submit them to your campus, local and statewide papers. The most read section of the newspaper is the opinion section, so make sure your community knows that students are against these bills.



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.