Activism Grab-Bag

Wow, we seem to have a grab-bag of activism right now, with everything from immigration to healthcare to the environment. it's all Peace, baby..and it's all love.

Gratitude to the Ventura County Committee to Stop the War for tabling on our behalf at Ventura's ArtWalk and gathering petition signatures for our resolution to the Ojai City Council. if you haven't seen or signed it yet, please do so HERE. (i'll be asking for help to gather more signatures at the Farmer's Market in coming weeks, so look out for that opportunity!)
in Peace,
-evan

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Mother's Day for Peace! (May 4th)

Citizens for Peaceful Resolutions/CPR presents a celebration, discussion, and reaffirmation of Julia Ward Howe's 1870 Mother's Day Peace Proclamation:
"As men have often forsaken the plow and the anvil at the summons of war, let women now leave all that may be left of home for a great and earnest day of counsel. . . to promote the alliance of the different nationalities, the amicable settlement of international questions, the great and general interest of peace."
WHEN: Sunday, May 4 at 3:00 p.m.
WHERE: Foster Library's Topping Room, 651 E. Main St., Ventura, CA
WHO: All people who wish to celebrate their work of nurturing and peacemaking are invited to "take counsel with each other as to the means whereby the great human family can live in peace."
BACKGROUND: Julia Ward Howe, having seen some of the worst effects of the U.S. Civil War and the onset of the Franco-Prussian war, called in 1870 for women to rise up and oppose war in all its forms. Her idea for a Mother's Day for Peace was influenced by Anna Jarvis who worked to reconcile Union and Confederate neighbors. Although she failed to get official recognition for a Mother's Day for Peace, we will reclaim and honor her intent.

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The Future of Transportation (May 10th)

Join CAUSE, COAST and PUEBLO for their second in a series of transportation forums:

The Future of the Central Coast Regional Transportation System
Saturday, May 10, 2008 (National Train Day)

2:00 PM to 3:30 PM
Ruby's Café of Oxnard
348 South Oxnard Blvd.
Oxnard , California
(Just steps from the train station at the Oxnard Transportation Center )

Guest Speakers:
Rick Cole, City Manager, Ventura
Grant House, Councilmember, Santa Barbara
Katherine Perez, Transportation Planner, Southern California Transportation &
Land Use Coalition (SCTLC)
Ron Botoroff, Ventura County Civic Alliance
To RSVP and for more information contact Carmen Ramirez at (805) 658-0810 ext. 213, or at carmen@coastalalliance.com.

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Imagine Whirled Peace (and $10,000!)

Ben and Jerry's is on a quest for Peace Pioneers who are "working to create positive change, inspire others and further the cause of peace and justice", and there's $10,000 involved for the winner's org of choice! Our region is full of talented and passionate leaders of Peace...visit the Peace Pioneer websiteto nominate your favorite! (and consider it a primer for the upcoming OPC Noble Peace Prize nominations, to be awarded in September!)

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Clean Cars on Day One!

from Environment California:
The clean cars program - which would cut global warming pollution from new cars and trucks by 30 percent - would go a long way toward reducing global climate change and saving what's left of the ice shelf. In fact, California and the 12 other states that have adopted the program would combine to cut 400 million tons of global warming pollution from our cars and trucks. With the Bush administration blocking progress at every turn, we're counting on the next president to remove the EPA's roadblock to cleaner cars.
Tell the Presidential candidates to declare clean cars a priority for their potential
administrations HERE.

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McCain: Pay Gap Okay, Women to Blame

from MomsRising.org:
Last week, the Senate failed to pass the Fair Pay Act. What was almost worse than that defeat were the out-of-touch, old-fashioned--and downright insulting--statements about women. Senator McCain, who didn't even come to vote, said that instead of legislation allowing women to demand equal pay, they simply need "education and training."

Lilly Ledbetter, whose Supreme Court case led to the creation of the Fair Pay Act, didn't need "training". She needed Fair Pay. Women today make up 56% of college graduates and nearly half of the labor force in this country. Yet women make only 73 cents to a man's dollar, and
mothers only make 60 cents, for the exact same job.

Sign the petition in support of the Fair Pay Act.And for good measure, send Senator McCain your resume. Our goal is to send him 100,000.

(you can also sign THIS PETITION on the same topic by the Committee for a Democratic Majority if you're feeling especially energetic!)

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Peace and Impeachment: DVDs coming

The Ojai Peace Coalition partnered with Citizens for Impeachment, Integrity Now, VC Stop the War, and others to present

ARE PEACE AND IMPEACHMENT POSSIBLE?
Strategies for Saving our Constitution, Economy, and Environment

featuring Phil Cohen of IVAW and David Swanson of afterdowningstreet.org a couple weeks ago, and it was a dramatic success by all reports! My role was to attend the Ojai City Council meeting held the same evening to inform them of the gathering and that they'd be receiving dvd's of it soon. As soon as said recordings are available, i'll let you know.
email me if you'd like a copy!

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"No Match" Letters Hurt All Workers

from Change to Win:

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) wants to start using the Social Security database as a tool for identifying illegal immigrants.

The problem is that the rule will hurt workers and employers who play by the rules -- the Social Security database is full of errors, and more than 70% of them are in records belonging to legal, native-born American workers!

Tell DHS that the Social Security database is not an appropriate tool for enforcing the immigration laws.

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Want Better Healthcare? Tell Your Story.

from MomsRising.org:
Share your story or commentsabout how important it is to provide healthcare coverage for all kids in California. We will share your comments and pictures to California lawmakers to show them that real families are impacted and care about this issue.