| Greetings! Good Morning ! Remember today is the last day to register to vote for the March Primary! Tonight is also the Rev. Lawson event sposored by the Dallas Peace Center ( more info. below) We are down to the last 2 weeks of our annual fundraiser and you are almost guaranteed one of the great prizes if you enter by buying a raffle ticket(s). So why not help out and get something great in return ? Expect me to be a bit more of a pest with reminders these last 2 weeks - if you've already donated you can ignore them and they won't make you feel guilty! So do it today, and you can ignore the reminders. We don't pester any other time of the year - we just do the work of churning out this great newsletter every single week to throusand of progressives/Democrats in North Texas! Please donate -this is how you can help me ! | | Bill White will be in Tarrant County on Monday Feb. 1 | |  Bill White will be in Tarrant County on Monday Feb. 1 to open the campaign's newest regional field office at 5:30 p.m.
The office is located at 1308 West El Paso Street, right off of Summit Avenue in downtown Fort Worth. Come to the office opening where you can meet Bill White, candidate for governor, and pick up yard signs, bumper stickers, and other campaign materials. You can also learn how to become involved in our nightly phone banks and the weekend blockwalks.
Bill White continues to generate strong momentum across the state. Jam-packed events in Austin, rallies in San Antonio, and strong support in Lubbock and Amarillo show Bill is growing his statewide network as we near the March 2 primary. Keep up with Bill's travels by checking our campaign blog.
Working together, we will turn out Tarrant County for Bill White! Hope to see you on Monday at 5:30 p.m.
http://www.billwhitefortexas.com/ | | Democracy Now | |  Sundance Founder Robert Redford on His Life, His Activism and the Importance of Independent Films
Democracy Now! broadcasts from Park City, Utah, home of the Sundance Film Festival, the nation's largest festival for independent cinema. Today, we spend the hour with Robert Redford. He's well known as an actor, but part and parcel of who he is is an activist. He took his success and leveraged it to promote his real passions: environmental justice, Native American rights and independent filmmaking. Since 1980, through the Sundance Film Festival and the Sundance Institute, Robert Redford has helped independent voices develop their craft-in film, theater and music-and reach new audiences. Redford joins us for a wide-ranging interview about these many roles in his life, on and off screen.
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From Fracking to Freedom Riders, Documentaries at Sundance Take on Wide Range of Human Rights & Social Justice Issues
As we broadcast from the Sundance Film festival in Park City, we look at its documentary film program that focuses on stories of human rights, social justice, civil liberties, and freedom of expression. This year the festival includes 28 feature-length documentaries from the United States and around the world. They feature a wide range of subjects including an abortion clinic in Florida, Osama bin Laden's former bodyguard, natural gas fracking, the Freedom Riders, Chinese migrant workers, and many more.
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Michael Moore on Haiti, the Supreme Court Decision on Corporate Campaign Financing, and Why He Calls the Democrats "Disgusting"
Filmmaker Michael Moore joins us for a wide-ranging interview about Haiti, the Supreme Court decision on corporate campaign financing, President Obama's first year in office, the Democrats, and much more. "[The Democrats] don't have the guts. They don't have the courage of their own convictions. They're disgusting. I'm embarrassed," Moore says. "I want really nothing to do with them. And if they don't find their spine, well, they're in for a huge surprise in November."
Listen/Watch/Read "Casino Jack and the United States of Money" - A Look at Corporate Money and Politics
As a Supreme Court ruling opens the floodgates for corporations to affect elections, we take a look at corporate money and politics with Academy Award-winning filmmaker Alex Gibney. His new documentary, Casino Jack and the United States of Money, focuses on the rise and fall of disgraced Republican lobbyist Jack Abramoff. We also speak with David Sickey, a member of the Tribal Council of the Coushatta Tribe, and Tom Rodgers, a lobbyist and member of the Blackfeet tribe who was a key whistleblower in the Abramoff case. Outside of the film, this is Rodgers' first national broadcast interview.
Listen/Watch/Read | | Howard Zinn : A Radical Treasure RIP | |  From NYT Bob Herbert
From I had lunch with Howard Zinn just a few weeks ago, and I've seldom had more fun while talking about so many matters that were unreservedly unpleasant: the sorry state of government and politics in the U.S., the tragic futility of our escalation in Afghanistan, the plight of working people in an economy rigged to benefit the rich and powerful. Democracy Now : Howard Zinn (1922-2010): A Tribute to the Legendary Historian with Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, Naomi Klein and Anthony Arnove
We pay tribute to the late historian, writer and activist Howard Zinn, who died suddenly on Wednesday of a heart attack at the age of eighty-seven. Howard Zinn's classic work A People's History of the United States changed the way we look at history in America. It has sold over a million copies and was recently made into a television special called The People Speak. We remember Howard Zinn in his own words, and we speak with those who knew him best: Noam Chomsky, Alice Walker, Naomi Klein and Anthony Arnove.
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Howard Zinn: The Historian Who Made History
Howard Zinn, my hero, teacher, and friend died of a heart attack on Wednesday at the age of 87. With his death, we lose a man who did nothing less than rewrite the narrative of the United States. We lose a historian who also made history. Anyone who believes that the United States is immune to radical politics never attended a lecture by Howard Zinn. http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/26400 | | North Texas Progressive Book Suggestion | |  A People's History of the United States: 1492 to Present (P.S.)
By Howard Zinn
List Price: $18.95
Price: $10.42 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25.
Buy Here from Amazon Consistently lauded for its lively, readable prose, this revised and updated edition of A People's History of the United States turns traditional textbook history on its head. Howard Zinn infuses the often-submerged voices of blacks, women, American Indians, war resisters, and poor laborers of all nationalities into this thorough narrative that spans American history from Christopher Columbus's arrival to an afterword on the Clinton presidency. Addressing his trademark reversals of perspective, Zinn--a teacher, historian, and social activist for more than 20 years--explains, "My point is not that we must, in telling history, accuse, judge, condemn Columbus in absentia. It is too late for that; it would be a useless scholarly exercise in morality. But the easy acceptance of atrocities as a deplorable but necessary price to pay for progress (Hiroshima and Vietnam, to save Western civilization; Kronstadt and Hungary, to save socialism; nuclear proliferation, to save us all)--that is still with us. One reason these atrocities are still with us is that we have learned to bury them in a mass of other facts, as radioactive wastes are buried in containers in the earth." If your last experience of American history was brought to you by junior high school textbooks--or even if you're a specialist--get ready for the other side of stories you may not even have heard. With its vivid descriptions of rarely noted events, A People's History of the United States is required reading for anyone who wants to take a fresh look at the rich, rocky history of America. | | Progressive Talk Radio News |  From AM950 The Voice of Minnesota
We hope you did, too! We have some fun pictures to share thanks to Rhonda Kist, the official AM950 photographer! Over 250 photos of your favorites! Check out the fun times at http://rjkist.smugmug.com password "2010". DownWithTyranny!: Air America RIP-- A Guest Post From Former Air ...By DownWithTyranny
I think that the New York Times got it exactly wrong this morning in declaring that "the enduring legacy of Air America's failure is that political media from either side of the aisle is more successful when run as a business instead of ...
DownWithTyranny! - http://downwithtyranny.blogspot.com/ ** I would suggest reading the remarks and comments even more than this post -many of the former employees are weighing in with their opinions and fact checks to Goldberg's somewhat revision of those days at AAR. *For exapmple Marc Maron called it delusional, narcissistic, rationalizations ;-) Bill Press, the 70-year-old intern Politico
The liberal pundit was denied a press pass to the Capitol by the notoriously tough Senate Radio-TV Gallery panel.
So Press asked his pal, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), if his office could use a 70-year-old intern. Why yes, Sanders said. And now Press is able to roam the halls of Congress unperturbed - with an intern's pass.
Ironically, Press is on the White House's permanent list, and he can go to the press briefing any time he wants, among other things. But at the Capitol, his opining was the deal breaker. | | North Texas Democrats : Notes and News | | 
Dallas Young Demcrats Remind you to REGISTER TO VOTE TODAY!
Voter registration for the 2010 March Primary Election ends on Monday February 1, 2010.
Register to vote today.
Have you recently moved. Check your registration to make sure you are registered to vote at your current address.
Dallas County Elections Department has information about the upcoming election. The next regular meeting of Metrocrest Democrats will be Monday, February 8, at 7 p.m.
The next regular meeting of Metrocrest Democrats will be Monday, February 8, at 7 p.m. at Farmers Branch Recreation Center, 14050 Heartside Place, Farmers Branch 75234. The program will feature a debate between Democratic Primary candidates for Dallas County Judge Larry Duncan, Jim Foster. Tarrant County Young Democrats Tarrant County Young Democrats on Tuesday, February 2 at 7:00pmStart Time: Tuesday, February 2 at 7:00pm End Time: Tuesday, February 2 at 8:30pm
Where: Ol' South Pancake House
Park Cities/Central Dallas Democrats US Census Partnership Specialist to Speak
Tracy Lea, Partnership Specialist for the US Census Dallas Regional office, will speak to us on February 6th and take our questions regarding all the details of the purpose, format, administration, and history of the Census.
We are meeting at the Oak Lawn Branch Library, located at the corner of Cedar Springs and Knight in the Kroger parking lot. The meeting begins at 10:30 am and ends at noon. All Democrats and Independents are welcome. Colleyville-Grapevine-Southlake Democrats February Meetup
When Thursday, February 11, 2010 7:00 PM
La Madeleine /900 Grapevine Hwy /Grapevine TX 76051/ 817-654-0471 / | | Dallas Peace Center Evenets: Rev James Lawson and film screening of "Gentlemen's Choice" | |  Monday, February 1, 5:30 p.m.
Celebrating the Fruits of Nonviolent Struggle: An Evening with Rev. James Lawson
50 years ago February 1, a revolutionary event took place: Four black youths sat down at a Woolworth's lunch counter to be served. When they were refused service and were asked to leave, they stayed in their seats. This quiet demand for dignity and justice in Greensboro, N.C., precipitated the birth of the '60s Civil Rights Movement that swept the country. Come honor the heroes of our past and inspire those who continue to struggle for justice.
5:30 p.m. - Reception
7:00 - Keynote address by Rev. James Lawson, Distinguished University Professor at Vanderbilt University. Rev. Lawson worked with SNCC (Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee), SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership Conference) and FOR (Fellowship of Reconciliation) during the Civil Rights era, and was a mentor and leader of students who helped end forced segregation in public places. Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. called Rev. Lawson "the leading nonviolence theorist in the world." The program will include performances by students from St. Phillips Academy, and will highlight music and dramatic readings of words and authentic voices from the 60's by local artists.
At the Black Academy of Arts and Letters (corner of Akard & Canton Sts. in Dallas)
Admission: Single Ticket in Advance -- $10.00; Single Ticket at the Door -- $15.00; Groups of 10  or more in Advance -- $7.50 each.
Reserve your tickets HERE or call Zara at 214-823-7793 until 3:00 p.m. on Monday for advance ticket prices.
Tuesday, February 2, 7:00 p.m.
First Tuesday Film Series: "Gentleman's Choice"
Director Micky Grant will be present for this screening of this touching film about the rise and fall of an exceptional man, Chris Adams. You see him sky rocket to stardom during the rise of World Class Wrestling in the 80s. Then you see how he starts to slide downhill, due to drugs and alcohol and due to some unfortunate events, that ultimately ended his life.
The 1st Tuesday Social Action Film Festival is presented by the Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff Social Action Committee and is co-sponsored by the Dallas Peace Center. Films are free, but a donation is suggested to defray costs. At 3839 W. Kiest Blvd. in Dallas.
| | Texas Social Studies Curriculum: Out With Civil Rights Leaders, In With Phyllis Schlafly And Joseph McCarthy | |  For months, the Texas State Board of Education has been hearing from "experts" about the direction of the state's social studies curriculum and textbook standards. The advice to the 15-member board - which is composed of 10 Republicans - has included more references to Christianity, fewer mentions of civil rights leaders, George Wasington, and Abraham Lincoln.
On Thursday and Friday last week, the State Board of Education took up these recommendations in a lengthy, heated debate. Some highlights of what the Republican-leaning board ended up deciding, and the debates that went on:
- On a 7-6 vote, the board decided to add "causes and key organizations and individuals of the conservative resurgence of the 1980s and 1990s, including Phyllis Schafly, the Contract with America, the Heritage Foundation, the Moral Majority, and the National Rifle Association" to the curriculum.
- The Republican majority voted against requiring Texas textbooks and teachers to cover the Democratic late senator Edward Kennedy, the first Hispanic Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, and leading Hispanic civil rights groups such as LULAC and MALDEF. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Thurgood Marshall, the country's first African-American Supreme Court justice, will be taught.
Name confusion gets kid's author banned from Texas curriculum What do the authors of the children's book Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See? and a 2008 book called Ethical Marxism: The Categorical Imperative of Liberation have in common? Both are named Bill Martin and, for now, neither is being added to Texas schoolbooks.
Read on | | North Texas Jobs with Justice | |  DO Something About the Jobs Crisis!
Please attend a public press conference in Lee Park, 3301 Turtle Creek Boulevard, at 3 PM on Friday, February 5, the same day that the Bureau of Labor Statistics reveals the latest grim unemployment figures. Reverend Ed Middleton and supporters will issue a call to all North Texans to take action against the greatest disaster facing Americans today - long term unemployment! Theologian Joerg Rieger and Historian Ben Johnson will outline a simple solution..
The Jobs Bill that squeaked through the House of Representatives in January would hardly dent the crisis, even if it were miraculously able to pass the obstructionists in the Senate. Our demand, along with the entire labor movement and progressive organizations across the nation, has five basic points that are fully explained on the new coalition's web site: www.jobs4americanow.org .
North Texas Jobs with Justice and its Workers Rights Board is taking on the fight against America's jobs crisis. We are signing up unemployed/underemployed people and everyone who supports their rights. We are holding hearings and public actions. Our next Workers Rights Board public hearing on the jobs crisis is already set for 2 PM on Friday February 12, at Judge Sepulveda's Courtroom, 415 S Beckley in Dallas. On June 22, we will be marching with nationwide forces in Detroit.
An economy that is not providing for its families is not in recovery. A "jobless recovery" is no recovery at all. | | | | | The State of the Union Is Comatose NYT by Frank Rich | | 
| HANDS down, the State of the Union's big moment was Barack Obama's direct hit on the delicate sensibilities of the Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito. The president was right to blast the 5-to-4 decision giving corporate interests an even greater stranglehold over a government they already regard as a partially owned onshore subsidiary. How satisfying it was to watch him provoke Alito into a "You lie!" snit. Here was a fight we could believe in. There was more to admire in Obama's performance as well. He did not retreat into the bite-size initiatives - V-chips, school uniforms - embraced by an emasculated Bill Clinton after his midterm pummeling of 1994. The president's big original goals - health care, economic recovery, financial reform - remained nominally intact, as did his sense of humor. In a rhetorical touch William Safire would have relished, Obama had the wit to rush the ritualistic "our union is strong" so it would not prompt the usual jingoistic ovation Noam Chomsky and Naomi Klein Respond to Obama's First State of the Union President Obama delivered his first State of the Union address Wednesday night. A full two-thirds of the President's seventy-minute address was devoted to the economy, the central theme of which was job creation. We get response from MIT professor Noam Chomsky and journalist and author Naomi Klein.
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| | 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 ! | | | Support the Dallas Peace Center Join or renew today! | | 
Dallas Peace Center needs YOU! | | Why do people often vote against their own interests? | | 
The Republicans' shock victory in the election for the US Senate seat in Massachusetts meant the Democrats lost their supermajority in the Senate. This makes it even harder for the Obama administration to get healthcare reform passed in the US.
Political scientist Dr David Runciman looks at why is there often such deep opposition to reforms that appear to be of obvious benefit to voters.
Last year, in a series of "town-hall meetings" across the country, Americans got the chance to debate President Obama's proposed healthcare reforms.
What happened was an explosion of rage and barely suppressed violence. | | It's time to go solar! | | 
Texas has what it takes to be the national leader in solar power. We have the most solar radiation in the country, are home to the world's largest supplier of solar-grade silicon, and we're innovators in the high-tech industry.
But Texas hasn't capitalized on our natural advantages and, as a result, incentive programs offered by other states are luring solar manufacturers away. The absence of rebates is also keeping solar out reach for most Texans.
We're working to get the Public Utility Commission of Texas to boldly put us on the solar map by supporting policies to develop 1,000 megawatts of solar power by 2015. Enviroment Texas | |
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| | Democratic Primary Debate on KERA-TV and statewide February 8 | | 
THE TEXAS DEBATES: RACE FOR GOVERNOR
Democratic Primary Debate February 8
DALLAS/FORT WORTH: Leading Democratic candidates in the primary race for Texas governor convene for their first live debate on Monday, February 8 at 7:00 p.m. The Texas Debates: Race for Governor will broadcast to millions statewide on public and commercial television and radio and online at www.TexasDebates.org. The debate includes former Houston Mayor Bill White and Texas businessman Farouk Shami. Final determination regarding other potential debate participants will be made by Friday, January 29, 2010.
The Texas Debates will air live on KERA-TV, KERA-FM and TXA 21 (KTXA-TV). KTXA-TV will include analysis of the debate in their newscast at 8:00 p.m. Krys Boyd, host of KERA's interview talk show Think, will lead a roundtable discussion of the issues and debate analysis on Friday, February 12 at 7:30 p.m. on KERA-TV. The debate will repeat on KERA-TV at 10:30 a.m. Sunday, February 14, followed by Think at 11:30 a.m., and again on Monday, February 15 at 10:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. respectively. KUVN will air the debate in Spanish on Saturday February 13th from 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m.
The Texas Debates is produced by KERA in partnership with CBS 11 (KTVT-TV) and TXA 21 (KTXA-TV), Star-Telegram, KUVN Univision 23, The Texas Association of Broadcasters (TAB), Texas State Networks and the Freedom of Information Foundation of Texas.
The debate will be moderated by CBS 11 News Anchor Karen Borta who will incorporate questions submitted via email. KUVN Univision 23 Reporter María Renée Barillas will host questions from voters in the live audience. Questions will also be posed by panelists Shelley Kofler, KERA-FM and KERA-TV and Dave Montgomery of the Star-Telegram.
The Texas Debates will be streamed live at www.TexasDebates.org. The Web site will also provide a list of stations carrying the debate as that information becomes available, profiles of the candidates and the pressroom arrangements. Site visitors will also be able to submit questions for the candidates by e-mail. Spanish language translation of the debate will be streamed online after broadcast at www.TexasDebates.org. | | How to Get and Keep Your 501(c) Status The Progressive Center of Texas | | How to Get and Keep Your 501(c) Status
Friday, February 5th, 10:30am check-in - 11:00am event
Some of you are part of existing organizations - small and large - filling in the gaps between what government and private industry provide for the general welfare of our community. Some of you are looking to branch out to address new needs with your expertise and passion.
Clay Jenkins is hosting a seminar at The Progressive Center with several lawyers prepared to share what you need to know to get started and how to continue your work as your programs evolve. There will be an overview on what's involved in setting up and maintaining a 501(c) social welfare non-profit organization, followed by a Q & A with attendees.
Recommended for people involved in both secular and non-secular pursuits.
Sign up at: http://tinyurl.com/Feb501c | | One small step for man ..one giant leap for corporatekind and Corporations Ain't People: Top 10 Responses | |
Click to enlarge Corporations Ain't People: Top 10 Responses
from Nation magazine A sampling of the most creative replies to the Supreme Court ruling on corporate campaign finance. HERE | | |
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