SOUTH COUNTY DEMOCRATIC CLUB

1) Town Hall on Education - This Saturday - January 28, 2012:

Town Hall on Eduction
1:00 - 3:00 PM
Niles Senior Center
1109 Bell road Niles Mi, 49120
January 28, 2012

This is the second Town Hall on Education, the first held in Bridgman in the fall of 2011. The first Town Hall received nothing but rave reviews by all who attended it. We have invited experts from state government, education, and professional organizations to be panelists. There will be time for a freewheeling question and answer session after the panelists make their presentations. If you are a parent, teacher, or concerned citizen, this town hall will inform and educate about the dastardly under funding of Michigan's Community Schools. Mark your calanders, we'll see you there.

2) Thank you to everyone who attended our meeting on Monday (1/16/2012):

Thank you Roy Freeman for speaking to our group and giving us your assessment of privatization and out-sourcing in our community schools. You provoked much thought and for that we are deeply appreciative.

Thank you Matthew Rosenhagen for giving us a power-point summary of the Occupy Movement - Southwest Michigan. You and your fellow "Occupiers" have changed the political landscape of this country: The Occupy Wall Street movement rekindled the spirit of political activism in this country that has been lacking since the 1960's and the Vietnam War. Also congratulations on all the great work your organization has done -- raising a truck load of food for those who go hungry in Benton Harbor and providing hundreds of winter coats to those without. Bravo Matt!

Thank you Bill Crandell for updating us on the Education Town Hall that will be held Saturday, January 28, 2012. (Details posted below.) For those who were not in attendance at our meeting, Bill has been working on these forums for at least two months and a better, more organized committee chair could not be found. Bill, our club is deeply appreciative of your good efforts on bringing to the forefront the dastardly cuts to our community schools that were made by the Republlican-controlled state legislature so more and more businessmen can drive new Lexus cars. Your tireless, capable energy; your devotion to the cause; and your grasp of the political realities speak volumes. We are fortunate to have you on our team.

 Jack Arbanas

Thank you Jack Arbanas for making your announcement of candidacy at our meeting. Your fiery speech drew those in attendance to their feet. Your assessment of current political realities was right on the money. Your display of courage by running and your commitment to give the best that you have inspired us. Your promise to correct the wrongs done by this current Republican-controlled legislature and to return balance to our broken political system resonated hope to all. Your vision of a better day for Michigan families sparked hope within us. And, your challenge to our membership to begin working now to undo the wrongs of this legislative session -- wrongs all passed in the name of greed, greed, greed -- hit the mark with everyone.

I am reminded of a quote I learned when young: "Liberalism is trust of the people tempered by prudence.  Conservatism is distrust of the people tempered by fear." You, my friend Jack, represent the best of the liberal persuasion. Speaking for all our members, thank you for your commitment and sacrifice as you enter this political race.

-- Jess

3) The Donkey Chronicle:

Our January (2012) Newsletter, the Donkey Chronicle, is attached. Articles include Synder's agenda for education for 2012, article about the attacks on teacher retirement, Jerry Furst's "A Different Perspective - Stop the War (on Education)" and an article about Radical Republican attacks on the Endangered Species Act. Also Jess writes of the need to begin our campaign for the November Election and an item from the internet about a blogger leaving the Republican Party and joining "team Obama."

Click Here to receive a PDF copy of our newsletter.

Special thanks to Vickie for proofing our newsletter.

4) The Berrien County Democratic Party web site is up and running:

Congratulations BCDP on a fine looking web site.

http://www.bcdemocrats.org/

5) Tell Congress: Don't Slash Wildlife Conservation:

Congress is now formulating a comprehensive spending bill for the federal government -- and it's not looking good for our wildlife.

Click Here

6) Interesting graphic:

7) From Charles Henry - What does it mean to call Social Security and Medicare "entitlement" programs?

From AARP President W. Lee Hammond -- The truth is, Social Security and Medicare should be called "earned benefits," not "entitlement" programs. You don't get these benefits as a birthright. They are based on a lifetime of payroll contributions from your work (as well as, for Medicare, your ongoing premium payments). The word "entitlement" makes these benefits sound like something you didn't earn and don't deserve. Maybe that's why lawmakers who demand cuts in Social Security and Medicare use the term so often. We must never let our leaders forget the beneficial impact these programs have had on the quality of life for older Americans and for people with disabilities. They have reduced poverty, enabled better health, and played a vital role in protecting the health and economic security not only ofthe most vulnerable but also of America's middle class.

8) From Charles Henry - Indiana Senate Passes RTW Despite Broad Public Opposition:

9) From Joy R: Democratic Operative's Cat Slaughtered, 'Liberal' Painted On Corpse:

The race for the Arkansas' third congressional district took a gruesome turn on Sunday, when the campaign manager for Democratic challenger Ken Aden came home and found his cat slaughtered with the word "liberal" painted on the corpse.

According to a press release sent out by the Aden campaign, "The family pet, an adult, mixed-breed Siamese cat, had one side of its head bashed in to the point the cat's eyeball was barely hanging from its socket. The perpetrators scrawled 'liberal' across the cat's body and left it on the doorstep of [Jacob] Burris' house."

Burris, Aden's campaign manager, told The Huffington Post that it was his 5-year-old son who first saw the atrocity. He had taken his children out to fill the family car with gas before going to church, and the young boy was the first one out of the vehicle when they returned.

THERE'S MORE

10) Kids Count: More children falling into poverty:

Child abuse and neglect in Berrien County jumped 19 percent over the decade while more than half of Berrien K-12 children now qualify for free and reduced price lunches, the latest Kids Count in Michigan Data Book concludes.

Michigan’s long economic struggle is reflected in the new Kids Count findings. Children qualify for school-based meals if their family income is 185 percent of poverty or less. Studies confirm that families need income of about 200 percent of poverty – at least $44,226 for a family of four – to cover basic needs without assistance. Poverty also drives up neglect cases.

“The findings show that kids in Berrien County and across Michigan are still suffering the fallout from our long recession,” said Jane Zehnder-Merrell, the Kids Count in Michigan director at the Michigan League for Human Services. “Poverty in Michigan is as big a threat to our children today as polio was to a previous generation. Fortunately, we can do something about this. We know that public policy can improve children’s social and economic environment.”

This year’s report,  Health Matters, focuses on child health and the role the social and economic factors in children’s lives play in good health.

The annual Data Book is released by the Kids Count in Michigan project. It is a collaboration between the Michigan League for Human Services, which researches and writes the report, and Michigan’s Children, which works with advocates statewide to disseminate the findings. Both are nonpartisan, nonprofit advocacy organizations concerned about the well-being of children and their families.

THERE'S MORE

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