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Oil Crisis: Oil Industry's method of raising prices and cutting their own taxes

Written by: James Dunn on Jul 8, 2008 11:15 AM EDT

Regarding opening environmentally protected areas for mining and pumping oil:

There is over 200 years of oil in the 48 contiguous States that are capped up by oil companies to monopolize world energy. There is no need to violate our environmentally protected areas, just to allow oil companies to further monopolize their strangle hold over our lives.

They are creating a media frenzy just to increase the price of oil; very successfully I might add. However, there is no immediate threat for an oil shortage !!! The oil companies have ONLY created the perception that there is a shortage !!!!

I personally believe that ALL mineral rights belong to the American People, NOT souless corporations!!!

I applaud Venezuela for nationalizing the oil assets in their country!!!!

We should be doing the same thing here in the United States !!!!

Ethically Eliminate ALL Political Corruption

http://blog.360.yahoo.com/jamesbdunn?p=57

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"...and all the pieces matter." - Freamon

Written by: Brad Watkins on Jun 14, 2008 2:00 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy For Memphis, Democracy for Tennessee

Hello all, yeah it's been a while, and let me tell you, things have not been all that rosy for your old Uncle Brad. For those of you who do not know I was the victim of identity theft back around the end of 2006. Oh and just in case you ever wondered what that was like.....imagine getting kicked in the crotch by Pele, Gene Kelly and Bruce Lee all at once. That dark chapter is now slowly drawing to a close and so I am slowly starting to get back into the game. So I thought just to get the rust out, I would touch base with you all on just a few small points.

-Obama is on his way "Thankfully", but I think there is also a way to promote real change right here in Memphis. The Memphis Charter Commission has been quite busy with a growing list of proposed changes to the City Charter that the people of Memphis will have the opportunity to vote on this November. Let's take a very brief moment to look over a few of these proposals.

-TERM LIMITS, for both the City Council and the Mayor will be on the ballot, limiting each to two consecutive terms each. Now it is important to note that these term limits will be prospective not retroactive, in other words the existing Council members would be allowed to serve another two terms, Mayor Herenton as well.

-MLG&W,If the utility Can or Cannot be sold without a public referendum, will be on the ballot as well. "This should be a no-brainer"

-STAGGERED TERMS FOR CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS, This one is a little complex, originally proposed by Councilman/Commissioner Myron Lowery back in 2006, this would have the people of Memphis elect half the City Council every two years. Thus ensuring that there could not be a total over turn of that body in a single election. This also would allow the Councilmen on the staggered term to be able to run for Mayor without giving up their seat on the Council.

This could be done, by either having half the council run for a two year shift, in 2011, and for re-election in 2013. OR could be created by having all of city Government run for a ONE year term in 2011 and then have half the Council run for a short two year term in 2012. Now while this may sound strange on the surface, by putting Memphis municipal elections on even years, Memphis could split the cost with the County as they would also have elections that year, thus saving Memphis an estimated 1 million dollars.

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Election and Referendum Victories in Oak Ridge!

Written by: Mark Naccarato on Jun 8, 2007 8:44 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for Tennessee

Democracy For East Tennessee beat back the special interests trying to spend public dollars on the wealthy and helped elect a new progressive voice to the City Council... Ellen Smith!

Ellen is the newest member of the Oak Ridge City Council and she ran for office saying, "Oak Ridge can thrive if we maintain and enhance (our) assets. I believe that many Oak Ridgers share this perspective, and I think we deserve more of a voice in city affairs. I want to help provide that voice on City Council.”

It's a message that resonated with Oak Ridge residents who gave Ellen the second highest vote count out of seven candidates.

Ellen's voice, with grassroots support from DFET, battled a proposed shopping development that would have been supported with tax dollars.

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Activists thrive at Knoxville training

Written by: Jim Grinstead on May 1, 2007 11:04 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for Tennessee

"It was awesome!"

That was the reaction of one of the Tennessee activists at the end of the two-day DFA Training Academy held in Knoxville last weekend.

Many of those who filled Karns Middle School had not worked on a campaign before or were not familiar with the sophisticated techniques outlined by DFA trainers. During breaks they peppered instructors with more questions and began making plans about how they would use the information in future efforts.

The event drew activists not only from Tennessee, but also from Kentucky, Georgia and other states. Two activists traveled from West Virginia to learn more about DFA and began making plans to start their own chapter upon their return.

In addition to lecture work, class members received homework designed to test their campaign planning skills, then have them reviewed on Sunday morning.

Sunday's lunch included a talk by Mark Harmon, a DFT-sponsored candidate and newly-elected member of the Knox County Commission. Harmon reviewed his own campaign experience and how the techniques being taught in the class helped him win election as a Democrat in a highly Republican County. Amy Broyles, another class member, is also running for county commission and hopes to win election next year.

Despite learning media techniques, fund-raising and other skills, most members agreed their main job back home would be to organize their precincts and get volunteers in place so they can help elect candidates in upcoming elections.

A huge thanks to Democracy for Knoxville organizers Paul Witt, Susan North, Dan & Linda Haney and others for their hard work in making their guests feel welcome. Without the Knoxville chapter's efforts, we couldn't have done it.

And a special thanks to our trainers, DFA Executive Director Tom Hughes on Field & Targeting, Matt Blizek on Volunteer Recruitment & GOTV, Michael Cook on Fund raising & Finance, and Ellery Gould on Media & Communications. All got top marks from attendees who said they only wish they could have given them higher marks.

And I'd like to thank all who attended. It was a long two days filled with hard work and everyone gave it their all. Now it's time to hit the streets and show those radical conservatives what we're made of!

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LAST CHANCE to Sign Up for DFA TRAINING ACADEMY in Knoxville!

Written by: Mark Naccarato on Apr 24, 2007 9:17 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for Tennessee

TIME IS RUNNING OUT to sign up for DFA TRAINING ACADEMY!

The most comprehensive campaign training to come to Tennessee will be in Knoxville THIS WEEKEND, April 28 & 29, and NOW is the time to sign up!!

The DFA Training Academy is an intensive, two-day series of workshops geared toward your particular political landscape. The primary focus will be on campaign management, field organizing, communications, grassroots advocacy, and precinct organization. You'll get personalized, one-on-one instruction from some of the most experienced political campaign experts in the country and we make sure that you can use your training as soon as you get home.

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DFA Training Academy is sponsored by Democracy for America, Democracy for Tennessee, and Democracy for Knoxville.

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"Green Tennessee" Launches at DFT Convention!

Written by: Mark Naccarato on Apr 13, 2007 7:49 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for Tennessee

I'm pleased to say that the Green Tennessee (GT) Campaign is off and running with a great start! First of all, a huge thanks to everyone who attended the workshop and campaign launch: You all made the workshop a big success and a real pleasure to host. The diversity of ages and backgrounds represented was quite heartening, and exactly what I think is needed to get the kind of legislation enacted we want in order to protect our environment. So again, to everyone there, thank you!

After presenting a brief overview of the GT campaign, I handed things off to Seannalyn Brandmeir, presenter for the Climate Project. She provided an excellent overview of the goals and structure of Climate Project presentations, leading us through many great examples and explaining how the presentation builds its argument from start to finish. Next, Jeff Barrie, filmmaker and creator of Kilowatt Ours explained why he made the film, and how the Kilowatt Ours film and project seeks to show people how they can practically and dramatically reduce their energy usage without nearly as much effort or sacrifice as one might think.

From there, we discussed the policy agenda for the GT campaign -- geothermal power for city and county schools, energy reviews for government buildings, and creating greener cities with the LEED standards -- and went into some detail on how individuals and local DFA chapters can go about hosting a Town Hall meeting. The ultimate goal of Town Hall meetings, of course, will be to see relevant legislation enacted, which we also discussed in some detail.

Plans are already in progress to host the first GT Town Hall meeting in Nashville, and most likely Chatanooga very shortly thereafter. So, expect to be hearing from me soon on how YOU can help out with these Town Hall meetings. Finally, we'll be using a website to organize these and future events, so keep an eye out for that. The website will be www.green-tennessee.org, which should have some content available in the next week or two.

Doug Morse,
Green Tennessee campaign manager

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Tennessee Turns Out for Lamont, Dean, and the DFT Convention!

Written by: Mark Naccarato on Apr 10, 2007 9:00 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for Tennessee

On Easter weekend, close to 80 progressives from Memphis to Knoxville and all points in between attended Democracy for Tennessee’s Convention ’07 in Nashville throughout the day on Saturday.

Kicking off the ceremonies were myself and Jim Grinstead, who inspired DFA members to keep the momentum going for the progressive movement in Tennessee. I then unveiled FROM THE GROUND UP: The Plan for a Progressive Tennessee, DFT’s strategic plan that not only lays out our vision for the progressive changes we want to make in 2007, but also how we’re going to do it. Vote By Mail and Green Tennessee are two initiatives that we will be focusing on at the local level. Campaigns for Tennessee is a program involving campaign training (starting with the DFA Training Academy on April 28 & 29) and actual elections as we target the Nashville Metro Council races by helping elect a slate of new progressive candidates. Meanwhile, we will be unveiling Blog for Tennessee over the next few weeks. BFT will be a clearinghouse for state and local news that is important to progressives and will become a vehicle to push back against local conservatives’ propaganda.

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Last Chance to Sign Up for the DFT Convention!

Written by: Mark Naccarato on Apr 4, 2007 11:25 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for Tennessee

That's right, the Democracy for Tennessee Convention is right around the corner - THIS SATURDAY - and time is running out to sign up for the hottest political ticket of the year!!

:: CONVENTION UPDATES ::

NED LAMONT & JIM DEAN will be Guest Lecturers on the Root Camp campaign training workshop!!
LUNCH WITH LAMONT! If you're really busy on Saturday and don't have time for the whole DFT Convention, tickets for lunch with U.S. Senate candidate Ned Lamont are still available for only $20! Make sure you rsvp now so that we order enough food.
JEFF BARRIE, an independent filmmaker who created the nationally-known documentary, Kilowatt Ours will be a Guest Lecturer at the Green Tennessee workshop!
OTHER PANELISTS ADDED: State Representative Rob Briley added to the Grassroots on the Hill workshop! David Lubell of the Tennessee Immigrant & Refugee Rights Coalition at the Building the Movement discussion panel! Adam Smith from the national Vote By Mail Project joins the Vote By Mail workshop via conference call!

The current Convention Schedule is available now for download HERE!

PRE-REGISTRATION ENDS ON THURSDAY NIGHT @ 11:59 PM! After that, admissions go up by $5. Sign up NOW at www.DFTConvention.com!

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What is "Green Tennessee"?

Written by: Mark Naccarato on Apr 2, 2007 12:43 AM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for Tennessee

You may have seen Al Gore's film, An Inconvenient Truth, which made millions of people around the globe think about climate change and global warming. But have you thought about what you can do with other people in your county to help the environment?

Democracy for Tennessee is teaming up with presenters from Al Gore's Climate Project and the filmmakers of the documentary Kilowatt Ours to launch the Green Tennessee initiative.

Green Tennessee is a plan to build a community of environmentally-aware people across the state who can educate their neighbors on the dangers of global warming and how to be a better energy consumer. Green Tennessee also urges local elected officials to pass specific pieces of legislation that promote geothermal electricity in our schools and "energy audits" that have saved taxpayers millions while also cutting down on energy costs.

Green Tennessee is a "people-powered" campaign and can only work if you help us. Find out how at the Green Tennessee Workshop at the Democracy for Tennessee Convention this coming Saturday at 9 am in Nashville.

Click here to Sign Up!

The Green Tennessee Workshop will feature a tutorial on the Green Tennessee platform, the proposed legislation, and how to organize town hall meetings featuring screenings of Kilowatt Ours and presentations by representatives from Al Gore's Climate Project.

If you're ready to start making a difference about climate change, we want you to help us get a green Tennessee in 2007!

SIGN UP NOW!

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Workshops Announced for DFT Convention on April 7!

Written by: Mark Naccarato on Mar 26, 2007 6:41 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Democracy for Tennessee

In keeping with this year's theme, From the Ground Up, the DFT Convention program will feature workshops and panels with practical advice and tools that you can go out and use immediately to begin changing Tennessee's political landscape.

We're ready to get organized, get local, and get ready to take back Tennessee in 2007!

Here's the most current list of workshops:

ROOT CAMP - Training for candidates, campaign managers, and volunteers with a focus on small local and state races.
CITIZEN JOURNALISM - How to frame your issues and build a "guerilla media movement" for progressives.
GRASSROOTS ON THE HILL - Crafting legislation, pushing it through the system, and advice on how to effectively lobby your legislators.
VOTE BY MAIL Campaign - Strategy and planning for the statewide Vote By Mail campaign.
GREEN TENNESSEE Campaign - Strategy and planning for local environmental campaigns that DFT is working on in partnership with Al Gore's Climate Project.
BUILDING THE MOVEMENT - Leaders from the state's key progressive organizations start the conversation about how to broaden our coalition. Be part of the discussion!

Stay tuned... MORE workshops and panelists are still being added!

And don't forget, you'll get to meet the national DFA Chairman Jim Dean, the new state Democratic Party chairman Gray Sasser, and our keynote speaker NED LAMONT!

Time is running out to pre-register!! Sign up at www.DFTConvention.com!

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