Fresh from his bail hearing, James O’Keefe – the conservative activist whose surreptitiously recorded videotapes sparked a firestorm of criticism against ACORN, and who was arrested Monday for allegedly trying to tamper with a U.S. Senator’s phones – will address the Commonwealth Club of California at 6:30 p.m. Monday, Feb. 1, in the club’s offices on the second floor of 595 Market St. in San Francisco. Club members get in free; tickets are available online for nonmembers at $18 and for students with valid ID at $7.

This all assumes that a federal court officer will give O’Keefe permission to come to California for the event, per a U.S. Magistrate Judge’s order issued Tuesday; I’d say it’s a good bet.

The moderator of this discussion of “undercover journalism” will be UC-Berkeley journalism graduate student, blogger and freelance journalist Josh Wolf, himself widely known for being jailed for contempt of court as he refused a federal judge’s order to surrender raw video he’d shot at a 2005 street protest of which he was part.

Meanwhile, the O’Keefe backlash begins. Labor-backed liberal advocacy group Americans United for Change today is taking to task House Republicans – including Rep. Dan Lungren, R-Gold River, and Rep. John Campbell, R-Irvine – who co-sponsored a resolution in November honoring O’Keefe for the ACORN tapes.

“It wasn’t too long ago that Representatives Campbell and Lungren believed that James O’Keefe was deserving of national recognition and praise – that is, before Mr. O’Keefe was arrested by the FBI for allegedly plotting to tamper with the phone lines of a United States Senator,” AUC acting executive director Tom McMahon said in his news release. “The people of California might be interested to know if these Representatives have any regrets for taking up valuable time in Congress to ‘honor’ Mr. O’Keefe’s special brand of ‘investigative journalism’ that apparently devolved into Watergate-style schemes.”

I e-mailed Lungren’s and Campbell’s press people about 90 minutes ago, haven’t heard back from them yet.

UPDATE @ 10:52 A.M. MONDAY 2/1: This event has been postponed until further notice.

House Ways and Means Health Subcommittee Chairman Pete Stark, D-Fremont, who’s stuck in Washington for negotiations on the health-care reform legislation, has replaced his monthly town-hall meetings scheduled for Saturday with a telephone town hall at noon Saturday instead. The call-in number is 1-800-475-8427, and the passcode is “Stark;” constituents can listen to brief comments from Stark and then get in a queue to ask their questions.

Republican candidate for Secretary of State Damon Dunn will be give the Martin Luther King Jr. Day sermon at San Mateo’s Pilgrim Baptist Church, at 217 N. Grant St., at 11 a.m. this Sunday, Jan. 17. Dunn — a former NFL player turned real-estate businessman from Irvine — remains unopposed in the GOP primary; he’s challenging Democratic incumbent Debra Bowen.

Cal public policy professor Robert Reich, a former U.S. Secretary of Labor and Obama transition advisor, will share his take on the 2010 economic outlook for California, the United States and the rest of the world at the Commonwealth Club of California’s annual installment of the Walter E. Hoadley Economic Forecast on Friday, Jan. 22 in the Grand Ballroom of the Fairmont Hotel, 950 Mason St. in San Francisco; lunch starts at 11:45 a.m., the program at 12:30 p.m. This is open only to club members, who can bring one paying nonmember guest; tickets (including lunch) are available online at a cost of $65 for members and $80 for nonmembers.

Disgraced former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer – once known as the “Sheriff of Wall Street” for his pursuit of white-collar crime and securities fraud during his time as a state prosecutor and Attorney General, before his gubernatorial downfall in a prostitution scandal – will speak on banking-industry reform at 6 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26 at the Commonwealth Club of California’s offices on the second floor of 595 Market St. in San Francisco. Tickets are available online at a cost of $12 for club members, $18 for nonmembers and $7 for students with valid ID.

The San Ramon Valley Republican Women will host a forum for the six GOP primary candidates competing in the 11th Congressional District, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 26 at the Crow Canyon Country Club, 711 Silver Lake Dr. in Danville. It’ll be moderated by former Bush Administration Labor Department official, 2008 15th Assembly District primary candidate and Lincoln Club of Northern California Vice President Judy Lloyd. Tickets cost $23; reservations are available until Jan. 22 by contacting Leta Rockwell at 925-838-2908 or rockwellsnuggery@comcast.net.

Also, Lloyd says she’s co-hosting a fundraiser for Republican U.S. Senate candidate Carly Fiorina on Thursday, Jan. 28 in San Francisco, at which former U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice will be among the honored guests… more details on that as I get ‘em…

At 7 p.m. tonight, Thursday Oct. 1, Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, will host a community discussion on California’s criminal justice system; she notes that California’s prison population has grown by 73 percent and corrections spending has grown at nearly four times the rate of general spending since 1990, so it’s time for an overhaul. Panelists will include Jeanne Woodford, former director of the California Department of Corrections and former warden of San Quentin State Prison; Ron Ahnen, a St. Mary’s College politics professor and President of California Prison Focus; and Capt. Mike Newman, from the Contra Costa County Sheriff’s Office Custody Services Bureau. The event will be in the Soda Center at St. Mary’s College of California, 1928 St. Mary’s Road in Moraga.

Noam Chomsky – libertarian socialist linguist, philosopher, cognitive scientist, political activist, author, and Institute Professor and professor emeritus of linguistics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – will be speaking on “Obama, the Middle East, and the Prospects for Peace” in a fundraising benefit for the Middle East Children’s Alliance at 7:30 p.m. this Saturday, Oct. 3 at the Paramount Theater, 2025 Broadway in Oakland. Tickets range from $22 to $250, or $10 for students with valid ID, and are available via Ticketmaster. All the seats have sold out for his lecture at 6 p.m. Tuesday, October 6 at the Commonwealth Club of California, on the second floor of 595 Market St. in San Francisco, but the club is offering standing-room-only tickets at $12 for members, $18 for non-members and $7 for students, available online.

FBI Director Robert S. Mueller III will speak on “The FBI’s Fight Against Cyber Crime, Espionage and Terrorism” at noon next Wednesday, Oct. 7 at the offices of the Commonwealth Club of California, on the second floor of 595 Market St. in San Francisco. Tickets cost $8 for club members or $15 for nonmembers, and are available online. (I’ll probably be covering this, so feel free to say hello.)

White House press corps doyenne Helen Thomas will make two local appearances on Monday, Oct. 12. First she’ll be in conversation with San Francisco Chronicle Executive Vice President Phil Bronstein at noon that day in the Commonwealth Club of California, on the second floor of 595 Market St. in San Francisco; admission is free for club members, $15 for nonmembers and $7 for students, with tickets available online. But – with apologies to the Commonwealth Club – why pay when you can go for free? Thomas will be in discussion with Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, at 7 p.m. that evening in a free, open-to-the-public event in the Littlefield Concert Hall at Mills College, 5000 MacArthur Blvd. in Oakland.

Rep. Pete Stark, D-Fremont, will hold his monthly town-hall meetings Saturday, Oct. 17 – first from 9 to 10:30 a.m. in the dining room of the Ruggieri Senior Center, 33997 Alvarado Niles Road in Union City, and then from 11 to 12:30 p.m. in the multipurpose room at Earhart School, 400 Packet Landing Road in Alameda’s Bay Farm Island section. Will these be as, um, lively as last month’s meetings? You’ll just have to go to find out.

UPDATE @ 2:00 P.M.: Oops… two more…

State Senator Loni Hancock, D-Berkeley; the League of Women Voters of Oakland; the California Nurses Association; and Health Care for All will hold a public roundtable at 12:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 2, to call for passage of the California Fair Elections Act – a measure on next June’s ballot that would to make voluntary public financing available to Secretary of State candidates in 2014 and 2018 – in order “to get insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and other anti-reform interests out of the business of funding political campaigns.” It’s in the BART board room on the third floor of the Kaiser Center’s 20th Street mall.

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, will hold his 56th Congress at Your Corner constituent meet-and-greet from noon to 2 p.m. Monday, Oct. 5, at the Dougherty Station Library, at 17017 Bollinger Canyon Road in San Ramon.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, will be scooting around the district tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 18, first taking part in a 1:30 p.m. ribbon-cutting ceremony for a new local U.S. Census office at 1814 Franklin St. in Oakland, and then attending a 2 p.m. ceremony at Middle Harbor Shoreline Park in the Port of Oakland, celebrating the completion of the 50-foot Oakland Harbor Deepening Project.

Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and Board of Equalization Chairwoman Betty Yee will forecast state revenues and spending for the next year at the Alameda County Democratic Lawyers Club luncheon, at noon tomorrow, Friday, Sept. 18, at Cocina Poblana, 499 Embarcadero West in Oakland’s Jack London Square. It’s open to the public but space is limited so you’re encouraged to RSVP by email to treasurer@demlawyers.org. Tickets cost $25 for club members, $30 for non-members at the door, but there’s a $5 discount if you buy in advance through the club’s Web site.

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, is holding another of his “Congress At Your Corner” constituent meet-and-greets from 1 to 2 p.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at the Margaret K. Troke Branch Library at 502 W. Benjamin Holt Drive in Stockton. “Instead of asking community members to come to one of my offices, I am going to go to them to make it as easy as possible for them to meet their Member of Congress,” he says. “I am committed to meeting with residents throughout the district so that I can effectively serve them and address their needs.”

Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, chairman of the Assembly Select Committee on Biotechnology, will chair an informational hearing on “Maintaining California’s Status as the World’s Biotechnology Capital” at 11 a.m. Monday, Sept. 21, at Exelixis Inc., 210 E. Grand Ave. in South San Francisco. Executives from local life science companies will testify about the challenges of starting a biotech business and explain what other states are doing to lure companies away from California.

Rumored Democratic gubernatorial candidate and state Attorney General Jerry Brown; state Treasurer Bill Lockyer; and 10th Congressional District Democratic candidate Lt. Gov. John Garamendi will headline the 39th Annual Alameda County Democratic Unity Dinner at 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26 at the Oakland Airport Hilton, 1 Hegenberger Road; Board of Equalization Chair Betty Yee will emcee. All interested Democrats are invited to attend; tickets cost $75 per person in advance or $125 for patrons, with tables available at $1,000 and up. Advance tickets are available by calling 510-263-5222. A limited number of door tickets will be available at $85 each.

A few opportunities for you to meet with your elected representatives…

Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, will hold three budget summit meetings around her 14th Assembly District later this week, partnering with the nonprofit Next 10 so constituents can tackle the “California Budget Challenge” simulation and decide how to grapple with the state’s $24 billion deficit. “I am looking for feedback that I can take back to Sacramento,” Skinner says. The meetings are from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Thursday, June 18 in Emeryville City Hall, 1333 Park Ave.; from 4 to 5:30 p.m. Friday, June 19 in Room 1 of the Elihu Harris State Office Building, 1515 Clay St. in Oakland; and 10 a.m. to noon Saturday, June 20 in the McHale Room at the Pleasant Hill Community Center, 320 Civic Dr.

Congressional Black Caucus Chairwoman Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, will host a roundtable discussion on Congress’ health-care reform efforts and steps needed to reduce healthcare disparities among minorities from 9:30 to 11 a.m. Monday, June 22 in the Evergreen Missionary Baptist Church, 408 MacArthur Blvd. in Oakland. Health care community leaders, providers and stakeholders from throughout Lee’s 9th Congressional District have been invited to participate.

Rep. Jerry McNerney, D-Pleasanton, will share updates on Washington happenings – including economic stimulus efforts – at a Contra Costa Council/Tri-Valley Business Council luncheon at 11:45 a.m. Tuesday, June 30 in the Crow Canyon Country Club, 711 Silver Lake Dr. in Danville. Tickets for the event cost $35 for council members or elected officials, $45 for all others; reservations are required by June 24. Send your name, company, e-mail address, telephone number, number of tickets by type, amount due, and a Visa/Mastercard/American Express number with expiration date and authorized signature to the Contra Costa Council via fax, 925-674-1654, or by mail, 1335 Willow Way #253, Concord, CA 94520.

The first few weeks of June offer a plethora of political punditry…

Friday, June 5: Former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright speaks to the Commonwealth Club of California on her book, “Memo to the President: How We Can Restore America’s Reputation and Leadership,” at noon in the Peacock Court at the InterContinental Mark Hopkins Hotel, at 1 Nob Hill in San Francisco. Tickets cost $15 for club members and $25 non-members while premium seating in the first few rows costs $45 for members, $65 for non-members, all available through the club’s Web site.

Monday, June 8: Christina Romer, chairwoman of the President’s Council of Economic Advisers, will address the Commonwealth Club of California on “The Great Credit Freeze and the U.S. Economy” at noon in the club’s offices on the second floor of 595 Market St. in San Francisco. Tickets cost $12 for club members and $18 non-members while premium seating in the first few rows costs $45 for members, $65 for non-members, all available through the club’s Web site.

Wednesday, June 10: Chevron Chairman and CEO Dave O’Reilly and Sierra Club Executive Director Carl Pope will discuss balancing energy and the environment in a forum moderated by Wall Street Journal Deputy Managing Editor Alan Murray before the Commonwealth Club of California, at 6:30 p.m. in the Hotel Nikko, 222 Mason St. in San Francisco. Tickets cost $15 for club members and $30 non-members while premium seating in the first few rows costs $45 for members, $65 for non-members, all available through the club’s Web site.

Wednesday, June 10: The Blackhawk Republican Women, Federated will welcome APL Ltd. Vice President of Security Earl Agron, recently appointed to the National Maritime Security Advisory Committee of the Department of Homeland Security, speaking on “Security of Global Trade on the High Seas.” (Yes, pirates.) It’s a 5:30 p.m. social and sign-in and a 6:15 p.m. program in the Blackhawk Country Club, 599 Blackhawk Club Dr. Tickets cost $25 per person; per the hostesses, “all welcome, tie not required, no denim please.” Please make reservations and payment (payable to “Blackhawk Republican Women, Federated”) by noon Monday, June 8th; contact rlyons1009@sbcglobal.net for a mailing address.

Wednesday, June 17: It’s a big double-bill at the Contra Costa Republican Party meeting: Assemblyman Chuck Devore, R-Irvine, who’s challenging U.S. Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., next year; and state Sen. Jeff Denham, R-Merced, who’ll be running for lieutenant governor. It all starts at 6:30 p.m. at the Contra Costa Country Club, 801 Golf Club Road in Pleasant Hill; tickets cost $25 per person, RSVP to director@contracostagop.com or (925) 948 5141. It’s cosponsored by PoliticalVanguard.com and KSFO radio.

Lots happening in the East Bay tomorrow, Saturday, May 16:

World Can’t Wait will protest the University of California, Berkeley Boalt Hall Law School’s “complicity in torture” at 8 a.m. outside commencement ceremonies in the campus’ Greek Theater, and at 11 a.m. outside a reception in the law school’s Clark Kerr Courtyard along Bancroft Way between College and Piedmont avenues. Protesters will denounce John Yoo’s continued presence on Boalt Hall’s tenured faculty (though he’s currently on leave from UC, serving visiting professor of law at the Chapman University School of Law in Orange). Yoo, as a Justice Department lawyer, authored memos that cleared the way for “enhanced interrogation techniques” believed by many to be illegal torture; critics want UC to fire him.

Assemblywoman Mary Hayashi, D-Castro Valley, in cooperation with St. Rose Hospital will host her 2nd Annual Women’s Health Fair from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the San Leandro Public Library, 300 Estudillo Ave. Women of all ages are welcome to take part in free health screenings and get the latest information on living a healthy lifestyle; topics will include “Feeling Fabulous after 50 From Head to Toe,” “Weight Loss at Any Cost vs. Health at Any Size,” “Fitness at Home: Exercises You Can Do in the Comfort of Your Living Room,” and “Breast Cancer: Latest Statistics, Risks and Treatments.” More than 450 women have already confirmed their attendance; to RSVP, call Hayashi’s district office at 510-583-8818.

United for Change, a “grassroots group of Obama volunteers inspired and empowered by the President,” will host a free foreclosure workshop from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Everett and Jones Barbeque, 126 Broadway near Oakland’s Jack London Square. The workshop will offer homeowners and tenants in foreclosed properties the education, tools and resources needed to help their individual situations; among those scheduled to speak are Assemblyman Sandre Swanson, D-Alameda, and Oakland City Councilwoman Desley Brooks, as well as representatives from Fidelity National Title Insurance Co., the Oakland City Attorney’s Neighborhood Law Corps and Operation HOPE Inc.

Oakland-based TransForm – formerly the Transportation and Land Use Coalition, working “to create world-class public transportation and walkable communities in the Bay Area and beyond” – will hold its 12th Annual Summit from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. at Laney College, 900 Fallon St. in Oakland. This year’s theme is “Windfall for All: Saving Our Economy, Pocketbooks, and Planet with World-Class Public Transportation and Walkable Communities;” it’s expected to bring together hundreds of local nonprofit and labor leaders, community activists, agency staffers, legislators, students, and policy practitioners seeking the tools, knowledge, inspiration, and connections needed to make change. Registration, available online or by calling 510-740-3150, costs $25 per person, or $15 for TransForm members.

Rep. Barbara Lee, D-Oakland, will host the 29th Annual “An Artistic Discovery 2009” Reception and Awards Ceremony from 12 noon to 2 p.m. in the Chiodo Art Development Studio, at 1933 Peralta St. in Oakland. It’s the annual Congressional art competition recognizing emerging high school artists throughout the country; students from the 9th Congressional District – including Albany, Ashland, Berkeley, Castro Valley, Cherryland, Emeryville, Fairview, Oakland and Piedmont – will compete, the winner will be flown to an awards ceremony in Washington, D.C., and the winner’s work will be displayed in the U.S. Capitol for a year.

…and by a few, I mean: Wow.

Wednesday, May 13 – State Sen. Joe Simitian, D-Palo Alto, is inviting constituents of his 11th State Senate District to take part in what he says is that chamber’s first-ever live online streaming town-hall meeting from the State Capitol, from 7 to 8 p.m. on his Web site. State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell will join Simitian to help field education questions, but all topics will be open for discussion. Questions can be sent in advance through Simitian’s Web site, and he says everyone who submits a question will get an answer.

Thursday, May 14 – Just five days before voters decide whether to approve a package of special-election ballot measures he advocates to patch up the beleaguered state budget, California State Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, will share his ideas for putting the Golden State on a course for success with the Commonwealth Club of California at 6 p.m. in the club’s office, on the second floor of 595 Market St. in San Francisco. Tickets cost $12 for club members, $18 for non-members and $7 for students with valid ID, and are available through the club’s Web site.

Thursday, May 14 — The Tri-Valley Republican Women Federated will host guest speaker Steve Giraud, Director of the NorCal Minutemen Defense Corps, at a 6:30 p.m. dinner meeting at Cattlemen’s Restaurant, 2882 Kitty Hawk Road in Livermore. “Discussion will focus on the Minutemen’s efforts to secure our borders and coastal boundaries against the unauthorized entry of individuals and contraband,” the news release says. Tickets cost $26 for members, $30 for nonmembers, and reservations – required no later than Saturday, May 9 – can be made by calling 925-846-5944.

Tons more, including some hot CD-10 action, after the jump…
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Saturday, April 25 – The Northern California chapter of American Political Items Collectors will host a political memorabilia show from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Finnish Brotherhood Hall, 1970 Chestnut St. in Berkeley. Aside from lots of dealers, there’ll be free appraisals, a special display of Obama campaign collectibles and a live mini-auction at noon. Admission is $4, but free for kids or students with valid ID.

Sunday, April 26 – Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish, a Palestinian physician whose three daughters and niece were killed January 16 by Israeli shelling in Gaza, will speak about the reasons for his unwavering hope for peace between Israelis and Palestinians at 7 p.m. in Kehilla Community Synagogue, at 1300 Grand Ave. in Piedmont. The longtime peace advocate’s loss gained an international spotlight when he called into an Israeli television show during the attack. The event is co-sponsored by Kehilla, Americans for Peace Now, and the Bay Area chapter of Brit Tzedek v’Shalom. The suggested donation is $10 to $20, but nobody will be turned away for lack of funds.

Thursday, April 30 — American Civil Liberties Union executive director Anthony Romero will speak on “The Urgency of Action in the Age of Obama” at 6 p.m., preceded by a 5:30 p.m. reception, at the Commonwealth Club of California’s office on the second floor of 595 Market St. (at Second) in San Francisco. Romero says that while the first months of Obama’s presidency have been marked by considerable change, if the threats to civil liberties are not addressed, America’s future may be more imperiled than previously believed. Tickets cost $12 for club members, $18 for nonmembers and $7 for students with valid identification, and are available online.

Thursday, May 7 – Former Assembly Speaker and former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown will give his annual critique of state and national political trends at 6 p.m., preceded by a 5:30 p.m. reception, in the Commonwealth Club of California’s office on the second floor of 595 Market St. (at Second) in San Francisco. This event is open only to club members at $12 per ticket, each of whom can bring one guest at $18 per ticket; tickets are available online.

A slew of interesting things to see, hear and do in the next 10 days, including several this Thursday…

Thursday, March 12 – Noon-1 p.m., Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will address the Commonwealth Club of California on what he believes it will take to get California back in the black as California’s fiscal melodrama heads to voters in a special May election, at the Mark Hopkins Intercontinental Hotel, 999 California St. in San Francisco. Tickets are available online at a cost of $15 for club members and $25 for non- members, or for premium seating in the first few rows, $45 for members and $65 for non-members.

Thursday, March 12 – 7-9 p.m., State Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Concord; Assemblywoman Joan Buchanan, D-Alamo; and Jewish Public Affairs Committee lobbyist Cliff Berg will discuss the state’s budget and finances, and their impact on Jewish issues and the broader community, at a forum hosted by the Jewish Community Relations Council in the Contra Costa Jewish Community Center, 2071 Tice Valley Blvd. in Walnut Creek. The event is free and open to the public.

Thursday, March 12 – 7-9 p.m., Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Jose Antonio Vargas will speak about the intersection of politics and technology and the impact of the Internet on our democracy, in Room 250 of McLaren Hall at the University of San Francisco, 2130 Fulton St.; the entrance is on Fulton between Clayton and Parker. The event is free and open to the public.

More, after the jump…
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