by WhatAre Progressive Values [courtesy of Blog for America]

  We interviewed Michelle on Earth Day when she was cleaning up Lake Merritt in Oakland, California.    She's a lawyer and was very careful about the definition and meaning of the words; values, progressive, liberal, conservative, etc.   She sees complexity in these words and doesn't like to generalize. However, she did see equality, fairness and social justice as core liberal values.  Michelle also talked about how she finds it insulting the way conservatives talk about values and imply only they have them.

Progressive Values Stories: Michelle Discussing Values

by Julia Rosen [courtesy of Working Californians blogs]

The first major independent campaign for the 2008 presidential primary in California has just been launched. Called Vote Hope, the group explicitly has laid out it's goal of "banking" 500,000 early votes for Barack Obama in California. From their official launch blog post:

Vote Hope, which officially launches today, is led by a network of activists for social justice in California who want to ensure that the voices of diverse Californians are heard during this critical part of the democratic process.

We are inspired by Barack Obama’s life experience, his vision for the country, and his calls for people to self-organize in a new wave of political participation. We are heeding that call and building something ourselves that will be value-added in California — starting now.

They are completely upfront about their organizing strategy, which is heavily focused on grassroots organizing, using data files.

by juls [courtesy of Calitics: Soapblox California - Front Page]

The progressive community lost one of its most tireless behind the scenes actors when Maria Leavey suddenly passed away.  The folks at Take Back America have created the Maria Leavey Tribute Award in order to recognize an "unsung hero of the progressive movement whose behind-the-scenes work and selfless service made a big contribution to social justice."  Our own Jenifer Ancona has been nominated as a finalist.

Go vote for her!  More on Jen and Maria Leavey below the fold.