Hi, AfDers,

Following is email newsletter from the national Alliance for Democracy. Includes issues of election process reform, health care for all (singlepayer) and development of a Public Reconstruction and Development Bank, and the latest news on Measure T in Humboldt County, CA.

David e. Delk, Alliance for Democracy - Portland Chapter 503 232 5495 www.afd-pdx.org

About Us  Become a member  Find a chapter  Read Justice Rising, our quarterly journal Two reminders! Thanks to all the members who responded to our renewal notice! As a member-based group, we depend on your support. A special thanks to everyone who chose to renew during these tough financial times. If you haven't renewed yet, please take a moment to do so. It's quick, easy and safe to donate online. If you can, upgrade your membership and become a sustainer. Your $5 or $10 monthly gift means a steady source of support for our work. And renewing now means there's no chance you'll miss the next issue of Justice Rising, focusing on the financial meltdown and economic alternatives! Alliance for Democracy e-News November 14, 2008 AfD calls for urgent election and voting rights reforms We will work with Election Defense Alliance and other voting rights allies for the reforms still needed to prevent the widely reported abuses and illegalities that took place prior to and on November 4. Our next e-News will feature more on this issue as voting reform will be a hot topic in Congress after the Inauguration. Time to Focus on Health Care! Affordable health care for all is a human right and a Constitutional right! The Equal Protection Clause, part of the 14th Amendment to the US Constitution, provides that "no state shall...deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws." Isn't differential access to healthcare a violation of equal protection? The Bill of Rights prohibits the federal government from depriving any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law. Yet the failure of the federal government to provide affordable universal coverage for all means that the health and life of many is threatened, their "liberty" is impacted by the consequences of a failed healthcare system on them and their family's lives, and people are deprived of their property when they have to borrow or declare bankruptcy when illness forces them into poverty and destitution. A new administration in Washington brings us a renewed opportunity to build a national movement for single-payer health care as a human and a constitutional right! Chapters in New York state and members in Pennsylvania and St. Louis, MO, are already organizing in support of initiatives in those states.  How important is health care reform? Sara Robinson, of Campaign for America's Future, recently said the issue has "the potential to become the catalyst for a new season of American progressivism." It's a change that makes other changes possible, like campaign finance reform, as Jo Seidita, founder of California Clean Money, reminded us at AfD conventions. (Read Anderson's article here) If you're looking for educational resources on health care reform, the Rochester chapter has developed a brochure on the myths and realities of single-payer, available here. And the Winter 2008 issue of Justice Rising also focused on the health care crisis and the best alternatives to a profits-first system. So far, Senators Max Baucus (D-MT) and Ted Kennedy (D-MA) are working on health care proposals; Baucus introduced his earlier this week. The new Congressional term will also see reintroduction of HR 676, the US National Health Insurance Act. Get ready to agitate for a single-payer Medicare for All system, so that health for all finally becomes more important than wealth for a few. AfD campaign calls for action during lame duck session In the last few days the financial crisis has spread from Wall Street to engulf other sectors of the economy. Now US automakers are on the edge, and asking for a portion of the $700 bailout package. The Alliance's Campaign on Corporate Globalization and Positive Alternatives says it's time for Congress to get to work on an economic restructuring plan that will work for all of us. As Congress reconvenes, we're asking you to push for a Public Reconstruction and Development Bank to create jobs through investment in: Energy efficiency, public transportation, and decentralized solar/wind power to stop the climate meltdown Our municipal water and sewer infrastructure to ensure safe, affordable, drinking water for everyone High-quality public education for all Finance the bank by Instituting a tax on all investment transactions, including "new financial products" such as credit-default swaps Heavily taxing speculator profits Establishing progressive income and inheritance taxes Eliminating the tax preference for capital gains Protect our real "common wealth" by Establishing single-payer health care. Support HR 676, the United States National Health Insurance Act Fully fund public radio and television to eliminate all corporate sponsorship and ensure a diversity of perspectives Stop the "casino economy." There must be strict regulation for all of Wall Street, not just banks. Congress must not allow risky transactions, like the approximately $60 trillion in "credit default swaps" to remain unregulated. AfD calls for a true global economic summit The Alliance for Democracy has joined organizations worldwide in calling for a rejection of a rescue plan that promotes corporate globalization and support for "New Principles and Rules to Build an Economic System that Works for People and the Planet." To read the declarations and see the list of signatory organizations, go to www.choike.org/bw2. The proposed Global Summit, which takes place this weekend in Washington, was organized by the Bush administration and currently includes only G20 countries, leaders of the World Bank, International Monetary Fund, United Nations, and the Financial Stability Forum. The November meeting is the first in a proposed series. Critics of the summit say that these "Bretton Woods II" talks need to be opened up to all who want to participate, including the global South and NGO's, especially if the goal is to change monetary, development, and international finance policies. For more information, see this entry on our e-news blog. Chapter updates Several of our members were active on election protection issues during the campaign season. Some screened "Stealing America: Vote by Vote," while members from the North Bridge and Boston Cambridge Alliance chapters helped with exit polling in Manchester, New Hampshire, with Election Defense Alliance. The San Fernando Valley chapter built support for clean elections in California--a bill authorizing funding for some statewide races became law this fall, but needs final approval at the ballot box, so more organizing will begin in that state to make sure Clean Elections passes. Allied Actions: Bad news from Humboldt County as Measure T falls in court A Federal court in California has ruled that Measure T, the Humboldt County (CA) ballot measure that limited campaign contributions in local elections by out-of-county corporations, is unconstitutional. According to Democracy Unlimited of Humboldt County, a joint settlement between the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors and the pro-big-business Pacific Legal Foundation, the plaintiff in the lawsuit attacking the measure, labeled the groundbreaking initiative "null and void." Measure T banned non-local corporations from contributing money to county elections and thus challenged the legal doctrine of corporate personhood. It was passed by citizen's initiative in 2006 with 55% of the vote, in reaction to involvement of large corporations in local political campaigns. The Pacific Legal Foundation The suit was filed in September and in response, many county candidates in the recent elections pledged to abide by Measure T provisions regardless of whether the measure was deemed unconstitutional. Those candidates declined corporate contributions and pledged to oppose the doctrine of corporate personhood and to uphold the rights of citizens over corporations during their terms--and most of the candidates taking the pledge won on Election Day. For more, see Democracy Unlimited's press release on our e-news blog.