PLEASE FORWARD
1. DC for Democracy Endorsement Meeting/Meetup Wednesday August 2
DC for Democracy will meet to vote on endorsements for the Sept. 12 DC Democratic primary including candidates for Mayor, Council Chair, Shadow Representative and Senator and ward council races esp. wards 3, 5 & 6. DC for Democracy is DC's largest political group. Several of the candidates will be present for a meet & greet. The meetup begins at 7:00 PM, Wednesday, August 2, at Ben's Chili Bowl, 1210 U St., NW, right across from the U St. Metro on the Green Line. Only members may vote but all are welcome. For more info go to www.dcfordemocracy.com
2. August 4 "Run With Fenty"
Join Councilman Adrian Fenty, Grassroots Democrat for DC Mayor, at his parent's home where he grew up, right here in DC. Friday, August 4, 1905 Kenyon St., NW (near Columbia Heights Metro), casual attire, suggested donation, $51.00. For further info on this & other events go to www.Fenty06.com. REMEMBER TO REGISTER AND VOTE -- the deadline is August 14 to register for the all-important Sept. 12 primary. You must register as a Democrat to vote in the Sept. 12 Primary.
3. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Seeks Volunteers, Aug. 3
The DCCC recently launched the DCCC Majority Project, www.dccc.org/majorityproject, a new program designed to recruit volunteers to help on targeted races across the country. Through DC-based activities and even deployment into the field, these volunteers will play a key role in our efforts to take back the House.
Last week, our volunteer phone-bank called voters in Pennsylvania's 6th congressional district where Democrat Lois Murphy, is running against incumbent Republican, Jim Gerlach. In just a couple of hours, the Majority Project volunteers made over a thousand calls and identified hundreds of Lois Murphy supporters! With Election Day close to only 100 days away, it's time for all Democrats to get in the game! This week, the DCCC Majority Project phone-bank will focus on calling thousands of voters in several targeted congressional districts in Florida. Once again, we will be running our volunteer phone-bank from the DCCC Headquarters.
Thursday, August 3rd
DCCC Headquarters
430 S. Capitol Street, SE
(DNC Building 2nd floor)
6:00pm-9:00pm
To sign-up to phone bank on Thursday, August 3rd, contact Cindy Smalls at smalls@dccc.org or (202) 485-3437.
4 . 9/10/06 -- The Unity Walk
"The second annual 9/11 Unity Walk will begin at 2 PM along Embassy Row in Washington, DC on Saturday September 10th, starting at 2 PM. www.911unitywalk.org Major programs are planned for the National Cathedral, the Islamic Center, and the Gandhi Memorial. The Unity Walk seeks to voice a strong apolitical message for the peaceful majority, voicing concern for each others welfare as the shared hope of us all. The over 150 partners include faith groups, universities, non-profits and family associations of 9/11 survivors, who share a common goal of ending religiously motivated violence by advocating interfaith dialogue to counter the perceived "clash of civilizations."
On Monday 9/11 a New York Unity Walk will begin at the Gandhi Memorial in Union Square Park, walking to the WTC site and ending at the Hudson River for a floating lantern ceremony. Major faith leaders such as Episcopal Bishop Chane of the National Cathedral, Ambassador Akbar Ahmed and Rabbi Bruce Lustig, as well as Arun Gandhi, Vatican Archbishop Pietro Sambi, Judea Pearl will highlight both Walks, along with dozens of faith leaders from the Baha'i, Buddhist, Christian, Hindu, Jain, Jewish, Mormon(LDS), Muslim, Sikh, Zoroastrian communities."
5. Jim Webb Update/Net Neutrality
a.) REGISTER TIO VOTE: Go to: http://www.sbe.virginia.gov/... to download a Virginia Voter Registration form. The Deadline is 29 days before the November election but please don't put it off till then. If you are a Virginia resident please register to vote. Even if you are not registered I bet you know a Jim Webb voter who is not registered yet. Please insist they register today!
b.) Jim "George Allen's Worst Nightmare" Webb on Net Neutrality "The internet represents democracy in action and must be protected. More than perhaps any other medium, the internet provides an open and free marketplace of ideas and speech, as our founding fathers intended in the first amendment to our Constitution. The internet has been open and free
since its inception, and it should remain open and free moving forward. Just as importantly, the blogosphere provides strong checks and balances on the corporate media and on governmental power. This is particularly crucial at at time of serious overreach by the executive branch, as we now are experiencing Finally, there is a fundamental fairness issue at stake here. Given that the internet is increasingly indispensable to educational
and career advancement in today's economy, it is essential that we keep it
accessible and affordable to all Americans - not just to the wealthiest
corporations and citizens. Allowing big telecom companies to provide
preferential service to large content providers over the "little guy" is
both wrong and undemocratic. For all these reasons, I strongly support net neutrality."
c. ) Please help phone bank for Jim Webb: Phone banking from 10am to 9pm Monday through Thursday & 10am to 6pm Friday & Saturday (expanded hours and more lines coming soon!). Please contact Sara John (sarah.john@earthlink.net or 703-778-4080) and she'll get you working on the phones.
d.) MoveOn.org is organizing "Just Desserts" house parties nationwide on July 31. This is a great opportunity for our volunteers to attend and recruit supporters who may not know about Jim Webb. Go to www.moveon.org to find a house party in your area -- there are over 20 in and around Washington, DC. Please attend and collect names of potential volunteers! Better yet, Host your own party and make the Agenda talking about Webb and Congressional Candidates. Contact Jim Simos with questions: NJSS@aol.com.
6. Drinking Liberally
The Drinking Liberally Wednesday Group is taking a vacation during August but DL'ers will still gather every Thursday starting about 6:30 PM in the back room at Timberlake's, 1726 Connecticut Ave., NW, north of the Dupont Circle Metro. Mark your calendars for August 10, when we'll have a special event with the Sundance Channel. We'll have details soon. Check the blog for political observations from DCDL members and news
on local events: http://dcdl.org
7. Linda Cropp/from Nelson Jacobson: Interested in working as a volunteer on the DC Mayoral campaign of Linda Cropp. You can come down to 1413 K Street, 6th Fl. (Intercom #080) Chris FitzGearld is the coordinator and he can be reached calling 202-842-2006. Please visit her web site LindaCroppforMayor.com to find out her positions.
8. From John Hlinko, founder of StemPAC:
I've been working with some of the other stem cell leaders and some other campaign strategists (my day job) to come up with a way to get back against the House and Senate incumbents who voted against stem cell research. Here's the deal -- the time for "teaching" them is over. The time for "forcible early retirement" is here -- November 7th, to be exact. Accordingly, we have specifically put together this page to make it as easy as possible for other stem cell supporters to channel their donations in the most effective way possible.
We have identified the races that combine the following elements:
1) An incumbent who is strongly against embryonic stem cell research -- and a challenger who is strongly for it.
2) A race that is close enough that we really can make the difference. (No impossible longshots, or ones we've already got in the bag)
We have set this up through ActBlue. It's a great service, and it doesn't take a commission -- so the $$ goes right to the candidates. Further, ActBlue enables us to automatically let these candidates know that these donations came specifically from stem cell supporters.
I'll be blunt -- if we want to win this battle in January, 2007, we need a majority that can override the president's veto in both houses. This will take two things:
1) Defeating as many anti-stem-cell incumbents as possible, and...
2) Making sure to tie those defeats to the stem cell issue specifically, so we can scare enough of the ones who remain into "seeing the light" on stem cell research.
And to be even blunter -- it's time to pony up. It's time to make a donation to these candidates, and to tell your 10,000 closest friends to be the same. We need to stand up, and we need to stand out. We may have the majority of Americans on our side, but that
will not be of any use if this majority is viewed as a "silent" majority. Are you angry now? Good. Get angry -- and get even:
http://www.actblue.com/...
We'll be adding (and possibly subtracting) candidates over time, as new ones emerge who are strongly and VOCALLY in favor of stem cell research. We want to help those most who are making a priority of this issue -- not just talking about it on page 347 of their platforms.
If you want to do something with the November elections that will make an impact -- start by spreading the link, and making a donation yourself, at:
http://www.actblue.com/...
9. Wednesday, August 2nd 7:00 - 9:00 p.m. A reception for Stealing Democracy: The New Politics of Voter Suppression; a new book by: Spencer Overton, Professor of Law, George Washington University; Faculty Advisor to GWU Law's ACS Chapter. Held at Busboys and Poets, 14th & V Sts. NW, Washington, D.C. Phone: 202-387-POET Read more by going to www.stealingdemocracy.com
10. Ongoing: CODE PINK month-long VIGIL In front of the White House D.C. July 3 to August 14 "Troops Home Fast" every day until August 14th. Sign up to join us at www.troopshomefast.org Lafayette Park outside the White House We'll be there or involved in anti-war actions every day from 10 a.m.-7p.m. During "peak hours", 12-2 p.m. and 5-7 p.m., we'll have teach-ins, skills sharing and group activities at the White House. We'll also be promoting ongoing grassroots campaigns, including the Voters for Peace pledge, the Cities for Peace local anti-war resolutions, and the Declaration of Peace. August 14 the Fast will move to Camp Casey in Crawford, Texas. See: http://volunteerforchange.org/...
11: From Progressive Democrats of America - Maryland
Ongoing: We Need YOU to Help Candidates win in the Primary and General Election
PDA, DFA and MCPA are endorsing progressive candidates. Many face very tough challenges. None take developer money or big PAC bucks. We have to work hard for the national, state and local governments we demand and deserve. Volunteer to help with phone calls, door-knocking, "Get out the vote" rallies and more. PDA will sponsor an exciting 3-day weekend of election events August 19 through August 21 in Montgomery County featuring Peace Movement hero Tom Hayden and PDA-endorsed candidates for Senate, Congress, and local races. We need your help to make a difference! Contact Mike Hersh, 301-933-7169 to volunteer.
12. DFA / PDA / MCPA / Victory 2006 Meeting 7:30 PM Tuesday, Aug 1
We'll Discuss Candidate endorsements and Getting Active (see above).
Sabang Restaurant 2504 Ennalls Avenue, Wheaton 20902
Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/...
Website: http://www.sabangrestaurant.com/
Handicapped Accessible: Y
NOTE: PDA National rules require three weeks notice to actually vote on endorsements, and we'll be just short of that, so we will begin but not end this round of the endorsement process Aug. 1st. We will listen to candidates for Congress from the 8th Congressional District - Chris Van Hollen and Deborah Vollmer (or their representative) - and then deliberate about endorsing in that contest. We hope to have other candidates for other offices present their case as well.
13. Democracy for Montgomery County Community Cookout 1PM - 4PM Sunday, August 6th
Wheaton Regional Park Shelter "G" 2000 Shorefield Rd. Wheaton
Suggested donation $5 per person, $10 per Family to cover cost of shelter, charcoal, burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs and fixings.
RSVP: (please sign up with DFA-Link if you haven't already) http://www.dfalink.com/...
Handicapped Accessible: Y
Google Maps: http://maps.google.com/...
Family Friendly Fun! Lake, playground near by. Enjoy a beautiful park and great company. Meet DFA members, office-holders and candidates.
Special Guest: Dave Paulson, Communications Director, Maryland Democratic Party
Bring friends and family and join other progressives for an afternoon of food and conversation.
NOTE: NO ALCOHOL ALLOWED IN THE PARK
Bring a dish and drinks to share with 8-10 people. If your last name begins with:
A-E bring Non-alcoholic Beverages
F-J bring a Salad
K-M bring a Side Dish
N-S bring Appetizers/Snacks
T-Z bring a Dessert
Wheaton Regional Park is nestled in a forest area of Wheaton, MD. Visitors may enjoy a variety of recreational and educational opportunities. Picnic areas, and restrooms are accessible. See: http://www.mc-mncppc.org/...
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