Saturday, August 27, 2011

[PDI] FW: Transit Campaign Launched in Chicago

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-----Original Message-----
From: Madeline Grennan <madeline@midwesthsr.org>
Sent: August 26, 2011 12:12 PM
To: aquarianm@gmail.com
Subject: Transit Campaign Launched in Chicago



Daniel,

Many of our members and those involved with our advocacy network are also transit fans, so we wanted to let you know about an exciting development for transit advocacy in Chicago!
One of our allies, The Active Transportation Alliance, has teamed up with the National Resource Defence Council to launch Riders for Better Transit, a new campaign to work for better transit in Chicago. You can visit their website here: www.ridersforbettertransit.org

The leaders of Riders for Better Transit have developed a survey to help them better understand the experiences of transit riders and what transit issues are important to you. Here's more information about the survey:
"Do you ride transit?  Would you ride transit?

Active Transportation Alliance is kicking off a new project called Riders for Better Transit to represent the needs of Chicagoland transit riders like you.  How would you like to see transit in our region improved?  Help Riders for Better Transit achieve transit reforms that matter to riders by telling us what issues are most important to you. Take the survey at www.ridersforbettertransit.org by September 30th and be entered into a raffle to receive a $100 gift card!"
We are excited for the formation of this new campaign and the improvements it will make to transportation in Chicago!
Sincerely,

Madeline Grennan
Manager of Education and Outreach
Midwest High Speed Rail Association

4765 N. Lincoln Ave.

Chicago, IL 60625

773-334-6758


Join us at MidwestHSR.org


You are receiving this message because you have expressed an interest in promoting expanded passenger train service and expanded local transit.
Click here for our main website.
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[PDI] Fwd: [Cma-mailing-list] TAKE URGENT ACTION ON LOW POWER FM FCC RADIO RULES | DEADLINE MONDAY AUGUST 29TH | CHICAGO MEDIA ACTION ALERT -- AUGUST 27, 2011

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Just in case you are not on the CMA mailing list, You should be
interested in this action item ---

Takes less than a minute:
http://org2.democracyinaction.org/o/5623/p/dia/action/public/;jsessionid=FC10D8D67861CEF43D9A3EBBD9D28147-n3?action_KEY=7575

Geri P
-------- Original Message --------

http://aboutscottsanders.zoomshare.com/files/cma-logo.jpg
TAKE URGENT ACTION ON LOW POWER FM FCC RADIO RULES
DEADLINE MONDAY AUGUST 29TH
CHICAGO MEDIA ACTION ALERT -- AUGUST 27TH, 2011
Area groups including the Chicago Independent Radio Project and the
Evanston Public Library (in cooperation with the Evanston Community
Media Center)are seriously looking into obtaining LPFMradio licenses
from the FCC next year. But large religious networks and others are
aiming to silence local voices with canned programming from afar by
acquiring the new LPFM "translator" or "repeater" frequencies coming to
our cities. Take action below. Our Cities! Our Airwaves! -- Chicago
Media Action

Stand Up for Your City's Airwaves
Brandy Doyle, August 26, 2011 (SaveTheNews.org / Free Press)
<http://www.savethenews.org/blog/11/08/26/stand-your-citys-airwaves>

It's not often that the FCC asks us how to do its job. But Monday is the
deadline for the public to respond <http://bit.ly/LCRadio> to a pretty
exciting question: "Should we set aside channels for community radio in
big and medium-sized cities?"You don't hear questions like that every
day. In fact, media activists fought for more than a decade to put this
idea on the table.

A bipartisan grassroots coalition that included the Prometheus Radio
Project and Free Press worked to pass the Local Community Radio Act
<http://www.huffingtonpost.com/timothy-karr/the-little-bill-that-coul_b_798768.html>
("LCRA"), signed into law in January.

This historic law directs the FCC to expand Low Power FM (LPFM) radio,
giving big and medium-sized cities their first chance at community radio
in decades. LPFMs are small non-commercial stations, licensed only to
local nonprofit organizations, schools, churches and government agencies.

But to expand LPFM the FCC must first clear out a backlog of thousands
of pending applications for translators
<http://www.prometheusradio.org/translatorstakeaction>, radio
transmitters that repeat programming from other stations. Translators
are supposed to help local stations reach listeners in hilly terrain
—and some do — but many are run by giant networks that use their
translators to cheaply build media empires with no local content. The
business model these networks use relies on repeating the same signal on
hundreds, sometimes thousands, of translators.

In most cities, the dial is so crowded with corporate stations there's
not much room left. Without FCC action now, the few remaining spots will
be flooded by translators before anyone can even apply for community
radio licenses.Thanks to the LCRA, however, the FCC is required to
ensure that spectrum is available for low power radio. To comply with
the law, the FCC must figure out how to dismiss some of the thousands of
pending translator applications to save room for LPFM radio.

The FCC's plan <http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LSkCooZqMb0> is to
dismiss these translator applications in cities where there isn't room
for at least a few community radio stations, setting aside the few
remaining spots on the public airwaves for us, the public. This will
ensure that channels are available in big and medium-sized cities, which
haven't had new low power community radio stations in more than 30 years.

They've asked for public comment on this plan <http://bit.ly/LCRadio> by
Monday, Aug. 29. It's a rare opportunity not only to tell the FCC how to
do its job, but to remind the agency of who it works for.

We know the FCC will hear from translator applicants and big networks
opposing the plan. With loud enough support for community radio from the
rest of us, we just might get heard over the corporate static.

We can have radio that gives us more accountability journalism and less
celebrity gossip. Community, not commercials. We can have radio that's
truly independent, from the artists and music labels it showcases to the
small businesses that underwrite it to the pundits and perspectives it
features.

But we have to ask for it <http://bit.ly/LCRadio>.

http://www.prometheusradio.org/images/logo.png
<http://prometheusradio.org/>/ Brandy Doyle is the policy director for
the Prometheus Radio Project <http://prometheusradio.org/>/.

* * * * *


http://aboutscottsanders.zoomshare.com/files/cma-logo.jpg

Chicago Media Action meets on the second
and fourth Tuesday of the month at 7:30PM.

All are welcome. Contact us at: cma@chicagomediaaction.org

This is an email from Chicago Media Action, a Chicago activist group
devoted to media issues.

P.O. Box 14140, Chicago IL 60614-0140 | toll-free: 1-866-260-7198 |
http://www.chicagomediaaction.org | cma@chicagomediaaction.org


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Tuesday, August 23, 2011

[PDI] Fwd: Urgent Calls needed today, in the am to the Governor to VETO HB 1091-Flash from the Gov's office; The State of Illinois Can Pay for it's Own Transportation Projects!

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-------- Original Message --------

Gov. Quinn's office; 217-782-0244, 312-814-2121
Please call now, this morning Tues. Aug 23rd and say No to HB 1091!

The Governor has till today to Veto HB 1091. The Public Private
Partnerships in Transportation Act, I call it "The Illinois is Open for
Corruption Bill"!
Say No to Privatization and Public Private Partnerships of our Public
Highways and Mass Transportation!

In these privatization schemes and Public-Private Partnerships, all we
are doing is trading a short term, up front cash payment for long term
debt, holes in our future revenue, increased costs, fares, fees and
tolls, relinquishing public control of our highway, mass transit and
possibly safety. Also the jobs that this bill talks about do not have to
stay in Illinois, out of state companies and even other countries can
bid on our infrastructure! Is that OK with everyone out there in the
Land of Lincoln!

Our children will pay the price for these schemes! And if you read
below, the Governor's office told us yesterday, this bill is
unnecessary, Illinois can still float their own bonds, we are not bonded
out! Say No to HB 1091!

HB 1091 has so many different privatization schemes and the co-mingling
of public-private money and responsibilities, it will make figuring out
the TIFs here in Chicago look like child's work!

The public never seems to come out on the winning side of these deals!
We always lose, is that just chronically bad negotiations on the part of
our elected officials or an epidemic of corruption-you decide! (press
release below)

Thanks so much for the calls to the Gov this morning!
Please pass this email to your contacts.
Dr. Lora Chamberlain
Protect Chicago's Water
Privatization Watch Illinois
drlora2@yahoo.com

August 22, 2011
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
For more information:
Tom Tresser, Protect Our Public Assets – 312-804-3230, tom@tresser.com,
www.publicassets.us <http://www.publicassets.us/>
Dr. Lora Chamberlain, Protect Chicago's Water - 773-486-7660 -
drlora2@yahoo.com, http://www.protectchicagoswater.com
<http://www.protectchicagoswater.com/>

GOVERNOR'S TOP AIDE TELLS ANTI-PRIVATIZERS THAT KEY REASON FOR
PRIVATIZING PUBLIC ASSETS IS INVALID

A group of anti-privatizer activists met separately yesterday with
legislators proposing a massive new privatization scheme aimed at
Illinois' transportation infrastructure and with Governor Quinn's top
legislative and policy staff. The legislators told the activists that
the main reason for proposing new privatization of roads, bridges,
tunnels, bus projects and high-speed rail projects is that the state
can't borrow money. But the governor's legislative director, Lindsay
Anderson, told the group that the state has untapped abilities to raise
money via the bond market.

At issue is HB 1091, The Public-Private Partnership for Transportation
Act, which for the first time would allow private entities to build and
operate road ways, toll ways, bridges, tunnels, bus systems and
high-speed rail operations in Illinois. The bill is awaiting Governor
Quinn's signature.

"We made a strong case to State Senator Heather Steans and State
Representative Elaine Nekritz this morning," said the organizer of the
meetings, Dr. Lora Chamberlain of Protect Chicago's Water. "Our team of
volunteers had thoroughly reviewed HB 1091, which Steans and Nekritz
sponsored, and listed the dozens of serious issues we have with this
bill. Despite our deep reservations about this policy, we were told by
the legislators that the state is broke and unable to get funds for
needed transportation projects."

And yet, one hour after the meeting with the legislators, the activists
met with a team of Governor Quinn's top policy aides, including John
Kamis, Senior Advisor to the Governor and Lindsay Anderson, the
Governor's Legislative Director. "Ms. Anderson was quite emphatic that
the State of Illinois has not reached its limit on its ability to borrow
or to go to the bond market for needed and worthy projects" said Tom
Tresser of Protect Our Public Assets. "So what is the reason for this
rush to privatize when doing so is detrimental to state taxpayers?"

The group of activists that were in the meetings today were Dr. Lora
Chamberlain (Protect Chicago's Water), Joyce Good and Cyndi Green
(Citizens Act to Protect Our Water), David Kennedy (Protect Chicago's
Water), Joan Levin, Roy Lipscomb and Clare Tobin (Illinois Ballot
Integrity Project), Charles Paidock (Citizens Taking Action-CTA Riders),
Tom Tresser (Protect Our Public Assets). This group of concerned
citizens is organizing a larger coalition to fight privatization whose
working title is Privatization Watch Illinois.

Says Dr. Chamberlain, "We are urging all concerned citizens to call the
Governor's office at 312-814-2121 and 217-782-0244 and tell him to veto
HB 1091. People can also circulate our online petition via Twitter
at*http://act.ly/45d*."


Tom Tresser – Public Defender <http://www.publicassets.us/>
Sign up for news and updates @ http://eepurl.com/e6KpQ - you'll get "The
Public Defender" Newsletter.
Follow Tom on Twitter @tomstee <http://twitter.com/#%21/tomstee>
Join the Public Defenders Group at LinkedIn
<http://tinyurl.com/LinkedIn-PublicDefenders>

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Thursday, August 18, 2011

[PDI] SEC Accused Of Willfully Destroying Investigative Documents Related To Melt-down Bank Fraud & Madoff In Possible High-level Cover Up...

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Are the top bank cops crooked?

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/08/17/sen-grassley-sec-may-have-covered-up-bank-wrongdoings/

Reminds me of all the Enron-era docs that were lost when WTC-7, the un-struck 3rd building that housed SEC offices, went down on 9/11/1.

All the best, if you work for it and vote for it,

Dan


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[PDI] Deepwater Horizon Still Leaking Into The Gulf???

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Hold the shrimp and don't pass the Corexit, because I think we might be screwed again:

http://www.stuarthsmith.com/oil-rising-from-macondo-well-bp-hires-fleet-of-40-shrimp-boats-to-lay-boom-around-deepwater-horizon-site

Geeze!!

Dan


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Wednesday, August 17, 2011

[PDI] You're invited to a critical conference with ideas to help Stop the Misdirection of Ill-conceived Economic "solutions" ( Fwd: To Friends of the American Monetary Institute)

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Friends,

Even if you can't attend this year's conference do check out the
schedule of speakers and topics. And question why it is that so few have
heard of Dennis Kucinich's NEED ACT.

geri p

-------- Original Message --------

*Dear Friends of the American Monetary Institute,*


Tomorrow, Thursday August 18th is the deadline for the final
conference discount of $50!

This is an important conference. Folks we saw how our government was
turned into merde by posturing characters pretending to solve a phony
debt crisis. Hard to imagine it could get any worse? Well it has! Now a
nutty Texas Governor has threatened Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke with
assasination, if he dares to do a necessary part of his job - expand the
money supply.

Friends this is no way to let America be misdirected.

These are both examples of how ill conceived Economic theories are being
used - some knowingly and intentionally - to harm our country. Some of
our conference speakers will examine how such nonsense is stopped
through education and identification. Join us!


If you register for the 7th Annual AMI Monetary Reform Conference
postmarked by, August 18th, it's $345, a $50 discount! (full price is
$395). Register at http://www.monetary.org/2011schedule.html
<http://www.monetary.org/2011conference.html>

The growing list of speakers <http://www.monetary.org/2011schedule.html>
features some world renowned people including
Professor Kaoru Yamaguchi, System Dynamics expert who has modeled the
American Monetary Act and Professor Joseph Huber of Germany who works
with the great James Robertson will be speaking!

*Stephen Zarlenga
AMI***

--
"Over time, whoever controls the money system
controls the nation."
Stephen Zarlenga
Director
American Monetary Institute
To receive notices for free AMI materials,
sign up for our email list atwww.monetary.org
(224) 805-2200

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Thursday, August 11, 2011

[PDI] FW: It's Time To Storm The Town Halls

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T-shirts say "Read my lips: Tax the rich!"

-----Original Message-----
From: John Sellers, The Other 98% <info@other98.com>
Sent: August 11, 2011 11:45 AM
To: aquarianm@gmail.com
Subject: It's Time To Storm The Town Halls

Want to give Teabaggers a shock? Wear this to the Town Hall:
Yes, I'll Support The Other 98% In This Effort.
Dear Daniel,
Congressional recess is under way, and you know what that means:
It's time to take over your Congressional Town Halls and make your voice heard over the Teabaggers.
That's why we made brand-new t-shirts to wear to your local Congressional Town Hall, to let your Rep know it's time to listen to O98ers, not Tea Party Fanatics.
Let's send this message to our elected officials:
It's time to push back hard against the Tea Partiers' continued attempts to hold our country and our economy hostage. It's time to make some noise of your own.
And because we understand time is of the essence, we're upgrading our usual shipping service: any t-shirts ordered by 4pm Eastern/1pm Pacific on Thursday will be shipped Priority on Saturday.
Thank you for everything you do to support our democracy.
Sincerely,
John Sellers, The Other 98%
The Other 98% is making democracy work for the rest of us. Our website is http://other98.com/. This email was sent to aquarianm@gmail.com. If you have received this email in error or wish to unsubscribe click here.
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Tuesday, August 09, 2011

[PDI] FW: The tea party downgrade

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-----Original Message-----
From: Justin Ruben, MoveOn.org Civic Action <moveon-help@list.moveon.org>
Sent: August 09, 2011 3:11 PM
To: Daniel Stafford <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Subject: The tea party downgrade

Dear MoveOn member—please check out this important email from our partner, Van Jones.
Contract for the American Dream
If you're fed up with Washington and tea party politics, sign the Contract for the American Dream today. If we get 100,000 signers right away, we'll put the Contract in a full page ad in The New York Times for politicians to see. Just clicking below will add your name.
Dear Friend,
Since the tea party took our economy hostage to protect tax breaks for the wealthiest among us, we've seen:
the first downgrade of U.S. credit in history;
a 10% drop in the stock market;1 and 
dissatisfaction with Congress at a historic peak.2
So, if you're sick and tired of Washington's games, you're not alone.But just getting angry isn't going to solve anything. What we need are solutions and action. What we need are Jobs, not Cuts—just like Americans want.3
And while Washington was negotiating a debt deal that sold out working people, 130,000 everyday Americans considered 25,000 solutions to create A Contract for the American Dream.
It's a Contract to create jobs, invest in America, and rebuild the American Dream for all. And as a first step, if we can get at least 100,000 citizen signers right away, Rebuild the Dream and MoveOn will join together to put the Contract in a full page ad in The New York Times, so America can see the solutions to our broken politics and struggling economy writ large.
Below are the main points of the Contract. Be among the first of many to sign it and get it in The New York Times this week.Clicking here will add your name.
A CONTRACT FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM
Americans who are willing to work hard and play by the rules should be able to find a decent job, get a good home in a strong community, retire with dignity and give their kids a better life. Every one of us...has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is our covenant, our compact and our contract with one another...
1. Invest in America's Infrastructure
2. Create 21st-Century Energy Jobs
3. Invest in Public Education
4. Offer Medicare for All
5. Make Work Pay
6. Secure Social Security
7. Return to Fairer Tax Rates
8. End the Wars and Invest at Home
9. Tax Wall Street Speculation
10. Strengthen Democracy
Clicking here will add your name.
We'll be putting the principles of the Contract into action almost immediately. But the first thing we need to do is get Washington's attention with a full page ad in The New York Times backed by over 100,000 Americans. 
Then we'll take it directly to members of Congress during the August recess, start fighting for it in our local communities, and make it part of our national vision.
Be part of this crucial beginning by signing the Contract for the American Dream today.
Clicking here will add your name.
Thanks for all that you do,
–Van Jones and the rest of the Rebuild team

P.S. See below for the full text of the Contract and then click here to sign your name to it.
A CONTRACT FOR THE AMERICAN DREAM
"I have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American Dream."
–Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., 1963 March on Washington
We, the American people, promise to defend and advance a simple ideal: liberty and justice... for all. Americans who are willing to work hard and play by the rules should be able to find a decent job, get a good home in a strong community, retire with dignity and give their kids a better life. Every one of us—rich, poor or in-between, regardless of skin color or birthplace, no matter their sexual orientation or gender—has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. That is our covenant, our compact, our contract with one another. It is a promise we can fulfill—but only by working together.
Today, the American Dream is under threat. Our veterans are coming home to few jobs and little hope on the home front. Our young people are graduating off a cliff, burdened by heavy debt, into the worst job market in half a century. The big banks that American taxpayers bailed out won't cut homeowners a break. Our firefighters, nurses, cops and teachers—America's everyday heroes—are being thrown out onto the street. We believe:
AMERICA IS NOT BROKE. America is rich—still the wealthiest nation ever. But too many at the top are grabbing the gains. No person or corporation should be allowed to take from America while giving little or nothing back. The super-rich who got tax breaks and bailouts should now pay full taxes—and help create jobs here, not overseas. Those who do well in America should do well by America.
AMERICANS NEED JOBS, NOT CUTS. Many of our best workers are sitting idle, while the work of rebuilding America goes undone. Together, we must rebuild our country, reinvest in our people and jump-start the industries of the future. Millions of jobless Americans would love the opportunity to become working, tax-paying members of their communities again. We have a jobs crisis, not a deficit crisis.
To produce this Contract for the American Dream, 131,203 Americans came together online and in their communities. We wrote and rated 25,904 ideas. Together, we identified the 10 most critical steps to get our economy back on track and restore the American Dream:
INVEST IN AMERICA'S INFRASTRUCTURE. Rebuild our crumbling bridges, dams, levees, ports, water and sewer lines, railways, roads and public transit. We must invest in high-speed Internet and a modern, energy-saving electric grid. These investments will create good jobs and rebuild America. To help finance these projects, we need national and state infrastructure banks.
CREATE 21ST-CENTURY ENERGY JOBS. We should invest in American businesses that can power our country with innovative technologies like wind turbines, solar panels, geothermal systems, hybrid and electric cars, and next-generation batteries. And we should put Americans to work making our homes and buildings energy efficient. We can create good, green jobs in America, address the climate crisis, and build the clean energy economy.
INVEST IN PUBLIC EDUCATION. We should provide universal access to early childhood education, make school funding equitable, invest in high-quality teachers, and build safe, well-equipped school buildings for our students. A high-quality education system, from universal preschool to vocational training and affordable higher education, is critical for our future and can create badly needed jobs now.
OFFER MEDICARE FOR ALL. We should expand Medicare so it's available to all Americans, and reform it to provide even more cost-effective, quality care. The Affordable Care Act is a good start and we must implement it—but it's not enough. We can save trillions of dollars by joining every other industrialized country—paying much less for health care while getting the same or better results.
MAKE WORK PAY. Americans have a right to fair minimum and living wages, to organize and collectively bargain, to enjoy equal opportunity and to earn equal pay for equal work. Corporate assaults on these rights bring down wages and benefits for all of us. They must be outlawed.
SECURE SOCIAL SECURITY. Keep Social Security sound, and strengthen the retirement, disability, and survivors' protections Americans earn through their hard work. Pay for it by removing the cap on the Social Security tax, so that upper-income people pay into Social Security on all they make, just like the rest of us.
RETURN TO FAIRER TAX RATES. End, once and for all, the Bush-era tax giveaways for the rich, which the rest of us—or our kids—must pay eventually. Also, we must outlaw corporate tax havens and tax breaks for shipping jobs overseas. Lastly, with millionaires and billionaires taking a growing share of our country's wealth, we should add new tax brackets for those making more than $1 million each year.
END THE WARS AND INVEST AT HOME. Our troops have done everything that's been asked of them, and it's time to bring them home to good jobs here. We're sending $3 billion each week overseas that we should be investing to rebuild America.
TAX WALL STREET SPECULATION. A tiny fee of 1/20th of 1% on each Wall Street trade would raise tens of billions of dollars annually with little impact on actual investment. This would reduce speculation, "flash trading," and outrageous bankers' bonuses—and we'd have a lot more money to spend on Main Street job creation. 
STRENGTHEN DEMOCRACY. We need clean, fair elections—where no one's right to vote can be taken away, and where money doesn't buy you your own member of Congress. We must ban anonymous political influence, slam shut the lobbyists' revolving door in D.C. and publicly finance elections. Immigrants who want to join in our democracy deserve a clear path to citizenship. We must stop giving corporations the rights of people when it comes to our elections. And we must ensure our judiciary's respect for the Constitution. Together, we will reclaim our democracy to get our country back on track.
Source:
1. "Dow Jones Industrial Average," Google Finance, August 8, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=262902&id=29647-18854005-INOHacx&t=6
2. "Disapproval Rate for Congress at Record 82% After Debt Talks," The New York Times, August 4, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=262766&id=29647-18854005-INOHacx&t=7
3. "U.S. Jobs, Economy Largely Considered Country's Most Pressing Issues: Poll," The Huffington Post, July 19, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=262903&id=29647-18854005-INOHacx&t=8

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[PDI] Fwd: Just Views: Films & Discussion: Friday Nights 8/12 Billionaires' Tea Party & 9/9 Cost of War

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The DuPage Peace through Justice Coalition invites you to...
*JUST VIEWS: a Free & Open Film & Discussion Program*

*Mark your calendars for the 2^nd Friday of Each Month!

**_F_*_riday, *August 12*, 2011 at 7:20 pm: Media, Big Business, and
Reform Movements _

_


_ Tonight's film, entitled "Billionaires' Tea Party: How Corporate
America is Faking a Grassroots Revolution", chronicles Australian
filmmaker Taki Oldham's US visit starting in late 2009 to explore
"astroturfing"; rather than artificial grass, this term refers to a form
of advocacy in support of a corporate agenda designed to give the
appearance of an independent, large-scale, public, grassroots
movement.For example, billionaire Koch brothers funded the Americans For
Prosperity group, which guided Tea Party opposition to climate
legislation.Posing as a free-market activist, Taki attends "Tea Party"
events to learn more about supporters' views on reduced government
spending, taxation and regulation, and reduction of the national debt
and federal budget deficit.As Taki shows, anti-government rage may be
less representative of public sentiment and more of corporate
strategy.For more info and to purchase the DVD, go to
http://www.billionairesteaparty.com/

We are inviting resource people related to media and government reform
to join us for the viewing and discussion.We will discuss media and big
business roles in elections and proposals for tax and budget reform.We
welcome active audience participation and all points of view.

*_F_*_riday, *September 9*, 2011 at 7:20 pm: Exorbitant Costs of Iraq
and Afghanistan Wars

_

As the 10^th anniversary of the attacks of 9/11 approaches, we
shall reflect by watching the award-winning PBS FRONTLINE documentary
"The Wounded Platoon" -- following a group of Army soldiers deployed to
Iraq.They experience combat, display heroism, and back in the US, suffer
from Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome (PTSD), an anxiety disorder which
may result in flashbacks, nightmares, guilt, depression, anger,
drug/alcohol abuse, violence, and/or suicide.While the soldiers and
their families suffer most, all of us suffer from the moral and economic
costs of war.The US government already has spent at least $1.2 trillion
and possibly twice as much on the Iraq-Afghan wars.Many advocate deep
cuts in military spending, an end to the Bush era tax cuts for the
richest Americans (vs. cutting US safety net programs) and investment in
job creation programs.For more Cost of War and Federal Budget-related
resources and ways to take action, see http://www.faithpeace.org/

and http://afsc.org/.


For our discussion, we are inviting veterans and organizations assisting
veterans.And we will reflect broadly on what has transpired since
9/11/01 with representatives of groups demanding policy change in
Washington. We welcome active audience participation and all points of view.

*Save this Part for Year-Round Reference: 2^nd Friday Nights are for
Just Views!*

*Just Views programs start at 7:20 pm*, are sponsored by the DuPage
Peace through Justice Coalition and are held *in Naperville IL at the
Unitarian Church at 1828 Old Naperville Road (formerly 4 S 535 Old
Naperville Road – new address, same location).*

*_Directions_:* If coming from east or west on route I-88, exit at
Naperville Road onto Freedom Drive.Turn left (East) onto Diehl Road and
continue across Naperville Road/Naper Blvd, and then turn left/north at
the first street (Old Naperville Road). The UnitarianChurchis down one
block on your right.Note:For other route options and a map, see church
website: www.dupageuuchurch.com. The church phone is 630/505-9408.

Our timely issues programs are /nonpartisan, open to the public,
and free/ -- no reservations required. /Parking is free/, too. Just
Views shows /great films about matters vital to social and economic
justice/ on the second Friday of each month throughout the year. View
and then share views from different vantages with citizens attending and
invited resource persons. Each night is a stimulating, informal,
stand-alone program. Join the multilogue!

Upcoming and past films are described at
www.DuPagePeaceThroughJustice.org -- just click on Just Views. There
take simple steps to receive email notices of future programs. Please
mark your calendars ahead for the second Friday of every month, share
these notices, and bring friends! Just Views Director is sociologist
Stephanie Hughes 630/ 420-4233. Just Views Associate Director is Carol
Tritschler 630/ 961-0106 No Expiration Date -- Labor Donated

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[PDI] FW: No more coal ash dumping in Lake Michigan!

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-----Original Message-----
From: Josh Nelson, CREDO Action <act@credoaction.com>
Sent: August 09, 2011 8:08 AM
To: Daniel A. Stafford <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Subject: No more coal ash dumping in Lake Michigan!


Tell the EPA: No coal pollution dumped in Lake Michigan!
The EPA has the power to protect Lake Michigan from coal pollution.
Clicking here will automatically add your name to this petition to the Environmental Protection Agency:
"It is shocking that the S.S. Badger is allowed to dump coal ash directly into Lake Michigan. Please do not allow this environmentally harmful practice to continue beyond the 2012 deadline."
Automatically add your name:
Learn more about this campaign
Dear Daniel,
For nearly 60 years now, the S.S. Badger has been making twice-daily trips across Lake Michigan. Each day during the five-month sailing season the ship burns 55 tons of coal, generating an estimated 3.8 tons of filthy coal ash pollution.1

Incredibly, this ship dumps 7,600 pounds of dirty coal ash directly into Lake Michigan on a daily basis. A rule established by the EPA in 2008 forbids steam ships from dumping coal ash into the great lakes, but last-minute lobbying efforts earned the S.S. Badger an exemption through the end of 2012.2
The company that operates the ship now wants the EPA to extend the exemption for another five years, allowing it to dump coal pollution into Lake Michigan through the end of 2017.
Tell the EPA: Stop allowing coal pollution to be dumped in Lake Michigan. Click here to automatically sign the petition.
The company that owns the S.S. Badger claims that the coal ash isn't toxic, but there's plenty of evidence that this waste is harmful to human health. A 2007 EPA report found that exposure to coal ash contaminated drinking water results in an increased risk of both cancer and liver damage.3
Coal ash typically contains heavy metals including arsenic, lead, mercury, cadmium, chromium and selenium. Exposure to these heavy metals can cause heart damage, lung disease, respiratory distress, kidney disease and reproductive problems, among other health issues.4
Coal-powered steamships are a relic of the past that have largely been phased out in the United States due to environmental and health concerns. And dumping coal waste pollution into bodies of water — especially Lake Michigan, which provides drinking water for ten million Americans5 — should have been prohibited entirely decades ago.
The amount of coal ash discharged into Lake Michigan annually by the S.S. Badger exceeds one million pounds. Allowing this to continue for another five years would result in more than five million pounds of additional coal ash being dumped into the lake, with potentially devastating consequences for the environment and public health.
The S.S. Badger's operators have known since 2008 that they had until 2012 to deal with this problem. They've had more than enough time to transition the S.S. Badger to a cleaner fuel source, and they shouldn't be allowed to dump dirty coal ash into Lake Michigan beyond the previously established 2012 deadline.
Tell the EPA: Stop allowing coal pollution to be dumped in Lake Michigan. Click here to automatically sign the petition.
Thanks for fighting to protect Lake Michigan from coal pollution.
Josh Nelson, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets
1. Port cities marshal support for S.S. Badger, Manitowoc Herald Times Reporter, August 3, 2011
2. S.S. Badger coal ash dumping surprises many, Muskegon Chronicle, June 6, 2009
3. Coal ash is damaging water, health in 34 states, groups say, McClatchy, May 7, 2009
Coal Ash: Hazardous to Human Health, Physicians for Social Responsibility
5. Lake Michigan, Department of Natural Resources
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Sunday, August 07, 2011

[PDI] FW: Tea party downgrade

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Robert Rich nails it at truthou.org, too:

truth-out.org/why-s-p-has-no-business-downgrading-us/1312727793

-----Original Message-----
From: Peter Koechley, MoveOn.org Civic Action <moveon-help@list.moveon.org>
Sent: August 07, 2011 1:32 PM
To: Daniel Stafford <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Subject: Tea party downgrade

Dear MoveOn member,
For the first time in history, the U.S. credit rating has been downgraded.
This "tea party downgrade" is a shameful blow to our nation's honor and risks throwing us right back into recession. Worst of all? It was completely avoidable.
But when given the choice between extremist posturing and responsible leadership, tea party Republicans chose wrong. And now, amazingly, they're trying to pin the blame on Democrats.1
We have to set the record straight. Can you share this image on Facebook today?
Share This on Facebook
John Boehner and the rest of the Republicans hurt our economy and the whole country needs to know it. Click below to share on Facebook, or if you'd prefer to share by email, simply forward this email to your friends and family.
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=262817&id=29577-18854005-Jw9nxnx&t=4
Thanks for all you do.
–Peter, Eli, Tate, Elena, and the rest of the team
P.S. Here's a link to this post on our website, if you'd like to share in some other fashion: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=262818&id=29577-18854005-Jw9nxnx&t=5
Sources:
1. "GOP 2012 Candidates Agree Obama Deserves The Blame For S&P Downgrade... But Disagree Over Why," Talking Points Memo, August 6, 2011
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=262809&id=29577-18854005-Jw9nxnx&t=6

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[PDI] We're All Indignados Now!

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http://www.truth-out.org/spains-indignados-vanguard-global-nonviolent-revolt/1312652190

All the best,

Dan


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Saturday, August 06, 2011

[PDI] FW: We. Must. Stop. This.

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-----Original Message-----
From: Elijah Zarlin, CREDO Action <act@credoaction.com>
Sent: August 06, 2011 9:49 AM
To: Daniel A. Stafford <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Subject: We. Must. Stop. This.


Tell President Obama: Stop the Keystone XL pipeline.
Pres. Obama alone has the power to stop this massive blow to our climate.
Clicking here will automatically add your name to this petition to President Obama:
"The tar sands represent a catastrophic threat to our communities, our climate, and our planet. President Obama, you have the final word. You do not have to negotiate with Congress or industry. We urge you to demonstrate real climate leadership by rejecting the requested permit for the Keystone XL pipeline."
Automatically add your name:
Learn more about this campaign
Dear Daniel,
"Essentially game over" for the climate.
That's what climate scientist James Hanson calls the proposed Keystone XL pipeline — which would carry oil out of Canada's vast tar sands oil fields to Texas, where it will be refined, then burned across the globe, dealing a catastrophic blow to our chance of returning earth to a stable climate.
This project requires a presidential permit to start building — and it is President Obama's decision alone to grant or deny that permit. He will make the decision as soon as September.
Tell President Obama: Stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Click here to automatically sign the petition.
The Alberta tar sands are a carbon bomb. The 3rd largest oil field in the world, the difficult extraction and transportation of the tar sands oil ultimately produces up to three times the carbon emissions of traditional oil. (And extreme environmental devastation along the way.)1
The Keystone XL pipeline is the fuse to this bomb — a highway to swift consumption of this dirty, dangerous crude. As if that wasn't enough, it poses a massive spill risk in the six states along the pipeline route, including over the Ogallala Aquifer which provides up to 30% of our nation's agricultural water.
We. Must. Stop. This.
Tell President Obama: Stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Click here to automatically sign the petition.
Twenty leading climate scientists have just sent a letter to President Obama urging him to deny the permit.
And from August 20th to September 3rd, there will be a massive, historic, daily sit-in outside the White House where more than 1500 people, including CREDO staff, have already signed up to risk arrest in peaceful protest. (For more about the sit-in, see below.)
The administration's previous decisions on climate do not inspire confidence that they will deny the permit. Just this week, the administration approved offshore oil drilling in the Arctic. They have opened vast new areas to coal mining, and late last year, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton even said that she was "inclined" to approve Keystone XL.
But President Obama still has the final word. He does not have to negotiate with Congress or industry. As his State Department reviews the permit, the decision — which could have a devastating impact on the livability of our nation, and our world — is entirely in his hands.
We've lost too many climate fights already. We need a massive, historic show of pressure to make sure we don't lose this one. Please sign the petition and read below for other ways to get involved.
Tell President Obama: Stop the Keystone XL pipeline. Click here to automatically sign the petition.
Thank you for fighting for an oil-free future.
Elijah Zarlin, Campaign Manager
CREDO Action from Working Assets
1. "Keystone XL Pipeline," Friends of the Earth

Because this fight is so important, leading climate activists including Bill McKibben, Naomi Klein and climate scientist James Hansen are organizing a historic, daily series of peaceful protests between August 20th and Sept. 3rd. The CEOs and Directors of nearly 30 leading Environmental Organizations, including CREDO's Michael Kieschnick and Laura Scher, are urging people to participate.
More than 1500 people from across the country, including CREDO staff, have already signed up to join the sit-in outside the White House and risk arrest.
Please read the invitation letter below for more information. If you would like to sign up to join the protest, and possibly be arrested, click here to sign up.
Dear Friends,
This will be a slightly longer letter than common for the internet age — it's serious stuff.
The short version is we want you to consider doing something hard: coming to Washington in the hottest and stickiest weeks of the summer and engaging in civil disobedience that will quite possibly get you arrested.
The full version goes like this:
As you know, the planet is steadily warming: 2010 was the warmest year on record, and we've seen the resulting chaos in almost every corner of the earth.
And as you also know, our democracy is increasingly controlled by special interests interested only in their short-term profit.
These two trends collide this summer in Washington, where the State Department and the White House have to decide whether to grant a certificate of 'national interest' to some of the biggest fossil fuel players on earth. These corporations want to build the so-called 'Keystone XL Pipeline' from Canada's tar sands to Texas refineries.
To call this project a horror is serious understatement. The tar sands have wrecked huge parts of Alberta, disrupting ways of life in indigenous communities — First Nations communities in Canada, and tribes along the pipeline route in the U.S. have demanded the destruction cease. The pipeline crosses crucial areas like the Ogallala Aquifer where a spill would be disastrous — and though the pipeline companies insist they are using 'state of the art' technologies that should leak only once every 7 years, the precursor pipeline and its pumping stations have leaked a dozen times in the past year. These local impacts alone would be cause enough to block such a plan. But the Keystone Pipeline would also be a fifteen hundred mile fuse to the biggest carbon bomb on the continent, a way to make it easier and faster to trigger the final overheating of our planet, the one place to which we are all indigenous.
As the climatologist Jim Hansen (one of the signatories to this letter) explained, if we have any chance of getting back to a stable climate "the principal requirement is that coal emissions must be phased out by 2030 and unconventional fossil fuels, such as tar sands, must be left in the ground." In other words, he added, "if the tar sands are thrown into the mix it is essentially game over." The Keystone pipeline is an essential part of the game. "Unless we get increased market access, like with Keystone XL, we're going to be stuck," said Ralph Glass, an economist and vice-president at AJM Petroleum Consultants in Calgary, told a Canadian newspaper last week.
Given all that, you'd suspect that there's no way the Obama administration would ever permit this pipeline. But in the last few months the administration has signed pieces of paper opening much of Alaska to oil drilling, and permitting coal-mining on federal land in Wyoming that will produce as much CO2 as 300 powerplants operating at full bore.
And Secretary of State Clinton has already said she's 'inclined' to recommend the pipeline go forward. Partly it's because of the political commotion over high gas prices, though more tar sands oil would do nothing to change that picture. But it's also because of intense pressure from industry. The US Chamber of Commerce — a bigger funder of political campaigns than the RNC and DNC combined — has demanded that the administration "move quickly to approve the Keystone XL pipeline," which is not so surprising — they've also told the U.S. EPA that if the planet warms that will be okay because humans can 'adapt their physiology' to cope. The Koch Brothers, needless to say, are also backing the plan, and may reap huge profits from it.
So we're pretty sure that without serious pressure the Keystone Pipeline will get its permit from Washington. A wonderful coalition of environmental groups has built a strong campaign across the continent — from Cree and Dene indigenous leaders to Nebraska farmers, they've spoken out strongly against the destruction of their land. We need to join them, and to say even if our own homes won't be crossed by this pipeline, our joint home — the earth — will be wrecked by the carbon that pours down it.
And we need to say something else, too: it's time to stop letting corporate power make the most important decisions our planet faces. We don't have the money to compete with those corporations, but we do have our bodies, and beginning in mid August many of us will use them. We will, each day, march on the White House, risking arrest with our trespass. We will do it in dignified fashion, demonstrating that in this case we are the conservatives, and that our foes — who would change the composition of the atmosphere are dangerous radicals. Come dressed as if for a business meeting — this is, in fact, serious business.
And another sartorial tip — if you wore an Obama button during the 2008 campaign, why not wear it again? We very much still want to believe in the promise of that young Senator who told us that with his election the 'rise of the oceans would begin to slow and the planet start to heal.' We don't understand what combination of bureaucratic obstinacy and insider dealing has derailed those efforts, but we remember his request that his supporters continue on after the election to pressure his government for change. We'll do what we can.
And one more thing: we don't just want college kids to be the participants in this fight. They've led the way so far on climate change — 10,000 came to DC for the Powershift gathering earlier this spring. They've marched this month in West Virginia to protest mountaintop removal; a young man named Tim DeChristopher faces sentencing this summer in Utah for his creative protest.
Now it's time for people who've spent their lives pouring carbon into the atmosphere to step up too, just as many of us did in earlier battles for civil rights or for peace. Most of us signing this letter are veterans of this work, and we think it's past time for elders to behave like elders. One thing we don't want is a smash up: if you can't control your passions, this action is not for you.
This won't be a one-shot day of action. We plan for it to continue for several weeks, till the administration understands we won't go away. Not all of us can actually get arrested — half the signatories to this letter live in Canada, and might well find our entry into the U.S. barred. But we will be making plans for sympathy demonstrations outside Canadian consulates in the U.S., and U.S. consulates in Canada — the decision-makers need to know they're being watched.
Twenty years of patiently explaining the climate crisis to our leaders hasn't worked. Maybe moral witness will help. You have to start somewhere, and we choose here and now.
If you think you might want to be a part of this action, we need you to sign up here.
As plans solidify in the next few weeks we'll be in touch with you to arrange nonviolence training; our colleagues at a variety of environmental and democracy campaigns will be coordinating the actual arrangements.
We know we're asking a lot. You should think long and hard on it, and pray if you're the praying type. But to us, it's as much privilege as burden to get to join this fight in the most serious possible way. We hope you'll join us.
Maude Barlow — Chair, Council of Canadians
Wendell Berry — Author and Farmer
Tom Goldtooth — Director, Indigenous Environmental Network
Danny Glover — Actor
James Hansen — Climate Scientist
Wes Jackson — Agronomist, President of the Land Insitute
Naomi Klein — Author and Journalist
Bill McKibben — Writer and Environmentalist
George Poitras — Mikisew Cree Indigenous First Nation
Gus Speth — Environmental Lawyer and Activist
David Suzuki — Scientist, Environmentalist and Broadcaster
Joseph B. Uehlein — Labor organizer and environmentalist

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Friday, August 05, 2011

[PDI] Corporate Attack Dog "Standing To Keep Youse Poors" Cuts US Credit Rating In Effort To Kill IS Social Safety Net...

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http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2011/08/05/standard-poors-downgrades-u-s-debt-rating/

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[PDI] FW: Office burned down. Solidarity survived.

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-----Original Message-----
From: Alan Grayson <info@BoldProgressives.org>
Sent: August 05, 2011 3:51 PM
To: Daniel Stafford <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Subject: Office burned down. Solidarity survived.

An office burns down. The spirit survives.
Stand in solidarity with Wisconsin.
Daniel,
Last weekend, a fire burned down a local Wisconsin headquarters of the campaign to recall Republican senators.
Look at the picture of the wreckage closely. The office burned down. But the spirit of solidarity with Wisconsin workers miraculously survived.
Next Tuesday, we don't need a miracle in Wisconsin. We need a people-powered victory for workers everywhere.
Tomorrow, I'll be joining a conference call with national volunteers who are part of the "Call Out The Vote" phone bank into Wisconsin. Can you join us and make calls from home?
Yes -- show me "Call Out The Vote" shifts!
No -- but I can chip in $5 to fuel the recall campaign in the final 5 days.
"Call Out The Vote" is a great program run by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee and Democracy for America.
This fight is about workers. It's about families. It's about money being taken from the middle class to fund tax cuts for big corporations.
It's also about political accountability. We need to win this. 
Please sign up to help make calls before Tuesday's big election. (Or chip in $5 to fuel this campaign in the final 5 days.)
This is your chance to make a difference.
Solidarity. 
-- Alan Grayson
 
Want to support our work? We're entirely funded by our members—no corporate contributions, no big checks from CEOs. And our tiny staff ensures that small contributions go a long way. Chip in $3 here.
Paid for by the Progressive Change Campaign Committee PAC (www.BoldProgressives.org) and not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee. Contributions to the PCCC are not deductible as charitable contributions for federal income tax purposes.
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[PDI] Fwd: Re: AMI Chicago Chapter Announcements (Links fixed)

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FYI ---

From My AMI (Monetary reform) friends ----

-------- Original Message --------

*Upcoming Actions

Friday, August 12th Just Views Billionaire's Tea Party Screening at
7:20pm, 1828 Old Naperville Rd, Naperville

*Join Just Views program of the DuPage County Peace Coalition for a
lively discussion on the Tea Party! More on the film here
<https://docs.google.com/viewer?a=v&pid=explorer&chrome=true&srcid=0BzOj7PDEV10yZmQxZTQyYjEtNTVkOS00ZjFlLWJiMTEtYWI5ZDlhNzQ5ZGNk&hl=en_US>.
*

*
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[PDI] Are You Freaking Kidding Me? TSA Takes Pregnant Woman's Insulin As 'Bomb Threat' In Denver Airport

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These Keystoners need their asses put in jail. What an abomination!

http://www.rawstory.com/rawreplay/2011/08/pregnant-woman-files-complaint-after-tsa-confiscates-insulin/

Apalled,

Dan


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[PDI] FW: Thom Hartmann On The Tea Party PC Sneak...Youtube

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Four hours after I sent my op-ed on filling Precinct Rep slots with Progressives, Thom Hartmann came out with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8xvfLlOMls


Regards,

Dan
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Thursday, August 04, 2011

[PDI] 608-266-4601 WI VOTE

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WI Voter info line.

ID requirement & DMV close after 1/1/12.

Don't let hype discourage registrants for this year's recall elections.

Heard on Steph Miller
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[PDI] USA - We've Had The Debtbacle, And Everything Nasty Before It. So, now what do we do?

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The first thing that we need to do as a people is stop abdicating the most basic office of our government - the Precinct Representative - and take back control of the local party organizations.

People think "I just can't do any more, I'm too tired and stressed-out." Or they think that all politics is a dirty game full of slimy people. That's because good people have abdicated their responsibility in our democracy by letting the most basic party office go mostly unfilled.

Simply-put, if only bad people go into politics, only bad people will be in politics.

What I find on the ground, being involved in the local party organization, is that you have a few dedicated individuals who are trying to fill the boots of what should be three or four times their number, at least on the Democratic side. That's the case here in DuPage County, at least. I can't speak to what's going on in other regions, but my guess is that you'll find a mix of people who support the status quo corporate agenda in opposition to a few dedicated people trying to do good for their fellow citizens.

We need to take these basic offices back. We need people to get back in and work at the local level for change - because one guy in the White House is going to get his behind handed to him if he has no allies behind him.

Precinct-level Representatives in aggregate can pull on the Party platform, filter information to the officers above them, elect the officers above them, and control the boots-on-the-ground efforts of the local parties. The more Precinct Reps there are working for good campaigns in our elections, the less those campaigns will be forced to depend on corporate campaign donations to hire out what currently non-existent Precinct Reps should be doing. That's right, you can have a direct effect on how dependent political candidates are on donations to get their message out. How?

You, and sometimes volunteers with you, go out walking door-to-door talking to the people in your precinct, letting them know who the candidates are. You hear their concerns and take them back to the campaigns. Believe me, people will value a person they see face-to-face who will listen to their concerns over someone in an ad on the TV that they can't talk to.

If you can't stand what's going on in Washington, contact your local Democratic Organization, and do some volunteering with them. Attend a few of their meetings and get a sense of who they are. If there isn't an appointed or elected representative in your precinct, consider taking on that position. If there is, offer to help the current Precinct Representative in your precinct.

Most precincts are maybe 100 to 200 households in size. Large ones could have up to a couple of thousand people, but they're not too large for one person to walk. The other Precinct Reps who've been at this for awhile will usually help you and explain how things work. Often, you can walk precincts together with another Rep. It is doable, and it is very valuable to the benefit of our society.

In order for the Grass Roots to be truly effective and put an end to this long slide we've been going down, we need a fully-grown root system. We need our fellow citizens to get in there and pitch with us.

Just going out and voting isn't enough. You can't just give Democracy a kiss and send it out the door and expect it to come home for you. You have to give it time, attention, and kindness if you want to feel the warmth of a solid and gracious society standing with you. Like anything else in life, you get out of your government what you put into it.

We can do this. The results of failing to do this are clear all around us, in empty houses and empty storefronts and restaurants, and in tired faces and pink slips skittering down Main Street when the cold winds blow. It's right there in the scent of cigar smoke and clinking champagne glasses coming out of the bright neon windows of those 1% mansions on sprawling grounds hidden from the rest of us by tall trees and heavy security.

We've all done wonders at the jobs the Capitalist Captains of Industry want us to do, but so much so that we've ignored the duties a functioning democracy requires of us, which is to be involved and informed.

The only way the Ship of State is going to sail Main Street's way, is if Main Street gets their hands on the ropes and tiller.

All the best, if you work for it,

Dan


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Wednesday, August 03, 2011

[PDI] Fwd: JOHN CONYERS: OBAMA DEMANDED SS CUTS, NOT GOP!!!!!!!

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Hmmm,

Seems we've found the enemy and he is us, as POGO famously said.

To wit, we have none other than (former?) Obama supporter John Conyers:

"We've got to educate the American people at the same time we educate
the President of the United States. The Republicans, Speaker Boehner or
Majority Leader Cantor DID NOT call for Social Security cuts in the
budget deal. THE PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES CALLED FOR THAT,"
declared US Representative John Conyers in a press conference held by
members of the House "Out of Poverty' Caucus on 07/27/11."

Conyers added ""My response to him (President Obama) is TO MASS
THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE IN FRONT OF THE WHITE HOUSE TO PROTEST THIS."

From:
http://bluemassgroup.com/2011/08/rep-conyers-obama-demanded-social-security-cuts-not-gop/
and SEE VIDEO Featuring the Conyers' statement:
http://www.crewof42.com/cbc/conyers-on-jobs-weve-had-it-lays-out-obama-calls-for-protest-at-white-house/


BY THE WAY -- While massing in front of the White House we should demand
passage of Dennis Kucinich's National Employment Emergency Defense Act
(NEED Act): link to readable text at end of first paragraph:
http://monetary.org/

PLEASE NOTE: IF THIS BILL WERE ENACTED WE WOULD NOT HAVE A DEBT CRISIS
AND CUTS IN SOCIAL SECURITY WOULD BE OFF THE TABLE!! IN OTHER WORDS WE
THE PEOPLE WOULD BE REAPING THE BENEFITS OF 'DEMOCRATIC' CONSTITUTIONAL
MONEY, INSTEAD OF THE BANKING SYSTEM.

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[PDI] FW: Thanks for Speaking Up to Support Federal Bike Funding

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-----Original Message-----
From: Tim Blumenthal, peopleforbikes.org <info@peopleforbikes.org>
Sent: August 03, 2011 12:56 PM
To: Daniel Stafford <aquarianm@gmail.com>
Subject: Thanks for Speaking Up to Support Federal Bike Funding

(Would you rather watch a video of this message? Scroll to the bottom.)
Dear Daniel,
A few weeks ago, we asked you to contact your U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators via email to ask for their continuing support of dedicated bike funding in the next federal transportation bill.
You responded quickly and effectively by penning nearly 20,000 emails in just a few days. Thanks!
Your messages made a difference: Members of Congress and staffers talked about the strong response, and many said that it was a convincing statement of how much Americans value bike funding and want bicycling to be safer and easier. Key Congressional leaders have since reiterated their support for our cost-effective programs.
Nevertheless, the long-term future of the federal investment in transportation--including bicycling--remains uncertain. Key decisions about the next multi-year transportation bill (that pays for roadways, transit and all types of bike projects and programs) have been delayed again and won't be made until September, at the earliest. Read more about this on our blog.
Here's the bottom line:
Peopleforbikes.org and our partner organizations remain very concerned about recent proposed changes to transportation funding that could dramatically reduce the money-saving federal investment in bike infrastructure and programs.
A new multi-year federal transportation bill could be considered and approved this fall, or the process could stretch into 2012 or even 2013.
Peopleforbikes.org and our partners will continue work with Congress to preserve bike-friendly legislation.
Individuals who support bicycling can continue to weigh in and influence this process. We'll keep you posted and let you know how you can help.
Thanks for your continued support, and happy riding this summer!
Tim Blumenthal
Director, Peopleforbikes.org


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Monday, August 01, 2011

[PDI] Tea BS

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"Oh, and about that Tea Party which the media was romancing with stories inflating its scale and significance not so long ago: its national convention got cancelled for lack of attendance. Meanwhile, Palin's documentary "The Undefeated" has been… well, defeated at the box office, big time."

From Truthout.org "Hope For The Hell Of It".

Dan

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