A NOTE OF THANKS & A CALL FOR SUPPORT

THANKS TO ALL who have helped to feed the hungry in our community.
Thanks, especially, to the Sisters of Mercy for distributing food to immigrants.

BUT, more can be done -- to provide food, clothing and shelter, and to build a more tolerant community.

Welcome all people to our community; listen to one another.
Help to teach our children the values of respect and compassion for all people.
Work to improve our community by strengthening the common ties that bind us, understanding that our differences can enhance community.
Treat everyone who works and lives among us -- our neighbors -- as we would want to be treated regardless of age, race, ethnicity, religion, disability, gender and sexual orientation.

PLEASE, send a donation to the organization(s) listed below or to another community organization that lends a helping hand to our neighbors who have critical needs.

Checks should be made payable to:

Hispanic Apostolate of the South Fork, 168 Hill Street, NY 11968 (note memo on check -- Taste of Mercy program)

Peconic Community Council, 554 East Main Street, Suite 303, Riverhead NY 11901 (note memo on check -- Shelter Program)

________________________
Published in the Southampton Press, May 21, 2009


dmrulnic@optonline.net

Dance!! with Dick and Bess Haile

updated May 14

Dick and Bess Haile will give Country Dancing classes in the Barn at Hallockville Museum Farm
from 7 to 9 pm on Thursdays May 21, May 28, June 4 and June 11.

The Hallockville Farm is at 6038 Sound Ave (Rte 25A) in Riverhead.

Dances to be taught are Square, Contra, Folk, Waltz and Polka.

Partners not necessary to register! Fee is $30 for the 4 class series.

For more info call 631 - 298 - 5292

Help Us Hear Wedding Bells



We are asking you, our friends and neighbors, gay and straight, for your help.


As many of you have heard, Governor Paterson has proposed that New York State legalize same-sex marriage. This is wonderful news, except that the State Senate is several votes short of passage. We ask you to please contact our representatives to seek their support.


Polls show that a majority of voters in New York State, including in Eastern Suffolk County (our district), now support equal marriage rights. However our representatives have fallen behind the voters.


Senator Ken LaValle

Senator LaValle has voted against our marriages before. We are hoping he will have a change of heart. We are asking you to please:

1. Join us for a visit to Ken LaValle’s office in Selden on Thursday May 21st at 3PM; and / or

2. Contact Senator LaValle and ask him to support marriage equality.


Here is Senator LaValle’s contact information:

State Senator Ken LaValle

631 696 6900

518 455 3121

lavalle@senate.state.ny.us


I have added a brief note at the end of this message that you can copy if you can’t think of what to say. Or you could click on the following link at New York State Pride Agenda:

http://eqfed.org/campaign/support_marriage_equality_bill


Assemblyman Fred Thiele

Our Assemblyman Fred Thiele did indeed have a change of heart. Fred voted against our marriages last time but, after some reflection, has changed his mind: He has signed on as a co-sponsor for the upcoming vote!


Although the State Assembly is already on board, Fred’s support has very important symbolic value and helps with the momentum. Thank you Fred!


If you can, please:

1. Join us for a visit to Fred Thiele’s office in Bridgehampton on Friday May 15th at 10AM to congratulate Fred, thank him for his support, and to strategize on how to move forward; and / or

2. Contact Fred and thank him for his support. He will certainly be getting lots of negative responses, too, so he needs to hear from you!


Fred’s contact information:

State Assemblyman Fred Thiele

631 537 2583

thielef@assembly.state.ny.us

If you have any doubts on whether your voice matters, here is quote from a Vermont state senator on his decision to change his vote to support marriage:

Representative Robert South, a freshman from a conservative district, said he reversed his position after 228 of his constituents reached out and urged him to support the override, compared with 198 who urged him to oppose it.


When you speak with others about marriage, please clarify that same-sex couples are not asking to have our marriages sanctified by any religious organization. We are rather seeking equal civil rights for a civil marriage for our family.

Marriage includes over 1,000 rights and responsibilities that we are denied, from the financially annoying, such as me having to pay taxes on Stuart’s health insurance, to the terrifying, such as never being sure whether Southampton Hospital would let me in should something happen to him.


You can imagine how not having our marriage recognized affects our sense of security, and that of our kids.


For a moving view into how California couples responded to the vote which undid marriage rights there, please take a look at this:


Break My Heart Video: http://vimeo.com/3089746


Let’s hope New York State values its citizens more.

We really appreciate your help.

We are hoping to be able to legally marry right here in New York State within the next two years, so that we can celebrate our thirty years together (!), in spring 2011, with a wedding! Wouldn’t that be grand?

Thanks again.


Sincerely,

Ken


---------------------------------------------------------

Sample note (inspired by Pride Agenda):


To: lavalle@senate.state.ny.us


Dear Senator LaValle,


Governor Paterson has recently introduced a bill to secure marriage rights for same-sex couples. As your constituent, I urge you to support the marriage equality bill and vote for it when it comes to the floor.

All New York couples and families deserve the 1,324 rights and responsibilities that come with marriage in New York State. Loving same-sex couples and their children should not be treated as second-class citizens by being denied access to the protections of marriage.

I very much hope you will support the Governor's marriage equality bill. I would appreciate it if you would respond to my concerns on this issue. Thank you.

Sincerely,

_________________________________

UPDATE: May 13

The marriage bill (A.7732/O'Donnell)(S.4401/Duane) to provide equal access to marriage for same-sex couples has just passed the State Assembly with bipartisan support. This means that once again, the Assembly has stood on the side of equality and justice for the LGBT community.

Now, we need the State Senate to act!

Week of May 7: Click Here for UPDATES

Who can protest and does not is an accomplice in the act _The Talmud

Southampton Town Board: Please Consider Graves Protection Law

Help Us Hear Wedding Bells - a note from Ken Dorph

Health Care in India: A Human Right? Hazel Kahan on WPKN/WPKM Thursday at Noon

Health Care Here: Q & A on Single Payer System

Bailout for East End Land Preservation?

Long Island Wins: Statement on Immigration Legislation in Congress

Join the campaign for Rights for Black Farmers

Peace and Justice Calendar: Vigil for Marcelo Lucero in Patchogue May 8 - Civil Rights Forum in Riverhead May 14

Suffolk Peace Vigils

Casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan

Democracy Now!

The independent news hour with Amy Goodman and Juan Gonzalez:
on Riverhead/Southampton/Southold/Shelter Island Channel 20:

Note: Channels 20 (public access) and 22 (government meetings) now require a digital capable TV or converter box and have been removed from the basic cable service in violation of contracts with the east end towns. Call your Town Council members to find out what they are doing about this.

Starting April 1 - new schedule for Democracy Now!

Monday 6:30 am

Tuesday 6 PM

Wednesday 8 PM

Thursday 10 PM

Friday 6:30 am

Saturday - 10 PM

Also on WUSB 90.1 FM 5 PM Mon-Friday and East Hampton LTV Ch 20

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email subscribers: To un-subscribe: reply with "DON'T SEND" in the subject line to eastendreport@yahoo.com

Health Care in India: A Human Right?

Tidings from Hazel Kahan

Thursday, May 7 at 12:00 Noon on WPKN 89.5 FM, WPKM 88.7 FM and streaming audio on wpkn.org

In her next monthly program, Healthcare as a human rights issue, Hazel Kahan of Mattituck brings tidings from Dr. Sara Battacharjee, a physician specializing in community medicine, in South India.
"Like most people, it would not have occurred to me to look to India for solutions to our country s deeply flawed healthcare system until I listened to Dr. Sara's vision and saw her work in action in the slums and villages. I came away enormously inspired and eager to share what I learned with everyone I know."
Tidings from Hazel Kahan can be heard on the first Thursday of every month.

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