PERSONAL NEWS #98
On Sunday, June 4th, I attended petition/primary ballot training for the Tasini for NY state senate campaign at 3pm. It was held not far from Union Square at some international organization headquarters. Wish I could remember what the name of it was ... geez ... senior moment. Duh! Anyhow, Jonathan Tasini was also there and he remembered me from the phone banking evening back in April. We shared a chuckle over that. A nice turnout of volunteers, like me, showed up for the training and take away petitions. Jonathan spoke to us before the training and had encouraging thoughts. I also contributed to the training in mentioning that good spots to petition are theaters showing documentaries. Back in 2004 I helped the Jereski campaign in District 14. We had an advantage that year with Michael Moore’s film and getting signatures of Democrats waiting on line for tix. This time around we are fortunate in having Al Gore's film called "An Inconvenient Truth", which is doing very well at the cinemas. After the training and before I left I had some interesting conversations with several of the volunteers. I wish I could remember the date, yeah another senior moment, but one of the chaps I talked to showed a Xerox copy of his letter in the NY Times. Remember it was short, to the point and well written. Tasini was very impressed by it. Left there and walked to 14th Street near 3rd Avenue to check out "Trader Joes" and purchased some bargains. They've got my fav cereal for a dollar less than Keyfood. WooHoo! I just love "Trader Joes"! So glad one has opened up here in Manhattan. Usually I stop by a "Trader Joes" in Norwalk, CT area when I visit my dear friend Katherine. The place was hopping with activity and must remember not to go there on Sunday afternoons. After work would probably be more suitable.

On Tuesday, June 6th, listened in on the monthly National Dept of Peace conference call at 9pm. Lynn McMullen was our moderator for the call and she always does a super job. A DoP representative from the state of Michigan mentioned a cool activity for their chapter. And that during the summer do a "walk for peace" event to bring awareness to locals along the "walk" route. This is a great idea and think that other DoP chapters should plan similar events. Whether it’s during the summer or in early fall. NY-DoP vice president chairperson, Kevin, also spoke on the call about connecting "Fathers Day" with DoP campaign. Bravo Kevin! Those on the call also discussed "youth initiative" and connecting with DoP throughout high schools, colleges, organizing groups, setting up goals and signing petitions. As always, these calls are so inspiring and energizing.

The following evening, June 7th, several of the NY-DoP core team members tabled at a Marianne Williamson lecture event at Lighthouse Way. One of the main things was hearing stories from Liz, Norma and Marianne on their recent weekend with New England Peace Conference in MA. Despite the weather and travel problems they said the weekend was a success. [They sold some of my peace bead style earrings. Oh yeah!] Always great hearing Marianne Williamsons inspiring talks and she always draws a diverse gathering. Many stopped by before and after Marianne Williamson’s event at our table. We handed out flyers, signed up some folk for our monthly email newsletters and sold some buttons. The main thing was talking to folk about being pro-peace and the campaign. One of the people we met was through a connection by Liz and her hubby Rob. JoJo Brims used to be with DefJam and I believe is now with Time Warner. Anyhow, he's an admirer of Marianne Williamsons work and into spirituality. When he originally heard about DoP and our "100 Years of Non-Violence" Gandhi event, hey hey, the man was energized and jazzed by it all. It was nice meeting JoJo and he comes across as a congenial fella. Overall it was a good evening and always a pleasure being with NY-DoP members. These people have such caring souls and make me feel good being around them. At one point Liz and I got into a discussion regarding "The DaVinci Code". I so enjoy hanging out with our NY-DoP core team members. [I know I keep on saying that, but I adore these people.] Some are married with children and it’s like being around one big happy family and I feel like their Auntie Mame.

Finally, after six months, I made it back to Yonkers on Saturday, June 10, to do volunteer work at Ferret Shelter. The delay was due to dealing with illnesses and busy schedule. While Joanne had a busy spring dealing with injured wild baby animals. Whether at the Bronx Zoo or brought to the shelter. She's good at caring for animals. There weren’t many ferrets at the shelter, I'd say about 10+ and several had recently been adopted into good homes. One of which was little Tubby. Now all the "originals" have either passed away or been adopted into happy homes. The "originals" were from when I first started helping out at the shelter in 2002. I adore ferrets, but those "originals" were dearest darlings. [ie: Sweet Pea, Fuzzbutt, Bouncing Bear, Big Willy, Emily, Raisin, Oliver, Badger and Spats.] It was great seeing the wee ones again and taking care of ferret hygiene. Caught up on news and gossip with Joanne. Also held a sickly 2 month old pigeon while Joanne gave it medication. Never done that before! Upon arriving back to NYC, I went to my office to work on the Gandhi September 11th event "contact list" spreadsheet. Norma, Marianne and Eileen all sent me contacts, with info, that had to be input. Took about 3 hours and felt good upon completing this task.

PRESERVING SEPARATION OF POWERS – Dennis Kucinich Speaking From The Floor Of The House
June 22, 2006
http://www.kucinich.us/floor_speeches/def_sep_powers20jun.php

The Secret Saudi Flight on 9-13 Could be the Key to the Bush-Saudi-Al Qaeda Connection
By Catherine Arnie
http://archive.democrats.com/view.cfm?id=14289
About a month after the September 11th attacks, I read an article in the Tampa Tribune by Kathy Steele entitled "Phantom Flight From Florida." The intriguing report told the tale of a flight out of Florida that allegedly took place on September 13 - a day when ALL civilian air traffic in the United States was grounded.

16 Words and 28 Pages
by Maureen Farrell
http://www.buzzflash.com/farrell/03/07/29.html
"All of the answers, all of the clues allowing us to dismantle Osama Bin Laden's organization, can be found in Saudi Arabia." - Former FBI deputy director, John O'Neill