THE LOST ART OF CONVERSATION?

Does artist Steve Lambert have the right idea? Conversation is the founding core of the Coffee Party movement.

Taking a moment to talk with someone instead of shouting just may be the only way to be
heard. And who's to say it has to always be about politics? Finding common ground is what builds relationships. Relationships build community. Community builds a better world.

Open with:

'Don't you wish Tallahassee weather could always be like this in February?'

and see where it goes. . .

FOR THE PEOPLE Summit

FOR THE PEOPLE Summit convenes in Washington D.C. Jan. 20 to 22:

To mark the first anniversary of the controversial “Citizens United” Supreme Court ruling, a coalition of advocacy groups and concerned citizens will host the For the People Summit, including a strategic conference at the Washington Plaza Hotel and a “We the Corporations” vs. “We the People”rally at the U.S. Capitol.

Speakers will include Dean Baker of the Center for Economic and Policy Studies, Marge Baker of People for the American Way, John Bonifaz of Free Speech for People, Ellen Hodgeson Brown, author of Web of Debt, David Cobb of Move to Amend, Eric Hensal of Murray Hill, Inc., Jim Hightower, author of Swim Against the Current, Lawrence Lessig of Fix Congress First, Michael Ostrolenk of Transpartisan Center, Steve Meacham of City Life Vida Urbana, Sanho Tree of the Institute for Policy Studies, and Kevin Zeese of Voters for Peace.

Bill Moyer of the Backbone Campaign and Annabel Park of the Coffee Party are two of the principal organizers. “It’s very hard to make progress on any issue without addressing the problem of money in politics,” Park said, “because right now it takes a nearly impossible amount of effort for ordinary people to compete with the daily influence that entrenched lobbyists enjoy. To succeed, we need to step outside the traditional left-right-center framework and find common cause across the political divide.”

Today, a growing coalition that also includes Center for Media and Democracy, Alliance for Democracy, and Move to Amend launched a new website — MovementForThePeople.org — inviting people around the country to create local events and/or participate on-line.

“The greatest political reform of our time will be to abolish the legal concept of ‘corporate personhood’ and the inherently anti-democratic equation of money with political speech,” Moyer said. “I believe this monumental task will be achieved in the coming years built on a foundation of community-based battles to return power to the People.”

In Washington, Summit events will include:

* Lobby Day on Capitol Hill (Jan. 20) supplemented by Lobby Days around the country
* “We the Corporations vs. We the People” Rally (Jan. 21 at 11 AM at the U.S. Capitol Area 9)
* Two-day strategic Summit (Jan. 21 and 22 at the Washington Plaza Hotel at Thomas Circle)

Nancy Price, Co-chair of the Alliance for Democracy, said. “80% of us disapprove of the Citizens United decision. 87% disapprove of the job Congress is doing. The American public will not accept a future in which we are no longer a self-determining people.”

For more information, contact:

Alyson Chadwick, Laurie Dunivant-Larsen • SummitPR @ CoffeePartyUSA.com 202.480.0259

COFFEE PARTY WITH ANOTHER NAME?

While talking heads on cable news repeat phrases about what 'the people' want, real people across the nation are seeking solutions and having conversations about what 'the people' really want.

NO LABELS Media Message Training from No Labels on Vimeo.

Tom Friedman’s New York Times article, The Tea Kettle Movement, (full of steam and without solutions) was published before the November elections. It talks about the yearning of every day Americans for solutions instead of bickering.

The article points to the fact that the answer isn’t just about shrinking government and cutting taxes. Read more here.

Tallahassee Coffee Party - next meeting

Vacations and family commitments cause us to skip July and set the next meeting on August 14th. Check the Calendar on the sidebar. Stop by and bring a friend.

Tallahassee Coffee Party - next meeting

The next Timberlane Coffee Party will be held at the Atlanta Bread Company on Timberlane, at 10 AM until noon, on Saturday, May 22nd. Two subjects for discussion are development of the Coffee Party in Leon County and development of Coffee Parties at our Universities and Colleges. From there the agenda is open.

Organizing a Local group of the Coffee Party USA

For those interested some of us will meet Saturday morning at the Timberlane Atlanta Bread Company to discuss the Coffee Party and whether or not a regular session should be established in this area.

Please join us.

After the general discussion we will talk about the issues on the Coffee Party Agenda below:

Over 12,000 people across the US participated in the national coffee party poll and the results confirm what we’ve been hearing over these last weeks: 92% said Coffee Party USA should address the role of money in politics and 89% said that we should prioritize making Wall Street accountable to Main Street.

Tallahassee, FL - Coffee Party Day

The Tallahassee Chapter of the Coffee Party met today at Black Dog Café with over an hour and a half of good and spirited, yet civil and rational discussion. It was great to hear from so many voices in the local community, and to see the real desire to bring civility back to public discourse. More at this link.