Buzzers Unite! Register for the BuzzFlash "Heal the Progressive/Working Class Rift" Conference in Philadelphia

A BUZZFLASH CONFERENCE: THIRD UPDATE -- Registration is Open

April 16th

Registration is now open for the much-needed initiative to start a dialogue between Netroots activists, bloggers, unions, and the working class.

You can sign up easily online at: https://www.buzzflash.com/store/buzzcon08/

The cost is $45.00, with a reduced price of $22.50 for union members.

You can also mail a check to:

BuzzFlash.com, Philadelphia Conference, P.O. Box 618354, Chicago, Illinois 60661-8354

Be sure to include your e-mail address with all checks and indicate on the check that it is for the Philadelphia conference.  We will also need your name and full address.

We are looking to add more women and minorities to our list of speakers and resources (unfortunately the BuzzFlash Editor, Mark Karlin, personally asked people like Donna Brazille and Barbara Ehrenreich, and they would have come but had scheduling conflicts on the 27th of September.)

But we are still assembling a great line-up, which we are leaking a little at a time.

Today, we are announcing a grassroots union representative who will be joining us: Kathy Black, President of the Philadelphia Chapter of Coalition of Union Women, is going to speak on the effects of the war on working people. Ms. Black is the Health & Safety Director, AFSCME District Council 47, and National Co-Convenor, US Labor Against the War.

Kia Freeman, of the New York-based Drum Major Institute, will be addressing the issue of why civil liberty issues should be of importance to Americans of all classes. She has a smashing presentation.  "A native of Seattle, Washington, Kia C. Franklin graduated from Stanford University in 2003 with a B.A. in Political Science and African and African-American Studies. She wrote her Senior Honors Thesis on Youth Mobilization and Hip Hop, exploring the use of music as a cross-racial tool for civic engagement and coalition-building among Bay Area teens. After college she worked at two Seattle-area law firms, gaining exposure to civil and criminal litigation matters."

Read below for our first four announced speakers (in additions to the two above).  We will be letting you know about more speakers, our plans for an interactive conference, and additional sponsors in the next few weeks.  We've got some surprises in store!

So sign up now: https://www.buzzflash.com/store/buzzcon08/

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT: SECOND UPDATE 

We recently announced that registration would be opening soon (see below) for a Saturday, September 27th, BuzzFlash-sponsored conference in Philadelphia: "Bridging the Gap Between Progressives and the Working Class: A Dialog on Common Values."

We're slowly revealing the all star and diverse line up of progressives, labor, and working class speakers (and this will be interactive, not just speeches).  First we were proud to let you know that Richard Trumka, second in command at the AFL-CIO, will be addressing the group.  And we also revealed that Joe Bageant, author of "Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War," will be speaking at the conference.

Today, we wanted you to know of two more speakers (and we will be announcing more in the near future): David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize winning author of "Perfectly Legal" and "Free Lunch," will discuss why the working class should be concerned about government economic policies of the last few decades.  And Jeffrey Feldman, "framing" expert and author of "Outright Barbarous: How the Violent Language of the Right Poisons American Democracy" will also be offering his insights.

BuzzFlash will also be announcing some of the sponsors who will be publicizing and attending the conference.  Today we welcome the Progessive Democrats of America to that group.

We'll let you know more and announce more presenters -- and registration will be open online shortly -- but we do not want to let the cat out of the bag all at once, so keep looking for more updates right here on BuzzFlash.com.

Expect more labor participation news, for sure.

And in the spirit of the day-long event, we are working to make it affordable: $45 ($22.50 for union members). 

Read the original announcement of the BuzzFlash conference below:

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT: FIRST UPDATE

Are the progressive netroots sometimes an echo chamber of one wing of the Democratic Party talking to themselves?

Yes, and BuzzFlash is one of the guilty parties.

That's why, based on the initiative of BuzzFlash posters on BuzzFlash.net, BuzzFlash is hosting, along with other co-sponsors whom we will be announcing, a day long conference in Philadelphia on Saturday, September 27th, at the Philadelphia Convention Center.

Appropriately, the conference is titled: "Bridging the Gap Between Progressives and the Working Class: A Dialog on Common Values."

We are proud to announce that among our speakers will be Richard Trumka, second in charge of the AFL-CIO and former head of the United Mine Workers.  You can see his electrifying presence in this speech to union members.

Online registration will open shortly on BuzzFlash and through co-sponsor sites.  The cost will be $45.00, with a half-price discount for union members.  (Talk to us if you are unemployed and unable to pay for the registration. In order to keep the costs low, attendees will be on their own for food and coffee.)

This is meant to be the first in a series of conferences to try and find common ground between the two wings of the Democratic Party that developed a schism in the '60s.  Our goal is not aimed directly at any given election, but more at a longer term healing process of finding ongoing consensus where progressivism, populism, and economic parity meet.

But first we need to begin to understand our mutual needs.

We'll be announcing more speakers and co-sponsors in the coming weeks.  Did we mention that Joe Bageant, author of "Deer Hunting with Jesus: Dispatches from America's Class War," will be speaking at the conference?

Well, we don't want to let too many cats out of the bag today, so we'll hold off revealing more of program.

But save Saturday, September 27th if you're interested in working to unify progressive, populist, and working class goals: finding common ground.

Stay tuned.  If you have any questions at this time, e-mail buzzflash@buzzflash.com.

Otherwise, see you in Philly!

A BUZZFLASH NEWS ALERT

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