Action Newsletter
DEMOCRATIC EVENTS
1. Fidalgo Democrats Monthly Meeting, Tuesday, Jan. 3, 2012, 7 p.m., Anacortes Public Library, 1220 10th Street, Anacortes
Evelyn Adams of Transition Fidalgo & Friends will speak about TF&F and the international Transition movement. After the speaker, there will be a moderated period of questions and comments. We will also survey and vote on members’ program interests for 2012. Friends, colleagues, and family are welcome. Coffee and refreshments will be available, as always. Please bring a non-perishable food item for the food bank donation box near the door. For more information, call Corinne at 293-7114.
Hope to see you!
Corinne Salcedo, Chair
Fidalgo Democrats
293-7114
2. Holiday Open House, Saturday, Dec. 31, 11 a.m. – 3 p.m., Party Headquarters, Mount Vernon
We’ll supply coffee, tea, and hot chocolate, but we could use some finger food donations. Stop by to celebrate a successful year and perhaps strategize a bit for successful campaigns in the coming year. (Don’t forget to bring something for the food bank boxes as well.)
3. New – Public Bank Forum, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2012, 1 – 3 p.m., Unitarian Universalist Church, 315 3rd Avenue South, Kirkland
The forum, which is free and open to the public, will feature Representative Bob Hasegawa, Chair of the House Infrastructure Financing Task Force and sponsor of legislation to establish a public bank in Washington State. If you are tired of state tax money going to megabanks, you will want to attend this event.
For directions go to http://www.northlakeuu.org/about/directions/
For more information about public banking go to www.wapublicbankproject.org
www.publicbankinginstitute.org , www.justsustainableeconomy.org
Sponsored by the Washington Public Bank Coalition
4. Executive Board Meeting of the Skagit County Democrats, Saturday, Jan. 14, 2012, 10 a.m. – noon, Party Headquarters, Mount Vernon
All interested Democrats are welcome to attend.
5. Central Committee Meeting of the Skagit County Democrats, Saturday, Jan. 21, 2012, 10 a.m. – noon, Venue TBA
All PCOs are urged to attend. All interested Democrats are welcome, as always, to attend. We will be electing a new Vice-Chair from among the PCOs to fill the vacancy created when Josie Hedgpeth took over as our Chair. We will also begin the important work that is necessary to prepare for caucuses and the county convention leading up to the critical election in November.
ANNOUNCEMENTS
1. New – New Labor Radio Program, “We Do the Work”, First Show, Monday, Jan. 2, 5 p.m., KSVR 91.7 FM
The inaugural interview will feature Jeff Johnson, President of the Washington State Labor Council. He’ll talk about the importance of unions and how they benefit the entire working class.
The show is hosted by Rich Austin, a retired member of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. Audio, editing, and other technical duties will be performed by Janet McKinney, a retired member of Operating Engineers Local 302. They said: “The time to act is now. Supporting fellow workers and collective bargaining rights is especially urgent after what happened to working people in Wisconsin and to public workers here in Washington. In addition to that, working men and women cannot rely on mainstream media or elected officials for the whole story. We must search elsewhere to get all the facts in order to make informed decisions.”
The aim of “We Do the Work” is to bring information that is vital to workers. The program’s creators believe everyone deserves to be treated fairly and that each of us should have the opportunity to live in economic security with dignity and respect. Topics that will be discussed will range from free trade agreements to health care, from jobs to corporate accountability, from security in retirement to legislative deception.
If all goes well, KSVR’s General Manager Rip Robbins wants “We Do the Work” to have its own 28 minute dedicated program each week. KSVR is committed to providing local, national, and global news and information to listeners in the Skagit Community and beyond in both English and Spanish.
Listen to We Do the Work, within Skagit Talks, Mondays, 5 pm, at KSVR, 91.7 FM or for live streaming go to Live Broadcast of KSVR programs. To hear the previous two weeks’ programs that are archived, go to Older Broadcasts of We Do the Work within Skagit Talks.
Together we will learn what we can do to bring about social and economic justice for all.
Sponsored by the Labor/Dem Group
2. New – The Skagit Human Rights Festival 2012 Now Organizing
The theme of the festival, scheduled for March, is “Whose Valley is this Anyway? Corporate Power or Community Power”.
The Skagit Human Rights Festival is comprised of four Thursday evenings dedicated to exploring national and international issues that impact us here in our valley. The Festival, now in its ninth year, is an excellent way to showcase your organization to persons who care about issues important to all of us.
The issues tentatively planned for the four evenings are:
- Labor - two documentaries, keynote speaker, Jeff Johnson, president of the Washington State Labor Council, and discussion panel. The Labor presentation is being organized by The Labor/Dem Work Group.
- Civil Liberties/Police State—Lt. Col. Margaret Stock will speak about E-verify
- Water – the film Tapped
- Corporations – a movie and a speaker TBA
It is the hope of the planning committee that the 2012 Festival will be free to all. Your sponsorship will help us offer the events of the Festival freely to our community and will publicize your involvement in the continuing efforts to make our community one for which we can all be proud to call home.
The Skagit County Democrats are interested in helping to sponsor the SHRF and are asking for people to donate in the Skagit County Democrats’ name. If you are interested in adding to the contributions, come by the Skagit County headquarters and submit your gift. If we want to get our logo on the advertisements both in print and on the Lincoln Theater’s screen, the SHRF needs to receive our sponsorship by January 22, 2012.
Join us in presenting the Ninth Annual Skagit Human Rights Festival, a well-received and respected program for the benefit of our community.
http://skagithrf.wordpress.com/ or skagithrf@gmail.com
Janet McKinney, State Committee Woman, Skagit County Democrats
3. News and Needs from Party Headquarters
- HQ received some “We are the 99%” stickers. They are for sale at HQ, 50 cents apiece. Obama 2012 Buttons and bumper stickers are at cost for the remainder of December.
- Our light pole in front of the HQ has been trimmed in fir. A few plastic ornaments have been tied to our “tree” with messages written on them. If you have a message, write it on a ribbon or an ornament and fasten it securely to our Holiday tree.
- Amie with Organizing for America [OFA] is available Thursday afternoons after 1pm. She will be “out of the HQ” the week following Christmas. Her team needs volunteers for the Obama 2012 campaign. There is much to do!
- Committees for the 2012 election are being organized. They are; convention, caucus, resolutions and Gala. If you would like to know more about or work with one of the committees, let staff at HQ know and we will get your info and forward it on to those committee chairs.
- In closing, Skagit Democrats wouldn’t exist without all your help over the past 6+ years. Whatever you have done or may do in the future doesn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated. Merry Christmas and do join us on December 31st. HQ will have an open house from 11:30am until 2:30pm to celebrate what we have in common and discuss the differences. We can be thankful for all the work that has been accomplished and begin planning for next year.
Shirley and the HQ Staff.
Thought for the Week
“Did you know that four of this year’s Republican candidates were personally recruited by God to run for president? Rick Perry, Herman Cain, Michele Bachman, and Rick Santorum each have detailed stories about where they were and what they were doing when God gave them the nod. What kind of a game is God playing here? He’s told four people to run for president, but (barring a miracle, I guess) three of them are going to end up disappointed.”
Michael Kinsley in the Los Angeles Times
Happy New Year!
Gail Nicolls, Secretary
Skagit County Democrats
guemesgail@gmail.com
Formatting and posting by Brad Clure, Chair of Technical Committee
Skagit County Democrats
300A South 1st Street
Mount Vernon, WA 98273
360-336-1555,
www.skagitdemocrats.org
Email to staff: staff@skagitdemocrats.org
Send news items to news@skagitdemocrats.org