DCDL

the blog of DC Drinking Liberally

November 9, 2006

Live from DCDL Thursday at Timberlake’s….

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We’re excited.

We’ve already done one “Na na na na, hey hey hey” (for Santorum).

We’re All Sorts of Excited.

Did I say we’re excited? :D

Now let’s see what happens when the Democrats that have been sat on for four years and the Republicans who have been perilously close to committing seppuku over what ShrubCheneyCo has been up to have to confront what has gone before, and how to fix it. :D

I’m betting Cheney and the maniacs Bush has appointed do not go gently into that good night….

Did I mention that we’re excited. :D

November 7, 2006

On behalf of Virginia…

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I’d like to apologize for that whole gay marriage ban thing.

I’d also like to pre-emptively apologize for Allen not being ridden out of Washington on a rail. I hope I’m wrong about this one.

November 2, 2006

Turnout counts more than ever - what will progressives do?

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In the wake of the Kerry flap, the GOP is seeking to rally its base. Will Democrats and progressives be able to overcome the GOP get-out-the-vote advantage? Here’s an overview in Huffington Post of the stakes and the resources available to both Democrats and Republicans. On top of the work being done locally by DC for Democracy to aid Judy Feder and Jim Webb, Democrats have a unique at-home tool in moveon.org’s Call to Change program that allows you to call Democratic-leaning voters from home. Also, if you’ve got at least five minutes or five dollars, progressives are turning to the “Do More Than Vote” website that puts together a variety of electioneering options.

October 17, 2006

Thursday, Oct 19: Scientists and Engineers for America

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On Thursday, October 19, we are proud to host Dr. Michael Stebbins discussing his work with Scientists and Engineers for America. Scientists and Engineers for America is a new organization, launched September of this year, dedicated to electing public officials who respect evidence and understand the importance of using scientific and engineering advice in making public policy.

The evening begins at 6:30 pm with $1 off all drinks, and free appetizers. Dr Stebbins will speak starting at 7:30, followed by Q&A until 8:15.

SEA is a new organization with more than than 4000 members. It is led by a Board of Advisors comprised of a number of America’s leading scientists.

From sefora.org:

“We ask every American who values scientific integrity in decision-making to join us in endorsing a basic Bill of Rights for Scientists and Engineers. Together we will elect new leadership beginning in 2006, and we will continue to work to elect reasonable leadership in federal, state and local elections for years to come.”

October 11, 2006

Wednesday Drinking Liberally Moves to Capitol Hill

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After taking a couple of months off, DC Drinking Liberally Wednesdays is back, at a new location. Starting tonight, 7–9pm, they’ll be meeting in Capitol Hill, at the 18th Amendment, 613 Pennsylvania Ave SE (near the Eastern Market Metro).

The speaker tonight is Mark Cohen, host and producer of Coffeehouse TV, a monthly public access show that covers politics, public affairs, and the arts. He is also the director of the Food and Drug Safety Program at the Government Accountability Project, a nonprofit that defends corporate and governmental whistleblowers.

With this move, the two DC chapters are officially changing their names from Dupont Circle Wednesdays and Dupont Circle Thursdays to Capitol Hill and Dupont Circle. To keep informed about our events, subscribe to the Capitol Hill or Dupont Circle e-mail announcement list, or both. For information on chapters elsewhere, see the national Drinking Liberally site.

October 4, 2006

“A Country That Works” Book Event at Olsson’s and the Big Hunt

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A message from Micha, an organizer of the Wednesday Drinking Liberally group (which is moving to Capitol Hill next week):

This Wednesday, at the Olsson’s Books in Dupont Circle (1307 19th St. NW), Andy Stern, President of SEIU International, will be speaking about and signing his new book A Country That Works: Getting America Back on Track. Details about the Author and Book are below.

The Signing will be at 7pm. Afterwards, starting around 8pm, we’ll be gathering at The Big Hunt, also in Dupont Circle (1345 Conn. Ave. NW) for discussion and drinks with Andy.

About the Book:
In A Country That Works: Getting America Back on Track Andy Stern, one of the country’s leading advocates for ordinary Americans who go to work each day, describes the serious economic challenges facing the vast majority of Americans, and uses compelling facts and figures to illustrate how close millions of American families are to crisis.

Stern argues that our political leaders, instead of pushing through vital reforms, have put us in jeopardy by manipulating the tax system in favor of the richest, failing to fix our education system, and not making desperately needed reforms to the health care system. He criticizes labor unions for not adapting to the changing economy and current political landscape, and for using ineffective, outmoded strategies that fail to unite more workers to improve their lives. In A Country That Works, Stern ultimately lays out a practical but visionary plan for reforms that would protect Americans from the looming crises, including an overhaul of the tax system, a transformation of the health care system, simple fixes to the retirement system, and overdue innovations in education.

About the Author:
Over the past decade, Andy Stern has been the head of the SEIU, one of the largest and fastest growing unions in North America. After launching a national debate about the fundamental change needed to reverse labor’s decline, Stern led SEIU out of the AFL-CIO to focus on uniting the nine out of 10 American workers not yet in a union, and was the driving force behind Change to Win, a new labor federation of seven major unions representing six million members.

Determined to build a truly 21st century union to help ensure that workers, not just CEOs, benefit from today’s global economy, Stern has initiated partnerships with overseas unions as well as multinationals to form effective, win-win alliances. He chairs Wal-Mart Watch, the advocacy group responsible for challenging the retail giant to become a leader in corporate responsibility toward its employees and host communities.

Stern began his union career in 1973 as a Pennsylvania social service worker and member of SEIU Local 668 and rose through the ranks before his election as president in 1996. He serves on the board of directors for diverse organizations, including the Institute of Medicine, Rock the Vote, and the Broad Foundation. A frequent blogger, he weighs in on economic and political issues on SEIU.org and as a regular contributor to online outlets such as the Huffington Post.

I hope to see lots of people there, in preparation for the first DC DL Wednesday night in our new location next week!

You may have seen Andy Stern on the Colbert Report last night.

October 3, 2006

Iraq for Sale

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Iraq for Sale - The War Profiteers

On Thursday, October 12, Join us in the back room of Timberlake’s, 1726 Connecticut Ave NW (Dupont Circle Metro), for this special screening of Robert Greenwald’s latest film, Iraq for Sale.

Cash bar starts at 6:30, and the screening will start at 7:30.

Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers is the story of what happens to everyday Americans when corporations go to war.

Acclaimed director Robert Greenwald (Wal-Mart: The High Cost of Low Price, Outfoxed and Uncovered) takes you inside the lives of soldiers, truck drivers, widows and children who have been changed forever as a result of profiteering in the reconstruction of Iraq. Iraq for Sale uncovers the connections between private corporations making a killing in Iraq and the decision makers who allow them to do so.

September 29, 2006

Dinner and a Movie — “Al Franken: God Spoke”

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It’s time for another DCDL movie outing. This Saturday, September 30, we’ll be going to see the new movie Al Franken: God Spoke:

The makers of The War Room turn their cameras on yet another burgeoning political career. A cinema verite pursuit of Al Franken, shot over the course of two years, the film follows the former SNL writer turned political attack dog from his highly publicized (and well-timed) feud with Bill O’Reilly over Franken’s best selling book, “Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them” to his tireless campaign against George Bush in the 2004 Presidential election.

We’ll be converging on Landmark E Street Cinema, 555 11th Street NW (near Metro Center and Gallery Place), meeting in front of the theater at 7 sharp to go to the 7:15 show. Afterward we’ll head over to the Capitol City Brewing Company, 1100 New York Ave NW (near 11th and H) for dinner and beer. You can meet us there at 9:15 if you’re not going to the movie. Let us know at dcthu@drinkingliberally.org if you’re coming to dinner so we have an idea how many people to tell the restaurant we have.

If you want to make sure you’re in the loop for future events, subscribe to our e-mail announcement list.

September 23, 2006

And Now A Word From the Big Dog

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Bill Clinton on Fox News: (usa today)

Clinton: No, let’s talk about it.

Wallace: But the question is, why didn’t you connect the dots and put him out of business?

Clinton: Let’s talk about it. I will answer all those things on the merits, but first I want to talk about the context in which this arises. I’m being asked this on the FOX network. ABC just had a right-wing conservative running their little pathway to 9/11, falsely claiming it was based on the 9/11 commission report with three things asserted against me directly contradictory to the 9/11 commission report. And I think it’s very interesting that all the conservative Republicans who
now say I didn’t do enough claim that I was too obsessed with bin Laden.

All of President Bush’s neo-cons that I was too obsessed with bin Laden, they had no meetings on bin Laden for nine months after I left office. All the right wingers who now say I didn’t do enough, said
I did too much, the same people. They were all trying to get me to withdraw from Somalia in 1993 the next day after we were involved in Black Hawk Down and I refused to do it and stayed six months and had an orderly transfer to the United Nations.

While I didn’t understand at first why Clinton was on Fox News, I also didn’t understand why Fox thought they’d get the better of him. After reading over the transcript a few times, I understood, or at least had a reference point for what sharp dialetic means.

September 18, 2006

Guantánamo Lawyer Charley Carpenter at Drinking Liberally Thursday

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Hear about the Guantánamo Bay detention camp from someone who’s visited it. Our guest speaker at DC Drinking Liberally Thursday, September 21, will be Charley Carpenter, a partner at Pepper Hamilton LLP, primarily engaged in civil litigation. Since January 2005, he’s been representing a couple of prisoners held at Guantánamo Bay in their petitions for habeas corpus, and related matters. He’ll talk about his experiences and answer questions.

My starting point for news on Guantánamo Bay detainment has been posts by Hilzoy and Katherine at Obsidian Wings, along with the comments there, which tend to be well above average in blog comment quality. The latest Guantánamo-related post is “Numbers”, from yesterday.

Drinking Liberally starts with a happy hour at 6:30, and the talk will begin at about 7:30. We’ll be in the back room Timberlake’s, 1726 Connecticut Ave NW (Dupont Circle Metro). To be informed of future events, subscribe to our e-mail announcement list.

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DCDL is a blog by Washington, DC-area members of Drinking Liberally. Opinions expressed are the writers’, not those of Drinking Liberally, which provides no funding or other support for this blog.

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