FLY THE FLAG! NEWSLETTER November 2013 www.facebook.

com/socdc Mark Tabbart is our speaker for the November 13 general meeting. He recognizes that science has been politicized and that environmental issues cannot be left to the likes of Keith Olbermann and Bill OReilly, entertainers, not educators. Tabbart will talk about climate change and the influence of large multi-national corporations on the environment. He is running for the Newport Beach City Council in 2014 and is an environmental activist and financial advisor. Tabbert wants to bring attention to climate change, species extinction and resource depletion, among other problems. Mark Tabbart

Please join us for a buffet dinner

Salads, an entree, side dishes, dessert and beverage (tax and tip included). Food supplied by The Catering Factory Dinner is served at 6 p.m., Members $17, Non-Members $20 Meeting only at 7 p.m. Members $3, non-members $5. RSVPs are required for dinner only Please respond by Wednesday, November 6 to kenton805@cox.net
Meeting Location: San Juan Capistrano Community Center 25925 Camino Del Avian, San Juan Capistrano

SAVE THE DATE!!

I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. Thomas Jefferson
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NANCY TEEL IS A BLUE-RIBBON DEMOCRAT!

Nancy Teel, SOCDC Secretary and Voter Registration Coordinator, has been selected by Governor Jerry Brown to serve on the PRIVATE SECURITY DISCIPLINARY REVIEW COMMITTEE (South), Department of Consumer Affairs. This is an appellate court which affirms, rescinds, or modifies decisions regarding private security personnel who have been terminated and/or placed on probation. There are five people on the committee, and Nancy Teel serves as one of two PUBLIC members. This is a four-year term. Nancy was called by Mona Pasquil, Appointments Secretary for Governor Brown, on Tuesday, Oct. 22, saying that the Governor had approved the appointment . Congratulations, Nancy, for all your hard work for the Democratic Party in Orange County.

Nancy Teel with SOCDC Chairman Mike Getto

Standard & Poors estimated that when you add up all the costs of the shutdown, from lost wages and productivity to the ripple effects throughout the economy, the 16-day shutdown took about $24 billion out of our economy. Sherrod Brown, bluestatedigital.com

Our gal pals Valerie Burchfield Rhodes here with friend Eileen Boylan and Gayle Cavner with Rep. Joaquin Castro at the VIP Reception before the Truman Dinner at the Disneyland Hotel.

Congressman Joaquin Castro

Representative Joaquin Castro (D Texas) was the keynote speaker at the Orange County Democratic Partys Truman Dinner Oct. 19 at the Disneyland Hotel. His twin brother, San Antonio Mayor Julian Castro, was a speaker at the 2012 Democratic Convention. Both are graduates of Harvard Law School. Joaquin Castro said that the difference between Democrats and Republicans is that we want to build an infrastructure of opportunity and they want to dismantle it. They believe government comes in two sizes: too big and nonexistent, he said and took a particular aim at Tea Party activists and conservative pundits. We want to work with Republicans, he said. But were working with a very different Republican Party. This is not the party of Abraham Lincoln. This is not even the party of Ronald Reagan. This is the party of Glenn Beck. This is the party of Rush Limbaugh. This is the party of Ted Cruz. Courtesy of the Orange County California Democratic Party
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Wendy Gabriella Campaign Update

Looking Forward and Planning for the Future It has been an honor to run as the Democratic candidate in Assembly District 73 which includes the communities of Aliso Viejo, Coto De Caza, Dana Point, Laguna Niguel, Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita, San Clemente, and San Juan Capistrano. Since announcing my candidacy this summer, I have attended numerous events and met so many new friends. There has been an overwhelming ground swell of support in AD 73. I regularly attend the Democratic Party of Orange County Central Committee meetings. The Central Committee members have been very supportive and have provided helpful campaign advice. In August, keynote speaker Congresswoman Judy Chu provided great insight with regards to immigration reform and the focus of legislation: Keeping Families Together. I have attended many neighborhood coffee chats and City Council meetings, listening and learning about the interests of our communities. A major focus of the residents of AD 73 is the protection of our environment, protection of our open spaces, and protection of our fragile coastline. The Surfrider event in September was fabulous and underscored how we must work together to protect our environment. Many thanks to Ross Chun, Aliso Viejo City Council, Mike Getto, Chair of the South Orange County Democratic Club, and Fran Sdao, Chair of the Canyon Democratic Club. I have enjoyed meeting the members of the AD 73 democratic clubs. Your support has been incredible! The National Womens Political Caucus has been wonderful in assisting with my campaign. We need women to run for office and I am actively recruiting. Thank you to Saddleback College President Tod Burnett for inviting me to attend the State of the College Address. Our Community Colleges provide access to education for so many AD 73 residents. As a Professor and a very proud graduate of Palomar Community College, I am firmly committed to maintaining access to education via our Community Colleges. I am in contact with the California Democratic Party and will be seeking their endorsement. Many thanks to Region 18 Director Phil Hanneman. As a long-time resident of South Orange County, I am familiar with all of the communities within the 73rd Assembly District. I offer the voters a stark choice between typical politicians and a consensus building candidate with the proven ability to work across partisan lines. I need your support. Please see www.wendygabriella.com and click on the donate button. Campaigns are tremendously expensive and I need your support. As you all know, I am a true believer. I look forward to hearing from you about how to best represent our local interests in Sacramento.

INTRODUCING DAVE PEISER, CANDIDATE FOR CONGRESS FROM THE 49 TH DISTRICT Dave Peiser is running for Congress in the 49th Congressional District. He has kicked off an exciting and energizing campaign, as he aims to unseat the wealthiest seated Congressman, Darryl Issa. Peiser is a life-long Democrat and currently resides in Encinitas. He is the only Democrat running in this race, and has been endorsed by Jerry Tetalman, who ran in 2012. As a business owner, nonprofit board president, and advocate, I am involved in and care deeply about our community. I have lived in this area for nearly 25 years, raised a son who is now in college, started two local businesses, and am actively offering my time and energy to groups working to create a better life for all of us. As your Congressman, I will work to restore representative government that reflects the voices and concerns of our communities. Peisers work background is in medical electronics and devices, information technology and project management. His activism and advocacy has been with multiple progressive causes, and most recently has focused on climate change. His work with the Citizens Climate Lobby brought him to Washington D.C. in June 2013, where he met with 12 different Congressional offices and led the group visit to Darrell Issas office. In an interesting turn of events, a poll conducted Oct. 15-16, 2013 that surveyed 650 voters found that 49 percent disapproved of the job Darrell Issa is doing compared with 43 percent who approved. This poll by Public Policy Polling also found that more people would vote for a generic Democrat than for Darrell Issa. Peiser has been speaking at and meeting with Democratic clubs in the area, and says he looks forward to working together to win in 2014. For information, go to www.PeiserforCongress.com. VOTER REGISTRATION NEWS! The following Orange County citizens registered new voters at Saddleback College on Thursday, Sept. 26: Teress Webber, Joanne Ziretta, Sharon Haywood, Eva Orozco, Bruce Teel and Nancy Teel. The SOCDC really appreciates the work and the enthusiasm of the registrars. In addition, the students are beginning to ask questions about the 2014 elections and the new health care exchanges. It was also a beautiful day at Saddleback College, Tuesday, October 15, when 16 new voters were registered. The following enthusiastic volunteers were awesome working with the students: Paul Hinman, Teress Webber, Steve Nelson, Roger Johnson, Dana Bailie, Pat OBrien, Bruce Teel, and Nancy Teel.
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CALENDAR
Monday, Oct. 28, 7 p.m.: Central Committee meeting, at Plumbers/Pipefitters Hall, 1916 W. Chapman Ave. in Orange. Wednesday, Oct. 30, 4 5 p.m.: Koch Bros. Boycott, handouts at Stater Bros. in El Toro; call LWV Democratic Club President Sue Dearing, 855-6965 to volunteer Monday, Nov. 4, 6:30 p.m.: Democratic Club of Laguna Woods Village, different day and location. Clubhouse 1, Main Lounge Monday, Nov. 11, 6:30 8:00 p.m., National Womens Political Caucus OC, The Daily Grill, 2636 Dupont Drive, Newport Beach Wednesday, Nov. 13, 6 p.m.: South Orange County Democratic Club, general meeting, San Juan Capistrano Community Center, 25925 Camino del Avion, SJC Monday, Nov. 18, 7 8 p.m., Canyon Democrats Club, 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo Saturday, Nov. 23, 10 a.m.; Council of Clubs, DPOC Headquarters, 200 N. Main St., Santa Ana Monday, Nov. 25, 7 p.m.; DPOC General Meeting, Carpenters Hall, 1918 W. Chapman Ave., Orange

THE TEA PARTYS GIFT TO THE DEMOCRATS Courtesy of David Harris Gershon, the Troubadour in the Daily Kos --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

DID YOU KNOW?

If you have health insurance and you like it, you can keep itand youre already getting benefits because of Obamacare:

1. Free preventive care, including check - ups and vaccinations 2. Money back if your insurance company doesnt spend at least 80% of your premium on care 3. No more lifetime limits on how much your insurance company will pay for 4. Children and young adults can stay on their family plans until they turn 26
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San Onofre: Nuclear Waste Dump for the Rest of this Century? By Professor Roger Johnson, San Clemente
(To read the complete article, visit http://sanclemente.patch.com/groups/rogero-johnsons-blog/p/sanonofre-nuclear-waste-dump-for-the-rest-of-this-century 1d2ff538)

It is the same old story: The public takes the risk, the public pays the cost, and Edison reaps the profits. Edison is now pursuing the same strategy they have always used to sell nuclear power: repeat over and over that safety is their number one concern, and then proceed to take great risks at public expense. Edison has always treated nuclear danger as a public relations image issue. With its huge public relations staff and budget, it has bought every Chamber of Commerce in Orange County. Edison has already billed every customer every month for decades for the decommissioning, yet they want the public to pay even more now that the costs have gone up. Even Unit 1 is still not fully decommissioned, and now it looks like it will take most of the rest of this century to decommission the failed units 2 and 3. Edison believes that it can use slick ads to influence public perceptions about the huge costs and dangers associated with decommissioning. Mitsubishi is more professional. It has politely declined and says the battle will be fought in courts, not in newspaper ads. The timing was no accident. Edison is required to do emergency warning test alerts, and their public relations offensive was partly designed to deflect attention from the real message of the sirens: San Onofre remains extremely dangerous in spite of the fact that it no longer produces electricity. You can shut down the defective steam generators, but you cannot shut down Uranium. The nuclear fuel has all been moved outside the containment domes, and most of it now resides in pools where it will require constant cooling for more than a decade before it can be sealed in concrete casks. The nuclear industry likes to call this dangerous radioactive fuel spent fuel as if to suggest that it is used up. The term spent fuel means only that it is more profitable to put in new uranium fuel rods and put the old fuel rods in storage until they can be carted away or until their radioactivity decays to a safe level. How long will they remain in storage at San Onofre? The answer is alarming: INDEFINITELY. For decades, the nuclear industry went ahead and generated more and more radioactive waste because the plan was to entomb it 2200 feet underground in Yucca Mountain, Nevada. But then the scientists discovered that even this was not safe, and the people of Nevada (led by Senator Harry Reid) understandably decided they wanted nothing to do with radioactive waste. The plan was abandoned, and now there is no plan other than to store high level toxic radioactive waste right where it was generated. (That means here.)

STATISTICS FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE Operation Enduring Freedom Afghanistan from Oct. 7, 2001 through Oct. 1, 2012: Deaths of U.S. Soldiers = 2,120 Operation Iraqi Freedom and Operation New Dawn March 19, 2003, Oct. 1, 2012 Deaths of U.S. Soldiers = 4,474 ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Costs of Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan U.S. Military Battlefield Casualties = 116,201 U.S. Civilian Contractor Battlefield Casualties = 78,130 Costs in U.S. Dollars $1,425 Trillion (Costs from the Peace and Justice Resource Center, Culver City, CA)

The Affordable Care Act

ObamaCare is the unofficial name for The Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act which was signed into law on March 23, 2010. Obamacare's health care reform does a number of important things including setting up a Health Insurance Marketplace where Americans can purchase Federally regulated and subsidized health insurance. (For an easy guide to the ACA, visit http://obamacarefacts.com/insurance-exchange/healthinsurance-exchange-guide.php) . For information about Covered California, our states insurance exchange , go to https://www.coveredca.com/. The Covered California mission is to increase the number of Californians with health insurance, improve the quality of health care for all of us, reduce health care coverage costs and make sure California's diverse population has fair and equal access to quality health care. If your income is limited, you may be eligible for free coverage through Medical. For comments on political issues, current campaigns, media coverage or any other hot-button issues, email the editor at snickie6@gmail.com or call Lois Rothschild at 714-267-4203. Thanks.