GREETINGS FELLOW DEMOCRATS!





Early voting starts today! Go vote.





CWA's Presidential e-Poll

From Steve May, Brazos Valley Labor council

I just voted in CWA's Presidential e-Poll at www.cwavotes.org

CWA has set up this site to provide information about the presidential candidates and to find out what members think about them.

My top choice is John Edwards. Here's what he has to say on our issues:

On the Employee Free Choice Act:
Making the Employee Free Choice Act the law of the land will be a top priority when I am president. I will help make this an easy vote for members of Congress by countering the rightwing’s demonization of organized labor. I talk about the importance of unions everywhere I go, and I will keep on doing that as president.

On Good Jobs:
I believe that the true test of a trade deal is not its reception on Wall Street or contribution to the gross domestic product. Instead, my primary criterion for new trade deals will be simple: considering its impact on jobs, wages and prices, will it make most families better off?
On Health Care:

My plan requires all employers to provide comprehensive benefits for their workers or pay into a fund to finance their employee’s coverage. One benefit will be that unions won’t have to bargain for health care benefits any more and can focus on wages, pensions and working conditions.

The CWA Executive Board is going to review the results of the e-Poll at their meeting in mid-November. Go to www.cwavotes.org to vote today and make your voice heard!





MISSED IN OUR FRIDAY NEWSCLIPS: HEARING TO QUESTION STATE AGENCY OVERSIGHT OF DOCTORS
"Legislator targeting Texas Medical Board denies conflict of interest"

From the Dallas Morning News story:
October 22, 2007 9:03 AM

"State Rep. Fred Brown of Bryan has called a special legislative hearing Tuesday in Austin to see whether the Texas Medical Board has been too aggressive in its oversight of the state's physicians.

"A lot of doctors think they're overenforcing," he said.

Mr. Brown also is the business partner of a Bryan gynecologist, Dr. Royal H. Benson III, who has a disciplinary action pending before the board.

"There's certainly a conflict of interest here," said Timothy Turner, a medical board member from Houston. "There seems to be an ulterior motive for this hearing."

http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/texassouthwest/stories/102007dntexmedboard.31cdc72.html





Peaceful Gathering to Protest the Iraq War

To: Brazos Valley Coalition Against the War and Friends
Re: Peaceful Gathering to Protest the Iraq War - Friday, October 26, Reed Arena, 4:15 PM

This coming Friday, October 26, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates will receive the 2007 George Bush Award for Excellence in Public Service at Reed Arena on the Texas A&M campus at 5 PM. Members of the Brazos Valley Coalition Against the War will gather beginning at 4:15 outside the entrances to the arena to welcome Secretary Gates home to Bryan-College Station, and to remind him and the members of his audience of the ongoing and unacceptable costs of the Iraq War. We want everyone to know that even here in the heart of Bush country many citizens oppose this continuation of this war. Brings signs; we'll also be distributing a fact sheet on the true costs of the war.

Spread the word--Let's make our voices heard. Secretary Gates: End the War Now! Bring Our Troops Home!

Hope to see you all on Friday afternoon.

David, for the Coalition





More Republican Fighting

by Josh Berthume
Daily News Roundup, 10/22/07

You would think last night's Republican debate was subtitled "What To Do About Hillary?" And if that was the subtext, the main card would say "No One Is As Conservative As Me."

McCain, Romney, Giuliani, and Thompson beat each other up over everything you can imagine and accused each other of being best friends with Senator Clinton. Huckabee took the opportunity to say he didn't want to participate in "a demolition derby." Which translates to "No one is talking about me so I'm going to point out how they are all being mean to each other."

It is a weird situation for Republicans these days. They've been reduced to arguing about things like whether the vote count at the "values voters" straw poll was legitimate. Romney won overall by some 30 votes over second place finish Huckabee, who actually got the most votes in person as opposed to the in-person and online total. Not a huge trophy, but a fight ensues nonetheless. Whether its values votes or anti-war sentiment, Republicans continue to find reasons to fight amongst themselves.

Not only that, but Stephen Colbert is more or less making a mockery of conservative blowhards everywhere with his campaign — he was on Meet The Press yesterday, doing a better job of hanging with Russert than most candidates do anyways, and doing so on what amounts to a totally imaginary crusade. The joke about the Republican presidential field has become a metajoke, which now has a personification.

What is not a joke is the Republican resurgence in Louisiana, which should remind everyone that while they seem silly and impotent in most cases they are not totally irrelevant or incapable of putting together a win. Bobby Jindal won a special election on Saturday for the Governor's mansion, and did so in such a decisive fashion that the normal runoff won't be necessary. By capturing more than 50% of the vote, Jindal became Governor-Elect and immediately started outlining his plans for the state. He's only 36, so he'll be around for a while and bears watching.

The Austin American-Statesman had a number of items on the upcoming Constitutional election, set for November 6. First of all, they have an overview on the various propositions, which is helpful if you've missed the various iterations of such a thing so far. Governor Rick Perry and Democratic heavyweight John Sharp offer up the reason to vote for Proposition 15: because it will work towards a cure for cancer. Early voting starts today.

Lastly today: have you been paying attention to what's going on with Turkey and the Kurds in northern Iraq? You probably should be.

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I do not support this war-but I do support the troops...

This is quite moving. Reminds me of why we need to get OUT!!!!

This film was made by a 15 year old girl.

Watch all of it.......and, pass it on!!

HYPERLINK: http://www.youtube.com/v/ervaMPt4Ha0&autoplay=1





WHITE FOCUSES ON PRESENT AS TALK SHIFTS TO HIS FUTURE

Houston Chronicle - October 22, 2007

With no serious competition on this fall's ballot, Mayor Bill White is widely expected to easily win re-election to a third and final term. Nonetheless, White has raised more than $2 million this election cycle and has launched television and radio advertisements, helping fuel speculation about his ambition to run for Texas governor or some other higher office. Just don't ask White to talk about that. He says he's focused on running the city of Houston and accomplishing goals he has set for his final two years in office — fighting violent crime and traffic congestion, and promoting affordable housing and energy efficiency.

click here for more





Brazos County Democratic Party
P.O. Box 4568
Bryan Texas 77805
979-779-5600 Fax 979-779-5601

America was not built on fear. America was built on courage, on imagination and an unbeatable determination to do the job at hand.
Harry S. Truman, Democrat, President of the United States of America