One of the leading Economists in the country, and someone in very high demand right now because of our economic downturn has agreed to be our speaker!
Dr. James Galbraith, Professor of Government and Economics, UT Austin LBJ School of Public Affairs will be our speaker. How bad is our economic situation? Can we pull through this recession? What caused it? How effective will President Obama's stimulus and recovery plan be?
Join us Sunday, April 26th, 11:30am.
The Public Affairs Forum is held on the campus of First Unitarian Universalist Church, 4700 Grover Ave., Austin.
This is a FREE event, and lots of free parking available. All are invited!
Best,
David Kobierowski
Co-Chair: Public Affairs Forum
The controversial Voter Suppression (Voter ID) bills are expected to be discussed again this afternoon in the Elections Committee hearing of the House, and they might be voted on. As of 2:42 this afternoon (Monday) the house was still in session. Expectation is the House will adjourn around 4:00pm and the Elections Committee hearing will begin then.
Dana DeBeauvoir, Travis County Clerk, will be speaking at our NxNW Democrats Meet-up at 6:15pm tonight. Dana will be at the TX Capitol this afternoon for the Elections Committee meeting, then will be rushing over to speak at our NxNW Dems meet-up from the hearing...Dana is one of the best sources to ask questions about Voter Suppression/Voter ID.
We'll meet at 6:15pm, at Sherlock's Pub and Grill, 9012 Research Blvd., Austin, TX. (At corner of 183/Burnet).
It's free. Everyone is welcome.
Lots of free parking available.
See y'all there!
Best,
David Kobierowski
Vice Chair: NxNW Democrats
Kinky Friedman, The Cowboy Philosopher, will be our keynote speaker for the First Unitarian Universalist Public Affairs Forum.
The speech and Q&A is Sun., April 19th, 11:30am-12:30pm, at First Unitarian Universalist Public Affairs Forum of Autin. It's located at 4700 Grover Ave., Austin. Near 47th/Burnet, behind the TX School for the Blind.
This is a free event and all are invited.
Richard S. "Kinky" Friedman, is an American Singer, songwriter, novelist, humorist, politician, and columnist for Texas Monthly. Kinky recently authored "What Would Kinky Do? How to Unscrew a Screwed Up World", and "You can lead a Politician to Water, But You Can't Make Him Think: Ten Commandments for Texas Politics". Kinky is also working on a new pet celebrity book to be released this fall. Join us for lots of laughs and intellectual stimulation from the one-and-only Kinky Friedman!
This is NOT a campaign speech. Kinky's speaking as an author, humorist, and TX Monthly columnist...Kinky was invited to speak a while back, before he announced his potential plan to run for TX Gov.
Best,
David Kobierowski
Co-Chair Public Affairs Forum of Austin
How do Austinites feel about Conservative Radio Talk Show Host Rush Limbaugh moving to Austin, TX?
According to the Austin American-Statesman, Sun., April 12th, 09':
Gov. Rick Perry told the Dallas Morning News that he plans to invite the controversial radio host to move to Texas. Limbaugh has said he's looking for a new second home - he wants to leave New York, where he lives when he's not in Palm Beach, Fl., and he has mentioned Texas as a possibility.
Gov. Rick Perry went on to tell the Dallas Morning News:
I think Austin would be an awesome place for Rush Limbaugh. You know, keep Austin weird.
My Take: I'm on the fence about this. Being a radio talk show host myself, I respect Rush for his talent and the incredible market he has won over his 20+ year career. Having him in Austin, TX might make for some interesting discussions and debates. I welcome that. And overall, I don't take him too serious. I consider Rush to be mostly info-tainment and a lot more bark than bite lately. But since I don't agree with him on most of his policies or the way he goes about attacking others that he doesn't agree with, I'm concerned that his polarizing influence and his do-almost-anything-to-win behavior will hurt a city that has already lost most of its soul.
My favorite Rush quote (great comic relief) "Consensus is the absence of leadership".
In October of last year, I also remember Rush saying that Obama is endorsed by terrorists. Classic Rush!
This last week Senator Steve Ogden, R-Bryan, Finance Committee Chairman included language in SB-1 to prohibit the use of state money for embryonic stem cell research. One of the most controversial topics of the week at the state legislature. This made front-page, top-fold of the Austin American-Statesman Thursday, www.statesman.com.
Sen. Kirk Watson was quoted in the Statesman saying "It remains far from clear that this provision won't have a direct impact on scientists and researchers at some of the premier laboratories in the state".
David-Has-Issues Forum is bringing you Stem Cell Research, the most controversial topic last week at the legislature. This forum will be held on Sun., April 5th, 4pm-6pm at First United Methodist Church Family Life Center, located at 1300 Lavaca (13th/Lavaca). (Diagonally across the street from the church)
Our keynote speaker is David Bales, President of Texans for Stem Cell Research.
This is a free, non-partisan forum and all are invited. And lots of free parking available.
We attract up to 80 people per forum and some drive as many as 100 miles to attend this. Join us. Learn the top issues, ask questions, offer your feedback, and get involved in the TX Legislative process.
(If anyone is around... - promoted by Phillip Martin)
Voter ID bills are expected to reach the House Elections Committee on Monday, April 6th and 7th.
Do you know what Voter ID (Voter Suppression) is?
Are you aware of the significance of these bill(s)?
Are you ready to testify?
Do you know how to "drop a card" at the hearing on April 7th?
Learn all about the bill(s), their consequences, and what you can do about it between now and April 7th from Rep. Rafael Anchia.
Rep. Rafael Anchia is giving a free one hour presentation and will take questions on Sun., March 29th, 4:00pm.
This forum will be held at the First United Methodist Church Family Life Center, 1st Floor main conference room, 1300 Lavaca, Austin (13th/Lavaca). This is a non-partisan event and all are welcome. (Located diagonally across the street from the church).
The forum is free, and lots of free parking available.
Please share this invitation with others...and bring a friend. This bill is likely the most important legislation during the 81st Legislative Session.
TX State Representative Dawnna Dukes, is our guest speaker. Rep. Dukes will share the top bills and issues her office is tracking during the 81st Legislative Session.
We'll meet Sunday, March 22nd, 4:00pm-6:00pm at the First United Methodist Church Family Life Center (1300 Lavaca, at 13th/Lavaca, next door to the TX Capitol, diagonally across the street from the church).
This is a free event, and lot of free parking available.
Seating is limited. We average 75 attendees per week. Folks travel as far as 100 miles to attend this forum. It's worth it. Get There. Get involved. Network. Meet other civic-minded citzens. Get Informed.
Read the April 2009 edition of TX Monthly. Paul Burka's column "Manic Supprssion". It's a great article. Below are some quotes from Burka's article.
Also, Deece Eckstein and David Kobierowski will have a one hour interview with Paul Burka on 91.7FM KOOP Radio or www.koop.org today, Fri., March 13th, 2:00pm-3:00pm.
Some quotes from Burka's "Manic Suppression" article:
Voter ID is a terrible idea: Bad for Democracy and mean-spirited to boot. Let's hope it doesn't become law in TX.
Voter ID is now a matter of Republican survival.
What started out as a fear that hordes of illegal immigrants would descend on the polls - a ridiculous scenario, since illegal immigrants want nothing to do with official government activities - has now become voter suppression, pure and simple.
There are two things wrong with laws that require voters to produce a picuture ID in order to be able to cast a vote: no credible evidence that voter fraud is widespread and plenty of credible evidence that such a law will reduce minority turnout by about 3%.
The reason why so little evidence of fraud can be found is simple: There's no incentive for voter impersonation.
This is a great article (3 pages printed out, and worth the read). I hope y'all read it. What's really scary is that the only area the voter issue do exist, such as with absentee voting or registering to vote, this law doesn't even deal with.
Why is the TX Legislature wasting valuable time and taxpayer's money on this issue?? This is very unfortunate. We have real issues to deal with...our economy, our health care crisis, our education crisis. And they're going after a problem that does not exist. Very unfortunate.
Again, we'll have Paul Burka, author of this article, TX Monthly, on our radio show "TX Politics Today" on today (Friday, March 13th), for a one hour interview, 2:00pm-3:00pm, 91.7FM KOOP Radio or streaming live at www.koop.org to dig into Voter Suppression. We'll dig into the issue in detail, including the politics of this.
Bill Spelman, candidate for Austin City Council Place 5, is hosting a "Community Town Hall" on "Neighborhoods, Public Participation, and Open Government".
Join us and share your ideas. Be a part of this unprecedented Public Participation process in local city government. President Obama has inspired millions to believe in their ability to bring change. Lets bring that can-do spirit to the local level!
We'll meet Sat., Feb. 21st, at 10:00am at the Will Hampton Library, 5125 Convict Hill Rd., Austin, 78749
There is no cost to attend. All are welcome.
I'm excited to see the energy that we started Nationally and county-wide flowing into Austin city politics.
It's sad that Austin only had an 8% voter turn-out in last May's election. Lets change that. Get involved. Be part of the process as we build an Austin that works for everyone.
State of TX Representative Mark Strama, is our guest speaker.
Join us to learn about the top issues facing our great state and associated bills proposed in the 81st Legislative Session.
We'll meet Sunday, Feb. 22nd, 4:00pm-6:00pm at the First United Methodist Church Family Life Center (1300 Lavaca, at 13th/Lavaca, next door to the TX Capitol, diagonally across the street from the church).
This is a FREE event, and lot of free parking available.
We're expecting at least 80 people. Seating is limited.. Last week we had folks travel as far as 100 miles to attend this forum for Donna Howard's presentation. It's worth it. Get There! Get involved. Network. Meet other civic-minded citzens. Get Informed.
