Bob Kaufman of Baltimore Maryland picks up an endorsement for Maryland US Senate

Subject: FW: Bob Kaufman picks up an endorsement
Date: Wed, 01 Mar 2006 14:50:35 -0500

>To members of the press:
>
>Below is an endorsement of Bob Kaufman for U.S. Senate from Chris Bush,
>member of "Democracy for Baltimore." I have sent along only the last two of
>a seven page report he wrote on the answers that he received from the Senate
>candidates from Maryland on the following question:
>
>If elected, will you oppose Harry Reid as Leader because he failed to apply
>opposition discipline to the filibuster of Samuel Alito, such failure
>causing the filibuster to collapse and allowing Alito to be confirmed to the
>Supreme Court?
>
>I will be glad to send along his full report upon request.
>
>Sincerely,
>
>Michael Melick
>Campaign Manager for A. Robert Kaufman for U.S. Senate
>(410) 523-9291
>
>-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
>------------------------------------------------------------
>Who's the Hero Here? Bob Kaufman
>
>Bob Kaufman is the only candidate- of those who responded and those who
>didn't- who unqualifiedly would oppose Harry Reid. Kaufman understands
>clearly the power calculus in the Senate. If the opposition won't stay
>united, it has no power.
>
>Is it a Waste of Your Vote to Vote for Bob Kaufman, or a Waste of Your Vote
>to Vote for Anyone Else?
>
>Bob Kaufman is a well known name in Maryland politics, and many folks might,
>at first, want to dismiss him as a "perennial candidate" or a "gadfly" or an
>"also ran". I'm sure many of you have heard the refrain: "You'd be wasting
>your vote by voting for Bob Kaufman".
>
>But, is this accurate? Kaufman would vote to get rid of Reid. He would
>support a Leader who maintains discipline of the opposition (he made it
>clear that he would oppose any other Democratic Senator who follows in
>Reid's jello-spined footsteps as well; he sharply criticized other
>corporate/ militarist Senators in the party, the kinds of Senators who would
>all too readily cave in to Bush and surrender the opposition).
>
>Moreover, this isn't as hard as it seems- if Senators are ready to take Reid
>on. To replace the Leader, all you need is a majority of the Caucus. In a
>caucus of 45 Senators, this means you'd only need 23 votes. This is
>possible.
>
>And, maybe someone like Barbara Boxer could be supported to take Reid's
>place. It could happen, and it would make a world of difference whether
>there is a tough leader in place, or a weak one.
>
>Besides Kaufman, none of the other candidates is ready to do this. Cardin
>gives an answer not on point. Mfume didn't answer at all. Same for Rales and
>Rasmussen.
>
>Zeese says the Dems need to replace Reid, but indicates that he isn't
>comfortable with being part of the solution to making this happen. Lichtman
>is upset with Reid, but not ready to throw him overboard- at least not yet.
>Van Susteren won't single out Reid or hold him accountable.
>
>Picture this: as of right now, any of these other candidates wins the
>election, and Harry Reid stays on as Leader.
>
>Then, Bush decides to attack Iran. Or Venezuela. Or Cuba. Or all the above.
>Some Senators try to filibuster, but Reid can't hold the opposition together
>on cloture, and Bush prevails. Again.
>
>Or, John Paul Stevens-one of the more liberal Supreme Court Justices-
>resigns from the Supreme Court. Bush appoints J. Harvie Wilkerson III from
>the 4th Circuit Court of Appeals- a real right-winger- to replace him. Some
>Senators try to filibuster this appointment, but, again, Harry Reid fails to
>hold the opposition together. Wilkerson gets confirmed, pulling the already
>right-wing Court way over further to the right.
>
>Or, Bush decides to make the tax cuts permanent- completely eliminating the
>estate tax. Several Senators take to the well of the Senate to filibuster
>this, but Harry Reid can't hold the opposition together, and Bush wins.
>Again.
>
>You get the idea.
>
>Even if the Democrats retook the Senate this fall, it's not clear that they
>could block Bush even then.
>
>So, do you want one of the other candidates to win? They'll leave Harry Reid
>in place. Or, do you vote for Bob Kaufman, who will try to replace him.
>
>You tell me under which of these scenarios you're really wasting your vote.
>
>Conclusion- Reality Check Time
>
>While I have heretofore respected Bob Kaufman's candidacy and positions, I
>hadn't considered him to be a significant candidate in this race. That's
>about to change.
>
>Yes, there's still time for the other Senate candidates to evolve their
>positions on this. But, for today, Bob Kaufman is showing us the way. He
>plainly, and clearly, outlines what we have to do. (And yes, Bob can give an
>extended analysis of events, a rhetorical exercise in presenting issues of
>the day. He is as accomplished a phrasemaker as anyone. But he also knows
>when to cut to the chase, to give the direct answer which people need to
>hear).
>
>So, I have a question for everyone out there- including the other candidates
>(who are getting a copy of this report):
>
>Do we want someone as a Senator who may give great speeches, who will dish
>out layers and layers of purple prose, who will wax grand-eloquent on the
>issues of the day?
>
>Or, do we want to stop Bush?
>
>Chris

Video documentary television crews needed to assist for two days October 8 and 9, 2005

Video documentary television crews needed to assist for two days, October 8 and 9, 2005. Videographers, production assistants, interviewers, etc. Never before has so many area music artists to be peforming at one event! Capture the moments on your video camera, to be combined with other videotapes, to be made into a long playing vhs tapes and dvds. It can be aired on Public Access Television stations throughout the Region and Country. Also other national television stations can elect to showcase the performances as well. Your assistance is requested. When can you help? Which days and times. Please reply with time you can offer. Email back to baltimoreupdate@yahoo.com, E.M. Balbierz, Baltimore Update Multi Media Information Edutainments Services. www.baltimoreupdate.info . If you do not have own equipments, limited additional equipment is available.
What times can you participate: Return times on an email to baltimoreupdate@yahoo.com

Saturday, October 8, 2005: 10am to 12:30pm; 12 pm to 2:30 pm; 2 pm to 4:30 pm; 4 pm to 6:30 pm; 6 pm to 8:30 pm; 9pm (A half or full day would be great)
Sunday, October 9, 2005: 10am to 12:30pm; 12 pm to 2:30 pm; 2 pm to 4:30 pm; 4 pm to 6:30 pm (A half or full day would be great)

First Annual Baltimore Music Conference (BMC)
Two days featuring the hottest and best talent in Baltimore and from around the world.
Mission:
To highlight and promote the talent of musicians and DJ's. To provide education for those looking to fine tune their skills, those looking to obtain the knowledge to promote themselves and prosper as a musician or DJ, and those looking to become affliated with record companies. To educate the general public to the presence of this talent. To educate the population outside of Baltimore to the true charm of Charm City.


October 8 - 9, 2005 - Ostend/Russel Park Arena
Sat 10am - 9pm | Sun 10am - 6pm
Open to all ages no charge for admission.
Fee for seminars, workshops, classes.


For BMC info & support please email: BmoreMusic@yahoo.com

www.baltimoremusicconference.com

Baltimore Update Multi Media Schedule

Baltimore Update Multi Media
Scheduled Events to attend

We will be happy to have you assist us in this and other cultural events that can be aired on Baltimore Public Access Television Comcast Channel 5. If you have an event to cover, contact at info@baltimoreupdate.info.


June 05
6/1 7 pm Whole Foods Cooking Class
6/2 5-9 First Thursdays Mt. Vernon area cultural events
6/2 5-7:30 pm AIA Gallery 11 ?W. Chase St.
6/2 6-8 pm Youth Hostel Open House, John Russel 202-783-4943
6/2 6-9 pm MFA Opening
6/3 First Fridays in Cant0n - Can Company area
6/3 6-8 pm Gallery 1448 Open Reception Nature Mirror
6/4 4-6:30 MICA Art at Fox and Mt. Royal Station Bldgs.
6/4 5 pm Gallery G
6/6 7:30 Camm Salon at Creative Alliance
6/6 5 pm CCPAP Board Mtg.
6/8 7 pm Whole Foods Cooking Class with Nancy Vegetarian
6/9 5:00-7:30 MTA Red Line Talk at Holy Rosary 408 S. Chester St.
6/11 Juneteenth Fund Raiser
6/11 12 noon BIC Open House, Commerce/Baltimore/Water Sts.
6/13 12-8 MTA Red Line Talk at War Memoria Wolman Hall lower 101 N. Gay St.
6/15 1 pm Cable Commission Meeting at City Benson Bldg. 8th Flr.?
6/15 7 pm Whole Foods Cooking Class
6/18 Juneteenth Fund Raiser
6/22 7 pm Whole Foods Cooking Class



Second Mondays CQP mtg.
Tuesdays BGM mtgs.
Sundays Baltimore Farmers Market



July 05
7/1 6-8 pm Gallery 1448 Reception Canvas
7/29 6-8 pm Gallery 1448 Reception Mike Mark
Artscape Festival
Second Mondays CQP mtg.
Tuesdays BGM mtgs.
Sundays Baltimore Farmers Market


August 05
8/19 6-8 pm Gallery 1448 Closing Make Mark

September 05>September 24 - 25, 2005 - Patterson Park
Sat 10am - 9pm | Sun 10am - 6pm First Annual Baltimore Music Conference (BMC)
Two days of music featuring Baltimore's hottest talent.
Our Mission: To highlight and promote the talent of Baltimore musicians and DJ's. To provide education for those looking to fine tune their skills, those looking to obtain the knowledge to promote themselves and prosper as a musician or DJ, and those looking to become affliated with record companies. To educate the general public to the presence of this talent. To educate the population outside of Baltimore to the true charm of Charm City.

Baltimore Update Multi Media, Scheduled Events to attend and have video media coverage

We will be happy to have you assist us in this and other cultural events that can be aired on Baltimore Public Access Television Comcast Channel 5. If you have an event to cover, contact at info@baltimoreupdate.info.

Baltimore Update Multi Media
Scheduled Events to attend and have video media coverage

We will be happy to have you assist us in this and other cultural events that can be aired on Baltimore Public Access Television Comcast Channel 5. If you have an event to cover, contact at info@baltimoreupdate.info.


May 055/4 7 pm Whole Foods Cooking Vid
5/5 5-8 First Thursdays Art/Culture
5/5 5-7:30 pm BAF @ AIA 11 1/2 W. Chase St.
5/5 pm Maryland Film Festival begins
5/6 6-8 pm Gallery 1448 Open Reception Vessels
5/6 6-8 pm MICA Brown Ctr. 3rd Flr.
5/6-5/10 Maryland Film Festival
5/9 Shakespeare in the Park Ravens Urban and Buddies Canton
5/7 2 & 8 pm Dance Baltimore at Hippodrome
5/7 Maryland Film Festival
5/8-9 National Main Street Conference
5/9 6 pm Chesapeake Shakespeare Event
5/9 7 pm BCEWT 300 E. 29th St.
5/11 1 pm MCAC Mtg at Benson Bldg. 3rd Fl.
5/11 7 pm Whole Foods Cooking Class
5/11 9 pm Telesma at Sonar 407 E. Saratoga
5/11 6:30 pm PJC - Renaissance Hotel George Soros OSI
5/12 7:30 pm Paper Rock Scissors Art Open
5/14 All Day HFS Festival, Preakness Parade?
5/14 Sports Legends Opening at Camden Yards
5/17 10:30 am Mayor抯 Office of Neighborhoods 100 N. Holliday
5/16-18 Streaming Media Exhibit at NYC
5/18 7 pm Whole Foods Cooking Class
5/19 7 pm Patriot Act Lecture @ Contemporary Museum
5/20 6/8 pm Harbor Point Cirque du Soleil
5/21 pm Preakness Race
5/23 6 pm CCPAP Members General Mtg.
5/25 7 pm Whole Foods Cooking Class


Tuesdays 7 pm BGM mtgs.
Sundays Baltimore Farmers Market
June 056/1 7 pm Whole Foods Cooking Class
6/2 5-8 First Thursdays Mt. Vernon
6/2 5-7:30 pm AIA Gallery 11 ?W. Chase St.
6/2 5 pm Youth Hostel Open House, John Russel 202-783-4943
6/3 6-8 pm Gallery 1448 Open Reception Nature Mirror
6/6 7:30 Camm Salon
6/6 5 pm CCPAP Board Mtg.
6/8 7 pm Whole Foods Cooking Class
6/11 Juneteenth Fund Raiser
6/15 1 pm MCAC Mtg. @ Benton Bldg.
6/15 7 pm Whole Foods Cooking Class
6/18 Juneteenth Fund Raiser
6/22 7 pm Whole Foods Cooking Class



Second Mondays CQP mtg.
Tuesdays BGM mtgs.
Sundays Baltimore Farmers Market



July 057/1 6-8 pm Gallery 1448 Reception Canvas
7/29 6-8 pm Gallery 1448 Reception Mike Mark
Second Mondays CQP mtg.
Tuesdays BGM mtgs.
Sundays Baltimore Farmers Market


August 058/19 6-8 pm Gallery 1448 Closing Make Mark

An Open Letter to the Pledge of Resistance in reply to Max Obuszewski’s objection to Ron Solomon and Michael Melick using "his" email list.

A. Robert Kaufman, Organizer, City Wide Coalition
2001 N. Hilton Street
Baltimore, MD 21206
410-728-8611
January 23, 2005

An Open Letter to the Pledge of Resistance in reply to Max Obuszewski’s
objection to Ron Solomon and Michael Melick using "his" email list.
By what democratic logic shall Max object to the City Wide Coalition
e-mailing to the same people he has freely e-mailed to for years? Is there
something about CWC’s politics Max wants to protect his contacts from
knowing? Doesn’t he trust the good folks on “his” e-mail list to read what
we have to say? Or, perhaps he doesn’t want them to know what he has said
and done out of their eyesight or hearing!
Max, this may come as a huge surprise to you, but no one has to ask your
permission to use “your” e-mail list. What hubris to consider it “your”
e-mail list! Every e-mail address the Baltimore Anti-War Coalition War
gathered, we entrusted to the AFSC computer to collate and share. This is
entirely a collective e-mail list which the anti-war community has built up
through the years.
None of us ever imagined that the AFSC would selectively deny any anti-war
group the free and equal use of that list on purely sectarian grounds! You
and the AFSC have arbitrarily and arrogantly assigned yourselves the right
to privatize our collective e-mail list so that you alone can prevent
perspectives you disagree with from reaching your political harem.
We do not pretend that you purposely e-mailed to us that complete e-mail
list last December. We prefer to attribute it to divine providence.
Perhaps some god who sees all and knows all simply looked into your heart
and got good and pissed off at you.
As you well know, any recipient, who does not wish to continue receiving our
e-mails has only to request to be taken off our list. You got no say at
all!
You claim to have received “some complaints.” As of this date, of the 300
plus listings only 5 have asked to have their names removed.
We were amused by your preaching to us about the “higher standards” the
progressive community should adhere to. Was your AFSC two years ago rising
to “higher standards” when, behind the backs of many of its members, it
conspired to pack a meeting of the Baltimore Anti-War Coalition War in order
to dissolve it?
Or, perhaps, they were rising to “higher standards” when we regrouped as The
Baltimore Coalition to End War and Terrorism and asked AFSC to turn over to
us our collective e-mail list so that we could announce our regroupment
statement to our e-mail list – and they refused? It took weeks to get it to
mediation. There a face-saving compromise was agreed to; AFSC would e-mail
simple announcements of 3 or 4 of our meetings.
We have no way of knowing what, if any, less than honest e-mails you’ve sent
out rumor-mongering and slandering our efforts, in recent years – without us
having opportunity to reply.
Did you consult with your e-mail folks before you arbitrarily cut me off
your fax list?
Do they know that for some 2 years you have denied to the CWC and BCEWT our
right to have our organizer’s name or phone number in your Activist Alerts
or allow your readers to know that I was using my U.S. Senate campaign to
challenge U.S. foreign policy and sought help?
Do they know that during two public actions – one with Jews For Peace and
the other at Channel 22 – you purposely violated simple comradely etiquette
and misrepresented to the Baltimore Cable Channel 5 camera person?
Next time the Pledge of Resistance invites other groups to send
representatives to participate in a counter-inaugural, but really means
“groups other than Bob Kaufman’s,” at least have the decency and honesty to
clearly state so for all to know.
Do they know that this hateful behavior was rationalized by your statement
that “nobody should ever have to suffer the indignity of having to talk to
Bob Kaufman” – or that, “ I will never forgive Bob for getting Sally Kearsly
to give his campaign for mayor all that money that she should have given to
us”? Max knew of Sally’s donation very early in the campaign yet lent his
name to the campaign as “treasurer”! Only 3 – 4 years later did he decide
that I was the anti-Christ!
And what was his rationale for all of this divisive behavior? He claims
that, “Bob insulted my deceased mother”! How did Bob “insult” Max’s
deceased mother? I presumably referred to him, to a third party, as a Son
of a Bitch. Now I don’t honestly remember referring to that SOB as an SOB,
but in this case, I wouldn’t call the SOB a liar – just an unusually
spiteful and hateful little boy hiding his spitefulness behind his mother’s
skirts. One would have to be literally insane to interpret such an alleged
comment as “an insult to [one’s] dead mother”!
To add insult to injury, the current director of the regional AFSC, the good
Reverend Mark Lancaster, continues to approve all of this behavior because
he feels that he “must protect the peace and justice community from Bob
Kaufman”! Pitiful!
Does this make us feel safer? Personal slights, real, imagined, or
invented, should never be allowed to interfere with our strivings and
struggles for peace and justice!

P.S. The truly tragic aspect to this whole nasty business is that Max has
been a mainstay of the anti-war and anti-apartheid movements for decades.
He’s a prolific mailer and fax-er to those he believes deserving. He gets
his well reasoned letters published in The Sun. He’s paid his dues in
arrests and jail time – (long exceeding mine). With his brains and drive he
probably could be living very comfortably by now had he chosen a less
relevant path. He is tirelessly married to the movement.
However, he negates all these positive contribution through his crusade to
prevent other honest anti-war advocates from contributing their optimum
potential.
He must be made to stop this service to our enemy – our ruling class.
The AFSC must be made to be true to its original principles.
Peace and freedom activists must make this happen.


ADDENDUM

Now, insofar as Pledge’s other e-mail spokesperson, Maria Allwine goes, she
goes too far.
In response to her earlier misdirected, personally hateful and literally
ignorant diatribe against me – Michael Melick not wanting to embarrass her,
and being a gentleman, declined to mention her by name in his e-mail
response.
Her nakedly, venomous response to Michael’s e-mail deserves no such
consideration from myself.
I have no idea who this woman could be.
I have no idea why I have become the target of her entirely non-political,
misdirected cause for unhappiness.
I am, however, disappointed that other members and friends of Pledge haven’t
differentiated themselves from Maria’s and Max’s divisive and extremely
un-Catholic and un-Quaker personal attacks.
Whatever happened to “hating the sin, but loving the sinner”? Why are we
hearing such violent, hurtful rantings from “pacifists”?
Using the same kind of illogic and injustice, she now attacks Ron Solomon as
akin to Kaufman in his presumed “dishonesty”.
George W. has his Evil Triangle (Iraq, Iran and North Korea).
In Allwine’s mind, I am no longer the only evil one. Ron, too, is part of
the Evil Axis. What will it take for Michael to complete the “Evil
Triangle”? God forbid, other fair-minded comrades should join the dialogue
and we will become “the Evil Square”, “The Evil Pentagon”, etc.
This particularly offensive personality I seem to have seems to be
spreading. An epidemic! It’s the “one rotten apple” syndrome. We must be
stopped! Ordinary democratic procedures are not enough! Extraordinary
means are necessary! We are perverting the minds of youths!
Perhaps we should call up the Thought Police and The Language Police – hold
Baltimore un-Quaker activity committee hearings. Condemn us to wear a
Scarlet Letter. Off with our heads!
Fellow anti-war activists – can’t you see where we’re going with this
nonsense?
This is not a high school sorority which blackballs the less attractive
girls. You don’t have to love all your comrades in this struggle. We just
have to struggle on with each other – not against each other. The stakes
are too high – literally millions of lives – perhaps the survival of life.
We are being led down the same road as was the German anti-imperialist
movement in the late 20’s. Then the German Social Democrats and Communist
Party exhausted so much energy fighting each other that the Nazis
goose-stepped to power without the working class firing a shot. Result –
World War II and The Holocaust!
Leon Trotsky argued then for the United Front against Fascism.
He described the United Front as unity in struggle while preserving the
right of open criticism of political and theoretical differences – freedom
of speech.
We propose the same. Always have. Always will.

NOTE: IN THESE DOCUMENTS WE HAVE ALLUDED TO EMAILS RECEIVED FROM TWO MEMBERS
OF THE PLEDGE OF RESISTANCE. IF ANY READER WOULD LIKE COPIES OF THE EMAILS,
EMAIL US AT THE ABOVE ADDRESS AND WE'LL EMAIL THEM TO YOU.


A Just and Tolerant State of the Union
(Statement of A. Robert Kaufman delivered at the Pledge’s Counter-Inaugural
on Jan. 20)

A just and tolerant state of the union presupposes a just and tolerant mass
democratic movement which can rescue our country from the military /
industrial complex which has only too clearly stolen our government from us.
Who is “us”?
The “us” is the 90% of Americans who own less wealth than our ½% ruling
class.
Regardless of the lying Inaugural Addresses of a long line of lying
presidents, their real masters are the international corporations that
finance their elections.
It couldn’t be otherwise. He, who pays the fiddler, calls the tune.
For well over 3 decades their “tune” has been, “cut social services, health,
education, welfare, and environmental spending. Lengthen and speed up the
real work day, expand the underclass, increase illiteracy, addictions,
crime, illnesses – raise prices for healthcare, colleges, rents, gas and
electricity, transportation and food – while cutting taxes for the super
rich and the stinking rich – while giving them cost-plus, no bid war
contracts with minimal oversight, and killing any 3rd World people who stand
in their way to rule the world with the cannon fodder of our military youth.
Regardless of how much we attempt to beg them, or to appeal to their “better
natures” – they’re not going to change their tune. As Frederick Douglass
would say, “Never have – Never will!”
If we want the tune to change – we will have to take back our country and
change it ourselves.
If not us (the 90%) – who?
If not now – when?
Let us pledge here and now to begin the process of creating that just and
tolerant mass democratic movement which will rescue our country – and the
whole world in the process.


[NOTE: JUDGING BY THE APPLAUSE, IT WAS WARMLY RECEIVED BY THE ATTENDEES.]

A talk by Brian Becker National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition

A talk by Brian Becker

National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition

The ANSWER Coalition, the Washington D.C.-based group who organizesmass anti-war protests, has offered to send their National Coordinator, BrianBecker, to Baltimore to give a talk. The talk will be about the most current information aboutthe occupation of Iraq,current legal battles regarding the January 20th mass protest in DC,and what we can do as citizens to help stop the war and bring our tax dollarshome.

There will also be information on the mass protest planned for January20th in Washington D.C. for the Inauguration. Please come to this informative and important talk!

What? A talk by Brian Becker, National Coordinator of the ANSWER Coalition
for the people of Baltimore(independently organized)

When? Tuesday, January 18th from 6:30-7:30pm

Where? Greenmount School gymnasium

Who? Everyone is invited bring your kids,friends, neighbors, and ideas!

Refreshments will be served.

RSVP? No need to RSVP, but if you need directions, pleasecall Christina
Roskovich at 410-727-0008

To learn more about the ANSWER Coalition,
visit their website at www.answercoalition.org

Rally 12 Noon Thursday Jan 6th Upper Senate Park (west side of capital)

Election Fraud Kills Democracy
Save Our Country
Bring Back Fair Elections

The 2004 U.S.Election Is Not Over

Come to Lafayette Park (In Front of the White House) at 10:00 AM on January 6th to march with us to the Capital for the BIG rally in defense of Democracy at 12 noon.

This Thursday, 1:00 PM, the House of Representatives and the Senate will convene to decide whether or not to certify the electoral votes. Come to the Capitol Thursday NOON to DEMAND that Congress investigate the allegations of voter fraud BEFORE the electoral votes are certified.

Congressman Conyers (MI) and at least 13 other members of the House of Representatives are REFUSING TO CERTIFY THESE ELECTORAL VOTES.

Why? Because of serious allegations that have been reported under sworn testimony at the 2 congressional forums held by congressman Conyers.

The only way to insure elections are free and fair is for the voters themselves to stand up and demand their rights.

! THIS IS YOUR LAST CHANCE!
RALLY FOR YOUR RIGHTS:
12 NOON, THURSDAY JAN 6TH
UPPER SENATE PARK (west side of capitol)

Baltimore Public Access Chat Link

Baltimore Public Access Chat LinkChat Registration Link http://s89233791.onlinehome.us/tinc?key=v1GAT10d&channel=48616
Chat Login Link http://s89233791.onlinehome.us/tinc?key=iowZGjnr&channel=48616
Guest Login Link http://s89233791.onlinehome.us/tinc?key=8ADrdeSe&channel=48616

Update on Brian's Health

Date: Sun, 26 Dec 2004 15:16:28 -0500
From: "Brian Dragonuk"
Subject: Update on Brian's Health


Hey Everyone This is Brian

I know a lot of your are concerned about my health lately and I have
some more news
Most good some not so good.

Gale Sent you the last update in early December and to bring all of
you up to speed
I want to start a Little before that.

Many of you that know me well have known a;; along that I am a
diabetic (Type 2) I take a few
pills , watch what I eat and TRY to loose weight. I have been able to
work regularly ( including the long days -- up to 38 hrs) and live
comfortably on my "Actors Pay".as a full time actor for over 4 years.
Only when the Leukemia ( Chemo) cut my income by 2/3rds this year
while raising my expenses by over 500% did I have to turn to all of
you for help-- What a blessing you all are.

In early December I had my 3rd CT Scan of the year (and a ton of blood
work) so my Cancer Dr could evaluate the 6 months of Chemo. I also had
a complete Physical, Blood work & Urine tests
by my GP on the diabetes--- Everything came back GREAT No signs of
Cancer-- Best Blood Sugar readings in 2 years--liver test normal etc.
The only down side was going thru 6 months of Chemo and not being
able to loose 5 lbs (I had really hoped that Chemo would at least help
me loose 20 lbs---- But NOOOOO!!!!!!)

Any Way here is the Bad news part one of the things that happens with
diabetes is diabetic retinopathy basically it causes blood vessels to
form & grow in the eyes ( Where they don't Belong) and the are
extremely Fragile--These vessels break and bleed into the eye

Thats What is going on with my right eye. My vision is extremely
blurred in it & there is a blood clot that has to be removed ( Because
of the holiday staff reductions at the Wilmer Eye Clinic -- Hopkins
--- I am not sure exactly when I will have the surgery but it looks
like Wednesday or Thursday) . They did Laser surgery on the Left eye
this past Wednesday (about 45 min)
to seal off the blood vessels growing wild in it but the Right eye
with the clot is a 4-5 hr surgery Then the laser treatment.


Now also because of the Staff holiday Schedule I have the Chief of
Surgery at the Eye unit working on me and he see's no permanent damage
in either eye---so once he is finished things should be back to normal
(At least until the next thing breaks on me)

Before I get to the Funny part of all of this ( YES I AM STILL IN GOOD
SPIRITS)
For those of you that want ti wish me well ( Or Those of you that know
I will be 52 in 2 weeks)
Please do not e-mail me messages--- Luckily this time of year there
are fewer messages with jobs, networking or training information in
them for me to read---I can handle them but a lot of Personal emails
right now would really bog things down .

Please Snail mail them to me at
Brian Dragonuk
3701 Burmont Ave
Randallstown Md 21133

Now for the Future Saturday Night Live Sketch ( If I Ever Get famous)

I have been working with my 4 year old Nephew making Christmas Gifts
for his mother, my other sister, My mother and my Great Aunt-- We
Chose to paint some things for them.

I had gotten some Small wooden hearts ( about 6 inches) that we
painted red and we glued photo's of J.C. ( My Nephew) on them , plus I
had 4 5 in angles for him to paint & 2 6 inch Xmas trees that not only
had to be painted but have glitter sprinkled on them, Now add the 4
year old and take the vision out of one eye and reduce the vision in
the other one due to swelling from laser surgery.

Got the Picture

Now Remember you promised him that he could make his first Pumpkin
Cake so he could bring it to xmas dinner..
Remember Also that while he has used a wire whisk on eggs before you
told him HE could break the eggs this time (Another first)

I know there is something of a comedy sketch here but J.C. Prevailed
with out a hitch ( the only thing that really kept this in prospective
for me ( Besides the look on J.C.'s Face) was the knowledge that even
when I can see CLEAN-UP IS SOMEONE ELSE'S JOB---NOT MINE

I'll do all the hard stuff--then I'm Done


Brian

Movie Makers' Symposium, Blue Rock Productions, Wednesday Janurary 19, 2005 (snow date the following Wednesday), 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.

Attention Movie Makers

We've had a lot of requests to have another Movie Makers' Symposium.
Last year's event was a big success and we hope to top it this year.

What is it?
An informal gathering of movie makers of all sorts.
Most of us work on small indie films shot on MiniDV or
16mm film.

We will have some demonstrations, some free food, a couple of screening
rooms to show our latest projects, and much more - all in a fantastic
location at Blue Rock Productions in Northwest Baltimore. (www.bluerockproductions.com)

There will be a $5 donation at the door to pay for food,
drinks and other costs.

Last year we had several producers, directors, animators, stunt people,
sound people, actors, etc. A lot of contacts were made.
Some people got hired. Everybody had a good time.

I will have more details in the next couple of weeks as we get
rolling on this, but the basics are:

DATE: Wednesday Janurary 19, 2005
(snow date the following Wednesday)
TIME: 6:30 - 9:30 p.m.
PLACE: Blue Rock Productions in Northwest Baltimore.

Everyone is encouraged to bring cards, demos, and handouts.
You can even bring a table and set up a display if you want
-- at no charge. We want people to connect.
We want people to schmooze. We want people to find work!

Send me an email for more details and to volunteer
to put on a demostration.

Craig Herron
Writer, Producer, Director, Animator
www.herrondesigns.com www.afallfromtheclouds.com

co-host Gregg Landry
Blue Rock Productions

This Wednesday launching the new Charm City Green Party at Red Emma's, 800 St. Paul St., corner of St. P and Madison, at 7PM.

This Wednesday we're launching the new Charm City Green Party at Red Emma's, 800 St. Paul St., corner of St. P and Madison, at 7PM.

With over 45,000 votes cast for Green candidates in Baltimore City alone, it's obvious that there's a desire for something different. If you're new to the Green Party or need a reason to come back, come by on Wednesday and check us out. Some of the old faces should be there as well as new ones!

We have a strong commitment to activism and educating the public on how real change is possible.

Hope you all can come by Wednesday. Red Emma's is a collective book store with food license now, (bagels, coffee, etc.)

Myles
former Green Party candidate for City Council

BGM Meeting Change for 12/14, at Red Emma's Bookstore and Cafe, on 800 St. Paul St., at 6:30 PM.

Subject: [BGM] BGM Meeting Change for 12/14
There is to be a change of venue for next week's BGM meeting: we'll be meeting at Red Emma's Bookstore and Cafe, on 800 St. Paul St., at 6:30 PM. We'll be strategizing as to what to do next, in the wake of the passage of the Comcast contract by the City Council.

Some folks have come to me and asked: "BGM is still meeting? But I thought it was all over!" No, it's not over yet; on the contrary there is much left to be done! We're still going to have to be a watchdog over the Mayor and Council to make sure that the new public access organization is developed in a timely way and that the money that is supposed to go to public access is held in trust until that time. We're also going to have to lobby the Mayor's Office of Cable to provide for a new home for public access in the meantime so that volunteers can have access and keep it afloat.

There are alot of other actions on the table right now, so please come out and share your ideas and energy to benefit public access in Baltimore!

What: BGM weekly meeting

When: Tues., Dec 14, 2004
6:30 PM

Where: Red Emma's Bookstore Coffeehouse
800 St Paul Street

Let me know if you have any questions.

Best,
Amanda
410-721-6458

Discussion of Community Assembly and Public Oversight Review Board

Discuss CommunityReviewBoard


OR a simpler version with no message counter and no JavaScript:
Discuss CommunityReviewBoard

Final Vote scheduled for TODAY, Monday 12/6 at 5PM (Come to City Hall)

Alternative TV in Baltimore? You decide.

Final Vote scheduled for TODAY, Monday 12/6 at 5PM (Come to City Hall)

The Senator Theatre Weighs in on Public Access TV
Baltimore IMC Coverage:
http://baltimore.indymedia.org/newswire/display/9012/index.php
WBAL TV Coverage:
http://www.thewbalchannel.com/news/3973047/detail.html
Baltimore Grassroots Media:
www.BaltimoreGrassrootsMedia.org
Contact Sheila Dixon's Office and your Council Members to seek postponement of the Comcast Cable vote:
City Council Member
Phone
Fax
Email

Sheila Dixon
410-396-4804
410-539-0647
sdixon@baltimorecitycouncil.com

John L. Cain
410-396-4807
410-545-6632
jcain@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Nicholas C. D'Adamo, Jr.
410-396-4808
410-396-4414
ndadamo@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Lois Garey
410-396-4828
410-545-6617
lgarey@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Paula Johnson Branch
410-396-4829
410-396-1594
pbranch@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Bernard C. "Jack" Young
410-396-4811
410-396-1594
byoung@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Pamela V. Carter
410-396-4810
410-545-7694
pcarter@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Robert W. Curran
410-396-4812
410-396-8621
rcurran@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Kenneth N. Harris, Sr.
410-396-4830
410-659-1792
kharris@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Lisa Joi Stancil
410-396-4813
410-396-8621
lstancil@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Agnes Welch
410-396-4815
410-545-3857
awelch@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Keiffer Jackson Mitchell, Jr.
410-396-4816
410-545-7464
kmitchell@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Carherine E. Pugh
410-396-4831
410-545-7581
cpugh@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Rochelle "Rikki" Spector
410-396-4819
410-396-6800
rspector@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Helen Holton
410-396-4818
410-396-6800
hholton@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Stephanie Rawlings Blake
410-396-4832
410-396-6800
srawlings@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Kwame Osayaba Abayomi
410-396-4821
410-545-3847
kabayomi@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Melvin Stukes
410-396-4833
410-396-8465
mstukes@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Edward Reisinger
410-396-4822
410-545-7353
ereisinger@baltimorecitycouncil.com

The Baltimore City Council

The Baltimore City Council

District 1 Members:

John L. Cain
Phone: (410) 396-4807
Fax: (410) 545-6632
Room: 423
Email: jcain@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Land Use and Planning; Highways and Franchises Subcommittee - Chair
Housing, Health, and Human Services
Taxation




Nicholas D'Amado Jr.
Phone: (410) 396-4808
Fax: (410) 396-4414
Room: 525
Email: ndadamo@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Budget and Appropriations
Judiciary and Legislative Investigations




Lois Garey
Phone: (410) 396-4828
Fax: (410) 545-6617
Room: 422
Email: lgarey@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Land Use and Planning - Chair
Executive Appointments
Urban Affairrs


* * *

District 2 Members:

Paula Johnson Branch
Phone: (410) 396-4829
Fax: (410) 396-1594
Room: 511
Email: pbranch@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Urban Affairs - Chair
Budget and Appropriations
Land Use and Planning




Bernard C. "Jack" Young
Phone: (410) 396-4811
Fax: (410) 396-1594
Room: 509
Email: byoung@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Executive Appointments - Chair
Recreation and Parks Subcommittee - Chair
Urban Affairs
Taxation




Pamela V. Carter
Phone: (410) 396-4810
Fax: (410) 545-7694
Room: 550
Email: pcarter@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Taxation - Vice Chair
Housing, Health, and Human Services
Executive Appointments


* * *

District 3 Members:

Robert Curran
Phone: (410) 396-4812
Fax: (410) 396-8621
Room: 504
Email: rcurran@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Judiciary and Legislative Investigations - Chair
Taxation
Executive Appointments




Kenneth N. Harris, Sr.
Phone: (410) 396-4830
Fax: (410) 659-1792
Room: 503
Email: kharris@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Executive Appointments - Vice Chair
Budget and Appropriations - Vice Chair
Housing, Health, and Human Services




Lisa Joi Stancil
Phone: (410) 396-4813
Fax: (410) 396-8621
Room: 551
Email: lstancil@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Finance - Vice Chair
Judiciary and Legislative Investigations
Land Use and Planning


* * *

District 4 Members:

Agnes Welch
Phone: (410) 396-4815
Fax: (410) 545-3857
Room: 532
Email: awelch@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Housing, Health, and Human Services
Aging Subcommittee - Chair
Urban Affairs - Vice Chair
Finance




Keiffer Jackson Mitchell, Jr.
Phone: (410) 396-4816
Fax: (410) 545-7464
Room: 527
Email: kmitchell@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Taxation - Chair
Judiciary and Legislative Investigations
Urban Affairs




Catherine E. Pugh
Phone: (410) 396-4831
Fax: (410) 545-7581
Room: 523
Email: cpugh@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Taxation Subcommittee on Economic Development - Chair
Land Use and Planning - Vice Chair
Urban Affairs


* * *

District 5 Members:

Rochelle "Rikki" Spector
Phone: (410) 396-4819
Fax: (410) 396-6800
Room: 521
Email: rspector@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Judiciary and Legislative Investigations
Finance
Land Use and Planning




Helen Holton
Phone: (410) 396-4818
Fax: (410) 396-6800
Room: 518
Email: hholton@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Finance - Chair
Budget and Appropriations




Stephanie Rawlings Blake
Phone: (410) 396-4832
Fax: (410) 396-6800
Room: 516
Email: srawlings@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Judiciary and Legislative Investigations - Chair
Budget and Appropriations - Chair
Finance


* * *

District 6 Members:

Kwame Osayaba Abayomi, D.D.
Phone: (410) 396-4821
Fax: (410) 545-3847
Room: 505
Email: kabayomi@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Judiciary and Legislative Investigations, Public Safety Subcommittee - Chair
Housing, Health, and Human Services
Finance




Melvin Stukes
Phone: (410) 396-4833
Fax: (410) 396-8465
Room: 553
Email: mstukes@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Housing, Health, and Human Services - Vice Chair; Education and Labor Subcommittee - Chair
Taxation
Land Use and Planning; Transportation Subcommittee - Chair




Edward Reisinger
Phone: (410) 396-4822
Fax: (410) 545-7353
Room: 424
Email: ereisinger@baltimorecitycouncil.com

Committee Assignments:

Housing, Health, and Human Services - Chair
Budget and Appropriations
Urban Affairs

Cable panel urged mayor not to back Comcast deal

From the November 16th Baltimore Sun:

Cable panel urged mayor
not to back Comcast deal
Panel advised O'Malley against cable deal;
officials say they didn't know

By Doug Donovan
Sun Staff

November 16, 2004

Mayor Martin O'Malley failed to follow the advice of his expert cable advisory panel when he pushed a new 12-year cable television deal with Comcast through the Board of Estimates.

And with the contract now awaiting City Council approval, council members say they still haven't seen a three-page letter the panel wanted to give them more than a month ago.

The five-member Cable Communications Advisory Commission, appointed by the mayor, advised against the deal in an Oct. 13 letter addressed to O'Malley and the council.

Yet council members said Tuesday that they never saw the letter or heard of the commission's opinion. They said commission members did not testify at an Oct. 13 council hearing at which the contract was discussed.

"This raises a lot of questions," said Councilman Keiffer J. Mitchell Jr., who learned of the letter Tuesday. "I would have liked to have had it at the hearings. The council needs to be aware of [the letter] and to look at it closely."

Comptroller Joan M. Pratt expressed concern that the commission's opinion was not introduced to the Board of Estimates last week, which approved the deal over her lone "no" vote.

"Why do we appoint a commission and then we don't listen to or follow their recommendations?" Pratt said. "They call this an open government, yet you have a [commission] that makes recommendations and it's not shared with the board and the administration ignores its opinions."

Michael Shea of Baltimore Grassroots Media, a public access advocacy group, said he heard that commission members "were asked not to testify" at the Oct. 13 council hearing.

Jonathan L. Shorr, the commission's president, declined to say why neither he nor members of his panel spoke at the council meeting.

Raquel Guillory, an O'Malley spokeswoman, said commission members were not discouraged from testifying or from submitting the letter into the record.

"We're not hiding anything," Guillory said.

Guillory said the mayor believed he had addressed the panel's concerns in amendments added to the contract last week that increased money for public access programming.

Shorr said in an interview Tuesday that problems remain.

In the letter, a copy of which was obtained Tuesday by The Sun , Shorr wrote that city government would improve its "long-term civic health" by encouraging participation in public access programming by neighborhood, educational and social groups.

"We urge you to ensure that in the pending franchise agreement, the city's priority is not the stockholders of Comcast but the citizens of Baltimore," wrote Shorr, a co-director of the University of Baltimore's school of communications design. "Until that time, we recommend that the council not approve this contract."

The franchise, which would begin Jan. 1, requires Comcast to pay the city 5 percent of the gross revenue generated from its nearly 120,000 city subscribers. The annual fee would generate about $4.3 million for the city's general fund. The deal would also provide other revenue for public access television.

Comcast officials have said repeatedly that the deal is fair to the city because the company is giving more than the 5 percent required by law.

The letter from the advisory panel spelled out seven points of concern. Chief among them were the city's willingness to give back four of its 12 channels reserved for programs produced by the public, educational institutions and government agencies.

That also runs counter to recommendations from a consultant hired by the city to assess Baltimore's cable needs. Virchow Krause & Co. recommended in July that the city negotiate to reserve more channels to meet increasing demand for local programming.

Councilman Robert W. Curran said he did not know of the letter. He said the city agreed to eight channels because only four of the 12 existing channels are now being used. Baltimore Grassroots Media has said the public cannot use more channels without public access studios, training and financing.

The advisory commission's letter also states that the city should have had Comcast set aside money for public access, rather than passing the cost on to subscribers. The letter says the city needs to improve its monitoring of complaints against the cable provider, a concern expressed by the city's consultant.

"The contract needs lots of work," Shorr wrote.

The council is scheduled to vote Thursday on moving the contract onto Monday's agenda. A final, third-reader vote would be scheduled for the council's Nov. 29 session, Curran said.

A point of contention is how much money would go toward public access and how that cash would be generated. Under the terms of the pending contract, Comcast agreed to charge each subscriber a $6 annual fee that would generate more than $700,000 a year for the capital costs of public access programming on cable Channel 5 and for shows produced by city government on cable Channel 21 and city schools on cable Channel 7.

Comcast would provide $570,000 over the next 12 years to provide public access training, plus $430,000 over the next six years toward a summer youth employment program that could be steered to public access programming.

Shorr said the minimum needed each year to staff a public access studio is about $225,000. He said none of the money from Comcast is designated for public access. Even if it were, he said, it would not be enough for a public access studio, training programs and equipment rental.

"The commission is trying to look out for the best interests of the citizens," Shorr said. "Comcast always holds the upper hand."

Copyright © 2004, The Baltimore Sun

* * *

Communiqué from Baltimore Grassroots Media:

Dear Citizens of Baltimore:

This Monday, December 6, 2004, the City Council is set to make their final vote on the proposed 12-year Comcast.

This new proposed contract does NOT protect public access television and the City Council needs to hear from you if public cable access is to be saved. Baltimore Grassroots Media is asking all those who care about public access television and who want it to survive to do the following:

Please join us this Monday at 5pm at the City Council meeting on the 4th floor of City Hall, 100 N. Holiday St., to show your support for postponing the final vote in order to help insure sufficient rights of public access. If we can turn out those who support postponement at this time, it will demonstrate to the Council at this crucial juncture that citizens of Baltimore care about proper procedure and public access issues.

Email, call and fax the City Council in support of postponing the pending final reader and vote on Bill # 04-0504 to allow for further scrutiny of it's provisions for public access.

The proposed Comcast Cable contract is deficient and must include the following:

1. Funding for public access operating expenses. The proposed contract includes some funds earmarked only for equipment and facilities, but none of this money can currently be used as written for operational expenses such as salaries and administrative costs.

2. A timetable and plan for the creation of the public access entity. Without solid deadlines for the formation of a Board and an organizational structure, a new public access organization could well languish for years in limbo.

3. A public access entity that has a democratically appointed board and is representative of the community. This Board needs to have members who represent all of the communities in Baltimore and who have a stake in the success of public access.

Thank you for taking these simple steps to save public access in Baltimore!

Please contact Baltimore Grassroots Media at info@baltimoregrassrootsmedia.org or at [410] 371-8218 for more information or to join in the struggle to preserve and enhance public access television in Baltimore City.

Amanda Bowers

Baltimore Grassroots Media

Please Visit:
www.baltimoregrassrootsmedia.org

BLOWING A WHISTLE

December 4, 2004

Dear Patrons,

Our primary roll in operating The Senator Theatre and The Rotunda Cinematheque is to entertain and enlighten our patrons by presenting films and producing special events and programs. In this way our role is aligned with the regional cable systems that aspire to serve their subscribers in a similar fashion.

Over the years our audience has grown and our theatres have become regional points of destination, but our primary patron base remains the citizens of Baltimore City.

Although our weekly e-mails now go out to over 10,000 recipients, this specific communication is only relevant to the residents of Baltimore City and we regret that others who do not live in Baltimore will receive it as well. If you are not a Baltimore City resident, please forgive the intrusion.

BLOWING A WHISTLE

An alarming series of events have been taking place in the last few weeks regarding the unusual and inexplicable rush by the Mayor's office and the City Council to ratify the controversial new Comcast Cable contract, which, as proposed, will remain in effect for the next 12 years.

We are taking the unusual action of informing our e-mail listmembers about this issue in an 11th hour effort to inform you and shed much needed light on some very troubling aspects of what is taking place.

On the schedule of this Monday's final meeting of the current Baltimore City Council is the third reader and final vote on Bill # 04-1504, which if passed as expected, will ratify Baltimore's City's extensively flawed Comcast Cable franchise contract.

Ratification of this Comcast Cable contract is predicted to occur this Monday evening despite the fact that the controversial Comcast Cable franchise contract is considered deficient and problematic by many informed groups and individuals with the most auspicious negative assessment coming directly from the Mayor's Baltimore Cable Communications Advisory Commission.

The Mayor's Cable Communications Advisory Commission was appointed by Mayor O'Malley and was mandated to review and evaluate the new contract, and the desirability and fairness of the exclusive deal it represents. When recently announcing the commission's conclusions and recommendations the president of the Cable Communications Advisory Commission, Jonathan Shorr, was highly critical of the contract.

[The eye opening recent Sunpaper article on these matters is included in its entirety below].

Irregardless of the clear negative assessment of the new contract by the Mayor's Cable Communications Advisory Commission, and the alarming testimony before the City Council by the informed citizen action group Baltimore Grassroots Media and others, the outgoing City Council is rushing headlong this Monday night to the 3rd reader to be followed by the final vote. They are doing this over the fervent and rising objections of those who are bewildered and becoming suspicious over this series of events.

In response to this situation, we feel compelled to transmit this atypical communiqué to the public and do what we can at this point in time to inform you of what is taking place. We urge you to expeditiously add your voice to the rising chorus of concerned citizens who want to know what the rush is all about and why the outgoing City Council is being so derelict in not properly representing us by more vigorously scrutinizing this whole matter.

We cannot comprehend why there is such a rush to vote this apparently flawed piece of crucial legislation into law, particularly since the newly elected and revamped Baltimore City Council will very soon begin its new session. All of Baltimore's citizens may soon be subject to the poorly negotiated terms of this new contract for the next 12 years.

Why the rush? Why are the citizen action groups being given no credence? Why are the Mayor and City Council ignoring the unequivocal negative assessment of the Mayor's own appointed Cable Communications Advisory Commission?

If you agree with the assessment that this is all very alarming please try and attend this Monday evening's council session. We also urge you to utilize the convenient method we have provided [at the very bottom of this e-mail] to help you contact your current Baltimore City Council representatives this Monday the 6th by e-mail or fax. Please let them know of your concern over the propriety of what is occurring in regards to the Comcast Cable franchise contract.

The Baltimore Grassroots Media organization has provided us pertinent information also included below. For further information, please visit their website at www.baltimoregrassrootsmedia.org to learn more about these issues.

Hopefully with your input, passage of this important legislation will be postponed from occurring this Monday evening. This will permit the newly elected incoming Council an opportunity to exercise further scrutiny over these matters as they were recently elected to do.

If despite all of our best efforts, Bill # 04-1504 passes this Monday evening, we will continue to advocate for public scrutiny of a cable contract process that seems to have taken on a confounding life of its own. If need be, both The Senator Theatre and The Rotunda Cinematheque will be available to raise public awareness and funds to help evaluate the potential for legal challenges to these egregious violations of procedure and the trust we place in our public officials.

Sincerely,
Tom Kiefaber

Public Demands More Scrutiny, Delay of Proposed Comcast Deal

Subject: [BGM] PRESS ADVISORY: Public Demands More Scrutiny, Delay of Proposed Comcast Deal


Baltimore Grassroots Media
www.baltimoregrassrootsmedia.org


News Release: December 6, 2004



For more information contact:

Amanda Bowers: (410) 371-8218

Mike Shea: (410) 523-0212



Public Demands More Scrutiny, Delay of Proposed Comcast Deal


Council poised to lock City into a 12-year contract that needs more work, according to Mayor’s Cable Commission and other experts

BALTIMORE – Today at 5 PM the City Council is scheduled to take its final vote on the Comcast cable contract, Bill 04-1504. Community television supporters and cable experts say that the vote should be delayed as there are critical problems with the proposed contract that have not been addressed. Baltimore Grassroots Media (BGM) and other community television supporters plan to attend tonight’s Council meeting to show their opposition to the contract and to press for a delay to the vote.

Mayor Martin O’Malley’s own Cable Advisory Commission has gone on record as opposing the contract. In an Oct. 13th letter that was addressed to both the Mayor and the Council, the Commission wrote, "We urge you to ensure that in the pending franchise agreement, the city's priority is not the stockholders of Comcast but the citizens of Baltimore. Until that time, we recommend that the council not approve this contract." The letter also raises concerns about the return of 4 of the 12 channels currently designated for public, educational and governmental (PEG) programming to Comcast, which, according to calculations made by BGM based on figures given by Comcast, are worth approximately $77 million over the term of the twelve-year agreement.

BGM has raised concerns about side agreements that are not a part of the main body of the contract that are supposed to provide funding for public access. On Friday, Dec. 3, the group received, for the first time, the text of a side agreement between the city and Comcast for a $570,000 training grant, the source of promised public access operating funds. The document is pre-dated December 6, 2004 and has not been signed. The agreement letter does not indicate that the $570,000 will go directly to public access television, only that it will go to the City, where it could be used for any of the PEG channels, including government Channel 21.

Channel 21 had an annual budget of $1.7 million last year; currently public access Channel 5 has no operating funds and is run out of the Mayor’s Office of Cable and Communications.

The City Council claims it is also securing an additional $430,000 from the City coffers for public access in the form of a memorandum of understanding from the Department of Finance. At the Nov. 29th City Council meeting President Dixon and Councilman Curran motioned to delay final passage of the contract until this MOU could be finalized. BGM says it has not seen this document and asserts that the final vote should be delayed until this side agreement can be scrutinized by the public.

On Friday night, Dec 3rd, BGM held a public forum on the public access situation in Baltimore. In attendance were several experts on public access from around the country who are submitting a letter today to City Council President Sheila Dixon to urge her to delay the final vote. They are Richard Turner, Executive Director of Montgomery Community Television, Anthony Riddle, Executive Director of the Alliance for Community Media, and Steve Ranieri, Executive Director of Community Cable Channel 27 TV in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Also in attendance was Tom Kiefaber, owner of the Senator Theatre, who has placed a message on the marquee of the theater that reads, “STOP THE COMCAST CABLE CONTRACT! BILL 04-1504 NEEDS PUBLIC SCRUTINY. CONTACT YOUR CITY COUNCIL PERSON.”

Baltimore Grassroots Media is a group made up of public access television producers, former public access Channel 5 volunteers, and other concerned citizens who are working to bring public access back to Baltimore and to help it thrive. For more information please go to: www.baltimoregrassrootsmedia.org.

AN OPEN LETTER TO MY BALTIMORE COMMUNITY

Date: Thu, 02 Dec 2004 02:24:56 -0500
From: JohnDeSantis@PublicAndPrivateEnterprise.org
To: bgm@epistolary.org
Subject: [BGM] AN OPEN LETTER TO MY BALTIMORE COMMUNITY

Dear Fellow BGM List Members:

I want you all to know that I speak of public access TV and BGM in a
major project endeavor within my main mission in life that began a
little after midnight tonight -- the start of a long-term e-mailing
campaign. Where I speak of this is in three paragraphs near the top of
the page on my web site that the link at the end of this invitational
letter that I began to mail out tonight guides people to. I send a copy
of the same letter that you see just below to only one e-mail address
each time, and do my best to try and personalize each one.--John.
=====================================

Dear [the recipient]:

This is an invitation for you to go to my web site and read the "OPEN
LETTER TO MY BALTIMORE COMMUNITY" -- which is my announcement to
everyone about Baltimore being at the center of a new worldwide project
to help all of humanity. It's about creating a new long-term worldwide
forum for every nation to be involved with -- in order to work on the
subject of creating economic success and eliminating poverty throughout
the world. The link to the letter is at the end of this invitation.

The "Open Letter" contains two sections: The introductory remarks
followed by the information concerning a total of $10,000 in PRIZES (1st
place: $5,000 -- 2nd place: $3,000 -- 3rd place: $2,000) that are now
available to win by high school, college, and university students who
take part in a creative contest to help get this Movement going -- as
well as to inspire and motivate many people and organizations to get
involved and help promote, guide, and lead the project itself.

The overall contest goal is basically 3-fold:

(1) To rewrite, rearrange, reorganize, and completely redo my amateur
web site -- turning it into something very professional and inspiring
for the Movement.

(2) To create the contents of all of the professional and inspiring
promotional items such as flyers, brochures, letters, press releases,
advertisements, and so on that will be necessary.

(3) To creatively organize and figure out how to get the first actual
forum going along with the procedure for it. This would include how to
go about it, how to invite people from all nations to it by contacting
their Washington D.C. embassies and consulates (as well as any
consulates that are located in Baltimore), asking them to send people to
the first forum, which is to be held in some large auditorium in
Baltimore that is donated to be used. Inviting the general public,
business people, politicians, media people, U.N. people and U.N.
organizations, scholars, non-profit and religious organizations, and
local dignitaries from all walks of life is also included.

I thank you in advance for reading and considering the "Open Letter" to
everyone in my Baltimore community that is found in this link -- which
you can either copy and paste or click on to get to:

http://www.PublicAndPrivateEnterprise.org/MyCommunity.html
Most Sincerely,

John DeSantis
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Friday - Baltimore Public Access Forum (12/3), Red Emma's 800 St. Paul Street

Friday - Baltimore Public Access Forum (12/3)

This Friday (12/3) representatives from Baltimore Grassroots Media will appear at Red Emma's to discuss the importance of Public Access and the current struggle to preserve it for Baltimore. This forum comes at a crucial time. The Baltimore City Council is believed to be only days away from approving a new contract that will eliminate Baltimore Public Access by removing it's funding, allocating the local cable spectrum entirely to Comcast in the process.

Labor, peace and social justice activists (of all stripes) who are interested in learning what strategies are being utilized in order to preserve this vital outlet for community-based media are encouraged to attend this timely forum and participate in the discussion.


Date: 12/3/04
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Est. duration: 2 hours.
Cost: Free!
Contact: Kelly, 240-441-0898
http://www.baltimoregrassrootsmedia.org

Red Emma's
800 St. Paul Street
410-230-0450
http://www.RedEmmas.org


Public Access Forum (12/3) Agenda:

Opening Comments: Presenter - Kelly E. Crawford

Past History of Public Access:
Presenters: Mike Shea and Gene Balbierz

Public Access - Present Day Use:
Roundtable Discussion
Presenters: Jim George, Joan Floyd

Future of Public Access:
Video from Greg Whitehair
Baltimore Grassroots Media Business Plan

Conclusion:
Questions and Answer Session
OP/ED by John Desantis