Fireworks Expected at Pete Stark Town Hall

This Saturday, congressman Pete Stark will be doing his periodic town hall meeting in Alameda, noon at City Hall.

Usually these are interesting but fairly sedate. According to his latest email newsletter, he's focusing on issues such as health care reform, protecting our environment, fixing cracks in our mental health system, help for working families, and voting against war.

Apparently there are some right-wing groups that are targeting town halls across the country, and Pete Stark's is expected to be hit — the idea not being civil discourse and disagreement, but disrupting.

Democrats, progressives, and level-headed people are requested to come to the meeting to stand up for health care reform, our better-than-average congressman, and the principles of calm debate.

(If you attend, don't get sucked into having an argument with the right-wingers!)

Please arrive a bit early; it may be crowded this time.

If you want to lean on Mr. Stark, ask him to take the pledge to voting against anything but a strong public option in the health care bill. He has not yet taken this pledge. It's the only way to preserve this option while other Democrats are succumbing to industry pressure.