Some Interesting Reading from Greg Palast
In case you missed reading about this in the mainstream media, Greg Palast reports on various plans for Iraq's oil that were made long before the invasion began. Visit http://www.truthout.org/docs_2005/031705A.shtml to learn more about the Secret US Plans for Iraq's Oil.

Read John Alden's Op-Ed Piece on School Funding
Schwarzenegger campaigned for governor on a promise to support schools.  But so far, he has done nothing but slash school funding. CALIFORNIA faced a mammoth budget crisis last year.  State services of all kinds faced cuts.  The education community agreed to accept a one-time suspension of the Proposition 98 guarantee, which amounted to a $2 billion cut as its fair share. Read more http://www.marindemocrats.org/Fightforfairfundin gforschools.htm

Sign the Petition!
Wal-Mart, which imports between 50 and 85 percent of its merchandise, is trying to boost sales by draping itself in the American flag. The retail giant has purchased sponsorship rights to a segment on ABC's Good Morning America called "Only in America." The move is part of a long-standing propaganda campaign by the company to mislead consumers into believing Wal-Mart reflects American values and favors American-made products. In fact, "80 percent of the six thousand factories in Wal-Mart's worldwide database of suppliers are in China." If Wal-Mart were a country "it would be China's fifth-largest export market, ahead of Germany and Great Britain." Ted Fishman, in his recent book China Inc., notes, "Wal-Mart's growth as an economic force is inseparable from China's rise as a manufacturing giant ... no company has been a bigger catalyst in pushing American ... manufactures to China." It's time to stop the deception. Sign the petition demanding ABC drop Wal-Mart as a sponsor of its "Only in America" series. Visit: http://www.unionvoice.org/campaign/abcnews

Let Your Voice be Heard!
How to Speak Up on Talk Radio
Ken King has prepared some guidelines to help the novice use talk radio effectively. He stresses that you should believe in yourself and you can never get it wrong. He says you may call as many times as you like. Ken suggests that if time is not an issue, and the show is local, start by being friendly, find a place of agreement and then go to your points. If you can engage the host and be entertaining you will win.
Ken offer some pointers on how to engage right wing radio hosts. If you have the gift of gab and the stomach to listen to right wing rhetoric without losing your cool, you can make a big difference by representing a more liberal position on the many political issues discussed every day on the air. It is easier than you think, and it is basically anonymous.
Here are a few simple rules for being effective:

1.) Before calling, get to know the show and its audience.  Listen to the political slant of the host and majority of guests. Understand their perspective. Look for areas of common concern.
2.) Be entertaining. These shows are produced primarily for entertainment, but they do shape public opinion. You don't need to be a stand up comic, but at least be engaging and to the point.
3.) Be polite. Alienating people is never persuasive! We are all in this together, trying to make life better; we just have different views on how to do that.
4.) Know your subject. Keep yourself fully informed and use all resources available to keep current on specific issues of interest to you. One online resource is Americanprogress.com.
5.) Use language from your own value system. Don't adopt radical right expressions like ‘tax relief’, ‘anti-abortion’ and ‘pro-life’ carefully crafted to uphold the right wing worldview. The minute you use their language you lose ground.
6.) Speak from a personal place. How does the issue of concern directly affect you or someone you love? People will relate to your message if it comes from your life, not your analysis of world events.

Getting on the air
The first challenge is to get through to the station. Put the number on your speed dialer. Call right before they open the phone lines. If this isn't possible, dial so your call will arrive at the instant a person is off the line. With practice you will become skilled at this.
Getting past the screener
The screener will reject your call if you are too off the wall, which in many cases in their view is just being too liberal. Therefore, beside the obvious suggestions to be polite, energetic and knowledgeable, you might need to be a little sneaky. Be honest about what you want to talk about, but give the screener only the non-controversial aspects of what you have to say. Show some intelligence, humor and range of thought that would fit in with the topic. Pick a position that is in the same ballpark with the host. Also let screeeners know that it is your first time calling because the host may go easy on you and also this shows them an increase in listenership and ultimately ratings.
Waiting
Once you have passed the first two hurdles, you will be put on hold. You will have your radio off and will be listening to what is on the air through your telephone. Your challenge here is to be patient. Find a way to be comfortable with not knowing when or even if you will be able to ask your question or make a statement. Use your speakerphone while waiting and use the time for other pursuits. Then when you are alerted that you will be the next caller, you can pick up the phone.
Speaking
Try to make a personal connection with the host, perhaps finding something he said earlier that you could agree with, and then launch into any aspects of it that concern you.
Do not feel you have to convince the host of the correctness of your position. 80% of these hosts are radical right who will be filtering everything you say through their own worldview. Don’t be shaken by their attempt to turn your words around. Stay focused on your goal: To touch the listeners who are more in the middle, who resonate with an authentically felt and expressed concern or solution.
If you feel the host doesn’t want to let you have your say, string your sentences together so he can’t easily interrupt you.
Use emotional non-confrontational speech, like “I really feel hurt when I see our country portrayed in such a poor light.”
Find connections in whatever is being discussed that can segue to your concern. For example, almost any subject can be turned into throwing our money away in Iraq; therefore problems at home aren't being fixed.
Be prepared to answer questions, but don’t feel you have to memorize all the facts. Facts don’t persuade people, even for our own self-interest, if those facts don’t support our worldview. However, if you can have facts at your disposal to back up your heartfelt concern or view, or especially when the host makes a statement that you know is factually incorrect, and you can refute it with a fact, there is of course nothing more satisfying! If you can’t answer a question, ask one, preferably one that the host might not be able to answer. For example, on Iraq, if the host takes the position that we must stay the course instead of getting out, you could ask, “What is the course?” “What is the end game? or “Is that realistic given the circumstances?”   
Don’t get discouraged if you get cut off or don’t get through right away. Don’t beat yourself up about what you should have said. Instead make notes as you perfect your phoning technique, and if you come up with tips not listed here, e-mail them to me for inclusion in these suggestions. Then let any regrets go. But keep dialing! Just remember that you may say the one thing that might resonate with a fellow American to change the outcome of the election.