Action Alerts

AIDS Project Los Angeles' Necessities of Life Food Bank
Founded in 1986, APLA’s Necessities of Life Program is the nation’s largest food pantry for people with HIV/AIDS. Groceries and other items are bagged at the main distribution center in North Hollywood for distribution to clients throughout Los Angeles County.

VGFD has committed volunteers for the 3rd Wednesday of each month from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm to help bag groceries in North Hollywood. Our next scheduled date is January 17. We need 10 people per month on an ongoing basis. More information about the food bank is at http://apla.org/programs/nolp.html

Blood Drive
We are gauging the interest of a blood drive in conjunction with Providence Health System.

If you are interested in helping with the food bank or blood drive, please contact Tauby at rosstauby@yahoo.com

At our April meeting, our members unanimously voted to endorse Felipe Fuentes in the 39th Assembly District special election on May 15.

Here is information on how you can volunteer for the campaign:
Campaign Headquarters
13189 Osborne Street #103, Pacoima, just off of the Golden State Freeway

Monday-Thursday: 3pm – 8pm
Saturday: 10 am – 6 pm
Sunday: 11 am – 8 pm

To sign up call (818) 896-9664

If you have volunteered at the DP/SFV Headquarters, you already know what a massive operation we have planned for the next week. If you have not yet volunteered, now is the time. We need everyone’s assistance – no exceptions!

You have a choice: give us this week of your life (or even a few hours!), or give the next two years of our lives to a Republican Congress.

Below is the rundown! Please call (818) 995-DEMS and RSVP to volunteer.

Monday:
* Phone remaining lists in SFV: 10am-8pm
* Phone “Red to Blue” districts to take back the House (Roth, Brown and Gifford): 1pm-8pm
* Prepare for Election Day Dispatch: 10am-8pm

Tuesday, Election Day and Victory!
* Election Day Supervisors report to office at 6am
* Drivers arrive by 10am to give rides to voters
* Pollwatchers make first visit polls 7am to make sure it is open.
* Pollwatchers make poll check and report numbers from “street index” at 10am, 1pm, 3pm and 5pm
* Phoners contact voters who have not voted 1pm-8pm
* Election Protection volunteers track any legal problems encountered at polls or by voters in general
* Voter Support staff report at 7am to field calls
* Polls close at 8pm

Debra Bowen, candidate for California Secretary of State, is in a tight battle for the Democratic nomination on Tuesday.

During her tenure in the State Senate, Debra Bowen has been working tirelessly for reliable voting systems and improving the public's access to the government.  She was overwhelmingly endorsed by the California Democratic Party and by groups and newspapers up and down the Golden State.

You can help Debra Bowen by donating to a grassroots-sponsored radio campaign!  Latinos for America has produced pro-bono Spanish-language radio ads for the Los Angeles market that will run in Spanish talk and religious radio on Monday and Tuesday of next week.  We need your help to get them on the air.

Valley Grassroots for Democracy has teamed up with Latinos for America to collect contributions for the ads. Please go to https:/secure.actblue.com... and make a contribution and end the contribution with $.06 so we know that the contribution is for the radio ads.  For example, give $25.06 or $50.06 or however much you can give.

We had a great turnout on Saturday for the Take Back the House rally, almost filling the Hollywood United Methodist Church. Our special guest, General Wes Clark, appeared with Congressional candidates from "red" districts all over Southern California, from Ventura to Palm Springs and San Dimas to San Diego. The emcee, AM 1150's Stephanie Miller thought she was out of her league (she compared herself introducing Wes Clark to "Carrot Top introducing Gandhi") but she was great, too.

Thanks to all of the VGFD volunteers who helped out. Almost all of the volunteers from this side of the hill were VGFD members.

Because of our jam-packed meeting on Saturday we ran out of time for two important action items.  If you missed the meeting we had an informative presentation from Susan Lerner of the California Clean Money Campaign followed by an energetic speech from gubernatorial candidate and State Treasurer Phil Angelides.  We hope to see you for our February where we hope to hear from another major statewide candidate speak about election protection and integrity.

Senator Dianne Feinstein
United States Senate
331 Hart Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510-0001
Fax (202) 228-3954

January 14, 2005

Dear Senator Feinstein,

Supreme Court Justices hold unparalleled power and shape national law and policy for generations.  A new anti-choice Justice could tip the balance in many cases dealing with reproductive rights and other personal freedoms. 

President Bush's nominee for the Supreme Court has been a legal architect who spent years working to dismantle fundamental protections guaranteed under Roe v. Wade. If Alito, who has written that Roe should be overruled, replaces Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, the Court will shift in a direction that jeopardizes the fundamental values of freedom and privacy that a vast majority of Americans want protected. The American public deserves a nominee who can be counted on to uphold our rights - not take them away.

The confirmation hearings have also revealed that Samuel Alito would support eavesdropping on Americans. In 1984, Alito supported the use of illegal, warrantless wiretaps and wrote that the attorney general should be shielded from lawsuits.

Justice Alito would help President Bush bypass torture bans. President Bush has issued at least 108 "signing statements," which lay out the president's interpretation of the law. In 1986, Alito, who was then working for Attorney General Edwin Meese III, proposed that President Reagan issue signing statements more frequently. Last week President Bush "quietly reserved the right to bypass" restrictions on a bill outlawing the torture of detainees.

Samuel Alito would also support the sidestepping of Congress. In the past, Alito was known to have an expansive view of presidential powers. In a 2000 speech, Alito endorsed the theory of the "unitary executive," where "all federal executive power is vested by the Constitution in the president." Given the controversy surrounding Bush’s sidestepping of Congress and the courts for his wiretapping program, Alito’s views on absolute presidential authority should be cause for concern.

The nomination of Samuel Alito poses a grave threat to the protections Americans count on, including basic workers' rights, women's rights, and civil rights. We call on the Senate to stand up for all of us and reject the nomination of Samuel Alito to the Supreme Court of the United States.


Please oppose the Alito nomination.

Sincerely,

You can also call Senator Boxer's office at (213) 894-5000 or fax her at (213) 894-5042.

I'm writing to ask that you please vote YES on AB 583, the Clean Money bill. AB 583 sets up a system of full public funding of campaigns for state offices so that candidates don’t have to chase big money contributions.  It will let voters take control of politics in California as they have already in Arizona, Maine and Connecticut.

The American system of funding elections is nothing but a form of legalized bribery. Politicians collect the money they need to run for office from special interests, who expect something in return and more often than not get it. The Abramoff and Cunningham scandals have made it more obvious than ever that we need to reform the system completely.

Clean Money public financing of campaigns holds politicians accountable to the voters because voters pay for political campaigns rather than big money contributors. Clean Money allows people representing a greater diversity of voices, opinions, and backgrounds to run viable campaigns. And most importantly, Clean Money lets politicians vote for what the public wants, legislation impacting our lives, health, environment, economy, etc.

Now is the time to act and pass the Clean Money bill, AB 583. I will be watching your votes and do what’s best not for the big money contributors, but for the people of California. Thank you for your support!

Sincerely,

Speaker of the Assembly - Fabian Núñez, 320 West 4th St, Room 1050, Los Angeles, CA  90013.  (213) 620-4646, fax (213) 620-6319

District 37 - Audra Strickland, 2659 Townsgate Rd, Suite 236, Westlake Village, CA  91361. (805) 230-9167, fax (805) 230-9183

District 38 - Keith Richman, 10727 White Oak Ave.,  Suite #124, Granada Hills, CA 91344. (818) 368-3838, fax (818) 885-3307

District 39 - Cindy Montañez, 120 N. Maclay, Suite E, San Fernando, CA  91340. (818) 838-3939, fax (818) 838-3931

District 40 - Lloyd E. Levine, Van Nuys State Building, 6150 Van Nuys Blvd., Suite 300, Van Nuys, CA 91401, (818) 904-3840, fax (818) 902-0764

District 41- Fran Pavley, 6355 Topanga Canyon Bl, Suite 205, Woodland Hills, CA 91367. (818) 596-4141, fax (818) 596-4150

District 42 - Paul Koretz, 9200 Sunset Blvd, PH-15, West Hollywood, CA 90069. (310) 285-5490, fax (310) 285-5499

District 43 and Majority Leader - Dario Frommer, 620 N. Brand Blvd, Suite 403, Glendale, CA  91203. (818) 240-6330, fax (818) 240-4632

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