FAIR DISTRICTS DATA UPDATE

The US Census Bureau announced today that 2010 census data should be released next week.

Under the Legislative Resources section at www.floridaredistricting.org, there is a growing list of presentations that were done for legislators, their staff and other organizations.

During this period of open development and public testing of MyDistrictBuilder,it is a great time to learn about the MyDistrictBuilder application and several other ways Floridians can participate in the upcoming redistricting process.

GERRYMANDERING - THE MOVIE

Friday, March 18 · 6:00pm - 9:00pm
All Saints Cinema, Railroad Avenue, Amtrak Station, Tallahassee
Another showing on Sunday, March 20th at 5 PM. 

Sponsored by the Tallahassee Film Society, a very timely movie about how voting districts are drawn and redrawn to benefit special interests.

Gerrymandering is a practice of political corruption that attempts to establish a political advantage for a particular party or group by manipulating geographic boundaries to create partisan, incumbent-protected, and neutral districts. The resulting district is known as a gerrymander; however, that word can also refer to the process.

The following organizations are working actively on redistricting reform:

Americans for Redistricting Reform Brennan Center for Justice California Forward Campaign Legal Center

Common Cause Council for Excellence in Government Fair Elections Arizona 

Fair Districts Florida

Fair Vote Leadership Conference on Civil Rights League of Women Voters  

Map 150

Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund NAACP Legal Defense Fund National Association of Latino Elected Officials Public Interest Research Group Reform Institute

Americans for Redistricting Reform | Brennan Center for Justice |  

California Forward | Campaign Legal Center | Common Cause | 

Council for Excellence in Government | Fair Elections Arizona |  

Fair Districts Florida | Fair Vote | Leadership Conference on Civil Rights | League of Women Voters | Map 150 | Mexican-American Legal Defense and Education Fund | NAACP Legal Defense Fund |  

National Association of Latino Elected Officials | Public Interest Research Group | Reform Institute | Voices of Reform

DATA FOR IMPLEMENTING FAIR DISTRICTS COMING IN

According to today's Miami Herald's blog, The federal government sent Governor Scott and other state leaders a letter today informing Florida that the "2010 Census Block Assignment Files" are now available.

All the data has yet to be provided. But it is now coming in. Text of letter is available here.

That data is crucial for redistricting, the once-a-decade process of redrawing political boundaries to ensure that politicians represent roughly the same number of constituents.

Read the full post here

CAMPAIGN FINANCE NEEDS REFORMING

Orlando Sentinel reporter, Scott Maxwell, pulls out his Malarkey Meter to rate the recent bill filed in the Florida House to repeal the ban on gifts to members of the Legislature.

 

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

PRICELE$$ Shock-O-Rama Teaser from Habitat Media on Vimeo.

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.

WHO IS FUNDING OPPOSITION TO FAIR DISTRICTS?

Who is funding the opposition to the Fair Districts amendment that voters approved?

The Florida Leadership Alliance is run by state Sen. Don Gaetz. Citizens
for Housing and Urban Growth is controlled by a cluster of legislators,
including Sen. Mike Bennett of Bradenton and state Rep. Ron Reagan of
Sarasota.

Include investigative reporters in your list of "Thanks" this Thursday.

Here's the link to the article, Games the pols play:
http://www.tampabay.com/opinion/columns/games-the-pols-play/1135283

DISRUPTING POLITICAL ROBO CALLS

Opting out of the last weekend of political robo calls? Try pressing star-pound-zero (*#0) on your phone. A commenter on a New York Times article said this will disrupt the call, while an article on productivity blog Lifehacker says pressing the pound key will get you taken off that caller’s list altogether. Worth a try.

Consider signing up at StopPoliticalCalls.org, a service run by non-profit group Citizens for Civil Discourse. They’ve started a registry similar to the national Do Not Call list, but specifically for discouraging political campaigns. There’s no law backing it, but they’ve gotten commitments to cut the calls from several political campaigns. You can get put on the list for free, though there are paid options as well.

MONEY IN POLITICS

The Coffee Party National Vote on Money in Politics concluded this past Monday night.

From every part of the country, over 3,100 took the time to become informed, by reading the background material, attending a National Coffee Summit meeting or joining a Cafe Call - and then expressed your opinion by voting. And nearly 1,400 wrote in comments and suggestions.

The results make it clear that Money in Politics is a core issue to over 95% of us - and the four specific approaches to action (focusing on the Fair Elections Now Act, the DISCLOSE Act, the Shareholder Protection Act and a Constitutional amendment) all received broad support.

Click this link to review the results and read all the text comments.

This action plan will be announced soon that will coordinate closely with local Coffee Party groups, who are encouraged to do what they do best - including state or local initiatives to complement the national campaign.

BIG BEND ENVIRONMENTAL FORUMS

Hosted by the Big Bend Environmental Forum, candidate forums will again be held in Tallahassee. On August 5, candidates for the offices of mayor, city and county commission will answer questions following a brief statement. On August 12 candidates for State House, State Senate and Congress will have the same opportunity. Forums will be held at Tallahassee City Hall in the Commission Chambers. The primary will be held August 24th.

The general election forum will be held on Thursday October 7th.

NATIONAL CAFE CALL

The next Coffee Party USA Cafe Call is planned for this Thursday, June 24th, from 8-10pm Eastern.

The subject will be the political implications of the Gulf Oil Spill. Please click here to register. Priority is given to people who wanted to join us on the three calls last week but were unable to do, so due to space limitations and/or technical issues with Maestro Conference.

The Coffee Party Movement’s national vote on the question of whether or not to engage in lobbying related to Money in Politics is taking place today.

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.