This is going to be an action packed weekend in DC and around the nation. On Friday, there will be protests of Yoo. On Saturday, there will be a massive antiwar demonstration (there will also be demonstrations in Philly, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, and South Dakota, among other places). On Sunday, there will be a large march for immigration reform. And there will be other related events around the country, along with the small protests and events that happen all the time.

(Let me know if I miss anything)

Friday

With an overwhelmingly successful ballot petition initiative behind us, and an impassioned ground game under way, my campaign to become the next State Representative in the 181st has moved to establish our web presence. At www.lewisforstaterep.com, you can learn about my personal history, read about my vision for North Philadelphia, sign up to volunteer and contribute electronically. I sincerely hope you take a few minutes to visit the website, and join us in our fight for progress in North Philadelphia.

Onward and Upward!

Lewis Thomas III
Democratic Candidate for State Representative in the 181st District
www.lewisforstaterep.com
info@lewisforstaterep.com

Mayor Nutter's "Keep Philly Clean" program is a noble attempt to plug Philadelphia's gaping budget deficit, but it doesn't fit the bill of a City striving to become the "Greenest City in America" - a title Philadelphia's Sustainability Office is eager to earn. As Nutter outlined in a public address yesterday, Philadelphia seeks to fix the deficit problem by charging residents a weekly $5.77 trash fee and offering discounts at area stores to residents who recycle.

Please join me this Saturday along with special guests State Senator Shirley Kitchen, State Representative Frank Oliver, Bruce Crawley, Lana Felton Ghee, 37th Ward Chair Diane Bridges, 14th Ward Chair Virginia Wilks, 20th Ward Chair Renee McNair, Dr. Anthony Monteiro and many others THIS SATURDAY AT 1:00 PM at 2221 NORTH BROAD STREET as we ignite this movement for change and transformation for North Philly.

We have a great event event lined up featuring The Latin Dance Team of North Philly, North Philly Stompers and a spectacular African Drum Core. There will be great food and the great people of my district; not to mention you will get an opportunity to hear firsthand my vision for North Philadelphia moving forward.

ONWARD & UPWARD!

Lewis Thomas III
Democratic Candidate for State Representative in the 181st\
votelewis181@gmail.com

MMP's 2009 video montage documents some of the amazing work of people building movements and taking control over the conditions of their lives across Philadelphia in 2009: From the struggle over the closure of Northeastern hospital and the campaign of Philadelphia's Taxi Workers for workers compensation to Philadelphia students fighting for better teacher quality, transit workers fighting for a just contract and the No Casino in the Heart of the City coalition's continued fight against predatory gambling.

The Children Under the Stairs—
Going Beyond the Foster Care System:

After watching the movie The Blind Side, a movie based on a prolific true story about a African American young man whose mother was a drug user and he lived in the projects. A Caucasian family took interest in him becoming his legal guardians and groomed him to be one of the best players in the NFL.

After seeing the movie about Michael, I was bought to think about how many other Michaels there are in the world that comes from broken and/or dysfunctional homes. It was personal for me, as my little brother, who many would consider a very blessed young man, straight A’s, football and basketball. Even made it to “Whose Who”…My little brother is an example not an exemption. Although both my brothers and I were raised in a single parented home. I think about those who are like my brothers best friend Gerry, who does not have either parent…no mother nor a father.

From Clean Water Action

As if I wasn't already excited enough about this Friday's 13th Annual Clean Water Action Party on Boathouse Row, we have something new on offer this year. Environmentally inspired artwork. I have to confess, I'm blown away by what's been offered.

I met Dave Holley at InLiquid's Art for the Cash Poor this summer and started talking to him about the work of Clean Water. He got really excited, so when I told him that I was looking to spotlight an artist's work as it relates to water, he said he was in.

I had no idea what impressive work I was in for.

Dave got to work and became inspired by Hiroshige's famous "The Great Wave Off Kanagawa." Using a method that very much squares with the type of issues Clean Water espouses, he found a used sail to work on and began applying recycled magazine and other images to it, using the colors in what he found and painting over the top. Creating this amazing painting/sculpture that will debut this Friday at the Annual Auction. So you should come. You should see the whole piece. The image above is just a detail. You know you want to see it all at once. So RSVP now.

More details about the event in the jump!

The Disease that infects us all...

Racism, no other disease infects the world more. Not Swine flu, Ebola, Cancer nor HIV/AIDS have infected the world more than the ignorance of racism. Racism since the days of slavery and the 50's, 60's and 70's in its blatancy days is now a silent, subtle and passive/aggressive socially constructed tool used to manipulate, control, exploit and degrade people solely based on the color of someone's skin.

Racism is man's gravest threat to man - the maximum of hatred for a minimum of reason." Abraham J. Heschel

What Stinks About Philadelphia...? Is it the Economy or Attitudes?

Smiling is infectious. You can catch it like the flu.
When someone smiled at me today...I started smiling too!

I always loved that poem. Makes you wanna smile, and it is so true. Yet I find, in Philadelphia, this does not seem to hold the same truth. The streets are talking and Philadelphia is not the city that loves you back...

The City of Brotherly love has been named one of the most bloodiest cities, with murder rates and job-loss on the rise, no wonder everyone is on edge. I wonder, is or will Philadelphia ever be a great American city? Are our attitudes towards one another keeping us stagnant, and segregated? Or is it the challenges of the preceding economical conditions and we are stuck in a perpetual cycle?

LVT and AXI in Philadelphia: Saturday Discussion
Tax policy by the numbers and with a philosophy.

The 2009 budget crisis in Philadelphia came down to the wire. How could it have been avoided? By implementing a progressive form of land value taxation, a self-generated fiscal solution can be in the cards, without overly-burdening working and poor residents. Urbantools staff will demonstrate how with blazing graphics and a gripping narrative! Find out why Councilwoman Quinones-Sanchez, amongst others, has asked for full study of land based taxation.

All are welcome. When someone tells you that the money's not there for essential city services, you can have an answer at hand. Come on down, tell us what you think and give us a chance to make our case.

When: Sep 26, 2009 from 10:00 am to 11:30 am
Where Henry George School, 413 South 10th Street, Philadelphia, PA 19147
Contact Name: Barbara Maloney (RSVP if you can)
Contact Phone: 215-923-7800
Attendees: The Public

The Coalition to Save the Libraries cover up InPDUM's banner

As everyone knows, Dominic Pileggi has decided to hold up a one-cent sales tax hike in Philadelphia because he's in a pissing match with Governor Ed Rendell. Pileggi says Philly wants a bailout, which is pretty funny coming from a guy who's getting $45 million from the state for a soccer stadium in Chester, one of the most depressed cities in the entire country.

Please visit the Philly Weekly, where Sean Dorn and I catalog the carnage: http://www.philadelphiaweekly.com/news-and-opinion/brendan-calling/Domin...

So much for the "law and order" party:

Drug Education & Law Enforcement -100%

Violence Prevention - 100%

Police on Patrol - 100%

Safe Neighborhoods - 100%

Got cancer? Epilepsy? A sick child? Dominic says "Go to hell!" Oh, and "GOOOOOOOALLLLLLLL!"

Regional Cancer Centers - 100%

Tourette Syndrome - 100%

Hemophilia - 100%

Epilepsy - 100%

Bravo to Sean Dorn for his open letter to Dominic Pileggi:
http://www.youngphillypolitics.com/open_letter_state_sen_dominic_pileggi

and his related petition, calling for the Guv and the DRPA to cut off funding for his stadium until the he disconnects Philly's budget the state budget process:
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/stall_the_stadium/index.html

I encourage you to sign.

if you are a facebook user, I encourage you to btemporarily ecome a fan of mr. pileggi, who has a presence there:
http://www.facebook.com/s.php?q=dominic+pileggi&init=quick#/pages/Domini...
(if the link doesn't work, just search for his name, it'll come up quickly enough).

fans of mr. pileggi can post comments on his facebook wall, which anyone visiting his page will see.

I think you can see where i'm going with this.

hey senator pileggi: why not stop holding up Philadelphia's sales-tax.

An article in yesterday's Scranton Times Tribune gives us the perspectives of Mr. Frank Scarvo, a manager for Keystone Automotive.

In Mr. Scarvo's opinion, the binding arbitration provision of the Employee Free Choice Act would harm employees. He also says that the current workplace regulatory agencies are sufficient. It is easy enough to discover with some research or, as many workers have found out through first hand experience, that this is untrue.

Mr. Scavo should know that there are many dirty tricks that employers use when they don't want to deal with the union that their employees worked hard to form and win. Most commonly, they draw out the collective bargaining process with excessive appeals. This unfair practice of forestalling process is hardly uncommon.

Workers Wonder If Rub Will Heal Division

Philadelphia, PA – The Philadelphia Museum of Art is apparently not immune from the recession. Like other leading institutions of the arts, the museum has seen some of its income fall sharply. In February, management announced that in order to close an expected $1.7 million budget deficit the museum would need to lay off 15 staff, raise ticket prices by $2 to $6 each, and reduce “Free Sundays” to only once a month. The cruelest cut was announced months later, in June, when museum guards earning between $16,000 and $20,000 a year learned they would not receive their promised $0.25 an hour raise.

“I couldn’t believe it – they were taking our raise,” said a security guard with contractor Allied Barton. “Our raise is a drop in the bucket to the museum.”