Mn-prog-events Mailing List: Progressive Calendar 10.16.05

[David Shove (shove001]

             P R O G R E S S I V E   C A L E N D A R     10.16.05

1. Coffee talks         10.16 9:30am
2. Sensible vigil       10.16 12noon
3. German/US/POWs       10.16 12noon
4. Returning vets       10.16 12:30pm
5. Peace House          10.16 2pm
6. Darwin's nightmare   10.16 3pm
7. Election workshop    10.16 3pm
8. AI                   10.16 3pm
9. KFAI/Indian          10.16 4pm
10. Mayoral debate      10.16 7pm

11. Superior hiking     10.17 10am Duluth MN
12. MN energy future    10.17 1:30pm Rochester MN
13. SPELL workshop      10.17 5:30pm
14. Energy independence 10.17 6pm
15. lection fraud/film  10.17 6:30pm
16. MedicalCoverup/film 10.17 6:30pm
17. Domestic violence   10.17 6:30pm
18. Coldwater walk      10.17 7pm
19. Stop chains         10.17 7pm
20. Cam Gordon night    10.17 7pm
21. Abstinence "ed"     10.17 7pm RochesterMN
22. SOA                 10.17 7pm

23. Dave Lindorff   - Impeachment, now and then
24. Steve Perry     - One state, one party, one leader
25. Douglas C Smyth - Autocracy in the US and 5th century Rome
26. ed              - Larry King's vitamins (poem/poll)

--------1 of 26--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Coffee talks 10.16 9:30am

Whistle Stop Coffee Shop Talks
Sunday, October 16 9:30-11:30am
Mary V : The Big "O"!
The Black Dog Café 308 Prince Street, Lowertown, St. Paul


--------2 of 26--------

From: skarx001 <skarx001 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Sensible vigil 10.16 12noon

The sensible people for peace hold weekly peace vigils at the intersection
of Snelling and Summit in StPaul, Sunday between noon and 1pm. (This is
across from the Mac campus.) We provide signs protesting current gov.
foreign and domestic policy. We would appreciate others joining our
vigil/protest.


--------3 of 26--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: German/US/POWs 10.16 12noon

Sunday,10/16, noon to 5pm, opening of Traces exhibit about Midwest POW's
in Germany, German POW's in the Midwest, internment and so on, Landmark
Center, 75 W. 5th St, St. Paul.  www.TRACES.org


--------4 of 26--------

From: kim doss-smith [mailto:bluewillow [at] hotmail.com]
Subject: Returning vets 10.16 12:30pm

The ELCA (The Lutherans) Twin cities Peace with Justice Forum Series willl
sponsor an identical presentation at two locations on Sunday, October
16th, on THE RETURNING VETERANS: Their Situation and Their Needs.

The first presentation will be from 12:30-2:00 p.m. at Central Lutheran
Church, 3rd Ave and 12th St, Minneapolis, next to the Minneapolis
Convention Center.  Lunch available($6.00).  Validated parking is
available in the Central parking lot/ramp on the south side of the church.

The same program will be repeated that afternoon from 3:30 -5:00 p.m.
Sunday, October 16th, at Prince of Peace Lutheran Church, 13901 Fairview
Drive, Burnsville, Minnesota.

Refreshments (free will offering).  For directions go to
http://www.princeofpeaceonline.org or call the church office at
952-435-8102.

The  speaker will be CPT Russell K. Bacon of the U.S. Army Reserve.

In  this presentation CPT Russell Bacon will discuss:
 The situation of veterans and their families
 The needs of veterans in general and those of Iraq in particular
 Emotional and spiritual needs
 The services the military provides  to veterans
 What  the community and the Church can provide

CPT Russell K. Bacon has served with the U.S. Army Reserve 785th Medical
Company (Combat Stress Control) providing traveling psychiatric support
throughout the Iraqi theatre of operations from Feb 04 to Feb 05.  He is
currently serving with the 88th Regional Readiness Command assigned with
the Surgeons office.  He is also a Registered Nurse working in psychiatry
at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center, where he has been employed for 18
years.

For more information on this series call Dick Hilden at 612-825-1581.


--------5 of 26--------

From: Mike Hazard <mediamic [at] bitstream.net>
Subject: Peace House 10.16 2pm

"What I love about the Peace House is everybody is trying to better
themselves."

Peace House is a place people call "the living room of Franklin Avenue".
For two decades this totally volunteer-run, faith-based action has been
helping people trying to better themselves. To celebrate our 20th
anniversary, we are showing a new documentary by Media Mike Hazard, Peace
House Sings. Free and open to all, please join us on Sunday, October 16,
any time between 2:00 to 6:00 pm at St. Stephens Catholic School
Cafeteria, 2123 Clinton Avenue South, Minneapolis. For more information,
call 763-588-4144.


--------6 of 26--------

From: Lydia Howell <lhowell [at] visi.com>
Subject: Darwin's nightmare/film 10.16 3pm

Screening @ the Walker
Sunday, October 16, 3 pm; Tuesday-Saturday, October 18-22,
7:30 pm; Sunday, October 23, 3 pm
Darwin1s Nightmare
Directed by Hubert Sauper

Feeling more like science fiction or horror than documentary, Darwin's
Nightmare marks a monumental achievement in socio-political filmmaking.
The social and economic effects of market globalization is illustrated by
the introduction of the Nile Perch in Tanzania1s Lake Victoria.  As the
non-native fish devour the local species, multinational food concerns
upset the existing economy by introducing factories, weapons and policies
that leave the area decimated where only the strong survive.

This moving film is a call for action that took the Best Documentary
honors at European Film Awards and Silverdocs. "An extraordinary work of
visual journalism, a richly illustrated report on a distant catastrophe
that is also one of the central stories of our time . . . Indispensable."
-A.O. Scott, The New York Times. To address the multiple social, economic
and political issues that surface within the film, each screening will be
followed by a question-and-answer session with invited guests from a
variety of fields engaged in questions of globalization, fair trade, and
documentary filmmaking. 2004, Austria/Belgium, color, 35mm, 107 minutes.

Contact Rachel Joyce @ rachel.joyce [at] walkerart.org
<mailto:rachel.joyce [at] walkerart.org> for more info.


--------7 of 26--------

From: Doris G. Marquit <marqu001 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Election workshop 10.16 3pm

Corporations in Our Elections:  Who Is (Mis)(Not)Counting Our Votes?
          --A Citizen's Campaign for Voting (and Counting) Rights --

Sunday, October 16, 3 pm, Mapps Coffee Shop, 1810 Riverside Ave. (West
Bank), Minneapolis

Given by Leslie Reindl, Chair, Women's International League for Peace &
Freedom, MN Metro Branch; writer/producer of video "(Mis)Counting the
Vote:  Stealing Elections in America " (2002)

Sponsored by IMPACT (Ideas to Mobilize People Against Corporate Tyranny)
group and Minnesota Metro WILPF

Ffi:  Eric Angell, Media Liason, IMPACT, (651)644-1173

Corporations with partisan leadership have been allowed to take over our
election system.  Citizens now cast their ballots on electronic voting
machines, many offering no way to audit results.  The machines
consistently malfunction and require help from corporate technicians, the
vote-counting software is a trade secret, certification tests are secret,
overcounts and undercounts are common, and recounts if possible at all are
difficult to get.

Who are the people programming, selling, and servicing these machines?
Why are states purchasing them in such a hurry?
Are our votes being counted the way we cast our ballots?

Multiple knowledgeable people have raised the alarm about the potential
and ease of manipulation of vote-counting software in any computerized
voting system, and the need for a paper record of votes.  This workshop
will present a brief history of the rise of computerized voting, fraud
issues from elections beginning in 1996, especially the presidential
election of 2004; the role of the 2002 Help America Vote Act in the rush
to purchase new machines; congressional bills and suggestions being
offered to ³improve² our elections; and most important, what citizens can
do to bring about real reform.

Our election system is the basis of our democracy.  If it is now being
manipulated to put certain people in power and to maintain the current
extreme power structure, our work for equality and justice cannot be
successful.  The distorted American election system will not be discussed
by corporate media, and as the fraudulent 2004 election slips into
history, 2006 is on the horizon.  Will we allow it to be a replay of 2004,
with the addition to the computers of the reform suggestion of a "paper
trail" that may or may not be audited randomly as required?  Or will we
demand an election system that allows voter oversight of all aspects, as
required by the 1964 Voting Rights Act?  The choice is up to us.


--------8 of 26--------

From: Gabe Ormsby <gabeo [at] bitstream.net>
Subject: AI 10.16 3pm

Join AI Group 37 for our regular meeting on Sunday, October 16, from 3-5pm

At this meeting, we will focus on our subgroup work. We will hear updates
from our subgroups that work on several different kinds of cases in
different parts of the world. We'll send you home with plenty of actions
to take to protect human rights.

All are welcome at the meeting, and refreshments will be provided.

Center for Victims of Torture, 717 E. River Rd. SE, Minneapolis (corner of
E. River Rd. and Oak St.). Park on street or in the small lot behind the
center (the center is a house set back on a large lawn).

A map and directions are available on-line:
http://www.twincitiesamnesty.org/meetings.html.


--------9 of 26--------

From: Chris Spotted Eagle <chris [at] spottedeagle.org>
Subject: KFAI/Indian 10.16 4pm

KFAI's Indian Uprising for Oct. 16th

SONGS AND POETRY BY BARNEY BUSH (SHAWNEE), Left For Dead (CD), in
collaboration with Native American and European musicians, "My poetry is
active resistance, and in our breaking-up world, music stays one of the
few possible connections between all of us. Tony's music is the beautiful
horse that carries the message." ~ Barney Bush

The Minnesota sur Seine Music Festival is host to the U.S. premiere
performance "Left for Dead" Wednesday, October 19, 7:30 p.m. McNally Smith
College of Music, 19 Exchange Street East, St. Paul.  The 2005,
 The ensemble features the poetry of Shawnee poet and teacher Barney Bush,
blending with the drum, flute, and singing by Native American musicians
along with European jazz.  Tickets are $15.00 and $12.00 in advance.
FFI, Sara Remke (651) 292-9746, sararemke123 [at] msn.com, www.surseine.org.

Barney Bush began collaborating with British composer and pianist Tony
Hymas in 1988, beginning with a project entitled Oyate (The People), a
double CD dedicated to 12 Native American leaders from the second half of
the 19th century. Far from being a nostalgic project, Oyate introduced
listeners to poets, musicians, and singers from a living Native world,
including John Trudell, Jim Pepper, Joanne Shenandoah, Floyd Westerman,
and Carlos Nakaï. Oyate initiated a rich and intense collaboration with an
array of versatile musicians who continued their explorations at
intersection of words and music in two double CDs: Remake of the American
Dream in 1992 and Left for Dead, (named after a poem Bush dedicated to
imprisoned American Indian Movement activist Leonard Peltier), in 1994.

KFAI RADIO PLEDGE CAMPAIGN SECOND WEEK.  Support KFAI by Calling
612-375-9030 and make a pledge during the Indian Uprising program.

KFAI's goal is $106,700.00.  Contributions support KFAI's basic operating
costs.  There are twelve non-English speaking and music programs you won't
hear anywhere else.  We broadcast 24/7.  A selection of premium gifts are
for those who pledge over $75. BOOK - We Have the Right to Exist: A
translation of Aboriginal Indigenous Thought from an Ojibwe perspective by
Wub-e-ke-niew. BOOK - Walking With the Devil: What Bad cops don't want you
to know and good cops won't tell you by Michael W. Quinn of Minneapolis.
VIDEO - A one-half hour film documentary, Our Sacred Land, about the
Sacred Black Hills in South Dakota and how it is a sacred place for
American Indian people produced by Chris Spotted Eagle.

* * * *
Indian Uprising is a one-half hour Public & Cultural Affairs radio program
for, by, and about Indigenous people & all their relations, broadcast each
Sunday at 4:00 p.m. over KFAI 90.3 FM Minneapolis and 106.7 FM St. Paul.
Current programs are archived online after broadcast at www.kfai.org, for
two weeks.  Click Program Archives and scroll to Indian Uprising.


--------10 of 26--------

From: Todd Heintz <proud2liveinjordan [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Mpls mayoral debate 10.16 7pm

[Listen to the two unprogressive candidates, then write in Farheen Hakeem
on election day. ed]

MINNEAPOLIS MAYORAL DEBATE
Hosted by Temple Israel
2324 Emerson Avenue South, Minneapolis
Sunday, October 16, 2005
7pm
Moderated by WCCO Reporter David Schechter

Featuring:
Hennepin County Commissioner Peter McLaughlin
Mayor R.T. Rybak

Co-Sponsors:
The League of Women Voters of Minneapolis
Justice Squared, a program of the Jewish Community Relations Council
Jewish Community Action

The debate is free and open to the public

If you need hearing impaired services or for more information about the
debate, contact Larry Gibson at 612 339-6989 or Lois Gibson at 612
332-0201.


--------11 of 26--------

From: GibbsJudy [at] aol.com
Subject: Superior hiking 10.17 10am Duluth MN

The Superior Hiking Trail seeks volunteers to help build 40 miles of
trail through the city of Duluth. More than 250 people have volunteered
thus far  - no experience is needed, equipment provided. Dress for the
weather and bring lunch and water. For more information contact Judy at
391-0886 or gibbsjudy [at] aol.com or go to the hiking trail's website at
www.shta.org.

Monday, October 17, 10-3 pm Meet at the 'third pulloff' on Skyline
parkway, just west of the intersection with Haines Road.
Tuesday, October 18, 10-3 pm  Meet at the 'third pulloff' on Skyline
parkway, just west of the intersection with Haines Road.
Friday, October 19, 10-3 pm MEET AT THE SKYLINE PARKWAY OVERLOOK BETWEEN
HAINES AND PIEDMONT
Saturday, October 22, 10-3pm MEET AT THE SKYLINE PARKWAY OVERLOOK BETWEEN
HAINES AND PIEDMONT

Judy Gibbs 5875 North Shore Drive Duluth, MN 55804 218-391-0886 (mobile)
"Unless someone like you cares a whole awful lot, nothing's going to get
better, it's not." ~ Dr.Seuss


--------12 of 26--------

From: Elizabeth Dickinson <eadickinson [at] mindspring.com>
Subject: MN energy future 10.17 1:30pm Rochester MN

Minnesota's Energy Future: Community Energy and Economic Opportunity
Forum

The Southeast Clean Energy Resource Team (CERT), Olmsted CERT and the
University of Minnesota Rochester will co-host the Community Energy and
Economic Opportunity Forum on October 17 in Rochester.  SE CERT recently
released its regional Strategic Energy Plan and hopes to use this forum to
stimulate involvement in community-based projects and engage volunteers in
its education and outreach activities.  Olmsted CERT hopes to use the
forum to jump-start local energy initiatives.

Joining the local CERTs for this Energy Forum will be the Minnesota
Department of Commerce State Energy Office; Environmental Assistance,
Minnesota Pollution Control Agency; Community Based Energy Development
(C-BED) Organization; CERT statewide organizers, and the University of
Minnesota Initiative for Renewable Energy and the Environment (IREE).

These groups have joined forces to travel the state to share information
on new renewable energy and energy efficiency initiatives and to assist
rural communities with their energy projects.  Erin Tegtmeier, Executive
Director of the Experiment in Rural Cooperation states, "Citizens working
in tandem with the resources of the State and the University of Minnesota
can create a positive energy future - one that is stable, safe and
contributes to the quality of life of their communities. We encourage
citizens to take advantage of this timely opportunity for learning and
collaboration and help lead this region to be thoughtful and creative
about energy conservation and generation."

The Energy Forum will empower attendees to become more energy efficient
and start using renewable energy right away. Janet Streff, State Energy
Office manager will provide tips on low cost no cost energy efficiency
improvements.  Jeff Ledermann from Environmental Assistance will help you
sign up for Green Pricing.  Mike Bull, Assistant Commissioner, Renewable
Energy and Advanced Technologies will discuss how the Department of
Commerce is working to get more renewable energy projects installed around
the state.  George Crocker will explain the new C-BED tariff and how it
will help spur community wind development.  Dick Hemmingsen, Director of
University of Minnesota's Initiative for Renewable Energy and the
Environment will describe the new cutting edge renewable energy research
underway at the University.

The coalition will ultimately be making eight stops in Minnesota
communities scattered throughout the state but will be visiting the
Southeast Region in both Rochester and Winona.  Details about the
Rochester event are as follows:

Monday, October 17
1:30-4:30pm
University Center of Rochester - Heintz Center atrium/commons
1926 Collegeview Drive SE, Rochester (Corner of 4th St SE & 19th Ave SE)

Bruce Anderson SE CERT Education and Outreach Coordinator 402 Washington
St. Northfield, MN 55057 Phone: 507.645.7133 brucea [at] renewnorthfield.org
http://renewnorthfield.org


--------13 of 26--------

From: Elizabeth Dickinson <eadickinson [at] mindspring.com>
Subject: SPELL workshop 10.17 5:30pm

Developing Talkers and Thinkers _October 17th

In this session you will learn language milestones on the road to talking,
and stages of learning for second language learners. Learn strategies to
promote language development in all children, through running commentary,
word walls, and conversation. And identify the ³Big 5² emergent literacy
skills areas.

Sponsored by SPELL Saint Paul Early Language and Literacy FREE of charge
Child care providers are asked to invite parents to join us for this
workshop.
Dinner will be served / Child Care available.
Certificates will be provided.
2.0 inservice hours.

At HUMBOLDT HIGH SCHOOL in conjunction with Community Education¹s Monday
Night Live.
30 Baker Street, St. Paul, MN  55107  (651) 298-8600
Dinner is served at 5:30
Workshops are held from 6-8pm

Call (651) 325-2672 to reserve your spot.  If they ask for the usual $30
payment for Monday Night Live registration ­ remind them that you are
interested in the SPELL sponsored events and there will be NO charge.
See you there !

Kathleen Klumb SPELL Coordinator Saint Paul Early Language and Literacy
756 Transfer Road Saint Paul, MN 55114 (651) 645-2277 ext. 231
kklumb [at] theMLC.org www.theMLC.org/SPELL


--------14 of 26--------

From: Fight Back '05 <fightback05 [at] gmail.com>
Subject: Energy independence 10.17 6pm

Join Us in Moving the Midwest Toward Energy Independence Volunteer
Opportunities - Grassroots Outreach to Voters in Key Swing Suburbs

With energy costs skyrocketing and working families in Minnesota feeling
the pinch as winter approaches, now is the time to take concrete steps
toward energy independence.  The Associate Member Program of the United
Steelworkers is working with suburban citizens to organize for support of
Renewable Energy Standard (RES).  The RES would require utilities to have
20% of their energy come from renewable sources by 2020.  We are working
with citizens in crucial swing suburbs to let their legislators know that
a majority of Minnesotans support the RES.  The RES was voted down by a
narrow margin in 2005, but with your help, we can help citizens in the
suburbs send a strong message to their legislators that moving toward
clean, home-grown energy sources will create jobs and make Minnesotans
less vulnerable to fluctuating energy prices.

What You Can Do To Help

We are contacting voters in key swing suburbs about this issue and asking
them to take action and we need your support.  Please join us at the
following volunteer opportunities:

1. Calling Suburban Voters
Monday, October 17 - 6pm-9pm, Steelworkers Office, 2829 University Ave.
SE, Mpls
Tuesday, October 18 - 6pm-9pm, Steelworkers Office, 2829 University Ave.
SE, Mpls
Thursday, October 20 - 6pm-9pm, Steelworkers Office, 2829 University Ave.
SE, Mpls

2. Doorknock in the Suburbs
Saturday, October 22, 10:30am, Plymouth (Location TBA)

Questions or to RSVP: Email  fightback05 [at] gmail.com or call 612-623-8003

Sign the Renewable Energy Petition - Help Us Deliver Thousands of
Signatures to Governor Pawlenty

Thousands of Minnesotans have signed our Renewable Energy petition - have
you?   CLICK HERE to add your name to our petition
<http://www.fightback05.com/petitiondetail.asp?Petition_ID=12>  so we can
send a strong message to Governor Pawlenty.


Join the Associate Member Program

By joining the Associate Member Program, your contribution will directly
support this innovative organizing effort.   CLICK HERE to find out more
and to sign up as an Associate Member <http://www.uswa.org/uswa/program/content/overview_sub.php?modules2_ID=186&amp;
modules_ID=285> .

Portions of this website are paid for by the United Steelworkers of
America Political Action Fund, with voluntary contributions from union
members and their families, and is not authorized by any candidate or
candidate's committee.

http://www.fightback05.org
<http://listserv.steelworkers-usw.org/t/15790/419208/8/0/>


--------15 of 26--------

From: "Krueger, Rodney" <rodney.krueger [at] frontiercorp.com>
Subject: Election fraud/film 10.17 6:30pm

Free screenings of the documentary Invisible Ballots at Minneapolis Public
Libraries.

View and discuss an in-depth expose of the all-electronic computerized
voting system that raises questions about electronic voting machines,
election rigging and accuracy. Program sponsored by Citizens for Election
Integrity.

Monday, October 17, 6:30-8 p.m.
Southeast Library, 1222 Southeast 4th Street

"Invisible Ballots: A Temptation for Electronic Vote Fraud" is a video
documentary produced, directed and edited by William Gazecki, director of
the Academy-Award nominated documentary "WACO: The Rules of Engagement."
Gazecki's in-depth exposé begs the question "does the proverbial Black Box
touch-screen voting machine jeopardize the sanctity of the voting
process?" As governments install computer voting systems with no paper
record to verify accuracy, is high-tech vote fraud flying underneath the
radar of public scrutiny?

Topics covered in the documentary include: the history of voting systems,
the Help America Vote Act, problems with electronic voting and the need
for honesty, oversight and transparency in elections.

The documentary screenings and discussions are sponsored by Citizens for
Election Integrity Minnesota, a nonpartisan group tied to the national
voting rights movement committed to restoring the integrity of our
election system. The group aims to raise awareness of the need for
election reform and to inspire citizen action.

For more information see:

http://www.electionintegritymn.org/ View more information about the
nonpartisan "Count Every Vote" coalition that is becoming active in
Minnesota.

http://www.fec.gov/hava/hava.htm Federal Election Commission: Help America
Vote Act

http://www.nvri.org/ The National Voting Rights Institute is a
nonpartisan, nonprofit organization that affirms our constitutional
protection of the right to vote.

http://www.verifiedvoting.org/ VerifiedVoting.org champions reliable and
publicly verifiable elections in the United States.

http://www.votetrustusa.org/ Vote Trust USA supports grassroots groups in
their efforts to change laws and regulations governing voting systems and
election administration.


--------16 of 26--------

From: wamm <wamm [at] mtn.org>
Subject: Medical coverup/film 10.17 6:30pm

Third Monday Movies FREE: "Beyond Treason"

Monday, October 17, 6:30pm. St Joan of Arc Church, Upper Room Parish
House, 4537 Third Avenue South, Minneapolis. Parking is close, free, and
easy. This extremely powerful 89 minute film presents comprehensive
documentation from United States Government archives of a massive medical
cover-up, including military and civilian experimentation, dating back
over 60 years. FFI: Call the WAMM office at 612-827-5364.


--------17 of 26--------

From: Todd Heintz <proud2liveinjordan [at] yahoo.com>
Subject: Domestic violence 10.17 6:30pm

"A Call to Action: Our Communities' Response to Domestic Violence" is a
town-hall meeting Monday, Oct. 17, from 6:30-8:30pm at the Sabathani
Community Center, 310 E. 38th St., Minneapolis. Panel discussions include
representatives from the Hennepin County Attorney's Office, Community
Corrections and District Court, as well as spiritual leaders representing
Native American, Muslim and Christian faiths. The discussion is sponsored
by the Hennepin County Family Violence Coordinating Council in honor of
Domestic Violence Awareness Month. For more information, contact Jen
Polzin, Tubman Family Alliance, at 612-767-6697.


--------18 of 26--------

From: Sue Ann <mart1408 [at] umn.edu>
Subject: Coldwater walk 10.17 7pm

Don't miss this beautiful fall walk near the Mississippi River on
Monday, October 17th at 7:00 pm.

Learn about historic Coldwater Springs -- some of the legends and stories
and what is happening today.

The Coldwater area that surrounds the Springs is the historical center of
Fort Snelling and Minnehaha Park and the Birthplace of Minnesota.

Gather at 7 PM, Walk at 7:15 PM.  Meet at south end of Minnehaha Park in
the pay parking lot off East 54th Street.

Directions: from Hwy 55, turn East (toward the Mississippi) at East 54th
Street, follow the road around (to the left) into the parking lot.

Sunset is at 6:24 pm and Moonrise at 6:26 pm.


--------19 of 26--------

From: Elizabeth Dickinson <eadickinson [at] mindspring.com>
From: "Craig and Merritt" <cdsmith [at] alum.mit.edu>
Subject: Stop chains 10.17 7pm

Hello Metro IBA friends,

Wanted to invite you know about an interesting meeting this Monday evening.

Meeting: Formula Business [chains] Ordinances - Pros and Cons

Presenters: 2 or 3 commercial leasing specialists will discuss market
forces that impact decisions to lease to independents or chains, and David
Morris from the Institute for Local Self-Reliance will discuss why some
communities limit formula businesses from moving in.

October 17th
7 to 8:30 pm
Place: William Mitchell College of Law, Auditorium (corner of Summit Ave and
Victoria St. in St. Paul).  Leave a little time to find parking.

Meeting open to public.  Hope you can join us.  This meeting is hosted by
the District 16 Planning Council of St. Paul.

Merritt Clapp-Smith Executive Director Metro IBA 785 Goodrich Ave St Paul,
MN 55105 651.222.6533 merritt [at] metroiba.org


--------20 of 26--------

From: Tom Taylor <tom [at] organicconsumers.org>
Subject: Cam Gordon night 10.17 7pm

You are invited to an evening with Cam Gordon Candidate for Minneapolis City
Council for Ward 2

Monday, October 17, 7:00 p.m.
Trinity Lutheran Congregational Office
2001 Riverside Avenue, 2nd Floor (Back entrance)

Community, conversation and positive politics

Discuss how we can all make this a better city for everyone. Come learn
more about how Cam will fight for the Cedar Riverside community with the
passion, effectiveness and civility that only he can provide. Cam knows
our neighborhood. He knows our city. He knows the issues. His victory on
November 8 will be our victory and an important step towards making this a
better city for us, our children, and all the people of Minneapolis.

Who - You and all your friends, family and neighbors. Children are
encouraged to come.


--------21 of 26--------

From: humanrts [at] umn.edu
Subject: Abstinence "ed" 10.17 7pm RochesterMN

October 17 Alan Spears Forum Series: James Wagoner: Truth or Consequences:
What You Need To Know About Abstinence-Only Education.  7pm

One billion dollars in state and federal funds have been allocated since
1996 to abstinence-only/no contraception education programs. A recent
federal study confirms what an abundance of studies have shown these
programs don t work. Still, leaders at the state and federal level
continue to pump more dollars into abstinence-only programs while
restricting comprehensive sexuality education programs that have been
research-tested and proven to work. With elected leaders insisting on
their ideological positions despite all evidence, have we turned the
health of young people over to the flat earth society?

Presentation of MAP 2005 Hanson-Henningson Awards for legislative
leadership to Sen. John Hottinger in St. Peter and Sen. Sheila Kiscaden in
Rochester.

For more information, call the MAP AIDSLine:
612-373-2437
612-373-2465 (TTY)
1-800-248-2437
1-888-820-2437 (TTY)

Location: RCTC, Rochester, MN (Monday), Gustavus Adolphus College, St. Peter,
MN (Tuesday)

[I hope soon to see the other side: Sex-only abstinence education. I need
to learn abstinence, and can think of only one way that would work. -ed]


--------22 of 26--------

From: Charles Underwood <charleyunderwood [at] hotmail.com>
Subject: SOA 10.17 7pm

Monday, 10/17, 7 to 9 pm, Get the Word Out: SOA presentation at Hamline
University, Gliddens Learning Center, room 246W, St. Paul.
www.circlevision.org


--------23 of 26--------

Clinton, Bush and the Polls
Impeachment, Now and Then
By DAVE LINDORFF
CounterPunch
October 12, 2005

Here's a fascinating bit of news: More people today want to see President
Bush impeached than wanted Clinton impeached on the eve of the House's
vote on his impeachment.

According to a poll by the Zogby organization, just released by the group
Afterdowningstreet.org, 50 percent of the American public now would like
to see the House impeach Bush if it were found that he had lied about the
reasons for going to war in Iraq (if?).

Compare that to December 17, 1998, only days before Clinton's impeachment
by the House of Representatives, when an AP poll found that only 36
percent of the American public wanted to see the president impeached.

Clearly Americans view the flawed invasion of Iraq and other actions by
the Bush administration, like the placing of business cronies in high
places, the bankrupting of the federal government, and the failure to come
to the rescue of an American city as far more serious than Clinton's sex
romp and the lying about it that followed. And there's plenty more bad
news to come for Bush, beginning with likely indictments in the Plame
outing affair.

So, is the campaign by After Downing Street and other organizations to
seek Bush's impeachment just tilting at windmills? It certainly isn't
likely to happen with the current Republican domination of the House, but
if public anger against Bush continues to grow, that could all change in
November 2006, when all House seats are up for reelection.

The latest poll suggests we may have an entertaining 2006 and 2007.

Dave Lindorff is the author of Killing Time: an Investigation into the
Death Row Case of Mumia Abu-Jamal. His new book of CounterPunch columns
titled "This Can't be Happening!" is published by Common Courage Press.
Information about both books and other work by Lindorff can be found at
www.thiscantbehappening.net.

He can be reached at: dlindorff [at] yahoo.com


--------24 of 26--------

One State, One Party, One Leader
By Steve Perry
City Pages

In the weeks since Hurricane Katrina swamped Mississippi and destroyed New
Orleans, the levees around the Bush White House have begun springing leaks
of their own. Mike Brown was barely out the door when the legal troubles
commenced. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay was indicted for illegal
diversions of campaign finance money. Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist
came under SEC investigation for insider trading in the sale of stock in
the country's largest for-profit hospital chain, HCA, which was founded by
his father. The name of kingpin GOP lobbyist and fixer Jack Abramoff began
to pop up more regularly in press and blog accounts of other percolating
congressional scandals. And Patrick Fitzgerald's seemingly stalled grand
jury probe of the Valerie Plame/CIA leak roared back onto front pages when
Judith Miller got out of jail and testified about her conversations with
Cheney chief of staff Scooter Libby. By the time this is published, Karl
Rove will have made one last appearance before the Fitzgerald panel.

Just when it seemed that Bush/Rove's fabled control of the news cycle
could not be despoiled much further, the president last week touched off
an insurrection among conservative ideologues in the Congress and the
national GOP by nominating White House counsel Harriet Miers to the
Supreme Court. Per the CBS/New York Times poll last week, the public view
of GWB has never been harsher:

"A growing number of Americans want U.S. troops to leave Iraq as soon as
possible, rather than stay the course, and the highest percentage ever
thinks the United States should have stayed out of Iraq.... President
Bush's overall job approval rating has reached the lowest ever measured in
this poll [37 percent], and evaluations of his handling of Iraq, the
economy and even his signature issue, terrorism, are also at all-time
lows. More Americans than at any time since he took office think he does
not share their priorities.

"The public's concerns affect their view of the state of the country.
Sixty-nine percent of Americans say things in the United States are pretty
seriously off on the wrong track--the highest number since CBS News
started asking the question in 1983. Today, just 26 percent say things are
going in the right direction."

Several moves last week attested to the growing panic inside the West
Wing: the "major address on terrorism" that wasn't, the old White House
spying case they dusted off, the Homeland Security memo that prompted New
York Mayor Michael Bloomberg's subway terror warning. But the clearest
signal of all may have been the Miers appointment itself. The big three
dailies (NYT, LAT, WashPost) had just proclaimed her the "safe" choice of
a weakened president when all hell broke loose. Miers was not so safe, it
turned out, and the way Dick Cheney was hustled onto the Limbaugh show
just hours after its announcement suggested that the White House knew from
the start that she would be a problem with the party's ideologues.

Why spend political capital on appointing her when it's already in
shorter-than-usual supply? Chances are that Karl Rove misjudged the
magnitude of conservative reaction. But practically everyone has
overlooked another pressing reason Bush might want to push through Miers
at any cost. If you were the ringleader of a cast of boodlers and bunglers
that would surely be the envy of the Harding administration, you might
want a fervent loyalist who had been at your side through it all on the
highest court in the land, too. It isn't a matter of Bush's personal
safety from consequences so much as it's a question of safeguarding his
party, his friends, and his legacy from maverick prosecutors and sundry
other good-government types.

With Bush languishing at approval levels in the high 30s, maybe we can do
away with a couple of common shibboleths--first, that he is in any sense a
"popular" president, and second, that public views have much impact on the
course of governance nowadays. As to public opinion, one of the most
eloquent summaries of the Bush years is contained in the graphic below.
Produced by the Pollkatz website, it charts Bush's approval ratings from
day one. The story it tells is one of steady erosion, punctuated by
upticks owing to three factors: the 9/11 attacks, the invasion of Iraq,
and the 2004 Democratic presidential campaign.

Yet notice how little difference the popular hostility toward Bush has
made in his political successes to date. This is in part testament to the
thoroughness and regimentation of the GOP army. They are serious people.
They have worked hard to make Washington a one-party town, from the
composition of House-Senate conference committees to the coerced staffing
of K Street lobbying firms with a new generation of fringe-right true
believers. All the same, you cannot explain the ease with which they've
had their way strictly by their own mettle. It has required the
capitulation of the Democratic Party. It's telling that the only serious
political turbulence engendered by Bush's initiatives has arisen from
within his own party--from moderates to his left on Social Security and
the filibuster fight, and hardliners to his right on the Miers nomination.

At the hour of Bush's greatest vulnerability, there is, as usual, hardly a
peep from Democrats. Every party apologist under the sun seems to think
the Democrats are craftily letting Bush hang himself while they attend to
the problem of refining their "message," a perennial puzzle complicated by
many factors, chief among them that they have no message to refine. Ever
since the 1984 reelection of Ronald Reagan, the Democrats have sought
consciously to position themselves as less extreme, more sensible
exemplars of the same values and goals as Republicans. That way lay the
serious political money--and, they convinced themselves, the hearts of
swing voters. But if "we're like them, only less" has proven repeatedly to
be a lousy electoral draw, the party shows no sign of swerving from it.
Hillary Clinton, an archetypal cynic and "centrist" who is as divisive in
her own way as George W. Bush, is everyone's frontrunner for the 2008
Democratic nomination. The troublesome Howard Dean is effectively
silenced. And the party intelligentsia, with the blessing of the Clintons,
is still busy admonishing anyone who will listen to stay the course--now
is no time to move left! Just last week a fresh screed on the subject was
excreted by two old Friends of Bill, Elaine Kamarck and William Galston.

This tune does not change. No matter how badly they get clobbered, it is
never time for the Democrats to tilt left on pocketbook issues in the view
of party captains and, more important, party funders. The Democrats' money
people, like the Republicans', are drawn mostly from the ranks of the less
than 1 percent of the population that donates over 80 percent of total
campaign contributions. Their differences with each other are slight
compared to the differences between the 1-percenters and everyone else.
The vast majority of the people whose money picks our political candidates
and drives our government are in accord about the shape of the future they
want: free trade, modest-to-minimal central government, rollbacks in any
spending programs that redistribute income downward, and a continuing
decline in the living standards of most Americans as world wage markets
equalize. So the Democrats are left to sell themselves on a margin of
difference that looks, and usually is, fairly trivial--at least until a
genuine radical like Bush rises to power. And when he does, apparently,
they are so far out of fighting trim that they fail to wage battles they
could win even in the absence of any new ideas, such as the scandals
stemming from cronyism and sheer incompetence in Bush's circle.

No matter how evil or ingenious you suppose the Republican brain trust to
be, in the end they have our wondrously inert democratic institutions to
thank for much of their operating room. It's no great hardship to flout
public will and public interest consistently when the watchdogs of the
press spend most of their time curled up in your lap, and there is no
opposition party to rally foes or pose compelling alternatives. Certainly
the Bush gang has exploited this vacuum to hell and back, but they did not
create it. The system was broken when they got there, and it will still be
broken when they're gone.


--------25 of 26--------

George W. Bush, the Honorius of Our Time
Autocracy in the US and 5th Century Rome
By DOUGLAS C. SMYTH
CounterPunch
October 15 / 16, 2005

Why do people worry that Harriet Miers is too close to the President?
Don't they watch the miniseries on Rome on HBO? In the fifth century,
Emperor Honorius appointed whoever purchased the office of Procurator
(roughly equivalent to a Supreme Court Justice). The appointee was usually
the son of a wealthy Senator (the highest nobility at the time) and had no
experience at all. What was important was that he didn't challenge the
Emperor, God's Vice-Regent on Earth, and that he, or his father, offered
games to the public.

There was no reason to challenge the Emperor, of course. Emperor Honorius
was so wrapped up in his prize roosters, one of whom he named Rome, that
in 410 when a messenger dashed into his throne room in Ravenna shouting,
"Rome has fallen!" he started to run for his chicken coop, alarmed, until
the messenger explained he meant the city. "Oh, that Rome," the Emperor is
supposed to have said. And 1,595 years later Brownie did "a heckuva job"
rescuing New Orleans.

Honorius (393-423) was the son of the previous Emperor, just as George is
the son of George. Dynasty is important in keeping the state together.
When Honorius' nephew became Emperor after a long regency under his
mother, he had an obsession, too, the other kind of chicken, the human
kind; he couldn't keep out of the bedrooms of his courtiers' wives,
Christian Emperor though he was.

What does this have to do with Harriet Miers? The Rome of late antiquity
was an autocracy, ruled by the men (and eunuchs) surrounding the Emperor.
Appointing close confidants was routine. After all, the Emperor, or the
people who ruled in his name, had virtually absolute power. Now our
Emperor, I mean President, wants to name one of his closest, most loyal
advisors to the Supreme Court, to the seat that has held the balance in
the court. If she is confirmed, then our Emperor, I mean President, will
have assured for himself that neither of the competing institutions will
block whatever he wants to do: torture, imprison "enemy aliens," bankrupt
Social Security, take money from the poor and give it to the rich, etc.
After a brief insurrection among his party members in Congress, they will
support the Imperial party leader. And the Supreme Court, up until now a
thorn in his side, will be his play-thing. Roberts, after all, already
demonstrated that in his view the executive can do virtually no wrong--as
long as he's a Republican conservative. And with Miers added to the court,
the balance of votes for an Imperial presidency will be in the majority.

Oh, it's possible that Harriet will "evolve" once George becomes
Ex-President, but that's a long time from now, and would she "evolve" if
George's brother is elected? In the meantime, anything George will do, or
approve, Harriet is sure to approve of as well. Torture, martial law?
Which brings us to the Autocracy in the title: the Supreme Court is
supposed to be a counter-weight to the executive and the legislative
branches, not its lapdog. There is a very real danger that all our civil
liberties will be swept away in the face of the "never-ending
war-on-terror," if the Court becomes lapdog. We will then develop quickly
into an autocratic system, because there will be nothing to stop it. The
opposition (Democrats?) is as tired and clueless as the Pagan Senators who
tried to bring back the altar to Victory to the Roman Senate in 392.

Will Jeb follow George? After all, dynasty creates stability--of a sort.
When Valentinian III had dallied with the wrong Senator's wife, after
murdering his best general, he was murdered in turn. What little stability
the Empire still had up until then (455) went flying out the palace
window. There were Emperors after that (until 476), but the autocracy, and
the complicit aristocracy (much like our selfish class) could not deal
with the crises of the era--invasions, the breakdown of the Empire's
economy. When the Empire fell--with the Senate's connivance--the wealthy
assumed they could simply continue as lords of their manors, much the way
corporate leaders expect they could always go elsewhere if things get bad
here--after they have shook down our substance. Chaos followed the
Empire's fall, however, and even the very wealthy lost their--tunics.

Douglas C. Smyth has a Ph.D in Social Science, and have been both a
freelance writer and a college teacher (Economics, Political Science, and
History). He is currently working on a book: The Selfish Class. Smyth can
be reached at: douglassmyth [at] optonline.net


--------26 of 26--------

 Who out there cares what
 vitamins Larry King takes?
 I'd rather not know.

 I'd rather opine
 he puts them in the place where
 the sun doesn't shine.

 As days go by, he'd
 have to stop, get really big,
 or pop like popcorn.

 Which of these would YOU
 like best? Register your view
 at KaboomKing.com


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   rhymes with clove         Progressive Calendar
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