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July 2004 Update

CDC's Garden Party

Garden Party Fundraiser Results Are In . . .

CDC's Cambridge Garden Party at the home of board member Michael Kanter and his wife Elizabeth was a great success! After a cloudy and uncertain morning the sun rallied for a beautiful afternoon. There was a buzz of enthusiastic conversation, great food, and our featured guest Frances Moore Lappé read from her new book, You Have the Power: Choosing Courage in a Culture of Fear. She donated twenty signed copies to CDC -- we have a few left, and we'll send you one with your contribution of $35 (mail us a check, or go to our secure online donation page.) Our guests were most generous, and we raised over $1,000! This was just the kind of event that we need for networking and fundraising. We can get out the word on challenging corporate constitutional rights and building a firm foundation for democracy while establishing new relationships to build a community dedicated to fundamental change. Plus, we had a great time! So please consider sponsoring a Garden Party -- or Living Room Party or Community Center Party or Church/Temple/Mosque Party (or even a Yacht Party, we're not fussy). We'll provide a speaker and literature, and we'll post a notice to our list and several others. We'll ask you to provide the space, some snacks, and an invitation to your friends and co-workers. Satisfaction assured, so contact Adam at the CDC office for further information or to set it up! And . . . Ken Selcer received rave reviews from Garden Party guests for his lyrical vocal and guitar renditions of jazz, folk, classic rock and other standards, in addition to original songs of his own. We'll have him again at a future event, but if you're thinking of hosting a party, he's the man who will bring a unique and special flavor to your gathering. You can contact him at kselcer {a-t} tiac [d-o-t] net or (781) 863-2092.

Democracy School

It's almost here, but it's still not too late to sign up for Democracy School with Thomas Linzey and Richard Grossman. WHEN: July 9-11, 2004 WHERE: Boston College COST: Sliding scale, $275 - $100 Thomas Linzey of the Community Environmental Legal Defense Fund will be teaching. Thomas is an attorney at the forefront of legal battles on corporate constitutional rights -- you can read more about his work on the CELDF website defending rural communities against corporate hog farms and toxic sludge. Richard Grossman, co-founder of POCLAD (Program on Corporations, Law and Democracy) and one of today's leading thinkers on corporate constitutional rights, will join us for Saturday's sessions. Massachusetts Democracy School is sponsored by the Center for Democracy and the Constitution (a Massachusetts non-profit dedicated to challenging corporate constitutional rights) in cooperation with POCLAD and CELDF. Fee for the weekend is on a sliding scale of $275 - $100, and includes all course materials and dinner on Saturday evening. On the one hand we're a small non-profit, Democracy School isn't subsidized and there are numerous expenses associated with it. On the other hand, we want people to be able to come no matter what their budgets and spread the word around about this new and powerful tool for preventing corporate harms before they start (as opposed to regulating them after they've poisoned us all). View the curriculum here. To enroll, you can sign up online here. If you're paying less than the full amount, enter your amount in the "Other" box and write "Democracy School" in the Comments field. Or write a check for the full amount that you're paying with the notation "Massachusetts Democracy School," payable to "CDC", and send it to: Center for Democracy and the Constitution 12 Locust Avenue Lexington, MA 02421 Please call the office at 781 674-2339 if you have any questions.

The Boston Social Forum

Join CDC at the Boston Social Forum July 23-25 Taking place right before the Democratic National Convention in Boston, the Boston Social Forum (BSF) is a local democratically organized people's forum modeled after the World Social Forum. There will be over 500 workshops to choose from during three days of activities, networking and entertainment, along with speakers of reknown from the U.S. and all around the world. Check out the BSF website for further information. CDC is sponsoring a couple of BSF workshops: Organizing Locally and Globally(in the Global Justice Track) and Corporations and Rights (in the Democracy Track), and a panel, From Slave State to Corporate State to a State of Denial, in the Corporate Power Track. Come on by and join the conversation - another world is possible!

Join Us!

And don't forget, every contribution helps. Click here to join in CDC's work to eliminate the corporate power that creates war and inequity and poverty in its own interest at the expense of the rest of us. And to volunteer, send an e-mail to adam {a-t} constitution411 [d-o-t] org. Contributions are tax deductible. Many thanks for your interest and support! Adam D. Sacks Executive Director (781) 674-2339 www.constitution411.org

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