| Greetings! Good Morning !
There are so many activities this week celebrating Earth Day that you will have a hard time fitting them all in!
Thanks to our supporting sponsor Neil Durrance , please get active in his campaign to unseat Burgess in Texas 26th. This is a video from last fall of Neil speaking but I enjoyed it and thought you might too. HERE
WE NEED SPONSORS! Please sponsor a newsletter edition in May! Everyone who sponsors one ( $20 ) will be entered into a little mini raffle that we'll hold in July.
Thanks, Nancy Cunningham
Email/Webpage/Facebook/Twitter/Newsletetter archive | | Don't forget - Earth Day Roast & Toast Of Lon Burnam | | 
Thursday, April 22, 5:30 p.m.-Earth Day Roast & Toast Of Lon Burnam
Lon Burnam is ending his 10-year stint as Executive Director of the Dallas Peace Center! How appropriate for us to toast our favorite tree-hugger on Earth Day! Reserve your table by calling Zara at 214-823-7793. We expect to sell out, so make your reservations quickly to roast and toast Lon. Reception 5:30, Roast & Toast Dinner 6:30, DJ/Dance 8 p.m. At the Bacara Event Center, 14775 Midway Road, Addison.
(Individual ticket plus one drink ticket -- $50, not available until April 5)
Info and tickets here:
Dallas Peace Center /5910 Cedar Springs Rd. /Dallas, TX 75235
214-823-7793 /admin@dallaspeacecenter.org
www.dallaspeacecenter.org | | Earth Day Free Film Premiere Benefit of the film "A Chemical Reaction" | | 
Earth Day Free Film Premiere Benefit-[A Chemical Reaction]
WHAT: Dallas Premiere of the groundbreaking new film, A Chemical
Reaction
WHERE:Angelika @ Mockingbird Station
WHEN:Earth Day, Thursday, April 22
TIME:7 p.m.
Join Soils Alive and Preservation Tree Services for a FREE
premiere screening and discussion with director Brett Plymale on
Earth Day. Benefiting Texas Discovery Gardens. Seating is
limited. RSVP NOW
There will also be a farmers market at Mockingbird Station and butterfly release.
More info and Rsvp here | | A Mighty Pale Tea by Charles M. Blow NYT | GRAND PRAIRIE, Tex.
On Thursday, I came here outside Dallas for a Tea Party rally.
At first I thought, "Wow! This is much more diverse than the rallies I've seen on tel evision."
Then I realized that I was looking at stadium workers. I should have figured as much when I approached the gate. The greeter had asked, "Are you working tonight?"
I sat in the front row. But when the emcee asked, "Do we have any infiltrators?" and I almost raised my hand, I realized that sitting there might not be such a good idea.
I had specifically come to this rally because it was supposed to be especially diverse. And, on the stage at least, it was. The speakers included a black doctor who bashed Democrats for crying racism, a Hispanic immigrant who said that she had never received a single government entitlement and a Vietnamese immigrant who said that the Tea Party leader was God. It felt like a bizarre spoof of a 1980s Benetton ad. | | Democracy Now | |  "Looting Main Street" - Matt Taibbi on How the Nation's Biggest Banks Are Ripping Off American Cities with Predatory Deals
In a new article in Rolling Stone magazine, journalist Matt Taibbi takes an in-depth look at the experience of one small Alabama town and its disastrous dealings with Wall Street. Taibbi writes, "The destruction of Jefferson County reveals the basic battle plan of these modern barbarians, the way that banks like JP Morgan and Goldman Sachs have systematically set out to pillage towns and cities from Pittsburgh to Athens."
Listen/Watch/Read
Jailed Whistleblower: US Lawmakers Held Offshore UBS Accounts
Democracy Now! co-host Juan Gonzalez discusses his interview with UBS whistleblower Bradley Birkenfeld one day after Birkenfield's Tax Day clemency request to President Obama. Birkenfeld is serving a forty-month sentence despite playing a key role in exposing the biggest tax evasion scheme in US history.
Listen/Watch/Read
| | March for Immigration Reform May 1 | |  March for Immigration Reform
Dallas is going to have another big "Mega-March"on May 1. They gather at 1 PM at the Cathedral on Ross Street and will march around town to end up at City Hall. Jobs with Justice will gather our workers contingent at the DART building, 300 N Akard, right by the train station at Akard & Pacific.
There is also an all-day parking lot over on Elm. These same guys had half a million marchers in 2006, and they are estimating over 20,000 this year! It is a worker justice issue, and we have to be there. You, too! Contact email
Jobs with Justice http://www.labordallas.org/
| | North Texas Progressive Book Suggestion | | 
The Bridge: The Life and Rise of Barack Obama
By David Remnick List Price: $29.95
Price: $16.47 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. BUY FROM AMAZON HERE
Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com
Product Description
No story has been more central to America's history this century than the rise of Barack Obama, and until now, no journalist or historian has written a book thatfully investigates the circumstances and experiences of Obama's life or explores the ambition behind his rise.Those familiar with Obama's own best-selling memoiror his campaign speeches know the touchstones and details that he chooses to emphasize, but now-from a writer whose gift for illuminating the historical significanceof unfolding events is without peer-we have a portrait, at once masterly and fresh,nuanced and unexpected, of a young man in search of himself,and of a rising politician determined to become the first African-American president.
The Bridge offers the most complete account yet ofObama's tragic father, a brilliant economist who abandonedhis family and ended his life as a beaten man;of his mother, Stanley Ann Dunham,who had a child as a teenager and then built her career as an anthropologist living and studying in Indonesia;and of the succession of elite institutions that first exposed Obamato the social tensions and intellectual currentsthat would force him to imagine and fashion an identity for himself. Through extensive on-the-record interviews with friends and teachers, mentors and disparagers, family members and Obama himself,David Remnick allows us to see how a rootless, unaccomplished, and confused young mancreated himself first as a community organizer in Chicago, anexperience that would not only shape his urge to work in politics but give him a home and a community, and that would propel him to Harvard Law School, where his sense of a greater mission emerged. | | Dallas Sierra Club Member and Volunteer Appreciation Picnic | | 
Please join the Dallas Sierra Club for an afternoon of fellowship and fun at our Member and Volunteer Appreciation Picnic at Churchill Park in Dallas on May 2nd, 2010, from 3-7 pm. The park has basketball & tennis courts, plenty of field space, a covered pavilion and picnic tables. We hope to see you there!
WHAT TO BRING: Your families and guests, own food (charcoal grills allowed/NO GAS GRILLS) and beverages, lawn chairs & blankets, outdoor games, musical instruments, etc. Additional activities will include volunteer appreciation, face painting, horseshoes and more! Unfortunately, NO PETS are allowed. Come and go as you wish. We will be there rain or shine!
COST: This is a FREE event! Please RSVP so we have a rough estimate for supplies. RSVP HERE
VOLUNTEERS: We need a few volunteers to help us organize activities, set up/clean up, etc. Please email Peter (peterwilson@dallassierraclub.org) if you're interested in helping out.
DIRECTIONS: 6906 Churchill Way, Dallas, 75230. Churchill Way is about 1/2 mile south of I635/LBJ on Hillcrest. Turn east on Churchill. The PARK is just past the Recreation Center on the Left. | | North Dallas Democratic Women's April Meeting | | 
April 22, 2010, 6:45pm - 8:30pm
Northaven United Methodist Church
11211 Preston Road (between Royal and Forest Lane)
Our featured speaker will be Texas State Representative, Rafael Anchia, who will give us a look at what is happening between legislative sessions and what we can look for in 2011 in Austin.
Public Welcome :
For further information, please contact: Lenna Webb
Communications Chair -North Dallas Texas Democratic Women
(972) 732-7712 /info@nddw.org | | North Texas Democrats : Notes and News | | 
Tuesday, April 27 Dallas County Democrats
DCDP Annual Burger Bash Plenty of regular and veggie burgers with all the fixins. A $10 donation per person is requested to help defray costs. To RSVP, please email to rebeccamontgomerydcdp AT gmail.com or call the Party office at 214.821.8331 by April 22, 2010. (6 PM, DCDP Office, 4209 Parry at Fletcher, Dallas)
CGS Democrats Candidate Forum THIS Monday, April 19
We need all hands on deck for this event at 7 pm, Monday, April 19. CGS is hosting this forum, which will be moderated by the League of Women Voters and feature the following candidates: Colleyville Mayor David Kelly and his challenger Ellen Lopez; Grapevine City Councilman Place 3 Mike Lease and his opponent Michael Robbins; GCISD candidates Place 3 Deeann Ayers and Karen Deakin. The location is the Stacy Furniture 3rd floor community room, 1900 South Main Street in Grapevine, just south of Hwy. 114. I welcome your ideas as to the topics you would like to see addressed by these candidates. Please call Susie Stonecipher at 817-481-6707 or email her at merasuph.jr@verizon.net to volunteer your help with setup at 6 pm, greeting, refreshments, cleanup, etc.
.Include articles on topics of interest to your readers, relevant news and events. If you find an interesting article on the Web, you can easily ask the author's permisssfdvdsvsgfvsdfsbgfion to summarize the article and link to it from your newsletter. Drive traffic to your website by entering teaser text for the article with a link to your website for readers to view the full text. | | Chomsky Warns of Risk of Fascism in America | |  Matthew Rothschild, The Progressive
Noam Chomsky, the leading left-wing intellectual, warned last week that fascism may be coming to the United States.
READ MORE
| | Texas Democratic Women of Collin County Welcome Andrea White | |  Texas Democratic Women of Collin County will hold our next meeting Monday, April 26, 2010, 6:45pm. at the Preston Ridge Campus of Collin College 9700 Wade Blvd Frisco, Texas, Check our website for room number and look for signs.
We are very excited and honored to welcome Andrea White as our guest speaker. White is an author, blogger, community activist and Passionate Supporter of her husband Bill White, Democratic Candidate for Governor of Texas. In addition to working on her husband's campaign, White shares many of our own passions as Texas Democratic Women including volunteerism, education, and literacy and keeping children in school.
Join us in welcoming Andrea White to North Texas! See the website for a complete bio.
| | Supreme Court's new Website | | 
Supreme Court's new Website has a new look, and new features
"Welcome to the Supreme Court's new Website, which not only has a new look, but also incorporates new features, including:
recent Court decisions accessible from the homepage docket files dating back to 2000 an interactive Court calendar a new case citation finderenhanced search and navigation capabilities http://www.supremecourt.gov | | The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan Frontline PBS Tuesday | |  This week on FRONTLINE, you'll meet a young Afghan boy who you'll likely never forget: His true age is unclear--maybe eleven--and his real name and face need to be obscured to protect his safety. But it's his story, and the story of untold other boys like him, that will disturb and provoke you like few other films we've ever aired.
In "The Dancing Boys of Afghanistan," airing Tuesday night, Afghan journalist Najibullah Quraishi ("Behind Taliban Lines") returns to his native land to expose an ancient practice -- banned under the Taliban in the 1990s -- that has been brought back by powerful warlords, former military commanders and wealthy businessmen. Known as "bacha bazi" (literal translation: "boy play"), this illegal practice exploits street orphans and poor boys, whose parents are paid to give over their sons to their new "masters." These men dress the boys in women's clothes and train them to sing and dance for the entertainment of themselves and their friends.
With remarkable access inside a bacha bazi ring operating in Northern Afghanistan, Quraishi gets to know the boys, their families, and their masters, exposing sexual abuse and even murders, and documenting how Afghan authorities responsible for stopping these crimes are sometimes themselves complicit in the practice.
read and watch more here
| | Cartoon of the week | | 
| | | | | What We Learned in Oklahoma City
by Bill Clinton NYT | | 
| | FIFTEEN years ago today, the bombing of the Alfred P. Murrah Building in Oklahoma City claimed the lives of 168 men, women and children. It was, until 9/11, the worst terrorist attack in United States history. But what emerged in its aftermath - the compassion, caring and love that countless Americans from all walks of life extended to the victims and their families - was a powerful testament to the best of America. And its lessons are as important now as they were then.
Most of the people killed that day were employees of the federal government. They were men and women who had devoted their careers to helping the elderly and disabled, supporting our veterans and enforcing our laws. They were good neighbors and good friends. One of them, a Secret Service agent named Al Whicher, a husband and father of three, had been on my presidential security detail. Nineteen children also lost their lives.
Read on
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| | Neil Durrance for Congress | | 
Return Government to the People
26the Congressional District of Texas
-Keep American jobs in America
-Make health care affordable for all U.S. citizens
-Increase Pell Grants and decrease tuition
940.239.0380
www.durranceforcongress.com
| | Donate today to the North Texas Progressive using PayPal | |
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To send a check, email me.
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| | The Errington Thompson Show | | 
Do you want to hear a great Progressive Talk Radio show ?
Listen to Dallas native Dr. Errington Thompson on Revolution 880 from Asheville, NC live Saturdays 3-4pm cst
Read blog & listen to free podcasts
| | A WORLD FOR WOMEN FOR WORLD PEACE | | 
Hosted by Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson District 30 - Texas
Saturday, April 24
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm
The Honorable Bisera Turković - Former Bosnian Ambassador to the United States Sherry Mueller - President of the National Council for International Visitors Elizabeth Kucinich - Human Rights Advocate Miki Jacevik - The Institute for Inclusive Security Mary Njoroge - Former Director of Basic Education of Kenya Marilyn Sutherland - RESULTS Global Education Fund This event is free and open to the public. Please RSVP by April 21, 2010 to Janis Brooke by email to janis.brooke AT mail.house.gov or call 214-922-8885.
The Women's Museum
3800 Parry Ave
Dallas, TX
The event is free and open to the public. RSVP
Janis Brooke by April 21 or 214-922-8885
| | Dallas Spring Recycling Round-Up Saturday, April 24 | | 
Cleaning out your closets and garage, but not sure what to do with those hard-to-recycle items like clothing, tires, toys, light bulbs and
hard back books? Bring them (and more!) to Sanitation
Department Spring Recycling Roundup
Recyclables will be collected and document shredding will be held
at the following locations from 10 a.m. 4 p.m. The first 50 people at each
location will receive two free movie passes!
Elliott Hardware
4901 Maple Avenue, Dallas , TX 75235
EvergladePark
5100 Jim Miller Road, Dallas , TX 75227
Central Market
5750 E. Lovers Lane, Dallas , TX 75206
FretzPark
6990 Beltline Road, Dallas , TX 75254
| | Digital Detox Week April 19-25 | | 
Take a Zen Moment
Tomorrow morning, try a little self discipline before you switch on your computer. For 60 seconds, look at the reflection of yourself in the dark, empty screen. Meditate on your relationship with this box. What is it really all about? Slow Down
Share this 60 second animation about our hectic pace of life with your friends. Then chat with them about their digital lives and how to move in different, more meaningful ways. Reconnect with Reality
Talk one or more of your friends into going for a walk or a hike or a camping trip with you during Digital Detox Week. read here
| | Fast Food Nation' author to speak at UNT as part of Earth Week |  DENTON (UNT), Texas -- Eric Schlosser, author of the bestselling book Fast Food Nation and co-producer of the documentary Food, Inc. will speak at the University of North Texas as part of the university's distinguished lecture series. The lecture and book signing -- which is part of UNT's Earth Week celebration -- is at 8 p.m. April 21 (Wednesday) in the Silver
Eagle Suite in the University Union, 1155 Union Circle. Tickets are available at the Union Information Desk. Student tickets are free; faculty, staff and non-UNT students are $5; alumni are $10; general public is $15.
more info here
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