Moving Ideas Newsletter

Love the troops – Hate the war. This vigil has been controversial because it is sometimes misunderstood. The purpose of this vigil is to raise awareness within our community and among the media that the most injured soldiers are brought to Walter Reed to be treated and should not be forgotten. They are our responsibility. Many of these soldiers, wounded in Afghanistan and Iraq, and their families face long-term disabilities, difficult bureaucracy and shortfalls in funding. This is one of the sad and hidden costs of war. Our presence is a visible reminder that our wounded and disabled soldiers and veterans need and deserve our support. Please join us, you can sing, or hold a candle, or talk with others who believe as most of the country now does, it is time to bring the troops home and to take care of them when they get here – whatever the cost!

Building Communities is a collaboration involving policyAmerica, the New America Foundation, Washington University’s Center for Social Development, the Institute for Assets and Social Policy at Brandeis University, Bank of America, and Capitol Advantage, LLC. This event is a sequel to the Bootstrap Capitalism conference of 2004 which attracted 180 representatives of think tanks, Congressional staff, advocacy organizations, the academy and the media. Where: Hyatt Regency on Capitol Hill When: March 28, 2006 RSVP: David Stoesz at [email protected] 8:30-9:00 -- Registration 9:15 Welcome: Ray Boshara, Director Asset Building Program, New America Foundation 9:30 Serving the UnbankedHoward Karger, Professor and author of Shortchanged: Life and Debt in Fringe Economy,Reid Cramer, Research Director, Asset Building Program, New America Foundation 10:30 Building Social CapitalRobert Woodson, President, National Center for Neighborhood Enterprise,Kathryn Edin, Professor and author of Promises I Can Keep and Making Ends Meet,Margaret Sherraden, author of Kitchen Capitalism, 12:00 Luncheon Host: Katharine Kravetz, American UniversityKeynote addresses: The Honorable Danny K. Davis, (D-7th) Illinois;Andrea Levere, President, Corporation for Enterprise Development 1:30 Capitalizing CommunitiesEric Stein, Chief Operating Officer, Self-HelpPaul Hinds, Senior Vice-President, Bank of AmericaMark Pinsky, President and CEO, Opportunity Finance Network. 3:00 Concluding Comments: David Stoesz, policyAmerica

What you need to know about Supreme Court nominee Judge Samuel Alito. Includes action opportunities to help you protect the Supreme Court.

We live in a world of escalating violence, marked by national and international conflicts and exacerbated by fears around global security and terrorism. We live in a world where the use of torture is the subject of debate, where powerful states bypass international institutions, and where the rights and dignity of the individual often get lost in the fray. In the current political, social and economic climate, it is critical that a voice — independent from government, corporate or national interests — can speak out and protect individuals wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied. That voice is YOU. That voice is US. That voice is Amnesty International. You are cordially invited to participate in the 2006 Annual General Meeting (AGM) April 28-30 in Portland, Oregon. Now more then ever, the victims of hate, torture and injustice need the members and activists of Amnesty International USA to Make Some Noise for Human Rights at High Volume! The AGMThe AGM is Amnesty International USA's annual national conference for ALL members and activists to join, meet, learn, discuss and let their voice be heard! 2006 AGM Location - PORTLAND, ORThe Hilton Portland & Executive Tower is located right in the heart of down town Portland, OR, conveniently positioned two blocks from city center and the famous public transportation light-rail system. The hotel has generously offered 35-45% off their regular room rates for 2006 AGM attendees! The discounted rates include $114 for attendees and $99 for students. Rooms fill up fast, so call 503-226-1611 to make your reservations today. Don't forget to mention that you're attending the 2006 AGM to get this low discount! AGM Program [email protected] Contact: AIUSA-AGM, 600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20003; Tel.: 202.544.0200; Fax: 202.546.7142

The Security and Peace Initiative - a joint initiative of the Center for American Progress and The Century Foundation - invites you to its annual conference on June 6, 2006 in New York City. In debating some of the most pressing international issues facing Americans today, the conference will assess the paradox of exceptionalism: Are global leadership and security most effectively asserted through a benevolent superpower's discretionary use of power, without the constraint of international norms, rules, and obligations, or through its trailblazing support for an international order guided by collective adherence to the rule of law? It will bring together leading foreign relations experts, academics, policymakers, and the media from around the nation. Participants will include former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former U.S. Senator Gary Hart, co-chairs of the Initiative's Advisory Board. Registration information, the conference agenda, and a formal invitation will follow. In the meantime, please contact Spencer P. Boyer at [email protected] or 202-481-8164 with questions.

We live in a world of escalating violence, marked by national and international conflicts and exacerbated by fears around global security and terrorism. We live in a world where the use of torture is the subject of debate, where powerful states bypass international institutions, and where the rights and dignity of the individual often get lost in the fray. In the current political, social and economic climate, it is critical that a voice — independent from government, corporate or national interests — can speak out and protect individuals wherever justice, fairness, freedom and truth are denied. That voice is YOU. That voice is US. That voice is Amnesty International. You are cordially invited to participate in the 2006 Annual General Meeting (AGM) April 28-30 in Portland, Oregon. Now more then ever, the victims of hate, torture and injustice need the members and activists of Amnesty International USA to Make Some Noise for Human Rights at High Volume! The AGMThe AGM is Amnesty International USA's annual national conference for ALL members and activists to join, meet, learn, discuss and let their voice be heard! 2006 AGM Location - PORTLAND, ORThe Hilton Portland & Executive Tower is located right in the heart of down town Portland, OR, conveniently positioned two blocks from city center and the famous public transportation light-rail system. The hotel has generously offered 35-45% off their regular room rates for 2006 AGM attendees! The discounted rates include $114 for attendees and $99 for students. Rooms fill up fast, so call 503-226-1611 to make your reservations today. Don't forget to mention that you're attending the 2006 AGM to get this low discount! AGM Program [email protected] Contact: AIUSA-AGM, 600 Pennsylvania Ave SE, 5th Floor, Washington, DC 20003; Tel.: 202.544.0200; Fax: 202.546.7142

The Security and Peace Initiative - a joint initiative of the Center for American Progress and The Century Foundation - invites you to its annual conference on June 6, 2006 in New York City. In debating some of the most pressing international issues facing Americans today, the conference will assess the paradox of exceptionalism: Are global leadership and security most effectively asserted through a benevolent superpower's discretionary use of power, without the constraint of international norms, rules, and obligations, or through its trailblazing support for an international order guided by collective adherence to the rule of law? It will bring together leading foreign relations experts, academics, policymakers, and the media from around the nation. Participants will include former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and former U.S. Senator Gary Hart, co-chairs of the Initiative's Advisory Board. Registration information, the conference agenda, and a formal invitation will follow. In the meantime, please contact Spencer P. Boyer at [email protected] or 202-481-8164 with questions.

Join The Charles R. Williams Project on Sexual Orientation Law for their annual update on sexual orientation law and public policy from around the nation. When:

As activists and leaders, we come from a variety of backgrounds – many of us have fought for immigrants’ right to education, campaigned for improved heath care access, advocated for racial justice, or worked for family planning clinics. The SRLT is designed to link our diverse experiences to a broader vision of cross-movement change through trainings on reproductive justice, a framework which recognizes that our many movements share a common history of resistance to control and exploitation of bodies, sexuality, and reproduction. In addition to educating leaders in the reproductive justice framework, the SRLT provides you with concrete and culturally relevant skills that you can use in your communities and connects you to national and regional networks of activists, organizations, and funders working on women’s health and reproductive rights issues. Through training sessions and joint projects, 30 to 40 leaders will conduct advocacy work on reproductive justice issues through organizing at the local and state levels, researching policy initiatives, and conducting media outreach. During 18 months of work together, we will build a stronger reproductive justice movement in the Southwest that both nurtures local, community-based organizations and engages a national social justice movement and human rights agenda. Sign Up Now for the Training on February 24-26, 2006! Join us for the first of three weekend-long gatherings consisting of trainings, workshops and advocacy campaigns around the reproductive justice movement. Training components include: community organizing & advocacy campaign skills fundraising and networking voter education legislative education reproductive justice framing & messaging and much more! Tucson, AZ travel and lodging are free for participants. Apply Now! Send Completed Applications and Questions to: ATTN: Jessica RE: SRLT applicant [email protected] Third Wave Foundation 511 W 25th St., Ste. 301New York, NY 10001 Download more copies of the application at http://www.latinainstitute.org/pdf/Southwest_Regional_leadership_Training1-3-06.pdf. Background The Southwest Collaborative is a joint effort by Choice USA, the National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF), the National Latina Institute for Reproductive Health (NLIRH) and the Third Wave Foundation to help build a diverse and sustained base of young leaders in the reproductive justice movement in the Southwestern United States (Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, and New Mexico). The 10 in 10 Collaborative grew out of the efforts of five national young women-led organizations to ensure that a diverse group of young women’s voices were represented at the 2004 March for Women’s Lives. The record numbers of young people that turned out for the March for Women’s lives and the diversity of the audience demonstrated the importance of young people and people of color at the forefront of our planning. The Collaborative continues that work through regional partnerships that strengthen activism in critical areas of the country.

The annual Washington D.C. conference will begin Sunday morning, February 26, and run through Tuesday, February 28th, 2006 at the Washington Court Hotel on Capitol Hill. As in previous years, FRAC/A2H staff will be working with attendees to schedule meetings with Members of Congress throughout the day on Tuesday, February 28th, so please plan to be on Capitol Hill all day. Check out the 2006 Conference website http://www.frac.org/Conference/2006/index.html for more information.

We're writing to invite you to the second annual Ms. Magazine "Politics and Prose Cruise," February 12-19, 2006. Join feminist friends aboard Holland America Line's Westerdam, sailing the Western Caribbean, and enjoy our special Ms. programming featuring leading feminist thinkers, authors, pundits, activists, elected officials, and more.

The UCLA School of Law Moot Court Executive Board and the Williams Project are hosting the 2nd Annual National Sexual Orientation Law Moot Court Competition. Teams form ABA accredited law schools from across the country will compete against each other, briefing and arguing whether the federal constitution requires that marriage be extended to same-sex couples.

Survivors from Hurricane Katrina and their supporters will converge at the nation’s Capitol on February 8th and 9th to demand the right to return and the funds to rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. The ACORN Katrina Survivors Association is organizing several hundred participants, who will march, rally, and meet with lawmakers and officials to press for an immediate, comprehensive and inclusive rebuilding plan — and a voice for low and moderate income hurricane survivors in the process. “We are going to Washington to let the world know how the U.S. government has turned their back on us — the ordinary people of New Orleans who have worked hard all our lives,” said Dorothy Stukes, spokesperson for the ACORN Katrina Survivors Association. “Every Katrina survivor: get on board and let’s fight for the help we need, and deserve, to return and rebuild our homes and communities.” Buses to the rally will depart from Baton Rouge, New Orleans, San Antonio, Little Rock, and other cities housing displaced survivors, arriving in Washington late in the day on February 8th. The rally and other events will take place on February 9th and will be co-sponsored by a variety of labor, faith and community allies. Any Katrina survivor can take part in the trip for $50; other fundraisers are being planned to help cover the remaining costs. Anyone who wishes to participate should call the ACORN Hurricane Hotline at 1-800-790-2290, email [email protected] or contact their local ACORN office.

Migration and the Global Shortage of Health Care Professionals The 2006 Health in Foreign Policy Forum will focus on an issue that literally crosses national borders: the migration of health professionals. With U.S. hospitals facing a major shortage of nurses and expecting shortages of physicians in the future, they are increasingly looking abroad to recruit health professionals. Other countries, especially those dealing with the HIV/AIDS epidemic, are concerned about the impact of emigration on their own shortages. Register today at http://www.academyhealth.org/nhpc/foreignpolicy/register.htm When: February 8, 20068:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. Where: Renaissance Washington, DC Hotel Event Details: Keynote address: Lincoln Chen, Harvard University: Lessons from the Joint Learning Initiative on Human Resources for Health and Development Luncheon address: Congresswoman Donna Christensen* (invited) Panel Topics: Domestic Staffing Shortages and the Role of International Recruitment A panel of experts, including academics and the CEO of one the largest nurse recruitment firms, will provide an overview of current debates on how to solve the U.S. health workforce shortage. Developing Nations: Migration, Retention and the Return of Professionals International speakers will analyze the impact of migration and the interests among developing nations, followed by presentations on alternative U.S. foreign aid strategies. Policy Debate with Public and Private Sector Leaders Participants will be asked to react to the policy proposals presented during the day and to offer their own ideas on short term and long term strategies for strengthening health workforce capacity in this country and abroad. Panel I: Private Sector Solutions: Viewpoints from the Expanded Provider Community Panel II: Government Solutions: Viewpoints from the Federal, State and International Levels View the complete agenda and speaker listing at: http://www.academyhealth.org/nhpc/foreignpolicy/agenda.htm Who Should Attend the Forum: Domestic and international health policy experts, foreign aid scholars and decision makers, health care providers and practitioners, hospital administrators, staffing agencies, and administrators of schools of nursing, medicine, and allied health professions.

Minicourses: Health Policy Tools and Techniques February 8, 20069:00am-4:00pmRenaissance Washington, DC Hotel www.academyhealth.org/nhpc/minicourses/index.htm