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The New Democrat
A Publication of the Peninsula Democratic Coalition (PDC) June 2019
DVC in the News!
Mark Your This note is from the DVC’s retiring chair, Emy Thurber, who will
Calendar!
continue to be engaged with the DVC. We all are in good hands with
Emy in a DVC leadership position. We look forward to working with
new Chair Pam Salvatierra.
Dear Democratic Volunteers!
Here is a recent letter to volunteers who worked at the DVC
last year. I thought it would be of interest to PDC members as
well.
The DVC is alive and well. The DVC Board and our volunteer
leaders met recently at Eitan’s [Fenson] house where we talked
about how we should be involved in the vital election coming
next year — 2020. We talked about finding new headquarters
space, what locations would be most accessible to our volunteer
base and began to discuss the essential task of how to raise
sufficient funds to fund headquarters space in this expensive
rental market.
If anyone has ideas on available locations as well as
suggestions on how to raise money, we would welcome them.
Peninsula Young Democrats Flag Day Party! I am sure that everyone is concerned about Eitan’s health. He
Friday, June 14 has had a tough time since the election, but as always, is strong,
optimistic and engaged. He is suffering from thyroid cancer that
6:30 p.m.
first occurred some years ago and returned unexpectedly just
Burlingame, CA
after we secured our 2018 headquarters. He was able to
Food, drink, cookie decorating, & American trivia
perform brilliantly all last year and direct the DVC, one of the
Immature Democrats (age 35 & under):$25
most successful and productive headquarters in the nation.
Mature Democrats (36 & up): $45
Unfortunately, the cancer stuck back after our stunning victories,
Young at Heart Sponsorship: $100
and he has been treated both at Stanford and El Camino
Additional donations welcome!
Hospitals and at home since November. He is fully engaged in
To RSVP or more info: president.pyd@gmail.com
the conversation about plans for next year as witnessed by his
hosting the board/volunteer meeting yesterday.
Housing and the Democratic Party - Where do the I know Eitan would welcome word from all of you. His email
Democratic Presidential Candidates Stand on Housing? is eitan@fenson.com.
June 16 I have been serving as board chair for several years. I stepped
1 pm - 3 pm down yesterday and Pam Salvatierra from Menlo Park has
Mitchell Park Community Center become our new leader. Pam has been involved with the DVC
3700 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94303 since its founding in 2010 and will be a thoughtful and vigorous
Come hear from Don Weden, retired Principal Planner for leader. If you want to be in touch with her, the best email is
Santa Clara County, Adrian Fine, Palo Alto City pamsalvatierra@me.com. She would welcome your
Councilmember, Nicole Fernandez, Chair of the San Mateo suggestions, comments and help.
County Democrats, and Leora Tanjuatco, President of the I hope you will all be ready for a vigorous political offensive
Peninsula Democratic Coalition, about their housing visions next year to win back the Presidency, take back the Senate and
for the area. We’ll discuss how the Democrats can come strengthen our majority in the House. Many of us feel that our
together on issues like rent control and increased housing very democracy is threatened by President Trump’s actions and
production. We’ll talk about the middle ground and discuss the acquiescence of the Republican Party, and that the elections
the housing stance of each Democratic presidential next year are among the most important in our history.
candidate. Please stay in touch with Eitan and Pam and the DVC. Be
$15 for PDC/PYD members prepared for a busy 2020!
$20 for non-members Warm regards,
See page 5 for more information and payment link. Emy Thurber
Democratic Volunteer Center Board of Directors
The New Democrat 2 June 2019
Little Rock, Ark.; Phoenix, Ariz.; southeast Michigan; central
Utah; and Tennessee. Of course, the Koch brothers have interest
in keeping Americans dependent on cars and gasoline. But if
you’re actively opposed to taller buildings and higher density
homes near transit, you’re contributing to their car-centric,
President’s millionaire worldview.
The good news is that there is more middle ground on housing
Column and density than anyone says. Can we agree that we should be
able to build six-story buildings in our downtown districts? (Note:
Leora Tanjuatco both Palo Alto and Menlo Park have nine-story residential
buildings in their downtowns. Right now.) Can we agree that, if a
tenant gets a rent increase over 10 percent and they must leave
because of it, they should be entitled to some financial assistance
More density means more
from their landlord? Let’s at least agree that the Bay Area has twin
problems: housing and transportation, and something must be
done. Let’s not give The New York Times another excuse to write
Democrats an article about how the California Democratic leadership is
failing to address the issues that are crippling cities around the
country.
Come discuss this with Palo Alto councilmember Adrian Fine,
Don Weden, former Santa Clara County planner, Nicole
Fernandez, chair of the San Mateo County Democrats, and me,
on June 16. See page 5 for more information!
The California State Senate made national news in The New
York Times this week, with Farhad Manjoo skewering our
Democratic leadership for not passing SB50. “Creating dense,
economically and socially diverse urban environments ought to
be a paramount goal of progressivism,” he writes. “We can’t solve
the climate crisis without vastly improving public transportation
and increasing urban density. More than that, metropolises are
good for the psyche and the soul; density fosters tolerance,
diversity, creativity and progress.”
Every national election night, we look at the map and cheer
when cities like Chicago and Atlanta swing a state to our side.
And of course, we rely on states like New York and Oregon to go Hand
blue, every time. But in the middle of the country, full of strip
malls and low-slung buildings, where everyone drives a gas- painted
guzzling truck or SUV (no TESLA’s here!), that’s where the
preponderance of Republicans is. “Donald J. Trump fared very silk
poorly in American cities in the [2016] election. Hillary Clinton
did just as badly among rural voters. The political divide between
scarf!
8”x54” Habotai silk*
the two groups has been growing starker in America for years,
and 2016 showed an even sharper split than 2012,” reported
Only
“the Upshot”, the Times’ data arm.
Republicans don’t even try to win over cities anymore. The There are plenty
suburbs are the new battleground for Democrats, as “densifying”
of favorite Democrats
the suburbs would result in more Democratic voters. Not to
mention more opportunities for teachers, young families and to choose
Margaret in Connecticut
people who simply aren’t millionaires able to afford to live in from this season!
places like Palo Alto and San Mateo. wearing an Obama
If you need further convincing, consider that the Koch scarf! Made to order at graffikdezine@comcast.net
Brothers have poured money into stopping transit proposals in
The New Democrat 3 June 2019
Martin’s Who Am I?
Due to the fact that there are now 24 Democratic candidates
EDITORIAL running for president, this contest will now run two candidates
per issue to make sure we cover them all! We’ll see what
by PDC Member Martin Gorfinkel happens after the Presidential Primary Election - March 3, 2020.
We have all heard the adage “don’t believe everything you
hear.” Never has that been better advice! It is hard enough to
evaluate the veracity of information when you know the source.
It is impossible when the source remains hidden – unless the
information is sufficiently suspicious.
Caller ID was introduced by the phone companies so people
could tell, before answering the phone, who was calling and the
number originating the call. Then the phone companies negated
the advantage and allowed any caller to have any name and any
number show up on the caller ID when making a call.
Do you know who this
When you get email that appears to be from a sender you presidential candidate
know it could be just what it appears – or it might be the product
of a hacker who has disguised the origin of the email and
is? Find the answer to
included material designed to compromise the computer used to #1 on page 12.
receive the message.
Live telecasts and hard copy newspapers still provide
information from a known source. You can be sure of who
provided the information – or, at least, who was the last link in
getting the information to your attention. But even that is eroding
as the media, along with the rest of the world, is becoming more
partisan and biased.
In a time when the president of the United States regularly
utters words that even his supporters would have to recognize as
falsehoods, it is hard to know how to cope. Every president has,
at one time or another, issued a statement that was misleading or
downright false. Sometimes it was done purposely, sometimes
not. An occasional slip can be excused. The quantity of lies
Do you know who this
coming from Trump has no excuse. How can we teach children presidential candidate
to be truthful when even they must be aware of the duplicity of
the Trump White House?
is? Find the answer to
There are solutions. Computer systems and electronic #2 on page 12.
communications can be made secure. That will not stop the
attempts at fraud over the phone or through the internet – but it
will make it a bit harder for the perpetrators and a bit easier for
law enforcement to catch them. There is no reason other than
lack of incentive for the systems to be changed so all
communication shows accurate sender information. The
Congress could mandate that change.
Similarly, there is no technical reason for computer systems to
be vulnerable to miscreants. The rumor is that NSA blocks secure
operating systems because they want to have access to all systems
and all communications.
And, finally, there is a solution to the constant lying that comes
from the White House. Trump must be defeated in 2020. There
are many good Democrats seeking the nomination. Voters can
choose among them in the primaries on the basis of policy, of
ethnicity and gender, of electability, or of any other criteria.
However, no matter whom you choose, keep the main goal in
sight. Trump must be defeated in 2020.
See page 10 for information on
Voter Registration & Issue Outreach
The New Democrat 4 June 2019
PDC Legislative Action
The LAC and Board will continue to keep an eye on legislative
developments and will change our priorities and bill
endorsements to stay relevant. As PDC Vice President of Issues
Committee and legislative
and Political Action and Chair of the Legislative Action
Committee, I’d like to hear from you. If you have ideas or
questions about the LAC, the PDC’s Legislative priorities or bills
priorities which you think we should officially endorse or oppose, please
don’t hesitate to share your thoughts by emailing me at
cory.wolbach@gmail.com.
by Cory Wolbach
To better communicate our values as Democrats to the
legislators who represent our area, the PDC Board this year has
It’s time to de-monopolize
PG&E
created a new Legislative Action Committee (LAC) as a
subcommittee of the Board. The LAC is tasked with identifying
general issue areas which the PDC may adopt as legislative
priorities, and also specific legislation on which the PDC may by Alex Melendrez
wish to take a position. Our aim is to clearly articulate to our
representatives in Sacramento and Washington, DC what we see There is strong
as critical legislative opportunities to make positive change (or, indication Pacific Gas &
potentially, to warn against support for bills which we think are Electric is responsible for
toxic). the Camp Fire, the largest
Our new Legislative Action Committee met in April. After and most deadly wildfire
research and a thorough discussion, the LAC voted unanimously in California history. With
to recommend the following legislative priorities for the current, the possibility that the
two-year legislative session, and the full PDC Board adopted the privately-owned utility
recommendations at the May 8th Board meeting. might look at passing on
PDC’s State Legislative Priorities: the cost to its customers,
• Housing California lawmakers
• Utility Reform should look into revoking
• Education (e.g. early childhood education (ECE), Equity, PG&E monopoly status
Inclusion, & Funding) instead.
• Social Safety Net (e.g. Health Care & Childcare) It’s true that years of drought (now over) and rising climate
• Climate Change (Mitigation and Adaptation) change has already primed California to be a tinderbox; however,
regardless of these factors, PG&E increasingly has been found
PDC’s Federal Legislative Priorities: responsible for major fires in the state. Its inability to meet these
• Elections (Fair, Open and Secure) new realities is largely a creation of its own making. The 2010
• Gun Control San Bruno pipeline explosion and fire, 2015 Butte Fire and the
• Social Safety Net (e.g. Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid) 2017 North Bay fires are primary examples of the deadly
• Climate Change (Mitigation and Adaptation) disasters caused by faulty PG&E equipment. To say these
• Human Rights for Everyone (regardless of immigration incidents were just accidents ignores the obvious repetitive
status, gender, gender identity, country of origin, ancestry, nature of their frequency. However, beyond the proof of a
religion or disability) growing pattern of liability by PG&E lies deep-rooted
mismanagement and an inability to oversee itself. PG&E size
The LAC has also researched, discussed and unanimously serves as the true origins to its faults. To put it in State Senator
recommended to the PDC Board endorsement of more than two Jerry Hill’s words, “They are too big to succeed.”
dozen bills currently under consideration by the California State In January of 2012, the California Public Utilities Commission
Legislature. Several of these are relevant to our Housing and (CPUC) published an audit of PG&E in response to the 2010 San
Education priorities—two critical areas where California is clearly Bruno explosion. It found that for 15 years, PG&E had diverted
not leading the country. Today, for too many residents of the roughly $100 million from customers marked for safety and
Golden State, availability of high-quality education and operational improvements to payouts for executive bonus and
affordable, stable housing don’t reflect Democratic Party values of stockholders. The diversion of safety funds continued through
equality and opportunity for all. 2017 where $246 million earmarked to move power lines
The PDC Board is carefully reviewing the LAC’s specific underground, went either unspent or to unrelated projects
legislative endorsement recommendations. The Board will likely without public knowledge. In the same year, PG&E was widely
make some endorsements soon, so stay tuned! We’ll print the criticized for doubling their top executive’s compensation to
endorsements next month, and we’ll also share some Calls to around $8.6 million. All throughout the years, the company
Action of easy things you can do to help the PDC promote our continued to raise rates, cozy up to their CPUC and lobby against
legislative priorities! (Continued on page 7)
PDC Upcoming Event!
The Peninsula Democratic Coalition (PDC)
presents
Housing & the Democratic Party
Sunday, June 16, 2019 v 1:00-3:00 PM
Mitchell Park Community Center
Adobe Room
3700 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto
RSVP by JUNE 14!
$15 Members • $20 Non-members
Light refreshments will be served.
Where do the Democratic Presidential candidates stand on housing?
Can the Democrats find a middle ground on rent control and density?
SB50 is dead for now, but how should we move forward?
Come hear from Don Weden, retired Principal Planner for Santa Clara County,
Adrian Fine, Palo Alto City Councilmember, Nicole Fernandez, Chair of the San
Mateo County Democrats, and Leora Tanjuatco, President of the Peninsula
Democratic Coalition, about their visions for the area. We'll also discuss how
the Democrats can come together on issues like rent control and increased
housing production. We'll talk about the middle ground, as well as discuss the
housing stance of each Democratic presidential candidate.
Reservations and payment can be made online
at https://secure.actblue.com/donate/pdc-housing
The Peninsula Democratic Coalition (PDC) is the Peninsula's oldest and largest democratic club.
Proceeds from this event go to supporting Democratic candidates in national elections.
www.peninsulademocrats.com
The New Democrat 6 June 2019
Saving the function of local
pay for’ seems appropriate. Newspapers are businesses that
create value. It is hard to quantify and capture that value. And
even when it can be quantified—say, an investigative report that
journalism
saves a government millions of dollars—the journalists are not the
direct recipient of that value. One example of such exemplary
journalism is the 2008 report “Losing Track: North Carolina’s
by Chris Roat, PDC Board Member Crippled Probation System” in Raleigh’s The News & Observer.
The piece cost $216,000 to produce and is estimated to have
prevented eight murders by probationers and saved the state
over $62,000,000 [Source: Democracy’s Detectives by James T.
Hamilton].
It is up to all citizens to understand the civic and personal
value of news organizations. We all need to step up and pay for
subscriptions, and news organizations need to price those
subscriptions to cover the actual cost of producing the news.
Some organizations are already moving in this direction, going
completely ad-free or having ad-free subscriptions. It is
important that incentives are driven by paying customers who
demand solid journalism, not by unknown wealthy backers and
advertisers.
I personally have stepped up in the last year and have started
paying full-price subscriptions for a local, a regional, a national
and an international newspaper. I challenge each person who
reads this to find a news source you respect for its journalistic
Small and regional newspapers are being shuttered, merged integrity. Then take a moment to setup a subscription, either
with larger papers or acquired by non-news entities seemingly online or physical media. As I have, you’ll find it money well-
interested in eking out a last bit of profit. Journalism across the spent.
country, especially local journalism, is struggling in its role: to
provide citizens actionable information so they can make the best
possible choices in their lives and in their local government.
Many of the problems faced by journalism are related to the
shift to an online world. While many of us (myself included)
prefer reading a physical paper, we must recognize that it is not
the future. There are benefits to online news: it is much more
accessible to people with a wide range of disabilities; distribution
is cheap and instantaneous; and for the reporter, instead of a
daily deadline, a story develops at its natural pace and is
published when it’s ready.
In the past, when all subscribers had physical newspapers Democratic Events for
delivered to their door, the economies of scale kept the
subscription costs modest. Now, with many people reading news PDC Calendar
online, prices for a physical newspaper have gone up
If you have upcoming Democratic events, please submit for
substantially to match the expense of printing and delivering the
review to pdcnewsletter2013@gmail.com. Include your name
newspaper.
and contact information. Submissions will be reviewed for
The online shift brings other challenges, especially given that
timeliness and relevance by the PDC Newsletter
advertising is a major source of revenue for a paper. Data for
Committee. Please provide the following information:
online advertising is showing that readers aren’t interested in
being shown advertisements while consuming news. This is seen
in the fact that newspaper revenues from online advertising are
• Event Title
low and continue to fall. In addition, many readers are • Day, Date
accustomed to seeking out “free” news articles, not contributing
to any subscription revenue. • Time
If newspapers continue to remain dependent on advertising, • Where
they are dependent on readers who like to click on ads and buy
things. No matter how principled the journalists in the • Event description
newsroom, over time a news organization will slowly be forced— • RSVP link/more info
by its bottom line—to favor the click-bait, emotion-driven
headlines that make many of us cringe. • Sponsored by
So where does this leave us? The old adage ‘you get what you
The New Democrat 7 October 2009
Unions and people power PG&E
by Herb Engstrom (Continued from page 4)
“I’d better first check with my union.” That was the response efforts that would be costly to them. From just January to August
I got from a man I asked to sign a Move to Amend petition in 2019, PG&E spent nearly $1.7 million lobbying California
support of a Constitutional amendment that would definitively legislators. Their efforts largely spawned the passage of Senate
overturn the infamous Citizens United decision of the Supreme Bill 901 signed by Gov. Jerry Brown Aug. 3. A key change in the
Court. At the time, I was collecting signatures at the annual bill allows utilities like PG&E to pass on their fire-related
county Democratic Party fundraiser, the Democratic Victory expenses directly to consumers. While the effects didn’t begin
Dinner on May 17. I estimated that there were about 3,000 until 2019, that hasn’t stopped PG&E from requesting approval
attendees, all of them Democrats and all likely to be familiar with to raise rates due to last year’s Camp Fire. Senator Hill’s
the Citizens United decision and its consequences. I went on to proposed SB-549, however, would require such raises to go to
explain why unions would benefit from eliminating the obscene the legislature before enactment.
amount of private, often secret, money from political campaigns. While PG&E reasons that the money is needed to improve
I didn’t get his signature on the petition, which has led me to their systems against wildfires, their need to remain profitable to
give more thought to how we might approach noncommittal stockholders, fiscal mismanagement, nepotism and political
union members in the future. Something like the following might solicitation have proven that PG&E cannot be trusted with any
work: State government or consumer bailouts. The conundrum then
A bill has been introduced in Congress to amend the becomes PG&E either declaring bankruptcy or passing on its
Constitution to overturn the Citizens United decision and allow negligence to ratepayers. For California lawmakers, the solution
the regulation of campaign expenditures by all parties. It is to these issues lies in repealing PG&E’s monopoly status in
House Joint Resolution 48, which is sponsored by California. The State should then allow local jurisdictions the
Congresswoman Pramila Jayapal, CD-7, Washington State. HJR choice to buy and assume control of pieces of PG&E that operate
48 currently has 44 cosponsors, 10 of whom are from California in their borders.
including Barbara Lee of Oakland and our own Ro Khanna. Breaking PG&E’s monopoly isn’t without its share of
Some unions—two UAW locals in California and a few difficulties. PG&E has over 20,000 employees and numerous
others— have recognized that their interests are greatly advanced retirees under its wing. The cost of absorbing the infrastructure
by this legislation. They realize that corporations outspend unions and labor would be high, but it could be negotiated between the
by about 11 to 1. That’s like the unions having a bow and arrow CPUC, local (or joint) jurisdictions in question and PG&E.
facing corporations having a howitzer. What we need is mutual Safeguards for existing employees and pensions could be
disarmament. We give up our bow and arrow; they surrender required to be matched by local jurisdictions as a legacy
their howitzer. This would not “level the playing field,” but obligation or covered by the State.
would actually tilt the playing field to the advantage of the While it would be a significant financial commitment to cover
unions. Here’s why. for local jurisdictions, the choice to control their own power,
In corporate political campaigns, workers such as precinct utility infrastructure and manage their own services would be in
walkers, signature gatherers, precinct captains and the entire public hands. Given PG&E’s current financial situation, selling
campaign structure are bought and paid for from the huge their infrastructure at less than face value now seems more
monetary resources now available to corporate America. Add to plausible and appealing for public entities interested in public
this the vast corporate sums that pay for ads on radio and TV and power. Long-term bonds, taxes and payments would be given to
in the print media. Such is not nearly the case for unions whose voters and elected officials to decide. Such control would not
members are unpaid to walk the precincts, write the post cards only inspire market-like competition for PG&E, it would give
and make the telephone calls. After the MTA amendment, the consumers more of a voice in their utility service. Counties like
unions together with Democratic Party and progressive Marin, San Francisco and San Mateo have already started to
organizations like Indivisible, Sister Districts and Swing Left would provide local energy to their residents. The mechanisms need
wield the howitzer. Corporations are left with a broken bow and only be set up by the State instead of spending its resources
headless arrows. pursuing bailouts for PG&E.
Unions by law must have democratically elected leaders. In a More than half a century after the company’s contamination
democracy, leaders don’t dictate to voters. Union leaders should of the groundwater in Hinkley, California, PG&E has continued
listen to their members and act in their interests. It is in all of our its negligence damaging public confidence and the view, “They’ll
interests to disarm the corporations. We can do this by wielding never learn.” Enough Californians have lost their property,
the weapon of people power. homes, friends, family and lives to the disasters PG&E has caused
over the last decade. Regardless of the policy solution, with the
devastation of the Camp Fire, California’s ratepayers don’t
deserve to pay continually for the company’s deadly failures.
PG&E should not remain a monopoly.
Democratic Debate
Watch Party
It’s the start of the 2020 Campaign Season!
The Democratic Volunteer Center (DVC)
is back in action! Join us!
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
5:30 – 9:00 pm
First Congregational Church of Palo Alto
1985 Louis Road, Palo Alto
Watch the first Democratic candidate debate of 2019 with all your democratic and
resistance friends on a large screen! Enjoy food, wine and good conversations!
Participate in the After-Debate Discussion with our guest moderator, Mary Hughes,
a well-known political advisor, co-founder of Close the Gap California, and a
former Executive Director of the California Democratic Party!
Know that your $35 donation (or more) will begin the funding for our
2020 DVC Campaign Headquarters. All DVC contributions are independently
managed through the Santa Clara County Democratic Party.
To RSVP and pay, visit
https://secure.actblue.com/donate/dvc-june2019
The New Democrat 9 June 2019 PDC Members Attended Santa Clara County Democratic Party’s Annual Victory Dinner
Save Our Democracy!
Do Voter Registration & Issue Outreach!
June through October 2019
Sponsored by the PDC and special friends: PYD & the Dean Club
Learn what voters are thinking, enjoy spirited conversation, talk to folks
about issues, collect petition signatures, build up the Democratic network,
and have FUN while strengthening our democracy!
We are looking for Volunteers and Leads to staff local Fairs and Festivals this summer.
We need folks all summer long, so check your calendars and
contact Voter Registration Coordinator Karl Kramer with the dates and times
you are available. All training and supplies will be provided.
• Los Altos Art and Wine - July 13 & 14 (10am-6pm)
• Palo Alto Clay & Glass - July 13 & 14 (10am-5pm)
• Menlo Park Summerfest - July 20 & 21 (10am-6pm)
• Palo Alto Festival of the Arts - Aug 24 & 25 (10am-6pm)
• Mountain View Art & Wine - Sept. 7 & 8 (11am-7pm, 10 am-6pm)
Other events may be added to the calendar so stay tuned!
For more information, contact Volunteer Coordinators:
Karl Kramer: karlpdcvotereg@gmail.com
Laura Martinez: lauramartinezforepa@gmail.com
Alexander Melendrez: alexander.melendrez.140@gmail.com
PHOTO CREDIT: https://chambermaster.blob.core.windows.net/userfiles/UserFiles/chambers/2469/CMS/Festival_of_the_Arts/festarts-home-hdr.jpg
Getting voters registered is the first step to supporting Democrats. Help eligible voters
exercise their right to participate in our democracy by registering voters.
The Peninsula Democratic Coalition’s website is www.peninsulademocrats.comThe New Democrat 11 June 2019
Congressman Jerry McNerney
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P E N I N S U L A
info@swingleftpeninsula.org
info@swingleftpeninsula.or
info@swingleftpeninsula.orgThe New Democrat 13 June 2019
• Adam Schiff “I think Bill Barr has all the duplicity of Rudy
Funnies by Janice Giuliani without all the good looks and general likability of Rudy
Giuliani,”
By Janice Hough, PDC Member Troll level – Master
• Ben Carson now says he mixed up REOs and Oreos because
he “was having difficulty hearing” during the committee hearing.
• "Case Closed" will be Trump's "Mission Accomplished." Gosh, well, hearing loss could be a symptom of a serious
• Trump claims he knew nothing about tarping of USS John problem, maybe he should step down as HUD secretary and
McCain. "Now, somebody did it because they thought I didn’t have that checked?
like him, OK? And they were well-meaning...." So shouldn't our • Trump now claiming since he won’t work with Democrats
"Commander-in-chief" know what our armed forces are doing? he can’t do any infrastructure legislation. Gosh, if only he had
Asking for a country. ever had a chance to have all of Congress controlled by
• As summer and vacation time approaches, miss the days Republicans. Oh, wait. Never mind.
when you could get on a plane for a few hours, unplug, and not • Trump – “I don’t do cover-ups.”
worry, "What has POTUS done now?”? Translation, “I hire people to do them for me.”
• Americans now rank Barack Obama as the best President of • If Trump, as he tweeted, doesn’t need banks, then there’s
their lifetimes. Who says Trump has accomplished nothing? no problem with Deutsche Bank and Capital One turning over
• WTF? Trump fundraising email talking about "socialist his records, right?
Democrats: "Today is actually Bernie’s anniversary and he loves • Joe Biden’s dad moved the family out of Scranton when Joe
radical socialism so much that he took his honeymoon to the was 10. Last night at his PA rally. Trump claimed that “Biden
Soviet Union. What a joke!" deserted you.” “Desertion” is an interesting accusation from a
Did Putin suggest Donald write that? man who’s left two mothers of his children.
• Conservative GOP Senator Joni Ernst disagrees with Trump, • Kentucky Governor Matt Bevin, a big Donald Trump
saying, “I find North Korean missile tests ‘very disturbing'.” supporter, got 52.2% of the vote today. In the GOP primary. So
Can we dream that “very disturbing” is a more actionable 47.8% of his OWN party wanted him out.
statement than “very concerned?” Missed the Trump tweet taking credit.
• Sarah Sanders recently said Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un • So if any American now gets a subpoena or even a traffic
have the same opinion of Joe Biden. Thank you, Sarah, for ticket ordering us to appear in court, can we just say no and say
writing one of Biden’s first commercials. we are being Presidential?
• Meanwhile this month's winner in the “You can’t make this • At this point, if Donald Trump walked naked down
stuff up” department… the owners of a Noah’s Ark attraction are Pennsylvania Avenue most in the GOP would praise his clothes.
suing their insurance company over almost $1 million in damages Maybe Susan Collins and Mitt Romney might profess being
caused by… flooding. “troubled” by the way the clothes fit.
• Though a close runner up might be this verbatim tweet from • Why there is no satire. Trump tweets angrily about
Rudy Giuliani about Nancy Pelosi – “ivesssapology for a video imposing tariffs on Chinese products. From his iPhone.
which is allegedly is a caricature of an otherwise halting speech • State TV not being obsequious enough? Trump in PA, still
pattern, she should first stop, and apologize for, saying the upset about Buttigieg town hall: “What’s going on with
President needs an “intervention.” Are” Fox…what’s going on there? They’re putting more Democrats on
• Just a hunch that Trump might regret starting a war of words than Republicans. It’s something strange going on at Fox, folks.
with Nancy Pelosi. Something very strange.
• Jon Voight in a video posted last night called Donald Trump • Wonder if Trump is just jealous of Pete Buttigieg because
the “greatest president since Abraham Lincoln.” Many people President Pete would have a younger spouse than he does.
have mixed feelings about Angelina Jolie, but it’s always sad • Investigation found Betsy DeVos to be latest Trump
when you know you have an aging parent suffering from administration official to have used her personal email accounts
dementia for government business.
• Prince Harry will join the Queen and Trump for lunch To be fair, this is one time when the “too dumb to know
during Trump’s visit. Meghan must be thrilled to have the excuse better” defense might apply.
of staying home with a chronological baby. • Trump indicated last night on Fox News that he might soften
• So if we can disqualify a Kentucky Derby winning horse for his stance on E-Verify. Translation, even more of his hotel and
briefly running out of his lane, how come we can’t disqualify a resort workers are undocumented than we thought.
Stable Genius for having no concept ever of his lane? • Mitt Romney says he was “troubled” by “unfortunate”
• Marco Rubio now wants AG Barr to investigate if John Kerry, findings in Mueller report. Good to see someone is carrying on
after he was no longer Secretary of State, violated federal law by the courageous mantle of Jeff Flake.
meeting with Iranian officials. • Open note to my fellow Democrats. Go down the list of all
Guess it would have been okay if Kerry met with officials from 20 something Democratic Presidential candidates. You’ll discover,
Russia? if you haven’t already, that every single one of them has done
• Trump is now telling immigrants that they need to reimburse something that will probably p*ss you off.
the government for welfare benefits. Then get over it. We need to win in 2020. Thank you.
So how much does Melania owe for living in public housing?The New Democrat 14 June 2019
CALENDAR OF EVENTS
MONTHLY MEETINGS HOUSING AND THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY - WHERE DO THE
Santa Clara County Democratic Central Committee DEMOCRATIC PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES STAND ON
meets at 7:00 p.m. on the first Thursday of each month at HOUSING?
70 West Hedding, San Jose. Call 408/445-9500 for information. All are June 16
welcome to attend. 1:00 – 3:00 pm
Mitchell Park Community Center
San Mateo County Democratic Central Committee 3700 Middlefield Rd, Palo Alto, CA 94303
meets for their General Meeting on the third Thursday of every month at
Come hear from Don Weden, retired Principal Planner for
7:30 pm at the Transport Workers Union, Local 505 building located at
1521 Rollins Road in Burlingame. Santa Clara County, Adrian Fine, Palo Alto City Councilmember,
Nicole Fernandez, Chair of the San Mateo County Democrats,
The PDC Board of Directors meets at 7:30 p.m. on the second and Leora Tanjuatco, President of the Peninsula Democratic
WEDNESDAY of each month at the Palo Alto Unitarian Church, 505 East Coalition, about their housing visions for the area. We’ll discuss
Charleston Road, Palo Alto, Fireside Room; all are welcome. how the Democrats can come together on issues like rent control
and increased housing production. We’ll talk about the middle
JUNE ground and discuss the housing stance of each Democratic
presidential candidate.
Considering Charter Schools: Movie Screening of
$15 for PDC/PYD members
“Backpack Full of Cash” $20 for non-members
Sunday, June 2 SEE PAGE 5 FOR MORE INFORMATION.
2:00 p.m.
Mountain View Community Center, DEMOCRATIC DEBATE WATCH PARTY
Redwood Hall It’s the start of the 2020 Campaign Season!
201 S. Rengstorff Ave., Mountain View The Democratic Volunteer Center (DVC) is back in action!
FREE and OPEN TO ALL! Join us!
Questions: Danielle James, daniellejames99@gmail.com
Wednesday, June 26, 2019
5:30 – 9:00 pm
PENINSULA | Sharing Our Oceans: How Virtual Reality Can
First Congregational Church of Palo Alto
Save Our Blue Planet
1985 Louis Road, Palo Alto
Wednesday, June 05 SEE PAGE 8 FOR MORE INFORMATION
(Doors open: 7 p.m., Program: 7:30 - 9:00 p.m.)
Where: Los Altos Youth Center, 1 North San Antonio Rd., Los
Converse with Congressman TJ Cox
ALtos
Sunday, June 30
Hosted by Peninsula Chapter
Guest Speaker: Erika Woolsey, Marine Biologist, Stanford 12 – 2:00 pm
Center for Ocean Solutions SEE PAGE 12 FOR MORE INFORMATION
More Information:
http://www.worldaffairs.org/events/chapters/peninsula- JULY
chaptern An Afternoon Reception with Congressman Jerry McNerney
Free and Open to the Public Sunday, July 7 - Time to be announced.
SEE PAGE 11 FOR MORE INFORMATION.
Peninsula Young Democrats Flag Day Party!
Friday, June 14
6:30 p.m. AUGUST
Burlingame, CA THE ANNUAL PDC FAMILY POTLUCK PICNIC AND AUCTION
Food, drink, cookie decorating, & American trivia Sunday, August 18
Immature Democrats (age 35 & under):$25 4 – 7 p.m.
Mature Democrats (36 & up): $45 Cuesta Park in Mountain View
Young at Heart Sponsorship: $100 Be sure to mark your calendars!! Cuesta Park is located
Additional donations welcome! directly beside the El Camino YMCA and El Camino Hospital, in
To RSVP or more info: president.pyd@gmail.com Mountain View.
Guest speaker: TO BE ANNOUNCED.Join the PDC on Facebook! Answer (page 3) Who am I?
Joseph “Joe” Robinette Biden Jr.
1 Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an
American politician who served as the 47th vice president of
Democratic Council (CDC) www.cdc-ca.org the United States from 2009 to 2017. Biden also represented
Central Committee, and affiliated with the California Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009. A member of
chartered by the Santa Clara County Democratic the Democratic Party, Biden is a candidate for President in the
The Peninsula Democratic Coalition (PDC) is 2020 election.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Biden
pdcnewsletter2013@gmail.com
For advertising rates, email Kristen Johnson at
positions of the PDC.
views of the author and are not necessarily official Stephen “Steve” Clark Bullock
Opinions expressed in signed columns represent
Web site: www.peninsulademocrats.com
2 Stephen Clark Bullock (born April 11, 1966) is an American
Email: pdcnewsletter2013@gmail.com politician and attorney who is the 24th Governor of Montana. A
Design/Layout: Kristen Lohnes Johnson member of the Democratic Party, he was first elected in 2012.
Editor: Emy Thurber Bullock has chaired the National Governors Association
Treasurer, Herb Engstrom since 2018. He is a Democratic candidate for President of the
Secretary, Chelsea Bonini United States in 2020.
Vice President, Political Action & Issues, Cory Wolbach https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Bullock_(American_politician)
Vice President, Programs, Lorri Holzberg
President: Leora Tanjuatco [Note from Kristen: I will be featuring this presidential quiz
P.O. Box 97, Los Altos, CA 94023-0097 every month until I run out of Democratic candidates! As of
5/30/19, I count 24 candidates! We’ll see who still jumps in
A LITIO and who drops out. The March primaries ought to weed
N
them out! Wow, what a bumpy road we’re on!!]
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The Peninsula Democratic Coalition
Published monthly by
The New Democrat
Printed on 100% recycled paper. C
June 2019 NA LITIO
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Los Altos, CA 94023-0097
PENINS
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P.O. Box 97 UL
The Peninsula Democratic Coalition A DEMOYou can also read
