Salt Lake City Drinking Liberally

Promoting democracy in Utah one pint at a time.

June 30, 2008

Take action to end the global food crisis today

While we fight to impeach
George Bush and Dick Cheney, to bring our troops home from Iraq, and
to stop Big Brother, we must not forget the many people around the
globe who are struggling to avoid starving as food prices
soar.

Please urge Congress to reform food aid programs to
fight global hunger more effectively.

Bob Fertik

 


Dear Friend,

Skyrocketing food costs are
forcing families to go hungry around the world, from Haiti to
Somalia to Bangladesh. As usual during times of crisis, women
and children are the most vulnerable.

CARE, a leading humanitarian
organization fighting global poverty, is already on the
ground, providing food to families and helping them create
lasting solutions to hunger. We place special focus on working
with poor women because, equipped with the proper resources,
women have the power to help whole families and entire
communities escape poverty.

But even before the current
crisis, hunger had been on the rise. The truth is that
long-standing U.S. food aid programs haven’t proven effective
in reducing chronic hunger. The United States needs to respond
to the crisis now, and begin to change the U.S. approach to
hunger by addressing its underlying causes.

You can make a difference by writing your
senators today and asking them to take a stand on global
hunger.

Recently, there have been
discussions on two important provisions to make inroads in the
global hunger crisis:

  • Emergency food programs to
    help address the global increase in the price of food,
    and
  • Regional and local
    purchase programs to pilot new, more effective approaches to
    fighting chronic hunger.

by @ 4:00 pm. Filed under Uncategorized

Our patriotic duty to end the war

Peace Action West E-Alert!

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Dear Friends,

The July 4th holiday is approaching, the sixth Independence Day
celebration since the invasion of Iraq. As we are ramping up our
campaign to end the occupation, I am reminded of the duty we have as
US citizens to do everything within our power to stop our government
from carrying out immoral policies that endanger the lives of
Americans and our neighbors around the world.

Click
here to help us leave no soldier behind on the Fourth of
July.

Between now and November, we are working to
get as many signatures as possible on our open letter to the next
president, clearly outlining our demand for a comprehensive plan to
end the war in Iraq. Our volunteers across the country will join
together in a coordinated day of action on July 4th to get their
neighbors and friends to add their voices to our mandate for a new
approach in Iraq.

Click
here to RSVP for our July 4th action, and download a pdf of the
letter.
 

Your July 4th action can be as big or
small as you would like.  Throw a barbecue and have all your
friends and family sign the letter.  Bring copies of the letter
to someone else’s gathering and pass it around.  Have a table
or clipboards with the letter at your local July 4th
festivities.

Our work to end the occupation of Iraq is
challenging.  I am able to keep going because I’m inspired by
the amazing and committed activists with whom I have the privilege
of interacting every day in my work at Peace Action West.  I am
asking you now to provide this inspiration in your own community by
empowering people to take concrete action to end the
war.

Thank you for your dedication.

P.S.  If you haven’t signed our open letter to the
president-elect yet, click
here to add your name and tell your friends. 

by @ 4:00 pm. Filed under Uncategorized

June 26, 2008

From Baghdad to Beijing


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I’d like to introduce
you to three incredible Americans.

Melissa Stockwell, Scott Winkler and Carlos Leon served in Iraq
and suffered serious injuries. Since then, they have overcome
incredible obstacles to earn the right to represent the US at the
2008 Paralympics in Beijing, China. IAVA will be sponsoring
their journey from now until the games begin in September.

We are hoping to raise $20,000 to help Melissa, Scott and Carlos
pursue their dreams of gold.

Can
you make a tax-deductible contribution to help us reach our goal?
Take a minute to watch a short video about their incredible
journeys.

Melissa Stockwell was the first female amputee
from the Iraq war. Less than a year after losing her leg, she ran
the New York City Marathon. She had never swum competitively
before losing her leg, and recently became the first Iraq war
veteran to qualify for the 2008 Paralympic Games in Beijing.

Carlos Leon managed to
survive an entire year in Iraq as a Marine in the Sunni triangle,
only to tragically break his neck in a swimming accident just weeks
after returning home. After attending a Paralympic Military
Sports Camp, Leon discovered a hidden talent and passion for
throwing the discus. Carlos is headed to Beijing as the best in the
world in the discus.

Scott Winkler was unloading an ammunition truck
near Tikrit while under fire when he fell and became paralyzed from
the chest down. He was introduced to sports during a Paralympic
Sports Clinic. At the clinic, he tried throwing the shot put
for the first time, and less than a year later he broke the world
record. He is expected to dominate his field in Beijing.

Together these athletes carry the hopes and dreams of 30,000
other injured soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan. They are role
models for turning adversity into opportunity.

Can
you donate today to help us reach our goal of $20,000 to help them
get to the games? Your contribution will help Melissa, Scott and
Carlos cover the expenses they’ll incur over the next few months of
training.

Along the road, Melissa, Carlos and Scott will be updating us on
their progress. You can follow their journeys at www.iava.org/warrior-champions.

We’re honored to be helping these three veterans represent our
country at the Paralympics. Can
you help them get to Beijing?

Thanks for your generous support.

Sincerely,

Paul Rieckhoff
Iraq Veteran
Executive Director
Iraq and
Afghanistan Veterans of America

by @ 12:00 pm. Filed under Uncategorized

June 19, 2008

A shot in the dark

I’m no fan of guns, but as a liberal I support the constitution - even the second amendment.  Obviously there has been debate about the meaning of the second amendment, just like everything else in the great document.

The second amendment was put in place so that a citizenry enraged by a tyrannical government would be equipped to overthrow said government. I haven’t yet read “The End of America: A Letter of Warning to a Young Patriot”, but after hearing Naomi Wolf on KRCL’s RadioActive (unfortunately I don’t see the particular interview on their site), I’m thinking we’re dangerously close to needing to use those guns.  It’s just too bad that the Republican media machine has most of the nation’s gun owners believing everything they say, and they’d likely stay quiet if our government deteriorated to tyranny.

Enter “Shooting Liberally”.  Our neighbors to the east in Denver have a Shooting Liberally chapter, and there’s also a Charleston and Manhattan chapter.  

As Justin Krebs, founder and Executive Director of Living Liberally said, “It’s time for those of us famous for our fierce loyalty to the First Amendment get to try our hand at the Second.”

I don’t know of anyone in our group that would be interested in a Shooting Liberally, but I’m sure there are some liberals out there who would be.  We live in one of the most conservative, gun-loving states in the nation.  Hell, Utah has one of the most liberal concealed-carry permit courses that people come here just to get armed.  

So, would a Shooting Liberally fly here?

From Columbia News Service

 

Liberals meet to talk politics, shoot guns and support the Second Amendment

Laurence Witherington

2008/05/13

The right to own guns has traditionally been a cause dear to the political right. Now a bunch of liberals have begun to challenge that view, meeting to shoot guns and celebrate the Second Amendment.

by @ 6:52 pm. Filed under Local Issues

June 13, 2008

6 words:Bush

unable to shock and awe us!

by @ 7:09 am. Filed under Group News

June 12, 2008

International Republic Institute

Hello to you my friends…..
 
As repetitive and single minded as you have all witnessed me to be, there
is no mistaking my passion and love for our country. The single greatest issue
that has been relegated to back page news in favor of flag pins and gas prices
(granted…important) is Iraq. But, I just ask that we somehow remember in the
midst of looking under couch cushions for milk money that our kids are still
being sent to war, and continue to come home in body bags. There is a
complacency, and dumbing down of the populace by the MSM due to their
complicity in the selling of this war to the American people….therefore,
they fail time and time again to report or follow up on information that
could and should blow the cover off this shell game being promoted as the
war on terror and national defense.
 
I could go on, suffice it to say, what I am getting at is if any of you are
unsure of your vote this November, please read this article about McCain….just
another layer of the veneer peeled off that I’m sure you will never hear on
your nightly news, or read in any local newspaper. 
 
I just ask you think about what the repercussions of not voting
because your candidate won’t be on the ballot may have on the
results. A protest vote for McCain if you are a Hillary supporter is not a
safe or wise thing to do in this important election. Too much is on the
line not to take a stand.
 
This article is just one of many that makes me ill. But I thought I would
share it with you guys…it definitely gives more than food for
thought.
 
Thanks for taking the time, Carla
 
by @ 2:00 pm. Filed under Uncategorized

June 11, 2008

Embarrassing Utah

Embarrassing Utah

Obama as a monkey in a suit…

click the link and scroll down.
We can expect at least four years of worse.

by @ 10:08 pm. Filed under Group News

The Bush legacy

This is a MUST see!!
 
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/bob-cesca/sorry-mr-president-but-yo_b_106596.html
by @ 6:00 pm. Filed under Uncategorized

McCain says “bringing home troops isn’t too important”!!

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/06/11/mccain-iraq-comments-brin_n_106468.html
by @ 8:00 am. Filed under Uncategorized

June 8, 2008

DL fundraiser: a hilarious success

We’ve been calling the event we held last Friday a fundraiser and party because while the point was to raise funds to help grow Living Liberally, we also wanted it to be mostly about having fun. I think we accomplished both.

We planned and planned, and still had some organizational problems, but if we do it again we’ll try to learn from those mistakes.  Overall though, I’d say the night was no less than awesome.  We saw a lot of people we haven’t seen in a while and met a lot of new people.

Syqnys Rapping at Drinking Liberally

Scott McCoy did a great job of emceeing the whole thing, with the help of Bill Frost.  I read Bill Frost’s pieces in City Weekly each week and know how funny he is in writing, but I had forgotten just how funny he is in conversation too.  

Syqnys wasn’t everyone’s cup of tea, so to speak, but I think a lot of people liked the message of his hip-hop lyrics.  I know Sen. McCoy enjoyed the song “Sexy Time”, which was pro-gay rights in a not so obvious way.

Rep. Christine Johnson, Sen. Scott McCoy, and Bill Frost at Drinking Liberally

The “Bush in Six Words” contest went really well too, better than we thought it would.  We had a lot of entries, and I think Representative Christine Johnson had a lot of fun judging the entries. We lost some of the entries, but the ones we found are at the bottom of this post.  

I unfortunately missed the 3.2 improv because I got a stupid work call, but I did see them gathering some of the politicians and audience members together and then I heard strange noises coming from inside the warehouse.  It sounded like a lot of fun.  Oh, and the two improv performers were named Heather and Jeremiah.  We didn’t plan that.

Lee Camp at Drinking Liberally

by @ 8:32 pm. Filed under Group News

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Welcome to Drinking Liberally Salt Lake City. We meet at 6:30 p.m. every Friday in the back room of Piper Down [Map] and go to 9:30. All are welcome.

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