Free the (Schuylkill) River Park Documentary Premier
Followed by Panel Discussion on the Power of Civic Activism

The free viewing of “Free the River Park” will be followed by a panel discussion on the campaign featuring key elected officials and activists. The panel will include Councilman Darrell Clarke, State Representative Babette Josephs and Schuylkill River Park Alliance co-chair Russell Meddin. The movie will be preceded by a light reception.

Date: Thursday, July 17, 2008
Time: 7:30 pm screening; doors open at 6:30
Location: The Academy of Natural Sciences, main auditorium

The film explores a citizens’ ultimately victorious efforts to create and preserve at grade access to the Schuylkill River Park despite the adamant objections of CSX Railroad. The 15-minute film chronicles the protracted grass-roots fight against CSX and their effort to block the community's access to the Schuylkill river, and serves to inspire and instruct other organizations on how to successfully wage efforts to improve and protect their own communities.

Donna Brazile, nationally known political analyst and campaign manager of Al Gore’s 2000 presidential bid, will be the guest speaker at the Pennsylvania Association for Justice (PaAJ) Retreat’s concluding luncheon on Saturday July 12th. As a weekly contributor and political commentator on CNN, a columnist for Roll Call Newspaper and a contributing writer for Ms. Magazine, Brazile will be discussing and sharing her insight into the 2008 Presidential election. The luncheon will be from 12:30 to 2 p.m. at the Sofitel Hotel in Center City, Philadelphia. The event is being sponsored by Consulting Engineers & Scientists, Inc., Citizens Bank, Reliable Copy Services, the PaAJ Women’s Committee and the Women’s Rights Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association. Cost is $85 for PaAJ and AAJ members (which is included in the retreat package) and $100 for non-members.

Phone: 215.546.6451 x101

Some people are being slapped in the face and they don't even know it. It is not just about being black or white. It is also about economics and social stratification. Like Tim Wise said, "divide and conquer." "We were taught to be white." The concept of whiteness didn't exist until after America was discovered. In reality, "America" was taken from the American Indian people. Take a look at some of the videos Tim Wise can be seen on. Some of these videos have been put on Youtube. Tim, thank you for the insights you continue to provide.

Hey Folks,
Media Mobilizing Project put out a press release today urging Philadelphians to call Mayor Nutter on Wednesday. We want people to call-in and ask him to stop Earthlink from dismantling a 17 million dollar wireless network which can be an amazing boon both to city services while working to bridge Philadelphia's massive digital divide. Please join us in calling Mayor Nutter.

When: Wednesday, May 21st 9AM-5PM
Phone Number: (215) 686-3000 or (215) 686-2250

Press Release Below
------------------
Media Mobilizing Project and local broadband activists are urging Philadelphians to call Mayor Michael Nutter on Wednesday May 21, to demand that the city step in to save the Wireless Philadelphia network and keep digital inclusion as part of it's agenda. Earthlink plans to begin dismantling the $17 million network June 12, after failing to convince either the city or a non-profit to assume ownership.

Despite the challenges facing the broadband network, community activists believe it remains a critical asset for helping close the digital divide in Philadelphia-where over half of all households lack a high-speed Internet connection. "In 2005 the city made a promise to provide every Philadelphian, regardless of income, with reliable access to the Internet," says Shivaani Selvaraj of the Media Mobilizing Project. "Mayor Nutter is obligated to
ensure the city makes good on that promise."

The need for digital inclusion is growing exponentially. Today, it is nearly impossible to register for a university course or even check a train schedule without Internet access. Local residents routinely wait two
hours at the Free Library for a 30-minute session on the Web.

Even as Mayor Nutter is prepared to walk away from the WiFi network, his administration committed to making government services available on-line. The Philadelphia Police Department already offers downloadable reports, and the Department of Licenses & Inspections website encourages users to download building permit applications. Residents can even notify the Streets Department about potholes via a hyperlink on that agency's website.
"But without access to the Internet, Philadelphians are blocked from taking advantage of any of these services," says Gwen Shaffer, a doctoral student whose research focuses on broadband policy. "The Nutter administration says it values public participation in the political process. But residents need affordable Internet access in order to be engaged in civic life."

With Earthlink poised to begin taking down the Wireless Philadelphia network June 12, it is critical that local residents immediately pressure the city step in. Concerned residents should contact Mayor Nutter's office at (215) 686-3000 or (215) 686-2250 on Wednesday, May 21st.

Philadelphians will have another opportunity to contribute to the debate about local digital inclusion efforts during a June 3 public forum. The Media Mobilizing Project and Temple University's School of Communication and Theater are co-hosting that event.

EXPERIENCE GUANTÁNAMO
IN Philadelphia
Visit Amnesty International’s replica of a Guantánamo cell and join us in calling on the U.S. government to charge detainees and give them fair trials, or release them. Indefinite detention without charge or fair trial is illegal and violates American principles of justice.
When:
Friday, May 30th, 1pm – 7pm
Saturday, May 31st, 9am – 7pm
Sunday, June 1st, 10am – 5pm
Where:
Dilworth Plaza, 1400 JFK Blvd, Philadelphia, PA
Special EVENT:
Saturday, May 31st, Noon – 2pm
FREE admission to the cell & special event
Info: www.amnestyusa.org/celltour

Why did Dougherty's media consultants tell Ann Dicker to stay in the race? Anyone with half a brain knew it was to hurt Farness. Why is Dicker consulting with Dougherty's media consultants anyway? Isn't corruption something she is sworn to oppose? No one is more corrupt than John Dougherty! It was obvious that Ann Dicker was in bed with the Dougherty campaign. I am so happy that she was exposed for the fraud that she is and I hope this is the last we hear of that "Has Been" Ann Dicker let me rephrase the correct term is probably that "Never Was" Ann Dicker!

Hi folks,

I haven't been around all that much since I've needed to concentrate on a number of personal concerns. Normally, I would be posting about the talk occurring from Philadelphians online. I'm not going to get the chance to do that today. But that doesn't mean that Philly Future can't help you explore and take part. Here's how:

Keep an eye on the Philly Wire. Philly Future surfaces conversations and headlines from across the region. Click and take part.

Search the Philly Wire for endorsements of fellow online travelers and local mass media.

Post here or on your favorite blogs your thoughts, your feelings, your concerns. Talk. Speak out.

And more than anything else - get out and vote.

Have a great day everyone,

Karl

On Saturday, April 29, 2008, Barak Obama traveled with Pennsylvania Senator Bob Casey Jr. by train from Philadelphia to Harrisburg. Along the historic Main Line just west of Philadelphia, Obama spoke first to an estimated crowd of 6000 listeners at the Wynnewood train station, shown here.

Obama's 4-car train stopped subsequently in Paoli, Downingtown and Lancaster.

Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works
John Hansen-Flaschen, 2008.
www.jflashphoto.com

When these news stories surface it makes me get down on my knees and thank god for female candidates like Anne Dicker, who really represents the kind of change voters seek. Why am I so irritated? Because....I never used to follow GrassRootsPA because I thought it was way too conservative. Well, it still is conservative, but you know what? It's rather informative. I found this post titled RELEASE: ROGERS CAMPAIGN CALLS ON STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE TO INVESTIGATE PAOLINO’S ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN TACTICS - well the post has a zillion comments - some funny, some pathetic, some offensive, racist, homophobic, bigoted, etc (not the blog's fault, just the boobs who post)...

But one little comment led to some googling and this story hitting the freaking AP the weekend before the primary:

Posted on Fri, Apr. 18, 2008
Pa. judge tells candidate to stop distributing fliers
The Associated Press

NORRISTOWN, Pa. - A Montgomery County judge has ordered a state Senate candidate to stop distributing a certain flier that allegedly confuses voters....Lisa Paolino has been distributing sample ballots that are the same size and color showing a Paolino endorsement.

A judge ordered the Paolino campaign to turn over the handbills until a full hearing can be held Monday.

Late Friday night, the Rogers campaign said an emergency hearing was scheduled Saturday in Delaware County Court over a similar issue.

The Story appears HERE, HERE, HERE.

Another blog I also don't haunt on a regular basis is PA Watercooler , and they have this story PLUS a copy of this faux ballot.

Tsk, tsk, tsk....this is like buying a fake Prada bag from a street vendor, huh?

Lisa, honey, you need a vacation. How can you ask those people in the 17th district to vote for you when you can't even play by the rules?

Honey, pack up your barbies; it's time to go home. You could run as a strong woman and play by the rules. What is that old adage? Or is it a cliché ? Cheaters never win and winners never cheat?

It's bad enough when MALE candidates do this stuff....but when a WOMAN does it, can it be said it makes it all the more difficult for the NEXT woman who comes along?

Will tonight make a difference? NOT!!! This will be over the 20th debate. I guess it will serve some purpose to get into the bitter comment (as if that thing hasn't been hacked to death). THat won't make a difference though. Hillary voters who are offended weren't voting for him anyway. His supporters won't be so easily swayed. It will be interesting to see the exit polls and to see of the late deciders how many were swung by the bitter comments. Stay tuned....

Sigh....I know, I know some days it's just hard to be fabulous. My suggestion? Bubble bath and a nice glass of wine.....

Yes, dear readers, my new favorite election to watch just got more interesting then the many, many, many installments of Jim vs. Lois:

GrassRootsPA: RELEASE: ROGERS CAMPAIGN CALLS ON STATE ATTORNEY GENERAL’S OFFICE TO INVESTIGATE PAOLINO’S ILLEGAL CAMPAIGN TACTICS

And the Inquirer has been discussing it:

Infighting among GOP in 17th Senate District
By Derrick Nunnally
Inquirer Staff Writer

and if that isn't curious enough:

Giza: Lisa Paolino's Legal Letter

If I were to guess, I'd guess that John (Johnny Doc) Dougherty is the front-runner in the Democratic primary for the Pennsylvania Senate seat abandoned by ethically challenged and indicted Vince Fumo. Oh woe is me. I cannot possibly vote Republican this Fall for that seat, as the Republican in the race, Jack Morley, is a complete and utter nutcase. (Hey, Jack, how did that brandishing of a weapon in a bar thing come out, anyway?) We're all hoping Anne Dicker can pull off an upset.

But this isn't about Anne Dicker, a fine organizer and community advocate. This is about the bully and thug, Johnny Doc. Yeah, I'll admit that the third candidate in this race, Larry Farnese, has it right. Johnny Doc is a bully and a thug. But it's his lack of ethics that should make us all rally against sending him to Harrisburg. Here's the latest on Johnny Doc from the Philadelphia Daily News:

A mysterious flier that surfaced in last year's mayoral race comparing Michael Nutter's stop-and-frisk proposal to an infamous police raid on the Black Panthers was created by a consultant for the city electricians union, the city Board of Ethics disclosed yesterday.
The consultant, Tommie St. Hill, said yesterday he had prepared the flier on his own, without financial support from the electricians or anyone else.

But the Ethics Board, an independent agency responsible for enforcing the city's campaign finance laws, appears to be investigating the possibility that the electricians' political-action committee paid for the leaflet and filed misleading financial reports to conceal it.

The union is led by John J. Dougherty, now a candidate for the state Senate. During last year's mayoral race, Dougherty was a prominent backer of Tom Knox, the insurance tycoon who finished second to Nutter in the Democratic primary.

The Black Panther flier was one of two anonymous leaflets, both criticizing Nutter, to appear in the closing days of the campaign.

It shows six black males stripping off their clothes in front of two white police officers, with their guns drawn.

"Welcome to the Reality of Mike Nutter's 'Stop and Frisk' Philly," the flier says. "If he's elected mayor of Philadelphia, Mike Nutter will institute a controversial 'stop and frisk' program that will give police unlimited powers to stop and search any citizen, for any reason - or no reason - at all. A vote for Nutter is a vote for racial profiling. A vote for Nutter is a vote against our civil rights."

The leaflet itself contained no information on its origin. But the Ethics Board found the company that printed it and traced the leaflet to St. Hill, who now runs RCS Diversified Consultants, and was an aide to the late U.S. Rep. Lucien Blackwell .

In sworn testimony last summer, St. Hill told the Ethics Board he spent at least $8,800 of his own money to print 125,000 copies of the flier and pay 25 or 30 people to distribute it on Election Day, in North and West Philadelphia.

In a filing yesterday in Common Pleas Court, the Ethics Board identified $22,500 in payments from the electricians' political-action committee to St. Hill and RCS within two months of the flier's printing.

On the PAC's financial reports, the payments were described as "GOTV" - the term normally used to describe "get out the vote" activities on Election Day.

Also, the union paid $49,000 to RCS from the union's Job Recovery Account. And St. Hill received another $15,000 in October from Philadelphia Phuture, a PAC run by Dougherty's daughter, Erin.

There you have it. The guy who produced the ugly and unattributed campaign flier against Michael Nutter received tons of dollars from the Johnny Doc PAC, but he claims it had no influence on his actions. What a whiney excuse. Next St. Hill is going to be posing as a Republican and playing footsie in a men's room or something. I GUARANTEE Johnny Doc had his hands on that dirty trick in last year's mayoral campaign. I GUARANTEE. It may never come out in court, but only because Johnny Doc will stonewall the Ethics Board's attempts to figure it out. That's the big thing here. We do not need a man serving Philadelphia's interest in Harrisburg who holds such contempt for ethics that he will not answer inquiries from the Ethics Board. Simple as that. I also GUARANTEE, when it comes down to it, that Johnny Doc will claim he did not know anything about St. Hill's dirty trick fliers, but if anyone believes Johnny Doc didn't know, they are completely fooling themselves.

But isn't Johnny Doc incompetent, just like tons of Republicans out there? Yeah, I think he's a Republican in Democratic clothing. And here's a bit of his incompetence, guaged by who he's backed recently. From the Philadelphia Inquirer:

The former construction worker's rise to power broker has not been without setbacks.

One of his first candidates, Rick Mariano, a Local 98 member who was elected to City Council in 1995, was convicted of bribery in 2006 and is in prison.

After his ouster as party treasurer, Dougherty supported millionaire Tom Knox in the 2007 mayoral primary, which included Brady and which Michael Nutter won. He also backed Republican U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum in his failed bid to win reelection against Bob Casey in 2006.

Yup, Johnny Doc has tried to be kingmaker in the past, and he's failed. First he backed indicted and convicted Rick Mariano. Then he endorsed Tom Knox, a man who was a good candidate, though not the right man for Philadelphia in this time. It was in service of Tom Knox that Johnny Doc ordered these ugly dirty trciks, no doubt. But Johnny Doc should be completely condemned for supporting Rick Santorum. First, Santorum is anathema to anything Democratic, with both a capital "D" and a small "d." Santorum lost so badly in 2006 because he is completely out of touch not just with the average Pennsylvanian, but also with the average Pennsylvania Republican. Maybe it was Santorum's own ethical lapses that attracted Johnny Doc to him.

I'm not sure how good endorsements are in this city anymore, but it is good to see the Daily News has backed Anne Dicker. I know Anne well, and will be at my polling place working for her on election day. She's a fine person, and there's not a soul out there who could accuse Anne Dicker of ethical lapses. Yeah, Johnny Doc is likely to be indicted in the next few months, if the scuttlebut is right. But we need a clean candidate for change in Philly, and that candidate is Anne Dicker.

Please, folks, even if you are from far from Philly, consider a gift to Anne Dicker's campaign.