Thank you all for your patience. This is the final schedule for the next two years of Community Action Network Events we will call to order. My hope is your calendars are not full for two years. The events should not conflict with State, and National Political Party Conventions, or with the Open Session Terms of our State Legislatures, and Federal Congress.
Local Countywide CAN Group Meeting Schedule: (Monthly)
Each Local County CAN Group must agree to meet once a month - and if that works for you, feel free to register your CountyName.StateName.CAN group with MyBO. Chicago HQ requested we only register ONE new County CAN Group per County (per State) - to invite and include all existing MyBO Groups into our Countywide Regional Quarterly Meetings. The purpose is to work together to effect the Barack Obama Blueprint for America at the County Level. ALL LOCAL DECISIONS are to be made by this local County Group and all individuals who want to join and participate are to be included.
The CountyName.StateName.CAN Group you will create or join, meets monthly on the first Saturday of each month - except for January and July - when your group should meet on the second Saturday - this is to accommodate the New Year Holiday and the July Schedule of our CAN National Citizens Congress in Washington DC.
2009: 1/10, 2/7, 3/7, 4/4, 5/2, 6/6, 7/11, 8/1, 9/5, 10/3, 11/7, and 12/5
2010: 1/9, 2/6, 3/6. 4/3, 5/1, 6/5, 7/10, 8/7, 9/4, 10/2, 11/6, and 12/4
(See the Suggested Meeting Format - to assist your group take standing regular reports and Old and New Business. There is no requirement any format be used - and our suggestion is only meant to be helpful)
CountyName.StateName.CAN Quarterly Meetings:
The "All MyBO" County-Quarterly-Meetings should invite each other to Assemble to do the business of that County, and this means that the Local Community Action Network, will make every effort to include and invite all the other MyBO Groups in their County - to Assemble into a Quarterly Meeting. All are welcome to attend and to vote with one person one vote - as a guide - but we are not running Robert's Rules of Order. We use Chairperson's Rules - which we are always moving to consensus - or at least a strong group conscience - of 2/3's of those present. Voting should be easy with voice votes or a show of hands. We are not a political party. We are non-partisan and this point is key. All Quarterly Meetings are for Saturdays.
2009: 3/14, 6/13, and 9/12 (Holiday in December forward)
2010: 1/16, 3/13, 6/12, 9/11, and in 2011 on 1/15.
All 50 State.CAN Assemblies:
Each StateName.CAN State Assembly will consist of Delegates from ALL CAN Groups in that State, and Delegates of all MyBO Groups from within that State who wish to participate.
Each State.CAN should include two delegates from all Counties of that State, as well as two delegates from all MyBO groups in that State. Special Interest MyBO groups - like Asians for Obama, or Latinos for Obama or LGBT for Change or Gun Owners for the Second Amendment - or WHATEVER MyBO Group - should be included and invited to send two delegates to participate in our State Assemblies in each of all 50 States.
One Delegate to designate as a Voting Delegate and one delegate to be that groups alternate. Now - this is to be loose and not legalistic. We have a goal to move as one voice. Chairpersons Rules mean we move for consensus. We are the Change and we can do this and lead by example. Respect of all people means we listen to the minority of one - if needs be - as that one voice may change the room, and that room may change the meeting, Assembly, State, Nation, and the world. We CAN do this. Yes we can. We assemble at our State Capitol to lobby our State Governments.
Our State Assemblies are to Lobby our State Capitol Executive and Legislative Branches of State Government. So these events are three day events, which we will hold twice per year. The mornings on Thursdays and Fridays are for Lobbying - and the Afternoons are for Committee Meetings for Business to be determined by the groups. The formal State.CAN Assembly should meet on Saturday to conduct business of that State and we hope you each have dinner - dance - social that evening. Our Code is Honest, No-Drama, and have fun.
2009: 6/18, 6/19 and 6/20
2010: 1/21, 1/22, and 1/23
6/24, 6/25, and 6/26
Our Annual Community Action Network National Citizens Congress:
We will meet in Washington DC once a year - to remind our government we are watching, organized, and want Change. These Events are for all the teams of two Delegates from every MyBO CAN Group and the teams of two Delegates from every MyBO Group to come together in Citizens Congress.
The first two years should set the template forward. We will organize as we go and move from event to event. The process is creative and as a Unity Team - we all share our affirmation to build our future based on the Blueprint for America as we hammered out during the initial campaign of our President Barack Obama. Any changes to our program will come about by work with our Administration and the new tools for Public and Personal Democracy - such as Change.org, Change.gov, and the other tools we use creatively to build community forward.
These events will allow us to meet all 500 of our Members of Congress, their Staff, all 100 US Senators and their Staff, as well as many Administration Members of the plethora of Agencies, Departments, Commissions, and Organizations of Our Federal Government. As with the State Assemblies - Mornings will be set aside for our Lobby Work, and the Afternoons will be for Committee Meetings and focus issue groups so we can meet the members from the other States and bring our pressure on Congress and return home to work as a large coordinated team of millions of us.
Our Congress will be to conduct the business of the Nationwide Community Action Network. Split between the first four days of Lobbying and getting to know our Government Employes and Public Servants, and our Meeting in our CAN Congress - we will have the time of the Fourth of July Holiday to celebrate the birthday of our Nation - and reflect on what is means to us each - Individually and Collectively - to be Americans.
2009: 6/29, 6/30, 7/1, and 7/2 - Lobby and Committee Work
7/3. 7/4, 7/5 - Fourth of July Holiday
7/6, 7/7, and 7/8 - Community Action Network Citizens Congress
2010: 6/29, 6/30, 7/1 and 7/2 - Lobby and Committee Work
Community Organizer Training Camps: We will host two weekends per year where the County.State.CAN groups will run COTC Events in the same mold as we held Camp Obama Community Organizer Training Camps. The function of these events is to continue to be inclusive, and to reach out and teach our fellows how to join us and what our principles are as post partisan CAN Organizations. We will tell our stories, teach Respect, Empower, and Include all who wish to join us. We are not facing an easy road ahead. We are responsible to repair, re-design, and re-build our Country and Heal Our Nation.
Lets Get To Work !
Fire it up !
Let's Go !!!
Its our future - and We CAN Be the Change We Waited For - (smile)
Housekeeping Ideas for modern simple organization efficency:
1.) Post the annual schedule of Your CAN Group Meetings on MyBO as soon as possible, well in advance.
2.) Write, post, and email the upcoming Monthly Meeting Agenda at least one week before the event.
3.) CAN Group MyBO Moderator to contact all "RSVP" respondents who signed up to attend, one week before the meeting event, and again 3 days before your CAN Team Meeting. The MyBO List Servers will automatically email reminders to your whole CAN Group before your event and we suggest you set this for notification one day in advance. Your Moderator for the MyBO Event, should send their 7 day reminder and 3 day advance reminder notices, manually.
Meeting Format: Please Limit Meetings to 2 hours - with a one hour in advance "Meet and Greet"
Open and close on time to the minute, and if you can't do this, get some one to Chair the meeting, who can.
9:00 AM - to 10:00 AM -- Social Hour for visiting, registration, catching up...
10:00 AM - to 10:02 AM -- Call order and a moment of silence to reflect on why we are here.
10:02 AM to 10:30 AM -- Officers Reports & Committee Reports. Limit each to 5 minutes max.
(Committee Reports - all voting to take place as business - items, and not during the report delivery.)
10:30 AM to 11:00 AM -- Special Guests - ALL Politicians, State and National Visiting CAN Delegates, And Special Guest Presentations to go for 15 minutes - as your target. Please allow ample time for Questions and Answers.
11:00 AM to 11:30 AM -- Old Business - and voting, then New Business - without voting. What works on New Business, is to limit voting until next month, for the items to become Old Business. This 30 day wait for a vote allows all to weigh in and provides one month for discussion, consideration, lobbying votes and mind changing activity, and if the matter is controversial between members - that vote can always be put off for another 30 days - so the group decision is prudent, consensus based, and promotes the unity of the team.
11:30 AM to 11:45 AM -- Each Individual CAN Group may want to focus on their - Issues, Events, Actions.
11:45 AM to Noon -- Housekeeping Maters and votes on what ever is needed for function and order.
Noon -- Close on time.
Now, this is not politics as usual with Hollywood entrances and fashionable tardiness. Please respect others needs for scheduling kids, obligations and other responsibilities.
This format allows for ample discussion, new business to flow forward and resolve as old business, and new business to be presented to all, from anyone. Motions to vote (or differ for 30 days) are easy, and there is time set aside to meet as a group with presenters and political policy makers.
Housekeeping is simple - and we all can plan our time accordingly.
Register at Find Event
We are in the midst of setting up County.CAN groups under Washington.CAN and want to make sure everyone on MyBO takes a moment and registers. We will be sending out a post as soon as we are completed so that you can begin planning in your county and set up similar meetings on February 7th. If you are in or around King County please consider attending this meeting:
Event Name: CAN Group Organizing Meeting
Fix the Economy, Now!
Layoffs, home foreclosures, stagnating wages, benefit cuts, bankruptcies, vanishing retirement security and more. We are facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression. Jobs with Justice and other groups have been mobilizing to demand strong, immediate action to create jobs and restructure our economy to work for everyone, not only the people at the top.
President Obama and Congressional leaders are developing a recovery and reinvestment plan that addresses immediate economic needs, creates jobs and invests in the infrastructure America needs for recovery. It will also invest in America's families and America's workforce by ensuring that states can fund the services they depend on, including health care, public safety and education.
Tell Congress to pass the Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Send a message here and CALL using this special toll-free number: 866-544-7573.
This plan will not fix all our problems and is not the end of the campaign, but it is an essential immediate step that will create jobs and invest in renewable energy, energy efficiency, transportation, schools and health care.
While some progressive economists believe this plan will not be big enough or bold enough to stem the crisis, conservatives in Congress are trying to block the plan, apparently copying the Herbert Hoover strategy of responding to crisis by doing less, rather than more. Some Republicans have argued for more CEO tax breaks, rather than funding for unemployment insurance or food programs for hungry children.
Don't let them block the first step towards recovery. Don't let Congress sit idly by while millions more Americans lose their jobs and homes.
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will do just that. Mark Zandi, chief economist with Moody's Economy.com and former adviser to Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign, concluded that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will add 4 million jobs in the United States by the end of 2010 and that "only concerted, comprehensive and consistent government action will instill the confidence necessary to restore financial stability and restart economic growth."
Send a message here and CALL using this special toll-free number: 866-544-7573.
Below is the sample letter:
Subject: Pass the Recovery and Reinvestment Act
Dear [decision maker name automatically inserted here],
Layoffs, home foreclosures, stagnating wages, benefit cuts, bankruptcies, a collapsing retirement security and more. This economic crisis requires bold, immediate action that addresses immediate needs, creates jobs and rebuilds the infrastructure of our workforce and country.I urge you to support the Recovery and Reinvestment Act, as a first essential step towards making our economy work for everyone.
Sincerely,Crystal Ainardi
Instructions:Click here to take action on this issue or choose the "Reply to Sender" option on your email program.
Tell-A-Friend:Visit the web address below to tell your friends about this. Tell-a-Friend!
Attached are some pictures taken by Crystal Ainardi during her trip to DC last week for the inauguration that she is sharing.
http://s96.photobucket.com/albums/l166/metrc/Washington%20DC/-- "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr., Civil Rights Leader
From: Tia Lessin and Carl Deal (directors@troublethewaterfilm.com) Sent:Thu 1/22/09 1:10 PMTo: Wayne Severson (tukwilareign@hotmail.com)
Dear Wayne,
Wow. We received big news this morning and wanted you to be the first to know.
Today, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced its nominations for the 81st Annual Academy Awards(R). We are thrilled to share the news that "Trouble the Water" has been nominated for best documentary feature!!
What an incredible week this has been. It began with the celebration of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's life and legacy in Atlanta, where we screened "Trouble the Water" at the King Center's Freedom Hall with Kimberly and Scott Roberts and The Free Agents Brass Band of New Orleans.
Then we got word that "Trouble the Water" was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for outstanding documentary.
On Tuesday, the Obamas moved into the White House (and the Bushes moved out!).
And then this morning's Oscar(R) nomination for best documentary feature.
This is our time. If you haven't seen the movie yet, or have friends and family who are waiting to see it, there is something you can do.
Call your local movie theater and ask them to play "Trouble the Water." Theater managers (especially art-house theaters) take note of these requests, and it makes a difference. We've made it simple, and provided some helpful talking points, just click here to get started:
http://www.troublethewaterfilm.com/page/s/theatrical
We are so very honored that "Trouble the Water" has been recognized by the Academy along with these extraordinary films: "The Betrayal (Nerakhoon)"; "Encounters at the End of the World"; "The Garden"; and "Man on Wire."
And we are determined that the national and international exposure that this nomination will bring to "Trouble the Water" will also bring desperately needed attention to New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, and to so many communities throughout the country that are fighting for racial and economic justice.
A year ago this week, "Trouble the Water" premiered at Sundance. Since then, it has been released by Zeitgeist Films, in association with HBO Documentary Films, and has screened in more than 200 theaters nationally. But there are so many communities that have yet to see "Trouble the Water."
Click here to find out how to bring the film to your community:
We have partnered with scores of community-based and national organizations working for change throughout the country. Follow this link if you would like to screen the film on your campus, in your community center, at your house of worship, or to organize a community event:
http://www.troublethewaterfilm.com/group
Together with Kimberly and Scott Roberts, executive producers Danny Glover and Joslyn Barnes of Louverture Films, co-producer and editor T. Woody Richman and the rest of the talented and dedicated team that has made "Trouble the Water" possible, we thank you for your support.
Our best,
Tia Lessin and Carl Deal
directors and producers of "Trouble the Water"
www.troublethewaterfilm.com
This email was sent to: tukwilareign@hotmail.com
To unsubscribe, go to: http://www.troublethewaterfilm.com/unsubscribe
