Agenda for Harris County Democratic Party (HCDP)Democracy For Houston (DFH) Education Workshop

May 6, 2006 12:30pm-4pm

1445 N. Loop W. @ Ella Blvd, suite #110

Agenda for Harris County Democratic Party (HCDP)Democracy For Houston (DFH) Education Workshop

May 6, 2006 12:30pm-4pm

1445 N. Loop W. @ Ella Blvd, suite #110

This is info on the Cinco de Mayo Parade May 6. It has info for First UU paraders, but it applies to all of us. The parade begins at 10 a.m. in the Minute Maid Park area. (see map below)
Please wear white clothing (e.g., white shirts, t-shirts) to show Solidarity with immigrants.

For distributors of Iraq Notebook/Cuaderno de Irak: Our mission is to alert people, especially spanish speakers, about the Iraq war and provide info regarding recruiters, how to prepare your file for CO status as well as how to get it once you are in the armed forces  -- all in legal ways. Good contact info for GI and peace organizations. Also, educational articles on Iraq, Iraq veterans for peace, great quotes and meaningful poems, etc. Read it yourself for good info!!

The Loes have papers at 1659 Harold #B (ring upper buzzer) which can be picked up Thurs. from 3 - 6:30P and Friday all day until 4:30P. We will also park our car (dust colored Prius with pink ribbon magnate on each side) at First UU church (on Fannin @ Southmore) on May 6 arriving about 8:30P and will have the papers with us. DO BRING YOUR OWN STRONG BAG (Whole Foods has great ones of heavy canvas) to the apt or the Church.  If you don't have a good bag, we have a few extra. The paper is 16 pages and 200 are a bit heavy. But you will be able to get rid of them quickly; folks are usually grateful to receive them.

You are cordially invited to a backyard BBQ Benefit for the MARK MCDAVID CAMPAIGN. Mark McDavid is a native Houstonian running for State Representative in district 138. District 138 encompasses North and Northwest Harris County neighborhoods including Garden Oaks, Oak Forest, Spring Branch, Cy-Fair, and Bear Creek. Mark McDavid is a strong environmentalist who will fight for a stronger focus towards stewardship of our air and water. He will fight for legislation that will make health pollution screening levels stricter and he will fight for alternative fuel sources. Mark McDavid is running against Republican Dwayne Bohac, a right-wing radical that benefited from Tom DeLay's alleged felony criminal conspiracy.

Have you had enough of the corruption, cronyism, and polluted politics taking place in the state house in Austin? If so, Come join us for some good old Texas BBQ and join us in supporting the campaign of a pro-people, PROGRESSIVE Democrat.

All are welcome at Houston's Annual Peace Picnic Most of it's inside, so come even if it rains. 5:00 pm - Children's Games begin on the playground. 6:00 pm - Potluck Picnic Dinner in the Church Hall. (Bring a covered dish; drinks supplied). Music and frolic and announcements will follow. For more information or to volunteer to help out, please contact Judy Hoffhien (see below).

Voices Breaking Boundaries presents WORDS FOR PEACE 4, Voices of a People’s History

• Intros by Howard Zinn (via telephone) and Anthony Arnove, editor of Terrorism and War (in person)
  
• Featuring local artists/ activists rendering a dramatic version of Howard Zinn’s Voices of a People’s History.
  
• Artists include: Paula Anicete, Hitaji Aziz, Duane Bradley, City Council Member Ada Edwards, Chuck Jackson, Autumn Knight, Vivek Mittal, John Pluecker, Sehba Sarwar, Anita Wadhwa, students from Lee High School and Community Builders Cadre
  
• Open mic and poetry led by Equality, graffiti art by Hyroglifx Koncepts, capoeira by Grupo de N'Golo, music by Free Radicals, refreshments by Nusrat Malik, drinks and much more

For reservations, call 713.524.7821, or email

Interested in finding out more about our people-powered strategies for winning the 7th Congressional District in November?

Come find out how you can participate in Jim Henley’s grassroots campaign for the 7th Congressional District! Our first Meet Up will be Tues, May 9th 7:15 pm, Jason’s Deli (corner of Westheimer and Shepherd). We will announce several more Meet Ups in the coming weeks at locations throughout the 7th Congressional District.

Attend the regular monthly meeting of the Progressive Action Alliance at Leisure Learning Unlimited, 6th Floor, Room 6.
Come early to visit & gab
6:30 pm - 7:00 pm: social/meet & greet
7:00 pm - 9:00 pm: meeting

Agenda items include:

• Report on Houston Social Forum
• Report on Immigrant Walk Out/Rally
• Department of Peace visits to Congressional offices - May 12
• Halliburton shareholders meeting protest - Duncan Okla, May 17
• Distribution of Iraq Notebooks/Cuadernos de Irak-Art Car parade & elsewhere
  
• Green Party ballot access petition drive
• Preparing for Dem. state convention
• Freeway blogging for peace & impeachment
  

Save this Mother's Day for our annual Peace Wants a Piece of the Pie. We will visit our congressional representatives bearing pies and requesting they fund the cabinet level Department of Peace with a small piece of the funding pie (federal budget).

On May 12th, tell Congress that PEACE wants a PIECE of the PIE!  Ask your U.S. Representatives to support HR 3760 and Senators to support S1756 to establish a cabinet-level Dept of Peace to begin focusing on proven effective programs that reduce violence.   Join us on May 12th (the Friday before Mother's Day), with pie in hand and/or Mother's Day cards and come to the Mickey Leland Building, 1919 Smith St., front entrance on Friday at 11 AM.  We are expecting press coverage, so we need a good turnout.  And also call your  Members of Congress on Friday and ask for 1% of the U.S. budget to create a Department that will research, articulate and facilitate nonviolent solutions to domestic and international causes of violence.  Call Senators in D.C.  Switchboard: (202) 224-3121 or http://www.congress.org for Representative's local numbers. Ask them to put a focus on reducing violence by cosponsoring HR 3760 or S1756 to establish a Dept of Peace.

Join your fellow Democrats who care about your State Party Platform to express your view on issues you believe should be in our Platform - State of Texas issues and National Issues impacting Texans.  Click on the title of this event to read the details.

The Harris County Democratic Party will honor our precinct chairs at a swearing in ceremony.  Mingle with great Democrats and meet the candidates:  Glen Maxey, James G. Pierre, Boyd Richie (representative). Join us for a delicious BBQ dinner (free for precinct chairs, $15 per person for others).

The next meeting of the OilPatch Democrats will be Thursday May 18th

at Cosmos Cafe 69 Heights Blvd at intersection of Heights and Washington

Our guest speaker will be Leo Gold, host of The New Capital Show on KPFT Thurs mornings at 10:00 am

Please join us for a fundraiser for Dot Nelson-Turnier, candidate for State Representative in District 150. She is running against Republican incumbent, Debbie Riddle.

Please join HCDP for the upcoming Energy Workshop. Speakers include:

Tom Rowan PHD, owner , Rowan Marketing. Tom has spend forty years researching, working in and advising about technology and energy issues . He has worked with NASA, done market research on various industries including energy, published research and proprietary reports on
numerous energy and technology related topics. He is also a long time Democratic activist.

Stephanie Hrabar, PHD of ENVIRONMENATL INITIATIVE OF THE HOUSTON REGION DEMOCRATS. Stephanie has studied and talked and lobbied on issues of environment and energy for a number of years and brings to the
discussion her expertise and passion.

This is going to be a VERY HOT TICKET! Register early!
May 20, 2006 Schedule

Please join the San Jacinto Democratic Veterans Brigade, Code Pink and Veterans for Peace in a Memorial Day observance for US military casualties from the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

• Ceremony: May 28th - 10am - 5pm
• Flag Display May 29th - 30th

VOLUNTEERS are NEEDED to read names and place flags. For more information, please contact Jim Rine at or at 281 414-1386 

Did you attend the Houston Social Forum?

Did you like it?

Do you want to talk about the next one?

Did you miss the first?

Do you think it is a bad idea and want to tell us why?

Either way, come to the Houston Social Forum Memorial Day Weekend Fiesta at the Crosier's.

Click on the event title for details.

Why:

Relax and enjoy the company of others who are tired of corporate-dominated globalization and all the problems it creates.
Continue what we did at the HSF - visit and make connections with others, so we can support each other and help all of our groups become stronger.

This special workshop is for progressive delegates and alternates attending the Texas Democratic Party (TDP) state convention the following week.

This is being organized by members of the PAA, PPC, DFH, and other local progressive groups.  It is NOT for all delegates -- just for those wanting to help turn the TDP around in a positive direction, that focuses on electing progressive candidates who will talk about issues like election reform, the prison-industrial complex, improving public education, health care for all, regulation (such as for pollution, energy, and more) being controlled by the regulated, getting out of Iraq, impeachment, ending the assault on our civil liberties, and more. If you are reading this on the PAA home page, click on the title of this event for details.