PEARL JAMMIN' FOR A SENATE SEAT - FOR BASSIST JEFF AMENT, BACKING DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATE IS WALKING THE POLITICAL WALK
by Jamie Kelly / Missoulian News
http://www.missoulian.com/articles/2005/07/21/entertainer/ent01.txt

PERSONAL NEWS #62
July 1st thru 5th I visited my parents in upstate New York for the July 4th holiday weekend. It’s great to get out of NYC during summer holidays and not have to deal with tourists. Plus, avoid unexpected fireworks from obnoxious teens in the hood. As for the weather, once the nasty thunderstorms passed on Friday the rest of the weekend was gorgeous. Overall it was a good weekend, with some unpleasantness [ie: opinionated, rude, narrow-minded relatives] at a picnic. Mom and I did some shopping in Saratoga, checked out some tag sales and dined out. [ie: Picked up some New Age Spiritualism books at B&N, such as “The Power of Now” and “Gifts from the Course of Miracles”.] Finished the Dan Brown novel, “Angels & Demons”, which was most entertaining and totally fascinating. Dad drove us up to Lake George, which was so crowded, and we took in the view from atop Prospect Mountain. I also helped out with yard work, watched some cable TV and even went to the hairdresser.

On Tuesday evening, July 5th, participated in National DoP conference call at 9pm. Lynn McMullen hosted the call, with Matthew Albracht and Judy Kimmel as backup. Over 25 people participated in the call from all over the US. [Always exciting, as well as fascinating, to hear how others are handling the DoP campaign in their regions.] Lynn announced that Peace Alliance and Dept of Peace campaign now has 223 congressional district team leaders signed up. I’m one of those “team leaders” in New York’s 12th district and our congressperson is Nydia Velazquez. Majority of the call was about the upcoming Peace Conference that is being held in Washington DC in September. Looking forward to meeting and networking with others at the conference. I’ll be there from Saturday thru Monday [Sept 10th-12th] … OMG … less than two months away. Mon dieu!

QUOTE OF THE DAY ... The genius of our ruling class is that it has kept a majority of the people from ever questioning the inequity of a system where most people drudge along, paying heavy taxes for which they get nothing in return. Gore Vidal

The following evening, on July 6th, I attended a spiritual event [ie: featuring Marianne Williamson] at Covenant House. Also speaking that evening was an elderly, charmingly delightful Rabbi who is a survivor of the Holocaust. He said we experience many miracles every day, one of which is just waking up in the morning. He’s right, we should be thankful for such a miracle. The third speaker was Sai Ma and I believe she’s a Hindu spiritualist. She had many wonderful things to say and lead everyone in a 10 minute uplifting chant. But her dismissive reaction to Marianne’s short commentary about DoP and the Peace Bracelets left a sour note in my heart. What she did was wrong and deeply hurt Marianne’s sensibilities. [No person of peace should treat others in such a fashion. It’s inexcusable!] We NYC DoP members discussed this afterwards and also comforted Marianne. We were tabling at the event, along with two volunteers. [Those in attendance were Karen, Liz, Ellen, Maria, Joe, our 2 volunteers & I.] We were their in full force to spread the news on DoP campaign and did very well. Sold many bracelets, gave away literature and signed up folk for our monthly DoP newsletter. Despite that one “hiccup” in the evening it was a success.

P.S. More updates on "Personal News" coming soon ... stay tuned.

UPDATES FROM NYC PUBLIC ADVOCATE CANDIDATE "NORM SIEGELS" CAMPAIGN
Friday's finance deadline brought a major victory for Norman Siegel's grassroots campaign for Public Advocate. Although the incumbent raised a good deal of money from her wealthy base - averaging more than $850 per donor - Norman received contributions from 1,693 people, more than any other candidate for Public Advocate, including the incumbent. Ultimately, all your hard work and support helped us raise $149,000 through the July filing deadline, more than enough to qualify for 4-to-1 matching!

This news serves as a reminder that although the people believe in Norman's vision for a cohesive and cooperative New York, there is a formidable financial machine separating us from the Public Advocate we deserve. With your continued support and energetic spirit, we can make this town the beacon of freedom and opportunity it should be. Please contribute what you can http://www.norman2005.com/contribute, and ask your friends to do the http://www.norman2005.com/tell-a-friend same. The current Public Advocate has let New Yorkers down. Don't let her do it again. Every http://www.norman2005.com/contribute penny helps.

Petitioning: Norman's on the Ballot! Winning an election is hard work, but most people don't realize that actually getting into the election is one of the most difficult steps. Our fair city requires every candidate for Public Advocate to collect 7,500 petition signatures in order to get on the ballot. Yesterday was the reporting deadline, and we are proud to announce that our campaign collected an astonishing 39,600 signatures! Of course, campaigns routinely like to collect 3-4 times as many signatures as the law requires, just to be on the safe side, but for those of you keeping track at home, we collected nearly five and a half times as many signatures as we needed. Norman's support in this city is as wide as it is deep.

Norman's Time Is NOW ... The New York chapter http://www.nownyc.org/ of the National Organization for Women officially endorsed Norman Siegel's grassroots bid to unseat incumbent Betsy Gotbaum as New York City's Public Advocate. "Norman Siegel has a lifelong track record of being an advocate for people, and a strong record on women's rights," said NOW-NYC President Sonio Ossorio. "The citizens of New York City deserve someone like Norman, who has a breadth of experience, sincerity, and a vision for the job." NOW is the largest voice for gender equality in the United States, with 500,000 contributing members and 550 chapters. This endorsement could not come from a more respected authority on women's issues. Like so many others, they see that Norman is the clear choice to lead us to a fair and equitable New York.

Stonewall Support Is Solid for Siegel ... The Stonewall Democratic Club, one of the citywide LGBT Democratic clubs, has thrown its weight behind Norman's campaign, voting to endorse his bid for Public Advocate. The Stonewall Dems were impressed by Norman's long and consistent record of defending civil liberties, most recently in his service was counsel in Shields v. Madigan, a case that challenged the ban on same sex marriage rights in New York.

Norman Heats Up The Presses ... New Yorkers have known for a while now that our city deserves a better Public Advocate. Over this past week, it seems as though the press has caught on, too. Word of Norman's vision for a strong and fair New York, resonating strongly with NYC'ers, is now spreading throughout the city's print media.

First, there was a very positive profile http://www.norman2005.com/node/434 in the neighborhood weekly West Side Spirit. They chronicled Norman's brand of community-oriented activism, and contrasted it sharply with the incumbent Public Advocate's brand of press-release-oriented...inactivism? We turn next to a profile http://www.norman2005.com/node/437 in New York Press, which featured Norman on the cover http://www.norman2005.com/files/images/nypresscover.jpg According to this story, people are rapidly picking up the message that Norman can bring accountability back to City Hall. The Press followed up with a fun man-on-the-street http://www.nypress.com/18/28/news&columns/betsy.jpg item showing that after three and a half years, many people still don't even recognize the current Public Advocate's name.

Finally, the authority on what's hot in NYC, Time Out New York, also chimed in, voicing support http://www.norman2005.com/node/439 for Norman's fight against anti-dancing laws. Thanks to decades-old cabaret laws, New York's vibrant entertainment scene has been slowly transforming into a low-budget version of "Footloose." Norman is helping to put the breaks on these arcane laws, and as Public Advocate, he will ensure that New Yorkers have fair-paying jobs during the day and great places to unwind at night.