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    Good afternoon, everybody!

    Never thought I would see the following in my country:

    A fight between John Bolton and somebody and I think Bolton is the less crazy of the two!

    The White House ordering weather scientists to support a mistake made by the President!

    An invitation to Camp David for the Taliban, a group that wants to prevent women from getting an education!

    A refusal to allow protected status for Bahamians whose homes and livelihoods were wiped out by Hurricane Dorian!

    DON’T YOU WISH THAT THE ELECTION WAS TOMORROW?

    On an unrelated note, the Florida Supreme Court last week agreed to Governor DeSantis’ request for an advisory opinion on exactly what the words in Amendment 4 (“completion of all terms of sentence”) means.  See: https://www.chronicleonline.com/news/state/supreme-court-agrees-to-issue-advisory-opinion-in-felon-voting/article_453fcfa4-d01e-11e9-8213-8b7ceb5d16aa.html   Let’s hope they come up with a good advisory opinion!

    Good morning, everybody!

    Forgive the short notice, but our very own Congresswoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz is speaking tonight at the Davie Democratic Club Meeting, at 7 PM at the Pine Island Park Multipurpose Center, 3801 South Pine Island Road in Davie.

    And, for those of you who would like to stand with the Bahamas and donate something for their recovery from the devastation, here are two suggestions:

    The Broward Democratic Party recommends the Bahamas official website:   https://www.bahamas.com/relief

     And Trevor Noah recommends All Hands & Hearts – Smart Response:    https://give.allhandsandhearts.org/give/42579/#!/donation/checkout

    John Ziegler and his team of volunteers will be back at the West Regional Library on Saturday, September 7th, from 10 AM until 6 PM.  If you would like to help with voter registration on Saturday during one of those 2-hour shifts, please contact John at 954-232-3918 or johnjoeziegler@aol.com.

     I will be back at the West Regional Courthouse on Monday and Wednesday, September 9th and 11th from 10 AM until 2 PM.  We will be registering voters, allowing voters to sign up to vote by mail, and collecting petitions. As always, we will have our canopy to protect us from the sun and/or rain. I do need help at 10 and at 2 to set up and then take down the canopy. We will also have our table and chairs (and a little fan!) to make our outdoor office as comfortable as possible.  Please let me know when you can join me, and be sure to bring a cap and a bottle of water.  I will have all the forms we will need.

    Hope to see you tonight!

    Alan

    Good evening, friends!

    Ever the optimist, I was hoping to still go out on Wednesday and register more voters.  But this storm is so slow moving and uncertain, and I don’t know if the Courthouse will be open, that I am calling off voter registration for Wednesday.  (I cannot imagine the devastation that this must be causing in the Bahamas!)

     So, I will be back at the West Regional Courthouse on Monday and Wednesday, September 9th and 11th from 10 AM until 2 PM.  We will be registering voters, allowing voters to sign up to vote by mail, and collecting petitions. As always, we will have our canopy to protect us from the sun and/or rain. I do need help at 10 and at 2 to set up and then take down the canopy. We will also have our table and chairs (and a little fan!) to make our outdoor office as comfortable as possible.  Please let me know when you can join me, and be sure to bring a cap and a bottle of water.  I will have all the forms we will need.

    And don’t forget to join us at the next meeting of the Plantation Democratic Club at 7 PM on Tuesday, September 10th at the Deicke Auditorium, 5701 Cypress Road, in Plantation.

    On Saturday, September 28th, from 10 AM until 2 PM, the Blue Wave Coalition will be presenting a training event at the Miami Springs Country Club, 650 Curtiss Parkway, in Miami Springs.   Activists will learn how to build a coalition to help elect progressives in 2020.  Tickets are $25 and include all conference materials, coffee service, and lunch.  For more information:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/south-fl-voter-educator-workshop-on-the-blue-wave-coalition-method-round-2-tickets-68459152167

    Stay safe out there! 

    Alan

    Hi, everybody!

    A federal judge issued a ruling today blocking a Missouri law banning abortions after only 8 weeks.  This case is another victory for the American Civil Liberties Union which filed the lawsuit along with Planned Parenthood.  It is amazing that we are still fighting battles over the 1973 landmark decision in Roe vs Wade, and once again we see a case that makes it perfectly clear how important it is to elect a Democratic President and to retake control of the Senate.  So please consider joining the ACLU and contributing to Planned Parenthood if you have not yet done so.

    We had a good day at the Courthouse yesterday, registering 5 Democrats (including one with a prior felony conviction) and 2 with no party affiliations.  It was reassuring to me that we didn’t register a single Republican!  We also collected 4 requests to vote-by-mail and 43 medicaid expansion petitions.  Many thanks to Gary Friedman, Flora Costanzo, Laurie Stark, Beth Feldman, Norman Levy, Carol Park, and Siobhan McLaughlin for risking the sun and rain to join me out there!

    I will be back at the West Regional Courthouse tomorrow, August 28th from 10 AM until 2 PM, to register voters and collect more petitions.  I do need help at 10 and at 2 to set up and then take down the canopy.  Please let me know if you can join me, and be sure to bring a cap and a bottle of water.

    Here are some of the other ways you can help out:

    John Ziegler and his team of volunteers will be back at the West Regional Library on Saturday, August 31st, from 10 AM until 6 PM.  If you would like to help do voter registration on Saturday during one of the 2-hour shifts, please contact John at 954-232-3918 or johnjoeziegler@aol.com.

    Monday, September 2nd is Labor Day, so we won’t be at the Courthouse.  Instead, join us at the North Broward Democratic Club’s annual Labor Day Picnic and Celebration at 12 Noon, rain or shine, at the South Pavilion of Pompano Beach Community Park, 1660 NE 10 Street in Pompano Beach.  This is always a great event with lots of elected officials and lots of fellow Democrats!  Please bring a dish to share.  Hope to see you there!

     I will be back at the West Regional Courthouse on Wednesday, September 4th from 10 AM until 2 PM.  We will be registering voters, allowing voters to sign up to vote by mail, and collecting petitions. As always, we will have our canopy to protect us from the sun and/or rain. I do need help at 10 and at 2 to set up and then take down the canopy. We will also have our table and chairs (and a little fan!) to make our outdoor office as comfortable as possible.  Please let me know when you can join me, and be sure to bring a cap and a bottle of water.  I will have all the forms we will need.

    On Saturday, September 28th, from 10 AM until 2 PM, the Blue Wave Coalition will be presenting a training event at the Miami Springs Country Club, 650 Curtiss Parkway, in Miami Springs.   Activists will learn how to build a coalition to help elect progressives in 2020.  Tickets are $25 and include all conference materials, coffee service, and lunch.  For more information:  https://www.eventbrite.com/e/south-fl-voter-educator-workshop-on-the-blue-wave-coalition-method-round-2-tickets-68459152167

    Come out and help turn Florida blue! 

    Alan

    Good evening, everybody!

    So, what can I say?    I have criticized the policies of the Israeli Government when I think they deserve to be criticized.  And I have voted for Democratic candidates since forever.  I guess I’m just a disloyal Jew.

    With each passing day (and with every new embarrassing statement by our President), it becomes even more important that he should be massively defeated in the election a little over a year from now.  But it is equally important, in my opinion, for the Democratic Party to take over in the Senate.  Even with a Democratic President, a Senate that is still controlled by Republicans will be able prevent the kind of change in every area from climate change to immigration to gun control to healthcare that we need so desperately in this country.  I am therefore asking whoever can afford it to join me in making contributions to the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee (DSCC) at www.dscc.org, and to the following Democratic senatorial candidates:  Mark Kelly in Arizona https://markkelly.com; Sara Gideon in Maine https://speakergideon.com; and Jeanne Shaheen in New Hampshire https://jeanneshaheen.org.

    The last few days at the West Regional Courthouse were very productive.  With the help of Michael Goldfarb, Laurie Stark, Penny Cukier, Flora Costanzo, Jocelyn Wills, Lauren Tate, Al Rodriguez, and new volunteers Gary Friedman and Reginald Martin, we registered 8 voters (6 Dems, 1 Rep, and 1 NPA), and collected 4 requests to vote by mail and 122 medicaid expansion petitions!

    How about joining us in this effort?

    John Ziegler and his team of volunteers will be back at the West Regional Library on Saturday, August 24th, from 10 AM until 6 PM.  If you would like to help do voter registration on Saturday during one of those 2-hour shifts, please contact John at 954-232-3918 or johnjoeziegler@aol.com.

     I will be back at the West Regional Courthouse on Monday and Wednesday, August 26th and 28th from 10 AM until 2 PM.  We will be registering voters, allowing voters to sign up to vote by mail, and collecting petitions. As always, we will have our canopy to protect us from the sun and/or rain. I do need help at 10 and at 2 to set up and then take down the canopy. We will also have our table and chairs (and a little fan!) to make our outdoor office as comfortable as possible.  Please let me know when you can join me, and be sure to bring a cap and a bottle of water.  I will have all the forms we will need.

    It’s time for you to get involved!

    Alan

    Good afternoon, Democrats!

    Are you available to help with voter registration and petition collection at the West Regional Courthouse on Wednesday from 10 AM until 12 Noon?

    Please let me know if you can join me.

    Alan

 

    Hi, Democrats!  (As always, please let me know if you wish to be removed from this list.)

    Well, I have recovered from the disappointment of registering so many Republicans on Monday.  Yesterday was better.  With the help of Michael Goldfarb, Penny Cukier, Laurie Stark, Robin Adell, and Lauren Tate, we were able to collect 6 voter registration forms, 4 requests to vote-by-mail, and 72 medicaid expansion petitions.  And besides, as many people have told me, just because someone registers as a Republican doesn’t mean that they are going to vote Republican!

    The Florida Rights Restoration Coalition (FRRC) had a meeting last night to discuss the latest actions being taken to combat the financial, legal, and bureaucratic hurdles put in place by the law signed by DeSantis after passage of Amendment 4.  It was obvious that former felons are more determined than ever to get back their right to vote (and thereby have a say in many matters that will affect them.)  One of the ways that FRRC is trying to help is by assisting returning citizens in paying any fines or fees they owe, so that they can complete their sentence and register to vote.  They are collecting contributions.  If you would like to help, just click on the following link:  https://floridarrc.com/  Other actions that are being taken to make sure that former felons get back the right to vote without undue delay include a plan in Miami-Dade to establish a fast track allowing judges to set aside financial penalties that would otherwise keep returning citizens from registering to vote, and a new initiative by People Over Profits (the organization led by Sean Shaw, the 2018 Democratic candidate for attorney general) to assist people in navigating the process with information and free legal assistance at ThePeopleOverProfits.org or 727-900-6678.

    We will be at the West Regional Courthouse on Monday and Wednesday, August 19th and 21st, from 10 AM until 2 PM.   We will be registering voters, allowing voters to sign up to vote by mail, and collecting petitions.  As always, we will have our canopy to protect us from the sun and/or rain. I do need help at 10 and at 2 to set up and then take down the canopy.  We will also have our table and chairs (and a little fan!) to make our outdoor office as comfortable as possible.  You can come from 10 to 12 or from 12 to 2.  Please let me know when you can join me, and be sure to bring a cap and a bottle of water.  I will have all the forms we will need.

    If you have not yet volunteered, especially all Plantation residents who have completed voter registration training, it’s time for you to get involved!  Hope to see you out there.

    Alan