Drinking Liberally

Josh Bolotsky and I are seated in the auditorium at the Hotel Trades Council union hall, gearing up to cover the Working Families Party Mayoral Forum.

We'll be doing the live posting over at Open Left -- and you can also watch the forum for yourself at: http://www.workingfamiliesparty.org/liveforum/

The rules and timeline are up; the forum should begin at 5:30pm.

Join us!

At 5:30pm today, the Working Families Party will be hosting a Mayoral Forum -- they'll be interviewing Democratic hopefuls Bill Thompson and Tony Avella, and incumbent Michael Bloomberg.

You can watch the live feed here.

Or tune back in for live blogging coverage.

After Mark Foley, David Vitter & Larry Craig,
the latest exploits of John Ensign & Mark Sanford
make "Republican family values" an instant punchline.

While Americans want healthcare & energy reform,
the Congressional GOP keeps saying everything's fine
...a strategy that's made them a national joke.

And every time Michael Steele opens his mouth,
Palin's on TV, or Rush pipes up again,
it's hard not to chuckle at the absurdity.

Sure the Left may have Senator Al Franken,
but it's the Right that's making us laugh.

But be careful, Dems - with 60 Senate seats,
we better see meaningful reforms out of DC
...or else, next election, the joke's on us.

Head into the holiday with reason to smile,
share that laughter as your share a few drinks
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

Mark Sanford betrayed family, staff & supporters...
yet GOP governors already betrayed their citizens
by playing games & obstructing the economic stimulus.

So he's a hypocrite who judged others' affairs...
but the right-wing is full of hypocrites,
who support government handouts for corporate cronies
while objecting to a helping hand for regular Americans.

Yes, he was dangerously irresponsible in his actions...
just as the Republican Congress irresponsibly endangers us
by fighting healthcare, energy & financial reforms.

We're not surprised Sanford disappeared from his job.
The GOP Party-of-No checked out of governing months ago.

Now let's hope grown-ups show up & get to work.

Whether you're laughing at the farce of it all
or crying at the frustration, you need a drink --
shared with other like-minded libation-lifters
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

Liberals aren't too happy about the current New York State Senate debacle, but at Drinking Liberally chapters across the country progressives are finding a meeting place to discuss and debate what should be done.

As the contentious power struggle continues, the question arises: what will happen if the stalemate persists? So far, it is blocking abortion rights, marriage equality, and other progressive legislation.

Republicans are also rejecting Democrats' proposals to create a provisional bipartisan committee to enable the Senate to vote on urgent legislation while the debate continues.

While the advantage of blocking partisan issues is obvious, Living Liberally friend and supporter Senator Eric Schneiderman points out that there are serious consequences to inaction which should be considered nonpartisan. One example: legislation that will affect city operating budgets in the near future.

Hear more of Schneiderman's thoughts on the issue and how progressives should handle the clash in his interview on the Fred Dicker Show:

Part 1

Part 2

Living Liberally isn't known for moderation -- after all "Drinking Moderately" just wouldn't have caught on as quickly.

And so, we're sometime find ourselves in disagreement with those who plead for compromise, bipartisanship and false centrism as though they are inherently good things. Being "bipartisan" doesn't make something right -- and as the US Senate keeps reminding us, not all "partisans" are as much on the liberal side as we like.

But today we tip our hat to State Senator Eric Schneiderman -- another generally uncompromising figure -- for encouraging a compromise worth its weight: getting the State Senate back to work.

As the long-time Living Liberally friend and fan-favorite wrote in a column run by The Huffington Post today:

Marriage equality, the Reproductive Health Act, paid family leave, tax relief for the middle class, the Crime Gun Identification Act, the Farm Workers Bill of Rights, mortgage and pension fraud legislation, school governance reform and other essential bills must be addressed this year. All of these important agenda items are being held hostage by politicians who are more interested in perks and titles than doing what's right for the people of New York.

We look at other states like California that are so bankrupt as to be essentially broken. In New York, we've broken ourselves.

Many of us wonder why NY hasn't become the progressive champion that would lead other states down routes like marriage equality. That question will remain important in future sessions -- but for now, it's not about how we lead...it's about how we function.

Until we get that done...then get onto the business of building real momentum behind our issues that wouldn't be halted by a few self-serving Senators.

Mike Elk over at AlterNet posted an article that broke our hearts yesterday about how Yuengling (which, ironically, I had always perceived to be the “working class beer”) recently busted their union in a big, illegal way. But, as Elk expertly perceives, the blame should not fall solely upon the brewery (follow the link; it’s a great article):

Quickly I found my outrage shifting from beyond Yuengling to the lack of U.S. labor law protecting workers from such abusive, unfair practices [...] While threatening to close a plant if a union wins such an election is highly illegal, the Yuengling Company has been able to get away with due to the weakness of U.S. labor law. According to a study recently released by Kate Bronfenbrenner of Cornell University, employers threaten to close facilities in 57% of union elections if workers choose a union, despite the fact that this threat is carried out only 2% of the time. This is because under U.S. labor law the penalty for threatening to close plants or firing workers during a union election is that the boss merely has to post a piece of paper saying they broke the law.

The Employee Free Choice Act, which has a tumultuous history in our legislature, would most likely eliminate a lot of the threats that dissolve unions like the one at at the Yuengling Company, by bringing stronger penalties to employers who don’t follow the rules. By neutralizing the employer’s ability to threaten and therefore sway union elections, it is likely that more laborers would join unions knowing that their jobs would not be in jeopardy.

And, as Dr. Gordon Lafer pointed out in his 2008 speech to Subcommittee on Health, Employment, Labor and Pensions, the idea that a ‘secret ballot’ would signify more democratic union elections is a myth if not a pure fallacy, since employers would continue to enjoy unparalleled access to voter rolls that they could use to intimidate a worker’s choice in the booth. In the words of Alexander Hamilton (which Dr. Lafer employs) “power over a man’s purse is power over his will.”

We here at Living Liberally thought we could maybe help our fellow pining liberals find a new brew to sip that would satiate their progressive thirsts. Here are some brews we’ve noted for their green & sustainable practices, but to be honest, we’re not so sure about how they fare in terms of labor standards.

• Peak Organic
• Sixpoint Craft Ales
• Fat Tire / New Belgium
• Long Trail Brewing Co.
• Magic Hat
• Sierra Nevada

Know any good progressive brews? Got any background on these or any others you think we should know about? Let us know in the comments section.

The President "boldly" extended some benefits
to same-sex partners of federal employees
while his Department of Justice defends DOMA
despite his campaign claim he opposes it.

He's making "bold" healthcare reform a key fight,
but nixed single-payer before the debate began.

He revealed proposals for the financial industry
& proclaimed them the "boldest" reforms since FDR --
which just doesn't say much about reforms since FDR...

Obama is giving "bold" whole new meaning: cautious.

Talk about affairs in Washington, Tehran
& even our own democratic battlefield in Albany
as you share a drink & a night
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

The GOP was wrong when they were in charge
& they're obstructionists in the minority,
yet Senate Dems let right-wing Republicans
mangle the agenda on healthcare & energy
though they haven't earned the right to govern.

Decades of conservative State Senate control
led to New York voters electing new leaders,
yet defective Dems defected in a coup
that will block equal rights & progressive reforms
by giving the GOP another chance they don't merit.

And while the right-wing screams against
bringing Gitmo prisoners to trial on American soil,
it's right-wing extremists that bloody our country
from Dr. Tiller's death to the Holocaust Museum,
as homegrown extremists get a pass they don't deserve.

Whether their targets are in Kansas or DC,
or policies that would help all Americans,
the right-wing shouldn't get another shot.

Who knows what damage they'll do next?

Share your sorrow & share ideas for our country
as you share a pitcher & an evening with friends
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

The right-wingers calls themselves "pro-life,"
as they incite, commit & defend acts of violence
like that which ended the life of Dr. Tiller in Kansas.

They call themselves pro-life, but they're anti-health,
first fighting child coverage, and now public options
that would actually make Americans healthier.

They call themselves pro-life, but what kind of life
is pro-torture, pro-war, pro-guns,
anti-safety regulations, anti-sex-education?

The Right may call themselves pro-life,
but then why are they so often against the living?

Come Live Liberally with like-minded lefties
as we drink, eat, talk, laugh, share & scheme liberally
at our local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.