Sec. of State Mark Ritchie Comes to Stone Arch

Saturday, February 9

8:00 AM – 9:30 AM

Gardens of Salonica 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis (map)

Sec. Ritchie joins this month’s Stone Arch discussion, and we anticipate a lively discussion of election issues (including last November’s Voter ID amendment).  There won’t be a recording this month, so get up early if you don’t want to miss it!

This is part of our monthly series of informal “Stone Arch” conversations at Gardens of Salonica.  As usual, invite anyone interested–free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can’t bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.

September Newsletter

The national party conventions are done, and you may have seen a conversation with a chair or a speech in Charlotte so good a person on Twitter remarked: “that’s how it’s done kids.  BOOM.”

If you didn’t or if you did, we’ll keep bringing you great, thoughtful conversations on the issues of the day.

Check out Iric Nathanson’s latest essay in our Grand Consensus series (on health care) or some of our great forthcoming events!

Sincerely,
Jeremy Wieland
DFL Education Foundation President

 

Suggested Reading

Articles that inspire (or anger) our Board to action

• Voter Restriction Amendment
  • Cases of voter-ID election fraud found ‘virtually non-existent’ read article
  • Making Sure Citizens CAN VOTE – Our Vote Our Future Video: watch video
  • Mayors R.T. Rybak and Chris Coleman and Ramsey County Elections Manager Joe Mansky discuss the ramifications of the Voter Restriction Amendment.  Watch video.
  • Steve Simon on the Voter Restriction Amendment: watch video
• Charter Schools and Kudzu: read article
• Senate Committee Report on For-Profit Colleges Condemns Costs and Practices: read article
• In U.S. today, no margin for illness: read article
• ‘Was the Decline of American Unions Inevitable?’ read article
• Nicholas Kristof: The Secret Weapon: All of Us: read article
• Obama: A president ready for a showdown: read article
• Inequality and the Middle Class
  • The Lost Decade of the Middle Class: read article
  • 5 Charts on the State of the Middle Class: see all five
  • “Inequality Undermines Prosperity,” Joseph Stiglitz: read article
  • Infographic – the Absurd Contradictions of Capitalism 
  • Why the Minimum Wage Doesn’t Explain Stagnant Wages: read article

Other Good Events

Protect Your Vote and Use It!

A DFL Education Foundation co-sponsored event

1:30 p.m. to 3:30 p.m.
Brookdale Library
6125 Shingle Creek Pkwy, Brooklyn Center

Light Refreshments

Please RSVP on Facebook

Are you in danger of losing your right to vote?  An amendment to the MN Constitution currently under discussion by the MN legislature would place restrictions on voting in Minnesota that could disenfranchise many current voters.  Could you or someone you know be one of them? 

“Democracy for All:  The Barriers of Voter ID”
Short Film produced by the League of Women Voters

Debby McNeil
Attorney and Advocate for LWV Issue Positions

Debby McNeil will explain why the LWV opposes requiring voters to have a photo ID, how voting rights would be negatively affected, and the safeguards in Minnesota’s election system.

Stephen Cooper – Former Commissioner, MN Department of Human Rights

Stephen Cooper will place the recent movement to restrict voting across the U.S. within the broader context of voter suppression and the history of our nation’s struggle to expand the franchise.  Which organizations are behind the proposed voter restrictions?  How have votes been manipulated in recent elections?  Why is your vote important?  Join us and find out!

 

Questions, Answers, and Discussion 
Come Out, Join your Neighbors, Hear the Issues, and Voice Your Opinions!

Please RSVP on Facebook so we know for how many people to prepare:
http://www.facebook.com/events/3117 

Sponsored by the DFL Education Foundation and the Affirmative Action Committees of DFL Senate Districts 32, 46, and 47.  For more information, contact Ruthie Dallas at ruthie.dallas@sd46dfl.org or 612-743-8895 or Liesl Roland at leftyspinner@gmail.com or 763-656-8602.

Resources on the Fraud of Voter ID

At our February Stone Arch discussion, we had two election experts discussing the problems of voting hurdles, such as new laws requiring a photo ID.   They provided a wealth of additional information:

• Download Debunking Myths About Photo Voter ID
• Download Safeguards in Minnesota’s Election System
• Download Talking Points for Opposing Photo Voter ID

Democracy for All? The Barriers of Voter ID from LWV Minnesota Education Fund on Vimeo.

Facts about Ineligible Voting and Voter Fraud

At February’s Stone Arch discussion, Carol Johnson, board member of Citizens for Election Integrity, MN., and Jennifer Jewell Thomas, coordinator of the Voting Rights Group, MN Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance, co-authors of Facts About Ineligible Voting and Voter Fraud in MN lead a discussion opposing voter photo ID.

See the Video: Democracy for All?

Listen to the podcast from iDream.tv.

The linked podcast is a segment from the Stone Arch Discussion Group, a project of the DFL Education Foundation. It was recorded on February 11, 2011, at Gardens of Salonica in NE Minneapolis. Production services provided by Minneapolis-based multimedia company iDream.tv.

February Newsletter

Punxsutawneymay Phil says we have six more weeks of winter.  I’m not sure I believe it, but the good news is we have some great indoor activities to keep your mind sharp whether or not there’s snow on the ground.  Enjoy the events and catch the podcasts if we finally get snowed in! Sincerely, Jeremy Wieland @ DFL Ed Foundation DFL Education Foundation

Stone Arch Preview: Voter Photo ID with Carol Johnson and Jennifer Jewell Thomas

Saturday, February 11 8:00 AM – 9:30 AM Gardens of Salonica 19 5th St NE, Minneapolis (map) Carol Johnson, board member of Citizens for Election Integrity, MN., and Jennifer Jewell Thomas, coordinator of the Voting Rights Group, MN Unitarian Universalist Social Justice Alliance, co-authors of Facts About Ineligible Voting and Voter Fraud in MN will lead a discussion opposing voter photo id.  Carol Johnson is a former Minneapolis city council member and has been an election judge since 1994.  As usual, invite anyone interested–free and open to the public. Come, buy your coffee (the law is you can’t bring food or drinks into a restaurant), learn a lot and have your questions ready.