What can you do tonight that combines the following awesome things?

• Summer camp
• Empowering girls
• Rock and roll
• Public defenders
• Drinking

Come to the benefit for Camp Sojourner, a camp that's committed to helping Philadelphia girls 'to be strong, confident leaders who reach for their own dreams and are committed to making a positive impact on the world around them'!

THURSDAY JULY 17 from 6 - 8 pm at the IRISH PUB (1123 Walnut Street). There will be food and drink specials and LIVE MUSIC. Famous public defenders Shawn Nolan, Vic Abreu, and Dave Zuckerman have agreed to play for us that evening. It's guaranteed to be a good time! $15 suggested donation again goes entirely towards camp needs.

And you can help even if you don't come tonight.

Camp is just three weeks away!!! Each $245 raised will allow us to send another girl to camp. Donating is easy:

On-line: www.girlsleadershipcamp.org Click DONATE to be directed to PayPal

Write checks to: "Girls' Leadership Camp/RHD" and send them to: Camp Sojourner, Girls' Leadership Camp / 801 S. 48th St. Philadelphia, PA 19143

Donate camp supplies: art materials; outdoor gear (sun block, bug lotion, rain gear, flashlights, batteries, tents); gently used clothing (for the camper who forgot her jacket, or her bathing suit, or her socks, etc.). E-mail me to arrange donation drop-off.

Loan camp supplies: camping gear (tents, sleeping pads, etc); instruments (drums, other percussion instruments, keyboard, etc.) We will be liable if there is any damage to your tent or instrument.

Contribute your time: If you want to help out in the final month, please let us know. It's all hands on deck at the camp office!

Such an awesome, awesome project.

If you like, you can head over and read RussDiamond's ranting about PACleanSweep and their plan to defeat all the judges up for retention. But this isn't about that.

I have to confess that I typically vote against retention unless I have a specific reason to vote for a judge, because I think retention elections are dumb. I haven't decided what I'll do this time; I don't really align myself with PACleanSweep.

However, PACleanSweep or no, you must vote no on retaining Teresa Carr Deni. She just made a catastrophic ruling so activist and with such blatant disregard for the law and the roles of the legislature and jury that she is clearly not competent to sit on the bench.

She decided that a prostitute, who had agreed to have sex with two men for a certain amount of money, and who was then gang raped at gunpoint by five men and given no money, was not a victim of rape but merely a victim of "theft of services".

The law is quite clear: rape is having sex with a victim by forcible compulsion. And once there's a gun in her face and she's saying no, that is forcible compulsion. Doesn't matter how she makes her living, doesn't matter what was said before. These jerks were forcibly compelling this woman to have sex, and in taking the decision away from the jury, this judge ignored the law.

You can read about this appalling disgrace at Feministe or Philly.com

PACleanSweep believes that all the judges have violated the Constitution and thus proven themselves unfit to sit on the bench. That may be, but it is certainly a more esoteric argument than this one, where the law, the allegations and the subsequent gross dereliction of duty are absolutely clear.

VOTE NO ON RETAINING JUDGE TERESA CARR DENI.