Norcal Socialist Conference. Dec. 6-7 in Sanf Francisco

NORTHERN CALIFORNIA SOCIALIST CONFERENCE
http://www.norcalsocialism.org
December 6th and 7th.

Saturday: City College Ocean Ave Campus, Visual Arts and Creative Arts buildings. 50 Phelan Ave, San Francisco

Sunday: 110 Capp St., between 16th St. and 17th St., San Francisco

Entire Conference: $20

Sat. Evening Panel: $10



Featuring:

6:00pm SATURDAY EVENING PANEL

The Fight for Gay Marriage

With Sherry Wolf, author of Sexuality and Socialism: History, Politics and Theory of Gay Liberation

In conversation with: Rose Aguilar, host of KALW's Your Call and author of Red Highways


"Change Has Come to America," as Barack Obama put it in his victory speech before a multi-racial crowd of 250,000 Chicagoans. Across the country, from LA to Seattle to Atlanta to Harlem, hundreds of thousands of people danced in the streets, celebrating the end of the Bush Regime and profound impact of the election of an African American president. But as Obama himself put it, "This isn't the change we want, it's only the opportunity to make the change we want." So, what kind of changes do we want and how will we get them? Proposition 8's passage shows that nothing is automatic. It's still true that the only rights we have are the ones we fight for.



Since Bush stolen election in 2000, the left has been on the defensive. But Obama's election and the escalating economic crisis have broken the framework of politics as usual. Now is the time to shake off our pessimism, raise our expectations and get to work. Now everything is up for grabs: health care, jobs, education, abortion, Iraq and Afghanistan, prisons, gay marriage and immigrant rights. Now even the business pages admit that "Marx may have been right about a few things."



So consider coming to the Socialist Conference to learn about how to fight for and win the reforms we need, while we discuss and debate the future revolutionary change we believe is necessary.



You can register for the conference on this site, and you can also pick up tickets at these locations:

Modern Times Bookstore, 888 Valencia Street (between 19th and 20th), San Francisco
City Lights, 261 Columbus Avenue at Broadway, San Francisco
Moe's Books, 2476 Telegraph Avenue, Berkeley

Public Transportation to Ocean Avenue Campus (Saturday's location)
MUNI: 29 Sunset, 49 Van Ness / Mission, 15 Third Street, 36 Teresita, 43 Masonic, J Church, K Ingleside, 54 Felton
BART: Balboa Park Station

Map: http://www.ccsf.edu/Info/ Map/





Schedule:

SATURDAY

City College Ocean Ave Campus, Visual Arts and Creative Arts buildings. 50 Phelan Ave, San Francisco

10:00am Registration

11:00am OPENING TALK

Post-election Perspectives Todd Chretien will give an opening talk on the period that the Left finds itself in after the 2008 election. What challenges will we face, and what strategies will be needed to build the Left in this period?

12:00 noon - 1:15pm SESSION I

Civil Rights in the Sixties Barbara Becnel and Sid Patel will discus how Civil Rights were won.

Introduction to the Communist Manifesto Christine DaRosa will present the contemporary relevance of this socialist classic.

The Rise and Fall of Neoliberalism Elizabeth Terzakis will give an account of the ruling class's most recent failed ideology.

Bolivia Today Sarah Hines will examine the ongoing crisis in Bolivia, between the Left and the Right, Morales and the U.S.

1:15pm LUNCH BREAK

2:15pm - 3:30pm SESSION II

Labor in Crisis Since the 1970's the U.S. working class has suffered many more defeats than victories. Larry Bradshaw will look at the state of Labor today.

Do Workers Consume Too Much? Ragina Johnson examines the claim that as the environmental and economic crises hit, blame is to be found in individual consumption.

Socialism Utopian and Scientific Jenna Woloshyn will look at the development of socialist thought from idealism through to the materialist basis outlined by Marx and Engels.

Vietnam: the Last War the U.S. Lost Hector Agredano will present an analysis on the resistance to the U.S. war in Vietnam that led to its defeat.

3:45pm - 5:00pm SESSION III

Immigration and Globalization Frank Martin del Campo and Brian Cruz will discuss the struggle of labor and capital across borders.

Marxism and Feminism Jessie Muldoon will look at theories of women's oppression and strategies for liberation.

The U.S. War in Afghanistan and Pakistan Jeremy Tully will examine the underlying reasons for the U.S. military actions and ambitions in South Asia.

Democrats in Power Michael Smith will look at the reality of rule by Democratic governments.

6:00pm SATURDAY EVENING PANEL

The Fight for Gay Marriage

With Sherry Wolf, author of Sexuality and Socialism: History, Politics and Theory of Gay Liberation

You can see a video of Sherry Wolf speaking last year on the long term struggle here: http://tinyurl. com/sherrywolf

In conversation with: Rose Aguilar, host of KALW's Your Call and author of Red Highways







SUNDAY: Understanding the Crisis

110 Capp St., between 16th St. and 17th St., San Francisco - near 16th Street BART

11:00am - 1:00pm SESSION I

Why does capitalism go into crisis? Karl Marx asserted that capitalism was marked by booms and slumps. Deborah Goldsmith will present a Marxist explanation of capitalist crisis.

1:15pm - 3:00pm SESSION II

The Crisis Today Cameron Sturdevant will provide an analysis of the current crisis of capitalism, how it was created and how it is being managed.

3:00pm - 4:00pm CLOSING RECEPTION

Discuss politics, enjoy refreshments and browse and buy political books!



http://www.norcalsocialism.org



Want to know more? Feel free to contact us.