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The following DVDs are available for club members to borrow. Personal copies may be obtained, but we ask a small donation to the club to cover the costs of production and mailing:
San José Medical: Roz Dean, Santa Clara County Supervisor Liz Kniss and San José City Councilwoman Linda LeZotte discuss the problems, consequences, and possible solutions to the closure of the San José Medical facility with its trauma center.
Volunteerism in Santa Clara County: Volunteer Center Executive Director Tim Quigley describes the programs and opportunities at the Volunteer Center and why they are critical to our safety.
Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder: Dr. Kathryn Page, FASD specialist Anne Sinha, and FASD sufferer Aimee Williams explain that this very widespread and debilitating disease is easily preventable. Why is it that so few people, even physicians, are unaware of it?
Clean Money: Berkeley Assemblywoman Loni Hancock and Trent Lange of the California Clean Money campaign tell how Clean Money campaign finance reform has been enormously successful in Maine and Arizona and why we need it in California.
Fair elections: Berkeley Assemblywoman Loni Hancock and Trent Lange of the California Clean Money campaign present a video by Bill Moyers explaining Clean Money.
The coming elections: Larry Gerston , professor of political science at San José State University, makes his predictions for the coming election. Recorded at the Century Club in May, 2004.
The erosion of civil liberties: Jay Laefer, Northern California Vice President of the American Civil Liberties Union tells how the PATRIOT Act may undermine our rights.
Decision 2004: Terry Christensen, professor of political science at San José State University, does a post mortem on the November 2004 election. Recorded at the Century Club in November, 2004.
The Democratic prospect: James Brent, professor of political science at San José State University, tells why he did NOT favor John Kerry as the Democratic nominee for president and what the future prospects for Democrats are. Recorded at a meeting of the Santa Clara County Democratic Club, November, 2004.
Talking to people unlike ourselves: Katherine Forrest of the Commonweal Institute explains the stages of change in political perspective and how understanding these can help convert people from the political Dark Side. Recorded at the Century Club, February, 2005.
Clean Money legislation: Berkeley Assemblywoman Loni Hancock tells how she came to be an ardent supporter of Clean Money campaign finance reform and how her legislation, Assembly Bill 583, would help rid our legislative process of special interest money. Recorded at the Century Club, March, 2005.
Affordable housing: Sierra Club transportation committee member Stephanie Schaaf, Charities Housing Director Chris Block, and Mountain View Mayor Matt Neely discuss the lack of affordable housing in Santa Clara County and what we can do about it.
Universal health insurance: Health Care for All member Lynne Penek-Holden and retired psychiatrist Dr. Charles Browning discuss with host Barbara Nesbet the critical health care situation in California and how Sen. Shiela Kuehl's Senate Bill 840, which would provide a single payer system, would solve those problems.
How Democrats can win in red and swing states: Donnie Fowler, who placed second next to Howard Dean in the race for chair of the Democratic National Committee, says that we must first gain the trust of voters in states that voted for Bush. He explains what we should do and what we should avoid. Recorded at a meeting of High Stakes Democrats in May, 2004.
Global warming: Eugene Cordero, Professor of Meteorology at San José State University, and Ken Miller, energy analyst with Energy Compliance Systems, explain what global warming is, why it's real, how the world's human population is contributing to it, how it threatens our environment, and what we can do about it.
The environmental impact of population growth: Ric Oberlink of Californians for Population Stabilization and Kim Singh of the Asian American Public Policy Institute engage in a lively discussion about what we might do to preserve our environment threatened by too many people consuming too many resources.
San José Vice Mayor Cindy Chavez on the Democratic Party in Silicon Valley: Ms. Chavez tells some fascinating stories about her growing up in San José and how she became involved in politics. She talks about the future of the local Democratic Party.California Democratic Party Chair Art Torres: Taped on location at a meeting of the Santa Clara COunty Democratic Club, Mr. Torres talks about the political situation in California giving many interesting examples of dishonesty and hypocrisy of Republican officeholders in the state noit excepting Gov. Schwarzenegger.
Women's Advocacy in Santa Clara County: Esther Peralez Dieckmann, Manager of the Office of Women's Advocacy, and Lata Patil, Vice Chair of the Commission on the Status of Women discuss county programs for the advancement of women.
Campaign for Teen Safety: Alissa Shaw, Director of agency-based advocacy for Planned Parenthood, Mar Monte, and Blanca Degradis, mother of a teenaged mom and a volunteer speaker tell why measures mandating parental notification of abortion services put teens at risk.
Worker's Comp and Health Care: California State Insurance Commissioner speaking to the San José Rotary Club. Worker's Comp costs to insurance companies have been reduced by over 40% but these savings have yet to reach California businesses.
Holocaust Survivors: Hurst Sommer is a Holocaust survivor. A German Jew, he escaped Germany with his family in 1938 to Shanghai, China, where he spent World War II in a Japanese internment camp. He talks about this experience. Also on the show is Bob Jacobvitz, who became aware of a great injustice done to a Portuguese diplomat, Aristides Sousa Mendes. Sousa Mendes was a consul in Bordeaux, France. Againt the orders of his government he issued 30,000 visas to victims of Nazi persecution allowing them to escape France. He paid for his courage by losing his job, reputation and fortune. Mr. Jacobvitz saw to it that restitution was made to the children of Sousa Mendez.
Chuck Reed on Open Government: San José City Councilman and candidate for Mayor, Chuck Reed, talks about the need for more transparency in local government and how we might achieve it.
Funding of Community Colleges: Laura Casas Frier, an advocate for education, and Bruce Swenson, retired Vice President of Foothill College, discuss the costs of attending a 2 year college, who pays for it, why so many deserving students are denied access to a quality college education, and what we can do about it.
Aurelia Figueroa on Engaging Youth in Politics: Ms. Figueroa is Executive Director of the American Youth Scholarship Foundation, which is sponsoring several programs aimed at young people from middle school age through college. One of these programs is the Model House of Representatives, which will bring one college student from every Congressional district in the country to Washington D.C. to play the part of a representative from that district. Find out how to apply for one of these positions.
Assemblyman John Laird at the Century Club: 27th Assembly District representative John Laird is chairman of the Assembly Budget Committee. He spoke to the Century Club on issues related to financing our deficit, spending priorities, and the need for new revenue. Most interesting are his observations on some of the Republicans he has to deal with!
Ideas wanted: the Roosevelt Institution: Stanford students came up with a clever idea: Students do much policy research for their classes. Why not make this research available to a wider audience, in particular our legislators. Two Stanford students, Mattie Hutton and Kai Stinchcombe, are members of the Roosevelt Institution, which does exactly that. They talk about the Institution and its objectives.
Organizing Democrats: Herding cats: Democrats have a reputation of having minds of their own and, consequently, sometimes find it difficult to work together for common goals. Chris Stampolis, President of the California Democratic Council and a member of the Democratic National Committee tells why grassroots organizing at the local level is so very important and how it is being done in California.
The Bill Wilson Center: This center provides a number of social services for residents of Santa Clara County. Guests Victor Garza, Lyndsey Marks, and Janin Rimper describe some of these services. Residents with any kind of problem -- from high school students who can't get a date to people suffering severe depression -- can call their hotlines and talk to sympathetic volunteers who can offer advice or refer them to experts.
The Death Penalty: Guests Terry McCaffrey of Amnesty International and Lane Liroff of the Santa Clara County District Attorney's office discuss pros and cons of capital punishment. Mr. McCaffrey says the death penalty discriminates against the poor and minorities; Mr. Liroff, who has sought death penalty punishment, replies that the poor and minorities are more often involved in capital crimes. There is much more. Hosted by Cupertino City Councilwoman Dolly Sandoval.
Election Intergrity: Allegations of election irregularities in Florida in 2000 and Ohio in 2004 are dissected by Cheryl Lilienstein of Mainstreet Moms and Warren Stewart of Vote Trust USA. They talk about possible solutions such as paper ballots and voting by absentee ballot. Hosted by Cupertino City Councilwoman Dolly Sandoval.
Grass Roots Media: JD Lasica is the founder of ourmedia.org, a web site that allows a large number of people to upload and display their own web pages and even videos. It truly makes the web available to the grass roots. Mr. Lasica talks with host Herb Engstrom about this and other subjects related to the Internet.
National Popular Vote: Because of the way the states allocate their votes in the Electoral College, it happens that the candidate for President of the United States that gets the most votes still loses the election as happened in the year 2000. Worse, still, large states like California and New York often have little influence on the outcome. Dr. John Koza of Stanford Univeristy has found a way to overcome these problems without amending the U.S. Constitution. As a guest on Straight Talk, he describes the problems and his proposed solution.
Cold Cases: Chief Assistant District Attorney Karyn Sinunu and Investigator Michael Schembri discuss cold cases in Santa Clara County with host Jim Towery. Cold cases, they explain, are those in which the investigation seems to be at a dead end, sometimes with a suspect but not enough evidence to prosecute. They tell of several interesting homicide cases. Investigations sometimes prove the innocence of a suspect.
Larry Stone on a Winning Strategy for Democrats: Santa Clara County Assessor Larry Stone is also a perceptive observer of the political scene. At an address to the Democratic Century Club on June 9, 2006 he tells what qualities a winning Democratic presidential candidate should have and which of the current crop might have them. This is an important show and is not to be missed!
Building Democracy in El Salvador: Arlene Schaup and Rev. Dale Bracey of the Palo Alto Presbyterian Church tell of their experiences in community development in El Salvador. That small nation was devastated by civil strife from 1980 to 1992. Salvadoran refugees in the Bay Area motivated members of this church to provide help on the ground and in country in the form of infrastructure improvements and democratic institutions.
Online Media Activism: Josh Kinberg talks to Straight Talk producer and host Jennifer Myronuk about the latest technologies for allowing political activists to easily put their videos and other work on the Internet.
Hot Political Races: Host and Club member John McLemore discusses the interesting and important political races throughout the country and here at home with political consultant Mary Hughes. 2006 will be a terrific year for Democrats, predicts Ms. Hughes.
Prop. 89: the Clean Money Act: John McLemore discusses pros and cons on Prop. 89 with Greg Miller and Greg Bonaccorsi. Mr. Miller is a nurse and a board member of the California Nurses Association, which drafted the initiative. Mr. Bonaccorsi is an official of the California Teachers Association, which opposes the initiative.
Happy Hollow Park and Zoo: Host Herb Engstrom talks with Marketing Director Vanessa Rogier and Happy Hollow Corporation Vice President Heather Lerner about the educational and conservation programs at this San Jose children's park. Part of the show was filmed on location at the park
Women in Prison: John McLemore speaks with Assemblywoman Sally Lieber and Esther Peralez-Dieckmann of the County Office of Women's Policy. California prisons were designed with men in mind, but women have unique situations: many have children, but violence is much less of a problem. These and other issues are examined together with some of the policies and programs under way.
Health Care for All rally: Taped on location at the Plaza de San Antonio in downtown San José, this show features the Raging Grannies singing their outrageous songs about our health care crisis in California and what we can do about it. Host Nancy Brasmer together with Assemblyman Ira Ruskin and Labor Federation leader Art Pulaski speak to the issue.
SaveBAREC: The Bay Area Research and Extension Center (BAREC) is 17 acres of agricultural land in the City of Santa Clara, the last remaining such land in the city. SaveBAREC members Linda Perrine and Kirk Vartan explain why making this an educational urban farm would best benefit the public and provide a financially sustainable way to preserve the land in open space forever. John McLemore hosts. 27 January 2007.
Transportation Issues: Host John McLemore discusses some critical issues regarding transportation in Santa Clara County with Laura Macias, the new Mayor of Mountain View. Also appearing is Margaret Okuzumi, Executive Director of the Bay Rail Alliance. 27 January 2007.
The Stolen 2004 Election: Taped on location, here is the story that the mainstream media is too afraid to present! Prof. Steven Freeman of the University of Pennsylvania thought something was peculiar when he watched the 2004 election results from Ohio come in. The exit polls, which are now extremely accurate, showed that John Kerry won in Ohio; but then the official results indicated George Bush won. Freeman estimated the probability of the exit polls being wrong as vanishingly small. He looked at Pennsylvania, Florida, and other swing states and accumulated massive evidence that the 2004 election was stolen. He presents the evidence here.
Sheila Kuehl on Universal Health Insurance: This is the press conference taped on location in Sacramento on February 27, 2007 in which Sen. Sheila Kuehl describes Senate Bill 840. This bill would provide for universal health coverage for California at no increase in cost. It achieves this result by eliminating administrative overhead through a single payer program. Also speaking at the press conference in support of SB 840 are Assembly majority leader Karen Bass, Senate majority leader Gloria Romero, Deborah Burger, president of the California Nurses Association, and many others.
H-1B visas: Engineers from Abroad: Immigration attorney Kirsten Schlenger and Computer Science Professor Norm Matloff have different points of view on the merits of bringing temporary high tech workers into the U.S. from abroad.
Steven Freeman on the Stolen 2004 Election: Prof. Steven Freeman of the University of Pennsylvania presents compelling evidence of massive voter fraud in Ohio in the 2004 presidential election in a talk taped on location in Palo Alto.
Hal Plotkin on Free Textbooks for College: Host John McLemore speaks with Foothill-DeAnza Trustee Hal Plotkin on Mr. Plotkin's proposed legislation that would put college texts on line.
The Criminal Justice System in Santa Clara County: County District Attorney Dolores Carr and Public Defender Mary Greenwood tell John McLemore about how the criminal justice system works from the point of vies of both the prosecutor and the defense.
Jim Beall on Health Insurance in California: Freshman Assemblyman Jim Beall of the 24th Assembly District talks about proposed legislation for health care and about the California state budget.
The Mortgage Industry in Crisis: Two real estate experts, Ted Faravelli and Dan Tosh, blame the current sub-prime mortgage crisis on policies promoted by Republicans.
Crisis Control of the Mortgage Industry: Two real estate experts, Ted Faravelli and Dan Tosh, talk about how to solve the sub-prime mortgage crisis.
Running an Assembly District Campaign: Two candidates, Dominic Caserta and Paul Fong, for the 22nd Assembly District seat now held by Sally Lieber, are guests of host John McLemore. They talk about the mechanics -- fundraising, outreach, etc. -- of running a campaign.
Democratic Grassroots Organizing: Presidential Election 2008: Organizer Melodi Masaniai tells John McLemore why Barack Obama would make the best president. Spokesman John Stonich counters with arguments in favor of John Edwards.
Cities Tackle Global Warming: Walt Hays, Chair of Palo Alto's Green Ribbon Task Force on Climate Protection, and Margie Suozzo, Co-Chair of the local Sierra Club's Cool Cities Team, tell what cities here in Santa Clara County are doing to arrest climate change. They tell how individuals and businesses are becoming involved in this critical effort.
Super Tuesday: What Now? Prof. Larry Gerston of the San José State University Poli Sci department speaks to the Club at its February 18, 2008 meeting about the primary election. He speaks of opportunities and dangers ahead for Democrats.
Being ClimateSmart: Gail Slocum, former mayor of Menlo Park and currently project manager at PG&E talks with host John McLemore about PG&E's CimateSmart program for lowering the "carbon footprints" of homes and businesses. Although much progress has been made, much remains to be done.
Charter Schools and Public Education: Santa Clara County Board of Education member Anna Song tells host Herb Engstrom what charter schools are, how they improve education, and how parents or teachers can start one.
Kenya: the Peace Corps Experience: Until late January, 2008, Maya Washington was a young Peace Corps Volunteer in Kenya, when civil strife broke out there. All Peace Corps Volunteers were returned home. Maya tells host John McLemore of her experiences and of the reaction of the people she met there to her being an African-American.
Whither Superdelegates: Democratic National Committeemember and Democratic Party superdelegate Chris Stampolis tells host Herb Engstrom how superdelegates came about and how they might be influential in determining the next Democratic presidential candidate.
Pakistan's Justices under Siege: Javed Ellahie is a local attorney that was born in Pakistan but educated in California. He tells host Herb Engstrom about the legal system in Pakistan and of the unjust imprisonment of many of Pakistan's attorneys including its Chief Justice by the Musharraf government. Now that Musharraf's party suffered a stinging defeat in recent elections, what are the prospects for the future of democracy in Pakistan?
Voters First Initiative: Former Saratoga Mayor Norm Cline is an organizer for Common Cause. He tells host John McLemore of the faults in the current system for determining the boundaries of state Assembly and Senate districts. The Voters First initiative, he says, is an excellent plan to correct these faults. He explains how it will work and how the redistricting board members are chosen to ensure fairness and nonpartisanship.
Asian-Americans in Local Politics: Mayor Otto Lee of Sunnyvale and Mayor Kris Wang of Cupertino were both born in Asia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, respectively. They have been elected to public office and tell host John McLemore how their unique perspectives as Asians as helped them in Santa Clara County not only with its large Asian population, but with people of all ethnic and national backgrounds.