Ventura County Progressive activist Jay Kapitz is continuing to organize a coalition to reform how campaigns are funded. Here is his latest email:
Ventura County grassroots activists, community leaders and average citizens like you will be meeting to organize the local grassroots campaign for the California Fair Elections Act.
Would you like to get politicians out of the fundraising game so they stay focused on the job we elect them to accomplish?

Click on continue reading to see the meeting information and more details. I have seen Jay Kapitz work for other candidates and I know he is very talented at what he does. If you are interested in this issue email him or attend the meeting.

Mary Pallant, local Democratic activist is hosting a lecture from Vincent Bugliosi Author of: The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder. Mary Pallant ran in the Democratic primary this year, and she has continued to host events for liberal Democrats.

UPDATE: I was wrong by saying the event was a part of the Speaker Series that Mary Pallant had been running. The press release from the correct groups behind it is below.My apologies.

Anyone think of buying the book or going to the event?

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

An Evening with Vincent Bugliosi

The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder

(VENTURA, Ca.) -September 28, 2008. The success of Vincent Bugliosi, in his quest to hold Bush accountable for the deaths of our military men and women who have been killed in Iraq has gained a greater likelihood of happening in the near term, with the promising candidacy of Charlene Dennett who is running for state district attorney in the state of Vermont. Vermont has 35 towns which passed resolutions to impeach Bush and the town of Brattleboro has passed an ordinance to arrest Bush for war crimes if he should enter there terroritory. With such wide spread agreement amongst the citizens of that state, Dennett is a powerful contender in that race.

Vincent Bugliosi, prosecutor extrordinarre and author of the New York Times best seller, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, will be speaking in Ventura County Oct. 10 at 7 PM at the beautiful Poinsettia Pavilion located at 3451 Foothill Road, Ventura, CA 93003. Bugliosi will be signing his book afterwards. Free admission with purchase of his book at the door. Otherwise admission is $8.

In his career at the L.A. County District Attorney's office, Bugliosi successfully prosecuted 105 out of 106 felony jury trials, including 21 murder convictions without a single loss. His most famous trial, the Charles Manson case, became th e basis of his classic, Helter Skelter, the biggest selling true crime book in publishing history.

In The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder, Bugliosi presents a tight, meticulously researched legal case that puts George W. Bush on trial in an American courtroom for the murder of over 4,000 American soldiers fighting the war in Iraq. Bugliosi sets forth the legal architecture and incontrovertible evidence that President Bush took this nation to war in Iraq under false pretenses--a war that has not only caused the deaths of American soldiers but also over 100,000 innocent Iraqi men, women, and children; cost the United States over one trillion dollars thus far with no end in sight; and alienated many American allies in the Western world.

As a prosecutor who is dedicated to seeking justice, Bugliosi, in his inimitable style, delivers a non-partisan argument, free from party lines and instead based upon hard facts and pure objectivity. A searing indictment of the President and his administration, The Prosecution of George W. Bush for Murder also outlines a legally credible pathway to holding our highest government officials accountable for their actions, thereby creating a framework for future occupants of the oval office.

Vincent Bugliosi has this to say, "I set forth an air tight legal case that proves beyond all reasonable doubt that George Bush took this nation to war under false pretenses, a lie, in Iraq. If justice means anything at all in America, we have no choice but to bring George Bush to court on murder charges for the deaths of over 4,000 American soldiers."

Vincent Bugliosi calls for the United States of America to return to the great nation it once was and can be again. He believes the first step to achieving this goal is to bring those responsible for the war in Iraq to justice. With Congress having, thus far, stalled impeachment efforts, trying the President for murder in a court of law for sending our military men and women to their deaths is a war based on lies may be the last recourse of the American people.

Sponsors: HopeDance; Citizens for Impeachment; Integrity Now Endorsers: Progressive Democrats of America; A.N.S.W.E.R. Coalition; V. C. Greens; Code Pink, Ojai; Veterans for Peace; V. C. Stop the War; Jane Bright of Gold Star Families for Peace; Iraq Veterans Against the War.

Citizens for Impeachment, V.C. Integrity Now, Ojai; & HopeDance;

Cindy Piester, work4peacenow@gmail.com

177 Jordan Ave. Ventura 93001

###

( A pro-impeachment attack on Rep. Nancy Pelosi)

Mary Pallant, former candidate for the Democratic nomination, ( CA 24 Currently Gallegly ) is hosting infamous, famous, well known peace activist Cindy Sheehan, who is running against Rep. Nancy Pelosi.

Who is a Republican to cheer for?

I am surprised that Mary Pallant would bring in somebody that divides local Democrats.

Why is it she has a more impressive presence on the local political stage than the actual Democratic nominee against Rep. Gallegly?

Who's going?

In her continuing speaker series Mary Pallant and CLU's Political Science Dept. are hosting a screening and then a discussion with the producer/director of a film about the integrity of our elections, including a case study of Ohio during the 2004 presidential election.

Click on continue reading to see more details.

In other news what have you seen from the Marta Jorgenson campaign recently?

The last few weeks political blogs have been dominated by the talk about FISA , Barack Obama's supporters being upset by his position on FISA/ Telecom Immunity, and the differences between the senate and house versions.

The Barack Obama campaign has a feature where you can sign up, volunteer, carry out tasks, and earn points. If you read Timm Herdt's recent article you will see that it is really innovative. Recently, supporters of Barack Obama's campaign have been using these tools to lobby the senator to support retroactive immunity in the senate version of the bill.

If you click on continue reading there is an email from Mary Pallant ( a Democrat that ran for the nomination of her party this year) discussing her views on the bill that was passed today which included retroactive immunity.

I was talking the other night to a local political operative who told me they were a policy wonk. They impressed me with their wonky talk. But this issue seems to be the wonkiest of all the issues going on.

So, do you care? Have you been following the arguments?

Leave a comment explaining the issue more of what you feel about it. You don't have to use your real name and you don't need to register to leave comments. I don't have any warrants asking for IP addresses, so your identity is safe. I don't share IP addresses with other Star blogs.

Thanks for reading and thanks for leaving comments.

( Here is Mary Pallant talking about the speaker series.)

Former candidate and current political activist Mary Pallant continues to bring in speakers to Ventura County.

Her latest is writer Robert Scheer on July 18th.

I appreciate candidates that do things locally to organize besides run for office.

( A video of Rep. Gallegly explaining his support for the surge and maintaining a commitment of troops in Iraq.)

Former candidate for the Democratic nomination Mary Pallant emailed me this message about a rally outside of Rep. Gallegly's office this Wednesday.

I post information from candidates as it comes in. If your campaign is having an event email it to me and it will be posted.

Here is the message from Mary Pallant:

Emergency Rally in support of Rep. Dennis Kucinich's Resolution presented to Congress on June 9th, at 8:40pm Eastern time, asking for the Impeachment of George W. Bush and listing 35 articles of Impeachable offenses.

For the love of our Country and Constitution let us show support and solidarity for this resolution. Impeachment is not a partisan issue, but a fundamental constitutional issue. The charges described in the Resolution clearly represent what our Founding Fathers intended in addressing acts of treason, high crimes and misdemeanors. It is time for our legislatures to take a stand, stand up for the rule of law and stand firm with upholding their constitutional oath "to preserve and protect." Thank you to Rep. Kucinich. These charges are now a part of the Congressional record.


Date: Wednesday, June 11th, 2008
Location: Corner of Westlake Blvd. and Townsgate in Westlake Village (near Rep. Gallegly's office, member of the House Judiciary Committee)
Time: 6pm to 7pm

Please forward this notice to your email lists.

Regardless of Mary Pallant's positions you must admit she is in this for a cause larger than herself. I expect her to keep organizing locally and run again in the future.

UPDATE: Mary Pallant also emailed out an end of campaign season message. Click on continue reading to read it.

I received an email that Mary Pallant's signs are in. It got me wondering. Do you see many signs for candidates in your part of the county?

I see a few Rep. Gallegly signs but that is about it.

Also, I see that Gallegly owns a campaign bus? Has anyone seen it?

Suggest some names for his bus.

( If Democrats really want to win they are going to need some very creative minds. Check out this ad from Oregon that is a huge hit. In the comments section try to write a script for an anti Gallegly ad)

The Simi Valley / Moorpark Democratic club will be hosting several local Democratic candidates this Wednesday night at their club meeting.

If the election was held today would you vote for Mary Pallant or Jill Martinez?

Republicans, who do you think would be the strongest challenger to Rep. Gallegly?

Mary Pallant has shown to be more effective at organizing the party base ( which she would need to do to build a team to take on Gallegly) but Jill Martinez's background might be able to reach out to DTS voters more.

Either way, this campaign is Gallegly's to lose.

Oh yes, Michael Tenenbaum is also running. He has the most friends on myspace.

Gallegly has made his myspace website so that only his friends can see his stands on the issues and his record of conservative leadership. You can click here to see what it looked like before he blocked the general public from viewing it. Last check he had 3 real friends besides the 1 you start with.

The campaign for the nomination to take on Rep. Gallegly ( The fighting 24th) is building up in these last few weeks before the election.

Democratic candidate Mary Pallant has announced an endorsement by The California Nurses Association as she tries to build a coalition to win the nomination and to take the battle to Rep. Gallegly. Click on continue reading to see the press release.

There is a candidates' forum coming up put together by a local "Drinking Liberally" group. Democrats will be debating in a bar! Leave some questions as comments here that the moderators can use in the debate.

On a side note this blog has some new features that I need to explain. When i first started I didn't know that categories would ever be visible by the public. So, I didn't make very descriptive titles and I didn't assign every entry a category or categories. But lately I have been making new categories and adding more to the titles. I plan to update the titles as I go along by adding party affiliation and more. But for now don't read too much into it if there is information for one office holder and not another.

The recent comments feature can make it easier to follow a conversation. On the right hand side of the front page it gives a list of the recent comments, who made them, and on what entry they were made on. If you click on the short description it will take you right to the entry. Try it.

Thanks for reading and leaving comments. Traffic continues to grow at a fast rate.

( David Hare, candidate for the Democratic nomination to take on Republican Assembly Member Audra Strickland. To see his website click here. His opponent is Ferial Masry. If you have pictures oft he Street Fair email them to me and I will post them.)

So, how did The Simi Valley Street Fair go? What candidates did you see? Who did you speak to and about what?

What city is holding the next event where candidates can meet the public in an informal setting? Independence day celebrations?

I was alerted that Michael Tenenbaum, who is running in the Republican primary against Rep. Elton Gallegly, is also running for a position in the State bar Association.

This question is for my Rep. Gallegly supporters:

Would you support or vote for Michael Tenenbaum for this position if you could?

You will notice that his bio doesn't include his connections in the Federalist Society.

You can read his myspace profile here: Michael Tenenbaum.

As of this moment he has 131 friends to Rep. Elton Gallegly's 6 total.