The Democratic Party of Charlotte County has an enthusiastic and active membership base.

The DEC (Democratic Executive Committee) meets on the first Monday of each month.

The Democratic Club meets on the third Thursday of each month at 7:00 PM.

For locations and more information, please call 941-626-4659.

Democrats join the Charlotte County Chamber of Commerce

10/10/2005

Contact: Tom LeGros 941-623-3640

Punta Gorda- In an effort to reach out to the business community, the Charlotte County Democratic Executive Committee has applied for membership in the Chamber of Commerce. This is seen as the first step in a progressive plan to give Democrats a voice in area business discussions.

“What we are finding as we look into boards, commissions, and clubs is that the Democratic viewpoint is sorely lacking.” stated Tom LeGros, Chair of the Charlotte Democratic Executive Committee. “Our membership will allow us to participate in some very important dialogue between the business community and government. This dialogue has been very instrumental in how our county has developed and how it will continue to mature. We had to make this move to see to it that the interests of Democrat voters are represented.” added LeGros.

** Latest Update! **
Our Harvest Festival Soup-er Supper with Congressman Dennis Kucinich

Saturday, January 7, 2006
6pm - 9pm

Fundraiser for the Democratic Club of Bonita Springs and South Lee County.

Bonita Springs Middle School
10141 West Terry Street
Bonita Springs, FL 34135

$25 requested contribution

Details and registration at http://www.dembonessolee.com

Congressman Kucinich will be attending and speaking at this event.

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Important Note:
The Congressman’s appearance is subject to his Congressional obligations and thus there is always the possibility of la

This Abramoff story is big, and the right wing noise machine has started their misinformation and smear campaign. They're trying to muddy the waters with their "everyone does it" and "Democrats took money too" talking points. The media is complicit in spreading some of this misinformation, in an effort to appear balanced, but let's get real... Abramoff is a Republican operative, and this is a Republican scandal.

Let's take a look at Jack Abramoff's personal contributions:

          $172,933  Republican

(from Senator Nelson's office)

I am pleased to announce that U. S. Senator Bill Nelson will be holding the following Town Hall Meeting:

Charlotte County Town Hall Meeting Monday, January 9th at 11:00 a.m. Punta Gorda City Hall, City Council Chambers, 326 West Marion Avenue, Punta Gorda, Florida

For more information, please call 239-334-7760.

P.S. From time to time, Senator Nelson compiles electronic news briefs highlighting key issues and hot topics of particular importance to Floridians. If you'd like to receive these e-briefs, visit Senator Nelson's Web site and sign up for them here

While the economy continued to grow, it was another bad year for the median income.

By Robert B. Reich
The American Prospect

Listen to most economic commentators and you’d think the biggest news of 2005 was that the American economy continued to grow at a healthy clip -- notwithstanding hurricanes, oil shocks, trade imbalances, and a bloated federal budget deficit. Well, that’s true. The power and resilience of this economy are remarkable.

But there’s another story about the American economy that’s equally remarkable although more sobering. Although the data aren’t all in, it seems almost certain that in 2005 median incomes continued to drop.

New inquiry may expose events that led to Pat Tillman’s death

by Robert Collier, San Francisco Chronicle
Sunday, September 25, 2005

The battle between a grieving family and the U.S. military justice system is on display in thousands of pages of documents strewn across Mary Tillman’s dining room table in suburban San Jose.

As she pores through testimony from three previous Army investigations into the killing of her son, former football star Pat Tillman, by his fellow Army Rangers last year in Afghanistan, she hopes that a new inquiry launched in August by the Pentagon’s inspector general finally will answer the family’s questions:

Were witnesses allowed to change their testimony on key details, as alleged by one investigator? Why did internal documents on the case, such as the initial casualty report, include false information? When did top Pentagon officials know that Tillman’s death was caused by friendly fire, and why did they delay for five weeks before informing his family?

“There have been so many discrepancies so far that it’s hard to know what to believe,” Mary Tillman said. “There are too many murky details.” The files the family received from the Army in March are heavily censored, with nearly every page containing blacked-out sections; most names have been deleted. (Names for this story were provided by sources close to the investigation.) At least one volume was withheld altogether from the family, and even an Army press release given to the media has deletions. On her copies, Mary Tillman has added competing marks and scrawls — countless color-coded tabs and angry notes such as “Contradiction!” “Wrong!” and “????”

http://sfgate.com/..

Business scholar says president was 'shallow,' 'flippant' in 1970s class

Published On 7/16/2004 12:00:00 AM
By SIMON W. VOZICK-LEVINSON
The Harvard Crimson

As the race for the White House heats up and the nation’s left-leaning heads come together to unearth potential skeletons in President Bush’s closet, one line in his resume has avoided major scrutiny: the time Bush spent just across the Charles River, earning an MBA at the Harvard Business School (HBS) in the 1970s. Now, as some fervently question the commander-in-chief’s performance in the Texas National Guard decades ago and more current-minded politicos take aim at the events surrounding Sept. 11, 2001 and the invasion of Iraq, one former HBS professor is doing his best to publicize his recollections of what he calls a sarcastic, mediocre student who went on to lead the United States.

Yoshihiro Tsurumi, an avowed opponent of Bush’s current views and policies who was a visiting associate professor of international business at HBS between 1972 and 1976, said Bush was among 85 students he taught one year in a required first-year course. In the class on “Environment Analysis for Management,” incorporating elements of macroeconomics, industrial policy and international business, Tsurumi said students discussed and debated case studies for 90 minutes several times a week.

Tsurumi—now a professor of international business at Baruch College in the City University of New York—said he remembers the future president as scoring in the bottom 10 percent of students in the class.

http://www.thecrimson.com/..