Tell Our Senators: We All Deserve Full Equality

Tell Our Senators: We All Deserve Full Equality	Take Action!
Help Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment by 2015
Tell Our Senators to Lift the Time Limit from the ERA   Please join our call for equality! PDA members will be lobbying with our sister United for Equality coalition members in the Senate Wednesday and Thursday this week. We need your support! Your calls will help raise awareness for the visits. See below for background information, a call-in script, and tips for a successful call.   PDA stood up for equality with our allies   National Director Tim Carpenter said, "We strongly endorse Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin's Resolution [HJ Res 47] to 'remove the deadline for ratification and clarify that upon ratification by three additional states, the Equal Rights Amendment will be added to the United States Constitution.'" PDA National Board Member Rep. Woolsey said: "It is with great pride that I stand with this bipartisan group in support of the long-overdue Equal Rights Amendment..... Here’s the text of the proposed Equal Rights Amendment, 'Section 1: Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex.' Replace the word 'sex' with 'race', and there would not be a single dissenting vote in the entire United States Congress."   Please call during working hours through July 1st. You can follow up in about a week, and ask if your Senators have made any decision yet. For a direct line to your Senators, use this action alert. Tips for a Successful Call   Ask to speak with the Senator's staffer working on constitutional and/or women's issues. If that person is unavailable, ask to leave a message on their voice-mail. Note: It's critically important to stress that you're calling to support a resolution removing the time limit from the ERA, not the "start over" new ERA legislation. Please limit your remarks to this issue only. Include your own experiences which pertain to the ERA. MORE INFORMATION: See: United4Equality.com and U4E's Facebook page.

Making History! ERA Lobby Days--this Weds. and Thurs.

Please join us in the Senate office buildings this Wednesday and
Thursday to lobby for quick ratification of the ERA.

We'll meet in the Dirksen Senate Office Building Basement Cafeteria at
10 AM
(Closest Metro Stop: Union Station on the Red Line)

Even if you can't make it, please share this email with all your
progressive local lists, contacts, feminists and ERA supporters.

United for Equality (U4E) is organizing meetings with Senators and their
staffers this week to gain a sponsor and cosponsors for HJ Res 47, the
measure to lift the time limit from the ERA. 47 would allow ratification
of the ERA upon the votes of three state legislatures.

38 states are required, and 35 have already voted to ratify. Rep. Tammy
Baldwin 47, and there are currently about 2 dozen cosponsors in the
House. U4E and coalition member Progressive Democrats of America set up
a national call-in effort this week, with people from all around the
country calling their Senators to express support for 47. We'll cover
all the key Senators' offices.

Even if you didn't make the training session, you can still join the
effort! No one will be thrown in over their head!

We'll meet ahead of time to prepare. By the time we start lobbying,
we'll all be ready to make history.

We'll have talking points, and folders to give Senators and staffers.
We'll work in teams of 3 or more.

People lobbying for the first time will be teamed with experienced
lobbyists.

Please contact Carolyn Cook: ccook@united4equality.com to RSVP for one
or both days. Even if you can't RSVP, please show up!

Senator Kerry wants to hear from YOU!

Senator Kerry wants to hear from YOU!

Comment on this post and forward this link far and wide...thank you!

http://www.pdamerica.org/blog/view/from-senator-john-f-kerry/

We really need to step up comments...Senator Kerry and his staff are
watching this closely.

http://www.pdamerica.org/blog/view/from-senator-john-f-kerry/

SENATE LOBBY DAY Thursday, June 30

United 4 Equality coalition to host SENATE LOBBY DAY for HJ Res. 47

Capitol Hill, Thursday, June 30, 2011 from 10am - 5pm.

Training offered. Paired up in teams. Interested in joining us?

Email info@united4equality.com with your name, # in group, lobbying
experience if any, and phone #.

No experience necessary. Feminist Passion and purpose highly desirable!

We'll have ERA cheat sheets for volunteers and materials packets for
distribution to Senators!

Come on out and join history-in-the-making! Goal: Senate introduction of
our bill a.s.a.p!

Please share with ALL your feminist, equality-loving contacts!

Healthcare NOT Warfare in the Senate.

Healthcare NOT Warfare in the Senate.

Last Push--Deadline 5 PM ET Monday!

Dear Friend,

On Tuesday, June 7, PDA joined our friends, National Nurses United/California Nurses Association (NNNU/CNA) in a hugely successful rally and lobby day in Washington. Over 2,000 people attended the rally in the morning, before dozens of citizen lobbyists headed to the Hill to meet with Democratic senators or their aides.

We delivered our letter, asking for a significant troop withdrawal from Afghanistan beginning in July and to support Sanders' single-payer bill (S. 915)—signed by more than 16,000 peace advocates—to all the members of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

Although we fell short of our goal to collect 25,000 signatures by June 7, the Senate is still considering the Defense Authorization Act, and we're still actively seeking more signers. At our meeting with Sen. John Kerry, we promised to deliver 10,000 more signatures on June 21. We're close to reaching that goal, but your signature can put us over the top and beyond. Click here to help us surpass our goal.

Thank you to our friends at NNU/CNA, U.S. Labor Against the War, Labor Campaign for Single Payer Healthcare, Healthcare-NOW!, CODEPINK, RootsAction, and United for Peace and Justice, who also circulated the letter among their members.

A special thank you to PDA Advisory Board member Thom Hartmann, who featured Healthcare NOT Warfare co-chairs Donna Smith and Norman Solomon on his June 8 program. Watch it here!

If you have already signed the letter, thank you. Please ask your like-minded friends and family members to sign it, too. If you haven't signed it yet, please sign here and pass this along. (Remember to delete the "unsubscribe" link at the very bottom of your forward before sending.)

We're closer than we've ever been to ending the war in Afghanistan, and the issue of spiraling healthcare costs is still unaddressed. The time is ripe for Healthcare NOT Warfare. Please help us top our goal.

In solidarity,

Tim Carpenter for PDA

Help bring our message of Healthcare NOT Warfare to the Senate

Help bring our message of Healthcare NOT Warfare to the Senate
Sign the Letter PDA is bringing to the Senate Democratic Caucus

Prominent peace and justice advocates have signed this letter. Please add your signature by completing the form below. The letter was delivered to the Senate as part of the June 7 Rally with the Nurses and Citizens Lobby Day with over 16,000 signatures. We will continue to gather even more signatures as the Senate debate continues.

To: The Honorable Senators of the Democratic Caucus
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Democratic Senators,

We, the undersigned, express our support for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Afghanistan Withdrawal Resolution, introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee and passed on February 26, 2011.

We support the American Health Security Act of 2011 (S.915), sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders, which will move us to a single-payer healthcare system.....

To read more and sign, please click this link: http://bit.ly/senate-letter

Then, please send this email to all your contacts, friends and lists.

To go the extra mile, post the following on your Facebook page:

Still going! Sign the Letter to Senators for Healthcare NOT Warfare! PDA will keep taking your signatures to the Hill to demonstrate strong support for our values--peace and expanded, improved Medicare for all.  Share this with all your Facebook friends, on email, etc. Thank you! http://bit.ly/senate-letter

You're invited to help make history TOMORROW!

Reminder: you're invited to join us TOMORROW to prepare for our Lobby 4
Equality June 29, 2011
(Please share this email with all equality advocates and feminists you
know.)

We're working to gain ratification for the the Equal Rights Amendment
which states:

"Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the
United States or by any state on account of sex."

Join Montgomery County NOW, Maryland NOW, Progressive Democrats of
America, Montgomery County Progressive Alliance and friends who are
teaming up to lobby Congress in support of House Joint Resolution 47 (HJ
Res 47) under the leadership of United 4 Equality, LLC :
http://www.united4equality.com

SCHEDULE:
1. LOBBY TRAINING Saturday, June 18th 4:30pm - 6:30pm
Saigonese Restaurant 11232 Grandview Avenue Wheaton, MD 20902-4632
(a few blocks from the Wheaton Metro stop, red line)

This is an inexpensive, good restaurant. People can get tea or coffee
or a dessert--or nothing.

INSTRUCTOR Andrea Miller, PDA's National Deputy Field Director has
graciously offered to host our lobby training this Saturday at no cost
to attendees. Andrea is a seasoned organizer and former Congressional
candidate from Virginia. She will be speaking at the National NOW
Conference next weekend in Tampa and will prepare us for our big day in
two weeks.

FACILITATOR Mike Hersh, PDA, MCPA and MC NOW, will discuss plans for
upcoming events and ways we can all support the ERA 2015 campaign effort.

2. CONFERENCE CALL (time and date TBA) to discuss and finalize plans,
instructions for lobbying.

3. LOBBY DAY / CALL-IN DAY Wednesday, June 29 Senate Office Bldgs 10am
- 6pm
If you cannot make the training session, you can still join the lobby
day effort! We'll meet ahead of time at the Senate Office Bldgs. to
prepare you. By the time we start lobbying, we'll all be ready to make
history.

BACKGROUND:
"47" is an exciting, new strategy developed by an MC NOW member and
founder of United 4 Equality, LLC, Carolyn Cook, urging Congress to
remove any time limit for ratification of the 1972 Equal Rights
Amendment. Her proposal avoids "starting over" (that would require 326
representatives, 67 senators and 38 states to pass).

Instead, "47" safeguards victories previously won in Congress and 35
states to end sex discrimination under the Constitution and ensures that
a path to equality exists in perpetuity for the final three states
needed. It is imperative as corporations seek 2012 candidates willing to
do their bidding that citizens recognize the advantages in establishing
equal rights for all under law.

Updates on the ERA: Thanks to the hard work and leadership of United for
Equality, we're gaining more House cosponsors. This week, feminist
advocate, Congresswoman Carolyn Maloney, joined Maryland's Chris Van
Hollen and Donna Edwards, and DNC Chairperson Debbie Wasserman Schultz,
Keith Ellison, Dennis Kucinich, and others on "47". Congresswoman Tammy
Baldwin introduced the bill in March.

We are currently seeking a Senate sponsor for introduction. Prime
targets are Al Franken and Lisa Murkowski among others. Lobby Day will
target the Senate Judiciary Committee where Ben Cardin sits. Of course
we won't forget to visit our own Barbara Mikulski to ask her to back HJ
Res 47.

REMEMBER: No one will be thrown in over their head! We'll work in teams
of 3 or more. People lobbying for the first time will be teamed with
experienced lobbyists. We will gather at the Senate Office Buildings 10
am on Wednesday, June 29th. We hope to cover all the key Senators'
offices. We'll have talking points, and folders to give Senators and
staffers.

Hope to see you there tomorrow, and / or June 29th!

Mike

express your support for healthcare not warfare

Sign the Letter to the Senate Democratic Caucus

sign here: http://www.pdamerica.org/forms/sign/Sign-Letter-Senate-Democratic-Ca

Prominent peace and justice advocates have signed this letter. Please add your signature. The letter was delivered to the Senate as part of the June 7 Rally with the Nurses and Citizens Lobby Day with over 16,000 signatures. We will continue to gather even more signatures as the Senate debate continues.

Please sign the letter here: http://www.pdamerica.org/forms/sign/Sign-Letter-Senate-Democratic-Ca

To: The Honorable Senators of the Democratic Caucus
U.S. Senate
Washington, D.C. 20510

Dear Democratic Senators,

We, the undersigned, express our support for the Democratic National Committee (DNC) Afghanistan Withdrawal Resolution, introduced by Rep. Barbara Lee and passed on February 26, 2011.

We support the American Health Security Act of 2011 (S.915), sponsored by Sen. Bernie Sanders, which will move us to a single-payer healthcare system.

The resolution and Sanders' S.915 express the intent of the Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign, which is to eliminate unnecessary military spending and redirect those funds to meet the very real need for comprehensive health coverage for all.

The vast majority of Americans are facing economic hardship brought on by policies that have favored the elite over working families. Foreclosures, high unemployment, bankruptcies, and loss of equity, savings, and pensions, accompanied by the rising costs of food, education, gasoline, and energy, have impacted the lives of most Americans.

While much of this problem was created on Wall Street and the failure of regulatory bodies to protect us, we recognize that the spiraling costs of healthcare and continuing to fight a war of choice in Afghanistan are responsible for a significant portion of the national debt and the hardships many Americans face.

With two major spending bills facing the Senate—the Defense Authorization Act and the 2012 budget—we encourage Senate Democrats to offer amendments that will cut unnecessary military spending and redirect those funds to providing healthcare for all and preserving and expanding Social Security and Medicare.

As peace and justice advocates, we expect our Democratic Senators will follow the lead of the Party that elected them and act in compliance with the will of the majority of U.S. citizens by taking necessary steps to begin a significant drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan, beginning in July, as dictated in the DNC Resolution. In addition, we ask that Democratic Senators move to contain the spiraling costs of healthcare and address the 47 million Americans currently lacking access to healthcare by co-sponsoring the American Health Security Act of 2011.

In kind regards,

[your name] if you sign the letter here: http://www.pdamerica.org/forms/sign/Sign-Letter-Senate-Democratic-Ca

Tune in tomorrow Monday June 13 at 9 AM to Kassim's Corner!

Tune in tomorrow Monday June 13 at 9 AM to Kassim's Corner! CBS Radio AM 1580

Guests Joel Segal: Progressive Democrats of America National Advisory Board Member and Senior Congressional Legislative Assistant working on Universal Healthcare and Jobs for All; and Mike Hersh: Progressive Democrats of America Maryland State Coordinator, National Social Media Coordinator. We'll be on around 9:15.

Miss the show? Not in the DC area? Listen online: http://www.kassimscorner.com

Rally to Protect Medicare and Social Security

Please share with your local contacts:

Information thanks to Donna Edwards for Congress: http://www.donnaedwardsforcongress.com

Dear Friends,

 

This coming Monday, June 13^th, at 1 pm, the Republican House & Senate Leadership--including Rep. Paul Ryan, the architect of the Republican plan to end Medicare--will be holding a "town hall" at the Newseum on the economy.

 

If interested, you can show your opposition to Republican plans to end Medicare as we know it outside the event. The "Rally to Protect Medicare and Social Security" will start at 12:30 pm outside the Newseum.  

 

Rally to Protect Medicare and Social Security

Monday, June 13^th at 12:30pm

Outside of the Newseum

555 Pennsylvania Ave, NW

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=555+Pennsylvania+Ave,+NW+Washington+DC+20001

2 blocks from Archives Metro (blue/orange lines)

Beat the Heat with Cool Tips June 12th; 2 - 4 pm

Beat the Heat with Cool Tips

Continuing the Energy Seminar Series, on June 12th, WeGreen USA with BG&E is organizing
an interactive session on how to Save Energy, Save Money

Sunday, June 12^th; 2 - 4 pm

Marilyn J. Praisner Library  –  Meeting Room

14910 Old Columbia Pike, Burtonsville, MD 20866

SAVE ENERGY, SAVE MONEY

Will focus on easy and inexpensive energy conservation methods.

A "giveaway" bag (that includes literature that the presenter will give an overview of
including Peak Rewards) will be given to each participant.

 

GUEST SPEAKER: BG&E Representative

 

Plus More … Some Great Environment Info

WeGreen USA, a community action group, is helping individuals and communities
take action in reducing the carbon footprint, greenhouse gases and environmental pollution.
Ours is the collective strength of individuals working together
for making our communities more energy efficient and sustainable.

 

Free for Maryland residents, but space is limited so please Register.

Register at: http://www.wegreen-usa.org/event-registration.html

DIRECTIONS FROM:

North (The Columbia area)

Drive south on Columbia Pike (Rt. 29).
Turn right at Spencerville Rd. (Rt. 198)
Take the next left at Old Columbia Pike. (Sandy Spring Bank is on the corner).
Continue for 1/4 mile to the library on the right.

South (The Silver Spring area)

Drive north on Columbia Pike (Rt. 29) to Greencastle Rd. (first traffic light after Briggs Chaney Plaza).
Turn Left on Greencastle Rd., continue to Old Columbia Pike.
Turn right on Old Columbia Pike.
Continue around the curve. The library is on the left and has a bright teal roof.

East (The Laurel area)

From Sandy Spring Rd. (Rt. 198) cross Columbia Pike (Rt. 29).
Take the next left at Old Columbia Pike. (Sandy Spring Bank is on the corner).
Continue 1/4 mile to the library on the right.

West (The Spencerville area)

From Spencerville Rd. (Rt. 198) drive to Old Columbia Pike
Turn right at the Sandy Spring Bank.
Continue about 1/4 mile to the library on the right.

 

WeGreen USA, a community action group, is helping individuals and communities
take action in reducing the carbon footprint, greenhouse gases and environmental pollution.
Ours is the collective strength of individuals working together
for making our communities more energy efficient and sustainable.

 

Free for Maryland residents, but space is limited so please Register.

Register at: http://www.wegreen-usa.org/event-registration.html

 

www.wegreen-usa.org

Their DREAMs and Maryland’s Future

Help Us Preserve Their DREAMs and Maryland's Future Casa de Maryland, Progressive Maryland, and allies worked hard to pass the new Dream Act in April to allow high-achieving, tax-paying immigrant students to attend Maryland colleges at in-state tuition rates. Our state joined ten others that now benefit from higher graduation rates, lifetime employment skills, and tax payments (See Washington Post editorial). But now a small group of extremists is collecting petitions to repeal it and take away educational opportunities from Maryland's children and military families. Please help us stop them and defend progress in Maryland.  If you see any anti-DREAM petitioners, call 443-990-1010 to report the: Address you saw them and description Date of the sighting  (if not immediate) What the petitioner was telling signers Save and call the "One Maryland Defense" Hotline Number: 443-990-1010 (or 1-877-299-7473 for Spanish/bilingual calls) INSTITUTIONS & ORGANIZATIONS SUPPORTING THE DREAM ACT INCLUDE: CASA de Maryland, Progressive Maryland, Baltimore City Council, Maryland State Board of Education, Montgomery and Prince George's County, the University System of Maryland, Morgan State University, Maryland Association of Community Colleges, Maryland State Education Association, Maryland Industrial Areas Foundation Affiliates (IAF):  Action in Montgomery (AIM), Baltimoreans United in Leadership Development (BUILD), and People Acting Together in Howard (PATH), Baltimore Jewish Council, Baltimore-Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church, Greater Baltimore Urban League, Korean American Association, Jewish Community Relations Council, Maryland Catholic Conference, Maryland Episcopal Diocese, Maryland Interfaith Legislative Committee, Maryland Vietnamese Mutual Association, Presbytery of Baltimore, Progressive Maryland, South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT), and dozens more...

TONIGHT Healthcare NOT Warfare Celebration and Benefit

Please join us and share this email with all DC-area progressives!
View online: http://www.pdamerica.org/blog/view/healthcare-not-warfare-celebration-and-benefit-tonight/

Healthcare NOT Warfare Celebration and Benefit
TONIGHT Monday, June 6 · 8:00pm - 11:00pm

       John Nichols         Donna Smith     Thom Hartmann   Norman Solomon    

All proceeds benefit PDA's Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign.

8:00 PM Private reception: $100 suggested donation--order tickers here.

8:30 PM Main Event: $30 suggested donation--order tickets here.
If you can't be there, please support the Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign.

The Original Busboys and Poets
2021 14th St NW, Washington, DC

Closest Metro Stop: U St. / Cardozo (Green Line)
Join us for a night of celebration and community!

Featured speakers include:

• John Nichols—journalist for the Nation, political commentator for Democracy NOW! and MSNBC
• Donna Smith—co-chair Healthcare NOT Warfare Campaign, CNA/NNU community organizer
• Thom Hartmann—progressive radio host, and award-winning, New York Times best-selling author.
• Norman Solomon—Congressional candidate, National Co-Chair of Healthcare NOT Warfare.
  

8:00 PM Private reception: $100 suggested donation--order tickers here.

8:30 PM Main Event: $30 suggested donation--order tickets here.
If you can't be there, please support the Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign.

Speakout to End the Bush Tax Cuts

Tues. June 7, Noon: 10th Anniversary
Speakout to End the Bush Tax Cuts

In Courtyard of the Baltimore Social Security Admin.
6401 Security Blvd., Woodlawn, Md. (map below)
Convened by Progressive Maryland

As our nation's economic crisis continues, some in Congress would continue tax cuts for millionaires while ending Medicare as we know it and endangering our country's safety net. Progressive Maryland on Tuesday will mark the tenth anniversary of the day George W. Bush signed into law a $1.35 trillion tax cut that primarily benefited the wealthiest Americans while leaving our country with massive debt.

Please join Progressive Maryland and allies as community advocates and every day Marylanders testify about the detrimental effects and urgent need to end  tax cuts for the wealthy. This Maryland event is one of dozens across America to support Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security-- and protest efforts to cut essential services while giving trillions of dollars in additional tax cuts, exemptions and loopholes to the super-rich and to corporations.

"Enough is enough," said Executive Director Rion Dennis. "Our economy is in tatters and the middle class is disappearing. Yet some in Congress are at it again. They want to give even larger tax cuts to corporations and the super-rich while slashing essential services, environmental protections and attacking public employees."
Progressive Maryland supports the Taxation in Fairness Act, sponsored by Rep. Jan Schakowsky, an Illinois Democrat. The bill would create new tax brackets for millionaires and billionaires and help working Americans and middle-class families cope with the ongoing economic crisis.    More at http://Progressivemaryland.org

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Support the Democratic National Committee and Bernie Sanders

Please sign this letter to the Senate Democratic Caucus asking them to support the DNC Afghanistan Withdrawal Resolution and Sanders' American Health Security Act of 2011 (S.915).

This letter will be distributed to the members of the Senate Democratic Caucus on June 7, as part of the June 7 Rally and Lobby Day with the Nurses. (If you can't make it to DC, then please participate in the June 7 National Call-in Day.)

Many of our allies in the progressive movement have endorsed and signed this letter: we hope you'll join them. Sign here.

Our goal is to gather at least 25,000 signatures between now and midnight, June 5. Click here to sign, and then please post this to your Facebook page and forward this email to your like-minded friends and family members. (Remember to remove the "Unsubscribe" link at the very bottom before you send the forward.)

Bin Laden is dead; the Afghanistan mission is accomplished. It is time to bring our troops and war dollars home and start addressing the very real hardships facing Americans, including providing comprehensive healthcare for all and the spiraling costs of healthcare.

Join us for a pre-rally benefit for the Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign on June 6 at Busboys and Poets!

It's not too late!

We are pleased to announce that Norman Solomon, co-chair of the Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign, will be joining Thom Hartmann, John Nichols and Donna Smith at the Healthcare NOT Warfare Benefit at Busboys and Poets on June 6!

There's still a chance to take your place with the leading lights of progressive thought as they speak about the burning issues behind the Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign. And, for a few dollars more, you can spend time schmoozing with these luminaries before they speak.

Join us for this evening of celebration and community at the private reception at 8:00 PM before the main event. Click here for details and to reserve your ticket.

Or simply come to the main event at 8:30 PM. Click here for details and to reserve your ticket.

This promises to be a fun and entertaining evening. We certainly hope you can attend this warm-up celebration, sure to get you ready for the June 7 Rally with the Nurses at Lafayette Park. Click here for more information.

If you can't make it to Busboys and Poets @ 14th and V on Monday night to hear Hartmann, Nichols, and Smith, we hope you will consider making a contribution. Click here so we can continue to build our Healthcare NOT Warfare campaign.

Hope to see you there,

Tim Carpenter
PDA National Director

11 AM today: roundtable about Pepco's reliability

MD Delegate Tom Hucker will be holding a community roundtable about Pepco's reliability, clean energy, and measures which the General Assembly has and will take to improve performance. The event is hosted by the Fenton Street Market this morning at 11:00 AM in front of the Silver Spring Civic Center.

Please bring your best ideas about Pepco and Maryland's clean energy future to the Community Forum at Fenton Street Market, 11 am on Saturday, June 4. RSVP please! http://www.fentonstreetmarket.com/?p=2891

Saturday, June 4 · 11:00am - 12:00 Noon

Veterans Plaza

8523 Fenton St.

Silver Spring, MD