Table of Contents
Dates
With Alice
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Alice Membership Meeting
Monday, October 13, 2008
6:30 PM - 8:00 PM
LGBT Community Center
1800 Market Street @ Octavia
Get updated plans, and sign-up, for activities before Election Day
Alice Field Activities
Throughout October Until Election Day
See Field Update in this newsletter. Contact the Field Committee by emailing fieldcomm@gmail.com to do your part!
Alice Awards Ceremony
Thursday, October 23, 2008
5:30-7:30pm
Lime
Gold sponsorship: $1000
Silver sponsorship: $500
Bronze sponsorship: $250
Individual sponsorship: $125
Individual member ticket: $55
Individual non-member ticket: $80
Individual ticket & membership: $85
Click here to RSVP or become a sponsor!
Honoring People and Organizations who Build and Protect our Community
and make Alice an Effective Community Contributor:
| Ally Award |
Hon. Dennis Herrera
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| Visionary Award |
Shannon Minter
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| Legal Services Award |
Terry Stewart
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| Community Service Award- Organization |
Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence
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| Community Service Award- Individual |
Molly McKay
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| Leadership Award |
Rebecca Prozan
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| Volunteer of the Year |
Announced at the Event
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| Robert Barnes Lifetime Achievement Award |
Hon. Willie L. Brown, Jr.
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October Co-Chairs' Report
The Power of Underestimation
It is always a foolish mistake to judge one incapable of attaining a goal. As lawyers and as co-chairs of the nation's oldest LGBT Democratic Club, we've seen that underestimation can be the most powerful weapon in an opponent's arsenal. Underestimation does not always carry the day, but it does often serve as a saving grace. Indeed, during this election season we have seen underestimation work against us and we have the opportunity to let it work for us.
As Democrats, we decried the misdirected selection of Alaska's Governor as the running mate of Republican Presidential Nominee, Senator John McCain. What could the Republicans be thinking? Sarah Palin, the former Mayor of a small town and two-year Alaskan Governor, has little chief executive experience. She is anti-choice. She has no foreign policy experience. Our mocking tone set the bar low for Palin during the Vice Presidential debate. We underestimated her ability to even stand on stage with our seasoned veteran, Senator Joe Biden.
In allowing an attitude that resonated with our own intellectual superiority and discounting Palin's ability to connect, we made it easy for Palin to appear qualified with barely competent, half-answers to questions of importance. She did better than what we expected. But we expected less than what we deserved or needed. As Democrats, we helped make the standards for Palin's performance so minimum that it translated into her easy success. Although the debate made it clear that Biden is more qualified to be Vice President, we did ourselves and our country no great favor in not requiring Palin to deliver at the highest level.
By the same token, the proponents of Prop 8 are underestimating Alice, the LGBT Community and the people of California. Prop 8's proponents want to re-write California's constitution to exclude a group of individuals from the basic right to marry. What is apparent is that they do not expect us to fight hard enough to defeat their measure. They rely on the history of Prop 22's outcome, the passage of discriminatory anti-same sex similar measures across the country and millions of dollars from right-wing organizations and a few millionaires to give them comfort that the majority of Californians will support Prop 8. They are asking all Californians to go back to a time where LGBT persons were invisible from the social and political institutions of this country. Prop 8's people believe that their true opponents are but a few radicals, while the larger LGBT community remains afraid to step forward and demand the right to equal treatment and dignity.
But Prop 8 proponents do not understand that we face this initiative as a community and together we will match dollar-for-dollar, the millions of dollars and outreach that they receive from a very few. They fail to recognize that LGBT-Californians, like the first Californians who looked westward from the east, embody a sense of individualism and a pioneering spirit. They do not know our ability to organize and mobilize. We must take advantage of their failure to take in the full measure of our community. If you have not done so yet, please commit to one of the following:
Donate as much money as you are able to the No On 8 campaign;
Organize a party or fundraising for the No On 8 campaign;
Volunteer your time and do outreach at the No On 8 campaign headquarters; and
Ask your family, friends and associates to vote No On Proposition 8 .
We LGBT-Californians, like all Californians are the descendents of ancestors who embraced change, uniqueness and equality despite differences. It is for these reasons that we believe that on November 4, California's people, no matter what their spiritual, economic, political or social beliefs may be, will not vote to treat certain of their children different than others. They underestimate all of California when they think we do not recognize hate and division in its very basic form. They underestimate us.
Julius Turman and Susan Christian
Alice B. Toklas Co-Chairs
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Alice Endorsements for November
The Alice membership met in September and voted the following endorsements for November. Some endorsements were voted by the membership earlier in the year.
"No position" indicates that no position achieved the required 60% of the votes of the membership. Click on the * for more information on an explanation of Alice's position on a proposition.
"No endorsement" is an explicit choice not to endorse any of the candidates for that position.
| Elected Officials |
| President of the United States |
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| Congress, District 8 |
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| Congress, District 12 |
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| California Senate, District 3 |
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| California Assembly, District 12 |
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| California Assembly, District 13 |
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| Supervisor, District 1 |
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| Supervisor, District 3 |
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| Supervisor, District 4 |
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| Supervisor, District 5 |
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| Supervisor, District 7 |
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| Supervisor, District 9 |
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| Supervisor, District 11 |
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| San Francisco Unified School Board |
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| Community College Board of Trustees |
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| BART Board, District 7 |
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| BART Board, District 9 |
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| San Francisco
Propositions |
For descriptions and full
legal text of these propositions,
click here
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A. General Hospital Bond
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YES
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B. Set-Aside for Affordable Housing
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No position *
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C. No City Employees on Boards or Commissions
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NO
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D. Pier 70
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YES
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E. Number of Signatures For Recall
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NO
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F. Elections in Even Years
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NO
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G. Retirement Credit for Unpaid Parental Leave
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No position *
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H. SF Clean Energy Act
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YES
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I. Independent Rate Payer
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NO
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J. Historic Preservation Commission
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NO
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K. Prostitution/Sex Workers
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NO
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L. Community Justice Center
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YES
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M. Criminal and Civil Penalties for Tenant-Landlord Disputes
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No position *
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N. Real Property Transfer Tax
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YES
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O. Emergency Response 911
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YES
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P. Transportation Authority
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NO
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Q. Payroll Expense Tax
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YES
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R. Oceanside Water Treatment Plant Name Change
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NO
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S. Budget Set-Asides
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YES
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T. Substance Abuse Treatment
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YES
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U. Policy Statement Iraq
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YES
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V. Policy Statement on JROTC
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No position *
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Reese's World: Perspectives from the Editor
"Full Circle, with this ring"
by Reese Aaron Isbell, M.P.P.
When I began writing for the Alice newsletter back in the early part of 2004, our community was upended by an amazing act from our newly elected mayor. He would allow our marriages at City Hall.
I wrote a column at the time about how this changed everything, for even our opponents were now claiming they supported 'civil unions' just not marriage. (Just this last week we witnessed both vice-presidential candidates state they were for something like it.)
Then, a year later, I wrote about how the mayor rocked and rolled us at a City Hall event on the anniversary of those marriages.
As time has gone on, and my time as Newletter Editor draws to a close this year, I feel as if I've gone full circle, with you my dear readers and our community.
Here we are, fighting to protect our newly minted legal marriage rights. And here our opponents are, using a rock concert video of our mayor on the City Hall steps, with the mischaracterized chorus 'whether you like it or not' in their advertisement against us. I find myself watching their video, and having been a part of these events, having witnessed with amazement and awestruck feelings, reminiscing to a moment in time when I felt the future before us, whether our opponents liked it or not, that we were about to have legal marriage within our lifetime.
And here we are, with legal marriage, in my lifetime and yours. And here we are once again, fighting at the ballot box for our equal rights, whether we like it or not.
I also find myself going back through my old columns over these last years and realizing once again how far we have come in just such a short time. These last 5 years have moved oh-so-quickly for our community's rights, yet oh-so-slowly for our daily bread.
Del Martin was able to find legal marriage with Phyllis Lyon before her passing this summer. And that is a blessed thing. However, it does not take away the wrong done by our governments which disallowed her legal marriage for the 55 years prior. And she and our world are only lucky by a brief moment of time that she was able to get married before her passing.
So here we are, full circle, from when we began legal marriage in San Francisco with our mayor's fortitude, and back when marriage was not polling so well in California, to a time now when we are polling better but also have a momentous task before us to keep these rights on November 4th. And I find my 5-year marriage to you, my Alice community, stronger than ever and yet coming to a close soon.
Let us move forward to that new dawn, when we have full legal marriage equality that won't be taken away. Let us celebrate November 5th the dawning of that new day, that new world of equality without fear of the ballot box once again. Let us find our hopeful bellies filled and our yearning hearts warm. Let us prove we can win at the ballot box, whether they like it or not.
We are ready for our prime time. We will have one helluva rock show. The time is now.
Reese Aaron Isbell, M.P.P.
Editor
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Alice Field Update
A Message from the Field Committee: Get Involved!
There is less than a month left until the biggest Election of your
lifetime! We need every club member's help with the following
efforts:
Wednesdays:
Phone Bank for "No on 8! Campaign" 6:30pm: 2278 Market St
Saturdays:
Slate Card Distribution! 10am-2pm, Outside Cafe Flore, Market and 16th Street
Special Dates:
Saturday October 4, 10 a.m.: Sue Lee GOTV, District 1
Sunday October 5, 9-12pm or 3-6pm: Castro Street Fair (18th and Castro)
Saturday October 11, 10 a.m.: Ahsha Safai GOTV, District 11
Saturday October 18, 10 a.m.: Denise McCarthy GOTV, District 3
*** Email to fieldcomm@gmail.com to sign up***
Also, check out the The Field Committee Calendar for information on
candidates events and activities: http://calendar.yahoo.com/montyb_98.
If you have knowledge of additional events, please forward those to
fieldcomm@gmail.com.
Thank you for continuing Alice's tradition of being the most active
LGBT Democratic Club in San Francisco!
LaMonte Bishop and Larry Handerhan
Field Committee Co-Chairs
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No on Proposition 8 Update
5 Things You Can Do To Defeat Prop 8
Defeating Prop 8 -- the marriage ban -- will require thousands of people working together across California to educate and rally voters to Vote No on Prop 8. Here are five things you can do to help defeat this harmful initiative. By doing even one thing on this list, you will make a difference.
Give. The fight to defeat Prop 8 is going to be hard-won. It's going to take passion, commitment, time, and extensive resources. Please give as much as you can to the campaign today and in the coming weeks. We need to raise enough money to wage a massive public education effort to convince the majority of Californians, the most populous state in the nation, to Vote No on Prop 8. Every dollar counts, so please contribute today and again in the coming weeks.
Volunteer. This effort takes committed individuals working hard at the grassroots level. We need volunteers from across the state to hand out information at local events and make phone calls to voters educating them about defeating Prop 8-the marriage ban. Sign-up to volunteer your time to educate the public about how Prop 8 harms loving and committed couples across California.
Talk. Talk to your friends, family, coworkers, fellow church-goers, neighbors, classmates -- anyone and everyone -- about Voting No on Prop 8. You have a wide circle of influence, use it! By simply talking to people, you increase awareness about the issue in your community and can help influence public opinion. The more people we talk to about this issue, the more votes we have on our side. It's a simple, cheap, and effective way to help defeat Prop 8.
Write. One of the most effective ways to create change and influence people is by telling your personal story. Write a letter to the editor of your local newspaper, or submit an article to a newsletter or blog and tell your community why Prop 8 is so harmful to you and those you love. We need to put a face on this issue. This isn't just about politics and laws, this is about our friends and family -- those closest to us.
Register. It all comes down to this. Make your voice count and get engaged. Register to vote NOW and get your friends and family to register too. And make sure to show up at the polls on November 4. We need Californians who support fairness and equality to vote in November against this harmful change to our constitution.
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Register to Vote
The deadline for registering to vote for the November election is October 20. If you need to re-register due to moving, or know people who need to register, please contact us at info@alicebtoklas.org or go to the secretary of state's website to register online.
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Alice
Membership Form
Alice B Toklas LGBT Democratic Club
1800 Market Street PMB#18
San Francisco, CA 94102
Tel: 415-707-2010
www.alicebtoklas.org
Alice Reports Editor: Reese Aaron Isbell, M.P.P.
Month of October: Membership Meeting, October 13
You can now join online www.alicebtoklas.org/abt/joinonline.asp,
or fill out the application below
Membership Application
Yes, I want to join the Alice B. Toklas Democratic Club!
__$35 Regular
__$100 Supporter
__$250 Sponsor
__$500 Champion
__$20 Special Needs
__Other
__I am renewing my membership __I
will be a new member
__I am a registered Democrat
Name ______________________________________________________________
Address _____________________________________________________________
City ____________________________________State: ______Zip: _____________
Phone: Day __________________________Eve: _____________________________
Email: _________________________________________
Please send checks payable to “Alice B. Toklas
LGBT Democratic Club” and mail to:
Alice B. Toklas LGBT Democratic Club
1800 Market Street, PMB#18
San Francisco, CA 94102
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