Support Eric

Written by: Mayme Trumble on Aug 13, 2009 10:06 PM EDT

Linked to groups: dfaROCHESTER

Dear Rochester DFA

Get out to the town hall meetings with Rep. Eric Massa. Give him your support. Many people who want to stop health care reform will be there with their crazy myths. Here are the times and places. Please pass this information around to as many as you can. Get a group and go! Support him!

•    08/16 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM: Town Hall - Olean High School Auditorium, 410 W. Sullivan Street Olean, NY  14760

 

•    08/26 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM: Town Hall -  Perinton Community Center, 1350 Turk Hill Road, Fairport, NY  14450

•    08/31 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM: Town Hall - Big Flats Community Center, 476 Maple Street, Big Flats, NY

Democracy Fest in Burlington

Written by: Mayme Trumble on May 6, 2009 9:39 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Watertown DFA, Democracy For The Southern Adirondack/Tricounty Area, Rockingham/Strafford DFA, North Country Democracy for America, Democracy for New York

DemocracyFest is a political festival for liberal/progressive activists which features trainings, speakers and entertainment; teaching people how to make a difference and have fun doing it! Prior DemocracyFests have been held in Massachusetts, Texas, California, New Hampshire and Virginia. Over 4,000 activists have been trained to help on campaigns and make a difference in their communities.

The 6th Annual DemocracyFest will be held this summer, July 17th-19th, at the Sheraton Hotel and Conference Center in Burlington, VT!  

http://www.DemocracyFest.net <http://www.democracyfest.net/> 
Tickets
Tickets are limited! Reserve yours today at http://www.DemocracyFest.net <http://www.democracyfest.net/>

Full weekend tickets are only $55 and include:

- All trainings, entertainment, and speakers on Saturday and Sunday.
- Dinner on Saturday.
- Breakfast on Sunday.
- Semi-Guided Tour of Burlington and Welcome Party on Friday.
- Children under 14 free with adult ticket purchase.
- Free parking, or transportation to and from Burlington Airport.
- Priceless interaction with activists from across the region and nation.

Single day tickets are also available.
Speakers, Trainers and Entertainers
Gov. Howard Dean will be the Keynote Speaker. Other presenters include SOS. Deb Markowitz, Rep. David Zuckerman, Dr. Deb Richter, Dan DeWalt, Alan Dechert, Sheryl Rapee-Adams, Charlie Grapski, Teri Mills, Subway Serenade, Rebecca Padula, Bobby Kendes, Axiomatic, and more!

Check our website regularly as our schedule is updated. http://www.DemocracyFest.net <http://www.democracyfest.net/> 

 

Lodging

On site lodging is available at the Sheraton Hotel for the reduced rate of only $99 per night, for rooms up to 3 days before or 3 days after the event (based on availability)! Reserve your lodging by calling 1-802-865-6600 to make your reservation. You must say you are with the DemocracyFest group to get the reduced rate. Lodging at the reduced rate is limited, so make your reservation today!
Sponsorships
Sponsors so far include the VT Democratic Party, VT Progressive Party, Democracy For Vermont, VPIRG, Latinos for America, National Women's Political Caucus, East Bay For Democracy, VT Freedom to Marry, Green Mountain Mailer, Montgomery County DFA, Liane Allen Web Development, Sheraton Hotel, Green Mountain Daily, and VT Gay Guide.

Participation in DemocracyFest gives organizations and businesses the opportunity to network with the most committed activists from around the country and the region. In addition to helping cover event costs, sponsorships help fund our scholarship program, as well as keep our regular ticket prices at about 1/4 the cost of attending similar political conventions. If you have a business or organization that would like to sponsor DemocracyFest, please visit our website at http://www.DemocracyFest.net <http://www.democracyfest.net/>

 

Questions Or Comments

Please email us at info@democracyfest.net <mailto:info@democracyfest.net> . Thanks!

North Country Blog

Written by: Mayme Trumble on May 2, 2009 12:12 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for New York, Watertown DFA, Democracy for Franklin County, NY, North Country Democracy for America

Good morning New York DFA members,

 I thought that some of you might be interested to know about a new blog in Northern NY area. A group from Canton/Potsdam are working on a Northern NY Blog for our region, right now primarily St. Lawrence County. It is here:

http://nnyprogressives.blogspot.com/

Check it out! Join us!

 

Thanks,
Mayme Trumble

Canton

-- “Apathy is the glove into which evil slips its hand” : Bodie Thoene

Branding Gillibrand

Written by: Mayme Trumble on Mar 29, 2009 6:48 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Watertown DFA, Democracy For The Southern Adirondack/Tricounty Area, Democracy for New York, North Country Democracy for America, NY Department of Peace

Branding Gillibrand

NYT sketches with too loose a hand on NY senator and big tobacco story

By Jane Kim

http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/branding_gillibrand.php

NH DID IT SO CAN YOU!!!

Written by: Mayme Trumble on Dec 28, 2007 7:30 AM EST

Linked to groups: Rockingham/Strafford DFA

Political novice thrives in new roleShea-Porter works to stay true to roots

By John Laidler

Globe Correspondent / December 27, 2007 

She was a candidate who came out of nowhere, a political neophyte who tapped a grass-roots network to topple a sitting member of Congress.

'I'm a social worker at heart, so having the power to make a positive change for somebody is terrific.'

CAROL SHEA-PORTER

Now, a year into the job she earned through her 2006 defeat of Republican incumbent Jeb Bradley, US Representative Carol Shea-Porter is relishing her role advocating for New Hampshire's First Congressional District.

"I think the job fits me like a glove. I really, really enjoy it, every aspect of it," the Rochester Democrat said in an interview this week.

For the onetime social worker and college lecturer, the last 12 months have been a whirlwind of Capitol Hill hearings and votes, official trips to Iraq, China, and the Gulf Coast, and a myriad of events back home in her district, which encompasses the Seacoast, Manchester, the Mount Washington Valley, and the Lakes Region.

The first woman to represent New Hampshire on Capitol Hill, Shea-Porter, 55, admitted there are moments she wonders if positive changes can happen in Washington "until the White House changes. But it's a great job, and it's a great honor," she said.

Like many other freshmen in Congress, Shea-Porter will face a stiff challenge for reelection. Both Bradley and another Republican, John Stephen of Manchester, a former commissioner of the state Department of Health and Human Services, are running in 2008.

Despite the power and resources that ...

 

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/12/27/political_novice_thrives_in_new_role/ 

No retroactive immunity for telecommunications companies.

Written by: Mayme Trumble on Dec 16, 2007 8:00 AM EST

Linked to groups: Rockingham/Strafford DFA

 Majority Leader Harry Reid will soon ask for something called a "motion to proceed" on FISA, effectively disregarding Chris Dodd's "hold" on the bill.

  Remember when this all started playing out? A lot of people rushed to send out strongly worded press releases about how committed they were to "supporting a filibuster." Call or email the Senators that pledged to support a filibuster and ask them to be there when it happens to pick up the ball after Chris Dodd can go no longer.   http://chrisdodd.com/filibuster 

What You Need to Know About Giuliani

Written by: Mayme Trumble on Nov 19, 2007 10:25 AM EST

Texas Two-Step: Giuliani and Houston's Bracewell Learn the Politics of DancingSusan Beck
The American Lawyer
June 4, 2007 

http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1180688732250

 

 Questions about Robertson's Endorsement of Giuliani

By James Zogby

Washington Watch

Posted on Tuesday November 13, 2007

http://www.aaiusa.org/washington-watch/3397/questions-about-robertson's-endorsement-of-giuliani 

When are Democrats going to return to representing the people?

Written by: Mayme Trumble on Aug 31, 2007 2:08 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Rockingham/Strafford DFA

Found this on Bloomberg.com!

KKR, Blackstone, After Tax-Fight Progress, Enlist `Grasstops'
By Ryan J. Donmoyer and Jason Kelly

Aug. 31 (Bloomberg) -- Blackstone Group LP and Kohlberg Kravis Roberts & Co. are gaining support in Congress in their battle against a tax increase on private-equity firms and are looking to the heartland to win the war, the industry's chief Washington spokesman said.

``Things look better now than they did two or three months ago,'' said Doug Lowenstein, president of the Private Equity Council, of which Blackstone and KKR are founding members. ``We've stabilized the situation.''

Lowenstein said at least four ``moderate, centrist'' Senate Democrats -- John Kerry of Massachusetts, Ken Salazar of Colorado, Charles Schumer of New York and Ron Wyden of Oregon -- have expressed skepticism about the plans to tax fund managers' share of profits at the top 35 percent rate, rather than the 15 percent capital-gains rate. He said opposition to the tax is growing among House Democrats, without identifying anyone.

Lowenstein said his group has spent the last six weeks mobilizing middle-market firms such as New York-based Riverside Co. to broaden opposition to the tax increase. The council wants to deflect attention from the huge sums paid to titans such as Blackstone co-founder Stephen Schwarzman, who earned about $684 million when the firm sold shares to the public in June. Schwarzman's 234 million remaining shares are worth about $5.38 billion.

``We need to have these people surface and say, `We're private equity, too,''' Lowenstein said in an interview. Stopping a tax increase is ``hard to sell when the impression is that the people we are advocating for are wealthy beyond imagination.''

`Carried Interest'

The council calls it a ``grasstops'' approach, relying on industry leaders rather than grassroots voters to influence lawmakers. Lowenstein said it's the newest prong in a strategy to counter legislation that would more than double tax rates for managers of private-equity firms, many hedge funds, and partnerships that pay general managers with a share of profits known as ``carried interest.''

KKR spokesman Mark Semer and Blackstone spokeswoman Heather Lucania declined to comment. Kerry, Schumer, Salazar and Wyden haven't said which way they would vote on the tax proposal.

The Private Equity Council already....con't
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601070&sid=aZ9lLqSmUN7w&refer=home

Shea-Porter Introduces Bill to Curb Presidential Signing Statements

Written by: Mayme Trumble on Jul 18, 2007 8:44 PM EDT

Linked to groups: York DFA

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Carol-Shea Porter (D-NH) introduced a bill on Monday to rein in the use of presidential signing statements. The Presidential Signing Statements Act of 2007 (HR 3045) would prohibit the courts from considering signing statements when interpreting federal laws.

Shea-Porter's legislation is the companion to a bill introduced in the Senate last month by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"President Bush has trampled on the constitutional separation of powers through his abuse of signing statements," said Congresswoman Shea-Porter. "He has attempted to usurp power that was given to the Congress, not the President, and has severely bruised the system of checks and balances. This is an insult to the founders of this country and to the American people, and it cannot be allowed to continue."

Instead of issuing new regulations for the President or the Executive Branch, Shea-Porter's bill seeks to protect the constitutional separation of powers by defining how the courts may use signing statements when interpreting the law. Specifically, the bill reads: "In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, no Federal or State court shall rely on or defer to a presidential signing statement as a source of authority." H.R. 3045 does not attempt to curtail legitimate uses for signing statements, such as providing instruction to executive branch agencies.

"Every third grader learns about separation of powers and checks and balances - the Congress writes the laws and the President signs them," continued Shea-Porter. "Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the President can approve part of a law and ignore the rest."

 

http://campaignsandelections.com/nh/releases/index.cfm?ID=2122

Shea-Porter Introduces Bill to Curb Presidential Signing Statements

Written by: Mayme Trumble on Jul 18, 2007 8:44 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Rockingham/Strafford DFA

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Carol-Shea Porter (D-NH) introduced a bill on Monday to rein in the use of presidential signing statements. The Presidential Signing Statements Act of 2007 (HR 3045) would prohibit the courts from considering signing statements when interpreting federal laws.

Shea-Porter's legislation is the companion to a bill introduced in the Senate last month by Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA), the ranking Republican on the Senate Judiciary Committee.

"President Bush has trampled on the constitutional separation of powers through his abuse of signing statements," said Congresswoman Shea-Porter. "He has attempted to usurp power that was given to the Congress, not the President, and has severely bruised the system of checks and balances. This is an insult to the founders of this country and to the American people, and it cannot be allowed to continue."

Instead of issuing new regulations for the President or the Executive Branch, Shea-Porter's bill seeks to protect the constitutional separation of powers by defining how the courts may use signing statements when interpreting the law. Specifically, the bill reads: "In determining the meaning of any Act of Congress, no Federal or State court shall rely on or defer to a presidential signing statement as a source of authority." H.R. 3045 does not attempt to curtail legitimate uses for signing statements, such as providing instruction to executive branch agencies.

"Every third grader learns about separation of powers and checks and balances - the Congress writes the laws and the President signs them," continued Shea-Porter. "Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that the President can approve part of a law and ignore the rest."

 

http://campaignsandelections.com/nh/releases/index.cfm?ID=2122