March4Schools

March4Schools
March 4, 2009
4 p.m.
Arizona Capitol
1700 West Washington

Join DFA-MC as we join in with Arizona Education Association for a rally at the Capitol. AEA has planned this rally to be the largest mobilization of education supporters in our state’s history. AEA Education Day at the Capitol participants will be joined by thousands sharing their stories about the impact of budget cuts on education.

Be there to show your support of Education in Arizona!

DFA-MC Monthly Meeting
January 7, 2008
Wednesday 6:30pm
El Penasco Restaurant
19 E Broadway Rd, Tempe, AZ 85282

Agenda:

The legislative session is going to be in full force very soon. Carol Corsica will present a PowerPoint of AZ Legislature basics. We will be discussing possible legislation regarding Election Integrity. Let’s review the changes we were looking for and what we might be concerned about that could be introduced by the SOS, etc.

We meet together the first Wednesday of each month. Bring a friend and enjoy an evening of politics, activist information, planning and friendly conversation. Click here to RSVP.

I want to thank everyone and encourage everyone moving forward.  Thirty-eight days before an election, we pulled together this event on top of every other walk, conference, fundraiser, political action and during the midst of all that we are being bombarded with on the national scene–rush to bailout like the rush to war. Dr. Phillips was an interesting speaker. He was passionate about what he found, and I am looking forward to hearing him on Cynthia’s show today. Dr Phillips started his efforts downloading election results using a dial-up modem.His message was clear, citizen activism and honest political leaders helped dig out the truth in Ohio.

Problems that he discovered:

* Prepunched ballots

* Tampering using stickers on optical scan ballots

* Anomalies in the ballots with people voting distinctly contradictory ways on the same ballot–in favor of gay marriage and a Bush supporter

* Married couples in the same household voting in different precincts.

* Electronic votes fading away

* Uncounted provisional ballots because they were cast in the wrong precinct

* Hacking the vote in Miami County and elsewhere

* Homeland security alert in Warren County that barred reporters and others from watching the vote count

Dr Phillips Conclusions:

* The ballots need to be paper and hand counted at the precincts on election night in full public view

* The Democratic Party was an accessory to the Republican crime and is unwilling to challenge the system that sustains them as well when they are in power, making the major political parties obsolete

* The Libertarian and Green parties challenged the Ohio election

* We have an illegitimate government because our elections are unverifiable. Gerrymandered districts, and outrageously expensive campaign financing compound the problem.

At the event:

* He proposed an election day holiday or weekend voting but did not think vote by mail was the answer due to the long chain of custody issue.

A number of us worked several weekends to develop the workshops.   Cathy, Judy, Randall, and Dan worked especially hard on workshop material and getting materials printed.  Toby, Doris, Virginia, and Cynthia worked on printing and getting the word out with websites and flyers.  We had the technical expertise of Barry, Fran and Dan. John and Jim have been working hard to bring transparency to Pima County Elections and export their expertise and resources to Maricopa County.   Thank you all.

As Cathy Kladis always ends her emails.

PEACE

Keep the faith and keep up the good fight!!!
Carol

This week, please call your House Members and ask them to oppose HCR2045 and HCR2044. Please tell them to protect the citizens’ rights to the initiative process.

HCR2045 county officers; elections; technical correction (Adams) has a strike everything amendment on initiative and referendum. It refers to the ballot yet another constitutional amendment that if approved would significantly restrict the right to refer legislation via the initiative process. It requires that the signatures for an initiative be turned into the Secretary of State on December 31 of the year before the election rather than four months prior to the election. This is done without reducing the required number of signatures, so will erect a huge barrier to referring measures by those without deep pockets. It also will mean the Legislature has even more of an opportunity to refer competing measures. It changes the voting requirements for amending a citizen initiative passed by the voters from a 3/4 vote to a 2/3 vote, says it must further the intent of the people versus further the purposes and it allows changes to “correct problems.” You can only guess what the legislature might see as a problem. This would significantly weaken the Voter Protection Act, which was passed after years of frustration with the Legislature weakening measures passed by the people. It includes numerous other provisions as well.

HCR2044 voter-protection; temporary budgetary suspension (Pearce, Barnes, Biggs, et al) refers to the ballot a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow the legislature to reduce appropriations for measures approved by the voters in any year where there was a projected budget deficit. This would eviscerate the Voter Protection Act. It passed out of the House 32-27-1 and has been assigned to Appropriations in the Senate. OPPOSE. Please ask your legislators to oppose this one too.

To find your House members’ contact information just click or paste this website into your browser:

http://www.azleg.gov/memberRoster.asp?Body=H

Or you can call (602) 926-4221 or outside the Phoenix area 1-800-352-8404 and just ask to be connected to your representative’s office.

~ Thanks for your consideration ~

[Friday], in a 6-4 vote, the House Judiciary Committee amended Bill SCR 1042, a bill that would have established Vietnam Veterans Memorial Day, to strike everything and replace it with the Marriage Amendment language.

Despite the fact that Arizona voters rejected it when they voted to down Proposition 107, and despite the fact that the House of Representatives had already defeated the measure in this session, Arizona Legislators still have to deal with the proposed constitutional amendment to define marriage.

Apparently this legislature is more interested in working for Cathi Herrod than in solving real problems such as the budget crisis.

TAKE ACTION NOW to stop this divisive bill from moving forward. Let your representatives know that you want them to oppose SCR 1042 as amended, and to oppose any other effort to put an anti-equality marriage bill on the agenda.

Send an email or phone call to the following decision makers:
Representative Jim Weiers- 602-926-4173 jweiers@azleg.gov j
Senator Tim Bee- President of the Senate – tbee@azleg.gov – 602-926-5683
And your representatives: http://www.azleg.gov/MemberRoster.asp?Body=S

Over the last few weeks, a special-interest group with a partisan political agenda has run misleading ads to create a culture of fear across the country.These ads, which the nonpartisan, non-profit FactCheck.org has called “false” and “misleading,” have caused a great deal of confusion about an important debate in Congress. They even alleged our ability to conduct “surveillance against terrorists is crippled.”

This is patently false.

Through the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, our intelligence community has the full ability and authority to intercept suspected terrorist communications to prevent attacks. FISA is not, as some have implied, going to expire.

Read the rest of Congressman Harry Mitchell’s article at:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/articles/0318mitchell18.html

Respond to the article:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/opinions/sendaletter.html

Let Harry know we appreciate it when he steps up:

D.C. Office: 2434 Rayburn House Office Building, Washington, D.C.
20515
(202) 225-2190
District Office: 7201 East Camelback Road, Suite 335, Scottsdale,
Arizona 85251
(480) 946-2411

or online:
http://mitchell.house.gov/contact/

The DFA-MC Media Response Team is active and you are invited to join in at:

http://groups.google.com/group/dfa-mc