1) "WHEN BUSH COMES TO SHOVE" CONFERENCE REPORT
                      2) APRIL 15-17, NYC: 2005 LEFT FORUM
                      3) YDS BLOG & INTERACTIVE WEBSITE
                      4) WHAT'S UP WITH "FREE TRADE" & UNIONS?
                      5) APRIL ISSUE OF NEW GROUND NEWSLETTER
                      6) STUDENT LABOR WEEK OF ACTION        
                      7) APRIL 16-24: DEMAND BOOKS NOT BOMBS          

1) YDS CONFERENCE REPORT & WHAT COMES NEXT!
We've posted a brief report about the conference on our website: www.ydsusa.org.
In the report you will also find links to some of the organizations and publications that were present at the conference and that YDS supports (including labor unions looking to hire activist college graduates).

Here are some of the things people said about the weekend conference:
"I enjoyed gaining valuable insight into democratic socialism. I knew nothing about it before coming to the conference - I only new that I absolutely hated Bush."

"This conference has been the most well-organized, on-topic yet laid-back and accessible event I've ever been to.

"The workshop topics were all interesting, and I really liked hanging out with everyone.  I also liked all the info I picked up.  "Marx in Soho" was amazing!"

"The community aspect was awesome."

"My favorite thing was the opportunity to interact with other socialists and exchange ideas on tactics and approach."

And when we surveyed participants asking what YDS and progressive youth in general should set as their political priorities in the comings months responses included topics ranging from CAFTA, the anti-war movement, labor organizing, how militarism drains resources from social programs, defending social security, tuition hikes, dismantling patriarchy, etc.  If you would like to join the Young Democratic Socialists in any of these campaigns then please contact us via our website at www.ydsusa.org or simply reply to this email blast.

Now we are building off the success and momentum of our conference and hitting the road for campus and school visits across the country throughout the spring.  Along with our ongoing organizing work, were also gearing up for our national conference and activist retreat in August (tentatively 10-12).  It will be a unique opportunity for YDS members and activists to get away from it all, to remember why we do what we do and to learn how to do it better.  More details coming soon... but make sure to carve out time for this important weekend. Location TBA.  It will be in an affordable and accessible retreat setting.  

Please contact the YDS Field Coordinator, Malav Kanuga, to set up visits to your campus or community: malav@dsausa.org


2) GLOBAL LEFT FORUM DIALOGUE presents 2005 LEFT FORUM
THE U.S, THE WORLD, and THE NEXT FOUR YEARS
APRIL 15-17, 2005 in New York City
CUNY Graduate Center
See www.2005LeftForum.org for details

YDS is spreading the word about the 2005 Left Forum- a must-attend  conference that will bring together some of the biggest names on the  left (see confirmed speakers list below).

Contact YDS if you would like to come and/or are in need of housing. YDS is organizing a party for the younger folks coming to the Left Forum with special guests TBA.

Confirmed Speakers:
Tariq Ali, Barbara Ehrenreich, Joe Trippi, Joanne Landy, Bill Fletcher,  Jr., Michelle Fine, Ralph Nader, Tod Ensign, Ellen Meiksins Wood, Toni  Negri, Fran s Houtart, Robin Kelley, Ellen Willis, Gilbert Achcar,  Stephen R. Shalom, Stanley Aronowitz, Michael Klare, Luciana  Castellina, Lynne Stewart, Manning Marable, Jason West, Barbara Ransby,  Peter Gowan, Barbara Epstein, Doug Henwood, Frances Fox Piven, Gerald  Horne, Rosa Clemente, William K. Tabb, Joel Rogers, David Harvey, Rose  Brewer, Cindy Milstein, Leo Panitch, Christine A. Kelly, Barbara  Garson, Christian Parenti, Stephen Eric Bronner, Michael Albert,  MIchael Zweig, Maria Helena Moreira Alves, Pete Tridish, Frieder Otto  Wolf, Michael Hardt, Stephen Duncombe, Eddie Yuen, Chris Dixon,  Staughton Lynd, Richard Goldstein, Richard D. Wolff, Ward Morehouse,  resisters and veterans of the War in Iraq, and many more...

Featuring Panels:
The Western Left and the Future of Iraq | Civil Rights in the  Post-Affirmative Action Era | The Daniel Singer Prize | Why Americans  Fall for the Ownership Society | The Middle East: States, Insurgencies,  Islam, and the International Economy | The 2004 Elections: Progressive  Responses | Class or Multitude? | Youth Organizing and Politics in the  U.S. | Neoliberal Rollback: Social Security | Imperialism and the  Domestic Agenda | The Left in Local Government: Kerala, Tuscany,  Brazil, New York State | Building Alliances: Parties -- Movements --  Left Strategies | Hip Hop Politics Today | History Matters: The Past,  Public Memory, and Resistance | Debtor Families, Debtor Nation |  Insurgencies and the Limits of U.S. Imperial Reach | Ecology and the  Left | Neoliberalism and National Strategies in Latin America |  Dilemmas of the U.S. Peace Movement | and much more.

TWO OTHER IMPORTANT CONFERENCES THIS WEEKEND THAT YDS IS SUPPORTING:
Youth & Global Justice Activism: Generation FAIR Conference (Washington, D.C. from April 1-3)
http://www.generationfair.org/

From Abortion Rights to Social Justice: Building the Movement for Reproductive Freedom (Amherst, MA from April 1-3)
http://clpp.hampshire.edu/projects/arrc/


3) YDS BLOG & INTERACTIVE WEBSITE.  WE WANT YOU TO SUBMIT!
The Young Democratic Socialists will soon be launching a new interactive website dedicated to politics, culture and action.  Called The Activist, the YDS blog will encourage, develop, and give voice to the ideas, campaigns, debates and experiences of the young Left. The website promises to be more than just informative, but also help create an online community of critical, humorous, and politically savvy activists.  It must stimulate dialogue about the strengths, weaknesses, direction, and priorities of the students and youth that are key players in Americas progressive and radical communities.  Also recognizing this political movement in terms of culture, the blog will review music, film, literature, and expanding forms of communication.  The Activist will feature interviews with leading young activists, left-wing scholars, socialists from other counties, and YDS members themselves.

Any one interested in contributing to the online publication should  contact lucas@dsausa.org. The blog is currently looking for written work (don't be shy!) covering a broad range of issues and perspectives.  Below are some ideas or questions that we hope to address in The Activist:

        -Where now for the youth/student wing of the anti-war movement?
        -What does it mean to be an activist on the left today?
        -Are right-wing students winning the campus "free speech" wars?
        -What we can learn from student movements abroad?
        -What happened to the youth groups that mobilized around the 2004  elections?
        -Interviews with rad radicals, young and old.
        -Reviews of books, music, magazines, television shows, websites, and  more.
        -Examples of successful local student organizing.
        -Rants, manifestos, essays, and commentary.
        -Reports from conferences, protests and related political events.

The Activist will be a space for YOU.  You'll hear more about the blog/website shortly, but we would love for you to share your thoughts with us and join in shaping this exciting project today!


4) WHATS UP WITH "FREE TRADE" & UNIONS?
CAFTA: A Bad Deal on Free Trade
by John Sweeney (DSA member and president of the 13-million member AFL-CIO)
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0321-31.htm

Labor Intense
The frustration and rage that burst forth at the AFL-CIOs Las Vegas  meeting portends a dramatic and possibly ugly summer showdown.
by Harold Meyerson (DSA Vice Chair and editor of American Prospect) http://www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewPrint&articleId=9350


5) APRIL ISSUE OF NEW GROUND ON-LINE
The latest issue of the Chicago Democratic Socialists of America's newsletter is now available on-line.  Articles cover issues from Social Security, the politics of taxes and anti-war activity in the labor movement.  Check it out!
http://www.chicagodsa.org/ngarchive/ng99.html


6) STUDENT LABOR WEEK OF ACTION: MARCH 31-APRIL 4
The Young Democratic Socialists support the 2005 Student Labor Week of Action which highlights the role of the student movement in fighting for workers' rights.  Below is the call for this years week of action.  If you'd like to be involved, call YDS at 212-727-8610 ext. 24 or email yds@dsausa.org.
 
"The rising cost of college tuition, federal and state financial aid cuts, and harsh anti-immigration policies have made it almost impossible for many students to attend college. And while the salaries of university administrators are on the rise, attacks on workers rights, increasing pay cuts, lack of healthcare, unsafe and unsanitary working conditions and glass ceilings have made the campus workplace all but ivy league. Sisters and brothers, its time for us to take back our campuses!

For these reasons and many more, students and workers will unite this spring to celebrate the Sixth Annual National Student Labor Week of Action. From March 31- April 4, 2005 we will commemorate the lives of Cesar Chavez and Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. as we highlight the plight of campus workers nationwide."  
 
For more information about the Student Labor Week of Action, visit www.jwj.org/SLAP/A4/2005.htm.


7) CALL FOR BOOKS NOT BOMBS WEEK OF ACTION
The National Youth & Student Peace Coalition (of which YDS is a member) is coordinating a series of important events during the week of April 16th to 24th.  You should organize something on your campus or in your community during this week to highlight the effects of the war abroad and the war at home.  Contact YDS and check out the NYSPC website for more info: http://www.nyspc.net/#call