Heckuva job, Al

Written by: Tara Liloia on Jun 20, 2007 11:00 AM EDT

Yesterday DFA members spoke out loud and clear. You want action!

We surpassed our initial $10,000 goal -- giving DFA the resources to turn up the heat on Alberto Gonzales. Can you push DFA over the next hurdle with a contribution of $10 so we can reach $20,000 by the end of the day?

Contribute.democracyforamerica.com

John Nichols of The Nation wrote, "The message from DFA is an important one for Congress. At a time when public disappointment in the legislative branch of the federal government is beginning to rival frustration with the executive branch... it is clear that simply letting the president have his way isn't working."

Democracy for America is leading the fight for justice. On the air and on the ground, we are pressuring Congress to do the right thing. Sitting by and watching the Justice Department disintegrate is not a viable option.

And we are making progress!

-- In the Senate, John Kennedy and Sheldon Whitehouse launched further investigations of 2004 voter suppression efforts in Florida. That scheme to disenfranchise African-American voters was led by Karl Rove's assistant Tim Griffin -- who was then named U.S. Attorney.

-- The House Committee on the Judiciary, led by John Conyers, holds more hearings on the U.S. Attorney firings on Thursday.

If George Bush won't fire him, impeaching Alberto Gonzales is the only way to restore integrity and accountability to the Justice Department. Ten dollars to DFA today keeps the momentum going. Contribute now!

Contribute.democracyforamerica.com

Thank you!

Tom Hughes
Executive Director

All-Stars in the Lead

Written by: Tara Liloia on Apr 24, 2007 1:52 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Blog For America

There are just three candidates left in the 2007 Grassroots All-Star competition -- narrowed down from a field of seven.

Darcy Burner (WA-8), technologist and community leader, is currently in the lead with 50.86% of the vote.

Charlie Brown (CA-4), a former rescue helicopter pilot and avid outdoorsman, is celebrating his final-round status on his official campaign blog. A push from his supporters could boost him up over his current 49.14% to trump Darcy's total.

And Eric Massa (NY-29), cancer outreach advocate and former Naval Officer, has a DFA Grassroots All-Stars voting request front-and-center on his campaign website. Any surge in votes for one of these three campaigns could change the outcome of this race dramatically.

Instant Runoff Voting (IRV) can seem mystifying. If you're wondering how it's possible for Darcy and Charlie to share 100% of the vote, you should take a look at the explanation of how IRV works at Wikipedia. In short, IRV allows citizens to vote their conscience without creating a "spoiler effect" and guarantees that the winning candidate receives at least 50% of the vote. Because we're using IRV Eric Massa could easily jump out of third place and into the lead with just a few more votes. Don't count Eric out!

All three of these candidates have made a strong commitment to bottom-up government. They ask, they listen, and they create lasting change. If you haven't voted, there's no time to waste. If you haven't asked your friends to support your candidate, the time is now. The challenge will come to a close Wednesday night at midnight and the winner will be announced shortly afterwards.

DFA Reunion

Written by: Tara Liloia on Apr 20, 2007 10:01 AM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA Interns

Have you ever been an intern, staff member or volunteer for Democracy for America? We're gathering for a DFA2.0 reunion this summer and we would love to see you again! If you would like more information about the weekend-long event we're planning, just call the office at 802-651-3200 and speak to Kyle for the details. We hope to see you there!

DFA Job Opening

Written by: Tara Liloia on Mar 23, 2007 10:28 AM EDT

Linked to groups: DFA Job Board

Hello all,

There is a job opening at DFA for a Web Developer. If you're technically inclined and interested in working in beautiful Burlington, Vermont, let us know!

The post is available at http://www.democracyforamerica.com/jobs

Thanks,
Tara
DFA

Why is he quiting?

Written by: Tara Liloia on Oct 12, 2006 4:29 PM EDT

Linked to groups: Luigi is a quitting quitter group

Wouldn't he rather be "quitting"?

Rediscovering the Roots of America's Core Values

Written by: Tara Liloia on Jul 15, 2006 9:57 AM EDT

The Saturday DemocracyFest program is in full swing--today is a day of trainings, panels, speakers, and events, including the Saturday Night Blowout, a great lineup of music and speakers, with keynote by none other than Gov. Howard Dean!

Here's the schedule for the day:

7:30 am - 8:30 am Registration
8:30 am - 9:15 am General Assembly - Welcome & Introductions
9:30 am - 12:15 pm Morning Sessions
10:00 am - Noon Live Radio Broadcast of The Rant with Scooter on KLSD AM 1360 (San Diego)
12:30 pm - 1:15 pm Lunch (Aztec Center Food Court), Browse Sponsor Tables & Networking
Noon - 2:00pm Live Radio Broadcast of The Jon Elliot Show on KLSD AM 1360 (San Diego)
1:30 pm - 4:15 pm Afternoon Sessions
4:30 pm - 6:30 pm "Demstock" Dinner Show
7:00 pm - 11:00 pm Saturday Night Beach Party Blowout, featuring Gov. Howard Dean

If you're at DemFest and you have a moment to stop by, let us know what's going on! Have you spotted Jim Dean yet? Did Arshad make you do the Grassroots Stretch?

Attend a Live Blog with George Lakoff on July 12!

Written by: Tara Liloia on Jul 6, 2006 10:10 AM EDT

Please attend Live Blog with George Lakoff on Wednesday, July 12, 2006 at 2:00 PM. You can RSVP at:

www.dfalink.com/event.php?id=102...

What: Live Blog with George Lakoff
When: Wednesday, July 12, 2006, 2:00 PM
Where: www.blogforamerica.com...

Featured Posts

Written by: Tara Liloia on Jun 30, 2006 4:48 PM EDT

For the first few posts today, as we find our footing here, I've added the Blog for America posts to the DFA-Link blog. But DFA-Link is designed to be a group blog. Anyone in the group should feel free to take the posts from Blog for America and repubish them here, add your own commentary, etc. If someone at DFA HQ sees a noteworthy thread, we'll pop it into the featured area.

Everyone should rate posts and comments, publish your own posts, and join new discussions. Our eventual goal is a decentralized blog in which everyone is a contributor.

This is the first step in our transition toward the new Democracy for America website. Thank you for joining us!

You did it!

Written by: Tara Liloia on Jun 30, 2006 4:35 PM EDT

Just a couple of weeks ago, we announced a goal to break the million-dollar-mark for 2006 DFA fundraising--and as of 4:30 on Friday, the latest few contributions pushed us over the top!

Thank you to everyone for breaking our bat and helping to grow our Democracy for America network.

Have a fantastic July 4th weekend!

George Mason University Students Defend HR 4903

Written by: Tara Liloia on Jun 30, 2006 12:34 PM EDT

*Teri Mills is a longtime Democracy For America community member. She blogs at nationalnurse.org.*

From Leesburg, Virginia--On Thursday, June 29, 2006, the George Mason University Master of Science in Nursing (MSN) class, Organization of Nursing and Health Care Delivery Systems, gave mock Congressional testimony regarding the nursing shortage with actions to remedy it.

One group representing the patients spoke in strong support of The National Nurse Act and encouraged all in attendance to contact their representatives and spread the word to their colleagues. In attendance were senior leaders of the Inova Health System, Karen Drenkard, David Goldberg and Patrick Walters. The Inova Health System is located in Northern Virginia.

Members of the class were surprised that these individuals had not heard of H.R. 4903 and vowed to promote it using handouts provided by the National Nurse Team www.NationalNurse.org. The class is taught by Brenda Sheingold, RN, MSOD who uses many innovative teaching techniques when instructing her students.

If you belong to an organization or group that is putting its efforts behind the Office of the National Nurse, the team wants to know about your experiences to share with supporters. Please email your story to teri@nationalnurse.info

Have safe and Happy Fourth of July!
Teri, Alisa & Terri
Your National Nurse Team