Cong. Bob Filner to speak at Coffee Party event.
The San Diego chapter of the national Coffee Party movement is holding a kind of “coming-out” party in the late afternoon on Sunday, April 11th, and Congressman Bob Filner is the keynote speaker.
This private affair will be at Queen’s Bee, an entertainment venue/ coffee house in North Park from 3:30pm to 5. Stacy Taylor, one of San Diego’s most popular (ex-) radio personalities will also be on hand as a speaker. There will be music and poetry, so this could be quite a gig.
The San Diego Coffee Party organization is not even one month old. Its first meetings were on March 13th, and there was so much of a turn-out of kindred spirits that it was organized into 3 to 4 groups. There’s also a chapter in Oceanside, one in Carlsbad, and a small one in Ramona. There are efforts a foot to establish one in the South Bay as well.
This is only part of the huge turnout on March 13.
About a dozen OBceans are active in the “coastal” section and met recently at Jungle Java.
Nationally, the Coffee Party appeared as a response to the Tea Party, and all its violent rhetoric, racism, and incivility. The Coffee Party sees itself as a counter-pole, representing reason, civility, and a motivation to get results and solutions to a myriad of national problems and issues.
Besides bringing civility back into the political discourse, local Coffee Party members are very concerned about campaign finance reform in light of the recent and terrible Supreme Court decision granting corporations unlimited access in terms of resources to campaigns, elections and candidates.
There is a deep resentment also about the influence of corporations not only in elections but throughout our society in general. Coffee Party people are troubled by how our cities are crumbling while we finance two wars. They also want to keep pushing health care reform. There are huge concerns also about unemployment, jobs, the economy.
San Diego Coffee Party meeting, March 13, 2010.
Less than a month old, the San Diego Coffee Party facebook already has 430 fans. The group has a website, a coordinating or steering committee to work out logistics and overlap among the different groups, and has been trying to change the make-up of grassroots politics.
On Thursday, April 8th, a half dozen coordinators met with Congresswoman Susan Davis to begin discussions with her about issues and solutions.
On Sunday, April 11th, at Queen Bee’s, located at 3925 Ohio St (between University Ave & Lincoln Ave), Coffee Party members, friends, and supporters will have Cong. Filner as a speaker, who will share his thoughts on the major issues affecting our nation, and will also speak about the need for civility in order to address the challenges that we face as Americans.
Stacy Taylor
Stacy Taylor, a long time Southern California talk radio host who’s notorious political and social opinions have earned him respect and disdain (and job insecurity) for 25 years, was also the local voice for Air America’s KLSD. He will take a few moments to share his slant on today’s politics.
Also on hand will be musician and songwriter Kenny Eng, who is a rising star on the San Diego music scene. In early 2010, he released “Live From Lestat’s.”
Kenny Eng
This release showcased his impressive development as a solo-performer. Kenny will debuting his song especially written for the Coffee Party.
Lastly, in celebration of National Poetry Month, renowned poet S. A. Griffin will stop by with his decommissioned Cold War-era bomb filled with poetry. He will read a few of poems submitted to him from across the country.
Poet S.A. Griffin
The only hitch in Coffee Party organizers’ plans for this event is that certain Tea Party activists are discussing trying to attend and disrupt the shindig by interrupting Cong. Filner. They are not invited, as this is a private event, and will be asked to leave if they indeed become abusive at the party. This is one of the reasons that anyone else wishing to attend is asked to RSVP below.
The event organizers are asking people to RSVP here: Please RSVP today! and also to not bring placards or signs.
{ 11 comments… read them below or add one }
OB Rag & Frank Gormlie and Co.
What a fantastic organizational idea, and props & praise to Congressman Filner to give his time to meet and speak.
On Sunday afternoon, I’ll be helping out at a meet & greet for Juan Del Rio for SD County Board of Supervisors– but send wishes.
Mike
PS: I used to think my “healthcare, not warfare” positions were some sort of edgy leftism. After checking the polls, however, I find that I am pretty much in the political mainstream. The TV pundits apparently think people who want to build America into a great place to live are some sort of leftist fringe. Thanks for standing up for tolerance and civility, which are two positions incompatible with fascism, and therefore, need to be supported.
Mike – thanks – you’ve been very supportive of us. Plus did you know that Juan Del Rio was at our very first Coffee Party meeting March 13th?
FYI
My cousin Poet S.A. Griffin will be reading from the Poetry Bomb ( named Elsie after our grand mother ) At 2:00 pm.
Pat – I understand he also has appeared in a bunch of movies. Wow – you’re connected to Hollywood.
Dear Frank- Thanks for keeping us informed about the Coffee Party Movement. It is nice to know that it has sections in almost all parts of the county. I will be out of town on Sunday but will be looking forward to learning what happened at the ‘Queen Bee.
Your friend, John Falchi
Besides being a poet and writer, S.A. has been an actor probably since high school some 35+ years . He’s been in many movies, TV shows, and commercials. during his career.
He’s no stranger to OB, he’s performed here with The Carma Bums, his poetry group on a couple of occasions, around the time my brother Mike’s Improv group The Mighty Grunion Players were performing around town
Bob Filner is attempting to hitch his wrong headed positions to any group that would give him stage time, and Stacy Taylor at one point in time was more sane than to hitch his wagon to this. Could that be why he is no longer a major market talk show host??
Filner is great and all, but its time for someone new. Filner was warned about the coming (2006) housing bust and how it would bring down our economy. Don’t be mistaken, our economy is still a phony bologna economy and we are deeply in debt ($116,000/taxpayer for federal debt + state and local debt).
We need leaders with the wisdom to look into warnings, smarts to figure them out, independence to break from group think, and guts to stand up when our future is on the line.
Bob, thank you for your past service, now please get behind a candidate who will win your vacated seat.
It was a great showing by San Diego citizens! Thanks to everyone who came out, there was right around a hundred folks who showed up, including a couple of Tea Party folks, and signed the Coffee Party “Civility Pledge” at the door.
Thanks to Mike James for booking the great venue (Queen Bees), all the work he did, along with all the other people behind the scenes that made this happen, Congressman Filner for his advice on how to expand our base, Stacy Taylor for being as civil as he was ;) and S.A. Griffen (The Poetry Bomb is a wonderful project that has me inspired to write!
It was a good, constructive meeting that shows potential that this movement has. I’m glad to be part of it!
Glad all went well – I was in AZ or would’ve loved to make it…also glad the TPers got in – I think asking everyone to take the civility pledge and talk in terms of issues rather than personal attacks is more than reasonable, and if the CP group is really about civil debate than you’re going to need some opponents to debate civilly or the risk is run of becoming a bunch of blowhards that pat themselves on the back for agreeing with one another. I’ll look forward to the recap!
We did have a great time. Filner went over his allotted time in speaking but no one seemed to mind. There were just about exactly one hundred folks who showed – many of them new to the Coffee Party. We had Coffee Party reps from Ramona and North County present, as well as one of the co-founders of the group, out here visiting his sister.
There were about a half dozen Tea Partiers that did show, 2 or 3 agreed to be civil and they came in. Several did not agree and one guy in particular had his hate sign pacing back and forth in front of our door, yelling out his hate message. At one point, he tried to hit a passerby who didn’t like his sign with the sign, and the guy grabbed it and tore off the stick. Two cops showed up and forced the Tea people across the street.
But the main show was inside. Thanks to all who helped – Patty, Daniel and Kerry at the door, Shane and Gary with the media, and Mike James as the emcee – and a big gracias to Stacy Taylor, Kenny Eng, and of course to Congressman Filner and his staff.