The vaunted "Peace and Good Will" of this season could fail again. What are we doing about it? Fighting.

Evil is like a shadow….You cannot…fight [it away]….
Shine light on it.
¾Shakti Gawain

It is we who elected him Progressives to represent us, and now we have the ability to let them know we will not forget them.

There are many groups doing wonderful things to bring about the manifestation of Progressive values—values such as the equal opportunity to earn equitably, the maintenance of our Earth so that we have a place to live, and the fair distribution of sustenance, education and healthcare. Many of us believe that the resulting happiness amongst people will foster peace.

Last month (OK, last year), several of us got onto a small conference call and discussed how to get us all moving to influence our representatives: getting us out of Iraq; bringing health care to all; restoring democracy; and using clean energy. We did this through MoveOn.org. I really like how they are approaching politics.

And if you don’t think politics are important, think again of the 3000+ Americans killed—and countless Iraqis—think of how global warming is ignored and how it affects us and how it will affect our progeny.

And if you think MoveOn.org is that organization out there, you are wrong. We are MoveOn! And I am proud of us.

One of the greatest things about MoveOn is the desire and ability of the original organizers to lead responsibly and at the same time to let go into the hands of the people—and that is us.

Moveon.org has established groups of people in every area. These are called Democracy Councils. There are two levels of activity in this campaign.

- Core Council – this is a select group of people who will volunteer about 10 hours a month to the campaign. These people are the ones who will serve as “point people” for various activities (overseeing the letter to the editor campaign, coordinating meetings, etc.). Again, just like what happened during the elections, MoveOn provides all of the background materials and support so it will be super easy to do. We will have a conference call on January 4th at 8pm to go over the details of the core council and to plan the meeting on January 9th.

- Coordinating Council – This is the group of people that will carry out the activities of the Mandate for Change Campaign. We will have a meeting of the Council on January 9th and the goal is to finish the photo petition, plan for the district meeting and plan for the letter to the editor campaign (attached is the agenda and below are the details for the event, with a link to sign up for it).

Whew, sorry for the overload of information!

But, I would encourage you to join a MoveOn gathering where you are. Go to http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/index.html?action_id=70&search_distance=30&search_zip=27278&submit=Search

If you are in the NC Piedmont, join us on a January 4 MoveOn.org organizational conference call at 8 pm. Call 1-712-580-1100 and use access code 788898.

January 9 will be our next gathering. This will be in Carrboro thanks to Estelle. Please sign up at http://pol.moveon.org/event/events/index.html?action_id=70&search_distance=30&search_zip=27278&submit=Search

We will meet with Representatives Price and Miller or their senior staff shortly but we don't know exactly when yet.

Please let me know if you have questions about any of this information and/or what you are interested in doing. I hope that you had a wonderful and relaxing New Year’s and I look forward to talking with you more about how we can make 2007 a progressive and peaceful year!

Yours,

Paul

A corner of golden opportunity
awaits to hear the rain of hands that tend the built-up land.
Burst forth once more the dammed up power
in our people's hearts
to know God's earth can live.
Too many years false prophets have said
the end is near.
Just tend the earth,
each other's hearts
and listen:
Earth will last ten million years
if we take care.

BTW, please go to www.paulaaron.com and let me know if you like the song there and what I should do to get it out there. I appreciate any help. You may even join my rarely sent newsletter listserv!

PS. Remember, we must be careful! The shadows of evil always reside amongst us. We must support our representatives to act on “Peace and Goodwill” all year long.

“Why can't we have Christmas the whole year around?” –The Weavers

We will encourage those who represent us and let them know that we will stand behind them. We will vote for them if they vote to restore democracy, to restore our Republic, to develop clean energy, to bring about proper health care for all, to bring about proper wages for all and to bring about peace—to get us out of Iraq where we never belonged first place. We are their constituents. We will encourage them to stand behind us.

We will encourage them to stand up to the forces who wish them to take right wing actions. It's no longer a question of Conservative and Liberal. It's a question of our democracy and our Republic. We don't need ideologues leading us. We need people like ourselves—decent, moral and honest. (And if you are not that, start being that today.)

There is no longer any need for the vaunted political swing every few years from Right to Left. We are here as this is of the world citizens of America to bring “Peace and Goodwill.”