Katrina

From the National Democratic Party

This week millions of Americans fled Hurricane Katrina. Across the South families abandoned their homes and businesses, not knowing what would be there when they returned.

Many stayed behind and suffered devastating loss and injuries -- nearly a hundred have died that we know of, and hundreds of thousands need our help.

America is at its best when we realize that we are one community -- that we're all in this together. That means that each one of us has the responsibility to do what we can to help the relief effort.

The Red Cross is a great place to start.

They are already moving people and resources into the region to help. Donations will provide clean water, food, and shelter for disaster victims. The Red Cross web site also has important information for victims and their relatives across the country.

Many local Red Cross chapters are organizing volunteers to travel to affected areas -- doctors and nurses to provide medical care, workers to build shelters, first responders to assist in rescue operations.

You can find your local chapter to learn what you can do.

We are still learning the full story of the devastation, but there is no time to wait.

Please do something now.

Thank you.

Governor Howard Dean, M.D.

The Lake Havasu City Recall Election

I got my ballot for the upcoming September 13, 2005 recall election here in Lake Havasu City, AZ.

Talk about the system is designed to protect the incumbent. On the ballot we have statements by those in office about why they think they should stay, and nothing on the folks who are challenging them other than their names.

Challengers include:

Mayor - Harvey Jackson
Mayor - Chris Gravelle
Council Member - Bruce Hinman
Council Member - Margaret Nyberg
Council Member - Allan Sturtevant

I'm still researching the personalities and their accomplishments/integrity, so if anyone has anything to add, please post it here. Shortly I'll have more info.

As a person who has lived here since 2000, I can assure my neighbors that we can do much better than we have in the past.

We have to look forward to explosive growth in this town and put in place systems that can grow with us. Many people on all coasts are planning on moving in land. An iceberg the size of Long Island, NY broke off in January and is melting, costal storms are a problem, WTC Illness is real. Lake Havasu City is a great alternative to coastal dramas. Lake Havasu City offers her beautiful landscape, clean environment, no nuclear plants close by, and a nice party vibe in town.

Yet, medicine in this town sucks. As of April this year we don't even have a respirator at the local medical center. The sewers are behind schedule. There is only one road in and out of town. If there is an emergency evacuation plan in place in case the volcano fields blow (both Mt. St. Helen and Yellowstone are active) I've never heard about it. We can and must do better than we have in the past.

Maybe new leadership is the way. Maybe current leadership has already addressed those issues (like the mayor's success of going and getting help from Sen Kyl for the sewers - still waiting to see if it does any good - or the new mall being planned in town - I miss Saks Fifth Avenue :) ).

Stay tuned and keep creating good vibes.

J. Nayer Hardin

From Senator John Kerry on Rick Santorum

'The world won't get no better, if we just let it be."

The following piece is from the man who won the 2004 election for president based on the expressed Will of the People. Though in exile from that job, he's working a program that, with our help, could help restore America to the land of the free and the home of the brave.

From John Kerry

"The GOP is kicking off its 2006 campaign cycle at the party's annual summer meeting in Pittsburgh, with Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum playing host. What does it say about the Republican leadership that they're putting a right-wing extremist at the center of their effort to keep control of the Senate? It says that their goal isn't just to hold on to power, but to drag America away from mainstream values and the issues that matter to ordinary Americans.

I'm not up for re-election in 2006, but I - like every Democrat - must do everything in my power to fight to restore responsible leadership in the House and Senate that will act on behalf of the interests of average Americans whose voices are being drowned out in Washington today.

You bet we wanted to win last November, but it turns out that one of the things we did accomplish in 2004 was this: we built an incredibly powerful organizational force online and offline that can come together again in 2006 to win back the House and Senate.

Like it or not, that fight starts now.

With five million supporters and activists, we've formed an organization called Keeping America's Promise. Our work is to mobilize volunteers, activists, donors - and of course voters - in support of tight and winnable races.

Without you, the Senate and House will stay in the hands of outside-the-mainstream Republicans. Please support our preparations for victory in 2006 by making a donation to Keeping America's Promise today:

Make a Contribution

Consider what's at stake in just Democrat Bob Casey's race against Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum. Santorum is totally out of touch with the reality facing American families and totally out of touch with mainstream American values. And yet he has become the mainstream within the Republican Party:

Santorum believes millions of people are uninsured because, "some people don't want [insurance] - like the Amish." [Harrisburg Patriot, 6/10/97]

Santorum believes child care is a "Washington" issue that ordinary Americans don't care about. [Congressional Quarterly, 3/9/05]

He said that the environmental movement's days are numbered and that environmentalism is against nature. [Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 4/24/95]

He believes in privatizing Social Security. [Congressional Record, S3231, 4/5/05]

Santorum thinks it's wrong to help single mothers earn a college degree. In his book, It Takes a Family, Santorum said that "The notion that college education is a cost-effective way to help poor, low-skill, unmarried mothers with high school diplomas or GEDs move up the economic ladder is just wrong." [It Takes a Family, pg. 138]

By the time the GOP wraps up its summer summit on Saturday afternoon, we need to have raised $500,000 to support our work to defeat extremists like Rick Santorum.

Make a Contribution

The 2006 Congressional election cycle will be a fight between two competing visions of America's future:

Democrats see an America where everyone has an opportunity to work hard and get ahead. Republicans see an America where the special interests get their way and families get the short end of the stick.

Democrats see an America that is energy independent and a good steward of the environment. Republicans see an America that continues to send its hard earned paychecks to the Saudis and risks sending our sons and daughters to the battlefields of the Middle East over oil that's beyond our control, in the hands of unstable and undemocratic regimes.

Winning back the majority in the US Congress is an essential step toward realizing an American future that you and I want for our families and for our children.

And because of the power we built together in this amazing online and offline community, your continuing support of Keeping America's Promise is now a critical ingredient to winning the fight.
But we can only compete and win if you stand with us. Please make a donation today:

Make a Contribution

Thank you,

John Kerry