Progressives from across North Carolina came out in force to join with the NAACP and other members of the NC progrssive and civil rights community to demonstrate their support for the HK on J project and the

A Quick How-to Guide

A Simple 5-Step Guide to Pushing Bills Through the Legislature.

From Susan Oehler, North Carolina Coordinator for the Progressive Democrats of America

The PDNC met on Saturday, January 20 in Elon, prior to the NCDP State Executive meeting. About 62 people attended the meeting, either in part or full. Guests who addressed the meeting included NCDP Chair Jerry Meek, Rev. Curtis Gatewood and Al McSurely from the NAACP, and Stella Adams.

Ms. Adams was seeking PDNC endorsement for her candidacy as 1st Vice Chair of the NCDP. Stella talked about her long record as a progressive party activist. PDNC voted not to endorse in this, the only contested race in the slate for NCDP officers.

One of the main points of discussion during our meeting centered around a proposed amendment to the NCDP Plan of Organization, which would have eliminated the State Legislative Policy Committee and made one of the NCDP chair's duties to: "Formulate and promote a legislative policy agenda, based upon the Platform and upon resolutions adopted by the State Convention, the State Executive Committee, and the State Executive Council."

The resolutions below were approved by the Progressive Democratic Meeting at the Democratic Party's SEC Meeting on January 20th.

1. Legislative Advocacy
2. Appointment of State Board of Elections Members
3. Election Reform
4. Resolution in Support of "Same-day Registration" in NC
5. Independent Redistricting Commission
6. End the Winner-Take-All System of Awarding Presidential Electors
7. Progressive Taxation
8. Collective Bargaining for State Employees
9. Education Lottery Funding
10. High Quality, Well Funded, Diverse Schools for All Children
11. Clean Energy Future
12. Right to Health Care
13. Death Penalty Moratorium
14. Out of Iraq
15. No Preemptive War Against Iran

The Executive Committee suggests the following two resolutions as updated substitutes for resolutions 14 and 15.
16. Resolution to Withhold Further Funding of the War in Iraq
17. Resolution of Opposition to US or Israeli Military Action Against Iran

The Executive Committee also suggests the following updated resolution on Campaign Finance Reform:
18. Resolution on Campaign Finance Reform

The Progressive Democrats of NC are proud to join other progressive organizations and legislators in NC as a signatory of the ACLU-NC letter calling for an official SBI investigation into Aero Contractors and their involvement in what appears to be illegal extraordinary renditions leading to torture. The PDNC believes that it is absolutely essential that the US Constitution and the rule of law itself not become casualties of the current "Dirty War", and that the US must never resort to the barbaric tactics used by repressive regimes in the past and present. Any organization involved in torture must be investigated, and, if found guilty, prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.
 
Torture is terrorism. Plain and simple.

Aero Contractors is a contract air carrier that has been identified as a participant in the CIA-sponsored "extraordinary rendition" program and which uses the facilities of state-funded Global TransPark as well as the Johnston County airport in Smithfield.  Working for the CIA, Aero Contractors has flown persons kidnapped in various countries to secret locations in other countries, where they were held incommunicado and tortured.

In order to ensure that our state tax dollars will no longer be used to sponsor torture flights, the ACLU of North Carolina and North Carolina Stop Torture Now have launched a campaign to gather signatures from non-profit civil rights, human rights, professional, community-based, and faith-based groups on a letter to state, federal, and Johnston County officials as well as Global Transpark Board members, demanding an investigation. 

For more information on Stop Torture Now, go to: http://www.ncstoptorturenow.org/
 
To see the letter, and to sign as an individual, go to: http://www.petitiononline.com/Aero/

We are excited to announce the launch of our Workgroup feature comprising threaded forums designed to provide a collaborative environment for progressive action in North Carolina.

The initial Workgroup topic is for resolutions. The 15 draft resolutions posted  were collected for submission to the Democratic SEC meeting on January 20th. They were not taken up for consideration due to a loss of quorum at the end of the meeting. The resolutions can be submitted at precinct meetings, county meetings, or district meetings. Please review update and modify them or even submit your own.

To download a Word document containing all of the January 20th resolutions see:
http://www.pdncpac.com/home/images/documents/2007legislativepriorities.doc

We'll be launching additional Workgroups soon. If you have a Workgroup topic you would like added please contact Michael Oder at michaeloder@yahoo.com. Make sure to note in the subject line of your email that this is for a new Workgroup topic.

Please join PDNC in supporting
Historic K(Thousands)
On Jones Street

The North Carolina State NAACP and invites you and your organization to Historic K(Thousands) on Jones Street on Saturday, February 10, 2007.

Agenda
Arrival at 11:00 a.m. - Program at 12 p.m. followed by a march
to the State Legislative Building on Jones Street -
Progress Energy Center (Old Raleigh Memorial Auditorium)
2 East South Street, Raleigh, NC 27601

“OUR servants meet in OUR House. They decide how to spend OUR taxes. But their decisions have been corrupted. Rich corporations pay to play in our House. We can't match their money, but with God's Grace and your hard work, we can sure out-number them! Please join me on February 10, 2007 in Raleigh.”

Rev. Dr. William J. Barber
President, North Carolina State NAACP

THE PEOPLE'S AGENDA:
14 POINTS

1. All Children Need High Quality, Well Funded, Diverse Schools.
   NC must meet its Constitution's requirement of adequate and diverse schools by fully funding Leandro with transparent accountability and creating special leadership teams in its failing schools.
2. Livable Wages and Support for Low Income People. NC ought to provide livable wages, make sure no person goes hungry and that everyone in need has affordable, accessible childcare.
3. Health Care for All.
   NC ought to provide its people with health insurance and prescription drugs, while funding public health programs to treat social diseases that plague Black and poor communities including HIV/AIDS, diseases caused by environmental pollution and warming, drugs, domestic violence, mental illness, diabetes, and obesity.
4. Redress Two Ugly Chapters in N. C.'s Racist History: The overthrow of the bi-racial 1898 Wilmington Government and the sterilization of poor, mainly Black, women from 1947-1977.
   NC must implement its 1898 Wilmington Riot Commission recommendations and pay damages to the poor women it forcibly sterilized.
5. Same Day Registration and Public Financing of Elections.
6. Lift Every HBCU.
   NC must financially support our Historically Black Colleges and Universities to develop equitable infrastructure and programs with doctoral-level leadership for today's challenges.
7. Document and Redress 200 years of State Discrimination in Hiring and Contracting.
   NC must commission historical documentation of its contracting practices with racial minorities to justify constitutional redress.
8. Provide Affordable Housing and Stop Consumer Abuse.
   NC must provide an Affordable Housing Trust Fund for low-income renters, vouchers for wounded veterans who can not find accessible housing, meaningful tax breaks for seniors forced out of their homes, and protection against predatory lending and foreclosures.
9. Abolish Racially Biased Death Penalty and Mandatory Sentencing Laws; Reform our Prisons.
10. Put Young People to Work to Save the Environment and Fight for Environmental Justice.
    NC must establish an Environmental Job Corps for young people who did not graduate from high school to re-engage them in public service. NC must fight all forms of environmental injustice.
11. Collective Bargaining for Public Employees.
    NC must allow its public employees' unions to negotiate work issues with their employers in a mutually-respectful manner.
12. Protect the Rights of Immigrants from Latin America and other Nations.
    NC must provide immigrants with health care, education, workers rights and protection from discrimination.
13. Organize, Strengthen and Provide Funding For Our Civil Rights Enforcement Agencies and Statutes Now.
14. Bring Our Troops Home from Iraq Now.
    NC cannot address injustice at home while we wage an unjust war abroad.

Our next membership meeting will be at the State Executive Committee meeting next weekend, Saturday, January 20^th.  We will meet at 10 AM inside the auditorium in Elon University ’s McKinnon Hall, located in the Moseley Center in downtown Burlington .

Directions: http://www.elon.edu/e-web/visit/directions.xhtml

We strongly urge you to attend.  Attached is the PDNC Executive Board’s proposed Policy Resolutions for the SEC meeting.  Please email your thoughts to Pete MacDowell, President, at petemacdowell@nc.rr.com and to Chris Lizak, Policy Chair, at CLizak@NCMCapital.com by Friday 12 noon.

The Agenda of the Meeting:

 1.  Introductions and Agenda Review

 2. Final review of PDNC Proposed NC legislative and national resolutions for review and comments in the next few days; see Legislative Priorities document here).

 3.  Discussion of Proposed Amendment Number #3 to the Plan of Organization which eliminates the State Legislative Policy Committee and makes one of the NCDP chair’s duties to: “Formulate and promote a legislative policy agenda, based upon the Platform and upon resolutions adopted by the State Convention, the State Executive Committee, and the State Executive Council.”

 4.  Proposal for improving communication and discussion in the PDNC.

 5.  Discussion of chapter formation and outreach.

 6.  Discussion of building support and attendance at the NAACP’s “HK on J” Rally and March February 10^th in Raleigh .  See http://naacp.ubernc.com/

7.  New Business

All members are entitled to vote.  Dues for at-large months are $10 per year. You join on the website or at the meeting.