Jun
26
Workers Rights and the Middle Class
June 26, 2011 | Comments Off
Robert Reich has a great column in today's San Francisco Chronicle. As he writes about the Republican Party's battle against public employee unions across the country: This war on workers' rights is an assault on the middle class, and it is undermining the American economy. The American economy can't get out of neutral until American [...]
Jun
26
Afghanistan and Iraq Highlight Our National Priorities and Choices
June 26, 2011 | Comments Off
NPR has a story about how the U.S. military is spending $20.2 billion for air conditioning in Iraq and Afghanistan. If we are going to have troops in that climate, providing air conditioning is absolutely the right thing to do. But that figure should make us all wonder about our national priorities. After all, as [...]
Jun
25
The Texas Myth
June 25, 2011 | Comments Off
California Republicans like to hit us over the head with the false meme that Texas is awesome. Republican legislators even did a photo-op tour to Texas to try to get the media to buy into this misleading thought. Well, then, how precisely do our GOP friends explain this headline: Texas lawmakers fail to solve big [...]
Jun
25
Democratic Party of Contra Costa County to Host a Taste of California Summer Event on July 23 with Special Guest U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer
June 25, 2011 | Comments Off
The Democratic Party of Contra Costa County is hosting a major event on Saturday, July 23, 2011: a Taste of California Summer featuring Special Guest U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer. Senator Boxer will be introduced by U.S. Representative George Miller. The event, sponsored by the Democratic Party of Contra Costa County, will be held from 3-5 [...]
Jun
23
California Democratic Party Region 6 Meeting
June 23, 2011 | Comments Off
The California Democratic Party's Region 6 Meeting will be held on Monday, June 27, from 7-9 p.m. at the Ed Roberts Campus, 3075 Adeline St., Berkeley, CA 94703. The agenda will include a political update from California Democratic Party Executive Director Shawnda Westly, a call for testimony on the proposed delegate selection plan, discussion about [...]
Jun
22
Join the LDC in Marching in the Orinda 4th of July Parade
June 22, 2011 | Comments Off
The Lamorinda Democratic Club invites you to join them at the Orinda Fourth of July parade! Club members will be marching again this year. Join the club in the Orinda BART station's parking lot on the east side of Camino Pablo between 8:45-9:30 a.m. (please note updated time). The parade starts promptly at 10 a.m.! [...]
Jun
16
Misleading Medicare Mantra
June 16, 2011 | Comments Off
Center on Budget and Policy Priorities Senior Fellow Jared Bernstein does not want scare tactics about the Medicare program's finances to allow the Republicans to get away with privatizing the program. As he notes: In fact, if the trust fund were to exhaust in 2024, income coming into the fund would still finance 90% of [...]
Jun
12
Governor Jerry Brown Releases YouTube Budget Update
June 12, 2011 | Comments Off
Governor Jerry Brown tonight released an update about the state budget negotiations on YouTube. You can watch it below: In the 2:30 video, Brown lobbied for Republican votes to extend current taxes by putting them to a vote. The Governor said: "I'm really perplexed why a package of this magnitude and this permanence cannot be [...]
Jun
12
First Draft of Redistricting Commission’s Maps Released: Lamorinda Moved to District with 680 Corridor South to Tri-Valley
June 12, 2011 | Comments Off
The first draft maps from the California Citizens Redistricting Commission were released on Friday. They are slightly different from the ones we saw earlier this week. If these lines are implemented, Contra Costa's political landscape in Congress and the State Legislature will change — especially in East Contra Costa County, where Oakley is separated from [...]
Jun
7
Will Lamorinda Be Split Into Three Assembly Districts?
June 7, 2011 | Comments Off
Redistricting Partners has posted visualizations of what could be staff drafts of new Congressional, State Assembly, and State Senate Districts being considered by the Citizens Redistricting Commission. As the site notes: The Citizen’s Redistricting Commission has posted some less-than-clear maps of staff direction during their line drawing meetings over the past few days. We have [...]