Philly ADA

The 2010 Pennsylvania Progressive Summit will take place on Jan 29th and 30th in Harrisburg. It will be the largest, most dynamic non-partisan gathering of progressives in Pennsylvania ever, and it will be a great opportunity for Philadelphia progressives to continue our leadership in creating a better Commonwealth.

With 48 sessions covering the full spectrum of local and national progressive issues, this weekend is one you cannot miss. Networking doesn’t get any better than this. Join hundreds of field organizers, volunteers, bloggers, labor leaders, elected officials and policy experts at the Summit. Meet new progressive friends, find out what’s going on elsewhere, share resources, and build your statewide network.

Here are a few of the event's highlights:

* Gubernatorial Debate with Chris Doherty, Joe Hoeffel, Tom Knox, Dan Onorato and Jack Wagner
* U.S. Senate forum with all candidates invited, including Senator Arlen Spector and Congressman Joe Sestak
* Workshops on communications and media, organizing strategies, electoral campaigns and advocacy
* Panels with national experts on the environment, jobs, equality legislation, healthcare and immigration

To go register for the Summit please visit their website.

In addition, a copy of the Summit's agenda may be found here.

Avencia, the Philadelphia-based software company, released a website that enables voters to directly engage in the redistricting process. The press release announcing the website states:

The site allows citizens and advocacy groups to:

* Enter their address (nation-wide) and view the “shape” of their federal, state, and local election districts.
* Learn who is in charge of drawing the boundaries of their election districts (e.g., independent commissions or elected representatives).
* Compare the “compactness” scores of their election district to other, similar districts (less compact and unusually shaped districts are more likely to be gerrymandered).
* Draw new district boundaries on a map and generate compactness scores for the new district.

Needless to say, this site will sure piss off a ton of do-nothing politicians (aren't they all in PA?) who have a habit of brushing off voters by stating they'd do something but for how complicated and expensive the process is.

To view the website, click here.

To read the full press release from Avencie, click read more.

Today, the Supreme Court is hearing oral arguments addressing the application of federal election laws to corporate speech. It's expected that the right wing of the Court (Scalia et al) plan to use the case to overturn laws prohibiting corporations from making direct campaign contributions.

In an Op-Ed in today's Daily News, DeWitt Brown discusses the hypocrisy of this eventuality and the potential of such a decision to undermine our democracy.

Here's an excerpt:

ALREADY, THE SIZE and wealth of corporations dwarf the ability of individuals to influence their elected representatives. During the current health-care debate, corporations have spent hundreds of millions on advertising to influence public opinion. If the so-called "originalists" confer upon corporations the full rights of individuals, corporations will also be able to finance the campaigns of their preferred politicians.

At the federal level, reforms like the Employee Free Choice Act would never be possible. Locally, the corporate money that led to Philadelphia's pay-to-play scandals would flood City Hall.

To read the full Op-Ed, please visit http://www.philly.com/dailynews/opinion/20090909_Keep_corporate_money_ou...

To read more of DeWitt's opinions on this issue, check out his personal blog, Philavore.

ADA National Director Michael Wilson had this to say about the passing of Sen. Ted Kennedy:

“He was known as the Liberal Lion because of his leadership on so many issues we hold dear. His contributions and commitment to ensuring equality and opportunity for every American are legendary. History will note his passing, but more importantly, history will note his living, his work, and his sterling accomplishments as a legislator and a leader.”

Click read more to view a video of Ted Kennedy addressing ADA on the subject of the minimum wage increase.

The Center for Progressive Leadership (CPL) will be hosting a series of forums to help individuals receive the skills and knowledge necessary to run for political office. Whether you're interested in running to become a committeeperson or the next mayor, CPL will help you get started.

The full text of CPL's announcement appears after the jump.

Why haven't the Democrats and the Obama Administration framed the health care issue in terms of economic stimulus? Better yet, why hasn't the issue been framed in terms of saving the "American Dream"?

American manufacturing is failing because of our health care crisis. American jobs are moving overseas because the American health care system is the most expensive health care system in the world.

The high costs of the American health care system - the highest in the world - have decimated our country's manufacturing industry. American workers remain the most productive in the world. It's just that buying health care for the most productive workers in the world makes hiring the most productive workers in the world impossible.

Unless we do something about health care costs, Americans will continue to lose their jobs and our country's dying manufacturing industry will completely disappear taking with it the jobs that once were the backbone of the American middle class.

The folks John Cougar Mellencamp sings about, they're losing their jobs because their employers can't afford to pay their health insurance premiums.

In other words, health care reform is about saving the American Dream.

The Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of Americans for Democratic Action has been around for quite some time. As testament to the organization's longevity, the Inquirer as part of its celebration of its 180th ran an article from August 15, 1967 that describes the events that followed from the efforts of the first African Americans to move into Levittown.

The article ends with a small blurb about the "local" chapter of Americans for Democratic Action:

ADA Protests Row

The Bucks county unit of the Americans for Democratic Action also "protested the use of mob violence against the first Negro family to move into Levittown," and urged a "continuance of full protection by law enforcement agencies."

The executive committee of the unit in a statement said: "The right to live where one chooses is a basic American tradition . . . we believe that there is a place in the community for the Myers family and that they should be treated as any other new residents of Levittown."

To read the full article, click here.

In support of our continuing efforts in support of reforming the redistricting process, the Southeastern Pennsylvania Chapter of Americans for Democratic Action will be posting on its website, http://phillyada.org, video from its winter forum addressing the issue of legislative redistricting. The first video consists of remarks given by Councilwoman Maria Quiñones-Sánchez.

Last February, the Philly ADA held a forum on the issue of legislative redistricting. In support of our continuing efforts in support of reforming the redistricting process, we will be posting video of the winter forum to allow others to learn about this important issue.

As Councilwoman Quiñones-Sánchez states in the embedded video, "The City of Philadelphia, I think we have a wonderful opportunity to re-engage the civic community in this process."

The audio is a little rough but if you missed the debate the other night, here's the full video: