GREETINGS!
What is it that we are doing? We are, my friends, living a life well lived. What an accomplishment. More than a few friends and colleagues have lately reported deaths in their families. My best friend’s family just lost their great aunt Elizabeth... and she was truly a great woman: American born in the early 20th century when women were not yet full citizens. She was college educated in Cairo and the Sorbonne in Paris and became a celebrated doctor of pathology. She was one of the first women doctors in the U.S. Army and rose to the rank of Captain. Aunt Elizabeth was on the team that invented the tracheal tube for field medicine – something that has saved countless lives around the world and continues to do so today. She was an extraordinary woman.
Japanese philosopher, scholar and Buddhist leader Daisaku Ikeda said, “Death will come to each of us some day. We can die having fought hard for our beliefs and convictions, or we can die having failed to do so. Since the reality of death is the same in either case, isn’t it far better that we set out on our journey toward the next existence in high spirits and with a bright smile on our faces – knowing that in everything we did, we did the very best we could, thrilling with the sense, ‘That was truly an interesting life’?”
Those of us in the fight to take back our country from regressives with despotic intentions are living truly interesting lives. That would be no less true if we had to stop today because of family obligations, professional necessity or for any of a million reasons. We have had impact. We have influenced a generation. We have dared to stand up, speak out and work hard for our beliefs and for the unselfish benefit of our communities, our country and our world.
Take a moment and celebrate your very interesting life!!
Summer kicks off with a bang this weekend with the California speaking tour of William Rivers Pitt sponsored by Progressive Democrats of America. Democracy Fest 2005 happens in two weeks and is power-packed with A-list speakers and not-to-be missed workshops and panel discussions.
You'll want to immediately check out our Get Involved section to sign up for the Walk The World happening in 88 countries and your own backyard. We were very excited to hear from former our good friend and former DFA Meetup master Michael Silberman about this worldwide project of FightHunger.org. Check out the other progressive events happening this month in that section such as the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair. How's this for a tease: read about what Graceland and Ghandi have in common!
This month, The Tool Shed features a new "Google for Progressives" called Activista, and a book review submitted by Ken Sadeckas of Atlanta, Georgia in What the Roots Are Reading.
As always, subscriptions to Taking Root™ come spam-free to your email box. If you like what you see here and would like to lend a hand, please drop us a note at volunteer-at-grassrootsforamerica.us or make a contribution to support all of our grassroots efforts.
We welcome your story ideas and are very interested in your letters and opinions. Email us at editor-at-grassrootsforamerica.us."
Be joyful!
| Kimberly Krautter, Editor-in-Chief, Grassroots for America |
Glimpse What’s Inside!
Click on a title to jump to the story below.
NEWS FROM THE ROOTS
Featured Stories
DemocracyFest Snags Air America As Major Sponsor of the 2005 event in Austin, TX on June 17-19
Organizers of DemocracyFest 2005 received major validation of their efforts and the importance of the annual gathering of progressive grassroots activists: Air America Radio has signed on as the official presenting sponsor. Event producers at My Vote Is My Voice successfully secured a $10,000 commitment from Border Media Partners (BMP) on behalf of their Air America syndications in Texas. BMP owns radio stations throughout the state -- mostly Spanish language stations -- and they have recently invested in Air America syndications in several of their major markets including Dallas, Austin (this year’s DemFest Host City), San Antonio, and McAllen.
BMP/Air America is also sponsoring the big headliner event and dinner on Saturday, June 18 at world famous Stubb’s Barbecue. Major speakers for the “Progressive Express” include DNC Chairman Howard Dean, Texas Columnist Molly Ivins, Congressman Jesse Jackson, Jr., and DFA Chairman Jim Dean Austin is renowned as the capitol of eclectic music, and this event will feature a couple of great local talents including Grammy winner Joe Ely and his Liberty Lunch Band, described as “the ultimate honky-tonk adrenaline rush.”.
Once again an aggressive schedule of seminars and training is scheduled during the three-day festival. Some noteworthy courses include “Framing for Communities” by Ralph Miller of Latinos for America and Grassroots For America. Attendees will also be interested in panel discussions on “The Delay Factor” and “Civic Environmentalism: Taking Politics to Policy”. Walter Ludwig, executive director of Project 90 will also talk about recruiting progressive candidates to challenge Congressional seats in red districts. Many will remember Ludwig for his leadership of the “Dean’s List,” a group of top fundraisers from the Presidential campaign that helped elevate Governor Dean to DNC Chair. A complete schedule of DemFest ’05 programming is available online.
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Root Camp at DemFest Presented by Grassroots For America
By Pam Paul, Co-Director of Root Camp, GFA
Root Camp, which is an activist collaborative training initiative, will be participating in this year's Democracy Fest in Austin, Texas. Root Camp will offer a Training Mentor session on Friday, June 17, which will serve as the gateway to the Root Camp Mentor Program. During this time, participants will learn about Root Camp, how it has evolved, how it affects the political spectrum and in which direction it will head. This session will also demonstrate how Root Camp engages activists into the process by using activists as Mentors and how mentoring ties into a national network among trainers, issue groups, supporters, resources, tools, and sharing best practices. Root Camp will grow and promote the Mentor network in a manner that will ultimately build a national activist empowered community.
On Sunday, we will conduct a full Root Camp Mentor-led program with sessions that include: Campaign Basics and Volunteer Management, Data and Data- Mining for GOTV, Earned Media, Activating the Base and Maximizing Year Round Visibility and Productivity. The experiences shared during these sessions will be diverse, passionate and filled with resource gems from the trade. The tools and the connections that are transferred during these sessions will serve as a launching pad for those in attendance to begin sharing and implementing concepts and processes in their local areas. Root Camp promotes the organic growth of activist empowerment through team collaborative and activist engineered ideas. Please join us in Austin and become part of the connection!
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CODE PINK: Win Your Own Exit Strategy
While Congress recessed for the Memorial Holiday Week, CODE PINK decided to up the ante for the National Call-In Week in support of the Woolsey Resolution (H.Conc.Res.35). The women against war offered activists a chance to enter a drawing for a weekend in Baja, Mexico if they get their House member to sign onto the Congressional demand for the President to present an Iraq exit strategy. To be eligible for the prize drawing, activists had to send in a picture of themselves (wearing Pink, naturally) presenting their position in support of the resolution at the district office of their House member. The sweepstakes ended at press time, so stay tuned for a report on the winners and how this innovative offering mobilized folks to act.
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State Field Briefs
GEORGIA: Grassroots Outcry Scratches Anti-Evolution Movement
Cobb County, Georgia is not only the home of that knight of the Christian Coalition, Ralph Reed, it is also the front line of a crusade against science and higher order thinking in the South. Yes, two years ago school officials in that bucolic suburb of gated McMansion communities northwest of the 3rd largest home of Fortune 500 companies (Atlanta) put disclaimer stickers in science books that warned: This textbook contains material on evolution. Evolution is a theory, not a fact, regarding the origin of living things. This material should be approached with an open mind, studied carefully, and critically considered. Approved by the Cobb County Board of Education.
A grassroots battle royal has been waged ever since. Parents and citizens of sound mind and intelligence brought a lawsuit against the County asserting the stickers violated the principle of the separation of church and state. A federal judge in January agreed and ordered the stickers removed. Last week, Cobb County workers literally scratched the stickers out of 34,452 textbooks that had been distributed throughout the school district.
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VIRGINIA: On the Capitol Steps with Senator Harry Reid
By Kathleen Mancini, guest writer
Last week I had the amazing opportunity to speak at a press conference at the Capitol about protecting Social Security. For the last several months I have been doing what I could to help save this important program, working with organizations like Democracy For America and Americans United to Protect Social Security I thought I was an anonymous voice in the crowd, so I was very surprised when I received a call from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid’s office asking if I would be interested in speaking.
The press conference started with two dynamic, passionate speakers, Senator Byron Dorgan and AFSCME (labor union) President Gerald McEntee. This, along with facing a bank of cameras and reporters, had me a little scared, until Senator Reid leaned over and whispered, “don’t be nervous.”
I talked about what Social Security meant to my Grandmother; being able to live independently until age 92, in the same home she has lived in for 60 years. I talked about what it will mean to me; retirement insurance since injuries from a car accident wiped out my retirement savings. I also made the following points:
1) People of my age group have shouldered the burden of Social Security; we paid for those who came before, and now are being asked to pay Two Trillion Dollars for those coming after, while at the same time we’re going to have our benefits drastically cut or even eliminated unless we made less than $25,000 per year – This was not what we were promised by the U.S. Government when we paid a lot of money into Social Security.
2) Social Security is an “Insurance” program, and the stability of Insurance is incompatible with risks in the marketplace like Enron and countless others - What if they are as wrong about Social Security Privatization as they were about the cost of the war in Iraq or the cost of Medicare?
My strongest impression from this event was how sincere and nice Senator Reid seemed to be, and my appreciation and admiration that he stands up and fights for what he believes is right. I hope more members of congress will stand up and fight with him.
3) High risk should only be gambled when there is the probability of high reward - If you look closely at this privatization plan, the promised rewards are as illusive as weapons of mass destruction in Iraq.
In 2003, Ms. Mancini was an active member of Georgia For Dean and Business Leaders for Dean. Now residing in Virginia, Ms. Mancini remains an active leader in the progressive grassroots movement there.
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WASHINGTON: “Bring Them Home Magnets” Now Shipping From Spokane
By Andy Dunau, guest writer, BTH Project
Three weeks ago, Taking Root broke the news about the “Bring Them Home” car magnets. Since then sales have shot off the charts – at press time, they have sold more than 3,000 in 38 states. The new “ribbon for the rest of us” is being used as incentives and fundraisers by progressive grassroots organizations around the nation. The following report is filed by one of the magnet designers.
In Spokane, Washington, Scott Ritter, former marine and head of U.N WMD inspection, gave a barnburner of a speech to a sell out crowd of 1000 people at the metropolitan theatre. As event organizers, we experienced our own “shock and awe” about the sell out -- we actually had to turn people away. Because ticket sales went so well, we were able to bulk purchase 1000 of the new "Bring Them Home" car magnets and give one to each person as they walked through the door. The magnets tied in beautifully with their bottom line message that people need to get active and tell others how they feel about endless war.:
We arranged for Ritter to do some media interviews. We’re now in the process of taking excerpts from his speech and his radio interviews to make :15- and :30-minute audiocasts that people will be able to get from the Bring Them Home Project website. Additionally, we’re going to send e-mails out to community broadcast stations across the country to encourage them to use the audiocast as part of their programming. We expect to have something ready to distribute by around the middle of June. (The availability of the magnets will be posted on the Grassroots For America website.
Also, the Kootenai County Democratic Club in Idaho just placed a bulk order of 500 car magnets. They plan to distribute them to the Democratic clubs around that state and make it part of a statewide meeting that includes attendance from the Democratic National Committee. A grassroots group in Houston will begin distributing the magnets at rallies and other events in that city.
Why wait? Order your "Bring Them Home" car magnets now and help Grassroots for AmericaSM continue to provide pro bono professional services to developing progressive organizations. Simply go to the Bring Them Home Store and enter Contribution Code: "GFA" to buy your magnets by the piece, the pack or in bulk. We thank you for your r support!
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GRASSTOPS UPDATE: Progressive Democrats of America
PDA Increases Pressure on Congress to Demand Iraq Exit Strategy
As this publication went into production, PDA members across the nation had generated almost 10,000 individual calls and emails to Congressional Democrats asking them to support House Concurrent Resolution 35: a demand for the President to present an Iraq exit strategy to Congress. Activists were asked by PDA to target Democratic House members asking for their support of the resolution authored by Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). (Read about the bill here.)
The National Call-In action alert was part of an on-going effort to generate the political will to bring American armed forces home from Iraq. The event was co-sponsored by CODE PINK and United for Peace and Justice. “Endless war does not foster the peace the newly elected Iraqi government needs to stabilize and repair its nation,” said PDA executive director Tim Carpenter. “American families deserve to know the administration cares enough about our troops to provide a clear exit strategy and time table for bringing them home.”
William Rivers Pitt California Speaking Tour
This weekend, PDA is sponsoring the California speaking tour of William Rivers Pitt of Truthout.org. Pitt is the international best-selling author of “War on Iraq: What Team Bush Doesn’t Want You to Know” and “The Greatest Sedition is Silence.” Friday night, June 3, in Berkeley, he will address “The Domestic Costs of the Iraq War.”
Saturday morning, June 4, in Sacramento, join Mr. Pitt breakfast at the PDA General Membership Kickoff Meeting. This event is also a FUNdraiser for the Coalition4Democracy in Haiti.
Saturday evening, progressives are invited to join Pitt in Los Angeles for a special evening of theatre at the Mark Taper Forum for the American premiere of the British Play “Stuff Happens” by David Rabe. Mimi Kennedy, actress, activist and PDA board member will co-host the evening. Click here for tickets and additional information.
Pitt closes out his tour on Sunday in Santa Rosa where he will be joined by PDA Political Director Kevin Spidel and other invited guests from academia, labor and the media for a panel discussion moderated by author Sherry Glaser. A luncheon is scheduled after this speaking engagement where Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey and that progressive punster Swami Beyondananda will make special guest appearances.
Complete tour information can be found at the PDA Events Calendar
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GET INVOLVED
This section was compiled and written by Max Gordon of Write & Left
Working from Within: Progressives in the Red States
If you're in California, New York, or Massachusetts, you can barely hold up a placard without bumping into another progressive working on some cause or another. Take a look at the map of how the country voted, however, and you can see that the people who really need to hear our message are in that big fat red stripe down the center.
From sea to shining sea there are scores of progressive groups working hard to save our country from its self-destructive path of conservatism. If you're in one of those states, and feeling alone, here are a few things going on in the near future where you might meet like-minded souls and get something started. In the coming months we'll bring you more links to "red state" progressive group's and their programs and activities.
Let's All Go to the Lobby: Advocacy Without Anxiety Seminar June 6
So you've set up your 501(c)(3) and you're raring to get out there and start spreading the progressive message. But wait! Are you allowed to produce a voters' guide? What kind of relationship are you allowed to have with candidates? How much lobbying are your legally allowed to do? If you need to know the answers to these and similar questions, get to Seattle, WA, June 15 for "Worry-Free Advocacy for Nonprofits: Understanding the Rules of Lobbying and Election-Related Activity." The topics covered during this one-day workshop include lobbying and election rules for nonprofits, coalitions and affiliated organizations. Breakfast and lunch is included. You must register by June 6, so hurry: call 866-675-6229. The seminar is sponsored by theAlliance for Justice, a national association of environmental, civil rights, mental health, women's, children's and consumer advocacy organizations, and WEAVE, the Washington Environmental Alliance for Voter Education, founded in 1993 to promote voter participation among conservation-minded citizens.
Walk The World in One Day: June 12
Former DFA Meetup Master Michael Silberman is rallying the troops again, this time to fight the scourge of hunger in our midst and around the world. On 12 June, join the Walk The Worldto raise the awareness and funds we need to permanently end hunger for 300 million children. So far there are 250 events in 88 countries across the planet. You will not want to miss out on this rare chance to act in simultaneous solidarity with the rest of the globe. Find a walk near you. Some of the planned events in the United States include delivery of food to rural poor who are going hungry every day in our own communities. So strap on your sneakers and walk to fight hunger!
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WISCONSIN: Get Renewed at the 16th Annual Sustainable Living Fair June 17-19
Each year thousands of people from around the world celebrate the summer solstice at the Renewable Energy and Sustainable Living Fair. This three-day festival is the world's largest venue to learn about renewable energy, energy efficiency, and sustainable living. Sponsored by the Midwest Renewable Energy Association, the event takes place June 17–19 at the ReNew the Earth Institute in Custer, WI.
- Download the Workshop Descriptions for the 2005 fair
- Download Exhibitor Information for the 2005 fair
- Download General Information on the 2005 fair
Albuquerque Ride Against Nukes: June 29-July 16
New Mexico's Albuquerque Center for Peace and Justice has a busy summer scheduled, starting with the Bike Chain Response, a 1,000-mile bike ride from the Nevada nuclear testing site to the Los Alamos National Laboratory, from June 29 to July 16. Bike Chain Response is a separate group devoted to rides for peace.
Poets and writers commemorate the 60th Anniversary of the Trinity Nuclear Test, the first nuclear explosion on this planet, when they gather July 15 in Santa Fe at the James A. Little Theater, and July 16 in Albuquerque at the Lobo Theater. For information, call 505-265-1200.
Activists, students, journalists, and laboratory personnel seeking an authoritative short course on the legal status of nuclear weapons should check out the Seminar on Nuclear Weapons Law and Policy at the University of New Mexico, Main Campus. There's a modest tuition, but continuing legal education credit may be possible. For more information, call 505-265-1200.
Graceland, Beale Street and Ghandi
You have one more reason to add Memphis to your list of summer destinations. In addition to Elvis and great blues, this town on the Tennessee Delta is home to the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, , a nonprofit educational community founded by the grandson of Mahatma Ghandi, Arun Gandhi, and his wife, Sunanda. Dedicated to conflict prevention, anger management, diversity training and relationship- and community-building, the institute has several programs slated for the summer and fall that can help our cause, including diversity training, the summer institute programs, and a conference on nonviolence.
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INSPIRATION POINT
What J.F.K. Might Say to Our Leaders
By Theodore C. Sorensen, former special counsel to President Kennedy as originally published by The Boston Globe on 5/28/2005. Please read our Fair Use Notice at the end of this article.
May 28 would have been John F. Kennedy's 88th birthday. Were he still alive, I have no doubt that, with his customary idealism and commitment to country, he would still be offering advice to our current leaders in Washington. Based upon his words of more than 40 years ago, he might well offer the following:
To President George W. Bush on Iraq, Iran, and North Korea: “The United States, as the world knows, will never start a war. This generation of Americans has had enough -- more than enough -- of war." (American University commencement, 1963)
To President Bush on stem cell research: “For those of us who are not expert ... we must turn, in the last resort, to objective, disinterested scientists who bring a strong sense of public responsibility and public obligation." (National Academy of Sciences, 1961)
To Vice President Dick Cheney on international organizations, alliances, and consultations: “The United States is neither omnipotent nor omniscient. We are only 6 percent of the world's population . . . we cannot impose our will upon the other 94 percent of mankind." (University of Washington, 1961)
To Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice on terrorism: “If a free society cannot help the many who are poor, it cannot save the few who are rich." (Inaugural address, 1961)
To United Nations ambassador-designate John Bolton on diplomacy: “Civility is not a sign of weakness. The United Nations [is] our last best hope in an age where the instruments of war have far outpaced the instruments of peace." (Inaugural address, 1961)
To Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld on space: “We have vowed that we shall not see space filled with weapons of mass destruction, but with instruments of knowledge and understanding. This new ocean must be a sea of peace, [not] a new terrifying theater of war." (Rice University, 1962)
To House Majority Leader Tom Delay on fund-raising: “We need ''men of integrity whom neither financial gain nor political ambition could ever divert from the fulfillment of our sacred trust." (Massachusetts farewell, 1961)
To White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan on negative news media: “It is never pleasant to be reading things that are not agreeable news, but it is an invaluable arm to the presidency as a check on what is going on . . . [e]ven though we never like it . . . and wish they didn't write it . . . we could not do the job at all in a free society without a very, very active press." (Television interview, 1962)
To pastor-in-chief Pat Robertson on church-state separation:“I believe in an America where no [clergyman] would tell his parishioners for whom to vote, where no religious body seeks to impose its will directly or indirectly upon the public acts of our officials, where no church or church school is granted any public funds or political preference. The presidency must not be the instrument of any one religious group." (Houston ministers, 1960)
To Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes on propaganda: “The United States is a peaceful nation where our strength and determination are clear, our words need merely to convey conviction not belligerence." (undelivered Dallas speech, 1963)
How I miss his friendship. How our nation misses his wisdom.
© 2005 Boston Globe
FAIR USE NOTICE:This newsletter contains copyrighted material the use of which has not always been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. The editors make every attempt to contact and request permission from the copyright holder. If no reply or acknowledgement of the request is received, and if we determine the value of the material will serve our readers, then we may decide to publish it. In such cases, we make every effort to properly source the material. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use', you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, Grassroots for America.
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FIELDING YOUR OPINION
Taking Root™ provides this section as a means of promoting thought leadership among the grassroots. The opinions expressed in this section are those of the identified authors and do not necessarily represent the positions, opinions and policies of Grassroots For America its board members and allied organizations nor that of TAKING ROOT and its editors and staff.
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: "We will return to our scheduled broadcast following this important announcement from our sponsor!"
By Renae Popkin, Cobb County Democrats, Marietta, Georgia
On attending my son's graduation from high school last evening, I noticed a somewhat new occurrence. The principal recognized and acknowledged all those students who have been accepted to military academies by asking them to stand. There were about half a dozen out of the 593 students receiving their diplomas during the ceremony.
I see nothing wrong with acknowledging those students, but wondered why there was no recognition of the other students and the paths they had chosen for themselves. I thought about all those students who, after their years in this school, received such a love of learning that they have chosen to pursue a career in education for themselves, committing to teaching the future minds of our nation. Or what about all those students accepted into colleges and who intend to pursue a career in medicine, be it nursing, research, community health, etc. Are they not entitled to a little acknowledgement for their choices?
I am sure the room was full of future social workers, politicians, lawyers, doctors, future non-profit organization founders and directors, clergy members - possibly even a future president or scientist with a cure to benefit all of humankind. I only wish they had ALL been given the same recognition last night for the diversity of paths they intend to take, knowing that the contributions they will each make to our society will ultimately lead to better roads for us all.
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SITE SEEING
Progressive Speakers Bureau
Add a dynamic speaker on your agenda and attract much larger crowds to your next big event or rally. SpeakOutNow.orgis a speakers bureau for progressives with an impressive roster of talent such as John Bonifaz, the Boston attorney who is recognized as the nation's definitive expert on the Downing Street Minutes and what they reveal about administration misdeeds. Other Experts are available on human rights, civil justice, globalization, sexual freedom, environmental protection, sustainable living and just about anything else that captures your interest.
Wake Up Laughing!!
At last! An effective treatment for Irony Deficiency, Truth Decay and the lingering symptoms of Mad Cowboy Disease! You have to see it to believe it, visit the web home of progressive pun-nyman Swami Beyondananda (think Weird Al Yankovich on mega doses of Green Tea)… who says liberals take themselves too seriously?
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THE TOOL SHED
Activista.Org
Riseup.net a free email list hosting service developed especially for progressive and social justice organizations and individuals, has launched a new search engine called Activista. It's like Google, but filtered so only info for progressive, green, leftist, etc. information shows up. For example, if you search for biotech on Google, you'll get some activist organizations, but mixed in with lots of corporate biotech web sites. Makes searching on some subjects a real pain if you want to find out who's doing something about it. If you search for biotech on Activista, you get only people doing something about it.
BOOK REVIEW: What the Roots are Reading
Garrison Keillor’s Homegrown Democrat: A Few Plain Thoughts >From the Heartland of America
By Ken Sadeckas, Atlanta, Georgia, guest writer
I just finished listening to the book tape version of Garrison Keillor’s’ Home Grown Democrat that was published before the election last year. If you ever despair for the Democratic Party and think about jumping ship, listen or read this great little book. I am recharged … and even MADDER at Bush and the Republicans than I was before!
Having listened to Keillor’s Prairie Home Companion radio show over the years, I expected a folksy commentary peppered with a few corny jokes. Instead, I heard a heartfelt declaration of love for the United States and the Democratic Party. Almost as though in a personal conversation with the listener (or reader) Keillor explains that he is clearly chagrined (make that angry) at the direction that this nation has taken under the Bush Republican regime. He clearly explains how he sees the Democratic Party: the Party that is a natural outgrowth of common-sense, the Golden Rule, and all-American values. Both Keillor and I profess pride to be members of the Party that is responsible for Social Security, school lunches, equal rights, and Head Start. It is the Party that stands for clean air and water for all, a decent wage, and safety nets for those who may temporarily fall through the cracks.
In the same conversational tone that he uses on his radio show, Keillor explains why he is a Democrat. He intersperses personal reminisces with social commentary. He will start out talking about his neighbors in St. Paul (no, he does not live in Lake Woebegone) and how they stand for Democratic (American) values, then he will remember an Aunt who made an impact on his life, then he will turn to current events and how this nation is moving more and more to a “I’ve got mine, too bad for everyone else” frame of mind. In the book tape, his anger at this is extremely evident, and I wanted to tell him personally, “I agree completely, Garrison – It has to stop! Let’s go do something about it!”
The book is an easy read/listen. For those who want entertainment, there is plenty there in true Keillor style, but there is much more.
Keillor obviously wrote the book to convince lukewarm Democrats and Independents that the Democratic Party is still the best answer for this country and he rails at how Bush has taken the events of 9/11 and twisted them to fit his personal and Republican agendas. He asked that we change all that by throwing Bush from office in November 2004. Unfortunately, the message did not take, and George II is still in power. But Keillor’s words are still meaningful and reminded me that I am a Democrat and my values cannot allow me to be anything else.
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About Our Newsletter
Editorial Team
Editor-In-Chief: Kimberly Krautter
Managing Editor: Pam Paul
Contributing Writers: Andy Dunau, Max Gordon, Kimberly Krautter, Kathleen Mancini, Pam Paul, Renae Popkin, Ken Sadeckas,
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VISIT OUR WEB SITE
Grassroots for America is a resource for progressive grassroots organizations across the nation, connecting groups and providing services, infrastructure and consulting to:
- Energize their ideas and bring them to life
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- Mobilize bodies of voters for active citizen engagement
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