Bruce Tokars took the Salmon Water Now video camera to Half Moon Bay on Saturday, December 4, 2010 to capture the Salmon Summit hosted by Representatives Jackie Spier and Mike Thompson. Over 200 people, including recreational anglers, commercial fishermen, Indian Tribal members and environmental activists, attended the standing room-only event in the Maverick's Lodge and Conference Center.
Here is the link and the details:
HMB Salmon Summit - 12/4/10 - (Parts 1 - 4)
"They came to Half Moon Bay, California to talk about wild salmon and the reasons for their near extinction," said Tokars. "The overflow crowd heard from fishery scientists, fishermen, business owners, and people who just want salmon back in their diet. It was a remarkably powerful event and it gives hope that salmon can be saved, if we act now."
Part 1 (16:40) features opening remarks by Congresswoman Jackie Spier and Congressman Mike Thompson. Representatives from the National Marine Fisheries Service, the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation and the California Department of Water Resources describe the state of salmon. There are lively exchanges between these presenters and the attending crowd.
Part 2 (20:06) spotlights presentations by Christina Swanson, chief scientist of The Bay Institute and Zeke Grader, Executive Director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations (PCFFA).
Dr. Swanson explains the state of salmon and their troubled habitat and what must be done to reverse the collapse of salmon. Grader's comments address the human suffering caused by the loss of salmon and forcefully points to the forces in government and agriculture that have been responsible for the decline of the salmon fishery.
Part 3 (15:20) covers legendary charter boat skipper, Jacky Douglas (FV Wacky Jacky), describing her love of salmon and the need to reverse their decline.
Marc Gorelnik of the Coastside Fishing Club makes a passionate presentation about the importance of salmon to recreational anglers and the need to stop the "criminal" policies and actions of big agriculture on the West side of the Central Valley that has been the main cause of the decline of salmon.
Duncan MacLean, a commercial salmon fisherman, describes how the loss of salmon impacts his life. His forceful comments and call to action are a rallying cry that anyone who cares about salmon should hear.
Part 4 (21:04) features Peggy Beckett, owner of Huck Finn Sport Fishing in Pillar Point, describing the hardships she has been dealing with since the collapse of salmon.
Caleen Sisk-Franco, Chief and Spiritual Leader of the Winnemem Wintu Tribe, explains her people's connection to salmon and their efforts to be heard by the U.S. Government. Over 30 members of the Tribe went to New Zealand in the spring of 2010 to conduct joint ceremonies with the Maori Nation and to arrange the reintroduction of the eggs of winter run chinook from the Rakaira River back to the McCloud River, their native river, above Shasta Dam.
Following these two presentations, the Representatives wrap up the summit with a call to have additional meetings in all 74 harbors throughout the state to keep the public spotlight on the plight of salmon.
Finally, Salmon Moods (7:17) offers images of salmon fishing, salmon cooking and eating, salmon dreaming set to music.
On the day of the summit, the San Francisco Chronicle ran my commentary supporting Speier's call to save the salmon and outlining my solutions to the salmon collapse:
Support fish, fishermen
I applaud Rep. Jackie Speier for standing up for the salmon and salmon fishermen in her opinion piece, "No water, no salmon" (Open Forum, Dec. 2).
California urgently needs the jobs that will be provided by the full recovery of Central Valley chinook salmon runs.
To restore these iconic fish, three major actions are needed.
First, the state and federal agencies must comply with the federal biological opinions protecting Central Valley steelhead, Sacramento River chinook salmon, green sturgeon, delta smelt and southern resident killer whales.
Second, the state and federal governments must abandon all efforts, including the Bay Delta Conservation Plan, to build a peripheral canal/tunnel to facilitate water exports to Southern California and corporate agribusiness.
Third, the agencies must work cooperatively with Indian tribes, fishermen and environmentalists to reintroduce salmon and steelhead, wherever feasible, to Central Valley rivers above dams, including Shasta, Englebright, Folsom and New Melones dams.
Dan Bacher, Sacramento
This article appeared on page A - 9 of the San Francisco Chronicle
Another California member of Congress may be off to join the Obama Administration - in this case, Mike Thompson of CA-01 (North Coast, Sonoma, Davis, and the Congressional Wine Caucus). Raul Grijalva of AZ-07 has fallen off the shortlist and though Kevin Gover, a member of the Pawnee Tribe and current head of the Smithsonian Museum of the American Indian is getting talked about, his spokeswoman told the WaPo "he has not heard anything from the transition, nor does Kevin expect to."
That leaves Mike Thompson as a frontrunner - which isn't sitting too well with environmentalists concerned about the Blue Dog's decidedly mixed environmental record. Gristmill has the lowdown:
In 2004, he voted against an amendment to an Interior appropriations bill intended to protect wildlife and old growth trees in Alaska's Tongass National Forest by stopping taxpayer-subsidized logging road construction. The measure passed by a vote of 222-205, and he was the only California Democrat to vote against it. He also opposed an amendment to ban the act of bear-baiting in national forests and Bureau of Land Management lands.
He was also one of only 30 Democrats in 2006 to vote against an amendment to the Forest Emergency Recovery and Research Act that would maintain areas of the national forests protected under the Roadless Rule. He also voted against another amendment that would have required the Forest Service to comply with environmental protection, endangered species, and historic preservation laws when conducting "salvage logging" operations in national forests. The amendment failed.
North Coast environmentalists are also skeptical of his support for sustainable land use policies:
Mike Thompson has a Democratic Party constituency that is much more liberal than he is. During the years of Republican dominance in Congress he prided himself on being a centrist who voted with the Republicans on issues like tax cuts for the rich. In return the Republicans had no problem with doing some things for Congressman Thompson's donors in the timber and wine industries....
A real test of Mr. Thompson's environmental credentials would be: is he willing to close down his vineyard and winery friends in his own district by no longer allowing them to suck water out of the rivers and aquifers? Ask the environmentalists who live on rivers like the Navarro about how much water is left for the Salmon once vineyards finish taking their sips. Ask environmentalists in Napa County about pesticides in ground water and runnoff.
Grist also notes that he has an 88% lifetime rating from the League of Conservation Voters, but the above is enough to indicate he wouldn't exactly be the change we need at the Interior Department.
If Thompson is picked, however, that would open up another California Congressional seat. Who would replace him? The district has a Cook PVI rating of D+10 and Democrats have a 20 point registration advantage (46% to the GOP's 26%).
Although I'm not as familiar with CA-01 as some of our readers might be, it would seem ripe for a shift toward a more progressive Democrat should Thompson get the nod for Interior. Davis, and Humboldt, Mendocino and Sonoma counties can't be hurting for progressive leadership.
I hope folks familiar with the seat will share their thoughts in the comments. While I'm hoping Obama picks someone more progressive for the Interior post, a Thompson pick could set in motion an interesting set of political dominoes on the North Coast.
(here's a less gory Charlie Brown story. GOTV - promoted by shayera)
As many of you know, Charlie Brown is running a different kind of campaign. He is not running for fame or for power or to derail the ambitions of an opponent. Instead, Charlie is running a campaign focused on taking action, solving problems and producing results.
Finally, the primary comes to Davis. Former President Bill Clinton will be speaking tonight at the ARC Pavilion (that's the Rec Hall to you old timers) at 9pm, in his second trip to UCD campus. The speech will be free and open to the public, doors will open at 8:15pm, with an opening performance from the Cal Aggie Marching Band-Uh (have they endorsed Hillary?).
Finally, the primary comes to Davis. Former President Bill Clinton will be speaking tonight at the ARC Pavilion (that's the Rec Hall to you old timers) at 9pm, in his second trip to UCD campus. The speech will be free and open to the public, doors will open at 8:15pm, with an opening performance from the Cal Aggie Marching Band-Uh (have they endorsed Hillary?).
I'm currently at the Leo J Ryan memorial park for Jackie Speier's official congressional campaign kickoff. Wow. Not only is it the nicest day imaginable, but the crowd is amazingly huge (I'll have pics up later). I'm told the number is 812 signed in with over 40 of her 92 endorsed elected officials on hand. Anna Eshoo. Mike Thompson. John Burton. Scores of volunteers. Hot dogs and a cotton candy machine. The operation is top notch.
If it is possible to win a campaign with one event, the Speier campaign may have pulled it off today. The overwhelming show of support and organization is going to make anyone think long and hard about getting in the race. Speier's popularity in the district is legendary, but today was a powerful reminder of how deep that support runs. There's a poll after the jump asking your predictions as to whether you think Leland Yee gets in. I'm voting no.
Updated with pictures and speech exerts and news coverage and videos.
There is a huge fight right now to fix the FISA bill, with a new one called "The RESTORE Act" (H.R. 3773). Two big issues: 1) Will they include language that let's the FBI issue blanket, rather than targeted warrants? 2) Will they give immunity to the phone companies who broke the law because Bush told them too? The bill is up in the House and the final language is a moving target. It is the crucial time to get in touch with people who might be persuaded to ensure good language goes to the floor for a vote.
The bill caves in to Bush's fear-mongering in a major way: it does NOT required the government to get an individual warrant before wiretapping Americans' phones and emails. Instead, it allows for program or basket "warrants," which aren't really warrants at all. They're the modern-day equivalent of allowing government agents to sit in our living rooms, recording our personal conversations. Only they're more frightening, because the government now has the capacity to monitor us remotely and without our knowledge, and to save the information in a secret database forever.
One good thing is that the bill doesn't yet include immunity for telecom companies that broke the law by handing over Americans' private communications to the government, but we're hearing immunity could be added back to the bill at any time.
Here are a few folks I know need to hear from you. Give them a ring. It is much more effective than sending email, though you can do that too.
CA-29 Adam Schiff Schiff 2022254176
CA-14 Anna Eshoo Eshoo 2022258104
CA-27 Brad Sherman Sherman 2022255911
CA-28 Howard Berman Berman 2022254695
CA-39 Linda Sanchez Sanchez 2022256676
CA-35 Maxine Waters Waters 2022252201
CA-01 Mike Thompson Thompson 2022253311
CA-08 Nancy Pelosi Pelosi 2022254965
CA-16 Zoe Lofgren Lofgren 2022253072
Woohoo! Jerry did it! Jerry McNerney has managed to become the most un-progressive Democrat of the entire California congressional delegation. For those keeping score at home, Jerry's 82.45 was about a half point lower than the next CA Dem, Jim Costa, that progressive stalwart, at 82.97. And for all the talk of Harman changing her ways, she's still worse than even Joe Baca, almost 7 points worse from a very safe Dem seat.
For all of you CA-45 fans, "moderate" Mary Bono came in with a stellar 4.42 Chips are Down score. So, for all the bluster of the SCHIP vote, she's still dancing the same jig as the rest of her party.
On thing must be said, the Speaker has done an excellent job at preserving unity amongst the caucus. Whether that means she's being too incremental and/or ineffective, or just laying down the law is the big question. The reason her approval rating, and the Congress in general, is down has a whole lot to do with the fact that little has changed on the Iraq front. So, would it be better to have a speaker who is more willing to take risks? Perhaps, but the impediment of the president always lingers over her head, veto pen in hand. So, whether the unity is really there, is an open question. Full data over the flip.
(I was working on a similar post, but I'll still post my own, with all CA data and some other miscellany. - promoted by Brian Leubitz)
The problem with most scorecards is that they are written by lobbyists concerned with always getting the votes of potential supporters. Thus, there is an equal weighting while in the real world not all votes are equal. In fact, regardless of everything else, some votes are dealbreakers and when they show up on scorecards as one of 12 votes or something, it looks silly. However, Progressive Punch has a new "when the chips are down" scorecard. After the flip is the ratings of CA's congressional delegation, in descending order.
I'm guessing that at tonight's Calitics' Actblue Celebrations there will be a lot of discussion about the votes to condemn MoveOn. The CA delegation split 50-50 in the senate and 16 yea and 17 nay in the house -- wedged successfully by the GOP in half. After the flip is the scorecard.
Congressman Mike Thompson (D-St. Helena), whose first congresssional district represents part of Yolo County, has just cosponsored the Iraq War De-Escalation Act of 2007 with Senator (and presidential hopeful) Barack Obama (D-IL) and Philadelpia Congressman and Iraq War vet Patrick Murphy (D-PA) to set a timetable for ending our occupation of Iraq. As a Vietnam Vet and tireless champion of veterans' issues, Thompson knows firsthand the human cost of staying in a pointless war, and was one of the nearly 2/3 of House Democrats who had the sense to vote against going into Iraq in the first place. The details of the bill are as follows:
The binding legislation ends President Bush's escalation by capping the number of troops at January 10, 2007 levels, puts forward specific benchmarks for success in Iraq and establishes a timeline to redeploy our troops. Redeployment, according to the bill, would begin no later than May 1, 2007, with the goal of all combat brigades redeployed by March 31, 2008 - a date consistent with the recommendations of the bipartisan Iraq Study Group. Troops would be sent either home to their families in the U.S., to Afghanistan where more troops are needed to fight the war on terror or would remain in the region to train Iraqis, protect against more violence and perform counterterrorist activities. The Iraq War De-Escalation Act will refocus the efforts of American armed forces on Afghanistan and the hunt for Osama bin Laden and urges the president to send, within 60 days, a Special Envoy to Iraq to begin the important work of diplomacy with key nations in the region.
In addition, if the Iraqi government meets certain political, diplomatic and reconstruction benchmarks outlined by the Administration, the plan allows for the temporary suspension (for no more than 90 days) of troops redeployments, however only with congressional approval.
