Save the Date
The Regular 6th AD Meeting will be held on Monday, March 21st from 7-9 pm. Location to be announced. For Information on the meeting, please contact Janice Phelps at 383-6257 or email her at jphelps@ciis.edu .
Get updates and information at the 6th AD Information and Discussion Forum at http://cpe-sf.dreamhost.com/cgi-bin/yabb/YaBB.cgi?board=6AD

Progressive-Moderate Community Newsletter of Novato
The Novato "Awareness" Newsletter is all about communication on local issues for people interested in civic awareness, political reform and fairness, social equity, a green and prosperous business climate, a healthy and sustainable environment, peace and justice, and academically rich, welcoming schools. The Newsletter covers coming Novato events, meeting dates, opportunities, links and programs. For information about how to subscribe to the newsletter, please contact emainland@comcast.net or Lynne at ourhouse4@earthlink.net.

Visit our Website
For information about all Marin County Democratic activities, please visit www.marindemocrats.org

Media Matters
These Are the People in Your Neighborhood
The president and CEO of the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), Pat Mitchell, announced she will not be seeking a third term earlier this week, raising new questions about the future of a network beset by partisan interference and faced with major budget cuts. The move comes less than a month after Education Secretary Margaret Spellings condemned the once-celebrated PBS show, "Postcards with Buster," because a not-yet-aired episode involved an 11-year-old girl with two mommies. That was merely the latest in the Bush administration's attempts to control content and enforce conservative themes at the station. Fearful the right wing will continue to impinge on the channel's independence, children's television advocates are calling for a new funding model based on a "national trust fund or endowment [that] would allow PBS to be free of the whims of the White House." (Share your thoughts on the conservative takeover at PBS at http://www.thinkprogress.org/
CONSERVATIVES STACK CBP: In the current model, the bulk of PBS's funding comes from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), whose board President Bush has attempted to stack with partisan political operatives. Two of the board's newest members, Gay Hart Gaines and Cheryl Halpern, have given more than $816,000 to conservative causes over the past 14 years. In addition, both have shown contempt for the board's function. According to Common Cause, Gaines was a key fundraiser for Newt Gingrich a decade ago when the House speaker campaigned to "zero out" CPB funding and privatize PBS.

NEW MEMBERS SEEK CENSORSHIP: Halpern signaled her intentions during her confirmation hearing, when she suggested the CPB should be given authority to penalize and "remove physically" someone whose broadcasts it decided were unbalanced. Halpern took repeated shots at esteemed "Now" host Bill Moyers and advocated a policy of "aggressive" censorship. This was apparently part of a "litmus test" the Bush administration used to select board members - media watchdog groups say the White House sunk the candidacy of UCLA media professor Chon Noriega after he said the CPB should intervene in programming only in "extraordinary circumstances." The Public Broadcasting Act prohibits CPB from interfering with public TV's programming.

NEW PROGRAMMER: In addition to stacking the board of CBP, the administration hired Michael Pack, a producer with close ties to the Bush administration. In 2002, Pack greeted Mitchell at Vice President Cheney's house and proceeded to push a children's series featuring the vice president's wife, Lynn Cheney. Just weeks after pitching the show to PBS programmers - who found the whole idea "inappropriate" - Pack was appointed senior vice-president for television programming for the CPB, "which dispenses federal funding to PBS and local stations."

COMING UP NEXT: The partisan CPB has already begun to have an effect: the hosts of PBS's two new public affairs programs are right-wing CNN commentator Tucker Carlson and Paul Gigot, of the Wall Street Journal's editorial board (which once called for the "complete withdrawal" of federal funding for PBS). Moyers's former newsmagazine, which also came under attack during a CBP Board meeting last winter (one member reportedly screamed, "You've got to get rid of Moyers!"), has been zero funded and cut from an hour to thirty minutes. And President Bush has "ordered an internal review" of "Postcards with Buster," a show the Education Department once praised as helping kids learn to read and giving them a "greater understanding and appreciation of the varied cultures in North America."

ON THE FRONT LINES: On Thursday, PBS found itself in the middle of another controversy when the producers of a "Frontline" documentary about U.S. combat troops in Iraq criticized the channel's decision "to send member stations an edited satellite feed of the program that cut out profanity used by soldiers." The channel "opted to change from practice" by sending only the edited version of the show and forcing stations to "sign a legal waiver indemnifying PBS" if they want to get the unedited version. The producers charge PBS is bowing to concern about Federal Communications Commission indecency rules and that the network should "stand firm" for the "principle of editorial independence." The latest dust-up highlights the "inside-the-Beltway environment in which PBS is forced to operate, where funding concerns often trump programming decisions, and the fear of upsetting conservatives has become a driving force."

Have You Heard About Gunnar Palace?
Coming soon to Marin! A new film, called GUNNER PALACE reveals the complex realities of the situation in Iraq not seen on the nightly news. Told first-hand by our troops, 'Gunner Palace' presents a thought provoking portrait of a dangerous and chaotic war that is personal, highly emotional, sometimes disturbing, surprisingly amusing ... and thoroughly fascinating.
Filmmaker Michael Tucker, who lived with 2/3 Field Artillery, a.k.a. "The Gunners" for two months, captures the lives and humanity of these soldiers whose barracks are the bombed-out pleasure palace of Uday Hussein (nicknamed Gunner Palace), situated in the heart of the most volatile section of Baghdad. With total access to all operations and activities, Tucker's insider footage provides a rare look at the day-to-day lives of these soldiers on the ground -- whether swimming in Uday's pool and playing golf on his putting green or executing raids on suspected terrorists, enduring roadside bombs, mortar attacks, RPGs and snipers. Please visit the Operation Truth web site to find out more. http://www.optruth.org/main.cfm

Democratic Central Committee Meeting
The regular monthly meeting of the DCCM; Thursday, March 3; 7 pm; Visitors are welcome
Town Center Community Room; Suite 201 100 Corte Madera Town Center; Corte Madera. Park on the South side of Town Center Mall near "Good Guys." Enter the South Side mall entrance--the office building will be directly in front of you. Look for the blue and white striped awning with the address "770." Take elevator to 2nd floor and go to Suite 201 (near elevators).
For information on this and other Democratic Activities, visit www.marindemocrats.org

DFA–Marin Meet Up
March 2nd, 7-9pm; Olney Hall, College of Marin
Suggested Donation, $5; Student Free
Special Guest Speaker Dahr Jamail, independent journalist, with a power-point presention about how news gets reported in Iraq. For information, please contact Cristine Dewey at cristinedewey@dfamarin,org

The Messaging Project
Developing Our Progressive Vision Statement
"If we don’t know where we’re going, how will we get there—and communicate the path to others?"
 
Before we can get where we’re going, we need to describe where we want to go. We need to write down a description of our motivating future.  If it’s written, we can refer to it for inspiration and direction. We can also repeat it (often) to help others understand what principles we stand for, increasing our chances of making our shared dreams a reality.  
At the February DFA Meetup, 70 caring people imagined a world based on our progressive principles.  We began by boarding a metaphorical hot air balloon.  Lifting high above our cares and concerns, we envisioned an ideal world 20 years into the future, built over time by Progressive Democrats.  Using our shared values to guide our priorities, we broke into small groups to describe our personal vision for a better world.  We then shared these individual visions back in our larger group.  The similarities and overlaps were clear.  Our final Statement is complete.  This Vision Statement will then accompany the 6th District delegates to Sacramento.  Facilitated by Gina Farr, Farr Visions Communications, messaging and framing consultant, DFA-Marin.
Stay Tuned for the Messaging Project
 Gina Farr, our messaging guru, is working on a new central resource for messaging and framing, the Messaging Project.  This website delivers effective ways to communicate who we are and what we stand for, issue by issue.  Stay tuned for its opening in March. Reach Gina at gina@dfamarin.org