| Dear nancy, Good Morning !
Check out some of these great local Dem club meetings, this list is never a comprehensive list I just try to highlight different groups from around the Metroplex, so everyone is aware that there is great stuff going on to you nearby.
***This is the last couple weeks of our fundraiser and I REALLY need you to buy a raffle ticket ! Check out the great prizes and support this newsletter TODAY!
Special thanks to Neil Durrance for being our new newsletter sponsor. Please visit his website and see how you can get involved with his campaign. [Neil Durrance for Congress]
www.durranceforcongress.com
Thanks,
Nancy Cunningham
Email: northtexasprogressive@gmail.com
Webpage: http://www.northtexasprogressive.org/ | | The United States Needs All Troops | | 
President Barack Obama announced in his first State of the Union address last night that this year he will "work with Congress and our military to finally repeal the law that denies gay Americans the right to serve the country they love." The president was referring to the law commonly known as "Don't Ask, Don't Tell," or DADT, which mandates the discharge of openly gay and lesbian service members regardless of how their sexual orientation became known.
The announcement was an important and historic step toward ending this outdated and discriminatory policy. The United States has discharged nearly 14,000 patriotic men and women from military service since the law was enacted more than 16 years ago. And it has led many thousands of talented gay and lesbian Americans to leave the services every year of their own volition or to not join at all. This is despite the fact the U.S. military needs every qualified service member it can get for us to complete our missions in Iraq and Afghanistan
read on | | Jim Hightower | Republicans Out of Touch as Middle Class Sinks | | 
American politics is a hoot! Where else can raw ignorance rise to such high places -- and then flaunt itself shamelessly for all to see?
For example, who needs Jay Leno or Conan O'Brien for comic relief, when we've got Andre Bauer? He's the Lieutenant governor of South Carolina (a state, by the way, that really is a comer on the political comedy circuit -- especially after Gov. Mark Sanford's madcap schtick last year involving his disappearance, the Appalachian Trail and an Argentine mistress.
But Sanford is leaving office, and Bauer, who is now a Republican contender for governor, is the state's new star joker. He had 'em rolling in the aisles recently when he did a wild, slapstick routine on food stamps at a town hall meeting. Andre proclaimed that much of his political thinking was shaped by his grandmother and that he had learned a valuable lesson from her. | | Democracy Now | |  The Freedom Riders: New Documentary Recounts Historic 1961 Effort to Challenge Segregated Bus System in the Deep South
The International Civil Rights Center and Museum opens today in Greensboro, North Carolina at the site of the historic 1960 Woolworth's sit-in. To mark the start of Black History Month, we turn to the story of another group of young people who were inspired by the success of the nonviolent strategy of the Greensboro sit-in. Starting in May of 1961, mixed groups of black and white students began taking interstate buses into the Deep South, risking their lives to challenge segregation. They called themselves the Freedom Riders. White mobs responded with violence. One bus was set on fire with the Freedom Riders. Numerous Freedom Riders were brutally beaten and hospitalized. We speak to Stanley Nelson, the director of the new documentary The Freedom Riders that premiered at Sundance last week. We also speak to two of the original Freedom Riders, Bernard Lafayette and Jim Zwerg.
Listen/Watch/Read
How to Get Our Democracy Back: Lawrence Lessig Says "If We Want to Change, We Have to Change Congress"
In a cover story of The Nation magazine, Harvard law professor Lawrence Lessig writes, "At the center of our government lies a bankrupt institution: Congress. Not financially bankrupt, at least not yet, but politically bankrupt." He goes on to argue that, "Congress is the core of the problem with American democracy today. In a single line: There will be no change until we change Congress."
Listen/Watch/Read
How to Get Our Democracy Back -If You Want Change, You Have to Change Congress
By Lawrence Lessig
This article appeared in the February 22, 2010 edition of The Nation.
| | PBS "Digital Nation" | | 
Last week PBS's Frontline screened "Digital Nation," in case you missed it you can watch it online.
In Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier, FRONTLINE presents an in-depth exploration of what it means to be human in a 21st-century digital world. Continuing a line of investigation she began with the 2008 FRONTLINE report Growing Up Online, award-winning producer Rachel Dretzin embarks on a journey to understand the implications of living in a world consumed by technology and the impact that this constant connectivity may have on future generations. "I'm amazed at the things my kids are able to do online, but I'm also a little bit panicked when I realize that no one seems to know where all this technology is taking us, or its long-term effects," says Dretzin. | | North Texas Progressive Book Suggestion | | 
Rediscovering Values: On Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street
By Jim Wallis List Price: $24.00
Price: $16.32 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
BUY BOOK her on Amazon
When we start with the wrong question, no matter how good an answer we get, it won't give us the results we want. Rather than joining the throngs who are asking, When will this economic crisis be over? Jim Wallis says the right question to ask is How will this crisis change us?
The worst thing we can do now, Wallis tells us, is to go back to normal. Normal is what got us into this situation. We need a new normal, and this economic crisis is an invitation to discover what that means. Some of the principles Wallis unpacks for our new normal are . . .
· Spending money we don't have for things we don't need is a bad foundation for an economy or a family.
· It's time to stop keeping up with the Joneses and start making sure the Joneses are okay.
· The values of commercials and billboards are not the things we want to teach our children.
· Care for the poor is not just a moral duty but is critical for the common good.
· A healthy society is a balanced society in which markets, the government, and our communities all play a role.
· The operating principle of God's economy says that there is enough if we share it.
· And much, much more . . .
In the pages of this book, Wallis provides us with a moral compass for this new economy-one that will guide us on Wall Street, Main Street, and Your Street.
Embracing a New Economy
Getting back to "the way things were" is not an option. It is time we take our economic uncertainty and use it to find some moral clarity. Too often we have been ruled by the maxims that greed is good, it's all about me, and I want it now. Those can be challenged only with some of our oldest and best values-enough is enough, we are in it together, and thinking not just for tomorrow but for future generations.
Jim Wallis shows that the solution to our problems will be found only as individuals, families, friends, churches, mosques, synagogues, and entire communities wrestle with the question of values together. | | Progressive Talk Radio News | |  Sen. Al Franken comes out swinging against Comcast-NBC deal
Doesn't look like comedian turned senator Al Franken is planning a return to NBC's "Saturday Night Live" anytime soon.
In his opening remarks about the proposed Comcast-NBC deal at a hearing held by the Senate Subcommittee on Antitrust, Competition Policy and Consumer Rights, Franken (D-Minn.) ripped into the deal and the risks it could present to not only consumers but media competition as well.
Franken, who was a regular on NBC's "Saturday Night Live" for years and also had a short-lived sitcom on the network called "Lateline" in the late 1990s, dismissed the claims made by Comcast and NBC Universal that the partnering of the nation's largest broadband and cable provider with the entertainment giant would not harm competitors or the public.
Read on
Sam Seder returns to air on The Young Turks 
( You really want to watch this show and listen to what Sam and Chris Hays have to say ...YOU REALLY want to also hear Sam's take on the demise of Air America)
Sam Seder Show on TYT Network-On Friday, February 5th Sam Seder returned to the air on the TYT Network. You can watch Sam's show here.
Or download the audio to listen at your convenience.
Follow Sam's blog and on Twitter to find out about future shows!
-Seder Home: http://www.samsedershow.com
-Seder On Twitter: http://twitter.com/samseder
Franken lays into David Axelrod over health care bill
Minneapolis-St. Paul Star Tribune
Sen. Al Franken, D-Minn. Sen. Al Franken ripped into White House senior adviser David Axelrod this week during a tense, closed-door session with Senate Democrats.
read on
Thom Hartman on CSPAN -Q & A with Brian Lamb
Thom Hartmann, syndicated radio talk show host, has a radio program, now in its 6th year,  airing live daily from noon-3pm in many markets including Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Miami, Seattle, Detroit, Chicago and Washington, D.C. He is also on XM and Sirius Satellite radio. He is the author of over 20 books including Threshold: The Crisis of Western Culture, Screwed: The Undeclared War Against the Middle Class, Unequal Protection: The Rise of Corporate Dominance and the Theft of Human Rights, and What Would Jefferson Do?. Over the past 30 years, Thom Hartmann has started and sold seven corporations. He is the founder and former executive director of a program for emotionally disturbed and abused children called The New England Salem Children's Village. He has also worked in establishing hospitals, schools, and other centers in Uganda, Columbia, Russia, India, and Australia.
HERE
Read transcript here
| | North Texas Democrats : Notes and News | | 
Texas Democratic Women of Collin County (TDWCC)
Go GREEN in February
TDWCC's next meeting is Monday, February 22, 2010 at 6:45pm. at the Preston Ridge Campus of Collin College 9700 Wade Blvd Frisco, Texas, Founders Hall, Shawnee Room F148. This month our program is GREEN Realtors® - Environmental Real Estate Options for Existing Homes.
Building a green home is a dream of every environmentalist. But most of us live in existing homes that need improving. Over the last 6 years Bob McCranie and his partner Warren Sippel have improved their home in Carrollton, TX adding a variety of green features to the property. By doing so, they have shaved 15,000 kwh off annual electric usage, added 1200 gallons of rain water retention to property and recently installed solar water heating. They have had some experiments that haven't worked and educated city inspectors along the way. This presentation will share their successes and failures in an interactive discussion.
Bob McCranie is a real estate broker in the Dallas area. He is one of the first 100 agents in Texas and one of the first 1,000 in the nation to earn the new GREEN Realtor Designation. As frequent participants at the Renewal Energy Roundup, Bob and Warren, have integrated green principles into their home, businesses, and family & friend's homes and businesses. Bob McCranie has been a real estate agent since 2003 and has earned his Brokers license, and the GRI and CRS designations.
www.tdwcc.org
CGS Democrats
February Meeting (Thursday, February 11)
Our next meeting will be Thursday, February 11 at 7:00 pm at Blue Mesa Grill, Southlake Town Center, 1586 East Southlake Blvd. in Southlake Town Square. Area elected officials and candidates will be in attendance to discuss their campaigns and ways our members can get involved.
Everyone is welcome to arrive at 6:30 pm to order dinner and socialize. The meeting will start at 7:00 pm. See www.cgsdemocrats.com for more details or call Susie Stonecipher at 817-481-6707.
Rockwall County Democratic Party-On The Same Page Book Club
When: Tuesday, February 9, 2010, 7:00 PM
Where: La Madeleine - 987 East I-30, Rockwall, TX
On February 9th we will discuss the book "Why Marriage Matters: America, Equality, and Gay People's Rights to Marry" by Evan Wolfson.
We will also be planning our next set of books for the remainder of the year, so please come with a list of books you'd like to read!
Anyone is welcome whether you've finished the book or not - but we ask that you attempt to read as much of it as possible so we can have a meaningful discussion.
This discussion will be led by Sandra Sanchez and will be held at La Madeleine in Rockwall - for more information, please call us at 469.865.9205. North Oak Cliff Democrats
Happy Hour (6 PM, Beckley Brewhouse, 1111 N Beckley Ave., Dallas)
Garland Area Democratic Club
speaker will be Chad Baruch, an appellate attorney who specializes in First Amendment cases. (7:30 PM, Garland Women's Activities Building, 713 Austin St. at Glenbrook, Garland)
North Central Democrats
February Meeting -It is time to elect the officers for the 2010 North Central Democrats. Join us on Monday, February 8 at 7pm for the NCD February meeting. Besides the election, we are honored to have both Democratic Congressional candidates for the District 91 area, Neil Durrance and Tracey Smith, as our guest speakers.
Date: Monday, February 8, 2010 /Time: 7-8:30 pm (Please join us at 6:30pm to eat and socialize - Dutch Treat)Where: Oscar's Mexican Restaurant / 3408 Denton Highway / Haltom City, TX 76117
HEB Democrats Meeting Thursday, February 11th
When: 7:00PM-8:30PM February 11, 2010
Where: Pizza Garden / 217 Harwood Road Bedford TX 76021
We have invited representatives from the Farouk Shami campaign and the Bill White campaign to bring bumper stickers and yard signs and to speak to us regarding volunteer opportunities in our area.Pizza Garden has a pizza, salad, dessert buffet for $3.99. Please come early to eat; the meeting will start at 7:00PM. | | Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly talk on Fox News |  Jon Stewart and Bill O'Reilly go toe-to-toe on Fox News
Jon Stewart showed up alone for his showdown Wednesday afternoon with Bill O'Reilly.
"Stewart, S-T-E-W-A-R-T," he told the security guard in the lobby of Fox News' midtown Manhattan headquarters. "I'm here to get crushed by O'Reilly."
In fact, what unfolded over the next 40 minutes was a vigorous, policy-laden debate between two of television's most popular figures, a discussion that careened between talk of tort reform, global warming and the 9/11 terrorist trials.
Chicagotribune -- read on /Read and Watch here on Huffington Post
| | Dallas Area Christian Progressive Alliance | |  Saturday, February 13, 2010, 2-3:30pm: Dr. David Brockman of the Progressive Christian Center of the South speaks on "Self-Interest, Deregulation, Disaster: A Theologian's Take on the Financial Crisis" based on his article published in the Progressive Christian magazine, "Adam Smith and the Gospel."
Northaven United Methodist Church, 11211 Preston at Northaven. For more information, email Matthew-25@earthlink.net or call 214/333-7577.
| | | | | The Corporate Takeover of U.S. Democracy
By Noam Chomsky | | 
| | Jan. 21, 2010, will go down as a dark day in the history of U.S. democracy, and its decline.
On that day the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that the government may not ban corporations from political spending on elections-a decision that profoundly affects government policy, both domestic and international.
The decision heralds even further corporate takeover of the U.S. political system.
To the editors of The New York Times, the ruling "strikes at the heart of democracy" by having "paved the way for corporations to use their vast treasuries to overwhelm elections and intimidate elected officials into doing their bidding."
Read on | | North Texas Progressive Newsletter Nancy Cunningham
Editor
Contact: Nancy This newsletter is a project of the North Texas Progressive , which is an umbrella organization for the Dallas Air America group, which was founded in 2004 to promote and support progressive talk radio and independent media in North Texas. Visit the North Texas Progressive web pages to get more information. Newsletter archive Sponsor the newsletter here ! | | | We need you to be a sponsor! | | 
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| | Screening Liberally ( Drinking LIberally ) and The Thin Line Film Festival | |
The Thin Line Film Fest will be held in Denton next month and has a good variety of documentaries and films, several of which are written and produced by local folks you may know and love. I will most likely be attending opening night so I can catch the Texas premiere of GASLAND. So here is the info and I hope some of you can go enjoy it!
DENTON, TX - Thin Line Film Fest announced today the competitive lineup of films for the 2010 festival held February 17-21. For complete information on all this year's titles including schedule, full descriptions, trailers, and more visit www.thinlinefilmfest.com
This year's schedule includes 46 documentaries. There are 6 World Premieres, 3 U.S. Premieres, 6 Southwest Premieres, and 20 Texas Premieres. North Texas is represented by 6 films while 13 international films represent nine (9) countries (Australia, Austria, Canada, Ecuador, Ethiopia, France, Iran, Ireland, and Japan).
There are two competitive categories: Feature and Short. One film from each category will be selected as the Best Documentary and receive a $3,000 credit with Panavision. In addition, any film that screens before the Award Ceremony on Saturday evening is eligible for the Audience Choice Award ($500). The winning films of each award will screen again the last day of the festival.
Tickets and Festival Passes are now available for purchase online and by phone at 888-893-4560 (M-F, 9-5 CST). Tickets for regular screenings are $8. Students, seniors, and military personnel get $2 off with ID. For groups of 25 or more tickets are $4. All-Access Festival Passes are $100 or $60 for students, seniors, and military personnel with ID. Discounted tickets and passes will only be available at the Festival Box Office opening February 17th at 1PM. Group tickets are available now by phone.
addison@drinkingliberally.org
| | Green Investing 2010 Policy Mechanisms to Bridge the Financing Gap | | "In a report released on January 28, 2010, Green Investing 2010: Policy Mechanisms to Bridge the Financing Gap, the World Economic Forum revealed that investment in clean energy has held up better than expected during the financial crisis and resulting recession, but a considerable gap still exists between current levels of investment and what is needed to begin reducing the world's carbon emissions. The report's authors, Anuradha Gurung and Max von Bismarck from the World Economic Forum, and Chris Greenwood and Michael Liebreich from Bloomberg New Energy Finance, state that "as a result of the continued financing gap, there is an urgent need for policy-makers around the world to implement measures at the regional, national and sub-national level, which will encourage investment in clean energy technology and projects. With this in mind, the report provides policy-makers with a toolkit consisting of 35 different policy mechanisms, which can be used to promote various clean energy sectors. The mechanisms can be chosen based on stage of technological development - R&D/proof of concept, demonstration and scale-up, commercial roll-out, diffusion and maturity - and also on stage of economic development."
web | | Sierra Club Dallas Meeting | | February 9, 7:00 pm
Amir Omar is a City Councilman for the City of Richardson and the Council liaison to Richardson's Environmental Advisory Commission. In 2006, Richardson was the first North Texas city to approve the US Mayors Climate Protection
Agreement as part of the Sierra Club's Cool Cities initiative. Councilman Omar will be sharing the efforts of Richardson to decrease its carbon footprint as well as increase the awareness of things residential and commercial entities can do to impact theirs. Richardson will be putting in place two groundbreaking projects that could impact the way Cities across the Metroplex approach conservation efforts.
Visit our website for complete information about our General Meeting, including a map.
WEB | | Dallas and Rockwal counties need Election Workers for election | |
Print out application and email, mail
or fax it to:
Dallas County Elections
2377 Stemmons Freeway #820
Dallas, TX 75207
Phone: 214-819-6346
Fax: 214-819-6318
Attn: Laura Granado
lcgranado@dallascounty.org
What is an Election Clerk? Election
Clerks work at the polls on
Election Day and during early
voting to ensure voters are able to
exercise their right to vote, giving
them the opportunity to receive
language assistance when necessary.
Dallas County needs Election
Workers for each general
election.
PAID TRAINING IS REQUIRED FOR
ALL OF THE POSITIONS.
www.dalcoelections.org
Rockwall Primary Election Workers
We need your help working on Primary Electon Day! If you are interested in working a polling location on Tuesday, March 2, 2010 in the Democratic Primary Election, please let us know! We are currently putting together the Election Teams in Precincts across the County! Election Training is being held soon, so please contact Terri StClair ASAP if you would like to work the Primary!
For more information please respond to this email or call the Rockwall County Democrats phone at 469.865.9205.
| | HBO's 'Temple Grandin' with Claire Danes | | February 6 at 8PM (ET/PT), as HBO premieres an original film based on the inspirational true story of Temple Grandin, starring Claire Danes. "Temple Grandin" paints a picture of a young woman's perseverance and determination while struggling with the isolating challenges of autism. Temple is a highly successful doctor of animal sciences, a best-selling author, and an internationally renowned autism advocate."
Learn More | | |
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