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Monday, December 1: Kick-off Party for the 22nd First Night Virginia in Charlottesville from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Plan 9 Records in Albemarle Square shopping center. Buttons are $12 per adult and $6 for children ages 4 through 12. Featured musicians at the kick-off will be "Terri Allard and Darrell Rose, as well as the Afican Drum Festival and Mr. Magic" (Reed Williams, The Daily Progress, November 30, 2003). Monday, December 1: Alf Mapp will speak about "Faith of Our Fathers: What America's Founders Really Believed" at the Miller Center at 11 a.m. Monday, December 1: "Does the state properly fund your needs like schools, transportation and health care? Does the state tax system confuse you with its tax breaks and unfairness? Does the General Assembly’s inability to reform the tax system frustrate you? Then come to: A VIRGINIA TAX WORKSHOP: MAKING TAXES FAIR, ADEQUATE AND MODERN December 1, 2003 at 2:00 p.m. Woods Edge Apartments Open and free to the public. Co-sponsored by the Jefferson Area Board for Aging and the Virginia Organizing Project. For more information: Ben Thacker-Gwaltney at 984-4655 x225; Email: ben@virginia-organizing.org Monday, December 1: "Clark in 2004" Meetup is Monday, Dec 1 @ 7PM. Here are the details: What: National Clark in 2004 Meetup Day Find Clark in 2004 Supporters near: Entrance Tuesday, December 2: HIV/AIDS Vigil from 5:30 p.m to 6:30 p.m. beginning at the Rotunda and ending at the Albemarle County Office Building lawn. Special guest and dignitaries include University representatives and City Council Representatives. Sponsored by: Students of NUIP 315 HIV/AIDS, AIDS Services Group and Promoting HIV-Negativity Student Organization. Tuesday, December 2: "LIVING WITH THE CONSEQUENCES OF U.S. FOREIGN POLICY" Tuesday, December 2, 7:30 p.m., at the Thomas Jefferson Unitarian Universalist Church at 717 Rugby Road Photographer Paul Dix will share slides and testimonies from his 5 years living in Nicaragua from 1985-1990 and his recent visit in 2002-03. Having photographed dozens of Nicaraguans during the Contra war of the 80s, Paul recently went back and found 25 of his former subjects, documenting their lives two decades later. The presentation at 7:30 (free to the public) will follow a beans-and-rice supper starting at 6 pm ($5 adults, $2 children). For more information, contact Keith 434-361-0091, Elena 296-2494, or Michael 245-9898 or e-mail hopefull1@excite.com. Wednesday, December 3: The Pursuit of Happiness in Times of War UVa Center for Politics and the Miller Center for Public Affairs to Host Book Release, Discussion CHARLOTTESVILLE - Why, in America's times of peril and crisis, have our leaders suggested themes of self-fulfillment and hedonism? Why is it that after September 11, 2001 Rudy Giuliani and George W. Bush asked their fellow Americans to shop, attend the theater or a baseball game? After digging around in the National Archives, presidential libraries, and interviewing numerous presidents, National Journal White House correspondent Carl Cannon realized that invoking Jefferson's language in the preamble to the Declaration of Independence about "life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness" is something national leaders commonly do in times of great national unrest-and that Americans listen. Our response? To serve a cause greater than ourselves, to work for the expansion of our "unalienable rights" to people who don't yet have them. The University of Virginia Center for Politics and the Miller Center for Public Affairs will host a presentation by Carl Cannon about his new book THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS IN TIMES OF WAR on Wednesday, December 3 at 5:30 p.m. at the University of Virginia's Bookstore. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS IN TIMES OF WAR presents an eclectic roster of heroes-Washington, Jefferson, John Quincy Adams, Frederick Douglass, Lincoln, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, Theodore Roosevelt, Herbert Hoover, Franklin Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, Hubert Humphrey, John F. Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson, and Bill Clinton, among others. Whether liberal or conservative, Cannon finds that some unlikely duos have preached from the very same soapbox: Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and John McCain. Hollywood offers some genuine supermen who have cameos in this book, from Jimmy Stewart to Arnold Schwarzenegger. THE PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS IN TIMES OF WAR is testimony to the fact that the pursuit of happiness and the defense of liberty are not only compatible, but also mutually reinforcing. Carl Cannon is a White House correspondent for National Journal, Washington's highly respected, non-partisan weekly journal on politics and government. Before that, he worked for six different newspapers over a twenty-year span. He was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for coverage of the San Francisco Bay area's 1989 earthquake. Mr. Cannon has written for numerous magazines including The Atlantic Monthly, New Republic, Forbes ASAP, Brill's Content, George, Mother Jones, and National Review. Mr. Cannon will participate in a book signing following his presentation. The event is free and open to the public and press. Members of the press are asked to contact Matt Smyth (434-243-8466, smyth@virginia.edu) at the UVa Center for Politics if planning to attend. Wednesday, December 3: Dean Meetup at Cville Coffee and at Gordon Avenue Library at 7 p.m. Wednesday, December 3: Danny Dolinger, Wednesday, December 3, 9 PM, Garden of Sheba Restaurant and Music Hall, 609 East Market Street. Danny, a native Virginian, is not only a wonderful songwriter and guitarist, he works continually to protect the forests and streams from the misguided habits of State and Federal Governments and greed-driven corporations. Casey Neill calls him "John Denver with Fangs!" Catch his CD, "Rome Wasn't Burnt in a Day." Better yet, catch him live. Come early for dinner and stay late with Danny! $5 suggested cover. Thursday, December 4: Sheldon Goldberg will speak about "Alzheimer's: Disease of Mass Destruction" at the Miller Center at 11 a.m. Thursday, December 4: NEXT LOCAL KUCINICH PRES. CAMPAIGN MEET-UP Thursday, December 4, 7:00 PM in the Madison Room, Central Library on Market Street in Charlottesville. Sign up to attend at http://Kucinich2004.meetup.com or contact Peter Markush at markrock@marzaks.com Regular Kucinich meet-ups are the first Thursdays of the month. Thursday, December 4: Advocates for a Sustainable Albemarle Population (ASAP) monthly meeting: "Population Connections: Global, National, and Local," a discussion led by Jay Keller of the Washington, D.C.-based organization Population Connection (you may know the organization from its earlier name, Zero Population Growth or ZPG). 7:30 pm in the library of Westminster Presbyterian Church on Rugby Road. Open to all. This will be the first time ASAP has addressed national and global growth at one of our open meetings. Can a locality effectively constrain population growth unless state and national growth is managed? Do localities have any obligation to accept their "fair share" of national and/or state population growth? Can Population Connection help localities such as ours tackle our small-scale growth issues? Jay Keller, Population Connection’s National Field Director, is responsible for coordination of the organization’s grassroots efforts. He works with its activist networks to build support for international and domestic reproductive health programs and efforts to reduce wasteful overconsumption. Prior to Population Connection, Keller worked at SANE/FREEZE (Now Peace Action), Common Cause and taught English as a Second Language in Taiwan. Population Connection is the nation’s largest non-profit grassroots organization working to educate people about the impact of rapid population growth and unsustainable consumption. With 90,000 members and supporters it carries out education & advocacy activities in communities across the country. The organization's Population Education program (K-12) trains 14,000 teachers every year who in turn educate approximately 550,000 students and produced the famous “dot” video showing world population growth from 1 AD to the year 2030. Its advocacy programs work to secure funding for national and international safe, voluntary reproductive health services and education. Read more about Population Connection at <http://www.popconnect.org/> . For more information about the December 4 ASAP meeting, call Jack Marshall at 974-6390. Friday, December 5: David Rovics, Friday, December 5, at 8pm at the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Church at 717 Rugby Road in Charlottesville. David's songs of social and political significance are powerful and inspirational. He draws on the spirit of those people who, like himself, have fought on behalf of people, places and positive political change. David has shared the stage with Amy Goodman, Howard Zinn, Noam Chomsky, Ralph Nader, Cynthia McKinney, Dennis Kucinich, Barbara Lee, Angela Davis, Danny Glover, Desmond Tutu, Michael Moore, Susan Sarandon, Ward Churchill, Jello Biafra, Pete Seeger, Billy Bragg, Bruce Cockburn, the Indigo Girls, and many others, although he is quick to point out that "the most impressive speakers and performers I've shared the stage with aren't in the list there, and you've perhaps never heard of them." David will be coming to Charlottesville directly from performances at anti-FTAA (Free Trade Agreement of the Americas) rallies in Miami and protests at the School of the Assassins at Fort Benning, Georgia. The Living Education Center for Ecology and the Arts and the Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice are sponsoring the evening and tickets are available at Spencer's, the Living Education Center or at the door, for a suggested donation of $7. Call 971-1647 for more information. Saturday, December 6: Special Miller Center Forum - Free and Open to the Public Civil Liberties in Times of Stress: The American Patriot Act, Its Precedents, and Their Consequences Saturday, December 6 CHARLES W. McCURDY Restraints on Civil Liberties, From the Alien and Sedition Acts to the Present: Historical Context. Charles McCurdy is chairman and professor of history and law in the Corcoran Department of History at the University of Virginia. He has been selected to receive the Order of the Coif Triennial Book Award from the Association of American Law Schools (AALS) for his book, The Anti-Rent Era in New York Law and Politics, 1839- 1865.  JOHN YOO Civil Liberties and the War Against the New Terrorism. John Yoo is a professor of law at the University of California at Berkeley, Boalt Hall School of Law. From 2001-2003 he served as a deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel of the U.S. Department of Justice. He is currently a visiting professor at the University of Chicago Law School and a visiting scholar at the American Enterprise Institute.  KENNETH W.STARR Civil Liberties and the War on Terror. In 1993 Kenneth Starr joined the law firm of Kirkland & Ellis and was appointed independent counsel on the Whitewater matter. From 1989 to 1993 he served as solicitor general of the United States. In 1983 he served as a United States circuit judge for the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. He is the author of First Among Equals: The Supreme Court in American Life.  OREN GROSS Counter-Terrorism and Law: Historical and Comparative Lessons. Oren Gross is Vance K. Opperman research scholar at the University of Minnesota Law School. From 1996 to 2002 Professor Gross was a member of the faculty of the Tel Aviv University Law School (Israel). A former Fulbright Scholar, he obtained his LL.M. and S.J.D. degrees from Harvard Law School. He is a member of the Israeli and New York bars.  Doors open at 8 a.m. Saturday, December 6: The Jefferson Area Libertarians are planning a celebration of the Bill of Rights on the afternoon of Saturday December 6th, 2003. Their event is at 3pm at the Rotunda, or in the case of rain in Jefferson Hall on the Lawn. You can get more info at www.jalibertarians.org. For more, see Monday, December 15, 2003. Monday, December 8: Timothy Qull will speak about "Physician-Assisted Suicide and the Judicial Process" at the Miller Center at 11 a.m. Monday, December 8: Rockingham County Democratic Caucus Reorganization -- Elect Officers Assembled Caucus, 7:30 p.m. -- Monday, December 8, 2003 @ The Rockingham County Administration Center, Harrisonburg. Doors open at 6:30 p.m. Contact Linda Shuler, Democratic Chair @ 540-298-9865 Wednesday, December 10: International Human Rights Day Labor Rallies in Support of Bill to Back Right to Join Unions. Wednesday, December 10: "The Park Street Bridge will re-open Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. Maurice Jones, who is the Communications Director for Charlottesville, says workers are finishing up. Jones says the four month-long renovation project is being completed on time and on budget.  Mayor Maurice Cox, an engineering team, and the contractor will be on hand to celebrate the completion. The repairs were necessary after a renegade truck struck the Park St. and Locust Avenue bridges in 1999. The Locust Avenue bridge repair project was completed earlier this year." (WINA, December 9, 2003) Wednesday, December 10: Robert Pelletreau and Edmund Ghareeb will provide an "Update on the Middle East" at 11 a.m. at the Miller Center. Wednesday, December 10: Stu Armstrong, Executive Director of Piedmont Housing Alliance, has asked for your help in raising money for the Central Virginia Chapter of the Muscular Dystrophy Association's annual lock-up as he has set a goal of $2,700 for his bail. Stu will be arrested on December 10, 2003 at 12:00 PM and taken to the Omni Hotel on the Downtown Mall, where he will be sentenced and held for one hour.  Please help Stu raise his $2,700 bail by sending a donation to me today. Checks may be made payable to MDA and I will make sure that MDA gets the donation. If you wish you can use a credit card---just call me and I'll take the information over the phone (I have the forms here); or if you prefer you may be billed. But it is important that I have your donations to pass along to MDA prior to Stu's arrest on December 10th. Remember, all donations are tax deductible. Note: More than 200 local community and business leaders were arrested in the Muscular Dystrophy lock-up. Thursday, December 11: John Kerry's 60th birthday. "His guests are expected to pony up $250 to $2,000 each at a Boston fund-raiser." (Political Points, The New York Times, November 30, 2003) Thursday, December 11: The Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice is organizing a small series of public actions of pro-peace witness this coming Thursday, Dec 11 under the ever-timely theme: "Peace on Earth": 4:00-5:00 p.m. Pro-peace, anti-war presence outside the Federal Building, McIntyre Rd and East Main St. (bring signs) 5:00-5:15 p.m. Walk to Congressman Virgil Goode's office, to deliver pro-peace petitions 5:15-6:00 p.m. Candlelight vigil for peace at Central Square, downtown mall (no signs; only one banner: "Peace on Earth") Please note that these activities mark a resumption of the Thursday afternoon peace-witness actions outside the Federal Building. Follow-on peace actions will be held there 4:00-5:00 p.m. on December 18, and from January 8, 2004, onward (but without the petitioning and the vigil).  You will see that we will be presenting a pro-peace petition to Virgil Goode as part of this action. If you can't come to any of the activities, it would be great if you could sign the petition, anyway! The text is very simple, and designed mainly to remind our Congressman that the pro-peace constituency is alive, well, and watching him... It is: "We call on you as our representative in the U.S. Congress to actively seek peaceful ways to resolve conflicts in Iraq, Afghanistan, and elsewhere; and to use national resources to build peace at home and abroad instead of war." Thursday, December 11: Jefferson Area Libertarians Happy Hour Every second Thursday of the month, the JAL meets at the Mellow Mushroom restaurant on the Corner across from the University of Virginia from 5 to 6:30 p.m. Thursday, December 11: City of Harrisonburg County Democratic Caucus Reorganization -- Elect Officers Assembled Caucus, 7:00-8:30 p.m. -- Thursday, December 11, 2003 @ The Massanutten Regional Library, Harrisonburg. Contact Joseph Fitzgerald, Democratic Chair @ 540-434-8900 Friday, December 12: Thomas Lynch will discuss "Bearing Our Burdens Honorably: Hospice and Humanity" at 11 a.m. at the Miller Center. Saturday, December 13: The Dean Freedom Tour comes to Richmond (Saturday Dec. 13). Meet & rally at the Capitol. Contact Meg at ms2vd@virginia.edu for carpool info. Sunday, December 14: "Healing Abraham's Family:Spiritually-Based Reconciliation Projects in the Holy Land", Sunday, December 14, 2003, 1:30-3:30 P.M. Gesher Center for Jewish Spirituality, Meditation and Healing, 1824 University Circle, Charlottesville [Hillel Jewish Center]. Donation to assist Eliyahu in his work for peace is requested. Speaker: Eliyahu McLean Eliyahu McLean is founder and interfaith projects director of Ruach Shalom/Ru al-Salaam [Peacemaker Community - Israel]. He has initiated projects for healing and unity between Arabs and Jews in the Holy Land, including the weekly Old City Peace vigil; Sulha: Healing Abraham's Family; Jewish-Sufi study and prayerwalks for non-violence; and a support network for peace and social change activists. Eliyahu has an unusual background, making him especially suited to interfaith peace work. Born to a Jewish mother and a Protestant father, who himself descended from a long line of preachers, his parents raised him in Sant Mat, a mystical branch of Sikhism. Eliyahu majored in Middle East studies at UC Berkeley, later moved to Egypt and learned Arabic. Years later, he embraced Judaism as an Orthodox Jew. He is now an Israeli citizen, living in Jerusalem. Eliyahu works with leaders of all religious denominations, has met with Israeli and Palestinian officials, and radicals and militants on both sides; has travelled through many countries and cities, including speaking to the British House of Lords, everywhere sharing his vision and position that hope, prayer and interfaith understanding are antidotes for the widespread despair and violence permeating the Middle East. Contact: Heena Reiter (434) 970-7836 or meditate@geshercenter.org. Monday, December 15: Gordon Walker, Harrison B. Rue and Richard Lindsay will discuss "Community Planning for an Aging Society" at the Miller Center at 11 a.m. Monday, December 15: On December 15th, 1791, the Bill of Rights was ratified by Virginia and it formally went into effect. The Jefferson Area Libertarians are planning a celebration of the Bill of Rights on the afternoon of Saturday December 6th, 2003. They plan to hold this celebration near or at the UVa Rotunda and are currently looking for groups who would like to join with them for this event as well as speakers who will extol the virtues of the Bill of Rights. If you feel that the Bill of Rights is as crucial to our liberty as they do, please help us celebrate it. There are several ways you can help: -Send a speaker who will share a positive view of the Bill of Rights or who will talk about the sacrifices generations of Americans have made to keep it in place. -Contribute financial or other services towards the marketing and promotion of this event. Please contact them if your group would like to discuss becoming a “partner group.” -Offer your public support for this celebration (no financial contribution towards promotion required). In this case, they would be happy to list your organization as a “participating group.” -Simply pass on an announcement of their event to your membership and encourage them to attend. This is a non-partisan celebration, and their goal is to bring as many area groups together as possible for a positive celebration of our Bill of Rights. If you are interested in participating as a group or individual in any of the ways suggested above, or you have other ideas how to help out, please do not hesitate to contact them. You may contact JAL Chair James Curtis at jal@lpva.com or 434-295-4414. Or you can reach Arin W. Sime at 434-951-0260 (work), 434-823-1960 (home), or by email at asime@adelphia.net. Tuesday, December 16: Fair Housing Planning Session The City of Charlottesville, the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission (TJPDC), and Piedmont Housing Alliance are in the process of gathering information to be included in the region's Analysis of Impediments to Fair Housing Choice, which will include data, analysis, and proposed methods of promoting fair housing choice in our area. Please join us on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 at 10:00 a.m. for a community planning session at TJPDC (300 E. Main St, in the Bank of America building on the downtown mall). We welcome your ideas and input regarding fair housing issues in the region. We will be discussing actions that restrict housing choices based on race, color, religion, sex, disability, familial status, and national origin, as well as fair housing laws and protections, discriminatory lending practices, patterns of growth, and accessibility. Contact Shae Garwood at sgarwood@tjpdc.org or 979-7310 x 360 for more information. Tuesday, December 16: The Jefferson School Task Force will be finalizing it's report 5:30-9 PM in the City Basement Conference Room. Comments are welcome from you and all your friends. Comments could be sent to: "Lelia Dean Brown" <leliadean@adelphia.net> There is no public hearing, though some time is set aside at the beginning of the meeting for comment. For more, see the Draft Report on Jefferson School. Tuesday, December 16: Meeting of the Charlottesville Democratic Committee at 7 p.m. in the City General District Court at 606 East Market Street to paln for the City Council nomination contest and for the February 28, 2004 Spaghetti Dinner fundraiser. Thursday, December 16: To demonstrate overwhelming majority support for a woman¹s right to choose safe, legal abortion and birth control, the largest pro-choice majority in history will march on Washington on Sunday April 25, 2004. Please consider attending a March For Choice Meetup to learn how individuals and organizations can get involved in this important, historic event. We are trying to gather together a large and diverse group of people to represent Charlottesville at the March. Your help and that of your organization's membership would be invaluable. March For Choice Meetups happen at 7pm on the third Tuesday of every
month at a location chosen by the attendees. For the full details and to
RSVP, go to http://marchforchoice.meetup.com.
The next Meetup is Tuesday, December 16th at C'ville Coffee, 1301 Harris
Street, in Charlottesille, 434.817.2633. If you can't attend, but would
like to get involved in the future, please You can learn more about "Save Women's Lives: March For Freedom of Choice" at http://www.marchforchoice.com. I hope to see you at a March For Choice meetup. Please spread the word!!! Cheers, Thursday, December 18: James Reid scheduled for Execution On Thursday, December 18th the Commonwealth of Virginia is scheduled to execute James Edward Reid at 9 p.m.. Reid was convicted of the capital murder, attempted rape, and attempted robbery of Annie V. Lester. He was 51 years old at the time he committed the crime and has been on death row since February 1998. Although Reid’s guilt is not in question, the uncontradicted mitigating evidence presented at his trial suggest that the imposition of a death penalty was both excessive and disproportionate. Reid suffered from head injuries sustained in a car accident that left him in a coma for five days. This led to a seizure disorder that caused Reid to have extended blackouts, especially when combined with alcohol. VADP urges you to write to Governor Warner and ask him to commute the death sentence of James Edward Reid to a sentence of life in prison. In your own words you can: * note the well documented evidence that Reid had suffered severe brain
damage Following is contact information for Governor Warner. Please also contact your state and local officials to request that they write the Governor and ask him to halt this execution. To protest executions contact the following: There will be a vigil against the upcoming execution of James Reid at noon on Thursday, December 18th in front of the Charlottesville Circuit Courthouse at 315 E. High Street. Friday, December 19: James Risen will speak at the Miller Center at 11 a.m. His topic is "Did Iraq Try to Reach Last-Minute Settlement?" Sunday, December 21: WINTER SOLSTICE PEACE COMMUNITY CELEBRATION Sponsored by Charlottesville Center for Peace and Justice www.avenue.org/ccpj Sunday December 21st at The Greek Orthodox Church (just off of McIntire Rd. across from the recycling center) 4-6pm Children's activities - facepainting, storytelling, games &
juggling Please bring a potluck dish according to your last name:*A-L - Entree * M-R - Salad or Vegetable Side Dish * R-Z - Dessert, Beverage or Bread Tuesday, December 23: Gen. Wesley K. Clark's 59th Birthday. Saturday, December 27: The League of Women Voters of Charlottesville/Albemarle County hosts its annual “Legislative Luncheon” at 12:00 noon on Monday, January 5, 2004, at the Boar’s Head Ballroom. Local legislators, including Delegate Mitch Van Yahres and Delegate Rob Bell, will be on hand to give a preview of the upcoming legislative session and to answer questions. This popular event gives the public an opportunity to talk directly to state legislators and to learn what issues will be on the 2004 legislative agenda. Join us for a light lunch of soup, salad, dessert, and piquant questions from the audience, as well as prognostications of important issues for the upcoming General Assembly Session. All members of the community are invited. Cost of the luncheon, prepared by Boar’s Head, is $30 non-members, $25 members. To make a reservation, call the League office at 970-1707 and leave a message or e-mail lwv@avenue.org. Please make your reservation as soon as possible. Sunday, December 28: Birthdays of Woodrow Wilson's birthday (1856), Stanely Lieber (1922), Mortimer Adler (1902) and Manuel Puig and humorist Sam Levensen (1911). Wednesday, December 31: Garrison Keillor will read two poems by David Budbill --"Tomorrow" and "Like Smoke from Our Campfire"- on THE WRITERS ALMANAC on National Public Radio.
Wednesday, December 31: NEW YEARS EVE * Join fellow Deaniacs to march in the 1st Night parade on the Downtown Mall - go to www.deanforamerica.com - click on "Get Local" put in your zip code - sign up there so I will know how many people will participate. If enough people sign up or contact me - we can meet at my house - march in the parade, then come back to my house for a "covered dish" Dean party. * Cell Phone Recycling Opportunity on New Year’s Eve Your old cell phone is gathering dust in a drawer, yet throwing it out
creates an environmental hazard. The solution? Ring Out the Old Year by
bringing your old cell phone to the Charlottesville Ice Park between 10
a.m. and 11 p.m. on December 31, as you celebrate New Year’s Eve downtown.
The Virginia Organizing Project, a Charlottesville-based non-profit dedicated
to challenging social and economic injustice, will see that your phone is
recycled responsibly. For further information — or to recycle your
phone another day — call the Virginia Organizing Project at 984-4655.
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