Two nights ago the Econ Committee had it’s first meeting of 2012. This is a great year for Econ and in the next 360 days we’re going to delve into some of the greatest questions of our day with experts, politicians and, most importantly, the real people who have to live with the answers. Please join as we tackle these issues and develop the policy stances MYD, the Young Democrats and our allies will be fighting for in 2012.

Also, being economic geniuses that we are, we came up with a way to host a free open bar event.

Intrigued yet? Want in? Get involved! Email econ@gomyd.com (although please pardon if the reply is a bit tardy as the keys to the account haven’t been handed over just yet).

Susan G. Komen has received a huge backlash from the public and, in an amazing show of support, Planned Parenthood has received over $400,000 in donations since the news broke. Last year, Komen’s grant to Planned Parenthood totaled $680,000 (none of New York City’s Planned Parenthood locations received Komen funding). Several Komen state  affiliates have condemned Komen’s decision and in the Daily News, a Denver affiliate said they “are working hard on a local level to make sure this partnership stays intact, because we know how important these services are to the medically underserved women.”

In New York City, Council Speaker Christine Quinn said:
“Planned Parenthood helps tens of thousands of women nationwide identify breast cancer early when there is the best chance of successful treatment … Komen has been a trusted leader in the fight against breast cancer for many years. I’m disappointed that an organization which has done so much good for women and their health has capitulated to anti-choice ideologues and made a terribly damaging decision.”

Komen has sacrificed women’s health for politics. What can you do to help?

Sign this petition in support of Planned Parenthood.

If you have the means, donate to Planned Parenthood.

Get the word out! My Facebook and Twitter feeds are full of people voicing their support for Planned Parenthood. Join the discussion!

Interested in women’s issues? Join the MYD Women’s Issues Committee! Our next meeting is February 13th at 7 p.m. at our favorite Starbucks (Park Avenue at 29th Street). Email women@gomyd.com.

If you would like to make your voice heard on this matter, you can sign up to attend the hearing and offer testimony:

http://www.latfor.state.ny.us/hearings/20120125_manhattan/

Campaigns and Outreach Director – Robin Brown
Communications Director – Kat Kane
Community Service Director – Jordan Reisner
Creative Director – Chris Baily
Development Director – Dan Lewkowicz
Events Director – Veronica Libman
Finance Director – Alex Leopold
New Media Director – Jon Reznick
Political Director – Andrew Goldston

Courtesy: CBS

In 2011 the Manhattan Young Democrats set out to meet several goals:

• Get Marriage Equality passed in New York State (check!)
• Create a robust Women’s Issues Committee (check!)
• Run even more young people for Democratic County Committee and re-establish the County Youth Committee (check!)
• Pass a Living Wage bill (still working on it, but closer than ever!)

I think it’s safe to say we had a pretty good 2011.  We built up our membership and we raised some serious cash.  We got nearly 100 young people elected to positions within the Democratic Party, and we once again came home from the national Young Democrats of America convention with the title “Chapter of the Year!”

I am so proud of everything we accomplished last year, but I know that 2012 will be even better.  This is the year all of our hard work pays off.  This is the year we reach out to every person who ever attended a happy hour event, or community service activity or holiday party, and get them engaged.  This is the year we get them plugged into local campaigns, into their local Democratic clubs and their community boards.  This is the year we ORGANIZE.  And not just in midtown and downtown Manhattan, but in Harlem and Inwood and Washington Heights.

This is the year we show everyone that 2008 wasn’t a fluke; that young people still care about their country and still want to work to make it better.  This is the year we prove that young really can get it done.

But don’t worry, we’re still going to have fun!  The truth is, collecting signatures and making phone calls is a hell of a lot easier if you’re doing it with friends and you can go out and grab a beer afterwards.  So join us tonight as we have a few drinks and watch President Obama deliver his State of the Union speech.

Tonight, we celebrate.  Tomorrow, we get to work.

But to do great things we need a great team, and that’s where you come in.  Every year the Officers appoint Directors who sit on the executive board and help run various aspects of the group.  You can download the Director position descriptions and application HERE.

Please note: we may not fill all of the positions right away, since we’re still in the process of developing our plans for 2012, but we encourage you to apply to any position you might be interested in.  We will be making appointments by the end of the month.

The video above discusses the Senate version of the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA). In the Senate the bill is called the PROTECT IP Act (PIPA). SOPA has gotten more attention than PIPA because it was moving faster in the legislative process. But PIPA is just as dangerous, and now it is moving faster.
PIPA would give the government new powers to block Americans’ access websites that corporations don’t like. The bill lets corporations and the US government censor entire websites and cut sites off from advertising, payments and donations.

Read more and contact your representative by clicking here

Officer positions are President, Executive Vice President, Secretary and Treasurer (learn exactly what the requirements are in Article III of the MYD Constitution, HERE).

Elections will take place on January 17th at 7PM. The location will be RWDSU – 30 East 29th St., 5th Floor Conference Room. Make sure to pay your dues online in advance or bring a $20 bill — you must be a 2012 member to vote.

President
Kim Moscaritolo

Vice President
Prince Agarwal
Dan Beksha
Robin Brown
Nekpen Osuan

Treasurer
Christina Chang

Secretary
Cory Evans

Also check out the proposed Constitution Changes in the blog post HERE, which will also be voted upon at the meeting.

Best of luck to all of the candidates! See you next Tuesday.

In December, a committee of Board members appointed by the President were asked to come up with a set of proposals for 2012. Download the full set of recommended changes HERE.. The full Constitution and By-laws are also available HERE.

Some of the key issues we were focused on solving for included:

• Evolving the Committee structure – with a larger membership and larger number of Issue-Oriented Committees, the Board had ballooned in the recent years, making it unwieldy. The proposed changes does not designate a number of Committees but rather differentiates between Standing and Ad-hoc Committees. Only Chairs of Standing Committees will have votes on the Board.
• Increasing accountability of Committee Chairs – previously there had been no procedure for removing Chairs in the Constitution.
• Ensuring that if an Officer position is vacated with significant time still remaining in a given year, this decision is brought to the membership rather than being filled by Presidential appointment.
• Ability for the membership to propose resolutions

These amendments will be voted upon during the January General Meeting in conjunction with electing the 2012 Officers. Make sure to pay your 2012 dues beforehand so you can actually vote!

Feel free to email me at president [at] goMYD [dot] com if you have any questions or concerns.