DECEMBER 2014 EVENT RECAP

 from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

WOW, Great event with a really good turnout. We had a commissioner, political candidates, activists, and many others from the community listening, asking questions, and participating in the discussion of money/corporate influence in our country and the need of a constitutional amendment to bring back our democracy. David Cobb gave a great presentation and walked through our constitutional history to show/educate us on where we are and how we got here. He laid out the plan on where we need to go to legalize democracy and bring back the; of, by and for the people government. I believe everyone learned something and was impressed and motivated by the presentation and discussion. A big thank you to all the generous people that donated to David Cobb and Move To Amend Organization Friday Evening. We collected $357.00 that night, all going to MTA. David stayed afterward and took pictures and talked with everyone on a personal level. He is the best and most dedicated speaker/activist that I know, working to make our country a better place for us and our children. If you weren’t there, you missed a very moving and educational event. This issue crosses all party lines and is understood and supported by the majority of American people. This is the issue that candidates need to get behind and run on in 2016                                                                                            

We also had our monthly rally at the library for social justice on Saturday. A good turn out with some of our local community joining us. We made some new friends and partners for our causes. It was also very eye opening to see some people’s reactions. We have a very deep and concerning problem here in Fort Pierce that we ALL need to work on as a community.  

Our Wednesday morning Progressive breakfast at the Golden Bear Pancake House will be moved to Tuesday morning for the next two weeks for the holidays and then back to Wednesday after the New Year. Check website for the address and more information. Come join us. Some say this is our best meeting.        

We will be having a float in this years MLK Parade. A planning and decoration meeting will be held 10:00am, 27 December 2014 at Richard's house, come join us if you are interested in helping and/or participating. Please call Richard 404-309-5165 or Sharon 772-528-4076 for more information, or check the website.

Well, this is my last month as your president, with a new board taking over in January with Sharon Lux leading us as our new president in 2015. First, I want to thank everyone that has contributed to our success the past two and a half years. Erika, Kathy, Roger, Vicki, Richard, Gunnar, Sharon, Susan, Bill, Diane, Ellen, and all our loyal members, protesters, occupiers, and everyone else that came to an event, rally, picnic and activity in support of TCPA. Without each and every one of you TCPA would not have survived. Thank you all so very much, I appreciate every one of you. Now it is time to welcome Sharon, whom I believe will be just what TCPA needs to move forward with her positive attitude and smiling, happy face. She is good, but will not be able to do it alone. She will need EVERYONE’s support and help. So let’s all of us get behind her to move TCPA to the next level.

We also would like your feedback on our events and organization. So feel free to respond to this e-mail. CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE; tcprogressivealliance.com  Check often as many events are posted late with little notice. We post as soon as we get them. Also keep reading our blog.

Thanks for everyone's support,

Take care,

John

NOVEMBER 2014 MEETING RECAP

from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

Another event in our new building with a light turn out. I guess, people are still mourning the election. This is the time we ALL should be getting involved to turn things around and you can't do that sitting at home just using facebook. Our speaker Susan's presentation on Sustainability had everyone's attention with some of our knowledgeable and well informed members questioning some of the information as well as pointing out some outdated material. However most were in agreement with the majority of the information and in many ways she was preaching to the choir. I know that I picked up some good information from Susan and very much interested in her recipe book. We very much appreciate Susan coming to TCPA to give her presentation.                                                                                                                     

 Our next Event will be on 12 December with David Cobb from Move to Amend coming to give his presentation. Please mark your calendars, this is a must attend Event. It will be on a Friday night instead of our usual time.

 

The theme of the rally at the library by the farmer's market on 13 December is changed from Renewable Energy to Social Justice in support of all the organizations around the country that are rallying for this issue that day. With the Social Justice issue the current focus of news in the country, we will rescheduling the Renewable Energy  for January. This is also a hot issue, as we follow our Public Service Commission and the Governor's effort to purge Renewable Energy plans in our state.

We also would like feedback on our Events and Organization. So feel free to respond to this blog or call or email me. CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE; tcprogressivealliance.com  Check often as many events are posted late with little notice. We post as soon as we get them. Also check back to the blog as many interesting articles and information is posted there. Any member is welcome to submit a guest blog from the website. 

Thanks for everyone's support,

Take care,

John

DAVID COBB: MOVE TO AMEND

from Gregory Wilson

David Cobb -- a leader of the movement to restore our Constitution and bring power back to the people is coming to Florida!

Since 1868 the corporations of America have been using "personhood" to protect them from the laws of the land which were formed by and for the people of this land. In fact the first Supreme Court, after the passing of the 14th amendment, ruled that corporations were not persons under the law. “Paul v. Virginia [1868] Corporate lawyers argued that under the privileges and immunities clause, corporations are citizens. Supreme Court ruled that corporations are not citizens under Article IV, Section 2. “The citizens of each State shall be entitled to all privileges and immunities of citizens in the several States.”” This decision was made by the same court that was present when the 14th and 15th amendments were passed. However over the next years, of the 14th Amendment cases brought before the Supreme Court between 1890 and 1910, 19 dealt with African Americans, 288 dealt with corporations.”

Finally due to shifting Supreme Court Judges, the nature, core structure of the Constitution, and the Bill of Rights were altered to favor Corporations over living breathing human beings, the citizens of this country. Indeed the supreme Court put the boxes of tea back on the ships in the harbor.

After the Supreme Court decision "Citizens United," David Cobb  responded by spearheading the effort to: Move To Amend -- A process of changing the Constitution to read, “Corporations are not people and money is not speech” thus bringing us closer in line with the original intent of the founders of this nation.

November 2014 Meeting Reminder

from John Debus

Hi everyone,

Reminder of our Event, this Monday evening, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, November 24, 2014 at the Garden Club Center, 911 Parkway Drive, Fort Pierce, Fl. 34954. It is about 4 or 5 blocks west of the American Legion (our old meeting place) on Georgia Ave. It is the yellow building off the circle, right next to Glidden Park, you can’t miss it. It is a very nice place and neighborhood. Call me if you need directions: 772-349-5328 Also a map is on our website. We will have water and Green Tea (free) available or bring your own drink. Come early for some social time before our event, doors will open at 6:00pm. Share your stories and what you have been up to this pass month. We must start on time to ensure we get out on time. All our events are free and open to the public, membership is not required. Come and meet some very good people and be part of our family.

This month we will be hosting Susan Keiffer, Master Herbalist, Iridologist, Researcher and Author, gives us a presentation on Sustainability.  Is the Earth dying? What is happening on our planet and how is it affecting Human Health. What we can do to live a healthier life.  The most important place to be every month is our event. All our work and activism starts with the support we get from each other here and the recognition of our organization depend on the number of people participating.

The action table at our event is set up for group's information, sign-up sheets, upcoming events and petitions. All groups will have 1-3 minutes to tell us about themselves. You can also contact Kathy or myself to have your events posted on our website happenings page. Check often for up to date HAPPENINGS.

Our Oslo overpass rally scheduled for Saturday 22 November was cancelled due to the rain and high winds. We have not rescheduled as yet. We will talk briefly about rescheduling it on Monday night.

Next month TCPA will host David Cobb from Move To Amend. David is the former 2004 Green Party Presidential Candidate, now National Projects Director of Democracy Unlimited and Spokesperson for the Move to Amend movement. David is a lawyer and political activist who’s main drive is to get the “money influence” out of our political system and return the system back to “of, by and for the people”. He is working to pass an Amendment to our Constitution that says “Corporations are not people” and “Money is not free speech” therefore giving the power back to the people. Please pass the word we want to pack the house in support of this very important issue, David Cobb and Move To Amend. Our December Event will be move up to Friday 12 December 2014. Please take note of this change.

We also would like your feedback on our Events and Organization. So feel free to respond to this e-mail. CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE; tcprogressivealliance.com  Check often as many events are posted late with little notice. We post as soon as we get them. Also check out our blog with many interesting articles and information posted there. Thanks for your support, hope to see you Monday.  

Take care,                              

John   

OCTOBER 20414 MEETING UPDATE

from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

We had our second event in our new building with a light turn out and I guess elections are keeping everyone busy. The movie I thought was very good and believe everyone took something from it. We all now understand the connection between climate change, our weather, and national security issues much better. Thanks to all that came out and participated. No parking problems, plenty of room this month. We also had our annual organizational meeting, results are posted below.

Organization Meeting 10-27-14, Started at 7:00pm

Nominations for 2015 board are as followed.

President- Sharon Lux (accepted),    no other nominations. 

Vice President- Reid Friedson (accepted),   Richard Silvestri (refused),   no other nominations.

 Treasurer- Gunnar Johnson (accepted),   no other nominations.

 Secretary- no acceptable nominations,   open for write in votes. 

Action projects and Event Chairperson- John Debus (accepted),   no other nominations. Communications Chairperson- Kathy Overholt (accepted),   no other nominations.

Membership and Outreach Chairperson- Lisa Treadwell (accepted),   no other nominations.

Fundraising Chairperson- no nominations,  open for write in votes.

At large delegates (4 people)

       1-William McNeely Jr.  (accepted) Conservation/Environmental

       2-Richard Silvestri (accepted)      task to be determined 

       3- No nominations,   open for write in votes

       4- No nominations,  open for write in votes.

Closed Organization meeting at 7:20pm.

Reminder for our rally this coming Saturday November 1 for the "March against Corruption" at the Library across from the farmer's market in downtown Fort Pierce from 10:00am to 12:00pm (noon). Please come and support our Activism on this problem. This problem covers many issues, so pick yours, make a sign and let the people know. We will also have material for you to make your sign there onsite if you choose to.      

We also would like your feedback on our Events and Organization. So feel free to respond to this e-mail. CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE; tcprogressivealliance.com  Check often as many events are posted late with little notice. We post as soon as we get them. Also check out our blog with many interesting articles and information posted there. Hope to see some of you Saturday.

Thanks for everyone's support,

OCTOBER 2014 MEETING ANNOUNCEMENT

from John Debus

Hi everyone,

       

Reminder of our next event at our NEW  location, this Monday evening, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, October 27, 2014 at the Garden Club Center, 911 Parkway Drive, Fort Pierce, Fl. 34954. It is about 4 or 5 blocks west of the American Legion (our old meeting place) on Georgia Ave. It is the yellow building off the circle, right next to Glidden Park, you can’t miss it. It is a very nice place and neighborhood. Call me if you need directions: 772-349-5328 Also a map is on our website. We will have water and Green Tea (free) available or bring your own. Come early for good parking and some social time before our event, doors will open at 6:00pm. We must start on time to ensure we get out on time. We are looking for a large turnout, come and be part of our new experience. All our events are free and open to the public, membership is not required. Come and meet some very good people and be part of our family.

This month we will have our annual organization meeting for nominations to our board for 2015. Please come and support TCPA as we look and move forward to our next year. The organization meeting should be very short. We will also be showing the documentary movie "Extreme Realities". A must see movie that shows the links between severe weather, climate change, and our National Security. The most important place to be every month is our event. All our work and activism starts with the support we get from each other here and the recognition of our organization depends on the number of people participating.

The action table at our event is set up for group's information, sign-up sheets, upcoming events and petitions. All groups or candidates will have 1-3 minutes to tell us about themselves. You can also contact Kathy or myself to have your events posted on our website happenings page. Check often for up to date HAPPENINGS.

Reminder for our rally this coming Saturday November 1 for the "March against Corruption" at the Library across from the farmer's market in downtown Fort Pierce from 10:00am to 12:00pm (noon). Please come and support our Activism on this problem. This problem covers many issues, so pick yours, make a sign and let the people know. We will also have material for you to make your sign there onsite if you choose to.

TCPA does not endorse political candidates and we are a non-partisan organization. They may come and tell us about themselves and our members may support them individually. All candidates are invited to our events. TCPA supports Progressive Issues.

We also would like your feedback on our Events and Organization. So feel free to respond to this e-mail. CHECK OUT OUR WEBSITE; tcprogressivealliance.com  Check often as many events are posted late with little notice. We post as soon as we get them. Also check out our blog with many interesting articles and information posted there. Thanks for your support, hope to see you Monday.  

John   

MULTI-RACIAL IDENTITY

from Nancy Stiefel

What: Social Justice Film Series present “Multiracial Identity”

When: 7 PM, Sunday, Nov. 9

Where:  Unitarian Universalist Fellowship at the corner of 27th Avenue and 16th Street in Vero Beach

One of the most popular programs on PBS these days is “Finding Your Roots” with Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr.  Every participant learns that he/she is multi-ethnic and often multiracial. November’s Social Justice Film is titled Multiracial Identity.  It explores the social, political, and religious impact of the multiracial movement in America and the experience of being multiracial.

Multiracial people are the fastest growing demographic in the US, yet there is no official political recognition for mixed-race people. The U.S. Bureau of the Census currently predicts one in five Americans will be multiracial by 2050.

Different racial and cultural groups see multiracialism differently. For some Whites, multiracialism represents the pollution of the white race. For some Blacks, it represents an attempt to escape blackness. And for some Asians, Latinos, and Arabs, multiracialism represents the dilution of their culture and the end of their cultural traditions.

The Fair Trade Corner will be open one-half hour prior to this one hour documentary.  The film is free, but, as always, donations to cover the screening rights fee are gratefully accepted.

SEPTEMBER 2014 MEETING RECAP

from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

Well, we open our new building with a nice turn out. The presentation was very good with a lot of questions and opinions. It made for a great conversation, with many adding to the educational information that George Mallinkrodt was informing us on. George also stayed afterwards to talk and sign his book. I believe everyone left with more understanding of our prison system and the problem that are happening inside and enjoyed the evening. Thanks to all that came out and participated. We did notice one problem with our new building, parking. I went out after the meeting started and counted 20 cars in the lot. It was full. So if we get larger crowds, people will need to park on the grass along 10th street by Glidden Park or on the grass on  Parkway Drive. So make sure you come early for our social time and get the good parking next month.

 Reminder for Our Quarterly Picnic Sunday, 5 October 2014 at 11:00am to 2:00pm at  Museum Point, South Causeway Park in Fort Pierce. Bring something to eat (sandwich) for yourself, something to drink, you can bring a dish to share, or just come and have a drink with us (as always we will have drinks available). All our Events are free and open to the public, membership is not required. Come and meet some very good people and be part of our family. Make a day of it and visit the Museums and/or the Aquarium while you are there. Please call me if you have any questions or need directions. Hope to see you all there.

THE LAGOON NEEDS YOU: IT'S TIME TO RALLY!   Tuesday, October 7th - 8:30am

Indian River County Commissioners meeting, 1801 27th Street, Building A, Vero Beach.

Come join hundreds of your lagoon neighbors: fishermen, conservationists, taxpayers, democrats, manatee lovers, republicans, scientists, kids, boaters, grandparents, realtors, independents, kayakers and more. We will all be at the rally before the Indian River County Commissioners meeting, beginning at 8:30 am 1801 27th Street, Building A, Vero Beach.

We know how busy you are - we wouldn't ask you if this wasn't CRITICALLY IMPORTANT for the health of the lagoon. Last week we had more than 100 people rally before the commissioners who are insisting on spending $1,000,000 of local tax money on a project that will harm our lagoon, our fisheries, our manatees and our seagrass. On October 7, the commissioners intend to "educate the public" about why the dredging, filling and paving is "going to fix things" for the lagoon. We the people need to be there to support the scientists and fishermen who will be addressing those claims.

PLEASE COME ON TUESDAY 7 OCTOBER at 8:30 am, HOLD A SIGN an TAKE A STAND TO STOP THE OSLO RAMP EXPANSION!

 Thanks for everyone's support,

Take care,

John

SEPTEMBER 29, 2014 MEETING AT NEW VENUE

from John Debus

Hi Everyone,       

Reminder of our FIRST EVENT at our NEW  location, this Monday evening, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, September 29, 2014 at the Garden Club Center, 911 Parkway Drive, Fort Pierce, Fl. 34954. It is about 4 or 5 blocks west of the American Legion (our old meeting place) on Georgia Ave. It is the yellow building off the circle, right next to Glidden Park, you can’t miss it. It is a very nice place and neighborhood. Call me if you need directions; 772-349-5328, also a map is on our web-site. We will have water and Green Tea (free) available or bring your own. Come early for some Social time before our event, doors will open at 6:00pm. We must start on time to ensure we get out on time. We are looking for a large turnout, come and be part of our new experience.

This month we will be hosting George Mallinckrodt, author of “Getting Away with Murder” and whistle blower on the Florida Department of Corrections. He will be speaking on the Prison system and the conditions for the mentally ill. As many of you have hear recently of ALL the charges and arrests with prison officials down south of us, please come and get the real news and facts on this story. He is coming all the way from Miami to inform and educate us on these issues. His book will be available for purchase and he will also personally sign it for you.  The most important place to be every month is our event, all our work and activism starts with the support we get from each other here and the recognition of our organization depends on the number of people participating.

The action table at our event is set up for group's information, sign-up sheets, upcoming events and petitions. All groups or candidates will have 1-3 minutes to tell us about themselves. You can also contact Kathy or myself to have your events posted on our web-site happenings page. Check often for up to date HAPPENINGS.

Reminder for Our Quarterly Picnic Sunday, 5 October 2014 at 11:00am to 2:00pm at  Museum Point, South Causeway Park in Fort Pierce. Bring something to eat (sandwich) for yourself, something to drink, you can bring a dish to share, or just come and have a drink with us (as always we will have drinks available). All our Events are free and open to the public, membership is not required. Come and meet some very good people and be part of our family. Make a day of it and visit the Museums and/or the Aquarium while you are there. Please call me if you have any questions or need directions.

TCPA does not endorse political candidates and we are a non-partisan organization. They may come and tell us about themselves and our members may support them individually. All candidates are invited to our events. TCPA supports Progressive Issues.

Please come out, we need your support to make a difference, be part of the experience. We also would like your feed-back on our Events and Organization. So feel free to respond to this e-mail. CHECK OUT OUR WEB-SITE; tcprogressivealliance.com  Check often as many events are posted late with little notice. We post as soon as we get them. Also check out our blog with many interesting articles and information posted there. Thanks for your support, hope to see you Monday night.                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                             

Take care,

John

THE LAGOON NEEDS YOUR HELP

from Corry Westbrook
Hi,
This is all hands on deck crisis. The IRC Commissioners think it is okay to SAY they are concerned about the lagoon - and then take actions that will harm it. This is not okay. Despite huge public outcry they had a secret vote in a budget meeting yesterday, with no public notice, that will expand the Oslo boat ramp at the expense of seagrass and our lagoon. We must tell them this behavior is unacceptable. We have to take a stand. We need a huge showing on Tuesday morning. A lot of you being invited live and work in Brevard but if you can take an hour or two to help on Tuesday, we will be forever grateful. We must make elected officials stand-up for the lagoon. No more talk and no action - or in this case say you are doing good but really be harming it. Scroll down - details below. I really hope you can attend! And please bring a friend, spouse, child - we need big numbers! Feel free to send this invite/details to your contact lists. THANK YOU!! Corry 772 539 1992

from Richard Baker
 The Lagoon REALLY NEEDS YOU ON TUESDAY in Vero Beach Sep 23, 2014 — CRUCIAL RALLY & PROTEST AT THE COUNTY COMMISSION!

They voted this week at a budget meeting to fund the ramp project despite enormous public opposition :~( PLEASE BE HERE: Tuesday 23 Sept., 8:30 am, Vero Beach (1801 27th Street, Building A)

Dear Friend of the Indian River Lagoon,

You know about the value of the lagoon. You know about the incredibly rich seagrass beds, mangrove forests, sportfish spawning habitats and manatee feeding grounds at Vero Beach’s Oslo Road boat ramp. And you know about the terribly destructive dredge, fill and pave project slated to damage all this. What you don’t know is that this week the Indian River County commissioners voted 4-1 to move forward with this project at a budget meeting– and to use local boat fees to pay for at least part of it. That means the very citizens who are rallying against this destruction – boaters and fishermen – will be footing the bill. In a county where priorities like cleaning up mold in our firehouses go unfunded, we’re outraged that the commissioners insist on spending $1 million of our public funds to further damage the lagoon.

LAGOON NEEDS YOU this Tuesday 23 September! PLEASE come to our RALLY AT THE COUNTY COMMISSION MEETING 1801 27th Street, Building A Vero Beach, Florida 8:30 am People from ALL COUNTIES are warmly welcomed and strongly encouraged to come. > We will ALL BE THERE with SIGNS AND BANNERS to tell the commissioners – both directly, and via the media – that our citizens do not want this project. Lange Sykes of the Coastal Conservation Association will speak to the rally and media about why this is such a terrible project, for taxpayers as well as the lagoon. Then at 9:00 am, we’ll all take our seats in the commission meeting, QUIETLY HOLDING OUR SIGNS UP – you can print your own, and support the community speakers who are on the agenda.

We know you’ve been helping fight this for years. And we know how busy you are. But this is ALMOST GAME OVER for the Oslo habitat and lagoon – we REALLY need to show how deeply our community feels about this. PLEASE, even if you can just come for 10 minutes, be there at 8:30 Tuesday morning.

 PLEASE send this message to all your Lagoon-loving (and tax-savvy citizen) friends, members, family and other contacts – we really need good numbers. IF YOU CAN, TAKE 10 MINUTES this weekend to call 10 people and ask them personally to be there. And please also post it on your FB pages and Twitter accounts! We need fishermen – conservationists – manatee lovers – students – taxpayers – bird watchers – scientists – retirees – teachers – and everyone who cares about the lagoon, and about how spending decisions are made in Indian River County – to be there.

IF YOU CAN'T COME ON TUESDAY - PLEASE CALL THE COMMISSIONERS Wesley S.Davis (772) 226-1442 Joseph E. Flescher (772) 226-1919 Tim Zorc (772) 226-1440 Peter D. O'Bryan (772) 226-1440 Bob Solari - Bob has been an ally and voted AGAINST funding the project :~) (772) 226-1442 For more information on the Tuesday rally: Buffy Turner – 772.480.5125 or buffy@fastmail.fm Carolyn Lange – 772.473-7982 or carolyn@langesykes.com About the Oslo Ramp project: http://www.pelicanislandaudubon.org/

Thank you for sticking up for the Lagoon! See you Tuesday! 

NOAM CHOMSKY

from Erika Alveraz

For all who have a nagging suspicion they're not getting the whole news, I suggest going to Noam Chomsky's website. That's where I go when I need more information about an issue (foreign affairs). This is the person to read. In my opinion, he is the best informed person on the planet. Here is the website: http://www.chomsky.info/

TAKE BACK YOUR POWER

from Nancy Stiefel

What:  Social Justice Film Series – Take Back Your Power

When:  7:00 PM, Sunday, September 14

Where:  Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach at the corner of 27th Avenue and 16th Street

The 2013 NSA spying scandal exposed vast programs to monitor personal communications. Now, utilities and governments are reaching into your own home, through fast-tracked “smart” meters and spy-ready technology. But what if you have a choice? At stake is in-home surveillance, skyrocketing bills, emerging health risks, and hacking vulnerabilities.

With compelling insight from whistleblowers, government agents, lawyers, environmentalists, and doctors, the award-winning documentary Take Back Your Power takes us on a journey to expose corruption and erosion of rights in the name of “smart” and “green.”  This film looks at numerous issues surrounding smart meters:  health, safety, security, privacy, and the impact on our environment.

Guest facilitators are Susan Keiffer (master herbalist and iridologist at Wildflower Herbal Counseling in Sebastian) and Stephanie Austin (co-founding member of the Florida Coalition for Health Against Smart Meters – CHASM).  The Fair Trade Corner will be open one-half hour prior to the 90-minute film.  

The public is invited to this free screening, so please bring along a friend or neighbor.  As always, donations to cover our costs are gratefully accepted.

Nancy Stiefel

AUGUST 2014 MEETING RECAP

from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

We completed our last Event at the American Legion. It was a light turn-out and some good conversations. Dr. Richard Baker from the Pelican Island Audubon Society gave a short presentation on their fight against the Oslo Road boat ramp in Vero Beach. Hopefully we ALL get behind them on this fight and send e-mails/letters to the Indian River County board of Commissioners asking them to STOP the boat ramp project. This affects ALL of us on the Treasure Coast, we all use the river and we don't need another boat ramp at the price the river will pay. We have plenty already. Also more talk on global warming/climate change, the life of Robert J. Dowlut, a speech from a political candidate, and many opinions from our guests made a very good evening event.

Don't forget that next month’s event will be the LAST MONDAY of the month at our NEW LOCATION. All the information is on our web-site, a flyer is attached, and you can always call me for information and directions. Many of us are going to New York for the UN Climate Conference Rally/Protest, so we will definitely have some good stories to tell at our social time before our next event, so come early.

We also had a great time Friday at our Oslo Road overpass rally. We unveiled our NEW banner on Flush the TPP. It was a good turn-out on the bridge, got a lot of beeps and waves, plus had fun together. I bet we reached a thousand people. "AWARENESS"

Please check out our happenings page and come on out and have some fun with us at one of our rallies, or join and support one of the other groups activities. Get involved, be active, let’s make a difference together.

Thanks for your support,

Take care,

John                                           

ADOPT AN ACTIVIST

from Gregory Wilson

 Helen and I are resting the day after our involvement of the two day Second Annual “Our Children, Climate, Faith” Symposium. This year our theme was activism and connecting to others while building a network of groups and people that are working together, moving in the direction of a more just and sustainable society and culture. I include culture, as our guiding stories are shifting in our direction. Two of the speakers, Hannah Morgan and Tim DeChristopher, who are both young front line activists who have been arrested for pushing our society in the direction we are also moving toward. However most of us are working toward this direction for cultural transformation from more comfortable seats than jail or 60 feet up in a tree. One of the messages I gleaned from being with both Hannah and Tim (they did not say this directly) was that they have given up the traditional pattern of young adults moving into the work force, establishing an economic level which provides stability, comfort, identity and then protesting. They have put their life and lives at times in direct confrontation with the forces that work against a just and peaceful society; and this is their way of life. They are serving the cause that most of us support. In other words they are moving our culture in the direction we want it to go. And they are doing this at times without funds and alone. They are present and accounted for where the culture of violence, war, poverty, wealth accumulation, and environmental destruction is advancing. They're working to hold that line, just as Joanna Macy, Starhawk, and Vandana Shiva call us to hold that line in defense of the earth.

As a people steeped in the teachings of Henry David Thoreau, following his teachings on Civil Disobedience, we know that by paying taxes we are part of the machine that implements injustice and economic patterns that are oppressive and destructive to the planet; so I quote our ancestor Elder, “If the machine of government is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law.”

The question; do we as members of a religious community and non-religious communities have a moral obligation to support those on the front lines of moving our culture in the direction we also are working to move? This is central to our social justice work. Actualizing this moral obligation requires our local communities to be part of the supply line to support our communities' front line members as they confront the injustices of our time, and to reinforce them when needed. At the Symposium, I suggested that local groups in this struggle need to “adopt an activist”. I look forward to furthering our work to transform our society and our selves to a more just and kinder culture.

AUGUST 2014 MEETING REMINDER

from John Debus, 

Hi Everyone,       

This is a reminder of our LAST EVENT at this location, this Tuesday evening, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, August 19, 2014 (a week earlier because of election next week) at the American Legion Post #40, 810 S. US 1, Fort Pierce, Fl. 34950. Please use the front entrance (on US1) and it is the large room on the right side as you come in the front door. Plenty of parking is on the side of the building. We will have water and green tea (free) available or you can purchase drinks from the bar in the next room. Come early for some social time before our event, doors will open at 6:00pm. We must start on time to ensure we get out on time. We will be moving Next month to the Garden Club Center, 911 Parkway Drive, Fort Pierce. This is located just 4 or 5 short blocks west of where we are now. It is a smoke free facility (no odors) and we have the building to ourselves (no noise next door). Nice building and neighborhood, a definite upgrade. We also have a great speaker and program lined up for September.

This month we will be having an Open Mic-Nite. Got something to say? Suggest something that needs attention? Now is your chance to speak out on anything within our core values, principles or mission. There will be a speaker signup sheet, so ensure you place yourself on the list to address YOUR ISSUE. We will have guidelines (not laws) so no one person dominates the mic. Everyone gets a chance to speak before someone who has spoken gets to speak a second time.  But remember, not a law, just guidelines to give everyone their voice. Come listen, add your opinion, and decide on how we can make our community and world a better place. The most important place to be every month is our event, all our work and activism starts with the support we get from each other here and the recognition of our organization depends on the number of people participating.

The action table at our event is set up for group's information, sign-up sheets, upcoming events and petitions. All groups will also have 1-3 minutes at the beginning, to tell us about themselves. You can also contact Kathy or myself to have your events posted on our web-site happenings page. Check often for up to date HAPPENINGS.

Our TPP Trans-pacific Partnership rally at Oslo overpass last Friday was canceled because of rain. We rescheduled it for this Friday 22 August at 5:00pm. Just one hour to reach hundreds of people and have a great time doing it. Come, have some fun and join us.

TCPA does not endorse political candidates and we are a non-partisan organization. They may come and tell us about themselves and our members may support them individually. All candidates are invited to our events.

We are sending membership renewal notices out to those who have not renewed this year. We hope that you are able to support us again. We do really need as many members as possible to help us with the cost of our mission. We are also looking for volunteers, even if it's for an hour or two a month to sit in on telephone conferences, planning Events, or working on projects, etc..  Just let me or one of the board members know of your interest.

Please come out, we need your support to make a difference, be part of the experience. We also would like your feed-back on our Events and Organization. So feel free to respond to this e-mail. CHECK OUT OUR WEB-SITE; tcprogressivealliance.com  Check often as many events are posted late with little notice. We post as soon as we get them. Also check out our blog with many interesting articles and information posted there.

Thanks for your support. See you Tuesday. 

John

PS; I received a request from Dr. Richard Baker from the Pelican Island Audubon Society for help with their fight with the river. Please Support the best you can:                                                                                       I’ve appreciated TCPA’s interest in helping the Lagoon.  We need your help in our fight to stop the Oslo boat ramp expansion!  As you probably heard, the judge did not support our appeal denying it thinking that the county has done enough to mitigate the problem.  He did not appreciate this special fish nursery that needs protection, not more and larger boats.  Therefore, we are keeping up our pressure on the IR county commission to stop this project.  Please you, and other folks in the TCPA write letters to the county commission, PJ, and USACE.  To do so, all the information is on our website.  Please see:  www.pelicanislandaudubon.org.  We have put information, the sea grass video, previous letters and press stories on the top of our website as well as addresses of where to email and write, and arguments that folks can use. All your help would be very much appreciated!

 Richard

July 2014 Meeting Recap

from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

Another great event with a very good turn out this past Tuesday. This is the third month in a row that one of our members has put together our Event and given a presentation. I want to give my appreciation to all three, Jerry Buechler with Global Warming/Climate Change, Erika Alvarez with Alternative Medicine Choices, and lastly William McNeely with Renewable Energy/Alternative Choices. All three were excellent Events in which everyone learned something new and enjoyed the presentation and information put out. People that I ran into today were still talking about the Renewable Energy presentation and how much knowledge they got from William and his two speakers last Tuesday. I like to challenge other members that may have progressive issues they are passionate about or know of speakers, that would like to do an event to step up and let us know. We are always looking for educational information for our members and guess.

The clean water rally at the locks in Stuart today was a great success with many of TCPA members there in support.

A reminder that our August Event will be a week earlier on the 19 August,  because of the primary election on the 26 August. DON'T FORGET TO "VOTE". This may be our last Event at the American Legion. We are looking to move to a new location in September. I will know something for sure this week and let everyone know. We are very excited about our new location, but don't want to announce before it is confirmed.

Please check out our happenings page and come on out and have some fun with us at one of our rallies, or join and support one of the other groups activities. Get involved, be active, lets make a difference.

Thanks for your support, 

John Debus

Netflix US and Canada

from Richard Silvestri

Netflix US & Canada Blog 
Post: Internet Tolls And The Case For Strong Net Neutrality 
Link: http://blog.netflix.com/2014/03/internet-tolls-and-case-for-strong-net.html 

Originator not provided.

I saw Reed Hastings’ blog yesterday from Netflix asserting in rather dramatic fashion (with diagrams) that ISPs should build facilities (he said provide, but those facilities have to be built) to accept all of Netflix’s content – indeed all of the content on the Internet – without charge.  Failure to do so, according to Mr. Hastings, was a violation of “strong net neutrality rules” and bad public policy.  I thought it might be helpful to unpack those assertions so we could get right down to the core of Netflix’s rather radical proposition — that people who don’t subscribe to Netflix should nonetheless pay for Netflix. Here are some undisputed facts upon which everyone should agree.

First, let’s all accept the fact that the advent of streaming video is driving bandwidth consumption by consumers to record levels.  Increased bandwidth consumption and faster broadband networks like our Gigapower service in Austin, Texas (and soon Dallas) are requiring all service providers to drive more fiber into their networks to create the capacity necessary to deliver those services to consumers, whether the service providers are delivering a wireless or a wireline product.  This phenomenon was at the heart of our Project VIP investment announcement in November 2012 and it is true of companies like Cogent, Level 3 and CDNs like Netflix as well.

Second, we should accept that companies must build additional capacity to handle this traffic.  If Netflix was delivering, for example, 10 Terabytes of data in 2012 and increased demand causes them to deliver 20 Terabytes of data in 2013, they will have to build, or hire someone to build, the capacity necessary to handle that increased volume of traffic.  That increase in traffic from Netflix is, by the way, not only the result of a likely increase in online viewing by existing subscribers, but also due to an increase in Netflix’s customer base (it announced a 33% increase in subscribers from 2012 to 2013 – good for Netflix).

Third, if Netflix is delivering that increased volume of traffic to, say, AT&T, we should accept the fact that AT&T must be ready to build additional ports and transport capacity to accept the new volume of capacity as a consequence of Netflix’s good business fortune.  And I think we can all accept the fact that business service costs are ultimately borne by consumers.

Mr. Hastings blog post then really comes down to which consumers should pay for the additional bandwidth being delivered to Netflix’s customers.  In the current structure, the increased cost of building that capacity is ultimately borne by Netflix subscribers.  It is a cost of doing business that gets incorporated into Netflix’s subscription rate.   In Netflix’s view, that’s unfair.  In its view, those additional costs, caused by Netflix’s increasing subscriber counts and service usage, should be borne by all broadband subscribers – not just those who sign up for and use Netflix service.

When Netflix delivered its movies by mail, the cost of delivery was included in the price their customer paid.  It would’ve been neither right nor legal for Netflix to demand a customer’s neighbors pay the cost of delivering his movie.  Yet that’s effectively what Mr. Hastings is demanding here, and in rather self-righteous fashion.  Netflix may now be using an Internet connection instead of the Postal Service, but the same principle applies.  If there’s a cost of delivering Mr. Hastings’s movies at the quality level he desires – and there is – then it should be borne by Netflix and recovered in the price of its service.  That’s how every other form of commerce works in our country.  It’s simply not fair for Mr. Hastings to demand that ISPs provide him with zero delivery costs – at the high quality he demands – for free.  Nor is it fair that other Internet users, who couldn’t care less about Netflix, be forced to subsidize the high costs and stresses its service places on all broadband networks.

As we all know, there is no free lunch, and there’s also no cost-free delivery of streaming movies.  Someone has to pay that cost.  Mr. Hastings’ arrogant proposition is that everyone else should pay but Netflix.  That may be a nice deal if he can get it.  But it’s not how the Internet, or telecommunication for that matter, has ever worked.

Does not necessarily represent my opinion.

Richard C. Silvestri

JULY 2014 EVENT REMINDER

from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

A reminder of our event this Tuesday evening, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, July 29, 2014 at the American Legion Post #40, 810 S. US 1, Fort Pierce, Fl. 34950. Please use the front entrance (on US1) and it is the large room on the right side as you come in the front door. Plenty of parking is on the side of the building. We will have water and Green Tea (free) available or you can purchase drinks from the bar in the next room. Come early for some Social time before our event, doors will open at 6:00pm. We must start on time to insure we get out on time.

This month we will be discussing Renewable Energy & Alternative choices. Doug Coward from Solar Energy Loan Fund will be giving us a presentation on his organization and will have other speakers on purchase and installation of equipment. William McNeely also will give a short presentation and much more information will be available. Come listen, add your opinion and decide on how we can make a difference in energy usage in the future.. The most important place to be every month is our event, all our work and activism starts with the support we get from each other here and the recognition of our organization depends on the number of people participating.

The action table at our event is set up for group's information, sign-up sheets, upcoming events and petitions. All groups will also have 1-3 minutes at the beginning, to tell us about themselves. You can also contact Kathy or myself to have your events posted on our web-site happenings page. Check often for up to date HAPPENINGS. We maybe moving soon. Information about our potential move will be discussed to a little more "environmentally friendly " place.

Our next Event has been moved up a week to 19 August, due to the primary election on the 26th. Don't forget to VOTE. 

We will be having a Open Mic Nite at the next Event. So if you got something to say, something that needs our attention, issues we need address, this will be your chance to speak out. Our last quarterly board meeting minutes and our quarterly finance report will be available for members to review in our Board Information Book.

Please come out, we need your support to make a difference, be part of the experience. We also would like your feed-back on our Events and Organization. So feel free to respond to this e-mail. CHECK OUT OUR WEB-SITE; tcprogressivealliance.com  Check often as many events are posted late with little notice. We post as soon as we get them. Also check out our blog with many interesting articles and information posted there.

Thanks for your support,    

Take care,      

John Debus                                                                                                       

STOP DISCHARGES MARCH

PLAY GOLF!

from Ted Parsons

Ironworkers Local 402 will be holding a Golf Tournament at The Champions Club at Summerfield in Stuart, FL on July 12, 2014. The Tournament Committee has put together a great value for your participation and support. An event that the golfers will appreciate. There will be an All day Happy hour & BBQ Buffet, Raffles, 50/50 drawings, Closest to the Hole par 3's, and Mulligans.

We need Players, Foursomes, and Sponsors. Fees are $75 per player, $280 for Foursomes, and $300 for Hole Sponsors. For more information and the entry form call Kate at the Ironworkers Hall 561-842-7651. Please send in your entry forms as soon as possible. Proceeds will benefit the Ironworkers Local 402 Building fund for renovating the their Union Hall that many of us use from time to time. So sign up, come out and join the fun on the green.

If you don't golf please forward this link to a friend that does golf or anyone that you think may want to be a Hole Sponsor.

Thank you,

Ted Parsons

JUNE 2014 MEETING RECAP

from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

A good event with a lite turn out this past Tuesday. Perhaps the summer time (off season) had something to do with it. The people that attended did seem to be very interested the alternative medical choices information and how they could apply it to themselves. Myself, I believe the liver cleansing makes the most sense. As an old auto mechanic, I know changing your oil filter is the most important part of your car care, so why would you not apply the same principle to your bodies filter, the liver? Again a lot of good information and choices for one to be aware of, to take care of yourself. We do need to take responsibility for our bodies and not rely completely on the money making Medical System.                                                                                        

We started a new petition for our Congressional Representative in the 18th district to support and co-sponsor the Move To Amend "We The People Amendment" introduced last year in congress. We are hoping to acquire enough signatures to have him get behind this VERY important issue. Please help us by picking up a copy of the petition at one of our events and get some of your friends, family, co-workers, etc. to sign it. Getting the money out of our political system is the #1 problem we are facing in out country, all the other problems stem from this source.                                                                                                      

Reminder for Our Quarterly Picnic tomorrow Sunday, 29 June 2014 at 11:00am to 2:00pm at  Museum Point, South Causeway Park in Fort Pierce. Bring something to eat (sandwich) for yourself,  something  to drink, you can bring a dish to share, or just come and have a drink with us (as always we will have drinks available). All our Events are free and open to the public, membership is not required. Come and meet some very good people and be part of our family. Make a day of it and visit the Museums and/or the Aquarium while you are there. Please call me if you have any questions or need directions.

Thanks for your support. Hope to see you at the picnic. 

John 

TOO MUCH LOST BLOOD AND TREASURE FOR OIL

from: Jerry Buechler

It has been said that the President  missed a shining moment to preserve peace in Iraq. Except, there never was peace.  Negotiations died over a Status of Forces Agreement that would protect remaining troops from Iraqi Kangaroo courts and a Hydrocarbon Law that would allow Production Sharing Agreements with western oil companies.  Maliki couldn’t secure either because of strong opposition by Iraqis and Iran to American occupation.

   I agree with Alan Greenspan who wrote “this is a war largely about oil”   Vice President Cheney held secret “Energy Task Force” meetings in 2001 and 2002 with oil company heads and the State Department and they decided that Iraq “should be open to international oil companies as quickly as possible after invasion.”

   We abandoned the hunt for Osama bin Laden to pursue Saddam Hussein who had nothing to do with 9/11.   CIA’s George Tenet said on “60 Minutes” , “We could never verify that there was any Iraqi authority, direction, control, or complicity with Al-Qaeda for 9/11 or any operational act against America, period.”

   Here is how Iraqi experienced our “Shock and Awe” attack.  First, approximately 29.000 bombs and missiles were detonated in Iraq in 2003.  10,000 were non precision weapons and about 4,000 of the precision weapons missed their targets altogether wreaking death and destruction on civilian homes, and other inadvertent targets.

   Second, household to household surveys estimated war deaths of 1.2 million Iraqis out of a population of 24 million.  If the U.S. was invaded and the result was 1 out of 20 or 17 million Americans killed,  I am positive we wouldn’t welcome the invaders as liberators.  So, if another U.S. surge is needed, let it be a surge of compassion.  Any finger-pointing has to include us.

CLIMATE CHANGE

from  Jerry Buechler

Why should economic and environmental insecurity be the price we pay for our addiction to fossil fuels?  The EPA is taking actions supported by former EPA heads for Nixon, Reagan, and the Bushes!  Even the conservative World Bank states we need to keep 70% of known fossil fuel reserves in the ground to avoid runaway climate change. 

  The U.S. consumes 20% of the 93 million barrels of oil burned everyday.   This combustion of fuel creates heat equal to 4-5 Hiroshima bombs going off every second or the lighting of an Olympic pool full of fuel every 15 seconds.  Over 94% of this heat is being absorbed by the ocean.  The result is warmer ocean waters and acidification as the ocean absorbs our carbon emissions.

   There is a better choice we can make.  The cost of wind energy fell tenfold between 1980 and 2000, and solar panel prices have dropped more than 80% in five years.  In 1998 U.S. Crude, after adjusting for inflation, was $17.10 a barrel and last week it hit $107.

  As for coal, El Paso Energy in Texas signed a purchase agreement to buy solar power form Macho Springs in NM for 5.79 cents a kilowatt-hour---- less than half the 12.8 cents per kilowatt-hour for electricity from new coal plants.  East Coast offshore wind turbines can generate the same amount of electricity as 3,000 coal-fired power plants.  Do we want to invest in renewables which are getting cheaper each year or in foolish fossil fuels that are getting more expensive and damaging to our climate, air, water, and oceans?

JUNE 2014 MEETING REMINDER

from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

A reminder of our event this Tuesday evening, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, June 24, 2014 at the American Legion Post #40, 810 S. US 1, Fort Pierce, Fl. 34950. Please use the front entrance (on US1) and it is the large room on the right side as you come in the front door. Plenty of parking is on the side of the building. We will have water and Green Tea (free) available or you can purchase drinks from the bar in the next room. Come early for some Social time before our event, doors will open at 6:00pm. We must start on time to insure we get out on time.

This month we will be having Erika Alvarez presentation on Alternative Medicine Choices. She will be showing a documentary "A Cure" an Interview with Dr. Hulda Clark and doctors, naturopaths and patients using her protocol. She also will have a short demonstration on a couple of devices that they use. Come listen, add your opinion and decide on your path toward a healthy body. The most important place to be every month is our event, all our work and activism starts with the support we get from each other here, and the recognition of our organization depends on the number of people participating.

The action table at our event is set up for group's information, sign-up sheets, upcoming events and petitions. All groups will also have 1-3 minutes at the beginning, to tell us about themselves. You can also contact Kathy or myself to have your events posted on our web-site happenings page. Check often for up to date HAPPENINGS.

Our Quarterly Picnic is scheduled for next Sunday, 29 June 2014 at 11:00am to 2:00pm at Museum Point, South Causeway Park in Fort Pierce. Bring something to eat (sandwich) for yourself, something to drink, you can bring a dish to share, or just come and have a drink with us (as always we will have drinks available). All our Events are free and open to the public, membership is not required. Come and meet some very good people and be part of our family. Make a day of it and visit the Museums and/or the Aquarium while you are there.

Our next Event will be Renewable Energy, "Alternative Choices",  29 July 2014 at the American Legion Post #40, 810 S. US 1, Fort Pierce, Fl. 34950.  We will have a lot of good information.

Please come out, we need your support to make a difference, be part of the experience. We also would like your feed-back on our Events and Organization. CHECK OUT OUR WEB-SITE;  tcprogressivealliance.com Check often as many events are posted late with little notice. We post as soon as we get them. Also check out our blog with many interesting articles and information posted there.

Thanks for your support,

Take care,

See you Tuesday,

John

HONEST OPEN MEDIA -- NOT NPR

from Michael Ossipoff

I've just been deliglhted to find your organization's brochure in at the information-table at the Fort Pieirce Main-Branch library (by the marina). It's good to hear that there are so many progressives in this area. What is the number of members? What is the number of participants (whether members or not)? To introduce myself: My name is Michael Ossipoff. I reside in Fort Pierce. I've long been one of the more active participants in the Internet discussion of voting-systems. I've written many articles for democracy Chronicles, an Internet democracy advocacy and news magazine/newspaper. It's at: http://www.democracychronicles.com I agree with the purposes stated in your brochurre. Looking at the page headed Some Progressive Issues: Responsible Media is the 3rd item in the list ther. It's crucial for any kind of other improvements. One of the Founding Fathers, maybe Jefferson, pointed out that democeracy is the thing on which all other rights and improvements depend. But it's also been pointed out that democracy isn't possible without genuine and free public access to information. Of course we don't have that now, or even anything close to it. Any advocacy of any reform or improvement has to first be discussed, and it's necessary to know that other progressives want that too, and that, in fact, there _are_ other progressives. That's why media are crucial. It's astonishing that, all around the country, NPR (Nonrepresentative Propaganda Radio) is what passes for progressive media. NPR propagates the usual corporate-mass-media positions and premises. Within those narrowly-circumscribed premises, it includes "debate" between the Democrat and Republcan versions of the media-permitted Republocrat agenda. There are things that Americans complain about and object to. Such things as the excxessive richness of the rich, and the poverty at the bottom of the income and wealth scale; the lack of a progressive tax structure that fairly taxes the rich; the moving of jobs oversseas, in order to avoid paying a living wage here; the widespread unavailability of full medical care (unmatched in the industrial world). Pretty much every one of our wars are unwanted by the public at the time when our government starts them. In general, the public are more progressive than their "representatives". When Clinton said that national free medical care isn't "politically viable", Noam Chomsky said something like, "Sure, it isn't politically viable, because only the people want it." Though NPR consistently promotes the official line, when it mentions issues at all, it actually spends little time on the things that people are concerned about. It has all sorts of fluff-pieces and space-fillers, such as a remarkably detailed chronicle of the fictitious Lake Woebegone. When I asked why all points of view aren't heard, a show-host told me that it's because they only cover what their audience is interested in. But NPR needs to be told that the public _are_ interested in concerns such as I listed above. In fact much of NPR's audience consists of progressives, and their concerns, particulary, aren't aired at all in NPR's one-position-advocacy programming. So I suggest that NPR would be a good place for us to start. That's what this posting is actually about. No, trying to improve NPR would probably be quite futile. They already know that their positions are at odds with those of much of their audience, and with the interes and expressed wishes and concerns of the public in general. So, I'm suggesting something more modest: Let's ask WQCS, Fort Pierce's college radio station (around 88, at the low end of the FM dial, with studio and transmitter at the Indian River State College (IRSC) in Fort PIerce) to drop NPR from its programming. As I understand it WQSC is actually paying for the privilege of having NPR. Let's tell them that we don't want it. Let's tell them that we'll withold our contributions to WQCS until they drop NPR. _That_ is the biggest and best thing that we could do for an honest, agenda-free and participatory media. Then let's encourage other progressives around the country to do the same in their own communities. Of course, with NPR out of WQCS, the one-position, official-agenda, NPR news and commentary could be replaced with new and commentary that are actually inclusive, honest, and participatory, with program-personnel from the student-body, and from the public. It isn't unheard of for a college or university radio station to do that. For example, the radio station of the University of California at Santa Cruz has long been a _genuinely_ ppen, honest and participatory local FM station. No NPR there. Just local programming, with student and community program personel What if we can't get WQCS to drop NPR? Then we could begin an effort to start a new local FM station. A genuinely progressive station. Those are my suggestions, and I thank you for listening to them. Michael Ossipoff

MAY 2014 MEETING RECAP

from John Debus 

Hi Everyone,

We had another really good event with a great turn out and some VERY GOOD live music by Bob Lusk, one of our new great progressives finds.  And again, many new first-timers showing up.

Jerry gave us a very in-depth view and covered all areas of climate change. We had

a good discussion afterwards. Our social time before the event starts has become a great

opportunity to get to know one another much better. I'm becoming very impresed with some

of our newer members and their life stories. We could do an educational event on some of them.

Our June Event will be Alternative Medicine Choices "What is a Cure" presented by Erika Alvarez.

This will have a lot of good information, alternative choices for health care and a documentary film,

with a short demonstration. Make sure you don't miss this.

We helped organize a community action last Saturday. Erika, along with some TCPA energetic

members and Pastor William Shelly and his group, got together to do a clean-up in Gifford. We

pick up 40 bags of trash, loaded two trucks and took them to the dump. We got that great

feeling inside, had a good time together, and made new friends in the community with which to work

together to make a better world. Thanks to all participants.

Our next adventure will be this Friday with our Stop Keystone XL rally on the I-95 over-pass

on Oslo Rd. in Vero Beach from 5pm to 6pm. Come on out and help hold the banner, bring a

sign, or just hang out for an hour and have some fun. Hope to see you all there.

Check our web-site's happenings page for other events and get involved and make a difference.

Hope to see you all soon,

Thanks for your support,

Take care,

John

Jane Kleeb vs. the Keystone Pipeline

from Richard Silvestri

“On April 18, the State Department announced that it wouldn’t decide on Trans­Canada’s permit application until the Nebraska court ruled. As of today, Nebraska is the crucial piece in determining the fate of the line: until the State Supreme Court rules, there can’t be a final route, and until there’s a final route, the State Department won’t decide on the permit”.

Jane’s next focus is South Dakota, where Trans­Canada’s four-year construction permit will need to be recertified in June. The company will face an environment far more hostile than the one it encountered when the project was first proposed.  In late April, Kleeb held rallies on the National Mall with a group referred to as the “new C.I.A.” — the Cowboy and Indian Alliance — made up of ranchers from along the pipeline’s route and Sioux from South Dakota tribes. We can’t beat Trans­Canada with money,” she said. “We don’t have millions to spend. But we have you.” Standing in the audience, I was struck by how insular the group seemed, hardened by a shared struggle. They talked with great feeling about what the fight against Trans­Canada had given them: a new community, new friends, a new purpose.  “You’re asking people to be involved.  It’s part of our human nature. People want to be asked to do something bigger than themselves.”

from Nancy Stiefel

What:  the June Social Justice Film Blackfish

When: 7:00 PM, Sunday, June 8

Where: Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Vero Beach, corner of 27^th Avenue and 16^th Street

More information:
We’ve all heard of Shamu, an Orca whale at Sea World in Orlando, and many of us have seen the Orcas perform there.  Blackfish is the 2013 documentary about Orca whales that caused a great stir in the animal entertainment world. This documentary follows the controversial captivity of intelligent Orca whales (aka killer whales), and the subsequent dangers for both humans and whales. It chronicles the notorious Orca whale named Tilikum which is responsible for the deaths of three individuals, including a top Orca whale trainer.  Several former Sea World trainers are interviewed in the film. Humane Society volunteer Sally Wilson will facilitate the discussion following the film.  Cheryl Baker will also be available to answer questions following the film.  Cheryl recently retired from her position as a dolphin trainer at the Dolphin Research Center at Grassy Key, Florida.

The showing is free, but donations are always gratefully received.  The public is invited, so bring your friends and neighbors! The Fair Trade Corner will be open for 30 minutes prior to the film. 

There will be no films in July or August, but the series will return on September 14 with a film discussing the controversy over Smart Meters.  

Rivers Coalition Meeting to Feature Updates on Estuary Woes

Leading advocates in the Rivers Coalition will sort out the recent myriad developments (and lack of same) regarding the "river situation" at the general membership meeting May 29. 

 

Citizens concerned about the continuing pollution and degradation of the estuary will want to be on hand, at 11 a.m. at Stuart City Hall.

 

Public participation has never been needed more as really significant steps to stop the discharges from inland fail to materialize.

 

While many claim we must be satisfied with taking "baby steps" and sit though years of more studies, one leader suggested we take adult steps. "Experts close to the issues know that the only real solution is to create a flowway south from Lake Okeechobee, so let's keep the concept up front and move ahead," he said. "We have to overcome the tremendously rich and powerful status quo forces."

 

Once again, we'll keep the light on for you.

 

All concerned citizens are welcome, as always. There's plenty of free parking and even coffee and donuts will await you.

For more information, see the webpage at: http://www.mynewsletterbuilder.com/email/newsletter/1412065175

MAY 2014 MEETING REMINDER

from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

I hope everyone is enjoying a safe Memorial Day Weekend.

A reminder of our event this Tuesday evening, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, 27 May, 2014 at the American Legion Post #40, 810 S. US 1, Fort Pierce, Fl. 34950. Please use the front entrance (on US1) and it is the large room on the right side as you come in the front door. Plenty of parking is on the side of the building. We have water and Green Tea (free) available or you can purchase drinks from the bar in the next room. Come early for some Social time before event, doors are open at 6:00pm. We must start on time to ensure we get out on time.

We will be starting our Event with some "Live Entertainment", don't miss it. This month we have a presentation on Global Warming/Climate Change presented by Jerry Buechler. Where we are today, Where we will be tomorrow, with Solutions & Hope for a better Community & World. Come listen, add your opinion and decide on what we can and should do together towards building a sustainable planet...... AWARENESS, EDUCATION, ACTIVISM. At the end of the event, we will have a short discussion of the We the People Amendment, House Joint Resolution 29 introduced in congress. Should we try to pressure congressman Murphy into co-sponsoring? This is an election year.. 

The action table at our event is set up for group's information, sign-up sheets, upcoming events and petitions. All groups will also have 1-3 minutes at the beginning, to tell us about themselves. You can also contact Kathy or myself to have your events posted on our web-site happenings page. Check often for up to date HAPPENINGS.

We had several very successful rallies/actions this past month. Two Stop Keystone actions, one at the I-95 overpass on Oslo Rd. in Vero Beach on 2 May and the other was at TD Bank on US 1 in Fort Pierce. Good turn outs with everyone having a great time making the public AWARE. We also had a March Against Monsanto at the Library across from the farmers market in downtown Fort Pierce. Again a great turn out, with a lot of fun and good conversations. We got over 100 signatures on "Let Me Decide: Make GE Labeling the Law" petition and passed out many, many flyers about Monsanto. Was not surprising of all the people unaware of Monsanto, that are now AWARE, because of the people that gave their time and support for this important issue. More actions are planned this coming month, please check out our happenings page and come on out have some fun, join the conversation and help make the public aware.

  

TCPA Move To Amend Committee will meet 6:30pm, 18 June 2014 at Dunkin Donuts on US 1 (north of Virginia Ave) in Ft. Pierce. Anyone interested in getting involved and helping in their own way is invited to attend.

  

Our next Event will be What is a Cure? presented by Erika Alvarez on 24 June 2014 at the American Legion Post #40, 810 S. US 1, Fort Pierce, Fl. 34950. A lot of good information, come join us and get involved with this issue. Doors will open at 6pm. Please come out, we need your support to make a difference, be part of the experience. We also would like your feed-back on our Events and Organization. So feel free to respond to this e-mail. CHECK OUT OUR WEB-SITE;  tcprogressivealliance.com Check often as many events are posted late with little notice. We post as soon as we get them. Also check out our blog with many interesting articles and information posted there.

Thanks for your support,

Take care,

See you Tuesday,

John