In celebration of Martin Luther King Day and President Obama's inauguration last year, progressive volunteers organized a food drive to benefit the Mid-Ohio Food Bank that raised almost $3000 in cash and 3000 pounds of food, and we hope to repeat that success again this weekend!  Volunteers will be conducting a food drive this Friday through Sunday, January 22-24, in their neighborhoods to once again benefit the Mid-Ohio Food Bank.

Join us in canvassing your neighborhood for food and cash donations. The only requirement is to hand in your donations at a drop-off location (identified below) near your home by Sunday afternoon at 5:00 PM.

Donations will be delivered to the Mid Ohio Food Bank on Monday, January 25.

If you aren’t able to canvass, please consider dropping off food donations to one of the drop-off locations listed below. Encourage friends and family to drop off donations as well by forwarding this Action Alert on to them.  Here are some sobering statistics to consider:

• Nearly 20% of children in Ohio live in poverty.
• Food requests at the Mid-Ohio Food Bank pantries are up 15% over last year.
• For every $10 donated, the Mid-Ohio Food Bank can provide $80 worth of wholesome groceries to those who need a helping hand.

Drop-off locations:

• Laura Cook
  2019 North Edgemont Road
  Columbus, OH 43212
  614-487-0479
  Block between Northwest and Wyandotte

• Laura Kuykendall
  1580 Guilford Road
  Columbus, OH 43221
  614-783-9677
  South of Lane Avenue, between North Star and Northwest Blvd. House is on the corner of Guilford and Beaumont.

• Jan Davis
  2492 Edgevale Road
  Columbus, OH 43221
  614-348-0820

• Carole DePaola
  4944 Buck Thorn Lane
  Columbus, OH 43220
  614-477-1800 or 614-459-3668
  Off Francisco between Kenny and Reed

• Robyn Harper
  2200 West Lane AVENUE
  Columbus, OH 43221
  614-554-7762
  Corner of Lane and York

• Melissa Hedden
  2491 Lane ROAD
  Columbus, OH 43220
  614-481-9455
  Drop-off on covered side porch next to garage

• Colin’s Coffee
  3714 Riverside Drive in the Golden Bear Shopping Center
  Food can be dropped off on Saturday or Sunday between 7 am and 2 pm

July 23, 2009  • UAProgressiveAction.com 

We need your gently used donations!

Our third annual Community-Wide Garage Sale will be held August 8, 9:00 - 2:00 p.m. at the same location as last year, Roy and Agnes Butler's home, 2174 Ridgeview Road, on the northwest corner of Ridgeview and Redding Roads.

We will update you with more details, including the location of where to drop off items.

Hope to see you at our CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER FOR A CAUSE garage sale!

July 23, 2009  • UAProgressiveAction.com 

We need your gently used donations!

Our third annual Community-Wide Garage Sale will be held August 8, 9:00 - 2:00 p.m. at the same location as last year, Roy and Agnes Butler's home, 2174 Ridgeview Road, on the northwest corner of Ridgeview and Redding Roads.

We will update you with more details, including the location of where to drop off items.

Hope to see you at our CLEAR OUT THE CLUTTER FOR A CAUSE garage sale!

May 4, 2009  • UAProgressiveAction.com 

Remember to Vote Tomorrow, May 5!

Tomorrow voters in Upper Arlington will be asked to vote on only two issues:  Issue 1, the Metro Parks Levy, and Issue 4, The Upper Arlington Library Bond Issue.  These are issues that people on all sides care about, both pro and con.

UAPA encourages you to exercise your right to vote tomorrow because even if it's an "off year," our voices count. 

And just think, since turn out is expected to be very low, you can probably be in and out in less than five minutes!

April 29, 2009  • UAProgressiveAction.com 

Come Learn About New and Improved Elections in Ohio!

Join UAPA as we welcome Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on Thursday, April 30, to speak about the 2008 Election and what went right, what went wrong and what still needs to happen to ensure fair and honest elections in Ohio. 

The event will be held at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Hall, 1250 Kinnear Road, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.  (See map here.)  The presentation is free and open to the public.

Please RSVP here.

The Metro Parks Need Your Help!

Volunteers are need to help get out the word about Issue One, the Franklin County Metro Parks Levy, which is on the ballot next Tuesday.  Below are several opportunities to help out.

Saturday, May 2nd      Literature Drops 
Sunday, May 3rd         Literature Drops
Monday, May 4th         Visibility during afternoon rush hour at major intersections (This entails holding up signs.)
Tuesday, May 5th        Visibility & greet voters at polling places with multiple precincts and respectable turnouts.

To volunteer, contact David Hull at 670-3687 or hulldavid@columbus.rr.com.

For more information, visit the Metro Parks Levy website.

April 28, 2009  • UAProgressiveAction.com

Join UAPA as we welcome Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner this Thursday, April 30, to speak about the 2008 Election and what went right, what went wrong and what still needs to happen to ensure fair and honest elections in Ohio.  

The event will be held at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Hall, 1250 Kinnear Road, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.  (See map here.)  The presentation is free and open to the public.

Please RSVP here. 

Funnies

April 24, 2009  •  www.UAProgressiveAction.com

Earth Day Event Tomorrow at Wickliffe School!

Please join the Wickliffe Progressive School community, UAPA  and Sustainable UA for an Earth Day Event on Saturday, April 25, 2009, at Wickliffe School, 2405 Wickliffe Road. These groups will be working together to get volunteers, Ohio-native plants and monetary donations for a community beautification event in celebration of  Earth Day.   

This is a great way for residents to provide community support for the school, for Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts to earn merit badges, and for high school students to fulfill community service requirements. Volunteers will be planting trees and plants, pruning old trees, and spreading mulch.

Two shifts are available for volunteers: 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon, and 12:00 noon – 3:00 p.m.

To volunteer, send an email to either Kris Rojas at krisrojas@sbcglobal.net or Robyn Harper at robynharper@sbcglobal.net to let them know you're coming, or just simply show up!  Bring a shovel, spade or hand trowel marked with your name, and work gloves.

If you would like to make a monetary donation, please send a check, made payable to Wickliffe PTO, with "Earth Day event" written in the memo line, and send to Wickliffe Progressive School, 2405 Wickliffe Road, UA, 43221.

Mother Earth thanks you!

Organizing for America Listening Tour in Columbus April 27

Itching to get re-involved? Anxious to see some local response to the Republican campaign of NO? Wandering how to reconnect with the folks you worked with during the campaign? Have something to say about what direction the grassroots should take over the next four years? Looking to be involved in a grassroots movement to CHANGE the country?

Organizing for America has hired staff and will be in Columbus on APRIL 27th to listen to your thoughts and ideas. They have compiled the email comments and ideas contributed on-line. Now, they are ready to talk person to person.

Ohio remains a key state in this effort. "As Ohio goes, so goes the nation." When we succeed, we can be key leaders in a nationwide grassroots effort for CHANGE in America.

Join us to hear what is happening in Ohio and to express your views on the direction this movement should take.
Sign up today. Contact your friends and encourage them to sign up as well! This is your opportunity to be heard.

Monday, April 27 from 7:00 PM - 9:00 PM
Host:    Judy Kress
Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Hall (Columbus, OH)
1250 Kinnear Road

RSVP here.

Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner to Recap the 2008 Election April 30

Join UAPA as we welcome Ohio Secretary of State Jennifer Brunner on Thursday, April 30, to speak about the 2008 Election and what went right, what went wrong and what still needs to happen to ensure fair and honest elections in Ohio. 

The event will be held at the Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Hall, 1250 Kinnear Road, from 7:00 - 9:00 p.m.  (See map here.)  The presentation is free and open to the public.

Please RSVP here.

Funnies

Show your pride and hope for America's future tomorrow by dusting off your Obama yard sign and displaying it in celebration of the historic inauguration of our 44th President, Barack Obama.  We look forward to seeing those beautiful blue signs against the white backdrop of the snow in our Upper Arlington neighborhoods. 

YES WE DID!

www.uaprogressiveaction.com

President-Elect Obama Calls for National Day of Service

When Barack Obama was elected president, he set forth this challenge in his victory speech, "Let us summon a new spirit of patriotism; of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder and look after not only ourselves, but each other."

Beginning this weekend, each of us has an opportunity to answer this call to serve.

President-elect Obama is calling on all Americans to participate in a National Day of Service on Monday, January 19, Martin Luther King Day.  One hundred events are being held across Franklin County that focus on health and hunger.  Here in Upper Arlington and Northwest Columbus, organizers are tackling the hunger crisis that increasingly ravages the least fortunate of us in Central Ohio.  It is estimated that one in 10 Ohio families will need assistance with food this winter.  Let's do our part to make sure that the Mid-Ohio Food Bank is stocked and ready to address that need.

Here's how you can help:

1. Go to www.USAservice.org to identify a drop-off location where you can donate non-perishable food and checks to benefit the Mid-Ohio Food Bank from January 17-19.  (Click on "Find an Event", type in your zip code and search a 10-mile radius.)
2. Volunteer to go door-to-door to collect for the Mid-Ohio Food Bank on either January 17, 18 or 19 by e-mailing Robyn Harper at robynharper@sbcglobal.net.
3. Give generously with either food or check when a volunteer comes to your door collecting.

Please also consider calling our local Red Cross at 1-800-448-3543 to schedule a time to give blood at the Carriage Place Donor Center on Bethel Road.  Can't spare the time?  You can make an on-line donation to the Mid-Ohio Food Bank at  www.midohiofoodbank.org.   If possible, please identify your donations as coming from UAPA for tracking purposes.

Your help, whether by donation or time, will relieve someone's pain.  Learn more about these and other area events by going to www.USAservice.org, then share this information with your friends and encourage them to get involved.

Thank you for making a difference!

www.uaprogressiveaction.com

Senator Chafee to lead "Republicans for Obama" roundtable in UA

Join Republicans for Obama and come hear what former Senator Lincoln Chafee (Republican from Rhode Island) has to say and why he's supporting Senator Barack Obama over his Republican Senate colleague, John McCain. Senator Chafee will be in Upper Arlington this Wednesday, October 8, at the Rusty Bucket at 2:00 p.m. for a roundtable discussion. Bring your undecided and persuadable Democratic and Republican friends!

BARACK OBAMA'S CAMPAIGN for CHANGE

Invites you to attend a Roundtable Discussion

with Former Republican Senator

LINCOLN CHAFEE

this Wednesday, October 8, at 2:00 p.m.

RUSTY BUCKET

1635 West Lane Avenue (in the Lane Avenue Shopping Center)

Upper Arlington, Ohio

For more information, please contact Greg Fess, Ohio Republicans for Obama, at 614/746-1109.

Senator Obama headlines downtown rally on Friday

Senator Barack Obama is paying a visit to Central Ohio on Friday, and he needs your help. The Ohio Campaign for Change needs volunteers to make the downtown Columbus rally a success! The "fierce urgency of now" is upon us with Election Day less than four weeks away, and this Friday, October 10th, kicks off the final 25 days of this historic campaign!

All the details have not been determined yet, however, volunteers are needed to help run the event from 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. on Friday. So, if you can help, email tmanor@ohioforchange.com with your name and cell phone number. If you have any questions, call Tal at 436-0936 office or 783-8147 cell.

Please pass this message on to any friends who might be interested in getting involved.

Together we will win this election and change the country, because we all know that the road to the White House goes through Central Ohio!

Keating Economics

Voters deserve to know that the failed philosophy and culture of corruption that created the savings and loan crisis then are alive in the current crisis -- and in John McCain's plans for our economic future.

Here's a superb 13-minute documentary about John McCain's role in that financial crisis.

It is documentary quality, sobering, narrated by one of the original Keating-5 investigators, and absolutely devastating to John McCain's claims to be a born-again reformer.

It should be seen by every American, and everyone who is going to vote in the presidential election.

Watch it now and share it with your friends.

Here are some other links where you can learn more.

• CNN - Oct. 6, 2008: CNN Truth squad declares Keating Economics “True”
• Seattle Times - Sept. 4, 2008: Revisiting McCain’s Keating 5 history
• Los Angeles Times - Sept 25, 2008: Keating 5 ring a bell?

It's Not Too Late to Attend!

A Luncheon Fundraiser on the Patio for Maryellen O'Shaughnessy

Please join Maryellen O’Shaughnessy

Candidate for Franklin County Clerk of Courts

for a Luncheon Fundraiser on the Patio

with special guest Franklin County Commissioner, Marilyn Brown.

Wednesday, July 30, 2008 at 12:00 – 2:00 p.m.

Barbara Sokol's home, 2346 Fishinger Road.

Suggested Contribution $100 • Host Committee Sponsorship $250

Please make checks payable to: The Maryellen O’Shaughnessy Committee

No corporate checks, please.

Please RSVP to (614) 487-3526 ASAP.

Plan to Attend the 3rd Annual Ted Celeste Barbeque!

Sunday, August 3

5:00 - 8:00 p.m.

Governor Ted Strickland will be there. Former Governor Dick Celeste will be there, too. Senator John Glenn is hoping to make it as well.

Don't you be left out of the fun at the 3rd Annual Ted Celeste Barbeque this Sunday, August 3, from 5-8 p.m. at the home of Herb and Melissa Hedden, 2491 Lane Road, in Upper Arlington. Minimum donation is $100. RSVP to 487-8400 or info@tedceleste.com. View the entire invitation here.

May We Suggest

• How Obama Became Acting President
• Study finds media tougher on Barack Obama
• Lot's of laughs in this Daily Show segment called Obama Quest
• Lee Iaccoca nails it in these excerpts from his upcoming book 'Where Have All the Leaders Gone?'.
• Interesting video by T. Boone Pickens, the legendary wildcatter, corporate raider and Bush ally, whose decided that we can't drill our way to energy independence.
• Excellent NYTimes story showing the responsibility on both sides for America's debt problems. Incredibly, Ohio's payday lenders are asking voters to reinstate their 391% interest rates --- eliminating the new 28% interest rate cap just passed in HB 545.

Funnies

July 11, 2008 • Action Alert • www.uaprogressiveaction.com

Description	Image	Suggested Donation
Bumper Sticker		$2.00
T-Shirts		$20.00
Yard Sign		$5.00

If you didn't see us at the 4th of July parade to get your UA for Obama gear, your umbrella must have been obscuring your view. Don't fret. Because we want everyone to have an opportunity to show their UA for Obama pride, we're trying something new . . .

Every Saturday morning in July, from 9 to 11 a.m., UA for Obama gear will be available at 2485 Edington Road. [map]

We'll have bumper stickers, yard signs, t-shirts (including women's and kids') and an assortment of buttons.

• WHO? All Upper Arlington Obama supporters
• WHAT? UA for Obama Gear availability
• WHEN? Saturday, July 12, 19 and 26 from 9 to 11 a.m.
• WHERE? 2485 Edington Road [map] Please come around to the back porch.  Do not ring front door bell as it will not be heard.
• WHY? To unify our community in support of Barack Obama's election
• HOW? Cash or checks only, please

So, mark your calendars, and we'll see you Saturday morning, bright and early!

You can also order signs and bumper stickers on line and have them delivered for a nominal fee. Go to the order form by clicking here.

July 10, 2008 • Vol. 5, No.15 • www.uaprogressiveaction.com

Join the UAPA Book Club!

Please join us tonight Thursday, July 10, at 7:00 p.m. for the UAPA Book Club. We're reading Barack Obama's The Audacity of Hope, and will be discussing the prologue and Chapters One through Three. Registered web site users can get audio of these chapters:

• Prologue
• Chapter 1 (Republicans and Democrats)
• Chapter 2 (Values)
• Chapter 3 (Our Constitution)

If you don't already have a userid and password, It's easy to register --- just click here and follow the instructions.

The book club meeting will be held at the home of Barb Falkenberg, 2501 Onandaga Road, Upper Arlington, 43221.

(Please RSVP so we know how much coffee to put on!)

Sign up for Audacity of Hope Book Club Meeting, 1st meeting

Funnies

www.uaprogressiveaction.com

In surveys conducted in 2005, people in the United States and 32 European countries were asked whether to respond “true,” “false” or “not sure” to this statement: “Human beings, as we know them, developed from earlier species of animals.” Click for a larger version.

UA Library Board member sponsoring creationist talk at UAHS

A young earth creationist, intelligent design (ID) advocate and philosophy professor Paul Nelson, will be speaking at Upper Arlington High School on Feb 11th. A UA Library Board of Trustees member, Bryce Kurfees, is listed as the contact on the event's invitiation.

UAPA is concerned about this presentation because:

• Nelson and the ID advocates explicitly aim to change school science curriculum to include the pseudo-science of intelligent design. Ohio religious fundamentatlists groups have a history of trying to inject creationism into the science classroom, using high-ranking elected Republicans to support them.
• the Discovery Institute to which Nelson belongs, is primarily a political lobbying organization, not a scientific research organization
• intelligent design is a disguised form of creationism and legislating it into the science classroom is a direct attack on the scientific method. If ID wants to be in the science classroom, it should follow the path of any scientifically verifiable, testable theory by engaging in the scientific peer journal review process. Non-scientific theories about our origins belong in philosophy or comparative religion classes, not the science classroom.
• pitting evolution vs. intelligent design implicitly tells students wishing to accept the overwhelming evidence for evolution, they must abandon God. This sets up a false dichotomy that undermines both science and religion.
• the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the largest association of scientists is clear:
  • "... that the lack of scientific warrant for so-called 'intelligent design theory' makes it improper to include as a part of science education;"
  • "... AAAS urges citizens across the nation to oppose the establishment of policies that would permit the teaching of "intelligent design theory" as a part of the science curricula of the public schools;"

Read the full story.

May we suggest....

1. YouTube Video: How to Interview a Global Warming Denier
2. YouTube Video: Political Reporters Fail To Ask About Climate Change
3. ProgressOhio's investigative story of betrayal about how Republican Matt Damschroder was able to pit progressive against progressive to sidetrack Jennifer Brunner's election reform proposal.