Hello :o)
My name is Jennifer and I'm from the Arlington area of Jax. I wanted to let you know that I'm co-hosting an event through the Jacksonville MoveOn.org Council with Jackie Mathis called the "Cost of Delay Candle Light Vigil" to recognize the thousands of medically related bankruptcies filed by Americans everyday. We are meeting this Tuesday, December 8th at 5:30pm to 7:00pm at the corner of Union and Main Streets in the open lot between State and Union. BYOCC (Bring Your Own Candles and a Can of Food) and feel free to wear any appropriate message shirts. We will provide signs to hold up and a bull horn, but your own posters are welcome :o) Remember to have something to carry your candle in so you don't get burned. The canned goods will go to the Second Harvest food bank since nobody should have to choose between buying food and taking their medicine. If you have a healthcare horror story that you'd like to share please let us know. We want people to talk about their experiences at the Vigil since personal stories have so much power--but everyone will be asked to keep their talk between 3 to 5 minutes for fairness and message crispness. Please invite your friends and family members to come support real reform with us!!! Feel free to forward this message. You can find our local council and RSVP at www.MoveOn.org/team using your zipcode. Hope to see you there,Jennifer Milam904-566-6830
Much has been said about what President Obama has and has not done around GLBT issues. In spite of a lot of negative talk, forward movement is happening on multiple fronts. Not as quickly as some would like - including me - but forward movement nonetheless.Where I, too, would like to see more done sooner, I am not fooling myself to think GLBT issues are 'top of mind' issues for our Congressional leaders and rank and file members. Also, whether or not we like it, many Americans outside of Congress see other pressing issues as more important than GLBT matters; war and peace, health care, the economy, climate challenges, and others. These realities make it difficult at best to wage a full-court press in support of GLBT issues without giving opponents fodder to use against forward movement on other pressing national priorities. I don't like this reality, but a reality it remains. A difficult balancing act for sure. But for us to recognize this balancing act is imperative for ultimate success.
Therefore, the incremental steps being made, accomplishments obtained and reminders of battles yet to be waged by this Administration seem reasonable, albeit not comfortable, to this supporter. A report from (believe it or not) the Family Research Council does a fine job of listing initiatives, campaign promises, issues and efforts this President supports. Additionally, the partial list of appointments of GLBT folks is impressive. Mainly good news....in spite of the slightly biting editorial about slow movement on issues like repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) and "Don't Ask Don't Tell". Please note that the "...Hate Crimes Prevention Act of 2009" bill passed and is signed. Also, the appointments of GLBT folks continue to grow in number.
Most importantly for me is the fact that this Administration does support "... legislation that would ensure that the 1100+ federal legal rights and benefits currently provided on the basis of marital status are extended to same-sex couples in civil unions and other legally-recognized unions." This is huge in my estimation. If this alone is done, it would greatly undermine the intent and impact of DOMA. I strongly believe consistent undermining of a law can weaken it so much that it ultimately is obsolete. Not as quick a fix...but if it is an easier route to the goal, then I say take it!
At bottom, I think all GLBT supporters of the President must recognize the very challenging times and level of difficulty to move legislation forward that faces any President, but particularly this one. We must also take the long-view perspective on implementation of laws that positively impact our community and yes, push hard for timely implementation, but never loose sight that it isn't easy to do this work in the negatively charged environment - on many fronts around many issues - within which we find ourselves at this particular time in history. Any day of the week I'll take measured, incremental movement forward (the "Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act" and " ... Hate Crimes Prevention Act" victories for example) over negatively charged and ugly debates that go nowhere fast.
We can't let our justifiable desire for instant gratification inadvertently get in the way of the progress we seek and deserve. Simultaneously, we must not let the Administration believe they have all the time in the world. Reasonable expectations must dictate.
Anyway, read the report and stay engaged not outraged. Share it with others with whom you interact. Knowledge is power. It can also inform and reframe positions, calm emotions and provide a sense of hope and possibilities. I wish each of these for all who read this.
To find the report, go to www.frc.org and search for: Barack Obama and Homosexuality/Gender Issues: A Brief Summary by the Family Research Council June 2009.
Five people participated in the brainstorming sessions to identify a set of plausible strategies and tactics to support our collective work in the areas of political education, advocacy, registration and engagement. Our work calendar is from September 2009 through December 2010.
Our work product included not only specific actions we recommend to OFN-Jax but also aspirations, desires and values that underscore our proposed actions.
Participants:
Gerri McKinnie seriouslycivil69@yahoo.com
Bruce McGee bmcgee@atlanticmarine.com
Clinton Arrington clintonarrington@yahoo.com
Alia Alvani aliaalvani@mac.com
Phillip W. Miner phillipminer@comcast.net
Proposed Action Outcomes:
- target newly eligible voters (high school seniors who are of age, new citizens, etc)
- support existing registration drives at HS, colleges, community sites, etc
- identify 3-5 likely partners to conduct voter registration drives (faith community, social-civic groups, Greek letter organizations, youth-serving clubs and organizations, etc.)
- Host or support forums or summits to:
i. educate public on the importance of voter registration;
ii. disclose voter registration rules, deadlines & eligibility;
iii. share success stories when the vote was exercised;
iv. increase awareness of critical issues affecting the public
1. redistricting;
2. restoration of ‘rights” e.g. felons right to vote;
3. review of prospective candidates for office;
4. taxes, health care reform, etc
v. increase awareness of and access to on-line and other resources on political-oriented issues
- Develop lists of and access to on-line and other resources on political-oriented issues and organizations;
i. Organizing for America
ii. Democracy for America
iii. Moveon.org
iv. Duval County Democratic Executive Committee (DCDEC)
v. Supervisor of Elections (by county)
vi. Cause-related organizations;
1. seek restoration of rights for felons and remind businesses they can give felons and other ex-cons a second chance;
2. assist people affected by substance abuse; and
3. help advance legislation that afford people who have had a brush with the law know they have a second chance and life is not over
vii. others
- get active with local political/government issues and challenges
i. redistricting;
ii. restoration of ‘rights” e.g. felons right to vote;
iii. review of prospective candidates for office;
iv. taxes, health care reform
v. other
- Increase the number of OFN-Jax members who are formal members of the Duval county Democratic Executive Committee (DCDEC)
- Encourage OFN-Jax members run for elective office or appointed positions
Where I understand why so many LGBT folks and friends are up in arms over the issue of "Don't Ask - Don't Tell", I believe a better target for this insistence on "equal rights" for gays and lesbians ought to be the federal Social Security rules which do not recognize same-sex marriages when it comes to receiving survivor benefits. That's right...even those gays and lesbians who have been legally married or have a legal civil union from one of the six states that have approved such unions, ARE NOT ELIGIBLE to receive their spouse/partner's social security benefits. In my opinion, this is a far more important "right" to have and have immediately. ALL legally married people ought to have the same benefits that flow from Social Security. The "right" to serve openly in the military is important...just second to the "equal rights" that flow from marriage/civil unions.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/issues/health_care/?e=14&ref=image
Good morning everybody,
Our group received a request for assistance with mortgage payments and/or electric bills this week. While we don't have any monetary funds at this time, I would like to open up a virtual discussion about how we could solve these issues locally. If you know of existing groups or programs in place to solve these issues, please post them here. If you have ideas about how we ourselves could be of service, please post those as well.
To get you started thinking, I will post some of the ideas folks have come up with so far:
I had one thought, which was that Chris and I could unplug things and turn down the heat, lose the cable tv, etc. and then "adopt" a family to help with their electric bill. Riverside for Change families could decide to participate on a household basis, and maybe single folks could partner up to "adopt" a family. We'd be helping the environment and our neighbors.
Holly put forward that The Jacksonville Urban League has housing counseling programs, for buying homes and for finding subsidized housing. http://www.jaxul.org/
Anybody else have ideas?
Casie SimpsonRiverside for Change
Hey everybody,
Max Wood and the Young Democrats have alerted me of the need to contact city council and urge them to vote "no" on the $750,000,000, 35-year no-bid contract to give Trail Ridge over to Waste Management. All you need to do is e-mail cityc@coj.net. Let them know, briefly, that you'd like the Trail Ridge bid to be open, competitive, transparent, and fair. Ask them to vote "no" on the mayor's contract proposal. The e-mail can be as short as a couple of sentences. You can even copy my letter below and change it as you see fit!
Bringing this contract down would establish a mighty precedent: Jacksonville residents will not tolerate any more no-bid contracts.
Example:
Dear City Council Members, As one of your constituents, I urge you to vote "no" on the no-bid Waste Management contract for Trail Ridge. In these tough economic times, it seems both unethical and irresponsible to approve a $750,000,000 contract without opening the bid to other vendors. Jacksonville residents deserve a competitive, transparent, and fair bidding process for all contracts — especially one of such magnitude. Thank you, Casie
Floridians. Now that early voting has started, it is extremely important that everyone encourage down ticket voting. In my area, we have a 20 year incumbent Republican Congressman, voted with Bush 95% of the time, yes, worse than McCain. If we want the kind of change we all seek, it is important we stress voting out people like Cliff Stearns in the Florida 6'th Congressional District by Nov 4. Otherwise, people like this will be obstructionists, and vote NAY on anything and everything Barack wants to do.
Please encourage everyone you know to vote for Tim Cunha for Congress.
Here is a link to his TV spots. Spread the word to your friends and neighbors. Change must happen within Florida as well as nationally.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RDQR48SFn1k
I wrote a posts a while ago about my thoughts of Senator Obama's Transformational Leadership Style. It is very awesome to see a person of History such as Powell mention similar observations and even more powerful, endorsing Senator Obama for his strong leadership style... Please, Vote Early, Vote by Mail and help anyone who needs help getting to the polls, GOD Speed.
-JM
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General Colin Powell (Retired), Secretary of State 2001-2005, on Meet the Press:
So when I look at all of this and I think back to my army career, we've got two individuals. Either one of them could be a good president, but which is the president that we need now? Which is the individual that serves the needs of the nation for the next period of time? And I come to the conclusion that because of his ability to inspire, because of the inclusive nature of his campaign, because he is reaching out all across America, because of who he is and his rhetorical abilities – and we have to take that into account – as well as his substance – he has both style and substance – he has met the standard of being a successful president, being an exceptional president. I think he is a transformational figure. He is a new generation coming into the ... onto the world stage and on the American stage and for that reason, I'll be voting for Senator Barack Obama.
It's pretty disappointing to be told at local Democratic HQ that they are out of signs and do not know for sure when they will be getting any. Awful. Unacceptable. How can we be like this?
I've been helping get signs into the yards of neighbors who want them by picking up trunkfuls at time and calling & giving them away free. So far I've distributed over 20! But I cannot create them out of thin air!
If anybody knows of a local treasure trove of Obama signs, I'd love to know about it...
We are looking for young professionals (but any age are welcome) to come join other local Obama supporters at a Presidential Debate Watch fundraiser to benefit Senators Obama and Biden. Beer and Wine will be served along with light snacks. The party starts at 6:30pm and the debates start at 8:00pm. In order to help the campaign, a minimum donation in the amount of $25.00 per person is requested but not required.
Please make all checks payable to Obama Victory Fund. Credit cards will also be accepted at the event. (Please no cash in order to ensure compliance with the campaign finance rules).
DETAILS ARE UNDER THE NAME BOB BECHTOLD ON THIS WEBSITE OR LOOK UP THE EVENT USING ZIP CODE 32256 AND RSVP ----YES WE CAN!
Bechtold@usa.com
Okay, okay! My title takes creative liberties, opening me to charges of "lying": 3,000 or so people is not nobody. But it's also not very many, especially in this (red) neck of the woods...
I switched off all the network coverage Monday night, and haven't been back. Too many pundits, too many ads, not enough coverage, they only showed you what THEY deemed important to you.
Tomorrow, watch the entire evening on C-SPAN. No tallking heads, no ads, only the podium, every speech. No, don't let all the morons ruin your night, watch the event and enjoy. They showed EVERY speech, I cannot tell you how much you missed by watching CNN or MSNBC. Personally, I really don't care anymore what they think and their stupid questions, especially having the nerve to bring Giuliani and Romney to the booths to get their 'opinions'.
Take a night off from talking heads who want to tell you what to believe. Stop the madness, and enjoy the moment.
Did you ever dream, many, many months back, that we would be here....
Yes, we did....
The evening is for YOU, this was all YOUR hard work, YOUR hard earned money, YOUR hopes and aspirations, this is because you never doubted YOUR future.
Enjoy the night, at whatever party YOU go to, because, WE DID THIS.....
Take a night off, then, Friday morning, it is the stretch run. Let's finish what we started, people. I'm so proud to know so many of you, here, and at our own local Party headquarters, so many people working hard every day, sacrificing and struggling for all Americans.
Time to close the deal........
Please email Info@TimCunha.com if you have questions or would like to volunteer. You can also contact Janet Messer (Janet@TimCunha.com, 352-466-0602) or Jeff Mathewson (Jeff@TimCunha.com, 352-871-0391 or 954-655-1394), or call the campaign office at 352-373-8404. You can also check our website and contact your local field director or coordinator.
Best bet: contact us at ALL the email addresses, and, if you don't hear back from an email or phone message in 24 hours at the most, PLEASE try again.
Here is Cliff Stearns' latest vote against the working people of Florida, and the United States.
Here's what your Congressman, Cliff Stearns, does for YOU
Yesterday, with a vote of 247 to 178, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Paycheck Fairness Act. This bill would update and strengthen the Equal Pay Act of 1963, closing loopholes and improving the law’s effectiveness.
Cliff Stearns voted NO;
Please, sign in, be a member, and Tim would love to hear from you, what your concerns are, and how we can all work together finally taking back North Florida from yes men in Washington
Stay tuned, and thanks
