CHARLIE BROWN LENDS A HAND TO JOHN DOOLITTLE

Although he spent a good deal of taxpayer funds to alert his Northern California constituents that he's holding a series of "listening sessions," Congressman John Doolittle (who still hasn't been indicted) neglected to let anyone know exactly where or when the sessions would be. Charlie Brown to the rescue! Charlie has sent out e-mails to thousands of CA-04 citizens with the exact places and times of the listening sessions:

Wednesday, Feb. 21: Placerville 2-3pm
El Dorado County Fairgrounds
Marshall Building
100 Placerville Road
Placerville, CA 95667

Orangevale 6-7pm
Orangevale Community Center
6826 Hazel Avenue
Orangevale, CA 95662

Thursday, Feb 22: Grass Valley 4-5pm
Nevada County Fairgrounds
Northern Mines Building
11228 McCourtney Road
Grass Valley, CA 95949

Friday, Feb. 23: Auburn 2-3pm
Gold Country Fairgrounds
Sierra Building
1273 High Street
Auburn, CA 95603

Charlie is urging people in the district to participate in this little exercise in democracy. Remember, Doolittle squeaked by with less than 50% of the vote and he's been alienating more people since January with more bizarre right-wing extremism, voting against popular measures like cutting student loan interest rates, raising the minimum wage, energy independence, and, predictably, against the new direction in Iraq that a bi-partisan majority of Americans, many military commanders, and the Iraq Study Group have called for.

Charlie even put together some sample questions for concerned citizens to look at and ask Doolittle about. They sound like GREAT questions! I'd love to hear Doolittle answer any of them:

1. You recently said that you are “skeptical” of the administration’s handling of the War in Iraq--a change from your previous "stay the course" position. Are you also accepting responsibility, as a member of the Republican leadership in Congress, for failing to provide adequate oversight on this policy for the past 5 years?
2. What military objectives have not yet been achieved in Iraq? How exactly will escalating the war resolve longstanding religious and political differences that are fueling the violence? Why isn’t a diplomatic surge focused on Iraqi reconciliation and regional engagement, as has been proposed by many Democrats, a better solution?
3. Jack Abramoff called you a "hero" for his client, the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas (CNMI). You said during the 2006 campaign that you didn't believe the well documented assertions of sweatshops, forced abortions, and sex slavery on the CNMI. Since then, further supporting testimony has been given to Congress. Do you still deny the existence of these conditions, and will you support legislation to prevent further abuses by holding this U.S. territory to American labor and immigration standards?
4. Why did Jack Abramoff continue to pay your wife's consulting firm $5,000 a month for almost one full year after the event she was hired to produce was canceled? If work was done, will you release the documents to prove this?
5. Yes or no: Do you think it is right for elected officials, or their leadership PACs, to keep campaign contributions from felons convicted of bribing members of Congress? How do you reconcile the apparent hypocrisy of taking money from lawbreakers in order to be able to make law in Congress?
6. Do you think it is wrong for an elected official to divert a percentage of campaign contributions into a family bank account? If you do not, please explain why.
7. Why did you earmark $37 million in defense contracts the military never requested for a man who was recently indicted for bribing Rep. Randy “Duke” Cunningham?
8. How can you justify voting yourself a raise every year (7 times in the last 10 years), while voting against raising the minimum wage for the lowest paid American workers?
9. Throughout your career, you have talked about family values and moral leadership. Why then have you not returned campaign contributions from confessed child predator Mark Foley and why did you testify on behalf of convicted sexual predator David Roy Phipps?
10. You recently wrote that Sacramento is at risk for the same level of catastrophic flooding as New Orleans. When was the last time a Category 4 Hurricane struck California's Central Valley? How many more taxpayer sponsored Auburn Dam feasibility studies will it take before you commit to a sensible, cost effective, bi-partisan flood control solution for the Sacramento Valley—starting with improvements to our levees and the dry raise to Folsom Dam?
11. You recently cited fiction author Michael Crichton in explaining your view that human-caused global warming is a myth. Can you cite any non-fiction sources that you consult before voting on climate change issues in Congress?
12. You have recently re-introduced legislation to allow people to “opt out” of receiving political robo-dial calls. If you believe these calls are intrusive, why didn't you take action to stop the National Republican Campaign Committee from flooding your constituents with misleading robo calls on your behalf at all hours of the night during the 2006 campaign?