Tomorrow night (Friday the 8th) we’ve got guest speaker Dr. Kathie Allen, the Democratic challenger for the congressional district 3 seat vacated by Jason Chaffetz. If you’ve seen her in the news or on social media but haven’t heard her in person, now is your chance. http://utahdemocrats.org/our-dems/kathie-allen/

We’ll be in the back room of the Piper Down starting at 6pm, with Dr. Allen speaking closer to 7-7:15. Be there early for reasonable parking (it’s all street parking, in case you haven’t been to Piper Down before) and to secure a seat.

There’s plenty in the news to talk about, including nurse Wubbels who was manhandled and arrested by a SLC police officer, the video of which made national and international news. Speaking of national news, we’ve got Facebook revealing that they sold ads to a Russian troll farm during the presidential campaign, with the ads mostly amplifying divisive issues. Meanwhile, Donald Trump Jr maintains there was no collusion with the Russians, that he merely met with the lawyer of a foreign, adversarial government to discuss Hillary’s “fitness” for office.

Trump announced his administration would be ending DACA for no good apparent reason. At least 16 attorneys general have filed suits around this. Nancy Pelosi(!) apparently got him to tweet some reassurance to Dreamers this morning. In other slightly weird news, Trump and Schumer have agreed to work together to repeal the debt ceiling.

And then there’s Harvey and Irma (and no, I’m not talking about the cute couple in Spokane married 75 years), along with the fires darkening our skies. It’s an increasingly chaotic world, and we need camaraderie now more than ever, so grab a friend or neighbor and join us this Friday!

Join us as we welcome guest speaker Dr Kathie Allen, Democratic candidate for Utah’s 3rd congressional district! Read about where she stands on the issues here https://www.drkathieforcongress.com/issues/

When: Friday, Sept 8th from 6-9pm

Where: The back room of the Piper Down, 1492 S State St. (Street parking only – don’t park at the restaurant next door)

Liberal Drinkers –

We like to share a drink as we share our politics. But it turns out the makers of Budweiser aren’t so concerned about sharing the planet. They’re part of an organization that denies global warming — pitting the King of Beers against Mother Earth.

Tell Budweiser to quit the chamber:
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/chamber_dl/?rc=drinking_10192009_chamber

Anheuser-Busch, the makers of Bud, are on the Board of the Chamber of Commerce. This organization has threatened to sue the EPA if it tries to regulate greenhouse gases. This radical stance has already led many companies, including Apple, to drop the Chamber.

Anheuser-Busch, it’s time to toast the Chamber farewell:
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/chamber_dl/?rc=drinking_10192009_chamber

Climate change isn’t just a general threat — it actually has directly affected hops production, making it pricier to produce high-quality beer. It’s time that Budweiser sides with its customers, its brewing and its planet.

And if you do drop the Chamber, we’ll all raise a glass and say, “This Bud’s for you.”

Join us now and call upon Bud to quit:
http://act.credoaction.com/campaign/chamber_dl/?rc=drinking_10192009_chamber

If you would like to read the interview transcript, visit PBS.org.

BILL MOYERS: Well, on the basis of the past performance, and on the basis of your own experience in the industry, can we believe them when they say they will do these things voluntarily?

WENDELL POTTER: I don’t think you can. I think that they will implement things that make them more efficient. And that enhance shareholder value. And if what they do contributes to that, maybe so. But now, they do say, they are in favor of an individual mandate. They want us all to be insured.

BILL MOYERS: For the government to require every one of us to have some policy.

WENDELL POTTER: Exactly. And that sounds great. It is an important thing that everyone be enrolled in some kind of a benefit plan. They don’t want a public plan. They want all the uninsured to have to be enrolled in a private insurance plan. They want– they see those 50 million people as potentially 50 million new customers. So they’re in favor of that. They see this as a way to essentially lock them into the system, and ensure their profitability in the future. The strategy is as it was in 1993 and ’94, to conduct this charm offensive on the surface. But behind the scenes, to use front groups and third-party advocates and ideological allies. And those on Capitol Hill who are aligned with them, philosophically, to do the dirty work. To demean and scare people about a government-run plan, try to make people not even remember that Medicare, their Medicare program, is a government-run plan that has operated a lot more efficiently.

This, my friends, is an indication of the change we’ve been hearing about. Lisa P. Jackson sounds like she’s going to do a great job as the administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency. I was starting to think that EPA stood for Environmental Pillaging Agency.

I was just watching the House debate SCHIP on C-Span.  Although it sounds good upfront,  Michael Moore has pointed out a significant flaws in the legislation that was vaguely mentioned in the House debate.

Namely health insurance companies support the legislation because what it does is tax smokers and then pay the money to health insurance companies.

What Michael Moore has been advocating is John Conyers H.R. 676

Here’s a speech Michael Moore made where he presents a wish list for Barack Obama. Part of that wish list is for President Obama to support H.R. 676

http://www.govtrack.us/congress/billtext.xpd?bill=h110-676

Oddly enough, the corporate media has avoided covering this bill when it comes to health care stories.  Even NPR has avoided the topic.

As someone who worked for Regence BlueCross BlueShield for three years processing and denying insurance claims, I believe there is a great deal of wisdom to what Michael Moore has to say.

One issue I’m worried people aren’t addressing is what’s going to happen if we keep raising the taxes on tobacco until the people who use it can’t afford it?  Will they quit as everyone is hoping (cutting off the supply of funding for SCHIP) or will this create an incentive to traffic tobacco into the U.S., which is what happened when the Feds cracked down on meth labs.

NPR: Plunge in Meth Labs Paves Way for Potent Import

NPR: Mexico’s Drug Wars Leave Rising Death Toll

If anyone would be interested in telling their representatives to look into H.R. 676 they can use http://congress.org to obtain a list of who their representatives are, and their contact information.  You simply enter your zip code.

A group of us met 2 weeks ago to discuss the possibility of creating a Utah chapter of Marriage Equality USA. So far, we are organizing through the Facebook group for the most part. Our first meeting was at the Marmelade Cafe, and we had about 25 people attend. This might seem like a lot for a first meeting, but it really seems like a lot when you realize the meeting started at 7 am!

We came up with a lot of questions that Michael Mueller, the guy who is heading up this effort, is going to answer for us at the next meeting. Some of those questions are about whether we would benefit from joining with the national group, and what sort of expenses we would be looking at. Some of the attendees volunteered to reach out to public figures like Mayor Corroon, or to local gay-friendly churches. We were all asked to write letters to the editor, which will be shared with the group.

Our next meeting is Monday, November 24 at 8:00 pm at the Utah Pride Center. Anyone wanting to participate, but cannot make it in person can call in to the conference call at 1-218-486-8700, with the passcode: 72403. We will be following up on the action items from the first meeting, as well as finalizing our mission statement.

There seems to be a lot of interest, and our Facebook group has already grown to over 900 people. If you would like to join the Facebook group, find us under “Utahns for Marriage Equality”. We will be expanding our online presence soon, but for now that’s where it’s at.

Hey, Folks! · Might we suggest this as your apropos theme music ’til January 2009..?

And to hear Maya’s poem put to music, here’s my favorite singer, Ben Harper, doing just that:

Thanks to Dana for the video link.

I had mentioned this at the meeting tonight.  I said I would follow up with more details, and here they are.

This film will play Saturday October 25th at 7:00 PM

This presentation will be held in room 309. All are welcome to attend; no admission will be charged. Attendees will view a new video documentary entitled “Uncounted: The New Math of American Elections,” which exposes how American voters were cheated during elections in both 2004 and 2006–and why this will likely happen again in 2008. Afterward, they can enjoy a discussion with Bruce Funk, who served as Emery County’s Clerk until he was fired for “blowing the whistle.”

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This film is being presented admission free. Most likely conservative activists in Utah County.

I believe people should take this very seriously. Here you have conservatives who are not Al Gore fans , yet they are sponsoring a film stating Al Gore was cheated out of the 2004 election by vote fraud.

It wasn’t the Electoral College, and it wasn’t Ralph Nader. It was vote fraud.

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