Register now for Camp Wellstone Houston!

Camp Wellstone is coming to Houston August 18-20!

Camp Wellstone is coming to Houston, Texas for the first time!  Register today for Camp Wellstone Houston on the weekend of August 18-20, 2006.   Click here to register!    

Camp Wellstone is a training program that teaches progressives how to win on issues and elect good candidates. We use a distinctive approach to politics, based on Paul Wellstone's success at integrating grassroots organizing, electoral organizing, progressive public policy and ethical leadership.

The training is highly interactive, combining exercises, lectures, and simulations over the course of 2.5 days.  Camp runs Friday from 2:30pm-9:00pm, Saturday from 9:00am-6:00pm, and Sunday from 9:00am-3:00pm.  We keep you busy the whole time!  The exact location of the camp will be announced in the coming weeks. 

Camp Wellstone is divided into three tracks:

• Candidate track.   This is for people who have made the decision to run for office.
• Campaign track.   This track focuses on how to be an effective staff or volunteer member of a winning progressive campaign.
• Citizen activist track.   For people interested in citizen lobbying, issue advocacy, and community organizing, this track provides skills in how to win on issues. 

For more information about Camp Wellstone or to see which track is right for you, click here.

Camp Wellstone fills very quickly. If you are interested, sign up online by following the link above or visit www.wellstone.org

The cost is $75 or just $35 for students, low-income, or unemployed participants. We are not able to guarantee your space for the the camp unless payment is received 2 weeks prior to the starting date.  Camp participants are responsible for their own accommodations.

If you have questions about the training, contact Cietta Kiandoli: cietta@grassrootssolutionscom or  202-419-3077.

Click here to sign-up for Camp Wellstone

Learn More about Camp Wellstone!

• What is Camp Wellstone?
• Sample Camp Wellstone Lectures and Activities
• What people are saying about Camp Wellstone
• A profile of Camp Wellstone Grads in Action
• Photos from Camp Wellstone

 

Chili, Ice Cream, Barbecue, or Phone-banking?

In just about three weeks you will have the opportunity to come together with Democrats in your community to meet, greet and organize as we get ready for elections this fall.

Saturday, July 29th will mark 100 days until Election Day, and Democrats will be celebrating the occasion and making their commitment to work hard until November in a series of events called the Democratic Reunion.

They've captured the spirit perfectly in Oklahoma, where you'll find an "Oklahoma Democratic Party Family Reunion" where Democrats young and old will join others who have left politics or never participated before. All of them will be committing to give their all for the last 100 days.

And in Washington, they've worked to coordinate their events with campaigns from across the state - ensuring that come Election Day, there's a network of dedicated volunteers to help get out the vote.

Find a Democratic Reunion event near you -- just follow this link and plug in your zip code:

http://www.democrats.org/thedemocraticreunion/find

All kinds of events are happening as part of the Democratic Reunion. Social events, canvasses and phone-banks, candidate meet-and-greets -- whatever your comfort level, whatever your community wants, the important thing is that Democrats come together.

A few of the other kinds of events:

• Casper, Wyoming: Casper Canvass and Barbecue
• Eugene, Oregon: Lane County Democratic Party Chili Cook-off
• Biloxi, Mississippi: Picnic for Democracy
• Tucson, Arizona: Ice Cream Social
• Nampa, Idaho: Meet Your Local Democratic Candidates

That's only a few -- not to mention the 31 events in Georgia, the 42 events in Ohio, or the event in Fairbanks, Alaska being put together by a candidate for the state legislature.

Can't find an event near you? There are so many options, and planning your event is so easy with our online events center, why not create your own? We'll provide tips and support to make your event a success, and we'll even make sure you get materials like doorhangers and postcards to help spread the word in your community.

Plan your own Democratic Reunion event now:

http://www.democrats.org/thedemocraticreunion/create

It's an exciting time to be a Democrat, and the Democratic Reunion is the next big step in our drive to build our party everywhere and win this November.

We have a lot to do, but we have to remember that there's nothing we can't do together.

Thank you for getting involved.

Sincerely,
Tom

Tom McMahon
Executive Director
Democratic National Committee

 

Sen. Hutchison voted against Internet freedom

Dear MoveOn member,

Your senator, Kay Bailey Hutchison, was the deciding vote AGAINST Internet freedom during a key vote yesterday in the Senate Commerce Committee.

The committee voted 11 to 11 on the Snowe/Dorgan proposal to preserve Net Neutrality—one vote shy of passage. Your senator voted to let companies like AT&T put tollbooths on the Internet and gain more control over what you see and do online. The fight to preserve the free and open Internet now moves to the full Senate.

Please call Sen. Hutchison today and say "shame on you" for opposing the Snowe-Dorgan Internet freedom proposal. Tell her to oppose any bill in the full Senate that doesn't protect Net Neutrality. Here is the number:

Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison
Phone: 202-224-5922

Please click here to let us know you called and to share how it went:

http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1885&tg=FSTX_1&cp_id=344&id=8146-3497923-o._6zH5OsYkMcDbLkSx7pQ&t=2

After you call your senator's Washington, D.C. office, you can also call your local district office by clicking the above link. If you get voicemail, you can leave a message—they will get it.

Senator Hutchison took $13,250 in contributions this election cycle from big telecommunications companies, according to www.opensecrets.org, and then sided with them in yesterday's vote.

Senators who voted yesterday had a clear choice between siding with big money or siding with their constitutents. While 1 million everyday people petitioned Congress to save Net Neutrality, big telecommunications companies like AT&T gave nearly 1 million dollars in campaign contributions to members of the Senate Commerce Committee this election cycle. Politicians need to be held accountable for making the wrong choice.

Thanks for keeping the pressure on Congress as we fight to save the Internet.

–Eli Pariser, Adam Green, Noah T. Winer, and the MoveOn.org Civic Action team
Thursday, June 29th, 2006


Sources:

1. Links pertaining to yesterday's vote:
"'Net neutrality' battle may sink sweeping telecommunications reform bill," USA Today, July 29, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1911&id=8146-3497923-o._6zH5OsYkMcDbLkSx7pQ&t=3

"Net Neutrality Issue Holding Back Broad Telecom Legislation," Investor's Business Daily, June 28, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1912&id=8146-3497923-o._6zH5OsYkMcDbLkSx7pQ&t=4

Video: Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) threatens to "block" anti-Net Neutraity legislation on Senate floor, June 28, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1913&id=8146-3497923-o._6zH5OsYkMcDbLkSx7pQ&t=5

2. Articles about the Net Neutrality issue:

1. "Net Losses," New Yorker, March 20, 2006
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1646 ;

2. "Why You Should Care About Net Neutrality," Slate—Prof. Tim Wu Guest Column, May 1, 2006
http://www.slate.com/id/2140850/ ;

3. "Executive Wants to Charge for Web Speed," Washington Post, December 1, 2005
http://www.moveon.org/r?r=1902&id=8146-3497923-o._6zH5OsYkMcDbLkSx7pQ&t=6

4. How Net Neutrality affects you
http://www.savetheinternet.com/=threat

Stop Offshore Drilling

A message from Environment Texas

When Americans head to the beach this summer, we expect
fun and sun. However, if the oil and gas industry get
their way, we may soon find something else: oil rigs,
oil spills, and air pollution. America needs to take
action to break our dependence on oil, not feed that
dependence further.

When I wrote to you about this issue in May, over 600
of you called your representatives to stop off-shore
oil and gas drilling in the Gulf of Mexico. And it made
a huge difference--on May 16 the House of
Representatives voted to block new drilling.

However, now the oil and gas industry are back with a
new bill to repeal the 25-year ban on off-shore oil and
gas drilling.

Please tell your representative to oppose H.R. 4761.
You can reach your representative at 202-224-3121. If
you don't know who your representative is, that's OK.
Just tell the operator your zip code, and they will
connect you.

Here's a message you can leave: "Hello, my name is
_________, and I live in _________. I am calling to
urge Rep. _________ to oppose H.R. 4761 and protect our
coasts from off-shore drilling."

After you call, please report your call to us so we can
keep track of how many people are talking to their
representatives. Then ask your friends and family
members to help out too by forwarding this message to
them.

To report your call, click here or paste this link in
your web browser:

https://www.environmenttexas.org/action/offshore-drilling-call

BACKGROUND:

Our coasts and marine waters are destinations for
thousands of vacationing families each year, sanctuary
for fish and wildlife and a critical part of America's
"sea to shining sea" natural heritage. They are the
economic lifeblood for thousands of tourism and fishing
communities, providing billions of dollars of economic
activity and millions of jobs.

Oil and gas drilling would ruin our coasts and beaches.
From 1990-1999, 1.8 million gallons of oil were spilled
from offshore drilling platforms and pipelines in U.S.
waters--an average of almost 500 gallons a day.

Additionally, each offshore operation produces 214,000
pounds of air pollutants each year, and tens of
thousands of pounds of mercury have been dumped around
Gulf oil rigs.

There are cheaper, cleaner, faster, and longer-term
energy solutions like efficiency and renewables that
will start saving consumers and businesses money today
and protect our coastal waters, beaches, and economies.

Adopting both energy efficiency and renewable energy
programs would decrease natural gas prices by $2.05 per
million cubic feet, or 37%, in the first year.

Meanwhile, offshore oil and gas would typically not be
available for at least seven years. But we can
immediately start saving money and energy by increasing
the efficiency of our cars, appliances and buildings,
and growing the amount of energy we generate from
renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

Unfortunately, legislation (H.R. 4761) has been
introduced that would repeal the 25-year ban on new
off-shore drilling and lead to new drilling off our
coasts.

Please call your representative and urge him or her to
oppose H.R. 4761. You can reach your representative at
202-224-3121. If you don't know who your representative
is, that's OK. Just tell the operator your zip code,
and they will connect you.

Here's a message you can leave: "Hello, my name is
_________, and I live in _________. I am calling to
urge Rep. _________ to oppose H.R. 4761 and protect our
coasts from off-shore drilling."

After you call, please report your call to us so we can
keep track of how many people are talking to their
representatives. Then ask your friends and family
members to help out too by forwarding this message to
them.

To report your call, click here or paste this link in
your web browser:

https://www.environmenttexas.org/action/offshore-drilling-call

Sincerely,

Luke Metzger Environment Texas Advocate
LukeM@environmenttexas.org
Environment Texas

P.S. Thanks again for your support. Please feel free
to share this e-mail with your family and friends.

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