Hi FriendThere is a new group that just started on Facebook that I thought Organizing for America members may be interested in joining. Please see United Against Racism -
http://apps.facebook.com/causes/354956/80588439?m=9dc74a6eUnited Against Racism
posted by David Apperson
Hi I have just moved to South Carolina, the low country to be exact. I was really happy to see how many supporters in this area are listed on this webpage and am looking to connect to fellow supporters to see how I can get involoved locally with the healthcare reform debate, the economy, and just plain politics as usual.
I do hope we can connect and plan some events in the low country to reach out to our communities and strengthen the voice for change.
Hello South Carolina, it is nice to be here, a beautiful state with warm friendly people, now we just have to work on our politicians!
Margaret
We’re developing a concept for a progressive/liberal dinner and a movie program in N. Charleston in early August.
The event will include an informal 6 pm dinner at a nearby restaurant within walkable distance to the theater, followed by the film at 8. We plan to show a documentary short and a feature length film. Afterwards they’ll be a short discussion.
We’re soliciting suggestions for small independent progressive feature films and documentaries which might be of interest to a Lowcountry Audience. These will be reviewed for cost and content and reduced to an electronic ballot which will be put up as a blog post on Indigo Journal www.indigojournal.com on June 23rd. Voting on the films will continue until July 8, both online and with paper ballots at selected events during that period. We’re attempting to focus on a health care theme, but we’re open to other films which focus on progressive change, social and economic justice and liberal politics. We’re going to try to avoid films which have already had extensive local theatrical exposure since we have to cover rental. Hopefully previews for all the films will be available online so you can get an idea of what you’re voting for. If necessary, we’ll have a quickie run off between the films getting the largest number of votes on July 9 & 10 (ending at 5 pm).
We’re also taking suggestions on the introductory short.
Send your film suggestions to me at wjhamilton@wjhamilton.com. If you can include a link to a website or youtube promo video, that would be welcomed. Try to send the full title of the film, the year it was released and the name of the director if you can.
See you at the movies.
We've finished planning for our June 27th. service project here. We'll be helping build a bus stop for school children and improving the future site of a proposed civic center in the Phillip's Community.
I've put all the details in an illustrated blog entry on Indigo Journal
http://www.indigojournal.com/diary/886/operating-with-a-swing-blade
This event will end with a picnic presented by the Phillips Community
We started the local Health care reform effort with a coffee shop drop in this morning. Details and images can be found on my primary blog on Indigo Journal, SC's progressive blog site.
We'll blog the effort throughout the next 10 days, putting up as much as we can about the Charleston area effort
http://www.indigojournal.com/userDiary.do?personId=150
We're getting ready for the Healthcare effort here in Charleston, South Carolina. It's also the time of our world famous Spoleto Arts Festival. Fortunately these two things are related, as any art organization executive director sweating a budget can tell you when they're not begging for a grant.
We've just posted a blog entry on Indigo Journal about reaching out to local artists regarding the Health Care issues. Many independent artists don't have access to healthcare and rising costs burden and somtimes kill, larger artistic organizations. We've got some figures to share.
It this seems a bit cute, it does make a valiid point and with Charleston awash in parties, we're trying to swim with the current a bit. We'll be handing out copies of the release as a flyer during this week.
http://www.indigojournal.com/diary/837/spoleto-artists-and-hospitality-workers-who-lack-healthcare-focus-of-local-obama-effort
You can read and reply to my blog post on Indigo Journal about yessterday's phone call with the President on Healthcare, made from Air Force One.
Phoning with POTUS - Indigo Journal, South Carolina Progressive Blogsite
I also referenced the Health Care Campaign with OFA in my weekly Newspaper column.
http://www.moultrienews.com/porches/Starting-South-Carolina-summer-with-a-short-list
For Immediate Release
Mt. Pleasant, SC- The East Cooper Democrats and Organizing for America (OFA) will hold a Saturday, June 6 breakfast to help begin the national campaign for healthcare from 9-11 a.m. at Gullah Cuisine 1717 US 17N, Mount Pleasant, (843) 881-9076. The cost is $7/person for scrambled eggs, grits, ham, coffee/tea and juice. To RSVP for the meeting and learn more about the Healthcare effort, register for the event online at www.barackobama.com by searching for events in the 29464 zipcode. Local efforts will be updated with code “#ofa” on Twitter and South Carolina OFA’s and the East Cooper Democrats pages on Facebook.
At the breakfast the group will collect donations of toothpaste, toothbrushes and mouthwash for use at local free dental clinics.
The lack of affordable, accessible healthcare is having drastic impacts on Mt. Pleasant families.
A Mt. Pleasant homemaker lost her health insurance coverage last year when her husband was laid off. The family purchased COBRA coverage for a year at a cost of $350 per month just to cover her while her husband relied on VA benefits, but the family was forced to stop purchasing COBRA because they could not pay their other bills. Unfortunately her husband was laid off before the Federal COBRA Stimulus subsidy program implemented by the Obama administration began.
A Father lost his job in early this year. While he was able to enroll his children in the SCHIP program expanded by the Obama administration which provided healthcare coverage to four million more children, unemployment benefits couldn’t cover the cost of COBRA coverage for the whole family, food and housing costs.
A disabled educator waited two years after qualifying for disability to obtain Medicare coverage.
Organizing for America in South Carolina and the East Cooper Democrats are committed to organizing a local effort to help achieve health care reform around President Obama’s three principles that any comprehensive health care reform must achieve: (1) reduce costs, (2) guarantee choice, and (3) ensure all Americans have quality, affordable health care. Their goal is to achieve this by the end of this year.
The June 6 East Cooper kickoff Breakfast is one of over 10 events being planned for South Carolina’s 1st. Congressional District, currently represented by Republican Congressman Henry Brown, who enjoys lifetime coverage under the congressional plan of the quality President Obama believes, should be available to all Americans. The group will work with other health care advocates in the First District to persuade Congressman Brown to help his constituents receive healthcare benefits as good as the Congressman enjoys. Healthcare advocates hope to hold their Congressman to his recent statement that, “There is clearly a health care crisis in this country, and I want you to know that I am doing everything I can to find a remedy.”
The group hopes their Congressman will work with them and President Obama to find that remedy.
END END END
Relevant Links
White House Health Care Reform Page
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/Health-Reform-Urgency-and-Determination/
June 6 East Cooper Breakfast Event Registration, search for 29464 events and find other events in your area.
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/detail/healthcareorganizingkickoff/gpcs2k
Organizing for America – Healthcare Page
http://my.barackobama.com/page/content/organizingforhealthcare
East Cooper Democrats – Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=61199296690
Organizing for America – SC, Facebook
http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=47873441228
Twitterfeed – OFA
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=ofa
The campaign for universal access to healthcare will kick off nationally and in South Carolina on June 6, 2009 under the leadership of President Barack Obama and an expanding Organizing for America (OFA) effort.
In a regional conference call on Thursday, May 21, Obama campaign veterans from around the state coordinated strategy with other community organizers throughout the states of North Carolina, Tennessee, Alabama and South Carolina.
The time to organize and build coalitions is at hand in the Palmetto State.
I've written a detailed blogpost on Indigo Journal with the relevant links:
http://www.indigojournal.com/diary/816/campaign-for-healthcare-kickoff-june-6
“I’m Sorry” isn’t much of a response to what has happened to Jamie Sanderson, one of our states’s most active progressive bloggers. I write this to do better by him and his friends at the Steel Mill in Georgetown, informed yesterday that their mill will be shutting down in July than my facebook comment last night.
Read the full blog post on Indigo Journal
I've just posted a detailed blog entry on what our friends in Washington appear to be arranging for South Carolina. It's a serious, multi leval challenge to consevative control of the state. We're a long way from winning here, but we're by no means abandoned.
South Carolinians in the administration, plans to deploy Organizing for America within the state, a fifty million national program to promote and replicate innovative non profit initiatives for social change and our vastly improved communication infrastructure combine to make permenant conservative control of South Carolina less than certain.
If you're looking for an easy fight for the future, that is going to be somewhere else, but if you think the President and his friends from South Carolina have forgotten us, you will be delighted to discover you're wrong.
Read about it on Indigo Journal
http://www.indigojournal.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=763
I posted it there, because I wanted to include some images.
I don't feel bad about discussing this publically because our opposition isn't as dumb as they act and they know perfectly well what is going on. The national liberal/progressive movement plans to challenge political control in the red "refuge states."
That's the origin of all the agressive conservative politcal activity here in SC, the fear of a challenge in their home base of deep red states.
I've just posted the full remarks, as prepared, of Dr. Carol Temple on the School Voucher Tax Credit and Choice issue from the May 4, 2008 NAACP forum in Charleston, SC. There are a lot of facts and research here which may be of interest and use to others.
It's posted, with a precious image of Senator Ford's empty chair on the Indigo Journal South Carolina Progressive blog site.
http://www.indigojournal.com/diary/759/carol-a-tempels-thoughts-on-school-vouchers-and-choice
Last night an exhibit opened in Charleston at the Plum Elements gallery on lower King Street featuring art inspired by the first 100 days of the Obama Presidency. The dozen works displayed in the intimate, bright white space address the hope and change of the first 100 days in a variety of ways, from photo realistic paintings of the swearing in to ceramic pitchers symbolizing the old and new administrations. Last night’s opening was attended by about 75 people and the exhibit remains open until mid May at the gallery just north of Queen Street, opposite the Charleston Library Society.
At the opening I met a group of Obama supporters distinctly different from those who work on state political issues. Many had a purely national focus on politics. I also learned that a party celebrating 100 days of Obama drew over 200 guests on Logan Street Wednesday evening.
I’ll have a video report on the opening posted over the weekend on Youtube and linked to my blog on Indigo Journal and my facebook and twitter feeds http://twitter.com/wjhamilton29464 , but you can go see the art now. See their website for full details on the gallery http://www.plumelements.com/ In addition to large art works, the gallery has a wonderful collection of decorative items and gifts. Consider supporting a local gallery not devoted to shrimp boats and beach scenes with a visit and a purchase if you can.
Supporters of the President be marking 100 days of Obama with four events in Charleston. I'll be tweeting from these events, Wed to Friday. I had proposed a tweet code earlier, but I've since learned another has been globally adopted To search for tweets relevant to the 100 day observances everywhere use "#100days" without the quotation marks or just use this link
http://search.twitter.com/search?q=100days I'm monitoring the global tweets which include that code now. You can too using a website like monitter http://www.monitter.com/ or an application like Tweetdeck You can follow my tweets on all subjects at http://twitter.com/wjhamilton29464
Most of the Charleston events are listed on the Organizing for America Website
http://my.barackobama.com/page/event/search_results?orderby=day&zip_radius[0]=29464&zip_radius[1]=15&radius_unit=miles&country=US
Another, interesting event is not listed, an art gallery event on Thursday downtown featuring art from the Inauguration
Thursday, April 30 from 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Host: John Zinsser, Location:
Plum Elements (Charleston, SC)
161 1/2 King Street
Charleston, SC 29401
My Porches to Sidewalk’s Column this week is on being an Obama Supporter in a Red State amid an economic crisis
http://www.moultrienews.com/porches/Liberals-of-E--Cooper-to-celebrate-Obama-s-100th-day
I hope to see, tweet and hear from some of you in all of this, online or in person. As difficult as it is in SC, we should enjoy the hope and change we’ve seen.
April 27, Charleston, SC- The Rescue Campers West of the Ashley demonstrating to raise awareness of the plight of Child Soldiers abducted to carry weapons and fight in the civil war in Uganda are now in their third day of greeting visitors and trying to obtain the attention of political leaders from their camp behind the West Ashley Barnes and Nobel on Wallace School Road. As of 1 am, April 27 only 10 of over 200 demonstration camps were still active, the others having been “liberated” by a visit from a person of major influence from Government or the Media. The hard reality of attempting to obtain the attention of South Carolina’s conservative political leadership has begun to sink in. While it appeared that local officials such as Joe Riley wanted to help, the campers have concluded that changing the world requires reaching their US Senators, Republicans Lindsey Graham and Jim DeMint.
According to Lauren Henke at (214) 334-4547, they’re being joined by activists from other camps around the country who have already successfully concluded their events. They’re considering their options, but for now, they plan to stick it out in their make shift camp on Wallace School Road.
On Sunday Mike Rukes, a Democrat running for DeMint’s Senate Seat, visited the camp. Expressions of support have been emerging from the community as local internet media connect with the effort.
On Monday the campers plan to send a delegation downtown to raise awareness, visiting Marion Square and other places. While downtown, they’ll visit Sen. Jim Demint’s local office in the US Custom House.
I’ll attempt to tweet the effort at DeMint’s office live from wjhamilton29464. I’m blogging this effort from www.indigojournal.com.Last night a video shoutout was posted on behalf of the Charleston effort at 1 am.http://nightof.therescue.invisiblechildren.com/2009/04/27/joel-hamilton-calls-out-charleston/
April 26, 2009, Charleston, SC- The campers have moved to the corner of a busy intersection behind a suburban Barns and Nobel where cars wiz by on their way to the beach on a warm April Sunday afternoon. They are trapped and await rescue as do the thirty thousand children in Uganda, the Congo and Sudan who are carrying weapons in a war they did not start, do not understand and cannot escape without our help.
These campers have committed to live in third world conditions like that of the child soldiers until major political leaders acknowledge their movement and agree to work towards bringing the abductor war lords in Uganda, the Congo and Sudan to justice and the battle scarred and abused children home to their families. As of 1 pm Sunday, they’re out at the corner of Highway 61 and Old Wallace Road, behind the Barnes and Noble waiting on a Senator, Mayor or Congressman to visit and “liberate” them.
Some of the campers have gone back to school. Others, from Cities where the event has already been successfully concluded by the arrival of a person of compassionate influence have been liberated and are on their way to reinforce Charleston. They’re going to camp on a nearby lot and demonstrate on that corner until the Political system responds. They are peaceful, positive and friendly, but they’re out there trying to change the world.
You can call Lauren Henke at (214) 334-4547 at the camp for an update on how they’re doing. You can follow this hundred city international effort on their website http://store.invisiblechildren.com/.
They have circulated petitions and written letters, but the indifference of our times pushes those of goodwill and hope to commitments which confront a society obsessed by the recession’s disruptions of their shallow material expectations. We may miss a vacation. Our children may have to trade their worn out Nikes for shoes from pick and pay. It’s hard to remember how lucky we are.
We could be losing sleep at night wondering if our 12 year old son has been killed in the unending civil war in Uganda, an unwilling and uncomprehending conscript in a contest which looks more like a war between street gangs than a military contest. We don’t have to live that way and we forget that tens of thousands of families in villages in Africa do. Some children get wounded. Some get raped. Some get killed.
These Rescue campers in Charleston want us to remember. They want our leaders to act. They didn’t fully understand how conservative and complacent South Carolina is when they committed to this. Most have little experience with politics and community organizing. They’re a collection of college students and church volunteers led by a few activists.
If you know someone of political influence, ask them to pay a visit. Go by yourself to say thanks and shake hands. Learn about what they are doing.
Remember we are all captives of the indifference and complacency which surrounds us. Even those of us who fight hard and long know the frontiers of what we achieve are limited by the attitudes which infect our culture. Let’s make sure our encouragement reaches these people so they successfully conclude their campout and their witness reaches and liberates the children whose pictures hang from the tent ropes.
