UNITE FOR JOBS RALLY, SEPT. 10TH
September 2, 2010 2:27pm | Mike | Learn Something, MYD Itself, Only in NY, Take Action, Uncategorized
Join the MYD Health Committee, 1199 SEIU, the TMA Workers Union, and several other progressive unions on in Harlem on September 10th for a rally of solidarity for jobs!
This march has one purpose: to use our strength in numbers to demand an economy that works for all Americans, not just the top 1%.
The rally will start at 4:00 p.m. at the former North General Hospital on 122 Street and Madison Avenue, and will march to 134 Street on Lennox Avenue, right in front of Harlem Hospital.
It would be great to see you there! We need as many young people there as possible to help demonstrate that our economy is not just hurting blue collar workers, but also recent college graduates!
Please feel free to contact me at any time for more information: Health@gomyd.com
Between Now and Sep 14: Anti-Espada, All The Time!
August 31, 2010 1:39pm | Emmy | Take Action
Huge shout-out to Margaret, Betsy, Scott, Richard, Paul and Kim for coming out with me last weekend to canvass in the 33rd. It was tons of fun and talking to people in the district really highlights just how high the anti-Espada fever is running.
To quote one resident, whose door we knocked upon in the 97-degree heat on Sunday afternoon:
Pedro Espada can go to hell.
In that spirit, we’re passing along info on another anti-Espada event taking place this coming Saturday. Our friends at the New Roosevelt Initiative will be leading the charge. Email vp [at] goMYD [dot] com back to get connected with the organizers. Details here:
Mr. Espada is giving away free food and school supplies at two locations on Saturday morning, and we are trying to get 40 people to go out to make his life miserable. We’re meeting at 9:30, and will hit both of their giveaway sites. Details are below if anyone can make it!
PROTEST AGAINST PEDRO ESPADA
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 4, 2010
9:30 am – c. 11:30 amVladeck Hall (9.45-10.30)
74 Van Cortlandt Park South (corner Hillman Avenue)Moshulu Library
285 East 205th Street(10.30-11.15)
Of course, converting anti-Espada sentiment to actual votes on Sep 14 are two very different things. That’s why we need you to mark your calendars for canvassing on Sunday, Sep 12, for GOTV! In a district where only 10-15% of the base gets out to vote, every single vote will count. Again, email me if you want in on the fun: vp [at] goMYD [dot] com.
Pedro’s Fake Home
August 29, 2010 10:30am | Emmy | MYD Itself, Take Action
Our canvass team outside of Pedro's fake home in the 33rd District. A resident who walked by told us: "You'll have better luck finding him in Mamaroneck!"
Email Emmy at vp [at] goMYD [dot] com if you want to help us defeat Pedro Espada Jr! We still have some t-shirts left…
Majority of New Yorkers Want Continued Democratic Control of the NYS Senate
August 27, 2010 1:23pm | Emmy | Only in NY, Take Action
While polling at the national level for midterm elections has looked grim for Democrats, it looks like the story is more positive at the state level:
New York Democrats have had to face a rocky economy and recession-induced budget shortfalls in their first few years as the majority party in the State Senate. But New York voters remember the previous 40 years of GOP control, and according to a new Siena College poll, only 27% of New York voters want to go back:
- 33%: Want to see Democrats expand their State Senate majority
- 34%: Prefer the status quo, in which Democrats hold a narrow edge
- 27%: Want to see Republicans re-take a majority
This has to be unwelcome news for State Senate Republicans. Between the GOP infighting occurring up and down the ballot and the atrophy of the Senate Republicans’ statewide campaign apparatus, Republican Senate candidates were depending on a hostile electorate to carry them over the top in key districts.
But that electorate, while clearly hostile to incumbents (only 31% plan to re-elect their incumbent Senator in a generic question), is not scapegoating Democrats for the state’s troubles. And with Republicans showing extreme weakness in every statewide contest tested in the Sienna poll, there are no coattails for GOP legislative candidates to ride.
But, making sure the Democratic majority is expanded–so that we can avoid situations like the last summer’s coup and really get going on enacting a progressive agenda for the state–is going to be hard work over the next three months. Learn why it’s so important we fight for better Dems and a better Albany by watching MYD’s Take Back NY video here:
Check out information on campaigns here and get plugged in with the MYD field team by emailing Colin at field [at] goMYD [dot] com!
Three Reasons Why Espada Has To Go – And What You Can Do About It
August 26, 2010 7:45am | Emmy | News, Take Action
Like we've been saying: Don't Vote for Pedro
Reason #1:
He’s accused by state Attorney General Andrew Cuomo of siphoning $14million from his Bronx-based Soundview health clinics.
Reason #2:
A high-end Manhattan tailor is suing Espada for walking out on a $7,200 tab for six custom suits.
And this just out, Reason #3:
The Bronx Democrat still owes the state Board of Elections $10,310 for failing to turn over timely financial disclosure forms, board spokesman John Conklin told the Daily News on Tuesday.
Agreed:
“It’s a disgrace,” said Blair Horner of the New York Public Interest Research Group. “After repeated promises to do otherwise, the majority leader is still in violation of the state election law.”
Want to help us oust Pedro Espada Jr? We’re canvassing this weekend in the 33rd District. Free transport, 10-3PM on Saturday, and likely back up there on Sunday.
Email vp [at] goMYD [dot] to get this deadbeat out of office!
New York Neighbors for American Values
August 25, 2010 11:30am | Taylor | News, Only in NY, Take Action
MYD is proud to add our name to the list of supporters to New York Neighbors for American Values Coalition.
Our Position:
As Americans and as New Yorkers we are stronger when we work together. New York Neighbors for American Values embraces the American constitutional values of religious freedom, diversity, and equality. We stand together and rebuff the crude stereotypes meant to frighten and divide us.New York Neighbors for American Values is proud to include Muslim-American community members and institutions in our community, as we do all communities working to strengthen the fabric of our vibrant city. We reject the idea that any neighborhood in our great City is off-limits to any particular community. We welcome the effort of Muslim New Yorkers to build institutions that serve their communities and our diverse City.
We feel very strongly that religious freedom is inherent to our country, and we encourage said freedom across the board.
There will be a press conference today at 12 at City Hall, details are on the website http://nyneighbors.org/, and you can follow the progress on twitter @nyneighbors
The Most Powerful Men You’ve Never Heard Of
August 25, 2010 10:19am | Kim | For Your Reading, Learn Something, Take Action
If you haven’t read Jane Mayer’s obnoxiously long, but insanely informative piece in the New Yorker this week, you should. Mayer exposes the vast connections between Koch Industries and a plethora of rabid anti-government organizations, including Americans for Prosperity and Citizens for a Sound Economy, among many others. What is particularly disturbing is the way the Koch family stealthily funnels money into groups that reinforce policies which, coincidentally, benefit the industries from which Koch derives its wealth: oil and chemicals. Money from the Koch family also helped launch conservative think tanks such as the Cato Institute and the Mercatus Center. As the article explains:
An environmental lawyer who has clashed with the Mercatus Center called it “a means of laundering economic aims.” The lawyer explained the strategy: “You take corporate money and give it to a neutral-sounding think tank,” which “hires people with pedigrees and academic degrees who put out credible-seeming studies. But they all coincide perfectly with the economic interests of their funders.”
Koch has been the target of several EPA investigations, which could explain why the company has fought so hard to limit the power of the federal government to regulate polluters. In 1997 the EPA tried to regulate emissions from oil refineries. According to Mayer’s piece, Susan Dudley, an economist with the Mercatus Center, argued that the EPA had not taken into account that smog-free skies would result in more cases of skin cancer. Yes, you read that correctly.
The article is far too long and complex to summarize in a few short paragraphs. Suffice to say it’s worth the read. Once you’re done reading, you may want to take a look at the list of products Koch Industries manufactures. If you’re like me, once you’ve read the article you won’t want to give these guys one more dime of your money.
Angel Soft toilet paper
Brawny paper towels
Dixie plates, bowls, napkins and cups
Mardi Gras napkins and towels
Quilted Northern toilet paper
Soft ‘n Gentle toilet paper
Sparkle napkins
Vanity fair napkins
Zee napkins
Georgia Pacific paper products and envelopes
The 7th NYC Wedding March
August 24, 2010 5:03am | CASE Committee | For Your Reading, Take Action
Recently, several of my (smart, progressive, and compassionate) friends have expressed their oddly stern convictions that the issue of marriage equality is a marginal one at best. In these troubled times – two wars, downed economy, etc. – the right to marry, they say, doesn’t deserve the same level of attention as other issues on the Democratic agenda. It’s interesting, though. Framed another way, the “right to marry” contains 1,138 individual rights (that’s according to the Department of Justice – their full, Bush-era report is worth a read, accessible here). It takes some serious mental work to overlook an injustice that big.
Luckily, an opportunity to show your support for the cause of equal rights is fast approaching. Even luckier is that it promises to actually be a good time.
That’s right: On Sunday, September 26th, Marriage Equality New York hosts its seventh annual Wedding March. The result of a partnership of over thirty organizations (including GLAAD, HRC, and, of course, Marriage Equality New York – the state’s largest marriage equality advocate organization), NYC’s March is one in a series of similar events happening that day as far away as California. Kirsten Gillibrand and Christine Quinn serve as honorary event sponsors, as do the painfully good-looking Cheyenne Jackson and Kandi Burruss (seriously. Google them). Registration begins at 10AM in Foley Square Park, followed by a kick off rally at noon, and the actual march – from lower Manhattan all the way across the Brooklyn Bridge – at 1:00PM. Each participant (or group) shows up sporting a color of their choice, forming, during the march, a massive human rainbow. The March itself is short (just over a mile so no excuses on being tired from the night before), and is followed by a “Wedding Reception”/ community festival in Brooklyn with music, speakers, and food.
The event promises to be giant fun, and has the potential to send an important message to our elected officials about the import and urgency of marriage equality. MYD will be there, represented by the CASE Committee and (hopefully) you! Contact Heather Kalachman (hkalachman@gmail.com) or Dan (case@gomyd.com) of CASE for more details and to register for the event. Or, for more general information, check www.meny.us/march.
This post was written by Maddie, a member of the CASE Committee. To join the committee, come to our next meeting on Mon. September 13th 7pm in Union Square or email case@gomyd.com.
Tell the EPA and/or Cuomo: “Don’t Frack With Our Drinking Water”
August 19, 2010 9:30am | Emmy | Take Action
The good news is that a hydrofracking moratorium passed the NYS Senate earlier this month. The bad news is, it was only a moratorium for a year. So we have to keep fighting to make sure our drinking water doesn’t get all fracked up!
The City Council is holding a town hall for New Yorkers to express their concerns, here’s the info:
NYC Council Hearing on Hydrofracking, Tues, Aug 24
The NYC Council is hosting a town hall meeting on hydrofracking and natural gas drilling in the State of New York.
When: Tuesday, August 24th from 5pm-8:30pm
Where: Borough of Manhattan Community College at 199 Chambers Street in Manhattan.
At this public meeting, residents will have the opportunity to comment on the Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) official study examining the potential health and environmental impacts of hydraulic drilling.
While the EPA is holding hearings elsewhere in the State, none have been proposed for New York City. This town hall will serve as a way to voice concerns regarding the issue of drilling for natural gas and uncertainties about the processes used for natural gas drilling, including hydrofracking in the Marcellus Shale Formation.
Please RSVP by this Friday, August 20th to: events@council.nyc.gov or (212) 788-6871.
Can’t make it to the Town Hall? Tell Democratic candidate for Governor Andrew Cuomo to support a permanent ban on hydrofracking by taking action HERE. This is part of the MYD Environmental Committee’s official policy platform — read more about it HERE.
The Awesomeness Of A Little Roof Paint… Who Knew?
August 18, 2010 8:04am | Heather | Learn Something, News, Take Action, Uncategorized
Looking for that easy fix to prevent climate change? Here’s a no brainer that can make a big difference: white roof paint! What’s that? It’s a special coating with a high thermal mass and solar-reflective properties. In other words, it’s paint that keeps buildings cooler and lowers energy use, prevents roof damage, and traps less heat.
White roofs can make a big difference in the air temperature. That means a cooler city and climate change prevention. Here’s the story: 
What’s more? There is already momentum behind white roofs. President Obama supports them, and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (stimulus) provides funding for green jobs including weatherization and initiatives like white roof painting that both create jobs and curb climate change. For example, go HERE to see a few of the energy efficiency initiatives funded by our city with stimulus funds. So why isn’t every roof white? We’d like to know that too. You can help us fix the problem. GO HERE TODAY. Make a donation of time, money or knowledge. You can be part of the paint-it-white-go-green movement!
