http://www.mikepanetta.com Tue, 20 Jul 2010 16:03:31 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en While the District of Columbia may have a locally elected mayor and council, our local laws and budgets need to approved - and are completely amendable - by Congress. The Constitution gives Congress authority in "all cases whatsoever" over local matters in the District. Nowhere else in the country do ... http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/07/free-and-equal-dc-fund-expands-radio-campaign-to-mississippi-and-montana/ Today's my birthday...I’m a Bastille Day baby, so that means I like to storm bastions of power and bring democracy to the masses. I guess that’s why I really enjoy being the “Shadow” U.S. Representative for the District of Columbia as it allows me to fight for statehood and full ... http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/07/mike-panetta-birthday-donation/ The ACLU of the National Capital Area is hosting two statehood-related events this week. Wednesday, July 14 at Onyx on First, 1100 1st Street SE, for the 2nd Annual "Warriors of Statehood" Celebration from 6:00-8:00 PM. The event honors DC's military members and dedicated Statehood activists. Limited seating is available, and ... http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/07/two-dc-statehood-events-this-week-sponsored-by-aclu/ Last night I was happy to win the endorsement of DC for Democracy for re-election to the Shadow U.S. Representative position. I've been a member of this group since 2004 when it was "DC for Dean" and it was the first group ever to endorse me when I first ran ... http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/06/panetta-takes-dc-for-democracy-endorsement/ I was formally endorsed by the Ward 3 Democrats for re-election to "Shadow" U.S. Representative position on June 17th at the organization's monthly meeting. The threshold for endorsement was 75% of the votes cast, which I was able to meet. This endorsement comes less than a week after I prevailed ... http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/06/panetta-snags-ward-3-democrats-endorsement/ The DC Democratic State Committee held a "straw poll' on June 12th that was open to all DC Democrats during their state convention. Mike Panetta won the "Shadow" U.S. House poll with 41% of the votes in a 6-way race. "Thanks to all the Democrats who came out ... http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/06/panetta-wins-dc-democratic-straw-poll/ Commercials Remind Senator Jon Tester To Represent His Constituents (Listen to the advertisement) Washington, DC, June 11, 2010 - The Free Equal DC Fund launched a radio advertising campaign in Montana today urging Senator Jon Tester (D-MT) to focus on representing his constituents instead of meddling in the local affairs of ... http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/06/free-and-equal-dc-fund-launches-montana-radio-campaign/ From my friends at DC Vote. I won't be able to attend, but I hope you can make it: Are you frustrated with how pro-gun special interests have hijacked the issue of DC voting rights? What are you going to do about it? Are you ready for more direct action and ... http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/06/dc-voting-rights-action-tomorrow-rsvp-today/ The mayor's proposed budget eliminates what little funding there was for statehood initiatives. You can read more in this Washington Times article. (link) I've released the following statement on this, which I hope you'll share: "For many years Congress mandated that the District couldn’t spend our local tax dollars to lobby for ... http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/05/statement-on-elimination-of-statehood-funding-in-mayors-budget/ "This deal is getting worse all the time!" - Lando Carlissan, Empire Strikes Back In case you haven't heard, the DC Voting Rights bill was pulled today by Delegate Norton. There was talk last week of a compromise on the gun amendment issue, but it looks like the NRA wanted too ... http://www.mikepanetta.com/2010/04/dc-voting-rights-bill-pulled/