Berkshires for
Democratic Change
Judicial Appointments and
Electoral Reform
Our Next Meeting is
December 1
The regular monthly meeting of Berkshires
for Democratic Change [B4DC] will be held on December
1 at 7 PM,
at the Friends Meeting House at 280
State Road (route 23, east of route 7) in Great Barrington, Mass.
Berkshires for Democratic
Change (B4DC) will meet on December 1 to discuss issues that directly
affect each and every one of us.
Our special guest will be Peter Vickery, just elected to his first term as
our representative on the Governor's Council. In addition to discussing the
duties of his new office, Peter will share with us his thoughts about IRV
(instant runoff voting) and other ideas for electoral reform.
We will also be asking for volunteers to help plan a public forum as a
follow-up on the recent ballot initiative (carried overwhelmingly in our
district), to curb the USA PATRIOT
Act in Massachusetts.
There are many other issues we want to address in the coming months, and we
ask that, at the meeting, you register your interest in working on any
of these, so that we can put you in touch with other members of the group who
have expressed a similar willingness. Here are a few suggestions that have
already been put forward by members of the group. Feel free to add your own
topics to this list.
- Iraq: stop the financial and moral drain on our country. Reach out to
ordinary Iraqi citizens with a "sister city" type of program.
- Electoral reform: this list is a long one, including verified voting,
Election Day Holiday, IRV, proportional representation (Senate, Electoral
College), districting reform, and more.
- Civil Liberties, as already mentioned
- Education: Massachusetts ranks 49th in supporting higher education
- A responsible media: rapid response
- Healthcare: single-payer system
- Poverty: living wage, worker rights, much more
- The environment: restore funding to enforce existing regulations, clean up
our state park system
We will continue to meet each
month, on the first Wednesday of each month.
It hasn't taken us long to
recover from our dismay over the national outcome on November 2. We are
celebrating our local victories, and we refuse to be discouraged. Far from it --
we are reminded of how fortunate we are to live here in the Berkshires, an area
that has both natural and human beauty -- a combination not found in many places
in the world -- and we are re-energized by the need to make Massachusetts a
model for the nation.
In his dissent to New
State Ice Co. v. Leibman, 285 U.S. 262, 311 (1932), Judge Louis
Brandeis wrote: "It
is one of the happy incidents of the federal system that a single courageous state may, if its citizens choose, serve
as a laboratory; and try novel social and
economic experiments without risk
to the rest of the country." How fortunate we are to live in a state that is
willing to prove his vision true.
For those who are bummed out
by the national outcome, remember that action is the antidote to depression.
Please contact me with any suggestions or questions:
mfw@mfw.us Michael Wilcox, Chair, Alford DTC
The regular monthly meeting of Berkshires
for Democratic Change [B4DC] will be held on the first
Wednesday of each month at 7 PM. Our preferred meeting place
is at the Friends Meeting House at 280 State Road (route 23, east of
route 7) in Great Barrington, Mass., but check in each month to be sure we are
meeting there.
(Please note: the Friends Meeting
kindly provide our meeting venue, but do not endorse any candidate or political
campaign.)
All are welcome. The goal of the group is to promote
candidates and causes that advance progressive political ideas.
Membership is free and is open to all people of any (or no)
political affiliation.
You can join our Yahoo discussion
group at
or, sign up for our
announcement-only list at
or, check for periodic updates
at