I just received this from MoveOn; sounds like an event worth attending.
Anybody who has Thursday noon free could go, and so could anyone who works downtown and can visit for lunch:
“Dear MoveOn Member,
On Thursday, we’re making major news at events in Salt Lake City and around the country. We’re unveiling a new poll showing that local voters want to stop wasting billions in Iraq, and want to help the economy by investing those resources here at home.
In Salt Lake City, we can make an even bigger splash if there’s a crowd at the press conference—ten or twelve folks to show that voters in your community care about this issue.
This event is short—likely less than 45 minutes—and all you have to do is be there. Can you come?
Host: Richard L—fellow MoveOn member
Where: Federal Building Plaza (in Salt Lake City)
When: Thursday, Apr. 24, 2008, at 12:00 PM
Here’s the link to RSVP:
http://pol.moveon.org/event/recessionreport/46351?id=12488-6296802-ZIbxLp&t=4
These press conferences are key part of our larger “Iraq/Recession” campaign to highlight the links between the war and the struggling economy—and put heavy pressure on pro-war Republican senators who keep voting to continue this costly war.
MoveOn members have already stepped up to host events nationwide…”

Howard Dean’s presidential bid may have fizzled in 2004, but Democracy for America is still alive and kicking. The local chapter, aptly titled Democracy for Utah, still meets monthly and maintains an excellent blog and calendar.

D4U’s president, Carrie Ulrich, visited DL last night and told us about a weekend training workshop put together by Democracy for America. DFA is trying to ensure that we continue to elect progressive leaders in 2007 and beyond. The training if for anyone involved in a progressive group, running for office, working to elect someone, local activists, and grassroots supporters.

Visit Democracy for Utah’s website for more information or www.dfalink.com/uttraining to RSVP and pay online.

We have ordered the army men (about 425) and we have the labels to print the stickers. We will probably bring the supplies to our meeting at the Piper Down on August 18th to receive help attaching the labels and spreading the word. As far as the project goes, we will begin gathering on Saturday August 26th, at 10:00 am at the Salt Lake Roasting Company and then deploy at 10:30 to try and avoid the heat.

http://www.mouthswideopen.org/armymen.shtml

When your grandchildren ask what you did to stop the genocide in Darfur, what will you say? Join the Utah community on Sunday, April 30, 2006 at 3pm in front of the City County Building located at 451 South State Street to rally support and urge President Bush to help stop the Genocide in Darfur. The rally will be one hour long and include speakers, drummers, and a “call-in” to the White House. Please bring a cell phone.

The rally is part of the “Million Voices for Darfur” campaign to generate one million postcards for delivery to President Bush, who recently pledged to push for additional U.N. and NATO help to protect the people of Darfur. The UN calls it the “greatest humanitarian crisis in the world,” yet the slaughter continues - 400,000 dead, 2.5 million displaced, thousands raped. History has shown that silence in the face of unspeakable evil equals death. We must take a stand. We applaud the President’s leadership, but the work is far from done. We are urging President Bush to take steps necessary to end the genocide and build a lasting peace for the people of Darfur.

The “Save Darfur: Rally to Stop Genocide” is part of a National Rally organized by the Save Darfur Coalition. Locally the program is organized and supported thus far by National Council of Jewish Women Utah Section, the I.J. & Jeanné Wagner Jewish Community Center, the United Jewish Federation of Utah, Greater Salt Lake City Hadassah, Salt Lake Community College’s Sudanese Student Association, the International Rescue Committee, and the National Council for Community and Justice.

Stop Genocide in Darfur - Because We Must!

APRIL 22 8:00 A.M. (DON’T BE DRINKING TOO HARD ON FRIDAY NIGHT)
HIGHLAND HIGH SCHOOL
2166 SOUTH 170O EAST

If you haven’t received your notice “Call to Convention” and are a delegate, call the Salt Lake county office and tell them. Precinct chairs are invited as well, it is fun to see what is going on and to meet other Democrats.

Via John Urgo and HEAL Utah:

Here’s a reminder that neighborhood caucus meetings for choosing delegates are coming up in a week: Tuesday, March 21st, at 7:00pm. These meetings are the most important two hours you can spend if you want to help shape the local political process and get involved as a delegate.

The info for the Democratic neighborhood caucus meetings is here: http://www.utdemocrats.org/ht/display/AlertDetails/i/737953 (scroll down for the meeting times and locations).

The info for the Republican meetings is here: http://utgop.financialprintplus.com/Content.asp?W=20&C=31.

The UEA also has a good page with general information on the meetings and how to prepare: http://www.utea.org/politicsLegislation/caucuses/index.htm.

Unfortunately, this year’s legislative session was often marked by many legislators’ open disregard for the public (fortunately, the media took notice. See: “Shame on rude, petty lawmakers”, “Lack of civility mars session”). The good news is you can do something about it. As a delegate, you choose the candidates who run and help shape the platforms they run on.

Make your voice heard now because by November it could already be too late!

From MoveOn.org:

The president is breaking the law. Momentum is already mounting in Congress for a real, independent investigation into the president’s illegal wiretapping program. But unless Congress knows that citizens are concerned, they’ll shrink from their responsibility to act as a check on the president’s power.

To turn up the pressure on Congress, we’re organizing nationwide “Constitution Vigils” on Wednesday, February 22nd, to bear witness to the president’s lawbreaking.

We’ll get together with other MoveOn members and read the Bill of Rights to remind Congress about what’s at stake.

Thousands of us will gather together to send a strong message to our elected representatives that they won’t be able to ignore–especially since many of them will be home in their districts for the Presidents’ Day holiday. The more of us that participate, the louder our message will be.

Where: Pioneer Park
When: Feb. 22 6:00pm
Who: Hosted by Jess Brown
More information: MoveOn.org

Citizen Lobby Night, Jan. 25:
Last week, congressional lobbying scandals continued to engulf Washington. We learned that Jack Abramoff took in $40 million in four years from clients, and bilked Indian tribes of $20 million in the process. In the wake of Abramoff’s guilty plea, Rep. Tom Delay abandoned his former House majority leader post. And the Salt Lake Tribune reported that Envirocare, though not accused of any wrong doing, shelled out $4 million in recent years and used Abramoff’s former firm to lobby legislators in Washington.

These pay-to-play tactics are all too common in politics. We want to put your voice back in the process.

Now that the Utah legislative session has officially begun, join HEAL Utah and the Utah Rivers Council for a Citizen Lobby Night and learn how to make your voice heard without spending millions.

When: Wednesday, January 25th, 6:00-7:30pm
Where: (Note location change) We will meet in the lobby of the WEST building of the State Capitol Complex (350 North Main Street)
The lobby is at the east entrance of the building, facing the center plaza. The West building is located to the northwest of the Utah State Capitol building, which is currently under construction.

Parking will be available in the EAST parking lot or on the street. If you park in the east lot, you can get to the west building where we will meet by going through the east building and across the plaza. It sounds more confusing than it is, but a compass may help.

Dress is casual and all materials will be provided for you.

The Utah legislative session will last until March 1st. For the next 45 days, we will be working to make sure that the expansion of radioactive waste disposal at Envirocare is kept off the table, that legislation is created to keep foreign nuclear waste from being dumped in Utah, and that environmental groups preserve their ability to bring lawsuits against harmful practices by corporations or the government.

You, our members and volunteers, are our most credible voice. If you’d like to learn more about the issues we will be working on this session and how you can get involved for the next 45 days, join us this Thursday, January 19th, at 6:00pm in our office for a Legislative Briefing.

We’re looking for people who can join us at the capitol to create a citizen presence, attend hearings throughout the session, come to rallies and press conferences, talk to their neighbors and generate calls to their legislators, or even host in-home meetings with their legislators. Whether you can do a lot or a little, your participation makes a big difference. Together, we can achieve much more than what our three-person staff can achieve on our own.

If you can’t attend the meeting, but would like to be involved throughout the session, please let me know.

The issues in a nutshell:
1) Even though Gov. Huntsman has definitively said no to Envirocare’s expansion, the company is still proceeding with its plan to double the size of its radioactive waste dump. Currently there is a resolution pending, sponsored by Rep. Jim Gowans (D-Tooele), that would approve Envirocare’s expansion. We will be working to make sure that this resolution does not pass.
2) Remember the 500 tons of uranium “ore” that was shipped from Japan and dumped at IUC in Blanding, UT? We will be working this session to create legislation that would prevent foreign nuclear waste from being dumped in Utah.
3) We will also be working to stop a bill that would make it prohibitively expensive for environmental groups to file lawsuits in the state of Utah. We need to preserve access to the judicial branch of government so that proper checks and balances remain in place.

Kathy Dopp is the President of US Count Votes, a non-profit organization dedicated to vote counts that accurately reflect voter intent. She will be speaking on electronic voting machines and independent audits. Joycelynn Straight, an expert on legislation and legal issues surrounding Utah’s voting machines, will help present.

Meeting starts at 6:00 pm, Kathy will start around 7.