JULY 30 MEETING OVERVIEW

from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

A reminder of our event this Tuesday evening, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, July 30, 2013  at the  American Legion Post  #40, 801 S US1, Fort Pierce, FL. 34950. Please use the front entrance (on US1) and it is the large room on the right side of the entrance as you come in the front door. Plenty of parking is on the side of the building.

We will be hosting Meredith Ockman, Florida’s Vice President of National Organization for Women to speak on women issues and where we are in Florida as well as nationally and locally. What the six main issues are, how you can help and where you can join this great organization. Do we have a Wendy Davis (with pink sneakers) here in Florida? We will have plenty of time for questions, answers, and discussion. We will also have a quick discuss/plan for our River movement after the NOW event.

Our events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, so bring and/or invite friends and family. Donations are welcome, but not necessary. Thanks to one of our loyal and dedicated members, we will be giving sets of Occucards to all donations of $3.00 or more to our brochure fund (they sell for $5.00 a set on line) . They are a set of 18 cards on all the top progressive issues with a very colorful picture on the front and all the information on that issue on the back. Their purpose is to educate people on the issues. Great for yourself or a gift to those less informed, "May" turn Tea Party people into Progressive people. If you care to join and support our organization (not required) our membership fees are $15 per person and $20 per family annually. This is what helps maintain our programs, reach out to our community and helps make them aware of our issues and get their support. To join, see Erika at the Event or go to our web-site.

Our group that has been having protest/rallies at the farmers market in downtown Fort Pierce have gathered hundreds of signatures for “a call to action” for our Indian River Lagoon. They are planning on more protest/rallies and working with other organizations in demanding that the Army Corp of Engineers and our elected Representatives take all necessary steps to clean our rivers and lagoon. Bill McNeely has volunteered to be contact person for this group and to chair our committee for environment and conservation. Our board has confirmed this position, appointment and welcomes Bill to TCPA board. Please contact Bill if interested in this action and a sign-up sheet will be on the action table at our events.

The action table at our event is set up for groups information, sign-up sheets,  up coming events, and petition. All groups will also have 1-3 minutes at the beginning to tell us about yourself. You can also contact Kathy or myself to have your events posted on our web-site.

Anyone needing to car pool to the event can contact me and I will do my best to get you a ride.

We are planning on having a fall picnic, tentatively 29 September 2013 at Pepper Park on the North Island of Fort Pierce. Please give us feed-back and suggestions on this.

Our NEW banner has arrived and will be on display, come and check it out.

"My Opinion" program is on going, choose a subject, limit it to 300 words or less and submit it to be read at the end of our event. We want to know how you feel on issues and what you are passionate about. There also is a group in our area that is supporting progressive write-ins to local newspapers, hopefully a representative will be at the event to tell us about themselves.

Our next Event in August will be the Labor & Union Movement. We will have representatives from different local unions to explain where we are in Florida as well as nationally and locally. Where they are going and why they are so important to the working class and the future of Florida, our country as well as the World. We will have plenty of time for questions, answers, and discussion. Come and pick-up some flyers and past out or post to/in areas where people need this information.

We have invited the River Coalition to come and speak at our September Event. Check them out at RiverCoalition.org We have pushed back our plan for Renewable & Alternative Energy Event to take place in October.

There is also a plan for a Keystone Pipeline action to take place in the fall. Jerry and Richard is organizing this action and there will be a sign up sheet at the event.

We are also looking for someone to co-chair our Move To Amend committee (get the money out of politics). We may have someone willing to chair but will need assistance or will assist if someone will chair.

Please come out, we need your support to make a difference. 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

Take Care,

See you Tuesday,

John

How Do Florida Estuaries Respond to Change? Perspectives from the Bottom of the Food Web

from  Dennis Hanisak

Hola,

The next Ocean Science Lecture, which is part of our public lecture series at Harbor Branch, is at 7 pm Wednesday July 24, 2013.

Lectures are held in the auditorium of the Johnson Education Center on the Harbor Branch campus, 5600 U.S. 1 North, Fort Pierce.

How Do Florida Estuaries Respond to Change? Perspectives from the Bottom of the Food Web

By Nikki Dix

FAU Harbor Branch

About the Speaker

Nikki Dix grew up in the sunshine state, went to Florida State University for her B.S. and the University of Florida for her M.S. and Ph.D.  In graduate school, she was introduced to the beauty and complexity of estuarine ecology and she has been exploring it ever since.  For seven years, she managed a water quality monitoring program for the Guana Tolomato Matanzas (GTM) National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR) in St. Augustine, FL.  She used that monitoring data in her graduate research, along with laboratory-based experiments and oyster reef sampling, to investigate the impacts of hurricanes and nutrient pollution in the GTM estuary.  Nikki has spent the past two years as a postdoctoral researcher at Harbor Branch investigating the relationship between phytoplankton and zooplankton in the Indian River Lagoon.  At the end of August, she will return to St. Augustine to become Research Coordinator at the GTM NERR.

About the Lecture

In this lecture, Nikki will summarize her graduate and postdoctoral research in the context of understanding how estuaries respond to change.  Coastal environments are transition zones, naturally dynamic regions of constant change.  To ultimately understand how an estuary responds to sudden events and long-term stressors, we first have to understand the inherent variability in the chemical, physical, and biological components of the estuary through long-term monitoring.  We also need to identify how the different ecosystem components interact, often with experimental manipulations.  Nikki will give examples of these monitoring and experimental efforts from her research of water quality, plankton, and oysters in two Florida estuaries and hopes to leave you with an appreciation for the beautiful complexity that drew her to estuarine ecology originally.

July 30 EVENT: NOW

Treasure Coast Progressive Alliance Monthly Event

NOW—National Organization for Women

Meredith Ockman

Come listen to Florida’s Vice President of NOW speak on Women’s Issues and where Florida stands on these both nationally and locally. Learn what the six main issues are, how you can help, and where you can join this great organization. We will have plenty of time for questions and answers.      

“WILL WOMEN GET EQUAL RESPECT?”

Our Events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC.

They are Social, Networking and Educational Events.

Come out, listen, voice your opinion, and join us.

The Event will be 6:30 pm, July 30, 2013, at the American Legion

Post #40, 810 S. US 1, Ft. Pierce Fl. 34950

For more information contact: John Debus 772-349-5328 

website: tcprogressivealliance.com

email: tcprogressivealliance@gmail.com  

JUNE MEETING RECAP

from John Debus

Hi Everyone,

Yes, another great event with t.c.p.a. at the American Legion. Even with many of our regulars absent this month, I was very happy to see our turn out improve, as well as a few first-time new people.

Hopefully we are back on our growth track. The documentary movie was very informative and

sparked a very active discussion monitored by Kathy. Much of the discussion lead to talk of unions

and the need for more co-ops. We are trying to plan an event on this issue and invite local union

leaders to come and educate/inform us where they are in this fight and what their plans are with the

working people in the future. Another recommendation from Erika, was to read "Democracy at work,

a cure for Capitalism" by Richard Wolff, for the members that after the documentary had the question,

"where is the solution." As always, we are looking for more volunteers to monitor future

events, and welcome your ideas for subjects, speakers and movies. Our events are so much better with more people participating. There was a complaint of people talking during the movie and we ask you to save your comments for after the movie. 

Our board meeting will be this Tuesday 6;30pm, 2 July 2013 at the Dunkin Donuts on US1 (by Virginia

Ave.) in Fort Pierce. Any member wishing to address the board may attend. Looking ahead to October,

when we will be looking for volunteers to serve t.c.p.a in 2014, any one interested may express their

interest now. I am personally more interested in serving in another capacity, and look forward to helping

others to continue leading and serving t.c.p.a. This is your organization and will only grow and make a

difference if we care enough to make it do so.

We have ordered a banner for our organization. Vickie has done all the work on this project and has

come up with a beautiful design, I can't wait to get it and show it off. Vickie has been a great

asset to our organization, helping with the design and getting our business cards printed, as well as serving as our secretary. We will use the banner at events, march in parades, and at rallies. This will help get our name out in the public so people will become aware of our group and hopefully join us in our

cause of educating and fighting for our issues.Anyone interested in helping with these type of events, please let us know. 

Some of our members have decided to have a protest/rally on the condition of our river this coming Saturday. The purpose is to bring more awareness to the Lake Okeechobee discharges, green algae, brown tide, manatees and dolphins death, etc..  We are also planning to draft a petition or join other organizations and support their petition effort in fighting this battle. If interested, please come out in support on Saturday between 10am and 12pm at the library across from the farmers market in downtown Fort Pierce. Perhaps someone can make some flyers with our representative names and phone numbers, and request people call them in support for our river. 

Our next Event will be on the National Organization on Women, NOW. Meredith Ockman, Florida Vice President for NOW, will be our speaker and we will have plenty of time for questions and answers. I hope everyone has gotten excited with Texas State Senator Wendy Davis, and will be come out in support of these issues and listen with open ears and minds.  Let's pack the house in support for NOW. Invite all your friends, co-workers and family members.

Hope to see everyone there,

Take care,

John

PROTEST AGAINST CHAINED CPI

by Tony Fransetta

We must protect seniors against the chained CPI

 Please join us: Protest against the Chained CPI

Join us and our affiliates as we protest against the Chained CPI.  Chained CPI is an immediate Social Security benefit cut!   We need a higher COLA - not a lower one!   The current COLA is not enough - it does not accurately account for the large health care cost increase faced by seniors and people with disabilities.

When:  Tuesday, July 2nd, 2013 @ 11:00 a.m.

Where:  Outside US Senator Marco Rubio's office, 4580 PGA Blvd., Palm Beach Gardens, FL

  

We refuse to be the last generation to retire! On July 2nd, just before we celebrate our national independence day, we will join hands to form human chain against the chained CPI Social Security benefit - a cut that would limit current and future retirees' ability to remain independent in their golden years. SHARE and INVITE your friends and allies to attend.

Click here to sign up to attend! http://afl.salsalabs.com/o/4055/t/14893/p/salsa/event/common/public/

 For additional information, please contact Tony Fransetta, President, Florida Alliance for Retired Americans 561-792-8799 or 561-386-7047.

 A Press Release: your early View!

Standing Up Against the Cuts to Social Security

by Tony Fransetta

On Tuesday, July 2nd, the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans will join others across the country in a Day of Action protesting the chained CPI cut to Social Security benefits. We are doing this because some cuts never heal - and that includes a compounding cut to Social Security like the chained CPI.

If the chained CPI formula change were to be implemented, an average person retiring in 2011 at age 65 would lose over $6,000 in 15 years. Supporters of the chained CPI justify this by claiming that seniors should just buy cheaper products. In reality, many senior are already struggling to get by and don't have cheaper options for food, transportation, housing or utility costs. Additionally, this argument ignores the reality that seniors spend a large percentage of their income on health care costs, which do not allow for substitution. A senior cannot just substitute triple bypass surgery with a double because it's cheaper.

Despite the claims of some out-of-touch politicians in Washington, the chained CPI is not just a small benefit cut. Switching to the chained CPI cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) formula would result in an annual benefit that is roughly $1,000 (2012 dollars) lower by the time a beneficiary reaches age 85. The loss of this vital income will result in heartbreaking choices for many seniors, particularly the one-third of beneficiaries who rely on Social Security for 90 percent or more of their income. Seniors cannot be asked to choose between buying food and buying lifesaving medication.

Retirement in America was once based on a three-legged stool of pensions, personal savings, and Social Security. Well the first two legs of the stool are no longer a reality for millions of Americans, who depend largely or solely on Social Security to provide for them in retirement. These Americans worked hard for decades and deserve to be able to retire without falling into poverty. They earned their Social Security benefits, and they are more important in this economy, not to mention for future generations the way things are going, than ever. That's why benefits need to be increased, not slashed.

Fortunately, there is a better alternative to the chained CPI. The Strengthening Social Security Act of 2013 (S. 567), sponsored by Senator Tom Harkin (D-IA), would require the establishment of a price index that accurately reflects costs for Social Security beneficiaries, among other improvements. Called the Consumer Price Index for the Elderly (CPI-E), this alternative would be used when computing increases in the COLA and would consider typical seniors' costs, including medical care and housing costs, to ensure that retirees' Social Security benefits keep pace with inflation.

I urge anyone who cares about protecting Social Security benefits for ourselves and future generations to join with us in our fight against the chained CPI.

Tony Fransetta is president of the Florida Alliance for Retired Americans (FLARA) a nonprofit, grass-roots organization that advocates for the rights and health of retirees and their families. FLARA has over 177,000 members. Contact him at 561-792-8799 / FloridaARA@aol.com

From John Debus

Hi Everyone,

A reminder of our event this Tuesday evening, 6:30pm to 8:30pm, 25 June 2013 at the

American Legion Post #40, 801 S US1, Fort Pierce, FL. 34950. Please use the front

entrance on US1. It is the large room on the right side of the entrance as you come

in the front door. Plenty of parking on the north side of the building.

It's movie night at TCPA with "Capitalism Hits the Fan" a documentary movie on

the economic meltdown from renowned University of Massachusetts Economics Professor

Richard Wolff. Come watch and listen to this film on the root causes of the economic crisis,

which was decades in the making and reflects seismic failures in our

American-style capitalist system. We should have plenty of time after the movie for a great

discussion which Kathy will moderate. 

Our events are FREE and OPEN TO THE PUBLIC, so bring and/or invite friends and family.

Donations are welcome, but not necessary. Thanks to one of our loyal and dedicated

members, we will be giving sets of Occucards to all donations of $3.00 or more to our

brochure fund (they sell for $5.00 a set on line) . The set of 18 cards adress the top

progressive issues of our time with a colorful picture on front and information on that

issue on the back. This is a great gift for yourself or for others less informed. "May" turn Tea Party people into Progressive people. If you care to join and support our organization (not required) our membership fees are $15 per person and $20 per family annually. This helps maintain our programs and fund community outreaching, enabling us to inform friends and neighbors of pertinent ongoing issues that are in dire need of support. To join, see Erika at the Event or go to our web-site.

I received a request from one of our regular attending supporters, to have a protest/rally for

our dying Indian River Lagoon. A few of us were getting together that evening to discuss a

protest/rally for alternative energy and the Keystone pipeline, so I said we would discuss it.

According to the group, there is an article about the subject every day in the newspaper,

and a simple protest would not add a whole lot to the subject. We came out with the suggestion

to perhaps petition our elected officials to sign a pledge to work to protect and

restore the Indian River Lagoon. We could then have protest/rallies to collect signatures and

have other organizations also work on getting signatures. We would then take the petition to city and county meetings and request elected officials sign the pledge. We would need people

to volunteer to write-up and work on this petition. Please respond to this e-mail if you are

interested in forming a group/committee to work on this.

We also discussed an alternative energy and Keystone pipeline protest/rally. Our idea is to have

a couple electric cars, solar panel information, wind turbine info, etc. with the information about

the Keystone pipeline and gather signatures on a petition to President Obama and the State

Department to STOP the Keystone pipeline. We decided to meet again after some scheduled

training at the end of July and plan for the event in August when we need to put out the most

pressure. Again if anyone else interested in joining this committee, please respond to this

e-mail.

There will be a table set up for groups information, up coming events, and petitions at our event

Tuesday. All groups will also have 1-3 minutes at the beginning to tell us about yourself. You can

also contact Kathy or myself to have your events posted on our web-site.

Anyone needing to car pool to the event can contact me and I will do my best to get you a ride.

We have started to collect non-perishable foods to give to local food banks.

We are also taking a poll on having a fall picnic, please respond if interest in attending.

We will be having a board meeting in July, time and place will be announced.

"My Opinion" program is on going, choose a subject, limit it to 300 words or less and submit

it to be read at the end of our event. We want to know how you feel on issues and what you are

passionate about.

Erika, Jerry and I met with an AFL-CIO group on Saturday and discussed many issues. I'm hoping to get some of the other local union representatives together and have an event on labor issues in the near

future.

Our next Event in July will be on "NOW", National Organization for Woman.  Meredith Ockman,

Florida's Vice President of NOW, will be our speaker.

Please come out, we need your support to make a difference. We also welcome your feed-back

on our Events and Organization. So feel free to respond to this e-mail.

CHECK OUT OUR WEB-SITE; tcprogressivealliance.com

Take Care,

See you Tuesday,

John

HEALING OUR WORLD AND OURSELVES

from Gregory Wilson

Many of you are aware that we sponsored The Healing Our World and Ourselves conference last February. (http://healingourworldandourselves.org/) Irene Keim of The Unitarian Universalist Ministry for Earth, (http://uuministryforearth.org/ ) recently wrote a review and summary of the conference:

Healing Our World and Ourselves

By Irene Keim, UU Church in the Pines, Brooksville, FL and UUMFE Board Chair (May 2013)

In February 2013, three accomplished keynote speakers from three different disciplines and participants from many UU congregations in Florida came together to explore ways we can connect the dots to heal ourselves and our world in the face of social, political, and environmental challenges. The speakers and their topics were:

•  “The Rights of Earth” – Patricia Siemen, Director of the Center for Earth Jurisprudence, Barry University School of Law;
•  “Maintaining the Right To Be Heard” – David Cobb, National Projects Director of Democracy Unlimited and the national spokesperson for Move to Amend; and
•  “Addictions in the Broadest Sense” – Bruce Alexander, professor and author of The Globalization of Addiction: A Study in Poverty of the Spirit.
  The speakers provided many ideas to ponder. For example:

• Real change happens when human beings raise hell. 
• Environmental law is based on property law, not rights of Nature.
• Social movements need to do homework and build coalitions BEFORE deciding strategies.
• We can’t win at Whack-A-Mole.
• There is no ‘away’ for all of our stuff.
• The faith community is one of the pillars of the movements founded in sustainable values.
• Humans must reclaim our ecological identity.
• It is important that we listen to Earth before we speak up for Earth.
• Two of the most damaging addictions in society are the addiction to money and to the media circus.

The unique learning experience of the conference was, however, the interaction of these creative leaders. None of the three had met or shared ideas before the conference, yet in a panel discussion after their individual presentations, they modeled for the audience how to begin to illuminate the intersection of their fields of concern and expertise, how to do some systems thinking. For many of us venturing out of our congregations into the wider community, this was a valuable exercise. Wisely, the conference planners allowed time later in the conference for the connecting to others, processing the ideas flowing around us, and planning the next steps. One session to facilitate this connection to action was a panel of activists from Florida including myself, who represented UU Ministry for Earth.

The creative exchange of information and ideas at the conference was the result of visioning by three different organizations: the UU Church of Brevard, Florida provided much of the planning and organizing; the UU Legislative Ministry of Florida participated in the planning and is supported in part from a grant from the Fund for UU Social Responsibility; and the members of the First Unitarian Church of Orlando hosted the event. The conference was so meaningful for the attendees that planning for the next conference began the very next week and a Facebook group has kept issues and information flowing across the state. The next conference is scheduled for Feb 21/21 2014 in Orlando.