Blog Archives - PACG - Progressive Action for the Common Good

December Green Drinks

11/26/2020

December Green Drinks via Zoom
Tuesday, December 1st at 5:00 pm

Join us at our December Green Drinks on Zoom. Our speaker this month is Miles Brainard, the Planning and Redevelopment Administrator for the city of Rock Island. Miles will share with us sustainability projects he's working on.

Register for the event at: www.us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/. You will be sent a link to join the meeting after you register.

Susan Leuthauser

Inaguration Celebration Help Needed! - What You Can Do Now

11/26/2020

2021 Presidential Inaguration Celebration Planning - Volunteers Needed!

A Message from the President

Hello Progressives!

Interested in ways to get involved? I am looking for a few volunteers to help plan a fun and interactive virtual Inaugural Celebration! Young people, we could really use your perspectives!

This commitment will involve a few idea-sharing meetings and tasks to complete independently, and then meetings to work on the implementation plan. We always have a lot of fun planning events so please JOIN US!

If you are interested or have questions please email me at ambroseallisons@sau.edu.

Allison Ambrose

PACG Book Club for December 2020 - The Rosie Project

11/22/2020

**PACG Book Club for December 2020 - The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion**

We will discuss The Rosie Project by Graeme Simsion via Zoom on Monday, December 21st at 5:30 pm. The following information is from the Goodreads website:

An international sensation, this hilarious, feel-good novel is narrated by an oddly charming and socially challenged genetics professor on an unusual quest: to find out if he is capable of true love.

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

The Rosie Project is a moving and hilarious novel for anyone who has ever tenaciously gone after life or love in the face of overwhelming challenges.

Contact Alta Price for a link to the meeting.

Green Is the New Black - What You Can Do Now

11/17/2020

Green is the New Black

Environmental Forum

Contact Legislators to Support Clean Energy Jobs Act

11/17/2020

Contact Legislators to Support the Illinois Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA)

Union of Concerned Scientists

Our climate and our communities can't afford to let up on passing clean energy legislation at the state level in Illinois.

We have one last big opportunity to show support for the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA) and pass ambitious, equitable climate action in 2020.

The CEJA was introduced over 600 days ago and Illinois decision makers have yet to take meaningful action on comprehensive clean energy policy. Any further delay on CEJA keeps Illinoisans out of work longer, keeps the renewable energy industry at a standstill longer, keeps communities from accessing a clean, healthy, affordable clean energy future, and supports inequitable pollution and energy policies. Read more about CEJA here: https://ilcleanjobs.org/clean-energy-jobs-act/.

Contact Governor Pritzker and your state legislators about your support for this legislation. Click the link above and then select Get Involved/ Take Action. A simple form will send your message.

Lori McCollum

No Hate In Our States - Racial Wealth Gap Explanation

11/10/2020

Racial Wealth Gap Explained

No Hate In Our States

Did You Know - The first episode of Netflix’s “Explained” series from Vox dives into the Racial Wealth Gap.

If you are are interested in learning more about this topic, we recommend watching. This complex issue is made understandable - in just 15 minutes!

Netflix’s Explained Episode on the Racial Wealth Gap Should Be Required Viewing.

Julie Ross

UPDATED - Count Every Vote Rally and Prayer Vigil

11/3/2020

Update: Count Every Vote Rally and Prayer Vigil
is now on Zoom!
Saturday, November 7th at 1:00 pm

A Message from the President

Due to the high numbers of Covid-19 in Iowa, this event will be virtual.

The link information for this Zoom event is:
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86210124966?pwd=ekZ1dGJVeWpzRi9qbkdjYnF3NENaUT09
Meeting ID: 862 1012 4966
Passcode: 773903
Meeting ID: 862 1012 4966
Find your local number: https://us02web.zoom.us/u/kbMzsjGVM

Our original post from this week's WEU is as follows:

The US has held elections even during times of great strife like the Civil War, the Great Depression and both World Wars. The peaceful transfer of power has never been in question.

The efforts of our forebears gave African Americans and women the right to vote. Today Americans agree that every citizen should vote and that every vote should be counted.

PACG is working with local groups and clergy to organize a rally and prayer vigil on Saturday, November 7th at 1:00 pm. We will meet at the Stone Fountain on the south side of Vander Veer Park.

We support the dedication and efforts of our local election officials to ensure that every vote is counted. Join us for this peaceful rally and prayer vigil to bring people together in support of the values and ideals we share as participants in our democracy.

Allison Ambrose

PACG Book Club for November 2020 - Sapiens

11/3/2020

PACG Book Club for November - Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
Monday, November 16th at 5:30 via Zoom

This month we will be reading Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind by Yuval Noah Harari. Here is a link from the Sapiens website with more details:

Homo sapiens rules the world because it is the only animal that can believe in things that exist purely in its own imagination, such as gods, states, money and human rights.

Starting from this provocative idea, Sapiens goes on to retell the history of our species from a completely fresh perspective. It explains that money is the most pluralistic system of mutual trust ever devised; that capitalism is the most successful religion ever invented; that the treatment of animals in modern agriculture is probably the worst crime in history; and that even though we are far more powerful than our ancient ancestors, we aren’t much happier.
By combining profound insights with a remarkably vivid language, Sapiens acquired cult status among diverse audiences, captivating teenagers as well as university professors, animal rights activists alongside government ministers. By 2018, over 10 million copies have been sold, and the book has been translated into nearly 50 languages.

Click on Alta Price for a Zoom link to the meeting.