The Original Drinking Liberally

While Obama's international tour showed America
that the world may have goodwill towards us yet,
McCain runs ads criticizing Obama's popularity.

While McCain's media buddies give him a pass
-- overlooking Mideast confusions & profanities --
he complains of Obama's coverage that he's left out.

And because artists, scientists & scholars
support Obama, McCain calls him "elitist"...
while McCain wears $500 loafers.

On one hand, a candidate liked by colleagues,
praised by his students, welcomed by the world.

On the other, a man who has run ads
reviving his 1960s war...against Woodstock.

Now...who is out of touch?

Come out tonight for a drink & a think,
share a pint and a pontification
with your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Tonight - and every Thursday
7:30pm onward
Rudy's - 9th Ave btw 44th & 45th
[as always, in the backyard]
Questions: nyc@drinkingliberally.org

SPECIAL EVENTS COMING UP:

1. The Barack Obama Birthday Party Comedy Night
2. Laughing Liberally with Jobs with Justice
3. Screening Lib recommends: Stealing America
4. Get your free drink!
5. Conventions coming soon

1. Laughing Liberally Presents...
THE BARACK OBAMA BIRTHDAY PARTY COMEDY SHOW -
a Shades of Black Special Performance
with performers from The Daily Show, 30 Rock & more.

Monday, August 4th (Obama's Actual Birthday)
The Tank @ DCTV (note NEW location)
87 Lafayette - btw Walker & White, below Canal.
livingliberally.org/laughing/chapters/NY/nyc
7pm Doors; 8pm Show; $5 cover; No Drink Minimum

Featuring:
Wyatt Cenac - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Michele Buteau - Last Comic Standing
Baron Vaughn - Live at Gotham
Reese Waters - Caroline's on Broadway
Donald Glover - 30 Rock
Elon James White - DC Comedy Festival

2. Wednesday, August 6th - 6:30pm doors, 7:30 show
THE LAUGHING LIBERALLY LAB -
a special performance with JOBS WITH JUSTICE.
The Tank @ DCTV (note NEW location)
87 Lafayette - btw Walker & White, below Canal.
livingliberally.org/laughing/chapters/NY/nyc

Featuring Katie Halper, Harry Terjanian,
Baratunde Thurston & Lee Camp

3. Screening Liberally recommends...
the new film: STEALING AMERICA Vote by Vote,
opening at the Quad Theater on August 1st.

STEALING AMERICA, directed by Emmy Award-winning
and Academy Award-nominated director Dorothy Fadiman,
shines a powerful spotlight on the gritty reality
of the last decade's most egregious incidents
of U.S. electoral insecurity.

AUGUST 1 - 7 At the Quad Cinema
Please click here to see the film's trailer:
http://www.stealingamericathemovie.org/

4. What would you give for a FREE DRINK
every time you walk into Rudy's Bar?
Would you give $25?

What if you also got discounts to theater,
cool tee shirts, benefits for wireless service,
environmentally-friendly produces & more?
And it would still just be $25?

What if it got you a cool card with your name
that declared you a "Card-Carrying Liberal"
and you supported Living Liberally at the same time?
Now, how about that $25?

Get your Liberal Card today:
http://www.theliberalcard.org

5. CONVENTIONS
Democratic Convention Aug 25-28
Republican Convention Sep 1-4
Watch parties every night
FREE
The Tank @ DCTV (note new location!)
87 Lafayette btw Walker & White

Save the dates.
Save our country.
Save the world.

A birthday party for Barack Obama
with The Daily Show's newest correspondent,
a free drink at our favorite bar,
& a chance to celebrate Thoreau...

...but not all at the same time.

Liberal Drinkers -

We have several special events & announcements:
join for one or all, solo or with a posse
as we count the 100 days down 'til the Election.

1. TONIGHT - Reading Liberally Classics
2. Mon 8/4 - The Barack Obama Birthday Party
3. Wed 8/6 - Laughing Liberally & Jobs for Justice
4. Get Your Drink On - with the Liberal Card
5. Conventions Coming Soon

1. TONIGHT - Tuesday, July 29th - 7:30pm
NYC CLASSICS READING LIBERALLY:
Transcendentalism, Emerson & Thoreau
in honor of Thoreau's protest & refusal
to pay a poll tax & support an unjust war.
...doesn't matter if you've read it or not,
come join the fun & the discussion.

Earth Matters - Ludlow, south of Houston
livingliberally.org/reading/chapters/NY/nycclassics
& get 3 books for $1 with the Progressive Book Club
http://www.progressivebookclub.com/pbc2/home.pbc?srcKey=42E11a

2. Laughing Liberally Presents...
THE BARACK OBAMA BIRTHDAY PARTY COMEDY SHOW -
a Shades of Black Special Performance
with performers from The Daily Show, 30 Rock & more.

Monday, August 4th (Obama's Actual Birthday)
The Tank @ DCTV (note NEW location)
87 Lafayette - btw Walker & White, below Canal.
livingliberally.org/laughing/chapters/NY/nyc
7pm Doors; 8pm Show; $5 cover; No Drink Minimum

Featuring:
Wyatt Cenac - The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Michele Buteau - Last Comic Standing
Baron Vaughn - Live at Gotham
Reese Waters - Caroline's on Broadway
Donald Glover - 30 Rock
Elon James White - DC Comedy Festival

3. Wednesday, August 6th - 6:30pm doors, 7:30 show
THE LAUGHING LIBERALLY LAB -
a special performance with JOBS FOR JUSTICE.
The Tank @ DCTV (note NEW location)
87 Lafayette - btw Walker & White, below Canal.
livingliberally.org/laughing/chapters/NY/nyc

4. What would you give for a FREE DRINK
every time you walk into Rudy's Bar?
Would you give $25?

What if you also got discounts to theater,
cool tee shirts, benefits for wireless service,
environmentally-friendly produces & more?
And it would still just be $25?

What if it got you a cool card with your name
that declared you a "Card-Carrying Liberal"
and you supported Living Liberally at the same time?
Now, how about that $25?

Get your Liberal Card today:
http://www.theliberalcard.org

5. CONVENTIONS
Democratic Convention Aug 25-28
Republican Convention Sep 1-4
Watch parties every night
FREE
The Tank @ DCTV (note new location!)
87 Lafayette btw Walker & White

Save the dates.
Save our country.
Save the world.

The Joker, out-of-touch & irrational,
brings further fear to a suffering society.

Dealing dread, finding power through force,
his ploy plays on the worst in people.

He is known for his aggressive temper,
...& for telling truly terrible jokes.

But a Dark Knight, imperfect-yet-inspiring,
swoops into a scene of greed & corruption
appealing to citizens' hope & better angels,
declining to kill, familiar with computers...
& raising record revenue from an energized public.

I mean, who would you rather have:
Joker McCain...or The Barack-Man?

Now...who will play Robin this time around?

Raise a glass to the citizens of our Gotham,
the fight ahead & the light in the distance
as you share a beer, cheer & idea
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

Hi Liberal Drinkers -

You've drunk, laughed & eaten Liberally.
Now come READ Liberally as we kick off
our latest chapter of our liberal literary group.

Tonight, the book club begins with a discussion
of two books about John McCain & the media.

Whether you've read the books or not,
join us to discuss, socialize & brainstorm
where this Reading Liberally chapter goes next.

TONIGHT: Tuesday, July 22nd - 7:30pm
Earthmatters - 177 Ludlow Street @ Houston
(grocery store & cafe -- you can get food there)
Questions: nyc@readingliberally.org
And join the Reading Liberally mailing list...
http://livingliberally.org/reading/chapters/NY/nyc

We expect our first meeting to run about 90 minutes.

Featuring The Real McCain by Cliff Schecter and
Free Ride by David Brock and Paul Waldman
(Check out our reviews of these books at: http://livingliberally.org/reading/readings)
Feel free to bring additional relevant materials.

Want to get 3 great progressive books for $1 each?
Join the Progressive Book Club today!
http://www.progressivebookclub.com/pbc2/home.pbc?srcKey=42E11a

The Iraqi Prime Minister calls for withdrawal,
joining the majority of US public opinion,
& yet our unpopular President stays the course
& manages to keep Congress tangled up too.

Despite unconstitutional domestic spying,
& amnesty for telecom's unlawful acts,
our disapproved Prez pushed for his FISA bill
...& Congress caved to his domestic agenda.

Though it's not a solution to our energy woes,
lowly-regarded W now wants off-shore drilling
...& Congress could get pressured to pump.

Bush just keeps throwing sucker punches...
& Congress is too lame to duck this lame duck.

You'd think Congress's 14% approval rating
would be low enough to duck this sucker...
let's hope they don't try to sink even lower.

Your spirits could drop, or come lift a glass
as you raise your ideas, frustrations & hopes
sharing a night, while you share a pitcher
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

Senate Dems caved to a deeply unpopular Prez
by granting immunity to spying phone companies.
But it's the backward-thinking President
who made this plan his domestic legacy.

Congressional Dems consider off-shore drilling,
caving to pressures over gas prices...
but McCain's scrapping all environmental plans
& the Right denies climate change completely.

And Dems have still not changed course in Iraq.
But it's McCain's war-mongering sensibilities
that jokes about killing Iranians with cigarettes.

On one hand, anti-progress, war-like thugs.
On the other, a party that hasn't stopped them.

We definitely don't want to be ruled by Cavemen
...now let's figure how to stop these Cave-Ins.

Whether you're venting, ranting, escaping
or ready to push for a better America,
come share your thoughts & a pitcher or two
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.

Dear Liberal Drinkers -

Want to ponder the printed page from a political perspective?
Want to lounge, lurk and laugh with local literary liberals?
Just want to get informed...and read some good books?

We are pleased to announce the launch of
two New York City chapters of READING LIBERALLY!
...and ways to get great books for $1...

Tuesday, July 22 - 7:30pm
Reading Liberally NYC: Deconstructing McCain
"The Real McCain" & "Free Ride"
Location TBA
For details: http://livingliberally.org/living/event/First-Ever-Reading-Liberally-NYC
Join the mailing list: http://livingliberally.org/reading/chapters/NY/nyc

Tuesday, July 29 - 7:30
Reading Liberally NYC Classics:
Transcendentalism, Emerson & Thoreau
Location: TBA
Learn more or sign up at:
http://livingliberally.org/reading/chapters/NY/nycclassics

Join either night, or both!
Read in advance or just come along for a lively discussion.
Feel free to bring additional relevant reading materials.

Don't have the books?
Buy "The Real McCain" & "Free Ride" for $1 each
by becoming a member of the Progressive Book Club:
http://www.progressivebookclub.com/pbc2/home.pbc?srcKey=42E11a

(You can also buy a lot of other great books too...)

And check out what we're reading...and writing:
at www.readingliberally.org
including the "Read of the Day."

Hope to see you at Reading Liberally!

Here's more on the upcoming discussions:

The Real McCain by Cliff Schecter:
Cliff Schecter tackles the real McCain, examining his political history
and revealing his turn to staunch conservatism to be the political pandering
of a cold, calculating and aggressive man with power on his mind.
Schecter follows McCain through all his inflammatory flip-flopping and fist-throwing
as he claws his way toward the White House.

---

Free Ride by David Brock and Paul Waldman:
What role does the media play in shaping politics?
Brock and Waldman address this question in Free Ride
by charting how the press has uniquely influenced the success
of the so-called straight-talking maverick John McCain.
Bonus: tabloid-like revelations of McCain's vicious temper and scandalous past!

---

Transcendentalism, Emerson & Thoreau
On July 23, 1846 Henry David Thoreau was jailed
for refusing to pay his $1 poll tax as his private protest
against US involvement in slavery and the Mexican War,
an experience that led to his writing of "Civil Disobedience."

In honor of that day, the NYC Classics chapter of Reading Liberally
will be reading work from that era.

We will also read and discuss "A Foot on a Face" by George Orwell
to prepare for the following month's reading of 1984.

Conventional wisdom says that Obama
caved on FISA & talked up faith-based programs
because he's appealing to "Independents."

Who knew independents oppose the Constitution?

Obama HAD to disavow Wes Clark's comments --
though Clark only questioned his experience as leader
& specifically honored his courage and will --
since "dishonoring" McCain would turn off independents.

Who knew independents are so ill-informed?

And McCain keeps saying he's a "maverick"
as he continues his "Straight Talk Express"
because these words appeal to independents.

Who knew independents liked slogans so much?!

If "independent" voters read only the spin,
& don't read the Constitution or the news,
maybe we shouldn't ask them to decide elections.

Or maybe "independent" really means something else.

And maybe "independent" candidates
who shy away from principled stands
aren't what we're looking for either.

It's time we take strong positions,
stop listening to the media's darling tales,
and Declare our Independence...from "Independents."

Celebrate the holiday in the most American way:
sharing an evening of spirited discussion
as you share a few pitchers of liberal libations
at your local progressive social club.

DRINKING LIBERALLY
Find - or start - a chapter near you.