Events Before 4/28/07

DC: Progressive States Network Annual Gala

Chip — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 22:40:47 -0400

Start: 04/19/2007 - 6:00pm

End: 04/19/2007 - 8:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

To celebrate the remarkable achievements in our first year affecting change in the states, we are hosting our first annual gala event. Our event, which will bring together progressive state and national leaders, will coincide with the spring conference of National Conference of State Legislators, a meeting of hundreds of state legislators from all over the country.

We hope you won't miss this opportunity to show your support of innovative new strategies for promoting progressive legislation.

For those of you who would like to sponsor our event program, please click here.

If you can't make it to the event, please consider a donation to the Progressive States Network.

Honoring:

Deborah Rappaport

Senator Jon Tester of Montana
(Former State Senate Leader)

And state legislators from around the country

Prices:
Individual - Tickets: $25
Couple - Two Tickets: $50
Organization - Four tickets: $100

Reservation & Payment Deadlines:
For further information, or to place a reservation, please call Marlena Sonn at (212) 680-3116 ext. 102, or msonn@progressivestates.org.

The Progressive States Network has been incorporated and is operated as a public charity. It has received official IRS recognition of its tax exempt status.

DC, Washington: Coalition Statement in Support of Impeachment

Chip — Wed, 18 Apr 2007 08:49:03 -0400

Start: 04/25/2007 - 12:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

Impeachment Events Postponed to April 25th

The event described below and originally planned for April 19 at 11:15 a.m. has been moved to Wednesday April 25 at Noon. This postponement is made out of respect for the victims of the shootings at Virginia Tech and their families and friends.

WHAT: Coalition statement in support of impeachment

WHEN: 12:00 Noon ET, Wednesday, April 25, 2007

WHERE: The Cannon House Office Building Outdoor Terrace, Washington D.C. (A House Office Building room has been reserved in case of rain).

The list of well-known people who will be in attendance is growing.

Check for updates at http://www.impeach07.org

________

A group of prominent Americans will gather at the U.S. Capitol to speak in support of beginning impeachment proceedings against President George W. Bush and Vice President Richard B. Cheney. Among them will be mayors, including Rocky Anderson of Salt Lake City and John Shields of Nyack, NY; city council members, including Dave Meserve of Arcata, CA; former government officials, including Daniel Ellsberg who released the Pentagon Papers; David MacMichael, a former analyst for the Central Intelligence Agency and a member of the steering committee of Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity; retired Army Colonel Ann Wright, a career diplomat who quit in protest the day the war began; and legal experts, including Michael Ratner, President of the Center for Constitutional Rights.

Also participating will be authors, journalists, poets, and playwrights, including Chris Hedges, Eve Ensler, Justin Frank, Mark Kurlansky, John Nichols, Barbara Jentzsch, Ann Marie Macari, and Ariel Dorfman; actors, producers, and photographers, including Eunice Wong, Kathy Chalfant, Malachy McCourt, Frances Fisher, Henry Chalfant, and Patricia Foulkrod, and leading anti-war voices, including Andy Shallal, Cindy Sheehan, Tina Richards, Medea Benjamin, Bob Fertik, David Swanson, Debra Sweet, Kevin Zeese, and Tim Carpenter.

More names will be announced in further advisories, and the list will include some surprises.

______________

Town Hall Forum on Impeachment That Evening

An open forum on impeachment will be held in a church Wednesday evening, featuring some of the speakers from the noon event.

WHEN: 7:00 to 9:00 p.m. ET, Wednesday, April 25, 2007

WHERE: All Souls Unitarian Church, Pierce Hall, at 1500 Harvard Street N.W., Washington, D.C.

Scott Ritter & former Congressman Andy Jacobs

Chip — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 12:29:08 -0400

Start: 04/18/2007 - 7:00pm

End: 04/18/2007 - 8:30pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

As Indiana National Guard members face call up for offshore deployments to Iraq,
Veterans for Peace Indiana Chapter #49 invites you to discuss:

U.S. Policy in the Middle East: Target Iran / The Role of Congress

Hear Scott Ritter, US Marine, Gulf War Veteran and former UNSCOM Weapons Inspector

and

Honorable Andy Jacobs, Korean War Veteran and former Indiana Congressperson

These veterans discuss the build-up toward war with Iran, and what Congress is and isn't doing about it. Ritter warns that aircraft carrier battlegroups will have maximum potential for an attack on Iran's nuclear reactor from March through June. One hundred and three US nuclear
reactors could become targets if the US (or Israel, using US weapons) attacks Iran's reactor.

In Ritter's book, "Target Iran" he examines the Bush administration's regime-change policy and the potential of Iran to threaten U.S. national security interests.

Honorable Andy Jacobs, Jr. refused pay increases while serving in the House of Representatives. Ralph Nader says, "Andy Jacobs is the conscience of the House." Will Congress protect the interests of ordinary people, or promote the interests of profiteers? Jacobs' book, The 1600 Killers: A Wake-Up Call for Congress", gives an insider's view of Congress.

These speakers could help citizens save lives, of soldiers and civilians, here and abroad.

Moderator: Pierre Atlas, Political Science Professor and Director of Franciscan Center for Global Studies at Marian College

A dinner with guest speakers is available nearby by reservation for $35 at 5:30. Make advance reservations soon at http://www.TraprockPeace.org. Details will be emailed to you.

Reservations for a dinner in Indianapolis on Thursday evening, on the topic, "The Art of War for Waging Peace"

Sponsored by: Indianapolis Peace House & Plowshares, Indianapolis Peace and Justice Center, Traprock Peace Center.

For more information contact:
Charlie Wiles in Indianapolis, (317) 466-0114 or
Sunny Miller in Deerfield, MA (413) 773-7427.

NY, NYC: MADRE Spring 2007 Speaking Tour

Chip — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 01:43:29 -0400

Start: 04/23/2007 - 3:30pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

MADRE Spring 2007 Speaking Tour
April 16-23, 2007
Yanar Mohammed
Director, Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq
with
Vivian Stromberg
Executive Director, MADRE

Since the start of the US occupation of Iraq, Iraqi women have faced multiple forms of violence, including a sharp rise in abductions, rape, "honor killings," and attacks by US forces and US-allied militias seeking to impose an Islamist state.

The Baghdad-based Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI) and MADRE, an international women's human rights organization, are working in partnership to combat gender-based violence in Iraq. Despite death threats and constant danger, the women of OWFI are standing up for women's rights. With MADRE, they founded Iraq's first women's shelters and the Underground Railroad for Iraqi Women, a support network to enable women to escape "honor killings." And OWFI is building real alternatives to civil war by bringing Sunni and Shiite youth together, using the arts as a tool to demand an end to the killing.

Hear directly from women on the frontlines of the struggle to end gender-based violence and create a secular, democratic Iraq free of both US occupation and Islamist coercion.

There is hope in Iraq.
Come meet the women who are creating it.

Speakers' Bios

Yanar Mohammed is the Director of the Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq (OWFI), which works to end violence against Iraqi women and defend human rights. Since 2004, OWFI has founded a network of women's shelters in Baghdad, Kirkuk, Erbil, and Nasariyeh. The shelters offer Iraqi women an urgently needed haven from violence, as well as skill-building workshops, education, and leadership training to enable them to take an active role in rebuilding their country within a human rights framework. In 2006, in cooperation with the international women's human rights organization MADRE, OWFI organized the Underground Railroad for Iraqi Women, a support network of courageous individuals who work to enable women to escape family violence and begin a new life.

As director of OWFI and Editor-in-Chief of its newspaper, Al-Mousawat (Equality), Ms. Mohammad is internationally recognized as a key spokesperson for the rights of Iraqi women. Despite receiving numerous death threats from armed fundamentalist groups seeking to restrict Iraqi women's participation in public life, Ms. Mohammad continues to publicly oppose both religious coercion in her country and US occupation, and to encourage and empower other women to do the same.

Ms. Mohammed was trained as an architect, and graduated from Baghdad University with a Bachelor's Degree in 1984 and a Master's Degree in 1993.

Vivian Stromberg is the Executive Director and a founding Board Member of MADRE. Ms. Stromberg's areas of expertise include women's economic development, US foreign policy, healthcare, popular education, sexual violence, human rights, and child development. With an emphasis on gender in all areas of work, she speaks on a broad range of subjects, both in the United States and internationally, as a keynote speaker at conferences, seminars, and symposia.

As a MADRE representative to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, Ms. Stromberg has participated in numerous international conferences, such as the 1992 United Nations Conference on Human Rights in Vienna; the 1995 United Nations Fourth World Conference on Women and the NGO Women's Forum in Beijing, China; and the World Social Forum in Porto Alegre in 2002. She was also an Expert-in-Residence for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in 1994. She has received awards and recognition from the New York City Council, the Committee for a Democratic Palestine, Gloria Steinem Women of Vision, United Bronx Parents, and Haitian Women in Solidarity. She has been featured in print media, radio, television, and film, including Ms. Magazine, The Progressive, Working Mother, The Gay Financial Network, and CNBC.

Email for more info

Website for more info

OH: Cincinnati: MADRE Spring 2007 Speaking Tour

Chip — Tue, 17 Apr 2007 00:36:08 -0400

Start: 04/19/2007 - 7:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

MADRE Spring 2007 Speaking Tour
April 16-23, 2007
Yanar Mohammed
Director, Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq
with
Vivian Stromberg
Executive Director, MADRE

Hear directly from women on the frontlines of the struggle to end gender-based violence and create a secular, democratic Iraq free of both US occupation and Islamist coercion.

There is hope in Iraq.
Come meet the women who are creating it.

Speakers' Bios

Ms. Mohammed was trained as an architect, and graduated from Baghdad University with a Bachelor's Degree in 1984 and a Master's Degree in 1993.

Email for more info

Website for more info

MN: Northfield: MADRE Spring 2007 Speaking Tour

Chip — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 23:05:37 -0400

Start: 04/18/2007 - 4:30pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

MADRE Spring 2007 Speaking Tour
April 16-23, 2007
Yanar Mohammed
Director, Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq
with
Vivian Stromberg
Executive Director, MADRE

Hear directly from women on the frontlines of the struggle to end gender-based violence and create a secular, democratic Iraq free of both US occupation and Islamist coercion.

There is hope in Iraq.
Come meet the women who are creating it.

Speakers' Bios

Ms. Mohammed was trained as an architect, and graduated from Baghdad University with a Bachelor's Degree in 1984 and a Master's Degree in 1993.

Email for more info

Website for more info

MN: St. Cloud, MADRE Spring 2007 Speaking Tour

Chip — Mon, 16 Apr 2007 22:36:29 -0400

Start: 04/17/2007 - 6:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

MADRE Spring 2007 Speaking Tour
April 16-23, 2007
Yanar Mohammed
Director, Organization of Women's Freedom in Iraq
with
Vivian Stromberg
Executive Director, MADRE

Hear directly from women on the frontlines of the struggle to end gender-based violence and create a secular, democratic Iraq free of both US occupation and Islamist coercion.

There is hope in Iraq.
Come meet the women who are creating it.

Speakers' Bios

Ms. Mohammed was trained as an architect, and graduated from Baghdad University with a Bachelor's Degree in 1984 and a Master's Degree in 1993.

Email for more info

Website for more info

VA, Arlington: TURN-THE-AXIS-OF-EVIL-UPSIDE-DOWN VOLLEYBALL MATCH

Chip — Sun, 15 Apr 2007 00:13:02 -0400

Start: 04/22/2007 - 2:00pm

End: 04/22/2007 - 4:00pm

Timezone: Etc/GMT-5

Map to Event

The Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran invites you to contribute generously to this effort to convey to the Iranian people that we do not consider them enemies. Returning with messages of good will and hope, the delegation will inform other Americans about what the corporate media leave out of the picture. Nearly $10,000 has been raised so a dozen "citizen diplomats" can travel to Iran for two weeks this June. The group's passports and contacts are now being readied. But the mission, organized by The Richmond Defender newspaper and the Virginia Anti-War Network, is still short a few thousand dollars. Please show your solidarity.

Join us at this DC area fund raiser for the peace delegation.

Join the match between teams of activist friends and peace advocates like you in Arlington, VA.

When: Sunday, April 22, 2007, 2 - 4 PM

Suggested Donation $10

Come play or come cheer the players!

Or send your donation to Campaign Against Sanctions and Military Intervention in Iran at 1205 S. Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20009. Thank you. Questions? Please contact 202-518-8717.

Learn more about the organizers:
The Richmond Defender newspaper
Virginia Anti-War Network (VAWN)

Hannity & Limbaugh LIE about disenfranchising military voters

Bob Fertik — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 23:59:34 -0400

A crucial part of the Republican strategy to steal Election 2004 is to falsely claim Democrats prevented active duty military voters overseas from casting ballots.

The purpose of this slander is to create a firestorm of controversy and make Democrats look evil.

This was a crucial part of the Republicans' 2000 strategy, which the media eagerly promoted.

Let's make this crystal clear: every military absentee ballot in Pennsylvania will be counted. If a few servicemembers vote for Nader, their votes will be counted too - as write-in ballots. If there is any possible harm here, it's harm to the candidate who most likely pick up the Nader votes - John Kerry!

Hannity, Limbaugh falsely suggested Pa. governor disenfranchising overseas military voters
http://mediamatters.org/items/200410270001

FOX News Channel host Sean Hannity and radio host Rush Limbaugh both scurrilously suggested that Pennsylvania's Democratic governor, Ed Rendell, is "disenfranchis[ing]" Pennsylvania's overseas military voters. Both Hannity and Limbaugh distorted Rendell's decision not to extend the deadline to allow for the reissuing and receipt of new absentee ballots that omit Independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader.

Absentee ballots had already been sent out to Pennsylvania's overseas voters -- including those serving in the U.S. armed forces -- before the U.S. Supreme Court upheld a state court decision to exclude Nader from the ballot. The truth is that those ballots remain valid and will be counted if they are returned by overseas voters in compliance with the deadline. All that Rendell has refused to do is resend overseas ballots that omit Nader and extend the deadline for their return.

On the October 26 edition of FOX News Channel's Hannity & Colmes, Hannity mischaracterized Rendell's decision as "whether or not we're going to get the ballots to our military overseas and whether or not they'll have an opportunity to vote." He also falsely claimed that "many in the military that live in Pennsylvania may not have a chance to vote unless Governor Rendell deals with this issue."

Similarly, Limbaugh claimed on his October 25 radio show that Rendell has argued, in Limbaugh's words, that "we don't need to go to extra special concerns and extending deadlines to make sure the military can vote."

An October 13 Pennsylvania court order removed Nader from the ballot after the first round of absentee ballots was sent out to overseas voters; on October 13, the U.S. Justice Department asked U.S. District Court Judge Yvette Kane to order an extension of the deadline so that Pennsylvania could mail out new absentee ballots without Nader's name.

As The Philadelphia Inquirer reported on October 21, Kane, who was the state's top election official under former Republican governor (and current secretary of homeland security) Tom Ridge, refused, stating in the court decision that if Rendell took such action, it was likely that it would "harm the Pennsylvania election system and the public at large by undermining the integrity and efficiency of Pennsylvania's elections."

On October 20, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette cited "attorneys and witnesses for the state" for the assertion that, in the words of the Post-Gazette, "[s]ending out another round of ballots would not only be confusing for overseas voters, but would be overwhelming for the county election employees, who are already working overtime in anticipation of Election Day." Mark Wolosik, Allegheny County's election division manager, testified: "There is no time in our county to reprint ballots," according to the Post-Gazette.

And as the Post-Gazette reported, according to Linda Barrett (an attorney for the Pennsylvania State Department), Pennsylvania state law does not allow Rendell to force county officials to send out new ballots: "Even if the [U.S. District] court grants an 'emergency order' ... there's no provision in state law that allows the state to force county election bureaus to send out new absentee ballots."

Further, as an editorial in the Philadelphia Daily News noted on October 26: "Union and Venango counties, which had delayed by only a few days sending out their absentee ballots because of the Nader question, were allowed to send them by express mail and included express mail return envelopes." While many of those ballots do include Nader, "If someone votes for Ralph Nader on an absentee ballot, the vote would be counted as a write-in," the Daily News explained.

Hannity's and Limbaugh's remarks followed comments by U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA), who has criticized Rendell for not extending the deadline because, according to an October 20 article in the Post-Gazette, "U.S. servicemen and women are risking their lives in Iraq and Afghanistan to protect Americans' right to vote." According to the Post-Gazette, extending the deadline "would benefit the re-election campaign of President Bush, because military votes tend to be Republican votes. Giving Pennsylvania extra time to count overseas ballots ... could theoretically add to Bush's total in a hotly contested state." Rendell released a letter to Santorum on October 25 explaining why he has not sought to extend the deadline to allow for new ballots to be sent overseas.

According to an October 21 Inquirer article: "In all, counties have sent about 26,700 absentee ballots to Pennsylvanians living abroad or serving in the military overseas."

Palm Beach absentee ballots lost in mail

Bob Fertik — Wed, 27 Oct 2004 20:32:07 -0400

Florida's Hood: County a success
By Jane Musgrave
Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 27, 2004
http://www.palmbeachpost.com/news/content/news/epaper/2004/10/27/c1a_absentee_1027.html

Hood's cheery optimism wasn't shared by party officials or those worried that they won't get their ballots soon enough to mail them back to arrive before Tuesday's 7 p.m. deadline. They spoke darkly of election office phones that constantly ring busy, questions that go unanswered, sample ballots that haven't arrived and fears of election meltdown. And a few voters said some of the pages of their absentee ballots were missing.

Lillian Katz, who splits her time between New Jersey and Palm Beach County, didn't receive the absentee ballot she ordered on Sept. 13. She put her reaction bluntly: "I feel I'm sacrificing my vote for someone's crookedness."

LePore said she received one report of a blank page on a ballot. She attributed that to a printing problem. She said there have been "sporadic" reports of people receiving incomplete ballots, but the problem is not widespread.

"They're human," she said of those who stuff the envelopes. "That's not an excuse. We're trying to better monitor the assembly line."

She said she can't explain why people say they haven't received ballots they ordered weeks ago. "We take them to the post office and then it's out of my hands."