Join us for our weekly meet-up, and help us promote democracy in Utah, one pint at a time.

Where: The loft of the Desert Edge Brewery. B/W 500S and 600S on cross streets 600E and 700E
When: 6:30-9:30

DL Salt Lake’s numero uno organizer extraordinaire, Jess Brown (or PJ as some of you know her) will be attending her last meet-up in Salt Lake this Thursday at Desert Edge. She says she’s coming back, but after gallivanting (or working, if you want to call it that) around Yosemite and Costa Rica all summer, who could blame her if she doesn’t come back?

This will also be the last meet-up for Jerome before he goes off to the middle of Alaska to cartograph the Alaskan wilderness. Once again, who can blame him if he doesn’t come back?

And now, because Jess has always done the weekly Top 5, here’s a Top 5 for her-

The Top 5 things we’ll miss about Jess:

• 5. Her most excellent writing skills in the weekly e-mail
• 4. Her dedication to organizing all things DL
• 3. Her chutzpah
• 2. Her weak excuses for not drinking at Drinking Liberally
• 1. The way she always keeps her cool, even if you’re drunk and nothing you’re saying makes any sense

So come on out to the loft of the Desert Edge this Thursday and help us wish them both a big liberal Utah goodbye.

Friday, May 19th Drinking Liberally will be taking a stroll- an art Gallery Stroll.
More information can be found by checking here: http://ourcommunityconnection.com/stroll.html

Check back for more details.

We will be discussing Sam Harris’ The End of Faith - Religion, Terror, and the Future of Reason on Thursday May 18th, the day before the Gallery Stroll. As a preface to the discussion, I think that we will watch a short clip from an Ingmar Bergman film.

From the book jacket: “In The End of Faith, Sam Harris delivers a startling analysis of the clash between reason and religion in the modern world. He offers a vivid, historical tour of our willingness to suspend reason in favor of religious beliefs - even when these beliefs inspire the worst in human atrocities. Harris argues that in the presence of weapons of mass destruction we cannot expect to survive our religious differences indefinitely. Most controversially, he argues that “moderation” in religion poses considerable dangers of its own, as the accommodation we have made to religious faith in our society now blinds us to the role that faith plays in perpetuating human conflict.
While warning against the encroachment of organized religion into world politics, Harris draws on insights from neuroscience, philosophy, and Eastern mysticism to deliver a call for a truly modern foundation for ethics and spirituality that is both secular and humanistic.”

You can still come out and discuss the topics, even if you haven’t read the book. For more information, contact Jed at jedelison [at]hotmail.com .

From Playboy:

Boise, Idaho–A Homeland Security officer arrived on February 7 at the federal Natural Resource Center and demanded that Dwight Scarbrough remove antiwar signs from his truck or move it off the federal lot. Scarbrough, who served five years in the Navy, is a scientist at the center. He also works with Veterans for Peace, participates in protests and likes to display his opinions on his pickup. Last year, after complaints at work about a BUSHIT sticker, he and his boss reviewed the relevant statutes and found his expression was perfectly legal, so Scarbrough was disturbed by the recent visit. “my rights are very dear to me,” he says. “I served my country to defend them. And one of the things I was defending is free speech. It’s the First Amendment for a reason — not the last, not the middle. The first.”

More here: nowpublic.com

Conservatives may have the airwaves, but liberals have started early with the next generation of omnipresent media: blogs and the Internet.

From the Salt Lake Tribune:

Republican Rep. Chris Cannon expected a reaction.
“How many of you people blog?” he asked a throng of GOP delegates crowding the E Center last weekend.
“You know, blog?” he asked again, after getting nothing but silence.
“What?” one woman begged, while just a few hands raised.
“Internet communication,” Cannon tried again. “It’s important to send out your ideas.”
Still, more silence. Then Cannon walked off the stage.

Also, for what it’s worth, the Trib has launched their Editorial dept. blog, Plato’s Cave: http://blogs.sltrib.com/editorial/

This was one of the top 5 in our most recent DL e-mail, but the films are so good, I felt it warranted posting to our site as well. peacetakescourage.cf.huffingtonpost.com

These short, poignant films are the work of 15 year old Ava Lowery, A peace activist from Alabamba.

Join us for our weekly meet-up, and help us promote democracy in Utah, one pint at a time.

Where: The back patio of the Piper Down, 1492 S. State Street
When: 6:30-9:30

Tomorrow is Cinco de Mayo, a day of celebration; with recent protesting, the Tom Barberi Show was wondering, “Can’t we all just get along?” And nothing brings groups of people together like big batches of spicy meat and beans.

The Tom Barberi Show, weekdays from noon to two on 97.5 FM Talk, is pleased to invite you to their Cinco de Mayo lunch happening Friday May 5– tomorrow for those numberically challenged. Please join us in Airwaves Cafe, 515 South 700 East from noon to two to get your fill of free food from Guadalahonky’s Restaurant. Guadalahonky’s serves fresh Mexican food made daily, and is rated Utah’s top Mexican restaurant by newspapers and magazines, and praised by TV’s top cooking man, the Gabby Gourmet.

So stick on your sombrero and prepare to hit not one, but two pinatas full of FM Talk goodies we’ll provide for the festivities. Get ready to press your taco up against the glass of Tom’s Marquee Studio, kids, because it’s Cinco de Mayo!!! Ole!

Join us for our weekly meet-up, and help us promote democracy in Utah, one pint at a time.

Where: The loft of the Desert Edge Brewery. B/W 500S and 600S on cross streets 600E and 700E
When: 6:30-9:30