Southernmost Drinking Liberally, Key West

07/05/2017

Happy 4th of July!!! This month's meeting will take place this Thursday, July 6th, at 5pm in the VFW on North Roosevelt.

Lots to talk about and discuss - from a president who'd rather tweet silliness than do his job to all sorts of global, state, county and local issues.

Please join us!

05/31/2017

As a reminder, Drinking Liberally will meet tomorrow, Thursday, June 1 at 500 at the VFW, 2200 N Roosevelt Blvd. In addition to the regular discussion of all things politics, guest speaker Monroe Holloway will talk about Florida's Voting Restoration Amendment which seeks to restore voting rights to former felons. Hope to see you there!

05/25/2017

Next Meeting - June 1st, 2017

Hi - I'm giving you a week's notice that the next Drinking Liberally meeting will be next Thursday, June 1st, at the VFW on Roosevelt Blvd, from 5pm until it's over. So many things to discuss on a local, county, state, national, and global scale.

A few changes to our Southernmost Drinking Liberally leadership team: We'll be having new administrators of the DL email and email list. Jeff Frost and Dawn Messing, two of our regular attendees, will be taking over the communications responsibility. Stuart Strickland and Steve Purciello will facilitate alternate meetings beginning this month.

Please give them the same courtesies and respect you gave me these past few years.

See you at the meetings.

Fred Strolle

05/03/2017

Discussion Meeting Thursday May 4th, 2017

Stuart Strickland will be facilitating this month's meeting at the VFW on North Roosevelt, this Thursday evening, from 5:00pm to whenever you convene.

My son is in town and we are doing things with him this week.

After over two years of leading these meetings I've decided it's time to pass the torch to a new Key West chapter facilitator. This isn't unusual for me: I used to change assignments at my previous employer every two to three years. I believe change is good, can bring improvements, and keeps things fresh. My personal hell would be reciting the same lines night after night in a long running play. I think our conservative friends would define doing that as their personal heaven!

Many of you are well read and familiar with the issues, both locally, state and nationally; some of you have run or held local offices; and some have interest in pursuing opportunities in politics. As a result, I'm confident one of you will do a fine job keeping this endeavor going strong. Thanks to my involvement with Drinking Liberally, I've met some very nice people and developed new friendships. And I'm not "quitting" Liberally Drinking - instead, I think it's time for a new facilitator to have a chance to make a difference.

If you are interested in taking this over, please let me know. It's minimal effort - administering the email account and optionally, this page. The national organization sends maybe one or two emails a year asking "What's happening in your part of the world?", so you are basically on your own with no organizational issues, meeting rules or politics to worry about. On the other hand if you enjoy affiliations with a national organization, they have meetings and conferences you can attend.

Let me know if you are interested and we'll smoothly make the transition.

Best,
Fred Strolle

04/06/2017

Meeting Tonight - Thursday April 6th - Sorry for the late announcement!

Guests just left and more are on the way - in Marathon driving in from Miami as I type this - so I've been distracted. Sorry for the oversight.

Stuart Strickland will be facilitating tonight's meeting at the VFW on North Roosevelt at 5:00pm. I'll be doing my host thing.

03/15/2017

ACA Activist Training Seminar
Tomorrow March 16th 12 Noon
Key West Public Library
700 Fleming St, Key West 33040

PRESS RELEASE

Contact:

Kathryn Norris (305) 587-1964

Email: [email protected]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

“Activist Training Seminar March 16, 2017”

Key West, Florida – The Florida Keys Indivisibles invites you to pack a brown-bag lunch and come get energized and empowered for the fight ahead this Thursday at 12 Noon at the Key West Public Library, 700 Fleming Street, Key West, FL 33040.

Paul Davis, an experienced trainer and organizer, a veteran of ACT UP NY and ACT UP Philly, and currently working with Housing Works (the nation’s largest AIDS service and activist organization,) is helping set up a nationwide network of people who are linked up, trained up, and ready to get face-time with their Members of Congress at in-district town halls and other public meetings. And when our elected officials are failing to hold public meetings, his team will help us develop additional 2.0 strategies to get to them and make them respond to our communities needs.

Do you want to fight for health justice, improving the ACA, and affordable medicine for everyone everywhere? Can you join other local activists for 2 hours on Thursday, March 16th, in Key West?

This 2-hour intensive workshop will focus on actions local citizens can take to shutdown the current House ACA replacement Bill as well as training on "birddogging", a proven activist tactic, forged and perfected in the early and ugly days of the AIDS epidemic, used to influence elected officials.

The organizers will follow-up by tracking calendars of town hall events and other opportunities and let us know when we have a chance locally to speak truth to power. They will also make sure that once groups are trained, they are in touch with each other when there is an event coming up and can coordinate. Organizers will also help share the results driven by our town hall actions with all the groups, as well as with national partners, so that we can keep piling on the pressure and back each other up across the country.

Don’t get burned out. Fuel up, fight back!

**Local activist groups of any sort are welcome--anyone who wants to fight for justice!**

The network is focused on face-to-face contact with elected officials, is open to all, and is collaborating with many of the (rapidly growing!) number of groups in fields advocating for health care for all. We will also build relationships with in-district Congressional staff and communicate with them regularly. We are most effective when we make these demands directly and publicly to our elected officials at their public meetings, while also building regular relationships with them and their staff in-district. Come learn how.

“We’re not just fighting to protect the ACA from repeal--we are going to win the ACA we should have had in the first place. ACA replacement must cover *more* people, and with *less* out-of-pocket costs, and with no reductions in benefits, preventative policies, or protections for preexisting conditions. We need affordable medicine for everyone, everywhere!” We’re already slowing down the dangerous drive to repeal the ACA with no replacement--but we need to move fast.

Join us on Thursday and bring others from your group. Handfuls of birddoggers around the country have changed the course of history before. Together, we can do this! We must stand together, indivisible we all win. For more information please visit www.Indivisiblekeys.com or www.facebook.com/thefloridakeysindivisibles

[iframe src=”https://www.change.org/p/carlos-curbelo-congressman-carlos-curbelo-please-come-to-a-constituent-town-hall-in-key-west” width=”100%” height=”500″]

03/15/2017

Hello, I am forwarding the flyer we have made for our first event planning the town hall with Carlos Curbelo. We will be discussing issues that we would like to bring up when the Congressman will be in town at the end of this month when we invite him to the Town Hall. We also have a website up with a petition for Carlos Curbelo to come to Key West for a town hall.

Thanks!
Giancarlo
305 600 7836

03/01/2017

We'll be meeting again this Thursday, March 2nd at our normal location, the VFW on North Roosevelt at 5:00pm.

These meetings are for discussion and sharing, so feel free to bring up local, county, state, national or global issues.

See you Thursday!

02/06/2017

I was asked to send this to you at last week's meeting:

Key West Sanctuary City?
A Conversation about Immigrant Rights

7-9 PM
March 9, 2017
Harvey Government Center
1200 Truman
Key West, FL

Panelists:
Erik Camayd-Freixas - FIU Professor
Wayne Dapser - Key West Immigration Attorney
Jonathan Fried - We Count! Executive Director

Moderator:
George Cooper - Former Columbia Law Professor

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ACLUFLORIDAKEYS/
Website: ACLU.org

Best,
Fred Strolle

Defending civil liberties and the Constitution. Because Freedom Can't Protect Itself.

01/31/2017

Get Together this Thursday, Feb 2nd, 2017

This month's Drinking Liberally discussion group get together will be held in at our regular meeting room at the VFW on North Roosevelt from 5:00 pm to 6:30pm or so.

Lots to discuss: the rapid fire decisions that are being made in Washington DC, the apparent growing polarization between the pro and anti Trump camps, and the uncertainty people are feeling over the current chaos in our Federal Government.

Of course, the floor is always open to discuss local, county, and state issues too. I always take away a new learning from these meetings, so I look forward to hearing your thoughts.

See you Thursday!

01/03/2017

First Get Together in 2017

2017 already! This Thursday we'll have our first 2017 meeting and spirited discussion at the VFW on North Roosevelt at 5:00pm.

The old Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times" certainly applies to our current world and especially to our country. As a result, there's lots to discuss on the local, state, national and global scene. Come and share your thoughts.

See you Thursday!

11/29/2016

Meeting Thursday December 1st

December 1st! This year is quickly moving into the history books.

We'll be meeting this Thursday, December 1st at the VFW on North Roosevelt at 5:00pm for another monthly session discussing the thrills, chills, and spills of national and local politics, issues and news.

Looks like we're returning back in time to the land of 'effete intellectual snobs' comments and 'expletive deleted' office recordings. Make sure your seat backs and tray tables are in their full upright position and that your seat belt is correctly fastened. We're in for a bumpy landing.

See you Thursday!

11/11/2016

A Message from the Drinking Liberally national leadership

This email from the national leadership was sent to all Drinking Liberally meeting hosts. I wanted to share it with you.

******************************

Dear Liberally Hosts,

There is no sugar coating or silver lining to Tuesday night's results. It's devastating. Conservatives are ascendant in Washington, a temperamental bully just took the White House, and there are many of our friends and neighbors across the country who have already been targeted by the hateful, bigoted, and abusive tenor of his campaign and supporters.

It's not good.

But we will survive.

We're in for a rough road, and the fights of our lives, but together, we will make things better. In little ways, we'll look out for each other in the day and weeks ahead. In bigger ways, we'll advocate and organize together over the months and years to come. And in the long arc of history, together, we will see progress.

We believe many of you feel the same. That's why you host Drinking Liberally gatherings. And as dark as today might appear, your DL group is a source of light. It's the connection, comfort, and conversation so many of your friends and neighbors need. And it's likely to become a place that strangers need as well. You'll find new members seeking you out in the time ahead.

So please keep organizing. Keep your arms open to welcome fellow liberals and embrace your community. We saw a surge of energy back in '04, and suspect we'll see something similar again. We'll do what we can to make sure to support your chapters as best we can, and may roll out some improvements over the next few months in terms of communication and resources.

In the meantime, know that we are thinking of you all, keeping you in our hearts, grateful for the work you do, and hopeful that we can stand together with all those who need comfort and solidarity right now.

We're beginning an era of Drinking (Really) Liberally ... yes, we might need a drink. But, it never has been about the drinks alone. It has always been, and will continue to be, about our liberal community which we need now more than ever.

Onward
Justin, Katrina, Matt and the whole Liberally Gang

11/01/2016

Meeting This Thursday!

We early voted yesterday, which reminds me that it's time to invite you to another monthly get-together!

We'll meet this Thursday November 3rd at the VFW on North Roosevelt at 5:00pm.

It's been another month of adventures in the strangest presidential election I've ever seen. Local and state elections have also intensified as candidates scramble for our attention. We have more than enough to talk about!

See you Thursday.