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SUN CITY DEMOCRATIC CLUB 67 Cypress Run, Bluffton, S.C. 29909, 843-705-2674 JULY 2010 NEWSLETTER JULY, 2010 General Membership Meeting Tuesday, July 20, 2010, 6:30PM Meet & Mingle, 7PM sharp Membership Meeting, Hidden Cypress Guest Speaker: Paul Wolff, Environmentalist, Speaking on Alternative Energy PRESIDENT’S MESSAGE While many of you are leaving Sun City for cooler weather, your executive board isgoing to be busy during July. Besides our general membership meeting on July 20, our Secretary, Pat Cano was busy decorating the display case at the entrance to Pinckney Hall. Our exhibit will be shown during July and you should make sure you take a look. She did a terrific job. Weare grateful for her talent and effort. This past week we initiated plans for our November political campaign. Precinct presidents will receive information to activate their precinct volunteers. To underwrite the expenses of the campaign we are planning a CAMPAIGN KICKOFF DINNER on July 30. Delicious food is guaranteed with wonderful camaraderie. All for $15. There will be limited seating, so act now. See the attached flyer.If you don’t know what to do with those useable things you found during your spring cleaning, give it to us. We are going to start collecting items for the October Sun City Parking Lot Sale. Our condolences were extended to the family of Eleanore Schafer who passed away several weeks ago. We were happy to hear that member, Murry Kahn is on the mend. We hope to see you at our July 20 th meeting.The President’s Debt Commission is busy holding hearings on the nation’s debt and how to get a handle on it. Problem is, many of the members of the Commission think a major way to pull us out of debt is entitlement reform, and that means Social Security and Medicare. Opponents of Social Security will not tell you that Social Security has $2 TRILLION in its Trust Fund --with IOUs that the government keeps borrowing from.What needs to be done is to raise the cap on Social Security wage contributions from $102,000. This alone will solve any apprehension about Social Security running out of money. Two wars, instituting Medicare Part D without it being funded, steep tax decreases for the wealthiest 1% of Americans is what caused our problems, not entitlements, which are funded. As for Medicare, the new health care bill should stabilize it. That’s not my opinion, but that of the Congressional Budget Office, the Commonwealth Fund, the Kaiser Family Foundation, etc.. I have written enough about Social Security and Medicare, in the past, that you are all getting tired of my ranting about it. See you July 20 th. Please do not forget your nonperishable food item for donation to Bluffton Self Help Food Pantry.Paul Russo, President GULF OIL SPILL Many Conservative commentators and politicians have been displaying their ignorance of the Jones Act. From former Republican leader Dick Armey (now, one of the financial underwriters of the Tea Party) to Limbaugh, Sen. John McCain, Sara Palin, Glenn Beck, Hannity, etc, etc, have criticized Pres Obama for not waiving the Jones Act. First some background. The Jones Act was instituted in 1920 and it requires goods transported between U.S. ports be carried on U.S. flagged, U.S. built, and U.S. owned ships, crewed by U.S. citizens or permanent residents. The fact is, it was not necessary to waive the Jones Act because foreign vessels were not engaging in coastwise trade and were working past the 3 mile limit from U.S. shores. Furthermore, Coast Guard Admiral Thad Allen said he has received no requests forJones Act waiver from foreign vessels or countries. As to any claim that the government did not act fast enough to resolve the oil spill, FEMA was dispatched immediately, cabinet level meetings were conducted, thousands of feet of boom were put in place, National Guard were activated, and thousands of civilians called into action, the scientific community from around the world was consulted, etc. RADICAL RIGHT: THE BILLIONAIRES BEHIND THE HATE (Excerpted from The Progress Report, Dec. 8, 2009) Billionaire brothers David & Charles Koch are the wealthiest, and perhaps mosteffective opponents of Pres. Obama’s progressive agenda. They have been looming in the background of every major domestic policy dispute. Ranked as the 9th richest men in America, the Koch brothers sit at the helm of Koch Industries, a massive privately owned conglomerate of manufacturing, oil, gas, and timber interests. They contribute generously to the arts, cancer research and the Smithsonian Institute. But David and Charles are also responsible for a vicious attack campaign aimed directly at obstructing and killing progressive reform. Over the years, millions of dollars in Koch money has flowed to various right wing think tanks (the Cato Institute, the Heritage Foundation), front groups, and publications. Koch groups quickly maneuvered to try to stop Pres. Obama’s first piece of signature legislation - the stimulus.They funded radio ads deriding the recovery package as simply, “pork” spending. The Cato Institute & Heritage Foundation produced a blizzard of reports distorting the stimulus and calling for a return to Bush-style tax cuts to combat the recession. As their fronts were battling the stimulus, David’s Americans for Prosperity (AFP) spent the opening months of the presidency placing calls and helping to organize the very first “tea party” protests. Much of the year was spent mobilizing “tea party” opposition to health reform, clean energy legislation, and financial regulations. David Koch has done more to undermine the public’s understanding of climate change science than any other person in America. The Competitive Enterprise Institute ,funded in part by Koch foundations, has waged an underhanded campaign to falselycharge that a set of hacked emails somehow unravels the scientific consensus that global warming is occurring. Despite the brothers’ extravagant wealth, Koch’s Americans for Prosperity has run populist ads mocking environmentalists as spoiled brats more concerned about their “three homes and five cars” than about economic conditions. In addition to its efforts to misinform the public, Koch Industries has spent nearly $9 million so far on direct lobbying, much of it on climate change legislation. In their quest to block health care reform, Koch funded groups have fostered extremism. A speaker with the roving Patients United bus tour repeatedly compared health reform to the Holocaust while an eight by five banner at an AFP health care rally with Rep Michele Bachmann (R-MN) read, “National Socialist Health Care: Dachau, Germany” superimposed over corpses from a concentration camp. It wasn’t the first time Koch groups have helped to hijack the health reform debate. Back in 1994, Americans for Prosperity, then known as Citizens for a Sound Economy, worked closely with then- House Speaker Newt Gingrich to bring mobs of angry men to health reform rallies with then - First Lady Hillary Clinton. According to EPA, Koch Industries is responsible for over 300 oil spills in the U.S. and has leaked 3 million gallons of crude oil into fisheries and drinking waters. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Membership Application Name_________________________Address________________________ Phone #_________________Email:________________________________ ___Renewal ___New Member Are you interested in: __Social Committee __Current Events Research Committee ___Precinct volunteer Dues: $10 p/p, payable “Sun City Democratic Club“, mail to: Phyllis Baxter, 109 Coburn Drive West, Bluffton, SC 29909 SUN CITY DEMOCRATS Presenting CAMPAIGN KICKOFF DINNER Featuring BBQ Pulled Pork, BBQ Chicken, Hot Dogs, Baked Beans, Cole Slaw, Potato Salad, Rolls, Beer, Soda, Water, Iced Tea, Coffee, Tea, Cookies FRIDAY, JULY 30, 2010, 5PM TO 7PM, HIDDEN CYPRESS LIMITED SEATING ----- $15 PER PERSON For reservations contact: Ann Rafferty 705-3195, Pat Cano 707-7261, Sandra Coutaskis 818-519-8303 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------ (Please Detach) RESERVATION FORM Name_________________________Address______________________Phone______ #___Persons X $15 = $_______Total Check payable to: “Sun City Democrats” Mail to: Ann Rafferty, 17 Wandering Daisy Drive, Bluffton, SC 29909 Sorry, I cannot attend, but I wish to make a donation to the Campaign Kickoff. $____ amount enclosed, payable to “Sun City Democrats” |