A case for public banking as the cure for cannibals

"Too big to fail" is also "too big to jail," but how does that practical immunity drive the buisness practices of our largest banks? Over the last decades we've seen the finance industry undermine the long-term economic vitality of much of the country's manufacturing base and its housing stock. Are private for-profit banks invariably parasitical? What might have been different in this country if instead of bailing out casino capitalists, the public sector had simply taken over failing banks, regardless of size? Why should we beware public-private partnerships in banking?

Here's some brief but powerful answers to those questions, all of which makes a strong argument for public banking. The presenter is Michael Hudson, a former financial analyst and now a professor of economics at the University of Missouri at Kansas City, appearing on The Real News Network last week.

AfD members are active with public banking working groups in Massachusetts and Washington DC. To keep up with these and other campaigns, subscribe to our e-news.

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Updating the end of year update!

Did you recently read our end-of-year 2012 report? It’s already time for an update! In the last few weeks...

• Our Defending Water in Maine campaign has held four “Stop the East/West Corridor” presenter trainings and raised the alert on using this eastern route to send tar-sands oil to the coast for export.
• Vice Co-chair Bonnie Preston presented a workshop at the Pennsylvania Women in Agriculture conference on using local ordinances to protect farm-to-table sales, traditional foodways and local economies from pro-corporate federal regulations, as successfully done in Maine.
• The Populist Dialogues team has produced new shows on wage theft and workers’ rights, access to public transit as a social justice issue, and money in Oregon politics.
• Co-chair Nancy Price met with other members of the Move to Amend executive committee to shape coalition policy for the upcoming year.
• Members continued to lay the groundwork for public banking in Washington DC and Massachusetts.
• In Portland, OR, chapter members and allies scheduled a hearing on a county resolution calling for our Congressional delegation to send a constitutional amendment to the states to end the twin doctrines of corporate personhood and money equals speech.
• In California, Mendocino chapter members and their allies are discussing an ambitious plan to qualify a state ballot initiative to end corporate personhood and money equals speech. Monterey County members are also laying the groundwork for a county-level resolution.

These are reasons to celebrate. An even better reason is that there's more good work coming in 2013. We hope you'll join with us. We also wish you and your communities a happy, peaceful, and fruitful New Year.

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Three California legislators introduce Constitutional Convention resolution to tackle Citizens United

Three California Assembly members have introduced a Joint Resolution in that state calling for a Constitutional Convention in order to nullify the Citizens United decision.

Assemblyman Michael Allen (D-Sonoma County), Assemblyman Mike Gatto (D-Los Angeles), and Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) filed Assembly Joint Resolution 32, which bypasses Congress's role in ratifying amendments. The resolution calls for an amendment that limits corporate free speech rights and allows government to regulate campaign finance.AJR 32 calls for a convention that would be limited to consideration of the Citizens United decision. You can read the text here.

“I figured rather than just condemning the decision with a symbolic resolution, why not start the process to actually amend the Constitution?” said Assemblyman Gatto in a press release. “Voters are fed up with the notion that money is speech and that big money can drown out the speech of average citizens.”

To pass in California, AJR 32 requires consideration and adoption by the State Assembly and Senate. Upon approval, a copy of the Resolution will be delivered to the presiding officers of several state legislatures for consideration and to federal officials. The state-initiated process has been tried before, and has fallen short of success by one or two states a few times, with the earliest being in 1893 and the most recent being 1939.

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Participatory budgeting in Massachusetts as a path to public empowerment

Last month, Chicago Alderman Joe Moore and representatives from the Participatory Budgeting Project spoke in Boston, Cambridge and Springfield, Massachusetts, to raise awareness of participatory budgeting and to give "real-life" examples of its success in funding discretionary spending in Moore's 49th Ward.

Chicago aldermen get a certain amount of money in the city's budget each year to spend on ward betterment projects. Moore described how prior to participatory budgeting, he rather arbitrarily distributed the money on a small range of projects, mostly public lighting and street or sidewalk repair. Now that his constituents vote on which projects to fund, that money has been used on more varied projects, including public art and community gardens. And, as a politician, he was quick to point out that this past election, not only was he re-elected by a wide margin, but other pro-participatory budgeting aldermen have also been elected or re-elected as more city residents ask why this program isn't part of their ward discretionary spending process.

The big question in Boston is where the money would come from, since city council members don't receive city money for district improvements. However, there are some funds coming into Boston's budget from private developers who've built on leased city land, and this money, if it stays in district, could be a long-term and substantial source of community betterment funds.

The Boston talk also featured a presentation by budgeting activists from Lawrence, Massachusetts, which doesn't yet have participatory budgeting but has used the city's budget process as a way of educating and involving community members in local decisionmaking.

The Springfield, Massachusetts, presentation was videotaped, and featured Moore; Gianpaolo Baiocchi of the Participatory Budgeting process and Brown University; José Tosado, Springfield City Council President; David Panagore, City of Hartford Chief Operations Officer; Michaelann Bewsee, Arise for Social Justice Executive Director; and Ayanna Crawford, education consultant. The talk was sponsored by the Springfield Institute.

Here's the video from Springfield:

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Two events in Boston!

The Boston/Cambridge and North Bridge chapters are co-sponsoring the following events on militarism, climate, and human rights:

Friday, 2/11: "No War, No Warming!"
Barry Sanders, author of The Green Zone: The Environmental Costs of Militarism, examines the environmental impact of US military practices and declares military activity, from fuel emissions to radioactive waste to defoliation campaigns, as the single greatest contributor to the worldwide environmental crisis. Dr. Maggie Zhou, Biologist, member of Massachusetts Coalition of Healthy Communities and Climate SOS, will discuss the climate justice perspective, international climate conferences in Cancun/Copenhagen/Cochabamba, and the race to militarism vs. peace.

The talk takes place Friday, February 11 from 7 to 9 p.m. at Boston University's Photonics Building, 8 St. Mary's Street. Download a flier here. Map & directions here. Suggested donation, $5.

Co-Sponsors: Boston UNAC, United for Justice with Peace, Alliance for Democracy - Boston/Cambridge & North Bridge chapters, Peace & Justice Task Force of Watertown Citizens for Environmental Safety, Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities, Massachusetts Global Action, Boston University Antiwar Coalition

Say 'No' to the Anti-immigrant "Secure Communities" Program! A Call for United Action

On Saturday, February 12th from 1 to 3 p.m., people from across Massachusetts will come together at the State House to fight against the State's intention to join the anti-immigrant and racist “Secure Communities” program. 


Under the guise of public safety, “S-Comm” endangers the civil rights and security of all and is particularly an attack on immigrants and people of color. The federal program mandates local law enforcement to cross check the fingerprints of those arrested against the Homeland Security's database in search of immigration status. While supposedly targeting violent offenders, the vast majority of those detained and deported are considered “non-criminals”. This would include those who have been unlawfully arrested, those arrested for minor offenses like traffic violations and those who ultimately have their charges dropped.

In Suffolk County, the only jurisdiction in the state currently enrolled, 68% of those detained and deported have been “non-criminals”, the sixth highest percentage in the country. 

The "S-Comm" program is part of an overall effort to target immigrants and maintain a permanent second-class status for millions of workers.

Initiated by the Boston May Day Committee (BMDC - participants: Mass. Global Action, July 26 Coalition, Tecschange, Latinos for Social Change, Socialist Alternative, Socialist Party USA, Socialist Workers Party, ANSWER Coalition) 

Endorsers (as of 2/4/11): Boston/Cambridge and North Bridge Alliance for Democracy, Circulo Bolivariano Marthin Luther King, Community Church of Boston, Dominican Development Center, Harvard No Layoffs Campaign, Industrial Workers of the World, International Action Center, National Lawyers Guild - Boston, Party for Socialism and Liberation, Project Voice AFSC, Proyecto Hondureno, Stop the Wars Coalition, Student Labor Action Movement (SLAM) 

For more information, contact the Boston May Day Committee or call 617-290-5614. Sign the on-line petitions demanding that the U.S. sign the UN Convention on Migrant Workers Rights at the Boston May Day Committee website.

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Boston/Cambridge Alliance cosponsors stop on book tour

Boston/Cambridge Alliance is one of several local groups co-sponsoring a local stop by theologian and activist James Douglass, author of JFK and the Unspeakable: Why He Died and Why It Matters (2008). Douglass is on a six-city tour of New England and Philadelphia marking the paperback release of the book.

The Cambridge event takes place at the Harvard Epworth Church, 1555 Mass. Ave., right outside Harvard Square, beginning at 7 p.m.

From the release: "James presents motive and circumstantial evidence aplenty, all excellently and extensively documented, that the CIA and the Pentagon were the primary interest groups and executioners of JFK, the president who turned from cold warrior to peacemaker. Other heavy industrial interests are implicated as well. The same interest groups that executed this 1963 coup have formed the 'deep politics' 'shadow government' ever since, attacked the US on 9/11, and hold the US and the world hostage to this day."

For venues and co-sponsors, dates and contact info, click the "read more" link.

Thursday eve., Sept. 30th at 7 pm, Jim Douglass will appear in Portland, Maine, at:
Sacred Heart/St. Dominic Church
80 Sherman St.
Portland, Me.

This event is co-sponsored by:
Sacred Heart/St. Dominic Peace & Social Justice Commission
Maine Green Independent Party
Peace Action Maine
Pax Christi Maine

For more info, contact: Jon Olsen, (207) 549-7787, joliyoka@gmail.com, or Bill Slavick, (240) 599-9413, billslavick@myfairpoint.net

Friday eve., Oct. 1st at 7 pm, Jim Douglass will appear (near Boston), at: Harvard-Epworth United Methodist Church
1555 Mass. Ave.
Cambridge, Ma.

This event is co-sponsored by:

The Greater Boston Alliance for 9/11 Truth and Justice
The Boston-Area Citizens for Informed Democracy
The Boston-Cambridge Alliance for Democracy
The Assassination Archives and Research Center
The Citizens for Truth About the Kennedy Assassination
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

For more info, contact:

Lenny Mather
(857) 523-9606

gitcheegumee@earthlink.net

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

-- Saturday noon, Oct. 2nd (12:15 pm), Jim Douglass will appear in western Mass. (near Amherst), at:

New England Peace Pagoda
100 Cave Rd.
North Leverett, Ma.

This event is solely sponsored by:

The New England Peace Pagoda

For more info, contact:

Elaine Kenseth
(413) 253-7609

edkenseth@aol.com( With thanks to Jonathan Mark, see also this link: www.valley911truth.org for more on the Peace Pagoda venue event.)


_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

-- Sunday, Oct. 3rd at 2:30 pm, Jim Douglass will appear near Londonderry (in south central) Vermont, at:

Weston Priory
58 Priory Hill Rd.
No. Weston, Vt.

This event is solely sponsored by:

The Weston Priory

For more info, call:

Brother Richard
(802) 824-5409

brrichard@westonpriory.org

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

-- Monday eve., Oct. 4th at 7 pm, Jim Douglass will appear near Hartford, Ct., at:

Central Conn. State Univ. (C.C.S.U.)
Vance Academic Center (rm. 105)
New Britain, Ct.

This event is sponsored by:

Pax Educare, Inc.
Connecticut PEACE Consortium
West Hartford Citizens for Peace & Justice
Peace Studies Program at Central Conn. State Univ.

For more info, contact:

Mary Lee Morrison
(860) 930-3182

paxeducare@comcast.net

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

-- Tuesday eve., Oct. 5th at 7 pm, Jim Douglass will appear in Worcester, Ma., at:

Worcester Public Library
Saxe Room (1st Floor)
3 Salem Sq.
Worcester, Mass.

This event is co-sponsored by:

St. Francis Therese Catholic Worker
Center for Non-Violent Solutions

For more info, contact:

Claire and Scott Shaeffer-Duffy
(508) 753-3558

_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

-- Wednesday eve., Oct 6th at 7 pm, Jim Douglass will appear in Philadelphia, Pa., at:

Project H.O.M.E.
1515 Fairmont Ave.
Philadelphia, Pa.

This event is co-sponsored by:

Alternative Seminary
The Simple Way
Conspire Magazine

For more info, contact:

Will O'Brien
(215) 842-1790 (hm.)
(215) 232-7272 (wk.)

wobrien@alternativeseminary.net

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Participatory Budgeting Today: Proliferation, Compromise, Diversification

This article, by Dave Lewit, AfD ombudsman and chapter organizer for Boston/Cambridge Alliance, will also appear in the upcoming issue of the chapter's newsletter, the BCA Dispatch. To request a copy, email Dave at dlewit [at] igc.org.

In 25 years the great democratic participatory budgeting (PB) experiment has spread from southern Brazil to more than a thousand municipalities all over the world, and yes, it has been adopted not just by cities but by schools, housing colonies, student governments—wherever there are large constituencies who want their organizational money to be spent fairly. And yes, poor people as well as middle class turn out by the thousands to decide how to spend public money... but children?

The children involved were Sebastian, Bethan, Chloe and Kieron—all under 5. They were supported by Jo Walkden, one of the teaching staff at the Walkergate Children’s Centre in Newcastle, England. “They were asked if they would like to design and choose the equipment for an outside play area for babies in the nursery. The process was broken down into small steps. First the children took photos of the equipment they liked. They took photos of the babies playing and observed the toys and types of play they liked. The children visited the Babies' Garden, which at that point was just a grassed area. Next they looked at their photos and thought about what the babies might like in their outdoor area. They looked at the catalogues and chose equipment they thought the babies would like to play with. They counted out the money for the equipment, an innovative way of dealing with the spending' side of the project. The equipment and structures for the garden were then ordered and installed. The children were able to see their project become a reality.” (—Jez Hall, UK)

That, in a nutshell, is the PB process. The classic case of Porto Alegre, Brazil, involving 50,000 residents and $200 million per year peaked around 2004. Then the sponsoring Workers Party (PT) was voted out of office locally because of corruption at the national level and disappointment with President Lula da Silva’s bows to the market system. The incoming neoliberal “Socialist Popular Party” watered down and partially privatized the city’s PB, and renamed the process supposedly for “good government”—hoodwinking many poor participants by tying benefits to limited “entrepreneurship”.

But the 16 years of PB success (e.g., ending local corruption, redressing inequality) in hundreds of Brazilian municipalities rang
bells in much of Latin America and parts of Europe, Canada, Africa, Asia, and even Polynesia, thanks in part to the United Nations’ Habitat program (see Resources, below). Toronto Community Housing, for example, has been using PB for nine years to generate projects and distribute now $9 million (in 2009) for upgrading hallways, kitchens, and bathrooms; a computer resource center; playground improvements; and so on—tenants’ choices. A school in British Columbia has used PB, and the cities of Guelph and Montreal, for example.

The first municipal PB in the United States was undertaken only this year, with 1600 residents of Chicago’s 49th ward (northeast corner) deliberating and voting infrastructure innovations to cost $1.3 million, the sum allocated to the ward’s alderman Joe Moore to do with what he wanted—and he wanted the people to decide. There was much committee activity and research, but limited to infrastructure projects—the city had ruled out adding services and personnel. Like most PB programs so far around the world, neither revenue inputs (taxes, fees, state enterprises) nor planning were authorized.

A conference earlier this year in Berlin, Germany, revealed great variations in PB in different places. Seville, Spain, sought social
justice and empowerment, sticking pretty much to the Porto Alegre model. Seeking modernization, German usage was mostly online, risking abuse, bypassing real (face-to-face) deliberation and largely deferring decisions to city officials (budget “consultation”). Africans sought “good government” (minimizing corruption) and new ways of raising revenue. In Spanish cities PB decisions were binding, not mere recommendations to the city government. Providently, most projects have welcomed evaluation and improvement in process from year to year.

In any event, a big determinant of PB success is the amount of money the participants have to work with—$1 million vs. 200 million makes a difference in participation. And of course, whether the participants’ decision is binding and implemented. Nevertheless, PB is giving millions of people around the world the experience which can turn hope into living democracy for themselves and hundreds of millions of their compatriots.

Resources
www.participatorybudgeting.org (hosted by US’s Gianpaolo Baiocchi & Josh Lerner)
www.participedia.net (hosted by Archon Fung & Mark Warren; in wikipedia format)
www.tni.org/article/facing-problems-learning-lessons (hosted by UK’s Hilary Wainwright; explore sidebar)
www.sasanet.org/documents/Tools/FAQ Paticipatory Budgeting.pdf (UN handbook on PB)
www.ongcidade.org (hosted by Porto Alegre’s Sergio Baierle; click on English Version)

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BCA Dispatch out--next issue in two months

The Boston/Cambridge Alliance "Dispatch" is out, and you can request a copy from editor Dave Lewit at dlewit@igc.org. Among the highlights: Using the Mondragon coop model to develop employee-owned businesses in Cleveland, "personal corporatehood," the repeal of Instant Runoff Voting in Burlington, VT, and building durable prosperity and democracy... in Europe.

Locally, Dave reports on groundwork for Boston participation in June's US Social Forum, following a meeting of mostly young people of color who are organizing around racism, militarism, climate, economy and education. People in the area who want to connect with the groups involved or learn more about attending with others from the area can visit Mass Global Action.

Finally, the Dispatch will now be published bi-monthly--with double the material, though, so having an extra month to read it will be a good thing! The revised schedule comes about because, as Dave writes, he "will soon be editor of a Common Good website--that's the tentative name of an institute or movement to bring together splintered, specialized movements of the left--health care, labor, women, immigration, globalization, localization, peak oil, climate change, and so on--springing from a shared philosophy. Theologian John Cobb, who reads the Dispatch, sensed in it the kind of thinking that underlies Process Theology--systemic thinking that is concerned with suffering (hell) and beauty (heaven), diversity and change, striving and realizing, community and reintegration. He and theologian-pastor Ignacio Castuera, both of the Claremont CA university community, asked Dave to join them to start the movement, with folks who are potential writers or steering committee members, or can help with technical services. " Interested? Email Dave at dlewit@igc.org.

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The Dispatch is out!

February's Boston/Cambridge Alliance newsletter, the BCA Dispatch, is heading to mailboxes across the country, with articles on Haiti, healthcare, soldier suicides and thoughts on the Massachusetts special election. If you'd like a copy, email the office at afd@thealliancefordemocracy.org.

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Corporate personhood and home rule will be topics of Boston-area forums

Members of the Boston/Cambridge and North Bridge Alliance chapters will be working on organizing two forums on two related issues: corporate personhood and reforming municipal home rule.

The corporate personhood forum will feature an introduction to the history of the usurpation of personhood rights by corporations, with a focus on the decision in "Citizens United v. FEC" and its potential impacts on our election system. Depending on the scope of the decision--which could be broad enough to imperil state-level campaign finance law--the forum will also emphasize actions that individuals and organizations can take to counter a ramped-up "pay-to-play" political system.

Home rule, the idea that localities should be able to pass and enforce laws without unreasonable interference from higher levels of government, was a featured topic of discussion in the recent "Democracy and Relocation" workshop that AfD'ers Dave Lewit and Ruth Caplan facilitated in Boston, and is key to rights-based campaigns, like the work of the Defending Water for Life project. When states or the federal government limit home rule, it means that decisions on local resource management, public health or other issues are turned over to legislators that are less responsive to constituent needs.

In Massachusetts, home rule law has short-changed the city of Boston, overruled local rent-control ordinances, and most recently made it difficult for one town to regulate noxious fumes from a local pig farm. Even legislators agree that the system needs an overhaul. Robust home rule enables a bottom-up strategy for fighting corporate rule.

Look for updates in future issues of the e-news and on the AfD blog.

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Corporate personhood strategy session in Concord, Massachusetts

This Sunday, join Boston-area AfD members, local activists, and citizens concerned about corporate rule at the Alliance for Democracy's southern New England member meeting. Not a member? Come anyway!

Seating is limited, since the venue is a member's home in Concord--please email afd@thealliancefordemocracy.org for location and directions and to RSVP, or if you need a ride from the train station!

We'll be meeting from 4-7 p.m on Sunday, November 8 with:

• Ruth Caplan, Director, Alliance for Democracy’s Defending Water for Life project--How have small towns organized to take away corporate personhood rights?
• Jeffrey Clements--the Concord lawyer who authored an amicus curiae brief in “Citizens United v. FEC”—the “Hillary, the Movie” case. The case will be decided by the US Supreme Court and could overturn decades of hard-fought victories against corporate influence peddling in elections.

If you'd like to stay for a potluck dinner! Please consider bringing an entrée, vegetable or salad, or dessert to share (local ingredients if you can!). If not, Jeffrey and Ruth will be speaking from 4 to 5:30 or so, with questions.

Get involved! Come find out what the national organization has been doing, what local chapters and members are working on, and how you can participate in creating a healthy democracy—locally and nationally. Join old friends and new for good food, good conversation and good news about grassroots alternatives to corporate rule.

RSVP to afd@thealliancefordemocracy.org.

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Is there a regional meeting near you?

The latest on our regional meetings! If you don't see one near you, organize one! It doesn't have to be elaborate--if a potluck and discussion meets your local needs, that's fine. We can also suggest possible topics for speakers or films, and provide you with literature and in some cases dvds. For more information, contact afd@thealliancefordemocracy.org

October
Oct. 6, Tuesday, Blue Hill, ME
Blue Hill Public Library, 7:00 pm
AfD national council member Bonnie Preston hosts panel on water with Emily Posner Defending Water for Life in Maine on bottled water; Sarah Bigney of Maine Fair Trade Campaign on trade and water; Antonio Blasi, a member of Maine Water Allies, active in eastern Hancock County, on ground water; and Nancye Files, of Alliance for Democracy Downeast.

Mid-October, Sacramento, CA, TBA
AfD Defending Water for Life Campaign hosts with other co-sponsors the movie “Tapped” on bottled water. View trailer and Ruth Caplan here. Nestlé is coming to Sacramento and we’re fighting back!

Oct. 31, Saturday, Portland, OR
First Unitarian Church, SW 12 and Salmon, Time TBA
Watch AfD Portland website for details. Possible topics: election reform in OR and the nation; corporate personhood and corporate money in elections: Citizens United v. FEC; water privatization: Cascade Locks/Nestlé and bottled water-Bull Run reservoir and costly water treatment plants;

November
Nov. 8, Sunday, Concord, Massachusetts
Boston/Cambridge Alliance and North Bridge Alliance potluck focuses on corporate personhood and Citizens United v. FEC

Nov. 12, Thursday, Davis, CA
Time/Place TBA: Potluck and discussion of the corporate voice vs. the people’s voice in local land-use development campaigns

Nov. 12, Thursday, Pittsfield or Rochester, NY
Time/Place TBA: Local Potluck Dinner and discussion on “Do Corporations Rule the World?”

Nov. 14 -15, Sat-Sun, Ukiah, CA
Bi-annual Convention of Northern California Alliance for Democracy
“Rethinking Rights of Corporations in Northern California: What Can Local Communities Do Now?” Details coming!

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BCA Dispatch in mailboxes now--why not your's?

The Boston/Cambridge Alliance's newsletter, The Dispatch, is out, with articles on the state of farms, Spokane's proposal to add a "Community Bill of Rights" to their city charter, the arts in Brazil and the coup in Honduras. There are reports on local projects on climate change and relocalization, and alerts for local and regional events. We have extra copies in the office; email afd@thealliancefordemocracy.org if you're interested!

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"The Dispatch"--now available in print!

The July-August issue of the Alliance's Boston/Cambridge Chapter's "Dispatch" is now in print, and print only, but you can request a copy by emailing the editor, chapter coordinator Dave Lewit, at dlewit@igc.org. This issue includes a review of James W. Douglass's JFK and the Unspeakable: Why he died and why it matters, by Scott Schaeffer-Duffy of the "Catholic Radical", and an essay by Dave on "Mapping the System: Key to Creating a Better World, a guide to looking at patterns of power and influence within society with an eye to approaching issues from the perspective of systemic change. It's a long piece but we'll try to get it online here shortly. Also in the issue: a look at the security of Iran's elections, an analysis of Obama's NAACP speech, a report on the Honduran coup, action alerts and chapter updates.

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Southern New England Afd'ers meet

On April 11, AfD members from Eastern Massachusetts and Rhode Island met for a day-long conference entitled "Maintaining Democracy: Undermining the Corporate Agenda from the Bottom Up." It was an opportunity to find out more about member and supporters activism, and to hear from groups allied with AfD about their work, with special focus on climate change and localization, healthcare, and media.

Invited speakers included Nancy Lee Wood, who has been working on peak oil education and preparing her community and university for a post-carbon future: Jill Stein, from Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities, speaking on climate change: local radio hosts Stan Robinson and John Grebe on media: and Katie Robbins, from Healthcare-Now, discussing the national push for single-payer health care. Barbara Clancy from the Alliance office talked about AfD’s work for single payer, focusing on state level work in New York, Pennsylvania, California, and Massachusetts. Member-educator Mary Rossborough discussed her work on economics; Garrett Whitney
introduced Concord (MA) actions on climate change and the transition town concept, and David Lewit talked about economics and localization, Cynthia Whitty gave a short history of her town’s long-term community-building activism, and Ruth Weizenbaum recognized the volunteers who keep the “Other Voices” video project on the air. Raging Grannies provided the music!

It was a full day, with, sadly, less time for open discussion than had been originally planned. A “post conference” chapter meeting is in the works to consider follow-ups to the event, including a possible New England conference in the fall, and a roundtable on localization and building local and regional economies.

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April 11 in Massachusetts! Maintaining Democracy: Undermining the Corporate Agenda from the Bottom Up

More information on this event!

A conference for Northeast region AfD members, supporters, and allied activists! Join us!

SATURDAY APRIL 11, 9:00 AM to 7:00 PM
Walker Center, 144 Hancock Street at Grove Street
Newton, Massachusetts
(Exit 22 off Rt I-95, or a 0.5 mile walk from Riverside Green Line station)

Registration ($15, early-bird rate of $5 by April 4)
Lunch and dinner available, with vegetarian option. Lunch $12, dinner $14.

CALL 781-894-1179 (AfD National Office, Waltham) to REGISTER NOW, or email afd@thealliancefordemocracy.org

We look forward to seeing you there!

Speakers/presenters include:

• NANCY LEE WOOD (Bristol Community College): Overview and Resource Depletion
• JILL STEIN (MCHC: Massachusetts Coalition for Healthy Communities): Taking on the Climate Crisis -- Local, State, and National
• GARRET WHITNEY (Concord Climate Action Network) The 350ppm Campaign
• Sustainable Community Initiatives: Reports from Aperion and Green Drinks of Rhode Island
• MARY ROSSBOROUGH (Salem State College Lifelong Learning Institute): The Economy -- Pitfalls and New Directions
• DAVID LEWIT (Dispatch): Participatory Budgeting & Trade Issues
• PAT McSWEENEY (Citizens for an Informed Community): Militarism as a Tool for the Corporate Agenda
• Radio hosts STAN ROBINSON & JOHN GREBE: The Local and Larger Independent-Media Presence
• KATIE ROBBINS (Healthcare-NOW!): State Legislative Initiatives
• BARBARA CLANCY (AfD Health Care Campaign): Action Tools
• TONI SERAFINI (AfD) & SHERYL CRAWFORD (Mass Vote): Electoral Issues

Additional Media Initiatives:

• COMMUNITY SHOWINGS/ACTIONS: David Whitty (Town of Ashland), Joan Ecklein (Women's International League for Peace & Freedom: WILPF), Sue Gracey (Boston Bio-Weapons Lab, WILPF), The Raging Grannies
• COMMUNITY CABLE PROJECT: "OTHER VOICES": Ruth Weizenbaum (Overview with distribution team), Jane Lynn (Marlboro), Michael Bleiweiss (Methuen), Charlie Phillips (Concord), Bob Datz (Brimfield), Cornelia Sullivan (Boston), Joanna Herlihy (Cambridge & Somerville): editing & filming work, Leo Immonen (Wrentham)
• LETTER-WRITING
• WEB OPTIONS
• NEWSLETTERS

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Saturday, April 11: Northeast AfD Regional Meeting

Fed up with corporations running the country? Want to know how the corporate agenda shapes policy on energy, trade, and regional issues? Grassroots action for changing the status quo will be the focus of the Alliance for Democracy's Northeast Regional meeting on Saturday, April 11. Entitled "Maintaining Democracy: Undermining the Corporate Agenda from the Bottom Up," it will be held at the Walker Center, 171 Grove Street, Auburndale, MA. The day-long conference features a special emphasis on preserving and expanding democracy as we deal with peak oil, health care, media, sustainable communities, trade and other issues. For information, call the Alliance office at 781-894-1179, or email afd@thealliancefordemocracy.org.

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Massachusetts members begin work to pass citizens' trade commission bill

The Boston Cambridge Alliance and North Bridge Alliance for Democracy will be working this spring to build a coalition of activists and groups to advocate for a bill creating a state commission to study the impact of federal trade pacts on state laws and policies.

The bill was first proposed in 2002 in wake of federal judgments against Massachusetts in cases brought by private corporations who claimed that international trade agreements overruled state laws. Its most recent version brings the structure and representation on the committee closer to that of existing committees in Maine, Vermont, and New Hampshire.

Massachusetts supporters are urged to contact Barbara at bclancy122@earthlink.net and find out how to get involved. Info on the bill will be posted at www.newenglandalliance.org.

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New England Roundtable video online

Video of the first part of the 2005 New England Roundtable on popular governance is online at Blip.tv, here. The roundtable brought representatives from several communities to Burlington, Vermont, for a discussion on how the New England region can increase self-reliance and cooperation between communities in an age of increasing globalization. The roundtable was organied by Boston Cambridge Alliance chapter coordinator Dave Lewit, and presentations were taped by Victor Franke and edited by Boston Cambridge Alliance member Joanna Herlihy, and North Bridge member (and council ombudsperson) Cynthia Ritsher. Thanks to Cambridge Community Television (CCTV) for helping with use of editing facilities.

(As a CCTV volunteer, Joanna also taped this segment on a Cambridge "weatherization barn raising" organized by HEET (Home Energy Efficient Team) a Cambridge-based co-op.)

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Boston/Cambridge AfD on Cambridge Community TV

Boston/Cambridge AfD's Dave Lewit appeared on Cambridge Community TV on August 10 with housing activist Virginia Pratt. They talked about local chapter work and discussed the corporate role in the foreclosure crisis. With a lot to talk about, Dave may be back on the air with other AfD members in September. Topics might include water, democracy protection, and regional cooperation and autonomy, all areas of interest for the chapter.

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