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

October 19th, 2006

In this YDS EMAIL UPDATE you will find:                                           
                                    1) CALL SENATORS FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS!
                                    2) "JUSTICE BEYOND BORDERS" FLYERS
                                    3) OCT 27-28: CHALLENGE McDONALDS!             
                                    4) AFTER VICTORY: WHAT DEMS WOULD DO
                                    5)  RACE, THE DEMS, & ELECTORAL STRATEGY
                                    6) A SOCIALIST IN THE SENATE
                                    7) SCREENING FILM "AMERICAN BLACKOUT"
                                    8) ANTI-WAR MONTH OF ACTION UNDERWAY
                
_______________________________________________________________
 

1) CALL YOUR SENATORS FOR IMMIGRANT RIGHTS!
Click here for info on YDS' immigrant rights project: www.ydsusa.org/aboutyds.html#do

In the last Congressional session, Republican leadership attempted to push through harsh anti-immigrant measures, but were forced to back down on some of the worst provisions.  Unfortunately, in the final hours 80 out of 100 Senators voted for a bill (H.R. 6061) that authorized a 700-mile fence on the U.S./Mexico border.

The argument for increased border security is in fact an opportunity for the Right to paint immigrants as terrorists and criminals (see "notes" below for background on border militarization and why it's a red herring).  We need to send a message that once the election is over, the pressure for immigrant rights isn't going to let up!

Action:  Call your Senators (list below) and thank them if they voted against the bill ( H.R. 6061), or if they voted for the bill, tell them:

"As a voter I'm disappointed that you voted for H.R. 6061. Militarizing our border will not solve the jobs and immigration situation in the United States.  Next session, please support comprehensive immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship but DOES NOT include a guest worker program."

List of Senators and how they voted here:
www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=109&session=2&vote=00262#position
Call the Capital Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask for your Senators' office.

Notes: As Saskia Sassen's article in the summer edition of Democratic Left notes, increased border militarization in the past few years has had no effect on border crossing numbers (in fact, there are more people crossing now than previously), but a major effect on the danger of those crossings.  In other words, because immigrants are forced into more hostile terrain, they are more likely to be injured or die. Things are further complicated by the racist vigilante group, the Minutemen, who patrol the border with guns violently harassing immigrants.
Sassen's article can be found in this PDF: www.dsausa.org/dl/Summer_2006.pdf


2) "JUSTICE BEYOND BORDERS" FLYERS ON-LINE!
Save the Date: YDS National Conference, Feb. 16-18, 2007 in NYC

YDS is proud to announce that noted critic Noam Chomsky, author/journalist Barbara Ehrenreich, and professor/author Gayatri Spivak will be among our keynote speakers at our annual outreach conference in New York City.  Mark you calendars for the Presidents' Day weekend.  We encourage campus groups to plan ahead and apply for financial support from their schools as early as possible. 

You can download and distribute the 'JUSTICE BEYOND BORDERS: Democracy and Socialism in the 21st Century' conference flyer.  Contact us if you have any questions.  Help us spread the word! 
DOWNLOAD FLYER: www.ydsusa.org/news/wp-content/uploads/2006/10/save%20the%20date.pdf


3) "1-2 PUNCH" NATION-WIDE McDONALDS ACTIONS OCT 27-28             
YDS' friends at the Student Farmworker Alliance asked us to pass along this important action alert.  Get involved!

This October 27-28th, join students and young people across the country in standing with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers to end sweatshops and modern-day slavery in the fields!

With strong support from students and youth, the CIW won its four-year Taco Bell Boycott in 2005. Now the CIW and its allies are organizing to extend these precedent-setting gains for farmworkers throughout the rest of the fast-food industry. Over the last year, however, fast-food giant McDonald's has consistently responded to the dire human rights crisis in the fields as a mere public relations crisis, threatening to roll back the advances the CIW has won through years of struggle.

The Student/Farmworker Alliance calls for two days of widespread, decentralized actions on October 27-28th to show the fast-food giant that Immokalee's workers are not alone in this fight.

The time is now for students and youth – what McDonald's calls its advertising "sweet spot" – to demonstrate to the Golden Arches that if it refuses to work with the CIW for real labor reform in its supply chain, we will soon become its sore spot.

Visit www.sfalliance.org today for:
-Suggested actions and organizing ideas
-Resources including flyers, stencils, chant sheets, radio PSAs, and more
-Sample media advisory for your local event
-Local action listings
-Background on the Campaign for Fair Food


4) AFTER VICTORY: WHAT THE DEMOCRATS WOULD DO
If the Dems take over Congress, the question remains: what'll they actually do in power? Here's a look at the legislation they'd push.
by Harold Meyerson (DSA Vice-Chair, editor of American Prospect)
www.prospect.org/web/page.ww?section=root&name=ViewWeb&articleId=12129


5) RACE, THE DEMOCRATS, & ELECTORAL STRATEGY
The Democratic Party that we look at now is the legacy of the political realignment that took place with the exit of the Dixiecrats and the fallout from the 1960s reforms addressing racial injustice, reforms—needless to say—that were introduced as a result of the struggles conducted by the Black Freedom Movement.
by Bill Fletcher Jr. (democratic socialist, former AFL-CIO and TransAfrica Forum leader) 
www.blackcommentator.com/201/201_cover_race_dems_fletcher_ed_bd.html


6) POLLS: ONE-MAN SOCIALIST SHOW COULD OPEN IN SENATE
For three decades, Rep. Bernie Sanders has been a party of one, an avowed socialist who rails against corporate America, Republicans, Democrats and all those he believes fail the poor and working families.
(Footnote: The Democratic Socialists of America (DSA) have been actively campaigning in favor of Vermont's Bernie Sanders)
www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/10/11/sanders.senate.ap/index.html?section=cnn_topstories


7) SCREENING FILM "AMERICAN BLACKOUT"
American Blackout lays bare how the right to vote was systemically undermined in 2000 and 2004. It shows how the Black vote was suppressed, and it sets the stage for making sure it never happens again.  Read YDS statement on race and election protection: www.ydsusa.org/statements/electionprotection.html .

A great activity for YDS chapters! Click here for more film details and to learn how to get a FREE COPY for your screening: www.colorofchange.org/blackout/message.html


8) ANTI-WAR MONTH OF ACTION UNDERWAY
Call to Action from the National Youth & Student Peace Coalition (of which YDS is a member organization).  Contacts YDS for ideas/resources for getting involved!
the problem is priorities, not money  
Demand Books Not Bombs this November 7th!
www.nyspc.net

We Will Join Together for a Month of Education, Organizing, and Action!



Young Democratic Socialists
c/o DSA 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 505
New York, NY, 10038
office: (212) 727-8610
fax: (212) 608-6955
yds@dsausa.org
www.ydsusa.org
 

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