President's Column

Debilyn Molineaux, Coffee Party USA President

“Believe” and The Superpower of Curiosity

Remember asking questions when you were a child? Or perhaps you remember your own children asking question after question? This curiosity becomes a superpower when we allow ourselves to learn from others and perhaps, even influence our beliefs.

Here’s what I’ve learned with my superpower of curiosity:

1. A young woman I met on a plane was avidly pro-life. I’m pro-choice. When we shared our life experiences, I learned she had been born blind and as a result, abandoned on the streets of New Delhi. [more]

A Message To Our Members

Tim Danahey, Coffee Party USA Director of Public and Member Relations

In the year 2000, Robert Putnam wrote a book entitled “Bowling Alone”. The book contains data from twenty-five years of surveys and trends about American behavior. The book shows how Americans have become increasingly disconnected from each other. It tells how social institutions such as churches, clubs, recreational leagues, and even family dinners and playing games with friends are disappearing.

The book is still relevant as American socialization remains in decline. Every institution has been in decline. Union membership is down. Church attendance is in decline. Movie theater attendance is suffering. In fact, even television-watching among hundreds of channels instead of four or five has denied us opportunities to communicate about common topics. [more]

Calling artistic activists! A reminder and an announcement!

Jeanene Louden, Coffee Party USA Director & Treasurer

REMINDER - The $64K Democracy for All Video Contest is underway, and it is not too late to express yourself while you compete for some serious prize money. The Week 4 WINNER was just announced. Check out all the WINNERS and all the ENTRIES. Check out the CONTEST RULES. Make a video, change the world! (Coffee Party USA is a sponsor of this People for the American Way contest.)

ANNOUNCEMENT - Watch for updates on our new coffee pARTy project. Let’s make change by making art! If you would like to be a part of the coffee pARTy project team, go to to the Coffee Party website and click on Volunteer.

Coffee Party ON!

Board Development Group Report

Leah Spitzer, Board Development Work Group Chair

The Board Development Group, has been working hard since the last election to review and refine our election and vetting procedures, as well as develop ways to strengthen our support for the Board of Directors.

One of the changes that we made is that there is a new requirement for applicants for the Board of Directors. Candidates will be coming up through Work Groups. In order to run for the Board for 2016, you must be actively and continuously participating in our Work Groups by January 1. Our hope is to bring forward strong leaders that understand our work, our goals, and have a strong commitment to the Coffee Party culture.

Also in the works is the development of a training and support system for incoming Board Members and we have started looking for volunteers to help with the Elections and Vetting Process for the 2016 elections. If you’d like to be a part of this very important work group, please sign up as a volunteer at www.coffeepartyusa.com/volunteer and mention “Board Development” in your comments.

Join Now

We Want America To Hear Your Voice

Egberto Willies Coffee Party Director, Newsroom

Coffee Party USA members, you listen to the news. You know there is more that America needs to hear. But the mainstream media is already off to another subject. Or, they stay on one subject with a shallow narrative. You know Americans are yearning for the full story, for the real story. What can you do about it? Don't you feel impotent at those times?

The Coffee Party USA Newsroom is the place where we want to solve that problem. We want you to be empowered to provide fellow Americans with prescient fact based information that means something to them. It does not matter your ideology. Americans are of just about every ideology and Coffee Party USA represents that mosaic.

If you have a blog and you want to express your point of view to elevate the national discourse nationally in a civil manner, join Coffee Party USA and become a Newsroom volunteer. We can help you get the voices you represent out nationally.

We Need Your Help

Bobby Rodrigo, Coffee Party USA Director of Internet Infrastructure

As Coffee Party USA continues to grow and make an impact in bringing about positive changes in our society and we need your help. What is your passion? How do you see yourself working to make positive changes in our society? It can be anything.

Using your personal passions and volunteering with an organization you believe in can be one of the most satisfying parts of your life I promise you. If you have experience in web design, graphics, marketing, fundraising, writing, organizing, event planning, videography, editing, social media or just something you are good at that you can contribute to this organization and activism in general please go to our website www.coffepartyusa.com/volunteer and volunteer. We have wonderful work groups and a great bunch of people working in them and we look forward to your participation. Some of our work groups include: Board Development, Newsroom, Community Chapter, Campaigns, Strategy and Internet Infrastructure.

We look forward to hearing from you and working with you.

Join Now

Upcoming Coffee Party USA Events!

Mark Gilbert, Coffee Party Director of Campaigns and Actions

In October, Coffee Party USA is encouraging all of us to consider the intersection between our most deeply held beliefs and our politics. The Oprah Winfrey Network will be broadcasting a special 7-night series starting October 18 entitled "Belief"{link: http://www.oprah.com/app/belief.html }---an exploration into our deeply held beliefs around the world and humankind’s ongoing search for meaning and connection. We hope you all watch the series and then join us for a discussion in October on beliefs and politics. Details coming soon.

Notices

Coffee Party USA is a volunteer driven organization and our leaders come out of the volunteer workforce. If you would like to be a part of our work, consider volunteering with an eye on leadership. To run for our Board of Directors in 2016, you must be an active member of a workgroup by Jan 1, 2016. To volunteer, go to www.coffeepartyusa.com/volunteer

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President's Column

Debilyn Molineaux, Coffee Party USA President

Was I Being Trolled? No.

Most of the time I go on Facebook and catch up with my friends, like memes about good deeds, kindness and videos of cats. I like to think I’m an average Facebook user.

Of course, being involved with politics, even bridge building within politics, means I am alternately praised and questioned by my friends about my work. And then, there are emails that challenge me to walk my talk. Today I received a response from a self-identified moderate conservative who asked me to post a story that represented her perspective. Inside the story was a narrative blaming the President for the shooting of a Houston police officer. And a large dose of anger. [more]

A Message To Our Members

Tim Danahey, Coffee Party USA Director of Public and Member Relations

The Coffee Party has stood for civility and encouraging civic engagement. We've created a national organization with chapters in many cities and states. Within these chapters, we've enabled social media communications specific to the various states and many regularly hold Coffee Party USA meetings to address local issues. [more]

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Coffee Party Board Members Speak

Egberto Willies Coffee Party Director, Newsroom

It was a very long 2014-2015 for the Coffee Party USA. It was a year of rebuilding and the rebuilding was accomplished above and beyond expectations. As volunteer organization with a working board of directors, all functions are hands on. The board of directors, the group chairs, and volunteers came through above and beyond. [more]

Board Meeting Update

Bobby Rodrigo, Coffee Party USA Director of Internet Infrastructure

Coffee Party USA Board of Directors met in the mountains of Colorado during a recent weekend this past August. All seven directors were present. This report highlights the goals from 2014 and will outline the agenda of 2015.

2014 Goals

At the 2014 annual meeting this board et a number of goals. The very first item discussed at this year’s meeting was how weel those goals may have been met. Here is our score card. [more]

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Upcoming Coffee Party USA Events!

Mark Gilbert, Coffee Party Director of Campaigns and Actions

This month, Coffee Party USA is offering a book club selection of Healing the Heart of Democracy: The Courage to Create a Politics Worthy of the Human Spirit by Parker Palmer. In this book, Palmer challenges us to recognize that healing our democracy from the polarization and challenges it faces begins within each of us We must each learn to hold the tensions inherent in community life and no longer fear to move into that most difficult terrain--the broken places in our own hearts. This book is a clarion call for us to wake up and take action in our own lives to ensure that our democracy lives up to the highest vision we have for it.

Read the book, then join us on Wednesday, September 30 for a special discussion with Palmer on this book. Information on the book and our exclusive interview can be found at http://www.coffeepartyusa.com/parker_palmer

In October, Coffee Party USA is encouraging all of us to consider the intersection between our most deeply held beliefs and our politics. The Oprah Winfrey Network will be broadcasting a special 7-night series starting October 18 entitled "Belief"{link: http://www.oprah.com/app/belief.html }---an exploration into our deeply held beliefs around the world and humankind’s ongoing search for meaning and connection. We hope you all watch the series and then join us for a discussion in October on beliefs and politics. Details coming soon.

Notices

Coffee Party USA is a volunteer driven organization and our leaders come out of the volunteer workforce. If you would like to be a part of our work, consider volunteering with an eye on leadership. To run for our Board of Directors in 2016, you must be an active member of a workgroup by Jan 1, 2016. To volunteer, go to www.coffeepartyusa.com/volunteer

Join Now

by Tim Danahey

The Coffee Party has stood for civility and encouraging civic engagement. We've created a national organization with chapters in many cities and states. Within these chapters, we've enabled social media communications specific to the various states and many regularly hold Coffee Party USA meetings to address local issues.

It's been positive and our memberships and social media impact are growing at extraordinary rates. We've gathered and posted news on an hourly basis and we are approaching 750,000 followers and many millions of reaches every week.

The Board of Directors is now ready to implement the next stage of Coffee Party USA development. We are pleased to announce national issue groups. These are groups where individuals across the country who are interested in specific issues can work together through our internet platform and develop original reasearch and activism.

The first issue group concerns privatization of public assets such as water and sanitation, electricity, roads, prisons, schools, and public services. We believe this is a growing national concern, a possible additional expense for taxpayers, and a windfall for private investors. If we work together on this issue to build our knowledge base, we intend to use this base to provide inputs, opinions, and activism to specific attempts at privatization in small communities across the country.

One of the most egregious assaults on public assets recently occurred in New Jersey where Governor Christie enacted a law which allows public water systems to be privatized without a public vote. There have also been attempts to crush municipal attempts to create publicly-owned internet service providers. The issue is vast and involves communities as varied as Portland, Oregon, Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Chatanooga, Tennessee. We will need a talented issue group to monitor developments, analyze privatization schemes, and apply fact-based analysis. Please volunteer at www.CoffeePartyUSA.com if you'd like to be part of this group. Mention "Privatization" in the comment field of the volunteer form.

Other issue groups will also be forming based on inputs and interests of our members. If there are issues important to you, we look forward to hearing your thoughts, sharing them with others, and considering additional issue groups.

These are wonderful times for the Coffee Party USA. Our philosophy of encourage polite civic engagement is resonating with many who are tired of politics-as-usual and partisan rancor. Please join us if you are not yet a member. When you join, get involved and let's make the difference politically.

by Tim Danahey, Coffee Party USA Director of Public and Member Relations

We have to face the fact that popular activism (as opposed to corporate activism) is at a severe disadvantage because of the extraordinary amount of money available to those promoting corporate interests. The uneven level of resources has been codified by the U.S. Supreme Court, the SEC won't use its power to require corporate political disclosures, and the President and Congress are unwilling to challenge the people and corporations who have money for fear of alienating them.

This is the culmination of the strategy to “de-fund the left” started in the early 1980s by Jack Abramoff and College Republicans and others. They have executed their strategy masterfully and the advocates for issues that favor people are left scrambling for limited resources.

The need for money – essentially, the oxygen to sustain minimal operations for organizations – has led to a de-sensitized reactions from people on the left. It seems as if every newsletter, every email, and every correspondence from every organization includes a plea to “Donate Now”. It has become automatic to ignore the pleas. Our sensibilities have dulled to the point that we don't even support the organizations and issues who stand for us.

Jack Abramoff and the College Republicans and their types who grew up to become Grover Norquist, Scott Walker, and Paul Ryan, have won the war of money. No doubt.

But here we stand. Hundreds and thousands of organizations representing tens of millions of people are left with virtually nothing except the good intentions and uncompensated efforts of the people fighting for economic and social justice.

And this has to stop. The left has to wake up and “stop bringing a knife to a gun fight”. We have to play the economic game and leverage our strengths – our numbers. And it can be done.

The future of activism has to be fought with dollars applied to networks of people. The networks have to develop working relationships with other networks so as to provide coordinated numbers to affect change. The networks are not television-based or even print media-based. While we have net neutrality, our network is based on social media and coordinated memberships.

However, many of you may have caught my qualifier - “While we have net neutrality”. Big money was dealt a setback by the FCC but big money is powerful and it is patient. It has not given up efforts to tilt the internet to “pay to play” within which the de-funded populist movement will be unable to participate. Activists must create a “real” person-to-person network that complements the internet communities we've created.

This means the Boards of Directors and administrators must develop relationships between organizations so multiple communities can be quickly mobilized to promote popular issues. This means national organizations like the Coffee Party USA must develop its network of members and followers into state and local communities. Members and followers who actually meet and discuss issues and activism just like the Founding Fathers did over two hundred years ago in Boston, Philadelphia, and Virginia.

This means the individual must be engaged on several levels if freedom and rights are to be regained from the money who bought them. Here are suggestions how you can be enagaged:

1. Join something. Don't just say you like them. Really join a group. Be a dues-paying, card-carrying member. You may not be able to participate in many of the activities but just your membership can be added to others and leveraged by the organization to help create change.
2. Financially support media you like. Television news has been free for so long that people think that it's free to produce. The result is that big media is almost 100% supported by corporate advertising. Pharmaceuticals companies are believed to fund 70% of all television news in non-election years. You don't like TV news. Most people have stopped paying for newspapers so use the $15/month you would otherwise pay for a newspaper and use it to support media that gives you information you need.
3. Be social. You've joined a group, you're supporting media that gives important news, and now you can meet people in coffee shops, discuss issues, and actually figure out strategies to get involved with local, state, and national issues.
4. Have fun being a pain in the backside. Go to a public government meeting with a couple other people. The more you prepare the better but, let's face facts, some of these issues are complex and daunting to first-time activists. So you and the people who go to the government meeting should go with one question. For example, ask Hillary Clinton, “Do you support the TPP?” She's a good politician and she'll avoid a direct answer. Another person in your group should ask, “Really, Hillary, do you support the TPP?” Her evasiveness now becomes the issue and, hopefully, you've brought a camera to record her reaction (take it back to your group for posting). She'll give an answer like, “It's a complex issue that deserves a separate forum.” If you have a third person, ask again. And a fourth person. And a fifth person. It's great sport and we deserve direct answers. It won't happen any other way.
5. Follow the money. Local issues such as urban renewal districts, water districts, and tax abatements are saturated with as much money as the national issues like the Keystone Pipeline and the TPP. Local government leaders are not as polished as national politicians and ill-equipped to handle specific questions. You'll get some wonderful deer-in-the-headlights pictures.
6. Shop only where you support the shopkeeper. Usually,that means buy local but that's not always possible. Buy food that is proudly labeled for source and content. Buy books from bookstores. Look for product labels for items made in countries who share your values. When you buy local, 45% of your money stays in your community. When you go to a big box retailer, only 18% stays. When you buy on-line from a company that abuses its employees, it's even less.

Friends, it's like the old Janis Joplin/Kris Kristofferson lyrics, “Freedom's just another word for nothing left to lose.” They've taken our money, they've minimalized our jobs, they're chipping at our rights, and they're undermining the foundations of what we believe. Our results will be determined by our actions – not our intents. That is the future of activism.

We need you. We want you. Join today. You'll be glad you did.

Debilyn Molineaux, Coffee Party USA President

The Coffee Party was inspired to be a place where people from all perspectives can share their ideas, hopes and dreams and have them received with respect, compassion and reason. We see that the desire to 'be right' has led to a competitive and then vilifying culture where we are at war with the “other half” of the country. The founders of Coffee Party believed we could uphold the ideals of our country and turn towards one another to find common ground and build our future. Based on that inspiration, the Coffee Party has taken positions on three issues; campaign finance, Wall Street and tax reform. These have been the primary mechanisms used to 'divide and conquer' the populace so we spend time fighting with each other instead of staying engaged in the governance of our communities, states and country.

As part of our way to build relationships with each other, we developed the civility pledge, which we now require all volunteers to sign. It is our code of conduct. We do not ask anyone to give up their beliefs or ideology. We do ask that people listen respectfully and respond with dignity. That may be expressed by comparing facts, an outpouring of compassion or simply an agreement to disagree. Is this idealistic? Yes, of course. We seek to practice and reward the higher road because, frankly, the lower road is filled with bodies and excrement; an unpleasant place to travel. Coffee Party is a place of peace...where we recognize each other through a humanitarian lens. Again...without giving up our own identity. Being righteous is like being addicted to our own opinion. It closes our ears and our hearts to another person's experience.

So...how do we accomplish our mission? We do so by building strong bonds with each other that cannot be distracted by the point-scoring, I'm right and “they” are stupid narrative. We become engaged with our elected officials and recruit our friends and neighbors to be involved also. We host civil conversations to learn the hopes of others and jointly create our future to include the hopes of all. When I ran for public office, I asked people what they wanted for their lives. Regardless of party, people wanted a way to earn a living, a safe neighborhood and to leave more opportunity for their children than they had themselves. It is said the devil is in the details, and it is. While some people see our system and point to corporations as the problem, others point to the government. Yet other perspectives will point to voter apathy or oligarchic interests. Regardless of our personal perspectives, it is our duty to find the piece of the solution that “they” hold and incorporate it into our collective future.

Coffee Party is also about providing a forum for those multiple perspectives. Some perspectives we will love and some we will hate. Respect is a muscle that requires exercise. Let’s work out together… and Coffee Party ON!

We need you. We want you. Join today. You'll be glad you did.

by Bobby Rodrigo, Coffee Party USA Director of Internet Infrastructure

Activism is very tough. I would debate that it is one of the hardest choices a person makes because disappointment is so prominent. On the flip side often one will meet and work with fantastic people. People, who believe that paying attention to the issues of today and, helping others, is important. Recently, I have had both accomplishment and a chance to again work with good people. It was a good month.

I am charged with overseeing and improving Coffee Party USA’s Internet Infrastructure. This responsibility covers a vast amount of subjects. Coffee Party USA is a large grassroots organization with many partnerships and members, which includes a large social media presence. Branding, promotion, expanding resources, making sure everything works in the IT world, design, communication and so on are some of the matters I work to improve.

When I went to work on launching a new website template and format I was fortunate to be assisted by the Solutions Institute (SI). The Solutions Institute is an activist consulting and think tank organization. The brain child of Dan Johnson, who founded PANDA (People Against The NDAA), SI has an extensive amount of resources and perhaps the strongest group of advisors ever assembled in the activist consulting world.

When Coffee Party needed help, SI was there. When I needed help, SI was there. CPUSA President Debilyn Molineaux and Director Egberto Willies participated in SI’s Activist Training Conference I and II respectively. I am sure the CPUSA and SI will continue to work together in the future.

Explore our new site. Give us your feedback. We aim to provide a site that makes interfacing with our members and followers seamless.

If you are and activist or an activist organization of any type and are looking for ways to improve you message, reach, or branding reach out to the Solutions Institute (http://solutions-institute.org).

We need you. We want you. Join today. You'll be glad you did.

Visit the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/coffeeparty.

by Egberto Willies, Coffee Party USA Director of Newsroom & Social Media

The second half of 2014 was a banner year for the Coffee Party USA Newsroom. We brought on talented bloggers, and very informed Facebook posters. Our intent is to allow civil, free and open dialogue.

Our standard bearers and influx of new talent have unleashed the long awaited possibility of our newsroom. We went from 700K views each week to our current average of 6-13 million on any given week. That growth is monumental and reflects the dedication and consistency of our new team, a team that has worked with a symbiosis not seen since Coffee Party USA’s inception.

As we grow we will responsibly move stories, many ignored, to the forefront. In effect we will become an important and responsible segment of the media. If you are a fact based Conservative, Liberal, Moderate, or any ideology in between blogger, please contact me at [email protected]. If there is a fit you will go through our volunteer department to possibly join the media team.

Before meeting our newsroom team it is important to note what our Facebook page is and isn’t. I like to refer to the world of Facebook pages as the Wild Wild West. One has the option to clamp down tightly on pages to restrict speech or one can leave pages relatively uncontrolled where good and bad ideas and dialogue occur. Finding the right mix is difficult. At Coffee Party our basic tenet is freedom of speech as long as one remains civil. In other words one should refrain from obscenities, direct personal attacks, or trolling.

The Coffee Party Facebook page reflects America. It does not represent Coffee Party USA Doctrine. It is a place where at any given time one can get the ‘temperature’ of the nation's body politic. Within that page Coffee Party members try to steer civil discourse irrespective of opinions. In other words we want to be examples of how we can dialogue even with differing opinions.

Our website at http://coffeepartyusa.com which will be re-launched in the near term is where our official Coffee Party tenets will reside and specific dialogue will occur. It will be controlled and will represent the basic tenets that the Coffee Party is working towards.

Now please meet our newsroom team.

Marianne Castiglia, Newsroom Workgroup Chair

Marianne Castiglia has taken the bull by the horns and ran with it. Marianne has ensured that all contributors' stories are placed on the Facebook page in a time appropriate manner. She is the fearless leader of the group. She runs the Newsroom calls every Wednesday.

Kathleen Morgan, Newsroom Workgroup Co-Chair

Kathleen Morgan, the co-chair of the Newsroom group has been consistent in assisting the Chair ensuring that order is always maintained. She scours the Internet for stories that otherwise may not see the light of day. Kathleen runs the conference boards during our weekly Newsroom calls.

Charlotte Vaughan Coyle

Charlotte Vaughan Coyle is one of our newest additions to the team. She brings a fresh voice and a fresh perspective. Charlotte is one of our bloggers that provides original material. The wisdom in her writings jumps off the screen. She blogs at http://www.charlottevaughancoyle.com/.

Bobby Rodrigo

Bobby Rodrigo is one of our most prolific activists. He is the host of Coffee Party USA Radio Show 'I take Liberty with my Coffee with Bobby Rodrigo'. He has also started writing original content blogs as well. His blog is at http://itakelibertywithmycoffee.com.

Jeanene Louden

Jeanene Louden wears several hats. She is on the Coffee Party USA Board of Directors. She is our treasurer whose middle name should be frugality. Jeanene also scours the Internet for news we can all use. She also provides original content. She is the host of Coffee Party Radio Show Lunch with Louden. Jeanene is constantly on the move. She continues to represent Coffee Party USA at political events in DC, Oregon, and throughout the country.

Michael Charney is another original content blogger that provides thoughtful insights. He writes from a pragmatic conservative point of view that stresses solutions as opposed to ideology. His blog is http://www.chasingglennbeck.com/. He is the author of the book Chasing Glenn Beck.

Elisabeth Parker

Elisabeth Parker is another new member of the team. She is a professional writer and blogger. She provides original content. Elisabeth blogs at http://elisabethparker.com/. Her footprint throughout the Internet is quite large. Her writing style is easy to read yet very informative.

Debilyn Molineaux

Debilyn Molineaux is another media team member that wears various hats. She is a board of Director and the new President of Coffee Party USA. She scours the Internet for material that is focused on the tenets of Coffee Party USA. She is partnered with many transpartisan and nonpartisan groups and has been moving the Coffee Party USA message through her various engagements and connections. She is a co-host of Coffee Party Radio Show 'Lunch with Louden'.

Victoria M. Young

Victoria M. Young is another new member of our media team. She writes and blogs about education. She blogs at http://thecrucialvoice.com. She is passionate about the material and provides solid fact based material on education issues of the day. Victoria is a doctor of veterinary medicine who put her career on a backburner in 2007 to seek answers as to why equal educational opportunity for children has been so elusive a goal.

Vince Lamb

Vince Lamb is one of our Coffee Party Board of Directors and our Secretary. He has been on the newsroom team for some times now. Vince is the Coffee Party professor. He provides posts that challenges the mind forcing the reader to think.

Mark Gilbert

Mark Gilbert is a recent addition to our media team. Mark is a former member of the Senior Executive Service with the Federal government where he served in leadership with the Medicare program. In 2009, he left to pursue his passion as a spiritual writer and teacher and has since authored four books -- including his latest Becoming a Spiritual Change Agent. He blogs at the website http://www.consciousbridge.com where he seeks to bring together ideas from science, philosophy, politics and spirituality; integrate them into a picture of our evolutionary journey and call us to action towards creating a world that works for everyone.

Egberto Willies

Egberto Willies is a Coffee Party Board of Director. He is responsible for the Newsroom Workgroup. Egberto writes and blogs original content at http://egbertowillies.com. He is also a DailyKOS.com contributing editor. He blogs from a decidedly liberal point of view on middle class centric issues. He is the host of Coffee Party Radion Show Politics Done Right w/Egberto Willies. Egberto represents Coffee Party on the Move To Amend Board (National Leadership Team).

Visit the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/coffeeparty.