FRIENDS:

Many of you have received e-mails from the DA for nearly four years. For others, this may be the first e-mail you have received.

By way of brief background: in November 2002, a group of progressive democrats from Orange Coiunty formed an organization with the intent of raising and re-raising substantive issues which needed address - from regressive taxation and the perils of No Child Left Behind to the immoral and illegal war in Iraq to the steady erosion of Americans' civil liberties. We have sponsored numerous forums on these and other issues. We have raised consciousness and learned to stage important rallies and protests.

Since about April-May 2006, our members have largely worked for the election of John Hall for Congress. We reasoned that here in the 19th Congressional District, we owed it to our country to make our contribution to a national turn-around. While we might not be able to
influence what happened in Texas, we sure as hell could make a difference here and we have.

I could not be prouder of the many DA members and friends who played pivotal roles in the election of John Hall. Particularly, we owe tremendous thanks to Jan Howe who, for many months, worked closely as this county's coordinator for John Hall, to Maury Knight who ran the Goshen phone banking for weeks and made sure everyone did the nuts and bolts, to Tom Bregman who coordinated rides to the polls during the last segment of the campaign.
We worked together and with many many others throughout the district and the nation, we have laid the foundation for political change. We must not let up on our advocacy of new directions in so many areas.

But, now, in my view, it is time to re-turn some of our energy back to this county, our home county. We have a significant Democratic representation in the county legislature, but it is November, and what has that group done? what leadership have they provided? what vision have they articulated? Ed Diana has proven he cannot lead the county, he has no vision and he is a glad hander. We need far better leadership as we articulate and t implement a progressive agenda in Orange County. This agenda must cut across the board - from affordable housing to transportation, to progressive taxation policies to better parks and youth services. We continue to have significant unaddressed poverty here and sprawl gone mad. We allow our cities to rot while we project new infra-structure into areas which should anchor agriculture and eco-tourism.

So, we have much to discuss and much to do.

To continue our work, the Democratic Alliance will be holding two meetings within the next month. On Tuesday, November 28, at 7:30 pm, we will have an open organizational meeting at the Goshen Inn, 40 Park
Place. Please spread the word and bring all who want to help move this county forward.
I will have keys to a large meeting area if that we need.

Then, on Sunday, December 10, 2006, at 7:00 p.m. our Middle East study group will again meet. This will be our third meeting as we hope and intend to develop a statement of principles which should guide new
American policies in the Middle East. With a new Congress, there may be an opening for our message and other grass-roots input into the re-making of Amercian foreign policy.

Again, all are invited. This meeting will be held at our home, (address removed by poster -- call Michael). Before this meeting, I will again be circulating a position paper which synthesizes our first two meetings and will serve as the basis for discussion. As previously noted, only those who can both listen and speak are invited to participate.

I look forward to using our newfound energy and spirit to take advocacy in Orange County to new levels. We are on the cusp of great political change here and we need to use our capacities to improve the lives of
those who live here and have been left behind.

Best to all.

Michael Sussman

In the wake of the Democratic takeover of the House and Senate, many Republican pundits are calling for a vast increase in the number of troops deployed in Iraq. One such talking head, neocon William Kristol, casually suggested that the US should send an additional 50,000 soldiers to Baghdad. This is the same Kristol who was calling for military strikes against Iran this summer, and who said that Iraq would be a cakewalk.

These pundits all know something that they're not sharing with the general public: there are no additional troops to send. However, by continually calling for the impossible, they are setting up the Democrats to take the blame for Bush and the Republicans' failures.

Don't let these idiot Nostradamuses fool you. They'd happily sacrifice another thousand American servicemen's lives to shift the blame they have so despicably earned. It is our duty to not dishonor the memory of those who fell answering the call of our nation's leaders by letting those leaders wash their hands of the blood spilled at their command.

Donald Rumsfeld's resignation from the post of Secretary of Defense has finally been accepted by George W Bush, a week after Bush lied to the press and the nation about it. His choice of successor, however, is a whopper: Robert Gates. For those of us who weren't paying attention during the 1970s and 1980s (I was going to school), the name may not ring any bells. But a review of history raises some disturbing questions.

Gates published a book in 1996 titled "From the Shadows". In it, he outlined how the US government funded the insurgency in Afghanistan to the tune of billions of dollars, achieving their goal of bogging down the Soviet Union into a Vietnam-like quagmire.

Who are the insurgents that received this to arm themselves and fight against the Soviets? You know them as the Taliban, and one of their key leaders was none other than Osama bin Laden. Gates was instrumental in arming and, more importantly, training in military tactics, the people who now threaten our national security.

Should a man who helped fund and train the greatest threat to our nation be given the job of leading our military against that threat? Hasn't Mr. Gates done enough damage?