Vern Nelson will give a presentation on the interlocking struggle for single payer health care and election reform, with a special emphasis on the June 4 “Fair Elections” ballot measure (Prop 15) and the drive to get “California Majority Rule” on November’s ballot.  Vern has been a progressive, and sometime activist, since the age of 18, when he left his John-Birch Society Republican parents’ home and discovered KPFK and The Nation magazine.

Through the 80’s and 90’s, while pursuing his Bachelor and Master degrees in piano and musical composition, he lived in such liberal strongholds as Berkeley, Austin and New Haven. It can make you complacent to be surrounded by too many likeminded people, and Vern finds it more satisfying to be back behind the Orange Curtain, where he can function as a sort of antibody inside the rightwing nuthouse.  And of course there was the utter horror of the Cheney-Bush years, which radicalized so many of us, Vern being no exception – and we will never get complacent again now that we’ve seen how bad things can get! Since 2004 or so, Vern has been very active in Democracy For America (DFA), founded the Orange County chapter of Health Care For All California, and organized & participated in many unforgettable anti-war events. Since 2008 he has been the token progressive blogger at the often obnoxious but rowdy and diverse Orange Juice Blog. ###

• October Meeting, Vern Nelson presents Taking Back Our Government and Making It Work For Us

• Individual Health Insurance Plans Subject to New Rules by Steph Campbell

• Treasurer's Report by Mike Crowley

• Talking Points by Rich Gillock

• Message From The President by Jo Anne Jennings
  

• Do You Knit or Crochet? Are you a Quilter? Are You Looking For A Way To Volunteer From Home? by Steph Campbell

• The Union of the Unemployed Alternet

• Stimulus Worked - Jobs Created, Jobs Saved, Unemployment Lowered Congressional Budget Office Report by Steph Campbell

• Mass Teacher Layoffs Loom Again For California Schools by Robert Cruickshank

• From Your Executive Board by Jo Anne Jennings
  

• Calendar of Events

• Remembering John Murtha by Steph Campbell

• Thank You Patrons!

• Ron Wyden Blocking Extensions to Bills Until Senate Extends Unemployment and COBRA Benefits by Steph Campbell

• The Hard Road Ahead by Kevin Drum

• Ballot Experiment in California by Kevin Drum

• What’s Going on With Judicial Nominations – Or – What Is That Grand Obstructionist Party Doing? by Steph Campbell

• Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against CA Anti-Affirmative Action Measure Feminist Newswire

• Unemployment Insurance Borrowing Now Greater Than During the 1980s Recession by Steph Campbell

• Reaffirming Out National Values: President Obama's Meeting with the Dalai Lama by Winny Chen of Center for American Progress

• Congress Reauthorizes the Patriot Act and Sidesteps Privacy Concerns Truthout

• February Meeting, Dr. David DiLeo presents The Language of Limited War

• Ken Arnold — Running in the 46th Against Rohrabacher

• Treasurer's Report by Mike Crowley

• Talking Points by Rich Gillock

• Message From The President by Jo Anne Jennings

• Democratic Party of Orange County—Central Committee News by Stephanie Pacheco

• Literacy Bill is Bad Legislation by Sharon Brown

• Howard Zinn Remembered by Steph Campbell

• Calendar of Events

• John Chiang at the League of Women Voters by Jo Anne Jennings

• Thank You Patrons

• The Demise of Air America by Steph Campbell

• Another January Gone By—Roe v Wade Turned 37! by Steph Campbell

• 9 Things the Dems Should Do to Get Their House in Order by Guy Saperstein, Posted to Alternet

• Budget Reconciliation: A Primer by Steph Campbell

• Civil Rights Day For Some by Steve Ybarra

• What Obama Has Accomplished by Prof. Robert Watson

• Will November 2010 Produce Massafornia? by Robert Cruickshank

• Help Wanted—Computer Savvy Member — Work From Home

• Americans United for Separation of Church and State General Meeting
  Bill Lobdell vs Hugh Hewett Debate, "The Intersection of Religion, Politics and the Media"
  by Stephanie Campbell