Rev. Danny Fisher

MoveOn.org produced an important petition today regarding the decision facing the superdelegates at this year’s Democratic National Convention.

For the uninitiated, “superdelegates” (an informal term), like other delegates, are supporters who attend their party’s national convention and cast a vote for that party’s presidential nominee. Unlike other delegates, though, superdelegates are not selected through primary or caucus, but seated based on their status as a “state party chair, retired politician, or Democratic insider.” Superdelegates attend the convention “unpledged” to a particular candidate; in other words, they have not announced support for any of the candidates. This year, in total, superdelegates represent about 20% of the total number of delegates to the Democratic National Convention.

[It follows, then, that] the superdelegates are under lots of pressure right now to come out for one candidate or the other. We urgently need to encourage them to let the voters decide between [Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama]–and then to support the will of the people.

Our friends over at MoveOn.org have put together a petition to urge the superdelegates to do just that. Sign their petition to the superdelegates and make sure they respect the will of the people.

To add your name to MoveOn.org’s petition, sign here.

In the email about this petition that I received from TrueMajority.org, Online Organizer Ben Kroetz writes:

For the record, TrueMajority.org, the online project of USAction, is not supporting any candidate, Republican or Democrat, but does support the democratic process.

[...]

The superdelegates could ignore the will of the voters and pick whichever nominee they want, embroiling the entire convention in an ugly fight.

Superdelegates aren’t used to hearing from concerned voters. If enough of us sign this petition, we can urge them to side with whichever candidate–Clinton or Obama–has the most support from voters.

This is about democracy, pure and simple. Whoever you support, we can all agree the Democratic nominee should be decided by Democratic voters.

Check. Sign the petition. This is a particularly important issue in a country where democracy seems to erode a little bit more with each passing day.

Avaaz.org has produced a current situation report on Myanmar (Burma). Here’s what they have to say:

The overall situation in Burma has deteriorated significantly since the protests. 80% of the leadership of the monk and student networks that led the protests have been caught and jailed. The remaining 20% are on the run, hiding in safe houses and constantly at risk. The Burmese generals have used torture extensively to work their way through these networks. They have also immediately and viciously cracked down on any street protests. Our original hope was to break the media and internet blackout that the Burmese generals had imposed on the country. But now, even if we did, there are no significant protests to cover. The public protests have been smothered.

But there is hope, and with all of our support, Avaaz is helping it grow. No dictatorship was ever overthrown without much sacrifice and long struggle. The Burmese have struggled for 20 years, they are fighting a long fight, and we are committed to stay with them.

Reasons for Hope:




1. The protests last fall brought a whole new generation of nonviolent activistsinto politics. Hundreds of thousands of new people are eager to take up the cause.
   
2. The brutality against monks, revered by all Burmese, was the last straw for the Burmese generals. They have now lost all legitimacy whatsoever with the people–they are holed up in a jungle capital and rule by force of terror alone.
   
3. There are signs of dissension within the Burmese military, as some senior officers refused to crack down on the protesters.
   
4. International pressure remains steady. The Junta has been pressured, by the UN Security Council and by China, into fast tracking their (flawed) plan for democratization, and have announced a constitutional referendum to be held in May.
   
5. 2008 is going to be a big year for the Burmese democracy movement. Plans are being made, the movement is thinking big and planning its return.
   

To volunteer with Avaaz.org, follow this link. You can also contribute to their fund for Myanmar (which has so far raised $325,000) here.

Phil Ryan at the Tricycle Editors’ Blog posted two noteworthy items today. The first has to do with Deer Park Monastery going solar. (Good on ya, Thầy!) The second is the sad news that His Holiness the XIth Mindrolling Trichen has died. Take a look.