WV4D Makes Candidate Contributions

West Virginia for Democracy made its first official campaign contributions this primary season, contributing to several executive committee candidates and one candidate for County Commission.  The full list of endorsements will be announced after the candidate forum on the 20th.

Clean Elections Bill In State Senate

The '06 legislative session in Charleston features a fantastic progressive bill which we should all support by writing and calling our legislators.  SB 124 the "WV Public Campaign Financing Act" will enable candidates for state offices to run without the taint of corporate donations by allowing them to participate in a voluntary public financing system.  This sort of legislation has worked well in other states and is a great first step in election reform in the Mountain State.  Please support this progressive legislation.  To read more about the legislation, here is an easy-to-read pdf (Acrobat Reader reqd) on the subject from WV Citizen Action Group.

http://www.wvcag.org/issues/clean_elections/wv_faq.pdf

House Budget Reconciliation Bill Hits WV Hard

The House Budget Reconciliation Bill passed in December and still yet to be reconciled between the House and Senate provides $70 billion in tax cuts for the wealthy and $50 billion in cuts to social programs like Food Stamps, child-care, and student loans.  According to WV Citizen Action Group, "These cuts will cause an estimated 70,000 Americans to lose health-care coverage, add $8 billion in cost to student borrowers and their families, and halt food stamps for an estimated 300,000 people. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, this bill will cause 40,000 children to be thrown out of the school lunch program."

Worst of all, it does nothing to decrease the deficit and in fact, increases it by $20 billion.  Representative Shelley Moore Capito voted for this despite the fact that it will have an adverse effect on the district she supposedly represents.  Find out more about what you can do at the following links:

http://www.wvcag.org/news/fair_use/2006/01_16.htm

http://www.wvcag.org/issues/misc/budget_cost_wv_2005_12_14.pdf

Republican Policies Put WV Miners at Risk

Cecil Roberts, UMWA President, put it best at recent Senate Hearings on Mine Safety (Hearings that the administration walked out on):

"I realize that this may be getting in an area that may offend some people, but in 1969, Mr. Chairman, Congress decided that this industry was incapable of policing itself and established MSHA as an independent body to protect the coal miners of the United States of America. And in 2001, we put the coal industry in charge of this agency, and we have submitted 17 rules that were withdrawn in 2001 or later that would have protected coal miners in the United States of America. And there are other issues that we could raise with you today, but I realize my time is up. I did not want to leave here with that on my heart and on my mind. Thank you."

For more info- http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=06/01/24/1517202

WV for Democracy's bus trip to DC!

September 24, 2005

“This is What Democracy Looks Like-”

Morgantown on Independence Day 2005

VIDEO LINKS-click here

"Hopefully, we can do this peacefully - don't get me wrong. And if the world were to collectively come together to do so, and to put pressure on Saddam Hussein and convince him to disarm, there's a chance he may decide to do that. And war is not my first choice, don't - it's my last choice." -George Bush, Press Conference, November 7, 2002

"There was a perceptible shift in attitude. Military action was now seen as inevitable. Bush wanted to remove Saddam, through military action, justified by the conjunction of terrorism and WMD. But the intelligence and facts were being fixed around the policy. The NSC had no patience with the UN route, and no enthusiasm for publishing material on the Iraqi regime's record. There was little discussion in Washington of the aftermath after military action." [Emphasis added.]-    Downing Street Minutes, 5 months before the preceding quote.

 

Bush Bringing Same Old Pack of Lies to Morgantown July 4th

President Bush comes to Morgantown July Fourth to speak on campus at Woodburn Circle.  This is part of the administrations tour to revitalize support for their war.  We anticipate 15 mentions of "freedom," at least three evocations of 9/11, ten dreamy and meaningless references to "Democracy," and absolutely no true picture of anything.

WV For Democracy- May Meetup 2005