PROGRESSIVE EVENTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY AND DC

PROGRESSIVE EVENTS IN MONTGOMERY COUNTY AND DC

The Audubon Society and others forum
Candidates for the upcoming District 4 County Council special primary
election will discuss their positions and issues.

Date: Sunday March 22, 2009 Time: 7:30 pm
Place: Woodend: Audubon Sanctuary, 8940 Jones Mill Road, Chevy Chase
MD 20815

Expected candidates: Michael Bigler, Robert Goldman, Thomas Hardman, Ben
Kramer, Cary Lamari, Nancy Navarro, Also invited: George Gluck (Green
Party)

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Building the Election Reform Movement MeetUp (DC Metro area)
Sign up/more details here: http://electionreform.meetup.com/176/

Date: Monday, March 23, 7 p.m.
Place: Burma Restaurant 740 6th street NW Washington, DC 20001 2nd floor
short walk from Gallery Pl. Chinatown metro stop (Green/Yellow
Blue/Orange Line)
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=740+6th+St.+washington+dc+20001

Guest speaker Joseph Oddo (writer/political consultant/businessman and
co-founder of the Independent Greens of Virginia). We will also discuss
progress on paper ballot/opti-scan voting in Maryland and the Lobby Day
in Annapolis on March 16th. More info, contact: jenkarius@gmail.com

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Senator Ben Cardin in Silver Spring Sponsored by the Greater Silver
Spring Democratic Club

Date: Wednesday, March 25, 2009 Time: 7:30pm - 9:30pm
Place: White Oak Middle School 12201 New Hampshire Ave, Silver
Spring, MD

Senator Ben Cardin will discuss how the Congress is approaching the
Economic Crisis
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=12201+New+Hampshire+Ave,+Silver+Spring,+MD+20904
Public transportation info: http://www.wmata.com/

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MoveOn PowerUp Campaign Kick-Off with Congressman Chris Van Hollen

Date: Saturday March 28 Time: 12:30 pm. to 3:30 p.m.
Place: Wheaton Regional Library Mtg room 2, lowest floor, 11701 Georgia
Ave., Wheaton, MD 20902
Accessible to all, short walk or bus ride from the Wheaton Metro Station.
Directions:
http://www.montgomerycountymd.gov/apps/libraries/BranchInfo/wh.asp

PowerUp Campaign Kick-Off of MoveOn's 2009 Agenda and Organizing our
efforts in Montgomery County--Special Guest Congressman Chris Van Hollen
CONFIRMED
Requested donation $5 (or more) to defray costs of the room,
refreshments, etc. We'll discuss ways to support President Obama's Green
Economy/Green Jobs initiatives and ways we can all conserve energy.
We'll organize efforts to continue progress. Sign up online:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/poweruplaunch/92499
Combined MeetUp/Meeting for MCPA, DFMC, MoveOn, PDA, PWG and more.
Wednesday April 1, 7 p.m.
Saigonese Restaurant 11232 Grandview Ave Silver Spring (Wheaton), MD 20902

Short walk from Wheaton Metro (red line) /
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=11232+Grandview+Ave+Silver+Spring+MD+20902

We're working on Coalition Building Efforts, several bills and lobby
efforts on the state and national level. We'll also discuss the upcoming
County Council Special Election, coalition efforts, and much more!

We're planning special events, forming a steering committee, and working
on meetings with legislators, etc. We'll be holding meetings and events
to make a real difference in our county, state and nation. Participating
organizations include: Montgomery County Progressive Alliance, Democracy
for Montgomery County, Progressive Democrats of America, MoveOn.org and
the Progressive Working Group as well as several "MeetUp" groups.

MoveOn has an exciting, progressive agenda for the U.S. and 1000s of
involved, informed members in our area. Please join the Montgomery
County MoveOn Council by clicking on this link:
http://www.moveon.org/team/search/signup.html?team_id=4221

April: Maryland Legislative Update (details TBA) / May: Healthcare in
Maryland and the USA (details TBA)

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Eco-Justice Cafe' University of DC--Friday, April 3, 6 p.m. to 10 p.m.
Music, poetry, an open mike session, good food, good beer, good people,
good cheer. University of DC, Firebird Inn, Van Ness/UDC Red Line West
exit--Building 39, B-Level, 4200 Connecticut Ave., NW, DC 20008,
Wheelchair Accessible.
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=4200+Connecticut+Ave.,+NW,+DC+20008

Suggested donation $15/$10 students/$5 kids -- Food and drink included.
All ages event; child activities provided and powered by kids!

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Progressive Working Group/Progressive Neighbors/SaveOurVotes Events Recap:

The PWG/Progressive Neighbors House Concert Fundraiser with Magpie was
GREAT!
Next time we mention Magpie, make sure you're there!

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Our PWG Lobby Night in Annapolis (with Save Our Votes and others) for
Accurate, Verifiable Paper-Ballot Voting Monday, March 16 was
well-attended and (we hope) very effective.

Transition to paper ballot voting across the state will save Maryland
money, due to extravagant costs for maintaining the less reliable and
impossible to verify touch screen machines. Our state should use a
system which will provide private and independent voting for disabled
voters alongside the paper ballot-based system. Many jurisdictions in
Maryland used to use the paper-ballot optical scan voting which was
unanimously supported by the Maryland legislature in 2007. We ask our
representatives to ensure a smooth, cost-effective transition to
reliable, transparent voting for the 2010 election cycle, as planned.

Tomorrow Night Roy Zimmerman in ROCKVILLE

Roy Zimmerman: Real American
Moore Music House Concert

Saturday, March 21 8 PM ROCKVILLE, MD
Call or email for directions and reservations: 301- 461-3600 or
mooremusicconcerts@gmail.com $15

What's funny about war, poverty, ignorance, bigotry, neo-conservatism,
homophobia, greed, lust and fear? Ask Roy Zimmerman. He's been writing
satirical songs for twenty years.

The Los Angeles Times says, "Zimmerman displays a lacerating wit and
keen awareness of society's foibles that bring to mind a latter-day Tom
Lehrer."

Tom Lehrer himself says, "I congratulate Roy Zimmerman on reintroducing
literacy to comedy songs. And the rhymes actually rhyme, they don't just
'rhyne.'"

Joni Mitchell says, "Roy's lyrics move beyond poetry and achieve
perfection."

There's a decidedly Lefty slant to his lyrics. "We used to have a name
for Right Wing satire," he says. "We called it 'cruelty.'"

Zimmerman has played clubs across the country, and shared the stage with
George Carlin, Bill Maher, Kate Clinton, Dennis Miller, Sandra Tsing
Loh, kd lang, Andy Borowitz and Paul Krassner. He's done several shows
with The Pixies' Frank Black, swapping songs in a solo acoustic setting.
His up-to-the-moment topical songs are featured on American Public
Media's syndicated broadcast "Weekend America" and Sirius Radio's "West
Coast Live."

He's currently touring a one-man show called "Faulty Intelligence." It's
a ninety minute theatrical presentation of Zimmerman's original songs
and comic commentary - an indictment of the Bush administration to
accompany Patrick Fitzgerald's.

And there's a new album to go with it. "Faulty Intelligence" the CD
contains a lesson in Intelligent Design, "Creation Science 101;" an
Elvis sounding love song to the government phone tappers called "Hello,
NSA" that's featured on the ACLU web site; and the bawk-along
"Chickenhawk," already a Zimmerman classic. He says, "I hope this record
gets good reviews, but mostly I hope it gets denied under oath by Karl
Rove."

Zimmerman's fourth CD is a Holiday offering called PeaceNick. It's
Lefty, Pacifist, Humanist satire celebrating the birth of the Prince of
Peace in a time of pre-emptive war. The disc takes a snipe at
militaristic merchandising with "Buy War Toys for Christmas," and thumbs
its nose at the War on Christmas - an absurd notion promoted by Bill
O'Reilly and his ilk - with the Happy Holidays song
"Christma-Hanu-Rama-Ka-Dona-Kwanzaa." The Dylan-esque "Christmas is
Pain," another Zimmerman classic in the mold of another Zimmerman,
receives wide airplay every Holiday Season.

Homeland and Security are a twin pair of CD releases arising in the
aftermath of the 9-11 disaster. In 23 scathing originals, Roy dissects
the jingoism, belligerence and plain addle-headedness of Bush and
Company's response. Homeland takes on domestic threats, among them the
"Patriot Act" and "Jerry Falwell's God." This disc also contains Roy's
heartfelt love song to his wife, "You." Security widens the satirical
bite to include a "Multinational Anthem" and the mock-inspirational "One
World, One Bank."

Roy's first solo release was Comic Sutra, a mixture of the personal and
the political and the personal that is political including the same-sex
marriage anthem, "Defenders of Marriage," and "Punish the People," a
happy-go-lucky paean to class warfare.

"Punish the People" is also featured on the compilation CD Laughter is a
Powerful Weapon, released to raise money for the Red Cross in the wake
of Hurricane Katrina.

Roy wrote the song "I'm Fired" for the Los Angeles Theatre Works
production of "Fired!" and performed in the show at the Skirball Center
for the Performing Arts in Los Angeles and Off-Broadway at New York's
Second Stage Theatre.

Performing at New York City's Symphony Space during the 2004 Republican
Convention, he drew this review from the New York Times: "Roy Zimmerman
lifted the evening with his song 'Chickenhawk,' ridiculing the military
policies of Bush administration officials who didn't serve in the armed
forces. Zimmerman's squawking and clucking conveyed his scorn with
contagious irreverence."

US Senator, Ben Cardin in Silver Spring Weds. March 25!

Meet our US Senator, Ben Cardin and hear the latest about how the
Congress is approaching the Economic Crisis!
Sponsored by the Greater Silver Spring Democratic Club

Wednesday, March 25th at 7:30 at White Oak Middle School
12201 New Hampshire Ave, Silver Spring, MD 20904
http://maps.google.com/maps?q=12201+New+Hampshire+Ave,+Silver+Spring,+MD+20904
Public transportation info: http://www.wmata.com/