A Penigma PSA on behalf of MNUnited.org / PRIDE

I have written here before on why we should have marriage equality; it is first and foremost about   limiting the freedom to marry.


Need Volunteers for PRIDE

We just cannot miss this one-time opportunity to bring thousands of supporters into the campaign! There are going to be 300,000+ people in attendance. We are estimating that 75,000 of our supporters will be at Pride,but won’t vote unless we talk to them! This could be the margin of victory for the campaign. In order to talk to all of those people about the important work we are doing to defeat the amendment, we will need thousands of volunteers!

The work that you and others will be doing consists of talking to attendees of PRIDE about the amendment, getting them to pledge to vote NO in November and taking donations. Most likely, you will be with a team of 4 or 8 (including yourself) stationed near Loring Park in Minneapolis.

WHEN: SATURDAY SHIFTS:
· 9:15am-12pm
· 11:15am-3pm
· 2:15pm-6pm

· 5:15pm-9pm

NON-PARADE SUNDAY SHIFTS:
· 9:15am-12pm
· 11:15am-3pm
· 2:15pm-6pm


PARADE SHIFT: 8:00am to 1:00pm

We need a lot of volunteers to help talk to those watching the parade (volunteers will not be walking in the parade).
· Canvasser – participates on a team of 4 canvassers and one leader to recruits pledge no’s, shifts, and donations on one side of an assigned block along the parade route
· Runner – Supports a regional block leader by helping communicate with block leaders in a 4-block stretch of HennepinAve along parade route.
The training (at theMLPS Mn United Office will be 45min before you head out to the parade.

WHERE: We are going to be meeting (we will call if plans change) at the Minneapolis Minnesotans United office. It is located at 1629 Hennepin Ave, Minneapolis, 55403, Suite 200. It is very close to Loring Park in South Minneapolis.

Conversation Drive Schedule

We also host 2 types of conversation drives every week in our Coon Rapids office located at 11620 Crooked Lake Blvd, right between the water tower and American Legion:
Voter drives that consist of talking to voters in the North Metro/Suburbs about their opinion on marriage and same-sex couples.

Recruitment drives, are where we talk to known supporters and try to get them more involved in the campaign.

Post PRIDE:

Sunday's 5:30-8:30pm, Voter drive
Monday's 6:30-9:30pm, Recruitment drive
Tuesday's 6:30-9:30pm, Recruitment drive
(We also have a voter drive in N. Branch, located at 6499 Ash St., Community Room, just east of JJ's Bowl and Lounge)

Wednesday's 6:30-9:30pm, Voter drive

Thursday's 6:30-9:30pm, Recruitment drive
www.mnunited.org
Office line for Coon Rapids office is 763/270.0636

Twin Cities PRIDE is set for June 23 and 24, and we need hundreds of people on the ground to make it a huge success. Will you volunteer to be a part of history and help us defeat this amendment?"

Let's beat this thing!!

Geek Pride Day

Every once in awhile, we need a break from the unrelenting seriousness of politics and economics.

While I have never worn bottle-bottom thick glasses, or a pocket protector, I am an anabashed, unapologetic lover of the sciences.  I read scientific papers and journals for fun, which makes me a geek of sorts. 

We need to play as well as work; my thanks to my very literate friend Sara for sharing with me something she found in an old folder on her computer, a totally silly game, "Punt the Geek".  You can download it for free here.  Try it, have some fun, and celebrate your own inner geek! 

Just to make sure you don't lose any valuable brain cells, you might want to go read something from a science journal afterwards. 

Or, you could at the very least read this story from the STrib about Geek Pride Day.

Once a year, on May 25, it's hip to be square. Today is Geek Pride Day, celebrating geeks, nerds and whoever else wears thick glasses and a pocket protector.


For all Trekkies, comic collectors and gadget gurus, this day is just for you. Today, the world celebrates Geek Pride Day. (Who knew?)

Geeks, nerds and whoever else wears thick glasses and a pocket protector can publicly boast about their geekiness without being labeled as weird. It happens every May 25, which coincides with the release of the first "Star Wars" movie in 1977.

The day started in 2006 in Spain -- strangely enough -- when 300 geeks showed their pride by creating a human "Pac-Man" game. In 2008, it came to the United States, where bloggers heralded it as a holiday.

Not sure of your geek orientation? Here are some rights and responsibilities, as outlined in Geek Pride Day's manifesto. If they inspire you to put on your favorite "Dungeons and Dragons" cape, then, no question, you're a geek. So take pride and celebrate.

Follow the story link to read the rest at the STrib online.  Play the game.  And if you are not yourself a geek, take a geek to lunch, or at least, say something nice to one.  They're fun, and they're too often neglected and overlooked becaues some of them are also shy or socially awkward, you need to make the first move.  It's worth it.

Happy Geek Pride Day!