This month Monroe County Planning Department Head Gregg Zody will talk to us about the Monroe County Comprehensive Plan that is under consideration by the Monroe County Plan Commission. The Comprehensive Plan is an important document which will help guide [...]
A week from tomorrow (November 17), the Monroe County Plan Commission will meet to discuss the proposed Monroe County Comprehensive Plan (also known as the Growth Policies Plan). The purpose of this document is to guide development in Monroe County in such a way that our rich natural heritage [...]
People For the American Way is a fine progressive organization that was founded in 1981 by Norman Lear, Barbara Jordan, Father Theodore Hesburgh, and Andrew Heiskell. Their mission is, in their own words, dedicated to making the promise of America real for every American: Equality. Freedom of speech. Freedom [...]
This month we will hear a presentation about the Circles Initiative from Thomas Kenning. The Circles Initiative is a program designed to help people lift themselves up out of poverty. Come and hear about this innovative program!
Location: The Village Deli
[...]In this session we will continue discussing the planning stage of a campaign. There will be some hands on exercises that will involve some math, so be sure to bring a calculator and a pencil.
Location: Monroe County Public Library - [...]
Recently, President Obama tapped our Senator Evan Bayh to be the health care bill's fiscal responsibility point man. This makes the work we do in Indiana more important than ever. Harry Reid is just days away from bringing a merged [...]
This month Neil Hudelson from Al Gore's RePower America and Michael Beczkiewicz from Southern Indiana Renewable Energy Network (SIREN) will talk about their respective organizations and upcoming events that they are sponsoring.
First, however, as part of our continued progressive activist [...]
We are starting at the beginning. This is where you learn how to plan your campaign - whether you plan to run for office next year or in some year in the future; whether you want to help someone else [...]
During the past five years, Democracy for Monroe County has been hard at work promoting policies that will bring us a strong community, broad prosperity, effective government, education for all, and a better future. Through our activism, discussions of important issues at our monthly meetings, and our on-going training programs, [...]
As part of our push for Health Care Reform, including a strong Public Option, we are organizing a Walk and Rally for Health Care Reform that will take place on September 12, 2009. This event, which will start at 4:00 [...]
This month our training will be the first of a series on the nuts and bolts of a successful campaign. We will start at the beginning - the planning of a campaign.
If you have any plans to run for office, [...]
This month's Link-up will focus on the State Budget that was just passed at the beginning of July. State Representatives Matt Pierce and Peggy Welch, and State Senator Vi Simpson will join us to share their thoughts about it.
Location: The [...]
As part of our mission to train grassroots activists, this month's link-up will focus on the art of citizen lobbying. Our trainer will be State Representative Matt Pierce (D-61). This training couldn't be more timely, in light of our efforts' [...]
IU College Democrats President Shawn Walter is currently interning at Democracy for America headquarters in Burlington, Vermont. In furtherance of our mission to help train grass roots activists, Democracy for Monroe County gave Shawn a matching grant of $100 to help defray his expenses.
In response, Shawn wrote a very gracious [...]
This month we will continue our series on Precinct Organizing, focusing on Putting Your Precinct Team Together
Please RSVP at
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/events/33138-dfmc-progressive-activist-training-academy" target="ext">
http://www.democracyforamerica.com/events/33138-dfmc-progressive-activist-training-academy
Location: Monroe County Public Library
" [...]You may have already received the e-mail, but I'm posting it here just in case you didn't.
For years, candidates for Congress and elected members of Congress told you they needed to be elected and re-elected so they could lower health insurance costs and provide health care for all. Along the [...]
This month we turn our attention to the Monroe County Budget. Why? Because, normally we don't hear about the budget at this time, but circumstances have drawn our attention to it. We will have three members of the Monroe County' [...]
This month our discussion will focus on Alternative Transportation. This will be a wide-ranging discussion with
Zoe Neal from the Bloomington Bicycle Project; Buff Brown from Bloomington Transportation Options for People; Sophia Travis, who will talk about her lobbying efforts for better [...]We were all afraid that with the passing of George Bush from office, we would no longer have such an abundant source for humor. We need not have feared. Rachel Maddow had real fun with this.
For those innocent folks out there who don't know the current definition of teabagging I' [...]
I don't usually reprint e-mails I get from other progressive organizations, simply because I get too many of them. But the story that Credo Action had to tell me is so bizarre, I had to post it here. I hope you will sign the petition they are sending around.
The Mid' [...]
At the DFMC Link-up tonight, Keith Johnson (Permaculture Activist Magazine) gave a very interesting slide presntation about permaculture and the dire need for sustainable agriculture. I would have liked to provide a link to the slide show, but that is not possible at this time.
As a very good [...]
The theme of April's Link-up is Sustainable Agriculture with a slide presentation by Keith Johnson on permaculture. As an introduction to that topic, Keith sent us the following.
The word "permaculture" was coined and popularized in the mid 70's by
David Holmgren, a young Australian ecologist, and his associate /
[...]
What is it with the architects who have been building apartment buildings in the downtown area lately? They seem to have their imaginations trapped in a box, and that's what they have been producing. From Smallwood to Lofts On College, all they have been building have been big, ugly boxes. [...]
I've been meaning to post a blog since last Sunday, but I've been so tired every night that I fell asleep before I got around to it.
Last Sunday afternoon and evening, I was transporting students to and from the Curry Building so that they could vote early. Right after the [...]
Micth just lied again saying that the state was bankrupt when he took over.
Property tax payers reimbursed for the sales tax increase. Unfortunately, renters don't pay property tax and get no reimbursement.
[...]Role of the arts! Jill is the only one who sees the arts as an engine of economic development.
Jill just nailed Mitch, reminding people that he was budget director under "W" which set the stage for the economic disaster we're experiencing now. Mitch responded by lying through his teeth, but [...]
The candidates have just walked in and we're waiting for the signal to start.
The debate will focus on the candidates' personal views and what makes them think the way they do. Horning says he's shaped by the Constitution.
Jill is on the attack right off the bat. She chose to stay [...]
I'm here at the IU Auditorium for the third and final Gubernatorial Debate. This will be my attempt to live blog it. Wish me luck.
P.S. DFMC Vice Chair David Vandeventer says hello! He's sitting right behind me next to our Chair Brian Kanowsky
President McRobbie just came out for introductory remarks.
Tom [...]
The title of this blog is actually the title of a column by Bradley Burston, the American correspondent of the liberal-leaning Israeli newspaper, Ha'aretz. The column is a scathing critique of Sarah Palin and the type of fear/hate mongering that she has chosen to use as part of the Republicans' [...]
I thought I'd write a few thoughts about tonight's debate between the two candidates for Vice-President.
If anyone was expecting blood to be shed tonight (figuratively speaking of course), he/she was probably disappointed (or maybe pleasantly surprised). There were no disastrous moments such as Governor Palin had in her interviews with [...]
Location: Home of Jennifer and Bill Perry
3807 Bainbridge Dr.
Click here for more details and to RSVP. Seating is limited, so RSVP soon.
UPDATE: Sadly, we must report that McCain has already won the debate. In other news, [...]
A friend of mine told me about this greeting to the Republican Delegates to the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minnesota, and I just had to share it with you. It's from a blog, East-Lake.net.
This is nice post I read over at Daily Kos.
I live a part of Indianapolis that's been described as the most Republican area in town. I'm not a native Hoosier, coming from Michigan to attend Indiana University, so it's been frustrating these many years. But there have been many signs [...]
I was very sad to learn today that Josh Huddleston, the husband of Congressman Baron Hill's middle daughter Cara, passed away last night after a long and valiant battle with luekemia. The thoughts and prayers of the entire DFMC membership are with Cara and the Hill Family.
[...]Nels Ackerson is the subject of a very nice diary by OH 09. Here's the link.
[www.dailykos.com]
Please recommend it if you have an account.
The furor over Barack Obama's switch (flip-flop?) on FISA should serve as an early warning to progressive activists everywhere, that our work will not be done once he gets elected to occupy the Whitehouse. For one thing, a look at the web page Progressive Punch shows that he only [...]
The following is a press release issued by DFMC A-List Candidate for Monroe County Council Geoff McKim.
Geoff McKim, Democratic candidate for the Monroe County Council, is proposing the creation of a county stormwater utility to control flooding, protect the county's bodies of water, and help fund the inevitable costs of [...]
DFMC A-List candidate for Monroe County Commissioner Sophia Travis issued the following press release:
Sophia Travis, Democratic candidate for County Commissioner, today outlined her position with regard to land use decisions by the Board of Commissioners and how those decisions impact lower-income families and individuals.
"The cost of transportation is a huge [...]
DFMC A-List Candidate for Monroe County Commissioner Mark Stoops filed the following press release.
I would like to discuss universal health care – but on a local level. I would like to propose that we in Monroe County can create a single payer health care system that is efficient and comprehensive [...]
Just a few days ago a friend passed along to me the plans for the George W. Bush Library at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. They look really interesting!
Location: The Village Deli
409 E. Kirkwood Av
Bloomington
LET'S CELEBRATE!
As we approach the end of 2007 we have a lot to celebrate. We also have a lot to look forward to, and plan for in 2008.
As part of our celebration we will recognize those [...]
This month's Link-up is the last one before Election Day. As is becoming a tradition, we will meet at Monroe County Democratic Headquarters to help out with GOTV efforts.
Location: Monroe County Democratic Headquarters
320 E. Third St. (on the [...]
I'm sure you've all seen the article in today's Herald Times about a group called Democrats for Sabbagh. As I read it, I noted that, except for a complaint about the slow pace with which the B-Line is being developed (more on that below), there is a conspicuous absence of [...]
This month our Link-up will feature Monroe County Recorder Sam Allison who will talk about issues that involve his office.
Before we get to Sam's talk, however, we are going to spend some time writing letters to the editor about [...]
I just received this news from White River Labor Council President Jackie Yenna today.
Three more Central Labor Councils have endorsed HR 676 raising the number of CLC’s that have endorsed Congressman Conyers’ (D-MI) single payer healthcare legislation to eighty-nine.
In Tacoma, Washington, the Pierce County Central Labor Council, AFL-CIO, has endorsed [...]
The following is an excerpt from an excellent editorial in The New York Times written by seven soldiers at the end of their fifteen-month deployment.
Political reconciliation in Iraq will occur, but not at our insistence or in ways that meet our benchmarks. It will happen on Iraqi terms when the [...]
This is a fantastic blog post by Garret Graff on the Personal Democracy Forum. Graff was deputy national press secretary for Howard Dean's presidential campaign.
I’m in Chicago for the second annual YearlyKos convention and since yesterday afternoon I’ve keep coming back to the same conclusion: I think, nearly three-and-a-half [...]
In a unanimous decision on Tuesday, the Monroe County Board of Elections restored paper ballots (officially called ballot cards that are used in optical scanners) to early voting in Monroe County. I would like to think that the hundreds of signatures that we gathered in favor of a paper trail [...]
The following is the full text of a statement Monroe County Auditor Sandy Newmann issued yesterday at a Noon press conference in the rotunda of the Monroe County Courthouse. It is quite long, but I believe it is important to read the entire statement in order to get a clear [...]
Their war drama was halted before it could premiere. Old enough to fight in it, they were being silenced. It didn't seem fair.
This is a very moving story in The Los Angeles Times about some high school drama students in Wilton, Connecticut, who refused to be silenced.
http://www.latimes.com/news/ (free subscription [...]
Our "illustrious" corporate newspaper, The Herald Times, has been giving Mayor Mark Kruzan some grief about Finelight's departure from downtown Bloomington for the Westside. They say that the mayor displayed a woeful lack of leadership because he wouldn't commit to building the parking structure that the medical marketing firm wanted [...]
WHAT AN INCREDIBLE WEEKEND!! All the time. All the stress. All the sweat. All of it culminated in a fantastic learning experience for about 60 progressive Democrats from Indiana and beyond at the Indiana Memorial Union. I'm full of so many new ideas and information I can't wait to put [...]
I am very sad to report that Pulitzer Prize winner David Halberstam was killed in a car crash in Menlo Park, CA (just south of San Francisco). Mr. Halberstam visited Bloomington only last month to give a very moving lecture at the Buskirk/Chumley Theater about the tragedy of the war [...]
Indiana Congressman Mike Pence (R - 4th District) was quoted as saying that visiting a market in Baghdad is "like a normal outdoor market in Indiana in the summertime." The Los Angeles Times printed this satirical piece by John Kenny.
MY WIFE came into the living room wearing a [...]
I read with great interest the article about Republican Mayoral Candidate David Sabbagh in the latest edition of The Bloomington Alternative. It seems that he would like "more people, more cars, more parking garages, more corporations and more office buildings." Now, I have no problem with more people, but [...]
Straight from the front lines in Iraq, "The War Tapes" is the first war movie filmed by soldiers themselves. "The War Tapes" is the complete [...]
This month newly-elected members of the Monroe County Council, Vic Kelson (D1), Charles Newmann (D2), and Jill Lesh (D4), will come and talk to us [...]
Come enjoy Las Vegas-style games - Texas Hold 'em, Blackjack, Roulette, Craps - at the Lodge in Downtown Bloomington. Food, $100 in chips, cash bar, silent auction, and other features all for $10 (CHEAP!).
Proceeds to [...]
First of all, I'd like to echo the thoughts of Sophia Travis regarding Mark Stoops. Mark's contributions to the community are many, and his leadership on the County Council was invaluable. It is a real shame that he will no longer be a member of that body, and that [...]
It is 4:00 AM, and only a few of us are left at Democratic Headquarters, waiting for these final results.
