Seth in CA (for the summer)

Real life Seth in CA

This is today at 7:30 PM [Map].

For readers in the area, come to the Democratic Club of Claremont meeting:

Do not miss our June 26th meeting!

“The environmental impact of the food we eat”

Global Warming is getting a lot of press these days. The new documentary movie with Al Gore’s slide show, An Inconvenient Truth has won praise from a wide variety of scientists, not just those involved specifically with the environment. (It is now showing locally in Ontario.)

Because of this, Bonnie Yelverton, our June 26th speaker, will be focusing on a different issue of our environment. She will instead talk about the environmental impact of our food production. This involves topics like energy, water, pollution, land use and sprawl, transportation, nutrition – and just plain good taste.

Bonnie Yelverton has long been involved with improving our impact on the environment. In the early 90’s she ran a diaper service in Denmark. Later she studied environmental management for businesses, in particular methods of motivating people to act sustainably. Since moving to California in 2000, she has worked for a windmill company, she drives a hybrid (but commutes by bus) and attempts organic farming in her condo courtyard. She is a member and frequent contributor to many environmental action-based organizations, such as Environmental Defense, the Wilderness Society and Sierra Club. She considers herself an enlightened layperson who reads a lot of books about the environment. If you’d like to read more, download her list of suggested readings on environmental issues.

Bonnie has provided us with a four-page reading list on environment issues. General topics covered are Global Warming, Food, Ecology, Oceans and Fish, and Sustainable design. You can (click on &) check it out at her environmental reading list.

Club business will include a vote on whether the Club will endorse Cynthia Matthews, who won the primary election for the Democratic nomination in the 26th Congressional district. She will oppose David Dreier, the Republican incumbent, in the November general election.

Map of 660 Avery Rd, Claremont, CA 91711

Google Maps – Yahoo! Maps – MapQuest

Prologue: Adventures in Santa Monica

I’ve got a bunch of LA pictures to post later. Consider this a prologue.

I met this guy in Santa Monica but forgot to take his picture. Thanks to Google and Flickr, here’s someone else’s picture of Jerry Rubin, selling his peace stickers.

Photo Credit: scurvesahead.

Jerry “Peace Activist” Rubin legally changed his name so it would show up that way on the ballot when he ran for some office (or maybe it was so he wouldn’t be confused with the other Jerry Rubin).

I was wearing Eric’s Harvard Dems shirt and he asked me about it; I expected him to yell at me for being a Democrat but instead he said “good for you” and then proceeded to launch into a tirade against Ralph Nader. Apparently Rubin launched a hunger strike in 2004 to protest Nader’s candidacy. In his mind, Nader should have been helping elect President Kerry — then giving him hell once he was in office. Sounds good to me.

Activist Goes on Anti-Nader Hunger Strike:

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A peace activist who once fasted for 63 days to protest movie violence and war toys is launching another hunger strike to persuade Ralph Nader to abandon his presidential bid.

Jerry Rubin, 60, said he plans to consume only liquids from Saturday until Nov. 2 if Nader doesn’t take a meeting with him.

“I know Ralph Nader and I don’t think he’s doing the right thing,” Rubin said Saturday. He said the consumer advocate’s campaign is dividing the progressive political movement.

Many believe the votes Nader received in Florida in 2000 would have gone to Democratic candidate Al Gore (search) had Nader sat out the election. Gore lost the state — and the national election — to George W. Bush (search) by 537 votes.

Rubin is often confused with now-deceased “Chicago Seven” defendant Jerry Rubin. He legally changed his name to Jerry Peace Activist Rubin to avoid confusion with the 60s radical.

The peace activist is no stranger to hunger strikes: In 1988, he broke a two-month fast with a bite from a giant pizza topped with a pepperoni peace sign that he then left for “Rambo” star Sylvester Stallone.

He again fasted in 1997 to persuade movie production company Dreamworks SKG to abandon plans to relocate its headquarters to wetlands. He collapsed after 26 days, but Dreamworks abandoned the idea, saying it could not reach a satisfactory financial agreement.

Woah, woah

I got a little carried away (see below), what with some free time on my hands, a working Internet connection, and a couple days of blogging to catch up on. This is from my walk through Claremont, up Harvard Ave:

And here’s a summary of all of the posts below.

• Election day is tomorrow in California. Go vote and volunteer.
• Dreier, the GOP’s point man on lobbying reform, voted for corruption.
• Speaking of lobbying reform, what happened to that?
• Gen. Wesley Clark puts out the call on behalf of Russ Warner. We’ve got the audio!
• Oh yeah, I’m here, finally. First day was good.

Phonebank for Busby!

Want to set the stage for a Democratic takeover of Congress this November? Sign-up to phonebank with MoveOn.org for Francine Busby. They’re only asking for an hour of your time, and trust me, phonebanking is painless (and fun too, if you don’t mind cranky voters).

Why is this race so important? CA-50, home to disgraced and convicted former Congressman Duke Cunningham, is a red district, yet Busby is well-positioned to win. She’s run a smart campaign on ethics reform against a Republican Party bitterly divided by immigration. Sound familiar? A Busby win will dictate the conventional wisdom heading into November, and it’ll certainly give a boost to similar races (like Dreier/Warner!)