News Of Importance, Demonstrations, Toll Revolt, and Bush Options

[artinser]

Massive Demonstration To Mark Katrina Observance

Appalled by the lack of progress in the Gulf, a group of prominent business, civic and entertainment organizations have joined forces to mobilize Americans to converge upon New Orleans on August 29, the second anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. The event, "8/29, A Day of Presence," will take place on Wednesday, August 29, from 10 a.m. to 4 pm. at the Ernest N. Morial Conventional Center and is intended to force the government to act swiftly to create a Marshall Plan to restore New Orleans and the Gulf Coast region.

Those being invited to speak include Susan L. Taylor, Essence magazine; Marc Morial, National Urban League; Thomas W. Dortch, Jr., 100 Black Men of America; Melanie L. Campbell, National Coalition on Black Civic Participation; author and professor Michael Eric Dyson; Rev. Al Sharpton, National Action Network; as well as all presidential candidates. "Enough is enough!" said Taylor, during the Essence Music Festival in New Orleans. "It's the shame of the nation," she said before tens of thousands gathered in the Superdome, "that the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast have been abandoned and are suffering without the most basic necessary supports while our tax dollars are directed toward war."

During the recent Essence Festival, a group of celebrities and national leaders talked to local elected officials, organizers and citizens about the challenges and struggles they are still facing two years after the devastation. A "8/29, A Day of Presence," was called to send a message to the world-and specifically to the federal government-that the priorities should be to rebuild homes and strengthen families in the Gulf Coast region.

Two years have passed since the deadliest disaster in modern American history hit the Gulf Coast. While New Orleans is seeing some signs of recovery-utilities have been restored to all areas of the city, businesses are reopening and residents are moving back home - New Orleans and the region yet face significant challenges. Fifty public schools remain closed. Too many people who want to return have not been able to do so. Emergency rooms are overcrowded and uninsured patients and poor people find it almost impossible to obtain specialty care. In addition, New Orleans has a dearth of public and affordable housing and an increasing number of homeless residents. Levees, although improved since Katrina, may not be able to protect residents and property in the future. Determined not to allow the anniversary to come and go without action, a coalition has been formed to reach out to fraternities and sororities, civic and grassroots organizations and all faith-based communities to coordinate bus trips to New Orleans so that their constituencies can stand in unity for "A Day of Presence."

"We urgently need as many people as possible to stand united on August 29," said Tracie Washington, president and CEO of the Louisiana Justice Institute. "If you can drive or fly, get on the bus or sponsor a bus, we need you to join us in letting our leaders know that we want immediate action in the Gulf Coast region."

In addition to the march and rally on the actual day of the anniversary, August 28 has been designated a "Day of Public Policy & Community Service," when volunteers from around the country will help to conduct an environmental clean-up of an Eastern New Orleans neighborhood, the restoration of a historic African-American church, the painting of a local public school and a visit to a senior citizens home. Discussions, health and wellness sessions and workshops will be held, including the Gulf Coast Collaborative Recovery & Renewal's Public Policy Forum at Dillard University and Black Women's Roundtable Wellness Journey and dinner recognizing women volunteers from the Gulf Coast, who have made a significant impact on rebuilding efforts. Those unable to travel to New Orleans are being urged to participate by contacting their national and state representatives to demand the immediate restoration and betterment of the entire Gulf Coast region and by rallying 10 family members, friends and colleagues to do the same. The toll-free number for the congressional switchboard is (888) 226-0627 or visit http://www.house. gov and http://www.senate. gov to locate state representatives.

"We are soliciting all people of conscience to join us for 'A Day of Presence' to show the people of the Gulf that we do care and to let the world know that the conditions in the Gulf Coast matter to all of us," said Melanie L. Campbell, executive director and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.

For more information or to register, log on to http://www.louisian ajusticeinstitute.org or call (504) 304-7947.

A Day of Presence is supported by a growing coalition of national and local organizations, including the Gulf Coast Collaborative (Louisiana Justice Institute, Mississippi Economic Policy Center, Mississippi NAACP, Center for Healthy Communities at the University of South Alabama, and the Gulf Coast Young Leaders Network), ACORN Louisiana, The Advancement Project, Advocates for Environmental Human Rights, African American Leadership Project, Alabama Coalition on Black Civic Participation, All Congregations Together, ANTJA, Children's Defense Fund, Councilwoman Cynthia Willard-Lewis, Deep South Center for Environmental Justice, Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana, Every Child Matters, Greater New Orleans Fair Housing Action Center, Katrina Information Network (KIN), LeftTurn Magazine, Louisiana Diaspora Project (LA-Dap), Louisiana United Methodist Church Disaster Ministry, Louisiana UNITY Coalition, Millions More Movement, Mississippi Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Moving Forward Gulf Coast, NAACP New Orleans Branch, The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Nation of Islam Mosque #46, National Action Network, National Urban League, New Voices Fellowship, NOLA.TV, Office of Mayor C. Ray Nagin, OneTorch, People's Hurricane Relief Fund, People's Organizing Committee, PolicyLink, Rainbow/PUSH, Residents of Public Housing, Safe Streets/Safe City, St. Luke's Homecoming Center, Saving Ourselves Coalition, Southern Christian Leadership Conference (SCLC) New Orleans Chapter, Tulane Institute for Study of Race & Poverty and the United Teachers of New Orleans.


SCHEDULE OF EVENTS

Monday, August 27, 2007

€ Candlelight Vigil On The Levee - 9600 block of Hayne Blvd., 7 p.m.-7:30 p.m.

For more information, call Candace Richards at (504) 658-1055 or Sabrina Montana at (504) 658-1040.


Tuesday, August 28, 2007

€ A Day Of Service, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.

Coordinated by the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation. For more information, call Edrea Davis at (818) 613-4929.

€ Second Anniversary Memorial Service-Center of Jesus The Lord, 1236 N. Rampart Street, 10:30 a.m. For more information, call Sarah Comiskey at (504) 596-3023 or send e-mail to scomiskey@archdiocese-no.org.

€ Gulf Coast Collaborative Town Hall Meetings -Lawless Memorial Chapel, Dillard University, 1pm Part of a series of town hall meetings to discuss recovery and renewal efforts in Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama. Participating groups include the Center of Healthy Communities, Louisiana Disaster Recovery Foundation, Louisiana Justice Institute, Mississippi NAACP, Mississippi Economic Policy Center and other local coalitions and networks throughout the three-state region.

€ Youth Empowerment Seminar - Dryades YMCA, 2220 Oretha Castle Haley Blvd., 4pm - 6pm. For more information, call Malana Joseph at (504) 915-0918.


Wednesday, August 29, 2007

€ Minister's Unity Prayer Breakfast-Loews Hotel, 7:30 a.m.- 9:40 a.m.

Hosted by the National Urban League's Marc H. Morial, President & CEO and the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation.

All faith leaders are invited to attend. RSVP Urban League of Greater New Orleans at (504) 620-2332.

€ Hurricane Katrina Memorial Groundbreaking Ceremony - Charity Hospital Cemetery, 5056 Canal St., 8:30am. Guests include New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin; Gen. Russel Honore; U.S. Rep. William Jefferson; state Rep. Juan LaFonta; the Rev. Stephen John Thurston, president of the National Baptist Convention of America; and New Orleans trumpeter Irvin Mayfield Jr.

€ Sacred Heart Academy Memo-rial Service -Courtyard of Sacred Heart Academy, 4521 St. Charles Ave., 8:30 a.m. Kindergarten through 12th-grade students will participate in the services, which include ringing the Katrina Bell of Remembrance donated to the city on the first anniversary. For more information, call Sarah Comiskey at (504) 596-3023 or send e-mail to scomiskey@archdiocese-no.org.

€ The Historic Black Community-The Lower 9th Ward Commemorative-9 a.m. - Until.

€ 1826 Tennessee St., 9 a.m.-A prayer vigil for Shanai Green and Joyce Green.

€ At the levee wall near N. Roman and Jourdan Ave., Memorial and Vigil, 10 a.m.

€ Second line procession from Lower 9th Ward to Congo

Square, 10:30 a.m.

€ Rally and speakers begins at Congo Square, Louis Armstrong Park, 1pm

€ Ceremonial Bell-Ringing & Wreath-Laying-9:38 a.m. Location: Katrina Memorial Site, Canal Street/City Park Cemetery at Head of Canal Street. Mayor Nagin and Mrs. Nagin will be joined by local, state and national elected officials, community leaders, and citizens at 9:38 a.m. at the Katrina Memorial Site to ring ceremonial bells signifying the series of levee breaches that occurred throughout the city. Bells will ring for two minutes, 9:38 a.m.-9:40 a.m. Members of the New Orleans City Council will simultaneously lay wreaths on levees throughout the city. The One New Orleans Mass Choir will sing prior to the bell ringing.

€ Hurricane Relief March-Beginning at the Industrial Canal, Jourdan and North Galvez, 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. The People's Hurricane Relief Fund will march through the Lower 9th Ward to Congo Square. For more information, call (504) 301-0215.

€ Celebration Of Thanks-Washington Artillery Park, across from Jackson Square, 10 a.m. New Orleanians pause to express appreciation to people from around the world who have contributed to recovery efforts and to express that needs still exist.

€ A Day Of Presence: We Matter, We Care, We Act-The Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, outside Hall D, 2 p.m.-5 p.m. A group of business, civic and entertainment organizations have joined to mobilize Americans across the country to converge on New Orleans to bring awareness to the slow recovery in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. Guests include Essence magazine editorial director Susan Taylor, recording artist Angie Stone, actress Lyn Whitfield, Judge Mablean Ephram, actress/author Victoria Rowell, scholar Michael Eric Dyson and author Iyania Vanzant. For more information, call Cheryl Duncan at (201) 332-8338 or Edrea Davis at (770) 961-6200.

€ Oral History Day-The Boyd Cruise Room of the Historic New Orleans Collection's William Research Center, 410 Chartres St., 2pm. Includes the presentation of the online archives at www.doyouknowwhatitmeans.org and efforts to collect stories from those assisted by the New Orleans Fire Department during and immediately after Hurricane Katrina. For more information, visit www. hnoc.org.


Thursday, August 30, 2007

€ Katrina Lecture Series-Dillard University, Cook Theatre, 7 p.m.-9 p.m. A lecture series that places Hurricane Katrina in the broader context of the historic struggle for Black liberation and human justice. Participants will be Dr. Al Colon, African World Studies Dept., Dillard University; Dr. Toni Muhammad, U. of LA-Lafayette; Dr. James Turner, Africana Studies Dept., Cornell University; Mtangulizi Sanyika, AALP Project Manager.


Friday, August 31, 2007

€ AALP Local/National Dialogue - McDonogh 35 Senior High School Auditorium, 1331 Kerlerec St., 6:00pm-9:30pm

A two-part panel that examines the "State of the Recovery," flood protection, and disaster readiness and rebuilding of the cities as new national priorities

€ 6 p.m.-7:20 p.m.-"State of the Recovery"-A conversation with Dr. Ed Blakely, Office of Recovery Management; "State of the Levees and Flood protection" - A conversation with Dr. Ivor van Heerden, LSU Hurricane Res. Ctr.

€ 7:30 p.m.-9:30 p.m.-"Getting ready for hurricanes and rebuilding cities as new emerging national priorities - A panel of nationally distinguished practitioners, organizers, advocates, citizens and policy planners. Participants are the Rev. Dr. Bernice Powell Jackson, World Council of Churches; Min. Robert Muhammad, Millions More Movement; Ms. Melanie Campbell, NCBCP; Ron Daniels, president of the Institute of the Black World; Atty. Richard Hatcher, former Mayor of Gary, Indiana; Dr. Julianne Malveaux, president, Bennett College.


Saturday, September 1, 2007

The Closing and Crowning Event of the 2nd Anniversary Observance and Commemoration: The African American Leadership Project's "Hands Around The Dome" Ceremony, Louisiana Superdome, 1pm - 4pm. The theme is "Remembering Loss and Affirming Hope." At 12:30 p.m., program participants gather and process from City Council chambers to the Louisiana Superdome, Plaza Level. For more information, contact the AALP Chair, Mrs. Gail Glapion, or the Project Manager, Mtangulizi Sanyika at (713) 376-3364, e-mail: wazuri@aol.com.×

http://www.louisianaweekly.com/weekly/news...te.pl?20070827l

[artinser]

Giuliani To Attend 9/11 Anniversary

NEW YORK -- Republican presidential candidate Rudy Giuliani will speak at the sixth anniversary remembrance of the World Trade Center attack, although he will not read the names of victims.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Tuesday said in a radio interview on WCBS that Giuliani, who was mayor at the time of attack, would participate in this year's roll call of the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed on Sept. 11, 2001.

Later, a Bloomberg spokesman clarified the mayor's remarks and said Giuliani would not recite the victims' names but instead would read a passage from a text, which has not yet been chosen. The recitation of the names will be done by firefighters, police officers and other rescue workers.

The somber reading has been the centerpiece of the annual ceremony since the 2001 attack and has become a tradition for thousands of people who lost loved ones. Giuliani was the first reader at the first anniversary in 2002.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7082800757.html

[artinser]

Toll Revolt In New Hampshire

I
rate drivers in Merrimack rolled through the toll booths on the Everett Turnpike yesterday and paid with mounds of pennies to protest what they said is an unfair toll burden on Merrimack residents, who pay 50 cents every time they use the highway to drive in and out of town.

Two residents, including the town council chairman, were ticketed by the state police for traveling only 28 mph in a 65 mph zone along the main highway. One of the car's passengers was standing up in the vehicle and hanging out of the sun roof, according to the state police.

"It was $57.60," Chairman Dave McCray said of his fine, "and I plan on paying all of it in pennies."

The town council voted last month to hold a townwide "Toll Revolt Day" yesterday and asked residents to pay the 50-cent tolls at each of the three Merrimack exit ramps with pennies. The turnpike is often the speediest way to travel around town, and tolls add up quickly, residents said. Studies show that Merrimack residents pay as much as 42 cents per mile traveled compared with the state average of 3 cents per mile for users of the turnpike system.

http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dl...355/1043/NEWS01

[artinser]

Bush Plays Down Iraq's Failure To Meet Benchmarks

RENO, Nev, Aug. 28--President Bush played down the failure of the Iraqi government to meet political benchmarks set by the U.S. Congress, telling American Legionnaires Tuesday morning that it makes no sense to ignore real military progress despite the Iraqi government's failure to approve all the laws it promised.

While acknowledging that the government has more work to do to meet the legislative benchmarks, Bush said goals are effectively being reached without legislation. He asserted, for instance, that the Iraqi government is sharing oil revenues throughout the nation's provinces, though a formal national oil law has not been passed.

At the same time, the president said, a new U.S. military strategy -- implemented with additional U.S. forces-- is "showing results." He said American forces are dislodging Sunni extremists from Baghdad and other strongholds, and sectarian violence has declined in Iraq's capital.

"The momentum is now on our side," Bush said. "The surge is seizing the initiative from the enemy -- and handing it to the Iraqi people."

Alluding to complaints about the failure of Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki's government to meet the benchmarks, Bush accused his critics of moving the goalposts. He said they are disregarding political advances at a local level and minimizing the ultimate impact of improved security in fostering national reconciliation.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/conte...7082801159.html

[artinser]

Record Number Of Americans Lack Health Insurance

TUESDAY, Aug. 28 (HealthDay News) -- A record number of Americans are without health insurance, according to new U.S. Census Bureau statistics released Tuesday.

Some of the trend can be explained by employers who are curtailing coverage or making it too costly for lower income workers to afford, the report said.

"The number of people without health insurance coverage increased from 44.8 million in 2005 to 47 million in 2006," David S. Johnson, chief of the bureau's Housing and Household Economic Statistics Division, said during a teleconference Tuesday.

The percentage of Americans without health insurance rose to 15.8 percent in 2006 from 15.3 percent in 2005, Johnson added. "This is the second consecutive year of increase," he said.

At the same time, the number of people with health insurance increased to 249.8 million in 2006, from 249 million in 2005. The number of Americans covered by private health insurance and government insurance remained about the same, according to the report, Poverty, and Health Insurance Coverage in the United States: 2006.

The problems of the uninsured are particularly acute among children. The percent and the number of children under 18 without health insurance increased to 11.7 percent from 10.9 percent from 2005 to 2006, and to 8.7 million from 8 million, respectively.

"The number of children covered by private insurance decreased from 65.8 percent in 2005 to 64.6 percent in 2006," Johnson said. "The increase in the uninsured rate can be attributed to the decline in private coverage."

http://health.usnews.com/usnews/health/hea...h-insurance.htm

[rob balsamo]

Thanks artinser...

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